The New York Four: LONA

Lona, originally uploaded by funrama.

I put up some early character sketches here.

Speaking of New York, I'm leaving now so please come to Rocketship comics in Brooklyn on Thursday (25th) at 7:00pm for the Release Party. I would draw 4 U.

LOCAL

Come to The Release Party!



Read Local #3, considered by many as their favorite issue, for Free!

Check Comic Book Resources for articles on the making of Local from the writer and artist and more to come.
You can discuss LOCAL in the ONI FORUMS



NPRon Local:
Ryan (Kelly)'s inks bring a meticulous, well-researched attention to each new locale that will have residents playing spot-the-neighborhood-landmark. And the best thing about the oversized, hardcover edition of the run, in stores today, is the ability to pore over Kelly's rich backgrounds and appreciate their detail without risking an aneurysm.

Wood and Kelly set out to show nothing less than how Megan herself gets shaped by each new city, and by the particular choices -- good and bad -- she makes there. Over the course of the series, we watch her reckless (okay: dumb) behavior give way to reflection, her youthful, omnidirectional anger gradually recede to reveal a quieter kind of strength.

Purchase the LOCAL Hardcover

The Local Hardcover Will Crush You

Well, That's it, strike the set, It's in stores tomorrow, September 17.

I'll be in New York next week with Brian to promote the book at Rocketship Comics. More info to come.

The artist is all tapped out, But it needs to be said that Oni really deserves awards and all-expense-paid Princess Cruise trips to Tahiti for putting out THIS book at a $30 price point. They put in a lot of time and elbow grease checking off everything from paper stock to pantone colors , sending out a crack team of black-coated Gumshoes to invesigate global shipping routes and secret printing facilities to pinch this down to a $29.99 price tag. Oni could have just gotten really lazy and put out the typical $50 hardcover. If they didn't want you to have this book, they would have made it $50. People, it's $29.99, you have nothing to loose. Oversize. 400 pages. 70 pages of extras. color inside. silver ink. Each signature stitched from the hair of ANGELS.

Purchase Local

Cassingle Of The Week: Sorry Again

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!

Sorry Again represents one of the biggest hits from Velocity Girl, an early, East-coast, alterna-grunge-era band. But they were known, unfairly or not, as "Bubble-Grunge", and if you listen to their music, you'll sorta get it. They have a little bit of Shoegazer in them, so i like it. And I tend to like that 90's, awkward-girl-singing-over-distortion sound. I love the backing "Whoo-Hoo!"'s in the chorus. There's Only One Thing Left To Say is the B-Side.

This particular cassingle appears to be the product of a joint-venture between Sub Pop and Urban Outfitters, probably to expose the bands to the store's customers as they buy muted, torn flannel shirts and some AirWalks. I probably grabbed this cassingle for free, 14 years ago, from the counter as I was buying a new pair of 10-hole Doc Martens or something.

Hear the song and video.

My Grade:

Single: A
Perfect little 3 minute pop song I've been playing in my car all summer.

B-Side: B-
Great song pulled from the album...BUT, it's not a rare, unreleased, non-album track , so not a true B-Side in my book.

Packaging: C+
Not great , but the graphics are culled from the original album. A pretty standard commercially-driven promotional item.

Presentation: A
Single and B-side are represented on BOTH sides of the tape . Very nice.

The New York Four: RILEY

watercolor
I posted some really bad preliminary character sketches here.

Ayn Rand, The Comic Strip

I live a skip and a jump from the 2008 Republican National Convention. In honor of that fact I bring you....Ayn Rand The Complete Comic.

This is for the aborted anthology Big Book Of Wild Women written by Rev. Susie the Floozie (aka Susan Barrows)

In March 2001 , I made my first trip to New York and to the DC Comics editorial offices. I had just started my inking job on Lucifer and I was there to show my (extremely lacking of any artistic value) portfolio. But, I was able to score my first paid solo comic job and this was it. Heidi MacDonald gave me the job. I couldn't actually see her behind the mountain of books and paperwork on her desk, But I could hear her voice, and she said, "So , How about Ayn Rand?"

As you can see, I couldn't actually draw yet, but I tried, and I had a lot of fun with it. I've actually received some emails from Rand enthusiasts requesting this comic strip.

Quick side note: I'm not an Ayn Rand fan. I think the Republican-style, Deregulated-Do-Whatever-The-Heck-You-Want-Free Market isn't the most awesome thing in the world and the non-stop corporate excesses we've experienced proves that. I'm not even sure the "Free Market" in the purest concept has actually ever existed. Capitalism with a teeny bit of regulation is ...you know...not the end of the world.
That said, I have a warm place in my heart for this and if Steve Ditko happens to accidentally, by chance see this one day--all the better!



A Young, Swingin' Alan Greenspan.