The Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy meets at 6:30 until 10:00 the first Thursday of every month at Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe in Northeast.

Generally, we draw collaborative “jam” comics, socialize and drink caffeinated beverages. Afterwords, we often have uncaffeinated beverages somewhere else.

The meetings are open to anyone who wants to draw with us, and the results are posted here sooner or later (and sometimes even printed).

Diamond’s Coffee Shoppe
1618 Central Avenue Northeast
Minneapolis, Minnesota

But before that…

TOPIC: Convention Etiquette & Table Set-Up
MODERATOR: Dan Olson
DATE: Thursday, May 5, 2011
TIME: 6 – 6:30 pm (right before the Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam)
LOCATION: 1618 Central Ave NE, Ste. 216, Nordeast MPLS

SpringCon is just weeks away, so it’s the perfect time to discuss how to have a successful convention. Dan Olson will tackle everything from “How can I set up my table to attract more customers?” to “What do I do if the guy sitting next to me is a complete blow-hard?”

Come with questions, come with ideas, or just come to listen. As always, we’ll have Nordeast beer on hand, and you can grab a bite downstairs at Diamonds. The Summit starts right at 6pm, so come a little early if you want to grab a seat on what’s been called “The most comfortable couch in Nordeast.” Then, after the Summit, wander downstairs and draw your heart out at the Cartoonist Conspiracy Jam (6:30-10pm)!

We will be filming the Summit, but no word on when those videos will be posted. And if you have an idea for a future Summit, or would like to lead a particular discussion, let me know in the comments!  Follow us on THE TWITTER for updates on future Summits!

And don’t forget…

Theme: Imaginary Friends

Just classic black & white or gray-scale.

1-4 pages.

The deadline for submissions is Thursday, May 5th

If possible please send a bitmap or a tiff with a resolution of at least 300 dpi to me electronically. If you do not have access to a scanner, I can do the honors for you. Keep in mind your comic will be reduced down to a 5.5×8.5 half page mini-comic format. Please include the name you would like associated with your submission, the title (if any), and any blog or contact information for the table of contents.

Your comic can be emailed to me at: nicholasstraight@gmail.com any time before the deadline, or dropped off at Diamonds Coffee Shoppe during the Minneapolis Cartoonist Conspiracy jam on May 5th from 6pm to 10pm. Each person that makes a submission will get one free copy of the anthology.

The anthology will have a print run of a 100 copies. It will be on sale at the opening reception of The Imaginary Friends art show on Friday, June 3rd at Infinitea Teahouse in Minneapolis from 7pm to 11pm. A “formal” facebook event will be created at a later date and will feature information on the artists included in the show and anthology.

The remaining issues will be distributed throughout most of the Twin Cities’ comic retail stores. As a bonus any proceeds of the sales will go back to the Cartoonist Conspiracy in the form of a pizza party at the Minneapolis Jam in July!

Thanks everyone,
Nick Straight