Wizard World Philly. KNEEL.
Animazement. Commuting distance to El Dorado.
(Oh, like you don’t want me to want to go to Spain the cosplayers’ blog.)
Just wanted to let you know what’s going on with life and comic updates. We’re in the middle of a lot of big things (positive and negative) right now and it’s ground our updates to a halt, but it means a lot to me that so many of you are sticking by us even in this trying time. Thank you so very much.
Click the link, we want to share with you our lives!
Art card set based on Marvel’s The Avengers by K-Bo. Thanks for lookin’! ^_^
Bringing these to Animazement in Raleigh, NC this weekend! Perhaps we shall see you in the artist alley?
Submitted for your approval: Phil Coulson and a bunch of his Cap cards.
—Raw Kevin Bolk Avengers art cards fresh from the printer, pre-cut. Gotta get ready for Animazement this weekend!
WE HAVE BEEN INVITED AS GUESTS FOR ANIMENEXT ON JUNE 8 -10!!
We’re rolling off to New Jersey that weekend, so look for oodles of our panels in the programming schedule! Kevin’s been working on some brand new art that’s sure to please and he will be available for commission. Hope we see you there, because it’s going to be a blast!
If you can’t join us in New Jersey, we will be going to a handful of other conventions starting on May 25. We won’t have panels at any of these, but we will bring all our art and books. Kevin will also be open for commissions—so come by early to book a spot on his list for the weekend!
- We’re a week away from ANIMAZEMENT in Raleigh, NC on May 25 - 27
- You can see us at WIZARD WORLD PHILLY in Philadelphia, PA on June 1 - 3.
- You could find us at ANIME MID-ATLANTIC on June 15 -17.
*gibbering with pride* Lookit our Kevie!
He just keeps getting love for this piece. George Takei posted about it on Facebook yesterday and when the art first went live, MTV, Cracked.com, the UK’s The Guardian, Comics Alliance, Bleeding Cool, the Daily Dot, and a slew of other blogs and news sites all posted about it, too!
Thank you so much to folks who spread this around. We’re glad you liked it enough to share.
(And a basket of hypoallergenic chocolate glitter kittens for everyone who linked back. That’s the best thing in the world you can do for an artist. Kevin and I really appreciate it!)
BIRTHDAY
Yay its my birthday!
Happy Birthday, Mr. M! I didn’t know your birthday was so close to mine & Kevin’s! Hope today is awesome for you!
The Avengers opens in theaters in the US on May 4th, and it’s going to do blockbuster business. The individual films featuring these characters have already grossed more than $2.2 billion dollars - that’s greater than the Gross National Product of almost half the countries on Earth - and it’s not unlikely that The Avengers will earn a hundred million dollars on its opening day alone.
This represents a pretty big payday to a lot of people - the actors, obviously, will take home pretty big paychecks. The director and the writers are well-compensated, and certainly the executives who greenlighted this project get to sit back and rake in large bonuses and healthy salaries.
Well, you know where this is going; shamefully, the people who aren’t making a big profit from these movies are the people (and the families of the people) who did the essential work of creating them in the first place. It’s not just Jack Kirby, either, or (Black Widow and Hawkeye co-creator) Don Heck, but also Steve Engelhart, Peter David, Herb Trimpe, Jim Steranko, Roy Thomas and dozens more - the artists and writers who refined and defined the characters appearing in this movie, who fleshed out the original creations and molded them into the figures we cheer for when we see them on the screen.
Some very sensible people are calling for a boycott of this film on those grounds, but I think it’s fairly obvious that a boycott of idealistic comic fans isn’t going to accomplish much - it’s not only comic book fans who’ll be dropping a collective billion dollars over the next eight weeks to see this movie, it’s going to be a lot of movie-goers who haven’t read a comic since they were kids, much less know anything of the controversy.
Plus, of course, you - the collective “you”, representing comic book fans all over the world - want to see this movie. And you’re going to, most likely, right? Even though you know of the morally shady practices of Marvel towards its creators, they’ve got you hooked. Don’t be ashamed, they’ve had you hooked for years. It’s what they do.
So how about this: You’re probably going to go see The Avengers and, judging by the early reviews, you’ll probably enjoy it. How about - as a thank you to the creators who brought you these characters in the first place, who gave you something to enjoy so much - you match your ticket price as a donation to The Hero Initiative?
THI is a charity which provides essential financial assistance to comic book professionals who have fallen on hard times; for decades, the comic industry provided no financial safety net to its employees, most of whom it regarded only as freelancers and journeymen, meaning they were offered no health insurance, no unemployment insurance, no retirement plans - none of the financial support most of us enjoy from our jobs and careers. A small donation will help this agency provide a valuable safety net in times of need to these beloved entertainers.
I don’t plan on seeing The Avengers, but I’ve donated $15 - the price of a 3-D ticket - to Hero. If every concerned comic fan - every superhero aficionado who learned to live by the lessons of altruism and sacrifice taught by these comics - donated the price of their ticket, well, it may not hit a billion dollars but it’ll bring in a lot of money for a good and relevant cause.
One last note: Remember what Spider-Man always says? “With great power comes great responsibility”. The lesson in that is that everyone has great power. Spider-Man’s great power is being able to lift a bus. Your great power is the ability to help good causes do good work for good reasons - so why not go be a superhero instead of just watching them on the screen…
(PS: “Liking” this post is nice, thank you, but reblogging/retweeting it helps get the message out and would be even more appreciated)
The Hero Initiative is important. They provide emergency financial assistance for retired artists. Donations help elderly comics artists afford medical procedures, avoid evictions, and keep the lights on.
We all know most artists weren’t paid what they were worth in their working years. Now they’re on fixed incomes based on their low working wages. An unexpectedly large bill can wreck their quality of life. These folks worked passionately in an industry without a net or plan in place to help aging talent retire with dignity.
Kevin and I will match our ticket prices. If you can help, please do. Even if you can’t, please reblog.
I’ve been making rainbow scarves for years. Whenever “Nyancat” got really popular, I got swarms of requests to make a scarf of it. I resisted for a long time and then finally said, “What the heck”.
The scarf measures 6ft long from Kitty head to rainbow end and is made with cotton/acrylic blend yarn. The kitty wraps around the scarf, so it is solid on both sides(note that it does not have the detailing on both sides, just one. It is not a twofaced!Kitty)
I had a lot of fun making it. I will not be listing these on my site, however I *AM* accepting commissions for them. Feel free to message me if you are interested in one.
Thanks and remember to Nyanyanya forever!
Squee. I know this lady. I have held this scarf. You should totally own one.
One of the games we devised for the T-Mode Birthday party was something we called “Old Queen Beryl”. Essentially, it was a mix of the card game “Old Maid”, musical chairs, and Sailor Moon. We had 2-3 decks of playing cards and mixed into them two cards that were stickered with one of these:
…
Party game from last weekend’s Birthday Party at T-MODE!
Some of you already know, but my boyfriend is currently working on the prologue for his comic, “Mastery”, a modern day fantasy/science fiction.
This is his latest picture, featuring some of the characters from the story. We’re hoping to have the prologue in printed form for at least one show this year, (I’m hoping for Otakon, we’ll see what happens xD ) to help advertise it.
Expect random pictures like this to occasionally pop up on here. While I am biased, I also think he is very talented and has a wonderful story to share with people.
Thanks for looking and if you like his style, please check out his Deviantart :D
/endshamelessplug
Reblogging for awesome Aaron. Which should be his legal name. Go check out his stuffs!
Kevin and I wanted to thank everyone who came to our party yesterday. We had an amazing time and we hope you did too!
kevinbolk:
Captioning random Sailor Moon stuff for a game we’ll be playing at the T-Mode/Interrobang Birthday party this weekend. More details later. ;D
PARTY 3pm-5pm at the HILTON ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND at T-MODE (tournament mode! a Video Gaming and Anime Convention). … I’m so excited about this, I could just plotz!
Be there or be a rhomboid thingie.
