What I'm working on

"What are you working on?" I'm often asked.

Truth?—I'm not working on anything.

After I wrapped up TRUST/TRUTH summer/early fall 2009, I immediately transitioned to two shorties for Marvel which took the rest of the fall. Then came "the holidays" and finally the filling of book orders on TRUST/TRUTH and my annual trip to Angouleme Festival in France.

The spring was a difficult time for me, dealing with family issues and ultimately a death in the family, the technical aspects of buying my first home, and the emotional aspects of buying my first home. And, of course, considerable interpersonal confusion. During this time I attempting to outline and write the second half of BABY MAKES THREE simply to conclude it was unworkable.

Upon the closing of my home purchase, I was thrown into cleaning, painting, packing, moving, unpacking, more painting, arranging, re-arranging, furniture hunting, and the like.





Though in the summer I was able to start drawing again, including a 5 page mini comic "Trying Something New" written by Greg Lockard; 10 new pages for my CAVALCADE Volume 1 reprint; the first 3 pages of another mini comic written by Greg; complete thumbnails for an art-as-therapy OGN which I'll not likely draw; the X-Calibur and Wonder Woman Day illustrations I posted to this blog.

I was thrilled to help out Monica Gallagher with a 13-week guest run of her webcomic BONNIE N. COLLIDE this fall. Then it was off to India, and after I completed my travel sketches. And on to creating some custom Mego action figures and then "the holidays" again. I drew this illustration of Sailor Moon just prior to my recent trip to France.

This sounds like so much more than it is, in terms of comics production. The past year-ish resulted in 31 finished comic pages, 3 specialty art pieces and 3 custom Megos. That's all.

There is no book in the works...no pitches...no mini-comics...nothing.

That's not to sound doomsday about it—it's been a lot of fun fixing up my apartment. More fun than I'd anticipated. But for a variety of reasons, I have no ideas for comics at the moment, no projects underway, and no motivation to change it.

As for this Sailor Moon, I think it might be my most favorite thing I've done in a long time. I really love the way the line art turned out. I colored it...and something's lost. I still prefer the line art.Yes, it is Matt as Tuxedo Mask.

Sad anniversary—to me.

Soar as the falcon soars...run with the speed of gazelle

If you've 20 minutes to spare here and there, I encourage you to watch Filmation's live-action THE SECRETS OF ISIS on hulu.com.

I remember hating Isis as a little boy. First, she paled in comparison to Captain Marvel on the SHAZAM! live-action show. Second, she never seemed to do anything.

Watching the show now, I have a better appreciation for them. They were definitely for kids, and each had a very important message about believing in people you love, solving problems by following the law, following your conscience and not peer pressure, etc. Isis spends most of her time helping teenagers make good decisions, the stopping of crooks is very much secondary.

Sure, Isis doesn't do much...it seems like her appearance alone halts crime. Crooks just kinds give up in her presence. And her powers seem to change depending on the scenery and what the budget would allow. And the sets...these poor actors had to run around the crappiest alleys of Los Angeles to film this show.

Another great feature of the show was the '70s post-hippy vibe. The supporting teenagers were usually a racially balanced group.

So yes, please, check it out. Just keep in mind it was made in a day that super-hero fare was meant for 7 year olds and not 37 year olds. She's solving crime with love, not gore.

A Study in Gatchaman

After Star Wars took the country by storm in the late '70s, the demand for sci-fi was back, with little supply.

Capitalizing quickly, the (non sci-fi) Japanese Anime Gatchaman was rescripted, dubbed, and repackaged as the sci-fi show Battle of the Planets, which I loved as a kid.

I decided to draw a nice image of the group, in color. To gear up, I was sketching the team a bit around xmastime.

If you're not familiar, the science ninja team's uniforms (visors in particular) are bird-themed (eagle, condor, swan, falcon, owl). So I added two guys I draw often suited up as teammates (dodo and chicken).

UPDATE: It probably was too indirect, so I clarify that the teammates I added were Matt (dodo) and myself (chicken).

Out and About

Fish-philes know I am not hitting the gay clubs with great regularity, but I have been "out" two weekends in a row. First, I was hosting Serge from Montreal (my friend Xavier's ex BF). Meeting up with other friends at Paradise, we remarked on a scruffy built guy in tight, tight T-shirt with amazing shoulders. I generally need strong motivation to draw someone...strikingly handsome, eclectic attire, exceedingly heinous, etc. But with this fellow, it was the shoulders. I still couldn't capture them, they were just perfectly sculpted. This past weekend, Matt was in town for business and wanted to meet up at Club Cafe. It was a, hrm, interesting evening—but what happens in Boston stays in Boston, eh? After he stumbled away, Adam and I noticed the shoulders dude, whom I promptly spoke to. Mike's a nice guy, and after I told him about my sketch, and the motivation (his shoulders) he told me he's having troubles with them. The coloring is courtesy of Adam. http://adamsredchalk.blogspot.com/

Creations from my childhood redux week: Sigmund and Friends

Last installment...direct from my freshman year of high school—Sigmund and Friends.

Sigmund was this weird, prune-like things appearing in little cartoons.Not sure what else to say about him.

The "and friends" were Jacques and Simone, a happily married couple from Quebec. Jacques was a red-headed body-builder with a mohawk, and his wife was an elderly Native American named Simone. Initially Simone looked like Sigmund in a braided wig. Later, she developed her own look as she appeared in my sketchbook over the years.

Creations from my childhood redux week: Mimi Chandler

Amidst a "Barbie" craze while I was in junior high school, Mimi Chandler was "born."

At that time, there was a Barbie for everything, and she had many careers. Mimi took it all further in little cartoons titled The World of Mimi Chandler: there was Policewoman Mimi, Fry-cook Mimi, Astronaut Mimi. You get the idea.

She had many different beaus, too, to suit the occasion. None were terribly interesting (in comparison, anyway!—who could compete?!?). However, among the cast was Mimi's half-sister, Miona. Miona was half-Hawaiian, wore heavy makeup and a pink Mohawk. Far more punk rock than her famous elder sister.

I later introduced Mimi into The Adventures of Arche-Lady series, as a glamour gal reporter, always chasing a story in an evening gown. It was later revealed that she and Arche-Lady went to college together.

Mimi appeared in my sketchbook around 2005 or so, as a travel magazine editor, which took her around the world encountering adventures along the way. I had planned (and still toy with the notion) of writing and drawing such stories, using my travel photos as reference. Think Arche-Lady without the super-powers.

So, keep your eyes peeled for some camp fun in Scandanavia, India, Brazil, and more. Maybe.