Dead Drop

The final issue of Dead Drop is out on comic shelves today, Valiant Entertainment's four-part mini-series written by Ales Kot, drawn by Yours Truly, and coloured by Mike Spicer, with outstanding covers by Raul Allen.

I completed my work on the book in late July, and at the time it felt anti-climatic. I'm not one to stand on ceremony, but for a project I'd been involved with since January 2015, the kind words exchanged in e-mails between the creative and editorial teams felt rather pat. Finishing the project was a new pinnacle for me professionally and I felt a desire to shake hands with my partners on the book, raise a glass in toast and commiserate on the journey we had taken together. But that's not how comics work. So we expressed our thanks and gratitude and congratulations when all our work was finished and instead of handshakes and drink I took my daughter out for lunch to celebrate. We went shopping, bought skateboards, goofed around. It was a beautiful day.

Now the book is out and I'm excited all over again. The finale I've waited for everyone to see is on shelves. Dead Drop has it's share of supporters and tough critics alike, but through it all I've felt nothing but positivity and appreciation for my efforts on the series.

In the time I spent working on this title, my life has changed in some very unexpected ways. Some very good, some pretty darn lousy. Through all those times I had my work on this book as my constant, the thing that kept me focused and moving forward. Now here I am, in a time and place I both worked hard to arrive at and yet feel unprepared for; awaiting the imminent birth of my second child and beginning my own ongoing series. It's surreal.

As I've said before, but cannot say enough, I'm grateful to my collaborators on Dead Drop: Ales Kot, Mike Spicer, Raul Allen, Kyle Andrukiewicz, and Warren Simons.

Thanks to Valiant Entertainment for bringing me into the fold and exposing my work to the world.

Thanks to all the die hard Valiant fans for strong support of my work and your honesty and your vocal demand for more. You guys are awesome, so I'm sharing some behind the scenes are just for you:

Dead Drop #1, page 4 process: in my original draft I unwittingly created a new ability for X-O 

Dead Drop #1, page 9 process: mapping out X-O foot chase with the mysterious hacker

Dead Drop #1, page 10 process: keeping it clear for editorial

Dead Drop #2, pages 12, 13 & 14 process side by side

Dead Drop #3, page 8 process: designing the alien for "Neville's" big reveal

Dead Drop #3 cover process

final colours by Michael Spicer

Dead Drop #4

Dead Drop #1 Cover Process

colours by Tamra Bonvillain

Dead Drop #1 hit stores this week and has been incredibly well received by reviewers and readers alike. I can't adequately express how great that feels. I'm really enjoying the work I'm doing with Ales, Mike and Valiant, and I guess that must show in the finished product. It's not often where I look back on my art and want to nit-pick and change things.

The first issue had four variants, one of which I had the pleasure to draw. The cover was my first task after taking the assignment, and apart from a premise and brief synopsis, I knew very little about the series. Heck, even the title wasn't finalized when I came aboard, which is why my first mock-up for the cover glibly reads AWESOME BOOK by Awesome Writer / Awesome Artist (my mom thinks I'm funny).

Colours for the cover were handled by Tamra Bonvillain, who I feel really to have worked with because she's doing some really excellent work right now on numerous titles.

If you haven't checked out issue one of Dead Drop, man, you gotta get on that!

Dead Drop #2

coloured by Tamra Bonvillain

DEAD DROP

colours by Tamra Bonvillain

Today Valiant announced DEAD DROP, a new mini-series coming in May from Ales Kot and Yours Truly!

I'm incredibly thrilled about working with Ales again after having such a thoroughly satisfying experience drawing an issue of ZERO, Ales' creator-owned series at Image Comics.

This time around I'll get to draw some very cool, established characters from a major publisher. It's unlike any other opportunity I've had before and I simply cannot wait for people to read this series.

The first issue hits stores in May, making this an excellent summer read. For full details on the series, Valiant Central has the scoop: http://valiantcentral.com/full-details-on-dead-drop/