Ex-nay on the An-Expo Fay

First, some bad news: I lost my table at this weekend's major comic con event, Fan Expo Dallas. What had happened was...I had been offered to share a space with the person who is part owner and operator of my local comic shop. He said he often gets enough space to where if I wanted to set up a table I could. It's no out-of-pocket expense of my own-for real-he'd already secured a space for the comic shop and I could just piggy-back off of him. Of course I jumped at the chance to table at a popular comic convention and to be able to do it for free no less. No risk! All reward! Almost...

 

He informed me earlier this week that the venue overbooked tables and that they were going to short him a table space. He originally had 3 table spaces-two for him, one for me. Now he only had two for him. And so, no big comic convention for me this weekend. Which...isn't so bad right? Well... If you recall I had sold out of most of my comic inventory-which is great! To prep for this upcoming show I did spent out-of-pocket-money for a 2nd printing of new After Death comics, as well as new small print runs of both Crash Landing and We Were All Lions. I also-though more affordably-ordered more print all across the board to up my entire inventory. And if that wasn't enough, I took three days off of work to attend the show which is income that will not be coming in. So...yeeaaahh, it kinda' sucks.

 

Of course, I can't blame my buddy, he didn't overbook the venue. But when things like this happen it just reinforces an unfortunate truth about my life in general: I can't rely on other people, only on myself. Stick with this philosophy and the only person who can let you down is yourself. That way, the only person you can ever really get angry at, is you!

 

Is there some good news though? Not about the comic-con no. But it's not like my whole week was ruined. Summerween is officially in full effect! I've got some new autobio comics to share. And I actually went to an art show. Shocking. Anyway, lets' get into the good news shall we?

Notes: This week I'm sharing the next Autobio comic with you guys. I haven't been able to work on a new After Death page just yet as I've been working on the cover for book 2! I did manage to get it inked, but I still need to sit down and get colors done. So, next week I should have that cover ready to reveal and the week after will have another page ready to go!

Week one of my Summerween book club is in the bag. We read Brain Camp by Susan Kim and Laurence Klavan, illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks. It was good not great, which has been my typical review for several things lately, but it did pack some truly WTF moments. After each week I write up a review of my thoughts of the graphic novel over on my Patreon and Substack pages. Feel free to click either link and check out the review (warning, there's spoilers). Also, please feel free to join us this next week if you couldn't last week! All of the Patreon and Substack posts are free to the public, no paywall, no subscription needed. I mean, the websites my ask you to join but you can decline at abandoned.

Summerween is more than just a summer reading list though, I'm doing all sorts of things to ring in the season of spooky summer. If you happen to be a Patreon member I revealed the sticker sheets for this month which I'm really digging. I'm hoping to get these ordered soon and get them shipped off before the end of the month. These are exclusive to Patreon so if you want one, sign up before the end of June and I'll get one in the mail to you as soon as I get them from my supplier.

But wait. There's more.

I also curated a special Summerween Spotify playlist to give you all the 1980's pop/rock and slasher film vibes you can stand! It's right at 2 hours long and mixes some 80's hits along with with some lesser known bangers with some real creepy synth wave electronica to set the mood. Listen now by clicking here.

The Robots are Taking Over

Maybe by now you've read somewhere about this new Cara app and a lot of creatives setting up camp on yet another art-app. There's also been a lot of talk about A.I. on Instagram and Photoshop and the end of the world as we know it. I mentioned it briefly last newsletter and really don't want to get into it...like ever. I mean, in the online circles I'm in everybody has an opinion and because it's the internet everybody feels like they need to share it. All the time. Constantly. Here's my deal:

 

If you're reading this newsletter and you enjoy my artwork and comics and you're NOT subscribed, this is my official nudge to sign up. Social media-like Myspace or Napster-isn't going to stick around for another 10 years. I mean it could but it might get ugly (ahem -- "X"). My newsletter's the best way to keep up with all the things I'm working on. I'm not here selling stuff (I mean not all the time), I'm just here sharing it. It's free. It's weekly. And it's a great way to stay in the know. If you wanna' follow me at the free tiers on my Patreon and Substack, you can receive the newsletter that way as well if you're already on those platforms. Anyway, just saying...social media apps will come and go, but I'll always be around here some making art and if you're getting the newsletter, you'll never miss out on anything.

 

Okay, that's enough of that. Now get outta' my face. Go on...GIT!

What's Making Me Happy This Week

  • Layla Luna is an artist who creates mixed-media artwork usually featuring the desert or at least a lot of West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. I love all the desert vibes and have been a huge fan of her artwork for years. She used to live in Arizona, but now lives in Azle, Tx-about a half hour from Fort Worth. And no, I haven't driven past her house 36 times to get a glimpse of her studio. This past Thursday she had an opening reception for a new collection of work called Talisman. Along with her paintings, Talisman has small little sculptures of the cutest little animals. She has a monthly newsletter that I'm subscribed to, but she also shares from time to time on her Instagram. After being long time fans we finally got to meet her face to face at her opening show. I recognized her from photos online, but the funny thing is she walked up to Rhea and I as if it were our show and said, "You don't know me but I follow you on Instagram!" It was awesome to finally meet Layla in person and see her artwork IRL as well. You can see photos of the Talisman show on her website here (and I suggest you check it out), but also take some time and poke around the rest of her website. She's got great stuff, especially if you're into desert life (Kate Laing, I'm looking at you).

Okay dudes and dudettes, and-I guess just d's if you're non-binary, that's all for this week's fantastic, miraculous newsletter. I just hope you had the most marvelous time and I can't wait until we can get t'gether again and have a coffee and maybe a biscuit or two...or three. As always I appreciate you being here and I'll see you back here again in a week!

 

~b

If you enjoy this newsletter and want to help support it and my artwork consider hitting one of those buttons below. They're all free to peruse but becoming a member on Patreon or a paid Substack subscriber are the best ways to help me pay some bills. If you don't want a long term commitment, consider checking out my Etsy shop. Or, lastly, follow me over on Instagram. Thanks for reading!

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