howdy all!

sorry i've been absent, in addition to being very busy, i've been pretty wiped out. fun!

so just something short and sweet.

last month was my twins' birthday, so i drew up a coloring/activity book for their class, then went in and read it. fortunately, i'm about as smart and lucid as a 4-year old, so it worked out really well.

it was based on a bunch of bedtime stories i made up for them (the batman/cinderella team-up stories were getting old). it's not shakespeare, but it put off the day day when they inevitable realize that i am an embarrassment. anyway, here are the first few pages:

i'm posting them (relatively) hi-res so you or your liked ones can also color them if you are bored and the tv is out or whatever.

my favorite part is the title lettering.

ain't no party like a —

x184

howdy!

well, NYCC was more exhausting -- and more interesting -- than i was expecting. i didn't really have a plan, and i know there were a lot of people i was planning on looking up who i missed. that's one of the things that always bugs me about big cons, even though it's obviously my own fault.

fortunately, i did get to see a lot of fantastic people, including old pals like steven silver and cheeks (who are way out of my league but don't seem to realize it, which is fine with me)! thank god mike (miss mucci if you're nasty) got me through saturday, and he didn't even use his imaginary ninja sword on anyone the whole time! that was a first.

and of course i have to mention joao and nuno and ricardo (wait, i think there were 2 ricardos?) and basically the whole portuguese comics cartel, who had some beautiful work and were nicer than nice! people who are so positive make me uncomfortable, because i am made out of complex carbohydrates and spite. hopefully some of their new projects make it to american publishers!

on the more soulless side of things, i had some interesting business meetings and, if all goes well, it looks like i will be very busy next year.

anyhoo, talking to joao inspired me to revamp some characters from an old pitch of mine, originally for a cartoon. maybe it would work better as an online comic?

crossroads

hmm.

next year will be interesting, because for the first time in years i will no longer be catching up with long term projects, or working on any how-the-hell-did-someone-pick-me-for-this projects. i will have the time (relatively) to turn my attention to some long neglected work. the thing is, there are so many completely different things i could do. it's paralyzing!

first off, i will be returning to the award-losing dare detectives. i've worked out a plan, and i've actually done a lot of the scripting for the second dare case, as well as a bit of thumbnailing. the story is much more complex than "the snowpea plot", and compared to almost all of my previous work, it will be a lot less compressed. certainly not decompressed, but a little more space for the characters to breathe, a little less hectic (at times) than the last story. also a lot more room to show little corners of the dare world, from the racism maria faces in a swanky resort to the ruins of the ancient giant civilizations to the return of dare's first foe, red dingo! and yes, this story also has kissing (which apparently offends a lot of people), but then it has tiki zombies too, so make of it what you will.

pictured: not a tiki zombie

there are also a bunch of "manga" stories i've been meaning to tackle. now, i understand that the rest of the world has some sort of rulebook about what is and is not officially manga, i just don't really care. unfortunately, publishers do. so i'm trying to figure out if it's just easier to do my own stuff online and make a living digging ditches or something.

in light of my surprisingly controversial post last month (well, it surprised the hell out of me) several people have asked me about my more female-centric work, which led me to the shocking realization that pretty much all my work is female-centric. at least compared to a lot of what's out there, i guess. maria dare and ann-marie and dolly and alex faraday and WW and the list goes on. i don't know how it happened. i blame masamune shirow. also, women.

blue haired, alien hunting women

but i'm wondering if i shouldn't go with that, and focus on one of my stories that is more... well, not like WW, what's the point of almost doing something? but something along the same lines, in terms of larger than life superheroines and crazy international intrigue and fantasy and all that jazz. the fact is that most of my stories are drenched in that stuff anyway, even most "dare" stories. just in different combinations. anyway, most of my manga projects fit somewhere in this category, so we'll see. there was even one i posted doodles from last year, although i'm afraid that story isn't crazy enough. you know, time-traveling cyber-crocodile jetbike crazy. (one of the things i loved about WW was the sense that jesus, anything could totally happen so you better just smile and go with it. i want more of that.)

you can't tell, but he just punched 1,000 space ninjas

anyway, i'm gearing up to tackle at least some of these projects in the new year. one thing you may have noticed is that a lot of my new art has been very loosely drawn and inked. it's a faster way to work, and right now i want to spend less time finessing each panel, and really crank out a ton of stories. in the end, all people* want is to be entertained, and all i want is to entertain them!

*and by people, i mean small children, mimes, professional convicts, and myself.**

** mostly myself.

NYCC

howdy all!

i will be going to the new york comiccon next weekend. well, saturday for sure -- sunday is my birthday. anyway, i won't have a table or anything, just wandering around, possibly trying to pitch an idea or two. ha ha that is funny.

so if you see me feel free to say hi or punch me. "hi" would probably work better for me.

also, i have been finally finishing up a pack of commissions, here is one of the larger ones:

burnbabyburn

inking/style test, working on it on and off over the past week, in between other things. not worrying too much about the bike details, although thanks to the sophie project, i've had a lot of practice. the hands are annoying me.

good evening...

cleaning out some digital junk and what the what is this? oh yes, several years ago, sterling asked me to do a tiny promo chapbook to go with something "dracula" related. can't remember what exactly, possibly because they never actually used it, but now it can achieve new levels of uselessness on the web.

oh, that dracula! he gives me a toothache.

ww manga blah blah...

nothing really new... as i mentioned ad nauseum, i sent a ww manga pitch to dc. don't get excited (or horrified, depending on your point of view), it will certainly never happen. but i got it out of my system. like i said, old news... i just thought i'd take up some space by posting the actual pitch (minus a few redactions, some are done to keep plot stuff secret, some are just because i am easily amused).

what is left mostly concerns the format and character treatment and other theoretically non-plot stuff that i think is very important to a project like this. dc just mentioned (not for the first time) that their kids comics are "loss leaders" that never turn a profit. since i doubt very much that every single one of those comics is bad, i think the format and venue need to looked into.

anyway, in all its "glory":

ps: did a bunch of other art while in the "pitch" mood that didn't make it into the pitch, here's one:

penny arcade

EDIT EDIT well, it was a blast doing penny arcade, although a little more panel-intensive then perhaps i was expecting. big thanks to mike and jerry for inviting me, and garry for the fun script! and now to sleep...

lots going on and lots to post about, but no time...

however, right now i am doing a guest webcomic at penny arcade. it'll run 5 pages altogether. although each page has about 40 panels. i swear, this time it's not my fault, i'm just following someone else's script!

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/7/23/

EDIT
howdy, just thought i'd add the following pages (one more to go for monday!)

page 2

page 3

pge 4

here's a closeup of the last panel, trying a different inking technique. i'd like to try more!

you've got to be kidding me

my computer crashed, so i will be digitally handicapped for the next week. (i'm typing this on my wife's dell, which is made out of drainpipes and wishful thinking.) the good news is that i have a million super-important, possibly career-altering things going on this week, and no way to do them! the bad news is that... well, that pretty much covers it.

also, in what is becoming a yearly tradition, i JUST got a propass for SDCC, which means i have no idea where i'm going to stay. looking for a hotel, but if anyone has a free corner on the floor of their room and would like a few bucks, let me know!

better go before this computer crashes. argh.



ps - no, really. floors are very underrated.

WONDER WOMAN

waiting for downloads...grr.

anyway, here is the last of the manga ww art. it's on it's merry way, probably to never be seen again. it was fun, and particularly handy when i was stuck somewhere, or waiting for my computer to do whatever it supposedly does... but all good things must come to an end!

95%

i have an idea for a batman one-shot, so i was playing around. the title is a play off of a sherlock holmes story. although mine is not a reference to cocaine. oh, holmes...

wonder woman manga test page

war is hell

stuck at the auto repair shop today. bored and working 2 experiments into 1 pic. (the white line is to suggest that it is a wraparound cover.)

long live the queen!

experimenting with digital inking. i've tried it before without much satisfaction, but this time i was trying to be much less prissy and exact. it was a lot of fun! it also gives a VERY different look from the original pencils.

this is queen hippolyta back in the day, the "writing" up top is amazonian (yes it actually says something). the composition is overwhelmingly (if indirectly) influenced by woodblock artists like kunioshi and sharaku and this guy:

i particularly wanted something that felt massive and overwhelmed the page. it's actually something, compositionally, i've been wanting to play with for two years, and i'd love to follow up when i have time. ha ha the joke, it is on me!

it adds up...

sometimes i feel like i never get enough done. of course, that's mostly because i never get enough done. but... i'm surprised at how much i actually have put out. (this doesn't include "wednesday comics" or "fantasy cartooning", and of course i've also done design work for around 9 cartoons and 7 toy lines, and 2 video games, that aren't pictured either. i think there's a kids' book or two that i'm also forgetting. oh yeah, and a bunch of JLU and kid's book covers, and a SW clone wars comic. yikes, it really DOES add up.)

*edit -- here's what everything is. 3 of the smaller books were promotional sketchbooks, i handed them out at signings etc. the other 3 were pitchbooks for proposed cartoons a while back.

and here's the hardcover of WC.

JIM HANLEY'S

no time to post lately, blah blah blah.

anyway, this wednesday (may 26) i'll be at jim hanley's universe in NYC, signing junk and talking. presumably about "wednesday comics", but who knows? maybe they want my opinion about the decline of participatory democracy or something. i think the hardcover WC will be out, i'll be bringing a copy, and also i'll be bringing lots of original art for people to crumple up. also, puppies!

ok, no puppies, everything just sounds nicer with puppies.

and now for something completely different:

what the what?

some of my junk will be in this year's SPECTRUM17, including some wednesday comics wonder woman pages and this little feller. which i drew while bored out of my skull at a neighborhood meeting. thank you, meeting room #4 of the port washington library!

3M

since our action classics' "odyssey" has just been nominated for an award (oh, i didn't mention that a million times yet? i will!), i thought i'd share some art from one of the upcoming books, 'the three musketeers". words by the indestructible (believe me, i tried) tim mucci, and art by steve walker:

ps - you can see some pages from the soon-to-be-award-losing "odyssey" here.

stylin

costume variations

sophie's choice 2

so... reaper liked the bottom pose, but i thought it looked too stiff. so after a bazillion redraws, here is the final comp, and rough colors. i know it's odd, but i'm particularly proud of the inking on the bike -- everything except the tires was inked freehand, a fun exercise.

sophie's choice

hi all!

i've been doing a poster and t-shirt for reaper-con, the reaper miniatures gaming convention. anyone who has the misfortune of knowing me, knows that i LOVES the miniatures. i have a bin full of half-painted miniatures -- i love them, i'm just terrible at doing anything with them. (citadel miniatures were actually a pretty major influence on my art in college, and i think it still shows.)

so this gig has been a lot of fun, and i even get a miniature out of it!

http://www.reapermini.com/

the last one is the one they went with. i have a picture post limit, so i'll see you in the next post.