ELECTRON BY REY ARZENO

With the NYC Comic Con coming up on February 6-8, I've been busting my buddy Rey Arzeno's chops to get his portfolio in order and be prepared to do sketches. Recently he stopped over and we chatted about what he needs for the con and he practiced his sketching time. The sketch of Electron with this post was done by Rey in about 40 minutes. That's a pretty good rate to be doing sketches at. Now Rey just needs to get his portfolio in order. Hint, hint!

DIAMOND RAISES THRESHOLDS FOR PUBLISHERS

On Newsarama's website today it was announced that Diamond Comic Distributors would be raising their threshold for Publishers once again. I definitely reccommend reading Newsarama's article at this link: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/010919-Diamond-Thresholds.html . This is sad news for every Independent publisher out there. Diamond had recently raised their threshold in September 2005 to $1500 and back then it was tight for Indies to meet that goal, but now they are raising it to $2500. There's pretty much no way that anyone will be able to meet that amount unless they are one of the big companies. By big, I mean Marvel , DC, Image, Dark Horse, IDW, SLG and a few others. So, what does it mean for us little guys? I'm not sure yet. As it is, we are all always struggling to get our books out there. But with no other way to distribute to almost every comic book store in the U.S., it basically means we're on our own. I'm trying to figure out how exactly I will deal with distributing NEVERMINDS and the other projects that I have started, but I don't see being able to do it through Diamond. It's sad that the comic industry is shrinking to almost non-existence and this seems like the nail in the coffin. Thoughts?

FREEZING IN NYC AND CONVENTIONS

The weather in NYC has been so freaking crappy lately. The cold seems to have an affect on me and I have been neglecting the blog. But things are moving on all projects and we're gearing up for the cons in February. First I'll be doing the NYC Comic Con with Jamie Fay and Rey Arzeno. Both Jamie and Rey will be at the DRUMFISH table doing sketches. Noel Short (writer of Splash's story from the SENTINELS Anthology) and Andrew Charipar (artist of Serpenta's story in the Anthology) will be around at the con too.

At the end of the month I'll be heading down to Florida to attend the Megacon along with Jamie Fay. We did okay there last year and it was great to see a lot of people we normally don't get a chance to see. So, we're giving it another try. I enjoyed the con and we have a different spot this year so hopefully things will go well. Todd Latoski (writer of Electron's story for the Anthology) and Andrew Charipar both say that they will be there as well.

NEVERMINDS is looking really great! Both Jamie and Rey are working hard and the results are amazing. Luciano has done some work on CASPIAN CURSES that I want to show soon with his permission. So, they're will be lots to show soon!

The pic along with this post was a gift to me by Jamie Fay for X-Mas. It's my two favorite Titans. Jamie tried using a new technique with his markers on this. I think it turned out great!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year to all! I can't believe another year has gone by already, but I have to say I'm not sad to see 2008 go, lol. It's been a tough year for everyone I think, and the state of our nation has been a mess with elections, big biz corruption, the economy, etc.. But I'm optimistic about 2009 and truly think it will be a great year for us all.

For myself, it's been a bit of a hectic year with ups and downs and setbacks on different projects. I made it part of my resolution to have at least two of the projects I've been working on come out this year. Of course, first and foremost is the long talked about NEVERMINDS. I know, I know, I've said it all before, but believe me, it'll be out this year. Then there is the project I mentioned that I was developing with Teyo. It still doesn't have an official name, but the title we've been using for fun/referral is ROACH. I'm not sold on it (the title) just yet, but once I have some sketches to post and I tell everyone the basics about the story, maybe I'll have a poll to vote on the name?

So, those are the two books I promise/resolve to get out this year. But there are a few other things in the works.

One is of course CASPIAN CURSES with Luciano Vecchio. We have this all plotted out and character sketches have been re-worked. It's all just a matter of finding the time to finish it. Luciano is a busy busy guy and is currently working on the third OGN in the series called CRUEL THING that I mentioned many times on here. It's an awesome looking book and I'm really happy to see it in print. Bravo, Vecchio. After that Luciano is booked up with another project and then (hopefully/possibly) he will see if he can work CASPIAN CURSES into his schedule. I hope so because it'll really be a different type of books from us and kind of unique I think.

There is another OGN I am working on too, but not enough is done to start plugging it yet, but...there is also a possibly that we might be doing another SENTINELS Anthology by the year end. :)

The sketch with this post is of Alanis from NEVERMINDS by Jamie Fay! Hope everyone had a great and Happy New Years!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

I hope everyone has a Happy Holiday this week. I thought it was appropriate to post this commission I hired Jamie Fay to do. It's the kids in my family as superheroes. I thought it was a good idea and the kids loved them when they opened them. Each of them got their own individual character and Jamie put them all together using photoshop for me. Pretty cool, huh? The image is not the best scan and the actual drawings are much more vibrate and the black pop out more. But I wanted to post this show anyway. Happy Holidays!!!

WORKING

I can't believe it's almost the end of the year. It feels like just yesterday that I was announcing the release of the SENTINELS Anthology, lol. Of course, I had hoped that we'd be close to having NEVERMINDS complete and ready for release soon, but we hit a few bumps in the road and are still working on it. I also finished writing another OGN over the summer that is being drawn by Teyo (the artist on Templar's story in the SENTINELS Anthology). But Teyo had an injury that has delayed him a bit. Then there's that CASPIAN CURSES book I mentioned a ton of times that Luciano Vecchio and I am planning to do. Luciano just has to find an opening in his schedule.The guy is in demand.

So, even though it's been a while since anything new has come out, I think in the long run this will all be for the best and the end results will be great. I've never been one to rush just to get something out. I prefer quality over quantity, lol. I see a lot of Indy creators just rushing to get something new done for each con they go to and I can look at the quality of there book and see it looks bad. Issue one might have looked great, but then you see their issue five and see no progress in art or design. It's stagnant. That's not how I want people to feel about anything I publish.

I'll keep posting info and previews as I can. Sorry for the delay!

In the meanwhile, here's a sketch done by Howie Noeldechen of Alanis from NEVERMINDS and Howie's creation, Mr. Scootles. Anyone who's read this blog knows I'm a BIG fan of Mr. Scootles, so I love this sketch. The first Mr. Scootles trade just came out recently and I even wrote the intro for it. The book looks awesome and I highly recommend checking it out at http://www.hcnoel.com/ .

LADY NIMUE BY DAVID QUILES

It's not often that I get a sketch by an artist twice in my sketch book, but knowing how much I loved the last sketch David Quiles did for me, I had to get another from him. This time he drew Lady Nimue, one of the villains from SENTINELS Book 2: Masks. I really love his rendition of her. She looks so dark and creepy. And he even drew a few of the demons in there with her.

David has worked on such titles as BAREKNUCKLED FIGHTER and THE UNTITLED. You can see more of David's work at www.comicspace.com/davidquiles and http://www.infinitelinecomics.com/ .

JAMIE FAY HAS A BLOG

Jamie Fay, artist on NEVERMINDS and Firebomb's story in the SENTINELS Anthology, has gotten himself a blog. Jamie says he plans to show sketches and artwork on there as well as commissions he's gotten from other artists. Jamie has a pretty sweet collection of art so I'm glad he's finally posting some of them and sharing them with everyone. Check out Jamie's blog at: http://www.jamiefay.blogspot.com/ . With this post is one of the many commissions Jamie has. Gotta love Amanda Connor.

TERRACE BY ED COUTTS

This drawing of Terrace was done by Ed Coutts. What's that? Who's Terrace? lol. Well, this sketch should make Ryan McLelland and Andrew Charipar pretty happy. Terrace made her first and only appearance in the SENTINELS Anthology. She was the villain who fought Serpenta and happens to be the only character in the SENTINELS universe that wasn't created by me. She's all Ryan and Andrew's baby. I thought it was pretty cool that Ed picked Terrace to draw. It continued the villain sketches theme that seemed to be happening at the Big Apple Con. Ed Coutts was a very nice guy and super fast. Ed is an illustrator who works in pencil, inks and paint. He is very well know for his "good girl" art and has done covers and interior pages for AC Comic's FemForce as well as numerous other publishers. Check out Ed's website at http://www.edcouttsart.com/ .

FORGET THE FANBOY AWARDS

A few posts back, I posted about the Fanboy Awards that are going to be presented at Megacon in February. At the time you could do a write in for your favorite writers, artists, titles, etc. But I was told by someone who tried to go vote that they seem to have changed that . You only have the choice etween a few nominees now. Oh well, it doesn't seem like SENTINELS is destined to get any kind of nomination in any awards. Thanks to anyone who voted or tried to. We really appreciate that. There's always the next project to hope for. Hopefully we'll have NEVERMINDS done in time for next year and try to submit that.

TEMPLAR BY BECKY CLOONAN

This sketch of Templar was drawn by Becky Cloonan at the Big Apple Con. I'm a BIG fan of Becky's work and she was one of the artists I was really looking forward to meeting at the Con. I first saw Becky's work on the Vertigo series American Virgin. It ran for 24 issue and was a pretty good read, but it was really the art that drew me to the series. Becky has a unique style that I really like. It's kind of a realistic/manga merge that reminds me a little of Luciano Vecchio's work. Meeting Becky, she was exactly how I thought she'd be, very nice and happy to answer questions. I was surprised when I asked her how much she was charging for sketches and she answered free if you buy one of her books. I was planning on buying her self-published MINIS anyway, so I thought that was really cool. So, I got MINIS and a free sketch! Cool, huh? Becky is currently drawing DEMO, another Vertigo series. I highly recommend it and all her other work. Check out her site at www.estrigious.com/becky/index.htm .

RAPTURE BY STEVE MANNION

Steve Mannion did this sketch of Rapture for me last week at the Big Apple Con. I saw Steve's work and knew he'd do an amazing job. Perfect fit, huh? Steve has worked on such titles as Batman: Black and White, Batman Gotham Knights, Tales From the Crypt, Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty, Satan's Circus of Hell, Strange Pirate Tales and Warlash: Dark Noir. Steve is also the writer and artist on THE BOMB (which has been described as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" meets "Mad Magazine") and was recently released as a trade by Asylum Press. I think Steve's rendition of Rapture has a great mixture of cute and sexy. It was also cool having him draw her, as this Con seemed to be one that I got a lot of villain sketches at.

HAMLET BY CHRIS MORENO

Here is one of my favorite sketches I got at the last Con. It's one of the lesser known characters from SENTINELS, Hamlet, and I think that's why I like it so much. The artist is Chris Moreno and when I happened to see him sketching away at the Con, his art really caught my eye. I looked through his work and after talking to him for a bit, I realized that he was the artist on SIDEKICK. SIDEKICK is an awesome book that I really enjoyed. I highly recommend it, especially if you looking for something different and funny. Chris has also drawn Dracula Vs. King Arthur, another great book with a completely different style and tone. I knew Chris would draw something unique for me, so I gave him a copy of SENTINELS and let him pick who he wanted to draw. His choice of Hamlet really surprised me and I think he did an amazing job on him. Next time I see Chris at a Con, I'm definitely getting another sketch from him! Check out more of Chris work at http://www.chrismoreno.deviantart.com/ .

STITCH BY CHRIS GIARRUSSO

Yet another sketch from the Con last week. This time it's Stitch drawn by Chris Giarrusso. Chris is the writer and artist on Mini-Marvels. Mini-Marvels can be seen in a lot of different Marvel books and it's kind of their counterpart to DC's kid line of books. I really like Chris's style and even though i usually let artists pick who they want to draw when I commission them, I asked Chris to do Stitch. I think it worked with his style and came out great. Definitely check out Chris's website at http://www.chrisgcomics.com/ and see all the cool stuff he's done.

SILVER OWL BY ANDY MACDONALD

Here's another one of the sketches I got while at the Big Apple Con last weekend. This time it's Silver Owl by Andy MacDonald. I was really surprised by Andy's choice of Silver Owl. I usually tell artists to just look through one of the SENTINELS books and pick whoever they want to draw. I think the sketches come out better that way. By not assigning a character to them, they pick one that they will enjoy drawing more. Hence my sketch comes out better. It's funny, but at this con, three of the artists picked lesser shown characters to draw (I'll be posting the rest soon). I have gotten sketches from Andy MacDonald in the past and he is one of my favorite artists. I always tell friends to seek him out and they always end up loving what he does for them. I don't know why Andy hasn't crossed that bridge to work on a mainstream Marvel or DC book yet, but I know he will. Andy has been drawing the Indie comic, NYC Mech for a few years now and his art is amazing in it. Check out http://www.nycmech.com/ to see what I'm talking about.

FIREBOMB BY SEAN CHEN

I went to the Big Apple Con here in NYC this past weekend and got some pretty great sketches. I didn't have a table at this con because I hate the way they run the show. But I went to say hi to some people I know and get some art. The first person I hit up for a sketch was Sean Chen. Sean started drawing comics at Valiant and worked on X-O Man of War, Bloodshot, Rai and Harbinger. Then he moved on to Marvel and drew Iron Man for a few years and also Wolverine and Elektra. Most recently he drew X-Men: The End. Sean is a super nice guy and really fast. I think he had my sketch finished within an hour. Just looking at it you can tell he didn't rush either. I love his interpretation of Firebomb.

NEVERMINDS EXTRAS

As we continue to work on NEVERMINDS, I'm trying to show bits and pieces here on the blog. Here's something done by colorist Rey Arzeno that I think is funny and shows how we're trying to put in little extras throughout the book. In the unfinished panel with this entry, you can see one of the characters in our story (Gavin) wearing a shirt with a face on it. Sneaky Rey took the face from the SENTINELS website and the back of SENTINELS Book 2: Masks. It's was my bio pic that we used. It was done in about ten seconds by me when we were on deadline and I needed to get the pic done. Little did I know that years later it would come back to haunt me, lol. Curse you, Rey!!!

THE BLOG TURNS A YEAR OLD!

I can't believe I started doing this blog a year ago. But I did. And even though it hasn't always gone as I had hoped it would, I've enjoyed doing it. I feel bad that I haven't been posting as much as I did in the beginning, but that's mainly been because everything I'm working on is still in progress. Sorry about that.

I'd like to ask (if anyone is still checking this, lol) what has been good and bad about the blog. I have registered a new site name and hope to get a Drumfish site up early next year. This blog will be part of that, so input would be appreciated.

FANBOY AWARDS

This year Megacon is holding their first ever Fanboy Awards. Like an idiot, I forgot to put the word out and get SENTINELS nominated, but hey you can always write in SENTINELS for favorite Indy title. Write in votes count! So, go fill out the form. It seems like it'll be a fun award thing and anyone who is interested in voting should check it out at: http://www.projectfanboy.com/ .

They doesn't seem to be a whole lot of what I consider Indy titles nominated (ex. Walking Dead and Invincible are not really Indy in my eyes). I'm really looking forward to Megacon in 2009! I had a blast at the last one.

MORE NEVERMINDS

Here's another panel from NEVERMINDS. It's hard to show too much without giving away too much of the story, but I figured since I posted this panel a while back in line art that it would be good to show the finished color version. Jamie and Rey are kicking but on the art!