Thing sketchbook, part 15

The fabled Thing sketchbook is back for another round.  Let's see what's in stock for this round!

Carl Yonder - Beyond Comics signing 2013

Carl is a fellow FUBAR creator and a driving force behind the comic "Pirate Eye" from Action Lab Comics.  As he was in attendance at Beyond Comics for our big FUBAR signing, I of course harassed him into adding this great image to the book.  As Carl is the artist on a pirate-themed comic, it seemed only natural that he would draw the Blackbeard Thing from Fantastic Four #5.  It's the second of its kind in the book, but it's got a flair all its own.

Eric Spohn - Beyond Comics Signing 2013

I asked FUBAR artist Eric Spohn to draw in the sketchbook at a criminally late hour, as everyone else was either packing up or out the door, and all he did was draw a full figure rendition of the Thing in his favorite punk rock gear.  It's very Frankenstein-esque, moody and dark.  Certainly not bad for the last minute.  I'm glad Eric was willing to wait around!

Jeff McComsey - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

This entry is very much a showcase item within the book.  My goal with the sketchbook is to get a wide range or styles from a varied number of artists, to the point that no one artist has more than one sketch in the book...until now.  Here are the reasons I broke my rule:

- because this is actually on the inside front cover, serving as a frontispiece for the whole book as opposed to being "just" another entry
- because Jeff is my friend and who else can you abuse if not your friends
- because, honestly, who else could I have hogtied into doing something like this?

What we have here is a partial cover recreation of Marvel Two-in-One #50, a classic Thing tale from the likes of Byrne, Perez and Sinnott:

Jeff spent the better part of three days at the Pittsburgh Comicon sketching this out until it was perfect, and man, how awesome it turned out to be.  An early warning to Jeff McComsey: the book has an inside back cover, too.

In order to draw this cover, Jeff had but one demand...

Jeff McComsey - Baltimore Comic-Con 2011/Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

...Jeff told me that I had to let him "finish" his previous sketch from the 2011 Baltimore Comic-Con.  I, of course, didn't think that it needed to be finished, but then he handed back this with such added depth.  For reference, here's the earlier version:

And we can see the difference between the two versions.  A heck of a bargain, if I can say so.

Rusty Gilligan - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

Rusty Gilligan was one of my first collaborators in comics, inking the short story "The Deep" for the book Leesway from Ronin studios, which was...what, my third publication?  Something like that.  Rusty is a Marvel inker who worked on some classic books and famously worked with Stan Lee on some projects.  I got to meet him in person for the first time at the Pittsburgh Comicon, and he was kind enough to draw this classic Thing with a familiar street sign and balloon quote.

Barry Kitson - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

Getting a sketch from Barry Kitson is a test of endurance.  As I learned in 2012, Kitson will graciously provide free sketches for anyone who is brave enough to wait in line for one.  He takes loving care with all the work that he does, and that means that sometimes a single sketch will take over an hour (or longer) to complete.  Due to the fact that Kitson is not a robot and conventions are not open all night, only a small handful of convention-goers leave with some art from him.  It's a fun tradition that requires one to get in line as early as humanly possible.

I gave it my best to wait in line for Kitson on the opening Friday of the 2013 Pittsburgh Comicon, but try as I did, I was only fourth in line by the time I got to his booth.  Because of this, I waited four and a half hours to land this watercolored sketch, but now that it's over, I can say that it was worth it.  Kitson put on a great show and I'm thrilled to have him add another piece and another story to the Thing sketchbook.

I bought some production artwork from Kitson's FF run while I waited in line, for a great price.  Since he worked on several issues of the title, I asked Kitson to draw the Future Foundation symbol in the corner of the page, to which he obliged, meaning that this is the first sketch of this version of the Thing in the book.  It counts, I tell you!

If Barry Kitson comes back to the Pittsburgh Comicon for the next go-round...I might just have to get back in line.

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Okay, that's that for this time.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the latest sketches of the Thing!

Pictures from the 2013 Pittsburgh Comicon

The 2013 Pittsburgh Comicon has come and gone, and there are pictures to be seen.  The Pittsburgh show is always interesting, and this version was no different.  It's the first time I've brought out the Wagon Wheel Comics booth in quite a while.  I presented my first panel.  I got some Thing sketches!  It's something I'll have to dwell on a bit longer before I pass judgment on the event.  But for now, some images and commentary:

Friday night of the show was just about as dead as a convention of any repute could be.  It makes me wonder if the Pittsburgh Comic-Con even needs a Friday anymore.  In any case, it allowed me to stand in line for a great Barry Kitson sketch.

Kitson has worked on a number of mainstream books; I first became aware of him from his early '90s work on Adventures of Superman.  Recently, he drew a few issues of FF, which made him a prime candidate for the Thing sketchbook.  Kitson doesn't charge for sketches, but he takes such care with them that there's only the opportunity for a handful at any convention.  I began the show fourth in line, and waited five hours to get a sketch.  It was certainly worth it, but it was a big time commitment.  I'll post a nice scan of it in the coming weeks, but here's a shot of  the finished work with the relatively giant Kitson himself!

FUBAR chief Jeff McComsey and I had a panel about publishing small press comics - it seemed like a good idea especially for a small show like Pittsburgh's.  Overall, I'd say that it went very well!  There ended up being about 50 people in the room and it seemed to me that Jeff and I held everyone's interest for a little over an hour.  Plus Carmen Sandiego showed up to hear what we had to say!

Because I enjoy hearing the sound of my own voice, I filmed the panel and uploaded it to YouTube.  I'll embed the panel here on the blog soon!

There were a number of costumes to be seen at the show, especially on Sunday, when I believe you get in free if you wear one.  These guys knew how to do it.

I've seen these two ladies at the show before; in fact, one of them dressed as Quicksilver and one, I think, as the Flash the day before.  They both do good work.

This guy basically has the perfect build for an older Finn, and the beard looks just goofy enough to work.  Princess Bubblegum and BMO are great as well!

I saw this Chainsaw Vigilante costume at the previous Pittsburgh Comicon, were I was equally impressed.  I chatted with her this time around, and I mentioned that I had shown her picture to CV creator Ben Edlund at the 2012 Comic-Con in San Diego (which I did).  She was pretty thrilled to hear that.

Looks!  It's unfortunately-placed balloon animal Venom!  Oops.

Game of Thrones costumes continue to be popular.  This girl did a nice job with hers.  I have...no idea who the guys in back are supposed to be.  Gendry and Hodor?  No, that's not it.  I'm stumped.

This was a pretty elaborate concoction of the X-Men's Hank McCoy/Beast.  The mouth even moved!

Without a doubt, the best costumes I saw all weekend (I'm a little biased, but whatever) were these two - a real-life Frankenberry and Boo Berry couple!  Incredible!  We chatted for a while about the cereal and the costumes.  They were a friendly bunch, but of course that goes without saying.  The Frankenberry glasses were very well done.

The FUBAR booth bumped right up next to the Wagon Wheel Comics booth for the weekend, and it was a nice treat to get to talk with Jeff McComsey and art director Steve Becker for a few days.  They know how to set up a booth.

On Saturday, someone brought over this hand made piece of FUBAR fan art!

Jeff and Steve cranked out sketches all weekend long - this one was my favorite...zombie E.T.!

I managed to snap a picture at the FUBAR booth before the weekend ended and I packed up to leave.  It was a fun time despite some lags in attendance (which is something the convention will have to address at some point, I hope).  I was able to meet some nice people, buy a few things and get some sketches.

Now it's off to the New York Comic-Con, where I'd imagine things will be...a little bit busier.

Come visit at the Pittsburgh Comicon!

The Pittsburgh Comicon is once again upon us, and as is my civic duty as a Pittsburgher, I've set up the Wagon Wheel Comics booth and will be in attendance all weekend in the small press section, right next to the FUBAR booth!  If you're in the area, come by and see both me and also a bunch of other people that are infinitely more recognizable.

They will be more recognizable, that is, until the panel that I'm a part of takes place.  Also, I'm part of a panel this year.  I am!  The panel, cleverly titled "Small Press Publishing" and featuring both Jeff McComsey and Steve Becker in addition to myself, takes place on Saturday the 28th at 4:00 pm in room 3 of the convention center.  After the panel ends...they CLOSE THE COMICON.  I think that means they have high expectations for it.

The show is already a day old, and I have a few things to show for it, including this great Barry Kitson Thing sketch.  It's got a good story behind it, too, which is part of the fun.

The convention is open on Saturday from 10:00-6:00 and Sunday from 10:00-5:00.  Drop by for a little bit and say hello!  Or other words.

Pictures from the 2012 Pittsburgh Comicon, part 3

Back again, huh?  Well, like it or not, it's time for the final installment of pictures from the 2012 Pittsburgh Comicon.  If you'd like to see more...just keep scrolling down the page.  Seriously, there are two other posts with pictures and they're right below this one.  Anyway, our first picture is of the booth.  And who's that handsome, possibly bearded gentleman behind a Venture Bros. henchman mask?  Telling would be defeating the purpose of a mask, eh?

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU LOVE FASCISM!

Here's a shot from the convention floor, right in front of the FUBAR/215 corner booth.  It looks like there's going to be a showdown between the Pink Power Ranger and the guy in the Steelers jacket.  My money's on Mr. Steeler.

Here's an unexpected treat - from the Tick universe comes a Chainsaw Vigilante costume!  And a decent one at that.  I struck up a conversation with this girl and we talked about the costume, the character, and his short-lived (but surprisingly good) series from New England Comics.  The funny thing is that I could barely understand what she said because of her mask.

What's even better about this very nicely put together costume is the fact that I'll bet a lot of people just think it's a female Captain America costume this woman came up with, when in fact it's modeled after the character American Dream from the MC2 Spider-Girl universe.  Her shield was really impressive.

Here's a random picture of the Stan Lee line.  It was like this at almost any point in the day on Saturday and the first half of Sunday.

Here I am, trying to look cool alongside the already cool Antonio Crespo.  The booth next to ours was abandoned all weekend, so on Sunday, Tony laid claim to half of it and sold some prints of his work.  He drew a really cool entry into my Thing sketchbook, which I've scanned and will show off at a later date.

And after the show ended, I ran over Jeff McComsey with a hand cart.  Those are the casualties of convention warfare.

I did manage to pick up some swag at the show.  Barry Kitson made an appearance - I can't remember him being in attendance at previous shows in Pittsburgh - and I got him to sign a few books: two from his 1990s Adventures of Superman run and an issue of a Fantastic Four miniseries.

Kitson was drawing free full body, penciled, inked and watercolored sketches for anyone in attendance.  This was such a grand gesture on his part, but I didn't end up with one, unfortunately.  If you wanted a sketch badly enough, you had to wait in line literally for hours to get it.  When I inquired about it, I was told that I would have to wait roughly seven hours in line.  You paid for this art, the thinking was, with your time, and you couldn't leave the line and come back when it was your turn - you had to stay with it for the long haul.

Those who stuck it out got some beautiful artwork and, seemingly, some new friendships with the fellow line warriors they stood with for hours on end.  If I wasn't at the show with a booth, I might have decided to try my stamina, but since I was at the show to sell things, I couldn't get away for more than 20 or so minutes at a time, and thus didn't have nearly enough free time to devote to this.  Even so, I'm sure that those who made it through have a treasured piece of art and some fun stories to tell in the balance.

I also picked up Astonishing Tales #5 and thus I now have the first eight issues of the series.  These issues each featured Dr. Doom as the headliner and co-star.  Now that I've got 'em all, I can finally sit down and read them in order, so I'm looking forward to that.

I believe that with this purchase, I have every issue of every series with Doom's name in the title, or where he starred/co-starred.  So this includes recent titles like Books of Doom, '90s titles like Doom 2099 and earlier books like the above series and Super-Villain Team-Up.  Of course, I didn't even know about Astonishing Tales until a few years ago, so I could be wrong.  Even so, it's something I've been working toward for a while.

At the end of the show one day, I saw SteelMan driving home, in full costume, on his motorcycle.  I wondered where SteelDog was, but then I saw her in the car trailing the bike.  Funny stuff.

I heard some retailers openly wonder about the show's future at the end of the day on Sunday, with one saying that he hadn't heard anything about a 2013 show and was going to approach someone about it soon if no one told him anything.  When I thought about it, I realized that in years past, someone from the show would make his or her rounds and hand out flyers with next year's date on it.  This year that never happened, though at 5:00 on Sunday, when the show officially closed, Renee George (I think), one of the show's coordinators, got on the intercom and proudly pronounced "we'll see you next year!"

I'm not sure if this means that convention is in any danger of not returning next year, and I certainly can't speculate on what's happening on their end.  For me, though, it was obvious that the 2012 Pittsburgh Comicon was the slowest show I had been to in a while.  Whether this was true or not, or just my perspective, I can't say.  I hope that the show returns, because Pittsburgh should have a well-attended comic convention.  The region may not be able to support an A-level show like New York or even, well, Philadelphia, but it should be able to have a moderately sized, fan-friendly show.  If there is a show next year, I'll be there.