Z@k

Bad Kitty!

2009-06-21T05:57:01Z

Or not. I dunno - I haven't updated much on here lately. Things have been strenuous and I don't have time like I used to have. Which is kinda cool so I can't complain. I'm just more tired for it I guess.

Tonight I'm working on pages for the Oni Press talent search and looking forward to submitting that. I'm nearly finished with my Zoroaster fill in and that was great times. I also picked up season 1 of the Transformers and it's nice to have the distraction.

Last night I went out with Jen, K and Chris - my usual band of troops - and we just had some fun. I bought Jen a little plastic unicorn that she'd had her eye on at Enchanted Grounds for awhile. Which she immediately put down her tank top. That was hot. I love my Jen. Speaking of which - I just got a text from her. Sweet.

Ok sounds like we're going to the dirt mall tomorrow after father's day happenings.

Anyways, back from our break... I've been hitting the gym hardcore with Trifon this past month and a half. I got a great report back from my doctor's bloodtests and I'm more than on track to getting back into shape finally. It feels pretty damn good!

Um, well not much else. Got the Ghostbusters game for Xbox. In a word? AWESOME! Totally worth it. In fact it's taking away time from my small window of Warcraft time. Speaking of - Blizzard seems to like my zombie style I've been using - so hopefully I can get a job with them!

Alright, so I better get going.

As always you can follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/spicypeanut

and http://zakkinsella.com is always being updated with new art, commissions and soon comics!

peace & God bless.

It's Official

2009-05-24T01:55:23Z

I got my confirmation that I'm officially considered a professional for San Diego Comic Con this year! I'm super stoked, and it's been an awesome validation of the hard work I've put in this year.

In other news - I'm working on a 7 page fill in for a web comic called Zoroaster, and when I get done I'll post the links to it here.

Hopefully networking as a "pro" at comic con this year will open up new doors and new jobs for me.

Wish me luck!

I hope you're all doing well & God bless!

Rogue focus

2009-05-12T18:04:49Z

So, not a whole lot to report in Zak land. My website is coming along nicely, and I just got a new job out of it so I'm really stoked for that to start. It's just a five page fill in job - but it's on a really popular web comic. So when that drops I'll let you know.

I sent off my professional validation forms to the San Diego Comic Con, and I'm stoked for that as well. It's really becoming an annual gathering for a lot of my buddies from SCAD, and I really like that a lot. Last year Tom, Lee & Steve really made the last few days there w/o Gerhard a lot more fun than they would have been alone.

I'll be out in Los Angeles in a few weeks for my cousin, Megan's, wedding. I took a few extra days to network while I'm out there as well. Megan has a bunch of people for me to see b/c she works right underneath Technicolor - so they get all sorts of people in the creative industry coming in there. I'll also be traveling to drop off my portfolio with Blizzard and Disney/Pixar. I'm lucky enough to have gotten the opportunity to meet with them by knowing a few of their artists. Networking, kids. I'll also get to meet my pal, Audrey Deluxe for the first time when I'm out there. Sweet girl - does fun burlesque shows. You can see some of her (very not safe for work) stuff here

It feels nice to be focusing on career things for once. I think I've paused my life enough for crazy women over the years. Although, I think I'm pretty lucky to have dated the girls I have here these past couple of years. I've kept it short and sweet - and that's all I need right now. But we'll see what happens there. I'm just really happy I never went crawling back to any of my exes. I'm glad I've always had the sense to walk away, and realize there are better things out here without being jaded. I'm not trying to be pretentious there - just an errant thought.

In an ironic side note, I have #2 on Topless Robot's Most Pitiful Pieces of Mr.T Merchandise I'm not quite sure why I haven't gotten rid of a lot of that junk awhile back. I guess I've been too busy to bother with it. It just lies in a box in the back room, forgotten like it should be. Guess I need to make a trip to Good Will soon.

Ah, so I guess I'm feeling blessed these days. I have a focus for the first time in, well, forever. I've always been blessed in my family and friends, but having this focus for my faith and career is something wholly new. I'm enjoying it. 30 has definitely been rejuvenating for me - and while I realize my 20s were not a terrible time in my life, I'm glad they're over.

Anycrap - I have work to do here. Zak Kinsella.com is constantly being updated with new artwork so make sure you have your browsers pointed over there. Any other pertinent info is in my user info.

Peace & God Bless. No matter who you are.

Finally

2009-05-03T20:32:18Z

So I finally did it:

Http://www.zakkinsella.com is active. It'll redirect you to my illustration blog and any other pertinent information!

Let me know what you guys think!

A coupla quick things

2009-04-28T07:52:46Z

So, I've not been using the old LJ all that much. I can't tell you why - I just don't have much to say. BUT try these things on if you wanna track me down online:

I've got a new Illustration blog I'm keeping for professional use here: http://studiospicypeanut.blogspot.com/

I will only be posting on that when I have actual artwork. It's been a motivator for me to do things outside of drawing 1st Floor so I can have more freelance.

As always, Deviant Art is an option: http://spicypeanut.deviantart.com

You can follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/spicypeanut

I do the myspace, although a little less often these days: http://myspace.com/zaktastic

I primarily use facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Zak-Kinsella/604617755

Aside from that things are going alright. My personal life has been quite busy, and I'm alright with that. Being that it's about to be May, I'm gearing up to go to the San Diego Comic Con again. This year I'm hitting the floor hardcore to promote myself. I've found portfolio reviews don't do all that much for me, and the networking side of last year was invaluable. Plus I'm tired of sitting at that place and waiting for an hour or two to talk about the same crap I would on the Con floor. My goal for 2010 is to have my own table, and hopefully G will go in on me with that.

Speaking of, he did Denver's local con; Comicfest this year. While I missed out b/c of work - he had a good time and I most definitely will be there next year. We've both been doing our thing with Squidworks - him more so than I - but I plan to change that with this next meeting and so on. I just enjoy that atmosphere a lot. Tired of being a lazy artist too. Gotta get out, meet new people and get inspired!

So my nerd co-pilot (as she calls our funny little relationship) Aly visited the east coast this last week. One of their destinations was Asbury Park, NJ and man it was weird to think about that place again. I guess I've been lucky enough to be very far away from all my exes. But for her to be there so close to the last one... it was like feeling a major disturbance in the Force! Like millions of souls cried out and were suddenly silenced... hahaha yeah didn't expect that. So as she got back Saturday we commiserated about that little fun fact. We're both looking forward to our little Friday night date for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. She works late Friday nights so we're always going to catch the 10:30 or 11pm shows.

Good times. So I guess you could say life has been going pretty good. So far this year I've shed off around 30 some odd pounds and I keep going. One thing that really has me stoked are all the people I'm going to see in San Diego this year. Last year it was great because G went with me for the most part - but when he left I discovered Steve, Tom and Lee who were friends of mine at SCAD were there. Along with a few other guys we went out and lived it up in the town. Usually I just go back to my hotel room, but this last year we headed out for good times. This year G, Kelly & Chris and Jen are going with me. Steve & Tom will be going out, and so is my good friend Nicole who I met two years ago there. Not to mention Durwin Talon will be out there who's been one hell of a guidance over the past few years. Although I never took one class with him, he's always around to spot me some advice. Good man.

Anyways - I need to get some rest. BTW, if you're a podcast fan then you really should check out "Uhh Yeah Dude." by Seth Romatelli & Johnathan Larroquette. It's America through two American Americans. Good, funny stuff. And Johnathan is the son of that John Larroquette.

Everyone take care of yourselves - and I'll see ya around. Hit me up at any of those venues above!

Much love & peace.

Lamesville

2009-04-01T05:58:56Z

Getting snubbed is really not fun at all.

Note to self: Never be a jack off to the people that got you where you are.

Attn: FOX

2009-03-24T17:24:10Z

This is how you make an American version of an Anime movie:

Looks good. Hope it will be good. Same studio that did the TMNT movie and the upcoming Astro Boy flick. Fuck yo' Dragonball Evolution!

Aly

2009-03-10T06:33:09Z

In a continuing effort to make more sweet zombie pictures, I've taken some time away from writing and plotting out my own work to immortalize another awesome woman as one of the chewed up undead. Charming, I know.

This one is of my friend Aly. She is awesome, and has some lovely maggots for an eye! Enjoy!

and the reference used:

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My Favorite Graphic Novels

2009-03-05T07:26:03Z

Ok so, I'm kind of taking a break from working on illustrations here to rant. You know how there's been all these stupid posts about 25 things about myself or my top albums? Yeah I did'em too. But I figured I'd rant about something important: COMICS! So here we go. Top... well 15 or 20. Whenever I get bored I guess. Oh, a couple of things - I left off perenial favorites of all fanboys like The Sandman, Bone, MAUS, Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. If you're a comics fan and you haven't read or love at least one of those - there is no hope for you. Yes, I'm being snooty & pretentious there. Deal with it.

Naoki Urasawa's MONSTER.
I'm counting this manga (Japanese for Comic Book) series as one. This is perhaps one of the best manga I've ever read. Urasawa manages to combine great character development with suspense and action seamlessly. The main idea is that a neuro surgeon saves a young boy's life over an important leader's life. This gets him in huge trouble with the administration, but before consequences are faces the entire senior staff is murdered and the young boy disappears. Fast forward 10 years and the surgeon is chief of surgery when the boy reappears and confesses that he's killed countless people - including the hospital staff - and credits it all to the doctor's saving of his life. The doctor is then framed for these murders by the boy and he escapes to track him down, and kill him. Which is just the tip of the iceberg which leads into massive government conspiracies and such. Seriously, if you want some intense storytelling - this is it.

Grant Morrison's New X-Men Omnibus
Yeah yeah, I know. But dammit, I still love me some X-Men, and I'll be danged if this wasn't the best thing to happen to that series since the Phoenix Saga. Basically Marvel let Grant run ape shit on the series. More changed in the first 3 issue story arch than in 20 years of X-Men stories. Gone were the goofy costumes, and go nowhere character development. Grant brought in the idea of Xavier's being a school again, the Cassandra Nova concept of the next evolutionary step AFTER mutants, and the execution of the citizens of Genosha. The book had balls, and I love it for that. I think this little bit of dialog really nails it for me: "What makes you such a bitch, Emma?" ... "Breeding, darling. Top class breeding." Of course it went right back to crap stories after Morrison left, but this was where it was at in the early 00s.

The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told
I absolutely ate this up when I was a kid. This single book made me fall in love with comics. Covering literally 50 years of Batman, DC put together all the best individual Batman stories in one humongous book and it rocks. I still crack it open to this day. My favorite? The Autobiography of Bruce Wayne! of course. It's a sweet little story about the romance between the golden age Catwoman and Batman.

Jaime Hernandez's LOCAS
What can I say about this book... it's just perfect. I love how Jaime draws realistic, beautiful women of all shapes and sizes. The stories of Maggie & Hopie are some of the most bizarre, and fun stories ever related. From being a mechanic, to a superhero to female luchadores (prowrestlers in Mexico) this book oddly combines that all with the persuit of love and a happy life. It has a wonderful rich narrative that really makes you appreciate the artform. A lot of people will say that Strangers in Paradise is the perfect book for women to read if they like comics - I'm offering this up as a point of contention.

Lone Wolf And Cub by Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima
This is a 28 book series that inspired so many more stories that it's hard to count. A few that come to mind are Road to Perdition, Frank Miller's Ronin and Samurai Jack. The premise is that a father and son (maybe 2?) roam the countryside of Feudal Japan walking what they call The Path of Meifumado or The Path to Hell. As they roam the countryside doing deeds for hire (and sometimes pro bono if his heart beckons him so) all the while making their way to settle a vendetta for a wrong committed against them. The stories are told as vignettes that every once in awhile touch on this over arching theme.
It's a powerful series, and probably one of the most epic pieces of fiction ever made.

Brian Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim
I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this series. Man, it's fun. It's very much a boy meets girl story, except the boy has to kill all of her 7 evil ex boyfriends before he can defeat her. It's like a romantic comedy with a nutty RPG/Video Game twist. Scott is the pathetic but adorable Canadian loser protagonist that falls in love with Ramona Flowers - a mysterious American delivery girl who can use subspace to cut through people's dreams and make deliveries. And that's how they meet. It's just a goofy enough concept to work, and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Spaced, Hot Fuzz) is making what looks to be a super awesome film of it right now! Can't wait!

Will Eisner's New York : The Big City
I love NYC. I romanticize it, and would love to be back there someday. Eisner who grew up a poor Jewish boy in the lower East side manages to emulate and capture this wonderful city in his stories of everyday life. Again, short vignettes and peeks into the NYC of yesterday - they just take on a life of their own, and I love them all. This book breathes with the steam and grime of the old school New York. It's a wonderful thing.

Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier
I obviously take a lot of influence from this guy - he's one of my favorite cartoonists. This maxi series looks at the origins of the silver age of DC's Super Heroes in the 1960s. It's mostly about Hal Jordan's - Green Lantern - origins and how he, and the other major superheroes of the time come together for the first time to combat an evil as old as the world itself. Darwyn manages to weave in tales of the Losers ( an old WW2 comic) fighting Dinosaurs as well, so it therefore ROCKS! What I really liked about this book is that it captures that early DC comics enthusiasm and optimism shown around that time. It's bright, clean and beautiful.

Alex Ross & Mark Waid's Kingdom Come
If The New Frontier is a perfect example of the shiny beginnings of the DC Universe - Kingdom Come is it's dark counterpart. The darkness that envelops the near end of the Superheroes. As an outside viewer to this destruction, Normal McKay, a pastor who has lost his way is victim to apocalyptic visions of the DCU. When it all starts to unfold before his eyes, he realizes that a newly returned Superman (in seclusion ever since The Joker massacred the entire Daily Planet including Lois Lane) is the catalyst for this impending war between the old school of heroes and the new school of ultraviolent heroes. He's not the savior Norman hoped he would be... Drawing majorly on Biblical prophecy from the book of Revelation Kingdom Come was one of my favorite stories in high school, and still continues to be. Plus, it's Alex Ross art which is always gorgeous.

Brian K. Vaughn's The Escapists
I almost went with Y The Last Man (a phenomenal apocalyptic book by the same author) but my heart really loves this book more. Drawing inspiration off of Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (an AMAZING novel which won a Pulitzer) Brian writes a book about a young man who purchases the rights to Kavalier & Clay's long dormant character : The Escapist. It's a wondeful story about the hardships that these characters face as they try to produce this comic series, try to keep a huge corporation from screwing them out of the rights and the amazing odds they go to to produce this comic. What I really like is that it's kind of a bittersweet story about dreamers trying to live their dreams. Something I can all to much understand.

Mark Schulz's Xenozoic Tales
Some of you may remember this as a short lived cartoon called Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. It's basically a post apocalyptic story where dinosaurs have returned (sweet!) and two people try to discover what exactly happened to the world before they came into existence. And of course they also have to figure out if they're actually going to work as a couple. It's kind of like if Planet of the Apes took place in a submerged NYC with Dinosaurs. There's definitely a hint of old school Star Trek as they explore the various places of the earth and find new tribes of people. It's a lot like the old republic serials of the 30s and 40s in style and tone. Schulz's draftsmanship is top quality and I wish he'd finish the story someday soon.

Don Rosa's The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
Ok, I have a huge soft spot for this book. Don basically took ALL of Carl Barks' classic Uncle Scrooge stories and cobbled them into 12 cohesive tales of Scrooge's life. No easy feat... and man are they just that damn good! What's nice here is that Don not only provides spectacular artwork, but he bases a lot of Scrooge's adventures against the backdrop of a young America in the 19th and 20th century. Carl Barks' stories were the basis of Disney's Ducktales series, and this combination of all those stories is like the ultimate version of that tv show. You got all of Scrooge's life, and a real understanding of why he is the way he is. I know, I know - it's Disney, but this is the shining example of what Disney SHOULD be as an artform.

Steve Purcell's Sam & Max : Surfin' the Highway
I love this book. Man do I ever. It's a book that parades as a bubbly cartoon but is the complete satirical opposite. I can't really describe the hilarity of the concept of a dog detective with his rabid psychotic rabbit partner - you need to read it for yourself. I think one of my favorite things is that Steve blatantly places the wrong things in exotic locale and then has the characters make fun of it. Like they visit the Phillipines and you can see the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids in the background. The dialog goes ... "So here we are in the Phillipines!" "Drawn without reference material apparently." And it just builds from there... I love this fucking book. And the game that came out from Lucasarts back in the day. Damn that game was rad!

Aaron Renier's Spiral Bound
Gosh, this book is just perfect. It's perfect for all ages, and it's in the format of a spiral bound notebook. It's the kind of book you want to read when there's a rainy day. It's a wonderful little book about a group of young kids and their "Super Secret Summer!" It's a book where hopes comes through, and goodness reigns supreme. The world could use more optimism like this. It reminds me of being a kid again, and that just kicks ass. I'd put this up their with must reads for kids along with Peanuts and Calvin & Hobbes.

Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon's Preacher
And now for something completely different. This is as dark and as fucked up of a book as you'll ever get. Black humor reigns supreme here. Even HBO pussied out from making this bad boy into a series. The premise is that a preacher from Texas is possessed by the offspring of a demon & an angel. With that he finds out God has abandoned humanity and he sets off to find him & settle up - with his friends Cassaday the Irish Vampire and Tulip his pissed off on and off girlfriend. They're then persued by Angels, Demons, Herr Starr the head of an organization called The Grail, and The Saint of Killers. The twist is that this offspring has imbued the preacher with the literal word of God. He says it, you do it. And this makes for some hilariously fucked up situations. I think my favorite line was "Go Fuck Yourself!" And.. .well you can guess. If this thing ever got into the mainstream I think every book burning super overzealous Christian would shit a brick. Being a Christian myself I know this must sound odd that I love this book - But it's an interesting concept and well executed on top of it. I won't lie and say that I didn't say that's fucked up, but I still find it an excellent piece of comic fiction.

Makoto Yukimura 's Planetes
Space. I love space stories. Man do I ever LOVE space stories! I think what really got me into this book was that it just comes down to relationships set across the backdrop of man not only colonizing but dealing with the realities of space. At first it starts to center on Yuri, a man who cleans up space debris left by man after it inadvertantly causes a disaster on a space shuttle flight that takes the life of his wife. But then it progresses into being Hachimaki's story of finding love and his purpose in life of helping his father make the first manned exploration of Jupiter. It's like if Arthur C. Clark wrote a comic. It's realistic, and even a couple of hundred years into the future we're only just barely getting into our solar system. It's not Science Fiction - but Science Future with a wonderful love story told in small individual stories. I just wish it had more than four volumes to expand upon it's great story.

Jamie S. Rich's Love the Way You Love & 12 Reasons Why I Love Her
Ok, I think you can probably tell I'm a hopeless romantic who can't get enough of a good love story by now. And this is just that - a good love story. It's about a guy in a band who meets a gal and falls in love. She falls for him as well - but the twist is is that she's engaged to an agent who could possibly make his band the big act it's meant to be. It's a fun, cute and sometimes very intense little series.

And 12 Reasons Why I Love Her is a story told in 12 parts mixed chronologically. I think what I really liked is that it's the story of a relationship as it goes through a lot of the real life situations of real life romance. You don't see a lot of realism told in romantic stories like this, so that was refreshing. It's all about the little things in a relationships - a joke is the focus of one story. A first chance encounter at the movies. How to make those first steps. When the first storm hits. Your dreams. Your secrets. And each chapter has it's own song to accompany it that Jamie picked out. It's a really cool way to accent a book and I love that.

9/11 Emergency Relief
I don't think any of the artistic communties banded together like the comics industry did right after 9/11. Marvel, DC and Image/Dark Horse put out their own antholgies of artists and writers expressing their loss after the terrorist attacks that day. But I don't think any of them had as much impact to me as the independent press released one did. All proceeds were donated to the American Red Cross - but I think that the double edged sword of being a storyteller really shows through with this book. We tend to chronicle what went on during our lives. And while we see our own hardships as tough trials of life, when something like September 11th comes along it's almost too much to put down on paper. But the entire industry sat down, and took it upon themselves to chronicle the events and impacts of that day on the everyday person. Having been to the top of the South tower myself when I was younger, those stories really resonante with me. One day I'll tell that story in my own book, but I think a lot of people didn't think that the rest of the country felt the shock that the east coast did. If anyone ever tells you this, you can reccomend them this book. "Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it."

So that's it. I have read TONS of graphic novels and it was tough to be picky and choosy. Like I didn't toss in The Goon or Love Hina. Or even Oh My Goddess! Or guilty pleasures like The Savage Dragon or Conan The Barbarian. Some manga perrenials I left out like Ghost in The Shell or Dragon Ball. I just kind of went off of what really really stuck out in my mind and what I could read over and over again. I think I wrote this as a break from drawing so I could remember why I really love comics. I feel pumped now.... back to the drawing board!
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Reposting this because it's lol

2009-02-20T04:34:32Z

"He can only observe - never interfere. Although this will change once he starts crawling."

This is what happens when us nerds reproduce.

Who wants to play?

2009-02-16T03:36:30Z

haha hahahahaahaha

2009-02-10T05:22:10Z

So, Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, X-Men 3) is going to make a "Tentpole" movie series out of...

wait for it...

Wahahahaha! This will either A) never get done or B) be the most amazingly bad (awesome?) clusterfuck ever known to man. I personally predict we'll get the first hour then have to wait five years for the second hour. Which will make no sense pertaining to the first hour and will consequently be named as a relaunch of the brand.... MID MOVIE.

For those of you not in the nerd know, Youngblood is a comic "series" launched in like 1992 or 93 that has, to my knowledge never made it up to #12. Or even #6. Rob Liefeld the artist and writer is now the industry's whipping boy for being one of the most atrocious artist to ever draw over muscled supermen since the dawn of mankind. He also draws itty bitty triangles for feet.

Brett Ratner is the director known for single handedly (actually with the help of Fox's idiot president Tom Rothman - who is possibly to comic movies what Michael Eisner is to Disney movies. Ouch, but it's true. YOU sit through Fantastic Four ! & 2 and tell me different) ruining the X-Men movie franchise, and possibly pissing everyone off by making Rush Hour 3. While I laughed a bit at RH3, it's probably 'cause I do enjoy Chris Tucker fighting impossibly tall Chinese men.

"Most of the great graphic novels are gone, and 'Youngblood' is one of the few comic books left with tentpole potential," Ratner was quoted

Yeah, ok Ratner... I can't say I hate his guts cause I love the Rush Hour series, but man he sure turd nuggeted X3 with his cohorts. Apparently this is a "passion" project for him. Ya know, you've got to hand it to both guys cause really, in the end, they're both getting shitpanned but keep going out there to ply their dishonest profession - AND PEOPLE KEEP BUYING IT.

Is there some kind of cache of nerdbominations out there that just love torturing themselves this much?

Yes, there is. And they all shop at All C's Comics I'm sure.

EDIT - Somehow, someway... The Ultimate Warrior MUST be cast in this movie.

30 Rocks!

2009-02-02T11:04:29Z

Nearly a month into being 30 and I'm feeling more renewed with each passing day. I think I can really say I'm happy to have closed the door on my 20s and looking forward to a better life.

After writing, doing some redesigns and finalizing some story structure I'm finally ready to sit down and really make 1st Floor a reality. I went ahead and purchased the domain & hosting. With the rate I draw I'm hoping to launch in March or April. I've written it to be mostly self contained stories, and hopefully I can start out at posting once or twice a week and pick up from there. It depends on how the day job goes I guess. Launching it as a web comic was always the plan if nothing really came from San Diego on that front. On other fronts a few things have come from it (finally!) but I can't speak on that yet. The one thing that's really been helping me has been the book that Scott Kurtz and Co. put out this last year about how to market a web comic and make it successful. Networking and making friends with heaps of other cartoonists has been huge in my life too. It's pretty damn awesome really.

Other goings on? Well I recently started talking to my old roommate from college, Mr. Ben Cohen, more often. We kinda started kicking it off on Facebook and that's been pretty cool. In case you're wondering, yeah you can find me pretty easily by searching for Zak Kinsella. My avatar is a cartoon - easy to find.

I finally went to a Squidworks meeting this last month with Gerhard and Chris. It's pretty cool to meet the other cartoonists around Denver and see what everyone is up to. Enchanted Grounds may be in Highlands Ranch, but it's a sweet place. I can't remember if I mentioned that before, but I'm really looking forward to another one next week.

My back is feeling much better. It's getting back to normal after the accident, and I'm still waiting for my car to be finished. Right now I'm driving a white Toyota Yaris and I feel like Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles driving his little mini car in the 1st act of the movie. It looks like I'm driving an egg... and someone smoked in it before me. Gross. Funny thing about my stupid accident was that I was heading over to Rod's to score some sweet comics for the first time in forever that night. I need to travel over there soon... I'm just so damn paranoid about driving right now. How lame is that?!

On a serious note; my friend, Aly, is going through one of those life altering break ups right now. Kind of like the one I went through over a year ago. It literally just happened, and while she carries herself well, there have been some times where she just doesn't want to be alone and has a tough time. Thinking back on that time in my life... I can totally empathize, and it's kind of cool to see how much that event made me grow. I've been motivated to work on me, and this year has been great for it. So I'm trying to use my example to help her out. I met her through a friend at work, and we instantly nerded it up. We'll be spending a lot of Saturday nights sitting on the couch watching anime and playing lots of games now that she has the time for it. Before this it was limited times being dorky at the various bars around downtown here. She has a two year old daughter and she's a real pistol. Cute as anything else, and we have fun in the sun. But I digress, having gone through it all recently, it's nice to put it into perspective for someone who needs it.

Ah, what else? Oh I took the plunge and started talking to the woman from our sister location in Parker. K. made a resolution for me this last year - Don't be a pussy. And I've been following it for once. Anyways, Becky is a nice girl and we've been talking over myspace on and off. We've both been just busy enough not to set anything up yet, but we'll see how it goes. She too has a daughter... and while everyone says I'd be a great father, man that kinda scares the crap out of me. But I think the less said about this, the better. I don't know where it's going, but I'm stoked. I've been on a few dates here and there this last year. None of them really felt great, and all I could think of was that I could be home writing/drawing. This feels different all the sudden. Slam!

So yeah, 30 has been holding new adventure and prospects for me. I guess what got me thinking about this has been my friends. I talked at length about this with my friend Charmaine last week when we went out for the day. See, I kind of love spending time with her because I get along so well with her son Donavan. He's not quite a year old, but we're good buddies already. So anyways, her husband is turning 30 next year and is freaking out. And last year my buddies Chris and Trifon both turned 30. Actually, same with Becky oddly enough. Anyhoo... I told her I was on panic mode up until like 2 days before the big day. Then I had what alcoholics call "A Moment of Clarity." Tell me what movie that's from... yeah so it was weird... I just felt calm and realized that to me, God was shutting a door on some very rough times and that I was free to start again now. I know it sounds funny, but being such a fuck up in my 20s has allowed me to see that I don't want to be in my 30s. I've changed a LOT in the past year and I think that was really preparation for this year. So apparently that bit of advice has really helped Korby (Char's husband) and I'm happy to hear that. He's a damn good guy, and I'm glad to know him.

So I guess it's time to wrap this up. It was a fun Sunday. Spent it out with Trifon as usual. Sundays are our day of relax and fun. Hit the gym after church, do some lunch and catch a flick. Speaking of which - watch Rocknrolla. Seriously, that movie is awesome and it's finally out on dvd. I love Guy Ritchie movies, and while it's nowhere near as good as Snatch, it's a fun little flick. Plus it has Gerard Butler (King Leonidus from 300, ladies) in probably one of his funnier roles.

Ok, sleep good. Damn I wrote a lot there.

Wow, TinTin!

2009-01-27T05:48:31Z

Ok, per Ain't It Cool News... I'm officially stoked for this movie of the classic comic series:

1) Jamie Bell, one of the most gifted actors of his generation, will be playing Tintin.

2) Daniel Craig has been cast as "the nefarious" pirate Red Rackham.

3) Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish are now credited as screenwriters along with DOCTOR WHO's Steven Moffat.

4) As we reported earlier this month, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are Thomson and Thompson.

5) The rest of the cast (Toby Jones, Gad Elmaleh, Andy Serkis and Mackenzie Crook).

The first film in the (planned) series will be THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN (one of Hergé's favorites). It is set for theatrical release in 2011. Steven Spielberg will direct the first installment, while Peter Jackson will take the reins for the second entry. The third film is currently without a helmer, but I'm sure Spielberg's pal Brian De Palma would relish a crack at this material.

Edgar Wright has a hand in it? Thank you, I'll be there.

It is NEVER ok to murder a woman's souffle!

2009-01-18T21:46:56Z

And so, one of my bigger goals over the last year was to get much better at drawing women. I think I've come a long way from where I was last year at this point, and I'm becoming more confident in said skills. Especially since I've been hired for more freelance based off of the female work I've been doing... that's a nice little nod. So, with that in mind I took a little break from 1st Floor tonight to work in my sketchbook.

I got a little inspired from looking at a new mag at Barnes & Noble tonight with lots of cool sketch material. So one thing lead to another and I filled a couple of pages with drawing women. The one I really liked I'll post below. It has a not so subtle heartbreak theme. I was listening to "A Comet Appears" by the Shins while drawing it so that's why there's a comet. And a little Gnarls Barkley too there...

Mmmmm.... McSketchy.

I stayed in tonight *gasp* and just worked. I also had the chance to talk to my boy from NYC, the esteemed DJ Maniak. We nerd chatted it up for awhile as I sat here working and that was cool to get back in touch with him. Our talking about mutual women trouble over the years kinda brought up the heartbreak idea in sketching. And I've obviously never felt heartbreak from the woman's point of view... so facially, this is my attempt. Looking at people, sometimes you can just see it... and after a few years you tend to notice how differently people show it. One last thing with these... I tried to spend no longer than a minute or two on each one to push myself.

So, uh... yep. Fun night. We went to Tromapalooza Friday night... it was not fun, but afterwards was. We went to City O City and Jen & I proceeded to make fun of the large amount of douchery there. Still... I kinda love the place.

Anyways, I was up too late again on a Saturday night - working myself to the bone again. As much as I love it, I need to relax soon. I miss video games and laziness. Good times.

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Sweet Aunt Petunia

2009-01-16T09:45:40Z

Something really cool happened today, but I don't want to jinx it so I'm keeping mum on it.

In other news, I took today off as well. I'm finally getting back into finishing up my short story and doing more of those. I think 1st Floor is definitely going to become that series of short stories held together by an over arching theme. As soon as I have a few under my belt, I'll be putting them up as a regular web comic.

And I'm all hasslehoffed up on vicoden so I'm gonna pass out now.

PEACE!

Welcome to 2009

2009-01-14T06:09:02Z

I got into a car accident today. I was sitting in my car on I25 and Arapahoe and I guess some guy wasn't paying attention. He slammed full on into the lady behind me and then she slammed right into me.

Sat in my car shell shocked for a little bit... then the paramedics strapped me in and I rode on one of those fun little stretchers all the way to Swedish Medical facility. After some xrays and blood tests I'm alright. I have a pretty nasty contusion (bruise) on my back, and I've got a bunch of vicoden for the pain.

Which is there. I feel like someone smacked me in the back with a bat. I'm honestly more worried about the woman behind me. She had a laceration near her liver and was 59. I hope she's doing alright...

As an aside, the radiology nurse was gorgeous and laughed at all my lame jokes. Too bad she had a ring. Probably not the best place to ask a girl out though... especially hopped up on pain meds.

Which are now kicking in. Ok, gotta pass out. I'm ok, don't worry. I'll be back to posting more frequently here soon. :)

Way to bring in that new year huh?

I know this is probably old...

2009-01-01T02:41:54Z

But good gosh... it's so wonderful!

Something about this picture is making it a fitting end to 2008.

And then there's this:
But this kind of caught my eye here:

"With five planets still in your sign, this could prove to be quite a memorable New Year's Eve. You are more somber than usual, for there are significant challenges that you must face in the year ahead. Still, you may be optimistic about the work you have already completed. Now you need to be patient as you build on what you've already started and wait for the opportunities to reap the anticipated rewards."

It's a funny thing... astrology to me has always been rather coincidental and mostly a waste of time for me. But this just kind of hit me right in the face as being rather apt for life right now. I still have no clue what the shit they mean by all five planets being in my sign ( will the combine to form Captain Planet??) but whatever ya know?

I feel like I'm on the verge of some really good things, and I'm just waiting to go over the falls. Creatively at least - especially having been given the opportunity to be a contributing cartoonist for The New York Times. But I kind of suck at being patient with my career, especially now. I've got lots of opportunities, and offers on my desk and to be honest I just need to pick. To be honest I really want to just do my own work... but working with Jeremiah has always been a goal of mine. Especially the chance to do a goofy wrestling comic. And hopefully eventually a more serious one. We have very similar tastes all around, and he's a good guy. So yeah, I wanna jam with him more.

And it seemed like 2008 brought so much opportunity that was a lot of the time sidetracked by life. So much death wrought in my life this year, and that just sucked. Especially seeing Dan pass... that was tough. And being single for the first time in YEARS? Nerve wracking. I hate dating... and playing the game so to speak. I'm not your typical guy in that aspect. I'm not shy so much as I am just different. I'm an artist, so go figure. But on the flipside, I'm not really looking around much to be honest. I'm taking it as it goes... if it happens, that's cool. If not, I'm more than ok in my place right now.

Ah, but this last year has been a heartbreaker in a lot of ways and I'm ready to see it go. This next year I'm planning on moving closer to the city. Getting myself out there more, and what not. This last year was a real recovery from an unhealthy relationship that lasted most of my 20s. This next year? Time to chew bubble gum and kick ass!

I don't think I've ever been one to bitch, but I had to get this crap out there. I mostly write these to reflect on with my writing. To remember what I was going through to bring my characters to life. And this is definitely gonna be one of those. This will be the last entry of 2008, and I'm looking forward to more art, gigs and fun in 2009. And hopefully it'll be a happier year full of more opportunities.

I hope the best for all of you as well. Those of you that have been there for my broken ass this past year, thank you. I aim to make your time worth it.

As always, peace and much love to you all.
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And that's for ruining The Spirit

2008-12-31T03:19:56Z

And a final nomination from Frank Miller on why people shouldn't sell their comics as films:

"You’ll make some pretty good money, but that creation that you took all that time writing and drawing will be remembered for all time as one really crappo movie."

And the winner is... Frank Miller!

ROSS: "The Spirit" is in cinemas now

NOSTRADAMUS: But not for long.

ZING! Ah, not much to say really. I'm waiting until the new year to start making my life relevant again.

So I haven't posted in a bit

2008-12-18T11:01:04Z

So forgive this little rant. I just need to get it off my chest.

The Christmas season is here, and it's one of my favorite times of the year. I just kind of wish people would quit bitching about it though. Unfortunately I think people kind of miss the point of coming together and giving a little extra in favor of bitching over semantics. No it should be holidays. No it should be Christmas! Oh my gosh, just shut up and hug already. You're all human beings... everyone needs to just deal with the fact that a lot of people celebrate a lot of different things this time of year. Yeah, I don't believe in compromising my faith for cause someone else gets pissy about me saying the word Christmas... deal with it. But in the same vein, I'm not gonna get all butt hurt that someone tells me Happy Hannukah or Have a radical solstice. Whatever you wanna say... get it out.

Let it breathe. Who gives a fuck... really? Are you going to be infinitely offended when someone tells you Merry Christmas? If you are, you're an asshole. And you're an asshole if you get offended by someone of any other faith wishing you anything merry from their faith.

I'm sorry, this is kind of one of my pet peeves. I'm not trying to say this is the answer for everything, but people getting all offended over this time of year is ridiculous. Even if you believe in nothing, which is cool with me, why can't you just take it to heart that someone is trying to be nice to you? Your life is not going to crash and burn when someone blesses you or smiles and wishes you a merry day. I just don't get it... and maybe it's cause I'm laid back about that kind of thing. I get a little bit of joy in my heart when someone wishes me something nice, even if I don't believe in it.

It's just a nice thing to hear. People being nice... what a concept. Instead you have the far right waging their holy war and trying to be martyrs, and the left getting their pants in a bind over ONE WORD. For everyone's sake, can't you all just shut the hell up and smile instead? I guess that would be too hard to actually enjoy the spirit of the time... really now?

Either way, I won't shut up about my Merry Christmas, and I'll gladly accept any Happy Hannukahs, Qwanza, Solstice, Winter's Veil, nothing at all, etc. Hopefully you all will too :)

I hereby propose,

2008-12-15T01:04:21Z

That we stage a coup to take over 20th Century Fox. I can't deal with this shit anymore.

X3, Fantastic Four (both of those wretched turds), whatever the hell they're gonna do to Wolverine... and now this

Just... just what the fuck is that? Ok, I quit Dragonball when the show turned to complete ass... but I still love the original series... and this looks about as fun as testicular torsion. Speaking of, Venture Bros Season 3 packaging is the coolest thing ever. Yes, that's fucking cool! But for the love of Mike, this looks like straight to the 3 dollar walmart dvd bin.

ugh.

Max, this made me think of you.

2008-12-15T00:55:32Z

I haven't posted much...

2008-12-14T10:30:43Z

I've been trying to take it easy and not do much. Being back at work during the anniversary of Papa's death is just not my idea of a good time. I dunno what's worse, the event itself or the fact that I lapsed in my memory of it. Normally I do ok with death and acceptance, but Papa & Dan's deaths were especially hard on me. Dan being so fresh (April of this last year) and him being so young... that was a blow to the head. I miss him a lot.

But I've been keeping distracted. Season 4 of Lost has been great to watch again. They really punched it into high gear this season, and the character development is top notch. It always is on this show. One thing I really hold in high regards is if the writers can get me to really care about their characters. I don't think a lot of people give this show the credit it deserves for that.

I also met a new girl this week... nice geeky girl, and she's been fun to talk to. She's a friend of a friend at work. We're supposed to go out for drinks sometime this next weekend. Sounds like a good time huh?

Anyways, tomorrow is Dad's bday and I have to be up to go to lunch with him and mom. So I'm off! TA!

I can't believe it.

2008-12-12T08:17:37Z

It's been 14 years to the day that my grandfather passed away. I couldn't fathom why I was feeling so terrible today. I guess that's why.

argentsoma @ 2008-12-11T00:37:00

2008-12-11T07:49:42Z

I had an exceedingly shitty day today, so I only feel like doing this thing. Being back at work suuuuuuucks.

01. What are your nicknames?
I've been called Zak attack, Zakula and I can't remember any others.

02. How do you style your hair?
It's a mess, and it has been since high school. Works for me.

03. What's your favorite or least favorite Christmas song?
Jingle Bell Rock

04. How many colors are you wearing now?
3. Brown, White and Blue.

05. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
I've been getting better at being more outgoing. I'm just a small crowds type of guy.

06. What was the last book you read?
Local by Brian Wood.

07. Do you nap a lot?
I tend to pass out rather than consciously nap.

08. If the person you secretly like is already taken, what would you do?
Curse the world with burning fires.

09. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
Work.

10. What's your favorite dessert?
Oh gosh, Creme Brulee

11. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
What's a morning??

12. What websites do you visit daily?
Gmail, LJ, Facebook, Myspace, Prowrestling.com, Newsarama, deviantart, myextralife.com

13. What classes are you taking right now? And if you're not in school any more, what's your job?
My job is to be a pushover for idiots who can run companies.

14. Do you like to clean?
No. Who the hell likes to clean??

15. What was the last song to get stuck in your head?
Sailor Song by Regina Spektor

16. What's the last movie you saw?
The Punisher!

17. Pirates or Ninjas?
Vikings indeed, Max. Or maybe Mummies.

18. What is your least favorite thing to do that you have to do everyday?
Obey.

19. Best time of your life?
Despite my mood, the present.

20. What are you most looking forward to in the coming month?
Christmas! I always do.