SUPER REAL NOTES - WonderWrap

Well the annual aught eight Con to the Wonder was last weekend...
High hopes dashed on the rocks an all that aside, it was a good show (last years all pro sales were back to reality this year for me, but many I talked with said the same, and indeed said those they talked with concurred, so perhaps I wasn't alone).

As ever, it was cool to see returning faces, catch up with friends and acquaintances...

It was also cool to share space with the Gnome crew, Dave Dwonch (writer/artist/creator), and John Williams, aka Super Ugly (cover artist).
Dave, center here, was of course pimping Gnome and doing some slick sketches, mostly for his many fans on the Comic Geek Speak forums. John was doing his first con, with his Super Ugly artbook (which I had to pick up, good stuff), prints, paintings, you name it, all in that inimitable "Ugly" style!

Prepping late into the night Thursday, and only catching 2 hours rest before leaving for an early AM flight, I was tapped by the shows end Friday and crashed.
Saturday the Gnome gang and friends hit some dinner and the Isotope Darwyn Cooke party. We'd done the same last year, but the 'Tope was much more user friendly at that DeMaitais party... when we showed up for tip drinks, comics, art, and networking, the place was comfortably occupied, but within an hour or so it was madness and we had to escape the crowd.
I guess we were there long enough to make the scene though (see side pic from the Newsarama article)... too funny! We were barely there (but long enough for me to put back three Isotope super strength Jack and a tiny bit o Cokes)...

I've said it before, but the Isotope is a great shop, boldly going where others have yet to tread, and worth a look when in the Bay Area!

I did manage to get out my trusty "Friends and Neighbors" sketchbook I take with me on my journeys, where I do just as the name implies, and pass it to friends and neighbors at cons for sketches of either their characters, or mine, often times with humorous mash ups of the two... This time I got it to Dave, who worked up this great Kityana of Super Real, holding "gnome".
I'll try and remember to share these here from now on...

I got a little fanboy thrill (still happens some times) when I realized I was just across an aisle from J Campbell, and had to grab one of his 07 sketchbooks (wanted to get the awesome 10th anniversary oversized Danger Girl print too, but resisted)... It was fun to see some of the sketches he did at the show.

So, another show has flown by, with very little time spent outside my table... some day. Of course, the occasional good costumes go by, including the requisite Star Wars, Spider-Man, etc, but also a great troop of Cobra Commandos... why have I not seen more of those?!? They were cool!!

Coooooooobraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Next up? April and 3 shows, Portland, NYCC, Stumptown, followed by Emerald City 2 weeks later!
Is it April yet??!!

SUPER REAL NOTES - Wondercon Weekend 08

The convention season kicks off for me tomorrow, as I make my third annual journey down the coast to San Francisco Wondercon.

I'll be exhibiting in artist alley Friday thru Sunday in space AA71, alongside my friend Dave Dwonch (creator of the upcoming SRG Presents: Gnome). Stop by and say hello, and check out preview books of Gnome.

I'll also have the entire run of Super Real of course, as well as prints, art, and my brand new 2008 sketchbooks (fresh from the printer). The new book is 32 pages and includes black and white and many color pages of commission work, fan art, pinups, sketches and more! I think it's my best book yet. I'll have those available from the website upon my return.
Wondercon is a fast growing show that packs in a great crowd, and is an enjoyable scaled down version of San Diego Comic Con (by the same organizers). This year, they've got a really great lineup of media guests, including the whole crew from X-Files (promoting the new film), which is quite thrilling for me and the wife!

Very excited and looking forward to it, it should be a great weekend!

SUPER REAL NOTES - 2/19/08

As my focus broadens out from just creating and self publishing Super Real, I'm going to keep the blog as my home for anything pertaining to me, and therefore the Super Real Notes will be more than just notes on Super Real :)

As I've mentioned here recently, I've got two projects going on in addition to Super Real (which is on track for a mid-to late 08 return).

One being the first book I'm publishing outside Super Real, the new OGN line, Super Real Graphics Presents, and it's first offering Gnome. As you recall, Gnome is a 64 page digest sized full color book currently open for orders in the February Previews catalog, by my friend, and swanky comics maestro, Dave Dwonch.
I've just updated the site there, which includes a 9 page preview of the book, and the new limited edition print promo...
Check it out HERE

We're getting free copies of the print to any interested retailers who stock the book, so if your shop does, perhaps they can score one for ya!
Check the LIST or check with your shop! :)

Gnome is a great book, and I can't wait to share it with the comic loving masses!

Second, would be the exciting new world of sketch cards. I'd mentioned being signed up to do sketch cards for the upcoming Marvel Masterpieces 2 set from Upper Deck a ways back, and well, the cards finally showed up today... all 200 of them!
Back when I committed to that many I thought the comp cards, or artist cards (the blank cards they get the artist as part of the payment, to sell or do whatever they like with), were correlated to however many cards you did, but it seems like everyone gets the same 10 cards, regardless. So here I have mountains of cards to move, for the same amount of artist proof cards! (They do also pay a small amount per card)

Just confirmed it looks like those are due back around mid to late April, so over the next 2 months I'll need to work through those (at a pace of 25 per week). We'll see how detailed I get on them. I'll likely do a good percentage of detailed, mid range, and quick. We'll see.
I'll try and post some here to share!

Looks like I'll be having fun picking which Marvel characters to do... all X-Men? Or a full mix? Avengers? FF? All ladies? I'm a Marvel fan going all the way back, so this will be a delight (I hope), alas licesed characters are out, so no Rom etc!

In the meantime, there were plenty of personal sketch cards I did recently and sold on eBay, that you can see in my DeviantArt gallery.

Or, if you're interested in any custom sketch cards, just let me know and I can sell those direct!

And finally, I've got another top secret project I'm working on with many of the folks who've helped on the Super Real specials in the past, that's slowly coming together. As I get the Gnome book further in my rear view mirror, I'll be able to ratchet up the production on that.
It's a lot of fun, and shaping up very well!!!
Can't wait to share!

So, stay tuned in for updates on all of this in the months ahead!
Thanks,
jason!

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Crush Linking

It's Valentines Day, so thought I'd link to a few points of interest out there I'm crushing on right now...
A couple good write ups on the late great Steve Gerber:
THE BEAT
PERMANENT DAMAGE

A new column on BrokenFrontier.com looking at publishing/creating/starting out in comics, with the first installment on about the different options to take a book:
Delusions of Grandeur
This one looks worth following, either if you think about going this route, or wonder what's involved.

There looks like a cool new pulp inspired book, stocked to the gills with talented industry creators coming soon, as previewed in this weeks Lying In The Gutters:
Five Color Comics

And last but not least, potentially good news for Flash Gordon fans, a new publishing upstart, Ardden Entertainment, co-helmed by Rich Emms formerly of Markosia and AP Comics, has obtained a license to produce new comics based on the property, that look to take inspiration for the serials, with their own spin on it:
Newsarama feature
We'll see, we all know how the SCI-FI TV series turned out... It does look like they might have something in time for New York Comic Con, so cool! I'll be there, and will check it out!!
Here's hoping!!!

And then of course, the news that the new Clone Wars CG animated TV show will bow in movie theaters this August!!!

R.I.P.

What a heavy 24 hours.

First Roy Scheider, now Gerber?!?

Scheider, was 70, and although he strikes a cord, with Jaws being the biggest pop culture thing to come along pre-Star Wars in my world, I'd always enjoyed him as an actor, but can't count too many big impact works post Jaws. That said, I really liked him in those movies, and you know, he was the hero, he saved me and others from those damn monstrous fish time and again. It stings.

But Steve Gerber?!?

The man was only 60 years old.
What a shame.

Howard the Duck is one of the biggest influences on me as a fan and creator of comics. I collected every issue of ol Howard, and really was inspired by the offbeat nature of his stories and characters, that was 100% the uniqueness Gerber brought to the book. His character. His creation.

I've enjoyed other works of his career too, I never missed an episode of GI Joe back in the day, and he was a writer and story editor for the show. I also really enjoyed his mid 90's vertigo series, Nevada. And only upon reading about his passing, did I realize the man created one of my favorite cartoons, Thundarr the Barbarian!!

It's a shame a man so creative, and able to offer so much to so many, was ultimately shorted in his public creative struggles with Marvel over Howard the Duck, and now in the battle for his very life, at quite a young age.
He's barely older than my own father...
I'm truly saddened.

I can't help but reflect on his words, reading time and again, how he'd press for creators to stop seeking to work on other's characters, and come up with their own, and leave their own mark. Well he did, and I'll keep striving...