BBC Update 7/24/11

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

TALE OF TWO JOHNNYS A.K.A WEIRD ATOMIC TALES
So it begins... The inking.  Now for some inking has been reduced to a all to common phrase from a movie (in particular Chasing Amy) "You're just a tracer." Every single comic illustrator I know and writer has heard this or have been the subject of being a tracer.

As the artist of the work and your finishing it, are you,   in fact, at that time still a tracer?  I would have to say yes you are.
Now that being said I can say - like Banky - I am the finish artist.
Every artist I have come across has a different way of approching the inking as they do the penciling.  I leave my pencils pretty loose when I'm drawing because I haven't figured out where the light source  is coming from or it has not been specified in the script.  And then there is the background to keep the work grounded.

The other thing is size.  Inking defines a character.   I'm not the greatest penciler out there but I am a competent one but inking is a while different story.  Weight of a ink line for a penciled page goes a long in definition. 

It was one of those things that helped Jack Kirby become forever immortalized along with his body of work and layout style.
I will never be that close to be like Jack unless I had the kind of support that he had cranking out the pages. But finding that someone is still very illusive.
Reguardless the deadline looms in the distance. And with every passing minute that much closer. 
But great work comes with time.   And so far this has been a great work.
Things are still looking good.

BBC Update 7/17/11

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest from the box!

TALE OF TWO JO(H)NNY'S. A.K.A.  WEIRD ATOMIC TALES #1
Are you ready for the Mother of all Crossovers?!
We hope so!
The story of the crossover moves into phase 4- final inking!  Let the fun begin!  Time to ink a wrap around cover and complete 49 pages of this illustrated extravaganza! 
Take a gander at the proposed cover for the crossover.  We think it looks pretty cool.   
On top of this, the  book being off by an odd page count we have decided to throw in a supplement story as well for shits and giggles.
More to follow on this topic.

COMMISSIONS UPDATE:

The piece I called "Reading to Run" is now currently at the framers right now.  Onward to the next commission on the agenda.  Hopefully this piece will be as good.  I think it will.

JOHNNY VEGA NEWS


As the crossover is completed and the other art shows are going on, the creative edge of the box continues on.  "Humble Beginnings" and its follow up "All Tomorrow's Parties" are thumbnailed out and directly feed into the four color books on hand right now "The Rock Apes of Xandar."
  Now lately there have been Numberious images generated with Vega more in a fantasy setting..  A lot of the commissions have been theamed with heavy sword and sorcery.  If a lot of people didn't know it that subject is where I cut my teeth on.  A steady diet of Conan the Barbarian Magazines and reading as many Micheal Moorecock books as I. could get my hands on dealing with the Eternal Champion.
  Of course Buroughs influenced me a lot especially with covers the of Frazetta and Boris Vallejo of sword weilding John Carter.
  Action is where Johnny is going.  And things are going be interesting  as "WEIRD ATOMIC TALES" will enter with an alternate version of Johnny as Vega the Barbarian.  Also will be featured other sci fi stories that don't fit into the regular Vega Universe.  The Misguided parts 3 and 4.   Boy in the Bubble,  D.F.A.  At least that's what I got set up for a several books. 
  AND of course because it was a shared book to begin with Jason from NEOtrash Comix can use it as well. 
 

CORPSE COP NEWS:

"ARITIC WOLF" is still undergoing development but rest assured that this cop of the undead will be scratched out for another year.

GALLERY WORK:




  Well this weekend marks the beginning of the 88 Strong show .  What I mean by this is the promoters of the show will be handing out 8"X8" wooden panels that will be handed out this weekend for the show  in late September.  Now as it turns out I may already engaged with another show this year in Seattle for the second Jet City Comic Show. 
  In October the same gentlemen of the 88 Strong will be hosting the BIG 100 show. 
  The BIG 100 last year turned out to be a very good show and I  don't see this year being any different. 


Busy time for the kid.     
And I am out of here.

BBC Update 7/10/11

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:


THE PORTLAND GUN SHOW






  Its not what you think it is there true believers. (apologies Stan).   This gathering of artists for the month of July and America's Independence Day was artist showing guns featured in their art work.
Earilier this year Black Box Comix show cased the Corpse Cop “Corpsecilce” story board art. And had a lot of positive feedback. This time I wanted to present the work a little more than art pieces stuck up on the wall at Globe.
  Now since Corpse Cop, everybody's favorite cop of the undead just happens to have a chain gun, it made sense to show him.
The piece that will feature him rendered in beautiful detailed scratchboard of black and white.  The title "Fill in the Blanks". Framed and the price for this framed  masterwork -$300.00.
  If you haven't seen the show or happen to be passing through the Portland Oregon area,  check out the Globe at (link)

COMISSIONS!
Well in the last couple of weeks that have happened between June and July I have been fortunate enough to have been contracted for a couple commissions. 
The first is still in the works but is moving forword for some  friends I know.  Sorry that is about much as I can say about this illustration.
  Next on the docket is a  scratchboard piece.  It is entitled "Reading to Run" 11"X14".     This beauty retailed in at $150.00.
This had to be one of my better pieces I have done.  As my friend Lynn Peterson said (to paraphrase her father) Nice and sinister...('the plot sickens' ).

TALE OF TWO JO(H)NNY'S


Well Jason and I have decided that this story will be printed under comic banner of "WIERD ATOMIC TALES". 

  Now as may have noticed I have been doing a lot of Fantasy influenced art for Vega lately and I realized that all the stories I have for the Man of the Future have been plotted out till the end of the series.  With that being said I didn't want to let this character go  so I started to develop the Paraelle time line of Lost World for Vega and company.
Just wanted to put a different spin on the mythology of the Vega Universe with "A World not of his making.".  I personally love that line.   

It was a title that I was messing around with and sounded like a good jumping off point for this crossover.   Work started this weekend on the finished inked pages.  Hopefully my inking skills are up to this task- just kidding.  I am totally looking forword to this. 
Jason and I both agree that we don't want this book to look half assed in any way so when its done, it looks right.



So a very busy summer for the kid.     
And I am out of here.

BBC Update 7/03/11

BBC Update 7/3/11

Well sports fans Al here with the latest. As I write this a the first of the art pieces for gallery work has been dropped of for the Globe “**Call to Artists**”.

Next week will be the drop off for the show and should do well for Corpse Cop as far as I can tell.
As I was told by my co-writer Jason Pott on the Crossover for the Tale of Two Jo(h)nny’s that Jason of Floating World in downtown PDX once he saw Corpse Cop popped on the scene he said “Tell me more”.

Now I have talked to this gentleman a couple of different times but have never really pitched the book to him as I have had my nose dug into making art and creating. It is one of the weaknesses that I think most artists usually have.
Marketing themselves. I don’t mind the percentage that could be taking off the top for helping me out but the compulsion to create is so strong I don’t think that I can stop.
But gallery work is beginning to pull me in another direction.
The creative bug has gotten into me -especially with the New title called “Weird Atomic Tales” Risky Sci Fi is back! With a vengeance! Haha.



But seriously I had been looking again at the idea of old anthology of Pandora’s Garage and dusting it off but I wanted to streamline the content of the anthology.
Vega is on my mind as is Corrax, War Ram and a couple other potential crossover ideas that will be retooled for the book. Firsdt namely is “Ston” based upon Ben Perkin’s Heavy Horse character. Ben’s look and feel for Heavy sparked a lot of initial ideas for me but his ultimate version is his and I don’t wanta throw away those stories that I thought could work easily in the Heavy Universe. And nor do I want to step on his toes with such a fantastic character! Seriously if you haven’t seen any of his work on Heavy you should.
The re tooling will under the story called “The Rules of Set” with the new character, Ston, that I will be working on.

War Ram the mini is coming out soon for the shows. I have been in between small breaks been able to turn out some very small press print runs of War Ram and the Strange Alchemy books. Of course when it comes time for Werid Atomic Tales War Ram will be brought back into the fold. as Well as an ode to the EC and Warren magazines of old with “the Over Intelligence”.
Check out

COMMISSIONS:
Work on these images on. The first I must keep under wraps but enough to say that it is a fantasy oriented piece. If you have been watching the Vega The Barbarian piece I have been turning out then you know where it might be going.
The second is a birthday present so that is self explanatory.