On the road again...

Here's another recent spot for the OC Weekly about why a certain local police investigator won't be winning "employee of the month" anytime soon:

This weekend, in between eating at Voodoo Doughnuts and Screen Door, I'll be exhibiting at Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland:

It'll be my first time at the show, and I'm excited to get a taste of the fabled Portland comics scene. If you blink on your way in and out, you'll miss me at table G1:

Mo' comics, mo' fun, Mo' CCA (and something for mo'm-in-law)!

I'll be exhibiting this weekend at the MoCCA Fest, a great time and must-see for comic lovers near and far:

Unlike past years, I won't have my own table but will instead be at my publisher's. I'll also be at MoCCA's sketch table from 1:30-2:30 on Sunday (you can check out the entire roster of sketching artist times here). I don't know where I'll be located, but just look for the bald asian with this special edition poster comic/book jacket that comes free with every copy of VIETNAMERICA:

On the other side of the country, my mom-in-law just gave a presentation about comics and graphic novels for her local museum's docent program. She included VIETNAMERICA (nepotism is alive and well!) and asked me for a quick comic to introduce it in her slide presentation. Four hours later, voila:

I enjoyed the exercise in seeing what I could come up with in an extremely limited time frame (and knowing it was going to be seen for only 30 seconds took all the pressure off). Might actually try the 24-hour comic challenge one of these days...

How I interview for comic jobs:

By providing sample artwork:

I recently was approached by a publisher to be considered for a collection of Rwandan genocide survival stories. When I finished VIETNAMERICA late last year, I was so emotionally drained that the last thing I could imagine doing next was tackling another true story of family trauma and horror in the context of a violent war—much less a series of stories that examine and explore the various atrocities and outcomes of a human massacre witnessed within my own lifetime. But after reading the survivor testimonials recorded so far, I was so moved that I immediately wanted to throw my name in the hat for consideration.

March: I hardly knew thee.

Above is a spot for the OC Weekly's story about the not-so-secret life of a dance teacher, and here're some recent sketchbook pages:

I've spent the last few weeks wrapping up various lingering commitments carried over from 2010 in hopes to finally feel like I've actually made it to 2011, especially with the heart of con season fast approaching.

Belated thanks to ECCC for a fun show in lovely Seattle, and Craig Foisy and Nhu Truong of the Tisch School of the Arts for having me speak with their students. It was a wonderful 2-hour talk, and they were awesome—far more intelligent, focused, and openminded than I was at their age. As VIETNAMERICA finds more of an audience, I hope to continue having great experiences like these!

VIETNAMERICA hits the road (and I with it):

This weekend is the first of hopefully many shows, events, cons, festivals, etc. throughout 2011 at which I'll be promoting VIETNAMERICA:

It's my first time ever at ECCC, and I'll be at Artist Alley's G12. I've heard great things about this show so really looking forward to it—c'mon by:

Most exciting is that after years of blood, sweat, and tears, VIETNAMERICA finally joins the ranks of my table wares! To celebrate this latest milestone in my ongoing efforts to be a self-supporting maker-of-pictures, teller-of-stories, every copy sold will come with a free special edition dust jacket (previously available only at the MoCCA book launch party).

Ink Panthers!

Mike Dawson recently had me as a guest on Pro-T.I.P.S, an offshoot of his and Alex Robinson's podcast Ink Panthers. The latter is a hilarious program by two cartoonists who interview other cartoonists about everything EXCEPT comics, and the former is Mike going solo to talk with me about process, football, and addiction to tracking Amazon sales numbers.

And here're some recent sketchbook pages:

"Pssst! Hey, you, over there... yeah, you! Look down here!"

The last month has been a complete blur, the only anchor being that exhausting feeling of getting a ton of work done while your "to-do" list grows exponentially. Hoping to give my neglected blog some overdue attention starting with this post.

T-minus 11 days and counting...

... until VIETNAMERICA's Jan 25th release. If anyone's still debating whether to get the book after seeing the various preview art and write ups that have been floating around, the awesome photographer/filmmaker Joe Tomcho created this book trailer for VIETNAMERICA to help you decide (with music by Garth Stevenson):

Hopefully that got you off the fence and in the "yes!" column. If so and you want to pick up a copy, live in the NYC area, and are looking for something to do Thursday evening, Jan 27th, then come celebrate with me at the book launch party at MoCCA!

As an extra bonus, the party coincides with the final days of their current Al Jaffee/Liza Donnelly/Denis Kitchen exhibits so come for the free art and booze! And as an extra-extra bonus, I'm working on a special-little-something exclusively for everyone buying a copy that evening at MoCCA, and here's a peek:

2010 comes to a close.

Things are getting quiet for the holi-daze. Just wrapping up some freelance and finishing stuff my publisher needs for VIETNAMERICA's big marketing push in January. Speaking of which, for anyone who's read a b/w advance copy and feels like sharing your impressions there's this Amazon Customer Review page where you can tell people to give it a chance or warn them to run in the other direction.

Several work projects are still up in the air--more than I'd prefer to be ending the year with--but everything should be settled in January so hope to be sharing more then. See you all in 2011!

Whoa!!!

This week's Publishers Weekly gave VIETNAMERICA a starred review! Their reviews are anonymous, so thanks to whoever took the time to read and write a few kind words on it--I hope you got a color version. It all hits the fan next month so I've been trying to calm fits of anxiety and nervousness with figure drawing: