Just got my comp copies of the Heroes of the North omnibus published by Ardden Entertainment. I lettered all the stories, and coloured two (Q & A with Alpha Q, and Hornet: Dark Origins. I was still using KT Smith at the time. All the comic art, except for some of the covers, is done by Marcus “MAS” Smith). Heroes of the North is a live-action webseries and comic book series done by#mce_temp_url# Movie Seals Entertainment out of Montreal. Rather than sit around and complain that there aren’t any tv shows or comic books with Canadian superheroes or villains, they decided to make their own. They’ve done it on their own money, and on their own time (while all working full-time jobs!). Last year, they were notified that copies of the comic book would be put into Canada’s National Library Archives.
The comics were originally published online, with the idea that they would have short print-runs, mostly to be sold at cons. But, Ardden Entertainment saw the booth at a comic convention in the States (maybe Megacon?) and negotiated a deal to sell the HoTN figures and to publish a collection of the comic stories.
Because the stories were to be seen online, I was asked to letter them a little larger than usual—it was a bit of a shock to see them in print! A couple of them are HUGE! But, all in all, I think they look good…(although I will probably size them down a little for future stories).
And…because of this interest, because the website is doing so well, and the live-action webseries is doing so well, Movie Seals has decided to do more comics. I’m currently colouring and lettering two new 12-page stories (art by The Northern Guard artist David J. Cutler and Undertow artist Gibson Quarter respectively), Ty the Guy is finishing up the script for a 12 pager (to be drawn by Pitt artist Richard Pace), and there are more to come…
Omnibus cover by Marcus “MAS” Smith.
Ty has been determined that he put up a Bun Toon every Saturday without fail (even recycling some of his convention-centric ones for last weekend), but this week, for the first in a year and a half, he’s decided he’s too sick, and too tired.
I figured it was a good time to recycle one of my own:
The Honest-to-God True Life Adventures of The Freelancer’s Wife
FAN EXPO CANADA 2011 FRIDAY!!
Fan Expo Canada 2011 in Toronto, Canada. Hours are 10am-8pm today. (Gonna be a looooong day. There will be cranky artists by the end of it).
I will be sitting at PO57B in between David J. Cutler and Ty Templeton (It’s The Northern Guard team! Jason Edmiston will be just a couple of seats up from us, too). Still not sure what we’ll have with us, but Ty will be doing sketches and sign comics, and we’ll be selling prints and pages.
Toronto Cartoonists Workshop is in Booth 125 (Along the back wall to the right of the Food Area). Creators from Holmes Incorporated #2will be there all weekend to sign copies of the book, to do sketches or answer questions about their creative process, about the Fit to Print class…
Heroes of the North, the Canadian superheroes webseries/comic book series will be there in Booth 211. They will be running a Meet and Greet in Room 713, at 4:30pm.
Tights and Fights, the guys behind the Canadian superheroes webseries, will be in Booth 1000.
No workshops today—both Ty and I should primarily be at our own tables (although I might end up at Tights and Fights at some point).
FANEXPO CANADA 2011 THURSDAY!!
today is the first official day of Fan Expo Canada 2011 in Toronto, Canada.
I will be sitting at PO57B in between David J. Cutler and Ty Templeton (It’s The Northern Guard team! Jason Edmiston will be just a couple of seats up from us, too). Still not sure what we’ll have with us, but Ty will be doing sketches and sign comics, and we’ll be selling prints and pages.
Toronto Cartoonists Workshop will have a booth in the Lobby Area by the escalators leading to the show floors. Creators from Holmes Incorporated #2 will be there all weekend to sign copies of the book, to do sketches or answer questions about their creative process, about the Fit to Print class…
Heroes of the North, the Canadian superheroes webseries/comic book series will be there in Booth 211.
Tights and Fights, the guys behind the Canadian superheroes webseries, will be in Booth 1000.
Ty will be running a workshop, Make Your Own Comic: Assembling Holmes Incorporated, 5-6pm Room 717.
The show runs 4-9pm today…
Three of my kids at a past FanExpo Canada…and a quick write-up of FanExpo Canada 2011 which starts tomorrow.
(the costumes were put together the night before…the kids asked me late afternoon if I would please make them costumes. I forget why we had the pink wig already in the house—but it was fortuitous. I figured out how to do the boys’ headbands, but my older son’s girlfriend had to do them in the van while I was driving to the con.)
A pinup I coloured for the Holmes Inc. website promoting the upcoming second issue of the comic. Done for Toronto Cartoonists Workshop, Fit to Print class…four months of working together with an industry professional (this time out, Ty Templeton) to create a comic book from start to finish, simulating the “real world” of comics publishing.
The pinup is drawn by Daniel Wong—whose art has to be seen to be believed. When he first pulled out his portfolio to show his art (part of the process was for the artists to show off their ability to do sequential work, giving the editor and asst. editor a chance to see what their styles are like so as to know what writer/story to pair them with. It also gave the writers a chance to see what artists to jockey for…), people thought he’d “copied” someone else’s art. I actually had a confused moment where I thought he was keeping posters and pinups in his portfolio along with his art. Everyone—editors included—were flabbergasted to discover, nope, this is just what comes out of Daniel Wong’s hands! This will be his first professionally published gig (?)—but it certainly won’t be his last…
And, I’m clearly getting “spoiled”—I’m off to colour a cover pencilled and inked by the one and only Leonard Kirk.
For those in the GTA, Ontario Canada, Fan Appreciation Toronto ComiCon Event is on this Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free at the Toronto Convention Centre. Click on the pic for a link with info.
I will be there with fellow Northern Guard creators, Ty Templeton, David J. Cutler (who will have a new print of Spider-Man and the Sinister Six for sale), Jason Edmiston (who will have some of the prints you can find on his Deviant Art site including my favourite Hibernation which is on my wall).
NORTHERN GUARD #1, from Moonstone Books, is in Comic Book Stores today! My first professional colouring gig…(I lettered it as well…but that I’ve done before).
and Marvel Comics, Strange Tales II #3, with a 4pager by Ty Templeton and Harvey Pekar, lettered by moi.
Ty’s computer broke…then his scanner…and he has too many deadlines to meet RIGHT THE HELL NOW that he couldn’t even contemplate doing his usual Saturday Morning Bun Toon. So, he asked me to do one…and I did. All about the secret glamour and joy of being the Wife-Like Person of a Freelance Comic Book Professional. Don’t envy me too much…
