Which Comics Dave Dorman Bought On Comic Book Wednesday

Dear Friends,

As I write this, the TV is confirming the rumored death of Qaddafi and showing the graphic Al Jazeera footage. I congratulate the Libyan freedom fighters on this new chapter in their lives.

I feel it’s my personal responsibility as a comic book artist to help raise awareness for other amazing talent in the industry. Today I want to make you aware of Leinil Yu if you are not already. I bought  the comic “SUPERIOR” by Mark Millar and Leinil Yu yesterday (see image below) during my weekly trek to Dreamland Comics in Schaumburg, IL:

LEINIL YU ART ON COVER OF SUPERIOR COMIC

In my opinion as an artist and also an art director, I find Leinil Yu  to be one of the best comic book artists working in the industry today. His style is dynamic, he’s a great visual storyteller, and he renders every image with so much style. Other pieces he’s worked on (according to the back cover) include Secret Invasion, New Avengers and Superman: Birthright. I hope you check out his work and it brings you as much joy as it does me.

LEINIL YU COMIC - BACK SIDE

In other news, my good friend Charlie Athanas called me last night and invited me to join him for a really fun electronica concert tomorrow night – Amon Tobin – and I’m really looking forward to it. Here’s a link to Amon Tobin’s concert sampling, to give you a feel for his work: http://bit.ly/roDni4 

Below is an image from last Monday night during the fund-raiser for Chicago’s best horror theater group, WildClaw Theater, which was a lot of fun.

Charlie Athanas (artist), Doug Klauba (artist), Me, John Terendy (videographer)

And here’s a nice mini-review of my book “ROLLING THUNDER: THE ART OF DAVE DORMAN” (IDW Publishing/Desperado Publishing) by Alina Bradford: http://bit.ly/pmUNk6

If any of you reading has a young child, I recommend checking out the movie “Real Steel” with Hugh Jackman. I took my 6 year old this past weekend and we both really enjoyed it. Next up, we’re looking forward to getting the Captain America movie, coming out soon on DVD, to add to our collection because we both loved it in the theater.

Reminder: My Podcast through Michael Mennenga and Babylon 5 actor/producer Jeffrey Willerth’s Farpoint Media is http://itscomicbookday.com (there are a lot more episodes, but I’m waiting for the producer to catch up on edits) – it’s free on iTunes.

On Facebook, I’m Facebook.com/davedormanartist and on LinkedIn I’m an open networker: linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

On Twitter I’m @DaveDorman

As always, I thank you for reading!

DAVE.

Dave Dorman Horror Painting Auctioned Tonight

Dear Friends,

Tonight’s the night – my favorite horror theatre group, WildClaw Theatre, will be holding their “Masque of the Red Death” Gala Benefit to raise funds for more terrific horror play entertainment. Here are some images of my painting they are auctioning off tonight; I was inspired by the idea of an eerie Victorian asylum and it came out on canvas.

Dave Dorman's "Inside the Asylum" Horror Art; Acrylic on Canvas

Extreme Close Up, "Inside the Asylum" by Dave Dorman

I hope you can make it out tonight and join us. There will be no shortage of celebrities, surprises and memorable moments. Thanks for reading.

Dave.

The Art This Comic Book Artist Treasures Most

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, I have a budding artist in the house named Jack, age 6, and his greeting cards are something I look forward to every holiday. Sometimes, they’re a little unsettling, such as the Valentine’s Day card…

Our Son's Valentine 2011

that informed me that of the Top 3 things he loved, Star Wars was #1, then came his mom and me.

Star Wars is #1 in Jack's Heart of Hearts.

 

But this year’s Birthday card was exceptionally special:

Key: Be sure to add your byline, as parents are never sure who the crayon-drawn cards are from

October 1st is the “best day of his life” or as he puts it, “live.”

Jack's Best Day

And I especially loved the self-portrait of Jack and me:

Jack's self-portrait of himself with me (he fancies himself a Hawaiian shirt wearer)

But some of the Dinosaur and Star Wars art he’s been creating lately has been really fun:

Jack's Dinosaur Book Cover

And lately, he’s been transfixed by the Allosaurus:

Jack's Allosaurus

 

And here is his Darth Maul. I often wonder what his art teacher must think of his creepier images.

Jack, Age 6, Darth Maul Drawing

Thanks to all for indulging me today. If the house was burning down, after making sure my family was safe, Jack’s is the art I would grab on my way out the door.

Hope you’re having a good one. I’ll be at Star Wars Fan Days in Dallas this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so stop by and see me if you’re there. I will have something cool to show you that I’ve been toying with (pun intended).

On Monday night, join me in Chicago — I’ll be at then “Masque of the Red Death” gala WildClaw Theatre benefit, raising money for the greatest horror theater in Chicago, and my horror artwork will be auctioned off to help the cause: http://wildclawtheatre.com/wc_html/gala_benefit_2011.html

From October 29th – December 2nd, you can see an incredible horror art collection at Maleficium: Dark Art Exhibition at a west suburban Chicago gallery, owned by my friend J. Anthony Kosar: http://bit.ly/qbnHiO

I will have 3 pieces in that show, and am joined by the likes of my friends and fellow horror artists including Jill Thompson, Tony Akins, Doug Klauba, Ben Templesmith, Bill Reinhold, Brian Busch and many more.

Also, here is all of my contact information in case you don’t have it already:

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/davedorman

Friend me on Facebook: http://fb.com/davedormanartist

Link with me on LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

Listen to my free Podcast on iTunes: http://itscomicbookday.com

Media Inquiries: Please contact my publicist denise@writebrainmedia.com

Thanks,

Dave.

We Honor You, Star Wars Girl Katie Goldman

Today my blog honors Katie Goldman, aka Star Wars Girl.

As I told my gay friends and followers on the day we all wore purple to honor them, the bullying that occurs over our differences needs to STOP. NOW. Like Katie, my wife is also adopted. My wife is a geek. I’ve felt the wrath of being different as a kid – I was the painfully shy military brat moving all of the time…always the nerdy new kid in school, drawing comics silently in the back of the classroom, hoping no one would call attention to me. You might say we both identify with Katie’s plight. Denise was the one who brought it to my attention through a Facebook posting from ACME DESIGN.

We need to start celebrating our differences instead of clamoring to be the same. The Me, Too-ism Movement is clearly alive and well. Why else would women be financially challenging themselves just to wear the same overpriced designer brand purses, shoes, jewelry, sunglasses, etc. Why are men driven to buy luxury brand cars when the mechanical performance is often sub-standard? We’re all caught up in this endless cycle of sameness and trying to come off as too cool for school. I just don’t find it terribly interesting…or relevant.

I find individualism interesting. I find Katie’s bravery interesting.

Most of those “cool” celebs that everyone wants to be like? I’ve met more than my share. I’m usually disappointed. Leonardo DiCaprio sneered at me and wouldn’t stop smoking in a NYC elevator when I asked him. John Leguizamo talked shit about me–right in front of me–at the Telluride Film Festival. It turns out, he has some weird prejudice against sitting next to portly gents like myself. Dennis Miller is one of the few celebs who actually exceeded my expectations. He’s a class act. And he’s also a geek like me. Like us.

Today CNN.com picked up Katie’s story, but those of us in the know within the geek/nerd culture and Star Wars community have been following it online for at least 10 days or more. I think it’s very cool that  Star Wars: Clone Wars Padme Amidala voice actress Catherine Taber and  Her Universe.com founder and Ahsohka Tano character Ashley Eckstein took up the cause and very publicly showed Katie (and her parents) that Katie’s not alone.  Catherine’s online participation was the Tipping Point in giving Katie the credibility and social media support to thumb her nose at those know-nothing naysayers.

Apparently Katie’s classmates haven’t realized yet what every major movie studio knows, as they show previews at San Diego Comic-Con:  Geeks are the world’s taste makers. Geeks RULE.

So… all of those haters out there had better be nice to us or else their TV, videogame, book and movie options are going to suck. As for me and my house, we’ll be wearing Star Wars gear on December 10th to honor Star Wars Girl Katie Goldman. If you wear some, shoot me your photo and I’ll post it here on my blog.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

 

I’m on Dennis Miller Radio Show Tomorrow

Dear Friends,

As promised, I’m on the Dennis Miller Radio Show tomorrow at 11:34 a.m. Eastern, 10:34 a.m. Central and 8:34 a.m. Pacific Coast time. Here in Chicago, it’s on WIND, or 560 AM on your dial. Be sure to give the show a listen – I have an announcement to make there. Also, we’ll be discussing my new book, ROLLING THUNDER: THE ART OF DAVE DORMAN, now available nationwide in Barnes & Noble & Borders Bookstores.

Below is the inscription I did on the inside cover especially for Dennis. My wife totally teared up when she saw it, so I think I hit the right poignant note. Bladerunner is one of Dennis’ favorite movies, and I share that with him.

Inscription by Dave Dorman to Dennis Miller in Dave's new book.

Let me know what you think of it.

Friday night I’m attending the Monster Draw event in Chicago, benefitting WildClaw Theatre, so check out my FaceBook page for details on that.

Also, Saturday is International Read Comics in Public Day, so be sure to support sequential art, the best storytelling entertainment there has ever been.

More to come soon – lots going on.

Dave.

PROGRESS MADE ON MY HORROR PAINTING

I hope everyone’s having a good Monday night. Did you all enjoy the Oscars? I could really have done without the people standing on stage waxing poetic about each nominee, the entire dance segment and the fact that no film clips were shown during one of my favorite awards – “Best Cinematography.” Maybe that’s the artist in me, and no one else cares, but for me, the cinematography makes the film. Of course, my choice for “Best Film” was “District 9,” and we sort of knew it wasn’t going to win, but we still held on to some hope of it until the fat lady sang.

As some of you may recall, I started a painting during a charity event for WildClaw Theatre, my favorite horror theater group in Chicago. They held an event called “Dance of the Demented” with a live deejay, live models, a burlesque show and more. For the artists who attended along with me, it was a lot of fun. So I started this painting, and I’m making progress and I just wanted to show you where I am since you last saw it, so here it is:

And here is a closer shot of the main character:

Dave Dorman's Demented Painting,XCU

I hope you all were able to check out the course I’m teaching in San Diego this summer, Comix Academy, along with my friends Scott Hampton, Christopher Moeller, John vanFleet and Durwin Talon, with a special guest appearance from Mike Mignola. If you can join us, sign up now because seating is limited and the price goes up April 30th.

This weekend I will be at MegaCon in Orlando, and for my Florida friends, fans and colleagues, I look forward to reconnecting with all of you there. If there’s anything in particular you see for sale on my site that you would like me to bring along so you can see it in person, please let me know.

I hope you all have a great week. I will post more art as I make more progress.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

Dave Dorman Special Guest at SDCC 2010

Hi Everyone,

As always, thanks for reading my posts. I received great news this week that San Diego Comic-Con would like me to be a Special Guest this year. It is a great honor to be recognized by the folks at SDCC, especially since the Con is at its apex in terms of popularity and traffic through the show. To the folks at “Attack of the Show,” I AM available to you for interviews this year. As always, I will have an end cap booth this year, same bat time, same bat channel with WriteBrain Media. I’m kicking around ideas as to who will be with me in the booth this year, and I may have a really fun announcement to make, but I’ll have to wait a while longer to share that news.

The Joe Kubert School has asked their distinguished alumni – and also me – to join in an international gallery exhibit, so I just shipped some fun pieces to them for display in Spain, which officially makes me an “internationally exhibited artist.”

We are still working with Farpoint Media on the logistics of my podcast, and I will keep you all posted on that. I do know it will be available via their site and iTunes. Anyone interested in advertising on our show, please let me know. It will be a weekly show about “insider” news in the comic book industry, interviews with artists, writers, creators, pop culture celebrities and more. I hope you all really like it, because it’s a huge investment in time and energy.

In other news, I will be a featured artist doing a live painting at WildClaw Theatre’s big fund-raising event, “Dance of the Demented” at the Viaduct Theater in Chicago on Saturday, February 20th. My other artist friends painting there will be Charlie Athanas, Tony Akins, Alex Wald, Ray Frenden Anthony Kosar and Jessica Joy. This event is a horror/art mash-up, so be sure to bring your sketch pads or tablets. For details, please visit http://wildclawtheatre.com.

Speaking of horror-meets-art, my best friend’s son is in a band called the Turbo Vamps. This is a punk rock horror band in Chicago, so if you like this kind of music, check them out at http://www.myspace.com/turbovamps.

I want to say a special thank you to Chris Ryall, Editor in Chief at IDW for mentioning me on his blog, and to all others out there who post my stuff and comment on my work. I appreciate it.

Also, a special thanks to Colin Wilson, who just emailed that he saw the Imagine F/X issue featuring me in December. For those of you who don’t know Colin Wilson’s gorgeous art work, I’ve been a fan of his for years and finally got to meet him in person this past year. He is committing to making the 15 hour flight to San Diego again this year, so watch for him there. He’s a great person and it’s an honor to know him.

I don’t want to go buzzkill on you, but I must mention that we are mourning the loss of my wife’s longtime business partner, motorsports legend, Mr. Jan Gabriel, or as gearheads know him, the voice of “Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!” He was a mentor to my wife and a steadfast friend to our family. He even filmed our son’s baptism. The loss is huge for us. Keep his family & friends in your prayers, if you’re the praying sort. If you’re New Agey like John Edwards’ mistress, just send good vibes.

I also send a shout out to my brother Jeff, sister-in-law Vicky, niece Stephanie and nephew John who are being snowed in this weekend in greater D.C. Stay safe, Bro & Co. To my sister Nancy in Alexandria, LA and her husband Dave, I have revoked your license to complain about your weather.

To Howard Feltman up in Michigan, I hope you’re staying warm.

Until next time, thanks for reading,

Dave.