Squid Works Meeting

Sunday, January 10, 2009 from 1-4 pm @ Enchanted Grounds 8800 S. Colorado Blvd., Highlands Ranch, 80126, 303-470-1010

First Annual Comic Creator Extravaganza

Join the Squid Works' own Stan Yan, along with John Porcellino, Daniel Crosier, Noah Van Sciver, and Luke Belsito for a comic signing, combined with a free workshop and reading.

Schedule of events:
noon - 1:30 pm Character design workshop with Stan Yan
1 pm - 4 pm Artist signings
2 pm - 3 pm Slide show and Q&A with John Porcellino

Signings:

Stan Yan - The Wang: Erection Year

“What if Charlie Brown grew up?” is how Wade Busby of The Guide described Eugene Wang, the protagonist of Yan’s graphic novel series, The Wang. “And what if Charlie Brown was Asian?” is the rhetorical question Yan dares to ask in this latest bound edition.

Yan is also artist for SubCulture, writer of REVVVelations, and instructor for Graphic Storytelling at Community College of Aurora. www.squidworks.com/Stan

John Porcellino - Map of My Heart

Map of My Heart celebrates the twentieth anniversary of John Porcellino’s seminal and influential comics zine, King-Cat Comics, which he began self-publishing in 1989. In this collection, Porcellino, while living in isolation and experiencing the pain of divorce, crafts a melancholic, tender graphic-ballad of heartbreak and reflection.

John Porcellino was born in Chicago in 1968, and began drawing and writing at an early age, compiling his work into little hand-made booklets. His acclaimed self-published zine, King-Cat Comics and Stories, begun in 1989, has found a devoted worldwide audience, and is one of the most influential comics series of the past twenty years. According to cartoonist Chris Ware, “John Porcellino’s comics distill, in just a few lines and words, the feeling of simply being alive.” For more information please visit www.king-cat.net.

Daniel Crosier - Distortions Unlimited #1

The three issue series is based off of licensed characters crafted by Distortions Unlimited based in Greeley, CO. Distortions is world-renowned for creating shocking props, masks and animatronics that have been the mainstay of the dark amusement industry for the last 30 years. The company is best known for reproducing the 16ft queen alien from the film “Alien” cast from the original molds, as well as designing the stage props for music industry icon Alice Cooper’s Brutal Planet tour.

Denver, Colorado based artist Daniel Crosier has exploded onto the comic book scene in the last year. Illustrating and writing multiple comic book projects with a variety of well-established publishers, Crosier’s distinctive approach, incomparable perspective and vibrant personality has the industry taking note. His background in fine art has encouraged him develop a watershed wood burning technique for his previous comic book project, “Bartholomew of the Scissors” from Bluewater Productions. www.thothengine.net

Noah Van Sciver - Blammo #5

Noah Van Sciver is an independent comic artist, currently living Denver. His comics have been featured in numerous publications including MOME, Mineshaft, Not My Small Diary, MaximumRocknRoll, and The Comics Journal. As well as his weekly comic strip 4 Questions which runs weekly in Westword. He self-publishes a comic series titled Blammo, for which the 5th issue has just been released. www.noahvansciver.com

and introducing Luke Belsito - Crow’s Tread #0

Crow’s Tread is an adventure story with scrappy streetkids as unkowing and hesitant heroes who get thrown into the political turmoil of a fantasy universe, but do they care enough about it to save it?

Luke Belsito is a strapping young lad with a spring in his step, twinkle in his eye, and comics in his blood. Crow’s Tread volume #1 is his public comics debut. He attends the University of Northern Colorado. www.crowstread.com

Writing for Comics Education Series with Stan Yan

Whenever I teach a comics workshop, one of the most frequent questions I get is about how do I write my comics?  My response is which kind?  As a strong believer that one ought to write specifically with their medium in mind, whether it be novels, movie screenplays, or Broadway musicals, I also find true that one should approach writing single-panel gags, comic strips, and long form comic narratives differently.  So, I've created this workshop series to address each individually.  I've set up the workshops so students can register for each workshop individually, or get package discounts for registering for multiple classes.

Collier-Morales Educational Studio

540 Pleasant St. Boulder, CO  80302

(Entrance to studio via the East basement entrance)

Teen - Adult

More information at 303-452-9046 or e-mail squidworkscomics [AT] gmail.com

Sunday, February 7

9:00 am - Noon - Formulating Effective Single Panel Gag Comics

1:00 pm - 4 pm - Drawing Effective Single Panel Gag Comics

Sunday, February 14

9:00 am - Noon - Formulating Effective Comic Strips

1:00 pm - 4 pm - Drawing Effective Comic Strips

Sunday, February 21

9:00 am - Noon - Writing Graphic Novel Stories

1:00 pm - 4 pm - Scripting Graphic Novel Stories

Sunday, February 28

9:00 am - Noon - Thumbnailing Effective Comic Pages

1:00 pm - 4 pm - Thumbnails to Penciled Comic Pages

For more information, costs and registration, visit Stan Yan's website

Squid Works Meeting

Sunday, February 14th, 2009 from 1-4 pm @ Enchanted Grounds 8800 S. Colorado Blvd., Highlands Ranch, 80126, 303-470-1010