Discovery

I have another comic for you this week, which may ring a bell if you keep up with the blog. This comic, called "Discovery", is a 10-pager I co-created with Dan Mazur for the Boston Comic Roundtable's Inbound #5: The Food Issue. Here are some earlier posts (about the book, and my process).

Again, Dan approached me with his script (no dialogue, but he described the pacing and imagery throughout). I signed on immediately, because it was right up my alley being wordless and whatnot. It was a perfect collaboration in every way imaginable.

So, here goes...

If you like what you read here, there are plenty more fantastic food-related stories by Boston comics artists in the book—a 176-page black & white trade paperback featuring over 25 comics! I wholly recommend it. Click over to the BCR website to buy a book for only $12, and help support the Boston comics community. Thank you!

Inbound #5:
The Food Issue

And for all you locals, copies are available at many Boston-area comic shops and locally-owned bookstores, including Million Year Picnic, Harvard Book Store, New England Comics, Brookline Booksmith, Comicazi, Hub Comics, and Comicopia.

Also, the Boston Comics Roundtable is hosting a release party this Friday night (November 5th) from 7-9pm at the Atomic Bean Cafe in Cambridge. Original comic art will be plastered all over the walls. People will be signing books. And I'LL BE THERE! More info, here.

Inbound #5: The Food Issue

(click image to view larger)

I just got word that Inbound #5 is now available for purchase through the Boston Comics Roundtable. It's a 176-page b&w trade paperback, and also features the 10-page "caveman comic" I co-created with Dan Mazur (process art previously). From the BCR website:

Boston’s comics creators are serving up
a piping hot stack of stories!

Our best and brightest comics artists come together in Inbound #5 to share their reminiscences, fantasies, fears, and love of food. From the deeply personal to the fantastical, this book explores our complex relationship with what we eat.

When did humans first learn to cook? Why are we sometimes attracted to the most repulsive cuisines? Is it possible to turn into the food you eat too much? Inbound #5 takes you from the historical tales of fishwives and cheese-chasing to the beautiful and evocative legends of food handed down from the gods.

I should add that my friend Ellen Crenshaw drew up a fantastic cover! You can see the full illustration over on her blog. And the outstanding layout and design is by (once again) Shelli Paroline, who also has a comic in the book.

If you'd like a copy, it's all yours! Hop on over to the BCR website to buy a book ($12), and help support the Boston comics community. Thank you!

Buy a copy, here --> Inbound #5

UPDATE: For all you locals, you can find a copy at many Boston-area comic shops and locally-owned bookstores, including Million Year Picnic, Harvard Book Store, New England Comics, Brookline Booksmith, Comicazi, Hub Comics, and Comicopia.

Contributors include: E.J. Barnes, Eric Boeker, Jerel Dye, Franklin Einspruch, Patrick Flaherty, Bob Flynn, Joel Christian Gill, Andrew Greenstone, Danny Gonzalez, Raul Gonzalez, Beth Hetland, Erik Heumiller, Allie Kleber, Braden D. Lamb, Cathy Leamy, Jackie Lee, Jesse Lonergan, Dan Mazur, Mar-T Moyer, Line O, David Ortega, Shelli Paroline, Adrian Rodriguez, Roho, Aya Rothwell, Katherine Roy, Adam Syzm, Laura Terry, Jason Viola, Rebecca Viola, Katherine Waddell, Ryan Wheeler, and Andy Wong.

Homo habilis

Last weekend I finished coloring (graying, really) a 10-page comic for the upcoming issue of Inbound, an anthology published by the Boston Comics Roundtable. I had a comic in their previous book. The photo above is a snapshot I took when I was about halfway done inking.

I put the final touches on the comic this week, completing a great collaboration with writer (and comic artist) Dan Mazur—also marking the longest comic I've created in awhile. I shared an early sketch in this previous post. Here's the final rendering (page 5).



Inked, with a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen.
(this is my untouched scan)



and my preliminary sketch (before pencils).



Finally, here are some concept "caveman" sketches—more specifically, Homo habilis—the species at the center of this tale. I ended up going a bit more realistic than I normally would; the story warranted it.



I believe the anthology will be printed in the fall—after which I'll share the full comic.

New England's Dark Day

As promised, here is the 2-page comic I did for Inbound #4: A Comic Book History of Boston, the anthology I've been promoting put out by the Boston Comics Roundtable. The book features 144 pages of true-to-history comics created by local independent comic artists and writers. Jump over to the site for more information.

For my comic I chose an event called New England's "Dark Day" of 1780 (here are a few sources for further reading 1, 2). Basically: sky turns pitch black at noon; townsfolk think it's the end of the world. Which means I get to draw tormented characters. But this wasn't a mere eclipse—supposedly the smoke from a massive forest fire may have combined with a low pressure system to make eerily dark clouds. It would sure freak us out if it happened again today.

I should add, this was the first comic I inked with a brush pen (after switching over from nibs).

You can purchase a copy of the anthology, here. And it's currently available all around Boston—even in bookstores!

Previously:
A Comic Book History of Boston
"Dark Day" Teaser for Inbound

A Comic Book History of Boston

I just got back from the release party for a new anthology put out by the Boston Comics Roundtable called Inbound #4: A Comic Book History of Boston. You can read all sorts of information about the book here, including one-page previews of a few comics (mine included). I feel like I've been bombarding you with a lot of books lately, but this 144-page b&w anthology is unique in that it features over 35 comics by local comic artists and writers.

The comics chronicle true tales of Boston's history, "From Shay’s Rebellion and the great Molasses Flood, to Charles Ponzi’s original 'scheme' and Mark Twain’s disastrous encounter with Boston literary society, to the 1970s busing crisis, the Gardner Museum heist and many more." They all range in their style and approach to story-telling. One of my favorites details the origins of Moxie soda, found only here in New England.


I got my hands on a copy at the release party which doubled as an art show of original comics (forgot to snap pictures, though). The book design is fantastic, so I'd like to especially applaud Shelli Paroline for her vision and attention to detail (she illustrated the cover, too!). The print quality is outstanding as well.

My 2-pager is about New England's Dark Day (previously). I will post the comic in full after the holiday buying season winds down. If you're a fan of history, and like to support independent comics, I highly recommend snatching up a copy.

Bostonians can expect to find it at numerous locations, including Million Year Picnic, Harvard Book Store, New England Comics, Brookline Booksmith, Comicazi, Hub Comics, and Comicopia.

"Dark Day" Teaser for Inbound

I was invited to create a historical comic for the upcoming issue of Inbound, a comics anthology put out by the Boston Comics Roundtable. This is an inked panel from the 2-pager I'm working on. We were all tasked to delve into local history. In my digging, I discovered an event called New England's "Dark Day" of 1780 (a few sources 1, 2). Mid-day the sky turned pitch black and everyone thought the world was coming to an end. I rendered it in a style more realistic than I normally do, but I picked it so I could draw tormented characters (go figure). It's also my first attempt at inking a full comic using a brush pen instead of nibs (though I used them for detail work). The anthology is in black and white, so I'm laying in a bunch of dark grays to make it ominous and frightening. I'll post the full comic after Inbound #4 comes out, so stay tuned.

UPDATE: I finished adding the grays, so here's the final panel.