The inaugural C2E2 convention in Chicago has come and gone, and it went pretty alright. This was the first “big time” mainstream convention I’ve done other than Wizard World Chicago, and a lot of the experience for me came down to comparing how the two shows stack up against each other.

I think that the consensus among artists and exhibitors was that the aesthetics of the show were great (giant windows for natural light, great high ceilings, big aisles, no funk in the air, an appropriate focus placed on comics, and so forth), while attendance was the only real disappointment. So it was probably a great experience for attendees, if disappointing for artists and dealers in that there were fewer attendees than expected. I think they chalk some of that up to being a first year show and getting their legs, and I anticipate they are probably right, and that it will only improve with time.

Having said all that, I got to talk to a number of great people at the table, and being situated in the “Webcomics Pavilion” was a nice way to entrench myself a little further into that community. And this may sound funny, but “niceness” was one of the key words I’d use to describe the weekend. Both the C2E2 folks and McCormick Place (the venue) folks were extremely pleasant and helpful, without any trace of weariness or apathy that is not too uncommon to encounter at your average comics convention. This “niceness” also applied to everyone who came by my booth, not to mention my booth neighbors– not a psycho in the bunch!

And get this– I signed up for a 6 foot table, so imagine my surprise when I showed up to find that not only was my table 8 feet, but it was an 8 foot table within a 10x10ft booth! Needless to say, there was lots of space to relax in, and personal comfort like that can go a long way in making a pleasant weekend at a comics convention. Overall, it was a dandy time. Thanks again to everyone who helped make it that way. And as usual, for a more in depth look at what it was like, check out my flickr gallery.

Mere days after returning from the MoCCA Art Fest, I’ll be setting up at C2E2 (Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo) which will be taking place this weekend, Friday though Sunday. This is their inaugural show, and it is shaping up to be pretty big-time. I’m excited to see how it’ll turn out. I’ll have a table in what they are designating the Webcomics Pavilion. I’ll be bringing all the usual stuff, so please come on by and say hi. We can be buds!

What a terrific weekend it was at the MoCCA Art Fest! The New York weather was perfect, and for the most part the show seemed to go off without a hitch. And sales wise, this just happened to be a record breaking show for me. How ’bout that?

And what a great crowd it was. Saturday in particular was just a constant stream of busy bodies coming to and from the table. Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by to say hi. There were so many great faces that I won’t soon forget. You really helped make this a memorable weekend in every way possible.

Thanks again for the great time. If you missed out and want to get a better feel for what it was like to be there, check out my official flickr gallery for the show. Word up!

This weekend, April 10-11, I’ll be on hand at the annual MoCCA Art Fest in New York City. This show is a fantastic spectacle of art/indie comics held right in the heart of the city. What could be better? I’ll be bringing a bunch of artwork and books. Among the books will be the new “Neil Jam Harvest” compilation, which compiles the serialized narrative originally published in issues 14-16 of the Neil Jam minicomic series (where it was titled “Neil Jam Planet”). I’ll be posting more about that within the next couple of weeks.

So if you’re in the area and you love comics, you simply must check out this show. I hope to see you there!

Convention season will be starting off with a bang in April. I will be on hand at no less than three conventions for three weekends in a row– Quite a busy month! Coming up this weekend, April 10-11, I’ll be in New York for the MoCCA Art Fest, a great indie/artsy/whatever comics show. The next weekend, April 16-18, I’ll be at the inaugural C2E2 show in Chicago, which is shaping up to be a monstrous show featuring all facets of the comics spectrum. And finally, I’ll be capping off the three week convention spree April 23-25 at Anime STL.

I’m a little anxious preparing for all of this, but it should be a fun month. I’ll be bringing a bunch of books, a bunch of art, and maybe even a high five or two. I’ll get into specifics about each show and what I’ll be bringing as we go along. So stay tuned!

Of all the Neil Jam Icons I’ve crafted up, from convention to convention, Mario is always among the most popular. From regular Mario, to Dr. Mario, to Tanooki Mario and so on, they never fail to garner an audience. And so I’ve decided to go a step further. Have I taken it too far? You be the judge.

Convention season is coming up, and one project I plan to complete beforehand is a one volume edition of the story that was serialized in issues 14, 15, and 16 of the Neil Jam minicomic series.

This story is approximately 50 pages and features quite the array of characters from the Neil Jam universe– several of which have yet to appear in the web strips that are currently running on neiljam.com. At any rate, the real kicker is that I did not properly save the pages on disk, and since my then-computer died a tragic computer death, I now have the fun task ahead of re-scanning each and every page. Yay!

Though the story was titled Neil Jam Planet, I think I would like to change that– Probably something along the lines of Neil Jam “Something or other,” so let me know if y’all have any ideas in that regard. Maybe I’ll award you with a no-prize or something cool like that!

As I was watching the Olympic figure skating competition last night I was reminded of this fun little “jam” piece I drew with Kevin Huizenga a good while back. In case you’re not familiar, Kevin is held in pretty high esteem among fancy comics lovers. It’s a wonder that he’d actually agree to draw such a thing with a lowlife like me!

At any rate, the piece features his signature creation Glenn Ganges skating along with our beloved Willis. I have no idea why we decided to draw them skating like this, but I think it turned out kooky enough. USA! USA! USA!

I’m always on the lookout for new and different personalities to add my Neil Jam flair to, as they are a lot of fun to do. Here are a couple of my most recent concoctions.

On the left we have the main dude from Avatar, a movie I thoroughly enjoyed. Props to Hollywood for making a “big time” movie that isn’t a sequel, remake, or adaptation of some sort. A little originality can go a long way.

On the right is a bad guy from the DC universe called “Composite Superman.” I had never heard of this guy before I found him on one of my exploratory strolls through the internet. I think he might be more of an old school villain. As you can see, he is half Superman, half Batman, and has green skin. I know nothing else aside from the fact that he looks pretty cool.

As usual, these were made with markers and ink on 2.5″x3.5″ bristol board. Drop me a line if you’d like to call one of these your very own. I’ll pop ‘em in a little frame to make it official. Otherwise you can expect to see them at a convention near you or maybe in my Etsy shop. Word up!

I’ve decided to officially bump up production of the Neil Jam comic strip to twice a week. I’ll now be posting a new strip every Tuesday and Thursday. This feels like a natural next step, as we did pretty good with the old one day a week schedule. Of course, should the need arise, I reserve the right to post more than two strips a week, but you needn’t worry about that here. The point is that we’ll be officially getting more Neil Jam from here on out!