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Well it's on! Hero High and many others are finally live on the Zeros2Heroes website. There's so much good work there, I'm honoured to have my stuff among them.
The next step for these new works is a competition for a screenwriting grant offered from the Harold Greenberg Fund. At the end of September, the top three comics will be shortlisted for receiving this very substantial prize. 'Top Three' is defined by a little gizmo they have on the website called a 'Heat Meter'. The more fans, and the more active the fans are, the higher the heat meter will go. So if you are interested in Hero High, or any of the other good comics, or if you are interested in seeing independent creators get a new way to break into the mainstream (and maybe start making a living off their work!) then check out the new comics on Z2H and become a fan of a couple of them!
July 1, 2008 Hero High
In November of 07 I was frothing at the mouth, and ranting like a lunatic on the message boards of Zuda when someone directed me to a website called Zeros2Heroes. It's a social networking site for geeky culture junkies like myself, with opportunities and resources for people who have creative aspirations of their own. It was Feb 08 when I put a pitch for a comic called 'Hero High' into Z2H's 'Pitch Doctor', a flash interface thingy that displays writers' ideas, and allows for feedback and whatnot. Naturally, I dove in headfirst.A few weeks later, Z2H started a contest called "Comic Creation Nation" or "CCN" for short. It's sort of an 'American Idol' style contest - Z2H users vote on which stories they want to see made into professional comics, and different pitches will rise and fall on the Z2H CCN charts. Each week for 12 weeks, the pitch at the top of the charts would be declared a winner, and put into production with a professional art and editorial team. In week 4, 'Hero High' was declared the winner, and I started work on my first professional comics project. Needless to say it was an amazing experience. I learned a lot from working with Z2H. The artist assigned to Hero High is an argentinian by the name of Diego Simone whose energy and talent really infused the comic with the youthful spirit I was looking for.
This summer the 12 winners of the first round of CCN will be going live on the Z2H website. Hero High and 11 others will be available for viewing free of charge. Watch this space for an announcement!
May 31, 2008 Drunk Duck
So I took the Crackwalker collections private for the time being - I want to give the relaunch of the old material some exclusivity on DrunkDuck. Once each chapter is complete on DD, I'll make the collections available on Lulu. It just makes more sense that way. I've also figured out the schedule for the future work. The reformatted material will all be released on DD by the end of December, so the new work will start to appear on DrunkDuck in January 2009!
It's nice to have a plan...
May 20, 2008 New stuff
I set up an account on Lulu.com and I've made Crackwalker available there in collected editions. You can buy a copy, or download the PDF for free.
Crackwalker: Nothing and Nobody
Crackwalker: I remember the theft of the expedition
Crackwalker: Violent Dreams
I have a fourth volume to compile, and then all will be set for the new work to proceed. I have also decided to set up a webcomics account on DrunkDuck.com - yes, the time has come for me to move on from comicgenesis.com - they are close to my heart, but I find drunkduck easier to manage from a technical standpoint. So I'm setting the webcomic to update every tuesday. Right now, it's just updating with material that's already available on Lulu.com, but the new stuff will make its first appearance on DrunkDuck, and then as the chapters are complete they will become Lulu.com books.
Crackwalker Webcomic
Also in the works from 50/50: Skitter #1 is in progress again. I hit a creative snag which held me up for a few months, but I'm back at it, and re-energized. Look for it in the months to come. Also in progress is 'Uuna' which is a fantasy epic penned by Dylan and penciled by Graeme. We're doing this one as an entry for Zuda, so it's formatted to their wide-screen dimensions.
That's the news for now!
Jan 17, 2008 New Blog for Crackwalker
I used to have a blog called Crackwalking on Blogger, but it died so now I have started a new blog on LiveJournal. It's called Crackwalking as well. But it's the new Crackwalking. The old crackwalking is still there, but it's dead. I can't access it because of some stupid internet property merger or something to do with google. I don't care. If you want my blogness, go here:
http://crackwalker.livejournal.com/
This blog will continue to have important 50/50 updates. I have been continuing to be active on Zeros2Heroes. I've made contact with some fun people, and I am generally having a good time there. You should check them out.
http://www.zeros2heroes.com
Nov 21, 2007 awesome!
So I was working on some other things for a bit, and now I'm back to focusing on Skitter. I was directed to a website called Zeros2Heroes and they have a contest for comic book pitches. i just couldn't resist throwing my hat in the ring. I've entered 2 pitches, "Hero High" and "Mecha Syndrome" which are two ideas I've been working on for a few years. You can see some thumbnails by clicking on the links on the main page. Hero High would be rated "G" and it's written for kids, like 7-12, but hopefully it's fun for everyone. Mecha Syndrome would be more "PG" for violence and some language.
So anyways, go check out zeros2heroes.com because it's a really cool website, and there are a ton of cool pitches there to check out - they are also starting up an artist section soon. I may pitch them Skitter, but I really want to finish #1 myself - sort of as a personal milestone for finishing projects. Anyways, I'll get back to it. Talk to you soon.
Oct 28, 2007 whoops
Hey what do ya know? Crackwalker wasn't gone at all. I just had to look a bit harder for it.I can't say I'm disappointed. I just re-read it, and it's not a bad little offering after all. I guess it felt like some huge burden for a while there, and those emotions were coloring my memory of it. Having perviously released material may preclude me from offering Crackwalker on Zuda. So be it. I'll be picking it up again no matter what. I have a lot of story to tell there, and I think people will like where I'm going with it. I'm not going to take down the Keenspace stuff. I designed it to be viewed that way, and I'm really happy with it. I like the warts and broken links - it's all part of the experience. And it all ties in with the overall story arc. Ya gotta love the hand of fate.
So if you want to find Crackwalker, I've added a link in the links section.
Oct 26, 2007 Skitter #1 is underway... again
Well, life being what it is... chaotic... there were some delays. Good news is that I'm working on Skitter #1 again. The line art for pages 1-10 is 90% finished.I am hoping to get this ish finished by the end of the year, and then hand the drawing duties back to Graeme for issue #2. I enjoy drawing, but it's a lot of work when you still have a day job. Having said that, I would still jump at drawing more Skitter. I love this story and characters Graeme and I have come up with, and Skitter's world is so much fun to play in.
Graeme and I both have other projects on the back burners, and maybe there will be some time and space here to share them with you. Some of you may be familiar with Crackwalker, a webcomic I ran some years back. It has been on hiatus for some time now, but I am planning something new for it. All the sites that it was once hosted on have been absorbed into the cyber-ether, which is good, because I can start fresh. I have been very interested in Zuda Comics, and watching them as they sort themselves out. I am going to be putting Crackwalker together for them, and see if they like it. If they don't, then so be it, I'll just put it out there however I can. What I like about Zuda is the potential to get some a-list exposure to a lot of eyeballs. Anyways, they have a specific format requirement, which all my previous material does not match with, what with it all being 72 dpi and various frame shapes and sizes. I have worked out an 8-page opening story that fits their criteria, and once Skitter #1 is in the can I can start to look at doing that.
Right now I am 100% focused on Skitter, and hopefully there will be a lot to show here in the weeks to come. This image is a trading card from Skitter #1. There's a 2-page spread that is sort of a montage showing the Justice Conglomerate and stuff, and these trading cards are there as a way to show each character and their masterfully designed logos...
Feb 11, 2007 Skitter #1 is underway
I suffered a computer problem a while back that resulted in a total upgrade to my drawing system. New tablet, new software. I'm still getting used to it, but it will get the job done. I've done 4 pages of Skitter #1. Preview artwork will be forthcoming.I noticed that Dimestore's Small Press Idol 07 is starting up. Good luck to this year's contestants. I will tune in and cast my vote. You should too!
October 26, 2006 Skitter #0 is available for on-line order
Well, it's finally done. Graeme and I shed blood sweat and tears, but Skitter #0 is off to print. It was an amazing experience, and hopefully the momentum will carry us forward into other projects. Pictured above is a rough from when we were working on finalizing the look of the characters.
We are both excited to have completed this book, and we are both interested in going forward with a Skitter #1. We have a long arc planned out, like 12 issues or so, and it would be a shame not to tell the story. In the meantime, we are setting up a gallery, and we will make some sketches and other imagery available for your viewing pleasure.
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