Thursday, November 24, 2011

Holiday Road Post

City of Cards 12-13: Here!

Wrestling continues. All is going according to plan.

Happy Thanksgiving USA peeps! Hope you all have a good couple of days of rest at least.

Where am I and what am I doing? I'm in Eugene Oregon on the way back down to LA. Yeah, I'm back on the road. Right now I'm catching the South Park documentary and reading this weeks issue of Teen Titans. I never thought I'd actually be looking forward to this title, but I feel like it's got the potential to be a lot of fun. It's reminding me a lot of the old Young Justice comic days and we could definitely use a lot more of that.

I mean, come on, it's got Danny the Street. That's enough to make me curious.

Other than that, I'm gonna make a list here of a bunch of comics I've previously mentioned before but don't mind spot-lighting again (and a few new suggestions), so if you've got some down time this long weekend you can check them out:

Buffet of Lies - Um, not sure how to describe this. Good abstract sense of humour really.

The Adam - Superhero comedic failures? Yeah, this is what I like.

Ashayta - Science fiction comic with a great style.

Spare Keys for Strange Doors - Self-contained fantastical short stories with a recurring set of protagonists.

Wolf Wears Wool - Fun, colorful, werewolves.

Demon of the Underground - Watch Pogo get in trouble. Also there's a ferret.

Dax - Silly sci-fi adventures complete with a Thanksgiving special this year.

Eternity Complex - Long running fantasy adventure.

Bridges - Slice of life high school story about self discovery and growing as a person.

Earthbound - Mysterious sci-fi fantasy adventure. On a bit of a break, but since it'll be coming back now is a good time to check it out.

There are probably a couple of new ones on there, and I know I have a lot more I plan to mention in the future. If anyone wants to recommend any comics to me feel free to shoot me a message. I'm open to just about anything.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Catch Me if You Can

City of Cards C2.10-11: Here!

Yup, another two pages today in which Ace does not share Plato's enthusiasm, but it actually feels kinda like something is happening. If anyone has any strong feelings one way or another about the way I do these vertical spreads let me know. Personally, I kinda like them, but we'll see. I know there's at least one horizontal spread coming up and if it works okay I may use it for another horizontal spread.

No new voting incentive this week because all of a sudden I had to hop a plan to LA early this morning and will be hopping back to Seattle this Friday and with all this running around it just isn't going to happen.

I'll also be on the road again next week moving BACK to LA indefinitely. So if you're in LA I'm all up for hanging out. Being on the road and moving like I've been for the past four or so months has made me miss seeing people a lot.

 I'm also promoting the Child's Play Charity through InkOutbreak, which is a charity I've donated to in the past personally, so go here to donate

Thursday, November 10, 2011

New Smooth Look

City of Cards C2.9: Here!

I've got another new colored image over at TWC and I admit, I had a lot of fun doing this one. Plato attempts to give Ace a wrestling lesson of sorts, but I think he's mocking him. Happy Brovember by the way!

I've got a few new things to share this week. First, thanks to the amazing work by Lindsey Boyle, I have a new main page up. I wanted to get my site prepare so that if people went to visit it and ran into mature material there'd be something before that.

I also have a new City of Cards Google + page where I am uploading process material, concept art, and I'm considering eventually setting up a VIP section where people can get access to CoC material not available anywhere else.

Second, a great piece of fanart by Jessie Boudrie of Dax fame:


Seriously, totally the pick me up I needed. Jessie is a solid dude with a great comic. If you're looking for a slightly sillier, more family oriented (though witty enough that appeals to a fairly wide audience) science fiction comic go check out his work.

One of the real blessings that's come to me through comics has been the amazing people I have met. Not just fellow cartoonists, though I have met and been inspired by many of them, but just people in general. The independent comics community is full of so many bright, positive, and genuinely helpful people. It is truly a place where what you give you get in return ten fold.

So if you've got a comic you enjoy reading, go ahead and shoot off an e-mail or leave a comment to let the artist know that you enjoy their work. The difference it can make in that person's day is staggering.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

November Has Come: Seattle Comic Stores

City of Cards C2.8: Here!

I have access to a scanner, at least for the next couple of weeks, so I managed to color something for November. Ace's birthday was the first of the month so I changed the voting incentive to a picture of how I imagine Ace would have likely celebrated. To see it, Vote Here.

I'm still in the middle of job-hunting so a lot of my free time is being eaten up by that, but I also have a lot of drawing work being planned.

One of the first things I did after arriving in Seattle, literally the day after I arrived, was to check out the local comic store scene. I hit every Comic Stop and chatted with some of the nice staff at each of the locations as well as The Dreaming. What's nice about each of the stores is that while distance wise they're not terribly far apart they have their own personality.

The first location I hit was Redmond, attached to a nice outdoor mall and a good location if you want to pick up your weekly mainstream comics while sipping coffee at the Starbucks across the way. Stephanie there was really upbeat and nice to chat with as well.

Next I hit Lynwood, which is the original Comic Stop location and the largest of their stores. It has a fairly good selection of mainstream trade paperbacks as well as the best selection of single issues of all the locations, especially if you're looking for stuff by Image or other non-Big-Two publishers like 215 Ink. I picked up the fourth Popgun anthology while I was there and they're ordering in a copy of Finder volume 1 for me even though it's out of print. All in all I'll definitely be back.

The third location I hit was the Everett location which was inside the mall there. Much like the Redmond location, a good place to go in and buy your weekly comic. Pretty low-key, but for a mall comic store I was very impressed.

Day two my first stop was The Dreaming in the U-District.  It's a nice little independent shop, especially if you're into horror. If you're a fan of Lovecraft or b-movie horror you'll definitely want to check this place out. Again, very nice and welcoming staff. This seems to be a trend amongst stores here and I think it's great.

My final stop was the U-District Comic Stop. I'm glad I saved this one for last because this is also where a friend and fellow CCS alumni has his books up for sale. So if you're there, look for Grump Toast by the amazing Ben Horak. If you're a fan of indy comics in general you should also check it out. Once I figure out a printing set up I may consign my work there as well. I picked up Michael Kupperman's Mark Twain book while I was there and as a big Twain fan I will definitely have more to say about that later.

So in two days I hit up five great comic shops, each different enough to cater to any possible comic enthusiasts needs. Seattle is truly fortunate to have such a strong and positive comics community from what I've seen thus far and I look forward to getting to know it better.