Occasional Comics Disorder

No art here. Just comic thoughts.

2011-07-31T06:05:00.000-07:00

Boy, all this 'more women for DC Comics' stuff is everywhere! I've read it all, see all the sides of the story, etc. etc. and don't have anything to add that hasn't already been said, but one thing that did strike me is what's wrong with the DC Relaunch from another perspective.

And this is all meant in a purely constructive way. I hope the DC relaunch is a success. I'm even interested in some of it. I hope, in general, it just ends up spreading the joy of comics wider, raising all boats with the tide! I really do. But I'm skeptical, and here's why...

The DC House Style.

I know DC have always had a house style, but surely, in a relaunch intended to grow readership, this should have been the first thing to go. One thing I've seen people saying a lot lately is, yes, there are a ton of female creators, but they don't fit the DC style so the point is moot. Well, get rid of the style! That's your first barrier to diverse creation right there. Not just for females, but anyone who wants to do something truly different and out there.

In creativity, more than anywhere else, you gotta take risks, you gotta go for broke, and keeping to a house style is an unnecessary restraint. Dark and gritty works for Batman, but it doesn't work for Teen Titans. What works for Superman, doesn't work for Supergirl even, and so on. Most of us have seen some of those failed pitches floating around, from Dean Trippe's Lois Lane: Girl Reporter to Ben Caldwell's YA Wonder Woman series, and I can only imagine these were passed over because they don't fit the House Style. Maybe tons of other reasons, too, I have no idea, but if you're pitching a radically different take on a character that DC thinks should only ever look one way, well... it's a long way uphill from there. It'd be like giving Jim Lee a picture of a giraffe and telling him that's what he looks like in the mirror. "Pfft. Get outta here with your crazy ideas!"

Forget breaking up DC in to statistics of men/women/minority/etc characters for a second, and lets break it down in to style. (This is the part where if I had the inclination I would do a pie chart that showed 100% Jim Lee or Similar.)

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't mind that style. It would work for many a book, but not EVERY one. And yes, there is wiggle room within that style - Frank Quitely is nothing like David Finch, etc, etc. but Frank Quitely is also nothing like, say, Mike Maihack. Or Doug TenNapel. Or Kate Beaton... actually, Ms Beaton already does her take on these superhero characters that seem to be wildly popular with a lot of people - judging by how the superhero strips of hers get more widely tweeted, tumbled, liked, etc. than her more literary/historical strips. At least, they're usually only ever the ones I see. Why isn't DC offering her insane money to make them even more insane money?

Imagine a DC Comics where Morrison and Finch gave us Batman, but Faith Erin Hicks gave us Batgirl. Where Johns and Lee delivered us some Superman, but Clio Chiang gave us Supergirl. Where Zatanna was brought to us by Ted Naifeh, Teen Titans by Sarah Mensinga, alongside Flash by Manapul, and Green Lantern by Mahnke. Why is there no room for that kind of diversity??

Honestly, you could give as many awesome examples as you want for who could be doing great things for DC, but more often than not, you're going to come up with names of people who just don't want to. UNLESS they're given free reign. UNLESS they're allowed to be themselves, artistically. IF their uniqueness is perceived as a value, not a detriment. If they're allowed to bring what they offer to the table without it being re-shaped in to big boobed, beheaded bimbos!

Where is the benefit in doing the SAME thing 52 times every month, endlessly? Even Jim Carrey gets sick of being Jim Carrey, you know? Diversity is never going to happen if you sit around in your House, only answering the door to people who know to come round back, while ignoring the possibilities of opening up the front door to everyone else.

Aliceopolis - for Team Cul de Sac

2011-03-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

Cul de Sac is the best comic strip out there. I will always have that soft spot for Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes, but for the sheer wonder of discovering something new and unique, and crazy funny - Cul de Sac hits that spot. It hits that spot so repeatedly I think I've gone crazy funny from the impact, myself.

Part of Max Overacts is inspired by Cul de Sac, and its ability to throw a one liner into not just the final panel, but EVERY panel if Mr Thompson feels like it (which he often does), usually from Dil - who could out non-sequitur Ralph from the Simpsons any day of the week (which is why I wanted to do a strip with Dil in it). :)

Anyway, this is my piece I will be sending to Team Cul de Sac. (Details here). The art will be auctioned off to raise money for Parkinson's Disease research in association with the Michael J Fox Foundation - another hero of mine, starring in the movie I have watched most in my life - Back to the Future, as well as the Frighteners, Spin City, and so much more - I cried when he walked off into Central Park at the end of Spin City. Heck, Max's school in Max Overacts is called Alex P Keaton Primary School!

I encourage any other artists here to do something for the auction too. And if you don't have the first three Cul de Sac collections already, go straight to Amazon and buy them. Consume them. Love them. Then excruciatingly wait for more. :)

Major Sun Pages

2010-06-21T11:33:00.000-07:00

So, a little while ago on this blog I showed some characters for a superhero story I submitted to Zuda. Well, since then, Zuda has stopped the competitions, and I'm kinda committed to Max now - along with some other concepts I'm researching, so Major Sun was never meant to be, it seems.

The first 8 pages are done though, so may as well show 'em, huh?

Enjoy.

So, as you can see, the concept was that a kid inherits his grandfather's superhero legacy but doesn't quite get the chance to use it. Instead, they have to chase the dog down and, um, clean up his mess, so to speak.

Eventually, Cisco, and Rebel would have taken it in turns to use the amulet, and go off half-assedly think they're doing good without thinking about their consequences, but alas the story is dead before it ever began.

Right now, I'm sticking with Max Overacts, 'cos I really think I've found my rhythm with the gag strips.

No art here. Just Lost thoughts.

2010-05-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

I loved the finale, and here's why:

The whole 'you're dead' thing was not a bait and switch. The clues were there the whole time. The first thing Rose says to sideways Jack on the plane in the season 6 opener was 'You can let go now' which is why both she and Bernard seemed like they knew what was going on (because they had each other in both realities the whole time).

Some people had terrible deaths. Pulled from life before they were ready, and the sideways world was great for creating real closure to everyone's stories. Everyone in the sideways world, once they had awoken to their memories of both life, and death, were at peace. Were happy with how they'd lived their lives. How utterly optimistic and wonderful is that?!?

The reason Eloise threatened Desmond becomes clear. She felt guilty that she caused the death of her son, and wanted longer with him, and was afraid Desmond would take him away from her.

Ben stayed a little longer until he could move on with Alex, and really, he always felt like an outsider to the survivors. It would have been weird to see him go with them. He had his little moments with Locke and Hurley, the two he had a connection with the most, and that's enough.

Even if you were not satisfied with the afterlife stuff, there was still a good ending for the real world. Kate, Sawyer, Miles, Frank, Richard and Claire all escaped the island. (I loved the bit with Richard getting his first grey hair. Real surprising, affecting little moment there.) Hurley and Ben lived on as the new Jacob and Richard, it was implied they sent Desmond back to Penny and his son, and they would run the island differently. Living in harmony with Rose and Bernard, and Cindy and the kids, and the rest of Locke's camp who we never saw again, but also must have still been around somewhere. We might even think the two eventually leave it themselves once no people remain to corrupt the power source.

I will always believe the power source is tied to Atlantean mythology. If you've ever seen the Disney movie Atlantis, there are a lot of similarities between the two. In that movie, the Atlanteans powered everything with a light source hidden underneath the city, that was also tied to the souls of every Atlantean. When the profiteers took their crystals, the Atlanteans lost their long life, etc. I don't need any real answers on that because they gave us enough clues to make our own.

In the pilot Locke says backgammon is the oldest game in the world, 5,000 years - to me, this is the writers TELLING us that's when the story of Jacob and his brother takes place. All the ancient Egyptian stuff is what came between then and the Black Rock. There's more fun to be had in making up that stuff in my head than being told what happened.

All that mythology stuff is not that important anyway. It was always about the characters, and the episode had enough character resolution to fill two boats. It was full of teary moments. And yeah, maybe they didn't LIVE happily ever after, but I get the same sense of peace from this finale that the characters had. No matter what happens in our lives, in death, we get to reunite with those we hold most dear.

I don't much believe in afterlifes and all that stuff, but dammit, if I wouldn't want mine to be like the one we got on Lost.

I'm not going to head out and start a religion based on Lost's ideology, of course - I'm not a complete idiot, but that makes it, to me, a deeply moving resolution.

Major Sun

2010-03-31T13:51:00.001-07:00

So, it's done. The 8 pages are sent, and here I am, with my final character design, the titular hero, Major Sun. A character of few words, evidently.

The waiting begins.

Surround yourself with friends

2010-03-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for the Strand Tote Bag Contest (ends tomorrow!)

I used Erin as my model, so if, by the hugest outside chance it wins, she will be all over New York. ;o)

Fun with Superheroes

2010-03-27T12:12:00.000-07:00

I don't buy a lot of superhero comics.

There's a cycle to superhero stories I just don't enjoy. When I realised I would never receive a proper resolution from the comics, I gave me my own, and just stopped buying them.

Plus, it's all dark and grim and gritty, and they're all largely just rambling from one conflict to the next, without ever being about anything. So I thought I'd give it a go myself. Create a superhero title with a beginning, a middle, and an end.

What's it about? Well, I don't want to say too much about it; I do like my surprises. ;o) But I thought I'd share my character designs inspired by the recent Guardians of the Globe teasers I've been enjoying, while I finish colouring up those first 8 pages.

But where's the super hero you say? All in good time.

#zudalove meme

2010-02-26T11:19:00.001-08:00

Quick sketch of Adam Atherton's Lily of the Valley.
25 mins with the tablet.

The Lost Hanna Barbera classic

2010-02-10T10:50:00.001-08:00

Looks like Hurley wasn't just writing Empire Strikes Back in 1977. In 1975 he sent this pitch in to the premier TV animation house at the time. Resemble any of their other classics?

Mystery Island developed for television by Hugo Reyes.

Val

2010-01-31T16:23:00.001-08:00

Finally! The winning script of my competition I held WAY back in June '09, is revealed here, drawn by me. Written by Walter Ostlie, creator of the comic delivered via web, Cubicles.

Wally gets all four pages of original art by me. It'll be out in the post this week, Wally! You've been so very very patient. :o)

Enjoy!

Scriptwriting is new to me

2010-01-15T15:03:00.000-08:00

Ever since Celadore, I've discovered the benefits of scripting. Before that, I did mostly strip gags that didn't need it, or 24 hour comics that were fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants stuff.

Now, for my new comic idea I've been developing, I'm working out six 22 page 'issues' before I even hit the art boards. Good thing too, 'cos halfway through issue 5, I had to scrap everything and start again. Is this normal? Argh! Oh well. Better than releasing stuff with giant gaps in logic, right? Sigh.

So it's back to the drawing board, and I haven't even made it to the drawing board yet.

Except for this one piece with the main characters, which at least hasn't changed.

Gus, Kim & Heather, technically still on Earth

Another Sneak Peek

2009-12-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

I just uploaded my new strip idea to Zuda for their consideration.

It's called Max Overacts. It's a daily strip following a little boy who dreams of being an actor, much to the annoyance of his sister, parents, friends, next door neighbour, and everyone else inbetween.

Here's a few finished panels I pulled out of some of the strips.

Max wears his heart on his sleeve for his unwilling leading lady, Janet.

One of Max's favourite pastimes is impressions.

Max's sometimes best friend is his ventriloquist doll, Curio.

Impressions of an angry grandfather.

Processing...

2009-12-02T19:50:00.000-08:00

That's what my script pages look like. (Click on it for a closer look.) I thumbnail directly onto the script wherever there's space, and when I'm faced with the space I have to work with, that's when I hack my script into shape. There are hardly any Celadore pages that read exactly like the script (sorry, Kwanza) because as I go through and draw the thing, new situations, plot holes (or rather, vague plot details) always become apparent to me.

I decided to show the process for screen 165 because it's vastly different from script to final. Just look at the two thumbnails against the final page. The Altoids panel is in the top right corner in the thumb, and in the bottom left on the final. And everything else in between is completely different.

Most of that comes from the old cliché of characters writing themselves. Sam, Evelyn and Cel, and all the rest, occupy a massive part of my head where they're constantly jockeying for space and telling me how to do my job. With Sam disappearing into 1950, Evelyn was suddenly faced with her true feelings for Sam, and of course, he's got to be punched for doing so. None of that was in the script, but it was so natural, I had to do it.

Anyway, once I get a vague direction, and before it's been too long that I forget what all the crazy instructions to myself mean, the pencils get done...

Then the inks... (I always ink the dialogue before anything else)

And then, I got that awesome filter plug-in for photoshop that fills in all your shapes for you. It works for me because my art has a lot of closed 'fields' that makes it easier for the plug-in to figure out where the edges are. Once I got the plug in (which I got when I started doing chapter 2), my process went a little like this...

1. Double click the background to turn it into a layer.

2. Duplicate the layer, then select 'multiply' for the new layer from the drop down menu.

3. Go back to the original layer, and run the filters. First the multifill. Then the flatten. And you end up with something that looks like this. I know. Crazy, huh?

The benefit of this filter is that you can change everything without worrying about the ink layer that just sits on top. No more accidentally colouring your linework, which means less cmd-Z! ;o)

Then I go through with the paint bucket to fill in all the fields with their actual colours. Sometimes I have to use the pencil tool, mainly to fill in eyes, etc, where my black lines didn't close their 'field', but mostly it's bucket tool time.

This page was easy, because I just sampled colours from the previous pages set at night. I sampled all the dark colours, so I only had to go through and colour in the highlights. I just select each colour field with the wand, and do each area one at a time.

You'll notice for the snow I used a bright blue. The reason being if I had've filled it in as white, when I went through and selected all the white, I would have got the borders and speech bubbles too, so it's better to isolate them with weird colours, and change them later.

Anyway, to see the final screen, after the pencil work, and the gradients, etc. it's at Zuda, of course!

Sneak Peek

2009-12-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

So, I finished working on Celadore last week. Over the course of working on Celadore I was always working on other projects in my sketchbooks in case Cel never continued. Since it probably won't be, production has begun in wild crazy man style on my next strip.

I will most likely be submitting it to Zuda, (anyone know any quicker ways to get paid to draw your own ideas?) and hopefully make it the first gag-a-day strip to win! Woo!

Here's my character sheet. Lots of strips written, 6 pencilled so far, stay tuned.

Left to right - Sir Allan, Andi, Janet, Max, Klaus, Ma & Pa Fogherty, and Curio

Mad Mac and Cheese

2009-11-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

This here is my entry into Mark Penman's Design an Antiquarian competition, that's running in conjunction with this month's Zuda throw-down.

Mad Mac and Cheese

When you have multiple personality disorder, paranoid delusions, OCD, a hyperactive adrenal gland, and addictive personality, there's not many options for work than to be self-employed, so that's what Mac did. With his medications, foil-lined akubra (those damn aliens), a direct line to the spirit of Charles Darwin (he says), and his scouting rat, Cheese, Mac travels the world, doing whatever it takes to get the next big meal ticket.

Fan Expo Sketches

2009-08-30T18:27:00.000-07:00

This was my first time having a table at a giant comic convention. I had done Supanova twice before, but it's really nothing compared to this. Wow. So many people. So many people who love comics, and so many more willing to give 'em a go.

I had a pretty measly stall between CK Russell's technicolor wonder of superheroey goodness, and Marc B's orgy of screen printed delicacies, with just my three books of the entire run of Celadore, a little postcard stand, poster and business cards (which didn't even have my email on them. Yep. I'm a genius.)

Friday was a slow start. Mostly because I was still trying to get pencilling done on Celadore and chat at the same time. But then Saturday came, and I started sketching random superheroes to try and grab a little more attention with some known properties, and before ya know it, I'm sketching for everybody. Sunday was such a steady stream, I didn't even eat. Food for the soul is what got me through that day.

The All New Batman & Robin

This guy was the first to snag a free sketch, by just noticing it and asking how much. I wasn't really serious about the sketches, so it went for free. Originally it was just Damian, but he wanted Batman too, so I did a 'mostly-cape' cheat's version. And didn't even get that right.

The Escapist

This guy (I forgot so many names, I'm sorry!) had a kick-ass collection of Escapist art from a LOT of cool people. I feel very proud to be part of this collection. It's truly a masterpiece gallery. I also LOVE the Escapist, so jumped at the chance to draw one up.

You Too Can Be Batgirl

Then I was visited by two lovely gals, Kristen and Jane, who had a stall down the way selling their wares. We did a sketch exchange and I did them as superheroes. Something I've always thought would be fun to do at cons if my confidence in drawing people as they look was any higher. Sadly, it's hit and miss, and I could probably just end up angering people.

Leeloo

Then they came back with with their booth buddy, Shane, (Kristen and Shane's stuff can be seen at oatfish.com) and requested a Leeloo for their friend who couldn't make the con. I will draw any challenge given, so, after some early morning Sunday net research, there she came.

Supergirl

Late Saturday I started doing better sketches with a view to selling them for Sunday, so I did this Supergirl, brought it home, and promptly left it on the scanner. Oops.

"Happy birthday ... Mister President Luthor..."

Someone got this awesome Supergirl anyway (I love drawing Supergirl.)

Harley Quinn! - I also enjoy drawing Harley

Two young gals around 8 - 9 had sketch books (starting at an early age, good on ya, dad) and they got a Harley and a Jean Grey (which I forgot to take a pic of).

Kala, from Marc B's Mecha Libre

At the very end o Sunday, I did an interpretation of my neighbour Marc B's character from his Mecha-Libre, in exchange for a snap-dandy print that'll look great above my desk.

CK Russell getting some Spidey love

On the other side, CK snagged my Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane pic, as it sat there too long without any purchasing love.

The Postscript table

Down the end on the other side of our table 'island' were Graham, and his lovely fiancé Michelle, who I went with to the Diamond Industry night. (It's very surreal to be eating dinner at the table over from a bunch of very famous Star Trek actors.) That was a great night. Lots of stimulating conversation to be found. You can check out Graham's Postscript comic here. And join his facebook group if it tickles all the right spots. If you enjoyed Shrek, there's a strong chance you will enjoy Postscript, and Graham was a very nice, talented dude. I saw a lot of me at that age in him, so I have every confidence he'll get to where he's going.

The Proof gang were sitting not too far away from my table, so Sunday morning, I went and got my copy of number one signed, and went back at lunch with this little fan art piece. They loved it. It may end up in the back of the book, which would be neat. I love Proof.

By far though, my favourite piece for the day was this one, for Ty, who does the Batusi Blog.

Thanks to Darrell Ferguson for providing the Detective Comics issue for the reference. Though I have the issue, I didn't have it with me. Save!

Sketches I forgot to take a photo of - another Spidey sketch, Grizzly for a guy with a funky He-Man themed sketch book, a sketch of Eve and Sam for Danielle who was awesome enough to read my comic overnight and came back for a sketch (the world needs more Danielles!) and a few others I'm already forgetting (which is why I was taking photos!) including a Hulk for Darrell who was unlucky enough to be the first to ask for a sketch and thus, got my rusty warm up. Sorry Darrell. I feel I owe you something better.

Other highlights.

Meeting Andy B who does Bottle of Awesome at Zuda, and Raising Hell, who was polite enough to point out in the Webcomics 101 panel, by the Transmission-X crew, that I was in the audience and did Celadore, to which crickets chirping would have been welcome. :o| The panel was great though. Funny guys who kept each other in check from rambling too much. Glad I went.

Being interviewed by Clark Kent (who is really Jamie Aaron Kelley), from WGBS News - you can watch their newscasts on youtube - t'was a blast. These guys played the part real well. Just fantastic. He totally looked like Clark Kent, even with the mannerism of constantly pushing his glasses up. Perfect.

I was also interviewed by an absolute gentleman, Tim Ashdown. More news on that when it appears on the webs. He has a podcast, and good taste!

Also in our table island was Emily, who, as well as fighting the equality battle on both fronts (get it?), does the webcomic Tom Boy Tara, which I had seen online already, so it's always nice to put a face to the talent.

I met tons of other awesome people, including Anthony who had the most enthusiasm for my work I've ever seen outside, well, me... and also cries when watching the Iron Giant, so you know he knows his stuff. I also met Bruno who is starting up an interesting webcomic-slash-print on demand hub, the fabler, which I will keep my eye on, possibly use, and truly hope to see succeed in generating a viable business plan and some income at last for webcomickers.

I love that kids, 10 and under it seems, were attracted to my comic a lot, with their parents trying to tug at their shirt collars, while they stood there transfixed, unmovable. For the mum who had the little girl with the awesome taste in comics (The Courageous Princess), if my recommendations got lost in the insanity of the day and you somehow find yourself here, they were Akiko, and the Elsewhere Chronicles. Good stuff. I didn't mention Bone, but does anyone need to these days? ;o)

Anyway, you're all bored of me now, right? Thanks again to everyone who took the time to stop and chat, request sketches, took postcards, business cards and generally made my day. Speaking of postcards. Anyone know good places to stock the 4,800 out of 5,000 I have left? ;o)

Postcards!

2009-08-26T10:07:00.001-07:00

Well, look what just arrived in time for Fan Expo.

A big ol' box of postcards!

Awesome.

A blight on the landscape

2009-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Who might these lads and lasses be?

Find out in Celadore Chapter 3.

Just two weeks to go!

Sam Little does Big Celadore Fan Art

2009-08-20T10:09:00.000-07:00

Sam Little, one of the brains behind Zuda's Hammer, and his very own Untrue Tales sent me some fan art! Nice!

Sam looks like he's straight out of a Bill Plympton toon. Love it. :o)

Click the image for bigger love!

Rants in my pants!

2009-08-07T10:49:00.000-07:00

I get a little depressed when I keep reading the same arguments again and again about webcomics, and Zuda, making money, rights issues, blah blah blah.

And it's HILARIOUS to me that webcomickers are coming out to complain about how to make webcomics more economically viable, and what's going to be a good model, because they all shot themselves in the foot. The internet came along, and everyone jumped in, deciding to sidestep the syndicates and go straight for that pie themselves, and now it's all over their faces.

I wanted to do comics since I was 5 years old. Since I read my first batch of Peanuts books back to front every day for a year.

As I got older, I worked on my strips, sending away my first solid strip attempt when I was 18, but it turns out I was too late. The syndicates were falling away already. Some had stopped taking submissions entirely, some were in the early stages of disappearing for good, and some sought new strips purely by headhunting off the internet. My dream was crumbling before me, and all I could ask is 'Why?'

Because people were putting comics on the internet FOR FREE.

Surely, anyone can see the inherent problem with that? How is anyone going to place a value on your work, when you can't be bothered placing one yourself.

Now, subscriptions don't work, paying to read won't work, etc. because the precedent was set. Readers now could read comics without paying 50 cents for a paper. And the comickers could now get readers without having 50 percent of their revenue taken away from them by the 'evil syndicates'. Um, what revenue? No one is paying you! Money is now completely out of the equation when it comes to reading comic strips. And now you want it? I really wish someone had have thought of that to begin with.

Sure, the standard contract from a syndicate was pretty terrible, 50 percent of the take, the option to have someone else take over your strip should you burn out, etc. There were even editorial mandates to contend with, some so constricting it destroyed some great strips. But they could go out and get your strip in to 100 papers within a week. They had access to overseas markets. They did a LOT of good stuff for that share of the take. I have a degree in advertising/marketing and I could never hope to do anything like that.

The system was in place, and the system worked, but everyone decided to go out and destroy it.

I know papers all seem to be in trouble now, but the syndicate death toll rang LONG ago.

Well, so there I was. 18, with a head full of dreams and ideas, but no real avenue to send my strips, and no desire to completely devalue my work by giving it away for free. I gave up, I retreated to the 'real world', went and got myself an advertising degree, floundered in crappy jobs, all the while scribbling comic strips mainly for my own enjoyment and growth.

There are people out there who are having fun, posting their comics on the net, working full time jobs and producing in their own time, and that's great, but if you want to make a living out of it, why would you ever give your work away for FREE? That's just bad business. When I go down to the art supply store, they certainly don't give their pens and paper to me for free.

Then Zuda came along.

Zuda, who were willing to PAY me for my work? Hot damn. And I get to keep my copyright? HOT DAMN. They'll take care of all the web stuff? And the advertising, and the promotion? HOT DAMN. I could at least handle that part of it myself, of course, but hell, all that advertising degree gave me was a strong desire to never work in advertising.

Thank god for Zuda! No more call centre jobs for me, no more soulless storyboard work. Just working on my comics, and spending my money. Zuda haven't taken any of it from me yet. Shock! People are reading and discovering my comics every day, when they used to sit in my drawer amusing no-one but me. Horror! I am telling my story the way I want to. The editors haven't changed any of my story, if anything, input from Kwanza has improved my stories. Omigod, Zuda is the devil!

Grow up.

You all want to be some kind of modern day Rockefeller with your comics, desperate to cling to any potential money should it (ever) come along, but you're giving your comics away for free! Your ONE asset!

Life is short. Let someone do the work you don't want to do, so you can produce the best and most art you can. Computers and web design mystifies me and I can market my comic if I really want to, (but I don't have to). All I have to do is work on my comics, make my deadlines (easy when you're enjoying yourself) and have steak for dinner.

So Zuda have a share in my property should it ever expand beyond its comic roots, if it's ever a movie or a cartoon, DC gets more of the pie, so what. I still get some, which is more than none. You want to hold on to the rights of something that no-one's reading, or have a share in the rights of something that IS out there? The odds of my 'property' ever becoming something else are still pretty slight, but they were non-existent before. Why? Because I don't want to make myself hoarse selling fish at the market, I just want to supply the fish. People like the fish, they WANT the fish. They don't like the guy yelling at them.

You can hate Zuda if you want. If you're some kind of 'cool' anti-establishment robot that likes to hate things just 'cos it's interesting to say at parties, whatever. You can see Zuda as a necessary evil, just like the syndicates were, in delivering the 'fish' we really want.

As a fish supplier, I'm just glad someone's moving them for me so they don't stink out my fridge.

You can try and do it all yourself in the hopes of success so you can retire early, buy a big house, fancy car, ivory toilet roll holders, congratulations. Here's your Greed Award. Or you can let someone else HELP you, share your success, and still live pretty well anyway, practically stress free. As Linus would say, from those Peanuts books I read all those years ago, and continue to do so, 'In 500 hundred years, who'll know the difference?'

More Chapter III characters

2009-07-11T18:57:00.001-07:00

Some more final (mostly) designs on some characters who will be showing up in Celadore chapter III, which is coming along nicely.

From left to right - Colin, Carp, Taffy, and Kristin

More Runner-Up Art Prizes

2009-06-24T15:48:00.001-07:00

Three more pieces of art to be sent out in the mail shortly.
Julia, yours is coming.

Math-San created the tofu-lovin' Hunger Homer as his new band member.

One of my favourite lines from Jen's script. Hee hee.

Rockin' hard with Taint Buzz, created by Dan Pevar.

For anyone wondering how they might get their own free art by me, next time I have a script competition, I encourage you all to enter! ;o)

Chapter 3 is coming

2009-06-22T13:23:00.000-07:00

I've been busy designing a whole bunch of new characters for Chapter 3. Some major, most not. Up the top is Leon, and down below, sharing a log with Sam is Amy and Sam (Samantha). More to come soon.

Celadore Script Competition - results!

2009-06-22T12:55:00.000-07:00

So, I got six scripts for my first ever script competition, which is six more than I expected!

Since it was such a small number of participants, everyone will be rewarded for their efforts.

The five runners up will each be sent an original piece of art by me, drawn for your respective scripts. A favourite panel, or a richly described character, etc.

Walter Ostlie, best known around the Zuda boards as slidestudios and responsible for Cubicles, and art chores on the Rejects, is the grand prize winner. Wally will be getting his four screen script completed by me, and the original art.

It was hard to pick a winner, and in the end it came down to a kind of synergy. When I read Wally's script, a lot of panels formed in my head instantly, unlike some of the other scripts which while all had their moments, indeed gave me a few of those 'oh hell, how am I going to fit all that in to one panel?' moments.

Which brings me to two points emerging comic writers need to keep in mind when writing their scripts.

1. If there's more than one thing going on in each panel, it's too much.

For example, and this is the most common example I've ever seen, if you have two characters talking (facing each other) it is impossible to show both their reactions. I used to get this a lot from seasoned book editors also, so it's not really just novice comic scripters who do it. Hell, I probably still do it.

But, if it's a reaction shot, you need to decide whose reaction is the most important and stick to that. If we see the back of the other character's head, so be it. Much like when kids learn to draw and eventually realise you can't show everything, ie. both ears are drawn visible on a 3/4 view head, this is that same thing. But for scriptwriters. :o)

And 2. Be aware of your space.

Say you have a page/screen with 9 panels, it's okay to have some large speech bubbles in maybe one or two panels, but not in every panel. And certainly not three large speech bubbles in one panel. You could do that if it's only 1 to 3 large panels to the page/screen, but not in 9 tiny panels.

Also, when two character's speech bubbles do overlap in one panel, as in a back-and-forward exchange, it works better with short sentences, and not long paragraphs of speech. That could be very hard to lay out.

Sometimes I think this comes from thinking of your script as for a movie/tv show, and not a comic. When writing a scene, we tend to play it out in our heads, with actors, and sets, etc. - like life - so take a second look at what you've just put down and make sure it works in the comic medium. If you've put down scenes that have too much going on, go back to point no 1 and edit, edit, edit. Try to find a focal point. The one thing that panel has to get across.

Wally, your script had some great pacing, and also fit well within the Celadore world. Something that others didn't do so well. Which is my fault really, for not explaining everything about the Order, so sorry about that, folks! Oops. You can hit me when you see me next.

The Hunger are only meant to be masquerading as a vampire band, even though they are actually vampires, and some of the scripts had them acting a little too vampiric publicly. Wally's script has some bigotry against the vampire band, but it's vague, so I twisted it to mean the locals who threaten them just don't like tough, goth rock chicks in them there parts.

Putting Angus (Aprils' missing pomeranian) into the script was also a selling point, as it immediately made me think of another little side story of how Angus got from Boston to a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Poor doggie.

Plus, and this is just another personal preference, I'm not one for pop culture gags, so while some of the parody singers that popped in some of the other scripts were funny, it's not something I would find myself ever putting to paper. To me, it's the difference between Dreamworks films that date really quickly due to their endless pop culture references, and Pixar, which has character/situation based comedy, giving a more timeless quality.

So, sorry to the couple of entrants who did that. You were the victim of my prejudice.

(Wally did give me a Twilight reference, but I'm not all about complete zero tolerance.)

So, sketches are underway for Metsuke, Jen, Julia, Math-San and Daniel. I heartily thank and congratulate every one of you on entering some great scripts. Keep one eye on your mailbox. Metsuke, here's yours, the first to be done. (You have a tshirt coming too, of course).

Anna, in SWAT Gear, from Metsuke's script. 8.5 x 11 inches.

Daniel, there's a quick little sketch of Taint Buzz at the top of the post, to tide you over til I do the proper sketch.

Wally, you'll have to wait a bit longer for yours, as I draw up the full pages in and around doing Cel 3, which is now underway.

This was fun. I may do it again.

Ness's dog-walking service.

2009-06-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

Between telling people's fortunes with possessed puppets and selling night cream made out of children's teeth to the rich and famous, Ness also runs a dog-walking service! Look who the lucky pup is today. "Oh, the humanity."

Wax meets... the Hammer!

2009-06-13T15:19:00.001-07:00

Gettin' my noir on with a little Hammer crossover. Enjoy!

The Hunger

2009-04-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

The greatest vampire band in the world, The Hunger, were seen in the big melee at the end of Celadore Part One. Unfortunately, in the kerfuffle they lost their lead guitarist/vocalist.

I have a competition running in my spiffy new facebook group where you can write what happens next when they have to recruit *gasp* a human, so here's the characters you have to play with.

Anna

Anna is now the defacto leader of the vampire population, after Christian's demise. She is a forethinker in vampiric alternatives. Synthetic blood. Animal farms, etc. She was the pioneer of peaceful co-existence.

She has been a vampire since early settlement of America, and now lives in a basement apartment, under a nice old lady and plays small shows with her band. It's hard to hit the big time when you can't make day appointments with big record labels, but she's happy staying small time. They have a lot of hardcore fans. Some of them nuts, of course. Since they market themselves as a vampire band.

Patience

Patience used to be in a two-man group with her husband. In the late 60s, he was killed, she was turned, and has since taken up with Anna, who saved her from a life of having to eat people. She was always calm, quiet and gentle, and still keeps it up. Want napkins with that baby animal? Yes, please. Just because you're a creature of the night, doesn't mean you can't still be a creature of habit.

Again, details of the competition are here.

Celadore hits Facebook

2009-04-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

Okay. As much as I ignore facebook, it does have its uses. Which I fully intend to use!

There's no point in having the group unless you do something with it, right? Right! So look out for two competitions coming soon. One for artists, and one for writers. Win tshirts. Win art.

Movie within a comic

2009-03-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

Miss Taken starring April May

And with this poster, something I drew up quickly for background detail for some upcoming Celadore screens, yet another branching story begins to percolate in my brain.

Imagine you're ten years old, and your grown daughter comes back from the future to tell you you've got to help her save the world. Imagine if she has to enlist her mother's help too, and this little girl happens to be your sworn enemy.

Yes, another story for another time. Yes, indeed.

*evil grin*

Celadore Part 2 begins March 10!

2009-03-05T10:08:00.000-08:00

Here's a few character sketches til then. Photoshop colouring under my pencils. I don't do it often, but it's fun! If I ever get to tell Cel's origin story, I reckon I'd try to do the whole thing like this.

Sequels and tshirts

2009-02-09T10:38:00.001-08:00

The sequel was finally announced at the New York con this friday gone, and it's a good thing too, 'cos it was hard to keep my mouth shut! Now I can rant about it all I like!

The whole cast will be back (except one) and a few new ones will be introduced. There are NO vampires in this story at all (yay, says the Zuda community). And there will be more panels than ever!

And true to Murphy's Law, my convention tshirts arrived today. The above image on a nice, bright red tee, and this one below on black. Not for sale, of course. Just wanted to make myself a walking advertisement. ;o)

The other tshirts I was supposed to have with me were THESE ones:

With the idea that I could do sketches with fabric pen in the blank Zuda box. I only had four made up (two girls, two boys) so I'll either hang on to them for a future competition, or just bring them to the next convention.

A big thank you to all my readers, and for leaving comments, and sending feedback and making a sequel possible. See you all soon with more new pages!

Celadore ends with a beginning

2008-12-02T13:12:00.000-08:00

So. Celadore is done. Chapter 1, anyway.

Here's a teaser for Chapter 2...

If you want to see how the new dynamic works as the monster hunting team take on a new adversary, write to Zuda.

Thanks for reading, folks! It's been a blast! I have two sequels planned with a whole STACK of side stories as well as working on another different submission entirely.

Now, go. Go give your feedback to Zuda for part 2! :oD

Cheers!

Caanan.

The 2 Cent Competition - and it's FREE!

2008-11-18T15:37:00.000-08:00

Announcing the 2 Cent Competition! It's cheap! It's easy and it's not even 2 cents! It's free! And you can WIN stuff.

All's you gotta do is head on over to Zuda and leave, in 25 words or MORE your review of Celadore. Everyone who posts their 2 cents between now and December 9th (a week after it finishes up on Dec 2nd) will go in the draw to win. What do you win?

A theoretical 'Celadore Issue 1' cover, had this been an actual comic. It's a lovely little scene of Christian and his vampire cronies roasting up some Celadore. Mmm-mm.

Also in the prize pool there are copies of all my other work to date...
Middle Ages 1 - 4 (Collecting over 200 strips)
Junk (drawn by me, written by Dave Cunning)
and a double shot of my 24 hour comics from 06/07.

2 Runners up will also get all them good-readin' comics, and a small character sketch each.

Please make sure when you leave a review you start it with 'My 2 Cents...' so I can spot them easily. And if you have your own site/blog, want to go nuts and give it a full review, simply post in the Zuda feedback 'My 2 Cents is here... www.etc.etc'

Hope you've all been enjoying the story! Only two weeks left.

:oO

Caanan.

Read Celadore here

Celadore & the Night Owls!

2008-10-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

In my own way celebrating October, which is Night Owls month at Zuda, remember? Here they are - Together at last!

It occurred to me a little while ago that Celadore and those other fine, funny, folk, who also seek out the strange and unusual, the Night Owls!! inhabit a fairly similar world. So, while my story is set in the present day, Wax has been alive for forever, and Cel started monster hunting in the 1640s, so what if a previous chase led them to New York way back in the day? Anything's possible, right?

Fun with the tablet

2008-10-18T17:01:00.001-07:00

I'm still trying to get a hang of that 'set layer to multiply then colour on a layer underneath' thing I read about a lot.

So, here's two I tried. An Astro Boy pic I left at the pencil stage and coloured under, and a Hellcat pic I did mainly with a brush.

Ah, now that I've shaken out the kinks, it's back to Celadore...

Unused Celadore screens

2008-10-14T13:24:00.001-07:00

The following two scans are unused pencils for screens 25 and 26, the ones that ended up being where the big vampire attacks and Evelyn saves the day by inadvertently possessing the big goof.

Originally, I wanted the vampires explained - how they are either strong, or fast, which will end up being touched on later anyway - and I also needed to get Wax believing that this young girl is actually Celadore, his ex wife. The pages I ended up with are SO much better, but I really liked my sideburns gag. Not as much as I loved that little 'Who is Evelyn?' comedy routine I ended up with instead. :o)

You can see by the end of screen 26 how I was rushing and getting increasingly aware that I was heading in the wrong direction. I'd already done the 'vampire is behind you!' thing at the end of page 16, so I couldn't do it again.

Hope you all are enjoying the story. Watch for screens 41 - 44, where it really kicks into gear. ;o)

Organic Scripting Fun

2008-09-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

A little insight to my 'process'. :o)

I primarily do my rough draft of the script in my little pocket sketch book, with thumbnail pages about 3 inches wide, two to a page. Very small. Just to get an idea of how much text there is going to be, and how big I should make each box, etc.

Then I do them at a 9 x 12 inch size, roughly, for the purpose of laying out the action, and just kinda seeing the space I have to play with. I then blow that one up at my local copy shop, and do my final art at a size of 12 x 16 inches. When I do the final pages, things can still change. Added lines. Changed perspectives, etc. One thing I tend to do is draw all my characters at a 3rd angle, waist up level. The final art stage is when I look at and decide where I need the close ups and wide shots, as well as more jokes. (Yes, there's jokes ;o)

And then sometimes, I get to the 9 x 12 rough pencil stage and scrap everything. Here's an abandoned page (10), which I thought I'd show you 'cos it had one of my favourite gags I had to get rid of. Boo. :o(

The Kents

2008-09-15T20:01:00.001-07:00

Some of you may remember at the Zuda panel I said I thought it'd be fun to do a comic strip called 'the Kents', following Ma & Pa Kent and their strange little boy from outer space. I did a character design shortly after and today just quickly inked it up & did a quick colour, and here it is. :o)

Zuda fan art wallpapers

2008-08-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks!

These are my favourite two entries this month. Unfortunately it looks like Rocki Gibralter, barring a marketing miracle, won't win, but Boone has a good chance! I'd love to see Boone take the top spot. Of course, I'd read the current first place getter, Gulch, if it continues too, it is also good and intriguing. Heck, this month there's hardly any I wouldn't read on a regular basis. Go Zuda!

Both those are 1280 x 1024 Wallpaper sized!

San Diego Comic Con '08

2008-08-02T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a sample of one of my sketches I was handing out on those handy dandy Zuda postcards. I was only there for an hour each day (less on Sunday after my first ever San Diego panel!) but I think I managed to whack out about 60-70 of these postcards for people passing by, as well as a few larger sketches in people's books, etc. People seemed to be impressed by my speed, which is always great. Each little postcard was 1-3 minute's worth of wrist-busting action.

Some how I ended up drawing a few pics of Supergirl ( which sadly, were all given away, so I can't really show much here) but I did however, get some photos of a little Batman pic I drew in a Gotham themed sketchbook being passed around.

Here it is all finished.

I'm proud to be part of a fantastic sketch book you've collected, Ron! Keep that for when I'm famous... ;o)

For anyone who missed the news. Celadore will be starting in September at an update of four screens per week, which I am super excited about. It's all scripted, with some still very minor tweaking going on, and about half of it is already plotted and pencilled. I'll be posting construction blogs to run alongside the main comic as it begins updating.

Spotlight on a RANDOM VAMPIRE! Yes!

2008-05-27T17:33:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I did this one to try and let you in on how the vampire world works in my comic, as it has been suggested my vamps are not all that scary.

While I concede, yes, they need to be a little scarier - and I'm working on it - they're not really supposed to be. At least at first. In my world, it's been about ten years since they took to hiding. Ever since the world's population started growing like crazy, and 24-hour unregulated trading has become widespread, it has become pretty easy for vampires to hide among society. (Apart from, you know, the killing. But they're sneaky enough about it). The world has become disaffected enough they don't notice the stranger who lives in the basement and keeps irregular hours. Nightclubs, hospitals, warehouses - there are plenty of nightjobs out there now. Perfect for a vampire who wants to stay under the radar.

Christian has henchman though, who live a different life. And they travel in pairs. As, when a vampire is created, they become either a Fighter - super strong, or a Flighter - super speedy. Christian is their leader 'cos he's a genetic freak who has both.

Also, holy water is not exactly holy water.

Celadore is not the only monster hunter out there. The vampires are hiding from ALL of them.

Anyway, it's pretty obvious where this story takes place in the whole timeline, so.. enjoy!

And thanks for keeping me in number one, voters! Three days left, though. Anything could happen. Eek!

Spotlight on Sam, The Boy Next Door

2008-05-25T21:56:00.001-07:00

So finally, we round out the good guys with another rough two-pager, this time focusing on Sam, Evelyn's next door neighbour.

He's 11. He loves dinosaurs and ninjas and sci fi and fantasy and trainspotting and comics and he's basically just a big ol' eager beaver.

This particular story takes place three years before the Zuda comic begins and is fairly important to the overall story. The glowing blue berries are Pogobees. What are they? What do they do? What happens if you eat too many of them? We'll find out later, but for now... here's more comics!

Enjoy. And vote! One week to go...

Spotlight on Jams, the Frankenstein

2008-05-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

So, Jams is a Frankenstein with a difference. He's a Frankenstein born from two others. An absolute freak of science. He never knew his parents. Celadore raised him. He has a hole in his head (birth defect), is slightly deaf, and is colour blind.

His story is another I'd love to tell one day.

For now, here's a little two-pager focusing on his situation, and also taking place RIGHT before my Zuda comic kicks off.

A Celadore Comic - Evelyn

2008-05-22T19:06:00.001-07:00

So, let's rewind the clock three months, to find out how Evelyn ends up where she does when we first see her in my Zuda comic, Celadore.

I did this one staggered over the last week, and finally had time to colour it today. I need the practice on my colouring. So, hopefully this is getting better? Worse? Either way, I'm still learning and getting faster, and hopefully, eventually the colouring will as come as naturally to me as the pencilling. (And the writing).

Enjoy!

Spotlight on Wax - a Celadore comic

2008-05-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

This morning, I whacked out another Celadore supplemental story to fill in the traditional slump weeks in Zuda's competition. (Link in the sidebar -> go and vote! :o) This one focuses on Wax, Celadore's on-again-off-again boyfriend. The reason why Celadore is now a monster hunter.

Wax is very very old. He's an Animagus, which means he can turn into any animal he comes into contact with. He wears patchwork fur-lined underwear for convenience. Lined with hare, wolf and rat, with eagle and hummingbird feathers sewn in with strands of rare unicorn mane, for good measure.

Spotlight on the Tooth Fairy

2008-05-21T15:52:00.001-07:00

So, a few people have wondered how my tooth fairy, Jeunesse - or Ness for short, fits into the world of Celadore. Well, I shall attempt to shed a little light on the subject with a little two-page yarn I drew up. I thought I'd leave it at the pencil stage so you can all see some of my processes (I get asked for that quite often and never show it) so here it is in all its graphite glory!

The deal with Ness is that she's Celadore's business partner. No-one pays Celadore to catch demons, it's a private enterprise. And in this world where magic is becoming harder to find, thus more expensive, it pays to have someone on your side who can generate a bit of cash flow. Ness's tooth fairies collect teeth, of course, one of the main ingredients in BeautifulNess Nite Cream. Forget botox, this is the natural way to make your skin look younger. Ten years younger. Seriously. ;o) She's also psychic, and, well... wait for the full story to see what she can do. In the meantime, here's a taste...

Middle Ages 4!

2008-05-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's finally done! The files have been sent to the mega-wind-up-toy that keeps going and going, Dave Cunning, at Local Act Comics. It should be available in early June. In fact, come meet me at Supanova Sydney in June, and I'll even scribble on it! :oD

This issue is a little different for me, as I abandoned the gag-a-day style joke, in favour of a continual story that spans the entire 40 strips of the issue. Here's a sneak peek...

New ad for Celadore!

2008-05-09T15:25:00.001-07:00

I also had little banners for people to take but I can't seem to upload them to blogger.

Remember to vote! I put the link in my sidebar --> (which Anthony kindly pointed out I completely forgot to post previously... Oops :o)

Vote 1 Celadore at zudacomics.com

2008-05-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks! So Celadore has been live for a week now and it's been great to see it out there and about there.

A few things have been brought to my attention. One is page 2. HERE is page 2 in its thumbnail form... (click it for a closer view)

You can see how much of a mess it was! The hardest part about Zuda is the screens. 3:4 isn't the easiest thing to get used to after, a) working on mainly four/three panel gags and, b) doing Junk, a traditional sized 22 page comic, and 52 screens is not a lot of screens to tell a story. I wish I could do the whole two panels per page thing, but damn it, I want to entertain you, and I'll cram as much into my screens as I can!

Here's the first pic of Celadore and Eve (who was originally called Abi, I believe, until I stole that name for Shirtheads).

And just some random pics pulled from my sketchbooks. There's a pic of Jams, the Frankenstein, in there. (He has a hole in his head. And he's partially deaf. And colour blind). :o) As well as Wax, Celadore's on-again-off-again boyfriend. He's an animagus. They have a long complicated history, which is another story I'd love to tell one day.

Thanks to everyone for checking out my entry, and favouriting it, and starring it, voting, etc! :oD

More soon.

Squirrels & Pigeons are away!

2008-05-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

So, I sent these off in the mail to the big syndicates about a month ago, or more, which by my calculations, means my rejection letters should show up at my Toronto home here 2 months after I get back into Australia. That's efficiency, kids! :oD

Shirtheads

2008-03-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

Shirtheads is a new feature I'm running on redbubble.com (see my new sidebar link) -> Each week, I pick a tshirt design I like, put it into the strip, and post it up alongside an interview with the featured artist. The strip itself revolves around Matt and Abilene, who run a tshirt stall at your typical sunday market.

If you'd like to keep following the strip, new ones are posted up on the Bubble every sunday night (Toronto time).

Squirrels Title

2008-02-22T11:17:00.000-08:00

This here is the finished colour piece that will be accompanying my submissions to the papers & syndicates. I was particularly happy with the logo. :oD

Middle Ages 3

2008-01-18T07:14:00.000-08:00

Issue 3 is racing along. Here's the cover, and a few inside strips. Coming soon from Local Act Comics! Look for it in late February where all good Local funnybooks are sold. :oD

More Squirrels. More Pigeons. More cheese. :)

2008-01-18T06:56:00.000-08:00

Some more fun in Grape Jelly Park... Enjoy!

Squirrels - The Wishing Well series

2007-12-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Well, this is an idea that totally blew up from one little sketch, and one that could easily become a recurring theme. There ended up being 11 here, but I had to stop somewhere. I wonder though, if it works well as a theme running together, or if I could just break them all up and pepper them through as stand-alones (except those last three).

Enjoy!

The Middle Ages - Issue 2

2007-11-24T19:16:00.001-08:00

Coming in December from Local Act and fine funny-book floggers everywhere. (well, nearly everywhere). If anyone wants to find where to buy my comics, the Local Act web link is over there under 'Friends of Caanan'.

Here's the full colour 'sunday' from the back cover too.

Squirrels & Pigeons x 3

2007-11-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

FINALLY the pigeons make an appearance, as does Milo, the waitress for whom Cheddar will forever carry a torch.

More Squirrels and Pigeons

2007-10-22T03:45:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks! Another round of Cheddar and his amazing squirrels. :o)

Squirrels & Pigeons

2007-10-05T16:43:00.001-07:00

Ok. So I always have backup plans and this here is a new strip I've been working on in case the Middle Ages never really takes off...

It's called Squirrels & Pigeons, about a guy called Henderson Cheese (Cheddar) who works as a custodian in Grape Jelly Park, and can talk to the animals. The main two squirrel antagonists being Cornpie and Daisyface.

When I got to Canada, I noticed the squirrels, and also noticed that nobody else really notices them. Unless it's to call them vermin or squeal in agony at the sight of them. I think they're funny little creatures. And the strip is also about how, because Cheddar is a lowly janitor, no-one really notices him. Just like they don't notice the squirrels.

So it's my commentary on the disaffection of today's population... Kinda.

It's also about funny animals. :o)

New Life for The Middle Ages

2007-09-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

This here is the cover for The Middle Ages no. 1 - coming some time in October from Local Act Comics. The plan at this stage, if I can keep my workload under control, is to release the title bi-monthly. I have so many stories to tell through these strips.

Each issue will have 40 strips with 8 backups (Bruce, Furballs, Bates & Socrates, Children of Invention, etc). We're starting with the first strip, so if you bought the first issue of my little OCD mini, you've already read this issue, but issue 2 will begin the new strips - due in December!

Covers covers covers!

2007-09-16T18:36:00.001-07:00

Three covers! Local Act Comics will be publishing my last two 24 hour comics as a back to back double sized issue, and a little one-shot, written by Local Act's very own Dave Cunning, and drawn by me. I believe they will be out in time for Armageddon and Supanova.

Mama Lou - American Strongwoman

2007-08-25T07:18:00.000-07:00

This is a one-pager I did for Mama Lou, a street performer I met in Vancouver, and (allegedly) tracked down and harrassed in Montreal too. It was coincidence, I swear!!! :oP

Comic-Con '07 Sketches

2007-08-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

Comic-Con was insane, crowded, scary, intimidating, and inspiring.

Little fish in a big pond syndrome hit me like a smack between the eyes. The amount of talent and tenacity on display was amazing! I spent most of my time hanging out in the small/independent press and artist alley sections of the main hall. As well as attending a few workshops on pitching ideas, and how to work for DC (I mustn't have been paying enough attention... oops). I got some great comics, and met some great people, but I found I had the best time when I succumbed to the inspiration, picked myself a spot of carpet in an out-of-the-way place, and drew, drew, DREW.

These are some of my favourite quick sketches. Characters, people walking by, etc. Comic-Con really made me sit up and realise that my year of pumping out quantity over quality meant I really needed to look at the way I did things.

It's a start...

And this here is a headshot of Nico from Runaways I got from current series artist, Michael Ryan. His originals blew me away, and he was giving out headshot sketches for FREE. Insane man.

The Middle Ages - new strips!

2007-07-19T08:08:00.001-07:00

In amongst my travels across America by bus (oh the joy) I am finding time to get some work done. Here's some strips. The first Middle Ages strips I've managed to do since last October! Hopefully, this is the beginning of some cartoony floodgates opening...

Children of Invention

2007-07-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

These three strips are a small preview of the 12 I will have appearing in Issue 3 of Local Act Presents which is an anthology of Aussie comic strips. Rather than hand over a bunch of new Middle Ages strips, I decided to do something completely different, and rework an idea I came up with a LONG time ago, only with new characters, which I believe are in an old post here somewhere under the title ASK (which has now changed, obviously... :o)

The Chocolatier

2007-04-29T00:14:00.000-07:00

This is a dual post with PulpFaction, as my entry for the April Sequential Art Challenge.

Theme: Chocolate
Mandatories: 'This is neither the time nor the place', a skull, an empty soft drink can, and keys.
Pages: 1 - 3

For any Shakespeare NUTS out there, I know the actual quote is 'I knew him, Horatio...' so just blame the Chocolate Shakespeare Company, not me. Never work with children, animals, or chocolate, I swear...! :p

For any detail lovers, them's licorice trees with jube tops, oreo tables in the café, mint leaves and candy canes at the wedding, a chocolate bud frisbee and 'Cocoa High' was loosely modelled on Degrassi Junior High. I can't help myself...

The Funny Business Of Love

2007-04-26T00:40:00.000-07:00

Well. It's been a while! So here's two pages from my little 4-pager I did for LAC Presents #2 which had the theme of Clowns, Carneys & Freaks. If you would like to see where our hero's little heart takes him, track down a copy! LAC titles go on sale at Minotaur in Melbourne, and I believe Pulp Fiction in Adelaide and Kings in Sydney, and hopefully more some day soon.

They're at www.localactcomics.com

Headaches

2007-01-25T23:53:00.000-08:00

There are many reasons not to own a car...

The cost of petrol.
The cost to the environment.
The cost of losing the wealth of material
gathered on public transport for stuff like this...

Book illustrations

2007-01-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

Well, some people might wonder why my comics ARE occasional, and there it is... As well as working full time as a storyboard artist, I also take every bit of freelance that comes my way (which seems to be a lot lately) taking up every ounce of my evenings and weekends, therefore leaving me not much time to draw anything else and indeed, not really wanting to.

Anyhow. These four pics are from my current freelance job, and was most happy with. :)

Twig & The Troll

2006-12-27T23:29:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks. Hit an artistic snag, so decided to start doodling, and came up with this nice little pic of Twig and Dandelion up against a troll. Or, well... as they tend to MOSTLY do in the story, running away from it.

Merry Christmas x 3

2006-12-24T23:27:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas Eve, and since I'm away all day tomorrow (for, er... Christmas), thought I'd post these tonight.

Designs I did this year. :o)

Silly Heroes FOUR!

2006-12-21T18:23:00.000-08:00

The last three, including me...

One Girl, Art Boy, and Art Girl (no relation)...

Silly Heroes THREE!

2006-12-20T21:22:00.000-08:00

More workmates... Left to right...

Grey Lightning, The Delegator, Cyclor, and Loudman!!

Silly Heroes TWO!

2006-12-19T22:44:00.000-08:00

Because I'm clearly having fun with this, here's todays that I was happy with...

From left to right... The Berger (yes, with an 'e'), Muzza The Monkey Hunter, and Canadia.

Silly Heroes

2006-12-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

Hiya folks!

So, I'm doing a little job at work that is actually FUN! Superheroes of everyone! Here's a few I liked.

From left to right... Four Arm Clover Girl, Chophead, Running With Scissors Girl and Computer Pants.

PLEASE don't take these seriously! :oP

Twig

2006-11-26T00:07:00.000-08:00

Now, my Twig idea is still rolling along, slowly gathering steam. New elements have been added to the story, and it's starting to come together. I always wanted my fantasy story to be very ground level, so here's a pic of how I see some of the final fight scenes with the dragons looking; Staying close to Dandelion and Thomas, with the dragons being largely ('scuse the pun) out of frame. Plus another random pic of Thomas & Dandelion.

ASK (tentative title)

2006-11-25T23:56:00.000-08:00

Was thumbing through some old sketchbooks these past few months and decided to revisit an old idea of mine. However, the characters needed a major update, so here's the preliminary version of what the kids will look like. Some tweaking may occur.

2006-11-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

When Sarah outlined her story idea for me at Supanova, images came flooding through my head. Then I got a sketch which was oh so awesome, and decided to give Sarah back my take on it. So here ya go, Sarah, and everyone else.

Hopefully I'll get to post up more random pictures here as I get the time (rare). But for some things, you just gotta MAKE the time.

Supanova

2006-10-30T03:34:00.000-08:00

Howdy Artifolks

For those who weren't there, or who haven't seen these, here be the covers to the three issues of OCD I had on sale at Supanova. Details will be up soon on how one can buy these online... as soon as I figure it out.

So, anyway... My first Supanova is over. And because so many people asked me about my web presence, and I've only ever had a little website that I can't be bothered to maintain, I have decided to finally join blogland. Not sure yet what the content will be, however... I guess, the occasional cartoon, the occasional rant about things that annoy me (like people who dive in front of you at the station just to pick up an MX ... Read a BOOK, people!) or things that I like (currently Jing & Evildan's 'Pretty Zombies 2' - bring on no. 3! and my 'Ma B' tshirt - Dave, you rock!). And of course, I will be posting the odd, occasional scribble. Sometimes known as a 'drawing'.

So friday saw me hop a plane to Sydney to take up my free table at Supanova. Some people may not know this, but when arriving in Sydney, you must wait to one side while they assign you your personal entourage of flies, then you must proceed to give anyone and everyone every last cent you have.

When making my way to Olympic Park, I stopped at a newsagent at Central Station where I dumped my gigantic, heavy box of comics on the floor when being served, to have the fellow say 'That looks like some load you're carrying there! Haven't you heard of a car?' to which I explained my flight from Melbourne and why I was there and received the lovely little random compliment of 'Well. You look like someone who'll be worth a quid in a few years.' I'm glad SOMEone can see it. Too bad he didn't own a multi-million dollar multi-media empire. Sigh. Maybe the next newsagent...

Now. My thoughts on Supanova...

I had a blast! True, I would have had more fun had I been able to leave my table for more than 5 minutes at a time, but I was doing it alone, and I didn't want to miss out on the chance to watch people pass my stall without even looking. Meeting Summer Glau was a blast. I don't quite know if 30 dollars was all that justified to get an autograph, but I knew going to Supanova that I was going to be losing money left, right, and centre anyway, so it was good to start on a high note.

Highlights were...

My, I thought, quick thinking GENIUS solution to my lack of signage ('Don't be fooled. I'm talented. Just stupidly under-prepared' - was a good conversation starter and garnered many a laugh, though if laughs were sales I would have been depleted by halfway through saturday. Oh well).

Selling my comics to complete strangers. Selling my comics to complete strange people (you know who you are).

Meeting a lot of my fellow artists. Some for the second time, some for the first.

Getting my very first freaky weird fangirl™.

And putting a smile on Sarah's dial. :oD

On saturday, the two and a half hours of constant 'Doop Doop Doop'ing from the fire alarm was something I could have done without, but I'm sure it built character. I got very dehydrated on saturday. Sunday morning was slow as I think half the patrons forgot to put their clocks forward, which I did too, but luckily don't sleep that well in strange beds, so was only 15 minutes late myself. There were some brilliant costumes floating around. In particular, a bearded fellow dressed as a jedi who was SO in character, he walked around smiling serenely at everyone, totally content and at peace... I think the Force WAS with him. Also, it was nice to see someone wearing a Princess Leia slave outfit who could totally pull it off. Brave brave girl.

Friday night was strange when a running drunk fellow tripped and ran into our bus as I was heading back to the apartment. He had friends chasing after him to get him to stop running so I only hope he's ok in the end. At least when he would have woken up with a hangover, there's a REASON why he'd have felt like he was hit by a bus. On the subject of buses, I found Sydney drivers to be quite tyrranical. Sometimes with good reason, sometimes not. I also found it weird that there are NO public bins at stations in Sydney, yet there was also NO rubbish! Where does it all go? Are styrofoam cups up there edible?

Occasional Comics Disorder

No art here. Just comic thoughts.

Aliceopolis - for Team Cul de Sac

Major Sun Pages

No art here. Just Lost thoughts.

Major Sun

Surround yourself with friends

Fun with Superheroes

#zudalove meme

The Lost Hanna Barbera classic

Val

Scriptwriting is new to me

Another Sneak Peek

Processing...

Sneak Peek

Mad Mac and Cheese

Fan Expo Sketches

Postcards!

A blight on the landscape

Sam Little does Big Celadore Fan Art

Rants in my pants!

More Chapter III characters

More Runner-Up Art Prizes

Chapter 3 is coming

Celadore Script Competition - results!

Ness's dog-walking service.

Wax meets... the Hammer!

The Hunger

Celadore hits Facebook

Movie within a comic

Celadore Part 2 begins March 10!

Sequels and tshirts

Celadore ends with a beginning

The 2 Cent Competition - and it's FREE!

Celadore & the Night Owls!

Fun with the tablet

Unused Celadore screens

Organic Scripting Fun

The Kents

Zuda fan art wallpapers

San Diego Comic Con '08

Spotlight on a RANDOM VAMPIRE! Yes!

Spotlight on Sam, The Boy Next Door

Spotlight on Jams, the Frankenstein

A Celadore Comic - Evelyn

Spotlight on Wax - a Celadore comic

Spotlight on the Tooth Fairy

Middle Ages 4!

New ad for Celadore!

Vote 1 Celadore at zudacomics.com

Squirrels & Pigeons are away!

Shirtheads

Squirrels Title

Middle Ages 3

More Squirrels. More Pigeons. More cheese. :)

Squirrels - The Wishing Well series

The Middle Ages - Issue 2

Squirrels & Pigeons x 3

More Squirrels and Pigeons

Squirrels & Pigeons

New Life for The Middle Ages

Covers covers covers!

Mama Lou - American Strongwoman

Comic-Con '07 Sketches

The Middle Ages - new strips!

Children of Invention

The Chocolatier

The Funny Business Of Love

Headaches

Book illustrations

Twig & The Troll

Merry Christmas x 3

Silly Heroes FOUR!

Silly Heroes THREE!

Silly Heroes TWO!

Silly Heroes

Twig

ASK (tentative title)

Aiko the Ninja Pirate © Jing

Supanova