Switcheroo

There are changes afoot friends.  Big ones.

For starters, there’s terrortype.com, my new blog.  It will focus primarily on my current and future ventures as both a cartoonist and a writer of fiction.  A headquarters, of sorts, if you will.  From terrortype, I will link to projects both personal and collaborative.

Speaking of projects, I have been overwhelmed by the positive response I’ve received to my new project entitled Alpha-Sketch. I only began this drawing techinque mere months ago and have exhibited it now at four conventions (Charlotte Comicon, Asheville Mini-Con, High Country Comicon, and the October Comics and Horror Festival in Nashville, TN).   People are digging it.  A lot.  It is safe to say that this project is the most popular thing I’ve done so far.  It’s also a heck of a lot of fun!

The basic premise of Alpha-Sketch involves images being drawn using only the letters of the alphabet.  Each letter must be used once and only once.  There are no extra lines.  The only variance is between upper and lower casing.  It really has to be seen to be understood.  And you can see it all for yourself, here.

In the near future, the gloomyroomies.com url will begin taking you to terrortype.   With the cessation of the online version of the GLOOMY ROOMIES comic strip, it seemed more appropriate to start over with a new site rather than remodel this one.

To those of you that have supported GLOOMY ROOMIES through the years, I sincerely thank you.  Your e-mails, store purchases, and comments both online and at conventions have really brightened my creative life.  I hope that you’ll keep up with my new projects.   I don’t consider this to be the end for GLOOMY ROOMIES; I still have a ton of stories to tell both in words, pictures, and puppets.  But for now, Miles, Desi, Francine, Gus, Gil, and even Spooky G are going to take a little breather.

See you at terrortype!

Bradd

Website Overhaul

Hey folks,

The website will be up and down over the next couple of weeks for a redesign.  I’ve got a couple of writing deadlines to meet, but hope to have everything complete by the start of October at the latest.  There are some cool things on the horizon.  Thanks for your patience.

I’m happy to have been asked to be a guest at the Asheville Mini-Con this Saturday (Sept. 26) from 10 until 5.  Admission is FREE!  The con is held to coincide with the Southeast Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society’s “Mad About Asheville” event.  Jack Davis – the legendary artist for Mad magazine and EC comics among others – will be presenting panels along with Nick Meglin, Duck Edwing, Dwane Powell, Cullum Rogers, Michael Jantze, and Andy Smith.  It should be a fun event!

WHAT: Asheville Mini-Con/MAD about Asheville,  free admission

WHEN: Saturday, September 26, 2009, 10 am – 5 pm

WHERE: Ramada Inn Biltmore West, Smoky Park Hwy., Asheville, NC 828-667-4501

Other appearances for 2009 include the Boone Comicon, Greenville Comicon, Nashville Comicon (formerly the October Comics and Horror Festival), and the Charlotte Comicons.

Bradd

Talking Gotham City with the Dollar Bin

Being a total mark for all things Batman, I was excited when Brian from the Dollar Bin comics podcast asked me to join them for their show.  The Dollar Bin guys are always fun to listen to (be aware that the language does get a little blue sometimes so it’s NSFW).  I had a great time talking about the new state of Gotham City.  If you’re into Batman comics at all, hopefully you’ll dig it. While you’re there, check out their extensive archive.  If you’re a comic book/movie fan, there’s sure to be something there to interest you.  Thanks again to Brian and Adam for the invite!  It was fun!

Sketching Video

I had a lot of fun at the Charlotte Comicon yesterday.  Thanks to those of you that came out!

I was asked by the fine folks at the Dollar Bin podcast to contribute to their jam-sketch art auction piece at Heroescon. They’re in the process of posting videos of each artist drawing their contribution.  Be sure to visit their site to see more videos from talented artists like Budd Root, Andy Runton, Buddy Prince, and more! Thanks for the invite guys!

This Sunday (7/12): Charlotte Comicon!

This Sunday (July 12th) I will be a guest at one of my favorite conventions, the Charlotte Comicon.  This is a great, family-friendly, one-day show that is worth the drive.  The show starts at 10 a.m. and goes until 4 p.m.

There are always tons of great deals on comics for the casual reader looking for $1, 50-cents, or from time-to-time, dime books!  The last time I was at the Charlotte Comicon, I picked up 30 books for $3.

At the same time, the dealers at Charlotte Comicon bring a huge selection of high-grade collectible comics from the golden, silver, bronze, and modern ages.  I have picked up great condition copies of Batman #189 (first Silver Age appearance of the Scarecrow) and Detective #359 (first Silver Age appearance of Batgirl). If you’re coming with collectible comics in mind, you will not be disappointed.

Another great aspect of the show is the variety and accessibility of the guest artists.  Here’s a run-down:

Greg Adams

Al Bigley

Andy Smith

Budd Root

Bradd Parton

Buddy Prince

Richard Stahnke

Scott Rorie

Derek & Nikki Davis

Chrissie Zullo

Clayton Moore

James Robert Smith

Louis Bright-Raven

John Parker

John Aston

Rob Porter

James McGee

Carolina Garrison 501st

That’s a huge guest list for a one-day show.   I hope to see you there!

Heroescon 2009

Heroescon 2009 was a ton of fun!  Thanks so much to those of you that stopped by the GLOOMY ROOMIES table.  Thanks also to Mitch Rogers for splitting a table with me.

It was great catching up with friends both old and new.  Buddy Prince, Derek and Nikki Davis of Bitter Tea Studios (thanks for the photos, guys), John Parker and Scott Nicholson of Post Mortem Comics, Evan Dahm of Rice Boy, Bobby Nash, Meredith Randazzo, and John Aston of Olde Towne Comix all have fun and interesting projects going on or in the works.

I also enjoyed talking with the Dollar Bin guys.  They were always hustling to provide great media coverage of the convention.  This year they set out to contribute a piece to the art auction.  They got a ton of us from Indie Island and the small press world to contribute to a jam piece.

Be sure to visit their site to see not only a larger version of the completed work, but also individual videos of many of the artists sketching their portion.  Contributing artists include:

Duane Ballenger

J Chris Campbell

Danielle Corsetto

Guy Davis

Francesco Francevilla

Mark Godby

Nat Jones

Faylnn Koch

Roger Langridge

Josh Latta

Brandon Padgett

Bradd Parton

David Petersen

Buddy Prince

Mitch Rogers

Budd Root

Andy Runton

Chris Schweizer

Christian Slade

Ben Towle

Dean Trippe

Rob Ullman

Loston Wallace

Thanks for the opportunity guys!

What’s a con without getting some cool stuff out of it?  I picked up a super-fantastic sketch of Andy Runton’s Owly as Leatherface and Wormy as Freddy Krueger.  Check it:

One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting the uber-talented cartoonist Roger Langridge. I picked up a couple of his mini-comics (Frankenstein Meets Shirley Temple #1 and #2) as well as his Fred the Clown series.  I also got a sweet Rowlf sketch -

- and the awesome cover to The Muppet Show #2!

The zombie key chains we were selling proved to be a big hit and even sold out!   I’ll be making a new batch of key chains this weekend and will add them to the store along with issue #3 and a few other diggable things.  The t-shirts and stickers were also pretty popular.  I’ll also have all of these items at the next event – Charlotte Comicon – always one of my favorite shows – on July 12.  I hope to see you there!

This Weekend: Heroescon! SP-435

This weekend is Heroescon the annual comic convention hosted by Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find in Charlotte, NC.  The fun starts on Friday (June 19) and lasts until Sunday (June 21).  The event is held at the Charlotte Convention Center.  Three-day passes are available in advance; one-day admissions may be purchased on-site.

Heroescon is a huge and very fun convention.  One of the reasons Heroes rises above many other national cons is that their focus is on comics.  Not movies.  Not television.  Not games.  Comics.   Dealers, creators, fans – we’re all there out of our love for comics.

Another great aspect of Heroescon is the enormous guest list! There are tons of cool folks lined up to attend.  Be sure to check out their site for a full listing, but here are a two of the guests that I can’t wait to meet:

Roger Landridge – cartoonist currently producing one of the best books on the racks, The Muppet Show

Jeff Smith – cartoonist behind the epic Bone saga

Those guys are just my personal picks.  There are tons of others to float your boat, including, but no limited to:

Brian Michael Bendis (only con appearance this year I believe)

George Perez

Mark Bagley

Frank Cho

Adam Hughes

David Mack

Chris Claremont

Ed Brubaker

Eric Powell

Herb Trimpe

Mark Waid

In addition to the many dealers and creators on hand, Heroescon will also feature booths from DC Comics, Marvel, Boom! Studios, AdHouse, Top Shelf, and SCAD.  There will also be many interesting panels to attend.

I will be in the small press section sharing a table with Mitch Rogers, an independent comic writer/artist who just self-published The Bogre. Mitch is a stand-up guy and his new book should be right up your alley if you’re a horror fan.  You may have seen his recent ads in Rue Morgue magazine.  His book streets this week and is available through Haven Distributors. We will be at table SP-435 as outlined below:

I’ll have the following new merchandise available at our table:

Heroescon Sketchbook 2009 (limited to 30 copies, sketched, signed & numbered)

GLOOMY ROOMIES issue #3

Handmade, wooden zombie eyeball keychains

Handmade, wooden Gus key caddies (large)

Handmade, wooden Desi key caddies (large)

Handmade, wooden Unlife Is Good key caddies (small)

Framed original art

As well as my standard show stock of:

GLOOMY ROOMIES issue #1

GLOOMY ROOMIES issue #2 (limited quantities, more on the way)

GLOOMY ROOMIES button pack

Unlife Is Good clear vinyl stickers

Unlife Is Good t-shirts

In addition, I’ll have an “instant fan pack” available at a huge discount that includes all 3 comic books, a button pack, a framed piece of original art, a GLOOMY ROOMIES magnet, and 5 Unlife Is Good stickers.  I will also be giving away postcards and stickers while they last.  I hope to see you at Heroescon this weekend!

Heroescon New Merch Preview

I will be in the small press section of Heroescon next weekend (Friday, June 19 – Sunday, June 21) in Charlotte, NC with several new items including these super-cool handmade zombie keychains!

Atlanta Comic Convention This Sunday!

If you’re in the Atlanta area and looking for a fun comic convention, stop by the Atlanta Comicon this Sunday (June 7th).  I’m not listed on their site as of this writing, but I’ll be there in Artists’ Alley with Issue #3 and lots of other cool stuff.  I hope to see you there!

Coming Soon: Issue #3!

Issue #3 of the GLOOMY ROOMIES comic book has arrived from the printers!  Expect it in the online store later this week.   Here’s a sneak peek of the cover: