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Happy to be guest speaking at my alma mater’s comic expo this weekend. If you’re a student or alumni of Academy of Art University, it’s free to attend. Which is a hell of a deal considering the list of special guests that’ll be at this shindig. You...

Happy to be guest speaking at my alma mater’s comic expo this weekend. If you’re a student or alumni of Academy of Art University, it’s free to attend. Which is a hell of a deal considering the list of special guests that’ll be at this shindig.

You can find me on the following panels, where I’ll quirk my eyebrows at you as I talk about writing, anthologies, editing, and retailing.

ANTHOLOGIES (11 A.M.)
Room 310
Whether you’re looking to contribute a short comic to an anthology or organize and self-publish your own, you’ll want to know how to improve your chances for success - and what pitfalls to avoid. Join Matt Harding (Figments), Einar Masson (Bay Area Comic Anthology), and Asher Powell (Countdown Until Now) for this roundtable discussion on the merits of short comic collections.

RETAILERS (1 P.M.)
Room 310
Comic creators who ignore the role of retailers in promoting and championing their work to customers do so at their peril. The folks who work at your local comic shop do much more than simply ring up your comics at the register. They are an essential component to the success of every issue on the stands. Come hear what Juliette Capra (Fantastic Comics in Berkeley), Asher Powell (Lee’s Comics in Mountain View), and Sienna Robrock (Comix Experience in San Francisco) have to say about the relationship between creators and retailers, the rise of the Valkyries (a network of women in comics retail), and much more.

THE ALUMNI PANEL (2 P.M.)
Bradley Hall
Graduates of AAU’s comics program come together on one panel to discuss their respective journeys from student to professional. Moderator and AAU instructor Jeremy Saliba leads a discussion with alums Justin Greenwood, Aaron Gregory, Matt Harding, Greg Hinkle, Katie Longua, Einar Masson, Asher Powell, Sienna Robrock, and Nathan Shorts.

MORE THAN PICTURES & WORDS: COMIC BOOK EDITING & BACKMATTER (3 P.M.)
Room 400
So, what does a comics editor do? And what’s with all the stuff in the back of some monthly comics and graphic novels? David Brothers (Editor on Lazarus), Dani Colman (Editor on Black Jack Ketchum), and Asher Powell (Editor on Countdown Until Now) speak from their own experiences, answering these questions and more.

There you have it. Come say hi.

comics image comics editorial writing anthology panel

Apr 27, 2016

hlhughes:

Hellboy: The Hex and the Trinity

This is a Hellboy/Hocus Pocus crossover comic that I drew for Emerald City Comic Con.  The story is by me, Haley Hughes, and Asher Powell, written by Asher Powell, and Art by me

Haley and I did a kickass Hellboy/Hocus Pocus ashcan! Made with love and respect for the original source materials, we gave free copies out at ECCC. And now, you can read the whole thing here. 

If you also like to read scripts, mine’s available at this link. 

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Apr 24, 2016
christianward: “ Been thinking about what to say. Figured art would say it better. See you Star-man. Thanks for the music ”

christianward:

Been thinking about what to say. Figured art would say it better. See you Star-man. Thanks for the music 

Jan 11, 2016

bewarethevalkyries:

Valkyries 500 Strong!

(Photos of some our of members celebrating starting 2016 with 500 Valkyries.)


In the last week of 2015, the Valkyries achieved a milestone: we welcomed our 500th member. We started with about a dozen women three years ago, and the word spread quickly. Those Valkyries recruited new members as they met women while visiting other stores or conventions. Our numbers kept growing and haven’t slowed down. Our founder, Kate Leth, originally started the group because she felt alone as a woman in comics retail and wanted to connect with others. She never expected it to become a 500-woman powerhouse, but here we are!

The Valkyries gives members the chance to communicate, share ideas, and make new friends through our common interests. Our members include shop owners, managers, and clerks spread over six continents (get with it, Antarctica!). The group’s collective strength naturally derives from our individual members, who channel that indomitable Valkyrie moral support to fuel their efforts in their own shops. Many of our members now host Ladies’ Nights, book clubs, and other events, and work to make their shops welcoming and inclusive for everyone every day.

Valkyries Valhalla, our sister group, was created as a place for current and former Valkyries to connect online, so members wouldn’t lose contact with their friends in the group after moving on to a different job. In November, we opened it up to women who are librarians, bookstore workers, and others who put comics in people’s hands (but don’t work in a shop that primarily sells new comics). The response to that was enormous, and we’ve added over 100 members in the past six weeks!

What does it all mean? First and foremost, it means that your chances of having a woman sell you a comic are steadily increasing. Of course, there have always been women behind the counter at some comic shops. In fact, a few of our members have been in the business for 30 years or more. As comics’ readership is becoming more delightfully diverse, so should the workers in the industry. We are proud that the Valkyries give women retailers greater visibility. More comic shops are hiring women because they can see it’s really not unusual, and not a gimmick. We are voracious readers, passionate about comics, and love sharing our enthusiasm with our customers. And we’re just getting started.

To everyone who has supported us, we thank you. You are true Palkyries. Stay tuned to see what we’ll do in 2016!

Jan 05, 2016

About That Movie We’re All Seeing, And That One Character Death

Warning! Thar be Star Wars The Force Awakens spoilers here.

Upon exiting the new Star Wars movie the night it premiered, I announced to my crew that I enjoyed it. It was fun and I had a blast! However I didn’t at any point have that moment of excitement and nostalgia wash over me; giving me the epic high everyone I saw it with felt. They were all wide eyed and buzzing with glee, and I… wasn’t. I stopped shy of saying it was the best movie, or even that it was amazing. And I’m usually the first person to fall into the hyperbole trap.

One thing that I’ve found myself saying, over and over again, is that the big, shocking death didn’t impact me as much as it did everyone else. I’ve for the most part kept it short and sweet, and told everyone it was because I figured out the death early on in the movie. Which killed a lot of the emotional weight for me, and was partially the reason why the movie was just good and not awesome.

So I’m going to break it down for you, right now, because the internet.

And from here on out it’s all spoilers.

Keep reading

star wars the force awakens writing movies Disney

Dec 28, 2015

brianschirmer:

Yesterday’s daylong launch of BLACK JACK KETCHUM #1 was nothing short of amazing.  The signings wildly exceeded any of our expectations.  I must give THANKS…

… to Joe Field and Leef Smith for opening their doors to us at Flying Colors Comics and Mission: Comics & Art, respectively, to Asher Powell for volunteering to chauffeur us around AND for speaking to my class in between, to Dax, Eda, and Nicolas for treating us to dinner (and a ride home!), to Matt Harding for coming to BOTH signings AND for crafting our first piece of fan art(!), to the students from my class who joined in at Mission: Comics, and to all the fine folks who turned out for the signings - YOU’RE THE BEST!  I need to likewise thank Jeremy and Claudia, without whom - make no mistake - there’d BE no BLACK JACK KETCHUM.  Last but not least, thanks to Dani Colman.  She knows why.

Here are a plethora of photos from both events.  Let’s do it again sometime…

T’was fun, as always. Will be writing something on the class soonish. 

(via brianschirmer)

comics image comics

Dec 04, 2015

Because Other Swimwear Options Just Don’t Cut it For Some of Us.

flavntstreetwear:

seethestarsablaze:

flavntstreetwear:

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Help us provide an option for the nonbinary and transmasculine community in terms of swimtops. Everyone should have the option to go shirtless if they want to and everyone should be able to do it comfortably and confidently. Some people are cool with wearing a bikini top, tight compression sports bra, or a baggy tshirt – but what if you aren’t? What if you want to get a tan and wear something that’s more “masculine” or gender neutral? What if you want to be able to just feel shirtless? Our Bareskin Top is our solution to this problem. Offered in a variety of skin tones and in a more comfortable cut than other binders on the market, the Bareskin Top allows you to wear something that is less visually triggering than anything else out there and allows you to get a tan while also spending time in the water.

We need your help to make it a reality though! Our kickstarter is live until December 19, 2015 and with your help donating and spreading the word, we can have these bad boys available by next summer if we meet our fundraising goal.

Don’t you think everybody deserves to feel comfortable in their bare skin?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bareksintop/bareskin-top-transmasculine-swim-binder

Donate, signal boost, spread the word, & support your community! If every person who reblogged this donated just $5 we would reach our goal in no time!

__________________________________

Follow: Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr

Stay Rad,
FLAVNT Streetwear

Special thanks to Yoomi Park for shooting our video and for Kayla, Chris, Rookie and Courtney for drinking beer at 11am to make this happen.

This product won’t be perfect for everyone but for some it’s exactly what they are looking for– I know that we made the prototype because of my personal experience with Dysphoria and not being satisfied with the options I have for swimtops as a transmasc person. I don’t want to cover myself with a shirt all the time, I don’t want to swim in something that looks like a wetsuit, I don’t like the way my other binders look underneath tanktops in the summer, etc. I personally want to look down and not be triggered, and for me (and many others) top surgery isn’t attainable anytime soon, so something that “blends” more into my skin is a relief.

The bareskin top has helped ease my Dysphoria, similar to when I tried on my very first binder– and now I wear this top more than my other binder hands down.

SO AGAIN– if every one of my followers donated JUST $1 we would easily meet our goal!! We see that a lot of you support this idea and we want to make it a reality– but we need your help!!

^^^^

Damn this is cool. 

(via elusive-j)

Dec 04, 2015

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