Zub Tales

Even though it’s been almost three weeks since Stacy and I got back from Japan, we’ve been caught up in a vortex of things to do. I’d originally intended to post up photos throughout our trip and then, when it became clear that wouldn’t be possible, as soon as we got back.

Well, better late than never. I’m hoping to post a few different short articles/photos about our amazing trip and I hope you all get a kick out of them.

Stacy and I decided to spend our Honeymoon exploring Japan – specifically Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Hakone. After the horrible earthquake the country sustained in March we were unsure if we should make the trip but, once things calmed down and friends we had in Tokyo made it clear that things were relatively back to normal, we finalized our plans and set off on another adventure.

This was my third time visiting Japan. On the previous trips I’d intended to visit the famous Studio Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, but both times the site had been closed for repairs/cleaning. This time Stacy worked really hard to ensure we’d be able to get tickets and that it would fit our schedule. Heck, she even booked the Ghibli trip to coincide with my 35th birthday. Needless to say, she is one incredible lady.

The Ghibli Museum is sequestered away from the big city. It’s located on the edge of Inokashira park and, if you didn’t know any better, you might mistake it for part of the park itself. The main building is covered in foliage – vines, trees and beautiful flowers behind gates emblazoned with a Ghibli Museum shield crest adorned with eagles, a boar and a Totoro.

Just inside those gates is an amazing space ripe for exploration. The Museum doesn’t have standardized tours or arrows telling you where to go. There are a variety of stairs and pathways all calling out for your attention. Each one loops back into the main area and sends you off again.

Photography is prohibited in the building and, as much as I wanted to take some stealth snapshots, I put my camera away and did everything I could to take it all in and remember it clearly.

I was surprised at how much space was lavishly devoted to showcasing the process of animation. Film reels click away in dark rooms under the light of the cameras, showing time and time again how many frames go by in the blink of an eye to create the illusion of movement. A complex zoetrope sculpture of the cast of Totoro spins under a strobe light, causing the 3 dimensional characters to jump and move in and around each other. Animated birds reflected off of mirrors fly in a whirling pattern around one of the robots from Laputa as it holds its bulbous elongated arms skyward. Flip displays of animation key frames are there to be analyzed and flipped in succession. Booklets of full of storyboard reproductions sit on a shelf waiting to be cracked open. There’s a pure joy in the animated art that permeates the whole place in a way that’s hard to describe.

On the second floor it continues in a similar vein. Two rooms are dedicated to design and concept art, but they display almost just as many sources of inspiration that the Ghibli staff draw from as much as they do their own studio’s art – architectural guides, turn of the century plane schematics, old European fashion photos, elegant paintings of faerie tales and nature. That creative spark is bursting at the seams and it’s a fascinating look at the variety of places the artists at Ghibli look to for their ideas. There’s research to be done and these wonderful movies that delight the world don’t just appear out of nowhere.

Among the technical information and joy of film making are spaces for kids to play and run around – child-sized doorways into nooks and crannies that aren’t meant for adults. A near life-sized cat bus for children to climb on and sit inside. Tiny window displays placed at a smaller height that can be opened to reveal paintings or dioramas.

The Museum shows a special short film that has never been put on home video or screened outside of the Museum and this film changes from time to time; 10 minutes of original feature-quality animation only for visitors. Stacy and I saw the new ‘Egg Princess’ short and it was a delightful little fable that felt very much like Spirited Away in its style and execution.

On the roof of the museum are more plants and a life-sized statue of a Laputa robot. Behind that is a winding little trail that leads to a greater Levistone from Laputa as well. Tactile artifacts from one of my absolute favourite films.

The Museum strikes a wonderful balance between the familiar forms of the Ghibli films and its own whimsical exploratory sense of self. It takes the Ghibli mythology and crafts it into a maze of fun spaces and experiences. The displays aren’t obsessed with the pomp and circumstance of trying to convince you that this is art – it just revels in the fact that it is and you can’t help but enjoy that. It carried a simple inspiration that will stay with me from here on.

If you get a chance to travel to Tokyo and are an artist, animator or fan of Ghibli films, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Arrive early, then explore, relax and enjoy.

I talked to The Mosaik Project extensively about all things comics/art: Skullkickers, UDON, art portfolios, Canadian comics, webcomics, animation, online identity and a whole lot more.

I did this interview a while ago and, re-listening to it now, I’m surprised how comfortable I was chatting about so many different things. Kind of neat.

It’s wonderful to be back on the stands with a new issue of Skullkickers. Thank you everyone who has been e-mailing us such positive and enthusiastic feedback on the issue. Here are some reviews coming from around the web:

• Ain’t It Cool News calls it “an imaginative and fun tale “.

• Geeks of Doom raves that “awesomeness exudes off of every single page”.

• Third Eye Comics tells their customers that “it’s proven itself to be one of the coolest new Image series to come out in the last year”.

• Weekly Comic Book Review lets us know that “The whole bloodbath is so ludicrous that I couldn’t help but laugh”.

• Mondo Comics says “I do love a good awkward dinner party, and boy did Skullkickers deliver.”

Keep ’em coming, folks! We love reading your thoughts on the series!

It’s been a few months as we revved up production on our second arc but today’s finally the day – Skullkickers is back, baby!

Please head on down to your local comic shop and pick up a copy of #7, the first part of our second bombastic story arc, and let me know what you think of it! Even if you’ve never read the first six issues, this one is new reader friendly and gives a quick recap of our first storyline.

If you’re at all on the fence, let me entice you with:
– An exclusive 6 page preview of Shinku, a new creator-owned series coming next month from Image.
– More banter
– A bloody and violent dinner party
– The word “jumblies”
– Our two mercenary morons finally get names!

GO! Please buy the issue, show your friends, support creator-owned comics!

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Here’s a bunch of links to new Skullkickers-related press stuff around our second story arc:
• Newsarama has a new interview about the arc.
• Mondo asks about our story progress and plans for the future.
• Comic Book Fury asks Edwin, our awesome artist, some questions about the series.
• comiXology delves a bit into SK’s gamer roots.

click for larger version

Even though it was announced almost a month ago, I finally had some free time to take a really good look at the new costume Marvel has teased for Ultimate Spider-Man.

Spider-Man’s outfit is so ridiculously iconic, I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to design a new costume for him. This new look isn’t as bold as the 80’s post-Secret Wars costume, but it definitely has some neat visual elements that make it stand out.

Looking at how much black was on it, I decided to take my initial pose sketch and push the negative shapes by using only those black areas to define the form. Artists like Chris Samnee are masters at doing this and it’s a skill I’d like to practice more often.

The whole thing took about 40 minutes noodling away on my Cintiq.

It’s Sunday at TCAF and I’m looking kind of ragged here, but I do my best to answer Eva Volin from Good Comics For Kids‘ “5 Comic Questions”.

5 Questions at TCAF:

Here are some of the monster doodles I sketched for people at this year’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

Click on any of them for a larger version:

TCAF was amazing! Thank you to everyone who stopped by to purchase books and let us know how much they enjoy Skullkickers. Working on a creator-owned project like this is a constant roller coaster of excitement and fear as you release each issue and hope that the reading audience digs in on what you’ve created. Getting your vote of confidence in person means a lot to everyone on the creative team.

Thank you!

I’ll be exhibiting at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival this weekend, selling copies of Skullkickers and a lot of other books, sketchbooks and mini-comics.

TCAF is a FREE event in downtown Toronto with tons of amazing creators displaying their work. The show has a great atmosphere for comic lovers of any age and any style. If you live in the area you should come downtown and check it out.

My set up will be at table 212 in the 2nd floor Salon section.

Blog-style confessional coming up.

Dear Stacy, love of my life: I was wrong about Twitter.

When Stacy first showed me Twitter and the internet-o-blogosphere jumped on board this little update technology I was firmly in the “What good is this crap?” category. All I could see of it was people spamming the world at large with prattling thoughts, blurry photos of food and the consistency of their bowel movements. I couldn’t imagine the trend sticking around. I definitely couldn’t see myself using it in the slightest. I mocked the very idea of it as some textspeak-laden ADD cult.

When Skullkickers was set to launch in September the Image Comics folks suggested that I join Twitter to help inform and excite potential readers. Given the amount of work I’d put into the book, I was willing to do just about anything to help its chances, so on Twitter I went.

Since then, I must admit, it’s been a great way to connect with the comic community – readers, retailers, professionals and fans. At the same time it’s also given a real sense of immediacy to communication with people I’ve wanted to get to know better.

Every Tuesday (the day before New Comic Day) there’s an extensive discussion on #comicmarket about the state of the industry: what’s selling and why, marketing suggestions, outreach, opinions and rants. It’s a vibrant mix of thoughts from retailers, pros and publishers that’s been fascinating to read and invigorating to take part in. I’ve been able to reach a whole new segment of retailers and have set up signing events thanks to its influence. The same goes for reviewers and interviews. Skullkickers would not have been covered by USA Today and a host of other sites without the help of Twitter. It’s been an invaluable way to communicate with people about the hard work we’ve put into the book and a way for them to react to the work as they read it.

In a social way, it’s kept me connected to friends and worked well to set up quick meet-ups without having to dig through Facebook’s increasingly bloated/obtuse interface. No game invites, minimal spam and a singular purpose – communication in the moment.

Twitter’s also been a valuable tool for plugging into a broader world. Little tweeted concepts turn into full blown discussions; Issues and thoughts about the world move through a sea of people as they experience it in real time. I’ve learned more about news, politics and the people around me through Twitter than any other blog platform/social network/instant messaging/you name it.

Although Stacy’s occasionally jabbed me a bit about my adoption of Twitter, she’s been excessively classy considering the venom I gave it early on. She’s a lady of class and poise, so her surreptitiously raised eyebrow or knowing smirk is just as valid a judgment.

I was wrong, my love. I admit it. You can stop smiling at me about it now. 😛