Special Dedication

 Here's a glimpse of the special dedication page in the next book.

Shane was big in the Houston indie writer and zine scene. Tommy was a hell of an artist, and was a bit of an eccentric character as well (bit is downplaying it tremendously!). Both passed away due to complications regarding diabetes. Shane got to a point to where he couldn't afford his insulin. Tommy's health, from what I heard, steadily moved downhill over the years. I'm not sure if he took care of himself as best as he could but I do know it's hard enough out here supporting yourself as an artist, let alone supporting yourself and paying these outrageous American healthcare costs. If healthcare had been cheaper or universal both of these human beings might still be here with us today.

So guys, here's to you and your continuing legacy. You are missed every day.

March On

Big news for my friend Van:

Big news indeed. Of course my hand drawn cover had nothing to do with it. ;)

And now some sad news: Shane Patrick Boyle, founder of Zine Fest Houston has passed away this month. A man about town here in Houston, the only person I know brave enough to not have a car and get around on the Metro Bus, soft-spoken yet had a booming literary voice. The news came as a real shock. He moved to Arkansas to take care of his ailing mother who passed a week before he did. Known to ration out his insulin during tight times I guess he just ran out of luck. He had a GoFund Me page to raise money for his months insulin but sadly he didn't raise the money in time. So sad, and so needless, and quite eye-opening in a time where the American healthcare system is under a lot of scrutiny and debate, where our motto can literally be "Pay or Die."
Here's what i typed out on his wall:

 

From 2013 Moving-to-Arkansas Party at Rudz.

A memorial is being planned for May 6th, a Saturday afternoon. I'll tweet out the details when they're more concrete. Man, Shane, this year and all subsequent years at Zine Fest will never be the same. Journey well.

Face the Gauntlet

This past Saturday I had the pressurized pleasure of being apart of the first ever Comix Gauntlet, organized by the wonderful and hard-working women who organize Zine Fest Houston. The name of the game is to complete 7 pages in 7 hours and then have them compiled, printed up and displayed that night. The idea is similar to the 24 Hour Comic event format, albeit not as long. But just as intense! The minimum page size is 9x12 but I decided to make that much more work for myself and chopped it up on 10x15. Here's a look at the end result.

7 Hours in Hell

Ironically, the comic is named for the grueling task at hand. Don't worry if you can't read it from here, I'll post scans real soon. I've been very caught up with work here at home as well as a full-time J-O-B, I really didn't give too much thought to what I was gonna draw. Even up to the very day I packed my supplies, and then my sketchbook and some other pieces I may be able to draw a quick inspiration from. As I've been organizing my original comic and art archives I been finding loads of incomplete I ideas,sketches, and sequentials that I've stashed over the years. One of them was an extra copy of a 24 Hour Comic I did waaaay back in 2007. The time came to sit down and start hashing out comics and as pulled out supplies I pulled out this comic and figured I'd do a sequel. The first comic is very weird and almost random so I decided to put these characters in a new setting set 7 years after the 24 Hour Comic book story. The rest of it wrote itself. It had to. Like the 24 Hour Comic scripts and other preparation for the day's comic was forbidden.

the continuing adventures of these guys.

 

read and see more art from "Broken Hearts are for Assholes" Here. 

And here's the ensemble cast of the 2015 Comix Gauntlet:

The names of people showcasing work, clockwise, 12 o'clock we have Alex Teich, Jason Poland, my squire Lenin Roman (came to soak up the energy and work as well even though he wasn't showcasing), Jessi Jordan, Sarah Welch, Maria-Elisa Heg, and Gabriel Martinez (who also helps with running of the venue Alabama Song), with yours truly smack dab in the center. We turned paper, ink, sweat and sheer brilliance, coffee and breakfast tacos into comics for you to enjoy.

 60 pages, only $10. Get 'em at Zine Fest Houston.

See ya at Zine Fest!