Sneak Peek: More Elephantmen Art!

Gosh, I hope Richard doesn't mind me showing this off, but I'm pretty pleased with how this Elephantmen job is turning out. Here's a peek at page one, drawn & colored by Yours Truly...

The title & credits lettering is just temporary. As you might expect, Richard's Comicraft wizards will come up with something much cooler.

The Comic Bug Signing: Post Script

Good signing last night! Tricia and I sold some books, met some cool people and ate some pizza. My thanks to Mike and Jun at The Comic Bug, Mandy, Joe & Luis from TOKYOPOP, and all the fans who gave our books a try.

A Friendly Reminder: Book Signing Wednesday Evening

Just want to remind you cool people about my book signing tomorrow in Manhattan Beach. If you're in the West Los Angeles region, I hope you'll drop by The Comic Bug. I'll be whipping up some FREE SKETCHES and trying to get people to notice Battle of the Bands. I may even give out some special goodies, so you won't want to miss it!

Also, I won't be alone! I will be joined by my old pal, Tricia Riley Hale, who also happens to have a book out from TOKYOPOP called Grand Theft Galaxy. Yes, it'll be a regular party down at the 'Bug. Now, let's review:

Wednesday, August 29th,
From 5-8 PM,
Steve & Tricia will be signing at:
The Comic Bug
1832 Manhattan Beach Blvd.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266
Phone: (310) 372-6704
www.thecomicbug.com

You can download a flyer PDF by clicking right here.

It looks like this:



Only bigger.

If, for some unspeakable reason, the link above doesn't work, you can copy this URL and paste it in your address bar:

http://www.madsciencemedia.com/comicbug.pdf

How much easier can I make this? Well, I can give you this HANDY-DANDY MAP:


View Larger Map

That's it! That's all I've got! I hope you can make it. If not, I'll be devastated, but I guess I'll see you at some other event. Last week I had lunch with some SUPER-NICE people in TOKYOPOP'S marketing department and it looks like we've got some cool stuff lined up. I will certainly keep you posted.

Wish me luck...

Legoland Pics

Hey, I promised some Legoland pics, so here they are! Did a quick overnight trip this weekend with the wife & kid. We had a blast. If you have kids, or know kids, or ARE a kid, Legoland is pretty cool. My son is pretty much obsessed with Legos, so it's like heaven on Earth to him.





This was my second trip to Legoland, and I've been pretty impressed both times. It's a much more low-key experience than Disneyland...but then, they don't have as many big rides. Actually, what really amazes me is the detail in all the Lego sculptures. In the center of the park, there's an area called "Miniland" that has miniatures of different cityscapes, including New York, Washington DC, San Francisco and their newest addition: Las Vegas. These are really impressive. The detail on the U.S. Capitol Building and New York's Grand Central Station is truly a wonder to behold. Alas, I have no photos of them to share. Check their website if this sounds interesting to you. I just hope your web browser can handle it; mine just crashed twice trying to navigate their site!




The "Dragon" rollercoaser really is NOT that scary. Just hamming it up for the kid. You know how it is.




What can I really say about this pic?


In closing, Legoland gets two thumbs up! Their website, however, needs work.

Ask me about Tip Top Meats, if you dare!

Another New Review...

Just found a new review of my book, Battle of the Bands at Manganews.net. This one made me smile:

Read it here!

Don't know who these guys are, but they get it!

New Interview

Back from Legoland! I'll post some pics later. Meanwhile, I want to point interested parties toward another new interview with Yours Truly. This one's on the TOKYOPOP website, wherein I discuss my new book, Battle of the Bands and some other stuff.

In case the link above doesn't work, here's the URL: http://www.tokyopop.com/Robofish/tp_article/796155.html

Enjoy!

Comic Bug Signing

In a previous post I mentioned that I'll be doing a signing at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach next Wednesday evening. I'll post more extensive details later, but if you're curious right NOW, you can download a flyer PDF by clicking right here.

If, for some unspeakable reason, you are viewing this on a lousy or out-of-date web browser, and the link above doesn't work, you can copy this URL and paste it in your address bar:

http://www.madsciencemedia.com/comicbug.pdf

How's that for service?

Tomorrow, I dine in LEGOLAND!

Elephantmen!

Pretty tired right now for some reason, but I wanted to post a sneak-peek at my latest project before I collapse in an unconscious heap.

Today I finished drawing an 8-page back-up story for Elephantmen, that will be published by Image Comics and Active Images around the end of the year. I am extremely pleased with how it's turning out. I just finished the inks, and now I can start coloring the hell out of it. I think that the past year of intense drawing has paid off. This story is going to be a great showcase for my work.

Anyway, here's a page of inks:



I think it's pretty cool right now, but it's gonna be great in color, IMHO.

In case you're wondering what you're looking at, it's Hip Flask's sidekick, Vanity Case rushing through Piazza San Marco for a cup o' joe. See, in the dark & gritty world of Elephantmen, the Italian city has finally fallen into the sea. Thankfully, these spectacular monuments were saved--and transported to Venice, California! Personally, I love that idea. I hope it happens for real. You know...unless they can safely keep it where it is now, of course!

Post-Convention Ramblings

Sorry that I haven't posted anything since August 1st. Just been swamped since Comic-Con, trying to catch up with all the things I didn't finish before Comic-Con. That's right, I haven't finished my convention video either. The sound was crap, so I'm turning it into an exciting montage. Any ideas what music should accompany??? I'm trying to avoid the obvious choices like People are Strange. I think we've all seen that a few too many times.

Last Saturday I dropped by Blizzcon for a little while. That was surreal. Thousands of people in a dark room, playing video games they already play at home--and paying $100 bucks a head for the privilege. Now I know I'm in the wrong business! Did I say that the games looked freakin' awesome?! We used to play Warcraft pretty often at the Mad Science Media studio, back in the day. It's amazing what a phenomenon it has become. And the new version of Starcraft looks fantastic.

Actually, I was there with my TOKYOPOP editor (and blood brother) Rob Tokar, hoping to meet some of the Blizzard folk. Last week I drew up some samples to show them in hopes of working on their Warcraft manga. Here's a "Night Elf..."



I also drew a big battle pin-up. We'll see if I get "approved" to work on the book.

Meanwhile, I have been back to work on my Elephantmen story for Active Images. It's just an 8-page back up story that I'm drawing & coloring, but it has been quite a challenge! The script is jammed with little details and rich backgrounds. I just finished the pencils yesterday, and I'm pretty pleased. Should be my best work to-date, and I'm looking forward to showing it off. You know--to get more work! Must...keep...working! In any case, I'll post some images here once they're inked.

Also, I'm trying to find ways to promote my new OEM, Battle of the Bands, even as I discuss a second volume with my publisher. If you've picked it up, I'd love to get some feedback. If you haven't seen it, I hope you'll check it out--and tell a friend! As of this writing, I have one in-store signing planned at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach, California on Wednesday, August 29th from 5-8PM. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come by and say hello. I'll be signing books along with my pal, Tricia Riley Hale, author of TOKYOPOP's Grand Theft Galaxy. Should be a HOOT! I'll post more details a week before the signing. You know...to remind you.

Now, as I was, in fact, born a rambling man, I'd love to keep writing, but I must WORK! Have a great day!

Remember: Give me music recommendations for my video, and feedback on my book! Thanks!

Comic-Con 2007: Reflections & Stuff

It's been a couple days since I got back from the San Diego Comic-Con, and I am still "decompressing." As many of you know, it was the biggest year ever for the con, having sold out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Never happened before. The event is overwhelming and one can spend all day reading blogs like this trying to sort it all out.



I drove down early Friday morning (5AM!) with Don Hudson and leaped into the fray! Last year I did not attend the Con--I'd missed it for the first time in over a decade--but it was familiar enough. What stunned me were the thick crowds right when they opened the doors. Truly crazy! I quickly made my way to the TOKYOPOP booth to check my signing schedule, stopping to say hello to Richard Starkings at Active Images, who took the picture above.

This year, I didn't have much to do at the convention. In previous years, Comiculture had a booth of it's own, so I had a "base" in which to hide and keep my stuff. I also had a clear-cut "mission:" To sell copies of Comiculture and my Studio's other published works. I decided to make promoting my new TOKYOPOP Manga my main focus.

To that end, I sat on one in-booth panel for TOKYOPOP on Friday afternoon. It was about "Shōnen Manga." These are books created for a teen male audience, usually with a lot of action and featuring attractive female characters. Here's a photo swiped from the TOKYOPOP website where you can almost see me!




Anyway, we did a brief signing after the panel and I convinced at least one guy to pick up the book. It was interesting, and I wish I had an opportunity to do more panels because I feel I would have had more interesting stuff to say by Sunday!

I spent most of the rest of the weekend at the Convention, trying to do some networking which, hopefully, will help me find my next big project. There's an interesting thread on Don's blog today about that very subject. I added my 2 cents there--check it out, so I don't have to repeat myself here!

Actually, Don's blog has been very entertaining this week. He has some short video podcasts that he took in San Diego. Here's one now:



There are a couple more on his blog. They are Hilarious.

For more "traditional" reporting, I encourage you to watch Heidi MacDonald's podcasts on The Beat. There is also good coverage on The Pulse. In fact, I helped them out on Saturday by sitting in and reporting on the Remembering Milton Caniff & Steve Canyon panel. My good deed for Saturday!

I also took some video at the convention, but have been unable to do anything with it yet. Hopefully I can throw together a quick edit before the week is over and people start talking about the next big show.

Right now I'm working on a bunch of new stuff, but on the top of the list is still getting the word out about Battle of the Bands. Yesterday I was pleased to report that I received a nice review on EyeOnComics.com, though some people had trouble with the link for some reason. If you were one of those, and you are interested in reading the review, you can download a PDF by clicking here.

Or, you can copy & paste this link:

http://www.madsciencemedia.com/eyeoncomics.pdf

See how easy I make it for you?

When all is said and done, I had a really good time in San Diego. I reconnected with some old pals, made some new ones and had a few margaritas to boot. Can't complain.

Must stop writing now. Look for that video soon!

Like "Josie and the Pussycats on Tequila"

Hello friends! Back from San Diego and I have some things to report, but not much time to blog right now. Hopefully, later in the week.

Meanwhile, I'd like to direct you to this nifty review of my new book Battle of the Bands, by mister Don MacPherson! Not too shabby!

I will leave you now with an image from the San Diego Comic-Con, courtesy of Richard Starkings. Catch you later!

San Diego Comic-Con Update

Just want all you stalkers to know that I'll be at the SDCC from Friday thru Sunday, promoting my book at the TOKYOPOP booth. I'll be hanging around there at various times, but if you want to find me for sure, I just received my schedule...

FRIDAY, JULY 27th, I will be participating in 2 panels at the TOKYOPOP booth:

3:30 - 4:30 PM I'll be joining some other creators in a panel about creating Comics vs Manga.
5:00 - 6:00 PM we'll be presenting our new books and doing a signing.

SUNDAY, JULY 29th, I will most likely be doing another signing at the TOKYOPOP booth from 11:00 AM - 12:00 Noon.

Otherwise, I'll be floating around the con. I'll be the guy with the bewildered look on my face. Just like every year.

See ya!

Another Interview

While I was away this interview went live on Jazma Online. In it, I discuss my latest book and get to travel back in time!

Bonjour...

...and hello. I've been missing here in the blogosphere for the past 2 weeks because I've been on vacation with my family! We just got back from Paris (one of my favorite places, ever) and, yes, we had a fabulous time. Sorry to rub it in.

:)

Too exhausted to get into it right now, but I thought I'd share a few photos (most were taken by my wife, to give credit where it's due)...

ahhh, Paris...





We were there for Bastile Day...




Took an overnight trip to Arras...





Ate good food...




Made new friends...



Another overnight trip to the medieval town of Provins...





Took in a circus (can you see the guy's X-Men costume?)...



ahhh, Paris...



More later. Got some catching up to do. This weekend: The San Diego Comic-Con!!! I'll be heading down on Friday. What about you?

Purdy Picasa Portfolio

Regular visitors to my blog will notice there are some new features over on the right. Yes, I've finally integrated my portfolios into this here blog page.

In a previous post I asked for input about the best way to do this. I was tempted by the lure of some other blog hosts (like "Typepad") that allow for more customization options than "Blogger." The downside being that those other providers aren't free!

What I've settled for here may not be the most elegant solution, but it was incredibly easy to set up, and has more functions than I even need. My new portfolios have been uploaded into Picasa Web Galleries. Picasa is a free online picture gallery service that happens to be easily inserted into the Blogger templates. Check it out. It's owned by Google, just like Blogger. I wish I could add some bells and whistles--a way to navigate back to the main blog page would be nice. I'd also like to change the appearance of the gallery to match my blog's colors so it looks more like part of the same "site." Maybe one day they will expand the features and all my dreams will come true.

To be honest, I haven't even looked that deeply int0 the whole Picasa thing. I'm just happy that I got it to do what I wanted. That's the bottom line, in any case. I only wanted to integrate the blog & portfolio in a way that's easy to update. Mission accomplished.

It was actually pretty important because It's been a couple of years since I updated the old online portfolio. Egads.

Anyway, browse around the galleries if you have time. Let me know if you see anything wacky in the way the gallery works--OR in the art! If you happen to be in the business of hiring artists, of course I'd love it if you'd consider me for any projects, but I'd also like feedback as to what you'd like to see in these galleries that might not be represented.

Thank you and good night.

Now On Sale!

Hey Cool People! I've got just the thing to make you even cooler:



Hot off the presses! Git 'em while they're hot!

One More Thing

Today I busted out some artwork for a promotional postcard to hand out at the Comic-Con in San Diego. Here's a peek:



If you're coming to the convention (July 26-29) come look for me at the TOKYOPOP booth. I want to meet you--yes, YOU--and give you one of these postcards! I'll be there from Friday until Sunday (July 27-29). Not sure of the schedule yet. If I learn more specifics, I'll let you know. Probably not until that week.

Meanwhile, I STILL encourage you to read this INTERVIEW! In it, I talk about how I came up with the idea for my new book (on sale next week!) and what I think about manga, generally. MOST IMPORTANTLY: If you want to help me spread the word, PLEASE leave a comment (or "Reply") on the interview page. The more comments that appear, the higher up on the page the interview will appear. Columns with no comments quickly lose visibility. And that, my friends, is a tragedy. :(

THANK YOU!

In Lieu of a New Post...

...I will direct you to this spiffy new interview with ME on The Pulse! It includes some previously unseen art. Check it out, and PLEASE: LEAVE A COMMENT! It's nice for me to know that you looked at the interview, and it's also good because it will help keep the interview in a visible position on their site. THANK YOU!!!

:D

(and thanks to Jen Contino for this opportunity to plug my new book)

Have a great weekend!

Another Random Page

Hey there. Here's another page from Battle of the Bands! On sale soon!

(I'm gettin' all excited! How 'bout you?)

Help--?

So, I need some input from you people out there. I'm considering swiching my blog from this handy (free) Blogger account to a different host that would charge me for the honor. Why? Well, I recently came across the blog/portfolio of a French cartoonist named Caroline B. What I liked about her blog page is that it has her portfolio embedded into it. Check out this link. Notice the galleries on the left side of the page. I think that's pretty cool. Right now I have a portfolio website that is separate from my blog. I think it would be nice to have them all together. Also, I can only imagine that it is much easier to update those blog galleries than it is for me to rebuild my own website.

But I'm torn.

The nice thing about this Blogger blog is that it's free and part of the whole "Google" experience. I know nothing about the host of Caroline B's blog: Typepad.com. Anyone out there have experience with Typepad? Do you think it's worth the cost (about $9 per month)? Are the templates easy to customize? Any bad experiences you can share with me?

Also, perhaps it is better to keep the blog and portfilio separate. It seems like putting them together is a good idea, but maybe I'm not thinking of something. Anyone out there have an opinion?

I need some guidance.

Now I must work. But first:

Listening to: Herman's Hermits. Not sure why. I'm so hardcore.
Watching: Last night we finished watching The Longest Day. Have you seen that one? Good D-Day flick. Unbelievable cast: Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Richard Burton, John Wayne, Sean Connery, Edmond O'Brien, Robert Wagner and about a zillion other faces you'll recognize.