First off, I know I'm not good at maintaining a simple list of commissions.  So I'll just say that my dance card is full, and that'll be that.  I got some other things to say.

I live in Salem, Massachusetts.  Home of the infamous with trials and setting of the next Rob Zombie movie.  A mere seventeen miles from here is Boston, which in a week's time has seen a bombing that has taken lives and limbs from people trying to enjoy a marathon on a warm spring day, a series of shootings (with even more bombs and injuries and fatalities), a region-wide lockdown, and a manhunt that is going on as I type this journal entry.  And while it sounds crass to even bring it up in light of these events, this was supposed to be the weekend of the Boston Comic Con, an event that artists and fans alike look forward to all year.  Due to all the madness of the past week, it has been postponed.  It will happen at some point this year, so it's not like I'm sitting here feeling sorry of myself while children are dead or maimed.  

No, the reason I bring it up at all is because I wanted to give a shout-out to my friends and fellow artists at Tryptic Press for doing something that I found truly amazing.  In lieu of the Boston Comic Con, they are going to hold their own convention in their studio space in Beverly, MA tomorrow (April 20).  This is something that a lot of artists (and really anyone around here) truly need.  We only got the news of the cancellation less than 24 hours before the BCC was going to open, and these guys took it upon themselves to get on their phones and emails and facebooks to contact every artist they could think of, round them up, and basically just have a cool get-together where people can come see the art we were looking forward to displaying.  There are actually quite a few MA/New England comic shops doing similar things.

The more cynical among us may be thinking, "so, you're just going to find a way to squeeze money out of people during a time of tragedy, eh?"  Don't feel bad for thinking it.  Hell, I thought it and typed it just now.  But I feel like the last thing we need after this week is one more disappointment.  Many of us have friends or family, or at least know someone who knows someone who was affected by the vicious act of this past Monday, and we need relief.  I always joked about doing things in the name of "not letting the terrorists win," but there really is some validity to that.  This "make-up convention", or even the regular one that got postponed, isn't about the money.  (Let's face it, The Underburbs has only paid for itself for the last seven years, and I consider myself fortunate for that much.)  It really is about the people.  It's the faces I look forward to seeing at all the cons I go to, and that's what makes this such an important gesture.  It's about seeing our friends, being part of a community, and not letting a couple cowards with a bag of pipe bombs dictate even the most trivial parts of our lives.

I hope that made any modicum of sense.  I don't usually need to use this space to speak from the heart.

Hey everybody!  I just paid my rent, fixed my brakes, and did my taxes.  Coincidentally, I think it's time to open some commissions!  Here's the drill:

COMICS:

Comics are hand-drawn on 8.5" x 11" paper.

b/w (pencil & ink) page: $30
color (traditional or digital) page: $60

Please keep the approximate panel count down to six per page.  And if you supply dialogue, keep in mind that I may change it slightly to fit the artwork.  Also, keep it simple as far as characters go. 2-3 characters works best for this.

COMIC SLOTS:

1. ZeroForever
2. Thrandrall (more of a series of pin-ups, but I'm putting it here in terms of workload)
3. Deiser

PIN-UPS:

Pin-ups are hand-drawn on 11" x 14" watercolor paper, and I'll more than likely do watercolors for all pin-ups.

b/w (pencil & ink): $30
color (traditional or digital): $50

Pin-ups are single character.  If there's a duo or something you absolutely need, we'll work something out rate-wise.

PIN-UP SLOTS:

1. Raspberry Mage
2.
3.


What will I/won't I do?  I'll take that case by case.  Either way, just send me a note if you want somethin'!  I'm gonna go totally crazy and put up three slots for comics AND pin-ups!

Wow, I can't believe how close I am to one million pageviews!  I don't think I've ever had a million of anything before, so I would like to celebrate.  If anyone has any party suggestions, post them here.  And while you're at it, take a look at my other gallery if you haven't already.  Maybe in another seven years, that one will have a million views as well.  Okay, maybe half a million.

Those of you who got a Wii U, my ID is Mr.DNA.  I've been drawing things at the close of nearly every world in NSMBU.  I didn't think much of the Miiverse thing when it was first announced, but it's pretty neat so far.

Well, NYCC could not have gone any better (unless maybe a publisher picked us up right there in Artist Alley).  It exceeded my expectations though.  Between selling books (selling out of some!), doing sketches, and obsessively checking my 3DS for Streetpass hits, I was barely able to leave my table.  (Thank goodness for Exhibitor Passes and early entry.  I might never have played the Wii U otherwise.)  So thanks to everybody who made it out there, especially fellow dA denizens ZeroForever and ThemeGuy for keeping me busy over the long weekend.  And a very special thanks to all the people who wished me a Happy Birthday.  As cool as it sounds to spend your birthday at a comic con, in New York no less, it was still a business trip.  The con leaves us too wiped out to go out and party.  Also, most of my friends and family are in Massachusetts.  So having that kind of outpouring from people who enjoy my art enough to actually care about my birthday really meant a lot to me.

So I'm trying to unwind after all that, but also trying not to unwind too much.  I've got a big commission from ZeroForever that I'm coloring.  Then I've got an Underburbs release party at New England Comics in Harvard Square this weekend.  After that, I'm off to the Rhode Island Comic Con, where hopefully I'll sell more books and do more sketches.

Oh, and if you're wondering exactly what it is I do at these comic cons or what the heck an "underburb" is, I suggest you click on this guy right here

Also, The Wonderful 101 is freakin' amazing.

First, the good news.  I have a car again.  The front end looks brand new!  And while I certainly didn't get out of it cheap, it was certainly better than it could have been.  I can now get back to getting my life in order.  Depending on people for rides was a drag, but riding my bike to work wasn't so bad.

The great news is that I can drive my working, mostly-dent-free car all the way to New York City from October 12-14, as I'll be sitting behind an Artist Alley Table at the New York Comic Con, selling brand new copies of Underburbs: Volume 2, as well as all the other individual issues, sketches, and more.  Apparently, someone dropped out at the last minute, leaving me an opening to swoop in and grab it.  Big thanks go to Bob Shaw for finding that opening.  I don't know what my table number is yet, but if you like The Underburbs on Facebook, I'll be keeping up to the minute updates.

UPDATE:  I'll be at Artist Alley Table B5.

In other news, I also had me a real illustration job, thanks to one of my pals from art school.  I don't think I can go into detail here regarding who the client is (I didn't have to sign an NDA, but I think it was implied), but I can tell you that it was one of the longest work days of my life.  I had to drive from Massachusetts to Connecticut (roughly 3 hours) right out of work.  I slept at a friend's house (the same friend who landed me the gig).  Then I woke up at 7am, had a quick breakfast, left at 8 to drive to the studio so I could get there by 9.  It was there that I had to make a series of drawings on a marker board.  They had to film me doing this so they can edit it together and play it back at high speed.  This is all to create what I think will be a 2-3 minute presentation.  I was there until 3:30 the next morning.  Drawing.  On a vertical board.  With my arm stretched out to the side as far as it could go so my body wouldn't be in the shot.  And then I made the 3-hour drive home so I could go to work the next morning.  So to anybody out there I've promised commissions to, I'm a little wiped at the moment but I will try to get it together in the coming weeks.  I haven't forgotten you, which is surprising because I can barely remember my own name after all this.

***GOOD NEWS***

Hey, guess what, everybody?  The new trade paperback of The Underburbs is out.   Simply called Underburbs: Volume II, it is a collection of Issues 4 through 7, and has nearly 30 pages of special features, like deleted scenes, early sketches, and character commentary.

If you don't know what The Underburbs is, then you should click on this [link] right now, and give my other gallery the love and attention it deserves.  You can even click it before you finish reading this journal.  This has been the end of the good news, and there is no fun beyond this sentence.

•••BAD NEWS•••

Hey, so guess what else happened?  I wrecked my car!  First of all, nobody involved in the collision was hurt, so that's good.  But I don't even know what's going on with my car.  They haven't even been able to get the hood open yet.  I'm hoping I'm not going to end up paying for a bunch of body work just so they can find out the engine is completely effed.  

What does that mean here on DeviantArt?  Well, not having a car throws my life into more chaos than usual.  As a result, I've been in a state of suspended inspiration.  It's hard to get in the mood to create art when I have to think about how to get to work, where to buy groceries, talk to insurance people/mechanics, etc.  I'm trying to find time to finish the commissions I'm on, and hopefully get to the people who have sent notes.  It will happen.  Hopefully, this mess will be cleared up before the end of the month.

Anybody want to do commissions?  I've just finished drawing Underburbs #13, and I'm putting the finishing touches on the second Underburbs TPB.  So, I don't have any art to do for a little while.  If anybody wants to keep me busy, send me a note.

My fees are pretty basic.  If you're looking for a comic, it's $50/color page, $30/b&w.  I do them on 8.5" x 11" paper, so I only ask that you keep it down to no more than 6-7 panels per page.

Also, disregard my pricing in the comments below.  I'm doing a summer special on pin-ups.  A single character in color is $30, b/w is $20.  If you're looking for multiple characters in a pin-up, well... I'll think of something, depending on the complexity.

As for content, I think most folks that come to my gallery knows what I do.  As for stuff I won't do... well, I'll let you know if you ask.

SLOTS:

1. 5-page comic, color COMPLETE

2. 2-page sequence, b/w; 3-page sequence, color IN PROGRESS

3. color pin-up COMPLETE

Since these are all very different projects, I may open up again after I get far enough.  (And I may not necessarily do them in order.)  I just don't want to promise too much at once.

EDIT:  added one more convention

Spring is here, and with it comes robins, warm weather and comic cons!  And I'll be visiting a few robins promoting my comic book, The Underburbs.  Here's the spring schedule, copied directly from where I typed it before in the Underburbs' journal:

Boston Comic Con, April 21-22

Held for the second year in the Hynes Convention Center, this is where we'll be debuting Underburbs #12: Death Rides a Hobby Horse.  As always, we'll be doing sketches, saying hello to all the con regulars, and having an all-around good time.  You should have a good time, too.  This is one of the places where you can do so.

Maine Comic Arts Festival, May 20

This one was a close call.  We kinda didn't quite remember to register for this show right away, and got put on a waiting list for a table.  But one rainy Palm Sunday, I got an email stating that we were moved to the top of said list.  So now we have a table, and unlike the starving grasshopper of fable, we will never have to learn our lesson about procrastination.  But I did learn one thing: if it's that hard to grab table space in Maine, then this show is getting wildly popular, as well it should.  If you don't know about MECAF, then let me lay it on you: it's held in a fancy new convention center in downtown Portland, and it's filled with indie comic artists.  No dealers.  It's always a good time, and I was going to spend all year being really bummed if we were to miss it.  So don't miss it, or you'll be bummed too.

Philadelphia Comic Con, June 1-3

As of the typing of this journal, we only just sent the check to the fine people at Wizard.  But you and I both know that Wizard puts on humongous shows with sprawling Artist Alleys, so getting in shouldn't be a problem.  It's this kind of premature action and glaring hubris that got us where we are today!  So come down to the Philadelphia Convention Center on the first weekend in June, and justify our arrogance!  Hm.  Not sure if that's the angle I wanted to go with this.  Oh well, I'm just shooting from the hip here.  Typing whatever comes to mind.  Anyway, on to the next con which is

GraniteCon, June 10

In 2012, we hit New Hampshire later than ever before!  Seriously, this one's always been in May.  Anyway, GraniteCon, held at the Radisson in Downtown Manchester, is a small show with a big heart.  No other show packs as many different forms of entertainment in such a small space and lives to tell the tale.

So that's that until the fall!  See you at the-- oh, dammit, did I say that I was going to visit robins?  I meant comic cons.  That's not even a simple mistake.  It seems more like a written joke.  And it's not even too late to change it, I mean, here I am typing about it.  Why am I clicking Pubish Ent

Yeah, so my title isn't very clever.  Just wanted to wish everyone a joyous holiday season.  I hope to have more artwork to show in 2012.  In the meantime, why not be my friend?  My 3DS Friend, that is!  My code is 4983-4974-5354.

3DS Friends: be sure to download Swapnote!  It's free!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am beat.

New York Comic Con has come and gone, and it has left me a battered shell of a man.  But rather than tell you all about soul-crushing disappointment, I'll focus on the good stuff.  Thanks to ZeroForever for the birthday present, even though I had nothing in return except the stuff you already paid for.  Thanks to Jim Whaley for not only buying one of my books but giving one of yours, and citing me as an inspiration.  That means a lot to me.  Also, thanks to the gentleman who was not only an Underburbs fan, but a Legendary Sidekick fan as well.  For those of you who don't know, that's a novel my brother wrote.  He was pretty excited to hear that someone actually bought it (his words)!  And as always, thanks to everyone who came out to the con.  It may not have been our best show, but it's good to know that we could be there to keep our fans happy and even gain a few new ones.

Apparently, I am alive.  So that's the first bit of good news.  Even though you wouldn't know it by the looks of this gallery, I've been pretty busy.  Just last month, I hung a show of Underburbs artwork at a friend's gallery in Beverly, MA.  It's called Labour Party Films [link]

The show will run (I assume) until Halloween.  Also, I've been working on the next issue of The Underburbs, as usual.

What's unusual is that after way too many years of sitting on a Bachelor's in Fine Arts, I finally got some real illustration work sent my way!  I did a piece for Purina recently.  You can check it out at purinapetfun.com [link]

Mine is the fifth pic.  It's an Egyptian mummy motif.  And you can even stick one of your own photos in a sarcophagus!  If that doesn't make you want to buy doggie treats, then I don't know what will.

Oh, and if anyone needs more solid proof that I'm alive and kicking, then be sure to come to the New York Comic Con, October 13-16.  I'll be in booth #2541 (listed as the Inkwell Awards booth), selling Underburbs comic books, sketches, T-shirts, prints and all that stuff.  Plus, the 13th is my birthday, so all weekend if you guess my age, you get a free card!  (The cards are free anyway, but it should still be fun.)

EDIT:  Well, 700,000 hits have come and gone.  Thanks, everybody!  I will do everything in my power to have something new up here by the end of the month.  In the meantime, why not head over to my other gallery?  Take a look at some more drawings, maybe even leave some comments.  And don't forget to come to NYCC!

Other gallery --->  

First off, I want to thank everyone for coming here and lookin' at my stuff.  I enjoy reading your comment and even clicking on your favorites.  (I like to know that my artwork is in good standing.)  I especially want to thank my commissioners for commissioning me, and for sharing your paid artwork with the rest of the Internet.  (At least in lo-res.  The buyer has to get some kind of perk!)  And on that note, commissions will be closed for awhile.  (But don't worry, there's still one more in progress to look forward to!)

This summer, as with most summers, as well as pat of various springs and autumns, I'll be heading to a couple places once again promoting my comic, The Underburbs.  I'll be heading to your town, just so long as you live in either Philadelphia or Chicago.  (Rosemont, really.)  I'm also looking to spend more of my art time working on more issues of said comic.  Real life has all but halted production, but my cohort, T.J. Dort, and I are finally getting back into the swing of things.  We also have T-shirts now.  Exciting times we live in, eh?

If you would like to know more about The Underburbs, go here --->

Well, that's it for now!  Gothemon is hereby officially my 600,000 pageview special!  See ya!

ART FOR SALE

Everything must go!  I have a lot of traveling to do this sumer, for both The Underburbs and personal stuff.  And that means paying for hotel rooms, maintaining the vehicle, and taking more days off work than I have vacation time.  Therefore, any extra scratch is welcome.  But I don't like to ask for something for nothing.  (I still feel weird about asking for something for something.)  I am offering to sell my two latest non-commission sequences, 500,000 Pageview Special and Milking the Milestone at a lowered rate from my commissions.  

500K comes in two varieties: the original line art on grey card stock, and a photocopied version with pencil shading.  Each are 3 pages long for $75, or both sets for $100.

Milestone is two pages of grey card stock, pencil-shaded and inked, for $60.

Send me a note if you're interested!

---

It must be time to open up some slots for commissions.  I'm thinking three or so, as comic convention season is fast approaching, and that will keep me busy for most of May/June.  If there are any takers, I charge $50 per color page, generally done with a mix of markers and watercolor, sized 8.5"x11".  Also, I know a lot of you guys love to write, but let's see if we can keep these down to six pages or less, with no more than 6-7 panels to a page.  They don't all have to be epics.  I don't mean to sound presumptuous, imposing limits on people good enough to want to pay me to draw.  But it's just practical, especially if I have a backlog.

SLOTS:

1:  Dr. Otto
Learning Japanese 102
STATUS: DONE

2:  ZeroForever
Overlord Bob series
STATUS: in progress (for reals!)

3: Mako
The Fall of Camelot
STATUS: DONE

Wow, I just realized that I've finally reached 500,000 pageviews!  Thanks for watching, everybody.  As with the last several such milestones, I'm too busy to commemorate it with much of anything, really.  Actually, you know what?  That's a bunch of crap.  I can let stuff like that slide for 350,000 or 400,000.  But this is one half of one million we're talking about.  I'll see if I can't whip something up.  Some sort of pictorial thank-you is in order.  And you'll get it once I figure out what that is.

Commissions are closed for awhile, so as the rest of the Showdown and Overlord Bob stuff trickles in, I just want to breathe a quick sigh of relief.  This is the busiest I've ever been with commissions.  I've done my share, sure, but not usually all at once like this.  I want to thank all my various commissioners for deciding my stuff was good enough to pay for, and then share it with the rest of the Internet.  And of course, I want to thank everyone for watching and leaving comments.

Okay, relief time is over.  I gotta get back to work on The Underburbs and start planning out comic conventions.

My most recent commission is entitled Showdown at Grave's Dam.  It's set in the Old West, and it was written by thrandrall and illustrated by myself.  Rather than throw all twelve pages at you, we've agreed to post this in installments every Monday and Thursday.  He'll be posting them on his site first, then I'll follow.  So if you want to keep up with the story right away, you'll have to go here:  [link]

He's commissioned a lot of work from a lot of other great artists, so be sure to look around while you're there.  And be sure to come back here to leave comments and such!  I know I don't reply often, but I do appreciate the feedback.

---

Slots:

1.
STATUS: awaiting poll results

2. Dr. Otto
STATUS: in progress

That's it for now, as I'm going to be starting the next Underburbs issue soon, so I'll be tied up with that and the day job.

---

Just a quick reminder:  I know a lot of you out there enjoy my commission work, but remember that it is commission work.  Loli's Curse, Overlord Bob, etc., are all commissions.  They are written and paid for by someone else.  That means that I will not make new installments on my own, so there's no need to ask me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~UPDATE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My most recent commission is entitled Shootout at Grave's Dam.  It's set in the Old West, and it was written by thrandrall and illustrated by myself.  Rather than throw all twelve pages at you, we've agreed to post this in installments every Monday and Thursday.  He'll be posting them on his site first, then I'll follow.  So if you want to keep up with the story right away, you'll have to go here:  [link]

He's commissioned a lot of work from a lot of other great artists, so be sure to look around while you're there.  And be sure to come back here to leave comments and such!  I know I don't reply often, but I do appreciate the feedback.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, it's not much of a New Year's resolution, but this year, I'll try to make it much more clear how my commissions work. I just got done a big one, so expect to see it here very soon. I'll be posting it in installments over the next few weeks, per the commissioner's request. Anyway, while I was plugging away at this one (12 pages, watercolor), I was getting requests left and right. (I know, being awesome is sooooo hard, right?)

My point is that after 33 years on this planet, I still have trouble keeping or even conceiving of a schedule. But I can make excuses like a pro. Anyone who's sent me a note about commissions has probably gotten back one or a combination of the following:

•Sucky day job; no time for art

•Doing other commission; real doozy

•Trying to do another issue of The Underburbs

•Preparing for comic convention; will hopefully be doing sketches all weekend

•Real-life interference; holidays, weddings, etc.

And while these excuses will still exist, the least I can do is put up some simple commission slots, so at least people will know when I'm busy. I wish I could adhere to a time frame, but I work 8-9 hours a day with a one-hour commute. I mean, if you guys want to keep me so busy that I have no choice but to quit my day job, I'm okay with that, too. But anyway, as soon as I shoot some emails out to some of my prospective commissions (in the order that I received them), I'll post that info here.

Speaking of info, I guess I should post prices. For a full color, comic style thingie, it's $50 per 8.5"x11" page. If you have a whole story in mind, I'll try to do some thumbnails first to see how many pages it will actually be. I know some folks like to hand me a panel-by-panel script, and if so, please try to keep it down to 6-7 at the most. I can't really squeeze any more onto a page that size.

That's it for now. It's 3AM and I need to sleep. Happy New Year!

I was just browsing the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 website when I came across this:

[link]

So, like, do I win something?  Do I get a free copy?  I don't own either of the HD twins, but still...