The Greek

Sweet

2009-10-16T21:08:28Z

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Jen made this for me.

Coin operated Boy Pin-up

2009-10-06T23:32:21Z

Here's the first of two pin-ups for my friend Steven's comic, Coin Operated Boy. It'll be out in December from Arcana.
peace

Great show!!

2009-06-15T14:17:45Z

Friday night we withstood the sweltering heat and went and saw Street Sweeper Social Club (there cd comes out tomorrow. Get it!!), NIN, and the reformed Jane's Addiction. Despite my least favorite venue the show was awesome. Street Sweeper brought it and got the crowd moving. NIN set list wasn't as good as in the past, but I was really excited that they played "Hurt" since I've never heard it live. I can't begin to say enough about Janes. They were amazing. It may have been the heat, but they were mesmerizing. Just a solid show. Don't know if the heat got me or the constant singing and dancing, but I was beat Saturday. haha.

set lists:

Janes

Three Days/ Whores /Ain't No Right /Pigs In Zen /Then She Did... /Up The Beach /Mountain Song /Been Caught Stealing /Ocean Size / Ted, Just Admit It... /Encore: Summertime Rolls /Had A Dad /Stop! /Jane Says

NIN

Home / Somewhat Damaged / Wish / March of the Pigs / Piggy /Metal (Gary Numan cover) / I'm Afraid Of Americans/ Head Down/ Burn / Gave Up / La Mer / The Fragile/ Non-Entity/ The Downward Spiral / Survivalism /
Suck / Hurt / The Hand That Feeds / Head Like A Hole (with Eric Avery))

Street Sweeper Social Club

Fight! Smash! Win! /Somewhere In The World It's Midnight /Paper Planes (M.I.A cover) /The Oath /100 Little Curses /Promenade / Nobody Moves (Til We Say Go)

It was the last night of their shared tour and I'm glad we had a chance to see them all.
peace,
Herc

15 years ago

2009-05-28T19:49:39Z

15 years ago this week I met a beautiful girl named Jen. We had known each other for several months prior, but this week was when we felt the pangs of what would eventually become true love. We had just finished watching the Flintstones (quite a horrible movie at the time) with a group of friends. Instead of riding home with them after the movie I convinced her to take a ride with me. We got back to my place and decided we didn't want the night to end just yet. Not wanting to move too fast, which was very difficult for me being a young man of 23 and hormones a blazing, we laid a blanket on the living room floor. I popped in Dave McKean and John J Muth's bizarre jazz instrumental cd (still a favorite) and we took our spots on the floor. We talked through the night about our place in the world and all the things that were so important to us as twenty somethings. We gently kissed each others faces every where but the lips. She doesn't really believe me, but I knew then we'd be together. We both were adamant of not wanting anything too serious. "Just having fun", is what we would say. Never realizing that while we were professing our aloofness we were both falling deeply in love with each other.

We have rarely been separated since then. A few years later we ran away and got married on a windy day in a little courtyard in Charleston. Much to the dismay of family and some friends. Life has given us it's shares of ups and downs, but through it all I wouldn't trade my place in it. Next to her. I still long for her embrace and get chills when we do. My beautiful sweet with the eyes of blue.

Beaker sketch for Kati

2009-05-27T21:25:11Z

American Motel

2009-05-20T23:46:54Z

Mr. Lune Milk Run page 1

2009-05-09T20:01:22Z

I figured I would start posting pages from the last Mr. Lune comic I printed up.
Peace

Old illustration

2009-05-07T20:03:33Z

Mr. Chunks

2009-05-07T20:01:47Z

Old illustration

2009-05-07T19:59:30Z

Old pastel illustrations

2009-05-07T19:57:14Z

Vampire

2009-04-30T00:17:03Z

Here's the final version of a job I just completed. They wanted a grandpa Munster looking Vampire. After many drawings this is what they decided on. Ugh!

My Friend Jim Royal

2009-02-07T03:08:11Z

This will be a bit of a ramble, but I wanted to say something. First time I met Jim was at one of the legendary Megacon after parties Tim Townsend used to throw. Doug introduced us. We became instant friends. Jim had one of those personalities that just drew you in. I loved his mannerisms . The way he crossed his legs and held his cigarette while he told a story. Always pee your pants funny. It wasn't in just the delivery, but how dead on he would be as he impersonated a fellow artist. It was uncanny. You couldn't help but laugh around him.

He was also an amazing talent. His ink line was beautiful. I loved the way he inked Andrew. I remember the Nick Cave illustration he did. Which of course launched us into a huge discussion about how awesome Nick Cave is. I think I met my match when it came to talking. And I talk a lot. We could ramble on for hours.

We always kept in touch through the years no matter where each of us lived. We would always meet at cons. At least we had that once we didn't live close any more. A few years back I started drawing comics again. I gave Jim one of my comics at Heroescon. I figured he'd look at it and just discard it. After the con we said our goodbyes and he was off again. I was surprised to later see a voice mail from him. As I listened to Jim's voice he waxed poetic about my little mini comic. It was seriously one of the most up lifting things I had heard about my silly little comic. Jim could do that though. Make you feel really good about yourself. It was touching and really helped me overcome some issues. He always had a kind word to say to me.

Recently Jim called to say he was moving to Charlotte. I was ecstatic at the possibility of having him in town. Even though I knew it meant many late nights of sleeplessness. :-) Of course he got here and decided Atlanta would be a better fit. Jim always could change plans at a moments notice. I was still glad to have him so close. We were going to get together soon. He was going to take us out on the town in Atlanta. Damn Jim why didn't you return my call? It'll be awhile before we'll hang again, brother. You were a prince, my friend. I miss you terrible. Find peace.
love you
Herc

By Friday Life Has Killed Me

2008-09-08T20:15:40Z

I've had some time to think about stuff today. Which may be a bad thing in my current mood. In recent weeks I've come in contact with a few old friends. It's brought back a lot of memories. Memory is a weird thing. It's funny what we remember and what we don't. Talking with old friends it's made me remember things about growing up that I totally forgot about. I've never had the best memory. Perhaps, all the pot in college didn't help. I guess it's true it kills brain cells. Let that be a lesson to all you younger people. It's also made me think about the roads traveled and the ones I didn't choose. While it's not good to dwell on it. It would be cool to step outside of myself sometimes. See what the other paths would be. Talking with friends I recall the person I'd thought I would be at this point in my life. I knew life would be a journey, but I thought some of the searching would have gone away. Sweet and I still worry about the future. We wonder where it's all going. And time keeps tick, tick , ticking by. Maybe the Sex Pistols got it right...No Future for you. Life definitely has taken it's hits on me. I keep getting up. I hate to lose after all. I'm glad I've had a chance to rekindle some old friendships. The memories have been good. I hope more flood in. Maybe it'll get me closer to where I need to be.To bad we can't tap into things we've forgotten. I need to go dream walking. Anyone have any peyote? See you on the other side.
peace
Herc

P.S. Promise, the art posts are coming. No more depressing ramblings. :-)

Andrew Robinson Interview

2008-07-01T18:57:25Z

This was originally done for a Comic News Site. Unfortunately, it never ran. So, here it is in all it's glory.

I was fortunate to have met Andrew Robinson while we both attended the Savannah College of Art & Design. We became friends shortly afterward. I had a front row seat when he started in comics with Dark Horse Presents. He then went on to draw issues of Barbwire, Steel, X-Men and Gen13. He then reinvented himself when he created the cult hit Dusty Star. During this time he also became a sought after cover artist. His paintings graced the covers of Starman and Hawkman. He also had a brief cover stint for Detective Comics, as well as, numerous Starwars covers. He quickly became an artist others were inspired by. Don’t take my word for it. Here is what others had to say about Andrew Robinson:

Jason Latour (Expatriate, 24Seven, Popgun): Painter, storyteller, cartoonist, musician, warrior poet... Andrew has more talents than you can name. Yet, his greatest talent may be that he possesses that rare ability to make the most thought out and educated choice seem effortless, as natural as breathing. His work is a crash course in zen cartooning.

Rick Remender (Fear Agent, Strange Girl, Crawlspace etc): Andrew Robinson's work found me at a time when I had almost given up on comics. 
There was a glut of horrible shit being slung out in the mid-nineties and to see someone with his nuclear level chops doing such gorgeous and inspired work on a 
creator owned... it inspired me to follow suit. So on second thought, curse you Andrew Robinson!

Shawn Crystal ( Bloodred, Resident Evil): Andrew has a rare grasp of the medium of comics, and has a true voice in his art. There are no limits 
to his craft. He understands what it is to be a cartoonist, while being able to shift gears as an illustrator and painter. He has a true understanding of 
what his roles are in the work he creates, which is rare in these days of the misguided comic book artists. If I am coming off as preachy, then fine! 
Andrew has not only been a friend to me, but a mentor. I was an intern of his, and got to know him and his work on a more personal level than most. 
I am lucky to have had that experience, it has made me a better cartoonist, as his work has done for so many. Cheers to Andrew, the unsung hero of cartooning.

I got a chance to sit down recently with Andrew.  What follows is what came out of that conversation.

Why don’t you start off by telling us how you got your first comic work in Dark Horse Presents?

It was 1993 and I was finishing my senior year at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I was married with a baby girl and it was time to work. At that time I was taking regular trips with Doug Alexander Gregory to visit Gaijin Studios in Atlanta. I would bring b/w copies of my work to show the guys and get feedback. At that time Cully Hamner was scheduled to be the artist on a DHP story called “The Chairman.” However he had just signed on to pencil the Green Lantern Corps and wouldn’t have the time for the short story. So he gave me a break by passing it along to me. I followed that with another short story called “A breathe of Fresh Air.” I feel I really improved from one story to the next.

After you did those few issues of DHP, you then went to work on a few fill in issues for Dark Horse, Marvel and DC. Was landing on a series a goal for you at this time?

I thought so. But God was I wrong. The tough realization is that to work on a monthly book you have to be super fast and make a lot of concessions. For a guy like me it was a train wreck. I’d rather draw a few really good books than a bunch of crappy ones.

How did the Starman cover gig come about?

It seemed like you enjoyed working on them. At the time I was a member of Jolly Roger Studios. When Tony (Harris) found himself too busy to continue as cover artist on the series I happily scooped it up. There was a lot of freedom to experiment with design and subject matter. Those covers established me as a respected cover artist.

You also went to work on Hawkman and Detective covers. Was there a lot of Editorial direction or were you allowed free reign?

Sadly on the Hawkman covers I didn’t have the same freedoms as on Starman. It was hard to stay interested with all the restraints put on me. Then I just destructed and it was all over. With the Batman covers I chalk it up to the assistant editor who was just a complete idiot to say the least. I worked my ass off on those three covers (and I was on time) only to get fired with out the decency of a phone call from the editor or assistant editor. After not hearing from them about the fourth cover I called to find out that no one liked what I had done. But I’d like to say thanks to all the fans who loved what I had created.

I remember the first drawing you did for me of Dusty Star. At the time I’m not even sure she had a name. One thing that jumped out at me was the art style. When you started doing sequential work I always felt you had kind of a cross between Walt Simonson and Moebius, but with Dusty and subsequently the Gen13 one-shot; your art took a drastic turn. Was this a conscience effort on your part?

What caused you to refine your style? I became heavily influenced by artists like Jaime Hewlett, Alex Toth, Mort Drucker, Mike Mignola and Mike McMahon. I was starting to understand the beauty of simplification and animation.

Dusty Star started out as short stories in Negative Burn. It was a short time later that Dusty Star became one of the initial titles of Jim Valentino’s Image Shadowline imprint in the 90’s. How did you get involved with Image?

By proxy. Joe Pruett had the connection and there we were.

What was the spark that created Dusty Star?

Sergio Leone and his spaghetti westerns and a soldier girl named Misty. I knew her from my days in the Army. And so the woman dressed in black was born.

Dusty Star came and went so quickly but it left its mark on the comic world. After all these years you brought her back. After one beautiful color issue she’s gone again.

What does the future hold for her? I know you briefly mentioned to me self publishing, is this, an avenue you are actively pursuing?

Oh she will be back. Probably to save my broken heart but picking me up off the ground and giving me a swift kick in the ass. I completed the script for another installment to the “Ain’t got no Friends” story which 24 pages. I will self publish through Brand Studio Press with my own imprint called Next Exit Comics. The books will be 46 page hard backs in full color. For the first one I will include the newest Dusty #1 with the next 24 page story. I hope to complete the 24 pages by the end of this year.

What was it like being a member of Tony Harris’s Jolly Roger Studio?

It was really good for me. We had a lot of great times. Sadly everything must come to an end. In 2001 I was in a real rocky relationship with my girlfriend. It was affecting me in all other areas of my life- even the studio. I needed a big change to end it. This change could only be achieved through space and time which meant a move to California.

Did you find that it was easier to create being surrounded by fellow artists?

Of course. I like to feel other people’s energy especially coming from people that I respect. And that was another reason I had to leave. The new guys that joined the studio did not have my respect at all and I’m sure vise versa.

Do you think you’ll ever be in a studio environment again?

I’m in one right now. It’s a studio slash gallery. You can check it out at myspace.com/galleryattheendoftheworld. I’m the only comic book guy in there.

With your work on Halo and your fill in issue of Jack of Fables for Vertigo coming in October, you’ve stepped back into the mainstream world. Do you think you will try to get more work for hire jobs?

I’m sure I will- got to pay the bills you know. That is until I survive on my own projects. I’ve got a lot to say.

What was it like working on Bill Willingham’s script?

Except for the tight dead line it was a real treat.

Being a fellow artist, were his scripts much different than what you are used to from non- artists?

Not really- it was just a good script.

Brandstudios Press recently released Andrew Robinson goes to Zanyzonkerville. How did you get hooked up with them? Did you like the finished product?

Alberto Ruiz sold me on it. I had met him the year before through John Beatty. I love the finished product. It’s one the coolest things I’ve ever done. That book is a real victory for me.

Many people don’t know that you’ve done a good bit of behind the scene work for the Cartoon Network. Can you explain exactly what you did for them and how the overall experience was for you?

I painted all the main characters for their new show Ben 10, which were designed by Dave Johnson. These paintings were used for the intro to the show and for marketing and product design.

Explain your work process a bit. What tools do you use? What kind of computer set-up do you have? That sort of thing.

I’ll use everything and anything especially when painting. But it’s mainly acrylic and gloss gel medium. I also use collage and magazine transfer. For creating sequential art I use my imagination with reference if needed. Ink and Scharff brushes, Sharpees and an assortment of Pigma pens and the slickest comic book paper I can find. Then I scan the line art and color it with Photoshop. Right now I have a Mac G4 but I just ordered the 15” powerbook laptop. I use the Epson expression 10000 XL scanner. And I use word to write my scripts.

What’s an average working day like for you?

Trying to get up around 10am from that delicious sleep where she’s with me. You know that girl that you want but the universe continues to keep you apart. And I don’t want to get up but I must. Then I go to the gym so I’ll be strong enough to go get her when the time comes. After that I go to the studio and either work on projects to pay the bills or I write and draw the stories that will one day bring her to me. I’ve got one hell of a romantic comic that I’ve been working on.

I know you’ve always loved painting. What made you decide to dip into the Fine Art world with your gallery shows? How is it working out for you?

It’s all because of her. She brought me to the gallery/studio where I work and then she left me there. Guess I had to suffer. After all those years of painting for illustration it was so refreshing and relaxing to finally paint for myself. I could finally say in all honesty that I am an artist.

On your website you have a song that was recorded from lyrics you wrote. Do you see yourself delving more into creating music?

Music has been waiting for me and now it is time. Again it’s because of her. I wrote that song for her. Currently I’m learning how to play guitar, piano and the harmonica. I just might join the band the Spacejunkies if they’ll have me. I’ve got a lot of practicing to do.

I know music is a big influence on you. Would you say it helps push you towards the types of stories you want to tell?

Oh yes. Especially, Johnny Cash and Nick Cave. They preach the truth even when it hurts and it’s ugly. But the truth is all there is whether it’s art, music or love.

Have you ever thought about writing stories for other people to draw?

Not yet because I’m too attached to them. I write on a very personal level. And lately I’ve been writing for just one other person besides myself. For her.

How do you feel about other artists working in styles that you’ve inspired?

I’m flattered to have inspired anyone. It’s the circle of life. Every artist is the product of every other artist who is and has ever been.

Who are some of your inspirations? In comics and without.

My parents, Gustave Klimt, Walt Simonson, Frank Miller, David Cho, Kathy Skaggs, my older brother, Frank Frazetta, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Nick Cave, Jim Royal, Doug Alexander Gregory, Suki, my daughter Alisha, Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone, Moebius, Bill Watterson, Mort Drucker, Bob Peak, Jaime Hewlett, Guns and Roses, my cousin Danny, Sergio Toppe, Neil Diamond, and that blonde haired, brown eyed girl from far, far away.

Do you think you’ll continue to do more comics? What does the future hold for you?

Yes I have lots of comics to write and draw. The completion of current Dusty Star story, the Space Junkies, Lost in the Punch, Magicland, Johnny Tin Shins which is a story I’m working on with Tony Harris and Ray Snyder, and maybe you and I can finish Red Light.

To see more of Andrew’s work check out: www.nextexitproductions.net

THE CURE

2008-06-17T11:21:12Z

Last night Sweet and I were fortunate enough to go to see the Cure. I was pretty excited to see them since the last time I had a chance to see them live was on their tour supporting the Wish Album. I have to say the show was awesome. They brought so much energy and moodiness. The lights were beautiful. And the crowd totally felt it and responded since most every one was out of their seats. There was a difference though for sure. The touring band was a foursome consisting of : Robert Smith, Porl Thompson, Simon Gallup,Jason Cooper. If you're asking yourself, " Hey, I don't see a keyboardist?" hahaha You would be right. This brought a whole new dynamic to a lot of their songs. It was interesting to see them playing more keyboard intensive songs as a foursome. They more than made up for not having the keyboard by using the guitar. Let me say, between Smith and Thompson they made even a songs like Lullabye and Lovesong (which are pretty keyboard heavy) sound amazing and new. The reworking of a lot of the classics, some almost 30 years old, brought an added intensity to their sound. So, while it was different, it was by no means less then great. They played for over 3 hours, which included 3 encores. Man, Robert's voice was just on. Gallup and Cooper rounding out the percussion section were just solid. They played a wide range of songs from really old to tracks off of the upcoming album. Which sounded great. I'll get the setlist together when I'm more awake. I really wanted to hear Fascination Street, which they unfortunately didn't play. They did, however, play Charlotte Sometimes one of my all time favorites. The songs really brought back a lot of memories for me. Hanging with my friends back in Art School. Especially my roommate Scott. He loved them. He also turned me on to Fugazi. For which I am eternally greatful. People tend to make fun of the gloominess of the Cure, but for me I always heard the beauty in the music to make me feel alive. I always felt that even at their most morose the songs sing out of love. All in all a great show by a unique band. BRAVO!
Peace,
Herc

Setlist
Underneath The Stars, Prayers For Rain, A Night Like This, The End of the World, Lovesong, A Letter To Elise, Want, Pictures of You, Lullaby, From the Edge of the Deep Green Sea, The Perfect Boy, Hot Hot Hot, The Only One, Wrong Number, The Walk, Sleep When I'm Dead, Push, How Beautiful You Are, Inbetween Days, Just Like Heaven, Primary, Shake Dog Shake, Charlotte Sometimes, One Hundred Years, Baby Rag Dog Book

1st encore: The Holy Hour, Other Voices, Drowning Man, Faith
2nd encore: Freakshow, Close To Me, Why Can't I Be You?
3rd encore: Boys Don't Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night, Killing An Arab

Cloud 9

2008-05-16T13:50:41Z

Well, Wednesday Transhuman #2 came out from Image Comics. It has a Mr. Lune back-up feature. I have to say I was not expecting the forward that Jonathan wrote. It really made me smile. Evidently, quite large since when I looked up in the comic shop a few of the employees were giggling at me. hahah I was going to play it cool, but honestly when people write nice stuff about you it's pretty hard to contain that energy. Here was Mr. Lune printed up on nice glossy paper. I was flying high for the rest of the day. I'm looking forward to having the new Mr. Lune comic printed up. Hopefully, it will be well received at Heroes this year. Anyway, if you are in the comic shop check it out. The rest of the book is really good too! Hickman can write his ass off!
Peace,
Herc

Discarded Mr. Lune cover idea

2008-05-13T01:00:54Z

Here is a rough idea for the cover of the Mr. Lune book. In the end I didn't think the drawing was strong enough. Oh well. Such is the life of the artist. hahaha
Peace,
Herc

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-05-09T11:13:44Z

What's this? Two posts in one week...the end of days are surely upon us. Well, folks Wednesday the 7th of May the Greek turned 37. Wow!!! How did that happen? I still think of myself as a young semi-hip young man. In reality I'm pushing 40. Man, that hurts to write. ha haa I mean as a kid you think 40...man, that is old. Now that I'm getting there it's not so bad. Sure, there is a little sagging here and there. I tolerate some things more, other things less. All in all I'm in an okay place right now. Still have the fire in my gut and still not to old to know what to do with it. Now, if only I could remember all the things I thought I knew when I was a teenager. I'd be doing fine. ;-p

Hope all is well.
Peace,
Herc

illtiki @ 2008-05-08T08:25:00

2008-05-08T12:31:30Z

Ok gang. I couldn't wait until the printed comic. I had to share the awesome pin-up my fellow studiomate Anthony Hightower (fresh off of the art duties on Image Comics Gutwrencher series) did of Mr. Lune. Here it is. Enjoy it. I most definitely did. That said it looks like I will have a new 20 page book of Mr. Lune ready for Heroes Con this year. woo hoo!!!! Come see me at the 803 Studios booth.
peace,
Herc

It's good to have friends!!

2008-04-08T00:07:17Z

Here's a new one pager, sans title credits, that I'm going to
post on my various websites the week Transhuman # 2 drops.  I
wanted something fun for people to enjoy.

What is Transhuman you ask?  Well, my buddy Jonathan Hickman (Nightly
News, Pax Romana)) has a new Image book called Transhuman.  He wanted to use
the original Mr. Lune story in issue number two as a backup
feature.  So, when it comes out in April I will put up this page in case
the one or two people that like it look up the websites.  It's pretty
exciting and it was really cool of him to ask me. It's just cool being in the same book as him. We had
Home Room together in High School, if you can believe that. haha 
What does all this mean for me? Probably nothing. hahaha It took everything in my power not
to redraw the story. hahaha

I'm trying to finally finish Milk Run in time for Heroes.  It looks like it'll
be around 16 pages.  So, that plus the original Lune and this one
pager...it will be a nice little package. Especially, since I found out
Oni will be there as well. I'm pretty happy with how it's looking so far.  Now I just need to finish it.

Okay, enough rambling about me.  I hope you are all doing well.
Peace,
Herc

NEW YEAR

2008-01-25T15:56:24Z

Hello again. I have a lot going on and I will definitely talk about it in a later post. Here's a bit of art to wet your appetite. hahaha. It's an initial drawing I did for a local company adapting the Tell Tale Heart. Yeah.
peace,
Herc

illtiki @ 2007-12-12T10:12:00

2007-12-12T15:14:24Z

Well, darn. It's been a long time since I've updated this journal thing. A lot has happened I suppose. Finished some new pages for a comic story which can be viewed here:

We made the plunge into becoming Vegans. And as much as I loved cheese a month later I don't miss it. I feel better then I have in a long time. So, onward we go.

Of course with good news most often there is bad news… they have informed my beautiful bride that at the end of this month they will no longer need her services at her current employer. After two years of working there they are making cutbacks and she is one of them. Merry Christmas. I'm sure it'll work out in the end, but the timing still sucks. It always seems when things are going well for us, that big black cloud that has followed me around most of my life makes it's way back in. Phooey.

That said, December 20th me and sweet celebrate 12 years of matrimony. We've come along way since that cold windy December day in a courtyard in downtown Charleston. A lot has happened, but I can honestly say I am more in love with her 12 years later then I ever thought possible. :-)

So, I look forward to 2008 as being a year of change and hope. I promise I will make a concentrated effort to update this journal with witty comments and most definitely art.

Peace,

Herc

www.sketchcharlotte.com Also, got a new gig illustrating the Tell Tale Heart for a local company. They are going to narrate kind of a flash type animation. I've heard the voice actor and it sounds sweet!!

Sketch Charlotte Podcast

2007-10-24T11:25:11Z

Last Thursday night Sketch Charlotte met and thanks to Joe we recorded the first ever Sketch Charlotte Podcast.
To listen go here: http://sketchcharlotte.podOmatic.com/entry/eg/2007-10-17T17_28_58-07_00

It was a lot of fun and I credit Joe for editing out all the silly stuff. Hopefully we don't sound too geeky. :-)
I really enjoy meeting with this group. They are all great artists and push me forward creatively.
I was very briefly a member of my freinds Ed and Joel's Sketchsouth, which sparked Jen and I to want to start something here that would be a meeting of minds to discuss all matters of art. It's been a blast so far.
So, check out the podcast and hopefully enjoy.
Peace,
Herc

Bryan Lee O'Malley

2007-10-19T13:52:47Z

I decided to post this since it doesn't look like the site I originally wrote it for is actually going to use it. :-(

Friday night at 7pm on October 5th, Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find hosted a signing with Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of indy darling Scott Pilgrim. O’Malley worked on Hopeless Savages then moved on to Lost at Sea before creating Scott Pilgrim. With Scott Pilgrim he really hit on something extraordinary. O’Malley has created a unique blend of comics and video game culture that leaves you with the feeling of listening to your favorite song. Like his contemporaries Corey Lewis (Shark Knife) and Brandon Graham (King City), O’Malley joins them in bringing music back into comics. It’s truly an awesome experience and a great series. There are three volumes of Scott Pilgrim currently published by Oni Press. Do you yourselves a favor and run out and purchase them.

Let me briefly talk about Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find. This is the type of comic shop everyone dreams about having in their home town. The store is nicely designed and the selection is out of this world. There aren’t many stores that carry such a wide variety of independent comics. The staff is knowledgeable, friendly and shockingly; quite attractive. Seriously, come to the store sometime. It’s all overseen by Shelton Drum, who puts on one of the best comic conventions in the country with Heroescon.

Things started promptly at 7 pm. The crowd started out a bit slow but grew steady as the night progressed. I was expecting to see a large portion of the Emo set come out for the signing, so it was nice to see that people of all ages standing in line. One of the things that stood out right away about O’Malley was how personable he was. O’Malley, not only signed each book, but drew headshots as well. He drew detailed sketches for anyone who asked. He even did a portrait of one fan that was dead on in accuracy. It was nice to see an artist take the time for his fans. The fans seemed enthusiastic and grateful for his generosity. One fan even drove eight hours just to get a chance to meet him. He never grew tired of signing peoples copies of Scott Pilgrim and Lost at Sea.

O’Malley told the crowd that he had just finished Scott Pilgrim Vol. 4 on Sunday and if all goes well, it should be on sale November 7th. The crowd was quite happy to hear the news. He had original pages from the previous volumes for sale with him. I had the chance to peruse them and they were quite beautiful. It’s always neat to see a fellow artist’s pages up close and to be able to examine how they lay down the ink. The pages were only 8 ½ x 11 but highly detailed. Looking over the pages it was interesting to see that he actually letters them digitally. Another thing I noticed was how clean they were. They almost looked effortlessly drawn. He wound up selling a few before the night was over.

Throughout the night O’Malley talked about comics and music to a very responsive crowd. He may try to do some shorter stories in the future. O’Malley seemed excited at creating web and mini comics again. Especially, after something that could be as daunting as a 200 page graphic novel. The crowd would often talk about their favorite parts of the Scott Pilgrim stories. Some went so far as to dissect the characters a bit. You really got a sense that it spoke to them on many levels. O’Malley assured the crowd that more stories of their favorite slacker were on the way. What ever he decides to do next you can bet this crowd will follow him.

As the evening started to wrap up Shelton and crew popped open some wine and beer. They brought out some finger foods and the get together lasted into the night. Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find hosts a great event. This was one of the best signings I have ever been to. This felt more like a gathering a friends than a traditional signing. O’Malley seemed to enjoy himself and he came off as a witty and friendly creator. I even heard whispers that he may come down for Heroescon. I sincerely hope so