Long, Wonderful Day

Yesterday was a day to remember as I met a lot of cool people and turned an interview into a day long event.

As you know, Scott and I were interviewed by Chuck Moore of ComicRelated.com up at Comics2Games, the heart of BlueLinePro and Sketch Magazine. It was about an hour or so drive for Chuck and I, and 20 minutes or so for Scott, so not too bad a drive.

Chuck picked me up a bit after 11am and we headed on our way. We had a nice chat on the way up and it seemed like no time we were there. What was cool was, having never met these people, I was able to just walk down into the basement and sit down at a table with them as they had a meeting. Nicer people on this planet you'll be hard pressed to meet, let me tell ya.

So as I sat there listening to all the plans they have for various things, and listening to stories and such, I learned what Chuck had been telling me for a while, that these guys were a family, not just a comic book store. It was a great atmosphere to be in, and I had an amazing time.

Before we started the interview I got to look around the store and bought a few things. It's a nice setup and very warm and welcoming. People just hang out there, but it's not like a lot of comic stores where no one looks up at you or speaks to you, it was fun.

The interview was a long one, but it was a lot of fun. We had a lot to talk about, and we tried our best to fit everything in. Sorry if I forgot anything or anyone. It'll be up soon, and I'll provide a link.

Afterwards, we got to chat a bit with Darren and Krista Muller and Jackie Hernandez of Ringtail Cafe, and Jackie just started sketching Wannabez characters! And boy is she fast! And very talented at that.

After speaking with them, Bill Love and Bob Hickey, all extremely nice and open people to my impression, Scott and I headed over to Comic Book World that's carrying Wannabez to talk about an upcoming signing. More on that when we have a date and time on the Wannabez blog.

Then we headed to Darren's house where Chuck was at so we could do dinner before heading off back home with Chuck. Aside from comics, Darren is a graphic designer I believe, and he's doing the programming end on Comic Related's relaunch (in 6 days!). We just walked right in and they began showing us all kinds of stuff they're working on, including Ringtail Cafe, Zombie, the Musical, Don't Read This and so much more. They've got so much going on, and so much unique and creative stuff at that, I was so impressed. It was a joy to meet them and spend a little time with them.

Afterwards, Scott, Chuck and I headed to dinner at Applebee's, but it was too crowded, so we walked over to Cracker Barrel. We had a decent dinner and a nice long chat, then we were off. Amazingly, we still had stuff to talk about as Chuck and I chatted all the way home.

It was a wonderful day, and a better spent Saturday I hadn't had in a long while.

Here's Chuck's take on the day: Saturday in Florence

B-Out

Corrective Measures Reviews

Users on Amazon.com have given Corrective Measures some pretty cool reviews and I thought you guys might want to check them out. Just click the title of this post.

You may recall that I lettered the last chapter of the book, which contains 6 chapters, and it is now available through Arcana Comics, and obviously through Amazon. So check it out!

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Don't Know What to Call It

I couldn't think of a clever title, so that's what you get.

Thanks for all the concern about my tooth. It was so swollen they could only give me meds, so I go back on the 19th to have it worked on. The meds have kept it at bay, thankfully.

In a couple of weeks the family might go away for a day or two to some lake. I guess that would be around Labor Day. Makes sense.

Not that I get a chance to visit too many anymore (mainly Digital Webbing), but forums are getting on my nerves these days. Every discussion somehow turns into an argument at some point, or people just insult other people all the time. It just gets old. There's no true conversation, just a bunch of jockeying and posturing, and it frustrates me.

Lettering work has been very progressive the past couple of weeks. I finished M-Theory #2 (though I'm waiting for four pages to be colored to apply the letters to really wrap it up) and Shadowline is pleased. I've also completed several other projects and made headway on others. So all the work has been fruitful.

I have some gigs and some potential gigs coming up next month, so I'm looking forward to those.

I won't be going to Baltimore. I thought I might, but I won't. The next one for me will be Mid-Ohio, and I'm kind of sad about it. My cousin's wedding is the same weekend in Illinois, and my mother got mixed up and told her and her parents I was going to be there and they got all excited. Now I feel doubly bad for having to miss it as I really wanted to be there. But what are you gonna do?

WW Texas is still an option and one I'm hoping to make mainly to meet and hang with Cary, and to meet some more of the Ronin Studio folks that will be there. We'll see how that all plays out.

I've been writing letters back and forth with a former Sunday School student of mine who is in Basic Training in Oklahoma. I think of him as a little brother, and he of me as a big brother. I hadn't seen or spoke to him in a couple of years before hearing he was in BT. We're planning on hooking up and hanging out when he gets home, so that should be cool.

My brother got all his curls cut off! His hair's so short in comparison it's wild. As soon as I can, I'll get a picture of him and post it up. He just got tired of fooling with it, and having to comb all the tangles out every day. He also wanted a change, and man, did he get one! He looks great, though, everyone thinks so. The salon he went to were going gaga over cutting his hair, and loved the result afterwards. Plus my brother, who was a little scared, loved it.

I finished the The Crystal Shard finally. Pretty good book. So good, in fact, that I'm now reading Homeland and Streams of Silver. Homeland is the first book in the prequel trilogy that precedes The Crystal Shard, and Streams of Silver is the next book after The Crystal Shard. Both are good so far.

I am so bored today. I have plenty more work to do today, but where I've been working so hard the past couple of weeks, and it being Saturday, I just don't feel like doing it. I probably will because I have no life and nothing else to do (save watching TV, which I only do when there's actually something on, which is not often in the summer).

Speaking of TV, if there was one reality/game show I'd want to be on it would be The Mole. I was so thrilled when they brought it back (it just ended this past Monday) as it was one of my favorites. I'd love to be on that show. It just looks so fun, and I love mystery and games like that. So much better than the Amazing Race for my tastes.

WWE Summerslam is tomorrow, but I won't be getting it. Only one or two of the matches sound appealing, and then not that much.

I've seriously been considering writing a book, a novel, lately. I've started a couple before, but never finished them. It would most likely be a fantasy novel because that's what I most enjoy reading. I've also been thinking again about doing a children's book, but the ideas aren't really flowing. I just so want to take my writing seriously again, and let it be the focus. It's just hard because it's lettering and logo design that pays the bills. The only writing I've ever been paid to do is like article writing and press releases, which is not the kind of writing I really want to do in the long run.

If (when) I ever become wealthy I'm hiring a maid! I hate cleaning. I cleaned my bathroom a few days ago and hated every second. I used to clean my church every week and didn't care for that either, though surprisingly, it was more tolerable than cleaning at home.

I have not caught any of the Olympics. I missed the only events I was interested in, so the rest is just a waste. But I was talking to my mom the other day remembering how when I was a kid the Olympics were so much more of a big deal. They were on the whole summer and took over all of the local stations. This year, I didn't see any commercials for them until right before, and then they only take up one local channel and a couple of cable channels late at night. It's just not the spectacle I remember it being.

I've not been eating healthy lately, and I've been paying for it with my gallbladder. It's mainly been -just buy something quick and cheap- which, whether fast food or grocery, isn't usually very good for me. I've been getting braver, eating peppers and stuff, and it hasn't sat well with me. I'm just so sick of bland food. Plus I'm pretty picky, and of what I'm supposed to eat there isn't much that I could even tolerate. I so hate this.

I hate routines and ruts, and I seem to be in them now. I need to get out more. haha

Well, now I'm running out of things to rant about, so I guess I'll go find something else to occupy (read "waste") my time today. :)

B-Out

Convention Virgin

Click the title of this post to check out my account of my first ever comic convention in Chicago just a few short weeks ago. :)

B-Out

Updated List of Books for Sale

Here is the list I posted two posts ago updated with a bunch more books. And don't forget the 116 in the store as well! Best offer will snag these, and I'll give you a bulk discount if 10 or more books are purchased. I do have to charge shipping and handling, but only like $3.00 per order of 10 or more. (New entries are indicated by blue text color)

MARVEL
1602 #1-8 (Neil Gaiman - Marvel)
Amazing Spider-Man #252 (no bar code - came with a toy I think - fair)
Amazing Spider-Man #326 (no bar code - fair)
Amazing Spider-Man #366 (no bar code - fair)
Amazing Spider-Man #367 (no bar code - a little worn)
Amazing Spider-Man #437 (no bar code - came with a toy I think)
Avengers #269 (worn)
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #2 (first series)
Avengers Log #1
Avengers Strikefile #1
Beyond #3, 5
Deathlok #5 (fair)
Daredevil #236 (no bar code - fair)
Daredevil #290
Daredevil #293-294, 296-297, 299
Daredevil Annual #8 (1999 - The System Bytes Part 2)
Darkhawk #27
Dr. Strange #41 (featuring Wolverine - no bar code)
Docter Strange & Ghost Rider #1
Excalibur #42, 45
Fantastic Four #298 (worn)
Fantastic Four #374
Gambit #4
Generation X #5
Ghost Rider #16-17
Guardians of the Galaxy #20, 27
Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1 (1991 - The Korvac Quest Part 4)
Iceman #1 (of 4)
Iron Fist #3 (2004)
Iron Man #288 (embossed cover - 48 page anniversary issue)
Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #19
Power Pachyderms #1 (fair)
Samurai Cat #3 (Epic - fair)
$ell$ #1 (Marvel - Fred Hembeck)
Slapstick #2
What The?! #1, 6, 11 (fair)
Paradise X (Wizard sketchbook)
X-Men the Ultra Collection #4 (pinups)
The A-Team #1 (worn)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Comics #1
Conan the Barbarian #85 (worn)
Pirates of Dark Water #2-3
Double Dragon #1-4, 6
G. I. Joe #73, 94, 97, 106, 113-114, 118 (Marvel)
G.I. Joe: Special Missions #16 (Marvel)
Groo #23 (worn)
Madrox #1
Marvel Comics Presents #83-84, 91-93, 95-97, 109 (Wolverine mostly)
Marvel Tales #219, 235, 253, 256
Marvel Team-Up #24 (Kirkman)
Moon Knight #12
New X-Men #114, 118
Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #30
Nightwatch #2
Peter Parker: Spider-Man #80
Police Academy #6 (worn)
Pulse #6
Punisher #53, 58, 60-62
Ren & Stimpy #6 (w/Spider-Man)
Robocop #3-4
Rogue #2 (2001)
Spectacular Spider-Man #181, 228
Spider-Man #12, 15-16, 24, 35
Spider-Man: Black & Blue & Read All Over
Spider-Man/Doctor Octopus: Negative Exposure #1-2
Spider-Man: The Lost Years #3
Super-Pro #1 (2 copies, plus 1 copy of Special Edition)
Tales of G. I. Joe #9 (Marvel)
Tarzan #10 (worn)
The Mighty Thor #430, 439 (2)
The Toxic Avenger #1-3
Toxic Crusaders #1
Ultimate Six #6
Uncanny X-Men #219, 224, 265, 294, 296 (bagged w/card), 397-398, 427-433
Uncanny X-Men Annual 2000
War Machine #1-6, 8 (Max)
Weapon X #1 (Age of Apocalypse)
Web of Spider-Man #63
Wolverine #48-49, 54, 57, 60, 62-63, 69
Wonder Man #2 (1991)
X-Factor #84 (2), 85 (2), 86 (all bagged w/card)
X-Force #1 (3 - bagged w/card)
X-Force #4, 6, 16-17 (bagged w/card)
X-Men #1 (Cyclops/Wolverine/Iceman cover)
X-Men #14-16 (all bagged w/card)
X-Men #33
X-Men Alpha
X-Men Unlimited #1 (first series), 1, 3 (second series)
Zorro #1-8 (Marvel)

DC
Adventures of Superman #489, 501, 505, 520, 628
Armageddon: Alien Agenda (2)
Armageddon: Inferno
Batman #445, 469-472, 500, 620-623
Batman Annual #14
Brave and the Bold #1 (1991)
Detective Comics #636-639, 671, 682
Detective Comics Annual #5
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II #1-2
Hawk & Dove Annual #1
JLA Classified #26
Manbat #5 (of 5)
New Teen Titans #22 (1986), 79-81 (1991)
Robin II: The Joker's Wild #2 (3 covers, two with hologram cards), #3 (2 covers, both with hologram covers)
Robin III #1-2 (both bagged w/poster)
Shadow of the Bat #22
Superman: Birthright #3
Wonder Woman #7 (1987 - fair)

If someone made me an offer of, say, $300 or more for everything you see here plus everything currently in the store I would probably take it. That's about 346 comics, 2 books and 1 DVD for $300 or more, which is less than $1 per item! Just saying. =D

B-Out

Books for Sale

I have been trying since before the holidays to set up an online store to get rid of some of my old, unwanted comics, but time just hasn't been on my side. You can see the store, which contains 116 comics, 2 books and 1 DVD, by clicking the title of this post.

If you are interested in any of those books you can try ordering through the store, but it has NOT been tested yet, so you may be better off contacting me directly.

You'll notice that store still has a holiday theme and holiday sale message, neither of which are very accurate anymore, save the "Everything Must Go" part because I simply need to get rid of them.

Another reason I'm selling all this stuff is to help with recent dental bills and with making it to Wizard World Chicago. So if you want to help me out in that regard then cool

I prefer Paypal as a payment method, and I am Paypal verified. My Paypal email is brant_fowler@yahoo.com.,

In addition to the items listed in the store I am listing a bunch of others below. I'll be adding more to that as soon as I can sort them out. I have a whole other long box set to go I think.

Also, Mysterious Visions #5 featuring Wannabez #0 is still on sale, and if you want a copy contact me at wannabez@brantfowler.com and I'll hook you up! We're selling those for $3.95 apiece.

Now, onto the additional list (all books in near mint unless otherwise noted):

1602 #1-8 (Neil Gaiman - Marvel)
Amazing Spider-Man #252 (no bar code - came with a toy I think - fair)
Amazing Spider-Man #326 (no bar code - fair)
Amazing Spider-Man #366 (no bar code - fair)
Amazing Spider-Man #367 (no bar code - a little worn)
Amazing Spider-Man #437 (no bar code - came with a toy I think)
Avengers #269 (worn)
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes #2 (first series)
Avengers Log #1
Avengers Strikefile #1
Beyond #3, 5
Deathlok #5 (fair)
Daredevil #236 (no bar code - fair)
Daredevil #290
Daredevil #293-294, 296-297, 299
Daredevil Annual #8 (1999 - The System Bytes Part 2)
Darkhawk #27
Dr. Strange #41 (featuring Wolverine - no bar code)
Docter Strange & Ghost Rider #1
Excalibur #42, 45
Fantastic Four #298 (worn)
Fantastic Four #374
Gambit #4
Generation X #5
Ghost Rider #16-17
Guardians of the Galaxy #20, 27
Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1 (1991 - The Korvac Quest Part 4)
Iceman #1 (of 4)
Iron Fist #3 (2004)
Iron Man #288 (embossed cover - 48 page anniversary issue)
Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man #19
Power Pachyderms #1 (fair)
Samurai Cat #3 (Epic - fair)
$ell$ #1 (Marvel - Fred Hembeck)
Slapstick #2
What The?! #1, 6, 11 (fair)
Paradise X (Wizard sketchbook)
X-Men the Ultra Collection #4 (pinups)
The A-Team #1 (worn)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Comics #1
Conan the Barbarian #85 (worn)
Pirates of Dark Water #2-3
Double Dragon #1-4, 6
G. I. Joe #73, 94, 97, 106, 113-114, 118 (Marvel)
G.I. Joe: Special Missions #16 (Marvel)
Groo #23 (worn)
Police Academy #6 (worn)
Ren & Stimpy #6 (w/Spider-Man)
Robocop #3-4
Tales of G. I. Joe #9 (Marvel)
Tarzan #10 (worn)
The Toxic Avenger #1-3
Toxic Crusaders #1
Ultimate Six #6
Zorro #1-8 (Marvel)

Email me an offer for anything here or in the store at brant@brantfowler.com. I prefer a minimum of $10 per order to save on shipping costs.

I know there aren't any big exclusive goodies here, but maybe there will be a few you like or need to complete your collection or whatever.

Thanks!

B-Out

Comics Now

If you have not checked out this magazine yet you need to soon!

What magazine you say? The title doesn't give it away? Nor the link that is attached to it? The image to the left not ringing any bells either?

If none of these obvious clues register, I am, of course, speaking about Comics Now!, the new comics magazines by Comic Geek Speak and Ape Entertainment. It's actually largely produced by CGS forum members, meaning it's by the fans, for the fans, which, in this case, is a good thing.

For those like me, remember when Wizard was good and full of really cool articles and content far before it strayed onto the much beaten path? That's what Comics Now! offers. It is chock full of interesting and well written content spanning equally from independents to the big two. It also has editorials and short articles as well as the robust feature articles it boasts.

I am also very impressed by the quality of the design of this book. The paper is exquisite, and the layouts, graphics and overall design is as good as anything out there. They chose to use a spine as opposed to the typical stapled magazine format, and it really sets it off. These can fit in your long boxes or on your bookshelf easily.

I was also surprised to see the amount of high quality and big name ads that were throughout the book. There were ads from Top Cow and other larger publishers as well as the little guys like Ape (obviously) and Digital Webbing.

While I haven't read the entire book yet (just received it today), I loved what I did read. There were a few minor typos, and there are a couple of things I'd change in the layout, but overall it was a great first issue.

Though while there was plenty of content as well as a few humorous comic strips, there did seem to be something missing. I can't quite put my finger on it yet. Maybe after I read the whole issue.

I'll come back sometime in the near future with a more complete review, but I have to say if you like comic magazines and miss the "content is king" format of your former favorite, this mag is for you!

B-Out

Quickie

It's the weekend, so I thought I'd post a quick little ditty here.

Comic Book Resources (CBR - www.comicbookresources.com) relaunched their site earlier this week with a brand new design, and I have to say it looks pretty spiffy. Good luck getting it to load, though, I've tried since yesterday morning with little success. Supposedly they're on a new server that's making things run smoother... or was making things run smoother...

Comic Related (www.comicrelated.com) has become one of my daily visits as it's just a cool site that is updated every day of the year. For the month of march they had 1.2 million hits, so they are growing steadily and have great content and a thriving forum community.

Battlestar Galactica returned for it's final season last night picking things up right where last season left off. It was a solid and entertaining episode in my opinion. Things seem to really be coming to a head on all fronts, so I'm excited to see where this season goes.

I'm still enjoying the book I'm reading, The Servants of Twilight, by Dean Koontz. I'm 53 chapters in and things are still keeping my interest.

Iron Man is less than a month away!

On the lettering front, everything's going smoothly, progressing nicely. I'm available for jobs if anyone's hiring!

I wish I could figure out how some of my contemporaries are making money online through blogs or whatever, but I just haven't been too successful myself. Some of the methods I have employed have not yet been that fruitful. I'm going to keep trying though...

Nothing on TV tonight, whatever will I do? What's that you say, get a life? What's that? :)

Health wise I'm doing ok. Had a semi-rough day yesterday, and allergies hit me this week, but nothing major and no attacks. I'm still watching what I eat, though I have gotten a bit braver in small increments, testing stuff. I've discovered a few things I can't do (like peas), and I'm still largely staying away from pop and most sweets and snack foods like chips. Gall stones bite!

My picks for American Idol right now are the two Davids (Archuletta and Cook), Carly Smithson, Brooke White and Michael Johns for the top 5. Beyond that it'll be tough.

Digital Webbing's talent search feature took a hit this week as scammers have made a residence there, forcing Ed Dukeshire to reevaluate the system. For now, all talent search links go straight to the Help Wanted forum. It's a shame a couple of idiots have to ruin a great feature for everyone.

And I guess that's about it for now. I hope you all have a wonderful, fun-filled, and/or relaxing weekend!

B-Out

The Stranded #1 Review

Click the post title to read my latest review of the new Virgin Comics title The Stranded #1, which is the first collaboration between Virgin and the Sci Fi Channel.

Chuck Moore of ComicRelated.com has graciously allowed me to post reviews on his site, so I'll have a few more coming soon, so be on the lookout.

Chris Partin of ComicAddiction.com also extended the offer of posting reviews, so some may show up there sometime as well. I'll keep you posted.

B-Out

More eBaying

New Comic Auctions up at eBay! Please check them out and buy a few!

Teen Titans #34 Variant

Justice League of America #1-2, 4-10 Variants

Justice Society of America #2-5, 8 Variants

X-23: Target X #1 Signed by Mike Choi (1 of 200)

New Avengers: Illuminati #1

Annihilation #1 Variant

Fallen Angel #16 Retailer Incentive Cover by J.K. Woodward

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Space Between #3 & 5 Variants

Aquaman: Sword of Atlantis #40-41 Variants

Mystery in Space #1 Variant

Superman/Batman #37 Variant

Wonder Woman #1 Variant

B-Out

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!

B-Out

On the Upswing

Well, the medicine seems to be working so far on my ailment as I was feeling much better yesterday. Today I'm a little more sore than I was yesterday, but still much better than the day before. So hopefully it's clearing up.

On another note, Scott has been updating the Wannabez blog of late with clips of various pages from our #0 story, so check those out. And speaking of, here's another clip from page 2 he didn't show. You'll have to trust me that the entire scene is very funny in context. I can't wait for it to be out there and available for you guys and gals to pick up!



Lettering work is going ok, though I could certainly use some more paid work right now. I have some medical bills and stuff to take care of, and work is still kind of slow going at the moment. I do have a couple of potential small gigs in the pike, but nowhere near what I need. So if you have something...

Let's see, my cousin's 31st birthday was yesterday. I didn't get to see him, but I left a message for him on his myspace page. If you happen to read this, Jay, hope you had a great one. I won't embarrass you this year with old pics like I did on your 30th. :)

I guess that's it for the upswing. I have a few things on the downswing, but you don't want to hear about those, trust me. So here's to hoping those turn around as well.

B-Out

Falling Back and Running Forward

Did anyone forget to set their clocks back? Luckily for me, I have digital cable, so both my cable boxes and my computer set back automatically. Of course it threw my sleep off a bit, but in a good way.

Speaking of cable, some of the channels changed in my area, so now I have to get used to those all over again.

And speaking of sleep, last night was the first night in weeks I slept eight uninterrupted hours. Woo-hoo! I don't know why last night was different, but that was definitely a welcome change.

Today has been a pretty relaxing day, thankfully.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and man can my family cook! And I love food. And my family of course. :)

So yeah, my life at the moment is not all that exciting, which leaves me little to talk about these days.

I won't be going to the Mid-Ohio con after all, as much as I wanted to. Things just haven't worked out, and Wannabez isn't ready anyway. Hopefully next year will be con year for me. I've yet to make it to anything but a local con years ago.

I watched Wicker Man today, and man was that eerie. A little predictable after a while, but still kind of spooky as it's one of those things that could really happen. Those kind of stories always make the most terrifying ones to me, you know?

Speaking of horror, on Halloween an ECW wrestler named Elijah Burke went on location with the Ghost Hunters and there was one point this big wrestler got scared out of his pants. It was so funny. Click the title of this post to find the video of that scene.

I am getting some lettering samples together to send out to some companies, so I'll keep you all posted on that. Speaking of, I may get to letter a book at a top 4 publisher soon, so we'll see how that goes as well.

Not much else to report in the way of lettering. I'm a page away from finishing up a seven page submission, and I've got a 12 pager to do by Wednesday. Other than that most of it's finishing up stuff and waiting on other stuff at this point. So if you got a (paid) lettering job, I'm your guy!

I guess that's it for now. Have a good night, everyone.

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Myth Conceptions

This is 6 days late, but here it is (click the title link). This week I talk about knowing when to let dreams go.

I'll also be posting my next and last Myth Conceptions column this week, either tomorrow or Wednesday, so be on the lookout for it!

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Myth Conceptions

More talk about dreams this week. Click the title to read the column.

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Myth Conceptions

Click the link above to find the column below (in the previous post) in its regular location.

If you're wondering why I'm posting at SBC right now all things considered, please ask me privately.

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Myth Conceptions

Until my "situation" is resolved I figured I'd post the column here and then also post it there if the opportunity arises. Plus I think a couple of you out there might get something out of this week's:

Myth Conceptions – The Road Less Traveled

By Brant W. Fowler

I’ve been reevaluating things of late concerning a number of issues. Am I on the right path? Is this what I want to be doing? And if so, am I going about it the right way? I’ve been asking myself those kinds of questions.

Relating that to comics is very easy. I read on a friend’s blog recently as he attempted to reach out to another friend who is having doubts about his own comic related path and it got me to thinking. I’ve contemplated following my own dreams, or not following them many, many times over the years, and I’ve gone back and forth with them.

I won’t rehash the whole story as I’ve done it here before, but I stepped away from comics for several years following other paths, and I came back. Not because I couldn’t let go of what many consider a childish habit. But because I really do have a genuine love for the medium, and there is no other escape like it. Sure, I love movies and novels as well, and I enjoy hanging out with friends and family. But there’s just something in comics that connected with me early on, and through thick and thin it stuck with me.

For me, this not only applies to comics, but to other passions and dreams in my like as well. But this is a comics column on a comics website, so I’ll stick to the comics for now. But like any other dream, there will always be a battle between reality and the dream; the logical and the emotional. It’s not an easy battle, and not everyone survives the struggle, especially when loved ones are involved.

I wouldn’t recommend to anyone to put your dreams and goals above your friends and family per se. But I also wouldn’t recommend to anyone to lock your dreams away forevermore because of them. I have a lot of talented people in my family. Some are athletes, some are musicians or singers, others are artists, and so forth. Almost none of them are living their dreams, and while they do have some happiness, you can see that bit of emptiness left from unfulfilled dreams. It wasn’t always their choice not to pursue their dreams, but circumstances, fears perhaps, and yes, loved ones taking priority, which is all understandable.

As for me, I vowed early on not to be like that, and that was a bold declaration for one such as me. I was a quiet kid who kept to himself and didn’t socialize a whole lot. I won’t give you the sob story behind all that, but suffice it to say that I wasn’t inclined to open up too much, nor was I apt to show off my talents all too often. But I still set in my mind that I would never allow myself to fall prey to the same things my family did, regardless of whether their reasons for doing so were just or not.

But I did.

Other responsibilities, family, church and other things in my life began to take more and more precedence over my own dreams and goals as I grew. I convinced myself I could put them on hold for a while and come back to them, which is a dangerous trap that far too many people fall into. As time went on I had lost some of the passion I had for those dreams and had persuaded myself to follow the advice of others and take a different, more sensible path. The only problem is I was never happy doing so. And that led to problems.

Fast forward several years and I find myself getting older and opportunities passing, and dreams fading away. I began becoming more and more unhappy. I had some people through the years support my dreams and try to urge me to follow them, but the key people I was listening to in my life at the time were not so supportive, rather the opposite actually.

I then began clinging to little pieces of the dreams, but feeling like it was just a way to stay connected, yet never really fulfill my potential, or my dreams. That wasn’t satisfying enough. I then went through a period where I felt it was too late, as we all do when we’ve waited what we feel is too long.

But then it happened. A glimmer of hope. Just a tiny sliver of light that peaked through to let me know it was still possible. Just an opportunity that turned into two, then three, then kind of spread out from there. And I was on my way to at least approaching one of my many dreams: comics.

Am I where I want to be yet? Not even close. Am I enjoying where I’m at though? Immensely. I’m not making as much money as I have at my last three office jobs, nor do I have benefits or a fancy house or anything like that… yet. But I am far happier than I ever was following a path others set before me that I was never completely comfortable in.

I no longer feel like it’s too late, nor do I listen to the people who tell me to be realistic and that these are pipe dreams. Don’t get me wrong, I would do what I needed to do to support myself, I’m not stupid. But I’m one of the idiots who truly believes I can make a good, comfortable living doing what I love to do, using the talents that God gave me. And I don’t care about the statistics or the logic that says I’m wrong. I know great things can happen if you work hard and really have passion and determination to reach your goals. Without getting too preachy on this pedestal, the Bible says “dreams come through a multitude of business.” And I fully intend to keep reaching and keep applying my craft until my dreams materialize.

Bottom line, if you are truly passionate about working in comics, then you’ll find a way to make it work. Don’t neglect your other responsibilities, or your family. But don’t let that dream die. Because maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but someday you will look back on that dream and say “what if?” I’ve been there when I’ve missed certain opportunities, and I never want to experience that feeling again. Just to add to my quotes and clichés, “live life to the fullest”. And as my friend’s blog says, “There is no someday, and tomorrow never comes.”

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference

...Robert Frost

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on…” ~ William Shakespeare, The Tempest

First Ebay Item Sold!

Yep, out of 16 auctions I sold 1. It went for $0.99. So I spent about $10 and made $1. Who knew selling on eBay would be equivalent to playing the lottery... Sigh, oh well.

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Ebay Foibles

Well, one of my auctions went unsold, and 8 more end within the next 20-24 hours. The other 7 in under 2 days. I can't say I'm surprised there's not been much attention for the items, but I was hoping. Oh well, hopefully I'll get something out of this ebay mess.

I won't be able to relist anything for a while given my current circumstances sadly. If anyone out there hasn't checked out my stuff yet, my username is gonzogoose777 so check them out. :)

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More Ebay

New Listings:

World War Hulk #1 of 5 NM-MT HOT!!

Marvel 1602 1-8 Entire Run! NEIL GAIMAN!! NM-MT

Marvel Super-Hero Specials Lot GOOD CONDITION!

Robin II #2-3, Robin III #1-2 Lot NM-MT!!!

Superman Lot - WAID, RUCKA and MORE!!! NM - MT

Misc. Lot (Marvel, Dark Horse and more) G-NM

If you're even remotely interested in these I could use the cash! :)

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Ebay

Well, I've taken the plunge into ebay selling finally. The no listing fees promotion ends tomorrow, so I thought I better take advantage of it. No major money making items, but just stuff I don't want anymore and figure I might as well try getting rid of them. So, here are the links to my listings:

Noble Causes: Distant Relatives #1-3

New X-Men #114 and #118 GRANT MORRISON!!!

Zoom Suit #1 Colan Cover SIGNED BY GENE COLAN!!!

Batman #620-623 Broken City AZZARELLO RISSO!!!

Valiant Comics Lot TUROK, X-O MAN O WAR!!!

Valiant Comics Lot SECRET WEAPONS, MAGNUS!!!

Valiant Comics Lot RAI FUTURE FORCE, BLOODSHOT!!!

Solar Man of the Atom #23 SIGNED BY JOE QUESADA

New Teen Titans #22, 79-81 MARV WOLFMAN!!!

DC Comics Lot 1987-2006

I may put some more up later tonight or tomorrow, and I'll update here!

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No Pay, No Play

That's the point I'm getting to anyway. If you don't know, don't ask. If you do know, well, then you know. Otherwise, I'm just keeping on keeping on as the saying goes.

I finally decided that my MySpace page didn't have to coordinate with the rest of my site, so I changed it. And what did I use? The classic Marvin Martian! Yay! I love that little guy. I even used a phrase that adorns many a bumper sticker featuring him as my page title: "Alien With An Attitude!".

I just picked up another book to edit for Rogue Wolf. I was only doing two, but the previous editor dropped out, so I got a third book on my plate, and it was welcomed. I may also work out another editing gig soon, we'll see.

This weekend will mainly be chilling and lettering. I might make my first venture into selling on ebay as well since their month long special of no listing fees ends Sunday. Again, we'll see. I'm a little scared...

CBR's Comic Book Idol deadline for entries also comes to a close Sunday. I definitely won't be entering this year. I haven't even drawn a full sequential page in a long time, so there's just no point in it. Maybe by the time it comes around again I'll be ready. Yep, you guessed it... we'll see.

Tonight a new show on CBS debuts called Moonlight. It's a vampire detective drama, and one of the guys I letter for is the Assistant Production Coordinator on the show, so check it out. It comes on at 9pm right after Ghost Whisperer.

Sadly, Las Vegas' 2 hour premiere also comes on tonight (as does wrestling) so I'm either going to have to sacrifice one or two of them, or do a lot of channel flipping.

Yep, that's how sad my Friday nights are these days...

I've only got 11 pages left to read in Dragonlance: Amber and Iron, the second in the small trilogy, and the third part has been delayed until May 2008! Sigh.

My Kroger will not stock more than 3-4 flavors of Yoplait yogurt. What's up with that?

Why do cat's like to hang around my garage? I don't like cats, and I'm allergic to them. Yet they tend to come around quite often. I'm telling you, if a baby with a lightning bolt shaped scar winds up on my doorstep...

You ever get really bored even though you have stuff to do? That's the way I feel right now. I think I need a vacation!

And on that note...

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Myth Conceptions

This time I express my thoughts on the passing of comic artist Mike Wieringo.

Click the title to read the column.

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Wizard World Chicago & Fat Momma!

Well, I had a slight thrill today. I had to do a conference call for a part-time position I picked up recently, and surprise! Fat Momma from the first season of Who Wants to be a Superhero? was in on the call! So while I didn't get to say much to her beyond hi, nice to meet you, and so forth, I still got to be on the phone with her while she told us all about what she does at appearances, encouraging kids to be happy with themselves and so forth. It was just an awesome call, and she is the nicest person.

On top of that, she will be at our booth at Wizard World Chicago! Now, I personally won't be there unfortunately, but the rest of the Young Explorers crew will be. So if you're there go check it out. We might have some flyers from Kids Love Comics, and if Scott and I can work it out, from Wannabez as well!

Maybe I'll make the next one. We shall see.

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Myth Conceptions

As promised, click the title link!

This time I talk about where the comic industry is, was and will be.

Enjoy!

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Been a Busy Weekend!

Well, with Comic-Con being this past weekend I had a LOT to post on the SBC site. Not as much as I had expected, but a lot regardless. Plus I had to do some lettering stuff, which proved to be pretty time intensive.

Aside from that, it was a decent weekend. Nothing special or anything though.

The ten finalists were announced for Platinum's Comic Book Challenge, and unfortunately the project I was lettering didn't make it. But I hear some publishers are interested in it, so we'll see what happens.

On the contrary, the project I'm lettering in the Small Press Idol contest (I was brought on a couple of weeks ago when they're letterer disappeared) actually won the contest, so that was cool.

Some good things are on the horizon for me and for Wannabez, so stay tuned!

Getting back to SBC, click the title link for news on the future of the company. In short, the physical store closed down and the store is now completely an online operation, and all the focus and resources will be put towards growing both the site and the online store. Orders should no longer be a problem once this all takes effect.

And I guess that's about it for now. Thanks for continuing to read.

Oh, and there WILL be a new Myth Conceptions tomorrow, so check here then for a link!

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Decisions

Well, I've heard from the other opportunity and they want me too! Now add to that two more opportunities that have arisen, and I have some decisions to make. So I'll be doing some heavy thinking (and some praying, 'cause that's how I do it) to make the right decision(s). I'm just waiting on some more info from one so I can go into the decision making process fully informed.

As for Abiding Perdition, everything's going smoothly. I said I'd have the first issue lettered by this weekend, so today will be finishing up that.

I received the final Harry Potter book in the mail today and managed to find time to read the first chapter (12 pages I think). What's that you say? I'm claiming to pray, but I'm reading Harry Potter? Look, I'm an adult and I know the difference between fiction and reality. And, like it or not, HP has some great universal themes that relate to people of all ages at the very core. It also has a ton of subtle moral lessons throughout the entire series. Plus it's just fun. My brother got into them I think when the second book had come out. He was younger then, so I would read it to him. And I got hooked. Now I've read all the first six and he's only read 4. lol.

The San Diego Comic-Con is this coming weekend, and I so wish I could go. There are all kinds of cool panels there this year, about breaking into various related industries (film, animation, comics, etc.) not to mention the big panels from Marvel and DC, and the many movie and TV panels that will be there. It would just be really exciting experience I think. Plus I've never been to Cali, yet that's where I plan to live one day. Ah well.

Ok, I've been up for a really long time, and I need to get a few hours before finishing AP up. So until next post...

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Catching Up!

Wow, I had no idea it had been over a week since I posted. Sheesh! As much as I try to keep up...

The deadline for round 2 of Small Press Idol has passed and all but 10 of those who advanced made it in. There's still about 6 days of voting left, so if you haven't please come vote for Wannabez (and Totem and Advent while you're there). :) If you have, thank you very much!

On the lettering side of things, I got a couple of Approbation projects done. Today I'm tackling the two pages of Epsilon Realm I have (thought I had more than that) and another Approbation story if I have time. One story, Construct, was canceled, so I won't be doing that one. And Red Shift I've got laid out (the first ten pages anyway, which is all that's done, pencils only so far). The FE Comics projects start in a day or two I'm told, and I've got another one coming in soon that I committed to many months ago. And I did finish Pozers, just waiting for notes on anything that needs changing/correcting before sending in the high res.

So that's where things are with all that. I may have left something out.

Back to Small Press Idol, I finally got 7 pages of the script for next round done! I'm hoping to finish it today, though Scott has already given me notes on the pages I've finished.

I also have a surprise for WBZ fans coming up hopefully tomorrow, and hopefully it'll help us gain a few more votes this round and next! I've got plans for a couple of other cool things to tie in with WBZ soon as well, so stay posted here and to the WBZ blog for more!

On reviews, I have a few things that were sent to me that I have yet to review, but am working my way there. Frankly I haven't had time to read everything yet. I have read the Archaia stuff and the mini comics that were sent, but I still have one or two others I haven't read yet. Soon, soon.

On SBC, we are working towards a newsletter and I'm trying to get some help with the myspace and comicspace pages so we can get regular weekly updates out there. Hopefully that'll all work out soon as we've got some cool stuff coming up.

And I think that's it for now...

OH! One more thing. I am FINALLY going to see Spider-Man 3 today in less than 8 hours!!! Can't wait!

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More Books I Lettered For Sale!

I just received an email stating that two more books I lettered some stories in (they're anthologies, but all by the same writer) are now available for purchase through Comixpress. You can find them by clicking the following links:

Marcus Midnight: Monster Hunter #1 (I also designed the logo on this one)

Sinister Company Presents: Tales from the Rabverse

The writer behind these books is Ryan Brandt, a good writer and decent guy all around. You can find out more about these titles at www.ronin-studios.com.

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Wannabez Round 2 is Up!

If you haven't read the WBZ blog, checked out my emails, bulletins or posts, then let me inform you that the WBZ round 2 thread is open for PUBLIC VOTE!

Just click the title of this post to get to the thread where you will post a YES to show your support for WBZ. It also contains our Round 2 materials in the first post.

If you're not registered you will have to do that (free of course).

We appreciate all your votes!!!

I am also lettering Advent and Totem, so while you're there check them out here and here and slap down your YES vote for them also!

Thanks!

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Lettering Updates

Since it's been a few days I figured I'd give an update on my status as of right now.

I finished up a short for Approbation a couple of days ago and look to finish the rest of those by the end of the weekend if all goes well.

I'll be finishing up The Mantis today, at least the lettering. The logo may be tomorrow.

I thankfully got an extension on Pozers until tomorrow, and I fully intend to meet that deadline as the writer has been more than patient with me.

Construct got put on hold as I'm waiting for the colors now.

Redshift for Rogue Wolf I'm looking to have done by Sunday.

I'm starting Epsilon Realm #2 next week.

Basically, I've got about 100+ pages if I counted undone, about 80 of which are priority. I look to have all of that completely caught up by the end of next week.

After that I just signed on to do three books for FE Comics starting the week after next with the first one, and I'll also have AOH #2 to do for Victor.

Lightning Squirrel #3 is a bit on hold, but the pages are still being penciled and inked anyway.

I may have a few other from a writer acquaintance as well, but I haven't heard back yet so I don't know for sure.

I'll also be contacting Arcana as soon as I can take on more.

On a related note, I will be raising my rates very soon for new collaborators. I'll most likely keep the same rates for those I've already agreed to work with unless I just can't do that anymore, at which time I'd speak with those creators on an individual basis.

I know I didn't properly mention a few of the projects, but for any creators I'm working with on lettering rest assured that I have planned everything I've got right now in the time line mentioned above.

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More Published Lettering!

Hey all,

Not too long ago I found out that a story I lettered called Teddy and the Yeti was going to be included in Josh Howard's Sasquatch GN from Viper Comics. Well, there's a PDF preview of the book online now! The story I lettered isn't in the preview, but my ugly mug is plastered on page 98 of the 106 page preview! If you want to see the preview click the title of this post.

I'm not sure exactly when the book comes out, but I do know it's already printed, so it won't be long. You can read more about it at this blog: http://www.thisisnotahoax.com/

And you can order it from SBC! We have it listed as coming out next week, though some think it might be this week. Go here to pre-order it!

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Keeping Up...

I read a friend's blog the other day about not realizing how long goes between posts when you're busy and it made me feel bad. Here I claim I update this daily (then semi-daily) and then I go for days, almost a week between posts anymore. I get the emails from my sitemeter indicating that views have drastically dropped and it makes me feel even worse. Not because I care about view counts, but because it means people are losing interest or I'm just not providing content to read.

That said, I'm going to try to do better. It's hard when you get so busy and when you get downtime the last place you want to be is the place you work, which for me is the computer. But I started this blog to connect with people, to share things - such as my projects, my thoughts, etc. - and to give updates on my work. Lately all of those have been few and far between. And I know all of you out there understand, and I appreciate that, but I still want to try to post more. So here I am.


Another friend mentioned to me recently how surprised he was at how open I am in this blog, and it's funny because in person I'm not that open. I'm a pretty guarded person actually. I'm not shy and I love meeting new people and talking and hanging out as much of the next guy. But I'm also a loner of sorts, as contradictory as that may sound. I'll put it like this. When I go home or somewhere alone that's exactly what I want to be, alone. I stay up late at night because of the solitude.

I also don't let a lot of people in. I've been hurt by a lot of people in my life that were supposedly close to me, and I guess it built up a wall. I'm not too trusting and it takes a lot to earn my trust. And except for those I'm close to I really don't talk about myself a whole lot when you meet me. If someone asks a question I'm honest because that's all I know how to be. If it's something personal I'll try to tactfully avoid the question. But I'm still a fun-loving, easy to get along with type of guy. It's just hard to get inside and become one of my very, very few close friends. It takes a long time to build that kind of relationship with me.

Which is why it's weird to hear that I'm so open. I'll be the first to admit, though, that in the written word I'm far more verbose than in the spoken word. I'm also a lot more articulate when I write. When I talk I'm just myself, and I don't use a lot of big words as it's usually off-putting to most. Maybe it's because I'm a writer, I don't know.

In any case, I guess this blog allows me an outlet that I don't really have elsewhere. I don't really have a lot of close friends that I can talk to, and you can only talk to your parents about so much. My brother's half my age, so he doesn't get where I'm at understandably. So this is my outlet, my venting if you will. On top of that it gives people a rare opportunity to get to know me better than they would if they met me in person first.

And that's the beauty of the internet. I've developed bonds with guys in different states or continents without ever meeting them in person. I feel open enough with some of them to talk about things I don't post here or talk to most people about. Without the internet these kinds of connections wouldn't be possible, so I guess technology is good for something. I never have had a lot in common with people around me and have never felt like I fit in. Now that I'm older I view that as a good thing in a way, but when I was young it was hard. But thanks to this blog and forums and so forth I can converse with tons of people who share the same interests as me and it's quite a refreshing experience, let me tell ya.

So I'm glad I started this blog a year and a half a go or so.


I have to give a quick shout out to Matt Yocum who gave me some props on his blog. I was supposed to do some lettering for him, but scheduling and computer problems prohibited it. Luckily he got someone else who did a great job. So go check out Devolution, which is a cool story too, and Matt's Devolution column!


Elsewhere in the wide world of comics, I've posted a piece on Marvel's The Initiative at SBC, which lists all the related titles in the story line that have been revealed so far through July. I'm sure there will be more to add after Marvel's solicitations go online Tuesday.

We've also gotten a whole bunch of new writers for the site who have been turning in a lot of reviews thankfully. So come check those out. We've got some great writers on board.


As for my work, I did wrap all the finishing touches on Nocturnal Essence #1 thankfully, and began working on some other stuff for someone else, though I've neglected to update the writer, so hopefully he'll read this.


Small Press Idol round 2 is underway and Scott is nearing completion on our materials for the round. He showed me I think three of our five characters inked the other day, so hopefully this week he'll get a chance to color those bad boys. I did a second draft of the bios, but we're still kicking them back and forth.


I have sadly not done any other writing in a long time. It sucks because I'm so busy I don't have time to do the one thing I want to excel at more than the other aspects of comics. But hey, ya gotta pay the bills, right?


Ending on a personal note, man I had a restful weekend for a change... sort of. Friday I wasn't feeling well (my stomach, again) and took some medication, which typically knocks me out for a couple of hours. Well, I guess being ill mixed with the medication and my near state of exhaustion just kind of teamed up on me because I wound up sleeping for over 12 hours straight! And then I was still tired, but I forced myself to stay awake and work some. Then I crashed for another 8 Saturday! Today I also slept in late and then kind of chilled and watched TV for several hours, something I rarely do. Usually I'll tape most of my stuff and watch it in spurts. But hey, it was a nice change of pace. I may not have gotten out of the house, but at least it gave me some time away from the computer, which was very welcome, and I love the computer. I'm just in front of it way too much.

I guess that's about it. It's after 5am now and I've got a busy day ahead of me, so I'm gonna chill for a bit before tackling it.

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New Reviews!

Here's a whole slew of reviews I've done recently:

Civil War: The Confession

Civil War: The Initiative

Dynamo 5 #1

Family Bones #5

Gamekeeper #1

Mouse Guard #6

Noble Causes #27-28

Thunderbolts #112

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Myth Conceptions

The latest is up. Ironically with my column a day late I talk about delays.

Also, my column has moved to bi-weekly for the time being so I'm not consistently late anymore. At least let's hope I'm not!

Click the title to read the column.

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Mid-Week Medley

Sorry for the lack of updates, busy, busy as usual.

I'm wrapping up the lettering on Nocturnal Essence #1, though I still have a few tweaks to do.

I'm also finishing Pozers #2 tomorrow (with any luck). Then I'll have The Mantis and the Advent logo to work on before diving into bigger projects.

I am going to try my best to finish a first draft of the WBZ #0 script and new character bios by Friday or Saturday if all goes well.

SBC Reel was missed Monday, but will be back today (Wednesday technically) super-sized and with my review of the Battlestar Galactica season 3 finale!

Speaking of SBC, things are still going good over there. I'm still enjoying it and getting to talk to a lot of creators through it. Look for some great features upcoming including interviews with a Disney legend, Larry Hama, Jeph Loeb and more!

My cousin, Jay finally joined the MySpace craze and has a page up. He's listed as one of my friends, so you can find his profile there. Though it may be hard to spot him. We don't exactly look that much alike. :)

Got some books from Virgin Comics today to review. One of them is next week's Gamekeeper by Guy Ritchie, so I'm looking forward to checking that one out.

On TV, Prison Break is ending for the season next week, which just reminds me all my shows will be ending soon. BSG, now Prison Break, soon Lost and so forth. But at least Heroes is coming back in a couple of weeks!

I haven't read The Hobbit for several days now due to time. When I do have free time I'm usually not reading right now because a big part of my job requires reading, so sometimes I need a break!

As far as Small Press Idol goes, well the site is down pending money being raised to switch to a new server, so everything is stalled. Sigh. Looking at the bright side, it gives us all a little more time to prepare for round 2!

Speaking of which, finally saw some new stuff from Scott and let me tell ya it's looking good!

I guess that's about it. Everything else is pretty average around here.

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Myth Conceptions

The latest is up! It's not what I promised last week, but I think you'll get a kick out of it anyway.

Click the title as always.

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Catwoman

While lettering last night I got to finally watch Catwoman. With all the bad things I heard about the movie I wasn't about to pay to see it at the theatres or by rental, so I'm glad I saw it on cable. It came on AMC (American Movie Classics) of all channels, which was just bizarre. Maybe because it had Halle Berry in it? I don't know.

Anyway, I have to say it wasn't nearly as bad as everyone claimed it to be. It wasn't particularly good either, but it certainly was better than say, oh, Spawn or even the last Batman movie before Batman Begins. That's not really saying much I realize, but it wasn't really that bad. It definitely felt more like a made for TV film rather than a big screen production though. The visual effects reminded me a lot of such TV shows as Mutant X and Night Man and so forth, though a little more advanced. And the fight scenes and cat movements were really good to be honest. Berry really studied Capoeira and really knew how to move.

I will say that for the first time I saw in this film why everyone's so down on her acting. I didn't think she was that bad as Storm in the X-Men films, and I like her acting in general. But man, there were some scenes in this film that were just awful! Especially the scenes where the cat in her speaks out of turn then she jumps back to being Patience. It was just awkward b-acting at its worst!

The plot wasn't all that bad, though I half expected Sharon Stone to turn into Clayface as the similarities of the storyline were present, at least from the Batman Animated Series version.

All in all I'd probably give it a C to C+. I've seen much better, but I've seen much worse. I still think the costume was ridiculous, and the close-ups of the cats in the death scene was just corny, but it wasn't that bad of a film. I still wouldn't pay for it though.

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Lettering Update

I finished up Lightning Squirrel #2 yesterday, I just have to make some minor adjustments to the cover and then send the high res files off.

I'm actually starting on Pozers #2 today instead of AOH #2, which isn't quite ready yet.

I'm also finishing up those two small logos today.

So to make a few minor adjustments to the last post, next up will be Kord & Harley #2 (Epsilon Realm #2 I haven't received yet) then I'm guessing AOH #2. I may jump around between the two actually, depending on how it works out.

After that the list is pretty much the same as last post, plus one small gig I might have left out called The Mantis.

More soon...

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Back in Business!

The computer is finally back in working order!

To be perfectly honest it's been up for two weeks as of 6pm today. There are several reasons I haven't notified everyone yet. First, I was playing catch-up like crazy to get to a place where I could handle everyone contacting me all at once, though I still haven't caught up as much as I would have liked. Second, I've had a touch of the flu since this past weekend, and it's gotten worse today, but I'm still here. And thirdly, I have just been so busy I haven't had time to email everyone or post here. With the computer fixed my workload increased, so that's that. There were other reasons also, but I won't go into them.

In the wide world of lettering...

Today I will be finishing up Lightning Squirrel #2, then starting on AOH #2, and doing a couple of small logos.

Tomorrow and Saturday I will be finishing AOH #2.

Sunday I'll be starting on and probably finishing a short with logo.

Over the next couple of weeks I'll have the following on my plate:

Epsilon Realm #2
Pozers #2
Kord & Harley #2
Advent logo
Scott's Web Comic
A few Approbation shorts
MSC logos

And I think that's everything currently on my plate. If I've left anything out EMAIL ME!

It sounds like a lot, I know, but a few of those I am really into a groove on and can finish them rather fast.

As for beyond all this, I know I have three projects to letter in the Small Press Idol contest, but that won't come for a while. I'll be doing some lettering on the character designs in about three weeks, but that's not too intrusive.

As soon as I feel I'm caught up to a point I can take on more I will be contacting people who have previously contacted me and go from there.

Aside from writing I am obviously doing a lot of work for SBC right now, and soon I'll be doing a lot of work for MSC (more details on that soon). Then of course there's writing. I still have to write up my script for Small Press Idol, do my weekly column, I have at least two interviews lined up, a few reviews I have to do this week, a couple of scripts I really need to buckle down on, and so forth.

It really does sound like a lot, huh? I'll manage, always do. And I'll do my best to keep you all updated better now that the PC is back up and I'm able to concentrate on it more. Thanks!

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Myth Conceptions

The latest is up, though it's not at all what I intended for this week. I'm not sure what it is exactly. I was REALLY late with it, so I just started writing. So what came of it, you be the judge!

Click the title link to read.

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And the Hits Keep Comin'

Forgive me for getting personal again, but I have to talk about some stuff.

I'm telling you, I think our family is cursed! Okay, so over the weekend two really terrible things happened. First, the milder of the two, my Papaw fell at the rehabilitation center and they didn't even notify any of the family that it happened. So my aunts have been dealing with that drama.

Second, my 18 year old cousin was playing a gig at a local club I think Friday night. His mother and her husband, and his brother and his girlfriend were there. Well, his brother, my cousin Chris (33 I think) went outside to get the car and got mugged and stabbed! He had just gotten paid too, so the mugger took all the money they had.

Chris has been through several ordeals this past year, most of which I won't go into. He has a condition where he passes out and it really caused some trouble last year. The man is raising three or four kids (I've lost track) and works really hard. This was just one more thing to pile up on him.

We didn't find out about all this until yesterday. None of the family bothered to let us know anything for some reason. So it's just been a real mess.

I've had a touch of the flu the past couple of days (yep, sick again), but aside from one incident it hasn't bedridden me yet. I had laid down for an afternoon nap the other day around 2:30pm and ended up sleeping 9 straight hours! I hardly ever am able to sleep for more than 3-4 hours straight, so that really took me by surprise. I'm still pretty fatigued, but I'm pushing on anyway.

On a lighter note, I got to see The Departed finally last night. My brother and I almost finished it, but got too tired, so we'll finish it today or tomorrow. I'll hold off any comments until then.

Back in the wide world of comics, it's been busy, busy, busy. In my job I worked at least 20 hours over the weekend, but we got some pretty cool video interviews posted on the site out of it.

Small Press Idol is still slow going right now. Only a couple of new entries have come in the past two weeks, and even though a few more are promised to trinkle in it looks like Round 1 is winding down. We still have nearly three weeks before Round 2 begins though. Ugh.

Man I'm glad I posted this entry because it reminded me of something I have to do. I completely forgot about my column this week! And it's due tonight! Sheesh. I am so behind on things. But never fear, I have a feeling this week is the week I'll get all caught up... hopefully!

I read Civil War #6-7 a few days ago. I'm going to review #7 for the site, so I'll hold off on that for now. Suffice it to say that I'm somewhat pleased and somewhat disappointed.

I'm also still reading The Summons by John Grisham, though I'm finally nearing the end. I've been reading that book really slow and very little at a time, mostly due to lack of time. I have to say it's not one of his best stories, but I'm still mildly enjoying it. I'm really curious how things will play out. Maybe I'll give it a full review here when I'm done.

Well, back to work I go, I go.

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Myth Conceptions

This week in Myth Conceptions in honor of Black History Month I sat down with some professional and independent creators to discuss the history of black comic characters. Among them were:

Kevin Grevioux (New Warriors, Underworld)
Mike Sales (Type Illy Press)
Andrew West (Midnight Studio Comics)
Adrian Wilkins (Metro, Supreme Knight Studios)

PLUS: Kevin Grevioux gives an exclusive, never-before-seen preview of Vindicators #1 and a ton of character sketches from his Darkstorm Studios.

Click the title link to read the column!

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A Little This, A Little That

A couple of quick updates/notes.

First, Amour #1 got another positive review. For those not in the know, this is a book from Approbation Comics that I lettered, which I mentioned a few posts back. You can read the new review by clicking the title link.

In other news, I've been having some problems with my domain emails. For some reason they had disappeared from my webmail and I wasn't getting all of my emails through them. Well, it turns out that my hosting provider went and got a new website and changed their name, and in the process changed some things on the server, which kind of hung up my email. I thankfully got some great tech support and got that taken care of. So I should be getting all my email through those just fine now.

Another bonus on that situation is that I discovered they had upgraded the bandwidth and disk space for all the plans 2 months ago, so I got a free upgrade today. And that couldn't have been more timely as I was nearly out of disk space. So it all worked out just fine.

On the computer situation, still no word from the computer guy. I've been emailing him, but I think I'm going to have to dig out his number and give him a call. I've got a TON of lettering this has put me behind on, and more is coming in fast. I've got to get this taken care of. Not to mention how much this temporary computer impedes my work flow for my job.

Several of the SBC crew is heading to NYCC this weekend and should come out with some great coverage and interviews for the site. I wish I could be there, but it's a no go. We even have one staffer flying in from Israel. He's coming for the fun of it, but he may do some press while he's there as well.

We are trying to line up some exciting interviews for the site as well, so keep checking in.

Small Press Idol is still slow going right now with entries continuing to trickle in. So far (last count) 16 projects have made it to round 2. There's still a month or so left to enter, so I'm sure we'll see a huge influx at some point. It's very exciting this year because there's a lot of people entered or entering soon that I've come in contact with over the years. It'll be a lot of fun competing against so many friends and acquaintances.

I guess that's about it for now. I need to get back to work and make some bill money!

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