ORIGINAL ART : The Mustache

"The Mustache"
Colored pencil
T. Kovac

     The only thing I can figure is that this sketch is probably inspired by the growing number of transgender kids and adults in my sphere of acquaintances. Not sure. It also reminds me, now that I'm finished with it, of Dorothy and the Wizard In Oz. That's the book where they go down into the earth and discover the Mangaboos, a race of vegetable people.

ORIGINAL ART : Color Pencil Sketches

The following are some color pencil sketches I've done in the month of June.

These first two were done in the last week or two of school, when the teachers were really getting on my nerves, and I was feeling pretty anti-social:

"Alienate Everyone"
Colored pencil
T. Kovac

"'No' Face"
Colored pencil
T. Kovac

And then this is when I was finally on summer vacation. It must represent freedom, psychologically. I guess. Or not. Or whatever.

"Devil Astride Hippity-Hop"
Colored pencil
T. Kovac

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2015 SKETCHES & PICS


     The nice people at Big Red Comics in Downtown Orange invited me to sell books and sign autographs as part of their Free Comic Book Day celebration. (FCBD is always the first Saturday in May, but it has taken me many years to get that straight in my head.)
     www.freecomicbookday.com
     Incidentally, I did not make that name plate for myself, the nice people at the store did. I would not have referred to my own comics as "awesome," although mayhaps they are.
     See the free bookmarks with tassels? I gave away 60 of those motherfuckers! Anthony cut out and hole-punched every single one of them, and we put the tassels on together at the kitchen table the night before. I'm a fan of tassel-related projects.
     I did a lot of doodling that day, beginning at breakfast and continuing at the event.

Sketch inspired by Anthony's "bananas foster pancakes" at IHOP.
Bananas Foster's randy gay brother.

Alice and the Cheshire Cat, just because.

Sketch done for a really cool kid who suggested I draw a wizard monkey. Because wizards are cool, and monkeys are cool,  so, "a wizard monkey would probably be REALLY cool."


I was challenging myself to see if you could draw the Cheshire Cat NOT smiling. As you can see, it's mostly unsuccessful and unsatisfying.

     Right as I was drawing that hideous spraying Cheshire Cat, which is very wrong and regrettable, this cute family came up to see me in Wonderland-inspired costumes. I quickly flipped my sketchbook to a less offensive page.
     The mother had hand-made a Queen of Hearts dress for herself and a Mad Hatter outfit for her daughter. They were there to get a signed copy of Wonderland, and it was very flattering and fun. Dad was a cool guy, too, and told me about this website called Spoonflower that his wife uses to actually have her own original designs printed on fabric, which she uses for the outfits. Pretty cool idea.


     All in all it was a very successful day. I sold some prints, some copies of Wonderland, Stitch, Skelebunnies, Royal Historian of Oz, Smells Like Library Vol.1, and Smells Like Library Vol.2. I was there from about 10:30 to 5pm.

Tater.

PRE-WONDERCON 2015 EVENT AT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY

Me staggering to the car with a box full of my books.
Very cool poster to advertise the event
     So I was invited by Anat Herzog at Chapman University to participate in their first "Salon," in conjunction with Anaheim's WonderCon 2015. The topic was "Comics As Social Change," which I thought was a great topic.
     Chandra Jenkins spoke first, introducing the topic and giving a brief overview of the history of comics and graphic novels, particularly as agents of social change. Then I spoke for about 10 minutes, then Andrew Vo, and then David Brown. Andrew is a student who did an award-winning thesis on comics as propaganda in WWII. David won an award from the NAACP for a black superhero comic he did, inspired by the L.A. Riots.
     One coherent and possibly on-topic thing I said was that if ideas are like viruses, comics are an ideal vector for spreading them fast and efficiently. Comics are usually cheap, and because they are largely visual, the ideas can be processed quickly by the reader, and handed off to the next person with a, "Hey, check this out!"
     I also talked about how people sort of EXPECT comics to contain controversial or edgy material.


     Part of the evening's program stated that Tommy Kovac (that's me) would be visually documenting the discussion. So I made sure to doodle on the butcher paper table-cloth while people were talking about stuff, and while I was thinking of what to say.

     And here are some close-ups of some of the doodles...








Group shot of all involved. David Brown, Anat Herzog, Andrew Vo, Me, Chandra Jenkins, and Ahmed Younis.

WONDER-CON 2015

Tommy & Skeletor (?), BFF!

"Fairy Dust" Gays & Disney panel discussion. Some... colorful types there.
What am I doing here? I mean, other than being gay and having blue hair, why the fuck am I on this panel?
One of my favorite former students (in the middle), and her friend (on the left. because obviously that's me on the right. duh.)

Some notes to gather my thoughts, even though that gigantic scary drag queen did most of the talking.

Jotted quotes from the discussion. And other impressions.

This is actually completely true: my friend Angela and I used to sing this horrible song when we were in high school, referring to any guy who identified too much with Disney, because that meant GAY. I was still in the closet then, and a total hypocrite. Angela doesn't remember this song, but I SWEAR it's true. Somewhere there's a VHS home video tape of her singing it. We were terrible people back then, but now we are ANGELS and never say or do anything mean.



My WonderCon purchases. Adorable blue ram & Ghostface from the Scream movies. BFF!

ORIGINAL ART : "Art Friends Are the Best"


     Received a really cool envelope from a friend, highly-decorated with special postal stamps and such. Inside was a print of Little Nemo-inspired artwork my friend had done recently, and a nice little note about inspiring each other artistically.
     So I did this drawing last night, and plan to put it in the mail as a lil' thank you.
     Long live snail mail and spontaneous art!

ORIGINAL ART : "The Curse of Lopez"

"The Curse of Lopez"
by Tommy Kovac
Ink on illustration board
     I'm experimenting with "illustration board," which is very thick and sturdy, and therefor seems more like a real piece of "art" when you're done with it. I used my regular ZIG markers and Sakura fine liners on this. I'm practicing for a commission piece I'll be doing soon, thinking I'll use illustration board for it. Now that I've inked this, I'm going to try watercolor over it, and see how it looks. If it gets ruined, well... Then I'll know not to try that again.

MY WONDERCON 2015 SCHEDULE



PRE-WONDERCON:

 Thursday, April 2nd, I'll be participating in this (FREE!) pre-WonderCon event at Chapman University, and selling & signing my books:
April 2, 6-8pm, Argyros Forum, room 119A
(Flyer artwork by Ross Loehman)
4/2/2015 UPDATE: Here's the final version of the Salon flyer:
AT WONDERCON:
Saturday, April 4th, I'll be signing from 5pm-6:30pm at booth #809 (Prism Comics).
Then at 7pm that same day I'm participating on this panel:
Fairy Dust: LGBTQ Disney Fandom - Saturday, April 4, 2015, 7:00p.m. – 8:00p.m., Anaheim Convention Center Room 211
Disney is popular around the world.  And Disney characters, films, comics, media and theme parks are especially popular among the LGBTQ community.  Young or old, LGBTQ folk identify with the stories, characters, the fantasy and the imagination. Since you are next door to the “Happiest Place on Earth” join Prism Comics and Disney fans as they explore why the queer community loves all things Disney. Panelists include Dusty Sage (Founder and CEO of MiceChat.com), Tommy Kovac (Skelebunnies, Wonderland), Momma (Anaheim Gay Days; expert on Disney Parks and Disneyana), Jimmy Sherfy (Disney Cosplayer and Animation Enthusiast), Sarah Sterling (Disney Fandom YouTuber, Feminism and Queer Studies Specialist), Joseph Titizian (Disney Historian and Featured Blog Writer) and Barry V (Disney Cosplayer and Animation Enthusiast). Moderated by Ted Abenheim (Prism Comics Board Member).   
     It's kind of a funny topic, because LOTS of people are obsessed with Disney, not just the gays. And I do NOT love "all things Disney." I hate that goddamn Little Mermaid, I hate the "Disney Princess" cult, I find "Finding Nemo" to be a big bland yawn, Cinderella is a passive twat, and I dislike musicals in general. But I think the Prism organizers know this, and have invited me anyway. So I will politely bring my rotten little contrary attitude to the table.
     Here's some Disney I DO love: The original animated "Alice In Wonderland," the Alice In Wonderland ride, the Haunted Mansion ride, Mary Poppins, the movie "Return To Oz," "Sleeping Beauty," the Peter Pan ride, and adorable animated squirrels and bunnies.

Founders' Park in Anaheim

     On the first Saturday of each month, there's an open house at Founders' Park, which is right behind Anaheim High School. Anthony and Mom & Aunt Wanda and I took the tour of the Mother Colony House (very rustic), and the super-beautiful Victorian Woelke-Stoffel house. I want to live in that house dammit.
     Here are some pictures...
This "surveyor's cabinet" in the Colony House is the SHIT, right? 
Look at this adorable corner shelf in the Colony House! So fancy!
Mrs. Clementine Langenberger, whose black eyes stare balefully from the wall in the Colony House.
Why does this creepy doll in the Colony House look more like a tiny lady than a baby?
In the Victorian Woelke-Stoffel House, everything is, like, WAY fancy. Look at this awesome fireplace mantel!!! 
A beautifully carved set of nesting tables, nestled in a corner. (See what I did there?)
Victorians were like, "Bitch, we'll put tassels on ANYTHING."
Victorians will not rest until there are a MILLION tassels.
David Smythe, whose portrait hangs upstairs in the Woelke-Stoffel House, and whose trailing mustaches and peculiar hair streak haunt us to this day...
This is a pretty nice fireplace and mantel, but I like the first one better. This is Plain Jane compared to it.
Ladies, would you like some fans? Why, yes, they ARE ostrich feathers.
Look at that lampshade! It's super nice, you guys. Do NOT rough-house anywhere near it.
Another beautiful piece of German wood-carving.
I just really liked this painting upstairs in the Woelke-Stoffel House.
Peacock feathers! They add Victorian finery to any room.
May I have another serving of Victorian peacock feathers? Yes, you may. Right this way, sir.
This dear little silver water pitcher tilts to facilitate pouring. So genteel!
Pictures hung with medallions and rope and yes, TASSELS.
I'll just sit here and chat for a while. And idly flick the tassels on the curtains.
Love this Victorian wallpaper!
I love THIS Victorian wallpaper, too. Everything should be covered in it. Even cars, and dumpsters.


COMICS

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Currently in the works:
Smells Like Library, written & illustrated by Tommy Kovac
Check it out: HERE.

 The Royal Historian of Oz
Written by Tommy Kovac, illustrated by Andy Hirsch
Graphic novel published by SLG Publishing, Inc.

Wonderland
Written by Tommy Kovac, illustrated by Sonny Liew
Hardcover full-color graphic novel published by Disney Press

Skelebunnies- the Complete Collection
Written & illustrated by Tommy Kovac
Graphic novel published by SLG Publishing, Inc.

Stitch- 10th Anniversary Edition
Written & illustrated by Tommy Kovac
Graphic novel published by SLG Publishing, Inc.

Autumn 
Written & illustrated by Tommy Kovac
Five 24-page single issues
Published by SLG Publishing, Inc.

ORIGINAL ART : Mask Quartet


     I ordered some "Sakura" pens, per the recommendation of an artistically talented student I work with, and for some reason the first thing I was inspired to draw with them were some vaguely Polynesian tribal masks.
     I looked at nothing for reference, so they probably don't really look Polynesian at all.
     I love the way these pens feel, though. Nice fine line, no bleeding, solid black pigment archival quality ink. :)