Launch the Plank

I’m having a belated book launch for Fir Valley, at Lucky’s Comics this Wednesday July 19. Come on out and get a book, or just hang out and celebrate that I finished this book. We can hang out in the back alley.

Fir Valley Launch Poster

I am also pretty much done my plank comic. It is always fun to revisit “paint” and try to figure out how that works. Next project: Painting ember logs (with a tiny astronaut) to cover our dusty nasty fake fireplace . Top panel of the plank…

Plank 1

Drawing and Painting

I have been noodling and doodling and gradually thinking myself towards a new comic. Here are a couple of drawings I did from photos I found on the internet, looking for overgrown things.

 

Hotel Ruin

Factory Ruin

In the meantime, I finally got rolling on a project that originally was going to be a mural in our old place in North Vancouver. At the start of December 2014, I was planning to work on it over my Xmas break. By the time Xmas rolled around we had decided to sell our place. Recently Manien and I decided to revisit the mural idea, which I still liked. We bought a seven foot plank that I am going to paint it on. I don’t paint very often, and every time I have to figure out how it works again. But it is a fun and different process.

Wall Comic Panel 1 WIP

Wall Comic on my Desk

Summer of Twin Peaks

Happy Summer Solstice. I think it is tomorrow.

I have not updated in a while. VanCAF was ages ago! I had a really good show, possibly the best show I have ever had actually. The comic jam we had in association with the show went really well too. Lots of people came, many many pages were drawn.

I updated my store, so now you can buy Fir Valley and the most recent Vinegar issues there.

Since VanCAF I have been drawing, trying to figure out what I want to work on next. The past couple of weeks I was hanging out with Manien while she was on vacation. Relaxing on our lovely balcony, going for walks. On one particularly early walk we actually saw the beavers that live down by the Olympic Village.

Oh, and we have been watching TWIN PEAKS. I can’t tell you how happy it has been making me. Such a joy to be back in that world, with old characters and new, mysteries and histories. To have decadent hours and hours of new David Lynch. Even the novelty of having to wait for new episodes (I honestly could not tell you the last time I did that) is making me savour it all the more. Luckily Manien has been loving it too. Why, here are a couple of comics from Vinegar 39, drawn before the new show was released, one about visiting Twin Peaks, one about anticipating the show.

Vinegar 39 A

Vinegar 39 B

Manien and I went to the Island to visit her sister and family. I traditionally do a “Mission” with my niece and nephew, which is a fantasy adventure with a map and hazards and so on. This mission took place mostly in a witch’s cottage, with the heroes shrunk to mouse size. I had way too much fun naming the various creatures they encountered.

Mission Creatures

And here is the kind of thing I draw to relax while I listen to podcasts, from Google Street View.

Brooklyn

New Stuff

This weekend, May 20 and 21, is VanCAF. It is the only show I am lined up to do this year so far. Here is a map to where I will be.

I am very excited to be bringing my new full colour book Fir Valley. I have one next to my computer here, on a stand. It is beautiful.

I will also have two brand new minis, Vinegar 39 and Bird Comics 4.

     

Additionally on Saturday, we will be having a special VanCAF edition of the Vancouver Comic Jam, which will be an awesome time.

And furthermore, I will be on a panel on Sunday about Building a Comics Community.

On top of that, the new Twin Peaks starts this weekend. Holy moley.

Rebuilding

I had to switch up my hosting for my site, and ran into some technical difficulties. This was just when I was pushing to finish Fir Valley, a push that has ended up lasting four months. So I did not have the time or energy to sort out the site. But here we are, perhaps back on track at last.

Currently Cloudscape Comics is running a Kickstarter to fund Fir Valley as well as Sean Karemaker’s Feast of Fields. It just has a few days left. Go help us blast past the goal.