Going to Space in April!

No, not outerspace. I’m headed to the Small Press Alternative Comics Expo in Columbus, OH!

Sadly, only half of the bewilderedkid comix team will be there. AJ Niehaus will be busy here in the Twin Cities taking her final test to become a pilates instructor.

Meanwhile, I will be heading out there along with fellow Twin Citian and comicker Ryan Dow - WHOO HOO ROAD TRIP! By the way, does anyone know if Twin Citian is grammatically correct? Regardless, Ryan and I will be in Columbus on Saturday, April 18th and Sunday, April 19th for those keeping track. If anyone in the Columbus area reads this blog, which I highly doubt, please come and see the both of us!

Super Fantastica Comix 2009 will be making its debut that weekend. Also on sale will be the usual swag, Super Maxi Pad Girl, various mini comics, etc.

Hope to see you out there!

The reason it’s been so quiet recently…

The little book featured in this picture has been the reason there haven’t been too many posts lately. Here you see assistant editor AJ Niehaus poring over Super Fantastica Comix 2009 looking for any screw-ups.

This book will premiere at the Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (S.P.A.C.E.) in Columbus, Ohio on April 18th - 19th. It was also scheduled for another premiere at the MCBA Microcon in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 26th, but the official invite hasn’t arrived in the mail yet, so I’m a little nervous about that convention.

If you aren’t able to make either of those shows, it will be available through the online store, at any comic shop that is kind enough to carry it, and at the July 11th - 12th.

Reporting from SPACE - Day Zero

Well, we made it. Myself and Ryan Dow, who some are calling the greatest team up since Peter Porker “Spider-Ham” and Captain Americat, arrived in Columbus just shortly after 11:00 PM EST. We traveled a little over 750 miles in about 13 - 14 hours. Some of our great adventures thus far were getting stuck in Chicago and somewhere in Indiana, eating at a Waffle House in Indianapolis, and stopping at a Wal-Mart in Tomah, Wisconsin for a new iTrip. Fun times.

More stuff to post tomorrow. Need to get some shut eye for tomorrow.

Reporting from SPACE - Day One

As you probably already know, myself and Ryan Dow, who are in Columbus, Ohio attending SPACE (Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo). Last night was pretty rough, we didn’t get in until quite late, so last night’s blog didn’t have much in the way of pictures, sorry. So, you would be expecting a bunch of pics today, right? WRONG! I forgot to take any. LAME! Anyway, I have some pics from the last couple of days that I would like to post instead.

Here are dry runs of my table from Thursday afternoon.

Just pretend that the television and such aren’t at the convention.

Super Maxi-Pad Girl did NOT bring the Rock Band drum set with her, much to my chagrin.

I look sleepy. And sorta creepy, and this time it’s not the stache. Where the hell is my head coming from? The netherworld? I’ve always been horrible at taking pictures of myself. Fortunately, I never took a photo of myself in a tank-top t-shirt and posted it on Myspace.

Ryan hit the bed almost as soon as we got into the hotel room. My question is, how many freaking pillows does one man need? I had four on my bed too, but pushed them off to the side. Ryan actually slept on all of them!

Here is my lame attempt at making up for not taking pictures. You see, Ryan took some photos, but we don’t have an adapter to put import them into my computer. So, that’s the best you get. For now.

More stuff to post tomorrow, I PROMISE! Now, I need to get something to eat, I’m freakin’ starvin!

Reporting from SPACE - Day Two

As promised, I have pictures from the show! I met some really cool people while at the show. There was a load of guys from the Kansas City area that had a whole bunch of cool stuff, I have most of them listed below. Also, I was able to meet Nate Powell and talk to him a little bit about his stuff. So that was cool too. Some of the pictures turned out fuzzy for some reason or another.

This is where it all went down; the Aladdin Shrine Center.

Ryan putting the finishing touches on his table.

Here’s what my stuff looked like. I had a killer bright light essentially spotlighting the Super Maxi-Pad Girl merch.

Below is Matt Hawkins, he is one of the super cool guys I met from Kansas City. This guy does awesome papercraft and even put together a book about it, which I bought. The only KC guy I didn’t get a picture of was .

Next up is Kyle Strahm, another one of the KC guys. He was nominated for the 2008 SPACE prize with his book Clockwork Creature, which I also picked up, but have yet to read.

This is AJ Smith and Chris Garrett. AJ traded minis with me, his work is awesome by the way. Meanwhile, Chris works at a comic shop in Kansas City that is super indie friendly. Also, he informed me of a convention called MoKan, which I might look into attending this fall. Of course, I forgot to pick something up from him, but I’m sure I will down the road.

Lastly, Nate Powell, should really need no introduction. You may know his work from the critically acclaimed, Eisner nominated “Swallow Me Whole.” Being a person with neurological issues myself, this book really touched me.

That’s it folks! Travelling back to the Twin Cities tomorrow. I’ll be seeing you all soon!!

Sarah Morean over at The Daily Cross Hatch took the time to speak with me at Microcon this last weekend about selling strategies at conventions. The main focus was on props/gimmicks and how they can be used to your advantage.

Of course, after reading this and being a salesperson by day, I now want to do a book on “How to Sell Comics at Conventions and Beyond!” Of course, I really need to get to the “beyond” point myself, so we will have to wait a while.

Head on over there and read the story! Also, you can check out my ever-balding head while you’re at it, right here. I almost forgot, it also includes tips from my friends Ryan Dow and Adam Hansen.

Thanks Sarah!

Well, this weekend is another convention. Although this one is a bit different than most. This weekend is the Twin Cities Zinefest at the Stevens Square Center for the Arts. I can’t say that I get overly nervous about conventions, but this one does intimidate me somewhat. Here’s why…

I attended last year to visit my good buddy Ryan Dow and check out the scene. It was a DIY fest. There were zines, mini-comics, handmade pillows, I mean this show has it all a DIYer could want! Well, fast forward to now. I’m sitting here looking at my merch box. My stuff isn’t necessarily high-brow, I mean really, a flying maxi-pad? Some of it isn’t even really DIY. I’m intimidated because I saw what was on display last year and I just don’t know if I “fit the mold.” I mean, for crying out loud, I’ve never made a zine! However, I was told that a one page story I put together recently will be in Sean Lynch’s Zine Supreme, so I guess I’ll be making my zine debut!

Besides the uncertainty surrounding this whole event, here is what I DO KNOW. I will see a lot of neat stuff. I will meet some new people. And maybe, JUST MAYBE, someone will get a chuckle at AJ’s Super Maxi-Pad Girl dolls.

Admission is free. Doors open at 11 AM. Get the rest of the info here: .

I conducted an interview this week for the Twin Cities Daily Planet about this weekend’s event. Being a first time exhibitor, I didn’t have too much in way of insight for the event, but I did get quoted. So that’s pretty cool. Make sure to visit me and my other friends this weekend, it’s FREE!

Check it out here: TC Daily Planet Zinefest 2009 Preview

Hey! I know it’s been a while since I posted, a lot of things have happened recently that have prohibited me from doing so. For example, I am now a homeowner. AJ and myself moved into our new home this last week. I was finally able to set up my studio, well at least a crude version of it, last night. Of course, that meant I was able to draw something worthwhile for the first time in about two weeks! So, stay tuned for more of Shenanigans soon!

In the meantime, I wanted to inform you of the upcoming Iowa Comic Book Club annual convention; I-Con. I will be attending along with a small contingent of Twin Cities based artists, namely Kevin Cannon, Ryan Dow, and Danno Klonowski. It should be a fun one day event. Of course, leaving around 4:30 AM isn’t going to be pretty, but it’s for comics! Hooray!

The brand new Super Maxi-Pad Girl button will be available at C2E2 in Chicago from April 16th - 18th and SPACE in Columbus from April 24th - 25th.

Online orders will be taken at some point in May.