NORDEAST COMICS SUMMIT
Summary: Steven Stwalley and I put together what we believe was the FIRST EVER comics-themed game show. Contestants were picked out of a hat a la “The Price is Right” and questions — which ranged from general knowledge about local creators to high level thinking about whether this character from the forties could beat up that other character from the forties — were structured like Jeopardy. But the highlight of the night was the DRAW! section where our six contestants were given thirty seconds in which to draw the likeness of a random cartoon character. The audience was tasked with choosing the winner, and believe me, they had talons out in full force last night. The three winners walked home with gift cards to The Source, and the losers received a consolation prize of gift cards to Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe, which they hopefully spent during the post-game jam.

Photo: Rob Stenzinger via Twitter

Coming up next!:
JAN. 5: Kevin Cannon, “Photoshop Boot Camp” – PS basics with an emphasis on scanning & coloring for comics.
FEB. 2: Nick Straight & Kevin Cannon, “InDesign Boot Camp” – ID basics with an emphasis on making print-ready comics and exporting pdfs.
MAR. 1: Adrean Clark, “Getting Rich in the Ebook Gold Rush: A Mining Kit for Comic Artists”
APR. 5: Jamie Schumacher, “Tips for Organizing Groups, from Comic Book Clubs to the Next Marvel”
MAY 3: Gordon McAlpin, “Illustrator Boot Camp” – Making digital comics & using digital lettering.
If there’s a topic you’d like to see or even lead yourself, contact me at nordeastcomics [at] gmail.com. The next available date is June 7, 2012.

Follow us on Twitter! handle: NORDEASTCOMICS

INTERNATIONAL CARTOONIST CONSPIRACY
Nine. That’s how many years ago a small band of cartoonists braved the Minnesota winter to draw jam comics at a corner table in the Spyhouse in South Minneapolis. Oh far we’ve come. Actually, not really. It’s still a big group of (mostly) guys who show up and draw with their heads down for several hours. But tack onto that a series of gallery and museum shows in collaboration with Creative Electric, Altered Esthetics, and the MN Museum of American Art, and appearances at shows like Fallcon, Springcon, and the Rain Taxi Book Festival, and it’s been a helluva near-decade. So to commemorate the birthday, the ICC presents:

9

Click image for pdf — a nearly decades-old 8.6 mb!

Please enjoy.

NORDEAST COMICS SUMMIT
Summary: Adrean Clark gave a lively presentation on the subject of human facial cues & gestures that, if used wisely, can make or break a comic. Best tip: Stay away from the “Uncanny Valley” — that zone inhabited by realistically rendered humans who are just slightly off enough to be creepy — unless, of course, you’re drawing a villain or a zombie.

Coming up next!:
NOV. 3: Maxeem Konrardy, “Theft & Borrowing in Comics” – and the idea of how do you write something new in a world where everything’s already been written.
NOV. 5 & 6: The Nordeast Comics Summit at MIX! Spend some time with watercolor guru Sarah Glidden and digital maestro Gordon McAlpin as they demonstrate their unique artistic processes. Both events are at 1pm, see MIX program page for full details.
DEC. 1: Steven Stwalley & Kevin Cannon, “First Annual Holiday Comix Game Show!” – Jeopardy-style quiz show with comics-themed trivia. THERE WILL BE PRIZES!

If there’s a topic you’d like to see or even lead yourself, contact me at nordeastcomics [at] gmail.com. The next available date is January 5, 2012.

Follow us on Twitter! handle: NORDEASTCOMICS

INTERNATIONAL CARTOONIST CONSPIRACY
Two big names in American culture recently dropped out of the limelight — one, an American who built one of the most successful brands in world with products that enrich millions of peoples’ lives, and the other, an American who shoots animals from a helicopter. We focus on the latter:

Sarah Palin’s Retirement and People Helping People

Click image for pdf — a iRresistible 10.3 mb!

Please enjoy.