Showing posts with label comic projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comic projects. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Valkyries
I've been gathering material for a sketchbook project and during the process I came across this drawing which was cut from the prologue of Rose and Isabel. I'm not sure if I've posted this before, so pardon me if you've seen it already. My favorite is the helmet of Gnor on the far right. I hope I can draw that helmet again sometime in the future.
Also, here is a mock-up for the hardcover slipcase version of Rose and Isabel that I hope to release someday.
Also, here is a mock-up for the hardcover slipcase version of Rose and Isabel that I hope to release someday.
Monday, September 22, 2008
CORA inspiration
I'm trying to get back into the groove with Cora, after taking too much time away from it. One of the important things with a long and time consuming project like this one is to live with the story; it's something I did when writing and drawing Rose and Isabel. The need to be constantly thinking about the story, running scenarios and ideas through my head as they come to me. This can happen anywhere and anytime -- any idea that is good gets written down in the notebook - this really saved me on Rose and Isabel; ideas that I had come up with months to years before were all there for me to cherry-pick from.
On a related note, here are some of the books, essays and films that are inspiring me as I write the Cora story:
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Star Wars - A New Hope
The Searchers (John Ford)
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
The Proposition (John Hillcoat)
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Tommy Lee Jones)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone)
Outer Dark (Cormac McCarthy)
The Significance of the Frontier in American History (Frederick Jackson Turner) - also known as the "Frontier Thesis" or "Turner Thesis"
The Horse Whisperer (Robert Redford/Robert Richardson [DP])
On a related note, here are some of the books, essays and films that are inspiring me as I write the Cora story:
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
Star Wars - A New Hope
The Searchers (John Ford)
Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy)
The Proposition (John Hillcoat)
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (Tommy Lee Jones)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone)
Outer Dark (Cormac McCarthy)
The Significance of the Frontier in American History (Frederick Jackson Turner) - also known as the "Frontier Thesis" or "Turner Thesis"
The Horse Whisperer (Robert Redford/Robert Richardson [DP])
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Lilith
I've mentioned Lilith a number of times on this blog and that she will have a role in the Rose/Isabel/Cora story. Her influence has already been on display in the first two Rose and Isabel books and she will appear at some point in the Cora books (possibly book 2 or book 3). Below is a YouTube link I found that invesitgates her story.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Alright then...
Sorry for the lack of updates lately..."The Making of Rose and Isabel Part Three" is in the works and should be up early next week, so for now here are some random rough panels from a recent Cora page layout.
Cora, of course, is going to run across some baddies along the way (they're in every western aren't they?) but I'm trying not to handle it in a way that would be expected. This is the thing that has been tough about the R&I story and now the Cora story; how to keep things fresh as well as character based, without relying too heavily on the tried and true (ie the expected outcome).
As much as I would like to see Cora whoop these guys' butts, it's most likely not going to happen in this scenario. My goal now is to come up with as many possible outcomes to the situation as I can with the hopes that one will lead me in the right direction.
Also, there is a review of CORA part 1 courtesy of the folks at INDIE•PULP.
Thanks guys!
Cora, of course, is going to run across some baddies along the way (they're in every western aren't they?) but I'm trying not to handle it in a way that would be expected. This is the thing that has been tough about the R&I story and now the Cora story; how to keep things fresh as well as character based, without relying too heavily on the tried and true (ie the expected outcome).
As much as I would like to see Cora whoop these guys' butts, it's most likely not going to happen in this scenario. My goal now is to come up with as many possible outcomes to the situation as I can with the hopes that one will lead me in the right direction.
Also, there is a review of CORA part 1 courtesy of the folks at INDIE•PULP.
Thanks guys!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Making Rose and Isabel :: Part 02 :: Research
Now that I had the idea for The Civil War Project, research was the next step. Since the American Civil War is incredibly well documented (I have several 400+ page books that each cover just a few days of the war), it would have been completely irresponsible of me to begin work on a story of historical fiction without research.
Research should not solely be limited to books, TV and movies. I often tell people who are interested in telling stories for a living that one of the most important things is drawing on experiences from their own lives, for it enhances the work and makes it unique. Without those experiences, all we have to pull from is what we've seen on TV or in movies or read in books. There is too much generic, formula-based stuff out there already, so we need to get out there, explore and observe. I seriously regret not traveling to the locations in Rose and Isabel because it would have been an incredibly immersive experience. To stand on the battlefields and soak in that environment would have been better than anything written in any book. So, being the time period that it is (1864), the character interactions are where I pulled from my own experiences and observations. The books and movies would have to stand in for everything else.
Here are just a few of the books I referenced while researching R&I.
Obviously I'm not going to get everything 100% historically accurate, but I wanted to have enough in there to make it believable. I took plenty of artistic license and I knew that going in. The unforeseen benefit to research is uncovering things that end up contributing to the story in major ways. In the book Not War But Murder by Ernest B. Furgurson (not pictured above), one of the opening passages tells of vultures that swooped in to feed on the dead and wounded at Cold Harbor. I had no idea there were vultures in Virginia, so I cross referenced it and sure enough...there are. There was the local variety as well as a second breed of vulture that migrated up from the deeper South to feed on the carnage. The soldiers would fire muskets at the birds to keep them away from the wounded. The bit with Rose's vicious attack on the vulture in book 2 was a direct result of this research, and became one of the cornerstones to Rose's emotional collapse and the subsequent rift between her and Isabel.
Vulture studies (Cintiq and Photoshop)
first "final" designs for Rose and Isabel
Other very important books not included in the picture above were The Civil War Times Civil War Album by William C. Davis and Bill L. Wiley, An Uncommon Soldier, The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, by Laura Cook Burgess, Warrior Women, An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines, by Jeannie Davis-Kimball, and most importantly, The Encyclopedia of the Amazons, by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. This last book provided much of the information in the prologue to R&I. An invaluable resource. Warrior Women is where I read about the story of The Gold "Man".
It was definitely an interesting cross-section of material to be reading through, and it was a lot of fun to ping pong between the two subjects of Civil War and warrior women.
Working Backwards
Before I could actually get into the research and plan the story, I had to ask myself a few questions (absolutely essential in story development--ask questions!). Where do Rose and Isabel start their journey? Where does it end? What is the path they will take? What is the timetable? I didn't want the journey to take years -- too long (although this was the original idea). I didn't want it to take weeks -- too short.
My answer came when I decided to have the climax happen at Andersonville prison, a dramatic location and great set-piece for the finale. So I worked backwards from there. Since Andersonville wasn't in full operation until 1864, the problem now was that I wouldn't have any of the really famous battles in the story (Gettysburg, Antietam, etc...they all happened earlier in the war). So I focused on a lesser but very important series of skirmishes that included the Battle of the Wilderness which led to the Battle of Cold Harbor, where Rose suffers her complete breakdown. This part of the war fit right in with the timeline I was trying to hammer out and I was lucky enough to find a series of 4 books that tell in exquisite detail this entire time period right down to the hourly weather. To The North Anna River by Gordon C. Rhea was the one I referenced the most, but the others gave me plenty of information as well.
Going backwards further from there, I could have the girls travel through Fredericksburg, witness the aftermath there, and prior to that land at Belle Plain, the source for the Union's reinforcements. Now I knew my story would start in early May 1864, and end in late August, when Andersonville was heavily populated. I had my timetable: beginning, middle and ending. This was about as far as I went with the outline (I later jotted down a basic outline of scenes but kept it limited). There would be no script, no detailed structure, just ideas and lines jotted on paper as they came to me. I wanted to keep the story fast, loose and spontaneous. Now it was time to start drawing pages.
Research should not solely be limited to books, TV and movies. I often tell people who are interested in telling stories for a living that one of the most important things is drawing on experiences from their own lives, for it enhances the work and makes it unique. Without those experiences, all we have to pull from is what we've seen on TV or in movies or read in books. There is too much generic, formula-based stuff out there already, so we need to get out there, explore and observe. I seriously regret not traveling to the locations in Rose and Isabel because it would have been an incredibly immersive experience. To stand on the battlefields and soak in that environment would have been better than anything written in any book. So, being the time period that it is (1864), the character interactions are where I pulled from my own experiences and observations. The books and movies would have to stand in for everything else.
Here are just a few of the books I referenced while researching R&I.
Obviously I'm not going to get everything 100% historically accurate, but I wanted to have enough in there to make it believable. I took plenty of artistic license and I knew that going in. The unforeseen benefit to research is uncovering things that end up contributing to the story in major ways. In the book Not War But Murder by Ernest B. Furgurson (not pictured above), one of the opening passages tells of vultures that swooped in to feed on the dead and wounded at Cold Harbor. I had no idea there were vultures in Virginia, so I cross referenced it and sure enough...there are. There was the local variety as well as a second breed of vulture that migrated up from the deeper South to feed on the carnage. The soldiers would fire muskets at the birds to keep them away from the wounded. The bit with Rose's vicious attack on the vulture in book 2 was a direct result of this research, and became one of the cornerstones to Rose's emotional collapse and the subsequent rift between her and Isabel.
Vulture studies (Cintiq and Photoshop)
first "final" designs for Rose and Isabel
Other very important books not included in the picture above were The Civil War Times Civil War Album by William C. Davis and Bill L. Wiley, An Uncommon Soldier, The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, by Laura Cook Burgess, Warrior Women, An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines, by Jeannie Davis-Kimball, and most importantly, The Encyclopedia of the Amazons, by Jessica Amanda Salmonson. This last book provided much of the information in the prologue to R&I. An invaluable resource. Warrior Women is where I read about the story of The Gold "Man".
It was definitely an interesting cross-section of material to be reading through, and it was a lot of fun to ping pong between the two subjects of Civil War and warrior women.
Working Backwards
Before I could actually get into the research and plan the story, I had to ask myself a few questions (absolutely essential in story development--ask questions!). Where do Rose and Isabel start their journey? Where does it end? What is the path they will take? What is the timetable? I didn't want the journey to take years -- too long (although this was the original idea). I didn't want it to take weeks -- too short.
My answer came when I decided to have the climax happen at Andersonville prison, a dramatic location and great set-piece for the finale. So I worked backwards from there. Since Andersonville wasn't in full operation until 1864, the problem now was that I wouldn't have any of the really famous battles in the story (Gettysburg, Antietam, etc...they all happened earlier in the war). So I focused on a lesser but very important series of skirmishes that included the Battle of the Wilderness which led to the Battle of Cold Harbor, where Rose suffers her complete breakdown. This part of the war fit right in with the timeline I was trying to hammer out and I was lucky enough to find a series of 4 books that tell in exquisite detail this entire time period right down to the hourly weather. To The North Anna River by Gordon C. Rhea was the one I referenced the most, but the others gave me plenty of information as well.
Going backwards further from there, I could have the girls travel through Fredericksburg, witness the aftermath there, and prior to that land at Belle Plain, the source for the Union's reinforcements. Now I knew my story would start in early May 1864, and end in late August, when Andersonville was heavily populated. I had my timetable: beginning, middle and ending. This was about as far as I went with the outline (I later jotted down a basic outline of scenes but kept it limited). There would be no script, no detailed structure, just ideas and lines jotted on paper as they came to me. I wanted to keep the story fast, loose and spontaneous. Now it was time to start drawing pages.
Monday, August 04, 2008
Making Rose and Isabel :: Part 01 :: The Beginning
What I plan to do over the next few weeks is attempt to describe the process of making my first graphic novel, Rose and Isabel, from its inception in 2003 to its release in 2005-2006 while hopefully providing some useful information for those who are thinking of undertaking a similar endeavor.
I've wanted to draw comics since my early childhood when I drew stick figure strips with names such as "The Wah-Wahs" and "Hot Dog, Frank and Wiener" but the real serious notion came when co-workers Ronnie del Carmen and Enrico Casarosa began drawing and selling their comics and art books at Comic-Con back in the early 2000s. I was so inspired by this I decided to give it a go.
The first thing I needed was an idea, and a strong one that I would be able to stick with for the duration of the project. As cheesy as it may sound, I had a dream about the story before I ever wrote or drew anything. All it was was a single shot of three brothers and two sisters walking away down a road in Civil War uniforms, going to fight for their country. I had just finished reading Elmore Leonard's Tishomingo Blues, about a mob hit that was to be carried out during a Civil War re-enactment, so that may have been partially responsible for the dream's content. Anyhow, the dream even had a piece of music that went along with it (including lyrics that had something to do with families fighting together) but when I woke I couldn't remember the words or hum the tune. But I had the kernel of the idea.
I liked the concept of the woman warrior as well, so I considered mashing the two ideas together and the story started to take shape. It is well known that women fought in the war, so it was certainly a plausable story from that angle, with the woman warrior idea being the hook. That's when I started drawing, focusing on the two sisters as the protagonists, separating them from their brothers in what would be essentially a search and rescue mission. Conflict is what makes makes stories work, so every step of the way I had to make sure that there was conflict whenever possible, especially between the two sisters. I had no idea who they were or what they would act like, but they would have to be different to contrast with one another. The Rose character immediately came to the forefront. Why, I have no idea but I was immediately struck with the character. Below are two of the earliest sketchbook pages from July of 2003.
I struggled early with how to draw the girls once they donned their uniforms; do I go for a broader appeal and make them "designy" with tailored outfits that were form fitting and dynamic? Or do I go the opposite direction, stay true to history and the story and make the uniforms baggy and realistic since they were stolen from male soldiers?
The second option won out because my gut told me that was the right way to go. Your gut will tell you a lot of things, so trust it.
I now knew I didn't want a designed, hyper-real environment. It had to be realistic since the characters were the ones who were unreal. That is part of the conflict in R&I. If the world is as hyper-real as the characters, they will blend right in and not stand out like they should (in the first X-Men film the scene that really struck a chord with me was the opening with Magneto during WW2-- the world was real and he was unreal which was a great contrast).
So now I had two sisters who were plunged into a situation where they were at odds with everything around them. The conflict was there and since I had no idea what to call this story, I embarked on what I tentatively and generically called The Civil War Project.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
SDCC 08: How to Make a Graphic Novel
Since I didn't have any time to indulge in the full Comic-Con experience this year (I left our table only a handful of times), I've been poking around the web looking for things that I missed out on. One of them was a "How to Make a Graphic Novel" panel that's been reported on by JK Parkin over at Newsarama.
If the subject interests you, I recommend you check out the article. There's a lot of great advice in there and from my experience in storytelling for animation and comics a lot of it is right on the money. The discussion got me wanting to write about my experience while writing and drawing Rose and Isabel and Cora. Once I get my thoughts together and gather all the materials, I'll start to serialize the making of the book on this here blog. Look for post #1 early next week.
_____________________
If the subject interests you, I recommend you check out the article. There's a lot of great advice in there and from my experience in storytelling for animation and comics a lot of it is right on the money. The discussion got me wanting to write about my experience while writing and drawing Rose and Isabel and Cora. Once I get my thoughts together and gather all the materials, I'll start to serialize the making of the book on this here blog. Look for post #1 early next week.
_____________________
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Comic-Con 2008 :: wrap
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the booth this year; Derek, Nina and I had a great time but by the end we were completely drained. I got to see even less of the floor this year than last year, but I'm determined to change that next year. I don't have much to report on, so I recommend you swing by Jeff Pidgeon's blog for a good daily Con diary (with pictures!).
For those that placed orders for books online in the past week, your book/s will ship first thing Wednesday (7/30), and any orders placed from today on will ship within a day or two of receipt. Thanks.
For those that placed orders for books online in the past week, your book/s will ship first thing Wednesday (7/30), and any orders placed from today on will ship within a day or two of receipt. Thanks.
Monday, July 21, 2008
CORA Part 1 :: Pre-Order
CORA part 1 is now available for pre-order through Paypal. The book doesn't officially go on sale until Wednesday the 23rd at SDCC's Preview Night but you can place your pre-order online by following the instructions in the sidebar to the right (scroll down until you see "Rose and Isabel Store").
Online orders will start shipping on Tuesday June 29th.
All domestic orders are shipped media mail in padded mailers (shipping cost is a flat rate based on number of books ordered and covers postage, materials and paypal fees).
Orders outside the US are shipped Priority International (including Canada), and require purchase of additional shipping (see below).
All prices are USD.
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Online orders will start shipping on Tuesday June 29th.
All domestic orders are shipped media mail in padded mailers (shipping cost is a flat rate based on number of books ordered and covers postage, materials and paypal fees).
Orders outside the US are shipped Priority International (including Canada), and require purchase of additional shipping (see below).
All prices are USD.
_____________________
Friday, July 18, 2008
CORA Preview and SDCC news
SDCC news: I was told by Stuart Ng that he'll have a small number of Akileos' handsome hardcover French versions of Rose and Isabel for sale at booths # 5012-5020. I don't know how many there will be, so get them early!
Below is a peek at a few pages from the first chapter of the CORA mini-series that will debut at Preview night next Wednesday (and an image of the postcard). If all goes well the books will arrive sometime today...
UPDATE: The books arrived yesterday from Transcontinental in Canada and they did a great job with the printing. The color is right on the money and I'm very happy with the way the book turned out.
And here's a peek at the pages:
Below is a peek at a few pages from the first chapter of the CORA mini-series that will debut at Preview night next Wednesday (and an image of the postcard). If all goes well the books will arrive sometime today...
UPDATE: The books arrived yesterday from Transcontinental in Canada and they did a great job with the printing. The color is right on the money and I'm very happy with the way the book turned out.
And here's a peek at the pages:
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
AFTERWORKS 3 is coming
Hey folks,
The comics-anthology series AFTERWORKS now has its own blog site (actually it has always been there but is now updated with new information about the upcoming AFTERWORKS 3...)Here is a sneak peek of the cover by the illustrious Lou Romano.
Click the image to go to the new Afterworks blog
The comics-anthology series AFTERWORKS now has its own blog site (actually it has always been there but is now updated with new information about the upcoming AFTERWORKS 3...)Here is a sneak peek of the cover by the illustrious Lou Romano.
Click the image to go to the new Afterworks blog
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
SDCC 08
It's July, so that means the San Diego Comic Con 2008 is right around the corner.
Derek Thompson and I will be listed under the name E-Ville Press again this year, located at Booth #1534. The first installment of new mini-series CORA will make its debut this year, and Rose and Isabel parts 1 and 2 will be available as well. Derek will have an ALL NEW Monster Annual chock full of his awesome designs (365 of them!) as well as a DVD on Conceptual Storyboarding he did for the Gnomon Workshop. We'll also have the AFTERWORKS 2 anthology for sale, which contains short stories by Derek, myself and many others.
CORA PART 1
DEREKMONSTER ANNUAL 2008
I'll be updating this post with other booth/table locations and info, so check back often!
UPDATE: If you are a regular visitor to this blog and are going to be exhibiting at the con, feel free to post your booth/table location in the comments section (or email me). Thanks
Exhibitor locations:
SCOTT MORSE/JEFF PIDGEON/BILL PRESING [RED WINDOW]: #4800
LOUIE DEL CARMEN: # G4
SHO MURASE: #1830
BOBBY RUBIO: #1943
BOSCO NG/SERGIO PAEZ: #1329
BOBBY CHIU/KEI ACEDERA: #G6 and G7
ANSON & BENTON JEW: #EE01
IRA SHERAK [Hot Mexican Love Comics]: #N8
JUSTIN RIDGE/HYE KIM: #E8
THE THOSE GUYS: #1033
KEVIN DART/CHRIS TURNHAM [Fleet Street Scandal]: #F9
click the map for the large version
_____________________
Derek Thompson and I will be listed under the name E-Ville Press again this year, located at Booth #1534. The first installment of new mini-series CORA will make its debut this year, and Rose and Isabel parts 1 and 2 will be available as well. Derek will have an ALL NEW Monster Annual chock full of his awesome designs (365 of them!) as well as a DVD on Conceptual Storyboarding he did for the Gnomon Workshop. We'll also have the AFTERWORKS 2 anthology for sale, which contains short stories by Derek, myself and many others.
CORA PART 1
DEREKMONSTER ANNUAL 2008
I'll be updating this post with other booth/table locations and info, so check back often!
UPDATE: If you are a regular visitor to this blog and are going to be exhibiting at the con, feel free to post your booth/table location in the comments section (or email me). Thanks
Exhibitor locations:
SCOTT MORSE/JEFF PIDGEON/BILL PRESING [RED WINDOW]: #4800
LOUIE DEL CARMEN: # G4
SHO MURASE: #1830
BOBBY RUBIO: #1943
BOSCO NG/SERGIO PAEZ: #1329
BOBBY CHIU/KEI ACEDERA: #G6 and G7
ANSON & BENTON JEW: #EE01
IRA SHERAK [Hot Mexican Love Comics]: #N8
JUSTIN RIDGE/HYE KIM: #E8
THE THOSE GUYS: #1033
KEVIN DART/CHRIS TURNHAM [Fleet Street Scandal]: #F9
click the map for the large version
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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
CORA is done
Well, part one is. The files get uploaded to the printer tomorrow. I'm sure there will be tweaks and changes that I still have to make. They somehow become glaringly apparent once the book has left the nest (so to speak). With Rose and Isabel I had about a week or so to mull the thing over and make last minute changes.
Anyhow, Derek Thompson (who just finished his latest Monster Annual and shipped it off yesterday) and I are very excited that we will both have a 2-day weekend to unwind.
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Monday, June 02, 2008
1 week to go
One week left before delivery of book one to the printer. Part one of Cora will have a print run of 1000 books. It'll be 64 pages, full color, and cost $15 (this is because it's being self-published at a relatively low print run). The book (if everything goes according to schedule - hope hope) will debut at the San Diego Comic-Con in July, and will be available for sale online via this blog and Paypal after Comic-Con finishes on July 27th. Details on Comic-Con will be coming soon.
Thanks to all for coming by and leaving comments. I appreciate your support and feedback.
-T
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Thanks to all for coming by and leaving comments. I appreciate your support and feedback.
-T
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Tuesday, May 27, 2008
CORA almost done...
Two weeks to press time and I have to say this has been a lot more difficult than I predicted (and this is only book one...). Well, "if it isn't a challenge, it isn't worth doing" is a motto I remind myself of often. These kind of ventures shouldn't be easy; they're learning experiences that prepare us for what comes next, essential in a creative person's development (there's nothing wrong with taking an easy gig sometimes to pay the bills...I'm talking about artistic expression).
The color has been a lot of fun but very trying at times; color decisions I make one day sometimes look awful the next. If I make a color change earlier in the book, chances are it will affect a color choice further ahead. Everything is in a state of flux but now that all the pages are cleaned up, I can work all the color at once.
Crafting a story in color like this in multiple parts is tricky because each volume has its own color arc as opposed to the whole story having one single arc. I'm trying to think in those terms, but I don't want the first book to be entirely desaturated to set up the rest of the story. The books need to stand on their own as well.
There will be much more story to tell in the upcoming books; this first volume is essentially the set-up to the larger story, much the way part one of R&I was. It's the first fifteen minutes in film terms; the exposition.
_____________________
The color has been a lot of fun but very trying at times; color decisions I make one day sometimes look awful the next. If I make a color change earlier in the book, chances are it will affect a color choice further ahead. Everything is in a state of flux but now that all the pages are cleaned up, I can work all the color at once.
Crafting a story in color like this in multiple parts is tricky because each volume has its own color arc as opposed to the whole story having one single arc. I'm trying to think in those terms, but I don't want the first book to be entirely desaturated to set up the rest of the story. The books need to stand on their own as well.
There will be much more story to tell in the upcoming books; this first volume is essentially the set-up to the larger story, much the way part one of R&I was. It's the first fifteen minutes in film terms; the exposition.
_____________________
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Blog of Note
I just realized that Rose and Isabel has been posted as a blog of note on the Blogger home page!
For those of you who have dropped in via the Blogger link, Rose and Isabel is a 2 part graphic novel that I wrote, illustrated and self-published in 2006. Below is a synopsis and some previews (ordering information is on the right hand side of the blog in the side bar as well as a list of shops that carry the books). I'm currently working on a sequel to the story, which is called Cora.
Synopsis:
Rose and Isabel is an American Civil War story about the Callaghan family of West Virginia whose three sons have left home to fight for the Union army. When letters from the brothers stop arriving, the two Callaghan sisters Rose and Isabel take it upon themselves to don the uniforms of union soldiers and leave in search of their missing brothers. The twist to the story is revealed that Rose and Isabel are direct descendants of the Amazons and have been gifted with extraordinary skill in combat.
Some reviews can be found here:
Boing Boing
KQED
Indie Spinner Rack (Best of 2006 list)
Indie Spinner Rack (podcast)
Nashville City Paper
The Fourth Rail
Rose and Isabel Part 1 ($8)
64 pages, B&W
preview
Rose and Isabel Part 2 ($15)
160 pages, B&W
Mature readers (contains graphic violence)
preview
Thanks to the folks at Blogger for choosing Rose and Isabel!
_____________________
For those of you who have dropped in via the Blogger link, Rose and Isabel is a 2 part graphic novel that I wrote, illustrated and self-published in 2006. Below is a synopsis and some previews (ordering information is on the right hand side of the blog in the side bar as well as a list of shops that carry the books). I'm currently working on a sequel to the story, which is called Cora.
Synopsis:
Rose and Isabel is an American Civil War story about the Callaghan family of West Virginia whose three sons have left home to fight for the Union army. When letters from the brothers stop arriving, the two Callaghan sisters Rose and Isabel take it upon themselves to don the uniforms of union soldiers and leave in search of their missing brothers. The twist to the story is revealed that Rose and Isabel are direct descendants of the Amazons and have been gifted with extraordinary skill in combat.
Some reviews can be found here:
Boing Boing
KQED
Indie Spinner Rack (Best of 2006 list)
Indie Spinner Rack (podcast)
Nashville City Paper
The Fourth Rail
Rose and Isabel Part 1 ($8)
64 pages, B&W
preview
Rose and Isabel Part 2 ($15)
160 pages, B&W
Mature readers (contains graphic violence)
preview
Thanks to the folks at Blogger for choosing Rose and Isabel!
_____________________
Monday, May 12, 2008
Cora update: May 12
Press time has been booked in June for Cora, which has given me an extra week or two to continue working (phew!). The book is shaping up, with about 6 pages left to clean up, some dialogue to write and a color pass to be done. I haven't been as diligent in sticking to deadlines as in the past, so the extra time will be crucial to get the book done on time.
As with R&I I am learning a lot from the experience of a tighter clean up style as well as using color. I'm more confident about the pages I'm doing now than the earlier ones. Luckily I'm working out of continuity so it won't look too different front to back.
_____________________
As with R&I I am learning a lot from the experience of a tighter clean up style as well as using color. I'm more confident about the pages I'm doing now than the earlier ones. Luckily I'm working out of continuity so it won't look too different front to back.
_____________________
Sunday, April 27, 2008
What is CORA?
Since the first book of Cora is due to come out about 2 1/2 months from now, here's a little background of the story.
Cora is the follow-up to a story I wrote and drew called Rose and Isabel, that follows two sisters (Rose and Isabel Callaghan) during the American Civil War. The three brothers of the Callaghan family go missing during the fighting so Rose and Isabel leave their home in Virginia to find them and bring them back safely. What is revealed in the story is that the female side of the Callaghan family has descended from a long line of women warriors of the past. The sisters have some knowledge of their lineage, but it remains mostly hazy to them.
CORA takes place 18 years after the story that began in Rose and Isabel. Isabel and her family live a peaceful existence in the American West around the time of the closing of the western frontier (1888). Her daughter Cora is an 18 year old who knows nothing of her family's ancestry, and lives a simple frontier life with her mother, father and brother. The whereabouts of Rose remain unknown after her mysterious disappearance from the family home in Virginia 20 years earlier.
The book I'm working on now is the first book of four (or more) and will be the set up for a much larger story that will take place throughout the American West. The story will mainly follow Cora, but will jump around throughout Rose and Isabel's past, starting from their birth in 1842. At this stage I've already roughed a number of pages for book two that will deal with Rose's troubled childhood as her innate abilities unfold. All of the characters' stories (and some new ones too) will eventually collide in what I'm planning to be a cataclysmic finale somewhere in the New Mexico desert.
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Cora is the follow-up to a story I wrote and drew called Rose and Isabel, that follows two sisters (Rose and Isabel Callaghan) during the American Civil War. The three brothers of the Callaghan family go missing during the fighting so Rose and Isabel leave their home in Virginia to find them and bring them back safely. What is revealed in the story is that the female side of the Callaghan family has descended from a long line of women warriors of the past. The sisters have some knowledge of their lineage, but it remains mostly hazy to them.
CORA takes place 18 years after the story that began in Rose and Isabel. Isabel and her family live a peaceful existence in the American West around the time of the closing of the western frontier (1888). Her daughter Cora is an 18 year old who knows nothing of her family's ancestry, and lives a simple frontier life with her mother, father and brother. The whereabouts of Rose remain unknown after her mysterious disappearance from the family home in Virginia 20 years earlier.
The book I'm working on now is the first book of four (or more) and will be the set up for a much larger story that will take place throughout the American West. The story will mainly follow Cora, but will jump around throughout Rose and Isabel's past, starting from their birth in 1842. At this stage I've already roughed a number of pages for book two that will deal with Rose's troubled childhood as her innate abilities unfold. All of the characters' stories (and some new ones too) will eventually collide in what I'm planning to be a cataclysmic finale somewhere in the New Mexico desert.
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Monday, April 21, 2008
CORA update: April 21
Things are progressing slowly but still moving forward...I had to take a few days off to unwind a bit. I also needed to take some time to clear my head to draw up a piece for an art auction.
There are 21 pages to go on Cora, then I have to do color on about 1/3 of the book, write and re-write a bunch of dialogue, and tie down the cover and do individual page fixes. I added a few new pages to fill out the story, which took a bit of additional time, but the story is better for it (I hope). 28 days to go to hit the deadline, give or take a few days...
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