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September 9th, 2015

Inkstuds Interview

Filed under: Press — Tags: interview, William Cardini — William Cardini @ 10:25 am

Robin McConnell of Inkstuds interviewed me about Vortex, Skew, performance art, Jack Kirby, Sphere Fear (my risograph comic debuting at SPX, published by Yeah Dude Comics), and more! Listen to it here.

I was pretty nervous about the interview but friends have assured me that it sounds fine. There were a few things that I realized afterwards I should’ve mentioned:

José-Luis’ last name is Olivares.
The friend I’m doing the final Sparkplug Books Kickstarter painting for is also a cartoonist, Jason Poland. He does the webcomic Robbie and Bobby.
My performance art professor Mike Smith told me about chalk talks, which combine comics and theater. The performer tells a story or joke using drawings done quickly on newsprint pads or erased and altered on a chalkboard. I did a few of those in Mike’s classes.
My interest in psychedelia probably stems from my anxiety disorder. My reality is already distorted compared to most people’s perceptions. The constant battling and transformations in the Hyperverse is a manifestation of my persistent worries.
I’m not sure what show I’ll attend after SPX, but I contributed a six-page comic to Future Shock Zero and writing to Speculative Modern Dinosaur Quarterly, both edited by Josh Burggraf and both debuting at CAB.

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July 14th, 2015

“Rock Troll” in RhiZome #3

Filed under: Press,Print Comics — Tags: Rhizome — William Cardini @ 10:55 am

I’m the token American in the third issue of the British SF anthology series RhiZome, edited by Rob Jackson and Kyle Baddeley-Read. My comic, “Rock Troll,” is ten pages long. Here’s the first page:

RhiZome #3 was reviewed by Richard Bruton on the Forbidden Planet blog. He liked “Rock Troll.” Here’s a quote:

A thing of some shape meets a rock. And the rock turns nasty. And then other stuff. It’s hardly War & Peace but by heck, it’s great. Maybe it’s the visual simplicity of it all, but whatever it was, it’s great.

Buy it from the shop link on Rob Jackson’s website. It’s £4 plus £2 if you’re outside the UK.

Here’s another page:

Kyle Baddeley-Read posted an interview with me on the RhiZome blog. Here’s an excerpt:

From the first three issues of RhiZome, what stories have stood out to you? Why?

My favorite story is “Corporation Pop” by Rob Jackson. The first two installments were in RhiZome #1 and #2. I like how Rob depicts a mundane office life that is spiraling out of control into a paranoid fantasy where nothing seems real. Tyler Stafford’s comic in RhiZome #2 is also amazing, like all of his work. He puts in a lot of little details in his drawings that make his SF worlds grounded. I also dig his character designs.

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July 7th, 2015

Two Contrasting Vortex Reviews

Filed under: Press — Tags: Vortex — William Cardini @ 10:44 am

Here are two more reviews of Vortex with contrasting perspectives. Click here for blockquotes and links.

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June 23rd, 2015

Vortex and Cold Heat Special #10 at Wonder Fair in Lawrence, KS

Filed under: Life — Tags: Wonder Fair — William Cardini @ 10:11 am

My wife, daughter, and I moved to the Kansas City area a few months ago. We’re mostly settled and have started exploring. KC is has an interesting vibe. It’s a lot older and more industrial than Austin. I’ve heard people describe KC as the westernmost Eastern city because of its age and architecture, lots of red brick buildings everywhere; the easternmost Western city because of its expansive grid of streets; and the northernmost Southern city because of its wide, winding boulevards. KC’s an undefined cloud in which everyone sees something different. Or maybe the Midwest is a mix of the rest of the country. For me, KC has a robust art scene; big free museums; beautiful, tree-lined streets; hanging out my wife’s extended family; and huge, cheap houses with basements so I can expand my studio practice.

My dungeon basement painting studio.

The massive population influx to Austin changed it almost completely in the 12.5 years I lived there. The constant condo construction, cranes all over downtown, crowds of new people, and churn in local businesses are exciting but Austin doesn’t have a strong sense of history, the traffic is terribly congested, and real estate is increasingly expensive. We were priced out of our neighborhood and didn’t want to live in Austin’s sprawling suburbs with a grueling commute. I miss breakfast tacos (and my friends and family of course) but I’m looking forward to new opportunities and possibilities here in KC.

Wonder Fair photos by Glade Hensel.

For Father’s Day, we decided to take a trip to Lawrence, which less than an hour west of KC in Kansas. It’s a small college town with a strong hippie vibe, like I imagine Austin was fifty years ago. The downtown has a lot of cool independent stores, including a rad print/zine shop and gallery called Wonder Fair. I dropped some copies of Vortex and Cold Heat Special #10 off there. I’m going to try and get them in some KC shops too.

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March 24th, 2015

Two Vortex Reviews

Filed under: Press — Tags: Vortex — William Cardini @ 10:42 am

Vortex got two reviews last week!

Here’s a quote from Rob McMonigal’s review on Panel Patter, part of a roundup of SF comics:

Cardini’s plot works well, drawing the reader in with increasing layers of complexity, as the Miizzzard finds himself in greater and greater danger, fighting forces that may in fact be beyond his ability to combat. What’s really cool, however, is the fact that the art, which is just on the border between abstract and structured, reflects this layering. Thanks to an art style that focuses heavily on shapes and patterns, we as the reader are challenged ourselves to try to pick out the distinct images or watch as one pattern dissolves into another, changing the scene.

Here’s the summary paragraph from Alex Hoffman’s review on Sequential State:

In a way, Vortex’s best comparison is shonen battle manga, specifically Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, where super-powered heroes battle super-powered enemies, who later become friends to fight greater enemies. There is death and revival, always advancing the plot; a secret move that can only be used in times of great need. There is a juvenileness and a joy about it, qualities that are the essence of shonen battle manga. These things jump out at me from Vortex, despite its psychedelic trappings. But the abstraction of art, Cardini’s use of texture, and the loose structure of this comic make it a refreshing read.

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January 21st, 2015

Vortex Updates and Press

Filed under: Press — Tags: Vortex — William Cardini @ 9:53 am

Releasing the Vortex book was my second biggest accomplishment of 2014. (The biggest was getting my daughter to sleep in her crib. Neither would have been possible without the help of my wife.) Thanks again to everyone who supported the Sparkplug Books Kickstarter! Virginia is sending out your copies of Vortex and I’m working on the 3d print and original art rewards. If you missed out on the Kickstarter but would still like a copy, it’s for sale in the Sparkplug web store and in Austin at Farewell Books and Austin Books. I’ll sell copies on this site once I finish my part of the Kickstarter rewards.

I did this drawing of my wife and daughter for my father-in-law’s Kickstarter reward.

Here’s some press that Vortex got in the tail end of 2014:

Rob McMonigal included Vortex on Panel Patter’s November Small Press Picks
Colin Panetta said that Vortex probably would’ve made his favorite comics of 2014 list if he’d gotten a chance to read it
Cameron Arthur put Vortex in his Top 10 Comics of 2014 list
Gabriele Di Fazio reviewed Vortex for Just Indie Comics and then put it in his Best Comics of 2014 list

If you’ve read Vortex, please consider rating or reviewing it on Goodreads.

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December 12th, 2014

Austin Zine Fest 2014

Filed under: Events — Tags: Austin Zine Fest, Glademade — William Cardini @ 10:47 am

Hi y’all! Glade (AKA the greeting-card designer Glademade, AKA Paper Party shop-owner, AKA my wonderful wife) and I will be tabling at the second Austin Zine Fest this Sunday!

I’ll have the Vortex book, Cold Heat Special #10, and a selection of prints. Glade will have Paper Party merchandise and Glademade cards, including a bunch of new designs!

One of the new Glademade card designs.

Austin Zine Fest 2014 is this Sunday, 12/14 from 12 to 4pm at the George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center, 1165 Angelina Street.

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November 18th, 2014

Vortex Book Mini-Tour Diary

Filed under: Recaps — Tags: Floating World Comics, Henry Kuttner, Short Run, Simon Hanselmann, Vortex — William Cardini @ 12:32 pm

I started the Vortex Book Mini-Tour with a release party at Floating World Comics in Portland on Friday and Short Run in Seattle on Saturday. The tour ends with an Austin signing at Farewell Books tomorrow, Wednesday 11/9, from 7 to 9pm.

On Friday, 11/14, I got into Portland after lunch, took the light rail and bus to meet Virginia Paine (who runs my publisher Sparkplug Books). It was my first glimpse of the Vortex book – I was overwhelmed! I didn’t even want to flip through it at first. The metallic silver ink on the cover turned out just as I had visualized.

Vortex in good company on the shelves at Floating World Comics.

We took the bus downtown to drop a box of Vortex and Reich #12 at Floating World Comics and then went to Powell’s. I’ve been in Bookpeople here in Austin and Tattered Cover’s old downtown location in Denver but Powell’s beats them all! I could live in their sf section. We only had about a half hour but fortunately I have a list for whenever I’m in a used book store. I grabbed The Dark World by Henry Kuttner (and an uncredited CL Moore) and Sorcerer’s Legacy by Janny Wurts (I want to try a solo book by her before I dive into her unfinished epic fantasy series). I also saw Chronicles of Mavin Manyshaped by Sheri Tepper but it was $15 and I wanted to get more than one book.

I read this on the plane ride back (it’s only 126 pages). An inspiration for Zelazny’s Amber. I noticed some additional parallels to Lord of the Rings (evil beings who invest their energy in physical objects) and Wheel of Time (a glass sword of great power).

The signing was fun, I could spend all night at Floating World Comics. I’d gotten the impression it was small, like a big closet, but their current space is enormous and Jason Leivian has packed it to the gills with fantastic comics. It was good to meet Elijah Brubaker and hang out with him, Zack Soto, Virginia, and everyone who came by. I had an interesting conversation with Mike Getsiv about the boundaries of the abstract comics genre. Then after the signing Sera Stanton (who drew the awesome Sparkplug Books cat t-shirt for the Kickstarter) gave me and Virginia a ride to Seattle so I got to sleep most of the way.

Sparkplug Books table at Short Run. Photo by Virginia.

Saturday was Short Run. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a free one-day show like CAB or LA Zine Fest. It’s in this old, beautiful brick building in downtown Seattle. Every glimpse I got of Seattle was beautiful. If I lived there, I couldn’t get over driving down a freeway, ice-crowned mountains on my left and a shining lake lapping at house-covered hills on my right.

Delicious fry bread tacos from a food truck at Short Run.

Short Run itself was great! Good energy; vegan treats and coffee by the clean, spacious bathroom; food trucks in the parking lot; and steady crowds all day. Vortex seemed to be selling well but I was still able to sneak away from the table to be a good consumer. It was my first time sitting at a publisher’s table at a con and it was exactly what I hoped for – All the interaction and none of the stress about sales. My #1 goal for the day was to meet Simon Hanselmann and get a personalized copy of Megahex so I did that within the first hour.

I did some drawings in Vortex as well. Jen Vaughn, Virginia and I’s gracious host, bought Vortex so of course, in thanks, I hexed her copy.

The inscription reads: “William Cardini curses anyone other than Jen Vaughn who owns this book.” Not sure what face I’m making – I guess it’s my witch grin? Photo by Jen.

Finally put faces to some names I know from the internet, such as Michael Litven of Ebbits, Rob Kirby, Brandon Lehmann AKA Bobby Mono, Shanna Matuszak, and Jack Hayden of Snakebomb. Austin was represented well – both the Rough House Comics crew and Monofonus Press were there. It was great to reconnect with other comics folk since I haven’t been to a show since TCAF 2013. At dinner I was missing my family so I showed Virginia and Yumi Sakugawa photos and videos of Ruby.

My haul from Short Run, Floating World, and Powell’s.

We came back for the after party at Washington Hall, but it was too loud to talk with the bands, so Virginia and I met back up with Jen and she gave us an after-hours tour of the Fantagraphics office. We saw an old Love and Rockets cover divided into Rubylith layers to prepare it for printing!

The Fantagraphics basement is filled with comics. Photo by Jen.

Now I’m back in Austin with my wife and daughter and pumped about comics. There won’t be a new Skew page this week because we’re going to divide it into multiple parts so it doesn’t take too long to load and I need to decide where the split should be and draw a cover for Part 2. If you’re in Austin and I didn’t see you at Short Run, I hope to see you tomorrow at Farewell, so you can say hello to Vortex!

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November 11th, 2014

Sparkplug Fall Books Release Party

Filed under: Events — Tags: Sparkplug Books — William Cardini @ 9:54 am

I’ll be in Portland this Friday for the Sparkplug Fall Books Release Party at Floating World Comics! Elijah Brubaker and I will be celebrating the release of our books, Reich #12 and Vortex.

Then Saturday I’ll be tabling with Sparkplug Books at Short Run in Seattle.

I signed off on the digital proof of Vortex but I’m really excited to see the collection in print for the first time! Hopefully I’ll see some of y’all this weekend. If you’ve never met me before, this is what I look like: