“Finish.”  One of the most consistently voiced words of advice I’ve heard from writing and comics professionals, and Amanda and I are SO close to actually FINISHING this inaugural chapter of The Blind Eye.  Only fourteen screens to go – it’s hard to believe.  Despite the delays in launching this website…despite FINISHING multiple concurrent projects (each of which I’ll update for you below)…despite being absolutely consumed with campaigning for votes for Clown Town in Small Press Idol 2010, Chapter One of The Blind Eye WILL be FINISHED, one fresh screen per week, in mid-November!  And we think you’re going to love the high-tension, full-throttle end sequence we’ve got in store.  Look for a print collected edition of these 60 screens early in 2011.  Believe it.  Oh, and let me clue you in on what to expect on the website between chapters – Amy Rachels, our esteemed assistant colorist, is providing full art and colors on a five-screen story featuring Hindsight!  This is a true departure from what has gone before, but I’ve seen the completed line art for much of the story…it’s haunting and gorgeous and will give you an entirely different perspective on our resident monster.    

Reading With Pictures Anthology Vol. 1

Let me update you on all these projects that have kept us occupied these past months.  The news that we’re most excited about right now is the impending release of the Reading With Pictures Anthology Vol. 1 NEXT WEEK!  It’ll be distributed to direct market comic shops via Diamond Comics Distributors on August 18, with preorder fulfillment soon after for those who pre-ordered via Kickstarter.  To those who preordered this book based on our inclusion, no amount of thanks is sufficient to express our appreciation for your faith in our work at that early stage in our efforts.  I’ve seen a pdf copy of the entire book, and let me assure you, this is an impressive overall product, chock full of stories and art suitable for all ages.  You’re going to love it.  We are extremely proud to be included, and, honestly, both of us keep going through the pdf version, checking to be sure that our work is actually there, just before a story by the mastermind of the project, Josh Elder, and two stories before another by Fred Van Lente, writer of multiple titles at Marvel.  Crazy.  A dream realized, and the best part is the recognition that what we created belongs amongst those lofty creators.  It is good enough.    

We’ve taken on a number of other projects, too.  I’m co-writing a new web comic, The Apocalypse Boyz, a companion strip to a action-comedy web video series about the zombie apocalypse that will be viewable, hopefully within the next couple of weeks, at:  http://www.apocboyz.com!  My writing partner is Juan Carlos Millan, a writer on the video series, and the artist is Nathan Smith, a local and a friend who is going to blow you away with his work!  I’ll make a formal announcement when it goes live.     

Apocalypse Boyz Preview Art by Nathan Smith

Amanda and I were invited to contribute a two-page story for The Gathering Anthology Vol. 2, a collection of stories with themes of hope produced by denizens of the Bendis message boards, and we did – a tale of Great White, easily the most popular character in The Blind Eye.  More news on that as we learn more about release dates, etc.  Our piece turned out beautifully…we were amazed at how noir-cool Undertown looked in grayscale black and white!  Also, Amanda is contributing cover art to a comic companion for a film, Showmen’z Unrest, being produced by some new friends in Michigan.    

Lastly, I’m putting together an anthology comic project that I won’t discuss in detail at the moment, other than the general format.  This venture will feature loosely interconnected short stories of ten or twelve pages in length to be published IN PRINT, initially in sets of three stories, for what I hope will be quarterly 32-page books with an annual collection of twelve stories in a 128-page trade paperback!  There is a definite common thematic thread running through these stories that I think will hit home with genre fans of any age.  Amanda is already one-third of the way through the art on the first of these stories, and I’m collaborating with our friend, Vic Moya (inker of Cohort from Small Press Idol 2010) on another.  I have offered the third story of the first issue to another artist and will have confirmation in just a few weeks (I hope…).  Right now, I’m planning an April 2011 release date.  I’ll keep you updated!  Very excited about this one!  Any aspiring artists looking to collaborate, hit me up with some samples of your sequentials – I have stories that need drawing!    

Well, that should bring everyone up to speed on our busy schedule.  With the conclusion of Children of Cassiopeia, I’ll be blogging each Thursday, so watch this space!  We have lofty goals for the next year, and we’re working hard NOW, in advance, to make sure those goals are met!  We’ll be at Baltimore Comic Con on August 28-29 promoting ALL of our various projects, so find us in the program (listed as “The Blind Eye” in Artists’ Alley) and come visit, commission a sketch by Amanda and pick up a copy of the Reading With Pictures Anthology Vol. 1 and some trading cards and stickers from The Blind Eye!