Rina Ayuyang at the Toonseum

Cartoonist and author Rina Ayuyang will be reading selections from her graphic novel "Whirlwind Wonderland" at Pittsburgh's Toonseum on Wednesday, May 5th at 6:00 p.m.

Rina, a former Pittsburgher, Will be sharing her stories and illustrations of her life in Pittsburgh and more. Using heart, humor and beautifully illustrated comics, "Whirlwind Wonderland" follows the life-altering exploits of a somewhat-normal Filipino American girl as she meanders through sleepy suburban sprawls, empty diners, fantasy-filled commuter traffic jams, misplaced football fanaticism, ethnic identity crash courses, and just good ole family hi-jinx.

Rina Ayuyang first became interested in cartooning while growing up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she spent her days drawing on various scraps of paper, watching Merrie Melodies cartoons, and reading Peanuts comic strips. After focusing many years on painting and conceptual art in San Francisco, she reunited with her first love--comics--in 2001, and began self-publishing "Namby Pamby", a semi-autobiographical series which focused on the humorous side of the ordinary, everyday moments of one's life. Rina has just released her first graphic novel with Portland publishers Sparkplug Comic Books and Tugboat Press entitled "Whirlwind Wonderland", a collection of new shorts stories and selected favorites from "Namby Pamby".

More of Rina's comics work can be found in various comic anthologies, notably Stripburger, SPX 2005, and Friends of Lulu's Girls Guide to Guys Stuff. Besides drawing comics, she has co-founded an online magazine called Creative Skin (creativeskin.net) which has showcased the work of writers, photographers and cartoonists from around the globe. She currently co-hosts The Comix Claptrap, a comics podcast with fellow Bay Area cartoonist Thien Pham in which they interview influential cartoonists and discuss various issues concerning the comics and small press community.

Rina currently resides in Oakland, California, with her husband, son and cat. You can view more of her work at her website and blog, rinaayuyang.com.

Rina will be signing copies of her book after the presentation.

http://sparkplugcomicbooks.com
http://tugboatpress.com
http://rinaayuyang.com

When:
May 5th, 6:00pm
Free admission, donations welcome
Location:
The ToonSeum
945 Liberty Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

SPACE, T. Edward Bak, and CMU Comic Book Club

S.P.A.C.E. was great this year. I have attended this show a half dozen times in the past ten years, and it's always been a favorite. But this year was the best one so far! New location, lots of great looking art, wonderful atmosphere. I had a good time. Thanks to Bob Corby (the show's organizer) and all of the people who participated and attended the event.

T. Edward Bak, one of my favorite cartoonists, is selling original drawings from his graphic novel-in-progress, Wild Man. It is currently being serialized in Fantagraphics anthology, MOME. You can learn more about this worthwhile work and fundraiser at his blog. Please check it out. At the very least, you'll get to see some exciting, new comics, and if they tickle your fancy, it's a chance to buy some beautiful artwork at ridiculously low prices.

TONIGHT - CMU has been doing monthly comics lectures. Bill Boichel (Copacetic Comics mastermind) will be talking tonight about Punk Culture and the Development of the Direct Market. Come out and learn comics stuff, people! Here's the info:

Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: CMU, Doherty Hall A310
Street: 5000 Forbes Avenue
City/Town: Pittsburgh, PA

Rambo 3.5

My fist mini-comic in many years, debuts this weekend at SPACE (April 24, 25) in Columbus, OH:

In 1988, Vietnam veteran and ex-Green Beret, John J. Rambo pushed the Soviets out of Afghanistan (see Rambo III for complete details).

With the Ruskies gone, the Taliban, led by anti-Soviet Mujahideen, siezed power in Kabul. After apparently forgetting how awesome and badass Rambo is, the Taliban gave refuge to Osama bin Laden and his terrorist gang - al Queda.

Carnegie Library in Oakland tonight

Out of the Gutter: Graphic Novel Discussion Group - Apocalyptic Graphic Novels

Monday, April 19, 2010 | Other Dates
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

This program is meant for adults and teens who want to share their interest in graphic novels, discuss graphic novel related news and trends and discover more titles and authors to enjoy. Each meeting will relate to a theme and we'll discuss a selection of suggested titles. Recommend titles to one another and discuss what you’re reading!

Location:
First Floor - New & Featured (Main Library)
4400 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Contact:
Corey or Renée
412-622-3151
newandfeatured@carnegielibrary.org

Commissions

If anyone attending SPACE or TCAF would like a commission, email me. An 8 x 10, black and white drawing is $100. If you want something else, email me details for pricing.

Afrodisiac t-shirts

Pittsburgh's Toonseum has done a limited run of Afrodisiac t-shirts! Go here to order your shirt before it's too late!

The Toonseum is opening their Art of Akira exhibit Friday, May 7th. Hopefully lots of people from all around will be able to check this out. It will be spectacular!

Guild stuff

Dark Horse has posted a couple of new Guild things on their site.

Making of a Comic: The Guild #1 shows our process for creating the Guild comic through script, thumbnails, pencils, inks, coloring, and lettering for the first six pages.

The Guild #2 preview (pretty self-explanatory)

Comedy and Everything Else and OC Weekly

I created a logo for Comedy and Everything Else. You can also see some of the attempts I made that didn't quite make it.

  

Here are a couple of recent OC Weekly illustrations as well.

 

Videos and Podcasts

Check it out, Blair Butler named the Guild #1 Pick of the Week on Fresh Ink (about the 7:30 mark):

Game Trailers - E3 2010

Here is another interview with the Stumptown Trade Review. This is from Emerald City:

An iFanboy interview, also from Emerald City: