a day late and a dollar short

I've been asked to write about being a Comic Book Artist from New Orleans, the birthplace of the other Original American Art form Jazz. I got started working at BSI fairfield at 14, bagging and boarding comics when they were $1 and Todd Mcfarlane and Jim Lee were the kings of the Newsstand and the birth of Image comics was just around the corner. I started work as an artist semi-professionally at 17, working for any Independent publisher who would give me work (money was a different story). I learned the Art of making comics as many before had, as an Apprentice to other more experienced Artist picking up the tricks of the trade as I went along. I made my professional break in 94 at DC comics and have managed to keep getting work while hopefully getting better.
I witnessed the Boom and the Bust of the 90's which nearly destroyed the Industry and the shops that made their livings from comics. The emergence of Computers in comics, both in production and printing has brought better books as well as higher prices and we now live in a world where every summer there are Movies based on comic books that are wildly popular as well as financial heavy weights.
The comics community of New Orleans has managed to survive Hurricanes and poor economics, with the emergence of Local artist like Vernon Smith of Dexter Breakfast and Robby Musso doing Transformers, as well as Kody Chamberlain and Rob Guillory from Lafayette and 2 NOLA Comic-Cons under our belt the city has a thriving comics community, with the proliferation of Digital comics the Industry seems poised on the cusp of something new.

I know I'm excited!

see you in the funnies

Derec
somewhere in the swamp

Drink n Draw (n write) a GOOO

Nice little turn-out.

Count Down

Flyers are up around town- counting down to d day

Nola Drink and Draw- bo ya

Feeling so unusually trendy! Not even the first meeting (June 14th, by the by) and we're on twitter, facebook and the blogsphere. We're out there, baby!

Whipped up some promos last night- flyers, minis and sign up sheets. Let's get a following- shrines come later.

As we actually have meetings, I'll post up pictures and scans (what a given). Who knows what will come of this- maybe some life drawing? Maybe a show or two? Maybe some embarrassing pictures of a drunk Wendy? Maybe not...