Montreal Comic Con roundup

Another Montreal Comic Con has come and gone. The show has ballooned from less than a thousand people only a couple of years ago to something like 20,000 people. That's great for the city and the show itself, but I definitely felt the growing pains this year. Sales were lower than last year, which were lower than the year before that. I think the show is entering that comfortable sweet spot for bigger guests, but it's becoming less profitable for fellows like myself.

Here's a sample of the sketches that kept me busy all weekend. Thanks to everyone that came out to see me and pick up some comics, pages, and sketches from me.

 Spoiler Robin

 

Spider-Man

 

Solid Snake 

 

The Spectre

  

Batman Beyond 

 

Shepard (from Mass Effect) Gangnam Style

The Spectre

Ariel (from Green Wake)

Speaking of Green Wake... Kurtis Wiebe won the Shuster Award for Best Writer on Saturday night! Since Kurtis couldn't be at the show, I accepted on his behalf. Very proud of him and very proud of the book.

Other highlights of the show included the three panels I did on Saturday; my own panel on Making Comics (the class I teach at Syn Studio), the Elephantmen panel with my excellent friend Richard Starkings, and the Ben Templesmith panel. Ben is a tremendously clever and fun guy, I had a great time chatting with him all weekend. I also had the great pleasure of meeting the tremendously talented Mark Chiarello and seeing the unlettered, uncoloured pages from Hellboy in Hell #1 (thanks to Christine and Mike Mignola for such an honor). I spent a bit of time with Darwyn Cooke and he told me some good news about upcoming Parker projects. Very exciting.

Back to business! Bedlam #1 is on its way and I'm supplying the letters for it. It's some of Riley's best work yet and I can't wait until its unleashed on the world.

Montreal Comic Con & Comics Alliance

First up, a big 'thank you' to Lauren Davis at Comics Alliance: she wrote a very complimentary article about my work on September 1st. The article can be read here. I am flattered and amazed that one of my favorite sites about comics took the time to talk about what I do. Thanks again, Comics Alliance!

I am a guest of the Montreal Comic Con again this year. This has been my go-to show for the last four years; Montreal is my home now and it's been amazing to see the show go from a couple thousand people at most to the media event it has become.

If you are interested in tracking me down at the show, here's how to find me:

I will be at table 1710, next to the intimidating Mark Chiarello. I will also be at two panels: I am running one myself called Making Comics (Saturday, 11 AM) which will be about making your own minicomics, and I will be moderating the Elephantmen panel with the marvelous Richard Starkings at 4 PM on Saturday. Don't miss 'em, there are a lot of surprises in store.

I will be selling minicomics, comics, trade paperbacks, and doing sketches in varying sizes. I will also have a unique item this year: if you purchase something from me, you will get a card with a website and a password on it. This combination will allow you to download and unlock a pdf with a brand-new 8-page Archie Snow story! I completed the story a while ago for an ill-fated anthology, and it has sat on the shelf for long enough. I am doing a Montreal Comic Con exclusive cover for the PDF: this will not be made available again after the show and I am limiting the cards to only two hundred and fifty.

Here is a sneak peak of the exclusive cover:

Come early, I will not be reserving these. When they are gone, they are gone.

Hope to see you at the show!

Venom

Here's a Venom I drew at the Montreal Mini ComicCon last weekend. He's got to be one of the easiest villains to draw, he's doesn't really have a face. Looks kind of like a Mexican wrestler crossed with a dinosaur, I can see why kids like him so much. I've always thought of him as Spider-Man's old pants, but I still love him.

The new Venom series by Rick Remender (and a raft of artists including my good buddy Tom Fowler) is great, by the way. If you're not reading it, it's got a nice mix of crazy alien monster action and heartfelt human emotions. The human half of Venom, Flash Thompson, is a total trainwreck of a human being and it is glorious to read.

Montreal Comic Con roundup

Fan Expo, then two weeks on the road visiting family, then the Montreal Con! Whew!

Well, growing pains notwithstanding, the 2011 Montreal Comic Con was a fantastic show. I was busy nearly the entire show, and here's a few of the thirty or so sketches I did to show for it.

The Batman

Glob Herman  (on a date)

Venom

 Red Sonja

 Kratos sketchcard

 Red Lantern Hal Jordan (this kid's totally sweet name: Merlin)

 A wedding drawing

 Cheetah (running faster than Horse)

Hellboy (I love drawing Hellboy)

 And a caricature! A lot of people thought 'head sketch' meant 'caricature', and since I worked as a pro caricaturist in Calgary for six years it was not hard for me to get back into the groove.

The show was a lot of fun; I was seated next to the marvelous Tom Fowler so I was never bored, and I had the extreme pleasure of chatting with Sergio Aragones for a few minutes. Sergio is a hero of mine, one of the greatest cartoonists ever and a jolly fellow, and I did my best not to flip out while we spoke.

It was also lovely to see the great Stan Sakai for a moment, and getting to meet the legendary Diana Schutz and chat with her for awhile. Other friends such as Yanick Paquette and Ty Templeton also made things a lot of fun. Geez, I have a good time at this show. Thanks, everyone!

In other news:

• I am teaching a class on comic-book storytelling at Syn Studio here in Montreal. Classes run for ten weeks (Thursdays from 6:30-9:30) and start on September 29th, if you're interested get in touch with the gallery: http://www.galeriesynesthesie.com/

• As always, my weekly webcomic That's So Kraven! updates every Wednesday.

• Green Wake, the fantastic horror series I letter for Image/Shadowline, has a trade paperback coming out this Wednesday! It collects the first five issues and it's gorgeous. I can't wait for you to read it, and keep your eyes peeled for Green Wake #6, coming in October.

Montreal con roundup

Monday arrives like a boot to the face!

The Montreal mini-con held on Sunday was O.K., not fantastic. Lots of regulars but not a lot of new fans. It's always a good show for me, but the crowds were much more interested in browsing than buying. Had a great time chatting with Tom Fowler; he's a fantastic talent and a great guy to chat with. Good to meet Marcus To, as well; no time to talk with him but he seems like a pleasant cat.

Some sketches from the show:

Sandman

Death's Head/ The Engineer from Team Fortress 2 (probably the most random thing I've ever drawn)

Gambit playing poker with dogs

Dazzler ruining a funeral

The Scarecrow

And Nikola Tesla, everyone's favorite scientist

Thanks again, everyone. More soon.

A Vampire in Montreal at the Montreal Comic Con

It really does feel like this year has rushed past at a blistering pace, doesn't it?

I will be a guest of The Montreal Comic Con this coming Sunday on December 5th. I will be selling prints and mini-comics as well as doing commissions and head sketches. As a special promotion, the first hundred guests through the door get a free copy of my new mini-comic, A Vampire in Montreal. I will also have copies for sale at my table.

 

Since Christmas is coming, I'll have a bunch of stuff on special so come by the table and see me.

Here's a birthday card I drew for my dear friend Rich. He's like me, a big Venom fan, and he's also got a great collection of artwork called 'The Boy with the Red Umbrella'. I supplied him with a drawing for that collection two years ago. Happy birthday, buddy.

Just like every Wednesday, we've updated That's So Kraven! This one has a bit of a Venom vibe, too. Check it out. That's So Kraven! Webisode Twenty.

Montreal Comic Con roundup

What a show!

I was busy for nearly the whole show doing sketches and shooting the breeze with fans and pros alike. Thanks to each and every one of you for coming out. I took cell phone pictures of many of the sketches I did; here's a few of them.

Apocalypse

Archie Snow

Clayface (for Ryan, my second-best customer)

Dino Girl

Steele (from my friend Kim's upcoming graphic novella)

Commissioner Gordon (you should see the Kate Beaton sketch she has in this book)

Soldier from Halo (from memory)

Qi the Ink Monkey (from Proof)

Proof from Proof (battling a Hellhound)

Kraven Baxter and Spiderman (from That's So Kraven!)

Darth Vader (the adorableness is strong in this one)

Zombie on a tricycle

Death from Sandman (for Pat, my best customer)

Thanks for coming out, everyone. Big thanks to Oscar and Kevin for being our go-to guys at the show, and big thanks to Tim and Yanick for breaking bread with Trina and myself. (And Stone for sending fans our way, and Kim and Rebecca and Ari for everything.)

There's a new That's So Kraven! online. ==>Click here for the whim!<== Apparently, Spider-Man actually says the line in the new Shattered Dimensions game, so you know we've got to do something with that. Stay posted.

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!

Montreal Con sketch roundup

The latest Montreal Comic Con was this past weekend, and it was one of the busiest shows I've ever had. Between this and Calgary, I'm really impressed with the groundswell of support my work is getting. Thanks, everyone.

First of all, check this kid out. He was dressed as Altair from the Ubisoft Montreal video game Assassin's Creed. His suit was awesome, and he had tiny wooden versions of all of Altair's assassin weapons. His mom took a picture of him stabbing me to death in the neck with his little arm knife, which may have been a chopstick. Fantastic!

Batgirl!

Black Cat!

Apocalypse and the Four My Little Ponies of Apocalypse!

A luchadore (whose name escapes me)!

Lastly, Two-Face.