I signed up for Marvel Unlimited and so far I am pleasantly surprised. I’ve been able to discover many of the comics that I wanted to read as a kid, but never had access. It was fun finding old issues of Thor or Fantastic Four that I read as a kid, and re-reading those stories now. And the art! I’m seeing so much new (to me) Jack Kirby art that I have started on a Kirby styled Suzi. I’m thinking it’s going to be a fun wallpaper scene.
What were your favorite comics as a kid? What about now? Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur, Rat Queens, and Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat! have been very fun books to read, and I love the art styles. Share your faves, and help a guy find some new great stories!
I just wrapped up Jessica Jones on Netflix, and I liked it. I never really followed many street level heroes as a kid, mainly sticking to Fantastic Four and Avengers. So it’s been kind of a fun discovery of heroes I knew nothing about. Jessica Jones is a fascinating character. She’s a hard drinking, grouchy impatient PI who also has a very big heart under that gruff facade.
The show is not for the young ones, as it pulls no punches in showing just how devastating super powers can be. Jessica can lift a truck, but uses her wits and intellect as the first line of problem solving. I love the new spin on the classic detective noir style. The show has some pretty dark moments, but it’s able to blend in some fun to help offset the carnage. I am looking forward to where Netflix is heading, with all these characters setting up The Defenders team. I wonder how Dr. Strange will fit in? Time will tell, and I’ll be watching.
This weekly webcomic has become one of my favorites. The writing is fresh, fun and top notch and the art really captures that pulp adventure feel. This is a fun read and I would love to see this animated!
I keep a blog over at jaheath.com (that I don’t update often enough) and I made a post about 25 cent comics. To save you a click, the bottom line is that my digital comics are going to be priced at 25 cents. Yep, a quarter. And no DRM. Of course, the webcomic will still be free, and Issue 1 is free. Eventually I will put the paper version of the comic up here for sale, but that is still a ways off.
You are invited to go to the shop and download your preferred format of Issue 1 for free. I have the Issue 2 cbr available now, and the .mobi and PDF formats are coming this week.
Another cool thing I am working on is the novelization of Suzi’s story. The initial story of Suzi will be told in 10 issues. I am writing a novella for each issue that goes into a bit more detail, and those will be priced at 50 cents, with the first story being free. They will be DRM free epub, mobi, pdf and a special graphic novel cbr version. This is a great time to be a indie creative!
This has been a long time coming. After we did Issue 1, we learned alot editing and proofing comics for publication. We submitted to Comixology, but got kicked back for a few editorial issues concerning fonts. I felt I fell behind on Issue 2, so I cranked it out as fast as I could. I could never find the right image for the cover, so I put it off until now. Let me know what you think!
Things are going great around here. I have the novelization of Suzi Quazar going, and nice timing for it to coincide with NaNoWriMo. Double dippin big in here!
Things are going so well, in fact, I was inspired to whip up a quick mood piece. I can’t think star-spanning action without thinking Kirby, so here we are!
Character design is something of an arcane art, and being entirely self-taught in the concept, I fell into a very subtle trap. I read this blog post from Rachael Rippon the other day, and it made me think back to my own experiences with this trope and how it affected the development of Suzi.
I’ve talked about my motivations for creating Suzi Quazar,and now that I have the first issue completed, I want to look back at Suzi and how she has grown from concept to current state.
Original Concept
Say cheesecake!The first character card
When I first created her, she was really just a digital doodle, so to speak. I was playing around with the idea of a retro sci-fi theme for my personal blog, and I wanted a cutesy character to use as a kind of mascot. The character was never designed to have a name, I just wanted a sexy, stylized space girl. Easy enough. I more or less stumbled across the character by accident, but once I did, I knew I wanted to do more with her than just being a mascot. The name came to me quickly, and I put together this quick character card. Now, I am certainly not ashamed of this work at all. But I can see where my concept of a female hero was skewed. Growing up I read a lot of fantasy comics, so the chain mail bikini was deeply ingrained into me as acceptable attire for any heroine.
Time for change
About midway thru Issue 1, I was looking at Suzi and wondering what tweaks I could make. (more…)
I am not a big autograph hound. I have autographed photos of Jenny Agutter as Jessica 6 from Logans run, a Sid Haig as Lord Drago from Jason of Star Command, and Kitsie Duncan signed my copy of Famous Monsters #252. They all look great in their frames, hanging in the Command Center. But sitting on my desk is my most favorite of all: My autographed copy of Bruce Timm’s 2007 sketchbook. It’s right next to my copy of Modern Masters 3: Bruce Timm.
Bruce Timm style!
If you have seen Batman: The animated series, Superman:TAS, Justice League Unlimited or just about anything from the DC Animated Universe, you have seen Bruce Timm and his impact on animated superhero shows.
One of the things I admire most about Bruce is that he is entirely self taught as an artist. He began his career in animation working for Filmation on shows like Flash Gordon, Blackstar and He-Man. He joined Warner Brothers in 1989 and worked on Tiny Toon Adventures. In 1992, he co-created and produced Batman: The Animated Series. Bruce brought a beautiful, stylized world to life. His art influences came together and delivered a fresh new take on animated heroes.
Bruce also co-created the character of Harley Quinn. Harley became so popular (with fan’s and cosplayer’s alike!) that DC included her in the mainstream universe in 2004. The funny thing is, he had tried to get work at Marvel and DC before joining Warner Bros. but had no luck. Their loss.
It’s his love of comic’s from the 50’s and 60’s that I think resonates most with me. Bruce lists Jack Kirby as one of his influences, and man, he really honors that King Kirby style. I really love his lesser known comic works too. Bruce did some great Vampirella and Conan art, and his Frankenstein is amazing. It’s no secret that I am on a quest to get my stories animated, and when I look at what guys like Bruce have done, it just pushes me that much harder to step up my game.
Click on the image to check out more about Bruce Timm in Modern Masters 3. It’s a great read with a lot of interviews and some amazing art, well worth the 10 bucks or so.
I’ve been able to discover many of the comics that I wanted to read as a kid, but never had access. It was fun finding old issues of Thor or Fantastic Four that I read as a kid, and re-reading those stories now. And the art! I’m seeing so much new (to me) Jack Kirby art that I have started on a Kirby styled Suzi. I’m thinking it’s going to be a fun wallpaper scene.
