So...

Well, Race War is DONE! That is fantastic, really. If you consider this was written in 2006-ish... it has taken a long time to actually just get it drawn. Lots of starts and stops and misfires, I am quite happy to have it finished.

Now that it's done and I'm gearing up for marketing - I need some "quick" funds so I've taken a job from DC. I have excellent friends there from back when I was a staffer, and they hook me up with freelance work often.

So now I'm working on Legends of the Dark Knight: Len Wein. It's 500+ pages for me. And while I'm working for Indian wages...and not living in India, it's a sizable chunk of change, so I merrily chain myself to the computer for the next 3 months. Which means that I can't get any drawing done on Blow Up. The chain doesn't reach over to the drawing table.

So there's going to be a bit of a hiatus on Blow Up. I HAD intended to build up a supply of pages, but it took longer than expected to finish up Race War, and now the Bat Man book beckons.

If, by the grace of God the pages go quickly and I have time, I will certainly get some pages posted. But, with a project like this, not only am I working gobs, but the wife is with the girls all the time and has to pick up the slack of my absence. that makes "downtime" a treat in short supply.

I think I will post a preview of Race War, though. so you'll all have something to look at each week.
Blow Up will begin reposting in August.

Thanks for reading.

-Joe

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

January News

Well, its only been...6 months since the last update. We've been horribly, but gratefully busy coloring for DC and raising our little bundle of joy, Zoe. However the two of us seem to have a better schedule under control, so we'll be back to updating each month now. Honest.

Joe will be at the NY Comic Con in February. No table, just walking around, talking to folks and trying not to buy much of anything. Also be stopping by the DC offices and Joe Kubert School to talk to old friends and current colleagues.

In February (fingers crossed) we'll be switching the Downloads Page over to a store front. So enjoy those sweet, sweet downloads while they're still free!