Ztoical

August Comic Jam

What: Comic Jam
When: Friday August 4th 2007 at 8pm ‘til late [very late!]
Where: The Duke [upstairs] Duke Street [off Grafton Street], Dublin 2.
Who: All are welcome ‘thou having an interest in comics might help. Doesn’t matter if you don’t draw or have never tired to draw a comic this is about having a good night and a good laugh.

Anything else? Bring stuff to draw with and on [ie pencils, pens and paper] and money for pints.

Chirp

Fraid the photo is a bit crap as it was taken with my phone, but that is little Chirp. He [or she I’m not sure] is a small little chick my cat dragged into my living room to play with on sunday. I thought he was dead but once I got Joda [my cat] away he started to stumble towards the couch to hide underneath. The guys at ISPCA were helpful but told me he wouldn’t live past sunday evening but little Chirp is a stubborn little fella. Hopfully I’ll be able to hand feed him until he is old enough to fly.

Some Art

A silkscreen based on an earlier etching. Started off as 3 seperations but ended up being 6.

MoCCA 2007 Pictures!!

Yippie MoCCA Pictures - report and comments on the comics I picked up/traded for will be later in the week as I’m still making my way through them all

Early morning on saturday.

The first of the SVA peeps arrive. SVA cartooning teacher Keith Mayerson whose beard has doubled in length since last years festival. Also the always smiling Jodie Tong

SVA etching teacher and super nice guy Bruce Waldman . I never found that etching book you mentioned Bruce!

SVA cartooing teacher Joey Cavalieri, doesn’t like having his picture taken - ha Joey next year I’ll get you!

Several other SVA teachers were of course wandering round [SVA is taking over don’t you know!] and once again I forgot to get a picture of Gary, he called over breifly while searching for the picture box table were he was meant to be doing a signing session.
The Puck building is only a couple of blocks from spring st. which meant a trip to Rice to Riches!!

Alternative Comics

Pop Culture Comics our neighbours on one side.

And neighbour number 2 Maris Wicks - how cute are her dolls? I got two of the them lol.

One percent press - I swear thats two different guys behind the table even thou the look the same. Really great stuff from their table. I think I either traded or purchased pretty much everything on their table.

Alec Longstreth, Alec first traded comics with me back at MoCCA ‘05 and then emailed me some a lovely comments on my book - since then I’ve tried to follow that example and email anyone I’ve traded books with.

Hilary Florido looking all prim and proper behind her table and a little out of focus, sorry hon.

Hookah Girl creator Marguerite Dabaie doing a dance

I got me an Out of Picture t-shirt [the bunny one]

Top Shelf - all of 10 years old!

Becky Cloonan and Vanessa Satone

It’s Charlito and Mister Phil of Indie Spinner Rack

Fellow SVA’er Dash Shaw pimping his new book.

Half of the Comics Bakery crew - Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman [not pictured John Green and Marion Vitus]

O my god I want one!! They weren’t for sale but keep an eye on Gusfink.com for info on when they will be.

Great superhero pose by Eric Knisley

yeah more SVA peeps -Avi Spivak hanging out with punk comics.

World War Three Illustrated - Seth Tobocman, Kevin Pyle and Fly

Look a great shoot of the top of Joe Floods head.

Matt Bayne of Knights of the Shroud fame doing a doodle.

Yippie new friends and super print makers - Thomas Pitilli and Edowyn Vazkez

Oooooo look an empty table lol - not pictured Liz Greenfield and Chris “Dr.Mcninja” Hastings who’d gone walkies and I found back at my table. I have pics of both from The Thing in London that i should post when i get my camera fixed [all these pics were taken on a different camera]

New Radio Comics Pictured Jad Ziade, not pictured Alex Cahill would gone walkies.

The SVA corner

Collection of random shots of the 4 ballrooms:
The C room

The A room [where my table was]

The B room

And the 7th Floor - many were worried about moving tables up to the 7th floor and relocating the panels else were but any one I knew selling up there seemed happy come sunday evening, couple thought the fantastic light up there helped them sell more.

Our neighbours from last year Robot publishing

And just for the hell of it a picture I took on the way to the pub Sunday evening - it was very hot!

Renegade Craft Fair

The Renegade Craft fair has been a highlight of hot Junes in New York for me for the past 3 years now. Its a wonderfull event full of some really amazing work and its free to enter and just wander around. The past two showes had been held in Williamsburg at this lovely park near the bedford L train but this years event had been moved slightly further away to the other side of the park, to an old swimming pool. It was a really interesting venue, all the stalls sunk down in this big hole with all the paint falking off……mixed feelings about how well it worked. They did fit alot more stuff in and it was nice to able to get around all the stalls quicker then pervious years but I missed the grass of the park and also the shade from the trees. It was very hot when we arrived and it made it very hard to focus. I had to be really good this year and no mad spurlging of money mainly because everything I wanted was either huge or very breakable would need to witstand a 7 hour plane flight.

What a funky entrance to the swimming pool

I really wish I’d picked up one of these - they were massive but I could have used it as a pillow on the plane!

The place was packed when we got there and when still going strong when we left - I hope the sunday traffic was just as high as its a great event and I’d hate to see it end.

Love bound train

I still havent really had a chance to go through many of the comics I got at the weekend, I’m planning to bring a good chunk of the smaller minis on the plane with me tomorrow as I’ve got 7 hours of having to sit still. This post is pretty image heavy so be warned.

Here’s some photos from my friends Griffin and Ava’s apartment the few days before MoCCA as they got their love bound train comic ready for the con.
They had the body of the book printed but as they have their own silkscreen set up in their kitchen they wanted to make the books extra snazzy with a silkscreen cover. They printed 200 copies but don’t have a drying rack yet so we had to put them anywhere we could fit them to dry - even their pet finches had to help out.

Once the covers were done, it was time to bind the whole thing together - lot of work but useing less floor space.

The veiw from the roof of their building - the weather was pretty much fantastic for my whole stay.

MoCCA aftermath

This is not my MoCCA report because honestly it is going to take me a week if not more to go through all the books I picked up. I’m just posting a couple of images of my friends table and of course my table. There will be massive image heavy post sometime next week with all the other photos. Highlight of this years MoCCA has to be not being jet lagged for the event, actually I’m pretty sure this the first con I’ve been to in the past 2 years were I wasn’t either jet lagged or hung over. Click on image for larger view.

Some images of my table from both saturday and sunday - the large “Blimp World” print [which was my print based off work by my friend Chris] sold out by lunch time on saturday, this was def a suprise as it was one my higher priced prints. It was also one of the larger prints and that meant i had to feng shui the table to fill in the hole.

My friends Griffin and Ava’s table. They were my neighbours for MoCCA and also let me crash at their apartment for my time in new york. Mini panic saturday morning when the computer with Flash movie wouldn’t work but we got it sorted and the super shinny-ness of their table attracted a good crowd.

After the con closed on sunday we headed to the J train to Motto, an amazing little bar that has the worlds best mac and cheese and also has live music ever evening, usually jazz.

MoCCA 2007 almost there

Loads of notice for people seeing as MoCCA is tomorrow but for those heading along you can find me at table A43 - you won’t be able to miss me as my friends table beside mine is going to be a real eye catcher - trust me!

Socks

Just a quick 30 second sketch from a recent life drawing session.

Up Coming….

I have become a little disorganized with regards to con reports - I had a great time at the uk web and mini comix thing in March and Bristol in May. I have some great photos from both cons and picked up a ton a great reads, must sit down and do a write up or at least post the pics from the pub bathroom after the Thing [long story] - meanwhile check out Mal’s report I pop up a couple of times..

I will be at table A43 at the MoCCA Arts Festival. Anyone in and around New York the weekend of the 23rd should stop by.

I’ll have a preview book for the up coming cartoon saloon anthology book, as well as copies of my nightswimming zine, 24 hour comic and a selection of prints for sale.

Then its a break until the fall for the Stumptown comics festival in september and SPX in October and finally the Dublin Thing in november. Caption in August is looking more and more likely thou not confirmed yet. 24 hour comics day will be on in october again, more info to follow.

Update The dates for the Dublin City Comic Con [or rather John Con cus its easier] were posted during the week but after my comments on this thread I will more then likely not be attending [or welcome if the emails and general comments from others are anything to go by].

Am I annoyed? No not really, disappointed? Maybe a little, not over the con [the highlight of last years was the comic jam in the pub after which was nothing to do with con] but rather the fact that what I said was mis-communicated and blown up into something it wasn’t. If my comments were misunderstood as me demanding the con do this that or the other thing, well shame on me for not making myself understood. All I wanted was to have a comic jam, even said I do all the work and pay for it - this someone how became me wanting to take over the con and make it all small press. I will hold my hand up and say I wasn’t the most tactful in my replies to the con people [I will not say “management committee” as that is the most stupid title i’ve ever heard] but honestly the emails i got from them were very condescending and it was a knee jerk reaction, i honestly could have been so much worse.

Actually wait I am annoyed, people have been emailing and messaging me with some rather stupid comments the majority of them being “john is working so hard on this how dare you try and bring him down” WTF? Where the hell did I do that? I am well aware that I am loud and abrasive but I don’t tend to shout my mouth off cus I want attention or something, I tend to only comment on stuff I have some knowledge on. Also since when has it been the case that if someones worked hard on something we are suddenly not allowed have an opinion/comment on it?

It’s a shame really, the whole comic book “industry” in ireland is such a mess at times. Too many big fish in one very small pond. And all way to clicky most of the time - your either in with Robs lot or now it seems Johns lot. Granted there are the few who float back and forth between the two and respect to them that do but honestly its to much like a flash back to secondary school for me.

Sometimes I wonder if I should learn to keep my big trap shut but at the end of the day what would that achieve? I’d just end up annoyed at myself for being a blind sheep following everyone else. Better to be unpopular with others then with myself cus at the end of the day I spend alot more time with me then I do with anyone else.

right had to do a mini rant but I is done with the topic.

I’ve a bit of busy october so taking november and december off to chill would be nice and I might actually be able to make Angouleme in January.