Inside FLiP On #1: Inhabitionless and A Little Twisted

I know I didn't post this as quickly as I thought I would...working on various comic projects the past 2 weeks has kept me pretty occupied (as well as both kids being sick!)...but I'm gonna get all the FLiP On updates done before the book debuts at Roanoke Valley ComiCon on Nov. 14!

For this installment, I'm gonna discuss "Inhabitionless" and "A Little Twisted".

"Inhabitionless" will be an ongoing feature in FLiP On...showcasing the daily life of our nameless focal point. As the name suggests, he has no inhibitions...and the misspelling of the word lets us know that he makes a habit out of displaying this lack of holding back. He does and says the things we think in the back of our heads, but would never say. A short strip written and drawn by Josh Talley, it's simple yet hilarious!

"A Little Twisted" was one of the first features we decided should be in FLiP On. The name actually sprang from a drawing done by Gabe Talley years ago, which gives us a twist on that old saying "killing two birds with one stone". I didn't want to copy any of the drawings from "A Little Twisted" here, because I feel it will ruin the effect of seeing them on the page, being that they are full page drawings. And two of them will be in FLiP On #1, the previously mentioned by Gabe and Josh's take on "The pen is mightier than the sword". We have other ideas for warping the words of idioms for future installments of "A Little Twisted", so it'll definitely be back.

I'll post a look at "System One" and "Hang in There" in my next installment...

'Til then,

Matthew D. Smith

FLiP On #1 is completed!

My good friend, Josh Talley, and I have been working really hard lately (especially the past 2 weeks) to get our anthology comic book completed in time for the Roanoke Valley ComiCon next month. I am extremely pleased to announce that the debut issue of "FLiP On" is completed! After putting some crazy time into it the past 4 days (minus a trip to the drive-in...more on that in an upcoming post), I put the finishing touches on it this morning and submitted it to the printers just minutes ago! Whooo!



"FLiP On" is an odd, humorous anthology by Josh Talley, Gabe Talley, and myself. Most of the stories in this first issue sprang to life from inside jokes or weird conversations we had. When Josh and I decided to start working on some comic stuff together, we realized we had stock piled several of these story ideas and knew they would be perfect crammed together in a ridiculous comic. Hence, "FLiP On" was born. You can see the cover to the first issue above, featuring my son Xavier in a monkey suit (no, really...a monkey suit). Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing bits and pieces of the six different stories within the first issue (similar to the posts I did for "Wichita Gravy" on the 80 Pork Comics MySpace page). So, keep checking back for more info on it all.

Till next time,
Matthew D. Smith

Sunny Day Real Estate concert - D.C. 9/30/09

Hi, everyone!

I'm kinda slow going with the blog. Well, I'm not too bad, it's just that several cool things happened just a few days BEFORE I even set up the blog. So, basically, I'm backtracking to discuss the coolness to get everyone up to speed on the current coolness. So...we cool?

First, I want to point out that I cooked up a snazzy title block for my blog featuring some characters from some of the stories I have written and/or drawn. From left to right, we have Brandon from "New Kids From The Old Neighborhood" (from "Wichita Gravy"), Floyd from "Rituals" (also in "Wichita Gravy", Trapeze from "The Adventurers of Liberty City", Zeddio from "Inside the Mind of Zeddio" (another W.G. tale), Zombie from "Monsters Unemployed" (dude, I have too many stories in W.G!), and Bear Arms from the upcoming "Super Tourette's Dude" to debut in "FLiP On" #1 (post about that coming VERY soon!).

But the real intention of today's entry is to take a moment to step away from the comics talk and jump aboard some music...namely, the Sunny Day Real Estate reunion concert in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 30. Anyone who has known me for any period of time has definitely heard mention of this band from my lips. I love them...pure and simple. Not only are they my favorite band from the '90s (which is a decade of music I am quite fond of), but they are probably my favorite band of ALL time. I know...a heavy claim that many have argued with me over...but that's another discussion for another time.

I won't go into a major history lesson on the band, but basically, this reunion tour is the first time all 4 original band members have played together since 1995 or something like that. So, when the tour announcement came, I told Christina, "We are going!". Yes, I had seen the band twice already before as well as The Fire Theft (which had 3 of the band members on the cd, 2 of them in concert), but this was different. This was Jeremy, Dan, William, and Nate...together...on stage...playing their hits.

I was not disappointed in the slightest. This time blew the other tours I saw (1998 and 2000) away. You could tell the band was loving every minute of it, from the expression on their faces during songs to the reaction to the crowd between songs to the perfect sound coming from them. They played a number of songs from their first 2 cds (the only 2 with all 4 original members) as well as a few songs from their very underrated third album "How It Feels To Be Something On" (probably one of my all-time favorite cds). The opening band, The Jealous Sound, complimented Sunny Day very well...their sound definitely reminiscent of classic SDRE.

I ended up getting pushed next to a group of hardcore Sunny Day fans during the show. The five of us belted out the songs and loved every minute of it. Other than a douche in front of us who resembled Art Alexakis from "Everclear" who kept bumping into Christina as he talked on his cell phone (who does THAT at a concert??) and almost elbowed her in the eye, it was a near perfect night. Oh, minus the speeding ticket I got on the way to the show (arrrgh, my fault entirely but still aggravating).

If you don't know who SDRE is or have never heard them, I urge you to type their name in your search engine, sample some tracks on a site, watch some YouTube videos, something. If you like my type of music (read my bands in my profile), you'll dig SDRE.

Til next time,
Matthew D. Smith

Tales of a Con man: SPX 2009

Two weekends ago (yes, I am late in posting on this) was Small Press Expo 2009 in Bethesda, MD. I've attended a few times before over the years, but decided to bite the bullet and get a table this year. Christina, Christopher, and Xavier came along with me...Christina and Xavier for moral support (and nearby shopping) and Christopher to help man the table. Since Christopher does have a story co-written in "Wichita Gravy" #1, we figured he could help sell the books (as he did at the Roanoke Valley ComiCon back in April). Christina found out about a book festival in D.C. that same Saturday and far be it from me to keep Christopher from possibly meeting Judy Blume and Jeff Kinney (two of his favorite authors). That meant Saturday would be me going at it alone for the majority of the day.

Fortune has smiled upon me when seating me next to people at cons...SPX '09 was no different. I was right between Jason Pittman and Katie Ohmberg. Jason self-publishes a comic called "Leftovers", with each issue being a stand-alone story tackling real-life scenarios. He also had a beginning preview book for a wild tale called "The Exodus" and some freebie samples of a book he's doing with Chuck Dixon (!!) called "Hand of the Devil". All of his work is super spectacular, in my humble opinion. His wife, Desiree, came along to help out at the table, and she also contributed a drawing on the back cover of an issue of "Leftovers". Deisree's art is equally amazing, I kid you not. On the other side of me, we had Katie. Ms. Ohmberg specializes in mini-comics, which are SPX's bread and butter. Her true-to-life stories and simple, yet animated, cartoons really mesh well and bring her book to life. Her two best (and her best sellers, mind you) are "Suggestion Box" (tale of the nightmare of working in a framing shop) and "Mildly Irritateing" (spelled incorrectly on purpose, all about things that drive her crazy). Again, not only were The Pittmans and Katie very talented in their work, but they were super cool, nice, funny, and were literally, at least, half o the greatness of doing this con. It was one of those instances where I made some good connections and I'm keeping in touch with them.

On to the actual con...Saturday was initially a little slow going. I mentally prepared myself for it, however. I mean, 84% (heh, good with the math, eh?) of my books are capes...and most SPX attendees are either not into the super heroics or not looking for that. But, there were some bites here and there. "Wichita Gravy" was the selling point, though. That's why I pushed to get that first issue done in time for SPX. The content of that book is perfect for this show. And some people got interested in "Wichita Gravy" and gave "The Adventurers of Liberty City" a shot. Christopher made it to Day 1 about 2 hours before closing time, and he did a good job...talking about the comic and even doing free sketches of people if they bought an issue (one attendee REALLY enjoyed her suggested sketch of a jellyfish). All in all, Day 1 was pretty good.

I was very psyched and pumped about Day 2. I got there early to get everything set-up, had time to stroll around, and chatted with Rick Spears, Rob Ullman, Chris Staros, J. Chris Campbell, and Andy Runton. Christopher came along for the full day, while Christina and Xavier popped in around 2:00 and looked around for a few hours. The second day blew Day 1 out of the water...not only did I have more interest in the books, but I had some cool conversations with attendees and other creators that stopped by. Another exhibitor, Benjamin Marra, came by and traded me 3 of his books for 3 of mine, and he purchased the other 3. His books, "Night Business" and "Gangsta Rap Posse", are something to check out...they definitely have their audience, and either you get them or you don't. If you get them, you are in for a treat. I guess people were feeling out the con on Day 1 and gauging their purchases. I had some people come by on Sunday that bought all 6 issues, so that was very cool.

The show closed at 6:00 that evening, so we began the 3+ hour trip home to Lynchburg. I was on cloud nine, so we ended the weekend right by listening to good music on the way home and stopping at Pete's Park-N-Eat for pizza. A great weekend, and I am TOTALLY looking forward to going back to SPX next year. You can check out some of the artists I mentioned above through their links to the right.

Til next time...

---Matthew D. Smith

Hey, guys...

It was time I did this...

Devoted my own little place on the world wide web (heh, nobody calls it that anymore) to concentrate on my writing and my art. I'm sure I'll be throwing in little tidbits here and there dealing with my personal thoughts/suggestions on music and movies, as well as funny anecdotes about my kids.

Anyway, if you don't already know who I am...hey, nice to meet you. The little profile area on the bottom right corner will fill you in on all the necessary info, but don't hesitate to ask me anything. In fact, I perfer you post and ask for two reasons: A) it will prove to me that someone is actually reading this thing, and 2) it will allow me to yammer on about the loads of useless information in my noggin.

To fill you everyone in, though, I'm a writer and an artist. I currently co-plot and share art duties on a comic called "The Adventurers of Liberty City". The book is done by David Simonton, Brad Jaskula, and myself for 80 Pork Comics (which is our own little comic imprint). The fifth issue just came out in August and we're working on the sixth, as well as a graphic novel collection of the first five issues with loads of bonus stuff...more on the details at a later date.

David, Brad, and I also started an anthology called "Wichita Gravy"...basically, an outlet for us to do other stories together outside of the realm of capes, so to speak. We have humor, true life situations, horror, suspense, whatever. The first issue, which just came out in September, also features a story co-written by my 8-year-old son Christopher...worth checking out for that alone!

I'm developing another comic publication "house" with Josh Talley, called TAK Comics. At this time, TAK will be doing two separate anthologies...one for humor/odd/slapstick stuff and another for superhero/dramatic/true life/horror scenarios. We're lining up some very awesome stuff for those two ongoing anthologies, as well as other surprises for a later date.

Obviously, the main point of this blog is to give you guys constant updates on these projects and future plans. I'll be posting stuff on here as it comes up, so keep checking back. You can find links on the right there to see preview pages and purchasing info for my comics, dates of convention appearances, other internet areas I hang around, and fellow comic creators' sites.

For my final note, I promise that every post won't be as long winded as this one! My next few posts will be back-tracking, however, to give details about the past week's trip to SPX and the Sunny Day Real Estate concert in D.C.!

Til then...
---Matthew D. Smith