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The Temple of Cartoon Mojo's sketch challenge this upcoming week is Indiana Jones. How could I resist?
Um, I can always use holiday money, so if anyone wants to buy the original (it's about 4.25" x 7.25"), shoot me an e-mail. It's $45, and that includes shipping. I really love this one, but if I keep it it'll end up in a stack of like thirty other drawings.
Okay, now here are the details for the upcoming signings:
• Saturday, November 22nd • Clarksville, TN • 2-4PM • BORDERS • Signing with Sketches
• Monday, November 24th • Murray, KY • MURRAY STATE UNIVERSITY • 4PM • Faulty Hall Room #208
Lecture: Higher Education & Making Comics: The Skills You Need And The Opportunity You Have to Hone Them
Signing and Sketches to follow
• Saturday, November 29th • Hopkinsville, KY • 3-6PM • BOOKS ON MAIN (in the front of Coffee, And...) • Signing with Sketches
Falynn Koch came by SCAD today. Her stuff is great; check it out.
A couple of cartoonist friends were visiting a couple of weeks ago, and I realized that I should snag their visages in order to design my comic-relief duo in the foreign legion book. Here are some sketches... ...and one actual drawing. Whether the design will tweak more before I actually hit pages, I can't say.
The plot of the new book has been completely written out, and is fairly tight. I'll be revising it heavily over the next couple of weeks, in order to get it to where I can jump to pages as soon as the Winter Break begins. I still have to nail down a few character deigns, but I've got a good feeling overall.
I also drew this fish-man. I read a few (my first) H.P. Lovecraft stories to get revved up for Thanksgiving, and I loved them, especially Call of Cthulhu and Shadow Over Insmouth, the latter of which prominently features some horrifying toadish fishmen. I've been sketching 'em like crazy ever since!
At SPX a couple of weeks ago I finally saw the printed copy of my book! It sold well (we sold out of the 3 cases we had shipped in for the show) and it looks great - the paper quality is nice, the ink took well, the cover looks fantastic - I couldn't be happier with the production quality.   
The tan color will stay the same on each book, but the red will change - the next one is likely blue, one might be green, etc. Plus the spine picture will change each time. $14.99! The 29th date isn't going to happen because of early customs hold-ups, but it's on its way now and will be on shelves November 12th!
The last couple of weeks have been crazy busy. A quick wrap up:
• Got an amazing car from my grandmother - a 1990 Honda Accord wagon with only 30-something thousand miles on it.
• Subterranean #1 came out with my Carl Barks story.
• Officiated a wedding for my old friends Dusty Huber and Melissa Underwood (now Huber) in KY.
• Drove to KY in second gear when our transmission sensor broke in the new car.
• Paid lots and lots to have it fixed, but am happy because the mechanics went over every inch and can see no other foreseeable future car problems.
• Took part in SCAD-Atlanta's 24-Hour art challenge where I wrote and pencilled a story but then decide to build an enviromental maquette of an overgrown gorilla temple rather than ink it.
• Got to visit with Liz's mom and brother when they drove our car back to ATL for us.
• Got the November issue of Nickelodeon magazine which has one of my cartoons in it (pick it up! It's got the "Madagascar" animals on the cover).
• Sold a full-page comic to Nickelodeon that will be in some upcoming issue (I'll keep you posted).
• Am planning for SCAD-Atlanta's Publisher's Forum this weekend, where we'll host James Lucas Jones from Oni, Axel Alonso from Marvel, and Chris Staros from Top Shelf.
• Set up some signings for November - times will be posted in the "About" section soon.
- November 22nd • Clarksville, TN • Borders
- November 24th • Murray, KY • Murray State University • Lecture and Signing
- November 29th • Hopkinsville, KY • Books on Main
• Made it past the mid-term week of classes (the students are great), plus got my tentative teaching schedule for the next year and a half.
• Have gotten really into maquette building.
• Lost my keys in Washingtom, DC.
That's the high points, I guess. Whew! I'll try to post more often (but I always say that).
Hey, folks! Sorry it's been such a long time since my last post. Last week was the first week of classes, and between teaching, writing up a script sample, tweaking a Nick comic, and doing freelance work I've been swamped. Speaking of Nick stuff, the October issue of Nick (Nickelodeon) Magazine has two gags in it by yours truly, and the November issue will have one. Also (and thanks to John and Doug for the heads up) Crogan's Vengeance is on Wizard Magazine's "Pull List," comics to get over the following month, on page 16 of the October issue. Here's a pic that Doug Dabbs scanned for me:
Anyway, I haven't had a chance to make any new minis, and the Small Press Expo is speeding ever closer (2 weeks???!!!!!). Anyway, I thought that mayb it would be fun to do a 12 page little sketchbook/pinup book, something with a name like "Other People's Comics." Characters that I like. Anyway, here are the results.
Okay, so that's a lot of sketches. I still have one more to do, I think. Anyway, hope everyone is doing well, and I expect to see a few of you at SPX!
Okay, I'm putting together some of my promo stuff for the Small Press Expo in D.C., and I'm going to be making some bookmarks, basically to cement that the Crogan Adventures is a series in the minds of folks who buy the first book. Anyway, here are two designs I've come up with, and I could really use some opinions as to what you think might be best.
The one on the left is a little more dynamic, but the one on the right makes better use of the vertical canvas and may give a better sense of setting.
And yes, I know he's missing a hand; I screwed it up and have to redraw it. I may do away with the flying sweat-beads, too, as they might compete with the flying splinters for attention.
Anyway, thoughts? Which would get you more interested in the book?
First, a picture of Porco Rosso, the Crimson Pig, from Miyazaki's wonderful animated film of the same name. Porco is a seaplane pilot who hunts sky pirates in the Adriatic sea in the late twenties. Oh, and he's been turned into a pig.
I've been getting stuff together for Fall classes - I'll be teaching three: Drawing for Storyboarding, Animation Layout and Character Design, and Animation Aesthetics and Practice (a very theory-oriented class). Needless to say, I'm looking forward to all of them.
I'm still working on the research for Crogan's March, but things are slowly and surely starting to form, so expect updates with that,
The Decatur Book Festival was this weekend, and it was lots of fun. There were quite a few cartoonist and graphic novel-centric panels, so it was a great opportunity to see some out-of-town friends. Also to consume lots and lots of good farmers-market cheeses.
Lastly, Jill Beaton at Oni is going to be making up some Crogan's Vengeance buttons for SPX. Here are the designs I did for them (still have one more to go):
I've also made a pallette for myself, in photoshop - It's about three rows of earth tone-heaviness, with a few blues and vibrant reds dropped in.
Wow! Sorry to have not update for so long. It’s been an extremely busy month, helping with the final cover design (though all credit goes to Keith Wood)…
…finishing my thesis, applying to SCAD-Atlanta, etc.
Kevin Burkhalter and Jarrett Williams came by a couple of weeks ago and spent a couple of nights with us. It was great to see them. They’re wonderful cartoonists, yes, but they’re darn fun guys, too. Here are a few panels from Kevin’s Journal Comic that memorialize the occasion:
The black thing on my neck is a bandana, in case you’re wondering. It’s a bib, napkin, pocketknife cleaner, and jaunty scarf all in one.
Also, Dan – the guy for whom I did the Usagi drawing a few posts back – read that post and was kind enough to send me a scan of the inks, which I had forgotten to get. I colored the picture, and here it is:
I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I must’ve thumbnailed that thing two dozen times before landing on the right final product. I also have been reading (and watching) a lot of Tintin lately. I know that having Captain Haddock as one’s favorite character isn’t particularly original, but he’s just the best. Here’s the first of what will probably be many quick drawings of him over the next few months:
In other news, I’m going to be updating the website for the first time since, well, just about ever. New images, new comics, new section (press instead of links). As all of my links are on the side of my blog, it’s probably silly to keep a links section, so instead I’ll be posting links to interviews and reviews and stuff, of which there already a few.
Oh! And I’ll be teaching at SCAD-Atlanta in the fall, so if you’re wanting to learn comics and are thinking about going for your masters, call in for a catalog.
To wrap up, here’s the text from the back of the book:
"Crogan's Vengeance is a marvelous swashbuckling tale. I’m already anxiously awaiting a sequel, or six. Chris Schweizer is an amazingly talented cartoonist with an ear for dialogue and an eye for great storytelling."
- Stan Sakai , creator of Usagi Yojimbo
"Catfoot" Crogan was content with his life as an honest sailor. He never wanted to be a pirate and he never dreamed he'd wind up at odds with the most dangerous buccaneer ever to sail the Spanish Main! But there's more to this fight for "Catfoot" than just staying alive. Fierce sword-fights, harrowing naval battles, and ravenous sharks are nothing in the face of Crogan's Vengeance!
An ongoing series of adventure graphic novels, the Crogan Adventures chronicles the patriarchy of a fantastic fictional family! Follow the fathers and sons of the Crogan line through continents and centuries as cartoonist Chris Schweizer deftly recounts the trials and tribulations of these extraordinary men. It all starts here with Crogan's Vengeance!
The cloth-bound foil covers were going to cost twice what we thought, so it looks like that's out, which means back to the drawing board (literally!) on cover designs. Now, it's more than likely that Keith Wood will do the actual cover design, but I still like to hash out ideas and hopefully push it in the direction that I feel is right for the books. I can't wait to see what he does with it, but until then, here's some mock-ups that I sent James this evening.
Also, don't worry, the books WILL still be hardcover, and Crogan's Vengeance is still available for preorder through you local comic shop, bookstore, or through Amazon. And don't let that "152 pages" fool you. This is one-NINETY-two, I think.
I read Inkweed yesterday. I picked up at HeroesCon, and though I've read some of the stories contained therein before, reading them in one volume was an entirely different experience - you notice reoccuring themes, rhythms... it was wonderful. I hate to use the term "literary" when describing comics, because it insinuates that other comics generally aren't... the old expressio unius exclusio alterius rule applies, and I don't mean to say that. But something - perhaps the subject matter, perhaps the visual style, perhaps both - makes me put it more with the early twentieth century short story canon writers that with other comics.
It's late for me, and I feel ill-equipped to delve into trying to explain my reactions to the book at this time (I'll eventually write an Amazon review, or something) but anyone who's a fan of Faulkner or Fitzgerald, pick up this book. It's beautiful and tragic and you just feel like a better person having read it.
Anyway, I felt like drawing one of Chris's more physically grounded characters (the designs in this book are just astounding), so here 'tis.
Chris's website is godbuckle.com and if you want to see how far the medium can be stretched and still prove a rollicking good read, give his work a try. He's got loads and loads of comics up for folks to read.
Got a request for a drawing of Usagi Yojimbo and Gen the Bounty Hunter. I forgot to scan the final version before mailing it off (stupid me!), but here are the pencils. Rest assured that Gen was suitable bumpy.
Though I've said it here before, I hope that anyone out there unfamiliar with the Usagi Yojimbo series pick it up ASAP. Chances are decent that your local library has at least one book (there are twenty-two), and you can always get issues at your local comic shop. With the rare story-arc exception, most Usagi issues can stand alone as incredibly well-told, self-contained stories... a trait that most comics fail at (and, whether they are aiming for an overarching narrative or not, if a comic isn't a satisfying read giving you at least a story within a story with each installment, then it IS failing at its job).
Sorry for the rant. I just see so many people (understandable when it's kids who don't know better, disappointing when it's pros) who will put out issues in which nothing at all happens. Pure exposition. Some action must be conceived of and followed through to an emotionally satisfactory conclusion (even if that conclusion is failure) with each installment of a narrative. If folks can't do that, they should hold off releasing the material until the entire narrative is completed. Serialized novels a la Dickens or Dumas had the good sense to have mini-stories that created a longer narrative, not two or three chapters of character development. There's nothing wrong with thoise chapters, provided that they're released as part of an entire book and NOT individually.
Anyway, the point is that Sakai is a master of the short-form narrative, creating a nuanced, overarching epic while simultaneously giving us great short story after great short story. Would but all comics be this good.
Also, went to Florida! Pictures likely forthcoming.
Cory at Oni is putting together the press release stuff for Crogan's, so I redid the family tree to hopefully better reflect the design sensibilities of the characters, as my drawing style has changed a lot in the past two years or so (actually, most of the family tree figures are more like three and a half years, old, before I ever really thought of doing them as comics). Anyway, here it is - click it for a bigger version.
What a week! No sooner did I get back from Heroes than Liz and I started packing up our things. We've been living smack dab in the middle of Atlanta, and it's been a headache - our apartment complex had gone downhill fast, with rent climbing, extremely loud and inconsiderate neighbors, and a general lack of maintenance - a shame, considering how great it was when we first moved there two years ago.
We found a great place - half of an older duplex - that we love. We like our neighbors, we like the landlord, it's a block from a train station, we have a yard, we've got an attic, all wood floors, an extra room for my studio, and it's in Decatur, just outside Atlanta proper, right near downtown. Decatur is an AMAZING little city, with all the charm of a small town but the economy of a bigger city able to support cool specialty shops and restaurants. We're about a mile from downtown Decatur on one side and a mile from the International Farmers Market - what Epcot would be were it a grocery store - on the other. Lots of shade and trees, people out walking their dogs, jogging, pushing strollers - it's idelic. Add to that that we're close to a lot of my cartoonist friends who live in the vicinity, and it's a place just made for us.
Anyway, we moved over the weekend and are still only about half unpacked, so if I'm slow in replying to e-mails, I apologize.
I did quite a few sketches just prior to moving, but didn't have a chance to scan and post them - here they are now. None of these are any characters in particular - just drawing/coloring practice, I guess.
And here's what Mourning Star cartoonist Kaz Strzepek would look like with a handlebar moustache:
Lastly, I've been watching old X-Files episodes because the fabulously talented Lucy Knisely got me all antsy with her great series of X-Files monster drawings. I did this one, a really creepy character named Eugene Tooms, who can stretch and get into places through tiny A/C vents and the like because he's a hundred year-old hibernating genetic mutant who steals people's livers. Ewwww.
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