"Cosplay Killing" Follow-Up

Denise Dorman has posted some clarifications to her earlier piece. She points out emphatically that she appreciates cosplayers, and that Bleeding Cool went with a click bait headline… which certainly worked. I take her at her word on this. Her first piece did reference the cost of costuming as being a factor in convention spending patterns, so I think it's understandable to draw the connection. But sometimes we make clearer points in our drafts than our finished pieces. I know I certainly meant to mention the headline being dramatic and not being written by the author. I worked at a newspaper long enough to learn that.

To my reading, her clarified point is that the convention market is changing, largely by people who just want to be there because it's the cool thing, and that these people are happy to get a photo with a costumer and move on, rather than recognize and support the awesome talent in the room.

That's fair, though in my experience it isn't the case. It's anecdotal of course, but I don't pick up on many "here because it's cool" people. Lots of families, first timers, and one person in particular at the last convention who didn't realize that she should bring money to the show. But I don't get a vibe of people going to be seen.

The bigger point, though, is this: The market is the market. You can either find a way to work it, or you find another market.

Just this year, I've had to cut a show because, financially, it's just not feasible for me to exhibit at it. Deciding when to pull that trigger is part of being self-employed.

And, I don't think anyone would look at the convention market ten years ago and say "That's a market that's looking for a funny, happy relationship book" like mine, but I found a way to find those people who were being underserved and give them something to enjoy.

But ultimately, you don't get the choose the people in the pool, only the pool you play in.

My Regular Con Carry

Following up on our discussion on the last episode of Comics Assembled (Wait, you're not listening to Brian Ward and me talk about the business of comics every week? Shame on you! Check it out here right now.) I thought I would post my regular Con Carry. All of this lives in my Brenthaven shoulder bag so that I don't have to worry about remembering it. It's always stocked with these things, which are duplicates or travel versions of things I have in my studio. Buying two things is sometimes much easier than remembering to bring one.

[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/concarry_ab.jpg" align="center" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ]

A. Pad of lined paper. Great for writing lists, keeping track of commissions and more. I'm partial to college ruled white paper, particularly the Tops Docket Gold pads.

B. Clipboard. Having a solid writing surface makes marking things down easier anywhere. During shows, I clip my tally sheet to it and I can mark everything down while standing.

[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/concarry_ce.jpg" align="center" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ]

C. A folder. This one is a way-cool Rocket Raccoon Guardians of the Galaxy one. But hey, My Little Pony, New Kids on the Block, Transformers, whatever your deal is, it's all good. I keep my frequent convention needs in there: Travel documents, sales permits, letter and postcard stamps, a couple of blank checks (for signing up for next year's show) as well as…

D. French curve. I use this all the time drawing commissions. It's an art supply, but it fits better here. And…

E. Circle template. For the same reason.

[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/concarry_fl.jpg" align="center" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ]

F. Small notebook. Conventions are full of new action items. "Remember to send this editor a pitch." "Remember to mail this out." And I frequently get new ideas, too. This little book is perfect for idea capture at a show.

G. Passport. It's got to live somewhere, and if I'm traveling I have this bag. On top of that, if I lose my regular ID, I've got a spare to make sure that I can still get on a plane.

H. Business cards. I carry a lot of these a lot of places, including Moo Cards on my keychain, but having these here means I never don't have them.

I. Pens. You'd think I wouldn't forget them, but it's really easy for me to accidentally throw my pens into my lunchbox art bin. So I make sure I have a few that stay in here. I'm a big fan of the Sarasa gel pens and Huntington Bank gives out the best ball points.

J. Square Reader. Can't live without this. It lets me take credit card sales at shows. It has revolutionized con sales altogether. I actually keep a couple in my bag, just so I can have a spare in case one breaks, gets lost, or I need to lend one to a friend. If you do shows and you don't have one, get over to Squareup.com right now!

K. USB car charger. I've always got this bag when I'm traveling, so having a charger to plug my iPod into is great to have and not have to remember. You can get these just about anywhere, including Amazon.

L. Mophie. It's a battery case for my iPhone. I usually only need this when I'm on the road, so it lives in my bag. Get the right one for your phone. You won't regret it.

[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/concarry_mv.jpg" align="center" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ]

M. Cocoon Grid-It Organizer. I first heard about this from the estimable Andy Ihnatko. This is a board with stretchy straps on it, allowing you to store all sorts of things. The advantage of this system, rather than a plastic sandwich bag, is that you can see everything you have at a glance. No more bringing two cords because you couldn't tell if it was already in the bag.

N. Apple Charging Plug. This is an Apple product, and I have several from several Apple devices, but you can plug any USB charger into here.

O. iPad Charging Cable. I still have an older model iPad, pre-lightning connector, so I have a cable for that.

P. Micro-USB Charging Cable. I could have a regular charger cable that ends in a USB, but this one has a plug. I don't know where I picked it up, but it's great. It charges my Kindle and my Mophie.

Q. iPhone Charging Cable. Apple switched to the lightning connector, so I got this spare one so my phone always has juice. This is a six foot cable which means it's really easy to make sure it sits on my nightstand in a hotel no matter where the outlet is.

R. Male to male audio cable. Most rental cars have an aux jack, so with this I can easily plug my iPhone in and play music or podcasts.

S. Audio cable extender. Because Apple moved the earphone jack to the bottom of the phone, Mophie had to start including this so that the earphones could still connect through the longer opening.

T. Apple earbuds. I love my Apple earbuds and have a few pairs. It's great to be able to listen to stuff on the walk to the Javitz Center, play podcasts as I do the treadmill, and take calls easily in the airport. lThese have a microphone on the wires as well as a click button that let me use Siri, answer and play messages and more.

U. Audio splitter. This little dongle allows me to plug in a second headphone into my headphone jack. So when I'm traveling with a companion, I can split the audio so they can listen to whatever burned video I'm watching.

V. Lanyard. Cons don't always provide lanyards, or sometimes they're uncomfortable. So I make sure to have a backup one in my gear.

Hello, Sweetie

[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/riversong.jpg" align="left" border="none" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ] A River Song commission that I just wrapped up this morning.

Baltimore Comic-Con 2014!

We’ve hit the point where I just can’t be objective about Baltimore Comic-Con anymore. I just adore the show and the people and the staff. It’s just the best. This year, I got to be on TV, drawing for Fox-45 Baltimore and Amber Miller, being called upon to draw her as a super hero early in the morning. Fortunately, I had coffee.

The show was in a new, bigger part of the convention center and while the layout took some getting used to, sales were up from last year.

I was on the “Sexy or Sexualized” panel (check out the write up here) which was fun to be on, especially with such a stellar line-up of talent. It was my only panel of the show, but it was a great one to be on.

The Baltimore Yearbook seemed to be a hit, too! It was tight shipping them to the show (apparently, my printer didn’t account for the Labor Day holiday)  but they arrived on time and everyone seemed to like them. I signed a crazy amount of them, and driving traffic to the table is part of what they’re about. Best of all, the auction raised $10,000 for Seth Kutchner’s medical treatments.

Baltimore will be a little later in the year next year, but it doesn’t matter to me. Whenever there’s a Baltimore Comic-Con, I’ll be there. You should, too.

Late to the party: My DragonCon wrap-up

This is the time of the year where I seem to have more conventions than not. I just did DragonCon, which continues to be a delight. It is a convention with it’s own flavor, one unlike any other. It’s fan run, has multiple programming tracks and is capable of becoming exactly the convention you’re looking for it to be.

I was set up in artist alley, as usual. The artist alley is small and friendly in a way a lot of shows aren’t able to be. And it’s always a nice mix of new fans and old friends.

This year I also did my first panel, being invited to be on the Star Trek writer’s panel. I co-wrote ‘Til Death (with Bob Ingersoll) for one of the Pocket Books Star Trek: The Next Generation collections. That was a lot of fun, and there seemed to be interest in me coming back next year, too.

And, as always, the costumes are insanely awesome. Viggo the Carpathian? Bernie? Femme Captain Carrot? Nothing surprises me anymore. (Okay, the Captain Carrot one was a jaw-dropper.)

The show was a lot of fun, and I hope to be back next year.

Tomorrow… Baltimore Comic-Con.

Hawkwoman Warm Up Sketch

Since I did Hawkman yesterday, I thought I’d do Hawkwoman today. I see a lot of pictures of her with a mace, but I like the sword and shield from that awesome Hawkman #6 cover.

Since I did Hawkman yesterday, I thought I’d do Hawkwoman today. I see a lot of pictures of her with a mace, but I like the sword and shield from that awesome Hawkman #6 cover.

Since I did Hawkman yesterday, I thought I’d do Hawkwoman today. I see a lot of pictures of her with a mace, but I like the sword and shield from that awesome Hawkman #6 cover.

Weekly Warm Up Round Up: Disney Villains

I'm really enjoying doing these warm up sketches. They're expanding my digital drawing technique and they're also a lot of fun. Inspired by Walt Disney World's upcoming Villains Unleashed event (which, man, I'm tempted to make a stupid road trip down to) I started drawing Disney baddies. Chernabog, from my beloved Fantasia is well-known as my favorite villain. I love the design of Hercules' Hades so I had to do him. I'm a huge Uncle Scrooge fan, so Magica De Spell was a natural. I think Princess and the Frog is vastly-underrated so I did Dr. Facilier. The Mignola-artwork that was the basis from Atlantis was just too pretty to ignore, so I did Roarke and Sinclair from that movie. And I wrapped up with Ratigan from Great Mouse Detective. It's one of Disney's largely forgotten films, and I have the one-two punch of one of my Kubert instructors having worked on it and telling great stories of Vincent Price re-recording his voice to do it better and the great memories of taking my younger brothers to a dollar show to see it.

So enjoy my walk on the evil side.

Your Guardians of the Galaxy

As part of my continuing sketch warm-up/Manga Studio expanding process, I decided to draw the Guardians of the Galaxy… the original Guardians. Well, the 70s versions that I remember. So Starhawk, Yondu, Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Martinex and Nikki. I also tried to expand my drawing techniques in Manga Studio. I tried a few more things with guides and rules, especially on the Charlie-27 rivets on his uniform. I also did a couple of things as separate layers, such as the brush-like highlights on Starhawk which I could just change the color of in Photoshop. I also had a lot of fun figuring out the fastest way to do Martinex's look.

I kept the characters close to their Bronze Age incarnations. I wasn't looking to re-invent them, though I did tweak some gloves and other accessories to help delineate each character.

And want some Bronze Age fun? Check out the first Guardians collection on Amazon or Comixology.

Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook

For the last couple years, I've been designing the Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook. Year one was Liberty Meadows, year two was Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo. This year we're tackling Matt Wagner's Grendel. [image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/baltimore14_cover_regFINAL.jpg" align="right" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" width="200" ]

Baltimore is one of my favorite shows, and it's always an honor to work on the book, it's also a challenge to work with so many artists and find a way to make the next year's book better than the last. We've definitely done that this year. New artists! Returning artists! More artists! And a surprise I'm not sharing quite yet. But wait until you see the book.

Right now the book is safely at the printer and all that's left is waiting for the shipping information. I'd say waiting patiently, but let's be honest, I'll be nervous up until Marc Nathan calls and tells me those books are in his hands. But it's all worth it. I think you're going to love the book.

A Secret of Sketchbooks

While I was at San Diego, I was asked to do the inaugural sketch in someone's sketchbook. She was starting an all-Hydra sketchbook. First up, she wanted a piece involving the Hydra Skull/Octopus logo. Let me let you into the mind of an artist. I always look through a sketchbook I'm given. And while I never do a bad piece, at least not intentionally, there's a point when you see a sketchbook will pieces by comics' legends or pieces that should be legendary and you think, "I gotta bring my A-game to this one." We're competitive, we artists, and sketchbooks bring that out.

So when I got this request, I knew I had to start the book out right. I think it's your holy mission as an artist to start a sketchbook off so well that other artists go "Crap! I have to keep up with this one?!" She wanted the skull. I gave her the skull, a Hydra goon, and a bunch of SHIELD agents.  (Also, to heck with all those periods in the title. It's SHIELD to me. I'm not wasting six characters on a tweet on all those dots.)

For more sketchbook insights, Amy Ratcliffe posted an invaluable piece on starting one, too. Check that out here.

[image src=" http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/hydra.jpg" align="left" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="" lightbox="false" ]