Subject: Captain James Holden
First Appearance: Print – Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, Book 1)
Film – The Expanse S01E01 – Dulcinea
Medium: PROCREATE! w/Apple Pencil (it’s my first go, please be gentle.)

Subject: Captain James Holden
First Appearance: Print – Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse, Book 1)
Film – The Expanse S01E01 – Dulcinea
Medium: PROCREATE! w/Apple Pencil (it’s my first go, please be gentle.)
Subject: Johnny
First Appearance: The Room Written, Directed and Performed by Tommy Wiseau
Medium: Pencil, Ink, Gouache
Subject: Ghus and Friendo
First Appearance: SAGA #12 (April 2013) created by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Medium: Pencil, Ink, Gouache
So it’s 4 days later and I’m still in general recovery mode. What a great weekend, nonetheless! Managed to distribute a good number of the SouthTown Ashcan Preview issue and put a little money toward the official issue #1 fundraiser (Kickstarter launching later this week!)
While I didn’t have the time away from my table to wait on line to meet the big names in TV and film (I did see the likes of David Tennant, John Barrowman, Corey Feldman and Kerri Green from a short distance, and told Boy Meets World’s Rider Strong that he was great in Cabin Fever 😂) the biggest thing for me was being able to meet some of the professional, career comic artists and creators that drew me to this style of drawing in the first place.
John Romita Jr. first popped up on my radar in about 1992. I remember picking up the first issue of Punisher: War Zone and then seeing his style appear in a short run on Uncanny X-Men (during the Fatal Attractions storyline featuring the return of Magneto.) Most notably for me was his Eternals mini-series which he did with Neil Gaiman in 2006 (which the movie sadly sidelined for story ideas and went with… whatever it was they decided…)
Also had a chance to chat with Georges Jeanty whose work on the sequel “seasons” of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was most impressed with his ability to complete nearly 1500 pages of story while maintaining the uncanny likeness of the tv series actors. He is currently providing the artwork for Marvel’s Star Wars Mandalorian comic book series.
Finally, a bit more on the indie circuit was Jason Shawn Alexander. He’d done a series back in the late 90’s and early 00’s called Empty Zone and was one of my favorite cyber-punk series at the time. While I’d forgotten to bring along my issues for him to sign, we had a great little chat about his evolution as an artist, the “good ol’ days” with the indie comic labels and out mutual dealings with celebrity name sharing 😂 Also dropped a SouthTown ashcan into his hands. Hope he enjoyed it!
Also met a handful of indie comic creators (Anthony Stokes, Pat Shand, and Charlie McElvy) at a late night panel about self publication, looking forward to staying in touch with those dudes and catching up again at the next con 🤙
*Now, your obligatory photo dump*
We’ll see ya all again next year! Likely with at least one full issue of SouthTown in tow!
Finally have our table assignment for GalaxyCon in Richmond! We’ll be at N10 (right by the food court.)
I couldn’t be more excited to get back into the convention circuit, especially with the comic crew. I’m so excited I made a little video showing off my Con Goodies that arrived on my doorstep today!
Subject: Crowley from the Prime Series Good Omens (also the novel by Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman)
Subject: The Stalk
First Appearance: SAGA #2 by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Medium: Pencil, Ink, Gouache
Process:
Nothing takes me back to my early 20’s like a good ol’ Silent Hill game (to be fair they’ve all fallen off since the 3rd installment…) Even the first movie from ’06 was a pretty decent adaptation of the franchise. I’ll admit, the one thing that really spooked me to the bone was the ominous unnamed butcher with the rusted metal frame adorning his head and shoulders, referred to simply as “Pyramid Head.”
That lumbering gait, dragging that enormous cast iron meat sword behind him, slowly chasing you through unlit, labyrinthine buildings and alleyways is still the stuff of nightmares all these years later. Enjoy!
Now that Southtown has a mild social media presence of its own (go follow the Facebook page in addition to his site for content and updates) the game of non-spoiler marketing has begun!
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the team and I will be at this year’s GalaxyCon convention in Richmond, VA at the end of March and one of the big projects we’ll have ready to go is a 5 page ashcan preview comic to get the ball rolling. It’s a small snippet from issue #1 to introduce a small handful of the prominent characters in the series.
Additionally, below are a few character sketches and studies to tide everyone over until the next info-drop 😉
The Spider Verse is strong. The main timeline for the Marvel universe (cinematic and print) is the 616 universe. Into the Spiderverse and (to a degree) Far From Home and No Way Home opened up the Marvel Multiverse to the general public.
One of my absolute favorite multiverse variants is Spider-Gwen. The universe in which Gwen Stacey received the spider bite instead of Peter Parker. She’s a punk rocker and a bad ass web-slinging hero to boot. She’s got her own graphic novels which I endorse excitedly in advance of the next 2 Spider Verse films on the way. Viva la Gwen!