Monday, July 26, 2010

The Comic Con that was

Comic Con has come and gone! What a whirlwind. Being that I traveled so much this year, I wanted to minimize my time on the road, while maximizing my time. So here's how it all went down:

Friday 5:20AM Eastern Time. Leave the house, head to the airport. On the flight, I re-read Scott Pilgrim vol. 5 (I had been re-reading all the previous volumes that week in anticipation for vol. 6's release.) Then I read Scott Pilgrim vol. 6. And then it was over. Tear. But what a fantastic conclusion to a great group of books. I slept some, drew some, wrote some. It was a good flight.
12 PM Pacific Time. I land. Head to the hotel, check in and run into my old pal from the Target festivals, DJ Lance Rock of Yo Gabba Gabba! I head up to my room, freshen up and head out to an industry party. (Sounds important, right?)
This is the hotel I was staying at. Beyond the fact that I'm excited for the film adaptation, I am beyond happy for Bryan Lee O'Malley, the creator of the series. There were lots of amazing Scott Pilgrim events throughout the weekend. I imagine it was all pretty surreal for O'Malley.

1-4 PM Pacific Time. Great party where I run into lots of great pals. Danny Santat, Bob Boyle, Tony and Ang DiTerlizzi. The list goes on and on.
4-6 PM Pacific Time. I walk the convention floor with aforementioned pals. My tired mind fails to properly process the insanity that is the Comic Con floor. 
6:30-7 PM Pacific Time. Disco nap.
7:30 PM on - the Eisner Awards. I had no expectations of taking home the top prize in the category I was nominated in. And I didn't and that is OK—because it is an honor to be nominated!

More Scott Pilgrimness. The entire cast presented the first few awards. I barely paid attention when they were calling my category.
This is the silver sticker that I can now adorn my book with! (Brushes shoulder off.)
Somewhere around midnight Pacific, I finally get to sleep.

Saturday 5 AM Pacific Time. Even though I have quite a few hours left to sleep, my body is stuck on Eastern Time. . . and Eastern Time with a baby. *sigh*
10 AM (OK, by now you know it's Pacific Time. . .) I make my way to the Random House booth and meet up Babymouse pals Jenni and Matt Holm. By sheer coincidence, (seriously, not on purpose. . . I swear!) I had a yellow sketchbook and Matt had a pink one. So Jenni posed.

11 AM. Signing
12 PM. Interview with the folks at Suvudu.com.
1 PM on -- Met up with lots of writer/illustrator/comics/TV pals. Way too many to list here. And lots of A-Z list celebrity sightings, too.

Here is a small sampling:

Christopher Paolini and I are book siblings, we share the same editor. It was our first meeting and he is just one of the nicest authors you will ever meet. Pretty crazy to think that Lunch Lady and Eragon have been shepherded along by the same brilliant editor. (The Penderwicks, too. We're planning a family reunion. Or the oddest cross-over event in the history of anything.)
That's Mr. Santat, Mr. Warburton and I walking the floor. We never did assign which one of us would be played by Vince Vaughn, should they ever make a movie about us, but it did feel like one of Vaughn's old movies. We did, however, take advantage of a magical warp that allows you to travel form one end of the convention floor to the other. It's a great way to avoid the crowds. But I can't tell you where the warp is or how to use it—because I want to use it again.
Incredible costume. . . that kept following us.
This is what happens when you have lunch with creative minds!
Bob Boyle and James Burks in their booth, filled with their awesome work.
A whole crew of people who are responsible for a great number of graphic novels for young readers.
And this is that same crew in costume.  (Kidding. But it makes for a good segue into posting pics of the costumes seen at the Con.)





Didn't see many Storm Troopers this year, but did see lounge lizard Vader and Boba Fett.
This costume is fantastic. And probably better suited for colder climates. . .
Gotta love the dedication to superheroes that you don't read about everyday.
That is dedication to props.
I wish I had more pics of the costumes. This was my 2nd Comic Con, so I guess if you've seen one giant robot, you've seen them all!





Finally, at about 10:30 PM Pacific Time on Saturday, I flew out of San Diego.

Sunday 6:30 AM Eastern Time. Landed in Boston. I drove the 2 hour drive home and then—slept. A lot.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

PF Library Mural

School has been out for summer, but when I was visiting Warner Elementary in Houston last spring, I was delighted to learn that librarian Regina Moss included Punk Farm in their library's mural. What an honor! I would say, their mural quite literally ROCKS!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Gadgets from Kids

More great LL gadget ideas from kids!




Do you have a note or a drawing that you'd like to share? I would love to see them!
They can be emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Comic Con signing

I'll be headed to San Diego next week for Comic Con! LL1 is up for an Eisner for "Best Publication for Kids". What they say is true, "It's an honor to just be nominated." I have no delusions of taking home the prize. The awards ceremony is Friday night, so why not come by the Random House booth on Saturday morning (July 24) to console me. I'll be signing at 11AM. Random House is booth # 1515, which is a few blocks away from DC and adjacent to the Webcomics Pavillion. (A map of the convention floor can be found by clicking here.)

See yah there!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Ripple - Gulf fundraieser

Ripple is an art fundraiser in support of the wildlife devastated by the BP oil disaster. I've created four sketches for this great cause and for a small donation, you could own them.

My work goes up for sale on Friday, July 16th at 6:30 PM. One sketch will be available each half hour. It's first come, first serve, so be quick on the keyboard if you'd like to hang these pieces on your wall.

It's all going down at ripplesketches.blogspot.com. For the rules, check out the column on the right hand side of the Ripple site.






Monday, July 12, 2010

Radio Show - Brain Burps About Books

Jenni Holm (Babymouse series) and I chatted with Katie Davis on her Internet radio show -- Brain Burps about Books.

Check it out here:
Listen to internet radio with BrainBurps on Blog Talk Radio

PF by Kindergartners

Check out the work of the very talented Kindergartners of St. Christopher’s Lower School in Richmond, VA. When I visited with them this past school year, they adorned the entire school with these fantastic Punk Farm paintings. Color me impressed!









Friday, July 09, 2010

Thursday, July 08, 2010

Gadgets from Kids

Two more great LL gadget ideas! These are by John L.!



Do you have a note or a drawing that you'd like to share? I would love to see them!
They can be emailed to me via props@studiojjk.com or mailed to:
Jarrett J. Krosoczka
PO Box 60155
Florence, MA 01062

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

WICN radio interview

Mark Lynch has been covering my work on his show, Inquiry, since 2001. Mark is also that art teacher I had who told me to "forget everything I learned" upon learning that I read a "How to Draw Comics" book. In this year's interview, we cover the continuing Lunch Lady saga and I reveal info on my return to picture books in Fall 2011 and what's next for Punk Farm!

Friday, July 02, 2010

LL4 Blog Tour -- DadLabs

"It's so haaaaard.....to say goooodbye.......to yesterdaaaayYYEEEEEEE..." Yes, today is the final day of the LL4 Blog Tour. We've had a good run. Thanks for sticking by, reading the posts. But perhaps you are tired of reading. Well, I have just the thing for you. The Dads over at DadLabs interviewed me via Skype and they have posted a video over on their website. We talk about the LL books and I give my list of recommended reading for dads to share with their kids. Watch it here!

Thursday, July 01, 2010

LL 4 Blog Tour - Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews



In this edition of the LL 4 Blog Tour, I give the readers of the Through the Looking Glass Blog a look at the decisions that go into designing a graphic novel. I took two spreads from my newest Lunch Lady book and created a diagram that explains just exactly what I was thinking when I laid out the scene. Check it out here!