Hard at work

I've been asked here and there what's up next for me in comics. The short answer—I don't know! Just working on a few shorties here and there.

The long answer for those who want it—after I completed TRUST/TRUTH late last summer, I immediately fell in some work with Marvel. Fell into is a little exaggeration...I had pitched an adaptation of WUTHERING HEIGHTS for their possibly-defuncting 'Classics' line. The answer was no, but along came an offer to write an Iron Man story and write and draw a Northstar story.

After I completed work on both, the holidays rolled through which of course keeps one busy with day job holiday parties, family obligations, jaunts to NYC and the like. In January I started thinking about what to do next, and then off to Angouleme Festival, and tourism in France & Portugal, and some rollercoaster emotional times.

By this point, I had set a closing date for my loft purchase. I also was feverishly distracting myself with plotting and planning the second half of my long-awaited OGN BABY MAKES THREE. It just wasn't coming together, so I decided to abandon it. Brainstorming ideas was more and more challenging as my grandmother's health worsened and the house purchase loomed large.

The purchase, renovation (it was not move-in ready), and move was a very trying and stressful time, and on its heels, my grandmother passed away. Mid-May to mid-June is very much a haze. But I did my best to pull myself up by the bootstraps and completed a shortie for the indie anthology INBOUND #5 (on sale soon I think).

More renovations, Comic Con, and more renovations and here we go with a guest-run on Monica Gallagher's Web comic BONNIE N. COLLIDE. And in Oct, you'll see the story I did with Jen Van Meter in 2006 reprinted in Oni Press' HOPELESS SAVAGES GREATEST HITS.

So 2010 brings two Marvel credits, an Oni credit, and 2 indie credits, as well as a limited reprint of CAVALCADE V1 with some exclusive material. Not bad for almost no work.

But, that means you won't see much on the shelves from me in 2011. With no approved pitches, and the self-publishing scene tanking, I won't be embarking on a significant project soon. I'll keep you posted with news about my mini comics and whatever else comes along.

In the meantime, I'm purging a bit of deadstock which is taking up too much space in my loft and my mind. Oh, and here's a picture of my drafting table—recently bought and the first I've ever owned—with my BONNIE strips in progress. Pic didn't turn out, but I have a swell view out those windows. A sheer joy to work there.