I had a few functions in Ann Arbor this past week and it turned out being a very fun couple of days.

First off, I was featured in a Comic Artist Forum at the Ann Arbor District Library. I gave a slide presentation explaining my take on characters and how I develop them. This presentation showcased two things. The first thing I showcased was the evolution of Desmond. I showed the very first sketch I ever did of the little wolverine. I even showed a list of names I scrawled down next to a sketch when trying to decide his name. (One of the options was Elmer! Imagine how different he would have been had I named him Elmer!) I talked about how Desmond changed and evolved even before he hit the small screen in this web series and became the character he is now.

Secondly, I discussed the ups and downs that I faced in creating a new character named “Little Sister” for a graphic novel I would like to release next summer. I showed the progression of developing this character, spotlighting several dead ends I encountered and how observing real life helped me pull things together.

I had a great time talking and seeing a lot of good friends there. Thanks to Jay and Laura, Chad, Denver, Ryan, Jerzy, Jono, Jesse, Haley and Libni for coming out.

Afterwards, my wife and I enjoyed a delicious belated birthday dinner with my stepson Mackie at the Arbor Brewing Company. The next morning, my wife and I enjoyed a delicious greasy breakfast at the Fleetwood Diner.

Fast forward to Wednesday, when Mike Roll and I were guest on Jerzy Drozd’s podcast COMICS ARE GREAT. (whew, can I put more links in a post?) Both Mike and I had a blast tackling very hard hitting subjects as: using a brush to ink, traditional vs digital, Jerzy’s inability to draw a ferris wheel in three point perspective, getting lost in the basement of the AADL, lack of preparation and croquill pens being too noisy. If that wasn’t enough, I insulted first year CCS students, the Houghton brothers, Matt from the AADL and the entire country of Canada. I don’t know if I could have had any more fun in an hour’s time. If you want to check out the raw footage of the podcast, just go to this link: COMICS ARE GREAT.

So to sum it all up, thanks to everyone who opened some doors for me this week. Special thanks to Sharon Iverson and the Jerzy Drozd for the invites to these special events. Thanks to everyone who showed up for the support. Thanks to my wife, Patty for sharing the fun with me this week. Lastly, thanks to everyone for reading this post!