Managed to pencil 2 pages today (rough-like as pictured), and spend time with wife and kid, including indulging in a little picnic concert thing (well, a small small part of it, had to get back home and put kid to bed).
Rough pencils are fine, I'm getting quite proficient at doing a lot of drawing in the inks phase. Part of why it's a bit difficult for me to imagine being inked by someone else. But I guess that's a scenario where I would intentionally want to pencil tighter in more detail.
Sketching out a page today while looking over notes for the next chapter of THE SOLAR GRID and realizing I've got my England circa 1818 scene coming up. A period of which I in fact know very little and will require ample visual reference to pull off, which I have no idea where to begin sourcing from.
Is it a cosmic coincidence that I'm off to the UK next week?
This seems like a reasonable enough layout... 🙄
Enjoyed chatting with Rob and Taylor for OPPOSABLE THUMBS last night. It must be podcast season or something, because I'm apparently recording a couple more tomorrow. 🤪
I've been on a few podcasts in my day, but this is the first time I've been sent a mic by the podcasters I'm recording with. Rob Ray and Taylor Hokanson clearly care about sound, which makes sense given how excellent their OPPOSABLE THUMBS podcast is at everything in general.
Looking forward to recording with them tonight.
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.
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?).