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First up, a quick apology – my last entry (“I have a dream…“) wasn’t actually what I wrote when I last left Blogger. What was published was actually a draft of my original post, which I re-wrote and saved after, yet somehow Blogger took my old version anyway, which is why some of it probably was a little messy. In any case, sorry for any confusion.
And now, the news.
Despite the injured ankle, knee and toe, despite one printing company screwing me over at the last minute, despite my copies of Magic of Myths nearly not arriving on time… the comic convention in Bristol was incredible. A truly amazing experience. Met so many brilliant, new people, had a great time with my lovely girlfriend and friends and even in the face of my nervousness in selling Magic of Myths, everything went really well.
Jen, my friend and artist partner for Butterflies and Moths, shared a table with me (thanks to the very kind Simon Gurr who offered to share in the first place) and has created a great illustrated write up of the experience here: http://jenspiration-now.blogspot.com/2011/05/bristol-expo-2011-weekend-of-awesome.html
Magic of Myths sold a nice few handfuls of copies, which was relieving (given at the start I was uncertain if anyone was going to buy it and I’d go back home with all the copies I arrived with) and everyone was really friendly and supportive – which was great, as I’m not afraid to say I was bricking it, especially during the first couple hours! A bit of context – this has been a dream of mine for many years. Magic of Myths was a story which had been knocking around my skull since about 2003, and represents the fulfilment of a desire I’ve had since I was about 5/6 years old – to have written a ‘full’ comic book to sell. And all of a sudden, here I was, sitting on a table, trying to sell one. Fear and paranoia are pretty much standard coating for thoughts like: “what if I don’t verbally bring the story across?” “what if they spend the money and hate it?” and so on.
And yet, it all came together. And I’m really grateful for everyone who helped make that such an amazing experience.
What made it all the better was that all my friends with selling stands did really well, the general atmosphere was fantastic and lots of plans were made for the future. Thank you so much if bought a book, had a chat at the table or just came over to say hi. If you’re still looking to buy a copy, please head over to the Magic of Myths site which will tell you where you can buy it from. Any problems or questions, just drop me a line.
Along with Magic of Myths, three other projects I’m working on had a little boost, too. Firstly, Jen and my Bayou Arcana story, Irons in the Fire, got some positive feedback, especially on Jen’s artwork. The whole anthology is looking superb so far, and the man behind it all, James Pearson, has some very clever ideas to make it really sing. Definitely something to look out for.
The second project is Butterflies and Moths. Yes, I know I’ve been banging this drum for a while now, but after a productive chat with Jen things may progress a little quicker than we originally realised. Can’t say more than that right now, but when we finalise something you’ll hear about it.
The third one I can say even less about, but Faceless (think Robert Ludlum meeting Joss Whedon and Guy Ritchie in a dark alley and making a beautiful fiction baby together) got a jolt in the arm as well. Needless to say, I’m very excited if things will develop as it’s very early days and anything can change, but…
Right, this post is long enough! Expect some more bits and pieces soon…
Role: Co-creator/writer
Story: Butterflies and Moths (magic realism drama, graphic novel, visualised and drawn by Jennie Gyllblad)
With gamescom, stag dos, weddings, and various trips making the past couple months something of a blur, I’ve finally had time to sit down and gather my thoughts for a few seconds. Although the funny thing about reflection is sometimes you stare too long and don’t get anything done…
So, how about that World Cup, eh?
Sorry for the long radio silence. Magic of Myths is doing its best to keep me busy, so most of my writing has been kept to scripting, promotional work, planning and approvals (not just for that, but other projects as well, which I’ll get to in a bit). It’s kept me off here for a while although I’m determined to not let more than a month go before putting up at least one post. As long as I get this one off, then, I’m good for another month. Hopefully.
In any case, there’s been a lot to talk about. Magic of Myths is doing well, with Issue three now out to read for free, also marking the final free chapter before the graphic novel comes out within the next 6 months. It’s been a wonderful, educating and tiring experience, something I’d happily do again should I be able to convince another artist to come along for the mad ride, as Sergio was so willing to do (for which I’m forever grateful).
We also managed to get some free promotional copies into comic book shops, which went down well, with plans to follow up in the near future. On top of that, an interview with Sergio and I was recently published, giving us lots of space to talk about the miniseries. Many thanks to Drew Edwards and the Your Mom’s Basement crew for setting that up, it was a fantastic experience.
So, if you’ve not read Magic of Myths #3 yet, please do give it a go – and if you like it, tell everyone about it. The postman, your boss, your mistress, everyone.
In other news, James Daniels’ and my vampire story, The Twilight Cleaner is all polished and ready for publication in Insomnia Publications’ Layer Zero anthology this October. Yes, there’s been some rather public problems with the publisher the past couple months, but things are still moving forward, as they are with graphic novel Butterflies and Moths with Jennie Gyllblad – that big preview we promised is still on its way, as well. Don’t worry – I may be bad at keeping this blog updated, but I’m not shy about this sort of thing when it’s around…
This week is also National Transplant Week, which I’m a supporter of – Jac has written a great blog post on it and the transplant register over at Up the Far Away Tree that’s worth checking out (as is her blog in general): http://weejac.blogspot.com/2010/07/national-transplant-week-today-marks.html
Oh, and one last thing: Netherlands for the World Cup. You heard it here first. Well, that is, unless you actually live in the Netherlands, in which case you’ve probably heard it a few times already. The psychic octopus gets all his predictions from me, don’t ya know…
So, here we are.
Jen is currently lettering the first chapter of our graphic novel Butterflies and Moths, so we’re seeing what works, what doesn’t and if there needs to be tweaks to the script so we don’t cover up all her lovely artwork with my words. It’s a process of slight trial and error, but Jen’s good judgement and some wise guidance from our publisher, Insomnia, is creating some pleasing results.
These aren’t 100% representative of the final product, but will give you an idea of how the whole thing may look when it’s all put together.
Thanks for reading it so far – more to come…
A very, very quick one this week, while all the Wizard of Oz style behind the scenes workings continue (a couple of nice things around the corner for the coming month): Jen has posted a page-by-page art preview of chapter one of our graphic novel, Butterflies and Moths. The artwork is nearly all done, with a few pages to finalise (this isn’t the full chapter, as there are a few pages not ready to be shown and the final few pages wont be shown here until they’re totally done) and lettering to add in. But it’s looking staggering.
Take a look, if you please:
http://jenspiration-now.blogspot.com/2010/03/page-0-17-excluding-14-15.html
Thanks!
One rather telling page from Jen’s stunning work on graphic novel, Butterflies and Moths. In case you didn’t suspect already – this probably won’t be a happy tale.
Jen’s working like a machine right now to bring you more, so we may have something big to show you soon…
Three posts in one month? Must be a fever.
A quick one, if I may, before I go home after a long day at work. As you’ve probably guessed from the title, this is a follow-up from the last post regarding Jen’s fancy sculpture of our collaborative graphic novel‘s main character, Angel. The finished article is nearly here, and it’s pretty damn good.
And here’s a small shot of it painted (with another unfinished yet still superb sculpture made by Jen – she doesn’t sleep, I swear).
Oh, if you’re wondering what’s going on with the graphic novel itself, well, there should be something tasty coming up in a month or so. I’ve seen the latest pages and they’re… well, beautiful. Full of blood and suffering, but, you know, you knew that anyway…
Just a quick one today, with some more visually pleasing snippets from the talented Ms Gyllblad related to our forthcoming graphic novel, Butterflies and Moths.
First up, a freshly painted page from the first chapter. Once we’ve got all the pages from that chapter completed (there’s a few more left to go), there will eventually be a full-on, lettered preview for you to read in all its glory. Needless to say, when that happens you’ll know about it…
And while we’re here, Jen’s been working on a side project – making a sculpture of the graphic novel’s main character, Angel. We’ve talked about potentially using it for various promotions and maybe even a business card holder for when we go to cons, which would be pretty damn cool. Poor Angel is currently without her head in this pic (although it’s already done, just waiting to be attached) but you can already see the similarities, especially compared to the artwork above.
Should look amazing once it’s all put together and painted.
Catch you soon…
Merry Christmas to you all 🙂
Here, as promised, is the preview to forthcoming graphic novel, Butterflies and Moths. Jen‘s artwork isnt totally finished in some cases, and obviously un-lettered, but there shall be more in the coming months.
If you’re still wondering what the book is about, well, here’s a short teaser…
What would you do if you were forced to kill innocent people, without warning?
What would you do if you met a person…
… who changed everything?
