Inspired by a late-night viewing of The Runaways, and partly an exercise to see if I could make star-spangled pants and Wonder Woman go together. The idea started with Wonder Woman  (I briefly entertained using an Ian Curtis Batman) but the idea of an all-girl rock band with Black Canary, Zatanna and Batgirl seemed too good to pass up.

The original black and white art will be auctioned off at Heroescon this weekend, June 3-5, so please come visit one of the best comic conventions in the country. It’s a fantastic family show with great guests and excellent programming, and it’s one of my personal favorites. Hope to see you there.

Next week, I’ll be posting sketches from the show over on my Tumblr account. I will probably crosspost those images, since I like reading your comments here, but please let me know if you prefer one format over the other.

Looking for some ink? If you’re attending C2E2 next week, we’ve got something special cooked up. I’ve teamed up with tattoo artist Brian Stringer and the Hero Initiative to offer a custom tattoo, drawn by me and inked by Brian on the C2E2 convention floor! There are more details in this eBay auction link, but here’s the gist: the winner gets a custom design by me,  the tattoo by Brian, plus the original art and ALL proceeds are going to the Hero Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping comic creators in need. Everybody wins!

But who’s the sassy girl on the left, you say? I met Brian at last year’s Baltimore Comic-Con, where I drew this sketch for him. He wanted a pinup style girl with tattoos, and since I’m not a tattoo artist, I asked Brian to design the girl’s arm. He just went to town on it, adding all the clouds, lightning, and cool design swirls. It was a really fun collaboration, and I was thrilled when Brian asked me to work with him on the auction. Good luck bidding!

If you’re attending the Emerald City Comicon this weekend,  they’ll be auctioning some of the art from the Monsters and Dames 2011 charity book on Saturday, March 5. All the proceeds go to the Seattle Children’s Hospital, a premier child health care & pediatric center and one of the leading hospitals for children.  Running with the children’s book theme, I decided to base this on a beloved fairytale. Maybe not as monstrous as some of the other pieces, but I think that gold digger is pretty damn scary!

Gaga ohh-la-la! Check out the December issue of GQ Magazine, on sale later this month, for a one-page Lady Gaga comic I illustrated. Hot like Mexico, rejoice! To get myself in the mood, I immersed myself in all things Gaga (awesome), and drawing the piece turned out to be a really fun experience.  The only p-p-p-problem is I can’t get these damn songs out of my head after pulling that all-nighter.

Special thanks to Jared Fletcher for the hot lettering!

The NYCC is just days away! I’ll be in Artists Alley, table A-12. I’ll be selling the last 100 copies of my 2010 sketchbook with a brand spanking new cover exclusive to the NYCC show. Along with the usual array of prints and cards, I also some copies of Greendale for sale, and anyone who buys one gets a personalized sketch inside and a free limited-edition print. Unfortunately, I won’t be taking on any additional commissions this year, since I still have a backlog of sketches I shifted from previous shows. Sorry to disappoint anyone, but I’m still figuring out the best way to handle the sketch system and this seemed the fairest way. If you’re looking for a quick head sketch, I’ll be signing at the DC booth on Friday (2:30-3:30) and Saturday (1-2). See you soon.

Can you believe it’s that time again? I’ll be at my usual spot, BOOTH #1320, with my friends Jill Thompson, Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, and special guests Rafael Albuquerque and Cris Peter. I will be taking sketch commissions, and I’ll also have the remaining copies of my 2010 sketchbook. It’s 48 pages of creamy grayscale goodness for a mere $15 — check out some of the sample pages above! I’ll have a different book next year, so now’s the time to pick ‘em up. In addition to the books and some giant art prints, I’ll have a few copies of Greendale with me, and anyone who buys one gets a rare promo poster that Vertigo sent to radio stations. I’ll also have a few cool items around the show. I’ve already mentioned my new Star Wars pieces, but my Threadless t-shirt will be sold starting Thursday at the Threadless pop-up shop located here and online, and they’ll be throwing a party that evening to celebrate. Register here for party tix. The pop-up shop won’t be around all week, so try to make your way over there on Wednesday and Thursday.

Here’s my signing schedule for the week.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 21
8-9pm: SIGNING @ DC booth (#1915)

THURSDAY, JULY 22
4-5pm: SIGNING @ DC booth
7:30-the break of dawn: party at the Threadless shop!

FRIDAY, JULY 23
5:30-6:30pm: PANEL � Vertigo: On the Edge (Room 6DE)

SATURDAY, JULY 24
1-2pm: SIGNING @ DC booth

SUNDAY, JULY 25
11:30am-12:30pm: SIGNING @ DC booth

I’ve been a guest at HeroesCon for the past 5 years, and it’s always, always been a fantastic show. Friendly people, a killer guest list (over 300 guests this year), and a real focus on comics. HeroesCon is in Charlotte, NC and takes place this weekend, June 4-6. In addition to my usual commissioned sketches, I’ll have my new sketchbook as well as some new art prints and postcards. I’ll also be contributing the extended black & white art for this piece to the annual art auction. You can find me in Artists Alley at table 631. See you there!

The Hero Initiative (a charity dedicated to helping comic creators in medical or financial need) and Archie Comics have teamed up for Archie Covers: 50 Times An American Icon. I’ve always had a soft spot for Betty and Veronica, so this was a great way to scratch that itch and help out a great cause. I was curious what a high school garage band like The Archies might look like today, so here’s my hipster take on the band. Archie is totally straight-edge! The covers will be auctioned on eBay at a future date.

Chicago is! This weekend I’ll be at C2E2, and you can find me in Artists Alley at Table #R7.  I’m bringing my brand new sketchbook and some fancy new art prints, too.  Here’s my schedule — and stay tuned for a special announcement on Saturday at 2pm. I’m really excited for it!

FRIDAY, 4/16
3:15-4:15pm: PANEL – VERTIGO (room E451)

SATURDAY, 4/17
12-1pm: SIGNING – DC booth (#630)

SUNDAY, 4/18
11:30am-12:30pm: SIGNING – DC booth (#630)

I recently contributed these 2 pieces to the ImaginAsian fundraiser. Other contributors include Bernard Chang, Jerry Ma, and Larry Hama, among many others! The first image will be part of the permanent collection, and will be exhibited April 2-May 9 at the Tippecanoe Arts Federation in Lafayette, IN. The second image will be part of a series of auctions starting April 9 on eBay. All proceeds will go towards the purchase of Asian American Studies materials for the Purdue University Libraries.For the latest info and some of the contributors’ stories behind their submissions, you can follow the ImaginAsian group on Facebook.

UPDATE: You can find all the auction items here on eBay, including mine. New items will be added every few days, so check back often!