Tr!ckster Cocktail Hour

Bá and I will participate this year again in the awesomeness that is TR!CKSTER. During Comicon in San Diego, while amazing stuff happens inside the convention center, there's just too much going on, and more and more it's easy to lose focus of what you want, what you love and what you're looking for. For these reasons, some amazing folks created a place outside the convention center where you can focus on creators who do their own comics, and where you can learn and discuss how to become a creator yourself talking with some great talented bunch of authors you admire or soon will discover.
This year, TR!CKSTER is promoting an activity called Cocktail Hour, in which one accomplished creator, or a team of creators, will spend one hour with one person who subscribe, to help develop this person's project. As it's put on the website, "YOU will bring a project you're working on and brainstorm, design, chat, troubleshoot, and create alongside one of your favorite working storytellers. Bring a script, an outline, character designs, comic pages, storyboards, screenplay pages, whatever you need, and experience one of the most focused working sessions of your life as you drink and create, together. Time and day to be mutually determined"

Bá will do one cocktail hour, and I will do another.

What does that mean? What can we do with your project? How can we help you?

- Let's say you're an artist with no script. We can look at your artwork and help you with your technique, with your inking or coloring, with your style. We can tell you what publisher your work fits better, and maybe we can even know who to talk to at the publisher. We can give you advice on how to start writing your own stories, and how that can be different than working with other writers. We can give you tips and advice on self-publishing.
- Let's say you're an artist with a script or project. We can look at your script, your story, your project, and help develop it further, see where it can be improved, talk about schedule, talk about craft and how the art and the words work together to tell your story. We can look at your character designs and help out create the look of your story, help you make your art your own.
- Let's say you're a writer with no artist. We can give you advice and tips on how to find artists, we can look at your script and tell which artist or style to look for, maybe we even know somebody who really fits your project. We can help sketch the characters, think about covers, design, how to package your story to propose your project to a publisher, and what publisher does the kind of books you want to make. We can go over your script and polish it, maybe tell you what artists like to see in a script and what doesn't help the artist to understand what that scene/panel is about, we can help you break down a scene in panels and pages.


If I got yourself interested in learning while helping out TR!CKSTER, go to the TR!CKSTER indiegogo page and subscribe to one one hour of intensive learning. It will be tons of fun, guaranteed. There are other amazing artists offering the same Cocktail Hour workshop, so maybe you can also have an amazing time with Jill Thompson and her storytelling and watercolor skills, or you can get expressive, cartoony and funny with Scott C (just to name two), it's your call. While you're checking the link, see all the other ways you can get fun stuff and help maintaining this amazing creator friendly space, buying prints and books.
Let's all meet up at TR!CKSTER and celebrate the art and love of making comics.

TCAF 2012 May 4th kick-off event

For all of you who couldn't be there, here are four videos that cover almost all of the TCAF 2012 kick-off panel with Jeff Smith, Fábio and me, mediated by Mark Askwith. It was a great weekend and we'll write all about it soon.

CONVENTION SEASON!!

Two weekends of fun, sketching and lots of flying around await us!


 NAPOLI COMICON!


We're very excited to be going to ITALY as guests at NAPOLI COMICON this weekend and, for our delight, Italy is the country with the largest variety of our books (after Brazil and the U.S., of course).
- DETTAGLI (Comma 22)
- Daytripper (Planeta DeAgostini)
- CASANOVA (Panini)
- Umbrella Academy (Magic Press Comics)
- Sugarshock! (Bao Publishing)
- URSULA (Lain)

Our schedule is:

Sunday April, 29th 

10:30 Mostra d’Oltremare- SALA INCONTRI

Come si lavora in USA

With Lorenzo Ruggiero, Pasquale Qualano, Fabio Moon

11:30       Mostra d’Oltremare- SALA INCONTRI

 Incontro con Magic Press Edizioni 

with Pasquale Ruggiero and Gabriel Bá

15:00-18:00 Mostra d’Oltremare-Area autografi
Signing Session

Monday April, 30th

15:00-18:00 Mostra d’Oltremare-AREA AUTOGRAFI
Signing Session

16:00 Mostra d’Oltremare-STAND MAGIC PRESS
Signing Session

Tuesday may, 1st

11:00-13:00 Mostra d’Oltremare-AREA AUTOGRAFI
Signing Session

15:00 Mostra d’Oltremare-STAND MAGIC PRESS
Signing Session

15:00-18:00 Mostra d’Oltremare-AREA AUTOGRAFI
Signing Session

So we will have two panels and signings with many publishers. For all of you who are attending the convention, look for the schedules of these publishers and you might find us.


TCAF

After that, we're going to the cold lands of Toronto, Canada, as guest of TCAF (Toronto Comic Arts Festival). We have two commitments so far:

- TCAF 2012 KICK-OFF EVENT! Jeff Smith, Gabriel Ba, and Fabio Moon in conversation!
Noir and the Fantastic in Comics and Graphic Novels
Friday, May 4th, @ 7:00pm
@ Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St.
in The Bram and Bluma Appel Salon
Free to attend, registration required.
And
- We have a spotlight on our work sometime on sunday, May 6th, and we'll talk about how you can't turn back once you discover all the different possibilities of comics as a language.


We'll have some signings, I guess, and a table where we can hang out, but we want to walk the floor a lot and discover new stuff and authors.


We expect to have lots of fun on both conventions and meet lots of people.
See you guys around!

Daytripper - Au jour le jour

The French edition of our beloved Daytripper is ready, a beautiful hardcover, and it will be out on April 27th, published by Urban Comics, a division of the Dargaud group. We will be in Napoli for NAPOLI COMICON at the time and I hope I can get my hands in one copy (aside from the Italian and Spanish editions as well. Yes, I think the European market is all connected and works as one big thing. I know it's not that simple).
There's a nice new introduction by Cyril Pedrosa (and it keeps the beautiful illustrated piece by Craig Thompson). You can get all the information about the book here.



Thanks everyone who made it possible, specially François, who took such good care of our book at Urban Comics.

Merci, Moebius

The courage to dream with open eyes and imagine the world.
Le courage de rêver avec les yeux ouverts et d'imaginer le monde.

TCAF in May

We've been invited as special guests to TCAF, Toronto Comic Arts Festival, that will take place on May 5th and 6th, at the Toronto Reference Library. Other guests include Jeff Smith (Bone), Alison Bechdel (Fun Home), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet) and Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim), among many others (full guest list here).
And they've asked us to do the art fot this year's poster, so we were extremely happy and honored. I hope you've liked it and also hope to see a bunch of people there and have lots of fun.
And let's hope it's not too cold in May.

Daytripper gets a 5th printing!

Thanks, everyone, for all the love we've been getting for Daytripper. It's beyond our highest dreams.
And all the international editions (Spain, Italy and Brazil already; France, Poland and Denmark on the way) keep adding more excitement to this wonderful party. Once again, thank you!

We're working hard on all our other projects to keep making amazing, challenging comics.

Harvey Awards winner

Thanks once again for another moment of unforgettable joy. This has indeed been an amazing trip.

Daytripper - Eisner Awards 2011 - Best Limited Series

DAYTRIPPER!!

THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!

FODA!!

Harvey 2011 nominations

The nominees for the 2011 Harvey Awards have been announced and there's a lot of good stuff in there, lots of friends nominated!

And we're really happy to be nominated for the Harvey Awards on two categories: Best Contunuing or Limited Series and Best Single Issue or Story.





Thanks once more for this year full of good vibrations for our beloved story. We never knew we'd come this far and we don't really know where we're going next, but we had a great time telling this story and all this feedback has only been showing us we might be going the right way.

Dream come true.

My brother and I have been wanting to tell stories in comicbooks for as long as we can remember. At first, we just wanted to copy what we were reading, as a way of being part of that magical universe of super-heroes, barbarians, space guardians, street punks and pirates. But soon the need to tell stories became stronger than the simple act of drawing.

We have told lots of stories – well, a few – from princes and fairies, to young people in love, to robots and waitresses. All these stories came out of our need to tell them, without any requests, any pressure, straight out of our heads. All those stories were building the ground for us to be finally able to tell Daytripper.

Daytripper is not a project we have had for a long time. It came from an idea I had some 8 or 9 years ago, but it was not more than that. It was one of the ideas we pitched to Vertigo when Bob Schreck asked us for ideas. It was the one they liked.

However, ever since we started actually working on this comic, it has become the story we have been waiting to tell our entire lives.

Issue 9 just came out, one we're really proud of, and next month brings the conclusion of our story. This has been a terrific journey. This is what comics mean to us. A real dream come true.



Daytripper 9
Written by GABRIEL BÁ and FÁBIO MOON
Art by GABRIEL BÁ and FÁBIO MOON
Cover by GABRIEL BÁ
Brás is going through one of those days that seems like a lifetime; when so many things happen and change so fast and so dramatically that he can't keep track of what the hell is going on. In this penultimate issue to the acclaimed miniseries, can he figure things out before it's too late?

London Calling for Daytripper 8

Comicbooks have brought us to London, to be part of Festival Brazil, a big cultural event taking place on the Southbank Centre. We feature both as attractions of the London Literature Festival 2010 and Festival Brazil, which is twice as cool. And to make thinks better, we've been experiencing a lovely summer in London, full of hot sunny days and happy people everywhere.

Fábio and I do all our PR and stuff, so when anyone asks for a promotional picture, we choose it and send it. We were really surprised, though, to find this picture on the cover of the Festival's program, spread out everywhere around the Southbank Centre. It also astonished us to see the cover illustration we've done for the Literature Festival all over the place and in all shapes and sizes. It was kind of overwhelming to bear such an important role on a festival of this proportions.

After some interviews and momentarly tension, our panel on Monday night at the Udderbelly was great. With a terrific participation of Jamie McKelvie as the mediator and a full croud of interested people, we did what we know how to do, which is tell stories and explain why we love comics and Brazil.

On friday we had another challenge ahead of us, and it didn't get any smaller. We were invited to paint a mural and we took this opportunity to tell stories to an audience unaware of our existence. It's not really what we do, but in a similar way on a different setting, we created this big Wallstrip with lot's of tiny bits of dialogues and ideas and reflexions about the world we live in and how we relate to people around us, a mater we usually tackle on our stories as well.

We had the help of young people working aside with the Southbank Centre, as well as pass byers and whoever wanted to chip in. It took us 10 hours to get it done and we couldn't have done it without their help.

After we finished painting it, the whole thing was hung on the wall of the Queen Elisabeth Hall building and it will be there until the end of august, so don't miss the chance to check it out live.

And just like our life never stops surprising us, a new issue of Daytripper hits the stands today and I'm sure you will be surprised with what you will find on this issue as well.


Daytripper 8
by GABRIEL BÁ & FÁBIO MOON
Cover by GABRIEL BÁ

Brás is constantly on the road, but that doesn't stop a caring husband and loving father from having a big role in his family's daily life. Do they miss him? Can they manage well enough while he's away? And how large a hole would he leave if he weren't there anymore?

Daytripper going #1... and flying to London!

CBR's Tim Callahan talks about his top 10 comics of 2010 so far (also discussing the topic on Splash Page Podcast 21 with Chad Nevett). A lot of good comics there. Demo: volume 2, by Brian Wood and Becky Cloonan; Scalped;Viking, by Ivan Brandon and Nik Klein; American Vampire, by Scott Snyder, Stephen King and Rafael Albuquerque; 2 Grant Morrison books.
But guess which one is number 1? Daytripper.
I won't pretend I'm not happy. We are really glad with all the feedback our series is getting. With only pages away from the end (readers still have 3 issues more to wait for), we're working with our chest filled with pride.



And that pride is also carrying us (and we're carrying it) to London on next friday, to be part of Festival Brazil on the Southbank Centre. We will give a lecture/panel on monday, July 5th, 7pm inside the Udderbelly (tickets still available), with the mediation of Jamie Mckelvie. Don't miss out on that one! After that, I believe we'll have a signing session on the Southbank Centre book store. And on friday, July 9th, at 9am (yeah, in the morning) we'll be painting a big-ass mural artwork, our Wallstrip, on the ramp alongside Queen Elizabeth Hall. We'll have help from young people and other artists (including our new friend Rufus Dayglo) and it's going to be lots of fun.



There's a lot to be done before we go, so I'll just go back to work. But I'm sure as hell will be working happier for the rest of the week. My plane leaves only on friday, but my feet are already off the ground.

Daytripper 7, their best work to date.

We are on the second, most intense half of our story. The rules have been set, the players are all there and one might think it's all figured out.
But the beauty of life is it's unpredictability, it's capacity to surprise us at any moment.



Daytripper 7 hits the stands on June 7th, and we're only going forward with this. There's a nice preview over at the Vertigo blog. Check it out.

You don't wanna miss this journey. And it's almost over.


Written by GABRIEL BÁ & FÁBIO MOON
Art by GABRIEL BÁ & FÁBIO MOON
Cover by GABRIEL BÁ

What's life without your friends, right? The good ones will stick with you through anything, won't they? Find out here why Brás' best friend has given that up and how far Brás is willing to go to get him back.

"This latest from Bá and Fábio is surely their best looking work to date. In DAYTRIPPER, they give us a glimpse into an exotic yet believable world. It makes you want to be there with them...!"
-- Paul Pope

Daytripper and Casanova solicitation for August

Busy month for us. Exciting.



DAYTRIPPER #9
Written by GABRIEL BÁ & FÁBIO MOON
Art by GABRIEL BÁ & FÁBIO MOON
Cover by GABRIEL BÁ
Brás is going through one of those days that seems like a lifetime; when so many things happen and change so fast and so dramatically that he can’t keep track of what the hell is going on. In this penultimate issue to the acclaimed miniseries, can he figure things out before it’s too late?
On sale AUGUST 11 • 9 of 10 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • MATURE READERS


CASANOVA #2
Written by Mat Fraction
Art by Gabriel Bá
Cover by Gaberiel Bá
CASANOVA: LUXURIA continues! Strange, sweaty, naked things are afoot deep in the jungle metropolis of Áqua Pesada. A rogue E.M.P.I.R.E. agent has gone mad and, in between throwing the most decadent parties the world has ever known, spills his spy-guts out in the pages of a breathless, confessional, comic book... and Casanova Quinn is given orders by his father to bring the agent in... but Newman Xeno wants Casanova to kill him instead. Bloodshed, betrayal, a trial, an exile, a Paco Rabanne dress made entirely out of credit cards, and a shocking twist that sets Casanova irrevocably on a path of no return. 32 PAGES OF COSMIC COMIC SPY-CHEDELIA. All new back-matter! Soul-elevating colors! Staples and paper! READ!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ... $3.99

Daytripper 6 and the trips around the world!

Time is ticking and our lives keep spinning like they never did before as we approach the last month of production of our beloved Daytripper. We've seen the white light and we're walking towards it.

We are halfway there and everything starts to make a little more sense on our story, as we know the characters better and begin to understand what their roles are and the reasons behind their actions. Next week, a new issue hits the stores. It relates directly to issues 4, 7, 9 and well... it's not going to be easy on Brás.



Daytripper 6
Written by GABRIEL BÁ and FÁBIO MOON
• Art by GABRIEL BÁ • and FÁBIO MOON
• Cover by GABRIEL BÁ
When life takes us by surprise and makes everyone want to close their eyes, Brás finally gains something he's been waiting his entire life to find. But he would trade it all to know what happened in Rio


These solicitation texts are so exciting to write.

After we cross that final line, we'll start the crazy tour around the globe, spreading the love of comics all around. As seen on the previous post, we'll go to Portugal to be part of the VI Festival Internacional de BD de Beja, then we'll open an exposition on the comic-store Mundo Fantasma in Porto.

After a short break, we'll go to London to participate on the massive Festival Brazil, where we'll do a panel about our work and how we take Brazil with us in it, on July 5th. We'll be there until July 19th and we're planning a signing on a store in London, since we'll have both Casanova and Daytripper fresh out of the oven. And, of course, we're gonna watch the World Cup finals there, drinking lots of pints and celebrating.

We'll leave the UK and go straight to the San Diego Comic Con International from July 21st till 26th. And let's have some fun while we're there, shall we?

Well, if that not enough, I'll go to Bolívia to be part of the 8avo Viñetas con Altura, in La Paz from August 2nd till 8th, then Santa Cruz from 10th till 15th.

We have a little more traveling to do, but I think I have to get back to work now. Don't miss Daytripper 6 on May 12th and we'll see you around... really.

May the future we have once planned come to us soon.

It all started in 2007 (actually, if we point towards accuracy, it was way before that) and it is a little more than 3 week s to see it's completion. From the first idea until this day, we have come a long way, a much welcome one that has no return.

As relieved I am to have finished the last Daytripper script yesterday, I know we still have a lot to do before our journey really reaches it's end. There's no stop, no weariness, no fatigue to slow us down. This is the most important project of our lives and we need to see it through.

Soon after we finish everything, we'll set sails to the old continent, to be part of the VI Festival Internacional de BD de Beja, in Portugal. We'll be there from May 28th until June 1st, when we go to Porto, to open an exposition on the comic-store Mundo Fantasma.

It will be strange to be far away on a different country, but speaking the same language.

Well, it's in fact the language of comicbooks that keeps us together, wherever we may be. Daytripper is just another proof of that.

Daytripper 8 in July in London and San Diego!

We were not born to be alone. Well, I have a twin brother, so I really take that seriously from very early in my life. The more people we can count on, the better our lives can be.

We're drawing the last two issues of the series, our journey is almost over. The end is near and it's hard to let go. Also, it's very liberating.

On the eighth issue of Daytripper, as readers, we already know Brás, we already trust him. We count on him to lead the way on another story. He already has a place in our lives, that's for sure.

Daytripper #8 comes out in July, on a week we'll be away from home, in London, during a big Festival. Soon after that, we're going to San Diego. Comics have been taking us a lot of different places and, sometimes, away from the people we love and care about.

Well, this is a very strong story and the cover adds even more intensity to it.

See you in 2 months in London, San Diego, and everywhere else.



Written by GABRIEL BÁ & FÁBIO MOON
Art by GABRIEL BÁ & FÁBIO MOON
Cover by GABRIEL BÁ
Brás is constantly on the road, but that doesn't stop a caring husband and loving father from having a big role in his family's daily life. Do they miss him? Can they manage well enough while he's away? And how large a hole would he leave if he weren't there anymore?

CASANOVA is BACK!!

New covers!
32 pages comics!
Re-colored by Cris Peter!
Re-lettered by Dustin Harbin!

Third arc ON THE MAKING!
At ICON!