Tag: convention

MeCAF 2015 Report

Posted on May 18, 2015 by admin

Another spring has arrived here in New England and that means comics shows are back! This is my 6th year doing the Maine Comics Arts Festival. I’ve been lucky enough to table at every single show since it started way back in 2008. This show has grown, evolved and moved venues over that run, but continues to always be a bed-rock show for me. I almost always do well at MeCAF, even in a down year. This year was no exception.

Beyond Mode 7 was very well received at the show, despite the fact I had to borrow some copies to sell from my co-editor Jesse DuRona. We’ve had high hopes for the Anthology from day 1 and seeing all our copies go at MeCAF really helped solidify those feelings. If you were there and didn’t get a chance to check it out of pick yourself up a copy, it’s always available at my store page!

Normally I’d have a bunch of photos from the show floor, but this year I was busy enough that I didn’t get to take any! This is a bit of a transition year for RKDIA Comics as well, as Jesse and I split to independent tables after co-tabling for many years, and my presentation is going to evolve in the coming season as I try to re-evaluate what it is that I want to share at comic conventions, and what the public is looking for from me.

To that effect, I did notice sketch cards were way down this year for me, and a few other artists I talked too on the floor. Perhaps it was placement (Jesse, who was near the entrance, did a ton of them) or perhaps it was just me not pushing them as hard. Either way, it’s something I’m going to take into account on-the-whole when it comes to cons and trade shows…almost everyone does them now.

I saw so many familiar faces but sadly did not get around to say hello very much. Check out the Guests List to see who was there and what they do…everyone is just amazing!

Next year I hope to be a bit more on-the-ball with MeCAF, I’m lucky and grateful that it went so well for me as I was woefully under-prepared. Sleep or no sleep (this year being the later) I always have fun in Portland and can’t wait to go back!

Cheers!

-RD

Kickstarter Sketch Card – Wahoo!!!

Posted on May 14, 2015 by admin

Toad says it all! Today is the one-year anniversary of the successful completion of the Beyond Mode 7 Kickstarter!

The opportunity to work with so many amazing artists, fans and backers was tremendously awesome!

The book will be available this weekend at the Maine Comics Arts Festival, Sunday from 10am-5pm at both my and Jesse Durona’s tables! If you don’t want to wait, or can’t travel to the show, you can still get a copy at my RKDIA Comics Shop online!

No comic page last week or this week as a result of prep for MeCAF as well as some commission work, but I should be back to regular updates next Thursday!

-RD

Portland Comics Expo 2014 Report

Posted on October 27, 2014 by admin

Rick Lowell of Portland, Maine’s Casablanca Comics is no stranger to putting on conventions. He’s had 6 straight years of a successful spring indie comics show called MeCAF. So with those experiences at his back, he launched this year a more mainstream show called Portland Comics Expo. With convention season wrapping up and a whole half a year separated from MeCAF, the timing seemed pretty good for one last hurrah for comics in Portland before the long, cold winter sets in. Unfortunately for us vendors/artists and Rick, the public interest in the show did not seem to match our enthusiasm. Let’s discuss why that might be!

Unlike the abject failure that was RockCon earlier in the year, I place no blame on the organizers of the show for it being a slow day. Rick is a great host and everything about the set up and organization of the program went as smoothly as any MeCAF I’ve been to. He kept his advertising focus on the artists attending, and unlike GraniteCon there was no extreme distraction in the form of a bunch of b-list TV show actors from a popular show. So why was it so slow?

I think this boils down to two factors: Convention fatigue and the mysterious x-factor. There are a LOT of conventions out there, more every year. I’m beginning to suspect that con-goers have too many options right now and their time and money are being spread a bit thin. The other factor, is an unknown quantity. Vermont ComicCon, which took place the same weekend as Portland Comic Con, and run by the organizers of the failed RockCon was an enormous success, according to other cartoonist friends of mine who tabled there. What was the difference? Why was that show successful while the Portland show was mostly flat? There are far too many factors that could effect the answer to that question, and it’s just the nature of business in a given year to have ups and downs.

All that said, I did make back my cost of tabling, but not much else. I did still have a great time and I also met some amazing new cartoonists. I’ll take some time now to talk about them!

Amanda Kahl is the self publishing power behind a fine fantasy epic called Age of Night.

After a brief 70’s dance-off with my table-mate Matt Young I wandered over to join the conversation and discover what this SCAD grad’s work was all about. The art style is definitely very well fit for the genre, a tight mix of realistic character designs, attention to details in textures and dense, dark contrasts to set a good mood for a bar fight!

I’m a few chapters in already and love the ramshackle group of adventurers she has coming together, full of witty con artists, innocent mages and failed attempts at debauchery! I’m excited to see where the story and this rag-tag crew goes!

Andrew R MacLean is a Mass-based cartoonist who’s Head Lopper was the most interesting comic premise I saw at the show. A tongue-in-cheek adventure about swords and monsters…and a talking severed head. Very cool, very bold, sharply illustrated with tight character designs and crisp, simple, well placed lines that express to the n’th degree! Definitely a fun romp of a comic and very polished work! Check out his blog too, he’s been doing some great Alien related sketching this month!

Caught up briefly with Christina Siravo who is a staple at MeCAF. She approaches fantasy art with a child-like wonder and beauty. Her designs are flush with vibrant color and subtle lines. She’s always got a smile on her face and one of the nicest tables you’ll happen across at any show!

I love visiting Portland, it’s a fantastic city with a lot of great comics fans. I definitely hope MeCAF continues to be a successful show and perhaps next year Portland Comic Expo, with a little tweaking, can be just as great!

-RD

GraniteCon Sketch Card – ????

Posted on October 25, 2014 by admin

Honestly I completely forgot who this character is. I don’t really do the anime thing anymore so…*shrug* Anyone know?

Pentel Pocket Brush, Prismacolor and Copics on card stock.

-RD

Original Art is © 2014 Randall Drew

GraniteCon 2013

Posted on October 1, 2013 by admin

GraniteCon 2013 by far was my best convention ever. Table-mate Jesse DuRona would probably agree, this show was awesome to us! I’ll be honest, I heard mixed reviews from a lot of the other tabling artists and such, some were more successful than others, but for me, GraniteCon offered a steady mix of interested parties who often opened their wallets after seeing something they liked!

The Venue was the same, but the location within was very new and different. The con was really showing off just how much it had grown even since last year! The aisles were long, full of variety in terms of talents, styles and offerings, and there was plenty of space. Like any show there were peaks and valleys during the two day event, meal times and popular programming pulled the crowd away sometimes, but the floor was never completely empty, there was always some activity very near by! The hotel staff were cool, friendly and put up with a lot of antics, I’m sure!

Because my table was so busy, I didn’t get too much of an opportunity to check out other cartoonists work this year! I’m a bit bummed by this, but I did hang out with a few familiar faces and grabbed some comics I had been meaning to! I also had some really cool tabling neighbors…so, onto the artists section of the post!

Blair Shedd is a fellow Vermont based cartoonist and really needs no introduction to the folks that come here. He’s done amazing work for IDW’s Dr. Who and his self-published The RAPTOR is some quality, gritty super hero action! I didn’t get to talk with him terribly much at the show, but he looked busy every time I stopped by! Had a good time catching up at the hotel bar after Day 1, can’t wait to see what’s coming from him this fall/winter!

Brandon Barrows hails from Burlington (It was a regular ol’ VT cartoonist meetup at the show!) and is one of the best writers I’ve met since I started doing conventions! He’s published works all over the place from comics to poetry to prose and back again! Brandon also gets to work with some of the coolest artists working today and the matching is frequently perfect! His comics work includes the Detective comic for superhero fans, or maybe vica versa, Jack Hammer, and Voyaga; a homage to 1950’s pulp scifi!

Mathew Dow Smith is a busy guy and he was at GraniteCon in addition to tabling at FantaCon just a few weekends ago! Another Dr.Who artist, catch him while you can!

Sara Richard is at every GraniteCon, she’s awesome and I only got to say hi for 5 seconds before she flew off to fulfill someone’s dreams, but definitely check out her amazing, loopy and painterly work! She did the con badges this year!

I very briefly got to meet Ben Templesmith at the pub after the show! What a guy he is. Personality to spare and some incredible talent! If you’re into creepy gothic styling and award winning writing, dive in!

The wonderful Sue and Everett Soares were at GraniteCon again this year with the freshly printed second volume of Sky Pirates of Valendor! They are good people with big ol’ hearts and a lot of love for comics! Sky Pirates of course is great fun reading too! Hope to see them again very soon!

I first heard about writer Ron Marz’s comic RAVINE from a very excited Dawn Best and since he was at the show I couldn’t resist grabbing a copy! He was super friendly and Stjepan Sejic’s art looks amazing! As a wanna-be fantasy cartoonist, I figure studying the form from a working master is a good place to start!

JK Woodward is seriously one of the funniest guys I’ve met. As another Who artist, it’s almost no surprise. Those guys all have wit to spare! Some of his Star Trek pages were jaw dropping to see in person! He makes drawing complex ships in space seem easy.

Erik Burnham is every kid who grew up in the 80’s friend. He is a talented writer on both TMNT and Ghostbusters! A quiet guy like me, it was a pleasure to meet him and partake in some of his industry wisdom!

Here’s some other cool stuff that was at the show, in picture form!

The Actual Delorean used in Back to the Future III!

All sorts of Piratey goodness! (Or bad-ass-ness, I guess?)

A view of Manchester, NH from our hotel room Saturday night.

And that just about wraps up my experience at GraniteCon 2013! Again, I had a great time and had the most successful show I’ve ever had! Thanks to all the people that make it happen every year and all the great cartoonists who continue to come year after year! See you in 2014!

-RD

p.s. – Original artwork featured in this post is a custom commission I did of the three Bahamut forms from Final Fantasy VII! 11×14 on vellum drawing paper, Pentel Pocket Brush, Microns, Prismacolor and Copic markers! Thanks Hao for the awesome commish!

Original art is ©2013 Randall Drew
Final Fantasy Characters are © SquareEnix

Sketch Card – Super Sonic

Posted on December 6, 2012 by admin

Re-upload of a Super Sonic sketch card from the Vermont Small Press and Comics Expo! I don’t do enough Sonic drawings anymore….

-RD

Microns and Prismacolors on card stock.
Original Art is ©2012 Randall Drew

MICE 2012 Report

Posted on October 6, 2012 by admin

MICE: the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo was held last Saturday the 29th of September at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. It was the show’s third year and by far it’s best! Here’s my short but quick review!

Note: I actually didn’t get any of my own photos this year outside of my sketch card commissions I did at the table, so I’ll be using photos taken by my co-tablers!

Here’s Chris “Radical” Warren, Matt Young and I at our table…Oh My God WHAT’S WRONG WITH MY FAAAAACE?! The cameraman unfortunately caught me stuffing said face.

The event this year was held in the same location as last years space, with almost an identical layout. One long hallway of tables and three adjoining rooms of various sizes. We happened to be in the very end, and smallest, room. At first one would think this would be detrimental to any one placed in that location, but it turned out to be a bit of a blessing as the small space tended to create traffic jams, trapping potential customers to salivate at your wares, and eventually cave to buying.


THIS face was made a lot at MICE! Smiles courtesy Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue!

Sales were brisk when the crowds were thick, slowed significantly when people managed to find their way out. I sold a ton of sketch cards, no comics. My table mate Jesse DuRona on the other hand sold several copies of his Despondent MegaMan comic! Financially, this show was a success for us both! I heard similar tales from the few other cartoonists I had time to chat with. The attendance was a nice mixture of kids, teens and adults of all generations. Boston really came out to support it’s local creators and I’m very glad to have been a part of it yet again!

The after party went something like this:

Yes, that’s Deadpool at the end of the bar. Photo by Roho!

Despite losing my phone at Charlie’s Kitchen in Harvard Square, the Art School Fraud crew had a great time recording, losing, then re-recording a podcast whilst merrily drinking and eating with our fellow toonies. We also got a visit from our convention floor neighbor “Rampage” Warren! Her comics are hilarious, by the way! Oh, my phone did return to me, thanks to Chris’s Mother in law Margaret! Thanks Margaret! The only mar on the after party was the fact that the space was too small and several groups did end up finding another venue to get their drink on. The search for the perfect post-MICE party space continues!

-RD

NOTE: Now that my site is up and running again in some capacity, I’ll be re-uploading my sketch cards, two a week again, starting from scratch. Don’t worry though, I’ll start with my most recent additions from MICE! Then I’ll fill in the back-log as I go until we’re completely caught up some time in 2013! Every time I do a show however, I’ll break the chain and upload the newest ones right away so you all can stay current!