Pay it Forward

Hey there, just a quick note about a project I signed up for called Pay it Forward. Pay it Forward is essentially a fan art exchange, all participants sign up on a list and whenever someone has art drawn for them they must draw art for someone else on the list.
Someone drew this for me!
Honestly, after a period of creative self-doubt this is just the sort of thing I needed! I like how stylized this looks, the artist Banes really captured Pickles's goofiness and Alder's... sexiness?
Anyway, Thanks Banes!

Something Embarrassing

Hey I guess it's been a while. I haven't been very good about updating frequently which I largely blame on some recent personal problems and depression. I gave art therapy a try without really knowing if there's a correct way to do it or not and ended up with a lot of horrible, depressing drawings and writing which I didn't feel were really helping me.
Afterward I endeavored to draw something cheery and happy, perhaps even involving the Calico Jack characters. I drew this:

I guess this sort of thing makes some people happy, personally I find this sort of thing really stupid and I'm embarrassed that this is the best I could think of. That said, embarrassment is funny-- so I guess this is a net win for me.

Issue 3 page 4

Remember the disk that Alder found way back in issue 1? No? Well... uh... she found a disk in issue 1.

Issue 3 page 3

It figures that the first thing we see Pickles do is something stupid. As Keith "Just No Point" Taylor suggested the reason why she's so heavily scarred is because she's in dangerous situations often, though sometimes it's due to an extreme lack of foresight on her own part.
Recently it's occurred to me that with her midriff-baring outfit and scars Pickles passingly resembles a different character from a much better comic. This is just a coincidence, but it is kind of neat. Regarding the page itself, I rather like the dialogue here.

Issue 3 page 2

It occurs to me that I've hardly mentioned anything about this issue before starting it. Uhh... it's somewhat more Alder-heavy than the previous two issues and it's inked mostly with a brush.
Whew! Glad I got that out of the way. Now this page I admit is rather talky, and I'll also admit it's not really 100% clear what these pirates are talking about. It generally bothers me when characters exposition for the reader's benefit, though maybe I could have offered more details than I did.
Also this page finally reveals the name of the mysterious scar-girl-- Pickles.

Issue 3 page 1

Finally starting issue 3.

As many of you are already aware Dylan Williams of Sparkplug Comics has died this last weekend. Truthfully I myself am still adjusting like many cartoonists out there and learning how to say goodbye. In and interview I found from last year when Dylan was asked who his favorite artist in comics was he responded with a huge list of names and admitted there were several others he could list, he then followed it up by saying "I feel like we are living in a new golden age of comics. Maybe not with the financial rewards of the olden days but there are so many really honest to goodness artists making comics these days that it is an both overwhelming and inspiring."
As it happens this page that I just posted is associated with Dylan too. When I was roughing out the page Dylan happened to be in the room and when I left the page on the table while I went out to do something he drew a word balloon in the first panel. By the time I came back the girl on the right with the funny hair was saying "Patrick is so cool!"
There have been others that have wrote about Dylan's passing like Sarah Oleksyk, Theo Ellsworth and Virginia Paine. If anyone wants to share their own Dylan Williams stories in the comments section that's just fine with me.

Bonus Art: Monochrome Sketches

Well, I was hoping that I would have Issue Three done by now. Though by next week I ought to have half of it done so I can start uploading then. So for now let's just say that this is the last of the bonus art I'll throw your way for a while. I'll admit that these won't be new to you if you've been hanging around my deviantArt, yeah I have a deviantArt now but who doesn't these days right? I got the idea to do weird watercolored sketches from E*phi, she does these beautiful sketchbook drawings, most having at least a touch of color thrown in that really adds some interest.

Bonus Art: the Calico

Issue 2 made mention that the newly christened Calico would be repainted, ostensibly so it won't look like the same ship. Anyway here's a sneak peek at what it'll ultimately look like, in color no less! This was pretty much the design I had planned from the beginning largely because I like the Flying Tigers-style shark mouth design even though it probably looks more like Banzai Bill.
Other news, if you're going to be in the Alberta neighborhood I'll be at Virgina Paine's Popup shop so stop on by. Also, in case you haven't heard Dylan Williams of Sparkplug Books has been having some health issues. If you'd like to help, buying comics directly from Sparkplug will actually really help him pay his medical bills, you can read more about this here.

Guest Comic, by Everett Patterson

Today's guest comic is from Everett Patterson. In case you were ever wondering how Jack would choose to recap events this is pretty accurate! What I think I love most about this is the signal flare, which apparently is made of some kind of super-explosive. Hey, a giant explosion would certainly get people's attention!
Everett does a comic called Savage Nobles in the Land of Enchantment, which without giving too much away is about a punk rock band lost in the desert of New Mexico. It's also an insightful story about self-discovery, seriously good stuff! Also coming out in book form soon!

Guest Comic, by Amanda Harpold

Oh my! Is he coaxing her into selling her organs? That's literally selling your body! Going by her expression it looks like Alder has too much self-respect for that though.
This funny little single panel was provided by Amanda Harpold, perhaps best known for her photo comic But Not Really-- which is also very funny. Thanks, Amanda!

Guest Comic, by Keith Taylor

Our next comic is by Keith Taylor. I confess that my knowledge of black holes is somewhat dubious but as I understand it, it's true nobody knows exactly what happens to an object after crossing the event horizon. Though I think it's generally agreed that there's a lot of crushing involved. Apparently it involves some skull-face action too!
What's pretty awesome about this page is that there was a first version of it where the colors were slightly off, considering that it's a guest page for a comic that's in black and white I didn't think that was a problem. Keith then took it upon himself to go back and fix the colors, 'cause Keith Taylor don't half-ass nothin'!
Keith Taylor's best known for drawing The Devon Legacy Prologue, which was posted on Drunk Duck in its entirety before the site crash and is now posting on Comic Fury. So hey, if you're ever in the mood for a Sci-Fi action series go ahead and check out the Devon Legacy.

Guest Comic, by Vickie Boutwell

Our first guest comic is by Vickie Boutwell who also does a comic called Used Books which by the way inspired the TV show Alder was watching a while back. Vickie also does a comic called Gelotology which is humor strip about SCIENCE!
I love all the attention to detail here, the vest hanging on the wall is even there! Tiny Sue is now my favorite character.

Issue 2 page 24

Who are these mysterious people? Other pirates? Well, this is the last page of issue 2 so stay tuned for the next issue to find out!
Thursday I'll start uploading guest comics, and I got some great ones!

Issue 2 page 23

Last CAT! page for a while. The ship gets a name other than Butterworth and thank goodness, also the comic title probably makes a little more sense now.
For those of you in the Portland area I'll be sharing a table at the Portland Zine Symposium with the awesome Everett Patterson, so I'm sure that I'll be seeing some of you.

Issue 2 page 22

CAT!

Issue 2 page 21

Issue two winding down, and also CAT!
Thanks very much to readers that agreed to do guest comics, I really appreciate it very much. Honestly I need as many as I can get, I'll be sure to write thank you cards.

Issue 2 page 20

And the deal is made! I wanted Jack's fake license to have a more mechanical-looking lettering style and look slightly out of place. Any sane person would have downloaded a decent font and made it with Photoshop, however I am a crazy person. That said, I made a mock-up of the license with a typewriter.
Now for something rather embarrassing seeing as how I don't like asking for favors, Issue Two is wrapping up and Issue Three is being drawn but I'd like to at least have it be mostly done when I start posting. So, if anyone would be up for doing a one-off guest comic I'd be very grateful. Anyone?

Issue 2 page 19

Jack is a master of subtlety! I rather like the set dressing here, I imagine that Honest Dan's is some kind of pawn or junk shop. The legality of some of the wares might be somewhat dubious.

Issue 2 page 18

It would be really helpful for theses two if one of them was "street smart," unfortunately neither of them really are. Bummer.
My weekend was pretty awesome, my drawing buddy Virginia introduced me to her friend Yumi Sakugawa. Yumi makes some beautiful comics and you should totally check her stuff out.

Issue 2 page 17

Damn, New Harbin was a huge pain to draw. As a piece of side trivia New Harbin is actually an asteroid with an artificial shell covering its surface. Said shell is made mostly of salvaged materials like derelict spaceship hulls. This will never come up in the story.
Also today is the day of the First Thursday show for Papercutter at Floating World Comics Papercutter is an awesome anthology series put out by Tugboat Press which I would recommend to just about anyone and is now premiering its 16th issue!

Issue 2 page 16

Jack get space-flight practice! Alder gets motion sickness! Hooray! Now it's time to figure out where they are and where they're going.

Issue 2 page 15

OK, time for a long overdue shoutout. One of the cooler things about Blogger is that I can see what sites people were referred from and even what countries hits are coming from. That said, I get a surprising number of hits from Russia, at one point more than the United States! So anyway, thanks Russia! While I'm at it I should thank Malaysia too because I also get a lot of hits from there. Seriously, all you guys are great!

Regarding the page, I always find it interesting that in a show like Star Trek in a situation like the one Miller is in the appropriate thing to do is press on courageously because warnings from engineering can be safely ignored. Obviously this is not the case here, I guess Miller knows that he doesn't have main character Starfleet captain powers.

issue 2 page, 14

Ahh... Back from a family reunion over the weekend which was great! It was good to see family I almost never see otherwise, my uncle and cousin even came up from Tennessee!

Regarding the page, uhh... yup, that's how you escape from a situation like this. I do sort of like how the dialogue is paced here.

Issue 2 page 13

Well, looks like Jack's finished and... wait...
Personally I rather like the three panel sequence on the bottom row, even if the physics involved make little to no sense.
Also, I'll have artwork in a show on Saturday, June 25th 6-9pm at Guapo Comics and Coffee. The show is called Faque Cartoons and it's a show of animation cels from shows that never existed, if you're anything like me you probably think that's awesome! Here's what my cel looks like:


Here's what the guy in charge of the show John Isaacson says about it:
“Forget about half-hour time slots and commercial breaks or product placement;
This is a parallel universe of infinite channels where your imagination is the limit. Welcome to fake cartoons; dreams that made you regret waking up are now real”
Featuring art by:
Elijah Brubaker, Chris Cilla, Gariet Cowin, Patrick Devine, Gabby Holden, John Isaacson, Amy Kuttab, Leda Zawacki, and many more!
I'm stoked, how 'bout you?

Issue 2 page 12

Hooray! Blaze of glory!

Issue 2 page 11

Well, things aren't looking well for our "heroes."

Issue 2 page 10

Jack quickly formulates a plan!

Issue 2 page 9

A chip in your head, eh? OK then.

Issue 2 page 7 and page 8

You'll just have to take my work for it that this is another sequence that works better in a minicomic than it does online, much like that sequence of Alder riding her bike in issue one. So seeing as how I made that a twofer how about I do the same here?



Yeah! In space now! It's about time too, right?

Issue 2 page 6

"Crash through the hangar," eh? I guess with plans like this it's no wonder Jack's in charge.
In case any of you didn't know Issue two in its entirety is available from Reading Frenzy, one of my favorite bookstores!

Issue 2 page 5

Remember Jack's boss? Looks like the Federal Union might be catching up to our "hero."

Issue 2 page 4

It's flying! It's flying! Seriously, after so many drawings of Jack's ship just sitting there it's great to draw it flying.

Issue 2 page 3

Time to start up the ship!
I have occasionally pondered what Alder's Energy Crisis drinks might be like, probably fizzy and bad for you. That said, when I was drawing the thumbnails for this issue it occured to me as Jack was running he was also sort of shaking the drink up. So then I drew this:

I guess assume that it took place later and off panel.

Issue 2 page 2

Not much to say about this page. Though I do like some of the character art here.

Issue 2 page 1

Issue two, starting pretty much where issue one left off. At least dialogue was easy to write.

Issue 2! Plus Bonus Image!

First up, issue 2 made is now out!



Also, now that the first issue is wrapped up here's a watercolor of Jack and Alder hanging out in the junkyard



I've meant to do more color images and I do like watercolor, if nothing else doing little color sketches like this is good for practice.

Issue 1 page 24

Well, that's all for issue 1. Stay tuned for issue 2 and some other stuff!

Issue 1 page 23

As far as I'm aware there's no such energy drink called "Energy Crisis," which I think is very unfortunate.

Issue 1 page 22

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful morning!

Issue 1 page 21

The source of Alder's abilities finally revealed! I'll admit that Jack's closing line on this page is stupid, however Jack always struck me as the kind of guy that routinely says dumb things.
Hope everyone involved had a great time at Stumptown!

Issue 1 page 20

Page 20, featuring butt crack!

Also, issue 2 is finished and even though I won't be selling comics at Stumptown Comics Fest I should still be around both days.

Issue 1 page 19

Hey, it's Jack's boss! Maybe you remember him talking to Jack over radio about "E-5 units?" Overall I really like this page, with the boss's huge hand creeping up behind Jack and the partially borderless thought balloon.
Also any PCC students out there? If you're planning on being on the Rock Creek campus on the 15th during the afternoon there's a group organizing Paper Cranes for Japan as a fundraiser. The idea is to send a thousand paper cranes and a thousand dollars to shelters in Japan. Spare a dollar?

Issue 1 page 18, and cover sketch!

I guess I haven't been too diligent about posting pages but here ya go. Jack just doesn't have any sort of luck recruiting crew members. By the way, the metalhead Bones is the protagonist from another comic called Putrid Meat which is insane! The artist of which is Deidre Crouch so go ahead and check out her stuff.
Issue 2's production has been slow going, seeing as how the main printer I use for printing on legal size paper appears to have given up the ghost. However, here's an inked sketch of Issue 3's cover, I'm sort of considering using cross-hatching instead of halftones, what do you guys think?

Issue 1 page 17

Heeey guys! I'm back. I don't expect that anyone really noticed that I went anywhere but I've kind of been neglecting this blog. Anyway, new page! Captain Miller seems to be making some progress in finding our heroes. As this page demonstrates the Calico Jack world has its share of "retro-tech," like the fact that spaceports use dot-matrix printers. In other news Issue 2 is well on its way, all that remains to be done is to set up the layout and print it, in truth I'm a little embarrassed that it's taken this long.