If you were born anytime after 1980, don't expect to get that reference. Bad novelty song from the 70's, that's all you gotta know. But it also alludes to my con appearances from the past month,which I'm here with digital photos in hand to regale you with. So what're we waitin' for? Let's get to regalin'!
Before the cons even went down, I did a "Little Green Men" signing at
Wonderworld Comics in Taylor Michigan in late October. My pal and fellow comic creator Tony Miello set it up for me, and shop owner Dennis Barger hosted the whole sha-bang. Good shop and good people. Here's a pic from that day.
The following weekend was the very first DETROIT FANFARE comic con in Dearborn, Michigan. I had a blast--seated next to the always friendly, funny and phenomenal artist
Guy Davis (creator of the comic
The Marquis and artist on Dark Horse's BPRD comic).
The Devil's Night bash that the con threw was a riot as well. I put on my best Fred Flintstone costume and hung out with some great people. Here I am with Anna Pocalypse creator (and my old CMU college pal)
Adam Talley...
And most significantly, I finally got to celebrate Halloween (albeit a night early) with my sweetie, Laura--seen here in an AWESOME homemade Ramona Flowers costume, from the Scott Pilgrim comic/movie...
The rest of the con was as great as could be. And I ended it with a wonderful post-con dinner with Laura, Guy and his equally awesome fiancee,
Rosemary Van Deuren (whom I seriously regret not getting a photo with--she wore the coolest Liz Sherman costume at the con! That's a Hellboy character, for the unaware--appropriate since Guy draws her in BPRD, y'see!
But the ink was hardly dry on the commissions I drew at Fanfare before I was all packed up for the following weekend and headed down I-75 south with cartoonist Tony Miello, blazing a trail to Mid Ohio Con! This was the view from the terrace on our floor. Much nicer than the standard hotel parking lot views I'm used to...
Here I am at my table--That's
Tony Miello (creator of "Gapo the Clown") hunkered down behind me. It was actually Tony's space, but he brought an extra table for me, and created a non-con approved end booth for me. I'm so indebted to the big lug, I tell ya.
This was a Spider-Man I drew for Tony...
And here was the absolute coolest turn of events in my choosing to come to Mid Ohio--I got to meet one of my idols,
Adam Hughes! If you don't know, Adam is THE cover artist for almost every sexy female superhero that DC comics produces, as well as having sexed up covers for Dark Horse, Marvel and Star wars projects. Adam was a very cool person (in keeping with all the other cool folk I'd met at these cons), and I gave him a Wonder Woman piece I drew, which parodied a famous Wonder Woman cover he drew some years back. Such a great memory....
So that was an excellent capper for my comic con road trips. Since then I've been hard at work, hashing out new pages for the next Little Green men comic (hope you got your hands on the first volume), catching up on commissions and working frantically on a sketch card set for Rittenhouse, called "Marvel: Dangerous Divas", featuring Marvel Comics' various female characters. I have to have 100 of these done, in full color no less, by January, so it's been quite the artistic marathon in my studio thus far.
I've got more cons planned already for the spring and summer, and will let you know about them before too long. In the meantime, this may be the last you hear from me before the holidays hit. So my best and warmest to you and yours this season, and I hope to catch up with you guys soon, if not before the ball drops on Times Square, than certainly soon after, and in the best of circumstances for a bright and wonderful 2011!
Big hugs,
--Jay
