sketchy sketch

I did get a little doodle time in at Comic Con the other week...

MAKE

Robyn Chapman has launched a new site called Make: Comics About an Intimate Act. Yours truly is thrilled to be one of the first contributors, and I can't wait to see how it all comes out (pun intended?). Robyn is a Xeric-winning comics artist, publisher and professor at the Center for Cartoon Studies in Vermont, known for her meticulously lovely hand-screened mini-comic collections and the True Porn anthologies.

Self-portrait by Robyn Chapman, 

in homage to the great Aline Kominsky-Crumb

Comic Con Crazytown!

Howdy, nerdegades! Just checking in from lovely San Diego where I'm finishing up the best (that is, thee FUNNEST and MOST EPIC) weekend ever at the 36th annual Comic Con International. The brilliant Jennifer Juniper Stratford and I are blogging the con for BUST magazine, which has given us free reign. We've been documenting the tribes and subcultures via photo and doodle of what has now gone beyond mainstream to become the largest event of its kind. It's nothing short of a glorious geek frenzy and I'll share more of my splurges and exploits soon.

Getting jiggy with Luke Cage was only the beginning

pure gold

I was cleaning out my garage and unearthed a folder of drawings and comics I made back in grade school. Here are the least embarrassing of the pile, for your amusement.

First, we have "Jenny & Barnabas," a cartoon about a brother and sister who like to torment each other. From the looks of things, I'm guessing this is from the late 80s when I was reading a lot of Garfield. Please note the dot matrix printer paper: 

Next up, we have a lovely illustration for a junior high fiction series I wanted to write emulating the Babysitter's Club formula. Like many kids who grew up without the interwebs to entertain them, I used to write and illustrate my own stories. This was 1990, so I was 12 or 13. I really wear my influences on my sleeve, huh?

Finally, we have for you a drawing I made  in 1986 at the tender age of 9. The caption reads "The Jones Family, The Box on Fairlane Avenue, Detroit." Classism is learned early on, folks!

exquisite corpse

Earlier this year, my friend Eric and I taught a rad class in Watts called Creature Feature. It was a mixed-media art workshop where the kids created fantastical beasts and non-traditional self-portraits.
One of our biggest triumphs was getting them to collaborate, which we achieved through an exquisite corpse exercise. At first they thought their drawings were ugly, but once they saw them up on the wall they wanted to do it again and again! Photos by Kim Garcia.

Artajah and Jerry experiment on Eric

 

sewing creatures

 

magic hand

 

exquisite corpse

 

this one's a real head-scratcher

 

Tasha and Rontianna chillin'

worms!

sometimes, a panel just works

sneak peak of a 4-page comic  I'm working on

for an upcoming collection published by Robyn Chapman

The Slide

It's finally finished! That is, if I don't revist the color job on it (which I think I should). This is a story I began months ago for Kiyoshi Nakazawa's class thru Blue Rooster & Meltdown Comics. I finally got off my butt and completed it for the first edition of my dear friend Max Kelly's top secret new zine project/publishing collective (print release date TBD this summer) about embarrassing childhood memories. This is based on a true story, and I think it's one of the cutest stories ever. Enjoy!

now hiring: talented colorist

If I had any money, I wouldn't be kidding. Artists like Joseph Lambert and James Kochalka make it look so easy! Even though I've been using Photoshop for over 10 years, I still struggle when it comes to coloring my comics. Maybe I shouldn't be using Web-only colors. Maybe I should create a series of personalized swatch palettes for consistency. Maybe I should hand-paint my comics á la Vanessa Davis. Well, whichever way I decide to go, it's all part of the process.

GCC presents "Concord & Glenwood"

My comics class at Glendale Community College wrapped up on Tuesday and I'm super proud of my students! I had a wonderfully diverse class of all ages and backgrounds, including a storyboard artist, a high school junior and a former member of the Black Panthers.

I wasn't sure how much we could get done in 6 weeks, but as you can see they produced some impressive mini comics. The one on the left with the palm trees is the group's collaborative comic, "Concord & Glenwood" (named for the street corner in front of the school where the class took place). Each student had a spread to show off their work in progress.

Concord & Glenwood

Nobody is Perfect

2.75" x 3.5" mini by OAC

JANE

5.5" x 8.5" mini by Amy D.

2.75" x 2" mini by Heather Combs

Hollywood Zoo

work in progress by Marc Akins

Can't wait 'til the next session starts June 29th. Hopefully the class will continue to be successful, grow and evolve. I'm already dreaming of "Making Comics 2: Electric Boogaloo."

process

For those of you who have never tried it, making comics is a lot of work. You have to write, draw, design, compose, landscape, costume your characters and direct them into action, create emotion, build tension...

For the past couple months, I've been working on a 5-page story called The Slide. It's the first time I've made a traditional comic for print using a grid layout, and it's making my brain throb. I have ONE MORE page left to finish penciling, and it's due on Monday. I know I'm a huge whiner but this is the toughest challenge I've given myself in a long time.

here's the bottom of page 3

Storytelling

I've been working with foster youth in Watts for over a year now, and there are no words for how awesome these kids are. Actually, what am I saying? There's a ton of words...inspiring, hilarious, real...

Every Saturday, they motivate me to be a better teacher. A documentary is being filmed on the program, Peace 4 Kids, and I'll try to share more photos and video as I get them.

Jose and his comic book

Antoine and R-Dog

be careful, kids

logo for my new rock band

2010 goals: doodle more, no computer editing, finish that mini comic, learn to let go...

tell all your friends

diary tunes giveaway

For the past 8 years, the illustrious Robyn Chapman has organized a radsauce exchange called Diary Tunes, a trading club for sentimental music enthusiasts. I have a couple extra mix CDs leftover from my submission, so I'll send 'em to the first two people who give me their snail mail addresses.

teachy teach

I'm teaching a 6-week COMIX CLASS at Glendale Community College starting April 20th. It'll be half studio/half discussion, and totally awesomesauce. There are a teeny handful of comics making classes in Los Angeles, but mine will include some comics history as well as WACKY DRAWING GAMES! Everyone needs something fun and educational to do on a gloomy Spring Tuesday nite, so encourage all your friends to sign up.

the return of the ghetto quickie comic

JD reminded me that i'm long overdue for a new cartoon. he is so right.

mail and stuff

i really like mail. if you send me stuff, i'll send you stuff. i just sent this little guy to one Mr. Billy Vasquez and by golly, he's going to love it.

new direction

I'm taking a quickie weekend comics class with Giant Robot artist and all-around badass Kiyoshi Nakazawa and will be trying something new: all quill & ink, no computer! But first off my goal is to pencil 4 pages by this weekend. Easier said than done when you work at a glacier's pace...literally...I'm freezing, here, kids.