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)

NEW YORK COMIC CON 2010 _ HIGHLIGHTS

I've only recently started attending comic conventions over the past few years and this was my first year behind the table at big cons. The thing that jumps out at you, the thing that I believe this medium has over any other, is the sense of community. At a con, every niche has a fan group. In comics, every novice has a mentor. There is a patient and generous exchange between fans, pros, and aspiring creators. And, for me, NYC was the place to find so many of my friends and co-workers doing their own thing and supporting each other in the process. Here are a few of my highlights and insights from NYCC 2010.

DON'T LOOK BACK!


The LAST MINUTE COMICS table was our second home at the Con. We were proud to be a part of the DON'T LOOK! horror anthology and to be able to chill out with editor/artist Rick Ritter and artists Paul Zdanowicz and Dan O' Conner. Along with THE GATHERING anthology, this was a year of friends striking out and creating despite dreary day jobs and a saggy economy. A review in Wired magazine communicated the "We've got a show to put on!" spirit of new creators.

THE SWIFTY LANG EXPERIENCE


Sure, it's pretty cool that there's a Michael Jackson dancing game. But, I'm the one hanging with the guy rocking the wolf hat AND dancing to "Smooth Criminal." I'm lucky to be partnered with him on this and with Chris Mangun we make for an unstoppable two-limbed Voltron. See also, Spider-Wolf.


MY BEST/WORST COMPLIMENT


A woman at our signing table was staring intently at a number of FEEDING GROUND pages, flipping back and forth through them. When I asked for her reaction, she stated that the art was incredibly depressing but she couldn't stop looking at it. Turns out, she has traveled through towns much like the one depicted in our book and that the color and character of my art communicated their spirit. All along, we've tried to create a comic that is more evocation than illustration and her feedback let us know that in some part we hit the mark.

UNSUNG HEROES


Beside many creators, there is a support team that allows them to do their thing. At the Con, many a wife, boyfriend, and pal sat for hours on end and helped facilitate table work and manage crowds. So, cheers to the unsung heroes. I love it when I can pay a compliment to a favorite creator and there's that wash of pride over the face of their significant other. Cheers to our own lovely ladies as well as Scott (Gail Simone), Michael (Jim McCann), Colleen (Sean Murphy), and Big Bird's wife.

COMIC COLLEGE


Over a year of working on the comic, I have amassed a virtual school of advice and anecdotes on the craft and creation of comics. At the Con, I was psyched to be able to personally thank a number of these influences.

I've been listening to the interviews of John Siuntres' WORD BALLOON Podcast for years now. Even when I am unfamiliar with the work of the guest, they never fail to reveal the humanity behind a creation and the nuts and bolts of getting it done.

While Stan Lee may be the literary godhead of modern superhero comics, Jim Steranko is one of the medium's greatest visual linguists. Beyond his cool surface style, he created a language for the medium that isn't mere cinematic storyboarding. In person, he evokes every bit of the escape artist, secret agent, cool-coiffed guy of his work. His flattering two-word (and a shoulder slap) review of my work: "It Moves."

Thanks too to CB Cebulski who has scoured the globe shepherding new talent and was still up for a quick hello at the tail end of a long Con weekend. And, RM Guera, artist of Scalped, whose advice needs a whole blog post dedicated to it.

ARCHAIA ASCENDANT


I cannot stress how fortunate we were to meet the guys at Archaia when we did. Editor-in-chief Stephen Christy said in our panel that at every Con there is one property they want to sign on the spot. In 2008, that was us.

Now, as part of the family, I am in awe of the directions they are growing in. They are simultaneously enlivening major franchises like those of the Rodenberry and Henson universes while founder Mark Smylie also continued to meet with new talent for hours in their snazzy booth lounge.

They publish an out-of-the-box classic modern fairy tale like THE RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN while also pushing the boundaries of genre fiction with work like horror books MOON LAKE and THE AWAKENING, or sci-fi like CRITICAL MILLENNIUM. Stephen said (I'm paraphrasing here) that their goal is to publish books that are events in themselves, artifacts that are crafted to justify their purchase. And, the energy, talent, and good will of their creators and production team were in full effect for the duration of the Con.


Tomorrow, FEEDING GROUND #1.

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.