June 2: Machine of Death comedy show at 826LA!

Our Machine of Death sequel, This is How You Die, comes out in July! (And it’s already been named one of Publishers Weekly‘s Best Summer Books 2013!) We’re so excited about this book that we’re throwing a party NOW.

It’s going to be a benefit party for 826LA, the nonprofit tutoring center that helps kids with writing skills and homework help. If you’re in the Los Angeles area this Sunday, June 2, you’re invited to the THIS IS HOW YOU DIE x 826LA COMEDY NIGHT in Mar Vista!

Proceeds from the event will go to 826LA, to help encourage the next generation of writers…and I’ll also be presenting a comically oversized novelty check as part of our partnership with them from the Machine of Death card game Kickstarter campaign.

The Sunday night show will be a great lineup of music, comedy & games, hosted by our pal Jordan Morris. We’ll be raffling off prizes (including at least one advance copy of the new book). Attendees will also get free bonus MOD game cards, and we’ll have a real-life machine (pictured at the top of this post, made by our fancy team of machine-makers) for you to get tested on, if you dare.

• Sunday, June 2, 8pm
• $10 at the door
• at the Mar Vista Time Travel Mart, 12515 Venice Blvd

MORE INFO ON THE LINEUP IS HERE at the Machine of Death blog.

AND HERE is a Facebook invite for RSVP purposes! (Optional, but gives us an idea of how many people to expect.)

I’m super excited about this show — I can’t turn off the impulse to just make stuff happen like this. I hope to see you there!! (We may try to livestream the event as well, but no guarantees.)

This weekend: Phoenix Comicon! PLUS: Roll-a-Sketches

This weekend — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — I’m at the Phoenix Comicon in Arizona! I’ll be at the TopatoCo booth. Look for the GIANT YELLOW ORB.

Here are some Roll-a-Sketches from last weekend at Maker Faire!

PLATYPUS + MARIO + CLOWN + HAMBURGER:

BEAR + PUPPY + MERMAID + SKATEBOARD:

BEAR + ARMADILLO + ALIEN + HAMBURGER:

PIRANHA + OSTRICH + PROSPECTOR + HELICOPTER:

PIRANHA + ICE CREAM:

Thanks to all who said hello at Maker Faire! And a PRE-EMPTIVE HELLO to those of you YET TO COME in Phoenix!

Toronto Roll-a-Sketches! And THIS WEEKEND: Maker Faire!

Here are a couple of the many Roll-a-Sketches I did in Toronto last week! Thanks to everyone who came by the table, it was a great reminder of why I do that show every year. Everybody’s so nice and it’s such a neat environment for art and friends!

ICE CREAM + KNIGHT: (click pics for bigger)

OSTRICH + AIRPLANE + CAVEMAN + HELICOPTER:

RHINO + ICE CREAM + CAVEMAN + COWBOY:

CACTUS + TOASTER:

Would you like a Roll-a-Sketch of your very own?? THIS WEEKEND I will be returning to the Bay Area Maker Faire in San Mateo! The show is Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19.

I’ll have a booth in the Bazaar Bizarre section, right next to my old pal Chris Yates (handmade puzzle crafter extraordinaire).

BONUS VIDEOS: The last time I was at Maker Faire, two years ago, I recorded a video journal of the drive up and back! Full of HIGH DRAMA and BURRITOS and THE TERRIFYING SPECTER OF FATIGUE. If you’ve ever wanted to see a lot of me in sunglasses, YOU’RE IN LUCK.

I re-watched these videos tonight and the whole thing seems like just yesterday. But it was TWO YEARS AGO. I don’t even KNOW.

TCAF this weekend!

I’m heading back to Ol’ Miss (Toronto, of course) for the Toronto Comic Arts Festival this weekend!

On Saturday at 1:30 PM, Ryan North and I will be hosting a Machine of Death drawing game panel, featuring Meredith Gran, KC Green, Carly Monardo and Christopher Hastings!

( Here is the blurb on the TCAF website with info about the venue )

TCAF is one of my favorite shows, not least because it’s FREE to attend. Come on up to the Toronto Reference Library and say hello! I’ll be on the second floor.

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME WE DID THIS PANEL