June 06, 2006
More Random Nonsense

   Bad news first. I won't be attending Shelton Drum's Heroes Con at the end of the month after all. Sometimes life throws you some curveballs and you have to make tough decisions, so I reluctantly dropped out. However, I still highly recommend the show if you're free June 30- July 2 because where else stateside will you see the likes of Bryan Hitch, Mark Millar and Warren Ellis? Check around, you might still get reasonable airfare to Charlotte.

   I love going to conventions and I don't think I've had a bad experience yet hanging out with comic fans and fellow pros, because for a few hours you get it in your head that you're a rock star! Signin' stuff and doing sketches. During Megacon earlier this year, I was feelin' the love after being away from the con circuit for far too long. And if I had my druthers I'd be doing all the shows. But such is life.

   Okay, enough mewling. On to more important things: The Sopranos season finale. It was okay, not great, but it was an oddly-calm contrast to the rest of the season, which was probably the best one yet, IMHO. One disarming part of the finale was the Christmastime ending. Watching that scene in early summer can take you out of the moment. Maybe it was intended for December, and that loooooong hiatus may have bumped it back. Who knows? Then again, the first (and best) Die Hard was a summer blockbuster that took place during a Christmas party and it didn't bother me a bit.

   While I've been preparing to watch the Sopranos on Sundays, I've gotten caught up in a show that precedes it, called Entourage. It's about people trying to make it in Hollywood, a backdrop which provides endless opportunities for great stories. Sneaky how TV shows grab you that way. The new season of Entourage begins next week so I think I have something to fill that gap the Sopranos will leave for a while (I still miss Sex & The City). Years ago, there was another Hollywood-themed show called Action starring Jay Mohr which was brilliant, but short-lived. I've heard some personal stories from a former neighbor of ours who was an honest-to-gosh actress. She had speaking roles in popular sitcoms and dramas for several networks, but was never a regular cast member. You think freelancing for an artist is rough waters, multiply that by one hundred, and you'll see the feast-or-famine world of television!

   Back in the funnybook world, I'm currently inking Patrick Olliffe for a DC. I dunno if I'm at liberty to say what it's for yet, but Patrick is one of those very underrated artists. He can draw anything, and he even hand-letters stuff he doesn't have to! In a lot of cases, the inker would leave all lettering to, well, the letterer. But Patrick seems to delight in integrating the lettering into the art (an example would be a shadow covering an embossed plaque-how could I ink the details and shadow without the lettering?) Crazy, man. But neither he nor I are from the "not my job" school of thought. If I have to do some freehand lettering, I use my left index finger and thumb to steadily guide my right hand and it seems to work out alright. You gotta have nerves of steel in this crazy biz. When this comic comes out, I'll expand on this subject and you'll see what I mean.

   This week, JSA #86 comes out, where I got to ink the mighty Jerry Ordway! Dave Meikis also did several pages, and I think Da Ordster inked himself as well to get the book out, so it'll be cool to compare inking approaches (hmm, that sounds like a bottle of ink is sneaking up on you-"inking approaches"). I did the last five pages.

   Got two new commissions posted on page 9 in the Commission section: A Spider-Man Jam with busts of Spidey and all his friends and foes, plus an eye-popping illustration of The Black Cat by Terry Dodson.

   Some rare color work has been added: Go to Pencil-to-Ink Study: Faux Tales To Astonish #79 cover. The penciller, Michael Greczec commissioned Thomas Mason to do some fancy Photoshop work, and it's downright purdy!

   I actually was going to share a wacky story about laundry and an audio cassette, but that'll have to wait until another time, as I must cut this week's rant short!
 
 
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