Super Tuesday

I don't usually stray from my typical topics of art, self promotion and bad feet, but today I wanted to touch on something I have been feeling strongly about for a while now. Kazu mentions his thoughts on Barack Obama on his blog today and I felt the need to echo his sentiments here. The main purpose of a leader is to motivate and lead by example, that's why captains wear a "C" on their sweater, or the best teachers teach by demonstrating and inspiring. Super Tuesday is coming up next week and I personally feel the best option and best chance to regain the worlds', and more importantly our own, respect is Obama. If you have never heard the man speak, do yourself a favor and you will be sold. The fact is, no matter who wins the Democratic nod, it will be a minority going up against a juggernaut of tried and true, rich old man politics of the Republican Party and we'll need all the help we can get in November. The first step to that is choosing the best option to go against them, going into battle the best we can and I firmly believe Barack Obama is the nuclear bomb we need to arm ourselves with. Old white people don't need to be scared of change, the rich will stay rich, the bigots can stay bigoted, just give the other 99% of us a fighting chance. Go vote on Tuesday if you're a registered voter and support the system, flawed though it may be, it's currently the only one we have.

"We have an empathy deficit in this country that needs to be fixed." - Barack Obama (paraphrased)

Phoenix Con Wrap-up

This past weekend was the Phoenix Cactus-Comic Con, of which I was graciously enough invited to attend as a guest. Friday night was pretty fun but short, I arrived around 6, with just enough time to get to my table, unpack and head off to to a "sketch-duel" with a group of artists. The premise is simple, they take two artists names randomly and then pick a random topic and we have 15 minutes to sketch it out. I was on the panel with Tony Parker, Ben Glendenning, Madam M, Daniel Davis, Patrick Sherberger, James Owen and Daniel Bradford. At first the only person in the crowd was my girlfriend, but before the first duel was done it started to fill up a bit. It was fun and a good time was had by all. After that we headed off to the welcome dinner where my girlfriend and I sat at a table with most of the previously mentioned artists and had a pretty nice dinner. It was weird to be sitting in a room having dinner with so many talented people, people I grew up looking at their art like Whilce Portacio, or watching on TV like Chekov from Star Trek. Chewbacca and Bob Fett were there too, out of costume of course, and Peter Mayhew is gigantic.

Saturday was great, but busy. I couldn't have asked for a better spot, situated between Patrick Sherberger, an artist on the Marvel Adventures line of books, who really needs a web presence to direct to, and Mike Kunkel of Hero Bear and the Kid and the upcoming Shazam ongoing for DC kids. More on Mike in a bit. Saturday started slow for me and I once again wondered why the hell am I doing this, to be honest I had already been at this same con, twice before, with the same product, and for the first hour I no business as I listened to Patrick jot down commission after commission. But after about an hour or so, I got my first sketch request of the day, and from then on, for the next 6 hours I sketched constantly, no lunch, no bathroom breaks, nothing that would disrupt my flow and luck. I think in total I did at least 12 or 13 sketches on Saturday. Not counting the free head sketches I included with a purchase of my book Hollow. Sales on that book were decent, but Villains (with a low con price) did pretty well and I think this specific convention turned a lot of people onto it, so that's great. I also had alot of people with the Hero Initiative Spider-Man books coming around as there were probably about 10 artists at the con who did work in there, so that was fun. I did 2 pieces for the Art Auction and was lucky enough to meet the guys who bought those, both excellent guys and real fans of comics and comic art. I did a Captain America sketch cover that I almost wanted to keep, but the guy who bought it has been big supporter of mine, independent of any type of friendship, so I'm glad he got it.

Sunday was slow, as is typical, but it rained all day so I think that stopped a lot of the full event ticket holders from coming back out. I only sold a handful of books and 2 sketches, but it was still a fun day. I didn't socialize that much, or get out of my booth, but after watching a pro like Mike Kunkel all weekend, it really made me re-evaluate the entire convention mindset. He was gracious to everyone, completely humble, never without a smile and always excited to talk to all of his fans. He goes out of his way to make all his fellow creators and all the fans comfortable, and make the whole event a good time. His example and enthusiasm has really re-lit the fires under me to produce not only solid work, but fun work and stuff to be proud of.

So thanks to Mike, Patrick, to Stephen and all the Pearson and Comic Geek Speak guys who bought stuff from me, retailers like Mike from Samurai, Shawn from Spazdog and Brain @ Khepri.com, and to all the local guys I only see a few times a year at these things.

I didn't have a camera so I have no pics of any of my sketches, but here is a small camera phone pic of a Hulk I did that didn't sell and a She-Hulk I saw posted on the CGS boards, I don't think the owner was 100% happy with it, but it is what it is, and yes, the "3/4 pose with the right hand pulled back into a fist" was very common for most of my sketches this weekend.

Con weekend

Look for a big con-report Monday, packed up all my stuff last night, I have a good amount of product so I hope I'll be able to sell through. I'm part of a drawing "sketch-off" tonight against some cool guys like Tony Parker, Ben Glendenning, Dan Davis & Pat Scherberger, so that should be fun as I mop the floor with these clowns.

Looking forward to seeing all the local guys as well as meet a lot of the national guys, it should be a lot of fun. I'm also teaching a character design workshop on Sunday, hopefully we get a good turn out. Talk to you all on Monday.

Oh yeah, a few new sketches up at the SKETCHJAM!

Villains 2

Sometime in 2008 -



I'd like to start posting more sketches, even quick digital doodles, but I'll probably do it on the sketchjam site and challenge those clowns to match.



Page 1 of Hollow -

Hollow

I'll post more about this when the copies arrive, but I will say how happy I am with the colors.

2008 - Sneak Peeks

I won't go into a big Year in Review, I honestly cannot remember which movie I liked best this year (loudQUIETloud, a Pixies Documentary) or any music that rocked my world. It was a year of personal upheaval and change which I choose not to discuss much, but I feel everything will work out. Professionally it was a bit of a let down as well, the VILLAINS trade did come out in 2007, but was finished in 2006, so it felt like, to me, that I did not accomplish anything. I hope to rectify that big time in 2008. Here are some sneak peeks.

This is for a project I hope to self-publish next month (if I can get the pages to the printer in time)


This is for a project that should already be ready to come out, it's just a matter of the writer, myself and the publisher getting back on the same page. This was approved back in July.



and here is something for summer 2008 if everything comes together as planned -



On top of those, I also have hopes to re-launch The Hurricane Kids in the spring as a web-comic and plans to work with a writer whom I have been wanting to work with for a year or so, that should start up after I wrap Villains in July.

Wish me luck.

* Also, to those kind few who are worried about my feet, I have begun wearing shoes on a daily basis and it has helped my pads immensely, and I'm supposed to get a pedicure tonight if I can stand the tickling.

Dear Diary...

Sorry for the lack of updates, I made some minor changes to the site here, nothing drastic. The lack of posts is due to a non-comic job I have been working on for the last few months, and while it is in an area I think I might like, this one has turned out to be a noose around my neck and has taken much longer than I originally thought. Hopefully I will wrap this up tonight or tomorrow and I can move on to one of my several other projects. 2007 saw no new material from me, so I hope to change that in 2008. I'll keep you updated. For now, here are a few character head shots for Villains Vol.2 I'm messing with and a couple Hellboys, because you can never have enough of the right hand of doom.

My foot!

So, there actually is a downside to wearing flip flops every single day. Let me say that I currently do not own a pair of shoes that do not have massive holes in them or peeling leather insoles, what I do own? Flip flops, and I wear the shit out of some flip flops. I can honestly say, out of 329 or so days so far this year, I have probably only worn shoes maybe 10 of them. So what do your feet look like after 300+ days of flip flops and 100+ days of over 100 degrees and flip flops?


this.



My heels and balls of my feet are stained from my last pair of black flip flops and my heels are cracking badly. Sometimes I feel like there are little needles penetrating them. My girlfriend says I need a pedicure, I say I need some money for a new pair of Sambas.

Oh, and don't forget to come see me this weekend if you're local (see previous post below).

December Events

Comic Script Writing

When I'm feeling good about myself and conceited, I like to think of myself as a writer more than an artist. I really see myself, 10 years from now, if I'm still doing comics, writing, not drawing them. The short stuff I've written has generally gotten great feedback from other writers and creators and I enjoy writing much more than any other aspect of comics, except possibly inking. I would love to be a writer/inker, that would be the ideal situation for me. From observations I have made, there are still 2 dominant forms of writing for the comic book medium.

FULL SCRIPT - A panel for panel breakdown of what is happening, what panel the dialog fits in and where everything goes, this usually leaves very little decision making up to the artist.

LOOSE SCRIPT - Usually all the dialog is there but instead of panel descriptions, there are usually just page descriptions which let the artist choose how to tell the story and how to break down the panels.

I would like to say I have worked with both types, but in actuality I have not. All of my scripts from all of the writers I have worked with have been of the FULL SCRIPT type. Both have their positive and negative aspects to it, the FULL script ensures that the writer's vision comes through 100%, and that they know what to expect on the page when they see it, there is little doubt of what will come across and it makes for an easy collaboration. I should also say, that the FULL SCRIPT method is used very much in work for hire situations, where the artist (and often the writer) are just hired hands there to tell a story. While this script type is common, it does leave a little to be desired for the artist who generally would like to have a little more say in the graphic storytelling department, especially in a visual medium.

When I write for artists I almost always use the LOOSE SCRIPT format, unless it's such a short story, or I have such a crystallized idea in my mind that I need to be more direct. I love seeing a page come in on a project and not knowing what to expect, it is very creative and keeps the energy moving. This type of writing generally occurs in a book that is co-created between the writer and artist and each has a personal and often times emotional attachment to the book. On a book where I co-create, this would be the ideal type of script I would get.

Please note, I also take into account the writers I work with and I am comfortable enough with them to know that I can alter certain panels and pages to fit my storytelling approach, and with a little conversation, everything goes swimmingly, and also, many writers only feel comfortable in the FULL script mode, but are more than willing to listen to and agree to the artists input. With VILLAINS for instance, the only long form work I have done up until now, I read all the scripts and suggest changes that are sometimes, but not always taken into account, and only after both myself and the writer, Adam Cogan, agree 100% do I start on the artwork, and we have a great working dynamic where I feel in the art phase I can make whatever changes, though few they may be, to tell the story my way visually. An artist as well, Adam has a very visual approach to his writing which makes it easy.

This whole post was spawned by this great link I came across that points to published comic scripts on the internet. Download the 2 scripts by Brian Wood, the DEMO script, an indie book he co-created with the amazing Becky Cloonan, he wrote in the loose script format, and then the DMZ script, for Vertigo/DC, he wrote in the more common Full script mode.

* On a personal note, I was introduced to Brian by a retailer friend of mine in San Diego this summer, and I was too insecure to even offer polite conversation or praise. I just acted like I was part of the conversation and then skulked away. A couple years back Adam and I entertained the idea of getting Brian to design the cover layout for VILLAINS, but we could not afford him at that point, and I think he was starting to lean away from design also.

sketch

rejected character design, I like her face.

Self examination part 2

So, while Alyssa Milano was my ultimate woman I would never have, Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper was the girlfriend I always wanted. Wonder Years might be one of my all-time favorite shows, a very well rounded program that I always felt was very honest and fun. So here's to you Winnie, cheers.



and here is what she looks like now...

I (Heart) You - Dear Diary - 10/30/07

So I was thinking the other day after answering some email that I am currently in some sort of contact with almost every girl I have had a crush on or dated/married since I was in the 4th grade. There might be one or two that have slipped through the cracks, but I have never had a problem committing so the list isn't that long, but I found it semi-fascinating that I can email almost any of these girls (women now), that I have met over the last 21 years or so. Keep in mind that I have lived in 3 or 4 different states/countries since that time. Fascinating or pathetic, I'll let you all be the judge of that. If only I could track down Bethany Stallman and Melissa Guzman, my completion list would go to about 99% for my entire lifetime. How rare is that? So in celebration, I provide for you today, my first true unrequited love (of which there were many).



Who's the Boss of my juvenile loins?

Villains ad on Beauty and the Geek

Back at comic-con in July the crew from Beauty and the Geek were shooting a segment at the Viper booth while Javi and Les signed, on the back of the free copies of their book Middleman was an ad for VILLAINS. So my book got about .5 seconds of screen time.




Javi and Les got a second of screen time too. Volume 3 of Middleman just came out through Viper Comics, I highly recommend it.

Brains

this weeks artJumble

Wednesday

Halloween 2005 we had a Halloween party at the big yellow house and as always, I did not plan ahead, and as always, the results were disastrous. I tried to pull off a rockabilly/greaser look, and instead came off looking like a redneck on laundry day.



x-posted from ARTJUMBLE

FINALLY

Script pages have started coming in for an upcoming book I will be working on for Image comics, hopefully the book will be out in early 2008, probably about March by now. Here is a random sample of 2 panels, I'm doing a new process with this book where I pencil the pages loosely on standard paper, scan them in , enlarge them to full size and I'll be inking digitally, hopefully this will speed up my production time, since I plan to work on this and a sequel to Villains at the same time. Wish me luck.

Updates???

Sorry for the lack of updates, personal stuff has come up, but this time it's good personal stuff, but it has still interfered with my production. I hope in the next few weeks or so to be able to balance both appropriately. Heres are two pieces for this weeks Artjumble.



and a process shot....

the final bigger piece can be found on the ARTJUMBLE site.

Artjumble image

This one was a blast but I swear I have seen this design somewhere else. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I might use this guy in Villains Vol.2, but I can't be sure I didn't steal a Matsuda design or something. Done for the Artjumble blog. Comment here or there.

Dear Diary...

It's not you, it's me.

New Art tomorrow. Promise.