So I decided after going to MikeWieringo.com and Mike's blog, that I would grab some of my old art, and then post reenvisioned versions of the characters from the old Illusion Comics days, and more specifically, CITY OF ILLUSION, my first published comic, back in 1993 from Fifth Panel Comics. This drawing is of the vile Brain Bender, and WOW... look at that head. I've never been good at drawing bodies, but back then, I even had problems with faces and heads, hehe... 

quick update...

Well,

Besides my dog eating my Wacom mouse...a mouse used to digitally color and ink comic pages, as well as for other artistic purposes...I really haven't had much time to complete anything.

Anyone who knows me knows that my time is used wisely in most cases, but I lose steam and have to take time away from everything if I'm stressed by anything, and right now, this means my current employment. Though I'm truly not looking for another job or anything, and am in the process of interviewing for a managerial position with Suncom, I almost wonder if its worth all the time and effort. I almost wish I had a way to go back to school full time and still pay all my bills. IF anyone knows a way to make this work, please, I'm all ears.

I'll probably get a little time this weekend to be able to write more of either Atomic Teen or of THIEF...I think I'm hitting that spot in writing one story where you need to take a break from it, but keep creative. I think I may enlist my buddy, Derek Hutchens to take a look at some of the scripts, plot out some stuff and see what he can come up with while staying true to the image of the characters.

If I were to do this, I'd probably do it with AT, because I think THIEF is a property I would like to just keep my name on as the writer behind it, but AT could probably use his experiences as another former highschooler that lived an a-typical life.

Who knows...he may even relate more to the characters than I do =).

Anyway, I just figured I hadn't been on in a while and didn't want anyone feeling left out.

Lata

Verizon and update.

Anyone out there know who Alias Entertainment is? Mike S Miller created a company with a pretty good initial sales idea...75 cent first issues on series. Card stock covers, full color interiors...these are quality books. Because of this, I think I'm going to submit both THIEF and ATOMIC TEEN to them and see if the feelers are looking to grab hold of anything. I think they will on BOTH projects.

On a different front, I have this thing called a job interview tomorrow. It is with another little wireless provider called Verizon. I think they are one of the smallest players in the g....er...largest players in the game, and no, believe it or not, I did not use my connections to a manager or a friend of a friend's sister to get this interview (amazingly enough, they finally friggin called me!). It's for a sales position, and I told them I'd be interested in full-time, since I don't think I can survive on a part-timer's salary, unless I got another part time job, which is always possible.

I told a co-worker of mine to send me their resume, and I'll make sure that I take it with me to give them, as well, if they are still looking for qualified candidates.

Hopefully if it works out (and I should get offered something), they'll be understanding of the two weeks I need off (family trip and honeymoon), and I'll begin making some serious money...well, decent money.

Anyways, just figured I'd give a heads up, since I've been kinda sporadic, again.

Quick Update

Well,

After winning two poker tournaments this week, I feel its time to go pro...nah, just kidding, the the thrill of winning is nice.

Actually, on the comic front, Eric and I had a little chat this past week and the first issue of THIEF is fully penciled and it looks like I'm going to try sending it to some smaller publishers and hell, maybe even Image and Dark Horse, because I'm getting psyched up about the idea.

I truly believe, as I always have, that the idea is bigger than one person, one writer, and one initial concept. I just need someone higher up in one of the big companies to take notice, because this story is THAT good.

Eric will be sending me some of the pages to play with and I'm going to be sending all the penciled pages to the publishers with the concept.

Other than that, Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there.

Rob

This is a little Sample cover I did for THIEF #0. Obviously, I'm going to try to give full color covers, but I've been playing with MS Publisher, so hopefully they'll look great when we get them all squared away. 

Update on THIEF

Well,

Eric tried to get in touch with me about two days ago, and well, I wasn't able to get back in touch with him. Instead of complaining and not being able to get anything done because of that, I went ahead and finished and edited the script for THIEF #2. That now puts me three full 16 page scripts into it, and I think I may want to do a backup story to totally give people what they are looking for the most, good stories and bang for the buck.

As Countdown to Infinite Crisis proved, a good story at a reasonable price will sell. Its just, in this industry, without advertisers, an 80 pg comic for $1 is darned near impossible without taking a HUGE loss. As much as I want to give everyone what they want, I do on some occassions have to look at a bottom line perspective.

I'll also be doing some sketches of the other characters from THIEF, like the other super humans that show up in issues #2 and #3, as soon as I get the drawing bug to work on them.

Writing has been slow, mostly because of all the crap at the day job, but I am looking to start remedying that.

Work Related BS

So, today, at Suncom's morning meeting, we heard the latest company cost cutting measure...and its a doozy. Starting June 1st, our compensation is being cut in terms of our commission.

So what that means is that I'll still be doing the same, IF NOT MORE, work, and making LESSSSSSSS money...does the company realize that they will not be able to keep the best people is suddenly we are making $1000 less PER MONTH?!

Just when things were finally starting to look up a bit, they throw this bullshit at us, and why? So Wallstreet thinks we are making more money. But look at this from the sales associates side...

Currently, I sell between 50-70 new lines per month. Currently, the 70 range makes me about $2000 in commission. The new compensation plan has shown that 62 sales should average $818...a difference of 1100! Wow...to the company...

New Job to any of the employees. That's what we're all thinking, and its not going to get better. My current boss, Mike, has been promoted and there's no new boss in site for the foreseeable future...no one to bitch at, and no one to complain to. What this means, is even if he voices our opinions, we're not going to be heard.

Commission packages are set up by people that haven't sold in years, and would NEVER take my job over theirs, EVER again.

As hard as we're working and to pull this kinda crap is just ridiculous...and Suncom? Where's the TRUTH in that?

THE SHIELD

There are three shows I watch religiously, now, every week. They are 24, Scrubs and THE SHIELD.

Starring Michael Chiklis, I can actually say that this is one of those shows that I have watched since its very inception. Chiklis, who plays Vic Mackey, a guy that doesn't always play by the rules, but you can't help but root for him anyway.

The show is in its 4th season, and although it doesn't feel like its crossing any lines this season (The first season had nudity, the third season had a male on male rape and a serial rapist that went after the elderly), it still hits the wall at full speed. Glenn Close joined the cast, and at this rate, you get the feeling she'll still be back after this entry into the hell known as LA.

Anthony Anderson has also joined the cast this season, and if you think he tends to be a great comedic actor, he totally sheds that to be a totally radical drug dealer who doesn't look like he'd laugh at anything.

Cast, Crew and balls to the wall action...man, I'm gonna miss this one when its gone...but hell, at least I'll have NIP/TUCK and RESCUE ME to take its place again...and thank goodness, since I don't know what I'd do without my fix of FX.

Time to Chime in.

Helllllo.

Figured I'd update you folks on what's been going on. This past weekend I spent two days at the Cherokee Casino in NC, and well...lost my shirt, and two of my fiances. Just kidding, and I actually had a lot of fun, but now have to tightwad my money until this weekend when I get a commission check (which will go towards paying mortgage, 2 credit cards and ...dum...dum...duhhh....honeymoon). It should be enough to where I can at least put some of it towards all of it.

When I returned from my trip, I hopped online to see that Eric had gone and sent me another 4 pages from THIEF #0, and let me say, I can't wait to get my hands on these and have some fun. The other great thing to all this is I found my lightbox, so I may ink these with a different feel on a different paper...maybe adding a European or Japanese feel to it much like my last piece of art I put up here.

Ooh, I can't wait til he sends me some pages...I'm itching for them, now.

Other than that, I'm stoked that I now have three nights of TV watching...Sunday for Family Guy (I've already seen the season premiere and it's freakin sweet, to steal a quote), Monday for RAW and 24 (5 episodes to go, something big next week, followed by 4 more rip-roaring eps) and THE SHIELD on Tuesday which means I will once again get NOTHING done on writing, because NOW that show is finally kicked back into high gear and it only runs on 93 octane.

I'll check in later with more.

This is a drawing I did of myself and my fiance, Christy last night as an attempt to draw things a little differently. It definitely has a european or even japanese influence, and now that I am seeing it here, on the screen, I am starting to see the flaws, much like one can with any art after its taken time to settle in. I figured the way I added a little of a "Frank Miller" element to it by implying positive and negative space in parts was just to add a little more fun. Maybe you guys will see more stuff like this when I ink the pages from THIEF.  

Rob Nikolakakis and more

Ever heard of CafeDNA? Ever heard the name Nikolakakis? No? Check out Sniper and Rook #6, I'll try to get you folks a link for it. (Or go to his website, robniko.com) The funny thing about "the other Rob" (he probably calls me that, too, since we both have weird and unusual last names)is that both of us have a lot of common industry friends, and have actually technically worked on the same book together at one point. When Rob was picked to be the artist for EboniX-Files, and I personally wrote EboniX-MEN, Chris Crosby and his cohorts decided we'd run them as a flipbook instead of a single issue, which I thought was a good idea, because why would you put out two parodies that could steal sales from one another, instead of putting them together and possibly getting more people to pick it up. Crosby wrote the EboniX-Files side and Tony Furtado drew my story, which I still feel was a fun book and very oriented to those of us that actually like the convoluted history of the mutants.

Anyway, I was talking with Rob for the first time in many many moons, and he showed me his latest comic, although he said he's in the dvd menu making business, as well now. Hopefully both realms work out for him, and I told him any project he tries to develop if he needs an ear, or help, I'd be more than willing to help him out, and I sent him the script and discussed THIEF with him.

IT is really a good feeling when an artist in the same field tells you that you've come up with a story that is "so good, it could write itself." It makes you feel like you can seriously do some good in an industry that only about 3% of the people that ever enter get notoriety for. And I totally appreciate the compliment he gave me there. Hopefully he'll feel the script justifies the premise, since I worked hard on it, but still have some doubts, even though Eric has reassured me its some of my best work.

Going back to Rob, his art is heavily influenced by Travis Charest, and it is VERY easy to see that fact. Again, another interesting note is that Charest is probably my favorite artist, although very rarely is he able to get the work done because of the amount of time it takes him to complete a page...because typically he pencils, inks and colors his own work, and he has his own MSN group which I urge ALL to check out.

Til next time!

Jars of Pots?!?

Ever heard of the band, JARS OF CLAY? They are a Christian Rock Band, and tonight, they showed up on my turf...what did I do? I made them believe the devil was real by doing incantations in Karaoke and such...and...oh wait...Actually, I told them I really appreciated them coming to the bar and singing...the only thing I didn't like was that when they went to sing, I had to follow them directly, meaning its like an amateur comedian going up after Robin Williams closes a show...I did a pretty good rendition of WHEREVER YOU WILL GO by THE CALLING after they sang, "Don't let the sun go down on me..." which me and three other guys were yelling, "Don't let YOUR SON go down on me..." just to add humor to it...

All in all, it was a truly fun and lifting experience, and one that I am more than appreciative that I get to share here, with you.

UFC, wrestling, comics, and more.

Time continues to be passing real fast, so updating the blog seems to be something that is not happening as often as it used to...I'll try to be on a little more frequently.

Anywho, next week, I think I'm going to the Cherokee reservation casino for some much needed R&R and drinking and money losing. It's not even gambling if you aren't going to win, right?

Heh, so I watched the ULTIMATE FIGHTER FINALS and it was really good. The fights, the insight, all of it was good...except Ken Shamrock getting cut in the eye and then looking really bad. Tonight's PPV promises to be a good striking and grappling
experience with Liddell vs. Coutoure...the two best in the sport.

Well, in wrestling, HHH hurt himself, and now may have to take it easy as he passed out back stage and was in noticable pain...too bad...especially with Hogan coming back...again...(boo) At least this means that Batista may get the push he deserves as the champ. On the other show...they are boring me...hopefully they have that draft and really show it all up...that'd be great.

This week I picked up a couple good comics, but nothing really shocked me or made me want to jump at the next issue...maybe next week.

THIEF Update

I was talking with Eric the other night, after an absence from even emailing, and it seems that he's almost completely done penciling the #0 issue. This is great news, because he said he's already done all the breakdowns for the 1st issue of the series, as well.

From there, he's going to send me either the original pencils or photocopies of the pages so that I may start inking them. Either way, I'll probably make copies of all the pages so they can get scanned as both pencils, and then after the inks are done, so you get before and after pages, and finally get some good art on here =).

I'll probably start seeing the pages within the next two weeks, or so, and then with that added energy, I'll probably be able to get my butt back in the sling to write the next two issues =).

Just figured I'd give you guys a quick update. I am about 3 pages from completion on the #2 script and after that, I'll head fast into #3. The trick is to give everybody a good story in 16 pages while still giving them a reason to want the next issue. Fun stuff.

PSP...I got me one

Well,

As Christy, my loving, yet not always understanding, fiance said, I always need to upgrade and get better stuff...so today I did.

I traded in my GBA SP, and about 7 games for $100 and after paying the mortgage, used what I had left over from her to purchase myself a Sony PSP, the new handheld game system.

I have to tell you, the only thing I'd change is its size, and due to the screen on it, you really can;t...but it's beautiful. I bought the Spider-man 2 movie GAME to go with the free copy of the movie that comes with it. The game is stunning with its cartoon screens, looking MUCH better than what was originally seen in the PS2 version.

anyways, you may not see me on here too much for the next couple days, even with me being off from work, I need to discover how to rip movie files for a memory card for it, and then see how big the files are so I can see how much I need to spend on a memory card...since the gaming feature is nice, but that's what I REALLY want it for.

Later all!

Update of sorts.

Hey all.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. I've written more pages to THIEF #2, and I gotta say I like where its going. Hopefully everyone that picks it up will enjoy it as well. I'll probably be developing all the company pages for the interior cover and such soon with MS Publisher. It's extremely easy to use if anyone is looking for a way to develop pages that can be imported into Photoshop and then made into high res PDFs.

Recently I've had a hard time getting onto the blog, not just because I've been real busy, but also because I've had hard time accessing it, so I'm back for now.

This week, Blue Beetle dies in COUNTDOWN TO INFINITE CRISIS from DC Comics. It's only $1, so I urge all to try to grab a copy...80 pgs, $1...Jim Lee and Alex Ross cover...YOWSA!

On top of all that, I've applied for a new position at work, and even more, I'm having a Wrestlemania party at my house on Sunday...Ought to be fun.

I'm out for now...I'll try to post a picture later.

Sin City

So April 1st is almost upon us and I know where I'll be...at the local premiere of SIN CITY, the movie co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. As an avid fan of Miller's past works, and a big fan of the graphic novels in question, this looks to be possibly the best adaptation of a comic book to a movie...possibly ever.

That's saying a lot, expecially because in recent years there have been a lot of good ones, including Spider-man 1&2, X-Men 1&2, and still my personal favorite, the Crow.

But Rodriguez did something different. He handed all the actors pages from the books and said, "This is your script." He also had a computer overlay that showed the actual panels from the comic and then the piece from the movie. NO ONE has ever gone to such great lengths as to attempt something like this, but then again, no comic has ever been 100% adaptable without a lot of special effects shots, lots of money, and direction.

Miller has directed films before, notably (or unnotably) Robocop 2 and 3, but both flopped as Universal destroyed his original vision and made the movies hokey, unlike Paul Verhoeven's original, which with points of gratuitous humor and horror, was one of the first movies like that to ever do well...

I look forward to the perfomances by Oscar nominated actors Del Toro and Clive Owen. This movie is shaking with its star power, and if it wasn't for the image being given a 100% testimonial, you better believe that only one or two of them MAY have said okay.

As a side note, I may start uploading some of the art I've been drawing recently, as I intend to actually do some Frank Miller inspired pieces, and have already begun. Probably on Easter, I'll put up a pic of Infinity as drawn in my awful attempt of Frank Miller-izing it...We'll see if I actually put it up here or not...since I haven't started drawing it, yet.

Enjoy your holiday if I'm not back before it!

Cheeburger!

If you guys haven't tried CHEEBURGER CHEEBURGER, you are missing out. Home of the 20 oz. precooked burger (1 lb of meat after cooking) of real angus beef....oh man, it has me saying CHEEBURGER all the time.

So last night I got pretty hammered and had a fight with my fiance, but not to worry, we worked it out as we sobered up and we're still gravy.

I'll be jumping back into the writing portion of the comics this week, because I want to stay fresh. I may jump back on Atomic Teen for a bit, just to allow myself a good way to stay ahead on both written projects, though if I hear more from Chris Crosby about the possibilities of a sequel to Landis, I may very well jump in Landis: Dark Age Today, basically, without giving away too much, this would be the sequel to v.1, and take place about 6 months after the story in v.1. That's about all I'd be able to say about it right now, and I have to admit, I don't think I'd really want to play with Landis again right now unless Owen Gieni wanted to return as the artist, as his style was perfect for what we tried to do with that book, and hopefully we can get it out when we need to this time, so that everyone can finally put their hands on a book of mine that we can all be proud of.

Anyway, that's about all for now. I should be able to update this a little more frequently, but some of my posts recently hadn't been posting, so we'll see how that goes.

I don't know if I ever posted this one or not. It's a drawing I did of my characters Ardy Vanstarr and Janus Tagger. I have to give every artist I've worked with a ton of props, as things like this I'm okay at drawing, but when it comes to backgrounds and action sequences, I have nothing. Hopefully this will get looked at Favorably. I did it a while back with the hopes of putting it in Landis v.1, and it may still show up there as character sketches. 

Saint Patty's day!

Everyone be safe tonight, drink lots of green drinks and enjoy all!

I'm gonna post some art!

Wrestlemania shape up and more...

Well, I hadn't been on in a couple days, so I figured I'd discuss a big wrestling show. In fact, the biggest wrestling show of the year, Wrestlemania. Let me start by saying this is the ONLY show that WWE seems to be prepping for pretty well. All the other shows seem rushed, not ready for primetime, and not even better than one of their weekly FREE TV shows. But with Wrestlemania being in April, and NO March PPV, that means extra buildup time, and my favorite part (when done right)...well written angles.

Let's look at the card.

SUMO MATCH
Akibono vs. Big Show

This will be on the card early, but I bet Vince is trying to ensure some overseas buys with this one. I see Big Show losing, since its not his match, and a hug after for the crowd to ooh and aahhh.

No TAG TITLE matches announced (for EITHER side)

Randy Orton vs. The Undertaker

The Legend versus the Legend Killer. Hmm...expect the Undertaker to get screwed out of a win here, or, maybe a humbling by Randy Orton that allows the UT to actually pull it off. I'd like the streak to stay intact, but let's be honest...not many older guys get pushed past teh younger and more popular talent...though if Orton got "traded" to Smackdown after, I could see him letting the Taker win, only to come over and get revenge in a full blown heel turn.

Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle

Wow. This is one of those matches that people really have been asking for, for a long long time. I think this match with be the second best on the entire card, and if the Money in the Bank ladder match is awful, then this WILL STEAL THE SHOW. I honestly don't mind WHO wins, either, but I'd again, like to see these guys traded to the other show, so that the feud can go past one match. Hopefully they get to work with each other some before the match to get afeel for each other.

MONEY IN THE BANK LADDER MATCH
Jericho v. Benoit v. Edge v. Christian v. Benjamin v. Kane

I want to see Christian win this, but honestly, expect Benoit to. He's been working with Batista for a while, but...oh wait, they are both faces...hm...give it to Jericho and have the mouth go crazy on Batista. It could be like when the UT first faced Shawn Michaels. That was such a great feud.

Women's Championship match

Gimme a break already.

World Heavyweight Title match
HHH vs. Batista

Hopefully they'll carry a good match with the up and comer DEFINITELY getting the win. Its like nothing can stop him...but I'm sure a sledgehammer and a face turn by the nature boy is coming...they're even hinting at it already. New Champ

WWE Title Match
JBL vs. Cena

Cena walks away with the title...but will he turn on the chain gang to get it? Maybe...remember when Steve Austin beat the Rock at WM(I think it was) 16...turned on the fans and started a two year heel run that was some of the funniest bits EVER.

try the pic again. 

Hey everyone. I just installed Microsoft Publisher 2003 to my computer, and wanted to show everyone kind of what I had in mind for the cover of THIEF #0. Of course, we'll play with the logo, and add a company logo (after Eric and I decide what we want to call it, hehe) but this again is the idea I had for the cover when Eric drew this piece...and now he's telling me he's got some other great ideas for covers, so we'll see how things turn out. We'll have to do some color work, but you get the idea. 

This was going to be the cover to issue #2, by series artist Owen Gieni. Hopefully, we'll do a cover gallery, because there were a ton of pieces that would have been wonderful that may not get seen otherwise. Also, colored by Studio Makma. 

This was the actual Production cover for LANDIS v.1, as we get closer to its release date (hopefully), I figured I'll start supplying the site with some of the art, so that everyone can see what to expect. Here, the art is by Ethan (GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH) Van Sciver, and colored by Studio Makma based out of France. All in all, this thing is great, I think. 

This was the Batista Drawing I did last night. It kind of sucks to know that I put some effort into this poster and the people RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME held up a stupid DAAAAVE single letter per sign thing. I mean, it sucked that they were so unoriginal and had to get that stupid crap in front of me. Anyway, I know I got this one up there a couple times. Tim, I really hope Matt enjoys it. 

After Raw

Well, I just got back from Monday Night Raw, and it was a blast as it tends to be. A Very good show, I thought. My signs showed up randomly throughout the night, and I'll be posting pictures here when I get them developed, but it was a great time. I enjoyed it emensely. If you watched it and saw a drawing of Batista in thick black marker, that was me.

After the event, I saw a buddy of mine, and though I thought about keeping the sign, I thought it'd be a great gift for his son, Matt, but hopefully I'll still have a photo of it to place on here.

Man I had fun, but I'm hoarse now.

Monday Night Raw

I'll be five rows up in the crowd, tonight, holding a sign that anyone SHOULD be able to see that simply says..."HHH FEARS DIVORCE" and of course in the heart of Horsemen country, "Flair FEARS Foley." Yeah, I know, not as original as a "F**K the FCC" sign, but I have to admit the first one tickles me. The second is just to see how many people I can piss off, since Ric Flair is a staple of NC, and I frankly don't care. He's done a lot for the business, especially since he'll put over a young up and comer if its best for the business (unlike his cohort).

As to update everyone on the state of THIEF, Eric is getting through pages 7 and 8 on the penciling side, and he's really been impressing me. There are some scenes that look like they may need a photoshop additive, but otherwise, he's really been pushing his artistic skills. That fight panel that I posted remains to be my favorite so far, as it is just that good.

More later.

This right here is THIEF #0's second half of page five in pencil. It is kind of a sequence of getting stuck somewhere you shouldn't be. as you can see, Derek doesn't know WHAT to do. Eric's cartoony style really seems to be coming around with enough detail in the right spots. I thought these two panels were good to show now, just to show the progress this project is making. 

Been a while

Hey folks, been a while since I updated this here site, so I figured I'd go ahead and give a little update.

I haven't really gotten to draw those cover concepts, I've recently discovered MVP Baseball 2005, and because of that, I haven't done much of anything since then. Well, besides that and work, there really hasn't been too much time.

I personally am taking a Mark Millar approach when it comes to writing THIEF, because I want Eric and myself to remain on the same plain, which we are right now. If we can keep hold of that, we've got a real special project working, so hopefully, we can finally make our mark in the industry we've both always tried to do such a thing in.

I'll probably get some time to do a couple sketches over the weekend, but with me going to see Monday Night Raw this coming week, I'm going to have to draw up some signs first, since I don't think they are going to let me in with a DRY ERASE BOARD, hehe...that'd be a first, though!

I'm thinking FLAIR FEARS FOLEY, and I STOLE GUERRERO'S MULLET, and CHEECH!!! for my signs, but I could always do the typical ones...FOLEY = RATINGS and SCORCHIN!

Heh...I love this time of year...the signs just come to mind.

I'm going to have a blast. Look for me there!

This is a page from ARDY: CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS. It's the last page from the first part of it (6 pgs). This was Earthshock in the mid-90's. You can tell that Tim while drawing him was extreme in terms of detail. I think we'll cut it down some to go with the cartoony style, but its such a classic look. Enjoy! 

Thief #0 update

Well everyone has been waiting on this one...

Thief #0 is well-underway. Eric and I have decided that we will not release the book until its perfect and complete. This doesn't just mean this issue. So as of right now, we will be waiting a while to publish, but the good news is this, Eric is already 4 pages into the script, and with touchups coming up, the art is looking good. He's penciling first, and then we'll test some ink methods, with it being possible for ME to ink some of the pages myself, which is making me giddy just thinking about it.

We showed you a cover concept idea for the book, as well, so you guys are getting a good look at what's coming up. Hopefully you are just as excited as Eric and myself. I'm going to have to get him access to the blog, so that he can update himself, and start uploading some pics.

Guys, at his current pace, Eric will be catching up to where I am with the script in no time...which isn't really a bad thing, since the closer I think the book is to completion, the more I get jazzed to write more.

When the pages are more final, I'll possibly upload pics of the pencil to ink visual. I think everyone will get a kick out of all of it.

Here's a "Teaser" sent from Eric for the people looking at THIEF. I actually really like the layout and all, so I may have him do something similar for the cover (if he doesn't want me to tackle covers, hehe). I really think he's found a great mesh style, and I'm really looking up about this project, now...BIG TIME 

Howdy

Well, as the month rolls to an end, I haven't heard from Eric in a bit, so I figured I'll post a little about what's going on outside of comics (for me) right now. I'll probably finish the script for Thief #2 tomorrow or at latest by next week. I like where its going, so it should be able to get me to where I want it to go within 5 16 page issues (+ the #0 issue). Hopefully I can fit it into 4, so I don't feel I'm ripping people off for a 16 page book for less than $2.00. I mean, with all the books that are 22 pages of story for $3 or more, a book for less than $2 with just as much meat, just a little less potatoes should be something people want to look at.

So in wrestling, Batista finally left Evolution, even though everyone knew it was going to happen. I personally can't wait, because the road to Wrestlemania has a stop near me, so I've got tickets to the March 7th RAW, and that ought to be a lot of fun. Hopefully they'll bring Mick Foley back so that I have someone I really respect in there, too.

GELATOMETTI seems to be having difficulties uploading recently. if you haven't seen this website, you need to check it out, its here at blogger, and its the blog of the WILDSTORM STUDIO of artists. Very cool, hopefully they'll get their problems figured out.

Been having some trouble sleeping recently. Most of it is attributed to my one dog, Ardy, who whines since he's not allowed on the bed. It typically started about 8:30 in the morning, and Christy normally comes to bed around 2-4, so it doesn't leave a lot of sleep with as light as I sleep to begin with. Hopefully this won't hurt my production on THIEF, but if it does, you guys know where its coming from.

Landis, my other dog, turned 3 yesterday. Easy daqte to remember, 2/22/02, not too hard to see. I wanted to give her a shot (since in human years she's 21) but I stopped myself, since she's had a kidney stone before. Don't want her to go through any more problems, so I'll just stick to water for the dogs...not to mention, it's less for me.

I've done some more sketches for the Revamp and Earthshock characters from THIEF, and though I'm sticking to a retro look for Earthshock (he was created in a time that Rob Liefeld books were a hit), but Revamp is going to be REVAMPED into a new kind of vampire. I like both designs, and am trying to keep them more cartoony. You'll probably see them before too long.

Well, before I start making stuff up, I'm going to bolt.

Been a couple days...so an update

Sorry for not being on here the past few days, I've had off the last two and actually have tomorrow off, as well, but I just really have tried to not write until it just hits me that I have to put it down on the keyboard.

With production on Thief moving forward, JK Radtke and I were talking the past couple days and we are going to continue to try to get ARDY/TORCH: Spring Broke done. Hopefully writing the second half of it will be as good as I think the first half is, which is funny, since I wrote it about 3-4 years ago and never finished it because JK and I just were unable to make it happen. That's not the case anymore, so I just need to tap into what got me that far and just finish the deal. Hopefully I'll be able to update this site with some drawings from JK about the movement forward on the project.

Eric from last I heard, has started more character designs and actually started laying out THIEF, which I believe we'll introduce the title with the #0 issue, explaining how Derek Stevens actually gets the powers, and then explain how he deals with them in the mini-series (that could subsequently become an ongoing). The idea is so strong that I feel I'm getting intimidated when it comes to writing it, because I think it is a stronger idea than I am a good writer...I'll guess we'll see with that.

Since I haven't written anything in the past week or so, tonight I'll probably do some character sketches for other characters in the book, since I am expecting Infinity to have a clash with the other heroes of this universe. I'm trying to think of a good unused name for a team of heroes that Infinity was part of before that character was killed, so that there will definitely be a situation there.

I was talking to another buddy of mine, Al Lucente, about writing of comics, and its funny that I see myself NOT doing what I told him he needs to if he ever wanted to write a comic book...and that is to make sure that you have a beginning, a middle and an end. As a character, Infinity and even Derek Stevens has the capability of becoming an Iconic character, one that can continue to evolve, rather than be built on one small concept that stales over time. Kind of the Power means Responsibility statement.

I hope people are reading this board, because they are the ones that I'm hoping to make fans and enjoy my works. Have a great evening, all, I'm going to the drawing board.

DREAD MUTT by JK Radtke. The Idea was from a really weird convo we had about two years ago about a bounty hunting dog from outer space...kinda fits the bill, huh? Look for more on this cool canine later. 

And so its over

Hockey season has ended. All because they couldn't come to terms. I hope people boycott the next year they finally DO play, because they deserve to have NO ONE in the stands.

NHL Labor dispute...

My view...

Millionaires wishing to make more money on both sides. Just like everytime a major sport can't come to an agreement and go on strike, this is ridiculous. Hockey isn't making the revenue that all other major sports are, the season is too long and ultimately, it's just millionaires trying to pad their money that if smart, they'd never run out of anyway...but that's never the case.

The players lost ANY leverage AND credibility when NOW, 6 months later, they say they'll take a cap. Owners won't meet them halfway, and I don't blame them now. But I don't like either side of this, because both sides are just greedy.

Truly, I hope they are ready to have empty arenas. $40 a ticket for a team that is only about money and not fans is ridiculous. They better be ready to give ALL the seats for free, just so they can get a couple thousand fans in the audience. I don't expect them to give away free tickets, and I don't expect anyone to go to the games, including the die-hard fans, because they are the most shafted by this. They are the ones that buy the merch, they are the ones that bring the whole family wearing jerseys and start playing in hockey leagues to pass the time, and tomorrow, no matter what the decision is...most "fans" have already written off this season, and a lot of them have written off what used to be a sport...and now is just a business.

addendum to that last post...

Here's an interesting history lesson to go with what I posted earlier. Did you know that the issue of SCORN that Ardy first showed up in was also the first appearance of ELISA LANDIS, star of LANDIS.

Interesting, huh? Also, I may have the name incorrect about the Scorn book I wrote, but if I did, I'll change that later.

Ardy: history and retrospective

Everytime I start writing comics, I always think back to 1986, a good ole' 19 years ago, when I created a character named Ardy. I was eight years old, but I always liked to draw, paint and just make a mess, but one day I created this yellow creature with very Garfieldesque eyes, and two strands of hair on his head. His nose was round, and he looked really silly, but then, back in the day, I couldn't draw a real face, so I drew this character, with Three fingers and a thumb on both hands, and big feet. He didn't have big muscles until I got to junior highschool, when I hooked up with a couple buddies, Jeremy Phillips, Anthony Seymour, and a couple others, and it was all about Illusion Comics, then Comix, then I changed it to Illusion Studios, because I liked the sound of it more.

This is what was weird. Jeremy and Anthony loved a beefed up Ardy character with a larger nose, so they started doing loose-leaf comics of him, and about 50 to 75 other characters. Every so often they'd even pull an old Rob Liefeld trick of copying some of our favorite scenes out of books to really spice up the storytelling.

About 1992, I decided that since Ardy was my character, I was going to do something that they were cool with, and that was take over the ARDY "monthly" series and write and draw it myself. I went 25 issues, creating silly things like special covers with holes in them, glow in the dark ink and much more. It was always fun, because it was my character doing all his crazy antics, but it wasn't well written, and it wasn't well drawn, but it was fun, and probably the most popular of our books, because they got passed around to everyone.

In late 1992, I found out I was going to be moving to North Carolina with my folks, and had just a few months prior, talked up a deal with a company 5th Panel Comics, and created a comic called CITY OF ILLUSION. It went one issue, and although never officially cancelled, Jeremy, who drew the first issue, and I lost touch, only talking once in a blue moon, and the series just couldn't continue.

In 1993, I took Ardy with me to another company, Super Crew Comics, and Chris Crosby, a name that would become synonimous with my comics career, scary enough. Funny that a couple 16 year old kids would be so ambitious. Chris would have me write a one page Ardy piece every so often, though I don't think any of them ever saw print.

In 1995, (I think, I'm losing time somewhere I'm sure) Chris came up with this idea for a character named Scorn, and talked Milton Teruel into drawing it for him. I got tapped to write 28 pages in 7 days for him, and that is what actually became SCORN: DEADLY REBELLION the issue after. I got 5% of the profits the book made, got my name up there on the cover, and ultimately, my only stipulation was, as long as I write Scorn, I get to write a backup Ardy story. It became known as CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS and was based in Las Vegas. Two parts were published and it made me realize that a true talent like Timothy Johnson was one that was just too good for this kind of storytelling.

I remember writing the story in a way I've not written since...with nothing but spoken words from the characters and possibly from thought balloons. No artist I've worked with has ever been able to read it and just go from there. I've recently told Tim I want to reletter and rerelease CTNS as a oneshot, and he asked to have his name taken off it. Why? I'm hoping he's not ashamed of it, but hoping more so for the fact that like many artists, he'd only see how far his art has moved forward since then.

Anyways, this is about how Ardy has so much history. Ardy has made appearances in Spider-man (Sensational Spider-Man #21), Major Bummer (#6) and even had his name written across the wall in Uncanny X-Men #346 (the Spider-man / Marrow issue). Bill Maus, Tom Nguyen, Mike Weiringo, and others have talked about how fun he is to draw, and how imaginative of a character he is. Javier Saltares was going to draw a sketch of him for me once, only to have me not return to the convention (DAMMIT!) to have it done.

But Ardy finally got his day in color on FCBD 2, as LANDIS #0 shipped, again, published by Chris Crosby and Keenspot under the name A-Bomb. 22000 copies printed and shipped, and Ardy, although not the star, definitely made his way into the script and got larger and larger in terms of his role by the end...why? Because he's always been the star, and like Robert DeNiro in ANY supporting role...he just takes over...and he still does today.

Ardy's Spring Break story will be told...even if I have to tie JK Radtke up and only leave his hand out to draw. I'm tired of writing, so I'm going to bounce.

Latest Comic Update

Well, what a weird week this has been.

First, as you all read, I'm moving forward with certain projects and making them happen, and then I had my first poker night tonight, and unfortunately, I missed the money round by about $3 in chips, BOO...

On the Comic front, Eric and I had a conversation through email these past few days, and with him trying out a cartoony "Powers-y" style, he feels that he wants to work on THIEF before Atomic Teen...and because of this, we've decided to go a different route than initially stated, which should be fortunate for all, but some who really wanted to see AT first, unfortunately will just have to wait.

We've decided to bump THIEF up into production now, because its really the freshest and newest of the ideas, and 100% original. As you've seen from Eric's art, he's definitely having fun with the project, too, so it looks like we're going to start seeing some penciled pages within a few weeks.

At the same time, expect me and Josh (JK) Radtke to continue persuing a comic strip online, that may even be seen here, who knows. More on that when there's more to inform about.

More of an actiony pose, this time, again, From Eric...hope everyone likes the art, I'm certainly getting more and more stoked about it! 

Eric Kent, showing that he can do the cartoony art style I'm looking for, drew this THIEF sketch and sent it my way. I may bump this title back up to the head if he keeps drawing him instead, hehe. Definitely cool! 

LATEST NEWS: Landis, Dread, Ardy and more!

Alright, I'm going to try to do this in bullet form.

**- LANDIS v.1 (Volume 1) should be in MAY's issue of PREVIEWS, and be available at the latest in July. That means any orders for it through Amazon or Barnes and Noble online will be fulfilled by then.

As a side note on this, I want to thank Chris Crosby for putting up with me, and how much of a dick I probably was for a lot of it. Hopefully he realizes how near and dear to me that material is, and I've grown to understand why it has taken so long for this to finally be getting put together. He told me today that in the coming months, I'll receive color proofs to make sure everything is up to par before the finaly printings come out.

Hopefully, I'll actually be allowed to put some of my own sketches in there for the characters and such, because it isn't often that your work gets done, and if nothing else, like Kevin Smith, I'm putting everything I have into this, that way I can say that I drew something in it.

**- Thief may be put aside from an artside until the right artist has been found for the property. JK Radtke expressed interest early on for it, but has since decided that he'd rather work off rust with a webcomic or a smaller project, like the miniseries, ARDY/TORCH: Spring Broke. No problem from me, I'd rather have the script complete so I may be able to shop the property off.

**- As stated in bullet above, JK Radtke and I are putting the possibility of a webcomic together, and who knows where or when it might end up, but we're hoping to have some neat little pieces to use to show it in the coming weeks. There are two ideas from us, DREAD MUTT, a story about a Bounty Hunting Dog, and Radtke's own Sister Syn, which I'm sure he can explain better than me, so I won't even try.

**- Atomic Teen is going to move forward, but I'll stress the title like this...although I'm expecting it to be an ongoing story, it may start as a two or three issue story, then take a hiatus, before returning to continue, much like Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary. Just the format, not the story =).

**- Thief may end up being drawn by Eric Kent as well, but only after an issue or two of Atomic Teen have been completed, but this could change like the wind...more later.

**- Ardy: City That Never Sleeps, my first published comic story (after a book from 5th Panel Comics) is being contemplated for a return. The idea is simple...without having to redraw it, I'm thinking about releasing the whole story (including the 10 page finale) in a REDUX format, possibly re-writing some scenes and re-lettering the entire book. The reason is first, no one ever got to see the end, second, Earthshock from THIEF is actually the "villain" here, too, and third, I think the script may not have gone over as well as needed, so I'm looking to reletter it.

With this, will it happen? If I have my way it will. Eric has said that he'll help with this ANY way he can, and although I'm not exactly sure how we're going to do it, I would expect more info on this as well.

Hopefully I'll be able to give another big update like this when it happens. If and when I get more info on any of this stuff, you know here's where to look first.

Landis moving forward

Hi all,

I'm trying to give more up to date news as often as possible, without trying to just drum up the same stuff over and over again. Today, I bring you the latest information on a book that is 3 years in the making.

In October of 2002, I resubmitted an idea to Chris Crosby for a book called Landis. I said that we already had a cover for it drawn by then's X-Men artist, Ethan Van Sciver (now Green Lantern Rebirth's artist) and said that we should really try to gain some sales by utilizing that cover and that art. Chris couldn't disagree, or if he could, for once he didn't =), and we decided to find an artist. A Young Canadian by the name of Owen Gieni was found with a vigor and powerful stroke, the man was a renaissance artist, able to pencil, ink and paint, WOW. This guy was perfect. He could draw manga, comics, or sci-fi (as he showed with his designs for THE GOODS). This book was fast tracked, and with Keenspot backing it undercover, from the three of us creating a name that would show up in the front of the independent portion of Previews, A-BOMB, we were moving forward. I never felt a script get written so quick and well by me, and then everytime I saw Owen's pages, I knew that he understood and hoped he was enjoying the pages as well.

The title was where I got free reign to write what I wanted, when I wanted to, and about whatever I wanted. Chris was editing it, but it really was just flowing, and though I got told I had to re-write #0, which saw print and looked great, even on newsprint, I still got to do it my way. In fact, right here, knowing that Chris will probably read this, I have to say that I've been a dick about this project, trying every way I can to get it printed...heck, I still want some of the original art, but Owen and I only talk on rare occassions now because he's trucking away on sorethumbs.com, a cool webcomic about political video game store owners. Anyway, before staying on a rant, I want Chris to know that I'm apologizing for a lot of things I may have said, since all he wanted to do was find a way to get the most exposure for my title so it wasn't a waste of money for him or his company, and it has taken me this long to understand that.

Anyways, LANDIS v.1 right now is slated for July of 2005, so it should be available to be seen in the May issue of Previews. This is great because it means two things...It should be available to show at all the big conventions, and hopefully it'll be ready at HEROES CON in Charlotte, since with all my wedding planning and all, I may not have the money for the other shows, and it'll definitely be available to give as gifts to everyone who attends my wedding, hehe.

LANDIS v.1 is about an immortal named Elisa Landis and her adventures. Thsoe she befriends and those that consider her an enemy, all trying to locate Thor's hammer, Mjolnir.

It is also the first full color appearance of the alien known as Ardy Vanstarr, just in time for his 20th birthday in 2006.

More later!

ARDY and more.

Tim Johnson recently gave me the okay to REPUBLISH Ardy: City That Never Sleeps, as long as I don't credit him. He said it isn't because he wasn't proud of the art, he just feels its because he's so much further than that point in his art life. So I may republish that with the Tom Nguyen (JLA, BATMAN, etc) drawing as the cover, since its a cool piece, or maybe the Bill Maus piece.

I want everyone to know that if I do it, it is simply because I felt that it was such a fun story that it NEEDS to be redone, since the last 10 pages NEVER saw print, and I've recently found parts to it that never saw print the first time. If I DO republish it, I may do so as a DIRECTOR'S CUT, and re-letter it, clean up some of the sequences, and actually add some director's commentary.

Chris Crosby does not own the artwork or the publishing rights and he's told me that he'd be okay with the reprinting, but of which, as a nice thing to do, I'll definitely credit where the pieces originally saw print, just because its the fair and honest thing to do.

Speaking of Chris Crosby, I'll be emailing him this week, in an attempt to get an update on the status of LANDIS, the first 5 issues that are to be re-printed in the summer before convention season. Hopefully he's ready to really get it out there, snice the first issue was very well received, and artist Owen Gieni DESERVES to be out there with the big names. I've never seen a young artist put so much into making the title come alive, and Owen did just that. I got excited about seeing pages from a book I wrote EVERY time he sent them my way.

Hopefully, you folks will get to see the pages at some point, on more than really bad newsprint. But then again, heck, how many indy-writers can say their book was ever FULL COLOR? I gotta give it to Crosby...he gave me the right to say that.

This is Earthshock. He wears a helmet that restricts his power from being too strong, as he has seismic powers, and he also wears bands around his wrists like space ghost. I've always loved this silly early 1990's design, but this was done just recently because in Thief #1, Earthshock makes his retun to comics. I just figured I'd show that even while I'm not writing, I'm still designing the characters. 

Talk with Joe Quesada

Well, earlier tonight, I was reading on NEWSARAMA.COM, probably the best place to get info on upcoming comics, and it would be great to one day get some headline on there, when I was reading an interview between Joe Quesada and his editor, Axel Alonso, when I noticed that Joey Q was online...so I decided what the hell. And I did ask permission to use one quote from him, hopefully he doesn't hate me for posting a little bit here. Joe Quesada is the Editor in Chief at Marvel.

RPotchak: Joe, you are all over the place on Newsarama...thanks for all the insight

JOE Q: yeah, like a bad smell

RPotchak: if you say so. It's impressive that you are trying to be a lot more open with the comic public... it almost seemed for a while there that you had disappeared into the night

JOE Q: I was just laying low for a while

RPotchak: just when do we get to clone you so one can draw? =)
RPotchak: we all miss your art...some of us just don't mind saying it

JOE Q: Got a petrie dish filled with DNA but it ain't working

RPotchak: Marvel's lawyer's not letting you go forward with stem-cell? =)

JOE Q: LOL!

RPotchak: could you imagine what kind of creativity we could get out of like 5 Quesada's?

JOE Q: Five times the lazyness

And because I want to keep most of it to myself, since I don't want to get sued by Marvel, and may in fact want to TRY to get hired by them one day, I'll just end it with this...

RPotchak: what drives you to stay on top...besides the obvious, Bob Wayne pulling out his hair?

JOE Q: Boob Wayne doesn't drive me to do anything but laugh

RPotchak: thanks for being such a sport, Joe...and you said boob, was that a typo?

JOE Q: What drives me is just making good comics for people who spend their hard earned money on them. Did I say Boob, well look at that

Now, I don't think he meant to take another shot at Bob Wayne, (who doesn't like Quesada for statements made in the New Yorker, and he himself works for DC Comics) especially when I asked to use a couple quotes for my blog (I've got that part saved, so, I think I'm in the clear).

I just thought it was fun to finally be a five minute interviewer and have everything sound fun. I hope my three readers enjoy.

Superbowl Sunday

I know I've already given my prediction, but I'm going to go into how I think the game NEEDS to go if its going to end with how I said.

Everyone believes if Philly is going to win, its going to be a game where they have to win a close one. I don't think this is the case. In the 8th week of the season, when New England was playing Pittsburgh, Pitt jumped out to a 17-3 lead, and New England was done. They didn't know what to do, and they were taken out of their gameplan.

A close game can go to either team, and Adam Vinatieri is probably the most clutch player in the game since Joe Montana.

Philly needs to make a quick score and a quick stop in the first quarter. If they don't get that, its going to be a long day. These two teams have only played 2 games in 5 weeks, now. There's going to be some rust, so Philly needs to jump out early.

It'll be interesting. But I'm stating this as fact. The Eagles NEED a quick score out the box, to throw the other team off their plan.

Been a couple...

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I know I go in spurts. Figured I'd give a rundown.

I bought some new comics this week, including Phoenix: Endsong from Marvel. Apparently the first two issues have sold out, so I made sure to pick them both up. Marvel does this thing, now where they reprint a book, or a second printing as its known, but their new marketing strategy is to call them "Limited Edition" books when they are second prints, which is pretty accurate. They change the cover on the second print, but they print less of them, so although its stupid, it works.

I input the entire side of my family's addresses into the laptop, and MANNNN is that a long list. This list, of course, is for the wedding guest list, and my family side alone is like 100 people...sheesh.

The writing has slowed a little the past couple days, not just here, but in general. I'm hoping the laptop isn't hurting my creativity. Its intended to do the exact opposite, but, any creative person knows that some things meant to make it easier...rarely do.

I have the whole #0 issue and 3/4 of the #1 issue of THIEF written, already, and next issue the fun really starts, as I'll introduce a team of heroes that wants answers for where Infinity had disappeared to, and how he "came back." Should be a fun reactionary type story.

It's funny, I used to notice that I would write action scene, action scene, drama, action scene, drama. Now, I find myself flip-flopping that. I'm writing more dramatically, with less action and being told that there isn't enough going on. I'm told the scripts move along and deal where they need to, but an entire issue can take place in five minutes time.

I try not to decompress, but sometimes, you need to have the character put one moment into place, and the whole issue encompasses it.

Well, I'm going to leave it at that...Oh, and how about Philly 31 - New England 17.

You heard it here first.

The Best News of the Week!

Today I received my HP Laptop from Bestbuy's CTO. I have to upgrade the memory on it, but I've already got a wireless mouse for it, so I should be up and running with it in almost no-time.

This is great for everybody, because it'll allow me to move around and have my creative juices flowing, not just from my computer room in my house. Hopefully this will mark a whole new element in my creative process.

Let's hope I don't break it.

Monday morning update...

THIEF is taking off with approval from pretty much all that have read the initial script, though they are saying it's a little Bendis-y (meaning not much happens and there are a lot of words). The #0 issue was meant to strictly be a retelling of his origin, and how the powers were transferred to him. Sure, it's not an actiony issue, but that's because the story isn't in the action, its in the how and why. With the miniseries (issues 1-4), I'll be exploring his struggle of NOT knowing the powers he's inherited, and relationships with other heroes. Hopefully, when its done, I intend to send this one on to Platinum Studios, but I'm still looking to publish it myself.

Royal Rumble happened last night, and for once, the WWE delivered a PPV with expectations that were met. Sure, I would have enjoyed Cena winning the rumble because HHH ruined it for Batista, but I respect how it was played off with both men "winning" and them restarting the match. The weird thing is, having watched the match, Randy Orton looked LEGITIMATELY hurt, but the reports are all saying that was part of the show...I'm sorry, having had a concussion, if that wasn't real, then Randy Orton is 1000% a better actor than I thought. His eyes glazed perfectly, his equilibrium thrown off to the nth degree, and MISSING when he went to pick up the sledgehammer lead me to believe that the 25 year old finally got knocked silly...and it was because of a move properly executed. Oh, and Daniel Puder got chopped from three of the most vicious choppers in the industry in Benoit, Guerrero and Holly...classic initiation sequence, and its about time they showed someone get a legit beatdown in the ring.

I may be enlisting another writer to keep me honest with all my commitments in the coming days, so that we can bounce ideas off each other for Atomic Teen and keep the books moving forward. Not to say I wouldn't finish my books in a timely fashion, I just think two guys bouncing ideas back and forth may make for more interesting storytelling.

The new laptop should be here early next week, maybe earlier (I doubt it). I was a little hesitant after the first day of thinking I made the wrong decision, but that has passed, and now I just want it to get here already, hehe.

Take care!

Eric also decided to give a shot of what he thought the THIEF's costume should look like, as the character now known as INFINITY. As you can tell, he sharpened up certain areas to make the costume that much better, and now, if we find the right color scheme for the covers, we're headed very well into the right direction. 

This is Eric Kent's conception sketch of Atomic Teen...Skinny geek, all the like. We shortened his hair and made him geekier...if that's possible. I like him now. He fits the bill. 

A more clear design of the character called INFINITY in THIEF. This one is a lot more clear, in terms of what I was looking for. Hopefully, its making people interested. 

This is actually on the same sheet as the wolverine piece, so I figured I'd upload it as well. Hopefully the scans came out pretty well, all things considered. Trying out new stuff and new looks, but it was fun just feeling like I wanted to draw, again. 

a recent Wolverine face I drew to kind of try out the blacks, whites and greys that you see form artists such as Travis Charest, Jim Lee and Drew Struzan. I like it...not sure if anyone else will, tho. 

Moving along nicely.

I'm going to break this post into a couple of things.

I have finished a 16 page script for #0 of THIEF. This puts me way ahead of schedule on that, and I'll probably rework is some to fit it a little better into a 20 page book. Why? Because the story had waaaayyyy too much writing for that many pages. Don't worry, though, no extra cost to the consumer (partly because I didn't announce a price for it, yet).

I'm still thinking there'd be no problem getting a 20 page book out in the open market for no more than 1.95. Sure, it'd be black and white with color cover, but come on...Two bucks is cheaper than Image and everyone else, even if it IS in Black and White.

On top of that, Eric Kent has begun sketching the characters for Atomic Teen, and as you saw last post, I'm designing the characters from THIEF myself. I wish I was good enough of an artist to actually do more than just design characters, and who knows, I may do a pinup or something, but that remains to be seen. On the THIEF art-front, JK Radtke wants a crack at it, it seems, as he believes the hip project is actually too good an opportunity to pass up. We'll see what happens there, but right now it looks like he's going to do a couple test pages to work off some rust, and probably do a couple more pages for SPRING BROKE before too long.

On the homefront, I just CTO'd a new laptop from Bestbuy for myself and my fiance, Christy. CTO is Create to Order for all you who've never worked at somewhere like Bestbuy. Typically, I'd've ordered a Dell, but the savings by going with the HP, as well as getting a larger screen and bigger harddrive drove me to pick it up from the ole BBY...but none of the stores I worked for...Take that BT. I should receive it in time for the Superbowl, and LET'S GO PHILLY!

Other than that, I DID get my scanner fixed, so I'll be posting sketches and whatnot as I find time to draw them...

Of course, tomorrow does start SUNCOM WIRELESS's new ad campaign and new rate plans. They're hoping to make a HUGE impact on the smaller area...and with what they have in store, they look like they'll be very close to jumping in and start running from the get-go...unfortunately for me, it means waiting a good while until they finally have us re-do the store, and start selling...six-months of crap before life should get any easier.

On top of that, Christy got a really good deal on a vacation package for us. $600 for an 8-day trip...yes, they'll try to sell us something but what we don't have the money for, we can't buy, right? Hehe...It's to Florida for Universal, Disney, and a cruise...great news for folks who want to spend their honeymoon somewhere other than waffle house.

This is the second conceptual design for the costume of the lead character in Thief. Its rough, but it should give a good idea. I used pencil on purple paper to be able to add the white gloss look as well as the black inks some more false depth. I'm not sure if this would be the first hero's costume, or when Derek Stevens takes over for him, but I like the star design enough to know that this (or a similar version) will be what you see one of the characters where. 

What is THIEF?

THIEF (C) 2005 Rob Potchak

The story of a down on his luck guy named Derek Stevens while not exactly being the best person in the world, he's not totally a bad guy, just not put in line in the right direction. One day, while witnessing a super-hero in battle, he grabs the source of the Hero's power, without knowing it, and ultimately is the reason the hero doesn't survive.

Due to this, as he walks with all the guilt, he tries to put himself back on the right path, as well as take the place of the lost hero. With the mysterious power amulet around his neck, he essentially has one of the most powerful weapons in the universe at his disposal.

What he does with it, and how people react to him is based on these instances. Will he become a hero with all the guilt on his shoulders? Will he be able to confide his dark secret with someone? Wher ewill this new path lead him?

As I posted earlier, I came up with this richly original idea the other night, and it fast tracked in my head. I've already near-completed the #0 (origin) issue. I'll probably fasttrack this into my first new project. Whether it comes before or after ATOMIC TEEN, I'm still unsure. All I know is if I find the right artist for it, this could be out sooner than later.

Thanks for listening, folks.

THIEF

That's the new running title for another story I've begun. I can't give too much news on it or what its about yet, as I don't have the copyright and trademark info done, yet.

No, its not based on the videogame, but the title, THIEF, definitely makes sense. I'll probably post concept art on the book as soon as I get my scanner working again, or when I get my digital art pad.

Digital inking.

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give you an update. I've recently ordered a Wacom Intuos pad and pencil, so that I can try out digital inking. hopefully it'll bring out a whole new energy in drawing that I've lacked for a while. What I intend to do is take the photos I took in Brooklyn this past year and use them as background for a short story I want to draw. If I do well, I may even show it to people, hehe.

Actually, I'm trying to just restart the creative juices, so it'll be interesting to see how much this helps with my Photoshop proficiency, since I've been wondering how those good at digital inking and coloring do it. hopefully this'll help.

Anyways, all that and its...well...its snowing in NC.

Horrology 2005!

All this talk of writing comics got me to thinking of an idea I had ages ago and went into a forum for...A HORROR ANTHOLOGY (HORROLOGY as I coined it)with the proceeds going to charity. All the proceeds you ask? Yes. Why? Because I think its our job in the community.

What I'm looking for, if anyone reading this is interested...stories between 4-6 pages, black and white, horror any way you want to do it. The work has to be complete, has to be professional and will be determined by me whether or not it will see print.

If all the art and letters can be completed, I'll just need the artwork sent to me as a PDF file at 300 dpi. I'll compile it, created the contents page, as well as write any story that an artist just can't flesh out.

any creators are more than welcome to submit something, and if you have questions, email me at RPotchak@aol.com.

If I get more submissions than will fit into a 48 page book, I'll look to do genre based Horrology, in other words, a zombie book, a vampire book, an Evil Dead style book.

If you know anyone that may be interested, have them get in touch with me.

New projects popping up everywhere!

Hey guys, just wanted to give an update to what I'm planning when I launch my new comics through ComiXpress.

ATOMIC TEEN
Written by: Rob Potchak
Art and Letters by: Eric L Kent

Premise: A 15 year old boy by the name of Phillip Rogers keeps having nightmares. Waking up in a pool of sweat for a fifteen year old is normally because of worries for a test, not because of visions of destroying all life on the planet. Rogers has apparently been chosen as the suitor for an all-powerful alien being, and its up to him whether or not he'll succumb to the power or be the worlds savior. Expect this in 16 page issues, so we can try to stay on a once a month (at worst) basis. Don't worry, pricing will be respectable to the page count. No $2.95 an issue for only 2/3s the regular comic size.

This story I really want to keep in the mindset of a 15 year old, and the hardships that you deal with in everyday life. I look at it as a modern-day Spider-man story where the power and responsibility come into play, but at the same time, if I go far enough into the book, I'll also go very deep into both character's heads and feelings. The response to what's been written has been very good so far, as most people want to see which direction Phillip goes. Hopefully with the hype I'm personally giving to this story, (check out the forums in BrokenFrontier.com), I hope it doesn't disappoint.

ARDY/TORCH: SPRING BROKE!
Written by: Rob Potchak
Art by: JK Radtke

This story has been in the making for years, and will continue to be so =). JK Radtke wants to do this story, I want to do this story. The smartass private eye from Landis gets his own book, and yet he's still got to share it with someone who has never shown up in a book before. Torch, a creation of Radtke has decided to get into Ardy's head by talking him into a vacation. Only problem is, when they get to their vacation spot, it is completely deserted, except for the mysterious bartender known simply as Cheech. Who has stolen all the spring break hotties, and the alcohol.

This story really has been in the works for a long long time. After I posted the picture of Ardy and Cheech, JK told me that he really still wants to do the book. We may format it differently, and since I've been planning it for 5 years, who knows when it'll be complete, but I promise, NO Daredevil: Father, here. No first issue and then a year before the second. I may actually release this as a 40 page trade.

No pricing is available at this point, and I wouldn't expect too much movement on the books until I get ready to start printing, which would probably be two or three months.

This was a concept sketch for a story that may still see print, if I can finish the script AND get the creator of torch to draw it... JK Radtke and I were working on this...it was a book called ARDY/TORCH: Spring Broke. It was just a perfect story. Maybe one day we'll stop being lazy enough to do it. 

Wedding day is OFFICIAL!!

Hey all...

The wedding day for myself and Christy Holton is NOW OFFICIALLY September 10th, 2005!

The ceremony will be held at Duke Gardens, in Durham, NC as long as we can book the JOP (or priest) and everything else. More information as it becomes available.

If ANYONE is reading this and has any ideas of where to have a wedding registry, LET ME KNOW! Thanks.

Stop Ashlee Simpson! Haha!

I love it. Free advertising for the "Stop Ashlee Simpson" petition! IF you hate this stupid generations taste in music as much as I do, GO HERE! Stop it now.

petitiononline.com/StopAsh/petition.html

I'll be back later with more relevence, but this was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

Shouldn't her name be Schnoz Simpson?

Elimination Chamber...how I would have ended it.

Hey...if anyone out there reading this likes wrestling (as you can tell I do) or if anyone out there KNOWS Vince McMahon...tell him this is how the match should have ended.

To end with HHH still as the world champion, this is how I would have done it.

Triple H tells Batista to hold up Randy Orton...as he's doing so, Triple H goes for a big punch (or clothesline) to the face of Orton, but Orton ducks and Batista goes down.

Orton makes a quick pin on Batista, then leaving it to Orton and HHH. At this point, you pan out the rest of the match just the way it happened, and BOOM...all three guys have heat, HHH wins the title back, but sudeenly the pressure between him and Batista is MUCH larger.

Instead, you have ORton eliminate Batista with NO DRAMA, NO STORY BUILDUP and plain ass.

What were you guys thinking? And then, to end the PPV after only 2.5 hours? Yeah, I know you had two major injuries happen, and that's awful...but look at it as a blessing. You can now DROP the EUGENE character altogether when Dinsomre is ready to come back, and go with a new take on him.

That's what we call SMART BOOKING...unlike what happened last night.

Atomic Teen - First new comic from Potchak ...

Well, as much as I'd like this to be a press release, it won't. I'm just going to post like I normally do.

ATOMIC TEEN (name still tentative) is about a 15 year old boy who is constantly having nightmares abotu destroying the world he lives on. As he wakes up every day, he is the same old boy that no one cares about and the same boy from a pretty broken family.

As he finds himself changing in his life, the dreams become more vivid, until one day, he just explodes...literally.

That's right. They aren't dreams that are occurring, they are destiny.

So far, it looks as though the story'll be in production for most of the year, but I'm sure when I get my scanner up and running, I'll be posting visuals as they happen.

Frank Miller is a real all-star.

Frank Miller has been announced as the Series writer for Batman and Robin: Allstars, a new title from DC comics due in July. Jim Lee has been slated as penciler of the title, as well.

The creators remain tight lipped, as the story will start as a 6 parter, with the creators reassessing whether they will stay on the title for longer.

They sound as though they have at least 12 issues planned for the title, so it'll be interesting to see if they stick to it and stay on board for at least 12, which I think is a defining amount of issues for a creator. You can tell they've made their stake in the character's history if the book comes out monthly for 12 months.

This will most assuredly sell more copies than the other new ALLSTARS title, Superman, written by Grant Morrison and drawn by the man that gave Wolverine the "Gay Leather" look, Frank Quitely.

As a fan, I'm more than excited about this, but it means yet another title that I'll be buying every month...sheesh.

A drawing of Wolverine I did years ago. I figured what the hell, send something I drew so people can see if I'm any good. 

Back in the day, Mike Weiringo drew good ole Ardy on the back of Peter Parker. This is from Sensational Spider-man #21! Thanks again, Mike, you are the best...now if only I could find this original art! 

I bring you comics.

Well, a new year brings new hope. And with that statement, I intend to bring my comics into this world this year. I am currently considering format of the book, since I'm old fashioned and definitely still prefer print books.

I am enlisting the help of my old comic buddies, JK Radtke for promotion and Eric L Kent for the art end. I'm tired of taking a back seat and hope to have four 16 page books out as soon as I get them started. It will be interesting to see what I bring to the plate this time.

A printer has been found and cost is pretty inexpensive, as long as they get an ad on the back cover, which honestly, I don't mind. I'll give more information on this when it becomes available.

Radtke...you...and more Wrestling.

JK, it's so good to have you show up and posting on the blog! Great. Well, that "My WM card" message pretty much turned into what I would expect from WWE, without really being what I think they could do. I know it doesn't make sense, but neither does the WWE Main Event picture.

You see, if the WWE was smart this is what they'd do.

World Heavyweight Title Match
45 Minute Iron Man Match (man who scores most pinfalls in 45 minutes wins)

Triple H v. Orton v. Batista

Do I believe Batista or Orton can hold 45 minutes? No, that's why I say put all three in the match, allowing rest time for each individual involved

WWE Title
Classic Rules Match (No cheating, including throwing wrestlers outside the ring over the top rope)

Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero

Now this would be funny, because WWE would have to find a way to have its two most cheating winners...NOT to cheat.

US Title Match
"Street Fight"

John Cena vs. RVD

This match will never happen unless Vinnie Mac reads this and sees BUYRATE in his eyes, but this match would allow the VAN TERMINATOR to finally end CENA's run as a US champ, allowing them to throw him on Raw AFTER WM...also finally give RVD a singles belt. If you want Cena to look good at WM, give'm a good match maker

Intercontinental Title Match
Bucket of Truth Ladder Match (Three buckets are held above the ring, its up to the wrestlers to grab the right bucket. The other two are filled with weapons, thus creating MASS CARNAGE)

Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin

After this match, make Christian the #2 heel, if he isn't already, by having him defect to Smackdown...WITH the TITLE.

Legend Match
Ricky Steamboat as the Special Referee and The Rock as the Special Enforcer

Mick Foley vs. Ric Flair

Steamboat and Flair had amazing matches. Steamboat and Foley respect each other enough to talk about "old school" and "hard core" like adults. Flair hates Foley. Foley dislikes Flair. This match is reading GOLD! I'd buy it for this one. Have Foley lose when Steamboat turns on him and begins another war of words.

Cruiserweight Championship Battle Royal

ALL: Crusiers get thrown in, from BOTH brands.

The only way to get the Raw brand Crusiers a belt...let them actually be the last ones left so one HAS to win.

Chris Benoit vs. Shawn Michaels

To me, this match just screams WRESTLEMANIA

Undertaker vs. Hulk Hogan

If Hogan wants to beat a legend that still goes from time to time, nows his chance to finally end the Undertaker's streak.

Women's title

Should be decided the same way as the Crusier title, only keep it on Raw's side, since they wrestle.

No more comment there

Gimmick Battle Royal

Only this time, don't have it be older wrestlers, use the stupid gimmicks of today.

KANE vs. EUGENE

A Monster vs. a retard...this would be classic.

There's probably more I'm missing, but this is where I'll leave it for JK.

Paul Heyman

Wrestling fans around the world know this name very well. And if they don't, they should, as he is the former co-founder of ECW, Extreme Championship Wrestling and now is but a McMahon lackey, wishing to have his thrown back.

He is a loud mouth, a bully, and often times, downright rude, but in the end, there are very few that know how to book a LONG and SUCCESSFUL feud. He helped create the shining star of Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, Raven, Tommy Dreamer, and my favorite, Mick Foley. Okay, he didn't create them, and didn't even make them better wrestlers...he listened to them. He let them be themselves. And guess what, folks...it worked.

Paul Heyman is an innovator, but let's take a look at what he did.

He created pandemonium, and with that, the fans came.

On the RISE AND FALL OF ECW DVD from WWE home video, Vince McMahon says that he was only appealing to his audience and not changing his product for anyone...but there's a farce in that. He didn't change he product because it was what Wrestling fans wanted.

Names like Austin, Foley, and the Rock weren't being created into Multimedia stars by soap opera drama...they were stars that broke the mold (with Exception to the Rock, for being this generation's Hulk Hogan, only a better actor).

Wrestling fans WANT to see the brutal beatings, they want the blood and gore. We want to see Mick Foley fall 20 ft to what should be certain death, only to have him minutes later fall 16 feet onto a hard ring surface, and still get up and wrestle for another 20 minutes.

Paul Heyman gave the REAL wrestling fan of today what they wanted. He introduced the masses to Lucha Libre, and cruiserweight wrestling. He introduced us to grapple wrestlers like Dean Malenko, and on top of that, he gave us the gore, the Dreamer Driver and the Even Flow. He gave us the kendo stick, the beer drinking and much more.

But he gave us a full package. His product shouldn't have to change, as it was a little of everything...sex, drugs, alcohol, violence. Forget the soap opera of a debate on wrestling. Give me two men hurting themselves with chairs. Vince should realize it, as he molded his ATTITUDE after ECW, after taking the largest stars away from Paul.

Paul, if you have been released, please...reform ECW, even if it is with someone else running the money end. The industry needs to wake up, because no one is watching anymore, and if it keeps going this way, it may never wake up again.