The Thing About Falling In Love (PART I)

The great influences...

When I was a kid we'd visit my Grandma every year in Baltimore, Maryland. My Grandma was a real lady of class, but also a grade A spitfire. I'd like to think that I'd get along well with Twain if I ever met him, but I know he'd have a ball with my Grandma. She could easily be a character out of one of his stories.

My Grandma's home reflected her spirit with a grace I've never seen in any other abode. Antiques, works of art, and all arranged perfectly. The last time I ever visited her while she was alive I actually had the sense to photograph every room. Had I a better camera at the time I would have taken more.

Growing up one of my favorite rooms was the study, which had the most comfortable yellow couch, and a magnificent bookcase. I never paid much mind to any of the books except for one. Only seeing the spine, "The Complete Mark Twain" was my favorite tome, the only one with a picture.

One day I ceased enough gall to actually remove the book from the case, to which I was astonished to find the illustration even larger printed on the cover. I quickly put it back, it was too much of a good thing. In hindsight of everything, I've always had subtle introductions to Twain that warmed me to him even before I read anything of his. This book was one of them.

When I inherited the volume I sought to read the whole book. I opened it up and it snapped in half.

That's life.

It seems to me now too great a coincidence that Kurt Vonnegut wrote the introduction.

Another look

As much as I'd like to launch into making Suicide happen, the real thing I should be focusing on now is a bullet proof query letter, and a small chunk of the comic that I can tease a publisher with. So they say.

Speaking of teasing, here's another bit from the manuscript.

I had the comic on display for a while in a gallery at New Paltz. I left out a comment book and got probably the best compliment I've ever been given about it in there:

"You know, I've never really been a fan of those "tell all autobiographical" comics that seem to dominate the independent scene. In the first place, they always seemed ridiculously self-indulgent, and even when dressed up with self-depreciating humor, they seemed egotistical as hell. Also watching someone reveal their deepest and darkest with such honesty makes me feel a bit like someone has invited me over to watch their masturbation session.

I don't pretend to know why "Suicide" is different, but it's the first autobiographical comic that's made me feel something other than mild disgust. It's incredibly well written, and it never sinks into the whiny bitch-fest that it so easily could have become.

Congrats."

Printmaking...

The department head of Printmaking, Rimer Cardillo asked for one of my prints yestarday. As I may never see it again, I made sure to document it. I'm not incredibly attached to my work in printmaking, because right now I'm more focused on the idea than the product. And prints can always been replicated to some degree. Anyway, it was an honor. Here's the print.

In other news, the semester is finally winding down to a pace that is stress free. My one concern now is the summer, and how I will spend it. If I can do three pages a day for Suicide then I should be in good shape.

I've been trying to really spend a lot more time working on detailed backgrounds and better layout. My one problem is that I feel this comic blog would receive more traffic if I uploaded other projects, which quite frankly I'll be too busy to work on. Oh well.

Comic!

I've been tinkering with different papers, pens etc for some time.  And then it occurred to me after reading some Scott Mcloud that I should really be focusing on layout, backgrounds and detail.  A big problem with me is that I'm more concerned with the idea and less concerned with the product.

So while I take a lot from my work, others can't relate as much.

I'm perfectly capable of delivering good detail, it's just a question of pushing myself there.

So yeah.  I made a fun little comic about my girlfriend (and muse) and I.

Yup.

I'm still not 100% satisfied with some of the tools I've been using.  I find the Sakura Pigment marker a little sloppy, and not dark enough.

I actually bought a repitograph but I've been too scared to use it.

Right now frame borders are what's bugging me the most.

I more or less was at one with them by the end of the strip.

I (and others) don't mind the freehand quality of the frames, but some of these are simply not good enough.

Scrutiny!

Just a little something to chew on.

I was advised by Dr. Heinz Insu Fenkl that in terms of publishing my work I must split myself into two sides: the unassailable artist (always determined and confident), and the business side (receptive of criticism and inquisitive).

With my manuscript done, and school presiding over everything I do I find that I am only capable of having the business side, to which, ho boy! I've learned a lot, and I'm definitely fully capable of tapping into that perspective, but it is very tiring and a lot of work.

It's annoying, I really can't do any more work with Suicide (artistically) until summer.

Blah.

Meanwhile my classes are getting on my nerves.

Oh well. Bitch bitch bitch, right?

Here's a print I made:

New Artwork! (SCROLL DOWN FOR 1ST 4 PAGES)

This weekend I go to COMICON in NYC! Mainly I am attending to test the waters in terms of who's publishing what etc, but hopefully I'll get the chance to get some interest in my manuscript. In the meantime I've been working pretty hard readjusting to Bristol board and Sakura pigment markers. Here are the results of today's endeavors, hopefully by the end of summer I will have gotten Scott Mcloud's book and gotten my hands dirty in serious illustration.