Posts Tagged ‘Heroes Con’
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HEROES CON BLOG POST UPDATE
Well, as you can see, Friday’s strip is still being displayed on the site today. That’s because that little buffer I had was only for three days while I prepared for Heroes Con this past weekend. I didn’t get home until close to 1:15am last night and had to be at work by 7:30am today – so I will do my best to post something up this afternoon when I get home.
As a special bonus this week, there probably won’t be any Capes & Babes strip up as I need to build that buffer up again – but as a bonus to all of you, every day (starting this afternoon), I will post some of my favorite commission sketches I did over the weekend. So… instead of getting three black & white strips, EVERY DAY this week, you will get a FULL-COLOR cartoon posted here!
For everyone that came out to see me this weekend, than you SOOOOOOO much! I will write up a much more detailed Heroes Con 2010 review later on when I post the first commission up later on today.
Thanks so much, you guys!
-Chris
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On Wednesday, Wes Molebash posted a question on his blog about what makes an artist tick or what holds an artist back. I posted the following but on reflection, I thought it would be a good blog post myself so I am re-posting it here as well since I am currently at Heroes Con right now and I think the subject matter fits quite nicely.
Here is my original post:
Before I begin, you need to know some very important background information about me. I am a professional graphic and web designer but I have always cartooned or drew in some kind of fashion… I did some caricaturing work in high school and college, had some freelance illustration gigs here and there, worked for a newspaper as a graphic artist & occasionally did some illustrations for them.
As a web designer, I have two books published by New Riders that I helped co-write, design and illustrate. I even created a promotional webcomic strip for a tech-related web site that’s still on-going.
For the most part, I was happy – I was providing a decent living for my wife and growing family but every now and then, I would feel like I was wasting my artistic talents and that thought would eat at me for a long while until I immersed myself in the next deadline project and I would forget about those feelings.
Then I attended Baltimore Comicon 2006.
Understand, I had attended every Baltimore show since it started. I looked forward to that con every year because it was the only one in my area and it always seemed to re-charge my artistic batteries and get me drawing and cartooning all over again. I loved walking around and hanging out in Artist Alley. I especially loved meeting new artists I hadn’t met the year before and buying their mini-comic sketchbooks. It always seemed to be a huge rush for me.
Until that particular con.
Suddenly, in the middle of the con, I realized I no longer wanted to walk the convention floor and LOOK AT art and TALK TO artists. I remember it clear as day. There was this feeling of no longer wanting to be at that show any more – not because I didn’t enjoy it but because I suddenly realized I was sick and tired of “being a fan”. I realized if I didn’t stop being a fan right then and there, I would feel this way at EVERY OTHER convention I went to and I would start to hate it.
I don’t know why it took so long for this feeling to finally hit me. I know, in the past, there were financial considerations that prevented me from getting a table at a con but that was also an excuse. The truth was, I used my finances as an excuse to NOT get a table – to not take a risk and put my stuff out there. I had the skills. I had the knowledge. But for whatever reason, I lacked the confidence to let my art stand on its own.
But that Saturday, I said no more. And the next day – the last day of Baltimore Comicon 2006 - I made it a point to go around and talk to as many creators as I possibly could – not about art but about Conventions. I asked how they started their own webcomic and what they did to promote it and get to the point where THEY were behind a table. I took notes. That day, I quit being “a fan” and made the first initial steps into what I’m currently doing.
I left the con early that Sunday – something I had never done in the previous 8 years. I drove 90 miles home filled with excitement and determination. It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in quite a few years. Upon arriving home, I immediately started writing and drawing Capes & Babes. Before I knew it, I had 12 strips in various forms of completion.
Nine months later, I was at Heroes Con 2007 attending my very first convention. As an artist. Not as a fan.
And I haven’t looked back since.
What’s YOUR creative story?
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A friendly reminder that this weekend will mark my THIRD YEAR IN A ROW attending Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina. Heroes Con was the first con I ever attended as an artist so, needless to say, I am VERY excited about this weekend.
Also, as is customary, if you are planning on coming to the convention any time this weekend (Friday, Saturday or Sunday), please make sure you read Friday’s strip first. If you do, and you come to my table (AA-740 by the way), and you mention the strip, you will get something for free. This offer is good for THE ENTIRE CON. Read the strip at any time during the weekend… heck, you can even pull out your iPhone right at my table and read the strip right in front of me… just mention the strip either Friday, Saturday or Sunday and you get a FREE GIFT. Simple as that.
Lastly, don’t forget to check out my OTHER webcomic – a weekly strip I do for Community MX every Wednesday. Here is a preview of today’s strip:
Have a good one, everybody!
-Chris
Hey everybody… just giving you all ample notice that next week is HEROES CON and I will be there in the Artist Alley area.
Because there are always so many artists at Heroes Con, I couldn’t really tell WHERE my table will be on the convention floor but I can tell you what table I was assigned. And that would be Capes & Babes: AA-740. Just look for the five foot tall Roy cut-out and that’s where I’ll be!
You can check out some more great artists by clicking here.
Heroes Con is June 4th – 6th in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their website will have all the details. That’s all for now. More info as it develops.
-Chris
I was originally going to make this part of my Heroes Con series of strips this year but I ended up forgetting about it until I took another look at one of the idea notebooks I was writing in on the way back from Heroes and realized I had forgotten about this gag.
So… here it is.
On the job front…
I’m getting a bit nervous that I’m not going to be accepted for any of the three jobs I interviewed with last week. All three said they would get back with me “early next week” – which means THIS week. But no call yesterday and no call today. After my baseball camp gets done tomorrow, I will send each one of them an e-mail to let them know I’m still interested in their positions.
We’ll just have to wait and see if THEY are still interested in ME.
As these past two weeks have shown, ANYTHING can happen… or NOT happen.
-Chris
I want to share an e-mail I got just the other night from John and Brannan Blascak. John and Brannan met me at Heroes Con last month and while they were there, not only did the purchase a book but they also wanted me to do a commission sketch for a surprise birthday present.
The birthday present was for “Heather” who is a huge Harley Quinn fan. They came by my table late on Saturday and I wasn’t QUITE able to finish it before they had to leave that day but by they came by on Sunday just to pick up the commission. They really seemed to like it but then, after the con, I sort of forgot about it until I got the following e-mail last night:
We promised to send you a pic of Heather enjoying her wonderful drawing you did for us at Charlotte’s Hero-Con. It should be attached, let us know if you have any problems not getting the pic.
She put it up within two hours of receiving it and can’t stop talking about it. Sorry it took so long for us to write back.
Thank you again for such a wonderful b-day present.
John and Brannan Blascak
And here’s the picture of Heather enjoying her Harley:
Needless to say, that made my night last night!
Thank you so much for sending that e-mail John and Brannan. And thank you, Heather, for getting a big kick out of your Harley.
If you’re interested in getting a commission done…
Send me an e-mail at capesnbabes [at] gmail.com with the character you will like to have done.
The commissions are full color marker rendered on 9×12″ bristol board for $30. The $30 dollars covers the shipping and handling fee.
And, as I say at any convention I go to: The commission will cost you money but the humor is 100% absolutely FREE!
-Chris
This was the result of one of the many conversations I had with my Heroes Con travel buddy, Ed, as we were coming home from the con. He had mentioned that we (you readers) hadn’t really seen much of B.C. since the early strips and almost immediately, the idea that B.C. has been playing golf with some sort of celebrity hit me right away.
And then it wasn’t that far of a stretch to imagine him playing with Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. From there, the strip practically wrote itself.
-Chris
WHOA!!! What’s this??? TWO Capes & Babes strips BACK-TO-BACK???
Well, consider this a very guilty make-up for missing Monday.
Oh, and if you think a certain tall and lanky guy that does some phenomenal work every year at Heroes Con might get a kick out of this strip, by all means, pass it along to him.
Dustin was extremely helpful to me the first day of the Con and I’m very thankful for that. I think I’ve written it here before… I have a very strange way of saying “thanks”, don’t I?
-Chris
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Or, maybe a better title might be: “A day late and a dollar short”…
I really do apologize for the crazy schedule I seem to be keeping these days. As many of you know, I’m currently out of work (laid off since May 5th) and I’ve been looking for something pretty much non-stop ever since.
But this past weekend, I went to Delaware to help coach a 14 and over Fellowship of Christian Athletes baseball team that I was helping out with even before the lay off. The team played in a large baseball tournament there and finished 7th out of 20 teams. The FCA invited me and my family so we decided to take advantage of the trip while we still could.
Then, right before the trip, The Boss Group called and asked if I could come in for an interview and a two day test yesterday and today. The Boss Group is a creative temp agency for graphic and web designers. So you see, there really hasn’t been all that much time to catch my breath since I got back from Heroes Con last week.
And the good news is it doesn’t stop there. Evans & Chambers called WHILE I was at The Boss Group. Turns out, I have an interview Thursday afternoon. Hope it goes well.
I know you all are wishing me well, right?
But whatever happens, know that I am still trying my best to be as consistent as possible with Capes & Babes as I possibly can. Once I am able to secure a new full-time job, my new goal for Capes & Babes is to make the strip a daily feature – so that’s incentive for both of us… Let’s hope I find something soon!
-Chris
I may just be a BIT bias when I say this but personally, I think this is one of my funniest ones yet.
But that’s for YOU ALL to decide.
REMINDER:
This weekend, I will be at HEROES CON in Charlotte, North Carolina. I will be traveling with my good friends, Mike & Ed from Little Fish Comics – the same place I was at for Free Comic Book Day not too long ago. Really looking forward to seeing everyone this year.
If you are planning to attend and want to know where to find me, from the floor plan Heroes has provided, it looks like I’ll be close to the Blood Donation area as well as near by the Indie Island area. I’m not popular enough to get into Indie Island yet but hopefully, with YOUR help, that will change next year.
I will be selling the very first TPB of Capes & Babes called “You can’t print Flick” and doing a lot of commission sketches (I hope!). So, what are you waiting for? Get your hotel reservations today and come to Charlotte, North Carolina this weekend!
-Chris
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After having a bit of a discussion with my new friend Ricky, I decided to re-visit my strip from last Friday and re-do the punchline. That’s the nice thing about having a strip that’s all yours… you get to change the rules whenever you want. So, I am re-running last Friday’s strip again – only this time, with a different punchline.
I don’t really know if it’s better or funnier (mostly because of the subject matter). That’s for you all to decide. But heck… if there’s room in the web comic community for fart and sex jokes, surely there’s at least a LITTLE room for a vampire to say one of the benefits of being a vampire is… well, she doesn’t have to worry about buying Sunshine & rainbow products.
On to something else a little more positive…
Because I have been so focussed on my current job search (and something I need to get a better handle on), I have been very slack in letting people know about how the book has been received so far. So, without further ado, here are a couple of things I wanted to mention…
First, from my friend, Tovias…
Tovias was the first one to buy an artist edition of “You can’t print Flick”. If you’re interested in buying one for yourself, send me an e-mail at capesnbabes [at] gmail.com for more information.
Ben just recently blogged about the book he received in the mail. You can read about it here:
You can’t print Flick.
Second…
I recently sold three copies to my local comic book shop, Painted Visions. I just heard from Aaron and this is what he had to say:
wow good stuff. ill have the 3 books sold verry soon. ive told and shown it to lots of people today, and they now have it as a book to pick up as soon as thay get payed.(people come into the shop broke and pre shop so they know what to get when they do have money.) and a lot of people like and get what i recommend, as i only recomend good stuff.
aaron.
So that puts a lot of enthusiasm and confidence in me as I prepare to go to Heroes Con next weekend. And it would really be lousy of me if I didn’t mention I was going to heroes with my VERY good friends from Little Fish Comics in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
I’m really looking forward to getting together and heading down there with you guys, Mike and Ed (I know… that sounds like a Nickelodeon cartoon, doesn’t it? “Mike, Ed & Flick”…).
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