Age of Bronze: appearance

Showing posts with label appearance. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

I'll be appearing all three days of Fan Expo Portland at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR, January 16-18. Details on the convention are available at the Fan Expo website here.

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

To and Again Again - with Freddy the Pig

I recently illustrated a new edition of the first book in Walter R. Brooks's Freddy the Pig series, To and Again (otherwise known as Freddy Goes to Florida). The new edition of To and Again with my illustrations debuts this coming weekend, October 4-6, 2024, at this year's Freddy Fest. The convention takes place at the Winter Clove Inn, 557 Winter Clove Road, Round Top, New York 12473.

I'll attend the convention on Saturday, October 5, to sign copies of the new book and participate in the all-around Freddy the Pig fun. Want to join us? Here's the Freddy Fest announcement on the Friends of Freddy website: 2024 Convention - Oct 4-6 - Friends of Freddy (freddythepig.com)

And here's the website for the venue, the Winter Clove Inn: Winter Clove Inn | Catskills NY Resorts - Upstate New York Resorts

Revisiting Matilda Joslyn Gage

A few years ago, I wrote and drew a short comics biography about Matilda Joslyn Gage, one of the foremost 19th century fighters for women's rights. My story centered around Gage's erasure from history by Susan B. Anthony. The story was published in the graphic novel Mine!, an anthology published by ComicMix as a benefit for Planned Parenthood.

On Friday, October 4, from 4 PM to 5:30 PM, I'll be at the Matilda Joslyn Gage Center in Fayetteville, New York, to sign copies of my comics and books. You see, both Gage and I have a close connection to L. Frank Baum, author of the Oz books. I've followed in Baum's footsteps for much of my life and career. Gage was Baum's mother-in-law.

So, stop by the Gage Center, 210 East Genesee Street, Fayetteville, NY 13066, on Friday to see me. The Gage Center is Matilda Gage's former home and now a museum. I've visited it before and found it an inspiring place. Here's the Gage Center website: Matilda Joslyn Gage Center

Thursday, September 26, 2024

Oz in North Carolina

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is hosting a major Oz event this weekend, September 26-28. I'll be speaking on four programs, the first at 10 AM Friday morning. If you're in the area, swing on by for the convention. Attendance is free. Plenty of events are happening through Sunday afternoon in various locations on the UNC-Charlotte campus and throughout the city of Charlotte.

Details at the website here: https://charloz.charlotte.edu/

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

Boise Comic Arts Festival

This weekend, August 24-25, 2024, I'll be appearing at Boise Comic Arts Festival at the Boise Center in downtown Boise, Idaho. I'll have a table in Artist Alley and participate on Saturday in the panel discussion on Folklore and Fairytales in comics.

The previous day, Friday, August 23, the Boise Comic Arts Festival will hold a program for librarians and educators, and I'll be speaking there, too, a the panel discussion on American History and Folklore in comics.

Entry to the Boise Comic Arts Festival is free. So come on down! Here's the link for details.

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Age of Bronze at Bodyvox

Tomorrow, Friday, June 7, I'll be exhibiting and selling my comics and graphic novels at Bodyvox Dance Center's Open Floor Pride Night in Portland, Oregon. It's free to attend. Come for the Makers' Market, where I'll have a booth, and stay for the performances. At Bodyvox, 1201 NW 17th Ave, Portland, OR 97210. Details at this link.

Monday, December 11, 2023

Winding Paths

So, the book launch for Winding Paths yesterday at Board Bard Games in Portland, Oregon, went well.
Really well. Seemed like everyone had a fun time.

Winding Paths, the playable short story anthology from Demagogue Press, will have another event--this time online, so that everyone, regardless of geography, can attend. More than a dozen authors included in the book will be reading selections of their stories online through Zoom, Friday, December 15, at 6:30 PM Pacific.

Every story in the book has some type of game in it--and the variety is surprising. Each story also contains an element of speculative fiction--fantasy, science fiction, magical realism, or other. I'll be the Zoom event on Friday to read from my story, "Bored Stupid Demons." I'll post the Zoom link on Wednesday, December 13.

I hope you can make it. Even if you can't, you can still experience the book itself, which is more than a group of short stories, but a gaming experience on its own, if that's the way you'd like to encounter it. The editors, Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito and Ken Hueler, have turned nearly every aspect of Winding Paths into a game or puzzle. Even the cover is a game--the ancient Mesopotamian Game of Ur--with rules and gamepieces included in the final pages of the book. Winding Paths is like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure on steroids. But if you just want to read the stories in a traditional manner, you can.

Can't wait to get your own copy of Winding Paths? Here's the link to order from the publisher.

Friday, October 6, 2023

Reading Cozy Cosmic Horror

I'll be reading my work at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, Oregon, tomorrow, Saturday, Oct 7, at 4 PM. Cody Goodfellow and John Skipp are also on the reading program. The readings at the Lovecraft festival are open to the public. Location: Sam's Hollywood Billiards, 1845 NE 41st Ave., Portland.

My reading is in conjunction with the publication of The Cozy Cosmic, the new anthology of cozy cosmic horror short stories from Underland Press. A bunch of other authors in The Cozy Cosmic will also be reading at the Lovecraft festival throughout the weekend. I understand that copies of The Cozy Cosmic will be for sale at the festival, debuting several days before official publication date.

For details about the Lovecraft festival, click here for the website.

Friday, October 7, 2022

Signing at Jan's Books in Beaverton

Jan's Books in Beaverton, Oregon, is holding an author event in connection with Willamette Writers. Saturday, October 8, from 11 to 1, several writers, including me, will be signing books in front of the bookstore. Horror authors will primarily be featured, in celebration of Hallowe'en, but I'll be there with my Oz fantasy work and Age of Bronze historical fiction. Come check it out if you get the chance!

Place: Jan's Books, 12320 SW 1st Street, Beaverton, Oregon 97005

Time: October 8, 11AM to 1 PM

Here's the link to the Facebook events page: https://www.facebook.com/events/774036317008524/?ref=newsfeed

Here's the link to Jan's Books website: https://www.janspaperbacks.com/

Saturday, October 16, 2021

Wind Me Up

Playwright L. Frank Baum and composer Louis F. Gottschalk created a spectacular stage show that toured North America in 1913, The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Though generally forgotten now, remnants of the show still exist in scripts, sheet music, photographs, and published reviews of the show.

I've gathered as many of those remnants as I could find and am currently working on a book to reveal the never-before-told story of how The Tik-Tok Man of Oz came into being. You can get a taste of the forthcoming book in my presentation Tik-Tok People, originally presented at Oz Con International 2021 in July and now available to watch on Youtube.

Here's the link to the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX_YHvMLQwM

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Rose City Comic Con Appearance Cancelled

I've just cancelled my appearance at Rose City Comic Con 2021 in Portland, Oregon, September 10-12, 2021, due to my concerns about Covid, especially the delta variant.

I'm vaxxed, of course. But evidence shows that a vax doesn't prevent contraction of Covid. It just lessens the severity.

Rose City's website explains that masks will be mandatory and that the convention will follow all CDC recommendations. That's great--as far as it goes.

Comic book conventions generally consist of thousands of people in one large room, all breathing the same air. And even if all people at Rose City Comic Con 2021 were to assiduously keep their masks in place, how could I sell any comics or graphic novels to them if they stay six feet away? Do they toss their cash or credit cards to me? Do I toss their merchandise to them? I suppose I could try to back up at least six feet whenever anyone were to approach my table. But many conventions don't have that much room behind a table.

It all just seems like a terrible idea to me, just begging to be a Spreader Event. I like meeting fans of my work in public settings, but I think this is way too early to hold conventions such as this one. I won't be participating.

Thursday, July 29, 2021

First Personal Appearance in the Age of Covid

Rose City Comic Con will take place September 10-12, 2021, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. Last year, the 2020 convention was cancelled due to Covid-19. I rolled over my appearance to this year.

At this point, nearing the end of July 2021, I have trepidation about attending. The Delta variant is surging in North America. I'm vaxxed, of course. But a vax doesn't prevent contraction of the disease, just lessens the probability and, if contracted, the severity. So I'm not anxious to get into an enclosed area with thousands of people breathing all around me.

Current convention policy is to require masks. But unless that requirement will be enforced by members of the security staff, I expect that'll be kind of a joke. Besides, masks don't prevent the spread of Covid, they minimize it. If Rose City Comic Con turns into a Spreader Event, I don't want to be there.

So I'm just letting everyone out there know my concerns. I'm planning on attending. But if the spread of Covid in North America doesn't undergo a sharp reduction within a reasonable period prior to Rose City Comic Con, I'll likely cancel my appearance there.

Friday, August 9, 2019

Come Draw with Me

I'm off to Missouri for a few days!

On Friday, August 16, I'll present the program Comics & Drawing Tips with Eric Shanower at the Nixa Branch of the Christian County Library from 4:30 PM to 6 PM. The address is 208 N. McCroskey, Nixa, Missouri 65714. All ages are welcome.

For details click here.

Moseying on to Missouri

LibraryCon at the Library Center of the Springfield-Greene County Public Library at 4653 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield, Missouri, happens on Saturday, August 17. The event runs 10 AM to 5 PM.

This is the fifth annual LibraryCon. Thousands of people attend to find new comics, hear guests speak, and generally have fun.

I'll be there to give a presentation on Age of Bronze, to participate in the Draw-Off, and to sell my Age of Bronze graphic novels and comics.

Click here for details and the complete schedule.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

The Magic of OzCon

The 55th annual OzCon International will run July 26-28 at Kellogg West Conference Center on the campus of Cal Poly in Pomona, California. I'll be there. Will you?

I'm looking forward to OzCon a lot this year because of two things--an article I wrote for the OzCon 2019 Program Book and a presentation I'll be making on Friday evening at the convention. Themes of this year's OzCon include: the 13th Oz book by L. Frank Baum, The Magic of Oz, which was published 100 years ago; the life and legacy of L. Frank Baum, who died 100 years ago; and the 80th anniversary of the MGM motion picture version of The Wizard of Oz.

I've always been more of an Oz book enthusiast than an Oz movie enthusiast. So I'm amused that both my contributions to OzCon this year are tied to OzCon's celebration of the 1939 movie starring Judy Garland.

Hank the Mule, drawing by John R. Neill

For the OzCon 2019 Program Book I wrote "A Musical Bubble in Two Bottles: The History of Mamzelle Champagne." This stage musical of 1906 featured the first professional script by Edgar Allan Woolf, who went on to become one of the screenwriters of the 1939 MGM Wizard of Oz. Mamzelle Champagne is notorious as the show where Harry K. Thaw committed the "crime of the century" by killing Stanford White during opening night in full view of the audience. Every history of that murder I've seen includes a reference to Mamzelle Champagne. But I'm not aware of any detailed history written about the show itself--not before I wrote that history for the program book, I mean. It turns out that Edgar Allan Woolf isn't the only Oz connection to Mamzelle Champagne. Of course I'm not going to reveal the other connections here. Read the article.

My presentation for OzCon 2019 will be "Hank's Hidden History: The Life and Legacy of Fred Woodward." The name Fred Woodward should at least ring a bell for anyone familiar with stage and screen Oz history. Most famously in Oz circles Fred played Hank the Mule in The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, L. Frank Baum's 1913-14 stage musical. But he did so much more--more, I think, than anyone else now alive but me is aware of--including having a role in Mamzelle Champagne. (There I go, revealing another of Mamzelle Champagne's Oz connections after I said I wouldn't.) How is Hank the Mule tied to the 1939 MGM Wizard of Oz? In two ways. But I'm not going to tell those here. Really. You'll have to wait till Friday evening of OzCon 2019 to find out.

Sunday, July 14, 2019

San Diego Comic-Con

San Diego Comic-Con opens next Wednesday evening, July 17, at the San Diego Convention Center on Harbor Drive in downtown San Diego. I'll be exhibiting at table BB-01 in Artists' Alley in the main exhibit hall.

I'll have the new color edition of Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships, the beginning of the Trojan War written and drawn by me and in full color by John Dallaire. I'll have printed copies of Age of Bronze issue #34, a convention exclusive. A sampling of other publications I've drawn, written, or otherwise contributed to--Oz and otherwise--will also be available. And I'll be drawing sketches.

So if you're attending this year's SDCC, the 50th annual one, come by my table to say hello.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Returning to Key West

Left to right: Meg Cabot, Danielle Paige, Eric Shanower, and Victor LaValle.

I had a stupendous time at the Key West Literary Seminar in Key West, Florida, earlier this month. I gave a presentation on Age of Bronze that, by all counts, was well received. I also babbled away about comics and my career in a public conversation with Meg Cabot (author of The Princess Diaries), Danielle Paige (author of Dorothy Must Die), and Victor LaValle (author of The Changeling), who have all recently written graphic novels in addition to their prose works. I met a lot of fascinating people, loved listening to the other presentations, and had a terrific time seeing Key West, where I was born but had never previously been back to.

As the first invited cartoonist at this 37-year-old literary event, which through the decades has boasted a roster of some of the best writers of our time, I wanted to present a positive and insightful face of comics and graphic novels for both the audience and the organizers. I think I was mostly successful, so I hope some of my fellow cartoonists will be appearing on the Key West stage in future years.

Here's the link to an article about my presentation at the Key West Literary Seminar. If you're interested in attending next year's seminar, here's the link for tickets, which go on sale February 5. But be prepared; tickets for the Key West Literary Seminar sell out as quickly as those for the San Diego Comic-Con--like lightning.

Thursday, November 15, 2018

Return to Key West

The annual Key West Literary Seminar runs from January 10-13, 2019, in Key West, Florida. The theme of the seminar this year is "Under the Influence: Archetype & Adaptation from Homer to the Multiplex." I guess that's why the seminar invited me to be a speaker this time.

I'll make a presentation about Age of Bronze, have a public conversation with some of the other guests, and do a book signing. For details click here to go to the Key West Literary Seminar website.

One reason I'm looking forward to attending the Key West Literary Seminar is that I was born in Key West, left when I was six months old, and have never been back. Of course, I don't remember living there and I understand that everything has changed since then, but I still want to see Key West again.

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Experience Pulp Culture

On October 26 and 27 come attend the Pulp Culture Comic Arts Festival and Symposium 2018 at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. I'll be speaking Saturday, October 27, on a panel about Classical Mythology in comics, along with panelists Glynnis Fawkes and Guy Hedreen. I'll also have a table in the exhibition hall where I'll be signing autographs and you can say hi and find plenty of Age of Bronze comics and graphic novels.

One of my favorite cartoonists, Jaime Hernandez, is a keynote speaker on Friday, October 26. My plane arrives a couple hours before he's scheduled to go on. I sure hope I have a chance to catch most of his speech.

For details on the festival click this link.

For a schedule of panels click this link.

For a guide to the exhibition hall click this link.

Monday, June 18, 2018

ALA in New Orleans

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 22-24, 2018, I will be appearing at the American Library Association conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. Its central location is the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center downtown. I'll be promoting the forthcoming full-color edition of Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships from Image Comics in September 2018.

I'll be speaking on several panels, including a discussion with other graphic novelists about adapting myths and fairy tales (that's on Saturday), and doing a signing event at the Image Comics booth (that's on Sunday).

You can find more details here on my official schedule. There's a mistake on the schedule--the Koffee Klatch and "Meet the Creator" are both on Sunday, June 24.

Click the menu links on that page for all the info you need about the ALA conference for 2018.