Nightcrawler by Bridgit Scheide.

I continue my interview with Sketch Charlotte and its members: Rich Barrett (RB), John Da Costa (JDC), Tom Davidson (TD), Derek Davis (DD), Henry Eudy (HE), Dan Morris (DM), Brandon Padgett (BP), Eraklis “Herc” Petmezas (EP) and Bridgit Scheide (BS). In this part we delve into the comic’s background of each of the members.

How long have you been drawing comics?

RB: I’ve been working on my own comic called Nathan Sorry for about as long as I’ve been involved in Sketch Charlotte though I’ve really only been putting it out there and moving full steam ahead on it in the past year. I’ve always wanted to do my own comic and the idea for it had been in my head for a while but I really have to thank the encouragement (and constant prodding) I got from the Sketch Charlotte gang otherwise it might be something I was still just thinking about rather than actually doing.

DD: 5 years.

DM: I’ve been drawing comics for years. I started in the 4th grade and didn’t stop after that.

BP: I’ve always drawn, even before I knew how to write I would sit down in the floor and draw for hours.  I’m 36 now, so I’ll let you do the math! It wasn’t until I got to college that I started focusing on comics. Now it’s pretty much all I draw!

BS: I’ve been drawing my whole life, but I really started getting into the sequential format in high school.

TD: Completed stories? Since 2004. But I’ve been cartooning since I was a wee lad.

HE: I’ve drawn comics and cartoons for my own enjoyment since childhood. In high school I drew stuff for the school newspaper but for some reason didn’t stick with cartooning as anything more than an occasional hobby. Late in 2007, after reading Jeffery Brown’s book Clumsy, I decided to recommit myself to cartooning and started making a serious (well, semi-serious) attempt at comics making. In spring of 2008 I Xeroxed off my first mini comic, Get to Know Me. It was actually pretty gratifying to see what a piece of ugly junk I had made. I’ve kept to the mini comics path and have made nine little books thus far as well as having contributed to a few anthologies.

Henry Eudy sketching at Sketch Charlotte.

How did you get into comics?

JDC: I had a friend in junior high who introduced me to comics. Before then I always dug superheroes and what not but I wasn’t really serious about comics. From then on I’ve drawn comics for kicks and giggles but it wasn’t until after I married and had my first kid that I decided to start being a little more serious about it.

BP: My Dad was big into comics when the Silver Age was booming. He used to tell me stories about them all the time, then when I was old enough he introduced me to the world of comics! As far as drawing comics, it was a natural progression really. I was in the fine arts department at ASU and I was reading a lot of comics at the time. It was bound to happen! After I dropped out of comics late in my college career (and transferring into another department) I stopped drawing altogether. As I slowly got back into comics I started visiting a lot of comics related forums. I found Newsarama and they had just started a weekly art group. I joined and jumped back in with both feet! That directly led to me producing my own sketch books. I’ve been doing that for four years running and plan to do it again this year!

EP: I think I initially saw them in a convenience store and fell in love with them instantly. I was fortunate to travel to Greece at a young age and be subjected to many great European artists that just blew my mind. After that I didn’t read as many superhero titles and got into the great Indy scene of the 80′s and 90′s. I’ve been writing and drawing since. I was fortunate enough to graduate from SCAD where I became friends with a lot of great artists. In the early 90′s I tried to “break in” (mostly as a writer) and had a lot of almosts, but nothing concrete. So I switched gears and did more illustration work. After not doing sequentials for so long I got the buzz again in the early 2000′s and have been doing comics since. It recent years I’ve been mostly self publishing and working on anthologies. I joined 803 studios as well. It’s been a lot of fun.

An unused Mr. Lune cover by Eraklis Petmezas.

TD: I learned to read thanks in part to cartooning; I’d stare at comic strips when I was super wee lad, getting the punchlines visually of Snuffy Smith or Andy Capp, and then eventually as I learned to read I was hooked into the daily adventures and dramas in Gasoline Alley, Hagar the Horrible and so forth. When I was 8 or 9 a friend of mine asked me if I’d seen comic books. “Hunh?” I had no idea. He gave me some Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Thor, Fantastic Four and Spiderman, as well as Captain America & Falcon and Daredevil and I was HOOKED, baby.

BS: I was always into creative writing classes in school, and I think the desire to tell stories, particularly through art, is something I’ve always had. Even when I was a kid I would draw really simple pictures, and then sit my parents down and share an elaborate story based on the image. While technically working on larger-scale pieces in high school, my mind would be working out a plot of why I was drawing this a certain way, or why a character was in a particular setting and what they were doing before they were there. I’d think up back stories or create futures for them while I was working on that single moment. But it took more than halfway into my high school year for me to actually commit to comics. (Most high school art teachers don’t want to tell their kids that comics are art, haha!) I’m so thankful for all the other comic geek friends I made in my college illustration classes. I met some really awesome art kids at UNCC and I think we all kind of helped inspire each other and encourage each other’s pursuit of it all.

DD: I had a football coach that got me into reading comics when I was about 9 and have been reading them ever since.

Baba Yaga by Henry Eudy.

HE: I actually have a pretty clear memory of my grandmother buying me my first comics when I was little fat boy instead of the big fat man I am today. Against my mother’s protests, she would frequently give me copies of Peter Porker, the Amazing Spider Ham and Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew. I think I could barely read at that point, but it fostered in me a deep and abiding love for humor, parody and funny animal comics. As a whelp, I was a dedicated reader of Cracked magazine and recognized Dan Clowes’ style right away upon seeing my first issue of Eightball as being the same guy who drew the Uggly Family. I drifted away from comics in middle school but was reawakened when a school chum somehow snuck a copy of The Killing Joke class. After that I was rabidly into superhero comics all through my teenage years. Then came the glut and excesses of the early nineties. The shenanigans and stupidity flowing out of Marvel and Image in those days drove me right into the waiting arms of DC and Vertigo. I got hooked on Sandman, went back and read the Alan Moore Swamp Thing run, chased down the Miracleman comics from Eclipse, discovered Fantagraphics, became an adherent of Hate, Eightball and Love and Rockets. Then, in 1994 I saw the movie Robert Crumb. I had a peripheral knowledge of Crumb, but I had never actually read any of his comics. Just like it was 1968, my head exploded with the greatness of the genre’s greatest line maker. I then got really into underground comics and quit reading current comics for a very long time. Then, in 2007, I walked back into Heroes after a very long absence and looked around. Comics looked very different from the way they had appeared in 1994. I felt very little familiarity with most of what was on the shelf. I did find these curious little books in the back that looked like they were made by a palsied eight year-old, however. These comics were crude looking, but really funny, extraordinarily human and they really spoke to me. I bought books by Jeffery Brown and James Kolchalka and I was suddenly back in the comics saddle.

DM: My first memories of reading comics were we my family stayed at my grandmother’s house in Connecticut. She still had the comics my dad read in his youth and college years in her attic. So my brother and I would read those whenever we went up there and of course, treat them like any child would treat them. However, I really started getting into comics around 4th grade. That was when CMS started their magnet school program and I went to one of them which meant I got to ride the bus to school, and it was a very long bus ride I should tell you. On the bus ride, there were these two brothers who let me borrow the comics they had which were generally either X-Men comics or the old Marvel Tales series which was this comic that reprinted old Spider-Man comics. To say, I was hooked is an understatement.

A recent Sketchercise by Brandon Padgett.

What were your favorite comics as a kid?

BP: Mostly Marvel, Amazing Spider-Man, G. I. Joe and Transformers and DC‘s Batman. As I got older and could afford more I started reading titles like Fantastic Four, Thor and Uncanny X-Men. Pretty much wherever my influences showed up I’d buy it!
 
What are some of your artistic influences?
Whew…there’s so many to name!  I’ll stick with the basics, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Albrecht Durer and Norman Rockwell laid the foundation and in the comics world John Byrne, George Perez, Art Adams, Walt Simonson, Jim Lee and a host of others built the house that stands on that foundation!

RB: The Chris Claremont/John Romita Jr. era X-Men. Also Howard Chaykin‘s American Flagg which I probably shouldn’t have been reading at the age I did.

HE: Um, I realize that I just told you my whole life story in comics so I’ll try to keep this one a little short. As a young kid I was really into funny animals and Harvey comics based on cartoons like Heathcliff, Richie Rich and Casper the Friendly Ghost. Then I was huge into Cracked and Mad and started reading Sergio Aragones’ Groo the Wanderer. In middle school/early high school it was all Batman and TMNT then somebody got me reading the Marvel X titles. I read X-Men, X-Force, X-Factor, New Mutants , Ghost Rider and Spider-Man pretty regularly. Really embarrassing time to be reading that stuff. When Image broke I read The Maxx and Pitt but found myself unable to get into WildC.A.T.S., Spawn or (God forbid) Youngblood. Gave up on Image really early on and read Sandman, Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, etc. Got all indie soon after and read Eightball, Yummy Fur, Hate, Dirty Plotte, Love and Rockets, Meatcake, Trailer Trash, Frank, Jim, etc. After that, childhood was thoroughly crushed.

DD: My favorite comics as a kid were Spider-Man, Hulk, and Superman.

EP: Anything by Matt Wagner, Nexus, The Jam, American Flagg, Zooniverse (track this down now), Love and Rockets, Zot!, Hate, Lucky Luke, Dylan Dog etc. I really could go on. haha.

Batman mock-up page by Dan Morris.

DM: Definitely Jim Lee‘s X-Men run and the three or four years after that. That was really huge for me as a kid especially since the X-Men cartoon’s character designs were all based on those first 10 or so issues of X-Men. Calvin and Hobbes was another big one as was the Far Side. Later in my youth, Dragonball Z was a huge thing for me. Akira Toriyama‘s action storytelling really blew my mind.

JDC: I started reading in the early 90′s, so of course there’s the obvious Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane comics. I loved how they drew.

TD: Daredevil (Gene Colan rules), Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, The Spirit, Crossfire, Swamp Thing, and Tales of Terror.

BS: I read stuff like X-Men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when I was younger, but I think the pinnacle moment for me was reading Maus in high school. I attended Governor School for art the summer of my Junior year, and indie comic artist Ben Towle was my professor. He introduced our class to a lot of great independent comic work, but Maus made me realize how intricate and diverse comics can be as a storytelling medium. Comics can have more meaning then simply guys with cool powers. Though that’s always fun, too!

What are some of your artistic influences?

EP: Matt Wagner, Mike Mignola, Philip Bond, Jamie Hewlett, Glyn Dillon, Hugo Pratt, Dupay & Barberiene, Nicolas De Crecy, Tezuka, Hernadez Brothers (all 3 of them), Yves Chaland, Pander Bros, Andrew Robinson, Doug Alexander Gregory, Zak Plucinski, Scott Fischer, Al Columbia, Pat McEown, Mike Allred, Kyle Baker, Dave Cooper, Eddie Campbell, Charles Burns, Gipi, D’isreali, and Lewis Trodheim. All of the Sketch Charlotte crew. Seriously, these cats are all amazing.

RB: This changes a lot. There’s a handful of comic book creators whose work is very important and influential to me. People like David Lapham, Daniel Clowes, Naoki Urasawa, Gilbert Hernandez and Cameron Stewart. But I also pull my influences from novels, films, photography and other things I come across.

TD: Egon Schiele, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri Mattisse, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Chuck Jones, Maurice Nobel, Gene Colan, Will Eisner, Klaus Janson, David Mazzuchelli, John Hubley, Lew Keller and Saul Bass.

DM: My holy trinity of artists has to be Mike Mignola, Osamu Tezuka, and Herge. Those three guys influence my work the most out of anybody.  After that Matt Wagner, Katsuhiro Otomo, Moebius, Miyazaki, The Fort Thunder guys, Los Bros. Hernandez, Chester Brown, and Shotaro Ishinomori are all really big artists to me. Those guys played a huge impact on my love and understanding of comics. Out side of comics, I really love the work of early 20th century artists like Piet Mondrian, Alexander Rodchenko and other Constructivists, and other artists that were very design and abstract oriented. I’d be remiss in not mentioning the big influence punk and indie rock have on my work. I don’t think I would be walking the path I do today artistically without that music. Finally, I want to give a shout out to three of my SCAD friends; Elena Diaz, Jon-Erik Garcia and Josh Santamaria. The four of us really kept each other going while we were all down there and I know I’m drawing the way I do now because of them. Oh and I definitely have to give a shout out to my Sketch Charlotte brethren.  Having them around has definitely made me want to up my game artistically.

Pinky and the Brain sketch by Bridgit Scheide.

BS: Vera Brosgol, Ben Towle, Mike Mignola, Doug TenNapel, Samuel Beckett, Ben Templesmith, Dave McKean, Caspar David Friedrich, Joss Whedon, Mark Brooks, Chuck Palahniuk, Gabrielle Del’Otto, Scott Campbell, Johnny Hart, and fairytales and folklore that are passed down but we no longer know the author.

DD: John Romita, Jr., Erik Larson, Todd McFarlane, and Jim Lee.

JDC: Today, that would be a wide gamut of inspiration. My friends at Sketch Charlotte definitely have some input in there because we push each other to grow as storytellers. Pros that still inspire me would include Sean Galloway, Humberto Ramos, Ryan Ottley, and Jason Howard. This list could keep growing.

HE: My stuff is a mess but I actually count some pretty talented guys as influences. Not that it’s their faults. First is Robert Crumb. I spent a lot of my life trying to get just the right sort of crosshatching that comes so naturally to Crumb. Then probably Jeffery Brown and James Kolchalka. Both these guys’ work is deceptively simple looking but actually boils down a visual narrative to its simplest and most honest components. Really helped me get over my Crumb worship. Gilbert Hernandez is a huge influence on my preference for brush inking and through his stuff I discovered Jesse Marsh. Berkeley Breathed (of Bloom County) was a big hero of mine and I used to study his strips intently as a kid. Then Raymond Pettibon is a guy I aspire to be a little like. I also wish I could ape both Sammy Harkham and especially Ted May.Both those guys are astounding.

What are you reading right now?

RB: The Passage by Justin Cronin. It’s not the kind of novel I normally read but it’s a really well-written Vampire-apocalypse novel. I’m also reading Pluto by Naoki Urasawa, among too many other comics and graphic novels to even mention.

HE: I finally read Roger Langridge’s Muppet Show stuff. Man, I should have got on that train a lot sooner. I follow Anders Nilsen’s Big Questions as they slowly come out year after year. I’ve recently read two issues of Paul Grist’s Jack Staff and enjoyed them, despite the superhero leanings. I like Ted May’s Injury comics which, I assume died with Buenaventura Press. Tales Designed to Thrizzle was pretty much designed for me and my enormous thrizzle habit. Like most snotty, pretentious people I read MOME each season, also Papercutter. I pick up Jeffery Brown’s Sulk books when they come around and read anything Dan Clowes does (sadly, didn’t love Wilson). Mostly however, I read mini comics as of late. My favorites recently have been by Joe Lambert, Matt Wiegle, Sally Bloodbath, Chuck McBuck, Joey Weiser, Josh Latta, Eleanor Davis, Julia Wertz and Anthony Clark. I also enjoy reading the comics of my fellow Sketch Charlotte alums like Herc’s Last Cigarette, Tom’s Circle City Tales, Bridgit’s Kindle and Rich’s webcomic Nathan Sorry.

JDC: Nathan Sorry, The Astounding Wolf-Man and Invincible. I don’t get a whole lot of time to read as much as I’d like to.

BP: Tons of trade paperbacks, sketchbooks and art books and anything by Darwyn Cooke, Chris Schweizer and our Sketch Charlotte members. I feel a lot more of a personal connection to their work and I like to support them any chance I get.

Dracula sketch Rich Barrett did at the Union County Library Mini-Con.

DD: G.I. Joe, Incredible Hulk, all the Star Wars books.

EP: I read a lot of the Vertigo, Image and Fantagraphics books. Of course all the books by the creators I listed in my answer to te previous questions. All the Hellboy books. Rasl has been real good too.

DM: Right now I just finished reading two graphic novels: Hope Larson‘s Mercury and Doug Tenepal‘s Ghostopolis (which was lent to me by fellow Sketch Charlotte member Bridgit Scheide). I really enjoyed both and I think that Mercury is definitely one of the best comics I’ve read so far this year. Another graphic novel I read recently was this Marshall Law book that Henry recommended. I was really surprised how much I liked it and now I really want that Marshall Law Omnibus that Top Shelf has. I’m really excited for the ending of Brandon Graham‘s excellent King City though also saddened that it’s ending but hopefully Graham’s new Multiple Warheadz series will start before the end of the year. I’m knee deep in the middle of Naoki Urasawa‘s 20th Century Boys. Urasawa is easily one of the best storytellers that the world has right now and his comics are essential reading for me. I was also reading his series Billy Bat but uh now that a certain website is down, I have to find somewhere else to read it. Also have been reading The Best of the Spirit by Will Eisner, which I originally bought for use in a class but it’s been really entertaining to say the least.

TD: Asterios Polyp, Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Sweet Tooth, The Muppet Show Comic Book and Scooby Doo.

BS: I just got finished reading Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel. It is the most beautiful graphic novel I’ve read yet. He is quickly becoming a huge influence to me. His storytelling is extremely smart, and the creativity behind his character selection is so imaginative. It’s so amazing how cohesive his stories are – his imagination and intention are so astonishingly linked. I laughed and cried throughout that story – never done that with a graphic novel before. (With the exception of the tears I shed for Rorschach during his “What are you waiting for?!” moment at the end of Watchmen.)

Stay tuned for Part Three of the Sketch Charlotte Interview!

Unused panel from Eraklis Petmezas's Last Cigarette story.

Rich Barrett (RB), John Da Costa (JDC), Tom Davidson (TD), Derek Davis (DD), Henry Eudy (HE), Dan Morris (DM), Brandon Padgett (BP), Eraklis “Herc” Petmezas (EP) and Bridgit Scheide (BS) are all members of a local artist collective called Sketch Charlotte. I set out to get to know the group and the members a little better by sending out a questionnaire and the response I got was overwhelming! So overwhelming that I am breaking the interview into three parts that I will post throughout the week. This first part gives a general history and purpose of the group. Stay tuned for the next part where we get to know the members a little better!

What is Sketch Charlotte?

RB: Sketch Charlotte is the brainchild of Eraklis Petmezas. It started with him, myself and Tom Davidson about 5 years ago and has now grown into a group of about 15. It’s a pretty loosely organized meet-up group where local artists (as well as writers, photographers, designers and anyone else really) can get together and draw and talk about art and stuff. It’s got a definite focus on comics and cartooning but not all our members are necessarily aspiring comic book artists.

EP: Sketch Charlotte is a group of local artists, writers, designers and like minded individuals that meets weekly to draw and discuss all types of art. It’s been a great springboard for ideas.

JDC: First and foremost, Sketch Charlotte is awesome!
 But we’re also a collection of artists/illustrators/writers/perpetrators of general misfit in the Charlotte area.

TD: It’s a laughing, friendly group of people who love comics and cartooning, who love to draw and who love to get together with like-minded nerds to share stories and good times.

DM: Basically a loose group of individuals who all draw comics in some for or another.  Or alternately a bunch of lunatics that meet up at Showmars every week, heckle each other, and make plans to corrupt the young and innocent.  Mostly though it’s a meet up to draw.

BP: A, now weekly, art group that gets together to discuss not only art and comics but other cultural influences such as movies, music, photography, literature and computers. There’s really nothing off limits. Artists and non-artists alike gather to share their thoughts and ideas in a stimulating environment.

BS: Sketch Charlotte is an awesome chance to get involved with other local comic book artists in Charlotte. It provides encouragement from people who really care about what you’re drawing next. And it’s so much fun! If you’re quiet and tend to zone out that’s cool, but generally there is a lot of laughter from around the table. Everyone there has a really great sense of humor and it’s always a great time!

Page from Henry Eudy's sketchbook.

HE: Oh man, the hard questions right off the bat, geez. Um, well, Sketch Charlotte is a loose little confederation of creative types who pal up once a week or so to draw in sketchbooks, eat pita burgers and talk endlessly about comics, music, art, sasquatches, the films of Tim Burton (even the bad ones), fringe stuff and popular culture at large. The group is primarily people with a firm interest in comics and a good many of us are comics creators of one form or another. We spend a few hours each week drawing with one another, showing off our work and getting feedback from our peers in the group. We talk about our plans, our aspirations, our fears and how we can’t draw feet convincingly. We take inspiration and support from our Sketch Charlotte brethren and hopefully give that inspiration and support right back. We’re cool dudes, and that’s what’s important.

Who is responsible for forming Sketch Charlotte?

HE: Big Daddy Herc is the man responsible for creating our beloved little club. Rumor has it that he was once just a meek goat herder, watching over his flock in the rocky Greek highlands, drinking Ouzo and listening to Fugazi on his Sony Walkman. Then one day he spied a bearded Jackalope caught in some brambles. Herc knew right away that this was the mighty god Zeus out on one of his mighty benders and he quickly and expertly freed the deity, making sure to rub the creature’s belly three times so as to be granted three magical wishes. For his first wish, he wished for a Sony Discman, because it was, like, 2004 and the Walkman just wasn’t cutting it. Next he hoped to have a pair of Adidas high tops, so the old school Greek rappers would finally show him respect. And lastly he wished to be teleported to Charlotte, North Carolina where he could create a club devoted to drawing and Greek cuisine. Thus, Sketch Charlotte was born.

So then Herc, what made you decide to form a group like this?

EP: When my wife and I first moved here, over five years ago, we wanted to start a group so that we could meet other local artists. We were hoping it would help push us to continue to be creative. As an artist sometime you work by yourself so often that it’s nice to have other artists around to critique your work. That year I set up at HeroesCon and passed out fliers to anyone that seemed interested. I believe our first meeting was around four or five people: Tom, Rich, Tess, and I. Now we have over fifteen people that come on and off. Everyone helps out with different aspects of the group. It’s way more of a partnership then anything.

John Da Costa's offering for a recent Sketchercise.

What made you decide to join Sketch Charlotte?

HE: I was wasting away here in the arid cultural desert of Charlotte. I mean, I knew I was a genius, but I really needed other people to confirm and expand upon that assertion. I drew and drew in my sketchbooks, filling them up cover to cover. But it was lonely and unrewarding work with no pals around to share my inky toils with. I had met Tom Davidson at the 2009 HeroesCon and he had invited me to come by and join the group. I checked out the Sketch Charlotte website from time to time but didn’t actually manage to make it to a meeting until February of this year. That first meeting was a revelation to me. I had no idea there were so many smart, talented, super nice people here in my own sleepy town. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. We all hung out and talked and drew and I suddenly knew this was just what I needed in my life. I had tried going to figure drawing groups and taken art classes at CPCC in the past seeking out the kind of creative fraternity that exists so freely and easily within the Sketch Charlotte collective. There are no big egos here to contend with, there’s no judgment on the work you produce or pressure to produce work at all. It’s like-minded people getting together and just enjoying the process of making and appreciating art in whatever form it may present itself. As I said before, really cool dudes.

Sketch from Rich Barrett.

JDC: Herc wanted to start a group where local creators could get together, jam, talk comics and mostly just have a spring board for inspiration. I met him a few weeks before HeroesCon, and he invited me to a new group he was starting up, so I just went and had a blast.

BP: I needed a creative outlet and the motivation to keep drawing. Everyone in the group brings so many different things to the table and are very supportive of what you’re trying to do artistically. Makes it easy to keep showing up!

DM: I had just graduated college this past spring from Savannah College of Art and Design with a degree in Sequential Art and there was unsurprisingly a tight knit community of comics making people there.  When I got back here I was hoping that there was at least one or two people who drew comics here.  I was really fortunate to run into Henry Eudy, who had been following me on twitter (and vice versa), and some of the other guys from Sketch Charlotte at this past HeroesCon.  We talked and I was like “Man I really need to go to Sketch Charlotte!” after the meeting.  So I’ve been going ever since because it’s great to have a large group of people who make comics and are interested in making comics in your hometown.

TD: I have always felt I was a lone nerd, making my own comics and stories, here in Charlotte until I met Herc. 
I was sitting beside him at my first HeroesCon back in 2007.

RB: Being a creative person in Charlotte requires you to seek out other creative and like-minded people. Especially when you narrow the focus even further from “creative people in Charlotte” to “creative people in Charlotte interested in cartooning and creating their own comic books” the number of people gets a lot smaller so you really have to seek those people out. Sketch Charlotte has made that a lot easier. When I moved down here from New York I was seriously missing being able to hang out with other artists so I jumped at the chance to do something like this.

Sketch Charlotte has started doing a new drawing exercise. Explain Sketchercise.

BS: Sketchercise is a weekly assignment that everyone has a chance to participate in. It’s basically the personal artistic interpretation of a specific theme. Like, one of my recent favorites was an Archie theme that had to include only certain characters. Even though the theme might not be something everyone is super familiar with, it’s cool because you’re kind of forced to think outside of the box. (Or just be lazy and not do it, haha!)

Page from Tom Davidson's sketchbook.

TD: For those who need an extra creative push or are having trouble thinking of something to draw other than what they’re comfortable with, this exercise is for them.

BP: I brought the suggestion of a weekly sketch theme to the group and they ran with it! Henry Eudy came up with the title in jest and it stuck, especially after he illustrated it!

HE: Sketchercise is the brainchild of Brandon Padgett and was given its awful name by yours truly. (I fully expect it to hunt me down for retribution some day, much like A Boy Named Sue.) It’s something we’ve been trying out the last several weeks where a subject is selected by one member of the group and we all go out into the world and draw up our own variations on that theme. Thus far we have collectively drawn images of our favorite comic strip characters, done a triptych of Archie characters and tried our hands at the wide world of Mike Mignola’s Hellboy. The results have, truthfully, been spectacular. Looking at the Sketchercises, you can really see the potency of creative talent harnessed by this group. We’re doing much more than just borrowing imagery from established sources, our members are taking those characters and ideas and forging them into new and crazy creations. It’s a manifesto to the world, oh yes.

EP: Sketchercise is the brainchild of Brandon Padgett. He wanted us to have a themed “homework” assignment. Henry Eudy came up with the name and corresponding art piece. We all switch off coming up with topics to draw. Although, I’ve yet to participate. Yikes!

Stay tuned for Part Two of the Sketch Charlotte Interview!

What made you decide to join Sketch Charlotte?

It is official! The HeroesCon 2011 Guest List is up! With OVER 50 guests already confirmed HeroesCon 2011 is going to be crazy awesome. While the Guest List is pretty impressive now you just wait for what we have in store. It is bound to be a gigantically long list by the time Spring of 2011 rolls around.

The initial guest list is chock full of some of the best the comics industry has to offer. Trust me on that. When I updated the website I checked all the links to the creator’s websites and I came across some of the most incredible comic art out there today. Just look at some of the names we’ve got, Mike Perkins, Steve Niles, Sean Chen, Phil Noto, Adam Hughes, Allison Sohn, Brian Stelfreeze, Stephane Roux, Tim Townsend, Jonboy Meyers, Sean “Cheeks” Galloway, Jason Latour, Chris Brunner, Andy Smith, Budd Root, Tony Harris, Bernard Chang, Eric Canete, Dave Johnson, Steve Scott, Dexter Vines, and Cully Hamner! Go check out the full list to see just how awesome it is. And while you are there click on some of the links to our guests’ websites and you too can marvel at how talented these creators are!

Plus, we are very excited to announce Butch Guice‘s return to HeroesCon! He is a North Carolina native and a HeroesCon alum from way back to the very first one in 1982. The last time time he was at the show was when he helped kill off Superman! We sure are glad he has decided to join us for next year’s show!

And, we are super pumped to add Jeff Lemire to our Indie Island Guest List! Lemire is the creator of the Essex County Trilogy and is currently writing Sweet Tooth and The Atom co-feature in Adventure Comics. If that weren’t enough, in this month’s issue of Previews it was just announced that he will be writing the new ongoing Superboy series.

Speaking of Indie Island, our Indie Island Guest List is up too! We’ve got an awesome guest list already but it is just a grain of sand compared to the beach that it will become! We are proud to announce Indie Island regulars (which is almost the whole list!) Shannon Smith, Chris Schweizer, Jim Rugg, Liz Baillie, Joey Weiser, Joe Lambert, Ben Towle, Andy Runton and Rob Ullman, publishers AdHouse Books and Top Shelf Productions, as well as internet sensation Becky and Frank from Tiny Kitten Teeth! That’s not even the full list! Check out the Indie Island page to view the whole list in all of its glory!

I think the only thing that remains to be said is, have you bought your tickets yet?

Don’t forget that the next Heroes Discussion Group is this Saturday afternoon August 28^th at 4:00pm. We will be discussing Scott Pilgrim Volume 6 Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour by Bryan Lee O’Malley.

The primary focus of the discussion will be the sixth and final volume of the series but we will also discuss the previous volumes. It is recommended but not required that you be familiar with the entire series.

We plan on talking in depth about the storyline, pacing and character development and examine why this series has turned into such a phenomenon. We will likely discuss the film adaptation, Scott Pilgrim Versus the World comparing the comic series to the movie.

Scott Pilgrim Volume 6 Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour is available at Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find with a special 10% Discussion Group Discount; but be sure to mention the discount when you check out!

We hope you will be able to make it to what will surely be an exciting discussion group!

Saturday is the first ever International Read Comics in Public Day! And from the response it has been getting this will be the first of many. Brian Heater and Sarah Morean of The Daily Cross Hatch are the brains behind this event which, through no coincidence, is the same day as Jack Kirby‘s birthday. They are organizing it as a way to bring attention to comics as a legitimate form of literature and to encourage comic readership.

They are doing a heck of a job promoting it using their blog and social networking sites, like Facebook. They even have downloadable posters on their website. The story is getting coverage from all over.  NPR ran a story, as did The Beat.  I especially like how they are reaching out to libraries and not just comic book stores.

If you want to participate just read a comic outdoors and have a friend take a picture of you then send it to readcomicsinpublic@gmail.com. And if you tweet about the event don’t forget to use the approved hashtag: #readcomicsinpublic.

What comic will you read in public?

Shelton Drum and Shawn Daughhetee will be heading to Maryland for the Baltimore Comic-Con August 28 and 29! You can find them at the Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find booth selling comics and promoting HeroesCon 2011! Baltimore Comic-Con is one of our favorite conventions to go to because, like Heroes-Con, the focus is on comics.

Shelton has been expanding the convention stock for your comics purchasing pleasure. He has beefed up the Marvel Silver Age selection considerably. And if that weren’t enough we have a quality selection of books from the 40′s and 50′s in ALL genres. That’s reason enough to make the trek to Baltimore!

But if you need more reasons you should check out their Guest list. It is crazy impressive! The lists for Artist Alley guests and Retailers are substantial as well. It is guaranteed to be a fun weekend full of comics and Shelton and Shawn are excited to attend!

Also, a special congratulations to show owner, Marc Nathan, and his wife, Shelly! Click the link to read the press release that includes the newest addition to the guest list, their baby boy, Reese Aaron. We are happy to hear that mommy and baby are doing well!

Baltimore Comic-Con
August 28-29, 2010
10-6 on Sat. and 10-5 on Sun.
Baltimore Convention Center
1 West Pratt St
Baltimore, Maryland 21201

On sale today is Madame Xanadu #26 which features interior art by Charlotte’s own Chrissie Zullo! This issue is written by Matt Wagner with cover art by Mark Buckingham and is the third part of the Extra Sensory storyline and focuses on the sense of smell. The first five parts of this story arc are written by Wagner with art by five different artists (in addition to Zullo, Marley Zarcone, Laurenn McCubbin, Celia Calle and Marian Churchland) and they center around the five senses, but the sixth and final part of this storyline will bring back Amy Reeder and Richard Friend where they will delve into the sixth sense.

Zullo is best known for her Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love covers and this issue of Madame Xanadu is her first published sequential artwork. Her process is pretty incredible. She first paints in black and white then she photographs the work using a high resolution camera (or scans it at a high resolution) then so uploads the image onto her computer where finally she digitally colors it. And if that weren’t enough, for her cover work she often paints the initial image on wood! She is an extremely talented artist. Go check out her art blog for examples of her amazing work!

Also, Chrissie will be signing copies of Madame Xanadu and doing sketches today at Rebel Base Comics and Toys from noon to 6 pm. Stop by and support one of Charlotte’s artists!

We are happy to announce that this Saturday, August 21 from noon to 4 pm we will be hosting Michael Keller, one of the artists for Sky Pirates of Valendor! He will be in the store to promote Sky Pirates of Valendor being solicited in the August issue of Previews (page 284 to be exact). Everyone who orders a copy will receive an original sketch from Keller! He will also have an anthology of short stories available for purchase. It is only $5 and it is a great introduction to the Valendor world. Come by and make him feel welcome! Also, you can join their Facebook Group!

Looking for an excuse to travel to Raleigh on Sunday, August 22? Do you already live in Raleigh and want an excuse to get out of the house? Well, look no further than the Raleigh Comic Book Show! Shelton Drum will be there selling his wares at the Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find table! Sounds like it is a fun show and a good place to dig around for some deals. Plus, admission is FREE!

Raleigh Comic Book Show
August 22, 2010
10 am to 4 pm
Holiday Inn Crabtree
4100 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27612

De’Angelo Dia will perform at the McColl Center Friday, August 20 as part of the Closing Reception for current Artists in Residence. Dia’s work explores stereotypes of race and gender using photography and performance. It is difficult to describe his complex body of work. I highly recommended you go and see his work for yourself and draw your own conclusions about what his work means. I must admit, we have some incredibly talented customers.

The McColl Center
721 N. Tryon St.
Charlotte, NC 28202

The Closing Reception will be from 6 to 9 pm and Dia’s performance, Negritude Movement, will begin at 7:15 pm.