Heather Bryant

Back from MICE!

Hi everyone – and hello MICE people who might have ventured over here.   =)

Thanks for a great time on Saturday – very cool to see a lot of the same faces from previous cons in New England, and meet so many diverse people.  It’s the first con I’ve exhibited at since I had Logan, and a great choice to jump back into the circuit!

Be sure to check my Etsy shop, where I’ve added two new books for purchase – click on either pic to go to the shop:

The first issue of Sho Ga Nai.  Yes, I know – there’ s already a Sho Ga Nai issue called “Yamazaki”  out there.  That’s actually the second book in this series – I went back and decided it needed a different start.  So this new book “Osaka” is the true first book, followed by “Yamazaki.”  SGN “Kyoto” is in the works.

A new mini-comic: Mixtape!  A short story about dreamy love eveloped in the ninth grade…. and how there’s a fine line between crush and stalker.  Check it out:

Updates for August!

Hi people,

Quick updates while I have a moment:

-There is a baby in the midst – five-week-old Logan, who is currently sprawled out on the couch by my feet. We are both doing fine.

-Planning to exhibit at MICE in Boston this September, alongside of NECAC (www.necac.net). Looking forward to getting back onto the con circuit!

-Will be laying out and printing Sho Ga Nai: Osaka in the next month, along with an electronic comic version of my minicomic Mixtape – Mixtape will be available for free on the site when it’s complete

-Working through Sho Ga Nai: Kyoto right now, and also writing out the full script for the SGN graphic novel

-Website update in the works! Stay tuned, and thanks for reading,

Heather

NECAC and Sho Ga Nai: OSAKA

Howdy.

I’m still here!  Just moving a lot slower than usual, as there is a 26-week old fetus who enjoys socking me under the ribs these days.  Unfortunately, comic-cons are mostly out for the year – couldn’t afford MOCCA, decided against Maine since it’s close to when this kid is arriving, and SPX in Maryland? I wish, but it’s not happening this year.  But I’m hoping that MICE in Boston will be back again in Sept/Oct. – that’s a great one to go to, and I’ll definitely be looking to “restart” at that point and get back into the swing of things!

The new Sho Ga Nai comic, “Osaka”, is just about complete – I’m working on the last two pages right now.   It’s actually a precursor to the first Sho Ga Nai  comic “Yamazaki”, with the events of “Osaka” being the first pages of the actual series and trip.  I’m looking to continue to focus, albeit slowly, on Sho Ga Nai and moving right into a third issue when this is done.   I’m really digging working on the series: going back to my dreamy, crazy memories of Japan and traveling with my mother in 2006.

And hey – have you heard about NECAC?  It’s only a freaking full-on conference that me and my husband Michael are putting on for the first time: New England Comic Arts in the Classroom.   There are a ton of people coming, both as VIPs and presenters, and the topics are super-interesting, all about ways of educating through comics and graphic novels: www.necac.net.   I’m the logistics person, helping to manage the event, so Michael and his directing partner can do the schmooze thing and I can do the yelling at volunteers to do their job.  Kidding.

I’m thinking that after the craziness of NECAC is over, and SGN: Osaka is finished, it’ll be time to make a call to my printer and get SGN, plus the comic I did back in the fall, “This Mixtape Proves How Much I Love You” into my slightly-dusty online store!  So apologies for lack of updating, and hopefully I’ll actually see some comic people at MICE in the fall!

-Heather

An Announcement about Cake Brat

Hi all,

Just wanted to take a minute and let you know that I’ve decided to let Cake Brat go for the time being. Why? This may be the wrong thing to say as a comic artist, but I’m just not feeling it. What I am feeling is Sho Ga Nai, which I am steadily working on and about 2/3 through at this point. That’s what I want to focus on with my limited energy, so that’s what I’m doing. (Preview pics to come soon).

www.cakebrat.com is still up, all the comics are there, and there’s a good chance I’ll come back to it, maybe in the spring. Thanks for reading, if you did.

Got into MOCCA with my pal Emily Adamo (www.funinjammies.com), so that’s coming up in April! Debating applying to Maine Comic Arts Fest – I enjoyed it a lot last year, met a lot of great people, but I’ll be eight months pregnant at that time, so I’m not sure if it’s going to be smart or not. Then again, I’m known for my very rebellious streak…. We’ll see.

Yes, still baby in gut, coming up on five months. Forget what they say about “it feels like a butterfly” – to me, it feels like the kid is trying to score a field goal. Flexible bugger. Just sharing.

At some point, I will be writing down all these ambivalent musings about being pregnant when I never thought I wanted children. And illustrating them. Must get on that.

-Heather B.

Mixtape and other Major Events

Hi all,

Well, I’ve learned a good lesson: never assume your stuff will be published, even if invited for publication, until you get the check.  “This Mixtape Proves How Much I Love You” will not, in fact, be in the Nashville Review as thought.  Which sucks, but on the plus side, since I’m not restricted by first publishing rights, I’ll work on getting it into mini-comic format and get it in my Etsy store, hopefully in January or February.

I’m also working on a new Sho Ga Nai story, this time set in Osaka and on the first day of the trip.  It’s slow-going, because the pages are so much more detailed, but it’s nice to work on SGN again and revisit all my Japan memories.

Emily Adamo (www.funinjammies.com) and I are hoping to show at MOCCA in April, just waiting to hear if we got it!  I’m hoping to have Mixtape, Sho Ga Nai: Osaka and maybe the first 25 Cake Brat comics for sale.

What else?  Well…. there is that 12-week-old, lime-sized kid in my abdomen…..

On a related note, I’ve been mulling over doing some comics called Lime Baby, about… you know.  We’ll see what happens.

Preview of “This Mixtape Proves How Much I Love You”

Here’s the first panel of the new comic – more panels will go up as I edit them. The whole thing should be available in November for a free read at the Nashville Review – I’ll post the link when it’s live!

Thanks, SPX! Plus MICE and a new comic in the works

Good times at SPX – thanks to Dylan Meconis, Carla Speed McNeil, Katie Lane, and many others for being such great table neighbors! I bought a ton of stuff, sold some of my own, did an interview for a podcast, and came home with some new ideas for 2011.

And hey – got anything happening this Saturday? Do you live in Boston or the surrounding area? Massachusetts Indie Comic Expo is happening from 10am-5pm at the Art Institute of Boston. Here’s where you can find who’s exhibiting and presenting: www.masscomics.com. I’ll be there all day, and you can even see the real-life Michael from American, Eh? on the Connecting Comics and Education panel!

While prepping for MICE, I’m currently working on panels for Cake Brat (www.cakebrat.com) and also on a mini-comic for the Nashville Review‘s Fall 2010 issue. It’s called “This Mixtape Proves How Much I Love You”, and it’s about 9th grade infatuation and ill-fated decisions. I’ll link when it becomes active and post preview pics soon!

-Heather B.

AE5, Swoon, and Off to SPX!

Happy to announce two new books!

First, the newest edition of American, Eh? is available for purchase in my Etsy Store.  In this issue, H. takes Michael back to Canada at Christmastime to meet her very curious, very large family:

Second, my mini-comic, SWOON, is also available for purchase. This was an experiment during the summer with trying to tell a story without any dialogue:

This afternoon, I’m jumping into the car and making the drive to Bethesda, Maryland for the Small Press Expo (SPX).   My table is F2A, which is right at the front, towards the left, and on one of the corners.  I hope to see you there!

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.