Comicpalooza 2013 Wrap-up
This past weekend I had the pleasure of being a guest at Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas. Comicpalooza, and patron of the arts Alex Johnson, know how to treat a guy. I was met at the airport by four lovely volunteers and had a limo ride to the airport. Okay, maaaaaybe that had something to do with a quirk of timing and a lot of luggage. Still, the bar has been raised for other conventions.
I was a guest last year, and had a lot of fun. This year was no different. My friend Jesse Jackson made it up from Dallas, and Bill Williams of Lone Star Press was there for the show, too. Being able to hang out with friends I don’t see is one of the big joys of this event.
I got to meet Avery Brooks, which was a personal joy. He, for my money, is the best captain of the modern Treks, and Deep Space Nine is the best of the modern franchise. A large part of that was his portrayal of Captain Benjamin Sisko.
His line had a break in it, and I went over to him and told him how much I appreciated his work. I may have even mentioned his awesome “Where are my flying cars?” commercial from years back. He shook my hand, asked my name, and said “thank you.”
I’ve hit the point where I need very few photos with actors and less autographs. I just want that where, for one brief moment, the actors who have been so much a part of my world know that I exist. It’s not always possible. Patrick Stewart’s line was completely impenetrable. But every once in a while, I’d like to have the gush line, where you don’t have to pay anything, you just get 60 seconds to say something to the actor. Not practical, I know, but it’d be cool.
My friend Jesse had me do a new commission for his Doctor Who sketchbook. He wanted Winston Churchill as portrayed by Ian McNeice, who was at the show. I drew a picture of Winston with a sonic screwdriver in place of a cigar. Jesse went to get it signed.
When he came back, he informed me that Ian loved the drawing and wanted to meet me. Well, who am I to refuse an audience with the Holy Roman Emperor Winston Churchill? I spent a few delightful moments talking to him. That was pretty cool.
I also met Tabitha St. Germaine who was wandering the show floor. Tabitha is the voice of Rarity on My Little Pony, a show and a franchise with which I have a passing familiarity. She was incredibly sweet, and we even got a picture together.
I did a couple panels, a digital comics panel and a diversity in comics panel (I represented people of height, I suppose). Both had some pretty good discussions. And I did a piece for the charity auction. The piece was a little rushed, as I had to get to that diversity panel, but I think the speed helped give a nice sense of energy to the piece, too.
Commissions were way up at this show, too. It’s one of the very few times I’ve had to take artwork back to the room at night. It was just Friday night, but I was still up until almost three keeping current on my commission list.
It also showed a definite progression in my career. There was a point, years ago, when I could tell you everything that was on TV from 11:00pm to 2:00am. I knew which channels had what reruns, who hosted what late night show, and the names of all the late night news newscasters.
Now, I don’t.
I don’t want more work, I want better paying work. And I want to manage my time well enough that I can keep a decent sleep schedule and even take a couple hours off here and there. And if I don’t know when Fraiser reruns late at night anymore, I’m making progress.
Below are a bunch of photos from the show. Click and embiggen any (or all) of them. It was a good time, and I hope I can come back next year. But there’s no time to sit and bask in the memories… I’m at the Denver Comic Con at booth F-22 this weekend! And HeroesCon after that.
Maybe I should rethink that sleep thing.
Comicpalooza 2013 Wrap-Up
This past weekend I had the pleasure of being a guest at Comicpalooza in Houston, Texas. Comicpalooza, and patron of the arts Alex Johnson, know how to treat a guy. I was met at the airport by four lovely volunteers and had a limo ride to the airport. Okay, maaaaaybe that had something to do with a quirk of timing and a lot of luggage. Still, the bar has been raised for other conventions.
I was a guest last year, and had a lot of fun. This year was no different. My friend Jesse Jackson made it up from Dallas, and Bill Williams of Lone Star Press was there for the show, too. Being able to hang out with friends I don’t see is one of the big joys of this event.
I got to meet Avery Brooks, which was a personal joy. He, for my money, is the best captain of the modern Treks, and Deep Space Nine is the best of the modern franchise. A large part of that was his portrayal of Captain Benjamin Sisko.
His line had a break in it, and I went over to him and told him how much I appreciated his work. I may have even mentioned his awesome “Where are my flying cars?” commercial from years back. He shook my hand, asked my name, and said “thank you.”
I’ve hit the point where I need very few photos with actors and less autographs. I just want that where, for one brief moment, the actors who have been so much a part of my world know that I exist. It’s not always possible. Patrick Stewart’s line was completely impenetrable. But every once in a while, I’d like to have the gush line, where you don’t have to pay anything, you just get 60 seconds to say something to the actor. Not practical, I know, but it’d be cool.
My friend Jesse had me do a new commission for his Doctor Who sketchbook. He wanted Winston Churchill as portrayed by Ian McNeice, who was at the show. I drew a picture of Winston with a sonic screwdriver in place of a cigar. Jesse went to get it signed.
When he came back, he informed me that Ian loved the drawing and wanted to meet me. Well, who am I to refuse an audience with the Holy Roman Emperor Winston Churchill? I spent a few delightful moments talking to him. That was pretty cool.
I also met Tabitha St. Germaine who was wandering the show floor. Tabitha is the voice of Rarity on My Little Pony, a show and a franchise with which I have a passing familiarity. She was incredibly sweet, and we even got a picture together.
I did a couple panels, a digital comics panel and a diversity in comics panel (I represented people of height, I suppose). Both had some pretty good discussions. And I did a piece for the charity auction. The piece was a little rushed, as I had to get to that diversity panel, but I think the speed helped give a nice sense of energy to the piece, too.
Commissions were way up at this show, too. It’s one of the very few times I’ve had to take artwork back to the room at night. It was just Friday night, but I was still up until almost three keeping current on my commission list.
It also showed a definite progression in my career. There was a point, years ago, when I could tell you everything that was on TV from 11:00pm to 2:00am. I knew which channels had what reruns, who hosted what late night show, and the names of all the late night news newscasters.
Now, I don’t.
I don’t want more work, I want better paying work. And I want to manage my time well enough that I can keep a decent sleep schedule and even take a couple hours off here and there. And if I don’t know when Fraiser reruns late at night anymore, I’m making progress.
Below are a bunch of photos from the show. Click and embiggen any (or all) of them. It was a good time, and I hope I can come back next year. But there’s no time to sit and bask in the memories… I’m at the Denver Comic Con at booth F-22 this weekend! And HeroesCon after that.
Maybe I should rethink that sleep thing.
Free Comic Book Day 2013… Finally!
I've been promising to recap my Free Comic Book Day for a little while now, but the busyness of business got in my way. But, for a brief time, I'm caught up. Having gone into darkness on Twitter and Facebook so that when I go see Star Trek: Into Darkness tonight without being spoiled as to who Benedict Cumberbatch's character is (my money is on Keyzer Soze, though), I'm a little less distracted. This year I returned to Newark, Delaware for Joe Murray's Captain Blue Hen event. Joe runs a great event, and he met every rider on my contract of services. Thankfully, my contract of services is a lot less intense than Beyonce's. Mostly it's "I like Pepsi and take me to see Iron Man 3." I flew into Baltimore on Friday, drove up to Newark, and then set up at the shop. The next day was Free Comic Book Day, and there the fun began.
The difference between this year and every other is that now I'm a Pony Artist™. I wrote and drew an issue of My Little Pony and that changes everything. Since Free Comic Book Day is such a kid heavy event where they can pick up such kid-friendly titles as Spongebob Squarepants, NFL Rush Zone and The Walking Dead (wait, what?), I become a lot more interesting to those kids having worked on Pony.
So the coolest thing was drawing for the young kids, the kids whose faces light up with a quick head sketch of Rainbow Dash. A couple of them even drew pictures for me. It's just awesome. I have a great job on a bad day, and on a good day it's magical.
I also taught a drawing class over at the next door art center, too. I love that Joe is able to turn the event into an experience like that. It's not just free books, but a whole experience.
I also pre-drew a bunch of MLP sketch cards thanks to some sage counsel from Joe and his staff. That gave me a new saleable item and helped keep things hopping at my table.
Afterwards, we all went out to dinner. I got to hang out with the crew, and especially my friends Jamar Nicholas and Dan Parent. It's so great talking shop and business theory and life philosophy with them. Truly some of the best times!
I'm definitely looking forward to next year!
Free Comic Book Day 2013
It's Free Comic Book Day again, one of my favorite days of the year. I'll be back at Captain Blue Hen in Delaware. Last year was an absolute blast, and I'm looking forward to this year. I'll be taking commissions, selling artwork, including a smattering of My Little Pony sketchcards. And, of course, I'll have all four collections of Love and Capes available, too. Not only is tomorrow the big holiday for comics, but it's also the big Star Wars Day, May the Fourth (be with you). My fantastic fianceé has a blog about celebrating the day up at the Star Wars Insider blog.
Hope you have a good FCBD/Star Wars Day/Man of Steel trailer watchin' day, whatever you do!
I'll Be at the LA Times Festival of Books on Sunday
This Sunday, I'll be at the LA Times Festival of Books, signing at the Hi De Ho Comics booth. It's booth # 928, and I'll be signing from 10-3.
I'll have a bunch of copies of my My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle issue, as well as some copies of the Love and Capes trades. I'll also be taking commissions and selling art, including this little piece…
Hope to see you there!
Soarin My Little Pony Commission
I've always been impressed with how the My Little Pony cosplayers manage to graft the design of the ponies to different kinds of costumes. Here, I was hired by a Soarin cosplayer to do a commission of the person and the pony.
Also, this is a fine time to announce to all the Bronies and Pegasisters that I will be at C2E2, but I am not grouped with the Pony Artists. Amy Mebberson, Tony Fleecs, Andy Price and Katie Cook will all be in the L section. I will be at E11. (I figure I'm most identified with Love and Capes, not My Little Pony, hence the distance.) But I will have original art, commissions and all that coolness. Just six rows away.
Aw Yeah Comics with a Dash of Thom!
I was part of the Aw Yeah Comics Kickstarter! I did a four page story all about Cell Phone Guy.
In the meantime, I'll be at C2E2 at the end of the month, home of Aw Yeah Comics! I'm sure fun will ensue there, too!
WonderCon Commissions and Other Fun
WonderCon has come and gone. I had a great time, and the show was even better than last year. Now that I have my new status as a Pony Artist, my commissions have increased (and certainly changed a bit). Here, let me share them and you can see…
The Marshal Law commission was an advance commission, where someone contacted me before the show to get on my sketch list. I certainly recommend that to make sure you get a piece from me. Hey, I'm going to be at C2E2 in Chicago at the end of the month. I bet you could do that there, too!
Also, Neo Edmund was nice enough to have me on the Kids' Comics panel, where I blathered about things and made jokes while other people said much smarter things. But people seemed to like it, so I can't complain. It was a lot of fun, and hopefully I'll be on a similar panel at Comic-Con in a couple of months.
There was lots of interesting work stuff, none of which I can share, unfortunately. Besides, it's April Fool's Day, and you wouldn't believe anything I say today anyway. The best part, as always, is seeing friends and making new ones.
Well, and having my first Easter coffee, but that's a special case here.
WonderCon this Weekend! My Commission List is Open!
This weekend is WonderCon, Anaheim-flavor. I'll be there again, set up in Artist Alley at table 184. I'll have all the normal stuff, as well as a full stock of the brand-new fourth Love and Capes collection! I'll also be signing and chatting and doing commissions.
I'll also be on the Kids' Comics Panel at 11:00am on Saturday in Room 210A, along with Neo Edmund, Heather Nufer and Barbara Kesel! And I'll be signing at the IDW booth at 2:00 on Sunday.
As a warm-up for sketching at the show and for figuring out a style for my next project, I've been messing around with doing some trading card headshots. Just because I like a theme, I did the original seven members of the Justice League. Click and embiggen!
My commission list is open for the show, too. Drop me at line at tz (at) thomz.com and we can talk specifics. I'm discounting prices for pre-ordered commissions. My normal rate is $25 per character (black and white), $50 for color. Today and tomorrow only, pre-orders will be $20 and $40 for black and white and color.
See you at the show!
Everything You Need to Know About Me and Emerald City
Emerald City Comic Con starts tomorrow, and I will be there at
I will be taking commissions all weekend. It's first come first served to get on the list. Black and white inked pieces are $25 per character, and colored pieces are $50 per character. I'll also have a number of pre-drawn pieces, and those prices range a bit, but they're comparable.
I have a limited number of my new Seattle con print (25 printed, three have already been bought), as well as a handful of last year's con prints, too.
I'll be debuting a postcard set which includes all con prints, including postcard exclusive prints of Cleveland, Boston, and Las Vegas. The full set of twenty postcards is $15.
And, I'll have a couple of the new red Love and Capes shirts. Those are $15, too.
I will have an extremely limited number of advance copies of the fourth Love and Capes trade. When those are gone, they're gone (although I will be fully stocked for WonderCon).
And I'll have the regular copies of the entire run of Love and Capes and the first issue of the My Little Pony micro-series including variant covers. I am debating not bringing the original self-published run anymore, though. It seems like I may have sold all of those that I will sell, especially with the trades. For now, I'll have a few under my table for you completists who might be missing an issue or two of the