The Silver Snail was the biggest comic bookstore in Toronto and at this particular time, Bill  Sienkiewich was doing a signing. I really liked his style, it was not main stream - an approach I'd never seen before. My interest in comics started to grow and so did the comic industry. Artist like Bill brought something new to comics in the 80s and the public liked what he was doing.

Last weekend we went to Fan Expo Comic Con in Vancouver where Bill was a guest artist. I hadn't seen him in decades. ..he use to draw bedtime stories for our kids!

The San Diego Comic Con back in the 80s was a fraction of the size it is now. Ken was in  his element, I was not... he seemed  to know everyone, I couldn't wait to get out of there. The bottom panel is all the new X-men artist drawing sketches for the fans. Although I could appreciate the art work and the amazing skill the artist had, I was not a big fan. Sometimes I would find some work I liked but it was generally a bit qwerky. Geof Darrow's artwork was fascinating to me and Mobius , one of Geof's influences, along with many other artist around that time.

Speaking of Comic Con... We're having a mini con. at the college on Sun. the 6th, from 12:00-till 5:00        I hope you join us for some fun!!!
http://camosun.ca/learn/programs/vist/conference.html

I'm still working on editing the text in my book plus the corrections in the artwork, is still on going, It's taking longer than I thought. I have the last five pages ready to post, so I'll start with this one.  

I got to meet the KING of comics!!! When I met Jack Kerby I thought he was a nice man but because I wasn't a big comics fan, I had know idea till later, just how significant that meeting was. In this page I finally got to draw the super heroes characters Jack created  The Kerby Krackle... was lots of fun, dot dot dot! 

This is me at the Con. - don't you just love my wig and sparkly boots!?  Below are some commissions I did for a fund raiser, it was fun to do  people as their favourite characters. We're trying to raise money for a comic convention  at Camosun on April the 6th. I'll keep you posted on that... 

This is what my students have been doing in the character design class I'm teaching at Comosun College. We're having so much fun!!!

I'll be at Tsukino Con. at UVIC Saturday and Sunday, drawing people as their favourite characters. That's me as a Homestuck character and a student of mine  wanted herself as Sailor Moon. These are samples of what I'll be selling at the con - please drop by our booth if you can. We're trying to raise money for a comic convention  at Camosun on the 6th of April!

http://www.tsukinocon.com

In this sequence we're just about to leave Toronto for British Columbia. Books had become a big part of my development at that time in my life, and I followed my interests in all that I read,  McLuhan was at the top of the list and still is. Being exposed to many influential writers and artists was so valuable to my growth as a creative person, and was an education in itself - but more than ever I wanted a university education. That will be part of my next chapter in book three.

These are the last two pages of this book, although I still have a few more to finish off and once those are done, I'll edit the text in the word balloons... then I'm done, Done, DONE!!! and off to the printer... Why does everything take longer than you think? Deadlines are good but if they compromise your work, then they're not so good - I'm so glad I don't have a crushing deadline. I'm a bit of a turtle but that's the way I work, little by little. My desire to finish has served me well, and the extra time it took me to do this book helped me gather my thoughts and try to make sense of what I want to say. I can only hope it comes out all write! ;^)

Rubik's cubes were big in the 80's so I thought these two pages were an appropriate way to wind down my second book. We left Toronto in 1987 with all our possessions that fit into a small u-pack container. Wow, that was 27 years ago!!!

Looking back at 2013, Ken and I  had a very successful year at Camosun College. We launched our Comics and Graphic novel certificate program in 2012 and our first cohort of students graduated in the spring of 2013, and what a great bunch they were! A fine new bunch started last September, and Ken and I are enjoying the teaching experience and learning a lot as we go along, I'm managing my fight or flight instinct, which is challenging at times - but I think my students are forgiving in that regard because most of them are a little nervous about speaking up in class themselves. I've learned that the only way you conquer anything is to jump right in, even if you stumble a bit...  All in all I'm really enjoying the students for who they are and what they are capable of - it's a joy to see their progress.

So... HAPPY NEW YEAR to all - in 2014 

CHEERS!!!

plip...splosh...clink...