I'm going to France

Well here's a blog post to out do my last blog post.  2013 was a pretty busy year, did a lot of shows and sold a bunch of books.  It certainly was nice to have books to sell.  I know we sold out of books at C2E2 and New York.  I hope we can do it again this year because I'm still working on book 1 of volume 2.  I'm hoping to be able to put that out in 2015.  This year will be dedicated to finishing that first book (there will be three books making up vol. 2) and beginning book two.  I think that can happen!  WOOOO!  I just finished a page yesterday (page 35 of book 1) that I spent about 40 hours on just stippling the background of the border.  You know how much I love borders.  It's really difficult not posting everything I complete.  I spend so much time on these pages but I can't share them because I don't want to spoil the experience when you open the book.  I do occasionally share tid bits through twitter or instagram but those pieces are tiny fractions of what I am creating for this next book.  I really can't wait to see what you all think. 

I will be starting page 36 in France.  Not the story line, CPG doesn't just magically turn up in France.  I'm going to France for two months.  Through the aide of my French publisher Les Editions de la Cerise (there's supposed to be a little mark over the E in Editions, but I've never been able to figure out how to do that on a keyboard, I'm technically hopeless) I have been accepted into the Chateau Brignon passage a l'art.  So I will be leaving for Bordeaux Mar. 26th and then traveling to Carbon Blanc where I will be staying and won't be returning until May 30th.  My amazing and kind publisher Guillaume has a bunch of places he wants to take me to while I'm there.  The French edition of the book will be coming out April 10th I've been told, so I will be doing some book store signings as well.  Here is what the French edition will look like-

I am extremely proud of what Les Editions de la Cerise has done with the book.  The whole thing looks really cool.  I thought it'd be difficult with all the type I put into the artwork itself, but they did a great job.  It will not have a couple of things the Archaia version does but it will also have a couple of things that the Archaia did not.  I can't wait to bring one of these home with me.  :) 

The first three weekends I'm going to be there I will be attending comic festivals, something I've always wanted to do.  I've attended plenty of shows here and one in Canada but the "European Comics Festival" has always seemed to me to be one of the pinnacles of this industry.  As is having your book translated into a different language.  These are the things the 15 year old me never dreamed possible as I copied Marc Silvestri Uncanny X-Men just hoping to be good enough one day to draw for DC, Marvel, Image or Dark Horse.  The idea I could write something that someone else would want to publish let alone across the ocean would have been laughable to that high school freshman.  I'm extremely excited and terrified for this epic adventure.  Needless to say I do not speak French.  Thankfully Emily will be coming along for a good portion of it.  She's aiming to spend about two and a half weeks there with me. 

The comic festivals I will be attending are
Carbon Blanc  Mar. 29th & 30th Bulles en Hauts de Garonne 
Bordeaux  April 4th - 6th Escales du livres
Aix en Provence  April 11th - 13th Rencontres du 9e Art

I'm actually on a list for that last one! 

I'm planning on doing up a special print specifically for my appearances there.  I will post the whole process as I go.  At least I hope I will.  It will depend on how frantic the rest of this upcoming month is.  There is so much I have to try to get accomplished.  For example- just bought a new iPod Classic for this trip but I'm still running on Mac OS X 10.5.8, so that needs to get updated and our internet connection really sucks.  As well as trying to get health insurance and doing my taxes.  Yay. 

On a different note, I have submitted some pieces to Spectrum to be judged tomorrow.  This is a first for me, I've been a fan of the book for years.  I've just never thought to try to get in.  Here is one of the pieces I submitted.  If you follow me on Instagram or saw me at a comic con last year you will have already seen this and maybe some of the progress on it.  I call it "Sounding of the Horn". 

I will have it available as a tea stained print at all the shows I have scheduled for this year and it is available on my webstore,  jeremybastian.bigcartel.com. I will also be putting up some con sketch commissions on my store starting tomorrow.  I will be missing out on a lot of shows at the beginning of the season and I need some funds for this expedition.  They will be on tea stained stock as before but I'm asking $200 a piece.   You will be able to buy them directly from the store.  No need for emails.  All you have to do is let me know what you would like in the comments.