See You at C2E2? And Other Dave Dorman News

Dear Friends,

I will be at Table P9 in Artists Alley at C2E2 in Chicago this Friday through Sunday, so please stop by if you have a chance. It’s a great show and a great venue at McCormick Place.

At C2E2 on Saturday from 1-2 p.m., I will be doing a signing for Brian Jaye at The Toy Closet Booth #983.

I have copies of my 2012 Sketchbook from San Diego Comic-Con available as well as some new prints and of course, artwork and sketches for sale. Autographs are always free. Feel free to bring whatever you like for me to sign. I will have copies of my Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman (IDW/Desperado Publishing) book for sale. If I run out and you want to order a copy with a sketch, please let me know.

In other news, I have accepted a producer role for the documentary Heavy Metal Revisited, which is a documentary my wife Denise and I are co-producing with Bunbury Films, a Canadian production company, about the original 1981 Heavy Metal film. Like many of you, I have always been a big fan of this film, and given my longtime relationship with Heavy Metal magazine, this is a really fun project for me on many levels. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Also, I wanted to make you aware of Jack Kirby’s grandson Jeremy Kirby, who is selling t-shirts of Jack Kirby’s work. I personally made sure the money was going to their family before I promoted it on my Facebook page, but I wanted you to check out their cool shirts here: http://www.shop.home.jackkirbycomics.com/The-Jack-Kirby-T-Shirt-tshirt.htm

I was very lucky to have been in Tony Swatton’s Sword and Stone shop in Burbank on Monday night. As you may know, Tony just made a Minecraft sword on his webisode series Man at Arms, and people are going crazy for it. I got to see it in person – very fun. Guitar artist Pamelina also joined us that evening, so it was a great time for creative buzz. Archaia Entertainment publisher Mike Kennedy and his wife Elizabeth also joined us for dinner and hijinks over at Sword and Stone.

I want to thank Author Services for another wonderful Writers & Illustrators of the Future Awards event in Hollywood last week, and for helping to launch a new group of writers and illustrators to promising careers. Denise and I really enjoyed the time we got to spend with Joni Labacqui, John Godwin, Larry Elmore, Steve Hickman, Cliff Nielsen and his wife Lisa, Tim Powers, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Jill Kirsh, Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, and so many others I know I am failing to mention at this writing.

When you get a chance, please “Like” my Facebook Fan Page: http://facebook.com/davedormanfanpage as well as my creator-owned property page, The Wasted Lands at http://facebook.com/davedormanwastedlands.

As always, thank you for reading!

Dave

 

Dave Dorman Upcoming Convention Appearances & Autograph Signings

Dear Friends,

Here’s a quick look at my upcoming appearances for the next couple of months. I am embedding links to the shows for your convenience.

AUGUST:

8/12 – 8/13 —Wizard World – Chicago/Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont

SEPTEMBER:

9/24-9/25–Detroit Fan Fare

OCTOBER:

10/8 – 10/9–Star Wars Fan Days in Dallas

10/14 – 10/16 — SteamCon in Seattle

A SPECIAL THANKS:

I want to thank everyone who came by to see me at my San Diego Comic-Con Booth 4500 this year! A special thanks to our friends the Watson family from Batavia, IL for joining us this year, to the Lindgren family in Rancho Santa Fe and the Crane family in Riverside for showing us Canyon Lake…!

Dave Dorman at SDCC 2011: Photo by Debbie M. Lindgren

 

NEWS:

I discovered I’m in Morgan Spurlock’s new book Comic-Con IV: A Fan’s Hope (see me featured on Page 99) and I hope to make it into his movie, but we’ll see. They filmed my interview last year. My art is featured in Andrew Gaska’s new Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes by Archaia and I have a couple of other book surprises coming up that I cannot share yet…

This year Steven Spielberg was given an Inkpot Award at San Diego Comic-Con, so now he’s in an elite group with me (ha!). I won my last year, so this may be the one and only time in my life that I ever one-up Steven Spielberg.

My friend Andrew Charon of Acme Digital Laboratories in Minneapolis, a Webby  award-winning developer who did YearbookYourself.com and who just launched the really cool Jewish Sudoku game Judoku as an Apple iPad app, is developing my iPhone/iPad app of art staring in August, so be watching for that in the coming months. Andrew is a longtime cohort of my wife’s and together they have done some really cool and award-winning multimedia and video projects.

I have a few of my first-ever sketchbooks remaining from my one-and-only 250 print run, so if anyone wants to place an order, they are $10 plus $5 shipping and you can email me at dormanart@yahoo.com or Paypal me at dormanart@yahoo.com. A special thanks to my wife and publicist Denise Dorman of WriteBrain Media, who keeps all of these plates spinning on the cue sticks.

As always, I thank you for your support and interest in my work. Lots of fun and exciting stuff coming up this fall…stay tuned!

Dave.

Me on SOCIAL MEDIA:

Follow me on Twitter: @DaveDorman and my hashtag is #DaveDorman

Follow me on Facebook.com/DaveDorman

Connect with me on Linkedin.com/in/thedavedorman

To schedule me for media interviews, please contact my wife and publicist denise@writebrainmedia.com | facebook.com/writebrainmedia or Twitter.com/writebrainmedia

Dave Dorman Updates and Fresh Captain Nemo Art

DEAR FRIENDS,

I hope all of the mothers following me had a great Mother’s Day. My mother died of breast cancer way too young, and I find myself missing her more and more as the years go by. She would really have loved our son, who often asks about my mom and dad. Probably the most poignant moment was the day he asked to take my parents’ framed portrait down from our fireplace mantel and put it on the cocktail table where he was playing with his trains so Grandma and Grandpa “could watch him playing.” He has a way of choking us up out of the blue.

NEW ART I’M ACTUALLY WORKING ON TODAY – CAPTAIN NEMO: Here’s a snippet of the painting. I’m having a lot of fun with this piece, which is part 1 in a triptych I have planned. I will do a step-by-step blog when it’s complete, which should be in a few days.

Unfinished Captain Nemo by Dave Dorman

NEW BOOKS I’M IN: Many of you know I’m a military brat and a solid supporter of USACares.org, which helps financially challenged military families. Writer Julie Rahm contacted me about a year or so ago to be in her new book, “Military Kids Speak” and I agreed to the interview. I’m in great company with fellow Fort Walton Beach, FL resident and Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel (he has a street named after him in my old home town), actor Mark Hamill, Colin Powell, Newt Gingrich and many more. If you are interested in reading this topic, here’s the link: http://amzn.to/iJAgBn

Denise and I have contributed recipes to a new cookbook fundraiser for Destin Middle School near where we used to live on my beloved Gulf Coast, so here is a link to that cookbook (my recipe contribution is actually my mother’s): http://www.thedestinlog.com/news/destin-17741-cookbook-recipes.html

APPEARANCES: I had planned to participate in the Writers & Illustrators of the Future Awards event in Los Angeles this forthcoming weekend, but we need to stay home due to some in-law health concerns. My next public appearance will likely be Cherry Capital Con in Traverse City, Michigan at the Grand Traverse Resort the end of June. It looks like a fun show.

Of course, we will be exhibiting at San Diego Comic-Con, same Bat time, same Bat channel (Booth #4500). Sharing my end cap booth this year will be Australian publisher Gestalt Comics, who does really great stuff and publisher Archaia who also publishes terrific graphic novels (who will be using a portion of my booth as their satellite booth location). I will have new sketch books this year, so watch for those! Thanks to friend and Devil’s Candy Store founder @Charlie_Athanas on Twitter who really pushed me to produce them.

TECH NEWS: My friend and colleague Mike Bawden of Brand Central Station in Iowa is working with me on my new Web site, so I will post here when it’s up. Additionally, he and I are working on a Dave Dorman iPhone app, and I will let you know when it’s ready for you.  One of my newer friends is the founder/owner of the blog DumbLittleMan.com, so be sure to check that out for life’s little tips. I am probably going to contribute some articles there and will post a link here. According to my wife, he gets GREAT SEO so if you write advice or tips articles, she says be sure to post there.

PODCAST NEWS: Michael Mennenga of Farpoint Media (and the host of Slice of Sci Fi, now on SiriusXM Satellite Channel 80) has graciously offered to continue producing our podcast, It’s Comic Book Day, which is news, interviews and reviews of all pop culture-related stuff – artists, writers, directors, magazine editors, producers, musicians…you name it. Our podcast is free on iTunes, so please feel free to download it for your next workout or road trip.

Okay, that’s all the news I have right now. Thanks as always for reading and for your interest in my work.

Follow me on Twitter: @DaveDorman

Follow me on Facebook: Facebook.com/DaveDorman

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

Dave

Dave Dorman’s C2E2 Recap

Hi Everyone,

Well, this past weekend was quite an experience.  First, I want to say a special thanks to my wife Denise’s cousin, who owns a condo across from Chicago’s Art Institute. We spent Thursday evening there with her, and it was ideal for getting to my early Friday morning Mancow radio interview on time.

As Denise and I waited in Mancow Muller’s green room, Darrell Hammond of Saturday Night Live fame came strolling in for an interview with Mancow and Max Brooks. Here’s some trivia for you: Darrell Hammond had the longest run on SNL – 14 years. He was hilarious as usual, and in combination with Max Brooks, a former SNL writer for 2 years, it was a really great interview. Darrell’s Al Sharpton impression slayed me. When Darrell left, I entered Mancow’s lair with Max and Mancow.  It turns out, I need to hit the gym. Mancow noted immediately how much I looked like Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons. Ouch.

Mancow arranged a bit where Max and I identified Star Wars sound f/x. My wife says Max won this contest, but I like to call it a draw. Mancow drew out of me a story I wasn’t prepared to tell:  The Keith Moon story. For those of you who don’t know it already, it’s a lot to write, but I’ll write it out for you one day. It will also be documented in my new book “Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman” by IDW/Desperado Publishing, coming out this summer (shameless plug, I know).  Anyhow, before I forget, be sure to get Max Brooks’ wonderful books: “The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead,” and “World War Z.” He’s a great writer and we all need to be supporting great writers, especially since the latest study shows that graphic novel sales dipped this past year. My hope is that the iPad and its sister digital readers will correct this.

So…C2E2 was a great show for me personally. I’ve heard mixed reviews from publishers and artists, but I liked the location, the show organizers (Reed), and the comfortable room with abundant natural light, ideal for viewing everyone’s gorgeous illustration work. I want to say thank you to all of the 501st brethren who stopped by – it means a lot to have all of your support.  I’m an honorary member of the Midwest Garrison, which I don’t take lightly.  A special thank you to my friends from the comic book store in Kalamazoo, MI and also  SketchMaven.com for dropping by as well. It’s always good to put faces to names.  I will be selling some of my original art on the SketchMaven.com site, so be sure to check them out, and I’ll post it here as well.

Some attendees were confused by the fact that C2E2 was held at the same time as KBIS, the Kitchen & Bath show,  in McCormick Place.  My wife used to work the KBIS show for GROHE and created some video comedy bits for Hansgrohe with Mancow’s former producer, Jocko Hedblade (see how small of a world it can be?) so she was doubly confused by the convergence  of her two disparate worlds. More trivia: The El Jocko cigar is named for Jocko Hedblade, for those of you cigar afficionados.

While at C2E2, I purchased a couple of books from an old favorite – Archaia – I bought “The Killer Volume 2” and “Okko Volume 1.” I also bought “The Seven Swords,” a relatively new and very cool Hong Kong Samurai-style action flick I’ve been eager to own.

We were lucky to break bread with Mike Kennedy, the creator of videogame “Unbound Saga,” and his lovely wife Liz, who is a gifted editor. It was also great to connect with Charlie Athanas, Jim Tampa of Medallion Press and Kevin Sandstrom of Blick Art Supply.

Current projects this week include closing out a project for Magic: The Gathering, roughs for SoGoPro’s graphic novel project with Charlie Athanas, commissioned art for indie comic book creator Howard Feltman, and finishing up my aforementioned art book for IDW/Desperado Publishing.  I’m also wrapping my head around the implications of tonight’s episode of LOST, and for those of you who love it like we do, we will be very bummed when the series ends. We are recording our “Wednesday is Comic Book Day” podcast tomorrow, but I’m unsure when it will be posted, so check with me here on that.

Thanks to everyone for reading. I hope you’re all having a good week. If anyone has questions you’d like for me  to answer on the podcast, please call and leave a message on the podcast hotline at (206) 350-6326. I realize I’m opening us up for all of Denise’s crazy friends to prank us, but hopefully some normal questions will get through.

Dave.