Ink and Thunder

Heliotropes

2012-02-27T22:01:00.003-05:00

The other day I did this gig poster for my homegirl Jess's band Heliotropes! I haven't done one of these in a while- had a lot of fun and decided to make a wallpaper out of it! Maybe I'll do some other illustrations with these two girls from Monster Killer Academy. They don't have names yet, so for now I've been calling them Codo and Podo. Here's the final flyer! Check out Heliotropes if you are into old Sabbath!! Mob Rules anyone?

2012-02-14T00:17:00.000-05:00

THE MIRE is now available for pre-orders.

The much anticipated follow-up to 2011's WOLVES, THE MIRE is a self-contained story set on the eve of battle, when a humble squire is given the task of delivering a letter to a decomposing castle in a swamp. Met with mysterious apparitions, he slowly unveils the truth about why he was sent there, as his past is re-written over the course of twenty two pages.

I don't want to give too much away yet! I'm opening up pre-orders tonight, something that I haven't done in the past. Let me explain! No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

WHY PRE-ORDER?I'm doing what so many others have done through Kickstarter and other fundraising sites- try to raise money to print in large quantities, except I'm cutting out the middle-man.

My first print-run of WOLVES (May 2011) was 1,000 copies, and it sold out in just two months. My second print-run was 2,000, and I sold out of that by February. This means I'll be re-printing WOLVES, and doing an initial printing of THE MIRE- I'm estimating 5,000 books. I don't skimp on printing either. Each book has heavy interior paper, plus a silk-screened cover on colored card stock.

Pre-ordering will help me estimate how many I'll need to print as well. All in all a logical decision!

YOUR CHOICES:Much like Kickstarter, I'm offering incentives. You can buy the book, which will come signed- or you can order the book with a random sketch of one of the characters inside for an extra $20 (Making it $25 total!). Think of it as donating to my print-fund. Keep in mind that ordering a sketch will be an option only when you pre-order.

SHIPPING:If you order a copy of THE MIRE while in "pre-order mode", please note that it ships separately of any other books you order. That means I'll ship your other items first so you don't have to wait for me to print THE MIRE.

UPDATES:I am always posting updates on my work on Twitter (@beckycloonan), Instagram (beckycloonan), Facebook (BeckyCloonanArt), and Tumblr (beckycloonan)- so you can follow along with the development of the book, from thumbnails to pencils and inks, all the way through the printed product!

Also keep in mind the cover image isn't final, and is going to change!

CONAN THE BARBARIAN issue 1- totally out!

2012-02-09T10:56:00.003-05:00

I'm so psyched to be a part of this book, and I hope you guys have as much fun reading it as I do drawing it! :D Not to mention Brian's superb writing (there were parts in the script that gave me chills when I read it!) and the nothing short of masterful coloring of Dave Stewart!

If you haven't picked it up yet, here's a few reviews I pulled that might convince you to try it out:

IGN gives it 9 out of 10! "It's already abundantly clear that Wood and Cloonan are building a quality adaptation of a landmark tale."

Newsarama gives the issue 10 out of 10! "I've read this debut issue a few times now, looking for a flaw. But, when you combine Brian Wood's writing, Becky Cloonan's art, and Dave Stewart's stunning colors there simply isn't a flaw to be found. Dark Horse Comics has produced some fantastic Conan in the past, but this is the Barbarian we've all been waiting for. Well done."

Fandom Post rates it at an A-!"There aren’t many books that make me really want another issue right away, but the first installment of the Queen of the Black Coast has done just that and more can’t come soon enough."

Comic Buzz gives it a 9 out of 10!"It’s fantastic fun and whether I had read the prose story or not I would be anxious to read the next issue and see where it goes next! If you like sword fights, beautiful art and tales on the high seas, get this comic!"

I'm really blown away by the overwhelming response to this book!! It was so much fun to draw, not to mention kind of intimidating... And if you enjoyed it this month, remember to stay tuned next month where this happens:

Queen of the Black Coast

2012-01-11T15:01:00.001-05:00

In this sweeping adaptation of Robert E. Howard's fan-favorite "Queen of the Black Coast," Conan turns his back on the civilized world and takes to the high seas alongside the pirate queen Bêlit, setting the stage for an epic of romance, terror, and swashbuckling. This is Conan as you've never seen him, with the combination of one of Robert E. Howard's greatest tales and the most dynamic creative team in comics!
Check out some preview art from issue 1 and some incredible covers on Comics Alliance and Io9! Issue 1 is out in stores on February 8th. Hide your women!

BPRD: Pickens County Horror 2

2012-01-06T03:27:00.000-05:00

Check out this new cover I did for B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth: The Pickens County Horror issue 2! :D On sale April 25th! Colored by the unstoppable Dave Stewart!

Sketches!

2012-01-05T13:40:00.002-05:00

I don't always post sketches here (sometimes I do!) but I've been making a habit of posting them to Instagram (along with a bunch of other nonsense- my account name is beckycloonan, feel free to follow me!) anyway I figured I'd post some of them here as well!

For those of you without the instagram app, I also post them to my Twitter and Facebook!

The Guild: ZABOO

2011-12-29T01:14:00.006-05:00

In stores today!
The Guild: Zaboo #1
Dark Horse Comics

Written by Felicia Day and Sandeep Parikh, with art by Becky Cloonan

Zaboo has loved Cyd's game avatar Codex from afar since the two first met playing The Game.

Just what he'll do for love comes to the fore as he senses Cyd is in trouble, and he embarks on a real-life quest to escape his mother and become Cyd's knight in shining armor.

Co-written by Guild creator and star Felicia Day and costar Sandeep Parikh and brought to life by innovative artist Becky Cloonan.

You can read a preview of it over at MTV Geek!

Tee hee, they called me innovative! :D

BPRD: Pickens County Horror

2011-12-10T17:32:00.002-05:00

B.P.R.D. HELL ON EARTH: THE PICKENS COUNTY HORROR #1 (of 2)
Mike Mignola (W/Variant cover), Scott Allie (W), Jason Latour (A), Dave Stewart (C), and Becky Cloonan (Cover)
On sale Mar 28

DRACULA

2011-11-18T12:18:00.002-05:00

DRACULA by Bram Stoker, illustrated by Becky Cloonan. Out from Harper Collins in April 2012!

MCR'S ONLY HOPE artwork

2011-11-16T12:36:00.002-05:00

MCR's Only Hope single! Wicked psyched on doing the artwork for it.

STORE IS ONLINE

2011-08-01T11:56:00.004-04:00

Okay, I made an online store over the weekend. I put up WOLVES and a few other things, and by this morning I already have three hundred orders from all over the world! You guys are crazy! But the good kind of crazy— skinny-dipping/ howling at the moon crazy. Thank you all!

My self-published graphic novel MINIS is sold out already, but there are still WOLVES, and other goodies, like postcards, buttons and not least of all a few prints left of me and Mike Moses’s DRINK THE BLOOD OF THE DRAGON, a limited edition silk screened print!

This store is going to be for my self-published books and other merch- I'll try to keep it updated with new stuff every few months!

A few notes about things while I'm thinking of them:
Since it's only me, I'm only filling orders once a week! Maybe I'll get an assistant one day, but until then I am working around my schedule.
And yes, I do ship worldwide- however if you are in a country like Brazil or Thailand or Australia, it might take a while to get to you. I send stuff to my friends in Brazil and it takes well over a month to reach them! So if you are ordering internationally, please be patient :)

And again- THANK YOU for your support, you've helped make WOLVES into something bigger than I ever thought it could be! Self-publishing isn't easy, but it's so rewarding. If you draw comics, I highly encourage you to try it!

The Seance

2011-07-18T14:48:00.000-04:00

It's high time I drew some ECTOPLASM!! :D

I spammed this around the internet a few days ago when I drew it, but forgot to post it here! Poor neglected blog. I deliberately tried to stay away from the blues, heh so instead I went for greens? Who knows! Took about 3 or 4 hours. You guys might be seeing more of this one day.

HACK SLASH

2011-07-14T10:23:00.001-04:00

I drew this HACK/SLASH cover!
Everyone I color seems to have blue skin these days.
It's a phase I guess!

Consumption

2011-07-08T19:14:00.001-04:00

la la la!

Dracula Dracula!

2011-06-28T17:59:00.002-04:00

A few of you have noticed this already, through google, june previews, comixology, or amazon-- that I have a new book coming out!! How exciting. So for those of you who's search-fu isn't as strong (or who just have better things to do, I don't blame you!) here it is:

DRACULA Published by Harper Collins, a hardcover weighing in at 368 pages, with Bram Stoker's original text and over 50 full color illustrations by me! I'll post more info soon, but for now I'll just say THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE and post this picture of Dracula himself.

Another trip around the sun!!

2011-06-23T19:00:00.004-04:00

Holy shit, today has been a deluge of Birthday wishes!!! It's been a crazy week, mostly I've been working like a maniac, but I took last night off with buddies and Lauren and Mike took me to see SLEEP at Terminal 5!! \m/ YEAH THANKS GUYS! Needless to say, there was copious amounts of rocking out.

I also got news that my show at Rogue's Gallery in Chicago was named Best Gallery Exhibit from the Chicago Reader! Double holy shit!! I'm totally floored.

So yeah, after a nice lunch, it was back to work for me! I'll probably go grab a cupcake or something later, maybe set it on fire-- but I want to take a minute to say thank you to everybody for the outpouring of birthday wishes! I'm wading through the marshes of deadline hell, so it was nice to get inundated with such a show of support. Really helps as I trooper through this crunch! Seriously how can I reply to all the responses I've got? You guys!! :D I'll keep making comics, how's that?

And although I might be working (because really, what's a birthday without a little work?) I have to say this picture Mike Moses took last night sums up my birthday experience quite nicely:

We made our ancestors proud.

¡Venganza!

2011-06-22T09:43:00.001-04:00

Pen, Brush, Ink and Revenge. Done on an A5 piece of paper.

Done for VENGANZA Comics & Collectables's gallery in Perth, Scotland- they ordered a bunch of WOLVES from me for the store as well! VENGANZA opens July 16th- if you are in the area, go out and support them! Check out their website and Facebook for more info!

And for more information about WOLVES and how to get it:
http://inkandthunder.blogspot.com/2011/04/wolves-how-do-i-get-it.html

Danger, Adventure, MCM!

2011-06-01T06:52:00.002-04:00

So I wrote this up yesterday but blogger ate it, so today you get a semi-skim, watered down version!! At least it will take less time to read.

First I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who let me stay with them: Emma Vieceli and Pud Ruddick, Jamie McKelvie and Hanna Donovan, and the lovely Rufus Dayglo, who has perhaps the most impressive taxidermy, Gundam, and original art collections I've ever seen!

Me and Jamie on the bus

I spent the first part of my trip was spent in Cambridge (what a lovely town!), then it was off to London before MCM Expo. Jamie and I made a day trip to Nottinham, where we stopped by Page 45 and signed everything in the store. Thanks to Stephen for hanging out, and supporting Wolves! :)

MCM was amazing, I had such a good time. I sat next to Paul Duffield and Kate Brown, who's respective books Signal and Fish and Chocolate are worth looking up. Behind me was Gary Erskine, a phenomenal inker who made me an amazing pen, and who's banner I might have defaced... And it was great to be across from Richard Starkings-- I was in amazing company!

Sketching!

Shout outs to Simon Gane, Rob Davis, Jane from MOMB Podcast, Josh from The Negative Zone, Clark, Lisa, Nabil and the rest of the crew at Travelling Man, Tony Lee who gave me his whiskey because I batted my eyelashes... and a reminder to Nevs that if you get the Filthy Orphans together in November, I'll draw the flyer! And big thanks to Fred O'Rourke for the Copics- you get free books from me forever! And to Clark Burscough for the mix tape-- I owe you one! It was good to finally meet Warren Ellis as well!

And how can I forget the dapper Dan Boultwood, who, besides being a gentleman of taste and comics, is a good gun to have on your side if you ever find yourself stuck in an Elevator Action Death Parade.

Big props to everyone who organized comic village- Matt, Pud, Anna, and Dave! The show ran so smoothly! I did a panel with Emma Vieceli, Jamie McKelvie and Kieron Gillen, had a signing with the one and only Mr. Frank Quitely, and scored a victory with fellow artists Leigh Gallagher, Adam Cadwell, Joe List, and Gary Erskine against the writers in Artists vs. Writers!

Team Victory!

I know I'm leaving people out-- I'm still jetlagged, I've been getting up at 4am since I've been back. I'll try to amend this as the details of my trip start to emerge. MCM was amazing though, I drew a ton of sketches, sold a bunch of Wolves, met so many amazing people, and generally had an amazing time. You can now find Wolves stocked at Travelling Man, Page 45 and Gosh!

My only regret is I won't be around for the October MCM, but I'm definitely going to try and go again next spring! Oh, and I'll be around for Thought Bubble in November-- I'm counting the months. England, you were lovely.

Thanks for a good time- now back to work with you!

Drink the Blood of the Dragon

2011-05-20T12:41:00.001-04:00

During the last few weeks, the inimitable Mike Moses and myself teamed up to create a limited edition silk screened print.
BEHOLD:

11"x17"
Silk screened print
Limited to 100 pieces
Signed, stamped & numbered
Prints will ship in JULY.
$35.00 + $10.00 shipping

"Drink the Blood of the Dragon / Speak the Language of Birds" depicts Sigurd and Fafnir from the Völsunga Saga. After Sigurd had slain Fafnir with the sword Gram, Odin came to him disguised as an old man and instructed him to bathe in the blood of the dragon, and eat it's heart to grant him invulnerability and the ability to communicate with birds.

Mike Moses is a phenomenal painter, illustrator and tattoo artist.
Find him online at www.thedrowntown.com & sufferme.tumblr.com
and at Thicker Than Water in NYC, tattooing Saturday-Tuesday

WOLVES: How do I get it?

2011-04-22T10:32:00.004-04:00

WOLVES debuted at TCAF in Toronto! I sold out of all the copies that I brought. The Beguiling bought 20 copies off me, but I don't know if they are still in stock.

So! The easiest way to get a copy of WOLVES from me is to catch me at a convention- of which I will be at many!

TCAF (May, Toronto)
MCM (May, London)
HEROES CON (June, North Carolina)
SDCC (July, San Diego)
THOUGHT BUBBLE (Nov, Leeds)

I'll be updating this list as shows are added. Now: Questions!

I WON'T BE AT ANY OF THOSE SHOWS! HOW DO I BUY THEM ONLINE?
I have to finish coding my online store, which will go live when I finish it sometime in May or June. I'm working hard on several things right now, so I will get to it when I get to it! I will be shipping worldwide, and I'll only be accepting Paypal. Honestly though the online store is not a priority for me because I have so much work and travel coming up in the next few months, but I will try my best to get it live in a timely manner! And when it goes live I'll be yelling and screaming about it so you probably won't miss it unless you live in a cave. No offense to my cave-dwelling fans! :D

BUT YOU ONLY MADE ONE THOUSAND COPIES!
My first print run is 1,000 signed and numbered copies. If I go through these quickly, I'll make more, but they won't be numbered. Honestly I only made 1,000 because I wasn't sure what the interest would be. So don't worry, I'm going to try to keep WOLVES in stock.

I'M A RETAILER! I WANT TO SELL WOLVES IN MY STORE!
I'd love to wholesale WOLVES, but since I only made a limited run to start I'm going to take most of my orders for retailers after San Diego Comic Con! :) Feel free to contact me if you are interested.

That's about it! If you have questions feel free to post in the comments, and I'll update this post with the answers.

WOLVES in the press!
Matt Graham at Comics Nexus!
Jamie S. Rich at Confessions of a Pop Fan!
Annexe Magazine!
Stanley Jon over at Comic Book Daily!

Tokyopop, Etc.

2011-04-16T10:18:00.006-04:00

Most of you have probably heard the news about Tokyopop closing it's doors (There was a nice short article on The Beat about it yesterday!) and thought about the possible impact it might have on some of the titles stuck in limbo since they were canceled, including Dan Hipp's Gyakushu, Brandon Graham's King City, Ross Campbell's The Abandoned, and my East Coast Rising. I obviously have mixed feelings about this, because while I was working on my book I had a pretty good time, but after canceling my second book 120 pages in I obviously still have some bitter feelings- and their closing does make me excited that I might be able to one day finish the story. Of course the hard part is if that time ever comes, I'm pretty booked for work, and my style and storytelling has changed so much- it will definitely be a challenge to pick up again! But a challenge that I'd be happy to step up to, if the time comes.

Tokyopop gave me a huge opportunity to publish my first solo graphic novel, one that paid off with an Eisner nomination for Best New Series, and as a finalist in the first International Manga Award. The book might be silly and a bit juvenile, but I still look back and remember how fun it was to draw, and all the good times I had working on it. It's also nice to look back on TP's early influence, breaking into book stores and opening up a section of the market that was until then impenetrable. They took chances on new creators, and for a while they had a great team of editors, writers and artists working for them!

A lot of people blame TP's downfall on Borders closing- though I want to talk about something different, about how they stopped being a publisher and started being an IP hoarder. To be a successful publisher I would have thought you'd have to make publishing a priority- and by canceling so many books and concentrating harder on their media developments over the promotion and production of the comics they published, they signed their own death warrant.

That's not to say it's bad to cultivate options for a property outside of comics, but it seemed, for my book and from my perspective at least, that they put zero effort into marketing East Coast Rising. I had issues with the design of the book that went unheard. I even heard that they didn't stock my comic in many stores. I felt like they were more excited when my book garnered attention from animation and video game companies than when it got an Eisner nomination. To me, I don't really care about media rights. Money is great and everything, but I'm in it to make a good book. And I think that's where our interests were divided.

Maybe my work was so different from the manga that they produced, that they didn't know what to do with it, or how to market and sell it- but that didn't stop it from getting an Eisner nom, some great reviews, and international acclaim from Japan. It even had a few foreign language editions including Italian and Finnish. Obviously it had potential to get traction, but somehow it missed the mark. It makes me think the book would have done better at a different publisher.

Tim Beedle, my editor on this book, was lovely. I also worked with Fawn Lau as a letterer, and she was great too! I can't just point my finger wildly around at the company and place blame on everyone, or a single person- some amazing individuals worked there! But the truth is there were some weird decisions being made. And as a creator, even though my editor was great, I never felt like I was important to the company, and that on the whole, my book didn't matter. I didn't feel looked after. And I guess my feelings were justified when they canceled my book with no warning. I even went to their office for a meeting to try and get the print rights back, or just get them to print it again- well I bet you can guess what answer I got.

Maybe TP just went around things wrong. If Stu Levy wanted to make a media company, I feel like he should have started it that way instead of trying to get into movies and other media through comics. That notion has always seemed backwards to me- if you want to make a movie, fucking just make a movie! It might not be easy, but it makes a lot more sense than making comics to make movies. That's like making cookies and hoping they will turn into a cake in the oven!

So yeah, I guess that's all I have to say. I'm excited at the prospect of maybe finishing my book, so it's bittersweet feeling to see TP go (although everyone I know who worked there was already gone...). I feel a little selfish being excited about that, but hey. I'm allowed to be selfish sometimes. I honestly don't have any hard feelings, but I do have some advice for Stu Levy: Next time you make a company, make sure the initials don't also stand for Toilet Paper.

Flu!

2011-04-15T20:51:00.004-04:00

Today Flu Hartberg, Norwegian cartoonist and member of Dongery collective, stopped by the studio with champagne and strawberries (which makes him the best studio guest ever). I first saw his work years ago at SPX when I picked up a copy of his book ENGLISH CONVERSATION-- which is awesome and I highly recommend it-- and after that I'd look for his work at every show.

So Flu came by to visit the studio this afternoon, and we took a break to collab on some Trolls. (I think because I'm excited to see Troll Hunter at the end of this month!) First we penciled, then traded and inked!

Needless to say, Flu is invited back anytime... as long as he brings more champagne! Next time I'm in Oslo, I'll have to return the favor.

WOLVES at the door

2011-04-12T23:57:00.000-04:00

Wolves in the hallway.

1,000 copies of Wolves in my hallway. :D

Anticipating Wolves

2011-04-11T11:27:00.000-04:00

WOLVES is set to arrive from the printer this week- I am so excited that I'm posting a few panels on my blog! I will be debuting them at TCAF, and will have them at MCM, Heroes Con, SDCC and Thought Bubble. Before you ask, yes I will be selling them online too, once I figure out how the shipping module works!

The first print run is 1,000- all copies are signed and numbered, 24 pages of b/w interiors with a 3 color silk screened cover. Fancy!

I'll post pictures when they arrive. SO EXCITED. CAN NOT WAIT.

DEER

2011-04-03T16:46:00.000-04:00

Prehistoric deer!

Had the weekend "off" so I doodled around as a warm-up for Orcs! Nothing special, just having fun. It's important to have fun!!

ORCS

2011-04-01T17:02:00.003-04:00

ORCS. My next mini-comic to start after WOLVES comes out; did this warm-up piece on my “day off” today, trying to keep my brush in shape.

Wolves comes out this spring, maybe Orcs will be a winter release. I’d love to have it done by SDCC, but no promises!

The Campaign

2011-03-30T14:08:00.000-04:00

Teeny tiny comic! This is a re-imagining of an illustration I did a year ago based on a haiku I wrote a few years ago. I will do a mini comic based on it one day as a follow-up to Wolves. Heheh.

This piece is 4.5"x7" (teeny tiny!) and will be part of the Tiny Trifecta show, April 9th at the Cotton Candy Machine in Brooklyn!

DEMO!

2011-03-30T13:00:00.001-04:00

Some of you might have noticed that the collected edition of DEMO volume 2 came out this past week! How exciting. To celebrate, Brian and I answered some questions on Vertigo's Graphic Content blog, and we signed and numbered 200 bookplates for GOSH! Comics in London:

Which you can pick up at their store if you in town, or order a copy online if you are so inclined!

I also had a signing and Demo themed gallery show on Friday at Challengers in Chicago! They have 50 original pages from Demo volume 2 hanging in their gallery through the beginning of May, and they have a limited number of prints on sale for $10! So if you are in town, swing by and check it out. The signing was great, big thanks to everyone who came out. I even made good on my promise to make cookies- lime and white chocolate, and salted dark chocolate chip. Yum.

Before the show:

Big thanks to Patrick and everybody at Challengers for making Friday night a success! Also I'd like to thank the gentleman Lance Curran, who gave me a tour of the Threadless HQ, and who also hooked me up with some new clothes- which was good because I didn't pack very well- oops! We also had Empires rock our hypothetical faces off in the warehouse. Not bad for a Friday afternoon! I managed to sneak in some time to hang out with my old friends, and one old nemesis- an ink nemesis- Matthew Woodson and I grabbed a coffee and talked some shop- he is providing art on an upcoming Northlanders story, so watch out for that. It's nice to know your enemies are still up to their old tricks, namely kicking ass and setting the bar.

So now that Demo is out I guess I'll quiet down for a bit until my next project is announced, but I make no promises. (I will actually probably still be loud.)

DEMO v2 GN- OUT TOMORROW!

2011-03-22T13:05:00.001-04:00

OUT TOMORROW!

Collecting issues 1-6 of Demo Volume 2 in a beautiful trade paperback. And to celebrate, I'm posting some sketches that weren't released in the extras to issue 1: The Waking Life of Angels.

Also, I will be in Chicago on the 25th at Challengers for a signing and Demo gallery show! Bring your friends! Chicago I know you are tired from C2E2, but I promise a relaxing night of Demo and cookies (Yes I am bribing you to come to my signing by making cookies!).

And now without further ado, sketches:

Look out Chicago!

2011-03-13T13:35:00.003-04:00

Attn: Chicago! DEMO release show @ Challengers!

2011-03-08T18:00:00.002-05:00

I'll be at Challengers in Chicago for a Demo release signing, and a Demo themed gallery show of original pages and art at Rogues Gallery, March 25th at 7PM! If you're in the area, totally swing by. I'm making cookies.

For more information about the event, check out Challengers website!

Demo Bookplate Edition!

2011-03-06T14:21:00.002-05:00

ATTENTION LONDON! Gosh! Comics is releasing an exclusive Bookplate Edition of DEMO Volume 2 TP signed by myself and Brian Wood at the end of March. Here's a look at the bookplate, and more info can be found here!

Wolves

2011-02-04T19:14:00.001-05:00

Here's a peek at my next mini-comic: WOLVES. It’s not the final cover, just a bit of a teaser image ;)

Anyone who has been following my blog for a while might remember that last year I published this short story in an anthology me and some friends published in Japan for a convention in Tokyo- it was originally in Japanese; this version will be in English, and will have a few added pages. I'm right now looking for a printer, hopefully it will be out for the spring in time for MoCCA, TCAF and MCM!

I'll put up the final cover after I send this off to the printer. Until then, hope you are as psyched about it as I am!

Thought Bubble Process

2011-01-28T19:13:00.005-05:00

I've spent the last few weeks working on an illustration for this year's Thought Bubble festival in Leeds, England. While I was working out all the details, I remembered a few people asking me if I wouldn't mind showing my process a bit, so I tried to take some snapshots of the picture at various stages of completion.

I'll walk you guys through it.

After doing a few thumbnails and narrowing the ideas down, I did some pencils. At this stage they were still pretty rough, but tight enough to work over. I knew I would be inking the figures, and painting over the background in photoshop so I didn't bother tightening the trees up much.

Then I did some color tests- this step is usually pretty important for me, because it will lay the foundation for the rest of my color work. The colors for this came easily, which was a bit of a surprise. Usually I struggle with colors, but these were pretty straightforward.

Then I went ahead and threw some ink on Snow White and the Wicked Witch, like usual- with a brush and some ink. Pretty straightforward.

After that I worked on painting the background. I call it painting, I guess even though I work in Photoshop I end up approaching it as though I was working on canvas. I start with an underpainting of the basic colors I want to use, selecting from my roughs when it suits me. Then I build it up and move objects into the foreground and background when appropriate.

Now I lay on the figures! They were relatively simple to color, I only used one or two shades to lighten and darken the flat colors. My main objective was to get Snow White to stand out- Originally my idea was to have her be completely black and white, but it just didn't feel finished. So I added red, since I had the idea to add some to the background, and it really grounded the center of the image, and made her pop out without making her look completely removed from her environment.

Also notice on the witch, I colored the linework so the only black you see in the picture is on Snow White. This way the witch and the comics fall into the background a bit.

I wasn't sure about the sapling on the left that I had drawn in my original sketch, but I decided that area was pretty empty and needed a little somethin somethin to pull it together more. I also added the tree behind the witch to fill the space and add another vertical. These were all pieces of my original idea that I had deemed excessive, but thought to bring them back in the end. I guess you should always just go with your gut! I tend to over-think things, and second-guess myself if I work on something for a while, not really a good habit I guess. Anyway this is the final version!

And here is a close-up:

So there you have it! Snow White and the Seven Comics, for Thought Bubble 2011! And if anyone is curious, yes I will be attending :)

More unpublished goodies!

2011-01-27T21:59:00.000-05:00

Of course I've been doing a lot of work I just can't show to anyone yet, but as I have started the year showing everyone older unpublished work, I thought I'd continue the tradition with this lovely work-for-hire piece from back in '07, the first page of a 2 page comic that never made it to print.

Funnily enough, I did this comic at the same time as I was drawing East Coast Rising volume 2! Woo!

Northlanders: Girl in the Ice part 2

2011-01-19T16:00:00.001-05:00

Today at your local comic book store you will find copies of Northlanders #36 on the shelf, the 2nd part in a 2 part story arc by Brian Wood, with art by me, colors by Dave McCaig, and a beautiful cover by Massimo Carnevale!

Hope you guys stick around for the 2nd part of this story- I'm really proud of these two issues! Here's what you can expect: More snow! More Jon! More waring viking clans! And of course the conclusion to the mystery, who is the girl in the ice?

Enjoy!

How Cannonball Joe Quelled the Suffocating Death THE CONCLUSION

2011-01-07T15:55:00.000-05:00

Scene! The last of the first 18 pages from the canceled East Coast Rising volume 2. If you haven't been reading since I started posting these, I suggest you start at the beginning of the sequence:

See pages 1-3 HERE!
See pages 4-6 HERE!
See pages 7-9 HERE!
See pages 10-12 HERE!
See pages 13-15 HERE!

And if you want to know what the Suffocating Death is saying
Panel 1
Suffocating Death: RUB A DUB DUB

Panel 2
Gripp: IT SPEAKS!
Deathsnake: I KNOW WING CHUN.
Suffocating Death: THANKS FOR THE GRUB!!!!

Haha seriously, so sad this book was canceled. Well, thanks for reading! Who knows, maybe I'll post more pages one day. But for now, this is how Joe and his crew of thieving rotters quelled the seemingly insatiable, all-consuming, ever-burning, un-quellable hunger of the Suffocating Death! With seachix... (Don't worry, one survived and is in Drake's worthy care. He named it Sachet.)

And with that, time for some grub. Hope you all enjoyed this look into the most depressing drawer of my flat file! XD~

How Cannonball Joe Quelled the Suffocating Death part V

2011-01-06T19:33:00.000-05:00

Pages 13-15 of East Coast Rising volume 2! I remember being really happy about the sound effects on the last panel of the 15th page. Rumble! It's funny to look back at something I drew back in 2007 or 2008 and think, man this still holds up a bit. I'm still mostly happy with these pages, but I think too much time has passed between them to go back to the comic.

See pages 1-3 HERE!
See pages 4-6 HERE!
See pages 7-9 HERE!
See pages 10-12 HERE!

How Cannonball Joe Quelled the Suffocating Death part IV

2011-01-05T12:57:00.001-05:00

Pages 10-12 of East Coast Rising volume 2! If you have volume 1 handy, it might be a good idea to flip through it- this goes back to when Drake showed Archer how to feed the Seachix...

See pages 1-3 HERE!
See pages 4-6 HERE!
See pages 7-9 HERE!

How Cannonball Joe Quelled the Suffocating Death part III

2011-01-04T18:23:00.000-05:00

Continuing my peek at East Coast Rising volume 2, the next three pages, numbers 7 through 9, are up! And in case you missed the first two posts:
See pages 1-3 HERE!
See pages 4-6 HERE!

A little director's commentary on this, the part when Joe hums to open the giant clam and get at the air bubble is a hundred percent inspired Sonic the Hedgehog (Labyrinth Zone in particular). If you are deprived enough not to know what I'm talking about, check out 0:28 on this YouTube clip to know the sound effect that goes with it!

How Cannonball Joe Quelled the Suffocating Death part II

2011-01-03T15:35:00.000-05:00

Part II of my peek at East Coast Rising volume 2. I still get questions if this book will ever come out, and the answer is "outlook not so good." TP canceled it back in 2008 and I've had to move on, find new work, and am now too wrapped up in other books to think about returning to it. Anyway, here are pages 4-6!

Read pages 1-3 HERE! (I will be posting 18 pages in total.)

The first blog post of 2011, or How Cannonball Joe Quelled the Suffocating Death

2011-01-02T15:28:00.001-05:00

If you follow my twitter feed, you might have noticed that I've been doing some housekeeping over the past few days. It might have been to start the year off with a fresh start, or maybe that was all just good timing. Whatever the case, what started off as an innocent tidy spiraled quickly out of control into an upheaval, an ordeal of organization and re-arranging. I can't say it was bad because I have some time to kill, and it is a good way to start off a new year.

Long story short, as I was organizing and archiving my original comic pages, I came across the 120 or so pages of the unpublished East Coast Rising volume 2. Flipping through it, I thought man, what a shame, all that work. And the worst part, that volume 1 ended on a cliffhanger! Nobody will ever know if they defeat the Suffocating Death, or are consumed (that would have made a quick end to the series!) to quell it's seemingly endless appetite (it already ate Mr. Snuggles, the giant, flesh-eating turtle...)

I think a nice start to the new year would be to put an end to this cliff-hanger. For the next week, I'll be posting 3 pages a day to my blog until the first sequence is completed. I'll feel a little better for it, even though this may not be the most ideal medium to read comics in (3 pages a day for six days? ugh.), I just want to get it out there. These pages are also unfinished, I took off the tones and it hasn't been lettered, but I think you can get the gist of what's happening. Feel free to fill in your own words if you have some time to kill!

Here we go. East Coast Rising 2, scene 2, take one. Action!

Oh yeah, this GN was drawn back in 2007/8.

The end of 2010

2010-12-30T15:23:00.001-05:00

2010 was a big year. A lot happened and a lot changed, but that's as it should be. And since a lot of people are making lists for the year, I thought I'd join in and try to mix it up a bit.

FAVORITE SELF-PUBLISHED COMICS OF 2010
I go to a lot of conventions and I'm always meeting new people- one of the things I like best is getting to check out other people's self-published books and mini-comics, whether it's from an established creator or from someone who is just starting their journey into the labyrinth that is comics! Everyone is making best-of comic lists, but I thought I'd go a little further; I love self-publishing, so why not show some love to books that might have flown under the radar?

3. WINTERS IN LAVELLE
by Kasey Van Hise
So I've known Kasey for a few years now, before she started Lavelle as a webcomic- now it's a fully fledged self-published graphic novel, complete with an ISBN number! Not only is that smart business skillz, but her comic is a lot of fun too. Winters in Lavelle is a YA fantasy comic about a brother and sister stranded in a parallel world- it's exactly the kind of comic that I wish I had been able to read as a teenager. You can read Winters in Lavelle online- Kasey updates on Tuesdays and Fridays.

2. ATELIER
by Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba
How prolific are these two? They produce an amazing amount of work every year and still have time to make a mini comic for NYCC, and go to the beach. This short comic is told in four languages- English, Spanish, Portuguese and French, chronicling the making of a comic from inception to completion. I've worked with Moon and Ba on a few comics, and I'll never get tired of their work. A new comic from the twins is always a treat!

1. SIGNAL
by Paul Duffield
Oh my god, this is a gorgeous piece of craftsmanship. This silent exploration of self reads like a love letter to Carl Sagan, with the universe unfolding as you turn each page. Beautiful in every aspect, this is a book worth hunting down. It's the closest thing to poetry that I've ever seen in a comic- there is so much to look at, it's like a visual symphony. Too bad it's sold out-- Hey Paul! What are you doing? Reprint this book in 2011!!

NEW THINGS I DID IN 2010
3. I played a slot machine for the first time this autumn, in England! I lost a pound, so I probably won't be playing them again anytime soon. It was actually a bit of a let down.

2. I drove on the wrong side of the road! For two weeks the gentlemanly Lee Marshall and I adventured around England and Wales in a shiny silver Peugeot- it was the first time I'd driven on the left side of the road, and the first time in about ten years that I've driven a standard! I'm guess I'm proud of my ability to throw myself headfirst into situations that I might be uncomfortable with, and actually come out okay (not just drive off a cliff into a herd of sheep and marmite).

1. I became an illustrator! I mean, I've done some illustration in the past, but this summer I did 60 full color illustrations for a novel to be released by Harper Collins in 2011. It pains me that I can't show much of the work that I did for it, or talk about it at all! It ended up being quite an ordeal as well since I'm more of a cartoonists and I am more comfortable working in black and white; I ended up learning a lot about myself and my art on this book. It was like running a marathon. I'm really proud of it though, and I can't wait for it to come out!

I'd talk about other favorites, like movies, but mostly I just watch old ones. And music, I mostly just listen to Iron Maiden (who's new album would be at the top of my list had I made one!!!) and operas, but I only saw two last year! I really don't get out much, so don't expect much lists from me.

SHIT I HAVE PLANNED FOR 2011
First off- more comics, totally. I've been talking with a few people about some new books that might surprise a lot of you- so I hope I can get going on those soon! A lot of you ask about Killjoys also- well, I can't say much about that yet, except hold on to your butts! I'm also going to try to do more illustrations. I didn't do that many this year and I really missed that.

I have two new self published books coming out this year also, one is called "Wolves"- it's a short story I did in 2009 for an anthology that was published in Japan, finally being released in English. My second story is called "Mary Bella Beth". I'm thumbnailing it now; it's based on a true story, and it's about four girls and a mirror. I will probably release this one online as well. I'll be bringing these to several conventions including TCAF, MCM, SDCC and hopefully a few others. You will also be able to buy them online, because....

...January will see a big update to my website! I know it's a long time coming, but there is only so much one person can do. I know, life is a difficult balance and sometimes my website and email get the short end of the stick when I am in a deadline crunch (which is most of the time.). The update will include an online store! And I'll try to keep it more current. And be better with emails (haha.)

There is also some debate as to weather I should bring Comic Attack back as well- we'll see! Oh and I plan on making a million dollars and buying a castle. Feel free to visit- and bring your ink!

That's it for me until next year. Tomorrow My homegirls and I are having an Iron Chef themed New Years party- I'm going to make DUCK!!!! Hope everybody is enjoying the holidays. Until next time~~