Decatur Book Festival in One Week

One of the real treasures of Atlanta's cultural offerings is the annual Decatur Book Festival, held in downtown Decatur. It's the largest independent book festival in the country, with hundreds of authors, illustrators, publishers, and readers reveling in all things print. The folks in charge are also very comics-friendly, usually bringing in a number of cartoonists to do workshops, lectures, and panel discussions.

It's also completely free.

Below is a chronological schedule of the comic-related events going on at this year's DBF. I strongly recommend any SCAD comics students in the area to take advantage of these opportunities. Though any of you are (of course) welcome at my solo workshop, if you're only to able to come for one day, or otherwise need to prioritize your time, then please attend the workshops and talks given by someone who is NOT your regular professor; you've got me year-round, so be sure to take full advantage of the folks with whom you have less proximity.

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Writer’s Workshop: Creating the Graphic Novel
Chris Schweizer (Crogan’s Vengeance)
SCAD instructor and cartoonist Chris Schweizer discusses approaches to creating a graphic novel, from planning to execution, including character design, layout, and storytelling. Agnes Scott Campus, Buttrick Hall room 219
Friday, September 4 @ 4pm


Minicomics Masterpieces
Eleanor Davis (Stinky, Secret Science Alliance), Chris Schweizer (Crogan’s Vengeance) Drew Weing (Set to Sea, The Adventures of Wulf and Merl), Joey Weiser (The Ride Home, Tales of Unusual Circumstance), Kevin Burkhalter (Kevin Days a Week), Jarrett Williams (Lunar Boy, SuperPro K.O.!), and Allen Spetnagel (Dr. Eisenbart)
Think drawing and assembling your own comics to amuse your family and friends doesn't count as making "real" comics? Think again friends! Come hear these mini-comics masters discussing the highs and lows of the mini-comics world, and give you some tips on your own masterpieces!
Saturday, September 5 @ Noon


Art Comics
Brian Ralph (Cave-In, Daybreak), Eleanor Davis (Secret Science Alliance)
A conversation between two of art comics' most versatile cartoonists about creating graphic novels and art for kids and adults.
Saturday, September 5 @ 1:45


Davis, Krosoczka, Vernon
Eleanor Davis (Stinky, Secret Science Alliance), Jarrett Krosoczka (LunchLady), Ursula Vernon (Digger)
Three cartoonists discuss their current works.
Saturday, September 5 @ 4:00


All Hail the Lunch Lady
Jarrett Krosoczka
Award-winning published author/illustrator Krosoczka will read from and discuss his latest work
Saturday, September 5 @ 5:00


Fear of a Black Marker: Race, Humor, Politics, & Cartooning
Keith Knight (The K Chronicles, the Knight Life)
Join Harvey Award-winning cartoonist Keith Knight as he presents his world-famous slideshow tackling race, censorship, politics and the media. A frequent contributor to Salon.com, Funny Times, MAD magazine and daily newspapers nationwide, Knight's work is guaranteed to make you laugh, cringe, gasp, and most of all, THINK!!
Sunday, September 6 @ Noon


The location of the book festival is immediately outside the Decatur MARTA station, on the East train line. It takes anywhere from 20-40 minutes to get there from Art Center Station.

Jack Davis, Drew Weing, And Eleanor Davis - it's enough to make you feel like a scribblin' hack

First, a panel from Crogan's: the ship in rough weather.



On Thursday Allen Spetnagel, Hunter Clark, Doug Dabbs, and me packed comfortably into Allen Spetnagel's van...





and made our way to Athens, Georgia for a panel discussion on humorous illustration featuring, among other notables, EC legend Jack Davis.



Afterwards we had coffee with Drew Weing
and Eleanor Davis, and went back to their apartment for a little bit.





Seeing the book that they're working on is inspiring and very, very humbling - I really can't wait for it. It looks amazing.

I should be finished with my thumbnails and script for my contribution to David Yoder's Elephano book on Thursday, so that's a load off.

Back from FLUKE

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to Fluke, a mini-comic convention in Athens, Georgia (about an hour and a half from where I currently live).

To prepare for this, I stayed up all Friday night making a mini comic. I’ve spent the past few months working almost exclusively on Giovanni Potatoe and Crogan’s Vengeance, and haven’t had much time to make extra shorter pieces (something I hope to remedy soon).

I had done one page (one big panel) of an idea I’ve been kicking around for a while a few weeks ago. I thought that it might serve well as a mini, so I redrew it in a horizontal format and drew another 27 single-panel pages and colored them up. It’s sort of an intro chapter to a humor/fantasy story about three little dogs who travel around. I was pleased with how it turned out, and had them printed up at the UPS store a block over from where I live. I underestimated the cost, and the books, which I had marked at two dollars, actually cost me closer to $2.50, but as they were all traded rather than sold it doesn’t make a lot of difference. I think that I’ll serialize it here and on webcomicsnation, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Ideally, that’ll give me a chance to make future installments and have them up on a regular basis. That's the title and page at the top of the post. If you didn't get the mini, make sure to check back regularly to see how it unfolds.

FLUKE had a lot of cartoonists whose work I was familiar with but who I’ve never had a chance to hang out with. Hunter, who’s in grad school with me, introduced me to Joey Weiser and David Yoder. Both are really nice guys, and while I’d read Joey’s Flight story I hadn’t seen much of his other stuff. He gave me his minis and they totally blew me away. He’s got a great hand at storytelling, and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

I had dinner with Dean Trippe, who does Butterfly and is part of the Lunchbox Funnies Collective, along with some of his cartoonist friends from Nashville. Dean is an incredibly nice guy, and was actually the person who told me about Scad’s graduate program on a message board a while back. Afterwards we went to Drew Weing and Eleanor Davis’s house for a prohibition party where we got to sample Drew’s homemade beer.

It was a really great night. I’d never been to an all-cartoonist party before, where everybody talks shop and draws pictures and compares sketchbooks – it was one of the most fun times I’ve had in a while. I spent most of the evening talking to that king of the crosshatch, Chris Wright. Chris was the third cartoonist at the party working on a pirate book (in addition to me and Drew). Apparently pirates are the new autobio.

Tonight I’m going to work on the website and my business cards (for a class), and hopefully the website revamp will be underway soon.

Also, I've got a phone conference later today, so I MAY have some big news.