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Brian Brinlee accepting commissions!

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Another update so soon? Here’s a great opportunity for you guys to commission that picture you’ve had sitting in your head for the last year. Friend and collaborator Brian Brinlee is now taking commissions!

Brian Brinlee has been a penciler for the past few years on an indy title called Sky Pirates of Valendor by Jolly Rogue Studios. Sky Pirates recently completed its first series and is now available as a collected trade, as well as an anthology. While Brian is currently working on the second series, he has also illustrated for the Comicbook Artists Guild in their Iconic anthology as well as several covers, pin-ups, and books for various self-publishers.

“Sky Pirates of Valendor recounts the adventures of Pirate Captain Tobin Manheim and the rest of the crew of the Rogue’s Revenge. Set in the fantasy world of Valendor where giant continents float on oceans of sky! A mix of steampunk and high fantasy where magic co-exists with futuristic technology, Valendor is a fully realized world, with complex social structures, a guild-driven economic system, and a host of political intrigue.”

As fellow fans of the fantasy genre Brian and I are currently working on zombie slaying gunslinger comic called Runeslingers. Previews will start appearing in the coming months as we get closer to completing the first chapter. In the meantime, don’t miss your opportunity to take advantage of the window in Brian schedule for commissions. Check out Brian’s beautiful work over at DeviantArt.


2011 Roundup

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As my last post of the year I wanted to give everyone an update on recent events. In a nutshell, 2011 has been an interesting year. 7+ years of marriage and more deeply in love than ever before is always a good sign. While my health issues have hindered the progress of my writing, I am more determined than ever to debut some of my stories in 2012.

I have chronic sinusitis, despite surgeries and treatments, however this is unfortunately coupled with a herniated cervical disc. The neck pain caused by the disc herniation extends to my arms and hands and has flared up frequently to the point where it is difficult to type. Just three weeks ago my neck got so bad I could hardly stand without severe pain and worried I was not going to be able to move again. Fortunately, after three days of narcotics and rest I started to see the light. I’m now wearing a neck brace most of the day and have spine surgery (anterior cervical discectomy) scheduled for January 9th which will put me out of work for at least 3 weeks. I had no other option but to take unpaid family medical leave so there’s that added financial tension. Despite all this, I’m enthusiastic about the projects currently in the works. First, an update on our most recent convention appearance…

Richmond Comic Con Report

Leanne Hannah and I attended Richmond’s Virginia Comic Con in October where we met fans and introduced some new readers to our work. This was our second appearance at the Virginia Comic Con in three months and while it is a small show, the staff and attendees are very welcoming. We were interviewed as a husband and wife team by a gentleman and camera crew, though his details appear to be lost so who knows where it will end up.

I do not expect we will be doing another Virginia show for sometime, however. We really need to tighten our purse strings and be more strategic in our convention appearance planning in 2012. For all those that met us in Virginia, thank you for your hospitality and kindness. A special thank you to Matt and Suzanne Wieringo for giving us a wonderful place to stay and without whom the weekend would not have been nearly as enjoyable.

Matt has an amazing indie comic in the works called The Hand Me Down Horror. Absolutely amazing stuff and I genuinely can not wait until the art is finished. It might be a long wait, of course. Day jobs are a bitch.

MY CURRENT PROJECTS: UPDATE

While my manga project with Leanne Hannah remains untitled for now, the first concept art has finally begun and Leanne will start work on the 3 page prologue in the next couple of weeks. Leanne has also updated her site with an end of the year blog and our Christmas pinup for Blue Milk Special. I will post some previews in the next month.

As reported previously, pages from Brian Brinlee are coming in for our Runeslingers project. We will soon be ready to engage a colorist and are currently reviewing submissions. Thank you to everyone who has contacted me about the colorist position so far. We should have some preview pages in early 2012.

The Adeline project with artist Danielle Ellison is still in the design phases though the first batch of pages should be completed early 2012.

Happy New Year! Best wishes for 2012!

Quick Update for October

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Pages from Brian Brinlee are starting to come in and they look fantastic! We will soon be ready to engage a colorist. Thank you to everyone who has contacted me about the colorist position so far.

Meanwhile, thumbs for my collaborative project with Danielle Ellison are looking great and the first batch of pages should follow.

Finally, my first ever manga project with Leanne Hannah is about to begin the character sketching phase. Illustrations to appear here soon. Hopefully!

I hope to have a more detailed post with images from the progress of both in November. Next update, however will be a con report from my upcoming appearance at Virginia Comic Con in Richmond on October 29th and 30th. If you will be there feel free to say hello. :)

Remembering Elisabeth Sladen

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On the afternoon of Tuesday 19th, 2011, I received a phone call from my wife asking me if I had heard anything as Elisabeth Sladen was trending on Twitter with tweets to the affect that she had died. Elisabeth Sladen is the captivating and charming actress that brought the character of Sarah Jane Smith to life in the classic series of Doctor Who; a show I practically ate, slept and breathed from the age of 8-18. I have spent 25 years of my life as a fan of the classic series, and Sarah Jane Smith was my (and my wife’s) favorite of the Doctor’s companions / assistants. No, that makes it seem less than it was. Sarah Jane is, for us, THE best companion there ever was.

My initial reaction was disbelief, particularly due to the source. However, as has been proven in the last year or so, when celebrities names start trending on twitter it usually does mean something bad. Part of me knew I was being too optimistic to hope this was some stupid joke. We stayed on the phone, quietly, for 15 minutes as we searched the internet for confirmation. Sadly, it was confirmed by the BBC. To my total shock, Elisabeth Sladen, an actress only one year younger than my mother, had suddenly died. I assumed it may have been some terrible accident, but it turns out, as is so often the way, she was taken from the world by cancer. She was, as Tom Baker later wrote, a very private person, and he had no idea she was ill.

When I was about 11 or 12 years old, back in 1990-1991, I was a hardcore fan of the show and I would buy the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine every month. In the pages of Doctor Who magazine I learned of the British Doctor Who Appreciation Society and other fan organizations. One of those was the Elisabeth Sladen Information Network, a fan club with a regular newsletter. The only fan club I ever belonged to was the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club, and I was one of its youngest members at that time. But it says something about how I felt about Sarah Jane Smith back then, that I sent away for information and a membership application from the ESIN (as it is abbreviated). I remember finding it was too expensive for me to afford the membership and so I never did become a member. However, this memory reminds me just how important that character was to my imagination and my fandom of the show.

Elisabeth Sladen brought Sarah Jane to life so effortlessly. From what limited non-WHO work I’ve seen from her, she was an excellent character actress. I’m sure I had some form of a crush on her, but perhaps what really drew me to Sarah was that she shared a lot of the Doctor’s qualities: his curiosity and his confidence. Barry Lett’s described Liz’s magic as managing to portray fear and bravery at the same time. I think this is another heroic quality that appealed subconsciously to me. Her character was popular enough, beyond all the others, to return for two Spin Off series (the star of both), and make guest appearances in the Five Doctors (20th Anniversary celebration) and the New Series (2006). Although I am not a fan of the New Series, I do feel proud that she was honored in this way and her character and the magic of Sarah Jane was discovered by a new generation of fans.

This year we also lost Nicholas Courtney (the Brigadier) at 81 years old, and I don’t mean to take away from that loss in any way, but with Elisabeth Sladen (at just 65) it seemed she still had so many years left to her. There are cherished actors and actresses that you just know, as a fan, will only be with us for so much longer. But to lose Liz so suddenly, before my wife and myself ever had the chance to meet her in person and thank her for the magic and for touching us… It is a difficult feeling.

I couldn’t write anything about this for the first couple of days. I needed time to let the feelings and the realization settle. I still feel it’s almost too soon to write this and that I’m somehow allowing a closure I’m not yet ready to accept. Upon reflection, there is something positive despite her early passing. Elisabeth Sladen reached out through her performances and made people care and love her characters. She made many people’s lives just a little bit more magical and it is the reason so many will miss her. That is an achievement of which to be proud. For millions of children since the 1970s Elisabeth Sladen became our companion, Sarah Jane Smith.

My heart goes out to her family and many friends.

Elisabeth Slade Gallery

Professional Comic Colorist Needed

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I am looking for a professional colorist for a paid coloring gig starting around July/August. Pay will be negotiated. Preferably you will have some professional published credits in your portfolio.

The first project is a wild west fantasy world. We are looking at a minimum of 22 pages.

The second is a high fantasy manga which I want to test with colors as opposed to gray tones.

Before contacting me, make sure you do the following:

Please introduce yourself and tell me about your experience.
Please show me your most recent work.
Please do not point me to a photobucket or flickr. Either attach your best work to your email, or point me to a blog or deviantart account.
Please only contact me be email. Do not reply to this post.

It’s amazing the amount of people out there that just send a single sentence email with a link. If you can’t be bothered TRYING then neither can I. Sorry, but if you want a chance to be on a paying project that will look good in your portfolio then get some manners and reassure me why I should want to take a chance with you. Whoever does get this job won’t need any of the above advice.