So, it’s my birthday! But there’s lots to celebrate other than that: a successful Stumptown, the JCCSF Spielgelman/Ware lecture, a couple nice new reviews, Free Comic Book Day, a very special guest visiting our final CCA workshop, and a really cool present from David Brothers!

Without further ado...

Stumptown

Portland treated me well this past weekend. It always does. There’s something about that town that really agrees with me. The show itself was a complete success. Jason, Kirsten, Justin and I sold a bunch of books at the Writers Old Fashioned table and had a great time at the Guapo and Cosmic Monkey parties. I don’t think I can really do a better job of giving you a sense of the show than you could get by reading Tom Spurgeon’s excellent article over at The Comics Reporter. Tom stopped by the table and we had a nice chat about Jason’s upcoming book, The Martian Confederacy.

We also received some nice shout outs from Agents of Atlas author, Jeff Parker, and novelist, Sara Ryan over at their blogs. Check out their reports for more Stumptown goodness. Now, onto the pictures:

Spiegelman v. Ware

Upon returning from Portland, I had the opportunity to take a couple of our CCA workshop students to see another edition of the JCCSF’s Serial Boxes lecture series:

Previously, we ushered the Marjane Satrapi event. This time around, the stage was set for a discussion between two of the industries finest creators, Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware. Highlights included Ware’s admission that he was disappointed by Spiegelman’s early work in Raw magazine due to the lack of “tits” and Spiegelman’s insights into “solving the problem of the surface of the page.” It was a craft heavy discussion with a wealth of slides to illustrate each creator’s point. After the show, the first thing I did when I got home was check to see if there really was glow-in-the-dark ink embedded in Ware’s Acme Novelty Library collection. I believe they were recording the evening’s discussion for a podcast. I’ll post a link if it ends up online. It was a sold out show with a simulcast room where some attendees paid just to see the event projected live up on the wall. We ended up with front row seats thanks to our volunteer ushering gig. ; )

Here’s a shot of me with a couple of my students and Ware and Spielgelman signing books after the show:

Special Guest: Christophe Blain

I’m very excited about our final class on Friday. French cartoonist, Christophe Blain, will be attending our workshop as we discuss the final collaborative projects that were submitted last week. Mr. Blain’s Isaac the Pirate has met with international acclaim and I think it will be a real kick for the students to get a European perspective on their work.

Birthday Reviews!

Along with birthday wishes in my inbox this morning, I also found two new reviews hitting the web.

Jason Sacks over at Comics Bulletin gives The Homeless Channel a four star review today!

And Sean Wheately does a little write-up for Comics Now!

Tiny Titans

Anyone who has stopped by Isotope lately knows that I’m a huge fan of DC’s Tiny Titans. So, how awesome is it that when fellow Writers Old Fashioned member, David Brothers, came back from the New York City Comic Con, he brought me this Art Baltazar sketch of the Grifter! Actually, David came back with a whole slew of sketches for us! Check ‘em out.

For more Tiny Titans goodness, you should stop by your local comics shop this Saturday for Free Comics Day! You can find me at Isotope lending an extra hand for the busy, busy day!

Oh, and before I forget, The Homeless Channel is back in Previews. The resolicitation information can be found on page 205 of this month’s Diamond Catalog. Retailers wanting to restock the book should look no further than Diamond Order Code: MAR073086 !

Today in the Studio

Getting organized for my final CCA class and prepping the studio for the start of summer! Lots of time to work on the next book starting next week.