Eric Orchard's Blog, page 47

Ollie The Vampire By Gaia Bordicchia

Look at this!! Another stunning piece of Marrowbones art from another of my favorite artists, Gaia Bordicchia! This time it's Ollie the nervous vampire. You must check out Gaia's work here. 

Kitchen Lich And Dough Zombies By Kelly Williams

Wow! Check out this amazing picture inspired by Marrowbones by cartoonist/illustrator Kelly Williams. I am really honored to get this, I've been a huge fan of Kelly's for years. Kelly's done work for Alterna Comics and top shelf. Follow him on Twitter, he's great to discuss comics with too. and check out his Deviantart page.  

The Townhouse

Still settling in and moving stuff into our new home. Already this is the most settled I've felt in Toronto. It's a great vibrant neighborhood, the place is perfect for us and I love my new studio. My new passion is filling the walls with art. I ordered a Travis Louie print this morning and I want a Tintin print and an Arthur Rackham one as well. This is really fun. In walking distance is a book store, several cafes, a wine store, a toy store and a grocery store. So, it's just great. 

Moving Day

So, our move to the townhouse has begun in earnest. Of course it's snowing. I just realized this is the first time I'll live in a house of brick. I did this sketch in a few spare moments in the chaos of moving.

The Don't Pick The Flowers Marrowbones Interview

Please check out the interview I did for the wonderful Don't Pick The Flowers site where I talk about Marrowbones and influences and publishing. You can read it right here.

Check Out: Hopeless, Maine

Today's guest post is written by Nimue Brown, who together with Thomas Brown make the wonderful comic Hopeless, Maine, published by Archaia.


"Hopeless, as a small, fictional island off the coast of Maine, has
been around for some time. It evolved from a peninsula, as islands are
wont to do, aided and abetted by a conversation Tom had with his
father. Tom’s father suggested that ‘Hope’ would be a good name for
the island…


 I landed about eight years ago, drawn in by the brooding atmosphere
and the mysterious story. Somewhere along the way, Tom persuaded me to
try writing about it, and I’ve never really left. But that’s normal.
People very seldom get to leave Hopeless. It’s that sort of an island.


Most people, in fact, either descended from the handful of founding
families, or were shipwrecked. The rocky coast does not suggest
comfort. Things peer at you from cracks and caves. Nearby, the seaweed
is moving. Whether the plant itself is mobile, of something large
slithers about underneath, is hard to tell. The air shimmers with
glowing things. They don’t seem hostile. But on the other hand, they
aren’t doing anything too friendly.


You have no idea where you are. But that’s fine, because knowing
wouldn’t help you in the slightest.


Hopeless is the setting for our graphic novel saga, first installment
coming soon from Archaia, and already coming out electronically
through comixology.


Book One of the Hopeless Saga, Personal Demons, introduces Salamandra,
a small girl with a penchant for magic. Sal is a touch feral, but
that’s not entirely her fault. Growing up in an abandoned house has
not done much for her social skills. Her parents apparently did not
want her. The local witch does not want her. The orphanage is obliged
to take her in. The demons, on the other hand, have all sorts of
other, more interested attitudes."


The Hopeless, Maine website. 

And on the Archaia site. (with preview!)

And on ComiXology. 

New Comic Wednesday

Starting tomorrow and going for at least the next several weeks I'm starting a new feature here on the blog where I have a guest post done by someone making a comic I really feel merits your attention. I'm calling it New Comic Wednesdays for lack of anything better.

We're starting tomorrow with Nimue and Thomas Brown's Hopeless,Maine. Tune i!

Marrowbones Guest Essay On SUVUDU

In this very brief essay I talk about self publishing Marrowbones and how DIY fits into traditional publishing.

Marrowbones Review In Kleefeld On Comics

( Page one of Kitchen Lich without colour, I almost published MB without colour!)

A great review of Marrowbones by Sean Kleefeld. Sean points out some weaknesses in Marrowbones one that I fully agree with. One great thing about reviews is that if you're brave enough and with the right combination of humility and tenacity you can learn very important lessons from the insights of reviewers. Especially the negative ones. Not that this is a negative review at all. But it's an honest one. I've been keeping this review open on my computer to remind myself not to make the same mistakes in book 2. With Marrowbones I've been thinking a lot of the importance of critics in the comic book ecology. We need more critical voices like Sean's. 

The Marrowbones Dr. Gangrene Interview

An interview the cartoonist behind Marrowbones, me (pictured above) did with Dr Gangrene. This was a really fun interview and I think I was more awake than usual and thus maybe a bit more insightful. The interview was being insightful as well, love what Dr Gangrene said about the book
"The world of Marrowbones Swamp is a place of childlike wonder in a dark horror wrapping" 
Perfect!
Read the full interview here. Buy Marrowbones here, and remember to follow the link back to my site: