Some critter really wanted birdfeed.

So I have previously mentioned attempts to get birds to come to my window birdfeeder...

After a couple of weeks, it started to work.

Too well.

Something came by and tore the feeder apart, more or less, as it tried to get at the food.

(I got a new feeder and moved it to a slightly different location.)

Anime Boston 2009

Boston, Memorial Day Weekend....




And at the Hynes, cosplayers and fans and curious people come out in hordes. Some kind of Anime event.

* Is it just me or are there at no less than three Alucards in that crowd

Below: People going crazy in the Artist's Alley, I guess?

Below -- Rorschach,

with a sushi plushie.

Below: L. With plushy bear slippers and hat.







Also, I threw together a goofy little minicomic of doodles based on Anime Boston 2008. I sold the minis at Hyun and Shelli's table in the Artist's Alley.

Below: Cover, sample insidepage, and backcover.

(Of course, those 3 hour lines are how I met new friends at Anime Boston....)

Later, I enjoyed a dinner together with Dirk T, Emily, Dave L., Dave L's charming significant other whose name eludes me, and two gentlemen who sold swords and props at the convention.


Below . . . . Sunset, walking home.

Portland Maine comics festival

Back from Portland Maine Comics Arts Festival! I sold and traded books, met a lot of people and had a lot of fun. The festival hall was one of the nicest indoor places to meet, with a huge glass wall facing the ocean.

Portland is an interesting misty place, from what I could see coming in. Also very cute place to walk around.

Below, photos of the festival.

(An entire row and some more of Boston comics people...)

Below: convention goer with an amusing bag.



I meant to sell some silver figurines at the festival. Mostly, I ended up showing people how to torch-fire and burnish silver-clay sculptures (it's really fun).

I may have inspired a little girl to try creating bronze sculptures. Bronze or copper clay is a much less expense material, and allows for more experimenting. She mentioned she has a kiln at her school, so she should be able to fire her sculptures. She still needs to get the special containers and materials to fire bronze or copper clay, though.



Also at the festival, I debuted a new comic:




This might look familiar.... (link)

Color has been added and a few dialogue and details tweaked -- but here is the 24 Hour Comic from last October, finally in print. I added the "Being kicked out by the police for drawing comics at 3 AM" story on the back page. (see blog entry for details.)

(That's what I was planning to put as a title on the inside back page -- "Creating KATTAN: Being Kicked Out by the Fuzz at 3 AM for Drawing Comics". But I figured it was a little too jarring of a title to read, after finishing the story.)

I'm looking for a slightly more economical way to print this color comic, since it's still expensive right now.

Minor update: Among the many people I traded books with was Marek Bennet... Here's his blog post. There's a picture which shows all the kinds of books at the festival. (And in the right hand side is "Outbound" and "Kattan"!)



Woops, I forgot to mention I was going to the Portland festival in earlier blog posts. Well, I guess I should mention: next week I'm at Anime Boston. I might have a few things for sale at a table or two, but mostly I'll be wandering around.



Also, the weather turned cold again. Kate will probably ask why I'm still suprised at this random New England weather.

Kind of windy now

Wow, the weather is really nice now. Although there was a lot of wind. As long as one is sheltered in a car, it's pretty funny to watch people's hair get whipped around and go crazy in the wind.

Oh and I guess I should mention how you can buy "Outbound" online here or at these local stores. ("Outbound" is the thingamajiggy that has my stories in it.)

"Outbound" soon be released! Cafe pics! And a salamander.

“Outbound: The Science Fiction Comics Anthology” will be published next week! It will feature my comic “Mark and the Aliens” and my prose story “How I Learned to Tolerate Vegemite”. The anthology is pretty spiffy, and you can buy a copy in local stores or online (soon).

(The anthology title should technically be expanded to “Outbound: the Science Fiction Comics as well as Prose and Fan-Letters and one Cutout Paper Model and Some Other Stuff Anthology”. Roho couldn’t gracefully fit that into the cover, though.)

Both the “About” page on the online version of “Mark” has been updated with this information. The “Vegemite” story has been re-edited, and new illustrations added.

Incidentally, I was recently asked if “Vegemite” was a true story.
“Oh, no,” I replied. “I still don’t like Vegemite. I never did learn to tolerate it.”

And since I'm rambling about promotion stuff, here's some photos from Atomic Bean Cafe of my comics pages.

Then I learned the next day that the show was ending, and everything was being taken down.

Above: your friendly Atomic Bean Cafe Baristas. (Don't mind the knife.)

And finally, photos of things I have recently seen.




High time this blog had a photo of a small salamander.

One year anniversary of my blog!

April 22, one year ago, I posted my first entry in this blog!

Let's celebrate with some flowers I saw this weekend.







Also, here are some photos from the UMass exhibition opening.

(I think she's more intent on eating celery)

(These people are actually looking at my pages)

And I end this entry with a photo of a goose with a foot raised (Charles River).

Sequential Art exhibition and Inbound 3 now for sale

Riveting blog update -- birds are finally coming to my window bird feeder!


Also, this Thursday is the opening reception for Sequential Art exhibition at the Harbor Gallery at UMass. (Go to the UMass stop on the Red Line and hop on the shutle...See directions.) There will be free food. Apparently I'm supposed to mention that fact.

Let me put the press release here. That sounds like something I should do too.

Boston, MA (April, 2009) The Harbor Gallery presents – Sequential Art: Comics, Cartoons, and Animation. On view April 10th through May 29th at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Sequential Art focuses on the production, collaboration, and processes behind comics, cartoons, and animation. The exhibit features 11 artist from the Boston Comics Round Table: Richard Jenkins, Jay Kennedy, Braden Lamb, Ron LeBrasseur, Dan Mazur, Lindsay Moore, Shelli Paroline, Aya Rothwell, RoHo, Charles Schneeflock Snow, and Dirk Tiede and animator Steve Gentile from Mass Art.

The whimsical, grotesque, fantastic, and the everyday are featured. Collectively they break down the super hero archetype, and work to create a new picture of comics in Boston. Intertextuality, imagery, and the use of a clear graphic and literary style make comics easily understandable. But, many readers are unaware of local publications.

Art Institutions and comic shops alike do not yet have a place for these local artists. The Boston Comics Round Table seeks to set a new standard of clarity and vision in the comic world and help local artists compete with larger publications.

There work parallels the skill, and beauty of any major publication.

In summation I leave you with a simple analogy. Major comic publications are like Anheuser-Busch while the local publications are like Harpoon and Sam Adams.
Which one do you prefer?

The Harbor Gallery is a community service of the University of Massachusetts Boston. We are a non-profit organization run by students at the University of Massachusetts.

Opening Reception April 16th 6:00 – 9:00 P.M.

Talks, discussions, and film viewings will be posted on our website www.umb.edu/harborgallery

Sincerely,

Steven Pirrello
Curator

If you have any questions, comments, or high resolution files please contact me: gallery@umb.edu

Links:
www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/
www.Stevegentile.com



Also, Inbound vol. 3 is now for sale! Featuring my story "Puppy Love Eternal", a tale of celestial spirits, blossoms in winter and 'little critters who remind me of those annoying friends we all know.' (quote from Lindsay)




Here's a press release.....

Boston Comics are for Lovers – Inbound #3, a Boston Comics Anthology

BOSTON, MA (April 6, 2009) – Ah, spring is in the air. To celebrate the season of romance, the hard-working comics artists of the Boston Comics Roundtable have released Inbound #3, a Boston Comics Anthology. The theme of this tri-yearly publication... love and relationships.

Yes, nobody knows perfectly-requited love and totally un-awkward dating like an indie comics artist. Pick up a copy of Inbound #3 and you'll have more than just an evening's entertainment; the book practically doubles as a 72-page how-to guide for all you Mister and Misses Lonelyhearts out there. All for the low price of $7.95.

It's our biggest issue ever! Included in this volume:

* Franklin Einspruch

* "First Kiss" - Robert Sergel

* "Puppy Love Eternal" - Aya Rothwell

* "Fear" - Chris O'Neill

* "Just an Old Fashioned Zombie Love Song" - Eric Boeker

* "Wish Me Luck" - Donna Martinez and Joesph Peters

* "Colossa" - Braden Lamb

* "An Afternoon Session" - Hyun Supul

* "A Winter's Prelude" - Roho

* "The Prince" - Carl Tsui

* "From Afar" - Dan Mazur

* "A Gothic Romance" - James Mobius

Inbound #3 is on sale at your favorite stores. In the Boston area, check out Million Year Picnic, Hub Comics, New England Comics, Comicazi, Harvard Book Store, Comicopia, and more. You can also visit the BCR Online Store (www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com/comics.html). We ship tenderly packaged comics anywhere in the world.