Flesk at SHM Con–San Jose State University 2024!

On February 11th, we were invited to exhibit at SHM Con. This is a one-day student run event at San Jose State University that is open to the public. SHM is an acronym for the Shrunkenheadman Club Animation/Illustration organization.

As soon as you step onto the campus you can feel the excitement from the students. These are highly skilled, smart, energetic, humble, and hungry individuals who are our future. We’ve been extremely lucky to participate in this yearly event.

If you have ever wondered if young people care about art or books, all you need to do is visit this show to get your answer. Not only was our Franklin Booth book the best seller at the show, but also one of the SHM volunteers had a Booth tattoo on her shoulder! Here’s Vicky at left, with the volunteer in the middle, followed by a student who picked up our Booth book.

We brought 30 boxes of books with us and came back home with five. To give you some perspective, we typically bring about half that amount to a 3-day comic show such as Baltimore Comic-Con. To be fair, we brought roughly 200 mixed titles with bumps and scratches that we gave away for free to students. The four tall stacks of freebies were gone in less than two hours. Also, this is the only show were we offer our books at a big discount to students. I clearly remember what it was like to be young with very little money, so in this way we can play a role in making sure everyone can get something, regardless of their available budget.

We had the chance to see our friends, Bunny Carter and Courtney Granner, and the department director, Dave Chai. These three have been very generous to us.

We were incredibly impressed with the SHM president this year, and how smooth and well organized the day was. And we met a bunch of terrific young people. We have no doubts about the future knowing that more SHM members will be heading out into the world to create more beautiful art.

See you again next year!

Enjoy,

John

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September 13, 2023October 1, 2023

Mark Schultz Original Art for Sale on our Flesk Website

Hi, everyone,

We have posted new Mark Schultz original art for sale!

We have added a fresh batch of Mark Schultz original art on our Flesk website. Everything that is currently available is posted and 100% of the funds go directly to Mark.

There are published brush and ink pieces, personal carbon art, and works from Storms at Sea. These originals are gorgeous in person!

Here’s the link to view what is available:
https://www.fleskpublications.com/mark-schultz-original-art

Enjoy,

John

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September 10, 2023October 1, 2023

Flesk at Baltimore Comic-Con 2023

Hi, everyone,

Baltimore Comic Con is a wrap!

Vicky and I enjoyed chatting with everyone who visited our Flesk booth and those we bumped into in and around the convention center. We have a ton of lasting memories from the show.

Seeing Arthur Adams is always a pleasure. A lot of people shared with us that they are looking forward to his new art collection in October.

Being set up next to Richard and Wendy Pini for three days made for one of the most enjoyable shows we have ever had. We started to tease about the upcoming Elfquest book that we will be publishing next spring.

I was thrilled to reunite with Steve Rude and to have a few extended conversations with him. Steve is awesome and I truly enjoyed the chance to catch up with him.

Hang time with my buddy Frank Cho is also always a pleasure. Frank is a generous and helpful guy who I appreciate greatly.

Again, it was wonderful to see you all! We look forward to Baltimore 2024.

Photo, top, left to right: Arthur Adams, Wendy Pini, Richard Pini, John Fleskes.

bottom, left to right: John Fleskes, Richard Pini, Vicky Lien, Wendy Pini, David Mizejewski.

Enjoy,

John

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July 19, 2023

San Diego Comic-Con 2023 — Flesk Booth #5019

Showtime!

San Diego Comic-Con starts today! Terry Dodson will be at our Flesk booth #5019 during the entirety of the show. He will have prints, original art, and will be promoting our upcoming “The Art of Rachel and Terry Dodson” collection coming out late this year.

Vicky and I will not be at this event. We are staying at the Flesk office to focus on new books, plus we are finalizing the Arthur Adams bonus items for our Kickstarter supporters.

Here are the Flesk published artists who will be exhibiting–along with their respective booth locations.

Richard and Wendy Pini are scheduled to do two signings at the Dark Horse booth. The first on Thursday from 12:00 noon to 12:45 PM and the second on Saturday from 1:00 to 1:45 PM. Booth #2615

Arthur Adams (with Joyce Chin) will be at booth #4700

Daniel Warren Johnson will be at the Felix Comic Art booth #4612.

William Stout will be at booth #4803

Frank Cho will be at booth #4901

Have fun everyone!

John

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May 23, 2023May 31, 2023

Upcoming Events and Artist Appearances

Murder Falcon artwork by Daniel Warren Johnson

Upcoming Events and Artist Appearances

Monsterpalooza

Brynn Metheney will be exhibiting at Monsterpalooza this weekend in Pasadena, California. We will be announcing the details about Brynn’s first book from Flesk soon! You can visit Brynn at this show to see her amazing art in person.

Wendy Pini–Celebrating 45 years of Elfquest!

Did you know that 2023 marks the 45th year anniversary of Elfquest? So exciting! Richard and Wendy Pini are making some appearances this year to celebrate. To start, Wendy will be appearing all three days at áyA Con this June 9-11, 2023. This event is located at the McNichols Civic Center Building in Denver, Colorado.

Heroes Con

In two and a half weeks we’ll be heading to Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina. The show runs from June 16-18th.

This will be our first time exhibiting at this show and we’re bringing a variety of art books with us. We’ve heard a lot of great things about this show and look forward to seeing everyone there!

Four artists who we are actively working on new books with will be making special appearances.

Daniel Warren Johnson, who is the artist for this fun Murder Falcon cover, will be at the Felix Comic Art table signing all three days. We’ve been working hard on his upcoming book to have the first pass available to show Daniel when we see each other. Pretty exciting!

William Stout and Mark Schultz (Xenozoic and Carbon art book series) will be with us at our Flesk table throughout the event. Both will be signing and have an assortment of original art with them. We have the massive three-volume Stout Comics retrospective in development, and something planned with Schultz, too.

We’re also fortunate to have Jeffrey Alan Love (Thousand Demon Tree and Notes From the Shadowed City) with us at the show. Jeff will be signing between our table and the Felix Comic Art area. We have a new book with Jeff that is getting very close to being done.

Between now and the show we will be continuing to work on these new books. I’m looking forward to seeing these artists as much as you all must be!

Enjoy,

John

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April 18, 2023April 25, 2023

J.A.W. Cooper’s 2023 Solo Show “Curious”

J.A.W. Cooper’s 2023 solo show “Curious” at @gallerynucleus in the Los Angeles area is now available to view online (and also in person through April 30th)!

Cooper completed over 30 new originals that were revealed during the opening night on April 15th from 5:00-8:00PM. We were delighted to see Cooper swarmed by visitors. The line to meet and talk with Cooper lasted throughout the full three-hour premier and eventually had to be moved outside since the gallery had to close. It was great to see everyone there. We had such a good time!

https://gallerynucleus.com/events/953

Enjoy,

John

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April 25, 2022April 25, 2022

Flesk at SHM Con 2022—Story and Pictures

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!

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!

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!

Enjoy,

John

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November 23, 2018November 24, 2018

Mark Schultz Original Art For Charity Coming Soon! Stoke Out Santa Cruz

Hi, all,

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:

http://discoverhope.church/stoke-out

Enjoy,

John

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November 21, 2018November 24, 2018

Planet Comicon Tickets. SFAL and Spectrum Awards Ceremony!

Heads up everyone! Discount on Planet Comicon tickets until Nov 26.

SFAL will have a pavilion on the main show floor and the Spectrum awards ceremony will be held on Saturday night.

J.A.W. Cooper, Tran Nguyen, Bill Carman, and Miranda Meeks will be at our Flesk/Spectrum booth!

A ticket to Planet gets you access to all the fun. We hope to see you there!

http://planetcomicon.com/

Enjoy,

John

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November 12, 2018November 12, 2018

Ballpoint Beauties by Frank Cho! Kickstarter Campaign Ends on Thursday, November 15th!

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.

You can see the full details by following this link:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/481703930/ballpoint-beauties-by-frank-cho

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.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this book!

Enjoy,

John

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