Upcoming

stump down & melt town

Here’s a couple more events to extend last week’s list: This Saturday – April 28th – I’ll be at Portland’s own Stumptown Comics Fest, signing for the CBLDF from 1-2pm. CBLDF suggests a $10 donation, but it’s for a worthy cause. Then, the day after the Skirball event in LA, I’ll be at super cool MELTDOWN COMICS – May 11th, 7pm.

After my Barcelona & LA trips, I plan to get started drawing the “all-ages book”, but in the meantime I’m dabbling in a number of small projects – including a cover for Wisconsin buddy Tim Seeley’s farm noir series REVIVAL. A creepy sort of “X-Files meets Fargo” story set in our childhood stomping grounds of Wausau, Wisconsin. A) thumbnailed idea sketches, B) pencils, C) final inks & colors.

 

craigstump down & melt town
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team spirit

A 270-page thumbnail draft of my new all-ages book was completed today. About three months’ work versus two years spent on the thumbnails for HABIBI. For the new project, I scored a new $50 drafting table so that the vintage table HABIBI was drawn on can have company. That’s cartoonist buddy Farel Dalrymple in the photo joining me for a day of drawing.

Also noteworthy is that HABIBI has been honored with two Eisner award nominations! The award’s namesake is the late, great Will Eisner. Check here for the full list of categories and nominees.

This week, I’ll be at Calvin College in my home-state of Michigan for the Festival of Faith & Writing. This includes an exhibition of original art open to the public on Friday, April 20th at 6:30pm.  The show runs for a week after; M-T 9am-5pm, W-F 9am-9pm, Sat 10am-4pm.

Concerning travel, I’m considering over a dozen invites from all over the world, but the only ones confirmed for now are A) Calvin’s Festival of Faith & Writing, B) the Saló Internacional del Còmic in Barcelona, Spain; May 3-6, and C) the Skirball Cultural Center in LA accompanying their Women Hold Up Half the Sky exhibition; 8pm on May 10th. And I hope to make it to this summer’s San Diego Comic-con!

craigteam spirit
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new wave

Home safe & sound, and desperate to take a break from travel for a while. My new babies are being neglected!

Next weekend is an easy jaunt to the Cannon Beach Book Company on the Oregon coast to give a talk and accept the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award. Saturday, February 11th, 2pm — actually held at the library across the street from the store. I chose the location, because CBBC is an impressive book shop that’s a comfort to peruse on a rainy day at the coast, but also because Cannon Beach is a spiritual sanctuary where I’ve been nourished by the ocean in the company of friends, sea lions, probably some sharks, and occasionally sun.  This painting by my dear buddy Dan Attoe perfectly captures the magic of our cozy surf cove.

Here’s another glimpse of that beach from the earliest days of this blog, five years ago. Still a good mantra: “Goonies never say die.”

craignew wave
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wassail away!

Seasons greetin’s, Blog Friends, and thanks for dropping by the Dootdootgarden throughout 2011.
Many, many thanks for supporting HABIBI’s release and gifting copies to new readers.

Pictured above are the stars of the upcoming “all-ages comic” – Elliot Chicken, Violet, and Zacchaeus.

This backdrop, however, has nothing to do with the narrative – merely a mix of nostalgia for those Wisconsin snowscapes
and a little nod to the holiday spirit. Stay warm and cozy and jolly!

 

craigwassail away!
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WTFH

As mentioned, HABIBI events & travel are not entirely concluded, but I’m savoring some weeks at home to delve into fresh projects.
Based on the advice of David B., I’m juggling a few (three) books simultaneously, so that no one becomes intimidating or tedious.

a) AN ALL-AGES BOOK. After completing a serious/adult project, this one is a playground to give back to the child in me
that discovered the medium at an influential age. For the future of comics!

b) A NONFICTION/ESSAY-LIKE BOOK. Let’s say it’s roughly about global trade.

c) AN EROTIC BOOK (not for kids!) Blankets touches on the innocent awakenings of sexuality. Habibi explores sexual trauma.
This one’s to be a book with actual (drawn) sex.

I don’t want to talk ahead of myself or spoil the mystery, but as each book becomes more tangible,
Doot Doot Blog will share some of the process as it did with HABIBI. Thanks for sticking around!

craigWTFH
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