Thursday, March 30, 2006
NYC Convention, ASP, and Robotika
Here is a report from the New York City Comic Book convention. Archaia Studios Press gets a nice write-up and Mark gets his picture taken and...what is that in the background? A huge Robotika banner in ASP booth and copies of Robotika for sale! How cool is that?
Paperback Reader
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Robotika #2 (reviews V) and an interview
The second interview in a series of articles about Archaia Studios Press on the Variety web site is about Robotika. I get to talk about Leif and Ryan and of course Mucha!
Variety
Also Robotika #2 gets a review over at Broken Frontier by Fletch Adams:
Broken Frontier
by Brian Cronin at Good Comics:
Comics Should be Good
by Bill Baker:
BloodInThe Gutters
and also by Steven Grant at Comic Book Resources:
Permanent Damage
Also Robotika #2 gets a review over at Broken Frontier by Fletch Adams:
by Brian Cronin at Good Comics:
by Bill Baker:
and also by Steven Grant at Comic Book Resources:
Thursday, March 23, 2006
A series ends, but Niko's journey is just beginning...
April 2006 Diamond Previews is out and it contains the solicitation for Robotika #4.
It is actually a big Archaia Studios Press month. On page 229, Mark smylie's "Artesia Besieged" #1 is solicited. Pages 230-231 are ads for "Mouse Guard" #3, "Robotika" #4, and "Artesia Besieged" #1. On page 232 are the actual solicitations for Mouse Guard and Robotika (with Robotika #1 being offered again).
The order codes are:
Artesia Besieged #1... APR06 2923
Mouse Guard #3........ APR06 2928
Robotika #4........... APR06 2929
Robotika #1........... APR06 2930
I also saw a solicitation of an all new Richard Corben adaptation of Poe from Marvel!
It is actually a big Archaia Studios Press month. On page 229, Mark smylie's "Artesia Besieged" #1 is solicited. Pages 230-231 are ads for "Mouse Guard" #3, "Robotika" #4, and "Artesia Besieged" #1. On page 232 are the actual solicitations for Mouse Guard and Robotika (with Robotika #1 being offered again).
The order codes are:
Artesia Besieged #1... APR06 2923
Mouse Guard #3........ APR06 2928
Robotika #4........... APR06 2929
Robotika #1........... APR06 2930
I also saw a solicitation of an all new Richard Corben adaptation of Poe from Marvel!
ASP Variety Interview
Mark and Aki are interviewed over at Variety website. and they got some very kind words to say about "Robotika"...it is a pleasure working with these guys.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
King Arthur, Dracula, and...Robotika #2 (reviews III)
A Robotika write-up from Dan Head of Proletariat Comics:
Comics You Should Be Reading
Niko is proud to share the stage with Vlad.
Niko is proud to share the stage with Vlad.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
From layout to inked panel
Recently I read through Jason Copland's Blog. Jason is a very talented artist working on a graphic novel with Davis Lewis (the mastermind behind ASP's "The Lone and Level Sands"). I very much enjoyed Jason's posts showing progression of his pages and I want to try something similar here. Here is a panel from a story that I wrote and laid out called "Cherokee Song". The layout is mine, the pencils are by Travis Sengaus, and the final inked version is by me. The panel represents a scene in which a samurai discovers that his son has committed suicide.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Robotika #3 Preview
A preview of the third issue is up at the Newsarama site:
Newsarama
Work on issue #4 is almost complete, just two more pages to finish and...what is next?
Work on issue #4 is almost complete, just two more pages to finish and...what is next?
Monday, March 13, 2006
Robotika #2 (reviews II)
A review that recommends Robotika, but also mentions vertical text as a distraction:
Joplin Independent
A second review of Robotika #2. The cool thing here is that the vertical text get a "nod" in this one:
ComicReaders.Com
A second review of Robotika #2. The cool thing here is that the vertical text get a "nod" in this one:
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Mouse Guard #1 Sells Out!
I just read that a fellow Archaia Studios Press creator, David Peterson, has sold out the initial run of Mouse Guard #1! 8,000 copies! Mouse Guard #1 is going back to press for a second printing.
This is awesome news and it makes me even more excited to be a part of ASP line-up.
This is awesome news and it makes me even more excited to be a part of ASP line-up.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Well, I never....
Yesterday, thank you to Barbara, I got a block of almost 8 hours (!) of inking in. It was pretty awesome and I got a page and a half inked. Here is one of my favorite Cherokee Geisha poses from the last page: "Well, I never..."
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
I, Monster...Valentines Day Special
Page#10, Panel#1 from Robotika #4...The Lord of a Thousand Whispers!
Everybody loves a good monster!
Everybody loves a good monster!
Post WonderCon
Yesterday I got a call from Ryan. He called to wish my son a happy birthday (2!) and also to let me know that the baby blanket, that I forgot at the convention, got passed along to Mick so I should be able to pick that up anytime. And then we just talked about comics and drawing and all sorts of stuff. Talking to Ryan always lifts my spirit and helps me see things from a different perspective. He has an unbound enthusiasm for life and I am very fortunate to have him and Michelle as friends. It was great time. He has some very exciting things happening with his career and I can't wait to see his next assignment!
Today I got an e-mail from Tony Salmons telling me that he did indeed finish the pin-up for Robotika. If only, I came back to the convention on Sunday, I could of had it in my hot little hands now. Instead he is going to send it to me. I very much look forward to that.
I have been very fortunate in being able to have some of my all-time art heroes make a contributin to the Robotika project. I tried to include a special guest artist treat in every issue:
#1 has the (of course) beautiful cover by Ryan Sook,
#2 has a 6-page story illustrated (brilliantly) by Leif Jones (who also contributes a wonderful back cover),
#3 has (heroic) Frank Cirocco, (Zen-like) Benoit Springer, (hilarious) Norman Felchle, and (royal) JH Williams III pin-ups, and
#4...will also have a few nice surprises :)
Currently, I working with Jeremy Mohler and Jason Felix to see if they will be able to contribute some of their innovative art to the series.
Today I got an e-mail from Tony Salmons telling me that he did indeed finish the pin-up for Robotika. If only, I came back to the convention on Sunday, I could of had it in my hot little hands now. Instead he is going to send it to me. I very much look forward to that.
I have been very fortunate in being able to have some of my all-time art heroes make a contributin to the Robotika project. I tried to include a special guest artist treat in every issue:
#1 has the (of course) beautiful cover by Ryan Sook,
#2 has a 6-page story illustrated (brilliantly) by Leif Jones (who also contributes a wonderful back cover),
#3 has (heroic) Frank Cirocco, (Zen-like) Benoit Springer, (hilarious) Norman Felchle, and (royal) JH Williams III pin-ups, and
#4...will also have a few nice surprises :)
Currently, I working with Jeremy Mohler and Jason Felix to see if they will be able to contribute some of their innovative art to the series.
Monday, February 13, 2006
WonderCon 2006
I attended WonderCon last Friday.
The two biggest highlights of my attendance were meeting Tony Salmons and talking to Rafael Navarro and Mike Wellman at the Comic Bug booth.
Tony Salmons was someone whose art I have admired for years. I have followed his comic book work across the spectrum of comic book companies (Marvel, Dark Horse, DC...). My favorite work of his has been the Conan and Doctor Strange pages at Marvel and "The Mark" over at Dark Horse. Also his recently completed Batman "Legends of the Dark Knight" and "Black & White" were some of the freshest takes on Batman in recent years. I got to ask him some questions about his career and I also got to show him a copy of Robotika. He thought Ryan's cover was outstanding and he was also very kind about the interior pages. I even got up the nerve to ask him to do a Robotika pin-up. He agreed and I hope we will be able to work it out.
Later on in the day I walked by the Comic Bug and re-introduced myself to Rafael Navarro. I met Rafael a few years ago at an earlier WonderCon when he was just starting out his comic book series Sonambulo based on crime noir and Mexican wrestlers. He in turn introduced me to Mike Wellman the manager at Comic Bug, who has actually heard of "Robotika" and wanted to get a few copies for his store. While we were talking, James Sime of the The Isotope walked up and he also remembered who I was (after some reminding) and told me to keep up the good work. It really made me feel pretty good that "Robotika" is getting some attention.
I also walked by some original art dealer tables and was blown away by seeing the Michael Golden original comic book pages and covers. What ever happened to his art book that was palnned by Image last year?
I have also made a few new "discoveries". Enrique Fernandez is an artist creating comics in Spain and France. Just recently he completed an adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz". Beautiful work, very strong character designs, and innovative page construction.
The convention can be a very hectic environment so I did not really get a chance to conect with any of my friends, but I am fortunate in that I can catch-up with them "off-convention" at any time. So that was fine and it was great to see fans line up to see Ryan and Mick at their tables. I did get to talk to Michelle for a bit (about bats!) and Ryan was kind enough to take some time out to sign some art work that I got from him a while back (one piece is a penciled page of Liz as a little girl that never made it into the BPRD and another was an ad that Ryan penciled and I got to ink for Wizards of the Coast). I also ran into Jim and Wendy at the convention center lobby and for a few minutes we said "hi".
It was a beautiful day in San Francisco with the sun warm and the sky clear. I very much enjoyed walking out to the Gardens and watching the crowd on the Green. The evening was also warm and the downtown bright with lights.
The two biggest highlights of my attendance were meeting Tony Salmons and talking to Rafael Navarro and Mike Wellman at the Comic Bug booth.
Tony Salmons was someone whose art I have admired for years. I have followed his comic book work across the spectrum of comic book companies (Marvel, Dark Horse, DC...). My favorite work of his has been the Conan and Doctor Strange pages at Marvel and "The Mark" over at Dark Horse. Also his recently completed Batman "Legends of the Dark Knight" and "Black & White" were some of the freshest takes on Batman in recent years. I got to ask him some questions about his career and I also got to show him a copy of Robotika. He thought Ryan's cover was outstanding and he was also very kind about the interior pages. I even got up the nerve to ask him to do a Robotika pin-up. He agreed and I hope we will be able to work it out.
Later on in the day I walked by the Comic Bug and re-introduced myself to Rafael Navarro. I met Rafael a few years ago at an earlier WonderCon when he was just starting out his comic book series Sonambulo based on crime noir and Mexican wrestlers. He in turn introduced me to Mike Wellman the manager at Comic Bug, who has actually heard of "Robotika" and wanted to get a few copies for his store. While we were talking, James Sime of the The Isotope walked up and he also remembered who I was (after some reminding) and told me to keep up the good work. It really made me feel pretty good that "Robotika" is getting some attention.
I also walked by some original art dealer tables and was blown away by seeing the Michael Golden original comic book pages and covers. What ever happened to his art book that was palnned by Image last year?
I have also made a few new "discoveries". Enrique Fernandez is an artist creating comics in Spain and France. Just recently he completed an adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz". Beautiful work, very strong character designs, and innovative page construction.
The convention can be a very hectic environment so I did not really get a chance to conect with any of my friends, but I am fortunate in that I can catch-up with them "off-convention" at any time. So that was fine and it was great to see fans line up to see Ryan and Mick at their tables. I did get to talk to Michelle for a bit (about bats!) and Ryan was kind enough to take some time out to sign some art work that I got from him a while back (one piece is a penciled page of Liz as a little girl that never made it into the BPRD and another was an ad that Ryan penciled and I got to ink for Wizards of the Coast). I also ran into Jim and Wendy at the convention center lobby and for a few minutes we said "hi".
It was a beautiful day in San Francisco with the sun warm and the sky clear. I very much enjoyed walking out to the Gardens and watching the crowd on the Green. The evening was also warm and the downtown bright with lights.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Interview at Silver Bullet
My latest interview just got posted at:
Silver Bullet Comics
This was a very enjoyable experience and an opportunity to expand on some of my storytelling ideas used in "Robotika". David Moran and Jenny Goguen did a great job putting the whole things together. At the end of the article there is also a link to order issues #1-3.
This was a very enjoyable experience and an opportunity to expand on some of my storytelling ideas used in "Robotika". David Moran and Jenny Goguen did a great job putting the whole things together. At the end of the article there is also a link to order issues #1-3.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Review (VI)
The good, the bad and...the not so bad.
Six more reviews of Robotika #1:
BagsAndBoards
ColumbusAlive
ComicWorldNews
ShouldThisBeAMovie?
AintItCool
That'sEntertainment
Six more reviews of Robotika #1:
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