San Diego 2007 (part 2); Friday, Saturday & beyond
I know it’s a little late, but here’s my photo journal of this year’s big show, starting with the Dead Dog Party on the last night where everyone gathers to celebrate and unwind.
Here I am enjoying a stogy with Charles Brownstein of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, and DC Batman editor Bob Schreck.
Pals since the early days, Larry Marder and Jim Vallentino…
…David Scroggy, Bryan Talbot, John Davis (of the late and lamented Capital Comics Distribution), and the magnificent Bob Burden of Flaming Carrot & Gumby fame.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's go back to the…BONE World Tour 2006-2007 at the San Diego Comic-Con!
Fone Bone made the rounds almost every day, visiting with people and posing for pictures. In costume form and in stuffed animal form!
The Scholastic signing was packed. The line went out the door of the convention and out into the hall.
When the Fone Bone costume bumped into the Sam & Max costume, there was a huge trafffic jam. For a couple of minutes, there was craziness completely blocking hallways in four directions.
Chatting with Publishers Weekly journalist Calvin Reed.
Fone claps his hands and accidentally crushes a small child.
At my Spotlight panel, I did a reading of my latest project RASL, and from the new color BONE 6: Old Man's Cave. Comic Book Resources did a feature on the panel, here.
Tom Beland, who has a new collection coming out of his True Story, Swear to God comics.
Jim Lee, Matt Wagner, Terry Moore and I ganged up to draw pictures for the CBLDF Sunday morning Live Art Jam.
Below you can see Jim drawing under the camera while CBDLF's Charles Brownstein eggs on the crowd.
And speaking of the CBLDF, Jake Talley had the winning bid ($3,200) in Saturday night's CBLDF Comic-Con Auction for the original art page from Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil.
Vijaya and I had a spicy Tai lunch with Bryan Talbot, cartoonist of Alice in Sunderland and One Bad Rat.
I was on my way to have a coffee with Kazu Kibuishi (Flight, and the upcoming Amulet ) when we ran into McCloud women Ivy & Winter with Kurt Busiek.
One of the CBLDF Live Jam winners, Gary with his pencil drawing of Fone Bone and Thorn.
I did a signing at the Dark Horse booth to promote the release of their Art of Bone coffee table book, one of the surprise hits of the show. We brought boxes of the things and were sold out on Saturday.
Sunday night Charles Vess and his wife Karen Shaffer went up to LA for the premier of Stardust , the movie based on the book that Charles co-authored with Neil Gaiman. The next day, he rented a sailboat and took Terry & Robin Moore (Strangers in Paradise), and Vijaya & me out for a beautiful afternoon breezing around San Diego Bay.
Left to right: Karen Shaffer,Robin Moore (down low with the sun hat), Terry Moore (at the wheel), and Charles Vess.
Can't beat this with a stick. See you next year, San Diego.
Awesome pics! I really hope that next year, I can finally go to the Con for the first time…
Comment by Nick — August 6, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
Looks like you had a fantastic time. So far, all the San Diego con-reports that I’ve read have been really positive about this years show. I’ve wanted to attend this show for many , many years, hopefully next year I’ll be there.
What was the response like to RASL, the preview I saw online looked awesome, I can’t wait for this to come out.
-Kev
Comment by Kevin Richter — August 6, 2007 @ 8:08 pm
Wow! Sounds like a fantastic time! I picked up bone 6 from the local library and my lord… I was so blown away. There a few pages that really especially had me in awe. Its been quite a lot of progress since 2005 with book 1. If theres any preview for Ghost Circles, please mention. Awesome Job Steve! What month do you think Ghost Circles will come out?
Comment by Marcus — August 7, 2007 @ 12:09 am
Wow, what a giant Fone Bone moving through the booths… (Will this Bone figure also go on world tour?)
Comment by LegerLegende — August 7, 2007 @ 2:33 am
LOL, I love the Bone / Sam & Max photo! Awesome! I think that is a comic team-up that would be hilarious if it ever happened.
I’m not surprised that Art of Bone did brilliantly well. It’s such a gorgeous book and it’s beautifully put together. Heck, the first page is designed for you to sign it! That’s just one of the little things that Dark Horse did right to make this the perfect Bone book. I wrote a review of the book… click my name at the end of this post to visit my website and read the review.
I’m so excited for RASL and the direction you’re taking with it, Jeff. The Comic Book Resources coverage of your panel is excellent – RASL is going to be incredible, and in the meantime, we have three more volumes of coloured Bone and the hardcover Shazam! to look forward to – I can’t wait!
Comment by Brandon — August 7, 2007 @ 4:13 am
Cool.I made it into one of the photos. The guy who was walking Bone out of the Convention on Friday. I’m in the grey shirt.
The line was so long though.So I never got an autograph
But SDCC was a blast!
Comment by Nathan — August 7, 2007 @ 5:32 am
great reportage, great pics. It seems you had a lot of fun. Hope to meet sooner or later again.
a big Italian Ciao
smoky man
Comment by smoky man — August 8, 2007 @ 11:45 am
Having the Bone costume around was a lot of fun, for sure. But it probably won’t be traveling with me. It actually belongs to the Scholastic Book Fairs, and they take it on the road to visit schools.
Comment by Jeff Smith — August 8, 2007 @ 3:01 pm
Hey Brandon,
Just checked out your review of the Art of book.
Nicely, done! And I couldn’t agree more that Diana & Cary from Dark Horse did an outstanding job.
Comment by Jeff Smith — August 8, 2007 @ 3:03 pm
Cool wish I could have been their, too busy traveling. Looks like fun though!
Comment by Trace — August 8, 2007 @ 4:43 pm
Howdy, Jeff!
So, when will RASL be available for those of us who weren’t at SDCC? I’ve heard many many good things about it, especially the larger format. Bummer that the collection is going to be smaller, but I understand that’s the economics of the situation. ah, well.
Comment by INdigo — August 12, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
Great, great pics Jeff. I’ve been seriously thinking about making it to San Diego next year and with this kind of evidence, I’m all the more determined to do so. I’ve been a Bone fan for more than ten years and it would definitely be a blast for me to get to know you in person, shake hands and all that. Keep up the good work!
Comment by beto — August 16, 2007 @ 11:15 am
I was wondering if anyone could tell me the best place to buy Bone posters online?
Comment by Daniel — August 19, 2007 @ 1:04 am
I went to Wizard World Chicago and Bone was not represented at all! I was so sad! It was the only reason I went. Please come to Wizard World next year. I am a middle shcool art teacher and we love comic books and my students LOVE Bone! And I also want Bone posters! Where can you get them?
Comment by Katie — September 12, 2007 @ 1:32 pm
[...] I found this picture on Jeff Smith’s blog and site Boneville. Jeff, over the course of ten years, wrote and illustrated the comic Bone, an LOTR-esque fantasy series featuring the adventures of the cousins Bone: Fone, Phoney and Smiley. It’s a wonderful story that my buddy Charlie Baber got me hooked on in college. [...]
Pingback by Hey! That’s Me! « starving artist — October 6, 2007 @ 1:47 am
Sound like you had a great time wish I could have gone, but maybe next year, since my sister is going to grad school on LA for animation it make it a lot easier to go. Durring or time at wizard world chicago we have really considered it.
Question well those Bone plush figures be available on this site anytime? I hope I hope I hope
Comment by Jeanette — October 8, 2007 @ 12:36 am
you should make a stick-eater costumes and the hooded one costume avaibale on Boneville.
Comment by jason cote — October 13, 2007 @ 2:54 pm
Great pictures! My son was the hapless child that was accidentally crushed by Fone. You can see the other side of the picture here:
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=67877946&albumID=1156126&imageID=10961803
He had a blast! You really made his day Jeff. Thanks!
Comment by Andrew Rubio — December 4, 2007 @ 10:25 pm
JEFF SMITH BONE IS COOL I PLAYED THE GAME TO
IM LOOKIN FORWARD TO THE MOVIE
(FONE BONE NEEDS HELP ON POEMS THOUGH)
Comment by ricardo — March 17, 2008 @ 4:46 pm