free comic book day is tomorrow!

Free Comic Book Day is a really exciting holiday for me (mainly because of the "free" and the "comic book" components of the equation).  Often times it's official, sanctioned free comics that are handed out from larger publishers, but each year it seems more and more smaller publishers are taking it upon themselves to publish free comics.  This year, Tugboat Press has Runner Runner & Sparkplug Comicbooks, Teenage Dinosaur, Revival House & Floating World Comics released Bad Trip.  

Last year, Sam Sharpe, Erik Schneider and I released a minicomic, Handout Comics,

This year, Sam and I coordinated a second issue of Handout Comics (don't worry, Erik is in this one too!).  We had it offset printed by 1984 Printing in Oakland, and had a rubber stamp made by Lakeview Stamp Company for the title.  But the contents is the exciting part!  We got 11 awesome Chicago-based comics artists to contribute to the comic:

Nate Beaty!

Bernie McGovern!

 Erik Schneider!

 Me!

Beth Hetland!

Ian McDuffie!

Sam Sharpe!

Jeremy Sorese!

Jeremy Tinder!
(who also did the cover!)

 Jeff Zwirek!

Caroline Picard!

They'll be available at the following stores:

Brainstorm Comics 

Challengers Comics & Conversation

Chicago Comics

BOTH Comix Revolution Locations

Evil Squirrel Comics

G-Mart

Quimby's Bookstore

Third Coast Comics

& I sent a handful of copies with my friends from 2D Cloud to TCAF this weekend in Toronto!

So check them out, pick 'em up, they're 100% FREE! Happy Free Comic Book Day! 

milwaukee zine fest/pinstriped bloodbath release party

 Yesterday I trekked past the "Cheddar Curtain" to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Milwaukee Zine Fest.  It was so much fun!  I went up there with Matt, Leslie and Ramsey (see previous post for links to their blogs and awesome zines).  The fest was at Falcon Bowl, a local nest for the Polish Falcons, which features a bar, bowling alley in the basement and a community ballroom space.  The space housed about 30 tables, full of folks from Milwaukee, Chicago, and Madison.  They all had really interesting zines, and I think I left with more printed matter than I showed up with.

My travel companions/table mates were lots of fun, and I had a great time with them all day.  We ate food from the Riverwest Co-Op and then ate dinner at the Palomino, and had nice conversations.  Everyone at the table had a good day selling trading and giving their publications away.  I moved 85 different books off my table, 20 of which I got money for, the rest were trades or free comics.  I feel bad saying this (as I don't want to talk down any of the comics shows at which I exhibited this year), but it was probably the most enjoyable tabling I've done this year.

As we were leaving, Nicolle, one of the show's organizers asked our table when we would be organizing a Chicago Zine fest.  The rest of our trip was peppered with planning for a zine fest here in Chicago.  So, I'll keep you informed about those plans.

NEW TOPIC:

    This Tuesday I'll be participating in the release party for Pinstriped Bloodbath,  the Chicago gangster comics anthology I'm in.  It's at good ol' Quimby's Bookstore at 7pm.  I'll be there, before hand working and setting up for the show, but my shift ends at 7, then I'll be able to hang out, draw in your copy of the comic, and talk like a gangster, see?  Yeah, see?  On hand should be the following other creators:

Bernie McGovern

Nate Beaty

Rickey Gonzales

Neil "Neil Jam" Fitzpatrick

Sam Sharpe

Jeremy Tinder 

& Editor/Organizer Jeff Zwirek

It should be ton of funs.

KAPOW!

I spent the day yesterday drawing at my friend Ryan's temporary digs. I say temporary, because he got into town late June, and he's leaving Chicago for New York City tonight. Bon voyage, sir! Drawing with Ryan a couple times while he was in town made me remember how much I love being social while drawing. In college, I constantly had folks I could bounce off ideas with, or at least pass the hours of creating with. Alone in my room, I get antsy quickly, which often makes it difficult to get anything done. Alpha City #2's original release was supposed to be just after Stumptown in APRIL, the delay has primarily been my inability to sit still -or say no to other projects.

Speaking of other projects! I'm planning on entering Oni Press' Talent Search competition (by mail), and I've started formulating a script full of safe cracking and corsages for an anthology Jeff Zwirek is putting together for SPX.