LA Literature festival

One of the cool things I have discovered about life in LA is the constant number of events going on.

Today I went to the LA Times Literature Festival being hosted on the USC campus. There were several hundred authors in attendance, such as the guy who is currently writing the Madeline series, RL Stine, Ted Danson and Jamie Lee Curtis to name a few.

She will eat your children.

My main goal was to meet RL Stine, as his writing was one of my primary influences during my middle school years (although our school was enough behind the times it had no middle school, just elementary to jr. high).  I had all of the first 50 books of the Goosebumps series, as well as several Fear Street and other such spin off books.  Welcome to the Dead House is still a favorite of mine.

 It featured a town of zombie like ghosts and a kid all on her own.  I blame this book for my early fear and later fascination with the walking dead.  Then there was The Dead Next Door (notice a naming trend?) which was another favorite, featuring a nice reversal of expectations.

After an hour in line I got my book signed and shook hands with Mr. Stine.  I had to buy one of his newer books since all of my Goosebumps collection is sitting on a shelf back in Missouri, but it featured the evil ventriloquist dummy, Slappy, from the original Goosebumps line so it wasn't a terrible secondary option.

Definitely worth the wait.

There were several cool booths with a lot of authors and artists I need to look up when I get the chance.  One of the more interesting booths was inhabited by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.  They had several comic books and prints that could be purchased with a donation to the fund.  There was a nifty autographed Lauren K Hamilton print from the comic adaptation of her first Anita Blake novel and several signed Scott Pilgrim books, but the one that got my cash was a Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes graphic novel signed by the great Neil Gaiman.

One day I am gonna shake that mans hand.

In closing, Geek Nation, I give you this glorious window decal sighted outside the Golden Apple comic store.

Mattel SDC comic con Exclusives announced!

These comic con exclusives are always a big factor in my want to attend the San Diego comic con.  This year Matty has outdone themselves with some swank ghostbusters and heman special figures.  Check em out in the link below.

http://www.mattycollector.com/store/matty/ContentTheme/pbPage.2011_SDCC-Products

Busy Busy Busy

Hello, Geek Nation.
  I am looking at you from tail end of the busiest week I have had since going full freelance.  A storyboard art test over the weekend, an art test for a game studio (hopefully I get the gig so I feel safe to mention which one), more trading card artwork and a contract for another kids DS game.  Its nice to have the work, but considering the past has taught me that they are usually followed by a long dry spell I just wish the jobs could pace themselves a bit.
  LA is still continually more interesting.  I am couch surfing with a friend while looking for a steady job, which is currently the lynchpin on which a apartment and my wife moving out here hinges upon.  So hopefully I will get that job ASAP.
  I came across a couple of interesting things today.  One is that R.L. Stine, the author of the wildly successful Goosebumps series of my youth, will be signing at the LA Times Literature Festival.  There will be over 100 authors there and admittance is free so I hope to get the hours free to check it out.
Read more about the event here:
http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/program-schedule/

Also, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival is coming up and they have a nifty intro video up on vimeo.  I recommend checking it out.

Lastly, I will be going back to Springfield for a week from May 6th through the 13th so hopefully I will see a few of you while I am in town.

Xmen: First Class Trailer

The new trailer looks much better. Banshee and Sebastian Shaw, plus in the comic the red tailed Azareal as shown in the trailer is NightCrawlers dad and Mystique his mother so perhaps there will be some decent backstory there. But still, if Havok is Cyclops dad in the movie I am gonna punch a mutant.
http://geektyrant.com/news/2011/4/22/new-x-men-first-class-trailer-shows-off-sebastian-shaws-powe.html

The power is yours!

In celebration of Earth Day, I give you Captain Planet (intro)!

find your place in the grey

Hello Geek Nation!  Sorry for the lack of worthwhile posts, still getting my bearings here in LA.  Thankfully, I have found a cool comic shop nearby AND the nearest In-N-Out Burger, so I am close to being settled.

I found these pics when cleaning out my desk in preparation for the move.  They were concept drawings for my second feature, Black and White.  Obviously, it was a noir. These two are the stalwart detective and the femme fatale, played by actors Nathan Shelton and Lydia Mann respectively.

you blockhead!

I just discovered a webcomic called Weapon Brown, that I wanted to share.  Its Charlie Brown all grown up and set in a dystopian future where he is a mercenary.  Yup.  So wishy washy.

http://www.whatisdeepfried.com/2008/04/09/weapon-brown-2/

Something old and something ne---COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE!

I have two videos to share today.  The first is a short from 1938 on how Walt Disney creates their animations.

The second is where animation is now, a new cartoon starring Arnold Swartzenegger called ' The Governator'.  It promises to be very special.  And no, its not a joke...well, it is, but not like that.

In La!

Sorry for the recent radio silence.  We have spent the past couple of weeks packing up and just arrived in LA yesterday.  Now to find an apartment!

Also in recent news, I recently signed my first collectible trading card art deal.  I am pretty excited about it as the product is entertaining and educational!  I will give more details when the line goes public.