This Thursday, April 11, at 10:00AM PST / 1:00PM EST, the Flesk and Mark Schultz Kickstarter Campaign will go live! We’re offering his new art book collection, Mark Schultz: Carbon, in both trade and Flesk exclusive hardcover editions. We’re offering brand-spanking-new prints! We’re offering a Flesk exclusive hardcover edition collecting all the Xenozoic stories Mark has drawn! And we’re offering something truly unique: a video inking demonstration by Mark! Never before attempted—never before seen! We will share the live link here on Facebook, on our Flesk website homepage and on John Flesk’s blog at go time this Thursday!
During the last seven months I have been heavily involved in making new books. This began in September with my handling the production of the Illustrating Modern Life book for the exhibit of the same name at the Weisman Museum in Malibu, California. And then there is The Art of Brom and Kickstarter event. Brom presented me with the idea for this project at the inaugural Spectrum Fantastic Art Live event last May.
Speaking of SFAL, I began the second commemorative book for this year’s event last November. That book is done and already shipping from the printer. It’ll premier at the show in May. A new printing with a new cover for Mark Schultz’s Xenozoic and a new art book collection for Mark titled Carbon will be available this summer. Then, I have two show books that will premiere at our booth at Comic-Con. The first is Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice 2013 Teaser with all new art. The second being a Teaser for the two book set under development, The Art of Elfquest & Line of Beauty: The Art of Wendy Pini. Seven titles in seven months. (Plus, I am helping Terry Dodson in the background with a pair of his new show books.)
It’s been a good stretch of focused work. Between this May and August the six titles yet to be available will be coming out. I enjoy the hell out of publishing, and am eager to get these books into your hands.
I’m also finalizing a new Kickstarter campaign on the new Mark Schultz books. We’ve come up with some cool goodies and bonus items that we hope to share, if we reach our goal. There’s going to be a special hardcover for Xenozoic, a Carbon art book deluxe, a new print, and the soon to be revealed Kickstarter incentives that I’m very pleased to offer. We are just finishing up the promotional video, and doing some final edits on the campaign. Pending approval from Kickstarter, it will go live Thursday, April 11th at 10:00AM PST / 1:00PM EST. I’ll give you more details very soon.
The second Spectrum Fantastic Art Live show is coming up fast. It’s only six weeks away. I have a lot of planning and arrangements to sort out. Our booth will be the biggest I’ve ever had to date, with more artists than have ever appeared with us at one show. Brom, Bill Carman, Craig Elliott, Gary Gianni, Mike Mignola, Mark Schultz and Peter de Seve will be at our booth. I’ll have a detailed update about signing times, what the artists will be bringing and what we will have there, very soon.
During much of this month I will be catching up on some much neglected Flesk website updates, blog entries and newsletters to properly fill people in on what’s been going on.
Then in June, The Art of Brom will be arriving. I’m planning much of that month will be spent prepping, packing and shipping all of our Kickstarter and pre-orders. We’ll have fun with it.
There’s plenty going on here. There’s a new line of books we will get started on in the summer for 2014. But, I’ll focus on what’s going on now and save the details for future books for another time.
I wasn’t able to make the Emerald City Comicon one month ago, but we were able to have a Flesk Publications booth presence thanks to Jonathan Leveck. I asked Jonathan if he could write a recap about exhibiting at the show. I’ll turn you over to Jonathan:
Jonathan Leveck writes about the Flesk Booth and time spent at Emerald City Comicon
The lead-up to Emerald City Comicon was rife with a quirky mix of emotions. Having grown up near Portland, any travel to the Northwest provokes nostalgia–that inimitable sense of coming home. Seattle, however, would be a new destination for me: one of those places that’s always been on the list but has remained conspicuously unchecked, like never having read On the Road, or seen Willy Wonka.
So there I was preparing to go home to a place I’d never been.
Then there’s Flesk. A failure on the part of the universe at large to take into account the subtleties of the company day planner resulted in a scheduling kerfuffle. Flesk would need to be in both Seattle and Kansas City, Missouri on the same weekend. Reluctant to miss either the ECCC or the 20th Annual Spectrum Judging, John Fleskes and I decided we’d divide and conquer the two events.
For me this meant running a show on my own for the first time and putting a check next to Seattle on that list I mentioned. For John Fleskes that meant being in Kansas City while, for the first time in the history of his company, Flesk Publications was being represented by someone other than himself, and that on the other side of the country. Neither the honor nor the responsibility were lost on me.
John and I caught up on business at the airport, checking out the cover proof for Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 and chatting about where publishing should set the bar in terms of catering to vs. challenging its viewership. A few parting words of Emerald City Comicon advice and we boarded our separate flights, John leaving Seattle and his company in what he outwardly projected–but must have inwardly hoped–were my capable hands.
Seattle. Where all the neon is rosy.
Within an hour of landing I was at my hotel downtown, already loving Seattle if only for its public transit system. The hotel lobby was a cage-less zoo of comic industry professionals, Trekkies and a gaggle of what I can only assume were plain-clothes cosplayers. A pair of unarmed security guards stood wide-eyed and twitching amidst the chaos.
Set up the next morning was a breeze, the show’s staff organized and helpful. I picked up the books and took my time setting up the booth, bringing the better parts of my compulsive nature to bear upon the presentation of our books and banners.
The Flesk booth just prior to the show opening.
I looked up from my shuffling to find a gentleman looking at me with an expression that said, “One of us should know the other, but I suspect neither of us does.”
“Hello,” I said vaguely, now mirroring his expression.
“I… You’re… This is Flesk?”
“We are.”
“We’re doing a book with you.”
A stunning bout of deductive reasoning on my part (combined with asking the man outright who he was) led me to understand that I was speaking with Richard Pini. Richard and his wife Wendy are the creators of Elfquest. Their books The Art of Elfquest and Wendy Pini: The Line of Beauty are currently in development with Flesk Publications.
Well met with Mr. Pini, the Elfquest booth was the first I visited when I made the pre-show rounds. I introduced myself to Wendy and handed her the new postcards for the upcoming books. Her face lit up when she saw them, further widening Richard’s easy grin. I was struck by the dynamic between these two: Richard, gregarious and charismatic, Wendy soft spoken and warm–equal and opposite points on the charm spectrum.
Richard and Wendy Pini pre-show.
My next stop was the BromArt booth, where Brom was bustling about the booth and his wife, artist Laurie Lee Brom, was returning from a failed odyssey to find her friend’s booth in the maze of the gaming floor. I was glad to finally meet Brom in person, having only interacted with him via email during the Art of Brom Kickstarter campaign.
Infectiously lighthearted, the Broms’ personalities might have been separated at birth. Speaking with them in tandem, one gets the inexplicable sense that everyone is a sly smile away from giggling.
In equal contrast to the ‘brooding rockstar artist’ persona one might project upon him to look at his art, Brom offered to watch the Flesk booth, should I need to pee at any point. Dark and angsty, indeed…
Brom and Laurie Lee Brom
By the time I left the Dodson’s booth a few minutes later, I was finding it a bit silly just how damnably charming all these couples are. Terry all warm-welcome and quick-to-laugh, Rachel quiet and amused.
Terry and Rachel Dodson: Charm and Charmerer.
Thankfully Mignola was next on the list. I hadn’t yet met his wife, but surely Mike’s dry wit and forthright demeanor would lend itself to some sort of Archie Bunker-esque repartee to help mollify my playful inner cynic.
Alas: nope. Equally lovely interactions from the Mignola camp.
Mike and Christine Mignola applying the finishing touches.
Convinced that John had some sort of hidden agenda to unite charming couples beneath the Flesk banner and take over the world at large, I headed back to the booth to prepare myself for the impending hordes.
And hordes there were. The show was stunningly busy. Our table–teeming with books on the morning of day one, with a case of overflow stowed beneath–comfortably fit all of our remaining stock by that afternoon. By the end of day two we had sold out of the large format Bruce Timm Naughty and Nice book and all but two Big Pocket editions. We were out of catalogues and the stacks of offerings from Dodson, Elliott, Gianni, Meseldžija, Schultz and Stout had been whittled down to a nub.
Booth bustle.
By the end of day three we were fairly well out of stock, and an extraordinary thing happened: We became an information booth.
“What’s the story on the Brom book?”
“When’s Mark gonna finish Xenozoic?”
“Is Bruce Timm here?”
“Are you Bruce Timm?”
“Where can I find Bruce Timm?”
“Are you the guys doing Elfquest?”
“Is Mark Schultz still alive?”
“Who’s Jim Silk-EE? This stuff is gorgeous…”
“Look honey: booties!”
“Do you have any more Gianni stuff?”
We had people stopping by to identify themselves as Art of Brom Kickstarter supporters, or to express what an influence Mark Schultz has been on their art.
With little left to sell, the crowd hadn’t diminished around the booth. For the last couple of hours the Flesk booth was a place to stop by and chat about good art.
When all was said and done, I packed a single box to send back to California, and arrived back at my hotel exhausted, voiceless and extremely pleased. John called and we downloaded our separate events and chatted about the big things upcoming from Flesk, some announced and others soon-to-be.
So: Seattle was fantastic. I didn’t burn anything to the ground, and nobody caught me sleeping at the booth. Well: nobody that couldn’t be bribed with a Naughty and Nice Teaser.
Warren Chang will be giving a lecture at the Monterey Peninsula College this Wednesday from 1:30 to 2:30 PM. I will be in attendance and there will be a book signing immediately after his talk. See a little further below for the full details.
Also, the new issue of International Artist magazine (#90) features a book review of Narrative Paintings. The writer of the article, Matthew Innis, has posted the review on his Underpaintings blog. Check out the links at bottom to learn more.
Lecture Details:
GENTRAIN SOCIETY PRESENT A LECTURE BY WARREN CHANG
LEARNING FROM THE PAST TO PAINT IN THE PRESENT
MARCH 20TH, 1:30PM-2:30PM
MONTEREY PENINSULA COLLEGE: LECTURE FORUM LF 103
980 Fremont St, Monterey, Ca 93940
Warren Chang will be giving a lecture and slide presentation of his work pertaining to the Old Masters. Perhaps best known for his paintings of the field workers of Monterey County where he grew up, his lecture will focus on the influence of historical artists Bruegal, Millet all the way up to contemporary times and the influence of author John Steinbeck and others on the artist’s work.
He is the recent subject of a monograph book, titled Warren Chang: Narrative Paintings, published by Flesk Publications in 2012 and due out for worldwide release in March, 2013. Copies of the book will be available at the lecture for purchase and signing by the artist.
The new art book series “Mark Schultz: Carbon” will premiere at our Flesk booth this July at Comic-Con International. The book will feature all new artwork completed by Schultz over the course of the last two years. I’ll have the full details on the book posted in the next two weeks. At the moment I’m working with Mark to wrap up the collection and have it off to the printer on April 1st.
We finalized the cover today. Let me know what you think!
The first two printings of the complete Xenozoic collection by Mark Schultz are sold out. (With the exception of a few dozen copies we held on to for direct sales on our Flesk website, which come signed, too!) I am committed to keeping this book in print and making the stories Mark wrote and drew accessible at an affordable price. The latest printing will be available this summer with a new cover.
For this cover design Mark wanted to create a situation and color mood that was in contrast to his first cover. I’d say he pulled it off. What do you think?
The Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 book is wrapped up and running on the printing press. I approved the last of the proofs at the end of February. The title will premiere at our Flesk booth at the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live show in Kansas City Missouri on May 17-19.
The cover for the book is titled “Easy Being Green it is Not” and is by Peter de Seve. Back in November when I was starting to put the book together I asked Peter if he was willing to provide the cover artwork. I’m a huge fan of his work. I first became aware of Peter with the release of the Disney film art book on The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which showcased his visual art contributions. I’ve followed his career since, enjoying his other film work, The New Yorker covers and his other miscellaneous work. I find him to have a massive wit and creative spirit. When I asked Peter if he had any art in mind for the cover of this second “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live” book, he suggested using “Easy Being Green it is Not.” This art was originally done for Star Wars: Visions published by Abrams in 2010. A big thank you goes out to Disney for providing permission for us to use the piece.
The book consists of a gallery section on each of the six special guests of the show. They are Peter de Seve, Tara McPherson, Charles Vess, Jon Foster, Terryl Whitlatch and Michael Whelan. I had a great time working with all of them. Anthology books involve a lot more planning and coordination compared to doing a book on a single artist. In this case, there are the six artists, eight people writing introductions, artwork permissions to get approved, on top of all of the editing and designing work that is required. And everything has got to get done, and the book printed and delivered in time for the show. There’s no time allowed for nitpicking or extended deadlines. But, I’ve got to say, it’s a fun process. It allows me the chance to work with a group of professionals that I admire, most of whom I had not met before. And the limited time frame keeps me focused.
You can pre-order the book on our website. It ships immediately after the SFAL2 event. Here’s the official book description. You can follow the link at bottom to find it at the Flesk store.
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2
Hardbound with jacket, 9 x 12 inches, 80 pages, $29.95
Spectrum Fantastic Art Live, Volume Two commemorates the second annual Spectrum event by celebrating the work of the exhibition’s six special guests. Jon Foster, Peter de Sève, Tara McPherson, Charles Vess, Michael Whelan and Terryl Whitlatch have hand-picked a diverse assortment of images for inclusion in this volume—a collection of six individual galleries with artist statements scattered throughout.
Jon Foster’s work has graced the pages of a vast array of publications, from National Geographic to DC and Marvel Comics to nearly all the book publishers of fantasy and science fiction. Jon teaches art and illustration across the country and has received two Silver and three Gold Spectrum Awards.
Perhaps best recognized as a regular cover artist for The New Yorker and for his character designs for blockbuster animated films such as Ice Age and Finding Nemo, Peter de Sève is widely recognized as an icon in contemporary illustration. Peter’s many distinctions include the Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators, a Clio Award, a Spectrum Gold Medal and an Emmy for Outstanding Character Design.
Equal parts whimsical, thought—provoking and seductive, Tara McPherson’s works have adorned the walls of art galleries around the world and, through her poster art, plastered the brick-lined streets of the American indie rock scene. Her work has been featured in numerous publications as well as the Oscar-winning film Juno, the Eisner Award-winning anthology Popgun 3 and the permanent collection of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Haunting and ethereal, the art of Charles Vess has long defined fantasy illustration and comic art. He has brought visual life to the works of such authors as Neil Gaiman, Jeff Smith and Charles de Lint. Awarded an Inkpot for excellence in comics and multiple Eisner and World Fantasy Awards, Charles is one of the most distinctive and admired artists in the industry.
Michael Whelan has defined the visual aesthetic of some of the best-known science-fiction authors of the past thirty-five years, including Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. Among a myriad of other distinctions, he has been presented with three World Fantasy Awards, fifteen Hugo Awards and thirteen Chesleys. Michael is a Spectrum Grand Master and was the first living artist to be inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.
Best known in the entertainment and publishing industries for her work in creature design, Terryl Whitlatch seamlessly blends her technical knowledge of paleo art with her passion for the fictitious. Her film work includes her role as principal creature designer for Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace and concept art for Disney’s Brave and Brother Bear.
Few artists so interweave the fabric of contemporary fantastic art as these six. In honor of their contributions to the industry, several of their contemporaries have provided introductions for this volume. Artist and novelist George Pratt (Wolverine: Netsuke, See You in Hell, Blind Boy), master painter and illustrator Gregory Manchess (National Geographic, Robert E. Howard’s Complete Conan of Cimmeria, Volume Three), illustrator and creator of the Artist as Brand workshop Greg Spalenka, novelist and professor of folklore and mythology Ari Berk (Undertaken Trilogy), publisher Bob Self of Baby Tattoo books, and creature concept designer Bobby Chiu (Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland) have all brought their unique professional and personal perspectives to discuss the works of this extraordinary panel of artists.
The experience of “Spectrum Fantastic Art Live” has been likened to the act of walking through the Spectrum annual itself: a living, breathing extension of all that Spectrum has come to mean for the world of contemporary fantastic art. With this volume we explore a cross-section of this extraordinary movement’s visionaries and invite you to imagine, wonder and—above all—enjoy.
The Spectrum 20 jury convened in Kansas City on Saturday, March 2. I was there to help out and took some pictures throughout the day.
Each artwork entry is set out on a table and is accompanied by a cup with a small hole at its base. If a judge likes the piece, he or she drops in a unique colored bean that is identified with that person. In this way duplication by one judge is avoided. The bean also remains hidden from view by the other judges. A majority vote of three or more beans marks the art for inclusion into Spectrum 20. The judges are discouraged from talking to one another to allow them to make a genuine anonymous vote without any outside influence or encouragement. This keeps things honest and fair.
Here’s the sculptor, Tim Bruckner, who stayed enthused throughout the day.
Here are Tim Kirk (right) and Michael Whelan (left) viewing entries.
Mark Nelson sees something he likes.
From left to right: Irene Gallo, Mark Nelson, Michael Whelan, Tim Bruckner and Tim Kirk discuss the works considered for the silver and gold awards for each category.
The Spectrum 20 judging is complete. This group got along exceptionally well. From left to right: Tim Bruckner, Mark Nelson, Irene Gallo, Michael Whelan, Cathy Fenner, Tim Kirk and Arnie Fenner.
There are more pictures, and a few videos, plus details about the day that can be found at the Spectrum Fantastic Art website and Facebook page. Also, they have a listing of who is being considered for the awards. (See the links below.)
I’m anxious to see who won the awards at Spectrum Fantastic Art Live 2 and the works that make it into the book this fall!
Brom and I have finished The Art of Brom book. I packaged it up and sent the book to the printer on Thursday. Our deadline was to have the book with the printer by March 1. Not only am I glad we wrapped it up a day early, but also that we are running right on schedule. This is a testament to Brom’s hard work ethic and professionalism. I feel he did an amazing job designing and writing the book. The new artwork scans, with fresh color corrections by Brom, look stunning.
While turning a book in to the printer is a huge milestone worth celebrating, there is still much to do. Now is the time to work closely with the printer and educate them on what my expectations are and to make sure the people who will run the book on the press have a clear understanding of what we want regarding the reproduction of the images. I am a very hands-on client with my printer. I don’t just turn it over and have them print it and hope that all will work out. I don’t leave things to fate or faith.
The proofing stages come next. This will be an approximately two to three week process, depending on how well or poor the first round of proofs look. Sometimes everything looks perfect and we go straight to press. Sometimes only certain pages look funky and need updates. Other times a huge batch needs revisions. But most of the time it’s only a handful of pages that need color modifications. I’ve been doing this long enough that I know how an image on the computer screen should translate onto a printed page. Once all of the proofs are approved, the press workers will use them as guides to make sure the pages coming out of the press match-up. It’s an insurance policy too. If there is a wild variation from our proofs I can insist that the printer run the book again to my specifications.
On average, from the time the printer receives the book, the proofs are finalized, the book is printed, bound, packaged, shipped, goes through customs and is delivered, it’s about a three month process. This puts the book in our hands by early June. And then we start shipping them out to you!
Flesk Publications will be at the Emerald City ComicCon this weekend. Our booth number is 105. This will be our first time set up at this show. I visited the event last year and enjoyed myself enough to decide to sign up for this year. I like the strong focus on the artists, good vibe of the show and the beautiful city of Seattle. If it goes well you can expect to see us there more often.
I won’t be making the trip, however Jonathan Leveck will be running our space. I already know he will make me proud and represent the Flesk name and the artists we publish well. He can fill you in on the latest titles and what’s coming out in the near future. There will be a wide assortment of Flesk books, including some copies of the original large format of Bruce Timm’s Naughty and Nice as well as the signed 2012 Teaser and Big Pocket editions. Bruce Timm can be found at his table J-16, which is not too far from us.
We’ll have some freebie flyers and catalogs too. Stop on by and make sure Jonathan is working. Send me a picture of him sleeping and I’ll ship you a free book worth up to $50.00!
There will be some more artist friends of ours at the show that I would like to point out. We are all grouped in the same location. (The hip place to be, obviously.)
Brom will be at booth #203, which is just a short walk away. He can fill you in on his The Art of Brom book and share the good news about it going to the printer this week.
Terry and Rachel Dodson can be found at table J-14. They will have original art and the Bombshells 1, 5 and 6 sketchbooks available.
Richard and Wendy Pini have a table at E-09. The secret is just coming to light that I am working with Richard and Wendy on two new books, The Art of Elfquest and Wendy Pini: The Line of Beauty. Free flyers will be provided at both of our booths. These books are in the early stages of development and I am very excited to share more details in the months to come.
One of my all-time favorites, Mike Mignola, will be there. His space is L-11, all the way on the other side of the convention center.
Also, another fun guy and excellent artist, Aaron Lopresti will be close by at J-15.
I hope you all have a good time. I’ll miss being there, but by not going it lets me focus on getting “The Art of Brom off to the printer and keep it on schedule for our June release date.
This Thursday, April 11, at 10:00AM PST / 1:00PM EST, the Flesk and Mark Schultz Kickstarter Campaign will go live! We’re offering his new art book collection, Mark Schultz: Carbon, in both trade and Flesk exclusive hardcover editions. We’re offering brand-spanking-new prints! We’re offering a Flesk exclusive hardcover edition collecting all the Xenozoic stories Mark has drawn! And we’re offering something truly unique: a video inking demonstration by Mark! Never before attempted—never before seen! We will share the live link here on Facebook, on our Flesk website homepage and on John Flesk’s blog at go time this Thursday!
