TEUTON
After months of hard work,
Teuton: Volume Two is finally all done. As of Monday it is at the printers'.
There's a huge feeling of relief to for those closely involved, namely Fred, who was worried I wouldn't finish. He had good reason to worry. I was consistently late. Other indie dudes, friends of mine, see my output online and the perception is that I'm pretty fast. Relatively speaking that might be true, but on a day to day things can get pretty slow. Fred watched his inbox daily for a new page, and most days was quietly disappointed to have received nothing.
Factors for my lateness this time around are varied, but a big one was that I didn't want any page or panel to look rushed, like certain parts of the last one. So I took the time I felt I needed and drew with a clear head. I opened myself up to a lot of honest constructive criticism and did my best to apply it. I tried my hand at different methods of creating a page, used new tools, learned new skills, and tried some new tricks. All of those things I did while working, trying to reach set goals of productivity. They took time, and I wasn't happy with all the results, but I pleased to find what works for me and what doesn't.
All the while Fred, my partner and friend, was patient and understanding. He never once sent me an angry e-mail or called me on my bullshit. In fact, during a few droughts of productivity, Fred called and asked if there as anything I needed. The guy is a truly good human being, and I regret not using more of my time efficiently for his sake alone. I can't think of better way to thank Fred for everything apart from handing him new work.
Speaking of Thank You's, we ran out of time to prepare a revised acknowledgements section in the new book. I should say I, not we, since it was I who ran late. Nevertheless, I had some tremendous help with this second book from some great people, and it'd be a crime not to thank them and acknowledge their efforts:
- Andrea Mendis; Thanks for creating Teuton's official logo and giving our title an identity. Our covers would look quite bland without one. Your work is tremendously appreciated.
- Keiren Smith; Thanks for one great tutorial in lettering. It was essential to my growing responsibilities on this book.
- Chris McQuaid; Thanks for always being of service. From lettering, to good council, to helping at shows--you're a good guy and I'm glad you're on our team.
- Stadium Comics (Rob, Kevin, Ricky, Anna, et al); What a gang of friendly, cool, relaxed people who are each unrelenting in their support for what I do. Thanks for treating me like a superstar, everyone.
- Agnes Garbowska; Thanks for contributing some truly excellent work and making our book magical.
I'd also like to acknowledge and thank all these fine folks:
Jason Jordon, Phil McClorey, Brian Evinou, Andre Fernandes, Jason Bone, Howard Wong, Miko Maciaszek, Marvin Sianipar, Stephanie Cooke, Doug Broadley (aka The Komtur), Mike Rooth, Brad Coombs, Shaun Hatton, Nelson Cabral, Darcy Rego, Adam Jockish, Michael Augustine, David Bishop, Taylor Marie, Gibson Quarter, Alice Quinn, Adam Semac, TDot Comics, Marc Morgenstern, Spitballin' Comics, Marcus To, Shane Heron, Christopher Yao, Daniel Wong, Kris Johnson, Graeme Cameron, Base Camp X, Debbie Macey xoxo, Ryan Gosling and the film DRIVE, Mom & Dad, Teshley "The Blonde Bunny", and Everyone who's supported my efforts either with kind gestures, nice words, or hard cash. Love ya!
That's not it for Teuton this summer. Oh no! We're working on a re-issue of
Volume 1, which will include 15 brand new pages--essentially a totally new first issue. While the re-issue won't go to print until October, it's our aim to have the new version available as a digital package we can offer folks at Fan Expo who are picking up
Volume 2.
Do you need a reason to grab Volume 2 this August? How about two! Here are two spectacular pin-ups from artists Brad Coombs and Mike Rooth from the upcoming trade...
BEYOND
I've been lucky enough to receive many offers from numerous creators while I worked on Teuton, most of which I had to turn down on account of time. To the few prospects I did want to pursue I would say, "
after Teuton."
After Teuton, let's get started.
After Teuton, let's jump into this. Consequently, I've got a new projects happening simultaneously...
UNDERTOW:
Firstly, I'll be joining
Gibson Quarter on
UNDERTOW! I'm be taking the reigns on a back-up story called
The Forgetting, which is something akin to
The Eternals with a darker tone and supernatural twist. That won't be fully formed until the fall, but here's a sneak peek at what I'm doing for that...
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES With STADIUM COMICS:
To celebrate the opening of
The Dark Knight Rises,
Stadium Comics is staging an event on July 19th @ AMC Courtney Park. It coincides with the Bat-Marathon at the theatre that night, where
Batman Begins and
The Dark Knight will screen before
The Dark Knight Rises at midnight
.
I've agreed to attend, as I'm sure it'll be a wicked good time. To mark the occasion, I'll be selling a bran new Batman print, and it will look something like this:
BASE CAMP X:
A while ago I drew a two-page short about a father and son fighting zombies on their camping trip. It was a little promo piece for
Base Camp X, a great company that doesn't so much sell sharp objects as it does embrace a rugged lifestyle of getting shit done with your hands.
Graeme Cameron, the bad ass motherfucker in charge of BCX was so thrilled by the zombie short I made him that we've been in frequent communication about what more my art can do for trophy axes.
I love brain storming with Graeme, and there's some very real potential for great projects that may take off in time. For now, I contributed an illustration for BCX's latest commissioned axe--Evil Eddie for
Iron Maiden's Steve Harris. The band's latest tour brings them into Toronto this Friday, and when they get here they'll receive this:
I handed it off to Graeme this morning, who was extremely pleased. So pleased in fact he laid on me a huge banana shaped blade called a Khukri, which he hoped would serve me well on my upcoming trip Tyrannosaurus excavation trip in Montana next month. Although I won't be hunting dinosaurs, Graeme suggested I fillet some rattlesnake with it.
The Khukri is sitting here at the desk, wafting the potent aroma of oiled leather and metal up my nose. It's basically the manliest scent I've ever encountered. I need to be eating a plate of bacon and smoking a cigar while holding it.
When all that's said and done, I just may do some more comic sketch covers for the heck of it!
