Lair of the Mad Alaskan

Oh, my stars and garters!

2010-06-11T18:44:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted!! Between the occasionally updated newsblog at my website and constant babbling on Facebook I guess this spot has become redundant. :(

Hmmm...

Yeah....

2009-01-04T16:32:00.000-08:00

Hope ~~Christmas~~ New Year's was good for you!

40 50 below zero sucks.

That is all.

NEW YEARS EVE!!

2008-12-31T19:39:00.001-08:00

40 below zero, ice fog, nowhere to go and nothing to do (nothing fun at any rate), kitchen sink drain frozen and backed up so that water has been dripping under the sink and seeped thru the flooring (under the tile) all the way under the kitchen counter and out into the carpet in the dining area which is really my work area and if I hadn't been barefoot and freezing my toes off and felt the water squish up when I went to sit at the desk and start working who knows how long it would have gone on or how bad it would have gotten. Good times. Good times.

And yes, I am most terribly proud of that run-on sentence.

Hope you New Years Eve is safe and fun and devoid of arctic temperatures and wet carpets. And I hope to heck I have more to report in 2009! Hopefully more of my own books coming out in print, on the web and maybe even for the iPhone... as well as more lettering for others as well.

Yeah...

2008-12-29T16:59:00.001-08:00

Hope Christmas was good for you!

40 below zero sucks.

That s all.

As Christmas approaches...

2008-12-16T17:49:00.000-08:00

So, finished up E-Man the other day. And then did a quick Trailer Park of Terror lettering job. It seems the classy lads putting out the UK edition of the DVD have seen fit to commission a comic to go with the DVD! Hopefully I'll at least be able to get a copy of the comic if not the whole UK comic/DVD package... which would be cool to have even if I can't play the disc. ;)

Our "lovely" Norma hops 'cross the pond!

I've also just taken a little writing assignment. I don't usually do much writing for others where they pick the topic and give an editorial push toward what they want told but this looks to be great fun. I'm writing an... I guess you'd call it an adaptation... of a Hawaiian folk tale. Revenge and Shark-Gods and blood! How can that not be fun?!

STATUS REPORT: CHRISTMAS

Christmas tunes...playing (my new iPod Touch connects to the surround sound. How cool is that?)
Lights...flashing
Scented candles...burning
All presents bought
None wrapped
Christmas baking and candy making... not even begun but it's all sitting there ready to go
Contributions to Christmas dinner... shopping not done

Thought about doing 12 Babes of Christmas again this year... if I could even find 12 new holiday themes hotties... but so few people check this poor neglected blog anymore it's probably not even worth it. :D Haha! Maybe I'll do 12 Days of the Best Christmas Presents I Ever or Never Got! I always REALLY wanted a Millennium Falcon... you know, the big one like came out in '77 or '78 or whenever. I had X-Wings and Tie Fighters and action figures but I really wanted the Falcon. Never got one... and yet somehow I've survived mostly undamaged.

E-MAN!

2008-12-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

Long time no post! Again.

I just finished up some lettering. Ed over at Digital Webbing Press asked if I could help him out on an issue of the legendary indie book E-Man and i was glad to do it. Nice to be part of the DWPress crew again. The bulk of my published writing has come out under the DWP banner so it's like a homecoming. (Oh, shut up! It's the holidays, Christmas music is playing, and I'm feeling sentimental!)

Make with the clicky for a closer look...

Black Watch trudges along defiantly, refusing to remain incomplete. Darryl is putting in a lot of work and time on the colors and really his learning curve has been pretty impressive.

Speaking of impressive learning curves, I started a new horror one-shot with a new artist looking to get some work under his belt and it's kind of fun watching someone's art develop from page to page. As we get more done I'll talk about it more and toss up some art.

Another newer project was moving along quite nicely but has hit a lull. It may be the season or other things but my co-creator/artist has been MIA for a couple weeks. He has some BIG "life stuff" going on so ya can't really blame him.

I have a new Nothingface one-shot written and ready to go... if I could find someone to draw the damned thing! :D

And finally... for now... When Drive-Ins Attack is alive and well! Project organizer Rich Stahnke has found a lot of the creative work falling into his lap... from writing and illustrating his own story to coloring and drawing for others. (And hopefully finding time to ink MY story in time for inclusion in the book.) Rich is just really pouring himself into this and I wish I could help more than just lettering.

Bless you, Amazon.com!

2008-11-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Last Xmas I bought a huge cool Transformers Bumble Bee figure for my nephew... I literally spent at least 20 minutes trying to extract the thing from the package with a pair of needle nose pliers and a razor knife. The poor kids rushing back up to me every 72 seconds to ask if I was done yet.

Amazon is introducing "Frustration Free" packaging! Same products, different packaging. It's generic packaging and comes without all the plastic straps and metal twist ties and bulletproof plastic crap.

An example (click to zoom)....

It even costs a few bucks less... but it's the hassle free opening on Xmas that drew me in. Hell, I'd pay a couple MORE bucks for that. They only have a limited number of items set up like this but lets hope the program expands.

2008-10-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

Go HERE to check out the Trailer Park of Terror DVD commercial!

Go buy it! Help keep the comic going and my paycheck coming in! ;)

Coming October 21st!

2008-10-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

Nuff said.

Taking the Fall....

2008-09-06T15:32:00.001-07:00

Man, this has been the coldest summer in forever. And it's aready over! By mid-August the leaves were changing and now only a week into September I step outside and it feels like we're at the end of September. All the tree leaves are yellow, the cranberry bushes have turned bright red... hell, they're already moving past the red stage into the dull orange stage. We saw the first migrating geese at least a month ago.

Fall is my favorite time of year, but not this early! I'm hoping it will mean a long fall and NOT an early winter. We get enough winter in Alaska, mother nature screwing us out of weeks of non-winter would be entirely BS! ;)

Just a quick check-in....

2008-08-09T18:41:00.001-07:00

Finally getting some nibbles as I fish for an inker for my WHEN DRIVE-INS ATTACK! story. Hopefully that will move forward soon.

Black Watch moves ever slowly forward.

Starting a new project with an artist friend I've wanted to work with for years. Our initial plan is to release it online as we go and then look to put it in print with extra story pages, behind the scenes stuff, etc.

Trying to work on some prose for an online pulp "magazine" and will have to look for artists to do some spot illustrations eventually.

Seem to have hit a summer slowdown as far as lettering gigs. Of course, everything will come crashing in at once as always instead of now while I have lots of room in the ol' schedule.

Long overdue

2008-06-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Nothing comic related this time, just spouting off about something I think is important.

Today is the Anniversary of D-Day. To quote Tom Hanks: "The peaceful world as we have known it for over half a century began in Normandy on June 6, 1944." That was the beginning of the end of WWII.

I learned something today that kind of floored me...there are something like 50+ monuments to the Allied heroes of D-Day. But somehow, the US Navy has been left unrecognized all this time.

Someone finally decided it was time to fix that. A sculptor here in the states is creating the bronze monument seen here. This September it will be shipped to Normandy, France (possibly the only place in France that still likes us) ;) and installed to honor the seamen who successfully conducted the largest naval operation in world history as well as those navy personnel who lost their lives.

Go to the site and check it, and contribute a couple bucks if you have it. The people and events of WWII need to be remembered.

IT IS.....DONE!

2008-06-03T20:50:00.000-07:00

Finally completed lettering the NYE INCIDENTS GN for Devil's Due. Of course, as things tend to go, NYE along with four other things kind of all came in at once and needed to be done ASAP...as compared to drifting in over the previous MONTHS as scheduled.

In spite of power outages costing me half a day and other little things coming up I managed to do the final two chapters in three days (as well as working on other jobs while waiting for scripts or correction notes or whatever). Which is pretty fast for me given that the previous chapters took about a week each. Maybe I need the pressure to get my speed up.

Also got TRAILER PARK OF TERROR #9 out last week. Most of the material for that came in just a couple days before NYE so it got in line first. This issue has a very.... interesting... "theme" of sorts. Whatever could it be? Might the cover art give some slight clue?

In some ways, I'm starting to feel like letterers are the ER doctors of the comics team. Invariably everything that can go wrong, does. (DAMN YOU, MURPHY! DAMN YOU AND YOUR LAW TO HELL!) Anyway, once Murphy has done his damage to the production schedule and moved on, the frantic "parents" rush their ailing "baby" in my ER and say "So, umm....any chance we could...y'know...maybe get that tomorrow? Or the next day? Pleeeease?" Other work, personal commitments, SLEEP be damned this thing needs to be saved.

So, yeah, we're like the ER docs.

Except, y'know, they get paid reeeeeally well.

And people respect them. (I've seen comic book reviews where everyone from the writer down to the editor was listed in the credits...but not the letterer. I mean c'mon, people! You have to go past the letterer on the credits page to even see who that editor was!!)

Very cool...

2008-05-09T12:17:00.000-07:00

....PISTOLFIST video promo!

Stuff

2008-05-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

Black Watch

The Nye Incidents
The Pack from When Drive-Ins Attack!

Wow...frikkin' ghost town in here...

2008-04-19T20:40:00.001-07:00

Look! There goes a tumbleweed!

So, apparently I suck at keeping a blog. ;) It seems like there's either too MUCH to write about...or too LITTLE. And it doesn't always help that working in comics...especially indie comics...can be a lot of hurry up and wait.

Couple of fun things going on right now...

Things happened and Black Watch had to take a step backward. It's turned out to be one of those lemons / lemonade things. I was NOT happy with what went down but now in the aftermath of that, the book is turning out so much better and has become an enjoyable experience once more. A little taste...a page from the new and improved Black Watch #1...

I'm lettering a GN (graphic novel, for the uninformed) for Devil's Due called The Nye Incidents. It's written by novelist Craig Spector and centers around UFOs and alien abduction. As a reader I'm quite enjoying it and can't wait for the next batch of pages and script to come in so I can see what happens next.

Here's a little info at the Devil's Due site.

You can click here to download a PDF preview of the GN: THE NYE INCIDENTS.

And of course things roll on with Trailer Park of Terror...the movie and the comic. But I'm short on time..."Hitman" is just sitting there demanding I slip it in the DVD player and sit down to watch it. Just google "Trailer Park of Terror" and you find all sorts of news about the film festivals they've been doing and what actors from the flick are up to and other stuff.

I feel like refried death served in a dirty ashtray

2008-02-21T19:32:00.000-08:00

So, I get through my first (and hopefully LAST) kidney stone just in time to pick up the flu bug or whatever it is going around in these parts. Basically the last week has been a complete wash. Tried to get back in the saddle today without much success. I think I may just stay in bed a couple more days and try to get really better.

I really want to get my review of the new Rogue Angel comic written up and there's more Pistolfist news and my story for the When Drive-Ins Attack! graphic novel anthology is almost completely penciled and I'd like to show a little of that. Hopefully I'll get all that up here as soon as I'm feeling human again (or as close to human as I ever am).

Let's see...just to give you SOMETHING to look at, up above somewhere are a couple of logos I did recently. The first is for the above mentioned anthology, which I'll also be lettering, and another for Rich Stahnke's story from that same book. Each story will have a "cover" designed to look like a movie poster.

BLUEWATER PRODUCTIONS PICKS UP PISTOLFIST

2008-02-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

Pistolfist is a miniseries that I lettered a while back. The first issue came out and was very well recieved....unfortunately the series fell victim to the identity crisis of the publisher Alias Enterprises. (Alias dropped several books mid-stream and became a Christian publisher...which is cool, but it left some books stranded) It's very nice to see it will now have a chance to be seen by a wide audience. Some people, probably the more jaded among us, will chuckle... maybe even give a slight eye-roll... at the title or the image of a man with what basically looks like a lightning firing musket where his hand should be.... but they're wrong.

This is a GOOD book.

Don't be a tool...BUY IT.

PRESS RELEASE:

Bluewater Productions adds PISTOLFIST -- the critically-acclaimed saga of a masked, runaway slave who becomes an American Revolutionary War legend. Starting this July, the series launches just in time for Independence Day.

Originally scheduled to be released through Alias last year, Bluewater will publish the series which asks the question: How precious is your freedom? Would you fight for it? Would you dare to die for it? Set amidst the American Revolution, this critically-acclaimed series follows the saga of a mysterious, masked runaway slave whose destiny is helplessly entwined with that of a famous, yet frail, Benjamin Franklin. Inspired by true characters and events, you'll soon discover why fans and fellow creators alike have chosen to "rev it up!"

Bluewater publisher Darren G. Davis said, "I remember seeing this issue floating around Alias and I loved the concept as well as the art. It is one of the most polished books I have seen come across my desk. J.S. Earls and his creative team are the perfect fit for Bluewater. We are not really looking to pick up books, but when one comes to me that I am excited about - how can you turn it down?!" Davis continues "We are still staying at around 5 titles a month. We do not want to compete with ourselves in the marketplace."

J.S. Earls -- creator of the series -- said, "To say I'm excited about bringing Pistolfist to Bluewater would definitely be an understatement. They're as passionate about and as committed to their creations as I am about mine. We definitely share certain standards of quality - not just with the usual stuff, but logos and everything. Those details are things which help keep you a notch above your competition...and that you can be proud of. Several publishers have expressed an interest in Pistolfist, but none of them were as honest or as focused as Bluewater Productions".

J.S. Earls went on, "Since this is an election year in the US, when people evaluate what's truly important to them, I think Pistolfist's core theme of 'freedom' really seems to resonate. Regardless of your political persuasion, it's that freedom to think and express and choose that many hold so dear. We take it for granted, but - when you think about it - it's at the heart of us all".

PISTOLFIST makes it mark at Bluewater in July of 2008 and will be monthly.

*NOTE: The attached cover is for promotional purposes only. Cover Artist JOEL ROBINSON is working on a brand-new cover for the special re-release of PISTOLFIST #1.

Nichole Hiltz video interview

2008-02-11T16:22:00.000-08:00

Go HERE to see a video interview with Nichole conducted at Slamdance!

She talks TRAILER PARK OF TERROR, comics, The Riches (great show with an amazing cast...frikkin' writer's strike*) and her new show In Plain Sight. Check it out.

*[Yes, yes, I fully support the writers getting their fair share of things, especially with all the new media formats coming into play ...but that doesn't mean that as a TV watcher I can't get a little irked that the strike means a lot of shows I really enjoy or new shows I might have enjoyed have to be scrapped or delayed or in the case of some, like 24, possibly even skipped this year. A year without 24...that's just messed up, people.]

Download NOTHINGFACE for FREE!

2008-02-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

The NOTHINGFACE graphic novel is finally available for FREE download through WOWIO.com!

Written by me with art by Yildiray Cinar (Noble Causes), Nick Postic & Nick Marinkovich (Underworld, Impaler), and others with a cover by Ben Templesmith (Wormwood, 30 Days of Night).

I get a little $$$$ for every download so even if you've read it already, please go sign up (takes like 90 seconds) and download this sucker! Besides, once you're signed up you can download tons of other comics, graphic novels and books as well! Search for NOTHINGFACE or go to the comics & graphic novels section and look for MORPHEUS FORGE under publishers. Guilt your neighbors and friends into downloading it too! Support your friendly (well, that might be debatable) neighborhood comic book writier.

Hopefully soon I'll have a couple more comics on WOWIO as well.

There are days....

2008-02-04T18:52:00.001-08:00

There are days... rare days when your feet slide out from under the covers and hit the floor and you realize the temp has dropped below a certain point... that point is different from person to person and house to house (For me personally it's around -35)... and you just think, "Nah. I maybe I'll just stay right here in bed." But you seldom do because this is ALASKA and if the world stops because it's a little chilly nothing would ever get done.

This morning my feet hit the floor I thought "Oh, HELLLL no!" I instantly knew we'd blown right past -35 and tumbled head long into real cold. (You grow up in Alaska and there's a serious difference between what most people call cold and real cold. There are actually, three levels...cold, real cold and frikkin' freezing.)

I got up anyway and looked at the thermometer...then looked at a different thermometer....then checked the temps online. Yeah, it was damn near -50. My feet were cold and I considered putting on a sweater...if you know me, putting on a sweater is not normal. Even when it's cold...even real cold...I rarely put on warm clothes inside. Today was just not happening for me. I went back to bed, woke up to see a heat wave had brought us up to only -30 so I got up and did some work. It's creeping back down...it's dropped about 6 degrees in 90 minutes or so. I'm going back to bed with an extra blanket and the tv remote.

The first "official" review of TPoT!!

2008-02-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

JUST A TEASER:

I have to be honest: I wasn't looking forward to seeing this film, despite the buzz at the Slamdance Film Festival, where I caught its premiere last week. At the fest's headquarters at the Treasure Mountain Inn in Park City, Utah, the place was awash with half-drunk weirdos pumped to catch the late-night screening. I hid my press badge, hoping to avoid any conversation about what was sure to be a stinker--how could it not be with a title like TRAILER PARK OF TERROR? Settling into my uncomfortable seat in the makeshift theater, I sighed and waited for the war between sleep and cinematic schlock to begin. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Just click on our creepy-ass pal Stank here to go to Fangoria.com and read the whole review! They give TPoT 3 1/2 skulls!

Trailer Park of Terror movie clips

2008-01-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

Six....count 'em SIX...clips from Trailer Park of Terror available at ShockTillYouDrop.com!

Trailer Park of Terror's Hayley Marie Norman

2008-01-24T14:41:00.000-08:00

Here is a brief piece from the Desert Morning News about Hayley's adventures at the festivals in Utah promoting TPoT.

Okay, it's back to work for me.....

Nothing much to say, I SHOULD be working or sleeping...

2008-01-24T04:12:00.000-08:00

Wired.com - On his blog, Jason Silverman lists the Top 10 Movie Trailers @ Sundance (going on at the same time/town as Slamdance). Norma and crew made the list. CLICK-CLICK :D

I have found an artist for my contribution to the When Drive-Ins Attack! anthology!! The graphic novel anthology will feature stories from Steve Niles (30 Days of Night, Simon Dark, Batman), Rich Stahnke (Furious Fist of the Drunken Monkey), Dan Wickline (30 Days of Night), Dwight McPherson (Edgar Allen Poo, Dead Men Tell No Tales) and many others. I've had the story written and have been keeping an eye out for an artist for MONTHS. I finally found the right guy. I have rough character designs and thumbnail sketches of the all 19 pages already. Hope to have something to show in the next couple weeks.

Book 1 of Black Watch is only a few tweaks from being completely finished. Waaaaaay back when the book was picked up by Imperium and we learned that we'd be waiting until summer or later of this year to put the book out, everything kind of went onto the back burner. But now the time draws near and Rob is finishing the last color tweaks to the last pages as he gets ready to start cranking on the next two issues which are completely drawn and waiting for him. I have a few tweaks I think I'll make to the lettering/SFX/script as I go through and output the final files for print....and of course as we get really close credits pages and editorial stuff and ad pages...but basically it's ready to go.

OH YEAH! Almost forgot, my graphic novel Nothingface will soon be available as a free PDF download through WOWIO.com.

And they're off!

2008-01-18T14:58:00.000-08:00

The Imperium boys are off to Slamdance (see the post below if you don't know what I'm talkin' 'bout) for a big weekend and then Monday's debut of Trailer Park of Terror. In a Variety article the programming director for Slamdance predicts Trailer Park could be a break-out flick, saying, "It’s one of our Twilight films, and I think it’s going to be a big hit.”

I guess if anyone just happens to be hanging out over in Park City, go check out the flick and say hi to the guys. :D I'm pretty sure my favorite undead trailer park tramp will be there! (That'd be Nichole Hiltz who plays Norma. That's her in the picture over there...looking MUCH more sweet and innocent...and ALIVE...than she does as Norma!)

So good luck to everyone involved. Have fun in Utah!

One last thing! I just noticed last night the TPoT move site has been revamped. Looks pretty slick, check it out...

WWW.TRAILERPARKOFTERROR.COM

Slamdance Film Festival 2008

2008-01-04T04:41:00.001-08:00

Pretty sure I've mentioned this already but it bears repeating. The TRAILER PARK OF TERROR movie will be making it's premiere at SLAMDANCE. Slamdance is all about the indy flicks, it's my understanding that it was started in response to the Sundance Festival NOT being the indy festival it claimed to be...(You ever see the coverage of Sundance on TV? it's all corporate with $10,000 gift bags and lavish parties for all these big stars proving how cool they are for supporting "indy films". BLECH!)...or maybe they just think Robert Redford is a world class tool (I sure as @#&$ do!) and they wanted to get up in his grill. Either way, Slamdance was born and that's where TPoT will be having it's pervy blood splattered redneck undead coming out party.

And I for one think that's pretty monkeyfarmin' cool!

Links:
TPoT @ Slamdance
The TPoT movie site
The TPoT movie MySpace
The TPoT comic MySpace

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2008-01-01T11:40:00.000-08:00

Well, I hope everyone had some happy and safe fun for New Year's. And I hope it's left you with some "fresh start" energy for whatever you're working on...career, home projects, financial stuff....whatever. I'm off to a pretty good 2008 myself. Did I little cleaning house (figuratively and literally) and find myself with a good attitude for starting off the new year. Need to get some things taken care of, need to get some things back on track and I feel energized to do it and see very clearly how to go about it one-not-so-overwhelming step at a time.

Black Watch will be coming out this year.
Nothingface will be going up on WOWIO soon. (For those not in the know, WOWIO is a free ebook service. I can get my books listed there, you can then download them for FREE as PDF files and I make a little money of each copy downloaded.)
I plan/hope to have at least seven books out this year with my name in the WRITER slot! Four issues of Black Watch (hey, each issue counts, sparky!) and three more things, one shots of other properties. Planning for some new Nothingface with a one-shot...as well as launching Angeline 43 with a one-shot, and hopefully one more one-shot (and/or a sizable story in a big anthology).
I have several cool lettering assignments lined up....some old, some new. Trailer Park of Terror, Chaotic Soldiers, a kids book called Monster Truck Mayhem, a graphic novel for Devil's Due, possibly another GN I won't name just yet, the When Drive-Ins Attack anthology GN (an image from that book can be seen at right) and possibly a few other things if their creators find publishing homes for them.
Trailer Park of Terror the movie will be out this year (Premiering at the Slamdance Film Festival)...really bigger news for the boys at Imperium than me but it's nice to be associated with it.
The Lost Squad movie will hopefully be moving along for my pal Chris Kirby...if this writer's strike every gets settled. (Another case of a book I letter getting upon screen....not really MY news but still fun to be "attached to" no matter how remotely.)

Well, I guess that's enough jibber-jabber. Better get some sleep so i can get up and get crackin' on all this new year, new start stuff.

Merry...uhhh...day AFTER Christmas!

2007-12-26T02:52:00.000-08:00

Didn't get a chance to post yesterday. I hope everyone had a good day doing whatever they do on Xmas. Mine was pretty great. Had a good time with the family and scored some pretty excellent loot. ;)

Next up...

Xmas draws near!

2007-12-24T15:18:00.000-08:00

It's about 2:30pm Christmas Eve and I'm in the midst of final preparations for tomorrow. Got the Christmas tunes going. Thinking a lot. This is the time of year I miss people who aren't around the most.

Some are no longer with us...but others are alive and well (as far as I know) and probably just a phone call away. For various reasons, the calls are just never made or emails sent. Once in a while I see someone has found their way to this blog by searching Google or Yahoo for my name and i wonder if any of them are these people I've lost touch with. I wish they'd drop me a line if it's them....I don't think my number or email address has changed in 7 or 8 years. Yeah, I could probably pick up the phone too (assuming I have any clue as to how to find your number) but I didn't lose contact with these people because everything was peachy between us at the time. So, I don't know of they even want to hear from me.

In case any of you are reading this...I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU.

Now for some fun stuff...

Just a little more Christmas silliness. More movie and tv images of things I enjoy during the season.
(And a few more babes...which, actually, I guess I enoy all year long.)

For my money, one of the best Santa's ever.

Gotta love Frosty...as long as it's not the sequel they made in the early 90's (I think). I'll stick with the original, thanks.

Just more classic Rankin-Bass claymation holiday good ness.

More Rankin-Bass!

And a few more babes for

Christmas Eve!

Happy Christmas Eve!!

2007-12-24T04:20:00.000-08:00

Another xmas card came in the email today. This one if from Mahmud Asrar, artist on Dynamo 5!

I certainly hope all of you did better than me at getting things prepared early. I'll be struggling against an aching back to be wrapping and baking and cooking all day.

They're starting to make me resent the entire country!

2007-12-22T14:56:00.000-08:00

India. Home of lots of cool and interesting stuff, I'm sure. Unfortunately, also the home of hundreds...perhaps thousands...of men and women who think I'm STUPID enough to believe them when they tell me their name is David or Bob, Susan or Mary in barely recognizable English with accents so thick Wolverine's adamantium claws couldn't cut through when I call a customer service number or (shame shame) I get a call about an overdue bill or something. You struggle to understand what they're saying and then they don't understand you half the time....

Kel - Okay, "Bob," let's go ahead and make that blue.

"Bob" - (Barely decipherable) Okay, we're making that red then. Yes?

Kel - No...blue...we're making that blue. Like the sky.

"Bob" - (Barely decipherable) Okay, yes, I have it. Now, let me confirm...you want "red." Is this correct?

Kel - No! "Bob"....BLUE....BLUE....B...L...U...E!!! Do you understand?

"Bob" - (Barely decipherable) Oh, I am terribly sorry...blue?

Kel - Yes, blue. Thank you!

"Bob" - (Barely decipherable) Alright we will get one of those out to you in red right away.

...this is not some racism rant...this is a crappy state of customer SERVICE rant. I don't care where someone is from or located...I just care that when I'm trying to address a problem or take care of some business that the person there to HELP me can actually do so without me emailing them a frikkin diagram of what I'm saying and without me having to play fill-in-the-blank guessing games to figure out the words between the words I actually understand.

And then when you get ahold of a number where you can call someone in-country and you explain to them your difficulties all they can do is sigh in a way that tells you they spend a good portion of their day dealing with people who are sick of outsourced customer DISservice.

Card from Cinar and Babes (Christmas variety)

2007-12-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

Noble Causes artist (he was the Nothingface artist first!) Yildiray Cinar has sent out a holiday card and I thought I'd share. :D
(As usual, click to enlarge)

And just for good measure...a couple Christmas babes. ;)
(you can click them too....ya pre-vert)

2007-12-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

So we all know those guys over on the right, don't we? Of course we do! It's the cast of the classic Rankin-Bass claymation special of the Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer!

Below is another pic of Rudolf...but this time he's a light up Christmas decoration. Yay for electricity.

One week from to day is the big day. Christmas! I'm glad it's so close, we could use some holiday cheer around here. We had to put down one of the dogs yesterday. She was old and having some serious medical issues and it was clearly her time to go, but it's still sad...she was around here for 13 or 14 years.

Christmas Babe (installment one)

2007-12-17T10:19:00.000-08:00

A couple years ago I did a 12 Babes of Christmas thing...I was going to do it again this year but time got away from me. Christmas is less than 12 days away! (It's only like a week from now!) So... random Christmas babes will be popping up in here between now and Xmas.

Merry Christmas to our armed forces

2007-12-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

This poem was making the rounds on the internet some years back, I just laid it out.

(Please, no politics if you leave a reply)

Click to enlarge

Miranda Mercury...and some Christmas

2007-12-14T17:10:00.000-08:00

Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury #295 (of 300)

In less than one year, a lifetime of heroism will come to a premature end---Miranda Mercury, the greatest adventurer in this or any other galaxy, is dying. With her partner, Jack Warning, she has done the impossible over and again. But Miranda's greatest adversary Cyrus Vega will ultimately succeed in causing her death where so many others have failed.

So why have Miranda and Jack gone through so much trouble to secure the legendary Riddle of Rebel Ronin? It might have something to do with extra-dimensional terrorists and the secret auction of the Eighth Day. Or it just might be that Jack knows something he isn't supposed to. Something that will change their relationship forever and endanger the legacy Miranda hopes to leave behind.

Everything changes from this point forward...and in the next issue, it all changes again.

From creators Brandon Thomas (ROBIN) and Lee Ferguson (BLACK CANARY/GREEN ARROW WEDDING PLANNER).

THE MANY ADVENTURES OF MIRANDA MERCURY #295 (of 300)
Writer: Brandon Thomas
Artist: Lee Ferguson
Inker: Marc Deering
Colorist: Felix Serrano
$3.95
Diamond Code: DEC07 3385
32 full-color pages, Ages 10+ for Mild Violence.

PREVIEW PAGES AT NEWSARAMA
Lee Ferguson is a pal of mine so go preorder this book. It's in Previews right now. Ask the guy who runs your comic shop to make sure he orders it for you.

And a couple more Xmas images. These are just things I look forward to at Christmas, I still love all the classic TV specials and movies....

Rogue Angel

2007-12-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

Some time back I read the first novel in a series called Rogue Angel (and have since started the second book and added the whole series to my Amazon wishlist) and from about half way through that first installment I found myself wishing I could get my hands on the license to do comics based on the series.

It's such an obvious property to try in comics. Beautiful, daring Indiana Jones type traveling the world using her job as a correspondent for a supernatural investigations show (looking for folklore monsters and such) to facilitate her more serious pursuits. And did I mention she's apparently the reincarnation of Joan of Arc or some such and can magically draw Joan's sword out of thin air?

Anyway, someone at IDW thought it was a good idea too! I was excited to see they're trying a comic (even if I don't get to write it) and was even more excited when I noticed the name of the up-n-coming young artist attached to it.

The solicit from IDW....
*******************************************************************
Rogue Angel: Teller of Tales #1
Barbara Kesel (w); Renae De Liz (a); Rebecca A. Wagner (c)

Gold Eagles novel heroine comes to comics for the first time! Annja Creed is a world-traveling archeologist who also happens to be the heir to Joan of Arcs mystic sword. In this debut miniseries, Anna's drive to explore unrecorded, shadowy history leads her to Virginia City in search of a rumored manuscript that could change the public perception of Mark Twain forever. But a very powerful mystery man doesn't want anyone to find the truth, and will stop at nothing not even murder to keep Annja away from the answers she seeks. Written by Harvey Award-nominated writer Barbara Kesel and featuring art by Renae De Liz.

*******************************************************************

Renae is familiar to many online comics folk, a much liked regular on the Digital Webbing forums. Over the past couple years I've really enjoyed watching her art grow and I'm so blasted excited for her to get this gig.

SO GO PREORDER IT, YA LOUSY PUNK!!

Christmas 1

2007-12-12T18:13:00.000-08:00

I'm posting something because someone asked me too, they were going nuts without fresh comments from me...I think he has a little man crush on me.

2007-12-11T16:15:00.000-08:00

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Take THAT, JD!!!

Okay, something to talk about....

I have a lot of work the next few weeks. Yay!

I'm a Christmas kinda guy and I watch a lot of Christmas movies, the one to the left here I just watched on Sunday. It is NOT your typical feel-good holiday flick but it was very good...thought provoking. A good one to watch later in the evening after little ones have gone to bed or whatever.

It's set in WWI and based on various reports of fraternization between enemy forces on Christmas. This movie concentrates on German, French and Scottish soldiers who find themselves brought together by music wafting out of the trenches on Christmas Eve. They eventually come out in the open and start to see the men they are fighting against for who they really are, knowing full well they will be looking at each other once again over rifle sites when Christmas is over.

Good movie, really enjoyed it. The different nationalities speak in their respective languages so there is a bit of caption reading but it's worth it. The DVD edition I had had an interview with the French director in French....had to pause a couple spots were he got extra chatty but it was worth it because it's in the interview we learn how much is true and hear about some of the real events and people who inspired the story.

9-18-07

2007-09-18T02:22:00.000-07:00

Another issue of TRAILER PARK OF TERROR in the can...so to speak. I just set the last of the pages uploading to Quebecor. Now I require MUCH sleep.

I wish I had stuff to show more often but a lot of the time I can't or shouldn't post pages from the lettering jobs and it's hard to have something exciting to show off until it's gone through the hands of the art team and that sometimes takes FOREVER...or at at least it feels like it. Hopefully around January I'll have lots to show off! We'll be closer to BLACK WATCH coming out, and I'll have a story for a huge anthology that's being put together. Hopefully early spring will see something from LIFE OF RILEY and another of my projects that's been sitting around a very long time waiting to see the light of day once again (hint: Leather and steel and sex appeal!).

Eh...stuff

2007-08-09T12:36:00.001-07:00

Well, the Imperium boys are off in Chicago promoting Trailer Park of Terror and, of course, their next smash hit....BLACK WATCH!!! They'll be handing out some BW ashcans I put together. (Thanks again to my pal Al Dorantes for the print job!)

Also, my buddy Brian Wisniewski is out there with some special "retailer only" preview books. Trying to touch base with as many comic shop guys as he can...letting them know the book exists, that we want to hear what THEY want in terms of promotional material, etc.

The book isn't coming out until spring but we're trying to get the ball rolling now!

I'm lettering some Trailer Park pages, working on a logo and lettering some submission pages for a Mike Exner and Alan Robinson project that looks really cool, and I have a LOT of writing I need to do.

Oh, well, back to work!

Trailer Park of Terror @ SDCC!!

2007-07-24T04:06:00.000-07:00

Anybody going to SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con...or I guess it's officially Comic-Con International) should check out the Imperium Comics booth (#2306)... their booth this year was designed by Drac Studios. Drac is the Academy Award winning FX house that did the creature makeup for the Trailer Park of Terror movie (Imperium does the Trailer Park comic which I letter and to which I occasionally contribute a story...the comic, unlike the movie, is an anthology format).

There'll be two life-size zombies from the movie...not cardboard standees but, like, giant models of them put together by Drac! A couple of the actors from Trailer Park, Michelle Lee and Ed Corbin, will be around, the booth will supposedly look something like the inside of a trailer and there will be a big flatscreen showing behind the scenes stuff and teasers for the movie. Sounds like it will be a cool set-up, go check it out!!

Also, even though I won't be there, some preview ashcans for Black Watch will be! Grab one and check it out! The book's not coming out until spring but it seemed silly to NOT have a little something for it at the Imperium booth this summer. More info and previews will be coming as we get closer to spring.

((That pic up there is Michelle Lee doing her thing. In the movie she plays one of the cursed cannibalistic creeps in the trailer park! One of the unrelenting undead! I've seen some pics of her zombie makeup and it rocks! All the makeup I've seen looks amazing. She was also in Pirates 3 earlier this year.))

OCR

2007-07-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

I'm a supporter of Operation: Comix Relief....a...I guess you'd call it charitable service organization or something. They collect and send comics to members of the armed forces all over the world. They've sent tens of thousands of comics to all corners of the globe, from combat theaters to more peaceful postings. They've received awards from the Postal Service, military chaplains organizations and others. It's not political at all. It's about people...us doing even the smallest thing to let them know, regardless of how we feel about various situations, we care.

It started simply, Chris Tarrbasian sending comics to a friend of his working with the wounded warriors coming out of the Middle East. They figured to comics could provide a few minutes distraction. They were right and they couldn't believe how big an impact it had. Before he knew it Chris was running a full-fledged OPERATION, address after address came in of troops requesting comics, officers started contacting OCR and thanking them for the morale boost and asking them to keep it up and get more books into the hands of their troops.

Maybe more important, letters and emails from the troops themselves came in. Chris shares these in his frequent newsletters and I won't BS you, sometimes they get me a little choked up. Especially the ones coming in from Iraq and Afghanistan thanking OCR and their donors....yeah, THEM thanking US. Once in a while there's a "I haven't read a comic in years! I forgot how much fun they are." which is great for a comic guy like me to hear. But more often there is one simple sentiment, sometimes conveyed in a couple words, sometimes a few sentences..."It nice to know the folks back home haven't forgotten about us and that they care."

This spring marked the beginning of OCR's fifth year and that threw me for a loop. It made me realize that after my first shipments of comics right at the beginning and talking OCR up on message boards whenever I can, I have dropped the ball on my support of OCR. I've been setting aside books all this time and never sent them. They are now packed, some of them anyway, and awaiting a trip to the post office this weekend...6 boxes of around 16 pounds each. I have no idea how many comics that is but it's a lot. I even included several graphic novels and miniseries and some complete runs...Batman: Hush, the first New Avengers, Loveless, and Moon Knight arcs among others. I hope some of these guys have enough downtime to read a whole story arc, I guess that would mean things are a little quiet where they are.

I created the logo up there, and got Chris' approval on it of course, to use in some ads. I want to enlist the help of some artists and create my own little one page public service announcements to run in my future comics as well as anywhere else that will run it. Maybe I'll see about taking out a page in some of the Digital Webbing books and Trailer Park of Terror...maybe see if any of the other indy guys has an extra page.

Quick news update

2007-07-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

BLACK WATCH has a publisher! More details soon.

I also have a couple other fun projects in the works that I'll try to post about soon.

I'm rushing around trying to get a bunch of stuff done before SDCC, an ashcan of Black Watch for myself and a few other things for other folks. Sure wish I was going.

For anyone going, track down the Imperium Comics booth (#2306). The Trailer Park of Terror MOVIE folks will be crashing the booth of the folks who bring you the comic and I hear they're bringing some COOL stuff with 'em! Try life-size zombies from the movie, a huge flat screen with previews, and a booth set up designed by an Academy Award winning FX house. Pretty monkey-farmin' cool, people! Damn I wish I could go!!!

2007-07-04T02:10:00.000-07:00

Tough women on TV

2007-06-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, this has nothing to do with comics or much of anything really. It's just something that annoys me as a TV viewer and a little bit as a writer. Why is it that whenever there's a female boss, cop or especially female cop boss they feel the need to write her like a man. An a-hole stereotype man. Within 10 seconds of hitting the screen she has to lay down some tough talk, bully a male subordinate, threaten to shoot someone for questioning her or getting in her way, inform the world she doesn't take any crap and from here on out it her way or the highway. I hate those characters when they ARE men and I feel insulted as a viewer when it's a woman.

Women characters (as in life) can be tough as bloody nails without coming off like ball-busting thunder witches. Geez...I'm surprised WOMEN don't get pissed off by the way tough, independent women in power are portrayed on tv and movies.

Just a little rant.

Heh...maybe I should rant more often, at least the blog would be updated more often. There's ALWAYS something I want to rant about. :D

There have been SOME good female characters on tv who are tough, smart, and strong...

BEOWULF!!!!

2007-06-20T16:34:00.001-07:00

This is what's been taking up some of my time recently! An adaptation of the epic poem...Beowulf is like one of the original action heroes.

Stefan Petrucha - Story
Kody Chamberlain & Scott Keating - Art
Letters - Lil' ol' me

Published by HarperCollins

As soon as I know any ordering info I'll let you know.

Trailer Park of Terror!

2007-06-16T14:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so anyone who comes here should probably already know that I letter Trailer Park of Terror for Imperium Comics. And you might also know it's being made inot a movie. Filming is already complete and now it goes on to whatever comes next in MovieLand....I personally like to think there's someone with a letterer-like job who will have everything thrown at him last minute and be expected to turn it around overnight. :D

Anyway...click for BEHIND THE SCENES video!

Cartoon North Exhibit - JUNE 2007

2007-05-29T18:15:00.001-07:00

To the best of my knowedge this will be the first cartoon and comic book art exhibit in Alaska. It definitely is the first here in the Fairbanks area. From CartoonNorth.net :

Cartoon North: the exhibition
( CLICK THE PIC TO THE RIGHT TO ENLARGE>>>>> )
The work of more than fifty artists, most of them Alaskans, is featured in this exciting show, the first comprehensive exhibit of Alaska sequential art and cartooning. From the sublimely beautiful to the hysterically funny, these animators, cartoonists, inkers, pencilists, letterers, graphic artists, writers, and painters have created a gamut of pop culture artwork.

The exhibit will be on display for the month of June 2007 (opening June 1, Friday 5:30-9pm) at the Annex art gallery, 2922 Parks Highway, Fairbanks, Alaska.

As a writer and letterer of comics I have even been asked to participate! On display will be three 11x17 pages. A mocked up cover and the script for two pages of Black Watch and then the two finished (colored and lettered) pages drawn from that piece of script.

It should be fun! And heck, half way through the month Scott McCloud will be doing a workshop!

CORRECTIONS: McCloud's Making Comics workshop will be on June 15, Friday, 6 to 9 pm. Also, the other two workshops, Zines and Editorial Cartooning, are only $25 ($20 if you're a student).

Finally...

2007-05-27T01:18:00.000-07:00

No longer sick...just busy.

I'll post more soon about the upcoming Cartoon North gallery show here in town.

Also, the Trailer Park of Terror movie shoot is in full swing. You can go to www.trailerparkofterror.com for movie info...or check out one guy's site visit at http://fangoria.com/fearful_feature.php

I'll try to post more when there's more time.

Sickity sick sick

2007-05-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

@$#*%#@$!!!!!

I am so sick of being sick! I have been sick more the past couple years than I was in the 30 before that!

Working while being sick, everything takes ten time longer than it should. I THINK I may be pulling out of it...but then again all new symptoms started showing up today. Stupid sore throat!!

Anyway...
Finished up another issue of Chaotic Soldier (Arcana).
More pages of a book with Kody Chamberlain (Not sure if I can say what it is or not).
Did and will hopefully be doing more, pages of the Troma GN Devil's Due is doing.

Black Watch is in the process of finding a publisher, making the rounds, hitting those who'll take submissions online.

Talked briefly with JD from the set of the Trailer Park of Terror movie. Pretty cool...he says it seems to be going well.

Punks the Comic

2007-04-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

ORDER IT!!

This is one of those new and different books, one of those creatively daring books that those of us in comic book circles bitch about never seeing in todays comic market. So, RIGHT freaking NOW go preorder this thing so innovative stuff like this can have a chance and we can find something different to bitch about!!

To learn more go to punksthecomic.com

Print out this thing below and take it to your local comic shop, tell them to order this book. I promise you won't be disappointed. (Please bear in mind that this is NOT a book for kids)

Lost Squad #6 preview

2007-04-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

Devil's Due has put up a preview of #6 on their site...CLICK IT.

Workin' on the weekend...

2007-04-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Working on some lettering today. A couple of short small press books for my pal Al at Luchador Enterprises that he's getting ready in time for the Pittsburgh Comicon!

The page at left is from KILL 'EM ALL...a fun little guns/explosions/weirdness romp!

The other one is a kid's book called THE ADVENTURES OF BLACK AN' GUS. Black and Gus are two Black Angus bulls.

So, you get your taxes done yet?? I took mine in to the Tax Man this morning and this afternoon I found out I actually get money back. Which is hilarious given that I didn't pay any taxes in and I lost money this year..."I" being the writing/lettering/occasionally publishing business entity known as me DBA: Morpheus Forge Entertainment.

If I actually start making any money I have a feeling tax time will be getting a whole lot more complicated. But I'm willing to take that risk. ;)

Black Watch part three

2007-04-09T03:39:00.000-07:00

A couple more pages of

Black Watch #1!!
Scroll down a post or two for previous pages if you haven't seen them yet.
CLICK TO SEE ALL PAGES BIGGER.

Credits: Kel words • Bong drawings • Robt colors

Black Watch is © Kelly A Nuttall

So, Robt is on the mend and getting back to work, so the set of pages for the proposal should be ready to go very soon. For a guy who went throgh some pretty rough weeks he seems to be getting right back into the swing of things.

My own relatively minor flu seem to be almost done after a couple months as well so I need to be getting more productive. In addition to the regular lettering jobs and lettering and writing my own comics it's also coming up on con season so I have promotional materials to start putting together and additional projects to get lettered for friends doing their small press books for the cons.

Black Watch part two

2007-04-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

A couple more pages of
Black Watch #1!!
Scroll down a post for previous pages if you haven't seen them yet. CLICK TO SEE THEM BIGGER. Same credits as before...

Kel words • Bong drawings • Robt colors • Kel letters

Yes, I'm an egomaniac and I listed myself twice. I am drunk...drunk with power. Tremble at my fantastitude.

Should also point out that Black Watch was co-created by Samuel J Brown.

Black Watch is © Kelly A Nuttall

Black Watch part one

2007-03-31T15:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, since traffic in here is almost nonexistent I figure it can't hurt to lay down some pages for those couple folks who do still wander in. I'll pop up a page or two every day or two. These pages are unedited and not color corrected yet...in fact a couple pages later on haven't been colored at all.

Let's start at the start...Both cover options and the first two pages of
Black Watch #1....

(CLICK ON THE PICS TO ENLARGE)

Cover 1- Bong Dazo/ART & Jay Fotos/COLOR ART
Cover 2- Ignacio Calero/ART & Hi-Fi/COLOR ART
Interiors- Bong Dazo/ART - Robt L Snyder/ COLOR ART -
Kel Nuttall/STORY & LETTERS

2007-03-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Alright, kiddies, I'm still here.

Like most years it starts warming up and the sun starts shining up here in Alaska and I get sick. A few weeks off and on of various bugs and I thought I was done. Felt almost 100% for 3 or 4 days and then BOOM. I got hit with this flu that's going around. My niece's husband had a cough the night we got together for some food and fun at their house, that night my sister was sick and the next day I was. Couple days later heard it was so bad and moving so fast that some places were worried about having enough employees show up to keep their doors open. I am on week FIVE I believe. Occasional woozy feelings but the cough is what's killing me. It won't stop. I heard there's a strain of this flu that is taking up to TEN weeks to go away. I'm just so worn down that I couldn't get much done if everything else was going perfectly. And everything else is NOT going perfectly.

I'm not going into it, just so many things going wrong that I haven't been able to accomplish Jack. Things have been so cruddy lately that this morning I broke a tooth and was like "Oh...well...I guess that's just par for the course lately." IT WAS ONE OF MY TWO FRONT TEETH! Yeah, not too happy about that. Good thing I have NOTHING to smile about lately. ;)

Black Watch has been stopped in it's tracks. The first three issues are drawn but the fourth and final script was a disaster and had to be redone and it's just not happening...coughing and being mentally drained is only part of that problem. Other things have been messing with me as well. The colorist has completed all but two pages I want for sending out to publishers. So, I need two more pages and then some corrections and the color would be done on the proposal pages and we could get this sucker moving. FINALLY. He was MIA for a little while then I got an email from his girlfriend saying he was in the hospital...haven't heard anything else since, it's been like two weeks. Hope he's okay. :(

There's more...a new project I'm lettering for HarperCollins, a LITTLE progress on another one of my own project. And LOTS of personal stuff I could whine about but I guess I've done enough of that.

I recently (well they seem recent in the midst of this fog of illness-induced physical and mental fatigue anyway) finished up lettering the most recent issue of Trailer Park of Terror as well as the long awaited Lost Squad #6.

I'll TRY to get on here more often, even if it's just long enough to post "Hey, I finished lettering _______ today!" And hopefully more interesting stuff will tumble out with it. ;)

To anyone still checking the thing, thanks.

~K~

It's a monster!

2006-12-28T18:08:00.000-08:00

A cover from the upcoming BLACK WATCH miniseries. Drawn by Bong Dazo and colored by Jay Fotos.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

2006-12-24T21:59:00.000-08:00

Click to enlarge.

Get your Santa on, people!

2006-12-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

The Salvation Army helps out HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of people every year. Including bringing the simple joy of a toy to children. I just saw on the news that they are coming up short on donations. Orange County California alone is short 130,000 toys for kids who could use a smile on Christmas morning.

I know most sane people are going to want to avoid stores this weekend but if you ever woke up on Christmas morning and found that train set, remote controlled car, Easy Bake Oven, XBox, deluxe Barbie Dream House, Millenium Falcon, bicycle or ________ under the tree....well, you owe it to the universe to share that childhood joy with someone who needs it.

Go get a toy and make out a check (makes no difference how small either are) and find your local Salvation Army or Toys For Tots location or wherever...this time of year you should be able to find a charitable organization every time you turn around! No matter how tight things are, almost everyone is in a position to scrape up 10-15 bucks to help a kid. Go hassle a friend or two and everyone chip in 5 bucks!

As hokey as it sounds I know that doing it makes you feel great and it really does come back to you when you need it most. I know it's happened to me, I've stumbled into a helping hand when I needed it and I honestly believe that it is in part because of my own actions coming back around.

Go do it! Even if you don't celebrate Christmas...the religious or secular version...how can you not help out a kid who does? A simple toy and a good meal to let them know people care...how can you not want to be part of that?!? There are only a couple days left to Christmas but these organizations often keep running right up to Christmas, there's still time.

Consider this your ghostly visit from Christmas Past, Present and Future and get out there and do something.

More Holiday Happiness!

2006-12-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

Got my digital Christmas card from Mahmud Asrar and thought I'd share it!

'Tis the Season

2006-12-18T11:31:00.000-08:00

Let's talk Turkey!

2006-12-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, since it's the holiday season here you might assume I'm going to talk dinner plans...but you're wrong!

I'm talking about the country Turkey! My graphic novel NOTHINGFACE was drawn by Yildiray Cinar who lives there. It also featured a pinup by Mahmud Asrar, also from Turkey. They BOTH have books currently solicited at Image! CHEERS TO THESE GUYS!!!!

CINAR takes over Noble Causes!
NOBLE CAUSES #28

Written by Jay Faerber, art by Yildiray Cinar, cover by Khary Randolph.

The daring plan to cure Kitty Blackthorne results in someone's death, which adds another layer to the feud between the Nobles and the Blackthornes.

32 pages, $3.50, in stores on March 21.

MAHMAUD helps launch Dynamo 5!!
DYNAMO 5 #1

Written by Jay Faerber, art by Mahmud Asrar, cover by Asrar and Ron Riley.

Captain Dynamo, the greatest super-hero in the world, was not the most faithful husband. Now he's dead and his family is trying to piece together their lives. As his enemies descend on his unprotected city, Captain Dynamo's widow rounds up his five illegitimate children, each of whom have inherited one of their father's super-powers. Can these total strangers come to terms with their powers, their father's legacy and each other as total chaos erupts? This new ongoing monthly series as Image Comics chronicles a super-hero team like no other -- Dynamo 5!

32 pages, $3.50, in stores on March 7.

(SIDE NOTE: There was actually a Turkish edition of NOTHINGFACE that did quite well! We were written up and I was interviewed by one of the big newspapers!)

THIS JUST IN...

BONG DAZO...illustrator of BLACK WATCH...landed himself a Marvel/DB Pro gig!
Bong had recently told me he was working for them and I just noticed the info online. He will be working on Michael Lent's Prey: Origin of the Species! More info on that once I track it down.

Black Watch art

2006-12-06T14:55:00.000-08:00

Just time for a splash page from Issue 2 of
Black Watch by Bong Dazo and back to work.....

Oh, those pesky Nazis leaving their mutated and deformed failed genetic experiments laying about for unsuspecting British SAS troops to stumble into.

CLICK IT...IT'LL GET BIGGER>>>>>>>

One down...

2006-12-04T21:45:00.000-08:00

Okay...just going to try and slap up a quick post when something gets done. That way people waiting on me can keep up with what's going on without me having to send out 10 emails a day to fill them in and beg for patience. ;)

Okay, Pistolfist #3 is finally done and sent off for approval. (That's the cover to #1 since I couldn't find the cover to #3) One more issue, I believe, and that books wraps up.

Also recieved the inked pages of Black Watch #2 from Bong. Few little things we might have to tweak but it's pretty much done. Some really bizzarre monster he came up with.

Okay, some Trailer Park of Terror and some Drunken Monkey and some Psychosis and some writing....and i think some other lettering that I'm not rembering off the top of my head...all coming up this week......

Seriously...Twisted Sister...I'm not kidding.

2006-11-28T15:54:00.000-08:00

Okay, Thanksgiving went fantastic! My stuffing and pies drew much praise and everyone had a fun day.

Much work to get caught up on....still.

Black Watch is blazing along. I wish I could afford to keep going with Bong for other projects. You probably have no idea how thrilled I am to have found someone to do art...someone who is actually getting things done. Quickly. I expect final art for #2 any day now.

Gotta get back to work.

Thanksgiving is over and around here that means we swing into XMas mode pretty much right away. I've been adding to the Christmas music collection lately with the help of iTunes. One of the albums I bought was Twisted Christmas by Twisted Sister. It's not a joke. It's a headbanging Christmas album and for a old headbanger like me it's a complete blast!

Just a quick check-in....

2006-11-17T16:17:00.000-08:00

Too busy still for any in depth reports. Things progress.

Black Watch has issue 1 line art done, issue 2 is in full swing, I have "alternate" cover line art for 1&2 with pencils for 3 coming tomorrow, and I think we now have a colorist.

Here's some stuff....

No time for love, Dr. Jones!

2006-11-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

Heh! The title is a quote from Short Round in Temple of Doom ...love that little guy. Anyway...no time for much of a real post. Still trying to stop this flu from kicking my ass and scrambling to catch up on lettering jobs. So..not time.

Trailer Park of Terror #5 is off to the printer. Up to my neck in a new lettering job called Psychosis.

Patched up the second script for Black Watch. This is a very good thing considering my boy BONG DAZO has turned in completed line art for Black Watch #1!! WOOOOHOOOO!!! After THREE YEARS and EIGHT other artists who didn't work out or simply flaked I get finished art from Bong after only about three weeks!! (click it)

4:30 AM October 28, 2006

2006-10-28T05:32:00.000-07:00

Busy as hell. As people keep pointing out to me....at least I'm busy doing something in a field I enjoy (lettering comics) and being busy means making money. Valid points....but I'd still rather be spending the bulk of my time writing. I have a few big things coming up that are going to be keeping me lettering a LOT through the end of the year and maybe a month or two beyond but I'm starting to trim down my lettering jobs.

Going to be more selective and asking more money. If it's going to keep me away from writing, it better be good or filling my wallet or both! NOT that I haven't enjoyed my recent jobs! That's surely NOT the case. But for the sake my my writing "career"...can you really call it a career when you're at the point where it costs you more than it makes you?...I just need to set the bar higher to keep myself from taking more jobs than I should. Future jobs should be really cool, or fun, or see me working for a big company or on projects with extra cool talent involved...or they should at least be paying me my new minimum rate. I can almost hear JD from Imperium saying "Oh, $#*@!! What does that mean??"

Anyway, moving on...it's 4:30am and I've been in bed a few hours, just miserable sick with a messed up back and dealing with a touch of his flu we have going 'round around here, but I feel a bit better so I figured I better get on the computer and finish one last page of lettering an a short story for a fella. Checked my email and found pencils for a Black Watch cover...or variant cover...or poster...or something. The pic on the left is a quickie mock-up with the logo.

Also got some sweet headshots from the artist doing Life of Riley with me. LoR is a mismatched group of teens bouncing around realities trying to find pieces of an artifact, trying to find Riley's mom and brother who they learn are out there reality-hopping too, and trying find a way home. Maybe I'll post those up later.

Well, time is a'wastin'...I better crank out that page and get back to bed.

Letterin' fool...

2006-10-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

That's what's taking up this week...and most of last week....and probably a good chunk of next week...LETTERING. But I MUST get some writing in when I can.

Two short stories for Digital Webbing Presents...Ian Ascher's Codename: Wicked Angel (click the pic to the right) and Rick Evans' Canadian Legion (click the pic below). Pistolfist #1 recently came out and I wrapped up issue #2 a little while back, Lost Squad #6 should (I assume) be headed my way soon, one more Digital Webbing Presents story to do. Empty Chamber #2 needs to be done, as does Psychosis (Two 48-pages issues). I also have a couple of graphic novels to letter in the coming months, more on those when I can.

Final material for Trailer Park of Terror #5 is coming in. Including stuff for the story I wrote for the issue, Lost Highway. I'm excited about getting more writing in print and I hope to get the Trailer Park guys many more stories soon.

Hopefully soon you'll be seeing some bigger writing projects from me as art starts to come in and I get the books out there. At that point I'll be begging for you to rush out and buy.

More....

2006-10-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Things continue to move along. Lots of lettering to do but I wanted to give you something for popping in here!

More Black Watch characters from ....that artist I'm not naming yet. :D (click to enlarge)

Don't think this is the exact style the pages will be in, he said he was going to experiment with a little more "edge". Hopefully I can show you some of that soon.

Two days in a row!

2006-10-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

Just a really quick post before I get back to lettering. I know I said I wasn't going to talk about the new Black Watch artist until I see how things go and I wasn't going to post any of his art for a while either. But I got some character designs today and wanted to share one. (Click it to make it bigger)

Hello??

2006-10-04T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hello? Anyone still even looking in here?? :D

I've been wicked busy with lettering and trying to write. All sorts of cool stuff going on and most of it I can't really talk about yet. Of course work on my own books goes in fits and starts and truly tests my resolve to do this comic-making thing. But I'm either too stuborn or too stupid to throw in the towel.

The eternally delayed Black Watch has just moved on to it's NINTH artist. This book should have been done three years ago but I have repeatedly had artist delays turn into artist changes. Everyone who knows details is chomping at the bit to see the book done, all the artist who have been on board have claimed to LOVE the material....it just always falls apart. I'm going to wait to announce who is on it now...wait and see how it pans out. He's seems like a serious pro so I have high hopes. He's done work at Image and Dark Horse and is quite a talented dude. If things start moving I'll eagerly post some art.

One of my big Nothingface miniseries has been canceled...or maybe just postponed. The artist and I talked and decided that we'd transfer our collaboration to something completely different. There were some issues with how he felt he was doing, how his style was meshing with Nothingface. Nothingface remains the book that is closest to my heart (for now, I guess that could change) and I sincerely hope to do a LOT of it down the road. For now, one mini is still being SLOWLY worked on and a one-shot is still planned with another artist as soon as he finishes up his current book. It's honestly starting to feel like I need to try and make a name and THEN go after getting Nothingface out there in a big way.

Okay, back to work for me. Hopefully, I'll be back soon with more info and art to post.

Oh, that image up there...Evanescence - The Open Door. The new album is fantastic. It's so rare to have an album be so good and so successful and have the follow-up be just as good...they did it. It's the same kind of stuff but a little different...definitely does NOT feel like you're just listening to the same album again. I've listened to it 3 or 4 times since I got it off iTunes yesterday.

Another one bites the dust (in a good way)

2006-09-13T13:19:00.000-07:00

Just uploaded the final page of Pierce 2 to the printer for Imperium! I have FINALLY gotten back up to the point where all the immediately due lettering is finished. I have a couple of short stories to letter for Digital Webbing Presents but they aren't due just yet and I have some writing to do. Also, I assume I'll be getting the rest of Trailer Park of Terror 5 soon as well as starting on Lost Squad 6...so I should stop messing about on here and get to writing while I can!

(That image over there is the cover to Pierce 2)

9/11/2006

2006-09-11T00:56:00.000-07:00

It's the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. You don't need me to tell you that, you probably heard something about it within minutes of waking...or if you're like me your mind has subconsciously been counting down to the day. If you're like me you'll be up at 4:45 am eastern times with the news channel on (Fox News for me...probably CNN for most of you) checking to see that the bastards haven't struck again at the same moment.

Five years on I am still overwhelmed with emotions surrounding that day five years ago and in the events of the years since. I had thought to vent them here but...well, based on my experiences on forums and websites surrounding comics and entertainment chances are that some things I have to say would offend you. Lets just say that I lean to the right and I'd bet my last dime most or all of you lean to the left. So I won't go into detail.

Briefly: Too many have gotten soft. Too many have slipped back into complacency. Too many are weak. Someday we'll all pay for that AGAIN. Maybe after next time, if there's anything left, people will REALLY understand.

I pray for those lost and their families, I pray for the men and women of the armed forces around the world and their families.

I pray for the well-intentioned but misguided.

(The image above was part of my personal response to 9/11. Many of us in the online comics community drew pictures and shared them online. Mine was also used on T-Shirts to raise money. Please bear in mind that I'm a WRITER not an artist...it's colored by hand as I knew nothing about Photoshop at the time. The layout is a little weak, I've learned a lot since then. Some people read some very strange things into this picture...it's not violent, it's not calling for blood...it says you can't get us down, you can't defeat us because no matter how many times you knock us down we're going to get back up.) **Click it to see it HUGE**

Work goes on....

2006-09-07T12:31:00.000-07:00

Started on some Drunken Monkey lettering today!

Chippin' away...

2006-08-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

Chippin' away at this mound of work that's managed to pile up due to illness, distraction and everything inconveniently coming in at the same time. (I swear, there is almost no point in the concept of a schedule in comics production)

Pistolfist #2 is done and off for proofing.

New project....

2006-08-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

A new writing project just starting to get off the ground for me. Not much I want to let out at this point as far as concept story, etc apart from saying it is sci-fi adventure. The images here (click to enlarge as always) are by Hannu Lipponen, the artist with whom I'm developing the book.

On the left is our lead, an adventurer rogue who travels the spaceways with his crew....which consists of his four wives.

Below on the left are the designs for some primative jungle dwelling aliens that are part fo the opening scene.

Below on the right is an artifact our boy is after.

Lost Squad movie!

2006-08-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

Big congrats to my pal Chris Kirby on the movie deal for LOST SQUAD! It was just announced today. The book is great and I've had a blast lettering it, issue #6 is due out soon but if you can't find the back-issues
(assuming you weren't smart enough to be buying it all along) there is a trade paperback collection coming soon. Go bug your comic shop to mnake sure they order you one.

More on LOST SQUAD here.

TV (A looong post about nothin')

2006-08-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

PRISON BREAK is back on!!! New season has started!! Now no one tell me anything about the first episode cuz I had to record it instead of watch! :( This was one of the best shows on tv last year and I hope this season lives up to that. If you haven't seen season 1, go buy the DVD or rent it or buy it or something. It's good! (At right: Michael Scofield, played by Wentworth Miller, displays the tattoos that guides his attempt to break himself and his brother out of the joint. Hidden in the imagery are words and diagrams that form his plan.)

A few months back when we were finally able to switch over to cable internet (it only recenty became available in my neighborhood) it included an overall upgrade to our tv cable as well. Package deal, pay less get more. So, part of that was a bunch of new channels...including BBC America. YES! Some great shows on that channel; cool British comedies, a cool new supernatural show called HEX (which I recently learned was canceled so we only get one more set of episodes here in the states before it gone).... Anyway..... New show LIFE ON MARS...rocks. It only started a month ago or so, the ads looked interesting but there are already too many tv shows I try to keep track of so I had been avoiding it for fear of getting sucked in. Then it happened, in a moment of weakness I stopped on the show while channel surfing and after about 5 minutes I went searching through the listings to find when the repeats would be on. This weekend they had a mini marathon showing all the eps up to date. I stayed up late Saturday watching it and it's now up there with Prison Break. Battlestar Galactica, Deadwood and others as shows I won't miss if I can help it. Show description:

Sam Tyler, a cool, sharp young detective, is working hard to keep the streets of 21st century Manchester safe from crime. But his world is turned upside down when the hunt for a serial killer becomes a personal vendetta after Maya, his girlfriend and colleague, goes missing. Desperately afraid she has been kidnapped by the killer, he sets out to find her, only to become involved in a near-fatal car accident. When he wakes, he finds himself in a different era - 1973. Is this reality, madness or a dream?

Sam struggles to understand what is happening to him. Disoriented and traumatized, 21st century Sam is completely bewildered by his new environment. As all attempts to return to his own time fail, Sam falls back on what he knows best - his job. Each episode features a different case, some of the toughest Sam has ever tried to solve - partly because of what seems like archaic police procedure. This is a world without cell phones, where cops rely on paperwork and memory instead of computers, there's no DNA profiling and what forensics do exist take two weeks to process.

Furthermore, his 1973 colleagues are insensitive, unreconstructed cops who regularly intimidate witnesses and are happy to nail suspects irrespective of whether they have evidence. Sam's new boss is hard-nosed Gene Hunt, the antithesis of everything Sam believes in. He gets results by trusting his gut instinct and, all too often, sheer brute force. Most of his team have similar attitudes towards their work including detective Ray Carling who is suspicious of Sam and his 'new-fangled' ideas. At least detective Chris Skelton, despite being clueless, is more affable and keen to learn.

The only person in this alien world who reaches out to Sam is a young police officer, Annie Cartwright, an educated and open-minded woman who helps Sam in his quest to find the truth about his new circumstances, as well as battling to lock up the criminals of 1970s Manchester.

In the first episode, it becomes clear to Sam that the killer who is holding Maya in 2006 started his killing spree here and now in the early '70s. Could catching the perpetrator be Sam's key to returning to the future?

One last quick note about tv stuff before I get back to work. Not that anyone who's watching it needs to be reminded, but DEADWOOD kicks all kinds of ass! Last night was the last episode before the season finale and hot damn is there a storm brewin'!! The only thing I don't like about this show is the harsh language...and I mean HARSH. Now, I'm no wilting flower and my own mouth could be washed out with soap on a daily basis... BUT these monkey-farmers drop F-Bombs and worse in damn near every line. As well written as the show's dialogue is, with it flowery text and brutal delivery, sometimes the insertions of foul language is distraction in it's seeming giddy desire to shock and awe. Granted I have no idea how much swearing they did in the 1870's, it may well be accurate but it's no less distracting from time to time. In the end the main reason I wish the speechifying of these phenomenal characters by these wonderful actors were a bit less salty is that there are many people I know would love this show who I won't recommend it because I know the verbal violence would turn their hair white. I want to share this show with everyone I know but I can't. But, hey, if that doesn't offend you...WATCH THIS SHOW. It's one of those that I always wish was two hours long and makes me wish I worked in an office so I could join in on the Deadwood watercooler talk.

Wow...three weeks!

2006-08-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

Three weeks with no posts. That's terrible. How will I ever get any traffic if I don't keep people updated on my thrilling adventures in frustration, tedium and borderline depression (otherwise known as working as a letterer of comics while trying to break out as a writer of comics)?? Basically between being sick and busy with outside concerns I'm further and further behind. Hope to have that semi-in-hand before the weekend is up.

Had a birthday last week, little family get together last Saturday. It was fun. Good food...lemon cake with lemon frosting as requested for desert. Haven't had that since I was a kid! :D The family chipped in and got me a few things...including A WIRELESS MIGHTY MOUSE! Since switching to Mac I've had to deal with a one-button mouse. There are some multi-button mouses....mice?...out there for Macs but I didn't like the look of them. Most of them weren't bluetooth for one thing and I'd have to have one of those radio reciever things sticking out the back of my machine and I only have som many USB ports, ya know. I was getting close to caving in and getting one when I get an email from Apple telling me the Mighty Mouse, their multi-button scroll ball mouse, is FINALLY available in wireless!! Knowing there was almost no time before my birthday I skipped the usual hint dropping and handed a computer printout to my sister...."That's what I really want for my birthday." And YAY, I got it!

Really quite a nice change. Some people have told me they have problems with their regualr Mighty Mouse. Glitchy performance, constantly needing to get it replaced, etc. But so far all is well with my wireless version.

Okay, I gotta go get caught up. Pierce #2 for Imperium is calling my name. As is Pistolfist #2 for Alias...and I heard a rumor that I'll be getting pages for Lost Squad #6 this weekend too!

Keeping busy and feeling like CRAP

2006-08-01T15:13:00.000-07:00

Just taking a few minutes to post some stuff. A couple quick ads I whipped for the next issue of Digital Webbing Presents. Hmmmm....maybe not so much "ads" as I give no links or have anything immediately ready to sell with these ads. They're more of a "get people wondering" kinda thing. Plus spending a couple bucks on ads is a couple bucks that doesn't have to come out of Ed's pocket to put out the book....every little bit counts and all that.

Been a little under the weather, running errands and going to doctor visits and a bunch of other junk I'd rather NOT be doing and it's put me behind schedule. I think this is the first time since I started lettering for other people that I'VE been the one behind schedule!

(I know, JD, I haven't forgotten. I'm trying, really.)

On that note, I believe I'll bugger off and try to get some work done...if my head will stop pounding and my stomach stop doing flip-flops....before people start calling for me head on a plate.

Later.

(I sure hope people are able to find me after I had to change the URL of the blog!)

Still here...

2006-07-30T01:11:00.000-07:00

Just a brief post to keep things active. Got everything done for people before the big convention and then, even though I had a lot to do, by brain kind of shut down during the con. I was constantly wondering how things were going for my rep down there.

He made some good connections and got a lot more info on how the business of getting comics into other media works. Even managed to get my "stuff" into the hands of some people pretty high up the entertainment food chain. Thought that was pretty cool. Not counting any chickens any time soon, but I think we made a good start in that direction.

Another busy week ahead...lettering Pierce #2 and stories for the next Trailer Park book as they come in, 2 Digital Webbing Presents stories, and Pistolfist #2. I also have some writing to do...I need to get some pages cranked out so the artist on a new project has something to do and I need to touch up a couple other scripts.

NOTE: The picture above is one of the wild and wonderful people captured on film at San Diego Comic-Con. I had made a note of who took the picture (ie: who I stole it from) but I've lost the info!

SDCC looms ever closer!

2006-07-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

Squeezing in one more thing before the big con later this week. Jason Copland talked me into lettering up some sample pages for a project co-created by him and Michael May. It looks like some serious fun.

The image here is just one panel of rough artwork. I lettered over the roughs to get a jump on things. At some point between now and Tuesday afternoon I'll get the inked pages and swap them out for the roughs and shoot final pages out for them to print up and take with them.

Busy, busy, busy

2006-07-13T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm not even GOING to Comicon Internation in San Diego and I'm rushing around to get ready for it! Different folks who want promos and previews to take with them, not to mention putting together promotional materials for my own projects...on top of a few of my regular books being scheduled for work at the same time. It's been a little nuts. But I think I'm in the home stretch, all convention specific stuff is done and the guys on my regular jobs have been understanding. Hopefully I'll be all caught up by Friday night so I can take the weekend off and then get a bunch of writing done next week.

I'm not going but a bunch of my friends and colleagues will be. If you're going check them out. (Click the logo for more info on the con)

Kody Chamerlain will be there, balancing his time between BOOM! Studios booth, his own artist alley table and the Digital Webbing booth.
The Silent Devil guys will be set up down there
CG Kirby will be at the Digital Webbing booth and popping over to the Devil's Due booth a bit as well
Imperium Comics will be there pushing Trailer Park of Terror and Pierce. Rumor has it there may be some eye candy on hand thanks to the guys developing the Trailer Park flick. ;)
Jason Copland will be there wandering around.
The previously mentioned Digital Webbing booth will have a lot of good guys at it. And some jerks. (Just kidding, guys!)
Jerry Ma and his wild band of drunken cohorts will be boozing it up at the Epic Proportions booth

And I'm sure there are many I'm forgetting. Just devote some time and money to the little guys while you're at the con. Marvel, DC and the half naked models don't deserve ALL your money!

2006-07-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

As you probably know if you're one of the 7 people who frequent my blog, I'm lettering EMPTY CHAMBER at Silent Devil. ADL just recently got a production blog rolling so folks can see where it's at and learn about the crew and the process and all that good stuff. If you're asking yourself "Who the hell is ADL?? And why is he just initials??" then click the logo over there and go check out the crew bios!

Most of you who are regulars are well informed comic geeks and know all about the wonderful world of PREORDERS! You have to tell your comic shop NOW about the books you want in September...especially if they are indy books (pretty much any book not published by Marvel or DC). Several books I work on as Letter-Monkey are in previews this month...

Lost Squad TPB - Chris Kirby and Alan Robinson's tale of World War II weirdness is collected by Devil's Due.
Empty Chamber #1 - Go click that logo up there, slick. Then preorder this bad boy! Published by Silent Devil.
Furious Fist of the Drunken Monkey: Origin of the Species #2 - I still say that has to be some kind of record for title length. The saga of Chip the superpowered chimp and his talking toad sidekick Al continues. Secrets are revealed! A possible betrayal is hinted at! The plot thickens dammit! Another one comin' from Silent Devil.
Trailer Park of Terror #6 - The terror train rolls on with another issue of tongue in cheek Twilight-Zoney goodness from Imperium Comics.
Pierce #4 - The solicit for the issue is so good I'm just going to copy it: The action-filled mini-series reaches its conclusion as the man called Pierce comes face to face with his killer - and Angel`s life hangs in the balance. Choices are made, blood is shed, relationships are changed, and destinies are fulfilled as the man in the mirror`s inaugural adventure concludes. Another one from Imperium.
Pistolfist: Revolutionary Warrior #1 - Revolutionary War steampunkish stuff from Alias.

I THINK that's all of them this month.

Why are letterers the bastard step-children of comics?

2006-07-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

(Settle in, go visit the little blogger's room before you get started. I feel a rant coming on...)

Seriously, why is it so few people bother to hire GOOD letters? Some people claim they can't see the difference and that the only reason I see certain things is because I AM a letterer. But that's not true, poor lettering used to distract me before I ever learned how to do it. Funky balloon tails, poorly done sound effects, poor font choices, unbalanced blocks of text, haphazard balloon/box placement...all that stuff can take the slickest looking book and make it look like an amateur production.

Case in point...Virgin Comics #O. You know VIRGIN, as in Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Books, Virgin MEGAstores, etc. Uber rich guy Richard Branson's "stuff." So, tell me why you'd start a comic publisher with the highly recognizable VIRGIN logo on it and not put out the absolute BEST product?!?!

I picked up the #O issue at the shop last time I was in and just now sat down and read through it. Virgin Comics will have three branches...or "imprints"...the first two books will be out of the imprint based on Indian mythology. Brilliant tactic for a lot of reasons! First, it's a mythology that not as many Westerners are familiar with but as with most mythologies I assume it will feel familiar and new all at once, so a great hook and potential for stories. Second, I have to assume they are going to be targeting the Indian market. With the size of the population, if the books take off you're easily talking about creating a market much like Japan or Korea.

This preview book had preludes to two different titles, Devi and Ramayan Reborn. The artwork on both is fantastic, though story-wise Devi is more appealing to me. Sort of goddess as sci-fi superhero is the vibe I get from the nine pages here. The dialogue is fairly solid in both, if a bit too "comic booky" for my taste here and there. Overall I'd definitely encourage people to go find this Zero Issue and check it out...

...BUT...

...for me it's all knocked down about 25% because of the amateur lettering. I sincerely do not mean any disrespect to Ravikiran B. S. who letters both story installments in this preview book and who is guilty of just about everyone of the lettering "sins" listed in the first paragraph up above. Everyone has to start somewhere, but when you're not ready for the big game, someone should be telling you to get back on the bench. This is far from the worst lettering I've ever seen in a published book and I don't claim to be the ultimate expert...and God knows that I look back on some of my own lettering work and cringe. But my early stuff wasn't published by some huge corporation...the comic arm of the company may be new and unproven but the company overall is huge and successful, shouldn't "do it right" be part of the business plan? I also don't mean to single out the "new kid" I see the same thing on books here and there from just about every publisher lower on the foodchain than Marvel and DC (heck even the big two have a clunker lettering job now and then), it just seemed to me that someone in the position of having Virgin money behind them wouldn't cut corners on quality.

I'd love to get my hands on some unlettered Devi pages so I could reletter it my way and post a comparison. That way you could all tell me if I'm full of it or not. :D If anyone knows Richard Branson drop him a line for me. On second thought, maybe not. I don't need the folks at Virgin Comics mad at me...they might sic Devi on me. Then again, she's hot so it might be a good way to go.

July 4, 2006

2006-06-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-06-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

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....

2006-06-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-06-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-06-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

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

2006-06-13T18:20:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-06-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2006-06-01T13:58:00.000-07:00

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'!

We comic and animation geeks have lost another idol

2006-05-28T11:58:00.000-07:00

The legendary Alex Toth has passed away.

More on the story here.

Happy Memorial Day weekend

2006-05-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

I'm kinda sick today but I wanted to get on here and leave a quick note to you few who come here. Have a great Memorial Day weekend, enjoy your cookouts and camping trips, your extra day off on Monday. Whatever you do just have fun and be safe.

AND...remember what Memorial Day is actually about. Take 5 minutes and actually THINK about what this holiday means, who it honors. Never forget.

Evolution of a logo

2006-05-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Okay...I've said it before that logos really aren't my thing and I stand by that, BUT the creator of one of my current lettering jobs talked me into giving it a go for him. I figure it's probably okay to show this since the book has been picked up and I've seen him talking about it online here and there.

Anyway, on to the logo. This was the first attempt. At this point all I knew was "Revolutionary War" and "steampunk-ish" and that there was electricity involved. I went with a low tech metal look, made the dots over the eyes into little lightning bolts and put a parchment banner underneath. I was fairly happy with this one and think over all it's my personal favorite...but I'm not the customer. (All logos enlarge with a click)
I was informed that was all wrong and we were looking for a more superhero-esque logo. The circle of stars from the early US flag was requested as part of the logo. So, I thought, "Okay, let's imagine this was Captain America set in that time period..."
As far as a REALLY superhero-ey logo, I'm actually quite fond of that one but alas...it was not to be. There were some sports logos provided to give me an idea of SORT OF what we were looking for before the one above and the request was made to change colors more in line with one of them...
I believe the verdict on this one was that it was TOO much like some basketball logo or something...I don't do basketball, so I dunno. After more discussion and examples being sent we went with something that was designed to look good over a dark background (hence the white outlines) and by request I removed the little lightning bolts that dotted the I's and we wound up here...

This is pretty much the final logo, depending on the use, we switch the colors of the word PISTOLFIST and the banner, but other than that....that's it.

The book was created by JS Earls and will be coming out through ALIAS.