If you head over to Jordan Shiveley’s Where They Draw blog you can see some photos of my workspace. Or what’s left of it anyway.

For too long, I was having trouble writing stories that I liked. In fact, I have a solid stack of notebooks filled with stories that will likely never be drawn. Spinning my wheels, I was at a loss as to what to work on next.

Now, I’m not one to collaborate. I’ll do it. But generally, my preference is to work alone and hold onto control of the entire project. Like a rabid dictator. However, the one other time I’ve worked with another person on a comic was to draw a story written by Aaron Poliwoda. I was happy with the result, but considered it a one-time experiment.

As far as clichés go, “necessity is the mother of invention”, is one of my favorites. I met Mark Ehling for the first time at the Twin Cities Zinefest, and really liked the books of poetry and short stories he was producing. Later, I became a fan of the movie he wrote and directed when I caught it at the Movies in the Park in Stevens Square. So I threw a hail mary email in an attempt to get a new project off the ground and I asked Mark if he had anything he’d let me adapt. Fortunately, he responded with the usual Ehling Enthusiasm and sent me a number of different and incredible stories to choose from. The Old Guys jumped right out at me.

I finished The Old Guys just as my deadline for the Nashville Review approached. The Nashville Review is a literary journal out of Vanderbilt University that has made a point of including comics alongside their other literary offerings. (Other cartoonists in TNR include Jeffery Brown, Anders Nilson and Jess Smart Smiley). It’s a well curated journal, and you can read The Old Guys in the new August 2011 edition.

Vanderbilt University

So now that I’m pretty much a pro when it comes to collaboration, this Tuesday I’m going to hold court on the topic at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. They’re having a roundtable discussion on collaboration that Mark and myself, along with other TBA artists, will be a part of.

Book Arts Roundtable: Collaboration Chat
Tuesday, August 16, 7 pm

If you’re able to come out, I’m going to have about 10 copies of a book I made for The Old Guys. If you want one, I’ll be giving them out free to anyone who comes up to me and says, “I want one of those books you have that you’re giving out for free.” or something like that. Maybe, “Can I have The Old Guys book?”. Or maybe, “I don’t care much for your work or comics, but I do like free stuff. Can I have the free thing you’re giving away?”

Saying any of these things will work.

Recently, I got on the horn and had a conversation with Robin McConnell for his podcast, INKSTUDS. It’s a Canadian podcast. But that doesn’t mean it’s in French or anything, so feel free to give it a listen.

Thanks to Robin for having me on. I’ve been listening to INKSTUDS for a while and it was a real honor to be a guest. Also, I look forward to checking out his new book:

Particularly, I’m surprised because Fingerprints is such a strange story. It’s certain to alienate some readers. However, there are a number writers who really took the time to write thoughtful and insightful reviews.

So here are the reviews/press that I’ve been able to dig up. In no particular order:

mnarts.org (artist bio)

ampers.org (An audio interview)

minnpost.org

Optical Sloth

Guttergeek (TCJ)

Booksnob

Parabasis

The Onion AV Club
The AV Club wrote a review, but they didn’t like it very much. On the other hand, I hear they just fired a guy for writing a review of a comic book that he never actually read. So they ain’t perfect either. I’m going to assume it’s the same person who wrote the Fingerprints review. It’s my blog; I’ll believe what I want.

Indy Comic Review

FA, The Comiczine

Avoid the Future!

Publisher’s Weekly

USA Today

Portland Mercury

Superheroeen

Sacramento News & Review

Comic Book Resources

Paper Darts

Panel Patter

My favorite might be this one. It’s a review in another language, so Google had to translate it for me to read it. It wins simply because of how funny the translation makes the book sound.

There’s so many great things about this excerpt from the review:

“… his assistant is out on his own to offer the world a discovery as revolutionary as bankruptcy.”

Indeed.

Look at this! I did another one of those really unusual watercolors. I’m calling this one Slow Pitch.

In other news, I was a guest recently on the new Geek Report podcast. The Geek Report is basically Bud Burgy, Ted Anderson, Lance Ward, and Athena Currier sitting around and talking about Geek culture with a slant towards comics. I’ve always thought of myself more of a Nerd than a Geek, but I suppose that’s just splitting hairs.

We recorded the episode (or is it webisode? podisode?) very early in the morning at the KFAI studios. I must say I had a really fun time. It felt like we were just sitting in someones living room chatting. You can check it out on their website.

Athena was hiding herself behind her microphone, so I couldn’t get a photo of her. Sorry Athena!

I must also mention that I was interviewed for a MinneCulture radio documentary about indie comics also recorded at KFAI.

Britt Aamodt put it together and really did a first-class job. She managed to take all the random things I blurted out and put them together so that it sounded like I have the natural ability to string together two thoughts without forgetting where I am.

That’s the magic of radio.

It should be mentioned that the festival is the exact same day as Fall-con this year. For those of you who are more comic book inclined, you will want to stop by there as well. As far as I can tell by my very scientific polling data (i.e. eavesdropping), there will be a lot of cartoonists at both events. So if you don’t go to both, someone is going to notice and not be happy about it.

Also, while at the book festival I’m going to be on a panel moderated by Britt Aamodt. The theme is Minnesota comics artists, which I am one of. Other Minnesota artists on the panel will be Chris Monroe, Michelle Silva and Bill Willingham. Wait. Bill Willingham is from Minnesota? I didn’t know that.

That's not what I look like.

So come on out and say “Hi”. Then purchase a copy of Fingerprints if you don’t already have one. I’ll have posters too. I may even have some of those comics I printed up on the old-fashioned photocopy machine.

In other news, I’ll have a small piece in this year’s Stevens Square Center for the Art’s Member’s Show. The exhibit is called Off Center and SSCA has hosted this exhibit every year in the fall, and I’ve always had something in it.

Opening Reception: Saturday, October 23, 7-10pm

Music TBA

Featuring artwork by:

Amber Janey | Edie Overturf | Kurt Hippauf | Matt Wells | Erik Farseth | J. M. Culver | Faye Buffington-Howell | Terrance Davis | Jesse Green | Will Dinski | Don Loegering | Barb Saunders | Joy Kim

I’m planning on moving my studio out of SSCA by the end of this month. In my mind, this exhibit will end up being something of a sad farewell to the organization and building that I’ve been a member of for over six years. I wish them the best of luck as they begin to plan their exhibition schedules and events for 2011.

So I was at the Small Press Expo (SPX). For 90% of the show I could be found at the Top Shelf table selling copies of my new book. It was great to spend some time with Chris Staros and Leigh Walton, and sharpen my limited sales techniques when it comes to pitching Fingerprints to unsuspecting customers. The show itself was well attended, and everyone I spoke to had a wonderful experience.

Walking to the hotel after a quick dinner on the first night.

I’ll spare you any name dropping, but when you attend SPX you always get to meet some very unnecessarily talented cartoonists for the first time, and then throughout the day you meet other unnecessarily talented cartoonists that you’d met at previous shows. There were a lot of hard working artists in one hotel ballroom.

For the first time in YEARS, I actually attended a panel—Critics’ Panel: How We Judge. It’s a panel that I believe SPX has been repeating from year to year. And I loved it. There was actual discussion on topics that I wish was talked/written about more often. One topic in particular, that was only touched upon, was the idea that there is really isn’t any substantial comics criticism anymore. It sounded like, and I could be wrong about this, that all 7 panelists were in agreement with that statement.

This is something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, and as an artist makes me a little worried. Every artist should want there to be a group of people who are spending time and energy thinking and writing critically about your chosen field. And by “critically” I mean a full blown work of criticism. Unfortunately, because of the lack of revenue that indy comics circulate and the inherent “short form” nature of writing for the web, it doesn’t look like this will improve anytime soon.

I brought my camera with me, but felt pretty shy when it came time to actually taking photos. It was easier at the after events and parties, but I felt uncomfortable taking photos of people at their tables. Especially if I didn’t buy their book. Or even if I did. People are all too ready to pose for a picture when they’re just standing there waiting for someone to talk to, and I generally like to capture a more natural looking moment. So, sorry the pictures suck.

The sad story is that I’m really starting to question the benefit, for me, of continuing to attend  conventions like SPX after I’m done promoting Fingerprints. There was a time when I thought I needed to go to every single show I could reasonably afford. However, it seems like unless you are brand new to the scene, it becomes very difficult to make the kind of splash that makes going to these events financially feasible. Or sane.

It’s a learning process, and I’ve learned that I need to get back to the drawing board.

MIX poster art by King Mini

It’s been a long time coming, but MIX (The Minneapolis Indie Xpo) is just around the corner. Sarah and I (mostly Sarah) have been working like zombies on cocaine trying to make sure the show is as successful as possible. So before my brain completely shuts off and I fall face first into the computer screen, here’s all the deets:

MINNEAPOLIS INDIE XPO
AUGUST 21 | 9AM – 5PM | FREE
Where: THE SOAP FACTORY

There’s lots of programming too.

Art by Aaron Renier

The Friday before MIX (August 20) I will be signing copies of my new book, Fingerprints, at Big Brain Comics from 6-8pm. Aaron Renier (The Unsinkable Walker Bean) and Zak Sally (Sammy The Mouse #3) will be there as well signing their respective new books. I’m very excited for this.

I actually have a single copy of the Fingerprints, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out. Come on out to the signing and I’ll put a drawing of something on the inside of it. I’m not sure of what, but SOMETHING. Probably a FACE.

Or you can get a copy directly from the publisher, Top Shelf Comix.

Here’s the list of various news outlets that have been writing about MIX.  I’ll update this list as more and more people get hip to what’s up.

The Onion A/V Club
Vita.mn
City Pages
Downtown Journal
City-Pages Comics Issue
Vu @ weheartmusic.vox.com
The Visual Literati by Lucas Schulze @ The Loft’s Writers’ Block

The 7th Annual Twin Cities Zinefest has come and gone. This was the 3rd year that I had a contributing hand in its organizing. Ostensively, Sarah Morean has been coordinating the entire show for the last three years but I’ve been kept busy working on promotional items, signage and odds & ends.

For 2010, it was decided to change the two day festival to a one day show. The second day was always a little sluggish anyway. The result was that Zinefest as a one day show had twice the energy compared to the past two years. It was an amazing group of zine makers charged up by their proximity to each other.

I heard the panels and zine readings were a real hit this year. I never leave my table for more than 2 minutes at a time, so I’ll have to take others word for it.

The after-party was very well attended and totally rocking. It was organized by Lacey Prpic Hedtke with a panel discussion by Andy Sturdevant (which I also missed because I was eating pizza).

Andy even wrote and illustrated a zine that served as a catalog of some of his most favorite zines from his personal collection:

Joe Biel and Elly Blue took the train in from Portland and stayed with us for the weekend. You couldn’t ask for more pleasant houseguests and Sarah and I were regaled with their mischievous stories from back home.

Now here’s the real news: as much fun as working on Zinefest has been these last three years, 2010 was the last year Sarah and I will be involved. Sarah will be organizing the Minneapolis Indie Xpo, and a person can realistically only volunteer so much of their time before they burn out.

Massive gratitude goes out to everyone who exhibited and attended Zinefest this year and in previous years. What a fun time.