Miners Mutiny, the first full-length comic book of the forthcoming trilogy, is the story of a man looking for trouble in a small gold mining town where no one has anything better to do. 

Loaded with TNT, wild women, and plenty of whiskey to keep your whistle whetted!  

Yeeeeeee HAW!

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1. Feb. 27- Mar. 1 2009
2. Reviews Should Be Good!
3. Book Recommendation: Naomi Wolf’s “The Treehouse”

I am tickled many shades of pink, mauve and fuchsia today as the newest installment of What Are You Reading? on Robot 6 at Comic Book Resources has me as a special guest!  Check it out and find out what Tim O’Shea, Sean T. Collins, Tom Bondurant and Yours Truly have to say about the latest and greatest in comics today!

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Last WonderCon, NPR Producer Stephanie Foo had one question on her mind:  What was the first superhero that you created?  She asked this question to many comic book artists and Stephenny Godfrey and I were included in her project (I found it rather serendipitous that she wanted to know about the heroes I created as a kid as I am drawing them now as an adult for my self-published memoir fantasy comic Princess Witch Boy). A week later, Stephanie wrote us, asking for images from our childhood to be used in a slideshow to compliment the interviews!

I found Stephanie’s project to be quite extraordinary and I was excited that the pop culture zeitgeist of comics had reached National Public Radio in such a way as to warrant its own segment, but I had no idea about the level of comic brilliance in which Stephenny and I would be included!   I have been a fan of David Mack ever since my first issue of Kabuki and the art of Paul Maybury is super inspirational (I’ve even blogged about him)! I adore Miriam Libicki and have much love for my fellow compatriot in Writers Old Fashioned Stephenny Godfrey!  In fact, all of the creators involved are amazing and everyone shares some great stories!   Listen to the interviews and watch the artist slideshow which compares the artists’ childhood drawings with their adult work.  Episode 107 of Snap Judgment has more stories tied to the theme of Superheroes: Origin Stories.

Check out my blog for images of my childhood drawings paired with their modern counterparts.

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1. Book Recommendation: Naomi Wolf’s “The Treehouse”
2. Holiday Meeting; Old Fashioned Style
3. It’s a Miracle Anything Ever Gets Done

Hearts will be broken, moons will be destroyed and hooch will flow in zero gravity in this sci-fi romantic action comedy! When someone, or something, starts kidnapping the children of Mars, the planet’s outlaws band together to rescue them. Off world, out numbered, and falling apart from within, can the Martian Confederates discover the secret of Phobos before they destroy each other? And does “what happen in space stay in space?”

Written by an illiterate and illustrated by the Eisner Nominated creator of Jane’s World, Paige Braddock! Black and White with blue spot coloring!

Diamond Order Code AUG101040

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1. The Martians are coming!
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3. The Martian Confederacy on Newsarama

But they’re certainly something.

Hi Ho! Just sweating over a panel and feeling extremely unproductive tonight.  I finished a whopping 2 panels today! That’s one more than one and one less than NOT ENOUGH!

Anywho, I’m sitting here staring at what little work I did do, and I start blaming my lack of productivity on my pencils, of all things. This got me thinking about the importance of  “tools” and “workspace”.

These two things can make or break you.  Without the proper tools your work will suffer.  Same goes for your workspace; If you don’t feel comfortable, you won’t get anything done.  Your art space is sacred.  Your tools are the lightening rods of your imagination.  Or something?

With all that being said, here’s another thought: These tools do not define your work.  In other words, a true artist can create with the bare necessities, in the worst conditions.  Meaning, it’s no excuse when all your pencils have become little nubs that can not tolerate another sharpening (as you can tell in the above picture, I have an electric sharpener = OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE SHARPENING).

Before I start a project, I make sure to give my space a looksee.  Here are the 3 most important aspects of a workspace, for me:

-Functionality

-Ease

-Comfort

My space is all about accessibility.  Glass of water within reach, CHECK. Tools, paper, references, are all at my disposable.  I know myself and thus know that if I have to get up from my desk; I may never come back.  The goal is to have everything there for me.

Now I’ve shown you mine, let’s see yours.

Related posts:

1. It’s a Miracle Anything Ever Gets Done
2. In the Trenches 04.06.2009
3. Good Luck, Mindy!

I am having a particularly hard time starting a new project (and instead of working on said project, here I am writing a blog post, see?)

I won’t use the term writer’s block, or artist’s block or whatever verbiage is used to describe this happenstance.  We all know what it is, and we’ve all been plagued by it at some point or another.  To me, I don’t see it as a block; some kind of proverbial dam holding back the metaphorical river of creative juices.  That implies that it’s out of your hands.  It’s too easy to say, “I can’t write now, I’m blocked!”.  You may not be able to write now, true, but it’s more likely that you plain “don’t want to” then that you’re blocked.  Creative power is YOUR creative power.  Any dam, block, handicap, lack of motivation, mental disorder, addictive behavior, fear, or just plain laziness holding you back is YOURS and yours alone.  Facing this fact, or what I see as fact, actually makes it easier to deal with.  You can’t change most things outside of yourself after all.

You with me?

Yet here I am, knowing and believing what I just expressed, unable to focus on a project that means the world to me.  This is because no matter how you define it or how well prepared you are to deal with it, it happens to us all.  And then there’s the physical world of distractions.  How does one stay-in on a Friday night to draw?  How is one capable of mentally focusing on drawing knowing that there is fun to be had right outside their door?

As I sit here, frustratedly staring at a blank sheet of paper, I can’t stop the thought going through my mind: ‘It’s a miracle anything ever gets done.’  I think about all the movies, books, shows, and artwork that I love; it’s truly miraculous that creators are able to grapple this thing and CREATE! (and thank heavens they do!)

My point in writing this post is this: If you are a creator, just know that none of us are alone with this feeling.  I say that more to comfort myself than anyone else.  However, more important than commiserating is celebrating.  For it is our duty as creators to overcome this thing and get shit done.

Related posts:

1. NPR’s Snap Judgment Features Stephenny Godfrey & STORM
2. I Still Believe in Comics.
3. Dating advice from an idiot.

The working front cover for “SSShh… Don’t Tell Nobody!”.

And the back cover, where we meet our narrator.

This will be my first real foray into the writing arena. I’m looking forward to it, but I’m still kinda nervous.

Look for this at this year’s APE. And chart my progress over at my blog.

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SF Weekly honors STORM with not only a Best of 2010 Award,

but his very own category!

Ladies and Gentlemen, we give you San Francisco’s

Best X-Men Tarot Card Reader!

We’ve always known that STORM was in a category of his own creation, and it seems like The City is starting to take note, too.

Head over to STORM’s blog for info on how you can have a tarot reading unlike any others.

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1. Robot 6 Asks STORM: What Are You Reading?
2. Continuity Video
3. NPR’s Snap Judgment Features Stephenny Godfrey & STORM

Just for you. Just for tuning in.

I’ve drawn Krang before, and haven’t been able to stop thinking about him.

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Stephenny, Storm, and their Trophies.

Boy, Portland, you sure know how to make creators feel welcome.

Ever since I was welcomed into the fold here at Writers Old Fashioned, I’ve heard about how much fun the Stumptown Comics Fest is. Its been nothing but “Well, the Portland fest is sooo cool!” and “Just wait until we get to Stumptown and you’ll see.” And after spending three days mingling with the people of Portland, I’ve got to admit that it may be the most comic-friendly city I’ve ever been to.

The convention floor was absolutely packed for most of Saturday, and even a good portion of Sunday. But for as busy as it was, creators were still easily accessible and ready to visit. In stark contrast to WonderCon earlier this month, one could look out across the room and see what was happening across the hall. I’ve heard that there were a lot more vertical displays this year than at past cons, but from our table I could see the Drawn & Quarterly table all the way at the far end of the room. The airy setup combined with windows galore made for a more pleasant, open experience than WonderCon or San Francisco’s own indie-fest, APE.

And for the second year in a row, Writers Old Fashioned has come back to San Francisco with a Trophy Award! Stephenny’s mini Panorama won the Trophy Award for Outstanding Publication Design! Her handcrafted books beat out some pretty impressive competitors, like Dark Horse’s Mesmo Delivery. If that wasn’t enough, Storm accepted this year’s Mystery Award for Portland’s Mayor Sam Adams. So the Writer’s table had an impressive amount of Trophy’s on Sunday. Next year we’ll sweep ‘em.

It was a treat to get to hang out with such amazing fellow exhibitors and bask in the creative energy of everyone in attendance. Getting back into the groove of every day life has been especially hard after this convention. All I’ve wanted to do is draw comics. Or read comics. Or write about comics. Frankly, I think my girlfriend is gettin’ a little tired of it at this point…

Jason, STORM, Greg, and Stephenny

Thank you so much Portland, and all those folks behind the scenes keeping this how running as smooth as it did. Without the coordinators and the tireless efforts of the scores of volunteers the show could’ve been a real mess. Instead the Stumptown Comics Fest remains one of the most anticipated shows for Writers Old Fashioned!

(I’ve written a little more about my own personal experiences at the fest over at my blog.)

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1. On the Road Again
2. Look out, Portland!
3. And the winner is…