KOKO BE GOOD

Finally, annoucements! I've teased about this for a long time and you may have already seen this on my Flickr, or elsewhere, but I got the advance copy of my book "Koko Be Good" this week. Check out the video flip-through:



And we have a release date: September 14th!

As you've probably guessed, it's a revamped long-form novel version of my short comic "Koko Be Good" (2004) you can read online. It's 300 pages, watercolored, published by the wonderful, wonderful, First Second Books. It should be available at regular book and comic stores, and while the messiness between Amazon and Macmillan isn't quite over yet, I'm sure by then you'd be able to order from them too. Just order from Powells instead. ;)

That seems like a long time, but it's relatively short compared to what's come before. Since I've been mostly silent about the subject, here's a breakdown of the timeline:

Winter 2006: Started scripting a few chapters in my notebook.

April 2007 - April 2008: Penciled the entire book. Printed it up, and sent it to my agent.

May 2008 - September 2008: The Waiting Game, part 1! Wrote another script, shelved it in time to get picked up by :01. Signed contracts, started going over tweaks and edits.

October 2008 - April 2009: Inking and coloring marathons.

May 2009 - now: The Waiting Game, part 2! Mainly copy-edits, cover design, etc. This was the longest wait, but now that it's here it's been pretty worthwhile. The book looks great. This really was a labor of love for me and my publishers did an fantastic job putting it all together. I hope when it finally comes out, you really enjoy it.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm saving more stuff for closer to the actual release date. Until then, enjoy the teaser!

more paintings

Yet another batch of paintings in the store, similarly priced as the last. Go get 'em!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenwang

store update

I don't know why it's so hard to update this site. But I just switched my store over to Etsy for now, and I've put up a bunch of original artwork at a reasonable holiday price. I'm working on some more over the next week and will update the store as they come. So please check back!



http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenwang

I'm also planning a big overhaul on the site soon. I have a book coming out next year and maybe, possibly, hopefully, fingers-crossed, will have some sort of regular web series around the same time for those of you needed free recession-escapist entertainment. Annoucements forthcoming for 2010. In the meantime, happy holidays!

Bear & Bird

These are two pieces for the Small Stuff 2 currently showing at Bear & Bird Gallery in Lauderhill, FL. The show runs 'til January so if you're in the area, there's a ton of art in there, please so check it out!





Bear & Bird Gallery
Small Stuff 2
November 22, 2008 - January 10, 2009

December blog

Wow, it's like I totally forgot about this blog, right? Here's a rundown of the last several months.

Since the last post I went to San Diego Comic Con, then I went to Mexico with some pals from college for two weeks. Both trips revitalized my spirits and made me feel like home even though I was far away and never sleeping in the same bed twice.

I also started and quit a summer job as a barista in the Mission neighborhood. It used to be one of my favorites. Not scene-y, just a great place to read, draw and get tea with friends. So part of me liked it, because the patrons were super and I really wanted a hospitality job that required me to talk and serve people all day. As an introvert who does art I feel I really need this to be a real human being. Unfortunately, my boss was TYRANNICAL, and I spent most of my time being yelled at and belittled for no reason. He even once told me no one would marry me if I didn't get better at making sandwiches. I was on the verge of crying almost every day out of frustration, so a week after Mexico I picked up my last paycheck and never went back. It was a difficult summer of job searching but I couldn't do it.

Eventually I got a new job at an youth hostel where I work now. I talk to travelers from all over the world and tell them about my favorite things to do and eat in San Francisco. I don't want to talk about my job much online, but it's a lot of fun. Its given me back a lot of the confidence I'd lost earlier this year.

I have a lot of paintings to post and some comic news to talk about (hopefully soon). I want to use this blog; Its the appropriate trick for my current state of mind. Part of me wants write regularly and let people know who I am, but I've also been feeling misanthropic and wanting to be left completely alone. The latter has been winning out. But instead of having a built in community like Livejournal, I'm thinker Blogger allows me the illusion of posting to an anonymous audience. We'll see how this goes.

Hey guys! Just mentioning I'll be at San Diego Comic Con this weekend tomorrow through Saturday. I don't really have anything new projects to share, but I printed up two posters up there on the bottom left. I drew them back during winter which is why they're seasonally inappropriate, so if anyone's missing the cool blues right now, I've got that covered at Booth #1228. I'll put them up for sale online after I get home from the con. See you there!

SALE

Hey, I just put some original art in the shop section. Most of it is artwork I've posted on the site before. Email me at jwiggy at gmail if you're interested!