#154:Writing/Editing/Colouring/Designing/When will death come?
An ART DECO guest, THUNDERVERSE tease, TERMINATOR reveal and a poll!
ALL THE LATEST
So I caught COVID from SDCC. Ah whatever, still worth it. Was sluggish for a few days but back to normal now.
-I’ve LOTS to do/try catch up on. Just yesterday, I opened a script to finish it off as it’s due, and then realised I handed it in four day ago. Yeesh! I’m just hopping from one thing to another at the moment and it’s a lot to manage. Since the PHASES OF THE MOON KNIGHT project is all done, once the OPERATIONS one shot is all finished I think that will relieve a bit of pressure.
-In the meantime the avalanche of TERMINATOR promotional appointments are about to crash into me, starting today. Expect a lot of links in the next Declarations!
-One significant meeting I had in the last week or so was a big ‘Thunderverse’ meeting. I’ll get into that more below.
-I recently did this cover for STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU - INSURGENCY RISING #1. Looks like this is an incentive cover. I spent quite a bit of time painting this one in Photoshop, I’m quite happy with the final version.
-Was offered an opportunity to contribute to a REALLY cool anthology but unfortunately had to say no. I just don’t have the bandwidth right now, especially as I’m just wrapping an anthology of my own.
-I’m currently writing MYSTIQUE Issue Three. It’s involved some fun collaboration with a friend but I’m glad to be digging into it properly now.
-I’ll be at THOUGHT BUBBLE this November! I gave it a miss last year, but looking forward to a triumphant return.
Below Sean Phillips, but above Nate Stockman, just as it should be.
-Cartoonist Jason Latour is releasing an original comic via his Substack. He’s one of the most interesting cartoonists in our medium, I highly recommend it. He’s putting it behind a paywall but you can check out the first chapter here.
I put something similar out on Twitter earlier, but I’m curious what you Decolytes think, as if ye’re subscribed to this newsletter, I assume all ye’re more invested in my work. Out of the upcoming new titles I have coming out in the next couple of months… which are ye more interested in…? Are ye thinking of getting one out of the three? All? None!? Sound off as to why in the comments, if ye like.
SDCC
I promised a big breakdown of the show last time, but really, too much happened for me to really get into, and I did already touch on the main points in Declarations #153 [below].
I think it might have ended up being a list of name dropping anyway. In short; it was a great was to really push all the books, catch up with a lot of people I hadn’t seen in years, and put out some exclusive stuff. May have lined up a BIG project for next year too, without having meant to. Here’s an assortment of photos at least.
TERMINATOR
Artist Luke Sparrow is delivering page after sublime page for TERMINATOR. I can’t wait to see how they’ll look with Colin Craker’s colours.
On top of that, Colin will also be drawing a short backup story in each issue written by Sal Crivelli, so this is going to be a very good looking book.
And as a little peek as to what’s coming in Issue Two, here’s my cover for “Apocalypse Then, Part One”
In all the press I’m saying says these issues are mainly done-in-one issues, which is true, but there are bigger stories that break out into two-parters. This hearkens back to my love of 80s/90s episodic shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation, Quantum Leap, etc, that were self contained episodes, but some bigger stories would break out in to two-parters. This cover took me ages but thankfully by the end, I’m very happy with how it came out. I hope you can hear Jimmy Hendrix’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’ in your head when you see it, or some other 70s era Vietnam anthem.
PHASES OF THE MOON KNIGHT
Eder Messias has been handing in stunning page after stunning page. I have to say, he has really blown me away with his work on this story. I wanted to try do something more epic with this and Eder really delivered. Just look at this little peek…
Beautiful work. All his pages are now in, as well as all the colours by Yen Nitro. I’m so delighted with how this project is turning out. I handed in the lettering draft last week, so this project is wrapped.
OLD DOG
The OPERATIONS one-shot is nearly done! My story is all finished [page one inks above], Chris Sprouse got his pages in, they’ve been inked by Dexter Vines, prepped/flatted for me by Tatjana Segelken and I’m currently colouring them. It’s soooo cooool to look at Sprouse’s work up close and try work out how to colour it. I’m trying to use past examples of how he’s been coloured along with sprinkling in some of my own touches. This is a pig part of why I wanted to put something like this together, to play with others with writing, art and colour. I’m also doing all the design for the book, currently putting together an ad for all my creator owned stuff and it’s striking me just how much of my own work I’ve done in the last few years.
This isn’t finished, so I’ll accept any notes ye have!
I’ve pretty much done all the design on the one-shot now, save some bits and pieces. Sooooo close to being done.
On the DOSSIER, I was getting worried as to why I haven’t gotten the books yet, checked in today and seems that they actually hadn’t been sent, once I know when they’re arriving, I’ll let ye know. I have to say, I don’t think I can do all this again on my own. Next crowdfunded project; I’m getting significant help.
THUNDERCATS
I did a new written interview about THUNDERCATS for Comic Watch, you can read it here.
As a little preview for the upcoming Issue Ten, here’s the cover! It’s going to be a Slythe one-shot style tale with a guest artist like we did with Issue Five, but written by myself.
I can’t say who’s drawing it yet, it’s a great artist whose work I’ve liked for quite a while and was the first person I thought of who would really suit as a guest in our world. This will be another landmark issue with it wrapping up our second arc.
I’m writing this issue at the moment, will have it finished this week so that the artist can get moving.
Yesterday, I wrapped a second draft of Issue Eight. I thought it was previously locked, but needed some tweaking after some feedback form editor Nate Cosby. I would say it’s a pretty significant issue, as a lot will be building out of it going forward.
I just saw this very fun variant cover for Issue Seven by artist Manix Abrera …isn’t it class?
Had a big long zoom call with Nate and a new Mystery Writer [can’t say who they are either] about what’s coming next for the Thunderverse. That writer will be writing a new book that will come out later in the year [once CHEETARA is wrapped] that I’m very excited about. We had a great chat with lots of ideas popping around the place. It’s very very fun to have a whole universe to tell stories like these in. This new writer is an old friend too, so it’s especially fun to work with them on a project like this.
ART DECO
I gave ye a heads up in the last Declarations that newly available DEADPOOL and WOLVERINE pages were going on the ART DECO store, mainly never-before- released pages from the fan favourite DEADPOOL: THE GOOD THE BAD & THE UGLY story I worked on. They sold very well! Quite happy with how they did, though there are still some left if you want to see what you can still get here.
Those of you waiting on the THUNDERCATS SDCC exclusives, we don’t have them ready yet, but ye’ll be the first to know.
In the meantime though, I do have something special to offer…
Yes, via the ART DECO store, writer/artist Stephen Mooney is making his THUNDERCATS #5 pages available for sale! Stephen rarely offers his pages publicly like this, but I felt as I had the store up and running, and THUNDERCATS is so linked to myself at the moment, it would be a cool experiment to see if a guest creator worked in this capacity. So keep an eye out this Thursday and see if you can get some choice, wonderfully rendered THUNDERCATS pages.
August 21st
THUNDERCATS #7 [W,VC]
Aug 28th
STAR TREK: DEFIANT #18 [VC]
September 2nd
STAR WARS: THE BATTLE OF JAKKU - INSURGENCY RISING #1 [VC]
September 18th
OLD DOG: OPERATIONS (ONE-SHOT) [W/A/Col/C]
THUNDERCATS #8 [W/VC]
September 25th
PHASES OF THE MOON KNIGHT #2 [W/VC]
TIME BEFORE TIME VOL 06 [W/C]
DEADPOOL TEAM-UP #2 [VC]
STAR TREK: DEFIANT #19 [VC]
October 09th
TERMINATOR #1 [W/C]
October 16th
MYSTIQUE #1 [W/A]
THUNDERCATS #9 [W/C]
October 23rd
STAR TREK: DEFIANT #18 [VC]
Darn it! Joe Fernandes commented my exact thoughts 5 minutes before me! I’ll get them all, I think.
Glad you bounced back quickly!