Tag: The Cellar

Back To Virtual Until 2022

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Hey, gang-

I have a quick few bits of MSCA news for you. First up is some meeting updates from our Prez Kevin L. Williams…

Hi, all-

With the latest details on Covid-19/Delta Variant from the Shelby County Health Department, I am going to cancel further in-person gatherings until January 2022. We will still gather digitally (via Z00m).

I look forward to seeing you all in a week at the zoom meeting!!  Have a great week, keep well, and keep safe

Sling that ink!
Push those pencils!
Craft those words!
Doodle those digitals!

Your Prez,
Kev

For the link to join in on the Zoom meeting or to join our mailing list contact Kevin at midsouthcartoonists (at) gmail (dot) com.

Hopefully if all goes well between now and the end of the year we will be back in person in the big room at Garibaldi’s Pizza near the U of M on the first Tuesday of January, 2022.

Here is some MSCA member news…

Member Jim Palmer let us know that he’s acting in “The Secret Garden” starting this month at Theatre Memphis. We all know it’s no secret that Jim and his wife JoLynn are terrific thespians!

Jim says, “I play the “crusty ol’ gardener” BEN WEATHERSTAFF, (a nice, but small role).  Of course, ALL this could change due to Covid, but, for now, this is the plan.”

The Secret Garden                

Next Stage

Based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Adapted and Directed by Jason Spitzer

Touching and Sentimental. Foul-tempered, young Mary Lennox is an orphan sent from India to live in her distant family’s gloomy mansion on the desolate English moor. Once there, she discovers a sickly cousin who has never seen the light of day, a magical boy who can talk to the animals, a mysterious uncle haunted by the memory of his dead wife, and a long forgotten, secret garden hidden behind a locked door. This new adaptation of a timeless classic will open the door to the innermost places of your heart.

THE SECRET GARDEN is scheduled to open Fri. September 24 at THEATRE MEMPHIS, & continue Sept. 25, 26, 29, 30, Oct. 1,2,3,6,7,8,9,&10.  All evening performances will now begin at 7:30pm & Sunday afternoon shows at 2:00pm.

For information contact Box-office at 901•682•8323 or email theatrememphis.org .

The MSCA would like to welcome cartoonist Tim Jones to our group!

Tim is a self-syndicated comic strip artist from Rhode Island where he lives with his wife and two daughters. Cartooning for over 20 years, he created his comic strip, Sour Grapes, in 2013, which is currently published in multiple newspapers throughout Rhode Island, Southern Massachusetts, California and Texas. Tim is a member of ARIA (Association of Rhode Island Authors) and a member of The National Cartoonists Society.

You can read his comic at sourgrapescomic.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

I (Lin) got laid off this summer from my printing day job. Since most of what we printed was event and school related orders, COVID had caused printing orders to slow to a trickle. I was able to pick up a part time job working at Area 51 Ice Cream a couple weeks ago. The new/larger location is still on Commerce Street in Hernando, MS. It’s within walking distance of our house, so I don’t have to risk my life driving on I-55 and 240 every day- well, unless they need me to fill in any at their Crosstown Concourse location! I’m also working on some new tee designs for them and will post those later.

Nicki and I have known the Cubbage family who run A51 for years now. We stopped in for Nicki’s birthday right after they opened and have been frequent customers ever since. Oh, I’m not the only “Lin” at the shop- their alien mascot shares my name. The ice cream is scratch made in-house and several of the flavors feature produce grown locally. Great seasonal flavors, shakes, drinks, and baked goods are available. Check out their Facebook page for their daily menus, or stop by and sample some.

I recently dropped off my latest sketchcover to The Cellar out in Bartlett. It’s a “Suicide Squad” Polka-Dot Man comic with a wraparound hand-drawn cover. Done in pencil, Copic markers, black Pigma Micron pens, white Gelly Roll pen, and white Prismacolor pencil.

Lonnie Easterling’s two sketchcovers (top left and center) and my three- Polka-Dot Man, Dr. Who, and The Riddler are for sale at the shop.

I also still have several of my sketchcards that are available for sale- both official artist returns from companies like Topps, Crytozoic, and RRParks Cards and personal sketch cards drawn on my own custom blanks. The profits from those sales help fund my comics and art supplies habits..! I recently did sketchcards for an Ultraman card set, and am finishing up a Zorro set this week.

Be sure to check out the MSCA Zine The Good, The Bad, And The Sketchy at The Cellar- issues 1-6 are available for sale.

Don’t forget to snag you some free MSCA, Drawing Funny Podcast, and Memphis Ghostbusters swag while you’re there. It’s near the front door. Lots of stickers and buttons to choose from.

The Cellar: Tabletop Games & Comics

2737 Bartlett Blvd

Bartlett, TN 38134

(901) 382-8623

ComicCellarOnline.com

Hope you all are having a Happy 901 Day!

Lin

$upport You Local Cartoonist$

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Our own Greg Cravens has a Patreon for his webcomic “Hubris”. Patreon levels begin at $1 a month!

“As the newspapers dwindle, and webcomics are the go-to for the daily comics, Hubris! is your safe-for-work/family comic. Aside from four comic strips a week (at this point), there are links to outdoorsy videos, cartooning lessons and video, absurd product reviews by people that, frankly, abuse their outdoor/recreational gear just the way YOU do, and silly stories about mishaps out-of-doors. Join Team Hubris, read, enjoy, then go outside and play, for heaven’s sake.”

There are several different sponsorship levels, some include getting original comic strip art and caricatures by Greg.

Check out the Greg goodies at:
www.patreon.com/Hubris

You can find copies of his books in bookstores and online at Amazon, and see several examples of Greg’s advertising, illustration, syndicated strips and webcomics work on his site:

www.cravenscartoonist.com


Greg also has his comic book “Stoned Ninja” available for sale at 901 Comics.

While you’re at 901, be sure to pick up one of our  MSCA zines, or Dale Martin’s “Watusi” zines. You can also pick up the MSCA zines in town at Comics & Collectibles and The Cellar.


At The Cellar you can also purchase sketchcards by me (Lin Workman), and sketchcovers by me and Lonnie Easterling.

Each are hand-drawn and one of a kind. There are both official artist returns from companies like Topps, Cryptozoic, Breygent, and RRParks Cards ($100ea)…

…and personal sketchcards done on my own custom card blanks ($25ea).

I’ll be adding more of them and hopefully soon we can get back to drawing these at the comic shop and/or at Michaels again.

We are planning to be at the Woodruff-Fontaine House next month, and back at Garibaldi’s Pizza starting in January (fingers crossed), so be sure to get Greg to scribble on your comics at one of our MSCA monthly meet-ups!

Lin

Drawn Together- Next MSCA Meeting In Person

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It’s finally happening!

Only one week until our first in-person monthly MSCA meeting– in over a year and a half!

Tuesday, August 3rd- 6pm in Overton Park Formal Gardens.

Below is all the info from the MSCA President Kevin L. Williams:

Dear Ink Slingers, Digital Doodlers, Pencil Pushers, and Word Doctors,

IN PERSON GATHERING

The first IN PERSON gathering will be in the Overton Park Formal Gardens, Tuesday, August 3, 2021, at 6:30 pm!!  Bring your own chair, your own food and drink, artwork to share (I plan to have a table for us to put items on).  This area is under some trees and flowers, it’s wide-open so we can spread out.

CLICK HERE for directions. You can park in the road behind the Levitt Shell.

RULES: 

If you are fully vaccinated, masks are optional but not required.
If you are NOT fully vaccinated, masks are required.
We trust you to make the decisions that are safer for you AND our members, so do what is right and don’t be “that guy.”

You might want to bring some mosquito spray just in case…

RAIN OPTION:

If it rains, we’ll use Zoom* to gather and visit.

Future gatherings in person will be in the gardens of the Woodruff-Fontain House Museum, with more details to come!

Be Safe, Be Happy, Be Well!
Your Pals,
Kevin L. Williams
& Muley the Mule

*(You can email Kevin at midsouthcartoonists (at) gmail (dot) com for the Zoom link and/or to join the MSCA mailing list.)

Going into 2022 we are planning on being back at our usual monthly meeting joint- the U of M area Garibaldi’s Pizza. We’ll be meeting there on Walker Ave. the 1st Tuesday of each month- if all goes well! March 5, 2020 was the last time we all met there…wow!

There are a few other events happening around our area, and some within driving distance. Before heading out, be sure to check out our “Drawing Funny” Con Survival Guide episode for tips on attending and setting up at conventions and other events.

This week/weekend is the annual Superman Celebration in Metropolis, IL – July 30-August 1. The town festival is usually the second weekend in June, but like many events, it had to be cancelled in 2020 and moved this year because of COVID. It’s only about 3hrs north of Memphis, across the Ohio River from Paducah, KY.

Lots of artists, writers, celebs, events, vendors, costumes, and corndogs- plus a \S/uper-Museum and statues! Click here to see the full schedule.

‘INSIDE THE WALT DISNEY ARCHIVES’

July 23, 2021 – January 2, 2022. Graceland Exhibition Center, 3717 Elvis Presley Blvd. in Memphis, TN (just behind the Elvis Presley’s Memphis complex).

Elvis Week (Aug. 11-17) here in Memphis is just around the corner, but this 10,000-square-foot traveling  exhibit features Disney props, costumes and more will be in the M-town through January 2nd.

Tickets: $15 (adult); $8 (child, 5-10); free (4 and under). A $50 “Passport” allows a holder to visit the exhibit as often as he or she wants to during the six months. “VIP” tickets and other options also are available.

Numerous events will be held at Graceland in connection with the exhibit. For a full calendar and for tickets and other information, visit graceland.com/exhibition-center.

Comics & Collectibles has announced their plans for Free Comic Book Day, which is normally the 1st Saturday in May. It’s been pushed back to the middle of next month, and there’s a lot happening around town to celebrate this annual comics holiday.

Here are the details from C&Cs for this year’s FCBD…

Annual FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is Saturday August 14, 2021!
Due to the pandemic, this year will be a little different than previous events. Please see below…
1. MASK REQUIRED. No exceptions. This applies to ALL customers, including vaccinated individuals and children. Masks will not be provided, so don’t forget to bring your own. This is to protect everyone including those with weakened immune systems, our St. Jude patient customers, and children that are not old enough to be vaccinated. We appreciate your cooperation.
2. LIMITED NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS INSIDE THE STORE AT ONCE. We will have an employee at the entrance monitoring the number of customers in the shop, so there may be a wait to enter.
3. 20% OFF STOREWIDE – excludes, Sideshow Collectibles, new comics and previously discounted merchandise.
4. MINIMUM PURCHASE OF of $5 (before tax) required to obtain Free Comic Book Day books. Limit one copy of each book per person that makes a $5 or more purchase.
(Previous FCBD comics.)

901 COMICS EAST GRAND OPENING!!

SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2021 @ 10 AM CDT

FCBD will also see 901 Comics opening a 2nd location out in Cordova near the Wolfchase area- 8551 Macon Rd, Cordova, TN 38018. They have special guests Denys Cowan (Sat/14) scheduled for the grand opening (EDIT: Denys has had to cancel and the Grand Opening had been pushed back a week- will be doing FCBD both weekends), David Yost (Blue Power Ranger) on Sunday, August 15th from 12 PM – 4 PM, and more guest signings to appear later in the month.

They also have done some recent remodeling to their original Cooper-Young location. You can still find our MSCA zine, Watusi zines by Dale Martin, and Stoned Ninja comics by Greg Cravens there.

A new con has thrown its hat into the ring here in the Mid-South. The Covington Comic Con will be on FCBD- August 14th in Covington, TN. Bluff City Batman and his Batmobile as well as Eric’s Secret Stash toys/collectibles will be there.

Speaking of hats, congrats to our own Kevin “Nuggethead” Thorn. He’s wearing another hat around Hernando, MS moving forward. Kevin was recently appointed to the Hernando Planning Commission by newly elected Mayor Chip Johnson. Kevin will be helping the mayor and board of aldermen with the future growth of Hernando, which is the county seat for DeSoto County.

I (Lin Workman) recently just finished up some more ULTRAMAN sketchcards for RRParks Cards. These are the second batch I’ve done for this card set, and they will be randomly inserted in the card packs.

You can see my first set and some step-by-steps on my site- linworkman.com. I’ve got Zorro and Halloween/horror sketchcards on the drawing table next. I’ll have artist returns available for sale for each set.

I’ve got some of my Ultraman and other artist’s returns for sale at The Cellar over in Bartlett, TN. There are some sketchcovers for sale there as well.

Be sure to snag some swag while you’re there. Free stickers and buttons are available while they last.

Also, they carry copies of our MSCA Zine. You can also purchase some at Comics & Collectibles and 901 Comics in town and pick up some of the free swag, too.

That’s all for now- stay safe, stay hydrated, and stay tooned!

Lin

Stay Safe, Stay Warm, and Stay Tooned! New “Drawing Funny” Episode and MSCA “Winter” Zine Available

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It’s been a while since we’ve gotten to get out of the house and visit together at Garibaldi’s Pizza for our monthly dinner meet-ups. It was always one of my reasons to get out of the house, even if my wife had to push me out the door when I didn’t feel like being social. I always felt better once I sat down and started talking toons with my fellow MSCA members. Hopefully we’ll be able to resume our group dinners and drawing nights sometime in 2021, but until it’s safe to get together in person we’ll continue to do our monthly MSCA zoom calls on the first Tuesday of each month.

Available online now is the Drawing Funny Podcast, Episode 10 – “Procrastination”. It’s the Mid-South Cartoonists Association’s December Monthly Zoom Meeting– well, most of it. We talked toons, discussed what’s happening around the M-town, swapped ideas on self-promotion/increasing eyes on our artwork, and how to make money with it and commissions during a time with no (or few) in person conventions.

We also discussed a couple of our favorite art books.

This monthly video call happened back on December 1st, and honestly with everything that’s been keeping me busy since this one was recorded it now qualifies as a “Flashback Friday” episode..! This one turned out to be a long episode and clocked in at just under 1hr 55min. As usual it was weird to not go hang out in the Garibaldi’s parking lot and talk for another hour or two like we tend to do in person.

You can find website and social media links for many of our MSCA members on the group’s Members Directory page, and the “Winter” zine issue is now available for purchase in local Memphis area comic shops.

901 Comics (Cooper/Young) – 901comicsmemphis.com

The Cellar Table Top Games & Comics (Bartlett Blvd.) – comiccellaronline.com

Comics & Collectibles (Poplar Ave.) – memphiscomics.com/wps

Next issue will be “Memphis” themed, and there is no buy in costs for members to participate. If you’re not on our MSCA mailing list contact El Prez Kevin L. Williams and he’ll make sure you get all the upcoming club info.

Happy Holidays– stay safe, stay warm, and stay tooned!

Lin

#supportyourlocalartists

#supportyourlocalcomicshops

#happyholidays

#wearamask

“Is this thing on..?” New MSCA ‘Drawing Funny’ Podcast Is Live And New ‘Magic’ Zine Is In Stores

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Hey, gang- as of this month I am a podperson again!

It took a little doing, but the new MSCA podcast Drawing Funny is now available online and I’ve got 3 (and a half) episodes in the can.

Episode 0 is the pilot/introductory episode, Episode 1 was our last meeting Zoom call…

Episode 2 was an interview with the MSCA President, Kevin L. Williams, and Episode 3 was with local Memphis comic creator Matt Bowers.

I’ll be recording more episodes soon. As soon as it is safe enough for us to get together again in person I’ll be taking the show on the road to our dinner meet-ups, to comics shops, conventions, and other events to record.

Please be sure to “like” and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Radio Public, Pocket Casts, and other places you can get podcasts.

You can also follow this show or contact us on social media:

Twitter- @drawingfunny1
Instagram- @drawingfunnypod

I’ll be recording our next monthly Zoom meeting, which is next Tuesday, November 3rd.  If you’d like to attend the virtual MSCA meeting please contact Kevin– midsouthcartoonists (at) gmail (dot) com, and be sure to put “zoom invite request” in the subject line.

Lots to discuss this month, including the latest issues of the MSCA Zine. Issue #3 “Magic” is in stores now, and #4 “Animals” (with a Jim Palmer cover) will be out in mid-November. Copies of issue #1 “Horror” and #2 “Space” are still available at Comics & Collectibles, The Cellar, and 901 Comics. Deadline for entries for the “Winter/Holiday” #5 issue is coming up soon, so be sure to get your art sent over to our editors Dale Martin and Jason Negan.

Speaking of 901 Comics, you can pick up Matt Bowers’ Memphis comic there. Issues #1 & #2 are available for sale there now. He had a singing at the shop last weekend. Matt was also featured in the October 22, 2020 issue of the Memphis Flyer.

Matt Bowers’ Memphis: Superheroes in the Bluff City
It’s Here: Matt Bowers Signs Copies of Memphis No. 2

BTW- if you missed the last MSCA Zoom Meeting, you can listen to it on DrawingFunny.com (Ep1 – “Calling All Cartoonists”)and hear some MSCA history by the man responsible for us all being drawn together- founding member Jack Cassady. I’m hoping to edit some of the video together to use for our new YouTube channel Kevin is putting together. We will be uploading some drawing/painting videos to it soon. Would love to see some of your work on there, as well as in the MSCA website’s Members Gallery I’m currently curating, too.

Kevin and Muley have been very active over on YouTube with their “Muley Reads” videos, where just like the title suggests, Muley reads some fun, entertaining, and educational books. Fond out more info over at MuleyTheMule.com.

 

Stay tooned!

Lin