Entry 278: Back to the Future, Ogun, Wolverine, Alabaster, & More

Back in Entry 268 I talked about the mostly frivolous activity of thinking about what I would do if I were to take on an existing property. The Challenge goes something like this: "You have to create a comic book series based on (blank). You can do it however you want. You have total freedom. What is it? What do you do?" I don't go to far with it, just get a rough direction.

Entry 276: Amnia Cycle Chapter 4 COVER

Here it finally is, the cover to Amnia Cycle Chapter 4. I'm so excited to be posting an Amnia Cycle thing again! It's been too long. It's been since before Infinity Gauntlet.

Speaking of Infinity Gauntlet, THANKS to everyone who picked up issue 5 and to everyone who picked up the series. And to everyone who has sent me feedback and written reviews. As it was my first big writing gig and a story that was coming from me, I was pretty anxious the whole time about how people would like it. I'm grateful to everyone who checked it out.

I'm currently working on a couple projects. Most of them are personal, like Amnia Cycle. I am working on one thing for a publisher, but mostly, I'm taking time for my own projects. I'll talk more about these things soon.

So um . . . how are you?

blogged and blogged

Entry 264: Amnia Cycle pages 87,88,&89

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

This is the end of Chapter 4.

I like the idea that Tara's space adventure has basically led her to such a pedestrian scene.

I think the next two chapters are going to get pretty strange. I know what chapters 5 and 6 need to be. I'm excited about them and I'm not totally sure how I'm going to pull them off. 

In Chapter 5 we'll learn all about Shana Tyson... I think. Their will be some ambiguity that won't become clear till the end of this whole story. I'll also be checking in with Captain Zoltan. Haven't seen him in a while.

In Chapter 6 it's going to be all about Byzner and Amnia. This will be a fun one.

The next thing I'll be doing for Amnia Cycle will be the cover for Chapter 4. Check back for that. I'm also working on some extra content for a print release. 

Till then, I'll hopefully have some news about S.H.I.E.L.D. and Infinity Gauntlet soon.

blogged and blogged

Entry 262: Amnia Cycle pages 85 & 86

I think page 86 is the most detailed page of Amnia so far.

I probably wont have new Amnia pages next week. We'll see.

Blogged and Bloooooooggggggged

Entry 259: Amnia Cycle pages 83 &84

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Welcome to another installment of Amnia Cycle.

Five pages left of chapter 4. I'm working on the next page right now. Then I'll create a chapter 4 cover. I'm not sure what I want to do for that cover yet. We'll see.

While I work on Amnia pages I've been listening to music. Lately my go-to "working on Amnia music" has been Mort Garson.

Here is his album Black Mass Lucifer (1971)

There are other albums and tracks of his on youtube. I recommend checking them all out.

blogged and blogged

Entry 258: Low-fi comics

I've titled this entry "Low-fi comics". This entry is about my process for creating a page of Amnia Cycle. I often think of Amnia as being "low-fi." The term implies something raw, unpolished, and flawed. I find thinking of Amnia in this way frees me from becoming to self conscious about it. It keeps me from putting to much pressure on myself to do a good job. The pressure to do a good job can often become debilitating. Of course, I do want to do a good job, but telling myself that this can be flawed-- I find it helpful.

Entry 257: Amnia Cycle pages 81 & 82

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

That was a long time to wait for a "but." 

More and more I find myself wanting to transition scenes on a single page. The conventional wisdom is that it is best to change scenes on a page break. Though I do think there are times when changing scenes on a page break IS the best way, I find myself more often trying to change scenes mid-page. It just feels like you are already changing scenes, it is already a little jarring, putting the scene change mid-page joins things together better. You can create smoother transitions. You can have some fun with it, like I'm trying to do here.

Soon I'll be putting up a process post about how I create a page of Amnia Cycle. If you would like to make a comic that looks like this, well I'll show you how.

Blogged and blogged

Entry 256: Amnia Cycle pages 79 & 80

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Talking. Don't you just love talking scenes.

I'll see you next week for some more talking.

Till then

Blogged and blogged

Entry 255: Amnia Cycle page 78

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

SMUGATS!

Just one page this week?

That's right. This makes up for one of the times I've posted three pages.

So, Crutch is a nice fellow. I think we'll see him again much later down the road. But honestly, if this were a movie, you could probably take this scene out. Although, I've discovered in making this story up as I go, little scenes like these, that may seem inconsequential, can contain in them seeds of things that grow into important story elements.... So, you never know. Plus, I like this scene.

Notes

-The name "Crutch" comes from a Guided by Voices song "Crutch Came Slinking".

-"Smugats" is something my daughter, Lucy, started saying recently. From what I can tell, it means "Shit" or "Damn".

-The name "Bloodnut" could be a reference to a number of different things, but for me, it's in reference to hematospermia. I've always found the term Bloodnut to be funny and when I needed a name for a gang I used it.

Most of this stuff is off the top of my head, as you can see. 

-The bit about the Humans "creating" the Nuriel was inspired by a joke Brandon Graham told me about Marvel and D.C.

Anyway, till next week.

Blogged and blogged

Entry 254: Amnia Cycle pages 76-77

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

New Amnia pages!

What can I say about this? 

This scene and the next couple scenes have been the hardest scenes in the story so far. I think because I'm having to address some plot threads, pull some story elements together, and begin moving the story into some new directions. 

Tara is going to meet Shanna Tyson, one of the names in the mysterious transmission. What will that be like? And next week, get ready to spend some time with Zigzag.

Till then

Blogged and blogged.

Entry 250: Amnia Cycle pages 74-75

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

What can I say about this weeks pages?... The Library is owls. 

I suppose I can mention that I'm actually putting together some extra Amnia material for a printed version of Amnia Cycle that will happen when I feel like I'm ready to take things to that level. 

I might not have new pages next week because I'm almost done with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I'm focusing on that right now. So I might show you guys a panel from the Amnia print bonus material.

Blogged and blogged  

Entry 249: Amnia Cycle pages 72 & 73

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Zoohurst!

For a long time this scene looked different in my mind. It looked and felt like things I've seen before in other comics. It looked and felt like a kind of Moebius version of a person travailing across an alien world to an alien city. The images start creating themselves in my mind so easily. It would have been so easy to do it that way. But the idea of it made me bored…. This couldn't be boring. 

One day my daughter was making a giraffe out of blocks. I asked her what she was building. She told me it was a building. I said, "It looks like a giraffe." And she told me "No. It's a building." And I realized, holy shit, she's right! What am I? An idiot. It's a building! It was an amazing building. A pretty lame giraffe, but an amazing building. Thus, Zoohurst was born.

Another thing I wanted to capture here was not the feeling of an alien world, but instead a familiar world. To me, it's super exciting to arrive in a city. When you are driving on the highway and the traffic starts getting thick. You know that you are getting close to a center of activity. Then you go around a bend in the road or you come over a hill and suddenly you see the buildings off in the distance. I get excited every time… I wanted that. 

I hope you are ready to explore Zoohurst with me!

Blogged and blogged

Entry 248: Amnia Cycle pages 70,71

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3
Chapter 4

Does that thing look familiar? (hint: the end of chapter 2)

In time, this will all make perfect sense… I hope.

Also, in chapter 3, I knew I drew that hood on that first officer for a reason. He's a Nuriel! (Comic making tip: If you are making your comic up as you go, put a hood on someone. You never know who they could end up being.)

Join me next week for more Amnia Cycle

Blogged and blogged

Entry 246: Amnia Cycle pages 67,68,69

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

 

And so begins Chapter 4 of Amnia Cycle.

It feels really good to be getting Amnia pages out again. In this chapter we'll be exploring this new setting and learning about what's going on in the Shadow Zone. Turns out they've got  their own conflict happening. We'll learn something about that strange energy ball that Byzner fell into, and things will get even more strange when Tara tracks down one of the names on her list. 

In other news-- Edge of Spider-Verse #3 is out this week (9/24) I wrote, drew, and colored the whole issue myself. Please check it out. 

Also, for everyone wondering about S.H.I.E.L.D.-- I'm back to working on it now. The last issue is being drawn. As I type this page 14 is on my desk. So, we're close! I've seen colors for the second to last issue. Sonia Oback is back and it's looking great. I'll put together a post with some preview images soon. So check back for that.

New Amnia Cycle pages next Monday.

Thanks!

Blogged and blogged

Entry 244: Sagittarius A* #6 & #7

Two Sagittarius A* pages at once!

Plus they have giant robots -- really giant robots. The only robot more giant would have to be Unicron. .. So, I hope you're happy.

Check out all the Sag A* pages right here -- Sagittarius A*

Entry 243: Edge of SPIDER-VERSE #3 preview

Spider-Man : "Through The Door in the Dark"

IS Coming

That's the actual title to my Edge Of Spider-Verse #3 story.

The issue will be out September 24, 2014

It's written, drawn, and colored by me. Here is a preview.

Entry 241: SAGITTARIUS A* #5

"K-Bot Monsters", "Chiro Chiro", "Linus Rad", "Psytrons"

I gave so little thought to naming the things in this story. Almost all of these names were off the top of my head as I wrote it.

The name Chiro Chiro was supposed to be a reference to Chiruchiru, a robot in the Astro Boy manga, but I wrote it when I didn't have the reference handy. I never went back to change it, I just decided it was fine. Who cares. What's in a name right. Moving on.

I like this page a lot. I like it because it doesn't seem like much happens, and not much does. But as I get deeper into this story, this scene will take on some importance.

For All the Past Sag A* pages, go here SAGITTARIUS A*

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Entry 240: SAGITTARIUS A* Chapter 2

"Chapter 2: The Psytron War"

Next month I'll put up the first page of Chapter 2. We've learned about Linus Rad's father, now it's time to learn about Rad's experience in the war.

To catch up on Sag A*, check it out here. Sagittarius A* So far there are only 4 pages. It's an easy read.

In other news: Amnia Cycle got talked about on Robot 6. Check it out here: Amnia on Robot 6 That was really cool of them.

I'm hoping to get the 4th chapter of Amnia going soon. It's been tough finding time to work on it while working on the last issue of S.H.I.E.L.D. and my Edge of Spider-Verse issue.

Juggling these projects is a good problem to have.

Blogged and blogged

Entry 100: Blast From The Past-Part 8

Hello again, and welcome to another installment of "blast from the past." And Hey, it's my 100 ENTRY! How bout that?

Anyway, in this installment I've got some submission pages that I did in 1999. That's right, I'm on part 8 of these posts and I haven't even reached the 2 thousands. I really have to speed this up.

So here we go.

These pages were really exciting for me, because these pages were actually requested by Marvel. I was in the middle of drawing my Wild Cats pages (see blast from the past- part 7) when I got a letter from Marvel in response to my previous submission pages (see blast from the past- part 6). They said that my work looked good. They thought I had a good grasp on story telling and they said some other things that I can't remember. And there was a sample script that they wanted to see what I could do with. This was great! I dropped the Wild Cats thing I was drawing and immediately got to work on the Marvel script. The script was a 6 page Spiderman script that I later found was commonly used by aspiring artists. It's always fun to see how other people have approached this script.

After I finished the Spiderman script and sent it off to Marvel I went back to my Wildcat's pages. Eventually I got a call from Marvel! That's right, a CALL from MARVEL! This was a big deal. The call was from whoever was working as their submissions editor at the time. He asked for a few changes. So I quickly made the changes and mailed him new copies. When he got those he called me and told me that they looked great and that he'd get them in front of all the editors there and that in the mean time, it wouldn't hurt to do some more Marvel submission pages to follow up with. So that's when I did these:

After I sent him the Punisher pages he told me again that he would show them around. I was starting to get the sense that this call from Marvel wasn't exactly the big break I thought it would be. I talked with the Marvel guy a few more times but it really seemed like he wasn't getting anywhere with the editors. And he was being less and less encouraging. I figured I'd continue sending him stuff but really it felt like a dead end.

Around this time (still in 1999) I think I kind of lost interest in creating pages for submitting. Making up a story and then drawing 3 or 4 pages of Punisher or Batman was starting to getting old. I wanted to be creating comics! So I thought I would do something that I wanted to do whether it was submittable or not. So I started working on a short story.

The story was inspired by what I was feeling and going through at the time, but instead of making it about me, I made the character a girl. I did this to help myself avoid making an autobiographical comic. Also, it's more fun to draw girls.

I had only done 3 pages of that story when the San Diego Comic Con rolled around.

It had been 2 years since my first time at the comic con and this time I was way more prepared. I had loads of artwork to bring from all the submissions I'd been doing. So I packed a bunch of it into my portfolio and headed to San Diego.
I worked that convention for all it was worth. I did just about every portfolio review I could find, and it seemed to be going really well. Well, sort of. Everyone was loving my stuff. It was a real confidence booster. The only thing was that nobody seemed to have any work. Everyone I showed my stuff to would say "This stuff is great, what are other people telling you?"

I made a few good contacts that year that eventually led to some things. I'll talk more about those next time, but there was one review I got that didn't lead to anything but was still really memorable. Jay Lee was doing reviews for Marvel. Why? I have no idea, but it was still pretty cool. I had admired his work ever since the Wildcats trilogy he did and particularly liked his Hellshock stuff. He was really complimentary and encouraging. He seemed certain that I'd be getting work at that con. I think the experience of that convention and in particular Jay Lee's comments helped me to not lose heart and keep believing in myself.

I hate to end this on such a sappy note, but that's where I'm ending it.

Actually, I'll leave you with these pages also from that short period just before the Comic Con when I had lost interest in submitting work.

Entry 99: They'll Burry You Where You Stand! IS COMING!

That's right, big fat guy, something IS coming!

Finally, Mine and Jeremy Barlow's short Western story, They'll Bury You Where You Stand! is coming out. It will appear in Outlaw Territory Volume 2. Here's the ad that I believe was in Previews with a look at the cover.

There you have it. October 6th is the date. 240 pages of old west goodness.

I posted about this story some time ago and why it's an important project to me. You can check that post out here. Entry 68
Jeremy and I worked closely on this thing. If you're not familiar with Jeremy and his work. You should check out his sight at Jeremy Barlow.com. He's a talented writer with a lot of great ideas. He's also very versatile. He's primarily known for his Star Wars work, but I hope this story shows that he's got a lot more to offer.

Here's another page.