"HARD TIMES!"

NO, I'm not talking about the classic Charles Bronson / James Coburn movie of the same name....I'm talkin about the real world here people.
It's been a tough and rough Summer for me and the studios, normally I would be at a regular output on the creative end of things especially my titles that I have been developing but being unemployed for most of the Summer with the occasionally spotty Job pick up left me in a financially stressful position so to say that my creative juices were not flowing due to this distraction is putting it lightly. I learned first hand how hard it is to get a job, even one with some experience such as myself. I'm not a young man anymore as I quickly found out and it was tricky at times keeping up with some of my teenage co-workers at some workplaces but I persevered and hung in there...I stuck it out. Still got way behind in bills and rent to the point where it was beginning to look bleak, it was times such as these that I was silently thankful for not having a family to provide for, granted it is a bit of a lonely life at times but better for me to suffer hardships than to subject a family to it...that I could not bare.
But flash forward to the present, I currently have a full time, well paying job whereas the security situation is still not totally satisfactory to me, at least I am now caught up with my expenses and am now in the black. Being caught up equals less stress so now I am back to concentrating on my creative works. The end of the year is soon at hand and we'll soon be basking in the warm glow of 2012, a year I see as very important both personally to me and especially professionally as an artist. 2012 will see the first of my creator owned properties debut...the long awaited / delayed "KUDU MAN". Issue #1 is slated for a Summer/2012 release through my Peacenik Press imprint.
Soon other creations of mine will appear in book form and GOD willing they will be received well...I will update you on any progress on these titles as they develop till then my loyal "SURFACEDWELLERS", take heed and be thankful for what you have in life for it can all disappear in but an instant.
Till next time....Peace ;)

FORGET "STAR WARS"!

Greetings "SURFACEDWELLERS",
Hard to believe that June is already upon us, kids are out of school, Summer is in session, and the annual blockbuster season has begun in theatres nationwide....oh and the "Ultimate-7" has finally arrived in our solar system!
The 12 issue science fiction maxi series created and written by author Robert Wawrzyniak and drawn by me and artist Scott Shoemaker finally hits the pre-order scene with the June issue of the "PREVIEWS" catalog. Wawrzyniak's labor of love was a life long project, almost ten years in the making, a tale of high adventure in interstellar space, rife with amazing alien races of all types, epic space battles, and a universe full of exotic worlds all at the simple turn of the page.
Joining us on this amazing sci-fi adventure is a virtual "whos who" in the comic biz; artists like; Greg Horn, Mike Ploog, Skottie Young, Steve Sanchez, Billy Tucci, Simon Bisley, Mike Mayhew, and Ken Kelly just to name a few who've provided some stunning artworks for our covers. Like I mentioned the current June issue of PREVIEWS is in comic stores everywhere-look for our full page advertisement about the series...
The first issue comes out in stores this August, we invite you to join in on the adventure that promises to be as big as the cosmos itself. To find out more about "the Ultimate-7", the characters and the people behind the scenes just visit the official Ultimate-7 website at; http://www.theultimate7.com As part of the promotional campaign there will be online interviews, internet and print advertising and general spot information articles about the series and it's creators.
We hope that you will join us...Peace :)

FCBD; the day after...

Well its the morning after and to be honest I had a rather enjoyable day as a guest artist at a FCBD event. I was joined by another artist and designer, Richard Livingston (Battlestar Gallactica) was also there along with the guys of D&B Comics. The crowd wasn't as huge as it would have been were it at a comics store but it was ok. The staff of the Alafaya Library were very kind and courteous and provided enough work space for us.
A lot more kids than I thought turned up, and this was a library on a Saturday, so it was kind of refreshing to see that kids are still visiting the library system these days what with video games and computers ruling the world now. I was on hand to meet and greet, show some of my artwork off, educated a little along the way showing the pages of comic art before they are shrunk down to print proportions. Had a video interview conducted by a gentleman starting off his vid series on youtube-(will post a link once its up).
I also did free sketches for anybody that wanted one, did quite a few actually for the children who were initially a little shy about the whole thing and with Superman and Batgirl walking around to distract them. One little girl was actually kind enough to draw me a sketch in crayon-so we traded art for art...so all in all a pretty good day.
Afterwards despite being a bit tired we all went and watched "THOR" at the nearby cinema, it was also good.

I might do this on a regular basis from now on if the invites keep coming...we'll see.
Peace,