The month of love.

I have been having a blast so far on issue #2 of ICARUS. The script came out great and I'm about 80% happy with the pages so far, and for me that is a pretty big deal. I am also coming into accepting my work on the webcomic as well. We're almost to the halfway point on JCTNG V2: The Long Year and I'm finally able to just relax about it and draw some comics. The webcomic is my main focus right now, it has to be since it pays the majority of my bills, but I will continue to chop away on ICARUS #2. I hope to wrap that up around mid-March. If I can keep Icarus on a bi-monthly release schedule I will be happy. So February's goal is pretty straightforward; 30 pages of fully finished, print ready, comic pages. I'm excited for the challenge.

Icarus #2

Some random panel clips from Icarus #2, coming in March. Issue #1 available here.

My man, David Hopkins.

My friend and writer extraordinaire David Hopkins had some nice things to say about me over on his blog. If you haven't read Emily Edison yet, it's one of my favorite all ages books off the last couple years, and my kids all agree.

ICARUS Play by Play Transcript

This is a transcript of the feature that ran on CBR's Robot6 blog -

I grew up reading superhero comics, mostly Marvel, but I loved Batman as well. As I grew older, I started developing and creating my own superheroes. The first comic I ever worked on was a self-published little gem called The Hurricane Kids. The writer and I had no idea what we were doing, but we put out an issue or two and went back and forth with several companies about publishing it. After almost a year’s worth of back and forth with a big name publisher, they decided against it — saying that they couldn’t sell it, “Independent superhero books do not sell,” they said. Later that year, I worked on Villains for Viper comics, a small book which featured super-powered characters. It got a lot of attention but just as I was warned, it did not sell very well. I have since pitched a comic with an artist who is far superior than myself, only to get it turned down because the characters had super powers. That artist has since gone on to work at one of the top publishers. Well, I never learn my lesson and have decided to do my own book, complete with everything I love about comics. Action, intrigue, violence, and superheroes, because sometimes I just want to draw a guy getting punched through a building.

Icarus is a story about Major Robert Riley and his mission to assassinate every known superhuman on the planet. A young girl named Delphi sees into the future and predicts the invasion of our planet by a conquering force. This announcement causes worldwide panic and discourse, which is something that the governments of the world can no longer allow. Backed by shadowy figures both political and religious, Riley is ordered to end the superhuman problem for good. He has never failed an assignment and never missed a target, but things are never what they seem when you are dealing with men who can juggle tanks, women who can influence your every thought and Roman war gods.

The title Icarus comes from the Icarus asteroid that is expected to pass Earth on June 16, 2015.

There’s nothing like being thrown straight into the action. Our narrator is Major Riley. While he is the focus of the first issue, the book will also look at Delphi and how the other characters react to the fact that they are being hunted by the same people they have saved and worked for in the past. Superheroes and super villains have the same goal in Icarus — survive and fight. Throughout the first arc, specific dates will show up from time to time as we get closer to the date of the Icarus asteroid passing Earth.

Riley continues to narrate the action, explaining a little bit about his target’s past. Oftentimes super powers can come with unintentional consequences. In this case, our target crippled another player during a college football game, bringing attention to himself, which ultimately led to him having to pass on his professional career and fade away from the public eye. The sports anchor in the first panel is based off of ESPN’s Linda Cohn.

I love this first panel, exploding brain matter and bone, but not too graphic, just enough to get the point across. This shows that even though Riley is an expert assassin, his methods are still brutally violent. Some of the best characters in fiction are those who are educated and technical, but still can be brutal and devious when needed. Every character we will meet in Icarus has multiple motives and that makes it fun to write. None of them are as cut and dry as they seem.

Now we see Major Riley back in his hotel room after his kill. He cleans up and gets right back to work, checking in with the shadowy figures who have given him his mission. Riley is all business at first, but he will begin to show his human side as we delve more into the story.

Here is where we meet Reggie Loomis, The Diabolist. The world of Icarus will feature costumed superheroes but in a very limited role. When word gets out that there is a killer of supers on the loose, these guys and gals will tend to keep their colors in the closet. As a matter of fact, these photos of The Diabolist are the only images of any costumed characters in the entire issue. While I have always loved the idea of superhuman characters inhabiting our world, I am not always a fan of ridiculous costumes.

On this page we learn a little more about Riley’s process. With his previous victim he explains using a unique type of ammunition to take down a specific target. Here he muses about using brute force to get the job done. One of Riley’s greatest attributes is his ability to break down his victims’ weaknesses. I love the idea of Riley looking down on The Diabolist. He’s going to go up against a guy that can emit magical energy from his hands, and Riley seems relieved.

Riley is in a race against the clock, going up against the most powerful people on the planet. He’ll need help from the most unlikeliest sources. Icarus #1 will be available in January from Super75Comics. Order information can be found online at http://super75comics.com. Feedback is always welcome at hurricanekids@gmail.com.

ICARUS Play by Play

JK Parkin was kind enough to post a play by play preview of ICARUS #1 with commentary on the Robot6 blog of CBR. Check it out, hope you like it.
http://tinyurl.com/6ahmuqh (Thanks JK!)

More ICARUS Shilling

ICARUS #1 is now available for sale. The digital copy is being sold through Graphicly and is only $1 and is available for all your mobile devices and laptop or desktop. The print copy is being sold through Indy Planet for $3.50 and is available here. Please help support this project, I probably will not be able to finish my story without the support of the individual issues. Also, loads of original pages from Icarus #1 are up in my Etsy shop for cheap! - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ryancody

January commission drive

I'm all caught up on commissions (though I still need to mail some out) so I'm opening up commissions again. $50 for 11x17 and a special price of $25 for 9x12 b/w commissions. Email me if you're interested at hurricanekids(at)gmail(dot)com. A quick glance at my deviantart gallery will give you an idea of what I offer. Thanks as always.

Amazing Arizona Con re-cap

Not a ton of stuff to report, the crowds were spotty but it's too be expected at such a new con. People love Robert Kirkman though, that's a fact. Zombie mania was in full effect and I had no loaded weapons on me sadly. I've posted some sketches I did over on the SketchJAM! blog and I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who stopped by and chatted about ICARUS and bought some art. I sold more original art at this con than any other but I have plenty left over that I will posting for sale online in the next few weeks. Next up for me is Emerald City con in Seattle the weekend of March 4th. Big thanks to Scott Godlewski for being a great booth-mate to spend the weekend with, Andy Kuhn, Shannon Denton, Mike Malve and John Layman for being great drinking buddies and Andy & Cory Walker for putting out awesome sketchbooks for me to peruse and drool over. Top-notch fellas.


Myself, Scott Godlewski and Shannon Eric Denton.


Our booth. Seriously people, this Godlewski kid is money in the bank, pick up his books, support him and buy some original art from him now while he's selling it for insanely cheap.

Amazing Arizona Con

This weekend I will be at the Amazing Arizona Con all day Saturday and Sunday sharing a table with my boy Scott Godlewski. I will have a preview of ICARUS #1, original art for sale from Icarus and other projects, a limited edition convention exclusive HULK print and I will be doing sketches all weekend. I also have a few copies of my 2010 sketchbook still available so stop by and say hello.

Another ICARUS review

"Icarus #1 is a somewhat gritty assassin comic where there are solid characters being introduced. Cody's illustrations are a perfect fit for the subject matter. " - Jonathon Pilley over at www.omnicomic.com reviews Icarus #1, please hop over there to read the whole thing.

I also like how interested he seemed to be in the motivations of the characters. Here is another exerpt -

"There's also a female character named Manny that has prophetic dreams. I get the impression she works with Riles to help in finding his new targets, but other than there not much else is mentioned about her. We're also introduced to a few of Riles' teammates in addition to the two aforementioned targets and Manny, so there should be some pretty good storylines developing over the next few issues. The biggest question is what designates a target for Riles' group and how he became part of the group to begin with. The best part of the issue though has to be the cliffhanger ending and while I'm not going to spoil it for you I can say I was not expecting it at all."

The girl's name is not Manny, but I can see where the confusion comes from, that will be cleared up in issue #2.

The first ICARUS review

Ambush Bug over at Aintitcool.com posted a review of ICARUS #1 here. It's insanely flattering. You have to scroll down to the Indie Jones section to read it, but here it is in it's entirety.

ICARUS #1
Super 75 Comics

Wow. This first issue blew me away. I was really, really surprised with this one. Written, drawn, inked and created all by Ryan Cody; ICARUS #1 is an intriguing first issue that zigs when you think it’ll zag and continues to leave you spinning right up until the last page. ICARUS is filled with all kinds of fun, with a super hero killer for hire, a girl who dreams of the end of the world every night she goes to sleep, a secret organization bent of eradicating super villains, and a twist at the end that pulled the rug right out from under me. Thing is…I didn’t even know I was standing on a rug! But seriously, this is top notch stuff. Cody’s art is as good as his writing. Reminiscent of Ty Templeton and Darwyn Cooke, Cody has a gift for simplistic design and vivid, iconic panels that make for a quick, yet thrilling read. I can’t wait to see more of ICARUS and you should definitely seek this indie treat out. Fans of Dini’s BATMAN ADVENTURES, Bendis’ POWERS, Brubaker’s SLEEPER, and Eisner & Cooke’s THE SPIRIT (books I hold in very high regard) will definitely find ICARUS as much of a surprise as I did.

ICARUS update

The last page of Icarus #1 is up on the website. I hope everyone enjoyed the issue. I will leave it online for a couple weeks and then remove it when the print version is available for purchase. Please, if you enjoyed reading it online, think about buying a print copy and supporting the book. Thanks.

Scott Godlewski inks Icarus!

Here is a little peek at the inked cover to Icarus #1, pencils/layout by me, finishes by the amazing and overworked Scott Godlewski. Scott is kicking ass over at Boom! working on their Dracula book so I really owe him a debt for finding time to ink this cover for me. The print version of issue #1 will be available in January, catch up on it online however at www.super75comics.com/icarus

Big Thanks!

I also wanted to just give out a really big thanks to all the people who hopped on board my last commission call. The money from those commissions literally put Christmas presents under the tree for my kids, so I really, honestly appreciate all the support. Thanks so much.

That said, I have about 2 slots still open for the Christmas commissions. Contact me if you're interested.

My comic ICARUS is winding down the first issue. You can read it all for free, starting right here - http://www.super75comics.com/icarus/01.html

Thanks.

Holiday commission sale!

In order to help myself out in what has been a very tough economic year and to offer
something special to those of you who support me, here's my version of a holiday/cyber
Monday sale. Limited time only, I only have a few spots available, guaranteed delivery
by Christmas. All prices are for black and white original pieces on high quality bristol
art board. Digital colors are also available for an additional $15 and will be sent as a
hi-resolution file.

11x17 2-character = $50 + $5 shipping & handling
9x12 2-character = $25 + $5 shipping & handling
Sketchcards = $15 + $3 shipping & handling

Red Hulk Event!

I will be out at Atomic Comics in Mesa tomorrow from 1-3:30 doing some free Hulk sketches on the blank cover of the the issue of Avengers. I will have a couple copies of my sketchbook for sale as well (only $5) and I will taking commission and sketch orders too. Stop by and say hi if you can!

New Art

Survey Says!

I put up a quick 10-question survey to learn more about modern comic fans and buying habits. It's anonymous but if you take it, please let me know and I will put your name in a drawing to win original art, an ICARUS t-shirt or a sketchbook. I really would appreciate your input.

Click here to take survey

thanks,
Ryan

News + Notes

It's been a little bit since I last did an update on what I have been working on and where I'm at online at the various social media sites so I thought I would catch you all up if you're interested in that sort of thing.

ICARUS - Icarus is my new webcomic, I post new pages twice a week, I just started last week and I hope to build a solid following. I do everything on the book from writing to lettering so it's definitely a chore, but it's also a blast. I really hope you all choose to follow along and support the book by buying and sporting an Icarus shirt (order info in the sidebar on the Icarus page) or supporting me by ordering a commission possibly. Here is the first page -



I also do the artwork for the current volume of Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun. It's a fun story about a time traveling Jesus as he battles WW2 Axis powers, monsters & more with his buddies Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway.

I recently did 20 cards for the Hack/Slash set from 5finity. Here are my two return cards that I am currently selling for only $30 each. They are limited edition and very rare.

- I have a Facebook fan page that was started by a very cool guy and fan, Ed Harris.
- I'm usually on Twitter goofing off and sometimes I post up in-progress pages.
- I post a new sketch everyday to The Daily Sketchjam! I plan to do so for the rest of the year. A couple other really cool artists post there as well.
- My DeviantArt account is here and it's where the majority of my art goes online.

I honestly appreciate every note or comment I get through Facebook, Twitter & DeviantArt. The last 6 weeks have been a trial as I try to find work to supplement my income. It's a hard road for a freelancer in this economy and I really am grateful. Thanks to my beautiful girlfriend and my great kids for putting up with me.

Icarus is live

The first page of ICARUS went up today. New page every Sunday and Thursday. Please pass along the word and feel free to leave comments. Thanks.