Recently in CONVENTION REPORTS Category

I spent this last weekend exhibiting at Anime Central (ACEN) and once more came back more invigorated about making comics than I've been in months.
Here's why...
FOUR THINGS THAT MAKE AN ANIME CONVENTION WHAT A COMIC CONVENTION SHOULD BE

1. GENUINE FAN ENTHUSIASM
Yes, part of what makes the fans at an anime convention enthusiastic is equal parts sugar and hormones, but damn if it isn't infectious. People who came to my table were excited to be there, but also desiring to be on the other side of the table some day, selling their own work, not just consuming, but wanting to create their own stuff. Of course I got a few "So, what do I need to do to work on NARUTO one day?" questions, but those were greatly overshadowed by the "How do I start doing my own stuff?" questions.

2. WILLINGNESS TO DISCOVER
I made some serious bank at this con, more than at all the other conventions I exhibited at all last year (less last year's ACEN). Why? Because I met fearless fans who either (A) bought one of my books last year and came back for the rest, or (B) just decided to pick up something they liked the look of, even something that was fringe at this kind of convention. I did a ton of commissions the first day from fans making snap decisions that they wanted me to do something for them. And at comic conventions, I still get the "Oh, I don't read black and white books" as an excuse. Really, that's the best you've got?
The fans at these anime conventions are willing to take a chance, and even in these crap economic times, willing to put some money on the table.

3. DIVERSITY OF FANS
Seems weird to have to bring this out as a remarkable point, but man, I love doing a convention that has some ethnic/age/sexual orientation diversity to it!
It just makes things stronger for all, and makes me realize how narrow-cast the mainstream comic market can become. And to see an environment where kids where teens can safely fly their freak flag in any direction they wish while surrounded by people and things that they love is really awesome to witness.
And not just teens, but adults, male/female and all points in between. It's all good.
I saw a marked increase in cross-dressing cosplay this year, and man, they BROUGHT IT WELL AND HARD. Great to see, on many levels.

4. A KICK IN THE ARSE
Again, I walked away from this convention fired up to make stories, complete the stories I have in progress and just do, do, DO! Having to tell all those young artists that they need to work hard reflected nicely back on me, and reminded me to take that same advice. It also made me what to encourage others to demand this level of energy at the mainstream cons they go to. The programming, panels, Hell, one of the staff actually came around to offer me a hand made chocolate that was exquisite! Cheaper tables for artists! They close the vendor area a half hour before the Artist Alley area, to force fans to blow more money on art! This is a con that values the creators, and it's made this convention grow and grow over the years. I am back next year, no question, with new product. Period.

Thanks to the nice locals who stopped by to say hello and buy stuff. You made a kilted man's day!
You can check out my FLICKR set of photos here!

Remember going to comic conventions and being filled with awe and wonder and excitement about discovering new work, things you didn't know about and new artists and talent that blew you away? Wondering where all that excitement went?
It lives and thrives at anime conventions.

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I just spent three days in Artist's Alley at Anime Central 2009 (ACEN) and I was literally blown away! For as jaded as I've gotten about standard comic conventions, this show kicked serious ass, and raised the question; why aren't ALL comic conventions like this?

Sure, there was plenty of cosplay, teen hijinks and geek idiocy, but it was different. Good different. This is the first specifically "anime/manga" festival/convention that I've attended as an exhibitor, and I was amazed at how genuinely excited all the attendees were to be there, and how willing they were to try new stuff that they had never seen before. For God's sake, I met WhiteChapel posters there!

I was next to Spike Trotman (TEMPLAR, AZ) and both of us came to this con with low expectations of how people would react to our stuff; neither of us have a "house manga" style, we don't write what most people assume manga readers go for, and we're off the radar of most manga online communities. Both of us walked away from this con making more money than we have for the last three cons we've done. I damn near sold out of everything I brought, paid for my table with ONE customer's purchases, and sold out of my $25 LITTLE WHITE MOUSE OMNIBUS edition in a day and a half. I've NEVER done this well at a regular comic convention. Ever.

The question that occurred to me was this; where did everyone who isn't a white male, age 18-35 who reads superhero books go in this industry?
Answer: they went here.
Yes, this was a manga/anime con in title, but seriously, every other kind of fan and lover of the comic medium was here, in large, happy groups, dressed to the nines and loaded with cash to spend. And there was diversity, both ethnic and gender-wise, and overall a desire to find new stuff and take chances, to buy books they knew nothing about apart from it looked cool and had a story they were interested in. I do not (for the most part) see any kind of this adventurous spirit at the comic conventions I've been going to lately.

Granted this is not a new revelation, but it was spelled out in front of me all weekend that, for the most part, the superhero comic industry has not trained the next generation of readers to come to them, so the manga industry was more than happy to step up to that empty plate and deliver what a huge, wide and diverse set of comic fans wanted. I had comic book versions of my old LITTLE WHITE MOUSE series out for free on my table; 14 year old kids couldn't give a crap about those, and on two occasions, a kid was handed a free comic, put it back down and bought one of my trades instead. There's a whole new generation out there who do not see a comic book as an end product; a graphic novel/trade is real, comic books are a relic to them.

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Here's my FLICKR set of photos from ACEN 2009

Hello friends, fans and retailers.
Good weather means good news, I guess. Here's a few nice tidbits of info from the Cafe Digital Studios News Service:

B.P.M. ON SOLIPSISTIC NATION PODCAST THIS WEEK
A cool interview about B.P.M. with Bazooka Joe of SOLIPSISTIC NATION this week.
LINK
The podcast also features a great talk with Gary Bredow, the director of "High Tech Soul", a great documentary about Detroit techno. "High Tech Soul" is the first documentary to tackle the deep roots of techno music alongside the cultural history of it's Detroit birthplace. "High Tech Soul" features interview with legends such as Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson. Well worth checking out!

PAUL SIZER ANNOUNCES B.P.M. "BEAT THE SUMMER" CONVENTION TOUR
Which is just a dorky way of announcing the summer conventions I will be attending this spring and summer to promote B.P.M.
Please feel free to stop by and say hello (or throw fruit or garbge at me, whatever works!)
Here's the schedule:

ANIME CENTRAL (ACEN), May 8-10, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL
LINK

MOTOR CITY COMICON, May 15-17, Rock Financial Show Place, Novi, MI (I will only be attending on Saturday and Sunday of this convention)
LINK

KIDS READ COMICS CONVENTION, June 12-13, Chelsea, MI
LINK

WIZARD WORLD/CHICAGO COMICON, August 7-9, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, IL
LINK

Awesome! That's my con wrap-up report from this year's Small Press Expo in Bethesda MD. My lovely wife Jane did a bang-up write up, so in the interest of piggy-backing on her hard work, here's her convention report.

The specifics of my con experience overlapped Jane's; great sales, really positive feedback on current projects and meeting new fans in unexpected places. Mine took place mostly in meeting DJs who also like comics! A number of fans introduced themselves to me as DJs who were glad to see a book about their music and life. I met a pod of local Washington DC DJs who spun in local clubs within the very active and diverse DC scene, one I know of and respect. DC has always had a great club scene, so the possibility of getting BPM in front of these folks is a huge plus! I spent as much time talking about music as I did talking about comics, which is fine by me.

And to walk away from a con with table and airfare paid for (plus a little bit more) is just mind-boggling.

I love Chicago, and WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO is a nice BIG convention for shmoozing, connecting and meeting and generally having a good time. With Warren Ellis the guest of honor, the ante was upped for a swearin', drinkin' con.

Jane and I shared our hotel room with Carla Speed McNeil (FINDER), and she's a great roomie and great friend who's SANE (essential for a travel partner). We had a blast hanging out and sharing art tips and industry experience.

During his Friday night public "performance" Ellis said the most important thing a comic writer can learn is when to shut up, so without futher ado:

Alrighty, getting all the last minute stuff readied for Wizard World Chicago, which is happening this weekend. WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO

Jane and I will be set up in Artist Alley, table 4910 (for all the good THAT does mentioning a table number). I'll be hard selling pre-orders for BPM, Jane will be hard-selling her new "Clockwork Game" webcomic LINK.

I'll also be pimping BPM via my new BPM BLog, so if you're visiting from having met me at WizWorld, here's a link for it: BPM BLOG

Con report when I get back. I promise! Lots of wacky pictures and smartass comments as well...

June 2, 2008
Hello friends, fans and retailers.
After a lengthy silence, I'm back with actual news and news-bytes, so buckle up:

NEWS FLASH! I'M IN ASHTON'S MOVIE!
Remember a few months back when I mentioned that I'd been contacted by Fox Pictures to approve the use of one of my LITTLE WHITE MOUSE collections as a set dressing prop in the new Ashton Kutcher/Cameron Diaz movie "What Happens In Vegas"? Well, in the spirit of journalistic knowledge, I actually just sat through the ENTIRE film this weekend and...it's in there. The book. My book is in the movie. For like two seconds, seen only from the spine, but it's there, laying on Ashton's coffee table in his apartment! Now I must take another of many showers I've had to take this weekend, but hey, I saved you the pain of sitting through the film and finding my book. And hell yes, I'm putting this as a screen credit on my resume! Now on to REAL news:

1. B.P.M. GRAPHIC NOVEL UPDATE
Cafe Digital has been buzzing with activity for the last few months, and now it can be revealed; B.P.M., the new graphic novel, will be released for Fall 2008 from Cafe Digital Studios!

Finalizing digital artwork, going through exhaustive beta-reader editing sessions, and completing the design of the book, B.P.M. is finally complete! Now the book has to go through the final part of it's journey; it's off to Malaysia to be printed in FULL COLOR! This will be the LONGEST job I've ever managed as a self publisher, and I'm looking forward to the challenge! Because of the great distance, it will take most of the summer to be printed and shipped, so I'm just alerting people now with the intended schedule of this fall. Plans are to have the graphic novel solicited through Diamond's PREVIEWS for books coming out internationally in either OCTOBER or NOVEMBER, depending on the final shipping confirmations I get from my overseas printers. It's also my hope to have the actual books available for sale at this year's SPX convention in Bethesda (October 4 & 5, 2008).

B.P.M. has already been getting solid positive pre-reviews from folks in the industry, and includes input/editing/artwork from Dan Traeger (Blogcritics Magazine), Johanna Draper Carlson (Comics Worth Reading), TIm O'Shea (Blog@Newsarama), Mia Paluzzi, Karl Altstaetter, Sara Wilson, Mike Pfieffer (Most People Are DJ's podcast) and DJ Jackalope! I'm really excited about this book, and I can't wait to have it in your hands! For previews of the art, information and downloads, as well as links to the "soundtrack" of the book, visit http://www.paulsizer.com/bpm/bpm_intro.htm

2. SIZER CONVENTION SCHEDULE
After a great time at the recent Motor City Comicon last month, there's a few more upcoming convention dates for the year that I've confirmed at this point:

WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO (June 26-29). I'll be in Artist Alley (with my lovely and talented wife Jane Irwin), showing tons of artwork for B.P.M., and taking pre-orders for the book (it will still be overseas at this date). For more information on the show and tickets and times, visit http://www.wizarduniverse.com/wizworchic20.html

SMALL PRESS EXPO (SPX) (October 4-5). Jane and I will be making our yearly pilgrimage to the mother of all Indy cons, SPX! Fingers crossed, I'll be dragging fresh off the boat copies of B.P.M. to this convention. For more info on SPX, visit http://www.spxpo.com/

3. GRAPHIC NOVEL WORKSHOPS AT THE CENTER FOR NEW MEDIA
For a second year, I will be teaching a 2 week workshop on the art or creating work for graphic novels at the Center For New Media as part of the Kalamazoo Animation Festival International Academy program (July 7-11, July 14-18, 2008). Here's some information on my classes:
WEEK 1: Foundation
The class explores the foundations of creating comic/graphic novel stories. Students will develop characters, create storylines and character sheets, develop ideas for a short form story, and prepare the ideas for production. Students will go through the creative process of developing a cast for their story, outlining the ideas for a short story, and rendering the styles, costuming and environments for their story. The class will concentrate on hands-on drawing skills and concepting during class time, and drawing outside of class as well. Students will also prepare their ideas and develop the scripts for producing the comic. At the end of this class, each student will have a "style guide" for the production of a comic sort form story.
WEEK 2: Production
Students will produce a 4 page story from the concepts developed in the first week focusing on taking the concepts developed in the first week, and committing them to final form. They will learn traditional comic art methods for penciling, inking, lettering, and introductory computer coloring techniques. Students will work in class and on their own time to complete this short story within the week of this class, so good work habits are a must! The goal is to produce a professional grade story with ideas provided on publishing and self-publishing your work.

Age Group: 15 & up
For more information and registration, visit http://kafi.kvcc.edu/academy/ Sign up now, there's still spots open!

4. MOPED ARMY GOING BACK FOR SECOND PRINTING!
Because I sold out of the first edition of the award winning graphic novel, I have to print more! Weird, eh?

5. MORE COOL STUFF THAT I'M WORKING ON (BUT CAN'T TALK ABOUT YET...)
I've been working on the design and graphics for a really huge new webcomics venture with some of the most powerful folks in the webcomics universe. More on that as I'm able to discuss, but it's gonna be REALLY cool!
Also, closer to the release of B.P.M., I'll be able to announce some really cool launch party news that's in the planning stages. All I can say is; techno and comics will merge as you've never seen them before!

That's all for now. As always, thanks again for all your support!

WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO 2006 CONVENTION REPORT
Going in with some trepidation of how good of a con this would be for me as an indy publisher, I am happy to report I did FANTASTIC business in Artist Alley this year! Made table on the first day, and sold a ton of LITTLE WHITE MOUSE OMNIBUS editions at $25 a pop, which blew my mind for selling a big ticket item in Artist Alley. The traffic in the Alley was great, and I did good business, met a ton of people and networked like crazy! Hung out with cool comic people like Carla Speed MacNeil (FINDER), Jennie Breeden (DEVIL'S PANTIES), David Petersen (MOUSE GUARD), Pam Bliss (KEKIONGA), and Johanna Draper Carlson (COMICS WORTH READING.COM), and met many fans and friends who I hadn't seen in a long time. Chicago is still a really strong show, servicing a very active fan base, and I'll be back next year with no hesitation.

And back by popular (?) demand, my camera was clicking and my snark flying, here's my own pictorial review of the convention from my vantage point in Artist Alley:

Last weekend was MID OHIO CON, the last stop on the TWO STROKE INVASION TOUR for this year.
Because I was lazy and didn't snap that many good pix, I'll post these links to others who did a good job of covering the con better than I ever could, including 9 year old Layne Toth, who got hired by THE PULSE to do a con report, and did a kick ass job:

LAYNE'S MID OHIO REPORT
THE LAUGHING OGRE PRE CON PARTY REPORT

I had a good time, got to hang out and spend good quality comic jam time with the Cornwhackers and sold a decent amount of books. This con was more profitable for doing commision sketches, but that's cool too. I did a really big drawing of THE DEFENDERS for Dan "The Sketchbook Man" Frazier, which I was proud of, but which nearly gassed out everyone in the Pam Bliss' hotel room when I colored in the background with a really stinky big black marker (sorry guys)! Here's the drawing and the sketch:

MUSIC OF THE MOMENT:
Goldfrapp: "Supernature" Holy crap, if you want your female retro 80's electro album, screw Madonna's new CD and listen to this! Good stuff!!!
Man Parrish: His first album is now on i-tunes, and yes, I'm in a retro electro phase, and this really takes me back.
Tiefschwarz: "Eat Books" Good weird catchy electropop, the song "Damage" features Tracy Thorn from Everything But The Girl on vocal, and it kicks ass!
Ivy: "Long Distance" Ethereal alt-girl pop, brave enough to do a good cover of the Blow Monkey's "Digging Your Scene"

I'm not dead, just dead busy...
Long week, bookended by two cool opportunities to get MOPED ARMY into the hands of new people. The SNAP COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL was awesome, just the right size, full of local talent, which excuse me Portland, OR, but Michigan has a POWERHOUSE line-up of talent here, as evidenced by this show. I had a blast, made money, and will do it again next year in a heartbeat.

This Friday Jane and I are showing during the November ART HOP, this time in the Park Trades Center, the epicenter of the monthly Art Hops. 4th floor, Suite 403, sponsored by the nice folks of NEW MIND TECHNOLOGIES.

The Tour is long and hard, but well worth it to meet all kinds of cool people.

Friend of Jane's lent us the complete DVD collection of FIREFLY.
Never a fan of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Doctor Who, Buffy....all that sci-fi/space opera crap...
I LOVE FIREFLY!
This is THE best written sci-fi series I've ever seen! And i detect a healthy dose of influence from COWBOY BEBOP as i watch this series and find myself thinking of. No slam to Firefly. I haven't cared for characters in a series like this since Hill Street Blues. Really!