San Diego Sched. & some Special Maxx Projects in the works...

Lot of Milestones this year: I've learned better than to fight people's nostalgia fix regarding the purple guy.  Same with the Sandman.  Weird that this SDCC is the Sandmans' 25th Anniversary... and Maxx's 20th. This DC Sandman panel I'm on on Saturday, will be the the first time I've seen Neil in person since Mike and I first met him in San Francisco some 20 years ago... back when the Sandman first started.  

Given my reclusive nature, possibly the last too. So at the risk of indulging in sentiment too, IDW will have some Big News at Comic Con... news that will hopefully fulfill *some* of that need for nostalgia. 

Not all... but some. : ) 

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San Diego Comic Con  SCHEDULE, 2013   

Wed - 

6: 00-7:00 pm - Evening Signing: IDW Booth (#2643): Worlds of Sam Kieth  

(Check out the show-exclusive hardcover!... plus you can check out the regular version of the Hard cover too!)

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Thur - 

1:00-2:00 pm:  Signing, IDW Booth (#2643)

* 3:30-4:00 pm:  Panel: Sam Kieth Special Announcement. Room 4 

 4:00-5:50  Oni - Signing - Booth (#1833)

(Check out the show-exclusive Dana and Nola print!.. and some preview Pages from the upcoming "Nola" Graphic Novel!) 

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Fri - 

11:00 am-12:00 noon:  Signing, with Chris Ryall at IDW Booth (#2643)

* 4:00-5:00 pm:  IDW Panel - Sam alongside Various IDW Creators - Room 4 

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Sat - 

10:00-11:00 am:  Signing, IDW Booth (#2643)

* 3:15-4:15 pm:  Sandman 25th Anniversary Panel, Room  6DE

* 5:00-6:00 pm:  Sam Kieth 'Overview of Career' Panel, Room 9 

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Sun - 

11:00 am-12:00 noon:  Signing, IDW Booth (#2643) 

1:00: - 1:45…??? - Dark Horse Signing with John Layman - Dark Horse Booth (#2615) 

DOODLES: The only way I'm gonna get through all Four Days I'm afraid I'll have to do small doodles rather than any full sketches. Here's what a doodle looks like. If you aren't thrilled with it just throw it up on ebay for a few bucks. But remember.. there are easier ways to make a few bucks than to stand in line for an hour for a friggin' doodle!  : ) 

I'll be signing at the booths, and the Panels are mostly for info on various things or to ask questions. Course it's cool to being non IDW or Dark Horse Comics to get signed too. If you run into me on the floor, and you have ONE book with you want signed, that's cool. But more than one, I ask you please to use one of the times at the IDW book please. 

I know these things can be a little crazy, but I also know it's tough standing in line too. I APPRECIATE the hell out you doing so!!! Without comic fans, there would be no lines, no comic-cons and  comic creators in the first place. YOU guys and gals make all this stuff worth it. 

Together... we can get through the madness!!!!  

(Above) is a cool print I'll be signing at the Oni Booth too on Thursday.. i remember some fans said they wanted a print of this, so here's your chance!  

Now, onto other stuff... 

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Here's a guy I drawn in almost 20 years.. ( outside of a few commissions )... 

There'll be some New Announcements at comic con about this. - (Note the new Maxx cover i did at the top of this blog... and thee one here.. ) 

I know i'll get tons of questions at comic con... over if I will EVER do a new Maxx series again??? 

I believe you already *know* the answer to that, given my feelings about it. 

Another reason why I've avoided it is, (and it's a good thing)... i'm a different guy now. A new Maxx story wouldn't really feel the same, because I'm not the same. 

And my guess is... your not the same either... if you picked up the a new Maxx today,  I bet you'd read and understand it differently than you would've in high school, right? 

I don't hate the Maxx, if i did i wouldn't have started drawing him in the first place. These covers i'm doing are my way to kinda prove why it's a good idea for me NOT to do any new Maxx comics. I'm doing you a favor, TRUST me... I'm even weirder now than i was in the maxx days..

So if i'm not doing any new Maxx series.. what's left then? Well.. that's what we'll explain at the con, (and i'll tell you some more on the blog, when i get back from the con.) - There's a TON of cool stuff planned.  Tons of odds and ends, unseen stuff that's overflowing from my closet and can spill out into various projects. 

Hopefully some Maxx buzz.. might draw Maxx fans to my Worlds are books too. Plus I'll meet with Kim and were getting serious about some New Toys ideas too. 

But Drawing Maxx again.. doesn't feel as horrible as i thought. It's actually kinda...weirdly.. FUN, (long as i don't think about it too much.)  Everything about how Maxx looks... is intuitively designed for me to enjoy the process... it is how I would draw everything if i could. Round backs. Huge feet. 

Here's my version of the infamous 'splat' i did for the cover of Maxx 1. 

You can see the feet of my characters widening back in the pre-Maxx days, all those textures on the boots in those old MCP covers on the back with Ghost Rider. 

Just following my sub conscious really. That's what the Maxx was about. He just has a new home now is all. 

Make you a deal, i won't rain on your Nostalgia parade about old Maxx stuff, just stay open to checking out newer stuff I do too, ( which i know... DUH... most of you do anyway!) 

So we'll explain all these new Maxx-related projects in detail the con and on the blog like i said.  And 'newer stuff' wise? .. next post will have more art book pages.. 

... see i wasn't totally spazzing out for the last three months!

Well, maybe a little bit. 

"Worlds Or Sam" Art Book IS HERE!!!!!

Obviously i seem to have needed a break for the last couple of months.. but a bunch of New 'non-sucky' things have happen to re-inspire me.. one of them is that i got a copy ***THIS*** little sucker (see above, or below) from IDW a few days ago!!!!   

I like how the cork in the painting kinda matches the wood on my art table. I'm not usually proud of anything I do.. usually I'm so dismayed by my work in the printed comics I just dump the comp copies in the garbage.. 
But this book I'll actually keep. I don't mean it as if "my works so great".. i just always under estimate how appreciate how much pleasure can come from feeling and touching a nice fat art book. 

Here's the endpapers.. which hold the book together, i used this montage of a bunch of stuff. In the beginning, I intended to do a sort of 'look back" Bernie  Wrightson style book... but i realized it had to be more funky, personal, more reflective of my personality.  

There will be books of my work for hire stuff, like the museum book too. But this one's a little different. 

I've seen youtube videos where someone takes a new product out of the box or unwraps it.. seems weird to do it for something you yourself drew. 

I'm not trying to plug it.. if it seems too pricey you know soon enough it'll comedown in price, 30 % off, these things always do. Art books never sell avery much. This was a labor of love for me and IDW.. if other better selling comics helped pay for this, then cool beans. 

I always liked this page.  

Here's the trailer from the Bimbo comic, back when i was planning the whole mini series to be painted. 

I even threw in a few comic pages.. poking fun at some fans who prefer my old classic art with the tiny little lines. I liked those too, or I wouldn't have done them way back when..

But people change.. if fans dig the old stuff, great. I'm flattered. They don't have to all like the new stuff. But i'm always inspired by how many blog fans seem to just like ALL of it.. here's a distorted potbelly pic. 

Btw, Kim at Threezeros will have a Potbelly Figure on display so you can see what it looks like in color.. Not sure where his booth is.. but we have some more surprises planned, toy wise for this year too! 

Loved how this 'eye page' came out from the Bimbo. For some reason, it's probably my favorite eye that i've ever drawn in all the comics i've done.  

Couldn't resist grabbing a distorted angel photo of this spread, like i do on the blog. Only now the distorted photos of the eyes from a printed book.. is swallowed up and posted on my Blog, - eek! Gotta stop - it's blowing my own mind! 

Seriously though... how do you admire a book of your own art without seem like a total snarky little dork? Probably not possible. It's not the art I'm admiring, i've seen that stuff lying around my studio for years.. 

maybe it's the shiny paper. I dunno. 

Below are some more color variations of pages from Bimbo.. 

...here's the original cover, where the bimbo was born in a dumpster, amid what looks like combination of pink cotton candy and bubble gum? 

a rough sketch of one of the Bimbo covers..  

Here's several variations of the cover.. Nice to see these original art sized at last. 

You'll recognize this one from the blog.. i managed to grab a few pics of myself working on it.. 

Probably looks better here than on the original paper, which is kinda buckled and rough looking.. 

If your bored you can zoom in and read some of my comments, or better yet, don't strain your eyes.. 

There's a lot more than this.. here's that dissolving dude.. 

Almost done. The flash washed this one out a little too much. sorry. 

If your at San Diego you can check this book out in person.. if not, no worries. Just wanted to throw some of it up to give you guys a peak. I have two more years of these suckers which are 80 percent finished, so at least THIS time it will come out!  

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Here's a little bonus if your at the IDW Booth on Wed.. I'll be signing a Limited number of Worlds (with this variant cover) at comic con.. Here's the alternate cover. 

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If your not coming Wed., don't worry.  i'll be there Wed. thru Sunday, so you'll have a nice window each day for me to sign, but more on that in my next post.

Thanks for all your patience. I'm sorry when the 'undertow' grabs my ankles and pulls me back out to sea.. i eventually always managed to swim back to shore and throw up a new blog post.  Eventually the ocean gets us all. But not today. 

Also thanks to everyone who's been worried about me.... or was afraid i may have croaked. 

For better or worse... yes I am still alive. 


- Sam