Develop continues on... slowly. I've been getting my ass handed to me in terms of daily responsibilities at work, so It's been hard to concentrate on "the real job", ifyanaw'wutimean.
That being said, I'm presently juggling a couple of different projects at once. Exosister issue 2 script is about 30%, and seems to be flowing semi-smoothly. Pacing is the biggest bitch in this one as it is a transitional issue, which always seem to slow down the flow. I've got a few ideas on how to maintain, but you'll have to wait and see what they are...
I'm also a couple of pages deep into the Jetman script. I'm writing it as a full-fledged film script, it just seems to flow a bit better. I don't have to worry about page numbering, for one thing. The best thing about this is that I can pretty much crank out the first story arch in one document, then if I choose to translate it to paper, I can go through and tweak issue breaks. I'm having a lot of fun writing it because it seems to come so naturally. This is definitely on the back-burner, though. Sister, as always, remains top priority.
Oh, and lastly, I'm working on something... interesting. Something that may spice up the blog a bit. I don't want to write a check that I can't cash, but you might do well to check back a bit more often...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Stuff
Hey duderz,
Here's a short comic i started for kicks in my sketchbook and on scrap pieces of paper. I came up with the idea after seeing various advertisements for the "Beowulf" movie while waiting for the subway. BIO-WOLF suddenly popped into my head and just kept going with it. It's mad max meets contra 3: alien wars meets william s. burroughs meets mobius thing. Hope you enjoy reading it, I enjoyed making it.
Monday, February 11, 2008
A (not so) Brief History of Violence
Exorsister was originally born with a few very simple tent-pole concepts in place; make it about a hot chick that fights monsters and uses awesome weapons to do it. A molotov cocktail of youthful interests, really. When I originally drafted up the initial concept about three-to-five years ago, there wasn't much more to it than that. It eventually was filed away in the large back-catalog of "maybe" ideas that I have built up over the majority of my life.
It wasn't really brought up again until my first year in college (or "high school 2" as I like to call it). For some reason I came back to the story and begin to draft up a newer concept that was more outlandish and less "mainstream". Originally Exorsister took place during the here-and-now, and featured a team of protagonists employed by the Vatican who would combat the small pockets of demonic forces that had begun to pop up as the rapture was being kick-started (interestingly, Exorsister's "uber-weapon", which you should all be seeing soon, was not present in this early concept. Sister instead made use of two large bone claws that extended from her wrists -- the use of bone and flesh as weaponry would later go on to become a key point in the current iteration of the Exorsister). It was a serviceable concept, sure, but it didn't really have that "bite". Fortunately, I had been reading a lot of back issues of Heavy Metal and 2000 A.D. online (for any writer out there who thinks they've hit a dead end - go check out 2000 A.D. It will invigorate you with a breath of fresh air). As a result, I sort of freed my mind up and let myself drift into a more extreme place. My interest in Exorsister jumped from being a generic superhero-esque fair to being something more. I wanted to push boundries and tell a dangerous story in a unique way.
This, fortunately, is where I met my collaborator, Sir Ian. Over a mid-day lunch of Pizza at Uno's (which then become "'Za", and eventually folded altogether), I spilled the basic outline of Exorsister on him in a very haphazard way. We had gone out with about six other people, but the conversation eventually spun off away from them and we began to focus at the idea at hand. I was happy to walk away with having told someone about Exorsister (something I had never done up to that point). More so, I was happy that in doing so I had recieved a favorable response.
As is often the case, the story again went by the wayside as my interests bounced to other ideas and school work took its toll. Fortunately, as is also often the case with anyone whom exhibits any sort of creativity, I got the "bite" again a couple of months later. This time, I became obsessed with the idea of actually making something. No longer content with whittling away at a faceless script, I wanted to actually produce something that people could hold in their hands and talk about. I wanted something quick and dirty, a hotel romance of a comic book if you will. Remembering Ian's interest in the concept (and considerable art skills), I contacted him with the suggestion of working with me on an issue. We batted around a few ideas, eventually coming to the concept that we would each work on half of one issue. This would have been pretty effective and cool if it ever happened, but alas, it was not to be. I take the brunt of the responsibility on that one. If there's one thing I can't do, it's feel comfortable in my drawing abilities. So, the story again hit a snag. The difference this time was that I was still very interested in producing the end product. Ultimately, I came to the realization that the only way that I would actually ever be able to have Exorsister produced in a physical way would be to hand over the art details to another person. With this end in mind, I again approached Ian, this time with the suggestion that he take over all art duties. He agreed, and it seemed that there was at least an understanding that this could be done. A simple one-shot story about a hot chick fighting monsters with awesome weapons.
And then, god help us, we started to talk. In a quick series of phone calls (sometimes lasting for as long as two-to-three hours), we had done something dangerous. Exorsister grew. It grew in ways that I would have never imagined (and could never have come up with on my own). What had started so simple and exploitative had matured into a multi-layered beast of a story. What started with boobs in blood grew into a high-concept story about humanity, religion, alienation, and yes, even love. I wouldn't have believed it had I not experienced it.
I have never been so excited or enamored about a concept as I am about Exorsister. And thinking forward, I can only think of one thing that will excite me more; the fact that it's now our turn to show you.
Strap in, kids. Oh, and those of you in the front row be warned; you may get wet.
It wasn't really brought up again until my first year in college (or "high school 2" as I like to call it). For some reason I came back to the story and begin to draft up a newer concept that was more outlandish and less "mainstream". Originally Exorsister took place during the here-and-now, and featured a team of protagonists employed by the Vatican who would combat the small pockets of demonic forces that had begun to pop up as the rapture was being kick-started (interestingly, Exorsister's "uber-weapon", which you should all be seeing soon, was not present in this early concept. Sister instead made use of two large bone claws that extended from her wrists -- the use of bone and flesh as weaponry would later go on to become a key point in the current iteration of the Exorsister). It was a serviceable concept, sure, but it didn't really have that "bite". Fortunately, I had been reading a lot of back issues of Heavy Metal and 2000 A.D. online (for any writer out there who thinks they've hit a dead end - go check out 2000 A.D. It will invigorate you with a breath of fresh air). As a result, I sort of freed my mind up and let myself drift into a more extreme place. My interest in Exorsister jumped from being a generic superhero-esque fair to being something more. I wanted to push boundries and tell a dangerous story in a unique way.
This, fortunately, is where I met my collaborator, Sir Ian. Over a mid-day lunch of Pizza at Uno's (which then become "'Za", and eventually folded altogether), I spilled the basic outline of Exorsister on him in a very haphazard way. We had gone out with about six other people, but the conversation eventually spun off away from them and we began to focus at the idea at hand. I was happy to walk away with having told someone about Exorsister (something I had never done up to that point). More so, I was happy that in doing so I had recieved a favorable response.
As is often the case, the story again went by the wayside as my interests bounced to other ideas and school work took its toll. Fortunately, as is also often the case with anyone whom exhibits any sort of creativity, I got the "bite" again a couple of months later. This time, I became obsessed with the idea of actually making something. No longer content with whittling away at a faceless script, I wanted to actually produce something that people could hold in their hands and talk about. I wanted something quick and dirty, a hotel romance of a comic book if you will. Remembering Ian's interest in the concept (and considerable art skills), I contacted him with the suggestion of working with me on an issue. We batted around a few ideas, eventually coming to the concept that we would each work on half of one issue. This would have been pretty effective and cool if it ever happened, but alas, it was not to be. I take the brunt of the responsibility on that one. If there's one thing I can't do, it's feel comfortable in my drawing abilities. So, the story again hit a snag. The difference this time was that I was still very interested in producing the end product. Ultimately, I came to the realization that the only way that I would actually ever be able to have Exorsister produced in a physical way would be to hand over the art details to another person. With this end in mind, I again approached Ian, this time with the suggestion that he take over all art duties. He agreed, and it seemed that there was at least an understanding that this could be done. A simple one-shot story about a hot chick fighting monsters with awesome weapons.
And then, god help us, we started to talk. In a quick series of phone calls (sometimes lasting for as long as two-to-three hours), we had done something dangerous. Exorsister grew. It grew in ways that I would have never imagined (and could never have come up with on my own). What had started so simple and exploitative had matured into a multi-layered beast of a story. What started with boobs in blood grew into a high-concept story about humanity, religion, alienation, and yes, even love. I wouldn't have believed it had I not experienced it.
I have never been so excited or enamored about a concept as I am about Exorsister. And thinking forward, I can only think of one thing that will excite me more; the fact that it's now our turn to show you.
Strap in, kids. Oh, and those of you in the front row be warned; you may get wet.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Exorsister nails'
Alright kids, it's preview time. This is my thumb nail stage for a short story based in the world of Exorsister. What is Exorsister you might ask? Well, it's something that's going to blow your goddamn mind out of your balls. Yeah, I said it. I don't know why I said it though.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Jetman preview
I've always been facinated by pulp comics. Specifically, anything sci-fi/horror from the silver age. Weird Tales, Strange Adventures, Amazing Fantasy, etc. To me, I think that they represented the most care-free time in the medium of comic books. Comics now are so obsessed with being "important" that they sometimes forget to be fun. I love the fact that when you open up any one of the aforementioned titles, you can be met with tales of killer androids, vengeful swamp monsters, or astronauts marooned on strange planets. Hell, sometimes stories like those would share space in one issue!
Here's Doctor Moss, one of the primary characters in Jetman. He's one of the greatest minds in the world - unfortunatately, it's a mind that's seen better days as a result of a teleportation malfunction. He's sort of like Ian McKellen and Hunter S. Thompson thrown into a blender with a decent amount of Doc Brown. Cute mix until you factor those personalities together with the fact that he could create a nuclear bomb while sleepwalking.
That's the sort of world I've been trying to capture in Jetman; one where anything is possible. Giant robots, secret nazi lairs, molepeople. Really, the only rule I've established is that it has to remain fun. I've been going with a very fast-and-loose artistic style, something akin to Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko with a little bit of my own style thrown in. By no means does it look exactly like the work of the classic silver age artists, but I've been doing my best to make it evocative of that time period. Simplicity is my mantra. Anyway, enough rambling. Let's get to the goodies.
Here's Doctor Moss, one of the primary characters in Jetman. He's one of the greatest minds in the world - unfortunatately, it's a mind that's seen better days as a result of a teleportation malfunction. He's sort of like Ian McKellen and Hunter S. Thompson thrown into a blender with a decent amount of Doc Brown. Cute mix until you factor those personalities together with the fact that he could create a nuclear bomb while sleepwalking. 
This is Mentor, one of the main villains in Jetman. He's nothing more than your standard bottom-tier-magician-turned-criminal-after-stealing-a-magic-egyptian-relic kind of character. The Stone of Tekaurat, which is embedded in his forehead, gives him power over the minds of man. A formidable foe, indeed.
I was disappointed at the lack of undead 50's greaser punks who ride ghostly hot rods in comics today. That's why I created Rex Mortis, another of Jetman's rogues.
That's all for now.
Ta
Friday, February 1, 2008
Welcome to the neon corner.
There are beasts that go bump in the night,
giants that slumber under the breaking waves,
and footprints on the surface of worlds that you do not know.
Let us show you them.
giants that slumber under the breaking waves,
and footprints on the surface of worlds that you do not know.
Let us show you them.
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