Books

Snagged my NYCC tix

I got my tickets for New York Comic Con (NYCC) yesterday.

It’s a whole process. I no longer get press passes after 15 years of that, so I have to purchase the tickets now and wait in line, online, like everyone else.

You have to be fan verified, and get a time and date to get on and buy the tickets. Mine was 10 am Sunday morning, the first thing, the first group, but of course if you get online at that very moment, there is a long wait to get your access to the tickets. My wait was 20 minutes, not that bad.

Who are these people that are always there, first in line? In person, you see them in tents, camping outside venues for a week to buy something like an Nintendo Switch or concert tickets.

By the way, NYCC is Oct. 9-12, and the tickets sell out fast.

For so many years, I wrote for the Huffington Post and other publications and I received press passes, which made me feel important, but best of all, I didn’t have to wait in any lines and I had access to everything for all four days.

To be honest, I think I outgrew the whole thing, but since I’m a cartoonist, I feel it’s my duty to go, but it seems that Comic Cons have gone from being comic oriented, to movies, games and tv, which make up the bulk of it all.

One of my cousins works for a company that sells original cartoon art. His company has a booth at the cons and last year when I finally found his booth, he was telling me how the actual comics are all confined to a small area now, almost being forced out of their namesake event. I can’t even find the cartoon syndicates now. I’m not sure they show up anymore.

The best part of course is the cosplay, you know, people dressed up as their favorite tv and movie characters. But I do like to mix and mingle with other cartoonists and organizations. I could have sat and worked the National Cartoonists Society booth, but I declined. I’m not sure why, that way I would have free access and get to meet many of my peers. Maybe next year.

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My Krazy bookshelf

I have this bookshelf that leans to the right as you can see here. And I keep it that way without repairing it.

Why? Because it reminds me of Krazy Kat‘s world.

From this picture, it doesn’t look so bad, but in person, it is really out of kilter.

I guess I didn’t realize that most of it was probably made from particle board or something like that when I bought it since apparently the bottom base is damaged. But I bought it because I love it. And that was 20 years ago or more, so for most of it’s life, it was perfect.

It got damaged from a water leak over time. There was a slow leak from the roof over the years and it would leak and stop and leak and stop and apparently the particle board, or bottom wood or whatever it is, got damaged and caused the bookshelf to tilt.

I’ve thought of replacing it or having it repaired, but it makes me smile, and sometimes laugh when I look at it. You don’t notice it unless you stand at that one area in the bedroom, so it’s really not an eyesore. And it makes me feel like I am in Coconino County, in Krazy Kat’s world.

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Steal like an artist!

I read these two books by Austin Kleon “Steal Like an Artist” and “Show Your Work!” Austin is a writer and artist who lives in Austin, TX. Yes, Austin lives in Austin. I’m still looking for a town named Tom to move to. I know of a Tomball, Texas. I’ve been called Tombo and Tomo, never Tomball though.

They are both quick reads, one book took about half an hour to read, the other about an hour. “Steal like an Artist” basically says that there are no original ideas – everyone steals from each other. Truth be told, I have a couple of comic strips that I like, mostly the drawing styles, and I try to emulate them while designing and creating my new comic strip. I didn’t look at is as stealing, I see it more like inspiration.

In the book, Austin says, “”First you figure out what’s worth stealing, then you move on to the next thing. That’s about all there is to it.”

But isn’t Lana Del Rey having this issue with Radiohead and the “Creep” song? One of my favorites by Radiohead. Lana is being sued by Radiohead for similarities in Lana’s “Get Free” song.

Anyway, I love the Steal book, it has a lot of useful information for artists and creative people. William Ralph Inge said, “What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.”

I’m not for this plagiarism, I am more about getting ideas and studying those who inspire you.

The second book, “Show Your Work!” is all about that – sharing your work – not just the completed piece, but show how it is created, show your concept along the way. Don’t be stingy, reach out to your fans – interact. There’s a lot in the book about social media and how it influences people and puts people together. Austin is keen on Twitter Meetups, I didn’t know that was thing anymore, but I do remember going to a few in the early days.

Austin says that a good idea is to immerse yourself into someone or that inspires you. If it is an artist, learn about them, learn everything. Then find three people that this person loved and learn about them, and so on and so on. I love this idea.

The book gives quite lot of good info on how to get your work out there and how to interact with people and fans who will move you along your way and up the ladder to success. But the object is not to dwell on money or success, that will come with time if you Show Your Work!

I love my new Superman bookend

superman

Is this the coolest thing? It’s my latest acquisition, made by a guy in Israel named Ovi Niv. You can get it here, it’s only $25. It was a gift actually. Love it. superman2 superman3

I love this Cork Bow Tie, too. You can get it here. It’s made of natural sustainable cork.

It’s quite thin made of sustainable material, the bark of the cork oak regenerates within 7-9 years after harvest, and the process extends the life of the trees to over 200 years. It’s hand-made in Portugal. bowtie