Coked Up Stephen King Is Fun.

Thought I’d celebrate working hard lately by posting a bit more artwork this week. Been putting in the hours lately so I can ease up a bit next week for my birthday.

Been going through a big Stephen King craze lately. Spent the last part of 2010 buying and watching a lot Stephen King TV movies like Salam Lot, IT and The Stand. Also over Christmas I read Danse Macabre, his non-fiction book on horror. Also got a Stephen King DVD boxset off my brother for Xmas. I just wanted Maximum Overdrive, but could only get it as part of a boxset (which was fine as the other movies were ok and the boxset was pretty cheap.) Maximum Overdrive is maybe seen as a bit of a flop by many, but I have to say I have a soft spot in my heart for this film. Ok, it starts a lot better then it ends. It starts big and runs out of steam in the last third of the film, but it has its moments. King himself has said he was on a lot of coke at the time and didn’t know what he was doing, which I could believe after watching the trailer (which is fast becoming one of my favourite trailers of all time, and is by far scarier then the film itself.) Reading Danse Macabre over Xmas, I’d love to see a second one. Danse Macabre covers films, books and TV from roughly King’s lifetime I.e. 50’s, 60’s and 70’s as the book was published in 81. I’d love to read King’s take on recent horror films, TV shows and books from the 80’s 90’s and 00’s. I got such a buzz out of reading it and hope one day there is a follow up.

Finishing Line.

Should hopefully be wrapping up issue #2 soon. I’m trying to make sure it ends on a high and not rush the last pages too much. That said I am itching to do some pin ups again. I want to fatten up my portfolio a little before spring. That’s the plan for the moment, anyway.

Walking, Talking.

Any memory of Xmas and New Year is long gone and I’m back in the thick of it now. I know some people hate this time of year but I’m actually having an all right January. I think it’s because New Year usually starts slowly and not much happens in the first month or two, but I’ve got a few things on my plate already. I’m sure once all my energy from having some time off over New Year is gone and I’m begging for a rest again, I’ll be back to feeling shitty. But for the moment, this is a alright period for me.

Decided to give myself a treat this week and order the three most recent Walking Dead graphic novels. I ordered them at the start of the week and didn’t expect to get them until the end of the week, but they came this morning. This would usually be a very welcome treat, but the problem is Walking Dead graphic novels are very moreish and don’t last long. I’ve already read one today in short reads and today’s been pretty busy. They won’t last till the weekend, which is when I wanted to read them in a giant Walking Dead binge. I think I’ve said it before on this blog, but Walking Dead is like crack. Post-apocalyptic crack… you just get hooked after one volume.

Fur Pile.

Been getting into a new TV show lately called 1000 Ways To Die. A show about the weirdest and sometimes downright unluckiest ways people have meet their end. I’ve only caught a few episodes, but I’m hooked. Some are just plane insane and unbelievable. It’s funny but morbid stuff.

Here’s my favourite tale so far. #412: Em-Bear-Assed.(It's marked under mature on Youtube, sadly, so you’ll probably have to sign in.)

Fonzie Style.

I think this guy’s channelling his inner Fronzie in this shot. The girls love him.

I need to go harvest some podcasts from the mighty world wide web now. I’ve been away from the drawing-board for ages and it’s time to jump back in and I’m going to need to refill my itunes playlist for tomorrow, first. Any recommendations are more then welcome. I go through so many podcasts, I’m always on the look out for new shows.

New Pages.

I’m not gonna lie, I think I burned myself out a bit at the end of last year trying to get as much done before 2011 as I could. I’m currently going through one of those phases where I can’t even stomach looking at my own artwork at the moment. Having a little break to set up my new printer and lettering some pages on the computer has been a welcome distraction, but I do need to finish Issue 2 off. Maybe I’ll just tackle the cover next and give my sequential juices time to refill before doing the last few pages, who knows?

Speaking of sequential pages… I’ve posted the first two full pages of issue 2 on my DeviantArt page today. Worth checking out if you want to see how issue 2 is shaping up. I hope to post a couple more later in the year. But for now we’ll start with two of my favourites pages.

Page one.

Page two.

Enjoy.

War Zone.

One thing I’ve learnt through doing issue 2 is that I really like drawing ruins. Busted up houses and so on. It was a little subplot idea I throw in at the least minute, and I got a real kick out of it. It’s something I’d like to come back to at some point. This panel is one of my favourite so far. I’m pretty happy with the look and feel of it.

I can see the mundane, day-to-day, real world returning over the horizon. Everything is more or less back to normal now. I may not really have got into the Xmas spirit this year, but I’m sad to see Xmas 2010 end. I’m going to be spending the first part of this year finishing the cover and last few pages of issue 2 of project B.O.B.. Sorting out my printer problems (new one came on Friday). And turning 29 and getting very depressed about it. Posting the first couple of full pages from issue 2 in the next week or two. All that and one or two things I won’t go into now.

Brand new year, same old shit.

Also Wonder Leia is a super hot concept. I hope 2011 will be the year of the sexy, cosplay mash-ups.

Happy New Year.

Happy 2011.

Well surprisingly, I’ve got a fairly clear head and my eyes are pretty blood-shot free today. I thought I’d feel like road-kill right about now. It’s a nice enough start to 2011. My only fear is it’s going to hit me like a tidal wave of pain in about twenty minutes, however. It’s going to be an interesting next couple of hours.

Why is that week between Xmas and New Year so quick? The best week of the year, also the quickest.

2011, huh? Let see how this year plays out.