The Butch Mapa Project

Watchmen Review

2009-03-08T14:57:00.000+08:00

Score: 7/10

This film was impossible to judge on its own merits, because I was already familiar with the source material. For example, I thought Goode was a little too hammy playing Ozymandias, making it too obvious that he was the one behind the whole plot. But my friends said they didn't realize it until the end of the movie.

The plot was way too complex, especially for international audiences. Add that complexity on top of advanced storytelling techniques, a movie set in parallel universe and another time period, a familiarity with US History, and some unnatural comic book dialogue dialogue, and you have a movie that will leave a lot of Filipinos confused.

And I agree with Gerard-- way too gory. By the time they showed the two dogs fighting over the girl's leg, I was de-sensitized, and the scene had no impact for me at all. Rorschach's transformation into a psychopath didn't seem valid.

The acting for the most part was good, with a few standout performances. I liked Crudup, Morgan and Haley's work. Wilson played his part right, being the emotional heart of the story. Akerman seemed a bit stiff, and like I said, Goode was a bit too cheezy.

They really should have taken more liberties in translating the film. Not every comic is Sin City. I liked almost all the changes they made-- like the ending with the Manhattan Bomb, Nite Owl visiting Ozymandias at the start, the fight scenes, Nite Owl's attack on Veidt at the end. All good changes, and I wish Snyder did more of those.

What would I have taken out?

- Bubastis. No point, and looked REALLY fake.
- Veidt tricking Manhattan into the chamber at the end. So awkward. Manhattan arrives, Veidt steps away, Veidt "kills" Manhattan, Veidt back at the stairs (Owl and Rorschach haven't moved!), then Doc comes back in anyway!
- Diner scene with Owl/Spectre
- The 2 Nite Owls having dinner

What would I have modified?

- Manhattan goes to Mars. I don't think you should saddle your audience with that, copnsidering everythig else you're throwing at them. He could have just gone to some desert. Yes, this would have meant a big rewrite on the Spectre/Manhattan air trip.
- I'd have shortened all the Minutemen stuff. Just focus on Spectre I and the Comedian.
- I think there representation of the US-Russia conflict should have been mroe explicit. Instead of just showing a war room, they could have done news broadcasts. Again, the movie is already too complex, so they had to simplify. Plus, those scenes would have been boring to most audiences.
- Manhattan's origin sequence. The comic version was brilliant; the movie version was boring, and I think it wasn't able to effectively show Doc Manhattan's perspective of time. It just looked like flashbacks. I would have just shortened it.
- I'd probably get rid of the alternate history stuff too. I think most of the audience didn't even realize that.
- Music was too overpowering and not placed correctly.

I think Snyder tried too hard to be smart. Moore himself said that Watchmen was the opposite of cinematic, so why would you try to make a 100% accurate translation?

Still, I gave it 7/10, mainly because I'm a comic fan. Meaning, the plot wasn't complex for me because I'd read the book. The rhythm of the dialogue was something I was familiar with. SFX were great (except Bubastis), performances were terrific.

And its Watchmen! On film! I've been waiting for that for more than a decade!

The DVD release will be terrific.

Test Test This is a Test...

2008-09-09T16:37:00.001+08:00

Anyone remember Test, the WWE wrestler?

That guy had a pretty swank entrance theme song...

Update 2008!

2008-07-13T18:50:00.002+08:00

Okay, this time it took me less than a year to post again! Woot woot. =p

What I've been up to:

Still focusing on comics, but this year I started branching out into other fields a little bit more. I dabbled in storyboard work, did some more RPG-related illustrations, and am about to do some card-art commissions. Learning a little bit more about coloring and painting.

I updated my website just now, so check out butchmapa.tk for some new pinups and sequentials. Also updated my Comicspace and Deviantart accounts.

Update 2007!

2007-08-17T12:32:00.000+08:00

Manoman, can't believe I haven't posted in more than a YEAR! Thanks to Gabriel for reminding me of the blog and site (I'll HAVE to update that soon, just trying to find some free time).

What I've been up to:

I got involved with a company called Daystar Entertainment, run by Ray Brown. I had fun working on adapting his novel, although it was hard, stressful work. Basically, I had two people making revisions to my work, which made the work load
pretty heavy.

The company went bankrupt early this year (Ray still owes me money, but I hope he'll be able to pay me and get the company back soon).

I also did a few odd jobs here and there, nothing major though, just pin-ups and short stories.

I joined Platinum Comics' Comic Book Challenge, but unfortunately, our team didn't make it into the second round (apparently, Platinum had a very similarly concept cooking internally, which killed off any chance we had).

Not related to comics, my sister and her two cool kids came over last year, we went to Hong Kong for a few days. Learned early this year that I might have some health issues to take care of, so that kinda shook me up.

Right now I'm doing some work for Atlantis Studios. James has been a great guy to work with, very professional outfit he's got over there.

Thinking of joining Comic Book Idol 3. The winner of CBI3 gets some money to go to New York, so that's a bonus-- I'll be able to see my siblings, some of whom I haven't seen in more than a decade!!
!

EEK!

2006-05-26T09:42:00.000+08:00

I got a few issues of Joe Q's X-Factor run a few days ago, and that got me thinking, what kind of artistic legacy has Joe Quesada etched for himself so far? Will his arguably successful, sometimes controversial run as Marvel EIC cause his pencilling work to be pushed aside as a footnote in his career?

Obviously, his editorial duties prevent him from doing any sort of consistent work (NYX and Daredevil: Father). But even before he was named as Marvel's head honcho, he didn't really have a huge body of work. And, the books that he did work on aren't exactly bigtime properties. Outside of Sword of Azrael, I'm not even sure if they're still available in trade form.

Let's see... he did some Impact/DC work, then got noticed on Sword of Azrael. He did a handful of Ninjak, Ash, and X-Factor. But I don't think any of those runs exceeded 6 issues. Then he did a highly publicized year-long run on Daredevil-- but that was unfortunately follwed by a long, criticially acclaimed run by Bendis and Maleev.

Of course, Quesada's career is by no means over. He's been hinting at the big time book that he wants to draw for Marvel. And after his run as EIC is done, he'll be able to do whatever he wants. But Millar has the theory about a creator's shelf-life, and Joe is going to be pretty near that when he's done. And historically, most of Marvel's EICs do their best creative work before they get the job, not after.

Will Joe the Artist be remembered like Steranko, who, with only a handful of issues under his belt, remains one of the more influential comic artists ever?

Or could he be remembered like Michael Golden, someone who produces high quality but with a very limited output?

Or, like Jim Shooter, will he be remembered for his contributions as the head of Marvel, his creative career just a tiny detail that only few fans remember?

Reading List

2006-05-16T02:06:00.000+08:00

I'm not reading a lot of books these days-

Ultimate Fantastic Four: Millar and Land are finishing up their run, but I'm already looking forward to Pascual Ferry and Mike Carey.

Civil War: Ah, how can I resist? Ever since I saw Cloak and Dagger on the preview poster-- they had me.

Fell: Just a good, cheap, terrific read. Wish it came out more often.

Hunter-Killer: One issue to go...

Ultimate Nightmare: Ditto

Doc Frankentein: Two issues to go...

Tradewaiting: Captain America, Supreme Power, Ultimates2, New Avengers, AXM

On the horizon: Cobb, mayyyyybe Civil War: Frontline

Humble Pie, Yummy!

2006-05-16T01:41:00.000+08:00

Here's something I did for a draw-off on penciljack. Bunch of Ultimate Marvel characters.

What's interesting is that before I started working on it, I decided to try and experiment (I love me some experimentation!) with the style I was going to use. I wanted to try doing something in the ein of Top Cow's art style.

I really thought it'd be easy.

It wasn't.

The only fig I'm happy with is Namor. He looks okay. The rest? Iron Man's okay, but its just a head shot, so it doesn't count. Cap is over-rendered. Spidey and Elektra look okay, but not Top Cow-y. Thor and DoctorStrange are plain bad, although I was pretty demoralized by the time I drawing them.

Also-- I'm not too keen on the composition either, especially on the right side of the image.

Good learning experience. When I get the chance, i'll revisit the style. It's a fun challenge.

4-20-06

2006-04-20T09:21:00.000+08:00

It's my birthday today, wahoooooooo! Really have no idea what I'll be up too today-- mainly because I'm piss-poor. That's what I get for slacking off... agggh, gotta work gotta work!

(Just not today ^_^ )

X-MEN

While reading articles about Carey and Brubaker's upcoming X-Men runs, I thought, "what if I was to create my own X-team?"

I'd use the following roster: Bishop, Nate Gray, Angel, Beast, Emma Frost, Shatterstar, and X-23. No team leader. I always like it when there are shades of gray inserted into a story, and in this case, it would all be about agendas. Each of the characters would have their own agenda.

I'd set Angel up as a frustrated millionaire who wants to lead mutantkind. Nate would be doing everything he could to prevent his alternate reality from coming true. Bishop would be trying to prevent his future from coming to pass. Emma of course, is a former villain. Beast would be all about the evolution of mutantkind. Shatterstar would always be about ratings. X-23 would serve as the naive kid, while at the same time having her own agendas as well. Each of them would be trying to subtly manipulate the resources that Xavier's school has to their own ends.

Yeah, it's pretty rough, but that's why they pay me to draw, not write!

GAMBIT

Speaking of X-Men, here's a quick Gambit pin-up...

Pushing to the moon

2006-04-18T20:25:00.000+08:00

I have to say, I'm really impressed with the way Marvel's been pushing the newer characters.

Marvel and DC have been around for decades, and each as established a core library of heroes and villains. And although both publishes have tried many times to add to their library, neither has been particularly successful.

Think about it. How many characters has Marvel successfully (by successful I mean characters who have become part of the universe's lore, and have crossed over into the mainstream audience's awareness) after the 60's? I can really only think of a handful: Wolverine, Gambit, and She-Hulk. You can argue for Cable, Beta Ray Bill, Cloak and Dagger, Power Pack, and the Thunderbolts as well, but I wouldn't call and of them "mainstream." There's also Venom and Sabretooth, but they're just evil versions of Wolvie and Spidey.

But for every character that sticks, there are a dozen that fall by the wayside. Think Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, the New Warriors, the Champions, the Defenders, Carnage, Fitzroy, X-Man, Generation X, Maverick, Thunderstrike, Demogoblin, Vengeance, the entire New Universe, Marvel 2099... It goes on and on. They're all still around (well, most of 'em), but they'e all been reduced to being bit players in various titles. None of them were able to break through and become part of the lexicon.

Same goes for DC. Have they added any noteworthy character since the 80's? Maybe Doomsday, Huntress, Lobo, Deathstroke, and Bane. They updated some of their characters, introducing newer versions of Flash, Green Lantern, and Batman. But does anyone still remember the Team Titans? Artemis? Chain Gang?

But recently, Marvel's been doing a heckuva job on some of the the character's its been introducing for the past few years. To wit:

The Sentry was introduced in his own mini, and was added to the flagship New Avengers book.

X-23 was inserted into the X-Men, got her own Captain Universe one shot, and is now part of the New X-Men.

Vulcan, the third Summers brother, was introduced last year in X-Men: Deadly Genesis, and will figure prominently in Brubaker's upcoming Uncanny X-Men run.

The Winter Soldier ("Bucky" for you old-timers) was reintroduced in Captain America, and will be seen in an upcoming arc of Wolverine.

The New Warriors have fallen from grace, but there are two formidable contenders to taking up the teen team mantle: The Runaways and The Young Avengers.

Let me say that none of these characters have broken through just yet. But Marvel seems to be pushing all the right buttons, moving the characters past the titles where they originated, and giving other creators opportunities to expand on these character's personalities, experiences, and so on. If the above heroes (and villains?) fade away into obscurity, it certainly won't be due to any shortsightedness on Marvel's part.

(PS - I must confess, I know very little about DC right now, but I think they're doing the same thing, successfully introducing Hush, and re-introducing Jason Todd as the Red Hood. )

Uploaded on a Monday

2006-04-17T19:17:00.000+08:00

I've been drawing Solomon Grundy a lot...

About Solomon Bunny... don't ask.

Seth Fisher

2006-02-03T12:18:00.000+08:00

I heard a few hours ago that Seth Fisher just passed.

I had just picked up a copy of FF/Iron Man: Big in Japan, and was just blown away by his art. The guy was a unique talent, and not just because of his style. He was unique because of the sheer madness, the creativity, and the energy that he had in his pages. He could bring the Kirby.

Just a week ago, I passed by a comic shop, and saw an awesome image of Green Lantern, with all sorts of stuff coming out of his head. It was WillWorld, one of Seth's earliest works, I believe.

Man, that sucks. It's hard when someone like Eisner or Aparo passes on, but these are people who have left their marks in comic history and in the hearts of their many peers and fans. Seth was young, and he was jusssssst about to break into the mainstream.

It's a damn shame, that's really all I can say.

RIP, Seth.

Blade

2006-01-11T23:27:00.000+08:00

I was approached to do a Blade submission a few weeks ago.

Spent quite a bit of my free time immersing myself in the character. I watched the movies, borrowed a ton of Blade comics, snooped around on-line, and re-read whatever comics I had lying in the shelves.

I just can't understand why Marvel can't seem to get it right.

Blade's an old character, and historically, he has never been able to support his own series, instead being used mainly as a supporting character in those old Tomb of Dracula books. However, the guy has OBVIOUS potential; simply because unlike most other vampire hunters (in ANY medium), Blade's a bonafide psycho.

Sometime in the 90's, the bigwigs at Marvel noticed that as well. Blade immediately spun out of the Nightstalkers book and was given his own series.

It went downhill from there.

That series was under the capable hands of Ian Edgington and Douglas Wheatley, and they came up with a fairly interesting and complex plot. However, this was in the early 90's, and I don't think too many kids were looking for those qualities. The book was cancelled after a dozen or so issues.

After the success of the first Blade movie, Marvel tried again, with another series, written by Bart S--

-- eh?

Bart SEARS?!?!?! As a WRITER?!?!? Geez, no wonder that didn't last very long. To be honest, I couldn't do anything more than skim through this run-- it was that bad. It was seriously overwritten, the plot made my head spin (Blade: Agent of SHIELD???) and the art was horrendous (sears himself was okay as an artist, but he didn't draw the entire mini). Just terrible, terrible stuff.

And yet, Blade II was another resounding success.

Which prompted another Marvel attempt, this time under the MAX imprint. Oooh, boobies and swearing! No way can this fail!!!

Well, you'd think.

Okay, maybe that's a tad harsh. Chris Hinz and Steve Pugh's little tale wasn't bad at all, but neither was it great. Mediocre is the word, really. Pugh's art was inconsistent-- brilliant at times, amateurish at others. Hinz writing seemed forced at times, as if he just couldn't let go of any "cool" scenes in his head. Compared to Sears' Blade however, this was Watchmen. And those Bradstreet covers were pretty slick.

I browsed through a few other lame Blade comics and specials. The only one that stood out was Crescent City Blues, a nice tale illustrated well by Gene Colan.

Interestingly enough, the best Blade I saw was in a guest appearance on one o my Gambit comics, illustrated by one of my gods, Steve Skroce. Skroce's version of Blade was perfect, a half-human muscle car ridin' whirlwind on a warpath.

Skroce got it. So few others, unfortunately, haven't. Some have tried to turn him into a superhero (Sears), while others tried to inject a noirish aspect to the character (Hinz). At the end of the day though, Blade's a psychopathic killing-machine. It's not hard to see-- just rent the movies!

The Butchies 2005

2006-01-11T00:13:00.000+08:00

My personal Comic Awards for 2006 (Butchies?)!

BEST COMIC (SERIES) - Ultimate Fantastic Four

Not even a contest for me. UFF just delivers, month in and month out. UFF isn't always my favorite book of the month, but its always up there. The fact that it comes out often (more than 12 issues a year, I believe) is a plus.

Last year we had Warren Ellis, Mike Carey, and Mark Millar take turns guiding the ship, ably assisted by Adam Kubert, Jae Lee, and Greg Land. Not a bad line-up at all!

The potential of this book is staggering. Here's an FF that's just starting to achieve celebrity status, as opposed to the original team, which became famous overnight. We all know the greatness that's coming-- Black Panther, Galactus, Inhumans (although we've already seen them once), the Impossible Man, the Molecule Man, more Doom, more Namor...

BEST COMIC (MINI) - JLA Classified (New Maps of Hell)

Warren Ellis. Butch Guice. JLA. Geez.

Warren shows everyone how the JLA should be done. Firm, confident, and effective. Even against the DC equivalent of Satan, the JLA swiftly overcomes any obstacle and inevitably triumphs.

Guice's art is rough when he inks himself, losing a little bit in quality. However, his strong storytelling skills are still present in the arc, impressively handling several cool sequences as well as the obligatory "WOW!" moments.

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL - Wanted

What a package. The entire Wanted mini, plus the Wanted Dossier. An impressive amount of extras-- script excerpts, commentary, designs, a cover gallery, and so forth. Definitely worth the $20.

BEST WRITER - Mark Millar

Millar narrowly beats out Ellis for my favorite writer of the year. Mark is the king of popcorn comics. Last year, I picked up Wanted, Ultimate FF, MK Spider-Man, and Wolverine, all of which were terrific reads. He's just a master of the visual medium, showing a developed sense of when to speak up and when to just shut up and let the artist go nuts.

And 2006 already looks like it'll be his year again. He's spearheading Marvel's big Civil War event, as well as his fumetti-style 1985 project. Not to mention Ultimates 2, which I'll be picking up as soon as the collection comes out.

BEST PENCILLER - I really can't give this "Butchie" out. I'm too close to it to be objective.

Do I give it to Cassaday for his compositional skills and ability to convey raw emotions? Why not Steve Epting, for his inking skill and storytelling? How about Ed Benes, who comes up with some of the most inventive angles? Can anyone beat Greg Land or Frank Cho when it comes to drawing women? And that's not even considering Bryan Hitch, Butch Guice, Steve McNiven, EVS, and so many others...

That's what I get for studying these guys all the time. I can make an argument for about a dozen artists why they deserve to be Artist of the Year! ... Ah, I give up. At least I know Pat Lee ain't getting it!

BEST INKER - Paul Neary

The guy inks Bryan Hitch. I mean-- is there anything more difficult for an inker in to do in the business?

In terms of sheer technical skill, I don't think there are very many in the game who can rival him.

Props also go to Marc Campos, whose inking skill just confuses me. How the hell does he get those fine lines?!?!?

BEST COLORIST - Justin Ponsor

Holy god, is this guy good. I figured he was a one-trick pony, only able to work on Greg Land's realistic style. However, his recent USM issues, in which he colored oer the traditional art of Mark Bagley, proved just how much talent he has. Under his talented brush (er, stylus), Mark's art has received a sexy sheen that gives it a fresher look that ever.

And Ultimate FF is just silly. Land would be lost without him.

.... and there you have it! My personal faves for the year 2005.

Image is Everything (Or at Least, Something)

2006-01-10T23:53:00.000+08:00

Someone over on Millarworld asked something that we all ask at some point or another, "what happened to Image?"

My response didn't address that (although the answer, in a nutshell, is "egos"), but rather, "what if...?"

What if the Image founders didn't start bickering and kept together all these years? I said if Image stuck to their original publishing philosophies, we'd have a Big Three right now. Image wouldn't be the niche publisher they are right now, and would be right up there in the mainstream with Marvel and DC. I said that was a good thing.

Of course, some people disagreed with me. And they had good, valid points. Image as it is today publishes some of the best comics around--The Walking Dead, Sea of Red, Fell, etc, etc.

However, my feeling is this: Image had a chance, a very real chance, to shake up the Marvel/DC duopoly that's been dominating the industry for the past four decades. Nobody has come as close as they were, and I doubt if anyone will come as close anytime soon.

By today's standards, 90's Image published some of the worst comics ever. Flashy art, juvenile plots, laughable scripts. Still, compared to 90' Marvel and DC comics, Image wasn't so bad. Image had superior production values, flashy art (it's both a plus and a minus), more creative leeway, and some decent concepts.

Okay, fine, WildCATS was about as thought-provoking as X-Men. But Spawn had some depth, dealing with issues such as race and religion. Youngblood introduced the government-team-as-celebrities concept to a wide audience. Savage Dragon dealt with the consequences and lifestyle of being a celebrity law-enforcer. This wasn't Sandman, but compared to JLA Task Force or Secret Defenders? Not bad, really.

Imagine if all the Image creators were still around doing their thing when Jemas kickstarted the industry. They would have taken a hit (like DC), but I have a feeling they would eventually have been able to respond (like DC has) and improve the quality of their product.

Yes, this would have meant more superhero comics. But it would also have meant more choice. If you didn't like what Marvel or DC was doing, you had a third alternative mainstream universe to escape to. The Big Three would check and balance each other, preventing any abuses or marketing gimmicks that could corner the fans.

Meanwhile, your favorite books like Invincible or Godland? They'd still be around, either as part of Image or another publisher (Dark Horse, IDW, AiT, take your pick).

Wouldn't that be a better world?

Quickie

2005-11-09T21:03:00.000+08:00

Here's one!

Green Lantern vs Flash. Done pretty quick, maybe an hour or so.

* My First Blogspam *

2005-09-28T14:54:00.000+08:00

Awwwwwwww!

I'm so bad at tech stuff, so it took me awhile to figure out how to get rid of blogspam... We'll see if this works!

I Hate the French (Curves)

2005-09-28T12:25:00.000+08:00

Louis Porter contacted me last week, asking if he could get some art out of me. Fortunately for me, I happened to be doing absolutely nothing, so I said "sure, what've you got?" Unfortunately for me, Louis replied with a word that I've been dreading for the longest time...

... "Mecha."

Agh. I hate drawing mecha! Hell, I hate drawing anything that involves French curves and rulers-- cars, planes, and of course, robots. I just think that I don't have enough experience to be able to draw 'em as well as I draw other things. I suppose that's exactly why I agreed to do it. Here's how it turned out:

And another:

Anyway, it's been a good learning experience so far. I've been training myself in the use of those damned Curves, as well as freehanding some of the easier curves. It's also been rewarding to take a look at some of the Mecha stuff I've got on hand, for reference. I've been looking at Star Wars, Transformers, Metabarons, basically everything I've got at home-- even drawing on my memories of playing Armored Core a few years back.

At this point, I think I'm comfortable enough to do designs and pin-ups, but I think it'll be awhile still before I'm skilled enough to do Transformers or whetever.

(For more mecha, hit up: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v80/virtuabutch/lmpjr3_set1.jpg)

Mock You!

2005-09-27T10:56:00.000+08:00

I'm keeping most of the art for Valaan under wraps, but I figure I can show you some preliminary art for the cover of the first issue. Me and Kereth (Cowe-Spigai, my terrific writer) went through a few samples while talking about the cover. Initially she wanted a simple head shot of Cael (the lead character) looking forlorn. I did a few, and then did two mock covers:

This one is based on achieving a more cinematic look. It's very dramatic, I think.

This one is based on those fantasy novels-- a la Sword of Truth series.

But Kereth saw another rough I did and thought that that would be better-- a shot of Cael on a cliff. Again, I did a few more thumbnails, and we settled on a design with Cael holding her sword, looking upwards.

And this is how it turned out:

Of course, this isn't the final cover. I re-did the figure of Cael, and we're probably going to have a better colorist work on the image (I colored the ones above). But there you go! Some fun mock covers fo your enjoyment.

Stand Alone Complex

2005-09-27T10:39:00.000+08:00

Something that I've come across many, many times during the course of learning about comic art is the belief that comic rt should be able to stand alone, without the dialogue.

Frankly, I disagree.

Why should it? Why tailor your art to be independent, when the reader is going to be seeing both the words and pictures at the same time? If an artist draws a story in such a way that it's independent of the dialogue, and then the dialogue is added, won't that result in a few redundancies? And I know being redundant is a no-no, unless you're Frank Miller.

And I've seen a lot of comics where the action can't be followed just by reading the art alone. Try reading the Finch/Bendis issues of New Avengers. Or Supreme Power, by Frank and JMS. It can get confusing real quick.

I suppose the belief that art should be independent of the story is more applicable to people trying to break in the industry, since it encourages young artists to be as clear as possible with their storytelling. And that's all good. But what if they pick up the habit of just repeating what the script is already saying anyway?

Artist Block

2005-08-04T13:31:00.000+08:00

I had my first case of artist block over the past few days. I had to do a cover for my DC sample involving Batman and Poison Ivy and I couldn't come up with anything! I knew I wanted to do something iconic, but somethign that told a little story nonetheless.

Basically, the story involved Batman, Poison Ivy (possibly), and a buncha gold bars.

My first idea involved Ivy and Bats battling on a golden tree. Could've been interesting, but I couldn't come up with a specific angle or concept. Plus, I tried making some studies, and a golden tree isn't the easiest thing to do!

Then I thought about another idea, with Ivy standing over the Bat costume, but with flowers and leaves sticking out of the holes. Sort of going in with a Kelley Jones vibe. In the end though, I thought that approach might be a bit too misleading.

So in the ed, I went with something far simpler. Ivy in the foreground, with a few gold bars strewn about. And Bats in the bg, tied to a cactus (ouch!). Here's how it turned out:

Double Feature

2005-08-02T15:26:00.000+08:00

Generally speaking, I'm not that much into watching movies. I find them a bit dull, because you just sit there and take information in. I'd really rather play games, or just come up with my own images (in my head, of course). If anything, I watch movies for the social experience of it all-- hanging out with friends and such.

So its a little bit of an oddity that I've seen two movies in the past two days.

The first was Stealth, a new action picture starring Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, and the dude from the Hulk (somethin' Lucas). I wasn't too excited about the movie at first-- I thought it was going to be a kids' show. And for the first half or so of the picture, it was. But as the movie progressed, I have to admit, I ended up liking the damn thing.

Particularly impressive were the plane scenes, and not just the dogfights. I admired the fact that the director was able to start a cut outside the plane, and then zoom in close to inside the cockpit, in one smooth shot. I don't think they even do that in anime!

Also impressive were the blurring effects, which was an excellent way to convey speed. I personally think comics as a whole are a better vehicle for storytelling than movies, but sometimes I see something in a flick that I just know will never translate as effectively in print. Sigh.

The second movie I saw (alone) was Citizen Kane. Greatest movie of all time, Orson Welles' masterpiece, blah blah blah. It's a bit of a shame that this is the first time I've had the opportunity to see the movie that a lot of people talk about when it comes to excellent cinematography. Sometimes when something is overhyped in advance, the actual experience becomes a bit hollow (House of M anyone?).

I'm happy to say that when it comes to Kane, the hype is on the money.

The story was intriguing, and the performances were ahead of their time-- but I don't really care about that!

The sheer number of intelligent, well-thought shots, transitions, and sequences in this movie is absolutely astonishing. I know I'm going to have to watch it several more times to really get all the nuances that Welles and his cinematographer, Gregg Toland, put inside each piece of film.

The one unfortunate thing about Kane is how nuanced it is. The subtleties in the performances of the actors is what allows Welles to stick to pans and zooms as opposed to just cutting to another element during the progression of the scene. I've learned that nuances don't translate very well in comics, especially vocal performances, which are always supplied by the reader.

I'm not really into the cinematic style of storytelling these days-- blame Grant Morrison and Marvel Boy-- but as far as that approach goes, it all started with Kane.

Sequential Smackdown

2005-07-30T01:00:00.000+08:00

Something I read on a message board got me thinking...

I've been into pro wrestling for a few years now, and one thing that is central to the establishment of a particular performer is what is called a "push." A push is what happens when the creatie bigwigs decide they want to improve a particular character's standing within the hierarchy of the plot and in the eyes of the audience. This is accomplished by letting the character figure in prominent storylines, giving the character wins over others, and generally just marketing the wrestler more aggressively.

Note that I've been using the term "character" because I believe that the same thing can be done in comics.

What about pushing a character in the sense of establishing that character as a major force in that particular universe? Of course, all pushes come at the expense of another character (i.e. the "jobber.")

One of the best "jobs" ever was the thing Marvel did with Spidey and Firelord. Urban-level character whups the holy snot out of a cosmic baddie. Now, everybody references that when they want to make the point that Spidey's a badass.

Another pair of jobs happened with Doomsday and Bane. With what they did to Superman and Batman respectively, they were immediately established as tough characters, and immediately joined the ranks of great Superman/Batman rogues. ure, both haven't been very visible recently, but they're definitely part of the character maps of Supes and Bats-- and everyone knows how tough it is to churn out a character that'll stick to comics dogma (and appear in movies and cartoons and action figures etc).

An example of a "sustained" push would be what the Extreme guys did with Crypt (was that his
name?). He tore through the Extreme subsection of the Image universe, killing a few characters, I believe. Not sure how they resolved that though, since I didn't read any of the comics.Pushes like that would only work in the framework of a Universe, though. Imagine if Hero A started getting pushed, beating up some major baddies in a few books (say, New Avengers, House of M, and Daredevil)... meanwhile, you've got Villain B running amok in a few other books (say, the X-titles)-- maybe even killing a b-lister or something. Then you can have a culminating "feud" between them (you can have it in one book, even-- no need to go nuts), involving lotsa collateral damage. That'd be a good, long-term storyline, I think.

Of course, something like a push can only be REALLY effective if done within the confines of a "universe." The effectiveness of a push is magnified if that particular character is causing havoc in more than one title, simply because not everyone can do it. There's always at least one hero in each comic, going up against at least one villain. That's the norm (otherwise, there wouldn't be any conflict, right?) But by having someone affect multiple titles, you can show the readers just how big a deal it is.

Comics are sluts!

2005-07-24T10:07:00.000+08:00

The comic form is a slut, she'll take it from anyone.

Been trying to wrap my head around this one for the past few weeks. Whenever I think of the comics form, I think of an odd combination of three media: music, film, and literature.

The relationship between comics and film is probably the most obvious, and one that any comics artist is probably well-aware of. Both are a series of images presented sequentially on a picture plane. The primary relationship of the two, I think, is one of composition-- how things are arranged across the picture plane to present the information to the viewer/reader. Both media borrow on rules and guidelines that have been developed over the history of cinemacraft-- continuity, camera angles, balance, etc. I won't go into it so much, because there're other (better written) resources available on-line about this topic.

Meanwhile, the relationship between music and comics is much more vague. In fact, I only know of two authors who admit to borrowing concepts from music and applying it to their sequential work: Warren Ellis and Grant Morrison. Both these gentlemen are quite mad, which could explain why they even try to marry these two media. Personally, I've always thought that the sequential nature of both music and comics is what allows for the influence of one into another. Any time you've got a sequence of ANYTHING, you're going to unavoidably form relationships between them. Patterns.

With comics, an artist's job is too manage these patterns through the use of contrast, panel manipulation, panel content, and even composition. A well-paced comic will establish a stable bass line, and then change rhythms as the plot progresses in accordance to the needs of the story. Alan Davis is actually pretty good at this-- he switches things up, making the actual events in the book more powerful as a result.

Finally, there's the literature influence, which is the most difficult to define, because its so... elemental in nature. Comics are books, that's why they're called comic books (duh). People don't ask you if you've "watched" the latest issue of Stray Bullets; they ask if you've read it.

There are two things that music and movies don't have that books do. One is the concept of pages, which is way of delineating space (as opposed to time). Another is the fact that reading implies giving the consumer an active role in the transfer of information.

With film and music, everything is spoonfed to the audience. But the comic form requires more of its reader. The reader is expected to fill in gaps in between panels (concept of closure), and the simple act of turning a page is an action that can be used to involve a reader more closely into the story. How many times have you turned a comic page and been surprised by a big, cool-looking splash page? That was by design, y'know!

Also, artists are trained to make things easier to read by controlling the movement of the human eye, which is similarly trained to move from left to right (vice-versa in some cultures) and up to down. We read art the same way we read letters-- they're both icons, anyway.

Note that the three influences aren't mutually exclusive. Comic creators borrow from all three quite freely. In fact, every comic page probably has an element of music, film, and literature on them. If you see a panel, that's cinema. Two panels, that's already rhythm. Words and pictures, that's literature.

In the end, its all about telling the story as best you can.

Character Designs!

2005-06-26T17:03:00.000+08:00

Here are a few character designs I did for Louis Porter Designs. Check 'em out-- they rock.

Whenever I do a project like this, I try and come up with a one-line summary of each figure. Sort of like a high-concept pitch, but applicable only to one character. They don't have to be complex or too detailed or anything like that. Just a short description to guide me as I create.

This guy I called Feather Freak.

Here are Ogre Blade and Dancing Elf Hottie.

Meet Harpsichord Archer and Tentacled Demon Lord...

Annnnd here's Wild Frost Dude With Bladed Shield thingamajig.

I had a lot of fun doing these-- I don't think I've ever done any Fantasy Designs before. Of course, they can all be improved. Personally, I don't think they're "fantastic" enough. Seems more like a blend of superhero and fantasy to me. Oh well, something to improve on in the future!

My Work Space!

2005-06-09T12:16:00.000+08:00

This is where I work!

It's dark, it's incredibly cramped, it's messy... but there's no other place I'd rather be! Awww...!

Under The Influence

2005-06-01T09:06:00.000+08:00

To rip-off, or not to rip-off, that is the question.

When it comes to the basics of drawing, you can learn from just about anything. There are literally hundreds of books dealing with anatomy, foreshortening, perspective, etc. You can apply for any number of life-drawing classes.

But what about style?

There's something that will probably come from comics. Nothing wrong with that, artists can't help but be influenced by their idols. Certainly, you can still see a tiny bit of Art Adams in J. Scott Campbell; a little part of Alan Davis in Bryan Hitch; some John Buscema in Marc Silvestri.

But how far does one take it?

Lately, that's the question I've been dealing with. Earlier this year, I had made up my mind to combine the styles of three of the more popular comic artists out there: Bryan Hitch, Greg Land, and John Cassaday. Check out the Youngblood art in the Pin-ups section of my website, you'll see their influences there.

While I was pleased with the results, I slowly began to realize that drawing had become a somewhat shallower experience for me. I felt like I was taking a shortcut. The pros have been doing this a lot longer than me, and they all had long journeys to get to whatever distinct style that they have today. Look at Cassaday's older stuff-- its pretty bad. Land's indy work was only so-so. Hitch's Marvel UK material was good, but a bit too heavy on the Davis influence.

Honestly, I felt like I was cheating myself by denying myself the chance to develop and grow.

Since then, I'e made the conscious effort to tone down the influences from the aforementioned artists. Right now, I'm trying different things. Looking at some of Tomm Coker's stuff. Terry Dodson's work. Steve McNiven's. Silvestri's. Many more. I'm just letting all the accumulated knowledge that these artists have speak to me, without getting too close to any particular style.

I'm bouncing around, so to speak.

Of course, that's not to say that I'm some sort of saint. I still rip-off certain artists, once in awhile. Or at least, I try to. They don't always tun out the same-- which is a good thing! I'm looking for a creative shove in the right direction... who knows what I can stumble on?

That's also not to say that I'm right. There are many artists who rip-off others, and have become successful, leaving the growth stage for later in their careers, Barry Windsor-Smith being a very good example. Nothing wrong with that, either.

Maybe I'll change my mind in a few month's time, who knows. But for now, I feel a bit guilty whenever I consciously rip-off someone... and I'm thankful for it.

Capeology 101

2005-05-03T23:26:00.000+08:00

Every once in awhile, everything falls into place and we get what I shall dub "Star Indies," which are publishers that get big enough to register as blips on the Big Two's radars. We've had only five in the period covering 1991-2004. Crossgen, Image, Valiant, BIG, and Chaos! Yes, Crossgen didn't compete with the Big Two in the spandex race, but they were still competing for the same fans' money. I'm pretty sure books like Sojourn wouldn't appeal to the Persepolis crowd, at any rate. The next Star Indy that comes along will have the failures of those five companies to learn from. Image taught as art isn't enough. Valiant taught as story isn't enough, either. Chaos! taught us how NOT to expand you line. And CrossGen and BIG affirmed what we knew all along: spandex is the key to long-term survival.

I mean, come on, that should be the FIRST THING anyone concludes about this business.

Marvel and DC have been around as long as they have because of spandex. Image, Valiant, and Chaos! became as big as they did because of spandex. Dark Horse and Kitchen Sink remain as small as they have because they stay away from it (and I think they prefer it that way).

So, CAPEOLOGY 101: HOW TO STEAL MARVEL AND DC'S READERS

Lesson 1 - Create a Buzz.

I think this might be the most insecure industry ever. There's a burning desire to be accepted, from fans, creators, and even publishers themselves. We're even trying to call them "graphic novels," or "comix" these days. That's probably a discussion for another time, so I'll leave it at that.

That insecurity can be exploited. >=D (By the way, this wasn't in my original letter-- told you it'd get cranky...)

How does one create a buzz? Well, it all begins online. Sometimes letting the work speak for itself isn't enough. Good, quality work isn't always enough if you're an indy, everyone knows that. As people like Brian Bendis and Mark Millar know, you have to sell yourself.

Another good avenue upon which to prostitute yourself is through the direct market-- the retailers. It doesn't take too much effort to send a few preview pages to them via snail mail, does it? You make them happy, they might give you some positive, face-to-face advertising, and of course, the all important rack space.

Its important to start small. Two books should be enough. There's nothing more less cool than a company that's trying to expand too quickly, and trying to stuff their product down our throats. Also, I believe that there should be some sort of unifying theme to the line, to establish a brand identity. Chaos! infused spandex with horror. BIG and CrossGen went a bit too far, totally ignoring spandex for sci-fi and fantasy, respectively.

Lesson 2 - Steal Their Creators

There's a LOT of talent out there with pro experience. Mitch Byrd, Tim Truman, Steve Niles, Andy Smith, John Ostrander, Sergio Cariallo, Jay Faerber... it goes on and on. Heck, Alex frickin' Ross just did a cover for some indy!

No money? Okay, fine. There's still a LOT of talent out there. Hire someone who can draw, and who's cheap. LIKE ME!!! Or at least, like the many artists I see surfing around the various message boards. Not quite sure about writers, colorists, and letterers... but I'm sure they're out there.

Lesson 3 - Bigger

Now's when the hard part begins, and you go from a teeny-tiny company into a less teeny-tiny company.

Expansion at this point should be slow, excruciatingly slow. And all the books have to stay within your core competency. At one point, Chaos! was doing fantasy stuff, and CrossGen was doing sitcom-ics. Doesn't take a genius to know how those turned out!

Prices have to be competitive, because by doing spandex, you're competing with Marvel and DC, so you should be just as affordable. IDW, Top Shelf, and DH can charge higher rates because they offer titles that the Big 2 don't. They also have better production values.

For the financially challenged, there are many ways to "fake" production values. You could try design-oriented covers, a la Losers or Tim Sale's Batman work. You could add behind the scenes stuff like Burlyman. Try compressing your stories like what Ellis did with Apparat. All those thigns didn't cost anything, but they can make a comic SEEM to have more value.

And of course, one should never stop marketing. A website helps. Every publisher should have a website with a message board. Why the $#& not? Instead of getting diluted information from retailers, you can go straight and speak with your audience. Heck, Grimjack BY ITSELF has a cool website.

At this point, you're a farmer, and you have to tend the crops-- your audience AND your books-- regularly.

Lesson 4 - The Main Event

So, you've got the talent, you're producing good comics regularly, and there's a buzz around your little line of books.

At one point in a successful publisher's life, you have to take the extra step, if you want to achieve that oh-so-coveted position of being a blip on the radar. Because let's face it, that's what you want right? To get your own slice in that pie chart thing that Diamond does every month?

Its time for your Big Event.

It could either be a marketing push ("Birthquake," "Armageddon 2000") or a major storyline ("Chaos Effect," "Negation War"), but it has to happen. And you have to time it just right, or you'll screw it up, wasting your resources and in all likelihood putting yourself out of business.
Chaos! pulled the trigger too soon. CrossGen held off too long. Image... I wasn't surprised when Shattered Image tanked, because Image WAS the event, and they didn't really need a crossover.

Now Valiant, Valiant did it right. They dropped Unity on the masses just as their buzz was peaking. Its what transformed them from a lameass Joe Indie into a big, macho, Mensch that had enough clout to strongarm Wizard into kissing their collective rear ends. (then they had to go off and fire Shooter, ruining everything)

But still, there it is. That's what can happen when its done right.

CONCLUDING REMARKS:

Remember that you are basically a thief-- you want to steal readers away form the Big 2. Carjackers don't just sit around waiting for a Nissan to drop on their laps (that'd probably hurt anyway). They go out, look for an opportunity, and take it.

The Story So Far: Episode Zero

2005-03-22T07:20:00.000+08:00

Officially, my comics career started last year, around February 2004. In this post, I'll briefly talk about the things that happened before that [Stan Lee] momentous, milestone of a month! [/Stan Lee]

After getting out of college, I took part in the production of our college yearbook, which took a significant amount of my time. It was a lot of work, but it was fun and was a tremendous experiece. Along the way, I managaed to cajole my way into getting my college comic, Optiman (The Economic Avenger!) added as an extra feature in the book. Very, very cool. I also did the cover, which can be seen here.

So, as that thing was coming to an end, I was at a crossroads in my life. Do I pursue comics, which is something I've always wanted to do? Or do I take up a "regular" job, at least for awhile, to make use of what I'd learned (and what my family invested in) in college? Bear in mind that I had been out of the comics loop for years, and didn't know a single thing about the industry, local or foreign.

Unfortunately for my UP professors, I decided to take the plunge into the world of comics. I knew that I had to make a sample, and maybe mail it off to Marvel, Top Cow, DC, whoever. So my first attempt to do a proper sequential sample would be my favorite heroes, Cloak and Dagger.

This was around the time that Marvel was looking for talent for its Epic line, which was pretty good timing. I remember downloading and printing their release forms, feeling really giddy and excited about the whole thing. Marel would later cancel its Epic line, so I wasn't able to send my package in, but at least, it was a fun experience.

It was also around this time that I met my first honest-to-god comic professional, Gerry Alanguilan, at a small con in Shangri-La. Yes, I'm probably the only Filipino comic fan who had never met Whilce or Leneil in the past (still haven't). I remember being very excited about the whole thing, as Gerry had told me via email that he'd critique my Cloak and Dagger sample.

I found a few days before the con that Leneil and Gerry were working on Superman, which I thought was very cool. See? Out of the loop!

I watched in the crowd while Gerry inked a sweet Batman sketch which Leneil had done the previous day. After his demo, I nervously approached Gerry with my sample. Hahaha, my hands were actually shaking while I handed him the pages! He caught all my mistakes, of course, and politely pointed out to me that I should use professional tools when I work. My parallel lines weren't even parallel! Overall, Gerry gave me a good critique, and I took a lot of things out of that.

Right after that meeting, I went straight to National Book Store and got a triangle, a portable drawing table, and a french curve set, which I still use today. My lines are parallel now! Well, most of the time, anyway... hehehe.

About a week or so after that, I stumbled upon the alamat yahoo group, which is where a lot of local pros and fellow aspirants hang out. I even saw a post by Whilce. This, of course, blew my mind. However, bear in mind that I didn't know anyone from the local scene, so the only names I recognized on the list were Budj Tan, Whilce, and Gerry.

Hehehe, this is where I first came across Wilson Tortosa's name. I saw some of his art online, which of course, rocked. I remember thinking, "wow, this guy can really draw! He has potential to become a pro!" Little did I know that he already WAS a pro! I could be the only person to recognize Wilson Tortosa's name from the yahoo group first, before learning about his Battle of the Planets run!

I later ended up buying Wilson's scanner, which has been a TREMENDOUS help in my short career. I've been doing fairly well for myself lately, so maybe the scanner is magic! Hehehe. But seriously though, if I make it big, I'm planning on selling the scanner at the same price that Wilson sold it to me, so it can help yet another aspiring artist out. I think that'd be cool.

Wilson has also generously given some of his free time to critique my samples, and has been a good influence as well. He really knows his fundamentals, and is very, very good at making dynamic lay-outs, poses, everything!

Very nice, that yahoo group. Also met some fellow creators there who've since turned into friends. Wilson D, Jeff V, Paulo and Chez, Joel, Fero, etc., etc.

Whew, this is longer than I expected. Gotta wrap it up quickly... uhh, the end! (How's that for quick?)

Thor Pitt

2005-03-19T20:09:00.000+08:00

The art of mainstream comics (heck, even the medium itself) has been of a generally cyclical nature. Back in the 90's, the flashy style of art was the predominant one, a fact which made people like Rob Liefled, Jim Lee, and Todd McFarlance into superstars. However, the rise of artists like Bryan Hitch and John Cassaday over the past few years has influenced a more realistic trend to sequential art. Now you've got guys like Trevor Hairsine, Steve Epting, and Adi Granov being built into the stars of tomorrow. Realistic art isn't simply defined by a more realistic way of rendering faces, or of drawing the human figure.

There's also been a marked downtrend when it comes to the symbols and shorthands that have been part of comic lore for many decades. You don't see too many sound effects these days, simply because you don't REALLY see a big "POW!" appear out of thin air when someone throws a punch. Also being seen less and less from mainstream US comics are action lines, dynamic panel borders, and other storytelling convetions that "just don't look real." Personally, I'm not so sure if you can say that comic art has evolved over the last ten years, as many people seem to believe. It seems like there's a movement to turn comics into movies on paper. Blame the success of Marvel's Ultimates, i suppose. Or blame the success of movies like "X2" and "Spider-Man."

Comics are so much more than that, though. Cinema is just one half of the media that comics can draw from. But I digress. Back to the art.

Whenever I see comics drawn realistically, I always remember the part of Scott McCloud's excellent Understanding Comics that says how doing photo-realistic art actually loses the reader, as it serves to distance them from relating to a particular character by making that character's face too specific. Indeed, sometimes when my buds look at art, what they notice immediately is that "Hey, Tony Stark looks like Tom Cruise!" or "Gee, Thor kinda resembles Brad Pitt, doesn't he?"

It moves them out of the story, stopping their involvement cold. (My friends are actually comic artists, so I think its okay that they notice/analyze things like that... but what about casual readers?)

Another thing I don't like about realistic art is a tendency towards stiffness. Check out Granov's work, or even Travis Charest or Steve McNiven. The figures look like mannequins being posed for a picture. Compare that with the work of Marc Silvestri or Adam Kubert-- their figures are always very dynamic, very fluid. In terms of being better illustrators, man, the realists will always win out. But the expressionists make better storyellers, in my opinion.

Note that I'm not saying one style of art is better than another. As of the moment though, the realistic school is probably more marketable to publishers and fans alike. Although I feel that it doesn't make the most of what comics can do, the art itself is very "pretty" and certainly more appealing to the eyes. And that's why many developing artists are pursuing that style of art, including myself.

Down the road, however, I think there's going to be another shift towards more dynamic, adventurous styles. It could be a long ways off though, as there are going to be big budget movies based on comics for at least three more years. But when it all dies down, I've got a hunch that we're going to see another wave of Quesadas and Liefelds.

"On Inking" (Or, "The Horror!")

2005-03-19T19:35:00.000+08:00

Inking. God, inking.

You ever find yourself clarifying your thoughts, maybe by making your voice louder when you speak, or by rewriting something you've already written? That's what inking is. It's repeating yourself, just to get your point across more clearly. It's a monumental waste of time. It's essential to the process of creating comics. It's just putting ink over lead. It's so beyond tracing its not even funny. It's annoying. It's fun.

My first introduction to the world of ink was through a local comic workshop series. That's the first time I got to use a penbrush, which is still what I use up to this day. I love the damn thing. Although it can get a bit difficult to control the ink flow, I think the fact that you don't have to dip it makes it really easy to use. I also like the variety of the lines you can produce.

I recently bought a set of pens. Man, they're tough to use. The constant dipping is an annoyance, and I can't get the lines that I want sometimes. Hopefully, I'll improve with practce, because there are some thing that you just can't do with a penbrush.

I also use markers from time to time. Sue me. ^_^

There's definitely an art to inking that I haven't been able to acquire. Honestly speaking, I lose some quality whenever I ink myself. It still comes out okay-- but my pencils are usually better than my pen and ink work, at least for sequentials. For pin-ups though, I'm fine.

Inkers rule. Literally and figuratively. Love 'em all to death.

Comics I'm Reading For the Art

2005-02-28T18:55:00.000+08:00

Hunter/Killer - I like the 90's Image style. A lot of people complain about it, because it spawned the likes of Stephen Platt, Pat Lee, and Marat Mychaels. But on the other hand, you have people like David Finch, Michael Turner, and Jim Lee, whose books sell in the hundreds of thousands. Hunter/Killer is the book I'm buying to help me tap into some of the older, flashier stuff. Silvestri's art looks even edgier now than before, because a lot of artists are choosing to travel the "realistic" route.

Ultimate Fantastic Four and Wolverine - If John Romita and Joe Kubert are art gods, then Adam and Junior are Jesuses! Both these gents excel at telling a story, pure and simple. Without being flashy, they both pick dynamic angles to narrate a scene effectively. Really, 'nuff said.

Astonishing XMen - Mostly, I'm trying to steal the way John Cassaday draws faces. The man is a genius. Even the supporting characters have unique faces, and you can characters apart quite easily. Also, John's a genius at facial expressions. He can do the easy ones (happy, sad, angry, etc.), and the more subtle ones as well (subdued, contemplative, dead serious, etc.).

Doc Frankenstein - Steve Skroce. No one touches this guy when it comkes to action, pure and simple. You'll never get confused, even though steve draws some pretty complex action scenes. Also, he's doing some funky widescreen stuff in this book that just blows me away.

How Late I Am # 1

2005-02-18T14:40:00.000+08:00

a.k.a., My Current Workload...

Valaan: Ascension - is an epic, 100+ page monster from the fine folks at Mad Yak Press. Just started this project last month, and I'm now inking my first set of pages. I must say, the pages are turning out better than expected. Although I'm not 100% satisfied with them, of course. I hope the work will improve as time goes by. Having too much fun doing this.

Insomnia - a pretty cool one-shot thriller that I was supposed to work on last month, but wasn't able to finish (not my fault!). So I'm still working on this bad boy when I can.

Taking the Bullet - a 4-page short story that will appear in a collectio whose proceeds will go towards helping some of the people who got hit by the tsunami last December. Sort of feeling guilty that I can't devote more time to this, but the pages are turning out okay. Should finish this by the end of the month.

On the horizon: another short story, this time for Indie Gods; and a long-delayed 8-page Youngblood fan fic that I'm dying to work on...

Ahem ahem

2005-02-18T14:17:00.000+08:00

First post! Whoohoo...

Of course, no one's reading this, so this is pretty much a waste of my time. But I like to waste my time, so might as well waste it doing something related to my career (as opposed to actually drawing, hehe, I'm shameless)...

I'll be posting anything that comes into my brain in here, but I'll try to keep it related to comics and art. At least I'll be able to store me thoughts about the medium somewhere, without adding to the clutter that is my room.

I'll also be updating whoever reads this (quite possibly only myself) about stuff going on in my career, and I'll be uploading some art once in awhile, when my internet connection is feeling frisky.