Free Comic Book Day Event

I was at the Downtown and South ComicReaders in Regina, SK on May 1 as part of Free Comic Book Day. I was selling and signing copies of Acts of Violence, Special Edition volume 1, IF-X #9 and A Thousand Faces.

My day started at the south store where I met many great people, including some old friends, and two writer / artists who are part of a creative collective that produces and publishes Valuable Comics here in Regina. Another highlight was meeting Jason Sylvestre, another local comic creator whose comic Jason of New York City  is currently competing in Small Press Idol 2010. It’s a great comic so check out Small Press Idol 2010 and cast your vote for Jason of New York City.

I moved to the downtown store for the afternoon, where I chatted with even more people. All in all, it was a great day for me and comics in general because Free Comic Book Day is a great way for readers to get exposed to new titles and genres within comics.

My table at the South ComicReaders.

(left to right) Jason Sylvestre and I. Check out Jason's comic Jason of New York City at Small Press Idol 2010. Give him your vote too!

Darcy (left) is one of the creators responsible for Valuable Comics, which is produced and published in Regina by Saskatchewan comics creators.

Greg (left) and Dana (right) are the big-wigs at ComicReaders. The opportunity for me to be at FCBD is thanks to them.

Free Comic Book Day Signing at ComicReaders

As part of the 2010 Free Comic Book Day celebrations, I will be at the two Regina ComicReaders locations in Regina, Saskatchewan, signing copies of my latest release: Acts of Violence, An Anthology of Crime Comics. My comic The Three Princes appears within, but I am also one of the anthology’s creators. 

Mike Carey, writer of The Unwritten, Hellblazer, and Lucifer, had this to say about Acts of Violence: “A dark, rich anthology. There are acts of violence in profusion: also addictions, betrayals, uneasy consciences, moral ambiguities, bad choices and inadequate redemptions. Most importantly of all, there are strong creative voices, using the comics medium to do ambitious things.”

Featuring the talents of Toren Atkinson, Ed Brisson, Chad Boudreau, Dino Caruso, Damian Couceiro, Todd Ireland, Kevin Leeson, Manoel Magalhaes, and Marvin Mann and cover art by Fiona Staples, Acts of Violence unveils a roster of new voices in hard-boiled crime comics.

Psychosis signing

I was at both ComicReaders locations in Regina, Saskatchewan on Saturday, May 3 to sell and sign copies of my graphic novel, Psychosis. I was at the south location in the morning and the downtown location in the afternoon. I sold 26 copies, met some great people and was offered many encouraging words and general support. It truly was a memorable day.

The first sale occurred just a couple minutes after the door was opened at 10am. The individual who bought the copy was kind enough to allow me to snap a photo of the occasion. Visitors to the store and sales of my graphic novel were steady. There was a lot of interest in Free Comic Book Day, with a good number of dads, moms or both coming into the shop with their young kids, but also a lot of regulars checking out the free books and picking up their file comics.

Perhaps the most exciting occurence of the day was meeting a University of Regina professor that will be teaching a class about world comics in the upcoming semester. He asked me a lot of questions about my graphic novel and the process of creating it. Near what would become the end of our conversation he asked if I would be interested in speaking to his students. I said I would be honored and provided him with my contact information. The visit will probably occur in the Fall.

Related to comics in schools, earlier that week a teacher / librarian from a local high school contacted me and asked if I would be interested in speaking to a couple of grade 10 classes about comics writing. I expressed my interest. She’ll be in touch with me again in the future. The school visit will occur some time next year.

Free Comic Book Day promo

I received 50 new copies of my graphic novel earlier this week. I have a couple dozen pre-sold and the rest are for Free Comic Book Day, which is Saturday, May 3, 2008. I’ll be at the two ComicReaders locations in Regina, Saskatchewan, selling and signing copies. I’ll be at the south location in the morning and the downtown location in the afternoon. I look forward to it.

I went to the south location today and set up for this promotional picture for the event. I also left a handful of copies behind. Those will go onto the rack and will be available for sale immediately.

In related news, Josh Wigler, a fellow writer working on the Special Edition project, purchased a download version of my graphic novel the other day. I thanked him heartily for his support, to which he replied: “We’re all in this together man.  If we’re not going to watch each other’s backs, who will?” I thought that was a very true and honest sentiment.