Boston Con! (CBQ Interview)

Fresh off the presses! Check out this INTERVIEW I did with ComicBookQueers back in Chicago at C2E2!!

There are only 2 awkward pauses and I LOVE the song they chose for the intro clip. Patty Boom is the muthafuckin' MAN! (Disclaimer: I ahve a bit of a potty-mouth and I totally swear a coupla' times. Earmuff the kiddos.)

Speaking of!

From 2 different families. Together at last.

Aren't these two just the sweetest little guys on the planet? The Jawa's dad told me that kid made his costume all! by! himself! Dear young Man, how did you make those eyes glow like that? Clever, clever.


So, Boston Con: CHECK!

This past weekend was the fabulous and fantastic Boston Con. My first hometown show, thankyouverymuch and it went splendidly!

Katie C. my amazing Booth Babe

The inimitable Katie C. was my booth babe for almost all of Saturday, helping me to unload at the Hynes Convention Center (we nearly ran over a cop in the loading dock --SORRY!). My mom came to visit along with Corinne and Tae, Josh and little Tana Junior (otherwise known as Lila Noelle).

Little TJ, sweetest baby on the planet

The kids got to shoot some Storm Troopers (and Jedi's) for charity:



I hear they died in dramatic fashion as well, which is awesome.

There were also some sweet Ghostbuster Costumes but I failed at getting pictures of them. their back packs lit up and all sorts of blinky lights were happening. I got to see everything up close when I happened to be behind those guys on the escalator at one point. Legit costumes.


Amy, Ty and Declan all came to visit as well. Declan and Ty recited the Green Lantern oath to me and held up their power rings towards the sky. I died a little bit on the inside from the level of cuteness since Declan is just a little wee one.


My table came out nice. The rubber duckies were a big hit.

Mom's homemade blueberry muffin in the back there, half eaten.

Overhead lighting ISN'T the most flattering

some of the awesome folks who checked out my wares

Working it! But at least I am all smiles

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Here are some in-process shots from the sign making night I had earlier last week:




I had an amazing evening post-convention.

The weather was nice enough to eat outside at the Cactus Club.

I got to drink a Raspberry Lime Concoction of some kind or another before that (at Summer Shack) that was AS BIG AS MY HEAD! Then I played Big Buckhunter AND table hockey (I narrowly won Buckhunter - not my BEST performance - then narrowly lost air hockey despite my best cheating efforts) and it was a wonderful overall weekend.

I am thinking I might go on up to Portland's MeCAF (Maine Comics Arts Festival) May 22nd. They are sold out of tables but the city is pretty and I might go just to spectate.

But first!

You know that whole 200-mile relay race?

The one I am NOT prepared far?

That happens in 2 days.

Awesome.

Guess I better go get some running shoes, eh?

Ohio Cop/Short Story

Hoppy Easter!

Patrick. Still keeping all his eggs in one basket.

I am working on a few things here at the garage/shop and one of them is a book of short stories about travel that's autobiographical.

How fancy!

I just finished a 4-pager from last month's trip to Chicago and thought I'd share it with you.

The words might change a little before it goes to print. I'm not sure it's clear that the cop that pulled me over was clear about not giving me a ticket, he simply wanted to talk about cars for awhile, so I may adjust some of the dialog to better reflect that.

Anyway!

Here we go:


It wasn't until I was the rest of the way through Indiana that I realize OMG that policeman probably just saved my life.

Happy Easter everyone!

Don't forget to thank zombie jesus for rising up out of his cave to save us all from evil.

Toenail Credentials?!

And also more art:

Dinosaurs at the beach (Thanks Stevie D!)


And mister Boba Fett:

And one more Hellboy beacuse I really like drawing this guy.

Who wears short-shorts?! He wears short-shorts!



And something VERY cool from this morning Rachel Maddow Show (I love her!)

Make your own invisible ink!

Rach enlightens me on how to use things like "common milk," the German formula for making invisible ink (artichoke juice?!) and charcoal dust to expose a spy! Also, toenail engravings! Super Spy!

Please do see:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Boston Con is only 2 weeks away. I have lots to do before then.

Therefore, I'm going to go get to it!

Cheeri-o!

A Boston Marathon for the Record Books

Wow, what a race.

The course record and indeed the WORLD record for ALL marathons was broken yesterday at the 115th running of the Boston Marathon.

A man from Kenya, a little guy who is quicker than anyone in the world right now, said this:

“When I was coming to Boston, I was not preparing to break a world record. I see it as a gift from God.’’ ~Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai

He ran 26 miles and 385 yards faster than any man in history; a shocking 2:03:02 seconds.

Unbelieveable.

When I saw the elite men race past us at mile 23 they looked hurt.

Ryan Hall, who had been right in the thick of the pack when I popped inside to check the TV and pee, had fallen to 4th place and looked hurt. How was I (or any average spectator) supposed to know he was running the fastest marathon he'd ever run? That he was, in fact, going to shatter the American record for marathon races AND his own personal best?!

"These guys obviously showed us what's possible for the marathon," said Hall, whose 2:04:58 is the fastest ever run by an American. "I was out there running, and I was thinking to myself, 'I can't believe this is happening right now. I'm running a 2:04 pace, and I can't even see the leaders.' It was unreal."

"Mutai, the first man to run a world best here since Korea’s Yun Bok Suh in 1947, definitely got a helping hand from Aeolus, the Greek wind god who provided a 20-mile-per-hour westerly at his back."

Just Outstanding.

Even my girl Kara Goucher (she might be America's Sweetheart but she was my sweetheart first!) ran the fastest marathon she'd ever raced beating her old marathon record by more than a minute! (One whole minute!) Even after taking a break from running last year to pop out a kid!

"Kara Goucher ran a personal best 2:24:52 adding a fifth-place finish to her third-place finish back in 2009. No American — man or woman — has won Boston since Lisa Larsen-Weidenbach in 1985."

Go, girl!

And speaking of girls the American Desiree Davila came this close (---> <---) to winning the whole thing! It came down to a sprint to the finish between her and a woman from Kenya. the difference between the winners was only 2 seconds. A whole marathon boiled down to two damn seconds! GAH!

The suspense is killing me!

"Kilel won the women's race to complete the Kenyan sweep, outsprinting American Desiree Davila to win by two seconds in 2:22:36. Davila led as late as the final stretch on Boylston Street and ran the fastest time ever for a U.S. woman, five seconds faster than Benoit, who is now known as Joan Samuelson. “It just went perfect for me — minus not winning,’’ said Davila."

This is what racing is all about.

World records smashed. Course records smashed. American records smashed. And still the "official" running community won't recognize Boston as a record breaking sort of course since it slopes a bit downhill.

"Until yesterday, time never was of the essence on this roller-coaster ride. While the course drops 459 feet in elevation from start to finish (which is why the IAAF won’t recognize Mutai’s record), the ups and downs make for a unique and devilish challenge among the five marathon majors. The constant gear-changing, the accelerating and braking on the hills, make it difficult to switch on the afterburners for very long.

Hall, who had to run almost four minutes faster than he did last year to finish in the same place, likes to say that Boston is a race for the history books. It always will be the oldest and the most renowned. Yesterday, it also became the fastest."

Those hills and the fans that pack the course every year make it one of the hardest and most emotional races in the history of running. One of the greats!

I say it every year but I am going to run this marathon and when I do my great grand-father's silver cup will be waiting for me at the finish line. Mark my words.

********


In the meantime I will watch from the sidelines on Washington Square. This was my first year watching the race from here and I will never go back to my old fighting-the-Kenmore-crowds ways. There is a nice decline so you can see the runners coming all the way down the hill. There's plenty of space to move and cheer and I had a front row seat the entire time. It was lovely.


I had two friends running it this year. Both of whom KILLED it!

Kirsten swung by first, charging ahead and looking elated (how after 23 miles is beyond me!)

you can see me screaming her on in the background there

Then came (and went!) Alexis!

Here she comes!

There she goes!

Both of these ladies are on my Slow Motion to the Ocean Team. Both are phenomenal runners (and damn nice humans). The Boston Herald newspaper did an article on Kirsten, who happens to be a doctor, a survivor and a damn good runner to boot. You should check that out.



Friends came by with letters to spell out A L E X I S. We hopped in behind her and ran along as a support section (for approximately .01 seconds).

I got creative with the letters (and even if this wasn't officially my idea, I am totally taking credit for it).




Mostly we just lounged around, listened to the live band that had set up across the street, sipped our adult beverages out of plastic cups and cheered until we couldn't cheer anymore at waves and waves of runners. It is my favorite day of the year.



Oh, and because one of our friends used to work at a restaurant right across the street we got FREE hamburgers and hot dogs! What could be better than that?!



PUPPIES! Puppies are better than that. Here is my godson looking ENORMOUS! He's going to be between 60lbs - 80lbs according to the vet. To put that in perspective my dog is not even 60lbs and he'll be twice as tall, and Osa, the Burnese Mountain dog is 90lbs!

Who's a little fatty, Ollivander, YOU ARE!

And here I am accosting the ever sweet, ever docile Osa Marie:


All in all it was one fantastic, amazing Patriot's Day. One for the record books.

And who knows, maybe next year I'll be wearing some running shorts and showing off my brand new Boston Marathon Medal.

Until then, happy Tuesday everyone!


********************


(This guy ran it with a flag attached to his back! Pfft. Overachiever.)

U S A!~ U S A!!

(To read the full articles I quoted go HERE. (Thanks Boston Globe!) Or HERE! (Thanks Beaumont Enterprise).)

Doyle's Round 2

Year number two of the Doyle's 5 mile road race was yesterday and I am happy to report that unlike last year, this year I saw ZERO of my ex-girlfriends (how nice!). Not that I'm bitter but it was certainly a happier Sunday than last year.



Meghan did not run it this year but she did meet me after.

It wouldn't be a Doyle's race without a goofy picture of me. In this years installment I am trying not to drip burrito juice on my godsons head as he snuffles his way into my lap.

This year hurt. I did all 5 miles in 51:01 which they tell me is a 10:20/pace (I don't do math) and those ten+ minute miles hurt. I stayed up all night dancing a (sweaty) storm at the packed Machine. I got absolutely no sleep then poof! It's 9am Sunday morning and I am dragging my ass across Boston to run and run and run.

I swallow some Purple Gatorade and a half rotten banana (I know -so gross!) and my friends make fun of me for the constant oooo and ahhh-ing and then, an hour later, we are done. I have 2 cold beers a Sam Cherry Wheat that has never tasted so good and a Noble Pils and life is good.

I got a little sun-kissed (which here means sunburned on my face) and hung out for the day. Lots of cool JP people showed up. It was nice.

And this is the month of the Cape Relay. Only 4 short weeks until May 6th when we take off for 188 miles on foot. Starting at 7am sharp.

In the meantime here's more artwork. It's all in various stages of almost-finished.

Enjoy!


Frogs jumping on a trampoline.

I was told this was meant as a joke or something since frogs don't need a trampoline to jump. (Shrug).



All My Friends Are Extinct

And Annie-Thing.

For Zan.


More later, there's a ton of them still wet and in process.

(That's what she said?)

xt.

Art Dump!

I went and got myself some watercolor pencils and have been throwing myself a little drawing party.


I drew some robots...

I drew some Hellboy...




I drew some sparkly vampires....


And a werewolf on a motorcycle...
And a little Invincible action...

And Atom Eve, of course...

And a turtle talking to a blowfish (inflated). Because why not, right?
Do YOU have an idea about what I should draw?

Because I'll totally do it.

Back at it.

xT

BCC

Boston Comic Con doth approach!



Which means it's pedal to the metal here at my little studio.

I have started making some watercolor (since when do we do THAT?!) pin-ups of characters I like. So far it's Hellboy and Invincible and those kids from the Vampire Movie-Books thing (I don't like them but they seem vaguely popular, so what the hell).

Anyway, things will be quiet here at the blog while I spend all my waking minutes wearing my fingers down to the knuckles drawing cool shit.

Do you like cool drawings?

Then suggest something!
I am a VERY user-0friendly artist and I take direction well.

(Rowr!)

Peace!

LGBT comics on CBR!

Comic Book Resources did a review of the GREECE comic!

FULL ARTICLE HERE!

The UPDATED Page 6

And happy opening day, everyone else!


Guess who had her own spread on CBR this morning?

That's right, intrepid fans, my very first comic book review! And (Spoiler alert!) it was a good one!

"It is quite impressive just how well Ford gets across the charm and beauty of their trip, including little details that seem minor, but really do add to the story (like their friend, the donkey)."

Here's a link to the whole article: but basically a man named Brian (who is a god among mortals, in my humble opinion) gave That Time I Turned 30 In Greece a stellar first review!

He writes "A good chunk of the comic deals with just “normal” stuff, like having dinner and talking, and yet Ford never lets that feel like the story is coming to a crawl for those parts of the comic. Instead, it seems like an exciting aspect of the book, which is a good sign that you’ve developed your characters well enough for people to actually give a damn about them. "


How about them apples?


I realized too late that the .jpegs I had sent Mister Brian were early versions of the work but the updated (which here mean edited and much improved) versions can all be viewed HERE! at my DeviantArt account.

You can read almost all 47 pages of the final book!

And if you'd like your own version of this wonderful little story (affordably priced at only $5 bucks) Click that little button on the side bar ----->

I, for one, would be very happy you did that.

And if not, than simply enjoy my artwork and spread the news!

The more the merrier!

AND if you are interested in seeing more of my work you could pick up DUCK! the PRISM GRANT 2010 award winning graphic novel (Look at me tooting my own horn. ToOt! tOoT!)

Happy Red Sox Opening Day!

*******

Now for some baseball quotations.

"Things could be worse. Suppose your errors were counted and published every day, like those of a baseball player. " ~Author Unknown

"Don't tell me about the world. Not today. It's springtime and they're knocking baseball around fields where the grass is damp and green in the morning and the kids are trying to hit the curve ball. " ~Pete Hamill

"I believe in the Church of Baseball. I tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones. I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms and Isadora Duncan. I know things. For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball. When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance." ~Ron Shelton, Bull Durham, 1988

I love that he mentions Isadora Duncan in that one. Meg always mentions her too, on account of the whole decapitated by a scarf fiasco.

"Baseball is reassuring. It makes me feel as if the world is not going to blow up." ~Sharon Olds, This Sporting Life, 1987

"There have been only two geniuses in the world. Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare." ~Tallulah Bankhead

Aren't they all fantastic? It's hard to pick a favorite one, I think. But this one is my own personal number one:

"You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all." ~Earl Weaver

Katie keeps a collection of these suckers on her computer and was kind enough to share them with me today.


I'm real glad it's that it's baseball season again, folks.


*************

Today's update was going to be an art dump of some character designs I'm working on for my next (super secret!) project where I get to work alongside the amazingly talented Justin Hall.

See?

But all the excitement of actually having my work reviewed sort of stole the spotlight off my daily doodles.

Did you hear Glamazonia was nominated for a Lambda Award?

So was Teleny & Camille by the ferociously talented Jon Macy, go check those out, if you like.

I can't tell you what the project is about. Sorry.

And for all you new folks welcome aboard!





Remember, I am going to be in artist's alley at this year's Boston Con so come say hello.
April 30th and May 1st, y'all.

(I apologize for any typos)

PEACE!