STAR WARS FANS: Join Me for the World’s Largest Library STAR WARS DAY at the JOLIET PUBLIC LIBRARY This Saturday!

Friends, this is the world’s largest STAR WARS LIBRARY EVENT in Joliet, IL! I’ve done this event since its inception, with a special shout-out & thanks to Jody McQuarters, who initially got me involved. It’s great fun for the whole family, my son Jack loves it, and it offers great photo opps for everyone who loves STAR WARS. As always, autographs are always free, so come see me, get your stuff signed, and if you feel like it, buy some STAR WARS art from me and the other amazing artists you will see at this event–Steve Palenica, James Tampa, Jamie Snell & Mikey Babinski! And check out my friend Cris Macht, who has done an amazing job with his documentaries establishing HOW & WHY STAR WARS matters to the fandom. Authors John Jackson Miller and Keith Ryan Kappel will be with us, too! And let’s not forget, my beloved 501st, the world’s largest COSPLAY organization–of which I’m an honorary member–that is also a fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation. Joining me will be ComicBookWife.com blogger, WriteBrain Media’s very own Denise McDonald Dorman!

Here are the event details for this Saturday in Joliet, Illinois (my fellow Blues Brothers fans will know where Joliet is…😉

Your Jedi Passport to Big STAR WARS fun!

 

Page 2 of the STAR WARS Jedi Passport for Joliet STAR WARS Day!

 

 

 

Read Any Good BLOGS Lately?!?

Dear Friends,

 

Me at Discovery Museum Last Year Lecturing On How I Create STAR WARS Art

This next weekend on Saturday October 4th from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., I will be appearing at the Discovery World Museum in Milwaukee for STAR WARS DAY. Last year it was an amazing event supported by the 501st Legion of Star Wars Cosplayers (of which Denise and I are honorary members) and I know it will be again this year. I will be doing two presentations, explaining my approach to creating my STAR WARS art in the theater there, and I hope you can attend one if you’re there. (No, Denise will not be with me this year – she has client obligations in Northwest Florida).

I want to thank all of you out there who stepped up and supported Denise and me this past week during the whole crazy online controversy. You who respectfully spoke up mean a lot to us both. A lot of good came out of this controversy. It ignited back channel conversations between me and my colleagues, me and Con organizers, and of course, the meaningful viewpoints from you, the fans. If you’re scratching your heads with no idea what I’m referencing, here’s a link to Denise’s interview with Comic Vine journalist Mat Elfring, which ended up on Yahoo! News: 

 

http://bit.ly/DD_on_YahooNews

Only a few writers showed true journalistic integrity and research this past week, and I applaud those who did. Rob Salkowitz of iCv2, Mat Elfring of Comic Vine and Heidi McDonald of The Beat are three that come to mind. I also appreciated the talented Gail Simone’s professionalism in her mea culpa, and her willingness to revisit the real story. In the end, I worry for the future of social media, the future of  journalism, and I worry for the future of many readers out there who seem blinded to critical thinking. As our close friend, sometimes business partner and fellow artist Charlie Athanas said, “Oh, hive mind. We should all watch Forbidden Planet and learn that this collective id thing can be really dangerous. Then shut down our computers and go have a drink with some friends.” Well said, Charlie. Denise plans to share the best ideas and suggestions she’s received about how we as creatives and exhibitors can improve sales and our Con experiences from the many who commented on her blog, ComicBookWife.com, so watch for that.

On Wednesday Denise and I will be guests of Chicago comics advocate and podcaster Wendi Freeman and her podcast Double Page Spread. I will post a link here when it’s up, but here’s a link to Wendi’s past podcasts – check them out: 

http://bitly.com/DoublePageSpreadPodcast

Many of you know I’m a big #MMO #SWTOR gamer. I did a really fun Ootinicast Twitch TV interview this week about my Star Wars: The Old Republic gaming and my STAR WARS art with co-host Ander (aka Redna), so here is a link to that interview for you:

 

http://bitly.com/DD_on_TwitchTV

I hope to see everyone soon. As always, thanks for reading,

Dave.

Dave Dorman Star Wars Celebration VI – 30 Prints Still Available and More News

Dear Friends,

Through an agreement with Lucasfilm, I am able to sell my remaining unsold prints from SWCVI. I have approximately 30 prints available and I am happy to announce I can now offer them to those who could not attend the show in person.

Here is the order link:

http://www.davedorman.com/swc6print.shtml

Additionally, I wanted to update everyone that I will be attending Cincinnati Comic Expo in less than two weeks – from September 22-23. I want to shout out a special thanks to our friend Kevin Dugan, who made us aware of this convention. The headline to this story is that Stephen Bissette and I will reunite for the very first time since our Eisner and Bram Stoker Award-winning book, “ALIENS: TRIBES.”Stephen and I will do a panel on that book, which was revolutionary for graphic novel publishing, and still holds up today.

ALIENS: TRIBES by Stephen Bissette and Dave Dorman

Additionally, Stephen Bissette was my classmate and fellow “Kubie” at The Joe Kubert School of Comic and Graphic Art, so he and I will do a panel on our fond remembrances and appreciation of Joe Kubert. Here is the tribute art that Neal Adams did of Joe Kubert’s graduates – I was honored to be in the piece, and Stephen Bissette stands beside me. Jan Duursema and Tom Mandrake were also in our class.

Dave Dorman, Top Left, Next to Stephen Bissette in Neal Adams Tribute to Joe Kubert

I was saddened to see a lot of “trolls” disrespecting Joe Kubert, his students, and his school on Stephen’s blog, and we will address those controversial comments as well. I can assure you that Joe Kubert always thought of his students first, as was evidenced when he cut me loose during my first portfolio review; Joe felt that I had “graduated” in terms of what I could learn there. I wanted to learn to paint covers, and since I attended during their second year of operation, they weren’t set up to teach me color work. Joe could have continued to collect tuition from me, but Joe Kubert put me and my career needs first, ahead of the much-needed tuition in the early days. (I also want to mention that Stephen Bissette is also reuniting with his “Swamp Thing” collaborators for the first time during a panel at Cincinnati Comic Expo, so attendees may want to see that as well).

In other news, I’m assistant coaching my young son’s flag football team, and that has been a lot of fun. Many of you know that football was my sport at Friendly, MD high school in the late ’70s; I played defensive end in my junior year on the team that won the state championship, the first in our history. Those were heady times, fondly remembered.

On October 6th at 2 p.m., I will be signing at the Barnes & Noble in West Dundee, IL, helping the patrons celebrate STAR WARS DAY. If you live in the Chicagoland/Northern Illinois area, I hope you can come out and join us.

On October 26 – 28, I will be exhibiting at Geek Media Expo in Franklin, Tennessee and I hope that those of you who live in the area can come out and see me. While you’re there, be sure to check out my friend Leonardo Ramirez’ steampunk children’s book, “JUPITER CHRONICLES.”  Joining us will be Michael Koske, my wife Denise’s client, who is a “walker” or zombie on AMC TV’s WALKING DEAD series. Michael is in the brotherhood we know as the 501st, and we look forward to seeing him again after Star Wars Celebration VI.

That’s all the news for today. I thank you for your time, interest and support.

Dave.