Fight Club Friday

Last Friday I did an illustration for THE PULSE's Fight Club Friday feature which allows readers to examine the combatants chosen each week and tell why they think one hero or villain will triumph against the opponent. This time around Storm from X-Men battled the Flash's foe, the Weather Wizard. Apparently there's some heat over mohawk Storm. That's good because it will generate discussion. Thanks to Jennifer Contino for publishing this illustration!

Curls: Leaving Maggie's Farm

This episode of Curls is inspired by the protesting duck near the end of the Bob Dylan influenced movie I'm Not There and is based on the lyrics to his song, Maggie's Farm. I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. Enjoy.

Recap: Handmade Mart

Last Sunday, May 31, 2009 Curls Studio participated in the first ever Handmade Mart on Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring, Maryland. This was our first big craft show where we had to fill a full 10' x 10' tent. In order to fill space and have our area interactive I thought to display my Curls greeting cards in the sky on a clothesline with pins. I really give a pat on my back for that idea, because it's pretty clever although one person mentioned our space was not very tall friendly!


We had a great time interacting with people who weren't accustomed to or where shocked to see indie comics at an event like this. Children seemed to be especially excited, but were often shot down by their parents who said comics were not for them. Sadly, we still need to educate certain people that some comics are all ages. Specifically our Kid Roxy books! Come on people... the characters are in 8th grade!

A man near us was proclaiming the world to end on May 21, 2011 and we watched so many people argue with him. He was singing about it too. If I knew the world was going to end, I would not be standing around with a sandwich board sign on my body announcing it. There were a lot of entertaining people and activities going on along with huge gusts of wind. When it got windy Joe and I had to hold down our comics and tent, but luckily we held down the fort well and enjoyed our time at Handmade Mart. Hopefully we introduced a new audience to our products.

For more photos, visit our Flickr site (curls-studio2).

Recap: DC Counter Culture Festival 2009

On Sunday, May 24, 2009 Curls Studio participated in the fourth annual DC Counter Culture Festival at The Soundry in Vienna, VA. We had a lot of fun catching up with fellow comic creators and meeting new ones. This year there were ongoing presentations and workshops such as Michael Auger's Blacklight Workshop, The Geek Comedy Tour, and Gyotaku Fish Printing with Anthony Dihle. We all got involved in quick jam sketches and ate hotdogs and burgers from The Soundry. I really enjoyed the eclectic nature of this years event, but 12 hours of table time made for a long day!


Viva Vienna was going on down the street at the same time so I headed there for a bit and got a Bucket O' Fries. What is better than a bucket of fries that says "Bucket O' Fries" on the actual bucket? I don't think there is anything better than that. Thanks to DC Conspiracy for organizing the event and thanks to anyone who purchased our items. For more photos, visit our Flickr site (curls-studio2).

Curls: Rachel Alexandra at The Preakness

Curls was on hand last Saturday at The Preakness to hang out with the winner Rachel Alexandra and her jockey, Calvin Borel. Rachel Alexandra became the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes in 85 years. Curls enjoyed chatting with Calvin. She likes his Cajun accent and fun personality. Rachel Alexandra had a great win. This one is for the girls!

Handmade Mart is May 31

Curls Studio was recently accepted to be a vendor at Handmade Mart in downtown Silver Spring, MD! We hope to see you at booth #19 on Sunday, May 31. You can check out our Q&A on the Handmade Mart blog and take a look at what other vendors will be selling. Along with an awesome array of vendors, the Handmade Mart will also feature a full day of live indie rock and hands-on workshops at the Pyramid Atlantic Store.

WHAT: Handmade Mart
WHEN: May 31, 2009 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
WHERE: Ellsworth Drive in Silver Spring, Maryland (between Fenton and Georgia Avenue)

PULSE News » BELEFSKI'S COMICAL CURLS

Jennifer Contino interviewed me on Monday. Here is a sample of the interview and a link to the full goodness, which includes eight Curls comic strips.

Carolyn Belefski told THE PULSE, "I'm inspired by what is around me," when asked what was the genesis of her eclectic webcomics series, Curls. She's been drawing as long as she can remember and created the strip when she was a student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Although she's stuck in the grind of a nine to five-ish day job, she still creates funny, webcomic strips. And she likes turtles. So I had to talk to her about her hopes, dreams and turtles!

THE PULSE: A lot of our readers will be meeting you for the first time in this interview, so for those who don't know much about you, what makes Carolyn Belefski tick?

CAROLYN BELEFSKI: I'm inspired by what is around me. My interests: comics, animals, design, movies, pop culture ... come across in the comics I make. I like to commentate on the positive and negative things in a creative outlet. Everyone is surrounded by good and bad things. I try to take the good, the bad, make a big mix of it to move on. That's what keeps me going and makes me tick. Taking what you have and making something out of it. Otherwise I have nothing if I'm not creating.

THE PULSE: So how did you channel that spirit and energy into webcomics, out of everything you could have used to represent yourself?

BELEFSKI: When I create comics, I create a world. The characters are my friends, and they represent and entertain me. Hopefully others can connect to them as well. The stories are very character-driven. Sure, there are creative outlets other than comics and multiple ways to represent yourself, but with comics everything feels larger, and it feels right and comfortable to me. I have been drawing comics ever since I can remember, so in a way I feel like the characters discovered me. One of my earliest memories is drawing and watching Bugs Bunny.

Read the full interview here: PULSE News » BELEFSKI'S COMICAL CURLS