X-Ray Studios

So the cat is out of the bag. Or some such saying. I'm working on "The Incredibles" for Boom! Studios. Specifically, I'm co-writing the series with Mark Waid. By co-writing, I mean Mark has carefully crafts a plot, and I do my best to destroy it. He then takes the mangled story back and nurtures it to health. It is returned to me and I stab to death. And so on...

It's been a great creative exercise and a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the writing process.

The first issue of the new series is out now (issue 0), and it sets the stage for more weirdness and action to come. Now, I didn't actually write anything in that issue on the shelves today. It may have my name in it, but that name is a lie. My involvement starts with issue 1, on sale at some nebulous point in the future. But this issue is the starting point, and should not be missed!

In other news, my non-stop mad tour of the country continues. I'll be in Traverse Michigan for a convention for a few days. That's Friday the 28th through Sunday the 30th. So if you're in the area, find the convention and say hello.

So I guess I should do what other people are doing and post information about where you can find Eric and myself during the week long madness that is San Diego ComicCon.

We will be doing a daily signing session at the SLG booth. That's the awesome booth right next to the DC Comics booth. Hard to miss.

Thursday 1:00-2:30
Friday 11:30 - 1:00
Saturday 5:00-7:00
Sunday 11:00-12:30

Additionally, Eric and I will be participating in two panels:

Friday:

4:30-5:30 - Spotlight on Landry Walker and Eric Jones— The creative team behind SLG Publishing's Little Gloomy series and the recent Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade for DC Comics discuss all of their work, past and present, including the upcoming run on Batman: The Brave and the Bold series. Landry Walker and Eric Jones discuss the pitfalls of working on all-ages books as well as developing their own properties for animation. Room 3

Sunday:

1:30-2:30 Comics and Graphic Novels for All Ages- It’s true! There’s a wealth of great comic books series and graphic novels out there for comics-loving kids of all ages-so much so, that Comic-Con presents its second big panel of the day on the topic! Moderator Randy Duncan (co-chair of the Comics Arts Conference) talks with Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), Kazu Kibuishi (Amulet), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Eric Jones and Landry Walker (Supergirl, Little Gloomy), Jeff Smith (Bone), and Alexis Fajardo (Kid Beowulf) about comics for everyone!
Room 3

...

Yup. That's where we will be. Come see us. Discuss things with us. If you attend, I will whisper to you the one true secret to successfully gaining employment into the comics industry. Maybe.

And don't forget, we will have limited edition signed prints. First come first serve.


 
We will also have a variety of comics on hand to sell and to sign. Trade paperback collections of Tron: The Ghost in the Machine and The Super Scary Monster Show. Not to mention an assortment of issues of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade.

Spend!

Yeah. I'm back from New York. I pretty much slept 3 hours a night, walked around the show like a zombie, ate nothing but donuts and hamburgers and watched a season and a half of Veronica Mars.

In other words, it was much like every other day of my life. There were many signings and panels and meetings. Business things happened. That goes without saying. The best part of these shows is seeing the friends that I rarely see.
( See what I saw... )

I will be appearing in at the New York Comic Con with Supergirl/Kid Gravity/Little Gloomy artist Eric Jones. Here's the schedule:

FRIDAY

2-3pm: SIGNING - DC booth

SATURDAY

11:30am-12:30pm: SIGNING - DC booth

SUNDAY

3-4pm: PANEL – Comics for all Ages (Room 1A06)

4-5pm: SIGNING - DC booth

It will probably be at least a year before we return to the East Coast, so please come see us now.

I know it's months away yet, but I just booked flights and hotel rooms for Eric and myself. I managed to find a scary dirt cheap hotel. Less than $100 a night and only a mile and a half from the convention center.

$100 a night!

I only half expect to survive.

Anyway, we have to go. Jann Jones made promises of karaoke. Okay. that's a lie. I made promises of karaoke. I didn't expect her to respond with enthusiasm. I also promised to play the Namco Wii game called "We Cheer" during the convention at WonderCon. Which, come to think of it, is simply a more exhausting and mortifying form of karaoke.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Anyway, that's the plan. Broken down hotel room. Karaoke. Promoting Supergirl in some fashion (issue 3 may be out by then. I don't want to ruin the issue for anyone, but issue 3 of Supergirl has an extra special guest appearance by Supergirl. You heard it here first). Returning to California to degrade myself.

Anyone ever watch Arrested Development? When "GOB" accidentally gets married due to an increasingly ridiculous series of dares? I can so relate to that.

It's hard accepting the reality that you might be as stupid as a television show character. One that is notable for his profound stupidity.

Don't believe me? Are you calling me a liar?

Just wait. I'll prove how stupid I am. In just a few short months. That will show you.

I will be attending the Sacramento Horror Convention, running a booth for SLG. I will have previews of Supergirl amterial, amongst other current projects. If you are in the area, and can spring quickly into action, come and visit me. Bring me a cookie.


From the promotional stuff for the show:

From The Land Beyond,Sacramento's Horror & Sci-Fi Convention

Friday & Saturday
SEPTEMBER 26 & 27, 2008
at Sacramento's
SCOTTISH RITE CENTER
(6151 H Street - Near CSUS)

www.fromthelandbeyond.com

Guests:

Vincent Locke- Illustrator of the comic books Deadworld, The Sandman, American Freak, Witchcraft: Le Terreur, The Spectre, and A History of Violence. Locke is also known for creating the ultra violent art on the album covers for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse.

Dan Brereton- Illustrator/writer of the comic books The Nocturnals, Gunwitch, Clive Barker's Dread, The Psycho, The Black Terror, Giantkiller, Buffy The Vampire Slayer:The Dust Waltz and The Origin.

Dustin Weaver- Current comic book artist of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic and Star Wars: Rebellion. Dustin has also worked on Star Wars Tales, Aliens Vs Predator: Thrill Of The Hunt, King Kong: The 8th Wonder Of The World, The Tenth Circle.

Joshua Dysart- Comic book writer currently working on Mike Mignola's B.P.R.D. & Hellboy. Known for his dark themes, humanist horror and a fascination with the roots of violence. Joshua has worked on Swamp Thing, Violent Messiahs, Conan, Van Hellsing:Beneath The Rue Morgue, Skull & Bones:A Monster House Story, Captain Gravity and Purgatori.

Landry Walker- Writer of the comic books Super Scary Monster Show, Tron, Little Gloomy, Kid Gravity and Zombie-O-Rama.

Doug Jones- Doug Jones is best known for his performance as Abe Sapien in the original Hellboy. He is reprising his role as Abe Sapien as well as playing the Angel of Death and The Chamberlain in the upcoming Hellboy II: The Golden Army. He was the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer and the Pale Man & El Faunoin Pan's Labyrinth. Doug was the lead Gentleman in Buffy the Vampire Slayer's HUSH episode and appeared in the films Tank Girl, Doom and Carnies.

Michael Berryman- Horror genre icon best known for his creepy performance as 'Pluto' in the horror films The Hills Have Eyes 1 & 2(1977). Michael has also appeared in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' as Captain Rixx, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as Starfleet display officer as well as The Devil's Rejects, Weird Science, Tales From The Crypt, X-Files, Guyver and Brutal.

Felix Silla- At a wondrous 3ft. 11in. in height, Felix is well known for his roles as Cousin Itt in The Addams Family and Twiki in Buck Rogers In The 25th Century. He was also Retah the Ewok in Return Of The Jedi, a child gorilla in Planet Of The Apes, Litvak in The Black Bird, Lucifer Cylon in the original Battlestar Galactica and appeared in Spaceballs, The Brood, The Lord Of The Rings, Star Trek, She Freak and Batman Returns. Felix was also a stuntman for The Monster Squad, Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom, Poltergeist, ET The Extra-Terrestrial and Battle For The Planet Of The Apes.

Nicholas Grabowsky- AKA Nicholas Randers, is a bestselling horror author. Known for his novels The Everborn, Diverse Tales, The Wicked Haze, Prey Serpent's Prey, The Ragman and Halloween IV.

Amy Lane- Novelist, Writer of the Little Goddess Trilogy 'Vulnerable, Wounded and Bound.' Stories of the supernatural, sorcery, elves, vampires, love and relationships. 'Bitter Moon' is Amy's latest novel.

Sean Kenney- Best known for his Sci-Fi role in Star Trek: The Original Series as Fleet Captain Christopher Pike in 'The Menagerie', and as Lieutenant DePaul in 'Arena' and 'A Taste of Armageddon'. But for those of you into Grindhouse horror movies, you will know him for starring in the cult classic 'The Corpse Grinders' as Dr.Howard Glass.

C. Andrew Nelson- Best known for playing Darth Vader in the Special Edition of Star Wars.

Rebecca Hicks- Writer/Artist of 'Little Vampires' book.

And many more guests!

Live music performance by Zombie Libre!

Our souls were captured at ComicCon. In this video we discuss Tron the comic.



Word on the street is that issue 6 will be in stores in early September.

You see these kids? They are geniuses. They created an awesome comic and by doing so displayed a better understanding of the conventions of storytelling than many professionals. Fear them, for one day they will rise up and destroy us all.



Yes, I know one of them is eating his toy sword. It was a stressful show.

Also in the the awesome department are these cute little recreations of our Little Gloomy/Super Scary Monster Show characters.



They're pencil toppers/finger puppets and they were made by these two amazing girls (Sarah and Shelby) here:



In case you're wondering, I'm the one throwing up the Little Gloomy finger puppet gang signs. Eric is sneaking out of the picture because he's a jerk who hates children. Jerk.

On that note. Here's what I want for my birthday. Which is careening towards us all at a breakneck pace:

Apparently, a small bit of test footage was shown at ComicCon this year for a possible Tron sequel titled "TR2N". Being in the know as I am, I know things. But alas, I am not allowed to tell you anything. In the meantime, absorb this bit of art from the only official Tron material currently being released.

Got home very late last night. Good drive back with a stop at a steakhouse with Eric, Pannel and Joel. The convention itself was the usual madness. Apparently, there were some famous people there doing famous things.

I've now spent about three moths of my life in that town. I should just get a time share.

Lots of meetings. Just about every night and most afternoons. That's good. I like it when other people pay for food. Also, it means more work in the future. My future self thanks me for my now past endeavors.

But the most important and exciting event for me in the week of the convention has not yet been mentioned. I got a DS game called Orcs and Elves. It's great.

Did I buy any books? No. Did I attend any panels? No. Did I party with the rich and famous? No. Instead I escaped into a world of digital isolation. Which (as anyone who knows me can attest to) is exactly my preference.

Apparently, Eric and I will be interviewed on some kind of television show at some time in the morning in the city of San Diego or somewhere else. We will talk about something.

So I guess I should be sleeping. Must return to convention at 5:30 AM.

Today I bought Doctor Who toys. Talked to friends. Glared at enemies. Received hugs.

The convention is quite exhausting. Do I play Mario Kart on the Wii or Mario Kart on the DS? Elder Scrolls: Oblivion or Resistance: Fall of Man? Or perhaps the secret copy of Soul Caliber 4 that awaits in the shadows?

Should I even get out of bed today? I think not.

Anyway, here's a drawing of Supergirl that Eric did. Sorry for the poor image quality. This is just a quick iphone picture of a watercolor painting thing (not art from the book) that Eric threw together. I had no extra room to pack the scanner. Priorities and all.



We'll have a bunch more art to see at the SLG booth.

San Diego.

In one hour, Eric and I will be hurtling towards San Diego at 70 mph. Once we arrive in our destination, we will be found at the SLG booth. Thursday through Sunday, 12:00-2:00 and 4:00-6:00. Roughly. Schedule is always subject to change. Did I mention why it will be subject to change? Because we will have a PS3, an Xbox 360 and a Wii in the hotel room. Will we utilize this fine technology with a substandard hotel room TV? Never! We are also bringing a projector and a portable screen.

So if you don't actually see me at the convention, it won't be because I don't care. It will be because I don't care and I'm busy.

Here's a picture of a bunny that was in my yard yesterday. Say that it is cute.




Say it NOW.

Normally this time of the year I'd be traveling to New York and Seattle for conventions. Well, neither of those conventions worked out with my schedule. Instead, I'll be at Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, running a booth for SLG.

If you're there, come by and say hi. If I seem surly and rude, then everything is normal.