Sea of Red #12
Paul Harmon turns in another great cover.
Sea of Red #12...
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Friday, December 16, 2005
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Noble Causes #17 sneak peek
Jay Faerber here again. Noble Causes #15 hit the stands this week, and we're hard at work on issue #17 as I write this. Here's the first page, drawn by Fran Bueno and colored by Ron Riley. Kinda hot for December, eh?
Bad Planet #4 cover
A big, giant face full of our main character, The Convict.
My longtime colorist, Grant Goleash provides the color and I fixed some problems I had with the black and white (posted last week). I'm fairly happy with the final results.
Hope you all diggit.
Next up I hope to be previewing Michael Kaluta's cover for issue 5 in the very near future.
Cheers all.
- TB
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
SIGHT UNSEEN
Here's a sneak of Bo's and my solicitation for our hefty horror GN. Thought it might be a cool way to christen my very first blog post...
rt
rt
Portent # 2 sketch
Here's the sketch for the cover to Portent #2. As promised it features Lin on the cover and yes, my wife had to suffer for the art as well since she's the source for Lin. I think she likes it. The tree is an actual tree that grows nearby. As I mentioned to a friend last night, the place where our house is located used to be a bone grinding factory in the 1800's. I'd like to think that's why the tree is so twisted but who knows.
This will be inked and colored tomorrow so check back if you want to see it.
Peter
How to write THE INTIMIDATORS
1) Wake up. Brush Teeth. Eat cold pizza from last night's emotional breakdown and well needed cry.
2) Turn on computer. Boot up Microsoft Word and open notes for INTIMIDATORS #2, half written script, angry, cursing emails from editor and publisher threatening to replace you with Robert Kirkman if you don't "get your rear in gear and make it nice like we likes it." Crack knuckles and stretch. Pour glass of Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper (it's like they're trying to catch up to Coke all in one bottle!) and prepare for the Express Train to Comics Junction, Population: You.
3) Aimlessly tap fingers on keys for half an hour. The Nine-fifteen is late.
4) Start internet provider and begin searching the web for pop culture references and jokes you can swip...ah...pay homage to. Spend twenty minutes writing down things like "King Kong's balls" and "Internet spam=funny" on post-its and spend the rest of the hour scouring google for advance reviews of issue one and whether people are actually looking forward to the series. Also? Look for porn.
5) Open large coffee table copy of THE 20TH CENTURY and research the Cuban missile Crisis and major players of the early 1960s for use in the first half INTIMIDATORS #2. Silently mouth the word "Khruschev" to yourself over and over, like a mantra. Doodle the words "Mrs Nikolai Khruschev Kleid" in a little heart on old unpaid VISA bills.
6) Begin writing. 1962. Astroman. JFK. Yadda yadda. Superheroes go to Cuba to stop the missile Crisis. History history whatever. Use the phrase "JUMPIN' JOE MCCARTHY!" and cackle out loud like a supervillain. Supervillain. Hm. Okay - big Communist supervillain. Time to get your inner Boris Badenov on:
Page 4 (5 PANELS)
PANEL ONE
Astroman, missile gripped in his hand, looks to see where the rocket came from. Below him, the Association fights their way through the Cuban soldiers to help him out.
ASTROMAN: THAT WAS CLOSE! WHICH OF THESE JOKERS NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT NOT TO PLAY
WITH MATCHES?
SOLDIER (OP): HELLO, AMERICAN COMRADE!
PANEL TWO
Reverse shot - we see who Astroman is looking at now. The man who set off the rocket is in front of a flatbed and wearing a modified crimson suit of armor fitted with small rockets on his arms and a heavy missile launcher on his back. There's a modified SS-4 strapped to the launcher and a radiation helmet latched to his neck and torso. The helmet is a bit like a turret ... with slits for the eyes. The suit of armor is more like an exo-skeleton than a suit, because we can see his Cuban military uniform beneath, notably the tan pants legs and shirtsleeves. A larger white star is painted on his helmet across his chest. This is the RESISTANCE SOLDIER. He is looking up at Astroman, hands on his hips. Astroman (not to mention the reader) looks down from the sky, still holding the missile.
SOLDIER: THANK YOU TO BE CATCHING BOMB!
SOLDIER: MY COUNTRY HAS TESTED ME FOR SUCH - how in English? - SWELL MOMENT!
ASTROMAN: THAT'S SOME GET-UP YOU'VE GOT, PAL.
SOLDIER: HA HA! SPACE AGE SOVIET SUPER SUIT BUILT FIGHT AMERICAN SUPERHERO
AND SHOOT BOMB AT PREMIER KENNEDY!
PANEL THREE
Close up of Astroman, staring down at the soldier.
ASTROMAN: THAT SO? YOU GOT A NAME, IVAN?
SOLDIER (OP): DA, COMRADE! IN ENGLISH IT MEAN "RESISTANCE SOLDIER!"
ASTROMAN: I'M NOT YOUR "COMRADE", SOLDIER. I'M ASTROMAN - THE GUY MAKING SURE
THOSE ROCKETS DON'T GO NEAR PRESIDENT KENNEDY!
PANEL FOUR
Close up of the Soldier tapping a control unit on his arm, arming the rocket on his back.
SOLDIER: DA?
SOLDIER: HOW YOU SAY IN THE NEW YORK, AMERICAN BUDDY?
PANEL FIVE
Soldier kneels and bends over, compensating for the kickback as the rocket ignites and launches, coming right at the reader. The back blast knocks Astroman away a bit -the missile in his hand is knocked aside.
SOLDIER: "YOU AND WHAT RED ARMY?"
ASTROMAN: NO!!
6) Walk away from script and spend time working on other projects (i.e., two hours of Classic NES Ninja Gaiden and three episodes of FAMILY GUY). Return to computer and marvel how racist your dialogue sounds. Give yourself a congratulatory pat on back. Spend half an hour relaxing your arm after two hours of video games and distorting your am to pat your back.
7) Continue writing. Fight fight fight. Astroman stops bomb and rocketed to 2005. Time to switch dialogue gears from Silver Age to Modern Age. To train mind to think that way, spend an hour watching MTV, Comedy Central, episodes of THE SOPRANOS and reading PENTHOUSE. For the articles. And the girls. Resume writing:
Page 11 (4 PANELS)
PANEL ONE
Dark panel.
FETISH (OP): -HALLELUJAH, IT'S RAININ' MEN.
LIMIT (OP): SHUT IT, FETISH .
PANEL TWO
Same shot - suddenly we're looking up at Limit, Crash and Fetish staring down at us - this is from Astroman's point of view as he opens his eyes. Crash has Al Violence in a headlock under his arm, struggling to get out.
CRASH: SO. THAT'S WHAT A SUPERHERO LOOKS LIKE.
CRASH: BIG DEAL.
LIMIT: RISE AND SHINE, DUDE.
FETISH: OOH. NICE ABS. CAN I KEEP HIM?
ASTROMAN (OP): WH- WHRR...?
PANEL THREE
Astroman sits up - we're still looking from his POV. His arm comes up to rub his head. He sits up and Limit steadies him as he goes.
ASTROMAN: WHAT HAPPENED-? DID I... THE MISSILE-?
LIMIT: SETTLE DOWN, MAN. THAT WAS A HELL OF A FALL.
ASTROMAN: -WAIT. DID- DID I FAIL? WHY DO I SMELL SMOKE? AM I DEAD?
ASTROMAN: IS THIS HELL?
PANEL FOUR
Large panel - Astroman sits up (we're looking at him now, his back actually) within the ring of Intimidators. In the distance, we can see the overall decimation and damage to the Detroit area - broken platform, bullet riddled buildings, corpses and destroyed Mafia weaponry and of course, fall out from the giant bomb. Astroman is trying to get his bearings as he sits up. Fetish and Crash back off a little to give him some room.
LIMIT: CLOSE, DUDE.
LIMIT: IT'S DETROIT.
8) HA HA HA HA HA. Laugh at a joke you've been wanting to use for years. Ask roomate to pat you on the back for using it. Explain that your arm hurts otherwise you'd do it yourself. Explain that it's not weird at all for him to touch you in that way. It's for Art. And Science.
9) Save file and review notes for the last half of the book. Remind yourself that editor and publisher have asked for "more of the funny" and make a note to pick up an issue of Reader's Digest to learn how they do it. Oh, the scamps that write "Humor in Uniform." Delightful.
10) Turn off Microsoft Word. Jump online and begin simultaneous thread on Comicon, Comic Book Resources, the Image boards and Millarworld categorically stating that this book will be the good stuff like the kids seem to like these days. Do the same at the Comics Journal boards, but add that underneath it all it's a deconstruction of Nineties comics and the American political and social infrastructure at the end of the Twentieth Century and a shrill cry for help from a boy who just wants to be loved. Spend the next three hours watching old episodes of SEINFELD and eating burritos. Check email. Sigh when your inbox is empty. Send INTIMIDATORS #2 script to editor and publisher for review. Shut down computer. Cry self to sleep.
Neil Kleid
Writer, THE INTIMIDATORS
2) Turn on computer. Boot up Microsoft Word and open notes for INTIMIDATORS #2, half written script, angry, cursing emails from editor and publisher threatening to replace you with Robert Kirkman if you don't "get your rear in gear and make it nice like we likes it." Crack knuckles and stretch. Pour glass of Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper (it's like they're trying to catch up to Coke all in one bottle!) and prepare for the Express Train to Comics Junction, Population: You.
3) Aimlessly tap fingers on keys for half an hour. The Nine-fifteen is late.
4) Start internet provider and begin searching the web for pop culture references and jokes you can swip...ah...pay homage to. Spend twenty minutes writing down things like "King Kong's balls" and "Internet spam=funny" on post-its and spend the rest of the hour scouring google for advance reviews of issue one and whether people are actually looking forward to the series. Also? Look for porn.
5) Open large coffee table copy of THE 20TH CENTURY and research the Cuban missile Crisis and major players of the early 1960s for use in the first half INTIMIDATORS #2. Silently mouth the word "Khruschev" to yourself over and over, like a mantra. Doodle the words "Mrs Nikolai Khruschev Kleid" in a little heart on old unpaid VISA bills.
6) Begin writing. 1962. Astroman. JFK. Yadda yadda. Superheroes go to Cuba to stop the missile Crisis. History history whatever. Use the phrase "JUMPIN' JOE MCCARTHY!" and cackle out loud like a supervillain. Supervillain. Hm. Okay - big Communist supervillain. Time to get your inner Boris Badenov on:
Page 4 (5 PANELS)
PANEL ONE
Astroman, missile gripped in his hand, looks to see where the rocket came from. Below him, the Association fights their way through the Cuban soldiers to help him out.
ASTROMAN: THAT WAS CLOSE! WHICH OF THESE JOKERS NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT NOT TO PLAY
WITH MATCHES?
SOLDIER (OP): HELLO, AMERICAN COMRADE!
PANEL TWO
Reverse shot - we see who Astroman is looking at now. The man who set off the rocket is in front of a flatbed and wearing a modified crimson suit of armor fitted with small rockets on his arms and a heavy missile launcher on his back. There's a modified SS-4 strapped to the launcher and a radiation helmet latched to his neck and torso. The helmet is a bit like a turret ... with slits for the eyes. The suit of armor is more like an exo-skeleton than a suit, because we can see his Cuban military uniform beneath, notably the tan pants legs and shirtsleeves. A larger white star is painted on his helmet across his chest. This is the RESISTANCE SOLDIER. He is looking up at Astroman, hands on his hips. Astroman (not to mention the reader) looks down from the sky, still holding the missile.
SOLDIER: THANK YOU TO BE CATCHING BOMB!
SOLDIER: MY COUNTRY HAS TESTED ME FOR SUCH - how in English? - SWELL MOMENT!
ASTROMAN: THAT'S SOME GET-UP YOU'VE GOT, PAL.
SOLDIER: HA HA! SPACE AGE SOVIET SUPER SUIT BUILT FIGHT AMERICAN SUPERHERO
AND SHOOT BOMB AT PREMIER KENNEDY!
PANEL THREE
Close up of Astroman, staring down at the soldier.
ASTROMAN: THAT SO? YOU GOT A NAME, IVAN?
SOLDIER (OP): DA, COMRADE! IN ENGLISH IT MEAN "RESISTANCE SOLDIER!"
ASTROMAN: I'M NOT YOUR "COMRADE", SOLDIER. I'M ASTROMAN - THE GUY MAKING SURE
THOSE ROCKETS DON'T GO NEAR PRESIDENT KENNEDY!
PANEL FOUR
Close up of the Soldier tapping a control unit on his arm, arming the rocket on his back.
SOLDIER: DA?
SOLDIER: HOW YOU SAY IN THE NEW YORK, AMERICAN BUDDY?
PANEL FIVE
Soldier kneels and bends over, compensating for the kickback as the rocket ignites and launches, coming right at the reader. The back blast knocks Astroman away a bit -the missile in his hand is knocked aside.
SOLDIER: "YOU AND WHAT RED ARMY?"
ASTROMAN: NO!!
6) Walk away from script and spend time working on other projects (i.e., two hours of Classic NES Ninja Gaiden and three episodes of FAMILY GUY). Return to computer and marvel how racist your dialogue sounds. Give yourself a congratulatory pat on back. Spend half an hour relaxing your arm after two hours of video games and distorting your am to pat your back.
7) Continue writing. Fight fight fight. Astroman stops bomb and rocketed to 2005. Time to switch dialogue gears from Silver Age to Modern Age. To train mind to think that way, spend an hour watching MTV, Comedy Central, episodes of THE SOPRANOS and reading PENTHOUSE. For the articles. And the girls. Resume writing:
Page 11 (4 PANELS)
PANEL ONE
Dark panel.
FETISH (OP): -HALLELUJAH, IT'S RAININ' MEN.
LIMIT (OP): SHUT IT, FETISH .
PANEL TWO
Same shot - suddenly we're looking up at Limit, Crash and Fetish staring down at us - this is from Astroman's point of view as he opens his eyes. Crash has Al Violence in a headlock under his arm, struggling to get out.
CRASH: SO. THAT'S WHAT A SUPERHERO LOOKS LIKE.
CRASH: BIG DEAL.
LIMIT: RISE AND SHINE, DUDE.
FETISH: OOH. NICE ABS. CAN I KEEP HIM?
ASTROMAN (OP): WH- WHRR...?
PANEL THREE
Astroman sits up - we're still looking from his POV. His arm comes up to rub his head. He sits up and Limit steadies him as he goes.
ASTROMAN: WHAT HAPPENED-? DID I... THE MISSILE-?
LIMIT: SETTLE DOWN, MAN. THAT WAS A HELL OF A FALL.
ASTROMAN: -WAIT. DID- DID I FAIL? WHY DO I SMELL SMOKE? AM I DEAD?
ASTROMAN: IS THIS HELL?
PANEL FOUR
Large panel - Astroman sits up (we're looking at him now, his back actually) within the ring of Intimidators. In the distance, we can see the overall decimation and damage to the Detroit area - broken platform, bullet riddled buildings, corpses and destroyed Mafia weaponry and of course, fall out from the giant bomb. Astroman is trying to get his bearings as he sits up. Fetish and Crash back off a little to give him some room.
LIMIT: CLOSE, DUDE.
LIMIT: IT'S DETROIT.
8) HA HA HA HA HA. Laugh at a joke you've been wanting to use for years. Ask roomate to pat you on the back for using it. Explain that your arm hurts otherwise you'd do it yourself. Explain that it's not weird at all for him to touch you in that way. It's for Art. And Science.
9) Save file and review notes for the last half of the book. Remind yourself that editor and publisher have asked for "more of the funny" and make a note to pick up an issue of Reader's Digest to learn how they do it. Oh, the scamps that write "Humor in Uniform." Delightful.
10) Turn off Microsoft Word. Jump online and begin simultaneous thread on Comicon, Comic Book Resources, the Image boards and Millarworld categorically stating that this book will be the good stuff like the kids seem to like these days. Do the same at the Comics Journal boards, but add that underneath it all it's a deconstruction of Nineties comics and the American political and social infrastructure at the end of the Twentieth Century and a shrill cry for help from a boy who just wants to be loved. Spend the next three hours watching old episodes of SEINFELD and eating burritos. Check email. Sigh when your inbox is empty. Send INTIMIDATORS #2 script to editor and publisher for review. Shut down computer. Cry self to sleep.
Neil Kleid
Writer, THE INTIMIDATORS
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Some behind the scene's art for Hysteria:One Man Gang. This was one of several designs for a promo poster I made for the book. Hope you dig it.
Best,
mike
Hysteria: One Man Gang #1 in January's Previews!
sneak peek-
http://www.ape-law.com/thinktank/
Splash
Behold: the cover to the forthcoming FELL #4, as designed and illustrated by the greatest living Australian, Benjamin Witchity Templesmith:
GUN CANDY # 2 IS DONE!
Finally! The man with the broken hand (Brian Stelfreeze) has finished up his art duties, and we are ready to put this one to bed. I'll update you when we get a ship date from the printer, but the wait is almost over!
Monday, December 12, 2005
Rex Mundi #16 off to the printer!
...And this will make it three issues on time in a row! Issue 16 is the debut for artist Juan Ferreyra, of Image's own Small Gods (hooray for the new miniseries!). Juan's going to transform Rex Mundi -- but don't take my word for it, there's a five page preview online at brokenfrontier.com.
Haven't seen Rex Mundi? Issue Zero is viewable in its entirety online at the Image Comics website -- totally free of charge. Check it out! And expect great things from Juan.
rvid
www.rexmundi.net
PvP is ALL AGES?!
You're going to love this.It was brought to my attention today that PVP is "percieved" to be an all ages book (by some people). And I'm not sure how I feel about that. I would think that such a perception could hurt sales. Certainly it couldn't HELP sales, right?
I mean, anyone who reads PvP knows that it's hardly all-ages. I try to keep things rated PG-13 most of the time. I would rather be subtle about working blue than coming and and dropping F-bombs just because I can. I'm not exactly Garfield, here.
This is an ironic twist of fate since last year, my plot to get PvP into papers by giving it away for free kind of failed because of all the "adult-content" that the strip contained.
Newspaper editors felt that the grandmas of the world just weren't ready for a kid squeezing a co-workers boob.
I tried explaining to them that if there were more boob squeezing on the comics page, they could probably convince younger people to start reading newspapers again. They didn't buy it.
So what do you guys think? Is PvP percieved to be an all ages book and if so, is that good or bad? Should I do more to dispell that belief? Or should I do more to support it.
And how could anyone think THIS was all ages?
IMAGE CREATORS AT MELTDOWN IN LA
There's a lot of great stuff out this Weds so come to metdown where we have a trifecta or um... a quad... no that's not right either, a quintfecta of creators signing, Jim Mahfood will be there signing ONE PAGE FILLER MAN, Crosland will be there signing SLOP & HEAVEN LLC, Mark Sable will be there signing GROUNDED, Mark Englert will be there signing SAVAGE DRAGON: GOD WAR & AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS #3, Paul Harmon will be there signing SEA OF RED & MORA, Brett Lewis will be there signing WINTERMEN & BULLETPROOF MONK, and I Smith will be there in all my sexyness posing for pictures, kissing babies, signing boobies, and copies of THE AMAZING JOY BUZZARDS too. And you never know just WHO might show up...