Moment of Fear

by jyviola on September 14, 2011 at 7:48 am

I had an incredible time at SPX this year; I sold a record number of books and had a record amount of fun. It was a special year for a lot of reasons. Thank you to everyone who came by and to everyone who made me excited about comics.

It was also a great show for my tablemate Cara Bean, whose new minicomic about being traumatized by the movie Gremlins was quite popular. If you didn’t get it at SPX and are going to MICE in two weeks, you should definitely pick it up. She has an endearing drawing style and can tell a good story with a surprise twist! I believe Cara has a lot of great comics in her future; she is definitely someone you want to keep an eye out for.

People seemed to enjoy Jay’s Brain! which was a real relief… since this was by far the most personal comic I’ve made, it was nerve-wracking to put it in people’s hands. If you would like to get a copy of your very own, it’s now available in my store. So now you too can give me a moment of fear!

Now. I have some work on display at Comic Art New England, and will be at the opening reception this Saturday. The exhibit is in the Atrium Gallery at Porter Exchange in Cambridge and runs September 10 – October 16. The weekend following the reception and in the same space is MICE, the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo. I’m fond of MICE because it is a well-run event close to home, and this year (its second) should be even better than the last. MICE is Saturday, September 24, from 10am to 6pm. If you are in the Boston area, please come by! Admission is FREE.

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Reds and yellows

by jyviola on August 31, 2011 at 7:58 am

It’s been so long since we last spoke, it’s like an entire season has gone by! My summer has felt very busy. Here’s an update of what’s going on, right now, comics-wise:

  • Sunward is slowly, very slowly, being colored. Sometimes I get a page a week, sometimes less than that. I’d always imagined it in color, with lots of reds and yellows and oranges, but the pages remained awfully white. I’m happy with the results so far and I’m looking forward to the day it’s done so I can say LOOK! It’s DONE! COLOR!
  • SPX is a week and a half away! This year, I am sharing a table with the talented Cara Bean. After having already admired each others comics, we discovered a few months ago that we live literally right down the street from each other. We’ll be representing our awesome neighborhood at Table H7!
  • Herman the Manatee is slowly, very slowly, coming to an end. I’ll say more about it when I’m closer to wrapping up (in a few months), but I’ve been putting the final stories together and I think you will be thoroughly depressed! Just kidding, Herman has a happy ending. No, really, it’s miserable…
  • MICE is September 24 at Lesley University in Cambridge, MA! This is the second year for the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo. It’s in a new space, there are more exhibitors, and there’s an art show! Everyone had a great time last year, and this year promises to be even better.
  • Jay’s Brain is a series of comics I’ve been drawing about living with my annoying roommate. It’s like the Odd Couple, but more stressful and slightly embarrassing. I’m hoping to get enough done in time for a minicomic at SPX, but otherwise MICE is just around the corner. It’s been tough because Brain has been fighting against their release, so there is frequent stalling and constant negotiation.
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Teeth

by jyviola on August 23, 2011 at 6:45 am

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Fun-Size Stories

by jyviola on May 14, 2011 at 3:03 pm

I will be at the Maine Comics Arts Fesitval next Sunday, May 22 at Ocean Gateway in Portland. I’ll have all of my awesome books, plus a kid-friendly version of Who is Amy Amoeba? I’ve met a number of parents and teachers who enjoy this story but hesitate to share it because of the language. So the swearing, while adorable, is getting cleaned up for the children of Maine. I don’t know if this will be a permanent change or not – the swearing is really minimal but still kind of funny.

Twice a week, Ray Howell has been posting original short stories on his blog, Tin Stories. Each story is just fifty words long (or in the nomenclature of snack manufacturers, FUN-SIZE). Here’s one story, titled Technical Masterpieces:

By 2052, with unemployment skyrocketing, it was deemed necessary to disqualify the robots. The MANPOWER Act outlawed hiring robot labor and we returned to the assembly lines. Ineligible to build things, the robots spent their time writing music. But we were too busy to listen, and they had no ears.

Some are funny, some are sad, some are mysterious. They are all thoughtful and satisfying. If you are the kind of person who like to snack on stories throughout the day, you should put some of these in your pants pockets.

I’ve been illustrating one tin story every week, with a new drawing of an old story every Wednesday. So far, there are four.

Here is a fifty-word story I wrote just now about Ray:

I became friends with Ray Howell in high school and spent weekends in his basement. The fact that I don’t remember much about what we did down there gives you some idea of what we did down there. I’ve forgotten countless nights of embarrassing conversations, insecure provocations, and relentless creativity.

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Items of Business

by jyviola on April 20, 2011 at 6:53 pm

The Business

For those of you in the vicinity of Anacortes, Washington, some of my original art is on display at The Business record store. The featured comic was never before seen by human eyes because it was drawn for an upcoming anthology that is for dogs only. Right now the only way to see it is by patronizing The Business, where you have the option of purchasing it for your home. And even in the future after the anthology is published, the only other way you will be able to read it is by stealing a copy of the book from a dog – an act that is not only immoral but also wet and slimy. The art is hanging in The Business because new owner Nick Rennis likes all this – all this stuff I draw that you seem to like – so he asked for it. So you can assume that he has asked others for things that you like, or that you will like, so if you’re in Anacortes, stop by The Business!

I will be at Boston Comic Con April 30 and May 1, and would very much like to see you! It’s at Hynes Convention Center, which is a bigger space than last year, and boasts hundreds of artists. You may even get to meet R2D2 or a Ghostbuster.

After Stumptown a couple of years ago, I drew this convention anxiety meter:


I’m now much more comfortable at these things, but I have to admit this one is making me nervous. I’ve never done a mainstream con before and I don’t know who will be interested in my little handmade comics. And the vibe, by the nature of the event, will be different than, say, a zine fair. But I was pretty nervous before my first zine fair too.

To those of you who suffer from anxiety (and it seems like there are many of us), I don’t have a solution, although I’ve definitely made strides in the past few years. I’ve found that if the anxiety is vague enough, it can just wear itself out. If I try to shoo away my comic-con anxiety, it doesn’t leave. But when I let it dance around, eventually it just runs out of things to say and exhausts itself. When it starts to come back later (and it will), I recognize it and say, “oh hello, we’ve met before,” and it slinks away. Now, this doesn’t work if your particular anxiety happens to be telling you something specific, like part of your brain is swelling against your skull and is about to kill you. It’s our daily worrying that I’m talking about – don’t distract yourself, don’t get upset, just stop and listen to what it has to say and eventually it will run out of things to talk about.

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