2011 in review

Me at SPX

So 2011 was an awesome year in comics for me! I went to three new shows-- SPACE, Baltimore Comicon, and the DC Zinefest--and drew two new issues of Gay Kid and of Suggestion Box. I also spoke at the Radical Book Pavilion at the Baltimore Book Fest, which was a lot of fun. In the future I'm going to try and hit up more zinefests; the atmosphere is really laid back and friendly, there's a lot of alternative and queer stuff out there, and it's a different market than comic book people. I doubt I'll go to SPACE again, as it was a lot of travel for not a big show. I'm glad I went to the Bmore Comicon, but don't feel any huge need to go back; it wasn't a great place for a real small-press, indie cartoonist. I wanted to go to PIX again, but didn't have that weekend free. 2012, though, I want to go back!

Goodbye!

My weekly at TheNewGay, Office Bitch, stopped right before the site shut down. I was getting a little tired of the other work coming out of the site and they were in a death-spiral anyways, so I still feel like that was the right decision to make. Working on the 30 Characters in 30 Days challenge was a great inspiration to me, and I'm going to start a weekly comic based off of the New Masada/Rebel States characters. If it seems like I've been quiet on the blog front for a while, some of that is due to the brainstorming going into this comic. I don't want to just jump into it willy-nilly, and I've never done any fiction writing before, so it may be that I'm being especially cautious about it. Who knows. But stay tuned; that comic should be up and running come February!

Chloe, a character from the 30 days challenge, and the upcoming New Masada storyline

Also, in February, I'll have an entry in the next issue of Magic Bullet (wow, check out this super out of date site!), the free comic newspaper put out by the DC Conspiracy. I've never done anything with them before, and am looking forward to this opportunity to get my work out there!

So, that about does it. It was a super year, and I hope 2012 is even better! Does anyone have any advice for shows I should hit up?

30 Character Challenge: Day 28, 29 and 30

Name: Antoine Omar
Age: 19
Height: 6'1
Weight: 165 lbs
Location: Paris
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown

Bio: Antoine's family moved to Paris from Algeria when he was four years old. He never quite fit in as a child, but when the underground house genre called Tecktonic hit the clubs, Antoine broke out of his shell and busted some serious moves. He is now a famous club promoter from Miami to Ibiza, but still calls Paris home and lives with his parents. Thankfully, he was able to buy an upgrade from their one-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of town and get a four-bedroom condo overlooking Notre Dame cathedral.

Name: Sasha Montegna
Title: Sargent in the NMPD (New Masada Police Department)
Age: 26
Height: 5'10
Weight: 160 lbs
Location: New Masada
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue

Bio: Sasha was recruited to the New Masada police force straight out of high school. She has always been a very patriotic person and is honored to serve her country in this capacity. After the Uprising of 2013, she was moved out of the Capitol, Canaan, to Bethsade, the town where the insurrection began. Her dedication to the Administration and ruthless enforcement of it's laws make her a prime target of the Rebel States.

Name: Tanya Grandstaff
Title: one of the leaders of the Uprising of 2013
Age: 49 at time of death
Height: 5'6
Weight: 145 lbs
Location: was in New Masada
Hair: Dark brown
Eyes: Blue

Bio: Tanya is the mother to Chloe, the Assassin, and Xavier, Garrison of New Masada. She was one of the leaders of the Uprising of 2013, leading the rebels in many battles with the Administration. One day when she came home, her husband was waiting for her. He was with two other Garrisons, who escorted her out of the house and into the awaiting police van. She was brought to the Defense Building, where she had a hasty show trial and was executed. Her battle, and that of the other rebels, lives on. They are banding back together and growing a grassroots movement called the Rebel States. Tanya would be very proud of her daughter Chloe, who has taken up the flag of the Rebel States and is working to make her mother's dream a reality.

*          *          *

Oh my God, can you believe it? We're at the end! The final curtain, the last hurrah! I've had a lot of fun working on these characters. I would love to work on a storyline for some of them, especially the ones from New Masada. This has been a great creative experience and a really worthwhile venture. Thanks for reading these posts!

30 Character Challenge: Day 18

Name: Damien Jackson
Title: New Masada
Age: 62
Height: 6'0
Weight: 170 lbs
Location: New Masada
Hair: Grey
Eyes: Black

Bio: Damien is kind of a fixture around Bethsade. He's a veteran who's living comfortably enough of a pension from his time in the army. Not one to like being by himself, he usually leaves his apartment early in the morning and wanders around town, chatting up anyone who will listen and helping neighbors out with different odd-jobs. He's a pretty handy guy, and since he never charges for his services, everyone appreciates the help. The only real problem he has is that he's still struggling with his PTSD and sometimes has flashbacks, bringing him back to the old wars New Masada fought when it was just starting to come to power.

He's aware of the Rebel States, but somewhat wary of what they'll bring about. The last thing he wants is to be in the middle of another war.

30 Character Challenge: Day 16 and 17

Name: Solar Flare
Real Name: Chandra Rollins
Age: 26

Height: 5’4
Weight: 140 lbs
Location: USA
Hair: Brown

Eyes: Red

Bio: Solar Flare is an awesome super hero. She received the power to harness the sun's energy into rays that shoot from her hands. How did she get that power? Well kids, when your parents tell you to never look directly at the sun, EVEN IN A SOLAR ECLIPSE, just follow their directions. Little Chandra Rollins decided that it would be a great time to just look at it without any eye protection, and when she woke up, she was in the ICU, smoking and smelling like a ham. It took years for her to figure out how to focus and keep her heat from flaring up. Now, she has her own strength so well contained that she can bring all her heat to her hands, and shoot them out in crippling rays.

Name: Xavier Grandstaff
Title: Garrison of New Masada
Age: 51
Height: 6'0
Weight: 180 lbs
Location: New Masada
Hair: Ginger
Eyes: Hazel

Bio: Xavier is a Garrison for New Masada, and the father of Chloe, the Assassin. He frequently has to travel from their home in Bethsade to Canaan for business in the Capitol. Ever since the Uprising of 2013, things have been rocky at home with his daughter, so he really appreciates these trips out of town. He's working to move there and become a power player in the New Masada government.

30 Character Challenge: Day 14

Name: Claire
Position: Messenger for the Rebel States
Age: 21

Height: 5’3
Weight: 120 lbs
Location: the Rebel States
Hair: Blond

Eyes:Blue

Bio: Claire and her old beat up Carrier bicycle play a vital role for the Rebel States. She is part-spy, part-messenger, part command center. She helps Pravda get out the GOB newspaper, and makes sure that everyone in the Rebel States is taken care of with her frequent house visits.

30 Character Challenge: Day 7 and 8

Two New Characters in the Rebel States

Name: Pravda
Position: Printmaker for the Rebel States
Age: 42 

Height: 5’5
Weight: 160 lbs
Location: the Rebel States
Hair: Brown

Eyes: Green

Bio: Pravda has been a printmaker all her life, but used to work for the New Masada National Paper to pay the bills. After the Uprising of 2013, she aligned herself with the Rebel States and found her niche: creating print material for the Rebel States. Since all electronic communication is closely monitored by New Masada, the Rebel States have turned back to newspapers and fliers to disseminate information. The formal paper of the Rebel States is called the GOB, standing for the "Grey, Orange and Black," the tricolor flag of the Rebel States.

Name: Christof

Position: Supporter of the Rebel States
Age:27

Height: 6'0

Weight: 180 lbs
Location: the Rebel States
Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Bio: Tired of living under the oppressive government of New Masada, Christof is a recent recruit to the Rebel States. He had friends who were tangentially related to the Uprising and thrown in jail, but Christof wasn't surprised; people from his side of the tracks were always being tossed in the slammer. Once the food started running low, however, he started taking notice to the institutional change of pace. He started listening more to what was going on in the underground, and caught wind of the Rebel States. Now, he a community organizer of sort, and an expert hatchet thrower when necessary.

30 Character Challenge: Day 2

 

Name: Carter

Position: Counter Intelligence for New Masada
Age: 33

Height: 6'1

Weight: 180 lbs
Location:Canaan, the capitol of New Masada

Hair: Brown
Eyes: Hazel

Bio: An agent of the state, Carter's duty is to take out The Assassin. Only he doesn't know it yet. The power elite of Canaan are noticing a lack of good information coming through from their contacts in the Rebel States, and have sent Carter to investigate. Their spies seem to be just dropping like flies...

Glad to have an opportunity to leave his desk job behind, Carter is taking full advantage of his time outside Canaan. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty working his way into the hearts of the people and the alleyways of the Rebel States.

                                                                  

I wrote Carter, figuring every good Assassin needs a nemesis! 

30 Character Challenge: Day 1

So, clearly, I'm having some issues getting my mind together enough to work on any sort of long-term comics. Thankfully, I just found out about this sweet 30 Characters/30 Days challenge. I wasn't able to register for it on time, but decided I'm going to participate anyways. The gauntlet is just that: create 30 new characters in 30 days, one for each day in November. I'm going to post them all here, one a day.

I've been thinking of working on a super hero or otherwise more creative storyline, and I think this will really help me brainstorm for it. Yay, you get to watch me brainstorm!

Ok, first up!

Can you tell I just finished reading The Hunger Games?

Name: Chloe
Title: The Assassin
Age: 22
Height: 5’4
Weight: 140 lbs
Location: the Rebel States
Hair: Ginger
Eyes: Brown

Bio: The Rebel States is a nation within a nation. Since the Uprising of 2013, the government of New Masada imposed harsher sanctions on its citizens, 1984-style. Most of the leaders of the Uprising were executed, but those who escaped the government and the families of the dead banded together to form the Rebel States. Part black market, part social services, and part para-military, the shadow government of the Rebel States protect the citizens of New Masada.

Chloe's stake in this battle is her family. Her mother was a leader of the Uprising and was turned in by her father, a Garrison for New Masada, and executed. Like most young adults in this economically depressed country, Chloe lives at home with her father. "You know the saying: keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Like, in the bedroom next to you," she explains. Chloe is now in the employ of the Rebel States, taking out snitches, narcs, informants, and anyone else who threatens to end the people’s last hope. Living with a Garrison has its advantages; most of her targets are topics of conversation around the dinner table.