usagiguy

Shel Dorf

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:55:25 GMT

I heard through the cartoonist grapevine that Shel Dorf passed away at 1:15 PM Tuesday, after a very long illness. Shel was, of course, one of the founders of the San Diego Comic-con, aka Comic-con International: San Diego. I first met Shel in 1979, at my first Comic-con. He was a fixture at the con until 2001, when it became physically too difficult for him to get around.

What a legacy he leaves.

$5100?!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:58:12 GMT

http://cgi.ebay.com/Albedo-2-CGC-9-8-WHITE-Pages-1st-App-USAGI-YOJIMBO_W0QQitemZ230389856119QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a44e3777#ht_1044wt_1165

Who has that kind of money to spend on a comic book?

And how do I meet him?

Back from Baltimore

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:58:00 GMT

The Baltimore Comic-con was almost a week ago, but I haven't posted about it because I'm still behind on deadlines. I brought 5 pages to ink in Baltimore, but was only able to finish one. I did write and thumbnail the story for UY 127 on the flight over, and thumbnailed 128 on the way back to LAX. It was a good flight both ways. Len Wein, Rob Leifeld, Marc Silvestri, Mark Waid, and Steve Niles were on the plane with me.

I had a great time at the convention. The entire con is all about comic books and comic art. It was well organized, and guests were treated very well. I was in a corner booth next to Evan Dorkin. I have been a fan of his for years, but we had never met. I wish we had more time to talk, though, but we were both really busy throughout the con. Other creators attending included George Perez (with whom I sat at the Harvey Awards), Michael Golden, Erik Larson, Walt Simonson, Matt Wagner, Don Rosa, David Petersen, Steve Leiber, Frank Cho, and Neil Adams. I also got to meet Bernard Chang, with whom I am going to Japan next month.

One Usagi fan brought his entire collection of Usagi comics--from Fantagraphics, Mirage, and Dark Horse--about 180 comics. I asked him to leave them and I would sign them all at my leisure, if he would make a donation to either the Heroes Initiative or the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Like most people, I like getting stuff. I know there is an entire community of Lego customizers who make new characters out of Lego. I have an Usagi Lego myself. I had never heard of Mr Potato Head customizers, though. Until now. An Usagi reader gave me one of my tokage lizards made from a Mr Potato Head. He is also working on an Usagi Potato Head.

I usually don't do color pieces at shows, but this time I did two. I did a live art drawing for their charity auction on Saturday, using a sharpie and acrylic washes. I did a large crayon drawing for the daughter of one of the volunteers on Sunday.

If you are looking for a comic-centric convention, Baltimore is for you. It is a fun, well-run show, with an impressive guest list. The Baltimore Marathon was held on Saturday, but never interfered with the convention, except when I had to cross the street between runners. The con attendees are great. And generous. There may be one or two people at each convention I attend that insists, "Keep the change." There were at least 10 at Baltimore telling me to keep anywhere from a dollar to five dollars. Wow!

I also did a presentation on Sunday:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23317

Baltimore Comic-Con

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:27:26 GMT

I'll be a guest at the Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend. It will be my first time there, but not my first time in Baltimore. I was a speaker at Johns-Hopkins many years ago. The neatest thing about that was that I found a nifty Indian 50's diner just across the street from the campus. It had a juke box, posters of Marilyn and James Dean, and served a killer curry. The owner even gave me a free slice of coconut cake.

Here's the convention website:

http://www.comicon.com/baltimore/

If you are going there on Saturday, leave home early. The Baltimore Marathon runs the same day, and there may be some street closures. If you are a marathoner (as so many comic-book readers are), come to the con after the run.

Helsinki

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:23:44 GMT

Helsinki 09/11-15/09

I love The Amazing Race. It's the TV show where contestants race around the world, stopping at various destinations along the way. Oftentimes, they determine their own routes, and incur a lot of mishaps and roadblocks. My opponent was Sergio Aragones, and our destination was Helsinki. I was traveling by way of Prague and Budapest, and Sergio was going through New Jersey. I barely made my connection in Hungary, but Sergio missed his completely. Don't feel bad for him, though. He went over to New York, had dinner with friends at Mad Magazine, had a good night's sleep, and still got to Finland before I did.

Actually we were guests of the Helsingin 24 Sarjakuvafestivaalit, the Helsinki Comics Festival. I left for Europe a day early to do a presentation and signing in Prague at the invitation of my Czech publisher.

I arrived in Finland late Friday night . Festival organizers Jyrki and Otto met me and drove to the Helka Hotel. I stayed in a large room in Prague--even by US standards. The room here was much smaller, a typical European hotel room. When I checked in, the receptionist pointed out the restaurant, wrote down the hours for breakfast, and, most importantly, wrote down the location and hours of the sauna.

I breakfasted at the hotel Saturday morning, then familiarized myself with the neighborhood. I found a wonderful hobby shop. Fifteen minutes later, Sergio walked in. What are the chances that we would find the same store in a new city? Well, not that bad actually, because we share many similar interests.

Jyrki picked me up at the hotel for a 2:00 presentation, followed by a signing. He told me a good way to remember his name: You check into a hotel, then the receptionist tells you, "Here is YOUR KEY (Jyrki)." He took me on a whirlwind tour of Helsinki, going past the open market, the Presidential Palace, the harbor, and a couple of churches. I saw a few ice breakers. I had seen pictures of these ships, but had never seen any in person. The waters around Finland does freeze over at times. Jyrki even told me about being able to drive to some islands during very severe years.

The festival is sponsored by the city, and is free to everyone. As a result though, accurate attendance cannot be determined, but it is growing. There were two venues for Saturday: one for manga/anime, and the other for Western comics. I was speaking at the anime pavilion. As in the US, many of the attendees are teen girls dressed in costume. I did an interview after the signing in a nearby cafe. During this time, there was a heavy downpour that lasted about 10 minutes. This was the only inclement weather I had throughout the trip. It was usually warm and sunny, with a slight chill in the mornings and evenings. Otto and I walked to the second venue where Sergio had finished his presentation, and was signing.

The festival dinner that night included guests from Spain, Russia, and France. I sat with the organizer of the St Petersburg Comics Festival and three cartoonists that had accompanied him. These three girls were extremely talented with charming art styles. They were enthusiastically collecting sketches in their art books. For my meal I started with snails in a wonderful garlic and butter sauce. For my main course, I had reindeer strips with cranberries. I joked that the red cranberries were pieces of Rudolf's nose, to which Sergio drew a napkin gag. Sergio had giant moose balls. That is, meatballs made of moose meat. They were tender and savory. Much of the main dishes in Finland come with a large helping of mashed potatoes and brown gravy. Pickled beets also seem to be a favorite. There was a late night festival party, but Sergio and I begged off as we still had a bit of jet lag. I had not fully acclimated to the 10 hour time difference, but was getting more sleep at night.

escargot

reindeer

Sergio's take on my meal.

St Petersburg girls

I had Sunday morning free, so took a walk about the city. My first stop was at The Good Fellows, an English-language comic book store where I signed all their Usagi trades--about 3 dozen--and figures.

signing at Good Fellows

Sergio and I had a 2 PM panel. The topic was independent comics, but we mainly answered questions from the audience. There were some pens on the table that we had never seen before, so we sketched, many times to illustrate points we were making in our talks. There was a camera behind us, so the audience could see what we were drawing.

There were three small dealers' rooms--in the main foyer, in the panel room, and upstairs. Most dealers were cartoonists selling their small press work, but there were also a few publishers and comic book stores. Mainly albums and graphic novels were being sold. There is no real collector's market for comic books, and only one dealer had back-issue comics. I thought I had never been published in Finnish, however, Tukka, one of the organizers, showed me three issues of the Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Usagi back-up stories--in color, no less. I did not know about these. Unfortunately, the dealer did not have copies left.

We dined at the Sea Horse Restaurant that night--Jyrki, Sergio, Timo a cartoonist, and myself. I really enjoyed Saturday's escargot, so ordered it again. It was just as good. For main course, I had stuffed cabbage in a sweet brown cranberry sauce over mashed potatoes and beets.

Early Monday morning, I went to the Temppeliaukio Kirkko (Rock Church), a few blocks behind the hotel. I remember studying this in college art class. It is built underground in a massive granite block. The walls are made of bare rock and lots of glass panes that hold up a coiled copper wire ceiling. It is quite amazing.

I returned to the hotel just in time to see Sergio off to the airport. I would be staying one more day.

It was a beautiful, sunny day, and Helsinki is a great walking town. I went down to the open air market. Everyone had been raving about the fresh berries in Finland. They may be smaller than what I am used to in California, but are much more flavorful. I tried a strawberry sample, and it's true. There is an intense richness and sweetness lacking in our strawberries. I bought some cloudberry jam. I was familiar with them through Scandinavian cooking shows, but had never tasted them. They only grow along marshes within the Arctic Circle. I continued past the very unpretentious Presidential Palace (across the street from the open market), a couple of neat churches, and along the waterfront past the ferry to Stockholm, Sweden (an 8-hour ride), to a huge park.

containers of fresh yellow/orange cloudberries on the left

I met Jyrki and Tukka for dinner at 7. We dined at the hotel, and I had a grilled reindeer steak that was extremely tender and sweet. Of course, it came with the mashed potato and brown gravy. For a started, though, I had a marvelous salmon chowder. The big surprise, though, was that Tukka had gone through his TMNT collection and found he had extras of the issues with Usagi, and gave them to me.

Jyrki picked me up at 10:30 Tuesday for my 1:10 Lufthansa flight. I was going by way of Munich, where I had less than an hour to make my connection. I asked to be seated as far forward as possible, and was assigned an aisle seat in row 4. I had never been to Munich, so this was another airport where I had absolutely no idea of its layout. We arrived precisely on schedule, and I was out the door as soon as it was opened. I walked the length of one terminal, up two flights from the second to the fourth level, through passport control (which took 15 minutes), then the length of another terminal. I arrived at my gate just as they were preboarding. The flight was pretty much uneventful. The meal was German sausages and sauerkraut--pretty good, as far as airplane food goes.

Though Helsinki was established in 1550 it did not become Finland's capital until the 19th century, then much of the building began. As a result, it is a much more modern city with a downtown, rather than the traditional charm of a city center. However, it is still a very interesting city, especially for a walker. The people there are wonderful, and so many of them speak English. I had not trouble at all in asking for directions. The comics festival has great potential for growth, especially since it is supported by the government. There is no collector mentality yet--as far as comics and original art goes, though they do really appreciate the sketches we would draw in each book.

Mad About Sergio

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:28:17 GMT

We went to a special CAPS (Comic Art Professional Society) night at the Ojai Valley Museum last night. The Mad About Sergio exhibit is on, a one-man show featuring our dear friend Sergio Aragones. The museum closed at 4, but that is when it opened for us. Click on the photos to see an enlargement.

A lot of cartoonists and cartoon-types were in attendance: Bobby London (above), Scott Shaw!, Matt Groening, Bill Morrison, David Silverman, Mell Lazarus, Mark Evanier and Carolyn Kelly, Cathy Guisewite, Floyd and Adrienne Norman, Dean Yeagle, Bob Foster, David Folkman, Steve Greenberg, Bill Riling, Mike and Tracy Kazaleh, Nat Gertler, and so many others. Best of all, Sergio's wife Charlene and daughter Kristen were there. We had not seen those two in years.

It is a great exhibit. You walk in to a hilarious DVD showing how the exhibit was created and Sergio's input in it. It showed him lying on a large piece of foam core to make a cut-out for his drawing table, of him drawing on the walls, and picking out items. Next you enter a room on his influences featuring original art of The Little King, the Katzenjammer Kids, Bringing up Father, Mutt and Jeff, and many others.

The main room, of course, is Sergio's, featuring choice pieces from Mad Magazine, Groo, and other publications.

There were step-by-step displays of how his Mad gags or Groo stories are created, as well as turn-arounds of some of his characters. Some of his awards were displayed: Eisners, Harveys, NCS Awards, and, the Queen Mother of cartoonist awards, The Reuben. There were drawings he did as a kid, one dated 1947. This reminded me of some of Osamu Tezuka's childhood drawings at the Tezuka Museum in Takarazuka. The clarity of storytelling and detail was remarkable for someone that age.

In a corner, was a replica of his drawing area with the foam core Sergio sitting at the drawing table, and the usual clutter that is around every cartoonists' work space. Besides the toys, there were family photos, including one of a 21 year old Sergio with his father. At one point, Sergio was walking around with a mug of coffee (see below). A little while later his mug had disappeared, and he was looking all over for it. It was on his drawing table. He laughed and said, "I usually have a coffee on my table when working."

There were gags drawn on the walls, sometimes extending around corners, and frames were drawn around art pieces. We lamented that these wall drawings would have to be painted over. They will keep the drawing pointing the way to the restrooms, though.

My favorite pieces were his personal projects: carvings, needlepoint, tiles, jewelry, model ship building, and others. I especially enjoyed his Sumo series and his Mexican street vendors series of drawings. They were drawn with the eye drop stopper of the ink bottle, and has very strong, expressive lines.

We had a wonderful buffet dinner in the patio featuring barbecue chicken and tri-tip, pasta salad, cole slaw, beans, bread and fruit. Sharon and I sat with Jim and Leann Lujan, Mark and Carolyn, and Laura Freas. After the feast, it was one more look at the exhibit, then the 2 hour drive home. A great time was had by all.

Animators Todd Kurosawa and Bill Riling with Momma's boy Mell Lazarus.

Matt Groening with Sharon and me.

The exhibition runs through October 4. If you are in the Southern California area, do yourself a favor and go see it! Here is a link to the museum:

http://www.ojaivalleymuseum.org/

Prague

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:18:34 GMT

09/09/09--September 9,2009--That has got to be an auspicious date. Maybe not as good as 08/08/08, but how often does three nines come along? Maybe it's not really lucky, but I was just hoping for a good flight. Sergio Aragones and I had been invited to The Helsingin 24 Sarjakuvafestivaalit--The Helsinki Comics Festival in Finland. I was leaving a day early to travel to Prague. I had been wanting to visit that city, and my Czech publisher has invited me a few times, but I was never able to take him up on his offer. This time everything worked out.

I metroed to Union Station, then caught the Airport Flyaway Bus to LAX in plenty of time for my 3 PM Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany. The last time I connected out of that city I missed my flight to Warsaw. That time I had only 40 minutes to make my connection. This time I had about 90 minutes. I don't sleep on planes, so worked on the story for Usagi Yojimbo #125. The couple sitting next to me were also going to Prague, then continuing on a 3 week cruise on the Danube to Bucharest. The plane arrived precisely as scheduled, and we three navigated the maze that is Frankfurt International, walking about a mile through passport control, the main lobby, security, and to our gate in little more than an hour. Every so often, we would pass by a big glass cubicle that was a designated smoking area.

The plane touched down in Prague at 1:30 PM, and I was surprised at how warm and sunny it was. L'udovit, who translates my stories, met me outside baggage claim, and drove to the Novotel Hotel near Wenceslas (of Christmas carol fame) Square. I quickly lost all sense of direction as he drove the convoluted streets. I checked in, dropped off my bags, then we metroed to the Square. We passed the National Museum and the statue of Wenceslas to the movie theater. I gave a newspaper interview, did an hour presentation, then a two hour signing. A new Usagi Yojimbo volume had just been published in anticipation of my being in the Czech Republic. Post signing, we walked over to the Krakatit Bookstore where I was interviewed by three journalists, then drew on the ceiling, a bookstore tradition.

The National Museum

Wenceslas statue

I dined with L'udovit and Petr, my publisher, at Novomestsky Pivovar, a traditional-type restaurant and brewery. I had goulash. It was like no goulash I had had. It was in a sauce, but all the ingredients were separated. It came with polenta and horseradish. Later, we walked down to the Vitava River, crossing the Charles Bridge to Prague Castle. We taxi-ed back to the hotel where I, still on Pacific Standard Time, got almost no sleep. It usually takes me 3 or 4 days to adjust to the time change whenever I travel to Europe, so I was looking forward to a good night's sleep on Sunday.

Friday, 09/11/09
My room was large, even by US standards, with a sitting area as well as a work station. I breakfasted at the hotel, then took a walk around the area. L'udovit collected me at 9, and we subwayed over to the Old Town. The buildings around the square are beautiful, each one more so than the one next to it. It reminded me of Krakow, another city that had gone almost untouched during the wars.

The Jan Hus memorial statue is there. He was a religious reformer who lived a century before Martin Luther. The big attraction, though, is the Orloj, the Astronomical Clock on the outside of the city hall. The clock originally dates back to the 15th century, then it was renovated a century later. L'udovit told me the clock maker's eyes were gouged out, so he could not make a similar clock for another city. With its huge rings and exposed gears, it looks like something from Disneyland's It's a Small World. There was a huge crowd already there, anticipating the hour. When 10'oclock arrived, the figure of Death rang the bell, and the 12 apostles walked past a small open window as the clock chimed the hour. I waited a bit more, and L'udovit said, "That's it." It was actually a bit of a disappointment after the hype it had received. Still, it was nice to experience it with such a large crowd. I had been warned to beware of pickpockets who take advantage of tourists fixated on the clock, so had made sure I still had my wallet.

There was a big sign in the square advertising a Mucha exhibit. I knew I would not have time for the Mucha Museum, so we inquired about it but was told that the exhibit was comprised of posters, so chose to bypass it. Petr arrived, and L'udovit had to leave. I needed to find a toy store. Lunch buddy Mike Kazaleh collects Matchbox-type cars. I try to find him one whenever I am in Europe. It's fun for me, kind of like a scavenger hunt. I found a classic car by a local manufacturer that I knew he would not have.

Petr and I subwayed to the top of the hill overlooking the castle, and walked down. The president lives in a wing of the castle, so I was surprised at how light security was. In the US, there would be military and police everywhere. The only people that were everywhere were tourists. We first went to the St Vitus Cathedral, one of the biggest gothic churches I have seen. The line to get in, though, was a bit too daunting so we just circled the outside of it. At noon, we watched the changing of the guards, with all its pomp and circumstance. I also stood on the spot where President Obama gave his speech a few weeks ago, saw the Archbishop's residence, and enjoyed the wonderful view of the city from the top of the hill. We went into the St Nicholas Church on Lesser Town, a beautiful baroque building, near the university where Petr had attended--dramatic frescoes and gold were everywhere.

Halfway down the hill, we lunched at a classic Czech restaurant. I had beef and pork in a mushroom sauce with potato pancakes. I also had a Coke. It's been a tradition that I drink at least one whenever I am in Europe, though I am a Pepsi drinker in the US. The Coke formula is supposed to be slightly different in Europe. It is a little sweeter--almost like Pepsi.

I had already checked out of the Novotel, and had stowed my suitcase in the cloak room. We collected it, and Petr arranged for a car to take me to the airport. I had plenty of time to catch my Czech Airlines flight to Budapest. I needed to turn in my Czech Crowns for US dollars. Unfortunately, the change office did not have dollars, so I converted it to euros. I had wanted dollars because the weakness of our currency would get me a better rate, but you can never have too much euros.

We took a tram out to the middle of the tarmac to a propellor driven plane. It has been about 10 years since I had ridden one of those. I would have about 40 minutes to make my connection and, since I would make the final leg to Helsinki on a different airline, would have to check in again and get another boarding pass. We were late arriving in Budapest, and the tram had to wait for the last person to de-plane. Of course, he was leisurely talking on a cell phone. I made it to the gate as we were boarding.

The flight, though, was only 2/3 full, so I had a lot of space. It was a 2 hour flight, with a 1 hour time change so I would again be setting my watch forward. I was now on a 10 hour time difference from California. The light snack was spinach risotto. I'm not a big risotto fan, but I watch Hell's Kitchen and they're always making it. So I ate it, wondering if Chef Ramsey would have sent it back (of course he would, you donkey!).

Prague is a beautiful city, and I am already anxious to return. Next time though, I would like to make it to the Jewish Quarter, Kutna Hora, the Alphonse Mucha Museum and, perhaps, his Slavic Epic a series of 20 painting at the chateau at Moravsky Krumlovat though it is a 5 hour bus ride. The traffic in Prague is daunting, but they have a simple mass transit system. The Usagi readers I met were wonderful, some traveled from outlying areas to see me. Thomas from Berlin (you may remember him from my London and one of my Paris trip reports) drove 6 hours to be at my signing. What can I say? I have the best readers. I also have to thank Crew, my publisher. They handled things wonderfully. Everything went smoothly, and I even had time for sightseeing.

Here are a few links:
http://sumarum.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/stan-sakai-ma-nejradsi-usagiho-dinosaury-a-king-konga/

http://mediafax.cz/kultura/2925681-Stan-Sakai-autor-komiksu-Usagi-Yojimbo-debatoval-s-ceskymi-ctenari-v-kine-Svetozor

http://kultura.idnes.cz/kreslit-u-televize-je-skvely-dzob-rika-komiksovy-vytvarnik-stan-sakai-1md-/literatura.asp?c=A090917_180155_literatura_ob

Next: Sergio and Stan in Helsinki

I love comics!

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:51:19 GMT

Dark Horse is running a campaign with comic creators reading comic books and the tag, "I love comics!" Mine have already started appearing.

Rather than the usual photo of me reading comics in the studio, I dug through old pictures of me that my Dad took. He was an amateur photographer, even developing his own pictures. This is one he took when I was about 18 months old, circa 1954, and still living in Japan. He even got photo credit for it.

Okay, I'm really reading a Little Golden Book adaptation of Hiawatha. Do you think my parents wanted to warp my mind with comic books?

Quick Draw

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:31:23 GMT

I've been trying to catch up on my deadlines, so have not had the chance to write up a Comic-con report. However, pal Mark Evanier posted a part of the Quick Draw panel with Sergio Aragones, Scott Shaw!, and Floyd Norman. Bobby London, Dougie McCoy, and I were guest artists. It was the first time I had seen QD. It was a fun panel, and the fastest hour at Comic-con.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCCTEsHkGr0

I'll post my SDCC report next week.

Comic-Con Tuesday

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:46:11 GMT

Wife Sharon, son Matthew, and I drove down to San Diego. Daughter Hannah has class and will be down in a couple of days. Our house sitter couldn't come over until tomorrow anyway.

Traffic was pretty smooth all the way, and we arrived in Pacific Beach two hours later. LA would hit 100 degress, but he weather in SD is beautiful, though a bit more humid than usual. We had lunch at Ichiban Japanese restaurant in PB. It's a little hole-in-the-wall with pretty good food. We used to go to their main restaurant near Balboa Park, but it's a bit out of the way.

An hour later, we were at the Convention Center. Registration took less than 5 minutes, and we went into the Dealers Room to check out our booth. Handcarts, fork lifts and cranes were all over.

We are at #4906 as usual, and a couple of our neighbors had already moved in or were in the process. It took about an hour to cart our boxes into our area. One of the reasons we arrive early is to avoid the lines at registration and the elevators as dealers cart their goods in. We saw friends, such as Kevin Eastman, as they were setting up. Some exhibits were already almost completed.

We checked into the hotel by three. I love the free wi-fi. There was a cool satchel waiting at the front desk loaded with munchies, pens, the new Comic-con 40th anniversary hardcover, and other things. The book is wonderful with lots of color, great art (including past badge art and souvenir book covers), and articles. There are even some of my art, and even an old photo. All with a cover by Sergio Aragones. It's well worth getting.

We walked over to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner--home of the dancing waitresses. The food was adequate. I had the steamed dungeness crab. I was surprised that my crab had 12 legs. I realized that, instead of a whole crab, I had 3 halves. Out of that, I only had one claw.

We took a leisurely stroll along the walk behind the convention center. It looked nice and quiet. That will change tomorrow.

pyramid watermelons

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 14:08:01 GMT

I've seen those square watermelons, but now the Japanese are selling pyramid-shaped watermelons. They go for 52500 yen, roughly $557 US. I don't know how it tastes, though.

Walter Cronkite

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:48:42 GMT

Walter Cronkite passed away yesterday. I met him once. I pretty much told him the same things he had heard a million times before--I used to watch him on TV, how much I admired him, etc--but still he was very gracious. I have a photo somewhere.

Wall Street Journal

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:51:31 GMT

I got the heads up from Dark Horse marketing director that Usagi is pictured in today's WSJ's Comic-con story:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204271104574290380945425294.html

That Mad magazine guy is also mentioned.

Jumbo carnivorous flying squid invades San Diego

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:53:05 GMT

Watch out if you're going to Comic-con!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_squid_invasion

Tetsujin 28-go

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:52:28 GMT

This is the third life-size giant robot statue story that came from Japan in the past 3 months, but this one looks the best. Tetsujin 28-go is better known in the US as Gigantor. This statue is 18 meters tall, and will be placed in Wakamatsu Park in Kobe, manga creator Mitsuteru Yokoyama's birthplace, at the end of September. Construction was started in November, 2008 in Osaka.

They're building these giant robots everywhere in Japan.

edited to respond to "wintersweet's" comment:

This is the Gundam in Tokyo that Wintersweet mentions. It has very limited movement and will be on display until the end of August.

This fire spitting Torayan robot is in the Rippongi area, and, I think, is already down.

I almost forgot the giant spider that walked the streets of Yokohama.

Comic-Con!

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:17:33 GMT

I just picked up my sixth annual sketchbook from the printer, just in time for San Diego. I will be at Booth 4906 as usual. Besides the sketchbooks, I will have all the Usagi books, including the new Bridge of Tears in both trade and hardcover. I will also have prints and artwork (but I do not sell published pages).

When away from my booth, I have a few scheduled events:

Mark and Sergio
Thursday, JULY 23
2:30-3:30pm
ROOM 8

Graphic Novels Sense of History
Saturday, JULY 25
5:00-6:00 pm
ROOM 8

Stan Sakai: 25th Anniversary of Usagi Yojimbo
Sunday, JULY 26
1:30-2:30pm
ROOM 8

Signing at Dark Horse Booth
Friday
10-11 am

There are a bunch of panels I would like to see--June Foray, TMNT, Quick Draw, Crime--but will probably not be able to find the time. There is so much going on.

I'll also be at the Eisners. I'm nominated in the Best Continuing Series category.

Stan Lee's Usagi

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:54:54 GMT

Usagi is one of the themes for the San Diego Con's souvenir book, and my pals from CAPS (Comic Arts Professional Society) did a jam drawing. Here's Stan Lee's version of Usagi. Stan once gave me a Spider-man sketch, but this Usagi is just too cool.

Other contributors include Sergio Aragones, Dan Spiegle, Dean Yeagle, Kazu Kibiushi, Bill Morrison, Mell Lazarus (Mama as Usagi), and Scott Shaw! Needless to say, I am very flattered and very touched by this.

UY Book 23

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:12:47 GMT

Sorry for the shameless plug, but I got a copy of Usagi Yojimbo Book 23: Bridge of Tears yesterday. It should be in stores next week. It's 246 pages, and collects issues 94-102 including the issue 100 roast with guest creators Rick Geary, Frank Miller, Jeff Smith, Sergio Aragones, Guy Davis, Andi Watson, Matt Wagner, Mike Richardson, Diana Schutz, Jamie Rich, Mark Evanier, and Scott Shaw! It's great to know what your "friends" really think of you (those scum). It comes with an introduction by Brian K. Vaughan. Sharon said it's the best intro I ever had.

I believe all 24 of my books (including Space Usagi) are currently in print.

Wolverine 100

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:28:48 GMT

As with last year's Hulk 100 Project, I am involved with the new Wolverine 100. Marvel printed a variant Hero Initiative edition of Wolverine: Weapon X #1 with a blank card stock cover. The Hero Initiative asked 100 artists to provide original drawings of Wolverine on these comics, which will be auctioned. The images will eventually be collected in a trade edition. All proceeds will go to the Hero Initiative which helps comics creators in times of medical and financial need.

The deadline was June 8, but, with my workload, I did not think I could get to it until after the SD Con. However, here it is. I used pencil, pen & ink, ink wash, and red Prismacolor pencil. The card stock has a slight gloss on it, which made it difficult to work with wet mediums. That's why I used a monochromatic wash, which is a lot more forgiving than watercolors.

The part I like best is the signature logo.

Here's a link for a look at some other covers:

http://www.heroinitiative.org/NewsDetail.asp?NewsId=190

Three weeks

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:20:01 GMT

After Yokai, I just had three weeks to complete the 24 page story for Usagi Yojimbo 122, and I did it! It usually take me 5 weeks to finish an issue. Also in those three weeks I lettered 4 weeks of Spider-Man Sundays and an issue of Groo the Wanderer, drew the cover for UY 125, and did a watercolor drawing. Issue 121 comes out this week, so you see how close we're cutting it.

Now I've got to get into con-mode and prepare for San Diego, while drawing issue 123.

Another reason to cut down on flying.

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 01:57:46 GMT

I declined three international trips and a bunch of US ones this year, a lot because traveling is just not as fun anymore. Ryanair gives me another reason to cut down down on flying. These economy airlines are getting a bit too economical.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/mar/05/ryanair-toilet-charge

I've never flown Ryanair, but I have flown with their rival, easyJet (which is a great airline).

Yokai page 20 step-by-step

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:34:33 GMT

This is the last one of these I'll be posting for Yokai, the watercolored Usagi graphic novel scheduled for November. All the art is finished, and is in production at Dark Horse.

The inspiration for the story came from the legend of the Hyakkiyako--the Night Parade of 100 Demons. One night in the summer, demons and monsters congregate and walk through the towns and countryside. In my story, once every 100 years, they also gather to take over the living world. To do this, though, they need a living soul to guide them, and kidnap a little girl.

I first wrote the story as a 2-page outline, then broke it down as thumbnail drawings. My thumbs tend to be very loose--stick figures at most. For me, they are mainly to pace the story and act as my final script. I am constantly amazed by artists like Chris Schweizer or Dave Gibbons who draw very detailed ones. The thumb for page 20 is in the lower left corner, and looks nothing like the finished work. Click on the images to enlarge them.

The art was pencilled on 5-ply Strathmore 500 series kid finish bristol board. I usually use 2-ply for my regular b/w art, but used the much thicker boards since I was painting this with watercolor. There is no buckling or warping with these boards. At most there was some very slight curling (as on this page) but it did not interfere with the painting or with the reproduction, and will lay flat with very little effort. (The art was photographed with a digital camera, so forgive any focus or color distortions.)

I inked the page with a Koh-i-noor Art Pen (discontinued) and Badger Black Opaque ink, then the borders were masked with tracing paper and rubber cement. The rubber cement method is not as good and is a lot messier than frisket but it is a lot cheaper. There is the occasional leakage under the tracing paper, but it is never too bad. I did try liquid frisket years ago, but it tends to discolor the paper.

The background blues were painted on using Winsor & Newton watercolors (Prussian blue and orange) and a #8 red sable watercolor brush.

I mixed brown, yellow, and a touch of red for warmth

Greens were added using green with a touch of turquoise. A green wash with a touch of orange was used for the more neutral tones.

Turquoise was used for Usagi, the water, and the tree tops.

Red was used for the mushrooms. A grayed down blue for Usagi's hakama pants, and a wash of it was used for Sasuke's clothing. Sasuke and the foreground rocks were painted with yellow ochre. A light turquoise was painted over the rocks, and, in the second panel, Usagi, to push them further into the background.

White cel vinyl was used for highlights and corrections, then the border mask was peeled off.

The lettering was hand-done on a tracing vellum overlay. Yes, I still do hand-lettering.

NCS Reuben Weekend

Thu, 28 May 2009 15:58:05 GMT

The National Cartoonists Society 63rd Annual Reuben Awards
Los Angeles May 22-24, 2009

The headquarters for the Reuben Weekend was at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel at Hollywood and Highland, next to the Kodak Theater where the Academy Awards are held. There is a Metro stop there, so I Metro-ed over Friday afternoon, checked into the hotel and registered with the NCS. The goodie bag this year was a computer bag-like art satchel filled with cartoon books. The t-shirt was drawn by Mad magazine's Tom Richmond, and the cover of the souvenir book was by Sergio Aragones and featured cartoon characters on a Hollywood sound set. The interior featured pictures of members photoshopped with famous stars.

Steve Moore, Eric Goldberg, and Drew Struzan each gave presentations in the afternoon. I especially wanted to catch Drew Struzan. He showed many of his movie posters, including Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Back to the Futures, and the Muppets. He is retired now, but sells original art. I had brought his book, Oeuvre, for him to sign. I also met Chris Houghton, the recipient of the Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship. We have a mutual friend in Guy Davis. Other members in attendance included Scott Adams, Bill Amend, Brian Basset, Jim Borgman, Sandra Boynton, Chris Browne, Daryl Cagle, Greg Evans, Andrew Farago and Shaenon Garrity, Bill Gallo, Stan Goldberg, Bil Keane, Rick Kirkman, Mell Lazarus, Bobby London, Patrick McDonnell, Bill Morrison, Mike Peters, Dan Piraro, David Silverman, Tom Sito, and Jay Stephens.

Drew Struzan

Sharon arrived a few hours later, just in time for the pool side Welcome Party buffet. The prime rib was delicious. The sushi had a bit to be desired. The rice was a tad undercooked, and the seasoning could have been better. However, it did improve as the evening went on. At the end of the evening, the sushi chefs were making crab hand rolls which were very good. Photographer Greg Preston was there. The Artist Within, Greg's book of photographs of cartoonists in their studios, came out a few years ago. He has almost enough material for another book, and was scheduling shootings with cartoonists there.

Saturday morning, we went down to pool side for a very decent buffet breakfast with Rick Detorie, after which the group had the General Business Meeting. The meeting is limited to members only, and we introduced new members, recognized the board, and discussed general business.

JJ Abrams

There were more seminars in the afternoon. However, Sharon and I opted to take a walk down Hollywood Blvd. There are reasons we do not go to Hollywood often. The traffic is one, and the strangeness is another. Just around the corner is Graumann's Chinese Theater. There were a lot more folks in costume--Batman, a couple of Jokers, sexy cops, the Bride of Frankenstein, Indiana Jones, Sweeney Todd, Sponge Bob, and even Homer Simpson--posing for tips.

Elephants at Hollywood and Highland

The awards dinner is always black tie, and I was glad to see my tuxedo still fit. It began with a hosted cocktail reception on the terrace where we could view the nominees' art, then dinner in the Grand Salon. The meal was catered by Wolfgang Puck. It started with a salad, chicken was the main course, and ended with a very fine chocolate dessert. We were seated at the Mad table with Sergio, Nick Meglin and Linda Maloof, Sam Viviano and Diane Bloomfield, Grant and Lydia Geissman, and John Reiner.

The chicken was okay...

...but the dessert was excellent.

Chad Frye, Chris Houghton, me

Mike Luckovich was the MC, and the awards part of the evening began with a film starring Steve McGarry and President Jeff Keane (in drag) driving around LA in a red convertible singing "I Love LA". The awards were given out, beginning with the Jay Kennedy Scholarship and ending with The Reuben for the Cartoonist of the Year to Dave Coverly. I was not familiar with any of the Comic Book Division nominees--Chris Blain (Gus and His Gang), Matthew Forsythe (Ojingogo), and Cyril Pedrosa (Three Shadows). Cyril took home the award. Sam Viviano, one of our table mates was nominated and won a division award for Magazine Feature/Magazine Illustration.

Sam Viviano

Buses picked us up Sunday afternoon and transported us to Casa de Cathy Guisewite for shmoozing and dinner. She has a lovely home with a guest cottage, tennis court, swimming pool, and lots of trees. The most interesting room for all of us was her studio, of course. Cathy laid out a step-by-step display of her creative process, beginning with a life-size Cathy doll at the drawing table, to her sketches, and ending with the toned finished art. There were also a lot of framed cartoons and paintings throughout the house. We especially enjoyed talking to Jeannie Schulz, and Jim and Bernita Whiting. I just had to meet Stephan Pastis. His cousin is my dentist. I found out when I was reading a Pearls Before Swine collection in the waiting room, and saw my dentist in there.

Tom Richmond shows he can draw better than the rest of us even when blindfolded

We bussed back to the hotel at 8, then it was up to the Level 3 Nightclub for a final party, sponsored by Bongo Comics. De Luz Band, featuring vocals by political cartoonist Michael Ramirez, supplied entertainment until 11:00, when the stage opened up for Cartoonist Karaoke. I have to say that I was impressed by the vocals. Even Tim Burgard did his rendition of Elvis' All Shook Up.

A scene from Lady and the Tramp

Monday was my birthday, but, since I had been having fun all weekend, had to get back to work. I finished the lettering on Yokai, and did the word balloons on Tuesday. After some final art touch-up, all the painted pages were sent to Dark Horse. I had asked for 3 months to write, draw, paint, and letter the 56 page graphic novel. Editor Diana gave me 2 1/2. I finished even before then. I guess she knows me better than I do. That is why she is such a great editor. What I don't understand is, if I am 4 days ahead of deadline, why am I 3 days behind schedule?

Happy birthday to me!

Mon, 25 May 2009 16:22:01 GMT

Happy Memorial Day! Today is also my birthday. I had a great weekend. Sharon and I were at the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award weekend. The last time we attended one of these during my birthday weekend, I won the NCS Comic Book Division Award.

This year, it was in nearby Hollywood, but we still chose to stay at the hotel and we're glad we did. It is always a black tie event so I had to dust off my tux, and it still fit (though a bit snugger).

Hopefully, I'll have time to post a more detailed report later. I've got to finish Yokai this week.

Yokai pages 30-31

Tue, 19 May 2009 15:13:50 GMT

This was the first page(s) that I colored for Yokai. Back in early April, Dark Horse needed a page for solicitation, so I drew and colored this double-page spread from the middle of the story. It's a nice action scene, and I'm a sucker for killer tentacles.

The art was penciled on 5-ply 500 series kid finish Strathmore bristol, and inked with Badger Black Opaque ink using a Koh-i-noor Sketch Pen (now discontinued). The borders, tentacles, and Usagi were covered with frisket. The image area is 12x16 inches. Click on the images to enlarge.

I used Windsor & Newton watercolor paints (mainly turquoise and scarlet) and a #10 short flat Kolinsky sable brush to color in the background. I wanted a gradation from left to right, and top to bottom.

Here it is with the frisket removed from the image.

Using turquoise and yellow and a #4 round brush, I colored in the tentacles and Usagi's sword hilt.

I used turquoise, Prussian blue, and orange for Usagi.

Then a bit of scarlet for the blood/tentacle ooze.

Finally, I added highlights using white cel vinyl, then removed the frisket around the border.