So there you have it. The end of Episode 2. No, that’s not Bender from Futurama. Well find out who the robot is though in the next exciting episode entitled, “Curing Mom and Dad.” Hmmmmmmmmmm I wonder what THAT’S gonna be about!
This past weekend was Wizard World Philly at the Pennsylvania Convention center. My brother Chris tagged along and we had a great time not only at the convention but in Philly itself. Chris went to school and worked in Philly for several years so he knows the city pretty well. As for the convention… on Friday we set up at 8:30am. Around 1:00pm we learned we were at the wrong table. We were supposed to be at table 103, but we were set up at 03. It was my fault, just pure excitement and stupidity. Luckily the guy that was supposed to be at 03 never showed. Chris and I moved to our correct location Friday night just in case 03 guy showed up on Saturday. He never did.
One secret to success at a comic con is the “Fluffernutter.” Food at Comic Cons can be expensive. It’s best to bring your own breakfast, snacks and lunch. We stayed at a hotel without a fridge so we brought along some bread, peanut butter and marshmallow fluff. Yum!
There was an awesome show after the con on Saturday night. It was KAIJU BIG BATTEL. With a cardboard city set up in a wrestling ring. Giant monsters battled for championship belts and the appreciation of the crowd. If Kaiju comes to your town, I recommend seeing this spectacular silly show! It’s WWE Smackdown meets Godzilla! more info: http://www.kaiju.com/
You can’t visit Philly without having a cheese steak. Here’s Chris outside our favorite Cheese Steak place, “Pat’s King of Steaks.” We went there after the Kaiju show. We met some wacky guy that asked a lady behind us to step on his hat. She did. Twice. The cheese steaks were awesome as usual. (Speaking of food, we also went to Moriarty’s on Friday for the best wings you’ll ever have.)
Back at the con, I sold many books, a few shirts, and did plenty of sketches for fans. This was probably my favorite. A girl had a sketch book filled with art featuring the creator and their favorite character. It was cool to flip through the pages and then add my own to the book. I was in the mood to draw Devon so here’s what she got…
Wizard World Philly was a blast and I’ll do it again next year. Hopefully by then the Flabbergast book will be done with some Flab shirts too! Okay, the tour rolls on. Pittsburgh is next in September.
Wizard World Philly is THIS weekend and I am hyped for it! I’ll be appearing at table 103 in Artist Alley. Come on by for a free quick sketch or throw me a few bucks and I’ll do a color drawing for you. I’ll have the usual goodies: Happyloo books and shirts; O>Matics CDs, Comics and shirts; FREE bookmarks, handouts and candy! Also appearing with me will be O>Matics Drummer, Chris O>Matic. He’ll be doing free sketches and drumrolls for all. I do want to do something with Gork Gakk too. Maybe i’ll do a Wizard World exclusive strip built by the fans that visit my table. So if you’re going to Wizard World be sure to swing by the artist alley and visit us at table 103. Give us a high five and a smile!
Driving home from work on Friday, a brilliant idea bit me in the butt… Do a webcomic where the story progresses based on the comments left by the readers! Less than a day later I signed up for blogspot, drew the comic, and built the site. So Gork Gakk: the comment based webcomic is up and running and waiting for comments and direction. I plan on updating Mondays and Thursdays, but of course I can’t update without any ideas from the readers. The comic follows an odd fellow named Gork Gakk and his journey through life. You the reader/story builder will help decide how he acts, what he feels, and what happens to him along the way. It’s really a simple concept… His life is what YOU make it.
Click on the banner above and visit Gork. The url is gorkgakk.blogspot.com
Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot. Now you have the Cootie shot. This was the cure for Cooties on the playground back in my elementary school days. I’m not sure where the cooties came from. According my boy classmates the girls had the cooties. But all the girls claimed the boys had cooties. The answer: the Cooties come from outer space. At least that’s the story in Nick Perkins’ webcomic entitled “Cooties.” The world is being invaded by the mind-controlling Q’utee (pronounced ”cootie”) aliens and the fate of Earth is in the hands of a bunch of middleschoolers. Cooties is a really fun ALL AGES comic that features action, comedy, mystery, suspense, and plenty of Star Wars references. I know alien invasion stories have been done plenty of times in the past, but Nick packs his with fresh ideas, plot twists, and likable characters. He does a really good job of pacing in his story. There’s a pretty big cast in the comic with several plot lines going on at once. Nick knows when to shift the story focus without confusing the reader. So, for a COOL comic with COOL adventures, check out My Pal Nick’s comic, COOTIES viewable at http://cooties.spiderforest.com/
Cooties samples:
Feelin’ down? Heres the PS22 Chorus to sing your worries away!
The Hawthorne High School Comic Convention was another fun time for me. It was a nice mix of comic legends and newcomers. I didn’t sell too much, but I still had a blast talking with peers and drawing up art cards. I was also able to pick up some trades for FIVE bucks! I try to learn something new from every experience. At this Con I learned a few things. It’s easier to pull my handcart rather than push it… And… I can’t draw the Silver Surfer (at least in one minute.) Next time someone comes by for a quick minute sketch, I’ll know what to draw. Something I know, it’s gonna be a Ninja Turtle or Groo.
This Saturday will be my next Comic Convention and it is SO close to home! It’s the Hawthorne High School Comic Convention! I’ll be there with plenty of nifty stuff to sell and I’ll be doing Art Cards for $2! Take a look at the official press release:
We are extremely proud of the convention and we hope everyone old time or new comic book fan will join us for this wonderful day celebrating this wonderful visual and literary art form.
Here’s all the info you need to attend:
The convention is a great family friendly event and a true bargain with a $4.00 entrance fee. The convention takes place Saturday May 9th from 10am – 4pm at Hawthorne High School, 160 Parmelee Avenue, Hawthorne, New Jersey 07506. It’s easily accessible by car or train.
Here are the events happening this Saturday May 9th:
Art Lessons:
1 - Learn to create your own comic characters taught by Scott Roberts. 2 – Sculpting the Heroic Figure taught by Ian Dorian. 3 – Storytelling taught by Michael Golden. There will be other lessons taught during the day.
An Auction featuring signed collectible comics and graphic novels and original comic art.
Comic creators appearing at the show include some of the greatest talent in comics today. Here’s the guest list as of May 6, 2009:
James Sherman Dennis O’Neil Dennis Colero Jim Salicrup Hannibal King Steve Mannion Tom Raney Bob Wiacek Danny Fingeroth Joe Sinnott Michael Golden Mark Texiera Irwin Hasen Mark Romanowski Ken Gale Mercy Van Vlack Steve Walker Michael Lilly Scott Roberts Glen Whitmore Dick Ayers 0A Rich Ayers John Workman Billy Tucci Joe Staton Eric Battle Tommy Castillo Ian Dorian Joe Giella Tom Palmer Bob Schreck (tent.) Mark Schultz Dan Reed Rodney Ramos Jim Calafiore Janet Jackson Bob Pinaha Guy Dorian Rodney Ramos (Tent.) Mark Mariano Comic Artist Guild John Cebollero Ken Wong Ed Catto Walter Simonson Joe Ahearn
See you there!
The My Pal Mark Shop is officially OPEN for business! There is a TON of great goodies only available here for unbelievable prices! Books, Shirts, CDs and the one I’m most excited for… Original Art! You send me a request and a little cash and I’ll send you a full color drawing! And the shop will only get bigger as time goes on. I have plenty of ideas for more shirts, comics, and CDs. Take a look around the PayPal Verified shop and treat yourself to something swell… you deserve it SHOP NOW
Just a reminder, Tomorrow, May 2, 2009 is Free Comic Book Day. Go to any participating comic shop (most of them are) and get yourself some free comics. You can do what I do and visit every comic shop in the area and get a ton of free comics. There’s a great lineup of comics this year you can see the list at www.freecomicbookday.com
Be sure to let me know which is your favorite. I’m looking forward to Green Lantern: Blackest Night!
Many of you know that Happyloo was originaly pitched as a cartoon series by my brother Chris and I before it became the sensational Cartoon Novel it is today. Here for your viewing enjoyment, two Happyloo videos from 2005!
The Happyloo theme song was recorded by me and the video was put together by Chris.
The animatic (rough cut) entitled, “Fridge-A-Phobia,” was written and drawn by me, animated by our pal Chris Durett, and edited by my bro Chris. It features the voice talents of Me as Devon and Meatsauce. My little cousin John (who is taller than me now) as Tickle. My bro Chris and little cousin Kaitlyn as background voices.
