Return Of The Switch blog

Hey everyone, welcome back to another thrilling, chilling installment of the Switch production blog. Sorry there was no update last week; I just saw a half written draft that Tom saved off here on the blog dashboard but we were so busy on our whirlwind tour that he just didn't have time to finish it.

For those following along at home, Tom picked me up at the airport in Minnesota last Thursday and we immediately headed off to a romantic menage-a-dinner with our color artist, Robb Miller, at some Mexican place in the Mall Of America. A lovely time, and some guacamole, was had by all.

Friday morning started with a slight hiccup. We needed to be in Cedar Falls, Iowa by 11:00 to sign at Limited Edition Comics , meaning we'd have to leave by 6:00 AM to get there in time. Tom and Robb had a slight miscommunication as to which one of them was picking me up at my hotel. So they were equally surprised when they met up and neither one was accompanied by my smiling face. Those crazy kids. Anyway, all got worked out and we ended up getting to LE Comics by noon and signed and sketched all day, then hit the road by 8:00 to get back to my hotel a little past midnight. It was a long day but well worth the trip. Limited Edition is one of the nicest shops with some of the best people around as customers.

The main event began on Saturday when Springcon kicked into high gear, doors opening promptly at 10:00. I can't say enough good things about the all-volunteer staff that puts Springcon on every year. Just great people who take very good care of their guests. Tom, Robb and I had exclusive prints of the Doug Mahnke alternate cover available at the show and we went through pretty much all of them over the course of the two days. I jumped on a plane right after the show (setting off every airport security alarm with my fancy metallic leg implants for both flights) and got home around 1:30 AM.

It was an exhausting weekend full of nice comic book readers, good industry friends, and a lot of enthusiasm about The Switch. It makes me even more anxious to have the book finished and off to the printers.

Speaking of the Switch, I thought I'd share another full page of art with you this week. We haven't shown off much of Robb Miller's color work yet so let's give him a moment in the sun. Here comes page 21, for your viewing pleasure...

Tom should be back behind the keyboard next week and I'll see you all back in Minnesota for the weekend of Sept 16th for the Comicard show. Thanks for reading, and for your support.

Final Doug Mahnke alternate cover revealed!

Happy Friday, everyone. Welcome back to another thrilling installment of America's favorite production blog for America's favorite in-progress graphic novel, The Switch!

At this time next week (barring any plane crashes. I hate to fly since I had kids), Tom and I, along with the mighty Robb Miller, will all be signing together at Limited Edition Comics in Iowa. Rob, the owner of LE, always treats us like we're far more important than we are and makes a great day out of these joint appearances. His customer base is also great, they make these signings feel more like an all-day get together with friends than official business.  I'm going to see if we can update the blog from Limited Edition next week, maybe some kind of video update. I'm sure Tom will be shooting some footage for the behind-the-scenes "Making Of The Switch" documentary so maybe we can kill two birds.

If you live in the area, stop by. I mean you, Moose Baumann.

So this week, I thought I'd show off the finished colors to Doug Mahnke's alternate cover for The Switch. Tom has ordered a print of this cover that we're going to give away at SpringCon in Minnesota next weekend. Any readers that are there will have a rare chance to get it signed by all four members of  Team Switch (did Tom mention this last week?). Anyway, the people at Springcon are awesome. They sent me a care package full of candy this week, along with a check for some traveling cash for my trip out there. First class treatment all the way and I'm very grateful to be treated so well. Just don't tell Mike and Mike that I'm actually like fifth class talent, not first.

So without further ado, here's Doug's cover. Eric Marshall, I'll be bringing the original with me next week as part of your backer reward. Make sure you get Doug to sign it!

Thanks for reading, guys. See you all next week!

Heavy Promo Month for The Switch

Hello from the Minneapolis airport.  While I wait for my flight back to Knoxville, I thought this would be a great time to give you guys a blog update :)

This month will be great for The Switch in that as we're down to the last stretch, Keith, Robb, and I will be particularly aggressive to help promote the book via appearances.  Unfortunately the book won't be out in time--that would be ideal of course.  But there will be other opportunities for that in the next year I'm sure.

Starting tomorrow at noon, I will be at The Golden Age, 1942 in Maryville, TN for Free Comic Book Day.  Then next week I will be in Sioux City, South Dakota for SiouxperCon.  Then during the 3rd weekend of this month, Keith, Robb, and I will be at Limited Edition Comics in Cedar Falls, Iowa (May 19th) , and the MN State Fairgrounds for MSP ComicCon on May 20-21 (all in one weekend!).  We'll have an exclusive Switch print for that weekend that we (and Doug Mahnke) can all sign!  Finally, I have just confirmed an appearance in awesome San Antonio for Alamo City Comic Con for the last weekend of this month!  I'll be at the Heroes and Fantasies comic retailer store booth there as their guest.  So please stop by to any of these appearances while you can and say hi, support The Switch, and get your special print ;)

I must board my flight now; maybe I'll attempt to draw more Switch on my Surface Pro 2 while flying.  For now, here are the usual art sneak peeks....