agent_hush

10:58 am: It's amazing how a day at the beach can recharge some really well worn batteries. I got some color so now I look more like I am of Italian descent and less like I could be the filament in a light house, I got to go swimming in the ocean which I have not done in years and made me so completely friggin' happy and reminded me why I loved swimming in the first place. Plus I got to hang with friends and be completely silly which is always a plus. Today I find myself itching to work.

So how was everyone else's holiday?

01:06 am: This weekend was full. I was supposed to travel to philly to attend blackwell, and planetx's engagement party, but funds being a little tight prevented that. Instead Friday night ursamajr and her hubby came by to have dinner, talk comics, and get ice cream. Saturday was spent by myself which was nice as I couldn't figure out what exactly to do with myself so I ended up watching movies all day. I should have hauled my ass over to Coney for the Mermaid Parade, but c'est la vie.

Today urate and I hung out. It was nice to spend time with her as the occasions I get to see her are rare, her being of that breed of people we like to call the Canadians. We hung out in Prospect Park, ate, shopped and talked art and life. We drew some too. And got caught in a thunderstorm. She also introduced me to the forest floor that is a gin and tonic. Evil in a glass so it is.

11:27 pm: Tired.
Big Apple Con was a great deal of fun. I am exhausted so I will post about it tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who stopped by the table.

10:34 pm: Big Apple Con and Politics
So it is confirmed. Come see me this weekend at the Big Apple Comic Con. I'll be in Artist Alley with a promo of The Sons Of Liberty as well as doodling away to my hearts content. Stop by and bring some coffee and we can chat.

I other news, it looks as though Senator Obama has clinched the DNC. Senator Clinton is already beginning to attempt to bully her way to the VP candidacy, and Senator McCain is once again talking in circles. Not only is Senator McCain now saying he never supported the Bush administration, but that Senator Obama Will put a greater strain on the fiscal crisis America has "found" itself in by not supporting the world economy and opening up free trade with other countries.

Right now the blood is pounding in my head with the force of ten Hiroshima bombs and all of the electronic and car components we shipped to overseas which was then improved upon by other countries and sold back to us at twice the price.

Firstly somebody needs to sit Hillary Clinton down and explain to her the art of the graceful defeat. By not conceding to the Distinguished Gentleman, you are causing even deeper party lines to be drawn when what the country needs to see right now is a united democratic party in support of it's candidate, especially if we would like to avoid another four years of republican politics, of troops being stop gapped back to Iraq, of rising oil prices. Of an economy in fiscal crises.Do not try to strong arm your opponent into giving you the number two seat just because you feel like you deserve it. Rather own up to your shady dealings your offhanded comments about how unfortunate it would be if Senator Obama was assassinated in the manner of RFK. Attempt to save some face and then try for the VP nod. Hillary Clinton is a pit bull on speed and knows the art of dirty politics and would be an excellent foil to nearly virginal Barack Obama.

Second, someone (re:any member of the Republican Party with part of a working brain) needs to muzzle Senator McCain. Or, at the very least his speech writers need to learn about continuity. Listening to Senator McCain speak is like listening to a high school PSA as read by a sufferer of multiple personality disorder. Just last week he was walking around with President Bush who has been on the Stump for McCain, and now he is saying he did not support the Bush administration. I don't even know where to begin. I will say this, the man is about as inspiring as a piece of sack lint. After listening to his speech tonight (which CNN thankfully cut off. Either they felt bad for him or Wolf Blitzer had a gun to the head of the line producer.) one of the first thoughts that ran through my mind was that there is no way in hell I could get behind this man as President, and anyone that would obviously the soft spot on their skull never fully ossified and their brains have taken this opportunity to flee for greener pastures.

All told the next few days will be interesting to discover what the outcome shall be, and that is the reason you should come visit me at the convention. If only to get away from the madness that is our political system and enter a venue that will be filled with people seeking out fetish properties. Just don't talk to me about politics if you see me there. I may hit you with the rubber chicken of reason.

Tags: barack obama, big apple comic con, hillary clinton, john mccain, the sons of liberty

01:38 am: A Little Something

Quick painting from tonight.

11:18 pm: I have had this serious itch to watch Dune. It could be due to me having just re-read the book. What shocked me is that neither myself nor my roommate own a copy of the movie. Does this mean I lose some geek cred? Ah, who cares. I will go and read a single Transmet issue instead of my trades.

03:22 am: Perfect Night
I just spent the last four hours painting at Paul Booth's Last Rites Gallery in NYC with a couple of my friends and a whole bunch of tattooists.

I love my life.

10:12 pm: My buddy Jamal told me today that I am a guest at the Big Apple Con this year.

*blink blink*

I had no idea I was a guest at the Big Apple Con.

I should probably get in touch with them and get all the details.

11:07 am: Today's Mantra
It doesn't matter if it feels like it did when you got your heart broken years ago. Don't be a puss and get to work.

11:40 am:
I was Busy all weekend with two Dr. Sketchy's and teaching. I had started this painting on Saturday night and was finally able to finish it up this morning. Here is the final:


It's based off a sketch I did of Madame Rosebud of The Peach Tartes back in January at the Museumm of Sex. I had a blast drawing her, all covered in duct tape and looking like Pris from Bladerunner, so of course I had to turn her into a robot. My life is very trying.

Tags: dr. sketchy's, madame rosebud, painting, the peach tartes

08:45 am: After two days of headachey goodness I'm feeling better. The head pain is still there, lurking but it is manageable. I've got some pages to draw today and some normal people stuff to do like pick up laundry so on and so forth. Had a great conversation with some good friends last night about inking technique and figure construction and composition. Thankfully before we all hit the point where murder was not only sounding like a good idea, but that it could actually occur in my friend's living room, the food arrived. nothing soothes a savage art conversation like jerk-chicken and smashed potatoes with jalapeño cornbread. Food, the great equalizer.

09:13 pm: I'm listening to the audio book of Neuromancer and it is a word for word reading. Joyous. I've got zero motivation today and have been struggling all day. What does everyone else do when they find themselves in this situation? Let me know.

11:37 pm: Good Day

I thought the guy in the center was beautiful because he had so much character in his face. I just got back from the hospital where my dear friends Karine and Jamal gave birth to their first child.

Tags: sketches

03:18 pm: Procrastination

I should be drawing right now.

Tags: me

09:29 pm: New York Comic Con Wrap Up
It's the day after and a strange one it has been. Mostly because my brain has been oozing out of my ears for most of it. Decompressing from this weekend, yet I can't seem to stop working regardless because I have been inking since this afternoon. I think I've forgotten what it is like to do nothing or I've reached that point where drawing or anything drawing related is no longer something I do for money. I do it because I have to keep doing it out of love. That may be the Guinness and exhaustion talking. Ask me tomorrow.

The last day of the con. A blitzkrieg of pitching with my good friend and collaborator planetx. Response was great and we are hopeful. I was running on adrenaline and caffeine. I think Jared had that going plus the whole getting over the flu thing as well. I did a bunch of commission sketches and got asked to do more than a few Sons Of Liberty sketches. Now that I think about it, half of my commissions this weekend were Sons related. Rad.

Met some great people, like greendalek whom I shared a table with all weekend, and was nice enough to look out for my stuff while Jared and I ran around pitching to editors. Check him out if you get the chance.

I didn't get to do much shopping this con. A shame really because I saw a Dr. Monkey t-shirt that should have been mine. Ah well. If I am to own it I will eventually.

Some overall interesting points to mention:

1.You cannot get me to work with or for you by saying, "Your shit is awesome," throwing a comic down on the table and continuing by saying,"This is what we do. Work for us." A few things about that. Conducting business is part seduction. a certain amount of wooing and enticement is necessary. Don't squeeze my chest and then say I should be sleeping with you without at least buying me a meal first. Needless to say this tactic did not work for this particular publisher and we will not be working together.

2. Everyone is a fucking Skrull.

3. Kevin Grevioux does really sound like that and can break your hand just by shaking it.

4. Thank God for the Artist's Lounge.

5. Everyone is still a fucking Skrull.

Next con I will attend is most likely Wizard World Philly, but not as a guest, most likely an attendee. I'd like to just buy some cool stuff. After that it looks like I'll be at the big Apple con, and there was talk about heading down to Balti-Con, but I'm not sure if that is in September or if it is Sooner.

Somewhere in all of that I should probably finish my projects.

Tags: nycc, skrulls, sons of liberty

12:14 am: NYCC Day The First
First Day has come and gone. What an intense day it was, fueled by caffeine, adrenaline, and a small amount of Vodka (thanks mollycrabapple) and the energy of being in a place filled with people who love what you do as much as you do. There is of course the seeing of old friends and the meeting of new ones, big hellos go out to all. Sketches, Sketches, Sketches...well lots of drawing and talking about The Sons Of Liberty and so far the response has been very positive.

Tomorrow should be doubly fun, what with planetx making an appearance, plus more drawing and meeting of people. Stay tuned to find out.

Tags: nycc

01:50 pm: NYCC Sketch Requests
Hey all,

If you are going to be at NYCC this weekend and want a sketch from yours truly drop me a comment here with the character you want and what you want. head sketches will be 5 bucks, full figure pencilled will be 20, and full figure inked will be 40 Yankee dollars.

Hope to see you all this weekend!

12:19 am: New York Comic Con 4/18-4/20!
And I will be there at table K-34 with some preview pages of The Sons Of Liberty for you guys to enjoy, plus a few other goodies. If you are planning to attend come on by and say hello and have a cup a coffee with me.

Tags: new york comic con, the sons of liberty

10:54 am: I've got a terrible disease. No really. If I'm not drawing comics, I'm reading them or reading about them or thinking about them. As a for instance, I just spent my morning drinking my coffee and re-reading the first four issues of Fell by Warren Ellis and Ben Templesmith. 16 pages of comics plus production notes and artwork for a whopping 1.99 US. It is a format that a few other books(Fraction's Cassanova)are using and works well. It gives me something that I like which is a little bit of insight into the creative process.

Yes, it's almost eleven am and I am lounging in my beautiful apartment reading comics and drinking coffee. What you don't seem to comprehend is that I AM WORKING. I'm doing research. Studying what another artist does and seeing if I can use anything that I learn in the work that I have to do for big bookey company that pays me the lovely money. This will be the title with which we refer to our esteemed publisher from here on. Nearly three months working for them and I still haven't gotten a free lunch out of it. I ask you what does one have to do in order to get a meal?

The whole price of comics subject was brought to my attention today for two reasons: 1. it is new comics day and 2. I can't buy new comics today. if any of the 1.99 issues come out that would be great. I could grab a nice little self contained gem for a reasonable price and not feel like I've been forced to choose between that and oh, eating. I was going through my long boxes this morning looking for the Fell issues when I stumbled across the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man's One More Day story arc that boasts it is still only 3.99 on the cover. I nearly vomited blood all over my comics.

I find the comics that I want to spend money on growing fewer and fewer. I used to pick up around ten titles every month and that number has been slashed in half, partially due to cost and partially because the stories have begun to fall off in such a way that it seems like ground from the mid 90's is being re-tread ad nausem. The mid 90's were not the boon to comics as once predicted. after the leaps taken in the eighties with the first wave of British writers, fans and creators alike thought that comics had no where to go but up. Then there began a movement to put emphasis on production and less on content. everything had to have a foil embossed cover. Stories and characters seemed to come from the same cookie cutter mold. The comics of the mid 90's became homogenized. They were disco. around this time is when prices began breaking the 1.50 - 2.00 range on books. Better quality paper, more expensive coloring process, and a little bit of greed were enough to begin to drive the cost of comics from an affordable pastime to investment like levels.

So If I am going to pay long term investment amounts on something, shouldn't the quality equal the cost? It certainly has me thinking about a few things that I am working on right now that I want to see out and about in the world, but I want to see them out and about in an affordable way.

Some good Web comics you aren't reading:

http://www.kukuburi.com/

From Ramon Perez who brings you Butternutsquash. Funny and Whimsical and brilliant, Like Amelie if it was in Alice In Wonderland.

http://www.goodshipchronicles.com/

The Good ship Chronicles is the best space opera web comic on the internet in the past 8 or 9 minutes as said by it's creator Tauhid Bondia. I can't stop laughing every time I read it.

Tags: butternut squash, cassanova, comics, fell, the good ship chronicles

09:02 am: The Alchemist

Finished this last night. It's the illustration for my next tattoo. I will eventually have to put some outlines on it, but I really like it without any black on the piece. I may leave the outlining up to my artist.

Tags: illustration, tarot, tattoo

10:53 am: Color Study
A sketch I was playing around with last night.



I like working with paint. I think I'll start doing more of it.

Tags: paint, sketches

02:02 am: Musing
Tired, Tired, Tired. Got a page and a half done today. Got to hang some with my bud Jamal, who told me his new assistant got lost on the way to his place today. I know the kid and it is very funny. I'm exhausted, but feeling accomplished. Still waiting to hear on my table at comic con, and wondering just how I'm going to get everything I need for that show done in time. Easiest thing would be to clone me thrice. I've blinked and this week is almost over. Not great, but not bad. No artwork for display today. Sorry folks but my hand is a little cramped. I do want to paint though. Not tonight, mayhaps this weekend if I am at all lucky.

01:57 am: Weekend Art
A weekend spent with my family can lead to silly conversations that range across many topics and can also lead to some fun drawing. Here are a couple of things I did while visiting with the relations this past weekend.



I like robots and cyborgs and such. I think she will make a nice painting.



This is my first self portrait of this year. I noticed the door to my bathroom has a nail sticking out far enough that I can hang my portable art board off it and draw standing up using the bathroom mirror. I am skinny.

Tags: sketches

10:15 am: Moresheck




During the first New York Comic Con my friend blackwell wrote a short story called Moresheck for my bud bobo_dreams to draw. I liked it so much that I wanted to take a crack at it. Here are the inked results of the first two pages.

Tags: comics, jr blackwell, moresheck

01:06 pm:

I used to draw a comic called stumped and posted a few of them here. A while back I thought of a conversation about the millenium falcon and this popped in my head. I thought, "why not?" Drew it up and finally finished coloring it. This sparked a few more that if I ever get around to drawing them it will be a miracle. Enjoy.

Tags: comics, millenium falcon, stumped