Saturday, April 25, 2015

A REVIEW of the Linework N.W.

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

Well I have perusing the work of the second day of the Linework N.W. show 2015. And I have a couple things about this show to say.
Its a cool show if you're into the real abstract art and more abstract storyline that accompanies it. It makes look at the work that I had been doing with Johnny Vega, Corrax the Seeker and Corpse Cop look like something that crawled out of Precambrian Epoch of comics.
,



I think that it wasn't just the fact that my artwork is all classically illustrated in the way the fifites style of art was being rendered and telling a story. 

There were two people that I met that I thought had some really cool stuff at their table funny thing was that they occupied the same the place two different days 
The first day of the show I met Laura Bifano. She was an artist working in what appeared to be water color and somewhat a cubic/pixlated design on mythological themes. It is unfortunate for me that I didn't have a lot of cash with me but I was able buy a postcard that I liked. 
"Lady and the Unicorn" Copyrighted©Laura Bifano

I didn't want to bogart her time but from what I saw I think she had a strong artistic sense.
You can find more of her work her here.

The following day I came across the same table and found this gentleman named Brett Carville. 
Brett had the brilliant idea of bringing a lamp for his table since Norse Hall wasn't as well lit for a lot of the vendors along the walls there. He also had a comic that grabbed my attention called "The Life of Craig"
As I began to talk to him I realized that this seemed to be his first shot at printing a comic book but the quality and size of this book as well as the design and layout told me volumes that he knew exactly what he was doing. 
"Life of Craig" Copyright©Brett Carville
But again I didn't have the cash to buy this book like I wanted to but asked if had available on line. Soon was what I was told. Of this I look forward to buying it.
Besides that he was a nice guy.

You can find more of his work here.

But most of the books and products that were featured including the titles that I saw were nearly non linear in their telling when you picked up the book. In listening to the creators there I didn't hear the familiar story pitches that I have heard for so many years at other shows. 

Kinda of refreshing in a way. Letting the work speak for itself.

Now non linear is not a bad thing for indies and I am not saying that because these are expressions of these other hard working artists. For me as a collector of comics some of them just didn't hit the mark for me.
Of course dealing with Feds with health insurance has been nothing but a massive attack on my sanity and me poor ol' 40+ brain felt like it was going to implode. So going into the show may have been tainted.

Now this wasn't true of everybody there but close so this next list is what I saw:

1). Lots of hardbound comics. So I guess as an investment for a book you feel like you get your moneys worth unlike what you get when you plunk down 5 bucks for a 34 page book these days.
 Where the hell did you get the printing done at and how much for how many units?

2). Lots of retro looking material. A lot of the design that I was seeing had a feel of the mid fifties to mid sixties flat color design. And a very retro looking cartoon aesthetic to a lot of the work.

3). A lot of flat and lack of highly detailed inking. More like just outline with a lot of flat - almost pastel coloring.

4). Now some of the the other design work there felt like more someone who etches plates for printing(like you would see at a print makers studio) and silk screening processes. Those multi tri fold mini comics were cool.

So there were questions that I had that didn't make a lot of sense as I had understood that each day there would be other vendors for the following day so there would be a brand new batch of creators to see. This was not the case. Vendors such as a Dark Horse, Oni Press and Fanagraphics were there both days. This kinda bugged me but when you are the big money men on the block you know got something there that will appeal to most people (like me) for new projects to look at.

Temperature. This has always been a big issue for shows here in the Northwest. Because you don't really expect that April here would be running into the mid 70's AND with as many people walking around you had to step outside on a regular basis to cool off.

But that was really the only two things that I thought were a little problematic everything else about the show was great I just wish I could have had a part in it.

My girlfriend found a bunch of stuff that she wanted to buy but didn't know where to put it at when she got home.For me to get Black Box into the show I think a few different titles would have to be made to make into the juried show.
I have an idea for one the that might work and it still falls into the Corrax the Seeker redux book (a.k.a "Crow Pilot" OR a variation of
Weird Atomic Tales) I wanta do the other is getting Richard Parker completely done.  One idea is to use the retro concept of the fifties robots as one main idea after Richard Parker is completed.



sites as well.
Etsy
And of course I still have my comics that I have worked on here at Indyplanet.

And mind you there is website
and the facebook page 

The Website also has some new stuff added for the comic books featuring Corpse Cop.

 And with that this kid is outta of here I got work to do. 
 
posted from Bloggeroid

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Closer to an Old Show - so to speak.

Hey there sport fans, Al here with the latest:


Linework NW is coming up this weekend and should be really fun to check out. It is a two day event and I'm not sure if I could make it to both days to see EVERYBODY who made it in (just a little jealous) but one day should be awesome in of itself.
I have found some of the coolest comics there and the price is right for the entry FREE! 

I found this and I really didn't think that I would actually see Dark Horse there but I was pleasantly surprised that I found this there at the show. A fantastic work of both comedy and revenge. If you can get a hold of this book I think you might be happy with your purchase.
 

As I might have said before but I'll say it again this show was done right - mostly.  Unlike the pretense of what a lot of my art buddies have said to me that the cost of admission is sometimes so high (like that of Emerald City Comicon) that the fans have no more money to spend on merchandise. That is a crying shame and adds to the people looking for free swag like business cards because they couldn't afford anything else.


 I only wish that other shows had offered a "open FREE to the public" that I have been part of in the past but I understand that you got to rent spaces and that is usually covered by part of the cost from ticket buyers and a smaller portion of the vendors showing their stuff. 

I know that I had some things that I was bitching about last weeks blog (hence the Soap Box Monkey) and really I think that I was justified in my responses to not getting into the show but I do really hope that this shows stays the same for the reasons I just mentioned above.   


For more on the LInework N.W. Show check out their link from here.

I will give a more detailed view of the show next week.


But aside from that...



The Crypicon Show for 2015 gets closer and closer every day (just like April 15th. So get those taxes done!)

Table layout from 2014
It is only a about a month away from now so I need to plan in advance for new 

1). Business Cards

2). a few new prints based off of the BIG 500 show and Richard Parker.

Corpse Cop #2 "Arctic Wolf"
3). Corpse Cop "Arctic Wolf" will be released! This would be awesome because I really wanted to debut it last year but cost and other things were getting in the way. You can check out he comics here.

Everything else is exactly the same because it DID NOT SELL last year because of the Human Wall of Shame.

SOOOOO..... it will all brand new again. Smiles!

RICHARD PARKER NEWS....

WELL as my solo show grows a little closer all the time and in my own back yard I need to expedite images for that show. For me these images will be great. I am hoping to get larger images printed up from scans so I can really stretch the artistic story canvas of this character. 
I think (along with several others in my inner circle) that Richard Parker may be one of the best illustrative characters I have worked on.

I don't think that they are wrong about that.

Check out these other sites as well.
Etsy
And of course I still have my comics that I have worked on here at Indyplanet.

And mind you there is website
and the facebook page 

The Website also has some new stuff added for the comic books featuring Corpse Cop.

 And with that this kid is outta of here I got work to do. 
 
posted from Bloggeroid

Sunday, April 12, 2015

As May gets closer


Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

Well now now as things begin to settle down a bit for from the move and the ever present taxes being dealt with art knows not when to chime in but always seems to do so as I begin to relax a bit.

As with this evening (April 7 Tuesday evening) not spending time at home, at work or over at my leading lady's place I decided that I would polish off “On Deck with Richard Parker” this evening – along with a glass of stout.

Ah there is nothing like that flavor as you sit back from a piece that had kind of been plaguing me but not nearly as bad the “Prepping Richard Parker” that nearly took three weeks to work on. Though the image is much worthwhile in my opinion it just took way to long to work on. There are shows that I need to be ready for here in the next month or so.

I did get finally get a response to my email about the Linework N.W. show happening here soon here in PDX. But I felt that the main reason that my work wasn't accepted was for two main reasons:

1). There wasn't any sequential art being shown on my website like you would find on most comic illustrators. Now mind you I have been moving away from that field for a while that is no big deal.

2). It (The art work itself) wasn't hip enough for these guys. Again I could be totally wrong about this and I have nothing but the greatest of respect for the way this show went down last year and I am really looking forward to this one but there is a lingering taste in my mouth that is a holdover from the old Stumptown Comics Festival with the click mentality of getting the best placement on the show floor and being really show boaty when your product really is artistically crap and everyone knows it.
I kinda feel that this clique attitude is still running strong here in Portland. It kinda of reminds me of the Anchorman Franchise with competing newsmen.

I am opinionated and won't excuse myself from speaking my mind but UNTIL someone can show me that I am wrong this is what I think of the current independent comic book atmosphere in PDX.

Here is the link if you happen to be in PDX around the 18th and 19th of this month Linework N.W.  or check out Facebook for other info here.

 
OTHER UP COMING SHOWS....
CYRPTICON 2015.
Well I kinda felt that this show was gonna be one of the ones I was gonna bow out of this last year after the miserable response I got from sales and the dealings with my other vendors mates. I thought that was it with this show but then I received a email that addressed my concerns and displeasure of the show as it stood. I was to pissed off at the time to really say what I felt at the time but over a period if time I was able to put my words into a best group complaints and how I was not happy about the show but NOW it's on!
I have to plan the products to take this time around and I will be ready to rock the f'ing house!

OTHER SHOWS..

Of course later this year I have a another show again at NWIPA for the Dive In Art Show.  
 
In September. I do really plan on having a major Richard Parker theme going on for this show as time goes on. Hence the poster design that I have currently for the thumbnail.
With this show I plan to have many more prints ready to go as well as selling what I have for t-shirts that I have of the “Gentle Giant”, comics of Corpse Cop and postcards from last years show of "Robot Monster".
 So you can see I will have a very busy time selling products at only two show this year. I am also looking at the Possibility of having a open table show next year during the local Mississippi Show. I am curious about other shows that are taking place this weekend down in Salem at the Cherry City Comic Show but like I have said before I am trying to step away from these in favor of gallery work and commissions.

Other than that I am pretty much done for now and working on other items of interest.


Check out these other sites as well.
 Etsy
And of course I still have my comics that I have worked on.  
Indyplanet.

And mind you there is website
and the facebook page 

The Website also has some new stuff added for the comic books featuring Corpse Cop.

 And with that this kid is outta of here I got work to do.





Saturday, April 4, 2015

So a few little things...

hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

There was something I forgot to mention from last week's blog - info on the Linework NW show here in PDX.

The word is Black Box Visual Arts and Black Box Comix will not be participating in this event this year. Even though the set up is right I am now getting the feeling that hippisters have more or less taken over the independent
comic market and not letting old school comics show case their telling of stories and characters. If anything these stories that are being portrayed are situational rather than flashy character driven adventure.
This is almost the same feeling I was getting from Stumptown Comic Fest organizers over the last seven years I was attending.
Now as far as I am concerned it is still a great event to attend but it would be better if it represented all of PDX comic creators not just a favored
by jury this is what we would like in because the creators are cool looking avant garde types.
I have over the last couple of months tried to find out why Black Box didn't make the cut. But still no answer to my questions to improve

1) my relationship with the organizers of the show.

2) understanding of the juried show process and what is needed to improve chances of getting in the next year.

3) and whether it is simply because of subject matter OR lack of sequential story telling being shown on the website.

So these are a few things that are bugging me currently about this show.

Personally I still feel the white marker version of Corpse Cop or the detailed scratchboard story book version of Richard Parker is very independent. But hey what do I know ?

That both Richard Parker and Corpse Cop are true independent illustrated, edited and printed and presented by the creator not by some comic shop flunky who could give a rip except for the latest Green Lantern Tie in.

Sorry nothing wrong with the Lanterns or the tie-ins but like a lot of comic nerds I to am polarized by what's cool and what is not.

But if your organizing a show to represent some of best work you need to showcase all genres. and I know my work is good. I know it isn't the greatest but it definitely deserves recognition.

ONTO THE ADVENTURES OF RICHARD PARKER.....
Day 4
Day 3

Taking to the depths for equalizing pressures Richard Parker is moving to the foreground for art production. This is a big deal for me because I want this artwork done for the September show. There are at least 10 9" x12" Richard Parker pieces and and about 4 11" x14" unrelated pieces as well.

The thing is about this work that some other artist might do- skimp on the quality of the detail. With this work there is as much detail placed on these smaller pieces as there is to larger formats.

So as a buyer your getting the same quality as you would from a larger and pricier piece.

OTHER ART WORK....
Forbidden Planet

Man From Planet X
Mad Scientist - Peter Cushing
You've heard me talk about the idea of post cards in the past especially before last years Crypticon  Show well I am still moving towards that but with a different focus than the Halloween stuff. Something that has a much broader appeal. Now one of the biggest changes people are faced with is change. And that's actually covers quiet a bit of territory both in tech, emotional feeling and visual perception.

Metropolis






    That's when lightning struck!
What's not to love?
What did you just say?
Nolstogia.?

[no-stal-jik nuh‐]


adjective
1.
experiencing or exhibiting nostalgia, a sentimental or wistful yearning for the happiness felt in a former place, time, or situation.

That's it! NOSTALGIC.
She looked at me and her face brighten up. You're right!
Nostalgia Bad Ass! OR Bad Ass Nostalgic or B.A.N.
This is the set up for a casual walk I had this weekend when it hit me like a frying pan to the side of the temple. My girlfriend had said the word "nostalgia " in a passing phrase as a way to describe what I had been doing in my rendering of old classic characters that a lot of younger people wouldn't have any clue to what they were. And this word  accurately described what I was trying to accomplish with my artwork.

Check out these other sites as well.
 Etsy
And of course I still have my comics that I have worked on.  
Indyplanet.

And mind you there is website
and the facebook page

 And with that this kid is outta of here I got work to do.