A FISTFUL OF CONVENTION MOMENTS

Conceived and used with the permission of Matthew Constantine and Brad Gullickson, the originaldorks.

Everyone has a “Top 5.”  But Brad and Matt, choosing to walk a different path, amended that to “A Fistful…” over at their blog, In the Mouth of Dorkness.  A film-centric blog where they also discuss comics and books and TV, these two regularly share their top 5, ranging from “Heroic Kids” to “Spies” to “Summer Movies” to “Punches” to all things in between.  Always fun, often insightful, and something I hope to regularly pilfer for Warrior27.  As they say:  If you’re going to steal, steal from those you know relatively well, who will not sue you.

This week is Comic-Con and all the Dorks—less Matt, the Omega Dork—are heading across the country to attend. 

[cue jealousy music]

During the run-up to this monumental task, the ITMODcast released their COMICCONcast , which was a great combination of reminiscences and advice (heavy on the reminiscences, which includes some great stories).  If you’re planning to attend any convention this year, or just want to experience it vicariously, you should check this episode out.  And, in honor of their recent episode, I’m sharing my own “Fistful of Convention Moments.”  They may not stack up to helping pull John Landis out of his rickshaw, but they’re pretty close, for me. 

In descending order: 

5.   Paul Pope recognizing me at MoCCA (2007)

MoCCA-fest 2007 took place in April of that year, in New York City’s Puck Building.  It was a great art comics fest, with a bunch of great creators.  One of those was Paul Pope.  I’d met  and spoken with him at the previous year’s SPX, held in Bethesda, Maryland in late September.  He’d had a bunch of his self-published books there—THB, Escapo, Buzz Buzz Comics Magazine—and I’d bought every one, since I’d never found any of those at my LCS.  Pope was generous with his time, speaking with me about comics and creating, and it made a great impression on me. 

That spring, I was now writing for the Pulse website, and I wanted to do an email interview with Pope for my column.  I got in line with Dan.  And when I stepped up to his table, Pope instantly recognized me and remembered our conversations from SPX.  Yeah, it was a “fanboy” moment, but it was pretty damn awesome too.  Oh, and I got to do that interview as well.  Check it here.

4.  Meeting Joe Hill at Baltimore (2013)

Brad, at the ITMODcast, will remember this one.  But first, preamble:

The first short prose story I sold was directly influenced by Joe Hill’s short story, “Abraham’s Boys.”  I’d been hearing about Hill from friends and decided to check out his 20^th Century Ghosts collection, to see what the fuss was about.  When I finished “Abraham’s Boys,” it was like Tetris blocks falling into place, for me.  I understood how he’d structured it, focusing on how Joe Hill managed to plant the “story turn” into the narrative without it being forced, and as I sat in the Borders café, I started building that first “successful” story of my own. 

So, fast-forward to Baltimore-Con, 2003.  Brad and I get in line to meet Joe Hill.  Brad has some of Hill’s work to be signed.  I have a copy of Warrior27 (my self-published comic, co-created with Dan) that featured Shane Leonard’s first photo-cover for a comic (Leonard is Hill’s best friend and did similar duty for some of the issues of Locke & Key).  I also had a copy of my chapbook, with that initial story inspired by “Abraham’s Boys.”  When we get up to Hill, I explain everything, tell him I wanted to thank him and share my story with him, and Hill, who is a generous person with fans, thanked me and asked me to sign the chapbook to him.  I didn’t notice, but Brad told me afterward, that the line started to hum, asking who I was and what was going on.  Brad shared the details—Warrior27 and all that—and I got big adrenaline boost for the rest of that day, at the con. 

3. In line for George Perez, Wizard World Chicago (2001)

2001 was the first year I hit a big comic convention.  A 19-hour drive from Maine to Chicago, and it was well worth it.  The highlight, for me, was getting to meet my all-time favorite superhero artist, George Perez.  This man is generous with his time and generous to his fans. 

Day one involved scoping out the convention hall.  Finding where creators were and making plans for attacking the floor the following days.  And it became obvious that I would need to head to Perez’s booth immediately, since the line was capped quite early.  So, Dan and I both did that. 

We were somewhere between 22^nd and 25^th in line for Perez.  I had my sketchbook, a few comics, and my Batman portfolio, which DC published in the late 80s.  We were in line for five hours.  And it was so worth it.  Perez would occasionally get up from the table, walk down the line, tell us how crazy we were with this huge smile, and then return to his fans.  And each one of us got time to talk with him.  He signed anything we wanted signed (I had decided which of the plates in the portfolio I’d have him sign, but he said, without hesitation, I’ll just sign them all).  And I got a free head sketch of my favorite superhero, the Flash—the Barry Allen version, which he inquired about, because Perez draws Barry differently (with a longer face) than the Wally West version (rounder, and looking a bit younger).  Definitely one of the big highlights of my convention-going.   

 

2. Selling books all weekend at SPX (2006)

In 2005, Dan and I tabled at our first convention, Wizard World Chicago.  It was a frickin’ disaster—standing behind our table, selling no books, wondering what the hell we thought we were doing, just terrible.  But…it did teach us some valuable lessons à  see here, and here, and here.

So, when we decided to create a second issue of Warrior27 and exhibit at a convention, we chose more wisely and went where our audience (for a black and white book by anonymous creators that has no superheroes and some prose in it) would be—Bethesda, Maryland and SPX. 

That convention was awesome. We were selling books all weekend, and in half the time we sold dozens and dozens more books than we had in Chicago.  It made perfect sense, in hindsight.  Regardless, actually having readers interacting with us and paying real money for something we created, was an amazing experience.  And it kept us both going with this “writing thing.”  This is also the convention where I met some other great creators, like Mike LaRiccia and G.B. Tran and Justin Fox, who’ve gone on to do some great work.  Google those guys, you won’t be disappointed.

 

1. Meeting Harlan Ellison at Dragon-Con (2004)

Without a doubt, this is my ultimate convention experience.  Harlan Ellison is my favorite author, bar none (though Alan Moore, Hemingway, and David Mitchell certainly make a run for that title, depending on my mood) and he was going to be at Dragon-Con, 2004.  Coupled with the first stateside appearance of Warren Ellis in years, this convention was a no-brainer for myself, and Dan & Gibran. 

The interesting thing about Dragon-Con is that it is spread across three different venues (or it was a decade ago, when we drove to Atlanta).  And, as such, it can be difficult to figure out where creators are going to be (or it was for me).  When we finally moved out of the main convention hall, Dan and I had to walk a number of blocks to find the second hotel/conference center where guests were tabling.  And, without knowing, we stumbled upon Harlan Ellison’s table.  I started acting like a little kid. 

The line for Ellison was not that long.  Dan and I stepped up to the table.  And when we got up to Ellison, he regaled us with stories (of him marching in Louisiana during the Civil Rights movement and being imprisoned and beaten for that), told Dan he was a pussy when he tried to share his one time being accosted by the police (I kept my mouth shut, having only received a speeding ticket as my most heinous offense), shared the names of writers we should check out, like W.S. Merwin, and  generally was a gracious, outgoing, entertaining, pleasant, if foul-mouthed, host, at his table.  Great, great moment. 

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

•           Meeting and talking with Morgan Spurlock, as he was walking around the aforementioned MoCCA-fest, just checking things out with his partner and their child.   
•           Playing SPOT RICK at Wizard World – an inside joke that Dan and Gibran will get, and I’ll explain if you come up to the table at this year’s [2015] Baltimore-Con and ask nicely. 
•           Meeting the Beast Master at Dragon-Con and being swept into the conversation he was having with Dan.  That guy is still jacked and was super-enthusiastic to meet and talk with fans.  Totally cool time.
•           Meeting and talking to one of my favorite artists, Scott Morse, at SPX.  The guy is a phenomenal creator and super-nice (as most of the artists and writers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting tend to be)

So, there are my top 5 Con Moments.  What are yours? 

-chris

Dustin Harbin - thoughts on exhibiting at conventions

Dustin Harbin is a funny guy who knows his way around comic books.  He used to work at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find and was integral in the preparation of Heroes Con while there - a show I need to attend at some point.  He's also a great cartoonist whose Diary Comics have been published by Koyama Press.  And the man loves Frank Herbert's DUNE and did an online book discussion a few years back, which I participated in - that was a blast.

So, he knows his stuff.  And, with Baltimore Comic-con looming on my horizon, I thought it would be wise to share some of his thoughts on exhibiting at conventions, creating your own mini-comics (including thoughts on pricing).  Here are a couple of links:

First, a blog post from Harbin after his time exhibiting at last year's Small Press Expo.  I'm stealing his "take a picture of my table set up" for our time at Baltimore this weekend.  It's a great idea (and can be found toward the end of his piece)

Second, here's an interview he did with Jim Rugg & Jason Lexx for their "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" podcast.  In this, Harbin gets into the nuts and bolts of creating mini-comics, including some pretty specific thoughts on pricing, which make complete sense but were things I was ignoring in my earlier times at conventions.

Definitely check these out, even if you aren't someone creating his or her own comics and exhibiting at conventions.  It's still a fascinating read and discussion, respectively.

chris

SPX 2011 – an advance preview

This coming weekend – September 10-11, 2011 – the Small Press Expo will be happening in Bethesda, Maryland. The premiere showcase on the East Coast for small press and self-published comic artists, SPX is an amazing show full of energy and incredible writers and artists whose love of the medium shows through in everything they do.

Some of the big name guests the Expo has attracted to Maryland this year are Jim Rugg, Chester Brown, and Craig Thompson. If you know anything about comics (other than the offerings from the “Big Two”), you are probably already familiar with these names. Rugg is the mastermind behind AdHouse’s Afrodisiac (with Brian Maruca) and his own Rambo 3.5, which was one of the most entertaining comics I read last year. Chester Brown made his mark with Yummy Fur and the 2004 biographical comic Louis Riel, and is garnering a lot of critical discussion around his recent book, Paying For It, which looks at his personal experience with prostitution, as a john. And Craig Thompson will be debuting a special advanced edition of his long-awaited new book, Habibi. After sweeping the major awards in 2004 with his seminal work, Blankets, it has been a long wait for this new volume, and I cannot wait to read it.

Those are the big guns, but I want to point you in the direction of some of the lesser-known, but equally talented, creators that will be in Maryland this weekend.

Mike LaRiccia is a printmaker by trade, but he was awarded a Xeric grant for his debut graphic novel, Black Mane. LaRiccia has a rough and raw art style that meshed very well in that initial book, which looked at his personal experiences dealing with racism in our contemporary world. It’s a terribly honest and frank portrayal of the subject and one that asks more questions than it answers. A thoughtful and emotional book that really gets one thinking, it is a book that I always recommend to anyone seeking out something that will challenge while also providing a satisfying story. Mike will be debuting a limited run of his newest comics, Too Fast, at SPX. If you want to read some good comics from a talented artist, check him out.

A longer spotlight of Black Mane can be found here.

Alex Cahill & Jad Ziade are New Radio Comics, and they’re bringing the truth to the Expo. Since 2006, they have been working on their science fiction “novel” Poison the Cure. Planned to be four over-sized issues, the New Radio boys will have the first three issues at SPX, with issue three making its Expo debut. Pulitzer-prize winning author, Junot Diaz, says of Poison the Cure: “POISON THE CURE is stunning. One of those comics that makes you want to pass it on to everybody, even those friends of yours who don't read comics. Rowdy, hilarious, cruel, beautiful, highly original, and true." Definitely seek them out on the convention floor in Maryland. These guys have a distinct style and voice that is worth experiencing.

You can check out a spotlight of Cahill’s wordless comic, The Last Island, here.

G.B. Tran was one of the first creators I met at my first SPX in 2006, and I’ve had the privilege to watch him grow as an artist through the intervening years. Earlier this year, he debuted his new graphic novel memoir, Vietnamerica, from Villard Publishing. This is one of the most moving books I’ve read in a long time. Taking the story of his parents’ flight from Vietnam just at the end of the American conflict and juxtaposing that with his own upbringing and strained relationship with his parents, Tran has created a beautiful and moving work that will stay with you long after the cover is closed. And the experimentation in Tran’s layouts and lettering and coloring elevates this book even more, in my mind. Tran chose to take what makes comics unique as a storytelling medium and utilize those distinct aspects to his advantage, and the result is nothing short of amazing. This book deserves to be on any comic – and non-comic – fan’s shelf. It’s that good.

You can check out a spotlight of his earlier series, Content, here.

Finally, Nate Powell will be in attendance. His 2009 graphic novel, Swallow Me Whole, which I profiled earlier this week on “the dork” won the Eisner award for best graphic novel, and deservedly so. Powell is a stellar storyteller, and reading Swallow Me Whole for the first time was an incredible experience. He will be debuting his newest graphic novel from Top Shelf, Any Empire, at SPX this weekend. If it is even half as good as Swallow Me Whole, this will have the potential to be short-listed on many critics’ best-of lists come December. Seek Powell out, and pick up some of his mini-comics too; they are equally wonderful.

My review of Swallow Me Whole can be found here.

Those are some of the creators you should certainly seek out at this weekend’s Small Press Expo. And take the time to really look at all the tables. The hidden gems are numerous at SPX, and the discovery of those is part of the fun of this show. I wish I was making the trip down from Maine this year, but I’m going to have to hope for next year.

But if you make the trip, drop a line here and let us know what hidden treasures you found. It will give me something to look forward to next year.

-chris

To read more of Chris’s thoughts or to check out his short prose and comic work, go to www.warrior27.com, the online home for the comics/prose anthology, Warrior27, created by Chris and by Dan Fleming – with contributions from Matthew J. Constantine (half of In the Mouth of Dorkness), among others.

Small Press Expo this weekend

Dan and I will be heading to Bethesda, Maryland this weekend for the Small Press Expo. We'll have the new collection of Warrior27 there - 254 pages, digest sized, color and b/w, with much of what we published in our original issues and some new stuff, including our recent professional work and unpublished interviews with the likes of Bryan Talbot and Joe Quesada. We will be near the back of the hall, up past the Fantagraphics section:

Also, the collection is available from Indy Planet. It's $24.99, and with the prose and the comics, this is a great deal for a trade that will take a lot longer to read than the latest decompressed comic collection from "some others." Hope to see you in Maryland.

thanks,

chris

Writing - it's what we do

Like anyone working in a creative field – or, as in our case, aspiring to such an objective – Dan and I want to see our work published, want to share our work with others, and hope that what we have written elicits an emotional response (hopefully in a positive light) in our audience. It’s a bit of an ego thing, sure, but it’s also a desire to discover what works and what does not and to grow as writers.

In the past five years since we embarked upon this journey, Dan and I have taken some baby steps toward this goal. We’ve published four issues of our anthology, Warrior27, and from that experience – especially the initial trek to Chicago – we have learned a lot. (hit the link for more on that first endeavor) The act of writing every day – I tap away at the laptop after everyone’s in bed while Dan has been chronicling his “Year in Crime” over at his other blog, and he has yet to miss a single day – has also been invaluable. Just being involved with writing on this consistent a basis has made me a far better writer. I understand technical aspects of writing better (things as simple as using a consistent tense or avoiding the passive voice when it suits no purpose, which is a vast majority of the time), and I find myself able to make connections – metaphorical and otherwise – that were beyond me two years ago.

But I digress.

Dan and I have experienced some small bit of success with regard to our writing. In 2008, Dan had a short story accepted for Arcana’s Dark Horrors 2 anthology. “Ticking Away” featured art by Nicolas Colacitti and was also featured in our third issue of Warrior27 and will be reprinted, in color, for the collection. And this past January, I had my first professional comic writing credit in Ape Entertainment’s online UFO anthology and also sold my first short prose story to Dark Recesses Press, both of which will see print for the first time in the new collection.

It’s funny. These little crumbs help keep us going, pushing Dan and I forward in the hope of placing more stories with other publishers and possibly making this a full-time, part-time gig (because very few are able to earn a living only writing). We’ll see. But for now, things are good, and the reality is I’d find it difficult to stop writing now, even if I never got published again.

chris

New FYC with Bryan Talbot in W27: the Collection

I’ve written about this before, but one of the best pieces of advice I found regarding writing came from Steven Grant and his former CBR column. Grant stated that one of the best things to do as an aspiring writer is to take the opportunity to write for publication wherever that opportunity may arise. If you have aspirations as a fiction writer, take the chance to write some non-fiction, or write ad copy, or whatever. Any chance to write can only help you improve as a writer, and what you learn can be applied to that expansive novel sitting on your hard drive.

To that end, I answered a call for writers at the Pulse back in early 2007.

For slightly more than a year, I contributed a weekly column to the Pulse spotlighting small press and web comics and their creators. Along with analysis of the comic, each piece included a short Q&A with creators and publishers. Not only was I filling a niche that I felt lacking on the site and getting a chance to highlight some of the great mini-comics and small press books I had discovered after my first trip to SPX, but I also got the chance to interact with some of the creators for whom I have a great admiration.

Some creators I had the privilege of interviewing included Paul Pope, Scott Morse, Marvin Mann, Dean Haspiel, Warren Ellis, and Steve Rude, among others. But when the column finished at the Pulse, there were still a number of articles I had yet to write, with unused interviews sitting on my hard drive. Now, with the new collection, I’ve had a chance to unearth one of these interviews and create a brand new edition of For Your Consideration spotlighting The Tale of One Bad Rat with a short Q&A with writer/artist Bryan Talbot. I’m very excited about this. At some point, I’ll be running the full piece here on the site, but if you want to check it out before then – and get some great comics and prose on top of that – check us out at SPX or keep your eyes peeled for when the book goes on sale here at the site after we return from Maryland.

And, to whet your appetite, here’s a short quote from the interview with Talbot:

“Persistence seems to be the overriding factor [for breaking into comics]. If you have the talent and really want to do it, don't give up. Bad Rat was rejected by every publisher of illustrated books in Britain. This is before the current boom in graphic novels, when "comics" was a dirty word.”

Thanks,
chris

Warrior27: the Collection @ Small Press Expo in September

We’re a month out from SPX – the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland – and my co-conspirator, Dan Fleming, and I will have something new for the show – Warrior27: the Collection. 254 pages, digest-sized, black and white + color interiors, with many of the best pieces from the original issues and some new and never before published pieces, this is a big book of stories in multiple genres with artwork from some of the best artists in the world you’ve never heard of.

Over the past five years, Dan and I have self-published four issues of our comics & prose anthology, Warrior27 (an homage to the early eighties British magazine, Warrior). We wanted a receptacle, so to speak, for the stories we wanted to tell. We love comics – the synergy of words and pictures – and wanted to create our own tales regardless of genre or style. Our initial plans involved multi-part epics that would continue from book to book, but we learned early on that this wasn’t a feasible option considering the fact that we were paying to print these books and probably could not afford to produce more than one issue a year.

So we stepped back, reassessed our plan, and moved forward with self-contained short stories. Many writers have stated that one of the best ways to train for writing a lengthy narrative is to master the short story. Condensing the form to its bare essence allows for growth and expansion later, and many of my favorite authors – Harlan Ellison, Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, Ernest Hemingway – are masters of the form.

We’re excited for this collection. Not only were we able to go back and color many of the stories that originally were published in black and white, but we have also been able to go back into the “archives” and include some things that never made it into print or onto the web before. In the weeks leading up to SPX, we’ll be showcasing some of the artwork found within the collection and teasing at some of the never before published pieces that now have a home, as we prepare for the trip to Maryland.

So come on back to see what’s coming up, and if you can’t make it to SPX, we’ll be offering the book for sale here on the site once the show is done. And maybe there will be an announcement as far as distribution down the line. We’ll see.

Thanks,
chris

more proof we were @ SPX

Not a full-on review, but over on the right of Sean Collins's picture of his SPX haul, those would be issues 2 and 3 of our little mag, Warrior27. Sean was very cool to talk to - a fellow COLD HEAT fan - and the "new action" panel he moderated with Frank Santoro, Ben Marra, Kaz Strzepak, and one other creator whose name escapes me right now, was very fun and really gave me (another) new perspective on making comics. All of these guys are hardcore indy artists, self-publishing their b/w comics, but they're all doing it for the love and excitement they found from comics in their youth. They pack a whole bunch of story and fun and violence and craziness into their books, and it reminded me that you don't have to be "artsy" in order to create independent comics, which is what we have been doing with Warrio27. But now, I want to try my hand at producing my own mini, but instead of riffing on fight comics I want to do the crazy, demented, mad scientist.

Dr. X here I come.

chris

SPX 2009 report @ Legion of Dudes - extended edition

So,

While down in Bethesda, Adam Umak, from the Legion of Dudes podcast was walking around the hall interviewing a variety of publishers and creators. Being a regular listener and "post"er on their forums, he was kind enough to come by the table and talk with me and with Matt Constantine, who also contributed to this year's issue.

You can check the podcast here. Matt starts in around 24:18 and I get to be near the end @ 1:08:55. it was very cool to meet Adam in person, and I have to give props to the guy. He's a smooth interviewer who manages to go with the flow of the conversation. And for the convention reports he's done on the HHW/LOD extended edition, the man has the best interstitial musical interludes. Check it out.

chris

SPX 2009

The Small Press Expo was last weekend and Dan and I hit the road for Bethesda. A few months ago, if you had asked us, we weren’t planning on having anything new for the show. But a lot can happen in a few months. Once we started talking about doing a new issue of WARRIOR27, it turned out we would have the craziest and biggest issue yet for SPX 2009.

As usual, we wanted to have a variety of stuff for the anthology. Little did we know. Our friend Matt Constantine, who put us up for the weekend at his place in Fairfax and with whom we had worked before (he has a short prose piece in our second issue from 2006, which was our first year at the Expo) also contributed to this issue.

In the end, we went with a multimedia extravaganza of different pieces for this issue. Dan wrote three short stories illustrated by three very different artists and put them into a standard size comic. I contributed a short prose story, “Fractured,” which was in a smaller chapbook. Dan and Travis Dandro (who created the freaky and sometimes disturbing comic Mr. Gnu) created a mini-comic that folds open telling a story from “the mall” and which has, on the back once it’s completely open, a game board wherein one must make it through the mall with money left. The mini-comic went into a small baggie, while a die, money, and two Homies (playing pieces) went into another baggie, which when stapled to the first rested nicely over our issue wrap. We also had a CD-ROM of a color comic done by Matt and Paul Petzrick and a b/w preview of a webcomic, also written by Matt with art from S.A. McClung. It was a load of stuff in various formats, all for $6 (or $5 on Sunday). It’s a pretty fun bundle, and the Homies pulled people in.

Overall, the show this year was better than last year. There were a lot of people saying this, and I think it’s a matter of everyone having had a year to adjust their budgets/spending/whatever. It was amazing to hear EVERYONE saying that last year was a rough one and that 2009 was so much better. I would have liked to have known that last year, having left MD disappointed and thinking it was just us. Too often, we find ourselves living in a bubble, believing that what we’re fearing or feeling is unique to us, when, in reality, our experiences aren’t all that unique at all. But I digress (can’t get too preachy here).

From the opening bell on Saturday morning, the show was packed. People were everywhere and you could tell it was going to be a good show. We had our second best sales, breaking three figures, which was nice. It also felt good to sell at least one copy of everything on the table, including copies of issues 1-4 of WARRIOR27, a copy of the Arcana horror anthology, DARK HORRORS 2, in which Dan had a story published, and a few other things.

Like most though, we’re not here to make money. Maybe a little to recoup our initial expenses. But for the most part, the big draw of SPX is getting to catch up with friends like Justin Fox, Mike LaRiccia, and G.B. Tran, having an opportunity to talk directly with publishers and editors like Chris Staros at Top Shelf or James Lucas Jones of Oni, and getting to make new friends like Adam Umak, Julian Lytle, and Frank Santoro. It’s a very cool atmosphere and it can really invigorate you.

I had a great conversation with Frank Santoro (check out his COLD HEAT series, done with Ben Jones and published by Picturebox) about art and comics and how the whole page works, or can work, in a comic if you’re willing to see things in some way other than just a panel to panel progression. I told him about this mini-comic idea I’ve had burning in the back of my mind for three years now and he’s got me convinced to just go ahead and draw it, which has been the big stumbling block for me. Like he said, Wally Wood and all those masters had swipe files for reference because they needed to be fast and accurate. They would find whatever image they needed, get the perspective and proportion from the picture, and draw it in their own way in order to keep drawing. Utilizing something like that in order to manage the perspective and such of the images, while creating my own style (if I can hope for such a thing with this project) should help me get over this hump. I plan on having COMPARE & CONTRAST at the Expo next year.

Some of the highlights of the show for me:

- Catching up with friends, as mentioned above.

-Getting to meet Mr. Phil & Charlito from the Izzer.

-Talking with Adam Umak from the Legion of Dudes.

-Having an opportunity to share a preview of the short story Ape will publish as part of their UFO anthology with Chris Staros, Chris Pitzer, and others.

-Getting a chance to see my old buddy from college, who was not around last year. Hey, John.

-Meeting online friends for the first time in the flesh, like Sam Costello from the Panel & Pixel Boards, who is the brain behind the Split Lip horror anthology. Check it out.

-Finally picking up TO THE HEART OF THE STORM and THE NAME OF THE GAME by Will Eisner for $5 a piece at the CBLDF table. Can't wait to read these.

-And having Gahan Wilson check out our books and wish us luck.

SPX is over for 2009, and I’m already thinking ahead to next year and what I might have. Not only do I want to have that mini-comic, but I’ve got another idea rolling around that I might try to get done. And, I need to follow up with publishers, reviewers, and others to keep my name out there and see where this little trip will take me.

chris

Where We're At: SPX 2009

Maybe not the best resolution, but you can follow the yellow brick road to our table at this year's SPX - across from Oni to our front and across from Fantagraphics to our left. Can't wait.

BACK MATTER RE-RUNS: Black Mane by Mike LaRiccia

Here's another piece that predates my current column at the Pulse, For Your Consideration, and which laid the groundwork for that series of pieces, which - if the heavens don't falter - should be returning on a regular basis THIS MONTH.


Mike LaRiccia's enthusiasm for comics is infectious, and if you get a chance to meet him at a convention you should take the opportunity to go up and talk with him. I was pulled to his table (at SPX 2006) by the sign that claimed he was a Xeric award winner. And thanks to this, he was offering his first volume of Black Mane for half price. How could I resist?


When I got home and had a chance to read it, I was certainly glad I'd picked it up. What follows is my thoughts on the book and Mike's unique art style, plus a short interview with Mike. Check it out, then check out his site. Since 2006, Mike has published his second volume of Black Mane and has also published the first issue of Satori with writer Matt Weber. Anyone, enough preamble. On to the column.







BLACK MANE by Michael V. LaRiccia

By trade, Michael LaRiccia is a printmaker, but he has held an affinity for the comic art form since he was young. With his Xeric-awarded graphic novel BLACK MANE, LaRiccia set forth to examine race and gender issues in America based upon his own experiences. Although a work of fiction, LaRiccia casts himself as well as friends and family within the book, giving the work a more authentic, autobiographical feel. He also frames the book in a non-traditional manner, eschewing a straightforward narrative with a conflicting protagonist and antagonist, and instead presents a variety of situations linked together by a day-in-the-life motif that forces the audience to ponder and examine these social issues on their own. It is an interesting approach in support of a worthwhile endeavor.

The idea for BLACK MANE comes from a recurring daydream LaRiccia would have in which he transformed into a black-furred lion creature that would mete out justice through imagined violence upon those from whom LaRiccia felt threatened or wronged. LaRiccia is an unassuming young man harboring the inhibitions and insecurities all people carry within themselves, and this recurring daydream allowed LaRiccia a release for his pent-up frustrations. Channeling those frustrations into this creative pursuit seems a natural next step, and a worthy response to the incivility that so often casts a long shadow over our daily lives.

Through the course of the book, the audience is witness to short vignettes in LaRiccia’s life. Involved in a mild fender bender, Mike is accosted by a frantic baseball-bat-wielding bigot. While eating lunch on a street corner he observes a young mother in a revealing sundress walking with her son, her bare ass on full display. Returning home he witnesses a neighbor viciously berating his girlfriend, and all Mike can do is clear his throat hoping his presence will forestall any violence. In these and other instances in LaRiccia’s book Mike often feels helpless, unsure of what to do, easing into the apathy commonly exhibited by others around him. Subsequently, his guilt takes form in dream sequences involving Black Mane as when his alter ego turns the baseball bat around onto the bigot from the car accident.

It is when Mike meets up with his old buddies from school for their annual hiking expedition that he discovers something very startling about himself. During the trek down from the summit one of them twists his ankle and Mike runs back to the car for the bandages left there. On his way back up the trail he is confronted by a rabid raccoon. Looking around, he realizes nobody else is there to assist and takes matters into his own hands, smashing the raccoon’s head in with a large rock. With this act not only comes the realization that he too is capable of violence, albeit in self-defense, but also a newfound empowerment that was noticeably absent before. This new self-assurance proves valuable the next time Mike is out at a club. Entering the men’s room he hears a woman being accosted by her “date” in one of the stalls and knocks on the door asking if everything is all right. When the guy is the only one to respond, Mike leaves to find a bouncer and explain the situation. By taking action – something he had not done previously – Mike not only helps out the woman, but he also takes the first step toward divesting himself of Black Mane.

I was terribly impressed with Michael LaRiccia’s honesty in BLACK MANE. Through his characters, LaRiccia speaks candidly about his insecurities, his uncertainty of how to handle uncomfortable situations – whether he has a right to step in, or whether they deserve what they get – and what exactly it means to be a human being. This openness is a courageous stance to take with this work, as LaRiccia does not shy away from revealing foibles and prejudices that could certainly turn off people reading BLACK MANE. But this truthfulness also allows readers to relate completely with his character, as the insecurities and the questions he grapples with every day are some of the very same insecurities and questions with which everyone else grapples. This allows BLACK MANE to resonate more with LaRiccia’s audience than if it had been lacking in those ugly truths that are aspects of us all. LaRiccia’s artwork also complements this story very well. He changes his style to fit the situation – clean, simple linework for “calm” scenes and wildly frenetic lines for Black Mane and characters with a proclivity to anger and violence – and his use of caricature for the facial features of those in duress really brings out the emotion in this work. His style is very individualistic and his voice is one worth listening to. For anyone searching for something new and different in the graphic narrative field, I must heartily recommend BLACK MANE by Michael LaRiccia.


AN INTERVIEW WITH Mike LaRiccia writer/artist of BLACK MANE

Chris Beckett:
BLACK MANE is obviously a very personal book for you where many of the situations and much of the dialogue is extremely honest, which could leave you open for criticism from some readers. Have you received any criticism, and how difficult was that for you to lay yourself bare like that?

Mike LaRiccia:
I don’t really consider how people will criticize the personal content in my work, especially while I am creating it. What I enjoy about creating art in general is the lack of restriction and I hope my comics convey that sense of openness and freedom. That being said, there were definitely responses to the book that have stayed with me. Members of my extended family were uncomfortable with many elements and one family member even told me I had disgraced the family name and that the book was disgusting. My fans have responded extremely positively and have only praised the honesty of it. The follow-up book will feature the same type of honest portrayal and I feel I have learned a lot since BLACK MANE in terms of looking inward so I believe many of the scenes in book two will resonate with my readers.

Chris Beckett:
Your art style for BLACK MANE comes across, in much of the book, as frantic or chaotic, which fits the story you are telling perfectly. Was this a conscious decision on your part of a serendipitous melding of style with story?

Mike LaRiccia:
BLACK MANE was one of those books that wrote itself and as it moved along the feeling of story and the situations dictated the visual language. I am not sure how other artists experience their work but when I draw a page depicting myself chained to a rock screaming at the top of my lungs, I mentally find myself in the situation and I reach that “serendipitous melding” of the written and visual language. I try to be sensitive to the emotion of the scenes I create and capture the mood visually utilizing all of the elements of the page.

Chris Beckett:
How did you develop your art style? Are you self-taught or have you taken classes, and if so, which ones did you find the most useful to you as an artist?

Mike LaRiccia:
When I was in high school I was a hardcore fan boy. I was obsessed with comic art and I intensely studied HOW TO DRAW COMICS THE MARVEL WAY. This period of my art education helped me develop my gesturing skills and a new sense of intuition, which was later broken down in college. In college I had the typical ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL experience and comics were not part of that equation. So I studied anatomy, composition, content, etc. I ended up going to Grad school and there I started to secretly develop my comic work and eventually I wound up where I am now. I like to think of myself as 40% Academically taught, 60% Comics taught. I would say the classes I took that really developed my style would be the classes that stressed ways of thinking rather than craft. If you are passionate and motivated in your work you’ll strive to get better and improve your craft, but it is the professor who sparks your mind to think in new ways that really contributes to the bigger picture and directs you out of stagnant periods that you may not have realized you were in.

Chris Beckett:
What is the most important piece of advice you would give to aspiring comic creators?

Mike LaRiccia:
Be real with yourself. Hold yourself to the highest standards. If you know your work looks amateur then get the ball rolling and practice. I see too many comic artists who have so much passion and drive but they haven’t developed their craft. They think it’s just their style but it really reflects a lack of ability. When you have reached a point where you can look at your work and say “All right, this looks professional,” then start thinking about connecting with other comics’ people. The community is so much more accessible than you think, especially with all of these conferences and internet sites like Comicspace. Get to know people and start to show people your work. Get the word out.

Chris Beckett:
What are your goals within the comic medium?

Mike LaRiccia:
I would like to continue creating comics that contribute to promoting social awareness. Ultimately I hope to be able to do this for a living. Also, like every fan boy, I would really like the chance to try some commercial work for the big two. Who wouldn’t want a stab at drawing the X-men or Wolverine and see it printed 50 thousand times?

Chris Beckett:
What other projects are you working on now, and where and when can people find these and other projects of yours?

Mike LaRiccia:
Presently I am focusing on the second book which will be titled, THE DEATH OF BLACK MANE AND THE FEARED SELF. Expect the first part to be released this summer. I have a short story in the upcoming FUTURIUS 3 anthology set to come out in December 07. I have a front-piece for TALES OF THE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES which will be in the June issue. I am currently doing theater posters for the Steve Allen Theater in California. Those wanting to see previously published projects can see a short story in the sci-fi anthology ZEBRA MAG and obviously you can pick up a copy of BLACK MANE. My printmaking, illustration, and comic work can all be seen on my website http://www.michaellariccia.com/.

BACK TO WORK

So. Last summer was a hectic time. Dan and I were prepping the latest issue of Warrior27, which I hope to have up on here soon, in anticipation of October's Small Press Expo. Our first time in Bethesday, in 2006, went extremely well, especially after the disaster that was our debut at Wizard World Chicago in 2005. So we had high hopes for the show.

It was a good show, but let us just say it was not as successful as our previous sojourn to Maryland. I did get to catch up with friends and acquaintances like Justin Fox and Kevin Colden as well as having an opportunity to quickly discuss comics with Jason Rodriguez, editor of the Eisner-nominated anthology Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened. But overall, it was not successful on the comics writing/publishing front.

When I returned home, I continued with a bunch of the house projects I'd finally started at the end of the summer (getting our new shutters onto the house [at least the first floor] and painting my older boys' bedrooms after almost a year with bare wallboard). I had also been reading a lot on Prohibition and WWI in anticipation of a novel I want to write - that is a post for another time - and so was spending far more time reading non-fiction, as well as a comic or graphic novel here and there, and working around the house than I was writing - which was at a crawl. Compounding this was the fact that I was still awaiting the site overhaul of the Pulse and did not have a deadline for my regular column hanging over my head to keep me honest. After a while, I found I really liked being able to curl up in bed in the evenings to read a good book or comic. And I wondered why I had been beating myself up by writing into the night as much as I had been with little to show for it.

But I did still have the itch. And with December, I finally returned to my serialization at 50YFN with the latest chapter going live a few weeks back (see previous post). I was also preparing to begin the novel and gearing up in my head for that.

And then I had a brainstorm for an idea that I cannot believe hasn't been done before, and hope that it isn't being done right now. It's a non-fiction analytical prose thing that I began a little over a week ago and am currently 11,000 words into it - beginning chapter 3 last night and hoping to knock out a large chunk of that today. With the focus, has come a renewed energy on my part, and I hate pulling myself away from the computer again. But, I also got some serendipitous news in my email inbox last week as well.

Wednesday night this arrived in response to a message I sent JUNE 28 last year. (Yes, I had completely given up on this avenue for this story):

Hey, Chris. I'm putting together the next Negative Burn trade right now and would like to look this story over. I can't remember if I have or not. Can you send me a low res PDF to look at?
Joe

Of course, this isn't an acceptance, but it does mean my synopsis got Joe Pruett's attention, and it's another baby step forward. But, even better, was the message I received the next morning in my inbox from APE Entertainment regarding a submission I'd sent a couple of weeks back:

Hey Christopher,

I’ve read your story. I really like the dialogue and tone of the story. I am a little unsure as to why seeing a UFO makes the character do a 180. He wasn’t even sure what he saw or if he saw anything at all. And it didn’t seem like the UFO did anything to him. So I’m not sure I’m sold on the character’s change of heart. I think if you tweak that one part of the story a little bit by having something happen to the character to justify his change of heart, I think you’ll have a nice little story here that we would be interested in.

Again, not an acceptance, but another baby step forward. It was a good two-for-one. I changed what they asked for, turned it around that night, and am now waiting. Here's hoping. Updates will follow either way. But it's time to get back to the book.

take care,
chris

Back Matter re-runs #2 (Earth Minds are Weak #7)

Here's the second installment in my look back at how I started writing about comics. I'd been reviewing and recommending independent comics for a number of months at the now-defunct website, Independent Propaganda, and after my first trip to Bethesda, Maryland for the Small Press Expo, I came back jazzed about all the mini-comics I got at the show, excited about the new possiblities for the medium that were now open to me.

I decided to showcase many of the best books I took away from SPX and also included short interviews with the creators (short being a key component of email interviews that I learned from interviewing Antony Johnston, writer of Oni's Wasteland as well as many Alan Moore adaptations for Avatar Press - for IndyProp). This format would be what eventually morphed into For Your Consideration, my regular column (hopefully starting back up next Friday) on small press and web comics for the Pulse. Enjoy

SPX SWAG #2: EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK #7 by Justin J. Fox


This year’s Small Press Expo (this would have been in fall 2006 - chris) was alive with creativity. The variety of books, storytelling techniques, art styles, genres, and formats on display was remarkable. I enjoy good stories, irrespective of genre or format, and I love the excitement that accompanies the discovery of something new such as Justin Fox’s comic EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK. His comics come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and the two issues he had on display consisted of three mini-comics each wrapped around a common theme, and even within each issue the books’ dimensions varied. The one I picked up at the show, issue 7, came in a 9 inch by 6 inch brown envelope with a front and back cover image drawn by Fox. Within the envelope were the 3 minis: “Remember” (8pp., color, 8.5”x5.5”), “The Game” (18pp., black and white, 8.5”x5.5”), and “I am God.” (8pp., 2-color, 5.5”x4.25”). The different format caught my eye, and the price for the issue, only two bucks, reeled me in.

The three mini comics comprising EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK #7 all come from a very similar place while telling three completely different stories. First and foremost, the thematic binding of memory runs through all three tales. In his narratives, Fox asks complex questions that lack any easy answers. What does memory mean? What can it do for us? What heartbreak follows from those painful memories that brand themselves onto our psyche? In reading these comics it became obvious to me that memory, the phenomenon of memory, is something I take for granted. Fox drew me into his world and had me examining memory more closely, engaging me in a philosophical dialogue through his work.

Something else prominent in each story is the invitation of the reader into the narrative. The characters break down the “fourth wall” and speak directly to the audience, making them a part of the drama that is unfolding on the page. Readers enjoy a personal investment in the books and this technique imbues these stories with a substantiality and realness that is often nowhere to be found in the traditional monthlies pumped out by DC and Marvel.

Well suited to the stories being told, Fox’s artwork is clear and understated, allowing the stories to breathe. He uses very few brush strokes and his fluid lines give a life and energy to his characters that might be lost otherwise. This is vitally important in these three mini comics, which consist only of David Byrne’s “talking heads.” Moving the camera in and out slowly as characters share their stories, Fox creates movement in otherwise static scenes. The facial expressions are simple, managing to convey a character’s feelings with the closing of a girl’s eyes or by slightly angling down on her face as she speaks embarrassedly. The changes are subtle, but readers will recognize what the characters are going through, adding weight to the words scratched onto the page.

This evocation of emotion is vital to these stories, especially parts 1 and 3, which have only a single character each. The entirety of each of those minis is a monologue, something that works well on stage but is obviously much more difficult to pull off in comics. And yet, Fox achieves this feat admirably in both of these mini-comics, hitting his audience with an emotional punch at the end of each one. It is this successful balancing act which makes these bookends the two strongest tales of issue #7.

EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK #7 was a stimulating read for me. I love stories that ask challenging questions and get me thinking about something from a new angle. Fox manages to do this while also telling entertaining stories in the process. His stories got me thinking more seriously about format and comics with the varied dimensions of the three minis within. It, along with other books at the Expo, opened my eyes to the possibilities still to be found in this medium. And if you love comics, you should definitely check out Justin Fox’s EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK #7 and keep an eye out for other issues in the series. I know I will.


AN INTERVIEW WITH JUSTIN J. FOX, creator of EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK

INDEPENDENT PROPAGANDA: Why comics? What does this medium offer you as a storyteller that others might not?

JUSTIN J. FOX: Why comics. It's a question I think I've answered a different way every time I've been asked. Part of me thinks the answer to why I like working in comics is the same as the one I'd give if someone asked me why I like eating pizza. Part of the problem with talking about it is, I've been reading and drawing comics since I can remember. Before that, even. And every time, whether it was getting the one or two books I'd get each summer, waking up each morning to get new comics delivered in our driveway or stealing myself away from some dull chore, reading or drawing comics was always something of an event. It was something that was my own, like some private party. They were these rare occasions I would get snippets of conversations glimpses of adventures. And I'd pore over them like they were some secret manuscript. You could watch TV or a movie or a cartoon and enjoy the moments, but you couldn't immerse yourself in the work. Once it happened, it was gone forever. And they had something to offer that books didn't. The images, the best ones, had things prose just couldn't capture. More than just illustrating a moment, there were lines and shapes and splotches and colors that said more to me than just who was where when they did some thing. They said something about a way of seeing the world, a world transformed by the mind and by the hand. I was getting a chance to immerse myself in the way other people did that, something I could only do for an audience of one, with only one person to do it. I think those experiences have stuck with me. Drilled a hole right into my subconscious. Now, every Wednesday, every convention, every time I sit down at the drawing board, those special moments inform the ones I'm still having. They infuse whatever I'm doing and ensure that I think of that time, now, as special. I loved the comics I was reading, and I wanted to take part in that.

That said, me likem comics good time.

INDYPROP: Does the title EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK have any significance to the stories found in your mini comics? If not, where did the title come from?

FOX: After finishing my first story to be published, I started working on a super hero story, of all things. It was about an alien that was trying to invade our planet through the dreams of a cartoonist. His rationale was that, "Earth minds are weak.” Well, the book fell apart about fifteen pages into the inks (as the most frustrating things often do). I then decided to serialize that first story in a minicomics series, but needed a title. That alien's line wouldn't leave me alone. I decided that would be my Eightball, my Giant Monster, my Optic Nerve, my Acme Novelty Library.

I like the way it sounds like something you might've heard turning on the TV on a Saturday afternoon and stumbling upon some strange, old science fiction movie. I also like the way it touched on our culture. We're always being told that we're just not smart enough to understand anything in great detail. Science has gotten pretty far away from actual experience. Religion hides behind mystery. The workplace has become more specialized. Our parents refuse to answer our questions. The news struggles to explain the world. A drunk at the bar declares that all men, or all women, are stupid jerks.

We exhaust an awful lot of time and energy imagining someone smarter than ourselves. Or wishing we'd been as smart five minutes ago, when it mattered, as we are now. When you make a comic, you get to offer that witty rejoinder exactly when you wish you had, or take the time to explore those questions we can't answer right away.

What does it have to do with the stories? Well (despite what one indignant man thought when he read the title, "Earth Minds Are Weak? What makes you think you're better than us?!"), the title is about my own struggle. My own inability to make the comics I want to make. About playing with the form and storytelling to push myself where I want to go. To paraphrase someone smarter than me, making art isn't about shining a light at the end of some darkened cave to lead us all to safety; it's about feeling our own way out, inch by inch. The title is a reminder to myself, that no matter how good I think this page, this panel is, I'll hate it tomorrow and need to make the next one better.

INDYPROP: The three minis in EARTH MINDS ARE WEAK #7 are of three different formats. How do you decide on the format for each story and what thoughts go into this process?

FOX: When I start writing a book, I write it (and I 'write' in cartooning) at the size I plan to make the book. Usually, when the idea starts to strike me, however that bit of inspiration happens to come, I have an idea of how I want the reader to hold the book I'm thinking about. How close my hands should be to one another, how close the book should be to the eyes, its weight as an object. Is there color in the idea itself? Is there a density to the idea?

With “The Game,” I knew there were going to be a lot of words. So, I knew that it was going to have to be bigger just to accommodate them, even if there weren't going to be a lot of background details or set pieces. I also wanted to catch that thing that happens after people sit around and tell stories. There's a density to the memory. Just trying to hold the stories in your mind, it's hard to keep the telling in there. So, I wanted it to be like a flood with few pauses.

“Remember” was supposed to be smaller at first. A bit more precious, I guess. But the art and lettering kept disappearing on me. While I think it's important that the form match the story, the thing was getting too far up its own ass. I knew the color was there. I knew exactly who this girl was, from the length of her neck to the color of her hair to the way her dress straps fell. She was very real to me, the way a dream feels real when you first wake up. And color, to me, always seems more like something in our minds or dreams than it does in reality. Like it moves a bit slower than the edges of an object might. Maybe I've watched too many TVs with bad reception.

“I Am God” is all about the pause. When that little fragment of a story came to me, it wasn't so much a comic as it was the things that aren't comics. It was about something frozen. Something that was paralyzed. That's why there’s only one panel on each page. It stops the transition between panels. And it felt small. Like something you were forced to have close to you that you could remain a bit detached from.

INDYPROP: I found REMEMBER to be the most stimulating part of issue 7 because it really got me thinking more about memory and I was curious about the genesis and creation of that particular story and wondered if you could speak to that?

FOX: All three stories came from the same place. I was reading Jorge Louis Borges's Collected Fictions on my commute, on my lunch breaks and during any free moment I had. There's something about the way that he writes that made me feel like I had read (or heard) all these stories before. There's a familiarity to his voice and a sense of the inevitable, even when he surprises you.

He writes around violence, its memory. Around these murderers who are no longer around. He writes about liars. And he writes about labyrinths. But he's really constructing these labyrinths. He traps you in the lies of his narrators, and he fools you with their memories. He confronts you with your own memories of your own life: the way you change some details, leave some out and reshape the past. As much as all his stories are about memory, they're also about that other thing. About forgetting.

So, I had his stories in my head (reading so many of them at once is like diving into the tidal wave), and their familiarity was breeding concept. Suddenly, I was 'remembering' stories that I never thought of, that never happened. Mixing with these stories, that came to me fully formed as I thought them, was the realization that they were lies, told by liars. And as I kept telling myself the story that would become “Remember,” there was this lingering thought. I read somewhere that if you really wanted to remember something when you woke up, you should think about it just before going to sleep. Seems like sound advice, but who can recall that moment just before falling asleep? I've never met anyone who could remember those actual last thoughts. And, it seemed to me, that an interesting game to play would be saving those thoughts we most wanted to forget for the moments in between our last memories and our first dreams. But, is it possible to do that? If I think about something as I'm about to fall asleep, it usually keeps me up. And, if you keep trying to save some thought for last, you wind up in Zeno's paradox. You wind up infinitely halving the time between the previous thought and sleep. I think anyone who tried to contemplate that would go completely bonkers.

INDYPROP: What projects are you working on now and when can readers expect to see them?

FOX: I'm working on a new serial called 'Kaiju Jugoruma', starting in Earth Minds Are Weak #8. It's something of a trippy science fiction story. In the first chapter, a man falls out of the sky and lands on the hood of another man's flying car. If EMAW #7 found me working on stories that were fully formed at inception, this one finds me trying to find out 'what it's all about' as I go along. So far, it's been a lot of fun. The new issue should be in stores and online at our store in January.