I’m back from the convention, trying to get some sleep and recuperate. It’s not easy to slip back into a regular schedule after staying up all hours, fueled by booze and caffeine. It was a great time overall, and I’m making big plans for next year. (More on that when the time comes.) Not too many commissions this year, partly because I spent a lot of time sketching at the DC booth and signing artbooks at Splash Page, but I’ve been really happy with the way these turned out. It was, of course, a pleasure meeting everyone who came up to me at the show, and I’ve met a bunch of comic shop owners I’d love to visit in the coming year. The San Diego show is a lot like New Year’s Eve for me; it’s a chance to look back at the work I’ve done in the past year and see how people have responded to it, and to look ahead towards new work and new projects. There’s a lot for me to process still, but I’m feeling pretty good these days.

I can’t believe it, but the San Diego convention gets bigger every year. They’re saying it may reach 160,000 people over the course of the weekend. Over at the DC booth, they put up some of my artwork on the side of the booth. It turned out great, and it was a really cool surprise.

Just landed in sunny San Diego after pulling an all-nighter on some covers for Green Arrow/Black Canary. It’s gonna be a rough week! Anyway, here’s my schedule. I’ll be signing at the DC booth on Wednesday (7-8:30), Saturday (10:30-11:30), and Sunday (3-5). All other times, look for me at the Splash Page booth (5101&5200), particularly on Friday and Saturday from 3-5 when we’ll have a special signing for the new artbook. We’ll also have a very limited edition black and white print for sale. Look for sketches on the blog later in the week, unless I get crushed backing the wrong side of a Klingon/stormtrooper conflict.

As promised, one of my finished sketchbook pieces is now up on Ebay! Check out the auction, and good luck! I’m a huge fan of Paul Smith, and his work on the X-Men is one of the main reasons I got into comics. So when it came time to draw a piece for the Splash Page Art Sketchbook, I had to take a shot at these 80′s X-men characters. Coming up with the image was surprisingly tough. I wanted to draw as many of the characters as I could and emphasize their teamwork. So it was either the Danger Room or softball! My only regret is that I couldn’t fit in Cyclops, but I did get most of the New Mutants in there. This was definitely a labor of love, and it brings back a lot of memories. Like that summer when I helped save the community center with my friends Turbo and Ozone. Pop and lock! (more…)