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!

I recently drew a set of 3 Imperial Propaganda posters for the new Star Wars Galaxy 5 trading card set. I hadn’t intended to do more than one, but the ideas came fast and furious and the editor loved them all. This enlistment poster was actually based on an old war bonds poster. While using Nazi propaganda would’ve been appropriate, it was actually more engaging for me to try and create posters that cast the Empire as saviors of the galaxy, especially on the heels of the Death Star 9/11 short. The card backs also have some quotes from me in the guise of an unapologetic Imperial sympathizer. A really fun gig, and I hope to do more of these in the future. I’ll post the others when the cards go on sale next month.

Some of you eagle-eyed readers may have noticed the SHOP link that went up quietly a couple months back.  Khepri.com is selling comics and exclusive items from creators like Brian Wood, Becky Cloonan, Ryan Kelly, Jamie McKelvie and me, as well as books from my comrades at Standard Attrition.  In addition to our comics, there are t-shirts, limited edition sketchbooks and art prints (and we’ll also be running a sketch raffle from me in the coming months). Some of these special items are only available online through Khepri, so take a look around!

Forget Michael Jackson — ‘cuz “This Is It”!  My last show for 2009 is the first ever KING CON right at home in Brooklyn this weekend. New York, and Brooklyn in particular, has always been a home to cartoonists and comics pros, so it’s great to see a show celebrate the local scene. And check out that guest list! There will also be a spotlight panel on me at 12pm on Sunday.  Come check it out!

Here’s a preliminary character sketch for the piece I drew in Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology, based on a concept by actress Kelly Hu and Mark Allen. In stores now, Secret Identities is the “first-ever graphic novel collection of original stories exploring the universe of masked marvels and caped crusaders from the perspective of the nation’s fastest-growing and most dynamic emerging community” (from the SI website). There’s some really wonderful work here from people like Greg Pak, Bernard Chang, Christine Norrie, Gene Yang and Sonny Liew, among many others. I’m really happy for editors Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, Keith Chow, and Jerry Ma. They’ve put a lot of love and hard work into this and it’s great to see the attention it is getting and impact it has already made. Special shout out to The New Press editor Sarah Fan for introducing me to the guys!

There’s also a short documentary about the book at the SI blog. Take a peek and go buy a copy today!

There’s a series of eBay auctions beginning this week that I’d like to draw some attention to. I’ve joined a group of comic creators trying to raise funds for a friend’s hospital costs, and anything we collect beyond that will be donated to the HERO Initiative, a non-profit charity that offers assistance to comic creators in need. The auctions are under the seller name artfriends2009.   There will be some fantastic items from a stellar list of artists, including Adam Hughes, Amanda Conner, Nic Klein, Esad Ribic, Cameron Stewart and Darwyn Cooke.

I’ll be donating the cover artwork for Green Arrow & Black Canary #12, which is the LAST AVAILABLE COVER featuring full-body drawings of the title characters.  The rest are in collector’s hands already, so get it while you can. I’ll update this post with listings as they come online. These auctions are a great opportunity to support a worthy cause and pick up some nifty art in the process. If you’re feeling particularly generous, we’re also accepting donations at artfriends2009@gmail.com via paypal.

UPDATE: I can happily confirm that, after eBay and Paypal fees, we’ve managed to meet our goal and that our friend will be able to pay off his hospital bills. We’re thrilled and would like to thank everyone who donated items for their hard work and generosity, all the blogs and websites that helped us get the word out there, and of course, all the buyers who supported our cause during these uncertain economic times. Bravo!