Thursday, December 2, 2010
Is 2010 really almost over?!
We are still alive and doing things but having to make a living is slowing us down. If you are reading this, bless your heart. Something will be posted soon. We are currently getting ready for RoundCon in February 2011. Rob Richardson is drawing a book written by Davis, Race War, that will be printed in January. Joe is working on an art collection book...as well as commissioned work. Davis is picking at Seven at a crazy slow rate and reviewing new material to be written for next year's projects. Next year will almost certainly be another slow one as the company works on getting rid of built up debt. We will make more of an effort to keep you all updated...and to try to market ourselves and let people know we exist.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Census 2010!
Did you fill out your census form?
No?
Well, thank you! It’s because of you I now have a full time job and have very little time for drawing. Envy was not completed. In fact, Envy was barely ever started. I got some layouts drawn and that’s about it. I have the burning desire to find an artist to draw the chapter for me, but I honestly don’t know where to look and I don’t have much spending cash. If anyone has any ideas please send note.
Thanks. DK
No?
Well, thank you! It’s because of you I now have a full time job and have very little time for drawing. Envy was not completed. In fact, Envy was barely ever started. I got some layouts drawn and that’s about it. I have the burning desire to find an artist to draw the chapter for me, but I honestly don’t know where to look and I don’t have much spending cash. If anyone has any ideas please send note.
Thanks. DK
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sick and Drawing
If ever you have a choice, I would advise you not combine the two.
For one would deplete your patience and the other your energy. There are times in our lives, however, that we must rise above ourselves if we are to get anything accomplished. I’d rather be drained of energy and patience than sitting completely idle for an extended amount of time.
I drew the first chapter of Seven while feeling low physically. It was a challenge to say the least; I had to combat not only waning energy but also morning sickness, both due to pregnancy. And life doesn’t stop does it? At least one and a half year olds (namely Zoe) don’t. The only real suggestion I have for continuing to write or draw while you are felling ill is to not fully concentrate on that you are sick. Your patience doesn’t have to run out, not really. Not if you put off being impatient just a little while longer to get that one figure right. Or figure out the layout for that scene.
When I got sick my first inclination was to lounge and rest until I felt better. In bygone years this worked wonderfully. I would recuperate pretty quickly. But pregnant women don’t always recuperate with rest. Sometimes what you really need to get back to feeling yourself is birth.
So what do you do for all those months that you can barely see straight because too much movement, and not moving, eating and not eating, drinking and not drinking…when everything and its opposite seem to make you feel sick?
At best all I could do was ignore my body. For the first few, and worse, months I did lay about as much as I could (Which is difficult when you have a toddler, but then her ripping leaves off of the houseplant really doesn’t seem that important when you’re ill. What is important is disallowing her for hurting herself…or you…)and I watched a great deal of TV. TV has its uses. Mostly it’s a device to promote the mindset of the era and to get you to buy stuff from the show sponsors. As an escape device from reality it is great but should be used to escape problems as little as possible since it is stronger than crack. In those early months I found a guilty comfort in just laying prone in front of the TV while doing my best not to heave. The imaginary lives of the characters portrayed helped me to get over myself a little bit at a time.
But thanks be to God my morning sickness eased and I felt the need to curl in the fetal position and groan less—but I still felt ill more often than not.
Keep the mind active. For this writing and drawing can be a blessing. If I could just pause the perfectionistic tendencies I have, the two can be more comforting than TV and help me bear the on land sea sickness. Well, I’ve babbled and I’ve rambled but let me see if I can sum up some points to drawing while you are ill.
1) It is possible because you normally have a little quiet time on our hand when you’re sick. And drawing really requires quiet time.
2) The quiet concentration can help bring you out of yourself physically and be quite comforting. Any artist knows what I’m talking about when I mention the zone. The zone transcends the physical environment, including your body. To get out of feeling really ill get into the zone. (For beginners or art lovers who do not practice the craft, the zone is the point in creating when concentration is at its highest. I think it is when the right side of the braid has taken over completely and disallows ‘logical' though. You may find it difficult to have long, decent conversations if you are in the zone.)
3) Make sure your responsibilities are taken care of. The added worry that something is going to go wrong is only going to increase your sickness and distract you from drawing. It is great to have support or help from someone else when you are sick but it is not always possible. If you can’t take care of all of your responsibilities suspend them or limit them greatly. I have a toddler and when I was at my sickest—and there was no one there to take her—I would shut us up in a small room with a TV and toys and a few objects she could not destroy or use to hurt herself. Nap times were imperative, whether or not she was sleepy. If I was really tired out of my mind it makes it rather dangerous to be watching a child, and drawing was out of the question. She is much safer in her crib, irritated or playing (more often than not she went to sleep too), while I took a power nap. Because we have consistently spent quiet times together I can sit and draw or write while she plays by herself (note: this is not for an extended time and I don’t do any heavy duty drawing around her. I can however, plan scenes, design characters, and draw some sketchy layouts for pages.)
4) Don’t pressure yourself with perfection. Drawing is hardly going to take you out of yourself and be soothing if everything you create must be perfect. Under perfectionism drawing becomes a nightmare. Instead of offering aid when you need it, it creates another reason to be miserable. “I feel sick and my drawing sucks.” Enjoy the whimsy of drawing. Enjoy the flexing of your imagination on paper. It may not look exactly as you always dreamed but that does not mean you cannot create an enjoyable piece.
5) If you need an added pick me up—show someone your work. People are often more complimentary than critical. If you know a lot of critical people—avoid them. Never mind how critical they are about your artwork they are probably toxic to your health as well. If you find you are one of those critical people, well, cut that crap out: it’s annoying!
6) Take your time. It’s okay to go slow. In our fast–paced accomplished driven world that is a hard statement to swallow. I have had to tell myself multiple times that when I’m overly tired or not feeling well things are going to take longer to do. Impatience and the desire to not wait has been bred into my bones and patience goes against every fiber of my being. But I have found—slowly because I rarely learn a lesson quickly—that taking my time to do things slower when I’m not feeling well, and attempting to take that invisible time harness off, I flourish. When I flourish so does whatever I’m trying to do—including my artwork.
That’s all I can really think of and it is plenty to consider. As I write this I am in no mood for anything, but if I keep my mind on higher things I can find some measure of relief. I wish you well in all you do.
For one would deplete your patience and the other your energy. There are times in our lives, however, that we must rise above ourselves if we are to get anything accomplished. I’d rather be drained of energy and patience than sitting completely idle for an extended amount of time.
I drew the first chapter of Seven while feeling low physically. It was a challenge to say the least; I had to combat not only waning energy but also morning sickness, both due to pregnancy. And life doesn’t stop does it? At least one and a half year olds (namely Zoe) don’t. The only real suggestion I have for continuing to write or draw while you are felling ill is to not fully concentrate on that you are sick. Your patience doesn’t have to run out, not really. Not if you put off being impatient just a little while longer to get that one figure right. Or figure out the layout for that scene.
When I got sick my first inclination was to lounge and rest until I felt better. In bygone years this worked wonderfully. I would recuperate pretty quickly. But pregnant women don’t always recuperate with rest. Sometimes what you really need to get back to feeling yourself is birth.
So what do you do for all those months that you can barely see straight because too much movement, and not moving, eating and not eating, drinking and not drinking…when everything and its opposite seem to make you feel sick?
At best all I could do was ignore my body. For the first few, and worse, months I did lay about as much as I could (Which is difficult when you have a toddler, but then her ripping leaves off of the houseplant really doesn’t seem that important when you’re ill. What is important is disallowing her for hurting herself…or you…)and I watched a great deal of TV. TV has its uses. Mostly it’s a device to promote the mindset of the era and to get you to buy stuff from the show sponsors. As an escape device from reality it is great but should be used to escape problems as little as possible since it is stronger than crack. In those early months I found a guilty comfort in just laying prone in front of the TV while doing my best not to heave. The imaginary lives of the characters portrayed helped me to get over myself a little bit at a time.
But thanks be to God my morning sickness eased and I felt the need to curl in the fetal position and groan less—but I still felt ill more often than not.
Keep the mind active. For this writing and drawing can be a blessing. If I could just pause the perfectionistic tendencies I have, the two can be more comforting than TV and help me bear the on land sea sickness. Well, I’ve babbled and I’ve rambled but let me see if I can sum up some points to drawing while you are ill.
1) It is possible because you normally have a little quiet time on our hand when you’re sick. And drawing really requires quiet time.
2) The quiet concentration can help bring you out of yourself physically and be quite comforting. Any artist knows what I’m talking about when I mention the zone. The zone transcends the physical environment, including your body. To get out of feeling really ill get into the zone. (For beginners or art lovers who do not practice the craft, the zone is the point in creating when concentration is at its highest. I think it is when the right side of the braid has taken over completely and disallows ‘logical' though. You may find it difficult to have long, decent conversations if you are in the zone.)
3) Make sure your responsibilities are taken care of. The added worry that something is going to go wrong is only going to increase your sickness and distract you from drawing. It is great to have support or help from someone else when you are sick but it is not always possible. If you can’t take care of all of your responsibilities suspend them or limit them greatly. I have a toddler and when I was at my sickest—and there was no one there to take her—I would shut us up in a small room with a TV and toys and a few objects she could not destroy or use to hurt herself. Nap times were imperative, whether or not she was sleepy. If I was really tired out of my mind it makes it rather dangerous to be watching a child, and drawing was out of the question. She is much safer in her crib, irritated or playing (more often than not she went to sleep too), while I took a power nap. Because we have consistently spent quiet times together I can sit and draw or write while she plays by herself (note: this is not for an extended time and I don’t do any heavy duty drawing around her. I can however, plan scenes, design characters, and draw some sketchy layouts for pages.)
4) Don’t pressure yourself with perfection. Drawing is hardly going to take you out of yourself and be soothing if everything you create must be perfect. Under perfectionism drawing becomes a nightmare. Instead of offering aid when you need it, it creates another reason to be miserable. “I feel sick and my drawing sucks.” Enjoy the whimsy of drawing. Enjoy the flexing of your imagination on paper. It may not look exactly as you always dreamed but that does not mean you cannot create an enjoyable piece.
5) If you need an added pick me up—show someone your work. People are often more complimentary than critical. If you know a lot of critical people—avoid them. Never mind how critical they are about your artwork they are probably toxic to your health as well. If you find you are one of those critical people, well, cut that crap out: it’s annoying!
6) Take your time. It’s okay to go slow. In our fast–paced accomplished driven world that is a hard statement to swallow. I have had to tell myself multiple times that when I’m overly tired or not feeling well things are going to take longer to do. Impatience and the desire to not wait has been bred into my bones and patience goes against every fiber of my being. But I have found—slowly because I rarely learn a lesson quickly—that taking my time to do things slower when I’m not feeling well, and attempting to take that invisible time harness off, I flourish. When I flourish so does whatever I’m trying to do—including my artwork.
That’s all I can really think of and it is plenty to consider. As I write this I am in no mood for anything, but if I keep my mind on higher things I can find some measure of relief. I wish you well in all you do.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Murdering my darlings...
Sigh.
Yes, for those of you in the "writing know" have probably guessed, I am rubbing out something that I'm overly fond of. Namely: Khozos. I've been building up the story for... 4-5 years, maybe? Regardless, its been a project that I(and recently my wife, Rissa) have been pruning and cultivating with some seriousness. I took samples to the International Licensing Show in 2009, I have the first 32 page issue drawn, inked and partly colored. Five more issues after that have been written, and I have a plot line that stretches out over three graphic novels and two generations of characters. Plus two stand alone stories for after the big climax of the third book.
I'm saying all of this just to hammer home that I'm putting aside something near and dear to me. This was going to be my magnum opus, my path to riches and comic book fame, and a semi-legacy to leave for my kids to pick up and continue. I know, right? I think big sometimes.
Why would I put aside all of this after so much work? Because it's ungodly.
Lemme clarify. The "point" of Khozos, beside being a cool space/fantasy story, was to have a mainstream book with Christian morality at its core, in a genre not usually known for having moral substance. I was getting there. The basis for the first six issues was to show the main character changing his behavior from one of greedy self-indulgence to paying attention to how God wanted him to live his life. However, because God is real and the setting of this series was decidedly UN-real, I couldn't just have them paying attention to God because fictionalizing a real person who is currently alive distorts reality. I don't think it should be done. Now, after a person is dead, and you play around with them some, OK. I will read a book about Abe Lincoln as a vampire hunter, or Jimmy Stewart and U.S. Grant as time travelers fighting robots controlled by Fu Manchu(not to self: write that story). Anyway, God is real and I won't fictionalize him.
So, I had to put in a god-like character called the All Father in Khozos. But the reverence and importance that character plays in the story can give rise to false worship.
I'm not saying that Khozos would be so huge and popular that everybody would be driven to apostasy, but I'm not going to put anything out that leaves that open to chance.
I'm trying to use the creativity and skills God has blessed me with to make stories that honor Him, and entertain people without filling their minds with trash. Its too easy for people to get into a story with a sort-of-religion in it and take it on for themselves.
So, no more Khozos. I may try to resurrect it in some kind of fashion, but I don't know how, currently. Not as big of a problem as one might think. I'm rather back-logged with story ideas.
Next on the list will be redoing(fully drawing) "Blow Up the Outside World". Its a sci-fi story about a maintenance worker who can't dream getting addicted to a virtual realty device. I have a series of "Carson Cole" stories, about a Christian underwater scientist/adventurer. The first one is an underwater ghost story called "Not Quite Atlantis". Then there's a cyberpunk tale called "Artificial Soul". And the list goes on.
But, from here on out, everything that Manic Repressive produces will be unmistakably Christian.
Thanks for reading. Back to work.
-Joe
Yes, for those of you in the "writing know" have probably guessed, I am rubbing out something that I'm overly fond of. Namely: Khozos. I've been building up the story for... 4-5 years, maybe? Regardless, its been a project that I(and recently my wife, Rissa) have been pruning and cultivating with some seriousness. I took samples to the International Licensing Show in 2009, I have the first 32 page issue drawn, inked and partly colored. Five more issues after that have been written, and I have a plot line that stretches out over three graphic novels and two generations of characters. Plus two stand alone stories for after the big climax of the third book.
I'm saying all of this just to hammer home that I'm putting aside something near and dear to me. This was going to be my magnum opus, my path to riches and comic book fame, and a semi-legacy to leave for my kids to pick up and continue. I know, right? I think big sometimes.
Why would I put aside all of this after so much work? Because it's ungodly.
Lemme clarify. The "point" of Khozos, beside being a cool space/fantasy story, was to have a mainstream book with Christian morality at its core, in a genre not usually known for having moral substance. I was getting there. The basis for the first six issues was to show the main character changing his behavior from one of greedy self-indulgence to paying attention to how God wanted him to live his life. However, because God is real and the setting of this series was decidedly UN-real, I couldn't just have them paying attention to God because fictionalizing a real person who is currently alive distorts reality. I don't think it should be done. Now, after a person is dead, and you play around with them some, OK. I will read a book about Abe Lincoln as a vampire hunter, or Jimmy Stewart and U.S. Grant as time travelers fighting robots controlled by Fu Manchu(not to self: write that story). Anyway, God is real and I won't fictionalize him.
So, I had to put in a god-like character called the All Father in Khozos. But the reverence and importance that character plays in the story can give rise to false worship.
I'm not saying that Khozos would be so huge and popular that everybody would be driven to apostasy, but I'm not going to put anything out that leaves that open to chance.
I'm trying to use the creativity and skills God has blessed me with to make stories that honor Him, and entertain people without filling their minds with trash. Its too easy for people to get into a story with a sort-of-religion in it and take it on for themselves.
So, no more Khozos. I may try to resurrect it in some kind of fashion, but I don't know how, currently. Not as big of a problem as one might think. I'm rather back-logged with story ideas.
Next on the list will be redoing(fully drawing) "Blow Up the Outside World". Its a sci-fi story about a maintenance worker who can't dream getting addicted to a virtual realty device. I have a series of "Carson Cole" stories, about a Christian underwater scientist/adventurer. The first one is an underwater ghost story called "Not Quite Atlantis". Then there's a cyberpunk tale called "Artificial Soul". And the list goes on.
But, from here on out, everything that Manic Repressive produces will be unmistakably Christian.
Thanks for reading. Back to work.
-Joe
Friday, February 12, 2010
Ode to a deadline...
Ah the deadline...both my friend and my mortal foe. Friend, because it lets me know the rate at which I must work, foe because it taunts me with how little time I have left.
I am blessed to keep getting work because I meet deadlines. I meet them in a dark alley and break their knees with a baseball bat. That's right, I used to live in New Jersey.
Every so often one will sneek out from behind a big green dumpster and get the drop on me, but usually me and my trusty Louisville slugger rule the night.
Deadlines are important because when they get ignored or just aren't met the whole process of comic book (or anything else for that matter) creation gets backed up. I saw that a lot back in the offices at DC. But, the real pros know the game and get the work in on time. Now I get to be a pro too.
Its a little more tricky when you're working on your own stuff. I could easily take the attitude of: "I'll get it done when I do." But, then it never gets done. And you end up sounding like you don't speak the English so well.
It requires discipline to get the work done on time. Even though I love making comic books, my own or somebody else's, there always comes a point during the project when I'd rather just watch hulu all day. Can't do that though, because the deadline looms behind you with an axe to grind - making you feel as crazy as Robert E. Howard. Maybe not that crazy...
If you can't meet deadlines, you'll never get anything accomplished and you won't be able to rake in the relative big bucks working for somebody else.
That all being said, man am I behind. I gotta go!
-Joe
I am blessed to keep getting work because I meet deadlines. I meet them in a dark alley and break their knees with a baseball bat. That's right, I used to live in New Jersey.
Every so often one will sneek out from behind a big green dumpster and get the drop on me, but usually me and my trusty Louisville slugger rule the night.
Deadlines are important because when they get ignored or just aren't met the whole process of comic book (or anything else for that matter) creation gets backed up. I saw that a lot back in the offices at DC. But, the real pros know the game and get the work in on time. Now I get to be a pro too.
Its a little more tricky when you're working on your own stuff. I could easily take the attitude of: "I'll get it done when I do." But, then it never gets done. And you end up sounding like you don't speak the English so well.
It requires discipline to get the work done on time. Even though I love making comic books, my own or somebody else's, there always comes a point during the project when I'd rather just watch hulu all day. Can't do that though, because the deadline looms behind you with an axe to grind - making you feel as crazy as Robert E. Howard. Maybe not that crazy...
If you can't meet deadlines, you'll never get anything accomplished and you won't be able to rake in the relative big bucks working for somebody else.
That all being said, man am I behind. I gotta go!
-Joe
Friday, February 5, 2010
Thoughts of a 20 year old...
Below is the first of many posts from our new Production Artist, Mack McKinney. Enjoy.
As of late there have been a lot of things on my mind. Such as, when will things start going my way and when will I get my chance to show the world I’m worth something? I can only speak for myself but I feel like a lot of people feel the same way. It seems like the people that actually have the means to do something great with their lives don’t utilize the materials they have at their disposal and the people that don’t have the means or the materials suffer and wish they had what the other people had. As a child growing up debt became the norm to me. I don’t know about you or anyone else but I feel like that’s a horrible way to live. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t take anything for granted. Appreciate the things you do have and whatever you want out of life ask yourself what are you willing to sacrifice to obtain it. I’m done. God Bless…. Mack
As of late there have been a lot of things on my mind. Such as, when will things start going my way and when will I get my chance to show the world I’m worth something? I can only speak for myself but I feel like a lot of people feel the same way. It seems like the people that actually have the means to do something great with their lives don’t utilize the materials they have at their disposal and the people that don’t have the means or the materials suffer and wish they had what the other people had. As a child growing up debt became the norm to me. I don’t know about you or anyone else but I feel like that’s a horrible way to live. I guess what I’m trying to say is don’t take anything for granted. Appreciate the things you do have and whatever you want out of life ask yourself what are you willing to sacrifice to obtain it. I’m done. God Bless…. Mack
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