CulturePulp.

Take My Love, Wear This Shirt

The PDX Browncoats asked me to design the t-shirt for this year's "Can't Stop the Serenity" charity screenings in Portland -- where they'll show Joss Whedon's "Serenity" (or, as I like to call it, "Han Solo: The Movie") plus the "Firefly" episode "Out of Gas" to raise money for Equality Now. I gather the event will also feature a performance by the delightful Doubleclicks.

So here you go. Kinda went for a vague Nostromo crew patch vibe. Lines by me. Colors by the great Bill Mudron.

Can't Stop the Serenity 2012 (PDX Browncoats)

[ Pre-order tickets here ]

Tabling at the Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend.

Oh, right -- I'll be at the Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend. Table C-11, next to my pal Bill Mudron. Planned for my table this year:

• Free sketches for all and sundry
• Both "Sabertooth Vampire" books
• "Cort and Fatboy and the Secret of the Buried Unicorns"
• FREE ashcans of "Jaxxon's 11" Vol. 1 and "Opera, Drawn Quickly" (while supples last)
• A handful of posters and prints

Full details on the Fest are here.

Signing at Emerald City Comicon this weekend; interviewed at io9.

(Above: a couple of panels from one of the "Sabertooth Vampire" comics appearing in Dark Horse Presents #12 and #14.)

Oh, hey, super-last-minute plan:

Assuming the train to Seattle runs on time, I'll be selling/signing "Sabertooth Vampire" comics from 2-4 p.m. on Saturday 3/31 at the PDX Browncoats table at the Emerald City Comicon.

The table -- located in the ECCC foyer -- will have my comics for sale all weekend. Pop on by and say howdy. I will gladly draw you a tiny picture.

Also, the delightful Lauren Davis interviewed me about the origins of the Sabertooth Vampire for io9.

• Emerald City Comicon
• Cartoonist Mike Russell explains the origins of the Sabertooth Vampire’s hilariously oversized fangs (io9.com)

The closest thing I'll do to a book tour: 'Spinal Tap,' Orycon and Comics Underground.

So I guess I'm sort of accidentally embarking on a week-long "Sabertooth Vampire" book tour, all in Portland:

• On Friday, Nov. 11, I'll be selling "Sabertooth Vampire Unleashed" and my other books in the lobby of the Bagdad Theatre before the "Cort and Fatboy" 11:11 p.m. screening of "Spinal Tap."

• On Sunday, Nov. 13, I'll be signing books from 12 noon to 2 p.m. at the PDX Browncoats table at Orycon, held in the Lloyd Doubletree Hotel. The Browncoats will have both "Sabertooth Vampire" books for sale during the rest of the conference (Nov. 11-13).

• And finally, on Thursday, Nov. 17, I'm part of the lineup at "Comics Underground" -- alongside Dylan Meconis, Ron Chan, Sean Kelley, and Ryan Alexander-Tanner. Marvel as I attempt to set "Sabertooth Vampire" comics to music onstage in the Jack London Bar! (I'll also share some other short comics stories. A surprising number of them contain head trauma.)

'Sabertooth Vampire Unleashed.' Book-release party. Bridge City Comics. Oct. 21.

On Friday, Oct. 21 from 6-9 p.m., I'm joining forces with Aaron Duran and James Sinclair for a blowout book-signing party at Bridge City Comics.

We're releasing the second issues of our comics. I'll be debuting the second "Sabertooth Vampire" minicomic, "Sabertooth Vampire Unleashed." Aaron and James will have copies of Issue 2 of their paranormal-investigator series, "La Brujeria."

The full press release after the jump.

Bridge City signing recap. With video.

Want to know how last night's signing with David Walker went? Well, for some barmy-awesome reason, KGW sent reporter Joe Smith there to do a live TV spot from Bridge City Comics. Here's the video: 

 

Guest appearances by Cort Webber and Bobby "Fatboy" Roberts, among others.

So yeah. Last night's signing was insanely great. And it was great from the get-go, when Fats' significant other Bobbie showed up ahead of time with a homemade Sabertooth Vampire plushie she'd made in secret:

An enormous thank-you to Michael Ring of Bridge City Comics for putting this on, and to everyone who showed up. Walker and I were gobsmacked by the turnout.

Writeups of last night here and here, courtesy of Christian Lipski and Jamie S. Rich. And Chris Walsh has a ton of photos here.

Book-release party Wednesday. Stumptown Comics Fest this weekend.

Big week ahead. Couple of announcements:

WEDNESDAY: A BIG FAT BOOK-RELEASE PARTY

 

This Wednesday, April 13, from 6 to 8 p.m., David Walker and I join forces for a book-release party at Bridge City Comics (3725 N. Mississippi Ave., Portland). David will have copies of his terrific young-adult novel "Darius Logan: Super Justice Force." I'll have hard copies of my first "Sabertooth Vampire" minicomic and "Cort and Fatboy and the Secret of the Buried Unicorns" (and maybe a couple of fun freebies). You can even buy the poster at the top of this post (which features glorious Bill Mudron colors) for like five bucks. Here's the official press release with all the details.

 

THIS WEEKEND: THE STUMPTOWN COMICS FEST

 

Then, this Saturday and Sunday, April 16-17, I'll have my first-ever table (Table C-29, to be precise) at the Stumptown Comics Fest. Here's what I'll have on hand, while supplies last:

• Cort and Fatboy and the Secret of the Buried Unicorns -- just five bucks!
  
  
• The Sabretooth Vampire: The Complete First Season -- a mere three bucks!
  
  
• Jaxxon's 11, Vol. 1 -- a FREE 72-page ashcan of my and artist David Stroup's webcomic, which celebrates the complete insanity of 1970s Marvel "Star Wars" comics. David plans to sit at my table for a couple of hours each day, probably starting around 11 a.m.
  
  
• Opera, Drawn Quickly -- a FREE 48-page collection of all my "live comics adaptations" of Portland Opera productions.
  
  
• Plus! "Augie, The Littlest Reaver" prints and maybe even a few old copies of the beloved Christmas fable "Santa's Lil' Gimp."

The complete press release for the April 13 Bridge City party is after the jump.

CORT AND FATBOY: 'Source Code,' Paul' and an 'Aliens' yack-track

Catching up with recent "Cort and Fatboy" appearances (sorry, I've been distracted by book-making):

• March 18 podcast -- A review of "Paul." Fan-casting a "Powers" TV series. And the first thing an adoptee should know if they're looking for their birthparents. (I wrote an essay on the subject, if you're interested.)

• March 25 podcast -- I fail to review "Sucker Punch." A long discussion of the reasons Cort and Fats are so obsessed with Superman. Also: Whedon agonistes and a "Bourne" reboot.

• April 1 podcast -- A review of "Source Code" (which is pretty great, BTW.) I officially announce my Stumptown Comics Fest books -- and an April 13 release party with David Walker. "The Sabertooth Vampire" gets unusual attention from professional voice actors Ryan McCluskey and Kyle Hebert. Also: Plum theft. Transformers. Amateur-hour holidays. "Phantom Menace" in 3D. And JJ Smoove.

• And finally, we recorded a fairly loopy "Midnight Movie Commentary" for "Aliens" featuring Cort, Fats, David Walker, Erik Henriksen and yrs. truly.
___________

Cort and Fatboy [ iTunes ]

Portland Opera's 'L'Heure Espagnole' and 'L'Enfant et les Sortileges': The Live Comics Adaptation

On Monday, March 28, the Portland Opera held its final "Drink n' Draw" -- inviting a handful of PDX cartoonists to the Newmark Theatre to quaff beer, eat pizza, get a backstage tour, and watch a dress rehearsal of two Ravel one-act operas, "L'Heure Espagnole" and "L'Enfant et les Sortileges."

(God, I love that I live in a city where this sort of thing happens.)

I was just over a virus that spent a week staggering wino-style through my body, so I didn't draw as much as usual. But I managed to assemble low-calorie "live comics adaptations" of both (very entertaining) shows.

My drawings after the jump -- along with links to drawings by other, better cartoonists. These sketches will also be on display in the rotunda-level lobby of the Newmark Theatre during the Friday, April 1 performance of the two mini-operas -- possibly with a few artists in attendance.

Stumptown Comics Fest minicomic No. 3: 'The Sabertooth Vampire' Season One minicomic.

This is the printer's proof. The paper will add a little more color. Just three bucks a copy at the Stumptown Comics Fest and at a special April 13 signing event (more soon).