Fronzy's Universe: The Blog of Seth Fronzoli

Pittsburgh Indy Comics Expo this weekend!

2011-10-08T01:16:00.003-04:00

This weekend is the 2nd annual Pittsburgh Indy Comics Expo and I'll be there, with my co-Hort in sequential crime Shawn Atkins! So stop on by and say hello.

October 8th and 9th from 10am to 5pm at the Guardian Storage Facility on 2839 Liberty Avenue in the Strip District!!

Be There!

Book Signing and other Musings

2011-08-18T15:31:00.005-04:00

The staff at Eljay's Used Books are either crazy, awesome or both. But I'm leaning towards awesome!

Why awesome you ask? Because on August 20th at 3PM, Eljay's is hosting a book signing with the creators of the sci-fi,paranormal, adventure comic Explorers of the Unknown, and since I'm the co-writer of the book with my partner in sequential crime and series creator, Shawn Atkins, I'll be there to meet and greet with all the store patrons, EOTU fans and bibliophiles who will be in attendance for those 60 minutes of unbridled full frontal nerdity! (the event is 3-4PM)

So stop on by, say hello, pick up a book if you're so inclined, and did I mention Shawn is dishing out FREE SKETCHES!?! Oh yeah, sketches will be dished...dished out good!

And now for something completely different...

My good friend Justin, you know, that computer whiz/photographer/kung-fu master that he is and yours truly have started a podcast we're calling the Distro1 Podcast. It deals with, but isn't limited to, pop culture, art, photography, living in Pittsburgh, events around Pittsburgh, music, comic books, anime, t-shirts, role-playing games and beer...gotta have the brew am I right?

Episode #2 is in the works and it's coming along nicely. The big news around the Steel City is a little movie being shot dealing with the adventures of a certain popular caped crusader. So we'd be remiss if we didn't touch on that for the next show. Consider that your one and only "spoiler". (although Justin hates that term)

That's it for now...take care everybody.

Distro1 Podcast Trailer

2011-07-13T09:57:00.004-04:00

So, a few weeks back, my good friend Justin had this idea for a Podcast and he needed to a co-host. Needless to say, I was the guy he had in mind.

He wanted to put together a show to talk about anything and everything two 30 something pop culture geeks would talk about. We came up with the Distro1 Podcast, available at Random Distribution dot Com. Below is the "Teaser Trailer" for the first show available August 1st. Enjoy!

Distro1 Podcast Episode 0 Teaser (mp3)

Sequential Underground Episode #16

2011-05-23T13:07:00.004-04:00

Last Thursday, I sat in on episode 16 of the Sequential Underground Podcast. We're talking about writer's block and some other things. Give it a listen!

CLICK HERE!

From Gallifrey with Love!

2011-05-20T12:57:00.002-04:00

Waving the Gallifreyan flag high!

Creating the Unknown

2011-05-17T15:00:00.009-04:00

I thought for this post I'd explore (no pun intended) how Shawn and I create an Explorers of the Unknown story.

Early on, Shawn and I decided to work Plot First (a.k.a. "Marvel Style"). The formula is as follows:

Plot Synopsis+Art+Dialogue = Comic Book

On every EOTU story we collaborated on, we use this method. Looking at the current EOTU story, "My Coma Vacation", here is an example from the plot synopsis...

"The Fire Goddess hovers over her! Jane panics, she bursts into flames and flies away from the Goddess. As she flies away, the Goddess reaches out with an open hand and then makes a fist."

From these couple of sentences, here's what Shawn comes up with...

Shawn then emails me the penciled pages and now it's onto the dialogue script. Here's the dialogue for this page...

PAGE 13:

PANEL 1: JANE – It can’t be.

PANEL 2: N/A

PANEL 3: SFX (Jane’s flame trail) – FFWWOOOSSSHHHH

PANEL 4: FIRE GODDESS -- illegible demonic speech

All the panels with description "N/A" refer to silent panels obviously. When Shawn's art is telling the story, I make sure to get out of the way...less is more!

After Shawn receives the dialogue script, he letters the page, does some Photoshop magic and posts the page. Here's the finished product...

So there it is, that's how an EOTU story gets created! Take care everybody!

S.P.A.C.E. 2011

2011-03-27T16:59:00.004-04:00

March 19th and 20th was the 12th annual Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (S.P.A.C.E.) in Columbus, OH. This was my first time out to the show after years of hearing about it.

The Pittsburgh Indy Comic scene was well represented with the likes of Nick Marino, Dan Greenwald, Scott Hedlund, Marcel Walker and my co-conspirator in funny book debauchery Shawn Atkins!

I just loved the overall vibe of the show. This isn't your typical "spandex and capes" convention. This was a gathering of independent and small press creators with their own stories and love for the comic book artform on display. I'm glad I went and I'm looking forward to next year! Photos of the show can be seen here.

Karate Moves,

~Seth

Delving into the Comic Book Pitt!!

2011-03-13T14:00:00.002-04:00

Sat in on Episode #61 of the Comic Book Pitt Podcast with your Illustrious hosts Dan Greenwald and Scott Hedlund (a.k.a. The Dang and The Duke).

These two put on a great show and are really passionate about the comic book artform, give it a listen. And my apologies for the audio issues on my end, hopefully that will be remedied soon!

Oh, and next weekend I be at S.P.A.C.E. March 19-20th. Anyone attending the show, stop by the table and say hello!

Karate Moves!

~Fronz
http://www.fronzysuniverse.blogspot.com

Sequential Underground's Star Wars: A New Hope

2011-03-09T19:50:00.005-05:00

Thanks to my incomparable better half, the super-nurse, Photographer, and Inker of Time Log, Paige Shoemaker, there now exists what I'm calling the Sequential Underground homage to Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope! Starring Paige Shoemaker as Princess Leia, Dan Greenwald as Luke Skywalker, Shawn Atkins as Obi Wan Kenobi and Yours Truly as Han Solo!! Oh yeah, thanks to the website Jib Jab too!

Enjoy...

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Sequential Underground #8: Webcomics!

2011-02-04T15:10:00.004-05:00

So, last week I sat in on the Sequential Underground Podcast. Nick Marino, Shawn Atkins and I chin-wagged about Webcomics! Check it out!

Karate Moves,
Seth
www.fronzysuniverse.blogspot.com

2011...Let's Push Things Forward!

2011-01-11T20:21:00.004-05:00

*note to self* -- Update this thing more often!

Well, it's a new year, and still no jetpacks! I want my jetpack dammit!

Look for more consistent updates here at F.U.! Stay tuned for more wacky hijinks and bloggy debauchery from yours truly!

Oh, and P.S., New EOTU today!

Pittsburgh ComiCon 2009

2009-09-19T16:26:00.006-04:00

Last weekend was the Pittsburgh ComiCon. Shawn and I were in attendance peddling the wares of Workshop 13. We also had a booth mate, Mark Menifield, creator of Habachi's Girlfriend. Mark was one of five creators/creative teams asked to take part in the Pittsburgh Cross Promotional Event created by Shawn Gabborin of Angry Gnome Comics called "Greenbrook". The premise was simple, give a bare bones plot synopsis and character names to different creators and see how each interprets the story. Shawn is posting our entry online here.

Other creators included Shawn Pryor and Stephen Reid of PKD Media and Shawn Gabborin and Quinne Larsen. It was a great experience and each entry was fantastic!

Friday was slow, as with most Cons, but our first sale of the weekend was to Comics Professional and Marvel Artist RON FRENZ! Thanks for picking up some books Ron, hope you enjoy them!

Returning to the Pittsburgh Con this year was good friend and Paradigm Shift creator Dirk Tiede! It was good to catch up with Dirk and I'm glad the trip to Pittsburgh was both enjoyable and profitable!

Well, that's about it for now. Look for Workshop 13 to be appearing at Tekkoshocon, Pittsburgh's Anime Convention, in early April 2010, Workhop 13's first Anime Con! Also, look for Shawn's hilarious and quirky comic Gello Apocalypse to be back up and running in late September!

Take care everybody!

LaserWolf Promo!

2009-05-17T21:33:00.001-04:00

Just a quick note to say that here's the first promo piece from my upcoming Sci-Fi/Action Adventure "Dramedy" I like to call "Laser Wolf". I'll post more when things get rolling. Later everybody!

Collaboration Gets the Job Done!

2008-11-15T11:39:00.000-05:00

One of the best things to come out of the 2007 Pittsburgh ComiCon was meeting Artist/Writer and soon to be Good Friend Shawn Atkins. Shortly after the Con, we started hanging out and throwing ideas off each other for various comic projects we are currently working on. He asked me to help Collaborate and Co-Write some stories for one of his comics, a Sci-Fi/Paranormal/Adventure comic called, The Explorers of the Unknown.

At this year's Pittsburgh Con, I ran an idea by him for a short, 2 page story. It's essentially a gag strip featuring two of the Explorers characters. The first page was just recently posted on Shawn's ComicSpace Page. CHECK IT OUT!

The final page should be up on Monday.

Fall/Winter Updates and Junk!

2008-10-11T15:41:00.000-04:00

Wow! Where is 2008 going?!

Been pretty busy since the Con in April. Been Collaborating with my good friend and artist, Shawn Atkins on his Sci-Fi/Adventure Comic, Explorers of the Unknown. Got more than a few stories on deck for that, ranging from Time Travel to Sea Monsters to a Prehistoric Mindscape Adventure. So stay tuned!

In other news, Shawn and Stephanie, the husband and wife creative team behind Angry Gnome Comics invited Shawn and I to be a part of what is called the "Green Brook Project". The idea is simple. Give a bare-bones synopsis of a story to different artists and/or creative teams and see how each interprets the story. The six creative teams will all be debuting their comics at the 2009 Pittsburgh ComiCon, so stop by all the booths next year and check them out.

Well, that's it for now. Have a fantastic weekend everybody! Take care.

Karate Moves,
~Seth

Pittsburgh ComiCon '08 Report

2008-05-04T20:01:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was the 15th Anniversary of the Pittsburgh ComiCon and Oh what times were had!

It was great catching up with old friends like Spudmonkey Steve and Shawn and Stephanie of Angry Gnome Comics.

We even chit-chatted with Peter from The Comic Geek Speak Podcast. Check out the Episode from Day 3 of the Con to hear Shawn and I ramble. You'll be glad you did.

Good Times, great oldies. Can't wait for next year. Take care everybody.

Karate Moves,
~Seth

Pittsburgh Comicon 2008

2008-03-30T00:55:00.000-04:00

April 25th thru the 27th marks another year for the Pittsburgh ComiCon at the Monroeville Expomart.

This year, I'll be "booth monkey", yes that's a technical convention term, helping out local artist and self-publisher Shawn Atkins of Workshop 13 run his table in Artist Alley.

So stop by and say hello, check out his new minis and other merchandise from his "Gello Apocalypse", and "Explorers of the Unknown" Comics.

Be there, or be a geometric shape with negative connotations. See you then!

New Blog

2008-03-30T00:22:00.000-04:00

Hey Everybody! Here's a new blog page where I'll be posting all the latest news, artwork, and random junk on all upcoming comic projects from your friends at Poverty Row.

Take care everyone.