Free Comic Book Day 2015 Recap

by on May 5, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, News

[dc]A[/dc]nother Free Comic Book Day come and gone. But not forgotten!

No sir. Free Comic Book Day is always a big day for me—and this year even more. As I wrote earlier, I split the day between two comic book shops in Lansing: Clem’s Comics & Games, and Red Fox Comics.

Clem’s Comics & Games (8:00 AM to 10:30 AM)

First, thank you to Alec and the gang at Clem’s for asking me to be a part of their Free Comic Book Day event once again, for the third year in a row. (Read about 2013 and 2014)

clems sign fcbd

Hey! That’s me!

The crowd, like every year, was large and hungry for comics. I met plenty of young comic book fans, including a charming young lady (maybe 10 or younger) holding a lightsaber and wearing a Doctor Hooves t-shirt. She told me she was an avid fan of My Little Pony comics, and as her lightsaber suggested, loved Star Wars.

Clem’s asks artists to give free head sketches for kids (12 and under)¹, which usually means I end up drawing interesting stuff. My first year, it was Sonic the Hedgehog. The next year, Deadpool. This year, there wasn’t one popular thing, aside from drawing a couple of kids wearing a Batman mask.

The rest of my sketches were: Stealth Elf (Skylanders), Goodra (Pokemon), Sailor Moon, and Wonder Woman.

Sadly, I forgot to snap photos of these. I did six sketches total, and it was a 50/50 split between boys and girls (counting the ‘kids as Batman’ sketches). 

What Sold? coloring books (3), a watercolor random cartoon², several mini watercolor cartoons (what I used to call sketch cards), and stickers.

random cartoon

A random cartoon I did at Clem’s.

Red Fox Comics (12:00 PM to 4:00 PM)

Thanks to Daniel and Keri at Red Fox Comics for asking me to be a part of their event.

I tore down my table at Clem’s, packed, and dashed over to Lansing’s West side for the Free Comic Book Day event at Red Fox Comics.

Unlike Clem’s, this was the first Free Comic Book Day event for Red Fox Comics, so I didn’t know what to expect (I had high hopes though, because their local artist event in December went great).

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Free Comic Book Day and Capital City Comic Con This Weekend

by on May 1, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, News

[dc]T[/dc]his Saturday, May 2nd , is Free Comic Book Day. I wrote earlier about my plans for the day, and Sunday at Capital City Comic Con, so here is a quick re-cap.

fcbd logo

FCBD logo.

Saturday May 2 – FCBD Split

I’m splitting Free Comic Book Day between two different comic shops in the Lansing area.

8:00 AM to 10:30 AM – Clem’s Comics & Games (216 S. Washington Sq., Suite B, Lansing, MI, 48933).

I return once again to Clem’s in downtown Lansing. Other artists will be at the event, with more throughout the day. Like every year, all the artists will have free head sketches for kids 12 and under.¹ I hope kids like off-model Batman.

Those wanting a fancier sketch can buy one of my random cartoons, and I’ll have my usual stuff for sale: mini-comics, prints, and watercolor cartoons.

I recommend getting to Clem’s as early as you can. Their event always draws a big crowd, and you could miss out on some great Free Comic Book Day comics by arriving later in the day (plus, you’ll miss me!).

12:00 PM to 4:00 PM – Red Fox Comics (723 Brookside Dr., Lansing, MI, 48917)

Starting at noon, you can find me on Lansing’s West side at Red Fox Comics—just a bit West of the Lansing Mall (in a strip mall next to Outback Steakhouse). I’ll have free head sketches for kids 12 and under again, and selling the rest of my goodies.

Buy a Coloring Book!

My Clattertron coloring book is ready to go, and will be on sale at my Free Comic Book Day events and the next day at Capital City Comic Con. 

clattertron coloring book

I’m finished! Via my Instagram.

While supplies last, with each purchase of a coloring book I’ll include a free 24-pack of crayons. I only have 11 packs of crayons, and when they are gone, they are gone.

 Sunday May 3 – Capital City Comic Con (Sunday Only)

Even though Capital City Comic Con runs Saturday and Sunday, I will be there on Sunday only.

Capital City Comic Con is at Haslett High School, but don’t the ‘high school’ part confuse you—there is a lot of space. Other conventions and shows are held in the same space regularly.

Comic pals Sherief AbouElSeoud and Adam Talley will be there as well, including other Michigan artists, including K Lynn Smith (she makes the comic Plume).

There are other guests coming too, including the always fun Star Wars costume group, the 501st.

See you on Saturday and Sunday! Bring me coffee, and I’ll give you something. Like a sticker or two.

–

¹ Ex: Just Batman’s head. The idea is to keep things fast and simple.

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Clattertron Coloring Books Finished!

by on April 28, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, News

[dc]T[/dc]he many, MANY hours of hard work are at an end. I finished making my coloring books, and they are ready for sale this Saturday at my Free Comic Book Day events.

clattertron coloring book

I’m finished! Via my Instagram.

Run and Gun

I started work on my coloring books on April 1st, with figuring out how to make the physical book, and finished stapling the completed coloring books on April 26th. No wonder I am tired.

But, I met my deadline: finished coloring books to sell on Free Comic Book Day. Next time though, I won’t try to make something like this in under a month. I just about went crazy a few times.¹

Piece by Piece

The coloring books came in two parts. ASAP Printing in Okemos handled the color covers (which turned out great), and I printed the interior pages myself.

Yes, ASAP could have handled the entire project, but I wanted to keep things easy.² (Next time though, I will at least ask about them handling the entire book)

This meant I assembled all the pages of the coloring books, folded them, added the cover, and stapled them together myself.

clattertron coloring book

Work, work, work. Via my Instagram.

My new long reach stapler did the job. It took a few tires to get the hang of assembling, but by the end I churned them out at a reasonable pace.

Step by Step

I assembled all 64 coloring books myself. It really wasn’t too difficult, as the book is only three sheets of paper (12 pages, double-sided), plus the cover. Tedious, yes, but not difficult.

I came up with a system and powered through.

  • First, I put all the interior pages in different piles, facing the correct way.
  • Then, I grabbed the pages in the correct order (easy thanks to the piles).
  • Next, I folded the sheets, ran a pen along the edge to get a crisp fold, and set them aside in a pile. 

Sixty-three times later, a stack of folded interior pages sat before me, ready to be stapled. 

After all the interior pages were ready, I got to work on stapling.

  • I placed the book on the table, folded open, and smoothed the bend in the middle.
  • I laid the cover on top and checked the alignment.
  • Stapled!

A task like this seems daunting, but I broke everything into small steps and worked in batches. Finish a batch, take a break, start another batch, repeat. Listening to podcasts helped too.³

Once I got into a rhythm, the work went fast.

Buy a Coloring Book Starting This Weekend

I’m selling my coloring books in person at my Free Comic Book Day events this Saturday, and Sunday at Capital City Comic Con. Bonus deal this weekend: with each purchase of a coloring book, I’m including a free 24-pack of crayons(while supplies last—I only have 11).

The rest of the coloring books will come with me to Appleseed and Cherry Capital Comic Con later in the month.

Regarding online sales, I will get a few coloring books on Etsy, but after this weekend. I still have a lot to do before Free Comic Book Day and I probably won’t have the time at the moment. Maybe. I could catch a second wind and get them on Etsy sooner.

I’m probably not going to offer digital versions (like a PDF) any time soon, if at all. I like having a physical  item only available at shows (or via something like Etsy).

I’m gonna go pass out now, OK?

–

¹ Well. Crazier.

² Which is what I kept telling myself.

³ Marek vs. Wyshynski and Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast.

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Coming Soon: A Clattertron Coloring Book

by on April 21, 2015 at 12:01 am
Posted In: Blog, News

[dc]I[/dc]f you follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram, you probably saw several posts about my newest project: a Clattertron coloring book.

Color It Hot

Coloring books, to borrow a line from Zoolander, are ‘so hot right now.’ Coloring books for adults, specifically—by which I mean complex drawings, not coloring books about adult situations (which exist too).

My coloring book features complex designs and funny cartoons. It is, like everything I do here, all ages—targeted at adults and kids.

Test Drive

clattertron coloring book

Test printing my coloring book pages. Via my Instagram.

I performed one last test print of my final inked drawings over the weekend (see above photo), and they turned out great. Twelve drawings, each brand new for this coloring book.

Each page is 11” x 17” folded in half, making it my largest book to date (my mini-comics are an 8.5” x 11” page folded into quarters, and my Chocolate Quest comic books were roughly standard comic book size, about 6.63″ x 10.24″).

Starting Small

My original plan was for a smaller book, folding a 8.5” x 11” page in half (the size of most ‘mini’ books you see at shows).

clattertron coloring book

A smaller coloring book mock up I made. Via my Instagram.

But, I decided to go all in and went for the larger size—which makes sense for a coloring book. Larger drawings are more fun to color, and they show off my illustrations better.

Cover It Up

Stephanie (aka Mrs. J. Hogan) is my self-appointed business manager and pushed me to make an eye-catching color cover. I hesitated at first, because this meant higher production costs, which means I need to charge more, which means I could have a harder time selling the final book.

But, Stephanie works in retail, and has for many years. She wants me to have higher quality items which look nice–not just stuff I sell for a dollar and look the part (like my mini-comics). I can’t argue with that, much (because I did at first for the reasons above).

I whipped up a color cover, and after seeing the final design, I knew she was right (well, she’s always right). As of this writing, I’m waiting on an estimate for printing the cover.

I have plan B cover if the full bleed color cover¹ is too much (also in color). It won’t be as fancy, but still nicer than just black and white.

Buy It Soon

My plan is to have my coloring books for sale at my Free Comic Book Day events. Everything is on track for my goal at the moment. If the coloring books end up being a hot item, I will probably have to get more before Appleseed and Cherry Capital Comic Con.

Stay tuned!

–

¹ Printing jargon. The color goes right to the edge of the page.

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