The votes are in for my Inktober 2019 theme! However, before I begin, I have to give a heartfelt thank you to all of the fans and staff at the Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend for helping make this yet another successful year. As I said last week, I’ll be cutting down on (and essentially taking off from) conventions for a year or so, unless I’m a guest, such as at the No Such Con in the winter. Yet the response to my work was so warm, I couldn’t help but make an exception for Baltimore. 

At the end of the day on Sunday, I did put in an application for next year’s Baltimore Comic-Con. So if nowhere else, you can see me again in Baltimore in October 2019 (they’ve moved the dates). Of course, by then, the table is going to look a bit different, and I’ll have a new banner. The plan isn’t to stop doing shows. Rather, after nine years, I want to take a bit of a break while I focus on projects and try out some other forms of marketing and advertising.

A lot of other factors have gone into this decision and so the timing just feels right to me. No second guessing on my part. I’m sorry if this is disappointing to my fans, but I’m not going away. I’ll be actively exhibiting at shows again in 2020 or 2021, and if all goes to plan, you should see more regular publication of my work, self and traditionally published, in the interim.

And with that said: Inktober!

After counting the votes on Facebook, Twitter, and my Patreon page, the theme of this year’s Inktober will be:

Alice in Wonderland

Second place went to Lovecraftian Horror, which will be my Inktober 2020 theme, and third went to Classic Monsters (the 2021 theme). Although, to be honest, Classic Monsters got a raw deal, being that I wasn’t (for some reason) able to put a third field on the poll on Facebook from my phone. Still, I was a bit surprised about the landslide victory of Alice in Wonderland. But there you have it, my Inktober themes for the next three years (including this year).

If you don’t already follow me on social media, I’m on Instagram as @jmdwriteist, Twitter as @jmdesantis, and Facebook at facebook.com/jmdesantis.writeist. Follow my Inktober work on your preferred social media platform, and stay tuned for the collected sketchbook when I’ve finished the challenge.

Also for those attending New York Comic Con this weekend, don’t forget I will NOT be at the show, so please don’t look for me. You can, however, purchase a few of my prints at the Inbeon Studios table, as well a copy of the studio’s latest art book, Nightmares in Wonderland, which features one of my Alice in Wonderland pieces.

Cheers!