#162: Three Shifts
'Terminating' a cover and early access to MYSTIQUE #2 art drop
Welcome to DECLARATIONS a bi-weekly newsletter by artist/writer Declan Shalvey.
This is a regular workblog featuring exclusive peeks at upcoming projects with advance releases of original art/merchandise.
Hello from the misty banks of the River Fergus. It’s bleedin’ cold.
-As I’ve been balancing various commitments in the last months I realise I essentially have three ‘careers’ right now, in a practical sense. As an artist/writer, a writer and a cover artist. I lump in artist with artist/writer as any stories I’m drawing in the past year or so are exclusively ones I’ve drawn].
I try my best from a production standpoint, to silo these processes away from each other but they often run across each other. For example, I wish I could spend a few days only writing, but within that timeframe, something needs to be drawn. I’d like to just do sequential pages for a few days, but within that timeframe, something needs to be written. Same with covers.
What has worked out pretty well lately is taking a few hours every day or so and just write some pages, a scene or so for my first ‘shift’, then spend the next two shifts drawing [have dinner inbetween them], be it pencilling/inking pages or doing covers. If I can time it right, I can write a whole script in a week where drawing-wise, I’m only doing covers and get all my covers done that month. Then drawing-wise, concentrate on storytelling pages.
It’s a lot, but it’s the best way I’ve been able to keep the three different aspects of my work moving along, and to deadline.
-I missed this in the ‘Out Soon’ listings, but last week my final incentive cover for STAR TREK DEFIANT’s ‘The Stars of Home’ storyline came out. I did my best to do a proper ‘crew’ cover here, with the eponymous ship showcased too. It was a real treat to do this set of covers, thank very much to editor Heather Antos for offering them to me.
-Here’s my worklog for the past two weeks:
Color notes for MYSTIQUE #4
Lettering notes for MYSTIQUE #4
Lettering notes for THUNDERCATS #11
Outline and partial script for MYSTIQUE #5
Outline and partial script for THUNDERCATS #12
Wrote TERMINATOR pages
Layout for THUNDERCATS cover
Pencilled, inked and coloured 3[!]xTHUNDERCATS covers
Coloured a Marvel cover and a DC cover
Pencilled, inked and coloured a DC cover
Pencilled, inked & coloured a TERMINATOR cover [see below]
-With a chunk of covers done in the last couple of weeks, I’ll be digging back into the final issue of MYSTIQUE for the rest of this month, though I have three covers to get done before the holidays too [THUNDERCATS, TERMINATOR and one for Marvel].
-The DC cover mentioned above that I coloured was for ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN #3, which DC Comics have since released. It’ll be my first cover for the publisher in three years [!] and I’m really happy with how it came out, especially to ave drawn a SUPERMAN cover. Mark that off the bucket list, even if it is a more imposing/ominous version of the character. I’m very happy with the next DC cover I’ve done too, for a certain caped crusader. Looks like more will be following, will be cool to play in the DC sandbox a bit more.
-I’ve accepted an invitation do draw a story for an upcoming anthology. In a break from the usual, I won’t be writing it myself as it’s being written by the character’s creator, so fair enough! This will be the first story I’ve drawn but not written in a few years, but it’s a special occasion. Won’t have do work on it for a while- there’s a lot of lead time which is the only reason I can take it on, really. Once I have more specifics, I can work it into my schedule for next year.
-Interesting news! A movie is being made of pals Matt Rosenberg and Tyler Boss’ 4 KIDS WALK INTO A BANK. Not only that, its being made down the road from me, in Limerick courtesy of one Liam Neeson. Above is a SPAR on Catherine street redressed to look like an NYC store. I used to get very drunk in a pub just two buildings away from here in a metal bar that closed down abeit 20 years ago. Yikes. Anyway, I’m expecting a call to appear for my cameo any day now…
-In January I’ll be appearing at Greece’s Pop Culture Festival 2025 as a special guest. I haven’t een to Greece in many years so I’m very much looking forward to it. They have some brilliant people appearing at it, such as Dani, Jock, Jim Mahfood and many more. Should be great. More info here.
-I normally take a newsletter break over the holiday period and since I have to concentrate on the last issue of MYSTIQUE for the next few weeks, I’ll be skipping the next scheduled week, meaning my next Declarations will be December 31st. See ye then!
ART DECO
As ye know from last week’s Declarations notice, I ran my first Art Deco Black Friday sale. It went well! Thanks to all who picked up a piece. Next…
We're back at it with a new collection of original art available from MYSTIQUE #2! New in stores last week, we'll have the pages available for sale to the general public starting Wednesday, 12/4 [tomorrow] at 1PM ET.
But as promised in the last newsletter, we have an early sale for you Decolytes... starting now! The store is locked to non-subscibers but can be accessed a day early.
Use the code ‘BENSON’ for a head start.
MYSTIQUE
As mentioned above, Issue Two came out last week and I’m quite happy with the response, as far as a can tell. Below are the preview pages Marvel released, with no letters and better resolution.
By this issue I’m hoping the book has established that solid espionage feel, with moments of action-y flair and some emotional pathos. Much like I try do with OLD DOG, but on a bigger more Marvel-y stage.
I’ve pretty much written the final issue. Managing to dance around office holidays, etc so sticking a pin in one scene for now while I get started on pencilling, then will come back to it. I was hoping to have the book wrapped before Christmas and take a good few days off but as I’ve been catching up on script stuff in the last week, the book will run over it now. I’ll be wrapping it by New Years so I’ll still be starting 2025 with a clean slate. I’ll still take a few days off, but won’t have the clear plate I was hoping for. No worries, just means I’ll take more of a break in January instead.
Looks like Issue Three is out over the Christmas holidays. I am very excited about this issue in particular as I planned something very cool that worked out just how I wanted it to. Will talk about it more when I’m back on NYE.
THUNDERCATS
Issue Eleven is away at the printers after I’ve given my lettering notes for our Thunder-letterer Jeff Eckleberry. For the last two arcs, I’ve tried to build things up to a climax for the last issue of that arc but for the opening issue of this one, I decided to go BIG and artist Drew Moss delivers. Don’t sleep on it.
I’m currently writing Issue Twelve to get to Drew asap. We work close to the bone on this series and it all gets done because Drew works so very very hard. Any THUNDERCATS fans here should check into picking up some original art from him ahead of the holidays.
I was so delighted to see this news break! Paulina Ganucheau is writing a special THUNDERCATS/POWERPUFF GIRLS one-shot crossover for New Comic Book Day 2025 drawn and colored by Coleman Engle, with letters by Jeff Eckleberry.
I know I tease a lot about stuff that’s coming up that I’m involved in [BIG news soon] but I only found out about this a week before the news broke. Paulina’s a wonderful storyteller and friend, so I’m so happy to see her have fun with this, it’s a cool move by Dynamite and I suspect, a brainchild of Nate Cosby. What a great homage cover by Paulina too.
Not the only homage cover is seems, I’ve only gone and done one myself. This is for the Thundercats Classic Years Omnibus I mentioned in Declarations #161. Nate asked if I’d do a variant of the classic cover to the first issue of the Marvel THUNDERCATS series.
I did get a childhood kick out of drawing the original incarnations of the character, I got flashes of memory of drawing these guys as a kid. Yes, even Snarf. Tweaking the figures to make the composition work for me was an interesting challenge too [I didn’t just wan to trace the image or anything]. I think I’ve said here before, I’m not really a fan of doing homage covers, but I thought this would be a fun one-off, and it was.
More than that, later today I’m going to be taking part in a launch party for the Kickstarter campaign…
…with Larry Kenny, LION-O himself! Who will do the better Lion-O impression…? YOU decice!
Click below to go to the launch party page, it’s on at 8PM GMT/ 12 lunchtime Pacific Time.
Solicits for Issue Thirteen are out, with some great stuff by the excellent regulars.
Again, these Manix covers are so different, I love them!
This ad for APEX ran in TERMINATOR [which was pretty cool]. I’m really excited for Ed Brisson and Rapha Lobosco, two friends doing great work on a book that I have some involvement in. I cannot stress how good this one-shot is, and a taste of things to come for the Thunderverse. It’s out tomorrow. Go pick it up, and if your local retailer doesn’t have it, bully them until they get a copy for you.
Well, don’t bully them …but
y’know…
Lastly, I’m not sure when it’s happening, but I suspect there’ll be a BIG Thunderverse announcement soon, maybe before Christmas, or just after. Keep your eyes out…
TERMINATOR
Issue Three is out next week! The finale of the two part Vietnam-set story. Here’s an early peek some preview pages that aren’t out yet.
Huge thanks to David O’Sullivan for taking on these two issues they were a LOT of work and they came out great.
Pages are coming in from the artist on Issue Four by Italian artist Lorenzo Re. I met Lorenzo briefly at the Lucca Comics & Games festival last year as I was chatting with my friend Simone D’Armini when he come up to us and rudely interrupted our conversation! Ah just kidding, he was very nice, I checked his work out afterwards and thought he had great potential. For this issue, I really wanted someone moody and thought of him. See this first page from the issue, you’ll see I made the right choice.
The issue is coming together really nicely. I’m working on the script for Issue Five at the moment which will be the end of the first arc. May have found an artist for the issue, too.
Covers were also solicited for that issue, all very cool.
I’ve reworked the next arc a little, looking forward to digging into it. I think I’ll take a break on drawing sequential pages for January so I can get more ahead on scripts for this book, among others.
PROCESS
Here’s a little process behind the cover for TERMINATOR Issue Six, and an exclusive look at the finished cover.
This issue deals with some failed missions taken by a previous Terminator model so I wanted to illustrate that somehow. I had thought of drawing a smashed up/shrapnel cover of a destroyed Terminator, but I feel like I’ve done that a lot in the past. Not a bad idea, just wanted to think of another angle if I could.
And I did, I thought of an image of a Terminator model with the synthetic disguise being melted off the hard metal endoskeleton.
Here’s the rough I did for it.
It was pretty loose, but was a bolder composition that I liked and I felt it got the idea across. I drew it up, and got inking. I decided to take out the melted ear as after I took another look at it, I felt it stuck out too awkwardly. I took some InkDec videos while working on the cover, you can watch below.
Brush pen…
More Brush Pan…
And some nib…
Below, the finished inks with some greywash…
And the finished colours. I knew a lot of this piece would come together in this stage. Having a strong, bold composition as regards the inks is a solid place to start from, the key is to work with that [and not against it] in the colours.
As you can see I initially had the a peachy colour from the rough, I tend to colour-pick from my colour roughs and use them in the finished piece. However I played around a little bit when colouring the final drawing and found some more intense red really made the piece hotter and an more intense that pushed the idea across even better.
I’m really happy with this cover, it’s simple in a good way, very grotesque without being actually gratuitous. Ended up being one of those covers that comes out way better than I thought it would. Doesn’t often happen, so I’ll take it!
SHOPPING LIST
As ye may know, Christmas is right around the corner, a perfect opportunity to buy a loved one a great comic, one might say. In the spirit of holiday capitalism, I’m providing handy Amazon links to buy my creator owned books. Of course, I encourage you all to contact your local retailers as soon as possible, but selling through on Amazon stock is also helpful.
Forgive the blatant shilling, but selling these books is how I can afford to keep making more of them, and hopefully getting more readers in the process.
OLD DOG [Redact One]
TIME BEFORE TIME [Vol 1] [Vol 2] [Vol 3] [Vol 4] [Vol 5] [Vol 6]
BOG BODIES [OGN]
SAVAGE TOWN [OGN]
INJECTION [Vol 1] [Vol 2] [Vol 3] [HC]
OUT SOON
December 4th
THUNDERCATS: APEX #1 [VC]
December 11th
TERMINATOR #3 [W/C]
December 18th
THUNDERCATS #11 [W/C]
December 25th
MYSTIQUE #3 [W/A/C]
January 15th
TERMINATOR #4 [W/C]
January 22nd
MYSTIQUE #4 [W/A/C]
THUNDERCATS #12 [W/VC]
January 29th
SILVERHAWKS #1 [VC]
Hey Dec, just wanted to say how AMAZING the Old Dog Dossier turned out. Worth the wait! That it came right around the holidays feels extra special. Looking forward to more OD in 2025!