West Coast Wanderings: More appearances by our talent!

Hello again, everyone! I hope you all had a fun-filled Free Comic Book Day event where you were. Those of us at Sequential Treasures certainly did. In fact, you can see some photos of the happenings at our new Facebook page. If you have a moment, stop by and check them out. Needless to say, we are looking forward to next year's event.

But you don't have to wait that long to see our talent in person. This weekend will have several of our awesome artists making show appearances along the west coast. So, make sure to take note of the info your blogmaster is about to impart to you.

To begin, Mick Gray will be attending the Big Wow! Comicfest (formerly known as the San Jose Super-Con). He'll be on hand, not only doing the usual signing and sketching he's known for, but he'll actually be doing a workshop tutorial called "Inking Comics... Not Just Tracing," where you can see first hand just what is involved in the daily work routine of a comic book inker. This is a first for Mick and should be of interest to all you original art lovers out there. The show is this weekend (May 21-22) and you can get the location and other show info at their website.

Then we come to the Spokane ComiCon, which is also this Saturday (May 21). Both Randy Kintz and Ben Hansen will be among the many guests at this show. They will be doing sketches and have lots of original art on hand. On top of that is their large array of find prints. In fact, Ben Hansen has two new print which will be exclusive at this show (one of which you can see above). Even you humble blogmaster will be there, although as a fan, not in an official capacity. Just look for the guy walking around the show with an art portfolio under his arm and that's likely to be me. You can get more info on this show at their website.

Lastly, an update on the continuing scanner issue. As of now, there seems to be no end to it in sight. With sales having all the robust feeling of a ghost town, I don't know when this situation will alleviate itself. Of course, you can always try to help change that, by heading over to our art gallery and placing an order for some of the great original art that is up for sale there. You support, as always, is greatly appreciated. I really do want to get back to new art updates soon, so please do all you can to help.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully, I'll be back soon with more news and info for you all regarding our vastly talented artistic stable. So, until then, peace out!

The Spokane ComiCon aftermath report!

Hey everyone! Well, I'm back from the Spokane ComiCon this past Saturday. I don't know if any of you were there, but if so I hope you enjoyed yourselves.

The attendance for this year's show was the best on record in the event's four year history. There were plenty of great comics around, both from dealers and creators who happened to be on hand. Our own Randy Kintz and Ben Hansen were there, slinging prints and sketches (I even picked one of the latter up from Randy myself).

Lots of people came dressed up in costumes for the contest they were holding. I don't think I'd see that many people made up since Halloween. I managed to get a couple of snapshots of some of my favorites, along with a couple other con pics, which you can see posted at our Facebook forum.

I handed out some business cards and had some nice chats with folks about comics, art, and just stuff in general. If there was any downer, it was, as always seems the case, a lack of sales. In fact, not one thing sold at my table. Don't let that photo of me above fool you, because while lots of people looked at stuff, no one ever went for their wallets. I'm really at a loss for what else I can do. People don't even want to haggle over the prices. I can't do much, if folks don't even want to talk.

Overall, I'd say I had a good time, although most of that was due to my after show activities, which includes, but isn't limited to, being mistaken for being a member of the band The Bare Naked Ladies (you'll have to talk to me in person, if you want the details on that one).

I don't know if I'll be going to the show next year, given how I've crapped out at making sales for the last two years running. In fact, I'm not sure if I'll do any more shows at all, given the apathetic response I've gotten from the OA fanbase and larger comic community as a whole. Doing shows are not free or cheap for any of us who work them, so when you folks don't spend, you take away a lot of reason for us to go. Just something you all might want to think on.

Well, that's all for now. I hope to have some new art updates for you soon. Until then, peace out!

See Sequential Treasures in Spokane this Saturday!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in posting up more info here, but your humble blogmaster has been dealing with a couple of real personal headaches. First is jury "doodie," which is thankfully done now. Unfortunately, that is due to headache #2, which was having my home broken into and robbed (no worries, no one was injured, as they broke in while no one was home). So, things have been... hectic... the last few days.

Anyway, this Saturday is the Spokane Comicon and Sequential Treasures will be there in force! Not only will I be there, with all the original art we have available in tow, but so will our own Randy Kintz and Ben Hansen! In fact, of the two, Ben also have a new exclusive print he's done for the show, featuring Black Widow vs. Hit Girl, as the ladies from the two biggest superhero films of the year (so far) are poised to throwdown (you can see the full colored piece right here). Inks on this are provided by Levi Skeen (who will also be at the show). But don't wait to long to get one, as the supply is limited to a mere 25 copies of this awesome print! Both of them will also be doing sketches, for a modest fee, as well.

I hope to see some of you there, so make sure to come on down to the show, if you are in the area! I, as well as Randy and Ben, will be glad to meet and greet with you (as well as relieve you of some of the burden of a heavy wallet (heh-heh).

That's all for now, I'll be back soon with a con report and hopefully some new art from our artistic trove of talent. 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!

Seattle ComiCard Aftermath: Where were the people?

Well, here's my report from the show, as promised. As you can probably guess from the title, things weren't exactly stellar at this show, either. In fact, the amount of traffic at this show, made the Spokane one look about as packed as the Emerald City ComiCon, by comparison. Steve Miner is a good guy and this show can usually be a lot of fun, but I think some poor planning really hindered this one.

First off, at Key Arena right next door, there were graduation events going on. This made finding parking a real pain (not to mention even more expensive). As if that wasn't bad enough, in the section of the hall across from the show, they were holding an arcade game and pinball symposium filled with classic games to play. It seems that finding a worse weekend to hold the show would be highly unlikely.

That picture above is of yours truly, in what would be probably the best point of the show for me (the set up). Only sold a single piece of art all day and not a very expensive one, at that. No sketchbooks or anything else would move. My only consolation, is that it seems many of the other vendors didn't make out any better than me. One of them, Chuck Messinger of Comic Evolution, even told me that it seemed people who came didn't seem to bring their wallets with them. He actually wanted to buy a semi-expensive piece from me, but didn't make enough at the show to do so.

My show highlight was, again, handing out comics to the kids at the show. Gave away almost another 40 comics, too. I also got to bask in the glowing presence of Randy Kintz, which is a pleasure you just can't measure. I even got him to do an amalgam sketch of Alf as Superman. He seemed to do okay at the show, from a financial standpoint, but with me paying for the table and a friend driving him up, it would be hard to have come out at a loss. Wish I could get offers like that.

In the end, this was the biggest bust for me yet. But, as ever, I will soldier on. On the plus side, it means that all of you here online still have an opportunity to grab up some of the art I have in inventory (and given my losses at these local shows, I REALLY need the sales now). I probably won't be doing any more shows, until the one in Portland this November. So, make sure to mark your calendars for that one.

Well, that's all for now. I have some things I'm working on behind the scenes right now and can't talk about. But if they pan out, it'll be some really exciting news for everyone at Sequential Treasures and for you, my faithful followers. Plus, I hope to have some new art updates in the not too distant future. So, keep your eyes peeled here for the latest. Until next time, peace out!

Spokane Comicon Aftermath: A very mixed bag!

Hey everyone! Well, I'm back and rested up from doing the Spokane Comic Con this past Saturday. While there were some good things that happened from it, it also had its share of things that didn't work for me. So, here's my thoughts on the show...

I was set up between my guy, Randy Kintz (who is hard at work on a sketch in the picture here), and artist Jason Metcalf. The tables were smaller than I thought they would be and the space behind the tables of those of us in the artists alley section, was a bit cramped at time, since many of us had stuff we needed to keep behind the tables. In fact, the show itself was smaller than I anticipated. According to the guys who started it, this year (the third year of the show) is the biggest one they've done. Yet, for me, it was of a size that would be barely worth doing it, if I was in charge (makes me glad I wasn't at either of the first two shows, as well).

Once the doors opened, people started pouring in. I was pleasantly surprised to see as many kids as I did in attendance. I gave away almost 50 free comics to kids at the show, which was certainly one of the highlights of the show for me. It was also nice talking with some old friends who I have seen since Emerald City Comicon. I managed to get a sketch from artist Steve Lieber for myself, as well. There were folks done up in costumes for the contest held later that day (and if you'd like to see some pics of the contestants, make a comment here and I'll do up a post with some of the photos I got). I talked with some folks, and even managed to help a few get a greater appreciation of comic art and what is involved in the process of it.

However, despite that almost 600 people were reported to have come to the show, sales for me were almost non-existent. Not one piece of art was sold. If it weren't for some of the related items I brought with me (such as sketchbooks and autographed comics), I wouldn't have made a sale all day. I don't think this had anything to do with the con folks themselves, who seemed to be doing everything they could for the guests and dealers there. Something I noted (as did my wife) were all the people who mentioned this was their very first comicon experience. So, my guess is, that many of those who came, simply suffered from total sensory overload. It might have made the show more fun for them, but kind of hindered my main reason for being there.

So, while the show didn't pan out for me financially, I still had a good time and made the most of things. It was a nice little show, overall. I just didn't make out as well as I had hoped. Of course, these are just my thoughts. You can get another view of how things went, right over here.

While all of this was happening, the Josh Medors benefit auctions were ending. While I haven't got a final tally on how much was generated for the event, I do know that the pieces donated by Randy Kintz and Richard Moore brought in almost $100.00 together. I also know that, given where the prices were when I last looked in on the auctions, they must have raised several thousand dollars in all. So, good job, everyone! It is great to see this community can still pull together to help out someone in need.

As for what is in the future for all of you, well, I'm expecting another batch of art from Randy Kintz any time now. Plus, there is the Seattle ComiCard show on the 14th of this month, which I will also have a table at. With this show being more well-established and larger, I'm hoping to do better in making sales for my artists.

Of course, you can always help in that, by checking out my art gallery and making a purchase or two. Believe me, it is always appreciated. That's all for now. I'll hopefully have more news and stuff for you soon. Until later, peace out!

See Sequential Treasures at the Spokane Comicon this Saturday!

Hey, everyone! I got some exciting new for you all. If you are planning on being, or will happen to be, in the Spokane, WA area this Saturday, you need to make sure to stop by the Spokane Comicon! Not only is it the only Comicon on the eastern side of Washington state, but your humble blogmaster will be there, pumping the cause that is Sequential Treasures!

Aside from all the comic art I currently have in inventory from our artists, I also have a few "con exclusive" items, which are only available at shows like this. I'll also be handing out free comics to as many kids as I can who attend (got to help that next generation foster the love of comics, right?), too. Of course, I'm not the only reason you should go, because our own Randy "Rantz" Kintz will also be in attendance, as well. Be sure to say hello to the big lug. There are also plenty of other great guests, raffle prizes, tons and tons (quite litterally) of comics and even a costume contest, among the many other fun things to find there.

Just follow the link provided here to find out all the details. Hope to see some of you there. I'll try to provide a report to you on how the show turns out.

Also, just a last minute reminder that, along with the Spokane show, the eBay benefit auctions to help artist Josh Medors will be ending on Saturday, as well. So, for those who can't make the show, use some of the time to put some bids on all the great donated art there. It's all going for a good cause and you'll have a shot at some really cool stuff (including possibly a couple pieces donated by our artists). That's all for now. Until next time, peace out!

Randy Kintz art now available to purchase!

Hey all! Just wanted to drop the good news that I just updated my gallery with some fine artistic goodness from my newest talent addition: Randy "Rantz" Kintz!

Randy has made available to purchase his cover art from the Bluewater Comics series Legend of Isis (the cover to issue #4 is shown here)! As if that weren't enough, I also put up several pin pieces featuring some Vampire Hunters and Warrior Angels. Stop by my gallery and check out the new addition (and be sure to place your order before they all disappear). You can expect to see even more stuff for sale from Randy within the next several weeks. So, get used to see his unique blend of American an Manga art styles, as they are going to become a fixture around here.

Also, it is now confirmed that I will be at the Spokane ComiCon at the end of May. I have lined up my table there and all is green lighted to go (they even put up a link to this blog in the Artists Alley section of their website). So, make sure to mark the date on your calendar. That's all for now. Until next time, peace out!

"Rantz" and Raves: Randy Kintz is Back!

Okay, everyone. I told you I nabbed up another artist at Emerald City ComiCon last weekend. And I hinted that this talent would be familiar to those of you who've bought art from me before (back when I was with Space Goat). Well, the time has come to do the big reveal. The "new" artistic talent joining Sequential Treasures is: Randy "Rantz" Kintz!

Those of you who can recall, know I was repping for Randy at Space Goat. Well, now he's back and so is his art. In fact, he's even got some things going on I'll tell you all about later, when I revamp his creator bio and post it up here this weekend.

For now, you can simply bask in the glow of his handsomeness in the pic shown here (he's just too cute in it, isn't he?), as I get ready to put up his art for sale on my gallery very shortly (and don't forget the updates I just did with Chris Ivy and Richard Moore, in which much of their art is still available to purcahse). What's more, Randy will be at the Spokane ComiCon in May along with yours truly. So, make sure to mark the day of the show on your calendar. Stay tuned for more info as it comes...

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!