The Next Wave

Well, I'm officially out of the Denton (picture is from the move out; pics of the new place is now dependent on actual furniture and finishing unpacking). It only took two more years than it should have, but here I am with a Dallas address again. Which means I'm closer to the hustle, the bustle, and good food. I miss good Vietnamese/Chinese food, and now it's much closer. Though I recently realized just how close the Freebirds is to the new place; it's going to be the ruin of me. The area is really nice, everything is in close proximity. It has the entire range, from Northpark area and the SMU campus to the Sonic where you can get a burger AND your window washed by a panhandler. What more can you ask for? Well, maybe bigger parking spots. These are TINY. Anyways, for those of you around the 75/Lovers|University area, give me a hollah. Or I will bug you endlessly until we have beers. I want a semi-normal life again.

Well, with the convention circuit that we scheduled, I'm still thinking in seasons/semesters. This summer is going to be gearing up for the fall conventions that we're planning on doing (Dallas Comic-Con, Baltimore-Con, Wizard World Texas). If all goes to plan ::knock on wood::, each of the Studio Kru will have a book or two at the tables. Some of it will be hired work for publishers, some of it will be our own works done via print-on-demand. I think it will be an impressive assortment of books. Hopefully I can get enough paid work to make life a bit easier and less stressful, but not too much to interfere with the projects. Such a delicate balance, it always seem to lean too far one way or the other. Ah well, such is the life of a full time freelancer.

CAPE! Weekend Fallout and Space-Gun Studio Launch

I'm finally settled in from the activities of the weekend, a little tired and a little darker. I don't think I've spent that much time outside is a good long while (probably the last CAPE! show actually.) It was a fun weekend overall, a bit tiring, but really fun. The show had a great vibe and wonderful weather. It was a bit windy at first which was problematic, but as my friend Chad mentioned, why are we complaining about beautiful weather? Yeah we had to tape everything down, but it wasn't anything that big.

CAPE! weekend started with the live art event on Friday. The setup was a bit a bit different with a more stage-like ambiance. Though really good for the artists (there was a long table with their supplies on it), I felt there became a disconnect between the artists and the audience. After attending so many live art events (ArtLoveMagics and even the art show at STAPLE!), having a long table that separated the artist from the audience gave off a bit of an odd vibe. But other than that, it was a great time. The DJ was great at keeping up the energies of the night. I was still hearing his beats the next day at the show. I think having energetic music is really important for a show of that size (which is why i think the STAPLE! show was so good as well). As for the artwork, i think Jason Pearson kind of stole the show for a few of us with his Catwoman piece. A few of us from the Gaijin Studio forums stood behind him and watch him work all evening. Mike Huddleston did some amazing work, this piece was absolutely awesome that made me wish i had more money to spend around. Though everyone did some awesome stuff. I wish we could have stayed until the end, but once 1AM rolled around, we had to crash out with our hour long drive home. The guys were biting at the chomps to get on a board; sadly it didn't work out that way. Next time.

The actual convention on Saturday was pretty awesome. Minus the aforementioned wind, it was pretty manageable. Luckily Evan brought a roll of masking tape, which saved us a bit of trouble. It also kept my badge firmly attached to my chest like a lame version of Tony Stark. I got Robert Kirkman's signature on my sister's Invincible hardback books, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy, funny as well. I had no idea what to say to him besides "I love your work! DUR!". Also, Kristian Donaldson was nice enough to give me one of his new wallets as a graduation gift for her as well. And his friend Chad Thomas did a way cool Harry Potter sketch. I have a good feeling that she would love his art and I'm glad that I was able to get her something from him. She's a big Harry Potter fan, to the point that she sewed an extra pocket into her graduation gown to hide her iPod so she can listen to the audio books during her THREE HOUR graduation. Poor thing, my graduation was like an hour or something.

We were next to David Mack for the day, which was kind of intimidating on my part at least. I'm such a huge fan of his art work, i don't really know what to say to the man. Plus i'm a bit jealous that he still wears his BPRD beenie. I won one at Wizard World Texas a few years ago (which is when i'm assuming he got his), but i had to give it away because it didn't fit me. Anyways, another show in the pocket and a great one to end out the spring shows. We won't be hitting any of the big summer ones, no reason to go spend a lot of money to get lost in the shuffle of bigger names. Plus it'll give us time to work on our individual projects for the fall shows.

Also, check out our new studio website designed by Matthew. It looks pretty slick, i'll post more on that once we get the full site up and running.

CAPE! Pictures
Live Art Event
CAPE! show at Craddock Park

Comic and Pop-culture Expo this Weekend

CAPE! is the Comic and Pop-culture Expo hosted every year by Zeus Comics here in Dallas at Craddock Park. It is held in conjunction with the National Free Comic Book Day, which was created as an effort to bring in new readers and customers to comic shops across the US. Marvel has been taking full advantage of this by releasing their summer movies on the Friday before (Spider-Man 3, Iron Man). It's pretty much a whole weekend of comic books as comic books without the super event feel of conventions. It's about going to the local comic shop and buying comics.

Zeus has turned it into an event here in Dallas with CAPE!. They somehow get in some major hitters to their FREE show. The show is really relaxed and I really enjoy the vibe of it. Also, the night before (Friday), they host a live art auction. This year held again at St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin in Deep Ellum. It's a great event just as a spectator, watching a lot of amazing artist work. Plus all the proceeds goes to the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas.

Also, The Hero Foundry will at a few different locations on Saturday with raffles and such for their great organization. They're about brining comic books and graphic novels to the youths via schools, libraries, hospitals and such. I think it's a great organization and cause, plus the people who run it are great peeps. I did an Iron Man piece for them for their raffle which can be seen here.

And as usual, the Space-Gun Studio Kru will be at hand with our books and new prints. Hopefully it won't rain this year as the event is held outdoors. Last year was fun yet a bit frustrating keeping things dry.

Official Website

Live Art Auction
St. Pete’s Dancing Marlin
2730 Commerce Street
Dallas, TX

CAPE!
Craddock Park
3300 Hawthorne Ave
Dallas, TX

Pictures from last year show: