Terry Moore's Blog, page 24

I'm going to New Orleans Wizard World

I will be at the Wizard World con in New Orleans this weekend. Artist Alley, booth 901, on the main aisle.

I'm really looking forward to this show because it's the first time out of the studio this year! Stop by and visit, let's talk and catch up. I love talking about the books and art and all things comics. The Wizard World shows have a rep for being media shows (movie stars…phht! Gorgeous, jaw-dropping models… *eh*) but I have seen the comics guest list for this weekend and it's very good! Some great talent at this show, especially if YOU come. I'm looking forward to a fun weekend. And, I plan to be at the booth the entire weekend.

Okay, down to business. Here's what I plan to bring with me. If you want something not on this list, speak up now! (You can see pics of all these items in the SiPstore, btw)

*Strangers In Paradise Pocket Edition full sets, with extra copies of Book One for the newbies ($18 each)

*Echo trade paperbacks 1-5 (I don't bring single issues to shows) ($15 each)

*SiP and Echo Prints from the last 3 years (just a few of each in case you're looking for one in particular) ($10 each)

*SIP Tote Bags (with the SiP Abby Road art) ($20)

*A selection of original art from SiP & Echo ($425 page art, $1,000 cover art)

*Katchoo Actions Figures (with 15 points of articulation) ($15)

*The 2010 Sketchbook (24 pages of drawings) ($10)

*SiP coffee tumbler ($14)

*Echo coffee tumbler ($14)

Think I can pack all that into a spare suitcase? Wish me luck!

New Book Alert! Terry Moore's How To Draw

If it wasn't for How To Draw books I wouldn't be here, with this website, blogging to you because you've read my illustrated stories. I wouldn't have made Strangers In Paradise or Echo or any of the other stories and cartoons I've drawn over the course of my life. How To Draw books are like meat and potatoes to anybody interested in art and how it's made. All my life I have read and studied these books for information and inspiration. My bookcase has two shelves filled with just some of the art instruction books I've consumed over the years, because I still read them. You never stop learning. There are many artists working in comics today that I wish would make a How To Draw book. I would be first in line to buy one. *cough! cough! Adam!*

I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to make such a book. I always took the request seriously because I know it's important. It's not about flattery or self-importance, it's about passing along what you've learned to the new employees. It's how we survive as an art community and grow better with each generation. Even if I didn't think my art was worth looking at, I would still have something to pass on due to the fact that I've been writing, drawing and publishing a comic through Diamond Distributors, every six weeks, since 1993. That's a mean feat in an industry known for its attrition, let alone do it to compliments.

So, how do I do it? How do I draw under that deadline, month after month, year after year, and not put out  24 pages of smiley faces and stick figures—or, as my wife once suggested during a deadline, "A polar bear in a snow storm"? What is my routine? What tools do I use for the best results? How do I draw women the way I do? Expressions? Body language? Hands and feet? Knees! How do you draw those confounded knees? Do I draw roughs? Use models? How long does a page take? Why do I still letter on the art? How do I draw people doing things there are no photo references for? What is the difference between amateur and pro art? How do you ink with a brush? With a quill pen? With markers? How can you take your art to the next level? How do I use Photoshop? What are my templates for page art and covers? Measurements? Computer tricks? Page layout programs? What do I give to the printer? How do you draw anything and everything?

That's what my series will be about. It's an art instruction book with running commentary on both the art and the reasons why. I find I learn better if I know why I'm doing something.

The plan is to write and publish this a chapter at a time (aka comic book), 3-4 times a year until I have all the chapters made, at which time I will put them together as a large book that, hopefully, will end up in a library somewhere and help some young artist. That would make the circle of life complete. In the meantime, you don't have to wait. You can read this stuff as it is made and published as comics. The first issue is in May, and I'll come out swinging with my favorite subject, How to Draw Women.

I am very excited about this project! It's a dream whose time has come. Even if you don't draw, I'm sure you will find it interesting because of all the extra information that will be in there, like one of those documentaries about how they made your favorite movie. Hell, if nothing else, buy it for the nudity. But look for this issue and many more, beginning in May. Help me pass the word among the comics community and to any aspiring artists you might know. I hope this will be a welcome addition to their lifelong search for information and inspiration.

Echo #28 news & cover

Echo #28 is finished!

Whew! I finished the final tweeking early this morning, sent it to the printer, then crawled into bed and dreamed about Alloy 618 ions and protons and cosmic collisions. Never in my youthful dreams did I think I would one day study the gigantic detector of a super-collider like it was a naked model, then draw it in detail with a fine point pen. That's just crazy. But the time had come in the story for this alleged collider to reveal itself, as all monsters must in a monster movie. And hopefully, all the work was worth it. By the time I finished this issue, even I was scared at the thought of Foster turning that damned thing on! Sneak Peak:

All those blanked bits of dialogue… those are recent tweets from cheerful Glee fans.

The cover to Echo #28 is gorgeous (thank you, Brian, for your beautiful colors)… and rare. This is only the second time, to my recollection, that I've drawn a cover without a person on it. But it reinforces a subtle subplot that we've seen building in the story. Do you know what it is?

The Roman Catholic Church & SiP

I saw this essay recently and want to share it with my readers, especially my lesbian/gay readers. I found it heartwarming during a cold week of bad (national) news, and I think you will too. This is the conclusion of an essay titled "Meet Joe Priest".

Life:  At their heart, comics talk about life (especially the indies).  In my work as a priest, the spiritual life tries to deal with, make sense of, and at times cope with the nitty-gritty of real life.  In my mind, the two—real life and the life of faith—have to go hand in hand.  One would be surprised how often life may mirror the art of comics (or vice versa).  To illustrate I will simply close with this anecdote.

Many of you are most likely familiar with the characters from Moore's SIP, a love triangle with two women, Francine and Katchoo, who struggle to resolve their same sex attraction.  Well, let me tell you about the first funeral I ever celebrated.  The deceased was Carol; the obituary listed the first survivor as "Becky, loving partner of (fill in then number) years."  Okay, this is different.  So, here I am—coincidentally in Houston, the same setting as SIP—just 3 months out of the seminary, and my first funeral homily finds itself dealing with a similar relational web as that painted by Terry Moore.  Think about how you might preach such a funeral (feel free to pound a real Guinness (or three) since I don't think a Guinness Record will help—Most Bizarre First Funeral, maybe?)

I would contend that both my formal ministerial training AND the reflection of life provided by Terry Moore (in this case) were both instrumental in my celebrating such a funeral and preaching a true consoling word to that family.  How so, you might ask?  The problems seem obvious, don't they?  Well, in reality, it is the problem: the one issue of sexual morality–and the Catholic Church's teaching against homosexual action–which seems to pervade the situation, now doesn't it?  This needed to be acknowledged at some level and dealt with, delicately, remembering always the pastoral phrase for funerals, from the Latin, De mortuus nihil nisi bonum dicamus—"Of the dead, let us saying nothing but good," and, truly, there was much good to be celebrated in the life of Carol.

How did my reading of Moore's SIP help with this specific event in my priesthood?  I cannot really pinpoint any particular part of that narrative which explicitly helped.  However, I think there was a lot of implicit influence in the foundation it provided me.  At the very least, SIP brought to my consciousness the reality of such relationships, so Carol and Becky was less of a surprise.  Setting aside the overt questions of sexual morality involved, the relationship of Katchoo and Francine was, at heart, really about the trials and tribulations of two people trying to love and care for each other, dealing with mystery of orientation between them.  What I found in Houston a decade ago, in Becky and her mourning for Carol, was a similar story of two people on a similar quest.

In retrospect, what I learned back then, I carry with me now: the complexities of the human heart and its search for love.  Too often, people of faith jump on all that is wrong and label it sin, and, in truth, the Catholic Church has and will continue to make such moral judgments.  But what can get lost in that judgment of that which is wrong is the more positive judgment of that which is good and holy.  That which is real Love.

If I had to say what was celebrated at that funeral was that Love that was realized in the life of Carol, in all her relationships, truly.  Yes, asking forgiveness for her sins, as we do at every funeral, was present in the prayers, but celebrating her faith and how she lived out that Love in her short life was the focus of my preaching.

At the very, very least, I saw how life in my Catholic priesthood mirrored the artwork of Terry Moore in a very strange and mysterious way.

Fr. Chris Kulig, O.Carm.

St. Joseph/Immaculate Conception Rectory

Commission window closed

The window to order a commission is closed. Thank you to everyone who ordered drawings. I took on 3 more than I can handle, so I'm trying to finish those while working on Echo 28… AND a secret surprise project. And, that is in addition to the development work on the new comics coming up after ECHO.

Echo ends with issue #30, which will ship in May. After that, expect a one-shot story (the plan is a children's book) in June, then launch the next series in July. We plan to have issue #1 of the new series at San Diego Comic Con that month. Nice plan, if it works.

I will show you some of the commissions soon, when I get time to upload them. Some of the others are too risque for the internet.  *ahem*  Naughty, naughty fans.

I am open for Art Commissions starting… NOW!

Your Own Private Art Commission:

If you want your very own original illustration of any of my characters (or other characters as well), carefully rendered in pen & ink on 11 x 17 Strathmore bristol, this is your chance. These are not quick con sketches in pencil, these are highly rendered cover illustrations (see examples below) that take me 1-3 days each. Which is why we had to wait until now to do this. I just finished Echo 27 a week early and have the time to do this (since I'm not traveling either). I'm just sitting in the studio, pen in hand, wishing I could draw that dream picture you've always wanted. Please pass the word for me. Your combined reach is much greater than mine.

Just a few Do's and Don'ts:

1. No color. I'm just not a color guy, in case you didn't notice over the last 15 years.

2. Only one or two characters, please. Not the JLA, or the Bat family, or the entire cast of SiP playing shuffle board on a crowded cruise ship. Have mercy on me, please! I'm hoping you will ask for things like Francine & Katchoo doing something fun or sexy, or Wonder Woman & Archie mud wrestling, or Julie/Annie trying to get through a metal detector. You know, whatever floats your boat, just not dozens of people doing it.

3. I feel a little sheepish saying this but, No, I will not draw you or your loved one or your pets. I'm not the caricaturist at Six Flags (I say with a loving smile). I've done it in the past, but the stress was too much for me because I take the responsibility to please you seriously. There's no way to know if you will like the way an artist sees you, so let's just don't go there. I mean, I've never been punched out by an insulted patron but, still, the stress is too much.

4. Yes, I will do risque, sexy versions. In fact, I'm probably going to unless you instruct me otherwise. It's my default. No sex/porn though. I'm R-rated, not X.

5. I really hate drawing buildings and large control rooms and the like. I'm all about the people. So if you ask for a flying Spider-Man holding Gwen Stacy, I will try to be clever about the background without drawing the entire Upper East Side. Expect a water tower, or an Aunt May Viagra billboard ("Now my boyfriend stands up straighter than Calvin Coolidge!") filling the background. Just letting you know ahead of time… I don't do windows.

Okay, the price for one of these rare birds is: $1,000 plus shipping (Fed Ex only) per commission. Same price it's always been for the last 10 years. Inflation be damned.

We can coordinate with you to ship this, via Fed Ex, as late as Dec. 23rd and still get your commission to you for Christmas. It's the best way to say I Love You to that special person in your life. If you don't need this by Christmas, tell me, and I'll add a little something to the art as a thank you for your patience.

If you would like to inquire about a commission, email sipnet@strangersinparadise.com

It's that easy. I will limit the list when I think I have as many as I can handle before having to start the next issue of Echo.

Here are a few examples of past commissions. (These are from 2007. Was that the last time I did this? Wow! I'm supposed to do it every December.)

To see these commissions and more in full screen mode, go to my Facebook page photo albums.

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Art Sale is still on at the SiPstore. These are original pages from the comics themselves, so every page is unique and different. If the private commission thing is out of your budget, select a page of original story art used in Strangers in Paradise or Echo.  An 11 x 16 page of original story art is $425.

Also, I still have a good selection of artwork I've done for other comics over the years, like Batgirl, Spider-Man, Willow & Tara, Alan Moore Songbook, Wolf & Red, Mouse Guard, Thor, and more. So if something caught your eye, just ask. I may still have it and these pages are less expensive than pages from my own books.

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All orders signed in December: Speaking of comics, just a reminder that I will autograph all orders placed through the SiPstore in December.

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Echo #27, the newest book, is at the printer as I type, morphing from wild idea to paper product. Considering the time between my hand to yours, I hope to see this in stores before the end of the month/year, because it says December 2010 on the cover.

FYI: Echo 27 needs a cheat list of terms that I will post when we get closer to shipping date. The story makes reference to several government agencies by initials only, so you might like a cheat list to know what they are referring to.

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Facebook: was getting too complicated for me, running two pages, so I eliminated my personal page and now there is only one, new, public page labeled Terry Moore. Hook up with me there for daily notices, a convention calendar for 2011, and photo albums of con sketches, fan art, tattoos and my life behind the scenes. The nice thing about Facebook is all these things stay in one place for you to check daily, as opposed to this blog which moves older posts out of sight and out of mind. There are a TON of cool images in this blog, but you have to go searching for them through the blog history, and who does that? That's one of the reasons I have maintained a Facebook page. And now I'm easy to find, I'm the only Terry Moore – artist that shows up in the people search. Let's hope it stays that way.

Thursday Quick Bits

Who sells the most ebook titles? The romance genre and well, anything racy in general, so says the latest data in the New York Times. Why? Because readers don't have to be seen with embarrassing book covers. Interesting article. I could learn a lesson from this.

Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley's blog has a FAQ about his working process that sounds so like my routine.

Are you a Lucy Knisley fan? You should be. She's a wonderfully creative cartoonist. I love checking her online journal from time to time.

Follow me on Facebook. I post photos and sketches there, plus daily things that come up, like changes in the book, shipping or travel dates.

I'm really looking forward to the Thor movie. Here's a peek.

In the market for the world's best camera under $900? Being visually oriented and a habitual photo taker, I think about such things. Even as a boy I knew the great photos were taken with a Leica. Warhol an carried an M6 everywhere, but nobody can afford an M6. What kind of 12 year old knows that? Weird boys like me, I guess. Now Leica finally has a point and shoot and it costs no more than a loaded iPad.

I posted this in July, but still no answers. What the hell is this? You tell me. It stopped air traffic at an airport in China for awhile. Officials said it was military and they would explain more a few days later, but I never heard another word about it, and bloggers who reported it were required to remove their posts, apologize, and ask all readers to erase downloads. Just stating the obvious here: secret military craft don't fly over cities and hover near public airports. And, in the age of Wikileaks, there is no such thing as secret military aircraft in the skies any more. You can't hide that stuff in a world where every person has a camera and internet access. So… any suggestions?

I'll Sign All Dec. Orders

All this month, I will sign all books ordered through our webstore. If you request a special dedication—for that special comic reader in your life— I'll be happy to write that for you, too.

Happy Holidays!

Cool Web Stuff Sunday

An assortment of the cool things I found in the web this week:

Spider-Man, the Broadway musical remains a mess. Opening delayed again until they figure how out to prevent the flyers from crashing into each other.

Andrea Joseph has the coolest school notebook drawings ever.

You may already know that the great Robert Crumb didn't like Fritz the Cat. Here's why.

Coolest blog of the week: Jeff Beck

Fun website of the week: (movie) traileraddict.com Check out the Green Lantern trailer.

This site keeps a live counter of how you are to the second. How cool is that? Other counters there, plus phone apps.

This online bookstore, Stuart NG Books, has a great selection of artists books and fine sketchbooks.

The army began using a new hi-tech rifle this month. The news just broke and you will see one in the next issue of Echo when it comes out in a few weeks. I think I will make it in time to be the first to have this weapon in a comic book (distributed by Diamond), the same way I was the first to draw a Segway in a comic book (Marvel Ultimate Team-Up: Spider-Man). It's a meaningless accomplishment, but something fun for me to know. The down side: we're talking about a new weapon. I wish it was the cure to a disease.

Can you read Chinese? Can you tell me what this means? It was given to a friend of mine and we are wondering… what does it say?

Monday Photos

It's Monday, and I'm writing and drawing Echo 27. You should be getting #26 soon. I don't have my copy yet, but I blame that on the holiday interruption. Because I'm just getting started back in the studio, I don't have any new art to show you today, but I do have some photos I took over the weekend.

I had a great Thanksgiving in the wilds of Oklahoma with the family. One of my favorite things to do was ride the 4-wheeler cross-country and just explore.

I've been staring at my drawing board for years. I thought I'd let you stare at it for awhile.

I always keep a guitar beside the drawing board. My most cherished guitar is the Gibson acoustic given to me by a fan at the SiP Wrap party. But my Les Paul is a close second!

And here's my favorite random photo of the day… just one of the many reasons I love the comic conventions…