Hey everyone, just a quick heads up that I will be at SPX this year sharing tables with Justin Castaneda, Kelly Tierney and Mike Roll. This will be third appearance at this super cool show! I am excited, but Mike and I are road trippin’ it this year. I know, I know… bring the Diazepam.
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Some cool things that I will be taking with me:

And:

Stop by and say hi if you are in the Baltimore/Washington DC area on September 10 and 11th! I can even draw you a Daredevil or something!

 Enjoy the final chapter!

It took me a few tries to draw this past week’s Desmond comic. I drew out a conceptual sketch of what I thought it should look like. I was pleased. Then when drawing out the final comic, I realized I wasn’t staying true to what I had conceptualized. The panel got too confusing and clustered. So I scrapped it, and started over. However, attempt number two also did not live up to expectations. Third time was the charm. I was able to squeeze the girls closer together and keep the action in the first panel clean.

I get frustrated when I am able to draw deceivingly right the first time. I say deceiving because I gave myself a lot of freedoms. I didn’t stay in the proportions of the panel and I kept my style loose and sketchy. So when I forced the action of the first panel into half of its original size, things fell apart. I was not feeling it at all, and given how important this particular strip was to me, I didn’t want to stink up the finish.

The reason why this strip was so important to me, was that I wrote this gag almost a year ago when I first created Hogginswerth. I was brainstorming ideas for a Snap Grabbem graphic novel, and this was one of the gags I hinged my development around. So this gag has been floating in my head for long time.

Looking at the overall Namakemono Odebusan situation, I felt like it was necessary to include Harold’s transformation into Snog, not only to showcase the character a bit more, but also to highlight the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. So I wanted to include this comic in the current continuity, but I had set myself up a standard, since it has been circling in my mind for almost twelve months.

Obviously, three restarts on this strip was no major setback. I made my deadline. It was frustrating, though. The nice thing was that it helped solidify Harold’s closing phrase in the comic. I totally related to you, Mr Hogginswerth. I think all artists can relate to the suffering we put into our craft, and the satisfaction it produces.

And I am talking to that one person in Holly Ridge, NC! You better make that drive! ;D

As you can see, HeroesCon is just around the corner, and I couldn’t be more excited. This is one of the coolest shows in the country, not to mention on of the biggest of the year for me. If you are in the area, please stop by! I will be at table SP-18, which is along the back wall.

Featured at my table will be signed and sketched Devastating Dozen books, prints, Messed Up Fairy Tales 1 and 2, plus the debut of two new items! I will be selling a brand new Desmond print drawn specifically for the show (pictured above) aaaand a pink Desmond girls t-shirts! Pretty hot stuff, no?

I will also be sketching commissions, so don’t be afraid to ask! I’ll be happy to draw you a Daredevil or something!

I’ll see you this weekend!

I have a lot of fond memories from Motor City Comic Cons past. That was the first major convention I attended back in my junior high days. Those were the days when it was still at the Dearborn Civic Center. I can still remember buying my first commissioned sketch ever. (It was from animation great Ken Mitchrooney. He drew a Ninja Turtle and Plucky Duck dressed as a Samurai Slug.)

Motor City was always a staple event in my calendar year, and I am very pleased to say that I can still take home some fond memories from the show in this day in age. Mike Roll and I tabled at MCCC 2011 last weekend, and we had a great time. We did a ton of fun sketches. (Including a cat that vomits blood. I would give more details, but I am unfamiliar with the Green Lantern universe.) Man, I wish I took more pictures. The one picture did get one pic of a sketch cover I did for Brandon Watkins. I get pretty nervous drawing on these things, but I was pleased with the results.

Most importantly, both Miker and I met a lot of super cool people. And that is probably the most important part of a comic con. I can’t begin to list all of everyone I met over the weekend, but it was an absolute pleasure to meet each of you. I hope to see you again at another local con!

Finally, the one lasting memory that I will take with me is when a trio of guys came up to my table and exclaimed, “Hey! Your the guy who draws Desmond!” AWESOOOME!!

Thanks to everyone for making MCCC 2011 such a cool time. Hopefully HeroesCon will be just as memorable, and I hope to see you all again at Kids Read Comics and Detroit Fanfare!