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May 2008### The CAG MVP distinction was bestowed upon Guild Membership Coordinator, Susan Soares for her work on building the membership database and making the process for recruitment a smoother one. Soares received her award from Guild President Keith Murphey. The final award of the evening was awarded for Special Award for Production Excellence, and was presented by CAG member and Free Lunch Comics Publisher, Steve Kanaras. Matt C. Ryan proudly accepted this recognition for his work in such titles as Bigger, Only in Whispers and Pork N’ Beans. Sharing the distinction with Ryan was Philip Clark from the LA Chapter of CAG. Clark is the creator of Quantum: Rock of Ages and was recognized for this work and his contribution to the CAG Anthology Publications. The 1st Annual Comicbook Artists Guild Awards were announced at the Indy After-Party at the Twin’s Pub in Manhattan. The leadership team of the nationwide networking organization celebrated the triumphs and talents of many of its members. Earlier in the year, nominations were cast from its membership and voting took place to decide the winners of 5 distinguished categories. The Comicbook Artists Guild also inducted a number of honorary members into its ranks, including Gary Cohn, Peter Palmiotti, Ray Feliz, Lauren Perry, Danny Fingeroth, Kirk Abrigo, Christian Beranek, Jesse Hansen, Ryan Markle, and John Francis Moore. These distinguished professionals were nominated and inducted by the leaders of CAG for their contributions to the industry and their dedication to the ideals of the Comicbook Artists Guild.
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| CAG member Randall Ensley wins big!!!!!
Randall entered and won L. Ron Hubbard's Writers and Illustrators of the Future contest and went on an expenses paid weeklong illustration workshop and awards ceremony in LA. Although he did not win the gold he did bring home a quarterly and was given $500! "The weeklong workshop was enlightening with presentations given by |
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WEST SIDE STORIES
CAG Musings from the California Coast
By Michael De Lepine
The Comicbook Artists Guild has been around for seven years, and its east coast chapters have had all the fun up until now, creating an outlet for independent creators to get together and make comics happen. So now, interest has spread to Southern California, Texas and Nebraska as well. That makes it only fair that a forum for information and opinion be displayed here that represents the West Side of the street. I volunteered to write this based on a conversation with Creative Director Mark Mazz, so I’ll try not to make this too full of extraneous fluff. Those of you that already know me pretty well seem to be pleased by my efforts towards CAG. That flatters me. Really. But I’m the first to say it’s not about me. I’m just a servant. I don’t have the time, inclination or the desire to pat myself on the back. That’s not my style anyhow. It’s really all about CAG. I want my commitment to CAG to be proof that CAG is greater than the sum of its parts; a testimony to where it’s been, where it is, and most importantly, where it’s going.
Having said that, allow me to jump right in and introduce myself:
My name was Michael De Lepine when you read my byline above, and it still is now. It’s pronounced DEE-LA-PEEN for those of you having trouble with it, but don’t feel bad. I get that a lot. I am one of the two coordinators for the Los Angeles chapter of CAG. Mark Mazz, along with Philip Clark, the veep of CAG West Coast Operations, and with President and Founder Keith Murphey’s nod, offered me that position about one year ago as of this writing.
Wow. Where did the time go?
I am also a letterer of comics by trade, though I never intended to start out that way. I originally planned to be THE comic book penciller’s comic book penciller. Straight out of art college, I was going to single-handedly storm the gates of Marvel and DC, and with my arms akimbo, my imaginary cape fluttering in the breeze, and a twinkle in my eyes, I was going to set the comics world on fire.
Whatever that meant.
You see, delusions of grandeur are commonplace amongst fledgling cartoonists that are young and stupid (and by young I really mean green around the gills; there really is no other suitable synonym for stupid). I’m talking about people who have the talent and the ability, but no experience, yet who are somehow convinced beyond shadow of doubt that they can get the job done better than the pros who were doing it well while those same upstarts were still in the womb. That was the me of a long time ago.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not deliberately slamming anyone by saying that. I’m merely stating a time-proven fact. Young and stupid is a common phenomenon not exclusive to the comic book industry.
During the time I was lettering professionally in New York, I got involved in a few ground-floor comic book start-ups. Most never got up off the ground, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Young and stupid came into play here, too, although on a slightly different level. It was all about trying to self-publish a comic as a group, and setting the comic world on fire that way. One such group I belonged to successfully self-published one comic, premiered it at a New York comic convention, and made the printing costs back in one day. Not to invalidate such an accomplishment, but unfortunately, that was the exception instead of the rule.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Too many cooks spoil the soup?” Or how about “Too many Indian Chiefs, not enough Indians?”
The lesson I learned was that to be successful in the goal of publishing a comic as an independent group, each and every member in it must be able to follow five important rules:
1.) Every participant must be of like minds with each other, meaning that everyone must have the same goals, and implement the same methodology to make those goals a reality.
2.) Everyone must accept the fact that they can’t do everything alone; that everyone needs help now and again. That’s why they’re involved in a group.
3.) If something goes wrong, no one should condemn, blame or point fingers at anyone else. Why waste time and energy playing the blame game when you can isolate the problem and fix it? Owning up to one’s own responsibility is key here.
4.) Friendship is friendship, and business is business, and never the twain shall meet.
5.) Check your egos at the door, and leave them there.
Those that are young and stupid usually don’t see the error of their position until way too late. By then, deadlines have been missed, personality clashes have ensued, common goals have become uncommon, and the group’s disposition towards one another has begun to resemble the little border skirmishes you’ve experienced if you’ve ever played Risk. Next thing anyone knows, the group has been torn asunder, and extremely little, if anything, has been accomplished. I’ve seen it time and time again.
I have never seen nor heard of that happening at CAG. Not from any chapter. And I am certain I never will.
In all of CAG’s existence, and during the year I’ve been involved, I saw professionalism, mutual respect, raw talent, and the desire to work above and beyond hard to get done what needed to get done. That is a surefire recipe for success if I’ve ever seen one.
That is one of the two things that attracted me to the Comicbook Artists Guild. That and the fact that CAG was spread out across three states at the time, and three more chapters were at incubation then, including Los Angeles. See, I had been away from doing anything creative in comics for about seven years. So I was hungry for it again. Needless to say that CAG gave me back all that I put in, and more.
As a result, I’m back into lettering, having launched a business venture with Phil Clark, namely a digital lettering and comic prepress studio entitled Alphabet Soup Studios. I’m sure you’ll see our handiwork in the coming months, so keep watching. I also am proud to say that with CAG’s help I now have my first official credit as a comic book penciller and inker (see CAG ANTHOLOGY #6). I’ve forgotten more indie comics that I’ve lettered than I’ll ever remember, and I’ve been in print as a writer only once before so far, but the first pencil and ink credit is a big deal for any comic artist. I’ll be on Cloud 9 for a while from that one.
I personally predict great things for the Comicbook Artists Guild. And as long as I have anything to say about CAG’s growth, I promise you all you’ll hear about it. The U.S. Army talks about being all you can be; maybe our motto as CAG comic creators should be, “be more than you can be.” That’s what I see.
Anyway, I think I’ve held your attention enough for right now. I’ll try to make this a regular column for the CAG website, as much as I can, schedule permitting. I’ll always try to share with you my take on how we benefit from what we do as members of CAG, and in my next column, I’ll start by talking about the significance of San Diego Comic-Con 2007for CAG, and I’ll produce that soon.
Hmmm… a support and networking group for comic creators of all skill levels, to band together to work on projects of their choosing…
…imagine that.
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| artwork by Brett Nance |
August 2007
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COMIC CON CONUNDRUM
CAG’s First COMIC CON!
By Keith J. Murphey
When most comic creators make reference to which shows they have been to many make reference to the grand-daddy of them, all the mecca of all comic conventions, the one and only Comic Con International San Diego. The Comic Con has a long history of being the industry’s biggest convention, which has always been held annually in San Diego. That the convention is 3,000 miles away in San Diego has always presented a problem as far as planning and budgeting for myself and I would say to those whom asked, "Yeah, I’m going next year." Due to several wonderful changes this year, I was able to attend thanks to the help of Hector Rodriguez and his wife, Kelly.
So what exactly is Comic Con? You will most likely get different answers from the over 100,000 attendees of the show. As its name indicates, it is a comic-related event. Most now assume it is not truly about comics but everything else related to pop culture. That’s most likely due to the addition of both Hollywood and the gaming industry. The amount of programming, panels, art shows, and celebrity is astounding. The energy level at this show is high, which is probably one of the reasons it separates itself from just about any other comic book convention. So here is what our experience was like this year at Comic Con 2007.
WEDNESDAY: Hector and I arrived at the airport in Hartford in the afternoon and flew to Washington, D.C. in approximately a half-hour. The next plane took us directly to L.A. We arrived in LA around 8:00PM and acquired our rental, which we nicknamed "the banana" and drove for two hours into the San Diego area. We had some slight difficulty finding our hotel as it was VERY CLOSE to the Border of Mexico. We met CAG West Coast Vice-Prsident, Phil Clark at the hotel. Phil had been at the show and set up our table earlier in the week.
THURSDAY: We decided to take the trolley into the show to avoid parking. Arriving at the show early to find it swarming with convention attendees, we still had our wait to get into the show. There was the added confusion of trying to find our registration area, which was no easy task. Many were outside the show room doors and could not wait to get in chanting, "Let us in". When the doors finally did open a sea of con attendees flocked everywhere and were cheering with glee. Hector and I found our table at the small press area and then proceeded to walk around the convention center. As far as organization goes the con was well put together, the majority of retail merchants were to the far left, then rows of creators and publishers starting from the 100’s to the 3,000’s. The show began to change into a smorgasbord of movie industry displays and video game stations. These rows were the most congested, as they were full of large and very impressive and expensive looking presentations. There were beautiful statues and models to be had everywhere. Towards the end of the rows was the artists’ alley area.
After going around it once we were tired and decided to watch some medieval combat performed by the SCA outside the back of the convention area courtyard. After the show, we packed-up to go out for some dinner with Phil.
FRIDAY: Hector and I decided to spend a good amount of the morning approaching over 20 different publishers pitching our project to them, Hell’sBlood. After lunch in the observation area we ended up going back to artists’ alley and getting several sketches of our favorite Hell’sBlood character, Burucu. We then spent some time in front of and behind the CAG convention table, which was compliments of our LA coordinator, Mike Wellman. We ended up taking lots of pictures of con attendees and later went out for dinner. We decided to go out for a little nightlife and spent the evening at the Hyatt Hotel bar area. On this particular evening, we saw Brian Michael Bendis and Joe Quesada stroll by the bar. We ended up taking an early night in preparation for Saturday’s workshop.
GREAT CAG SHIRTS provided by: T-SHIRT EFFECTS!
For more CAG COMIC CON PANEL PICS GO HERE
SATURDAY: We got up earlier and drive in to avoid the parking problem we witnessed on Friday. Both Hector and I are formally introduced to Donna and Mike De Lepine whom are the CAG LA secretary and LA coordinator. We spent the morning promoting awareness to the workshop at 12:30pm. The panel easily held over 100 participants and we managed to fill it quickly. We started on time with Phil Clark MC’ing the panel. It was a privilege to speak about CAG’s history and here both Mike Wellman and Mike De Lepine spoke about their involvement with CAG. Hector said some very genuine and honest statements that also added to the panel. Donna was also very passionate and shared her viewpoint of the group. We did a successful Q&A session, which continued until the panel was over. Several potential new members, and 3 potential new CAG chapters approached us immediately after the end of the panel. The workshop was highly successful and we all agreed it was the highlight of the weekend. We all walked out of there feeling really good about it. Mike Wellman’s comic shop (www.thecomicbug.com) was nominated for an Eisner award, but sadly lost.
That evening we went out to dinner with Christian Beranek and some of his associates and again went back to the Hyatt. This time we checked out the 40th floor of the hotel and got a beautiful view of the entire San Diego area. Later, we spent time with our friend Sam Vera (Catch da’ Craze podcast). That evening there were such industry giants as Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and David Finch among others hanging out and schmoozing.
SUNDAY: While it was reported that the show sold out of tickets Friday and Saturday, Sunday was considered Kids’ day and most cons traditionally have a slower day on Sundays. Although I didn’t feel that was the case here. We more or less had a final walk around and networked that day. We did get some more pictures, the show ended early and the lights went out exactly at 5:00pm. A large round of applause and cheering could be heard from all of this year’s participants of the show. After helping Phil pack-up, we said goodbye to our west coast friends and headed back to LAX. Hector and I took the red-eye out and got back home to CT around 10:00 AM. I admit as I write this my sleep schedule has not fully recovered.
The downside to this show would be the sheer shoulder-to-shoulder of people, the crowding of bathrooms, and the over-priced vendor food. Despite these drawbacks, we really had fun at this show as we did what we said we were going to do. We saw a lot of wonderful things, met a lot of great and new friends and visited with some old ones as well. For those who have never gone, I would highly recommend that you see it for yourself. For those of you whom have, we will most definitely see you next year. After experiencing a show like this, it can change your perspective on things. Just like any other life changing experience it stays with you, and I think I will reflect on it further on the weeks and months ahead.
JULY 2007
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CAG - GOOD NEWS COMES IN THREES
The Comicbook Artists Guild Announces Anthology Debut, ComicCon International San Diego Panel, And New Webcomics.
LOS ANGELES - The Comicbook Artists Guild (CAG) has several new offerings for the summer convention season, including new webcomics, a membership drive at ComicCon International San Diego, and a brand new edition of its anthology, spearheaded by its west coast chapters.
CAG Vice President and West Coast Chairman, Philip Clark, is proud to announce the release of the West Coast Anthology. This sixth offering from the Guild is the first to be created, conceived, and produced by the west coast chapters. "We founded CAG-Los Angeles one year ago," Clark says, "and the chance to publish our own anthology was based on the suggestion of CAG Creative Director Mark Mazz and the blessing of CAG President Keith Murphey." Over the past year, Clark and CAG-LA developed a theme, accepted pitches, formed creative teams (with assistance from CAG-Nebraska Coordinator Matt Mundorf), and edited the book. Clocking in at 48 pages of full story, the West Coast Anthology promises enough variety to satisfy both mainstream and indie audiences. CAG Anthology #6's debut is in July at ComicCon International in San Diego.
But that's not the only thing the Guild has going on in San Diego. CAG will also have a strong presence at ComicCon as well as a panel on Saturday, July 28th. The afternoon panel (12:30 PM) will serve as an orientation and membership drive to any and all creators interested in joining the Guild. "CAG has had a long history of camaraderie throughout the comic book industry," says CAG president Keith Murphey. "And San Diego is our best venue to reach out on a national level to further build our membership." Originally founded in New York and Connecticut, the Comicbook Artists Guild also has chapters in Massachusetts, South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, and Southern California. CAG will also be selling books and recruiting new members at Small Press Booth S-11.
The new edition of the anthology and CAG's preparation for SDCC lay the groundwork for the latest endeavor from the Guild: webcomics. CAG is happy to announce that it is now releasing new stories online. "This way, creators don't have to wait or rally for an anthology to release their work," explains Murphey. "Now, all CAG creators, regardless of location, can see their efforts immediately available to an audience." With membership increasing nationally, the Guild feels it's a good time to evolve into the new media. CAG is launching its webcomics on Drunk Duck with a preview of the West Coast Anthology and a bonus story from Los Angeles member, Melissa Violet.
CAG #6 - The West Coast Anthology's debut (48 pages, $5.95) is at ComicCon International San Diego, and it is available at Small Press Booth S-11 and at http://comicartGuild.com.
The Comicbook Artists Guild Panel is scheduled at 12:30 PM on July 28th in Room #24A at the San Diego Convention Center.
CAG Webcomics can be read at http://user.drunkduck.com/ComicArtGuild.
ComicCon International San Diego is held every year at the San Diego Convention Center, 111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. The dates of the 2007 convention are July 25th through July 29th. Please visit the Comic-Con website at www.comic-con.org for more information.
Contact Keith Murphey at comicartguild@yahoo.com for more information.
February 2007
February 8th, 2007 -- Attendees of the Second Annual New York Comic Convention are invited to attend the Second Annual Indie After Party on Saturday February 24th from 8-11 PM at The Twins Pub in New York City. Last year the party took place on the upstairs level of the bar. This year we have the entire venue and will feature free food, cash bar, a gallery of comic book art, and comics for sale.
In addition, there will be light entertainment throughout the evening and a special event: The first anniversary of the Catch The Craze Audio Podcast! Crazee Comics will also be videotaping the event.
Party organizer Philip Clark is reflective about the event. “It was a huge victory for the underdogs last year. This is truly a party for the people, as we're not charging a cover or doing any VIP access. We welcome all of our indie comics brethren and fans alike. We've got a great line up of talent and are able to make sure admittance is free again this year!”
“Since we have the whole venue this year we anticipate double the attendees this time around, its something very positive for the small press community,” fellow organizer and CAG President Keith Murphey explains.
The Twins Pub is located just 3 blocks away from the New York Comic Con, midway between the 34th Street subway station and the Javitz center.
Indie After Party
Saturday, February 24th
The Twins Pub
421 9th Avenue (between 33 and 34 St.)
New York, NY 10001
8PM - 11PM
Performing live:
Zorickh Lequidre
Philip Clark
Melvin Ylagan
Rich Terodoslavich
Professionals Attending (partial list):
Rich Bernatovech (Drumfish Productions), Philip Clark (Dreamchilde Press), James Rodriguez (Dreamchilde Press), Peter Palmiotti (Guild Works Productions), Keith Murphey (Comicbook Artists Guild), Andrea Grant (Copious Amounts Press), Sam Vera (Crazee Comics), Ryan McLelland (Forgotten Universe) and Mark Mazz (Guild Works Productions).
Sponsored by Dreamchilde Press, Drumfish Productions, Comic Art Guild and Crazee Comics.
For more info please visit Dream Childe Press
January 2007
CAG AGENDA 1/07
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
1. To start 2007 off the right way some of you have made mention that lately all CAG has been about is meetings. We have heard you and now this is your opportunity to come up with events and ideas for the group that are FUN! One really great idea that was already mentioned was that different CAG chapters all meet at the same movie theaters on the same evenings to watch Spiderman three. Art shows, workshops, any other ideas?
1. In an effort to improve the dues process an account of each months members who have paid is now being documented. During December CAG had 10 of its members pay their dues, not bad but obviously we can do better. If you missed December, January is the perfect time to catch up! The next dues drive is in June.
1. The Comicon on February 23-25th is fast approaching. We will again be one of the sponsors for the Indy after party on the 24th at the Twins pub. This year we will have both floors of the building. If you wish to have your projects, books on the sponsor table under the CAG banner (only way it will happen) you need to speak to Shawnti Therrien, contact: dj9ball13@yahoo.com if you wish to have stuff on the sponsor table you will be expected to donate an hour of your time to watch the products on the table and pay a small fee towards the sponsorship of the table. It looks like it will be CAG members only on the table this year unless the other sponsors have changed their minds.
1. In an effort to be more organized this year, Shawnti Therrien the EAST COAST VP has made a very detailed account of whom will be behind the table during the Comicon with specific times on each of the days of the show. We did try to get extra exhibitor passes but there was confusion about our status at the show, they have us down for an artist’s booth and not a publisher. We asked to be on standby to switch our status to exhibitors, that obviously wont happen this year but definitely we will be planning it now for next year. This means regrettably you will have to pay for your own admittance this time around, we hope to change that in 2008. In a related note CAG members are needed to pass out a free CAG newsletter to the masses outside of the show waiting to get in. If you are interested please let James know.
1. CAG #5 is nearly completed; there are two stories that will be added to the book, which is to be printed prior to the Comicon, Some time in mid- February. If you wish to pre-order the book please contact Keith Murphey at comicartguild@yahoo.com, you need to specify the number of books you wish to have. If you have work or pin ups in the book we encourage you to order them before printing, it gives us an accurate account of how many books need to be made and since we don’t comp CAG books you will be given a cag member discount off the $5.95 cover price.
1. Welcome new CAG chapter South Carolina, which will have its first meeting this month! Jeff Crump will be leading the meetings. We may have big news about another CAG chapter that may open in February or possibly March.
1. This years Dimestore Small press Idol event will have a special judge: Keith Murphey! He has been selected as one of the three judges for the first few rounds of the contest. Despite this development, CAG members are encouraged to enter the contest as there will be no bias involved as the final rounds are peoples choice and not decided by the judges just like, (American Idol) Murphey promises to not be as cruel as Simon Cowel but have way more of a spine than paula abdual! Seriously, the prize of this contest is definitely worth the time and effort, a 4 book contract through Dimestore, really good deal! All final round people even if they do not win get to atleast be published in another Dimestore publication.
COMICBOOK ARTISTS GUILD© 2007
