Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Comic-Con: The Madness Continues

Cooley is hopping

The week is a bit of a blur now. We were all very, very busy!

Scott at work
Working hard
working & drawin'

Thursday was a day full of frenzy with pockets of quiet. Friday was a non-stop extravaganza! I was barely able to grab my camera for a few snaps. Last year I could document everything! This year? HA! Too busy try to keep up with everyone to take pictures. I did grab a couple!

Josh & Crew
Scott Morse/Red Window
Scott is ready for business
TIGER!TIGER!TIGER!

One of the best parts of 'Con this year? Jeff got interviewed TWICE!

Interview

Also this year? We gotz commissions! Oh yeah! (here are a few of my favorites)

The (other) Commish
The Commish
The Legend

After spending our days swimming in a sea of humanity, our nights were spent stuffing our faces and laughing with friends. I, of course, was busily engaging in those activities and neglected to snap any pictures. Trust me, we had a wonderful time!

What fun!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Comic-Con 2010: The Start

The Garage
(Click on the image for a larger view)

I arrived at the Hilton Bayfront Hotel - right next to the Convention center! It was located right around the corner from our booth (#4800) which made the unloading of my car much easier. I'd say a 'snap' but, that would be a HUGE lie! It look THREE trips with the dolly to unload all the stuff from the car!

Booth 4800

I picked up my badge and headed in with my first load (of THREE!) only to find our booth in shambles (the pic above is after I put it all together). Every year Freeman dumps all of our stuff right in the middle of the booth space and every year I try to get it set up before the gang arrives. Usually I have Jeff to help me but, this year I was solo. We had a lot more stuff in the booth this year as it was originally set for 5. The furniture hauling coupled with the trips to the car added to the drive down pretty much wiped me out. I opted for full 'set up' in the morning, after Jeff arrived. I finished my night with a swim at the hotel pool and room service.

From The Hotel

The next day was Wednesday, Preview Night! The rest of the crew arrived for set up: Scott Morse, Josh Cooley, and Jeff Pidgeon.

Consulting on what goes where
The loot is loaded
Our side of booth 4800
Girlie cards!
Movies R Fun book!
Banner's up
Happy!

Once we finished our set up, I took a quick jaunt over to see Jamie Baker and Rhode at their booth to document it. A tradition I started last year. I didn't really do their fantastic booth justice and only managed to grab a few shots before the hall opened and I had to sprint back to our booth (WAAAAAAY on the other side of the convention center!).

Luscious Yard Sale
Bargains await!
Books! We got books!
Waiting for the open bell

I made it back before the crowds descended!

4800 Busy!
4800
And we were OFF!

Up Next: The Madness continues!

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Comic-Con 2010: The Prepping

I went product CRAZY for Comic-Con this year. I ordered new shirts, new items, new sketchbooks. We went INSANE! Jeff was very, very patient with all my product stuff. We printed our own screens using a Yudu machine. We made REALLY small print runs, making everything a limited edition. And since I refuse to ship stuff (other than the toys), it's ALL convention exclusive!

First up was the Kumo-Kun shirt.
Kumo-Kun Glow
Glow in the Dark shirt

Kumo-Kun White
White shirt

Kumo-Kun Red
Kumo-Kun Red shirt

Drying Kumo-kun
(click on pic for larger view)

Green Beaver Tote
Green Beaver tote bag (made with 100% recycled material).

Happy Tote

I saw a bunch of baby stuff on sale at the wholesaler we were using and I thought 'why not?'! Jeff did a frickin' adorable drawing for all the baby shwag!

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(click on image for larger view) Baby bibs

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baby bibs and hats! (hats are in the back)

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Baby blankets!

We completely SOLD OUT of the baby stuff! I could have ordered and printed DOUBLE and we'd have sold out of it. Next time, I will!

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Everything ready to load for the road!

We also had sketchbooks, blank drawing books, buttons, and a few Happy Beaver Toys. Up Next: Comic-Con starts!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Jaunt to LA: The foodie fun continues!

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The beauty of a Sunday spent eating good food. My friends and I piled into a shared car and trundled off to Dodger's Stadium to take a glance at some goods for sale but, primarily, to stuff our faces full of tasty food.

Trucks!

There were roughly 20 trucks parked in the designated eating zone and we took a quick glance at all of them in the melting heat before starting. Our first stop was the India Jones truck.

photo

One of our party had sampled a delectable device known as a Frankie (I had mine with CHICKEN!). This little roll of awesome set the very high benchmark for the day. The chicken was perfectly seasoned, the bread rich and light, the onions and sweet chutney in perfect balance with the rest of the dish. A light dusting of fresh herbs to brighten the whole - Oh! Sweet Frankie, I wish I lived nearer to you!

photo
(Remember, click on the pics for a full view)

We next hit the Slice Truck:

Slice Truck

This was, by far, my favorite piece of pizza since I ate a heavenly pie at Dopo, in Oakland. It hit all the flavor profiles you want in a pizza - it was everything you didn't even know you needed in a slice of pizza; crisp but chewy crust, tart and tangy sauce, perfect oozing slightly caramelized cheese, and a sprinkling of basil to make your mouth sing.

Slice Truck Menu
Cheesy Slice

Next on MY agenda was the Border Grill Truck. I'd read about this one before and was itching to try it out - especially since I've eaten at The Border Grill in Santa Monica (& LOVED it).

Border Grill

The line was very long and very hot but, I persevered - thanks to a very kind patron with a misting backpack that was willing to share. Sweet lady, wherever you are, I love you. I was eager to have the iced Mexican Coffee (cream, coffee, cinnamon, anise..heaven!) but, they had sadly sold out before I got there (and we were EARLY! It was just REALLY hot). Instead, I satisfied myself with the tamal cone.

Tamale Cone

Chiles, creamy corn, crema, and mild fresh salsa all play together in perfect harmony. It was rich and decadent and not at all what I wanted on a very, very hot day. I quickly moved on to meet my friends at the truck I had been waiting ALL day to try:

The Truck Stops Here

That right boys and girls, the Cool Haus truck! ICE CREAM TIME!! The line for this truck was a monster! A slow moving beast that I, thankfully, got to skip, as my friends had stood in this line while I was waiting at The Border Grill truck. The selections were ever changing as the long line had it's way with the truck. By the time we arrived the flavors had undergone a change (they would alter again before the day was out).

Snickerdoodle & Cinnamon Ice Cream Sammich

The relentless sun forced us to find shade ANYWHERE. My eagle-eyed companion found us a shady patch behind the Great Balls On Tires truck. The one truck I didn't get to try out but, was very tempted by. I sat in the cool shade and slurped down my cinnamon and snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich as fast as I could. By this point in the day, I really just wanted the cool ice cream and found the cookie too thick for my stomach (have I mentioned how hot it was?).

Cool Haus

The trucks were selling out of water and my bottle was long emptied. We made one last foray into the truck frenzy to find ONE that still had water for sale. We came away victorious and made our way to the goods for sale in the swap meet part of the show. The sun was truly heinous and we hit just a few aisles. Thankfully, I found the Popshop Popsicle Cart in one of the aisles. He was out of most of his ware but, I managed to snag the very last mint mojito popsicle. It REALLY hit the spot! So cool and refreshing, I didn't even stop to take a picture of it!

We called it a day and headed our separate ways; me to lie by my hotel pool for one more day before venturing to San Diego and my pals back to work!

Thanks, LA (and my LA pals)! I needed that little respite.

LA!

Coming Up; COMIC-Con! The madness begins...