One Lucky Year

Today's the day. One year ago, my son JACK CLIFFORD AVERY MEREDITH was born, giving me the best birthday present I've ever gotten. It even beats out the iPod I got the previous year!

My family and I had a simple birthday party for him; some vanilla cake and a few presents for him to play with. We presented him with a cake with candles, sang to him, and blew them out for him. He had no clue what the hell was going on, but he seemed to enjoy it. Lucky is nothing if not curiously happy. Then, we cut him a chunk of cake and let him at it. He was actually rather subdued, not making too much of a mess, as you all can see from the picture to the left.

Afterwards, we opened up a few presents that he received: a toy dump truck for babies, some cool learning blocks, a super-textured moose, and a couple of other things. All in all, not too bad of a night for the Little Man.

Now, sharing my birthday may not seem like a lot of fun to some, but it's actually pretty neat. I have that little extra connection to the boy. There's no way the rest of the family will forget our birthday. Plus, as I'm old and decrepit, I no longer have cake for just my birthday. This way, I'm guaranteed to get cake for now on! Sugar Coma, here I come!

Pulp Refreshed

It's been a while since I've made an update concerning my Modern Pulp projects, what with all of my recent time and energy going into Blue Shift, so I figured I'd make a quick rundown on what is going on...

Dallas McCoy

The new Dallas McCoy series is still in the works, but we are now looking for a second artist for the book. Although we have several scripts ready to go, our regular DM artist (Sidney Lima) is now too busy working on the Blue Shift book to get it off the ground. We're looking at an artist now, so hopefully we'll be back on track with this soon.

Sprecken: Kalabus Rex

The second issue of the Sprecken: Kalabus Rex mini-series is still being lettered. I had hoped to have it ready for the middle of October, but I was just swamped with getting Blue Shift off the ground. Now that the preview book is done with, I'll be getting back to finishing it up. By the way, the art shown here was drawn by Pedro Pablo, the artist for this mini-series.

Lucifer Fawkes: North of Here

The final issue of the one-shots, Lucifer Fawkes: North of Here, is still in in production, albeit very slowly. At this point, it really just needs to be lettered, but we're just not certain what we are going to do with this. We may release it as a one-shot for next year, or we may just compile it into a trade with the others.

Gibson Dent: The Amulet of Sa-Ra

This has been bugging me for awhile. I've really been wanting to get back to this character, but I wasn't quite sure what to do. Should I finish the old online story where I left off? Do I rewrite it as a novel? I just could not make up my mind. But, truth be told, neither idea seemed to work for me. However, the thought of rewriting the original online story as a full comic did have a certain appeal. In order to make the deadline on the old online strip, I had to cut out a lot of stuff I wanted to do with him and his supporting cast. So, I may be re-doing this as a straight adventure comic...

Blue Shift Promo

After a month of post-production, the first printing of the Blue Shift promotional ashcan is done and is being sent back from the printers. It's an extremely small run, only 200 copies, and they are going to be available at the upcoming Farscape Convention in Burbank, CA. on November 2nd-4th. On hand to sell these ashcans will be co-creator/co-writer, Gigi Edgley. She will be signing and numbering these copies.

Any copies left over from this show will be made available at her next appearance at the Big Apple Con in New York City on November 16th-18th.

I should have some copies on hand at the shop for sale later in November, once the dust settles and we take stock of what is left.

Shifting To Blue!

Remember when I mentioned a TOP SECRET project, just over a month ago? One that I couldn't really announce just yet? You don't? Well, here's what I said...

"I am also in the midst of a HUGE new project, a brand new Sci-Fi series that I am co-writing with an As-Yet-Unnamed partner. I'd like to say more, but I just can't... not yet, anyway. I will be able to make a semi-official announcement about this in a little over a month. Believe me, it's going to be as cool as hell is hot..."

Well, the wait is over! I can finally announce that I am working with Gigi Edgley, actress from the hit TV series Farscape, on a brand new comic book series called Blue Shift. Although I can't really get into detail on the actual storyline, I can say that it's a Sci-Fi series involving alien abductions, genetically-enhanced slaves, planetary corporations, midget smugglers, space pirates, and much more!

For this series, I am handling the writing chores side by side with Gigi Edgley, from concept to plot to script. This is not one of those books where the actor lends his or her name to a book and leaves it in someone else's hands. Nope. She is completely hands on, and she's creating one hell of an exciting story.

For the art side of things, we have recruited one of my favorite artists, Sidney Lima. Those at the top of the class will know Sidney from my Modern Pulp series Dallas McCoy. Sidney is signed on for the first three issues, the first story arc, at the very least. Production on this series begins in about two weeks, but there is an Ashcan book that will be out in November.

I'll have more details on the Ashcan once it is ready for purchase, and I'll be updating everyone as to the progress of this book as we go along.

Proficio!

Progression is a strange thing at times, moving at its own lumbering or slithering pace. The progress one has can almost be related to that of the "waiting game" attributed to the lives of a detective; most of their time is spent sitting about, waiting for the right moment.

Well, that's how progress feels to me, at least lately it has. A lot of my time is spent moving slowly towards the completion of many projects, either by necessity and design or by fate and chaos. Then, all of a sudden, a whirlwind of creativity and/or timing blows through and massive amounts of work is done on said projects.

That is what has happened in the last couple of weeks. Progress on a large scale. Some projects are coming to fruition, others are getting off the ground with alarming speed.

Anyway, on that note, let me fill you in on some of that progress...

The second issue of the Sprecken: Kalabus Rex mini-series is now being lettered. Like the first issue, this will be a limited printing of only 100 copies under the Rorschach Entertainment label and will be available only at conventions or online. We will debut Issue #2 at the upcoming Bell Con in Bellingham, WA, which will be in October. Once the entire mini-series is complete, it will be re-issued and solicited for release in comic retail outlets everywhere. In fact, the last of the pages for issue #4 are being finished as we speak, so I believe it should be safe to say that we'll be able to officially release the mini-series by Late Spring/Early Summer.

The artwork for the Dallas McCoy mini-series (which has no subtitle; Amy Riddle and I are treating it like a TV season, in which several stories are tied together with subplots, as opposed to one singular story arc) has started. Our artist for the series, Sidney Lima, even did a slight redesign of her outfit for the series (as you can see here).

I am also in the midst of a HUGE new project, a brand new Sci-Fi series that I am co-writing with an As-Yet-Unnamed partner. I'd like to say more, but I just can't... not yet, anyway. I will be able to make a semi-official announcement about this in a little over a month. Believe me, it's going to be as cool as hell is hot...

A Night At The Q!

Only a couple of weeks since his last show, my friend Kyle Stevens played last night as a place called the Q Cafe. Not a club or bar, the Q is a... community center, of sorts. Because of this, the show was All Ages, and I do mean "All Ages", allowing for Kyle's No #1 Fan to attend: Mackenzie Meredith. Being only 7 years old, she's never had a chance to see Kyle play live, but she does love his music and she listens to him all of the time. (NOTE -- Sorry for the crappy pictures... cell phone camera...)

Kyle went on stage around 9:15pm (A little late for Mac, as it was fast approaching her bedtime, but she was so excited that she ended up staying awake until almost midnight). The first half of his show was his usual solo stuff, just him and a guitar kicking ass. The best part for Mac was when he unexpectedly dedicated a song -- "PIGS!", a fun little song that he doesn't play a whole lot anymore -- to her. She was ecstatic (and still is, as she is still talking about it as the Best Day Ever!).

Kyle then turned it up a notch and brought up his new backing band to play out the second half of the show. It had been a while since I had seen Kyle play with a band (back in his Layman's Terms days) and what a difference it made. Kyle has always been amazing as a solo act, but was even better at fronting a band. I was also amazed at the spike in the energy level in the room. The crowd was very attentive and pleasant, but once the full band got started, they were really getting into the show. All in all, a rousing good show for Kyle and for everyone in attendance, including a little girl who got to see her first music show.

Oh, and as a bonus, The buttons that I designed (using a simple logo I worked up) for Kyle arrived from the "printer" just in time for the show. They turned out to be a big hit with the crowd, and especially with Mac, who immediately put both versions on her shirt.

A Musical Surprise!

Last night, my wife Amy and I had the rare chance to both go out at the same time, sans children. Our plans for the evening were simple; we were going to see our friend Kyle Stevens play an early show down at the High Dive in Fremont and follow that up with dinner and a movie.

We arrived at the High Dive about 30 minutes (around 6:30pm) before Kyle went on stage. We caught up with Kyle, grabbed a beer, and settled in for the show. As always, Kyle put on a hell of a great performance! This guy has a hell of a lot of talent and it shines through every tiime I see him play! After his set was done, we talked a bit, followed by more beer, until it was time for Kyle and his crew to head on out. Amy and I decided to hang for a bit longer, grab a snack before taking off for the rest of our date. It's a good thing we waited about.

As I was finishing my beer and chomping on some fries, Amy was off making new friends, one of which was the friend of a very familiar person. This person was jumping about, along with others, as they set up gear for their show in a couple of hours. He looked strangely familiar to me, but I wasn't sure it was whom I thought it was until Amy brought him over to the table to meet me.

The man in question turned out to be Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America. He was playing that night in one of his side projects, the Feelings Hijackers.

This, of course, came to me as a complete surprise. Especially since I am a huge fan of all of his music, I like to keep on top of his various shows. To think that he was playing there that very night was a hell of a good coincidence!

Those that know me, know I do not play the "fan-boy". I'm not one to go all ga-ga over someone famous. But, there are always a few exceptions to that rule. Chris Ballew would have been one of those exceptions.

Notice I said "would have been". Thankfully, as Amy can attest, I did not geek out or make an ass out of myself (at least, not too much...). He said hi, we talked for a while, we finished off my fries, and then he went about his business, getting ready for the show.

This cinched it. Dinner and a movie went out the window and we stayed for the show, which was just amazing. As anyone who has seen this guy play knows, whether by himself or a side band or with the Presidents, Ballew puts on an exciting and energetic show. Hell, his sound check hours before going on was better than some shows I have seen. Amy and I had such a great time.

Our night out was a bit longer than we planned, nor was it what we planned, but it turned out better than we could have hoped.

Kalabus Rex #1

As I have mentioned before, a limited print run of Sprecken: Kalabus Rex #1 was made available back in April for the Emerald City ComiCon. Now that book is available for sale online!

For those of you unfamiliar with this book, it is the first of four issues depicting the "origin" of James Sprecken, on how he left the year 1938 to find himself in the year 2025. This series ties in most of the main Modern Pulp characters, such as Lucifer Fawkes and Dallas McCoy, as well as brings in a few new ones. In a way, this is the beginning for the MP universe.

Oh, and it's written by me, with incredible artwork by Walther Taborda and a sweet cover by Shane White. It kicks ass.

You can buy this issue right now at the Rorschach Entertainment online shop. Plus, it's on sale for only $2.01 (30% off cover price); in fact, all of the other Modern Pulp books in the shop are on sale, as well. And on top of that, anyone who buys a copy of this book will get a free copy of Sprecken: The Destiny Dance, the first MP one-shot published!

6 Months Later...

My baby boy Jack (AKA Lucky) is now 6 months old. Damn, I can't believe how fast it has been! It seems like he was just born. Here's a picture of him that I just took a couple of days ago with my cell phone...

As you can see, Lucky is surrounded by his favorite toys: some teething toys (he has two teeth so far!), his stuffed monkey Captain Monkeybeard, and his stuffed bear Rupert.

Oh, and the white spot on his chin (which you'll see once you click on the pic) is just drool. The kid drools a lot!

Steve Lawlis Preview Art #3

Here are some recent pencils from Steve Lawlis artist Erik Thompson for the upcoming Steve Lawlis Spectacular #1...

fanart by flameape

I got a very pleasant surprise in my email a couple of weeks ago... this sweet picture of our Time-Displaced Detective, James Sprecken.

This bit of artwork was created with a simple mix of pen and ink, along with a healthy dose of Photoshop for color, by the incredibly talented Gregory Giordano AKA flameape. Anyone interested in seeing some more of this guy's work should head on over to his comicspace page or his blog page.

Emerald City ComiCon!

Looking at my last post, it's been nearly 2 months since I had the chance to sit down and put together a post, a blurb, or even a pimp. Well, now that the eve of the of show is here (for me, that is; I have to set everything up tomorrow for it to be ready on Saturday), I find myself with a sudden calm, a peaceful respite from the VERY HECTIC past two months. At least, enough of one to make a quick update.

For the past 6+ months (more so these past 2), I've been working extremely long and hard on getting the 5th year of Emerald City ComiCon ready to launch. It's been a hell of an experience, again. Badges to design and make, questions to be answered on a regular basis, website to be built and updated, applications to process, signs to design and make, show floor to design, and t-shirts to design and make, just to name some of the things I've been doing. On top of that, I also had my own projects to prepare for the show.

Now, the show is here and it's time to relax, enjoy, and sell some comics!

I've got 2 new books ready for the show this year, Steve Lawlis: Frankenstein's Monkey Special Edition and Sprecken: Kalabus Rex #1, and both of them can be found at the RORSCHACH ENTERTAINMENT booth (#706). I will be in and out of the booth all weekend, hanging out with James Taylor (Publisher/Inker), Sean Dietrich (creator of Fervor and Mess), and Amy Riddle (writer of Dallas McCoy: Starstruck). We'll be doing our best to get these hot little comics into the right hands all weekend!

Also at the show this weekend is Erik Thompson, the artist for Steve Lawlis, who will be located at Artist Alley Table #111. He will have a Steve Lawlis print on hand for sale, as well as plenty of his own stuff, and will be available for sketches all weekend!

So, if anyone gets a chance to come to the show, please do so and stop and say hi!

Sprecken Kalabus Rex Preview Art

The fourth and final issue of the Sprecken mini-series Sprecken: Kalabus Rex is well into production, as the new artist Pedro Pablo continues to bang out the pages at an amazing rate. Here's a sneak peek at the first three pages of Issue 4...

Doctor Zombie enjoys his work...

... as one call easily tell by this great pin-up from Erik Thompson! Just another fine piece of art showcasing the Indomitable Doctor Zombie doing what he does best: takin' care of business!

This piece is not for anything in particular, just a cool pic for the hell of it (thanks, Erik!), but it does get me fired up to finish the one-shot storybook I have in mind for this character...

Some Ramblings & Sprecken Artwork

Now that the holidays are finally over, everything is starting to mellow out and I am getting back into a working groove. I have several projects that require my immediate attention, especially if I wish to have new books ready for the upcoming 5th Annual Emerald City ComiCon.

One of these books will be the Steve Lawlis: Frankenstein's Monkey Special Edition #1. Although originally planned to be released in Steve Lawlis Super Special #1 (and it still will be), I've decided to release a Black & White version of this story for the con in order to help promote the upcoming miniseries, Steve Lawlis Spectacular. Time permitting, I am also hoping to have a Doctor Zombie coloring book out at the same time, but I'm not holding my breath.

The other main book I am hoping to have ready for the con will be Sprecken: Kalabus Rex #1. This book is actually ready and in the can, but Rorschach Entertainment has been holding off releasing it because the miniseries is not complete, as there has not been an artist for the final issue... until now.

We just signed on an artist named Pedro Pablo to wrap up the Sprecken origin miniseries that was started by Walther Taborda. In fact, it was Taborda that recommended Pedro, who is an equally talented artist and can imitate the the style set by Taborda so closely that it will be very difficult to tell the difference. (Check out the samples of his artwork that are attached!)

Anyway, now that we have an artist signed on and working on the final issue, I am hoping that we will be able to release a limited edition copy of the first issue.

Also for Modern Pulp Comics, we will be releasing Lucifer Fawkes: North of Here, the final issue in a series of one-shots for the Supernatural Watchdog.

So far, those are my immediate plans for books, but I do have a couple of other ideas floating in my head. I may have more stuff ready, but I'll be happy to get these done...