Local #11 Today

Local #11 is in stores today! Let us know what you think.
Here are the responses to choose from:

A. "I Love It!!"
B. "Meh"
C. "I Hate Megan!"

Special thanks to Chris Butcher, Kayla Hillier, and Eric Kim for helping with the Toronto photos. This was the heaviest photo reference issue yet, I spent forever pouring through images on the web trying to figure Toronto out. I couldn't have done the issue without their help, especially the scene of the Women's bathroom in the end.



I've been working on the art for the LOCAL COLLECTION this week. I did some little concept sketches that look like this. But I think we found the winning version for the final book. Exciting!

Cassingle Of The Week: Girlfriend

Kids today, with their rock and roll and Chat Rooms and hula hoops.
They can have your .99 cent Download. Give me a Cassingle and I’m a happy man. No object so perfectly personifies my generation, the early-to-mid 90’s, than the commercially produced Cassette Single. Why, for the unbelievable low price of only $3.99 I could get not only a song, but also a B-SIDE, WITH a cardboard sleeve. A sleeve. CARDBOARD.

Go ahead, shoe shine boy, make a “Playlist” and set it to “shuffle” like a lazy ass. I get to push eject, flip the tape over, place it back into the deck and listen to it again. The Cassingle involves the listener to participate in the enjoyment in the music instead of sitting there passively, tapping their littlest finger on an Ipod like a slave to the establishment.

The comforting “whir” of the magnetic tape sliding against plastic. The muscular smell of the paper sleeve. So begins a new feature on my blog: Cassingle Of The Week (Or Month, whatever) where I share with you the magic of my Cassette collection. Strap yourself in…..it’s going to be a bumpy ride.




Matthew Sweet’s album “Girlfriend” is one of the only albums I remember listening to, besides “Check Your Head” and The Cure’s Disentegration, in 1992. All the songs on “Girlfriend” are about girlfriends, except for a couple about religion and war like “Holy War” , one of my favorite tracks. Matthew Sweet was one of the first examples of 90’s “Alternative rock” I got into, because I didn’t listen to Nirvana. Sweet does the sunny 60’s style alternative guitar pop with sad lyrics that I normally don’t listen to but he’s the best at it so I give him respect. I love the slow country song “Your Sweet Voice” and “Winona” which might be about Winona Ryder.

Matthew Sweet appears to be “One of us”, that is to say, a comic nerd. The song “Evangeline” is apparently based of the Chuck Dixon comic by the same name. I have a copy. And check out the video for “Girlfriend” which features clips from the anime/comic called “Space Adventure Cobra” . though, I wish the video would stop showing his creepy head floating around and focus on the anime.

The B-side, “Superdeformed” is a rough, demo-style rocker that’s not as good as the songs on the album.

Paths Of Victory

The New York Four Chapter Break 2
Minx books, July 2008

The Singular Adventures Of My Sketchbook

I love teaching but after eight years of it, I'm getting burnt out and I want to take a little break this year and focus on my comics and craft. I've been teaching an Inking class and in the beginning of the semester we focused exclusively on line and stroke...ONLY. All the while, referring to the classic pen and ink masters- Howard Pyle, Thomas Nast, Daniel Vierge, Edwin Austin Abbey, Joseph Clement Coll, Charles Dana Gibson, etc. Reexamining these artists has greatly influenced my own work. Proceeding on, we explored other rendering techniques.

Here's some quick stuff I ripped from my "sketchbook" that I used to try out new materials and papers and inks. These aren't that great. These samples look exactly like the art I made as an undergrad at MCAD!


Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran
tech pen, brush,Wash with China Ink, old marker


I popped open an old Koh-I-Noor technical pen with year-old ink and it still worked. I did all the outlining in thin techpen to contrast the heavy blacks. I used the palm of my hand to spot some of the blacks.



Lilly Allen
Ink, collage



I've been doing all the one-layer-washes in Non-waterproof ink lately but I tried to do the lines in grayed-out Higgins Drawing Ink. I actually collaged the dress pattern on instead of Photoshop which I think looks better. I miss real collage. I'm getting more impatient with art-making which is not good. I used to spend 2 weeks doing a piece, now I only want to spend 2 hours.




Tricky
Tech pen, India Ink, Non waterproof, China Ink, chalk, acrylic, collage



This is a really unfinished demo. I used it just to experiment different layered media. This is why I like handmade over digital even though digital gets all the love these days. I bought my Adobe CS3 with my teacher discount but I'm going to wait a few months to install it so I can make friends with Photoshop 7 for just little bit longer. I'm scared of progress.

Super Summer Comic Action Super Bowl 2008

Things have been so busy because everything I’ve been working on is coming out at the same time; The same day in fact- July 23 (also known as San Diego Comic Con). Although , these dates always change so who knows for sure. Here's what to look for:

LOCAL- HARDCOVER EDITION
On Sale July 23, 2008



THE NEW YORK FOUR
Written by Brian Wood; Art and cover by Ryan Kelly
A new Minx graphic novel from acclaimed writer Brian Wood (DEMO, DMZ)! Just starting her freshman year at NYU, Riley is about to find out what an adventure — and a mystery — living in New York City can be.

The ultimate insider's guide to NYC is seen through the eyes of Brooklyn-born Riley. Raised by stuffy, literati parents, Riley's a shy, straight-A student who convinces three other NYU brainiacs to join a research group for fast cash.

On Sale July 23, 2008

25 Page Preview on Myspace




AMERICAN VIRGIN VOL. 4: AROUND THE WORLD

Written by Steven T. Seagle; Art by Becky Cloonan, Ryan Kelly and Jim Rugg; Cover by Celia Calle

Collecting issues #15-23 of the GLAAD Award nominated series! In this final volume, Adam Chamberlain comes full circle. He's been waiting his whole life to experience reunion, revenge and consummation. Under the all-seeing eye of his Higher Power, Adam is offered these desires, but each comes with a price: betrayal, arrest and damnation.

On Sale July 2, 2008

*P.S. I'm only listing this because I did about 50 pages of pencils in this collection (royalties!) but you should buy this final collection because it's really Fing good



TORI AMOS’ COMIC BOOK TATTOO
Press Release:
This July the ever-growing relationship between comics and music reaches new heights as Tori Amos and Image Comics release COMIC BOOK TATTOO, a 480-page, full color anthology adapting the themes and ideas behind her songs into a lush volume of sequential art.

“I have been surprised, excited and pleasantly shocked by these comics that are extensions of the songs that I have loved and therefore welcome these amazing stories of pictures and words because they are uncompromisingly inspiring,” says Amos. “It shows you thought is a powerful formidable essence and can have a breathtaking domino effect.

To assemble COMIC BOOK TATTOO's diverse roster of talent, Amos worked alongside editor Rantz Hoseley, co-creator behind the upcoming DISPLACED
PERSONS and VIX. Together they formed a line up featuring Y: THE LAST MAN's Pia Guerra, Leah Moore, John Reppion David Mack, Hope Larson, Ryan Kelly,Jonathan Hickman, Colleen Doran, Eric Canete, Ted McKeever, Jock, Anthony Johnston, Dame Darcy, Carla Speed McNeil, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Mark Buckingham, Ivan Brandon, C. B. Cebulski and many more, including an introduction by SANDMAN creator Neil Gaiman.

Editor Hoseley added, "While the connections between comics and music have been long established by generations of creators, Comic Book Tattoo is the pure distillation of how these two art forms inspire and feed off of each other across all the classifications, genres and styles of comic storytelling. Like Tori’s music, these stories run the gamut of human experience, emotion and imagination brought to life by some of the most compelling and innovative creators in the field of comics."

COMIC BOOK TATTOO, a 12” x 12” 480-page anthology,
ON SALE JULY 23rd.


*P.S. As you can see, this book is the size of a picnic table. I never listened to Tori Amos that much before this but I've been making the extra effort and it pays off because I have a rather large 15-page story in this and it turned out better than I thought (yeah, i waited to the last minute). You'll find out later which Tori Amos song I drew. I'm really happy to be on this project. I did it first and foremost to work again with John Ney Rieber and Rantz Hoseley. John wrote this incredible story which could have been 30 (or 300) pages. I found out about Rantz from The Engine--he was atleast the most sane person there.
Panel and pixel is a pretty good message board for how to make comics stuff.


I bailed on a bunch of conventions this year because I'm a dope but I'll be here so far. Come by and pay me to draw some pictures:


WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO
June 27-29, 2008
Artist Alley: Yes

SAN DIEGO COMICCON
July 22-24
Artist alley: Yes!

MNCBA FALLCON
October 4-5
Artist Table: Yes

Brian Wood mentioned at NYCC that I'm drawing the next Northlanders arc. This is my biggest job yet. I'm going to draw that thing right and good. I might be working on another Vertigo thing and I'm trying to write my own creator-owned project. I want to start doing more color work. GOOD color work. On the computer , like everyone else does.

I'm destined to draw vikings....
Here's a picture of me on the weekends...

Pretty Pretty Vinyl Underground

Expert shark illustrator, Simon Gane, directed me to some color files for The Vinyl Underground #8. I love to see my inks under the palette of a real colorist like Guy Major and not a jive turkey colorist like me. They make pretty things sparkle in my eye balls. And I like to look at them on the bright, shiny computer monitor (no offense, paper).




P.S. You should really be reading this book, like, NOW. No other book I've ever worked on has more sex, drugs, and rock and roll. And SHARKS.

Local Update

Local #11 is delayed at the printer, so the new Street Date is April 30. (Note to the Mean People: No, It doesn't take me 8 months to draw a comic book, #11 has been finished for 4 months, it's just been held back for a smoother finale). But now, it's delayed for a little longer. I ripped this off of Brian Wood's website:

Apr 30 - Local #11
May 28 - Local #12
Jul 23 - Local (hardcover edition)

In the meantime, here's a gray version of Annabella Lwin from Bow Wow Wow...

The New York Four Preview

There's a big 25-page Preview of The New York Four on Myspace. As you can see, there's also a feature on Tori Amos Comic Book Tattoo for which I have a story with John Ney Rieber. More on that to come...

The Vinyl Underground #7

Kitty Kelly? Former Quarterback Jim Kelly? Walt Kelly?!? No silly, It's me! I inked it with all my own pens and pencils. I did it with my bare hands...Such Stong hands, They look like good, strong hands, don't they?


Written by Si Spencer; Art by Simon Gane and Ryan Kelly; Cover by Sean Phillips

Ex-celebrity playboy Morrison and his team of crack investigators celebrate a seemingly speedy victory in solving their latest case — until a visitor from beyond the grave shows up and puts them on a completely different track.
Vertigo | 32pg. | Color | $2.99 US | Mature Readers
On Sale April 2, 2008

Saving Face

As you can see I've dropped off the deep end.
These few weeks are unprecedented. I'm just grabbing random piles of paper and scribbling ink on them. I think they look like comic pages but I'm not sure yet.
Unless you're a vacation I don't want anyone near me.

-9 pages of Local to pencil and ink and tone by April 11-ish
-11 pages of Vinyl Underground to Ink by April 16
-Many Many Many Many pages or Tori Amos CBT to Ink and color by April 16
-2 classes to teach very week.
-3 children to sire.
-1 Federal Tax Income return to think about looking at.