The postcard for this year’s Philadelphia Alternative Comic Con, being held this year on August 14th at the Rotunda in West Philly.  I sort of have a thing for malformed caricatures of popular comic characters, so this illustration, for me, goes beyond beauty.  I especially love the inclusion of those Spider-Sense™ lines.

If you’re in the region I highly recommend checking out PACC.  Last year’s show was phenomenal and introduced me to a lot of amazing artists that I otherwise would have never encountered.

I’m leaving for South By Southwest tomorrow! My awesome job is sending me there for the interactive portion of the festival. It will basically be a week of listening to people talk about the internet, drinking with colleagues and playing video games (there’s an arcade!). Expect a post on the future of comics when I return.

A few items I wanted to mention, since I’m terrified of flying and wanted to cement some sort of legacy in case the plane explodes:

• I released a new album last month! It’s called Lake Poems. My brother and I wrote and recorded the whole thing during the month of February for the RPM Challenge. It’s almost like chiptune music mixed with baroque era instruments. I dig it, and we’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback, so please check it out. You can download the entire album for free. If you like it and want to stay updated on music we do (there’s another release coming at the end of March), consider our Facebook fan page. Because I haven’t gotten around to setting up a real website yet.
• I got a book deal! Quirk Books, known for the insanely awesome Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, will be releasing a book I’ve been writing with my best friend. It should be available at your local bookstore in May of 2011. I can’t say much about it, but I promise that it will be absolutely hilarious. Also: my editor said that I’m the youngest author ever signed to Quirk, which gave me +10 to Ego.
• I got into a fight with my mom this morning! And I feel really bad. Sorry, mom.

If you’re attending SXSW and want to meet up, I’ll be there from March 12th to March 16th. As with any convention, you can spot me by my Virgin of Guadeloupe pin I got from Attract Mode last year.

This thing has become a wardrobe staple. It’s sort of integral to defining my look: dirty hobo wearing a Virgin of Guadeloupe pin. Otherwise known as Derelicte.

I live in Newbold, which is one of those fancy “revitalized” Philly neighborhoods. It used to be part of Point Breeze up until a few years ago, when nice families started moving in and local business owners stopped getting shot. One of my favorite parts about living here is walking past the Drexel School every day. It’s a big old 19th century elementary school. I think it’s been abandoned for as long as I’ve been alive… there are trees growing out of the top. It’s like something out of Jumanji, except I never have to see Kirsten Dunst’s stupid face. It adds a very cool touch to the neighborhood.

But the Drexel School’s days are numbered! The historic site is being destroyed. Workers appear to be doing it brick by brick, as if they want the ghost of Francis Drexel to slowly suffer. I can understand why it’s being taken down. I mean, the place is a total death trap right now. The interior is in shambles and it would take tons of fifty dollar bills to fix it.

You can check out many more great photos at this Flickr page. The big question is: what new structure will replace this awesome old building?

Luxury townhomes. Yay! That’s so much better than a grocer or a restaurant or a park or any of the other things my neighborhood could use. I will be calling these townhomes Douchebag Village.

When coming back from my parent’s house following a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, I took the Stupid SEPTA Broad Street Line, which I ride multiple times a day.  Today, something was different: the entire car was wallpapered to look like a Bud Light can. A garish, bright blue with condensation graphics, floor to ceiling. It looked like the walls were dripping with slime, and the phrase “TAILGATE: APPROVED” was stamped all over.

It was a Thanksgiving miracle! Not six hours before, this looked like a regular subway car, but now it has been transformed into a seizure inducing monstrosity. I’m sure the people who spent their thanksgiving applying the Bud Light decals were just thrilled with their life choices.

Normally I would say this is not a big deal. Advertising is important! Advertising raises product awareness (I probably wouldn’t have know that Bud Light was a shitty company if not for this) and helps fund public transportation (those new signing bonuses have to come from somewhere). But the bright blue, plus the orange seats, plus the harsh florescent lighting… it’s bad, man.

Happy Thanksgiving, from my ruptured corneas to yours!