The Art of Matthew Warlick

I’ll be in Austin this weekend to attend the 6th annual Staple! Independent Media Expo.

I’ll be out with the entire Space-Gun Crew (Jake Ekiss, Evan Bryce, Paul Milligan and Vinh-Luan Luu) hawking prints, sketches and copies of Senryu.

Staple! is a blast and my favorite con of the season to attend, so if you’re in Austin come out and have a look around, you’ll find some of the best independent comics America has to offer.

And for up -to-the-minute news on the day be sure and follow my twitter feed.

Atomic-Robo 4.0 The Revenge of The Vampire Dimension #1 hits your local comic shop tomorrow (February 17th) and I’m lucky enough to have a pinup featured in the book alongside Armando Batista and the late, great Dave Simons.

Atomic Robo is one of my favorite comics at the moment, hands down. It’s a sci-fi/pulp extravaganza that doesn’t take itself too seriously yet manages to feel smart AND entertaining at the same time. It’s always reminded me of Hellboy but with a pop-culture action-science twist. It’s damn entertaining and if you aren’t reading it you’re missing out.

I’m also hard at work on a 4 page short that will hit the web first then be collected into the trade for volume 4.0. More on that to come when it’s complete and ready to launch over at Atomic-Robo.com.

So get out to your local funny-book store tomorrow and give Atomic Robo a try, you’ll be glad you did!

Day two of DCC was pretty awesome. The lines weren’t nearly as bad but business was jsut as good as day one, with most of that business being in the form of sketches.

This cool kid asked me to do a female Iron Man sketch and I tried to rock it out as best as I could.

Got a nice Two-Face request as well.

Plus a rare appearance by King Bender.

Deadman. Who is dead.

Plus a little Predator action.

And to top it all off the little lady got to meet one of her most favorite actors, Sean Patrick Flanery. Priority pass line-cutting FTW!

All in all it was another very positive convention experience (except for the con-contagion Beth and I came down with Sunday night). Senryu didn’t do quite as well as I had hoped, but I made plenty of profit doing sketches and selling prints, so it was a win. Hopefully Staple will treat the book a bit better come March 6th.

Ciao!

Adam Hughes and Tim Sale drew a huge crowd, and we got to tap the overflow for books and prints.

I forgot to take a picture of the Emma Frost sketch I did early in the morning, but Beth got this pic of Mistress Doom as requested by a convention goer.

I also did what I think is a really nice piece in a Deadpool themed sketchbook.

Afterwards The Space-Gun Studios crew and friends descended upon Freebirds in Richardson. It was epic. And delicious.

I only sold a couple of copies of Senryu but folks were eating up the prints. In just the first day I’ve already made my costs back and then some, so here’s to a successful day two!

Nrama: Going back a little bit, what’s your background? Tell us a little bit about yourself, how you got to this point.

Warlick: My professional background is in interactive design but I?ve been drawing since I was a little kid. In 4th grade I discovered comics and I?ve been hooked ever since. When I graduated I took an apprenticeship with a web design firm and eventually moved up to the position of interactive designer and then art director. The past few years I?ve freelanced doing interactive art direction and illustration work.

Nrama: In terms of organizing the event, was there an overall structure to who you teamed up with? Or are you hearing from people who published who you had never spoken with before?

Warlick: The main ICBW team is Vinh-Luan Luu, Jake Ekiss, Paul Milligan and myself; It?s basically our Space-Gun Studios entity minus Evan Bryce. We?ve been responsible for putting together the website and organizing the blog, but have had a lot of help from creators and retailers in spreading the word and helping the event take off.

So head on over and give it a read.

And if you’re in Texas come out to the Dallas Comic Con tomorrow. It’ll be the first time I’ve had Senryu for a convention and I’m really excited to see how it’s received.

Mention this post and I’ll give you a sweet limited edition Senryu print. While supplies last.

Karen O’Brien from Comics Buyer’s Guide interviews me about Indy Comic Book Week and Senryu. Click the pick to check out “The O’Brien Factor” on page 12 of the April 2010 CBG.

Transcript:

Diamond Comic Distributors announced that no new comics would be delivered Dec. 30, 2009, an enterprising idea was hatched by Space Gun Studios (a Dallas/Ft. Worth?based studio featuring members Evan Bryce, Jake Ekiss, Vinh-Luan Luu, and Matthew Warlick) to use the week to celebrate independent comics. The initiative caught on across the country, as the idea spread via the Internet, and comics shops and creators joined in to put on events. I spoke with co-founder Matthew Warlick about Indy Comic Book Week. CBG: How did you come to co-create Indy Comic Book Week?

Warlick: We (Space-Gun Studios) had heard the news through an e-mail chain that itself was inspired by Kyle Latino?s ?December Deadline ?09? post at www.pulpmessenger.com. From there, we decided among ourselves that it was a great opportunity to spotlight our books and began talking to local shops about the idea. I set up the website (http://indycomicbookweek.com), Luan started the blog, and, through the magic of Facebook and Twitter, it took off from there.

CBG: What were some of the most interesting or creative events that shops, creators, and fans held to celebrate Indy Comic Book Week?

Warlick: I think the sheer number of events is the most outstanding thing about the event. There were signings and mini-cons popping up all over the country, as the event got closer and closer. I know Spaz Dog Comics in Phoenix, Ariz., had a huge 30+ creator signing, and Midtown Comics in New York went all out when it came to purchasing books and had the widest selection of new comics from independent creators.

CBG: What did you do on Dec. 30?

Warlick: I was at my home store, Madness Games & Comics, signing copies of my ICBW release, Senryu.

CBG: Anything else you?d like to share?

Warlick: More than anything, I?d like to thank the retailers for supporting Indy Comic Book Week. They really took to the idea and helped us out tremendously with moral support, promotion, and ? most importantly ? shelf space.

Comic’s Buyers Guide No. 1664 will be out in early February.

2010 is in full swing and with it comes Con Season! First up on the docket for 2010 is the always popular Dallas Comic Con. DCC is now the largest comic con in Dallas (thanks to the demise of Wizard World TX) and is attracting some great guests this year including Tim Sale, Adam Hughes Adam West, Sean Patrick Flannery and more.

I’ll be out Saturday and Sunday selling super cheap prints ($10 or 2 for $15), copies of Senryu, doing sketches and taking commissions. So if you love comics and sci-fi and enjoy supporting local artists come on out and get your geek on.

Dallas Comic Con is at The Richardson Civic Venter, 411 W. Arapaho Road, Richardson TX this Saturday @ 11am-6pm & Sunday @ 12noon-4pm.

Be there or be square.

The guys over at Newsarama’s Best Shots review my first full-length comic Senryu.

…a mixture of chutzpah, free association and illustrated poetry, Indy Comic Week co-founder Matt Warlick’s book is a personal story put in front of an impersonal audience that nevertheless gives readers … food for thought.

…this book isn’t trying to pander to anyone — it’s intensely personal… if you’re a fan of poetry and art and the sort of daydreaming that comes with it, give this book a look.

It may not be Eisner-ready just yet, but Senryu is a precocious read that’s indicative of a lot of potential.

Read the entire interview here.

The Fourth Wall podcast talks Indy Comic Book Week and reviews Senryu. Listen to the podcast here.