FEEDING GROUND _ Press and Process

I'm in the thick of finishing art on the sixth and final issue of FEEDING GROUND. Haven't had time for a long process post in a while so I thought I would share links to some in-depth interviews.

After an extremely well-considered review of the first four issues by the guys at The Pullbox, they had us on for a Q&A that breaks down some of the inspiration of the book as well as the steps of our production chain.

Likewise, Chris and I had a fun conversation with horror comic maven Decapitated Dan about FG and horror books in general.  One question we addressed: why do our werewolves kinda look like baboons?  I guess I'm hearing second-hand that some readers weren't so hot on the design.  What about you?

Lastly, we were chosen as the "Sunday Pick" by Kate over at Functional Nerds.

Cool, cool.

NEW PORTFOLIO LINK

Checkitout - my new temporary portfolio link, for such clients and properties as Blue's Clues, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Team Umizoomi, ESPN, and Sesame International, including:


ART DIRECTION

(you can play BATMAN BRAWL! here)


CHARACTER DESIGN

BACKGROUND DESIGN

COLOR SUPERVISION

COMIC BOOK ART

FEEDING GROUND _ MoCCA 2011 Wrap-up

Swifty, Chris, and I had ourselves a table at our first Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival in NYC this past weekend.  It was a spacious and good-spirited event but I didn't have much of a chance to walk around to see what other creators were bringing to the table.  Really cool though to introduce new readers to FEEDING GROUND and to hear back from fans who have been reading along.  Below are a few other personal highlights from the weekend:


THE GATHERING

I had contributed art for a 2-page story in the premiere issue of this GrayHaven Comics anthology and Swifty and I are going to have another one in their upcoming Issue #4.  So, it was a sweet surprise to have been situated as neighbors right next to their table.  Led by Andrew Goletz, the anthology started as a forum for pairing first-time artists and writers from the Jinxworld message boards.  Wrapped with covers and art direction by the talented Aaron Bir, the collection is a fresh voice of dedication and enthusiasm. Writer Doug Hahner was also on hand. He wrote one of my favorite stories in Issue 1 and a nicer guy you never did meet.


THE INK PANTHERS SHOW

I devour podcasts as I work and this is the only one that disrupts my inking with laughter.  Ostensibly a comic podcast, the real attraction for me is the banter between friends Mike Dawson and Alex Robinson.  I was a cartoonist in college along with Mike and his professional work is one of the factors that encouraged me to get back into comics.  They've had me on the show in the past and this weekend I got to sub in for a stricken panelist at a live recording of the show at MoCCA, sharing convention stories with cartoonists Daniel Spottswood and John Kerschbaum and regaling the audience with my tale of destroying Capt. Lou Albano's car.  Also check out Mike's Pro T.I.P.S for more in-depth discussions with creators about the work and glamour of being a cartoonist.


MORE MoCCA BITS


-  I didn't get to see much, but the book LIAR'S KISS by Top Shelf was one attractive number that I planned on picking up.  Others agreed and it was sold out before I could grab it.

- I did get to buy GB Tran's VIETNAMERICA an incredible tome of personal journalism executed in a visual language that feels like memory to me.  Bonus - it came with the special convention cover that is a folded copy of a poster design for the book.

- I met one of my comic icons, Bill Sienkiewicz, and didn't embarrass myself all that much. I first discovered his work as a child with the “Badlands” issue of the "Demon Bear" run of THE NEW MUTANTS sandwiched between two other books in a supermarket 3-pack. It was a disturbing, challenging, find that not only opened my eyes to comics as art but the power of art in general. It continues to affect me and my work to this day. Check out this article on CBR to see images of the run and give yourself an idea on what sort of influence he had on the industry at a particular point in time.

- Swifty and I had dinner with our Editor-in-Chief at Archaia, Stephen Christy.  I am proud to be a part of a company that publishes important, attractive, work that is evolving our concept of what a comic book and comic book company can be in 2011.  Their recent Wonder Con announcements have me stoked as a comic fan, none more so than the care and vision that Stephen is putting into the graphic novel adaptation of Jim Henson's unpublished screenplay A TALE OF SAND.  Stephen is a guy who gets it, delivering quality packaging and promotion always in service of Story.

CHARACTER DESIGN _ Sugar & Spike

As I finish art on the final issue of FEEDING GROUND,  I've also started production on Pitch Art for an animated Pre-School Pilot.  In the course of a single work day I've drawn someone having their throat ripped out as well as designing hair style options for a five year-old.  I enjoy both ("enjoy" might not be the right word with the throat-ripping) and the last year has certainly been the most bi-polar in terms of juggling subject matter and illustration styles.

Someone pointed this out when reviewing my new temporary (until I have the time to update my website) portfolio link.  Here are two examples from pitches that are currently being shopped around. The first one features grotesque, pint-sized, grifters and the other features a former toll-booth collector riding a rhino and teaching kids how to read (I may have mixed those up).