Minneapolis Indie Xpo!

Minneapolis Indie Xpo is happening on August 21st at the Soap Factory in Minneapolis! Come and see me IRL, and see some neat comics!

So this upcoming Saturday is Minneapolis Indie Xpo (MIX). I've got table space, and I'll be selling some mini-comics, a board game, and possibly a music CD. And a slew of prints. It's going to be pretty awesome.

The following is a selection of what I'll be selling. I do plan on adding some prints to the collection, and if I'm lucky, a quick mini or two. So enjoy this preview:



Remember when I had a series of LEGO Mans on this blog? These three minis are collections of these, plus a special non-internet one. Has a full colour cover.


Childhood trauma and drama set against used video game retail.


The silly little comic about solving your problems.


The Burrowed: a story told in pieces of how a monster causes a war in a small rural town.



Back Pages: the journey of self-promotion in a cold and heartless world; collection of my comics I used to advertise my website though a local weekly newspaper.



A linoleum-block printed comic of the reviving effects of art after personal turmoil. Each cover features a unique paper as its cover.



Some old comics from my college days. Not the highest of caliber of my comic work, but hey, someone might be interested. Basically a back-up...



I'm selling an actual board game that I constructed and designed. It's called Hush Fund, and it's like playing Monopoly with nothing but Chance Cards. I've only got ten copies... I'll have a sign-up sheet if anyone's interested, and I've run out...


A shot of what I've got so far...

Whew! That's a lot! So come to MIX! It'll be a hoot!

TTYL!

Minneapolis Indie Expo

I'm going to be a part of this! It's going to be awesome. Click on the above graphic, and check out the website! See when it's going on, where it's going on, and who's going on in it!



I've been preparing some comics, prints, and even a board game for this event, and last night, I went to the 24-Hour Kinko's on the corner (sort of) of Snelling and Grand Avenues. Here's what I learned:

1) You CAN make a very decent photocopier print on Jack Richardson brand newsprint, as long as it's cut to the appropriate dimensions.

2) Said newsprint can also be photocopy printed double-sided, with very little (if any) bleed.

3) One photocopy costs 10 cents. But for some weird reason, Kinko's/FedEx decided to add sales tax, so on photocopy is actually 11 cents. I find this perplexing and very strange that they'd insist on that extra cent...

4) Kinko's does not provide dark markers. They offer every other office supply under the sun, but if you need a Sharpie, better hope the staff has one of their own that they'd let you borrow! (Thanks to cute lady at Kinko's)



This week's City Pages comic. I'm not sure if I'm going to re-up for another year, but it has been fun.
OHOHOHOH! One of the comics I'm doing for MIX is going to include all of the City Pages comics. "But Steve! You provide them for free on your website! Why should I drop a dollar or two and buy a printed copy?" Because there's going to be an exclusive bit of content, that's why!

TTYL!

Rogaria in City Pages/Prom Night

Last week was CityPages' Best of the Twin Cities issue. Easily the best issue of the year, with a glossy cover (the rest of the year, the cover is printed on newsprint), it's chuck-full of reviews for things like "Best Hot Dog," or "Best Place To Go On First Date."
So to celebrate, and as a shout out to some friends, I asked this one be on the back. A nice little reference to Rogaria, a fictional country that Orkestar Bez Ime comes from.



Last Saturday was the Lake Champlain Senior Prom. I was hired to do some caricature for the night, and this couple was the last of the evening. Good luck you two!

TTYL!

A slew of black and white

© Steve Robbins, 2010

We're selling screen tones at Wet Paint. I've been playing around with these things, and there's going to be something interesting connecting me and these screen tones next week. It's obsolete technology, since it's pretty easy to use Photoshop, but that's sort of the point. It's raw, real, and retro.



This one is also using screen tones. For these two pieces, I've used CB349, CB333, CB322, and CB305. It's been fun trying these out. Also? A political message that can be used ANYtime politicians try to convince us they're up for bipartisanship!




This weeks and last weeks City Pages back-pages comics.



I cannot believe I forgot to post this on this blog! I did this comic for AZIA, a neat Asian-fusion restaurant with a wide-range of saké and sushi. It's on the back cover of the program for The Brave New Workshop, an improv theatre. Senator Al Franken cut a lot of teeth there before he wrote for Saturday Night Live!

TTYL!

Eat, Die, and Live!

Last week's City Pages comic- the last of the Doctor Abner comics... for now...

(for the astute, there was a little bit of animation in this post. Originally. But I've taken it down because I'm making a post that'll be more on point.)

TTYL!

Eat Cycle

This week's City Pages Back Page Comic... Part two of a limited series featuring Docto Abner.

(for the astute, there was a little bit of animation in this post. Originally. But I've taken it down because I'm making a post that'll be more on point.)

TTYL!

Painting two more

This week's back-page comic ad for my website in the Twin City's own City Pages. Keep your eyes peeled!





I've been painting a lot more than I've ever had since high school. Actual painting, not digital painting. So there are some new ones that I've started tonight/yesterday. The top one is an eventual self-portrait of sorts, and the bottom one is inspired by an Isaac Asimov short-story, "The Last Question." There's a third canvas ready to go, but I'll wait a few before I start on that one, too.



I finished the Gorilla painting tonight. I've decided to title it: "iGorilla."



I don't know who made this image, but I get a real kick out of it. So whomever did this, salut!

TTYL!

City Pages and Gorilla Painting

This week's City Pages back-page comic... Snowmen behaving badly...



The Gorilla painting is coming to an end I think. I'm pleased how he's looking so far.



I don't think I posted this; it's a video for Foot In The Door (see previous post), and I appear about 1:26 minutes into it. Enjoy!

TTYL!

Block Prints and Foot in Mouth (I mean In The Door!)

This week's comic in the back page of City Pages, the Twin Cities most popular alt-weekly. Fun stuff!



My friend Heather asked me to teach her how to lino-block print, so I brought over my cutter and some linoleum, and we spent the evening working on art. This was one of the two prints I made.



I of course, have been using this Essdee Baren kit. It's pretty neat. Heather used the Speedball kit. Traditional and reliable, but doesn't include the neat baren with it!



The purpose was for her to make her valentine's day cards, so following suite, I made one of my own.



Minneapolis Institute of Art is putting on their once-every-ten-(10)-years show, called Foot In The Door. It was created to show off Minnesota Artists, and allow many to put on their resumes that they've had exhibition experience at a major metropolitan art museum. You read that first sentence right, it only happens every 10 years.



I didn't have time to take a proper scan or better photo, but this is my submission. Seeing as there's about 4500+ pieces going up this show, I figure giving you an idea of what it looks like will be helpful.

TTYL!

City Pages and AZIA

Remember last year when I advertised my website on the back page of City Pages, the Twin Cities alternative weekly newspaper? Well, I had to stop for economic reasons, but now, I've decided to continue. Hopefully it'll be helpful!
(This one here ties in nicely to LOST-Cram '10!)(Speaking of which, check out my friend Heather's blog for some great DHARMA cakes she made for a LOST party I hosted for the February 2nd premiere.



A bit of freelance came my way in a very serendipitous way, and eventually I'll post it here (I'm waiting for it to have been printed before posting). In the meantime, here's Thom Pham, the owner and chef at AZIA, a terrific pan-Asian cuisine restaurant in Minneapolis. I'm pleased how this looks!



I'm still working on the Linendoll's Beer portfolio piece. Until then, here's another bit to tempt you with!

TTYL!

Last week's mini- this week's City Pages has glossy covers which make the picture oh-so-much clearer.

I've mostly been working on Hud and self-promotional material, and adjusting to an upset in living quarters. There was a major thing that happened, and a contract is going to be re-written for another project.

TTYL!

City Pages, Week 3, + some other news

Here's last week's Citypages update.

I've been dealing with some personal issues, so work on the Hudson Book and Junkyard Empire cover has gone slowly. But I'm hoping to get some more Hud book done this week, and the JE cover is getting closer and closer every time I talk to them.

Working at J's has been toughening my skin, and introducing me to some of the more tragic parts of humanity. All the lies, deception, alcoholism, light racism, dealing with my own prejudices on agism, and some really confusing management choices.

But on a different note, I've got another job working at Linders (Larpenteur Avenue between Rice and Dale, Saint Paul). I'll be working as a cashier, and being in a place with sunshine, fresh scents, and the educational opportunities to learn more about horticulture, other than going to the MN State Fair.



Nikki's cousin turned 6 recently, so I made her this card to go along with some teeshirts Nikki bought her at the Como Zoo.

TTYL!

City Pages

If you live in the Twin Cites and surrounding metro, you're probably aware of City Pages, a free weekly arts/news/ad newpaper, found virtually every where. I bought some ad space for a year, and minis, like the one above, are going to be printed on the back-page bulletin board. Keep in mind, this is advertising, and I'm not going to try to claim a published credit out of it. I'm hoping that if you see it, you've seen my website, and by extension, this blog.



Grover's Mom is coming soon- I need to compress the files to reasonable web-safe sizes, and do some advertising on the usual social network sites. But soon!

I've been dying to show off somethings I've been working on for Junkyard Empire. Pretty soon I can, or at least some of the creative process that's been leading toward the project.



This is an exciting project. Go here to whet your appetite.

TTYL!