OG’s BLOG

Another day, another review of Moon Town. This one’s at Coyote Trax’s webcomic critique, and is not quite as stellar as the others the strip has received to this point. Not sure about the pedigree of the reviewer, or what he looks for in webcomics, but he takes issue with several features of Moon Town. Makes for interesting reading.

Croaker’s Gorge #2 is online, and the guys are feeling stuck in a rut!

All right. Moon Town book #1 is off to the printer. In a few days, they’ll be sending me some proofs, and if everything looks good, they’ll print ‘em up and send ‘em to me, where I can begin selling them to you. If all goes well, delivery is scheduled for FEB 25.

UPDATE: 2/5/10 – Got the proofs back. Unfortunately they were way too dark. I’m lightening them up, will resubmit, and let’s try this again. Stay tuned.

The Legend of Bill comic #1 is now shipping! Both artist’s editions ($11.99, includes a signed sketch card) and regular editions ($5.99) are available. Both editions include dozens of Legend of Bill strips, plus a 5 page comic (which I co-wrote with David Reddick, was illustrated by the talented Eldon Cowgur and colored by Josh Ulrich) and a short story I wrote and illustrated, plus guest strips, pin-up art, and gems from the sketchbook. If you ordered yours, it should be on the way!

Hm. Somehow I forgot to mention it here before now. I think I have too many blogs.

But OK. I threatened to bring it back in another format. Go to the new Croaker’s Gorge website and see what I meant.

Today’s edition of Lucas Turnbloom’s “Imagine This” is a guest strip written by Lucas and drawn by yours truly. Go have a look, and while you’re there, dig through Lucas’ hilarious back catalog. Lucas is a real pro, and Imagine This is really funny stuff.

Brock Heasley has done up this really groovy promo teaser for his upcoming season of SuperFogeys. Click the image for a bigger version, and of course check out SuperFogeys.com for the latest and also greatest SuperFogeys information.

As you may know, I will be drawing the episode of Brock Heasley’s SuperFogeys Origins dealing with the origin of Thrice Evil. He’s posted the second sneak preview of my sketches for that project, which I will be working on as soon as Moon Town #1 is finished (just a couple of weeks now). HINT: scroll down below Marc Lapierre’s current excellent SFO strip… that’s where you’ll find the preview.

Justin Leach and his talented team of cohorts – Andrew Kilian on pencils and inks and Omi Remalante Jr. on colors – have released the first issue of Majestic XII. This tale chronicles the adventures of 12 superheroes whose origin echoes back in time to a specific, mysterious event we all know very well. (Aw, come on. I’m not telling you which one! You gotta read the thing for that…) The comic does a great job of interweaving the characters’ past alongside their future, reminding us of their deep histories. Putting it mildly, this superhero team has issues. But if an ensemble cast is a family (as it should be played) then a dysfunctional family is practically the law.

X-Men and Watchmen fans will find familiar territory here.

Leach’s team is young and without a tremendous amount of experience so far, and there is some evidence of that in this book as the guys warm to their Art. There is an Art to exaggerating anatomy while still maintaining believability. There is an art to allowing the color to accent the overall mood of a piece. And there is an art to juggling so many character plotlines – not to mention a detail-rich, sweeping mythology – without allowing the reader to be overwhelmed by it all.

Leach’s team has its hands full, no doubt. But they also demonstrate two things I value: potential and a do-it-yourself spirit. I applaud Leach’s gumption to get this book done and get it out there. It is much easier to sit on the sidelines than to get in the game, and he certainly gets points for jumping into the fray. And the book is ambitious. Drawing 12 superheroes would drive most artists nuts – I certainly wouldn’t want to do it – but these guys just got on with it. Well done.

I’ll be watching this team’s progress.

Majestic XII is available at IndyPlanet.

After much secrecy and sneaking around, I’m excited today to announce Wishtales Publishing Studio! What is Wishtales you ask? This pretty well sums it up:

Once upon a time, the path for an aspiring artist/creator was clear: Get an agent. Get a publisher. Get that comic of yours syndicated. Go for the Big Time.

We are all awakening to a publishing reality that looks very different. That path may be changing. It may have completely gone away.

Agents are swamped with wannabes. Big publishers are too large and too conservative to take chances on anything. And syndicates make an increasingly small living by keeping the newspaper comics section exactly as it is today. Basically, the publishing structure exists to say “NO”.” NO” to new ideas. “NO” to new creatives. “NO” to anything that looks like a chance, anything that hasn’t been tried before, anything that isn’t a sequel or a sequel to a sequel to a spinoff.

In short, we didn’t want to start a publishing company; They made us do it. We’re putting our money where out mouths are. If no one wanted to take a chance on us, OK. We’ll do it. If no one wanted to let us choose non-standard formats for our books, OK. We’ll do it. We’re taking a chance on us, and if it works out, who knows? Maybe one day we’ll take a chance on you. Somebody has to do it.

- Tom Dell’Aringa and Steve Ogden

Yes, this is a joint venture between me and my good buddy Tom Dell’Aringa. We’re tired of trying to play corporate games and trying to fit into a mold that is constricting and limiting. We’re going to forge our own path. The first step along that path is Tom’s Marooned book, Out of Orbit, which will be a Wishtales imprint. We’re just getting started, but there’s some interested posts over there already. We’re looking forward to publishing a Moon Town book as well, and we’ve got lots more ideas cooking in the pot. So head over to Wishtales and take a look, and let us know what you think!