Free Comic Book Day 2010

Free Comic Book Day is the first Saturday in May each year when participating comic book stores across North America and around the world give away certain comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores.  Also, local creators make appearances at various comic book stores on this day.  Here are some Chicago creators and stores that you need to check out on FCBD.

Raymond Leonard will be at Alternate Reality Comics located at 3147 West 111th Street.  You can pick up his FCBD preview of Guytron.

Dave Losso of Great Sandwich Detective fame will be doing a Tour d' Chicago.  Here is his crazy schedule:

1:00 to 3:00 at Brainstorm Comics - 1648 West North Avenue

3:30 to 4:30 at G-Mart Comics - 2641 North Kedzie

5:00 to 7:00 at The Comic Vault - 1530 West Montrose

You can also catch Nino Mesarina, creator of The Unbelievable Laundry Detergent Man, at The Comic Vault from 5:00 to 7:00.

Finally, Rene Castellano and I will be at First Aid Comics located at 1459 East 53rd Street in Hyde Park.  Our latest book, Bride of the Wolfman, will be available.  We will also have some free comics.

Go forth and support all of these fine artists and comic book stores.

(Almost) Published Artwork

Okay.  I haven't been drawing anything new, like I said I would in my last blog.  So, I thought I would share some more old artwork.
After I joined up with Instant Press back in 2001, Rene wanted me to draw my own comic.  He told me that I could do a back-up for his Dorks comic.
I am a big fan of mythology.  Thor is my favorite god (no hate mail please, my religious friends) and one of my favorite comic book characters.  Hence, I created THORK.
He was a regular Dork, working at a construction site, when he gets struck on the head by a hammer that has fallen out of the sky.  When he holds the hammer high, he transforms into Thork.  His construction belt becomes a belt of strength, his gloves turn to steel and his head sprouts wings.
Below is a one-page preview drawn by yours truly and inked by Rene Castellano.  This was originally supposed to appear in Instant Press 2003, which was never officially published.

Thork is TM and copyright David S. Gruba

Check out Rene's version of Thork.

I Can't Draw

Rene "The Mexican Jesus" Castellano always yells at me when I say those three small words.  The truth of the matter is that when I was a younger man, I loved to draw.  I even studied art my first year in college.  But as time went on, I focused more on my writing and less on my drawing.
After Wizard World '08, I decided that I would start drawing again.  I haven't really done much since then, but I thought I would share some of my old drawings and a couple of new ones in hopes that this will spur me on to get the lead out.

Cerebus - 1981

Gravedigger - 1981

Cerebus - 1982

Leonardo - 1990

Bone - 2008

Craynobi - 2009

It's All About Me

It has been a while since I have written a substantial blog. I apologize in advance because this one is all about me.

2009 has been a good year. My story “When Death Came” was published in the first issue of the BAC Street Journal (available at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago). My two comics White Knife (art by Dann Phillips and Stan Tanaka) and Bride of the Wolfman (art by Rene Castellano) were published by Instant Press Comics. I edited Dann Phillips’ StarBomb from Instant Press Comics. I have written a forward for Dave Losso’s Great Sandwich Detective No. 1 (coming out December 30th) and am currently working on my contribution to Rene Castellano’s 10th Anniversary Dorks trade (available in 2010).

I appeared at several conventions and signings, including Table-Con, the University Park Library’s March Madness Comic-Con, Art Baltazar’s Live Art Show Benefit for Ashley Baltazar, Free Comic Book Day at Alternate Reality, ACEN, Collectible Nation, Chicago Comic-Con, and Bride of the Wolfman comic book launch at Alternate Reality.

Here is what is scheduled for 2010. I am conducting a workshop on fantasy writing for teens and young adults at the Beverly Art Center. I will be one of the editors of the teen issue of the BAC Street Journal. Gondor, Son of Olympus – Deep Fried in Greece (art by Nino Mesarina) will be released as a full-sized one-shot comic from Instant Press Comics. I will be attending C2E2 in April with Instant Press Comics. Other plans include more White Knife books, Free Comic Book Day, ACEN, and FallCon (nothing will stop me this time). And, finally, I plan on updating GrubbMaster Pieces more often.



Here are some sites to check out:

http://www.instantpresscomics.com/

http://www.myalternatereality.com/

http://www.beverlyartcenter.org/

Bride of the Wolfman

It's the not-so-typical story of girl meets wolf as told by David Gruba (writer) and Rene Castellano (artist).  See what happens when the mother-in-law comes to visit and when the Wolfman goes out on his late night jaunts.  This all ages book will appeal to kids, married couples and joke book enthusiasts.

Bride of the Wolfman will be released on Halloween, Saturday October 31st.  Dave and Rene will be signing and selling at Alternate Reality at 111th and Western from 10:30 until 5:00.

BAC Street Journal

My short story "When Death Came" was published in the first issue of the BAC Street Journal.

On June 7th, a launch party was held at the Beverly Arts Center. Four other writers and I read our submissions. We had a good crowd and sold several copies of the first issue.

The magazine will be published twice a year by the Beverly Arts Center. Submissions are now being accepted for the second issue. The deadline is October 1st. You can request submission guidelines from bacstreetjournal@yahoo.com.

The first issue is available for $5.00 at the Beverly Arts Center on 111th & Western in Chicago. If you are unable to get to the arts center, you can contact me at grubbmaster@ameritech.net to order a copy.

White Knife Premieres at FCBD

Saturday, May 2nd was Free Comic Book Day. It was also the release date of White Knife.

Rene Castellano, Publisher of Instant Press Comics, and I were guests at Alternate Reality on 111th and Kedzie in Chicago. We had a good time meeting all of the customers and seeing some of our friends and fellow creators.

The day was a great success. We sold 13 copies of White Knife and 10 copies of various issues of Distant. I was very excited to talk to everyone about my book, and I was thrilled with the response.

Next stop - ACEN (Anime Central)

More info at http://www.instantpresscomics.com/.