To the Letter

Over the holidays I've fallen a little behind on editing, logos and lettering, so this is a brief note to all those I owe work.

After the new year, I will be spending all of next week catching up on everything. I won't be taking on anything else until I'm completely caught up on... AOH, Fracture, Karma Game, Merc43, Shelter, Rogue Wolf stuff, Nifty Comics stuff, a few logos, and a couple of others I'm surely neglecting to mention (but have them listed on paper so I can check them off), and not particularly in that order either.

So, for anyone who's waiting on stuff from me, next week you will hear something. Thanks so much for your patience during the holiday season, it's a big time for my family, and I'm sure yours as well.

Best from me to you. Stay tuned here for more updates.

B-Out

Christmas Aftermath

Well, the gift-giving has come to an end this year, and I have to say, it was a pretty decent Christmas all around. All three of us were pretty surprised, so I'm very pleased.

A big thanks goes out to a couple of guys who helped me out in pulling it all off. You know who you are. Seriously, much thanks to you, I couldn't have done it without your help.

My brother was very pleased with everything he got. Now it's on to the family shindig for some food and singing, then back home to play video games and watch movies while sippin' on some hot chocolate and/or eggnog.

This has been a great Christmas, all pre-stress aside.

And before I forget, Scott finished up the Wannabez card late last night (I don't know how he found the time!), and it's now posted on the Wannabez blog (click the title of this post). A lot of you will be receiving it via email as well. And I printed out wallet size versions to insert in the cards for my family.

Anyway, I hope all of you have enjoyed the holidays as much as I have these past couple of days, which is immensely - Christmas is always the most magical time of the year for me - and that you are all blessed.

Once again wishing you holiday wishes...

B-Out

Christmas Card

I wanted to post the Wannabez card up for everyone, but Scott, bless his heart, couldn't finish it with family committments (actually, he completed it all but coloring one small part of it). I'm hoping to give Scott something special for all his work very soon as he's gone above and beyond this year.

That said, I'll post that card on the WBZ blog and refer to it here once it is done.

In the meantime, I made up this card for my relatives and thought I'd share it with all of you. Hopefully you all get the joke, unlike my relatives so far. :)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night, from the FABLED GONZOGOOSE!

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Taking Off

While there are a couple of things I need to finish up before Christmas (ie, tonight and tomorrow day), by and large, all work is ceasing until most likely the 27th. So if you don't hear from me between now and then just know I'm drinking cocoa, eating sugar cookies, watching Christmas movies, wrapping, singing, and all that jazz with the fam.

That said, there is definitely something I have to finish tomorrow and the day after Christmas, so fear not, I will. And as I said, there are a couple of other things (logos for one) I will be trying to finish tonight or in the morning.

As indicated in the last post, I have started listing some items on eBay for sell to make up for my recent lack of cash flow, and to pay some new debts. So please, if you see anything you like, buy it from me!

I'll post again before Christmas, so I'll save the "merry"s and "happy"s for then.

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More eBaying - Top Notch Stuff!

(UPDATE: I've replaced the links of Black Panther #18, Dark Tower #s 1, 6 and 7, HeroClix, Iron Man, Marvel Zombies/AOD, Moon Knight, New Avengers, Thunderbolts, Ult. Spider-Man, Ult. X-Men, WWHulk and Messiah Complex with links to their auctions. I'll continue to do so with all of them as I list them).

Well, I got a hold of some quality books to sell, so this weekend I will begin posting some stuff up on eBay for sale. Hopefully these items will do better than my last attempts. If I hadn't gotten these books (which were given to me more or less) I wouldn't even try eBay at this point, but I think some of these will sell.

However, I thought I'd give my faithful blog readers first crack at any of these before I list them. If you see something you like email me (Click the little "Contact" link at the top of this blog to find my emails if you don't have them) and make an offer. Once these go up on eBay I'll edit this blog posting and remove this part because I don't want to get in trouble with eBay. But since they're not listed yet it's okay.

So, here's the list (ALL are bagged, boarded, in NM to M condition)

UPDATED WITH LINKS TO ACTUAL SCANS OF EACH PRODUCT!

Fallen Angel #16 Retailer Incentive Cover (IDW)

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Space Between #3 Variant Cover RI (IDW)

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Space Between #5 Variant Cover RI (IDW)

Annihilation #1 Variant Edition (Marvel)

Black Panther #18 Variant Edition (Marvel)

Stephen King's Dark Tower #1 Quesada Variant Edition (Marvel)

Stephen King's Dark Tower #6 Campbell Variant Edition (Marvel)

Stephen King's Dark Tower #7 Coipel Variant Edition (Marvel)

Invincible Iron Man #7 Variant Edition (Marvel)

Marvel Zombies vs Army of Darkness #1 Variant Edition ONLY 3000 COPIES MADE (Certificate of Authenticity included) (Marvel/Dynamite)

Moon Knight #6 Retailer (Bloody) Finch Variant Edition (Marvel)

New Avengers #27 1:50 Variant Edition (Marvel)

New Avengers Illuminati #1 (Marvel)

Thunderbolts #115 Retailer Incentive Variant (Marvel)

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 Wizard Ace Edition Signed by Brian Michael Bendis (Marvel)

Ultimate X-Men #61 Sketch Variant Retailer Incentive (Marvel)

World War Hulk #1 John Romita Jr. Variant Edition (Marvel)

X-23: Target X #1 Signed by Mike Choi (185 of 200 - Certificate of Authenticity included) (Marvel)

X-Men Messiah Complex #1 Previews Exclusive Sketch Variant (2 copies) (Marvel)

Aquaman, Sword of Atlantis #40 Retailer Incentive Cover (DC)

Aquaman, Sword of Atlantis #41 Variant Cover (DC)

Justice League of America #1 Turner Variant (DC)

Justice League of America #2 Phil Jimenez Variant (DC)

Justice League of America #4 Variant (DC)

Justice League of America #5 Variant (DC)

Justice League of America #6 Hughes Variant (DC)

Justice League of America #7 Turner Variant (DC)

Justice League of America #8 Turner Variant (DC)

Justice League of America #9 Retailer Incentive Variant (DC)

Justice League of America #10 Incentive Variant (DC)

Justice Society of America #2 Variant (DC)

Justice Society of America #3 Variant (DC)

Justice Society of America #4 Variant (DC)

Justice Society of America #5 Variant (DC)

Justice Society of America #6 Variant (DC)

Justice Society of America #8 Variant (2 copies) (DC)

Mystery in Space #1 Neal Adams Variant (DC)

Superman #75 DEATH OF SUPERMAN Black Bagged (Sealed) (DC)

Superman/Batman #37 Variant (DC)

Teen Titans #34 Variant (DC)

Wonder Woman #1 Variant (2006) (DC)

HeroClix Rampaging Hulk (RARE) (7 Available) (Marvel)

And while you're at it, check out (currently) 116 more comics at my store!

Thanks!

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A Day in the Life...

Man, this has past week has been a nightmare. Between working and trying to get more work, trying to stuff to sell on eBay, and nursing after the sick, I'm spent!

What's that? Nursing the sick? Yep, my mom has a severe ear infection and some kind of pretty serious abdominal thing. She's literally been in bed for three days. My brother, on the other hand, has an upper respiratory infection, some light asthma, and something else that escapes me at the moment. He missed half last week of school.

Me? Same physical problems I've had for a while, except the stomach thing, which FINALLY seems to have subsided (which makes me think it may have been related to the kidney thing as that's cleared up as well). My stomach hasn't flared up for a couple of weeks now, knock on wood or say a prayer.

Work has been slow going what with trying to get other paying work (and since it really isn't), and with holiday stuff and so forth, and because the site was done most of the day today. But I'll be posting some stuff here shortly.

Lettering is steadily moving along. I finished Superworld Presents (man, that was a fun book!), and I've got a couple of things to finish tomorrow and the next day. Still waiting on edits for Merc43.

Editing has slowed down, though I'm still reviewing art as it comes in.

I have to finish up that pinup today and send it in. I didn't get the children's book thing, by the way. I had scanner issues, then my website (including this blog and my email) was down for a whole day. So I was two days late getting my sample sketch in, and so they said I couldn't meet deadlines even though they knew the situation, and the deadline was self-imposed!

Anyway...

I still haven't found much work save a few small gigs here and there, and the possible job I mentioned didn't work out. But I still have one prospect I probably won't hear from until after the holidays. We shall see.

eBay selling is a bust for me. First, I just don't have the funds to invest in listing fees at this time. Second, the products I have aren't most wanted. And third, they just plain don't sell. So, I've begun putting together my own little storefront gradually in what little spare time I have, just to sell all this stuff I have and no longer need or want. Beware, there may still be some kinks, and I have a lot more comics to add to it, but you can check it out by clicking the title of this post.

All things considered, I'm actually in an okay mood right now. I'm not ecstatic mind you, but I'm certainly not down (though I probably should be). I guess it's just this time of year, which has a lot of emotional, sentimental and spiritual value for me. Speaking of, I was looking at a picture of my Nana holding my brother in her lap this morning. My brother's first Christmas was my Nana's last, so that Christmas was doubly special, and seeing that picture, the only one we have like that, just brought all that back to me. We also videotaped Christmas that year, which I intend on digging out and watching here soon.

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. Not for the gifts as I enjoy giving far more than I do receiving, but just the feeling, the warmth, the smiles and the whole general atmosphere of this time of year. I look forward to it every year, and I mourn its passing every year. But it makes it that much more special when it comes around again.

Ours is one of those families that has all the aunts, cousins, uncles and so forth all together on the holidays, singing songs, opening gifts, playing games, eating and laughing all together. And my Nana used to always have tons of presents under the tree, even if they were small, inexpensive things. It was just the whole magic and mystique of waking up Christmas morning and finding all those presents filling the room. It's just a magical feeling, and one I very much enjoy giving these days when I can.

So, I won't say nothing can get me down at this time of year, but I'll say I'll fight anything that tries as hard as I can!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

B-Out

Updates for the Day

So far this has been a long day! And it looks like this is going to be a long week.

I've begun listing a few things on eBay to earn some extra cash, but honestly with the items I have I'm not sure the fees are even worth it, even with the free gallery pictures currently offered! So I may nix that whole idea as I have very little to spare on those fees!

I have been working on a potential illustration for children's book I may be involved with, but my scanner is blinking "ERROR" so now I can't get it to the writer for review. Argh.

I did get all the pages of Superworld Presents I had done yesterday, and today I've received more!

I also got a small logo gig, and possibly another small lettering gig, so that's cool. Every little bit helps.

As for Merc43, I'm still awaiting changes to the script on several pages and in the meantime jumping around between random pages.

I've also agree to do a pro bono 7 pager for AC Comics because I thought I could fit it in and it would be fun (this was before the new gigs of course). So I've still got that to do.

And I've still got to finish a pinup for inclusion in the Epsilon Realm: Raven One-Shot, as well as add a logo I did to a high res cover.

I also have to send in some solicitation copy and the cover to Diamond for a book I'm helping out on.

So, needless to say, I've been busy and will stay busy. The sad thing is I still need a LOT more work to cover everything left void from two and a half months of no pay on top of Christmas! Sigh.

Well, I better get back to it...

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Possibilities

Well, I may have a new job prospect, and a better paying one than I'm used to. However, there is one major stumblingblock I am trying to overcome that could potentially hinder me getting said job.

What is the job? I'm actually not sure what all it entails yet, but I'd be working in an office again, but working on the internet mainly and doing stuff related to stuff I've done before, only more interesting. And no tech support! That would be great.

So hopefully I can find a way around this little problem of mine. I guess if it's meant to be it'll happen. If not, hopefully something else will come along.

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Free for All

The day before yesterday, my mother and aunt found some office furniture a bank was throwing out. It was perfectly good, they were just remodeling. So they picked it up for free.

So, yesterday, I got the best workout I've had in a while as I had the privilege of hauling two very heavy book cases and a couple of chairs upstairs to the loft (our den) by myself! My brother wasn't home, and my mother can't lift anything heavy due to her injury. And did I mention that there's a landing and a sharp turn, then a few more steps? Or that one of the book cases is about 2 and a half feet deep, 4 feet wide, and about 4 and a half feet tall? Yeah, that wasn't easy.

But I got them up here and now instead of looking shabby, we have a nice little office space since this is where the computer is. My printer was sitting on top of a ratty old short broken bookcase we found a couple of years ago, but now it's got plenty of space on this counter like piece of furniture. And everything is organized neatly instead of just thrown here and there. So that was a nice early (free!) Christmas present.

After that was all done, I then had to brave the garage (which has a bunch of junk in it that we don't have anywhere else to put, and haven't gone through to get rid of) to locate a couple of items to bring in the house for decorating purposes. Needless to say, they were in the very back under everything else. So that was a fun day. :)

But all in all, things turned out nice. Today my mother decorated a bit while I worked and looked for more work. And that's about it. Aside from helping mom a bit with stuff she couldn't reach, I've been here at this computer all day at my nice little home office area. :)

B-Out

Quirky

I'm in a rather odd mood today. I can't explain it really, just odd. I'm sleepy, but I can't sleep. Hungry, but I can't eat. Kind of whimsical, yet kind of bored. It's an odd mixed bag of emotions that leaves me making funny faces at the computer as I type this for no apparent reasons. It's as if I'm trying to find the emotion by contorting my face in bizarre ways.

Anyway... I got really busy yesterday, so I'm sorry I didn't give an update.

First 6 pages of SWP (Superworld Presents, a hilarious and fun comic to read and work on) have been sent off, the next 7 are about halfway done.

I had to request some clarification on some pages of Merc43, so I'm waiting on those. In the meantime, I've finished some random pages of it. Still shooting for the weekend for completion, but it may be a day or two later than that.

Sent off the first five pages of Shelter #1 early this morning.

I also applied for a BUNCH of freelance gigs ranging from copywriting to testing to logo and banner design. Haven't gotten any responses yet sadly.

The bills are pouring in as fast as what little money I have is funneling out, so if you've got some work for hire stuff sitting around, I'm available!

I did get a very interesting email about a potential job yesterday, but I can't share that yet. I'll give more details on that as I can. If it works out it will be pretty awesome for me.

My brother's killing me this year. With funds low (the full-time job just isn't cutting it these days - long story), my brother, who's 15, would have to pick this year to want only expensive stuff. His wishlist this year includes:

Alienware gaming laptop
XBox 360 Elite
Guitar Hero III
Dean Razorback Guitar
Dog
Emerica Nomad Jacket
Money for Clothes
Money for CDs

And that's just the main things. Not one thing under $100 there.

My mother's not much better as she wants a laptop as well, and a GPS device for the car, and she kind of wants the dog too (they both want a miniature Schnauzer). I do have her a bunch of small things I've accumulated over the past several months, and my brother bought her something yesterday. So she's covered sans a big gift, but I don't know what I'll do about my brother. I just can't swing all that, nor can my mother. But we'll work it out, we always do and manage to have a decent Christmas.

Not that it's about the gifts, I'm just the kind of person that LOVES giving gifts, especially after building up how much I can't get them, then if things work out seeing the looks on their faces when they get it anyway. Doesn't happen often, but it's a nice thought. I just love seeing them happy.

So let's see. Nothing special going on, haven't been watching much TV or movies lately, and my life is pretty much boring. Just work, work, work.

I know I saw a couple of news stories I wanted to talk about, but they've completely slipped my mind now.

I will say that I have become increasingly annoyed at the misuse of the apostrophe lately. Maybe it's the editor in me, but for a while now it crops up everywhere, and it's starting to drive me crazy! If you're talking about a decade, the there is NO APOSTROPHE. It's not 80's, unless you're following that with something the 1980s own. And if you leave of the "19" then it's '80s. And when you're talking plurals, it's "CDs", not "CD's". And these are common mistakes that are being made by professional writers all over the place. I don't mean to harp, it's just become a pet peeve of mine of late.

Oh, and have you all heard of the mail delivery New York Pizza place? Check out www.IWantNYPizza.com. They literally mail you a New York style pizza. The pizza only costs $12.99 to $27.00, but the shipping? $65! Worth it? I don't know, I've never had New York pizza. But loving pizza as I do, if I had that kind of extra cash laying around I would probably try it once.

Another thing I was wondering about lately is why we care so much about the lives of celebrities. Sure, if you become an entertainer of some sort there is a perceived responsibility to the fans in regards of presenting yourself as a figure of respect. But let's be fair. They didn't ask to be role models, they're just doing what the love to do, or what makes the big bucks, however you want to look at it. Yet they are held with an immeasurable and unfair scrutiny more than even the President is under, and that's quite a bit! They don't really deserve it. Do I agree with the life choices of the latest starlet, pop singer or whoever? Not necessarily. Is it any of my business? Not really. So why do we care so much? Are we really that bored? Don't answer that.

If you're really that bored, or just want to see something cool, click the title to find some videos of Christmas lights synced to Christmas songs. I couldn't find the one I wanted to share, but some of those are pretty cool too.

Now I'm just looking into the ethers trying to pull things down to talk about, so I'll spare you of any further rambling.

B-Out

Lettering Updates

I made some progress on the lettering front today, but not much. I discovered I still had some spyware and trojans, so I had to spend a little time ridding myself of those. And I'm not going to be near the computer too much tonight, so progress was halted a bit.

That said, I'll have some pages of a new project called SWP done late tonight/early tomorrow (like in the am, but still dark), and hopefully some of Merc43, another new project, as well.

I'll also be sending in some high res Shelter pages late tonight, and if all goes well, I'll be finishing Merc43 this weekend.

On the docket, I've got a logo, some files to finalize, some to update, and a few others upcoming. I'll update more about all those on the morrow.

B-Out

Yuwie and More

I've just joined a site called Yuwie.com, which is kind of like MySpace, only you get PAID for using it! I thought I'd give it a try, and thusly, I've invited a lot of my friends to join also. So if you've received an invite from me, that's what it's for.

My page is at www.yuwie.com/gonzogoose

You may have also noticed a few other links popping up in the sidebar. Yes, I am now doing one of those online cellphone stores, and I have a power mall. Do I expect to become rich from these things? Not a chance. I'm not sure I even expect them to make a dent, but I figured hey, they're free, so why not? If they make money, great. If not, then no big loss. But if you're curious, check them out. :)

So no, I'm not looking for get rich quick stuff in case anyone is wondering. I'm just hoping to set up some supplemental income while I build my freelance workload and of course work regularly in the meantime. And hopefully eventually I'll get to make a good living, out of debt, doing what I love instead of having to slave away in jobs I hate that only serve to provide for corporate America and not the workhorses behind it.

That is all.

B-Out

Winter Bugs

For those of you I promised lettering to this past weekend, I apologize. Evidently even my computer is not immune to the winter bugs going around. My whole family is ill right now with various things, and the PC is no exception.

Yesterday it just got real slow, then programs wouldn't work and so forth. So I stayed up all night going through code and running scans, rebooting, uninstalling and reinstalling, etc. I finally got it back up and going good, of course now I'm going on no sleep. So, tomorrow things should be back to normal on that front, if not by this afternoon. I do apologize for any delays.

B-Out