The art sale is going quite well. 9 pieces sold the first day. Since we planned on leaving the sale running for a week or two, we’re going to add new pieces in order to keep a nice variety available. There was a lot of Echo art in the first batch, so Robyn suggested I now dip into SiP a bit more.

Anyway, I dove into the archives and found some surprising jewels. For example, I pulled the earliest page left in my collection of Francine, Katchoo, and David, all on the same page. It’s page 24 from issue 2 of the mini-series… from 1993! It’s not the earliest page left in my vault, but it’s the earliest page of The Big Three all together.  BTW, David’s funky haircut in the mini-series was an actual style my coworker was wearing at the video editing facility where I was employed during this time. My job often involved baby-sitting tape machines while hours of tape were copied from one machine to another. I would sit in a chair near the machines, alone, drawing and even inking the mini-series pages on my lap… usually with music playing loudly on the sound system. I got a couple of letters from readers at the time, noting Katchoo’s shirt looked like Wonder Girl or somebody. I didn’t know that. I just drew a thunderbird for pizazz. Oh, and when Katchoo kissed David, I knew they were going to have sex someday, and I would have to draw that. How to do so without coming off as a perv? I was already worried about it, 13 years before it happened. What a dope.

Another vintage page I love: page 20 from issue 3 of the mini-series. This is where Francine exacts her revenge on Freddie, sneaking into his office to grab an incriminating computer disk (which is in the hands of Freddie’s secretary, Margie, who is hiding by the coat rack while Francine distracts Freddie). When Margie makes a noise, Freddie turns his head but Francine impulsively grabs his face and plants a huge kiss on his lips, blurting out the words she knows he longs to hear. In that moment, she has seized all the power in the relationship, and gone from being the victim to the complex Francine we loved in the series. I loved this scene. I love this page.

I also found page 5 from issue 13, where David encounters an 8 year old Bjork on a plane. Unfortunately, Bjork beats the hell out of David by kicking his seat like a jackhammer. This scene came to me on a plane, of course. Robyn and I were returning from our first San Diego con. Across the aisle, a child was kicking the seat back in front of him, ruining the flight for the poor man up front. What were random kicks in real life processed in my brain as an all-out, neck-snapping attack. Every time the kid kicked the seat, I giggled, which only added to the poor man’s frustration. When I got back to the drawing board, David got the honors. Still makes me laugh.

Freddie and Casey’s wedding is one of my favorite scenes in SiP. Who gets married standing naked under a Hawaiian waterfall, and hires an out of work actor to serve as minister? I guess that sounded romantic back in Houston with a couple of bottles of wine under his belt, but Freddie clearly didn’t have his heart in this whole wedding thing because Casey was the rebound girl and Francine was the one that got away. Then, SNAP! Francine is there, and Freddie sees his chance to save his life before he takes the plunge. Hey, I’m not making this stuff up. It’s right here on page 17 from SiP 13!

(note: Francine’s look and pose in panels 2 and 6 were direct lifts from favorite comic strip panels I’d drawn a few years earlier of a prototype Francine. At this early point in SiP, I was still going through the best of all my pre-existing ideas and art notes. That changed with the launch of Volume Three, when I had used up most of that stuff, and began creating everything from thin air—in other words: all new ideas.)

(note #2: did you ever notice that Freddie could hide all his dangly bits with one hand? (last panel) Cold water shrinkage aside, I always thought that was funny. Clearly Francine wasn’t missing much. And while we’re on the topic, I always thought of Chuck (Francine’s boyfriend before Freddie) as being very well endowed—hence he and Francine’s reportedly wild sex life. Just one more dig at Freddie, even if it is between the lines. It all adds up in the subconscious.)

All the SiP covers are gone, sold, except for the covers to the last issue, #90, and SiP 27, which nobody would want because it’s weird. But when I was going through the issues, I found a lost gem… the cover art to issue 28. The image is dark and powerful, Francine looking over her shoulder and crying. This was for a very dark issue. I did take this piece of art to a couple of conventions once, but people like to buy happy pictures, so i stuck it back in the folder and forgot about it. I’m offering it now because it is the last SIP cover I have to offer. And perhaps there is someone out there who will find this image speaks to them. I can tell you where I got the idea. From a photograph I saw back in the ’80’s, of a little English boy, well-dressed and maybe 5 or 6 years old,  looking back over his shoulder as he is being led away by an adult. The boy had this look on his face. It just stuck with me. That happens. I see an image once that impressed me and the image is in my head forever. Sometimes, later, I draw them. That was the case here. It is meant to symbolize Francine’s state of mind as she loses Katchoo to the past that finally caught up with her. At the time, I decided I’d drawn enough happy covers. It was time to draw “reality”.

And while we’re looking at covers, I’ve pulled my two best Echo covers for you. The iconic image to Echo 16, and the cover to yet-to-be-published Echo 22! These two are almost before and after pics of Julie as more and more of Annie’s Alloy 618 becomes attached to her skin. (By the way, I have the cover art to #22 so early because I have to draw covers 5 months in advance of a book coming out—that’s when solicitations and ads are due to distributor Diamond Comics.) I originally penciled Julie topless on the  #16 cover, but Robyn suggested that was uncalled for. I mean, the shorts stayed on—why was the top always coming off? No amount of evidence of bare-breasted Marvel and Wildstorm chromium women helped my case, (where’s Jim Lee when I need him?!) so I added the shirt and drew the pose before she could finish buttoning up. Naturally this makes it even worse than topless, because the imagination takes over and next thing you know, it’s a mental Mardi Gras.

Echo 16 cover art:

Six issues later, the party is in full swing because Julie is decked out head-to-toe in Silver Surfer garb. To hell with clothes. To be honest, this is the way I always pictured it. The way I first imagined the hero in Echo. Somewhere between human and a cosmic force of nature. I waited 22 issues to get her to this point, and here’s the first, real defining image. (that’s a symbol for nuclear civil defense in the background, BTW.)

Echo 22 cover art:

Those are the new additions to the art gallery. Happy shopping!

It’s that time of year, folks! Time to pull some of my favorite pages from the vault and try to find good homes for them around the world so that if lightning were to strike the studio, my art (some of it, at least) will survive.

The sale begins Thursday, Feb 4th at the SiPstore SiPArt Gallery.

I’ve pulled 23 pages of original pen and ink art from Echo and Strangers In Paradise. Every page means something to me for one reason or another, and I tried to select pages that would look good framed and hanging on a wall. For instance, we all like action, but very few people want to buy a page of bloody violence, so I’m not offering any pages like that in the sale. You can always contact us direct if you’re interested in a particular page but, for the sale, I’ve pulled pieces that showcase the characters in memorable moments. Like Echo 2, page 19… Ivy takes off in her plane for the first time, leaving daughter Lulu to wave goodbye from the porch of the house.

Or Echo 10, page 19… a  dramatic cliffhanger developing as Cain advances on Julie and Dillon and Ivy can only listen helplessly on the phone. Very cool. But what’s even better is the flipside of this page is completely penciled in an early version of what would eventually become the cover to Echo 14! I sometimes draw on the backs of pages, but never this complete.

And you might think there are no good Strangers In Paradise pages left, but you’d be happily mistaken! I still have many jewels left in the art bank. Like SIP 76, page 5… Katchoo walking  through the park we’ve seen seen since the beginning of the series, contemplating her world view and men in particular, aka surviving on a planet of predators, trying to tell the good from the bad. It’s just classic Katchoo and the art is clean and crisp.

There are seven pages from SiP in the sale, all pulled from the some of the best moments in the story. Francine looking gorgeous at a party on her husband’s arm, suddenly sensing the presence of Katchoo while a drunken Freddie wails Freebird from a tabletop (issue 76, page 17). Casey and Katchoo formulating a plan for Katchoo to go on a sex binge with the terminally ill David in order to get pregnant with his child, while David listens in—as usual having no say in the matter. Very funny (issue 84, page 7). Or just the fun and G-Rated sexy full page illustration of Katchoo riding piggyback on Francine and waving a fistful of SIP comics. This was drawn special as a print for last year’s San Diego Comic Con, so I was very careful to do my best work, knowing it would be reprinted full size and studied by millions upon millions around the globe.

So, again, 23 pages of original art in this sale. If you’ve ever wanted to get as close as possible to the real Katchoo, Francine or Julie or Ivy… this is probably your best chance. More on the art as we go. I have a feeling some of these pages will go fast, so… good luck!

Early industry conversations about the iPad and comics here.

The new issue of Echo is out, as of yesterday. If all went well in the U.S. trucking industry the past week, your local comic shop (LCS) should have Echo 19 sitting front and center, looking for a loving home. So look for this cover in your journeys today. I hope you enjoy it.

The Dallas Comic Con

Robyn and I were at the warehouse this morning, packing goodies to take to the Dallas con like Santa loading the sleigh. But I always think the same thing when I’m loading up: ‘I hope I sell all this so I can come home empty handed.’ That’s happened twice in 17 years though. I always take too much. I’m like the mother with a fridge full of leftover, “Well, somebody may want this.” So, please, come by the table and buy some leftovers.

Echo in French

Delcourt is publishing Echo in French, to very good reviews I’m happy to report. The Belgium site, BrusselsBDTour just posted a nice article on the 2nd TPB.

So, the iPad…

The iPad looks like what I expected, aka great. If I was Adobe and Wacom, I’d be humping it to get a Photoshop and drawing tablet app on this thing. In the meantime, I am planning on offering my comics on the iPad, as soon as we are told how to do it and where to send it. I was already investigating the Kindle routine because my B&W work would do fine there, too. But the screen on the iPad just seals the deal. A hi-def color screen in vertical format. Are you kidding me? That’s like a comic book dream come true. So, yeah. Gonna be a part of that, soon as they tell us where to line up and what to bring.

You know, the iPad debuted yesterday, the same day the Verizon contract for my Crapberry expired. Now I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I hate my Crapberry. I only bought it because I had to: AT&T’s coverage is so bad that my iPhone wouldn’t even work in my studio. So I switched back to Verizon, with their fantastic coverage and their horrible phones. AT&T has great phones and horrible coverage. Verizon has great coverage and horrible phones. I feel like a pouting 3 year old… it’s just not fair. Anyway, after learning the iPad will require AT&T service, I threatened to go back and get on the wagon. But Robyn talked me out of it. So later today I’ll go to Verizon, pick out the least crappy piece of plastic cheap crap they have and make do. Crap. Life was simple when it was just a princess phone or nothing, and if you’re younger than 100 you have no idea what a princess phone is, or was, but trust me, it was simpler and nobody ever had to talk about phones, just on them.

Also time to update my laptop and display. But that’s another conversation. I should get a job at an Apple store, just for the employee discount. My colorist Brian Miller uses all Apple. Too bad we can’t get together and load up on 2 for 1 purchases.

—

Back to the drawing board, making pages for issue 20. Only 10 more issues to go. Wow, that’ll get your attention. Still not sure what I will do next, of course. Options abound. We’ll have to see what the year brings. But at this point, Echo will be complete by early 2011. Expect an Echo Omnibus at SDCC 2011. That’s the plan.

Stoopid cartoon of the day:

I have not made an authorized digital library of my work to date, but tomorrow that may change. Tomorrow Steve Jobs debuts what he refers to as  his “most important work ever”, the iPad. I’m sure I speak for most comic creators when I say we are anxious to see this thing. Will the iPad be to the Kindle what the iPhone is to the Palm Pilot? And if comics on the iPad look as crisp and beautiful as the photoshop files on the creator’s computer, isn’t that going to be hard to resist?

This could be a deadly turning point though. If the iPad turns comics and all printed material (books, magazines, newspapers) towards an iTunes-like digital hub, and everybody goes in that direction, what will happen to the direct market and all the retailers with brick and mortar stores that have nurtured and kept this industry alive through some of its toughest times? I owe these stores. They’ve supported me and made my career possible. Every pro can say the same, whether it’s me or the new guy or the aging legend. We will all be thrilled if and when we get a digital device that secures comics a seat on the runaway train that is the 21st century. But let’s all hope and pray that the ride somehow involves the retailers who got us to the station in the first place. Let’s hope it’s the retailers who build the Amazon of comics, who carry the best eReaders already loaded with the best bibliographies, who launch the first global swap meets from their stores or offer the newbie creator his first job in a known periodical digital anthology “mix” that is popular because the expert retailer knows the pulse of the masses better than anyone.

It’s so hard to envision our roles, or even our security, in whatever is around the corner. But let me remind you that nobody in the pre-PC/internet world could picture business as it’s conducted today, and now the top ten careers are all pc or net related. It can be the same for us in comics. Don’t let your knees buckle if the iPad turns out to The Chosen One. Our new roles in comics are hard to see because they don’t yet exist. Tomorrow they may be crystal clear, and exciting. I for one look forward to working with all my friends in the comics industry, retailers and creators alike, digital or print, for years to come. Who knows, your favorite retailer on the corner may even become comic’s first billionaire someday. 6 billion people with an iPad is a big customer base. Somebody’s gotta sell them my comics. Please.

My son Trey has a website where he posts his own strip Koopa’s Keep. It’s fun stuff about him and his friends and gaming and wrestling and whatever it is young men do between naps. This week he’s posting guest strips and today is mine. Here’s the first panel. To read the rest, click here.

This Saturday (which is supposed to be COLD!) I will be at the Dallas Comicon, which, if you recall from earlier posts, takes place in the neighborhood I spent my teens. Funny how things happen like that. The building of the con is on the grounds of a nice big library. I spent many hours in that library as a young man, pouring over the artbooks and anything related to art. Something of a full circle to come back to the same complex for professional art reasons. Brings a smile to my face.

Anyway, Robyn and I will be there for the one day. We are bringing:

The SiP Omnibus (not sure how many of these to bring). The standing lifetime offer for Omnibus owners is you get a free sketch in Book One. In Dallas or wherever. If you bought an Omnibus when they first came out and were rush shipped out to waiting preorders, then you can always visit me at a con and get your free sketch in your copy of Book One. Or if you see me at a restaurant in 5 years, or at the dog show in 20 years, you can pull your Omnibus out of your bag and I will sketch in it. Or maybe I’m just driving down your street in my little mini cooper. You holler and run inside the house, bring out your Omnibus and I stop and sketch in it. Yeah, it’s that easy. Lifetime offer. Just have to catch me before the morgue. Offer ends there.

Echo TPBs

SiP Pocketbooks

2009 SiP & Echo t-shirts

2009 SiP & Echo prints

SiP cloisonne pins of Katchoo, Francine & David (we’ve sold these forever because we love them)

the Katchoo action figure which comes in a nifty package (see it here)

So we’ll have a full table. I’ll plant myself and do sketches on request ($100 a sketch). Be there all day. Come see us. Ask questions. Show us your tattoo. Or just hang out and visit. We’re friendly.

So Twitter was down on Wednesday and people responded in a big way. I would do the same if you cut off my daily Dr. Pepper. It’s called addiction. The best article about the shutdown pointed out we have all abandoned our own blogs and web sites in favor of these social networks, then we become dependent on them in a big way (re: Haitian relief efforts, war protests and info). Which in turn means we’ve just lost our networking independence and built a new CBS, or New York Times, aka a giant without a face, a giant who can be targeted and toppled. Enter cyber attacks that stomp on our ant bed and send us all scurrying out of sync.

I think the writer made a good point.  I’m certainly guilty. I’ve been using Twitter and Facebook for my daily posts and news updates because it was easier to reach more people. In order to read this blog, you have to deliberately come here, like seeking out a shop in the mall. But with the social sites, it’s like standing in the town center with a microphone. Lots more exposure. The problem is, everybody else is there, with a mike, too. After awhile, every new social network we build develops the same dynamics. So there’s a lot to be said for our websites and blogs. They’re as close to independence as we can get on the net, and that means a lot to this aging rebel.

So, lesson learned. In 2010, I’ll be putting the bulk of my net work into the blog and home site. Maida and I have long talked about updating the website. Switching it from frames to something that will have bookmarkable urls, for one thing. And now that we have SIP and ECHO, the question of how to put everything into one site has been tooling around in our minds. I think you’ll see some changes coming soon. And hopefully, for the better as we work to improve abstractstudiocomics.com and make it a fun and informative place to visit and hang out.

Hmm… I guess I don’t need to point out the obvious, that all this is overlooking our collective, absolute life-or-death dependence on our computers in the first place. I’m old enough to remember life before laptops. But those were dark times and we don’t speak of them anymore.

Talked about Echo 17 and beyond at Newsarama recently, plus the who, what, where, why and how on the whole Phi thing.