These were done by the geniuses over at Bigheads Studios.  Pay them a visit if you have a pulse.  The rest of it is Facebooked, natch.

identity. theft.

identity. crisis.

10 am: One page down.  Jad uploaded page 1 to the site for me and came up with the title.  She’s happily asleep now.  I’m trying to plan one page ahead mentally so I build momentum.  Alex is eating chips and watching Youtube vids.  I can hear him eating over Skype and it’s making me hungry.

11 am: Page two took a little longer than it needed to.  Making page 3 a splash so I can catch up a bit.  Also, space ships are fun.  Alex has been inspired by videos he’s just seen and has begun.  Andrew Drilon is a machine.

12 nn: Page 4 is my hero shot.  Trying to keep my layouts as varied as possible to keep the delivery interesting.  My brother Roby had an anchovy pizza delivered for me.  Probably shouldn’t try to draw while I’m eating, but I’m fucking starving.

1 pm: Took too long on previous page, but detail there was necessary.  Using a bit of a cheat on page 5, combo with some basic Photoshop effects… am hoping it comes across clearly in the read.  Okay, enough pizza.

2 – 3 pm: Page 6.  Kinda screwed myself with that big exposition shot, but it had to be done.  Listening to Around Comics to keep focused.  Alex is on a break.

4 – 6 pm: Kat gets on Skype to talk me through pages 7 and 8.  And it’s just as well, coz I can’t figure out how to refill the copic markers she lent me.  Jad helps me figure out the forthcoming ‘mind assault’ scene via text message.

7 pm: Talking comics with EJ as I figure out page 9.  Taking a bit of a shortcut again, but I make sure Johnny Danganan knows about it first via YM.  He’s staying awake and online just like the rest of us.  Copy-paste zoom-in might sound like a cheat, but it ‘s the effect it has on the suspense that I’m after.  If what I have planned works, the next page will be a surprise.

8 pm: Recorded an episode or Tres Komikeros with EJ and the recently resurrected Alex.  Page 9 is in bed, and I take a breather to put some tiger balm around my wrist and on my neck.  Oy.

9 pm: The simplicity of page 10 is therapeutic, but I hope the ‘switch’ isn’t too jarring.  I probably could have delivered the transition a little better.  Also, drawing clouds with copic markers is hard.  Kat and Jad talk anime over Skype while Alex links us to 4chan crap.  Don’t they understand how serious this whole thing is?

10-12 mn: I employ a bit of a cheat again for page 11.  I spot the ‘flesh’ parts of the characters in cast black, just like Risso does.  I just recently started reading 100 Bullets.  Sue me.  I hope it works out okay.

1 – 2am: Neck and back hurts now.  My internet bugs out all of a sudden and I am unable to upload pages.  I lie down to talk to my girl over the phone and have a snack.  I entertain the idea of just going to bed now but Jad reminds me of how much effort I’ve already put in and eggs me on.

3 am: Back at the desk to draw page 12.  Still no internet.  I have Jad on speakerphone and a flock of angry ducks.

4 am: Page 13. I am drawing a raw duck embryo.  I don’t know whether to be mad or thankful that I don’t have access to Google images.

5 am: I’m gonna try to end this thing here, at page 14.  I’m chopping out a lot of stuff that I would have wanted to do… but I don’t think I’ll be able to do the ideas justice at this point.  So there it is, a dirty little bow.

— sleep —

7 – 8am: Still no internet, and three more pages to upload.  Internet cafes in my area are all closed, on account of it being a Sunday.  I find out Alex is awake, so I head over to his apartment to commandeer his laptop and upload my story’s conclusion..

9 am: Breakfast with Alex at McDonald’s.  We feel like we just got out of jail.  If jail was… y’know… fun.  And with prizes.

— pass out —

June got a little hairy as Jad came down with dengue fever and had to be hospitalized for almost a week.  I had flown down to keep her company as best I could, but the beginning of the rainy season had taken a bit of a toll on me as well — nothing quite as serious, fortunately, but I ended up not getting to stay with her at the hospital as often as I would have wanted, lest I got sicker and became a liability.  That said, my evenings at the hotel were still miserable, but hardly anything compared to Jad’s ailment which, we later discovered, is nicknamed “bone breaking fever.”  They really went out of their way to sugar that one up.

I had bought her a copy of Arnold Arre’s MYTHOLOGY CLASS, and she says it at least took her mind off being sick, if only for precious increments.  With prayer and a whole lot of soldiering on her part, she made a full recovery in a week and celebrated by attacking a happy helping of roast pork.

Brought my flu home with me.  Nothing a week of antibiotics couldn’t handle, but because they were pretty potent peyote-type shaman juice, I couldn’t draw quite as fast as I wanted to because I was getting tremors like a caffeinated mouse in a church bell.  So yeah, work went ouchy.

I hate flu season.  All better now though.

*****   *****   *****   *****   *****

A month after Zuda ended its monthly competitions, they announce that the site itself was shutting down.  PRs and official emails indicate that it’s a decision straight from the higher-ups, made in conjunction with DC’s whole digital initiative.  And while long-running series such as HIGH MOON and BAYOU will be migrated, the newer ones had to be cancelled.  Oh well, them’s the breaks.  More recent interactions at least have DC doing right by us creators, as far as ownership and fair compensation goes.  And I’ll leave it at that.  Heh.

Still talking to Gabe and Matt about Comixology and Graphic.ly.  But I’m currently committing a lot more of my time to 1888 — the first issue of which is nearly half done, as far as line art goes.  Bricks and dead whores, baby!  That’s my suggested alt title, but I don’t think Wolfgang will go for it.  Will keep pushing.  Don’t stop believing.  Heh.

*****   *****   *****   *****   *****

While I was stuck in bed, I got to read a whole bunch of stuff.  Too much in fact, that I’ll just post them as little blurbs instead of my usual “Reading: insert artsy fartsy title here” journal entries…

Scalped (Vertigo)

Sure, Jason Aaron’s Indian Reservation Noir is well into it’s fourth year, but I just got a chance to check it out.  Much like with IMMORTAL IRON FIST and PREACHER, I was late to the party.  But you know what?  I’m glad I was.  Because I don’t think I woulda been able to stand the 30-day wait between issues on this fantastic series.  Someone tell me why this isn’t on HBO.

-

100 Bullets (Vertigo)

Now this series has been done for a while, but I finally got around to picking up the first three trades coz I’ve been on a weird crime comic spree as of late.  I apologize in advance for the pun, but it’s… hit and miss? As much as the revolving cast keeps things interesting, it also works against the narrative because you cant really invest in anyone.  But I’ll gladly stay in my seat for Risso’s art alone.

I Killed Adolf Hitler (Fantagraphics)

There’s something about the deadpan delivery of this comic that makes it a lot more touching than you expect it to be.  Whatever you’re guessing it’s about based on the title, you’re really only half way there.  The majority of the book is delivered in an 8-panel grid, so there’s a visual immediacy to the story itself, because the pacing really isn’t the point.  And when you get to the end, you’ll get that it’s really a love story more than anything else.

Switchblade Honey (AiT/Planet Lar)

The captain is an asshole and the crew is a mishmash of crack addicts and psychopaths.  Meet the people who will save you from super advanced aliens who see you as nothing more than germs with shoes.  Angry Star Trek.  Warren Ellis.  Go.

The Tres Komikeros podcast will be taking a break after episode 52, which is scheduled for recording this July 17th… coincidentally the same day Jonas Diego is running a 24 Hour Comic Day Challenge.  So we figured… one more show for this season?  We’ll all be at our desks for a whole day anyway.  Fuck it, let’s record a 24-hour podcast.  And that, my friends, is how big decisions are made.  With half-assedness and lots of cursing.  Come listen.  And learn yourself a thing or two… even if it’s only “don’t do it.”

My best friend, worst enemy, biggest fan, and truest idol.

And to remove all doubt that I am in fact a sentimental sap, I’m going to quote Josh Pyke in one of his recent songs.

So we are moving to a lighthouse, you and I
While seas drown sailors, we’ll be locked up safe and dry
And though our doors may knock and rattle in the wind
I’ll just hold you tight and we’ll not let those fuckers in.

Also look out for the new segment entitled “Spoil Me” interspersed throughout the show. Deal with it, kids.

Download the episode here

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