Countdown to San Diego I

In the coming weeks, I'll be formally making announcements through press releases, my website, and my e-newsletter about my participation as an exhibitor at the Comic-Con International (CCI) in San Diego (booth S14 in the Small Press Pavilion--come visit!). However, I thought I'd use the blog to give people a behind the scenes peak at preparing for the show. This year marks my 10th year as an exhibitor at CCI, dating back to 1994.

Planning, of course, starts anywhere from a year to six months before the show when exhibitors must reserve and purchase a booth. Not too long after that, I actually reserve my hotel. The popularity of CCI has caused great competition for rooms, and over the last several years I've found it necessary to book way in advance. I also try to order any books I'll have on sale at the show as early as possible to avoid being part of the surge in demand many printers experience right before convention season. (In one of my first years exhibiting, I discovered on a Friday evening that a shipment sent to me by my printer was at a shipping dock near the San Diego Airport that was literally due to close in 15 minutes for the rest of the weekend. With my then-girlfriend (now wife) in tow, I hailed a cab and promised the driver a $20 tip if he got me there on time. We made it with minutes to spare.)

The big news this year is that I created a new banner for my booth, pictured here. I have a set-up I used for years (which can be seen in my photogallery of past conventions), but I was way overdue for an upgrade. Digital technology offers many choices and has made this kind of job more affordable.

The photo here was taken about 1 a.m., after the family was asleep, and accomplished after several successive evenings of trying to figure out how to assemble the banner. Once I finally figured it out, it actually is not too difficult to put together. But I still had to jury-rig part of it because it didn't quite work as advertised. It looks fine, but I wish it was sturdier. (But you get what you pay for!)

The real test will be whether it survives the wear and tear of four days in San Diego. If it works out, I'll provide a link of where I ordered it and be happy to recommend it to people. But I think I'll wait 'til after the show after I've had a chance to use it "in the field" under real-world conditions!!

(I plan to post more, but for additional sneak peaks, visit my photogallery for the show!)

Rob Hanes Adventures Audioshow Now on CD!

Back in the 1990s, WCG produced a 30-minute Rob Hanes Adventures audiotape called “Three Days of the Fanboy.” Designed as a classic radio show, and professionally produced and engineered, the story brought the series to vivid life with voice actors, music and sound effects. (One of the program’s lead voice actors, Scott Brick, has since become a prolific and award-winning audiobook narrator, having recorded more than 250 books to date, including many by best-selling authors such as Brad Meltzer, Orson Scott Card, and Tom Clancy.) In the show, Rob is hired to protect the comic-book collection of fanboy extraordinaire Johnson McFeeley (played by Brick).

Long overdue, the audiotape has finally been transferred to CD and now is available at the WCG Comics webstore. As seen above right, the cover art has been redesigned for the new CD format. Revel in the dated references and hear the series come to life with this unique and fun collector’s item!

To see photos from the recording, click here.

Hello Again, My Loyal Public!

Yes, I know, it's been awhile since I last posted. All I can say is that it would be very easy to spend all of my time promoting my work on the Web if I wanted to -- but then I'd never finish any new comics for you, my loyal public!!

Anyway, I'm pleased to announce that the landmark 10th issue of Rob Hanes Adventures is now available!

For details, including how to order, go to the newest edition of my e-newsletter or visit the main WCG Comics website.

The issue is a full-fledged sports story that takes place in the world of minor league baseball, and was a fun change of pace.

As mentioned in a previous post, issue 10 will be available at my booth at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, July 26-29. I'll be in booth S14!

With issue 11, the series will return to form with a story of high adventure in which Rob goes to Asia to battle modern-day pirates. A preview for the issue has just been posted here.

Pending the completion of a few final details, I have some additional exciting announcements coming up related to the future of the series and the upcoming convention, so stay tuned!

Rob Hanes Adventures Hits Landmark 10th Issue

Longrunning indie series celebrates milestone with sports story

June 6, 2007

For immediate release

The long-running independent comic-book series Rob Hanes Adventures hits its landmark 10th issue in July. To celebrate, the action-adventure series will cross genres in the issue with a full-fledged sports story. The issue is now available to retailers and also will be available from WCG Comics at the Comic-Con International in San Diego, July 26-29, 2007.

Though primarily a modern-day soldier-of-fortune series, Rob Hanes Adventures creator Randy Reynaldo frequently explores other genres. In issue 10, the series enters the world of minor league baseball in a humorous sports adventure entitled “The Pride of the Chickenhawks.” Past stories have featured a drawing room mystery and outright comedies.

“Although Rob Hanes Adventures is primarily a globetrotting action-adventure series, I've always intended to keep myself challenged by mixing things up and throwing the character into different, offbeat situations,” says Reynaldo. “I had a lot of fun doing a baseball story and may tackle other sports in the future (no pun intended!).”

In the issue—just in time for baseball season—globetrotting adventurer and Justice International private eye Rob Hanes is hired by a minor league baseball team called the Brisbane Chickenhawks to investigate allegations of steroid use. In the course of the story, however, Rob becomes more interested in getting a hit than with cracking the case—leaving it up to his partner, Abner McKenna, to solve the mystery! Rob's obsession with getting on base and the resolution of the case come to a thrilling climax in a baseball game with playoff consequences. All the elements of a classic sports story are blended with a classic mystery-adventure.

In addition to classic adventure strips like Terry and the Pirates, Scorchy Smith, and Buz Sawyer, Reynaldo also is a longtime fan of Will Eisner's Spirit, and has always appreciated the wide variety of stories presented in the groundbreaking series. Stories often ranged from straight adventure to lowbrow comedy, and everything in between—including numerous sports sequences.

And while even Reynaldo is too young to have enjoyed first hand classic sports comics like Joe Palooka and Cotton Woods, he knows they once enjoyed an enormous following in comics. Sports comics also are a popular genre in Japanese manga.

Upcoming stories in the series will feature the character battling modern-day pirates in Asia and being stranded on a desert island with a convict Rob has been hired to extradite from overseas.

Rob Hanes Adventures is a comic-book series about an international troubleshooter and modern-day soldier of fortune who works for Justice International, a worldwide private investigations and security agency. Reynaldo is a Xeric Foundation grant recipient and a past nominee for the Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer, which is awarded annually with the Will Eisner Awards. In 2006, WCG Comics celebrated 15 years of publishing.

More information about the series may be found at the WCG Comics website at wcgcomics.com.

Click here to see sample pages from the issue.

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Coming in Issue 10...

In Rob Hanes Adventures #10, Rob goes undercover on the Brisbane Chickenhawks, a minor league baseball team, to investigate steroid use in the clubhouse.

However, when Rob becomes more obsessed with getting a base hit than with solving the mystery, it's up to his partner Abner to solve the case!

Read about it in "The Pride of the Chickenhawks"!

Click here to preview the issue.

Beijing Rocks

As I've mentioned previously, a special movie interest of mine are Asian films that are contrary to the kinds that usually receive a mainstream theatrical release in the U.S. Rather than period or martial arts films, my tastes run not to just the kind of action films that John Woo originally made popular here, but also art-house films and screwball romantic comedies. As I've said, I particularly appreciate the glimpse these movies give into the lifestyles of modern Asia's urban young (and stylish) twenty-somethings.

A movie that definitely falls into this category that I rented thru Netflix is Beijing Rocks (2001). The film follows three young wannabe rockers: the lead singer of a garage band who seeks a contract and to be taken seriously as an artist; his girlfriend; and a semi-successful pop artist from Hong Kong who hits the road with the band to overcome writer's block.

This movie definitely has higher ambitions compared to some of the more fluffier, pop Asian fare I have developed a soft spot for, and it succeeds. Beijing Rocks trades on the same sense of disaffection that have characterized youth films and youth culture dating back to Rebel Without a Cause. A love triangle, of course, develops, and though it gives the movie some emotional scope, it doesn't cheapen the movie by becoming a major point of conflict in the film (aside from perhaps emotionally). In fact, the film is bittersweet and tragic, and to its credit does not go for the easy "feel good" audience-pleasing ending, though the film very easily could have gone there.

Beijing Rocks also definitely provides a fascinating peak into a China I'm sure most people would be surprised to know exists, consisting of garage bands, glam rock clubs, and mosh pits. And look out for the montage sequence featuring a rock version of the Communist anthem, "The Internationale"!

Full disclosure: I admit that one reason I rented this film was for actress/Asian pinup girl Shu Qi, for whom I also have a soft spot. She's appeared in her share of throwaway Asian formulaic films (some personal favorites include So Close, Gorgeous with Jackie Chan, and Love Me, Love My Money), and she crossed into mainstream Hollywood with the modest hit The Transporter. But along with another art-house film of hers that I viewed and was impressed by awhile back (The Foliage), a restrained romantic drama set during China's cultural revolution!), and the recently released art-house film Three Stories, she demonstrates that she is a serious, ambitious actress who possesses some real acting chops.

No School Like Old School

Like a lot of comic-book artists working professionally, it's difficult to stay on top of current work due to the simple lack of time. Mainstream super-hero comics are particularly difficult because of the over-arching story arcs that not only go on for multiple issues but also cross over into other titles. It's just not the kind of longterm commitment I can make anymore! And let's face it, now being close to middle age (okay, not "close to" but actually), I'm just not the target audience for many of today's comics. While I like being challenged and enjoy seeing innovative work, I'm not into "edgy" fare just for the sake of it.

Graphic novels have lately become an area of real growth for the comics industry. And not just compilations of series, but original works released specifically in graphic novel format. While I have picked up many that have received much critical attention, I have to admit, for the most part I've been a bit underwhelmed. For me, they tend to be too episodic, oblique, and "slice of life-ish" for my taste, rather than truly engaging and compelling. In short, partly jaded by age, I guess, it just seems few and far between that I pick up a comic-book and feel really excited and blown away.

Surprisingly, just recently I experienced this kind of visceral response when I came across an old friend in the form of Fantagraphics' new Love and Rockets series from Los Bros. Hernandez, Jaime and Gilbert.

I am a big fan of the Hernandez Brothers from way back--in fact, believe I own the entire original full run of the series, including early if not first editions of the first issues. (I also had the good fortune once to sit next to Jaime over the course of a day during a book signing many, many years ago. He was fun to hang out with, and though I'm not sure he'd still remember me, we actually have some mutual friends. Their brother Mario was a fan of my work at the time, and Jaime seemed to be familiar with my work then.) I must admit, however, that during the latter part of that early run, I fell behind in my reading and lost the thread of the multiple, intertwined storylines of Jaime's Maggie and Hopey stories, and Gilbert's Palomar tales.

I did pick up the first issue of the new series, but I don't recall it having much of an impact on me. When I was at the comics shop few weeks ago, however, I picked up a more recent issue (I think it was #16) and suddenly found my enthusiasm for the series re-ignited. I ended up picking up the preceding issues at my next stop.

I can't pinpoint exactly what it is that drew me back in, but they're certainly still at the top of their game. They have a great knack for telling details and capturing the kind of human quirks, flaws, and inconsistencies that make their characters come to life. In Jaime's case, it's great to see the characters aged, while pursuing romance, careers, and working out their personal lives.

A comment by Gilbert in a recent interview probably puts it best:

It's a type of alternative comic that only my brother and I do, for the most part. Everybody else is going over to Pantheon because they've got a tragic biography to tell. I'm fine with that, but I'm just trying to do just stories with imagination—just old fashioned stories, you know?

(BTW, for the record, a few additional titles that I do follow religiously include the Spirit Archives compilations of Will Eisner's great series, the all-new Spirit series being produced by Darwyn Cooke through DC Comics, and Adrian Tomine's Optic Nerve (when it comes out!).)