USA Today highlights "Sprocket & Gear" (& SNB) UPDATED POST w/ PICS

USA Today's feature on "hidden gems" at Comic Con highlights the charming "Sprocket & Gear" book by Richard Peter Han... and mentions SNB as the source to buy the book.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2011-07-29-Comic-Con-discovery-Sprocket-and-Gear_n.htm

Here'the cover:

The interior has color finished pages...


As well as sketchbook pages and concept art:

You can see the moment when Stuart first discovered Han's work at last year's con when you view the MSNBC "Your Business" feature from 2010 http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/innovation/video/american-business-super-niche




To learn more about this blog and how it works, see the April 2011 post "Your Guide to Behind the Scenes at Stuart Ng Books"
Stats today indicate visitors from: US, Australia, UK, Canada, Brazil, Slovenia, India, Latvia, Nigeria & Poland. Welcome all.....

New Arrivals Comic Con treasures on SNB website

Post-con traffic at the Stuart Ng Books website has all of us scrambling to process orders from around the world. Thank you so much for your overwhelming support!
We also appreciate your understanding that exhibiting at the convention, re-shelving stock and adding new arrivals, is stretching the resources of our small staff to our limits. The little notes of thanks that come in with the orders are real morale boosters! We couldn't do all this without YOU! Meanwhile, here's a link to a very well written summary of comic con... which also mentions Pierre's signing. Click on the link for the article; then scroll down for lots of pics, including one of Pierre!
Here's link to "Convention Scene" by Colin Solan
www.conventionscene.com/2001/07/sdcc-2011-report/

SNB at SDCC 2011

We survived comic con 2011.... our 14th year as exhibitors. Scroll down for posts and pics from this year's show...

To set the stage: check out this You Tube classic clip where costumed attendees are interviewed about their day jobs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rSk_xvbWRI

SNB Special guest PIERRE ALARY at sdcc 2011

For 2011 we were privileged to welcome Pierre Alary to our booth at comic con (for a THIRD TIME!) to sign his books and meet his fans. Stuart discovered Pierre's books on a trip to Angouleme and introduced Pierre to the US with Pierre's amazing BD series Belladone. Pierre's latest work is a 3 volume BD series of Sinbad, which has been a hit with our patrons as well. Here are Pierre and Stuart at our booth 5012.


Our signings this year were hosted by our good friend John Flesk (in the grey shirt) at his Flesk publications booth, directly across the aisle at booth 5019. Check out John's terrific blog for latest news and behind the scenes stories from this indie publisher http://fleskpublications.com/blog/

Here is Stuart reviewing some of the original works Pierre brought with him:

Pierre was only at comic con for 2 days, but signed on both days to try to see as many fans as possible

Pierre enjoyed talking with his fans about his work in French comics, as well as his time as an animator at the Disney studio in France.

In the French style, Pierre did large sketches, as well as signing books for his fans.

Here's a fan who brought her entire collection of Pierre's books!

While his time with us was limited, Pierre's appearance was a highlight for all of us at this year's con. We hope to welcome him back again soon!

Comic Con attendee Arthur De Pins

We got a surprise visit from artist Arthur De Pins who was enjoying his first ever trip to San Diego Comic Con. He stopped by the booth and was pleased to see the large crowds of fans enjoying all our imported titles... including his own "Peches Mignons" series, and his new book Zombillenium.

SNB booth at SDCC 2011

Here are some views of our 5 booth space.... 50 feet of books at booth # 5012. That's 7 tons of materials folks... books, fixtures (those black grids weigh a ton), supplies... even comfy chairs for our temporary staff. Who works the booth??? Our usual crew of Stuart, Mary and Peggy. Yours truly.... the rest is our gang of bookseller friends and some volunteers! We are a small, hands-on boutique business... don't be fooled by the big spread here. It's a labor of love to serve our artist patrons... and we aren't getting any younger kids ;

This is the EXIT ONLY area....

This pics are during the pre-show set up....

Here's the entrance to the booth and our bag check space:

This is what the crowds look like inside the booth during show hours

We had various show specials this year.... a few specially priced items we offered all 4 days of the show, and this table of slighted dented or damaged books that we offered on Sunday.

And this is a a glimpse of tear down...and our amazing crew of pals! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Comics yes, but wristbands too

There's evidence of the crowds everywhere at Comic Con... and all the new procedures to try to deal with demand that outstrips the supply of everything from parking and hotel rooms... to promotional give aways..

even coffee.....

The Comic Book exhibitors, whose support started this con, have been relegated to the fringes of the exhibit hall spaces....

There are a few brave attendees still willing and able to put up with all the hassles and enjoy hunting for their favorite comics in the long boxes the dealers bring.... but are their days numbered????

SDCC 2011 characters on parade

One of the attractions of Comic Con is the array of characters on parade inside and outside the exhibition halls. Here's my #1 favorite for 2011... the centaur. All four legs moved when he walked.. .the hind legs were on strings like a puppet.

The Hoops & Yoyo booth hosted successful signings:

There were old favs like Puff N Stuff

And an assortment of Catwomen on the prowl....

Along came a spider with the Mad Hatter and White Queen

And here's Beetlejuice outside Hall H (the tents were for the folks who stood in line for hours for the Hall H panels)

There was even a Hellgirl

and creatures great and magical ...

the real BATMAN at SDCC 2011

Of course it wouldn't be Comic Con without an appearance by BATMAN!
Even Catwoman needs her cell phone these days...

and a Caped Crusader still needs his caffeine

but you can count on the real Batman to draw the biggest crowd of all!

A visitor posts impressions of our showroom

Just learned about this really nice post on comic book artist and publisher Randy Reynaldo's blog with his impressions of a visit to our showroom:

http://wcgcomics.blogspot.com/2011/03/treasure-trove.html

Brianne Drouhard signing June 2011

On June 25th we hosted a signing with one of my favorite artists, Brianne Drouhard, for her first book: Billie the Unicorn.


Here you can see the lovely bookplate (in frame) she offers as a special gift to those who purchase their copy at Stuart Ng Books:


Brianne signed and did sketches for patrons who had placed mail orders, as well as those who could attend the signing in person.






I've been a proud fan of Brianne and her work since she left a sample copy of her sketchbook at our booth at SDCC years ago. We've watched her career grow since then.. from recent grad of CalArts... to animator.. character designer... storyboard artist... and now author/illustrator. Her work can be seen in shows such as Teen Titans, Batman: Brave & the Bold, and Transformers: Animated. She had an enthusatic crowd at the signing.

Here's a special sample of her work..... an inscribed book to a fellow artist ... as well as the Billie bookplate and promotional postcard.

Brianne also spoke on two panels at SDCC 2011!