On The Slate - 7/30/10

Spent today working on a few commissions that I brought home from San Diego Comic-Con, including Kilowog of The Green Lantern Corps and Power Girl. Heroes ahoy!

From Oakland, with love...
- King Gum.

Comic-Con Week Is Here!

This is it! At last, Comic-Con International is upon us! 'll be set up in Artists Alley (AA-15), with my brand new, limited edition sketchbook, JARFACE. It's 28 pages of fine art explosions in ink, paint, blood and sweat. Each book features an original drawing on the first page, is signed & numbered and comes in its own little bag. Neat!

I'm also debuting a Comic-Con Exclusive Sketch Card, that can be purchased or comes free with a purchase of $20. And, of course, I'll have my catalog of books from IDW Publishing and Image Comics. I'll also have original paintings and comic pages available for sale. Fantastico!

I'll also be doing a signing with the talented batch of miscreants at The Zombie Defense Network booth (#433), Friday 9-11am. I've got an exciting giveaway planned for the first 10 visitors, so don't sleep. You know you love free stuff!

So come visit me and mi amigos Food One and Mike Huddleston, in Artists' Alley. We'll be the weirdos, splattering paint all over, smoking cigars indoors, and chatting up the ladies. Bring us gifts of booze and hallucinogenic food, and we'll make you official members of our secret society!

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2010
@ The San Diego Convention Center
Wed 7/21 - Preview Night - 6pm - 9pm
Thurs 7/22 - Sat 7/24 - 9:30am - 7pm
Sun 7/25 - 9:30am - 5pm

David Crosland/Hiredmeat.com - Artists' Alley #AA-15
*signing at the Zombie Defense Network booth (#433)
on Fri 7/23 @ 9:00am to 10:30am*

R.I.P. Princess / 2008 - 2010

(OAKLAND, CA) An early morning sketching session quickly turned to tragedy, after an apparent cartridge jam lead to the death of a young brush pen. Princess was an inking trailblazer at the studios of Hiredmeat. Her passing comes as a shock to their entire community of creative tools. Coworker and local man, Redd (a green Sharpie marker), says of Princess, "She was so full of life. That pen always came to work with a smile on her face."

Misfortune struck The S.S. Helen (home of Hiredmeat) amid a spontaneous 5am sketch session. During a routine refill replacement, Princess' ink cartridge became jammed. She was immediately rushed into emergency surgery. Though the device was successfully removed, the incident triggered complications from an injury Princess received in a skiing accident, earlier this year. Those complications proved to be more than she could take. Princess slipped away peacefully, at 6:18am, surrounded by close friends, colleagues, and loved ones.

Princess is most known for her 2008 debut on the Hiredmeat Team, when her graceful strokes and dry brush textures wowed us on Everybody's DEAD (IDW Publishing). For two years with Hiredmeat, Princess was a constant "go-to" girl, and was regularly called upon for sketches, drawings, and touch-ups. Her death comes just days before Comic-Con International 2010.

"I'm beside myself. We all are," states Dave Crosland, CEO & King Gum of Hiredmeat. "Just before we started working on her last drawings, Princess and I were laughing about how much fun we were going to have, in San Diego. It's going to be hard doing the show without her. But we're all going to push on and make it our best Comic-Con yet. That's what Princess would want us to do."

On The Slate / 7.16.10

Now that I have a sexy digital camera, I can start sharing work that I have "On The Slate." I've been drawing a lot of art for projects that won't see the light of print for months. While I can't show you full-on scans, I CAN give you little sneaky peekies, via snapshots of the art as it gets worked-over on my drafting table.

IN THIS POST: These are character designs and penciled panels from an 8-page short I'm doing for BOOM! Studios' CBGB comics anthology. I'm collaborating with writer R. Eric Lieb, and it's a lot of fun. All I can say is: sci-fi meets punk rock. Zoinks!

Hey, they can't all be Comic-Con posts...
- Dave

Pre-Orders for Books & Commissions

Act now to reserve your copies of JARFACE and DEATHWARRANT -- the first two releases in my 3-sketchbook series for 2010 -- before Comic-Con opens! Both are limited edition, 28-page collections of sketches and fine art drawings that you won't find in print anywhere else. Each book comes signed, numbered, and sealed in plastic, with an original drawing on the first page. They're priced at $10 each, and won't be reprinted, once they sell out.

*BONUS - the first 10 sketchbook pre-orders get a free, limited edition, 4 x 6" Comic-Con exclusive sketch card!

*Comic-Con Attendees - please pick up your books at Artists' Alley table #AA-15, during the show.

*If not attending Comic-Con - please add $3 (First Class) or $5 (Priority Mail). Your order will shipped out the week of July 26, after the convention. Please inquire for International Shipping.

Also, for the first time ever, I'm offering a chance for people to pre-order original commissioned art. I'll be making full-color paintings for my commissions. They will vary in size and cost, starting at $100. Please contact me directly at hiredmeat@gmail.com if you're interested, so we can discuss the details and pricing of your very own Crosland Original.

*BONUS - the first 10 commission pre-orders get a free, limited edition, 4 x 6" Comic-Con exclusive sketch card!

*Comic-Con Attendees - please pick up your artwork at Artists' Alley table #AA-15, during the show.

*If not attending Comic-Con - please add $7 (Priority Mail). Your order will shipped out the week of July 26, after the convention. Please inquire for International Shipping.

*Click here for Ordering Instructions*

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2010

Over 100,000 people from all over the globe will descend upon San Diego for Comic-Con International, next week. And yours truly will be there in rare form! I'll be set up in Artists Alley, with two limited edition sketchbooks, plus most of my catalog of books from IDW Publishing and Image Comics. I'll also have original paintings and comic pages available for sale. And did I mention the promotional gear? Whoo-lordy!

If you're attending the show, come on over to Artists' Alley table AA-15 and say "whassup." If you're on the fence about attending the Con, then let me serve as another reason for you to take part in the biggest comics & entertainment convention in the nation.

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2010
@ The San Diego Convention Center
Wed 7/21 - Preview Night - 6pm - 9pm
Thurs 7/22 - Sat 7/24 - 9:30am - 7pm
Sun 7/25 - 9:30am - 5pm

David Crosland/Hiredmeat.com - Artists' Alley #AA-15
*signing at the Zombie Defense Network booth (#433)
on Fri 7/23 @ 9:00am to 10:30am*

JARFACE

This is the wraparound cover for JARFACE, the second sketchbook in my 2010 series. Just like it's predecessor, DEATHWARRANT, this is a limited edition book and will be available at Comic-Con International, next week, as well as online. Stay tuned for more info!

"Busier than a knuckle in a finger factory..."
- King Gum