I have survived Cape, and it was awesome. I'm still a little buzzed from the past two weekends of both Dallas Comic Con and Cape with Free Comic Book Day. Christian Beranek, Jeff Elden and Justin Stewart came in from out of state to stay at our house for the weekend, which was a lot of fun. Jim Lujan made the trip from California, and crashed with the Hinzes.
On Friday, we had a cook-out at the lovely Bower residence. Greg and Marcie were very hospitable. Afterwards, a few of us went to the Caves Lounge for a few drinks.
Saturday morning started early, and off to Dallas. Cape was well organized, and a pretty easy set up. Under a tent, at our table, Brock and I handed out copies of Viper Comics Presents with the five page Emily Edison sneak peek. I sold a few copies of Man from Krypton (now available). Brock did some sketches. I got an Andy Lee painting of Emily Edison. I'll scan and post it soon. It rained later in the day, and I scrambled to protect my stuff since we were close to the tent's opening. If anything, the rain made for a more memorable experience -- a nice friendly vibe. Got a cool mini-comic preview of Ian Shaughnessy's Shannigans. Stumblebum Studio's Mars 1938. Jeff Elden's The Middle Child Do Better. Jim Lujan's Paraphernalia, featuring one page I wrote: Exile from Stepford. (Geez, I need another blog post just to talk about all this stuff. I haven't even mentioned Devil's Panties and Death Comes to Dillinger... okay, now I have.) The biggest challenge of the day was organizing a massive group dinner at the ever-so popular Chuy's on a Saturday night. Clay and Lori Harrison got there early to reserve our spot. Final count: over 20 people! From Chuy's, it was walking distance to the Metro Bar for the live art show. Highlight of my weekend. Mostly because of Brock. I feel very proud, obsessively so, of the artists I work with. Seeing him in control of his craft, up there doing his art, to hear people gush over how good it is. Well? Makes me feel fortunate to work with him. I'm a fan. I can't help it.
Sunday. Slept in. Then Scott and Britta took us to lunch at Razzoo's in downtown Fort Worth. A nice final meal together before everyone went their separate ways. Also Christian and I signed a contract (more about that later). After dropping Christian off at the airport, listened to Fanboy Radio's 300th episode, the Fannie Awards (more about that later).
Ninety-Five Design
I've hired Dai Balawejder and Ninety-Five Design to build my new website for Antihero. Yep, a new website. I chose them because they do great work. Plus Dai likes comics and she's much cooler than I am. With all my new projects and Emily Edison coming soon, I figured the time was right. Hopefully move to the "next level". That sounds contrived, but I want to get more people reading my work. If a little bit of online marketing helps, score.
I also want to improve my blog. I don't know if it's been all that interesting lately. I'd like to do something more like what Wes does with his blog. Marlena also has a good blog. I want to do more than simple updates, more of a "daily column" approach. I'm still working it out. I'm open to anyone's suggestions and ideas.
