When: Saturday, October 27th, 11AM - 4PM
Where: Barnes & Noble @ Clarendon. Arlington, Virginia
What: Arlington writers of various genres are converging on B&N Courthouse for a day of talking and signing. I'll be there with Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened. Proceeds benefit the Arlington Public Library. Check out the announcement for more info.

Labels: events, postcards

Sometimes a show is so awesome that a cheesy pun for a title isn't just allowed, it's required.

I had a great SPX this year. Despite showing up for only an hour-and-a-half on Friday and constantly taking breaks to talk to folks on Saturday I managed to sell 29 copies of POSTCARDS. At $20 a pop a primarily small-ticket item show that's a good deal.

People really seemed to dig the book - it didn't take a whole lot of pitching. I just told them the concept, let them flip through it, and waited for them to make their decision. A lot of people purchased it, everyone told me they loved the concept, and most of the people who didn't purchase it there at least picked up a postcard or wrote the name of the book down (one woman even asked me if it's cheaper on Amazon...I had to say "yes").

I also got to meet a bunch of great new people; press, fans, and fellow creators. Very friendly atmosphere, lots of chatting. There's always a great community around SPX; makes me proud that the convention is hosted in my area.

I'll write up a more detailed report later on including some photos...

Labels: conventions, events, postcards

I will be at table C6 this weekend selling copies of POSTCARDS. I'll also be trying to sell off the remainder of my Western Tales of Terror issues for $1 a pop (or free if you buy POSTCARDS). Come on by!

Labels: events, postcards

I just got back from doing a lunchtime talk at the Georgetown Senior Center. Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. I had lunch with the folks there and then we all sat in a circle and I talked about the book. I started out by talking a bit about graphic novels and how they're not just superheroes and Archie anymore and then went into the genesis of the project. That was about ten minutes. I then spent about fifty minutes talking about the cards in my collection and we had great little discussions, plenty of laughs - it was a really fun time and everyone there was engaging and taking part in the discussions.

I was also encouraged to try to take my talk to Oprah, The Today Show, various NPR programs, and the Smithsonian. I'll get on that...

Labels: events, postcards

Below are some photos of Chris Stevens and Gia-Bao Tran's signing at historic Lucy the Margate Elephant. Chris & GB's story was inspired by a postcard featuring the landmark and we're thankful to the historical board for letting us sign there.

Labels: events, postcards

Chris Stevens & Gia-Bao Tran will be signing at Lucy the Margate Elephant tomorrow (August 29th) from 2-4PM. Official release below...

MARGATE, NJ — Ventnor, NJ writer Chris Stevens and Brooklyn, NY artist Gia-Bao Tran will be signing copies of Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened (Villard Books; On-Sale Now), at Lucy the Margate Elephant historical landmark on August 29, 2007. Stevens and Tran are the creators of "Blue," the lead story of the graphic novel anthology, which pays homage to the innocent age of Atlantic City.

"Blue" is the story of an Atlantic City native returning home and trying to find a connection with his grandmother, a woman who’s not as sharp as she used to be. An image of Lucy on a postcard becomes their means of escape into the landmarks (and relationships) of their past. Creators Stevens and Tran will be signing copies of Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened at the building that inspired it all—Lucy the Margate Elephant.

Where: Lucy the Margate Elephant
9200 Atlantic Avenue
Margate, NJ 08402

When: Wednesday, August 29th
2 – 4PM

______________________

Praised by USA Today as one of this summer’s best graphic novels, Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened features imagined stories of romance, adventure, mystery, and heartbreak, inspired by 100-year-old missives scrawled on the backs of antique postcards.

Labels: events, postcards

Chris Stevens and Gia-Bao Tran, the writer/artist team behind POSTCARDS' "Blue" will be signing books at Atlantic City's historic Lucy the Elephant (the focal point of their story).

That's Wednesday, July 29th, from 2-4PM. Here's a flyer with some more details. Press release going out tonight...

Labels: events, postcards

I will not be at TCAF this year but several POSTCARDS creators will. Make sure you look out for Noel Tuazon, Matt Kindt, Danielle Corsetto, and Gia-Bao Tran. I know Noel will have 20 copies of POSTCARDS on him and he even made 20 original watercolors to give out to folks that buy the book off of him.

Labels: events, postcards

You have to scroll down a bit but Comics Should Be Good's Greg Burgas comments on the Saturday Comic Relief signing and shows off his autographed copy of POSTCARDS. Also, there was apparently some feud between Greg and Tom Beland that was patched up at the signing.

POSTCARDS: Bringing People Together

It was around five o’clock when I headed over to the Comic Relief pavilion for a signing of Postcards. This anthology features some excellent stories by a host of good creators, and although not all of the stories work perfectly, it’s still a fascinating project. My book was passed around to Antony Johnston, Ande Parks, Matt Kindt, Rick Spears, Rob G, GB Tran, Joseph Bergin III, Jason Copland, and Micah Farritor, as well as Jason Rodriguez, the book’s editor.

Labels: events, postcards, review

Here you go.

Most of the focus was given to the newly released “Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened,” which is an anthology based around antique postcards. Some fans found actual postcards on their seats left for them by the editors, which added a fun and interesting touch to the atmosphere.

I guess I can talk about this one a bit. During one of our DC Conspiracy get-togethers I had folks write out fake postcards - 360 of them, total. I left them all over the convention but I imagine that with the enormity of it all it's easy to lose 360 postcards over a half-mile of space packed with 140,000 people.

Anyone pick one up despite the odds?

Labels: events, postcards, press

I have plenty of pictures up over here – go check them out. Report time…


I got into town at around noon. Robin and I took a cab to the Sofia Hotel. The Sofia was remodeled In January 2007 and it’s now a nice and swanky spot only seven blocks from the convention center and three blocks from Ralph’s. We ran into James W. Powell and Jason Copland at the hotel – it’s odd that out of all of the hotels in San Diego I book one at the same place that my assistant editor (James) and frequent collaborator (Jason) are in. It's even weirder that none of us even realized we were in the same place and that we showed up at the exact same time. San Diego Comic-Con may have had 140,000 attendees this year but it’s still a small world over there.

After checking in Robin and I went to Sea World. I don’t care if you laugh, I love Sea World. Love it. I can watch fish swim for hours (especially eels, barracudas, and sharks). I love how you can feed and touch the dolphins and the sting rays. I love how the park is owned by Anheuser-Busch and you can get free beers at the hospitality tent. You’re only allowed two per visit but you get around that by visiting the tent every hour or so.

After Sea World Robin went back to the hotel to take a nap and I went to the convention center to check out preview night. I went straight to the Random House booth to see what kind of press they had out for us. They had a nice poster up at the Villard section, a preview copy of the book, and a flyer advertising the four signings we head set up. I can’t complain about that.

I walked around the hall for a while. I dropped some books off with Gia-Bao Tran and the Gigantic Graphic Novel guys (Rick Spears and Rob G) to sell at their respective tables.

After the show I went out to dinner with a couple of folks: my fiancée, Robin, Josh Fialkov and his lovely fiancée (and POSTCARDS II history-editor) Christina Rice, POSTCARDS artist Tony Fleecs, screenwriters Marc Wheaton (THE MESSENGERS) and Gary Dauberman (DEADMAN), and Sam Cooke artist Rob Guillory and his wife, April. We went to a nice little Italian place.

We were going to head over to the Hyatt afterwards but first I had to take Tony to his hotel in Gary’s car. I rented a POSTCARDS Crash Room for anyone that didn’t have a place to stay and wanted to make sure that Tony could check it into it since he was the first one to use it. It took us close to twenty minutes to get to the hotel, the only street that passed by it was a one-way street that seconded as the off-ramp to a highway. By the time we returned Gary’s car it was already past eleven and we were about a half-mile from the Hyatt and tired. Robin, Tony, Gary, and I went out for some drinks closer to our hotels.

The first bar we went to was alright. We were attracted to the outdoor patio and then they closed it. Some Santana cover band was playing the wrong songs too loud inside the bar so we bolted. We went to some dive bar on Tony’s suggestion and it ended up being the greatest two hours of the convention by my recollection.

It was cheap, for starters. Two-dollar beers and well drinks all night, every night. The bartender was hysterical. When we commented on how cheap the beers were she proceeded to tell us the price of every drink behind the bar. She joked with us, made fun of us, took pictures with us. When someone came in with a big box of XL-or-larger restaurant shirts, she encouraged us to take them. Tony got it started, digging through the box and putting different shirts on. Eventually, everyone was wearing the free shirts. People would come through the door and we’d throw a shirt at them. Joshua Dysart comes in and I say, “Joshua! Where’s your shirt?” It was a drunken mess but a good mess.

Ralph’s, then hotel – Preview Night was over.


I had breakfast with Josh Fialkov and Christina Rice. While Josh and I talked about our futures, Christina read POSTCARDS. No joke – she cried, in front of us, after reading Phil Hester’s story. Anyway, I think several decisions where made over breakfast that’ll be playing out over the next several months.

Afterwards I went to the Horton Plaza mall to get some new sunglasses and hat – I already had mild sunburn on my bald patch from the trip to Sea World. Robin’s friend, Julie, flew into town while we were shopping and the three of us went to Old Town together from some lunch. We had some decent Mexican food and caught up a bit before heading out to the convention.

I had my first meeting of the show with Paul Benjamin, one of the writers for POSTCARDS II. I stacked most of them during Friday and Saturday (huge mistake – I’ll tell you why later). After the meeting I made my way to the Villard panel. It went well; I’d say about 60 people showed up. Kazu was insightful, as always, and Josh and I cracked jokes, mainly. The audience seemed to be entertained and at least four people came up to me and bought a book during one of my signings, mentioning that they loved the panel. Sales!

After the panel Josh and I walked around a bit before heading out to the Random House dinner. Good conversation and good food – horrible service, though. We were there for three hours, which is fine, but a lot of that time was spent waiting for stuff. Like drinks. And forks. But, hey, I’m not one to complain about a free meal – especially if it’s good.

We headed over to the Circle of Confusion party after that and met up with Gary, Tony, Mark, Christina, Robin, and Julie. There were too many people there to recount each and every one but I did run into POSTCARDS contributors Stuart Moore and Michael Gaydos. It was a great party at any rate, and I took full advantage of the free booze and downed a combination of Red Bull-Vodkas, scotch, and beer before heading over to the Hyatt.

Being party night the Hyatt was kind of dead and I’m not going to complain about that. We met up with James Powell, Jason Copland, Caleb Monroe, Drew Melbourne, and Elton Pruitt and listened to Tony Fleecs tell stories all night. Tony can keep an audience attentive for hours on end – it makes me wish he’ll hurry up and get to IN MY LIFETIME #2.

The bar closed and Robin, Julie, and I went back to the hotel (after a trip to Ralph’s, of course). I was pretty sick but luckily the need to pass out was greater than the need to notice that the room was spinning.


I started my Friday with breakfast at the Marriott with Josh Fialkov, Christina Rice, Tony Fleecs, Mark Wheaton, Rob Guillory and wife, April, Kody Chamberlain, Phil Hester, Colleen Coover, and Paul Tobin. I got to check out Paul and Colleen’s newest graphic novel and it’s gorgeous. I headed out to get to my 10AM meeting. The convention, however, opened at 10:30 – making me a half-hour late and setting the precedent for late, missed, or canceled meetings. It’s great that there’re 140,000 people attending Comic-Con but those people make it impossible to keep a schedule. It’s my fault, really, scheduling so many back-to-backs, but it was still annoying.

Luckily I had nothing solid planned after the first meeting – I was still able to catch some of the Image Founders Panel. It was fun but definitely didn’t have the drama I was hoping for. It did make me appreciate Jim Lee more, however. His move to Image really shook the comic industry up. I can’t think of a single person working today that could have a similar impact on the comic industry by simply moving to an upstart company.

I had a couple of short meetings before my Random House signing with Josh Fialkov. We sold a couple of books, signed them nice, and then went our separate ways. I had lunch with James Powell and Christina Rice at Dick’s Last Resort. We talked about POSTCARDS II – where we stood and the way forward. There’s work to be done, folks. Lots of it.

Lunch ended early and I had forty minutes of downtime. I sat in the convention lobby and started to read PULP HOPE. It’s not the kind of book you read while burnt out and in a noisy convention center so I just salivated over the gorgeous artwork.

After the quick break I went to Comic Relief for another POSTCARDS signing. We had Tom Beland, Jason Copland, Micah Farritor, Antony Johnston, Ande Parks, Rick Spears, Rob G, Gia-Bao Tran, Matt Kindt, and Joseph Bergin III all signings books. A couple of folks bought some books, a couple of folks brought their own, and I had the crew sign a box of books I’ll be using for promotion. There wasn’t as many people as I would have liked but it wasn’t horrible, at least.

After the signing I went out for a quiet dinner with Robin and Julie. We went back to the hotel and waited for my friend PJ to show up. PJ’s a college buddy, now in LA, working for DreamWorks Animation. The four of us went straight to the Hyatt where we drank all night. Tony told stories, again, and the whispered discussion amongst me and several friends revolved around an interesting turn or events from the day before and what I should do about it. The answer was, essentially, “get paper” but everyone had a different idea as to how said paper would be getted.

I also introduced myself to Frank Miller that evening. Gary Dauberman and I walked up to Mr. Miller and his entourage…it seems like he has a bodyguard these days, by the way. Shook Frank’s hand – he smiled and said, “Nice to meet you.” When we started telling him what we did his eyes glassed over…I don’t know, you’d think the fact that Gary’s writing DEADMAN for Warner Brothers and working with Guillermo Del Toro would at least be interesting to him. I guess he’s just too Hollywood for us.

Ralph’s and then the hotel, as per usual.


Breakfast with Josh Fialkov, Phil Hester, and some guys from Harris comics. After breakfast I went back to the hotel room and napped until 12:30, canceling two meetings because it just wasn’t worth trying to fight the crowd. The cancelled parties had no objections, and we agreed to chat at the Hyatt Saturday night. Comic-Con had already worn me down.

Signed at the Random House booth with Phil Hester for an hour. It went well; we sold some books and met some cool folks. Robin and Julie came to the convention afterwards and the three of us walked around – this was my first and only time really taking it all in. I picked up THE HOMELESS CHANNEL, BLACK METAL, SUPER SPY, and the absolute best find of the show. Let me explain…

Matt Kindt made signed-and-numbered, limited-edition Super Spy mini-comics called THE TREASURE. The comic is 70-some-odd panels long and each panel is on a piece of paper and placed into a hand-made box. Also in the box is a treasure map that tells you how to position the panels so you can read the entire story. The box is tied up and Matt put a little sketch on the back. Ten bucks.



FANTASTIC.



If you didn’t buy it you really missed out.

At 2PM we had our second POSTCARDS signing at Comic Relief. This time is was Michael Gaydos, Stuart Moore, Phil Hester, Matt Kindt, Josh Fialkov, Tom Beland, James Powell, and Tony Fleecs. Much better turn out this time and we helped Comic Relief go through a chunk of their stock. I also got to meet up with an editor at NPR and talk to her a bit about the book. She seemed interested so even if it doesn’t get on the radio it’s nice to know it had a chance.

We went to dinner with around 14 folks afterwards, the usual crew – Chinese food. The crispy duck was delicious. One final romp at the Hyatt and I only spent an hours there before making my rounds and saying goodbye to everyone. I became really good at goodbyes – you just need to get in there, shake the hand, and run off before they can stop you. Josh started an hour before me and I caught up to him in the corridor in-between the two bars. Twenty minutes later I finished up the second bar and then I was gone. Just the hotel – no Ralph’s. Robin and I had the room to ourselves Saturday night, after all.


Breakfast, packing, cab to the airport, and a comfortable flight to Chicago that allowed me to finish Harry Potter and sleep – two great things. An hour delay in Chicago, thirty minutes on the tarmac in DC, half hour waiting for our luggage, and another twenty minutes waiting for a taxi, however, got me home a little past 2AM. So – a horrible ending to a great week.

In case you want to see what Robin’s signed copy of POSTCARDS looks like, here you go:



I know you wish you had one…luckily I have ten more just like it:



I’m going to start giving them out on this website every month-to-six weeks or so. First one this week sometime. Keep your eyes open for any upcoming promotions.

Labels: events, postcards

I wish I had a way to get my pictures off of my camera...

Anyway, San Diego is going great. I'm going to give an ultra quick rundown. I'll do a full report when I get back, complete with pictures.

Wednesday - After spending the day at Sea World I passed by preview night to check out the Villard booth. Nice big poster, preview copy, all good. Went out to dinner with Josh Fialkov, Tony Fleecs, Mark Wheaton, Gary Dauberman, Rob Guillory, and our ladies before heading out to some dive bar.

Thursday - Breakfast with Fialkov before spending the day in Old Town and showed up at Comic Con in time for my 5PM panel. The panel went well, I think, we had around 60 people attending which is great for a non-movie/Marvel/DC panel. Went to the Random House dinner afterwards, had a great little tuna steak and chatted it up with some people. Circle of Confusion party after that - great time, great drinks. Then I went down to the Hyatt and we were there until they kicked us out listening to Tony Fleecs tell us stories.

Friday - Meetings and signings. Breakfast with some friends, got to meet Colleen Coover and Paul Tobin making breakfast kind of awesome. Signed at the Random House booth with Josh at 1PM - some folks showed up, all good. Comic Relief signing at 5PM - we had about ten guys there, it was a good time. Quite dinner with friends, went home and napped, headed out to the Hyatt for a couple of hours and met some fantastic folks.

Today! Had breakfast with some guys from Harris. At 1PM I'm signing at the Random House booth (1135) with Phil Hester. At 4PM I'll be signing at the Comic Relief booth with Stuart Moore, Michael Gaydos, Tom Beland, Robert Tinnell, Tony Fleecs, Josh Fialkov, Phil Hester, Antony Johnston, and James Powell.

Labels: events, postcards

I didn't take a lot of pictures - I was too busy having fun. That's a good thing.

Thirty people showed up, total, so I'd call it a good turn out. Plenty of food - lots of alcohol. I spent the better part of this morning picking up cigarette butts and beer cans from the courtyard but it was expected. A lot of local artists came by. Many members from the DC Conspiracy were present (I'd say they were the bulk of the party), Jesse Cohen and Alex Swain from ArtDC, and Frank Warren of PostSecret fame. Everyone got to take home promotional postcards, at least, and everyone got to flip through my solitary copy of POSTCARDS. That's fine, though, since that just means there should be thirty people at my signing at Olsson's on Tuesday ready to buy the book.

Ok, some pictures...





















There are some more on POSTCARDS' creator Matt Dembicki's blog.
UPDATE! And some more pictures right here.

Labels: events, postcards

I have two hours before the POSTCARDS Launch BBQ starts and I already have everything prepped. Food is in the fridge, apartment is cleaned - I wish my Harry Potter book would arrive already but, since it hasn't, I may as well do a pre-party post to show off the food I'm supplying today.

Aside from the stuff that takes no prep-time like frozen turkey burgers, veggie burgers, and hot-dogs, I whipped out some of my standard BBQ recipes and tried out some new ones.

I make my ribs at every BBQ. This time I used eight pounds of ribs, cut off the fat, and marinated them overnight in a six-pack of Michelob Amber Bock. Ta-da!



I transfered the ribs and marinade to a dutch oven with some extra water and Turkish bay leaves and let them simmer for an hour. After they're done, I slather them in my barbecue sauce. For my barbecue sauce, I cut up two large onions and put them into a medium sized sauce pan with some butter. Get them tender and add some brown sugar. Combine the onion mixture with ketchup, chipotle peppers, hoisin sauce, worcester sauce, and balsamic vinegar. I put it all in the food processor and I got some awesome, spicy barbeque sauce.



I made two chicken marinades. One of them went over night; it was just chardonnay, extra-virgin olive oil, minced garlic, and Italian seasonings.



The second marinade only requires around five hours so I made the marinade last night and put the chicken in this morning. This one was a combination of peeled tomatoes, chipotle peppers, onions, garlic, lemon juice, chardonnay, and pepper.



Then today I made two types of burgers. One was a combination of chopped meat, feta cheese, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and thyme. The other was a combination of egg white, bread crumbs, salt and pepper.



So that was that. Ok - I need to get some more stuff set up. I'll post some party pictures tomorrow.

Labels: events, postcards

I went over to Tony Ritchie's blog. He's the event coordinator at Olsson's Books. He dedicates his weekly blog post to the July 24th POSTCARDS signing (Dupont store, 7PM). He has some wonderful things to say about the book, especially this bit:

I have been a comic fan since I was little and it is something that never really leaves you if you loved it. If done well, the stories can open a whole new section of your imagination that you never thought about. They are a beautiful way for people to enjoy art and enjoy story at the same time. If you find them immature and juvenile, I will argue too you that all early art was a type of Comic book. Think of the Sistine Chapel. Important huh? Nice work of art? What STORY does it tell? If you don't know, it tells a whole series of stories from the old testament. The Creation of the Universe, Noah and his children, it is all right there for you to read without a single word.

Now, granted, he was talking about comics in general and he wasn't exactly saying that comics are as important as the Sistine Chapel. Fine. But with a little editing I'm sure I can turn that into the greatest back-cover quote of all time.

Labels: events, postcards

Josh Eiserike profiles POSTCARDS in this week's Washington City Paper in order to hype-up the launch date signing. I hope all of you DC-based folks plan on stopping by the Olsson's Dupont at 7PM on the 24th - we're going to have fun.

Labels: events, postcards, press

POSTCARDS: TRUE STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED, a new anthology featuring 16-stories inspired by editor Jason Rodriguez’s collection of used, antique postcards, hits shelves on July 24^th, 2007. The book (published by Villard, a division of the Random House Publishing Group) features tales of romance, adventure, mystery, and heartbreak from some of comics’ most-celebrated creators including: Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, & Matt Kindt, Phil Hester, Stuart Moore & Michael Gaydos, Tom Beland, Antony Johnston & Noel Tuazon, Ande Parks & Joseph Bergin III, Rick Spears & Rob G, Joshua Hale Fialkov & Micah Farritor, and more!

On Tuesday, July 24^th, Jason Rodriguez and artist Danielle Corsetto will be signing at Olsson’s Books in Dupont Circle, Washington DC, at 7PM. There will be a bit of a gallery show and Jason will talk about the genesis of the project and share some of his favorite postcards.

SAN-DIEGO COMIC-CON

Thursday, July 26^th. 5 – 6PM. Jason Rodriguez will be representing POSTCARDS at the Villard Panel. Also at the panel will be Joshua Hale Fialkov (ELK’S RUN), Kazu Kibuishi (FLIGHT), Mike Knapp & Vincent Nguyen (OUT OF PICTURE), and Villard editors Chris Schluep & Dallas Middaugh. Room 10.

Friday, July 27^th. 1 – 2PM. Jason Rodriguez will be signing at the Villard/Random House Booth (#1135) along with POSTCARDS contributor and ELK’S RUN scribe Joshua Hale Fialkov.

Friday, July 27^th. 5 – 6PM. Big signing at the Comic Relief booth (#1514-1523)! Come on by, pick up a copy of POSTCARDS, and get it signed by: Antony Johnston, Tom Beland, Ande Parks, Joseph Bergin III, Rick Spears, Rob G, Gia-Bao Tran, Matt Kindt, Jason Copland, and Jason Rodriguez!

Saturday, July 28^th. 1 – 2PM. Jason Rodriguez will be signing at the Villard/Random House Booth (#1135) along with POSTCARDS contributor and writer/illustrator extraordinaire Phil Hester.

Saturday, July 28^th. 4 – 6PM. Another big signing at the Comic Relief booth (#1514-1523)! Get your copy of POSTCARDS signed by: Antony Johnston (4-5PM), Phil Hester (5-6PM), Stuart Moore, Michael Gaydos, Robert Tinnell, Joshua Hale Fialkov (4-5PM), Jason Hanley (5-6PM), Micah Farritor, James Powell, Tony Fleecs, and Jason Rodriguez!

Saturday, July 28^th. 7 – 9 PM. There will be three POSTCARDS-related items up for bid at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s auction (Room 8). You can get a copy of POSTCARDS signed by the majority of the creators in the book, a page from Stuart Moore & Michael Gaydos’ “Tic-Tac-Bang-Bang”, a page from Chris Stevens & Gia-Bao Tran’s “Blue”, and a page from Neil Kleid & Jake Allen’s “Intersections”. You can view these items and more at: http://cbldf.safeshopper.com/21/cat21.htm?324

We have more local events lining up after SDCC so keep your eyes peeled for anything happening in your town. Hope to see most of you in DC or SD!

Jason Rodriguez
http://www.eximiouspress.com
http://www.postcardsanthology.com

PS – Wish You Were Here!

Labels: events, postcards

In addition to our Thursday panel (5PM, Room 10) we have...

FRIDAY! 1PM - 2PM! A signing with Jason Rodriguez (me) and Joshua Hale Fialkov. At the Del Rey booth (#1135)

SATURDAY! 1PM - 2PM! A signing with Jason Rodriguez (me, again) and Phil Hester. At the Del Rey booth (#1135)

SATURDAY! 7PM - 9PM! There will be four POSTCARDS items up for auction at the CBLDF charity auction. You can bid on...

1) A page from Neil Kleid & Jake Allen's "INTERSECTIONS"

2) A page from Chris Stevens & Gia-Bao Tran's "BLUE"

3) A page from Stuart Moore & Michael Gaydos' "TIC-TAC-BANG-BANG"

4) A copy of POSTCARDS that will be signed by: Jason Rodriguez (me, one more time), Phil Hester, Stuart Moore, Michael Gaydos, Tom Beland, Josh Fialkov, Micah Farritor, Rick Spears, Rob G, Joseph Bergin III, Jason Copland, Matt Kindt, James W. Powell, Gia-Bao Tran, Antony Johnston, Danielle Corsetto, Robert Tinnell, Tony Fleecs, and Jason Hanley. That's 19 of the 29 creators in the book.

You can bid for all of these items online or at the show - get some great items and support a great cause at the same time!

We still have one more thing getting settled for SDCC, the big Comic Relief signing. Time, date, and participants should be stitched up very soon.

Labels: events, postcards

Comic-Con released their programming schedule and the Random House Panel is now official. Thursday, 5PM-6PM. This is my first panel and I'm very excited to talk over everyone else on it. From the website:

5:00-6:00 Random House: Flight/Postcards—Meet some of the most creative minds in graphic novels today, including Joshua Hale Fialkov (Elk’s Run), Kazu Kibuishi (Flight), Mike Knapp (Out of Picture), Vincent Nguyen (Out of Picture), and Jason Rodriguez (Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened), as well as Villard editors Chris Schluep and Dallas Middaugh. Villard, an imprint that has positioned itself on the leading edge of popular culture, is quickly expanding its graphic novel offering with critically acclaimed anthologies and original content. Join these creators for a Q&A session and also hear the latest news from Villard. Room 10

So, who'll be coming to the panel? I guess the answer to that question depends on who we'll be up against. So, let's see.

5:00-6:00 Spotlight on Brian Wood—Critically acclaimed creator Brian Wood is front and center in his first Comic-Con Spotlight. Whether it’s his hit series DMZ or the highly anticipated Northlanders, Brian is here for you! With Vertigo editor Will Dennis, this Q&A session that promises to entertain. Room 1AB

A Brian Wood spotlight. That's too bad, too, because I'd like to go to that. Well, at least Brian shouldn't be able to steal all of our potential panel goers.

5:00-6:00 Cartoon Network Sneak Peek—Your first chance to catch a behind-the-scenes look at Cartoon Network’s newest project. Believe me, it’s going to me MASSIVE. Room 3

Hmmm...no-one at Comic-Con cares about the Cartoon Network, right?

5:00-6:30 Lost Season 4—If the Lost finale was any indication of things to come, you will not want to miss this panel! Co-creator/executive producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Carlton Cuse will discuss the exciting new season of ABC’s Lost, all leading up to the ultimate series finale. They’ll spotlight bonus features from the 3rd season DVD box set, preview the new Lost video game, take questions from the audience, and perhaps serve up more surprises. Ballroom 20

Fuck.

Labels: events, postcards

I found something interesting courtesy of Chris Shields. It seems DC Comics' new webcomics imprint, Zuda, is making a collaborative webcomic from postcards people send in to them. From their webpage:

We've got a plan for anyone going to the San Diego Comic Con this year. Stop by the DC Comics booth or try and track down Ron, Kwanza or Dave somewhere on the convention floor. We're giving out postcards so we can make one huge web comic drawn by...everyone!

I think this is a fantastic idea. I also think that, as the current authority on comics inspired by postcards, it is my right to take a slight cut of the business. Nothing against them - but everyone needs to pay tribute now and again.

So, help me make a Zuda Bomb. If you're at San Diego, grab one of their postcards, and turn it into a comic-panel advertisement for POSTCARDS: TRUE STORIES THAT NEVER HAPPENED. See it was your favorite comic at San Diego or how this awesome webcomic idea reminded you of another awesome, postcard-inspired comic debuting at San Diego. They claim they'll be taking the "best" cards; You better believe I'm going to get Phil Hester to draw one.

Help us drop the Zuda Bomb.

(PS - I should add that Zuda's method of collecting postcards is the same way PostSecret got off the ground. Frank Warren distributed postcards like this one three years ago at Art-O-Matic in Washington DC. The result, of course, is one of the most successful blogs on the internet and best-selling artbooks in the bookstore.)

Labels: events, postcards

I have two things lined up for the DC area to celebrate the POSTCARDS launch.

July 20th @ 2PM. I will be hosting a launch party BBQ. Yeah, that's before the book comes out, but it's the only weekend I'll be in DC until September. So, you know. I will have at least one copy of the book for those that want to check it out (and I'm looking into getting some more) - beyond that it'll be food, drink, wiffle ball, etc. Contact me if you're interested in attending. It'll be for friends and friends of comics.

July 24th @ 7PM. Olsson's Books in Dupont Circle. I'll have original art from the book for a bit of a gallery show. I'll be talking about the book, the creators, and some of my favorite postcards. I'll be signing copies of the book alongside Danielle Corsetto. I'm thinking The Big Hunt for some drinks, afterwards.

I'm off to San Diego on the 25th. I hope the locals can make it to one or both of these events.

Labels: events, postcards

Here's what you can expect:

Two signings at the Random House booth, time and date TBD. One with Josh Fialkov and one with another POSTCARDS creator.

One signing at Comic Relief's booth, time and date TBD. We think we can fit ten creators at the table and I imagine the ones we can't fit will be hanging around and signing books. We're going to have 18 creators at SDCC total.

We will have several items up for grabs at the CBLDF auction. More information coming.

I'll be on the Villard Panel on Thursday, July 26th. From the website:

5:00-6:00 Random House: Flight/Postcards — Meet some of the most creative minds in graphic novels today, including Joshua Hale Fialkov (Elk’s Run), Kazu Kibuishi (Flight), Mike Knapp (Out of Picture), Vincent Nguyen (Out of Picture), Jason Rodriguez (Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened), as well as Villard editors Chris Schluep and Dallas Middaugh. Villard, an imprint that has positioned itself on the leading edge of popular culture, is quickly expanding its graphic novel offering with critically acclaimed anthologies and original content. Join these creators for a Q&A session and also hear the latest news from Villard. Room 10

Labels: events, postcards