Spook Wars

Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:41:00 +0000

For those that care about such things --- I've recently updated my personal website with a whole slew of things as it hasn't been updated in many months heh.

I've also added 2 new sections to it under Comics... Lettering and Colouring. I've been attempting to my own lettering for the past year or so now and I've also begun getting work doing colours for other artists. So, I figured it's about time I get those areas up there.

So check it out, here.

Oh yeah, and here's some art!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Some artworks to show off as well... Haven't been so good at keeping on top of the posting. ;)

A page from an ogn...

Some Mister Foe thingy...

And some make-up Criterion dvd covers I did for a thread on the Bendis board one week...

Small update

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Well, I heard back about some of my other things but I still can't really share anything heh. One thing I can tell you is it certainly won't be till next year. Which is gonna be really, really weird for me. I'm finding it hard accustoming myself to this whole idea of doing work and then nothing happening with it for months and months heh.

But anyway, I just finished another submission as a colourist over Rahsan Ekedal's work again.

And work is still progressing on some other projects so stay tuned.

In Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Not much news to share yet, still waiting on word from many peoples.

But-- how about some in progress shots of an ogn I'm working on.

This is for a crime book I'm just starting. And in case you couldn't tell I'm kinda juggling 2 or 3 projects at once here.

Also, starting to change up my process and how I do things. I'll explain more in detail some other time once some work is accomplished.

New Project - Leviathan

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 04:53:00 +0000

So... received an email asking how I felt about doing some colours for a submission. This is the second time this has happened now in the past couple of months. I guess there's a few gritty, textur-y comic projects makin the rounds. SDCC is this week naturally and they wanted it by today.

Lo and behold they got it today. After 3 days and sleep deprived nights, 5 pages and a cover done and done.

Here, have a looksee...

Leviathan by Nick Spencer (Writer), Rahsan Ekedal (Artist), Me (Colourist), Thomas Mauer (Letters) and Tim Daniel (Design).

Behind Closed Doors

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:29:00 +0000

Here's a short story I finished recently.

I can barely remember where it actually came from now... I think the actual script is well over 3 - 4 years old. It was going to be for a friend's anthology book that was basically based on his own book, Frequency. Sadly, the book never really got very far. Scripts were written but not much art was ever completed. I even tried my hand at writing and drawing my own story. I think I only have a page or two left to complete come to think of it. (Draw that is.) So maybe some day I'll finish that one too.

But really, I've got lots and lots of scripts here from writers all over the world. Most of them are writers I'm still in touch with and people I consider friends. And I should point out no one's really asked for these stories to be done. I just kinda felt like doing them. Help the ol' portfolio out too. And my sanity. I can only work on the same thing for so long before I feel like I'm losing my patience. Expect more sometime soon methinks.

Grinning White Teeth by Mike Black

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:16:00 +0000

One more post about my friend Mike Black's first novel, Grinning White Teeth. It is now available for sale and should be soon on Amazon and the like.

You can find it here.

I've already read some snippets of his next novel and I find it even better than the first. Read more about Mike here.

Published

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:36:00 +0000

After what feels like an eternity I'm happy to announce that my first published work will soon be coming out. It's going to be a short story in an anthology collection chock full of creators and of course, comics. (More will be said once I know dates etc.)

But that's not all... I've also recently completed a cover for my friend Mike Black's first novel. It's called Grinning White Teeth and from what I hear he's already started on the second novel as well. Hell, here's a snapshot.

Lots of work on the go, not enough time to do it. So let's see....

I might be colouring another artist's work for the first time. I've already done a trial run but we'll see how it turns out. From what I hear the actual work may not commence until later in the year though.

I've been asked to design a website for a business....

The art book is still on the go but it's slow goin... I think I want to include some more work in it so I'm waiting until I build up that proper material.

I've got one more page to go on a short story by Steven Menszer (him again!) that I'm hoping to complete in the next week or two. And then another short after that by Mike Black that's pretty damn cool.

And then if all goes well, the next pitch to publishers begins with Mister Foe. So pumped for that working with my man, Raph.

I don't think I left anything out... Will try and update more with some progress shots.

Here, one last illo... a quickie Mister Foe piece.

Cheap Vodka

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Thu, 07 May 2009 00:05:00 +0000

Just wanted to make a quick post to let you all know what I've been working on. I've decided to take a short break to try and complete my art book, Cheap Vodka. It's something that a few people have been waiting for and really, it feels like it's time to try and get it out there. I wouldn't mind finishing it for my Mom's birthday as well but I think that's gonna be tricky. Heh.

So yeah, if you don't see me for a while chances are I'm busy at work on it. I'll be sure to post some previews or snippets when we get closer to completion date. And just so you know, it will also be the first publication from EnemyOne. I'm hoping to have some more titles to announce in the future including what may or may not be an online magazine with a print edition made available. Only time will tell.

Boba Fett

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Finally managed to finish this sucker.

Cold - Short story

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:50:00 +0000

Here's another small short story.

Written by Steven Menszer, everything else by me. I tried a couple of new things on these pages that I've never done before including trying to tackle a lot of lettering heh. Thanks Steven!

Artworks

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:26:00 +0000

Have a look at a very small sampling of a short story I'm working on currently. (Just working on the last page now.) It's another story written by Steven Menszer. A story that I actually started drawing years ago but never got around to finishing. Well, this time it'll be finished. (Started fresh, mind you.)

Also, here's a pic I did for the Bendis Board again. This week's theme was Sandman and its characters. I chose Morpheus. Kinda basic pic but eh.... so little time.

I'm starting to think more about the art book lately. And possibly doing a Zuda submission. Art book is about halfway to completion. It's very hard trying to summarize everything into one cohesive book. I know there's a few of you out there that have been waiting a few years for it. And really, it feels like it's time. I can feel a sort of change occurring within myself. So I think I'd rather just shut the door on that era of my life.

Noticed that there's a con in Toronto this weekend. And Bill "the fuckin man" Sienkiewicz is gonna be there. I really wish I could go, bring some pages and let him tear me a new one. I really just want to talk with him and pick his brain.

And back to the Zuda submission -- fans of my Engine stuff will probably get a kick out of it. It seems to be headed down a similar road. Even though Adam and I never really ended up doing anything with Engine heh. Some day. I think the book was too big for the two of us. We're still too green to try and pull off some epic thing of a story.

Think it might be time to start a process post again. Something more in depth. Everyone seems to be a process junkie lately. I think there was even a thread on the Bendis Board a couple weeks back. And I know Robot 6 posts a thing every day or so now too. Anyone out there have an interest in that sort of thing? Something they wanna see?

Short stories

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:00:00 +0000

I'm going to slowly start doing some short stories I think. I have no idea how many or what kind of frequency but I figure what the hell, I have tons of stories around here from a ton of writers. I'm sure they'd like to see them finished. Heh.

Besides it gives me the chance to do things... differently. I like to experiment and try out new things, new styles, new colouring choices, layouts, etc. Otherwise I'm just bored really. Hence why you haven't seen much of me on here lately.

Time to shake things up a bit.

Inspiration #2

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:35:00 +0000

So it's time for another segment of Inspiration. A quick little note on an artist out there that has had an effect on me and the way I approach art.

This time it's newcomer Jonathan Hickman. He's the talent behind The Nightly News, Pax Romana, Red Mass for Mars, Transhuman, etc. (The first two he both wrote, did the art chores and lettered all by himself.) Unfortunately nowadays he seems to be focusing more on the writing side as he's done a number of smaller Marvel projects as well as Secret Warriors and soon Fantastic Four.

So why don't we begin with the image that started it all. The cover to Nightly News #1.

I saw this in Previews back when I actually bought Previews and I just didn't know what to make of it. It's not your typical comic book cover. It just looks different. The logo has a news van for crying out loud and it's called The Nightly News.... ? But there's a guy with guns screaming on it... ? But there was also some weird design shit going on.

So what the hell I ordered it and man, was I in for a shock.

Inside that book lurked some of the most beautiful stuff I had ever seen. And to top it all off, it was everything I had been trying to make into my own comics. I just wasn't sure how the hell to do it. Well, too late, Hickman did it. What we all got was shit like this:

Most creators always tell new creators to learn the rules of comics first before you try to break them. I can understand what they're saying but it's instances like this and Hickman's work that make me appreciate the medium.

Hickman basically said to hell with all that. He (for the most part) didn't use strict panel arrangements or borders. Nor did he use conventional lettering techniques. Sometimes he didn't even bother with backgrounds, he just inserted a ton of design work instead. Hell, even his colouring style was unconventional.

His work doesn't feel like your average comic. He created something unique and new. Which in my opinion is something this medium desperately needs. A breath of fresh air.

He's had his share of misses as well. One of which being that he's had an awful lot of ideas and plans in a such a short period of time. That meant he couldn't do the art chores for Red Mass for Mars or Transhuman. During those two projects though he struggled to release Pax Romana. It was plagued by lateness and so far the trade has still not been released.

I'll admit that Pax Romana was a departure for me. The quality of his work had gone down quite a bit. Gone (to me anyway) were the interesting panel arrangements and design work as well as interesting colour schemes. They were replaced with mostly black and white characters and an interesting watercoloured background art. So all in all it was kind of 50/50. The painterly stuff was really well done but the other stuff not so much. He also used some interesting techniques with maps and other pages to showcase long conversations with characters.

Hickman is definitely a creator to keep an eye on. Although I hope he makes it back to the art side at some point in the near future. He has an eye for such great design and it's obvious that he some really strong ideas for the medium. I look forward to his rumored ongoing from Image Comics titled Plus with great anticipation.

And he's a helluva nice guy! (Not just for liking my work either.)

Existence 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:15:00 +0000

I had the opportunity to enter into a small contest on the Bendis Board for a fellow creator who needed a logo and/or cover treatment for his new book, Existence 2.0. (By Nick Spencer and Ron Salas.)

Sadly, I didn't win but hey, it was fun. The writer described it as crime/Blade Runner type book. Check it out:

Quick Post

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:40:00 +0000

A quick post to let you know I have now moved my official personal site over to adamgeen.com So please update your bookmarks if you had my site saved. Thank you kindly.

May be posting a couple of things soonish but not sure yet.

Adamgeen.com

Took - Act 3

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:19:00 +0000

Just realized I never did post the final Act of Took here. I did on the official Took blog though ;) Sorry about that. So here you go if you still haven't read it.

Inspiration

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:15:00 +0000

So I'm thinking of starting a new series to liven up the ol' blog here. I think I'll call it Inspirations. I have a feeling that while Raphael and I wait to hear word about our Took submission at NY next month, I'm gonna need to start something new. Which also means I won't be able to show much for the next little while.

So I thought what better thing for an artist to post about than where he gets his inspiration from. Today we're going to be looking at:

The great Mike Mignola.

I'm going to be honest for a second here... when I first got into comics, we'll say the early 90s, I did not care for Mignola or Hellboy. Yeah yeah, I know. What was I thinking? Well, I was a kid. A stupid, dumb kid at that. Who was probably all about flash and pretty colours.

It wasn't until hmm... I want to say 5 years ago or so that I gave Hellboy a chance. I picked up a trade or two and that was it. I was done. In it for life. From then on I've devoured everything I can get my hands on... sometimes slower than I like but I do my best to get everything. I actually just recently finished getting caught up with BPRD as I wasn't too keen on that series either. But Guy Davis and crew won me over pretty quick. I think it might have even been the Abe Sapien series, the Ectoplasmic one shots and Lobster Johnson series that kind of pushed it over the edge for me.

What I've always loved about Mike aside from his great trades with extras, unified trade dress and smart business acumen-- is his ability to make everything seem so easy on the page.

I'm an artist, I know what goes into the making of a page. I know how long of a process it can be at times. But goddamn if his art doesn't seem so simple sometimes right?

I'm constantly in awe of how he pulls it off so beautifully. I think what I like most about his work is his use of shadow first off. (Which if you know my work, I'm sure that doesn't surprise you...) But it's the other small things. The extreme close-ups, the inset panels, the moments where he takes you away from the action, talking, to focus on something else, his page layouts, his sense of design and his strong quality of line.

Sometimes I wish he offered some kind of apprenticeship program hahah. But really I'd rather just sit over his shoulder and watch him work. I'd be happy with that.

Funnily enough I tried drawing like Mignola once. It was for a fantasy project by my friend John Schlim. So it seemed like a natural fit. I'm always willing to adjust my style and try new things. In my opinion you're not really evolving as an artist unless you take risks. You don't want to become stagnant. You might even lose fans by doing so. I could name a few artists I've stopped following solely because they've stopped trying new things with their work. I don't know, maybe it's just me... maybe they're happy doing what they do. Who knows?

I digress. Hey, I found these... not sure when or where for that matter. But maybe we can all learn a little from them.... god, I hope so. :)

PS: If there are still some stray readers out there who haven't checked out Mignola and his body of work, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. Please, if you have the funds, try out Hellboy Vol 1 and 2 in trade paperback form and see how you like it. Hell, check out your local library they might even have it! I know mine does.

Things to come?

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 21:03:00 +0000

Now that I'm nearing the finishing stages of the Took submission, I'm trying to decide what's going to come next. (While we wait to hear back that is...)

One idea Raphael (Took writer) and I have been tossing around is doing a more independent-like submission for companies like Top Shelf and Fantagraphics. I'm always willing to branch out into different territories or genres and it's definitely an area that's sparked my interest. I have a feeling I'd probably venture into the more McKean/Mack art side with the submission though as opposed to a Jason Lutes or Daniel Clowes. I'm really undecided at this point. I'd have to wait until I see a script and see what it tells me. *Hint hint, Raph*

I'm also looking to do an all ages book at some point too. Probably something fantasy related all done in Illustrator.

Is that weird to people? That I'm not going to follow the normal aspiring comic book artists? That my sole goal isn't to work at the Big Two?

I dunno. I just want to create. I want to be busy, I want to be interested and I want to get faster.

I've been replying to some work ads on Digital Webbing lately for some jobs. (Lettering and all) But so far no takers. Oh well.

This past year has been hard for me-- shit I won't bother to bore you with. But, if there's one thing it's taught me is to not take things for granted and to eliminate as best as I can all the bullshit. I guess that's technically two things heh. But you know what I mean.

It's helped realize what is important in life. And I'm not going to waste any more time getting there. I've been selling off items around the house, eliminating fake friendships, moving, getting married, having the future talks with the wife, starting a graphic design business, changing jobs after almost 9 years, and so on. It's gotta be about what makes me happy. If you're not happy, do something about it. It'll be tough at first but after a while you'll realize that you've never been happier.

Took- Acts 1 & 2

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 02:19:00 +0000

I present to you 2 Took short stories. Act 1 and 2 with 3 to follow over the next week or so.

Credits:

Words - Raphael Majma
Art and Letters - Me

Took Update

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:50:00 +0000

I know, I know.... those of you who have been following along are probably wondering where the hell this comic of mine called Took is already. Right?

Well, it's coming. The short story we had planned is nearing completion. We're hoping to have all the pages done for the Feb NY Comic-Con so we can present it to anyone who will look at it. Er, I should say Raph will be, as I won't be in NY. Some day.

So yeah, that's where it stands.

We've also been developing an idea of mine that I mentioned quite a while back called Mister Foe. Raph's written the first short story for that already.... so we're hoping to do a couple things at once. I'm also dusting off an old script I've had lying around here for probably over a year now that's been waiting to be worked on. It's another oldie called The Drink written by Chris Moscardi. I've had a few ideas for it lately and it's hard to shake that sort of stuff. AND to top it all off I'm starting a small graphic design-like company with my wife. So lots going on and only so many hours in a day.

Comics!

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:33:00 +0000

I thought it might be nice to share what I'm reading these days.

I seem to go through spurts when it comes to comics. (Typically according to funds mind you but--) Every so often I get the urge to go back in time and find something that I had heard about but never really got around to checking out. Usually it's more of I forgot about it scenario or even I had different tastes back then.

But let's start with the easy stuff first. What are the titles that I just gotta have? Well, looking at the bookshelf....

Walking Dead
Daredevil
Hellboy and BPRD
Fell
Fables
Criminal
Scalped
New Avengers
Wormwood
Captain America

And that's about it really. After that it becomes pretty much creator driven. So books by certain individuals, whether it's a mini, fill-in, whatever.... and those people tend to be:

Ashley Wood
Paul Pope
Bill Sienkiewicz
JH Williams III
Jock
Tim Sale
Alex Maleev
Jae Lee
Brian Wood
Warren Ellis
Travis Charest
John Paul Leon
Jonathan Hickman
Lee Bermejo
Ed Brubaker
Brian Michael Bendis

As you can see there's an awful lot of artists in there. But then again, I am an artist after all so I think that's only natural.

Anyway I read quite a bit more than those listed up above, those are just the givens. Nowadays I buy everything in trade paperback from DCBS. I just don't have the space for issues anymore. They're all in storage anyway or back home at my parent's house heh. I just love the format of a trade and I'm not one to buy things twice.

But I think to generalize most of my purchases come from the Independents out there. ie not Marvel or DC. If you counted older things I was buying well sure, it might be different. But for the most part, it's just a couple fill-in issues every so often that I grab.

Yep, comics. They're good fer ya.

Bendis Board - Art Week

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:27:00 +0000

So last week on the Bendis Board it was draw Hellboy week. I finally managed to complete mine albeit a few days late.

This week it's Boba Fett so I'm starting that one in a couple of mins cuz there's no way in hell I'm gonna pass up that chance heh.

Anyway, make way for big red....

Update

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:42:00 +0000

I thought I'd let everyone know that I posted a pretty big Took update and a look behind the scenes at my process on the Took blog. Be sure to check it out.

http://took-comic.blogspot.com/

Allo

noreply@blogger.com (Adam) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:39:00 +0000

I find myself more and more out of touch with all things entertainment related these days. I can't believe how bad I've gotten haha.

For those that don't know I used to work retail at this big chain.... for almost a decade actually. Recently left after the wedding and the move so.... it's been very weird adjusting to this new way of life. A time where my life doesn't revolve around sales numbers, shipments, customers, meetings, trade shows and presentations.

The first month or two I found myself not missing any of it. Not a single damn thing. But lately I've been wondering if I made the right choice. There's a lot of reasons for it, none of which I'll probably share. But I'm surprised at how out of the loop I am now. I was looking at the flyers yesterday and I see that Rock Band 2 has come out, new Guitar Hero, Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 very very soon... A WOW expansion, a Monopoly game on Wii, all the summer blockbusters on dvd..... the list is endless. Of course, we're approaching X-Mas so I should have known better but still....

After 9 years there, it's very weird not being involved in these kind of sales, marketing strategies and ensuring product is out where it needs to be. And of course, the amount of stock that comes in around this time. I wonder how they're handling all of it. And I wonder if the struggling economy is having any kind of effect. It seems like one of the best years in entertainment in forever for an X-Mas season.

Anyway enough babbling.

I finished another page for Took - Act 2 (short story) today. I've already started page 2 in fact.

I really love the way Raph and I work together. He writes extraordinarily well and at the same time, he really enjoys a collaborative experience. He is always willing and ready for me to push what I want to do in the script. He gives me that freedom and I gotta say, it's the best feeling in the world. Those are the types of writers I want to work with. Because if there's one thing I've learned about myself it's my constant need for both improvement and experimentation. Otherwise I find myself utterly bored.

I hope you will see what we're seeing in Took. We're trying our hardest to do something a little different for the medium.