And again… You will answer to no one else but me!
I wrote the intro for the new trade of LIL DEPRESSED BOY so @depressedboy and @sinagrace drew me into it!!! It “hits the shelf” this Wednesday, May 15. This is a great comic, read it!
Out tomorrow! Li’l Depressed Boy, Volume 4: Love is a Place. Jonah’s intro truly is the sweetest/ best.
Sequential Smarts - the best thing ever.
Inspired by the illustrative world of Gary Baseman as explored in the exhibition Gary Baseman: The Door Is Always Open, attend this panel of graphic novelists as they discuss the conceptual underpinning of contemporary graphic storytelling and L.A.’s central place in the world of the graphic novel.
Like Gary Baseman, many graphic novelists use illustration to depict fantastic worlds of their own making. Panelists Sina Grace (Not My Bag and Li’l Depressed Boy), Hope Larson (A Wrinkle in Time, Who Is AC?), Nick Thorburn (author of What a Gas and lead singer of the band Islands), and Malachi Ward(Expansion, Utu, and Ritual) discuss their work and the world of the graphic novel. A Q&A and book signing follow the program.
Sponsored by The Skirball Cultural Center, and The Secret Headquarters, this is going to be an event to remember. All attendees get a limited edition print of the image above (signed by all four panelists).
Wednesday, May 8, 8:00 p.m.
Order tickets here: http://www.skirball.org/programs/readings-talks/sequential-smarts
xS
Books with Pictures was my first comic book series. The six-issue series chronicles Melissa, a young girl in a cruddy relationship, and her experiences working at a comic store. Slice-of-life at its finest, if I do say so myself. It was an amazing, embarrassing, and interesting experience, as far as writing and drawing something for mass consumption goes. The book had national distribution in the Diamond catalog (back when that was less than impossible), so I was able to hear how much people hated my book from all parts of the country. In all seriousness, it was cool to have met people who lived in other cities that genuinely liked my little book about very big issues, like: how do we catalog these mutant titles and their spin-offs? why do our significant others keep pestering us to move in? is peeing in a cup THAT gross?
(Quick aside: I published the book under my imprint Very Dynamic Comics just so the acronym was VD Comics. #mature)
But it was great… I met Struble because I needed a cover colorist, I learned how my terrible puns would fall flat on the printed paper, I also got to do several comic conventions with my own comic book, and this was all while I was in college. My favorite thing is that I technically published some of the fabulous Ming Doyle’s first sequential pages in her already-prolific career (issue six, suckers!)
Above are some covers (one parodying a Miranda July movie), two pages that are related to when Melissa checks out the porn section of the comic store, and one of Ming’s pages.
If you are interested in checking out the series, I have all six issues available for ten dollars as a bundle here: http://sinagrace.bigcartel.com/
Thanks for reading.
xS
Check out the awesome Hastings Exclusive variant Struble and I did for The Regular Show comic’s first issue!
While we didn’t get on as the series team, Boom and CN liked us enough to allow us to work with the franchise in another capacity. The fine folks at Hastings also dug our exclusive Fionna and Cake cover so much that they wanted to work with us again, too.
A good attitude gets you through the rough times, and also puts you in a better place for victories- big and small.
xS
Last winter, I auditioned for the role of Regular Show series artist.
It was pretty exciting, to get a call from an editor saying “I think you’d be great for this project, can you do some sample drawings?”
Right?
In my months as the freelancing guy that I have become, this was the first time that a professional acquaintance (Note: not a longtime friend) approached me about a longterm art commitment. For money.
I did my best- sample drawings, a sample page, all on time. Boom Studios was receptive about what I was turning in, and I consistently offered to tweak if necessary. I excitedly told like two people in secret, and felt as though I’d finally made it- that the struggle was over, I had finally found a gig that would more than cover my rent and coffee house bills.
And then: I got the news that they went with someone else.
Separately: I like the word “crestfallen.”
I looked at the positive aspects of this: I was on the short list for a gig, I was on an editor’s mind, and I was good enough to get that far. It’s not Cartoon Network’s or Boom Studio’s job to tell me why somebody else got the job, I just had to take it as a learning experience and an opportunity to see how I could improve my art and storytelling.
With Boom’s permission, I’m sharing the sample page. I want you all to know that not every audition lands you the gig, and while it’s easy to lose steam and get depressed, you can always always always take these lemons and make more lemonade. Even if you don’t like lemonade, you can give it to your friends. Do you get what I’m saying?
Enjoy the doodles. I was gracious about not landing the art duties on Regular Show, and I’ve managed to keep a good relationship with that editor, so there may still be work coming from that avenue yet.
Wait and see,
S
