Okay, I haven’t talked about this here, mainly because I haven’t wanted to Jinx it, and I haven’t wanted to come across as too arrogant, for lack of a better term. I just didn’t want to talk about it until I was certain that I could produce something worth contributing. So here goes:

David Ano approached me a few months ago to contribute to the Bam Too! anthology which is looking to have a pretty decent collection of creator contributing. Initially I was going to provide a standalone part of my larger project that hads languished in my lack of motivation that I’m only recently getting past due to a good swift jolting to reality by someone very influential. I was inspired to start creating a series of comics now called “Critical Thinking In Everday Life” due to a call to action by the fine folks at Skeptic Magazine, and since I like to say I make comics, I decided to start doing comics about Critical Thinking. Four installments are done and now submitted for Bam Too!

I’m looking forward to doing more comics and the bit of drawing on my agenda is a new frontpage for the web site.

I’m just dropping a post to let everyone know that next weekend I’ll be on the road. I’m going to take in HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC. It’ll be the first con I’ve gone to in over two years. Don’t go looking for me behind a table or anything, because I’m not set up anywhere. I’ll just be walking around like any other comics fan. Already, a couple of friends are going to be there, so not being rooted down will have its benefits.

On Friday, I plan on going around the small press area and hopefully getting exposed to some quality comics that are being overlooked by the majority of people attending the con. The last time I was set up at a HeroesCon, it was in the small press are and for the most part we were ignored. With the raised requirements of Diamond, these people need all the help that they can be given and simply walking by without taking the time to stop and talk to them is out of the question. I’ll also be carrying around copies of Bunkee #3 and 4 and The Mall if anybody is willing to trade, but I want to hand them out to people I like at the very least.

On Saturday, I’m going to take in Indie Island and Artists’ Alley. I really would like to discover something new, and since I’ve been out of the convention loop for so long, I imagine I’ll find it. Already, I’ve recognized a few people I know on the Guest List, and I want to at least say hi to them. There are a few people whose work I admire that I want to see, and patronize if I can.

Sunday, is for shopping, especially shopping for bargains. The last day at a convention is reknowned for markdowns, just because dealers don’t want to haul it back to their store, garage, storage building next to the bowling alley, et cetera.  Jordan asked me yesterday if I was putting together a want list for HeroesCon, and I’ve learned not to do that just because in the search for specific items, I’ve almost passed right over real gems. Whenever I haven’t gone to a con with a want list, I’ve discovered real gems hidden away. I may show up later on Sunday, just because it’s Father’s Day, and I plan on taking Dad out to lunch before going to Charlotte.

That’s the plan, boys and girls. If you’re going to HeroesCon and want to meet up, just contact me through one of the links on the right. I’ll be Twittering all weekend on my phone, so those of you following me on Twitter and Facebook can see what I’m doing.

Thursday and Friday saw my drawing time go into a redraw of a previous strip.  There’s no lettering in the original strip, and I’m really thinking that adding captions would be counter-productive. I’ll research a little about captions, especially in the context of sci-fi comics, but right now, the impulse is to leave the strip captionless. The Science Fiction comics of the 50s, especially the really great EC comics made heavy use of captions, but they were building upon the prose science fiction of pulp novels. So far, I’ve not used captions in this story, aside from the “elsewhere” blurbs, and I really feel like captions in this setting would be useless and be telling things that I can show.

Also, I’m aware that some may be using larger monitor settings to view the Internet, so if you’re having trouble reading the lettering, here’s a tip, if you’re using Windows XP. While pressing “Ctrl”, slowly roll the scroll wheel on your mouse away from you. This’ll enlarge the page and rolling it back will return it to the larger resolution.

Back in the 1980s Walt Simonson revived the Marvel version of Thor to new popularity levels and helped create a new age for American comic books. Recently, I tripped across this house ad for Thor, as done by Walt Simonson. The thing I most remember about Simonson’s Thor was that the line pattern on his boots was drawn as a wrapping, which suddenly made sense to me in ways it never did before. In the near future, I hope to re-read the Walt Simonson run of Thor. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Before we get started, I can hear some of you now, but it’s just a comic book. Well, that excuse doesn’t buy it. To accept a comic book story, we already have to suspend disbelief. When a mistake like the cover I’m about to show you happens, we’re asked for a further suspension of disbelief for the sake of artistic license. That’s one suspension too many.

Yeah, that moon is way too big. The reason that so many comic artists make this mistake is that when the moon is rising, it looks larger than it does at its apex. Here‘s about as plain explanation of this illusion as possible. The moon simply cannot get larger if we get closer to it, elevation-wise, simply because it is so freakin’ far away.

Now, I wouldn’t be doing any good here in pointing this out if I didn’t point out that this is a good shot, and it can work, with the two most important elements involved, namely the characters/picnic table, and the moon.  There’s an extraneous element in there, and that’s the horizon. Take the horizon out and there’s no frame of reference for the viewer, and the scene can work, science wise. With the horizon as a guide, we use our memory of how big the moon is, and frankly, it’s never that big. Remove it, and we have no sense of anything to place it against in terms of scale

Less is more, Less is more.

The very first story I wrote upon nearing the completion of my college education was an autobiographical tale of the internal fears of going into a world filled with uncertainty and faced with the challenges of a marriage and the physical limitations of a malady caused by years of doing the very thing that I loved. In it, I confessed that at times in my life I had even considered ending my own existence. I titled the book after one of the motivators for continuing my journey through the world, and that was a fear of dying. Not necessarily for the fear of the concept of dying, but for the sense that I wouldn’t be done. I had too much to do, and it seemed inevitable to me that upon dying, one is almost certain to leave something unfinished. That comic, Too Scared To Die, was my first foray into comics, and it was very personal.

Eight years later, as I set forth on another journey, not completely of my own choosing, I think back on that work and many times I’ve tried my hand at a sequel. Once was during a particularly low point when I was involuntarily unemployed. A couple of times I attempted to continue it as a journal comic. At no point did any story seem right. Maybe it’s because I’m not looking at dying in the same way anymore. Call it the gift of atheism, as I know what the end result of our mortality has in store, and thus, every moment is precious and should not be wasted. If I have a story to tell, then I should bloody well share it and not wait to do it.

Now, one would think that as I stand on the precipice of another life-changing event, I would feel that the time is right for a sequel. Well, not just yet. I’m really chomping at the bit to continue Jet-Pack Jenny. Also, this stage is incomplete and to start documenting it would take away from the point of any story I want to tell.

With the moving plans, the progress has slowed as I pack my studio up for a full move. A lot of things that have just accumulated are being thrown out, as I can’t imagine anyone wanting some of this stuff, and a few things might find their way onto eBay or craigslist.

Stay tuned.

PS: In the next few days, Too Scared to Die will wind up in the store for purchase. I just have to find the time to do it.

There will be an update tonight, most likely around the midnight hour. I have to go to my “day” job right now.

I’m making the Original Art for several strips available within the next 24 Hours. Initially, I was going to make them available on the store page, but finally decided that the best way to offer them is in that bit of text that goes with every comic posted. So look for that button you see at the top of this post and own a strip that you like. Some artwork will cost more than others, but the price for most artwork will be $25.00.

Why are am I doing this, you ask? Well, I need money, yes, but as long as I have it scanned and backed up on multiple disks, I don’t need the original art at all. Also I do need the cash, which I’d rather earn from something I drew than going out there with my hat in hand and begging. This also brings me to the next bit I wanted to talk about this evening.

I really can’t go into too much detail, but suffice it to say that I want to feel comfortable talking about my life. That being said, I am going to be on the serious hunt for a permanent, full-time day job, so I can pay my bills, put some away and afford to pursue other interests. Mainly, it’s these other interests that I’m a little fixated on at this particular moment, but in the hierarchy of values, I need to first feel good about myself and in how I can present myself to others.

Tonight I’m going to prep tomorrow’s strip for posting, and post the button on the appropriate strips so people can buy them. Tomorrow morning, I’m going to ride my bike. Then I’m going to shower, e-mail some resumes, and look into some fresh starts and call about some money owed to me. Any time left will be spent cleaning up my room and making my space a lot more of what I want and less of what will do for the time being.

Okay, I’m feeling pretty good. So, how are you?

Yesterday, I spent a good part of the afternoon reading Mark Millar’s series Kick-Ass. I was inspired by the trailer for the movie set to debut in April and without a doubt, this is one the better comic series of the past decade. I read the first issue and wasn’t as impressed as I hoped but with issue three and the debut of Hit-Girl, I was locked in.

The movie promises to be awesome, and an almost straight adaptation of the comic, although it looks like some of Hit-Girl’s swordplay might be missing. She does keep her great first line, though, if you can’t read it up there, “Okay, you cunts, let’s see what you can do.” So far, two trailers have been released and hopefully, they’ll inspire you to read Kick-Ass, too.  If your comic shop doesn’t have back issues (which is very possible), I’ll give you a little help.

In the event that youtube has taken these videos down (doubtful on the second one), you can also watch them over at Apple’s site, but you’re smart cookies and already knew that.

I am going to try a little project whenever I have trouble sleeping, which given my really weird schedule, is more often than I care to admit.Whenever I can’t sleep, I’m going to work on an autobio comic that will be tentatively titled Sleepless. The only work done on it during normal wake hours will be clean up and/or redrawing, albeit lightboxing. Only a panel has been done so far, but I’ll post it here in the blog as it gets done.