Mike Dawson Comics

I’m heading out to sunny Minneapolis, Minnesota this weekend, for the second annual Minneapolis Indie Xpo (MIX)!

I’ll be manning the Secret Acres table with Eamon (Wormdye) Espey, and we’ll have all those good books for sale. Come find us! Just like at APE, Secret Acres trusted me with their special custom convention flag, so we should be easy enough to spot.

Also: On Sunday morning, at 10:15AM, I’ll be hosting a TCJ Talkies LIVE panel, with guests MariNaomi and Noah Van Sciver. I’ll talk about their respective work, and also plan on asking questions about format – working on full length graphic novels versus serializing comics as floppies or minicomics. Mari has been posting comics online at The Rumpus recently, so I’ll ask what it’s like working for the web. Come listen to us yak, won’t you?

In addition to Troop 142, I’ll be bringing a handful of Freddie & Me’s & Gabagool!s, as well as my Apple Jacks binder filled with cheap original art.

See you there!

Julia Wertz is my guest in the Talkie Hutt this week. Julia is the author of The Fart Party, two volumes of which have been published by Atomic Books, and Drinking at the Movies, published by Random House. On the show, we talk about her early minicomics and webcomics, her feelings about interacting with an online audience, and the creation of Drinking at the Movies, as well as the subsequent ambivalence she feels towards that book for a number of different reasons.

This interview may also be kind of amusing for revealing how difficult it is for me to talk frankly with someone about “taboo” subjects such as alcoholism and addiction. I hem and haw and skirt around the edges of the topic for most of the first half of the show, before I finally take a deep breath and talk properly about the things Julia clearly wants to discuss. I can’t help it! It’s my English heritage. It makes me all uptight and reluctant to talk openly about tough topics in mixed company. So, in a way, this episode was a breakthrough for me. I am really happy with the results.

Feeding Ground’s own Mike Lapinski joins us in The Panther’s Crypt for a frightfully frightful episode! We’ll discuss the rules of Lycanthropy versus the rules of Draculas. Ghost tours, costumes, and Gentlemen Frankensteins. Twilight and The Amityville Horror. It’s a GHOULish good time, only slightly brought down in the middle when the topic of our nation’s shameful 300-year history of slavery is discussed at length.

Comments welcome!

This week’s illustration of Inky the Domesticated Panther supplied by Alexander Robinson! Submit your own illustration of Inky to inkpanthers@gmail.com

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A couple of nice bits of press have come in recently. One is this funny interview up at the F*cked in Park Slope blog (or FIPS), which I am really excited about, since I assume it will mean that people will recognize me when I walk into the Pavillion movie theater or go to Union Market from now on. Also, I love that they used that adorable photo of me and Orli. It was taken in Scotland, not Park Slope, but it was just too lovely not to repurpose, I imagine.

This interview came about because of the short Park Slope Vampire Mom story I posted a little while back, which can be read online here.

Also, some nice reviews for Troop 142 that I believe I have not yet linked to:

There are a lot of interpretations to Troop 142, an original graphic novel concerning Boy Scouts and adult chaperones up at a summer camp. It’s a credit to the creator, Mike Dawson, that the book is so rich with genuine-feeling human interaction and characterization that it merits discussion as literature rather than pop entertainment. Under the Radar

Applying the same level of merciless scrutiny used by Anton Chekhov, Dawson rips away the naive Norman Rockwell facade of one of the few rites of passage left to young American males, and replaces it with something complex and uncomfortable. Foreword Reviews

The Slinkiest Panther, John “The Wiggly Reader” Kerschbaum pads his way back into The Panther’s Lair to make his triumphant return to the show. We talk about a number of important topics, such as A Citizen’s Duty to Take Jury Duty Seriously, because plainly a Trial by Jury is a better system than the Medieval Trial by Ordeal, and clearly those are the only two choices. Plus: Mike gets RAW. And a weak stomach. And, of course, our Third Annual Halloween Episode is just around the corner, so the Dads talk at length about the costumes they are making for their daughters, which is just plain adorable.

Comments welcome!

This week’s illustration of Inky the Domesticated Panther supplied by Michael Jonathan! Submit your own illustration of Inky to inkpanthers@gmail.com

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I’m back in the Talkie Hutt, speaking with long-time MOME contributor, Kurt Wolfgang! Check it out.

(side note: Eagle-eared listeners may notice that if you pay real close attention to the first ten minutes or so of this chat, you’ll hear a child screaming in the background. That’s my daughter, putting up a fight about going to bed. I did my best to remain engaged with the conversation while that was going on, but I gotta admit, it can be hard to stay focused… “Oh, what’s that, they cancelled MOME? Oh wait a minute, did my daughter just fall out of her crib? No? OK, go back to what you were saying…”)

It’s a special episode this week, as Mike finds himself on the PRO T.I.P.S. couch, talking to Alex about his new graphic novel, Troop 142. After Mike overcomes some initial un-comfortableness about answering questions, the Panthers settle into a rhythm, and have a pretty good chat about the origins of the book, Boy Scouts, drug use, autobiography, and male friendship. And remember, Troop 142 ships to finer comic stores everywhere on Wednesday, so keep an eye out for it, won’t you?

Comments welcome!

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Mike is back from APE, the Alternative Press Expo, and has all the updates you’d expect. What was it like renting someone else’s apartment for the weekend? Was he able to sleep there alone? Then, Alex has some complaining to do about Public Displays of Affection (PDA), and Mike talks about the most extreme example he can remember seeing. THEN, The Desert Panther, Tony Consiglio creeps into The Lair to tell us a story about how he bought a new mattress. That sounds boring, yes. But trust us, this is a good one.

Comments welcome!

This week’s illustration of Inky the Domesticated Panther supplied by David King! Submit your own illustration of Inky to inkpanthers@gmail.com

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I am back from the big Alternative Press Expo in sunny (yet unexpectedly chilly) San Francisco, and in keeping with tradition, I didn’t take pictures of anything, despite seeing plenty.

A few notes:

I really liked flying Virgin America. The plane felt new and safe, and they have these purple lights and a dimly lit cabin that make you feel like you’re just chilling at a particularly cramped nightclub, rather than hurtling through the air at 600 mph, in defiance of God and nature. I used to be a terrible on planes, but have gotten better in recent years. I tense up during take-off, but have finally learned to relax during the rest of the flight.

My one concern was the fact that also on my flight out there, was the incredibly talented and popular cartoonist, Kate Beaton. I always get a little concerned when flying with other cartoonists, because I worry about how the inevitable Beat headline would be written should our plane go down. With Kate on the plane, it would be no contest: Cartooning Superstar Perishes in Fiery Plane Crash! Aspiring Comics Podcaster also rumored to have been on board. Thank goodness we made it there in one piece.

On Saturday I was one of four guests slated to appear on the Comix Claptrap LIVE panel. I was up first, and participated in some mostly friendly, but pretty-well borderline insulting-to-me banter with the hosts, and then my 10 minutes were up and I was asked to slide down “the couch” while they called up guest number two. Here’s a photo I took of Scott Campbell getting the Claptrap Treatment.

It was a lot like being at a long table at a restaurant, with the feeling that all the good conversation was happening at the other end.

I didn’t really pack enough clothes (I think because I was too preoccupied with packing heavy boxes of books), so on Day One I bought a t-shirt from someone at the con. On Day Two, I wore it to the show. Here I am in it. I am pretty sure some of the aliens on the shirt have testicles visible, which I didn’t notice when I purchased it. I don’t think this will stop me from wearing the shirt again, but it will probably always be known to me as my Alien Balls shirt from now on.

Finally, what did I pick up at the show? I will probably post a photo of my “haul” at a later date – but I can tell you I got some great comics from Adrian Tomine, MariNaomi, Noah Van Sciver, Tessa Brunton, Ethan Rilly, Susie Cagle, Joey Allison Sayers, Levon Jihanian, and a bunch more.

However, my favorite thing that I bought might be this:

People say that APE is a show with more support for Arts & Crafts than other conventions, and I think this is true. A lot of tables have artists selling only prints, or posters, or handmade t-shirts, or toys. Buttons, postcards, paintings, and drawings. I think a show like SPX is a little more exclusively comics-focused, where at APE the lines are a little looser. I don’t really mind this at all, because one of my favorite things to pick up at conventions are strange little hand-made things that I can get for cheap and put up on the wall. I love this little mounted Yeti head. The only thing I have to decide now is if it’s better placed in my daughter’s room, or can this be something for the living room. Decisions, decisions…

Thanks to David King for the sweet animated gif at the top of the post.

Things have been real busy with me since returning from the Small Press Expo earlier this month, as I set off on a whirlwind tour of my ancestral homeland (Scotland) with my family, which had me “off the grid” for quite some time. The pic above was taken on the Isle of Skye. See how healthy and not-chained-to-the-internet my daughter and I look. You can practically smell the crisp air and savory outdoors-ness. It was seriously great.

I didn’t do any drawing or writing or anything while I was gone, but that was OK, as I think I needed to just recharge my batteries a bit anyhow. I am not sure if they’re totally back at full power yet – I still haven’t had a chance to sit down at the drawing table since my return – so we’ll see. I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do next (I think) and I’m starting to feel amped once again.

But enough chit-chat, on with the announcements: This weekend I will be at the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. I’ll be representing Secret Acres, and will have all their fine books on hand, as well as copies of Troop 142 and old Heroclix figurines, of course. Here’s what the floor plan looks like:

On Saturday I’ll be appearing on this panel:

2:00 The Comix Claptrap . . . LIVE! – Co-hosts Rina Ayuyang and Thien Pham record an episode of their enlightening, riotous, and controversial podcast, The Comix Claptrap LIVE at APE! For four seasons, Rina and Thien have interviewed comics artists in the indie comics scene about their work, creative processes, and experiences in the industry. Each show has included New Comics Wednesday beat reportage from fellow cartoonist Josh Frankel, and new favorite segment, The Comix Cranktrap, where they crank-call a well-known cartoonist listed in their Rolodex. Also featured on the panel: Mike Dawson, Scott Campbell, Levon Jihanian, and Esther Pearl Watson. This panel promises to be total mayhem!

I’m looking forward to this. As everyone knows, I am a generally nice fellow, considered quite genial by many. However, for some reason this upstart podcast called The Comix Claptrap has historically been (what some might consider) unfriendly towards me and my own podcasts. In their most recent episode they call the incredibly talented Laura Park to task for the offense of appearing on The Ink Panthers instead of their show, as if TIPS wasn’t up-to-snuff enough for her to come on. Not nice guys, not nice at all…

So, perhaps some of that will come up, but hopefully we’ll talk about Troop 142 as well.

Anyway, hope to see some of you there!