Santa Spills the Beans in "Santa Confidential!"--Artwork by Chris Browne

Are you the real Santa?"

"How do you deliver presents when we don’t have a chimney?"

"How do the reindeer fly?"

"Can you really see us when we’re sleeping?"

"How do you know who’s been naughty or nice?"

Did you ever want to know the real answers to these questions? All of them, and many more, have been asked of Santa Claus over the years, and he thinks it's time you knew the truth.

Here, in this amazing, entertaining, and funny book are the answers to the top fifty-two questions – one for each week of the year.

So whether parents read them to their children, or you read them for yourself, you’ll have fun every week from Christmas to Christmas.

Illustrated by world-famous artist Chris Browne, and penned by the “jolly ol’ elf” himself, Santa Confidential reveals what you’ve always wanted to know. 

 

The book is available for ordering from Diamond, and will ship in time for Christmas! (Stocking Stuffer, you know.)

ISBN # Signed Edition: 978-1-4675-3957-9
$17.99

ISBN # Sketch Edition:  978-1-4675-3959-3
$125.

For more information or to order directly from Eva Ink, contact us at: evaink@aol.com

Swimming with the Fishes--The Georgia Aquarium

The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta has a wonderful program called "Swimming with Gentle Giants." I've been lucky enough to be able to do this program twice. Most recently with Matt Driscoll and Mike Zeck.  It's amazing to realize that this is the only place, at least in the US, where you can swim with these whale sharks (four), while also being surrounded by manta rays and various types of more toothy sharks and other fish.

                                                    (Mike on the left, next to me. Matt, second from the right.)

As well as be a ton of fun, the money spent on the experience also goes to a good cause.  A portion of the proceeds from the Dive Immersion Program goes to the aquariums 4R Program, aimed at Research, Rehabilitation, Responsibility and Rescue of aquatic wildlife around the world. Georgia Aquarium currently has 4R projects involving beluga whales, loggerhead sea turtles and coral reefs, as well as the one with the whale sharks.

                                                               (I'm on the left. Mike with the yellow goggles.)

Research and conservation projects sponsored by the Georgia Aquarium are helping us better understand the biology of aquatic animals, and to provide protection for wildlife and their habitats in Georgia and around the world. Research projects on whale sharks in Mexico, Taiwan and in the Ocean Voyager exhibit in Georgia help scientists gain a better understanding of the biology of whale sharks, and will facilitate policy decisions to provide greater protection for this gentle giant.

Oh, and did I mention that it's an amazing experience?

--R.

Always Wear Sunscreen, and Other Wonderful Advice

I always wear sunscreen. Every day. Rain. Shine. You name it. 

Some people kid me for it, but I don't care. I attribute my lack of sun to not only my pasty white skin, but my lack of freckles as well, and some rather essential health benefits. 

So, I shall NOT be moved from my daily routine. (Especially around the eyes. It's very important around the eyes.)

I'm stubborn that way.

As my former classmates from high school in Texas are preparing to gather in a weeks time to celebrate the past, and from whence we came, my mind goes back to a commencement address I read some time ago.

I filed it away in my brain for future reference, apparently, and it came up on que.

And not only because it agrees with me about sunscreen...    

It serves an astute reminder of how little we know when we are young. How the past takes on a certain patina in our minds. How wise we are only when looking back, and are able to contemplate the full map of our existence from the advantage of hindsight... perhaps sometimes tinged with a little remorse, or a little regret. (Although I think it's much better to have the former than the later.) But certainly with a heavy dose of nostalgia.

I personally always feel that every person, every place, every opportunity, has all added up to who I am. And I like that. I pay tribute to it. Parts of a whole. The "Frankenstein" (but in a good way) of "I AM..."  And while I still crash around and break things from time to time, I like to think that I am getting better at using my brain...

I have always been willing to use my heart.

So, I temper my nostalgia with a bit of truth...but I do love the remembering.

Like the quilts my Grandmother would make, each piece of material representing to her some time in her life, some person, some place...the blue gingham, not a simple pattern, but her mother standing in the kitchen at the sink, with light filtering through the Poppies on the windowsill...

The years pass no matter if one wants them to or not, and that's what this essay addresses. It's how one chooses to use them I suppose.

The following commencement address was spread across the internet as having been written by Kurt Vonnegut. It apparently was not. (You can read the full story here: http://www.wesselenyi.com/Vonnegutstory.htm)

The original pen by some accounts belonged to one Mary Schmich of the Chicago Herald Tribune, who wrote it for her column on what she'd say IF ever asked to give an address. 

She attributes her insight to being high on coffee.

(Something else to which I can relate.)

Honestly: I don't really care if Vonnegut didn't write it. Although that certainly made many people read and contemplate the simple words. 

I think it's dead on. And good advice to consider on any rainy afternoon. 

Just as valid for starting today--no matter what day you are experiencing, what stage you are in on your own personal map, or your age. Life is a lovely and strange thing afterall, full of turning pages, and opportunities, and odd yet sometimes wonderful developments. I like to think we do get a little more intelligent about what matters as we move along...

As for me,  I agree most heartily with the dancing... and the singing...

And, if you are doing it outside... remember... sunscreen!


--R.

______  

"Ladies and gentlemen:
 
Wear sunscreen.
 
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
 
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
 
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.
 
Do one thing every day that scares you.
 
Sing.
 
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
 
Floss.
 
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
 
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
 
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
 
Stretch.
 
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
 
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
 
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75^th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
 
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
 
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
 
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
 
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
 
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
 
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
 
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.
 
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.
 
Respect your elders.
 
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
 
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
 
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
 
But trust me on the sunscreen."
 
Author: Mary Schmich (USA)
First published: July 1, 1997
Copyright: Herald Tribune

_____

Got a Conventon in 2013? We've got Artists!

Hi Everyone--

Greetings from Eva Ink Artist Group.

Well, it's mid 2012, so that means I am starting to flesh out the convention list for 2013.

There may be a few more artists and writers added to the list at a future date. And I'll send out a separate press release on them. Right now, I am able to book the following creators for 2013 dates.  

(Not every artist is available for every show, due to work schedules and such, but please inquire as soon as you know your dates. If there are shows on conflicting dates, we'll address that as well, we like to support you all!) 

So, here goes, in alphabetical order:
++++++++++


Dennis Calero:

Dennis Calero is the award winning and internationally recognized artist of X-Men: Noir and Legion of Superheroes. He has also leant his talents to CCG Properties such as Magic andLegend of the Five Rings, as well as Dungeons & Dragons. His work includes X-Men Noir : Mark of Cain, X-Factor, 28 Days Later: The Aftermath, Cowboys and Aliens, Dark Tower, Fallen Angel, Hawkgirl, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Supergirl and the Legion of Superheroes, Magic The Gathering, Countdown to Final Crisis, Wolverine: First Class and JSA Classified. During his tenure on X-Factor the title was nominated for the Harvey Award for Best New Series (2006). Calero has also provided illustrations sporadically for role-playing games, beginning in 1996 for White Wolf. He has done interior artwork forDungeons & Dragons books for the Forgotten Realms setting, such as Silver Marches,Faiths and Pantheons, and Races of Faer?n. Calero also co-founded Atomic Paintbrush, one of the first computer-coloring companies working in the comic-book field.

Currently you can find recent work on covers for Witchblade and The Lone Ranger, as well as upcoming work for The Shadow and Zenescope.
 

Michael Golden:

Co-creator of the X-men’s Rogue character, Spartan X and Bucky O’Hare, his groundbreaking work on “The ‘Nam,” “Micronauts,” “G.I. Joe Yearbook,” and “Dr. Strange, “ is world renowned, while being counted as one of the best cover designers and storytellers in the business.

Golden’s work can be seen on covers ranging from "Spawn" to “Nightwing”, to “Iron Man”, to “Heroes for Hire”, to “Exiles,” to  “Spiderman,” to “Hulk,” as well as numerous other titles, for about every company out there.

Recent books covering the colorful life and amazing art of Michael Golden include a Manga version of the “Bucky O’Hare” series, as well as the top selling art retrospective “Excess: The Art of Michael Golden,” which sold out and has gone into a second printing, as well as his recent sold out sketchbook “Heroes and Villains,” and the new sketchbooks, “MORE Heroes and Villains”  and "Michael Golden: Alchemy."

Michael has served as an Editor at DC Comics as well as Senior Art Director at Marvel Comics, and has worked on scores of movie production projects, some currently in development.

Joe Jusko:

Joe Jusko is undoubtedly one of the best known Fantasy, Pin-Up and Comic Artists in the world today. His career has spanned over 30 years, starting with the sale of his very first cover for Heavy Metal Magazine in 1977 at the age of 17. Since graduating that year from NYC’s High School of Art & Design, Joe has worked for almost every major comic book publisher, producing hundreds of images for both covers and interiors. His work has appeared on paperback book covers, calendars, posters, t-shirts, toy packaging and innumerable trading cards, most memorably the multi award winning 1992 Marvel Masterpieces Trading Cards. The popularity of that set has been credited with initiating the painted trading card boom of the 1990’s, and led to his groundbreaking 1995 Art of Edgar Rice Burroughs trading cards. Those 125 paintings have made him the most prolific Burroughs artist ever, producing art based on almost every major book by the famed author. 

Ric Meyers:

Ric Meyers: Although declared the “Martial Art Movie Master” by Crash Cinema and “America’s leading Asian action expert” by the Boston Globe, Ric Meyers is a true media maven, having been “Special Media Consultant” for Sony, DreamWorks, Columbia, Tristar, Emperor Movie Group, and Celestial Pictures, as well as ABC, CBS, A&E, Discovery, Bravo, Nickelodeon, and Starz Encore networks. He wrote the first Incredible Hulk novel for Pocket Books, as well as Dirty Harry and Ninja Master novels for Warner Books, two science fiction novels for Questar, three horror novels for Dell Books, and the last Dungeons and Dragons novel for TSR prior to their Wizards of the West Coast buy-out, among others.

Ric regularly moderates the Martial Arts movie panel at SDCC, and is available to arrange various types of programming and panels at your convention.

Rodney Ramos:

Rodney Ramos has been a professional comic book artist for over 15 years. He has penciled and inked work for Marvel , DC Comics, Marvel UK, Valiant , Acclaim and various other companies. He has worked on such titles as Batman. Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, 52 , Countdown ,X-Men, Spider-Man , Iron Man and the critically acclaimed Transmetropolitan.

He is currently inking high profile projects for Legendary Comics.

Mark Texeira:

Fine art painter and comic illustrator, Mark Texeira has long been associated with a conflagration of characters ranging from Ghost Rider to Black Panther to Wolverine to Sabretooth to Moonknight to Punisher to....it goes on and on... His body of work over the last 30 years has been astounding.

His work has been explored and highlighted on the DVD of the “Ghost Rider” movie, the look of which he influenced. Mark was also tapped to do the movie tie-in for “Wolverine Origins,” which also seemed to be a natural!

Current work includes "Space: Punisher" which is starting this July, as a four part mini series, fully painted in that signature Texeira style.

Matt Triano:

Matt Triano has written and drawn comics for collections and anthologies by publishers such as Moonstone, DC and Atomic Press. He is also known for his storyboard work, motion comic work, and artwork for various ad agency projects developing custom comics for high profile clients. His art can currently be seen in works for Robin Hood Charities in New York, Moonstone (Captain Action), Zenescope (Grimm's Myths and Legends), The Discovery Channel and Marvel Trading cards (Marvel Characters), as well as a Batman story for the "DC Halloween Special."

Currently he is penciling Call of Wonderland as well as an upcoming project for Dynamite Entertainment spanning 12 issues.

Renee Witterstaetter:

Writer, editor and publisher Renee Witterstaetter is the author of "Nick Cardy: The Aritst at War," "Excess: The Art of Michael Golden," "Tex: The Art or Mark Texeira," "Nick Cardy: Wit-Lash," the children's book "Kerry and the Scary Things," and "Dying for Action: The Life and Films of Jackie Chan," among many others.

Renee began the comic phase of her career working on such titles as Superman at DC Comics and Silver Surfer, Conan The Barbarian and Conan Saga at Marvel, then going on to spearhead the reintroduction of She-Hulk at Marvel as well. She then moved to Topps Comics where she was the editor on "X-Files," "Jurassic Park," "Xena" and "Hercules" and is the co-creator of "Spartan X" which will be made into a trade paperback this year. She has also worked in film production on such movies as "Rush Hour 2," "Red Dragon," and many more.

In addition, she is  colorist on hundreds of comics from "The Avengers" to "Spider-man" to "Captain America" among many, many more.

+++++++

As mentioned, more talent may be added later, but if you are interested in booking any of the above folks for your shows, let me know, and I will get back to you about who is available for what.

For our stores and conventions in Europe, looking forward to hearing from you as well, as we start to plan a Spring Tour for Eva Ink Artist Group.




You can e-mail me at:  Evaink@aol.com for more information.

Best Regards,
Renee Witterstaetter

Michael Golden: Alchemy at SDCC, Booth 2101

San Diego-- Michael Golden provides a little gold at the SDCC this year with the debut of his new sketchbook, "Michael Golden: Alchemy."

He will have only 150 SDCC signed and number copies of the book available at the show--Booth 2101-- Big City Comics.  Get these special editions while supplies last.

Michael will be at Booth 2101 throughout the weekend signing comics, and offering prints and other items, including a limited edition print for Big City Comics as well as variant cover.

Contact Renee at: evaink@aol.com for further details.

Dennis Calero Signing Times for SDCC 2012

San Diego-- When not at his table in Artist Alley, at FF05, artist Dennis Calero will be making several special autograhing appearances for key clients throughout the week at the San Diego Comic Con!

Calero is the award winning and internationally recognized artist of "X-Men: Noir" and "Legion of Superheroes." He has also leant his talents to CCG Properties such as Magic and Legend of the Five Rings, as well as Dungeons & Dragons. His work includes "X-Men Noir : Mark of Cain," "X-Factor," "28 Days Later: The Aftermath," "Cowboys and Aliens," "Dark Tower," "Fallen Angel," "Hawkgirl," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Supergirl" and the "Legion of Superheroes," Magic The Gathering, Countdown to Final Crisis, "Wolverine: First Class "and "JSA Classified." During his tenure on "X-Factor" the title was nominated for the Harvey Award for Best New Series. Recent works include “Captain Victory,” “Witchblade,” and “Lone Ranger,” for Dynamite, Marvel Trading Cards, and a few new things to be announced very soon, including new works for Zenescope.. Calero also co-founded Atomic Paintbrush, one of the first computer-coloring companies working in the comic-book field.

Be sure to look for Dennis at the following locations listed below.

For information on bookings, commissions and assignments, contact Renee Witterstaetter at Eva Ink Artist Group: evaink@aol.com

And to follow Dennis on Facebook, join his fan page at:  

https://www.facebook.com/DennisCaleroPage?ref=ts

SDCC Signing Schedule for Dennis Calero:

*Archai:

Thursday 12-30 -130

Friday 4-5

Sat 1130-1230

*Top Cow:

Sunday noon to 1

Thursday 11-12

*Zenescope:

Thursday, 7/12

Zene Booth (2301) - 4-5pm

Friday, 7/13

HC BBQ Trailer- 2:30 - 3:30pm

Saturday, 7/14

HC BBQ Trailer - 2-3pm

(Check back. More times may be added with more clients as time permits.)

Michael Golden-- Booth 2101 at SDCC-- Big City Comics Variant and Exclusive Convention Art Print Offered!

San Diego--Artist Michael Golden will be appearing all days of the San Diego Comic Con at Booth 2101 by special arrangement with Big City Comics via Eva Ink Artist Group.

Golden's work is featured on a limited edition print just for the convention, and with a press run of only 500 copies, it's going to go fast.

The signed print will be available at Booth 2101 for $10. The Variant Comic is available signed for $20. Or get both in a fantastic show package deal for only $25.

Big City Comics is easy to find. Just look for the 12 foot video columns and Michael Golden's name across the tablecloth.

Michael will also be at Booth 2101 all days of the show sketching and signing comics, as well as offering his own prints and new sketchbook, "Michael Golden: Alchemy." Which is limited to 200 copies at the convention.

Preview night for the SDCC starts July 11th, with the biggest comics/gaming/movie/younameit show in the country continuing through July 15th.

For more information, contact evaink@aol.com