Return of the Cat King!

I have completed the second Warriors book and I am now working on the third. Here is a layout where Sasha has to return a sacred ring to Mordor.

Convention Comment

I remember walking on the comvention floor with my GF last Saturday, and we passed by Judd Apatow and his wife, Leslie Mann. Judd Apatow was the creative force behind "The 40 year old Virgin". They were checking out some collectables and a fan was talking to them, so I did not bother them. I occured to me then, There are dozens of stars who come to San Diego to promote. How many really like comics and hang out on the floor? I doubt Paris Hilton looked for Supergirl back issues when she came to promote her dopey event/product. I really admire the stars who walk the floor and enjoy the event.

Inside The OWLSHIP!

I was able to sneak a camera inside The WATCHMEN owlship!

Active Images? Yes!

What can I say about these two Eisner nominated Professionals?

LARRY HAMA Talks!

It must have been ten years since I last saw Larry. It's lucky for me that I brought my camera!

San Diego 2008-The Hotel

Yes, I went to San Diego like every other person on earth. The convention was so jam-packed and busy, I couldn't believe it. But before I blog about the weekend, I should start with the hotel. Steve Buccellato and I shared a room with two beds and we were lucky to get a place very close to the convention center. The hotel looks great! The bad part was the service. It felt like we were not as important as the people throwing the Hollywood party on Friday and Saturday.

The Punisher kills the Marvel Universe

A little while ago, I got a royalty check in the mail. I inked three pages over Doug Braithwaite for a rush job and they were for The Punisher Kills The Marvel Universe. I don't know what kind of fever dream inspired this story, but I loved Braithwaites' art and I jumped at the chance to ink him. I met him once at a Marvel picinic in 1994 (I think it was 1994...) and I knew his work from other books.

I managed to get a couple of copies of the pencils and the inks. You can see how loose the last page is. Also, you can see the knife going thru DAREDEVIL. That was something the editor, asked me to fix. He also blackened in the blood on the last panel where DD is bleeding out. Can't show red blood! Different era huh?

I got the royalty check because the book was reprinted over a year ago. I guess the older stuff is starting to resurface. I am waiting for MARVEL to put The Secret Defenders in a trade paperback. Until Then...

Coming Soon!

My first Warriors Manga will be out in september! I've gotten a copy of it and I am really excited!

Watchmen Mania!

Ok....I have been the biggest fan of WATCHMEN the comic since it came out in 1986. I know there were a bunch of dopey movie scripts making the rounds since then, but this completed 2009 release seems like it's the real deal. How can I say this? Visit this website and see for yourself.

David Gerrold Interview!

The signing at The Comic Bug was fun! I got to meet David Gerrold and we chatted. Did you know that he worked on the Sci-Fi show 'Sliders'? He has been writing for over 30 years and he was 19 when he wrote the 'Trouble with Tribbles' Star Trek episode!

Signing To-Nite!

I am going to tear myself away from the drawing board and attend a special signing! I will see you at the Comic Bug and I will bring my brush pens. Buy a book and get a sketch!

Quasar Pages

I have been enjoying Mike Manleys' blog and his posts about working on the Marvel book, QUASAR. My friend John Heebink pencilled Issue 53 and he was coming off of the last issue of SHIELD. I think it was in 1994. I inked John on SHIELD and I wanted to see his latest work.

The best thing about these pages were the notes on page 19. I don't know who inked him on this issue, but I hope he did not screw it up!

Half-Inked Pages

In an effort to distance myself from yesterday's posting, I would like to talk about something Steve talked about in his last blog post. Half inked pages. I did not draw or ink these two pages. They were pencilled by Dale Keown and inked by Joe Rubenstein. They are from The Hulk issue 387, Back in the early 90s.

I remember hanging around the Marvel offices looking for work and hanging out with friends( I did that a lot back then). I am near the copy machine when the assistant to the Hulk editor at the time, C. Cooper, stopped to make some copies. I was excited by the half state of the artwork and I had him make a few copies for me as well. I don't know why anyone else would want copies in an in-between state like that.

So I have these copies and I keep looking at them to see how Joe changed the pencils. How he added depth and weight. I am sure he did most of his work in brush at this point, with a pen for hands and faces. There was some great work on those pages and I am lucky to have this Half-inked example of a great page.

Bad Day Today

I banged my left toe REALLY badly last Saturday. It was late at night and it was extra painful and even bled. I figured it was just an awful stubbed toe and went back to sleep. It throbbed on Sunday but I thought that it would improve. It did not. My left front toe was silly looking. After consulting with my GF, who has had a similar injury, I called my family doctor. Things went wrong the moment I saw him today.

After checking it this afternoon, Dr. LF recommended a Podiatrist and recommened I call for an appointment. "He can see me today?" Sure! Why not! With all this deadline stuff, I could get a persciption for an antibiotic and call it a day. My family doctor tried to prepare me and the Podiatrist set me straight. He would have to remove the busted toenail and let it heal properly.

EEE-YOW! I have never had a nail ripped from a toe before and I would not recommend it. I needed an extra shot for pain before the pulling could be completed. I closed my eyes for the procedure that I'm sure must have been just another nail avulsion for the Podiatrist. I did not open them until he was dressing the toe with a professional looking bandage.

I have to clean and dress the wound and return in 10 days for a check up. I hope I will able to walk my way thru San Diego this year.

Say it with Color!

I believe that my best drawing is my NEXT drawing. That's why I tend to throw out my old drawings. I look at the older stuff and I want to redraw it. That being said, I am trying to learn how to color with Photoshop and it's a big mess. I can't expect to learn everything in a weeks time but it's uncomfortable for me to be sucky. There you go.

I think my biggest problem is learning how to prepare the darned stuff for color.

All Done

I finished inking my Next Generation story and I dropped by the Tokypop offices to deliver it. My old editor on the book was let go, so I had a chance to meet the new one. Nice guy. The office seemed quieter than in the past and a lot of friends were no longer there.

Previews AD

Star Trek:The Next Generation Manga has been solicited in the July Previews! I guess I should finish my story then.

Next Generation Inks!

I posted the layout to this page a month or so ago and I have finised inking the page. I usually take the sketch and enlarge it to original art size. I lightbox the photocopy and make any changes then. The biggest change was Deanna Trois' smile in panel 2.