Free Comic Book Day and GEEKS art show memories

Yesterday was Super Saturday for me. I participated in a Free Comic Book Day event, and attended the Opening Reception of GEEKS Comics 'Covered' group show. A full 12 hours of comics and art, and every minute was a fun time.

My day actually started out at about 9:30am, when I hit the freeways toward Rancho Cucamonga, a good 35 minutes from home. Traffic was pretty non-existent and the weather was crystal clear. As I approached the shop, I was taken back by the sheer majesty of the San Bernardino Mountains. Now that's some serious Art!

The FCBD event I went to was hosted by 4 COLOR FANTASIES, run by Chris Brady. My good friend John Narcomey Jr. split his table with me, and as usual with any time I exhibit, it's always best to have someone you actually like sitting in the trenches with you. John's a writer/artist, and the Creative Director of Hightower Comics. He's got a great outgoing persona, and I love talking comics craft, business and superhero movies with 'im. I actually recently did a pin-up for John's  GHOSTFACE #3. FYI: You can order the new GHOSTFACE tpb via Indy Planet!

John Narcomey, representin'!

 Me, being...me.....

Chris had told me he puts on a pretty big show for FCBD, but Jeez Louise, it was mind-boggling to actually be in the eye of the storm! Here's a shot I took from a stairwell across the driveway:

 On the left, with the 'Free Comic Book Day' sign, is Chris' store, 4 Color Fantasies. To the right is the sectioned off parking lot with tents for creators, Star Wars 501st Legion, Hamburger vendor, kid's jumper, local library booth, $1 back issue bins, face make-up booth, photo op area for costumed characters and a few more I'm missing!

I swear, the event started at 11am, and by about 3 pm, there were still people in line to get free comics. Tons of kids and families and the usual comic fans. I got to meet lots of new readers, and even got commissioned for an interesting idea:

 This gentleman asked if I could create a drawing for his friend, whose a minister. He showed me a pic of his friend via a Blackberry, and I went ahead and made this sketch. The guy was really happy with it, and was looking forward to give it to his friend. I had fun doing this.

 

People, people, everywhere!

 

 The Scorpion (Spider-Man villian), Vixen of the Justice League and Kick-Ass, with a young comic fan. There were several costumed characters throughout the day posing with fans for photos in this area. 

Chris Brady, and his army of volunteers deserve a huge amount of gratitude and recognition for putting on such a stellar event. I can imagine the logistics, and cost, to have put on this event. Those 'free' comics aren't free to the retailers, and with about 20 creators showing up, plus all his other vendors and participants, Chris really had his hands full. But he does this because he loves comics, he's a totally professional retailer, and he's always trying to connect the community with this wonderful artform.

After we packed up all our gear, John and I drove over to Whittier, as we had an art show to attend to! After a relaxing break at Brickhouse Pizza (quickly becoming a standard if you're a local comics creator), we waltzed over to GEEKS and met our fellow artists.

Here's a group of us having a grand ol' time:

Left to Right: Gerry Bonilla, John Narcomey, Dan Mendoza, Grasiela Rodriguez (she picked up her Batsymbol at the face-painting booth at 4 Color Fantasies) and me.


Cartooning dynamo Raul Aguirre, the host of the lively and entertaining MAN VS. ART podcast, showed up with his contribution to Free Comic Book Day, a 'Citizen Sanchez' mini comic. And he was handing out free copies to one and all! 

 His comic's based on his animation project, which you can see right here:





And Raul's wife Hortencia also showed up with some art of her own:

Yep, a heavenly delicious Brownie cake, with the El Muerto logo emblazoned on it. It was a belated birthday gift, and it was a very nice gesture. Class acts, Señor and Señorita Aguirre! Many thanks!


I unfortunately didn't take more photos of the artwork on display, but the show will be up for a few weeks. I'll post some pics later. Here's one of a kid clutching a copy of the kid friendly MANGA MUERTO! His parents asked about my work, and I directed them to this particular book.

It was nice chatting with some of the patrons, and with my fellow artists. By the time I left GEEKS, it was about 11pm, some 12 hours after the FCBD event began at 4 Color Fantasies. Not a bad way to spend a full day.  And topping it off with some homemade Brownies, well, c'mon now!

Here comes 2010!

Black Friday, Cyber Monday.... And December's right around the corner. And that means Christmas and family and friends and even more food. It also means we all have to get ready for the New Year. Resolutions, endings and beginnings, promises, winding down and gearing up.

For some of us, that also means gearing up for our creative endeavors next year. One of them I can share with you is my first comic book of 2010. Still haven't nailed down the exact month, but I'd say look for a release in either February or March. I can tell you right now that it's an anthology featuring 7 stories. One of them will be an auto-bio story called "DOS MIL DIEZ: 2010". ("Dos Mil Diez" is Spanish for Two Thousand Ten...hence the '2010'!). It's not really a sequel, but back in 2000 I published a mini-comic called DOS MIL, which was an earlier autobio. I figured now would be a nice time to check back in with 'me' and see what's gone down over the last 10 years. I don't want to make this strictly a walk down memory lane though, so I hope to be pulling some interesting tricks out of my head for this one!

Here's a detail of the cover, at least the main illustration. More to comic later, of course.



Also coming up in early 2010, I'm contributing a short comic to an anthology of L.A. ghost stories, which I'll definitely share more news on as the time approaches. I also have artwork in two other comic books coming out in the next month or two. One is a pin-up for GHOSTFACE and the other is a full-color back cover piece for DEAD MAN HOLIDAY. It sounds oh-so-gothic of me, the creator of EL MUERTO, to be doing artwork for books called DEAD MAN HOLIDAY and GHOSTFACE, I know!! But what can I say folks, I'm ghosting for other publishers!

There are more comics on my agenda to schedule for next year, as well as several new events to follow up on, plan for, or inquire about. And just so many other things to address as well. The really good thing about scheduling all this stuff is the variety of skills they all involve. Projects like this keep me very stimulated, and pushes me to stay as creative and imaginative as possible in whatever I choose to do.

Photo by Ted Seko, cartoonist, podcaster and critical optimist.

Yesterday I was in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, checking out the mighty coastline. (What is it with me and coastlines lately?). Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the tides of ideas I have for new characters and comics and other projects I want to tackle. But really, how much time do you have in a week? Some folks would say to just commit to knocking these various projects out. And I suppose that could be done. But a lot of the ideas I have sometimes can't be developed to a solid presentation, at least for me. So these ideas are tossed back in the sea, where maybe they'll wash ashore after being polished by time.

There's one thing I realize about looking over the vast horizon of the Pacific Ocean though. There is so much potential in our lives, and it's amazing to me that it's all in our hands to attempt to achieve. The complete freedom to try is there. As most of us have experienced though, the waters can get really rough at times, fatal actually. But in the end, the ocean, like life, is only being itself. It really means us no harm, not personally. But it sure is offering up a heck of a lot of potential.

2010. Bring it on!