Announcement #3: Simon Says

As I said before, announcement 2 and 3 would be the biggies. For those of you that have heard me ramble on about my comic projects, you KNOW "Simon Says" has been a project looooong in the making. I began piecing the story together 4 years ago, and after scrapping an attempt to draw it myself (uggh, I didn't like it) and a few rewrites, "Simon Says" is FINALLY going to see the light of day.

Taking place in the late 90s, "Simon Says" follows 18-year-old Simon and his circle of friends throughout their last year of high school and the beginnings of their college/post-high school life. Part comedy, part drama, it's loaded with 90s references, especially from that era's comic, music, and movie releases. I think everyone that reads it will be able to relate to at least one of the characters and identify with the situations (the good and the bad) these characters experience. I can't deny that the story ties-in with events from my own life, yet I was able to draw a lot of inspiration from filmmakers and writers whose work really spoke to me at that time in my life.

Now, onto the details...I was convinced awhile ago that I needed to find the right artist for "Simon Says"...someone whose skills just captured the entire essence of the story. I found that in the artwork of Desiree Pittman. I first met Desiree and her husband, Jason, at SPX and we quickly bonded. Jason was even gracious enough to provide a pin-up for The Adventurers of Liberty City graphic novel awhile back. Desiree drew the back cover to one of Jason's Leftovers mini-comics and her art blew me away! I loved it, and sent her an incredibly long email all about "Simon Says" to gauge her interest. To my utter surprise and glee, she loved the story and was interested in tackling the project!! It's a story with a definite beginning, middle, and end, but still to early for us to definitely say the number of issues it will take to tell the story.

Desiree is putting the finishing touches on a mini-preview book for us to have at SPX this year and the first full issue will soon follow. Of course, I'll update as more info becomes available, but until then, here's some of Desiree's thumbnail sketches for issue 1...

Til next time,

Matthew

Announcement #2: The Curse of Stranglehold

What's up, folks?

Yeah, I'm on the ball, buddy...already back with my second big announcement. Now, I wanted to save the two best news items for last, but I couldn't resist. Now, announcement #2 and #3 will be the biggies.

"The Curse of Stranglehold" is an upcoming graphic novel that I am writing featuring the beautiful art of Melanie Florencio. Without giving too much away, "The Curse of Stranglehold" is a horror story, centered around a teenage girl who discovers that a local legend about an undead soul terrorizing kids in the woods may be real! There's a good mix of present day setting with flashbacks to the 70s...so this story really incorporates a lot of my loves...the 1970s, horror, and music.

Melanie is currently teaching art stuff at a summer camp (how awesome does that sound?), but she'll dive right into working on "The Curse of Stranglehold" in late August/early September. If everything goes as planned, we should have it all wrapped up in early 2011.

Periodically, I'll be posting updates about the progress of "Stranglehold"...for the time being, feast your eyes on some stunning conceptual design sketches Melanie's been working on...nice!









Yeah, it's gonna be awesome, folks...

Til next time,
Matthew

Announcement #1: Wichita Gravy #2

Butt patter! It's been far too long since I updated this blog thingy. Totally my fault, though (who else's would it be??). Between the day job, family emergencies, and {ahem} becoming addicted to my new iPod, I've been MIA from the on-line world. But I'm still here and I've got (at least) 4, that's right...F-O-U-R...big announcements to make over the next couple of weeks.

That means today is announcement #1, and it should make a few people happy. Brad, David, and I are currently putting together "Wichita Gravy" #2! Whoo-hoo...finally! Looks like our little freaky anthology will be an annual ordeal. It's too early for me to reveal too much about what stories will actually be in the second issue, but trust me, it'll be better than the first! Even better, we are cranking this baby out to have it completed in time for SPX in Bethesda, MD in September. Within the next month, I'll be posting some story info and the cover to WG2. And yes, more announcements in days to come...

Til next time,
Matthew