AdHouseBooksBlog

Whew. What A Show.

And those smiles are at the END of the day on Sunday!

So, yeah, as we mentioned before, we missed the previous year at B*Con, so this year seemed all the more special in regards to us coming back.

What follows are a few random thoughts on the experience that was Baltimore Comic*Con.

The drive up was good. One slow down, but all in all, can’t complain. I make it to the convention center for load in, and as I’m waiting to drive into the show, or unload onto a pallet, I see an open door, so I got and take a look. And what is the very FIRST thing I see at the show?

My roomies having a discussion about cover design influences while digging through 50 cent boxes! A good sign for the show ahead!

Good ol’ roomies help me unload through the doors, and I’m off to the Hyatt. The next thing I see at the Hyatt is that our room is pretty close to the elevator and ice machine, which is a good thing this trip. So, it just gets better and better!

I play “host” to the city, since Jim hasn’t been to the show before, so we head up to the Geppi and then out to Hampden to Atomic Books and the Golden West.

And yes, we drank Natty Bo!

We had to still sign and package the Harvey Gift Bag prints, so we headed back to the room to make it happen. I’ll just say here and now that having Jim and Tom as roomies is probably the best a guy could ask. Intelligent conversations,wise-ass remarks, and everyone is a team player. Go team comix!

Because I decided to take in the town on Friday night, I had to head over Saturday to get the booth set before the show. That’s always an interesting challenge. Especially when you have new stuff to show. It took a while, but I finally got it to a design that made me happy.

One of the fun things I would do while Paul was away was to take the THB:CfM.2 and create patterns on his table. It REALLY was fun, and eye-catching. It also kept some con-goers from sleeping on the table. (I kid you not!)

Oh! I forgot to say that I ran into Reese Aaron Nathan Friday night. Cool, kid, but he can’t hold his liquor!

Back to the show! The introduction to AdDistro was a hit! Especially with other artists. I didn’t bring enough! So, see me at SPX if you didn’t get to purchase.

Having Mr. Phil at a show is always awesome. Lots of gossip and talk about “finds.” Like I said before, I think he’s my long lost twin.

Saturday was good. Solid, busy, insane when it got to Paul’s signing time. Well, not too insane. Just the right amount. And as ever, Paul was a trooper. I think the book of the show was that Wednesday Comics collection. Every time you turned around, someone was walking by with it.

We did the Harvey’s Saturday night. I guess this was my 6th or 7th time? I’ve been to the Pittsburgh, NY and MD ones. They all have their memories. This one will be known as copyrightgate. Or something. I didn’t really know what was going down until the next morning. Guess I was sleepy from the show? The ceremony was OK…. I mean, come on, we weren’t nominated for anything! But I did get to hang with Frank Miller & friends, so that made it cool. And the gift bag weighed a ton!

But here’s something I want to work on…

When we get to the Award for Best Presentation, can we possibly acknowledge the art director or designer? I mean, yeah, the editor does “edit” the book. But I think it’s kind of a snub at the people who work hard to make these items so excellent. So, I need to drop an email to someone to mention this.

OK, time for a photo:

My dogs were barking!

What else? Sunday was fun. A little more chill, but still busy enough to keep me interested. I did get a chance to get out from behind the table to walk the show. Bumped into Stephen Blickenstaff, whose work I really dig. Also, got to see some new art creators whose work got both Jim Rugg and myself excited. Handed out a lot of SPX flyers, so hopefully we’ll get some new faces down there in a few weeks.

As always, it was great to see all our friends at the show. It’s weird to try and remember them, but then also put them together with the forum members or screen names. We live in a split personality world!

In closing, big, BIG thanks to everyone who helps at the show. It was damn near perfect this year. Marc, Brad, Randy… I know I’m forgetting people. Jim and Tom, you both rock. I look forward to our SPX adventure. Thanks to Paul for doing our little con-surprise. I think it worked. And Greg… man, you always rock. I love you, man.

I’m tired, so I’m going to sign off without linkage. Hopefully y’all will understand.

If you all are heading out to the Baltimore Comic*Con this weekend, please swing by the AdHouse Booth (1904?) and say “hi.” And if you’re in the mood, you can pick up one of these:

What is that you say? Why it’s this little secret:

THB: Comics from Mars #2
by Paul Pope.
Published by AdHouse Books

Continuing the epic THB tale, Comic from Mars #2 is/was a Baltimore Comic*Con Exclusive. The comic contains 6.5 stories that take you further into the world of HR Watson and all the androids, Martians and cartoon characters that populate the red planet. Still larger than life and just as sweet.

Details:
4+1C cover
32 1C pages
7″ x 10″ saddle stitched
$4.95 US funds
Shipping in August 2010
An AdHouse Books Exclusive

Click here to order a copy!

Also, we’ll be hanging with Jim AFRODISIAC Rugg at the show. So, come get your AFRO signed!

And, let us remind you we’ll have those ubersweet AdDistro items for your enjoyment!

Hope to see you there.

We’re on the road to Charm City… We certainly do get around…

After having a bit of a schedule conflict with last year’s Baltimore Comicon, we’re coming back with a vengeance! Or something. We’re just REALLY looking forward to it! And you should be too! Why? Well that awesome guest list for one thing!

For those who don’t click links: Baltimore Comic*Con is August 28 & 29 (in Baltimore, MD!)

Heck, if you swing by AdZone, you’ve got a chance to meet Mr. Jim AFRODISIAC Rugg and Mr. Paul PULPHOPE IS OUT OF PRINT Pope! (heh.) But don’t you worry about not being able to buy PULPHOPE. We just might have a little Pope-ish surprise for you true believers. Snuffsaid! Stay tuned to our trusty blog the Friday before the show.

Oh… and speaking of Mr. Pope, if any of you Daddy Warbucks are looking to purchase some super sweet art, I’m understanding that there will be some available. And for those who want to meet the man, he’ll be signing at his booth on Saturday from 3-5 and Sunday from 1-2.

And don’t forget the Harvey Awards! We at AdHQ are busting our rumps to get all you attendees a little something-something for the gift bag!

And last, but not least, a big, BIG congrats to Marc and Shelly on the birth of their very special guest, Reese Aaron Nathan!

Man, oh man… HeroesCon is simply the best.

It’s just so daggon fun. We did the math before we went, and this is the seventh year we exhibited. We went a few times as a fanboy before that, so really, we’ve been watching this grow into one of the best shows in the US. (And yes, that was a period.)

What makes it so good? Just having a good time! I’ve never been a word guy, so I’ll apologize for this rambling reportage in advance. I’ll sprinkle some good ol’ photos in there to keep it interesting as well. So, here we go in a chrono-sort of order.

I opted for the cheapskate way and decided to drive down early Friday morning. The storms that night didn’t help, as our pooches don’t like storms. So, I found myself hitting the road at 3:30 freaking AM. I don’t mind that too much, though. I always like driving around when others aren’t. A weird solitary relaxing thing. However, having to work a show until 7pm makes for some yawning!

But we (me and the comics?!?) arrive, I do the load in, park the car, and actually get to check into the hotel at around 9am. Where the hell else does that happen? Fantastic! I head back over to the show and proceed to unpack and organize my space. Usually the air isn’t hitting full force at these times, so I’ve learned to take a hankypanky (thanks J Chris and Duane!)

And I change shirts after I’m hopefully all done sweating. I only mention that because it became a weird shirt-off showdown between Alec LongstrechArmStrong and myself. Don’t worry. He wins. But that might be why there are pics of me shirtless on the internet. I recall Dharbin asking if I hit a tanning booth.

Shortly after getting my game on, the Pittsburghers show up. By that, it’s good ol Jimmie Rugg, Tom Scioli and Ed Piskor. Did I mention we had an AWESOME island within Indie Island? We did. Also included in our Island was our bud C. Scott Morse, Jim FoodOne Mahfood, Nathan Fox, Paul Maybury and Atomic Robo Scott Wegener. I’m an ass. I never got around to talking to Scott. So, sorry.

Friday is pretty casual. Not a mad rush (unless you’re an Adam Hughes Fan?). So, we glide into the day, meeting and greeting. Two of the first people I met at the show was our main squeeze Dustin Harbin and Neil. Neil’s a sweetie. He brought us both gifts that shall remain unspoken.

During the show, good ol’ Tom Spurgeon stopped by to chat for a bit. Here’s his thoughts on the show. If you ever get a chance to chat with Tom, you should. Other chatters we’d like to name drop from the weekend: Tim O’Shea, Johanna Draper Carlson, Mr. Phil Jackson, Andrew Chapel Hill Neal, Marc Nathan, Justin Gammon, Adam Daughhetee, the fanaticon guys, Bryan Deemer, Darrin from Comic Envy, Chuck Moore, Shannon Stewart, Bob Schreck and countless others who I’m afraid I’m forgetting. Sorry.

Debuts! Both CAVEMEN IN SPACE and FCHS made their debuts at this show. I tried to point people in the direction of Joey, Vito and Rachel, so hopefully them moved some copies.

During the first day, Frank Miller from Richmond Comix swung by to surprise me as I was talking to the Goodins. It was a nice surprise, since this was Frank’s first time to Heroes. The big kicker is that Frank is a pretty big Scott Morse fan. Going back to purchasing his first piece of art from the Telstar Travelling Art Show! So,Frank was all curious when the Morse was going to show. See, Morse was running a bit late due to some airline cancellation.

Fast forward an hour or two, and Mr. Morse shows up to a semi-line awaiting him. He barely has time to settle in before people are curious to see what goodies he might have brought!

Later that night Morse, Frank, his daughter Jess and myself would head out to Phat Burrito for some quick and easy grub. Nothing too crazy since I was coasting on fumes. That said, we did make it over to the 22 Gallery art show… which was pretty awesome. Lots of fantastic art including some great Kirby and Ditko. Didn’t last long as sleep was calling me!

Most of Saturday now seems a blur. The big stand out during the show was my inclusion on a panel called Defective Comics: A Celebration of Superhero Oddness which was moderated by Ben Towle and Craig Fischer. The other panelists were Jeff Parker, Evan Dorkin, and Colleen Coover. When it was my turn to talk, I didn’t say too much other than I was there to hear Evan rant. And did he ever! Well, not really ranting.. more like just being Evan. If you’ve never had that chance, you’re missing something. I guess my big moment was when Ben asked me who I thought the lamest superhero might be, and I told him the first that came to my mind was Forbush Man. And Evan exclaimed “He was SUPPOSE to be lame!” Well, I then rebutted that I guess I was curious to read the new Arsenal comic and off the conversation ran!

Later that night I had a chance to talk even further with Craig Fischer. He’s quite an interesting person. He kept our conversations constantly moving and knows a fair amount about film and comics. Our other gang of talkers was Roger Langridge, MK Reed, Chris Schweizer and Tom Spurgeon. Jim Rugg and I had a deep conversation as well. But the bourbon might have been talking, too. (Jim has been acting more like an AdHouse EiC of late. Just saying! Also, I like this. His thoughts, opinions and advise are valuable.)

Honestly, I forget if it was Saturday or Sunday, but I got a chance to chat with Hope Larson and her Mom. That was nice.

Did I mention how awesome Joe Lambert is? Well, he is.

Saturday Dinner! We did Mert’s. It was crowded. We had a reservation. Didn’t help, since 1/2 the group couldn’t make it there in time. But it all worked out. Great conversations, food and times were had. I’m glad Sammy ended up joining in, since he is always a pleasurable conversationalist.

I hit the hay rather early since I’m old, and I had to be ready for SUNDAY! Which I put in all caps to emphasize the excitement of shopping before you’re stuck behind a table. Morse and I made our way in right when they opened and straight to Frank Miller’s 1/2 price boxes. Man… Did you see that Heckle & Jeckle he found? That cover is awesomeness. I wandered a bit (since I had already bought my comics from Frank) and was really coming up empty. I found a First Issue Special with The Creeper that I don’t ever recall owning. I bought Jim Rugg a Steeltown Rockers #1. That was about the glory of it all, which was kind of leaving me sad.

Then J Chris shows up, and puts it into 2nd gear. Following him around, I scored the Dave Cooper series Body Count. And then we found the Grendel Tales issue that printed my letter. (It was also a Dave Cooper comic!) I borrowed that to show a few people, since that had been one of the topics of discussion the night before. Later on I would find some awesoeme graphic novels. And when I got back, the Image Fairy had left a bundle on my chair!

Sometimes I forget to mention how much I love Top Shelf. All these guys are awesome. Rob V. rulez!

Sunday being Sunday, we’d all take turns venturing out to hunt and gather our obscure needs. One time I even won a piece of art!

The end of the show was the typical flurry of activity. Last minute purchases, trades, conversations and packing. When asked how well I did, I’d say “Well, I got it all out in one trip.” Which, as a solo guy, makes me happy. As Josh Latta noted, we now deal with the Post Con depression. I’ll look back on this one as one of the best. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, BIGBIG thanks to Shelton, Dustin, Shawn, Phil, Seth and ALL the volunteers who make this show so great. You feel like family. Family that I WANT to visit.

Full flickr set.

On the way back home, I saw a 2nd rainbow, to bookend the first that happened the day before the show started. Now, is that magic, or just weird weather?

It’s this weekend! I don’t know if my blog post will entice anyone who presently wasn’t attending to attend, but I just wanted to let all our peeps know some deats.

I’ve been asked to be on a panel by Ben Towle.  Defective Comics: A Celebration of Superhero Oddness. The event will include a presentation by Towle on the sad-sack super-man in Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library; a panel discussion with Colleen Coover, Evan Dorkin, Jeff Parker and Chris Pitzer; a talk by Crogan Adventures creator Chris Schweizer about art-comix creators crossing over into mainstream superhero comics; and clips from some of the weirdest and worst superhero films of all time. Excelsior? Saturday 3-5. Check out all the panels!

Found out that we’re located at AA-535, 536 & 537. We’re a little AdIsland with good ol’ Jim Rugg and C. Scott Morse flanking our sides and creating one of the most handsome art buffers around. This be where dragons live (or whatever those old maps use to say.) Also, we’ve got some sweetass neighbors that I’ll be excited to yack with.

I plan on having a few big sales, so come on by and LET’S MAKE A DEAL. I’m also thinking of bringing some interesting props to spruce up the table. A convergence of two worlds if you will. RELEASE THE KRAKEN!

HOT OFF THE PRESSES: For all you newsies (ie: Peoples who like their comics printed on newsprint), you should check out Dharbin’s thing. It will be available at J Chris’ table which I think is 431.

Be sure to swing by the art auction if you dig the originalz. But don’t bid on what I might want! I’ll bitechaz if you do.

OK, now I’m getting silly.

Well, if you don’t believe all THOSE reasons you should come, then by gollee, go check out J Chris’s wonderful reasons. J Chris tells me that he’ll have some new Neatobot cards. You will need them.

Hope to see you there!

After trading many emails with all of those involved, we can announce that Scott Morse is coming to HeroesCon.

I think this is special because Scott hasn’t been to an East Coast show in quite some time. And he’s NEVER been to HeroesCon.

So, those who loves Scott’s work should make time to come to the show. June 4-6 in Charlotte, NC. Scott might even be on some panels about Pixar. And I’m sure he’ll create some of that fantastic Live Art he’s known to do.

Anyways, I’ll be back to talk about Heroes in a few more details, but wanted all the Morse fans to hear it sooner than later.

Was awesome. It gets better every year. And THAT is saying something.

As Josh shows, it was a happy place. What follows are a few random thoughts generated the day after a long-ass haul back from the TO. (So, that’s just a disclaimery way of saying, I love you all, but if I forgot to mention you, it’s because my memory is gone.)

First off, what a pleasure it was to travel with Dustin, Matt and Jim. Gave us lots of time to wax philosophical and discuss farts. Or something. These guys are the best, and if you don’t know them or support them, then you should check them out. But if you’re reading this, you’re probably cool, and already know them…

Probably the most exciting new thing I found was Koyama Press. Anne was a treat to meet! I had heard of them before I got there, but to see their books in person was fantastic. Kudos on the DW Award!

Speaking of Josh (above), he’s got some sweet new art stuff happening. I’m excited for him. You do know about his new site, right?

It was grand to see Joey Weiser. His CAVEMEN IN SPACE should be in shops VERY soon! (It looks like it will debut 5/12/10!)

Warnock is always fantastic to see. We hung the most at the afterparty where he shared his son’s Teen Titans sketchbook. (droool.)

Also at the afterP I got to hang with Salgood Sam for a long time. Very interesting. and NICE!

Gina G. was there, too. Hand claps all around for her hard work organizing the panels.

Joe Lambert (Is he one of the hardest working cartoonists?) was at TCAF and started a new sketchbook as well. I helped him try and figure out how to spell Colossus. Both mine and Josh’s attempts were wrong. Of course, Jim got it right. The sketches I saw were OFF THE HOOK.

We had lots of food journeys. The pics are here.

I missed both K&S M&M. We were only a room away, but never saw each other.

Did I tell you Jay Stephens made the trip? For me. He made the trip for me. First off, he recognized me. Not sure why I didn’t think he would, but anyways. Second off, he had some new stuff. Yay!

Also, Karl’s Christopher Charles was one of things I promised myself I would get. Promise kept, and boy howdy does it look beautiful.

Andy from Conundrum was a nice neighbor. You always enjoy a show if you can do the hustle and not step on too many toes.

I learned how to pronounce Tom Scioli’s name. Now watch me mis-spell it from here to eternity.

Jim really wanted to check out that EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP flick, so we did that. It was cool in that I hadn’t been to the movies in forever, and then it gave us something to think/talk about afterward.

OK… I guess that’s all I can think of right now. So…

In closing, a BIG, BIG LOVE to Peter, Christopher, Nathalie and all the volunteers who made this TCAF the very best yet.. which is saying something! You all rock!

Y’all are a-comin’ to TCAF, right?

Only one of the best (if not the best!) festivals dedicated to the funny books on North American soil!

As I’ll proudly state, we’ve been to all but one of them. So, yep, we’ll be there this weekend along with Joshua (Driven by Lemons) Cotter, Jim (Afrodisiac) Rugg, Joey (The Ride Home) Weiser and countless others!

I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully you can make it out!

Need to stay up on the latest info? Why not follow their twitter feed! And mine!

Oh, and we’ll be announcing our big-ass Fall book, too!

+++

In other news, just saw this swell Jim Rugg interview by Multiversity Comics.

Did you get your jabberwacky?

Okeydoke… See you in the TO!

… I always think of The Who.

So, as True AdBelievers know, I was on the road to Atlanta and then a day at MoCCA. I would LOVE to do one of those blog posts about the show, but with my getting ready to jet off to the C2E2, I’m thinking it may have to wait. But, for those that lean more towards the visual, by golly, go check out our pics.

In other news, the judges have voted! (And Simon was soooo catty!)
The Afrodisiac Art Object winners have been announced!
Many thanks to all who entered! I actually got to see one of the winners at MoCCA!

Oh… and I finally got my motherbox. About freakin’ time.

Just wanted to post a quick one while catching out breath…

Many thanks to all for their support of the Afro. First printing is pretty much gone. Second one is on the way.

The judges have been fighting over the winners to the Afro art contest.

We’re not exhibiting at MoCCA this year. Long story. But I’ll hopefully be there Sunday strolling the aisles. I’ll also be doing an interview with Mr. Phil and Charlito about non-AdHouse. Or pre-AdHouse. Stay tuned!

We’re also not exhibiting at C2E2, but I do dig Chicago, and I want to check the show out for possible future exhibition, so we’ll be there a few days as well.

Got a new book on the site, and to be announced in a few.

Also planning/quoting/etc. for a heckuva book for this fall.

What else? Oh.. we’re the OOP, yeah, you know me. Just that a few of our books are nearing OOP, which is weird. But we’re small press!

We’re off to Atlanta for a few days this week. Get to see the Jet Age and the Wedding Present Wednesday night.

TCAF is on the horizon and should be all types of fun!

I guess that’s all I can think of right now. More soonish! Take care y’all!