Handbook Hunt! Commissions Ceased! Site stalled!

A tradition in my news archives has been to track where samples of work I did are being reproduced in editions, usually the handbooks, where the ink artist is usually not credited.  I haven’t been as on top of the Marvel handbooks as I have in the past but in the recent AVENGERS ASSEMBLE handbook there’s a small inset panel under the Super-Adaptoid entry with art by Mike Lilly and myself from Annihilation Conquest: Quasar.

 

Secondly in an unrelated item, due to an incoming assignment workload (more on that later) I will regrettably need to put a hold on all commissions.  I have five on hand that will take a while to get to and it wouldn’t be proper to receive any more for the next few months.  I apologize for this inconvenience and once the commission gates reopen I will be certain to mention it here, ‘natch.

 

For the same reason, this site may suffer a bit as I’m already behind with updating my commissions gallery or adding convnetion appearance photos.  Please be patient with me, I know.

Last stop on the Inkwell tour….HEROES CON!

For a while anyway.   The Heroes Con on June 4-6 is the last major show until October for me.  I’ll leave Wednesday for a fourteen hour roadtrip along with Jimmy Tournas and the Harrison’s Comics gang.  I’ll be set up at the convention center in artist alley table # 313 next to Mike Lilly and Louis Small.  Originally promoter Shelton Drum offered my non-profit organization The Inkwell Awards a free booth which would be across from an artist alley row where our Ms. Inkwell model could man the booth and be watched by us who would take turns helping out.  But regrettably the model plan fell through and without one or a full-time volunteer, we could’nt take on the booth.  And by the time this was realized a few days ago, it was too late to add another table into AA for the charity.  So I will try to make a little room on my own table for IA items to sell for our fundraising like t-shirts and donation drive books.  There will be more IA members in attendance than anywhere else to date, which makes the lost booth/table opportunity all the more bitter.  But I plan to have a great time nonetheless with fans and friends.

 

And AFTER the show?  There’s work to do!  Something old and something new…for next time, inkwellers!

Here I come again, Granite State!

I’ll be attending the Granite State Comicon this Sunday May 23 from 10-4 and carpoolin’ with my bud Craig for the trip. Besides myself I’ll have the Inkwell Awards table set up (along with Bob Shaw in the house) with the usual non-profit good for sale for our ongoing fundraising like our signed 2009 and both editions of our 2010 Donation Drive books as well as all of our t-shirts (both logos and Ms. Inkwell) and our Ms. Inkwell items…just no Ms. Inkwell herself (sorry, guys:-P).  Other guests include Khoi Pham (Mighty Avengers), Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash), Becky Cloonan (Demo), Eric Basaldua (Witchblade, Grimm Fairy Tales), Craig Rousseau (Marvel Adventures), Cliff Rathburn (Walking Dead), Talent Caldwell (Fathom, Wildcats), Chris Moreno (Toy Story), Charles Paul Wilson III (Stuff of Legend) as well as Zeke Savory, Jr., Scott AmbrusonSara RichardGreg MoutafisHannibal KingLauren PerryJoe HaleyJason CaseyMike Doherty, and many more!  The Proulx bros of Double Midnight Comics put together a great show every time in Manchester, NH so if you’re in the area please drop by for some awesome one-day show fun!

Congrats to Carli Idhe, the 1st Dave Simons Scholarship recipient!

From the Inkwell Awards press release:

On May 14 the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art revealed information and photos regarding their 2010 Scholarship Ceremony.  Among the many winners, second year student Carli Idhe was the first recipient of the Dave Simons Inkwell Memorial Scholarship Fund sponsored by the Inkwell Awards.   “Carli is a very talented 20 year old from Green Bay, WI, who currently has a Cumulative QPA of 3.6 at the Kubert School. Her inking samples were selected from about 20 submissions by members of our faculty of professionals” said Michael Chen, Kubert School Special Projects Coordinator.

Bette Simons, Dave’s sister added “Congratulations to Carli, the first recipient of The Dave Simons Inkwell Awards Memorial Scholarship!  It’s refreshing to see such a young, talented artist pursuing the career that Dave loved so dearly.  I wish her much success and happiness.
Dave would be floored by this whole process.  So many talented and devoted people came together to make this scholarship possible.  It is beyond what my words can express to see this come full circle.  I hope that with the combined efforts of those so close to Dave that we can continue to make this scholarship an annual event.  Thanks to everyone and best wishes to Carli.”

Veteran comic book ink artist Dave Simons joined the Inkwell Awards as a committee member in December 2008 when his cancer had relapsed.  He served in the organization until his passing the following June.  Following this committee member and friend Bob Shaw presented the committee with the idea of creating the scholarship fund as a tribute to Dave.  The organization worked out the details with the consent and support of Bette Simons and contacted Michael Chen that summer.  It would consist of a $1000 annual scholarship to a promising student in financial need who would be tested by their non-digital inking samples on bluelines on board.  “This is how Dave would have wanted it, with a focus on the traditional craft of inking” said Inkwell Awards director Bob Almond,
“and a sincere congratulations to Carli for all the hard work!”.

A donation for the Bridgewater Police Benevolent Fund #174 auction, now on eBay!

FYI, here’s a piece I inked over a Sal Velluto loose sketch in blueline of Bloodshot last year for my pal Mike “Off” White for the Bridgewater Police Benevolent Fund #174, now on the eBay auction block.

MOVING SUCKS! (And so does Enterprise!)

That’s about as eloquent as I feel right now.  And, no, I’m not moving the website, just myself physically.  I’ve moved a few times in my life and hated it abysmally each and every time but I haven’t had to relocate for over nine years, thankfully.  Until now.  With the economic downturn, lowering of property values, the federal incentive program for first time home-owners, and a city rehab program loan, we can finally afford our first home!  So this moving is a CELEBRATION, even with all of the stress and chaos involved that I so truly detest;-)

So between that, Inkwell Award duties, conventions and signings,and commissions, I am behind on just about everything and this site is no exception.  I have the Commission Gallery and Photos section to update following Pittsburgh Comicon and Free Comic Day and that will probably take place later this month along with The Granite State Comic Con.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, let me express how much the car rental business Enterprise sucks.  For the roadtrip I shared with Zeke Savory, Jason Casey, Hannibal King, and Alyn Bergstrom, we discovered on the morning of the drive from Massachusetts that our reserved vehicle was NOT available.  We had to drive two towns away for an available one (already disappointing as the problem was THEIR fault so why are WE fetching the automobile???).  Upon receipt it wasn’t the vehicle we had reserved with the extra luggage room we needed and the same type we used the previous September for the same trip to the same show.  We couldn’t afford to cancel so we loaded up the SUV, completely blocking the rear window and blocking us all in with items under our feet, besides us, etc., basically a traveling violation or suicidal scenario.  We started out two hours late for the drive and thanks to a downed power line in the road in PA (something we would’ve avoided had we been on time) we had to take an alternate route and we ultimately arrived three hours later than planned, missing the show’s event for that evening!  While I tried to call ahead to my roommates who were waiting for me to enter our room (but failing to do so for an hour due to cell deadzones in the dark redneck territory) Alyn tried to make calls to switch to a better vehicle that night and all weekend. In the end we were told that there wasn’t any transfers available in Pittsburgh or the entire region.  So buying some bungy cords we had to pack up my monster-sized hardcase Samsonite in the roof and repeated our death-defying cruise home (in the rain and with a GPS that went loco on us, but that’s not relevant to the Enterprise focus;-))  Upon our return Zeke and complaint the manager actually was on the defense that we should’ve cancelled our trip…. I made clear that we’d never use Enterprise again…not that they seemed to care.  Or did we at that time, only sweet sleep called to us.  Something I’m yearning for right now in fact.