Indy-Pendant #67

It's October and my first column of the month is up!

This week I review the Burnt Soul graphic novel from Kieran Murphy, and The Leading Man #1-2 from Oni Press.

It's a pretty short read relatively. Don't know why, it just turned out that way.

Click the post title to check it out.

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1 Year Anniversary

Yep, that's right. Today is the one year anniversary of this blog (click the post title to read the very first post). I jumped into the blogosphere exactly one year ago today on the last day of September. A lot has changed, a lot has stayed the same.

When I started the blog it was out of curiosity more than anything. Everyone seemed to have one by that time and with my website down I figured I'd give it a shot and see what it was like. I guess for a writer it's like a dream come true because, in case you didn't know, we like to write!

It's actually a very therapeutic tool for me. While I don't go into great detail a lot of times I have found myself sharing things here that I don't even talk to people about. It's just easier to write them than talk about them I suppose.

This blog hasn't just been about my life or the trials I face, but about friendships and connections I've made. While I've known Cary Kelley for a few years now, Jason Berek-Lewis and Chuck "Crazz" Kennedy were new friends that have become great friends over the past year. It just so happened that we all started blogs roughly around the same time and found each other simultaneously. Jason and I met via the Dabel Brothers forums where I believe he announced his new blog. I checked his out, and he mine and we realized we had a lot in common. Chuck, I believe, got the link to my blog from the Devil's Due forums, which I only rarely pop up on, and we hit it off as well. Then of course Cary was in and out, and the four of us just kind of clicked and became fast friends. I go to these three guys with all kinds of stuff both personal and professional before anyone else knows about them, and they do the same. That's the biggest experience this blog has brought me, and the one I'm most thankful for.

I have also used this blog to talk about my projects, my art, and various other things. I've made connections with a lot of people through this thing, and I've gotten work from it. So you can't beat that. But really it's all about the relationships. It still thrills me to no end when I discover someone new reads my blog, like Ray Hickson, who I also hit it off with, or various comic creators, or general writers or just people in general. It just makes me feel good that people find what I have to say interesting, so thank you.

I used to get caught up on significant dates, like this anniversary for instance. I've always found an importance in special dates to commemorate things, and that's all fine and well. But I could take it too far at times, as a good friend pointed out to me. The old me would have killed myself to have something special to announce on a day such as this for example. But I've tried to mellow out on that regard and just enjoy it for what it is.

That said, there's nothing I really have to announce or any special features I have to include at this time. I am content in the celebration of this milestone for what this blog has brought me. It's been a way to express myself and to talk about things I enjoy. At times, maybe many times it's been an outlet to pimp my projects, and most importantly, as I said above, it's been a way to build new friendships. No announcement or special project could really top any of that for me, and to suggest that this anniversary is less because of the lack would degrade and insult all the personal achievements mentioned already.

So, let me say a big THANK YOU to each and every one of you who has taken the time out of your busy lives to read these words, and to those who keep faithfully coming back and giving me your support. You have no idea how much your respect, loyalty, interest and friendships truly mean to me. You all have made this a day to remember.

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TV and Comics

Wow, the past couple of days have really flown by, and I still have very little to say, or at least I think I do. I guess we'll see at the end of the post what the word count is.

I'm lettering a few projects at the moment, and I signed on with Hard Way Studios to letter some stuff for them in the near future. Click the post title to see my bio at their website, and to see who my five favorite comic characters and letterers are. It may surprise you.

My cousin, whom I used to babysite, had a birthday a few days ago. She's either 24 or 25 now and has been married for a couple of years. She graduated college (I was there) and is now teaching. Man, do I feel old! My other cousin just turned eighteen two weeks ago and that's just weird. I used to babysit him too, and he's really close with my brother. Wow.

I watched the pilot episode of Heroes twice. So far I really like the show. I'm not going to go into it all right now, but I just like the show a lot.

I caught the first couple episodes of Jericho. It's an okay show, but it just doesn't quite have the umph it needs. Though the ending of tonight's episode was pretty cool the way they hinted around.

I was never a fan of shows like Eureka, but when Johanna Stokes (BOOM! Studios), comic writer and one of the writers (or producers, I can't remember which I'm ashamed to admit) emailed me about the first episode she was involved with I tuned in. I've been hooked ever since. It's odd and takes some getting used to, but it's quirkiness is pretty fun to watch.

Smallville and Supernatural begin tomorrow night! Whoo-hoo!

Kurt Angle is coming to TNA. Yep, one of the best amateur and "professional" wrestlers in the world left WWE and is heading for TNA after rumors he would try his hand at MMA or UFC.

I ordered my first comics from the SBC store this week and should receive them in a few days. I'm excited about that because I've only ordered comics online once before, and that was for a single issue of G.I. Joe from www.smalljoes.com (and various indies of course). If all goes well I may stick with this method. Now if I can just figure out a way to stop my stupid mail carrier from folding packages marked fragile in my tiny mailbox I'll be set!

And that's about it tonight. Not too bad, I guess. I'm still long winded. Oh well, you'll get over it. ;)

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Myth Conceptions

The latest column is up! This week I talk about the merit and flaws of both shared universes and non-shared universes.

Click the post title to read the column.

Thanks and enjoy!

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My Brother's Split Lip

Well, my brother has been doing very well in post recovery and all, but then today something stupid happened. Zach was at a friend's house with some other friends. The kid's parents ran to the grocery for 15 minutes and during that time one of his friends attempted to steal my brother's shoes and skateboard. My brother went after him and when he reached down to pick up his skateboard his so-called friend popped him in the mouth splitting his lip open.

That's mild enough on the norm, but since he's not supposed to have any head trauma it concerned us, but he seems to be doing fine. What we don't understand is why the kid did it. Mom took Zach and went to the kid's house to confront him and his parents, who knew nothing about it, and the kid said Zach did nothing to provoke it and he didn't know why he did it.

For me something doesn't add up. This is one of the kids that was there when Zach had his accident. Zach doesn't remember what happened, and the other kids that were there, well, I'm not sure I believe them. This same kid also wouldn't leave the hospital when Zach was there for like over a day. This kid doesn't skate at all according to Zach and the others, but today for some reason he decided to steal Zach's shoes and put them on and ride Zach's skateboard down the same hill Zach fell and fractured his skull. That street is down the way from the house they were all at watching TV. So something just smells rotten to me, but I don't know what.

But all seems okay now, it was just a heck of a way to end the weekend.

Brant

Indy-Pendant #66

In this week's column I review several titles from newcomer Type Illy Press, the self-publshing company of M. Torez. It's a rather long column in which I give in depth critiques of each of the issues and Torez's overall writing and artwork since he wrote and illustrated them all.

Click the post title to check the column out.

Go to www.typeillypress.com to check out more about the books.

Thanks and enjoy!

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Small Press Idol Round 4

Well, round 4 of the Small Press Idol is under way. And even though neither of the books I was lettering are in the running anymore I still wanted to vote and show my support. The contest was a lot of fun, so I gotta show the love.

I was actually torn between two of the competing titles, but ended up going with my first instinct. I won't say what the other one was, but the one I ended up voting for was Wicket & Imp.

Now, this round to vote you have to purchase a copy of the #0 issue, so if you'd like to do so for any of the titles click the title post to go to Dimestore's Idol page.

With an inker coming onto the book I think the final showing of this title will be much stronger than the previous rounds' images, which can be seen on the site. And if the cover (pictured here) is any indication I think I'm right. So best of luck to Jon and Jamal, I'm rooting for ya.

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Comics and Life

Sorry, I just realized it had been a couple of days since I last posted. I've been really busy and still am, but I wanted to post something here real quick, so here I am.

I finally got a chance to get Wizard #180, which contains a quote from me. Technically it's on an ad for the comic The Sire, but it's still in the book. It's on page #134 the bottom half of the page (you can't miss it). I say "From start to finish, this book is filled with action and characterization" -Brant Fowler (SilverBulletComics.com).

I thought that was pretty cool of Mike to use that quote on a half-page ad in Wizard (those ain't cheap, I've checked!). So I'm still pretty psyched about it, and it gives more publicity to SBC as well.

Speaking of SBC, if you haven't been checking the site out you need to start. We keep current with the comic news, have tons of excellent features, columns and reviews, and we've got some cool stuff upcoming that I can't talk about yet. So keep it locked over there (click the post title).

I also read Civil War #4, the only comic I have time to talk about right now. Let me say that while it's not full of mainstream media newsworthiness as some claimed, it is still very controversial within the events themselves that transpire and should get fans talking. It was a really enjoyable comic and with the Thor issue that should really raise some voices of concern and confusion.

It also looks like some people are questioning what side they're on finally, as we all knew would happen. I find it interesting, though, just who is considering their options and just who isn't. Reed Richards is a bit surprising here too.

And finally (no spoilers, sorry), Steve McNiven's art in this issue is absolutely masterful, no kidding. Absolutely beautiful in every panel. The art alone, for me, was worth the delay.

And that's it for now. Back to work!

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Heroes

I got a chance to watch the pilot episode of Heroes online and man does that look to be a great show! I mean for me it blows anything like The 4400 out of the water. It does have kind of a Lost feel to it in the mystery of it all, and man is it intriguing, and the end of the episode is very interesting. You can check it out by clicking the title post.

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Myth Conceptions

The latest column is up!

As I mentioned yesterday, this week I talk about the fantasy world of Baeg Tobar. It's a long one, so settle in for a nice journey through the creation of this world!


Click the post title to read it.

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New Writing

I added a new poem to the site. Well, it's fairly new anyway. It's the Myth Conceptions poem I used in my column a few months ago that I forgot all about. So if you haven't read it you can check it out on the site now from the writing page. :)

Also, tomorrow's Myth Conceptions column is a huge one! I was pointed to the site www.baegtobar.com to possibly feature in my column. After becoming familiar with it I couldn't resist. It's a massive fantasy world told in the form of prose and comics, which are both right up my alley. So after speaking with the creator of the world and the writer of the first web comic, Stoneteller, I got a whole bunch of info and images to share. I'll of course make a post when it goes live, but for all you fantasy fans out there you'll want to check this out.

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Nigeria's First Comic Shop - Interview!

I recently got a chance to talk with one of the co-owners of Nigeria's first official comic shop, Abdulkareem Baba Aminu for www.silverbulletcomics.com. Kareem, Cary and I used to all work together at a previous small publisher online, so it was really good to speak with him again and hear about this exciting piece of news.

We also talked about the second ever comic convention in Nigeria, which is happening right now.

To read the interview click the title post!

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Indy-Pendant #65

The latest column is up.

Click the post title to read it.

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Sketch Blog Update

I've made an update to the sketch blog.

Click the post title to check it out.

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The Big Numbers

Pretty exciting news in the blogosphere today, well, for me at least. This blog has now officially received over 5,000 unique visits and nearly 8,000 page views! I personally think that's pretty cool and thought I'd share. We're about two weeks away from this blog's one year anniversary, so that was a nice present for the occasion.

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The Fly

There is a fly in the house that is driving me crazy. It came in early this afternoon and acts very strange like it's half dead. It was crawling around on the kitchen floor, but still had enough life in it to escape my every crushing blow.

Evidently it had more life than that, because later on I went into my room upstairs and there it is on the ceiling. It's as still as can be for about ten minutes, even when I get close to it. I figured it had just up and died there. But as soon as I swing for it it disappears again.

So time passes and I'm sitting on the bed sketching and it keeps making passes as if taunting me. Then it goes into hiding again.

I spotted it once more on the ceiling and thought I hit it, knocking it into my art. But I was wrong as it flew by again later.

After this I even tried foolishly laying food out hoping it would land on it and do its whole regurgitating thing so I could swat it. No luck. Haven't seen it since.

The problem is I know it's still there, and I won't be able to sleep as long as I know it's there. I hate bugs with a passion. I just don't like them at all, and if I know there's one alive near me I have to get it out or kill it. I've seen to many discovery channel specials about common bugs crawling in your nose and mouth while you sleep. Ewwww.

So here I am, it's after 2am and I'm starting to get sleepy and I have a stupid fly to contend with that, for all I know, could have crawled off somewhere to die peacefully. Sigh.

Curse that fly!

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Revisiting

I cracked open a book I have again for about the fourth time. It's been a while since I've read it and for some reason it piqued my interest again. It's not a fiction novel, or a novel of any sort, but rather an instructional book of sorts filled with advice and commentary.

The subject? Cartooning.
The author? Lee Nordling.
The title? Your Career in the Comics.

Yep, it's about comics, but not comic books. It's about comic strips, as in those 3-6 panel strips you see in your weekly papers, or much more prevalent now on the internet. The likes of Peanuts, Garfield and Beetle Bailey come to mind. Or for you net browsers, Yirmummah, Order of the Stick and even Dilbert.

Now, I know I have discussed this before, and I don't want to repeat myself, so I'll keep it brief. Before and after I wanted to be a comic book artist I wanted to be a cartoonist. When I was a kid I would buy the Garfield books and read them over and over again. I loved Charlie Brown, Garfield, For Better or Worse and all of those and still do. Before I decided to try my hand at comics I drew strips for the school paper and just for fun. And then when I gave up comics and drawing for five years I revisited my desire for cartooning and got Mr. Nordling's book.

As I mentioned a few posts ago, I started looking to my former cartooning love for inspiration into my comic style artwork. I guess that rekindled my love for cartooning as well.

I have mentioned a few times about wanting to do a web strip and a syndicated one before, so this is nothing new. And I realize I tend to jump around from one thing to the next seemingly, but I assure you it's not as helter-skelter as it seems. I have many, many goals, most lofty yet achievable. The trick is finding the balance to put them all in motion without getting overwhelmed. And when you're a guy like me who hates monotony with a passion you have to keep revisiting things or you get bored very quickly.

Sometimes I feel like I'm allowing my writing to suffer because I'm involved in so many other things. But truth be told, it's all interrelated and it all works towards the same goal basically. Working in comics journalism, lettering, drawing and writing all lead to the same path in various ways, and that's into the comic industry, which I love. Of course singing and acting are different, but they're still creative arts, so I think they fit... somehow in this grand scheme of things.

But here I am with my lettering really starting to pick up, and with things going steady in the journalism area, and now I'm getting back into my art wanting to hone my skills, and now cartooning again, all while my writing seems to be the last on the list. Well, comic and novel writing that is as I do plenty of other types of writing every day it seems. But I'm enjoying every minute of all the things I'm currently doing.

But ironically, writing is one of the two things I love most, the other being singing. So I haven't forgotten my writing, and I did recently write two full scripts, but I just haven't found the proper flow to do a bit of everything.

Again, the problem with me is as analytical as I am, I still can't do things from a list as much as I try. Now I'm not talking about work. That's different, and when I do that I'm completely focused on the task at hand. But I'm talking about outside of that with writing, art, etc. I have to feel it and be in the mood for it. And right now, since I'm not getting paid for it, I can afford that luxury I guess.

But to get back on topic since I am WAY off, I have once again started thinking towards cartooning. I even drew some simple sketches tonight and they looked decent. I'm still trying to find my distinctive style though, even in that. As I mentioned before, that's one thing (among many others) that I have lacked, and I think it would help me overall to find that first and then work on the basic flaws of things.

I was looking at and thinking about various artists' work both in comics and cartooning and how distinctive and identifiable each were. If you see something drawn by Charles Schulz or painted by Alex Ross you know beyond a shadow of a doubt who illustrated it. The same can be said about the styles of Jim Davis, Lynn Johnson, Mort Walker, Jim Lee, Jack Kirby, John Romita Jr, Humberto Ramos, and the list goes on and on. All the greats in any form of art have truly identifiable and distinct styles, and it's part of what separates them from the multitude of artists out there.

But of course there's a lot more to it than that, and that's just the first step. But it's a step.

As for the cartooning, I've thought about trying to do a web strip for some time now, and I hope it won't be long before I'm able to do it. I do want to seek syndication as well, but that's a long, hard road, and it's an extremely hard field to get into. But who knows?

So anyway, I just thought I'd share that since it kind of fit in with recent posts both here and on the sketch blog.

And speaking of the sketch blog, as I make these new sketches I'll start posting them up there. I hope to update that blog three times a week, but it could be more or less depending on the time I have to actually doodle and draw. But we'll see.

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The 9

I'm addicted to this show on yahoo called The 9. It's hosted by Maria Sansone and features bizarre web links every day. Today's links, for instance, include a site telling you what kind of dog you'd be, a link to a video of a car that has been reversed so that the back is the front, and link to furniture made out of bicycles.

It's just a quick, fun little video blog I tune into every day. That and Maria Sansone is very attractive. :) She actually looks a bit like a girl I used to date, only prettier.

You can check the show out yourself by clicking the post title. It's new every weekday.

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Gonzogoose Sketch Blog

There's a new post over at the sketch blog, by the way. I posted my Legacy draw off entry from a few years ago from thumbnails to final pencils.

Click the post title. ;)

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From Left Field

After working all day I figured I'd just ramble on aimlessly about potentially nothing at all before turning in for the evening. I'm trying to wind down. You know that point where you're too tired to really do anything, but you're not quite tired enough to go to sleep. That's the point I'm at, so I'm hoping reading my own words as I type induces sleep!

Dancing With the Stars started a new season tonight. I haven't watched any of the previous shows except for part of the finale of the last season, and it was pretty good. I didn't watch the premiere tonight either, but I do have a reason for bringing it up. Two child stars are on it this season. Two child stars I watched a lot growing up, and I've got to at least check them out. I'm of course referring to Joe Lawrence and Mario Lopez.

Joe Lawrence, many will remember, and I'm showing my age, got his big break (pun intended) on the TV show Gimme a Break with Nell Carter. Of course you younger ones will mainly remember him from Blossom with his catch phrase, "Whoa!", then on the short lived sitcom with his two brothers Matthew and Andy.

Mario Lopez was actually on a Disney musical program called Kids Incorporated way back when he was a little guy. He played drums. But his most notable role was and is the part of AC Slater on the hit show Saved by the Bell. Since then he's mainly been hosting various shows and has done a couple of TV movies.

I always connected with Joe because we had similar interests (acting and music) and were around the same age. I've seen just about everything he's been in, and I have to admit, as wimpy as it makes me sound, I'm a fan. So I think it would be cool to see him dancing on the show.

I was also a big Saved by the Bell mark, even for the spin-off when they went to colleger. I never really cared for the new class though as I liked the original characters. And while Zach was my favorite, I loved Slater too. And I know he can dance, so I think it would be cool to see him perform as well.

Then there's the eye candy as Vivica A. Fox is also on the show. So needless to say, I might have to check this show out. Incidently, I taped tonight's episode for my mother, so maybe I'll just watch it.

Prison Break is in its third or fourth week of the new season and man is it off to a great start. There have already been two surprising deaths and several wild twists and turns. Next week's previews promise even more twists and turns. Man, I love this show!

I drew some today, mainly working on details on a piece I already had done but wasn't satistfied with. It's still not what I want it to be, but it's good practice. I'll post it somewhere when it's all done.

I'm doing an interview with Abdulkareem Baba Aminu (Kareem), who is a co-owner of a new Nigerian comic shop for www.silverbulletcomics.com. Cary and I actually worked with Kareem for a while at Storrm, and I was excited to find out he was involved in this. We'll also be talking about the second ever comic convention to come to Nigeria, so that will be exciting as well. It should be up by the weekend hopefully.

I've got a couple of other interviews I'm working on as well, but I'm going to hold off announcing those yet.

You know what I had to eat today? Hushpuppies and a bowl of cereal. I believe that's it, and maybe a piece of fudge at some point, I don't remember. Oddly enough I'm pretty full. I only had six hushpuppies around lunch time and cereal around 10pm, 4 hours ago. I actually hope that continues to be my appetite as I feel I need to lose a few pounds.

I have not really had much time at all to post on messageboards. I've made a few posts at a couple of regular boards (DW, DBPRo and SBC) but that's really about it for a while now. I think I pop into Image and CBR and creatorfuze once a week or so with a post or two. I've just been too busy, and when I'm not I just don't have the energy to engage in all the conversations I'd like to.

For some odd reason Zach's school has a Disney costume day tomorrow. Today was superhero costume day, but Zach was home with bronchitis. I didn't know about this until this afternoon or I would have undoubtedly convinced him to go just so I could dress him up in some obscure character's outfit. lol. He's got a friend who has an Eore (Not sure how to spell that - the donkey from Winnie the Pooh) suit he's gonna wear. Zach doesn't have a costume because we didn't know about it until tonight. Oh well. I told him to throw a red t-shirt and baseball cap on and go as Kit Cloudkicker from Tailspin, but he said nobody would know who that is. Yep, I'm old. Then I said to throw a Hawaiian shirt on and go as Dale of Chip and Dale from the Rescue Rangers. Yep, still old. Finally I said just throw on an oversized shirt and toboggan and go as one of the seven dwarves. Surely they'll know who they are, right? Right? Man I'm old.

Speaking of old, all of Zach's friends think our mom looks like she's in her mid to late 30's. That made mom's day. Didn't do a whole lot for mine though. heh.

Ok, I'm about to start getting nonsensical as I feel my eyelids getting heavy, so I think I'll call it a night. Strangely I feel as though I sound more prolific and intelligent now half asleep than I normally do fully awake. I wonder what that says about me?

Final note, Smallville starts back two weeks from tomorrow (Wednesday), and I can't wait!

Goodnight.

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Baltimore News

Lots of news going down for Marvel at the Retailer Summit tonight. Joss Whedon is taking over Brian K. Vaughan's baby, Runaways, one of my favorite titles; A Runaways spin-off series written by CB Cebulski called Loners is coming soon; Spider-Man's returning to his black costume, or someone like him is; and the Dabel Brother's titles are going to be sold through Marvel carrying both companies' logos on them.

There were plenty of other announcements, but these are the four that stood out to me.

First of all, I have been a fan of Runaways since #2, volume 1. I missed issue one, but I read the script for it (it was one Epic offered as a script example). It's an engaging title with realistic characters set in the middle of the Marvel universe. And to beat that, they are all original characters, which isn't something we see a lot of. BKV and Alphona have done an excellent job on this title, and I'm sad to see them go. However, I love Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men and look forward to what he has in store for the teen team.

The spin-off title, Loners, features one character I absolutely love, so I'm incredibly psyched about that. I was excited seeing Darkhawk in Runaways and Marvel Team-Up, but I knew it would only be temporary. But now he, along with Turbo (New Warriors), Julie Power (Power Pack), Phil Urich (Green Goblin) and Ricochet (Slingers) will get at least six issues of their own. I'm stoked!

Spider-Man is back in black soon, but is it the real Spider-Man? Joe Q. teased that seeing Peter Parker side by side with a person in the black costume could neatly tie up some things. Could black clad spidey be Ben Reilly back from the dead? Could this be the ploy to get Spidey masked again? Come on, we all knew somehow they'd figure out a way to get Spidey's secret identity secret again. But then people have seen Parker climbing walls in street clothes, so who knows? I'm just excited to see the black costume again!

And finally, the Dabel Brothers have struck a deal with Mighty Marvel, who will now get the DBPro line into more and more hands. I personally think this is great for both parties. Had DBPro sold the company, or lost control of it in some way I would have been less than thrilled, but under the agreement the Brothers keep control of their properties and benefit from the Marvel marketing machine. Can't beat that.

This should be an exciting year coming up for comics. Hopefully Marvel is getting back on track as their overall stories haven't been that great for a while with a few exceptions of course. I hope Civil War and everything coming out of it changes all that. Of course I'm one of the ones enjoying Civil War and what has happened so far. So we'll see.

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Sketch Blog Goes Live

The sketch blog is now up, and it's linked in the sidebar and in the post title. Right now all that's up there are some old cartooning sketches I did 14 years ago. I thought it'd be cool to share them. So check it out if you get a chance.

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Myth Conceptions

The latest column is up! This installment is titled "Tightless" as I discuss the many non-superhero books available out there.

Check it out, as always, by clicking the post title.

The site is lagging a little bit this afternoon, so please forgive any slow loading times. It should clear up soon.

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Artistic Revelations

I entered yet another draw off today, probably the last for a while, and you know what I realized? I mean, I guess it wasn't a realization as I already knew it, but more of an acceptance of it. I accepted the fact that while I can spot and critique flaws in art, even my own, I have a really hard time fixing them.

It's strange. Unlike many wannabe artists, when I draw a piece I can see every single flaw in it, but no matter what I do I just can't fix them. I'm not one of these delusional guys that thinks they've got it down, or needs a million other people to tell them what's wrong (though I still ask to make sure I didn't miss anything myself). I guess sometimes I just wonder if I'm being too hard on myself so I ask others to make sure I'm seeing things correctly. I don't know.

Regardless, I know I have a long way to go, and I know I keep bringing this up. It just frustrates me.

One thing I think I've started to realize is even though I've been drawing for many years I never really had a style of my own. I always emulated, or tried to emulate I guess, favorites of mine. And while I realize little essences of those favorites will always be in my artwork, I never really had my own distinct style.

Furthermore, I always wanted to be one of those really good realistic style artists. Maybe not as good as an Alex Ross, but up there with the likes of Bryan Hitch and Tyler Kirkham and others. But maybe I'm just not cut out for that. Or maybe it's going to take me a long time to get to that level.

So I'm starting to experiment with a much simpler style. I still love intricate detail, and I've always added that to my stuff, and I think that's where my style is going to come from. A simple style with simple lines, but a ton of detail. You don't see a lot of that, it's usually one or the other.

Right before I really started drawing comic material I was drawing a lot of cartoon stuff. I used to watch this show on public access television called Blitz on Cartooning. I had wanted to become a newspaper strip artist (and that's still a goal of mine). So I would watch this show and do everything the guy did. My cartoon sketches were pretty good I think. I'll dig them out and gradually throw them up on the sketch blog when it goes up.

While I don't want to do the over the top cartoony style of art for comics I do think I can use that and infuze it with the comic art and make something new. of course I still have to really bear down on anatomy, proportions, perspective and shadows before I'm any good.

Currently I don't have a real space to draw at, and I think that hinders me. I also don't have the proper supplies, and that hinders me. I don't even have a table I can draw on here. I have a 12x12 shelf I hold in my lap and bend over. It's not the most convenient way to draw, I assure you. Many times I'm kneeling over the thing on the floor. And I wonder why my back and neck always hurt.

I think once I have an art table, the proper supplies and a space dedicated to drawing, and some peace and quiet I'll really be able to get back into it as much as I used to be. For now it's just going to be sketches and pinups and the like to practice.

So that's where I'm at with my art, and I just thought I'd share.

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More Reviews

Four more reviews for your reading pleasure. This time around it's two Marvel titles, one good, one not so good. And two indy titles, one good, one not so good. Go figure.

Anyway, check them out in the sidebar or right here!

Agents of Atlas #2
Brodie's Law #8
Morbid Myths #1: Overdue Collections
Spider-Man: Black & Blue & Read All Over

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Indy-Pendant #64

New column's up!

This week I take a look at Menthu #1-4 from Hometown Productions.

As usual, click the post title to check it out.

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Writers, Contribute to SBC

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Right now at SBC we are recruiting writers to contribute to features, interviews, reviews and columns. There are benefits associated.

Some leads for interviews and features, and even reviews will be provided.

If you are interested in contributing one or more of the above click the post title to email me with the subject line "SBC Writer Inquiry".

Thanks, and I hope to hear from you soon!

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I'm Ok, Folks

A few people have commented to me privately about the tone of one of my previous posts. I assure you all that I'm fine. I just had that initial let down about the submission as well as a few other things that hit at the same time. But that's how it goes, when it rains it pours, right? But I've always been a fighter, and I've always bounced back. So in that respect I'm fine, and I appreciate all the support.

We had several mechanical malfunctions in the house today. A sink stopped up, a toilet's seal broke and the dishwasher decided to go all sitcom on us and shoot out suds all over the kitchen floor. But all is well, or as well as it could be at the moment.

Still haven't heard anything else about the house, so we're up in the air about that.

I did get to relax and watch a couple of movies the past couple of days late at night. I got to finally watch Inside Man, which was an excellent film. Can't say I've really seen a bad Denzel film to be honest. The guy's just a great actor and seems to really pick intense roles.

I also watched Last Holiday, which was kind of corny, but cute just the same.

Saw King Kong finally also, though I had to watch it in widescreen format and I don't have a widescreen TV, so that took away from it a little. I actually really liked the movie. There were a few scenes where they just allowed things to drag on too far, like the bug scene, the scene where Watts does Vaudeville for Kong, and a couple of others. But overall I enjoyed it.

And finally I watched Take the Lead. I know, I thought it would be a total chick flick, but it had the hip hop dancing mixed in, and it was based on a true story. I have a love for the musical arts and dance (my mom was a dance teacher), so it was really cool to hear about a ballroom dancer teaching in a public school. I'm also a big supporter of the arts in our schools, so this was good to see.

I found it interesting in the special features that one of the stars, Rob Brown, stumbled into acting to pay a cell phone bill. He walked on and tried out for an extra for Finding Forrestor to get cash to pay his cell phone bill and wound up landing the lead role. Now that's a pretty awesome beginning. And the cool thing is it hasn't tainted him. He is currently in college and is said to be a determined and serious worker, but a lot of fun to be around too. That's really cool.

In closing, I've gotten knocked out of the DW tournament, deservingly so. My entry wasn't all it could be to be perfectly honest. Oh well, no biggie. It was just for fun anyway.

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More Reviews

I had five more reviews posted on SBC (post title link) today. Four were Marvel books, one was an independent title from Silent Devil. Here are the links:

Beyond! #3
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #12
Lil' Hellions: Day at the Zoo
Uncanny X-Men #478
X-Men: Phoenix Warsong #1

Also in a bit of exciting news, I found out I was quoted about some book in Wizard Magazine #180! I don't know what book or what page since I haven't picked that issue up yet, but I thought that was pretty cool. I believe it's in the Wizard Edge section. More info as I know it.

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Turned Down Again

Yep, another Image rejection, but this time around Erik gave some solid advice and an honest critique. So why I'm incredibly disheartened I am pleased he took the time to give the feedback.

Sigh. So what's next for me? WBZ will be out there again as soon as we can get things rolling in that department. Beyond that I'm trying to hook up with an artist for one of the ideas I entered into the Zeros 2 Heroes contest. I've sent off the first script for Eliminator, which I also entered, to be edited. And I have an artist on Paragons and Night Riders, but they are both tied up right now.

So, for now I'm concentrating on my lettering trying to get samples done and sent out. I'm also still involved with Lab Rats, so I've got that going on. But as for my writing, beyond what I've mentioned I'm not sure exactly what to do or where to go from here. I've got plenty of other ideas I can pursue, but my cash flow is kind of low, so that hinders artistic progress on them. I don't know.

I just don't know...

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Art Chores

Looks like I'm gonna get eliminated again in the DW tournament, which means I'm out all together. No great loss though, I'm not the least bit delusional about the practice I need. It was fun, so I'm cool with it.

In the meantime I whipped up a quick drawing using reference this time for a little fun draw off over at CBR. The drawing had to have someone with a bow and arrow, but aside from that it didn't matter who it was. I chose an elf from LOTR who may or may not be Legolas. lol.

Anyway, here it is:



And finally, it's not ready yet, but I think I figured out what to do with my gonzoblog. It was between doing this and killing it all together, so I think I'm going to try this and see if it gets any hits.

I'm going to turn it into a sketch blog. Instead of posting all my art stuff here I'll use that one, but it'll mainly be for practice stuff and just random sketches. I'll even throw up some old stuff for the heck of it. I'll let you guys know as soon as it's up and running as such.

I'm hoping by sticking to that and having a place to regularly post stuff like that I will be able to keep my momentum in drawing and find my passion again. I really want to get back into sequential drawing. I'm under no illusions of grandeur thinking I'll ever work for Marvel or DC as an artist, but I would love to be good enough to occasionally illustrate my own mini-series from time to time. I have one in particular I've kept on hold until I'm good enough for it in fact. So we'll see.

And that's about it for me. I'm up later than I have been for a few weeks now and I'm starting to feel it, so I'm gonna call it and take a powder.

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Myth Conceptions

Latest column is up. This week I talk about copycats. I'll admit this isn't my best column, but it is what it is. :)

Click the post title to check it out.

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Indy-Pendant #63

I was nearly half a day late, but I just posted my latest column.

It's a rather light one this week all things considered, just one title again, but a good one.

This week I reviewed The Red Line #1 from Ludovico Technique.

Click the post title to check it out!

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