Hooooooooo boy! I have a LOT of news for you guys. I will probably be reiterating a lot of this stuff over the next few days because I have just SO MUCH NEWS. So let's break it down, title-wise.
ECCC
Oh my goodness you guys ECCC was so fun. I'm saying that even though I almost NEVER left my table. But I got to meet a lot of people I've been working with over the past year (Joel Watson, David Willis, Danielle Corsetto), re-meet some folks from elsewhere (Diana Nock, Josh Lesnick, the Foglios), and got to have dinner with the guys at Blind Ferret (THANKS FOR THE FANCY FOOD Y'ALL), Danielle Corsetto, Randy Milholland, John Wigger, NAMEDROP NAMEDROP NAMEDROP but mostly thank you guys soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much for making ECCC absolutely lovely. This was my first for-real-I'm-tabling con, and I was ACTUALLY ABLE to sell some stuff, and I might've paid off my table if not for the fact that someone stole my wallet, took the cash out, then returned the wallet to the lost and found (???????? what an asshole!). Also, if I had made any attempt to actually sell stuff on Friday instead of just kibitzing with my tablemate, the inimitable Larry Lewis. I also got to meet and talk with TWO Metacarpolis readers (COMMENT BELOW SO I CAN SEE YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE), and one cool lass that had read Four Tales but not Metacarpolis, which is a first, lemme tell ya. I even met a guy whose brother had gone to the same obscure magnet program in high school that my sister and I had--and had graduated in the class BETWEEN my sister's and mine. That is just downright ludicrous, especially since I know a grand total of ONE person that I went to high school with that's living in Seattle out of the 600 or so students in my class.
If I had to pick a highlight though it would probably be right before the con opened on Friday and I stopped by the Girl Genius table to say hi (background: I've been working on a new website for them and met up with them at Studio Foglio a few weeks back, so I wasn't just like HI I AM A COMPLETE STRANGER, HERE TO ABDUCT YOUR CHILDREN). And when I was about to check out Kaja and Phil said they like Metacarpolis. Like, actually like it, and read it. LIFE MADE, FOREVER. I should retire while I'm on top, you guys.
I have no room to humblebrag. This is all bragging. BRAG BRAG BRAG BRAG BRAG.
VanCAF
Oh man you guys. I know it's still like a month and a half away but that is no time at all. All this con stuff and we are moving right on to the NEXT con. Thankfully, I have most of my stuff ready, just gotta reprint some minis. Oh, and maybe a surprise... What am I saying, I can't keep a surprise at all.
Four Tales is getting a physical book.
oh shit son
Well, it's something I can actually print on demand pretty cheaply without having to worry about print runs or anything. I actually intended to compile it a while back, but I never really had the opportunity. But yesterday I sat down and did the cover and extraneous pages that are necessary for such a book (though that's really not much) so I can send it off to get printed before VanCAF. I'm only planning to print about ten copies to start off, specifically for VanCAF, but if people show an interest in having a book or if it sells well then I'll get some more. I'm also planning on printing a prototype for Metacarpolis Volume 1, which I'm right now planning on being the first 7 chapters plus the intermission that will be coming out soon. I don't know if it'll look anything like the actual book, if/whenever that ever gets made, but I wanted something physical to show off at conventions to get people interested in the comic and also something to put on my shelf. Unfortunately, since the print costs for color are soooooo much greater than black and white (about 3x greater, to be precise), I won't be selling any of these from print-on-demand. I do hope to get them printed up in a real way eventually, but that won't be for a while yet. I'm trying to do the actual compiling on that + cover design this weekend, so hopefully I will get that printed simultaneously with Four Tales in time to take them up to VanCAF.
As far as the con itself, I'm trying to arrange it with the coordinators to share my table with the super-awesome and talented Kadi Fedoruk of Blindsprings, which is turning out just fabulous so far if I do say so myself (I do... I do say so). I'm excited to meet Kadi, who, despite her lovely self-portrait, is probably actually a horrible tentacled beast (like all people you meet in person after only talking to on skype). Which is WAY cooler.
BUFFER
So, I was missing like, ONE more day than I intended. Alas, that's what happens when you get done with a convention only to find that a whole new quarter of classes is starting. The life of a student/programmer/comicker, I tell ya. Anywho, I actually do have a buffer ready, due to having drawn the whole intermission before the convention, but there was a gap before that starts of the last two pages of this chapter and the chapter ender. Which is now down to one page and a chapter ender (to which Liz says: "Erin, I am pretty sure that is not how a buffer works". WELL WHAT DO THEY KNOW ANYWAYS, HUH????????). But I have enough time to draw those now (cough), so once those are done I will actually have a buffer TILL THE END OF THE MONTH. Like, a COLORED buffer. I could just sit on my hands the rest of the month (and fail all my classes due to my staunch refusal of hand-usage). But don't worry, I will be plenty busy drawing comics to keep up with said buffer in the vague hopes that it won't go away. I will be visiting family next weekend, so I am GLAD I have a buffer, yo.
Don't you guys like it when I actually update on time?
AN ALBUM YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT
So, quick story. All the way back in the halcyon days of 2007 or so, I started drawing comics and putting them on the internet, as you do. At the same time, an incredibly excellent album came out that, against all odds, my friend Laura and I picked up at a Barnes and Noble. This album was one of the few I got a hold of at the time that transformed me into the complete musical hipster I am today, and it holds up so incredibly well. But the band, The Teeth, had never been all that popular despite a good amount of positive buzz, and in 2008 they broke up. They very soon after (or at least, most of the original members, I believe) reformed as The Purples, which I had been WATCHING LIKE A HAWK after devouring the rest of The Teeth's absolutely ridiculously awesome discography back in 2007. It was not until this year, after a scattering of demos, that they finally put out a single and announcned an album. And lo and behold, against all hopes I had held for 7 years about hearing another album from these guys, they finally got the dang thing out two days ago and I have been listening to it nonstop since. They even put it up on Bandcamp for me at my behest! AWESOME.
Anywho, way back in 2007 when I was putting up my stupid little autobio comics, I said to myself, "man, if I ever get to be popular at all doing comics, I will use ALL OF MY FAME POWER to pimp out The Teeth." Then they broke up. Then, in 2008, I said to myself, "man, if I ever get to popular at all doing comics, I will use ALL OF MY FAME POWER to pimp out The Purples." And you know what? I ain't famous, but I do have people reading Metacarpolis, and DAMN IT, YOU ARE GOING TO PIMPED TO. ALL WEEK, IF NECESSARY. AND ALL SUBSEQUENT WEEKS, FOREVER. And you know what else? They made it even easier for me by putting their album up at Bandcamp so I can just say to you guys GO TO BANDCAMP AND LISTEN TO THAT SHIT AND IF YOU LIKE IT THROW MONEY AT THEM SO YOU CAN HAVE THOSE SWEET SWEET ONES AND ZEROES ON YOUR COMPUTER. They also put the album on iTunes, and they are selling a sweet vinyl+digital download deal over on their website. Nancy is a great album and I want to see these guys succeed so I can continue to get new music, see? So go listen to that shit post-haste. It's got, like, rock, and actual moving bass lines, and oh my god you guys just go buy it.
I THINK THAT'S ALL THE NEWS
ONLY TOOK ME LIKE AN HOUR AND A HALF TO WRITE
WORTH IT