Whoops!

Totally forgot to post the Big Beautiful Wonder Woman-a-month for March! I did post it on my Deviant Art page but not here. Sheesh.



This is something I've wanted to do for a while. The whole concept of WW's invisible jet as a bunch of white lines or, in the case of Darwyn Cooke, absolutely nothing really bugged me.

If it were totally invisible how could she actually find the dang thing on the tarmac let alone control the engines with the invisible levers or even see her altitude on the invisible flight instruments.

I figured that the SKIN of the invisible jet could be invisible and ended up with this image of BBWW getting ready for a flight.

Her costume was fun to design as it's a Wonder Woman-ed version of 1950's pilot gear The jet that you only see parts of is a bit of an inside aviation joke. It's an invisible T-33 Shooting Star, a 1950's jet that had a notoriously small cockpit that even average sized men had trouble getting into and out of, let alone BBWW. Of course, it had to be a two-seater so she could cart Maj. Trevor around.

The main image is hand inked and digitally colored while the background is totally vectored. The only thing I couldn't work out is how the shadows of the invisible jet parts would work so I copped out and didn't do them.

In other news, I've started full-time at Earl's Bikes. It was my favorite store before applied there and now that I work there and know the people better, it's easily the best bike store I know. I'm in the service department mostly with a little bit of time on the floor. I worked the floor last summer there part time and was asked by the owner to come back full time. Very little hesitation with 'yes'.

Cheers!

listening to while posting: nothing. I've shut everything down and then realized I needed to post.

Ram. Blin.

Sweet Enemy and I took a trip to DC to visit AndreZero and ScienceGirl. Here are some notes of the trip

- Trains are cool, but better if your seatmate is a close friend.

- Thirteen hours is a long time, especially if you spend seven of them riding backwards

- Drawing on train not possible due to vibrations. Good thing I brought along a giant book. I did make some attempt during longer stops. Here's a small sketch of a guy walking by while waiting in West Haven, CT




- There is no 'wrong side of the tracks'. Every place where buildings meet train tracks is a buffer of garbage. What is with people?

- A train may make good time but, unless your destination is the first stop, it doesn't matter: they never depart before their set time

- DC Metro is ridiculously easy to navigate, if the Metro card kiosks aren't

- DC Metro is also ridiculously clean and the people are relaxed. It's weird.

- Met by AndreZero and ScienceGirl outside Metro station then walked 100 meters to their apartment. Brought them a gallon of real maple syrup. More expensive than gasoline but so tasty. Bags much lighter on way home.

- Downtown DC near the mall is cool and the nicest city I've been in. Probably because it's tourist-oreinted.

- Hit the National Air and Space Museum. Not near enough helicopters, USCG or SAR. By "not near enough" I mean "None"

- National Portrait Gallery is awesome. It is the only gallery where I didn't get art fatigued. I even sketched a marble bust (I meant to just draw the hair but, kept going). Never looked at the card though. Re-drew the picture 'better' the next day waiting for ScienceGirl to wake up. ScienceGirl not MorningPerson.


- Met AndreZero and ScienceGirl at the NPG and they took us to great small Mexican place. Guacamole made right at our table. Fresh and good. Margarittas, too! Good thing not driving.

-Hanging with AndreZero and ScienceGirl on Saturday and Sunday. That's all we really came for.

- Ate with them at a real cafe near Politics and Prose. By "real" I mean that there was a guy eating lunch with a glass of wine all by himself; you don't see that much at regular restaurants. The food was mediocre, but the service and atmosphere was outstanding. If I lived there, it would be my regular place.

- Was introduced to both Cuban cuisine and the Mojito. Both are awesome. Waiter was wonderful. When Sweet Enemy asked for the tiny remains of our dinner to be wrapped up she apologized for having to wrap up such a small amount but "it was so good". Waiter returned with a take-away box filled with more of what we had. Wonderful.

- Home for more drinking and Lego Creationary *. It is fun but, more fun drunk!

-Dragging AndreZero to the Natural History Museum. He was a good sport.

- At the NHM watched a mom deal wonderfully when her two little girls found the human child skeleton on display.

- None of us noticed the stuffed leopard in a fake tree right over our heads. So much for survival.

- Dinosaurs smaller than when I was eight. Also, T-Rex not dragging tail anymore

- NHM is for kids. Not just the layout and interactivity. It's that they don't answer a lot of questions, they just make you want to find out more on your own. Not a bad thing.

- At NHM discovered that there is a creature called the Pink Fairy Armadillo. No, really.

- Introduced to the TV show Sherlock. Very much goodness.

-Ate home-made nachos for dinner while watching Sherlock. It's good to be a grownup

- Much wine consumed over visit. Tried to introduce ScienceGirl to good beer but doesn't like belching.

The worst part was saying goodbye. We didn't need to be in a place with great museums and restaurants. Hanging out with AndreZero and ScienceGirl was the reason we went. Hope we were good guests. We tried to be good and not needy and all.

Listening to while posting: "French Navy" By Camera Obscura
*Note from that night written down on notepad for some reason: "Everyone's like: 'it's the Italian flag!' and you're like 'No, it's Sushi!'"

Season's Greetings

The cusp as the new year ends and another begins is usually a time for reflection. This is one of those refletions.

I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people on the planet. Mostly it's people. In my life now are many wonderful people that make my life wonderful. They are nearby and seen every single day. They are far away and not visited nearly often enough. They have never been met in person but, I very much like to.

The things they do are big and they are small but all help make my life great. What makes the things they do all the more marvelous is that they seem to be done unconsciously just because of who the people are.

I want to thank you all. To avoid embarrassment, or any semblance of favoritism, I won't make a list. It would also take a long time.

That's how lucky I am.

I feel as though George Bailey, on Christmas morning, would say "Dang. You've got a lot of nice people in your life, son!"

Thanks, everyone.

I hope I've done enough to earn your friendships.

Good gravy!

It's been a weird couple of months. I got a job at my local bike shop and, while it's fun and the people are great, it's a lot of... action. I won't say stress, but my days are full with little time to eat and a big feeling of responsibility to my co-workers and the customers; we're so hands-on that people often wonder if we're on commission (we're not).

I've been riding to work when it's good weather (a 30 mi round trip unless Sweet Enemy picks me up after work). This feels pretty nice. I don't leave until after the morning rush so most of the roads are pretty empty. Almost feels like a ride for fun.

With all that going on plus some financial scares, not much art has been made.

This is not a good thing

I've planned on opening commissions for Page One-Hundred works but I wanted to get a small body together first. My slacking has not helped. I also need to get a poster for this year's 24-Hour Comics Day done. So, I made myself some coffee this morning, sat down and started drawing.

The Page One-Hundred is now fully in-progress and, after doing some studies of some Comfrey flowers, I thought I'd do a quicky. I took my goth pin-up thing and do something new with it. It's not sexy, but it's not bad. I think the wolf-girls are better in this new one.

Best of all, it's actually a drawing



Also, I went sailing on Lake Champlain for the first time ever today. Thanks to my Step-Mother-in-Law for being a great skipper!

So, until next time!

Listening to while posting: Secret Agent Radio on Soma FM

small update

I just finished the pencils for the "Norther Borders" Page One-Hundred Project piece; I'll be inking tomorrow. However, I needed something to do, so I colored up a Big Beautiful Wonder Woman in Photoshop. I was reading Darwyn Cooke's DC: New Frontiers and thought I'd grab my brush pen and try to emulate Mr. Cooke.



Real Life 1

It was about sixty this afternoon, so I threw a leg over my Kona Jake and hit the road. I only did about eight miles in a half-hour, but it was the first ride of the year. I climbed two big hills (including the unavoidable one that our house is on) and didn't dab or even ralph. Sort of expected to ralph. I've always referred to the first rides of the season as "Ralph Rides". I guess all of the working out this winter slowed the decline much more than usual. Cool.

Real Life 2

Tomorrow evening Sweet Enemy and I are sharing dinner and porto with a good friend (and fantastic printmaker) and his wife. Not sure why I'm telling you this except to promote him.

Listening to while posting: "Head Honcho" by Devotchka

Sorry I'm late

It was a very full four-day weekend last weekend, so this will be a long post.

Sweet Enemy headed to Massachusetts to visit my family and do some stuff.

On Saturday we stopped off in Northampton. A strange little town that appears to be equal parts annoying rich people and annoying poor hipsters. For example, there's a nice, small indoor mall which sported both a tiny, hip and expensive men's store as well as a surplus store where you can get everything from hotel soaps to cheap tools to candles to novelty magnets.

Northampton is also home to lots of galleries including SE's main target the R. Michelson Gallery. We also hit a smaller gallery down the street which offered two fun things. First, it was full of a neo-Flemish painter who, in addition to the standard still lives, also painted realistic pictures of stacked donuts. Secondly, the gallery's mascot was a friendly French bulldog. SE and I were admiring the paintings when we were startled by a clicking and a snuffling. We looked down to find this so-ugly-he's-cute little brown snorting thing. He smelled us and let us pet him then ran away, his little claws scrabbling for purchase on the wood floors. We talked with the attendant for a while and then the dog came scuttling back bearing his favorite to toy offered for inspection and an invitation to play. He was a hoot.

Then home to visit with the family. My niece is cute and four, but I was warned that she was attempting to be a drama queen; prone to moping and sulking if she didn't get exactly her way. It's just her nature, she is not spoiled. My sister finds the best way is to ignore her. The lack of attention is a painful punishment. She's still cute and I'm still the Best Uncle.

On Saturday, SE and I hit the Worcester Museum of Art. Say what you want about Worcester, but the museum is spectacular. We spent five hours there and still missed a couple of rooms. In the Mesoamerican room, I formulated an hypothesis about three related artifacts. I'm going to contact the curator of the department about it. I'll let you know how it goes. We also were turned onto a Lebanese deli by a friend and WOW, it was awesome. We grabbed some spinach pies, some halwa, some pita, some really powerful cookies and a potato-shaped mass of savory goodness called a "kibbee ball".

We also went to visit my paramedic friend Decapod Diver at work. We hung around outside talking until it got cold, then he fired up the "truck", got the heat cranking and we all sat in the back and jawed for another hour or so. It's always good to hang with him, and now it was also an interesting venue.

On Sunday, my dad and I went to a scale model contest in Chicopee. Some friends from VT were going to be entering models and running a vendor table so I thought I'd go. On a whim, I entered my Savoia S.21. At first, as it is a fictional aircraft, there was slight contention over where it would be placed. But, it ended up in 1/48 scale single-engine aircraft.

There were some amazing models there including a meter-long aircraft carrier that was easily the most detailed thing I'd ever seen (it had a lighted interior hanger bay and teeny deck crew abut 2mm tall). We got to shadow the some judges (armor) and I learned a lot. After the contest ended, I packed up my plane and we headed up to say goodbye to my friends; my dad was getting tired of standing.

One of they guys told me I should wait for the awards ceremony. I told him that there was not much chance of winning anything, but he convinced me to stay. It was neat to see awards for models that I'd been able to see judged. Then came the 1/48 aircraft. I was expecting a certificate, or at most a third. Then I got called up for the first place! I was stunned. Still am. I must have cheated.

Sunday night we watched a remarkable and utterly unique film called Mary and Max. It's a strange, poignant tale of an Australian girl and her inadvertent pen-pal, a obese Jewish shut-in. Did I mention it's all in stop-motion?

Monday saw the morning start with a lot of playing and walking in the woods with my niece and then a lot of swing-set swinging with her and the neighbor boy who's a little older than my niece (I'm told he looks forward to my visits too and calls me "Uncle", too).

The drive back was uneventful except we reached the end of the awesome book on tape (yes, tape) that SE found.

That night, after food and a short nap, we hit the local music club to watch Devotchka awesome show. Well worth the money, even though that's about it for the budget.

The past week was rougher. I'm now on the extended federal unemployment benefits, having exhausted the state ones. I'm going to have to look for not-awesome work now, I think. Maybe landscaping. So, as much as I tried, there was not much drawing as my mood was grim. I did do some work on the identity for a great local gallery that SE shows at occasionally. I friends with the gallery owner so it's unpaid, but I could get exposure. Plus, I get to help out a great local gallery, SE and a friend. It's all good.

So, because I have to post art., here's a little sketch that I did for an idea for the identity, but ended up not using:



That's all!

Listening to while posting: "The Goalie Bop" by me.

Happy belated holidays!

To all who read this, whether a regular or not, I hope that your holiday season contained some joy, some mirth, a bit of good food and drink and a heaping helping of happiness.

Sweet Enemy and I got too frazzled to get a tree this year (I haven't found a design job and worked the holiday season at my local, independent toy store. Lots of fun!). So, our resident Yeti, Mr. Philbert Appleshrug generously allowed us to decorate him for the Yuletide. Here he is on Xmas morning:



The two gifts below at his feet were both for S.E. I'd had them kicking around my studio for a while (one since August!). The first she opened was Rocco Vargas: The Dark Forest" by Daneil Torres. I am blessed to have a wife who not only likes sequential art and sci-fi, but likes quirky, retro sequential art and sci-fi! If you also like those things, check Torres out. He's pretty awesome (and Spanish).

Her next gift was Terry Pratchett's latest (and possibly last) Tiffany Aching novel "I Shall Wear Midnight". Now, the thing about these gifts, is that they weren't something that only SE would like (I love Pratchett and I was the one who introduced her to Torres) and that made me feel a bit cheap. However, the true gift was that I did not even open them for a moment before she did; they were wrapped at the store immediately upon purchase. She graciously said that was good enough.

Our families were very generous to us and I, for one, always feel like I didn't deserve such generosity. Thanks guys.

One of the things I got was a gift certificate to my local, independent bookstore. Which I used yesterday to buy Jake Parker's newest Missile Mouse adventure. At times it feels aimed at an audience a bit younger than the first, at other times it doesn't. Throughout, however, Parker's art is solid and sweet. He also includes a "Universe of Missile Mouse" section that showcases his cool schematics and process work from the MM universe.

If you haven't read MM, do so. If you want to win copies of both books AND some ORIGINAL ART(!) hit jake's website for details on how to win.

In Obscure Tales news, AndreZero is working on fleshing out a new story I concepted while drinking an Americano at the bookstore while reading MM (inspiring is another adjective to give to Mr. Parker's work). No date set, but I've already started doing production design. I can't say what it's about, but it will push my abilities, that I'm sure of.

Well, I've got a date to go watch Dr. Who (10th doctor and Martha) with Sweet Enemy. Have I mentioned her awesomeness?

It's time!

Firstly, the new AndreZero-penned Obscure Tales episode is up. I give you:

Interrogation 101.

Enjoy!

Secondly, the meager response to the free drawing giveaway means that all posters get one! I'll work on them in order of posting and new-ness. So, in order, it's: 1) Decapod 2) Arjan 3) Rambler 4) Snab. Get your thinking caps on and decide what you want. Hit my portfolio and dig up my email (you're now part of a special crew) and let me know what you want. We'll work out shipping once I'm done drawing.

In other news, we survived the huge wind storm (90 MPH gusts) out here last week just fine. Only two trees down, and that means firewood next year. We did lose power for three days due to a four-meter pine branch hanging on the lines. Sweet Enemy, Bernie the Fat Cat and I made the best of it, though; sitting in our stove-room, heating tortillas on the wood stove by the light of our glass-chimney'd oil lamp. We read comics and ghost stories and basically enjoyed a small technology-free vacation. I took some video of the trees in our woods blowing like wheat; if I can get it off of the camera, I'll post it.

Power was back on Friday thanks to the hard work of the CVPS crews. There were 25,000 out total in our county and some friends were still without power; they had a large maple across the road and hanging on the lines at EACH end of their road.

We do have to call a tree surgeon as a big pine right next to the house has developed a vertical crack in one of its large (8") branches. Creepy.

Pax!

Listening to while posting, Symphony #7 by Antonin Dvorak on VPR Classical

Pigs in Space, 1953 (and other stuff)

Halloween is over. We had our party (you should have been there!). It may have been a success since folks didn't leave until about midnight (yeah, I know that's early. Some had to work and one had to get sleep for a four-hour drive).

Kick Enemy Men, Sweet Enemy and I stayed up talking for another hour or more talking. KEM lives four hours away and we don't see him nearly as much as we'd like. A new friend brought a sampler of microbrews from around the country (he's a maven). Many awesome beers were tasted. Decapod Diver, my oldest friend came up from MA (he really needed a break) and brought a goose/duck/buffalo chili (he personally shot and dressed two of the animals); it was delicious. Add to that my nearly-famous lentil stew, pumpkin pie, snacks and Irish Coffee, it was a feast.

After Irish coffees, we all piled into our long, narrow living room to watch An American Werwolf in London. It's been my favorite of DD and I since we first saw it back in the eighties. This time, we got to watch it with a girl who'd a) never seen it and b) was a bit of a ingenue with horror cinema. She was affected by the effects. Even the transformation freaked her out! This was awesome. It is one of the best transformations in cinema history and it's nice to see that it can still stand up after all these years.

Whew.

The newest Obscure Tale is on hold. Well, not on hold, really. I've got six pages inked, but I'm tossing them into the woodstove and starting again. I don't like the inking style. It's boring and lacks good line variation. I think the Pentel brush pen is in order. To get practice with it, I refined and inked a sketch I had done last Thursday. It was going to be a "standard" Golden Age space-girl, but her chubbiness and the stylized pose made me think of Ms. Piggy. So, since I'd already done a BSG-style re-imagining drawing of the Swinetrek crew, I thought I'd do a Golden Age version of Ms. Piggy.

The lineart works pretty well (thanks to Sweet Enemy for making me re-work Piggy's breasts, they look much better now), but the color is only okay. I always fall back on local color shadows.





listening to while posting: "Tokyo, I'm on my way" by Puffy Ami Yumi

no art, but an Halloween Anecdote

While looking for a new design job, I work part time at a small, independent toy store and this happened just this afternoon. A woman came up to the counter to pay for a fake beard. She then asked if we had any top hats. I told her we didn't and asked her what the costume was going to be.

"Oh," she said, rather proudly, "my six year old daughter wants to go as Abraham Lincoln!"

"No way!" I eloquently replied

"Really, she wants to say 'four score and seven years ago... Trick Or Treat!' She though of this costume all by herself."

As she was walking out, I mentioned that she could make her daughter a little Emancipation Proclamation.

"Yeah!" she replied, "She could say 'Hey, I freed the slaves, give me some candy!'"

listening to while posting: a replay of last year's Halloween hit: Under the sun:

An excuse to post and meaningless content to fill it up

Well, I just finished pencilling the last page of the upcoming Obscure Tales comic (written by Andre). It's only nine pages, but it's pretty good. I was managing to get a page done in a night, so this bodes well for the future. I should have the pages inked, colored and posted in a couple of weeks.

I also went to the Vermont Tech Jam today to try to find some contacts to get a design job. However, they should put an asterisk after the name of the event. The footnote should read: "If you're not a developer or a salesperson, don't bother coming because there's nothing for you here". So, the evening's been pretty down. I'm going back tomorrow just to drop my name at the booth of a local web design shop. I know they're only hiring PHP and CSS coders, but I'm going to try to leave a card.

To lighten the mood, here's a Hallowe'en meme I'm stealing from Becca. I'm not really a big Hallowe'en fan, but what the heck:

1.What is the worst treat to get when trick-or-treating?

Can't think of anything. I dig it all. I'll even eat those cheapo chocolate characters wrapped in printed foil. (that is not to say that I don't enjoy and savor the good stuff)

2.What character from any horror film would you most like to play?

Any werewolf, pretty much. Probably something Freudian in that, eh?

3.Would you rather be a zombie, alien, or psycho? (why)

Weird question. Probably an alien. Psychos are everywhere in real life and zombies are way over done.

4.How many Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street movies combined do you have on dvd?

Zero. But we do have John Carpenter's "The Thing" and "An American Werewolf In London'

5.What is the scariest movie you have ever seen?
Horror movies don't really scare me much. But, Sweet Enemy and I once watched Dog Soldiers together at a friend's house deep in the woods on windy night. We watched the film in a "mother-in-law" apartment with tiny windowsin the house's basement. We were pretty sure that, even if there were werewolves, the odds of them choosing that particular night to attack were slim, but we spent the night pretty creeped out.

6. Lamest costume you have worn on Halloween?

In 1984 we flew across the country to visit my grandparents in Irvine, CA over Hallowe'en. I could think of nothing so I put a paper bag over my head and went as the Unknown Comic and canvassed my grandparent's subdivision. When people asked if they knew me, I'd say "No! I'm the Unknown Comic!" and beat feet.

7.Favorite Halloween treat?

For some reason, Smarties. I seemed to only get them on Hallowe'en, so they are the quintessential Hallowe'en candy for me. One taste and it's the Eighties all over again.

8. Friendly-faced jack o’lantern or scary one?

As long as it isn't one of the "stencils carved on the front of a pumpkin" ones, I'm happy.

9.Have you ever had nightmares about a scary movie character chasing you?

Never actually. However, when I was four, I did have a vivid nightmare that the counting hands from Sesame Street held me down while other counting hands pulled my mother into a mattress that was leaning up against the wall of my bedroom. Watching that video still creeps me out.

10.Best thing about Halloween?

Umm. Cheap candy in November?

11.Strangest Halloween custom you’ve heard of?

Well, there's this one house we drive by that puts up Hallowe'en lights that look just like X-mas lights only in orange. That's weird. They're in the middle of nowhere, too.

12.Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)?

Sweet Enemy by a long shot! She loves it and her only regret about our house is that it's too remote for trick-or-treaters. She'd do the whole house up if we got 'em.

13.Are you superstitious? If so, name at least one superstition of yours.

Occasionally, but not obsessively. I'm generally superstitious until I forget to be. For instance, I once had a great mountain bike racing season where I only used blue Gatorade. However, once I was out of blue and used lemon-lime and I raced anyway (I still placed third, as usual).

Listening to while posting: "Earthquakes and Sharks" by Brandston

Posters and Posters

First, and most importantly, the original painting for the 24-Hour Comics Poster is up for raffle! Tickets are $3.00 and all proceeds are going to benefit the Williston Community Food Shelf. If you want a chance to win a big acrylic gouache painting of the poster, email Artists' Mediums. The poster is matted and professional framing is available for an additional cost. Shipping is extra.

I will also have a limited number of the color photocopied posters for sale for $2.00 each (the proceeds also going to benefit the Williston Community Food Shelf). These are un-matted and shipping is extra.

Just to remind you, here is the awesome thing (if I do say so myself. And I do)



Secondly, we're having our fourth annual Horror Movie Mini-fest. This year it's a werewolf theme. No CGI huskies fighting glowing emo-goths, here, folks! If you want to come, shoot me an email.



listening to while posting: the cool autumn rain outside. Man, I love autumn...

Summer 2010 Wrap-up

Some art, some photos, all good.

Even though I got "restructured" in July, this summer hasn't been bad. We've got a good amount of savings and the freelance jobs are trickling in (including one big potential job that will bring in at least a mortgage payment). Lots of resumes out, and a couple of bites, so we'll see...

Anyhow. The highlight of the summer, as always, was hanging out with the Step-Mother-in-Law's family at their camp on Brant Lake, NY. I've mentioned before that they are the coolest, friendliest and most accommodating folks I've ever met, so if you add that to a trip to a lake in the Adirondaks, you can see why it's the highlight.

There was lots of waterskiing (not by me, I'm awful at it) and the Step-Brother-in-Law (SBiL) bought a keg of Rock Art Brewery's Ridge Runner and much beer was had by all. I'd like to show you some of the skiing photos I took, but they're of folks who aren't me, so I want to keep them private, sorry.

The Step-Mom-in-Law (SMiL) took me out for a sailing lesson and man, was it ever-so-slightly scary. The winds were... variable. They'd come over the mountains around the lake and muck about for a bit blowing hard in one direction, then another and then they'd stop for a few minutes before going again. Veteran sailor that sh is, SMiL was laughing and calm the entire time. I was trying hard to figure things out. More than once I dumped the sail when it felt like we were going to go over. We weren't, of course, and because SMiL is a good (and former professional) teacher, she only laughed a little bit. Here's the little Dolphin in the morning waiting for the wind:



Another highlight was SBiL's dogs, Kermit (brother) and Thumper (sister). Being Lab/Border Collie mix dogs, they're full of energy, but Thumper never slowed down the entire time. She was like a six-year-old kid, either full speed or stop. Whether it was a frisbee or a tennis ball thrown in the lake or simply flipping panfulls of water into the air, she would always tire out the humans first.

OMG WATER!




TENNIS BALL!


Kermit was more sedate, trying to reconcile his Labrador Retriever instincts with the reality of ducks.


On the art front, I'm finishing up a new Obscure Tale. This tale is slightly different and features characters that may lead to their own title. I'll be posting a cover soon, but other than that it's a surprise!

I was sick most of this week. I get this cold/flu/allergy type thing whenever the seasons change from winter to spring and summer to fall. It's weird and annoying, but it goes away. I was not in the frame of mind to work on the new OT, so I did some sketches of my favorite (and most ill-used) Marvel character Rahne Sinclair/ Wolfsbane. I plan on taking one of these two sketches and fleshing it out into a fake cover. I've found m work has been a bit static lately (why didn't you tell me?) and thought I'd get more dynamic. So, I grabbed a Stikfas figure and my Burne Hogarth book and went to work. Thoughts? Sweet Enemy prefers #1 as a better use of the page, but I find that the pose in #2 looks more realistic and less balletic.

#1


#2



I also gave a "comic book basics" workshop/demo at my local art supply store which seemed to go well. I learned a lot while trying to figure out what to teach.

I think that's all for now. There were some other things, a trip to Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome with my dad, a fun visit with my niece, and a 'guys weekend' at Brant Lake, but I don't want to bore you.

pax.

Listening to while posting. Nothing, actually. I'll leave you with Brant Lake at 7 AM:

Whew!

It's been a while, hasn't it?

Well, I've been busy. Firstly, I've got four resumes out for design jobs. I had five, but I got my first rejection on Monday. It was quite polite and much better than my first rejection after my first layoff back in 2003. Then, I'd been contacted by a design firm for some contract Flash work and went in for to discuss the project. When I got home from the interview, there was a phone message waiting for me that they wanted me to come in and interview for a full-time position. I was psyched! I went in and all went well. Then I waited a for a call or email. A week went by and I called only to be told the boss was in a meeting. I waited three days for a return phone call and then called again. Again, he was in a meeting. I never heard from them after that. They're out of business now, btw.

I'm also trying to get some freelance work. A local print shop sub-contracted me for some re-design work and it went well. However, I found that years of working in the web world have degraded my meager print separation skills. The piece I did had to be sent back to me twice because I had trouble setting for full bleed. The press person had to talk me through some stuff and I docked my own time accordingly. That was something they didn't teach at school. We learned composition, type, image, concept and what have you, but separating for print, spot colors and designing for low-color? Nope.

I'm finishing up a big discount website for a local artist and have an interview with a potential web client next week. Man. I wish I could get some print work...

In the art side, I'm working on two projects that I can't show yet. The big one is a new Obscure Tales story from Andre Zero (based on a suggestion by Vermont artist Justin Athreton). I can't show any of it as it's to be a surprise. I think the idea might have legs and branch out into its own title.

The other is a piece for someone who doesn't know it's coming, but, may visit this site; so I can't post that either.

I'm nearly finished up a graphic guide to 24 Hour Comics Day Events for our upcoming event. It's a six-page comic about how to enjoy a 24HCD event. That I can and will post when I'm done.

Well, that's all. Art soon! (btw, I found that photo in a BIG box of prints when I was cleaning my studio. I have no idea when it was taken or even where it was taken. I only hope Sherm made it on time)

listening to while posting: "Music:Response" by Orbital

Happy Coast Guard Day!

I had to be reminded of this by a former Marine. Sheesh.

That's a photo to commemorate the day. It's of the "Helo Side" night shift at Air Station Kodiak, Alaska (c. 1992). The helicopter (or "helo" (HEE-low) as we called it. Never 'choppers or 'heli') is a Sikorsky HH-3f. It was introduced to the USCG in 1968 and retired in 1993, much to my dismay. The replacement, the HH-60j was smaller and made me airsick. Man, I miss that bird.

I'm not in the photo, but I was stationed there and this was taken in the last week before I rotated to USCGAS Traverse City, MI. I was an Aviation Machinist Mate (fixed engines and rotor systems) and a Flight Mechanic (the guy that works the hoist and directs the pilots over victims). Man, I miss that job. The stories were always more interesting to other people than my graphic designer stories.

The guy on the left on the ICS (the headset attached to the helo), was my best friend "Murray Lopez". He was an Aviation Electronics Technician then and he's the one who invented the name 'Arkonbey' and allowed me to co-opt it. He's still in and is a Chief Petty Officer now and is nearing (or has past and is ignoring) retirement age. We're the same age, btw. All you have to do is your twenty.

The photo was taken by a good friend who, in a poem he wrote for me when I left Kodiak, described himself as 'my elusive friend'. He was a very interesting guy, almost a beat and he seemed out of place as an Aviation Machinist Mate. His name was Ron Klassen and if anybody knows him, please have him shoot me an email. I'd like to buy him a beer and tell him I still have the copy of "The Prophet" that he gave me as a going away gift. I hope you're doing well, Ron.

Now, since I must post some art, here's a piece of fanart I did last year. It's a sappy little thing dedicated to my favorite New Mutant, the much under-used and ill-treated Wolfsbane. She's chilling with her BFF Mirage



listening to while posting: The end credit music to All Creatures Great and Small running through my head.

The time nears...

Sure, it's months away, but we have to get this year's 24-hour Comics Day at Artists' Mediums going strong early.

Here's the poster. Designed and drawn by yours truly and over-painted by Sweet Enemy (who is also the assistant manager/head framer at Aritists' Mediums). We're going to be raffling off the original with proceeds to benefit the Williston Community Food Bank.



In other news, I've been "restructured", so things are odd. I suppose that means more time for art after I've updated my design portfolio...

In the immortal words of Les Claypool: "Funny thing about the weekends when you're unemployed; they don't seem to mean quite so much. 'cept you get to hang out with your workin' friends"

And, while I don't want to overshadow my work, you have to check out Michael Cho's Superboy cover. It's so nearly perfect that it left me stunned...

Um... Well. So, there it is.

I'm back. I actually got back Wednesday...

Let me preface.

Kick Enemy Men (KEM) and I have been doing outdoor stuff together for years. In 2004, we attempted, for the second time, to climb Mount Kearsarge in New Hampshire. It's not a large mountain, but it seemed to have it in for us. The first time, we were turned back by ice and snow falls on the main ascent and spent the night near a pond at the base. This time it was raining as we left our vehicles and headed in. As we reached the pond, the summit was socked in and the rain was steady. We decided to set up camp; in 40°F and rain in April. Our shells wetted out, our gloves wetted out, our rain pants wetted out. So, we crawled into the tent to spend the next fourteen hours playing chess, reading and sleeping.

It was not fun.

On the way out, we both discovered that, at the trailhead, each of us had wanted to pack it in and head back to KEM's place. However, neither of us wanted to be the "wuss". From that day on we decided that, when we were camping, either of us could call an end and the other could not complain or question or mock. So far, we haven't had to use the Kearsarge Protocol.

Until now, that is. This trip as a Kearsarge Moment. There is a short version, but it doesn't illustrate the comedy of errors and good luck/bad luck that was this trip.

KEM picked me up on Sunday and we drove back to his place in ME. The next morning we packed up, checked our gear and set out about 9 AM. Look how damned hopeful we were! I'm on the right and that's my bike and trailer behind us (man, it looks hot already, doesn't it?)



The first ten miles were warm, but not too bad as that leg was on a winding road among the trees. Then we hit Rt. 26 proper and there were no trees within meters of the road. It began to get uncomfortable. At about thirteen miles, we stopped for ice cream and not just because the place was called Smedberg's (fantastic ice cream by the way. Worth stopping for at any time).

Then, we began chugging along as the heat rose to 93°F. At about twenty-six miles, KEM blew a front right tube on his trike and we pulled over to repair it. Luckily, the blowout had happened at a section of tree-shaded grass on the side of the road (the only one for a bout a mile in either direction). Then, the fun began.

I pulled his tube and found that the problem was an old patch that had given way. He'd run this patch for hundreds of miles and now it gives out. Not on his training runs this year, now. KEM's got a spare tube so we decide to swap tubes and patch the bad one at our leisure that night. Good plan, except for the fact that the new tube is a Schrader valve and the rim is, for some reason, drilled for the narrower Presta valve. (For a commuter bike, it's better to be drilled for Schraeder. You can put a Presta valve through a Schraeder-sized hole, but not the other way 'round). So, we decide to patch the bad tube. I grab my patch kit, which I checked before I left. Here's the thing though. I checked the glue by squeezing the tube. It gave. The thing is, vulcanizing cement doesn't harden, it contracts. So, when I went to squeeze out the glue a puff of air was all I got. Embarrassing for a guy who's been riding for over twenty years and has worked at two bike shops.

No problem. KEM has a kit. I prep the tube, slather the cement on, grab my largest patch and slather the glue on. I press the patch to the tube, but it doesn't seem to be vulcanizing. The patch won't stick to the tube and the patch won't even come away from the cellophane backing.

We're both getting a little testy. It's stranger to see KEM testy, usually nothing phases him, but the heat has never been his friend. So, I try a small patch. It goes on perfectly, then fails as I test fill the tube. I put another patch over the failed area and IT fails on the test pump. I put a third patch over the failed area and install the tube. The reasoning is, the pressure of the air pushing the patch against the rim might help keep it from failing. Also, this is the last try, if it fails, we're done. I pump the tire up to about 3/4 normal pressure and it holds! Only to fail the moment I start putting the valve cap back on.

KEM was less than happy. He pulled out his phone and, of course, no signal. So, as it was his tube, he was elected to ask the nearest house for help. The resident was a crusty old Mainer with a pickup who said he was heading to Wal-Mart and would give KEM a ride. I gave KEM $10 to slide to the guy and lay down for a good nap in the (strangely bug-free) grass in the shade. KEM scoured Wal-Mart for 20" Presta valved tubes, but there were none. Such is the fact that most Wal-Mart shoppers don't know there are more than one type of bike valve that KEM had to pull apart the un-labeled packages to check. After four, he gave up and called his wife, H.

H arrived in the not-reliable Volvo wagon and we loaded up KEM's trike. We still hadn't reached a Kearsarge moment, so I suggested that they head to the next town, Bethel, where we knew there was a bike store, while I would ride on. KEM would buy a proper tube and then either wait for me, or have H drive back to meet me. Then we would make the decision to go or stop.

I watched them drive away, hopped on the bike and headed out. It was hot and difficult. I had to stop once at a gas station for two quarts of PowerAde; one of which I chugged immediately. I logged another sixteen miles for a daily total of 42.5. KEM and H showed up and KEM called a Kearsarge, ending the trip. It turns out that 20" Presta tubes are very rare. So, the bike store guy drilled KEM's rims for him and now he's ready for any style tube.

I was not unhappy about the Kearsarge. I could have continued, I still had the stamina, but it would have been a Trial rather than Fun. This trip was not the masochism of a race, it was to be a leisurely bop around Northern New England. I was disappointed, but not unhappy, if that makes any sense.

We loaded up my bike and trailer in the back on the passenger side and H had to lie down on the deck next to KEM's trike on the driver's side. It was awesome of her, btw. Sure, she's under five feet, but that's still awesome. I lent her my camping pillow to mitigate her discomfort. With my 50lb dry bag on my lap, we headed back to KEM's house.

That night was for stretching, shower, water, dinner, Tour de France coverage and sleeping. The next morning, H took KEM's car to work and we thought it'd be okay to ride ten miles to play some disc golf (a sport at which KEM excells). This was a mistake. It was a hot ride, and a hot round of disc golf. Neither of us was too happy to get back on our rides, but there could be no Kearsarge Moment when they were the only way back. We bought extra GatorAde at the clubhouse and hit the road. The ride home was brutal. We had to stop numerous times and KEM had to walk his bike up a major hill.

Back home by 2 PM for more stretching, shower, water, dinner, Tour de France coverage and sleeping. If the day did one thing, it showed us that stopping the trip was the right choice.

The next day, we headed back to my house along the same route we tried to ride. We stopped at some interesting places. Including one thing that KEM missed driving by twice on Sunday and I missed once. I'd noticed (and stopped at) when riding to the bike store, but that was because I was going 11 MPH. Strange we missed it, as it is rather singular:



I wanted to send KEM back home with a maple/pecan pie from the local piemaker down the street (the plan was to have such a pie waiting for us at the end of our trip, courtesy of Sweet Enemy). However, when we got there, they were OUT OF PIE! Gahh!

So, I sent KEM off with my thank for the delivery and the promise of a check to pay for the rental car (long , uninteresting story).

What makes this interesting, is that the tube failed at the perfect place. At the only shade for miles. In front of the house of a helpful guy. Within easy range for our "sag wagon". If it'd happened near the bike store, we'd have likely continued and been miserable. We might not have thought to call a Kearsarge if not for the impetus of the blowout.

We think we may have been a bit ambitious and rushed it. We're planning a three-day two-night 40 mi/day trek just in VT in Sept. For practice. Then, in the spring, we're trying again.

Listening to while posting. Nothing.

Bicycle! Bicycle!

Just to let everyone know, I'm going to be incommunicado (apparently, that's near cognito) for about a week. My friend Kick Enemy Men and I are doing a bike trek. We're riding from his house in Maine to my house in Vermont. Taking it slowly (40 mi or so /day) and see the World's Biggest Ball of String, etc. We'll eat in good restaurants and camp at night. No roughing it as we do when we backpack (couscous, bean flakes and green tea, pretty much). We're looking at four or five days of riding, so it should be something. I hope we don't get on each other's nerves.

Pictures will be posted, but here's a pic of KEM with the bike he'll be using for the trek. It's an ActionBent Tadpole. This was taken on it's first major test-ride the day after we'd assembled it. I'd driven out special to help with the assemble, having worked in three bike stores over the years. That thing's got like eight feet of chain!



The other pic is me, but that's not the bike I'll be riding. It's my very first mountain bike (1988 Trek Singletrack 950) that I refurbished into a sort of trials bike. It was taken in 2004 or so when I was delivering one of my old bikes to Mike to long-term borrow. It was too small for him, but he used it until he could buy the trike. This was our first ride together. It's sunny at that moment, but then it rained . So we rode to a Japense restaurant and sat on the deck in the rain eating sushi, drinking sake and having the chef come out to laugh at us. Good times.

Since this is an art blog, I'll leave you with a piece from 1995. I drew it while on temporary deployment at USCG Air Station Chicago (from USCGAS Traverse City, MI). It was during the big heatwave and I sequestered myself in the only air-conditioned room in the hanger with a gallon of o.j. and drew. This is from the Brian Jaques book "Mossflower". It is the only BJ book I consider worth reading, as after this one, every book was the same: Redwall Abbey is under threat. Abbey animals must go on quest to save abbey. They end up meeting the current mountain badger. They get whatever they need to defeat the threat. They eat a lot. The end.

Anyway, here you go:




listening to while posting: Sweet Enemy yelling at me to get upstairs. We're watching "Labyrinth" to celebrate my being gone for a while. She'll miss me, but she'll aim better next time.

Post Halloween

The Horror Movie Mini-Fest was a moderate success. Booze and conversation flowed freely and much food and candy were consumed.

KickEnemyMen came up from Maine and stopped in Burlington to visit his childhood friend YogaGirl. He knew we'd want her to come (but would forget to ask her), so he brought her along. Step-Brother-in-Law came with his two puppies (well, young dogs) Kermit and Thumper. We love them, but the cat was... unimpressed. Cranky J, his wife R and little daughter Starbuck (hee!) made a surprise visit and Cranky was happy that he got to see me tipsy.

AndreZero and ScienceGirl came, too. It was going to be a bit of fun because ScienceGirl hates the portrayal of scientists in film and one of the films I got was the fabulous "I'll show them all!"-type scientist film "X- the Man with the X-Ray Eyes".

Also to be had were "THEM!" (still a pretty good film despite the effects. The girl whose family was the fist to die by THEM! was still extraordinarily creepy) and "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (not bad either. The effects are not astounding, but you can still feel that they were astounding in the day. The only bad thing was the soliloquy tacked onto the end; but the continuity of the light of the moon shining on the shrinking man was nicely done).

Cranky J, R and Starbuck left just after THEM! as did AndreZero and ScienceGirl (who had to be in the lab the next day). X went in next, but the disc started randomly pausing, so in went TISM. Overall, lots of basic enjoyment of the movie with some ROTFL MST3k moments.

SBiL introduced us all to a drink that is, in a way, like disc golf: it sounds stupid in description, but in reality is a kind of awesome. The drink is a bottle of Guinness in a glass with a shot of butterscotch schnapps. No, really! It is a kind of awesome and a truly great winter drink.

We all stayed up late sobering up. YogaGirl headed home around midnight and then we all hit the rack (SE, the cat and I in our bed, KickEnemyMen on the library futon and SBiL and the puppies on our living room futon). In the morning, all four of us walked down to the local breakfast place, The Flour Shop for the kind of breakfast that keeps you going until about two in the afternoon.

After that, SE had to do some art errands, so KEM and I met YogaGirl in Burlington and we walked around for to or three hours. KEM is a geocacher and we tried to do some finding, but we were 0 for six; who puts urban caches without hints? Sheesh! YG and KEM said goodbye, then back to our house to pack KEM up.

KEM's visits were always short, but I got to give him a cool birthday present: A big bottle of VERY good stout and a VERY tasty bleu cheese (a combo I tried at a beer and cheese pairing at our local natural food store ).

Whew! So a great weekend.

To finish off the party post, here's a shot of SBiL not quite enjoying X with Thumper. She is the cutest Lab mix ever:



Also, last night I posted an update to Death of a Friend!

Listening to while posting: "Zeno of Elea (490bc - 430bc)" by Artichoke

24 Hour Comic Day: Part Three

Well.

My comic for 09 is posted and I'd like to talk about it for a bit.

The artwork: with 24 Hour Comic Day I didn't expect to create an artistic masterpiece, but this time... You know when a kid draws something, a fire truck or an X-wing? They really think they're drawing what they want to draw, but little do they know how far off they were. That's what this year's comic was like, only less endearing. I look at it now and recognize what I meant to do, but missed the mark on. Ah well. (Sweet Enemy just told me that last year I did half-letter and this year I did full-letter size. Hmm.)

The story: This year's story is pretty good. But, it's bleak and dark. Probably the darkest thing I've written and I don't know why. I don't feel dark and bleak. I blame The Decemberists. Sweet Enemy and I saw them live the week before last (awesome show) and they write the bleakest, yet catchiest songs. I mean between Leslie Ann Levine, Yankee Bayonette and Eli the Barrow Boy is it any wonder I made a bleak science fiction tale called The Ghost of Delilah Gray?

I did un-bleak the ending just a bit by changing three words. SE thought it diminished it, but I felt that I'd let my character down a bit. Like Londo Mollari¹, my character deserved better. I'm a softie.

The process: I came in cold, even if not thinking of a story the week before is like not thinking of a pink elephant. Some folks came in with an idea or even with character turn-arounds, but I feel that is against the spirit of the thing. So, I rummaged around a House of Ideas (or bowl filled with pieces of paper with story seeds on them) I'd made for everyone at the event and came up with The Ghost of Delilah Gray. Then I went through my stock photo catalogs² and found this image and HAD to do something with it:



Then about a half-hour of brain storming. I went through three ideas before I hit on the one I used. Then an hour of thumbnailing and a half hour of "production design". Then, for the next ten hours, I pencilled. I worked in red and blue as an experiment; erasing twenty-four pages is a pain. I finished pencilling all twenty-four pages by midnight and started inking. A forty-five minute nap around three a.m. then back to the paper. By the end my hand was cramping. Badly.

The Aftermath:The good part was that, with the exception of my Saturday morning coffee (a usual) I took no stimulants the entire time, just food, water and o.j. That meant an easier come-down.

What I'll do different next year. First, I'll do a happier story dammit! Last year's wasn't super-bleak, but it wasn't a laugh riot either. Secondly, I'll work with bigger lines, maybe use that brush pen that Sweet Enemy got for me last year. Thirdly, I'll ease up on the words this time. Lettering is painful. Painful to do and painful for others to have to read my printing.

Due to obscurius.org space issues, I had to post on my flickr account. I also put up last year's 24HCD entry and a MiddleMan contest entry from 2007

The Ghost of Delilah Gray (24 Hour Comic Day 2009)

Redemption (24 Hour Comic Day 2008)

MiddleMan and Wendy (Viper Comics contest 2007)

listening to while posting: "Poor Little Rich Boy" by Regina Spektor

¹ I think that Londo regretted his actions and tried hard to redeem himself. He didn't deserve reward, but he certainly didn't deserve to be tortured for the rest of his life with a mind-controlling parasite stuck on his neck
² Anybody out there looking for inspiration for a face or a body or a story could do worse than to order a catalog from Veer. They have some gorgeous stock photography that really makes me wish I was not an in-house designer and some call to use it.