Undertow Across America (and Canada)

One month since my last post and so much has changed--seems like the theme for my life which is rapidly approaching its halfway point with my impending 35th birthday.  Said goodbye to Atlanta this past month, and took a hellacious, two-thousand mile, four-day road trip to Boise, Idaho, that featured a visit to Metropolis, a thirty minute Q&A session with a very nice police officer without a lot to do, a big T-bone steak in Nebraska, and an evening spent in a Wyoming hotel bar with a bunch of truckers while the mountain highway was snowed closed.  God, I love America.

But back to comics!  Gibson Quarter was at the Toronto Comic-Con Fan Expo recently and managed to sell out all the copies of Undertow #2 I'd just shipped him, which has me stoked.  He'll be attending the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) from April 13-15, and then the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo from April 27-29.  Go Gibson!  Can't say enough about how much this guy helps me out.  Ghosthill Greg in the meantime will be attending the West Texas Comic Con in Lubbock April 13-14.  These guys stay so busy I don't know how they do it (no sleep and Dr. Pepper for Greg), but I appreciate it.

And in case you're wondering what I'll be up to during this time--I'll be back at work in balmy Naknek, Alaska, watching the ice in the Naknek River, waiting for it to break up and the tide take it out and away into Bristol Bay, so we can start bringing the tugboats and barges back in the river.  Ah, but the days they do go by.

I thought this was going to be a short post--not sure why I always go in thinking that because they never are.  Guess I've got lots to say, especially when it comes to my comic book.  My friend Jay at Comic Book and Movie Reviews recently posted an online interview with moi, which you can check out here, if you're interested.

There are also a couple of reviews up for Undertow.  You can read a review of Undertow #2 at Sequential Review, and there's another review of Undertow #1 just up at Crikey! so please take a look if you have the time.  Thanks for reading!

GHOSTHILL GREG

Just a few words today about a guy who has been my brother-in-arms through the whole Undertow process that's become such a big part of my life these last couple of years.  An interview with Greg Harms went up today on Comic Book and Movie Reviews, so I thought I'd mention that to start, and then show a little bit of what Greg does to help me out and make our comic looks SO GOOD--which it definitely does.  If you haven't seen one and don't think comics are just for kids, they can be purchased at the right hand side of the screen via Paypal account or credit card.  A digital copy of Undertow #1 is also available for $1.99 at DriveThruComics (the file is about 90MB in size).  With that being said...

This is some of the work Greg has done with Jonathan A. Rector that's appeared as the front cover of Undertow #2 (images on top) and back cover of Undertow #1 (images on bottom), for a story called "The Forgetting," which begins in Undertow #2.  Here's the kick-a$$ work done by JAR in pencil on 11x17-inch artboards, which is then scanned at a high resolution and moved on to Ghosthill Greg.

Greg then prints up the scans with blue lines in place of the gray pencils (again at 11x17 inches), and hits it up with his pens/brushes and helps to add focus, depth, and shade to the page.  The pages are scanned again in preparation for the coloring process, which will all be done digitally.  The illustration at the left has been scanned and adjusted to compensate for irregularities in the ink, examples of which can be seen on the right where the scan has not been adjusted.  This is how the page looks after Greg is done inking by hand.

Greg then adds the color and design elements like the logo and title/issue number for the front, and some text and ISBN code for the back.  I'm not gonna pretend to know what goes on here as I'm still a photoshop novice (but learning!), but I will say that it's a painstaking process to make things look as good as they do!  And on that note--a final word to my friend, Greg, and many thanks--I don't even want to think what Undertow would be with out you.

Thanks for reading!

UNDERTOW on Quinntessential Comix!

Just a quick note here, folks--Gibson Quarter was very recently interviewed on Quinntessential Comix (tdotcomics) out of Toronto, and you can see it here!  Take a look!

GQ Interview with Comic Book and Movie Reviews

Just a quick word for anyone checking out the blog who has not yet seen this--"Organ-Grinder" artist Gibson Quarter has recently done an interview over at Comic Book and Movie Reviews that can be seen here.

If you're not familiar with this website think about taking a look around, especially if you're interested in movies and comics, which you definitely should be!  There are a lot of great reviews that are well worth reading through--great info and background on many of the items being reviewed.  Being a story and back-story guy like I am, I can't get enough of this place!  Be sure to check back again later as there will be an interview with Greg Harms posted next week, and one with yours truly the week after.  Thanks for reading!

The Title and the Hare

Over a year later and UNDERTOW #2 is just about ready to go to the printer. It's been a haul to be sure but the book is looking even better than I'd expected thanks to the help of a few very talented and hard-working people. The book will be black and white once again and thirty-two pages featuring two stories: THE FORGETTING illustrated by Jonathan A. Rector and Greg Harms, and THE ORGAN-GRINDER illustrated by Gibson Quarter. The cover of the book will be slightly different in that the inside will also be color this time around and painted by Rita Moore of Capstone Comics Publishing. Back cover of the book is a bad-ass poster some of you may have seen done by GQ and colored by Greg Harms, and the front cover features characters from THE FORGETTING, which debuts in this issue, penciled by JAR, inked and colored by Greg--one of the work in progress versions can be seen below.


Thank you to everyone who's shown their help and support along the way.  UNDERTOW #2 will debut at the Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, January 28-29, which I'll be attending with a fun group of people: Greg Harms, Gibson Quarter, Dee and Brandie Reynolds, and my beautiful and charming girlfriend, Inge.  The book will also be available on my much neglected blog for $5.  If anyone is interested, I've still got twenty-something copies of the first issue for sale.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The Artists of UNDERTOW--Where Do They Go?

PART ONE: GIBSON QUARTER

A little rearranging of the contents of Undertow #2 took place today, but I'm feeling much better now that I've got at least that much laid out in my head. Just hit up illustrator Gibson Quarter of Organ-Grinder fame and asked if he'd put a little more weight on his broad, long-sleeved shoulders and put up a few more pages for the issue. Gibson has been working hard as usual attending the Wizardworld Toronto Comic Con last month, and has had much of his work published as of late. I thought it was a good opportunity to share some of his successes in recent months--and there have been a lot of them because this guy just. does. not. stop. So here we go.


Murky Depths #14. This one features the five-page story "Performance Anxiety," illustrated by Gibson Quarter and Ty Templeton (creator of Holmes, Inc.) and came out late last year. This is an horror/fantasy anthology published in the UK and features prose as well as comics. Older issues are available in PDF (electronic) format, and a printed copy of this issue can be purchased here. I don't have this one yet but I will soon.


Wasted Magazine #7. GQ has been a regular contributor since the magazine's debut with his comic "War on Drugs," written by Alan Grant (of Judge Dredd and Batman fame). The comic stars Johnny K, agent of the U.S. Government and his personal, no-holds-barred war against drugs. For the record, GQ is Canadian, Alan Grant is Scottish, and Wasted Magazine is printed by Bad Press Ltd. in the UK. This magazine is intense so prepare thyself and pick it up here. Also, GQ's work will be gracing the cover of the upcoming issue #8.


Zarjaz #11. This cover is cray-zee. Also, I love robots. We're looking at the front and back cover here (wraparound cover) in case anyone was wondering. I don't know too much about GQ's story in this one just that the violence was too graphic to put up most of the pages on his blog. He'd better have saved some for the OG. Zarjaz is brought to us by the folks at Futurequake Press (also in the UK) where Gibson is becoming a regular contributor. This book and many others can be purchased here.

So that's all from me tonight. Next up on "The Artist of Undertow--Where Do They Go"--illustrator Ghost Hill Greg Harms, who's probably just finished packing up his wares (much lighter now after sales at the con) in Lubbock, TX, and headed for home and a Dr. Pepper.

His Favorite Color Is BLACK

Been getting some inked pages back from Greg Harms on "The Forgetting," a story beginning in Undertow #2. This first installment of the story will run for nineteen of the thirty-two pages in that issue, penciled by Jonathan A. Rector. Gibson Quarter will be finishing off the issue with episode two of "The Organ-Grinder," began in Undertow #1. If you haven't checked it out, it all starts there. And one more reminder if you already have that issue to please send me a message as I'll be putting letters in the next issue. Be creative folks, it feels good.