Harry Potter, Waffles, and What We've Been Avoiding

I've been downright neglectful of my business duties lately. My computer died, our friend Simon's computer died (the friend who took our wedding photos), and then my Grandma died. Thus, Raighne and I spent the last couple of weeks hiding in our apartment eating waffles and reading Harry Potter. Now that we've recuperated, we're settling into our new studio and into our old familiar hardcore work mode. Here's a little rundown of what's been happening since we've been gone:

Retailer News
In addition to buying comics at their store, you can now buy Good Minnesotan comics online at Chicago Comics! Thanks to Caitlin for posting our books.

Thanks also to our newest retailers, Bergen Street Comics of NYC and Pilot Books of Seattle, for carrying Yearbooks!

Fall Tour Schedule
We have a neat line-up planned although we had to forego our annual trip to San Fransisco due to having no vacation time and no vacation funds. Ah well.

Nic Breutzman will be representing 2d Cloud at SPX Sept 26-27. If you're in Bethesda, MD buy a copy of Yearbooks and have him sign it! Then on October 11 and 12, Raighne and I will be at Midwest Comic Book Association's FallCon at the State Fair Grounds in MN. We hope to have Reduced Fist and a second edition of Beard Growing Contest printed butt um, no promises. Justin and Sarah will be flying back from South Korea that weekend so they will in attendance on Sunday. Shaun Feltz will be holding down the fort at Rain Taxi's Twin Cities Book Festival on the same weekend and signing and selling lots of his Yearbooks. We will close the fall with the MN Center for Book Arts Book Arts Festival on Saturday November 14. If you love books arts you should visit us at these events since they will be humming with bookmakers!

Beard News
There is none. That's right. Even the little neighbor girl who rides around on her electric scooter couldn't fail to notice: "Your beard's gone!" Raighne shaved his three year old beard. Please read on before you break down in gut-wrenching sobs. The beard will reemerge as the subject of a stop-motion animation in the months to come.
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Headlines and Deadlines

Hey reader, Justin here. So the 31st has arrived, but many of the submissions we were expecting for the next installment of Good Minnesotan have not. The reasons for this vary: some are simply not done yet while others have committed to submitting at later dates. Due to this paucity of finished material and the amount of work required to get the Xeric grant application in by the end of September, we have decided to get rid of deadlines altogether and instead have just an open submissions policy. If things have congealed enough by early 2010, we'll apply for the Xeric then. Given that we had agreed to post a list of contributors today, here's what we know will be in GMN4 thus far: Raighne & Meghan's first GMN (first ever?) collaboration, a story by Nic Breutzman, and a new story by Luke Holden, who will also have cover duties. There are other submissions we are leaning towards for the next issue, but we don't want to commit to anything just yet since Luke's piece will be what helps set the tone for the rest of the issue and his is still incubating. Just so we're not leaving those who have submitted already in the lurch, we will be contacting each of you individually to give you an update on where your submission stands.

More to come in the following weeks regarding Fallcon...
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2d Cloud's New Studio

Here's a tantalizing glimpse of our new studio. We are still on the 2nd floor of the Thorp Building, but we are across the parking lot. It's like an Escher print!

Here we are in our comics & games area. It's still unorganized, but you can see part of the display case for convention decor and my drawing desk. Through the doorway behind us is where we are assembling our screenprinting, papermaking, and bookmaking areas. Not pictured is our painting studio, inventory closet, and bathroom. Yes, the possibilities have expanded.

Our first project is our contribution to Good Minnesotan episode #4. The deadline has been somewhat flexible as we have decided to postpone the publishing date until we have organized funding. We will be applying for grants beginning at the end of August so that is when we need finished pages. Watch for additional pics as we set the studio up!
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Mini-comics reviews in Comics Related & Exquisite Things

Raighne and I have received more reviews of our mini-comics Beard Growing Contest and Manny + Bigfoot.

Matthew Dick reviewed both mini-comics together in his Exquisite Things blog. Matt says, "I’ve always had a soft spot for mini comics, and these are amongst the best I’ve read in recent times."

Richard Krauss reviewed Manny + Bigfoot in Comic Related. Richard says, "If you like artsy comics with a handmade, craftsperson feel, it doesn't get any better than this."

Thanks guys!
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New Digs: part one

Hello lads and ladies. I have to be getting to work in 5 minutes so this will be split into two posts. Sorry for the drag that is. We are moving in a few days. Our new address to send submissions is:

2D Cloud
1620 Central Ave NE Suite 204
Minneapolis MN 55413

More next time, I promise.
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Bare Tare Craft Fare

Going out in sweat-blazed glory, the 2d Cloud summer touring sched has officially come to an end with Caffetto's 2nd annual Craft fair. I could have done with less sun, more money, and more serious looking little boys hula-hooping through whole noise sets, but I did appreciate seeing those who graced Sarah, Shaun, and I with their presence. Thanks to Shaun for wrangling up some customers, keeping an eye on the table while Sarah and I were away, and keeping me company for the final leg of one of the longer shows I've been a part of. Although people of our ilk were at a minimum (I think Josh Journey-Heinz was the closest I could find to a fellow countryman(get his new book, as I did!!)), I feel that overall our presence was worth the oscillation between genuine enthusies for our booksies and mild interest quickly sprinkled with disregard. Anywho, thanks Caffetto, I can't say I drink much fluids there as of late (living in Seward will do that to you), but a good time was had by us. Bye!
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Cirque du Soleil: KOOZA in review

For those who are unfamiliar with Cirque du Soleil, it is a Circus unlike any you will likely see elsewhere. There are no animals; only people performing amazing acrobatics coupled with fantastic live music sets. They hand pick performers from all over the world that best fit that particular Cirque show. Click on the video above for a little taste.

It's hard to believe that July has nearly past us. A few weeks ago we were gifted with free tickets to Cirque du Soleil's latest show to hit Minnesota, KOOZA. What a show it was! Through the powers of serendipity, the free showing happened to be on my birthday. A rather fortuitous turn of events.

As soon as we were ushered into our seats, a smile danced across my face and the playfulness of the clowns pre-show act kept it there until the show proper began. The show picks up with a child being unable to keep his kite in the air. A mysterious package arrive's taking The Innocent and the audience on act after act of phantasmagorical acrobatics. And all throughout, that smile never left my face.

I really feel that I can't recommend YOU going and seeing this show enough. It's a lot of fun and totally worth the admission. I should mention that I traveled briefly with the last show (Corteo) as security (through several subcontract agencies) so perhaps that coloured my view of the show, although I don't see it that way. When I stumbled upon that gig, I decided to keep it for a least a few cities because the show filled my heart with something very close to the high one gets from being in-love. And KOOZA brought it all back.

Hector, from KOOZA gave us a heads up about a special summer offer: tickets are 30% off! The offer can be accessed by clicking on BUY TICKETS at http://www.koozainstpaul.com. The show runs on until August 9th.

Many thanks to Hector and everyone at KOOZA!
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