Paws As Hands

FEEDING GROUND & The Best Covers of 2011

2012-01-03T09:37:00.001-05:00

Got jolted today when I was scrolling down Robot 6's alphabetical list of BEST COMIC COVERS of 2011 and found my cover to FEEDING GROUND #4 after the Batmens and Daredevils. Still a shock to recognize that our creation as first-time creators shares a shelf with all of comic history and even more humbling to be included among artists that I admire.

Issue #2 was honored on the 2010 list (link HERE) and here's what I had to say about my FEEDING GROUND covers then:

I arrived at a design scheme for the FEEDING GROUND mini-series that intentionally employs symmetry, bold color fields, and an isolated element to help distinguish the covers from the overall noise of the comic wall. Additionally, each cover is both a perversion of familiar Mexican iconography and a poetic counterpoint to the content of the issue.

For Issue #4, "Severed Ties," our lead werewolf makes her first kill and, with flies swarming confetti entrails, the cover is meant to convey the dark side of child's play.

While I still appreciate the thought process behind these covers, especially the brainstorming with co-creators Swifty Lang and Chris Mangun, I can't help but be critical of my still-developing craft/execution (especially seen alongside other covers on the list). If I were to do them again, I'd probably create a more consistent style across the 6 issues that is somewhere between their current state and the simplified versions (below) I designed as endpapers for the collected edition (and as posters, HERE).

Be sure to check out Kevin Melrose's commentary on Robot 6 as to what makes a good cover for him. Here are some of my favorites from the list (grouped in topics) along with a few list omissions:

COVER AS STORY

Locke & Key by GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ
Not on the the Robot 6 list but I wanted to start with this image as the alternative approach to my own FG#4 cover. Here, the gore is lushly illustrated in vivid detail and I was transfixed by the pooling blood in the paw print when this was first released. Notice too how the blood smear drags off the right side of the page begging you to open it and follow the trail. Bonus points for how the motif was revisited over the subsequent issues of this mini-series.

Heart by KEVIN MELLON
I cited Heart (by Kevin & writer Blair Butler) as my comic discovery of NYCC this year. The cover to #1 is one of the most iconic of 2011 but it succeeds on another level. The cover can also be read as the first panel of the comic followed by the closed fist of the first interior panel. Story first.

COVERS THAT APPROPRIATE OTHER AESTHETICS (and make Comics better for it)

Red Skull: Incarnate by David Aja
As recounted in his blog, smart move on the part of Aja and editor Alejandro Arbona to promote this Red Skull origin AS Nazi propaganda. The attention to detail, especially the different typefaces, sells it and the German text-heavy newspaper cover is about the ballsiest cover I've seen this year from the Big 2.

Secret Avengers by David Aja

Frozen like two stray frames from a grindhouse kung-fu flick, this cover doesn't work 100% for me (the palette feels too austere for the reference point) but it does evoke something I'd like to see more of; sequential art on covers.

Punisher: Max by Dave Johnson

While Johnson's work occasionally approximates the designs of propaganda posters and pulp covers, his Punisher Max covers have felt like he's digested those references with a Saul Bass chaser and created an aesthetic that's all his own.

COVERS BY PAOLO RIVERA
Yeah, he gets his own category. Paolo is one of the very few artists working today whose work makes me react like a fanboy. His art is steeped in Marvel DNA (a Spider-Man with Romita's musculature and Ditko's creepy/goofy deadpan) but with strong influences from fine art and classic illustrators. For me, the work of a comic artist is half craft and half making the right choices and Paolo is both crafty and clever without ever losing touch of the humanity and humor of his subjects. He also achieves the great challenge every mainstream artist faces; how to depict 50 year-old characters in a way that is refreshing and yet respects their history. His Spidey evokes every incarnation of the character for me, including The Electric Company. And now, he's in the process of re-inventing Daredevil with writer Mark Waid. Solicited in 2011, his yin yang fire escape of my two favorite superheroes captures both, and their relationship, in one essential image. You can buy Paolo's original art HERE.

COVERS I CAN'T STOP STARING AT

Loose Ends by Chris Brunner & Rico Renzi

One of my favorite comics of the last few years, each dressed in a package that speaks directly to my design tastes. Chris Brunner's pencils move and breathe and Rico Renzi's got a palette that shames rainbows. You can almost hear music and sound effects in their work. The Kickstand Kids should run all of Comics.

Spaceman by Dave Johnson

Boom.

(be sure to check out Dave's Cover Critique Blog)

COVER THAT DID ITS JOB

X23 by Kalman Andrasofszky
Never had much interest in the character of X23 but the pairing here is so charming and the rendering so poppy that the cover is the one this year that did what it's supposed to: get me to buy it.

2011 Art Parade Part 2 _ ANIMATION!

2011-12-18T17:53:00.001-05:00

This second batch of 2011 art focuses on designs I did for animated projects, shows, and pitches. There's work for Sesame Street and Nickelodeon and some process designs for concepts that may someday see the light of day. Here's Part 1 and onward to 2012...!

BACKGROUND DESIGN FOR ANIMATION

CHARACTER DESIGN FOR ANIMATION

2011 ART PARADE Part 1 _ COMICS!

2011-12-18T17:40:00.000-05:00

We're nearing the end of the year and I thought I'd post a collection of art odds n ends from 2011. Some of these have made their way out into the world, others are unpublished but I can post here out of context, and there is still more 2011 artwork in the bag and in the works that I can't quite yet share. This installment will be dedicated to comic art and below we've got some Spongebob and McGruff the Crime Dog comic coloring as well as comic design and page work with up and coming creators. Part 2 will include all art for animation.

Thanks for visiting and cheers to all for a great past year and more to come in 2012.

COMIC COLORING
(loved coloring naked, shiny Patrick)

CHARACTER DESIGN
(these first two are pretty rough and really for the purpose of communicating ideas to the writer)

COMIC PAGES

FEEDING GROUND _ THANKFUL

2011-11-24T08:57:00.001-05:00

(art by JANET LEE)

Given the holiday, I thought it would be fitting to share the acknowledgments from our book along with live links and a few other people that we could not fit due to space constraints.

As a group, we benefited greatly from the insight and experiences of Thomas Peyton and Luis Alberto Urrea, the counsel of Suzana Carlos, the encouragement and camaraderie of artist Juan Doe, and the fantastic owners and community of comic book creators surrounding Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn, NY. Thanks to Germán Ventriglia for the use of his font CAN CAN DE BOIS. Great thanks to everyone at Archaia Entertainment not only for recognizing our vision and taking a chance on FEEDING GROUND but also for the guidance and support to help make it stronger.

(art by TOM FORGET)

MY THANKS

Thanks to cartoonists Rick Ritter, Mike Dawson, GB Tran and the guys of MAMMAL, their art and dedication convinced me to get back into making comics.

Paul Zdanowicz - horror guru and Lapinski-booster with a keen critical eye.

Klaus Janson - whose professional instruction came just at the right time to bring structure and rules to what I had been discovering on the page.

Brian Michael Bendis - for providing the Jinxworld message board and its posters for keeping me company in the solitude of my studio.

John Siuntres - whose Word Balloon Podcast interviews are like an audio course in comic career and craft.

To my family overall and specifically: my cousin Ali for her assistance as a Spanish reader, my cousin Jennifer for her buttons and friendship, and to my parents whose generous affection has always allowed me to thrive.

And, to Lindsay, thanks for adding sweetness to my life and for riding this wolf to Bayonne and beyond.

(art by JUAN DOE)

Here are thanks from the rest of the FEEDING GROUND creative team.

SWIFTY LANG

Swifty would like to thank: My folks, Drs. Arnold & Gale, sibs, David and Samantha, Neal Mitnick, Moshe Pinchevsky, B.B., my people in South Florida, NYC, and worldwide. This is dedicated to my girl, Spooky, for listening without judgement, even about werewolves.

CHRIS MANGUN

Chris would like to thank the following people: His father Rick, who taught him craftsmanship. His mother Kathie, who taught him how to listen to people. His sister Jenny, who opened his eyes to ideas and music at the right time. His brother Rob, the best reader he knows. His Uncle Tim, for evoking storytelling as an important part of sharing. And most of all, his best friend Mel, who believed in him through unbelievable weekends and continues to do so with kind support. Also, Pale Ale beer... that friendly spirit who sometimes helps grease the pleasant grind of so-called-life-events.

NATHALIA RUIZ MURRAY

Nathalia would like to thank Mike, Swifty and Chris for letting her be a part of this fascinating world of wolves. She is obliged to her husband Liam Murray for not complaining as she read the books aloud in Spanish (sometimes with telenovela emphasis). Mostly she’d like to thank her mother Ines Ruiz, for putting up with numerous questions on (hopefully not completely out of date) Mexicanisms and not yelling at her when she forgot an accent or two.

(art by FRED CHAO)

And, lastly

Mucho thanks to the artists who contributed their time and talents to realizing our story as the pin-up art included in the series and collected editions of FEEDING GROUND (as well as throughout this blog post).

You can find links to their work below:

Fred Chao fredchao.com

Mike Dawson mikedawsoncomics.com

Juan Doe juandoe.com

Alex Eckman-Lawn alexeckmanlawn.com

Tom Forget tomforget.com
Chandra Free spookychan.com

Kate Glasheen katiecrimespree.com

Tim Hamilton http://hamilton-tim.pair.com/CUTBLEED/

Javier Hernandez http://javiersblog.blogspot.com/

Janet Lee j-k-lee.com

Benjamin Marra benjaminmarra.blogspot.com

Blake Sims http://blakesimscomics.blogspot.com/

GB Tran gbtran.com

(gobble gobble by TIM HAMILTON)

FEEDING GROUND _ Store Signing!

2011-11-20T20:20:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday, November 30th I'll be doing an all-day FEEDING GROUND comic signing at RICK'S COMIC CITY in Nashville. Info below and here's a link to the Google Map.

2710 Old Lebanon Rd Suite 3
Nashville TN 37214
(615) 883 - 7890

It's a great shop with a deep selection of back issues and toys that also does a great job of displaying a group of the previous issues of most titles on the main wall.

For those of you that are new to FEEDING GROUND, here's a brief description and some links to bring you up to speed:

A new nightmare plagues the Mexico-Arizona border. A famine caused by Blackwell Industries drives Diego Busqueda, a noble coyote, to lead a band of Mexican border crossers across the unforgiving Devil’s Highway, a desert cursed with blistering days and deadly nights. Back home, Diego’s daughter, Flaca, discovers that something hungrier prowls the factory fields. Stalked and persecuted, can the Busqueda family maintain their dreams of immigration or will the unspeakable horrors of the desert tear them apart? On the Feeding Ground, there is no freedom without sacrifice...

- Previous Blog Posts
- Our Facebook Group Page
- The Archaia Website

And, here's the trailer we cut for the book.

Hope to see you there!

FEEDING GROUND _ Back to the Future

2011-11-07T22:01:00.002-05:00

Saturday, November 5th was "Flux Capacitor Day," the unofficial (as of yet) annual holiday celebrating Dr. Emmett Brown's innovation of the device that would make time travel possible. Swifty, Chris, and I did a little time traveling of our own recently at New York Comic Con where we had the great fortune of seeing so many old and new friends from our past who came out to support us, sometimes with artistic creations of their own or grown kids we had not yet met.

With the FEEDING GROUND Hardcover out on stores (and on Amazon) and the holidays fast approaching this seemed like a good time to reflect and do a round-up of key links and recent events from our FEEDING GROUND timeline, in reverse. You can see all FG-related blog posts HERE and we'll be detailing a select group below:

OCTOBER 31, 2011

FEEDING GROUND HALLOWEEN PARTY, SALON HECHO, NYC

In many ways for me, this event, organized by Chris, was the bow on my FEEDING GROUND experience. I had recently moved to Nashville and, even more so than at NYCC, this was a gathering of my closest friends who came to party. I was floored to have the modern Mexi-Polka band Rana Santacruz perform (they also scored the FG Trailer) and it made for the perfect so-long-for-now to the book and city of New York. You can see more photos and videos at our FG Facebook Page HERE.

OCTOBER 30, 2011

HALLOWEEN REVIEWS

"Moody, tactical, arrogant and downright chilling—Sénor Blackwell is perhaps one of the greatest villains in recent comics history." - The Comic Book Snob

From the start, reviews let us know we existed and provided a constructive mirror to let us know how our craft and ideas were received. But, this pair of Halloween reviews (from Comic Book.com and The Comic Book Snob) also included us with distinguished company (SEVERED, THE WALKING DEAD, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT) that suggested that we've earned our space on the shelf alongside them.

OCTOBER 14-16, 2011

NEW YORK COMIC CON 2011

Did a fairly comprehensive Top 11 List of the Con HERE. Major highlights included signing all of the floppy issues of FEEDING GROUND for a fan (above) and participating on Archaia's HOW TO MAKE A GREAT GRAPHIC NOVEL PANEL. All five of my clips are up on my Youtube channel and you can watch the segment about Pitching, below:

SEPTEMBER 27, 2011

FEEDING GROUND HARDCOVER FOR SALE ON AMAZON.COM

No fanfare, it was just there one day after over a year of work, and soon so was our first reader review. Even more than a critic's review, this was interpretation of the story that signaled to me that the book was out of my hands and belonged to the world.

Feeding Ground uniquely captures the spirit of "The American Dream". Historically, the crossings to this land have been fraught with both fear and unfairness. The werewolves of Feeding Ground serve as metaphors, and political reminders, of the "unwelcome mat" that has greeted countless groups of immigrants, who sniffed freedom, only to be turned away from our shores. A must read for those who still believe in the Emma Lazarus inscription at the base of Lady Liberty.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011

FOREWORD BY LUIS ALBERTO URREA

Luis literally wrote the book on THE DEVIL'S HIGHWAY and his epic non-fiction prose educated us on the desert border; mind, body, and soul. It was an honor that he agreed to write the foreword to our Hardcover and his comments will always be all the affirmation we'll ever need. Be sure to check out both his novels and non-fiction work and you can read the foreword in my original post HERE.

APRIL, 2011

"SOMEBODY NEEDS A HAPPY ENDING"

One person we wanted to give an extra shout out to is our editor Paul Morrissey. On top of the regular proofing and production work of getting the book out the door (along with Archaia house designer Scott Newman) he gave one particular note that changed the trajectory of the final chapter of our book. Basically, a happy ending for at least one of our family members. Even after all of the trials and traps that our family went through, with repercussions resonating across the landscape, Swifty was able a believable note of hope; that our survivors can still step with integrity into an uncertain future.

NYCC 2011 _ Top 11 List

2011-10-18T12:20:00.000-04:00

11) BEST COSTUMES - Dayna / Zuul / "The Gatekeeper" & Louis / Vinz Clortho / "The Keymaster" from GHOSTBUSTERS

There were plenty of costumes that were more elaborate or obscure but this one hit the sweet spot for me for execution (light-up helmet!), conviction, and goofy delight. Bonus points for being a couple.

10) BEST TOYS - The Ever-Expanding Line of Marvel Universe Figures

I had no shortage of toys growing up and I'm no longer buying them now but I always get a little rush when I see action figure versions of a seemingly endless crowd of favorite characters. In this cluster alone: the cat version of Beast, Beta Ray Bill, and Kraven the Hunter.

9) BEST SUPERHERO ANNOUNCEMENT - Storm Joins the Avengers

At the time I was reading UNCANNY X-MEN as a kid Storm went through her famous transformation from a slightly aloof mutant weather goddess to a powerless punk with a mohawk as leader of the X-Men. I definitely have affection for the character but felt she should always have been more prominent as a leader of the Marvel Universe and, as a minority woman with an iconic look, an easy-to-understand power set, and complex identity (benevolent mutant worshipped as an Earth goddess) a banner character for the company. Now in the hands of Brian Michael Bendis and Daniel Acuña I have high hopes that that will be the case.

I'm no superhero artist but you can see my costume re-design for the character, HERE.

8) BEST ARTISTIC DISCOVERY - NICK DRAGOTTA

It often crosses my mind that there are countless undiscovered talents in this world. And then there are those like Nick Dragotta that were right in front of me but I'm seeing for the first time. Nick is no unknown. He's been working on Marvel books for some time, but, seeing his art at full size and in Black & White my eyes were snapped open and will never see the same again.

While his style pulls from all of the great Marvel illustrators (Kirby, Ditko, Adams) he recombines and delivers them in a package that feels new and slightly punked out. It's a visual language that I immediately respond to and one that movies can't match and with a cool they can only hope to emulate.

His website, HERE.

7) BEST BOOK - HEART #1 by BLAIR BUTLER & KEVIN MELLON

You know that for a while in Japan the number 1 selling comic was about Tennis? While there is a great diversity of genres and subject matter in American comics, it's clearly the superheroes that are the bread and butter and what most people associate with the medium.

Taking one step to remedy that is the Image series HEART written by Blair Butler and with art by Kevin Mellon and set in the competitive world of Mixed Martial Arts. I can't say that I've ever watched a match but the book takes full advantage of the medium's ability to convey external and internal drama with full visual might. And, Kevin's rendering is not what I would expect from such a book. Rather than muscular bold inks, he successfully builds figures and their environments from energized and well-chosen hatches.

Great review/analysis on Bleeding Cool, HERE.

6) MEETING OTHER NOVICE CREATORS - FRANK REYNOSO

One of the great changes over the last year is that now that we are published "professionals," aspiring writers and artists have been approaching us for advice.

We've seen a lot of incredible and promising work but the guy that impressed me the most is Frank Reynoso. From his EC-inspired writing on THE HUNTER to his own written/drawn horror book THE REMAINS he is someone with an engaging voice and with real chops when it comes to the not easy task of panel to panel storytelling. Publishers, I need to see Frank on the other side of the table signing books, come 2012.

Here are links to his website and blog.

5) PITCHING LIKE IT'S 2011

While I can't spill any details on my own 2011 pitching, two things became clear. 1) After the halcyon buzz of publishing our first book, this Con was a great perch to witness the industry and better understand our place in it. 2) I love telling stories. While I'm primarily an artist, I have gotten my greatest satisfaction out of working up stories with my collaborators. My bud and FEEDING GROUND co-hort Swift Lang is a writer with his finger on inherently visual stories that are essential and need to be told, now. And, with Jef Burandt, I have the potential to bring visuals to a concept that is both a sociopolitical epic and has the potential to be the coolest toy line this side of GI Joe. We'll see what comes of these pitches but I already benefited from the experience of working up the stories with friends and the editorial feedback we received in telling them over the weekend.

4) THIS IS YOUR LIFE

I cannot be more warm and grateful for the people that visited us to wish us well from all places and periods from our lives. Former co-workers, good friends, new friends, their families, and our family all came out with their support - often at the same time. Got to have dinner with my cousin Jen who I grew up with, blogger/podcaster pal Eric Jason Ratcliffe, and good friend/writer Swifty Lang all at the same table. Below are my Nickelodeon co-worker and pal Keelmy Carlo who had a whole list of friends he was there to cheer and also my sister's co-worker Angie, horror fan and FEEDING GROUND booster. Awesome people.

3) SIGNING THE FULL RUN OF FEEDING GROUND

There are many milestones in the act of bringing something like a book into the world. At our first convention appearance as creators in San Diego 2010 we were only signing a promotional poster for FEEDING GROUND and now this Con felt to me like we were tying a bow on the experience with the release of the Hardcover. The best book-related moment had to be when a fan had us sign the final 5 issues of the mini-series. We had hand-sold him on Issue 1 at NYCC 2010 and he continued to buy the rest at his local comic shop. Then, he thought enough of our work to bring them to the Con, find us, and have us sign them. Another first for us and I'll never forget it.

2) HUG THIS MAN! - Multiple outpourings of brotherly affection

PART 1 - Regular readers of this blog know that artist Juan Doe has been a great pal and artistic godfather to the FEEDING GROUND crew from the moment I met him signing at a Marvel booth in NYCC 2009, literally just before I pitched the book to Archaia.

I was hoping to see him this year but we've both been busy and out of touch. And then he appeared at our booth. Hugs all around and all night long as we celebrated personal and professional successes of the last year. So happy for him and the much-deserved love he's getting for his work on Marvel's LEGION OF MONSTERS mini but more so for the life he's created. Bonus - there he is below (LEFT) with Marvel editor Alejandro Arbona and Archaia's Mel Caylo, in total an NYC carpool crew from when they all met working at Wizard Magazine.

PART 2 - I was disappointed to hear that I wouldn't have the chance to meet up with MORNING GLORIES artist Joe Eisma at the con. We met over the Bendis Board and I'm honored to have seen his work grow and then explode with the success of his book with fellow Benboer Nick Spencer.

Joe and fellow Image artist Nick Pitarra (RED WING) decided to play a prank on Kevin Mellon (HEART, see #7 above) who I had just met. The premise: hug Kevin and win some books.

Contest + hugs + mild embarrassment = I'm all over it. Had a hard time getting a signal to be the first to send the picture but the guys were cool to include me as co-winner.

More details on the promotion and a look at their books, HERE.

1) HOW TO MAKE A GREAT INDIE GRAPHIC NOVEL PANEL

In Fall of 2008 we began construction of a pitch book based on advice we had seen given by creator Robert Kirkman in the back of a reprint of WALKING DEAD #1. In 2011, we were able to thank him and give him a copy of our finished book.

For me, more than anything, conventions are about paying it forward. I was proud to be included on Archaia's HOW TO MAKE A GREAT GRAPHIC NOVEL panel with Mark Smylie, Jim McCann, David Petersen, and Stephen Christy where we were able to lend advice to a standing room only room of aspiring creators who are looking for the same thing I wanted - how to make an idea a reality. Archaia owner PJ Bickett moderated a nuanced conversation that illustrated multiple experiences; no perfect answer but with many paths to learn from.

I've talked about our FEEDING GROUND pitch book in the past HERE. You can read our full pitch as a PDF HERE and we will be posting clips from the panel (recorded by FG co-creator Chris Mangun) on our FaceBook fan page by joining HERE.

Thanks to PJ and the whole Archaia team for taking a chance on us and bringing it all full circle.

COMIC EVENTS _ New York Comic Con 2011

2011-10-12T12:31:00.001-04:00

We initially pitched FEEDING GROUND two years ago at NYCC 2009 and now we get the chance to return this year with our hardcover book in hand.

Here's the newly released trailer for the book, cut by FG co-creator Chris Mangun and sung by the band Rana Santacruz!

I'll also have FEEDING GROUND prints on hand but there are higher quality and greater size variety available in my shop on the print site Society6.

Below are times and locations where you can find me at NYCC. Hope to see you there!

ARCHAIA Booth #1546 Signing Times
FRI 10/14
4 - 5:30 PM

SAT 10/15
5:30 - 7 PM

SUN 10/16
1 - 2:30 PM

GRAYHAVEN COMICS Booth #2547 Signing Times

FRI 10/14
6 - 7 PM

SAT 10/15
2 - 3 PM

Lastly, I'll be a panelist on Archaia's Friday Panel, HOW TO MAKE A GREAT INDIE GRAPHIC NOVEL from 2:30 - 3:30 PM in Room 1A23

Here's the description:

What does it take to create a great indie graphic novel? Here’s your chance to get the inside track! Join Archaia editor-in-chief Stephen Christy and Chief Creative Officer Mark Smylie as they host special guests for an informative panel on what goes into the production of a full-length graphic novel, including the steps from concept to writing, design to production, to self-publishing or submitting your graphic novel for publication. If you’ve ever wanted to know what it takes to make an amazing-looking book, this is the panel to attend! Guests include Michael Lapinski (Feeding Ground), Jim McCann (Return of the Dapper Men), Chad Michael Murray (Everlast) and David Petersen (Mouse Guard). (PLEASE NOTE: This is not a forum for portfolio reviews or submissions.)

PIN-UP ART _ The Coma!

2011-10-05T18:26:00.003-04:00

I had the great fortune to meet cartoonist Javier Hernandez when he did a pin-up for FEEDING GROUND. His art and creations (El Muerto, Weapon Tex Mex, and now, The Coma) are wild and poppy; Silver Age superheroes set in the modern day. His work is like Steve Ditko by way of Southern California.

(art by Javier Hernandez)

Recently, I had a chance to return the favor by doing a pin-up for The Coma. Check below for a first pass, the rough sketch, and final color. You can learn more about Javier and order books, including a premiere art set, HERE.

(a little dull but I liked the vascular system as "spidey-sense")

(with a dreamy character, I started thinking of pulpy nightmares like snakes & fire)

(finish off by complimenting the fire with the veins)

COMIC EVENTS _ Nashvile Con Sketches

2011-10-03T00:48:00.000-04:00

Met a lot of cool people at this year's Nashville Horror & Comic Con and it was my first time doing Con Sketches for fans. Although I was anxious at the prospect, I ended up having fun with it especially because of the fun requests I got. This one group of friends all found a way for me to incorporate werewolves in the drawing somehow. Some passable iPhone pics below. Coincidentally, they all involve Captain America although I forgot to take a picture of a G'nort I did for someone's JLI Sketchbook.

CAP WOLF! (Captain America as a werewolf. More about Cap Wolf HERE)

THE INVADERS BEING CHASED BY A WEREWOLF LIKE THE SCOOBY DOO GANG

CAPTAIN AMERICA (this was a concept I did that I felt suited the aspect ratio of the sketch pad)

COMIC EVENTS _ Nashville Comic Con 2011

2011-09-30T00:05:00.002-04:00

Just relocated to Nashville a little while ago and jumped at the chance when I heard that there were still tables left to exhibit at the 13th Annual Horror & Comic Con. I'll be there on Saturday, Oct 1st from 10-7 to promote FEEDING GROUND which just came out in Hardcover on Amazon and in most book stores this week. You can read the first issue for FREE by joining our Facebook page HERE and check out some posters I just printed out for the Con below. Comics, y'all.

I'll also have copies of the Americans UK comic ROCKTRONIC MIX-TAPE #2, which I think is the best thing the band has put out. Also, the Horror anthology DON'T LOOK! which won a Spectrum Award for the cover art and features our Yeti story, FROZEN DARK.

FEEDING GROUND _ Best Feedback Ever (so far)

2011-09-21T17:50:00.001-04:00

One of the great honors in creating FEEDING GROUND has been the reaction we received from author/scholar Luis Alberto Urrea. In "The Devil's Highway: A True Story," Luis literally wrote the book on the too real horrors of the stretch US/Mexico desert that has consumed lives for centuries and continues to serve as a battlefront of modern immigration. He writes non-fiction that reads like epic poetry and presents an even-handed picture of all players in accounts that are harrowing, human, and darkly humorous. The book was a primary source of research in preparing FEEDING GROUND, our myth on the same subject, and it's with pride that we share Luis' Foreword to our Hardcover Collection, below:

FEEDING GROUNDS OF THE ELDER GODS
by Luis Alberto Urrea

As a writer, I am repeatedly confronted with the same question: What are the most Influential books in your life? I always want to answer: Armadillo Comix #2 by Jim Franklin. You see, I came to writing through drawing. As much as my dad hated it, Batman and Hawkman fueled visions that later remained in my prose; unspeakable visions, spoken. I’d love to see how many of us in the writing trade owe our “cinematic” styles to early comics and graphic novels.

As huge as the craft has become, comic books retain enough outsider, underground cachet to tackle subjects many of us wouldn’t dare touch -- not in polite company, not at Tea Party rallies. One shouldn’t approach such vile, filthy subject matter as the worth of a human life, the dignity of a human soul, or the value of, as Bob Dylan once sang, “these children that you spit on.” I’m talkin’ to you, Mr. Politician.

And, here is a series of books that leaps deep into the brilliant heart of darkness: the damned (in every sense) and glorious border. The place I write about. The place where I was born.

Swifty Lang and I share an interest in the exquisite horror and beauty of the wastelands through which the undocumented wanderers must struggle. It is a formidable region of unforgiving landscape and gods who rule with little mercy. In my book, THE DEVIL’S HIGHWAY, I stated that we are all aliens in this landscape, what I call “Desolation.” For fans of the occult, this comes from The Book of Enoch. Yeah, the lands wherein the fallen Watchers and their earth spawn, The Nephilim, are chained beneath the burning desert mountains. They wait to return for their revenge.

How stunned and delighted was I when these amazing comics arrived in my mailbox. As all great graphic novels do, these books create a literary work of searing poetry and awe. The art allows us to see things we might not be able to—or want to—imagine for ourselves. That my work has had even a little to do with the genesis of this epic is as cool as it gets. I laugh out loud in appreciation when I see the smugglers (Coyotes) and The Devil’s Highway itself, the sly gangsters come alive, as if they had jumped out of my book. But I don’t laugh because it’s funny. No. I’m whistling past the graveyard, amigos. This shit’s scary.

What Feeding Ground has envisioned and what Lang, Lapinski and Mangun have captured, is the eldritch nature of this new myth. The darkness at the heart of the sun-baked killing fields. There is something…other about it. There is something from our deep nightmares lurking there. Yes, there is a relentless toll of suffering and death to go with the realistic adventure and thrills and violent action. That is a given—every border-book ever written deals with it. However, Border Patrol agents know, DEA agents know, the medicine people of those canyons and dunes know that something…other…lurks.

I’m trying to capture this Lovecraftian feeling in my own work. Yeah, a little pissed that Swifty et al have done it first, and done it so well. This sensation is what the philosophers call “the sublime” in art. It is beauty, but it is also terror. It’s a higher horror: a sense of the eternal, the dark, the overwhelming. This epic is so addictive that it will lure you into a deep redrock canyon where the worst dream awaits. It’s so bad; it’s so pretty. It’s a festival of wonder that shows you the true awe of awful death.

Luis Alberto Urrea
Chicago, 2011

FEEDING GROUND _ Book Design

2011-09-20T15:54:00.003-04:00

Haven't been able to post in a bit due to a big move from NY/NJ to our new home in Nashville, TN. But, the release of the FEEDING GROUND Hardcover collection is fast approaching and I wanted to share some illustrations and layouts I executed for it.

Book Design was a whole separate skill set I had to acquire in addition to those that FEEDING GROUND had already added to my utility belt. These are all shown without the supporting text and some have been altered prior to printing but it should give you a sense of the design theme I was going for. You can also see roughs of the English and Spanish covers HERE and the book is already available for pre-order on Amazon.

(click to embiggen)

CHARACTER DESIGN _ Fun with the X-Men

2011-09-09T16:36:00.001-04:00

Over the course of my year+ working on FEEDING GROUND I would post on the Bendis Board for camaraderie and often warm up in the morning by posting designs on the art threads, most often character re-design threads. Some fantastic designs and artists on there.

Here are some specifically X-Men related sketches. None of them are meant to be totally polished art but I think there are some good ideas in there.

STORM

Ororo Munroe has been worshiped as a goddess and led the X-Men as a powerless punk. She was also botched onscreen by Halle Berry, has spent years dressed like a bassist from the band Heart, and is now languishing as wife to The Black Panther. I wanted her to have a costume that paid tribute to the design flourishes concocted by co-creator Dave Cockrum and also presented her with the barefoot confidence of an iconic earth mother who can stand next to Marvel's A-list men.

APOCALYPSE

One of the main X-Villains, Apocalypse's clownish blue appearance never seemed to fit his power and ambition. Evolved over centuries, he's often depicted with ancient Egyptian artifacts and roots so I'm presenting him as an Alpha Egyptian dressed as a polished black scarab. Not perfect, but feels a little bit more like a guy who can call himself Apocalypse and get away with it.

HELLBEAST

In brief, AMALGAM was a concept/story that combined the characters of the DC and Marvel Universes. For example, "Dark Claw" was equal parts Wolverine and Batman and "Iron Lantern" was a mix of Iron Man and Green Lantern.

For this thread, we created our own Amalgam characters, and, in my case, a combo of Hellboy and Beast called "Hellbeast."

For extra nerdy fun, here's a write-up on Hellbeast and his team, the BXRD (combo of the BPRD and the X-Men).

The Nazis are winning! With an army of giant Sentinel robots, the Nazis have turned the tides against the Allied Forces. But, Hank McCoy, chief science officer for America's Bureau X, unites The Right Hand of Doom and The Soul Sword, ancient artifacts of hellish origin, he becomes possessed by a spirit that may win the war or, ultimately conquer the world!

Be prepared to EAT SCIENCE! with Hellbeast and his Bureau of paranormal teammates every month from Dark Marvel Comics!

Jean Sherman - Pretty obvious amalgam of Liz Sherman's firepower and the Phoenix force

Scott Sapien - I was picturing Abe's fish form, but, with a glowing red Cyclops eye.

The Wolverine - A Daimio/ Logan Amalgam where Daimio shares Logan's past and is attacked by a Wolverine god instead of a Jaguar. In human form, he has Daimio's scars and Logan's hair and can use his claws. BUT, he fully beasts out like Daimio).

Piotr the Homnuculus - An organic metal version of Roger and Colossus.

Kitty Corrigan - Kate and Kitty, naturally.

Professor Johann Xavier - Wasn't sure if Chuck would be a better match with Prof Bruttenholm or Johann. I chose Johann.

COMIC ART _ Some Short Press

2011-08-31T18:47:00.003-04:00

(poster by Craig Thompson)

Small Press Expo 2011 is right around the corner (Sept 10 and 11) and there will be a number of premieres there. Cartoonist bud Mike Dawson will be releasing his Graphic Novel TROOP 142, mentioned in the previous post.

While I was working on FEEDING GROUND I also had the chance to collaborate on a few short stories that are out now or will be out soon.

THE GATHERING #4

(cover by Aaron Bir)

The first is called SPARKLER, a two page tale written by my FEEDING GROUND co-hort Swifty Lang that appears in the horror issue of THE GATHERING Anthology by Grayhaven Comics. Not easy to tell a story in two pages but I think Swift found a unique entry through childhood memories and into horror that gets under your skin. And, we came up with an ending that keeps burning.

I had also contributed to the first issue of THE GATHERING and #4 is on sale HERE.

AMERICANS/UK ROCKTRONIC MIXTAPE #2

(cover by Blake Sims)

I'm really excited to be included in the ROCKTRONIC MIXTAPE #2 anthology also premiering at the Con. The comic is full of shorts illustrating the songs and adventures of the real-life band Americans/UK as told by lead singer, writer, and mastermind Jef UK. I'm in the mix illustrating their song SONS OF BA'AL as a biker battle between the band and the combined forces of God, Death, and The Sea. Some concept art HERE.

The book will also feature a host of some of my favorite cartoonists: Aaron Bir, Blake Sims, Ben Rosen, Zees, and John Mathias. All said, RAWK!

THE COMIC FIX _ While I was gone

2011-08-22T16:59:00.007-04:00

Just got back from a paradise vacation of beaches and scuba diving (see my sea turtle video HERE) and did my best to totally unplug and ignore social media. But, I'm new to Twitter ( @m_lapinski ) and most of my feed is filled with comic pros and updates that are a fix for the often addictive personality that comic fans like myself exhibit. I've wanted to start including more of the work of others on this blog and figured I'd use the occasion to kick it off with news of books that hit the Twitterverse while I was gone.

A TALE OF JIM HENSON

There isn't a single book that I'm more excited about than the FALL 2011 release of the Graphic Novel adaptation of A TALE OF SAND, an unpublished screenplay by Jim Henson and collaborator Jerry Juhl. Jim and his works have been a great influence on my creativity and personality, recently rekindled by the exhibit at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. Published by Archaia Entertainment, our publisher for FEEDING GROUND, this book and much of the Henson library is under the great curatorial care and vision of Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy. As illustrated by cartoonist Ramón Pérez, the story is conveyed with an elastic realism that evokes both a dream logic and earthy performances like those that populate the works of Will Eisner.

You can see an interview with Stephen about the project HERE.

Last week, Stephen continued to elaborate on the care and attention to detail being brought to this book in the following Tweets:

For TALE OF SAND we are going through old films that Jim Henson made in the 1960s and pulling colors from the footage to inform our coloring

The font that we're creating for TALE OF SAND is based on Jim Henson's handwriting, so the book will look like Jim lettered it himself!

You know a book is going to be crazy when you have to send 12 reference photos to printers to show them what it should look like

And, check out an interview with Ramón about the book HERE as well as a look at a fun earlier comic KUKUBURI.

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PAOLO'S PROCESS

As far as comic process blogs go, THE SELF-ABSORBING MAN by Marvel artist Paolo Rivera is a must-read resource for tips, tricks, tools and an overall appreciation of what it takes to be a professional artist working at the top of his game. Paolo is smart about his work and, whether it is his fully painted art or pencil and ink cartoons, there is a plan and playfulness under his polished execution. He is currently a part of the genre re-defining run on the Marvel superhero comic DAREDEVIL and I can, and will, dedicate an entire post on what makes that book tick. But, the first thing that ever caught my attention about Paolo was how, on top of photo reference, he has often sculpted reference maquettes of his lead characters in clay prior to illustrating a book.

More recently, Paolo discovered the free CG sculpting program SCULPTRIS and Tweeted the results:

I think this is gonna be Matt Murdock:

That's more like it:

I was able to pick this program up immediately, and I'm already making digital maquettes for myself.

Yep. It's crazy easy to use. I downloaded it yesterday, but just started using it an hour ago.

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BOOKS YOU CAN'T MISS!

ZEGAS by Michel Fiffe

OK, I missed the book launch party at Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn but I read the strip when it first appeared on Act-i-vate and now the book is available on ETSY. "Abstract" or "Surreal" don't do justice to describe a work in which every line and mark and color choice is as engrossing as a full narrative.

TROOP 142 by Mike Dawson

I WILL be in town for the book launch party of this one at Bergen Street comics on Sept 2. I also followed this one when Mike was publishing it as an online comic and it has a supremely honest ear for the awkwardness and malevolence of boys and men trying to wear the too big suit of "masculinity." His essential cartooning is punctuated by finely rendered moments of nature, a dichotomy often employed in the best of Manga.

Plus, a troop badge!

LOOSE ENDS written by Jason Latour, drawn by Chris Brunner, and color by Rico Renzi

I've been crowing about this book since I fist saw the preview for FREE COMIC DAY but it was Axel Alonso, the new Editor-in-Chief of Marvel who Tweeted:

Do yourself a favor & read "Loose Ends," by @jasonlatour, Chris Brunner & @whoisrico. What a page-turner! Updates at jasonlatour.com

The creative team seems to be working from a single mind and spirit and evokes a dangerous southern-fried world that is as fully-formed and specific as it is evocative as a work of art. Renzi's color is particularly exciting to me and is right in line with my own thoughts and approach to color. Check his blog HERE and more LOOSE ENDS art by the Comic Twarters HERE.

PAWS AS HANDS _ 101st Post!

2011-08-09T14:21:00.005-04:00

Not sure if you know this, but Google recently upgraded their STATS tab as a resource in Blogger that provides a great deal of information to the blogger about how many hits a blog's posts are getting, where in the world people are reading them, and how readers are finding them. AND, this is all can be laid out in a period over "all time" down to "now."

While I started this Blog as a way of sharing my learning curve in creating and illustrating my first comic book, FEEDING GROUND, the most popular posts are above and beyond those linking to designs for CHICKIEPOO & FLUFF: BARNYARD DETECTIVES, a pilot I designed and art directed for Nickelodeon. The pilot wasn't picked up but on any given day there are still people checking into this site, often from Latin America where I'm told that the pilot and interstitials are still on the air. It puts a smile on my face to picture, as one commenter told me, kids asking to go online to check out the chickies. For their sake, I hope they don't also run across a werewolf or two.

(ABOVE: Stickers I designed for the Chickiepoo art and production team)

Below are a few more stats and links and weirdness that came up on the Stats tab.Thanks again to artist Tim Hamilton for nudging me into setting this up in the first place:

- Of the Top 5 Posts, the Top 3 are Chickiepoo-related and #5 are some costume sketches I did of Marvel's Thor as an exercise in character design.

- The #4 most popular Post, YOU'LL BE A WOMAN SOON, was about drawing female characters, but, stats suggest that the real draw was the fact that I mentioned actress Emily Mortimer as inspiration.

- One day, a Google search for the phrase "Plump her up a bit" led 2 hits to the site.

- Outside of the US, the most number of readers come from Mexico.

- If you're reading this and would like more info on comic craft in particular, check this link to notes on a series of classes I took with comic master Klaus Janson at MoCCA in NYC.

Thanks for taking the time to read this or any of the previous 100 posts and let me know if there's anything you'd like to see or read about in the future. I'll continue to do updates on FEEDING GROUND and other projects but would also like to shift some light onto other artists and craft in general.

You can join this site if you have a G-mail account by hitting the button on the right and you can also follow me on Twitter at m_lapinski

FEEDING GROUND #6 _ Pin-Ups!

2011-08-02T18:57:00.003-04:00

Today, after 2+ years of gestation and creation, the sixth and final issue of FEEDING GROUND goes on sale. Along the way, we've had the great boon of meeting so many other talented comic people, some of whom were cool enough to contribute art based on our creation. Pin-ups and articles can be found throughout the mini-series (5, 4, 3) and the floppy comics are the only way you'll be able to read/collect the story as a bi-lingual English/Spanish flip book.

Here's a look at some of the art and artists in this issue.

TIM HAMILTON http://hamilton-tim.pair.com/CUTBLEED/

I first discovered Tim's artwork hanging on the walls of Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn; inked pages for his creator-owned work ADVENTURES OF THE FLOATING ELEPHANT and I was glued to them. Tim's inks are a daunting play of light and dark and he's equally adept at noodling gag strips as he is at lush illustrations. Even his warm up sketches on Drawbridge so more smarts and style than many finished pieces.

NOTE: It was also Tim who suggested that I start a blog in the first place.

JAVIER HERNANDEZ http://javiersblog.blogspot.com/
Javier is one of those creators that I was able to meet due to the book. Creator of El Muerto and Weapon Tex Mex, Javier is a comic creator and entrepreneur whose works have the crackling innovation and energy of the Silver Age. He also co-founded the first annual Latino Comics Expo this year.

GB TRAN http://gbtran.blogspot.com/
GB and I met years back through mutual friends and he was one of a few guys who I knew to be doing comics for real and who inspired me to give it a shot myself. An accomplished illustrator, designer, and cartoonist, GB's talents and voice all came together in his beautifully observed and rendered autobiographical graphic novel VIETNAMERICA. For FEEDING GROUND, he went much lighter and actually contributed the one humorous pin-up for the book and we're glad to have him close things out. Bonus: HERE are his process pics for the illustration.

And, double bonus, here's a rough pin-up/ cover concept by yours truly that never found its way into the series.

BLUE'S CLUES _ Back in Blue

2011-08-01T17:58:00.003-04:00

Now that I'm at the tail-end of FEEDING GROUND, I was cleaning out some files and came across my folder of art from one of my first jobs: Lead Digital Designer on Nickelodeon's BLUE'S CLUES.

I'm very proud to have been a part of that show and a process that included an almost entirely self-contained animation production line in Midtown Manhattan. That crew essentially pushed the use of Adobe Photoshop and After Effects to the degree that future versions of both programs accommodated the needs of our process.

Essentially, an in-house team of artists would sculpt and craft objects that they would photograph and import into Photoshop. Those art elements were then adjusted and assembled by the Digital Design team to create the backgrounds and characters of the show who were then animated by the Animation Department one row over. For me, nothing beats working with friends and creative peers on a project and seeing the results evolve exponentially across each department.

Cheers to BLUE'S CLUES and everyone that touched it.

(The Blue's Clues staff makes a guest appearance in this shot. Can you spot me?

The shot itself was composed by Kelly O'Brien - lower right)

(A collection of some of my favorite elements that I worked on for the show)

Below are a few Illustrations I did for BLUE'S CLUES and BLUE'S ROOM for various Nickelodeon publications.

SDCC11 _ My BEST OF

2011-07-26T23:02:00.005-04:00

(photo by Pat Loika)

Without getting too romantic about it, Comic Con at its best is all about the porous divide between fan and celebrity and creator and creation. Fans are inspired to become the creations they admire, aspiring creators learn can directly from the pros, and pros get to see the immediate reaction of their work on the face of a fan. For me, the experience that best summed it up was first seeing fans appreciate Mike Mignola and his work at the Tr!ckster Con and then seeing him back across the street poring over the linework of Toby Cypress, commenting that he'd like to bring the same elasticity to his own interiors.

Below are a few pics of my experiences of the Con as fan and novice professional.

FEEDING GROUND at SDCC

FEEDING GROUND Pins by The Angry Robot and Bookmarks by Scott Newman.

The Archaia booth is like a bookstore in the middle of a convention floor. Thanks to their staff and awesome interns for doing so much for a small company. Their fans and creators really appreciate it.

A FEEDING frenzy! Honestly, talking with and meeting strangers is one of my favorite things. T-Shirt by Fast Custom Shirts.

OH NOES! ISSUE 6 available at the Con, still not sure when they are in stores. Also, the floppies are the only way to get FG as an English/Spanish flip book.

FEEDING GROUND co-creator and hotel buddy (Out Demons!) Chris Mangun working Archaia's Satellite Booth.

FOODIE HAVEN

Among the many great meals I had in San Diego (Burgers at HODAD's, Fish Tacos at TIN FISH, Steak at MORTON's) one of the best was the Frozen Mojito and Pulled Pork Taco lunch at LA PUERTA.

RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN wins an Eisner!

(photo by Pat Loika)

I had the great pleasure of meeting Jim McCann at a Con when he was still working PR for Marvel and we discussed Dazzler's crotch-burst costume. Since then, we have both published books through Archaia and seeing him, artist Janet Lee, and his husband Michael is always a Con plus. Even better, their book RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN won an Eisner (The Oscars for comics) for Best Graphic Novel! It is an utterly unique tale and package, a modern fable illustrated in decoupage on wood, that is a great example of the best comics have to offer.

My SDCC Haul

WOLVES by Becky Cloonan - The book I most eagerly sought out. Becky's inking has become a story in itself.

CORA by Ted Mathot - I discovered this at the Tr!ckster Con as a book of great space and pause.

RODD RACER by Toby Cypress - The book I mentioned in the opening paragraph and possibly the best comic car chase ever.

BLUE ESTATE by Viktor Kalvachev, Andrew Osborne, and various - The lynchpin of my current comic tastes, this crime book features art by Toby Cypress, Nathan Fox, and others. Viktor is a massive talent and one of my major Con discoveries.

Postcards by Nathan Fox - One goal of mine is to create art and comics that feel as spontaneous and outrageous as a song. With his line and palette, Nathan does just that.

HULK by Jeff Parker and Patrick Zircher - This was a black and white ashcan given away by Marvel. As such, the inks show off an artist doing the work of his career and a writer tapping the potential in a character (Red Hulk) that at first seemed like a gimmick.

International Cities Playing Cards by Bill Presing and Josh Cooley - Another Tr!ckster discovery and a gift for a friend. I worked with Bill at my first job at Jumbo Pictures. Since then he's gone on to work for Pixar and, on the side, has spent years drawing some of the most accomplished and charming pin-ups.

TR!CKSTER Artist Workshop

If one goal of the TR!CKSTER counter-Con was to bring attention back to comics and comic artists, this artist workshop, in which attendants gathered around a table as asked questions as several professionals (Thompson, Moon, Crosland, Francavilla) was a chill, direct, way to do that. Coincidentally, Francisco Francavilla (above) was doing layouts for the IMMORTALS book for Archaia.

Last Bit...

San Diego, where even the municipal buildings are comic book-themed.

SDCC11 _ ARCHAIA Bookmarks

2011-07-26T11:51:00.003-04:00

Our publisher, ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT, is a young company with an already sizable, diverse, and distinguished catalogue of books. They publish licensed properties like those based on PLANET OF THE APES and the works of Jim Henson (FRAGGLE ROCK, THE DARK CRYSTAL with original designer Brian Froud, and, incredibly, A TALE OF SAND, a graphic novel adaptation of an unpublished screenplay by Jim), all-ages fiction like Eisner Award-winning RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN and MOUSE GUARD, adult fiction like THE KILLER and OLD CITY BLUES, and unique horror fiction like AWAKENING and, our book, FEEDING GROUND.

You can find many of these titles online at Comixology and Graphic. ly, on Amazon, and at your Local Comic Shop.

Indicative of their ability to do so much with a small team, the Archaia booth at San Diego Comic Con featured 72 (!) different bookmarks based on their entire library. Designed by Archaia designer Scott Newman, and his brother Brian, they are a feat of execution (fitting different content in the same format AND packing the back with text info) and endurance.

I thought I was going to include these in my SDCC Wrap-Up but they are so cool and there are so many of them (only a dozen of the 72 below) that they deserve their own post.

FEEDING GROUND _ San Diego-Bound

2011-07-19T13:57:00.006-04:00

Last year, Swifty and I attended our first San Diego Comic Con as a last-minute decision when Archaia, our publisher, asked us to sit on one of their panels. Twas a whirlwind trip filled with Spanish Tapas, a living room of THE WALKING DEAD, and larger-than-life He-Man statues. Then, we only had posters to sign as the first issue of FEEDING GROUND hadn't even come out yet. Now, the series is complete (Issue 6 was supposed to ship this week) and the files for the Hardcover Collection have been sent to the printer (see the covers to the English and Spanish editions below).

You can Pre-Order the book HERE and read the first full issue for FREE on our new Facebook page HERE.

I'll be reporting back after the Con and here's where you can find me, with FG co-creator Chris Mangun, if you're there. Please swing by and say hi.

FEEDING GROUND
Signings at San Diego Comic Con 2011

WEDNESDAY JULY 21
7-9 PM
ARCHAIA Alley Table #4401/4500

THURSDAY JULY 22
930-11 AM
ARCHAIA Booth #2635

230-4 PM
ARCHAIA Alley Table #4401/4500

FRIDAY JULY 22
930-11 AM
ARCHAIA Booth #2635

SATURDAY JULY 23
11 AM - 1230 PM
ARCHAIA Alley Table #4401/4500

4-6 PM
ARCHAIA Booth #2635

SUNDAY JULY 24
930-11 AM
ARCHAIA Booth #2635

My business cards just arrived and I'm getting ready to hit the road...

BREAKING BAD _ THE FULL SHEET

2011-07-17T13:05:00.010-04:00

NEWS!: You can now purchase some of these images as poster prints HERE on Society6!

In honor of the visual library of poetic imagery realized by the BREAKING BAD creators and crew, I've concocted these Loteria versions of some of the more poignant images from the show. You can read some cheat sheet translations of the less obvious Spanish below and a fuller explanation of the cards HERE. You can also find the larger individual cards in sets 2, 3, and 4. Please let me know if my rudimentary Spanish skills gummed up my messages. Note: Only a single card is a direct description of the image. You know which one?

Caution: Possible SPOILERS if you're not fully caught up with the episodes.

8 - EL OSO - While I wasn't completely sold on the pool tease and ultimate Season 2 reveal, the lingering eye of THE BEAR served as a spooky, guilt-laden totem of Walt's conscience.

32 - ADJUSTADO - "TIGHT, TIGHT, TIGHT!" Tuco's catchphrase and current predicament encased in a lucite cube. Also, Hank's chest during a panic attack.

37 - UNA PUERTA - This is the one of which I am most proud. Last season, we see Jessie obsessing over Jane's outgoing message and then over a cigarette with lipstick left in his car ashtray. Later in the season, we actually get a show-opener where Jessie and Jane make it out to the Georgie O'Keefe museum and rather than the pictures of vaginas that he was promised, Jessie is flummoxed by an abstract painting of a door. Jane's response is that O'Keefe was not "obsessing" over it, painting the door in every imaginable light, she was loving it, trying to remember it exactly as it was. As Jane extinguishes her cigarette in the car ashtray, Jessie repeats incredulously "A door. A DOOR?"

41 - SANGRON - Literally "a bleeder" which is what Jessie often is. Figuratively, a whiner or bitcher as in "BITCH!"

BREAKING BAD _ Loteria Cards 04

2011-07-15T16:10:00.000-04:00

The FINAL 4!

You can see the rest HERE and check back on Sunday for the full sheet along with some Spanish translations.

BREAKING BAD _ Loteria Cards 03

2011-07-13T19:10:00.002-04:00

NEWS!: You can now purchase some of these images as poster prints HERE on Society6!

Here you have the next round of BREAKING BAD Loteria Cards. You can find the first two sets HERE and HERE.

BREAKING BAD _ Loteria Cards 02

2011-07-07T22:00:00.005-04:00

NEWS!: You can now purchase some of these images as poster prints HERE on Society6!

For more information and the first four designs, check the previous post HERE.

Since I started working on these, I've discovered that artist Chepo Peña did a one for one mash-up of the original Loteria deck with famous Star Wars characters and scenes. Really funny nerdy stuff - some favorites below and more HERE.

Also found that the New York Times had a great article on Wednesday called "The Dark Art of BREAKING BAD."

Here's an excerpt that gives you a sense of creator Vince Gilligan's attention to detail:

This, it turns out, is an abbreviated version of a process that Gilligan goes through with virtually every article of clothing, every choice of color, every prop and every extra who appears in “Breaking Bad.” “You see this shirt?” said Dean Norris, who plays Hank Schrader, as he sat on the veranda between takes. He spoke in a stage whisper, out of the side of his mouth, like an inmate describing a warden who has gone insane. “Vince had to see five versions of it before he chose it. Five different shades of a gray T-shirt. That’s unique,” he said, heading into the house. “That’s beyond.”

Alright, onto the next 4. Race to your online Spanish/English dictionary as needed.

BREAKING BAD _ Loteria Cards 01

2011-07-05T18:28:00.005-04:00

NEWS!: You can now purchase some of these images as poster prints HERE on Society6!

UPDATE: You can see the full sheet of 16 BREAKING BAD cards HERE

AMC's BREAKING BAD is currently my favorite show on television. I was late to the game, but, after THE WIRE, it is the sort of dark, smart, narrative that demands your attention and rewards dedicated viewing. The acting, particularly by lead Brian Cranston, has been notably lauded but I'm writing today because of how it consistently inspires me with some of the medium's most poetic imagery. With much of the action of the show occurring in and driven by the drug trade of the Mexico/US Border, Vince Gilligan and his team revel in the art of visual storytelling and utilize a picture > 1,000 words approach that lends an epic potency to the story beyond the tropes of a traditional crime drama.

As a bit of fan art, and in hot anticipation of the next season premiere on July 17th, I've set out to recognize the show by marrying some of the BREAKING BAD iconography with another applicable medium: Mexican Loteria Cards.

Like a Mexican version of "Bingo," Loteria is a game of chance that employs a gridded board (a 4x4 tabla) and an illustrated deck of cards instead of numbered ping pong balls. The "authentic" deck, illustrated by Don Clemente Gallo, consists of a total of 54 iconic images of people, animals, and objects. Riddles often accompany the reading of a card and the whole set has a totemic or Tarot Card quality to it.

With BREAKING BAD, I've decided to start with 4 sets of 4 images to complete a single tabla. The images will be recognizable to fans of the show; some are fan favorites that have driven plotlines and others are those that the camera has lingered on long enough to charge with significance. In a break from the source material, I am not merely translating the name of the subject into Spanish. Adding a little poetry of my own, I'm choosing terms that reveal more of the item's importance to the narrative.

Below are the first four. I have the rest planned out and ready to go but please feel free to write with any suggestions. Also, check out the Breaking Bad Insider Podcast for some informative behind-the-scenes chatter by a tight creative team.

FEEDING GROUND #5 _ Pin-Ups!

2011-06-30T09:55:00.004-04:00

Seems that Issue 5 finally hit the stands this week after unexplained delays with the printer and distributor. Titled FEVER DREAMS it's a particularly trippy issue that splits the Busqueda family, each member confronted with their own personal hell.

We were fortunate to get another batch of FEEDING GROUND-inspired art by cartoonists buds and comic luminaries. Here's a glimpse at their contributions along with links and brief bios.

MIKE DAWSON
(artist/writer TROOP 142)
http://www.mikedawsoncomics.com/

Mike and I go back to college where we we both did strips for The Cartoonists' Association of Rutgers (which I co-founded) and learned to be lefty brats in lieu of a practical art education. Mike was the guy who really stuck with it, developed tremendously, and delivered in full with his autobio tome FREDDIE & ME about his life as a fan of the band Queen. His webcomic TROOP 142 will be collected and printed soonish and he is also the co-host (with Alex Robinson) of THE INK PANTHERS SHOW podcast (ostensibly about comics but actually a painfully funny talk between friends) and host of his own comic creator interview show on THE COMICS JOURNAL.

BENJAMIN MARRA
(artist/writer NIGHT BUSINESS)
http://www.traditionalcomics.com/

Self-published through TRADITIONAL COMICS and as a freelance illustrator for the likes of Playboy, Vice, and Rolling Stone, Ben is the modern master of pulpy drawings that leave you with the need to shower. I'm friends with Ben and his co-horts at MAMMAL Magazine, one ridiculously talented bunch. Ben recently got a lot of press for his comic THE INCREDIBLY FANTASTIC ADVENTURES OF MAUREEN DOWD (a work of fiction and satire) and was featured in Marvel's STRANGE TALES vol.2. His take on FEEDING GROUND is a battle frieze of blood and viscera.

BLAKE SIMS
(artist/writer MELON MAN COMICS)
http://www.blakesimscomics.blogspot.com/

Blake's got one of those cartoon styles, like THE SIMPSONS, that immediately translates any person or idea into his own species. You can check out Blake's caricatures and toons on his blog. He's also a regular contributor to the comic anthology THE GATHERING and part of a new art blog LAY OF THE LINE. He's just getting started.

FRED CHAO

(artist/writer JOHNNY HIRO {half Asian, all hero})
http://www.fredchao.com

Turn around, Fred Chao is behind you. Don't worry, it's a good thing. Brooklyn, NY is a hive of comic talent and I was pleasantly surprised to often run into Fred, particularly at BERGEN STREET COMICS. JOHNNY loomed large for me alongside more overwrought heroes and, along with his freelance illustration work, Fred conveys a lot of power in a well-drafted line. His FEEDING GROUND illustration ekes a fount of poetry our of a moment of our tale that I'm particularly proud of.

FEEDING GROUND _ Hardcover Cover

2011-06-01T18:37:00.001-04:00

Although issues 5 & 6 of FEEDING GROUND have yet to hit the stands, we've been busy making revisions to the material and I've been working on book designs for the collected edition(s). There will be two separate volumes, one English and one Spanish, collecting all six issues and due out this Fall.

All said, I'm pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish with the covers for the mini-series. My draftsmanship on the interiors evolved over the course of six issues but the covers came out pretty much as I conceived of them and (I think) added something new to the comic wall.

That's why it's all the more consternating to find that I'm not 100% sold on my own image and design for the collected edition. As with the mini, I needed an image that conveyed: Mexico, The Desert, Horror, and the general plot of the book. What I arrived at is a vision of Santa Muerte, an iconic representation of the Virgin Mary as the saint of death, crying tears of blood that are being lapped up by a stray wolf.

Some moments this feels on the money, and others it feels forced and convoluted.

So, what say you, FEEDING GROUND fan? Below, you can see the close to final art for the covers of the English (day) and Spanish (night) editions of the book. Would you know or have a good idea of what this is about if you saw it on the shelf? It is cool enough to tempt you to open it up?

I'm still feeling this out and exploring other options so any feedback is cool with me.

FEEDING GROUND _ ISSUE 05 Preview

2011-05-24T11:41:00.003-04:00

Apologies to anyone who has been waiting for Issue 5 to hit the stands. We delivered it in March and have experienced still-unexplained delays at the printer. But, these mystery pains have subsided and we have a street date of June 22nd for Issue 5 and July 20th for Issue 6, the final issue.

In other news, our publisher, Archaia Entertainment, signed with a new distributor for their graphic novels. Read the news here.

I'll definitely post any updates, but, in the meantime, here's a sneak peak...

COMIC EVENTS _ A Faceful of Knowledge

2011-05-13T14:46:00.009-04:00

(art by Walt Simonson)

Wednesday night there was a 2-hour long panel discussion held at The Society of Illustrators and moderated by comic artist Dennis Calero. Called "Drawing the Line," the event featured comic luminaries Jim Steranko, Walt Simonson, and Joe Quesada. Such different personalities, each renowned for different accomplishments in disparate eras, but they each share the trade of drawing for a living and all that brings with it.

Going in, my general starry-eyed observation and tribute is this: These guys build worlds with a pencil. As we are at the start of another Summer Blockbuster superhero boom here were two guys who each made an indelible mark on two of those creations (Simonson on Thor, Steranko on Captain America) and another, Quesada, who went from colorist to penciler to line editor to EiC and now Marvel's Chief Creative Officer who runs the Creative Team responsible for faithful translations of these characters and stories into other media. And, here's the thing, as spectacular as these movies are (and Thor is a well-realized hoot) the collective talents of those film crews still can't evoke the hand of a single comic artist. Something is said with Steranko's use of graphic design or the raw energy of Simonson's hand-drawn special effects or Quesada's line quality and unreal flourishes (like the almost sentient rope of Daredevil's billy club) in a way that feels "real" in a comic and can never be translated onscreen or in real life.

Below, here are some examples of their art, my 2-cent biographies, and some memorable comments and advice from the night:

STERANKO

Just after the first fertile wave of Marvel Comics in the 1960s, Steranko infused the Kirby godhead of superhero art with techniques from the schools of commercial art, fine art, and film and crafted a visual language all his own.

Jim is a showman and a storyteller, an escape artist in his youth, he stated something to the effect of "After being strapped down with 80 lbs of lead and thrown in the river where your only other option is death, every other challenge in you life is put into perspective."

With the work ethic of the Greatest Generation and a burn to continually top himself, Jim is not one for artists' cheats. To illustrate his point, he conjured the image of a 4-page spread, spread across two issues, as a conclusion to an 8 issue SHIELD story. It was a huge payoff to the story, a reward for fans, a shrewd business decision (you had to buy 2 issues to complete it), and a challenge to the bombastic finales of the James Bond blockbusters of the day.

Jim's 4-word advice to artists looking to make a living at this? "Draw Like John Buscema." (see: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way)

NOTE: Jim said that the above image was a challenge to himself to tell a full story in a single image. He said it has 5 parts, each demarcated by a different light source.

SIMONSON

Walt was literally a student at the time of that first Marvel Age, schooled my generation with his seminal work writing and drawing Thor in the 1980s, and is now a teacher of comic art at SVA in NYC. With Thor, he took a character and book that was no longer all that successful and, due to low expectations, was allowed to endow it with all of his passion for mythology and the art of his idols. Many of his ideas (like the Cask of Eternal Winters) are now canon and have made their way into the feature film adaptation.

Towards the end of the talk, he was kind enough to share his entire course on comics in 3 simple rules:
1) You Must Love to Draw
2) Use Reference\
3) Everything You Do Must Service Story

Awesome anecdote: Running into a fully-wardrobed Anthony Hopkins as Odin while he himself was costumed as an Asgardian for a banquet scene. Walt stopped, looked up, bowing slightly with a "My Lord."

QUESADA

I mentioned a brief bit on Joe's accomplishments above, but, the quality that really came out during the talk was his dedication to the work. The years developing craft, the hours wrestling with a panel, and the willingness to allow yourself to walk away and refresh yourself when it's not flowing.

While Jim pointed to filmic language as a reference point to drawing, for Joe it's music. Personally, I'm jealous of the immediate reaction, the give and take a musician has with his audience. But, I'm totally with Joe when he says that rhythm of a song, the builds and turns, need to be there visually when you are constructing your story for its unseen audience. Otherwise, it's all one-note.

FUN FACT: As an art student at SVA, Joe was an Illustration major and looked down upon comic art. As a result, he was failed by two of his professors, comic legends Will Eisner and Harvey Kurtzman, for neglecting to turn in his final assignments.

Last thought, the room we were in was hung with the art of student artists from around the country. An impressive amount of talent and the start of something new. Give it to the guys at the front of the room, who, despite their successes and years of experience, still treat every drawing as a new lesson, a challenge that keeps them looking to the future.

FEEDING GROUND _ The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning

2011-05-06T11:43:00.001-04:00

"It is now complete." - Alejandro Blackwell

April 28th, 2008 was the first time I met with Swifty Lang and Chris Mangun to discuss a concept they were collaborating on that we were alternately referring to as COYOTE, BECOMING, and RAW DOGS. On May 6th, 2011, after approximately 3 years and 160 pages, we delivered the final content of the final issue of the book that has become FEEDING GROUND.

It goes without saying that this could not have been done without the generous patience and support of our ladies, friends, and family as well as the time and talent of our translator and fourth Beastie, Nathalia Ruiz Murray. But, I won't go thanking everyone just yet, because we're not done.

The six issues of FEEDING GROUND will be collected as two separate hardcover books (one in English and one in Spanish). Rather than treat this thing as just a collection of our previous material, we want it to be the definitive version of our story, something we will be proud to see on bookshelves into the future. It's a first work, so, there will always be a certain dread in seeing our learning curve etched on the page. However, we owe it to ourselves, the reader, and the characters in the story to at least bring all that we learned over these six issues into crafting the best possible product at this point in time.

Thanks for reading and more to come...

(attached, you'll see the first drawing I ever did in conjunction with this book - ABOVE, along with the final drawing I did on 5/3/11 - BELOW)

A BUTTERFLY CIRCUS _ In Memory of Nancy Peréz

2011-05-04T18:29:00.003-04:00

[NOTE: This was first written after the killing of Osama Bin Laden]

Imagine that you're working in a solid office job but know that you're destined for something else. Nancy Peréz was just such a person, an aspiring writer who worked with my dad for the Port Authority of NY/NJ. She had written a story, "The Butterfly Circus," as a way to help give her shy nephew Kyle the confidence to attend school. Looking to take the book idea to a Publisher, Nancy asked my father if I might be interested in illustrating the story. My first reaction was that there was A LOT of text for a picture book, but the gem of the story was so sweet. I was working in my own dream job as an animation designer. Long hours and a long commute but it was worth it. And here was this older woman taking a shot at her own dream. Working at the old computer in my parents' kitchen, I was only able to illustrate a few sample pages as best I could. She was very nice about it and tried shopping the book around. That was in 2000.

On September 11th of 2001, Nancy Peréz was one of the many victims of the attack on the World Trade Center. For me, these pages represent the lost potential of each and every one of the lives that were cut short that day. She had a dream and a talent few of her co-workers even knew about. I am honored to have known her and to have shared, even briefly, in her life.

Given the events of the past few days and current debates regarding the validity of releasing an image of death, I would like to share these images with you. In honor of what was lost and what could have been, may we always continue to chase our dreams and share the gifts, talents, and brief time we have been given with one another.

BACKGROUND DESIGN _ Team Umizoomi

2011-05-04T09:34:00.000-04:00

Swifty, Chris, and I originally created and pitched FEEDING GROUND when I was on hiatus from working as a Digital Designer on Nickelodeon's pre-K math show TEAM UMIZOOMI.

The show was created by my former BLUE'S CLUES Design Supervisor, Soo Kim, and she established an aesthetic that is both dense with detail as seen on the small scale of the characters and also infused with playful patterning. The show also had a novel approach to animation that combined hand-drawn, After Effects, Flash, and CG all in order to invite the viewer into this world. As an aside, the lead characters happen to look a lot like Soo and the uber-talented Art Director, Dino Alberto, and their robot friend is voiced by none other than Donovan Patton, "Joe"of BLUE'S CLUES fame.

While we wrap up work on FEEDING GROUND, I thought I would share some of my Season 1 backgrounds below:

FEEDING GROUND _ Press and Process

2011-04-25T17:34:00.002-04:00

I'm in the thick of finishing art on the sixth and final issue of FEEDING GROUND. Haven't had time for a long process post in a while so I thought I would share links to some in-depth interviews.

After an extremely well-considered review of the first four issues by the guys at The Pullbox, they had us on for a Q&A that breaks down some of the inspiration of the book as well as the steps of our production chain.

Likewise, Chris and I had a fun conversation with horror comic maven Decapitated Dan about FG and horror books in general. One question we addressed: why do our werewolves kinda look like baboons? I guess I'm hearing second-hand that some readers weren't so hot on the design. What about you?

Lastly, we were chosen as the "Sunday Pick" by Kate over at Functional Nerds.

Cool, cool.

NEW PORTFOLIO LINK

2011-04-17T22:26:00.003-04:00

Checkitout - my new temporary portfolio link, for such clients and properties as Blue's Clues, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Team Umizoomi, ESPN, and Sesame International, including:

ART DIRECTION

(you can play BATMAN BRAWL! here)

CHARACTER DESIGN

BACKGROUND DESIGN

COLOR SUPERVISION

COMIC BOOK ART

FEEDING GROUND _ MoCCA 2011 Wrap-up

2011-04-13T11:12:00.002-04:00

Swifty, Chris, and I had ourselves a table at our first Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival in NYC this past weekend. It was a spacious and good-spirited event but I didn't have much of a chance to walk around to see what other creators were bringing to the table. Really cool though to introduce new readers to FEEDING GROUND and to hear back from fans who have been reading along. Below are a few other personal highlights from the weekend:

THE GATHERING

I had contributed art for a 2-page story in the premiere issue of this GrayHaven Comics anthology and Swifty and I are going to have another one in their upcoming Issue #4. So, it was a sweet surprise to have been situated as neighbors right next to their table. Led by Andrew Goletz, the anthology started as a forum for pairing first-time artists and writers from the Jinxworld message boards. Wrapped with covers and art direction by the talented Aaron Bir, the collection is a fresh voice of dedication and enthusiasm. Writer Doug Hahner was also on hand. He wrote one of my favorite stories in Issue 1 and a nicer guy you never did meet.

THE INK PANTHERS SHOW

I devour podcasts as I work and this is the only one that disrupts my inking with laughter. Ostensibly a comic podcast, the real attraction for me is the banter between friends Mike Dawson and Alex Robinson. I was a cartoonist in college along with Mike and his professional work is one of the factors that encouraged me to get back into comics. They've had me on the show in the past and this weekend I got to sub in for a stricken panelist at a live recording of the show at MoCCA, sharing convention stories with cartoonists Daniel Spottswood and John Kerschbaum and regaling the audience with my tale of destroying Capt. Lou Albano's car. Also check out Mike's Pro T.I.P.S for more in-depth discussions with creators about the work and glamour of being a cartoonist.

MORE MoCCA BITS

- I didn't get to see much, but the book LIAR'S KISS by Top Shelf was one attractive number that I planned on picking up. Others agreed and it was sold out before I could grab it.

- I did get to buy GB Tran's VIETNAMERICA an incredible tome of personal journalism executed in a visual language that feels like memory to me. Bonus - it came with the special convention cover that is a folded copy of a poster design for the book.

- I met one of my comic icons, Bill Sienkiewicz, and didn't embarrass myself all that much. I first discovered his work as a child with the “Badlands” issue of the "Demon Bear" run of THE NEW MUTANTS sandwiched between two other books in a supermarket 3-pack. It was a disturbing, challenging, find that not only opened my eyes to comics as art but the power of art in general. It continues to affect me and my work to this day. Check out this article on CBR to see images of the run and give yourself an idea on what sort of influence he had on the industry at a particular point in time.

- Swifty and I had dinner with our Editor-in-Chief at Archaia, Stephen Christy. I am proud to be a part of a company that publishes important, attractive, work that is evolving our concept of what a comic book and comic book company can be in 2011. Their recent Wonder Con announcements have me stoked as a comic fan, none more so than the care and vision that Stephen is putting into the graphic novel adaptation of Jim Henson's unpublished screenplay A TALE OF SAND. Stephen is a guy who gets it, delivering quality packaging and promotion always in service of Story.

CHARACTER DESIGN _ Sugar & Spike

2011-04-01T09:21:00.003-04:00

As I finish art on the final issue of FEEDING GROUND, I've also started production on Pitch Art for an animated Pre-School Pilot. In the course of a single work day I've drawn someone having their throat ripped out as well as designing hair style options for a five year-old. I enjoy both ("enjoy" might not be the right word with the throat-ripping) and the last year has certainly been the most bi-polar in terms of juggling subject matter and illustration styles.

Someone pointed this out when reviewing my new temporary (until I have the time to update my website) portfolio link. Here are two examples from pitches that are currently being shopped around. The first one features grotesque, pint-sized, grifters and the other features a former toll-booth collector riding a rhino and teaching kids how to read (I may have mixed those up).

FEEDING GROUND _ World Tour

2011-03-23T18:43:00.007-04:00

This Saturday, I'll be one of two local artists at my hometown comic shop Vector Books in Bayonne, NJ. The proprietors, mother and son Tina and Joe, could not be nicer. "Vectors" has been open for 20+ years and it was one of two shops I frequented weekly while growing up. It's right across the street from the ice cream stand Magic Fountain - how can you beat that?

The other artist, Dave Ryan, has created the equivalent of an event comic for the Indy Comic characters of the 90s, called WAR OF THE INDEPENDENTS. Learn more, here.

In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd also share some pics and art from recent FEEDING GROUND appearances and boosters from around the globe.

CHICAGO, IL - Promotional art for C2E2

AUSTIN, TX - Jef UK sporting the FEEDING GROUND shirt at Staple! Con. Paintings by the great Aaron Bir.

MIAMI, FL - Swifty's parents sporting warm weather versions of the shirt at Wizard Con, Miami. You can customize your own color combinations for the shirt here.

TOKYO, Japan - Friend of FEEDING GROUND, Juan Doe, working abroad. This was taken before the tsunami and we were glad to hear he's ok. All our best to him, his family, and the people of Japan.

FEEDING GROUND _ On Storytelling

2011-03-11T16:18:00.008-05:00

Last month, there was an excellent article on CBR's Pipeline blog by Augie de Blieck Jr. that evaluated the techniques of sequential art storytelling. The example he deconstructs is a scene by master cartoonist Stan Sakai from his epic USAGI YOJIMBO that, not the least of which, features a symmetrical panel arrangement to convey an ambush from both directions on a narrow mountain pass.

"Storytelling" as I understand it in comic book terms is the panel to panel communication of information. What are the decisions an artist makes in structuring and delivering a story that is coherent in orienting the reader and impactful in the delivery. It is often invisible when done correctly.

Comic creator Michael Moreci recently commented on his blog that he could see my storytelling get better with each page. Twas great to hear. Storytelling is a skill I've been working on since the challenges were first laid our for me on this book and the tools were conveyed in the series of classes I took at MoCCA as taught by comic legend Klaus Janson.

Since "storytelling" is the decisions that are made before the pretty drawings and I thought I would share some thumbnails here. The final storyboarding seems simple enough (and may seem rudimentary to some of you reading) but here are a few of the detailed decisions that went into it.

My main question: What is the goal of the scene and how do I convey that visually?

There's a scene in an upcoming issue of FEEDING GROUND that features a group of soldiers on a mission in which they are deployed in a vehicle that rams the main gate of a compound. The commanding officer is briefing the troops as they approach the gate and our protagonist is one troop who is a novice to the situation and consumed with anguish.

I inherently try to find the ticking clock of a scene to establish rhythm and here it's the moments leading up to the impact at the gate.

PAGES 0-1

The inside cover and first page of each issue of FEEDING GROUND features a double-page splash that includes the title and credit box and a scene that serves both as an establishing shot and also a symbol for the theme of the issue. In this case, BONUS, it's also a great capper to the last page reveal of the previous issue that it will follow in the collected edition.

The gate will be presented here from below and towering right of center (Western reading runs from left to right) and lit by an off-panel rising sun. There will also be clouds lit behind it to sell the effect. Also, most issues tended to begin with an animal of some sort, represented here in the form of roadkill in the foreground that will carry over to the reverse shot on the next page…

PAGES 2-3

...where the first panel will reveal the approaching convoy under the rising sun. The first choice is to decide what sort of panel grid I'll be using. Since this scene plays very much like a comment on tough guy action movies, I opted to use "widescreen" dimensions for each panel.

There is also a push and pull between the external action of the moment and the internal struggle of the protagonist (marked with the S and stripe on his chest - these ARE rough and usually just for me and Swifty and Chris). With that, notice that I have the panels get bigger to the point of impact and then reduce back down on the close-up of the protagonist in the final panel on P3. Since both pages will be visible to the reader, I always try to design across the spine with the full spread in mind, especially if the pages are within the same scene.

To support the action further, I chose to alternate between interior and exterior shots that will flicker between light and dark and add rhythmic tension to an otherwise dialogue-driven scene. Likewise, I keep reversing the point-of-view in this sequence. In order for it to still read clearly, I try to design the content of each panel such that the reader's eye will be led in a Z pattern through the page and that there are background elements that will always orient the reader.

Our protagonist leaves the darkness of the vehicle in the second panel of P3 but I also made a choice that the words of the commanding officer will continue to play out in narration boxes over the action of the final two panels. An off-panel voice should offer a sense of disassociation that gives the impression of being in the protagonist's head as he enters combat in a rage-fueled stupor.

The Next Question: How do I execute it?

After all of these decisions are made, the job is to make sure that the illustration style, inks, color, lettering, word balloon placement, and sound effects all support the original goal and that the art engages with the dialogue (and vice versa) in some charged fashion.

The payoff of one scene in a comic should be greater than the sum of the art and writing.

FEEDING GROUND #4 _ Archaia Pin-Ups

2011-02-22T22:58:00.011-05:00

Issue 4 of FEEDING GROUND hits stores this week. Outside of a cool Busqueda Family/ Border Patrol/ Werewolf battle I was able to illustrate, I'm really proud that the issue contains pin-up art of our characters by a number of our fellow Archaia artists.

As a Publisher, Archaia Entertainment could not promote more diverse talents and subject matter. They consistently challenge the medium of comics and do so in some of the most attractive packages on the stands.

Here's a link to a 7-page preview of FEEDING GROUND #4 and here's a convenient link for locating it and other Archaia books.

And, here are some preview peeks at the pin-up art. Taken together, the full images actually happen to tell the first half of our FEEDING GROUND tale.

JANET LEE

Illustrator, THE RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN

Janet's a fine artist whose mixed media style brings a whole new voice to the world of comics. More than just the appealing and engaging design and surface, her art feels layered with meaning, a spell cast in every piece. For FEEDING GROUND she conjures a domestic moment that is tainted with the arcane.

www.j-k-lee.com

KATE GLASHEEN

Illustrator, HYBRID BASTARDS

Kate's line is a live wire. In HYBRID BASTARDS every image feels animated and brimming with chaotic energy. I was hoping that someone would do a portrait of our guacho, Uncle Hector, and she nailed it by externalizing the violence under his gruff bravado.

www.katiecrimespree.com

CHANDRA FREE

Illustrator, THE GOD MACHINE

Chan's contribution gave me the chills. I'm already a fan of her work for blending of gothic charm and dreamy horror. But her illustration of Flaca in the shopping cart is so raw and desperate and reinforces that iconic moment we wanted it to be.

http://spookychan.com/

ALEX ECKMAN--LAWN

Illustrator, AWAKENING

Whether it's his comic, collage, or illustration work Alex's compositions are monumental and essential. Here, he's struck on the truth of our tale - the wolves are only a pinpoint of violence in a vast and punishing terrain. I also happened to score an illustration of Marvel Comics' IRON FIST off of him that is forever cool.

http://www.alexeckmanlawn.com/

FEEDING GROUND _ Echoes

2011-02-21T07:08:00.005-05:00

The concept of duality is a recurring theme in our werewolf tale, FEEDING GROUND. As such, there are parallel characters in this world and several scenarios that play out in alternate variations across the six issues.

As one example, here you have the moment where the curse overtakes the crosser Emilio in Issue 1 paired with that same experience for our character Flaca in Issue 3.

For Emilio, the result was a horrific mutation that left him alive but twisted. In Flaca, the outcome divides her family and forces her to choose between her own warring halves.

COMICS YOU SHOULD READ #1

2011-02-11T08:46:00.012-05:00

As a novice comic creator and lifelong comic reader, it's odd to me that there are so many people that don't read any comics at all. Over a few Facebook posts, I've started to do my little part to introduce an entire medium to those in my network who watch television, go to the movies, and read books. The limited character count of a wall post forced me to be brief in my review but I think that benefits a more impassioned pitch.

There's also been a recent push, including Eric Powell's video manifesto and Steve Niles' new spotlight column, to raise awareness of the diversity of material comics offer as well as the efforts and art by creators who generate the new ideas of today apart from the legacy of the Big 2 publishers. The following five examples could not be more different but they all top the list in terms of the sort of comics that engage me and inspire me to strive for this level of quality.

COMICS YOU SHOULD READ #1: SCALPED

If you like complex crime dramas like HBOs THE WIRE, you should read Vertigo's SCALPED by Jason Aaron and RM Guera. A new casino on an Indian reservation "third world nation in the heart of America" is where crime and family collide. Fed by the shared history Aaron crafts for these characters and Guera's art is an endless fount of distress and grace. THE greatest influence on my work today.

COMICS YOU SHOULD READ #2: BONE

If you like all-ages adventures like classic Disney (Mickey,Donald,Goofy) and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, you (and your kid) should read Jeff Smith's BONE. The story mixes both, casting three wayward cousins in an epic tale of exiled princesses, cynical dragons, and stupid quiche-loving Rat Creatures. Smith's cartooning is alive and forever charming. Essential comics that should be in every home, unless, you hate life.

COMICS YOU SHOULD READ #3: I KILL GIANTS

If you like coming-of-age fantasies like THE WIZARD OF OZ, you )and your kid) should read I KILL GIANTS by Joe Kelly and Ken Niumara. Barbara is smart, angry, friendless, and sees things no one else does. With art that evokes both the reality of her pain and the wonder of her apparent visions, the tale made me cry on a bus. Among the best of what comics can do in a way no other medium can.

COMICS YOU SHOULD READ #4: REID FLEMING: WORLD'S TOUGHEST MILKMAN

If you like Will Ferrell comedies then you should read REID FLEMING: WORLD'S TOUGHEST MILKMAN by Dave Boswell. A demented Canadian combo of slapstick and melodrama, follow Reid as he surmounts "grouchy managers, angry customers, hot-rodding hoodlums, and mad dogs - without once missing his favourite TV show!" I've formed lifelong friendships based on shared love of the chaos in this book.

COMICS YOU SHOULD READ #5: PREACHER

If you like the fractured Westerns of the Coen Bros. you should read PREACHER by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon. Jesse Custer is an ex-preacher with a John Wayne complex setting out to kill God Himself for abandoning His responsibilities. No cardboard cowboy, he's a tough moral nut that made me want to be more of a man. The book is graphic, iconoclastic, and asks the Big Questions great novels should.

SONS OF BA'AL_ It is Finished.

2011-02-04T10:10:00.007-05:00

My 11-page comic adaptation of the Americans UK song "Sons of Ba'al" is done and delivered for their ROCKTRONIC MIX-TAPE VOL.2 anthology dropping this Spring.

I was also recently treated to the cover by one of my favorite new cartoonists Blake Sims. Blake's got a fully-formed style that could make him the next Matt Groening in terms of the way it transforms and interprets other characters as his own. It was so cool to see his version of my design for Demon Jef UK (below).

With this strip, I got the chance to experiment with layouts and blow things up. Really proud to be a part of it and I'll offer more thoughts and details as they come.

FEEDING GROUND Issue 3 _ Preview, Pin-Ups, and T-Shirts

2011-01-17T22:35:00.005-05:00

FEEDING GROUND #3 hits stores this week and Archaia has a Preview up on their website. The sequence offers a great glimpse of our re-imagined werewolf myth on the Arizona/ Mexico border.

This issue also features the first of many FEEDING GROUND pin-ups by guest artists. Below are peaks at work by:

Marvel Comics Illustrator and Cover Artist Juan Doe

MAMMAL Artist and Freelance Illustrator Tom Forget

Juan is inspiring and endlessly innovative and Tom paints the pulp of a lost ark of seedy paperbacks. We're lucky to know these guys and for them to bring their crazy skill to our characters.

We also teamed with Fast Custom Shirts to create Tee and Long Sleeve shirts based on the cover to Issue 3. It's set up so that you can choose the flat fill or line art version of the Calavera Skull Image in your own combination of colors. Please spread the word and check out some possible variations below.

VERSION 1

VERSION 2

COVER DESIGN _ Best of 2010

2011-01-14T09:59:00.003-05:00

I got a nice surprise last week when the cover to FEEDING GROUND #2 was included on the list of the Top 50 covers of 2010 on the Robot 6 blog of COMIC BOOK RESOURCES. I still have last year's list bookmarked and I share the list with many of my favorite artists and images.

A child of the 80s, my taste in cover art/ design straddles the line between the narrative and iconic. To my mind, the best evidence of this is the Marvel work of Ed Hannigan. He was schooled by the greats but rather than lift a full scene from an issue (Spider-Man fights the Hobgoblin) he would choose the key moment that would make for the most iconic cover design (Spider-Man's fist raising Hobgoblin's mask out of the East River).

Speaking for myself, I arrived at a design scheme for the FEEDING GROUND mini-series that intentionally employs symmetry, bold color fields, and an isolated element to help distinguish the cover from the overall noise of the comic wall. Additionally, each cover is both a perversion of familiar Mexican iconography and a poetic counterpoint to the content of the issue. For Issue #2, the image is a visceral version of the Sacred Heart but also a comment on both the virus/ curse coursing through Flaca's veins and the act of her mother, Bea, burning down their home.

Whether or not I was successful is up to the reader, but, I at least wanted to give a sense of the thought process that goes into making these things.

Here are some of my favorites from the BEST OF list:

Amazing Spider-Man by Paolo Rivera

Batwoman by JH Williams III

CHEW by Rob Guillory

And, here's another peek at covers for upcoming Issues. Next time out, on a different story, I'd like to play with asymmetry and narrative as the covers demand it.

Character Design _ SONS OF BA'AL

2011-01-07T10:08:00.006-05:00

For my latest freelance gig, I'm illustrating a comic adaptation of the AMERICANS UK's song "Sons of Ba'al" for their anthology ROCKTRONIC MIX TAPE #2 (now available for purchase online HERE!). Very cool to be a part of the 10th Anniversary of this band. It's my favorite song of theirs, mixing glammy Bowie swagger and Ramones goonish-ness at full throttle. Frontman/ writer Jef UK envisioned the comic as an epic biker battle.

Below you can see his descriptions of the characters along with my thoughts and initial concept sketches. I tried to subvert expectations and you can get a sense of how I tackled the assignment. Great collaboration and, like playing with action figures, it's the most "boy" thing I've ever illustrated.

SONS OF BA'AL: a rock n’ roll, demon, motorcycle gang.

Members:

Demon Jef UK – big horns, wicked grin, wears goggles and leather, carries a big knife strapped to his waist. He rides a cool bike with a sidecar.

My initial reaction was to undercut the badass by also making him seem a little goofy and laconic. A belly, biking spandex, and flip flops to enforce the idea that he doesn't give a meatball about what you think.

Cyborg Demon JTR3—his motorcycle attaches to his torso, some sort of demon space gun replacing his right arm.

I think at the time I read the script I also I saw a documentary about killer wasps who were just brutal to their bumblebee prey. Rather than bulk him up I wanted JTR3 to be bug-like with slender arms. The visor is also taken from a robot that appears in Americans UK's ongoing comic series drawn by Paul Ciaravino.

Hot Demon Chick—jet black hair, small horns, tall boots and small clothes. Tattoos galore. What a hottie. She rides in Jef UK’s sidecar, but usually by standing on top of it like she’s surfing, sorta. She uses a glowing laser Frisbee as a weapon, and has several hanging from her belt. I’ll call her Demona in the script.

I've never, ever, drawn "hot chicks" before. I plumped her up a little and drew the title as a tattoo instead of a leather jacket logo. The font is actually based on one my friend drew over and over in grammar school. At first I toyed with the idea of having her totally bottomless but the posing started to get weird when I had to be concerned about hiding her business.

THE GOD GANG: the Sons of Ba’al’s mortal enemies.

Members:

God—Old man, bearded and burley God rides a Harley, wears a gold and white helmet of Roman design. Shirtless with a white fringe vest. Symmetrical gold eagle tattoo design on his chest.

I like Jef's description as containing conflicting imagery from different cultures. Rather than the white-bearded "God" I wanted him to have a dark, curly, Middle Eastern beard. He's equal parts Dr.Teeth and Brian Blessed from "Flash Gordon."

Death—Death is sleek, like a Japanese rider on a Japanese bike, fully covered in high end racing gear, all black, wears a black helmet with a skull painted on the visor, red eyes glowing through. He uses a hand held scythe as a weapon.

Done. With a ridiculously large scythe. There's so much phallic imagery in this thing. One detail that gets lost is that I want to the painted skull to be specifically based on the dimensions of a baby skull. It's all about attention to detail.

The Sea—the Sea is a woman. Her outfit and motorcycle should evoke the oceans somehow, sort of like a He-Man vehicle would. She has a trident strapped to her back.

Rather than a squid or mermaid sea monster, I drew inspiration from goblin sharks, deep sea anglers, shrimp, and eels. A few of my favorite things.

I should be wrapping up the strip next week and I'll give a holler when it's available.

Rawk!