Last weekend Minnesota’s comic book fans once again descended upon the state fair grounds for MicroCon, the second-largest comic book convention in the state (FallCon being the largest). As usual I was there displaying my work and hobnobbing with some of the North Star state’s most talented artists.

Paul Fricke (left) is a local freelance illustrator and all around nice guy. Among his many current projects is a children’s book about bedbugs, which is a fun concept. Paul used to ink for DC Comics way back in the 20th century. On the right is Len Strazewski from Chicago, who used to write for DC. In one of the comic book bins Len found an old issue of “The Fly” that he had written and that Paul had inked. He was kind enough to give it to me as a gift, signed by him and Paul. Super cool. (Or should I say, “Super Fly!”)

I shared a table with the very talented Sherwin Schwartzrock. Sherwin is a great guy who has given me a lot of great advice throughout my freelance career. Give his website a looksee.

These are two of the guys from Big Time Attic, Kevin Cannon (left) and Zander Cannn (right). No, they aren’t related. But they are talented. Zander won an Eisner award for his graphic novel Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards. Their blog is also worth a read.

Terry Beatty is an inker on Batman. Brent Schoonover is a local freelance illustrator. Both a very nice guys.

I saw this and had to snap a photo. Some local reporter was interviewing Superman. Not something you see every day. (Isn’t that Lois Lane’s job?)

Finally, don’t forget that Saturday May 5 is Free Comic Book Day. And if you live in the Midwest, mark your calendars Oct. 6-7 for FallCon, Minnesota’s largest comic book convention.

Lately when I load my blog page, it seems that half the time the image header doesn’t load. There are also times when some of the images on the right side of the page don’t load. Is anyone else having this problem when viewing my blog? If so, please do me a favor and leave a comment saying so. If it is a problem for other people besides me, I need to look into it. Thanks!!

(Click for a larger image.)

Last night I took my wife to see Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” performed onstage at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. That makes me sound a lot classier than I am. My wife is the Shakespeare fan, I honestly couldn’t tell you half of what was going on in the story. But it was still fun for two reasons. First, I always have a great time going out with my wife. And second, I took a small sketchbook along and was able to spend over two hours filling the pages. I’ve been so crazy-busy with client work lately that it was a real treat just to draw for myself, whatever and however I wanted.

If you ever get the chance to attend a high-quality stage production, especially a period piece, by all means bring your sketchbook! The stage last night was filled with expressive character faces and fun costumes to draw. The lighting also created wonderful dramatic shadows across the faces that you normally wouldn’t see in “real life”.

It’s hard to overstate the value of keeping a sketchbook. For some good reading on that subject, I recommend a series written by Mark Kennedy on his blog. Kennedy reminds us that the point of a sketchbook is not to do beautiful drawings, but rather to risk making lots of bad drawings you can learn from. Personally I prefer to sketch with a pen, for two reasons. First, not having an eraser as a “crutch” forces me to think harder about my lines before I put them down. Second, knowing I can’t fix anything anyway frees me up to make bolder decisions (and yes, lots and lots of mistakes). In the short term I get sketchbooks full of bad drawings. But in the long term my skills are sharpened and my instincts are honed, so that over time I can work more confidently and with better results.

This is an old drawing I did ten years ago when I was still in art school. At the risk of sounding “preachy”, I thought it would be appropriate to post today as Christians pause to remember Jesus’ death for our sins. Think about it–he willingly took the punishment that you and I deserve. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Amazing. We don’t go to heaven because we are good people. We go because we are guilty sinners who have a Savior.

If you’ve never thought much about that before, consider this.

I’ve been dabbling in Flash animation again. This time its a brief internet promo for a forthcoming book by best-selling author John Trent titled “The Skinny Rabbit” (to be published by Thomas Nelson). A couple of months ago I did some character designs and artwork for the book. Then they came to me with the concept for this animated promo.

The book is still in its final stages of development, but Mr. Trent gave me his permission to post the Flash promo on my blog. (The “Send to a Friend” link at the end has an incorrect link, I just needed some filler to show what could be done).

Being a self-taught animator, I’m open to feedback/suggestions if you have any.

Nothing fancy. But a change was long overdue. Hopefully sometime soon I’ll find time to do up something really cool, but this’ll do for now.

EDIT: Someone wrote me that the top half isn’t displaying on their computer. If anyone else is having problems seeing the header, please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks!