Evan Dorkin's Blog, page 18

Latest Art Auctions

We have some new art up on eBay, including an old Pirate Corp$! page, Welcome to Eltingville character designs, a Yo Gabba Gabba! piece from the first Super Martian Robot Girl cartoon, a Mad illustration (with layouts), and some Silver Age-era Marvel Comics pin-ups which I've posted here in the recent past (Black Bolt, Medusa, The Rhino).

Thanks for looking if you look, thanks for bidding if you bid.

Over and out.

PVC Warrior

Also, here's a better scan of The Gamut from a ways back. The small scanner never picked up colors too well, I might re-scan some of the old Monsters if time allows.

Suave Credenzo

This and That:

Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch hit stores yesterday and I have to say the response has been really gratifying. I think we've had more feedback on this than when the Animal Rites collection first came out, which I have to assume means we've picked up some readers since then. Then again, it's been...two years...um, so, let's hope so. Anyway, I guess the thing is I wasn't really expecting much of a response because the comic reprints three DHP stories, but obviously a lot of folks haven't seen the material yet. And we've seen some nice write-ups and tweets from folks who are new to the series. So, cool. Hopefully we'll have some news on new stories in the works sometime soon (he types, knowing full well whether or not there are any new stories in the works). Anyway, thanks to anyone who picked up the comic.

Oh -- the Milk and Cheese HC is out of stock at Amazon, and there's no more coming from DHC until a second printing is scheduled and all, so, if you want a copy, check with your local comic shop (if you have one) or look on eBay or maybe Barnes and Noble still has it. FYI.

Otherwise, I'm doing some drawings for some comic, and writing some other thing, and dreaming of pitching ideas for new comics I probably won't ever pitch, and we wrote a Bongo 2-pager, and Sarah and I are in the middle of that animation project I mentioned previously. It's been going pretty well after a rocky start. None of you will likely ever see anything from it, but, hey, wouldn't it be cool if that weren't the case. One never knows, although, with tv/film stuff, one can usually guess, and that guess would be IT'S NOT HAPPENING, and that guess would usually be correct.

Which reminds me, in case anyone was wondering. That Beasts of Burden film development situation? No news on anything happening there. Could you guess? I have to say, though, we really don't think about it often. It's something that happened, and maybe we'll see an option re-up in a while, but it's pretty much not something we worry about or make wishes on shooting stars about. I worry about the comics. All. The. Time.

Speaking of comics, I've been away from our LCS, Comic Book Jones for more than a month now, which is sort of like an drunk not hitting the bar up for a while. Things have been hectic and a script went ape-crazy on us and the weather's been ugly so we haven't been out much. We did take Em to see her first movie (Brave), our first time in a movie theater in almost a decade. And we run errands, so I've taken comics out from the library. Read Anya's Ghost (okay, wasn't knocked out as I expected from the reviews, some narrative bumps, it discards characters/side plots like used tissues and overall I thought it was a well-cartooned but fairly routine story overall), Witch Doctor vol 1 (liked it, a little overly-amped up in places, thought it tried too hard and had pacing problems, inking was rushed, but fun overall), Locke and Key vol 1 (liked it quite a bit, but the bad guy doing bad guy things got repetitive, a few scenes of violence actually made me laugh because of the drawing, the art was super-strong on locations and locales but a little weird when it came to the people, mainly faces), Xe'd Out (as always, nifty, creepy, lovely art from Charles Burns, I liked it, but very much a first chapter and a little "eh" because of it). I re-read our copies Junji Ito's Museum of Horror with all the Tomie craziness. Crazy, of course. I wish there was more Ito out there here. Maybe there is. I have no idea.

Been watching stuff on Netflix here and there, mostly Asian horror stuff, mostly Thai and Korean, with The Host being a standout (although I thought the last half hour dragged and the final "boss fight" was awkwardly staged -- still, some stand-out monster crap, especially the audacious rampage on the bank, and the tonal shifts to comedy worked super-fine for me, especially the scenes in the gym with the mourners), a couple of 60's samurai flicks (Revenge -- really cool -- and something nutty about an Urn with the one-eyed, one-armed swordsman character whose name I forget). I also watched some indie horror stuff, which almost always leaves me flat, and some 80's horror junk, which leaves me wondering what we were all thinking back then (Galaxy of Terror -- WTF?). Nuclear War and the End, I guess.

The family watched The Secret World of Arietty the other night (another library get) and we enjoyed it quite a bit. Slight but sweet and fun and lovely to look at, as always with Ghibli. Could watch it again just to study background details and design.

Yesterday I watched Detective Dee and the Case of the Phantom Flame, liked it, wanted to love it, would have if the fight sequences weren't so choppy/slow-mo'd/CGI'd and a few key scenes didn't play flat. Expected better from the set-up stuff and liked the characters, I could even follow the plot, which I usually can't with "epic" HK stuff. Anyway, some opinions on some stuff written quickly. Internet stuff. Grain of salt, etc.

Oh, we adopted a kitten that two police officers found in a garbage can. Three months old, Emily's pride and joy, she named it Nutmeg. It's adorable.

Guess that's it. Later.




 

Incoming: Beasts of Burden: Neighborhood Watch

This one-shot will be available August 1st at comic book and on-line shops that carry it. It should also be available digitally from DHC, eventually, but I don't have a date on that. So give a comic shop a few bucks if you're up for it:



If you have the three Dark Horse Presents stories (thank you), then you already have this and don't need to give anybody any more money. If you don't have the DHP issues, well, then you might want this. The three 8-page stories are all self-contained, focusing on some odd jobs around Burden Hill that aren't exactly life-threatening but are still interesting and entertaining (we hope). There's also some back story on the Wise Dog Society (some life-threatening stuff there, actually, courtesy of a Basilisk). A few ongoing plot points are touched on along the way, and there are a few new developments that, uh...develop. New readers and the curious will be able to follow the stories without knowing anything other than "Dogs and Cats vs Occult Evil in a small town".

24 pages, $3.50. Which isn't cheap, but still is a lovely price, if you ask me, for scores of wonderful Jill Thompson watercolor paintings that also have stories to go along with them.

Someone Once Bought a Mad Magazine Drawing of Mine...

...featuring Smokey the Bear.

If you are that person, please drop me an e-mail, there's an e-mail link on the right-hand side of the LJ, at the very bottom. If I knew how I'd move it. I don't know how.

Anyway, there's that.

July Catch-All

Haven't posted in a few weeks, owing to Heroes Con, work, heat wave, etc.

Long non-stories short:

Heroes Con was a great time and a terrific show for us. We sold a lot of books, wish I brought more copies of Beasts of Burden. Had some interesting conversations and fun dinners, it was great catching up with folks and fellow cartoonists.

Heroes is pretty much the only major show we do these days. We don't have any other big conventions lined up for the rest of the year, although if things go the way they usually do I might pop in to the NYCC to do a DHC signing. Not going to SDCC, obviously. It also looks like we'll be doing another appearance at another Asbury Park show being put together.

The French edition of Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites seems to be going over decently with readers over there. Of course, I have no idea how the book is actually selling, but there's been a healthy batch of write-ups and I did a magazine interview for it. The sold-out from DHC Milk and Cheese book is apparently scheduled for a reprinting.

In the span of one day I was offered a writing gig with a top-5 comics publisher, pitched a story idea, got the story accepted, and lost the gig (owing to personal differences with someone associated with the company).

I'm not taking any commissions for the time being, too busy, working on a few I accepted earlier in the year.

Don't care about the Harvey nomination, do care the Hernandez Brothers and Jaime in particular weren't nominated. Then again, what's the value of getting nominated for a broken award few people take seriously? This is, after all, a screwed-up program that can't even afford to give creative teams their own awards if they win. Still, pretty amazing Love Bunglers/L&R 4 garnered not one nomination in the two most-established US awards programs. Unreal.

Sarah and I are doing some behind-the-scenes animation work no one will likely ever see. Hope to have a few announcements on new comics work as soon as possible. Keeping busy.

I think that's about it for now. Otherwise, anything you folks want talk about? Feel free to ask or vent.

The Rhino (Take Two)

9" by 12", brush marker, hunt 22.

Black Bolt

9" by 12", brush marker, pen and ink, white ink on bristol.

This wasn't supposed to have any background details in it. Then I sketched in a few buildings. I guess once you start drawing Jack Kirby buildings, you can't stop.

OCD helps, also. Or doesn't help, I guess.

Mutant Milk & Cheese