Cropped Will Cardini artwork

March 21st, 2012

VGKids at Flatstock 33

Filed under: Inspiration — Tags: , , , , , — William Cardini @ 11:46 pm

This past week was South by Southwest in Austin. One thing that Glade (I remade her website for her birthday, check it out) and I always like to do is go to Flatstock.

VGKids Flatstock 33 poster
VGKids poster for Flatstock 33.

Flatstock is a convention of concert poster artists put on in various cities by the American Poster Institute. There are always tons of dope screenprints there. We always seek out the art prints and buy a few of those. My favorite this year were a group of screenprinters from Ypsilanti, Michigan called VGKids.

VGKids poster and stickers
Another VGKids poster and stickers. I’m not sure who did this artwork – maybe it’s collaborative?

They also do prints for other people. Check out this two-color Tom Neely print they did:

Tom Neely two-color Moby Dick print by VGKids

March 14th, 2012

What by What-Ever

Filed under: Events — Tags: , , — William Cardini @ 1:01 am


Poster by Devin Flynn.

Vortex #2 Sketch

Filed under: Sketchbook Pages — Tags: , — William Cardini @ 12:08 am

Hey y’all, I’m going to be in pretty deep radio silence over the next few months finishing up some projects, so don’t be surprised if blog posts are delayed. But here’s a sketch of some ideas for Vortex #2:

Vortex #2 Sketch

March 9th, 2012

Hic and Hoc Call for Entries

Filed under: Events — Tags: , — William Cardini @ 11:40 pm

Yo y’all check out the first Hic and Hoc call for entries:

Unsolved Mysteries call for entries

March 6th, 2012

Quick STAPLE! 2012 Recap

Filed under: Recaps — Tags: , , — William Cardini @ 11:48 pm

There were tons of fun moments at STAPLE! 2012.

Bear Quest costume
I’m chilling with the Cyclopean bear from Zach Taylor’s Bear Quest.

Thanks to everyone who came by our table.

Gold County Paper Mill and Glademade's table at Staple!
The Gold County Paper Mill and Glademade’s table.

I felt like Sunday traffic wasn’t quite as heavy as last year, but it was great to meet fans, hopefully make some new ones, and hang with more cartoonists than I usually see.

March 2nd, 2012

STAPLE! 2012 Preview and Recommendations Megapost

Filed under: Events — Tags: , , , , — William Cardini @ 7:26 am

Hey y’all! STAPLE! is this weekend and I’m super stoked!

I’m going to have a bunch of great stuff at a table with fellow Gold County Paper Mill members Michael Miles, Chuch, David Fullen, and the proprietor of Glademade, my wife Glade.

Michael Miles drawing
A sick skull draw by Mike Miles.

I’m going to have stacks of VORTEX #1; my Rainbow Hypercastle, Hensel Hypercastle, 3D Hypercastle, and One-Color Hypercastle prints; Josh Burggraf’s Kid Space Heater; and the new issue of the GCPM-published poetry and comics magazine Catch Up. Michael Miles will have the zine he debuted last year, Lords ov thee Black Sun, and a new zine. And my wife Glade will be selling her Glademade greeting cards, leather bangles, and Poketo wallets. We’ll be at Table 34 in the Hall.

STAPLE! Gold County Paper Mill location
I’ve marked our table.

To our left is Ao Meng’s Cavalry Press (Meng is also editor of Novi Magazine). He’s gonna have a bunch of great stuff. On the other side of the room from us are cool area cartoonists M. Austin Bedell of Skweegie Island, Jason Poland of Robbie and Bobby, Chris Sweet of Effing Decaf, and Zach Taylor of Bear Quest. And on the back table at the back of the room are the big guns, Chris Staros of Top Shelf and Kevin Eastman, co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and publisher of Heavy Metal.

Zach Taylor Bear Quest pixel art poster
An 11×17″ pixel art poster by Zach Taylor, on sale at STAPLE!

In the other room, the Annex, are cartoonist power couple Aaron Whitaker and Melinda Tracy Boyce. Aaron will be debuting his first graphic novel, The City Troll, which successfully met its Kickstarter goal recently. Also in the Annex will be Tom Neely and Virginia Paine, representing Sparkplug Books. I think it’s really cool that they’ll be there. I’m really looking forward to checking out Neely’s book The Wolf.

Melinda Tracy Boyce comic
An autobio comic by Melinda.

See this blog post on the STAPLE! blog for a full list of participating cartoonists and their locations. There’s also a preparty tonight at Austin Books and Comics starting at around 7pm.

February 28th, 2012

Xeric Today, STAPLE! on Friday

Filed under: Admin — Tags: , , , — William Cardini @ 10:30 pm

Hey y’all, I mailed off my application to the Xeric Foundation self-publishing grant today.

Xeric Foundation logo

Applying to the Xeric has been a goal of mine since I first read about it, so even if I don’t get the award, I’m glad I submitted to the final round. Good luck to everyone else who submitted – may the most deserving cartoonists win!

Lars Martinson Xeric Foundation drawing
A drawing from Lars Martinson’s helpful posts about applying to the Xeric and self-publishing.

One resource that I came across while preparing my application was Lars Martinson’s ten-part post series “How I Self-Published a Graphic Novel” which details the steps he followed in publishing his book Tonoharu. Even though this is the last round of the Xeric there’s still plenty of useful advice about self-publishing in general in those posts. The two steps that I’m thinking the most about now are Part 4, where Martinson details saving up enough money to take a year off of his day job and give self-publishing a full-time try, and Part 10, where he thinks about what it’ll take for him to make self-publishing comics into a sustainable career. It’s an unfortunate fact that there isn’t much money in comics and I like how he deals with the reality of the situation without being hopeless.

In semi-related news, the Gold County Paper Mill will be tabling at STAPLE!, an Austin comics festival, this weekend.

STAPLE! logo

STAPLE! is this Saturday from 11am to 6pm and Sunday from noon to 6pm. I’m going to have a more detailed post about what we’re bringing and what else you should check out on Friday.

February 24th, 2012

Charles Moll

Filed under: Inspiration — Tags: — William Cardini @ 7:55 am

A couple of weeks ago the PorPor Books Blog (a great source of old sci comic scans and book reviews) posted a review of a John Brunner book with a Charles Moll cover. That cover was so cool that I decided to put together a post for y’all of other Moll covers:

Huon of the Horn by Andre Norton Cover by Charles Moll
Huon of the Horn by Andre Norton. I dig the textures and patterning. Via the Ace Image Library.

The Best of Keith Laumer Cover by Charles Moll
The Best of Keith Laumer. This cover is so creepy. I love how Moll rendered the tarp-like carapace. Via a visual bibliography of Keith Laumer.

The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov Cover by Charles Moll
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov. This includes some cool gradients without being totally overwhelming like these two Moorcock covers. Via retrosapien’s Flickr stream.

While I was putting together this post, I realized that I have some Moll covers in my collection and I’ve scanned them and posted them to my Flickr here and here (Moll did the cover on the right in that second link). Also if you want to see more, check out this great list of Moll covers with large images on Paperback Fantasies. Moll did great covers for a bunch of Barry Malzberg books.

February 21st, 2012

No More RUB THE BLOOD in my Store – Where to Get More

Filed under: Print Comics — Tags: , — William Cardini @ 7:59 am

I’ve sold a stack of RUB THE BLOODs through online sales, thanks y’all! I’m saving a few copies for STAPLE! 2012 here in Austin. If those don’t sell, I’ll offer them in my online store again. But your best bet, if you still want a copy and you won’t be at STAPLE!, is to mail order one from editor Ian Harker for $5 plus $2 shipping.

Ian Harker and RUB THE BLOOD

Ian’s email is doppelgangercomics@yahoo.com.

February 17th, 2012

“Moon Queen” B-Sides: Spreads 5 and 7

Filed under: Sketchbook Pages — Tags: , , , — William Cardini @ 7:45 am

Here’s the final set of process shots from Moon Queen, the comic I drew during Frank Santoro’s Correspondence Course:

Moon Queen Spread 5 B Side
Original sketches for Spread 5.

Moon Queen Spread 7 B Side
Spread 7, ink wash layer with loose blackline.

Moon Queen Spread 7 B Side
Spread 7 fore-, mid-, and background in colored pencil.