MICHIGAN COMICS EXHIBITION RECAP!

So the gallery show at EMU was a great success! Loads of people attended and the panel discussion afterwards was fun and informative, probably more so for me than for the audience! But before I get too much into that event, I want to alert you to my next upcoming appearance.

My work will be featured in the Visual Storytelling Exhibition at Gallery Project in downtown Ann Arbor. As before, this show is comics-oriented and filled with the art of comic pros all from over the country. I'll be featuring different works from Dead Duck than what I had in the previous show, and I'll be displaying some preliminary sketches of Dead Duck characters as well as original pages and color prints.

The show goes up on April 15th and closes on May 24th. There will be a reception on Friday, April 17th, which I'll be attending. It's open to the public, and I encourage comic fans or anyone who had to miss the previous show to catch this one if you can. You can get directions at this link: PROJECT GALLERY And there's a parking structure just one block south of the gallery for easy parking. Let me know if you can make it. I'd love to see you there!

Now, a quick recap of last night's Michigan Comics Exhibition.

I was nervous as hell. Thankfully, Laura was there, and as always, was my rock to lean on. There was a wide variety of cartooning represented, from comic strips, editorial comics, underground comics, comic books, caricatures and even photography. I was fortunate to have one fan, Dave Morris, drive up from Ohio to see the show. He'd commissioned me the day before to draw a hula dancing Zombie Chick piece, and I was happy to have it ready for him at the opening.

I was doubly fortunate to have a slew of friends show up to root for me. My cartooning brother-in-arms Evan Shaner, his lovely wife Carla, the ever-adorable Stefanie Din and my best bud, ex-editor and legal backbone, Nick all had my back that night, and I really appreciated it.

Here's me and Nick. Nick's obviously asking me, "Where's my cut?"


Here's me and Laura. Just her standing next to me gives me more class than I'd otherwise have.

The panel discussion was a thrill, but man, I was nervous as all get out. As I sat amongst these cartooning professionals, I worried that I wouldn't have anything to talk about, or that I'd say something stupid. Well, I found plenty to say. Whether or not it was stupid I couldn't tell, but I made people laugh which is always a good feeling. I got to talk to some fans and up and some kids who wanted to know more about the profession, and it meant a lot to me to be able to share and relate with them.

Here we were playing musical chairs right before the discussion.

Me, in a fog amongst my peers.

Me, pretending I know what I'm talking about.

And me looking like a little shit whose up to something. That's my pal Dave Coverly on the far right, who's better at hiding his mischievous nature.

So it was a great experience, and I'm very thankful to have been a part of it. Hopefully some of you who missed it will be able to make the next show this month. But if not, rest assured there will be more photos and a play-by-play in this blog after that show, too!

Much love,

--Jay