TMNT #44

Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift #2

I'm pretty excited about New Comic Day today because Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift #2 hits stores and it sports a cover drawn by me and coloured by my good pal Brian Evinou.

Like many people, I really enjoy Adventure Time. The cartoon is very fun and silly but also quite earnest and imparts kind messages. The comics written by Ryan North were pretty hilarious. I also really love the covers for these books. They're such a blast! For this new title alone the covers have been pretty gorgeous--and I got to do one! I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity. So I'm quite thankful to Eric and Whitney at Boom! Studios for making it happen. Thanks, guys!

When I was initially pitching myself for a potential cover, I threw a bunch of ideas at the wall. Without any specific story or book to work from, it was at first a little challenging to spitball ideas, but boy was it ever a hoot

Even once a concept was settled on it needed some tailoring to fit the title. For those of you who enjoy seeing process stuff, please enjoy the images below!

 

Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift #2

Yesterday Boom! Studios announced their upcoming titles for February 2015. Among them was the Adventure Time mini-series, Marceline Gone Adrift #2, which sports a cover I illustrated and my good friend Brian Evinou coloured.

The first issue hits store in January. It's sure to be lots of fun. Don't miss out, especially when our cover rolls around in February!

FAN EXPO 2012 Post Game Wrap-Up

The Big Sexy Comics table: where expectations meet disappointment!

  So that happened.

The past four days were a success for Fred and I on many levels. We are both really happy with how Teuton Vol.2 was received. Half of our stock was sold! My thanks and gratitude goes out to everyone who bought a copy.

There are so very many people who showed me kindness and made me feel super. Tony and Kara Moore were badass and extremely kind neighbours. Bob Layton is fucking hilarious and shared with me his brand of cynical wisdom. Convention nights are made spectacular by the company of Phil McClorey, Brian Evinou, Jeff Brown, Fred.

I'm grateful to Michael Walsh and Ed Brisson for the best stroll down Spadina Avenue in memory; to Marcus To for always making me feel welcome; to Ty Templeton and Keiren Smith for treating me like a peer; to Gibson Quarter for being Gibson-fucking-Quarter; to Kris Johnson for praise I'm working hard to be worthy of...

The list goes on. There are more people to thank and stories to tell, but it's all too much to chronicle here all at once. I'll say that I'm left with a whopping new set of memories. With past conventions I was plagued by regrets. This year my only regret is not being able to spend more time with everyone who made this year uh-mazing.

Now here's a series of convention drawings...

Thor: in ancient viking garb.

The Joker in prison for Katya.

Captain America: to whittle away the hours.

Jonah Hex: had Westerns on my mind.

The Chef Recommends...

It's that day of the week--new comic book day. There's lot of good stuff in the stores, but I want to share with anyone reading some great material you won't likely find at your local comic shop.

This is a post I've been meaning to do for quite a while. By that I mean recommending indie comics made by my peers that I truly enjoy. There's lots of cool stuff I've been exposed to, and here is some of it in no particular order...

Brian Evinou
brianevinou.com
brianevinou.blogspot.com

Brian's a buddy, which pleases me because his stuff is so fun to read. His characters are lively and expressive and he really knows how to spin a yarn. 

Like Don River, a familiar police procedural with a killer twist. Or Fight Song, a series of imaginative epic brawls for the sake of imaginative epic brawls! Brian's latest, Sassy Mavericks, is shaping up to be a great deal of fun too, and that's a huge part of why I enjoy his work--Brian's love of what he's doing is so evident on every page.

The Misadventures of Mal & Lot 
POWIE Studios 
powiestudios.com 

I was delighted by this series from the moment I saw the cover. It's fun and light hearted with artwork that perfectly executes the writing. I really admire how fluidly this neat adventure is told. The story is about a 10 year old boy who makes friends with a mischievous alien after being lost in space. Chris Leung (writer) and Marvin Sianipar (artist) are two of the nicest guys I've met at a comic show and their good natures are reflected in their work. The first two books deserve to be read and shared. It will awaken the kid in you.

Stranger
D.A. Bishop
stranger.renerd.com

This is one I've come across just recently and I'm intrigued to see where it goes. For starters, it's a zombie story where the main character isn't meant to be a hero. Bishop's intent is to follow one unassuming man as he stumbles into trouble and struggles to find his way out. Heroes and leaders may come and go against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse, but Stranger instead focuses on the man who'd rather be left in the background. Bishop, a writer first, is teaching himself to be a better artist as he goes along writing. That isn't to say this book decently drawn (it is), but I really respect creators who work hard to learn new skill sets just to see their stories told.

Fauntkin
Christopher Yaoza
yaozagraphics.com
fauntkin.wordpress.com


I relate to Chris in a lot of ways. Apart from the fact we attended Ty Templeton's Boot Camp at the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop at the same time, I've also had a pet project I've started and stopped several times. Where we differ is followed through with his, and that would be Fauntkin, an odyssey about a boy android and his pet rabbit. It's sweet and full of wonder, and it demands to be finished.




So give these a try. 
Support indie talent. 
Walk on the wild side, and so forth. 
You'll be glad to did!

HORROR In The WEST

Exciting news in the world of Indie comics!

A little while ago I contributed artwork to a exciting comic anthology called Horror In The West. The book has been long in the works and was created and edited by Phil McClorey. He's the writer of many cool horror shorts for his own imprint, Furious Comics. You can read my creative history with Phil here. 

I can honestly tell you the book is going to be killer. I'm super excited about it. The video lays out the skinny pretty well, but in case you couldn't commit to watching a two minute video, I'll spell it out here:

Horror In The West is cadre of frightful horror tales that take place in the old West.  The anthology is creator owned and independent, and is made by some of the baddest and raddest indie talents around: Sam Agro, Jason Copland, Dan Simon, Chris McQuaid, Brian Evinou, Jeff McComsey, Fred Kennedy, and many more!

For my own part, I was only able to contribute a pin-up, although I would have loved to spin my own yarn. Nevertheless, I did craft a story for the devilish saloon girl illustrated below. 

My initial drafts all featured the femme fatale mostly nude. For obvious reasons, Phil requested that she be clothed in the final draft. The character, whom I don't yet have a name for, was inspired by another character I once thought up. Nicknamed "The Coyote Queen", she was a desert nymph that seduced travelers with her carnal beauty and wild spirit before stealing their souls. 

I still really like that idea, but I thought it would feel out of context in the anthology. So I took the essence of this girl that only exists in my mind and gave her a distinctive Western aesthetic. Now you can have a look at my process:

 Prints of my pin-up will be offered to those who make a pledge of $35! 

They'll be signed by Yours Truly and may come with extra sketch, if that sweetens the deal!

Happenings

PODCAST

Yesterday I joined friends and fellow indie creators Phil McClorey and Brian Evinou for a round table discussion on the plight of the independent comic creator. Moderated by Fearless Fred Kennedy, the recorded rap session will be available on Fearless' FREDCAST! in a week or so.

Fred's podcasts are worth checking out, as they feature an amalgam of great Canadian artists and writers.

I enjoyed my time and did my very best not to mumble incoherently about Batman. Personally, I think I failed to properly relate my thoughts and experiences as a relative newcomer to the comics world. I'll write more about that some other time.


FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

Saturday, May 5th is Free Comic Book Day. To mark the occasion, Stadium Comics is having a tremendous sale, a slew of fantastic guests (including myself), and of course free comics. From what I hear, Stadium Comics has the biggest FCBD event in the GTA. Read all the details here.



Featured here are two of five exclusive sketch covers I illustrated. They'll be raffled away, along with many others, to a few lucky customers who come join the fun. Have a peek at the other amazing sketch covers up for grabs here.

Not to be outdone, my good friends at The Comic Book Lounge are also celebrating FCBD with fun shenanigans of their own.

If you can't make it to Brampton, then I encourage you to visit The Toronto Cartoonists Workshop gang, as well as sexy exciting guests like Kathryn and Stuart Immonen, Mike Del Mundo, Gibson Quarter, and more!