New York Comic-Con Schedule

NYCC is almost here, and I'm really looking forward to it. If anyone out there is attending and would like to find me, you can ask around the TOKYOPOP booth (#1321), as I'll be floating around there quite a bit. They've also got me scheduled to appear on the following panels (I believe they're all taking place right there in the TOKYOPOP booth):

Friday, April 18
4:00 – 5:00 PM
Princess Ai Panel, Moderated by TOKYOPOP Editor-in-Chief, Rob Tokar

Friday, April 20
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Writing for Manga Panel, moderated by TOKYOPOP Senior Editor, Luis Reyes

Sunday, April 20
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 PM
Humor and Manga Panel, moderated by TOKYOPOP Senior Editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl

See you there!

Princess Ai: Rumors

Here's a peek at some pages from a story I just finished drawing for TOKYOPOP (click images for larger views).




More on that in the New Year!

Nike

So, I keep mentioning how BUSY I am these days--as though everyone else is just goofing off! I suppose the reality is that we're ALL busy most of the time. Perhaps, I should just stop writing about how busy I am, and tell you what it is that I'm so busy with!

My problem is that I'm juggling several different projects at once, and none of them are getting done in a timely manner. Life keeps interrupting my work-flow, and these small-but-super-rush job suddenly appear and totally throw me off my schedule. This happened earlier this week, but it was kind of fun...



This is an image from a new NIKE promotion. To be honest, I don't know the whole story behind it, except that it is from a "custom comic" produced by TOKYOPOP in the popular "manga" style. They put together a book of short stories featuring Nike products and a wild-haired manga dude. Evidently, they wanted one particular panel to be drawn larger to be used separately for posters or something, but they were having trouble getting exactly what they needed from the original artist. At the last minute, they came to me, and I stepped in and totally re-worked the image to their specs.

From what I gather, they were happy with my work (no corrections!) and I must admit that I'm pretty pleased with it myself. Especially when I look at it compared to the original drawing. I'm tempted to show it here, but I won't, as I'm not looking to embarrass anyone. The sad part (for me!) is that I get absolutely NO credit for the drawing. If this turns out to be a huge campaign and my image is plastered all around the country, the only people who will know that I drew it will be me, my editor, and the three people who are reading this blog! Oh well, such is the life of the freelance artist...

Two Book Signings This Weekend

Hey all. Haven't had much time to post lately, hopefully that will change soon. I'm working on a Princess Ai story for TOKYOPOP. Will share art soon!

Meanwhile, I'll be joining some of my fellow Ameri-manga creators at some signings this weekend. The first is TONIGHT at the Borders Bookstore in Northridge, CA. 7PM. Here's a map:


View Larger Map

Tomorrow afternoon (Saturday), we'll be at the Kinokuniya Bookstore in Downtown Los Angeles from 2-4 PM. here's another map.

Hope you can make it if you're in the area! Maybe the posters will be ready! You know you want one!

More Poster Art

Here's another figure from that promotional poster I'm working on. If you haven't read the book (and, why haven't you???), this is Becky. Click on her for a larger view.

I'm drawing each figure separately & composing them into a scene. The figures overlap some, but I wanted to have whole versions of the individual poses, just in case we need them for another use.

New Battle of the Bands Art

Yeow. My internet has been down for almost TWO DAYS!!!! Somehow, I survived this complete cut-off from the world, and everything appears to be normal. For what that's worth!

Among other things, I've been working on a new poster for my manga, Battle of the Bands. It's to give away at future signings & stuff. Here is one of the characters from the poster...

Click image for a larger view of Zoe.


In other news, the ArtWalk in Pasadena went well last Friday night. Talked to some art-lovers & schmoozed with some other artists, like Phil Yeh and Steve Firchow. All in all, a pleasant evening. I was holed-up in the Library the whole night, but from what I could see, the ArtWalk was a pretty cool event that would be worth attending next year.

Friday Night is Art Night in Pasadena

Kind of a last-minute thing: Tomorrow night I will be showing off some of my artwork and answering some questions about comics & manga at ArtNight in Pasadena. Looks like a pretty cool event that is spread out in different locations around downtown Pasadena. There will be free shuttles and bike tours and who knows what else! I will be stationed along with fellow TOKYOPOP creators Rikki Simons and Tavisha (Shutterbox) at the Pasadena Public Library, at 285 East Walnut Street.

Here's a map:

View Larger Map

I'll be displaying some original art from Battle of the Bands, Elephantmen and, perhaps, some other projects. I'll also have some books for sale, if you want to come by and pick up a signed copy!

Or...just come by and say hello! I'll be there from 6:00 to 10:00 PM.

WeHo Signing This Weekend

This Sunday, September 30th, I'll be joining some fellow TOKYOPOP creators at the West Hollywood Book Fair. I'll be participating in the "Manga 101" panel from 3:14 - 4:15, and signing copies of my book, Battle of the Bands at the TOKYOPOP booth after that, from 4:15 - 6:00. The fair is free, lasts all day, and features appearances, workshops and readings by many authors. Check out the schedule on their website.

Here's a map:

View Larger Map

If you can make it, I look forward to meeting you and telling you about my book. I'll even throw in a free sketch!

A Friendly Reminder: Book Signing Wednesday Evening

Just want to remind you cool people about my book signing tomorrow in Manhattan Beach. If you're in the West Los Angeles region, I hope you'll drop by The Comic Bug. I'll be whipping up some FREE SKETCHES and trying to get people to notice Battle of the Bands. I may even give out some special goodies, so you won't want to miss it!

Also, I won't be alone! I will be joined by my old pal, Tricia Riley Hale, who also happens to have a book out from TOKYOPOP called Grand Theft Galaxy. Yes, it'll be a regular party down at the 'Bug. Now, let's review:

Wednesday, August 29th,
From 5-8 PM,
Steve & Tricia will be signing at:
The Comic Bug
1832 Manhattan Beach Blvd.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Phone: (310) 372-6704
www.thecomicbug.com

You can download a flyer PDF by clicking right here.

It looks like this:



Only bigger.

If, for some unspeakable reason, the link above doesn't work, you can copy this URL and paste it in your address bar:

http://www.madsciencemedia.com/comicbug.pdf

How much easier can I make this? Well, I can give you this HANDY-DANDY MAP:


View Larger Map

That's it! That's all I've got! I hope you can make it. If not, I'll be devastated, but I guess I'll see you at some other event. Last week I had lunch with some SUPER-NICE people in TOKYOPOP'S marketing department and it looks like we've got some cool stuff lined up. I will certainly keep you posted.

Wish me luck...

Another New Review...

Just found a new review of my book, Battle of the Bands at Manganews.net. This one made me smile:

Read it here!

Don't know who these guys are, but they get it!

Now On Sale!

Hey Cool People! I've got just the thing to make you even cooler:



Hot off the presses! Git 'em while they're hot!

One More Thing

Today I busted out some artwork for a promotional postcard to hand out at the Comic-Con in San Diego. Here's a peek:



If you're coming to the convention (July 26-29) come look for me at the TOKYOPOP booth. I want to meet you--yes, YOU--and give you one of these postcards! I'll be there from Friday until Sunday (July 27-29). Not sure of the schedule yet. If I learn more specifics, I'll let you know. Probably not until that week.

Meanwhile, I STILL encourage you to read this INTERVIEW! In it, I talk about how I came up with the idea for my new book (on sale next week!) and what I think about manga, generally. MOST IMPORTANTLY: If you want to help me spread the word, PLEASE leave a comment (or "Reply") on the interview page. The more comments that appear, the higher up on the page the interview will appear. Columns with no comments quickly lose visibility. And that, my friends, is a tragedy. :(

THANK YOU!

In Lieu of a New Post...

...I will direct you to this spiffy new interview with ME on The Pulse! It includes some previously unseen art. Check it out, and PLEASE: LEAVE A COMMENT! It's nice for me to know that you looked at the interview, and it's also good because it will help keep the interview in a visible position on their site. THANK YOU!!!

:D

(and thanks to Jen Contino for this opportunity to plug my new book)

Have a great weekend!

Another Random Page

Hey there. Here's another page from Battle of the Bands! On sale soon!

(I'm gettin' all excited! How 'bout you?)

Yo, Check This Out!

Last night my esteemed TOKYOPOP editor, Rob Tokar, dropped by to give me THIS--an advance copy of my new book, hot off the press! Woo-hoo! It has that "new book" smell!

Look for one just like it at your local bookstore in JULY!

Random Page...

Here's a sneak-peek at another random page from my upcoming TOKYOPOP manga, Battle of the Bands. Please to enjoy...



I was going to mention some 'interesting' factoids about this particular page, but on second thought, I think I'll keep 'em to myself for now. I don't want to release any spoilers before the book comes out.

Sorry!

:D

UPDATE (25 minutes later): Hey! I just noticed that TOKYOPOP has on online preview of the new book available HERE. Anyone can see the first few pages, but if you register with their website, I think you can read the whole first chapter. Neat.

That Bloggin' Feeling...

I've been wanting to post a new blog entry for a while now, but I just haven't had any time. It's bumming me out. The last time I wrote anything worth reading was days ago. Or was that weeks ago? I don't remember. Follow that link and read it again. It's not going to get much better today, I'm afraid.

Best I can do right now is a quick work update. I'm still inking my manga book. I've finished just over 50 pages. I'd feel better about that accomplishment if I didn't have so many more to go. The total page count is 183. Whimper.

This week my editor and I put together a 15-page preview that will run in some other Tokyopop titles. Starting with one that's written by my good pal, Tricia. her book is called Grand Theft Galaxy and that will be on sale in May, if I'm not mistaken. Haven't seen the book, but I read the script. It's quite funny.

Here's a piece of art from my book. I put this together for that preview. It's my cover. Sort of. This is NOT the actual logo, but one that I threw together for this purpose. Also, the cover is really in color, not grey-tones. Still, I think it looks kinda cool. What do YOU think?



More excitement next time, I promise.

Another Sneak Peek!

Hey all. Here's some more art from my new Tokyopop book, scheduled to be published in July! The book will be a black & white, Japanese manga-style, 180 page monster called Battle of the Bands! These are the main characters...



...a punk rock band called "Led Salad" and...


...their hapless roadie, Chet.

These color images will probably appear on the book's back cover. I'm pretty jazzed. How 'bout you?
:)

_