Heh...It's funny, I give mass updates all at once, and then I'm gone for a week or two. I have to apologize for that...I'd forget my own head if it wasn't attached at this point. Going through mass trauma at the day job. Hopefully it will get better, but the 48 hours I stay away from the store during the week just isn't enough.
As we move closer to June 6th, I'm expecting us to start LANDIS #0 being offered from Keenspot, where I'll have to get my free access set back up to the premium site, since it boots me off everytime, now.
Similar to SORETHUMBSONLINE.com, I want to include a blog in the site (haven't talked to Crosby about who is doing the design or whatnot for it,) but we're talking a launch in 8 days from what he originally said, and well, I'm plum out of info to give. If we put a blog atmosphere on it, I'm not sure if I'll integrate this blog into it, or if I'll continue to run it seperately, but I'm leaning to the latter.
The reason this blog was set up was so I could discuss things I like and do, much like my new projects and all. The blog there would discuss "Director's Commentary" of certain scenes and such as well as update the readers from both my side and Owen Gieni's side, like upcoming projects and whatnot, but in a lot quicker way.
I'll probably be doing another "Swipe" cover for an idea for THIEF, so it'll be interesting which one I decide on. I'll take suggestions, too...if anyone has a cool former famous cover they want me to try.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Monday, May 23, 2005
Infinity - After McFarlane - This piece is what I have intended for the character when it comes to doing the covers for THIEF. Though I haven't sent this art to Eric yet, It is one of the most recognized Spiderman images of all time, from both Amazing #300, and #301, both issues involving Venom. The eye catching aspect of doing this homage covers is with a book called THIEF, I think its cool to swipe the cover art. 
Sunday, May 22, 2005
LANDIS v.1 Update
Well, this morning, much to my surprise, I received an email from Chris Crosby on the status of Landis volume 1. Though some of the news was upsetting, a lot of it was good, as in, the book will finally see light of day...only at first, online, and then in a director's cut of the story in print form (meaning with commentary, extra pages of art, maybe even a whole new story, and test art). All in all, I take this very well, and hopefully without him getting TOO mad, here is some of what Chris Crosby had to say.
"Rob:
With regards to the LANDIS book, the release date is (surprise, surprise) up in the air because of a couple annoyingly minor issues, but I can tell you that we do still plan to publish it, and it'll be exactly how you'd like it to be. Whatever extras you want to add is A-OK, you and Owen can go nuts. We're also open to publishing it in the standard comic TPB format (full size) instead of "manga-sized." We should probably wait until we have a definite final cover before submitting it to the online sales sites.
On the LANDIS webcomic (which we believe will be key to the book's success), I've probably done this before (*sigh*), but I believe I CAN now give you a definite launch date: Monday, June 6th. We'll start it off on a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule, which means the #0 issue will run from June 6 to July 20, followed by #1 and #2 and etc. You'll get an appearance in the Keenspot Newsbox on launch date and it'll hopefully get exposed to even more people than the FCBD issue did. (SORE THUMBS had over 23,000 unique visitors on our first day, mostly from the Newsbox appearance, and has since had over 30,000 unique visitors in one day.) We'd like to use the domain name "elisalandis.com" for it. Sound OK?"
See, now all BAD news. Hopefully we can move forward with the launch date of June 6th, and actually get this bad boy off the ground...or bad girl? Good girl? ehh, forget it. Stay tuned, I'll keep you all updated.
"Rob:
With regards to the LANDIS book, the release date is (surprise, surprise) up in the air because of a couple annoyingly minor issues, but I can tell you that we do still plan to publish it, and it'll be exactly how you'd like it to be. Whatever extras you want to add is A-OK, you and Owen can go nuts. We're also open to publishing it in the standard comic TPB format (full size) instead of "manga-sized." We should probably wait until we have a definite final cover before submitting it to the online sales sites.
On the LANDIS webcomic (which we believe will be key to the book's success), I've probably done this before (*sigh*), but I believe I CAN now give you a definite launch date: Monday, June 6th. We'll start it off on a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule, which means the #0 issue will run from June 6 to July 20, followed by #1 and #2 and etc. You'll get an appearance in the Keenspot Newsbox on launch date and it'll hopefully get exposed to even more people than the FCBD issue did. (SORE THUMBS had over 23,000 unique visitors on our first day, mostly from the Newsbox appearance, and has since had over 30,000 unique visitors in one day.) We'd like to use the domain name "elisalandis.com" for it. Sound OK?"
See, now all BAD news. Hopefully we can move forward with the launch date of June 6th, and actually get this bad boy off the ground...or bad girl? Good girl? ehh, forget it. Stay tuned, I'll keep you all updated.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
The final one for right now, This is Raccoon Man, '05! I really liked this piece, as I showed it to Christy and she thought it was really cool of me to find drawings from 1993 and re-draw them in my art style of today. Max Houston, seen here in full raccoon transformation, was a Private Investigator that I believe was bitten by a genetically enhanced raccoon who he originally thought had rabies. Turned out, in much the werewolf fashion, it made him into a monster of mammilian proportions, hehe. I really liked this piece, since it was an inspiration to draw the other characters...and I have a few more coming soon, I'm sure.
Good ol' Raccoon Man. This is such a classic character, you may see him show up in one of the books I'm working on, but not in this form. Created by Anthony Seymour when we were in highschool, I always enjoyed having him show up in my book. He was our Wolverine character as much as Ardy was our Spider-man. He showed up everywhere, and you can tell why, hehe.
My favorite of my re-drawings...I gave Cipher a nice haircut, but kept him without a face, and think I did alright with the shadowy features. This character was always fun to write, but I always found him really difficult to draw. I'd say my art has taken a nice turn for the better in making it look a little more like a person.
Now a more streamlined version, and definitely hipper =). Now you can actually see a brain in his helmet, but since that had been done many times before, I only made it a very SMALL portion of the safety helmet. I also gave him more of a round face, with big ears, because someone with the name Brain Bender could NEVER be a popular guy with the ladies. I thought about keeping him bald, but drew some sideburns in there for a little more effect anyway.
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...
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
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
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
Thursday, May 12, 2005
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.
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.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
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
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
Sunday, May 01, 2005
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.
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.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
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?
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?
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
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.
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.
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.
Friday, April 22, 2005
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.
Thursday, April 21, 2005
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!
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!
Saturday, April 16, 2005
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.
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.
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