2026 Momocon Commissions and Wrap Up

 

Hello everyone, after a full day of sleep, I have somewhat returned to a normal state, and have some stuff I can report for Momocon 2026! So, Momocon is a huge show, it's 4 days long if you've never been to it, and this year was even larger than previous years. I was lucky as well to get another booth in the Comic Creator's section, and I had some good friends and great creators as neighbors.

One of the things I love about Momocon is that despite it being a HUGE show, the audience is super diverse and that means that even though my booth is largely original comic books, I can still do well there. This year, I debuted Curse of the Eel volume 5 at the con, which almost didn't happen so let me tell that story first: I finished this volume late, between freelance work and school duties, I was running sorely behind on my pages for the latest volume. I managed to turn around that 20 pages in two weeks, but I had assumed getting any volumes in time for the con would be impossible. However, I have an amazing printer in Wonderpress, and they managed to send me copies in time to make my table a success (and it was)!

Long story short, my last two Momocons have been my most successful conventions ever, and this is from most of my sales coming by book sales. Curse of the Eel sold really well, I had a bundle of the 5 volumes and while I worried that it might be too pricey, I sold several bundles and many even came just to grab volume 5 because they had already bought volumes 1-4. Also, Honor Bound might have been my best selling book in general, I even had a few people come back to tell me how much they enjoyed it, which warmed my heart and made me excited to get back to work on chapter 2!

As for the art of this post, I also took on 9 commissions at the show and was able to finish all but one of them at the con! They were an original character obsessed with blood and eyes, Rui from xlov (a K-pop group, this image isn't the finished one, I forgot to get a photo of the complete commission), Commander Wolfe from Clone Wars, Winry Rockbell from FMA in Watercolor, Nico Robin from One Piece (which I forgot to get a complete photo of), Static Shock, Gammoth from Monster Hunter, and lastly, 2 Creepy Pasta characters in a warring embrace, which I completed in the last 3 minutes of the show, but the commissioner was very happy with this one so I'm happy too.

All in all, Momocon is my favorite show to do, and I really hope that I can keep attending in the future. I have plans for new books in some of my other series, like Rare Drops, as well as some one shot and competition comics I plan to make this summer.

Check back to see some of the things I have in the works, and consider checking out my Patreon for more behind the scenes looks into my projects!

 

SPX 2016!!

I'll be at table I-12 this weekend for the Small Press Expoooo! Here's a map and some covers of comics that didn't exist last year at the show, that will THIS YEAR!!

Post-Heroes Con 2015

Last weekend was Heroes Con, and it was a blast! I was super happy to sell mostly books the whole weekend. Comics are my foremost focus, so to be able to say my table was successful from book sales almost solely was really good. I sold out of copies of Requiem Sonata and Curse of the Eel, which I'll need to reprint some by SPX, my plan is to get Requiem chapters 1-2 printed together to save money  and keep costs down. But yes! Thanks to everyone who came by the table, whether you bought anything or not, your kind words mean the world to me.

Here are some commissions I did over the weekend, sadly I didn't get photos of every piece. I hope you'll consider commissioning me again, and commissions are currently open! Here is my info:

Sketchcard 4x5in: $5
Single color and/or B&W 6x8.5in: $10
Full color 6x8.5in: $20
Single color and/or B&W 8.5x12in: $30
Full color 8.5x12in: $40

If you would like me to ship your commission to you, it'll be $1 for every sketchcard, $2 for every 6x8.5in piece and $3 for every 8.5x12in piece. Email me at jorge@jorgesantiagojr.com if you're interested!

The Looming Deadline: a short story for Charlotte Mini Con

So I've been reading a lot of Horror lately. Well not a ton, but I've been super interested in horror, especially the works of H. P. Lovecraft. I really like his approach, the horror of a world or dimension beyond the scope of human thought, that once we're exposed to it, we can't help but be warped and changed by it. I love Junji Ito who draws manga with this same inspiration and it's something I wanted to try.

Here are the first four pages of a 6 page comic I made for Charlotte Mini Con which is happening this weekend, January 25th. I'll be sharing a table with my bro and roommate Max Currie, so if you can swing by please pick up a book or just come to chat.

This comic is all watercolor, I wanted to try doing something like this eventually and it was time to try something new. I painted this in my Stillman and Birn Delta sketchbook, and was amazed with how much fun it was. I'll have to do this again with something longer!

The New West, Li pages 3-5 Pencils and LATE LATE Heroes Con report

I do still draw comics, I swear! I've recently been lucky to do some try out pages for a possible book, and in the interim of waiting to hear if I got it, I've been trying to keep busy by doing some personal projects. This passed week I finished these 3 pages in a really scattered fashion, but they're completed as far as the pencils go.

I'm trying to incorporate some manga techniques into these pages, like the dramatic funny moment, or the large panel of just an angry face. It took me a while to get my anatomy and storytelling to a place where it's actually solid so now it's time to look back and incorporate some of that energy and emotion that manga does so well back into my new comics. There are already great artists utilizing manga effects and storytelling techniques in their comics, so why not take mine in that direction, especially since I spent 8+ years studying them and did at least 1000 pages trying to learn the skills.

Also, a MONTH ago, I went to Heroes Con but I never made a post about how it was. It was glorious, and I REALLY needed it. Life's been kicking me in the butt lately so I needed a good weekend away from all the worry and fuss. I shared a table with Mike Freiheit, as I think I mentioned in the first post, and wow, thanks Mike for being an awesome table mate and for making me feel welcome and not so alone at my first time exhibiting at a professional comic show. I made a bunch of new friends, made a little bit of folding money and generally was happy to hear that I didn't suck. I'm always afraid that eventually I'll get the portfolio review that ends with "I think you should cut your hands off." I got some really great and helpful portfolio reviews from Tradd Moore, James Harren, and Andrew Robinson; I had dinner with Scott Chantler and Conor McCreery; and Matteo Scalera and Eric Canete came by my table and got a couple of my books! That weekend was the highlight of my year, and when I left I felt ready to attack the world after a good nights sleep. I also owe that entire experience to Shawn Crystal, the head of the SEQA department at SCAD. If it weren't for him I would have missed out on such a great weekend at my absolute favorite convention.

Okay, next time I post, it'll be with pages for an anthology I'm working on. One page penciled, 5 more to go!

Heroes Con & The New West, Li pages 1-2 pencils

Here are the first two pages of pencils for a summer project I'm playing with. Right now I'm just trying to work on conveying form with my pencils. Before I would just draw a shape and be happy with it, but I wasn't really implying form the way I should have. I'm finding its in the curves, like the way you draw an eye ball, you can draw a curved line easily but to make a line that implies a round form is something I needed to work with in my pencils. I'm doing my best to incorporate it here with everything and while they're not perfect I think this are my most successful pencils to date. At least to me anyhow.

I also just wanted something new in my portfolio for Heroes Con which is this weekend. I'll actually be sharing a table in the Artist Alley with Mike Freiheit at AA-1113. Check out his artwork, it's really cool! I'll be selling copies of Calla of the Sea, The Feat of Nobody and Portraits of Mom, as well as doing any commissions I can. If you're coming by please stop by and say hi!