Media trifecta!

District Comics got a lot of digital ink these last two days! First, a little write up from the Washington City Paper:

• The graphic anthology is unconventional, definitely, but above all, it’s ambitious.

Followed by a piece from Scripps Howard:

• When “The Brewmaster’s Castle” was well received by the Heurich House Museum, Dembicki said he realized there are a lot of other D.C. stories that need to be told.

And ending the day with a Q&A in the Huffington Post:

• Want to know more about Civil War soldiers who drank alcohol from containers storing body parts? Of course you do. Which is one of the reasons you'll want to check out local artist Matt Dembicki's new anthology "District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, D.C."

Signing this Sunday!

Just a reminder that we'll have our first signing for the book on Sunday, Aug. 19, from 3-5 pm at One More Page Books in Arlington, Va. There will be more than 20 contributors on hand to sign (this will certainly be our biggest signing), including:

Rebecca Goldfield
Jacob Warrenfeltz
Tabitha Whissemore
Art Haupt
Jason Rodriguez
Andrew Cohen
Rand Arrington
Mal Jones

Mike Rhode

Rafer Roberts

Gregory Robison

Joe Carabeo

Carolyn Belefski

Jeff Barrus

Michael Cowgill

Dale Rawlings

Michael Brace

Steve Loya

Kevin Rechin

Paul Zdepski

Matt Dembicki
Carol Dembicki

And, as few cherries on top, the Small Press Expo has generously donated FREE day passes to SPX to the first 25 people who buy a copy of the book at the signing! But wait, there's more: I did a few 5x8 sea-related illustrations (see below) that will be raffled off at the signing! (AND I'll have copies of Xoc: The Journey of a Great White on hand, and, perhaps, a few copies of Trickster? :)

What is District Comics, you ask? “District Comics is a graphic anthology featuring lesser-known stories about Washington, D.C., from its earliest days as a rustic settlement along the swampy banks of the Potomac to the modern-day metropolis. Spanning 1794-2009, District Comics stops along the way for a duel, a drink in the Senate’s speakeasy, a look into the punk scene, and much more.”

Bonus Army bonus

Writer Michael Cowgill interviewed author Thomas Allen as part of Michael's research for his story "Skip Dillon, Son of the B.E.F."

There was a photograph of two kids in a makeshift boxing ring, and when we tracked those two guys down, they still were around, and we were able to interview them, and again, we got a picture of the family side of the Bonus Army.

Read more....

Photo: Bonus Army camp, Washington, D.C.

U.S. Library of Congress

Seventh-inning stretch

Writer Jason Rodriguez sheds a little more light on the 1867 Washington Nationals, focusing on the celebration of an amazing run that was a little tarnished by allegations of throwing a game. In fact, you can read the original newspaper accounts yourself!

Read more....

Jason's partner in the bullpen is artist Charles Fetherolf, who produced one of the single finest images I have ever seen in comics, or anywhere for that matter. You'll know what I mean when you see it.

Below are a couple of character sketches for the "National Pastime" story that Charles has allowed us to share here:

Play ball!

Writer Jason Rodriguez, who penned the story "National Pastime" in District Comics, talks about old-time baseball, particularly the facts surrounding his story:

When I was writing my story for District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington DC, I was asked to recheck my references on the game scores almost every step of the way. What people just don’t get is that baseball games had basketball scores back in the day of no gloves. 

Read more at his blog....

And just to set the mood, here's a photo of an 1885 championship team from Washington, D.C. 

Launch signing on Aug. 19

We'll have our first signing for the book on Sunday, Aug. 19, from 3-5 pm at One More Page Books in Arlington, Va. There will be more than 20 contributors on hand to sign! It's gonna be awesome!

Let the role out begin!

Hi, folks!

Well, the book is done and has been sent to Fulcrum Publishing for edits, formatting, etc. I believe it's scheduled for a September 2012 release. I'll use this blog to post news, some art from the book (including preliminary sketches) and maybe interview some of the contributors. Wouldn't that be cool?

To get things rolling, here's the opening panel for the story I wrote and drew about Ego Brown, a shoe shiner in Washington, D.C. He's got a little stand near the food court area at International Square near the Farragut West metro station. The story, and his stand, are called "Ego Shine."