The Webcomic Alliance members recently exhibited at Chicago’s C2E2 Comic Convention, and collected these awesome sketches from many renowned artists and creators in the comic industry. In efforts to promote the Comics For Japan project (please visit the website for more details), I am posting this collaborative piece for auction, in which 100% of the proceeds will go to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. The Comics For Japan project has inspired me to use the talents and connections I have, to hopefully be able to donate more than what I could afford on my own.I will carefully ship you the sketch FOR FREE (S&H charges are on me), and your money goes towards helping victims in Japan. A win-win situation! I know this economy is rough… but trust me, it could be MUCH much worse. Lets help those who have it worse.

Here is a listing of the artists who donated a SIGNED sketch, as well as their comics or projects:

Randy Milholland of “Something Positive”
Danielle Corsetto of “Girls With Slingshots”
Joel Watson of “Hijinks Ensue”
Dave Willis of “Shortpacked”
James Silvani of “Darkwing Duck”
Lar DeSouza of “Least I Could Do”
Charles Paul Wilson III of “The Stuff of Legend”
Dave Reynolds of “Shadowgirls”
Alan Evans of “Rival Angels”
Glenn “GW” Fisher of “www.gwfisher.com”
W. Byron Wilkins of “1977 The Comic”
Dawn Griffin of “Zorphbert and Fred”

Click HERE to go to the eBay Auction Page!

And if you cannot afford the sketch piece.. there are other ways to help:

• SECOND HARVEST JAPAN: http://www.2hj.org/index.php/eng_home People can send supplies directly to survivors on the ground!
• RED CROSS Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami Relief Fund
• or text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 from your phone

Click HERE to download the FREE PDF Spooky Sampler!

or if you’ve got a iPhone, Droid, or other smart phone with a QR-code reader installed, you can scan the code below to get the PDF.

Just like last year, NEWW was held in the Eastworks Building, an old refurbished factory building with charm and character to spare. Housing and eclectic variety of small businesses, Eastworks is also the home of Diesel Sweeties and TopatoCo. The venue is not your traditional exhibit space. It takes place in a relatively narrow common hall area in which other businesses also function (a hair salon and a dance studio, for instance). While walking up and down the hall, you can sense a unique vibe from everyone there. Everyone seemed to have a real love and respect for one another, fans and creators alike.

This was most definitely a fan centered event, though If you’re a fan of webcomics, and especially of comics like The Abominable Charles Christopher, Schlock Mercenary, Girls With Slingshots, The Book of Biff, or Dr. McNinja then NEWW is your cup of tea. For my part, I just don’t have as much time as I would like to read up on some of the great webcomics out there. This put me at a bit of a disadvatage, as I had very little knowledge of many of the comics and creators represented. I felt a bit out of place amongst the loyal webcomic fans. The impulse to run and hide was strong in my shy artist brain. Fortunately, I fought off that shy impulse and live to tell the tale.

On Saturday I met David LaMason and John Bintz and got to spend the day hanging out together exploring the tables and chatting about comics. I also had the chance to meet and chat with Paul Southworth and  Chris Hallbeck, both of whom were very pleasant gentlemen. It was a very special treat to meet food blogger, fledgling webcomicker, and (most importantly) Spooky Doofus fan, Shea M., as well.

When I first walked in the door to the Eastworks building alone on Saturday morning, I was a bit apprehensive about being there, unsure of why I was there. By the end of the day on Sunday, I felt satisfied with my experience. New friends and connections were made. Some cool comics were purchased, and all my Spooky Doofus mini comics were picked up by potential new fans. All in all, an excellent weekend with great people closed out with a beautiful New England autumn sunset.

Through long lines, crowded aisles, crazy costumes, and overpriced refreshments, I survived the New York Comic Con to tell my tale. This year’s trip was a reconnaissance mission of sorts for me. I went as a spectator to scope out the venue, fans, and vendors to see if this was something I could handle from the other side of the table someday. I learned a lot from going, and I don’t regret a second of my time there. Hopefully one day soon, you’ll be seeing a Spooky Doofus table topped with Spooky Doofus books and other merchandise ready for public consumption.

NYCC was also a very inspiring experience for me, since I got to see several comic industry legends live. Friday I attended a Mad Magazine panel which featured on stage some of the biggest names in Mad history. Cartooning gods, Mort Drucker and Al Jaffee joined writer Dick DeBartolo, editor John Ficarra, and art director Sam Viviano in a discussion on Mad’s history and the new Mad cartoon on the Cartoon Network. Afterwards, there was a signing at the DC Comics booth in which I was lucky enough to get autographs from most of the panelists.

Saturday, I had only two missions: survive the massive crowds, and attend the live drawing demo by Joe freaking Kubert! I’m happy to report, I completed both missions and then some. During my exploration of the show floor I discovered the Joe Kubert School booth where, much to my surprise, sat Joe himself signing books and things for fans! I took this opportunity to humbly ask for his autograph, shake his hand, and say “Thank you” for all he’s done for the medium. Forgive the geeky analogy, but meeting Mr. Kubert was like meeting an real life Jedi master. The live drawing demo was spectacular! Watching this master craft before my very eyes a flawless rendering of Hawkman without the use of pencils was awe inspiring. See what I mean in this short video taken by my good friend, Dawn Griffin.

Among the other bonus points of the day, I also got to meet the super talented creator of Tara Normal, H.C. Noel and webcomic pioneer, Brad Guigar. Both were class acts and earned my respect.

Sunday brought another opportunity to shake hands with another icon of  comic art. Once again I was exploring the show floor when I happend across a booth for arguably the greatest Batman artist of all time, Neal Adams! The decision to purchase an autographed copy of one of Mr. Adams’ great sketch books was a no brainer. After receiving my book, I shook Neal’s hand and said with a smile, “Thank you for making the rest of us look bad!”. Being the charming class act he is, Neal responded with a chuckle, “That’s my job!”

I closed out my brush with heroes by attending a panel with John Romita Sr.and John Romita Jr.. Marvel comics would be 95% less marvelous without this father and son team. Seeing these two live, and hearing their stories about shaping the Marvel Age of comics was a special kind of thrill for me. If I was forced to settle on one lone comic artist as my all time favorite, I would have to pick John Jr..  One of my first comic books was Uncanny X-Men #117 drawn by JRjr. At the time, I had no idea who these characters were, but I remember clearly obsessively going over the pages over and over again with wonder in my eyes.

All of these experiences pale in comparison, though, to the feeling of meeting some of my good internet buddies in person for the first time. There are many circles and cliques in the webcomics world, and I believe the circle I travel in to be the warmest and friendliest of them all. Thank you to Tom Racine, Mike Witmer, Irma Eriksson, Dawn Griffin, Brad Joyce, Brad Snyder, and John McCarthy for helping make my trip such a memorable success!

This week, Spooky Doofus is back to it’s regular Tuesday Thursday schedule, but that doesn’t mean I can’t squeeze in one more piece of guest art. This one comes from Brad Joyce. Brad has been a loyal supporter of my silly drawings for years now and for that alone he’s earned my never ending gratitude. Now comes this wonderful piece that just makes me smile! The gag in this piece is a nod to my daughters, Zoe and Penny. Zoe is often lovingly nick named “Zoe Monster” mostly because she shares a name with Elmo’s friend on Sesame Street, while Penelope I’ve referred to as a “hungry little monkey” on more than one occasion due to her hollow legs. (BTW, 50 points to anyone who can guess what the “Were-Human” poster is a reference to.)

If you’re on Facebook, check out Flip & Barrel, the charming little comic Brad works on (with another guy named Brad… it’s all very confusing). Flip and Barrel are a couple of brothers doing what brothers do best, get into crazy trouble! Check them out and be sure to click the mighty “Like” button!

I’ll leave you today with a little group shot of me and my girls sitting in the kitchen looking at my new Macbook Pro!

For the record, we're in our kitchen, not as many have guessed, a bathroom.

Share |

Last year I contributed a short Jenny Everywhere action story. This year I am contributing this action packed birthday pin up. Head on over to JennyEverywhereDay.com to see the whole piece and some of the other great contributions!

I am and have been for a very long time, a big Alice Cooper fan. Without Alice, the world would be a much more dull place. KISS, David Bowie, Motley Crue, Marilyn Manson, and even Lady Ga Ga are just a few of the acts that regularly walk the streets that Alice paved.

For this drawing I used Prismacolor Verithin pencils on tan card stock paper. No fancy tricks, just plain old fashioned drawing on paper.

Got a hankering to draw a geek werewolf or a dimwitted ghost? Put that pencil to paper or stylus to Wacom
(whatever floats your boat) and send in to me at Marc (at) SpookyDoofus dot com!