Happy 4th of July Weekend Edition! Gene Simmons and I Chat About Switch?

Here in the States is Independence Day holiday weekend (even though the holiday itself isn't until Tuesday).  So as many here relax and try to spend time outdoors with friends and family, I'll be busy trying to wrap up this darn book!

Last weekend I was at Fanboy Expo in great Knoxville, Tennesee, and although I was mostly doing celebrity photo ops, I proudly wore my Switch shirt and had quite a few people asking about it--which is always flattering.  I hate to tell them the same answer over and over ("Later this year!") but we get closer and it becomes more of a reality.  And then I can breathe a sigh of relief.

The premier guest was none other than Gene Simmons of KISS himself, and I had the honor of photographing him during some of the show.  For a man of his celebrity and stature, he really treats his fans well.  I mean amazingly well---he'd take time to talk to fans and hug them and take photos/selfies.  He's equally nice to us staff members of the show.  Can't quite say the same about a certain Pink Ranger, however LOL ;)

My favorite part about Gene?  He's a known comic book fan, and even has his own comic publishing company.  He asked me about my Switch shirt on Saturday right after I took photos of him with the Children's Hospital, and asked me what each of the names of the characters were, and when/where it will be published.  "Dynamite Comics," I replied.  Gene said, "Did you know I have KISS books published with Dynamite?"  "Yes sir," I nodded and smiled.  And at that point one of the staff interjected and said we had to start shooting with the fans.  So those few seconds of interaction with a rock icon (an interaction which he probably forgot about by now) was very, very cool to me.  Here's a video clip of me shooting him with fans right after our quick chat:

So I guess you also came here to see more exclusive sneak preview art, no?  Well HERE IT IS:

Smoking, eating a Pixie Stick, or drinking??

No idea what's going on here.  Actually, I do....but you don't. :)

Someone getting his ass BEAT huhu :(

Nasty Cat doing her best Professor X impersonation.

More fun with Dr. Hate's expressions.

What else? More sneaky art! (Tom)

Hello! I just got back from a wonderful time in Springdale, Arkansas for Art Pop Comic Expo.  The cool thing about that show is that they used our Electricia art for the VIP/guest passes....we can always use the free promotion!  One other note:  I did a one hour panel at the show on Drawing Comics, and have even recorded it for my YouTube channel.  Check it out here in shiny 4k!

Other than traveling like crazy (as Keith mentioned last blog), I just started doing some work for Big Brother Season 19 that will premiere this upcoming week!  And next week I will be traveling again--back to Knoxville, TN for Fanboy Expo to do the usual thing with signing/sketching/photo ops.  Already I have an Electricia sketch on pre-order!

And without further adieu, here are your art sneak peeks from The Switch for this week, including another appearance by possibly my favorite bad guy to draw (other than Electricia herself)....Vladimir Putin!

What could Putin be thinking here?

Electricia doing what she does best 

Dr. Hate up to no good!

Loverboy up to even worse!

Electricia and Omerta having a friendly chat?

Keith will be back next week while to do my thing in Knoxville....!  Thanks again for looking!

More sneak peeks

Hey guys, welcome back to another Friday installment of The Switch production blog!

As I write this, I believe Tom is in Arkansas for another convention appearance this week. Our beloved Tommy keeps a pretty busy travel schedule during convention season (which used to run through the summer but now seems to go pretty much year round), seems like he's on the move almost every weekend in one state or another. He's a stylish jetsetter, I tell you!

I don't appear at anywhere near as many shows as Tom does because a) I'm not as cool and b) I'm not as cool but I'll be loitering this weekend at a convention at Foxwoods Resort and Casino so if you're in the tri-state area and have nothing to do Saturday and Sunday, feel free to stop by my table. I only charge $10 per hug at shows, quite a bargain, especially because I'm told I always smell like a million bucks.

Before Tom jetted off to Arkansas, he finished a few new pages this week so let me give you some sneak peeks right quick. Let's see what we got...

                                                    (does Electricia bleed Electricity?)

                                               (Look at that cute Dr. Hate. He's so precious!)

                                                          (Tough day to be that old lady!)

All right, my friends. That's it for this week. Everyone be safe out there and we'll see you here again next Friday! Thanks as always for your support.

Pics from The Switch Midwest Bonanza

Can you tell it was a long drive to Iowa?

As Keith hinted in last week's post, there was a Switch creative team "tour" in the midwest (Keith flew into our turf; "our" meaning myself, colorist Robb Miller, and even Doug Mahnke who did the variant cover).  We first did a signing at the awesome Limited Edition Comics & Collectibles in Cedar Falls, Iowa on Friday, and then we did the annual MSP Comic Con at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.  Talk about a little tour!  It was also the debut of of the Doug Mahnke variant print which was a big hit.  Interestingly, we met a good chunk of our Kickstarter backers during this weekend (it probably has to do with me living around here or something during our campaign).

Without further adieu, here are some photos from our weekend excursion (most of these are actually stills pulled from video that will appear in the 1-hour Switch behind-the-scenes movie):

Robb getting into the festive mood while Keith fights sleep (and eventually lost as you saw in the previous photo)

Ah, the debut of the Doug Mahnke variant....

Keith actually brain farted and started signing with the letter "J"...great save, Keith!

The original itself....!

Backer supreme Eric, who not only got the original variant cover reward, but earned himself a minor cameo role in the story!  Thanks for your support, Eric!

Post convention dinner at a so-so Korean joint. From L to R:
Clint Hilinski, Angel Medina, Doug Mahnke, me, Keith Champagne, and Gordon Purcell

Oh, ok, here's another sneak preview art on the page I'm currently working on ;P

Until next week!  :D