FallCon and NCS Pics

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Last weekend was the annual meeting of the North Central Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society. The meeting was set to coincide with FallCon here in Minneapolis. Two weekend cartoon events for the price of one. It was a blast! I had a great time catching up with some old art buddies and making a few new ones.

This weekend was also our first wedding anniversary. And my wife’s birthday was the day before. Fortunately I have the most supportive wife an artist could ask for. I made it up to her with a Gondola ride Sunday night and plans for a weekend getaway at a friend’s cabin later this month.

Here’s a few pics from the weekend events. The NCS chapter meeting kicked off Friday night with an art show at MCAD.


MAD Magazine artist Tom Richmond calls for backup.


Guest lecturer Michael Jantze (The Norm) asks, “Where’d you get that sweet hunting jacket?”


Ken Alvine and Dave Phipps admire a lifelike statue of Mike Edholm.


Illustrator extraordinaire Bucky Jones talks shop with one of the artist’s wives.


Terry Beatty (left) is an instructor at MCAD and the inker on The Batman Strikes. And he has a killer goatee.

Saturday afternoon I took part in a panel discussion on cartooning with fellow NCS members Tom Richmond, Michael Jantze, and Jerry Van Amerongen.


Bill Brewer emceed the discussion: “How many cartoonists does it take to change a light bulb….?”


Tom dozes off as I ramble on.


Back on the show floor, Batman’s cape is stuck in his car door. “This looks like a job for Superman!”


My lovely wife Jennie helps me man my table at the Con.


Michael Jantze had the tidiest table at the convention.


Nicole Nelson, Bucky Jones, and Dave Phipps (right) man the NCS table. Dave has a weekend radio show devoted to cartooning.


Kelly McNutt and Mike Edholm. No bald jokes, please.

My Dad collects old comic books (especially westerns). So he and Mom stopped by the Con to say “hi” and pose for a few pics:

Incidentally, Dad is running for Le Sueur County Commissioner. If he wins, he gets to ride one of these in the parade:


(In the background, a policeman gives Batman a speeding ticket.)

The weekend was loads of fun. Big-time kudos to Tom Richmond and the gang for pulling it all together.

Scratch-N-Sniff

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These are two pages from a children’s book I am currently illustrating for Living Waters Publications. It’s going to be a “scratch-and-sniff” book with a different smell on each page. Lots of fun to work on! (The blank areas are for text).


Can Cartoonists Make Money With The Internet?

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With comic book sales in a slump and with newspaper readership steadily dropping, is it possible to be successful in comics or cartoons these days?

Certainly. In recent years a few have become quite successful, thanks to the internet. The internet is opening brand new doors for comics creators to explore. But while some doorways eventually lead to success, many others are proving to be dead ends. With the internet still in its infancy and technology changing so rapidly, there is not yet a well-trodden path that cartoonists can follow to digital success.

I’ll be part of a panel discussion at FallCon this afternoon where we will discuss this very thing. Since I’m an illustrator and animator, not a cartoonist, I’ve had to brush up on the issue. In my research I’ve found the following articles on the subject. Maybe some of them will be helpful to you aspiring cartoonists out there:

Can you make money posting your cartoons online? Here’s an interesting interview about comics and micropayments.

PVP creator Scott Kurtz discusses problems with the current syndicate system.

Here’s a blog totally devoted to helping artists make money with their webcomics. I don’t know whether the advice is good or bad, but it seems worth a once-over.

Comics guru and author Scott McCloud is trying some fascinating new things at his website. He writes that information wants to be cheap and briefly discusses Reinventing Web Comics.

Got any other links/articles to recommend? What are your thoughts? Post a comment and let me know.

FallCon and National Cartoonist Society Events this Weekend!

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Just a reminder, there’s a ton of great art and cartoon events going on in Minneapolis this weekend.

First, of course, is FallCon. Minnesota’s largest comic book convention. Stop by my table and say “hi”.

Second, the North Central Chapter of the National Cartoonist’s Society is having their annual get-together in Minneapolis this weekend. They will hosting a table at FallCon, as well as the following events that are free and open to the public…

1. Friday October 6, 6-8pm there will be a “meet the cartoonists” gallery opening at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. The exhibit, called “eyeToons” features over 80 cartoons and illustrations from members of our chapter of the National Cartoonists Society. More info here.

2. Saturday Oct 7, 1:00pm – Panel discussion at FallCon entitled “Ask the Cartoonists!”. Discussion will focus on the future of cartooning, impact of the internet, breaking into cartooning, working with publishers and syndicates, and Q&A from the audience.  Panelists are Michael Jantze (The Norm), Tom Richmond (MAD Magazine), Jerry Van Amerongen (Ballard Street), and myself.

3. Saturday Oct 7, 7:30pm – MCAD Auditorium – Slideshow presentations by artists Michael Jantze, Tom Richmond, and Jerry Van Amerongen.  I’ve seen Tom’s part of the presentation before. He talks about his experiences as a parody artist for Mad Magazine and it’s a great presentation.

Again, this is all free! Hope to see some of you there.

Avalanche!

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Check out this great new group blog called Avalanche. I don’t recognize all of the artists (though I recognize some), but it’s pretty impressive stuff! They are kicking off the blog with a series of illustrations based on the TV show “LOST”.