The Society of Unordinary Young Ladies
July 15, 2010, filed under: Studio, by LexI took a detour from Kid B. this week to work on some pin-up art for my friend’s comic book series The Society of Unordinary Young Ladies. Created by Wahab Algarmi, it’s the story of a group of fresh-faced and talented sitcom girls who are in fact secret agents! The story is set in the 80’s and features Punky Brewster, Small Wonder and Lassie (to name a few); it’s full of pop-culture references and lots of inside humor only a kid raised on TV and Corn Pops would know. The SoUYL has a long and proud history of agents and I decided to focus on the team from the 60’s. Can you name them all? (click to enlarge)
L to R: Mary-Ann (Gilligan’s Island), Jeannie (I Dream of Jeannie), Jamie Summers (The Bionic Woman), Samantha (Bewitched) and Marilyn (The Munsters). Caught up in the Cold War the girls are betrayed by double-agent and their one-time mentor, June Cleaver, and become entangled in a dire plot by the Soviets who are mixing Tiki magic with Space Race technology to take over the world! (At least, that’s how I saw it in my head).
This was a lot of fun to do–thanks Wahab! The pin-up will be in the newest issue of The Society of Unordinary Young Ladies due out this fall.
The Kid B. Open!
June 11, 2010, filed under: News, Studio, by LexFor those of you in the North Bay looking for some fast fencing action and comic book fun this weekend, be sure to come to the first ever Kid Beowulf Open! The event is a book signing and fencing exhibition held at En Garde Fencing here in Santa Rosa; I’ll be doing free sketches and talking up the book while Jim Liebich, owner and maestro of the club, will be giving a free lesson to attendees. Since I put fencing into Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland (and I’m an avid fencer myself), I thought it would be a fun way to cross-promote the book and the club! To give you a taste of the action you’ll see, below is a clip of me fencing with a friend from the club (I’m on the right), followed by the official press release. Hope to see you there!
PRESS RELEASE–The Kid Beowulf Open!
En Garde Fencing proudly presents the first annual Kid Beowulf Open–a graphic novel fencing tournament! Saturday, June 12, cartoonist Alexis E. Fajardo will bring his all-ages graphic novel series, Kid Beowulf, to the En Garde Fencing Club in Santa Rosa, California. The event begins at noon and club owner and fencing instructor Jim Liebich will be conducting a free class for all attendees.
“I’m very excited,” says Jim. “Kid Beowulf is a great story, and hosting this fencing tournament is going to be so much fun.” En Garde Fencing marked its one year anniversary in its new location in May and continues to bring the sought after Olympic sport of fencing to the North Bay. The club features a wide range of students and fencing prowess; girls and boys, all ages and every level from beginner to seasoned amateur. It’s a diverse group of swash and buckle!
Among those fencers is cartoonist Alexis Fajardo, creator of the graphic novel series Kid Beowulf, which features its own brand of swords and sorcery. Inspired by the epic poem BEOWULF, Kid Beowulf follows the journey of 12-year-old twin brothers Beowulf and Grendel as they travel to distant lands and meet fellow epic heroes therein. Published by Bowler Hat Comics, book one “Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath” debuted in 2008 and this spring marks the release of book two, “Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland”–which features fencing.
“Part of the story for the second book is Beowulf learning how to swing a blade, so I incorporated some fencing into the book,” states Fajardo. “I’ve been fencing almost as long as I’ve been drawing Kid Beowulf, in fact I based one of the lead characters in the new book on my old fencing instructor and I’ve also got a few well-placed cameos of my fencing buddies from the club here. It seemed like a great way to cross-promote the club and the books. I’m looking forward to the event!”
The Kid Beowulf Open takes place Saturday, June 12 from noon-1:30pm at 917 Piner Road in Santa Rosa. The event is free and open to the public. Fajardo will be sharing his work with attendees, signing books and doing sketches, while Moniteur Jim Liebich will conduct a free class for all attendees. And winners of the beginner tournament might just walk away with the much sought after Kid Beowulf Open Trophy!
The Kid B. App–now available!
June 1, 2010, filed under: News, Studio, by Lex
For those of you with an Iphone or Ipod Touch who always wondered how a 200 page graphic novel would read on the device, we’ve now got the slickest answer for you: The Kid Beowulf App! The first of three Kid Beowulf Apps is now available in Itunes. I’ve been working on this app for awhile and with the help of my developer, Martin Robaszewski of Bioroid Studios and my publisher, Bowler Hat Comics, I think we’ve created a very unique app that works and reads quite nicely for the Iphone (the following images have been scaled to fit this blog).
I wanted to create an app that was more than just the comic and took advantage of the Iphone’s capabilities, including its access to multi-media and the internet. Each app features links to the Kid B. YouTube trailers, Amazon to purchase the book and other off-app links. I also wanted to make it as intuitive as possible and easy to use–above is the main menu page.
Instead of cramming an entire comic onto one tiny screen, we created a way to read the graphic novel that was tailored to the device. The entire app is read in landscape mode and scrolled through right to left. I wanted to take advantage of the wide display so I cut-up each comic page to feature one panel per screen (one 60 page chapter equals roughly 400 screens). To help navigate through all those screens readers can scroll ahead in 1, 10 or 100 panel intervals. The app also has a nifty bookmark feature so you’ll never lose your place if a phone call tears you away.
We wanted to make the app interactive too, so we placed “easter eggs” throughout. Whenever a new character appears an “info” icon will appear that reveals who that character is and some background on them.
The links to the various Kid B. trailers open up automatically in YouTube. Each app is a little different and features its own unique content, including links to Facebook, the Kid B. Cafepress Store, Bios and other goodies.
Here’s the real deal: each app is going for a mere 99 CENTS! How can you go wrong? Part 1 is available in the App Store now, so go ahead and give it a try. If you like it give it a good rating and spread the word. We’ll be releasing Parts 2 & 3 in the comic weeks and will announce them on the blog. Start downloading for your Iphone now, with some FREE Kid Beowulf Wallpapers!
Stumptown Comics For Young Readers Panel
May 10, 2010, filed under: News, Studio, by Lex
At Stumptown I was lucky enough to be on a panel and smart enough to record it! The panel, Comics for Young Readers, features myself, Matt (Baby Mouse) Holm, Raina (SMILE) Telgemeier, and Hope (Wrinkle in Time) Larson and the panel was moderated by Sara Ryan, an author in her own right. Big thanks to good friend of Kid Beowulf and epic podcaster himself, Tom Racine of Tall Tale Radio for giving this panel a home. Enjoy!
Kid Beowulf & the Song of Stumptown
April 22, 2010, filed under: News, Studio, by Lex
This weekend will be an exciting one as I head up to Portland, Oregon for the Stumptown Comics Fest! Portland has deemed April COMICS MONTH and they’re sending it off in grand fashion with a slew of events all leading up to the fest. The most exciting and important event The Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland Launch Party happens tomorrow night–and it couldn’t be happening at a better place: GRENDEL’s COFFEE HOUSE!
Grendel’s is located at 729 East Burnside Street in Portland, the book launch will start and 5pm and last until 6:30 or so. We’ll be doing a reading/slideshow from the book and I’ll be signing books through the evening. Grendel’s is offering some specials for the event and we’ll also be holding a raffle. Among the prizes include this framed original sketch I did especially for the signing (click to enlarge)…
Also raffled will be a set of Kid B. Bronze Limited Edition Sculpts featuring Beowulf, Grendel, and Hama! The party will be a great time and everyone’s invited, so if you’re in the neighborhood drop on by! You can get more information at my publishers website here.
Saturday and Sunday I’ll be exhibiting at the Bowler Hat Comics table at Stumptown. I’ll also be on a panel Saturday afternoon with some grade-A cartoonists: Raina (SMILE) Telgemeier and Hope (CHIGGERS) Larson.
Finally, if you’re in the mood to see some original comics art from some of the exhibitors then check out The Stumptown Comics Fest Art Show, where we’ve got a couple of Kid B. prints up for your viewing pleasure. So if you’re in the Portland area this weekend and are looking for things to do, check out the book signing and the comics fest. I hope to see you there!
The iFanboy Interview
April 7, 2010, filed under: News, Studio, by Lex
iFanboy, a popular comic book podcast show, recently went to WONDERCON and came back with a flurry of interviews, one of which included me! I was excited, since the iFanboys generally focus on mainstream Marvel and DC books, but they took some time out of their hectic schedule to visit Artist’s Alley where I was exhibiting.
It was a rare joint interview between Darwyn Cooke, myself and iFanboy, Ron Richards.
FYI: Cooke’s a total camera hog, I couldn’t get a word in edge-wise.
Wondercon Approacheth!
April 1, 2010, filed under: News, Studio, by Lex
This weekend I’ll be exhibiting at Wondercon in San Francisco, I’ll be in Artist’s Alley at table AA049 and I’ll have a slew of great things to show-off at the table, among them pre-release copies of Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland!
My publisher sent me a couple of copies just the other day and the book looks pretty bad-ass if I do say so myself! It’s 272 pages of swash-buckling adventure, with a beautiful, full-on wrap around cover, french flaps, and a spot-gloss to boot!
Not to mention that “hot-off the press smell” that is oh, so redolent. The books are $18.00 each and we’ll only have 2 cases on hand so get ‘em while you can! (The official release is later this month).
I’ll also have the full trio of Limited Edition Resin Sculpts: Hama, Beowulf and now Grendel! Each sculpt is masterfully sculpted and painted and now available to add to your mantle. Painted sculpts are $45.00 each and bronzed editions are $30.00.
Finally, I’ll be previewing the long-awaited Kid Beowulf App! Book 1 Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath has now made it into app form: the 208 page graphic novel has been transformed into 3 sleek downloadable apps, featuring clean, crisp graphics, links to comic book trailers and podcasts and lots of unique original art made exclusively for the app! Come by the table and I’ll show you the apps in action!
Of course, if you’re not able to make it to the show, you can still get yourself a copy of Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland long before anyone else does–just order it right here! I’ve set up a whole new store through paypal which allows you to order a copy of the book directly from me. I’ll be happy to sign the book and ship it your way. All proceeds help fund more Kid B. goodness. Sculpts are also available for purchase in the new store too!
See you at the con!