Petar Meseldžija sent me a handful of pictures from his trip to IlluxCon on November 11-14, 2010 that he offered for me to share on my blog. He let me know he sold the thirty copies of The Legend of Steel Bashaw that I sent him for the event in the first hour and a half. He also sold all of the copies of the Serbian edition of “Steel Bashaw,” and many of the originals he brought along!
The following photos illustrate the pleasure he had in meeting with many fellow artists. The caption for each picture is written by Petar.
I would like to share some exciting news about Petar Meseldžija.
Petar will be making a rare U.S. appearance at Illuxcon this November 11-14, 2010 in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He will take part in the Showcase Event that will be held from 7 pm until 11 pm on Friday, November 12th, and from 9 am until noon on Saturday, November 13th.
An original oil painting will be displayed and offered for sale (please see the image of the painting above). Also there will be a selection of Petar’s original Tarzan comic pages as well as the original drawings and sketches and a number of oil/acrylic illustrations on paper from his book King Arthur and the Knights of Round Table. All displayed work will be for sale. Beside the original work Petar will present a limited number of copies of his book The Legend of Steel Bashaw, recently published by Flesk Publications.
The Alternative Press Expo (APE) has quickly become one of my most anticipated shows. The breadth of artists and creativity in the room was astounding. This show allows for an easily accessible venue for artists and self-publishers to showcase their talent. An affordable entry fee, easy access and parking, and very reasonable table cost, make this a welcome event for those trying to gain exposure. The APE staff and organizers make the show pleasant and easy, which is a welcome experience when compared to some of the more hectic shows I set up at.
We had a busy spot near the front entrance. We were next to our friends at Stuart Ng Books. This show had an obvious increase in attendance compared to last year. There was also an additional growth of 50-tables over the 2009 show. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to learn about us, to see what’s new, and to those who bought a book or two. It all helps so we can continue fueling our passion and making more books.
The Friday before the show, I received copies of both Xenozoic by Mark Schultz and Inspirations by William Stout. We had them available at APE where a lucky few were able to pick up copies prior to their arriving in the stores. Our book distributor has them in the warehouse and is currently shipping them out. They should arrive at your local book and comic book stores soon (first week of November 2010).
The Xenozoic book was the obvious star of the show, garnering the most looks and purchases. Al Williamson Archives also did well for us. Inspirations and The Legend of Steel Bashaw by Petar Meseldžija had a great deal of interest, too. The Legend of Steel Bashaw was perused and purchased mostly by women―an interesting observation I noticed. Before my Franklin Booth: Painter with a Pen book sold out, women were the primary purchasers at shows. It’s good to have a book that appeals to women again.
I broke away from my booth on Sunday to walk around. There were a lot of terrific artists at the show. Some were early in their career, while others were well established with a mature style. I enjoyed seeing a lot of animators there. Many are amazing, but don’t have much name recognition from working in a studio environment. APE is a smart move to build up their name.
I got to see Brett Warnock, publisher of Top Shelf, who along with Chris Staros puts out some of the best graphic novels out there. They have excellent packaging and a nice “feel” to their books. If you haven’t read Blankets by Craig Thompson or Essex County by Jeff Lemire, I highly recommend them. My new favorite title from them is the Johnny Boo line by James Kochalka. I read Johnny Boo to my four year old. So funny!
Judging by the reactions of the attendees with whom I had the pleasure of talking, the opening reception for Al Williamson: A Tribute at Marywood University’s Mahady Gallery on Friday, October 8, was an unqualified success. Based on numbers alone, with over 200 coming out for the event—a mix of comics fans, appreciators of popular art, fellow professionals and old friends—it would have been hard to imagine a more fitting celebration of Al Williamson, the man and the artist.
The exhibit features over 60 pieces of Al’s original art and published material, chosen by Cori Williamson, mounted by Cori and Melissa Restuccia, and hung by curator Bob Schweitzer, who, with Marywood’s gracious permission, arranged for the exhibit by carving out a four-day period (October 8 through 11) from a previously scheduled exhibition.
Bob, who had presented work from Al’s collection at Scranton’s Everhart Museum back in 1986, noted the unfortunately limited number of days available and expressed interest in the possibility of a future exhibition featuring Al’s work with an extended showing. That would be good news for all those who could not arrange to be here this weekend.
Cori and son Victor were on hand to greet the various artists, art teachers, art students, musicians, bookbinders, merchants, Sons of the Desert lodge members and assorted bon vivants who came to celebrate the life and career of a man remembered as both a towering figure in comics and a dear friend. Many a story of Al’s fellowship, good humor and storied talent wafted through the rarified atmosphere, while those unfamiliar with his work were educated with framed examples of his mastery of graphic storytelling.
Cori chose representative pieces from all stages of Al’s 50-year career. Included were early pre-EC works, EC pages, a Classics Illustrated Prehistoric World page, many examples of Al’s Flash Gordon work from throughout his career, a representative showing of his Secret Agent Corrigan strips, Warren pages, Epic Illustrated work, Star Wars adaptations and examples of his Marvel inking over other pencilers.
A number of attendees specifically mentioned how much they enjoyed the many examples of Al’s preliminary work and sketches presented. There absolutely is something magical about the expressive freedom of line and design in the images Al created for his own use.
In addition to all the mounted artwork, Cori and Victor brought Al’s drawing table and an assortment of his working tools for display at the opening. Set in the center of the gallery with an empty chair, the simulated workspace served as the cartoonist equivalent of the aviator’s “missing man” formation—a fitting salute to a master who has moved on to the great beyond.
The jury for Spectrum 18 has been announced. This esteemed group of professionals includes: Julie Bell, Nathan Fox, Gregory Manchess, Brandon Shiflett, Jarrod Shiflett, Boris Vallejo, and Shena Wolf.
Bill Carman illustrated the Call For Entries poster, which will be mailed out at the end of October 2010. The deadline for entries is January 28, 2011.
You can see the step-by-step process of the poster at Bill Carman’s blog. He also offers a witty look into his brain and showcases his latest twisted (in a good way) works. The title of his blog is “My stuff because I’m too stupid to update my website.” You’ll know what he means if you try checking out his website, which he never updates and is entirely blank at the moment. Maybe it’s some sort of artistic statement. Only Bill can tell you. I’m a huge Bill Carman fan, and his art is pretty good, too. (Hi, Bill!)
One more thing. Spectrum 17 is going to be available soon! The Spectrum website has a video preview of the book. Take a look!
Meet Charles Burns in Person at Lee’s Comics in Mountain View, CA. The event is free and open to the public this Tuesday, October 26 from noon to 2:00pm. For directions visit the Lee’s Comics website here. Lee sent me the following details:
Charles Burns’ new book, X-ed out is now available! It looks fantastic! You can check it out at both of our locations. Make sure to pick up a copy, and make sure to attend our Charles Burns event and get it signed! This is a rare chance to meet one of the most accomplished comics creators of all time. I hope to see you here!
Charles Burns will be appearing at Lee’s Comics. Charles is famous for many works including Black Hole, which is widely considered one of the best graphic novels of all time.
Make sure to pick the Metro Newspaper later this week. There will be an article and interview with Burns by noted Bay Area pop culture scholar Richard von Busack.
We will be celebrating the release of Mr. Burns’ brand new hardcover graphic novel from Pantheon Books, X’ed Out. It is all original story and art that has not appeared before in any format.
Meet Charles Burns in Person
Free and open to the public
Tuesday, October 26th
Noon to 2:00pm
Lee’s Comics
1020-F N. Rengstorff Ave.
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 965-1800 www.Lcomics.com
Flesk Publications will be exhibiting at APE this October 16-17 at the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco. Our booth number is 212.
Flesk Publications is an art book company focusing on comic, fantasy, fine and illustration art, and graphic novels. Our goal is to continue promoting the arts through quality collections. Our publications showcase the talents of James Bama, Gary Gianni, Petar Meseldžija, Steve Rude, Mark Schultz, Jim Silke, William Stout, Al Williamson, and more.
Buy any two books from us at APE and get one free Flesk “bumped” book. Occasionally books get slight dings, minor bumps, or small tears to the jackets. We want to give these books away to those who support us at the show. Limited quantities of Prehistoric Life Murals by William Stout, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea adapted by Gary Gianni, James Bama: American Realist, and a few others will be available to select from. Stop by early to get the best pick and before they all disappear.
Publisher, John Fleskes, will be on hand to offer insight into our upcoming titles and what is in store for 2011.
Celebrate the art and career of Al Williamson at a special exhibit at Marywood University’s Mahady Gallery in Scranton, Pennsylvania from October 8-11, 2010. “Al Williamson: A Tribute” will showcase over 60 original works spanning five decades. More than ten pieces will represent each decade from 1950 to 2000.
Featured will be original art done for comics, posters, trading cards, preliminary sketches, family birthday and Christmas cards, as well as drawings he did for his own pleasure. Comic pieces include finished pages for Flash Gordon, Star Wars pages and covers, Secret Agent Corrigan strips, and comic pages for Eerie magazine (“The Jungle”). Examples of Al’s pages from Weird Science (“Captivity”), Classics Illustrated (The World Around Us: Prehistoric Animals), Blade Runner, Dark Horse Presents (“One Last Job”), his Sub-Mariner story, as well as inked pages completed for Marvel Comics, and more, will be on display.
Al Williamson’s wife, Cori, shares more about the show. “This exhibit is a tribute and celebration of Al Williamson’s life through his art. Al fell in love with comics and drawing at an early age. By the time he was 12 years old he knew he wanted to be a cartoonist. He had the talent and perseverance to achieve that goal. Al loved working in ‘the field’ as he called it but he also enjoyed sharing with others his knowledge of illustrators and cartoonists that influenced and inspired him. His studio and home were always open for friends, young artists and fellow collectors. He liked to pull out originals he had and spend time looking at them with others. All are welcome to join friends and family at the opening reception.”
A set of five different postcards adorned with Al’s art has been produced to coincide with this show. They will be given away free to all those who attend.
Flesk Publications has donated copies of Al Williamson’s Flash Gordon: A Lifelong Vision of the Heroic and Al Williamson Archives, Vol. 1 for the reception. All proceeds from the sales of these titles will go towards the Al Williamson Scholarship Fund at the The Joe Kubert School. Those unable to make the show and would like to make a donation can send a check to:
The Joe Kubert School
37 Myrtle Avenue
Dover, NJ 07801
Attn: Al Williamson Scholarship Fund
Al Williamson was born in New York City in 1931. Williamson, who first and foremost considered himself a cartoonist, excelled at illustrative science fiction, adventure and western stories, pulling inspiration from both classic comic strips and motion pictures.
Williamson began his professional career in 1948 and achieved popular recognition in the early 1950s as the youngest and one of the most talented contributors to the legendary EC line of comics. Beyond EC, Williamson drew superior work for many comic publishers, including American Comics Group, Atlas/Marvel, Charlton, Classics Illustrated, Dark Horse, Dell, Harvey, King, Prize, Toby and Warren. From 1967 until 1980 he produced the art for the King Features Syndicate’s daily Secret Agent Corrigan newspaper strip, and from 1981 to 1984 drew the daily and Sunday Star Wars newspaper strip.
Beginning in the 1980s Williamson reintroduced himself to a new generation of comics readers as an inker for DC and then Marvel Comics, enjoying memorable stints finishing the work of other artists on Superman, Daredevil and Spidergirl.
Al produced a much beloved series of stories for King Comics’ Flash Gordon comic book in the 1960s. He returned to the character in 1980, drawing a comic’s adaptation of the contemporary Flash Gordon motion picture. In the 1990s, he produced a Flash Gordon mini-series for Marvel Comics and later contributing to the original Sunday strip
Over his career he received numerous professional awards, including multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards and the National Cartoonists Society’s 1967 Award for Best Comic Book Cartoonist, and most recently the 2010 Spectrum Grand Master Award.
Stuart Ng Books has had a business profile shown on MSNBC. The segment covers how a small business can compete against bigger chains. Stuart explains how he not only competes, but succeeds with sustained growth. Congratulations to Stuart for being featured! The clip can be seen online by clicking here. You can also find the clip on the “Your Business Video Archive” found beneath the most recent show. You can search using the title “American Business: Super Niche” or date, Aug 27, 2010.
Stuart Ng Books carries a wide assortment of animation, illustration and comic related titles, including our books. You can see their inventory by visiting their website here.
William Stout will be signing his latest book Hallucinations at Stuart Ng Books on Saturday August 28, 2010 from 2:00-4:00 PM! Meet and talk to William Stout, illustrator, underground cartoonist, movie poster and album cover artist, visual development artist, production designer, muralist, paleo-artist, wildlife painter, and Antarctic explorer!
