C06: CLEAR SKIES AHEAD

YES! Day job has returned to normal! Money is in the bank, a trip to New York City this weekend is in the works. Things are already looking up!


[A selection from my still-being-worked-on commissions list.]

-That said, unfortunately San Diego Comic Con is off the books. There was no way between getting set for Japan, and the events afterward for me to put in for attendee badge or pros applications. I miss California already, but another time... 2012...

-I'm deferring to the trifecta of Otakon (end of July), Anime Weekend Atlanta (late Sept.) and New York Comic Con (mid Oct.) to make my presence felt. Really it's always the fall where my work picks up, so things should work out just fine.

-Still an unhealthy stack of work to finish, so maybe this place in April will be my checklist.

C04: EXPLOSIVE

Heyoo all.
January was a disaster.
February was a warzone.
March has begun in earnest to bring myself back into fighting shape.



Through the generosity of my longtime friend and neighbor, "Shonuff44", I'm back in the tablet business with a like-brand-new Intuos 3! All settings calibrated, loving the extra 1x2 inches from my old Graphire 4 -- stylus is as heavy as a Magnum Sharpie, but with added weight comes power.

So, the commissions are still on! If you're reading this and have been waiting, thanks for being patient while everything kinda broke down all around me.

As of right now, I am on travel hiatus. My next destination is tentatively San Diego Comic Con, but DEFINITELY Otakon at the end of July. Afterwards, I'm looking forward to a very, VERY exciting peak convention season.
I would love to attend shows like Middle Tennesee Anime Con, Anime Boston and Boston Comic Con, etc., but my schedule is about to become an even more frightful mess than the start of the year... but in a goo--no, GREAT way! You'll see!

----

Not everyday I do this either, but I am forever a fan of two game music die-hards: CAVE and GeOnDan composer Manabu Namiki, and the phenomenal Jake "Virt" Kaufman. So, here we are, a week non-stop of listening to the Dondonpachi Daifukkatsu Black Label Arrange soundtrack -- a complete and thunderous remastering of the Ketsui: Kizuna Jigokutachi OST.

Mouthful of nonsensical names? Sure. Obscure and unreachable JXBOX360 wares? Yeah, to a degree. But in life, we should all have No Remorse.

Take care, everyone!

B28: ADDENDUM

(And yet, I don't quite think I'm using the word "Addendum" like it's supposed to be used... ah, well.)

TEXT ALERT: This is a checklist/reminder/self-admonishment of what's on my desk currently, what's due and where I'm going in the next few months.

[WORK DUE]
-12 page comic, "Clockwork Loveletter" -- all pages pencilled, dialogue entered, just have to polish the SOB off. Over a month overdue.

-Undisclosed design work for a alpha-build of a video game. Very telling, isn't it?
Deadlines keep coming in weekly since about August 1st.

-Promo art for upcoming convention, "Nekocon". So far, no follow-up notices or threats of street-beatings so far.

[WORK ON TAP]
-Awaiting proposal for another design assignment. Equally vague. More on this later.

-"The Demon Mages #3", 32 pages. Long view says end-of-the-year, start of 2011 for release. I don't like that it's so far down this list though.

[NEXT STOP]
-New York Comic Con/Anime Festival: a personal trip, looking foward to seeing a few key creators there, and doing Demon Mages business with AVPress editors.

-New England Comic Con: a full out Angry Viking Press showing to close out 2010.
Question right now is... how to get there?

-Nekocon: Lots of N's, huh? THE LAST CONVENTION I ATTEND AS A PAYING ATTENDEE. It's been 12 years. Time to retire the 300$ tab each time I go to these things. Starting in 2011, if anyone asks if I'm going to (X) con -- instead talk to a guest relations rep and recommend me as a guest. I'm alarmingly cheap.

-Comic Market 79: It's on the books, there's a lot of people who are wanting to meet me on the other side. But money right now is terrifyingly short. SO. I'm taking donations. Details on the "how" coming soon, but even a PENNY put to this cause is a PENNY closer to getting there. I'll have an offer up soon as well to make it worth people's while.

PAUSE!

Hey, just checking in. I'm working hard to complete The Demon Mages vol. 1, so I'm afraid after a nice run on February, updates will be few and far between for March.

A37: HANGOVER

Truth be told, it's been extremely rough since San Diego Comic Con.

I willfully go with unpaid leave from work, because... well... it's San Diego Comic Con! The kinds of people I meet there, the places I go throughout Southern California, I make back in epicness what I lose in paychecks! This year I was smarter -- saved up more and budgeted for rent's sake. But losing a week's pay still hurts like hell. Especially after my car gave out on me.



I've tripped up a little, gotten pretty sullen over how much still needs to be done. But looking back, it's still been a hugely productive year. This next three months is the last big push to finish strong.

Look forward to (fantastic) news on "The Demon Mages", some doujinshi projects I've been itching to finish, and at least some words back from Anime Weekend Atlanta, New York Anime Fest, and the last minute scramble to get to Tokyo this December.