Happy Free Comic Book Day, everybody! As I shared yesterday, I'm spending FCBD with my good friends at Drawn to Comics, which was named by travelandleisure.com as America's fifth best comic book store! DTC's owner, Ken Brown, and I have been podcasting for awhile now and I consider him a great friend. If you're ever in the Metro Phoenix area, you gotta check them out!
Special thanks to Cab Comics in Flagstaff, as well! They posted some kind words about Amazing Arizona Comics on their Instagram yesterday, and I appreciate their shop -- and their support! Obviously, music_pg_n1 agrees.
And now, here is a special presentation of today's Free Comic Book Day adventure. That's right, it's a full length motion comic! Can Sam Brero stand against . . . "The Cold Hand of Justice?" Watch here, now!
Amazing Arizona Comics Month continues! Today's post starts with a shout-out to my friend Derk Harron. I was a guest on his new podcast, Here Comes the Pitch, featuring local writers and artists pitching story ideas to each other. The latest episode features Derk's pitch for The Helmet, a fun concept that struck me similarly to Marvel's The Sentry in its scope and potential for exploring the history of superhero comics. Listen to our episode on iTunes, SoundCloud, iHeart Radio, or his own website, right here!
If you don't already know, this Saturday is Free Comic Book Day. Comic book shops across the country will be giving away free comics, made specifically for this special day -- and, for many shops in Arizona, Amazing Arizona Comics will be among their priceless offerings. This year's FCBD story is an excerpt from Amazing Arizona Comics #33, featuring Sam and Samantha Brero. If you aren't in Arizona, or your local comic shop runs out of issues, have no fear -- Sam Brero's story will appear right here, on this very blog, on Saturday in a very special way. In the meantime, I'm excited to introduce you to Sam's friend, Samantha Brero.
Samantha's origin story hasn't been shared in the pages of Amazing Arizona Comics yet, but we know that she and Sam have similar alien sombreros that, when donned by a worthy wearer, transform him or her into their personal perception of a hero. Samantha's look is obviously inspired by "la adelita," or the warrior women of the Mexican Revolution. "La Adelita" was once a musical ballad and has developed to describe strong women throughout Mexican culture. Samantha Brero was clearly an admirer, and now a successor to the title.
Tomorrow, I'll be at Drawn to Comics in downtown Glendale, giving away copies of Sam and Samantha Brero's latest adventure. If you can't catch me there (or even if you can), come back here to see the Arizonauts face . . . "The Cold Hand of Justice!"
Since I started self-publishing Amazing Arizona Comics in 2010, I've been very lucky to meet some incredible people in the local comics scene. Among them is Ken Brown, who runs a great local comics shop in downtown Glendale, Arizona. This year, his Drawn to Comics was named one of the nation's best comic book stores in the country by TravelandLeisure.com, and it's the setting of my webseries Kirby For A Day.
Last year, Ken asked me to join him for a podcast hosted by the Geek News Network, and I was honored. We get together and record a few times a month, and I've begun posting the shows on my feed, too, clickable right here, in the right column. Dig our last two episodes, as we talk the latest comic news over breakfast at Bitz-ee Mama's in Glendale. It's superhero analysis as you've never heard it before -- through mouthfuls of bacon!
Seriously, Ken is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, and his insight as a fan and retailer is invaluable. Even if you aren't in Arizona, you can support Drawn to Comics . . . by listening to it! Perfect for those holiday roadtrips! If you are in Arizona, come say hi to Ken and me this Saturday. I'll be at Drawn to Comics for its Holiday Artist Series, with Forever Etched Mirrors and Glass. Come see what all the hype is about!
I know I promised more tales from Phoenix Comicon's FanFest last month, but like Orko here conjuring a sketch of Cringer, I've concocted more chances for you to find Amazing Arizona Comics in and around Phoenix! (Dig that cameo from another magician behind Orko -- imagine that crossover!)
That's right, the Amazing Arizona Comics Winter Tour has begun! Thanks to {9} the Gallery for hosting my first stop during their First Friday exhibit opening (which is a tremendous exhibit, by the way -- catch it while you can). With Christmas right around the corner, folks seemed interested in comics co-starring Santa Claus, and following her amazing year in theaters, Wonder Woman was a popular request for sketches.
Sketching at First Friday. Picture courtesy Kathleen Plasko.
Drinking and drawing at Palo Verde.
The tour continued last Thursday at the Palo Verde Lounge, where Bunny Vomit creator Birdie Birdashaw, B-Sides publisher Marna Kay, and I hosted the first in a series of drink and draw events. We set up a small pop-up shop of comics and zines, and I sold some back issues of Amazing Arizona Comics right out of the back of my truck. Thanks to everyone that came, had a brew, and drew!
We may have had a crowded house, but don't worry, folks -- it's not over yet! I'll be at Drawn to Comics on Saturday, December 16th, set up next to Forever Etched Mirrors and Glass. Come by for a free sketch, and locally self-published minicomic starring Speed Cameron, Santa Claus, and more of Arizona's own superheroes. They make great stocking stuffers, and, to me, the real gift is this chance to share my stories with you. 'Tis the season, after all!
Kirby For A Day continues! Have you watched the latest episode of the webseries I hosted about four Arizona artists attempting the 24 Hour Comic Challenge to honor Jack Kirby's 100th birthday earlier this year? No? Well, here's your chance!
What do geeks talk about in the wee hours? These geeks talk about everything, including how much The Big Bang Theory stinks. Wait, what? You gotta see it to believe it!
And come back here later this week for more memories from Phoenix Comicon's FanFest!
The second episode of Kirby For A Day is on Facebook now! Check out four Arizona artists honoring Jack Kirby's 100th birthday with the 24 Hour Comic Challenge -- filmed on location at Drawn to Comics in Glendale! Of course, it's hosted by me, and masterfully edited by my brother Kyle. These episodes are short and sweet -- check it out here! Now!
Here it is -- the first episode of Kirby For A Day! You may remember when I first talked about this project in August. August 28th would've been Jack Kirby's 100th birthday, and since I've been organizing Kirby-themed birthday celebrations in Phoenix for the past few years, I wanted to do something really special. I asked some friends if they'd attempt the 24 Hour Comic Challenge -- drawing to a Kirby-themed prompt -- and let me record the whole thing. They agreed, and this is the result!
Kirby For A Day is a web-based miniseries about four artists' 24 hours at the drawing board. We filmed over the last weekend of August at Drawn to Comics in Glendale, and, always, my sincere thanks to Ken and Susan Brown for hosting this overnight event. An overwhelming amount of appreciation goes to my brother Kyle, for editing that footage into the episodes we'll post over the next few weeks. We're making this series via "the Marvel method," as I give Kyle the general concept of each episode, and he brings it to life. In this way, he's the Kirby to my Stan Lee, pushing the theme of the show that much further.
So . . . please watch! My closest associates in self-publishing dedicated a great deal of time and energy to make this project happen, and they deserve your eyes and ears . . . if only for a few minutes every week. Stay tuned!
It's over! Phoenix's 3rd annual celebration of Jack Kirby's birthday has passed, and this year we honored the King's 100th birthday with a multifaceted three day event I won't soon forget . . . because I recorded the whole thing!
Firstly, I'd like to thank Drawn to Comics for hosting the 24 Hour Kirby Comic Challenge. Drawn to Comics has come up a lot here lately, not just because I co-host a podcast with shop owner Ken Brown, but because he and his wife Susan are incredible supporters of local artists like myself. Who else would let five weirdos lock themselves in a comic shop for 24 straight hours?
One of those weirdos was me -- the rest were four of my favorite people in Phoenix (well, one of them is in Sedona, but that's Phoenix adjacent, so it counts). Birdie Birdashaw, Derk Harron, the Janimal, and Zoe Sugg agreed to attempt the 24 Hour Comic Challenge to honor Kirby, while I documented the whole thing in an attempt to create a webseries of the day. Here's a picture of them as the sun rose over Glendale, bushy-eyed but strong-willed -- as you'll see when that webseries drops on YouTube later this year!
That Monday, the 28th, the day of Kirby's actual birthday, 10 of the Valley's funniest people gathered to roast the King's first, and perhaps most important creation -- Captain America! My thanks to Monkey Pants Bar & Grill in Tempe for hosting our event. If you're ever hankering wings and/or karaoke near ASU, Monkey Pants is the place.
I'll post the roast on Phoenix Tonight's YouTube page soon, but in the meantime, here's a shot of me with the Avengers in attendance. I guess Stark had an expo, or something.
My appreciation to the comedians that made the night hilarious, and particularly to the Captain himself, who made both the 24 Hour Comic Challenge and this roast some of the most memorable events in this fanboy's life. Follow him on Instagram @stevenrogersusa.
I'm scheduled posts for autumn even as you read this, and of course I'm working on the latest issues of Amazing Arizona Comics, so keep your eyes glued to this very blog for the latest!
It's here! Jack Kirby -- the King of Comics -- would've turned 100 years old on Monday, August 28, and fans here in Phoenix are planning a multi-dimensional three-day extravaganza to honor him.
At his zenith, Kirby drew five to eight pages a day, at his board for 10 to 12 hours, so we're celebrating his productivity in a special way. On Saturday, August 26, four local artists will attempt the 24 Hour Comic Challenge -- they'll try drawing a 24 page comic book in 24 consecutive hours. If that isn't hard enough, they'll pull a Kirby-inspired topic from a hat first, to use as inspiration for their story. If you're in or around Phoenix, join us at Drawn to Comics in downtown Glendale to see the cartoonists in action, and answer Kirby trivia questions for prizes, including sketches from the artists themselves! The festivities will start at 1 p.m. -- and everything will be recorded for a webseries we'll drop later this year.
Dig the artists' websites before you see them in action!
Then, on Monday, the 28th, ten comedians will roast Captain America -- Kirby's first, most famous creation -- at Monkey Pants Bar in Tempe, at 8 p.m. The dais will feature some of the funniest people in the Valley . . . and Captain America himself! Kirby fancied his drawing prowess as "performance." He was a fan of cinema and pulp magazines, so a comedy show in his honor is as eclectic as the man himself. A raffle -- featuring some pretty cool prizes, if I do say so myself -- will benefit the Hero Initiative, so your dollar bills.
Jack Kirby inspired a lot of people. He created a legion of timeless characters and demonstrated a work ethic that sets a high standard for anyone writing or drawing comics today. Honoring him is as humbling as it is fun, and I hope you'll join us, if not in person, then in the future, as we post pictures and videos from these events. Happy birthday, Jack!
It's been nearly two months since I've updated the ol' blog . . . no, I didn't take that long to recover from this year's 24 Hour Comic Challenge, thankyouverymuch! I've been busy making and selling Amazing Arizona Comics, of course!
I owe this busy summer to a lot of folks willing to take a chance on Amazing Arizona Comics, so I thought I'd spend the next few days expressing my appreciation to local and state-away businesses that have offered time and space to me these past several weeks. You can never have enough gratitude, people!
Speaking of that 24 Hour Comic Challenge, my first Gratitude Platitude goes out to Drawn to Comics. Ken and Susan Brown were kind enough to let me draw in their storefront window again, and they've upped the ante of their hospitality by agreeing to host a part of this year's Phoenix Celebrates Jack Kirby's 100th Birthday (more to come on that next week). Drawn to Comics recently won a spot on TravelandLeisure.com's Best Comic Book Stores in U.S. list, so I couldn't be more honored to work with them.
If you're in the Metro Phoenix area, visit Drawn to Comics and tell 'em Russ sent ya. It's a great shop, run by great people that love comics. Oh, and here's the cover to that issue I drew in their window. . .
It's that time of year again! It's that time of year I decide to sit in a public place and attempt the 24 Hour Comic Challenge. The challenge is simple: create a 24 page comic in 24 consecutive hours. In 2015, I drew in the window of C-MOD, a beautiful post-modern furniture and collectibles store in Phoenix's Melrose District. Last year, I drew at Drawn to Comics, downtown Glendale's premiere comic book shop.
This year, I return to Drawn to Comics. I just love their big storefront window. It's the perfect display case for a struggling artist! The challenge starts June 24th (the perfect date!) at 1 p.m., and continues until Sunday the 25th, 1 p.m. Come watch me draw! Coincidentally, the Glendale Toy Show will also be happening in the downtown area, so make a day of it, why don'cha!
My list of top 10 favorite Phoenix Comicon memories continues!
5. The Edgar Rice Burrows Panel
Every year, I'm asked to join a panel or two, and I choose judiciously, because time spent on panels is time away from my Artists' Alley table, where I could be selling and connecting with fans. When my buddy Bob Leeper or Evermore Nevermore and Nerdvana Media) asked if I'd be willing to join a panel about Arizona's role in pop culture, I couldn't resist! First of all, Amazing Arizona Comics is all about Arizona's larger in the world.
Secondly, Bob delivered a great presentation at Ignite Phoenix last year about how Edgar Rice Burrows' John Carter of Mars birthed many pop culture tropes we take for granted today -- and how the opening act of that classic story takes place right here in Arizona! See his presentation here, thanks to YouTube!
Our panel was an expanded version of this presentation, with guests like Burrows historians Frank Puncer and Steve Ringgenberg, and NAU astronomy expert Dr. Timothy Yamamura. These guys were pros, and I was honored to contribute.
4. Friendly Neighbors
Weird story. The map of this year's Artists' Alley planted my table on a corner, so I was prepared for the exposure from either aisle. Of course, Phoenix Comicon reserves the right to change things up, so I was a table in from the aisle come showtime. During set-up, a guy put down a line of tape two feet in front of our tables and said we could scoot up, if we wanted. Weird, but they must've mis-measured the floor plan. When my neighbor on the end arrived, I asked if he wouldn't scoot up, so I could have some semblance of a corner table, and he agreed! "He" is Nathan Blackwell, director of the Star Trek inspired webseries Voyage Trekkers. Please visit their website and watch their series! It's as great as Nathan was for accommodating this high-maintenance neighbor.
Nathan was so cool, I asked him to be a guest on my talk show this month! Here's his segment:
3. After Con Activities
Comic con doesn't end when the convention hall closes. Geeks usually take to the streets for food and frivolity. This year, I was excited to participate in another Untidy Secrets Storytelling & Zine Swap at Ash Avenue Comics in Tempe. Storytelling events are becoming very popular, and this was the first I ever attended -- and it's in a comic shop, to boot! Hearing local artists spin personal yarns amidst comics is a pretty magical experience for me, and May's theme was "Spider-man is having me for dinner tonight," so it was even more magical than usual. (The theme is usually pulled from some music usually too cool for me to know.)
The final two memories are coming soon! Is this the only blog that can milk four day's worth of activity into four weeks' worth of content? Keep reading to know for sure!
Other nights included dinner and podcasting with Drawn to Comics' Ken Brown, and a bite with Birdie Birdashaw. Good times all around!
Another Free Comic Book Day has come and gone, and if you're visiting Amazing Arizona Comics through one of the free comics you found in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Glendale, Tucson, Flagstaff, or Yuma, thank you for stopping by! I've been self-publishing my little superhero satire of Arizona culture since 2010. I try to update this site as often as I can, with upcoming issues and events, so please bookmark it if you're interested in supporting my stuff.
If you didn't pick up this year's story, here it is, in full color! Behold, a vacationing Santa Claus and Speed Cameron, alongside a confused Dwight Guilt, versus Power Sergio!
As a bonus, here's the latest The Hasty Decisions of Li'l Speedy Cameron, my infrequent webcomic strip about, well, the title says it all.
My thanks to everyone that came to Drawn to Comics' Free Comic Book Day celebration, and of course to shop owners Ken and Sue for being the best hosts a local artist can ask for.
My next stop with Amazing Arizona Comics is Phoenix Comicon, though I'm entertaining at a few other events before then, so check my calendar there to the right, and come say hi!
This weekend, I'll attempt my second 24 hour comic in the window of Drawn to Comics, in historic downtown Glendale, Arizona. To avoid redundancy, I direct you to Bob Leeper's great write-up on the origins of tomorrow's event, posted at here Nerdvana Media.
If you aren't following me as Speed Cameron on Facebook, please do; I'll be going Facebook Live every hour for the event, posting my progress and sharing the sponsor for that hour. I had my first taste of Facebook Live today, and I loved it.
