FEEDING GROUND _ THANKFUL

 

(art by JANET LEE)

Given the holiday, I thought it would be fitting to share the acknowledgments from our book along with live links and a few other people that we could not fit due to space constraints.

As a group, we benefited greatly from the insight and experiences of Thomas Peyton and Luis Alberto Urrea, the counsel of Suzana Carlos, the encouragement and camaraderie of artist Juan Doe, and the fantastic owners and community of comic book creators surrounding Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn, NY. Thanks to Germán Ventriglia for the use of his font CAN CAN DE BOIS. Great thanks to everyone at Archaia Entertainment not only for recognizing our vision and taking a chance on FEEDING GROUND but also for the guidance and support to help make it stronger.

 

(art by TOM FORGET)

MY THANKS

Thanks to cartoonists Rick Ritter, Mike Dawson, GB Tran and the guys of MAMMAL, their art and dedication convinced me to get back into making comics.

Paul Zdanowicz - horror guru and Lapinski-booster with a keen critical eye.

Klaus Janson - whose professional instruction came just at the right time to bring structure and rules to what I had been discovering on the page.

Brian Michael Bendis - for providing the Jinxworld message board and its posters for keeping me company in the solitude of my studio.

John Siuntres - whose Word Balloon Podcast interviews are like an audio course in comic career and craft.

To my family overall and specifically: my cousin Ali for her assistance as a Spanish reader, my cousin Jennifer for her buttons and friendship, and to my parents whose generous affection has always allowed me to thrive.

And, to Lindsay, thanks for adding sweetness to my life and for riding this wolf to Bayonne and beyond.

(art by JUAN DOE)

Here are thanks from the rest of the FEEDING GROUND creative team.

SWIFTY LANG

Swifty would like to thank: My folks, Drs. Arnold & Gale, sibs, David and Samantha, Neal Mitnick, Moshe Pinchevsky, B.B., my people in South Florida, NYC, and worldwide. This is dedicated to my girl, Spooky, for listening without judgement, even about werewolves.

CHRIS MANGUN

Chris would like to thank the following people: His father Rick, who taught him craftsmanship. His mother Kathie, who taught him how to listen to people. His sister Jenny, who opened his eyes to ideas and music at the right time. His brother Rob, the best reader he knows. His Uncle Tim, for evoking storytelling as an important part of sharing. And most of all, his best friend Mel, who believed in him through unbelievable weekends and continues to do so with kind support. Also, Pale Ale beer... that friendly spirit who sometimes helps grease the pleasant grind of so-called-life-events.

NATHALIA RUIZ MURRAY

Nathalia would like to thank Mike, Swifty and Chris for letting her be a part of this fascinating world of wolves. She is obliged to her husband Liam Murray for not complaining as she read the books aloud in Spanish (sometimes with telenovela emphasis). Mostly she’d like to thank her mother Ines Ruiz, for putting up with numerous questions on (hopefully not completely out of date) Mexicanisms and not yelling at her when she forgot an accent or two.

(art by FRED CHAO)

And, lastly

Mucho thanks to the artists who contributed their time and talents to realizing our story as the pin-up art included in the series and collected editions of FEEDING GROUND (as well as throughout this blog post).

You can find links to their work below:

Fred Chao fredchao.com

Mike Dawson mikedawsoncomics.com

Juan Doe  juandoe.com

Alex Eckman-Lawn  alexeckmanlawn.com

Tom Forget  tomforget.com
Chandra Free  spookychan.com

Kate Glasheen katiecrimespree.com

Tim Hamilton http://hamilton-tim.pair.com/CUTBLEED/

Javier Hernandez http://javiersblog.blogspot.com/

Janet Lee  j-k-lee.com

Benjamin Marra  benjaminmarra.blogspot.com

Blake Sims http://blakesimscomics.blogspot.com/

GB Tran gbtran.com    

 

(gobble gobble by TIM HAMILTON)

NYCC 2011 _ Top 11 List

11) BEST COSTUMES - Dayna / Zuul / "The Gatekeeper" & Louis / Vinz Clortho / "The Keymaster" from GHOSTBUSTERS

There were plenty of costumes that were more elaborate or obscure but this one hit the sweet spot for me for execution (light-up helmet!), conviction, and goofy delight. Bonus points for being a couple.

10) BEST TOYS - The Ever-Expanding Line of Marvel Universe Figures

I had no shortage of toys growing up and I'm no longer buying them now but I always get a little rush when I see action figure versions of a seemingly endless crowd of favorite characters. In this cluster alone: the cat version of Beast, Beta Ray Bill, and Kraven the Hunter.

9) BEST SUPERHERO ANNOUNCEMENT - Storm Joins the Avengers

At the time I was reading UNCANNY X-MEN as a kid Storm went through her famous transformation from a slightly aloof mutant weather goddess to a powerless punk with a mohawk as leader of the X-Men. I definitely have affection for the character but felt she should always have been more prominent as a leader of the Marvel Universe and, as a minority woman with an iconic look, an easy-to-understand power set, and complex identity (benevolent mutant worshipped as an Earth goddess) a banner character for the company. Now in the hands of Brian Michael Bendis and Daniel Acuña I have high hopes that that will be the case.

I'm no superhero artist but you can see my costume re-design for the character, HERE.

8) BEST ARTISTIC DISCOVERY - NICK DRAGOTTA

It often crosses my mind that there are countless undiscovered talents in this world. And then there are those like Nick Dragotta that were right in front of me but I'm seeing for the first time. Nick is no unknown. He's been working on Marvel books for some time, but, seeing his art at full size and in Black & White my eyes were snapped open and will never see the same again.

While his style pulls from all of the great Marvel illustrators (Kirby, Ditko, Adams) he recombines and delivers them in a package that feels new and slightly punked out. It's a visual language that I immediately respond to and one that movies can't match and with a cool they can only hope to emulate.

His website, HERE.

7) BEST BOOK - HEART #1 by BLAIR BUTLER & KEVIN MELLON

You know that for a while in Japan the number 1 selling comic was about Tennis? While there is a great diversity of genres and subject matter in American comics, it's clearly the superheroes that are the bread and butter and what most people associate with the medium.

Taking one step to remedy that is the Image series HEART written by Blair Butler and with art by Kevin Mellon and set in the competitive world of Mixed Martial Arts. I can't say that I've ever watched a match but the book takes full advantage of the medium's ability to convey external and internal drama with full visual might. And, Kevin's rendering is not what I would expect from such a book. Rather than muscular bold inks, he successfully builds figures and their environments from energized and well-chosen hatches.

Great review/analysis on Bleeding Cool, HERE.

6) MEETING OTHER NOVICE CREATORS - FRANK REYNOSO

One of the great changes over the last year is that now that we are published "professionals," aspiring writers and artists have been approaching us for advice.

We've seen a lot of incredible and promising work but the guy that impressed me the most is Frank Reynoso. From his EC-inspired writing on THE HUNTER to his own written/drawn horror book THE REMAINS he is someone with an engaging voice and with real chops when it comes to the not easy task of panel to panel storytelling. Publishers, I need to see Frank on the other side of the table signing books, come 2012.

Here are links to his website and blog.

5) PITCHING LIKE IT'S 2011

While I can't spill any details on my own 2011 pitching, two things became clear. 1) After the halcyon buzz of publishing our first book, this Con was a great perch to witness the industry and better understand our place in it. 2) I love telling stories. While I'm primarily an artist, I have gotten my greatest satisfaction out of working up stories with my collaborators. My bud and FEEDING GROUND co-hort Swift Lang is a writer with his finger on inherently visual stories that are essential and need to be told, now. And, with Jef Burandt, I have the potential to bring visuals to a concept that is both a sociopolitical epic and has the potential to be the coolest toy line this side of GI Joe. We'll see what comes of these pitches but I already benefited from the experience of working up the stories with friends and the editorial feedback we received in telling them over the weekend.

4) THIS IS YOUR LIFE

I cannot be more warm and grateful for the people that visited us to wish us well from all places and periods from our lives. Former co-workers, good friends, new friends, their families, and our family all came out with their support - often at the same time. Got to have dinner with my cousin Jen who I grew up with, blogger/podcaster pal Eric Jason Ratcliffe, and good friend/writer Swifty Lang all at the same table. Below are my Nickelodeon co-worker and pal Keelmy Carlo who had a whole list of friends he was there to cheer and also my sister's co-worker Angie, horror fan and FEEDING GROUND booster. Awesome people.

3) SIGNING THE FULL RUN OF FEEDING GROUND

There are many milestones in the act of bringing something like a book into the world. At our first convention appearance as creators in San Diego 2010 we were only signing a promotional poster for FEEDING GROUND and now this Con felt to me like we were tying a bow on the experience with the release of the Hardcover. The best book-related moment had to be when a fan had us sign the final 5 issues of the mini-series. We had hand-sold him on Issue 1 at NYCC 2010 and he continued to buy the rest at his local comic shop. Then, he thought enough of our work to bring them to the Con, find us, and have us sign them. Another first for us and I'll never forget it.

2) HUG THIS MAN! - Multiple outpourings of brotherly affection

PART 1 - Regular readers of this blog know that artist Juan Doe has been a great pal and artistic godfather to the FEEDING GROUND crew from the moment I met him signing at a Marvel booth in NYCC 2009, literally just before I pitched the book to Archaia.

I was hoping to see him this year but we've both been busy and out of touch. And then he appeared at our booth. Hugs all around and all night long as we celebrated personal and professional successes of the last year. So happy for him and the much-deserved love he's getting for his work on Marvel's LEGION OF MONSTERS mini but more so for the life he's created. Bonus - there he is below (LEFT) with Marvel editor Alejandro Arbona and Archaia's Mel Caylo, in total an NYC carpool crew from when they all met working at Wizard Magazine.

PART 2 - I was disappointed to hear that I wouldn't have the chance to meet up with MORNING GLORIES artist Joe Eisma at the con. We met over the Bendis Board and I'm honored to have seen his work grow and then explode with the success of his book with fellow Benboer Nick Spencer.

Joe and fellow Image artist Nick Pitarra (RED WING) decided to play a prank on Kevin Mellon (HEART, see #7 above) who I had just met. The premise: hug Kevin and win some books.

Contest + hugs + mild embarrassment = I'm all over it. Had a hard time getting a signal to be the first to send the picture but the guys were cool to include me as co-winner.

More details on the promotion and a look at their books, HERE.

1) HOW TO MAKE A GREAT INDIE GRAPHIC NOVEL PANEL

In Fall of 2008 we began construction of a pitch book based on advice we had seen given by creator Robert Kirkman in the back of a reprint of WALKING DEAD #1. In 2011, we were able to thank him and give him a copy of our finished book.

For me, more than anything, conventions are about paying it forward. I was proud to be included on Archaia's HOW TO MAKE A GREAT GRAPHIC NOVEL panel with Mark Smylie, Jim McCann, David Petersen, and Stephen Christy where we were able to lend advice to a standing room only room of aspiring creators who are looking for the same thing I wanted - how to make an idea a reality. Archaia owner PJ Bickett moderated a nuanced conversation that illustrated multiple experiences; no perfect answer but with many paths to learn from.

I've talked about our FEEDING GROUND pitch book in the past HERE. You can read our full pitch as a PDF HERE and we will be posting clips from the panel (recorded by FG co-creator Chris Mangun) on our FaceBook fan page by joining HERE.

Thanks to PJ and the whole Archaia team for taking a chance on us and bringing it all full circle.

2010 _ The Year of the Wolf

Although FEEDING GROUND has been gestating for around 2 years, it was 2010 where it became a reality and an all-consuming part of my life. Below are some of the ways the book defined 2010 for me:

THE WORK ITSELF:

Given the nature of drawing comics, I have easily drawn more in this past year than I have in the previous 10 years combined. And, I don't love drawing. I like designing and the act of rendering surfaces and textures in ink but it's been a long while since I've doodled for pleasure.


That's the work of it but the real thrill for me has been arriving at color combinations to communicate the feel of our story. More than a single drawing or paint-by-numbers reality I'm looking to bring something new to the table and a finished product that is more evocative than illustrative.


And, even more than executing the art, I was stoked by the opportunity to collaborate with Swifty and Chris on creating the problems and solutions, the imagery and arcs, of our story. It has fired up another part of my brain that I need to keep exercising.


THE BOOK ON THE SHELF:


It's humbling to finally be on a shelf next to work by peers that I enjoy and influence me as well as those legendary creators that built the comic language. The medium is both young enough to see the beginning and small enough to gain a foothold and yet old enough to contain depth and broad enough to include an ever-widening expanse of talent and material.
Now, we're somewhere in that too.

The landmarks for me were our launch party at Bergen Comics in Brooklyn (a well-appointed and managed store/ salon I very much see as the future of comic retail), our release at Vector Books in Bayonne, NJ (my local comic shop of 20+ years), and the book selling out multiple times at Forbidden Planet in NYC (my first NY comic shop). Issue 3 should be out soon, and the rush of seeing our work in stores hasn't gotten tired yet.


THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE:


The thought and time that we've put into every panel and every page has its own value but really pays off when strangers are reading it and offering their feedback. Of course, the most gratifying ones let us know that we've struck with the reader and our intent was communicated on multiple levels. Others have pushed us to work out kinks in our craft. Reactions take the form of comments on message boards to articles and blog posts and interviews but it's been the face-to-face conversations at Conventions like San Diego, NYCC, and King Con that stand out for me. I've always dug meeting strangers and it's been cool to connect with people if only for a few minutes.

As a fan and newbie, the Con moment that made the greatest impression on me was meeting SCALPED artist, RM Guera. He came off as a mellow guru when I showed him FEEDING GROUND and he encouraged me to loosen up and "Let it flow." His own linework is alive and his compositions are consistently inventive. When he penciled a sketch of one of the lead characters for me, it was so spontaneous and lively that I thought… "Don't ink it…don't ink it." As if on cue, he asked "Do you mind if I don't ink this? I like it as it is."


SOME LOWLIGHTS:

I can't leave the office without having to put a tissue box on my laptop to prevent my cat from turning it into a bed and overheating it… It's also been frustrating to not be able to trust release dates and the shipping schedule, mainly due to issues with the overseas printer although I suspect my cat is responsible for that too… I hunch when I'm on the computer and unless I start doing yoga or running again I'm sure my neck will disappear and I'll be a few inches shorter... All said, mostly positive although I definitely did not plan on spending my first year as a married man working with such an irregular lifestyle.


SOME INSPIRING COMICS OF 2010:

This is by no means a comprehensive list as I haven't even been able to pick up much of what has been topping other year-end picks. I just wanted the chance to shout out the work of artists who made me take note this year. I keep their work close by and they're my current yardstick of the level of quality and energy I need to be hitting.

- For big, bold, superheroics John Romita Jr./ Klaus Janson/ Dean White on Bendis' AVENGERS and Jerome Opeña and Dean White for their uncluttered detailing and fresh staging on UNCANNY X-FORCE. Archangel's knife wings never looked cooler, and, as knife wings, they were pretty cool to begin with. Notice Dean White as the equal collaborator and common denominator on both books as an action colorist that finishes the art with the right amount of texture and punch.




- I've admired the work of David Aja for a few years now and this year I discovered Jason Latour working in a similar school. Both use gestural brushwork to convey an impressionistic reality and make really strong choices in their page design and pure visual storytelling.




- Jaimie Hernandez on LOVE & ROCKETS New Stories #3. Never has such a raw story looked so pretty. His first tale in the book is one that hits you in the gut but then lingers and demands multiple readings to appreciate his pacing and structure. The ending tale then has an uplift that rewards both the lived years of the characters and the years spent reading them.



- Urasawa on PLUTO, can do it all. Massive battles, majestic architectural layouts, and intensely human moments portrayed by robots. I became invested in it this year and it's some of the best Comics have to offer.


2011:

We've delivered Issue 4 to the printer and I'll be wrapping up work on FEEDING GROUND in the Spring. From there, I look forward to the chance to experiment with new styles and tell new stories in 2011. There's still work to be done and skills to be learned but I aim to trust my instincts, doodle more, and "Let it flow." You'll see the first signs of this in Issue 4 whenever it finds its way to the shelf.

FUN TO DRAW 02 _Viscera and Gore

As a horror comic, Feeding Ground has its fair share of bloodletting and the desecration of the human form. At times, it can be unsettling to draw, especially as we try to ground it somewhat in the real world with real people with lives and families.

But, with varied textures and surfaces, it's hella fun to ink.

Below you'll find the remains of one of the victims in our Pitch Book. Since then, his fate has taken on more significance with an even more grisly demise.



Thanks to the ever-informative and enjoyable Word Balloon Podcast by John Siuntres and his ongoing Q&A with comic creator Brain Michael Bendis on "The Bendis Tapes." Working alone in my studio, the show is excellent company and a friendly reminder of the industry and lives of the comic world at large as I redraw intestines for 40 minutes.