Are YOU ready for the Emerald City ComiCon?

Hey there, original art lovers! Well, with February pretty much a done deal, it means it's almost time for the Emerald City ComiCon in Seattle! As you know, I've been slowly teasing you all with Sequential Treasures plans for the show, but now, with crunch time upon us, I'm going to spill it all for you right here.

First off, we will be found at booth #1007 in the Exhibitors section of the show floor. You can look at their map of it, to see where we are. Put us pretty far away from artist alley, but whatcha gonna do? I hope you all will be willing to make the trek across the show floor to our booth though, as we have lots of cool stuff planned.

To begin, we'll have several of our artists on hand. Randy Kintz will be at our booth all three days, as will Ben Hansen (who'll be floating between our booth and the "Sketch Crew" tables in artist alley, which are table a-15 through 17). Last, but certainly not least, Matt Haley will be at the booth, but only on Saturday, as some work deadlines will only allow him to be at the show for one day. He, also, will be co-hosting the Blackstar Warrior panel on Saturday at 12:00 pm. You can see it on ECCC's programming schedule. They will all be doing sketches, plus Ben and Randy will have prints and sketchbooks with them, many of them new and debuting at this show.

And speaking of prints, there are two exclusive prints that you can only get from the Sequential Treasures booth. One is a War Machine piece by Ben Hansen. The other is a jam piece by Randy Kintz and Ben, featuring the Transformers, to honor the 25th anniversary of the original Transformers: The Movie (back from 1986). You can see images of both of these prints on our Facebook Group (they both are really awesome, if I do say so myself, and I don't expect them to last very long, as supplies will be limited).

There will, of course, be plenty of original art on hand to purchase from our various artists (not just the ones at the show, either). I'll be lugging over 400 pieces of original art for sale, including some pieces that have not been made available on our art gallery as of yet. Anyone at the show will be getting first crack at them. So, get their first and purchase fast, as I know the good stuff will disappear quickly, as it always does.

Lastly, lest you think we are only about ourselves, we have some really great things to show our giving side. First, is that we are taking donations for the HERO Initiative. As they do not have a booth set up at the show this year, Sequential Treasures has decided to "pick up the slack." It is a most worthy cause, to help older creators in their golden years (many of whom did not have a lot of the benefits and rights that creators today have). In addition, anyone making a donation of $10.00 or more will get a an original sketch card piece by Randy Kintz or Ben Hansen. They have graciously offered to help this noble charity, by doing so (but as with most things, supplies of the cards are limited). And, as if this weren't enough, we will also be giving away free comics to any kids who come by the booth (not to worry parents, they will be age appropriate stuff). But, again, this will only happen while supplies last.

Well, there you have it. The outline for our show time plans. Plus, who knows, maybe we'll even squeeze in another surprise or two. So, I trust I can count on all of you who are going to the show to stop by out booth? I thought so. How could you resist such awesomeness? Answer: you can't!

That's it for now. When next you hear from me, it'll probably be our post show report. So, until then, I'll see you at ECCC in Seattle! Peace out!

Batman and Robin #20 verdict: An overwhelming winner!

Hey, everyone! Well, things are really moving along here at Sequential treasures HQ, as we get ready for our big convention debut for 2011! But before we get into any of that, here's a couple of others things that we wanted to let you know about.

First off, with Mick Gray now the regular inker for the very popular series Batman and Robin, we've been curious how his debut issue (#20, for the record) has been received by the comic reviewing community. Well, the word on the street is in and it looks to be a big hit with most folks. Below are some of the choice comments from some review related site about it:

"In just the first few pages of their first issue on this series, Tomasi, Gleason and Gray have sold me." - DS Arsenault of Weekly Comic Book Review

"I cannot wait to see more of this series and it finally seems like this is going to be in great hands for the future." - iFanboy

"It's delivered everything I want from this series: great writing, exceptional art and a plot that could be as odd as what Morrison accomplished during his tenure on the title." - Erik Norris of IGN

"There is no filler here, no panels used to get to the big guns; everything is done with obvious and painstaking attention to detail." - Iann Robinson of Crave Online

"... this issue was great. It’s opening was heartwarming, it’s ending was a classic cliffhanger, and the stuff in-between made for an excellent read." - John Barringer of A Comic Book Blog

"Color me excited." - Paul Steven Brown of Cultural Wormhole

I guess we have a overwhelming hit on our hands, folks. So, if you haven't already check the book out, do so now (the variant cover to the issue is shown above)! Get in on the book that has folks talking.

Next up, I have a special treat for you, but only if you happen to have a Facebook account. At Sequential Treasures Facebook Group, I've just posted a few advanced images from Richard Moore's upcoming one shot called Ladies of the Night, which is due out in April from Antarctic Press. It's basically a pin up book, with little verses that go with each image. It's Richard doing what his fans love to see him do. The images shown will be in the book, but you get a sneak peek of them right now. So, if you don't have a Facebook account, maybe this will give you reason to get one. If you do have one, then you need to join our Facebook group. And once you do, you'll be checking out some exclusive content for us that you won't see anywhere else.

And now, as promised, I'm going to continue to give you all some tidbits on the fun we have planned for the Emerald City ComiCon, which is now only two weeks away! We at Sequential Treasures aren't solely about ourselves. We like to help out others, too. So, that's why we will have a donation jar for the HERO Initiative at our booth (#1007 in the exhibitors section). It seems that this year there will not be a booth at the show for this great organization, so we wanted to do them a solid and give them some kind of presence at the event. But that not the end of it. For those who make a donation of $10.00 or more, our own Randy Kintz will do you a personal sketch card piece. The amount of cards are limited to only 30, so it's "first come, first served." It's just a small way for us to help out a very worthwhile cause, which is very close to our hearts, while also making it fun for all of you guys. So, when you stop by our booth, make sure to do your part and help out.

That's all for now. I'll be back again, as we edge closer to ECCC time, with more info on things. Until then, peace out!

A Web of Excitement: The Emerald City ComiCon Report

Okay, everyone, after much ballyhoo and promises, here's the post-ECCC report I know you've been waiting for.

This show has grown very much over the last several years since it began. One of the things I've noticed is the large increase of traffic at the show. Over the course of the two days this year, an attendance record was broken, with almost 15,000 people coming to the show this year. That might sound impressive, but when you factor in that a couple of pop cultures "royalty" were among the guests, it isn't quite as surprising. I also liked have several of our artists at the show. Randy Kintz, Ben Hansen and Matt Haley were all there. We all would have liked more time to hang out, but the constant flow of humanity made that all but impossible.

Speaking of creators, one of the high points of the show for me, was finally getting to meet Stan "the Man" Lee. If ever their was a creator who could be called a "living legend," Stan Lee would have to be it. I got my copy of Ravage 2099 #1 signed by him and even got to shake his hand. On top of that, Stan punk'd me and played a little joke on me, while I got my signature. I hope my mind and wit are as fast as his, when I'm nearing 90 years of age. I'd have liked to have gotten a photo with him, but with an autograph cost $40.00 and the photo just as much, I simply didn't have the funds. Still, I met him and that's all that really matters to me.

Talked to some other fine creators, too. Including Tone Rodriguez, who could hardly keep awake while doing a sketch for me. Then, I spent a few minutes talking with Aaron Lopresti. I've seen Aaron at several shows in my region, so he knows me. In fact, he's married to a women my wife went to high school with. Small world, it seems. The best original piece I pick up was a sketch of Iron Man by Tim Sale, at a post show event by the Hero Initiative. I was amazed at just how much detail he put into his style, to make it look so simplistic. Just incredible.

Plenty of folks were dressed up in costumes, as well. I saw a couple Catwoman ones, a nice Supergirl, a Joker and probably the best Poison Ivy costume I'd ever seen. However, I ended up snapping this pic of a kid dressed as that wall-crawling icon, Spider-Man, which you can see above.

If there was any downside to the show, it would have to be, and I know this sounds like a broken record, a lack of sales. To call them "slow," would to call the Grand Canyon a "pothole." In fact, this point greatly bothered me on Saturday. So much so, I almost considered packing up and going home. Others, fortunately, dissuaded me of that. And funniest of all, was the words of advice I got from artist Joe Dodd, who had the table next to mine. He said that Seattle isn't a big original art town and that other ones, like in Florida and New York, are more known for attracting the art buying crowds. Well, I wish I'd have known that sooner, but it's a live and learn world, I suppose.

Naturally, the post-show hanging out is always the best part of any convention. I've sort of established myself a small crew, whom I always hang out with when the day of a show is done. Taking in some of the nightlife of the city and some of the... eccentric personalities one will see around town, always makes for some fun times. This show was no different. And it had the added benefit of us brew up some ideas for the future of Sequential Treasures. You'll just have to stay tuned as see how these develop over the year.

So, overall a good experience was had and some good times, too. Next up, is a Free Comic Book Day event in Ellensburg and then the Spokane Comicon, both in May. I hope some of you will be at these events. I'd love to meet you in person.

That's all for now. I'll be back soon, with more news on our artists projects and more art updates. Until then, peace out!

Going "batty" at the Portland Comic Show!

Hey there, my faithful art lovers! Well, we are back from the excursion to the Portland Comic Book Show. So, here's a little rundown of how things went...

It was a nice time overall, for those of us at Sequential Treasures. Randy Kintz was kept fairly busy, selling prints and doing sketches. A couple of highlights were his doing a sketch of the Vision for a little boy and a Catwoman for a little girl. In fact, there were quite a few kids at this show, which was something I was happy to see, as I ended up giving out 40 free comics to kids at the show yesterday. It's just a small way I try to help them to foster the love of this great artform and entertainment source.

I got to meet some really great folks at the show, too, including Andrew from the Comics Bronze Age blog and an unexpected visit from my friend, and comic artist extraordinaire, Matt Haley. Then, of course, we had some folks dressed up walking around. I snapped this shot of a lady done up as the television version of Batgirl. I have to say, her costume was pretty well done, too. I also had some nice chats with folks about the finer points of original comic art, as well. I even picked up a few sketches for myself, including this little gem from Jason Metcalf and another one from Gene Ha.

If there was any downside to the show, it would have to be, once again, a lack of sales. As with Seattle the week before, it seems folks just didn't want to open their wallets for us. I really hope this trend is broken soon, because going to shows isn't free for us and we can't keep absorbing losses forever. Hopefully, with the Holidays soon upon us, folks will help us to end the year on a bright economical note.

But while the con season is over for Sequential Treasures until next year, you'll still have chances to meet some of our artists. Randy Kintz will be at the Comic Evolution shop in Puyallup, WA this Wednesday, to help promote the recent release of DRONE #1, from Red 5 Comics. So, if you are in the area, make sure to stop in and pick up a copy. Also, while at the Portland Show, Randy gave me a few new pin up pieces he's done recently, which you can see right here. They feature Batman, the JLA and the gals of the X-Men, respectively. I have to say, with all honesty, I think these pieces are some of the best stuff I've seen from Randy this year (and considering some of what he's done, that's saying something). I hope to have the original art for DRONE #1 within the next few weeks, as well as possibly some new stuff from Richard Moore and the very M.I.A. Chris Ivy. So keep a watch out for that. [Update - 11/17/09: Just thought you all should know that the Hero Initiative's latest round of "Wolverine 100 Project" auctions, including the one donated by Chris Ivy, are ending tomorrow. So, if you haven't bid on it yet, be sure to do so soon!]

Guess that will do it, for now. Make sure to keep tabs on us, as there may yet be some last minute surprises for you all, from those of us at Sequential Treasures, before the end of the year. Until then, peace out!

Get a "Slice" of Chris Ivy from the Hero Initiative!

Hey, my faithful followers. I'm back again, with some more news and info about our awesome array of talented artistic types.

If you might recall several months back, I told you about how our own Chris Ivy had landed himself as on of the many talented artists doing the "Wolverine 100 Project" with the Hero Initiative. I even gave you a special advanced screening of the the cover art he did (which is again shown right here). Well, as of last week, the organization has begun to auction off the many cover contributions, from the artists involved and which can be seen right here, on eBay. Today, Chris Ivy's has been put up on the block. You can view the auction right here.

As many of you know, the Hero Initiative is a charitable organization dedicated to helping out creators in need. Given what a rough year 2009 has been for many people, such efforts are more important than ever. So, I just wanted to bring your attention to this and would ask that you do what you can to support this very worthy cause, either by bidding on some of these awesome covers yourself, or spreading the word about them now being up for grabs. With the Holidays fast approaching, it is the season to start thinking about goodwill towards others. So, please, help out as much as you can.

That's all for now. I'll be back with more news and info soon. Until then, peace out!

A Cut Above: Chris Ivy joins the Wolverine 100 Project!

Hey, everyone! Got a little tidbit of interest here for you today, that doesn't involve me plugging some new art for sale or a convention to see me (or my artists) at.

No, today I'm going to be letting you all in on something special. Sequential Treasures own Chris Ivy is one of the artists who've been tapped for the Hero Initiative's Wolverine 100 Project! He is one of 100 artists who are providing original art to the cover of 100 blank covered limited edition Wolverine comics. And, fortunate fiends that you all are, you get to see the results of this (as shown above) in an exclusive debut at this blog.

Make sure to stop by the Hero Initiative's Wolverine hub page, to see even more of the covers done by even more of the artists involved. Also, make sure to be on the lookout for these covers to be shown soon at a major comic convention near you.

That's all for now. I'll be back soon, with some more big news that you are all probably going to enjoy. Until then, peace out!

See Sequential Treasures in Seattle this Sunday!

Hey, everyone! I'm burning the midnight oil here, almost quite literally, as well as figuratively. But I wanted to get this posted up before tomorrow, when I probably will not have the time to do so.

As I noted earlier, both Randy Kintz and myself (along with many other fine comic talents) will be at the Seattle ComiCard show this Sunday. I'll be bringing all the art I have in stock with me, along with some nice surprises, including some prizes for a raffle drawing, with all proceeds going to the Hero Initiative. So, if you are in the area on Sunday, please come on out to support this great local and long-running show and say hello to Randy and I. We always enjoy meeting our adoring fans!

I'll have a wrap-up post for you all, on how things went, sometime next week. For now, it's crunch time to get everything ready for the show. I'll see you there, gang! Until then, peace out!

Emerald City ComiCon: Oh, What A Time!

Hey there, everyone. Your humble blogmaster has returned from his jaunt at Seattle's Emerald City ComiCon. Sorry for the delay in posting about it, but a good show is like a long flight, in that both will leave you jet-lagged and drained. So, I needed yesterday just to decompress a bit, but now I'm back and ready to roll!

The show was a lot of fun. I saw lots of creators, and even got some nice goodies for myself and the wife. On the business front, I didn't really sell much art at the show, but then since I was helping out at the Hero Initiative booth, that isn't all that surprising. Still, I was hoping for more, but maybe next year, when I can have a booth of my own.

My assisting the Hero Initiative was a pleasure on my part. On Saturday, I was given the special task of getting as many creators as I could to sign a Hero Initiative t-shirt, which will now head to San Diego Con for more signatures, before it is raffled off. I got a lot of folks to sign (over 60 in total), including Bruce Timm, Tim Sale, Humberto Ramos, Frank Cho, Brandon Peterson, Patrick Gleason, Amanda Conner, Bob Layton, Paul Smith, Tony DeZuniga, Joe Jusko, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino and many others. Sunday was more my helping out at the booth. In all, the charity took in almost $5,000.00, which will go to helping many creators who are in need this year. So, a job well done on that front.

As far as what was done for Sequential Treasures, I talked with Brian Pulido and shown him the art of Richard Moore and Chris Ivy that I had brought with me. I said that if he had anything work-wise they could do, to drop me a line and I'd put him in contact with them. We'll have to see how that goes. And I did get another artist to sign up with me, so that now brings the total to three. I'll do a special blog entry about them very shortly, but I will tell you now that this will be a familiar face, if you bought art from me before. As for the pic shown above, that is yours truly with writer and Space Goat Productions President (aka, my former boss) Shon C. Bury. I'm the one on the left. It was good to see him and hook up after the show for some fun. So, while I didn't accomplish everything I hoped to do, I did make some headway. And there is another show in Spokane coming at the end of May, which I will have my own booth at. So, if you are going to be there, be sure to stop by. Before then, I expect to have some more new art from Chris Ivy and an update on my new talent. So, keep your eyes peeled and ears open, because things are just starting to get good. More to come later!

I'm Emerald City Bound!

Well, I'm back and here to tell you the top secret news I've been hinting at for days. The time for teasing you is done and the time for the big reveal is here. So, here it is:

I will be at the Emerald City ComiCon this weekend. While that may not sound very exciting in and of itself, there is more to it. I won't have my own booth this year, as I did last year. This year I will be helping out the Hero Initiative and will be working their booth there from time-to-time. What's more, I'll be bringing a nice big portfolio with Richard Moore and Chris Ivy's art in it with me, as well as some pre-sketched sketchbooks I had Richard do a few months ago, which will give anyone going to the show access to the art for buying purposes. If you haven't gotten something from us yet, you have an opportunity to do so and save on the shipping costs. Can't beat that, can you?

So, if you are in Seattle this weekend and going to the show, stop by the Hero Initiative booth and say hello. And if I'm not there at that time, be on the lookout for a guy roaming the aisles, with a backpack full of comics for signing and a large art portfolio under his arm, as that will most likely be yours truly. Hope to see some of you there! I'll try to give you all a report of how things go, after the show ends. Maybe I'll even throw in some funny pics of what I see there. Until then, peace out!