One year since Egyptian film-maker Shady Habash died in prison and my heart still aches.
Rest in power, man.
(If it all compelled to aid in the ending of repression in Egypt, consider signing this open letter.)
And done (if it's not clear btw, this is a crop, because this cover art isn't actually supposed to be revealed till 4-5 months from now and I'm a big tease that way).
Good day today. Managed to get a bit of inking done, spent time with the wife and kid, and even ventured out to the Moody Center for the Arts where there was an event attended by more people. People! Getting together! In Public! With proper social distancing measures in place and all, but it was so refreshing to be in a space with so many people (I mean, not more than 20, but still!), both familiar and strange.
Forgot how nice it is to speak and make eye contact with strangers.
Cooked up some salmon for dinner, marinated in ginger, sesame oil, and fake soy (coconut aminos), and asparagus roasted to a delicious crisp, with a side of quinoa. Haven't had time to properly cook for quite some time now, and it's always therapeutic to cook, and of utmost satisfaction when it all turns out so perfectly.
Not working tomorrow, but a big day ahead nonetheless; serious house cleanup, important zoom call, and our first dinner party in a year!
Almost midnight and still quite a bit of work on my plate, but I embark on it with joy.
Mostly finished with “background pattern” on this one. Will need to move in with heavier blacks but only after I ink all the foreground characters.
Hoping to wrap it up by tonight and maaaaybe squeeze in my [far from weekly anymore] newsletter.
Overreaching? Probably.
Still at it. Thank goodness for podcasts.
Speaking of, a few good ones I've listed to: – The Zen of Sci-fi — Imaginary Worlds – The Truth About Lost Cities — Our Opinions Are Correct – Robert Kirkman! — Robservations
Lantz (of Radix Media) sent me these glamour shots of THE SOLAR GRID #1 before sending my copies out just to fuck with my emotions.
Although I finished this chapter back in 2016—and it's been available as digital since—seeing it in its physical form makes it that much more real (also, a couple tweaks in there separate it from the digital version).
Upon finishing any work of mine, I tend to only see the mistakes, but even I must admit that new cover art is looking damn hawt!
Woke up today without any 2nd-dose side effects. Thank goodness it only lasted some 24 hours. Which means: that's the end of binge-watching INVINCIBLE for me que sad music.
Reading the original SPIDER-MAN run by Steve Ditko in black and white, a few things stand out to me:
It's astonishing how you can really see the influences Ditko would later have on Frank Miller, something that isn't so so obvious on the outset, especially if you read Ditko in color, which obscures Ditko's play with light and shadow and some of his graphic solutions (stark patterns, etc.).
Block out Stan Lee's copy, and the comix “read” infinitely better! The flow is smoother, and SPIDER-MAN suddenly becomes a far more “adult” comicbook.
Peter Parker is so unlikeable. In a funny kind of way, it's almost as if his character is an amalgamation of the most unlikeable aspects of his creators; Lee and Ditko themselves.
The tone of it is so different to Kirby's FANTASTIC FOUR, so much that it's beyond obvious that Lee's only involvement was slapping copy on stories (and characters) he had little involvement in creating. Not very good copy at that. I mean, if there is one atrocious and terribly outdated thing about any of these comix, it's the dialogue and captions.
Calling these “comix” is pretty accurate. They are so weird and off-beat in comparison to the far more sterile output of DC around the the same time, which at that point had already taken on a far more corporate approach to its output. Rewind 20 years earlier, and you find that at its onset, DC's comix had weird and oddball written all over them (when the actual creators of the characters were making the comix), sharing qualities with what we'd later identify with zines and very indy comix.
All corporate comix today are essentially fanfiction. Not only that, but it's fanfiction at its worst: assembly-line productions, overseen by editors and catered to fit company policy.
Considering what I've heard, my post-second-dose side effects aren't so bad. Just really fucking tired, weak, a bit headachy, and somewhat dizzy.
Will have to take it easy today. Could've used a day off anyway. All worth it to be able to lick lamposts and sticky tables at dive bars again.
Watched first episode of INVINCIBLE (I still like to watch cartoons when I'm not well), and WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT ENDING? Didn't see it coming and loved it (never read the comics, but maybe I should?).
Why do I do this to myself?
BECAUSE IT'S GONNA LOOK DOPE, THAT'S WHY!
Cover art for the print edition of THE SOLAR GRID #5 underway. Excited for how it's turning out.
Second dose acquired today though, so maybe noooot the best day to decide to indulge in drawing intricate patterns. Feeling fine, mind you. Arm is a little sore is all, and possibly burning on the inside.
I think I will sleep now.
Just finished what may be may favorite THE SOLAR GRID cover-art to date and feeling:
Wake up every morning to the sound of baby and—as cute and lovable as he is—would love to know what its like to wake up to birdsong again. Doubt this would be much of an issue to people who are used to waking up to alarm clocks (which I'm discovering is a lot of people!), I've hardly ever fucked with alarm clocks tbh, so this is all very new to me.
One more cover to do next week before returning to interiors on the chapter at hand (Ch.6 for digital editions but Ch.7 for print. Confusing I know, but had to do some restructuring for print editions).
I remember when BREAKING BAD first came out, and I was thoroughly taken by its opening flash-forward scenes; starting with a dramatic scene and then having the entire episode show us how things got there. What a captivating way at going about episodic storytelling, I thought. Incredibly creative and original.
So you can imagine my surprise when I finally got around to reading Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's FANTASTIC FOUR run from the 60's and saw that they did the exact same thing! In the 60's!!
Way ahead of their time (well, mostly Kirby really) in more ways than one. It is to my knowledge the first instance I'd seen of that method to storytelling ever being employed (but if someone knows of earlier examples, by all means please correct me).
In other news, THE SOLAR GRID #1 was released yesterday (first time in print!). Elliot Colla (author of BAGHDAD CENTRAL and WE ARE ALL THINGS) had this to say about it:
“THE SOLAR GRID is a mind-blowing read. Imagine if Grant Morrison & Frank Miller & Kim Stanley Robinson had a lovechild who'd seen the Apocalypse & picked up a pen: that's Ganzeer in this beautiful series.”
I have nothing to say to that other than blush and shrivel in my seat. My copies don't arrive till next week, but pictured above is a galley sitting among a few other comics in my possession. The sight of which makes me very happy.