So Where's the Update...?

It's been an odd past 11 days for me...

Right after the last post I went to Pittsburgh to work at the Teen, Collegiate, and Masters Bodybuilding show. While most of my comic book brothers and sisters were in San Diego for the largest show of the year, I was in the Steel City tanning and oiling women at a fitness and bodybuilding show. Not too many people feel for me when I tell them I was whipped after working that weekend but I swear to you all, there is a line between fantasy and nightmare when it comes to oiling up about 60 fitness models and believe me... I crossed it. I owe my sanity to two women; Grace Grimes and Charis Nawrocki. They managed to help me keep what little I have left. Thanks girls.

It took me nearly the entire week back to recover physically and mentally. Along the way I got word that Mahmud is back at work on The Last Paladin after his stint illustrating 300 Avengers trading cards. The Wicked Angel project will, for the time being, remain a back up in Digital Webbing Presents #31 but things are in play that will continue it outside of DWP in 2007. I also still have projects in the works with guys like Uko Smith which will begin as soon as he gets back from Chicago and both Dan Campos and EJ Morges as soon as I can find the lock to chain them to their drafting tables .

So everything is still good despite not having any groovy art or fantastic news this week. Just keep watching. I hope to have more of both soon.

Wicked Angel Update

Those of you who stop by on a regular basis know several weeks back I posted some information on an up-coming project of mine called Codename: Wicked Angel.

Illustrated by Dan Campos, inked by Shaynne Corbett, and colored by Joel Seguin, the eight page story is set to be a back up tale in an issue of Digital Webbing Presents this fall.

While this is a project very close to me, I was never sure what kind of a life it would have beyond this one single issue. When I started it over seven years ago we wanted to shop it around and see if any one would pick it up. "Bad girls" in comics were still the craze and this book fit right in. We thought for sure it would sell. It probably would have too if it weren't for one crazy thing after another keeping us from getting this out.

Being so involved in this project I would love to see it go on in some form or another beyond this first story. Now that wish may become a reality.

I dont want to say too much more because I subscribe to the jinx factor when it comes to projects. I've been involved in more than my fair share of them. Regardless, keep your eyes out for more Codename: Wicked Angel info here and on Digital Webbing as it happens.

In the meantime, enjoy this alternate cover design by the amazing Dan Campos.

The Wait is Nearly Over...

Digital Webbing Presents #31 was supposed to be out mid-September but various forces beyond our editors control made him push the release date back to November. Now things are shaping up and it looks as if the issue will ship and hit shelves before the end of October.

What's pictured may not be the final cover dressing but figured it would be a cool sneak peak of what's to come soon.

More later...

Avengers Assemble!

As if it wasn't a big enough thrill for me to learn Mahmud Asrar, artist on The Last Paladin, was chosen to do sketch cards for the new Complete Avengers trading card set by Rittenhouse, another friend and artist has now been added to their roster.

Uko Smith, who did amazing art chores on the Bombshell project I posted about a couple of weeks ago has been picked to add his skills to the set. You can see the sample cards he did for Rittenhouse above. Fantastic Stuff.

For more information on the set and a complete list of artists involved, check out the Rittenhouse website at: http://www.scifihobby.com

Till next time...

The Corpse

This wicked woman to the left here is the Serpent Queen and she was created as the villainess for a story I scripted for a good friend's series called The Corpse.

Created by Ken Haeser and Buz Hasson, The Corpse is a horror book about an avenging zombie out to try and redeem himself by protecting the earth from the rest of the evil that roams the darkness.

I've known Ken for several years now and we had always wanted to work on something together but we just couldn't get the planets to align properly for that to happen. We even put together a Firestorm pitch for DC Comics that never got sent in but to this day is eerily similar to the story and concept that was re-launched a year later.

Always busy with other projects, Ken set off to produce his popular Eyes of Asia series with Digital Webbing while I kept producing shorts for DWP and did freelance work like the Divas book.

I finally met Ken and his co-creator Buz at the Pittsburgh Comic Con in 2004 where the seeds of The Corpse had been planted. By the time I saw them again in 2005 they had a Zero issue for sale and were hard at work putting Issue #1 together. Now as I write this they guys are more than half way finished with issue #3 and my script is slated to make it's debut as issue #5 or #6 later this year.

For those of you who love horror and want more info on The Corpse, check out the website right here: http://www.corpsecomic.com/ The guys also have a Blog and a MySpace site to promote the hell out of this book and get it noticed.

And don't forget kids, if you like what you see remember to demand a Corpse/Last Paladin crossover. Till next time...

DIVAS

Back in March of 2005 JMP Management released a book called Project Divas: Trinity at the Arnold Classic here in Columbus, Ohio.

The book featured fitness athletes and models Adela Garcia, Jenny Lynn, and Susie Curry as super-heroines taking on a monster from the far future, unleashed by a mysterious woman with a sinister plan for them all.

Art was by the incredible team of Dan Campos and Stacie Ponder and the book was a success considering it was sold outside the traditional comic book market. Many of the people that saw and purchased this title were fans of bodybuilding and sports. Not something you would imagine going hand in hand with comics despite the natural similarities between characters and the athletes.

The sketches you see are of the three main characters. Adela, Susie, and Jenny in that order. Art is by Dan (why the hell aren't I working for a major company) Campos. These designs are updated a bit for the second DIVAS book which should be out later this year. If you've never seen the first one you can still get your hands on it. Just go here and order direct: http://www.jmpmanagement.com/

Till next time...

BOMBSHELL

Bombshell is a project I put together in late 2005 and early 2006 with a very talented artist and friend Uko Smith and the absolutely amazing IFBB Pro Colette Nelson. It's an eight page sci-fi superhero tale, her origin in fact, followed by eight pages of photos by the great Dan Ray.

Colette has been a friend of mine for several years and even though we only see each other briefly once, maybe twice a year, we still manage to keep in contact via email and phone. Knowing my creative background, at some point our conversation turned to producing a comic book based on her likeness. It's a project I've wanted to do for some time but I never had the artist to do it justice. Enter Uko Smith...

Uko had posted a few pin-ups on the Digital Webbing boards. From there I found his site and discovered he lived and worked about 15 minutes away from me in Columbus, Ohio. We struck up a conversation and quickly discovered we had several things in common, including a great admiration for strong women like Colette. I pitched him the idea and he loved it.

Over the last few months of 2005 and into 2006 we worked to get the book ready for the Arnold Classic the first weekend in March of this year. There were a few times I know I drove Uko insane with my paranoid ramblings badgering to make sure everything was done for the big debut. It went down to the wire but we managed to have a good chunk of the 500 copy print run ready in time.

Anyone interested in learning more about my good friend Colette can check out her website at: http://www.colettenelson.com/ where you can buy signed copies of the book in her on-line store.

For anyone interested in the art of Uko Smith... stay tuned for future updates.

FIRST LOOK: AGENT GEMINI

This is one of the projects I'm currently working on with artist EJ Morges.

Agent Gemini is a quirky sci-fi, action, adventure, monster, hero type story with a little bit of drama and romance thrown in for good measure. At least I hope it is once I'm done with it.

The female is Sentinal Susan Corbin. Her job is to keep an eye on the gentleman to her right, Agent William Marcus, when he's in the field. Set in the near future, the two of them are unofficial "Men in Black" (for lack of a better description) in the employee of a secret group known only as The Lab.

I really have to give EJ some amazing credit here. He took the ideas behind these two characters and didn't just kick them into high gear but put everything into serious overdrive.

Their story gets a lot more complicated as things begin to roll. EJ is hard at work on an eight page script we both hope does a very good job of introducing these characters and their world. Once finished we'll pitch it around to various places and see how well it does. Worst case scenario we'll self-publish it. Either way, keep checking back here for updates.