Original Art for Sale! Meanwhile poster, The Future, Pay in Blood and more!

Hi all. I'm selling some original art work in hopes of raising some money to buy a new laptop as mine has crashed. 

Available now: 

-the poster for the recent Meanwhile reading series I was a part of...

-some pages from a mini-comic about a grandfather and grandson contemplating the state of the world... 

-scenes of Midwesterners violently disemboweling one another over Black Friday deals...

-and some public transportation observations. 

Most of these comics have had a small print run or never printed at all. Prices vary as well as sizes. 

Please e-mail alexnall0@gmail.com if interested. Thanks!

Meanwhile poster- 12x9 in, $100

The Future Is Lookin' Bright!/It Ain't Gunna Happen!- 5 3/4 x 7 in, Both for $100

The #9- 5x7, $30

The Future Is Lookin' Bright #2- both 5 x 7, $75

The #9 No. 2- 5 x 7, $25

The Future Is Lookin' Bright #3- 5 x 7, $50

Pay In Blood #3- 5 x 7, $50

Pay in Blood #2- 5 x 7, $50

Pay In Blood #1- 5x7, $100

Pay In Blood #4- 5x7, $50

Let Some Word That Is Heard Be Yours Fall Book Tour/ ZINEmercado

I'm going on tour to promote Let Some Word That Is Heard Be Yours this Fall. 

I'll be tabling at the Small Press Expo (SPX) for the first time! I'll be sharing a table with my friend Pranas. I attended SPX last year for the first time just to go and check it out and was not disappointed. I met plenty of cartoonists that I had been wanting to meet as well as friends from all over the country. Congrats to all of this year's SPX Ignatz Award nominees! 

I'll also be tabling at this weekend's ZINEmercado at the Comfort Station in Logan Square in Chicago. I'll be doing double-duty, tabling for my own comics as well as the zines created by students in the YOUMedia program, curated by the Chicago Public Library. The event is from 11 am - 6 pm, FREE, outdoors (across the street from the Logan Square Farmers Market) and there will be many other local zines/comics creators tabling! Hope to see you there.

Sulzer Library Comic Fest, Aug. 5 and 6

Join us for our first ever Comic Fest at Sulzer Regional Library! Local Chicago comic artists and creators will showcase their work at tables all over the ground floor of the library. Speak with creators, browse contemporary comics and zines, sign up for workshops, and attend panels where we talk comics, art careers and more!

Artists Alley will be set up in the Auditorium from 10am-4pm on Saturday, August 5 and 1:30-4:30pm on Sunday, August 6. Stop by tables of local creators to browse their work and engage with the artists.

Throughout the day on Saturday, August 5th, there will be four one-hour workshops will take place in the Community Meeting Room.

Saturday August 5th
10:30 am - Character Creation for Kids with Corinne Mucha
12pm - Coding with Scratch with Finch Robots with Sulzer's Junior CyberNavigator Intern
1:30pm - Storytelling + Zinemaking Workshop with Megan Kirby and Catherine Eves of Meanwhile
3pm - Doodle Jam! with Logan Kruidenier

We'll also be hosting a Panel in which Chicago area artists discuss what it's like working as a creative in comics. Panelists include:

Isabella Rotman - Cartoonist and Illustrator
Alex Nall - Cartoonist/Teaching Artist/Chicago Zine Fest Organizer
Delia Jean - Artist
Logan Kruidenier - Multi-media Artist and Doodle Expert

Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) This weekend!

I'll be tabling at the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) this weekend, Saturday, June 10 and Sunday, June 11 at the Center on Halsted (3656 N. Halsted Ave.) CAKE is one of the best indie comics shows in North America and I'm happy to tabling for my third year there!

 I'll be debuting Let Some Word That Is Heard Be Yours at table 301B. I'm currently working on building a small replica of the Neighborhood display at the opening on the Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for my table. You can also pick up a small colored portrait of Fred Rogers as well as see a display of the portraits from the cover gallery in the back of the book!

Also, a note on pre-orders: I am still sending books to campaign donors and am going to be sending out the rest of pre-orders after CAKE. If you're interested in ordering a book, the easiest way for both of us is to paypal $15.00 (USD) to Alexnall (at) gmail (dot) com.

I hope to see you all at CAKE this weekend!

Chicago Zine Fest is this weekend! May 5 and 6

The Chicago Zine Fest is a celebration of small press and independent publishers, with free workshops, events, and an annual festival. This year's CZF will be held May 5-6, 2017. THIS WEEKEND! I have been an organizer for the fest since 2014 and am excited to see everyone at this year's fest. Here is some information about what is happening this year and where it's happening... For more info, please go to www.chicagozinefest.org

All events during CZF weekend are always FREE, ADA/wheelchair accessible, and open to the public! CZF 2017 will take place over two days: Friday May 5th for a panel discussion & exhibitor reading, and Saturday May 6th for our main exhibition.

Friday May 5th: panel discussion & exhibitor reading at Co-Prosperity Sphere(3219 S Morgan St in Bridgeport).

6:30-8 pm: panel on “Tools of Survival: Using Zines for Self-Care,” featuring panelists  JC, Rinko Endo, and Kevin Budnik and moderated by School of Life Design co-founder Kelly Cree. Thanks to The University of Chicago Library for sponsoring our Friday night panel!

8-9:30 pm: exhibitor readings from zinesters & comics artists Natasha Hernandez, Bianca Xunise, Aus & Lauren, Eryca Sender, Sage Coffey, Javier Suarez + Cameron Del Rosario, Fiona Avocado, and Jim Joyce.

Saturday May 6th: zine exhibition from 11 am-6 pm at Plumbers Union Hall(1340 W Washington Blvd).

Workshops throughout the day on Saturday:

• 12:15-1:15 pm: Ever Evolving Bastion of Freakdom: a Retrospection of Quimby’s Bookstore. Owner, manager, workers, and customers all chatting about Quimby’s twenty-five-year history. Emceed by CZF organizer and youth educator Alex Nall.
• 1:30-2:30 pm: Zines: the Next Generation. Join the youngest members of the zine community while they show us all up with their zine skills. Bring your work to share and sign up to read at 1:30 p.m. Emceed by CZF organizer and youth educator Alex Nall.
• 2:45-3:45 pm: Experimental Drawing Techniques with Mackenzie M-B. Ever wanted to use different modes of drawing in your zines? Like, something that is still highly observed but is more “show” and less “tell”? This workshop will teach you how to incorporate some experimental drawing techniques to deepen and strengthen your drawing practice. We will use keystone techniques in the workshop and share ideas around how to take these techniques back into the studio. Let your drawing puppy off that leash! Please bring a sketchbook and something to draw with.
• 4:00-5:00 pm: Press-less Patch Printing with Fata Morgana Press. Workshop participants will learn cheap and easy methods for printing patches at home including vegan gelatin printing, ink slab transfer, cyanotype, xerox transfer, and pochoir stenciling. Led by Mary Clare Butler and Amy Leners.

There will also be all-ages activities all day Saturday, including:

• 11:00 am-1:00 pm: Letterpress. Spudnik Press will be showing off their new portable letterpress at the activity table. Make some analog magnetic poetry to keep on a card forever or send to a friend!
• 1:00-3:00 pm: Button making. Join Busy Beaver Button Co. at the activity table to make custom buttons.
• 3:00-6:00 pm: Sticker-making & arts and crafts. Everyone is invited to join staff from The WasteShed, Chicago’s Creative Reuse Resource, for mini-zines and sticker making.
• all day: Photos. Get your glamour on in the GlitterGuts photo booth.

More information about Chicago Zine Fest 2017…

A list of exhibitors and invited guests tabling at CZF 2017 is now available.

Exhibitor registration is full! We do have a wait list available, but please be aware we have over 100 people on our wait list, so your chances of getting a table are slim. If you’re still interested in taking a chance on a spot, get started by signing up for the wait list here.

Our CZF 2017 artwork was created by Chicago artist Mike Centeno! Find out more about Mike’s work at his Instagram account (@mike_centeno) and his website: MikeCenteno.com.

Let Some Word That Is Heard Be Yours debuts at CAKE, June 10 +11

Hi everyone!

'Let Some Word That Is Heard Be Yours' is at the printers! Here is the cover.

The book ended up being a nice 84 pages (20 pages more than I originally intended!) and comes with a works referenced section as well as a cover gallery featuring many incredible portraits of Fred Rogers in a variety of artistic styles and mediums by artist friends near and far. The book should arrive in mid-May, early June, just in time for the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo (CAKE) where I will be tabling on June 10 and 11. More info here: http://www.cakechicago.com

This book took roughly a year of work including research, writing, drawing, painting, editing, and fundraising. I have to thank some specific people for their help. Mike Freiheit provided countless hours of assistance, both technical and editorial to this project. He provided the attention and detailed eye that every writer/artist hopes to have with an editor. His book design, editing, and not to mention the beautiful portrait of Rogers and his ape-friend, Koko is a credit to his talent and friendship. I'm happy to be working with Print Ninja again (who printed my last book 'Teaching Comics') and more specifically Jeff Zwierk who also helped with the layout and editing process. Matt Davis and Bred Rohloff encouraged this project by allowing me to read at their exciting comics reading series 'Zine Not Dead' last year. I had a lot of fun sharing some pages from an early draft of the book, dressing up as Rogers, and even singing the opening theme song! (Perhaps it's best that no video exists of this performance...) 

Finally, one last BIG thank you to all of you have donated, shared, or in your own way, encouraged this project. I'm grateful for your support and look forward to sending out these books!

Let Some Word That Is Heard Be Yours- IndieGoGo Campaign!

I'm raising funds via IndieGoGo to print 'Let Some Word That Is Heard Be Yours', the Mister Rogers comic I've been working on for past few months. 

$25 gets you a copy of the 50 page comic, your name on a contributor's page, as well as other perks. 

I've been having a lot of fun researching and creating this project. I hope to be able to have the book ready by mid-April/May and any donation or shared link on social media would help tremendously. Thanks!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/let-some-word-that-is-heard-be-yours-by-alex-nall-comics/x/12772965#/

Who was Mr. Rogers?

Mr. Rogers

I'm revising a Teaching Comics story that features the life and influence of Fred Rogers. Last year when I started working at the elementary school after summer break, I felt incredibly anxious and had a lot of trouble falling asleep. Watching episodes Mr. Rogers and learning about how he came to create the television program millions of fans adore still to this day helped me cope with some of the stressful situations I was dealing with at school.  I made this illustration of him to get me back into the swing of revising the story.

Teaching Comics- Santa