Jeff Lawler: 2017

I had the opportunity to attend the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo this last weekend. It was a great, if exhausting, weekend. I went with my buddy Tim who works for Houchen Bindery, and runs their comic binding department (check these guys out - bound comics are awesome). So I spent most of the weekend working the Houchen booth, but I did have an opportunity to talk to and get to know a lot of people who are making comics.

I hesitate to use the word networking, because it leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth, but that’s really what I was doing. I spoke with probably twenty people, and there are three or four whom I think I may have further contact with down the line. In what capacity, I’m not really sure. But that’s the point for me - I get to talk to these people who have similar interests, goals, and talents, and that’s fantastic in and of itself. But, there may come a time down the line when I am able to help them with something, or they are able to help me, or both!

That’s really the fun part for me - getting the opportunity to meet new people and maybe even help them. I guess that’s networking. It’s still a little hard for me. I tend to be a touch on the shy side. I would definitely call myself an introvert. But I have found that I definitely enjoy the process of talking to people now that I feel a little more confident.

I’ll keep working on it. Hopefully opportunities will reveal themselves because of some these new connections. But if not, at least I will have had the opportunity to talk to these new folks. Yeah!

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checking in

Not a lot going on. Trying to draw. Trying to write. Trying to stay on top of the day job. You know. The usual. Also, am flirting with the idea of doing some semi-serious writing about music. I need to practice that sort of thing a little more, though, to be completely honest.

I’ve been doing Morning Pages pretty much since the new year, and that’s been a really nice addition to my daily routine. I do fail to complete it some days, but, you know, nobody’s perfect, and that’s OK. I think I should start trying to convert some of that material into blog posts. There’s probably a lot of material there that, if polished up a little bit, would make for some semi-interesting reads.

Right now, I’m also working on a cover reproduction for a friend. I’m drawing it on pre-ruled 11x17 comic bristol board. I have to say, it’s really a treat to work with. There’s so much room, and the paper is so nice and erases in such a lovely way. There’s no going back, man. If only you could buy an 11x17 scanner for a non-ridiculous sum! Alas, it is not possible.

So that was kind of random. There’s probably more to report, but I can’t think of it right now. Oh! I got a new computer and monitor, so for the first time in…a long time, I have a computer that is actually fast. But…windows 8. So.

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Local music

Local music is one of those things that everybody says they are really into, but in reality, it’s quite hard to be always up to date on the best local bands. I am definitely someone who would say that I am into local music, but usually only if it is easily accessible through my smart phone. It just seems to take a lot of effort to stay up on the local stuff.

I don’t always put out the effort. I really should. I live close enough to the music venue-y parts of town that I could easily go to a lot of shows without too much effort. So, here’s my New Year’s resolution: go to one local show per month. Honestly, I probably won’t go to that many, but I’ll give it a try. See how it goes. I know that Omaha has an expansive local music scene. I just need to get into it a little.

What could possibly go wrong?

Also, I just missed out on tickets for Gregory Alan Isakov at the Slowdown here in Omaha on Thursday last week. So. That happened. Dammit. But I do have tickets to see At The Gates and Converge in April. So. Hooray.

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Lettering

I may have mentioned this before, but I may not have, but anyway, here it is: I've been teaching myself how to letter comics. It’s been an interesting process, as well as a challenge, both technically and artistically. It’s a funny thing. In most cases, a reader should not really notice the lettering. It should simply convey the words of the writer in a straightforward manner, as well as stay out of the way of the art. Seems like a simple enough proposition. However, I have found that it is actually challenging, finicky work that requires a great deal of patience and skill to do well.

On the technical side of things, I have had to teach myself how to use Inkscape, a vector graphics editor. It is (purportedly) analogous to Adobe Illustrator, which I am too cheap to by. For my purposes it works great. In any event, a vector graphics program seems to be the way to go when lettering comics. The program does a lot. Far more, in fact, than I know how to do. There’s a steep learning curve to it, but I've found that once you get the hang of it, it’s actually pretty straight forward.

A related issue is getting the page finalized for print/publication/whatever - all of that seems pretty technical, and I don’t really understand it, since I’ve only ever lettered practice pages that I've found on the internet. I hope that when I get a chance to letter something for real (The Anywhere Man #2, perhaps), I will learn a bit more about the final process.

On the artistic end, I think that learning how to letter has made me a better writer. It has given a much deeper understanding of the interplay between words and art, what works and what doesn’t, and how important space and placement of the text is to the readability of a comic. I also find it to be very enjoyable work. I feel that I can contribute something more to the projects I work on than just the writing. I can jump in and get my hands dirty alongside the artists and help actually make comics.

To end with, here’s a page that I lettered from a Judge Dredd comic. Obviously, it’s not my story, artwork, or anything like that - it is simply an example of my lettering work.

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Fvnerals

So I’ve been jamming out to this band called Fvnerals. They’re from Brighton, UK, I believe. They are a slowcore, sadcorde, post-doom-rocky type outfit. Or something like that. Anyway, I’ve been enjoying the shit out of there album The Light.

You can check out the album here:

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The sound is minimalistic - jangly, reverby guitars, spare rums, synths and vocals. The lead singer has an almost jazzy quality to the way she sings - warm and inviting, and an interesting juxtaposition next to the icy instrumentation. It’s solid stuff.

Do yourself a favor and check this band out.

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Winter is upon us, my friends. Get out the coats and the...

Winter is upon us, my friends. Get out the coats and the scarves. It’s going to get cold.

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