July 4, 2006

Seems like the snow just went away and here we are at the 4th of July weekend already. For those of you here in the states....HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!! 230 years since we told the King to take a flying leap and set up our own shop.

So, what's everyone doing this weekend? Camping, boating, cooking out...whatever you do be safe and have fun. Watch out for the idiots on the roads! I'll be working most of the weekend but we're having a family cookout on Sunday and on Tuesday, the actual 4th of July, I'll sit down and watch Mel Gibson's The Patriot (my yearly tradition).




Oh! And for my Canadian friends....


Have a great weekend everybody!!

Sha-na-na-nah-shana-nana-nah...Get a Job!

So, I have a new job! Well, sorta. :D In the most recent issue of Trailer Park of Terror (soon to be a major motion picture!) I noticed a change to the company masthead. I was surprised and a bit amused to find that I now have a place on said masthead! JD had mentioned that I was now the production manager, joking that instead of a raise I get a new title, but I had kinda forgotten about it and didn't realize it was "official."

I can dig it. Basically it's the same thing I do anyway...nagging people to set up their pages properly, nagging people to get stuff to me so I can get the books done, nagging about nagging....and so on. :D But now I have a little something extra to slap on my "resume".


WORK UPDATE: Monkey letters move right along. Over half done with the book and almost finished with the pages I have. (Waiting on the last handful to come in)

I have completed a Nothingface "bible". For those not in the know, in entertainment a bible is a guidebook of sorts for a property. Anyone interested should be able to pick it up and in a handful of pages get a fairly solid idea of the who, what and why of a project. This type of thing comes in handy should tv, movie, or videogame folk express an interest. Though, it's up in the air at the moment, I hold out hope that my "rep" will be making the rounds at Comicon International in San Diego. If time allows I'll also be building bibles for The Black Watch, Gladiatrix and possibly even a few other things that are still early in the development stage. Can't hurt, right?

More Monkey in motion....

Furious Fist of the Drunken Monkey: Origin of the Species #2 is my full-time task for the next couple of days! As always simian silliness abounds in Rich Stahnke's new series in the works for Silent Devil. I hope yer all preordering this stuff. Don't make me post another rant on the importance of preordering these indy book, people! (Click that pic to make it bigger!)

If your LCS ("Local Comic Shop" for the uninitiated) isn't overly helpful with preorders or you don't have an LCS, a great option is Discount Comic Book Service online!

Hey, I actually do WRITE!

Heh...most of my writing projects are big things, miniseries and such so while I wait for those to be drawn I mostly letter. Most people are probably starting to think of me as more a letterer than anything. BUT I have a short story coming in the NEXT issue of Trailer Park of Terror!

JD has been prodding me to do some writing for TPoT and I finally did, the story "Lost Highway" will appear in Trailer Park of Terror #5! I expected it to be further down the line but problems with another story caused them to bump it up and next thing I know I have some B&W art in my inbox. (Can't wait to see it in color!) I've published a graphic novel, I've had several short stories published in Digital Webbing Presents...I thought this was all old-hat to me by now. I have to be honest, however, and admit to being a little excited! My last new published writing was back in Digital Webbing Presents #21. That was...HOLY CRAP!...that was clear back in March 2005! Has it really been over a year since I've seen my name in print with "written by" next to it!?!?

Don't get me wrong, I've done a lot of writing in that time but none of it has been published yet....and may not be for months and months. Hmmmmm...I think it's time for me to start thinking more about writing for other people. I write it and THEY deal with finding an artist and getting it done and getting it published. I get work out there with a FRACTION of the stress. (Of course JD will find this hilarious after the grief I gave him over suggesting a minor change or two. That's something I DO like about doing my own stuff...total control. But I can learn to deal with it.)

Hmmmm....what next?

Higher edu-muh-cation!

I had the great pleasure of speaking to a class up at the University of Alaska Fairbanks this evening! Jamie Smith, local artist/cartoonist/graphic arts dude/wild man, teaches a class called Cartooning and Comic Art at UAF and last year he contacted me about coming to talk to the class. So, this was the second year for my "presentation." Initially, the plan was to talk about writing for comics but when he found out I was also lettering we added that in as well.

Basically, I'm one of two people publishing comics in this town and I'm pretty sure the only one with Diamond distributed comics work. Last year, the other local comic booker, Layla Lawlor, was a student in the class and this year I guess she came and spoke to the class before I did. (Layla also happens to be a Sequential Tart!)I answered questions and rambled on about anything that popped into my head about comics... creating them, the industry, the market, etc. So far both years we've had a good group of people. Very friendly, attentive, ready to jump in with a comment or question. Maybe next year I'll try to plan at least an outline of a "speech" just so I'm sure to hit all the important stuff, I think I glossed over a few things this time.

It was a lot of fun and I look forward to next year.

Oh, and a big thanks to Rick Reddick who pointed Jamie in my direction last year.

Locked and loaded

Finally! I got started on lettering EMPTY CHAMBER today! It wasn't on my schedule and I should have been doing other things first but I got the script and couldn't resist doing a couple pages. Not going to show off much since I don't have permission, but I think I can get away with one unlettered panel...

Long time no post!

Geez! Let time get away from me I guess. I've been moderately busy and trying to enjoy the summer and there just hasn't really been anything exciting to post about. Still isn't, really. :D So, just for something to post here's a little experiment from yesterday. I have thought about about colorizing the Nothingface GN off and on for a while but when I asked I found out that the line art is gone, so all I have to work with is the grayscaled art. Fortunatley, it was done in "spot grays"...grays here and there where needed but not fully rendered grays looking like a B&W photo. I tried coloring under the grayscales and I actually quite like the result.

They don't make 'em like they used to!

Just a quick entry today, I have corrections and output to do on Lost Squad #5 and some writing to do.

Anyway, you know how people (like me) bitch and moan that everything today is made to fall apart on a regular basis so you have to constantly buy more and that when they younger things were still made to last? I have proof!

I have this desk lamp that used to sit in my parents house, when they sold the place I took it. I have NEVER changed the bulb in it until just this week. For the past 6 years this lamp has been on a minimum of 12 hours a day! I'm not exaggerating, if anything I'm underestimating the hours it's been on.

What I'm saying here Is I had an 18" 15Watt Cool White fluorescent Sylvania light bulb lit up at LEAST 12 hours a day that lasted about EIGHTEEN YEARS. I replaced it today and I predict from here out I'll be changing it a minimum of twice a year.

Side note: My sister has a counter top mixer that was our mom's. Mom used it a lot, now it's only used a couple times a year....BUT STILL, it's like 40 years old! An' still kickin'!