Skate Fate

            If it weren’t for the power of the warranty, I would be in the midst of a very expensive habit.

            As some of you may already know, in-line skating is a major escape for me. When I blade, it takes hours upon hours, miles upon miles. It feels great before, during, and after the journey is complete. Unfortunately, my skates can’t handle it.

            Yesterday, I received my third pair of skates in under a year. The first pair was paid for, while the second and third was exchanged due to manufacturer defect. The first defect involved the wheels splitting down the seams. The second pair of skates had the same problem, but instead of replacing the entire skates, the wheels were switched out initially. Later on, though, I had to bring the skates in because half of a front axel had fallen off. They found a replacement part, fixing the problem. Then, they noticed that the boot portion had torn from the skate. Hence, the second exchange under manufacturers defect.

            It is not my intent to disrespect the company that makes the skates I am using. K2’s are the most comfortable, smooth riding skates I have ever used. Theoretically, a less fanatical skater would find the K2’s to be everything they want. Me? The guy at the repair shop summed it up:

            “We should cut some aluminum around your foot and add wheels. That will probably keep you from burning through your skates before the end of summer.”

(BTW: The picture above was taken during a trip to Geneva, MN for Project: Earth. It was edited to emphasize the most dramatic, narrative portions, and describe the overall feel of the event.)

Barely There, Again and Again.

            You know how before, I was alluding to a secret project? Well, it is finished. At least, the first step of the first step is completed.

            Act One of Barely There and Back Again is written. It is going through the steps of being edited, and layouts will soon be polished off, meaning that fully finished pages are right around the corner.

            For anyone unfamiliar with Barely There, it is the comic strip that haunted me throughout college. It was in the college paper, and showed me just how hard it is to be a syndicated cartoonist. BTBA is different from that, however. BTBA stars all the characters from BT, as well as some new ones. It will contain jokes, but will mostly be a journey for Mike. It is the comedy adventure I would like to read. And it will be long.

            In terms of display, each page will be displayed here. I haven’t decided whether I will post a page-a-day, post a group of pages a week, or just post it all at once. If anyone has any suggestions, please share. The first page, however, won’t hit the site for another week at least.

Until then, here is another old illustration from the same period. It is a single, colored panel from the other comic I created during that time. So...Enjoy!

            

A Comic Survey

         Having thought about this for a while, it is my decision to update this at least once a week. From my standpoint, once a week still grants a self-imposed deadline while not interrupting my general creative work.

         With that said, this week is going to be a cop-out of sorts. I’ll be going to help my brother out at camp for the next few days, and I found the following survey while browsing my favorite sites, which eventually lead me to back-link to the original survey. So…enjoy this window into my creative psyche.

 

PART ONE: COMICS PERSONALITY TYPE

 

Name: Mark Elton

 

 

Age: 24

 

 

Sign: Cancer

 

 

Introverted or extroverted?

         Both. During the winter, I am generally more intro. Summer, extro. Overall, it really depends on my mood.

 

What are your top 5 procrastination tools?

1. Research

2. Internet

3. Napping

4. Movies

5. Cleaning (seriously)

 

What gets your juices flowing?

         In order for me to get inspired, there generally needs to be incredibly good art, activity, or some combination of the two.

 

PART TWO: COMICS CONSUMER

 

What kind of comics do you like to read?

         I read most comics, but predominately find more enjoyment within the works of independent creators.

 

What kind of comics do you dislike?

         Superhero books featuring major tier characters (Batman, Spiderman, Superman, etc.) are snorefully dull. Comic books that feature a combination of those major tier heroes are the paramount of stagnating prose.

 

When were you first introduced to comics?

         The Sunday comic strips were present at an early age, but comics go all the way back to third grade, where a classmate passed me a copy of a Pizza-Hut promotional X-Men comic. After that, I would pick up random single issues of various books at gas stations during family vacations that would usually occur over the holidays. The event that pushed me into inescapable fandom, however, was when I received an entire long box filled with an assorted collection of comics, ranging from Avengers to X-Men, Ewoks to Heathcliff.

 

 

What were some of your first comics?

         The first comics that really hooked me were X-Men, probably because of the cartoon that was airing around that period of my youth.

 

 

When did you first get "The spark"?

         I’ve always enjoyed drawing. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting at a café table, asking my mom to draw me dinosaurs, and then trying as hard as possible to imitate the drawing. As years passed, notebook after notebook would be filled with TMNT, X-Men, and various Disney characters. When I realized that people could get paid to draw these characters, I was hooked into reading whatever comic strip or book I could get my hands on, including a foreign collection of Donald Duck in a language I could barely read.

 

What is your favorite animated movie?

         My favorite animated film is actually Fantasia. Every new musical segment presents a fresh animated film. It could possibly be considered as the first animated anthology.

 

What is your favorite anime series?

         I don’t watch much anime. There was a period during my sophomore year in college that included an embarrassingly dedicated addiction to Naruto. Thankfully it was only a phase. Now, however, Futurama never seems to get old, regardless of how many times the episodes are watched, and Venture Bros. is utter genius!

 

PART THREE: COMICS CREATOR

 

What kind of comics do you make?

         My work is best described as an amalgamation of action-adventure stories and philosophical discourse.

 

When did you first start making comics?

         In early high school, the first pathetic seeds of comic-strippery developed. As a freshman in college, the first full-page, full-color creation was made. Sophomore year brought the first multi-page story, while junior year introduced the serious study of page-layout and character design. Finally, senior year was the cherry, where I had the opportunity to draw a weekly comic strip for the college paper and a monthly, multi-page serial for the gaming club newsletter.

 

What are your favorite comic artists right now?

         My fave artists at the moment include Bryan Lee O’Malley, Skottie Young, Darwyn Cooke, Dan Hipp, Mike Mignola, Masashi Kishimoto, and the ever-lovin’, immortal work of Jack “King” Kirby.

 

What are your main influences in comics?

         Jeff Smith’s Bone is an epic size story with Disney-like sensibilities. Mike Mignola’s blend of gothic horror and traditional folklore displayed in his distinctly dark, noir-nouveau style encapsulates the balance of art to story relativity that I strive to achieve. Kirby has an immense divinity on the page; one of the few artists that can actually capture a massive, celestial scene within paper borders.

         Given that comics is probably fifty-percent art, maybe more attention should be given to writing. Grant Morrison is a creative genius within the fences of mainstream work (Seven Soldiers of Victory, All-Star Superman), and an utter savant within the free-ranges of independent books (The Invisibles, We3). Alan Moore, writer of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, stunned me with the brilliance of Black Dossier. Seeing him seamlessly sew the common comic book format with retro pulp prose opens doors to the future possibilities that comics can contain. And, of course, Neil Gaiman, though not nearly as out-there as the two previous poets, has a way with words that harkens back to Shakespeare. He’s tomorrow’s bard in today’s books.

On an international stage, Moebius has a tounge-in-cheek, cross-genre fantasy leaning that is missing very little, if anything. I have probably read Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 at least ten times in the past two years. O’Malley’s story is completely relatable while still being utterly fantastic. Finally, Osama Tezuka, the Manga-God, is an inspiration because of his mature stories hidden within Disney influenced art.

 

Artistically?

         I really feel like this is the third time this question has been asked, so let’s shake it up a bit. The art of Alphonse Mucha and Norman Rockwell really jazzes me in the traditional sense.  Masashi Kishimoto’s line is realistic without losing any stylistic leanings. Darwyn Cooke’s page layout is reminiscent of the best in cinematography.

 

Who do you admire in comics?

         The guys at Penny Arcade have captured the future in terms of entertainment marketing. Their business model is a sterling example of the future of capitalism - a digital economy.

 

I Took A Brief Hiatus...

           …and now I’m back!

            Last Tuesday was my birthday. Celebration of said birthday consisted of floating down the Ottertail River with some friends, eating BBQ chicken pizza, playing Apples to Apples, and watching a movie, all in that order.

            Wednesday was spent having lunch and cake with family during the mid-day, and Chumley’s Trivia in the evening. PS. WE WON! This is our second time in a year. WE’RE ON A ROLL.

            On Thursday, my internal clock woke me at 5am for no apparent reason. After showering and dressing, I picked up my paycheck and reclaimed my forgotten X-Drive. The eve was spent teasing my mono-infested roommate. Poor guy.

            And now for the important news!  The seeds of commissions past have begun to sprout and flower. Two more works are, well…in the works. Pictured below is a joint test for one of the commissions as well as the “secret” future project.

Also, the roommate issue may be coming to a solution. No details yet, but lets hope for the best, aye?

            I hope you are all having a nice day!

Freedom Freedom Freedom, Oy!

I just received a haircut. As most barbershops or hair salons are apparently closed on July 4^th, it was required for me to drive out to West Acres. Given my annoyance with the length of my hair, it was a relatively small price to pay. However, while there, it came to my attention that the mall may be one of the saddest places to be on the Fourth of July.

            On a typical day, the mall will be crowded, shoulder-to-shoulder, with people rushing to feed the beast of capitalism. Today, however, they are appropriately free from such responsibilities. Practically no one occupied the mall today. There were more people working behind the counters than there were people actually shopping. The woman cutting my hair was especially saddened to be working on the fourth.

            Wandering the lone catacombs of West Acres, I find myself in Software Etc., lost amongst the walls of next-gen consoles, MMORPG’s, and advanced strategy guides.

            “Can I help you find anything?” asked the cashier.

            I wasn’t looking for any merchandise, but apparently conversation was needed. We started a discussion on the pros and cons of the Wii, the best VG’s out there, and the generals of Nintendo’s current business model. It was a nice convo, which ended when a small family came to the till to purchase a new game.

            In other news, Michael Turner died a few days ago. For those of you unfamiliar with his work, I suggest you hit the link. He was a phenomenal artist who rose to appropriate fame quickly and died too soon.

 

Happy Independence Day, all!

Summer Sparrow

Today, I present you the second of my Bird Season portraits, entitled Summer Sparrow.

            Summer is equivalent to the young adulthood of the seasons, the period where people are journeying from youth to find their purpose in life. To represent the journey, the sparrow was chosen for its migratory practices.

The death and rebirth of winter and spring will follow soon. 

(Barely) There and Back Again!

            HALLO, ALL! I just returned from an incredibly enjoyable road-trip with friends. Hopefully tomorrow I will be in the right mindset to tell the story in full format. For now, a turret of current events shot to you at the speed of “read”:

 

            GOOD NEWS:

-Just discovered the greatness of Kupek (aka Bryan Lee O’Malley). He’s great, so check him out.

-Reconnected with one of my best high school friends after an approximate four-year hiatus.

            NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS:

-One of my roommates is moving out, leaving the remaining roommate and me to possibly search for another. Any takers?

-Lost countless rounds of the movie game, reducing my film savant-hood to a mere film aficionado.

            GREAT NEWS:

-I have been working hard on a project. Not enough has been completed to make any definite reveals (BLATENT CLUE: The title to this post is dual in its nature.), but it consists of returning to an old project that seemed to garner some acclaim on it’s own. Overall, I am quite pleased with what exists.

 

            And with that, I bid my adieu. Y’all have a great day and enjoy this small, random illustration.