To give a little more insight into the deluded mind that is, well - mine - here is some of the initial sketch work that I did for the various covers that have appeared (and will yet appear) for this story arc. Some of them have changed drastically, some of them have been discarded, and some of them will remain the same.

Sounds like the end of this story, actually. ;)

Originally, I wanted to have a cover feature a different character (5 main characters, and then some villains), but along the way I decided to scrap that idea. In truth, some of the characters would get their own covers during the prequels - and some of the characters I just plain couldn't come up with an interesting cover design for.

Which do you like / not care for?

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You too can contribute to "Fan Art Fridays!" Fan Art will be displayed in the order that they are received, and each person who submits a piece of fan art will receive a mini-review like above. Please include a link to the comic you would like reviewed if you have multiple titles. Please send me fan art and links through a PM (or quack). :D

Fan Art Friday - Sketch of cover concepts

We didn't watch a flick, but instead celebrated Laura's 21st Birthday this week. Although the weather was less than cooperative, Laura and I made our way downtown Ann Arbor for a few drinks at Cafe Felix, followed up by some shots at Connor O'Neils with her sisters. Afterwards, we all gathered at Mongolian BBQ for some dinner. Friends joined in the fun.

After food, we (very slowly, because of the 9" of snow) made our way back to my apartment for more drinks, shots, Drunken Guitar Hero, Apples to Apples, and gift exchange. Some people stayed the night (I wasn't going to make anyone drive home in that weather), and everyone seemed to have a good time.

To answer your question, no - Laura was not hung over in the morning. However, she got so drunk during the night that she kept trying to cuddle up to me and sleep on the floor while I was watching people play video games. She's so cute when she's drunk.

If I get the chance, I'll try to post the few pictures that Jo took during the night.

Alright, last week we entered "Chocolate," which is a store that sells, well...chocolate. The skinny girl who works there apparently has never had chocolate before. She's not diabetic, she's just never "experienced" the exstacy of putting that milk-chocolately goodness into your mouth.

Ah the surfer kiosk employee. Someone had previously mentioned that one of the reasons Trevor may not like the mall is because of the "Sprint Employees" trying to sell cell phones in the isle. These are called kiosk employees, and yes, I hate them.

However, they sell more than just cell phones, so we may see a few incarnations of these guys before the story is finished. In the meantime, Susie's trying to deck herself out in what I like to think of as "expensive shiny plastic."

Anyone here work in a mall before as a past job? Anyone here ever work retail before? (I have...for over 9 years!)

The final page in this chapter. The swordsman has a purpose, a direction, and the motivation to follow through. For the first time in over 2 years, he's ready to end it. He's bringing the fight to the people who need it.

This chapter saw the death of a major character. The final chapter will see the death of at least two more.

From the Hagakure:

"Concerning martial valor, merit lies more in dying for one's master than in striking down the enemy. This can be understood from the devotion of Sato Tsugunobu."

This is probably one of my favorite pages in this chapter, because it's satisfying. The swordsman has finally been able to strike back at someone who has wronged him. He's finally back on his path towards completing his master's dying order.

I think it would be safe to say that this is the first page where our swordsman has finally started to act like a samurai.

From the Hagakure:

"Master Ittei said, 'If one were to say what it is to do good, in a single word it would be to endure suffering. Not enduring is bad without exception.'"

Someone over at Drunk Duck recently asked me about inspirations for my comics. Where did I get them? What inspired me to write them? Here was my answer:

The Temple of a Thousand Tears is based on a number of influences, including but not limited to: 1) the events of 9-11, specifically the mistreatment and outrage of Americans towards the Muslim community, 2) my observations about religion and religious people throughout the years, 3) inner frustrations over events in my life at the time, such as the death of family members and substance abuse problems among memebers of my family, 4) and the song "Image" from the video game Xenosaga 2.

Essentially, I needed a forum through which to vent my frustrations and feelings through, and characters to preach my view but also to counter-point my view, so people who disagreed could see both sides of the arguement. Thus, when dividing up my feelings on certain matters, patterns started to reoccur - and those view points turned into characters, personalities, and beliefs. Essentially, the swordsman is the character through which most of my frustrations are vented through - in the form of a murdered family. He's the black sheep of the group, fighting against the machine not because he hates it, but because of what it's done to him. The other characters are achieving enlightenment throughout the events of the story, realizing that there may be more than one way to go in life. A way different from their own.

@$$hole! was inspired by me wanting to rant about current events, pop culture references, and wanting to put someone who looked like myself into a comic (a tall, skinny, bald guy). I didn't know what the heck to do beyond that, until I watched Ringu and The Ring 2 back to back and said, "These movies are nothing alike, and the American one sucked. What if that character was in my comic? What if she was my roommate? The ultimate bad roommate!" And the modern story of @$$hole! was forged from there.

Basically, both of my comics were birthed from my need / desire to rant and vent. ;)

How about you?

T