FEEDING GROUND _ NY Comic Con 2010

It has come full circle. We initially pitched FEEDING GROUND at NY Comic Con in 2008 and now we return as first-time creators. Swift, Chris, and I will be on display at the Archaia booth where they will be selling advance copies of FEEDING GROUND #1.


In addition, we'll be talking up the book at one of their panels. Archaia has a swanky reading room of a booth and an impressive and expanding line of books and creators. Check out the info below.

Saturday, Oct. 9, 10:45-11:45am
ARCHAIA ALL ACCESS
Get updates, previews and new information on current and upcoming core Archaia titles as the publisher spotlights: AWAKENING VOL. 2 with artist Alex Eckman-Lawn; CRITICAL MILLENNIUM with writer Andrew E. C. Gaska and artist Daniel Dussault; FEEDING GROUND with creators Swifty Lang, Michael Lapinski and Christopher Mangun; and THE GOD MACHINE with creator Chandra Free! Moderated by Archaia editor-in-chief Stephen Christy. Panel Room 7 (1A22)

Signing Times at the Archaia Booth (Booth #2031)

FRI OCT 8th
Featured Table 3PM - 4PM
Signing Table 5PM - 7PM

SAT OCT 9th
Signing Table 12PM - 3PM

SUN OCT 10th
Featured Table 2PM - 5PM

Come find us and you can also pick up CON-Exclusive T-Shirts (based on the cover to Issue 3)!


Our short comic FROZEN DARK is also included in the Horror Anthology DON'T LOOK!, also making it's debut at the con. Check out the genuinely chilling cover art by painter David "hubba hubba" Palumbo.

FROZEN DARK _ The DON'T LOOK! Anthology

Faithful readers of this blog might remember mention of a horror short called FROZEN DARK.

Swifty, Chris, and I created it for a black and white horror anthology edited by friend and co-worker Rick Ritter. Based on a story by Chris, FROZEN DARK deals with that common childhood fear of having to make a midnight trip to the bathroom, except this tale is set in the frozen wasteland surrounding a Tibetan orphanage.


Now, Rick and cover artist David Palumbo are bringing a pitch book of the anthology (titled DON'T LOOK!) to San Diego in search of a publisher. The book also features stories from other NYC Animation heavyweights Bob Algeo, Paul Zdanowicz, and Scott Cooper.


Knock 'em dead, guys!

FROZEN DARK _ The Full Mini-Comic

I was never in a band. I never had the after-school garage practices, sweaty basement shows, or packed-van touring. No local fans or feuds among friends. But now, Swifty is right when he says that this Blacklight Comics collaboration is the closest approximation we have to doing the rock band thing. If that's the case, Frozen Dark is our first single.

Here's a LINK to the full comic as a Google Doc. We printed a number of copies for the Big Apple Comic Con and there is still the intention to include it in a friend's horror anthology. This doc is also a temporary home as we set up our main site.


As our first complete story, there's a lot being worked out on the page.

I soon discovered that a cast of young, bald, boys in similar dress was confusing in terms of identifying the players. Although the three main orphans are aged apart, I added a white shawl to our protagonist, Azuba, to better distinguish him with an iconic accent.

In terms of illustration influences, I was clearly looking at Asian brushwork, particularly the Vietnamese artist Huy Toan, to achieve a line that was as loose and descriptive as possible. I believe I succeeded in exactly one panel (which, from what I hear from other artists and on comic podcasts, is a pretty good ratio).

I had always pictured designing the page on biased grids to heighten tension, drive focus, and mirror the driving snow. However, I do think the layout can overtake the story at times and I certainly ran into a number of issues when resolving the design across adjacent pages.

We also started with the initial premise of having to make a midnight bathroom trip in a foreboding landscape. Then, the goal was to build to something more without losing the initial sense of dread. It's especially difficult to surprise a comic reader when all of the panels are already visible on the page. There's the added risk of being too opaque or corny or obvious when handling material that should be horrific.

Please take a look and come back to let us know how it read for you.

If you're interested, I've also discussed the story and toning of Frozen Dark in previous posts.

Big Apple Comic Con 01 _ FROZEN DARK

On October 16 and 17 I will be sharing a table with Juan Doe at this year's Big Apple Comic Con in NYC. For the occasion, I will be handing out limited copies of Frozen Dark a horror short that I produced with Swifty Lang and Chris Mangun of Blacklight Comics. We created it as part of an anthology but Chris is printing an edition right now as a mini-comic for the show.

The story originated from an anecdote Chris told about his trip to China. He spun it like a campfire tale with an effective, familiar, hook: when you're a kid, it's really scary to have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. In this case, the bathroom is an outhouse, and the kid is an orphan residing in a Buddhist monastery.

From there, the three of us brought our abilities forward to make every line and panel matter. Swift added an underlying poetry and worldview to reflect the teachings and myths our hero was immersed in as he traveled his arc. At the same time, Chris pressed for the cruel social dynamics of boys of that age.

My goal was to make sure that, as a short story, there was a rhythm to the way the information unfolded and an interplay between word an image that was more evocative than literal.

All said, we hoped to elicit the chill of a good ghost story while delivering on a subtext worthy of The Twilight Zone.

Swing by my table for a copy if you are at the con. Otherwise, we'll look to post it as a PDF in the coming weeks.

COMIC PAGES 02 _ When you gotta go...

After completing our pitch book, John, Chris, and I decided to start our own comic imprint, "Blacklight Studios," with the intention of collaborating on genre fiction with a political bent.

We were given the opportunity to contribute to a black and white horror anthology, still in production, and rifled through a few ideas ranging from Brooklyn-based wall monsters to haunted Spanish conquistadors.

Then Chris shared a story he heard while visiting Tibet. Chris Mangun knows how to grip a room. The guy has old-timey storytelling skills and should go on tour with his anecdotes.

As a kid, it was always pretty scary to have to make that walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Waiting in the dark, hoping the urge will pass, and fearing what might grab your ankle on the way out. Now imagine if you lived in the Himalayas and your walk meant braving icy winds and signs of The Yeti.

Here are a few in-progress pages from our 12-page story, "Frozen Dark."