Fan Expo roundup

Another year, another Fan Expo done. It's a huge, exhausting show (as Yanick Paquette told me on Sunday, "It's sixteen days next year,") but there's no other show in Canada that is so front-loaded with talent.

I did quite a lot of sketching (particularly on Friday, which was an insane day) and I remembered to take snaps of most of them.

That's So Kraven!

Kermit and Elmo

 Superman

Wolverine doing a line of coke (!!!)

 Spidey (for the baby!)

 Golden Age Sandman

Nightcrawler

 Krieger from Green Wake

She-Ra

It was a good show for me this year, much better than my last in 2009. I invested quite a bit in promotion this year: I had a banner printed and I made sure I had a lot of books on my table (collections of the first five Green Wake issues sold like hotcakes, particularly on Sunday). I had a good seat in Artist's Alley, which served me better than a booth would have due to an increase in foot traffic. The con was better about mixing up the A-listers than they were in 2009; the amazing Bill Sienkiewicz was in our row which kept a constant flow of new people.

Even if it weren't a great con for making money (it was still my third-best show!) it was fantastic for networking and seeing friends. I took my portfolio to the excellent Scott Chantler to show how much I'd improved in the six years since he gave me my very first portfolio review.

I didn't end up buying much in the way of books, but I can wholeheartedly recommend Jim Zub and Edwin Huang's Skullkickers and Stuart Immonen's fantastic Centifolia II. No trip to Fan Expo is complete without a meet with Stuart and Kathryn Immonen; they have greater smarts and integrity than almost anyone else in comics, and I always feel very fortunate to speak to them.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the excellent folks from Image. Riley Rossmo has been a great friend for years, but it was fantastic to spend time with Scott Kowalchuk and Kurtis Wiebe and to meet the mighty Jim Zubkavich. Everyone from the Image booth was perfectly marvelous and I'm proud of my association with them, however limited it may be.

Thanks so much to everyone who came by the table, who took the time to chat with me, and especially to the fans that bought books or art. You made a tough show a fun show, and I genuinely appreciate all of you. As always, you can find me elsewhere on Tumblr, deviantArt, or my brand-new website KellyTindall.com.

On to the Montreal Con in just three weeks!

Fan Expo in Toronto!

Hey everyone!

I'm stoked as hell for the Toronto Fan Expo, coming up this week. It starts on Thursday at four and goes until Sunday at six. I am located at P060B, next to Wes Craig (and a load-bearing pillar). I'll be under my brand-new banner, you can't miss me.

I will have copies of the full run of Green Wake, Machine of Death, Proof 17, and my mini-comics A Vampire in Montreal and Stink to sell.
 

I will also have original pages from Proof and That's So Kraven! to sell, as well as a portfolio of both 9"x12" drawings and sketchcards. I'll be keeping a sketch list all weekend long. Here's what you can expect from my sketches:

I hope to see you there!

Fan Expo update

I'm not going to be at Fan Expo this year. I had to pull out at the last minute. I will, however, be at the Montreal Comic Con on September 11th and 12th with Trina Johnson (my writer on Kraven!) and my friend Tim Sale.
Here are some sketches I'll have available at Montreal:

This is the sort of thing I do for my con sketches.  If you are interested in any of these (or you'd like a character of your own choosing) then come see me at the show. I hope to see you there.

Webisode Six of That's So Kraven! is online right now. Spiderman takes Kraven to meet his employees, and makes him a most beguiling offer. Stay tuned!

Labour Day

Extra 'u' due to Canadianism. I'll be spending most of the day on Squeak! pages.

I've had a week to chew on Hobbystar Fan Expo '09 this year. Generally a very positive experience, I'd say. The fans were great, the commissions were a lot of fun (I get Hellboy a lot, which makes sense), and sales were surprising. My two regrets: no time to shop on Sunday (so I still don't have a copy of Age of Reptiles 2 AND missed Jeff Lemire completely), and I didn't get a chance to rectify my oversight from last year and buy a piece of art from Eric Talbot.

I did, however, buy a Turtles commission from Jim Lawson. Jim was a hero of mine when I was a kid... The turtles were a massive part of my childhood and Jim was a massive part of the turtles.

Thanks, Jim.

I also bought a Lobster Johnson page from Jason Armstrong, who was the first to welcome me out east and has been a constant source of support and advice. The jewel of the show, bookwise, was Kathryn Immonen and David Lafuentes's wicked Patsy Walker: Hellcat. My wife and I both loved how surreal and crazy and clever it turned out to be. I've also got the most recent Ultimate Spider-Man trade (with Stuart Immonen's tasty artwork) on my nightstand. Kathryn and Stuart both have a tremendous amount of talent, wit, and integrity and it is always a pleasure to speak to either of them. I always wear out my welcome.

Big thanks to Riley and Alex (and their girls and little ones) for coming out east. I miss them both. Other folks for whom credits are due: Cameron Stewart (he's going to have an unbelievable 2010), Ray Fawkes (his growth as an artist embarrasses me with its fullness), Gibson Quarter (a good man to share a table with), and Kim Belair & Rebecca Stacey (for drawing a crowd and preventing me from talking with them for even one second).

Enough of this business. Who else is thinking about Batman today?

Toronto Fan Expo, August 28 - 30th

Big news! Just under the wire, I was able to put together a brand-new 8.5"x11" Archie Snow print for Fan Expo. I am selling a very, very limited quantity... For availability and pricing, email me at kelly at kelly tindall dot com. Do it ASAP, when they're gone, they are gone.

In other news, I am thrilled to be going back to Toronto for the weekend. I love this town!

Fan Expo, roller derby, etc.

I love roller derby! My girl and I went to the finals a couple of weeks ago and saw our new friend Heidi (AKA Beater Pan-Tease) co-captain Les Filles de Roi to the championships! I'm so proud of them. I'm also stoked that there's a team sport I like to watch. It's taken me decades to find one I like!

Congrats, girls!

In other news, I will be at the Toronto Fan Expo this weekend, kicking it with Proof bros Alex Grecian and Riley Rossmo. We will be at tables P56-P57 (by the Rue Morgue section) so come see us and say 'hi'. I can't wait, it's going to be so much fun.

Toronto Fan Expo

Hey hey,

I was in Toronto at the Fan Expo, kicking it with awesome folks like Russ Hironaka, Tim Sale, Scott Chantler, and Cameron Stewart. It was a particular thrill to meet Darwyn "My Portfolio is Worth More Than Your Kidneys" Cooke and new friends like Michael Cho, Stuart & Katherine Immonen, Wes Craig, and Jason Armstrong.

Anyway, here's two sketches I did this weekend for my new pal Jared:

The unnamed mouse/werewolf from Squeak!, my upcoming book with Alex Grecian:



And here's a Captain Jack Sparrow for Jared's Jack-themed sketchbook:



Quite tense to be sharing space in a sketchbook with Tim Sale, Adam Hughes, Jason Latour, Scott Morse, Cameron Stewart, and many many others... But the drawing looks okay, now that I look at it again. Thanks for the scans, Jared!