Now Available: Diary Cancer Comics

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Cheery, right? Cancer Comics, woo!!

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, so I’ve finally made all the comics I created when I was undergoing treatment for breast cancer free and available to read here! Originally these were all posted to my Patreon page, which was an ENORMOUS HELP in supporting me emotionally and financially at the time, and I couldn’t have done it without all of my lovely, generous patrons.

But now I want to make sure they’re easily accessible by anyone who might get some help from reading about my experience, so you can click here to read all 54 posts. Feel free to share, read, comment at will — I hope it provides some comfort to someone out there going through a similarly sucky time.

<3

The Comfort in Horror - new autobio comic!

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Happy Monday! Here's a little autobio comic I made all about going through a crap time in your life and turning to horror movies for comfort. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's done this! Those movies can be downright soothing. It's my little way of sharing my experience going through bullshit and wanting to let you guys out there know that not everyone is having the best time. Social media tends to tell us otherwise, but MOST of us going through the shit don't POST the shit we're going through. I thought it was important to make sure people who ARE going through stuff know that they're definitely not alone. Hi there!

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THE BONNIE BOOK IT IS HERE

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Helllloooo everyone!

So after 7 years of webcomicking, 1 1/2 years of roller derby, 1 super successful Kickstarter, and 10 issues printed out on my home printer later ... the collected Bonnie N. Collide, Nine to Five Volume 1 is HEEEEERE!

Packed with the first 361 strips of the comic, plus extras on my process AND an 8-page section of pin-ups, all here for your reading pleasure!

Now available as a PDF OR get the dang printed copy itself by clicking here!

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Gumrooooooad!

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I finally started a Gumroad account! Since I have a Comixology account for digital versions of my comics, and you can buy physical copies of my comics already via my website (or this list of swell stores), this will primarily be for PDFs of sketchbook collections I create.

My Portrait of a Hitman sketchbook is now up there for digital download - check it out!

PortraitHitman

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Commissions Now Open & OTHER FUN NEWWWWS

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If you'll be at SPX, Baltimore Comic Con, or New York Comic Con in the next two months and want a commission, pre-order now! Then there'll be no muss, no fuss (no chance of me spilling coffee on the piece while drawing at the show) and I'll have more time to work on it. Just give me a holler, let me know pencil/ink, which character you want, and if you have a preference, please include reference photos! Once you email I'll give ya the paypal address for payment. All sketches will be 8 x 10 on Bristol, $35 for pencil (or $45 for 2 figures in pencil) or $50 for ink ($75 for 2 figures in ink). Yay! (Oh - and Patreon peeps get a discount - become a patron for that and other specials!)

PSST - speaking of SPX and NYCC, I'll be on some panels, yahoo! At SPX I'll be on the Creative Collaboration in Comics  Collectives panel chatting about forming Bmore Into Comics on Saturday from 12:30 - 1:30pm, and at NYCC I'll be on the Kickstarter 101: An Intro to Funding Your Dream Comics Project panel on Friday from 1:30 - 2:30 in Room 1A24.

Come visit!

In February of this year I decided to challenge myself by drawing a hitman a day (all taken from movies, comics, and TV shows). I've placed them all together (along with their memorable quotes) into this "Portrait of a Hitman" mini comic, debuting at SPX! I'll have it available in my store online, or if you're a $3+ patron, you'll get the PDF for free.

The coloring books are back from the printer and look faaaaabulous, I'm so excited about them. The book is still coming along, but check in with my Kickstarter Update page to see the progress as we move along!

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Bonnie Kickstarter begins ... NOW!

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I almost posted "Bonnie Kickstarter BEINGS now" because that's how caffeinated/psyched I am for it! And really, I am 100% a Bonnie Kickstarter Being. ANYWAY. I've created my FIRST EVER Kickstarter in order to get a collected Bonnie Volume 1 printed up, so check it and all the rewards and the video with my (awkward) voice and everything over on the Kickstarter page!

Love you guys and all the support over all these years I've been doing Bonnie! Wait, that sounds like I'm ending it - I'm NOT ENDING BONNIE, SHE WILL BE MY FRIEND FOREVER!

May Autobio Comic

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It's that time again!

It's May and because I've now reached TWO Milestone Goals on my Patreon page, you all now get one autobio comic per month AAAAAND one colorized Bonnie strip per month!

Here's this month's autobio comic:

Lovin' all the support! And if you want to get MORE STUFF from me per month, become a patron today, weeeee!

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April Autobio Comic

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HEY WOO PARTY YAY TIME TWO GOALS REACHED!

For those of you who don't know, I have a Patreon page where lovely fans/friends/supporters can chip in $1, $3, or $10 a month to get extra goodies and support the creation of my comics. As part of Patreon, you set some milestone goals and if that monthly amount reaches those levels, you provide extra fun things.

On mine, at $50 I promised a monthly autobio comic. That goal was reached a couple months ago (for the first one I just added two new Bonnie comics that month) and NOW my second milestone goal has been reached TOO! The second one is to color one Bonnie strip per month, hooray!

So now you all have a monthly autobio comic AND a colored Bonnie strip each month, thanks to the kind folks who are supporting me. This is why I love sites like Patreon - they allow us creators to do more each month and enable you all to be directly involved.

SO ANYWAY thank you all so much. To check out April's autobio comic and to become a patron, click here!

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Motivating Through the Slumps

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Sometimes it seems like all the creative roadblocks are stacked in your way, preventing your access so all you can do is sit there and stew and think EVERYTHING SUCKS. Bad reviews, nasty comments, struggling with a plot bit of a new story, etc etc. It’s tough - you put stuff out there for consumption, and it will be consumed - often in ways you don’t intend or disagree with.

The last few weeks I've felt especially tempted to sink down into some self-whining. One of the reasons is because I'm currently working on story pitches, which can be a bit taxing:

  1. Come up with a super idea!
  2. Explain it perfectly in ways that make everyone excited!
  3. Now throw it into a void and maybe hear nothing about it ever again.
  4. (. . . or only hear about it when it's soundly rejected by multiple people.)
  5. REPEAT! GET EXCITED ABOUT ANOTHER IDEA!

It's hard to write these half-stories, these inklings of fun ideas because (if you're like me) a LOT of your ideas form WHILE you're writing the story, not before. I plan as much as I can stand ahead of time, but it's not until wading through the story with my characters that some things start to make sense. It feels weird to predict what they'll do or where they'll go without going through it with them. That's like cheating!

It's also easy to feel like - why am I wasting my time working on stuff I can't show to anyone (possibly ever) and no one might ever like? That's a larger issue of putting stuff out there to begin with - why bother?

The thing that helps me when I go through these slumpy-slumps is to remember that slumps end. They can be miserable, but also kind of fun in a wallowing way. Enjoy feeling put upon for a tiny bit of time ... and then get over it. Get back to doing what you love to do - CREATE! YOU know why you're bothering, so what if other people don't get it yet. You know there are stories you want to tell, things you want to figure out, things you want to show. Turn off the social streams that make you feel like you're not accomplishing anything. Turn off that voice that keeps telling you you're behind your peers. Remember that when you're in this biz -- or really any creative endeavor -- rejection is part of it. And so is work for work's sake - none of it is wasted. Even the tiny little pitches you keep murdering and burying, stacking one one top of another. Somehow, some day they will all feed into your future work and they will all be valuable.

Slump slump slump .... time's up. Get back to it!

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Five Things I Learned Writing Part-Time Princesses

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The super cool Chuck Wendig let me join in his stellar series of "Five Things I Learned ..." posts to share what I learned writing Part-Time Princesses (available now!)

Check out the article here, and if by some reason you haven't heard of Chuck's blog before, it is CHOCK FULL (Chuck full?) of helpful tips and exercises for writers. His books are AMAZEBALLS and full of crazy twitchy characters I adore.

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Emerald City Next Week!

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It's almost time for one of my favorite crazy big super shows - Emerald City Comic Con! I'll be at Table M-05, which if you were there last year, is the same spot, hooray! (Click the map to see an enlarged version)

That's right, it's happening next weekend, and besides the fact that it's always a super fun show for me .... this year it'll be EXTRA out of control because it coincides with the release of my new book Part-Time Princesses!

WEEEEEEEEE!

So to celebrate, I'll have these limited edition (limited edition because I had no clue how many to print and guessed at a tiny number) posters for sale at my table to commemorate this occasion!

So if you're at ECCC, come say hello and get yourself a poster and it will make my 2015. It will MAKE IT! And if you're NOT at ECCC, please go get my book when it comes out on Wednesday, March 25th! I'll be about to leave for Seattle but not quite, so I'm going to have a private, somber solo book release party. With my cats. My cats better come, the ungrateful jerks ...

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STAPLE this weekend!

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Helllloooo from the depths of the winter tundra in which I currently reside!

I'm planning on burrowing out of here early tomorrow morn and heading on down to the fantastically mild Austin climate for some Staple! action this weekend. If you're in the nearby to Austin area, come on out and see me! I'll have a selection of things, including these things:

OHHH I'll also have a preview copy of my NEW BOOK but no actual copies yet .... ;)

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Bmore Into Comics #5 - THIS SUNDAY!

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It's time for another edition of comics creators hanging out in a local bar in Baltimore, drawin' things, drinkin' things, and selling their books for all to enjoy!

Come on down to The Wind-Up Space this Sunday, December 14th from 12:00 - 5:00pm for the fun and squeeze in some holiday shopping while yer at it!

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Sales n' Things

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I know you're all being inundated with CRAZY FRIDAY POST-THANKSGIVING FOOD COMA SPEND MONEY NOW offers, so allow me to quietly, respectfully, slip this into your discount pile ...

It expires at midnight on Tuesday, December 2nd to, y'know give you an extra day to relax a bit.

And hey, if you're a Patreon person, you get even more off! Check out the activity feed for deets.

(if you're not a Patreon person, it's super easy to join in the behind-the-scenes comic talks we're having!)

 

Part-Time Princesses Party Preview Party YAY

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AHOY-HOY!!

I'm using Mr. Burns's phone answering technique to excitedly share with you guys that my NEW book Part-Time Princesses (penned/drawn/stressed over by me, published by the amazing Oni Press) is now in Previews for pre-ordering!

(Yes, when this comes out it WILL have a title and my name on it)

I've illustrated a comic for Oni before (Glitter Kiss by amaze-tastic Adrianne Ambrose) but THIS one will be completely my fault! My wonderful, princessy fault, all powdery because it's stuffed full of funnel cake (spoiler - it takes place in an amusement park).

If you're a comic shop, please go forth and pre-order and support! If you're not, looky - the thing I've been mysteriously alluding to (who are we kidding, complaining about the work of) is finally going to be released!

MARCH 2015. Mark it, dude!

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Local Times and Sportscar Designs

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Hi guys, it's me! What have you been up to this summer?

After running around to different states the last couple of weekends (Boston 2 weeks ago, California 1 week ago), I'm finally here to stay! So here are some of the (exciting) things happening that I get to tackle now that I've got the whole rest of the local year ahead of me ...

  • My next graphic novel (written/drawn by me and published by Oni Press) is ALL DRAWN! Now it just needs to be scanned, sent and VAMOOSH you guys will be seeing it soon! Can't wait!!
  • My comic 4 States 2 Months, which you may/may not have been following in its sporadic spot on my website, is now almost complete and will be available in print at this year's SPX!
  • Speaking of SPX, I will be there this year but FIRST I will be at Baltimore Comic Con at Table A-234!
  • And . . . oh right, I've got a wedding to finish planning! Expect some possibly-complainy blog posts about that to come.

As far as my trips went, my fiancee and I checked out Monterey Car Week for a few days (total lifelong dream of his to be basked in hot cars and foggy, perfect weather) this past weekend. Not being a car person myself - I see my car as IT BETTER LAST FOREVER rather than a stunning piece of engineering equipment - I was surprised at how enjoyable it could be for a spectator. I mean, yes, most of the car "shows" took place on gorgeous Carmel Valley golf courses, on breezy/sunny days, where all you do is walk around with your solo cup of wine and peer at the most beautiful vintage sports cars you'll ever see - so really, what's not to enjoy. My favorite part was seeing the crowd of fans - a perfect blend of fancy European men in tailored suits and old, chubby white men who dress like my dad. I overheard a lot of important conversations, but the people who really knew what they were doing were the wives who brought pop-up picnic tables stocked with wine, cheese, and camped out behind their husbands' cars for the duration. I was more than a little jealous of these women.

One of the things that fascinated me the most was the combination of colors and textures people chose for the exteriors/interiors of their car. So while my fiancee was snapping off engine pics and getting the full car in the frame, I was focused on all of these lovely combos:

Oh, but then I couldn't help but take a picture of this little guy too:

I love when form and function are considered and put together in such a fun way. You sportscar fans out there can have all the horsepower and torque you want, but throw in a good deep orange and some houndstooth pattern and I'm sold.

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Bmore Into Comics #4!

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That's right Marylanders and DC'ers and Virginniers! It's time for another Bmore Into Comics!

What IS this magical thing, you wonder? Why, it's just another reason to get into comics and support your local business scene in the meantime! Support by showing up to a bar and buying alcohol and comics, I mean.

So far we have had THREE WHOLE MAGICAL events, and we're returning to The Wind-Up Space for #4! What you can expect: a super-casual atmosphere, friendly local creators, a bar, a hip space to hang out in, and COMICS!

It'll be from 12 - 5:00 Saturday, July 26th at The Wind-Up Space. Right next to The Baltimore Print Studios and Red Emma's! A.k.a. a fun place to spend a couple hours in Baltimore on a Saturday. We'd love to see ya!

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Wrappin' Up A Comic

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Slidin' down into the home stretch, wee-hooooo!

As some of you already know, I'm finishing up my 2nd graphic novel for Oni Press, a project which has taken me a couple of years, some new tools, some dragging my family to amusement parks AND a healthy heaping of self-doubt to accomplish - and I'm NEARLY FINISHED!

I had planned to be finished early-mid July, but alas my neck and back had other ideas and took a moment to punish me for all my slouching. BUT physical therapy and lots of stretching have been helping, so I'm gearing up to punish my body all over again, wahoo! And if I can plug in ~30 hours a week or so for the next month, I'll be done come early August.

Now the reason I'm boring you all with the details of how long it takes me to do things is because I'd like to put a call out for guest artists for my webcomic Bonnie N. Collide! Seemed like a good time to do it, an opportunity to let my characters roam beyond my clutches for a bit, and a way to get all the readers out there to share their guesting skills! If you're interested, I'm looking for black-and-white, 839 pixels wide x 332 pixels high, having something to do with either the story or the world or the characters in which Bonnie n' friends live. You can email me whatcha got here. Browse all the archives for inspiration here!

Depending on how many (if any) guest strips I get, I'll be starting them the 7th of July and going through until August 6th. I love seeing other folks play around with my characters, so if you have any comic inclination, I do hope you'll be willing!

In the meantime I'll be over here guzzling coffee, and nerdily chuckling at The Thrilling Adventure Hour (for those of you who follow me on Twitters, you know I'm WAY behind the times and recently obsessed) whilst I draw endless crowd scenes. (ENDLESSSS) Thanks so much for all of your patience and support and HOLY GOD I can't wait to show you this book!

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Gods & Undergrads SALE up in here

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In celebration of my webcomic Gods & Undergrads returning this month, I'm throwing a SALE PARTY and you're all invited!

Just use the coupon code CHEAPGODS to get 15% off Gods & Undergrads merch (or, really, any merch in my store) AND when you get a G&U book, I'll draw in it the Greek God of your choice!

Like this here Poseidon (who hasn't shown up in the comic ... YET) I did for a fellow reader:

So come on down to my shop and get some 15% off things! It'll help the comic and me and we'll all celebrate Greek Mythology Nerdiness together!

(psst - and if you haven't seen them, I also have a whole slew of Greek Gods inspired prints!)

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West Coast Signings - THIS Weekend!

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It's West Coast Whirlwind Weekend Time! This weekend I have TWO signings coming up on the west coast:

I can't wait - I may never leave. I'll be signing books, drawing sketches, and I'll have prints and original art with me to browse through. Come visit and say hello!

(psst - and if you say the magic word - aka QUELLISH - get a free sketch of your choice!)

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