If you haven't seen this already, here's another viewpoint on the San Diego Comic-Con, courtesy of Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog:
Then, there's this, for Robot Enthusiasts:
Pentagon's Unmanned Spokesdrone Completes First Press Conference Mission
Lastly, please read this probing Interview With Santa Claus.
Have a great day!
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Steve's Comic-Con Contemplation: Part Four
First some links, in case you missed the first few parts of this masterpiece of reporting…
To read Part Three of my Comic-Con report, click here.
To go back to Part Two of my Comic-Con report, click here.
And, to see where I began with this, try starting at Part One, by clicking here.
Previously, I’ve written some observations about how the San Diego Comic-Con has changed over the years, and I wrote about some parties I didn’t get into this year! So, what, pray tell, did I do at this year’s Comic-Con?
Well, Friday night, after we were ejected from the Saloon at the Hard Rock Hotel, Don and I head over to a small party happening at a Persian Restaurant on 4th Street -- an annual get-together hosted by Los Angeles artist, Aman Chaudhary. A very cool way to start off the evening, for those of us not invited to the William Morris Party! Here’s a pic of Don and I, that I just swiped from Aman’s blog…
Afterwards, we met up with Monica & Dean Kubina, and made our way to the Hyatt bar.
The Hyatt bar. Where everyone always ends up. I swear, we arrived pretty early, all things considered, and the place was packed. Soon it was almost unbearably packed. This, in spite of the online controversy and threat of boycott that raged in the weeks leading up to the Con.
To be honest, I am SO over the Hyatt bar. I have been for a while. There were a few years (back when the meeting pace was at the “Top” of the Hyatt) that I honestly felt like I was in a strange time-warp. Listening to the same conversations over and over again. Wasn’t Jeph Loeb sitting in the exact same place last year, holding court? It was getting surreal. But what are you going to do? The Hyatt is literally where everyone ends up, so if you want to do some valuable schmoozing & hooking up with old friends, you have no choice but to end up there also.
That said, on Friday I had a great time catching up with people like Mike Marts form DC, and a bunch of others. I only wish that Andy Kubert had come down from his room after Mike sent him an obnoxious text message at my encouragement. One of my fondest convention experiences was a drunken, pool-playing romp with Andy and his brother during Wizard World Chicago in 2003. Actually, I’m lucky they didn’t beat me up! I was out of control!
Saturday night also ended at the Hyatt, but started with some drinks at the Hard Rock. This time we didn’t get kicked out, though they almost didn’t let Kyle Baker in due to their dress-code! (he was wearing shorts) Thankfully, Alex Zamm convinced the guy at the door that Kyle was the World’s Greatest Cartoonist (who just won an award!), so they let him in. I had a great time with Alex, Kyle, Don and his lady-friend Shawna, Mike Wellman, Luis Reyes and the Kubinas. The bar made a pretty good mojito, too.
In the end, that’s what I like best about Comic-Con. It’s a chance to hang out with pals, see old friends and business contacts, and meet new ones. I guess that's why I keep going back!
I will end now, with some random pics from this year's Comic-Con, and from Comic-Cons past. I wish I had more!
Comic-Con '08: Richard Starkings, Carl Potts & Me
Comic-Con '03: Don is assaulted by our booth!
Comic-Con '02: Don, Rob Tokar & I selling Comiculture!
Comic-Con '02: posing with Marc Siry
Monday, August 04, 2008
Steve's Comic-Con Contemplation: Part Three
To read Part Two of my Comic-Con report, click here.
To go back to Part One, click here.
Like most comics professionals, I have mixed feelings about the San Diego Comic-Con. I feel inexorably drawn to it each summer, as though to not go would be a huge blunder. As if I might miss out on that golden schmoozing opportunity that will propel my career to the next level.
On one hand, it seems like every year is exactly the same, and I wonder what the point is. On the other hand, the Con (and the city of San Diego, itself) just keeps growing and becoming more stimulating.
It is simultaneously irritating and exciting how comics have become more of an accepted part of the mainstream entertainment media. Irritating because it really feels like Hollywood and the toy companies have taken over Comic-Con completely (where are the comics?!?), exciting for the possibilities all that implies. Somebody is spending money on this stuff.
This year, Don and I stayed at the brand-new Hard Rock Hotel, right across from the convention center. 
It’s a very cool hotel, with a hip, modern décor, and they give you your choice of music to be played in your room upon arrival. They also have some nice restaurants & clubs to hang out in. This is my segue into a mini-rant:
Part of the “Hollywoodization” of Comic-Con is that now San Diego is flooded with “industry” types and even some movie stars. That means that there are cooler, more exclusive parties going on. As it happened, on Friday night there were a couple such parties happening at the Hard Rock. The William Morris Agency took over the bar by the pool, and someone else took over the “Sweetwater Saloon” downstairs after 6PM. That meant that we were kicked out before that and were then, unable to use any of the facilities. Now, I think this is kind of outrageous, seeing as Don and I were paying guests of the hotel. I feel bad for any guests who happened to be there who were not affiliated with Comic-Con at all. They must have been pissed.
I probably wouldn’t have minded—if only I’d been invited to the William Morris party! End of rant.
The first year I attended Comic-Con was in 1987. Boy, have things changed. Back then, there was no giant convention center, the con was held at the little ol’ Civic Center. There were almost none of the high-rise buildings over the skyline. Downtown was full of pawnshops, bail bonds offices & tattoo parlors. The Gas Lamp District was a slum.
Today there is a lot more to do: better nightlife, better restaurants. And the streets are safer. But, there were things about the old Comic-Con that I miss. Especially the expense account dinners! Back in the 80s and early 90s, the Marvel & DC editors were pretty liberal with their expense accounts. Probably why Marvel had to file for bankruptcy! Yes, those were the days! It was easy for me to find a good, free meal! It happens rarely now. There were fewer parties back then also, so it was easier to find out where you were “supposed” to be each night!
We also used to go en-masse to the beaches at Coronado or La Jolla, or go Jet-Skiing with Jim Lee. That was fun. Or a bunch of us would take the trolley down to Tijuana for cheap beer. I don’t really feel like doing that anymore, but it was a cool diversion when I was an under-aged 19 or 20!
Yes, that's me.
Marcus McLaurin, Me (with the hair), Tom Morgan
Klaus Janson (washboard abs, anyone?)
Sara (Tuchinsky) Kocher
Sorry, no pictures of TJ. Today, it’s all more difficult, more expensive and more confusing. That is, unless you are Jim Lee. Then, you probably still get your meals comped and know where all the cool parties are.
You see? advantages & disadvantages.
In recent years, I’ve attended smaller conventions to promote my comics, and I’m reminded how the Comic-Con once was (only without the expense account dinners!). In some ways, these little conventions feel like a huge step backwards. But, it must be said that the fans in the smaller conventions are more enthusiastic about the comics. And when the convention is held in a city farther away from New York & LA, the fans are more appreciative that you’ve made the effort to show up. In San Diego there’s too much other stuff to draw people’s attention. If people are lining up for the Heroes panel for hours, or to get free Star Trek posters, then they aren’t browsing the comics. There is something to be said for the smaller conventions.
Of course, at the smaller cons, you won’t get to see this…
Katee Sackhoff
…Then again, neither did I! I didn’t even attempt to get in to the Battlestar Galactica panel. Luckily, you can see the whole thing online here. It’s pretty cool. I just wish Kevin Smith would realize that it’s unnecessary to drop an “f-bomb” every other sentence. Hey Kev, do the words “family entertainment” mean anything to you at all, or are you just 12 years old?
By the way, that reminds me, if you’ve been attending Comic-Con for a while, have you noticed that there are fewer porn stars exhibiting lately? That’s a relief. I always thought that if those porn-industry people want to exhibit at Comic-Con, they should set up a whole “Red Light District,” that only adults would be allowed to enter. Ghettoizing the so-called “adult” exhibitors needn’t be a negative thing. They could really play it up with red lights, stripper-poles, dry ice & stuff. They could include all the guys who sell leather bondage crap & “mature” art. You know, make it something really special! Most importantly, keep it segregated from the kids and let Comic-Con be family-friendly, as it ought to be. If only I was King of the Universe...
I’m all over the place, so this is a good time to stop and say: To be Concluded!
For Part Four of my Comic-Con report, click here
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Steve's Comic-Con Contemplation: Part Two
To read part one of my Comic-Con report, click here.
So, Artist’s Alley was pretty cool. One of the people who came by looking for me was Anne T. Murphy, the widow of my old boss, Archie Goodwin. I don’t remember the last time I saw Anne. Probably before Archie died in 1998. She and her son flew out to accept the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. It was nice to catch up with her.
Archie Goodwin
I first met Archie Goodwin while I was a high school intern at Marvel Comics in 1985, and worked for him at Epic Comics after I graduated, from autumn 1986 until early 1989. I was just a kid then and, as might be expected, I was somewhat awed by him. I never told him this but, even though we were not “close,” Archie was kind of a paternal figure for me. The fact that he shared a birthday with my own father (though 4 years younger) helped, as well as the fact that I want to high school with Archie’s daughter, Jennifer. My years working at Epic were the working equivalent of my college education, the diverse projects, setting the groundwork for my career in comics & publishing. 
When I decided to leave staff at Marvel/Epic, I used Archie’s departure as a good excuse for the timing. In Early 1989, the higher-ups at Marvel decided to massively restructure the Epic department, which they had, until then, pretty much left alone. In short, they decided to stop focusing on the “Creator Owned” titles that Epic was formed to develop, and use Epic as more of a “specialty” imprint, creating more “mature” versions of Marvel’s characters, like Havok/Wolverine and Typhoid. It was a depressing time for us. Archie decided it was time to leave, and I felt it would be a good time to pursue my freelance career. I left only a couple of weeks before Archie’s last day.
After that, Archie moved over to DC Comics, and I didn’t see as much of him. When I did get up to the offices, I always dropped by for a visit and usually showed Archie my latest work. I actively sought his approval, and he was always very encouraging.
I moved to Los Angeles in 1993, and saw Archie a lot less. I was not very good at keeping in touch with many of my New York friends, and this is something I regret. Not long after I moved, Archie was diagnosed with cancer. After several years of fighting, he died in 1998. I can’t believe it’s been ten years. I saw Archie only a few times in the years before he died, and it was very difficult for me. I think my response was to ignore and avoid. Only after it was too late did I even understand this, to my shame.
In retrospect, I look back and treasure my relationship with Archie Goodwin. He taught me more that I ever realized at the time. Some of his gifts to me include my love & fascination with European comics, a true understanding of the benefits & pitfalls of “creator ownership,” and an open mind toward the endless possibilities inherent in the art of comic book art & storytelling. I owe him a lot.
My thanks to Anne Murphy, for her visit, and for dredging up in me these thoughts & feelings. I’ve enjoyed remembering & writing about them. I hope we will keep in touch.
To be continued...(on with the con!)
For Part Three of my Comic-Con report, click here.
Friday, August 01, 2008
Steve's Comic-Con Contemplation, Part One
Way past time for my Comic-Con report! Sorry for the delay, but part of my Comic-Con experience was to return home with a cold and some anxiety about catching up on my work. Today, I’m feeling better about both of those things, so now I can let loose with my two cents…
Put simply, the San Diego Comic-Con is out of control. It’s a monster. A behemoth that nobody can fully comprehend. I was there from Thursday to Sunday morning, but I feel like I saw almost nothing. It was all a blur! In the days since, I have been talking to people and skimming websites & blogs to catch up on everything I didn’t see or hear about. I’ve barely skimmed the surface.
Thank god for Heidi MacDonald and her work. Today’s post on The Beat is an example of some of the best reporting on the “Con.” Except that now I feel bad that I didn’t get invited to Bob Chapman’s party. Guess I should have gotten off my butt and said hello to Bob at his booth. Gotta work on that. The Pulse also has some nice overviews of the panels I missed. The Battlestar Galactica panel, hosted by Kevin Smith, sounds like it was great fun. I caught a little of it on YouTube yesterday:
Katee Sackhoff. Yes, indeed.
Speaking of YouTube, by pal Don posted some amusing “podcasts” of his own. They always make me chuckle. Here’s one that shows off the inside of the Owl Ship from the Watchmen movie:
Seeing the full-sized Owl Ship was one of the highlights of the convention for me. It really brought out the “fanboy” in me, I must confess. Don’t tell anyone. That movie is going to rule.
Anyway, I’m not a reporter and this is just my blog, so I’m just going to mention a few things about my San Diego experience. Forgive me if I ramble…
First, I must say that getting there was a HORROR! Like thousands of other commuters on Thursday morning, I got stuck in an unbelievable traffic jam on the 5 Freeway. Evidently, at around 5:00 AM, a big rig ran into an SUV and burst into flames just north of Oceanside, by Camp Pendleton. The fire spread to the nearby brush, and about 4 acres were consumed in flames. Luckily, nobody was killed. I would have guessed otherwise when my car finally passed the wreckage and I saw the burnt-out husks of the vehicles involved.
I had left my house between 6 and 6:30, and was making amazing time until I hit the backed-up traffic. What would usually be a 2-hour trip stretched out to just over 6 hours! When I got to San Diego it was about 12:30 and, of course, there was nowhere to park. I found a spot about 10 blocks from the convention center and had to make a couple of trips back & forth by foot, hauling boxes of books & stuff, since I had a spot in Artist’s Alley.
After setting up and having some food, I finally got to relax and settle in to my spot by about 3:00 PM. In past years, I’ve had my own booth at Comic-Con, I’ve planted myself at different publishers’ booths (like Marvel or Tokyopop) and I’ve shared or bummed space at a friend’s booth (Like Active Images), but I’ve never done the whole “Artist’s Alley” thing until this year. It’s different. I liked it!
I find that it really helps for me to have a “base of operations” when I attend Comic-Con. When I don’t have a specific place to be or a real focus, I find myself wandering around rather aimlessly, overwhelmed by the crowds and all the visual stimulation. Artist’s Alley was a cool place to make my “base.” For one thing, it was smaller, and I was just representing myself. When I was self-publishing and had a booth (for Comiculture) I was there to represent an idea, or a product. As a small-press publisher, it was easy to get lost among the other publishers. One tends to lose one’s individuality. Many convention-goers seemed not recognize us as “creators,” but saw us simply as salesmen hawking our books. This is probably because many of the larger publisher’s booths are manned by interns and editorial staff. In Artist’s Alley, I was a person! Just a guy, selling his comics & doing sketches.
Having half of an 8-foot table in Artist’s Alley may seem like a step down from having a whole booth, but it certainly has advantages. Cost is a big one. The price of a booth is so great that, unless you have a lot of popular products to sell, it’s very difficult to make money. In Artist’s Alley, I had none of the stress associated with that. Without having to try and recover the cost of the booth, I was content to earn beer money.
As a freelance artist looking for work, Artist’s Alley was a good place for potential clients to find me. I met some interesting people & traded cards.
Also, this year I was listed in the directory as an artist by name, instead of by my company’s name, the name of a book, or website. That meant that friends, or fans of my work, knew I’d be there and how to find me. I was pleased to have people seek me out to autograph X-Men comics or to ask me whatever happened to Weasel Guy.
It’s nice to feel wanted!
To be Continued…
Put simply, the San Diego Comic-Con is out of control. It’s a monster. A behemoth that nobody can fully comprehend. I was there from Thursday to Sunday morning, but I feel like I saw almost nothing. It was all a blur! In the days since, I have been talking to people and skimming websites & blogs to catch up on everything I didn’t see or hear about. I’ve barely skimmed the surface.
Thank god for Heidi MacDonald and her work. Today’s post on The Beat is an example of some of the best reporting on the “Con.” Except that now I feel bad that I didn’t get invited to Bob Chapman’s party. Guess I should have gotten off my butt and said hello to Bob at his booth. Gotta work on that. The Pulse also has some nice overviews of the panels I missed. The Battlestar Galactica panel, hosted by Kevin Smith, sounds like it was great fun. I caught a little of it on YouTube yesterday:
Katee Sackhoff. Yes, indeed.
Speaking of YouTube, by pal Don posted some amusing “podcasts” of his own. They always make me chuckle. Here’s one that shows off the inside of the Owl Ship from the Watchmen movie:
Seeing the full-sized Owl Ship was one of the highlights of the convention for me. It really brought out the “fanboy” in me, I must confess. Don’t tell anyone. That movie is going to rule.
Anyway, I’m not a reporter and this is just my blog, so I’m just going to mention a few things about my San Diego experience. Forgive me if I ramble…
First, I must say that getting there was a HORROR! Like thousands of other commuters on Thursday morning, I got stuck in an unbelievable traffic jam on the 5 Freeway. Evidently, at around 5:00 AM, a big rig ran into an SUV and burst into flames just north of Oceanside, by Camp Pendleton. The fire spread to the nearby brush, and about 4 acres were consumed in flames. Luckily, nobody was killed. I would have guessed otherwise when my car finally passed the wreckage and I saw the burnt-out husks of the vehicles involved.
I had left my house between 6 and 6:30, and was making amazing time until I hit the backed-up traffic. What would usually be a 2-hour trip stretched out to just over 6 hours! When I got to San Diego it was about 12:30 and, of course, there was nowhere to park. I found a spot about 10 blocks from the convention center and had to make a couple of trips back & forth by foot, hauling boxes of books & stuff, since I had a spot in Artist’s Alley.
After setting up and having some food, I finally got to relax and settle in to my spot by about 3:00 PM. In past years, I’ve had my own booth at Comic-Con, I’ve planted myself at different publishers’ booths (like Marvel or Tokyopop) and I’ve shared or bummed space at a friend’s booth (Like Active Images), but I’ve never done the whole “Artist’s Alley” thing until this year. It’s different. I liked it!
I find that it really helps for me to have a “base of operations” when I attend Comic-Con. When I don’t have a specific place to be or a real focus, I find myself wandering around rather aimlessly, overwhelmed by the crowds and all the visual stimulation. Artist’s Alley was a cool place to make my “base.” For one thing, it was smaller, and I was just representing myself. When I was self-publishing and had a booth (for Comiculture) I was there to represent an idea, or a product. As a small-press publisher, it was easy to get lost among the other publishers. One tends to lose one’s individuality. Many convention-goers seemed not recognize us as “creators,” but saw us simply as salesmen hawking our books. This is probably because many of the larger publisher’s booths are manned by interns and editorial staff. In Artist’s Alley, I was a person! Just a guy, selling his comics & doing sketches.
Having half of an 8-foot table in Artist’s Alley may seem like a step down from having a whole booth, but it certainly has advantages. Cost is a big one. The price of a booth is so great that, unless you have a lot of popular products to sell, it’s very difficult to make money. In Artist’s Alley, I had none of the stress associated with that. Without having to try and recover the cost of the booth, I was content to earn beer money.
As a freelance artist looking for work, Artist’s Alley was a good place for potential clients to find me. I met some interesting people & traded cards.
Also, this year I was listed in the directory as an artist by name, instead of by my company’s name, the name of a book, or website. That meant that friends, or fans of my work, knew I’d be there and how to find me. I was pleased to have people seek me out to autograph X-Men comics or to ask me whatever happened to Weasel Guy.
It’s nice to feel wanted!
To be Continued…
For part two of my Comic-Con report, click here.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Off to San Diego
Tomorrow morning I'll be getting up at the crack of dawn to drive down to the San Diego Comic-Con. Won't be online again until next week, so wish me luck! I will report back with my thoughts & observations. If you're going to be down there--come find me! Details on the right...
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
New Design
If you're familiar with my blog, you must notice that I just redesigned it. I've been wanting to switch to a 3-column format for a long time, but only recently discovered a template worth monkeying around with. What do you think?
The image with the dinosaur is a promotional piece of art I drew for a new comic/graphic novel story I've been developing in my "spare time." (Any interested publishers out there???) If you plan to be at the San Diego con, I'll have postcards printed with this image on them. Come on by and ask for one!
The image with the dinosaur is a promotional piece of art I drew for a new comic/graphic novel story I've been developing in my "spare time." (Any interested publishers out there???) If you plan to be at the San Diego con, I'll have postcards printed with this image on them. Come on by and ask for one!
Inky Dinky Do
In my last post, I showed you some work-in-progress; a bunch of half-inked pages (some might say half-assed!) In the comments, Allen asked me about what tools I use, and to explain a bit more about my process. I decided that my answer was worthy of its own post. Or at least a good excuse for one!
At least, that’s what I thought a month ago, when he asked me!
The truth is, I don’t really know if I have a technique. I don’t know what my process is! Lately, I’m just using whatever tools are handy. I use a mostly a quill pen nib made by Deleter (a company that makes “Manga” specialty supplies). I used to rely on your basic Hunt 107 nib, or “crow-quill,” but the fact is that they just don’t make ‘em like they used to. When I can’t find my Deleter nibs, and I’m forced to use a Hunt, I get very frustrated because they are so cheaply made these days. I think you’re lucky if you can use one for 3 hours before it bends or breaks. They suck. Didn’t used to be that way.
To rule straight lines & curves, I tend to use technical pens like the Copic Multiliners or Staedtler Pigment Liners. I even admit to using an occasional Sharpie to fill in blacks. I guess I’m a lot less choosey about my materials than I used to be. I’m sure many of you artists out there will be horrified to learn this. The reality is that I pretty much always scan my own work, so I’m less concerned about the ink quality and I tend to clean up the digital files rather than using Pro White or other corrective white paint on the actual inked art. This means that some of my original art has an “unfinished” look, and I may regret that fact, one day when I try to sell it all. However, for getting a job done, it can be much easier & faster for me to clean up & manipulate the pages in Photoshop, so that’s what I’m doing.
By the way, I would NOT recommend these half-assed measures to any artists out there who are trying to break in the the biz! Master your tools! That means your pens, brushes, ink & paint—as well as your computer mouse & stylus!
Now here’s my sad confessional: I really, really, REALLY wish that I were more adept at inking with a brush. I LOVE a nice, juicy brush stroke, and I’m supremely jealous of anyone who can pull it off. I like to play with brushes (and Japanese brush-pens) when I’m sketching, but I just don’t have the guts to reach for the brush when I’m working on a “real” job. I am simply more comfortable with a pen, so I always fall back on that particular tool, because I know how to make it do what I want.
But I’ll keep practicing, and one day I’m gonna knock your socks off!
At least, that’s what I thought a month ago, when he asked me!
The truth is, I don’t really know if I have a technique. I don’t know what my process is! Lately, I’m just using whatever tools are handy. I use a mostly a quill pen nib made by Deleter (a company that makes “Manga” specialty supplies). I used to rely on your basic Hunt 107 nib, or “crow-quill,” but the fact is that they just don’t make ‘em like they used to. When I can’t find my Deleter nibs, and I’m forced to use a Hunt, I get very frustrated because they are so cheaply made these days. I think you’re lucky if you can use one for 3 hours before it bends or breaks. They suck. Didn’t used to be that way.
To rule straight lines & curves, I tend to use technical pens like the Copic Multiliners or Staedtler Pigment Liners. I even admit to using an occasional Sharpie to fill in blacks. I guess I’m a lot less choosey about my materials than I used to be. I’m sure many of you artists out there will be horrified to learn this. The reality is that I pretty much always scan my own work, so I’m less concerned about the ink quality and I tend to clean up the digital files rather than using Pro White or other corrective white paint on the actual inked art. This means that some of my original art has an “unfinished” look, and I may regret that fact, one day when I try to sell it all. However, for getting a job done, it can be much easier & faster for me to clean up & manipulate the pages in Photoshop, so that’s what I’m doing.
By the way, I would NOT recommend these half-assed measures to any artists out there who are trying to break in the the biz! Master your tools! That means your pens, brushes, ink & paint—as well as your computer mouse & stylus!
Now here’s my sad confessional: I really, really, REALLY wish that I were more adept at inking with a brush. I LOVE a nice, juicy brush stroke, and I’m supremely jealous of anyone who can pull it off. I like to play with brushes (and Japanese brush-pens) when I’m sketching, but I just don’t have the guts to reach for the brush when I’m working on a “real” job. I am simply more comfortable with a pen, so I always fall back on that particular tool, because I know how to make it do what I want.
But I’ll keep practicing, and one day I’m gonna knock your socks off!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Half-Inked Pages
This week, one of the projects I'm scrambling to finish is a short story for TOKYOPOP's Princess Ai: Encounters anthology. This story is cool because it features the cast of my own OEM, Battle of the Bands!
When inking, I find that It's a really bad idea to jump around inking bits of pages like this, but sometimes I can't help it. Especially when I'm working late nights. I keep moving by concentrating on one thing, like ruling straight lines, or inking a particular character's hair or something. The trouble is that after a while, you have a big mess and no finished pages to show for your trouble. Today I need to sit down and methodically finish pages starting from page one. I think that will make my editor happy. What do you think?
Monday, June 16, 2008
Comic-Con
I guess it's about time that I mention that I will be at the San Diego Comic-Con again this year. What will be interesting for me is that this year I will be in Artist's Alley. I've exhibited at Comic-Con several times while we were publishing Comiculture and also way back in the old Electric Crayon days, but i've never participated as a solo artist. Should be cool. I have no idea where my seat will be, but when I find out, I will, of course, post that info here so you can find me!
I have to say that I always have mixed feelings about the Comic-Con (and conventions in general.) I find them overwhelming, and unless I have a clear goal (like when we were selling Comiculture) and a base of operations (like my own booth), I tend to wander aimlessly and feel like I have no real reason to be there. That said, I think I've only missed 2 or 3 years since I first started going to the Con back in 1987. I figure that this may be my 18th Comic-Con or so. Crazy.
Anyway, this year I was considering skipping the whole affair, but then I found out that they had a spot for me in Artist's Alley. Now I have something to look forward to, and maybe my enthusiasm will be revived. I will bring some of my books to sell, some art and maybe I will do sketches. Of course, I'll sign comics, so bring those old X-Men books by if you want me to write on them.
Anybody out there have any other ideas what I should do, or what I can expect? Any fellow artists who have done the Artist's Alley thing? Talk to me people! And while you're at it, I'm still looking for feedback regarding my last post. This is a two-way street, you know! I'm not bloggin' for my health!
Monday, June 09, 2008
Help Me Out Here
Is it me, or is Criminal the ONLY good comic being published right now?! I'm serious! Last week I went to the comic store for the first time in a couple of months and I found nothing else that interested me. Granted, there are a bunch of titles that seem to have nice artwork, but there was nothing that was calling out to me to be read. What's up with that?!
Can anyone out there suggest any comics worth reading?!? Please???
Friday, June 06, 2008
D-Day
Meant to post this earlier today, but technically it is still June 6th, the anniversary of D-Day. At least it is here in California.
It is appropriate, though purely coincidental, that I just finished reading Ike by Michael Korda. This biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower is excellent and highly readable. It's a biography in the vein of David McCullough's John Adams, in that it attempts to strip away some of the stains of the reputations of these great leaders, to show them in a more heroic light. Obviously both authors are enamored of their subjects and do their best to elevate their heroes' places in history.
Ike succeeds in this, and gives the reader a fascinating portrait of a self-made man, from humble beginnings, and his rise to Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during the Normandy Invasion, and later as President of the U.S.
A huge portion of the book is dedicated to the Normandy invasion, and that alone makes Ike a great book to read right now, as we celebrate the anniversary of D-Day. Check it out.
It is appropriate, though purely coincidental, that I just finished reading Ike by Michael Korda. This biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower is excellent and highly readable. It's a biography in the vein of David McCullough's John Adams, in that it attempts to strip away some of the stains of the reputations of these great leaders, to show them in a more heroic light. Obviously both authors are enamored of their subjects and do their best to elevate their heroes' places in history.
Ike succeeds in this, and gives the reader a fascinating portrait of a self-made man, from humble beginnings, and his rise to Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during the Normandy Invasion, and later as President of the U.S.
A huge portion of the book is dedicated to the Normandy invasion, and that alone makes Ike a great book to read right now, as we celebrate the anniversary of D-Day. Check it out.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
On The Pronunciation of My Name (and Blog)
In my last post I mentioned that I was thinking about changing the name of this blog to something other than A Bucce of Power. My reason was not because I don't like the current name, but because people sometimes mispronounce it, and then the joke just doesn't work.
However, since no better names have been suggested, and I've been a big blank on the subject, A Bucce of Power it shall remain! Instead of changing, I am posting this handy pronunciation guide, and a confusing explanation to what it all means! Pay attention, there may be a test later.
First of all, the correct way to say the name of this blog is just like the expression: Abuse of Power. In this context, I ask you to pronounce "BUCCE" like "BYOUSE," as in "ABUSE," rhyming with "JUICE."
What's "BUCCE?" It's not a real word. It means nothing. But it is the first five letters of my surname, BUCCELLATO. It was also my nickname for a long time. Some people still use it. Especially all the "Old Marvel" people I saw at the New York Comic-Con last month. Sometimes, they call me "The Bucce." It's a term of endearment. I think. Sometimes I sign artwork "BUCCE," too.
Now, here's where it gets confusing, and it is, admittedly, my own fault...
The correct pronunciation of "BUCCELLATO" is not with the soft "s" sound that rhymes with "juice." In Italy (and Sicily, where my "people" came from), the double-C sounds more like how we pronounce "CH." Therefore, the right way to say it is “BOO-CHA-LA-TOE.”
Unfortunately, when I was growing up, we pronounced it differently. We said “BYOU-SA-LOTTO.” That's how my Dad's family said it. Clearly, some Americanized bastardization. I have no idea how long that's been going on. People always have trouble with the name, except, of course, in Italy, where people always know how to say it, and even know how to spell it correctly without being told.
The thing is, that sometime around 1998 or so, I started using the "correct" pronunciation. Probably because I'd been to Italy and was embarrassed at being corrected about my own name. I decided to "keep it real," or whatever. In any case, much to the confusion of everyone around me, I "changed" the pronunciation of my last name (I wrote about this briefly in an old post). I don't correct people who have knew me as "The Buccce" or “BYOU-SA-LOTTO,” but when I meet new people, I usually say it the "right" way.
Incidentally, my brother Brian also started doing this at some point before me. As a result, many of his friends call him "BOOCH." People are confused by the "Booch vs Bucce" (rhymes with juice) thing, and I can't say that I blame them! It can be problematic.
Like when people who know me (or Brian) with the correct pronunciation stumble on the the name of my blog, "A Booch of Power? What does that mean?" Umm...nothing. Please move on to the rest of the blog.
Actually, as I write this, I'm not even sure what my older brother, Jack does. I assume he's left his name alone, but who knows! I'll have to ask him.
In case you’re wondering what Buccellato means, it is the name of a plain, sweet italian cake. I've seen several different regional recipes like this one, but the best, most interesting I've seen is a version in the Williams-Sonoma Savoring Italy book. This one is a Sicilian Christmas ring cake, filled with dates & nuts. My wife made it last Christmas. It was heavy, but very tasty, and good with a nice shot of espresso. Here's a pic from the book:
Yum. It's a really good cookbook, BTW. Try the braised fennel.
I saw another recipe online today that claimed the word Buccellati means "riddled" and that it's descriptive of the cake's texture. Never heard that before. Maybe it's a joke: if you do a Google search for "Buccellato + riddled," you will, no doubt, find links relating to the "Castellamarese War," that gangster Bill Bonanno mentions in his book, Bound by Honor. That was a Mafia feud between the rival Bonanno & Buccellato clans, back in the day. The word "riddled" is used a lot, but in regards to bullets rather than cakes.
I prefer cakes, myself.
Anyway, that's the confusing story of my name, nickname, their pronunciation, and my blog. To be frank, people are always mispronouncing (and misspelling) Buccellato, so I'm used to it. If you want to know what to call me, I accept both the italian pronunciation as well as the one I grew up with. I'm easy.
And "Steve" is easiest. Call me that.
However, since no better names have been suggested, and I've been a big blank on the subject, A Bucce of Power it shall remain! Instead of changing, I am posting this handy pronunciation guide, and a confusing explanation to what it all means! Pay attention, there may be a test later.
First of all, the correct way to say the name of this blog is just like the expression: Abuse of Power. In this context, I ask you to pronounce "BUCCE" like "BYOUSE," as in "ABUSE," rhyming with "JUICE."
What's "BUCCE?" It's not a real word. It means nothing. But it is the first five letters of my surname, BUCCELLATO. It was also my nickname for a long time. Some people still use it. Especially all the "Old Marvel" people I saw at the New York Comic-Con last month. Sometimes, they call me "The Bucce." It's a term of endearment. I think. Sometimes I sign artwork "BUCCE," too.
Now, here's where it gets confusing, and it is, admittedly, my own fault...
The correct pronunciation of "BUCCELLATO" is not with the soft "s" sound that rhymes with "juice." In Italy (and Sicily, where my "people" came from), the double-C sounds more like how we pronounce "CH." Therefore, the right way to say it is “BOO-CHA-LA-TOE.”
Unfortunately, when I was growing up, we pronounced it differently. We said “BYOU-SA-LOTTO.” That's how my Dad's family said it. Clearly, some Americanized bastardization. I have no idea how long that's been going on. People always have trouble with the name, except, of course, in Italy, where people always know how to say it, and even know how to spell it correctly without being told.
The thing is, that sometime around 1998 or so, I started using the "correct" pronunciation. Probably because I'd been to Italy and was embarrassed at being corrected about my own name. I decided to "keep it real," or whatever. In any case, much to the confusion of everyone around me, I "changed" the pronunciation of my last name (I wrote about this briefly in an old post). I don't correct people who have knew me as "The Buccce" or “BYOU-SA-LOTTO,” but when I meet new people, I usually say it the "right" way.
Incidentally, my brother Brian also started doing this at some point before me. As a result, many of his friends call him "BOOCH." People are confused by the "Booch vs Bucce" (rhymes with juice) thing, and I can't say that I blame them! It can be problematic.
Like when people who know me (or Brian) with the correct pronunciation stumble on the the name of my blog, "A Booch of Power? What does that mean?" Umm...nothing. Please move on to the rest of the blog.
Actually, as I write this, I'm not even sure what my older brother, Jack does. I assume he's left his name alone, but who knows! I'll have to ask him.
In case you’re wondering what Buccellato means, it is the name of a plain, sweet italian cake. I've seen several different regional recipes like this one, but the best, most interesting I've seen is a version in the Williams-Sonoma Savoring Italy book. This one is a Sicilian Christmas ring cake, filled with dates & nuts. My wife made it last Christmas. It was heavy, but very tasty, and good with a nice shot of espresso. Here's a pic from the book:
Yum. It's a really good cookbook, BTW. Try the braised fennel.
I saw another recipe online today that claimed the word Buccellati means "riddled" and that it's descriptive of the cake's texture. Never heard that before. Maybe it's a joke: if you do a Google search for "Buccellato + riddled," you will, no doubt, find links relating to the "Castellamarese War," that gangster Bill Bonanno mentions in his book, Bound by Honor. That was a Mafia feud between the rival Bonanno & Buccellato clans, back in the day. The word "riddled" is used a lot, but in regards to bullets rather than cakes.
I prefer cakes, myself.
Anyway, that's the confusing story of my name, nickname, their pronunciation, and my blog. To be frank, people are always mispronouncing (and misspelling) Buccellato, so I'm used to it. If you want to know what to call me, I accept both the italian pronunciation as well as the one I grew up with. I'm easy.
And "Steve" is easiest. Call me that.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."
--Billy Shakespeare
Romeo & Juliet
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Name That Blog
I'm kind of thinking about changing the name of my blog, even though I am still very amused by "A Bucce of Power." Anybody out there have any suggestions for me? Don came up with the current name. He's pretty good at this game.
I await your suggestions!
I await your suggestions!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Creative Process
Most people, myself included, seem to enjoy a look "behind the scenes" to see the creative process at work. It's why I like listening to the "Director's Commentaries" on DVDs and why, lately, I've been really into the magazines published by TwoMorrows Publishing, like Draw! and Rough Stuff. Actually, some of my favorite blogs are by fellow comic book artists who routinely show off their works in-progress. Today I'll jump on that bandwagon with some work of my own.
One of my more interesting freelance jobs lately has been a monthly, 2-page comic strip for a teen magazine published in Poland, called Fun Club. This morning I just finished my third installment. This is an unusual job because I don't speak (or read) Polish, and the comic will never be in English. The writer sends me a pretty rough script to work from, written in English that's good enough for me to draw from, even if I don't understand all the jokes! The strip is about the wacky adventures of two teenaged girls named Po'Ziomka and Jagoda. This month, they take a trip to Egypt to look for Cleopatra's secret beauty tips (or something). Here's an excerpt from the script, to show you what I receive to work from ("Rys" means "Panel"):
Rys 8
Dark corridor inside the pyramid. The girls are walking with torches in the hands
- It is so dark here!
- Maybe they forgot to pay for the electricity?
Behind the girls the mummy in the bandages is walking slowly. Girls can't see it.
- Next losers! I will scare them to the death!
Rys 9
NAGLE written with huge letter ("nagle" means suddenly). The mummy is jumping on the girls, screaming
- AAAAAAAAAAAA
Rys 10
Girls are wrestling with the mummy. The mummy screams!
- Have mercy! Do not unbind me! I will do anything!
Poziomka:
- So take us to Cleopatra!
Everything I need is pretty much there. More details from the writer is generally preferred, but considering that my collaborators and I are separated by 6000 miles, 9 time zones, and 2 different languages, I think it's amazing that I even have this job to talk about!
Anyhow, from the emailed script & panel descriptions, I first do rough THUMBNAILS of the pages that look like this (click on the images to enlarge):
The Thumbnail is usually my favorite part of the process. I enjoy designing the page and telling the story without concerning myself with the more difficult parts of drawing, such as perspective, proportions & maintaining a style. I enjoy those things as well, but it's different. There's also something about the spontaneity and looseness about the Thumbnail that appeals to me--and that I find difficult to maintain as the process continues...
Above is my LAYOUT for the page. I usually do this step on lightweight tracing paper. It's where I try my first pass at Penciling the page at the size I will draw the final page (usually larger than printed size). Here I work out the basics of the page and how the panels all fit. I use a pencil, and then quickly outline the important parts with a marker. Sometimes this ends up being a patchwork of drawings all taped together. The drawing is pretty rough, and I'm most concerned about blocking in the main shapes & working out the structure of the figures & environments. The perspective is just eye-balled here; I'll tighten it all up in the next step...
Above is my PENCILLED PAGE. This particular page is still somewhat rough. Depending on the project & client, I may do a much cleaner, tighter job. An example of a tighter Pencilled Page is here. Some friends have suggested that I should skip the tracing-paper "Layout" stage, and go directly to this stage, pencilling on the art board. The reasons would be to save time and, perhaps, to maintain some of that lost spontaneity that I have mentioned. However, I find the Layout to be invaluable, because between the Layout & Pencilled Page, I have opportunities to make important changes. After ruling the panel borders, I use a light-box to trace the layout onto the board. As I do this, I tweak the images, moving them around slightly to improve the design & avoid any bad tangents. I'll also use this time to shrink or enlarge panels (or individual elements within), if I feel they need more room to fit copy.
After light-boxing the main elements worked out in the Layout, I go over each drawing, tightening it up. I now pull out my rulers, curves & templates and work out the perspective. In the case of this job, I am also inking & coloring it, so there are certain details I can leave for later.
Above, we have the INKED PAGE. Comic book fans are familiar with this as the next step in the "assembly line," and know that very often, publishers like Marvel & DC will hire a separate artist to "ink" a comic after it has been "pencilled" by one artist. This is usually just a concession to the fast-paced schedules of putting out a monthly comic periodical. Breaking up the art chores makes sense if speed is an important aspect of the production. A happy side-effect is that teaming up different pencillers & inkers like this makes for some interesting variations in style. Artists whose work meshes well together have the potential for forming a great collaboration wherein both artists benefit.
However, that has nothing to do with this page! Just an interesting tangent for the benefit of readers who aren't intimate with the comics biz. In the case of this project, I'm doing everything, including the scanning and some of the work a letterer might do, I you compare the Pencilled Page with the Inked Page, you'll see a big leap. You may also notice some changes, like making the girls' heads bigger in panel 2 (a suggestion from my editor--and a good one). Since I also scanned the page & work in Adobe Photoshop, I could easily put in the signage on the building in the last panel. I also dropped in a "Manga Burst" pattern behind the Mummy in panel 2, and I shrunk the figures a bit in panel 6 to make room for the word balloons. For the "AAAAAA" sound-effect in panel 2, I created the type in Adobe Illustrator and imported in into my page, fitting it behind the Mummy's fist.
Oh, and one thing that you can't see here, but which is important, is that I "paste" my finished inked scan into a Photoshop template which I created, that is sized precisely to that of the printed page, including guide-lines for the bleed, trim & copy-safe areas. This is critical, so that the client won't have trouble with the printing. It's amazing how many artists overlook these details, or simply don't understand them (a rant for another day...!) This is also important for me, as the artist, because I want to be sure none of my work is accidently cropped, and that my bleeds work the way I intend. It's generally a good idea to provide clients with "fool-proof" files.
Last, but not least, I give you the COLORED PAGE, or call it the FINISHED ART, if you prefer. Here is where the drawing comes alive. Because this comic is for a teen magazine aimed at young girls, the client favors bright colors & pastels. In a few places, I've converted the ink lines into color (like the torch flames, shock-lines & some background lines to simulate "atmospheric perspective"). The sky in the final panel is a photo that I fooled around with in Photoshop, using some of their "fine art" filters. Lastly, I created new panel borders (imported from Illustrator) that are thicker, more perfect & white.
Voilà! Now, it's up to the gang in Poland to add the word balloons & make it funny! My job, she is done.
What do you think? I really like working on this magazine. It's exactly the kind of job I'd like to do more of. I enjoy the "cartoony" style and goofy situations. Of the three I've drawn for them, this month's story was my favorite, simply because I like to draw exotic places. I hope Po'Ziomka & Jagoda have some more travel plans in the future!
One of my more interesting freelance jobs lately has been a monthly, 2-page comic strip for a teen magazine published in Poland, called Fun Club. This morning I just finished my third installment. This is an unusual job because I don't speak (or read) Polish, and the comic will never be in English. The writer sends me a pretty rough script to work from, written in English that's good enough for me to draw from, even if I don't understand all the jokes! The strip is about the wacky adventures of two teenaged girls named Po'Ziomka and Jagoda. This month, they take a trip to Egypt to look for Cleopatra's secret beauty tips (or something). Here's an excerpt from the script, to show you what I receive to work from ("Rys" means "Panel"):
Rys 8
Dark corridor inside the pyramid. The girls are walking with torches in the hands
- It is so dark here!
- Maybe they forgot to pay for the electricity?
Behind the girls the mummy in the bandages is walking slowly. Girls can't see it.
- Next losers! I will scare them to the death!
Rys 9
NAGLE written with huge letter ("nagle" means suddenly). The mummy is jumping on the girls, screaming
- AAAAAAAAAAAA
Rys 10
Girls are wrestling with the mummy. The mummy screams!
- Have mercy! Do not unbind me! I will do anything!
Poziomka:
- So take us to Cleopatra!
Everything I need is pretty much there. More details from the writer is generally preferred, but considering that my collaborators and I are separated by 6000 miles, 9 time zones, and 2 different languages, I think it's amazing that I even have this job to talk about!
Anyhow, from the emailed script & panel descriptions, I first do rough THUMBNAILS of the pages that look like this (click on the images to enlarge):
The Thumbnail is usually my favorite part of the process. I enjoy designing the page and telling the story without concerning myself with the more difficult parts of drawing, such as perspective, proportions & maintaining a style. I enjoy those things as well, but it's different. There's also something about the spontaneity and looseness about the Thumbnail that appeals to me--and that I find difficult to maintain as the process continues...
Above is my LAYOUT for the page. I usually do this step on lightweight tracing paper. It's where I try my first pass at Penciling the page at the size I will draw the final page (usually larger than printed size). Here I work out the basics of the page and how the panels all fit. I use a pencil, and then quickly outline the important parts with a marker. Sometimes this ends up being a patchwork of drawings all taped together. The drawing is pretty rough, and I'm most concerned about blocking in the main shapes & working out the structure of the figures & environments. The perspective is just eye-balled here; I'll tighten it all up in the next step...
Above is my PENCILLED PAGE. This particular page is still somewhat rough. Depending on the project & client, I may do a much cleaner, tighter job. An example of a tighter Pencilled Page is here. Some friends have suggested that I should skip the tracing-paper "Layout" stage, and go directly to this stage, pencilling on the art board. The reasons would be to save time and, perhaps, to maintain some of that lost spontaneity that I have mentioned. However, I find the Layout to be invaluable, because between the Layout & Pencilled Page, I have opportunities to make important changes. After ruling the panel borders, I use a light-box to trace the layout onto the board. As I do this, I tweak the images, moving them around slightly to improve the design & avoid any bad tangents. I'll also use this time to shrink or enlarge panels (or individual elements within), if I feel they need more room to fit copy.
After light-boxing the main elements worked out in the Layout, I go over each drawing, tightening it up. I now pull out my rulers, curves & templates and work out the perspective. In the case of this job, I am also inking & coloring it, so there are certain details I can leave for later.
Above, we have the INKED PAGE. Comic book fans are familiar with this as the next step in the "assembly line," and know that very often, publishers like Marvel & DC will hire a separate artist to "ink" a comic after it has been "pencilled" by one artist. This is usually just a concession to the fast-paced schedules of putting out a monthly comic periodical. Breaking up the art chores makes sense if speed is an important aspect of the production. A happy side-effect is that teaming up different pencillers & inkers like this makes for some interesting variations in style. Artists whose work meshes well together have the potential for forming a great collaboration wherein both artists benefit.
However, that has nothing to do with this page! Just an interesting tangent for the benefit of readers who aren't intimate with the comics biz. In the case of this project, I'm doing everything, including the scanning and some of the work a letterer might do, I you compare the Pencilled Page with the Inked Page, you'll see a big leap. You may also notice some changes, like making the girls' heads bigger in panel 2 (a suggestion from my editor--and a good one). Since I also scanned the page & work in Adobe Photoshop, I could easily put in the signage on the building in the last panel. I also dropped in a "Manga Burst" pattern behind the Mummy in panel 2, and I shrunk the figures a bit in panel 6 to make room for the word balloons. For the "AAAAAA" sound-effect in panel 2, I created the type in Adobe Illustrator and imported in into my page, fitting it behind the Mummy's fist.
Oh, and one thing that you can't see here, but which is important, is that I "paste" my finished inked scan into a Photoshop template which I created, that is sized precisely to that of the printed page, including guide-lines for the bleed, trim & copy-safe areas. This is critical, so that the client won't have trouble with the printing. It's amazing how many artists overlook these details, or simply don't understand them (a rant for another day...!) This is also important for me, as the artist, because I want to be sure none of my work is accidently cropped, and that my bleeds work the way I intend. It's generally a good idea to provide clients with "fool-proof" files.
Last, but not least, I give you the COLORED PAGE, or call it the FINISHED ART, if you prefer. Here is where the drawing comes alive. Because this comic is for a teen magazine aimed at young girls, the client favors bright colors & pastels. In a few places, I've converted the ink lines into color (like the torch flames, shock-lines & some background lines to simulate "atmospheric perspective"). The sky in the final panel is a photo that I fooled around with in Photoshop, using some of their "fine art" filters. Lastly, I created new panel borders (imported from Illustrator) that are thicker, more perfect & white.
Voilà! Now, it's up to the gang in Poland to add the word balloons & make it funny! My job, she is done.
What do you think? I really like working on this magazine. It's exactly the kind of job I'd like to do more of. I enjoy the "cartoony" style and goofy situations. Of the three I've drawn for them, this month's story was my favorite, simply because I like to draw exotic places. I hope Po'Ziomka & Jagoda have some more travel plans in the future!
Friday, May 09, 2008
NYCC: Better Late Than Never
This is my belated, and somewhat rambling, 'Post-New York Comic-Con" post. Sorry for the delay, I've been having some ISSUES that I'll explain later. First...the CON:
The convention was a big event that actually felt like San Diego on Saturday. By that I mean it was huge, crowded and pretty overwhelming! I missed the first two years of NYCC, but I'm sure that this year was better, if for no other reason than the weather! Whoever decided that February was a good month for a convention in NYC has something seriously wrong with him. On the other hand, April is a great time to be in the city.
And that's really what I enjoyed most: being back in my hometown, wandering around, and best of all, seeing a lot of old pals. Marie was kind enough to put me up and show me the wonders of Jersey City's newer public transit system. We also visited her offices at Teshkeel and celebrated her birthday! It was really great to catch up with my pal from the "Old Marvel" days, Marcus McLaurin. He looks just the same to me. Also, I noticed in the convention program that Mark Chiarello and Jack Morelli were signing their new book, Heroes of the Negro Leagues, so made it a point to drop by, visit and buy their book. You can buy one here:
And you really should. It's really stunning! That Chiarello dude has skills.
I enjoyed visiting with other old pals & acquaintances like Klaus Janson, Rick Parker, Mark Powers, Jason Liebig, Jim Salicrup, Ron Garney, and Erik Larsen, just to name a few. I also got to meet some of my editors for the first time, in the flesh, which is also nice (a shout out to Rachel Gluckstern and Andy Schmidt!)
TOKYOPOP actually flew me out for the con, so that I could help promote Battle of the Bands and the new Princess Ai anthology that I contributed to (thanks, Mandy!). To earn my plane ticket I sat on a few panels. I think I'm getting somewhat better at the whole public speaking thing. It's very difficult for me, and I always feel like I come across like a stuttering idiot. Not like Amy Reeder Hadley (author of Fool's Gold), who cracked me up. I enjoyed meeting her & look forward to seeing more of her work. Here's a little sketch she did for me after the panel on "Writing For Manga..."
Isn't that nice?
For some stupid reason I walked without rest and without eating anything all of Saturday. I think I must have walked 30 miles. Whatever. When I got back to Marie's apartment, I thought I was going to die. Sunday ,I hopped a ferry across the Hudson and arrived at the Javits Center just in time for my last panel, Humor and Manga. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling very funny. In fact, I felt downright awful! Still, I did my best and, luckily, Amy Hadley stole the show again. I spent the rest of the day wandering about in much discomfort, and disappointed that I hadn't earned the feeling by staying out drinking the night before! What a rip off!
When I got home on Monday, I still felt really crappy and after a few days went to the doctor to find that I have a case of THE SHINGLES! If you are unfamiliar with it, the shingles is basically the Chicken Pox virus that has been lying dormant in my body since I was a child. For reasons unknown, it returns sometimes in adults as "shingles," which is horribly painful, and contagious--not as shingles, but as chicken pox, to those who have not been exposed to it before. :) To make matters more interesting, my trip to NYC put me way behind in my work, so I've been struggling to catch up ever since!
This is why I've been remiss in my blogging; a nice mix of discomfort, general busyness, and a tad of self-pity!
In any case, the rash is almost gone, and I'm no longer contagious, but the pain lingers on, and there's not much to do about it. Hopefully it will go away soon. Meanwhile, tomorrow is my birthday and I'm hoping that a couple of mojitos will help me feel better! I'm kind of bummed that I have been unable to train for the diabetes ride next week, so most likely, I will have to skip it, even if I suddenly get better. My thanks to those of you who donated money to sponsor me for the ride. I feel bad about not living up to my end of the bargain, but what can I do? Sorry about that--it's still a good cause!
Anyway, that's my news-in-brief. Hope you have a great weekend!
The convention was a big event that actually felt like San Diego on Saturday. By that I mean it was huge, crowded and pretty overwhelming! I missed the first two years of NYCC, but I'm sure that this year was better, if for no other reason than the weather! Whoever decided that February was a good month for a convention in NYC has something seriously wrong with him. On the other hand, April is a great time to be in the city.
And that's really what I enjoyed most: being back in my hometown, wandering around, and best of all, seeing a lot of old pals. Marie was kind enough to put me up and show me the wonders of Jersey City's newer public transit system. We also visited her offices at Teshkeel and celebrated her birthday! It was really great to catch up with my pal from the "Old Marvel" days, Marcus McLaurin. He looks just the same to me. Also, I noticed in the convention program that Mark Chiarello and Jack Morelli were signing their new book, Heroes of the Negro Leagues, so made it a point to drop by, visit and buy their book. You can buy one here:
And you really should. It's really stunning! That Chiarello dude has skills.
I enjoyed visiting with other old pals & acquaintances like Klaus Janson, Rick Parker, Mark Powers, Jason Liebig, Jim Salicrup, Ron Garney, and Erik Larsen, just to name a few. I also got to meet some of my editors for the first time, in the flesh, which is also nice (a shout out to Rachel Gluckstern and Andy Schmidt!)
TOKYOPOP actually flew me out for the con, so that I could help promote Battle of the Bands and the new Princess Ai anthology that I contributed to (thanks, Mandy!). To earn my plane ticket I sat on a few panels. I think I'm getting somewhat better at the whole public speaking thing. It's very difficult for me, and I always feel like I come across like a stuttering idiot. Not like Amy Reeder Hadley (author of Fool's Gold), who cracked me up. I enjoyed meeting her & look forward to seeing more of her work. Here's a little sketch she did for me after the panel on "Writing For Manga..."
Isn't that nice?
For some stupid reason I walked without rest and without eating anything all of Saturday. I think I must have walked 30 miles. Whatever. When I got back to Marie's apartment, I thought I was going to die. Sunday ,I hopped a ferry across the Hudson and arrived at the Javits Center just in time for my last panel, Humor and Manga. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling very funny. In fact, I felt downright awful! Still, I did my best and, luckily, Amy Hadley stole the show again. I spent the rest of the day wandering about in much discomfort, and disappointed that I hadn't earned the feeling by staying out drinking the night before! What a rip off!
When I got home on Monday, I still felt really crappy and after a few days went to the doctor to find that I have a case of THE SHINGLES! If you are unfamiliar with it, the shingles is basically the Chicken Pox virus that has been lying dormant in my body since I was a child. For reasons unknown, it returns sometimes in adults as "shingles," which is horribly painful, and contagious--not as shingles, but as chicken pox, to those who have not been exposed to it before. :) To make matters more interesting, my trip to NYC put me way behind in my work, so I've been struggling to catch up ever since!
This is why I've been remiss in my blogging; a nice mix of discomfort, general busyness, and a tad of self-pity!
In any case, the rash is almost gone, and I'm no longer contagious, but the pain lingers on, and there's not much to do about it. Hopefully it will go away soon. Meanwhile, tomorrow is my birthday and I'm hoping that a couple of mojitos will help me feel better! I'm kind of bummed that I have been unable to train for the diabetes ride next week, so most likely, I will have to skip it, even if I suddenly get better. My thanks to those of you who donated money to sponsor me for the ride. I feel bad about not living up to my end of the bargain, but what can I do? Sorry about that--it's still a good cause!
Anyway, that's my news-in-brief. Hope you have a great weekend!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
New York Comic-Con Schedule
NYCC is almost here, and I'm really looking forward to it. If anyone out there is attending and would like to find me, you can ask around the TOKYOPOP booth (#1321), as I'll be floating around there quite a bit. They've also got me scheduled to appear on the following panels (I believe they're all taking place right there in the TOKYOPOP booth):
Friday, April 18
4:00 – 5:00 PM
Princess Ai Panel, Moderated by TOKYOPOP Editor-in-Chief, Rob Tokar
Friday, April 20
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Writing for Manga Panel, moderated by TOKYOPOP Senior Editor, Luis Reyes
Sunday, April 20
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 PM
Humor and Manga Panel, moderated by TOKYOPOP Senior Editor Lillian Diaz-Przybyl
See you there!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Heh
Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film
Dang, that Onion guy is too funny!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Tour de Cure
I'd like to direct you to the link that now appears above the "About Me" box on the right-hand column of my blog. It will be there until around May 18th in the hopes that kind people like yourself will sponsor me as I ride in the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure.
It's for a good cause, and the physical act of riding 30 miles (and training to do it) will help me personally. It is my stated goal to get in the "best shape of my life" in time for my birthday next month! That may sound bold, but since I've never really been in amazing shape, I think it's do-able! Please check out the link.
Here is is again: http://main.diabetes.org/goto/steve_buccellato
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Belated Post
Howdy. I feel rather lame about not posting for a while. And lamer still when I see what drivel I've posted so far this year. For this, dear reader, I must apologize. It's not that I don't have anything to write about, I just haven't had much time lately. Things are really crazy right now, as I try to finish a bunch of work before I leave for the New York Comic-Con next week.
NEXT WEEK?!? AKKK!
Anyway, I'll post again soon. At least I still blog more frequently than Sara. I mean, her last post was hilarious, but it's been four months! Simon's been pretty quiet lately as well. I guess everyone's got better things to do...
I've been reading some interesting stuff, and I'd like to recommend some of it. I'm on a Revolutionary War kick lately...
Some excellent reading. Riveting stuff. I'll write more on that later. Also, I need to write a post about some wacky performances I've seen lately...
Remind me, okay?
Right now, I have to get back to inking. This week I'm simultaneously working on a short story about a sand storm in the Wadi Rum for Marie, a 2-page comic strip for a Teen magazine in Poland, writing another Princess Ai story for TOKYOPOP, coloring the last issue of Bat Lash for DC, and doing grey-tones for Don's new Star Trek Manga, and some other miscellaneous stuff. Here's a peek at the Teen Mag thingie...
Anyway, I'd better get cracking. Meanwhile, why don't you go click over to Mike Manley's blog and read his explosive rants about the comics biz. And look at his purdy art while you're at it.
Here's a pic of me in Wadi Rum, Jordan back in Y2K (cue the theme from Lawrence of Arabia)...
And, hey-- If you're going to the New York Comic-Con, let me know! Seeya!
NEXT WEEK?!? AKKK!
Anyway, I'll post again soon. At least I still blog more frequently than Sara. I mean, her last post was hilarious, but it's been four months! Simon's been pretty quiet lately as well. I guess everyone's got better things to do...
I've been reading some interesting stuff, and I'd like to recommend some of it. I'm on a Revolutionary War kick lately...
Some excellent reading. Riveting stuff. I'll write more on that later. Also, I need to write a post about some wacky performances I've seen lately...
Remind me, okay?
Right now, I have to get back to inking. This week I'm simultaneously working on a short story about a sand storm in the Wadi Rum for Marie, a 2-page comic strip for a Teen magazine in Poland, writing another Princess Ai story for TOKYOPOP, coloring the last issue of Bat Lash for DC, and doing grey-tones for Don's new Star Trek Manga, and some other miscellaneous stuff. Here's a peek at the Teen Mag thingie...
Anyway, I'd better get cracking. Meanwhile, why don't you go click over to Mike Manley's blog and read his explosive rants about the comics biz. And look at his purdy art while you're at it.
Here's a pic of me in Wadi Rum, Jordan back in Y2K (cue the theme from Lawrence of Arabia)...
And, hey-- If you're going to the New York Comic-Con, let me know! Seeya!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Good Medicine
Last week I thought I'd kicked the dreaded cold/flu thing that seems to have plagued everyone I know. Then, on Wednesday night, it came back with a vengeance. To be honest, I'm pretty miserable right now, coughing up my lungs and aching with a bad sore throat. To compound matters, I've got the stress of falling behind on pretty much all of the varied projects I'm working on. It's been rough.
On the positive side, I logged in to my TOKYOPOP.COM Profile today, for the first time in a couple of months. I was pleased to receive a very nice "comment" from a guy I met briefly at Anime LA in January. I thought I'd post it here:
I had the privilege of meeting you in person and hear you talk about your manga in person at Anime LA... I didn't think much of your manga at the time. I WAS DEAD WRONG. I've read Naruto and One Piece which are some of the most successful mangas in the world and I think your manga is definitely as good as those two mangas I've mentioned. I can't believe how funny it is like when Chet gets beaten up by Gina or how honest it can be like when Becky finally opens up to Chet. The art is amazing and helps the story move and helps the humor as well. I hope to one day meet you again and have you sign my copy of Battle of the Bands. --Mel Murph
That made my day. As it happens, just before I went to TOKYOPOP.COM, I was reading a much less flattering review of BOTB on the Barnes & Noble website (please ignore that one!). It bummed me out, so I was doubly pleased to get Mel's comment. It's nice to hear when someone "gets" what I was going for with that book. I will be honored to sign his book if we meet again.
Speaking of meeting people, it looks as though I will be flying to New York for the New York Comic-Con, from April 18-20. I'll be at the TOKYOPOP booth promoting both BOTB and my story in the new anthology book, Princess Ai: Rumors From The Other Side. If you plan to be there too, please come look for me!
On the positive side, I logged in to my TOKYOPOP.COM Profile today, for the first time in a couple of months. I was pleased to receive a very nice "comment" from a guy I met briefly at Anime LA in January. I thought I'd post it here:
I had the privilege of meeting you in person and hear you talk about your manga in person at Anime LA... I didn't think much of your manga at the time. I WAS DEAD WRONG. I've read Naruto and One Piece which are some of the most successful mangas in the world and I think your manga is definitely as good as those two mangas I've mentioned. I can't believe how funny it is like when Chet gets beaten up by Gina or how honest it can be like when Becky finally opens up to Chet. The art is amazing and helps the story move and helps the humor as well. I hope to one day meet you again and have you sign my copy of Battle of the Bands. --Mel Murph
That made my day. As it happens, just before I went to TOKYOPOP.COM, I was reading a much less flattering review of BOTB on the Barnes & Noble website (please ignore that one!). It bummed me out, so I was doubly pleased to get Mel's comment. It's nice to hear when someone "gets" what I was going for with that book. I will be honored to sign his book if we meet again.
Speaking of meeting people, it looks as though I will be flying to New York for the New York Comic-Con, from April 18-20. I'll be at the TOKYOPOP booth promoting both BOTB and my story in the new anthology book, Princess Ai: Rumors From The Other Side. If you plan to be there too, please come look for me!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Beloved Characters From The 80's
Ah, yes. Who could forget Bronson Pinchot's performance as that rapscallion, "Serge" in Beverly Hills Cop? I'm chuckling just thinking about him saying, "would you like it with a lemon twist?"
That's comedy.
Really, they should bring that guy back.
Who are some of your favorite characters from that all-important, Gen-X Decade? C'mon! I wanna hear from you!
That's comedy.
Really, they should bring that guy back.
Who are some of your favorite characters from that all-important, Gen-X Decade? C'mon! I wanna hear from you!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Is It Just Me...
...Or am i just a big nerd? Or both?!
I mean, doesn't this look too damned cool?
Robert Downey JR. is simply an amazing choice for this. Tony Stark as an absolute dick. Perfect. And then we grow to like the absolute dick. Awesome. And then he flies and blows stuff up and stuff. It just doesn't get better than that.
Jon Favreau: You've got my twelve dollars!
I mean, doesn't this look too damned cool?
Robert Downey JR. is simply an amazing choice for this. Tony Stark as an absolute dick. Perfect. And then we grow to like the absolute dick. Awesome. And then he flies and blows stuff up and stuff. It just doesn't get better than that.
Jon Favreau: You've got my twelve dollars!
So Long, Laserdiscs...
...It's been good to know you.
Tonight my Ebay auctions are ending and my old laserdisc collection will be sold off. I'm pleased that all 5 lots have been bid on, so I'll be able to get rid of them all in one fell swoop. I'm curious to see how much (or little) I end up getting for them, but the real good news is that they are out of the garage!
Today I put up a new auction that includes my laserdisc player and, for a special treat, a boxed set of seven Star Trek laserdiscs. Some lucky stiff is gonna have fun with this puppy!
Tonight my Ebay auctions are ending and my old laserdisc collection will be sold off. I'm pleased that all 5 lots have been bid on, so I'll be able to get rid of them all in one fell swoop. I'm curious to see how much (or little) I end up getting for them, but the real good news is that they are out of the garage!
Today I put up a new auction that includes my laserdisc player and, for a special treat, a boxed set of seven Star Trek laserdiscs. Some lucky stiff is gonna have fun with this puppy!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
New Drawings
Working on a bunch of varied stuff these days. Not the least of which is working on defeating this flu that has invaded my poor body. I feel like this:
(Thanks for the link, Mimi)
I'm doing more drawing work for a cetainComic Publisher based in the Mid-East these days. I guess they were pleased with the pinup that I drew last month, and I now have a couple of different assignments from them. Here are some pencils for one of them...
I don't think I can give you any more details about this particular project, but next week I'll be starting work on a 5-page strip that will run in a bunch of Middle Eastern newspapers. Should be fun!
(Thanks for the link, Mimi)
I'm doing more drawing work for a cetainComic Publisher based in the Mid-East these days. I guess they were pleased with the pinup that I drew last month, and I now have a couple of different assignments from them. Here are some pencils for one of them...
I don't think I can give you any more details about this particular project, but next week I'll be starting work on a 5-page strip that will run in a bunch of Middle Eastern newspapers. Should be fun!
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Obsolete Treats On Ebay!
It has been many years since I sold anything on ebay. It's been about eight years since I last used ebay to sell my original color guides online. If you don’t know, “Color Guides” were a throwback from the days when comic book colorists hand-painted guides that were used in the printing process. Those days are long gone, and the “color separation” phase of the process has been put into the hands of the artists, instead of technicians or craftsmen. This is good thing, but one sad side effect is that colorists don’t have any “orginial art” to sell. It’s too bad, because colorists could really use the extra cash these days, given how far page rates have dropped in the past decade. Back in the "good old days," I used to earn at least twice what I now earn for a page of coloring.
Here’s a typical color guide:
The image on the left shows the hand-painted guide. The one on the right is the same guide, but with a tracing paper-overlay that has ‘codes' written on it. These numbers callout what colors the separators should use and where gradients appear. It was a messy process with mixed results. Often painful!
I’ve been thinking about getting back into the world of ebay for a while now. I stopped not because I ran out of color guides, but because the ebay market had become flooded with them. Not only were color artists selling their work, but collectors & dealers were buying them up, and immediately selling them again. The glut drove down the value of the guides. Maybe it’s time to try again. Also, my interest has been piqued by some artists who sell original art & sketches on ebay. I think I will be trying that out in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, in my never-ending quest to clear out my garage, I’ve finally decided to get rid of my collection of laserdiscs.
What is a laserdisc? Why it’s the forerunner of the DVD, of course. A format that was much loved, that never caught on with mainstream consumers: the digital movie-going equivalent of the 8-track tape. These LP-sized discs pioneered many of the features DVDs have today; special features, director’s commentaries, etc. The Criterion Collection were the elite packages of digitally re-mastered and restored films. They, like everyone else, finally abandoned the laserdisc format years ago.
It was a sad day when I finally decided to give up on laserdiscs and began replacing them with DVDs. I’d invested a lot of money and time building up a collection of over 100 films. That was a few years ago. But it was not until this weekend I finally went through them all, splitting them up into five “lots” to sell on ebay.
It was nostalgic. Not unlike digging through my old color guides. Relics of a bygone age, or whatever. Unfortunately, laserdiscs aren’t like art or other collectibles; they don’t increase in value over time. This week I’m selling my collection for pennies on the dollar. But bad news for me might be good news for someone out there. I think my collection of discs is pretty cool. A couple of junky films in there, but mostly great stuff. As I sorted through them, I wished I still had my laserdisc player hooked up so that I could give some of them one last play before selling. I’d forgotten about some of these great films, most of which I never replaced on DVD, some of which are unavailable on DVD.
Later this week I plan on putting my laserdisc player up on ebay also, along with a special treat as a buying incentive. So, if you’re reading this and you want an instant, cheap library of films and the means to play them, you should check out the links below! Oh yeah, the laserdisc player also plays karaoke discs. Isn’t that awesome???
Anyway, here are some links, if you want to check 'em out:
Lot A
Lot B
Lot C
Lot D
Lot E
And can you believe it’s March already? Yeesh!
Here’s a typical color guide:
The image on the left shows the hand-painted guide. The one on the right is the same guide, but with a tracing paper-overlay that has ‘codes' written on it. These numbers callout what colors the separators should use and where gradients appear. It was a messy process with mixed results. Often painful!
I’ve been thinking about getting back into the world of ebay for a while now. I stopped not because I ran out of color guides, but because the ebay market had become flooded with them. Not only were color artists selling their work, but collectors & dealers were buying them up, and immediately selling them again. The glut drove down the value of the guides. Maybe it’s time to try again. Also, my interest has been piqued by some artists who sell original art & sketches on ebay. I think I will be trying that out in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, in my never-ending quest to clear out my garage, I’ve finally decided to get rid of my collection of laserdiscs.
What is a laserdisc? Why it’s the forerunner of the DVD, of course. A format that was much loved, that never caught on with mainstream consumers: the digital movie-going equivalent of the 8-track tape. These LP-sized discs pioneered many of the features DVDs have today; special features, director’s commentaries, etc. The Criterion Collection were the elite packages of digitally re-mastered and restored films. They, like everyone else, finally abandoned the laserdisc format years ago.
It was a sad day when I finally decided to give up on laserdiscs and began replacing them with DVDs. I’d invested a lot of money and time building up a collection of over 100 films. That was a few years ago. But it was not until this weekend I finally went through them all, splitting them up into five “lots” to sell on ebay.
It was nostalgic. Not unlike digging through my old color guides. Relics of a bygone age, or whatever. Unfortunately, laserdiscs aren’t like art or other collectibles; they don’t increase in value over time. This week I’m selling my collection for pennies on the dollar. But bad news for me might be good news for someone out there. I think my collection of discs is pretty cool. A couple of junky films in there, but mostly great stuff. As I sorted through them, I wished I still had my laserdisc player hooked up so that I could give some of them one last play before selling. I’d forgotten about some of these great films, most of which I never replaced on DVD, some of which are unavailable on DVD.
Later this week I plan on putting my laserdisc player up on ebay also, along with a special treat as a buying incentive. So, if you’re reading this and you want an instant, cheap library of films and the means to play them, you should check out the links below! Oh yeah, the laserdisc player also plays karaoke discs. Isn’t that awesome???
Anyway, here are some links, if you want to check 'em out:
Lot A
Lot B
Lot C
Lot D
Lot E
And can you believe it’s March already? Yeesh!
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