Status Report for April: Still Goin'

If anyone out there follows this blog with any regularity, you probably know I've set quite a few micro-goals for the upcoming weeks, months, and year.  They're all either comic book- or writing-related, and designed to get me to either improve my chances of eventually publishing something or to help bring out my inner fanboy a little more prominently (in some cases, they're both).  Since I've had a little bit of time to work on each one, I thought I'd give a quick update on each of them.

Cons and Panels
I put my meager event organization skills to the test last month and had a Houston Comics Talent Panel at the Central Library downtown.  As far as having barely a week's promotion time, it was pretty well attended.  I moderated, despite fighting back a vicious case of my voice trying to give out on me.  We had four talented individuals in the comics field speak on the panel: Nick Pitarra (The Manhattan Projects), Scott Chitwood of Red 5 Comics, independent creator Mark Nasso (Land of the Rats), and Edward Kraatz, Jr., from Shark Industries Studios.  Those who were able to attend had a great time, as did our panelists!

I've purchased a three-day pass for Comicpalooza this year at the George R. Brown during Memorial Day Weekend in May.  I also plan to be there in a (semi-) professional capacity, since Houston Public Library will have a booth there to promote its graphic novels collection and support graphic novels as literacy, and I'll be working it for at least part of the convention.  We're also scheduling a panel presentation in support of comics in libraries, and I'm scheduled to be a part of that panel as well.

While I realize Comicpalooza doesn't technically count towards my resolution to attend a convention outside my current hometown of Houston, you have to admit, it'd be kind of shameful not to attend the con that's in your own backyard.  I'm still planning to aim for Wizard World Austin this year, which is many months off, and I'm looking at Comicpalooza as a kind of spiritual prep for that particular journey.

And, since it's less than a week away, I wanted to mention that I'm one of the organizers for Teen Book Con, which will be happening on Saturday, April 14, at Alief Taylor High School.  This is the third year for Teen Book Con, and it's only gotten bigger and better each year.  I'll be moderating the graphic novelists panels, as I've done from the outset!  Our graphic novelist guests this year are Nick Pitarra (The Manhattan Projects, Astonishing Tales, The Red Wing), Lea Hernandez, Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins (Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer).

Costumes
I've made some progress since my last post about costumes, but I'd be lying if I said it's been very much.  It's also at a point where I'm getting uncertain how to proceed.  See below:

I've finished taping up two dowel rods to create a pair of black escrima sticks for the Nightwing costume.  I've also got the black boots and black tights, the latter of which could also work for the black-suited Spider-Man costume I'm also trying for.  From this point on, though, there's no real sharing in terms of whatever I acquire for the costume, since they're so different from the waist up.

For Nightwing, I still need to acquire or work on a face mask, gloves, and a top shirt.  For Spidey, I'll need those same things, though in different incarnations.  And at present, something's stopping me from taking the next step.  I'm sure it has a large part to do with my lack of knowledge when it comes to costuming and cosplay; putting this stuff together from scratch is more than a little taxing for my novice brain.  I don't want to simply buy a shirt with the symbols on them, but in terms of actually putting it together, I'm in need of knowledge or expertise from someone who could suggest a more DIY alternative to buying a costume, or the disparate parts.

One example: I'll be searching for something spandex-y for both hero tops.  Is it possible to silkscreen on black spandex a white spider or a blue hawk?  Will it last?  Will I need to buy material for these symbols and have them sewn on?  What's the most logical step for this phase of the costume?  Any cosplayers or costumers who can help me with this one, please volunteer your expertise.  I want to look as complete as possible when I go to cons. :)

Writing
Finally, there's the writing aspect.  Those of you who follow this blog can easily look and see that I've managed to write at least one post per day in this blog, since all the way back to when I started it November 30 of last year.  It's something I'm very proud of, and frankly it's unprecedented for me to do so much.  It's my intention to continue this streak for as long as possible, though I will confess that this month it will be a lot harder than previously.

The reason is that I've placed another writing goal on myself for this month.  I've joined ScriptFrenzy, and have basically pledged to write 100 pages of scripted material between the first and last of this month.  I'm making good progress so far--nearly 40 pages has been written as of today--but it's kept me from writing as much material for the blog as I would have normally done by now.  Still, I'm keeping pace, and hope to maintain it for the rest of the month.

I am about a third of the way through it, after all.  Any supportive comments or suggestions would always be appreciated.