Screaming in an Empty Cave.

So I should begin by apologizing to you out there for not updating the blog as frequently as I said I was going to, but I assure you dear friends there is ample reason: for the past two month my colleague Evan Puckett and I have been working on what will be the first issue of our new anthology series COMIC VS. READER

(original concept for the cover to Issue One. Though I still really like the stark design, I think we are ultimately going with a different approach)

The book is to be a 32 page collection of my strips (all the 'I Kill Comics' material to date) and Evan's strips (which go by the title 'Tell Tale Tales' and are brilliant). All in all production of this book has been HELL, without going into too much detail I grossly underestimated the amount of work that goes into self-publishing a book. Choosing a printer, Designing the layout, Financing the project, etc., and ultimately creating the CONTENT that's to go in it. Needless to say it's been an extremely daunting, and emotionally draining experience, and an experience we want to endure again! Yes, that's right! We haven't even completed Issue One and we already are in pre-production of Issue Two (mostly making notes of what went wrong with this Issue and how we can prevent it in the future)! I can't wait to share this with you guys, but unfortunately we still have a couple more weeks of waiting. Evan and I (and the rest of COAC INK (which is the moniker we are calling the collective that has struggled day in and day out, bleeding, to ensure this Issue to come out)) are going to premier Issue One as a free giveaway to attendees of the Small Press Expo, affectionately referred to as SPX, in Bethesda, MD as a way of promoting COMIC VS. READER! If all works out we plan to also be at the Mid-Ohio-Con in Columbus, OH a few weeks later doing the same thing. After we return from SPX CvR Issue One will be going on sale (the "how" we are still trying to work out, we have a few options on where to go) for the nickles-and-dimes price of just 5 Bucks.
After Issue One is said and done, the plan is to make CvR a quarterly Anthology of Comics, Essays and anything else that floats our boats. After SPX we are going to have an open call to anyone who wants to contribute to future issues! Comics! Writings! Reviews! Essays! Anything! Let your voice be heard, remember it's US VS THEM, the line will soon be drawn in the sand. Which side will you be on?





...now that I have the hyperbolic grandeur out of the way, time to take a quick second to talk about what is inspiring me at the moment! And golly, it had got to be JAIME HERNANDEZ one of my all time favorites! His simple clean line work, stark use of shadows, his ability to realistically depict woman (both through his line work and his writing) without losing any of his cartoon integrity, really makes him the bees-knees in my eyes.

Here's a few examples:









(yes, that is Radiohead)
















I've notice that I posted examples of his Spot Illustrations and Cover work but only a few examples of his EXCELLENT page layouts and paneling.
I suppose we can leave that dissection for another post.

ciao.