the Guild

The Guild #1 hits comic shops tomorrow. What? You haven't heard of the phenomenal hit web series the Guild by Felicia Day? Go check out the show right now! Then you'll be even more eager to read the comic tomorrow!

You can see a preview of the book here.

Felicia Day writes it and I draw it.

Pittsburgh City Paper, Toonseum, Podcasts...

PITTSBURGH CITY PAPER
Afrodisiac graces the cover of our local alt newspaper this week! If you're from Pittsburgh, keep your eyes peeled for a copy. If you aren't local, shame on you, er...I mean, here's a link to the article.

TOONSEUM
Pepsi is funding "Good Ideas" and the Toonseum wants to create a superhero day in Pittsburgh. Go here, learn more about it, and help make it happen! 

The Toonseum is also hosting a new exhibit, Cartoons Covered: The Art of the Pittsburgh City Paper, beginning Friday (March 19th).

PODCASTS
I listen to a lot of podcasts these days while I work. Lately a few have shone their spotlights on Afrodisiac. At Emerald City, I realized just how influential this burgeoning new media is as a large number of readers informed me that various podcasts are how they learned about the book. With that in mind, here are links to a few of the podcasts that have taken time to cover Afrodisiac. If you like comics and like listening to people discuss them, check out some of these shows:
11 O'clock Comics
iFanboy
the Pull List
Comic Book Pitt
Inkstuds
Comic Geek Speak

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Afrodisiac pops up a couple of times in this article about the state of comics retailing. We did a signing in February at Neal's store, Chapel Hill Comics.

OBJET D'AFRO
Finally, Objet d'Afro, the Afrodisiac art contest champions onward! There's still time to get an entry into this contest. So get movin', people, before it's too late! Or just click over to the gallery and enjoy the scenery. Here's a cool pinup by Pete Toms. Enjoy!

Emerald City Con recap

I'm back from Emerald City Con. It was an excellent trip. The show was fantastic. Thanks to Jim and George Demonakos, who organized the show; their staff and show volunteers, who were always nearby to help out; and most importantly everyone who attended the show! The people I had a chance to talk with all seemed to be in good spirits, and that sort of positivity was infectious.

I picked up a few books and comics, including some cheap Kamandi reading copies. Met some cartoonists, caught up with old friends, and enjoyed plenty of good conversation, which I hope to discuss here soon.

In the meantime, two things I'd like to bring to your attention. If you're a podcaster, comics reviewer, etc. and want to check out Afrodisiac, please email me.

Second, if you can't find the book at your local comic book shop, consider instocktrades.com.

Enjoy this piece of killer artwork that I snagged from good buddy and cartoonists extraordinaire, Farel Dalrymple.

Inkstuds interview

I'm on this week's Inkstuds. You can listen to it here or download it on Itunes. Thanks to Robin for having me on the show. I've been listening to his show for a long time and I'm delighted to make an appearance!

Garrett Martin and Hilary Brown discuss Afrodisiac on their blog, SHAZHMMM...

Finally, an 11 year old boy throws his hat into the Objet d'Afro ring. How embarrassed you all will be if he defeats you!

That's all for now. I leave for Seattle bright and early tomorrow. Hope to see lots of you at Emerald City Con.

Emerald City Con

Just a reminder that I'll be at Emerald City Con this weekend. First convention with the Afrodisiac books and first visit to Seattle! I look forward to both. If you go to the show, please look me up, and say hello. I'll have books, artwork, prints, t-shirts, stickers, and iron-ons!

Dan Nadel (Picturebox publisher and comics historian) weighs in with some thoughts about Afrodisiac at the awesome Comics Comics.

Comic Book Pitt #44 features some discussion about Afrodisiac!

Over at Comixology, Tucker Stone considers the format of Afrodisiac.

Thought this might interest some Afrodisiac fans. It's a Lucius Hammer post about some of the resurgent blaxploitation trends in pop culture. What I found interesting was the diversity of the creators referenced - Afrodisiac (white), Black Dynamite (African American), Afro Samurai (Japanese).

Objet d'Afro continues. Here's an entry from the talented Ed Piskor. There's still plenty of time to draw your own version of the main man, so get those crayons moving!

March is Afrodisiac month

iFanboy declares Afrodisiac - Book of the Month (March)! "With Afrodisiac, you’ve got something that only exists in comics, which are always my favorites. By blending the different historical eras of comics, and their specific graphic looks, with blaxploitation films, and superhero tropes, we’re left with something new, an explosion of comic fun and silliness. The whole book is a packaged experience that delighted and surprised me in new ways, and delivered a whole lot of not-sure-if-I-should-be-laughing-at-this laughs. The whole thing works together as one package, and at 96 pages, it’s damn near perfect."

Justin Giampaoli, from 13 Minutes, names Afrodisiac the Graphic Novel of the Month! "We’re treated to ghetto versions of Thor, Captain America, and Spider-Man, but also touch on Kung Fu properties, EC’s horror line, a Mignola-esque two page spread with Dikembe the lion (itself probably a Jack Kirby Black Panther riff), Dell’s funny animals, manga, Kirby’s 1950’s romance work, a Jack Cole style Christmas card you typically would have found in Playboy, and even see Afrodisiac as a Saturday morning cartoon bearing the general aesthetic of Super Friends."

INTERVIEW: Tim O'Shea from Robot 6 and I recently traded emails. You can see the results here.

Last but certainly not least, Objet d'Afro continues onward. You still have a month to get in on the contest so run, don't walk your ass over there and have a look.

How the West Was Weird

Zombie towns - gunslinging exorcists - Aztec vampires - and lots more stuff your history teacher never told you about... 'cause she was scared!

How the West Was Weird is a new anthology from Pulpwork Press. The book features nine tales of the weird, wild west, by the likes of Barry Reese, Derrick Ferguson, Josh Reynolds, and more. All wrapped up in a cover by me.

Russ Anderson, the editor of this anthology, contacted me about a year and half ago about doing a cover for a western anthology he was putting together. He liked another cover I had done for Out of the Gutter:

He also commissioned an Afrodisiac piece for SPX 08:

That's a digression. Back to the west...after a couple of emails, I drew some cover roughs. And revised those, until we arrived at the final image (at the top of this post).

I had forgotten about this version. It's a lot more comic book and less pulp. I like the green of the alien's hand in this one.

You can order a copy of the book from Amazon or Pulpwork Press.