First Prize!

It's been a very hectic week since returning from Baltimore, so I'm attempting to keep this brief. I'll write about the Baltimore Comic-Con sometime in the next few days, but in the meantime, I wanted to write a quick one about something cool that happened while I was away at the show.

A few weeks ago, my friend and colleague, Rich Harrington, a fellow adjunct at Moore College of Art and Design, where I teach Illustration, invited me to submit some of my work for a juried exhibition, called Phillustration '07, presented by the Philadelphia Sketch Club. As you'll read by clicking the links, the Philadelphia Sketch Club was founded in 1860, and has had some very prominent members, including two of my favorite Illustrators, N.C. Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish!

I submitted three pieces of my work in two categories last Friday, and when I returned from Baltimore, I learned that not only was each accepted, but that I'd won first prize in the Sequential Art category! Well, truthfully, I share the win, as I submitted two pages from Roboy Red, the comic book on which I collaborate with my buddy John Gallagher. So now, Roboy Red is an actual award-winning comic book! Here's one of the pages that won:



I also submitted this Illustration in the Self-Promotion/Non-Commissioned category:



If anyone is in the Philly area, and would like to come by, the reception is from 2-5pm on Sunday, September 16th, and the Exhibition runs until September 30th. All pertinent details are in the above link. I hope to see you there!

Best,
Rich

Baltimore Comic-Con Welcomes KLC at the Comic Book Diner!

Well, just two more days until the 2007 Baltimore Comic-Con! This is my favorite convention of all, and this year, I'm part of something really cool... The Kids Love Comics Comic Book Diner! I'm posting the News Release we sent out this morning, so all the info you need is just below. I hope I'll see you at the show!

Best,
Rich


News Release: Kids Love Comics hosts the Comic Book Diner in Baltimore!
Sept 8-9, Baltimore Comic-Con Welcomes All-Ages Comics Pavilion, featuring Kids' Comics Creators.


Baltimore Comic-Con is recognized as a star-studded, family-friendly show; one of the few major conventions still focused primarily on comics. Kids Love Comics is a non-profit organization made up of comic creators, publishers, fans, educators and journalists, as well as those involved in the marketing, promotion, distribution, and retail end of the comic book medium. Together the Baltimore Comic-Con and KLC have formed the Comic Book Diner, an all-ages comics pavilion, offering up comics that are cool for all kids, from age 6 to sixty!


All-ages creators will be on hand in "The Diner" include Steve Conley (Star Trek, Astounding Space Thrills), Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), John Gallagher and Rich Faber (Buzzboy, Roboy Red), Art Baltazar and Franco Aurleani (Patrick the Wolfboy, Tiny Titans), Scott Neely (Scooby Doo), Josh Elder (Mail Order Ninja), Dean Trippe (Butterfly), Mark McKenna (Banana Tail, DC Countdown), Scott Cohn (Krypto, Ben 10), and Jamie Cosley (Fearnots). Also, Disney artist Ted Tucker will be on hand to draw super hero caricatures all weekend!


KLC will be presenting panels on the subject of the kids comics industry, as well as a special Sunday HowYaGonna comics tutorial session, with cool stations designed for kids and parents to learn how to create comic books. Comic Book Diner creators will be on hand to give personalized instruction in the process of creating a comic book, from initial ideas through completion. Also, a unique Comic Book Diner print featuring all of the Comic Book Diner creators' characters will be available for fans to have signed. Baltimore Comic-Con promoter Marc Nathan has been working with local libraries, as well as the Baltimore County Boy Scouts to make sure the Sunday panel is well attended, even offering up free admission to kids with a paying adult (Sunday Only).

"This is a great way to showcase the large variety of kids comics available," said Comic Book Diner organizer John Gallagher, whose own Buzzboy will be a part of the Comic Book Diner. "Marc Nathan has always supported kids comics, and when he offered us the opportunity to create an entire section at the Baltimore Comic-Con specifically devoted to kids, we jumped at the chance! Oh, and I almost forgot... we'll have an actual diner booth set up too!

There are plans for the Comic Book Diner to hit many of next year's comic shows, including the New York Comic Con, Charlotte's Heroes Con, San Diego's Comic-Con International, and of course, back to Baltimore for next year's Baltimore Comic-Con. But first, we'll save a seat for you this weekend, at the 'Diner!!

One More For 'Ringo

Ok, I said I was going to get to my own work again, and this qualifies, but also ties into stuff related to Mike. For those not in the know, the Baltimore Comic-Con is this weekend, Saturday, September 8th-Sunday, September 9th), and I'll be attending again, as usual (I missed last year due to the birth of my son, but this year, he'll be there with me!). It'll be fun, but also a sad occasion, as this was to also be the first time I would have seen Mike Wieringo in two years, since the last Baltimore show we did.

As a tribute to our friend Mike, John Gallagher, through Sky-Dog Press, has decided to reprint a poster featuring the art we all worked on together for the cover to the Buzzboy: Sidekicks Rule trade paperback. It also features a dedication to Mike's memory, depicting his character, Flyboy. Mike had sent this art to John, along with some other beautiful work from his blog/sketchbook, with the intention that he'd be doing a kids' drawing tutorial for us in our Roboy Red comic. Obviously, that won't be happening now, but we wanted to do something to honor Mike at the show, and this is the poster:



Here's a detail of the tribute image:



And this, from the Sky-Dog press release:

In memory of the late, great Mike Wieringo, Sky-Dog Press will be offering fans at the Baltimore Comic-Con a limited memorial edition of the Buzzboy: Sidekicks Rule poster, as illustrated by Mike Wieringo in 2006-- with any donations given going to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "Mike Wieringo was a good friend, and in many ways, an inspiration for the fun comics we do at Sky-Dog," said Buzzboy creator John Gallagher, adding, "Mike was generous enough to do the cover to our Buzzboy comic for free-- this is just a way for us to share Mike's generosity with his fans, and help out some cuddly critters as well."


Sky-Dog will be giving out the posters for free, but asks fans to contribute what they can-- a quarter, a dollar, five-- with all proceeds going to the ASPCA, as Mike's family has indicated as a fitting charity in his honor (Hero Initiative being another Wieringo family pick). On top of printing these posters, Sky-Dog is donating $500 in Wieringo's honor, on top of any donations received. A previous version of this poster was handed out at conventions across the country last year-- the new one is bordered in black-- with a tiny tribute box at the bottom, and utilizing one of Mike's favorite unrealized concepts-- Flyboy. "When I see that drawing, it has the same happy smile Mike always offered up," said Gallagher, "I have to think that Mike is up there, flying, with that same silly grin."


The Buzzboy poster depicts art drawn by Wieringo, inked by Rich Faber and colored by Gallagher, originally for the cover of Buzzboy: Sidekicks Rule #1. Gallagher and Faber will be on hand to sign copies at the show. Fans can find the posters at the Sky-Dog table in the Kids Love Comics All Ages Pavilion at the Baltimore Comic-Con on September 8 and 9, 2007.

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It's well-known that Mike loved animals, and I think he'd appreciate that donations for the ASPCA will be taken in his memory. I hope everyone will come by, take a poster, and donate in memory of our friend.

I'll see you in Baltimore!

Best,
Rich