Monday, October 31, 2011

Recap: VA Comicon OCT. 29-30


This past weekend, October 29-30, 2011, was the VA Comicon at Crowne Plaza West, our first comic show in Richmond, Virginia. It also marked the show's 25th anniversary and the retirement of show promoter Brett Carreras. Curls Studio was part of the "Small Press Pavilion of Terror."



The main thrill for Joe and I was meeting James O'Barr, creator of The Crow.

I picked up the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exclusive from IDW Publishing, which features a special Christmas cover with a Richmond monument. I also got my portfolio reviewed by the master painter and VCU alum, Mark Wheatley. He offered some great tips and is a very wonderful asset to the comics community.


On Saturday there was a charity art auction held across the street at AMF Bowling. A lot of really amazing art and really great deals. The Small Press Pavilion of Terror Giant Sketchcard jam piece auctioned for $100 and featured art from everyone in the small press room.

On Sunday, Joe and I were invited to be on the "Small Press Chit-Chat" panel with Dan Nokes, plus Ben Taylor and Chris Otto of the comic strip, A Dog's Life. The audio from this panel will be available tomorrow as this week's Carolyn & Joe Show.

There was also a fun costume contest on Sunday and being the day before Halloween there were a lot of amazing costumes parading around. Thanks to all who have attended VA Comicon - we hope to see you again sometime soon!

Check out more photos in the Curls Studio “VA Comicon - October 29-30, 2011” Photo Album on Facebook and "like" us.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Al Butler interviews Curls Studio at NYCC 2011


Al Butler dropped by the Curls Studio table in Artist Alley to interview Curls Studio (Joe Carabeo and Carolyn Belefski) at New York Comic Con 2011. We discuss the comics we are into, as well as our comics (Curls, Kid Roxy, Black Magic Tales, The Legettes).


Here is the link to the interview, take it for a read: http://iknowwhypeoplehateme.blogspot.com/2011/10/carolyn-belefski-and-joe-carabeo.html

And here is Al's full NYCC 2011 recap: http://iknowwhypeoplehateme.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-york-comic-con.html

Photos by Al Butler.

Monday, October 24, 2011

VA Comicon is OCT. 29-30


Curls Studio will be exhibiting in the Small Press Pavilion of Terror this coming weekend at VA Comicon. This is the show's 25th anniversary and our first time exhibiting at VA Comicon. The main reason why we wanted to be at this show is because James O'Barr, creator of The Crow, will be there.

The VA Comicon is at the Crowne Plaza West (6531 West Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23230) on Saturday and Sunday October 29-30 from 10AM to 4PM! There will be a Costume Contest Sunday afternoon with $500 in cash prizes! Admission is only $10 for the whole weekend and children under 12 are free with a paying adult.

I will have large 12" x 12" prints of some of my more haunting Sketch Before Sleep illustrations on matte linen paper available for purchase: Beetlejuice, Elvira, Shrunken Head Guy from Beetlejuice, Frankenstein, Uncle Fester...


In addition Joe and I will be speaking at "Small Press Chit-Chat" with Dan Nokes on Sunday from 11:30 to 11:55AM. View the programming schedule in the image above to find out more.


Small Press Pavilion of Terror: James O’Barr, Blue Milk Special, Mark Bode, Dan Fogel, Chris Otto, Curls Studio, Iconograph Studios, Jason Crawley, Bill Meiggs, Bill McKay, Daniel Govar, Dan Nokes/21st Century Sandshark Studios, Jesse Cowan, Matt Slay

Come in costume - let's make it fun! We hope to see you there in all your spookiness.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Recap: New York Comic Con 2011


Once again, New York Comic Con was a blast! This year was less hectic due to stable pre-planning and we had absolutely no problems with NYCC staff and volunteers - they were excellent! I will break down this blog entry into each of the four days below, as I did last year because it could be easier to digest it as a timeline.

Thursday, October 13, 2011
We started the day at 4:30AM to leave and drive in directly to the Javits Center and unload our table materials. Joe and I brought Brian along with us for a second year so he could film our panel on Friday evening. The show was open early only to professionals and press. A lot of the big displays were still being set-up, so it was interesting to view the calm before the storm. Things didn't get too busy until the end of the day, but we were interviewed by a podcast and got to see most of the show floor when it was less hectic.


Something new we premiered at NYCC 2011, were 1" buttons and magnets. I recently purchased a machine to make these myself. I used imagery from my comic strip Curls, Sketch Before Sleep, Black Magic Tales, The Legettes, random illustrations I had done, and more. A lot of people really like the buttons and we had them available at a low price point, so they are affordable and fashionable.


We were lucky to be assigned seated next to Bob Camp, co-creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show. Needless to say, I watched this show and am a fan, so it was a great experience to sit next to the brains behind such a legendary animation influence.

On Thursday night we attended the Kick-Off Concert to see Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and since he is one of Joe's main influences musically, it was great to see him enjoy the concert. Joe even posted some video of the concert on his YouTube account.


Friday, October 14, 2011
We walked around early before the convention kicked into high gear and I took photos with Oscar the Grouch, Wonka Nerds, Bumblebee from Transformers, Tom Morello, and more. Most of the time on Friday was spent at our table in Artist Alley, but I did get out to check out the autograph and celebrity area to catch a glimpse of professional wrestler, Diamond Dallas Page.

The main highlight of the day was our panel, "The Other Side of The Table: Lessons from Creators" which started at 6:30PM. The panelists included Raina Telgemeier (Smile, The Baby-Sitters Club), David Gallaher (High Moon, BOX 13) Reilly Brown (Amazing Spider-Man, Power Play) and myself - Carolyn Belefski (Curls, The Legettes). The panel was moderated by Joe Carabeo. We had amazing turnout - a standing room only crowd! If you missed it, you can take a listen to The Carolyn & Joe Show, as we've posted the audio from the panel as our podcast this week. We also plan on making the film available soon since Astray Productions was gracious enough to document the panel - so look for that link soon! If you are looking for some tips revealed at our panel, JustPressPlay has posted some of our "words of wisdom."

At the panel we also gave away Ultimate Cerebus Guide to Self-Publishing by Dave Sim, which was sketched and signed by him direct from Canada. Raina also donated a copy of Smile, David gave a copy of BOX 13, and Curls Studio gave out a ticket to Get Old, the Carnival Anthology comic, Magic Bullet, and an issue of Indie Comics Magazine #3. After people asked a question, the panel answered it and then we drew a raffle to see what they won. Audience participation is a must for me at these types of events and I really feel like the audience plays an important part in the success of a panel. Asking relevant and thoughtful questions and having a dialogue that includes everyone rather evenly is key. Larry Marder (Beanworld) was at the panel and offered some great advice. Thanks to everyone who participated and attended the panel. It really means a lot to me to hear feedback from you after the event as well. Many of you have emailed me or came up to the Curls Studio table on Saturday and Sunday to let me know you enjoyed the panel. Thanks so much! I really enjoy having the opportunity to host a panel at NYCC - tell them you enjoyed it so we can do it again!

When we first got assigned this panel time I was excited because we had a panel at NYCC and who could beat that, but then I realized we actually had already purchased tickets to see Jay & Silent Bob Get Old (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith's podcast) which would overlap our panel time. Of course I didn't want to chance our panel opportunity at NYCC, so we'd have our panel and attend the podcast late. It worked out great for us, because apparently Kevin Smith's plane arrived late. When I first found this out, I thought, oh no - not another too fat to fly incident! We saw him back in March at the Red State premiere in Washington, DC and he was looking good and lost a lot of weight, so it must have been something else. So by the time our panel ended, we quickly got to Get Jobs and fell in line. The event started really late, but we were lucky to not miss it! It was our first time seeing Jason Mewes and he really carried the show that day. Everything worked out! As a side note, you can listen to Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes talk about Curls Studio on their podcast here.


Saturday, October 15, 2011
I did not leave the table at all on Saturday. Our main event at the Curls Studio table was having cosplay model Amber Love at our table. I created a limited edition print for her appearance at NYCC and drew her as a Legette spy, which she dressed as. This was the first time we'd ever done this type of promotion and I really have grown to enjoy a lot of the costumes at conventions. Amber does a great job of making these characters come to life and I really appreciate her dedication to what she does. It was fun to have her at the table.

Late on Saturday night, we got to see Cosplay Masquerade. I had never seen this before, but I'm glad I got to catch a performance of Bumblebee on the IGN Theater stage. It was amazing. I really admire that outfit and perhaps it was my favorite of the whole convention.


Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday was the last of the four days at NYCC and you could tell because it felt many people were tired at this point. In addition, many exhibitors and attendees stayed up late the night before. I spent most of the day at the table meeting people, but did get out to see the celebrities again. I got to shake Mark Hamill's (Luke Skywalker and the voice of The Joker) hand as well as James Marsters's (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel). I also got to catch glimpses of Jerry Lawler, Raven, Eliza Dushku, Felicia Day, Bruce Timm, and Brian O'Halloran when I went to the celebrity area either on Friday or Sunday.


Thank you!
Overall, we believe NYCC 2011 was the best one yet for us. Again, I can't complain about how the show was organized. The staff prevented a lot of hazards in advance. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun representing themselves and the panel I organized was amazing! One person we discovered at the convention was Dave Bullock, who worked as a storyboard artist on Kim Possible. It was very cool to meet him and Bob Camp - I can definitely say I have a lot of animation influences and enjoy their styles. It was also good to chat with Jimmy Palmiotti, Bryan J.L. Glass, Dawn Griffin, Ken Drab, Antoine Gagnon, Brad Guigar, and others. Thank you to everyone who purchased Curls Studio items - the Sketch Before Sleep prints were in-demand - and thank you to everyone we meet at NYCC.

If you are interested in viewing more photos we took at NYCC 2011, be sure to check out more photos in the Curls Studio “New York Comic Con 2011” Photo Album on Facebook and "like" us.

Look for film from the panel, "The Other Side of the Table: Lessons from Creators" as well as other content. We hope to be back for NYCC next year!

XOXO,
Carolyn

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Comic Book Interviews - Carolyn Belefski


John Michael Helmer from Comic Book Interviews has interviewed me and you can read the full interview here: http://comicbookinterviews.com/2011/10/interview-carolyn-belefski/

"Creator and artist Carolyn Belefski self produces the web comic Curls about an adventurous girl going about her everyday life with a group of animal friends. Carolyn’s web comic is filled with humor and wit that can plant a smile on your face. She spoke with CBI publisher John Michael Helmer about her career in comics and her web comic curls..."

Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Bid on Women of Wonder Day 2011


CAROLYN BELEFSKI!
SH25 Wonder Woman Wrestler!
8.5x11 ink
Curls, The Legettes!
Minimum Opening Bid $20

Here is my sketch for Wonder Woman Day 2011. As you may know I participated for the first time last year, and since it went so well (they used the image for shirts too) I decided to contribute again. This is your chance to own this original art!

If you are unable to join Curls Studio at VA Comicon, join Comic Fusion for SuperHero Weekend featuring Women of Wonder Day on October 29-30, 2011! They will be having a charity auction and other fun activities to benefit SAFE in Hunterdon. The special hours for this event will be Noon to 5PM.

Comic Fusion
42 Main Street
Flemington, NJ 08822
908-788-0599

If you can't make the event in-person, bidding is now OPEN at http://store.comicfusion.net/wonder-woman-day.html! Read the bidding rules page for instructions on how to bid.

Several artists are donating sketches to be auctioned off, including: Amy Pronovost, Bat Hilliard, Bill Ellis, Caio, Charles Wilson, Chris Sinderson, Dave Ryan, Dave Wachter, Ethan Van Sciver, Brendon and Brian Fraim, Carolyn Beleski, Chris Dibari, Chris Flick, Dave Pirello, Doug Olsen, Emmanuel Cappuccia, Erica Hesse, Franco Aureliani, Frank A Kadar, Gerry Acerno, Harold Jennett, Herb Trimpe, Jake Warrenfeltz, James Fiorentino, James Nguyen, Jay Fife, JK Woodward, Jim Calafiore, Joe Staton, John Chihak, Josh Lyman, Katie Cook, Ken Branch, Ken Haeser, Khoi Pham, Kimberly Fuller Dunaway, Lynne Yoshii, Mark Stegbauer, Michael Dolce, Michael Golden, Michael Horwitz, Mike Lilly, Neil Vokes, Nick Abadzis, Nick Mockoviak, Primo Cardinalli, Rich Bonk, Scot Eaton, Scott Derby, Simon Fraser, Steve Gordon, Terry Moore, Tim Hamilton, Todd W. Moniz, Tom Schloendorn, Tyler Kirkman, and MORE to come!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Amber Love at B16 NYCC Saturday


Curls Studio is pleased to announce that Cosplay, Pin-Up Model Amber Love will be joining us at Artist Alley, Table B16 on Saturday, October 15, 2011 from Noon to 1 or 2PMish! She will be signing the above print, which was specifically created for this year's New York Comic Con. It's an EXCLUSIVE.

You can also find her all over the convention. Here is her full schedule: http://www.amberunmasked.com/find-me-at-nycc/

She writes:
"People have been asking me what costumes I’ll be wearing and it’s going to be a low key costuming year for me. I’ll be one of the LEGETTE super spies for the CURLS STUDIO booth (B16) on Saturday from noon until at least 1:00 or 2:00 with Carolyn Belefski. I love Carolyn’s art so much and the fact that she created burlesque super spies is pretty darn fantastic! Find me there. Carolyn’s art was featured on our t-shirts for the 2010 Wonder Woman Day at Comic Fusion."

Don't forget Curls Studio will be at "The Other Side of the Table: Lessons from Creators" on Friday from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm at 1B03. Here is more info about our NYCC plans: http://curls-studio.blogspot.com/2011/09/new-york-comic-con-2011-panel-and-table.html

This exclusive print is listed under "Show Special" on the NYCC website here: http://nycc11.mapyourshow.com/5_0/exhibitor_details.cfm?exhid=338259

See you in one week!

XOXO,
Carolyn