Some numbers recur throughout my life. Some by my choice, some by coincidence (and bias confirmation from the former).

I am deliberate and meticulous in my application of these numbers. In syllables, in letter counts, in shapes, in iterations, in the positioning of broken clock's hands, in the times I make my posts on Livejournal. The particular numbers I use are mostly obvious and generally everywhere in almost everything I do but are hard to summarize meaningfully.

( So I won't try. )

Incidentally, today is the sixth; In twelve days it shall be time for the sixth annual Stumptown Comics Fest, which I've been helping organize since its humble 2004 beginnings in the Old Church here in Portland. Those that can, please: do attend!

First off, last week's Incubator sketches on the right. Myrrh showed up sans guitar and performed some truly inspired piano and vocal improvisation while I drew live, with assistance from Ryan Olson running proficient sound and providing effective intermittent electronic affectation.

Sadly, while the camera feed was up, apparently the sound was out, so it was not captured. Curses and fie, but so it goes. Ephemera! Let me show you it.

In fact, let me show you it on Tuesday, December 18th at the Someday Lounge, wherein we shall hold the Last Incubator of the Year. Come on out and show your affinity for hazardous creative endeavors. Take part yourself! Have a delicious sandwich, or just buy me a drink. ;)

Meanwhile, I totally spaced out posting the live drawings I did at Stumptown (not as tall as the screen at Incubator, but on a nice screen nonetheless. So here are the best of the bunch, beneath the cut.



Speaking of the Stumptown Comics Fest, 2008's show has been moved up to the weekend of April 26th and 27th! That's right, just seven months after '07. There's a lot of reasons for it, least of which isn't that APE has pulled the inverse switcharoo and leapt forward to November for 2008, leaving a pretty big gap in the West-Coast Spring Comics Show Circuit. Of course the original Stumptown Comics Fest was also in the Spring, so in a way this just means we're finally getting back on schedule. In another way, speaking as one of the show's organizers, dang that's close.

We'll have the new iteration of the website live in a couple weeks, and more info will be available then, including registration forms for those of you interested in tabling. For my own exhibiting contributions, I'm aiming to have not just the third book of Painkillers completed, but a 150+ page printed collection of the entire story to sell.

Stumptwnd?

The Short Version: Stumptown 2007 rocked the house. I sold books, I met cool people, I drew live, I had a great time.

The Medium Version: See above; then I got home and found my primary work computer unable to boot up. 24 hours later, still fighting it.

The Long Version: Will arrive when the above is resolved.

Somehow it's already time for the Third Annual Stumptown Comics Fest! So much has changed since the last show, the time, it does fly.

It's going to be two big days this year, and we've upgraded to the spacious south corner of the Oregon Convention Center ballroom. The OCC is just east of the river in idyllic Portland, Oregon, and you shall know it by its twin emerald spires of majesty. Come on down this afternoon (Friday) from 4pm to 8pm and/or Saturday, from 10am to 6pm! I'll be at table #61 alongside the inimitable Adam White, Matt Black (mattblackinc), and Steve Harrison (fabricari).

Both days should be great, the full Event Schedule is available for your perusal, as well as a complete list of exhibitors. This is our biggest year yet, and there's lots of great stuff lined up. I'm particularly excited to see Friday's new format for the Comic Art Battle (now re-born, quasi-mythologically in the fires of Mt Ezra Claytan Daniels, as the Comix Apocalypse™) as well as the bits of the Too Much Coffee Man Opera closing out our Saturday. Woo.

Also, for anyone attending Stumptown (or generally around Portland right now) that missed out on my Dead Valentines Show, Kaebel (arashikami) has graciously invited me to use his gallery space, Sequential Art after Friday's show as an informal, low-key post-Friday-comedown space. Call it a novelty undersized closing reception if you want. I shall be checking it out with some out-of-town-friends pretty much immediately after the show, and anyone is welcome to drop on by. The address one more time:

Sequential Art Gallery
328 NW Broadway #113
Portland, OR

Kaebel's also got a table at Stumptown, and he'll be representing for his many artists who have shown, or will show soon, many of whom are also going to be at Stumptown! They include our own fine luminaries Ryan Alexander-Tanner (Table #97), Jon Ascher and Devon Deveraux of Cackling Imp Press (Table #54), Alex Cahill and Jad Ziade of New Radio Comics (Table #99), Shannon Wheeler (Table #105) and Mike LaRiccia (table #108).

And hey, while we're throwing everything we can into this post, Happy Halloween, should the Internet Gods not let me post until after! I have a spooky tale to share with you all on the subject of my apartment and its previous inhabitant, but it will have to wait. My apartment is a mess and I have Mr. fabricari coming to stay in just a few hours for the Con. Cheerio, children.

Back from APE, pictures to share later, but for now here is an image from last October's Stumptown Comics Fest here in Portland that Carmen Ogden, another APE and Stumptown exhibitor, just randomly forwarded to me. I was, it would seem, veritably immersed in her Submarine Comics.

Oh, and for those keeping score of such things, I've got a MySpace account now for anyone else out there in that particular corner of the digital woods.