Watch Where You Step

With the eminent release of Mecha Manga Bible Heroes, Robot 13's issue 1 soon to be in the can, new KING! issues being developed and a few other projects all seeming to be coming together soon, it's rapidly seeming to me that the next 18 months or so will be occupied with more promotion than I really like to think about. Not that I don't like the promotional aspects of doing comics... actually, I really enjoy doing shows, interviews and all the interactions that flow from having projects out there. It's the anticipation that can be a little more overwhelming than actually being in the middle of it for me.

When I am doing a convention, for example, since I am away from home and out and about for upwards of 12 hours a day or more, there isn't much time to think about anything but being in the moment. Planning, however, is a daunting task... Figuring out hotels, flights, buses, inventories, time management and a host of other details is too much like work for a creative person to make them happy about it.

It's very important, though.

Proverbs 21 and verse 5 says "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty."

I could make a snappy comment about now, but I have plans to make instead.

Come As You Are

I told you a while back that I had gotten 2 pairs of coveted Kicks; The Red&Black skull converse that I got in NYC on clearance, and this pair. They are based on the notebook doodlings and scrawled lyrical bits of Curt Cobain. While I don't follow alot of people from my generation who worship Curt, I do like alot of his songs and the way he threw himself into his creative muse.

The other thing I am finding more and move groovin about Kurt as time goes by, is that he was really and truly about speaking something rather than fame. I can go all yadda-yadda at this point about how maybe he was too much Daniel Johnston and that he couldn't take it and blah-ze-blah...

But the bottom line is- I find it inspiring regardless that a lonely kid took all his random ideas and scribblings and bibblings and used them to conquer the world.

I guess, to me, it says if you play your cards right you don't need anything but substance to make an impact...

So, that's why I wear his shoes.

That, and I have caps that match...

Courage!

Paul and John-Marc were on Catholic TV yesterday with an opportunity to promote Mecha Manga Bible Heroes. They were on the the morning program that the station runs, and the theme for that day was courage. Mecha Manga Bible Heroes fit the bill, because it's a re-telling of the story of David & Goliath, except with robots instead of clay puppets...

The really encouraging aspect of having this kind oc coverage, is how positive the people there were about the project. You can see the original broadcast here and a special, internet only interview here...

Off to War

It's interesting how popular opinion colors our experience. In the early 40's, there was no mistaking that America was at war; We changed our habits, rationed our supplies and had a very real sense that there was a greater battle going on in a place far, far away that all Americans were a part of.

Today, the very idea that we are again in wartime is an alien thought to most people.

And yet- here we are.

I recently began working with my co-writing partner on the next installment of Mecha Manga Bible Heroes. It's been alot of fun looking at this next issue, and we are injecting more humor into the book... mostly because there are more natural places where Humor can flow out of the original Biblical text. It IS a dark humor, however, because as David's life moved forward from his great victory against Goliath, things were never as uncomplicated or as joyous again.

Issue 1 is our "New Hope" in that sense, and now we are moving toward "The Empire Strikes Back."

And no- there will be no "jub-jub" song in issue 3.

Thankfully.

Color Me Impressed

A while back, I meantioned that Daniel had colored the first half of Robot 13, and that it looked darn spiffy.

Well... almost as soon as that blog hit the web, I got an email from Daniel saying he found a better way to color it and he was doing all the pages again.

Over the years of working together, Daniel and I have come to a basic understanding- if one of us is so excited about a new idea that they feel the need to scrap some of the work we've done to persue it, then it usually means one thing. "Things are about to take an amazing turn..."

Daniel didn't dissapoint- in fact, the pages look more amazing than I had hoped, and my hopes for Robot 13 are pretty high.

Can't wait to see the whole book together. It's going to blow you away.

Jump Around!

It's been a while since I have posted anything- not because I have had nothing to say to you, but because I was frightfully busy and didn't have more than a few moments to spare lately. In the past few weeks, I was in NYC several times, worked on scripts for 3 different projects, been approached with a host of interesting opportunities and bought 2 cool new pairs of shoes.

All in all, it's been a very happy time for me, and although it's not going to slow down anytime soon, I wanted to reflect on some of it before it all becomes too far removed from being a "current event" to lay down here...

Tomorrow, I will start giving you the 411.

In the meantime, check out my new kicks.

Sweet, eh?

St. Nicholas Day

My grandmother, whom I loved very dearly, used to tell us about her Dutch upbringing alot. One custom that she looked upon with fondness was celebrating St. Nicholas Day.

The Dutch tradition for receiving presents on that day is that children leave a shoe outside their door at night, and St. Nicholas fills it with presents. In some of the poorer families, grandma used to say, he would replace their shoes with new ones... maybe the only new pair they would get that year. To Dutch children, part of the thrill was going to bed and having something very ordinary yielding a wonderful surprise...

This morning I had a similar experience. While my shoes were empty, my inbox was filled with Robot 13 pages- all lettered and colored... while I knew I would see them soon, the unexpected nature of seeing them today was a big thrill.

I can't share them yet, but I can say we have sent them off with a pitch to a well established publisher.

More news soon- tonight, I am too giddy to sleep...