It's been surreal

I'm really loving drawing the more surreal and abstract moments of this book. It's sort of stuff that would be difficult but very much worthwhile to try to film. CGI nowadays is so focused on replicating the real, that they're ignoring surreal and dreamlike imagery. Lovely Bones did this well, and it's why I would have picked that for the SFX Oscar. I'd like to post an image of what I'm drawing, but it's too early to post stuff from issue #3 and the only thing similar to it in Issue #1 is still too spoilery. Oh well, the wait continues. Still no word on when the first issue will be available : (

A gritty realistic post

(Hmm, for some reason this post got saved as a draft instead of getting posted. Still as relevant as it was whenever I first wrote it.)

Ugh, why is it that all you have to do to make a superhero story "genius" is to approach the genre with the utmost cynicism. How many titles are out there right now with the "ground breaking" idea that people with super powers are super sociopaths? If people are so hung up on the capes & tights genre, WRITE SOMETHING ELSE!!! This isn't the 1950's, there are plenty of other genres to approach.

Covergirl

I just finished sketching an incredibly cool cover for Issue #4. I can't post it yet (or the cover to #3) because I feel they're too spoilery seeing as nobody's even read the first issue yet. I really hope this comes out as good when it's inked and colored.

Changes you can believe in!

I'm thinking about making some changes for Issue #3. I might change the art style up a bit, particularly by making it visually darker. A more significant change is that I plan on making the next issue longer than I had expected. I'm adapting the comic script based off a feature film script with a 1:1 page ratio between the scripts. I feel like I've had to rush and condense things in Issue 1 and 2, so from now on I plan to add 4 pages to the length of the original script pages. The pages have to be multiples of 4 because I don't have any ads or filler. There's a slim chance I'll make a "Special Edition" of the first two issues, but I doubt it. I'd much rather move forward. I feel like there was a progression between the first and second issue's art quality, so maybe this will be one big exercise in progress and the last issue will look significantly better than the first.

Also, I selected to add the first issue to Comixpress's store, but it hasn't appeared yet. I'm guessing they update their store at the beginning of every month, so it should be up in about a week... or they just don't like me.

Big News!!!

Issue 1 of Night of the Silhouette will be available to order tomorrow. Issue 2 will be sent to the printer today.

BTW does anyone know a way to do letter accents in a comic book font? I had to change "fiancée" to "betrothed" because of it. Generic comic sans might be able to, but it doesn't support apostrophes when exported for some reason.

Almost there! Almost there!

The corrections have been applied and once I clarify a billing issue, I will make the first issue of Night of the Silhouette available. Stay tuned kiddies.

Finished Coloring Issue #2

Coloring is complete on the second issue. It's looking like I could very well be done with Issue #2 before the first one is available to buy. I don't think it will take as long for the second one to get produced because I'm going to be extra 100% careful while proofreading it.

Inking complete!!!

My hand can rest for now, Issue #2 has been inked. Once it's colored, the bubbles are drawn, and the text has been added, I'll be ready to send it to be printed.

Speaking of which Comixpress has regained power but I still haven't heard back about the corrections to Issue #1. So no idea when I'll be able to put it up for sale.

Fun with Propaganda

I just drew a Century comic cover that involves a superhero, a burning Nazi flag, and a cigar. I didn't want to post it because...

A) Its based off a vague concept of a story idea that I may or may not complete as a comic.

B) It is a major spoiler.

C) I didn't ink/color it.

Despite A, I might post it here after Night of the Silhouette #5 is released. It's so much fun picking on Nazis.

There's a lot of criticism of this type of storytelling, and criticism of the criticism (enemy of my enemy etc...) But I'm all for it. Some people think the Nazis make convenient villains to make people feel better about their own national insecurities, so I'm interested in the psychological aspect of me (an American) making a British hero beatin' the shit out of Nazis. I need British friends to run this idea by. If it's any consolation, while the Nazis are the clear villains of this proposed story, there is a certain belief system that both the Axis and the Allies held that the hero will be fighting against.

This brings to mind another common criticism. Should the moral of a historical piece of fiction conform to the morals of the day it's set? For example, should a story set before the major feminist movements not include a pro feminism message? I don't think so. I think while characters shouldn't act atypical to their time but historical perspective gives us plenty of opportunity to create heroes ahead of their time in historical settings. No one in the Victorian era can read my comic, so why should I write a morality tale catered to their antiquated moral system.

Just to note, feminism isn't the moral tale being told in this "Nazi Puncher" story. Just an example to explain my point. Though the very nature of the Century series will have a strong feminist undercurrent. Being a dude however, I'm not going to be pointing the finger at men. I think there's another gender that needs to shoulder some of the blame as well. I don't think it's an issue that should be painted in black and white. Ironic that I say that because I'm totally doing a black and white take on the Nazis. Meh, I'm cool with where I stand. I'll let it come out in the writing and see what people think of it.

Anyway, that's my two cents.

Issue #2 cover

Here's the cover to Night of the Silhouette #2. I included a preview of this cover in the back of Issue #1 but it was kind of a rush job, and doesn't look quite as good.

Delays Delays Delays

Looks like the region of NJ where comixpress is located is experiencing massive power outages, so I'm thinking it will be a little while longer before Night of the Silhouette #1 goes on sale. On the bright side, there should be a pretty short gap between when #1 and #2 are up for sale. I expect to be finished inking #2 before Friday.

Issue #2

The sketches for Issue #2 are complete. I sketch on just plain white letter sized paper, however it is important to note that legitimate comic artists use hard bristol board, at double scale at least. I don't have a scanner big enough to accommodate that at the moment, so I'm sticking with plain paper for now.

Distractions

I have 9 pages left to sketch for the second issue of Night of the Silhouette, but suddenly have the urge to draw caricatures of my cats. While I'm sure the cat exercise would be helpful in its own right, I really have been dragging my feet on these pages. Cats will wait.

A taste of things to come

Coming soon, exclusively to www.comixpress.com

Herein begins a tale that spans a CENTURY. The year is 1895 and an ancient war between the forces of good and evil has been reignited. An orphan girl finds herself the focus of an occult ritual at the hands of a beautiful and dangerous villainess. Her only hope is a swashbuckling hero on the run from the law. But he may already be too late.