Dylan Meconis's Blog, page 6

We'll Be Right Back (After These Messages)

Hi all! This week I embark on something that scares the heck out of me. I'm taking a trial four weeks off of updating with new pages of art so that I can focus on writing (yes, writing Family Man).

This is not a hiatus; I'll be working on the comic the entire time, and in the intervening weeks I'll update the site with the notes for the last 30 pages, the long-awaited post about how I generate the art, and some other fun stuff, all guaranteed to go up on Friday.

I admit to being terrified that you'll all wander away; I'm also scared that I'll fail to accomplish what I set out to do. But I'm choosing to have faith in both of us, and in this weird little story. You can follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, LJ, or Wordpress to be alerted when page updates return.

So, for this week: notes for pages 190-199.

Of interest in the meantime: writer Sara Ryan and artist me have a 16-page comics story in the otherwise all-text Welcome to Bordertown anthology. Over a dozen pages of me drawing crazy not-my-normal stuff like this:

It was a welcome challenge to try to channel the love child of Carla Speed McNeil and Jaime Hernandez; if I got 20% of the way there, I'm pretty happy.  The entire anthology is worth checking out (and handing over to the nearest teen reader). The contributor list is a bioluminescent fruit basket of genre fiction stars. Release date is May 24 so go ahead and pre-order that sucker!

And, for those of you visiting the store of late: you might notice that Bite Me! is sold out. That's because it is, in fact, sold out: I have a copy to sneeze at and that's abotu it. This is a pretty delightful problem, and I look forward to solving it this spring, as I locate a new printer who can produce a higher-quality volume at an still-affordable price. Look for a shiny, 10th anniversary* edition this fall!

*Jesus Christ.

Oh, right!

Page 220 now online!

…here's this week's new page of Family Man! Dang, can't believe I forgot to post that part. I'm still a little tired.

Post-TCAF!

Hello, all! I'm back from a great time at TCAF – you can read about some of my experiences (and see my goony, jetlagged face) over on Erika's blog.

Highlights included a fun and inspiring visit to fellow cartoonist Lucy Knisley's studio in Chicago, two really engaging panels, selling my last convention copies of Bite Me (gotta reprint!), and talking to lots and lots of lovely Canadians.

It was an inspiring and exhausting trip. I'm going to take a leap of faith or two in the coming weeks so that I can prioritize this story and bring it to you as quickly and as vividly as I can. More on that as I hammer it out!

Coming up: TCAF!

Page 219 now online!

Luther: officially in too deep. That is his gift.

In super exciting appearance news, I'll be crossing the Northern border for the first time in years and flying to lovely Toronto, Ontario to exhibit at the prestigious and excellent Toronto Comic Arts Festival! In addition to selling Family Man books, prints, stickers, and tiny paintings to Canadians of all kinds, I'll be appearing on two supremely cool panels:

Saturday, 9:15-10:15

From Conception to Reality: Bringing Ideas to Fruition (with Kate Beaton, Joe Lambert, John Martz and Dylan Meconis, moderated by Dustin Harbin)Thank you to Dustin for the flattering invitation – I think this one will be 100% worth getting up early for.

Saturday, 2:30 – 3:15

Ask a Freelancer! (with Erika Moen, Lucy Knisley, and Dylan Meconis) A 33.3% girlier reprise of our  Stumptown panel, in which we discuss how to make a living out of freelance cartooning while keeping a jaunty tune on your lips!

Hopefully I'll see some of you there – please come to this show if you can. It's going to be delightful.

A Room With a View

Page 218 now online!

I figured that if you weren't getting naked people in this week's page, you at least deserved many tiny houses. Next best thing, am I right?

Thank you to everybody who attended the Stumptown Comics Fest this past weekend in Portland! I had a lovely time at my table and on two panels.

Classy cartoonist and comic book librarian Jen Vaughn has a great write-up of the show over on the Beat (and yes, that is Tom Neely's epic Moby Dick print in my living room).

I also got to hand out flyers for a new anthology that Sara Ryan and I have work in this spring. It's called Welcome to Bordertown, and those of you who are fans of classic urban fantasy will already have your ears perked. There are some big names on the contributor list, and Sara and I collaborated on the only comics story in the collection. No pressure! More about that as we get closer to the May 24 release date…

Stumptown Comics Fest, coming up!

Page 217 now online!

This week's page: best not to read in a compromised environment. (As the preview image might suggest.) Those of you who read the comic at work have just been having a rough time of it lately, haven't you?

Relevant news: next weekend I'll be at Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, OR. I'll be exhibiting at table C-24. I'll have copies of Family Man, the last few copies of the second printing of Bite Me! (it will go out of print until summer or fall, so move fast!), tons of prints, stickers, original art (including stuff you won't see online), t-shirts, and I'll be taking commissions, too.

I'll also be appearing on two panels. Come find me on Saturday at 11am in the "Making Comics" panel with my studiomates Erika Moen, Jonathan Case, and David Hahn, where we'll talk about the tools and processes we use in our work.

Then find me on Sunday at 5pm in the "Ask a Freelancer" panel, where Erika and I will talk along with Steve Lieber about the actual nitty-gritty of being a self-employed artist. It is a lot of work, no fooling, and we would like to spare you aspiring professionals some grief by imparting our often hilariously hard-won wisdom.

Monday Morning Poem

It's been awhile since I posted a Monday poem; the lag is probably related to a general Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul I've been stuck in, wherein it becomes easy to believe that everything I specially value is probably an unwanted annoyance to the rest of the world. Logical revisitation of this situation turned up the fact that this is actually my blog, so I get to do what I want with it, and bugger anybody else's feelings on the matter. Hence: here's a poem, because it turns out I wanted to post one.

I read this poem at my high school graduation. It is not subtle or intellectual; like a lot of Cummings' poetry (even the poems about death) it is bright and clean and exuberant. Perfect for a seventeen year-old girl to read aloud on the verge of a whole new stage of life.

Nearly ten years later, I know more thoroughly than ever that too much striving for sophistication can deaden the soul; it can provide an excuse for not living. The refined and sublime – that's a bus that comes once a year. You can waste a lot of time waiting for it to turn up.

So I still love this poem, and I still need it. It takes me where I need to go – into a palce where errors and failures have their own beauty, and aren't to be feared.

May my heart always be open to little birds

may my heart always be open to little

birds who are the secrets of living

whatever they sing is better than to know

and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry

and fearless and thirsty and supple

and even if it's sunday may i be wrong

for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully

and love yourself so more than truly

there's never been quite such a fool who could fail

pulling all the sky over him with one smile

– e.e.cummings

photo by Jose Lun Aparicio

Family Man update!

Page 216 now online!

Look, they got a mattress! Sort of! You can stop worrying now.

Apologies (?) for the absence of an April Fool's gag; my normal penchant for silliness has been on the fritz lately. Maybe I'll catch you all by surprise in August! Besides, I'd feel rude interrupting the characters when they're actually having a nice time.

Only 15 hours (as of this posting) left to bid on my piece for the Periscope Studio Japan benefit auction! Thank you to those of you who've already put in bids. The remaining pieces are all available for viewing  at http://tinyurl.com/PS4Japan; go look even if you're broke, as they're all quite lovely.

And, if you don't know what Ariana is referencing, you'll have to go to the Facebook page to find out. (Or wait until I put up another round of notes…)

Japan piece: now on auction

I created the above piece this month; it's my contribution to the Periscope Studio charity auction, with drawings going up for sale on eBay and proceeds going to Peace Winds Japan, a partner of Mercy Corps that's providing tsunami and quake relief in Kesennuma.

The piece is NOW UP FOR SALE. Please consider bidding. I'm really very fond of the piece, and I'd like it to go to a good home (and do some good along the way).

—

My earlier comments on how this piece came about, from my Tumblr:

Trying to come up with a subject to depict, I was struck by Mike Clarke's widely published AFP/Getty photo of a girl on an evacuation bus:

I also have a love of classical ukiyo-e art (and the early 20th century revival of many of its techniques, shin hanga).

(detail from "Woman in Summer Garment" by Hashiguchi Goyō, 1920)

So I tried to combined the two. It was an interesting experience.

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THE PIECE.

Family Man update!

Page 215 now online!

Every so often in this comic I have to employ some tricks that don't translate very well when read online at a page-a-week. Just pay attention to the moon and you'll catch on to the actual pace at which this conversation is being held. (And yes. There will be sexy times again. I promise.)

Just two weeks until I'll be at Portland's own Stumptown Comics Fest, and just a little over a month until you can find me in Toronto at TCAF (first time ever!). I'm looking forward to both, and there's a good chance I'll be speaking on panels. If you have never seen me speak in public: do. I am a giant ham.

Meanwhile, please check the Periscope Studio Tumblr for updates on some gorgeous Japan-themed artwork going up for charity auction on eBay. A piece of mine will be included!