Ballad of a Cross-Hatch Junky

2011-04-13T11:46:00.002-04:00

Not fucking the dog...seriously!

2010-06-11T16:51:00.002-04:00

I swear to god I'm going to continue The Mandolin, ASAP!!! The only problem is time right now. I'm working as a sous chef and that basically takes up a lot of my waking hours.

I've written the next 2, 40 page chapters, but haven't had any time to draw them. Wait it out and I swear it'll pay off!

The Mandolin

2010-02-15T16:10:00.006-05:00

Part 2 begins some time this summer...

The Mandolin

2010-02-02T15:01:00.004-05:00

5 pages added weekly...most of the time.

The Mandolin

2010-01-11T16:58:00.004-05:00

5 pages added weekly.

The Mandolin

2010-01-04T14:17:00.004-05:00

5 pages posted weekly

The Mandolin

2009-12-28T21:42:00.004-05:00

5 pages added weekly

The Mandolin

2009-12-21T17:32:00.006-05:00

5 pages added weekly

The Mandolin

2009-12-16T00:56:00.007-05:00

5 pages posted weekly

The Mandolin

2009-12-07T12:42:00.006-05:00

5 pages posted weekly.

Upcoming...

2009-09-13T13:16:00.002-04:00

This is an drawing I did yesterday afternoon that will end up being the back cover image for my next book, which I'm about a dozen pages in to. I was researching what was going to be my next book but was having little trouble envisioning the story. Things were not falling into place and while reading trying to figure things out, I saw the beginning and end for this other book.

An artists obsession with perfection leads him to abandon his life in civilization for the solitude of the woods. The painter, Charley Butters, quickly realizes he has no use for the life he once had and all of the complications the so called "modern world" brought with it, and as a result is never heard from again. 40 years later his delapidated cabin is discovered by a small town black metal band filming a music video in those same woods. The band finds hundreds of paintings and journals within the cabin that will fill in the blanks of why the painter disappeared all those years ago and why trying to attain perfection led to the painters downward mental spiral.

Well, that's a brief summary of my new book. I've yet to show it to my publisher, so I'm hoping this will be my follow up to The Klondike. Cross you fingers!

Wild Things...

2009-08-26T14:59:00.003-04:00

Saw the new trailer for "Where The Wild Things Are" and felt inprired...only I'm not too sure how I feel about this little painting.

Done the other afternoon while fooling around with guache.

Finally...

2009-07-21T13:58:00.003-04:00

Psuedonyms, huh? Regardless of that fact, my friend (maybe to be referred to as "He Who Can Not Be Named Jr.") finally has his new website up. He produced one of maybe 2 good comics made independently in The Big Smoke (that's right, Toronto) last year (the others by Patrick Kyle and Chris Kuzma). The only problem to face is the fact he works for the soul sucking centre of all that is evil Yes, Satanists aren't even that evil). HE who is to be obeyed and not questioned. The Government. Well, maybe that'll add fuel to the creative fire...who knows?
Now, the fact that very little impresses me just adds to the fact that "Ethan's" comic really impressed me. He's a genuine talent. Believe that and support this fine young gentleman (just ignore his tendencies towards the bad evil {yes, there's good evil}).

http://www.popehats.ca/

The Mandolin

2009-05-14T21:20:00.001-04:00

The Mandolin pt. 1 available now. Write me for details.

Harbourfront Centre, Tatsumi, Seth, Tomine!

2009-05-06T14:48:00.000-04:00

Authors at Harbourfront Centre helps jump start the 2009 Toronto Comic Arts Festival with an evening of world-renowned graphic artists/novelists: Seth, Yoshihiro Tatsumi and Adrian Tomine. Seth (George Sprott: (1894-1975)) and Tomine (Shortcomings) present their latest graphic novels, followed by a discussion between Tomine and Tatsumi about Tatsumi’s latest work, A Drifting Life. All three authors appear courtesy of Drawn & Quarterly (Montreal).

This event, presented in partnership with The Beguiling, will also feature a corresponding visual art exhibition Graphic Novels: The Creation of Art and Narrative, located in Harbourfront Centre’s York Quay Centre (Free public opening on the same evening as event, 6pm). Graphic Novels is an unique series of installations by top cartoonists and includes original artworks and process materials to build an insightful portrait of the creators working in this popular medium. Featuring works by Anke Feuchtenberger (Germany), Emmanual Guibert (France), Jeff Lemire, Kagan McLeod, Jillian and Mariko Tamaki, Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Japan), Adrian Tomine (USA) and Doug Wright.

Hope to see you all there!

Team Society League

2009-04-19T00:35:00.002-04:00

Zach Worton (Team), John Martz (Society), Aaron Costain (League)...

More Klondike

2009-03-29T12:44:00.001-04:00

Unfinished panel from The Klondike

Now Married...

2009-03-18T22:39:00.000-04:00

...And More Klondike

2009-02-25T22:21:00.001-05:00

More Klondike

2009-02-18T22:22:00.002-05:00

FOR MY VALENTINE, Kendall Savage

2009-02-13T23:51:00.001-05:00

The Klondike

2009-02-10T18:43:00.002-05:00

Rejected cover illustration.
What I ended up giving them looks better and Tom has designed something really beautiful. Just think gold embossing!

R.I.P. Lux Interior

2009-02-05T15:03:00.001-05:00

Work Is Boring 1

2009-01-30T19:14:00.005-05:00

BEST website ever belongs Ruppert and Mulot, friends.

Make sure to click on the "Championnat de bras de fer" link and let the death fight begin! Cartoonist vs. cartoonist...man vs. woman...weapons vs. au natural. Think Sylvester Stallone and read in awe.
Every link leads to some kind of amazing, mind bending endeavor. Totally creative I can't say enough great things about these two and this website. I heard a story from Bart Beaty on boxing day here at the Beguiling where one of them was very upset, maybe even in tears, because the live tigers for the launch of their book was delayed and did not show up. They were going to sign their books with live tigers in a cage behind them! Amazing. Click on the link to the right and sit in wonder for a while.

The following link is courtesy of my pal, Aaron Costain (www.aaroncostain.com). Again...amazing.
http://www.bdangouleme.com/maison_close/maison-close,hall.html
Click on the link to the right and sit in wonder for a while.

Enjoy!

Tintin

2009-01-30T13:43:00.004-05:00

Great site with animation, games and full documentaries! This is a bad time for me to be finding this site! You could spend and entire 8 hour shift at work on this site! And yes, I am promoting that.
Find the link to the right of this post!

Prospector

2009-01-26T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Mandolin

2009-01-20T21:58:00.000-05:00

more to come...

Animation

2009-01-12T11:22:00.003-05:00

Check it out! The brilliant Christophe Blain has animated a music video for French singer, Thomas Dutronc. I've no idea who he is, but the video is great and the song ain't bad either. Unfortunately, I can't post the actual video...

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=hd8YIeeJ9WY

and while you're at it,

Have a good one!

The Klondike pt. 2

2009-01-04T09:30:00.001-05:00

The Klondike pt. 1

2009-01-01T16:53:00.004-05:00

These are considered poncy greenhornes. Fresh off the boat in the Yukon.

Procrastination pt. 1

2008-12-28T15:04:00.003-05:00

For those who love all things Guy Delisle, as I do.

www.guydelisle.com

Great animation and a lovely blog with plenty of sketchbook posts, which I also love.

No Posts...

2008-12-15T11:38:00.002-05:00

Sorry...my book is due in the next month and a half or so, so no more posts for a while. I'll also have a fully painted strip in the summer comics issue of "Taddle Creek",which is due about the same time.
Don't cry for me, I'm already dead.
z

Dungeon

2008-11-11T11:28:00.002-05:00

I just stumbled on a french site completely devoted to Sfar & Trondheim's "Dungeon" series and it if pretty amazing. It breaks down and explains the whole Dungeon, the world and the evolution of characters and monsters that inhabit the world. Not only that, but it list all the contributors as well. If you can read french then I suggest you head on over. My french is really bad and had a bit of difficulty, but managed just fine.
http://www.bibou.org/donjon/index.html

Complete Insanity

2008-10-29T16:39:00.002-04:00

When I saw this on the Drawn.ca website I had to share it with you. Blew my mind!
Emmanual Guibert used this totally unique approach of cartooning for Alan's War (as well as others) and I among others, probably had no idea how he got that effect. Watch and be amazed!

Ah, the weekend...

2008-10-26T20:36:00.003-04:00

If you missed Lynda Barry speaking this weekend at the IFOA, you really missed out. In fact, you are a sucker. I got the chance to spend a little bit of time with her and quickly realized that I love her. That's LOVE. One of the finest people gracing God's green earth.
That is all.

Vanity

2008-10-10T23:46:00.002-04:00

I found this photo of some pages from my upcoming book called "The Klondike". It was taken at TCAF last year.

SIGH {relief, this time}

2008-10-09T13:59:00.009-04:00

They fixed it and the blog is up!

flashcitrus.blogspot.com

It's up NOW!!!

SIGH

2008-10-08T12:43:00.003-04:00

Just waiting for Blogger to unblock my other site so I can start posting my comics...
They think I'm going to start spamming!! I've only ever posted cartoons and illustrations, but if they'd bother to look at my site now they'd probably realize that. I just want to post comics, Blogger! I'm a cartoonist!
Hopefully I'll be posting by the weekend. If not, I'll be moving and make sure you all know of it.
Thanks

Launching New Blog

2008-10-05T13:02:00.003-04:00

Some time in the next week I'm going to be launching a new blog that's just comics I work on in my spare time. I take out an hour or so every week and throw these things together. I don't have a scanner so I'm reliant entirely on people helping me. When it's up, I'm going to post the link with the others and add the address under the blog title.
Keep you posted!

Ah, weddings!

2008-10-05T12:49:00.004-04:00

Recently, I was asked to design a friends' wedding invitation and have been waiting for the time I could post the final results. The wedding is only a month and a bit away and can only assume they've all been sent out. Turned out pretty well, if I do say so myself. It took quite a while for the decision to be made of how it would actually look (close to 2 and a half months), but it turned out better than I remember. They're happy with it...people seem to like it.
Not bad.

Coloured by Eric Kim

For Your Consideration

2008-09-22T23:18:00.003-04:00

More than $50 million in cuts to arts funding.
Not an option, friends.

Image By: Pascal Blanchet.
Swiped from the D&Q blog.

Mystical Hoo-Haw

2008-09-01T15:22:00.003-04:00

You'll probably seeing some of these characters in some incarnation or other in the next year or so. I'm currently writing an adventure comic called "Barbarian For Hire" that I'm trying to get a very talented friend to draw. It's about a lazy freelance barbarian on missions from an temp. employment agency. I intend to have appx. 10 books out in the next 2 or 3 years that I either write, draw or both and I've got a million ideas floating around in my head. In the next few weeks I'll be posting about the other 2 projects I'm working on...and no, I haven't finished "The Klondike" yet. It will be out in the fall of 2009, though.
There you have it.

Old Rock Posters

2008-08-12T12:50:00.001-04:00

Did this one back in '99. Still one of my favorites.

BLACK HOLE MOVIE?

2008-07-11T16:18:00.003-04:00

Apparently David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven) is adapting Charles Burns' magnum opus "Black Hole", into a big ol' Hollywood movie. I have my reservations with Hollywood getting it's hands on anything comics, and according to cartoonist friend of mine, San Diego has become a swarming wasps nest of Hollywood producers trying to buy up the next "it" thing. A ray of sun shines down on me in the hopes that they don't wreck it, but God only knows...

Dungeon pt. 2

2008-06-28T15:45:00.000-04:00

Uncle Scrooge etc...

2008-06-12T21:03:00.000-04:00

More Blue Lotus

2008-05-27T09:42:00.001-04:00

This is the final set off illustrations I did for the Blue Lotus.

Painted "Corpse"

2008-05-12T13:32:00.004-04:00

An oldie from the days of "Corpse". I used watered down guache, which I use for all the paintings I still do today. The colours are pretty vibrant and generally pretty smooth and flat. The best results for really making the colours pop is to spray it with workable fixative (Krylon is the brand I use) at the very end. It really flattens and intensifies everything, not to mention protects it from smudging. This is one of the unfortunate downsides of watering down guache, in my experience. My approach to the painting itself (specifically skin tones) is to use layers. Build upon the base colour for the desired tone and shade. This can take a lot longer than if I was just painting the grass or something, but it's effect is pretty darn great as far as I'm concerned.
And speaking of painting, I ran across Gipi's blog and there's a few samples from what I can only assume is a new project (still in Italian) that has pirates in it. The paintings are, of course, beautiful. Here's the link: http://giannigipi.blogspot.com/
Enjoy!

Frank etc...

2008-05-01T21:20:00.003-04:00

Pushpaw and Pupshaw, Manhog and Frank. That's about that.

Cowboys!

2008-04-25T09:58:00.001-04:00

Stop, Thief!

2008-04-17T23:08:00.004-04:00

These are some preparatory sketches for a comic I'm going to be illustrating called "Stop, Thief!" This character, whom is still unnamed, is the chaperon to our hero...a dimension hopping thief. Also unnamed, to my knowledge. He's a goat.

IFOA 2006

2008-04-14T10:53:00.005-04:00

Last year at TCAF, my friend Kevin H showed me this picture from a Discovery Channel travel guide for Toronto. Lo and behold, what picture does he show me? It's the mural I 'd done for an art show called "Imaged Text" at the Harbourfront Centre. It was in conjunction with the IFOA in 2006. The art show had an original Windsor McKay page from "Rarebit Fiend", Milton Caniff's "Terry and the Pirates", i think the "Bungle Family" as well. Contemporary stuff like Paul Pope, Jason, Ho Che Anderson...
I had 4 days to get this 10x15 foot mural on this wall, which was a real chore because my work place at the time was totally unaccommodating. I would have to work then until about 8 or 9 pm, then rush down to the Harbourfront Centre and squeeze in as much work as I could in about 3 hours. This went on for a couple of days and I barely got started painting the black outline on the third day. At this point i was freaking out. Luckily I had the day before the opening off, so I could spend 14 hours straight getting this thing ready. Now, I have this issue with things looking a certain way and this became a problem when the larger brushes I was using didn't get me the look I like, from a distance and certainly up close. So, I threw caution to the wind and went back to my trusty No. 1 brush that I use for inking my comics. Crazy, I know...but at the end if that day, when I was ALMOST finished the mural (and yes, the opening was the next day), I was satisfied with the way it looked. The day of the opening proved interesting as I was on 4 hours sleep and still not finished. PFFT!!! No big deal! That is until they asked me to paint on the signage advertising the show on the outside of the gallery. I finished that with just enough time to go home, shower and then go right back down to the gallery. The mural was up for a month and under now about 24 coats of paint. I had taken pictures (I'd borrowed a camera from a friend at the time) from the very beginning stages of the mural to the finished product. Some time had passed between when I gave the camera back and when I tried to get the photos from it, but unfortunately we had a falling out and I never got the photos. You'd think that even if there was a falling out that the person would at least email the pictures to me and try be the bigger man!!! Nope. WHAT A SUCKY LITTLE BABY!!! I have a tendency to overestimate people, though. I don't know if they exist anymore. Hey, at least it was in a Discovery Channel travel guide!

Klondike

2008-04-10T09:50:00.004-04:00

Some sketches from the upcoming Klondike book from Drawn & Quarterly. The man in the top left hand corner is Capt. William Moore, an eccentric man who founded Skagway, Alaska. Originally called the "Moore Town site", the name was changed sometime around the start of the gold rush (1896) to Skagway by a mass miners meeting, a practice abolished in Canada a couple of years earlier. The same thing happened in the naming of the creeks (Bonanza and Eldorado) on Canadian soil. The meetings were illegal but the Yanks didn't care and the names stuck. The other men (some in a group in Britain known as "The Syndicate") will more than likely not make it into the book. They were all involved in the politics and building of the White Pass Railway. That would take another 300 page book to tell that story.

Portrait

2008-04-08T18:48:00.002-04:00

The Blue Lotus pt. 1

2008-04-05T13:28:00.008-04:00

Maybe it's that I don't know what I'm doing, but I accidentally deleted this post from back in March. I guess I shouldn't screw around with this thing too much as I'll probably end up making my computer implode. Don't touch the red button! Anyhow...I'm posting this set of illustrations again because they're great and I want to sell off some of this crap! Also, every illustration I do makes less room for me to move in my apartment. Books piled 3 feet high on TOP of bookshelves (it doesn't help that both Kendall {my lovely lady} and I work in book/comic shops)!!! You really have no idea...large apartment with so much stuff it's difficult to move freely at times. We keep bringing stuff home, too! *BAW*

The Blue Lotus pt. 2

2008-04-05T13:24:00.003-04:00

1999

2008-04-05T11:23:00.001-04:00

1999. Man, or Astroman!

Gasoline Alley

2008-04-02T21:45:00.001-04:00

Rejection pt.1

2008-03-30T17:23:00.002-04:00

Rejected illustration from late '07.

Go To Bed, Ned

2008-03-28T23:10:00.001-04:00

This is a partially finished illustration for a kids book I'm working on.

Dungeon pt.1

2008-03-26T21:44:00.002-04:00

Here's a few more sketches I did back in late 2007/early 2008. More fun exercises from more of my favorite BD's.

Ballad of a Cross-Hatch Junky

Not fucking the dog...seriously!

The Mandolin

The Mandolin

The Mandolin

The Mandolin

The Mandolin

The Mandolin

The Mandolin

The Mandolin

Upcoming...

Wild Things...

Finally...

The Mandolin

Harbourfront Centre, Tatsumi, Seth, Tomine!

Team Society League

More Klondike

Now Married...

...And More Klondike

More Klondike

FOR MY VALENTINE, Kendall Savage

The Klondike

R.I.P. Lux Interior

Work Is Boring 1

Tintin

Prospector

The Mandolin

Animation

The Klondike pt. 2

The Klondike pt. 1

Procrastination pt. 1

No Posts...

Dungeon

Complete Insanity

Ah, the weekend...

Vanity

*SIGH* {relief, this time}

*SIGH*

Launching New Blog

Ah, weddings!

For Your Consideration

Mystical Hoo-Haw

Old Rock Posters

BLACK HOLE MOVIE?

Dungeon pt. 2

Uncle Scrooge etc...

More Blue Lotus

Painted "Corpse"

Frank etc...

Cowboys!

Stop, Thief!

IFOA 2006

Klondike

Portrait

The Blue Lotus pt. 1

The Blue Lotus pt. 2

1999

Gasoline Alley

Rejection pt.1

Go To Bed, Ned

Dungeon pt.1

SIGH {relief, this time}

SIGH