Iron Man Month

by on September 28, 2016 at 9:00 am
Posted In: Blog, Conventions

damp-knight-r1September was Iron Man Month here at Two Gargoyles Comics.  Three weekends in a row, three shows.  Calgary Red & White Expo, Saskatoon Expo, Edmonton Expo.

I’m lucky I still know my own name!

I was very happy to connect with comics fans from all over Alberta, and indeed Canada as well; special highlights were: a Diaperman fan who had already bought the digital graphic novel wanting the print version and the Damp Knight poster; special requests for my Superhero ABC’s playing cards (a deck of 52 superhero boobs and groins)!

It’s also a huge thrill to connect with other creators and do comic trades!  I was privileged to be introduced to Andrew Lorenz’s Canadian Corps, Kyle Fast’s Jynx, and Molly “Jakface” Nemecek’s Woo Hoo.  Getting feedback on my work from other creators is just as important as getting it from readers, but has its own thrill because it’s from people that understand what you have to do to get your work out there.  Squee! Thrilling!

The Edmonton Expo was superbly run, as always– I have great trust and faith in the Calgary/Edmonton/Saskatoon Expo brand– although sales were quite low; I heard many folks citing Alberta’s depressed economy as the reason for this, but when I compare the financial side of the show to the networking side of the show, I still view it as having come out ahead.

I’m looking forward to a bit of a break before November’s Calgary Expo Holiday Market (your chance to pick up Christmas gifts for the nerd in your family– or for yourself!); it gives me a chance to process the post-convention waves of inspiration and get back to writing the next instalments of my comics titles.

But for right now, I’m looking forward to recuperating!  I’ll be adding some new merchandise to the site in the near future, so watch for that– there’s always a way to get Two Gargoyles merch and books even if you can’t make it to a show I’m at!

–Michael

 Comment 

Post-Con, Pre-Con

by on September 21, 2016 at 10:04 pm
Posted In: Blog, Conventions

img_2153Back from Saskatoon Expo and now, getting ready for… Edmonton Expo!

This weekend marks the final convention of my “Iron Man” month of conventions, 3 back-to-back weekends!  So far, I’m still standing, but if on the Sunday of Edmonton Expo I seem to be slurring my words and wobbling in place, I hope you’ll understand.

I’m at Artist Alley Table F10 this weekend in Edmonton!

Saskatoon was a nice show.  Not as crowded as Calgary or Edmonton, it nonetheless had over 15 000 attendees– no small number!  I remember when the largest convention in Calgary hosted 700 and we thought that was a huge number!

New audiences are a funny thing; it can be hit or miss until they get to know you and your work, so this being my first show in Saskatoon I’d have to say that for me it was a miss.  But the lesson is to keep trying, to give your audience a chance to know you.  On the plus side, I met some new artists and comic creators and we swapped books– which is lovely, getting to know someone else’s work while sharing your own!  Gives me the tinglies.

Looking forward to sharing a table with Jeremy Thew this weekend, as he’s flying up from Seattle to spend the weekend at the con, meet-and-greeting his fans and making new ones!

Kyle Burles, Mike Rieger, Lisa Redfern and the usual crew from Artists Alley Network Canada will all be in attendance as well.  If you’re an exhibitor in Canadian Artist’s Alleys, join the Facebook group!

Hope to see you all in Edmonton!

 Comment 

Saskatoon Bound!

by on September 14, 2016 at 8:24 pm
Posted In: Blog, Conventions

Saskatoon Expo logo

That’s right, on Friday Kyle Burles and I jet off to beautiful downtown Saskatoon for our very first ever Saskatoon Expo!  Things are a little crazy getting ready here, but I’m looking forward to meeting a new audience and sharing my books with them!  Be sure to follow twogargs on Instagram (or Twitter) for pictorial updates!

Many thanks to my friend Sherri for making some ‘meme art’ with Twogargs characters on it for me to comment on Facebook with. 🙂

tipofthehat

 Comment 

RED & WHITE SHOW THIS WEEKEND!

by on September 7, 2016 at 2:59 pm
Posted In: Conventions, Merch

calgaryredandwhiteSo you remember how I was saying I have two shows back-to-back in September?  Well, now there’s THREE.

I will be exhibiting at the Calgary Red & White Expo this weekend on Sunday, September 11th.  Details are on the website at http://www.comicandtoy.ca/shows-list/2016/9/11/fall-comic-toy-expo !

It’s a one-day-only show, smaller and more intimate than the other Expo-type shows I exhibit at, but the great thing is that gives me more time to connect with fans and the fans, more time to browse without feeling hurried or rushed or intimidated by crowds.  It’s a real feel-good atmosphere for everyone and I always love being at this show!

I’m launching some new items this month, including copies of Gloaming #2, and a special convention edition of Spectrum #1!

Other new merchandise at the con will include:  Krampuspresso buttons, and a new corporate-logo button:  GARBUCKS.  That’s right, Gargoyles have taken over your local Starbucks and re-branded it.  If you like green apron coffee and supernatural creatures, you’ve simply got to stop by the Two Gargoyles table at the Expo.

And hey, remember your ABC’s– you know my Superhero Groins and Superheroine Boobs posters?  Well now, I’ve made a deck of playing cards– that’s right, playing cards– all 52 guy and gal parts now adorn a deck you can play with!

Also, don’t forget there will be scads of poster prints available as well as stickers and magnets!  Come on down and see– doors open at 10 a.m. and the show runs til 5!

└ Tags: , ,
 Comment 

August 31, 2016

by on August 31, 2016 at 12:52 pm
Posted In: Blog, Comics, Patreon

Spectrum01banner

I’ve made a promise to myself that I will now begin to make posts every Wednesday, to connect with my readers and keep you all abreast on what’s happening in the Twogargs world!

The indie comics world (at least for Twogargs) is never static; there’s always something going on!  Books are being either written, drawn, inked, colored or lettered before being published; merchandise is being created and produced in an effort to subsidize the aforementioned books; conventions are being attended to promote the books and the brand: fighting for that all-important recognition in a sea of talent and creativity.

It’s a rush.  There’s really no other way to put it.  Each time something gets completed, I feel like an actor who’s rehearsed for weeks, finally getting that two minutes of applause at the end of that night’s show: it makes it all worth it.

I have two “current” books:  The second issue of my horror comic, Gloaming, is complete and indeed is available to read online (one new page per week) on the site:  http://twogargs.com/comic/gloaming-2-page-01/ to start at the beginning.  (If you haven’t yet read the first issue, then start at http://twogargs.com/comic/gloaming-1-01/ )

The second is Spectrum, an LGBT teen superhero comic.  I wanted to debut this at Pride-Con this year but a) the con was cancelled and b) I couldn’t get it coloured in time.  What I did do is create a special “convention preview” issue, all in black and white, to introduce folks to the comic while waiting for the colour version to come out.

Those black and white issues are only available from me at conventions; once the colouring (done by the fabulous Gav Heryng — https://twitter.com/GavHeryng) is done, I will begin to publish the pages here on the site just as I do for all my other comics.

However, my Patrons get to see a sneak preview of the comic!  If you haven’t considered supporting indie comics before, this would be a great way to start– for as little as a dollar a month you can see the first three pages of the comic, plus more in-progress behind-the-scenes stuff every month! Check out https://www.patreon.com/twogargs !

Thanks,
Michael

 Comment