We exhibited at SHM con at San Jose State University last Saturday, April 23, 2022. This student event is organized and run by the Art and Animation club (Shrunkenheadman) and is open to the public.
This show gives students and alumni an opportunity to gain event experience and to gather and visit with one another. It is a fun event with a lot of positive energy all throughout the day. We are grateful to have been invited by David Chai to be a part of the day.
We have, from left to right, Vicky, Laurence, Ocean and myself.
This is our Flesk table about 30 minutes before the doors opened. A big thanks to Ocean and Laurence for joining us to run an event table for their first time!
The SHM clap!
This picture is during the opening SHM clap to kick start the day. The show was very busy and all four of us enjoyed talking with people the entire time.
Vicky, Laurence and Ocean and the Flesk table.
Here’s Vicky restocking Spectrum books on the table. We brought bumped copies and had them at a greatly discounted price for students, which were very popular. Brom and Jeffrey Alan Love books were also a big hit.
Alice Carter and Courtney Granner giving the opening talk as things start to get underway.
This was our first event since SHM Con back in February 2020. I really missed seeing people and we are happy to be back to doing shows this year. We will be exhibiting at Baltimore Comic Con and Lightbox Expo this fall, with more events lined up for 2023.
Rachel Huang, one of the art students at SJSU who helped us in the office last summer. She is an amazing artist and has a bright future. Alice Carter (standing in the background) and I signing our first copy of the Edwin Austin Abbey book! Freshly signed!An SJSU alumni proudly showing his art in Spectrum.People listening in to the opening talk.
It was wonderful to see everyone! We’ll see you again next year!
It’s that time of year again where I’ll be making some cool items available for sale that will benefit the Stoke Out Santa Cruz event. 100% of the proceeds raised will go toward getting some really amazing kids here in our community Vans shoes, Santa Cruz sweatshirts, plus food for their families.
As a kid growing up we received hand me downs since my mom couldn’t afford clothes for me. I can tell you from personal experience that it means the world to a young kid who can score something as simple as a new pair of cool skater shoes. The generosity from a stranger carries great strength!
I have a pair of prints and a Storms at Sea deluxe book that include original sketches by Mark Schultz, a Hellboy deluxe book with an original drawing by Gary Gianni. Plus more! I’m not going to be running auctions this year. Instead I’ll have fixed prices and will make these available next Tuesday, November 27th when I’m back in the office.
I’m so grateful to be a part of the Stoke Out event for my third year.
Here’s the link if you want to learn more about Stoke Out Santa Cruz:
Frank Cho and I have partnered again to create his latest art book Ballpoint Beauties! This book is available as an affordable paperback and hardcover, and as a premium signed deluxe edition. Luxurious signed prints are also available. Enjoy the samples and details below.
We have a Kickstarter campaign running where you can pre-order the book. Everyone who makes a book or print pledge will receive an exclusive free postcard set.
The campaign ends on Thursday, November 15th at 8:00pm PST.
Ballpoint Beauties is 120 pages at 9 x 12 inches and includes two gatefolds. This book has been Frank Cho’s most requested collection on social media over the past year. He has been making his personal ballpoint pen drawings purely for himself for over two decades. This is the first time that these rarely seen works have been captured into a dedicated volume. Compiled here are his favorites, many which are done recently specially for this book. Many pieces are shown in four stages that are accompanied by Frank’s commentary to reveal his process. He is completely self-taught which makes for a unique and educational experience.
Included within the book are visual guides for anatomy and body parts, plus a short interview where Frank discusses his working methods and answers the most common questions that he receives online. Also shown are comic covers for his creator owned property Skybourne, where he has incorporated ballpoint pen in a mixed media format to show you how to incorporate the ballpoint pen into commercial assignments.
The Spectrum 26 Call for Entries opens on October 15th! Join our mailing list to receive a poster.
Over the next two weeks we will be sharing Spectrum news daily on our Facebook and Instagram accounts. We will reveal who the Spectrum 26 jury is and the artist who made the latest call for entries poster. We will share videos that include a Spectrum 25 book flip through and interviews with the jury. The Spectrum 25 artist copies will arrive at our warehouse in the middle of October. More news will be coming about Spectrum Fantastic Art Live and the Spectrum 26 award ceremony that is happening next spring.
There are a few ways to stay updated. You can follow us on social media and join our email newsletter. Additionally, you can provide us with your mailing address and we will mail you a complimentary Spectrum Call for Entries poster (U.S. addresses only). If you are already on our list, but have moved, you can use this link to provide us with your most current address.
Here’s the link to sign up:
Frank Cho working on the cover art for Ballpoint Beauties.
I’m back in the office after a productive week spent in Baltimore, Maryland. I was on the east coast for two reasons; I was there to exhibit at Baltimore Comic-Con and to meet with Frank Cho to go over his next two books that I will be publishing.
(Apologies for these poor quality photos. I only had my phone with me on this trip.)
Detail from Frank Cho’s original art from his Savage Wolverine run.
I arrived on Wednesday evening (September 26th) at Frank Cho’s house when we immediately began working on his books. The first book is his Ballpoint Beauties title that collects his ballpoint drawings. We’re including step-by-step sections and he is writing some text for the book so that people can see how he works. The second book on Cho will be announced next year sometime. Frank is such a busy guy who is oftentimes stretched in multiple directions. Because of this I typically prefer to keep our projects together quiet until they are about 80% completed to make sure I am not introducing any stress into Frank’s schedule. At the moment, our full focus is on Ballpoint Beauties. However, I did get a large chunk of work done on the unannounced book during my visits to Frank’s house. I spent hours pouring through his originals and scanning material.
We will launch a Kickstarter campaign for his Ballpoint Beauties book on Tuesday, October 16th.
The Flesk booth at Baltimore Comic Con an hour before opening on the first day.
The Baltimore Comic Con was terrific this year. It generally is every year, but this one was especially successful. Richard and Wendy Pini had a booth directly across from us. Frank Cho was next to us and Mark Schultz was with us. Arthur Adams and Joyce Chin were just a few aisles away. Having all these artists present who I work with fueled the interest in their books. As a result, we sold almost all the books that we brought to the show.
Since this was only the second show where I exhibited this year, and the first where I sat behind the booth and worked, I found that it took me a full day to find my voice. I didn’t realize how out of practice I was when it comes to talking to different people all throughout the day. On Saturday we were totally slammed with people stopping by, and by Sunday I finally got into a pretty good groove when chatting with people who stopped by.
Richard and Wendy Pini’s booth directly across from ours.
Each day I enjoyed interacting with Richard and Wendy. Having dinners with various artists and con friends was also nice. I had lost my voice by Saturday evening and hardly spoke during dinner, but found it again for Sunday morning, fortunately.
Mark Schultz signing a copy of his Portfolio book.
I managed to walk the floor on Sunday. Baltimore Comic Con is a great show for me, primarily because the show organizers and volunteers treat us well, plus the attendees are well informed and sophisticated collectors who know their artists and writers. Additionally, they bring in legendary artists as guests who are a joy to meet. It’s truly a “comic” show and not one of those events that appropriates the name for alternative pop culture purposes.
Mark Schultz doing a Batman sketch for a young fan.
I was amazed at how many people stopped by who knew who we were and who visited simply to express how much they enjoy our books. I also appreciated the feedback about how much people like our Kickstarter campaigns. I had several people comment on how our cover prices are affordable. This is intentional on my part since I didn’t grow up with money and I’m sensitive to keeping the books as affordable as possible for the students and for the working man and woman.
Our Flesk booth an hour before closing on the last day of Baltimore Comic Con. We sold most of the books that we brought!
It was a productive week. I’m back to working on books and I look forward to continuing to bring you more titles for as long as you will support us. Thanks, as always.
We’re exhibiting at the San Diego Comic-Con. Here’s a peak at our Flesk booth #5019 before things get started.
Joe Benitez and Mark Schultz are appearing throughout the show! We hope you can stop by!
Arthur Adams, Wendy and Richard Pini, Mark Schultz, Gary Gianni, William Stout, Jim Silke, Mike Mignola, Terry Dodson and many more can all be found within a few aisles of one another–all of which are near our Flesk booth #5019. We brought our latest books with us and we hope that you get a chance to stop by and visit.
UPDATE:
I visited Comic-Con for an hour and a half in the evening and was lucky enough to see Warren Drummond and Jim Reid at the Flesk booth with Mark Schultz and James Walker.
On Friday evening I had the chance to chat with Gary Gianni, Tom Sniegoski, Geof Darrow, Kaitlund Zupanic, Alina Chau, Greg Preston and a few of our regulars at the booth during before heading over to the Eisner Awards.
The ceremony was amazing. Even though we didn’t win an Eisner for Line of Beauty: The Art of Wendy Pini, I felt that it was an extraordinary experience and don’t feel disappointed in any way.
Thanks to everyone who visited us at the Flesk booth during San Diego Comic Con!
As many of you know I took time off from the show while I spent the majority of my time with my son as we discovered new places during our daily adventures in and around the city. This quality time held great value to me as we took advantage of this freedom. I didn’t realize how much I needed a break. I’m grateful to James for watching the booth so that I could recharge and hang with the kiddo.
We visited the show for 2 hours on Saturday before the big Schoolism group dinner, and another few hours on Sunday prior to packing up the booth. I was able to say hello to all of the artists who I work with, and a few others who I know. I kept my promise to myself that I would not work the booth.
We had a nice lunch on Sunday with Frank Cho, Daren Bader, and Gary Gianni.
I thought the road closure out front, along with the restriction that did not allow non-badge holders to walk around the convention exterior area really helped to cut down on crowds and congestion when arriving and departing.
James let me know how the day went each night, and he passed along the nice comments and praise that was shared by all of you. We’re signed up again for next year and hope to see you again in the future.
We had a wonderful day today at the LA Ultimate Comic Art & Collectibles Show. It’s a new con with a traditional feel where the booths focused solely on high end comics and original art. Perfect for core collectors and aficionados. It was a bit staggering to see so many high end collectables in one place. The show organizers where fantastic, we sold a bunch of books, we met a lot of new people, and saw many old friends. It was definitely worth exhibiting at. I’m looking forward to next year!
The first picture is of Richard and Wendy Pini with Frank Cho and Gerhard. Wendy was admiring the show print by Frank and Gerhard, while Richard and Gerhard where doing some elbow talk!
It was our first time meeting Gerhard and his wife. Both were kind and delightful neighbors.
The second picture is of Mark Schultz sketching inside a copy of his Storms at Sea deluxe book for Richard and Wendy.
Kathy and I finished off the evening by filming Frank Cho working on a ballpoint pen drawing to use for an upcoming video to promote his upcoming book. More on that later.
Thank you for a successful J.A.W. Cooper Kickstarter campaign!
I’m feeling grateful and appreciate everyone who supported the campaign. I never take your support for granted. What excites me the most is that I have the opportunity to work with Cooper, to package and publish and then share her work, and that we have this chance to mail out packages to 878 backers. Wow! That’s what drives me every day. I absolutely love being a publisher. Having this chance to connect directly with our supporters is incredibly fulfilling.
The Flesk Charity Auctions are live on Ebay to benefit the Stoke Out Santa Cruz charity event to benefit underprivileged kids in need in our community. See our auctions, which include drawings by J.A.W. Cooper, Mark Schultz, and Gary Gianni by clicking here. 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Stoke Out Charity Event in Santa Cruz, CA to help kids in need by providing them with shoes and sweatshirts for Christmas. I’m directly involved in this charity and incredible grateful for your bids!
Here’s a series of videos where I talk more about the event, how anyone can help, what it does for our community, and what it means to me.
