Motor Comic-Con: May 16, 17 & 18

I will be at this years Motor City Comic-Con. This will be my 7th appearance at my hometown convention. Book 3 of the Miserable Americans series will be debuting at the convention along with the back catalog of books for both Miserable Americans and my previous series Insignificant Gods. I will be in the Artist Alley section of the convention…. somewhere. Table location can be essentially important to the success or failure of your convention experience… especially if you're a "not-so famous" personality attending.  I just checked the site and the SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN and the BIONIC WOMAN are going to be there, so that should be enough inspiration for anybody to want to show up, besides coming by my table to say hello.  For more information check out the convention site at Motor City Comic-Con.

One of my heroes…. the actor AND the doll.

Evolution of a Book Cover

As I finish the third book in the Miserable Americans series the one challenge that becomes a constantly looming agenda is…. the COVER ART!  Cover art for a comic book can be immensely important. It's the selling point for the entire book wrapped up into ONE image. You can write a great story and have really excellent artwork running throughout your book, but the cover art (if not  effective) will most definitely drive people away from your book…. or at least cause disinterest. The cover art is like the movie poster you see that makes you want to buy a ticket. It is artwork, graphics, and text all coming together in one encapsulating piece of design that can either make or break the perception of your book.  No pressure….  So, here I am finishing up book 3 and the dreaded issue of the cover art has now become of imminent importance.  In this post I will be documenting the process of creating the new cover art presenting all the concepts, ideas and the development of the final design in as much detail as possible. Any feedback you may have will NOT be tolerated because I'm confused enough already and hearing everyone else's opinion will just confuse me more.

Second Stage...

As you can see the cover art took a dramatic turn mid-way through the process. I didn't feel the original design was vibrant enough and, as well, even though Lincoln and Kennedy are wearing dresses this time, the poses seem to be too similar to the cover of book one.  So, I've gone off into a new direction. I'm going to have to make this concept work since I'm running out of time.

Convention Season closing in….

Got to make my commitments soon. Gotta figure out which comic conventions I'm going to attend this year and fork over the money and purchase my tables.  I'm definitely going to go back and do my hometown Motor City Comic-Con this year. I've gotten to a point where I feel I should do Motor City every other year. (it's not the funnest of times, that's why I skip it.) However, also on tap this year is a trip to Columbus, OH for the SPACE convention or quite possibly C2E2, as it has come to be known. I will probably go back to Chicago in August and after that….. who knows.  A lot of this depends on money…. well, most of it depends on money. OK, ALL of it!.  My official schedule of 2014 appearances will be posted soon.

2014 Brings More Rewrites

Well, the re-work continues on Miserable Americans book 3. As I continue to work on finishing the third book, I'm finding more and more bizarre miscues and complications. I've lost the dialogue for one entire page. I've also impressively drawn three different models for what is supposed to be one car that appears throughout the book. I've got scenes that don't work and very rough dialogue. But work is continuing and despite the frustrations I am still very excited about the book and feel confident that book 3 can still become the best of the series so far.

Ugh! Miserable Americans 3... moving slowly

My best intentions have, of course, failed me. The progress on Miserable Americans book 3 has been slow and rough. After having the story written well before the art needed to begin, I realized the story lacked drama. It lacked a climax. The first draft just seemed to meander around. It moved the plot along but that's about all it did. So, I had to redraft the entire book and figure out exactly what this chapter should be about. One thing I realized is that a story is not good enough if all it does is move the plot. Every comic book, even it is part of a larger story arc, should be able to stand alone and deliver it's own unique experience and it's own unique emotional imprint. Once I realized my initial draft for book 3 did not sufficiently meet those criteria, it was time to rewrite.

SOLD OUT @ Jay & Silent Bob's Secret Stash

Just got word that ALL of Miserable Americans book 1 and book 2 sold out at writer/director/performer Kevin Smith's comic shop located in Red Bank, NJ (and yes, I am name dropping. Selling comics in a store owned by a celebrity IS some kind of twisted, vicarious contact with success). So if you were planning to make the trek out to the infamous east coast shop, you missed your chance to pick up any copies of Miserable Americans. Oh well, I guess you will have to wait until the release of book 3.... OR you could just pop on over to the shop on this website and pick up both copies RIGHT NOW! Problem solved. That's what I'm here for.... to fix all your problems.

Manga Studio and Miserable 3

As of August the learning curve on :Manga Studio is getting smoother and production is getting faster. I have vowed to draw at least one panel a day.... everyday.... no matter what!  I've made that promise before but the only way to realize my goals and produce the stories that are planned is to meet that day to day accomplishment. There doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day or days in the week. If only sleep wasn't so necessary.... or socialization.... or making money to pay bills.  I will be creating an in progress gallery which will be a visual guide to the development of Miserable Americans book 3.

Thank you....Chicago Wizard World

August 5, 6, 7 & 8 - Not only was this years Chicago Wizard World convention, once again, a very enjoyable experience, but Miserable Americans Book 1 SOLD OUT and Book 2 came very close to matching the same feat.