The show started late at approximately 8:20. I arrived close to 8:00 which made the wait less excruciating. My original ticket had me on the second balcony, but due to the size of Bass Concert Hall they had me sitting on the first floor in the very back of the theater. I snapped a quick pic with by digital camera of the stage, but was promptly told that no flash photography was allowed. According to the program and the people around me, the show was scheduled for an hour with a half hour for questions.

From the announcer’s voice, R. Crumb’s work “shattered boundaries, high, low, and in between.” To me, the eloquent way in which the voice pitched him was an interesting contrast to the trippy, exaggerated style Crumb seems to be depicting in the majority of his work. It was obvious he was promoting his new work at the talk. His latest piece, “The book of Genesis” faithfully renders the entire peice of the bible in his now familiar style.

Both Art and Robert were asked many questions about their early work, their experiences working for Tops Bubble Gum company (Art) and American Greetings (Robert), then ventured into topics ranging from early influences to where they saw their work headed in the future.

A man in the audience asked what Crumb’s favorite music was, and he responded by saying jazz vocalist Geeshie Wiley, who produced two records in the twenties. Another visitor shared with the crowd that he drove five hours to get an autograph and pressured both of them into signing his comic by standing up during the entire Q&A section. Crumb was the first to cave, then Art followed. Art was asked about what he thought about the idea of doing comics on the web. His answer was that he loves paper and the process of printing.

“The same way comics were strips printed in the newspaper then brought over to the traditinal comic format, the comics on screen will eventially lead to their own grammer that will eventually take over on the web.” - Art Spiegelman

Crumb revealed that he is a self-taught musician. He started playing ukulele at an early age. Someone commented that Noah’s sons look like Moe, Larry, and Curly in his most recent work and asked if was that intentional. His response was that he didn’t want people looking for little jokes in his work, therefore no, he didn’t intend for there to be any hidden meaning. He went on to say that his goal was to not alter or edit the language from the original in the comic, which made for a longer than expected piece.

The talk went on past the allotted time. It was very interesting to hear each artist convey their take on the power of comics as a medium. I learned quite a bit about each artist’s influences and how forbidden images can open the eyes of the viewer. Upon reflection, I was pleased I chose to attend the event and felt there were some good lessons learned from these two that can be applied to my current work.

“Failing Successfully” touches on the idea of having some contingency plans in place should your lofty goals fall short, whereas Producing “Local Heroes” focuses on Kieth Quinn’s process of creating his comic, website, and artwork. Listen to the latest podcast here:

Listen to the latest podcast through Talkshoe:

Or download it from iTunes

Comic-Con: First Day (Thursday)

This was my first Trip to San Diego and the first to see the convention center. While the facility itself is beautiful with several courtyards and balconies overlooking Embarcadero Marina Park, getting anywhere near the building took some time. We first tried to drive up to the entrance, but realized quickly that it was too crowded to even attempt it. Instead, my brother dropped me off several blocks away and I walked. This enabled him to escape the insane traffic jam that had formed and gave me a little more flexibility to maneuver through the crowd. While I had planned for him to come with us, our recent experience with getting tickets online from an individual selling them was a complete nightmare. I will save the details of that story for another post. Suffice to say he had other plans while I was attending.

The plan was to meet up with Keith, my Part-Time Comics podcast partner and pass procurer, once I arrived. Although I reviewed the map and had what I thought was a good understanding of scale, I underestimated how large the place was. It took 15 minutes to finally get together and get situated at the table. Keith had reserved a table in Artist’s Alley for himself and another friend of his that couldn’t attend. Luckily for me, he had an extra pass and all it took was coordinating with the event organizers to get my name on the list. Keith spent the majority of time at his booth with me relieving him two or three times during the day. While he had all three of his titles available for sale, he was gracious enough to allow me a small space to stack the limited numbers of Brawn books I had brought.

The first chance I got to explore was an absolute blast. The biggest comic convention I had been to prior to this was Staple! Independent Media Expo in Austin, Texas. In addition, I had attended SXSW Interactive for years, as well as other educational conferences and events. None of my previous experiences could have prepared me for the wall-to-wall people at this event. Comic-Con was by far the biggest I had experienced, and as one fan described it, “it’s the Superbowl of conventions.” It took me all afternoon on Thursday just to get half way through the trade show area. During that time, I saw an amazing array of costumed folks socializing with the artists, vendors, and celebrities who where there.

The evening festivities included Keith and I meeting up with my brother for some drinks at Yard House, a local brew pub near one of the hotels. The food was excellent as well as the beer selection. The restaurant had a nice ambiance - slightly upscale without being too pretentious. After that, we walked Keith back to his place, then headed off to our hotel.

Second Day (Friday)

I got up early Friday morning and hit the buffet at the hotel. I knew I’d need to fill up considering the limited options at the convention center. As we experienced Thursday in trying to get some lunch, the fare ranged from $5 hot dogs to $3.75 cokes - not my idea of fine dining. I made sure I packed a lot of granola bars, water, and comfortable walking shoes for the day ahead of me. After filling my backpack with comics, posters, and giveaways the first afternoon, I made sure to empty it for the second days events. I wandered around for a bit at the opening, then took my turn at the table. It was really interesting talking to the variety of people that approached us with questions. Most were there to see the big names from Marvel, DC, Image, Wild Storm, Dark Horse, etc., but they were eager to talk and/or get a quick sketch done. One grad student even asked if we used Deviant Art to present any of our work. Apparently it was for a paper he was writing, so I shared with him my limited experience of uploading personal illustrations to the service. We also had people asking to share their portfolio, listen to their music, and even drop off samples from other booths. The day concluded with the three of us hitting the House of Blues for some music and dinner.

Third Day (Saturday)

The final day (for me anyway) was a short one. I made sure to substitute for Keith early, as I wasn’t going to be there all afternoon. Although Comic-Con goes on through Sunday, my brother and I had planned on heading back to make sure we caught some of the sights in L.A. before I headed back to Austin. We ate at some really great restaurants including Bright Spot and Fred 66. My brother was a great tour guide and took me to the observatory overlooking he city, the Hollywood star walk, and to the Arc Light theatre to see the Hangover. The Arc Light is known for it’s spacious seating and optimal movie experience, for which it didn’t disappoint. I left Sunday afternoon feeling as though I could’ve spent another three days in L.A.

Aftermath

All-in-all, it was a great trip and I’d definitely like to go back next year. Next time, I’ll be more patient waiting in line for autographs and simply decide to go as a fan rather than a vendor. While I actually bartered a few comics during the event, I didn’t sell any of the 6 comics I brought. Some of the panels I had a chance to attend were informative, including How to Market your Indie Comic and another on podcasting. One of the more amazing things was seeing people actively expressing themselves by dressing up in their favorite hero costumes. Celebrity sightings included Lou Ferigno, Leonard Nemoy, Kevin Sorbo, Jon Favreau, Amanda Palmer, and others. Despite the crowds, it was a wonderful experience I hope to be a part of next year.

The library was divided up into several different areas of interest. To the right of the entrance was the cosplay and comic dealer areas. Just past the parent lounge area in front of the windows, many participants were sharing fabric swatches while the adults were showing them how to put together their creations on two sewing machines. Not being familiar with the whole cosplay thing (essentially what fans call the art of dressing up as their favorite manga or animated character), seeing young and old alike as excited about their favorite characters was a pleasant surprise. Not very many things can foster as much passion for its characters as much as this genre can, which felt very similar to traditional comic conventions.

Representatives from Dragon’s Lair were on hand, offering a chance to win a free $25 gift certificate for attendees who were willing to roll the dice and see what they had won. They had brought close to a dozen individual stacks of free comic books on display on the adjacent table, many left over from the free comic day event which had happened this past May.

Cosplay Contest and Other Events

One of the highlights of the event was the Cosplay Contest over in the main stage area. Following some anime and manga trivia, the participants lined up along one wall and were allowed to show their creations to the entire group. This fostered a lot of camaraderie amongst the kids and it looked like they really enjoyed it. Every character from Sailor Moon to Full Metal Alchemist to Cowboy Bebop was represented. We even saw a few non-anime/manga characters such as Mario and others. While not participating directly, many of the library staff members were dressed in full costume as well.

As we meandered around the rest of the library, there were several other stations for which participants could enjoy. The library displayed their extensive selection of Anime DVDs and Manga comics, along with student artwork, an arts and crafts area, gaming room (for guitar hero and old school Mario games), and tabletop gaming areas. Gurren Lagann was being projected on the big screen in the juvenile book area. There were several people crowded around on beanbag chairs watching.

Behind the kids playing Magic the Gathering was the Workshops area. We arrived at the very tail end of Manga Artist Rivkah displaying some of her pencil and ink artwork to a group of teens. I was interested in talking with her after her workshop was over as I had the opportunity to listen to her panel on “Online Comic Books: The Future of Graphic Novels” during a South By Southwest panel earlier in the year, but unfortunately she was preoccupied with fans for the majority of the evening. Because of this, I wasn’t able to follow up with her on user interfaces for online comics (next time, we’ll have to get there earlier).

Summary

Although the event lasted from 6pm until midnight, we ended up leaving a little after 9:30. I went in not knowing much about anime, cosplay, and the public library’s offerings to its younger audience, but I left having a better sense of the devotion the fans have to their genre. By hosting an event like this, the library has proven their willingness to meet the demands of hungry manga & anime fans. In addition, the support from local businesses and the community really made the event a success. I’m looking forward to further comic-inspired events put on by the Austin Public Library. If this is any indication of how well community can foster growth in and around an industry, I’m excited for the future.

Part-Time Comics, Episode 1 (06/10/09)

Topics include processes, marketing, influences, and printing techniques, as well as structure & layout and preparing for comic conventions.

UPDATE: In addition to TalkShoe, this podcast now available on iTunes. Press release available in our Press section.

Plan of attack

I was intent on figuring out which places I would hit first. I needed to coordinate opening times, distance from my house, and if they were in route to meeting my wife for lunch in the early afternoon. I decided on five places in the immediate area listed on the Free Comics Day web page: Rogue’s Gallery, Hastings, Capstone Comics, Dragon’s Lair Comics, and finally, my old stomping ground, Austin Books.

First stop: Capstone

I called around and figured out that Capstone Comics was the most convenient to my home and opened an hour earlier than the rest. Upon arriving at the shop close to 9:30, I immediately noticed a crowd of people hanging out in front perusing many of the back issues Capstone had on display. This was a nice touch since it was separate and removed from their free comics offerings, but presented in a way that facilitated people purchasing older comics should they have an interest. One of the most impressive things about Capstone, aside from their life-sized Iron Man suit prominently displayed in the store, is their selection of statues and busts for sale. They’ve got several display cases devoted to their wide variety of wares and there were plenty of staff on hand to assist. There were artists rendering free illustrations and several promotional offers that were well orchestrated to coincide with the event. The owner did a great job of creating a buzz around his store and it felt like a place I could have  hung out at for a long time. After I reached the five comic limit, I decided it was time for me to move onto the next place.

Hastings Comics?

I wasn’t really familiar with Hastings until I saw them listed as a vendor on the website. After stopping by and seeing the limited selection and presentation of their comic offerings, I realized Hastings is a business who hasn’t really decided what it wants to be. Is it a book store or a movie rental place? Is it a quickie mart or a music store? One could say all of the above if you were to visit them. They are similar to Barnes and Noble or Borders in that they’re primarily about books and music, but they also have movie rentals in addition to a slushy machine in the front of the store in which the cashiers dispense cups from behind the counter upon purchasing. The front table next to the door where they had the free comics wasn’t very well looked after. It wasn’t difficult to meet their four comic limit simply for the fact that they only had four to six titles on display. Compare this to the dozens of books available at other establishments. Unlike traditional comics shops, I had to get a receipt for my comics at the register even though no money was exchanged. The sales person said this was for inventory purposes, but I question that rationale since so many others didn’t employ this technique. On to my next stop…

Rogue’s Gallery

In contrast to the lack of attention the comics received at Hastings, Rogue’s was full of interesting and knowledgeable people from comics enthusiasts dressed up as superheroes, to actual comic writers and artists who were more than willing to talk about their work. While the limit on comics was only four, I had fun talking to the folks there, even getting an autograph from Alan J. Porter, the writer of Disney’s Cars comic. Writer and artist Thom Zahler was at the same table, sketching out characters from his book Love and Capes. I hung out for a bit, then decided that the good number of people waiting to speak to creators was going to limit me if I wanted to get to some of my other destinations, so I moved on. Rogue’s was new to me and I was happy I stopped in.

Into the Lair

One of the larger shops in the area, Dragon’s Lair was my next stop. Always accommodating to their patrons, DL has a nice mix of hard core enthusiasts in addition to regular gamers, and casual collectors perusing their isles of games, memorabilia, pewter figures, etc.. In addition to its size, they had tables set up for gaming. Card based games were located to the left of the register, whereas the more elaborate fair (including some amazing playscapes, models, and figures) was relegated to the back room. They had representatives selling their items at various tables throughout the store and even offered visitors free drinks for stopping by. I had seen several people I recognized from my Staple! experience in March and felt comfortable there. The limit for comics here was five, however the refreshments made up for any disappointments there.

Get in line

My last destination was Austin Books. They had the biggest line by far, but were very accommodating to the folks that were waiting. In addition to having what equates to a carnival barker come around periodically and explain how the event would work, the manager was a constant presence, checking in with his regulars and making sure everyone was having a good time. It really felt like a true event and even had a velvet rope separating the street from the group of people wrapping around the building waiting for their fill of comics. There were groups of people dressed up, more so than any other venue. After patrons received their comics they could either have staff hold them while they shopped around or just take them home from there. I decided to stay around and speak to the celebrity from Who Wants to be a Superhero? who went by the name “The Defuser.” After sharing his experiences with the rest of the cast, he mentioned he was raising money for Breast Cancer Awareness. After getting an autographed photo and donating to the cause, I decided to call it a day. I had my ten comics and autograph, plus the other comics I had collected throughout the morning. What more did I need?

All in all, it was a great event that made for a nice prerequisite to seeing the new Wolverine movie at the Alamo Drafthouse that afternoon. With the amount of comics I collected from each place, I will have plenty to share with my Elementary aged students I mentor. While many of them were just promotional material for existing series, some, like the TMNT reprint and the Avengers comic, were stories that could stand on their own with minimal investment.

Although I got some great feedback on our first issue of Brawn last year, I went in with only an additional “Sampler” promotional piece which included the cover of the next issue. While I was happy with everything I sold, as an owner it’s important to be realistic about what your goals are in attending any conference, including this one. While selling merchandise is nice, the convention scene seems to be more about connecting with your audience and meeting new potential fans. It hadn’t really identified that until my second year. I guess when you’ve got your baby sitting on the table you want everyone to show the same excitement that you have for your product. Those things take time. One of the things I’m most proud of is that we now have over 100 people signed up on our mailing list and are adding more all the time. Many had asked when the next issue was due to arrive and all I can say is that it is in the works.

I appreciated every opportunity to interact with people who approached me. The most rewarding thing for me was when someone asked for information about the character and I gave him my 30 second elevator pitch. The “you sold me” response afterward made it all worth it. This year, it wasn’t about selling more books, although I did sell a few more. It seemed to be about reconnecting with people who had either had seen it last year or were walking by and had an interest.

Thanks for everyone’s support in going forward on this. If you haven’t had a chance to see the latest Gray Matter, Cranium’s newsletter, feel free to take a look at that as well. We’ve got a couple fun and exciting projects that we hope to get people involved in, so look for those shortly. Until then, I look forward to hearing some of your feedback on our efforts thus far. Feel free to let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see on the site as well.

1. What first drew you to wanting to write a graphic novel?

   BC: I started to really get into comics in junior high and have always been interested in writing, whether it be short stories, novels, graphic novels, etc….My writing style can be a little over-the-top sometimes and I think comics and graphic novels allow you more creative license than other outlets do….a graphic novel made the most sense to me because it allowed me to write about the things I wanted to write about in the way I wanted to write about them….

2. What was the inspiration Behind the character Brawn?

   BC: For some reason I like the idea of bad things happening to good people and vice versa…humans have always had this overwhelming need to know WHY a specific event happened…we need to be able to understand it and explain it so we can be at peace with it….however, sometimes getting to a point where we can be at peace with the ‘WHY’ of something can be an emotional and physically painful journey….So it was this journey that we all go through at some point that got me putting pen to paper for the Brawn story….Sam Ross is generally a good person but he’s been dealt a shitty hand and made some bad decisions along the way, so now we get to see where his journey will take him and how he deals with it along the way….

3. Why do you feel the story is so compelling?

   BC: I think the whole idea of bad things happening to good people is something most people can relate to….I tried to show bits and pieces of Sam’s good side in the story so the readers could develop an emotional bond with him and sympathize with what he’s going through…the other interesting part of the story, to me, is to see how Sam handles his new-found power and what he chooses to use it for….It’s not necesarily an original idea (i.e. “with great power comes great responsibility”), but i think it’s still interesting and relevant….

4. Do you think there will always be a boundary between graphic novels (comics) & pros novels (regular books)?

   BC: I hope so…personally, i think the boundary between the two is good…they do their thing, and we do ours….

5. With so many movies coming out now based on comics, where do you see the industry headed?

   BC: the smartest thing the comic industry could’ve done was tie itself to movies….in my opinion, the movies that are based on comics are resurrecting Hollywood….Look at the money these comic-based movies are pulling in…sure, some have been busts (Hello Daredevil), but the majority of them are taking in a ton of money and putting comics and the characters into the mainstream….When i was growing up, comics were something only the nerds read…and you always had to make sure nobody you knew saw you buying them…with the popularity of the comic-based movies of the last several years, i see it having a very positive affect on the comic industry….

6. Who were the writers that influenced your work the most?

   BC: Hmmmm, I would say Robert R. McCammon is the single biggest influence….He’s a fiction novelist and he’s great at painting very descriptive imagery with his words….he also comes up with some awesome one-liners….If you ever get the chance, check out “The Wolf’s Hour”, “Stinger”, and “Swan Song”….descriptive imagery and and great one-liners are the two things that, I hope, describe the writing in Brawn…..

7. What aspects of storytelling do you feel are better represented in comic book format?

   BC: By being able to tie words to art/graphics, I think the format is a great way to write emotionally charged stories….To be honest, I think you have to be a truly great writer to be able to get your points across using only words….You have to rely on the reader to take in your words, draw a mental picture based on their perception/personal experience and then turn that into an interpretation of the story….Again, I think you have to be a great writer to be able to write in such a way that enables the reader to get what you’re trying to say….in comics, you can rely on the artist to enhance your words and make them more powerful and easier to understand….Obviously, fight scenes are also much more powerful when depicted visually….there are only so many ways you can write “he punched him and then he kicked him”…..it gets pretty tiresome for the reader….

8. Why did it take so long from your initial conception of the story to actually getting it published?

   BC: Several reasons: life, time, confidence, money, desire, know-how…..I certainly can’t take any credit for getting it published…i just provided the story….

9. Who would play Brawn in the big screen adaptation of the character?

   BC: I could see Michael Chiklis playing him…i think he’d be a much better match for Brawn than he was for the Thing…Maybe Bruce Willis since he’s got the nose and the tough, brooding manner but he’d have to put on some weight….

10. If you could have any one superpower, what would it be?

    BC: Man I’ve thought about this many, many times…unfortunately, I always get bogged down in the negative impacts of a certain power….I’d like to be able to read minds, but do I really want to know what people are thinking? and then there’s flight…but what can i really do with flight? where am I going to fly?? Super strength would be awesome but then I worry that I’d crush a bottle everytime I picked one up or squirt all of the toothpaste out of the tube…Wolverine-like powers would be cool…It’s hard to see a down-side to super fast healing and unbreakable bones…although the claws could become a problem…..

Brandon is currently consulting on future Brawn releases. Future interviews will include artist, Atula Siriwardane and creative director Anthony Rezendes.Stay tuned!

“Austin Books has always been one of my favorite stops in the Austin area,” Anthony Rezendes, one of the founders of Cranium Comics, said. “I’ve been impressed with their efforts of supporting the independent aspects of the industry, not to mention offering the best section of graphic novels, toys, and latest issues. They seem to maintain a good sense of humor about themselves as well.”

Double-entendre aside, their newsletter tagline “we’ve got issues” is accurate, with many of the shelves showcasing the variety and breadth of the store’s inventory. The indie comics section is just left of the giant hulk sculpture on the north side of the building and is one of the more well stocked in the area. If you’re heading downtown, make sure to stop by and check out their great selection of back-issues, t-shirts, and books. They also sponsor several events throughout the year as well including a comic “garage sale” and various artist signings.

They’re open every day, so head on in and grab the first issue of Brawn today!