"Connections" Anthology Still Seeking Submissions

Connections is the title of an upcoming anthology comic being produced by the Columbus, Ohio based cartoonist group Sunday Comix as part of our ongoing efforts to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and is currently scheduled for publication in early 2015. The book will feature stories dealing with "... growth, renewal, and reinvention in the face of the losses and changes that we all experience."  A fuller descriptions can be found on the home page of the Connections web-site.

While our original deadline for submissions has lapsed, and we've received quite a lot of very good material, it is, unfortunately, not quite enough to fill out the book as we've envisioned it.  Therefore, we are extending the submissions period and renewing our open invitation for all comics writers and artists to send us their story ideas.  A revised deadline has not yet been set, but the sooner you get your submission to us, the better chance it has of being accepted.  For more details and submissions guidelines, check out the Submissions page of the Connections site. 

I and the other members of Sunday Comix involved in the production of Connections look forward to reading and reviewing your ideas.

Let's See How Much I Can Write About This One Photo From SPACE

Damn.  Sarah (girlfriend of frequent Gutter Talk commenter Jonathon Riddle) was right.  I was rockin' some SPECTACULAR hair last Sunday. She'd probably hate me if I'd have told her all I did to it that morning was wash it, blow dry it and run my fingers through it a couple of times.  Or maybe not.  She doesn't seem like someone who's overly concerned with hair and make-up.  That's not to say she's unattractive, but that she strikes me as neither vain nor vapid.  

Anyway, the above photo is, as you may have surmised already, of me and Canada Keck at the Sunday Comix table at the 14th annual Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE) last weekend.  (Canada's the one wearing the dress.)  I like the way the word balloon in the Sunday Comix logo is pointing at my mouth.  I don't think that was intentional, but its a nice effect anyway.  This picture, by the way, was taken by Michael Neno, and you can see more of his photos from the show on his own blog.

To my right on the table are copies of The Sunday Comix Jam-iversary, the new collection of jam comix that we debuted at the show.  To my left are the bags of comics donated by the other exhibitors which made up the prizes in our raffle to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  Thanks to the generosity of the exhibitors and patrons at SPACE this year, Sunday Comix was able to donate over $200 to the AFSP.

I'll be back to updating this blog soon, I hope.  I haven't quite been inactive the past week, however.  We of Sunday Comix are already planning our next publication, which we hope to have ready for next year's SPACE.  This is going to be an anthology comic with proceeds also going to the AFSP.  I'll have more details as the project evolves.

Meanwhile, I did pick up some comics at the show and I'll be writing about some of those here in the future.

UPDATE: Sunday Comix at SPACE

I'm dashing this post off before I head out to the Ramada Plaza Hotel (4900 Sinclair Road in Columbus, OH) for the second day of the fourteenth annual Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE).  I will again be mostly at the Sunday Comix table pitching the various comics for sale there, including our latest collection of jam comics, The Sunday Comix Jam-versary, celebrating the group's tenth anniversary.  When I wrote about this book a couple of days ago, I posted some preliminary cover art, but now I can show you the finished cover.  So if you're heading out to the show today, look for this cover:

Also, we of Sunday Comix are once again holding a raffle at the show with the proceeds to be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  As the show opened yesterday, Canada Keck hit up all the exhibitors for donations to the prize pool, and came back to the table with enough booty to fill six gift bags.  Yesterday we held three drawings, raising over one hundred twenty dollars.  Today, we plan three more throughout the day.  So, if you're at the show, stop by and get a ticket or several.  We're selling them for two dollars each or a strip of 12 for ten dollars.  The money will be going to a good cause and one that is very near to the hearts of the members of Sunday Comix, you get a shot at going home with a collection of some of the best comics being done today. 

I hope to see you there.

Sunday Comix Raffle to Benefit AFSP at S.P.A.C.E.

"Every 15 minutes someone dies by suicide."

That sad statistic comes from the web-site of The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  As far as I'm concerned, once every twenty years is more than enough.  In my life, I have lost two people that I have cared about to suicide.  First, my childhood best friend Eric "Igor" Brown in 1991, and most recently my nephew Steve Pisarchick in 2008.  

Thus, this past weekend at the 12th Annual Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (S.P.A.C.E.), I organized a raffle at the Sunday Comix table, the proceeds of which went to the AFSP. 

Before the show, I took a basket, donated by fellow Sunday Comix member Canada Keck, around the room, filling it with comics generously donated  by many of the exhibitors to be the prize.  Throughout the day, as well, several other artists came up to the table and added to the prize pool.  By the time we finally held the drawing, the basket could no longer hold all the comics that had been donated. 

Selling tickets for $2, or 12 for $10, we managed to raise $168.  To that I added $32 from my own pocket to make a $200 donation to AFSP in Steve's memory. 

I would like to thank everyone at the show who donated comics, all those who bought tickets, and, most of all, my fellow members of Sunday Comix, especially Canada and Max Ink, for all their help and support.  I could not have pulled this off without it.

You can find more information about the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and make a donation on-line, at afsp.org.