Copyright (c) 2009 http://www.tomatotv.net/ Online Comic Feed for TomatoTV en-us 5 http://www.tomatotv.net/images/rss-logo.jpg http://www.tomatotv.net 352 63 http://www.tomatotv.net/post.php?id=20 This is the post I’ve been trying to put off as long as I could. For anyone that’s dropped by after San Diego Comic Con or Long Beach Comic Con you’ve noticed unfortunately a diminishing amount of publishing. It’s because I’ve learned that freelance is a good thing and so is web comics, but the two don’t mix well at all. Trying to both freelance as well as a be a web comics illustrator, writer AND editor for TomatoTV.net has not worked out as evidence of our terrible publishing “schedule”. I’ve been evaluating and some things gatta go. Now, you’ve read several posts that start with a similar prompt of “not enough time. Too much life” then they usually end with “it’s been great. Bye bye webcomic.” Well not here, for me it’s “Freelancing has been great, but bye bye Freelance. Hello TomatoTV.net” I’ll be returning to regular work for a company for a variety of reasons, but amongst those so I can donate the proper time to TomatoTV.net and really take it where I know it can go.

Why am I doing the opposite of what most people do when they get to this point? Am I the battered spouse that won’t leave? Do I need to admit I have an unhealthy addiction? Am I incapable of figuring out what real priorities are? Do I have delusions of grandeur? No.

On the personal side, TomatoTV.net is not something that I want to do; it’s something I NEED to do. It’s addressing an inner song that must be sung, or like a balloon filling with air MUST be let out other wise the pressure just increases until it pops. The characters and stories literally tug at me and demand to have a voice. Not updating the site isn’t going to stop the voices. I’ve tried that on another project and the voices never did fade away. In the end I’m a storyteller, whether I like it or have time for it or not.

On the professional side, if you’re wondering why I’d do such a thing for a “side project”, simply put TomatoTV is far, far from a “side project”. In the creative business world that we exist in with the “do your own thing THEN we’d love to talk” “side projects” like TomatoTV are almost as required as a portfolio. TomatoTV has been the reason I’ve stumbled onto such amazing professional attention, opportunity and connections that my portfolio alone would not have lead me too. It’s lead to such wonderful things as: developing pilot animation with LATV (and came a hairs breath of turning this volunteer staff into a animation production studio), development with Disney Television Animation, finding and becoming part of Animation Army and development of Geekdom Wear, and a “wow that sounds like an idea I’ve never heard of. I going to definitely check that out” with every art director, animation exec, and animation company owner I’ve shared it with and so much more. This site may not have paid the bills directly, but it’s far from a “side project”.

Also there are a few IP’s on this site where they really have potential. I truly believe that TomatoTV has content on it, and that it has enough quality and unique ideas and structure that if given proper time and growth will lead to this website being part or more of my income eventually, as well as the other staff who have graciously given their time.
So the plan:

TomatoTV is going to be updating when I can, but effectively now will be on hold for a short while as I look to transition back into working at a company again. Freelance has been fun, but it’s time to have something close to a set schedule again. That said it’s important to find the right job, and not just a job, as there’s a huge difference. I’ll make a separate post of what kind of work I’m looking for and what I can do so if any one knows work they can contact me, but this post is about you. Me letting you know that I’ve been truant, but am working things out to get back on track.

So viewers, TomatoTV.net reception may be spotty for a little bit, but I’m working on getting everything fixed much sooner than later.
Thank you and apologies for any interruption in regularly scheduled programming.

]]> Sat, 2 Jan 2010 00:00:00 CST http://www.tomatotv.net/post.php?id=19 As with San Diego I am going to break Long Beach Comic Con down to a few posts as there was too much fun for one post. This post will focus on the coolest part of the convention for me, which was meeting Berkeley Breathead creator of the comic strips Bloom County, Outland and Opus. I can count on one hand the amount of people that were the most influential creators that helped me either want to do what I do or whose work helped me get there once I wanted to do. Berkeley is one of them. I wrote recently of Jack Kirby who taught me personally that no one is small enough to be treated less than another and his art showed me how to move a character around a page in away that it’s hard to believe the illustration is really a static image. With Berkeley I read Opus when I was kid and enjoyed it more than the others for reason that I didn’t know at the time. Now I can look back and see that it was unique on the comic strips page in a way that also made Peanuts, For Better or For Worse in a category all their own. Bloom County though struck a cord in me where now I can see where what I love doing now started reading Bloom County as a kid. The absolute best thing about meeting Berkeley is that he turned out be rather a nice guy actually, something you always should be concerned about when meeting those whose only exposure you’ve had is their work. Thank you Berkeley for being so cool

Berkeley’s work taught me a few things that I’ve only just recently been able to feel comfortable working with to any degree of quality:
- It introduced me to the ensemble cast so that when I was introduced to the true master of it, Jack Benny, I could enjoy it on a completely different level THEN use
it with my own storytelling.
- What you can really do with character design for animals
- That you can have an animal do and say things that you could never get away with if you had a person did or said the same thing.
- It, along with Bugs and the Warner Bros cast, showed me how to make a world like our own but to tweak it the right way to support the punch line.

The ensemble cast
Berkeley Bloom County ensemble cast is something I latched onto when I was a kid and to this day that format is how I like to structure my comic strip stories. It allows a wonderful range of storytelling because what you need a story or a part of a story to be can be embodied in a particular character. It’s a powerful tool for any sustained amount of time you need to stay with a setting, like years and with comic strips. I’ve seen people that try to take one or two characters and make them fit into situations that they just don’t work in, like having Richie Rich work as a dish washer at a burger joint. Unless there’s a very good reason it jumps over so many contrived situations strangled to tell a story you want with a character that really doesn’t fit the situation. With an ensemble cast you don’t have that problem. If you have a lower income uneducated characters in your ensemble roster, you simply drop him / here / it into that gag.

Creature and animal design
What sung to me initially about his work was the animals, creatures and character design. So much of proportions and design can literally show you the characters personality, and animals / creatures have the most flexible range of design to have them BE what you want of them. Berkeley did something amazing with his animals, they were animals AND they had the traits of people too. So many times animals are merely furry people and don’t retain any of the nature that you think would be inherent in being their species. Bekeley’s animals were both animals, as in penguins that loved fish and cat’s that threw up hairballs. They also embodied the elements of people that we could identify and connect with that existed in world much like our own. Their reality and their needs / wants was on like our own only slightly bent to best push that strips punch line: Bill & Opus ran for President in world like the one we live in with all of it’s perils and issues did affected Bloom County’s residents as it did our own. Thus Berkley’s animals had the perfect match that I hope to brining to “And Now Back To The Show” where they are at once very much their kind of animal, but also very much a person whom you can identify with.
It also didn’t hurt that the artwork was very good too.

To create a context for Brethead’s singing on Saturday, let me say that Bloom County started on December 8th, 1980 and Saturday October 3rd, 2009 was his first ever-comic convention appearance of any kind. He’d had book signings but those were for books of which I wasn’t really old enough to enjoy after they were out of print, much less have any concept of attendending such book singings. Thus for me this was a BIG thing for me.



The reason was signing was to promote “Bloom County: The Complete Library Volume One 1980-1982”. This is an important thing, even for fans like me that might have not only have all of his books (Picture link), but in first additions. The reason is that the books previously released are incomplete. To cover a year of strips you’d need to release a 100 plus page book each year with three or more comics per page, something editors thought even his readership thought might not support years ago. The new book will not only have all his Bloom County printed work, but also have extra notes and other goodies.



I bought the first volume of his too be complete set of Bloom County books and also brought a few things for him to sign. The first thing that made a good impression to me was that he wanted to actually talk. I told him how he was an inspiration and how his creature and animal design and writing was something that really affected me. It took him bit by surprise I think and said that it was nice to have a positive effect. Next I produced his first book (first edition too.) I then submitted to him something that not only go a “wow” out of him but a “You still have that?” from the guy behind me in line. It was the record that came with “Billy and the Boingers”. As the record was meant to be removed from the book and played getting the record, and one intact is a rarity.

The panel was amazing. As it was his first he didn’t know what to do so he had a full presentation on his creative process.



That was truly fun for me as it was nice to see how and why he worked. The panel warrants a full post, so instead of me making one I’ll direct you to one and move on (CBR post). It was less a panel and more a seminar on writing and creativity.

This was a result of an editor telling him he could not draw Snoopy's head


Brethead had a second signing after the panel. By the time I got down to the floor they were just capping off the line and I was second to last. I just wanted to say thank you again. When I got up there I did and Breathed said he didn’t know what else to do as he’d signed everything I’ve put in front of him. I said if he would be so kind as to draw a sketch I’d value it highly so he did.



It’s now one of my most valuable sketches, and Breathed turned out to be a really cool guy, which is what really made the experience worthwhile. Thank you Berkeley Brethead for helping me fall in love with the storytelling of the ensemble cast and what you can really do with animals in a strip.

Thank you Berkeley Breathed for being cool when we meet, for a great educational panel, for signing my stuff and for being such an inspiration to me.
Next blog post: Kirby Krackle – a band just for comics and geekdom, but to close this post out here’s some of the more fun and random moments from the first Long Beach Comic Con…

And in the random, but to fun to not to post stuff here's some fun that I captured via the fun of my iPhone.

Jonelle and I when we (briefly) meet Jeph Loeb



An old friend Christy Marie (if you don’t know who she is, just google Christy Marie and Slave Leia)



Attention: Cute Overload

Apparently this is available for purchase if your daughter is the right size and wants to be a Clone Trooper.

View from our booth


Things you only see at a Conventions: Black Bolt playing a guitar while a female Deadpool dances to the music.


And as usual if you want to see our pictures you can check them out the rest of pictures of Breathed's panel on:

Mobile Me Gallery
http://gallery.me.com/theshadowknows#100279&view=grid&bgcolor=black&sel=13

or Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/topherdavila/sets/72157622547473754/

and for the Long Beach Comic Con in general:

Mobile Me Gallery
http://gallery.me.com/theshadowknows#100279&bgcolor=black&view=grid

or Flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/topherdavila/sets/72157622380928175/

Wednesdays post will be a general wrap up of the a band that I've really grown to love that also has complete relevance on this blog "Kirby Krackle" as well as a new "And Now Back To The Show" (finally right?)

]]> Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.tomatotv.net/post.php?id=17 Long Beach Comic Con Day 1: Day one of Long Beach Comic Con (referred to henceforth in this post as LBCC) was hard to really figure from a vendor’s point of view. As the convention was only from 3-7 PM it was a half-day and thus can’t be figured on as a regular first day basis. I can say though it was fun. There is always a concern of whom you’ll be stationed next to for the duration of the convention. Sometimes you meet new friends and other time you can get the jerkiest of pricks. San Diego Comic Con last year (2008) we were next to a prick and a half. He was apparently an artist with a (I’ll not name which) studio and was quite proud of that fact. This I only know because he told every one that came buy but never actually talked to me the entire 5 days there, . This year looks to be quite fun though. To our left are Kendrix and Laurie of “Art of Laurie B”, old friends that we’ve known in the convention circuit for several years. To our left is Joel Adams, whom Jonelle and I just met today but seems like a very nice guy. So in short se seem to be doing well on the cool neighbor factor this con. Apologies for the brief blog post but more detail when time permits Monday or so. One cool thing I did want to leave you with was a cool moment today for Jonelle and I. We got to meet Jeph Loeb that didn’t require long lines! Check back tomorrow for another update and do remember to stop by the booth to buy our Geekdom Wear shirts!

Places to follow our fun..
- Face book for Videos (oh the fun of a iPhone 3GS)
http://www.facdbook/sketching
- Twitters for myself (@DavilaDraws)and @BJtheplatypus)
Links on right of index page
- Flickr set for Long Beach Comic Con
http://www.flickr.com/photos/topherdavila/sets/72157622380928175/



Thing to look forward to tomorrow:

1)Signing of Berkeley Breathed of Bloom County (one of my favorite comic strip people). Check out my face book for a quick video of what I intend to bring for him to sign.

2)Kirby Krackle Concert in evening.

]]> Sat, 3 Oct 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.tomatotv.net/post.php?id=16 Long Beach Comic Con is a week away. Next Friday’s (October 2-4) Jonelle and I will be at the inaugural Long Beach Comic Con at Artists Alley table number 60 right next to our friends Art of Laurie B. We are very much looking forward to seeing how much fun the convention is and hoping to meet any one reading the website now and meeting new readers. We will also have our Geekdom Wear shirts for sale, and we do process credit cards so you can spend your “con cash” elsewhere and still walk away with a nifty cool shirt. I will also be available for sketches for those interested. Maps to find us below, and come back Monday for another post of what we’ll have for you at Long Beach Comic Con.



Friends around the convention.

Almost tied with the fun of meeting new people on the opposite side of the table is seeing other vendors. Whether it be making new friends or seeing old ones a comic book convention is a time to hang out with people you probably haven’t seen since, well, last convention. Again more on Long Beach on Monday, but here is a quick run through of friends that I can’t suggest enough to check out after you’ve stopped by TomatoTV.net / Geekdom Wear.com’s booth (#60)
- Art of Laurie B (Artists Alley #60) Laurie’s does some amazing cute styled stuff. I always buy her sketchbooks and at least one print.
- Kirby Krackle Band (Booth #450 up near entrance) – Not only the first band for the comic book & geek community, but they also happen to be good. They will also be performing free (with a LBCC badge) on one of the nights of the convention, as well as having an exclusive song to give away commissioned exclusively for Long Beach.
- Tom Hodges (Artists Alley #51) He’s got a great style and does some amazing work for Lucas Film. I’ve got a sketch of his hanging in my studio and your sketch collection is missing one if you don’t have one of his.
- Wacom (Booth #248 up near entrance) If you are a professional artist or even hobbyist with artwork you probably own some kind of Wacom. Also if you are even thinking of getting a Cintiq 12 or 21 inch, it’s a must to stop by the booth to try it out before you buy your second biggest investment next to the car you’re driving.
- Write Brothers (Booth #152 up near entrance). If you write for any kind of story I can’t suggest their software enough. Besides great customer service and great at answering questions the writing programs really do make writing easier.

Sorry for lack of links, but these were quick add on to this post. Check us out if you are Long Beach Comic Con!

]]> Fri, 2 Oct 2009 00:00:00 CST http://www.tomatotv.net/post.php?id=15 In what was probably one of the most innovative and contextually grounded as well as utilitarian ideas I’ve seen period was what Syfy channel did with their experience-based marketing. Now first you’ll have to know that “Eureka” is a show on SyFy that takes place in the town of Eureka. In the show the restaurant, called “Café Diem”, is where much of any talking happens that isn’t location or plot specific. You also need to know that when you exit the convention center when the doors close you want to eat and the Gaslamp District is literally across the street. By no surprise it’s a street of restaurants.
This year when you walked out of the convention center and into the Gaslamp District in the first half dozen or so restaurants there was Café Diem there seemingly plucked right out of Eureka. One might have to check with Global Dynamics to see if some kind of teleportation research didn’t go awry.

As it’s been a little bit here's a VERY quick review on some new approaches companies used this year before moving on:
San Diego Comic Con is unlike most conventions in that the attendee’s take over the entirety of downtown during the day and night. It’s unique convention situation as the attendee’s stick around after hours and local to the convention. This creates a situation where all of downtown San Diego Gas Lamp area is functionally turned into SDCC’s attendee’s cafeteria and hang out. This year few people at some companies got the bright idea to completely stop competing for their attention in the convention center and during convention hours, and it worked in spades from all I could see.

The theme seemed to be “experience” and “immersion” for the innovative things that the companies did. The idea was to bring you into a world that was being promoted and as a byproduct get you excited about the product that was being promoted.

Sci-fi arranged with the restaurant Mary Jane’s to be converted on Tuesday night so Café Diem that would open on Wednesday morning. SyFy brought graveyard crews in at 10 PM when the Mary Jane’s closed and had Café Diem open for breakfast at 6:30 AM. The functionality of the change was simply enough; it was all vinyl signage that was put on backs of chairs, glass and anywhere else what was a solid surface. The only dimensional signage was the exterior sign.

The conversion was complete: signage, menus, napkins, and coasters. I tried to find any evidence from simply looking around of what the place was before and couldn’t find it. During Comic Con our group ate in Café Diem. Even for those that didn’t watch Eureka, it was an experience they quite enjoyed. Again immersion and experience were on the menu along with good food and fun.

Menu










The interior was a complete conversion...







Even the kitchen and soda fountains were covered with signage.





Okay the next is not a great picture but it was taken across the street with my iPhone.


This though was in one way even more of a paradigm shift than even Disney’s Flynn’s Arcade and the Alice in Wonderland experience. Disney’s outside experiences was IN ADDITION to events in the convention walls. SyFy on the other hand did the restaurant conversions INSTEAD OF having a booth. Café Diem WAS their presence at Comic Con.

On Monday Jonelle and I went back to see what the restaurant was really and they were quite kind to give us some stuff that was left over: Menus, pens and coasters. The menu is one of my favorite items from this year SDCC.

Here are some before and after pictures to give you a concept of the changes that happened.

The main dinning area







The waiting and reception area







Kitchen and soda fountain





Exterior Signage





I don’t work for SyFy or Disney so I have no inside information on goals, or measured success. From what I could see and hear people talking about I think when mixing together new experience and immersion promotion, taking advantage of attendee’s evening availability, the fact that the attendee’s don’t generally leave down town and that the convention is bursting at the seams with too much going on inside I think this new direction is something we might see more of in the future for San Diego Comic Con. I certainly hope so.

If you want to see all the pictures we took you can check out the galleries at

Mobile Me (http://gallery.me.com/theshadowknows#100174&bgcolor=black&view=grid)

Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/topherdavila/sets/72157622017862508/)

]]> Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:00:00 CST