Another hot and humid week unfortunately for Los Angeles, but as always, I don't let that stop me from progressing on my creative material, it just slows me down a bit. Speaking of progress, I am officially halfway finished with my 2nd Cosmic Force prequel "Just Imagine." For this 12 page story focusing on individual members of the team (Sandra "Imagine" Winters in this case), 6 pages have been illustrated so far. Pages 4-6 have been pencilled, and just need to be inked and colored to go along with pages 1-3. While the prequels will be shorter than my parent series, they still offer some challenges much like the larger books do. For this particular story, I'm digging into Sandra's childhood, which involves illustrations of her as a 7 year old in the mid-1960s. That of course, involves alot of google images research on hairstyles, attire, and furniture of the time. Don't get me wrong, it's fun research, but research nonetheless. Despite the new challenges along with balancing work, food, sleep, and other personal commitments, I still expect to have this story finished in time for my next confirmed show September 15th: Open Arts and Music Festival in Glendale.
Also on the convention/artwalk front: A new comic convention targeting primarily black comic book creators called "Los Angeles Black Comic Convention." The event will take place on February 23rd 2019 in the Baldwin Hills area (no specific venue or table prices have been confirmed yet). I threw my name in the hat to the organizer as a potential artist vendor, so we'll see what happens in the coming months.
Lastly, with this being my eighth year doing conventions, I'm starting to both look back at how far I've come since July 2010, and what I'd like to accomplish heading ever so closer toward my tenth year doing cons two years from now. One of the main things I want to improve on is better communication with my customers/fans. It is very important that I know what you want to see from me in terms of artwork and writing, al well as just getting to know me as a person beyond Allen Carter of Carter Comics. I think I've started in that direction with these newsletters, the mailing list that you all joined, Mongoose Mondays in Motion, and my recent weekly Facebook live audio broadcasts I like to call "Al's Audio Agenda." What I need to do more of though is occasionally ask for your feedback on things like my books, Mongoose Mondays in Motion, and so forth. So while I'm not a person that asks for alot of help, in this case I need it: Whenever you get a chance, I would appreciate it if you would give me feedback on any books you purchased from me, or if you play Mongoose Mondays in Motion, just let me know what you enjoy and what you don't enjoy. This could be in the form of an email to me, a facebook message, or by posting a review on: http://www.indyplanet.us/carter-comics. There's no way that I can get better unless I know what my fans want, so this is all for YOU! As always, Thanks in advance, and I hope you all have a great week!
Regards,
Allen Carter
Carter Comics