Burton's Comics

where does he get those wonderful toys?

2011-07-12T11:20:00.000-05:00

Art I'm Digging On

2011-07-06T13:52:00.002-05:00

Corey "The Rey" Lewis - SHARKNIFE

Rafael Grampá - FURRY WATER

Gabriel Bá - KILLJOYS

James Stokoe - ORC STAIN

Nick Pitarra - PARASITE

The (Un)Mentioned Benefit of Writing Comics

2011-04-15T09:46:00.000-05:00

Comic book writing is something, for me, that can be broken down into functioning, separate pieces. Cobbled together, they become something slightly fluid. You break a page out by panels--those panels are your bricks, and the alluded time in-between those panels are your mortar--and convey time and movement through both character actions, balloons, setting, and whatnot. I feel comfortable writing this way, because it's a--and I'm aping someone's analogy here, I just can't remember who--strobe-light effect. You get pulses of the story, and the audience subconsciously fills in the time between these pulses, thus making the comic writer's job that much easier--your audience is helping you with the story.

Also--and this is huge--you have an artist that makes you look like you know what you're doing. Which is key to comics. So you take something like this:

PAGE SIX – 5 panels

Panel 1: And it sticks in two Bug-a-Bots’ heads/through their eyes, sending them flying backwards with tremendous force. Several flying gears and guts are outlined in several separate dialogue balloons with wavy tails pointing to the damage (let’s call these “action balloons” from now on).

SOUNDFX: KA-CHOONK

Panel 2: The obelisk is right in front of her, and she jumps off the back of one of the Bug-a-Bots’ heads. Other Bug-a-Bots have their claws snapping after her.

SOUNDFX: SHOOF

SOUNDFX: snip snip snipp

Panel 3: She lands on the top of the floating obelisk.

(no dialogue)

Panel 4: She’s crouching on the top of the floating obelisk, facing us, but her attention is focused on pulling the Orb or Ares out.

MONS (as bubble): MY, MY.

MONS (as bubble): PERHAPS I SHOULD FOCUS ON BUILDING A STURDIER BUG-A-BOT…

MONS (as bubble): NEVERTHELESS, YOU NEED TO BE A TELEPATHIC MARTIAN TO REMOVE THE ORB FROM THE OBELISK, MY DEAR.

Panel 5: She stops what she’s doing to look at us. She’s in the middle of pulling her scarf down, and by the look on her face, she hates every fiber of our being.

KITSUNE: MONS.

And you get something like this:

(art courtesy of Erik Thompson)

Acid-pop. Weird science-y action that sticks with you. A book you want to read.

And, although there's no constant movement, you get the idea of what's happening.

Because you're in fact helping me tell the story.

Creator Owned Script Sampling

2011-02-24T12:35:00.000-06:00

PAGE TWENTY – 6 panels

Panel 1: Okay, the entire page is a purple outline of Dusty’s body. Within his body, we have the different panels.

So...for this panel we have a ground shot of Dusty resting on his side, helpless and utterly cute.

(no dialogue)

Panel 2: Same shot but Kitsune is kneeling, scooping him up.

SOUNDFX: scoop

Panel 3: Over Kitsune’s shoulder, looking down into her cupped hands. Dusty’s eyes are big and pitiful and black.

KITSUNE: WHAT…

KITSUNE: ARE YOU?

Panel 4: Dusty’s eyes suddenly change into Kitsune’s.

SOUNDFX: XHHOON

Panel 5: Cut to Kitsune’s eyes--they turn completely black (like Dusty’s). Her face looks like she’s mesmerized.

KITSUNE: HTH!

Panel 6: Close in on Kitsune’s black eye. We see Dusty’s purple outline in the black. We know it’s her eye b/c of the fur surrounding it and her eyelashes.

(no dialogue)

Re-re-re-redesign

2011-01-24T08:30:00.002-06:00

It's no surprise that I love me some character redesigns...and it just seems that video game characters get redesigned often. (But maybe that's just because that's what interests me.) If I looked for it, how many takes of Wolverine or Batman would I find? More than a few, I'm sure.

So, randomly, I was on this Krang obsession (he's even my desktop pic right now). You know, the-talking-brain-tucked-away-in-an-android's-gut Krang? The guy who was always sassing Shredder. I was finding all these legit imaginings people had come up with, and quite awesomely, I stumbled across and entire macro-blog dedicated to some wicked turtle redesign. The owner/artist of this sweet treasure, Dan, went ahead and took 17 characters from the TMNT mythos, designed them how he saw fit, and basically made me miss my childhood.

Thanks, Dan.

Clearly, Dan went one louder, and--I absolutely love when creators do this--wrote a small paragraph about his take/angle of the character.

Donatello - does machine. My favorite of the turtles. The turtles designs from the cartoon and comic book always seemed a bit too cartoonish to me, and they didn't really look much like turtles. They looked more like green tinted cabbage patch kids with shells. I wanted my designs of the turtles to actually look like turtles, and incorporate the traits of a number of different species of testudines. I also wanted the designs to be more chunky. I don't like some more recent designs where they look really skinny and lithe. I based Donatello on a tortoise. I also wanted his gear to look a bit more modern and technological.

Let's have another one.

Leonardo - leads. I based Leo on a sea turtle. I thought that the sleek shell seemed appropriate, as well as the way that it's shaped like a shield. I wanted his gear to be more traditional looking so based his belt on the way that samurais used to wear their scabbards. I also wanted his swords to look a bit more antique, like Splinter passed them down to him.

See what I mean? And that's just the tip of it all--there's still 15 more character studies this guy has! Unreal in a sassy sort of way.

Now this got me thinking of another artist who had his own take on the original Mortal Kombat characters. I had stumbled across it in '10, and decided to google "Scorpion redesign."

Well, I found this cool bastard, didn't I?

Scorpion as a wraith wearing the yellow blood of the demon that helped him resurrected to exact his revenge against his mortal enemy.

The guy in question is Vincent Proce, who is not only a skilled artist, but loves him some MK (who doesn't though, amiright?). Dude's come up with a (re)design for Kano (below), Raiden, Scorpion (above), Sub-Zero, and Sonya. He wants to fill out the roster with Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, Johnny Cage, and Goro--all the original cast from Mortal Kombat.

And like Dan the Man, Vincent hooks us up with character bios..

Kano, half Japanese half US military bad ass.

I appreciate this type of stuff to no end. This is the very marrow of Nerd Incarnate, and I love every single bit of it. There's so much energy, so much unabashed admiration for these characters... It's one thing to draw a piece and post it, but you're in a whole different class--a different mind frame--when you throw a bit of story up with it.

Let's tie this back to comics: It's one of the absolute best parts of making comics when you hand a character bible to your artist, and after waiting any given time, opening up your inbox and being genuinely surprised when they've come back with something that echoes what you were striving for in words, but could not have be complete or possible without their art.

Karimbah & Krang

2011-01-17T21:08:00.001-06:00

FOX LIKE ME

2010-12-30T11:22:00.002-06:00

It starts off like this:

You'll see I make some notes along with whatever I sketch (can we call these sketches?)--these notes often include characteristics, what they may wear, etc. I drew this little guy with a space-like backpack, and a sweet ray gun. Big eyes, even bigger ears. And yeah, I wrote "pew pew" coming from his ray gun. Nice, huh?

I call him Dr. Phineas the Fennec, aka, Finn.

I then create a Character Bible, which is a blueprint (along with the wicked sketch above) for my artist to build from.

So:

Dr. Phineas the Fennec (aka Finn): Our small, science guy. Think “Dexter’s Lab” meets Brain from “Pinky & the Brain.” Or perhaps Noodle from the “Gorillaz” meets “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.” Definitely, has the cute factor—he’s only 3 feet tall, large-large black eyes, large bat-like ears...and dressed as a mad scientist. So, he’s the genius—along with Roosevelt—who shot Mars into space. So, he’s a bit older, but doesn’t look it. Has an acerbic, dry personality. His reactions are played out by his gargantuan ears (flat and sideways if he’s pissed, straight up if he’s alert, etc.) Builds the teams gear and weapons. Is almost like a Q to Mars’s James Bond.

Misc:

· A Fennec Fox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennec_Fox & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:10_Month_Old_Fennec_Fox.jpg

· Dons a NES Power Glove...er, for science reasons

· Also dons a power pack with antennae like this guy; http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/casey.jpg

· Sometimes is seen with goggles around his neck

I included several links--I always do this--for the artist's reference. (If I'm creating an actual human being, and not, say, a fox, then I'll often "cast" the character as a famous celebrity.)

There was clearly a distinct look I was going for and the very talented Erik Thompson nailed it. The radness of Noodle from Gorillaz with the mischievousness and sciencey-ness of Dexter from Dexter's Lab.

And here's what I got less than a month later.

Nerding Up for 2011

2010-12-13T11:43:00.014-06:00

Planning for The Future is tough.

Which pair of moon boots will be in style?

How expensive will a re-work on my favorite pneumatic pet's internal hydraulic system cost?

What do I say to the red-tinged Barsoomian Princess on our first date, after she pets my Woola?

I try not to let these silly things bother me, so I keep things relatively simple by making FUTURE LISTS. Rather, what I look forward to, nerd-wyze on the upcoming year.

COMIKZ:

Battling Boy by Paul Pope

Sharknife Vol 2 by Corey Lewis

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century #2 by Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neil

Furry Water by Rafael Grampá

Killjoys by Becky Cloonan

VIDYO GAMES:

Dead Space 2

Ico/Shadow of the Colossus

The Last Guardian

MUUVIES:

Sherlock Holmes 2

The Wolverine

Cowboys & Aliens

Show & Tell

2010-11-19T10:09:00.005-06:00

So, here’s a glance of how my script looks when it goes to the artist(s), and of how the page comes back to me.

(Some things to note: not many—if any?—comic writers that I know of make mention of how many panels are going to be in the page when noting the page number at the top. The reason I do this? I like to give the artist a head’s up on how many panels they’re going to be before they start reading, that way they can start visualizing the page’s layout from the onset. Also, I often give direction to the artist regarding angles (close-ups, long shot, POV, etc.), as well as crazy panel layout ideas; below I ask Erik to basically “outline” all the panels in black tentacles.)

PAGE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO & THIRTY-THREE – 8 panels

Panel 1: Two tiers. First tier has one big panel; the second has seven small panels. For this panel, Tegore has grabbed Daisy and Eddie with his large tentacles in mid-attack.

Let’s make all the panel lines out of black, Ultra Tegore tentacles (with purple suckers, naturally).

TEGORE: YOUR BEST FRIENDS COMPETING AGAINST YOU ROOPSTER!!!

TEGORE (burst): MWAHAHAHA MY PERFECT PLAN!!!

DAISY: RRROWRR LEMME GO!

EDDIE: WHEN I GET OUTTA THIS--!

Panel 2: Okay starting now, to when they defeat Ultra Tegore, its fast action, quick editing feel. So, second tier. Roopster uses the side of his skateboard to cut Tegore’s mecha-arm in half.

SOUNDFX: SLYYCE!

Panel 3: We see two police officers squirting water guns...

GUARD 1: HE’S IN MY SIGHTS--!

SOUNDFX 1 (small): SQUIRT

SOUNDFX 1 (small): SKEWYYRT

Panel 4: That hit the back of Tegore’s head.

SOUNDFX (small): SPAP

SOUNDFX (small): PAP

Panel 5: Downward shot of Roopster waving his skateboard up at us. The mecha-arm still around his neck.

(no dialogue)

Panel 6: We see coach looking out the side of his airplane with binoculars.

COACH: WE GOT THE SIGNAL!

Panel 7: He gives a signal with his arm/hand at an off-panel Granny.

(no dialogue)

Panel 8: Granny straining to pull the rusty lever down.

GRANNY: GOODNESS GRACIOUS--!

GRANNY: IT’S NOT MOVING!!

And here’s Erik Thompson’s wonderful creation. Once it’s approved by all parties (which it has been), it’s off to the letterist, who will insert the dialog. And that’s only one page of the book’s planned 144 page length…

Comics Will Break Your Face

2010-11-12T09:42:00.003-06:00

Comics are dangerous.

A nicely folded WMD in your hand, stitched down its spine with two staples, ready to make your face look like the surface of Mars. There's enough volatile information packed into 22 pages of comics than there is in your dad's Anarchist's Cookbook.

Your face will explode with ideas when you see the first panel of a good comic. Busting at the seams, a shotgun of collected thoughts scattered across the page will forcibly peel your eyelids back into your skull, and make you read.

And like rednecks aiming homemade potato guns at one another from across a football field, you're in turn going to want to aim this thought-weapon at your friends. Because it is contagious, and because you want them to feel haunted the way you do, you'll give them this slab of danger--

Comics from Cloonan

2010-11-01T14:24:00.003-05:00

I love getting things in the mail, especially comics. Today, this lot came, courtesy of Becky Cloonan.

Layouts

2010-09-14T13:56:00.013-05:00

When it comes to comics--when it comes to visual mediums--I think it's imperative that we cultivate a visual experience that plays outside our comfort zones. More often the case than not, you will see a comic with what I view as a "typical page layout"--let's say a three-to-five horizontal panel layout--dominating the entire issue. Perhaps the story calls for that type of feel, that aesthetically easy, pleasing look that's associated with most of the material on the shelves...

There’s of course nothing wrong with this approach, and I don’t profess to know any better, but I do know what grabs my attention—what, in small doses, works for me as a reader, and keeps things fresh as writer.

Quite frankly, I would've been okay with scripting page after page of layouts just like the one mentioned above in my career as a comic book writer, until I saw layouts like the ones JH Williams III incorporates into his work...

(It was around double-ought-five when I first saw his work in the form of Desolation Jones--at this point he had already had his run with Alan Moore on Promethea--and since then, he's been my indefinite favorite and unequivocal inspiration when it comes to page layouts).

With this revelation—this epiphany that comics can adjust their looks, their visual flow to how you want them—I strived, often to my detriment, to come up with layouts that would challenge the readers' eye; that forced them to piece together certain material. Here then, was one of my first attempts: page 18 in Flying Saucers vs the Earth #1:

(In the scene, the protagonist is having an alien tell his fortune through shamanic rituals and fortune telling).

Several other pages from that issue shared a similar layout and were far too common to have the desired effect I was looking for; they took away from the story, as opposed to visually boosting it. From that experience, it became a desire of mine to effectively balance the norm with the extraordinary. The common page layout versus the uncommon.

How, then, to keep a reader amazed through panel layout? Let’s take away dialogue, script, story, and let’s just have sequential pages. Art dancing across a myriad of possible layouts.

A reader flipping through your book, an editor pondering whether you have the chops to make it in their lineup, a friend or family member taking your aspirations seriously...

I don’t profess to have the slightest mastery of panel layout, but I do know what I like, what keeps me interested, and what makes my brain broil with happiness.

Four printed comics, and two mini web comics later, here are three sequential pages from my upcoming children’s graphic novel, Roopster Roux, trying to balance the common with the uncommon.

SILVER is Live

2010-07-19T12:03:00.007-05:00

The fine folks at APECMX have posted the first page of mine and Anthony's mini-webcomic, SILVER. It will run from now until September 2nd, with a total of 14 pages.

UPDATE: THE JH Williams III promotes our webcomic on his blog!!

Proof That Comics Have Stolen My Sanity

2010-07-15T14:11:00.003-05:00

Panel 2: Triple split screen. On the left hand side we have Roopster with wide eyes and his mouth a mere slit. In the middle we have Bradbury with the bag away from his mouth, lip trembling, small tears forming at the corner of his eyes; Lovecraft’s giving an open mouth smile--full of excitement, “woo-hooing”; Eddie being cool as a cucumber, his eyes and mouth mere slits, looking off to the side. The monster’s shadow covers all four of them.

Note to Artist and/or Letterer: I’ve lost my mind. So, for the dialogue on this one particular panel, our characters are speaking in giant Neon-colored Emoticons.

ROOPSTER: 0_o

BRADBURY: :'(

LOVECRAFT: XD

EDDIE: (¬_¬)

Designers' Aesthetics

2010-06-29T14:08:00.003-05:00

An interview with designers Jeff Powell and Tom Muller, conducted by me.

PAGE 100

2010-06-23T14:13:00.003-05:00

PAGE ONE HUNDRED – 3 panels

Panel 1: The POV is as if we’re on a taller building looking down on the scene playing out: we see the back of the monster and Roopster and Eddie hanging on.

ROOPSTER: LIKE THEM?!

ROOPSTER: I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO LET ME DO MY THING.

Panel 2: Same shot, but a shadow falls on the scene (originating from the building we’re standing on)...

EDDIE: PURPLE IS THE COLOR OF JEALOUSY.

Panel 3: Close on Roopster’s face. He’s looking up and off-panel, at whatever is standing on the building next to them, casting the shadow. It’s made him stop mid-lecture.

ROOPSTER: NO, IT’S NOT! IT’S...

ROOPSTER: GREEN.

(44 script pages to go, and ROOPSTER ROUX will be in the can)

If Ryu was Trained by Oro

2010-06-17T11:44:00.005-05:00

I love re-imagined video game icons like Ryu here. Artist Gobi draws Ryu as if he were trained by Oro, as was hinted at in Oro's Street Fighter 3 ending.

Notice the grey hair, alluding some time has passed; he's a little more serene, and has his arm tied up (just like Oro did in SF3).

Now trained under the likes of Gouken and Oro, a true World Warrior.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising 2010 E3 Trailer

2010-06-14T14:14:00.000-05:00

Metal Gear Solid: Rising Box Art

2010-06-11T12:02:00.004-05:00

Makes you want, like, 10 copies, doesn't it? One thing missing from the last installment, Guns of the Patriots, was that we couldn't play as Raiden.

Well, now we can.

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth Trailer

2010-06-08T23:16:00.005-05:00

So, this is pretty nasty:

Saw this at ComingSoon.net, and you'll note some nice, gritty characters are mentioned: Jax, Sonya, Reptile, Scorpion, Baraka, Jonny Cage, and Sub-Zero. They need to make this movie now.

NO-ONE LEAVES THE SILVER WALLS

2010-05-28T10:06:00.002-05:00

Here, then, is the last page I'll be posting of SILVER--the 14 page webcomic coming soon from Ape Entertainment. All art courtesy of Anthony Peruzzo.

Taming the CMYK

2010-05-27T10:19:00.002-05:00

An interview with Ronda Pattison, Felipe Sobreiro, and Alex Sinclair at Broken Frontier.

The Evolution of Shen Long

2010-05-20T11:34:00.007-05:00

Circa: Street Fighter II

Circa: Street Fighter 3

Circa: Street Fighter 4

Movie Posters/Packaging

2010-05-19T13:24:00.005-05:00

It's made of win, on all accounts. With every movie, save for a rare few, we're treated with the same ol business. Same goes for video game box art, comic covers, books...And I know "studies prove consumers prefer a certain aesthetic quality to their packaged brands..." blah blah blah.

Just think: Innovative ART that actually represents what's being marketed or sold. Something that goes beyond occupying a couple of seconds of your time, or your desktop backgound--something that can be appreciated and studied. Everything becomes more dynamic, more fluid...whole.

Above pic: Brandon Schaefer

UPDATE: It seems I'm not the only one who feels this way--look at the brilliance.

Page 6 from SILVER: Script, Pencils and Ink wash

2010-05-13T14:07:00.006-05:00

PAGE SIX – 2 panels

Panel 1: INT – ESOTERIC CHURCH COURTYARD/GRAVEYARD. We have a shot of several large, uneven--but polished by time--stones. They look a lot like the Voice’s teeth from panel 6 of the last page. However, all of them have an upside down triangle carved into them.

(no dialogue)

Panel 2: Largest panel of the page, as we have a long shot of the Man walking towards us in the esoteric church courtyard. The Man is dwarfed by his surroundings. He’s looking at something in his hand, which we cannot see.

The surroundings are something of a nightmare. Behind the man, we see nothing; but from the 200 foot ceiling overhead, we see about fifty stones hanging at different lengths from thick, weathered ropes, which are affixed to the ceiling; these are the same ones from the previous panel. Each of them has an upside down triangle carved into it, and each have a hole to which the rope passes through. The whole thing looks like a heavy stone curtain that could crush anyone at a moment’s notice. This is a graveyard.

Nothing is on the walls. On the ground, we see two rows of candles--each aligned against the wall, like a trail--all of them lit. The truly frightful thing about this place is its bleakness...so alien compared to the rest of the crowded Orb.

(no dialogue)

A Couple of Artsy Folks

2010-05-12T10:10:00.003-05:00

Here's my interview with the very creative very insane artists Jorge F. Muñoz, Anthony Peruzzo, and John Bivens.

SNIKT!

2010-05-08T11:23:00.004-05:00

Rafael Grampa's version of Wolverine. Notice the Barry Windsor-Smith color style in the second panel. Risky, but fresh. From his tweets, Grampa hints at fight between Wolverine and Deadpool...

Street Fighter Legacy

2010-05-07T12:35:00.003-05:00

MANGA

2010-04-29T13:53:00.006-05:00

I haven’t read manga since, what, middle school, or maybe junior high--whichever it is, it's been a while. The last thing I was really into--and I mean REALLY INTO--was Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. You see, I had a wonderful friend by the name of Yuta Ito, who, besides being Japanese, had a grandmother (who still lived in the homeland) that would send him and all three of his friends—Cody, Matthew, and myself—legit straight from the Tokyo-shelves Dragon Ball manga. We had never seen anything like it before in our lives, and it corrupted our imagination to an ubelieveable amount. But in a very good way.

Aliens with golden hair, fireballs that destroyed planets, bad guys who had three different forms before you killed them, and half-naked women with blue hair! We salivated over the epic battles, each one better than the last.

We were OBSESSED. So much so, that we would--I swear--shoot fireballs at each other in the school playground while screaming Japanese obscenities (that Yuta was kind enough to teach us) at each other. While other kids were playing weaksauce football or tetherball, we were defending the universe one KAMEHAMEHA at a time.

But, when Yuta moved back to Japan in the 7th grade, my obsession slowly began to ebb away. I would still try and draw all four Super Saiyans—Goku, Gohahn, Trunks, Vegeta—on pieces of paper, watch old, shittly recorded actual Japanese episodes of the syndicated show, still daydream about being a Saiyan myself...In all truthfulness, the magic had gone away with my friend. And that, as they say, was that.

It suprised the hell out of me, then, when on Tuesday I picked up Pluto at my local comic book store, and thoroughly enjoyed it. My first manga in over 15 years...

It made me realize that I miss shooting fireballs.

Phonogram:Singles Club Review

2010-04-29T13:52:00.001-05:00

Right Here.

The Man

2010-04-23T13:33:00.003-05:00

From the SILVER Character Bible given to Anthony:

The Man: Here’s our guy. He looks like Mads Mikkelsen – the villain from “Casino Royal” (if you need some reference links, let me know). He has a thin scar across the bridge of his nose. We like him, but he doesn’t like people, if you catch my drift. In the Orb, no-one trusts anyone, really, but him more so.

Moebius's Panzer Dragoon Cover Art

2010-04-16T15:32:00.003-05:00

I'm becoming ever so slightly obsessed with MOEBIUS. I see his work in Frank Quitely, Paul Pope, Rafael Grampa, Geof Darrow...

...

...

It's everywhere, isn't it?

Page 3 Layout

2010-04-15T11:29:00.004-05:00

Look at the last panel--a "fish eye" view, is, in my terms, a shot as though you're looking through a peep hole. Besides being a novel, adventurous perspective (at least for me in regards to my writing career), it actually serves a purpose to this story, and gives the reader a bit of a hint as to where the inhabitants are living.

Art layouts courtesy of one Anthony Peruzzo.

Fabrício De Souza Bohrer

2010-04-09T09:26:00.004-05:00

Mr. Bohrer's layouts for Page 1 of THE SOURCE. Just look at panels 3 and 4. This is going to be unbelieveably fun.

"Twine"

2010-04-07T10:16:00.002-05:00

Beautiful, tight illo by Paul Pope, depicting a scence from the Minotaur & Labyrinth myth.

Good Morning, Comics, I love you.

Insanity Keeps the Lotion on the Skin

2010-04-05T10:56:00.003-05:00

Currently, I've got, oh, about 6 comics at various stages in development. This seems to be THE MAGIC NUMBER, as I think 7 may be too ambitious at the moment. Anyways, here's a nice little update on each one of the projects:

Pictured above is a panel of my children's graphic novel, ROOPSTER ROUX; art courtesy of Erik Thompson, who's doing all the art chores. To be released in 2010 at 144 pages of Awesome.

Before that, I've got a re-release of the Stephenie Meyer one-shot, but it's retitled TWILIGHT: UNBOUND which I suspect will get more mileage when it's released during the same week as the movie Eclipse. It has an additional 5 pages and will be available in a foil-cover edition.

THE SOURCE is a one-shot I'm working on with Isis Aquarius, a true member of The Source Family, and one of the 14 wives of Father Yod. Release date is up in the air, but I should be getting page layouts sometime this month--so we'll say anywhere from 4 to 5 months from now. It's my first go at co-writing a comic, and it's been a delight listening to Isis' colorful stories.

I got lettered pages of THE SWORDSMITH from Jorge last week, so this means we should be rearing to do whatever we're going to be doing with it relatively soon--and by "relatively soon", I mean this month.

SILVER is coming along at a nice, steady pace. The layouts and character sketches Anthony's providing are beyong my expectations--he seems to get the overall gist of the theme, the mood, and the idea behind it all...which is incredibly important.

Finally, I've got one story on the wings, that, unlike the above, has no publisher or artist attached. I'm calling it a "neo-western" in the vein of No Country for Old Men; and once THE SWORDSMITH is submitted, I'll be focusing much of my attention towards its development.

Slice of SILVER

2010-03-26T15:29:00.005-05:00

Food source in Silver: Algae.

Art: Anthony Peruzzo.

Publisher: Ape Entertainment.

Story to hit the wub: Soon.

God of War 3 PWND

2010-03-26T15:10:00.004-05:00

The wife & I beat God of War 3 yesterday, and I was so-so right about what gods would be showing up.

Bosses are as follows:
1. Poseidon (greatest)
2. Hades
3. Hermes
4. Hercules
5. Cronos
6. Giant Scorpion
7. Zeus (lamest)

Poseidon is definitely where it's at--from design to gameplay, it was a fun, fun fight:

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Trailer

2010-03-26T14:51:00.011-05:00

Yeah, pretty excited about this. It's gonna be a good summer: first Iron Man 2, then this? Yes, yes, thank you.

B & W page from Twilight:Unbound

2010-03-23T12:04:00.003-05:00

Art by David Macneil. Fun page to write, trippy to see.

Batman and Robin #10 Review

2010-03-18T13:45:00.001-05:00

At Broken Frontier, highlighting Alex Sinclair's definitive artistic coloring techniques.

Two NEW Challengers Enter the Ring!

2010-03-10T13:18:00.006-06:00

Juri: An agent of S.I.N who sports a Feng Shui engine in place of her left eye. She's a Taekwondo-doer. Apparently, is a fan of weird haricuts and side boob-shots.

Hakan: Yağlı güreş wrestler who, ah, lubes himself up with olive oil for each fight. Also a proponent of crazy-ass hair that's part LEGO/part Toadstool from Mario Bros; and rocks a face that looks like my man Apocalypse from the X-Men.

These are the 2 new fighter for Super Street Fighter 4, in which I will no doubt be buying--

God of War 3 Reviews

2010-03-08T11:53:00.009-06:00

I wanted to know the God of War 3 reception, and The Nerd Sites obliged:

IGN

Joystiq

1UP

Kotaku

On a different, yet similar note, my guesses for the bosses (excuse me, while I NERD OUT) are as follows, and in no particular order:

Poseidon
Hades
Zeus
Stheno
Gaia
Cronos
Hercules
Achilles
Chaos

UPDATE: More reviews from teh Nerd Sites. Reviews are ranging from a 9 to 10 on the score card.

Game Informer

Gamespot

Game Trailers

Workstation shot

2010-03-07T09:10:00.001-06:00

Inspired by Mr. John Bivens, here's my morning workstation shot. Seriosuly.

Almost There...

2010-03-05T11:38:00.003-06:00

This page was first going to be five panels, but going back to the script...well, the team decided--and wisely so--that we needed a nice, epic shot to leave the reader wanting more. Gorgeous pencils and inks by the gentlemen-artist, Jorge F. Muñoz .

month end

2010-02-28T08:00:00.004-06:00

[My mind has changed My body's framed, But God I like it My heart's aflame My heart is strained But God I like it]

~bought a 2010 Rav 4 (AKA "Black Dynamite") and traded in my 2000 XTerra (AKA "The Silver Lady") that wuz all busted with leaky hoses and old shocks and whatnot for an amazing steal (basically, we feked the dealer...well, Liz did, I just watched...heh)

~beat Dante's Inferno the day it came out, but that's b/c I got a "care package" from a friend of mine at EA//it felt like God of War 2.5, which isn't a bad thing, I suppose

~watched "Wolfman"--gah; rented "Moon"--yah

~the script, story, and art for Silver was accpeted by Ape Entertainment//more to come in April, I believe

~bought, in order from rad to ridick, the following comics: Mesmo Delivery, Big Guy & Rusty the Boy Robot, Batman & Robin #8 & 9

~took Liz to a "Gospel Brunch" held at the House of Blues for Valentine's

RATING:

"AURMF!"

2010-02-24T15:58:00.004-06:00

This panel proves how great comics can be.

Atomic Robo Vol 4 #1 Review

2010-02-21T20:18:00.001-06:00

My take on the frenetic insanity that is Atomic Robo & the Revenge of the Vampire Nation.

Jason Aaron on His Craft

2010-02-17T08:59:00.001-06:00

I break the supposed dialogue rules all the time, in terms of how many words you shouldn’t exceed in a given balloon or panel. Maybe I shouldn’t, but fuck it, if the story needs it, it needs it. I don’t feel like I’m overly wordly overall though. Maybe I was a couple years ago when I was first starting out, but these days I truly appreciate a great silent beat. It may sound weird, but I love being able to take out dialogue or narration from a page because you realize that you don’t need it, that it’s all there in the art.

More here.

Last God of War 3 Trailer

2010-02-12T09:00:00.002-06:00

UPDATE: And a little extra...

Anthony Peruzzo...

2010-02-10T08:57:00.005-06:00

...Will be collaborating with me on the dark sci-fi Silver, a 15 page online comic. He has proposed--quite wisely--that the story be done in ink wash, of which you can see an example above.

He also has an online comic called The Assignment, which has a nice following; and shows off some more of his art.

The story was pitched, and excepted, by Ape Entertainment.

More to come.

Care Packages

2010-02-05T10:14:00.004-06:00

I never got "care packages" once I got out of college. Mainly, because I think my mom thought that the spoilage of Ryan needed to be over. Mainly.

The last one I received was from Scott Chitwood at Red 5--an excellent package full of excellent comics.

Fast-forward almost two years, and lo and behold, on Tuesday I received the following from a friend at EA in San Fran.

Holler.

Rafael Grampá’s Charming of the Chakra

2010-02-04T09:14:00.001-06:00

My Interview with Grampá’.

People are attracted by brutality when you give some artistic aspect. It's cool to see that I can propose these kind[s] of feelings with just texture. And it's exactly why I chose this technique effect. Because it totally fit[s] with Mesmo Delivery and Furry Water's vibe. It's one of the things that I'm looking for as an artist and comic book creator, to work with a lot of different layers of graphic communication.

month end

2010-01-31T16:16:00.000-06:00

[who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma? I climbed to Dharamsala too I did I met the highest lama His accent sounded fine To me, to me]

~finally bought the amazing Asterios Polyp--just incredible, really//picked up Atomic Robo vol 3 and Batman and Robin # 7

~started--6 years late--Deadwood, watched all of True Blood season 2, and wrapped up Dexter season 3//all great shows

~looking into adopting a brother for zap!

~discovered The Ting Tings

~watched 2010, Avatar, and Sherlock Holmes

~played, but have not beaten Darksiders//about 15 hours in, and wondering if it's worth it

~Oloshino was published by Top Shelf 2.0

RATING:

Atomic Robo Vol 3 Review

2010-01-28T14:05:00.001-06:00

Right here, by me, at Broken Frontier.

Mr. E Remake

2010-01-28T09:11:00.003-06:00

From Warren Ellis's Whitechapel Remake/Remodel Thread:

Mr. E appealed for guidance and assistance to a statue of a ancient tribal god named King Kolah which he housed in a subterranean temple beneath his home. Kolah presented Mr. E with visions that led him to criminals. The idol also gave Mr. E the assistance of his elven messengers. The messengers were small gnome-like creatures who could shapeshift into a variety of creatures and wreaked mischief against Mr. E's enemies. One of the messengers was named Butch. Mr. E used his visions and assistant gnomes to fight crime in Washington DC. Mr. E dated a girl named Miss Terry.

And Felipe answers with the above.

Scott Allie Interview

2010-01-21T14:12:00.003-06:00

My interview with Dark Horse Editor, straight-talkin' Scott Allie.

Most days feel like a race to the finish. But it's fun. Lot of meetings--we're forging some long term marketing plans right now. Tying to solidify some publishing plans around Hellboy, Conan. It's always a daily struggle to keep any monthly book on schedule, and Buffy is especially challenging, so there's always some panic there. I try to get on the phone with Mignola once a day, because that's been my touchstone for fifteen years, makes me feel directly connected to the pure comics good stuff. I don't surf the web too much, haven't been on Myspace in a while, never signed up for Facebook. No Deviant Art, that sort of thing.

This Might Have Been THE Image That Got Me Into Comics When I Was Eleven

2010-01-19T11:31:00.002-06:00

Just maybe.

Page 3, Panel 1

2010-01-15T09:18:00.003-06:00

Felipe Sobreiro, the CMYK Maestro, and good friend educates me a bit on the (arduous) process of coloring:

Before you can add shades and light effects to the comic, the colors need to be done, so the colorist goes and colors everything in the drawing with "flats". And in photoshop the feather effect is to add a sort of blurry edge to the image or the part of the image you selected. The flats must be easily selectable in order to add the shading and light effects, so they must be done with hard edges (zero feathering, then).

Poseidon vs Kratos

2010-01-11T11:38:00.002-06:00

Mmmhm. It looks like intuitions/insinuations were spot-on. Kratos will be fighting Poseidon (see: brutally killing him) in the upcoming God of War 3.

JH Williams III Interview

2010-01-07T09:36:00.003-06:00

My interview with comic-magic man JH Williams III.

As a kid I was always drawing. I was constantly drawing different characters from superhero comics but thought very little about them, other than they were colorful, unique and fun to draw. I remember drawing Iron Man and Black Panther a lot. I read all kinds of comics in my youth, but never paid attention that these were written and drawn by people, that there were credits attached to these stories I was fond of. I soon discovered the error of my ways at a pivotal moment. In my childhood I was obsessed with a set of toys called Micronauts, I loved them and thought they were the most wonderful toys.

Oloshino Now Live on Top Shelf 2.0

2010-01-06T09:16:00.003-06:00

Ten FREE pages of beautiful art, and existential adventure.

UPDATE: Warren Ellis mentions us on his website.

2010

2010-01-04T09:17:00.013-06:00

2010 it is, then. We now live in the future. And what a future it will be. It'll be strange and beautiful, and we've got to keep it that way. So, here's my COMIC-ING for 2010, with no due dates because, such things are silly, as they often fluctuate, change, and suprise us at the very last minute. So, 2010.

SILVER - 15pg web comic (example of script):

PAGE SIX – 2 panels

Panel 1: INT – ESOTERIC CHURCH COURTYARD/GRAVEYARD. We have a shot of several large, uneven--but polished by time--stones. They look a lot like the Voice’s teeth from panel 6 of the last page. However, all of them have an upside down triangle carved into them.

(no dialogue)

Panel 2: Largest panel of the page, as we have a long shot of the Man walking towards us in the esoteric church courtyard. The Man is dwarfed by his surroundings. He’s looking at something in his hand, which we cannot see.

The surroundings are something of a nightmare. Behind the man, we see nothing; but from the 200 foot ceiling overhead (we’re in the epicenter of the flying saucer--the tallest area), we see about fifty stones hanging at different lengths from thick, weathered ropes, which are affixed to the ceiling; these are the same ones from the previous panel. Each of them has an upside down triangle carved into it, and each have a hole to which the rope passes through. The whole thing looks like a heavy stone curtain that could crush anyone at a moment’s notice. This is a graveyard.

Nothing is on the walls. On the ground, we see two rows of candles--each aligned against the wall, like a trail--all of them lit. The truly frightful thing about this place is its bleakness...so alien compared to the rest of the crowded Orb.

(no dialogue)

SWORDSMITH - web comic (panel from page 3):

ROOPSTER ROUX - 144pg children's orignal graphic novel (panel from page 30):

OLOSHINO - 10pg web comic (panel from page 5):

month end

2009-12-31T08:16:00.003-06:00

[I'm on my way, I don't know where I'm goin', I'm on my way, I'm takin' my time, but I don't know where. Goodbye to Rosie, the Queen of Corona See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard.]

~read Detective Comics #860 (you'll be missed, Jim), Promethea Vol 1, and Astonishing X-Men #33

~got God of War: Collection from Liz for Chirstmas

~speaking of God of War, we downloaded God of War 3 for the PS3, and Liz was the first to beat it

~got a 47", 1080i/120Hz LCD tv, which has made every movie NEW, and is subsequentally my new obsession

~got a pitch accepted by Ape Entertainment--next step: the acceptance of the script

~watched The Road

~pre-bought Darksiders for PS3

~saw Better Than Ezra in concert

~had an excellent Christmas where I was able to be with the entire family, which is always a treat

RATING:

Yon Kuma Dust Up

2009-12-30T08:42:00.003-06:00

My friends Jorge F. Muñoz and Josh Hechinger have just wrapped up their 88 page self-published webcomic, Yon Kuma--which is a clever, fun story about A BOY THAT WRESTLES BEARS. Pretty slick concept--fresh, exciting, and damn enjoyable--which comics should be. I mean, were talking Mech-Bears, Yogi Bears, and Luchador Bears--! You can read the entire piece of work here. Also, as a bonus, they've got "extras" (see: conversations, process techniques, blurbs about personal experience...) peppered throughout their run.

Wonderful, wonderful job, guys.

Shadow of the Colossus had VIRAL

2009-12-29T16:04:00.006-06:00

No kidding--the game of the decade had a viral campaign.

Video 1 - Siberian Ice Giant

Video 2 - Peru Statue

Video 3 - Tsunami Giant in India

Bonus: Here's the actual names of the 16 colossi you face in the game formatted in Name, Proper Name, and Latin Name.

1). The Minotaur "Valus" [Minotaurus Colossus]
2). Taurus Major "Quadratus" [Taurus Magnus]
3). Earth Knight "Gaius" [Terrestris Veritas]
4). Equus Prime "Phaedra" [Equus Bellator Apex]
5). Delta Phoenix "Avion" [Avis Praeda]
6). The Goliath "Barba" [Belua Maximus]
7). Sea Dragon "Hydrus" [Draco Marinus]
8). Wall Shadow "Kuromori" [Parietinae Umbra]
9). Storm Echo "Basaran" [Nimbus Recanto]
10). Sand Tiger "Dirge" [Harena Tigris]
11). Flame Guardian "Celosia" [Ignis Excubitor]
12). Great Basilisk "Pelagia" [Permagnus Pistrix]
13). Trail Drifter "Phalanx" [Aeris Velivolus]
14). Destruction Luster "Cenobia" [Clades Candor]
15). The Sentinel "Argus" [Praesidium Vigilo]
16). Grand Gigas "Malus" [Grandis Supernus]

Top 5 Comic Books of the Decade: 2000 - 2009

2009-12-28T08:37:00.011-06:00

1. All Star Superman #1 - 12 (Writer: Grant Morrison; Artist: Frank Quitely; Publisher: DC Comics; Publishing Dates: 2005 - 2008)

2. Planetary #1 - 27 (Writer: Warren Ellis; Artist: John Cassaday; Publisher: Wildstorm; Publishing Dates: 2000 - 2009)

3. The Winter Men #1 - 6 (Writer: Bret Lewis; Artist: John Paul Leon; Publisher: Wildstorm; Publishing Dates: 2005 - 2008)

4. New X-Men #114 - 154 (Writer: Grant Morrison; Artist: Various; Publisher: Marvel; Publishing Dates: 2001 - 2004)

5. Sharknife Stage First (Writer/Artist: Corey "The Rey" Lewis; Publisher: Oni Press; Publishing Date: 2005)

I Just Finished Interview

2009-12-21T11:50:00.002-06:00

I've been interviewd by I Just Finished.com for my recent work.

Happy Holidays from Team Robo

2009-12-21T11:44:00.004-06:00

Got this in the email over the weekend, courtesy of Design & Copy-extrodinaire Jeff Powell. Incidentally, I love Atomic Robo.

Top 5 Movies of the Decade: 2000 - 2009

2009-12-14T12:40:00.009-06:00

1. The Dark Knight (2008; D: Chirstopher Nolan)

2. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004; D: Quentin Tarantino)

3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003; D: Peter Jackson)

4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004; D: Wes Anderson)

5. Snatch (2000; D: Guy Ritchie)

Roopster Roux Interview

2009-12-07T15:34:00.003-06:00

Over at Jazma Online.

Allen: Has “Roopster Roux” ever been made into comic book translation prior to this version?

Ryan: Thankfully, no. I get the first crack at it.

Sinbad, Rogue of Mars out in March

2009-12-02T09:34:00.001-06:00

Written by Greg Thompson and Ryan Burton, art by Jeff Cruz, cover by Cruz and Diego Simone.

He's sailed the seven seas and explored unknown lands, fought countless monsters and battled evil wizards, but Sinbad's newest adventure may be the greatest, and most dangerous, he's ever had! Eight years have passed since the assassination of the benevolent Zhar Dadgar and the curious disappearance of his heir. Akhdar, Dadgar's villainous nephew, has usurped the Dozhakian throne and enslaved the Azurian people, igniting a civil war within the once peaceful kingdom. A prophecy foretells the coming of a stranger from a distant land who will vanquish the false king and restore the rightful ruler to the throne. Could Sinbad be that stranger, or is he merely a pawn in Akhdar's treacherous game?

month end

2009-11-30T15:58:00.013-06:00

[Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to? Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to? Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to? Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to all on that day?]

~just today found out our old project OLOSHINO, got accepted for top shelf 2.0!

~ bought and read, in order from awesome to lame, the following comics: detective comics #859, astonishing x-men #32, and batman and robin #6//bought and have not finished the incredible winter men trade by brett lewis and j.p. leon

~bought a pair of straight up steve zissou shoes

~had more articles pop up at broken frontier

~spent 5 days in puerto rico, 3 days in vegas--not lame

~started palying street fighter 4 online, and won my first fight as gouken//super street fighter 4 is coming out and will eat your mojo

~female force: stephenie meyer was released, sold out, and maybe, just maybe I sold out, too

RATING:

Where I'll Be Signing This Week

2009-11-23T09:48:00.002-06:00

Friday, 11/27/09
12 - 2pm
Midnight Comics
2505 S. Highway 6
Houston, TX 77082

Saturday, 11/28/09
1 - 4pm
Dragon's Lair
6111 Burnet Rd
Austin, TX 78757

Come back from vacation, get good news

2009-11-17T11:26:00.006-06:00

Not only did FEMALE FORCE: STEPHENIE MEYER sell out, but we got a nice review over at BC Refugee Blog:

The writer Ryan Burton and artist Dave MacNeal apparently recognized this shortage of solid usable material, as they have book-ended the biography with a fictional -- (are you sure?) --sequence featuring the original Count Dracula (although not identified as such). These scenes open in Transylvania and are moody and atmospheric and are a great tie-in to the actual biography. (Dracula is grateful for the publicity). If you know some Twilight fans, it’s not a bad idea to order some of the second printing of this book and introduce them to FEMALE FORCE. Who knows, it may lead to a visit to the comic store.

Tune Into iTune

2009-11-05T11:46:00.003-06:00

So yeah, huge newwwz.

Female Force: Stephenie Meyer got the motion comic treatment (eat it, Team Astonishing X-Men) by the fine fellows at Eagle One Media. Here's a bit of the press release that went out yesterday:

The Twilight: Unbound motion comic utilizes the storyline, art, and dialog from Washington-based Bluewater Productions just released comic book and with the addition of voice-over, special effects, music, and animation, creates a fast paced video adaptation for the viewer to enjoy on various media platforms.

You can of course catch the trailer on YouTube. And it's certainly downloadable on iTunes' App Store and finer mobile devices. Cost is around $2.99. (I have watched it, and yes, it deserves five Oscars, minimum.)

Guy Fawkes Day

2009-11-05T09:12:00.001-06:00

Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, twas his intent
To blow up King and Parli’ment.
Three score barrels were laid below
To prove old England’s overthrow.

By God’s mercy he was catched
With a dark lantern and lighted match.
Holler boys, holler boys, let the bells ring
Holler boys, holler boys, God save the King.

It's Pronounced "TAR-JEYH"

2009-11-02T12:23:00.001-06:00

Target will be carrying our comic, Female Force: Stephenie Meyer.

month end

2009-10-30T08:53:00.013-05:00

[there's flies in the kitchen, i can hear all their buzzin' but i ain't done nothin' since i woke up today//i am kind of person goes to work in the morning come home in the evenin' and have nothin' to say]

~some radical comics this month, and lots of them (bolded ones are the winnahs!)//detective comics #858, pinocchio: vampire slayer, planetary #27, astonishing x-men #31, batman and robin #5, and the haunt #1

~saw where the wild things are

~juri, a new street fighter character, was announced to be joining the cast of "super street fighter 4"//which i must have//cody and guy best make the cut//supposedly there's gonna be 8 new ones

~started a column at broken frontier

~my next "big" project, roopster roux, was announced//it's a children's graphic novel about a kid rooster who is a)awesome, b)radical, and c)loves to study and skateboard

~gots my first colored page of the swordsmith

~thanks to my brother, i discovered fleet foxes

~my son, ZAP!!, just turned 1//he's the man

RATING:

Felipe Sobreiro's Colors

2009-10-28T13:19:00.007-05:00

Epic. That's the word that comes to mind when I first see Felipe's colors. This is the very first panel to an upcoming story we've (along with Jorge F. Munoz) got planned, and Mr. Sobreiro's artistic skills make it...I don't have the words. But I want more.

Wanna See a Colossus Die?

2009-10-15T11:27:00.002-05:00

From the horribly creative, horribly twisted mind of Jorge F. Munoz--

Street Fighter MAP!!

2009-10-09T11:56:00.003-05:00

This is for every nerd out there. You know who you are. This was blatantly ripped off the Street Fighter Blog, who snatched it from Gamesradar. This brings me extreme happiness, yes.

How Warren Ellis Feels About PLANETARY

2009-10-07T10:55:00.003-05:00

"People keep asking me for some huge conclusive statement about its completion. For me, it was completed some two and a half years ago, when I wrote the final script. John and Laura have done their usual worldbeating work on the last issue, but I could barely bring myself to proofread it. It’s a book I associate with bad times: protracted illnesses, big arguments (I remember John and I once threatening to quit over some idiot move to take Laura off the book, and I vividly remembering arguing for John’s job when DC wanted to fire him over his taking on ASTONISHING X-MEN), my physical collapse and months in bed, and my dad’s long illness and eventual death. All of these things are intertwined with PLANETARY for me, and make it difficult to enjoy the moment. I’m just glad people won’t ask me about it anymore.

Anyway. It’s a beautiful-looking book."

The last issue, #27, comes out toady. It's no revelation that this is quite simply, one of my very favorite books. It will be missed, and it's a shame that the readers of the series enjoyed it much more than the creator. But then again, isn't it always like that?

Roopster Roux

2009-10-01T08:32:00.005-05:00

My next project, a children's graphic novel called The Adventures of Roopster Roux, slated for 2010. Art is by Erik Thompson (Atlas, The Adventures of Dr. Zombie, and Steve Lawlis).

MTV broke the news yesterday.

month end

2009-09-30T11:49:00.004-05:00

[fall is here, hear the yell back to school, ring the bell brand new shoes, walking blues climb the fence, book and pens i can tell that we are gonna be friends]

~picked up--in order of radness--Detective Comics #857, Daredevil: Yellow hardback collection, and Batman & Robin #4//slim month for sure, but next month will be pretty big

~got the first penciled and inked page of The Swordmsith, a creator-owned project I'm developing with Jorge F. Muñoz & Felipe Sobreiro

~my dog, General Zapato Viejo dela Republica de Burton, ate his first mouse//it smelled baaad

~watched Inglorious Basterds//better than all of Tarantino's other movies except Kill Bill Vol. 2

~rented & beat Infamous & Batman: Arkham Asylum for the PS3//they share the same pros and cons--beautiful graphics, easy and too few bosses, nice character design, atomospheric immersion, pretty solid voice acting//get the fomer if you like Grand Theft Auto, get the later if you like Resident Evil 5 & Metal Gear Solid 4

RATING:

To Us, It's Worth It

2009-09-28T14:48:00.021-05:00

It's a bit of process when dealing with a new comic idea. Now, I'm not an old hand at this by any means, but I have learned a bit in the few years I've worked in the business. (And it is a business, there's no doubt about that.)

First and foremost, you have to have a story that you love, and you think others might love just as much. Which is hard. Because as much as you may think an idea of yours is rad, others may think its so much Bantha fodder. And out of all those ideas you might have, you have to narrow it down to one. One to focus on, one to build a team around. And this team has to be in it all the way. All chips are on the table, so to speak.

This team you will be spending about 4 - 6 months on for just a pitch must be pros at the game.

Pros who are hungry.

Other--extremely important--qualaties of said pros must be that they are passionate, talented, timely, and cool. And yes, in that order. Because I'd much rather deal with a professional who's a dick, than a really nice guy who draws crappier than me. Thankfully, Jorge & Felipe have all the aforementioned qualities in spades.

COLOSSI: They start at about 30 feet and get as tall as 200 feet. One of my very favorite video games is Shadow of the Colossus.

THE SWORDSMITH: He’s a magical, old swordsman. He wears a hooded habit like a monk’s...but with weird symbols and runes stitched into the fabric. The Swordsmith, not unlike the literary Sigurd, uses the dragon’s blood to bathe in, restore his magic, and breathe fire on intruders (pictured below: "Sigurd kills Fafnir" by Rackham).

With this bit of information, and with the first page of script, Jorge comes back with this excellent layout:

Although the flow and layout is exactly right, I can't help but feel the colossi need to be a bit more organic. And Jorge--being timely, visual, and cool as shit, sends me this beauty.

Nice, huh? But keep in mind this is dealing with only 1 character out of 11. And this is only 1 page out of 22, for 1 proposed comic that will be pitched as a 4-issue miniseries. But that's the maddening love we have for good comics. That's the commitment we've agreed to put forth in creating The Swordsmith.

To us, it's worth it.

Been A While Since I've Posted Anything About Video Games--

2009-09-28T09:43:00.003-05:00

--And since God of War 3 was not really mentioned at TGS this year, I thought I'd painfully remind myself that I have all the way until March to get this bad boy. Ohswell. At least this pic of--what I'm guessing is--Hades' throne will hold me over. I just wrapped up Infamous, and am currently playing Batman: Arkham Asylum, which I recommend for fans of Resident Evil 5 and Metal Gear Solid 4. It's an easy game, but enjoyable nonetheless. Good character design, good atmosphere, wonderful voice acting--

Blog Warpath--

2009-09-23T10:28:00.007-05:00

From Female Force: Stephenie Meyer

2009-09-22T12:39:00.004-05:00

MTV has more here.

Evil Pies

2009-09-15T10:25:00.004-05:00

Yep, evil pies. And now that the script for Female Force: Stephenie Meyer is in the can, I can now focus soley on my next project--which features truly evil pies in the opening scene--! At 144 pages long, its definitely my most lofty writing endeavor, but the characters are just, well, awesome. Super fun to write. Whereas in the past, it's taken me a while to dive into the characters, and flush them out accordingly, these characters are all easy-peasy, pumpkin'-squeezy. So, without further ado, here's a bit of script to show you just how malicious evil pies can be.

PAGE TWO & THREE – 8 panels

Panel 1: Two tiers, like a cake. Top tier has five smaller panels, second tier has three bigger panels. So, for this first panel, we see Tegore throw a pie at an unsuspecting victim.

TEGORE: GET THEM WHILE THEY’RE HOT!

SOUNDFX: SPLAT!

PERSON: OOPH!

Panel 2: Cut to Boris. He’s got a goomba look on his face. He enjoys slapstick, of course.

BORIS: HUR HUR HUR.

Panel 3: Cut back to the person who got pied. The pie is slowly falling off his face, a trail of green and purple left in its wake.

SOUNDFX: DRRRRIIIP

Panel 4: The guy takes his forefinger and rubs it across his forehead, and gathers a respectively large sampling of evil pie.

SOUNDFX: SQUEE

Panel 5: The guy puts his finger in his mouth to taste the pie, and looks a bit quizzical.

PERSON: HM.

PERSON: I TASTE BLUEBERRY...

PERSON: BUT I CAN’T PUT MY FINGER ON WHAT THIS OTHER FLAVOR IS…

Panel 6: Second tier. Tegore, from his perch, looks down at the off-paneled pied victim. His eyes are as large as saucers, and he’s got the wickedest of grins. He’s rubbing his hand together, anxiously awaiting the answer to the question he poses. He so desperately wants the guy to have tasted evil.

TEGORE: EVIL, PERHAPS?

Panel 7: Back on the pied-guy. We’ve caught him in-mid twitch, like someone being hypnotized. His pupils are pinpricks, and his face is expressionless.

PERSON (small): SSSSSSOOOOO

PERSON (small): THAT’S WHAT EVIL TASTES LIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKE

Panel 8: Cut back to Boris. Same goomba look.

BORIS: YEP, EVIL.

Discovery

2009-09-08T14:09:00.004-05:00

Here it is. X-Men #5, cover by Jim Lee. This is quite possibly the very first comic I owned. The spine was torn so much so that it actually started falling apart--the spine utterly destroyed, staples showing their shiny backs...But, with a bit of scotch tape, it later acted more like a dust jacket than anything...

I look back on it with a mix of nostalgia and revelry. The sheer dynamic nature of the cover is insane. As a matter of fact, it had such a massive and mysterious effect on me, it drove me to the equally insane conclusion that comics were the life force of ALL THAT IS GREAT.

Just look at the picture. Here we see Wolverine, tattered, beaten, and in a rage that could burn the sun taking on Omega Red. Omega Red, who, is shown handing Wolvie his respective ass. Tentacles around his neck, red eyes filled with deviltry, evil as sin. I mean, there's a piece of skull showing on ol Canuckle head's, errr...head. Savage, right?

The cover speaks to my youth, most of all, and perhaps that's why I enjoy lookng at it so much. Because it represents a turning point in my life, early on. When I saw this...alien thing, I had to know what it was exactly--I couldn't understand the format, the storytelling, but I knew I had to have more; I knew I had to understand it. I had to be a part of it.

And that 's when I had discovered comics.

Vampires hate synthetic blood--

2009-09-02T14:09:00.007-05:00

I'm interviewed by Jazmaonline. com, and hey, we talk about vampires!

Allen: How much of Stephenie Meyers life will be covered in your Female Force biography?
Ryan: We'll be touching on everything, really. Her childhood, her college days, how she met her husband, and of course, her books and the fame that followed.

Allen: What viewpoint will you be telling story from?
Ryan: From a vampire’s.

Allen: Do you believe in vampires?

Ryan: No, but I believe in gothic teenagers and emotional rock bands.

Travis Charest has a blog.

2009-09-01T09:59:00.007-05:00

The astonishing Travis Charest has a blog, ladies and gents. By far, one of the industry greats. His run on Wild C.A.T.s was inspiring, fun, and just, well, good comics. It's my opinion that he influenced the likes of John "Planetary" Cassaday, Steve "Cival War" McNiven (thanks Jorge, you spell-checker, you), Brian "Ultimates" Hitch, and J.H. "Detective Comics" Williams 3rd. His clean lines, minimal flare, humanistic compostion is always incredible to look at. It's sad and funny at the same time, but when he was the artist on Wild Cats Volume 2 in the late 90s, it was unheard of if an artist was running late on a script. Maybe it was editorial pressure, but a two or three month delay was just unacceptable. So, unfortunatley, after 5 1/2 issues, he was no longer the regular artist on the book...he later did a few covers, and eventually was no longer on the book. The funny/sad thing is, now it's perfectly fine if an artist is 6 months late, so long as the book is selling well.

Apparently, the above image was--possibly--to be used on Ellis' Astonishing X-Men run...not exactly sure what happened.

Their loss.

month end

2009-08-31T08:54:00.004-05:00

[the stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out from the sun]

~picked up Atomic Robo Vol 2: Atomic Robo & the Dogs of War, Batman & Robin #3, and Detective Comics #856//all wonderful, wonderful examples of great comics//it's a world of difference when you cut out all the not-so-wonderful comics from your pull list, and all you get is quality

~watched District 9 and started True Blood, both excellente

~finished my 28 page Female Force: Stephenie Meyer script//in part edited by my lovely wife//this month the word got out!

~bought the crazy fightin 'game Blazblue//favorite characters are Ragna (playable) & Jubei (non-playable)

RATING:

Italian (Twilight) Job

2009-08-20T09:19:00.005-05:00

Twilight Italia--an Italian Twilight fansite--has re-posted my interview with Twilight Treasury...but in Italian--!

It's strange, I sound so much cooler and educated and well, international when I'm dubbed in Italian. So, of course I had to pic out the longest answer I had to a question and post it.

...And check out the last answer I had where I mention guacamole dip. Apparently, they really don't have guacamole dip over in Italy--maybe I should introduce my amazing recipe to them sometime?--so in parenthesis they describe what it is (salsa messicana a base di avocado).

This interview is COVERED in Italian Awesome Sauce:

D. Stephenie Meyer è molto probabilmente una delle autrici di maggior successo del momento. Come ci si sente a dover scrivere una storia a fumetti su di lei?

R. “Come ti ho già detto, è un’esperienza molto interessante. Come autore di fumetti, pensi che dovrai sempre scrivere di tipi che lanciano raggi laser dagli occhi, oppure ragnatele dai polsi (come Spiderman), ma non che dovrai mai scrivere di una persona reale. Il fatto che poi si tratti di una scrittrice importante mi fa essere molto cauto, voglio essere sicuro, da scrittore, di renderle giustizia. Ma sarà divertente tracciare e delineare la storia di Stephenie, che vada d’accordo con le immagini e i bozzetti. Mi divertirò certamente, lo so. Conoscere molto dell’autrice, sarà poi uno stimolo per dare alla sua storia, e quindi al fumetto, un peso maggiore. In breve, sarà un onore”.

All Hail the Yellow Devil

2009-08-18T11:27:00.004-05:00

It seems like every time I look over my shoulder, I'm talking about Rafael Grampa's artwork. He's taken a fair share of real estate on my blog, no doubt. Here I am again obsessing over the guy's art. I look at the piece above, and half my brain wants to melt and whimper It's Popelikebrillaint!; the other half of the brain wants to explode and say Quitely--it's all Quitely.

I mean, I was never a Madman fan, or a Daredevil fan, but he makes them feel new and fresh and organic and most imprtantly--DIFFERENT. There's something fluid about his artwork that, I'm sure, if I was an artist myself I'd be able to put my finger on. But at the moment, I just can't. I guess for now, I'll just enjoy Grampa's take on DD in his yellow, third-rate sporting good, ill-fitting costume.

And yeah, posting this image is a bit cathartic in that I really don't feel the need to obsess over it anymore. I can just look at it, say that shit's cool, and move on. At least, until his next piece drops.

Moving on--

"Twilight Treasury" Tidbit

2009-08-14T10:14:00.002-05:00

A couple of days ago--it seems like a weeks ago, really--I was interviewed by the lovely folks at Twilight Treasury, a fan site for--you guessed it--ALL THINGS TWILIGHT.

Here's a sliver of the interview:

Stephenie Meyer is arguably one of the most successful authors of the moment. How does it feel to be writing a comic about her?

RB: "It’s interesting, I’ll tell you that. As a comic book writer, you think you’ll be writing about guys who shoot lasers from their eyes, or webbing from their wrists, and you don’t really expect to write about someone—gasp—real. Her being such an important writer at the moment has me somewhat cautious, because as a writer, I want to make sure I do her story justice. But it’s been pretty enjoyable plotting and outlining Stephenie’s story, all the while playing with pacing, images, and panel layout. I’ve definitely had fun, that’s for sure. And for me, when I know more about the author of a book, it seems to give their story—and our comic book—a bit of gravitas. In other words, it’s an honor."

Here There Be Monsters

2009-08-10T10:54:00.006-05:00

In The Swordsmith there will be a gangload of monsters. Why? Because monsters rock, that's why!! Ever since I was a little guy watching anything fantasy related, I've always loved dreaming up monsters--any and all type. Big, fat, small, purple, reversable. NASTY!!

Now, to the point: this project I'm doing with Jorge "Yon Kuma" Munoz, and Felipe "Earthbuilders" Sobreiro is going to be filled with monsters. Drenched, really. Think of monster-pudding, if you will. Now, grab your spoon, and take a hearty bite out of the pudding and tell me what it tastes like...

Good, right? Y'see below, you'll see some of that pudding on paper. Or, rather, "proof" in the pudding. Sketches are courtesy of Mr. Munoz, descriptions by moi.

Harpies: Fat as pigs, black stringy wings. Smell bad. It takes about four of them to lift up a man the size of Muad’yn...and two to lift up someone like Lorelei. The way they get their prey is with their hypnotic singing (like a siren). They’re foul, foul things.

Valor's Monster Form: A fire demon. I like the idea of skin like cracked charcoal, fiery eyes, and whenever he opens his mouth fire/glowing light comes out. His weapon changes too—it’s now one long, thin fiery sword with a small mace at the end of the handle.

Kaspin's Monster Form: A grimalkin (cat person)—I have no real suggestions for this, so have at it! Maybe his golden cat mask can melt onto his face, so that it’s permanent? That might look cool.

Burton's Comics

where does he get those wonderful toys?

Art I'm Digging On

The (Un)Mentioned Benefit of Writing Comics

Creator Owned Script Sampling

Re-re-re-redesign

Karimbah & Krang

FOX LIKE ME

Nerding Up for 2011

Show & Tell

Comics Will Break Your Face

Comics from Cloonan

Layouts

SILVER is Live

Proof That Comics Have Stolen My Sanity

Designers' Aesthetics

PAGE 100

If Ryu was Trained by Oro

Metal Gear Solid: Rising 2010 E3 Trailer

Metal Gear Solid: Rising Box Art

Mortal Kombat: Rebirth Trailer

NO-ONE LEAVES THE SILVER WALLS

Taming the CMYK

The Evolution of Shen Long

Movie Posters/Packaging

Page 6 from SILVER: Script, Pencils and Ink wash

A Couple of Artsy Folks

SNIKT!

Street Fighter Legacy

MANGA

Phonogram:Singles Club Review

The Man

Moebius's Panzer Dragoon Cover Art

Page 3 Layout

Fabrício De Souza Bohrer

"Twine"

Insanity Keeps the Lotion on the Skin

Slice of SILVER

God of War 3 PWND

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Trailer

B & W page from Twilight:Unbound

Batman and Robin #10 Review

Two NEW Challengers Enter the Ring!

God of War 3 Reviews

Workstation shot

Almost There...

month end

"AURMF!"

Atomic Robo Vol 4 #1 Review

Jason Aaron on His Craft

Last God of War 3 Trailer

Anthony Peruzzo...

Care Packages

Rafael Grampá’s Charming of the Chakra

month end

Atomic Robo Vol 3 Review

Mr. E Remake

Scott Allie Interview

This Might Have Been THE Image That Got Me Into Comics When I Was Eleven

Page 3, Panel 1

Poseidon vs Kratos

JH Williams III Interview

Oloshino Now Live on Top Shelf 2.0

2010

month end

Yon Kuma Dust Up

Shadow of the Colossus had VIRAL

Top 5 Comic Books of the Decade: 2000 - 2009

I Just Finished Interview

Happy Holidays from Team Robo

Top 5 Video Games of the Decade: 2000 - 2009

Top 5 Movies of the Decade: 2000 - 2009

Roopster Roux Interview

Sinbad, Rogue of Mars out in March

month end

Where I'll Be Signing This Week

Come back from vacation, get good news

Tune Into iTune

Guy Fawkes Day

More Mignola Movie Posters, Please