Secret Avengers 004 & Kill Shakespeare: Mask Of Night #1

There's often enough time between finishing work on a comic and the day of its release for you to forget about the book itself, making it a pleasant surprise when the book you worked on hits shelves. For me that's happened twice this month, with Secret Avengers 004 (Marvel Comics) and Kill Shakespeare: Mask Of Night #1 (IDW). I worked on both titles a couple months ago, which now feels like a year.

My involvement with both books was strictly inking for artists I both really admire and respect. In the case of Secret Avengers I was inking all the backgrounds for my friend and freshly minted superstar Michael Walsh. Admittedly, inking backgrounds sounds like a chore, but the issue I worked on was set in the Kowloon Walled City, a once real world location that's as much a character in the story as Hawkeye or Nick Fury. I had my work cut out for me, but it was one of the best experiences I ever had making comics. Because I was outsourced by the artist, I wasn't granted a credit on the book*, but I remain very proud of the work and very grateful to my friend Michael for having me on board.

*Credit or not, I discretely signed one of the pages I inked. If you can find it, hit me up for a free sketch!

Also out this month is the first issue of Kill Shakespeare: Mask Of Night. This marks the fourth volume for writers Conor McCreery and Anthony Del Col and artist Andy Belanger, and it features bad ass shit like pirates, swashbuckling, blood, and ladies. I've been a fan of Andy's for a while. They don't get more metal than this guy. I was stoked when he asked for some inking assistance. Fact of the matter is, I inked only several pages because Andy is a machine who lives and breathes comics. I feel like he could not only draw and ink two of his own books, but probably finish my own work and have it all look amazing. I'll have some more involvement in MoN's second issue, as well as heftier role with the Kill Shakespeare team further down the road. More on that later.