Christmas Time on All Hallows' Eve

So, I can't help but feel like the holidays have already started for me, personally, as a bit of a miracle happened today.

For those of you who've read my posts from earlier in the year, I've basically put forth two goals for this year, my comics and cosplay New Year's resolutions, if you will.  They were:

1. Attend a comic convention outside of Houston; and
2. Get my cosplay together!  Essentially get a couple of costumes this year, for both Halloween and cosplay purposes.

For the sake of timeliness, I won't say here what costumes I've been working on.  I will say, however, that I finally had to break down and just order them, as I'm lousy at assembling costumes, and expect I always will be.  So, I did.  In the middle of this month.

Ideally, I would have gotten them in time to wear to Wizard World Austin, which I was just at this weekend (and which I will talk about in more detail later.  In short, it was AWESOME!).  That, however, didn't happen, and I wasn't surprised about it.  I was secretly hoping, however, that they would arrive in time for Halloween.  I wasn't optimistic about it, given how late in the game I'd waited, and the likelihood that most costume companies are probably backlogged with last-minute or semi-last-minute orders like mine.

And then, score!

I got a call today from someone trying to deliver a package.  My heart virtually skipped a beat, and I went home far more excited and upbeat than I'd expected.  The package ended up being BOTH of my costumes, and with Halloween tomorrow, it was a Christmas story for the annals of Halloween.  I tried them both on, and they both fit great and look great.

Expect pics tomorrow.

In the mean time, I'm just happy. :-)

This Week's Adventures In Comic-dom

So, it looks like I'm completing a resolution I hadn't even consciously made for this year.

I think I remember at some point, telling myself that one of my goals in life was to be able to attend comic book or pop culture conventions as more than just a fan, as someone who has at least the slightest shred of authority and/or community in the comics world.  I figured that, eventually, when if I ever manage to get some comics written and published, this would be the reason it happened.  In the mean time I'd work on attending as a fan, making connections, and so on.

It turns out, in some small way, that I'm already going to be doing the expert thing.

For those of you who don't already know, Houston will be playing host to Comicpalooza, which is in its fifth year (I believe), and has grown significantly with each passing year.  I've been to all but one of them, including the first year, which was way out on the northwest side of town in a small strip mall.  Now it's at the George R. Brown Convention Center, its third year in this venue, and attendance is expected to be in the many thousands.

I will be attending all weekend this year, and can't wait to see all the celebrities and cosplayers, the writers and illustrators, both famous and struggling.  I've met and worked with a few of them already, and will hopefully lay the foundations for working with others in the future.  But unlike previous years, I won't just be attending as a fan and an annoying chatty guy looking to rub elbows with the people who make the comics industry work.

I'll be attending as a presenter.

This Friday, on the first day of the convention--heck, during the first couple hours of the convention--I and three other comic book-inclined librarians from the Houston Public Library system will be giving a presentation entitled, "Barbara Gordon and You: The Library's Role in the Comic Book Industry."  It's an hour-long panel about how libraries can benefit the comic book industry in various ways, and vice versa.  Essentially, we'll be discussing how libraries benefit the various communities associated with the industry: the publishers, the reading public, creators, schools and academic institutions.

My section--which should last all of 10 minutes, if I'm lucky--will talk about how libraries have, do, and will continue to benefit creators.  It's something I have a little experience with, as I've moderated panels at both the library and at Teen Book Con that have been about graphic novelists, their contributions to the field, and how they got their start in comics.  I've therefore gotten to work with some pretty remarkable individuals, and aside from my librarian work with customers, have a little perspective on what they would consider helpful and positive about libraries.

Does this mean I will stop pursuing my dream of writing comics?  Hardly!  One of the big reasons I want to go to Comicpalooza this weekend is to network with artists and see if I can find a collaborator or three for my comic.  I've had good and bad experiences working with artists, but there's no reason not to try again, and this is the perfect environment to get a partner and see what we can do.

But in the meantime, I at least get to say that I'm attending in at least a semi-professional capacity.  And this makes me smile a little in my soul. :-)

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.

Update: Comics New Year's Resolutions for 2012

I figured I'd give a quick update on the comics-related resolutions I made for this year, since I actually have made some progress on one of them and think I have a good shot at pulling both off this year.

A little over a month ago, I posted about New Year's resolutions, and how most of mine have failed miserably whenever I made them.  I decided to tone down the seriousness this year, and made two New Year's resolutions that were specifically comics-related.  They were to attend at least one comics convention that occurred outside my current hometown of Houston, and to construct at least two different cosplay costumes this year.

Nothing too serious, but fun goals for me to reach for in the coming year.  Well, I'm proud to announce that I've started taking the first steps to creating one of my cosplay costumes, specifically Nightwing.

One of the steps I've resolved to take in conjunction with this particular resolution is to purchase or otherwise acquire some part of some costume at least once a month.  At the tail end of January, I put in an order for a black pair of boots that I thought would make good footwear for my Nightwing costume.  I received them a few days later, and present a few choice pictures for your viewing pleasure.  Please forgive any quality issues, I shot them on my phone camera, and am a noob when it comes to photography in general.

These boots were about as close as I could find to approximate Nightwing's look in the footwear department.  They come up to about the middle of my calves, and have a smooth appearance that I think works well enough for the costume's overall look and feel.  In concert with some black tights, I think they'll do a good job of emulating the bottom half of Nightwing's costume--you know, the easy part.

The biggest problem I have with these boots is that their smallest size, advertised essentially as idea for size 8-9 shoe wearers, is still slightly loose for my legs and feet.  I can walk around in them just fine so far, but there's a definite difference from the snugness I'm accustomed to when wearing shoes that fit properly.  Still, there are worse positions to be in, and there are ways to coax a little more mass into them to fit better.  We'll see what happens, but in the meantime, if any cosplayers out there know how to deal with this particular predicament, please feel free to let me know.

One other item of interest: I've taken a 4-ft dowel rod and cut it in half, with the intent of taking black duct tape and wrapping it around both sticks to approximate the appearance of the escrima sticks Nightwing sometimes uses.

The next item on my list would be black tights, both for this costume and for symbiote Spider-Man.  Again, being new to this whole cosplay creation thing (well, to this level of detail, anyway), I'd appreciate any advice from cosplay veterans who've done this before and have any suggestions about where to look, what materials to consider, what retailers have worked best for them, etc.  In the meantime, I'll continue to shop around and muddle about as best I can.

On the convention front, Wizard World Austin remains the easiest way to fulfill that particular resolution for this year.  It's scheduled for the end of October, and I definitely want to go if I can get these costumes off the ground.  In the meantime, Comicpalooza comes to Houston in May, and hopefully I can get at least one costume finished by then.  If not, I can probably go as either a Jedi, the Tenth Doctor, or maybe the Crow.

As always, time will tell!

Comics New Year's Resolutions for 2012

I'm always of two minds about New Year's resolutions.  On the one hand, they're a good way to try to improved and better yourself personally as a new year dawns.  On the other hand, they can serve as a stark reminder of how weak-willed we can be.  According to some studies, only 23 percent of New Year's resolutions are actually kept by resolution makers.  A whopping 35 percent of resolutions are broken by the end of January.

That's right.  Not even a month in, and well over a third of the millions of resolutions made putter into the oblivion.  Not very encouraging.

Most of the New Year's resolutions I've made in past years have dealt with specific issues: writing (I will commit to writing 500 words per day for the whole year, or 182,500 words for the year); exercise (I will develop an exercise routine for muscle tone, strength and endurance, and I will stick with it the whole year); and sleeping (I will get up earlier in the morning and make use of the extra time I have.  I will get by with less sleep than I currently do.).  I've failed at these resolutions in the past, and have basically given up on trying to whip myself into shape over them when the new year emerges.

I have found, however, that time and necessity often do for me what arbitrary resolutions have failed at.  When I was diagnosed with high cholesterol a few months ago, I changed my eating and exercise habits, because my long-term health was on the line.  When I realized I was nearing the limit precipice of my credit cards a few years ago, I committed to paying down all that debt as soon as I possibly could--and, I'm proud to say, I've hacked away the majority of that particular beast.  This blog, of which I'm particularly proud, was not part of any resolution I'd planned for the end of the year, but rather the realization that if I ever wanted to be a writer, then I'd better get off my ass and do some serious, consistent writing, each and every day.

None of those changes required, or even were part of, any New Year's resolution.  They were due to particular circumstances that had emerged in my life naturally, over time.  I am therefore convinced that any meaningful changes I want to make to my life will not be the result of any commitments I make arbitrarily at the end of a year.

So, in light of that realization, why bother with them?  Well, because if nothing else, I think I can use the New Year's resolution to commit to some of the less serious, more fun areas of my life.  Since I've had a few things in this category that I've never tried to work on, I figure it's about time to do so.  And here's the great part: both of the resolutions I've made for myself this year revolve around comic book related goals.  Without further ado, my two resolutions for 2012 are as follows:

1. I will attend at least one comics convention that takes place outside of Houston.  I'm already planning to attend Comicpalooza this year, which is the fastest-growing and most awesome con that Houston has hosted since its inception some 5 years ago.  But it's easy to get to them if you're already living in the city where they're hosted.  I want to go to another town and meet comics fans who've come to somewhere other than my current city, even if it's just a few hours away.  At this point, likely candidates are Austin (Wizard World Austin) and Chicago, but things could change.  We'll see how time, budget, and energy affect where I'll end up this year...
2. I will attempt to construct at least two different costumes for cosplay purposes.  I've already got two that I could use at a moment's notice, a Jedi and a Tenth Doctor getup, both I need to become a comic book character.  My two marks for this year are black-suit Spider-Man, and Nightwing.  Both are characters I've identified with in the past, and still enjoy reading about in the present.  You could also argue that I even look a bit like them.  Can I pull them off?  Probably, but again, I'll need to start looking for costume pieces and start putting them together while I've still got the time.

So, there you have it.  My resolutions for this year are more fun, more comic book-oriented, and nothing for me to feel horribly about if I don't accomplish them (though why I wouldn't want to is currently beyond me). If anyone has any advice or can help me reach either one this year, please don't hesitate to speak up.  In the mean time, I'll wish luck to anyone who's made New Year's resolutions and still stuck with them at this point.  I hope you have as much success with them as I have fun with these resolutions of mine.

See you (hopefully) on the convention scene!