Heroes Con Report: And Next Stop--Wizard World Chicago

Heroes Con has come and gone, and it remains one of my favorite shows of the year. Not only is it close to my home, but it has a spectacular guest list. This year I really wanted to meet and get a sketch from Guy Davis, artist of B.P.R.D. The fact that his sketches ended up being free was icing on the cake.

I was set up with the booth for Ape Entertainment, and I couldn't have had a worse location--I was in the far corner, in a dark recess, with a lower ceiling than the rest of the hall. The place was warm as it was, but the lower ceilings made it that much hotter. Fortunately I was next to the guys from ComicGeekSpeak, which made things more bearable. Sales were good, which helped as well. I got some great sketches, which will be posted at http://www.comicsketchgallery.com/pages/kfreeman.

It's always nice to see old acquaintances and fellow publishers--Danielle Corsetto, Jim Mahfood, Chris Pitzer, Matt Kindt, and others. I'm sure I will cross paths with them at Wizard World Chicago this weekend as well.

The wife and I head out to Chicago on Wednesday. We're catching the Cubs game that night (vs. the Orioles--I hate interleague), then it's to work thereafter. We've got 20 feet of table space, same as last year, so the Ape presence should be sizeable. It's always our best show of the year. And, to make matters even better, Stan and I will be together at the booth, signing books for your pleasure. Drop by and say hello!

On my sketch list for Chicago: Bob Layton, Art Baltazar, Bruce Timm (yeah, right). Wish me luck!

I'm Interviewed on Comicrelated.com!

Chuck Moore, a friend of Ape Entertainment and a follower of my webstrip, took the time to interview me for his podcast, ComicRelated, on Saturday at Heroes Con. You can listen to the podcast in its entirety at

http://www.comicrelated.com/audio/relatedrecap012.html

His talk with me is right at the tail end of the podcast. Chuck is a genuine fellow and has given a lot of Ape books, including mine, a lot of love over the months.

Bats in My Belfrey

The Orkin man dropped by for his monthly checkup, where he sprays for all sorts of bugs. He told us today, however, that we have bats in our chimney. Now, I have heard squeaking in the fireplace for the last couple of weeks, but I assumed it was our gas hot water heater, which gurgles, bubbles, and whistles on occasion (and is immediately behind the chimney in the house). However, we did the two-person check, and sure enough, the noise wasn't coming from the hot water heater.

We were told by the previous owners of the house that the chimney had been plugged. But there definition of "plugged" might not be the same as mine.

While bats in and of themselves don't bother me, there is a small risk of them swooping into the house, and a small chance of mites, which bats often carry, getting in the house as well, which is a much more serious problem.

So we're going to investigate what we can do to get them out of there. It might be as simple as shining a light in the chimney, but it's never that simple, is it?

Heroes Con This Weekend!

The summer convention season begins in earnest for me as this weekend is Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. It's both the closest con to my house (it's about a two hour drive for me) and arguably my favorite con of the year. Why? Lots of reasons. For one thing, it's a very friendly con--Sheldon and his crew take very good care of the guests and exhibitors.

Second, it's an accessible show. That means that it's not overly crowded. Anyone who has been to San Diego knows exactly what I mean--it's so crowded there that you can't move on occasion, much less meet guests, go to panels, or heaven forbid, go through the dollar boxes on the floor. Heroes Con doesn't have that problem. The number of people, and the space available for those people, is just about perfect.

Third, it has the best charity auction in comics. Everyone, from the big names to the small ones, usually do a piece for the auction. Granted, stuff from Adam Hughes and a few others goes for ridiculous money, but many of the pieces are very affordable and very good. You'll even get a chance to see some of the people creating their charity pieces before your very eyes--it's fun to watch.

Fourth and finally, it's a very indie friendly show. Tons of small press people are there, and the crowd is very indie-appreciative. That usually makes for a profitable week for most of them.

If you're at the show, I'll be at table SP-31. Come by, say hello, and buy a few books!

Summer Travel Schedule Heats Up

Well, we've five weeks into summer now and so far it's been pretty relaxing. I've been able to catch up on both my sleep and my reading, which were two things high on the list for summer. But starting this weekend, the major traveling begins. Just look at this mess:

June 17-20: Heroes Con, Charlotte, NC
June 23-28: Wizard World Chicago
June 30-July 4: wife's family reunion, Huntsville, AL
July 17-20: My 20-year high school reunion, Kansas City, MO
July 21-25: World International Studies Conference presentation, Ljubljana, Slovenia
July 26-Aug 1: Short holiday in Paris

Needless to say, I will be on the road more than I am at home for the next six weeks. Most of it will be fun activities rather than work, per se, but still, it's a lot of time out of the house, and a lot of time on a plane. I dislike flying.

Europe, One Way or Another

Soccer fans will note that Euro 2008 started earlier this week. While the World Cup may be a more "exciting" tournament due to the worldly nature or it, Euro 2008 is arguably a tougher one to win. There are no patsies here--every team is talented. And the best thing is, for the first time, all of the games are broadcast live and free (assuming you have cable). It used to be pay-per-view.

Finally, my Europe trip is taking all kinds of twists and turns. Originally, I was going to Slovenia with a colleague, then we were going to take a few extra days to visit Prague and Vienna. My partner had to cancel, leaving me by myself. As we all know, traveling is more fun with friends, so I thought about going to Istanbul, where a good friend of mine lives. Unfortunately, she was going to be in China then.

I have another old friend from college who usually is in Europe at times during the summer, so I emailed him with the longshot hopes of him being somewhere in Europe when I am going to be there. Turns out he'll be in Paris, and would love to see me for a few days. And to make matters even better, the wife is going to go and meet me in Paris as well. Looks likes things are going to turn out pretty good!

I'm Going to Get Better About This: I Promise!

I keep forgetting that I have a blog. Things come up, I get distracted, and simply forget. But those are bullshit excuses, I realize.

One thing is going to help, though. I finally have linked this blog to the SubCulture webpage. That means that every time I post a new SubCulture strip, I will see that BLOG link staring me in the face and it should remind me to update.

No promises to do it every day, but twice a week--the same amount I update the webstrip, I think is reasonable.

We'll get started on this officially tomorrow :)

Home Alone...and Staring at the Computer and boob tube WAY Too Much!

My wife is spending the week in Panama City, Florida with her mom, sister, sister-in-law, and niece, which means I am here on the homefront by myself. But am I living the bachelor's life? Hardly. Most of the time has been spent watching TV--particularly the Euro 2008 soccer tournament (I am a huge soccer fan) or working on comic-related stuff, whether it is this website, a couple of scripts I am working on, or editing future releases for Ape Entertainment or Comics NOW!

It has been so damn hot here that I really don't want to go anywhere. I gassed up the car, picked up some Pepsi, and went to the post office once, but that's about it. I guess a good part of that is that I am staying out of the fast food joints, which is easy to do when I am by myself for prolonged periods of time.