Javacomics.com Back Up

Javacomics.com is now back up again. I'm off to North Carolina for a much needed vacation. Next weekend, I'll be doing a couple of panel discussions at Anime Next Japanese Anime Convention, in Seacaucus, NJ. You can visit their convention website at animenext.org for more information about dates and directions. I'll be there on Saturday.

Javacomics.com Temporarily Down

Javacomics.com is temporarily down. It should be back up in 48 hours. Mocca was a blast. I'll be posting pics soon. I saw Morgan Spurlock from Supersize Me.

Got LinkedIn?

Hey guys. Just set up a LinkedIn account. Still trying to get everything together, but for now you can see it at
http://www.linkedin.com/in/kensuke.

Gearing up towards MOCCA

Gearing up towards MOCCA exhibit next week. More details to follow. My girlfriend got me locked on to facebook. My initial intentions were to use it as a way of promoting my work to the college community, but it's becoming just another excuse to procrastinate my work. Fun, nevertheless!

Back To Summer Sessions

Entering my second week of teaching comic book art at the Education Alliance Art School in Manhattan. Classes are on Tuesdays from 6:30- 9pm. I'm taking a break for the summer from teaching figure drawing, but I will be resuming it in the Fall. Call the school at 212-780-2300 ext. 378 for more information. Had a blast in NY Book Expo last week - all the books were signed and gone within 15 minutes or so!

Signing at the Book Expo in NYC

Weather is getting hotter here in Jersey City. The studio renovation is coming to an end (finally!) I'll be doing a book signing at the National Book Expo at Jacob Javits Convention Center tomorrow (Friday) from 2-3pm. Anyone in the area, please come on by and say hello!!

Revamping my studio

Finished with some storyboards for LG Electronics yesterday and the day before. Had to do 28 frames! Unghh. So today I'm taking some time off to revamp my studio. It really needs a major make over! I also need to make sure that if or when guests come over, the place doesn't look like all hell just broke loose. Paper and drawings are everywhere right now.

Signing at Borders / Manhattan

Another great Monday morning. Working on location right now doing story boards for Brand Buzz Ad Agency. I'll be doing a store signing this Sunday from 7pm at Borders Bookstores Kips Bay. They're located on 32nd Street and 2nd Avenue. Come drop by and say high!

Signing at Barnes and Noble at Princeton Market Fair

Just came back from Chicago. I will be doing a signing at Princeton Market Fair this Saturday the 19th from 2pm. I think it will last for a couple of hours. Here's the address:

Barnes and Noble Princeton
3535 US Route 1 South
Princeton, NJ 08540
609-716-1570

Please come by and say hi!

Signing at Barnes and Noble at Wheaton, Illinois

Well this month is signing month. I'm kicking off with an evening at Barnes and Noble in Wheaton, Illinois. It's on the 11th starting at 7p.m. (a Friday). I'll post details within the next couple of days. Other dates include another Barnes and Noble in Princeton Market Fair, NJ, and Borders in Manhattan. Just finished off some designs for Camel. I just came across an interesting article about the specific brand I was illustrating for. 5 Senetors are saying that they company is targeting teenage girls. Stay tuned. . . .

MFD Hits Germany and France!

Exciting news today. I just got a letter from Wiley saying that Manga for Dummies has been selected to be translated and published in German and French! More information to follow.

Johnny Hart Passes Away

Hats off to Johnny Hart (creator and artist of "B.C."). He passed away on Easter weekend. He was one of the few Christian cartoonists in the main stream syndications who had the guts to include Christian themes into his works. The last strip which was on Easter day was very touching and witty. I'm sure he's drawing like crazy in heaven as we speak. God bless you, Johnny.

Pig under the Weather

Feeling a bit under the weather as I'm struggling with trying to learn the Manga Studio software. Ironically, while the difficult and tedious tasks are made easy with this software, the more simpler tasks I take for granted are frustratingly hard to accomplish. But then again, I'm sure this is somthing we all identify with.

Quick Reminder of Store Signing

Hello, Good People.
Reminding everyone I will be doing a store signing tonight from 7 - 9 pm at the Chicklet Book Store in Hillsborough, NJ at 381 Triangle Road. Call 908-359-2790 for information. Tomorrow, I'll be at Glen Echo Books at Princeton, 14 Nassau Street from 2-4pm. Call 609-921-2268 for information.

Digital Inks

Deadlines are never ending as usual. On the side, I'm finally finding my way into getting the digital inking/painting results I want using Painter and Photoshop combined. I'm planning on getting the upgrade, Painter 10. I'm curious to see what new features this version has in stock. Stay tuned for example posts. I'm really excited about the marker felt tip in particular.

Pittsburgh Comicon

I'm attending Pittsburgh Comicon next month in April 27th -29th. For more information, visit http://www.pittsburghcomicon.com/. This is the 4th time I'm attending this convention. I like going to these smaller shows because it's more laid back which generally allows me to talk to other artists on the floor.

March Book Store Signing Dates!

I'll be signing copies of Manga for Dummies on March 30th (Friday Evening 7pm to 9pm) at:

Chicklet Books
381 Triangle Rd
Hillsborough, NJ 08844
908-359-2790
www.chickletbooks.com

On March 31st (Saturday Afternoon 2pm to 4pm)

Glen Echo Books
14 Nassau St
Princeton, NJ 08542
609-921-2268

BONUS CHAPTER NOW AVAILABLE

Due to the large amount of contents of the book, some of the material had to be omitted. However, you can now visit the following link by copying and pasting the following link into your internet browser. This chapter is about self-promoting your manga creation.

http://media.wiley.com/assets/1152/60/Bonus_Chapter01.pdf

New post @ Manga for Dummies Blog

I've posted a topic up for discussion about "what is Manga"? You can joing the discussion here at mangafordummies.blogspot.com.

Working on Tiki Road cover.

I'm almost done working on Tiki Road cover. Tiki Road is a project I've been working with writer, Sal Cipriano (Bio Boy - Speak Easy Comics). You can see the character sketches at my studio website, www.piggybackstudios.com. I'll post it here as well as comicspace.com. when I'm finished.