Linework NW This Sunday

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Hey Portland! I’m making a hometown appearance at Linework NW this weekend. This fantastic indie comics and illustration festival boasts a unique format with two completely different sets of exhibitors Saturday and Sunday. This means you can only find me there on Sunday (at Table 24B), but should totally show up both days to take full advantage of the talent on offer. Did I mention it’s stone cold free to attend? You heard it here first. Or maybe you didn’t. Either way I’d love to see you on the floor.

The skinny:

Linework NW – 4/18/2015 + 4/19/2015

Location: Norse Hall111 NE 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97232

Date: Saturday, April 18, 2015 & Sunday, April 19, 2015

Time: 12:00pm – 8:00pm

And here’s a handy map! See Table 24B? Right in the middle there. Aw yeah.

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You can check out the exhibitor lineups for both days of Linework NW right here. I’ll also be speaking on a panel called The Modern Reality of Fundraising for Artists at 4:30pm on Sunday with Hazel Newlevant, Kory Bing, and Taneka Stotts, moderated by Tristan Tarwater. Check out the full listing of panels for more exciting discussion topics.

Hope to see you there!

The Cartozia Tales Kickstarter is LIVE

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You’ve heard me shouting about it for months and end, and now the day is finally here! The Cartozia Kickstarter Campaign has launched with an incredible outpouring of support from fans all over the world. I’m so excited to share it with you.

In case you’ve missed it the last fifteen times I’ve gushed about Cartozia on the web, it’s an all-ages fantasy series set in a shared world and brought to life by a core team of eight indie cartoonists. With the guidance of our fearless editor Isaac Cates, we’ve published the first two issues on our own dime, and now we’re aiming to fund an entire year’s worth of 40-page issues. It’s an audacious campaign, but I have faith that we’re going to knock it out of the park.

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From story to story and issue to issue, we swap characters and locations via a game of chance, building on one another’s ideas to create a dynamic narrative landscape. Two guest stars per issue help keep things fresh, and we’ve got some incredible names on the project (James Kochalka! Brittney Sabo! Evan Dahm! Eleanor Davis! Dylan Horrocks!).

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I’m fairly certain this type of storytelling has never been done before on such a scale, and the results so far have been fantastic — immersive and playful for kids, engaging and complex for adults. We’re making Cartozia Tales because we think the world needs more comics that will attract young readers and let them celebrate adventure, curiosity, exploration, and fun, but we can’t make it happen without your help.

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If you want to dive in and make this thing happen, here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Pledge to the campaign.

2. Spread the link (especially to parents and teachers!).

3. Find us on Twitter @Cartozia and get in touch.

4. Reblog this post on Tumblr.

5. Learn more about the world, our contributors, and our methods on the homepage.

6. Invite your friends to the campaign event on Facebook!

I’ll be posting more news as I get it, but right now the biggest goal is setting this campaign off to a roaring start. I can’t wait to see where it goes. As an added incentive, here’s a full gallery of all the ridiculous dances I was giving away earlier this week to celebrate early subscribers to the series:

 

Waterlogged: Tales from the Seventh Sea

Really exciting news this week: Waterlogged, the 200-page anthology of nautical comics I contributed to last year, is finally going to print!

tumblr_mkt367Jxoi1qkwt8jo1_500If you read this blog, I assume you share some of my enthusiasm for all things oceanic, so this is probably the collection for you. The stories cover everything from pirates and sailors to nautical mythology enthusiasts, plus the book itself promises to be gorgeous — I mean, just look at that cover illustration by Laura Bifano.

If you want a taste of the goods, you can read “Navy Ink”, the story I contributed in collaboration with Shannon Campbell, right here on my site. Just click the image below!

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I was also thrilled when Cloudscape, the organization behind the anthology, asked me to do some chapter heading illustrations in the style of old tattoos. Here’s a selection:

They’ve launched an IndieGoGo campaign (with a super delightful video, I might add) and are hoping to have copies out by July. Unfortunately this means that I won’t have the book at my table for most conventions this season, but the sooner the campaign reaches its goal, the faster things will happen. To that end, check it out! Throw in some cash! Get amazing comics in return!

Relevant to that: if you’re interested in receiving a SUPER AFFORDABLE custom avatar commission from me, check out the Siren’s Avatar tier, where you can request a portrait commission from an artist of your choice. I’ve only made myself available for five slots, so hop on it if you’re interested. Other reward tiers include e-books, signed editions of the anthology, exclusive prints, and a jumbo pack of comics from all 30 contributors.

Phew, so that’s the biggest news this week. More to come soon!