otisframpton.com

Back From The Land of Giants

More photos from our trip on my Facebook page!

-Otis

Gettysburg

I traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago.  The trip was a gift from my wonderful wife.  After returning from the San Diego Comic-Con I was feeling a bit down.  I didn't have a very good time at the show for various reasons (which is why I didn't write much about the trip this year).  And then after we got back home, I found myself sick as a dog for a week (apparently, I shook the wrong hand somewhere down the line).

I started to feel like I needed a vacation.

Usually, when I need to get away, a simple road trip does the trick.  So Leigh said I should go on one and proceeded to book me a hotel in Gettysburg so that I could spend four days relaxing, writing and seeing the historic Civil War sites (something she knew I had always wanted to do).

I must admit that I spent most of my time relaxing in my hotel room and writing.  It was exactly what I needed.  But I did spend a whole day exploring the town itself, which was amazing.  I highly recommend every American make their way to Gettysburg someday.  The Gettysburg National Military Park preserves many of the battlefields in practically the same state they were in during those three momentous days in 1863.  It was amazing to walk in the same footsteps of the soldiers from the North and the South.  I could really feel the ghosts of history all around me.

Here are some of the photos I took  . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last photo may not look like much, but it's actually my favorite.  It's the view across the field towards the "Corpse of Trees".  It's the view that a Confederate soldier would have had during Pickett's Charge.  I spent two or three hours just exploring the areas on both sides of this field.  It was an amazing experience.  I'll never forget it.

I'll definitely be going back someday.  I only saw a quarter of the area, at most.  There is so much more to be seen and experienced in Gettysburg.

-Otis

San Diego Comic-Con 08

Well, it's that time of year again . . . the San Diego Comic-Con approaches.  I can't believe it's already time to fly off to San Diego.  I'm really not ready for the con season to start . . . too much work to do . . . but it's here, so I'll be there.

This is my last blog post before taking off for the con, so I wanted to remind everyone about where I'll be and what I'll be selling at the con one last time.

Unlike last year, I will be attending every day of the con, including Preview Night.  I'll be spending most (if not all) of my time at my Artist Alley Table, CC-17, sandwiched between friends and fellow sketch card artists Grant Gould and Cynthia Cummens. 

 I'll also be selling copies of my brand new convention sketchbook:

Once again, here are the specs:

• 16 interior pages
• 144 scans of personal sketch cards that were drawn by me over the previous year
• Full color
• Space on the cover for a FREE sketch (in the same dimensions as one of my sketch cards)
• All for the low, low price of ONE BUCK

Can't beat that deal with a stick.  I'm bringing 190 copies to the con, so there should be enough for all that want one.  Or maybe not, who knows.  Better get to my table as soon as you can.

I'd just like to reiterate that my con sketchbooks are for CONS ONLY.  I will not be selling them online.  I will not be shipping any out to buyers.

I have had many requests to purchase them and have them shipped to the buyer, and while I appreciate the interest in my work, I must stand firm and say "no".  These books are meant to be a low-priced "extra" for my con appearances, not as a stand-alone product, even though I could make more money by making them the latter.

I may (and I stress "may") eventually offer the books as free extras along with sketch card sales on eBay, but only if I have any left over when the con season ends (and only if I still have any personal sketch cards left to sell, which I probably won't, since I only have 10 left to sell).

I thank everyone for their interest in the con sketchbooks.  As I said before, the best way to get one if you're not going to be attending a show that I'll be at is to get someone to buy one for you.

And if that weren't enough, Viper Comics will also debut Josh Howard's new series, T-Bird & Throttle, at the show.  The inaugural issue is #0, an origin special, and I drew the "comic-within-a-comic" inside.  So be sure to pick up a copy of that, as well!

See you at the con!

-Otis

Vlog: Free Comic Book Day 2008

Free Comic Book Day 2008 from Otis Frampton on Vimeo.

Free Comic Book Day

I'll be appearing at both of the Amazing Fantasy comic book stores in the Hampton Roads area on Free Comic Book Day (Saturday, May 3rd, 2008) along with pals Marc Deering and Drew Moss.  I'll be selling copies of Oddly Normal 1 and 2 for $5 each, as usual.  If you're in the area, stop by between the hours of 11am and 6:00pm!

-Otis

The Earth And Moon As Seen From Mars

Amazing:

-Otis

Odds and Ends

A couple of Oddly-related itrems . . .

The second printing of the Oddly Normal Volume 1 Trade Paperback is underway! They should be available for purchase in the Viper online store in about a month. FYI . . . for the second printing we've moved the original mini-series comic covers from the interior to the back of the book so that it now reads like a single volume story, just as the rest of the series will be.

Also, Publisher's Weekly recently wrote an article about Viper Comics and its recent attention Hollywood and libraries, and Oddly Normal got a nice mention.

In other comic books news . . . I just this week finished the artwork for a 14-page story that will be included in an upcoming Viper Comics anthology book edited by Jason Burns.  The story was written by screenwriters Adam Moore and  Kevin Abrams.  I'm very proud of the work I did on this story and I'll post artwork from it when I get the word from Jason that it's a go.

Next on my plate is finally finishing the Oddly Normal: Fignation Times script.  It's basically done, I just need to complete breaking it down into panel-by-panel descriptions for Jess.  This is probably my favorite Oddly script that I've written so far, because it answers so many questions from the first book in a very fun way (and in ways that surprised me, since a lot of the mysteries were set up with no answers in mind . . . always a fun way to write).  I hope that the readers feel the same once the book is released.

I'm also continuing work on Zeek!.  Zeek! is like my "back burner" project.  I work on it here and there, when I have time.  Hopefully, I can dig in a bit more when I get some other projects off of my plate.  I'd like to have the book released next year, but that might be wishful thinking.  But it's a project that means a lot to me (it's currently the only book that I'm writing and drawing myself), so I'm keeping it alive no matter what I'm working on at the moment.

And lastly, the next four months will be busy promotion months for me.  I'll be attending the Baltimore Comic-Con, SPX, Wizard World Texas, The Non-Sport Update show and possibly Fanta-Sci 6 in my old stomping grounds of Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Busy busy busy.

-Otis

San Diego Comic-Con '07 Wrap-Up

Well, Comic-Con has come and gone once again, and I am exhausted.  Part of my fatigue comes from some bad travel experiences going there and coming back (it was Planes, Trains & Automobiles for me and mine).  But mostly it's because it was the busiest and most successful convention experience that I've ever had!  My amazingly supportive wife Leigh (more about her later) and I sold out of everything we brought to the Con.  We sold all 90 convention sketchbooks (each with a custom drawing in it, which kept me busy from start to finish each day).  We sold all of the Oddly Normal books that we brought and even needed to raid the Viper Comics booth for more . . . and we sold out of their copies as well!  And we even sold the last copies of Oddly Normal Volume 1 that Viper had left (a reprint is in the works, no worries)!  I also did about 20 or so drawings in the personal sketchbooks that fans brought to the convention.  All in all, a very successful convention for Team Frampton, and I'm looking forward to going back next year to try and repeat the experience.

Aside from the good business, I also enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones;  I got to see the Viper crew, including Jessie Garza, Jim Resnowski, Josh Howard, Pat Bussey, Scott Zirkel, Wes Molebash, Bryan Baugh, Ryan Cody and new Viper Intern Matt . . . the Artist Alley gang, including Katie Cook and her hubby Ryan, Cat Staggs, Gabe Hernandez, Tom and Terri Hodges, and Russell Walks & His Amazing Family . . . my friend Brian Fies (Eisner winning creator of Mom's Cancer) stopped by a few times to chat and talk shop . . . Tracy, Sarah and Shelby Edmunds (Oddly fans all and the writers behind Newsarama.com's "All Ages Reads" column) came by to say hello . . . Rich from Rich's Cards was there once again . . . I finally got to meet artist Doug Holgate in person (Doug and I are collaborating on a new graphic novel) . . . my pal Paul Gutierrez stopped by to say hello . . . writer and all around super-star Javier Grillo-Marxuach and his wife came by the table (and I gave him another Grand Moff Tarkin drawing for his ever-growing collection) . . . Lucasfilm diva Bonnie Burton came around to remind me of the pitch we developed for animation 2 years ago (someday, Bonnie, someday!) . . . I got to meet screenwriters Adam Moore and Kevin Abrams (I am providing the artwork for their entry in an upcoming Viper anthology book) . . . super-collector Anne Kong came around with some friends and she helped me convert them into Oddly Normal fans (thanks, Anne!) . . . and I met hundreds of others at the convention, so if I forgot a name here and there please forgive me!

It was a whirlwind of an event.  I have very few memories of the days I spent there because most of the time I had my face buried in a sketchbook doing custom drawings for folks who were kind enough to buy one of my sketchbooks.  So a big "thank you" goes out to everyone who stopped by my table and said hello.  You guys helped make this convention a huge success for me.  I hope to see you all again next year!  And to everyone who bought a copy of Oddly Normal, I hope you enjoyed the books and pleaser stick around for the third book, which will be released next year just in time for Comic-Con!

But the person who is most responsible for the amazing convention sell-out is this woman here:

Not only did she take it upon herself to make a custom Oopie doll just days before leaving for the Con (no it's not a bug, despite the hundreds of people who told her "you've got a bug on your head") but she wore it on her head every day of the convention and acted as my "table barker", attracting people to my area of Artist Alley!  I may have wore my hand off drawing hundreds of drawings for convention attendees, but she made it all possible.  Thank you, Leigh.  I love you.

See you at Comic-Con next year!

-Otis

P.S.  You can see more of Leigh's Comic-Con photos HERE.

Figments 2007? Sort of . . .

I've added the Figments Gallery back to the sidebar.  If you'd like a print copy of the Figments, I still have copies of my 2006 Convention Sketchbook available.  I had planned on doing another round of Figments this year, but my plans changed.  In fact, they changed in a way I couldn't have anticipated.

While I was in Japan, something happened that rekindled my interest in doing a comic based on a character I'd drawn a few times over the course of last year, including a few times for my Figments series.  It's actually a character that I'd come up with years earlier while playing around with learning 3D animation.  I'd long since given up on 3D as a major component of my work, but the character stayed with me, always in the back of my mind.

Anyway, I started thinking about the story I'd developed for this character and it really started to come together in my mind while I was in Tokyo.  Upon returning to the States, I'd pretty much decided that the time was right to do a comic book based on the character.  It couldn't wait.  It was fresh in my mind and I had the urge to do something quick and dirty that I could get out in my "spare time" (I have none, really).

So that means my book Flynn is being put off a bit longer and I'll be working on a new book over the next year.  I've already started working on it and I'm aiming for a Fall finish, knock wood.  I'm in the penciling stages right now, and I'm still up in the air on whether or not I should go with color or black & white.  Time will be the deciding factor . . . color schemes take a while to get right and if I'm short on time, I'll go with black and white.

So who is this character?  Sorry, no hints.  Okay, maybe a few.  But you'll have to look for them.

-Otis

Magical Ghibli Museum Tour

Leigh has posted a lengthy descrition of our visit to the Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan over at our blog, complete with many pictures and lots of video.  Go check it out!

-Otis