Heather Bryant

Table Location at SPX

Got my table assignment for Small Press Expo next weekend in Maryland – I’m at F2, which is right near the front. If you’re coming by, come say hello!
floor2010

AE5, Swoon and SPX!

Hi all!

I’m finally, finally on the last page of American, Eh #5!  Took long enough!  It’s been a real struggle to get it done for some reason, but I am so relieved to be almost done.  The plan is to get it finished over the next two days, plus edits, lay it out, and send it to the printers by Sunday evening.   Here’s a page preview:

SWOON is also complete – I just have to check the printer copy before it’s shipped out.   It’s definitely a different step for me – for one thing, it’s wordless.  The second – it’s done in pen, not brush and ink.   I really like it, though, and it was good to experiment.  More of that to come I think.

All this nuttiness is to prepare for Small Press Expo (SPX) in two weeks!  I can’t believe it’s come up so soon, and I can’t believe that once again, I’ve waited until days before to get my printing done.  It always seems to work out that way.   But everything should be ready to go before I leave on the Friday to make the drive – SPX is the biggest show of the year for me, so you gotta hustle, right?  Last year was the first time I ever exhibited anywhere, and this time I’m much more prepared and savvy about what you have to do to make those connections.  I think it’ll be awesome.

Talk soon,

Heather B.

SPX, MICE, and Swoon

Hi all,

Been consumed with real-world work lately, although I’m still plugging away at all the comics and prepping for upcoming shows.  I’ll be exhibiting still at SPX in Maryland, and at MICE in Boston, and I’ll have new books ready to go.

One of the books will be SWOON .1, which came about this summer because my studio was too hot to work in.  So, since I couldn’t ink with brushes at the kitchen table (I like a raised surface), I turned to the pens, and started messing with an idea I’d had for a while – making wordless, or near wordless mini-comics.  I used the word “swoon” as the theme of the book (maybe series, we’ll see)  – I’d been fixated on the word for a while and its multiple meanings. In this case, it’s about swooning to music, and the dance that forms in your mind as you listen:

I’m still working on American, Eh #5 – it is *slow-going*.  But it’ll be done soon enough.  If you’re curious about what’s happened in the series so far, go check out the Shop page and my Etsy site.

More updates as things get finished!

-Heather B.

No More NESPA, and other Updates

Hi guys,

So NEPSA (New England Small Press Assembly) has been cancelled due to the organizer’s personal issues and responsibilities. Too bad – I was looking forward to having another show to exhibit at. So September is the next busy con-time: Small Press Expo (SPX) in Maryland, MICE (see below) in Boston.

Status update: I’m in the middle of American, Eh? #5, still churning out Cake Brat comics, and plotting new comics for Sho Ga Nai, maybe some Six Pack comics (about growing up in a family of six kids), and a new little collaboration scheduled to happen … when collaborator gets back from Italy, that is. She’s there for a very unique reason, the subject of which will very likely become my next mini-c0mic.   More information as it happens!

MICE (Massachusetts Indie Comic Expo)

Funny how I was just thinking that I wanted another comic convention to exhibit at this year that wouldn’t cost a ton for travel and table, and here’s a new one for September!

http://www.masscomics.com/index.htm

I just bought a full table – now to make enough stuff to fill it!

Maine Comic Arts Fest – May 23, 2010

Hi all!

I’ll be exhibiting at MeCAF this year for the first time, and first time going to Portland, Maine! The husband and I are making it into a nice getaway weekend, and very much needed. I love going to new places, I roam around like a crazy person looking at every nook.

What’ll be on the table? I’m really tickled about the debut of Sho Ga Nai! Plus, Juniper Key and the Very Serious Girl, American Eh? #4 (working on #5 for SPX in September), little postcard prints of artwork, and flyers for my new webcomic Cake Brat! Plus, these just arrived in the mail:

Hopefully see you there!

New Books Available!

Very proud to announce that two new books are available for purchase in my Etsy shop!  Click on the pics to go straight to the shop.

First, Juniper Key and the Very Serious Girl, a children’s book about a very serious girl and a very silly professor:

And second, the first installment of Sho Ga Nai, a series of minicomics about going to Japan with my mother:

Buttons!

Preview of button designs for upcoming cons like the Maine Comic Arts Fest.

Some March Updates

I’ve been squirreled away in my little studio for the past month working on multiple projects, all of which are coming together slowly.   Here’s what’s up:

I’m making Cake Brat into an online comic!  …. as soon as I figure out how to get www.cakebrat.com up and running.  A friend is helping, so hopefully I’ll post soon that it’s live.

I’m working on American, Eh? #5, which takes place entirely in Canada, and up where my family lives in Sauble Beach.  It’s kind of my love letter to the area, as the vast majority of the book will take place outside.  Which I’m enjoying – I’m always way more comfortable inking landscapes than I am people.  Plus every panel is a black and white photograph of much beloved areas from home.  I’m looking to have this completed in May.

I’m also fulfilling a long-held dream to make a comic about going to Japan with my mum in 2006.  It’s underway.  Starting off with just mini-comics, but we’ll see – perhaps this will grow into a full graphic novel.  Taking it a step at a time, though, since these pages are bigger and contain far greater detail than I’ve ever done before.  I’m running at about a page a week, with all the other projects.  

Finally, Juniper Key and the Very Serious Girl is in the planning and layout stage!  I’m pretty excited about this one – my first book in color!  (though my meager savings account weeps at the cost).  A little backstory: this children’s story is based off of a vivid, surreal dream I had years ago – the plot of the story, the characters and conversation are all derived from this dream.  I’m just glad I wrote it down.

American, Eh? #4 In the Shop

American, Eh? #4 is now on sale in the Etsy Store!

In the next month, I’ll also be going around to local comic shops in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to see about getting it in stores.