Beasts of Kay-7 Available!!

You can read the whole thing for free at Top Shelf 2.0. If you're the type that prefers print (like me) you can also purchase the comic for only five bucks, just to the right of this post.

Back Cover

"The Beasts of Kay-7" is coming soon!

Early Stages

Right now I'm furiously trying to finish "The Beasts of Kay-7" in time for Stumptown. I have about ten (full color) pages to go. In the midst of that project, I'm also planning the next one, which will be much longer (probably released in four 30ish-page increments). Above is a rough layout of the first three pages and a sketch of the main character. While working on the story and characters, and pretty much any of the preliminary stuff, I listen to a lot of music. I've developed a playlist I use that sort of fits the mood of the comic. It's set in the Mesolithic (pre-farming) and the music seems to reflect that in a way. It's hours of mostly ambient stuff, but I thought I'd include a sampling of some representative songs below.

1. The Microphones - (Something) Cont.
From The Glow, Pt. 2, 2001

2. Andrew Bird - Carrion Suite
From Useless Creatures, 2009

3. Camille - Vous
From Le fil, 2005

4. Old Time Relijun - Indestructible Life!
From Catharsis in Crisis, 2007

5. Tim Buckley - Dream Letter
From Happy Sad, 1969

6. Low - Violent Past
From Drums and Guns, 2007

Foamed!

I'll post some stuff unrelated to this project soon, but for now, more panels from "The Beasts of Kay-7"

Some Panels

The story's called "The Beasts of Kay-7"!

New Project

Page six from the new project I'm working on. I'm trying out a more involved method of coloring. The comic is a science fiction/adventure story and I wanted the coloring to be more representative than what I usually do. I'm still not totally sure about it (although I feel pretty good). Thoughts?

APE Report

Ape was so much fun! I sold a decent amount of comics, and a lot of cool people came by the table, including some of my favorite cartoonists.

APEward Bound

I'm going to be at the Alternative Press Expo next weekend! I'll be selling some cool stuff, like my new comic Utu. I'll also have some original artwork, including this drawing based on a painting of Samson killing the lion by Cranach.

It Has Arrived!

My new comic, "Utu" is finally done!You can purchase it very easily to the right of this post in the sidebar. The comic will also be at A.P.E. with me.

Back Cover

I've Covered

My version of Devil Dinosaur #1 is over at the incredibly awesome covered blog run by Robert Goodin. Check it out here.

Running Out

I'm running out of panels to post without revealing too much of the story...

Color

It won't be color in the comic though...

New Panel

Layout

Sometimes I do a tight sketch of a panel I'm not confident enough to draw from scratch. I use my normal inking brush and a Copic toner grey #3 to get an idea of how the grey tone will look in the finished page. It loosens me up to do the final image, but there often are aspects of the first drawing I like better.

Preliminary Sketch

A prophet from the barbarian regions to the South.

The Impossible Man

Original cover by Jack Kirby, 1976.

HOS Panel

I'm about half way through the second chapter of Heroes of Science. I'll be posting panels and sketches every once and awhile.

Alpha Flight #19

The first appearance of Talisman, daughter of Shaman. Based on the cover by John Byrne.

Here's The Deal...

...So chapter one of Heroes of Science is available, but only because I told people it would be. It was a big step for me to finish it, but it will be completely redrawn after the other chapters are done, because it really isn't good enough. Chapter two will be available in a couple months and it will be easy to start there without reading this one, plus it's already a lot better. So if you really think you need to see this thing, send me an email and I will send you a copy, but otherwise it's best just to wait it out.