Bringing The Atomic Love

I’m exhausted.

Have you ever felt compelled to say some really harsh shit to someone you really, really care about because you see them doing something that you see as totally self-destructive? In the past I would have simply gritted my teeth and not said anything. But I’ve come to realize that inaction is really just another way of enabling the person to do bad stuff.

So I was brutally honest where in the past I would have kept my mouth shut. Of course, sitting here for several days with my guts churning wondering what will happen is not any fun at all. But being part of a family isn’t always supposed to be fun I guess.

. . .In other news . . .

Well I guess its been a good week. Apart from the almost total destruction of one of the most important relationships in my adult life. . .

GAH!

Must . . .be. . . goofy . . . and/or . . .sarcastically angry . . .for . . .voracious . . . blog readers!

Oh! Okay here we go. I finally got a copy of ATOMIC ROBO in my sweaty little hands! I know I mentioned that last week but here’s the cool part. Dorinda abandoned me yet again for a week of promiscuous sex with strangers and wild hot poetry sessions.

Well fine, I’m pretty sure there were no orgies. And she was only gone for three and a half days. But the poetry WAS hot and steamy.

Now this in itself is not all that excited. But, Peter David was there. Yes you comic book geeks, THAT Peter David. So Dorinda took one of my portfolios, a couple sketchbooks and the single copy of Robo which I had filched from Double Midnight Comics. Dorinda spent a little time hanging out with Peter and his wife and all seemed to go well. I’m not exactly sure what the outcome of this was supposed to be, but Peter at least politely pretended to like my stuff and Dorinda really liked his wife a lot (they are both manga-heads). If Dorinda can remember to give me his email I can write a little letter saying “Dear Industry Giant, thanks for taking my stuff.”

We got our first-ever Atomic Robo short story finished the other day. Josh Ross handled the art chores and did a fantastic job. If he had a website I’d be linking you to it right now I met Josh at Wizard World Philly and the second I opened his portfolio I knew I was a fan of his work -because I’d bought a great little pin-up book called ‘BOTS (I think) and his piece was hands-down the best in the book.

So we sort of fell over ourselves telling each other how awesome we though the other guy’s work was. And Josh really dug on ROBO so in very short order I had one of the best Atomic Robo pin-up’s I’ve ever seen. And then he wanted to do more. So we let him. Josh’s story will be appearing in Atomic Robo #3 I believe. I’ll post the pin-up below.

In other news, I finished KILLER OF DEMONS last night. Finally! I have a few hours of scanning and touch-up work to do yet (which means applying liberal amounts of white gouache to all my incredible fuck-ups). But the real work is complete and by mid-afternoon I will be drawing zombies and goblins for my two web projects.

KOD has been a real challenge for me. Issue #1, which I drew back in June/July of ‘06 was my first ever book. I had no idea what I was doing. At almost every page I had to make it up as I went along, teaching myself the tricks and techniques that are still not quite second-nature to me. When KOD got picked up and I was brought back to finish the mini-series I faced an odd sort of challenge again. My work had progressed so much since those first awkward panels into something that was almost semi-professional. So how would I keep the book consistent and yet show off all the cool stuff I’ve learned?

I think the end result has worked out nicely. Viper Comics will be publishing issue one, tentatively in January 2008. I’ll be sure to flood you with information when the time comes.

Like I said, it was a real grind at times to make forward progress on KOD but now that its over I’m all melancholy, just like I was when I finished Robo #6. Its less about the books itself, and more about the people you worked with on the book. You just never know if you’ll ever find yourself working with them again. And since I’ve been blessed and only worked with totally awesome people, that’s a sort of sad though.

I guess that’s about it. The reviews for Atomic Robo #1 have tapered off to a trickle. So here’s a review of the highlights for anyone who missed my last 4 blogs.

# Newsarama Best Shots

“Wow… I really liked this book. It was pure fun, something often lacking in comics today. It’s filled with action, adventure, and snappy dialog. Who doesn’t love a smart-ass robot! Stan Lee would love this book!”

# Silver Bullet Comics

“Beautiful retro design that recalls the Art Deco era, characters that make you laugh, and story from page one. This is slam-bam jet fueled afterburner fun from the get-go.”

# Silver Bullet Comicbooks (the other one)

“The dialogue is sharpest in this, with lines that frequently made me grin, and more than once laugh out loud. The art is somewhat reminiscent of Hellboy, but with a cleaner look and sharper lines. It’s definitely professional and damn pretty to look at.”

# Silver Bullet Comicbooks (the other one, again)

“The art for the book is reminiscent of The Amazing Screw-On Head and matches the pace set by Clevinger’s wry humor brilliantly. I love art like this, art that manages to be expressive without looking cluttered or overly busy.”

# Comic World News

“The art in this book is just gorgeous and I really love the 30’s sci-fi look to the entire production. The book is fast-paced and hilarious and is sure to be a hit when it premieres in October. Make sure you look for this one! Grade A”

# Comics and…

“Crisp story telling and a good handle on some humorous dialogue.”

# Poptown!

“While the first issue is very action packed, the outline for future issue promises the sort of pulp-style historical/sci-fi adventure that I really dig.”

# Gail Simone (writer Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey)

“I just wanted to say this looks EXCELLENT. I’m definitely buying this. This is your first book together and it looks this good? Nicely done, mister! Hope it’s a big success. I love the understatement, and the art’s gorgeous”

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Josh Ross’s amazing Atomic Robo pin-up.

Random Splendor:

Hot Chicks With Douchebags -It’s a scientific fact that young women who we might consider “hot” are drawn, like kittens to yarn balls, but the worst examples of manhood that two retards saw fit to give life to.

Flight of The Conchords: ROBOTS (The Humans Are Dead)

All This and World War Two!

Yo Gabba Gabba . . .WTF?

Anyone who knows me is well aware of my fascination with Katamari. So this brings joy to my heart.

I need a Keepon Robot

Pickle Surprise –as was told to me, this will probably teach you to never clink on another link for as long as you live.
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You could do that back when food wasn’t made in factories and crammed with hormones and antibiotics. Now just looking at lard makes you fat.

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Please God. Please don’t let them reproduce . . .

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“I see yoo bay-bee! Shakin’ dat azz, shakin’ dat azz . . .”