Tryon, NC on Thursday

In a few days I'll be doing a signing in TRYON, North Carolina, a lovely mountain town situated on the South Carolina border. I'm very excited about it. Why, you may ask? Well, for a few reasons.

1. I genuinely LOVE Tryon. It's the most amazing little town.

2. Tryon was essential to the completion of Crogan's Loyalty. I walked around a lot there, sketching trees and rocks and the like, in order to get the best sense of mountain foliage. I also spent a lot of time sketching at nearby Pearson's Falls in order to get a sense of the environment for the book's climax:


3. I'm doing the signing with my dad.

My parents moved to Tryon a couple of years ago, and it's through them that I became familiar with the place. My dad is mystery novelist Mark Schweizer, the author of the Liturgical Mysteries, a series of funny and engaging stories in which the police chief protagonist is also the part-time church organist and choral director. Most of the murders are church politics-related. They've won mystery awards and are staples at most mystery and Episopal bookstores.
Seeing as we operate in two fairly different literary spheres, I never really thought a joint signing would happen. But it IS happening! Both of our new books came out this week (Loyalty for me, The Treble wore Trouble for my dad), and the town's local bookstore (The Book Shelf) decided to have us both together.
I hope that, should you live somewhere in the area, you'll consider coming by. I do a big, pretty drawing in each book sold, so I'll make it worth your while...

HeroesCon: Map of the BEST BLOCK

HeroesCon is a little over a week away! This is, without doubt, my favorite show, and I hope you'll get a chance to come out. Think you might have trouble finding me? Not with this lil' map:


(click for full-sized version)

That's right. We don't even need table numbers. 'Cause we're the BEST BLOCK. Anybody else think their table block is better? Well, you'd better be ready for a dance off/knife fight. 'Cause that's how the early-mid-400s roll.

In addition to getting new books, artwork, and goodies at the table, you can also see me at the following panels/workshops:

Friday at 5pm:
COMICS CANON
We discuss what comics should and shouldn't be included in a comics canon. Be prepared to be shocked at what formerly esteemed comics I throw under the bus, and my reasons for doing so! Leave convinced!

Sunday at 11am:
INCREDIBLE ALL-AGES PANEL
Jill Thompson, Roger Langdridge, Skottie Young, and Me (apparently, I'm hosting) talk about all-ages comics.

Sunday at 2:30pm:
PITCHING GRAPHIC NOVELS
"Getting a publisher interested in your graphic novel is no easy task, but with the right information you'll be in a better position to do so. Chris Schweizer "The Crogan Adventures) will go over the principles of finding the right publisher, preparing a submission packet, and avoiding the problems that cause promising books to be overlooked."

Also, Crogan stuff in the news this week:

• REALLY long and in-depth interview with COMICS REPORTER. As Jeff Parker says in a very nice post, "Set aside an hour and read it."
• Audio Interview on WAR ROCKET AJAX, the Comics Alliance podcast
• EYE ON COMICS reviews Crogan's Loyalty
• COMIC BOOKED review Crogan's Loyalty
• KLEEFELD ON COMICS reviews Crogan's Loyalty
• BACK TO BOOKS reviews Crogan's Loyalty
• Hopkinsville New Era newspaper article: Former Hopkinsville resident returns for book signing, workshop
• TV feature on a workshop I did in Indiana (NBC 14)
I also did a radio interview (WKMS), but I don't think it's been posted online. If I'm wrong, someone let me know, and I'll put up a link!

Crogan's Loyalty Paper Figures are up for free download!

Hey, everyone! Crogan's Loyalty is already available in comic shops and from Amazon (the distributor warehouse shipped it early!), so I figured that I'd go ahead and put the figures from that story up a few days ahead of schedule.

I'm currently working on the Crogan Adventure Society AGENTS page. There, Society agents will be able to access the older newsletters as well as download some AGENT EXCLUSIVE paper figures from the first three books! This is the last week of school. and I'm pretty swamped, but soon I'll be in full summer mode, working hard and getting things out, so keep an eye open for next week!

Around the web:
• iFanboy has some nice things to say about Crogan's Loyalty
• I talk to CREATIVE LOAFING, Atlanta's free alt-weekly newspaper
• A review of Crogan's Loyalty on GEEK SHOW INK

Kickstarter project reminder/new rewards

Hey, everybody! A while back I mentioned the Graphic Textbook, a project being put together by the folks at Reading with Pictures, an organization dedicated to helping make and make available comics that improve literacy and showcase how useful our medium can be as a classroom tool.

The Graphic Textbook is a collection of comics related to the different subjects taught in school - math, science, English/language arts, social studies, history, art, etc. Unlike many classroom-related comics, this one is using top notch comics industry professionals, and also me. The talent aboard really is top notch: Janet Lee, Fred Van Lente, Katie Cook, Roger Langridge, etc. The stories are sure to be fun and engaging, and teachers will be provided with LOADS of support material in order make the book easy to integrate into their class planning.
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, my story is going to be called "The Black Brigade," and it's a Crogan Adventures story featuring Charles Crogan in 1777. He's going to be encountering loyalist soldier Colonel Tye, the leader of a 24-man commando unit made up of escaped slaves. I intend for it to be an action-packed, informative yarn, and I hope that you will help to bring it into existence.
Here are some of the character designs for the story:

Colonel Tye's physical appearance is based very loosely on one of my students, Brian Prince.


Captain James Galt-Brown is named for a professor I had in college who got me INCREDIBLY fired up about history, helping to put me squarely on the track I'm on today. I believe he teaches at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College now. Best history teacher I ever had, and I've had some good ones.


So! Here comes the part where I explain the goodies. There are three different options for different levels.
1. $125 Donation. An original page of comic art from "The Black Brigade," 11"x17." It's a ten-page story, and I'm making six of the pages available through here. I do not intend to sell the other pages, and least not any time soon. If you want to own a piece of art from this story, THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO DO SO. There are only TWO of the six available pages remaining. If you want one, you'd better get it now! You also get copies of The Graphic Textbook in both print and digital formats.
2. $150 Donation. A one-hour video tutoring session with me. Here's what the site says about it: "A one-hour video tutoring session with award winning cartoonist and comics professor Chris Schweizer! Chris will personally go over your project and help you with writing, page layout, readability, character design, publishing logistics, and preparing a pitch for publishers." And I will! In addition to the comics work, I teach how to make comics at SCAD-Atlanta, and will gladly bring that teaching experience to your aid should you desire it. An hour is a long time. We can go over a lot. THERE IS ONLY ONE OF THESE AVAILABLE AS A REWARD. As much as I'd like to offer more, my schedule doesn't permit it. So! If you're inclined, give it a grab.
3. $70 Donation. I'll draw a portrait of YOU in Revolutionary War-era clothing/uniform inside your copy of THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK. Heck, if you want it on a piece of drawing paper NOT in the sketchbook, for framing, I'm sure we could work that out, too.
This is a worthwhile project. Everyone involved believes in it. Most if not all of the artists are donating a part of their pay back into the kickstarter... some are donating all of it! At the time I write this, the project is up past $50,000, which is amazing... but the goal is $65,000. If the goal isn't reached in seven days, NONE of the money goes through, and the project doesn't happen.
New readers are essential to comics. If kids don't become habitual readers, then eventually the customer base will dwindle to the point that folks like me won't be able to make comics for a living anymore. I'll still make 'em either way, but the number of books available to comic fans will certainly shrink. This project helps to get comics into the hands of kids and make new readers of them. Donating to the project - even just a little - will help to ensure the future of the medium that I suspect you love as much as I do. Every little bit helps. Go here to learn more about the project.

Welcome to the new home of THE CROGAN ADVENTURES!

Well, here it is - the Crogan Adventures website! I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to streamline everything and make it all available in one place. Paper action figure sets, a teaching guide, an appearances page that I update MORE than once a year, and a whole lot of other stuff... INCLUDING a chance to read the ENTIRE book of Crogan's March! It'll be up until June 6th, when Crogan's Loyalty comes out in stores. Feel free to look around!