ericadams and my short comic Reflection has been nominated for a 2009 S.P.A.C.E. Prize!



Sample pages and ordering information are available at Eric's website.

Okay, I know feels_like_fire has been wanting to see me do this meme forever, and I resisted... until of course yawmin and maypirate did it, and then I have to just, like, copy everything they do so that I can be one of the cool kids.

( So without further ado, here's the Star Trek Reboot Art Meme: )

"RAAAAR I'M HELL'S OWN PROCESS SERVER, RAAAARRR...!"


Yeah. I was cranky yesterday, so instead of drawing pictures of Star Trek characters making soppy eyes at each other, I found I had to draw something much more mood-appropriate. Funny how that works.

Speaking of Star Trek, seeing as I'm worryingly mired in the fandom now, I've watched a few of the original series episodes. I'm cherry picking for now, but I find it charming in it's weird taking-itself-seriously-yet-hokey-as-hell-ness. Also, I sort of wish I had a tribble.

Anyway, this weekend is looking to be cookout and badminton funtimes, assuming I can get the house cleaned up in time. I've volunteered to make the fruit salad, and am wishing I could remember the recipe on the really popular one I made for a potluck in college. I do recall it contained mangoes, starfruit, and walnuts... but I never can remember when starfruit is in season. Bah.

Hooray, Happy Birthday, Michael Mitchell just went live on Tor.com!



READ IT HERE.

I'm super excited about this, because it's been rather a long time since I've sold/published any of my own writing, and though I still have a lot of room to grow, I happen to feel a teensy bit proud of myself. This is also the first time in a long time that I've handled every part of the process, from the writing to the lettering, and I think the story is better for it. (Also, I've never colored comics before, and while I was sweating bullets over that particular aspect, I certainly learned a lot.)



Anyway, please give it a read, leave some feedback, and share it with your friends if you've got the notion. I'd love it if a lot of people were able to see this story, because I feel like I've been out of the game for awhile, and I'd love to get back to making comics full time again. (Also because Tor.com is a really cool website, and deserves your attention in general.)

Peace,
~Jo

SO!

... Bugger what I'm supposed to be doing. Here's Mr. Spock.


I can now officially attend nerd graduation.

(Yeah, so I've fallen victim to the Spock love. Thanks a lot, J.J. Abrams. Also frecklegirl. Also, while I'm at it, any future Bones love will be blamed on attributed to maypirate.)

( S'more inky arts 'neath the cut. )

Oh, and Tor just informed me that Happy Birthday should be online early next week. I will of course be providing links.

Adios,
~Jo

Weeks of being absent from LJ and I come back to post lame in jokes (aren't you excited?):

The first is self explanatory... it's just a picture of my and feels_like_fire's character Lupe Flores riding a rainbow unicorn. Extra points because it's a winged rainbow unicorn.



( One more: behind a cut because it contains spoilers for Twilight and The Dark Tower )

Oh hell, you guys. Remember last year when I was tearing my hair out with glee over Danny Boyle's movie "Sunshine"? (It still perplexes me that so few people have heard of Sunshine, let alone seen it.) Well I'd been anticipating his new film, "Slumdog Millionaire" for awhile, and finally got to see it last night.

MAN. All you folks who commented to say you needed more comics/stories with true love and drama and kindness.... See this movie. Just see it. You won't be sorry. I am so thoroughly smitten with Danny Boyle right now. There have been a lot of x-mastime movies that I've been looking forward to, but they're going to have a tough time measuring up to Slumdog Millionaire.

I also saw "Australia" last Tuesday as well, and I actually liked it much more than I'd expected to! I was worried I might be overwhelmed by the cheese factor, but instead it played out like a colorful fairytale, and I ended up mesmerized and floaty, goggling at the cowboys and aborigines. (Also at shirtless Hugh Jackman, shhhh.) I think I could have done without the second half of the movie, though. The wartime stuff. It was okay, but I was not nearly so in love with that part as I'd been with all the deserts and wilderness and cattle-droving. I suspect that's my own preferences at work, though. God knows I love cowboys.

Now here's a drawing:


For future reference, this fellow's name is Mitchell Mitchell. I've been down and out about the state of comics and the state of ME in relation to comics, but spending time writing and drawing about Mr. Mitchell has had a certain healing effect. I hope it keeps up. Expect to see some comics about him in the future. I'm working on it.

...Also, maybe I should have drawn buildings in the background instead of trees, but I think that trees are more funner to ink.

Truth is, I'm no more immune to the angst surrounding the recession than the next person. Masochistically, I've been keeping abreast of all the news and speculation surrounding the publishing industry, and more specifically the comics end of the publishing industry. For example, this article on The Beat: When will the axe fall on comics?

Specifically, I like this bit:

"Deep inside, I suspect that comics will weather the storm just fine. The fat will be trimmed, and a periodic purge is usually beneficial. Graphic novels that offer satisfying, memorable stories, webcomics that make you chuckle, and periodicals that can hold monthly attention will always tough it out. Sincere publishers who want to put out the best books that they can will keep going.

In a world where people can only afford necessities, you must make comics that your audience NEEDS."

So tell me, folks. What comics do you need? What comics are you starving for? What stories are you going to die if you don't have? Go on and answer for yourself if you've a mind.

And be serious now. You can say, "I'd love to read a comic about zombie nazi ski-bunnies", but only if you're seriously needing it, see? Inquiring minds want to know.

Last night I dreamed that I was lying on my bed, reading or writing or goofing off, when I notice this spider on the ceiling.

In the dream, the spider was called "The Brown Curious" or some other odd and spiderly name. At first I took no notice, but began to realize in slow, blurry, dreamlike fashion, that this spider was actually huge. Body-the-size-of-a-softball huge. Slowly, deliberately, it extends one leg to me, the joints unfolding and unfolding like an accordion. Frozen, I sit still as it lays one hand (this spider was so big that it had hands) on my forearm and says to me, "...Hey."

Then I woke up.

Completely unrelated to that, here's a fanart I made for S. Bryan Gonzales' books "Under The Big Sky" and "Where Free Men Pray". I am far from immune to the charms of Father-Daughter character relationships, so I drew Cash giving Elena noogies:


When I was little, my dad used to get me in a headlock and noogie the crap out of me. He'd recite some strange incantation which always ended in the question, "How many fingers to I hold up?" and then he'd hold up some amount of fingers over my head and make me guess. If I got it right he'd stop, but if I got it wrong, he'd send me straight back to noogie-hell. I always suspected he cheated, too.

Hey feels_like_fire, didn't you say you wanted some snow? (I think this should be my new LJ header graphic.)



I feel pretty good today, which is a nice change. I haven't wanted to talk about it much, but my job situation has been kind of a train-wreck. I'm working on it, though. Out with the bad, right?

Sorry to be cryptic! I'll get around to talking someday, but for now I'm in a strange self-imposed exile/vacation from comics. I'm drawing, but I'm gooooooing sloooooowly.

More... Not as good as the first one... Oh god I'm so sleepy...



Coffee... not... WORKING!

Still working myself up to drawing comics again. Trying not to force it. I'll get there, I'll get there. Until then, you're all subjected to more of my visual rambling.


Greg is blah. I affectionately think of him as "Vampire Hunter Greg". Shown here in thrift-store finery.

I hate sketching with my tablet, yet I keep on doing it. I think it went pretty well this time. It's really hard for me to get proportions to be something resembling correct when I draw on the computer. I'm an analog human.

Man, is it ever easy to tell if I've had a bad day or not. Ha. Apologies for the damage I'm about to do to your f-list.


Am I a bipolar artist or what? I like that my name's on it. It makes people wonder if it's a self-portrait (I kid).

I've been down. I've hardly been able to draw all week. This is the first thing I've done in what feels like an eternity to me. However, every time I produce something like this, chances are that I'm feeling better already. Putting brush to paper is theraputic to me in a way that I can't really explain, and in a way that technical pens never really seem to replicate. It's too early for seasonal depression! Leaves are still on the trees! I gotta get outta this hole!

MONSTERRRRRSSSSS.

Yeeeesh, I'm sorry. My LJ is pretty incomprehensible lately, isn't it?

Due to having an overly distracting weekend, any real work was impossible to accomplish, and I ended up with a bunch of random doodles instead. For yuks, I have inked a couple. For even more yuks I have juxtaposed them in a manner that is incomprehensible to everyone in the whole world besides me and maybe one other person.

Apologies. I will get right back to drawing comics, post haste. Until then, there is Drama In Tejanos!

Manny and Lupe have angst:

...And Greg is horrified.

And when I sleep, I dream about comics. Or at least I dream that my editor emails me back and tells me everything I've ever wanted to hear. (But then I wake up and realize that it's just a dream and my inbox is full of spam! ...Alas.)

*sigh* Work wears me out. Waking up every day at 7am also wears me out. I was feeling chatty earlier but now I'm mostly just tired. Start date for The Misters is creeping up on me... I'm so intensely conscious of each day that goes by, that October seems at once like it's dragging, and speeding by. I work diligently every morning, but I've been unable to get much done after 6pm, which makes me feel like my work-ethic is in the toilet. But who knows?

Art now, other stuff later.

Commission for halcyonjazz of her characters, Jolanka and Felix.


Out of everything that was commissioned of me, this piece seemed best suited to what I'm good at. ;) Thanks halcyonjazz!

( More after the jump. )

No bailout? The economy is sucking? The Minx line collapsed? Whatever man, I got things to do!

...Just kidding. I'm not glib on either subject (or glib in general) so I'm not going to try. I can and do read a thousand blogs/articles about that stuff, but can't say a word on it without stumbling. *sigh*

And besides, I'm too wound up about the fact that I'M FINALLY ON SCHEDULE TO DRAW THE MISTERS. Exciting! It probably won't start going up online until around Thanksgiving, but I'm scheduled to start drawing on the 15th of this month. Please hold while I run around for awhile like a chicken with my head cut off.

Also, here's the usual clump of things I've managed to draw.

Heheh... like this panel. I'm collaborating on something sneaky with limemanga.



( More after the jump. )

First things first: I HAVE MY ELECTRICITY BACK. ...But not my internet. Ah, and it was funny... at the cafe this morning, the owner (she knows me) took one look at me and exclaims, "You have your power back on!" ... She could tell by looking, guys. She could tell by how I looked. *sigh*

Secondly, I'm skipping town Thursday night to attend Baltimore Comicon (Sep 27-28), so if my internet isn't back tonight or tomorrow night, maybe it'll be restored by the time I get back from B'more.

Thirdly, I wanna thank you guys again for the work/commissions. I was laying awake last night wondering if I was going to have enough money for a haircut before the con, and then I remembered the extra cash I've made in commissions, and yes! I do! ... I know it's a small thing, you know how having crappy hair just makes you feel bad? Come on, I know some of you know. Well, whether you know or not how much happier I am not to feel ugly, I'm very grateful.

...That said, here's a commish I did for raisha_novar:

I just sneezed and it instantly gave me a headache? ...the hell? Also, still no electricity. Poo.

But ericadams made spiffy REFLECTION display graphics! They'll have little pockets on the lower halves to put the books in. (And the books will cover up that printing error on the left one...) Neat.


And if you haven't done so yet, you can still preorder REFLECTION here!

Ah, and I'm slowly but surely getting commissions finished. Here's one I did forjunemermaid of her characters Kir and Adam.



( More 'neath the cut! )

ericadams and I have finished our new comic!

REFLECTION is a short scifi piece about a woman sent drifting through space and the strange encounter she has out there. It's original. It's abstract. It's pretty. It's 16 pages, off-set printed black & white all the way through and ashcan sized (5.5" x 8.5").

And it's limited to 500 printed copies.

The artwork is at the printer's this very moment and will be delivered next week, just in time for our pilgrimage to Baltimore Comicon (Sep 27-28) and Mid Ohio Con(Oct 4-5).

For those that can't make it to either show and want a copy, please please please consider pre-ordering our little book for only $5.00 and we'll begin shipping once we settle back in from our little tour (sooner if time permits.)

Preorder it here!



( The cover and the first 4 pages behind the cut. )

ericadams and I are up to something...