Sorry for not posting yesterday. It seems that I picked up another bug while down in Florida for MEGACON. This whole past weekend I felt terrible…. but yesterday was the absolute worst. I didn’t feel so bad before lunch– but by early afternoon, I had to go back to bed, I felt so awful. It’s the body aches that are the worst. I can deal with the other symptoms… but the body aches just make it impossible to sit at the drawing table and work. And these two bugs that have hit me over the past month have held on far longer than I’m used to. I guess my immune system was already weakened from my last cold/flu (whichever it was) when I left for Florida. It’s getting annoying to be sick so much this late Winter.

Feeling a bit better today. So I’m hoping to get back to work this afternoon.

This is Entry 202.

Mike

A couple of entries back, John Gallagher offered a link to this image in the comments section for that day’s sketch, but I wanted to show it here for those of you who might have not seen his post. I penciled this piece for his BUZZBOY comic. It was wonderfully inked by Rich Faber and colored by John himself. John used the image as a poster to promote his BUZZBOY FREE COMIC BOOK DAY book at the NEW YORK COMICON last weekend. And it will be the back cover of that book on May 6th. It was a fun project, and Rich and John did a wonderful job turning it into a finished piece. Make sure to hit your local comic shop on May 6 to get your copy of the BUZZBOY FCBD comic.

OK… just a quick one today. Have a great weekend, all.

This is entry 201.

Mike

I haven’t seen much discussion online about any of the news that came out from the NEW YORK COMICON last weekend. It could be because the majority of it was warmed over (rehashed) news that was already out there… but there was one bit of information that I hadn’t heard about before then. There had been much speculation about what Neil Gaiman’s next big project for Marvel would be. Gaiman’s 1602 project was a huge sales success and the anticipation has been high for the announcement of his next venture into the Marvel Universe. It turns out that next venture will be THE ETERNALS with John Romita Jr. illustrating the miniseries. As a fan, I’m incredibly excited about this project, to be sure. As an artist… I’m jealous. THE ETERNALS was– of all the work that Jack Kirby created for Marvel during his return to the MU in the mid-70s– by far my favorite. Sure, he did some wonderfully bizarre work on DEVIL DINOSAUR and 2001: A SPACE ODYSSY (the book that spawned MACHINE MAN)– as well as fun and quirky runs on BLACK PANTHER and CAPTAIN AMERICA. But there was something very special about THE ETERNALS. It was like an extension of his exploration of the themes in NEW GODS that he’d done for DC. And it was BIG. The scale of the war between THE ETERNALS and the DEVIANTS was not only globe spanning but cosmic with his creation of THE CELESTIALS who stood in silent judgement of our world. THE ETERNALS was the kind of comic that blew the mind of a young reader like myself…. and it made a lasting impression.

Like I said… I’m thrilled about the return of Kirby’s ETERNALS concept. Especially in the hands of creators like Neil Gaiman and JR. Jr. But the envious side of me hopes that after this initial miniseries they’re working on is finished, that I might get a crack at these characters myself one day. It’s that kind of wish fulfillment– getting to draw characters you loved so much as a kid for the company that first published them– that keeps new talent constantly striving to break in to Marvel (and DC). It’s the nostalgia of fantastic concepts like THE ETERNALS created by the greatest artist to ever draw comics that stirs the embers of that old feeling of wanting to relive childhood memories by adding to the legacy of these characters. Even in a jaded comic book ‘veteran’ like me.

This is Entry number 200…. another milestone (or is that mill stone…?).

Mike

I’m back from MEGACON in one piece. Randy Green and I flew down Thursday afternoon on one of those small short-hop jets and about two-thirds of the way to Orlando, the turbulence got so bad I thought my teeth were going to shake out of my head. I was absolutely terrified. It was the worst turbulence I’ve ever experienced…. and for someone who’s not thrilled to fly in the first place, it was very very frightening. I was tempted to get down on my knees and kiss the ground when we landed, but resisted. The show itself was a lot of fun. It was great rooming and hanging out with Randy all weekend. We were given adjacent but separate tables at the show, but we decided that since neither of us had particularly large set-ups, we’d just share one table. The night before the first day of the show, I’d slept on the hotel bed, which was a lot softer than my back prefers– and so I was in a lot of pain on Friday. I couldn’t comfortably bend over to sketch, and so had to turn down commission requests that first day. But the next two nights I slept on the floor, and my back was back to feeling great the rest of the weekend, and I sketched like a fool. I did more sketches at this show than I have at any other for as far back as I can remember. Randy was the same way… we both sketched furiously during the show, and even in the room at night after the show and early in the morning BEFORE the show. I think we were both determined to complete the lists of commissions we’d taken and we both managed to do so. The fans down in Florida were wonderfully friendly, polite and enthusiastic. After working in a relative vacuum for so long since the last show I attended, it was very nice to get some feedback from people who read and enjoy my work. It was also great to see and talk with some folks I usually only get to see at shows– like Skottie Young, Josh Middleton, Phil Noto, Tim Townsend, the wonderful Nick Cardy, Jimmy Palmiotti and so many others I think of as ‘con buddies’, since I only see them or really communicate with them at these shows. I also met Derrick Fish who does the web strip DANDY AND COMPANY. Derrick’s a really nice fella– and he graciously gave me copies of a new project he’s working on called TAILS TO AMAZE which is a lot of fun. I’d pictured Derrick as looking like the kid in his comic strip (I tend to do that with artists for some reason… imagining they look like characters they draw)– but he looks nothing like Bernard. I also had a wonderful discussion with the legendary Howard Chaykin while waiting for the shuttle to the show on Sunday morning (and while riding the shuttle to the con). Since being introduced to him a couple years ago, he’s always been incredibly nice to me and is always eager to discuss the craft of comics art. I love hearing his insights and talking with him always inspires me. He’s got some amazing projects coming out in the next year… I can’t wait to see them published!

We never got a chance to hit any of the amusement parks in Orlando. We were staying at the Doubletree, which was right across the street from the UNIVERSAL ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE theme parks. And the show organizers had set up a group event to take many of the show guests there on Thursday night… but Randy and I were both so wiped out by the time we got to the hotel that we decided to skip it. We just got a snack and sketched in the room. I hadn’t slept very well the night before we left for the show, so I was really pooped. I was just as happy to not spend an entire evening trudging around a crowded amusement park.

The flight back to RDU International was much smoother, thankfully. Very little bouncing around. I was hoping for a bigger plane for the ride back, but it was not to be, so I’m happy the air currents were more agreeable the second time. When we first arrived in Florida on Thursday, it was 86 degrees. It cooled down a bit by Sunday… but it was still pleasant. When we got off the plane in Raleigh, it was in the low 30’s…. and I was in a short sleeve t-shirt. What a difference…! We hustled to the car as quickly as we could to keep me from going into hypothermia. OK… it wasn’t that bad, but it was certainly a shock to the system.

So it was a great trip– but I’m happy to be home. I was pretty wiped out yesterday– hence no post. But I’m feeling more alive now, and it’s time to get back to work.

This is Entry 199.

Mike

My buddy (and amazing artist) Randy Green and I are headed out tomorrow for MEGACON in sunny Orlando, Florida. This will be my first time attending this show. I’ve been wanting to go to this show for many years now– and so I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of event it is. There’s a huge show in New York City happening at the same time this weekend…. but the shows are so far apart, geographically speaking, that I’m hoping there won’t be much drain effect as far as attendance goes. I’m not sure if I’ll be doing any sketching at the show…. my back is FINALLY getting to the point where it’s feeling good on a consistent basis these days, and I really don’t want to backslide. I just can’t afford the time I would lose (I’m losing enough time from my schedule just attending the show) by coming back with terrible back pain that I’d have to work through before I could get back to work. But I’ll have plenty of stuff with me to sell at any rate, so hopefully that will be sufficient.

I wanted to give anyone interested a head’s up about my latest appearance on FANBOY RADIO. I was a guest on the show with the incredibly talented Skottie Young (most recently of NEW WARRIORS fame). It was a blast to do the show. I always have a great time on FBR. And now they have the episode up as a podcast. So if you’ve got the capacity to listen to podcasts– and are interested– go check it out.

OK… I’ll see you guys on the other side of MEGACON.

This is Entry 198.

Mike