NY Comic Con 2015!

Comic Con was an amazing experience this weekend. I’ve been working with the Creators’ After Con Network (CACN) to start a Youtube channel for people who want to get into creating comics, whether as writers or as illustrators. We filmed nearly a dozen interviews with some of the best established and next generation comic creators and storytellers from the U.S., South America, and Europe!

I’ll be sharing some snippets of those videos soon in anticipation of the Youtube Channel’s debut. In the meantime, here’s some great costume photos!

I also got to attend CACN’s fantastic After Con Party, where more than 75 artists and writers got together for discussion, book looks, and tasty adult beverages.

Thanks again to J. Barker and Buddy Scalera for helping set up all of the interviews. Thanks to Steve Petrivelli, Sean Dillon, Jeff Rider, Stan Chou and everyone we hung out with this weekend for making it an incredible experience! See you soon!

#nycc #CACN

Broadway Cares

Stopped by the Broadway Cares Flea Market last weekend. Here’s a bit about their cause:

Broadway fans celebrated the 29th Annual Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction by bidding on and buying everything from tickets to a bevy of opening night performances to custom-made music mixes, from autographed musical phrases to once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experiences. The result: a record $756,655 was raised for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.

The biggest day of the year for Broadway fans brought tens of thousands of theatre lovers into Times Square, Shubert Alley and onto West 44th Street on Sunday, September 27, 2015. They were greeted by 74 tables full of Broadway treasures and 68 of Broadway’s brightest stars at the Autograph Table and Photo Booth. In addition, more than 200 auction lots were offered in live and silent auctions throughout the day.

The 29 editions of the Broadway Flea Market & Grand Auction have raised a grand total of $11.8 million.

Check out: https://www.broadwaycares.org/

Cthulhu Burlesque

You don’t know burlesque until you’ve seen Cthulhu Burlesque. On the other hand, you don’t know Cthulhu until you’ve woken, sweating from some incomprehensible dream beyond the fortitude of man’s sanity  seen Cthulhu Burlesque. Here’s a video: [Youtube]

This week was the 13th Annual New York Burlesque Festival, and on Sunday we stopped by the Bazaar and Showcase at the Tippler on West 15th St. Featuring a market of burlesque wares ( think glittery gloves and swirly tassels), Q&As with burlesque legends, classy cocktails, and some… fascinating performances, it was well worth the trip.

Of course, there’s great burlesque in this city year round, at dozens of venues like The Slipper Room, and Bathtub Gin. Thanks to The Tippler and all of the great performers!

#weirdfiction #burlesque #nybf15 #cthulhu

Went to a wedding last week, got viral pink eye. Unlike regular pink eye, which we’ve all had, this lasts weeks and can cause permanent eye damage. Score!

If you’ve ever read The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey, there’s the part where they’re stranded on an alien planet and they’re all slowly going blind as the virus replicates inside their corneas- it’s exactly like that.

Thankfully, I’m coming out of it now, and I’m working on a new short story and a new novel, the latter of which naturally features somebody awesome slowly going blind.

Kyoto: Manga and Whisky

          I’ve been in Japan for the last three weeks on a Top Secret Mission, but I was able to stop by the International Manga Museum in Kyoto. There was apparently also a comics museum in Tokyo, but I ran out of free time trying to find a mystical Harley Davidson location for a friend who wanted a T-shirt. I got lost past Harajuku Street, and got a beer instead. I met a Japanese bartender who grew up in the States, and talked with him for a while.

          The Manga Museum was incredible! They had a lot of great history about the influence of Russian and Chinese communist propaganda. They also had an enormous collection – tens of thousands – of books that you could hang out and read for free. Here’s a few shots:

I also found this fine establishment in Pontocho Alley, the Hello Dolly Jazz and Whisky Bar. This was the first time I had Yamazaki Whisky, and I highly recommend it.

          I’m back in the States now, and furiously working on a new story while The Core is with my brand new editor. I’m hoping for a release sometime before ComicCon in October. Talk later!

Special Edition Weekend

          NY Comic Con’s Special Edition Convention was this weekend. Unfortunately, I found out about this event on Saturday afternoon. After cruising around their website for a while shouting at my computer monitor, I found the Creator’s Network After Party slated for Saturday night, right in my neighborhood.

This was a 2nd annual meetup for writers and illustrators, hosted by Steve Petrivelli, Stan Chou, and J. Barker. Be sure to check those guys out. I got to meet some other cool writers, like Jeff Rider, some really inspiring illustrators, like Sean Dillon, and found out about a lot of good work people are doing.

The next morning, feeling a little dried out, but heavily motivated, my girlfriend and I made our way over to Pier 94, conveniently 5 or 6 blocks from my apartment. I have to confess, this was my first NYCC event of any kind, and it was huge! (Although apparently NYCC in October dwarfs this event. Which is totally fine, because we were able to pick up some 4 day passes at a NYCC booth!)

I also got to meet Phil Foglio, whose name I immediately recognized from being a giant nerd (read: Magic: The Gathering player) in High School. He and his wife Kaja did a ton of card illustrations for WotC. All in all, it was a great time, and we met some really cool artists! I hope to see you all at NYCC in October!