UNDERTOW 2014

Undertow is rolling full ahead, with Gibson Quarter and Adam Gorham scratching away with their pencils and brushes, and my Partner in the Panhandle, Greg Harms, throwing colors down for the cover, inked again with the android precision of Guillermo Ortego.  I couldn't go another minute without letting the world know how proud I am to be working with these guys, and humbled by their immense talent and dedication.  Thank you!  You all make Undertow and my stories so much more than I ever hoped they would be.

Here's a quick look at page one from "The Forgetting," by Adam Gorham.  Adam has made this story his own and each time I get to work with him my ideas and hopes for the story become so much richer, I can only speculate on what it will be like when the day comes and one of the Big Houses comes to take Adam away...  That didn't come out quite right, but I think you get the idea.

Undertow #4 also features "The Organ-Grinder," by Gibson Quarter.  I could say a bunch of great things about GQ, but you've already heard them before.  Page one of the OG features a litto-bitto-bootay, which I'm told the book has been lacking.  Apparently not everyone is solely interested in plot twists and monsters!  Glad someone told me.  Years later.

A bunch more great stuff going on--I've been busy punching away on Undertow #5 and there will be one, possibly two new stories in that issue (both with new artists!), plus the regulars.  Undertow #5 will be released at Fan Expo Canado in Toronto in late August!  It's going to be a busy year, so wish us the best and come see us at Emerald City Comicon March 28-30th!

THINKING INSIDE THE SQUARE

So a lot has happened in the last month.  Jet City Comic Show in Tacoma was my first show 100% solo, and also my first one-day show.  One of the most interesting things about attending comic cons as an exhibitor is all the people-watching, seeing how we react to one another in a fairly confined area, a common interest linking us together.  A little microcosm of life.  But no real guns allowed inside the convention center.  Perhaps the most enjoyable thing I discovered during this show is that during a one-day show, when someone tells you they'll be back later to buy your book, they might actually come back!  So to those of you who came back for Undertow, thank you!  I hope you enjoyed to book, because I have officially bled for it.  On my way back to the car at the end of the day, the wind caught my exhibitor badge, whipped it up in my face, and cut me on the bridge of my nose.  And then upon returning to my car, I found a $35 parking ticket on my windshield!  Touche, Tacoma, touche.  I still had a good time.  But I will do my damnedest to never again part at Republic Parking Northwest, because I'm fairly certain that whoever was monitoring the lot that day stole my parking money from the box, and possibly wrote me the ticket as well.

While at the show I met one of the designers of Amazon's Kindle Comic Creator who was looking for feedback on their program, which they use to upload comic and graphic novels in their Kindle Store.  I told him I'd love to help, and this past week I have done just that.  So as of right now you can buy Undertow #1 (1st printing) on Amazon.com in their Kindle Store for $1.99!  And now I'm going to tell you exactly why that is so cool.

Kindle Comic Creator

Digital comics are changing the way we read comics.  This is my third time formatting Undertow to be read digitally, and each time it's become more involved in an effort to make the reading experience more fluid and uninterrupted.  Initially, digital comics were a PDF file, stringing together images, basically the same as you'd see on printed paper.  Last year, I submitted Undertow to comiXology, which I was told (correctly) was the shit.  ComiXology gave digital readers the option of viewing an illustrated sequential page more sequentially--who the heck could have thought of that besides some twisted-ass comic book genius?  I didn't have a true appreciation for what those villains did until I tried this panel-by-panel breakdown myself with the Kindle Comic Creator.

comiXology (reader)

Basically, where comiXology took the individual panels off the page and put them in front of the reader, one at a time, Kindle got their double-think on, and put those panels back.  It sounds like plain lunacy, and probably is, but I dig it!  It took me twelve hours to go back through Undertow #1, reformat all the pages, and input them to my specifications, but it was worth it for a couple of reasons.  It brought me closer to these stories from back in the day, and also heightened my awareness of how the images, and the captions I put on the pages (both as words and as images) work together, or should work together.  The basic tasks are fairly mundane, re-sizing panels and changing their level of magnification, but the end product really brings each image and moment of the story to your attention.  Highlights, even.  It works, and I'm very pleased with how Undertow turned out.  You should definitely check it out, especially definitely if you haven't read Undertow yet.  If you're a comic creator, give Kindle Comic Creator a crack with you own book--you won't be disappointed.  Even better, after submitting the book it was available in the Kindle Store the next day.  Undertow #2 and Undertow #3 will be available there also, before the end of the year.

This past week 7th Wave Comics was also featured in Self Publisher! Magazine!  There's a four-page interview with Gibson Quarter and myself about how Undertow came to be, what it is, and what it will be--read it!  The interview is in issue #69 that you can download for FREE by clicking here or on the cover image below.

And one final news item (for the moment)--there's a new 7th Wave Comics website in the works!  The domain will remain the same (www.7thwavecomics.com), and the blog will be integrated into the website.  There will be more content up from myself and fellow Undertow creators, and the website will be a big improvement all around--more professional, as Gibson Quarter would say.  And speaking of GQ, here's some professional OG boo-tay from the upcoming Undertow #4, available at Emerald City Comicon March 28-30 here is Seattle.  You should do your best to attend--come see Greg, Adam, GQ, and myself--it's going to be a blast!

TOP SECRET GEEK

My life has taken several strange turns these past few years.  My girlfriend has called me a Top Secret Geek as long as I've known her, and the utter obliteration of that secret began right here with my comic Undertow has been one of the best and brightest of those turns.  I remember talking with a guy in college about comics when I was probably eighteen and telling him, "Yeah, I used to collect comics."  I think I was back to buying back issues to all the X-Men books (and there were a lot of them in 1995) not six months later, but it strikes me now what a dick I must have seemed.  The truth of it is that I love comic books.  There were a few years in high school and into college when I thought I was too cool for them, but in all honesty I dreamt about them.  Is that weird?  Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's weird.  But if you know me, I'm a little bit that way, too.  If you're into weird, and you know me, we're probably friends, and if you're into weird and don't know me, then you should probably read my book, because I can absolutely guarantee you will love it.

I got the chance to sneak away from work in AK for a couple of weeks in September and hit up Rose City Comicon in Portland, Oregon.  It was a good time, a short road trip with my little brother and GF, caught up with friends both new and old, set a high score on the basketball hoop at the Spirit of 77 bar, sold some Undertow (never as many as I'd like), and discovered some great new comics and people at the show.  The place was full of weirdoes--my people--just the way I like it.  If I saw you there and you stopped to talk about my book--thank you!  If you bought my book--THANK YOU!  People taking a chance with something new--something mine (and Ghosthill Greg's, and Gibson Quarter's)--you people are making it all worth it.  We love you, and we are doing our damnedest to make something better for you each. and. every. time.  Don't forget about us because we will not forget about you.  That is the 7th Wave Comics/Luke Donkersloot MF'ing guarantee.  Undertow is my light saber, if you would, and now that I've finally made it and achieved true Jedi status, it's just a matter of refining my connection with the Force.  And I'm going to leave that analogy right there...

A couple of other Jedi (of a slightly different variety) attending the show, but fellow creators all.  There is no feeling quite like creation.

 

And before I go, a quick glimpse of a panel from "The Organ-Grinder" in the upcoming Undertow #4.  Somehow between Gibson Quarter and I we've turned this poor damn monkey all kinds of sick, but amidst all the excessive violence and wandering the Wild West, this guy is still finding the time to stay on top of it all, sit back, roll a smoke, and just wonder--Why?  And you've heard it before but that's because it's the truth, though I think we forget sometimes, at least I do.

The answer is not in the ending, but in your journey.  Fellow weirdoes, story- and adventure-seekers--join me.  It is going to be a good one. 

Come see me in Tacoma at the Jet City Comic Show November 2nd, and the whole crew GQ, GH, and Adam Gorham will be with me at Emerald City Comicon March 28-30.  Thanks for reading!
 

New Cover For UNDERTOW #2!

Here's a quick look at the new cover for the 2nd printing of Undertow #2, start to finish thanks to Greg Harms.  Undertow is available here on the blog and also at Rose City Comicon in Portland, Oregon September 21st and 22nd.  Come check it out!

UNDERTOW at GOLDEN AGE COMICS!

Busy weekend for me as I try to bring Undertow out a little more into the world, starting right here in Seattle, WA.  For anyone checking out the blog that is on the fence about Undertow, issues #1-#3 are now available at Pike's Place Market in downtown Seattle.

Big thank you to Golden Age Collectibles for putting up my book.  I am proud to be in the store, which also happens to be America's oldest comic shop.  If you haven't checked them out (or the mezzanine at Pike's Place Market in general), go and see!  I still get turned around every time I go in there, but always end up finding something cool--what a great feeling, unless your paid parking is running out!

And going long, I'm submitting Undertow to Comixology, a digital comic store with an excellent platform for online comics that will make Undertow much better reading on phones and tablets, and hopefully get the word out there a little further.  There are a lot of people who I know will love Undertow and haven't seen it yet.  I am going to find them and show them my comic book.

SWAG?

One of the cool things about comicon (and if you have never been to one there are LOTS of cool things about comicon) is all the free stuff given away.  My first comicon was four years ago (Emerald City Comicon, in fact), and I remember all the costumed attendees flooding in and out, the foyer packed with fans and families taking pictures with them, and DC Comics' booth set up right inside the front doors giving away a stack of comic books to anyone willing to wait in line.  Yeah, baby.  Stuff.

So in addition to my new comic being for sale, we've got some great full-page artwork that is being made into 11x17 posters that will be given away to our fans at the Emerald City Comicon.  Come and see us we're in booth 2403.  Greg Harms and Gibson Quarter will both be there helping out at the booth, doing commissions, and blowing their hard-earned cash in the beautiful city of Seattle.

Here's what we've got I'm excited to see how the posters will look.  They should be back from the printer in the next couple of days:

Back cover to Undertow #3 by Adam Gorham, color by Greg Harms

Inside front cover to Undertow #3 by Gibson Quarter, background and color by Greg Harms

Inside back cover to Undertow #3 by Roman Morales III, color by Greg Harms

Poster by Gibson Quarter (after Art Adams Secret Avengers cover), color by Greg Harms

Special pin-up by Ty Templeton featured in 2nd printing of Undertow #1!

Front cover to Undertow #3 by Gibson Quarter, inks by Guillermo Ortego, color by Greg Harms

Thank you to all the artists for the beautiful work and the good times we've had and and are about to have this coming weekend at COMICON!  Goodnight!

Preview of UNDERTOW #3

Undertow #3 is at the printer as of last night so I thought I should make it available for order here on the blog before the Emerald City Comicon release!  Huge thanks to anyone that's taken the time to check out the blog to see how things are going--I appreciate it A TON and we are getting better with each new issue!

Here's a preview of the front cover (inside and out) and the first five pages of the issue, featuring "The Organ-Grinder," illustrated by Gibson Quarter.  Color and graphic design for the cover by mystical chromancer (not really as weird as it sounds) Greg Harms.  Their time, energy, and talents have made Undertow rock so hard (not biased)!  Thanks for reading!