HARVEY PEKAR and ME

Dear Friends,

I’ve had a lot of questions over the past 24 hours about Harvey Pekar – what did I think of him, did I know him, etc. So, here’s the scoop:

I met Harvey at a comic book convention years ago. True to form, he did his curmudgeonly schtick at the show, just like the person you saw on The Late Show with David Letterman. He knew my work and liked it. His wife approached me and asked me to do an entire Harvey Pekar comic book for FREE, because she apparently felt that I wanted or needed to hitch my wagon to Harvey’s star. At that point in my career, I had already won an Eisner, had a best selling art book with Ballantine, a worldwide fan base, etc. Also, while Harvey’s American Splendor comics appealed to those fans who enjoy that slice-of-life style of comic, they held zero appeal for me personally. Mind you, his wife approached dozens of comic book artists for free comics – not just me. So, while I enjoyed Harvey’s David Letterman appearances very much, I can’t say I was a true fan of Harvey Pekar. Paul Giamatti’s portrayal of Harvey in American Splendor was brilliant and spot on. If you’ve never seen this movie, put it on your NetFlix list or rent it at Blockbuster as soon as you can.

The David Letterman-Harvey Pekar phenomenon is yet another indication that having an abrasive, abrupt or odd duck personality will get you booked on talk shows in a New York minute, but those of us in comics who are merely pleasant or not somehow socially retarded in our talk show  interviews rarely have media “juice.” I’ll have to adopt some weird schtick to appeal to those producers – let me know if you have any kooky ideas for me.

My next posting will be my San Diego ComicCon schedule. I’m doing 3 different panels this year and as a featured guest, I have autograph signings slated a few times with the convention, aside from those at my booth. I am at Booth #4500 this year. Joining me will be artist Charlie Athanas, Blueberry/Star Wars artist Colin Wilson, his agent Royd Burgoyne and Australian indie publisher Wolfgang Bylsma.

As many of you already know, at San Diego ComicCon this year we will be unveiling my new book from IDW Publishing/Desperado Publishing, “ROLLING THUNDER: THE ART OF DAVE DORMAN,” and remember – 10% of my earnings from this book will go to USACares.org – the not-for-profit raising money for financially challenged military families. Comedian and radio personality Dennis Miller is their official spokesperson, and I look forward to promoting the new book on his radio show soon. The book will be in all nationwide bookstores as of August.

Rumor has it that my friends Tom Baxa and Mark A. Nelson will be sitting right next to me at the show, so this show will be even more fun than usual. Mark used to teach illustration at my wife’s alma mater, Northern Illinois University, and used my Star Wars: The Art of Dave Dorman book as his required text book for class. Those added book sales were much appreciated!

If you are looking for my usual San Diego ComicCon booth cronies, e.g., Christopher Moeller, Scott Hampton, John vanFleet or Durwin Talon, they will be in Artists’ Alley this year, and by the time of the show, I should have data on their exact booth #s to hand out to you, as well as a promo piece on Comix Academy, which we will do next year the week before the show.

As always, thanks for reading. Until next time,

Dave.

My podcast: http://www.itscomicbookday.com

Follow me on Twitter: Twitter.com/davedorman

My Art from the Granada, Spain Exhibit

Dear Friends,

Fed Ex just rang the doorbell and bestowed upon me the art I submitted for Joe Kubert’s esteemed exhibit in Granada, Spain. The pieces I submitted were (lower left) Star Wars (2nd to left) Alien v. Predator (3rd to left) Alien v. Predator and (lower right) King Kong. I hope you like them. I always welcome your comments.

Dave Dorman Art from Granada, Spain Exhibit, 2010

While you’re here, I thought you’d like to see some upcoming guests for my podcast, “It’s Comic Book Day,” which is free to you on iTunes:

Steve Niles, Bernie Wrightson (they’ve collaborated a lot) and John vanFleet.

Dave Dorman Friend Steve Niles, HeroesCon 2010

Dave Dorman's Friend, Bernie Wrightson, HeroesCon 2010

We will be recording episodes with all of these great folks in July 2010, as well as artists Tim Bradstreet and Dave DeVries…plus some surprise guests we plan to do as field recordings at San Diego Comic-Con International this year.

I picked up a really surprising find last week, a CD called 4TROOPS. This band was on Good Morning America one morning, and the voice of the lead singer just grabbed me. Even better, 50 cents of each sale goes to 3 separate funds helping U.S. military veterans. As you know, I’m all about it, since I come from a military family and I’m a solid supporter of comedian Dennis Miller’s fund, USACares.org.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

Paging Morgan Spurlock:Anybody Connected?

Hi Everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well and as always, I thank you for your interest in reading about my career. We are in the throes of planning my father-in-law’s 80th bday party this weekend, so the pressure is on to clean up my studio. Why can’t folks understand that artists need to be surrounded by STUFF?

I just found this interesting tidbit on Levine Breaking News:  

 ***Morgan Spurlock is to direct a fanboy dream. The new documentary, “Comic-Con Episode Four: A Fan’s Hope,” is being made in collaboration with Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, Ain’t It Cool News’ Harry Knowles and Legendary Pictures’ Thomas Tull. The film, according to various reports, will follow seven fans from around the world as they make their way to the Comic-Con event in San Diego.

So…if you can reach out to the folks behind the film–and for that matter, “Attack of the Show,” and encourage them to include me, that would be cool. For those of you who don’t already know, I’m being honored as a “special guest” this year at  San Diego Comic-Con International. At SDCC, IDW/Desperado Publishing will also be launching my new book, “Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman,” which is 5 lbs. and 320 pages of my art, personal musings and personal photo album. I hope as many of you reading this as possible can make it out for the 5-day comics & pop culture love fest.

Additionally, I will be doing a live drawings during the Full Body of Horror’s Event on May 28th in Chicago at the Lucky Number Grill, “Drink and Draw.” This is great fun for horror fans, artists and art fans, as there will be numerous people dressed in horror costume finery, posing for artists. Here’s a link to this event: http://bodyofhorror.blogspot.com/

 I will also be exhibiting at one of my all-time favorite shows, HeroesCon, in Charlotte, NC June 4-6th. It is a true comic book convention, devoted to COMICS and not pop culture, for a nice change of pace. The show planner Shelton treats us all wonderfully. Even better, my Band of Brothers – Scott Hampton, Christopher Moeller & John vanFleet will all be there. I hope to see comic book retailer and author John Hitchcock, who authored the greatest book on Alex Toth, called “Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book,” by Alex Toth and John Hitchcock. John Hitchcock has more hilarious personal stories than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. His photo should be adjacent to the word “character” in the encyclopedia.

On June 13th, I will be teaching a free storyboarding demonstration at the Commercial Artists Forum in Chicagoland, courtesy of my Webmaster/Designer, artist Colin Pritchard (Rocket No. 9) and artist Fotios Zemenides. Space is limited, so if you plan to attend, please connect with them through their FaceBook page or through their LinkedIn Group. I do need to throw out the caveat that storyboarding isn’t my favorite form of storytelling–I’m more of a single image guy– so I’m just setting expectations realistically.

On July 10th, I will be part of a local event, a mini Comic-Con at the Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin, IL. You will see a lot of familiar names exhibiting alongside me there. If you can make it, we’d love to see you there.

And now, I need to ask your opinion on something: My wife suggests that you would like to actually see me paint the piece I’m doing for Star Wars Celebration 5.  To get this captured on video, I will need to ask the permission of Lucasfilm. Is there enough interest out there in seeing me do this painting from pencils through final brush stroke to invest in a videographer for 2 weeks? Please let me know your thoughts, okay?

Okay, I need to head back to the drawing board for now- I’m finishing up a piece for client Howard Feltman – and pretending to clean my studio.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

COMIX ACADEMY Offers Scholarships!

Hi Everyone,

From the very start, it was the collective goal of my co-founders and me to offer a scholarship program through our Comix Academy. I am very pleased to announce it is finally here – this is what’s posted online:

Comix Academy is pleased to announce a scholarship program! There will be one (1) FULL TUITION* scholarship and three (3) $200 scholarships applied against total tuition costs.  Students who are interested in participating in the scholarship competition must send their name, hometown, and portfolio of four (4) best images (7 inches tall, 72 ppi) to comixacademy@gmail.com.

A sample from each portfolio will be posted in the STUDENT section on the website. Mentors will announce the FULL TUITION scholarship winner by May 1, 2010. Any registrant who wants to be eligible for $200 scholarships must deliver their portfolio images and registration information by July 5th. PARTIAL Scholarship winners will be announced on July 7th. Recipients of the partial scholarships will have $200 credit refunded from the tuition payment.

Installment Plan

From 3/20/2010, Students can pay for their tuition to Comix Academy through installment plans. The payment plan is comprised of three (3) payments of $300 each. The first non-refundable deposit must be in by May 1, 2010. The second payment is due in the month of June. The third and final tuition balance must be settled by July 7, 2010.

The Comix Academy is brand new, but it addresses an old question:

“How do I make it better?”

From comics storytelling to concept art, fantasy illustration to storyboards, digital imagery to oil painting–learning, growing and improving are the watchwords of serious professionals and students. The Comix Academy exists to help any who love to create pictures and/or tell stories improve and polish their current work.

We only have six days, so Comix Academy students will be expected to hit the ground running; professionals will present their work and/or methods through talks and demonstrations and students will show their current portfolios to faculty members. Then the fun begins. The serious student learns best by DOING–taking direction, problem-solving, implementing new techniques. Therefore, students will be expected to polish and refine existing work and/or create new presentation pieces while attending.

Through interaction with working professionals, seeing what they do and how they do it, Comix Academy students will leave more informed and inspired than when they arrived. They will develop camaraderie with their fellow students, gain “the inside scoop” about the industry through their mentors, and find the confidence to go forth and make their dream projects a reality.

Okay, back to me again. Thanks for reading the announcement, and if you know of any really talented, gifted artists who are in need of a scholarship, please send them to our Web site: http://www.comixacademy.com

This weekend I will be at Planet Comic-Con in Kansas City, and I will be part of a Star Wars panel, so if you’re there, come armed with some challenging Star Wars questions.

I don’t if any of you reading watch “LOST,” but my wife and I are huge fans – our friend Dan Roebuck is one of the  actors on the show – and we are happy with where they’re taking us this final season. It’s been a fun and wild ride and we’re just sorry to see it end. It just goes to show you how interesting a storyline can be when comic book writers take it on.

As for my forthcoming podcast, I think we’re getting closer to launch. I’m told our inaugural episode will record next week and the show will be available via iTunes and I’m told, FarpointMedia.com. My podcast show is called “Wednesday is Comic Book Day,” and it’s a mash-up of comic book industry interviews, pop culture interviews and whatever strikes my fancy on any given day. My co-host and producer will be my wife, Denise.  If you work in the industry or are a pop culture figure, contact denise@writebrainmedia.com to get booked on as a guest. If you are an advertiser interested in being part of the show, again, please contact Denise.

I’m off to cook up Rachel Ray’s “Long Live Chicken ala King” recipe – if you haven’t tried it, I recommend it.  I hope to see you this weekend and as always, I thank you for reading.

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’s BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Dave Dorman & Friends Helping Artists Break Into Comic Book Industry:
Comix Academy 6-Day Illustration Course in San Diego Will Dovetail with Comic-Con

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your patience – I apologize for the delay in releasing this announcement, but I wanted to be sure there was a Web site up for you to check out. I am told it will go up tonight late, so the moment it does, I will Tweet that it’s up and also put an addendum on my blog. My longtime friends/colleagues and I decided it was time to share what we knew with those of you who wanted to break into the comic book industry. To that end, we formed The Comix Academy. Here are some succinct details:

What: The Comix Academy – A course mentoring artists one-on-one with the intention of bringing their work up to the level that will meet the scrutiny of professional comic book editors. This is six days of lecturing, mentoring, observing how we work while we observe how you work, and in the end, your one-on-one portfolio review with T.B.D. professional comic book editors. I know who some of them are, but I cannot say publicly just yet. You will KNOW these names, as they are industry giants.

Where: San Diego
When: July 15 – July 20th, 2010
Who: Dave Dorman, Scott Hampton, Christopher Moeller, Durwin Talon, John vanFleet, and special guest presenter Mike Mignola.
The Cost: The early registration fee for the course is $950 before April 30th, 2010 and $1,150 after May 1, 2010. Discounts on lodging are also available to students.

We are offering a limited number of seats to this exclusive course. Once the site is up, which should be soon, it will be http://www.comixacademy.com. We will post the official press release on my blog as well. Our publicity firm is WriteBrain Media, so if any of you are writers, editors, bloggers or producers reading this and you need access to any of us for print or electronic interviews or appearances, please contact Denise Dorman — denise@writebrainmedia.com.