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Good news is I have a table at the 2013 Albuquerque Comic Expo (ACE). Bad news is my books have not arrived yet. As you can imagine, this makes me nervous. I have faith though.
I’ve never done a comic convention before. This is all new to me. I’m excited though. Click on the image below to see what ACE is:
I’ll be at booth E22. If you’re in the Albuquerque, NM area, stop in and say “Hi!” And pick up a book… if I have any. 
I am currently in the middle of a strip featuring Mr. Argyle interacting with a secondary character named Handout Harry (that’s what Mr. Argyle calls him). Handout Harry and Mr. Argyle are opposites – one seemingly has less than he needs while the other seemingly has more than he needs. Handout Harry likes to irk Mr. Argyle by hanging around outside his building bumming bucks. Harry can go anywhere but he likes getting a rise out of this “high and mighty” rich guy.
With that backdrop, I wanted to share a screen shot of this strip in process to illustrate (no pun intended) my method.
Click image to enlarge.
When I draw, I like to flesh out each character before moving onto the next. In this piece, I’m finishing up Handout Harry before moving onto Mr. Argyle. I used to draw panel to panel, all characters at once. I’ve found a deeper connection with the characters by isolating them one at a time. Almost as if I were sharing a cup of coffee with them alone.
Would I personally have coffee with Handout Harry if I met him in real life? I’d love to say “Yes” but I doubt it. I believe helping the poor and destitute to be a noble effort and I encourage everyone to volunteer at a soup kitchen. But I don’t know how enjoyable that would be for either of us. Does that make me elitist? Who knows. I guess it’s not a matter of what anyone thinks about me but what we each think about ourselves and deal with that. Enough of that heavy stuff.
In any case, enjoy the pic. If you look on the right side, you can see the layers. I currently work all digitally in Adobe Photoshop (love it!). It’s just faster, cleaner, and greener. Go earth!
The second book is on its way! After a few years, Perk is back in book form with the second installment of comic strips. The new book is called “Another Day, Another Dollar”. I’m planning on unveiling it at the Albuquerque Comic Expo (ACE).
This is the first time I’m going with a big printer outfit. Before now, I have used Lulu.com to do my printing. Lulu is convenient but pricy. Still, I recommend Lulu for anyone who wants to start off small. They have served me well and I may still use them for experimental books.
“Another Day, Another Dollar” is a bit different “Open for Business”, the first Perk at Work book. I’ve included some of the larger comics – I didn’t do that with the first book. I recently purchased a book from Sheldon by Dave Kellett and was inspired. Instead of excluding larger comics, he broke them down to fit on the page. I stole his idea. Also, I’ve included the Q & A’s that I did with each character.
Both Perk books are at the printer somewhere out there in printerville. I am excited to hold the new book in my hands, even more excited to share them with you.
Here’s a sneak peek at the cover:
Pertinent links:
ACE - http://abqcomicexpo.com Lulu - http://www.lulu.com Perk at Work Vol. 1: Open for Business Sheldon - http://sheldoncomics.com
A while back I purchased a ukulele. I have yet to practice in earnest. Still, I keep it out in the open, knowing that I will pick it up and spend some time figuring it out.
It’s been a while since I’ve picked up my guitar as well. I’ve consciously kept from playing in order to focus on Perk. A bit of honesty: I tend to spread myself too thin over several activities. This is my major drawback, an acute lack of focus. Until now, that is. Peeling off activities and focusing on only a few (if that) has yielded great results.
There will come a day when I will create Perk during my normal business hours. This will allow me to have a hobby. I’d like to get back into the music. Until then, I’ll leave the ukulele playing to guys like Jake Shimabukuro. Watch his rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. You’re going to love it!
“If everyone played the ukulele, the world would be a much happier place.” – Jake Shimabukuro
(File under “Health & Fitness”)
This past weekend, I participated in the Ultimate Gladiator Dash. (The website has electric rock guitar playing so you know it’s ultimate.) I fancy myself as neither ultimate nor a gladiator. Yet I feel dashing so I signed up.
The race is a 5K run with obstacles. There is climbing and crawling through mud and such, some running up ramps. This is the first such run I have attempted. I have heard of others (Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder, etc.). Never done those. If I do run one in the future, I will do so with the wisdom I got from this experience.
The following are 7 things to do when preparing for a mud run:
1. Build a bit of upper-body strength - Add an upper-body work out to your running routine. There may be monkey bars and walls to climb over. The climbs weren’t all that bad but some folks had difficulty. A bit of upper body strength goes a long way.
This is me climbing whatever this contraption was.
2. Wear sunscreen - Though I rarely wear sunscreen – I’m Hispanic and dark-skinned by nature – I wore some this day. If you are running in a climate with direct sunlight, use sunscreen. Here in Las Cruces, NM (i.e., the desert), shade is scant. That sun will get you. The sun doesn’t care who it burns, it just burns.
This poor woman got burned bad. I sincerely hope she’s ok.
3. Find a way to stay hydrated - At the entrance of this event, we were told to dispose of any water bottles before entering. Once inside, there didn’t seem to be many places to find water. I did not drink much water beforehand because I assumed (wrongly) that they would have more hydration stations. Luckily, I came across this booth for a product called Hoist, a rehydration drink. The girls manning (womanning?) the station handed out samples. I tried a few samples before and after the run. The stuff worked! I ran in the heat and felt fine. My buddy, J. Lopez, didn’t run and didn’t drink up got dehydrated. He’s the guy behind the camera by the way. I told the girl I’d give a good word for the drink.
Hoist girl and me after the race. Without Hoist, I wold have resorted to drinking muddy water.
4. Find a group to participate with or create a group - This is not necessarily essential for completing but it makes the experience a lot more fun. You’ll find many folks have a group they are involved with. If you go stag, you might find it difficult to just jump into a group. They might be tight. Besides, having a group keeps people motivated and encouraged. And you can come up with crazy names if you like with matching shirts and the whole nine. I ran with Iron Fitness, a cross training outfit.
Sometimes I run with the woman in the black. Or shall I say, I run behind.
5. Run, run, run - This may be obvious, but it seemed as though some folks didn’t take running into the equation. Even a three-mile race can be exhausting if one is not conditioned. And going through something like this without the endurance conditioning does not make for a fun time. At one point, I heard a guy earnestly say that he felt like he had already ran five miles. This was at the two mile mark. No fun running out of steam running while you still have obstacles to overcome.
Coming down the homestretch.
6. Protect your knees - A fellow runner told me she learned her lesson at a Tough Mudder and wore leggings for this run. She said the leggings were for all the crawling. I didn’t see the point until I got in the mud pit and there were sharp rocks imbedded in the mud. I don’t know if this was on purpose but I didn’t like it. I admit that I am a big baby. And it is “Gladiator”, right? Still, I would have loved to protect my aging knees. They are healing.
I’m the guy in the back. The legs in the foreground are not mine. Just FYI.
7. Envision yourself finishing - The best part of the run is that the finish line is near the start line. This way you can see others finishing up their run. It’s easy to give up. To run the race and make it through the obstacles is uplifting. Envision yourself running through the finish line. It feels good knowing you pushed yourself through the run and still could trot through the tape.
About three seconds before finishing. Lots of muddy people, good times.
And above all, have fun!
