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Jorge and I are friends. I met him through DJ Coffman. Both of them were winners of the Platinum Studios Comic Book Challenges - and were then subsequently canceled by Platinum as well. "Creative differences," I believe is the polite term. I won't get into the details, but if you ever get the chance to buy one of them a drink, I'm sure they'll share the details with you.

Jorge has started his own small press and has published a few titles, namely "9 Months." If you haven't seen his comic, shame on you. It's a tense tale.

Irv is a good buddy of mine as well, and I really enjoy hanging out with him. The face that he made when we ordered him ice cream for his "birthday" was priceless! I couldn't resist putting it into the comic.

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Ah Phil. I don't remember how he found out that I used to give backrubs in college, but the guys shoulders were certainly hurting on this day of the con. Like myself, his back is a series of knots and sore spots.

Vicki and Phil really are cousins, and she did come hang out with us on Saturday (I met her last year). She's a very fun and free person, and has a good taste for food. She knows some great places around New York, so it's always a joy to hang out with her and the gang and go out to get food or drinks.

NYCC is a ton of fun, and you should try to attend next year. It hasn't become the second largest comic con in the country for nothing, after all!

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Finally got around to posting the NYCC 2009 blog, but you may have to scroll down a bit, since I update the blog almost daily right now.

So it looks like Sophia isn't the only one who can kick some ass. Her sister Selphi seems able to hold her own pretty well. This scene was difficult to write - and no doubt difficult to draw - as the flow of the action is very precise. I'm not sure that it came off that way, but each of Selphi's actions are supposed to flow into each other. She dodges, blocks, kicks and uses that momentum to flip herself, then twists the guy.

Hopefully it came off that way to you guys.

I will hopefully have some exciting news for everyone next week, as I've been hard at work on so many projects. One of them will hopefully be done by the end of this week (that's when the deadline falls), and I'll let you guys know more when it's all done. I don't want to jump the gun, but it's exciting.

Until then, enjoy!

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The McGuffin is established. Trevor must find Joe's missing Wolverine tumbler. This was an item that Joe was looking for at the con, but I thought it would be fun to have Trevor go looking for it - because he was being a bother at the booth. It's true that when hanging out with friends who are exhibiting at a con, I feel like I'm distracting from potential sales. That's why I don't feel bad when the conversation stops so they can sell.

Hell, sometimes I'll even cut them off and say, "Hey, go sell some shit, fool!"

I mean, they are exhibiting there to make money, so it makes sense to me. I know that when I start exhibiting, I'm going to want to sell stuff.

Anyway, check back on Wednesday for another update.

Movie Night #107: Renaissance (2006)
Director: Christian Volckman
Plot: Paris, 2054, a company called Avalon sells beauty and youth products to the masses. A researcher for Avalon is kidnapped, and it's up to a rogue police officer to track her down. Apparently she was involved in research that resulted in the death of a bunch of kids in an attempt to create a product that would cause eternal youth. A lot of plot twists and story elements that don't make a ton of sense follow to a conclusion that I really didn't care about.

I'll be absolutely honest with you here, this movie looks very pretty. And that's about it. The plot didn't make a lick of sense to me, as the movie was trying to be too many things at the same time. It wanted to be Blade Runner, a crime noir, a mystery thriller, an action sci-fi flick, and a commentary about youth and beauty products and corporate greed. It needed to focus on the two things that many movies lack: character and story. It had me with the stunning visuals and the unique style of black and white CG animation...now it just needed to back it up with some substance.

Lazy viewers will be happy to hear that they reanimated the mouths for the movie to comply with the English voice work (so it doesn't look like a bad dub job). Purists like myself will be happy that the French language track was also included in the DVD release.

Honestly, rent it for the gorgeous visuals and production design, but don't expect to get a ton out of it.

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To make up for last week's weak update, I have decided to post this story arc on Wednesdays and Fridays (Temple will continue to update on Mondays). Since my camera was not working at the con, I have thrown together a type of fairy tale adventure for this photo story, which I hope will be a lot of fun.

It'll incorporate photos that I was actually able to take, as well as photos that friends were kind enough to let me borrow. Hopefully it'll be a fun and entertaining ride for you. See you Friday!

Also, the blog for NYCC 2009 has gone up on my website: www.trevor.exilecomics.com. You may have to scroll down a bit, depending on when you're checking, because I do try to update that blog almost daily.

Wow, am I ever behind on my blogging. Alright, let's jump into this:



As you should be aware, the second largest comic convention - New York Comic Con - was in early February this year. Despite being out of work (and therefore, lacking income) I decided to attend. Mostly, I wanted to see my friends, network a bit, get some pitches into a few hands...and I had a professional pass approved, so I didn't have to pay to attend the con. A friend of mine (Joe) was kind enough to put me up for the long weekend (for which I am forever greatful), which also helped in the decision to go. It made the trip both fun AND affordable.

Thursday morning I got up at 6am to hop onto the plane and fly the 1.5 hours to Laguardia Airport, near Queens, where my buddy picked me up. We dropped my stuff off at his place, and then went straight over to the convention center to start unpacking his booth stuff. Normally in artists alley, this year he decided to get a small press booth - which felt smaller than an artist alley table, but only because there were little walls set in around it.

After a while, Phil showed up with more stuff, and we finished unpacking the booth. Now, keep in mind that I had an interview in SOHO that afternoon, and was doing all of this lifting and moving in a suit and tie. Not wearing nice clothes, like my friends pictured above. I had some friends call out to me by my comic name ("Hey @$$hole!") upon trying to exit the convention center, which amused Joe and Phil to no end.

After setting up the booth, the gang was kind enough to drive me to my interview, getting me there a little early. The interview went well, but ran much longer than I thought it would (which, when looking for a job, is a great thing). I met some great people, shook hands, and became very interested in the company and the position. We parted ways, and I gave my buddy a call to come pick me up. Steve, another friend attending the con, picked up the phone. They asked where I was (the corner of Hudson and King), and Steve relayed the cross streets. However, being from Arkansas, his southern accent made it sound like "Keen." They got lost trying to find me, and a weekend-long joke was formed.

Q: "Who's the bad guy from Flash Gordon?"
A: Ming

Q: "How do you perform a song?"
A: Sing

It went on like that all weekend. Afterwards, we went back to Joe's to have dinner with his wife and hang out a bit. We called up Irv (who was playing WoW), and he agreed to show up. Joe tells me that this is an amazing feat, since Irv tends to stay in once he's playing WoW. We made drinks and stayed up late, and then went to bed to start our weekend of nerdiness properly.



Friday was press and professional day, so the crowds were much much smaller, and it was easy to get to chat with some people. I walked around with a pitch that Joe and I had been working on for a few weeks to get some feedback from editors, and even set up a few meetings. It was also a good chance to see a lot of the displays that people had (much of the con was still setting up on this day, as there wasn't a lot of commerce going on). I got to check out the new Ghostbusters video game, as well as see the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time arcade game.

I walked around and saw faces both familiar and new, introducing myself to some new people like JT Krul (Fathom, Soulfire), Vince (editor in chief of Aspen Comics), Carol (editor of Lerner Publishing Graphix Press), Billy Tan (X-23, Uncanny X-Men), Christopher Jones (The Batman Strikes), and many others. I even reintroduced myself to some friends that I had made at previous cons, including Brian Michael Bendis (everything Marvel), Frank Mastromauro (VP Aspen Comics), Josh Elder (Batman Strikes, Mail Order Ninja), Erica Reis (Mermaid Princess Azuri), and a bunch of other people who would take pages to list.

After the con ended (around 8pm), we all went into the city to get some dinner, and then went to Irv's favorite bar (Whiskey River). We stayed there for a few hours, and then headed back home for some much needed sleep. We got back and hung out a bit, while Joe worked on some comic stuff and the rest of us watched some good ol' fashion TV. Sleep came quickly.



Saturday was the busy day, the the con was sold out. This is how you know that you're the #2 comic con in the country: when professionals have to wait in line to get into the place. While there, I met a few agents and librarians, and even a few artists.

The place was packed! Thousands of peple crammed into a large convention center. It took 20 minutes to walk anywhere in the place!


I did my usual thing, walked around, even went to a few meetings and gave out the pitch that Joe and I had been working on. It was not the best day to be networking and handing stuff out, though, as most people are interested in one thing on this day: selling! I felt bad about bothering anyone for more than a few minutes, so I started attending panels.

Unfortunately, when you talk to friends who have been there and who have been kind enough to impart much of their knowledge and experience to you over the years, panels where you get to ask questions get a bit redundant. It's all the same old information. At least many of them did not accept creative questions ("Where do you get your inspiration from?"), which are a waste of time. If you can't find your own inspiration, then you should find a less creative field to work in. Even a lot of the business questions that people asked were a bit foolish. "How many hits should my website receive before I decide to print a book?" You're asking the wrong question. It's not about how many hits you get, but whether or not your audience wants the thing. Announce it. Get some feedback from your fans. They'll tell you what they want.

After the con ended, we went out to dinner at a Korean BBQ place. Thankfully, this place was a bit cheaper than the one we went to last year (but only just). We ordered sake, appetizers, and even an ice cream dessert for Irv's "birthday."


For those of your unfamiliar with Korean BBQ, they bring you raw food and you cook it yourself. It's like mongolian BBQ, only you do the work. It's a fun opportunity to try new things and share with your friends.

After dinner, we went back to Whiskey for drinks and stayed out too late. The train to get us back to Queens wasn't working, and we had to walk a ways to get back to the apartment and went straight to bed. Sunday would be the last day, and since the con ended at 5pm instead of 8pm, it would be the shortest day. However, because it was the last day, it would also feel like the longest day.



Sunday was tons of fun, as it was kids day. I don't normally stick around on Sunday, but this time I took a later flight out so I could see how the con winds down. People are dead tired and beat - and in many cases, hung over from partying the previous night. However, that didn't stop me from walking around and keep up my networking, and also perform a graphic novel for a half hour with Josh Elder. Tons of fun right there, and I would do it again in a heart beat!

I walked around the con and said my goodbyes to people, gathered the last of my contact information so I could send out pitches to people in the following weeks, and then hung out at the DP booth. Celebrities made rounds and a few snap shots were taken. After the con I had to take off, though, in order to catch my flight. It was a bittersweet feeling, as I had so much fun and met so many great people, but it had to come to an end. Joe was kind enough to take me to the airport, and I went through security. On the other side of security, though, I ran into a few familiar faces from the con: Christopher and Melissa. We sat near each other (as our flights were going out of similar gates) and hung out for a time, and then I had to board my flight. Upon getting on board, I met an inker from DC Comics (Rebecca), and we chatted the whole flight back to Detroit.

All in all, NYCC is an awesome show that leaves your feet sore and spreads the infectious "fan flu" (coined by Joe Quesada, EIC Marvel Comics), but is a great time to hang out with friends and meet some new ones.

My Site andDrunk Duck

Wow, things have been picking up speed (both personally for me, as well as in the comic), and I’m a little behind on blogging – especially about NYCC 2009. However, my other web comic series, @$$hole!, will have some photos from the con. The issue was my camera, which is still giving me a few problems (namely, it seems to have forgotten what the color “blue” looks like). I hope to get the actual blog up this week. I’ll make an announcement when I do.

Life’s been going nuts, but in a good way. The job hunt continues, but I’ve have some promising prospects lately. I’ve also been working on a few comic-related projects that are very exciting to me. Namely, a short story that will be professionally published – and it benefits a non-profit organization, The Hero Initiative. I’ve also been hard at work on many comic pitches, and did get a chance to network with a few editors in NYC about a few story ideas. They were excited enough to give me their e-mail address, so that is encouraging.

I’ll keep you guys up to date as I learn more (a good chunk of this is going to involve waiting, so just cross your fingers for me). In the meantime, enjoy the latest page and I hope you have a rockin’ week!

My Site and Drunk Duck

Sorry for the crappy update, guys and gals, but I’m still recovering from NYCC 2009. I will make up for it by posting a comic on Wednesday this week. I have some awesome things in the works – some of which I can’t even say anything about yet – but it’s all certainly taken a toll on me time-wise. I’m exhausted. Also, my camera battery wouldn’t hold a charge during the con, so I wasn’t able to put together the story that I wanted to tell. Therefore, I am throwing together a quick plot from pictures that I was able to “borrow” from my friends.

A blog about the con experience will be forthcoming. For now, though, I’m going on about 6 hours of sleep in the last four days, and I need to play catch up on a few projects….

Happy Friday the 13th, everyone!

Movie Night #106:  Resistance the Fall of Man
Developer:  Insomniac Games
Plot:  In an alternative-reality WWII, an army of mutant-like creatures called the Chimera swarm out of Russia and invade Europe.  Having taken over most of Britain within only a few hours, the United States makes a deal to send some of their soldiers over to assist in exchange for, well - something that's a part of the plot.  You play as Nathan Hale, the only American solider to have survived an onslaught of Chimera in a valley - in fact, the only human to have ever survived a Chimera attack at all.  Mutating from the inside throughout the game, you gradually gain the ability to recharge your health and start seeing things that other humans cannot see - namely, the psychic instructions of being known only as Angels. 

Although not an actual movie (yet), Alicia and Nate came over and we wanted to play some PS3 games.  The plot to the game is interesting enough, displayed not unlike a documentary on cable TV, but it's the game play that makes this game stand out as a first person shooter (FPS) from other related titles.  Namely, the weapons.

The game has your tradition basics:  automatic rifle, sniper rifle, shotgun, grenades, etc.  But it also has some fun Chimera weapons (sapper, auger, needler, etc) that make the game fun and unique.  Originally upon hearing the release of the game, I thought, "Why the heck would you use alien weapons against an alien?  The game would be more fun to limit the player to traditional WWII-era weapons against a foe that has superior technology and numbers."  But alas, that's not the case, and the game would be very different had they done things that way.  Possibly not in a bad way, but in a significant way - since the game requires you to rely on these alien weapons.

If you own a PS3, then you know that the game currently has a sequel out that takes place in the US, so you obviously don't defeat the Chimera in this game.  But you do set their European occupation back quite a bit, and you learn some interesting facts about them that make me want to pick up the sequel.  Since the first game is a Greatest Hit right now, though, it's cheaper and still a fun title to play.  Be sure to check it out!

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Had to do a few changes to this page, as the script may not have been as clear as I would like. However, this is the West Bar, located in the Western Mountains on the far side (opposite from the Order lands - a map will be coming in this story, eventually). This is completely new land that we have never seen before, since it's outside of the Order's influence.

The Icarus Wing is an interesting ship for me, and will be making appearances later on - as well as a reveal that it's just a part of the larger vessel. How Lorice came to claim this part of it will be revealed eventually, I'm sure, but for now it's not super important.

I'm back from NYCC, and it was a blast! I'll be posting pictures and blogs eventually, and when I do I'll be sure to link you all to them. Until then, enjoy!

My Site and Drunk Duck

No real news today since I’m in New York City Comic Con right now. No doubt running around having oodles of fun and meeting tons of new and interesting people. And also possibly freezing my buns off. However, I will try to take some pictures (and possibly make a quick photo comic) chronicling the adventure. See ya later!

My Site and Drunk Duck

You could call me a busy beaver. I’ve been working hard on several pitches for the past few months, and it’s been keeping me extremely busy. On top of that, I’ve been working on getting ready for the first round of conventions for the year (NYCC in February, ACEN and Motor City Comic Con in May, and Wizard World Chicago in August), as well as job hunting. I’m told that because of the economy right now, there’s a temporary hiring freeze at most advertising agencies, which kind of sucks but wasn’t entirely unexpected.

I’m keeping at the job hunt every day, though, and trying like mad to move out of Michigan (there are more opportunities outside of this state right now, which mainly centers around the automobile industry…which, let’s face it, isn’t doing so hot right now. Give it some time, though, and it will turn itself around). I’ve enjoyed living here, but it had always been the plan to move out for at least 3-5 years and get a change of location under my belt (and who knows, find a place that I can call my “home away from home”), and if I felt like doing so later down the road, possibly returning. But first thing’s first: getting a job. I can’t really move somewhere before I have the job secured – that would be a bit of a gamble – but not many places are willing to hire someone who lives far away for fear that they may have to pay (or help pay) for my relocation. While that’s certainly appreciated, in this economy right now it’s not expected.

I’ll be at the New York City Comic Con (NYCC) this week, so be sure to stop by the Digital Pimp booth and say hello.