Here at Curls Studio, we are looking for a few good Street Team members to distribute these beautiful (or should I say boo-tiful) Curls bookmarks to their treat-or-treat visitors on the evening on Wednesday, October 31, 2012.
The bookmarks feature a Halloween comic strip with Curls and Turtle Neck on the front side. On the back side, all the characters are presented. You can read the strip in the photo I took above. The bookmark is posing with my pumpkin named Hattie.
If you are willing to help, all you have to do is email “info@curls-studio.com” with your mailing address. It also may be helpful to know how many trick-or-treaters you might expect. Then, like magic, a pack of bookmarks will be sent your way. If you have any leftovers, you can give them out again in 2013, or give them to your local library, school, doctor’s office, dentist, or any other place you think will help spread the word of Curls.
Thanks so much to everyone on Facebook and Twitter who have already volunteered to distribute. I think the children will really enjoy this Halloween and the Curls bookmarks. Spooks!
On September 29, 2012, Curls Studio journeyed north to Asbury Park, New Jersey for the lovely second edition of Asbury Park Comic Con. The first show was this past May (read that recap here), and with a bit over two months left in the year, it is safe to say that Asbury is the show that is fresh with attitude we enjoy. The attendees are eager to try new material, which is always a plus. Many of them were attending their first comic show.
If you haven’t been to this event yet, you must make plans to attend the next one. First of all, it’s in a kitschy throwback bowling alley, Asbury Lanes. I love the environment. The organizers may be expanding to the Asbury Park Convention Hall directly on the boardwalk for future shows. Hopefully this will allow for more exhibitors and more breathing room, but at the same time I will miss the bowling alley for old times sake. The convention hall space looks like it will be a lot of fun in it’s own right.
I like to visit the town of Asbury Park because I see something new every time and artistic character is incorporated into the landscape. We also enjoyed hanging out with our pals Lauren Jaslow, Dre Grigoropol, Rafer Roberts, Reilly Brown, Dean Haspiel, Dave Ryan, and everyone else we met at the show. Big ups to Cliff Galbraith who runs the show. We really appreciate the fact that shows like this exist with people starting something fun for all.
The following day, we ate at Frank’s Deli Restaurant for breakfast, walked around Asbury for a couple hours, then drove to Red Bank to visit Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, the comic book shop owned by filmmaker Kevin Smith. There is a lot of movie memorabilia inside from Clerks, Zack & Miri Make a Porno, and more. There is original art on the wall and we spotted some inks by Jimmy Palmiotti. The joint is vibrant and best described as well-decorated pop culture clutter. We saw the area where they record podcasts and AMC’s Comic Book Men show. Toast even came with us and got to meet Buddy Christ from Dogma. Kevin Smith is a big influence to Joe and I and it was a worthwhile trip to make since we were in the area and have been wanting to visit for awhile. Take a listen to Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes talking about Curls Studio here.
You can check out more photos of Asbury Park Comic Con 2 on the Curls Studio Facebook page. Give us a “Like” and let’s be friends.
Curls Studio traveled up to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday, September 22, 2012 for the “District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC” book signing at Locust Moon Comics & Movies. Since the event was at 5PM, we decided to make the most of the day and attended the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Fall Garden Festival when we got into town a little after noon. I also planned a full day of pierogie hunting.
At the festival, Carla Hall and Daphne Oz form ABC’s The Chew were there giving a cooking demonstration. I have seen this show at the gym when I work out during my lunch break, so it was fun to see them in-person. There were tons of plants and other festivities and I came home adopting a Oreocereus trollii… you will be seeing more of him in the future.
For a late lunch, we went to Syrenka Luncheonette, a polish cafeteria-style eatery, on Richmond Street. We ordered mushroom soup, pierogies, and potato pancakes. The food was delicious, but if you go be prepared to dine in an outlet of the past. There were photos of Robin Williams up on the wall when he visited in 1998, but overall the place felt like going in a time machine back a few generations.
Afterwards we went to Krakus Market across the street and checked out the polish food and drink options. They even had polish gossip magazines and newspapers at the checkout. It seemed like carrots were a major influence in the drink flavors. We purchased a pack of frozen sauerkraut and mushroom pierogies to go, which we haven’t tasted yet and are saving for a special occasion.
We couldn’t get enough pierogies so from there so we headed to Pierogie Kitchen to get some dessert pierogies. We had been there before, so knew what to expect. The flavors there are more contemporary and experimental. Since we came in late in the day, the only dessert flavor left was sweet potato, so we tried that and quickly headed to the book signing.
Locust Moon is a great comic book store and has a high sense of design and appreciation for original art. There is even a gorgeous fish tank and fun things to look at everywhere and also a gallery space. The weather was a bit crazy that day, as earlier the temperature went from very hot to normal to extreme rain and wind into the night. Matt Dembicki provided free District Comics zipper pulls for anyone who wanted them. Food and drinks were also provided during the signing.
The creators who attended were Matt Dembicki, Rafer Roberts, Michael Cowgill, Kevin Rechin, Jason Rodriguez, Carolyn Belefski, Joe Carabeo, and Charles Fetherolf.
Thanks to Brady Russell and Amber Love and her friends for dropping by!
You can hear more about our trip to Philly in episode 193 of The Carolyn & Joe Show: http://carolynandjoeshow.wordpress.com/2012/09/25/polski-and-pierogies/
Or view a ton of photos in the Curls Studio Facebook photo gallery: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151166050197381.471116.50763422380&type=3
We’ll be back in Philly on Sunday, December 16, 2012 for a comics event at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street). Mark your calendar and look for more details to come.
You can find Curls Studio ALL FOUR DAYS of New York Comic Con 2012 at Artist Alley, Table W13. See the map image above to locate us or use NYCC’s Map Your Show to plan your weekend.
New York Comic Con is held at the Javits Center (655 West 34th Street) in Midtown Manhattan. This year NYCC Artist Alley will be moving to the North Pavilion of the Javits Center. Javits North is a beautiful, state of the art space with lots of windows to allow for plenty of natural light and the open floor plan will feature wider aisles to improve traffic flow.
ARTIST ALLEY HOURS
New York Comic Con is the East Coast’s biggest and most exciting popular culture convention. We hope you can join us there and stop by to say hello! RSVP and invite your friends to the event on Facebook.
XOXO,
Carolyn
Curl Studio exhibited at Small Press Expo on September 15 and 16, 2012. A big highlight was having my SPX web banner art being included in the exclusive print set (Marguerite Dabaie, Carolyn Belefski, Julia Wertz). I signed all the prints that we available in the full set and for individual purchase. The prints are also now a part of the US Library of Congress, so my art will remain in the archive forever!
I also enjoyed seeing everyone at the event and distributing plums on Sunday morning to my fellow exhibitors. I would ask, “Would you like a plum?” and got all sorts of reactions… from “A plum?” to “Ewww. Plums are gross.” to “No, thank you. Too healthy for me.” to “Sure, I’d love a plum.” Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the plums. I think I should make this an annual thing and be known as “The Plum Girl.” I could even make my own Curls plum sticker to put on it! Yes!
We also took part on a massive jam sketch on a large roll of white paper for a guy who was getting self portraits of all the exhibitors there.
Thanks to everyone who came out the SPX. It’s such a great show. Thanks to Warren Bernard, Kevin Panetta, Mike Thomas, Eden Miller, Bill Kartalopoulos, and all the volunteers who made the show happen!
You can view more photos on the Curls Studio Facebook page in the “SPX 2012” album. Enjoy! Thanks to Bruce Guthrie for the photo of Joe and I above.
I still plan to write a blog recap for last weekend’s Asbury Park Comiccon 2. The next event you can meet Curls Studio at is New York Comic Con on October 11-14, 2012. We’ll be at Artist Alley, Table W13 all four days along with our pal Brian Sarvis. RSVP and invite your friends on Facebook here. I will also be posting a map too because Artist Alley will be moving to the North Pavilion of the Javits Center. Hope to see you then.