Dave Dorman’s San Diego Comic-Con Schedule

Dear Friends,

Be sure to visit me at Booth #4500 if you attend this year – it will be listed in your show director under ROLLING THUNDER. Here’s what’s slated in my San Diego Comic-Con schedule thus far – come join the fun & bring me challenging questions:

Saturday, July 24

2:00-3:00 Spotlight on Dave Dorman— Eisner Award-winning illustrator and Comic-Con special guest Dave Dorman is best known for his stunning depictions from the Star Wars universe. Dave talks about his paintings and his comics work, including the eagerly awaited sequel to his Steampunk graphic novel Rail — continuing stories set in his creator-owned universe, The Wasted Lands. Room 8
Categories:  Art and Illustration | Comic-Con Special Guest Spotlights & Appearances | Comics | Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sunday, July 25

1:00-2:00 Cover Story: The Art of the Cover— Despite the old adage, you can tell a book by its cover, especially if it’s a comic book! Mark Evanier talks with fellow Comic-Con special guests Neal Adams (Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow), Dave Dorman (Star Wars), Sean Phillips (Criminal, Incognito), and Ivan Reis (Blackest Night, Green Lantern) about what makes a great cover. Room 25ABC
Categories:  Art and Illustration | Comic-Con Special Guest Spotlights & Appearances | Comics

Dave Dorman Doing Live Painting @SDCC

Steampunk Girl Created at Reverie '09 in Dallas, TX

Dear Friends, 

When I’m at San Diego Comic-Con, I tend to get anxious because I’m not painting while I’m there. Painting is an addiction for me, and fortunately, I’m able to make a living doing it. So this year, I’ve decided I’m going to paint. I will do a live painting over the course of the 5 days that I’m there. Please let me know what you’d like to see me paint, and whatever the majority of people request will influence my final decision on what I’ll be painting. (Of course, if someone wants a commissioned piece, that will take priority, and I will be happy to work in my favorite size — 24 x 36– and ship it directly to the new owner at show’s end.) So, let me know if you want a hot Heavy Metal-style babe, G.I. Joe, Batman, Alien, Captain America, Buckaroo Banzai, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or something from my Wasted Land series, or even a brand new concept art design. 

For those not attending SDCC, Denise will be there to photograph the piece in phases and will post it here on my blog for you. The painting up above is what I created live during Reverie ’09 in Dallas, which was put on by Massive Black and ConceptArt.org. 

Dave Dorman Raising Funds for the Gulf Coast BP Oil Victims

I will know shortly if my friend Bill Paetzold can supply the giclees I want to sell to help raise money for the BP Oil victims along the Gulf Coast. I will post a link here once I can make it happen. I will send all money beyond printing and shipping costs to the financially challenged folks on the Gulf. As you  know, the Fort Walton Beach/Shalimar area in Okaloosa County, Florida was my home for more than 25 years, so I’m watching the situation with a heavy heart. Here’s an image of Navarre Beach, which was near my home, as of today: http://www.nwfdailynews.com. My longtime friend and the author I hired to write all of my Wasted Lands series, as well as our Bram Stoker Award-winning zombie book Dead Heat (Mojo Press), Del Stone Jr., is the Associate Editor of the Northwest Florida Daily News, and he handles the paper’s popular online edition.

Where in the World is Dave Dorman? My Summer Schedule:

Sometime in July – I’ll be on Dennis Miller’s radio show, raising awareness that my new book, Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman (IDW Publishing/Desperado Publishing) raises funds for USACares.org, an organization that helps financially challenged military families. (As a former military brat, I can tell you unless someone is a trust fund baby, they’re ALL financially challenged). I am donating 10% of my earnings from this book directly to USACares.org.

July 10, 2010 – Signing all day at Gail Borden Public Library for Elgin, IL Comic-Con. Click here for details on the event. (A special thanks to Darlene Nauman for letting me know this local show was happening.)

July 22- 25, 2010 – I’m a “special guest” this year at San Diego Comic-Con. Look for me at my “Rolling Thunder” booth – that’s how we’re listed in the show guide.

August 12 -15, 2010 – Star Wars Celebration 5 in Orlando, FL.

You can always find me on my pop culture, comics & art podcast, “It’s Comic Book Day”, free on iTunes, and on Twitter, I’m @DaveDorman. Please follow me there, too, for breaking news.

As always, thanks for reading. I hope to see you all this summer.

Dave.

 

Two Paintings from the Private Collection of Dave Dorman

Dear Friends,

While I, like many artists,  feel an attachment to every piece of art that I do, there are two signature pieces that have stayed with me over the years because of their personal meaning. As some of you may know, I lost my mother to breast cancer many years ago. The painting I did at her request, so that she had “something nice to hang in the living room,” remains a personal favorite. It is my interpretation of Meryl Streep as “The French Lieutenant’s Woman.” Mom really loved that painting, which now hangs in my sister Nancy Thurmond’s dining room in Alexandria, LA.  The Steampunk community often requests it, so here it is:

Dave Dorman's Interpretation of French Lieutenant's Woman

Many of my wife’s friends have requested prints of this because the subject matter is interior design friendly, and they like the textural quality of the piece.  I offer giclees of this piece, so if this piece is on your “must have” list, let Denise know at denise@writebrainmedia.com and she’ll get you a size and a cost.

This next piece was a surprise gift for my wife Denise on our wedding day, August 9, 2003. She was beyond excited and so surprised, so for once, one of my surprises really paid off. I did this painting of the two of us, which now sits on the piano in our living room. My longtime friend “Uncle Al” Caplan of InkWorks! was kind enough to offer to print these for me on a gang run with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” chromium cards. Only 250 were made, and we gave them out as wedding remembrances to our guests.  My old friend, “The Collector” got wind of the cards and was soon hot on the trail. The Collector now has over 17,000 autographed cards, which must be some sort of a record, no? Naturally, we made sure he had one of these. Both Denise and I signed it for him.

Denise & Dave Dorman Wedding Trading Card

There will be more pieces from my private collection in the new book, “Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman,“ so if you are interested in them, be sure to order the book from IDW Publishing’s imprint Desperado Publishing, or pick one up at San Diego Comic-Con International if you’re attending. I’ll have my typical end cap booth there, under the “Rolling Thunder” banner, if you’re looking me up in the show booklet. I don’t know the booth number yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll post it here.

As many of you know, I’ll be in Charlotte, NC this forthcoming weekend for one of the best shows for comics, HeroesCon. If you want me to bring a specific painting, preliminary or piece of art, please let me know before I start packing.  Many of you have asked if I’m doing sketches at the show. I am, and they are $100 each.  As always, autographs are free.

Thanks for reading,

Dave.

Dave Dorman Updates: May the Fourth Be With You

Hi Everyone,

I hope you all took advantage of FREE COMIC BOOK DAY this past weekend. I took my 5-year-old son to a comic book store in Geneva, Illinois where he excitedly picked up  Iron Man and Transformers comics – I picked up the latest B.P.R.D. comic, which never disappoints.

I don’t have a lot of news to report, except to say that I have completed the 7-page comic for Magic: The Gathering’s online sequential art series, and I am hard at work on some art for publisher Howard Feltman.  I am also working on the graphic novel project for SoGoPro, still in its early stages.

This past weekend, my wife and I finalized copy on the new book from IDW/Desperado Publishing on my art career, “Rolling Thunder: The Art of Dave Dorman.” It was a lot of work, but a labor of love. I hope you all enjoy seeing the work in my private collection, much of which has never before been seen by the public. This book is about as “insider” as it gets. You can pre-order it Amazon via this link: http://www.amazon.com/Rolling-Thunder-Art-Dave-Dorman/dp/1600106730/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272921491&sr=8

For those of you who didn’t know my background before reading this new book, much of my art will begin to make sense in a new way like  it never has before.

As for our new “Wednesday is Comic Book Day” podcast, we have 3 episodes “in the can,” according to producer Michael Mennenga. Summer Brooks is hard at work pulling together the special Web site just for the podcast, which will be available as a free download via iTunes. If anyone has questions or comments about our podcast, or guest suggestions, please call the podcast hotline at 206.350.6326 or email my wife at denise@writebrainmedia.com.

I offer up a special thanks to fan, attorney Mickey K. Thompson, who created a FaceBook page “Fans of Dave Dorman Art.” I really appreciate his kindness. I also appreciate the kindnesses shown to me by attorney Zane Zielinski and Kalamazoo, Michigan comic book store owner Tom Fleming. It was great to reconnect with these guys again at C2E2. Tom ended up buying an iconic piece from me, and if I can’t own it, I’m glad it’s owned by someone who really loves it as much as I do.

As always, thank you for reading. Your interest in my work is what keeps me going.

May the Fourth Be With You…

Dave.

P.S. Follow me on Twitter: @DaveDorman, friend me on FaceBook, link with me on LinkedIn, or join Fans of Dave Dorman Art on FaceBook.