The New York Comic-Con is this weekend, and you can find me sketching away in Artists Alley, TABLE J7-8.  I’ll also be signing at the DC booth on Friday (5-6) and Saturday (12-1). I also hear they may be announcing my Vertigo book at the graphic novel panel this weekend, so expect some news on that front soon.  See you at the Javits Center!

Special thanks to Dave Cummings and Bill Nolan for bringing me up to Boston, and to everyone we met at the show. It was a great weekend, and I hope to be back soon.

Actually, the official name is The Boston Comic Book, CD/Record & Pop Culture Spectacular so there should be something for everyone. From the name itself, it sounds like there should be elephants and oompa loompas, too. And if not, you can still come over and throw peanuts at me while I draw. I haven’t been back to the old stomping grounds in a while, so I’m looking forward to meeting all you Boston fans. See you on Sunday!

Bounce on over to the AMC website to see a little mini-interview I did about the 3 best animated films of all time. I deliberately gave some sincere but oddball answers to mix things up a bit. Other favorites of mine include Sleeping Beauty, Totoro, and Wallace & Gromit, but that’s like naming Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns as your favorite comics, y’know?

I also did a short Q&A at Comic Addiction where we discuss, among other things, the romance of Green Arrow & Black Canary.

Also, check out the signings link on the left! Several new conventions have been added to the list: the Boston Comic Book Spectacular in April, Fan Expo Canada in August, and the Baltimore Comic-Con in September. Looks to be a busy year.

If you’re in New York this weekend, I’ll be signing at Midtown Comics in Times Square on Saturday, October 13 from 5-7pm. With the recent release of the Doctor 13 trade and Green Arrow/Black Canary #1, I thought it might be a good time to show my face in public again. Special thanks to the fine folks at Midtown for pulling this all together on short notice. After the signing, I’ll put my trenchcoat on and I’ll be selling dvd’s, “gold” watches, and “Prada inspired” handbags downstairs, so it should be a fun time for all.

But, you ask, what if I’m nowhere near New York? What if I’m from, say, Toronto? Well, then you’re in luck, my convenient fictional friend — I’ll be at the Toronto Comicon on October 21! When I got a note from Kevin Boyd asking me to attend this special 1-day show, how could I say no? I’ll have some small pieces of original art for sale, and I’ll be doing free sketches at the show and commissioned sketches in the afternoon as time allows. This’ll be my first time away from U.S. soil in a few years, so please bear with my ugly American tendencies. You guys have McDonald’s right? Whew!

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…)