(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

Sebastien Dumesnil, The director of Adventures into Digital Comics wrote to let me know he’s put up the official trailer for the film.

It’s great he’s putting that Patrick Farley (Stravinsky) quote right out front. It is too late to ask where we are going. It’s funny that, as I sit here and think about where our experimenters went, and how to go about making something new and novel, this trailer shows two of them (and the work of a few others) all of who were documented in this film at their peak, before we settled into our outdated little strip-shapes and our Platinum print deals. They’re here, from the past to remind me of a time when the Infinite Canvas was infinite, and so were webcomics.

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

In thinking about this new project, I remember back in 2004 I did a cover for the brilliant and hibernating Webcomic Examiner.

I’ve tracked it down and uploaded it for you to see.

I don’t think I’ll follow this strictly with the 5 words portion, but it’s a good (and kinda syrupy) example of the benefits of working under constraints.

(Photo taken and doctored up by Nich, at Purifoy’s Sculpture Garden)

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

So it’s one thing when a few friends decide to cover a song from your “band” (I put it in quotes because, as we are fond of saying, we’re really drunks with a music problem), but when a dude you don’t know from Adam covers it, it really seems like this goofy thing might have legs. Check out Yopparai Kyabetsu’s awesome version (complete with homemade PVC trombone) and all the others at the Turpentine Project page!

If anyone hasn’t seen them yet you can read my very esoteric and formally constrained Bitpass series for free from this post. I’ll get around to cutting out the pay buttons on the bitpass enabled version sometime soon.

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

So I signed up for a free WCN account. You can find the skeleton here.

I’m really pleased to be taking a look at WCN, I’ve been entertaining getting an account (And would have taken the plunge already if Jon wasn’t such an awesome host!) ever since it debuted.
The only problem is, now that I have one, I have no idea what to do with it.

I was thinking it could serve as a repository for stuff related to Dancers, or maybe I should use the extensive directory listing and categorizing at WCN to advertise my pre-exisiting comics. Or maybe I should just overwork myself and ressurect an older series like 10:30 to 12 or maybe Underhunt (or start a new series entirely), all while working on Dancers.

So tell me, what should I do?

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

I went ahead and finished the rest of “Europe’s First Smoker”, you can read it here. It ends kind of abruptly, but so did Rodrigo.

I should probably find a way to group some of the 3 pagers I’ve done and put them on the site in a more visible way. I should also go about presenting this whole thing in Infinite Canvas. Would anyone prefer that?

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

Hey Long time no talk. Here’s the talking points memo for today’s meeting with the head honcho of our biggest client. There’s a lot riding on this meeting and it’s your last chance at this agency, so stop hanging out with that girl you just met and that experimental robot from R&D. You get it, chief? Cause that dude with the impeccable hair and tan is out for your position. And he’ll get it too, unless you can coax the grizzled and grumpy head of this company into remembering what it feels like to have some heart.

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

I’ve been doing pretty good staying away from stuff like this, but seriously, this is too fantastic to pass up.

You gotta love that DJ!

I’m sure he’ll come and tell us when he finds this while self-googling, but I can’t help but wonder how San Diego’s NBC affiliate would react to thier Comic Book Challenge winner calling a female editor (or a couple of female editors, it could be seen) as “Bitches”, then telling them to fuck off and “go play dress up”. Not to mention his previous stint at drunkcomicreviews (which has been swallowed by pronspam, to the pleasure of some, I’m sure) where in he threatened to punch people in the face, sue them, and called a gay guy he didn’t agree with a “pillow-biter”.

DJ should probably learn some restraint. Or to put it in his terms, keep his big fucking bitchy pillow-biting yap shut every once in a while. Specially as the artist behind this rather sublime cover for Comixpedia.
DJ, you’ll always have a special spot in my heart. Keep at it you crazy cutie, you…

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

This may be non-news to some of you, but I figure after San Diego and talking to a few people, and kind of cementing the whole thing, it’s not a big deal to mention it.

I’m going to be drawing a graphic novel for publishing at a popular indy company. It’s an opportunity that kind of fell into my lap, thanks to it’s writer, Andrew Dabb. It’s probably best to not mention the publisher, because nothing has been set in paper yet, (and probably won’t until my work starts coming in) but we did talk with them and they seem really into it.

The project is called DANCERS and like I said it’s written by Andrew Dabb, who I first met through his webcomics project Slices many years ago. I knew him then to be an incredible writer, but in the last few years he has really managed to move up the ladder in comics, writing GI JOE SIGMA SIX, VAISTRON, ATOMIKA, and various other projects. I had always hoped to work with him again, and he mailed me a while back and said he had a stalled project he really wanted to restart. I think I said yes before I read the script. That’s how good he is. (I have read the script now and I’m glad I said yes.)

I’ve got a couple page story to do for the Side A anthology and then I plan on starting DANCERS full force. That probably means no webcomics for a while. But hey, let’s be honest, I probably wouldn’t make a new webcomic in the next year or so anyway, why break my streak?

Below are some model sheets I’ve done for the project thus far. I’ll probably post a few things from the project as I move along.

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

So I’m off to San Diego with the first few lines of this song in my head.

Hey, Ryan Estrada has taken it up on himself to host the WCCA awards, so feel free to go look through the ceremonies, they’ve now got the winners listed. I think my favorite presentation is for Slice of Life.

Have a good weekend all!

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

Hey, yesterday I broke my 2 year long dry spell and started my next session of comics illustration class. I had thought I was only going to have about 8-9 kids, but got there and was greeted with a class list that was one over my maximum! (that’s 17 for you guys keeping score.)

So yeah, I was reminded how freakin’ fun that class is. There’s nothing quite like talking to a bunch of enthusiastic kids about how comics work and giving them the names and language for all of the abstract mechanics of comics. I love that most of the time there are more girls in the class than boys. I love that almost all of them read some kind of comics. I really love that all of them already draw.
It should be a good class, I think.

Also, The Calamity Jam steams on, with some really amazing entries this week. Jon himself hops a couple spots higher on the esteem-o-meter (if that’s even possible) for his retelling of the Boston Molasses Flood, a subject very close to my heart.

Finally, I just finished watching an hour-long show on the history of comics on (fittingly) the History Channel. They even spent the last 60 seconds or so talking about comics on the web. Jim Steranko said he thinks electronic comics are the future (Stan Lee however, remains a Luddite.) Yeah, all on THE History Channel.

I know this observation will be utterly devastated in a week or so when I head down to San Diego, but: Some days comics are pretty cool.

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

Diaphanous.

Seriously, that’s a really good word.

I was lucky enough to hang out with Steve “Fabricari” Harrison the other day, thanks to my proximity to Disneyland. He gave me a copy of his book and we kibbitzed about all of you. Yes, even YOU.

And hey, Comic-Con is about a week away right? Who’s a gonna be there? Steve and I talked about maybe getting a small group together one night (because really, that’s the whole point of this convention right?) I come in Friday and stay through Sunday, which should be bracketed nicely by Neil Cohn’s and T Campbell’s two panels.

I’m thinking of giving up art and devoting all my time to playing the banjo. But then I’d have to give up the banjo in order to play the saw. And we all know that won’t work, because as far as instuments go, it’s just too diaphanous…

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

Y’know I grew up with alot of gear heads and DIYers, the kind of people who made dunebuggys out of the parts they had left over.They hardly make people like that anymore. We think it’s easier to just buy your West Coast Choppers shirt at Target than figure out how to make something new out of something old. This Jalopy post says it all.

Somewhat related, UPS just dropped off the prints for this weekend’s show. I love that feeling of opening up a box of 250 copies of a thing you made.

Also, Circe Link is really good. Or is that “Hawt”? Both? Yeah, both. Check out the myspace page for songs, She’s got a record on emusic too, I’ll be getting it when my credits re-up.
Finally, My internet comic benefactor Jon Morris has put out a call for an open jam on the subject of (appropriately) “Calamity”. I imagine all you other artist types want to join in, don’t you? Well now you can!

Boy I bet you miss rambling posts like this, donthcha?

(Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.)

So, Today is Online Comics Day.

According to the site today is reserved for:

On this date online cartoonists from around the globe poke fun at themselves, tear down the fourth wall a bit more than usual, and generally wax self-referential.

I was planning on stretching out the posting of Directions, with one installment a week, but, given the point of this date, I really can’t think of better date to post them. They seem to follow all of the above guidelines, (for better or worse).
So enjoy it (I’ll probably leave it up for a week or so) and Happy Online Comics Day!

UP

DOWN

LEFT

RIGHT

(If youre confused as to what the series is and how to read it, the main page has an explanation.)

Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.

I’m seriously close to spending an hour of my life in this tiny room espousing about all of the bullshit going on in and around webcomics currently, naming people who are dicks and talking lots of crap about people i’ve never met.
I was about to post links to ignorant opinion-as-facts and hole-ridden arguments and make the case that you should agree with me and that my opinion-as-fact is more valuable and more righteous.

But I’m not going to, because I’m trying to follow the rule of make not hate. And besides I’m having a good week hits-wise and don’t need the attention.

I’m going to refinish a piece of furniture. I’m going outside to work in the sun, and sweat. I will sand and plane, drink beer and listen to my kids laugh while running through the grass. I’m going to kiss my wife.

You all have this cleaned up by the time I get back, kay?

Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.

Why, hello there!

What’s your name?

Where are you going, The Jerk?

Why, of course I’ll follow you!

(with a butt like that, who could resist??!?@#1)

(I glued the paintbrush in his hand to keep him upright…) He’s allready been used as a toy by the toddler, and fallen off of every flat surface in the house. So if you were wondering, sculpey’s pretty strong stuff when cooked.

I’m quite glad to have this little guy done so I can get back to trying to make money or something… I tend to get obsessive which is good, when it’s new comics that i’m obsessing over. I’m pretty pleased with how he turned out. Specially the appendages, as I really wanted to get that rough kinda springy and energetic feel into them.

Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.

. oO o SPORECLOUD o Oo . - The Formula - 2/28/05

I’m not the only one who loves the setup-beat-punchline!
(also alot of interesting work at that site.)

Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.

For those that don’t know, We head out to Palm Springs every month or so to visit my father in law. Most of the time he has some odds and ends for me to do, this time it was a new kitchen sink and some gutter-cleaning. I like this work, as we live in an apartment and I don’t get the pleasure of working in a yard, or fixing and replacing stuff as much as I’d like.

The rain followed us out here and in the desert, this means flash floods. But today the sun is shining and everything is gleaming and bright.

Couple of things:
Joey’s cracking in the WCN front. It’s exciting to see this project develop. I wish I was interested in advertising (I don’t think I get enough hits to warrant it, however)
Alexander has dropped mention of our joint comic. I really should get this done. Strangely enough, his post has helped me with a few issues I had with it.
Just picked up a probable illo gig for a coffee company… It’s probably not enough money, but I wil take it because for some reason, I love illo jobs. I would really like to break into other forms of illo sometime. I will research when I have more time.
Holy shit Jon Morris can draw like a sunuva… The amount of respect and jealousy I have of this man’s talent is indescribable.

Also, I’ve been kinda of obbsessed with the Megan’s law site. (If you don’t know, California now publically lists known sex offendors and thier locations.) This is kinda disturbing, but I can’t stop searching zip codes and seeing who’s there… There’s 4 in my town. (and this is a low number, it seems.) I can’t decide how I feel about it. On one hand, I see all of these strange people who are publically vilifed and I get kinda sad then I read some guy’s offenses include forcible sodomy on a minor with a foriegn object and I get all sick inside and am glad to know where THAT fucker is.

Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.

I’ve got to put the reptilians aside for a few days while I rethink some parts and build a better backbone, as it’s buckling like mad (this is what you get when you paint on cardboard…)
So, I’m mulling around a Jerk 2. Honestly this would be the 3rd time I’ve started a Jerk sequel, But I think right now I want to say some stuff about webcomics and The Jerk seems to be the best vehicle for that. (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, here you go. Enjoy.)
I’ve got a few other things (like that Danner collab) stewing right now as well, But I feel good about coming back to the Jerk. I kinda miss the little $%#^5. And I figure if I can make that guy at the webcomic bookclub write a review of his sandwhich again, because he can’t take time to figure out my comic, then I’ll be doing pretty good. This guy and his sandwich are now my new watermark.

Speaking of watermarks: We’re getting one on the second floor of our apartment building, it been raining so much, here in L.A….

Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.

This strange, ugly (The look of it makes me cringe! What can I say? I wasn’t teh 7eet d3sLgn3r I am now…) and somewhat idealistic project has come to roost on my webspace. The domain has run out and Chris has talked me into preserving it, you know, for preservation’s sake… (I was ready to let it die out, dontchaknow…)

After September 11th, Chris Watkins and I set out to make some webcomics. The project snowballed into a collection of comics related to 9/11. We put out the word and we got some great contributors, Jon Morris, Chris Crosby, Barret Lombardo and more. People who, at the time, were the up and coming webcomic rockstars. (I see now half of the contributors have fallen of the face of the web. And the other half are bigger and better than ever, and I’d humbly inlcude myself among those…)

I had always hoped we get more contributors sometime down the line and that it may grow to be a continuing dialouge about our country (and world) in the aftermath of 9/11. I entertained making more for the site, and when I made Redress of Grievances I almost put it up there. But when I went back to look at the site, it seemed too incongruous, too idealistic almost. I didn’t think it would fit (Anything I worked on that might relate, just never seemed to fit.), and the site was already pretty dead. I actually have no idea if any money was raised from this site, I’d like to think so, as Chris did alot of work to get the donation component up and running.

My initial contribution to the site, Beautiful, Primary is probably the best and worse thing I’ve done. It stil makes me sad to read it, and I find parts much more interesting in our situation now. There are parts of prophecy and part of self-indulgent drivel… I make no apologies for it though, and that’s a good sign to me..

Jon Morris’ contribution September 12th is still pretty powerful. “Sublime” is a very good word in this case. His other piece, Say Something is sharp, quick and fights dirty. Just the way you like yer Jon Morris (no jokes back there!).

The Gallery is filled (well, “filled” is hyperbole) with conflicting images. Tributes, criticisms.
And that’s kinda the outstanding theme here. Confliction. And in that first year, that’s how we all were. We lost our innocence and some of us missed it. And some of us made comics about it. And now they sit on my space, for better or worse, cause maybe we don’t need them anymore.

Originally published at hypercomics.net. You can comment here or there.

Testing the Livejournal export feature.

The stupid Livepress plugin is listed 15 times on my plugins page, but WTF do I care if it works.

Anyway, to you the average LJ user, the new blog is up and running. A few posts and previews of work are there, but it’s pretty thin no doubt. But hey, it’s fresher than a teenager at a movie theater. That counts for something, right?

And to you the LJ friend, thanks for your comments on my post last night. I appreciate it.