Tag Archives: First Second Books

“Curses! Foiled Again”, “Nico”, & The Phoenix

“Curses! Foiled Again”, the sequel to “Foiled” by Jane Yolen and I, is set to be released on January 8th, 2013 by First Second Books. A bunch of very good advance reviews are already in from Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal and Voya, and the book’s been awarded a 2012 Junior Library Guild Selection. That all adds up to a great beginning for the New Year. Check out the reviews on the “Foiled” page, HERE.

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on a few things, including a project at Aaron Augenblick animation studios here in Brooklyn, where I was able to learn quite a bit of Flash, spent some time working on a Cintiq tablet, and met a bunch of very awesome animators and cartoonists. Meanwhile, I’m still plugging away at Decelerate Blue, my current graphic novel with author Adam Rapp for First Second Books, making my way through the pencils, a little slower than I’d like, but getting good results, I think. Also, just finished writing, penciling, inking and (hand!) lettering a new Nico Bravo story for The Phoenix Weekly Comic Magazine in the U.K.

The Phoenix is a British weekly anthology comic magazine for kids with contributions from cartoonists like Nick Abadzis, Patrice Aggs, John Aggs, Gary Northfield, and many others, including myself. The comics themselves are beautifully produced, funny, silly, sometimes even educational, and (stunningly) are all creator-owned! I can’t think of another comics magazine that’s even remotely similar. I don’t normally rave about something I’m actually contributing to, but every so often you get the opportunity to participate in something that you know is special and unique, and almost too good to be true. The Phoenix is one of these.

This week, The Phoenix launched their iPad app and are offering a pretty amazing introductory subscription rate — six months of weekly comics for £9.99 (UK) / $13.99 (US) if you place your order during the first week of the app’s launch.

It’s a great way to introduce yourself and some lucky young comics fan to the variety, fun, and quality The Phoenix has to offer.

The link to the iTunes app is:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/phoenix-weekly-story-comic/id583824799?mt=8

You’ll get the whole first book of CORA’S BREAKFAST by Nick Abadzis and future episodes of NICO BRAVO by me, plus many other stories by top-notch British cartoonists. Please lend your support by sharing the link, especially with parents of kids who are into comics.

Simplify, simplify, simplify

The problem with having to come up with a different approach to each new project is having to come up with a different approach to each new project. In the case of DECELERATE BLUE, looking for an line art style that can keep up with the story and evolve along with it. At the beginning, searching for something that portrays the characters’s coldly efficient lifestyles. From thumbs to final pencils, trying to exclude as much as possible. Just necessary lines and solid black or white areas.

Page 1 preliminary thumbnail sketch:

DECELERATE thumbnail pg 001

Rough pencils:

DECELERATE pencil rough 001

Final pencils:

DECELERATE pencils 001

Page 2 preliminary thumbnail sketch:

DECELERATE thumbs 002

Rough pencils:

DECELERATE rough pencils 002

Final pencils:

DECELERATE pencils 002

More Decelerate Blue concept art

Just a few days after the last bit of concept art, Mark Siegel encouraged me to keep pushing the visual style for DECELERATE BLUE. I continued with some of the ideas from the first sketch, while trying to take things up a notch. Used more lost lines (but still not enough…), and tried to hint at the narrative, with the circuit board shapes morphing into the more organic human heart and veins. Tried to develop characters a little more. I like a lot of this, but it’s not perfect.

DB First Conceptual sketch

More from DECELERATE BLUE, my graphic novel in-progress with writer Adam Rapp for First Second Books. Here’s my first stab at some concept art showing Angela, the main character, and the Mega Mall, and a few of the supporting characters from the two ideological sides of the conflict. This was mostly done for my own purposes, just trying to visualize designs and graphic motifs, and to start bouncing ideas off editor Mark Siegel. Not sure where the idea to do the upside down / mirror image thing came from, but I went with it since it’s all about playing around right now.

MoCCA weekend

I had a better time at this year’s MoCCA Arts Festival 2011 than I’ve had there in the past couple years, certainly since the Festival’s move from the Puck Building downtown to the 25th Street Armory. I’m not sure what made the difference this time around. It may all come down to my own disposition.

I sketched for an hour each day at the MoCCA gallery table. $25 – $35 per sketch, all proceeds going to the gallery itself. Also there were artists Rick Parker, Simon Fraser, Dean Haspiel, Bob Sikoryak, Bill Plympton, Nick Abadzis, Mo Willems and others.

Mo and I worked together for many years on the Cartoon Network animated series “Codename: Kids Next Door.” Since he launched his juggernaut children’s book career, I haven’t seen much of him, so it was nice to chat for a while. I did a few drawings: a femme fatale, Savior 28, and Ben 10.

Got to talk to the folks at First Second Books, who published my graphic novel with Jane Yolen, “Foiled”, and are publishing the sequel, “Curses, Foiled Again!” (I’m working on it…)

Also met and spoke with Doug Bratton, the NY Metro area chapter head of the National Cartoonists Society.

Of course, I picked up a few gems. Please pardon the lousy Mac camera photos.

From the Abrams table, the single-volume collection of Brian Walker’s “The Comics”, one of the most exhaustive written histories available on the subject of newspaper comic strips in America.

From the NBM table, Nicolas De Crecy’s “Salvatore”.

I didn’t actually get this at the con, but the enormous “The Mighty Thor” Omnibus arrived yesterday. It collects all the Walter Simonson Thor comics from the 80’s. It’s huge. The recoloring, by the way, is a great improvement over previous editions and collections of this material.

BEN 10 and CURSES, FOILED AGAIN!

Last year, May 2010, First Second Books published the graphic novel “FOILED”, my collaboration with writer Jane Yolen. Jane has written the sequel, “CURSES, FOILED AGAIN!”. I’ve thumbnailed the whole thing, and I’m now about 20 or so pages into penciling.

At the same time, I’m still penciling “BEN 10” stories for DC Comics’ CARTOON NETWORK ACTION PACK comic book series.

I like getting to bounce back-and-forth between the two. “BEN 10” has to be on-model with the design of the animated T.V. show it’s based on, while “FOILED” can be weird and loose. They both provide a nice change of pace from each other.