Interested in having Gene Ha do a signing at your Con or Store?
The deal is simple. If you can provide for transportation, a decent meal, and decent lodging for my wife and me, I'm willing to schedule an appearance. Go to the Mail link and send me a note!

December 6, 2005
Why are folks afraid to say "Merry Christmas"? Because some people hate God and Jesus, that's why:

The Usual Suspect: the News Corporation. Yep, the folks destroying Family Values with "Trading Spouses" and "Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire" and the FCC penalized blurred nudity "Married by America" (the one with the the topless escort and the whipped cream). Now they're going after Christmas. Write to Bill O'Reilly let him know that you'll boycott News Corporation channels until they accept Christmas! They don't have to believe in God. This is a free country, after all. But why celebrate Christmas and pretend you're not?

They're also selling "holiday" ornaments to hang on your "holiday" tree. How gutless can you get?

December 5, 2005
I have huge respect for all of you out there learning the new skills to become an artist. Learning anything new is scary, involves repeated dead ends and mistakes, and a dawning realization that you're ignorant: it sucks.

I've been taking some time off to do 'maintenance' work: cleaning my studio and home, hanging out with friends, learning Adobe Illustrator, and designing the 2005 holiday card and a new business identity.

Designing the business identity is comparatively easy. I am woefully distant from the world of graphic design. I'm sketching stuff that's obvious and without subtlety or humor. But it's not scary. I've been through this before in art school, and it's just a matter of getting my legs back again. It is a bit disheartening looking at design books, and looking at all the clever work. But I'll get something good done.

I don't know Adobe Illustrator, which is more of a design program than an drawing tool. My art school began introducing computers after I'd finished my introductory graphics classes, afer I'd focused on illustration. So I have almost no experience.

Learning Illustrator is scary. The kind of scary that makes me want to lay down in bed hiding under a blanket, growling. I don't have anyone I can bring to my computerside to demonstrate what I'm doing wrong. I do have a pile of library books, but it's still sucks. Illustrator sucks. Bezier curves suck. Learning how to add a corner point sucks.

My learning style involves learning half a fact, running with it in my head, and hitting a wall. So while learning how to draw a heart shape with curves, I would start playing around and trying tricks after each step. Which is another important element of my learning style: learning that I'm ignorant.

Hopefully I'll make a little more progress this evening. I just succeeded at drawing my first heart in which I understood each step and didn't look at the book. I let out a savage whoop!

So a nod of respect to all of you out there, bravely going where a million others have gone before, and who are far ahead of you. May you earn many savage whoops this holiday season!

November 30, 2005
This monday I finished a period of hard work and late nights working on the Young Avengers. All praise the colorist, Art Lyon!

Working with a guy I know and trust and can kvetch at let's me do some new tricks in these two panels. In panel 1, I only drew one pair of windows. The rest are cloned in Photoshop, using the new Vanishing Point filter. In panel 2, we used the Transform Warp tool to simulate a fish-eyed lens effect. I've always enjoyed using "wrap around" perspective, but it's a bitch doing the math on it. This stuff makes my life a bit easier. And Art's life a little harder, but that's why I pay him. No, that's why Marvel pays him. I couldn't afford to pay for talent like that.

Anyhoo, now that my little Young Avengers Special work is done, I'm taking some down time. I've cleaned my studio and did about eight loads of laundry. Cooked some nice dinners for my lovely wife (comic artist being a synonym for "house husband"). Today I got to jog! It's been about a month since I did anything more strenuous than yoga with Lisa, so it was a nice release. Weather sucked, but I still got in eight laps around a city block.

Oddly enough, I'm not gaining my winter weight this year. I usually gain a few pounds, what with dark cold gloomy weather and piles of turkey and Halloween candy and such. And I'm not exercising much, as I mentioned. Most of the credit goes to my repeated New Year's resolution: no french fries!

Unless they're home made. Or sweet potatoes. Or hand cut. It just means I haven't had fast food fries for a few years, except for New Year's celebrations. Losing weight is fine, but the lack of exercise means my blood pressure is still pre-hypertension. Sigh. I'm gonna have to cut diet cola next.

In addition to the cola ban, I resolve not to go head to head with Alex Ross next year. I have no problem admitting that there are better realistic artists than me in this industry. We have an embarassment of talent: Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, James Jean, Bill Sienkiewicz [add about 25 more names]. But it's painful annoying to have a Chicagoland neighbor who's more talented and faster. He can do a painted page in about two days, start to finish. If he'd been working on Forty-Niners, it would have come out in 2002. And that's because Alan Moore was slowing him down.

Twice this year I ended up doing variations on themes Alex has already done superbly. The first one was the Fantastic Four Wedding cover:

Now don't get me wrong, I'm mighty proud of my cover. But I still prefer the little masterpiece Alex did when he was 24, about 2/3 my current age. It's a real stunner.

Here's the other one:

Eat Garden Fresh Salsa! Chicks luvz the smell of salsa!
Both times, the editors had a chance to go for non-Ross territory. They chose the well trod path, and I followed orders. Next time, I'm gonna refuse. In 2006, I'm gonna dog the heels of Brian Bolland.
Ed and Anette are a damn fine looking couple. Congratulations!
November 9, 2005
My Conscience is a Conservative
Got a nice note from cool inl-law Scott in IN:

See didn't that fill good. To return the favor. Hoosiers own Evan Bayh is a well respected and honest man. Not an rep but a good man. That is saying somthing from me since I am your midwestern rep who is a born again chistan and dido head Rush fan. I share your thoughts on McCain he is what I call a moderate = what ever the newest poll says I agree with kinda guy. wishy washy perfect. Hope to see you soon.

Yeah, you're right. It did feel good. I'm a big fan of both Bayh (D) and Lugar(R). They're from a generation of Hoosier giants. I honestly believe either one would have made a better president than anyone in the office since...I'll have to think about that one. At least since the Kennedy-Ike era.

I will keep sniping at politicians who annoy me, no change there. But I'll try to be nice once in a while. Problem is, when's the last time the press paid attention to someone like Lugar? It's hard to remember he's around because he jus keeps doing good work and saying smart stuff. Those folks never make the news.

I'm at work on the Young Avengers pages. No previews yet.

November 6. 2005
Went to my brother Donn's last night for a birthday party. Congratulations, Matt, for getting older. It shows. Joke.

Quite a nice party. It was a potluck on the theme of Southern cuisine. Donn made his famous fried chicken and catfish. I brought ribs from the only decent rib joint in Chicagoland, Honey 1 BBQ. Chicago is infamous for its ribs, which are boiled first, then grilled for a bit. It's stewed meat with sweet spicy ketchup. I actually like beef stew quite a bit, but it's not what most of America calls barbecue. Honey 1 is the only place in the Great Lakes region I know that makes proper ribs. It's a lot like what Scott Dunbier showed me in Kansas City. Dry, smokey and intense.

Beyond the fabulous dead animal parts, also some great greens and cornbread and pecan pie. I'm sure none of it would have impressed the matriarchs of the South, but it was tasty and fun! Also, a really good lettuce salad with caramelized nuts and marinated red onion.

Sorry, no new images I can show yet. It might be a bit.

Got an email from two of my favorite in-laws, Sallie and Scott (no, not my editor). I got to hang out with their toddler Isaiah and the grand-parents (Lisa's sister and hubby). But I missed seeing them. Anyhoo, Scott had a request for my blog here:

"P.S easy on the gop bashing I am one of them. Try WLS 890 good info. Superman Returns what are your thoughts?"

Starting with the last thing first, Scott's a much better superhero cinephile than me. I like what I've seen of Smallville, so if the movie makers follow it's lead they won't go wrong. Scott likes Superman because he's a big square jawed dark haired Midwesterner with rock solid values. If Scott lived closer, I'd probably use him for Supes reference. I'm just guessing it wasn't Sallie asking about the Superman movie.

On the radio front, I'm not much for political pundit shows of any stripe.

GOP bashing. Okay, in the name of American unity I decided a few days ago to say something nice about some national Republican figures.

I decided he or she still has to be alive. So Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln don't count.

Obviously, the crew in the White House and the leaders of both chambers of Congress are out. You've seen my opinions on them.

John McCain came to mind, and I respect some of the things he does. But I actually find him wishy-washy, a real John Kerry figure. Things like saying in Decmber that he had no confidence that Rumsfeld could win in Iraq, and now saying he wants to work with him? Or his statement that if his daughter got pregnant, "The final decision would be made by Meghan with our advice and counsel." But later saying that if other women get pregnant, it should be illegal to get an abortion. Or his quick makeup with the Bush team after they accused his adopted Bengali daughter of being his African-American love child. He stands up for his kids initially, then backs down when the party heads give him heat. Flipper, Flipper, Flipper, faster than lightning... I do really respect his opposition to torture and his work on campaign finance. Hopefully, McCain-Feingold is just the beginning.

Too bad Jesse Ventura wasn't a Republican, that would have been an easy answer. The Governator isn't the actor or the governor that Jesse was.

I hope this isn't too provincial, but the Republicans I like are both from Illinois. One is our last Republican US Senator, and the other is the scourge of corrupt politicians in power, of any party. They're both named Fitzgerald. The IL loves its Irish. (They are not related to each other, BTW).

Retired Senator Peter Fitzgerald was widely popular and respected in the state, a man of rock solid integrity. That's how he lost the support of the state party. He didn't bring home the pork (one of the few folks in DC who actively fought for a balanced budget). He also took on corruption in his own state, getting out-of-state federal prosecutors to investigate problems. This led to the downfall of the Republican governor of IL, George Ryan. Because the state GOP threatened to actively oppose his re-election, he didn't run for a second term. They finally ran Alan Keyes for his seat, who lost by 27% to 70% against Barack Obama.

One of the folks he got appointed was current U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Patrick Fitzgerald. His lack of local loyalties has made him a terror to Hizzonah, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Fitz began the investigation that took down the GOP Governor, so Democrat Daley must not sleep very well.

Patrick is still busy locally, but I hear he's trying to clean up Washington DC too. I wish him the best of luck in both jobs. It'd be nice if he retired with two more corrupt administrations thrown into jail.

So those are some of the Republicans I love. Oh, and Scott and Sallie too! They're good people.

October 28, 2005
Got some nice covers done, and I haven't shown any of them to my blog readers. I figure it's about time I gave ya something to look at other than my political rants. After all, no one's ever offered to pay me for my opinions on patriotism...

These are links to preliminary images of my covers for "X-Men: The End" Arc III issues 3 through 5. I'm still trying to figure out how you can do a third series called "The End". Someone could save me a lot of dough buying X-comics by explaining Arcs I and II to me. Or if it's really great, let me know and I'll buy the collections.

Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with how these covers came out. There are minor quibbles. I wish I could have gotten a more action oriented cover done for issue 3, but the folks at Marvel just hated my designs for those. I don't know why we clashed. But they originally wanted a close up of Gambit and his opponent going mano a mano, but with Gambit throwing cards too. I guess I could never put my heart into someone using a long range explosive weapon up close, so it never looked natural in the sketches.

I wished I could have put more mood and texture into the Bishop picture. I think I did a decent job, but it doesn't feel as atmospheric as I'd like.

In the Phoenix picture, I have two minor anatomical problems. Madelyne's hands are slightly different sizes. And the lighting on Cassandra's hips is just a little off (specifically, on her belly pooch). But even so, that's the cover I'm happiest with. For those interested in technique, I did the Phoenix effect in black india ink wash, then tweaked it in Photoshop with Ctrl-U and Ctrl-B and a few other tricks until it looked like glowing flames.

I hope the story inside is worth your cash when you buy it. I should also mention that the original art is for sale in my STORE. I'm still hoping to save money for a real house, with a yard for my creaky old Beagle Bassets, Georgia and Nibbles.

October 25, 2005
Here's the Hutchison perjury story all wrapped up neat, by the Washington Post:

Tuesday, October 25, 2005; Page A19

"I certainly hope that if there is going to be an indictment . . . that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. So they go to something that trips someone up because they said something in the first grand jury and then maybe they found new information or they forgot something and they tried to correct that in a second grand jury.

"I think we should be very careful here, especially as we are dealing with something very public and people's lives in the public arena."

-- Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) discussing the Fitzgerald leak investigation on NBC's "Meet the Press," Oct. 23, 2005.

"I do think . . . that something needs to be said that is a clear message that our rule of law is intact and the standards for perjury and obstruction of justice are not gray. And I think it is most important that we make that statement and that it be on the record for history.

"I very much worry that with the evidence that we have seen that grand juries across America are going to start asking questions about what is obstruction of justice, what is perjury. And I don't want there to be any lessening of the standard. Because our system of criminal justice depends on people telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

-- Hutchison discussing President Bill Clinton's impeachment at a news conference, Feb. 5, 1999.

October 24, 2005 In Defense of Perjury
Okay, I'm confused and I have a vote. So I'd like a Republican to explain this one to me before I'm forced to use it against somebody.

Senator from Texas Kay Bailey Hutchison no longer thinks lying under oath should be prosecuted. Sorry?

On the investigation of the White House leak of an undercover CIA agent's identity, she said, "that if there is going to be an indictment that says something happened, that it is an indictment on a crime and not some perjury technicality where they couldn't indict on the crime and so they go to something just to show that their two years of investigation was not a waste of time and taxpayer dollars"

Wow. If Texans can't trust her to take lying under oath seriously, when can they expect her to tell the truth? Thankfully, she voted against the use of torture, so I guess the voters aren't supposed to use the rack to get some straight talk from her.

It's funny. When Bill Clinton was lying under oath, she used to be against perjury. She released a long winded statement explaining why perjury was one of them "high crimes and misdemeanors" when she voted to impeach Clinton.

That Kay Bailey Hutchison promised not to excuse perjury: "I will not compromise this simple but high moral principle in order to avoid serious consequences to a successor President who may choose to ignore it." Bush has done a pretty good job of ignoring perjury and treason so far. Any chance you'll force some of those consequences on him, Senator?

October 17, 2005
Returning to a previous theme of mine, the GOP and their Spin Machine continue to defend Treason. Here's nice summary with which I heartily agree:

"If a senior White House staffer had intentionally outed an American spy during World War II, he'd have been shot.

....Then why is the White House and the Republican party engaged in a concerted campaign to make treason acceptable during a time of war? That's exactly what they're doing. On numerous news shows today, Republican surrogates, their talking points ready, issued variations of the following concerning White House chief of staff Karl Rove's outing of a covert CIA agent as part of a political vendetta:

* It's the criminalization of politics
* Is this 'minor' leak really worth all this?
* Political payback is common and should not be criminalized
* Mis-speaking or mis-remembering is not a crime

Yes, the Republicans are now making light of an intentional effort to expose an undercover CIA agent, working on weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, no less, while we are at war in the Middle East on that very issue.

The GOP has become the party of treason."

Let's put this in simple terms that even a Regressive can understand. It's legal to have a difference of opinion with the President. It's illegal, after accepting a government security clearance, to reveal state secrets. The GOP takes the opposite view.

New subject, Katrina recovery. Expect Bush to talk the talk, sleep the walk. It goes against every principle he holds to help poor people in need. So Federal money to continue paying for essential local government employees is a LOAN, that must be paid back within three years. Despite being responsible for $62 billion dollars for the Katrina rebuilding, the Bush Administration has no overall plan and no one in charge of the effort. Of the proposals Bush mentioned in speeches, he only introduced legislation for one of the three.

I suppose I shouldn't only complain and rant about politics. I should state what I believe. I'll try to keep it brief. If you want something longer, I'll refer you to real thinkers later. I'll just mention, some of this will sound like the Contract with America. I briefly supported the GOP when they came out with the Contract. So I am an embittered ex-Republican.

Ethics rules for politicians need to be strengthened. No one seems to give a damn about the "appearance of impropriety" anymore. The Democrats are as corrupt as ever, and the Republicans have gotten worse. I think the Democrats could sweep the GOP in the next election if they ran on a theme of "Honesty". Honesty supported by new draconian ethics rules. Honest policies (which allow you to attack your opponent as an unctuous liar). Honest talk (everyone knows Democrats suck at political spin, so make a virtue of it).

Without politicians kept from openly marketing their law making, everything else becomes immensely harder.

Strong oversight of government. The press. Boards of inquiry. The FEC. An independent judiciary. Pointy headed academics.

I believe every government program and agency needs regular review. Are they working? Back on Katrina, the GOP should be ashamed they blocked the formation of a traditional bipartisan commission about what went wrong.

Balance the budget. Unless there's a temporary crisis, we shouldn't run a deficit. And unless Bush announces clear victory conditions and a pullout plan, Iraq is not temporary. I am flummoxed that the GOP has become the pork barrel party. Wha' happened?

I believe that Government can be a force for Good. Sometimes it should be laissez faire, but things like Social Security and FEMA are wonderful things. We do need to run them properly, with strong oversight. Let's not gut successful programs.

I believe in a strong military, focused on effective doctrine and training. This requires a big change in how the Pentagon buys new weapons. For informed opinion, go here.

I believe in the separation of Church and State. The reason that the US has high church attendance rates and Europe has almost none is because we have a marketplace of religion. There is no official religion, yet. Once you put a church on the payroll (as Bush is attempting) you give the government "power of the purse strings". People will become more and more cynical as they see that church get corrupted. Bad idea.

I could blather on for hours, but I must get back to work. I also believe that good comic books can change lives. Better walk that walk!

October 11, 2005
Got back from the Fall Con sunday, spent monday recovering.

First off, who hasn't seen Serenity yet? Obviously someone hasn't. It should be the top movie in the country and it's not.

It's the movie sequel to the brilliant series Firefly. The basic concept is a Western in space. Both the Star Wars and Star Trek franchises began with this mix, but abandoned it and lost their kinetic quality. Star Wars went from scruffy frontier adventurers and degenerated into hack Merchant Ivory. They tried to bring back the dangerous frontier to Star Trek with ST: Enterprise, but couldn't help but make a set that was glossier. That ship preceded the 1960s version?

Firefly and Serenity understand the value of the raw. It's a world where everyone can kick the ass of the heroes. That's part of what makes them heroes.

My brother Donn, who didn't care for the TV show, loved it. And he's smarter than me. My friend Wendy, who had no idea what it was, loved it.

Go see the movie. If you like it, buy the DVD set. You won't be sorry. If you want my advice, get the DVD set first, watch it this week, and run out and see the movie next weekend. Did I mention the writing? Joss Whedon knows how to write good.

New subject. Forty-Niners gets a glowing review on the Gay Comics List out of France! I feel very cool and edgy now, kinda like Rowan Rozanski...

That's Ro with her purse sized vodka and lipstick at the ready. Watch out for her: she's trouble! One of the joys of the Fall Con was catching up with old friends, like Ro and the rest of the crew from the Colorado signing. In the smaller pic there's Christian Beranek, me, Ro, and the lemur obsessed Ken Lillie-Paetz. Ken out-pokered us and took all of our cash and Taki Soma back to Canada.

Occasionally, someone writes me asking for a sketch. Basic policy as of now is this: I only do sketches at shows. Get on the list at the beginning of each day before the it fills up. Pay $60 or, if you're brave or stupid or both, accept an embarassing challenge:

Three folks accepted dares at the Fall Con. This brave fellow let me paint him silver and surfed the con on a towel, while I announced the arrival of the herald of Galactus. You've been warned.

Finally, some pictures of people I like.

Zander, Kevin and the mysterious brooding Shad of Big Time Attic.

Me schmoozing with a childhood idol who has
never fallen from my pantheon, Terry Austin.

October 6, 2005
7:25 am. I usually never post this early in the morning, but this is just about my only chance to write. Tomorrow I'll be flying off to the Minnesota FallCon and then I'll have a whole 'nother trip to write about.

Here's a cover I got done last week. It's for the second printing of "House of M" #4. From here on out, I'll be posting images of my new work in the NEWS section. You'll notice that the ART button has been replaced on the banner with STORE.

After having stashed this pic away for a while, I like it better. I was iffy about it before. Still what's up with the HoM purple and gray color scheme for Hawkeye? It's a small complaint: I'm surprised by how nice the interior drawing and coloring is on the HoM project. I'll be doing a short series of covers for Marvel, and then a 5 page sequence of Young Avengers. After that, back to my old pals at Wildstorm for a bit.

Damn. Got distracted by 14 hours of chores and errands. It's 11 pm now. Laundry's done, dinner cooked, kitchen cleaned, and I finally mailed the sketches to Wong and Castro.

Another shout out to Bruce Benman! He just wrote back, good to know you're alive, man!

Guess I'll have to write about the Vancouver trip later. I've still got to get ready for the Fall Con. Damn. Never enough time.

Still September 29, just 22 hours later...
I'd been hoping to write about another leg of my trip tonight, but I've got a cover I need to finish for tomorrow. So I'll just pass along some news from friends. More on my travels soon.

Big Time Attic, the next step in comics studio evolution, has moved out of the attic! I used to live in Minneapolis and work with the BTA guys (before they organized into BTA). Zander did my layouts, Shad gave me advice on everything computer related and loaned me cool comics to read, and Kevin dropped by occasionally from Grinnell. After I left, they formed a business and moved into the attic of Shad's new house.

If you've read the Forty-Niners, you'll recognize Shad as the Hercules character, Mrs. Shad as the Skywitch, and Zander as Captain Omega and Jetlad.

They're having great success, but you won't find all of their output in a comic shop. Check out their website, ask some questions, lotsa exciting stuff going on. But they've had to move to a real office above a coffe shop.

Anna (who'll I'll stop referring to as "Mrs. Shad" forevermore) got a job offer from the law firm of Kick and Ass!

Art Lyon is signing up to do coloring for Marvel! I find this insanely exciting. Hopefully he'll still find time to do my books, but he's got two rugrats to feed and needs regular work. If you're a comics guy who needs coloring, look him up.

Back to work. Let me know how all of you are doing!

Gene

September 29, 2005

Whole lotta stuff happened, and I haven't been posting!

I took some trips and had huge amounts of fun, and then I got back home and had to catch up on my work. I'm working as fast as I can, and that's not leaving lots of time for sleeping or writing or all that other good stuff. I still have two sketchbooks from Vancouver I promised to do after I got back, and they're still glaring at me. BTW, the piece above is for an issue of X-men: The End. Click it to see the whole cover.

The first big trip was the weekend of August 27th, to sign at Mile High Comics. I'd been to Colorado before, but I'd never had a chance to hang out with Rowan Rozanski and her clan. Mile High is a family owned business, and it's a remarkable family. Rowan has grown up around comics, worked her ass off for CBLDF. She has a sure hand handling comics folks, and a knowing smile that lights up a room.

One of the real treats was meeting passionate young creators. I'm 36, so my definition of 'young' goes up to 32. It's really inspiring. It wa also cool seeing a giant warehouse full of back issues, drinking a bit much, and almost winning a long Texas Hold'em game. Shout out to the Jackalope and Andy (sorry I didn't get that image to ya yet), Raven, the NYC Mech crew, Arvid, Josh, Christian, the whole Rozanski crew, and everyone else I'm forgetting because of that drinking a bit thing. Like Ken, who I'd like to thank for not running off to Las Vegas with the cute girls instead of doing the signing.

A theme you may have noticed in my life is the loneliness of the comic book artist. I sit in a small room, alone, for a living. I miss the excitement of art school, when I always had roommates and neighbors to bounce ideas off of. I miss Bloomington, where I moved after college. That got lonely sometimes, but it was a smallish town and my friends were never that far away. So hanging out with all the young guns in Colorado felt like being in college, and being young and having an exciting world waiting for me. Anyhow, somewhere online is a photo album of Woodchuckpalooza 2005, the name of the signing and subsequent bacchanal, but I can't find it right now. A photo album full of pictures I don't want my mom to see....

I'll try to write about the next trips soon, but I've gotta sleep soon. It's 2 am. Expect to hear about Michigan, an unusual B-town trip, and a Canadian on the run from a very disgusting Texan. Hopefully I'll have enough time to write, draw, and still see Serenity.

September 26, 2005
Drizzly day here in Chicagoland, gray but pleasant.

It's been over a month since I last wrote. The problem with writing my news update is that they're all about me. The more stuff I have to write about, the less time I have to type it up. It's been pretty close to 100% good, but I can't detail it all right now. I'll try to get everyone up to date when I catch up.

I did want to write about walking my dogs while it's still fresh in my memory. I walked Lisa to our car (street parking) along with our beagle-bassets, Georgia and Nibbles. After Lisa drove off, I gave the girls a nice leisurely walk before getting back to cover sketches for Aubrey at Marvel. And before the light drizzle become a full on downpour.

The pups love the chance for social doggy time they get on walks. So when they saw a woman walking a pretty boy dog across the street, they whined until I crossed to meet them.

She was a woman with a cigarette and a pit bull. Our cultural stereotypes might predict that they'd be mean. But she's an Oak Park resident, and we love our dogs here. Pit bulls are the sweetest, shyest dogs if you don't starve and beat them. This one was especially sweet, crouching submissively and wagging his tail to invite us over.

Georgia and Nibbles fully approved of Harry. He wasn't scary or overly jumpy or anything. He politely sniffed their faces, and he looked up at me adoringly as I scratched his head. He pressed against me and I felt his soft warm urine sprinkle against my shins as he raised a leg.

Fortunately I found a hose nearby. I guess that's my social time for today. Back to drawing.

August 25, 2005 A Correction
A few words from my pal Lowell.

"I do have to correct you on your entry regarding my knowledge of Video
Games, I actually am a video game savant, but only in regards to games
that require no reflexes: most rpgs and some turn based strategy
games. The other games I like but am terrible at. Sometimes late at
night I'll go downstairs and pull out a particular game, imagining
that I've somehow developed youthful, cat-like reflexes. I have not.
We do a grand video-game party (8+ TVs!) on the Saturday after
Thanksgiving. This year will be the fourth annual year on my having
people over so I can demonstrate my incompetency. That is the weekend
where my wife grows most weary of goobers."

Which means he's better than me at most any video game. I suck equally at reflex and strategy games!

There, that should protect me from a defamation lawsuit.

August 23, 2005
Let me start off with my geek life. Then we'll get to all that personal stuff.

I'm going through stuff on the recommendation of my two old South Bend geek pals, Dwight and Lowell. Dwight gave me a copy of Spaced, a UK comedy series. Unfortunately, it doesn't play on my DVD player, and Lisa doesn't like watching TV on a computer. So I watched it alone. It's from the guy who made Shaun of the Dead. The first episode is very funny, but not as funny as his movie. I figure I'll watch a few more episodes. I love Black Adder, but that didn't get funny until the second series.

Lowell pointed me to the Velvet Marauder blog. It's laugh out loud funny. Keep in mind, Lowell's sense of humor is drier than Alan Moore's and my sense of humor is just weird, but I think VM is the funniest thing I've seen all summer. It's all text and in a daily blog format. It's a remarkably fresh take on comic books. A bit like reading the Steve Ditko Spider-Man reprints when I was a kid. Or the early issues of Astro City or Marvels.

You can start at the beginning. Or here's where I started, on the April 28 posting, then jumping to May 2005 in the archives. Lowell and I both had the same reactions upon reading VM. It would make a great comic book...no it wouldn't. It's a story that uses the text medium brilliantly, and it would lose its charm in a direct translation.

I enjoyed reading the blog enough that I decided to track down the creator. At first I wondered if maybe Lowell was the writer: Lowell does have an excellent knowledge of obscure pop. But he doesn't know anything about tuner cars and never played what I call "thumb candy" games (for you kids out there, we used to press the single 'fire' button with our thumbs two decades back). The Velvet Marauder is not Lowell, but he's cool nonetheless.

While walking the dogs, I called my Dad. He's a great man, but he's hard to get close to.

My dad's career as an anaesthesiologist was ended a few years ago by a stroke. At the time, I knew he'd lost a good slice of his retirement money to the stock bubble. I was worried if he'd be able to pay for his retirement. I talked to Donn and we figured out how much money we could offer Dad to pay for medical costs. It was just a few thousand. We then decided that if he had to live with one of us it would be me and Lisa. Lisa wasn't happy about this, but she didn't hesitate in agreeing with the decision. Donn would have taken Dad on if it made sense, but it didn't.

Fortunately, my Dad is a frugal saver and had more than enough insurance and savings to cover his bills. He lives independently in Mishawaka, in a townhouse where he doesn't have to climb ladders if the roof leaks.

At the time, I thought that a crisis like that would pull the family together. I got Lisa and Donn to visit Dad in the hospital monthly. I wanted my Dad to know we were there for him and that we all loved him. Again, this was hard on Lisa. We lived in Minnesota at the time and the drive down and back could take sixteen hours on a weekend. But she went with me.

I was wrong about my Dad's stroke bringing us closer. Because he'd seen Donn watching The Negotiator, he decided Donn wanted to kill cops. My Dad still thinks I'm hopelessly naive for not recognizing Donn's illegal drug addiction and homicidal tendencies. Let me just say that I'm sure my Dad's wrong on both of these counts. He eventually banned Lisa from his home because of her rudeness. If you've ever met Lisa you'll understand how odd that is.

So I called my Dad. I let him know I was doing well. He doesn't care about my comics, so I let him know that it's being received well at least. There's the signing in Colorado. And a South Korean comics con wants to fly me out as the US representative. It might not happen, but they're definitely interested. My Dad began his call ending dialog.

So I asked how the other Koreans in South Bend are doing. He perked up. He let me know that every Korean family there has a kid who grew up to be an MD, and that this is typical of Korean-Americans nationwide. If you're a KA in SB, let me know if this is true. He said the Song kid became a neurosurgeon. Does he mean Mike Song? Mike is whip smart, but he was a major slacker when I knew him. I can see him as a top surgeon, but a brain surgeon? I could be wrong.

Anyhow, I still harbor hopes that my Dad and I will be friends someday. But I'm really just waiting until he gives me the shove like Donn and Lisa. Don't take this as a major tragedy. I've got a great relationship with my brother and my wife and my Mom and my stepfamily. But I just can't stop caring for my Dad.

I took the weekend off to go to Bloomington for my birthday and GenCon. On the work front, still at work on a Wizard basic training article. After that, I should be at work on a five page section of a Young Avengers special. I specifically asked for visuals similar to Top 10, so I can try out style tricks for any future Top 10 projects. After that, I'll be doing pretty much anything Scott Dunbier can come up with.

August 18, 2005
Well, that was a waste of a workday.

I installed Norton Internet Security last February, and for the most part it's worked flawlessly. For instance, every few hours computers from China try to hack into my PC and introduce a Trojan. If not for NIS, I wouldn't know about this. After Donn replaced my old PC, NIS worked well on there too. When I installed the software on the new PC, Donn warned me that it's impossible to remove it from your computer.

But for the last few days, NIS has warned me that my one year subscription will be up in September. After some unhelpful email exchanges with the Norton folks, they finally told me to reinstall the program. So I tried to uninstall it.

Cutting to the chase, the problem seems to be a program called Integrator that's been removed from the NIS suite. But it didn't want to be removed from my computer. This caused problems when I downloaded the software updates. I started working on this last night and didn't finish until about 4:30 pm. Hm, the Integrator is gone. I have this image of a software Southern sheriff breaking out his Confederate battle flag.

On the plus side, the software has now decided that it doesn't expire until August 19, 2006. I really don't understand how they programmed this monster.

I started work on the un- re- install after I got back home from a phone interview. I only have a cell, no ground line, and the sound quality is not great. John Siuntres of WordBalloon.com has been patiently trying to interview me for weeks, but the latest setback was my crappy Nokia sound quality. So I went across the street to Mitzi and Willy's to borrow their phone. (Thanks guys!). John compared my plight to Eddie Albert having to climb a telephone pole to take a phone call. The interview should be online in a few days.

After I give the dogs their 3pm walk (it's 5:30 now) I'll finally try to get some comics work in. At 10 Lisa gets home and we'll hang out a bit. And this weekend I head down to Bloomington to attend GenCon, which is actually geekier than Wizard World. It should be a nice day if something else doesn't randomly decide to break, cross your fingers...

August 10, 2005
The Chicago 'Wizard World' is over and lots of fun was had. It is a big corporate con, not one of those friendly volunteer cons (like the Fall Con or even San Diego) but it's not all bad, and comics folks are always fun.

My big scheme was engineering a meeting between Adi Granov (formerly of Chicago, now in Leeds, England) and his comics idol Jim Lee. Everyone at DC loves Adi, but for now it's just friendly banter: Adi is exclusive to Marvel for another two years. So if anyone at Marvel is reading this, remember to treat Adi right! DC is lurking at the doorstep...

I spent most of my time doing sketches for charity. (My wife Lisa likes to point out that I should get my finances in order before I worry about everyone else's. It's a reasonable point). It's a fun way to meet the fans and to make the trip from Texas or New York or Berwyn worth it. My current sketch policy is a $60 donation to a comics charity for a nice sketch, or a headshot of yourself as a superhero for free.

Back when I had more young readers I used to make people do dares for a sketch. There were some legendary ones, such as singing the Spider-Man theme while being carried aloft, pretending to swing from a rope. It was fun, but I began running short of ideas. Also, my fans are getting older and have a lot more dignity and cash than a teenager. So now I mostly just ask for a donation receipt. If it helps buy eye surgery for blind golden age artists, I can't feel too bad about not humiliating fans in public.

If you ordered a signed cover with sketch from Dynamic Forces, it will be a bit late. I had a communication snafu and didn't realize I was supposed to put sketches on all of them. They're resending them to me and I'll get the drawings done. Ten of the sketches will be india ink drawings, the rest marker. For the sake of justice don't blame Nick Barrucci for them being late. It's me.

More lost friends being found! I get pretty excited about this. I got to hang out with Dwight Morozowski at the Chicago Con. When I got back I learned that my email correspondent "edige23" is really Lowell Francis.

Other than family, there are three people who shaped me into the geek I am today: Dwight Morozowski, Eugene Cho, and Lowell Francis. I owe them a lot, and if you love my work then some of your thanks should go to them (and probably some of my dad's regrets about his son's career).

Dwight was my buddy in elementary and middle school who shared my geeky interests. We loved superhero TV shows (which were pretty bad in the 70s), comics, cartoons, scifi, fantasy, and later a little D&D. Hanging out with him now, huddled as refugees just outside the convention hall, I'm amazed how quickly we fell back into our old rhythms. He has a connoiseur's palate for the latest Hong Kong movies and superhero news. He's always been a true geek taste maker. He slipped me a copy of Spaced, a UK sitcom from the creators of Shaun of the Dead. I know I'll love it: Dwight's taste is impeccable.

Eugene Cho is currently a surgeon in Washington state. When my dad waxes about other Korean kids, Eugene's the top of the list. I haven't talked to him since high school, but I expect some things haven't changed. Athletic, but he never let sports get in the way of his true interests: classical music, science, science fiction and being clever. Eugene loved scifi that had brains behind it. When my dad attacked all science fiction as a waste of time, Eugene was eloquent in defending it's exploration of grand scientific concepts. He also loved satire and a good joke, especially in scifi novels. Eugene always made you think.

I should also note that he made me sit down and draw my first 'mini-comics', with completed drawings and a story and word balloons. Then he would give me a critique. So Eugene was also my first editor.

Lowell Francis, for all practical purposes, was my introduction to the avant garde. He handed me my first British comic book (a Judge Dredd annual, long before it was reprinted here) and my first Alan Moore comics. But his world is much bigger than comics. In a town obsessed with classic rock, Lowell was the first person to introduce me to new experimental rock. At the time not many people in South Bend were listening to Laurie Anderson and the Dead Kennedys. You wouldn't have guessed it from how conservatively he dressed, but he was the hippest person I knew in South Bend. He also pushed my taste in movies and created my lasting love of alternative cinema. No one else pushed me to see Blood Simple. I'm pretty sure that without Lowell's influence in my life I would have become a cheesy hack. That's not necessarily a bad thing: who doesn't love Roger Corman? But Lowell showed me a new direction.

Another big influence was Lowell's neighborhood. I lived in a country club subdivision, he lived a few blocks from downtown. "Knollwood" was a wasteland of yards and putting greens. I could bike around all day and just pass by cars and driveways. Lowell's block had close set homes with sidewalks, where people walked and chatted. They'd all pull together for holiday carolling or group yard sales, and to me this was as exotic and exciting as visiting an ancient Roman harbor town. My most cherished Christmas memories are in his neighborhood.

To this day, I need to live in a walking community. Lowell is the reason I'll never settle down in LA.

Anyhoo, take care of yourself, write, and check in later. Gene.

July 28, 2005
I can't officially say what I'm hoping to do next for an interior art project.

Yesterday, I shot some photo reference of two new friends, Julie and Dale Rosenthal. Julie has a nice 60s Bond blonde vibe, but she's thinner and more delicate than the classic Bond girl. BTW, Peregrine is based on a classic Bond girl look... Dale has the lantern jawed look I use for characters like Captain America, Superman, and Smax. He's from Minnesota. His type was reasonably common in the Great White North, but it's unusual around here.

Good news on the lost friends front! Bruce Benman called me today. Bruce was the one of my best pals when I went to IUSB for my academic (non-art) classes. We're still pretty close today. He'd disappeared for a while, and all of his old email and phone contacts had gone dead. I was getting a bit worried.

He's had troubles aplenty, but I'm pleased to learn he's still in good health. He's got strong faith and an indomitable work ethic. Anyhoo, just a little shout out to my pal Bruce. If you're looking for an honest and diligent guy to work on your South Bend homestead, look him up!

Big controversy in the comics industry: Wizard has scheduled a Southern convention the same weekend as the NC Heroes Con. The Heroes organizers had alerted Wizard to their con date long before Wiz announced theirs, so Wizard is widely seen as trying to sabotage that weekend for Heroes Con.

In response, most comics pros are boycotting the Wizard show. I love being in an industry full of angry young coots. I'm considering going to Heroes, partly because I love an underdog, partly because it's supposed to be one of the best cons in the USA, and in part because I could make a side trip and visit Dennis and Marna in SC. If you're going to the Heroes Con, drop me a line and let me know what you think of it.

July 24, 2005 (Happy Birthday, Matt!)
[Update] Shad and Anna have tried out the following personality quiz and it made no sense whatsoever. So I can't endorse it's medical use...[now back to our original programming]

You know those horrible computer personality quizzes that tell you which Brady Buncher or A-Team member you are? I just took one, but this one really is cool!

Instead of telling you which of six iconic characters you are, the Book Quiz tells you which of 64 books you are. I'm curious if your results will seem as appropriate as mine:

You're Catch-22!
by Joseph Heller
Incredibly witty and funny, you have a taste for irony in all that you see. It seems that life has put you in perpetually untenable situations, and your sense of humor is all that gets you through them. These experiences have also made you an ardent pacifist, though you present your message with tongue sewn into cheek. You could coin a phrase that replaces the word "paradox" for millions of people.

Seems about right, but I'm not a pacifist. I just think most fights are started for stupid reasons. Anyhoo, try it out, it's quick fun!

July 22, 2005
I've got a new computer.

My brother Donn (the polymath Ha bro) has been begging to replace my five year old PC for years. What can I say? Except for the trickier Photoshop filters the old one was more than powerful enough for my work. He at least convinced me to replace the motherboard with a used motherboard.

He couldn't make the new/old motherboard work. Then he claimed that he couldn't get the old/old motherboard to work. See the pattern here? So off he goes to Microcenter to get extra parts. He came back with a refurbished HP PC.

It's twice as powerful as my old computer. It boots up twice as fast, handles filters twice as fast, and DVD Shrinks twice as fast. Donn asked if it made my computer twice as fast. Not really: for most activities the computer gets done before I figger out my next move. But it makes my work better. I can now use filters and tricks that I would never have experimented with before. So thanks Donn!

This story goes to show how hard it is to predict the behavior of someone with a larger IQ. For all I know, I might be physiologically superior to Donn's IQ, but it doesn't matter. I have several behavioral traits that hamper my intelligence. I love bold action and looking before I leap. I have a strong sense of honor and loyalty, and I'm a bit indiscriminate with who I latch my loyalty too. I'm a perfectionist when I bother caring at all. Looking before you leap is a bad combination with perfectionism: you think you know the ideal result before you've studied the facts. All of this makes me a miserable Risk player.

But these are also the traits that make me the comic book artist I am today. I work a bit harder on projects than I should and I hate to compromise the quality of the printed work for any factor. My loyalty, in this case, goes to the artwork. I love my editors and co-workers, but there's no point in any of us working if we're just putting out crap. I have nothing against people putting out crap on their own, but I don't want to be involved. I'm loyal to my fellow creators if they care about the artwork too.

Man, I'm rambling. Oh well.

I've been thinking about what makes great art. When is art worth starving in the garret with a knife to your ear? When I was younger, I thought it was skill. Great art should show off the skill of its creator. I think that definition is assinine now. Great art makes you think.

Alan Moore's stories are about how we comprehend the world: philosophy and magic. He introduced me to the major concepts of 20th century philosopy. Bill Sienkiewicz changed how I thought about comic art, adding concepts from commercial illustration and graphic design.

So does great art stop being great art the second time you looked at it? After all, it's already shocked you once, how can it shock you again? This is why great art should have depth and complexity. I worked with Alan because every time I re-read one of his stories I find new interpretations that surprise me again. It's actually quite a headache fitting in all the levels of meaning from his scripts, but it's certainly worth it. Without a great story, I don't consider my drawings alone 'great art'.

Signing off for now. I'll miss your superhero work, Alan, and thanks again to Donn for the shiny new/refurb computer!

July 13, 2005 In Defense of Treason
Still working on side projects before jumping back onto full time interior work. I'm doing a pinup for a Teen Titans Secret Files, and a cover for the Fantastic Four. More details on this as I progress. And still doing the Vs. cards on the side.

In Washington, the Republicans have again stood up for their principles. In this case, the cause is Treason. The cynics on the Left say that Republicans only use causes like Terri Schiavo and public disclosure of undercover CIA agents to rile up their base. They say that the GOP is all about PR, not patriotism. I like to think they destroy our spy networks out of the goodness of their hearts.

The scandal started with Robert Novak's 7/14/03 column. Bob talks about Joseph Wilson's mission to Africa, which debunked the story that Niger sold Iraq uranium. When Wilson wrote in the NY Times that Bush should stop using the debunked story, the White House decided to punish him. Two 'senior administration officials' called at least six reporters telling them that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA agent. They claimed Wilson only got the unpaid mission through nepotism (here's Wilson debunking that White House line).

It's a crime punishable by up to $50,000 and/or 10 years in prison for a anyone with access to classified information to identify a covert agent. It does not have to be by name. For those who doubt Plame was a CIA agent, keep in mind that Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald wouldn't have spent two years investigating the outing if she wasn't undercover and CIA.

At first, Republicans were as indignant as the Liberal partisan hacks about the burning of a US spy. Both Bush and his spokesman promised to fire any White House employee who leaked a CIA agent's identity. But then Matt Cooper (another one of the journalists contacted about the story) revealed that the leaker was Karl Rove, the most powerful Republican in the world.

RNC Chair Gillespie, who in 2003 called outing a CIA agent "abhorrent", "a crime" and agreed it was worse than Watergate, now says attacks on Rove are "blatant partisan political attacks." I'm glad Gillespie stopped being such a political hack.

Responding to Democratic attacks on Rove, Senator Norm Coleman says "We have enough to do in the Senate in minding our own business than to be sticking our noses into someone else's business." Treason is a cherished Republican tradition. Why involve the federal government?

FOX's John Gibson says that Rove deserves a medal for letting our foreign enemies know the identity of a CIA agent. Now our enemies can execute Plame's sources. Good job, Karl!

The Powerline Blog says Rove's actions were OK if he didn't realize Plame's CIA job was a secret. We can't expect our White House to ask if a CIA agent is public before calling six reporters. Valerie officially worked at Brewster Jennings & Associates in Boston, not the CIA. So Rove also outed everyone else working for that CIA front too. Does that earn him a Medal of Honor for each CIA agent he burned? BTW, Rove's lawyer refuses to say whether or not Karl knew she was covert. The lawyer will say many other things in Rove's defense, but he won't answer that one.

John Podhoretz thinks Rove should get a black robe on the Supreme Court!

Bush spokesman Scott McClellan states, "...some of you asked a couple of questions about does the President still have confidence in particular individuals, specifically Karl Rove. I don't want to get into commenting on things in the context of an ongoing investigation. So let me step back and point out that any individual who works here at the White House has the confidence of the President." Good to see that treason is no cause for discrimination. You're safe, Karl.

A few Republicans, like Bill Frist and John McCain, refuse to either defend or attack Karl Rove. It's just political opportunism. Follow your conscience. If not you, then who will defend Treason?

Update: More Republicans come out in defense of the right to Treason! Orrin Hatch: “In All Honesty, The Facts Thus Far – And The E-Mail Involved – Indicate To Me That There Is Not A Problem Here…” From the official GOP website.

July 9, 2005
I just thought I'd throw in a neat little link. Any Soldier is a website that hooks up soldiers with folks who'd like to send all the civvy goods (non-perishable food, suntan lotion, wet wipes, or toys to give to Iraqi kids) overseas. The troops leave a message giving their military address and supplies they need.

It's the toughest job I can think of, sitting here in my air conditioning. Do what you can.

I'm currently working on a set of cards for Top Deck. I actually thought it would be a brain dead project, but they really put out some beautiful stuff. Some of my personal heroes like Tony Harris, Bill Siekiewicz, Dave Johnson and Kevin Nowlan have done some amazing cards. And there are a few names I don't know who are just amazing. Who the hell is Tomm Coker? He's amazing!

Anyhoo, I don't want to be the Sad Sack bringing down the whole collection. Gotta work hard.

June 21, 2005
Just to let everyone know, the release date for The Forty-Niners has been pushed back from July 13 to August 3. I'd actually scheduled a signing for it July 16, so it's lucky that a sharp-eyed clerk at Big Brain Comics in Minneapolis warned me of the change.

I'm experimenting with new art supplies. For years, my basic inking tools were a bottle of Badger Air-Opaque, a Winsor-Newton Series 7 Size 1, and a Staedtler-Mars refillable tech pen. That's starting to change.

Faber Castell has come out with a disposable brush pen filled with permanent india ink. It's really good. It doesn't have the responsiveness of a top of the line sable brush, but it's better than an average sable. It's called the Pitt Artist Pen (it's really a marker) and Dick Blick schleps it for less than $2.

I've never been able to do brush work on the go before, but now I can! I don't need to carry extra brushes, a water bowl, paper towels, an ink bottle, and brush soap anymore. This is a big change.

I have no real excuse for still using a refillable tech pen. They're a lot of bother and it's hard to find replacement parts. I had to special order nibs from a small print supply shop in Minneapolis. None of my regular art supply shops carried it. But now that Staedtler-Mars makes a disposable my resistance has been worn down. The new tool actually works better than my old ones.

Finally, a short list of what your Congress has accomplished this year. The first major bill was highway funding pork. They passed an Emergency Supplemental to fund the military (who knew we'd still have one 14 years after the Cold War?). We needed emergency funding for a surprise fish hatchery in Montana and an unpredicted need for wastewater treatment in ole Miss. I blame Al Qaeda for overfishing Montana. THEN Congress passed a budget. They passed the Parents of Schiavo Act. That was important. Congress made it tougher to declare bankruptcy unless you're a millionaire hiding money overseas or bought a second home in Texas or Florida. 'Cuz it would be socialist to prevent the rich from pleading poverty. They passed some more budget bills and messed around with reproductive rights.

They failed to pass legislation pulling us out of the World Trade Organization (huh?) and failed to save Social Security by taking money out of the system. They still hope to pull all federal funding from PBS and NPR soon.

"Can you godless socialists spell 'nada'?"

How did these incompetents take over Congress?

June 10, 2005 (a little after midnight)
Every once in a while, an editor needs some filler material for a book. So he asks for sketches from my sketchbook. Then I'm forced to confess that I don't have a sketchbook as such. I don't usually draw in my spare time, and when I do I usually give away the drawings immediately. I'm always amazed at the quality and variety of things other artists draw while waiting for buses or sitting in libraries.

Today was different for me. I'm waiting for reference from one editor and a cover theme from another, so I had no paid work to do. I cleaned my studio (some more), organized my comic book collection, and then decided I would practice my inks. Lots of repeated brush strokes, from Gary Martin's inking book.

My favorite exercise is using an artist's bridge. Mine is a ruler with two erasers taped under each end, making a 'bridge' to set above your drawing paper. I was taught to gently press your brush against this while you drew a straight line on your paper. This lets you draw an even width straight line with a brush. It takes a very steady hand to do this, and I'd fallen badly out of practice. After drawing about 20 of these lines, the Gary Martin exercises were pretty easy.

I haven't had time to practice and play like this since I started The 49ers. Quite a change after two years of solid work.

I decided to try my hand at one of the Steve Rude pencils in the book. Here's the result. If you own that book, you can compare my doodle against several professional inkers who did the same page:

It's a purposely queer composition. Rude and Martin were trying to give their colleagues a challenge. The cat woman and the tree both look like they're growing from the girl's body. I tried a few tricks to establish separate planes, but it still drives me a bit crazy. The more I look at it, the more I want to change it. I think I should spot more blacks on the tree limbs, and make the shadow of the picnic basket larger. Then I'll fill the basket with yummy Garden Fresh Salsa. MMMM!!!

I'd be curious what those two would think of my interpretation. I certainly need more practice, but hopefully I won't have time. I'll be too busy working.

May 30, 20005. Memorial Day
Eat Garden Fresh Salsa! Heck, bathe in the stuff. It's that good!
Happy Memorial Day. This is the day we Americans set aside to remember all the sacrifices made by our soldiers. Or that's what we assume we did today after we recover from that case of Milwaukee's Best.
There is no subliminal message here. These aren't the droids you're looking for.
I went to Petco to get a new collar for Georgia. We bought an understated burgundy leather number. I did not buy an American flag chew toy for Georgia.
War is peace. Democracy is Oldthink. Alberto Gonzales is watching you.
Am I missing something here? Now, I'm not one of those nuts who thinks we need a Constitutional ammendment to prevent artists from doodling on Old Glory, but I do love my flag. So why would someone celebrate America by handing the flag to Fido as a chew toy? Or even worse, star-spangled napkins and underwear.

Next subject. Little thought about Scott Dunbier's job. He's the man trying to make the crazies in the NY office towers get along with the crazies scribbling and scratching in garrets. He's been peripherally in the comics news now that Alan Moore has finally seceded from Time Warner. Joel Silver and Alan are about as extreme of crazies as one could try to reconcile, and I'm not surprised that Scott couldn't do it. Could you?

Honestly though, Alan is my kind of crazy. It's nice knowing there are folks out there who'll do anything to protect their work. I just wish he'd hired a better lawyer 10 or 20 years ago, instead of trying to fight for his rights now.

Last thing. I'm really excited about the work of Derek Kirk Kim! I first saw his stuff a year ago when he was a nominee for the Russ Manning Award. I reorganized my comics shelves and found his stuff again. Wow.

He's doing a lot of stuff I'm hoping to do. He's got an excellent grounding in basic drawing, painting, and design. He can go from abstracted cartoon to painterly realism in one piece. He knows how to simplify without getting too cute. And he writes engaging dialog and character. I'll be tracking down more of his work. It's very cool.

I sometimes get asked what I read. Frankly, not enough. If you'd like a good bibliography to work through, check out the nominees for the Russ Manning and Eisner Awards. Most everything on the list is stunningly fresh. Just like Garden Fresh Salsa! Resistance is useless!
May 25, 2005
Last night, Art and I finished the last touches on The 49ers. Late, but still ready to come out in June. Unlike Global Frequency, the blown deadline is all my fault. Alan was done with the script about a year ago.

A few shout outs, beyond my talented 49ers co-workers. Shad Petosky gave me vital criticism on my Batman B&W and Iron Fist stories. This feedback helped create the GF/49ers style. He and his wife Anna were also 49ers models.

Thanks to all the models. Especially Zander, Nicole and Joe. And when time was tight, Donn and Lisa. Zander was used for two major characters.

I feel like I just finished my high school graduation ceremony. I wanna run outside and look at all the stuff I was too cooped up to see! I could always do that anyway, but now I don't have to feel guilty!

And, this studio is a mess.

The last bit of business for me was a new cover. Here's the old cover, which will be used as an inside cover:

Nice, but nothing exciting. Somewhere along the way, someone rightly convinced Scott that the cover should be more exciting. Together, we cooked this up:

Frankly inspired by the cover of the Axis and Allies boardgame. Everyone seems much happier with this, including Scott and me. I'll put a larger image of the new cover on the Art page.

May 16, 2005
Here's an excellent interview with David Hackworth, Real Audio or Windows Media. As I noted on May 11, this great American soldier has died.

I finished reading Generation Kill, an great book about the Iraq occupation. Horrible title, but a good book. The author joined First Recon Marines yanked from their recon role and turned into the underarmed vanguard of the Iraq invasion. Nearly all Marines are ready to get shot at and fight, and a healthy dose of them are ready to think and lead. Marines are scary, unbalanced and very necessary people.

Unfortunately, the Marines need their bureaucracy. The book confronts us with the twisted internal politics the enlisted men face. The incompetent continue to climb the ranks. It's a bit like watching BBC's The Office with grenade launchers. At one point, the only thing stopping a captain from calling in an artillery strike on his own men isn't the warnings of those men, but that he can't remember the procedure to call in the strike.

On a lighter note, here's an interview with the creator of Gilmore Girls, the show Lisa and I stop our work weeks for to watch together. After I type this, it's back to work.

May 11, 2005
Got me a write up in my hometown paper! The South Bend Tribune published a section on Free Comics Day, and I was one of the locally connected comics folks profiled. Art Lyon is also a Bender, so it's cool that he got his own article.

In part, I'm excited because it might impress my Dad. Even going on 36 years, you never let go of those youthful motivations. It won't work, but one still tries.

Some less happy news: David Hackworth died. He lied to enlist in the US Army at 15, and soon went from Bucky to become a Captain America. He was a highly decorated war hero in the Korean and Vietnam wars. His later years turned him into a crusading journalist. He fought incompetence and corruption in and around the Defense Department. Our enlisted men are ready to fight foreign threats, but few officers or politicians were ready to fight for the lowly grunts. In his books and his weekly column, 'Hack' fought that fight.

On another subject, whatever happened to Republicans? You remember, the folks who wrote the Contract with America? I was quite excited when that came out. Balanced budgets. Strong oversight of the FBI. States' rights. No unfunded federal mandates to local governments. It's funny how a whole political party can disappear in 10 years.

The Unchecked Power Party is now pushing a National ID system. That's a little scary. The brilliant part is that local governments are responsible for executing the new law. So while you're waiting an extra hour at the DMV with four pieces of official documentation, don't blame your local government. Blame the idiots who designed this paean to totalitarianism:

April 22, 2005
Just got back from a downtown lunch with some Chicago comics luminaries. Tony Akins, lately of Fables, is up to something mysterious. I love Fables and his work on it. Alex Ross was there, carefully interrogating Adi Granov. Alex lives for comics and art, so it was amazing to listen in. Adi lives in Chicago for this time, but will soon join his wife in the UK. Bit of a hard move, in that his US income won't go as far in England. Bushonomics.

I find it interesting how we both came up with such similar techniques in our art. There are differences, but more of it comes from style and talent than process. He's worked in 3D gaming, so he understands form better than I do. I'm also rather jealous how he avoids drawing backgrounds, but doesn't leave the page looking incomplete. Must study his pages! Must steal tricks!

Thanks to the writing of Mr. Ellis, I'm up for another Eisner! Really, it's the book that got nominated: Global Frequency #12, best single issue. But this showers honor on everyone who put the book together. First time Art Lyon's been involved with the Eisners! Give him a slap on the digital back if you have time! He's rather excited. I'm pretty agog too. I don't win very often, so I'm in suspense to see if we'll win this time.

We spent a bit of time trading Warren Ellis stories. It was nice hanging out with comics folks. One of the big things I miss about the Twin Cities was how close knit the comix community was there. Peter Gross threw some wonderful parties, and a night out with Shad and Zander was always wild fun. Petosky and Cannon will be doing the 24 Hour Comic thing Saturday, and you can hang out too with their live Blogcast.

Anyhoo, back to drawing and watching the first season of The Wire on DVD.

April 8, 2005

Eat Garden Fresh Salsa!
This is from a few years back, but I thought I'd show one of the finest moments from my life in comics. Meeting Will Eisner. The plaque was nice, but getting to meet Mr Eisner was the cool part. I feel sorry for future Eisner winners: they'll be just as talented as the previous generation but they won't get to shake hands with Will.
Eat Garden Fresh Salsa!
(Getting to eat dinner with Julie Schwartz, hanging with Archie Goodwin, and meeting Marty Nodell were all top of the pops too!).
Eat Garden Fresh Salsa!
I work with a handful of multi-Eisner winners. Alan wins enough to tile his kitchen. Alex Ross rarely picks them up anymore. Todd Klein gets nominated for several of his projects every year and usually wins. Being Ant-Man is cool, but those other Avengers are damn intimidating!
Are you eating Garden Fresh Salsa yet?
They all appreciate the honor, but it's gotten to be a bit much now. After one Eisner ceremony, I went up to congratulate Todd. He was dismissive of his own talent. I think he's a genius so I disagreed. Todd easily listed off the names he considered brilliant. (Damn if I can't remember a single one of them).
I sure hope subliminal advertising works...Eat Garden Fresh Salsa!
Anyhoo, I's gots me an idea. After winning three or five times in the same category, could a winner pull himself out of any future nominations? Perhaps this might include a career award and some kind of advisory role. You could throw out some names for the nominating committee to pay special attention to.
I gotta stop this. It hurts my eyes.
From down here at the Ant-Man level, I'd like to see what the Hulk thinks is an impressive superhero. Does this make sense to you folks? If you think this is a good idea, I'll see if I can get this ball rolling. If there's some reason why it couldn't work, warn me off before I cause a train wreck.

March 29, 2005
"She has constitutional rights to live, and we are trying to protect her constitutional right to live, and more important than that, her constitutional right not to have somebody else decide her future by pulling out a feeding tube and letting her starve for two weeks." Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader.

In 1988 and already in Congress, Tom DeLay joined with his family in deciding to withdraw life support from his comatose father. There was no living will. "Whenever Randy [his son] walked into the room, his heart, his pulse rate, would go up a little bit." Charles Delay was not completely brain dead, unlike Terri Schiavo.

Charles DeLay ended up in a coma after riding a tram he himself had put together. The tram ran out of control, leaving Charles with the head injuries that left him comatose. After withdrawing dialysis, Tom DeLay was a plaintiff in the wrongful death lawsuit of his father. The DeLay family sued two parts manufacturers of the tram. After about three years, the case was settled out of court.

To prevent anyone else from filing such lawsuits, DeLay cosponsored the 1996 Federal Products Liability bill. It was vetoed by Bill Clinton. Read the original article in the LA Times here.

"I tell you, ladies and gentlemen, one thing God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo to elevate the visibility of what's going on in America. That Americans would be so barbaric as to pull a feeding tube out of a person that is lucid and starve them to death for two weeks." Rep. Tom Delay in a speech to the Family Research Council.

March 29, 2005
Eat Garden Fresh Salsa! Why, you may ask?

My friend Anette is the greatest graphic designer I know. Every year, I try to come up with the most brilliant concept for a Christmas card possible. Every year, Anette outdoes me. She's done cards on beautiful hand made paper that looks like something from a Communication Arts annual. She's made individual gingerbread houses for all of her friends. One year she made a translation wheel which was both striking and useful if you needed to give holiday greetings in Slovenia.

She does this for fun. Which is another way of saying she does it because she's bored. She works at a small Detroit ad agency where the clients want ads that look just like the competition's. I suspect this is why everyone in the commercial arts tell me not to quit my day job.

Anyhoo, getting back to Garden Fresh. It's tasty, it's refrigerated fresh, it wins awards nationwide. And they're the biggest client for Anette's company. Anette is very cool. If those aren't enough reasons for you slavering fanboys out there, Anette is a tall shapely pretty Swede.

When Garden Fresh gets more sales, they'll buy more ads. As more work gets thrown at Anette, she'll have less spare time. Her Christmas cards will go downhill. And some year, I'll make a better card than hers! Bwa ha ha ha! Now go buy that salsa! It really is yummy.

Easter 2005
I'm trying to re-think how I draw comics. If you've ever spent time with me, you'll know this is a preoccupation of mine. What's the best way for Gene Ha to draw comics?

Most folks in comic art would love to be in my situation. I have loyal readers and an editor who's a world class comic art connoisseur. It all allows me to be a perfectionist. Still, I'd like to work faster (and, pray hard, work on a monthly again someday!). And I'd like the process to drive me less crazy.

The 'working alone in a small room' thing is part of what drives me crazy. But staring at a single page of paper for a few days plays its part too.

What got me thinking this time was a party I went to. It was a combined St. Patrick's/Purim party. Mmmmm, Guinness and Hamantashen! Anyhow, I did some caricatures while I was there. The host, a photographer, had some Prismacolor markers and lots of cheap printer paper. I did two quick drawings of guests as superheroes. Quick and fun.

I used to do something similar in art school. I would go to bars and draw other patrons. After I finished, I would show it to them. If they liked it, I would ask for a drink. It was a great way for a starving artist to get drunk on the weekend. If I got too drunk, I couldn't draw and was forced to sober up. Wow, I hope me mom isn't reading this...

I'd love for my professional work to be that breezy and stylish and fun (if not as besotted). So I'm Googling about, trying to see how other people ink. Should I consider digital inking? If so, should I buy Corel Painter instead of my copy of Photoshop? I've long wondered if a Cintiq tablet would be worth the dough. I've never actually used one so I can't be sure I'll like it. Could I somehow use a bullet tip marker or a brush marker on paper? What size paper should I use?

Let me know if you've played with any of these things. I'd love to hear the voice of experience!

Before I abandon my old style, I'm adding a few more notes to my technique FAQ.

March 20, 2005
Great stuff came my way! My brother Donn (the smart Ha boy) and I headed off to Wisconsin for the Beaver Dam show. Very small, but the comics fans there were really entertaining. Got to sit next to Jeff Moy and talk about his life a bit. He's hard at work on designing the look of the next X-men: Legends videogame. Josh is just starting out, but he runs a great show.

Came back to find an email from Todd Johnson. He and Hassan started the Comics Cafe in Ferndale, MI. While they never ended up serving coffee, the conversation did have a Viennese kaffee feel. I can't think of another comic shop where the customers talked and debated comics so passionately.

Hassan is THE guy who got me out of advertising and into comics. As a short experiment, he tried selling comics out of a second location in a Detroit vintage clothes shop. I was shopping for a biker jacket when I found the scholarly cat with the comics in back. He told me about the state of the industry, who the hot talents (artistically and commercially) were, and how to break into the industry. I knew nothing about the 90's comics scene until Hassan and Todd brought me up to date.

The Detroit branch didn't last long. But I became a regular at the Ferndale Comics Cafe. They critiqued my samples. After I got work, they would check my original pages before I sent them out. They were the only folks outside of CCS who saw them. Every week, they would recommend some new comics to teach me about the medium.

The Cafe didn't last long. It wasn't from a lack of commitment on their part. They put in long hours and their lifes' savings keeping it going, but the market crash took them down along with thousands of other retailers in the early 1990's.

"Hassan still works with me. We do promotions, graphics and a wide range of
stuff. Have not dabbled in comics lately but have thought about it. Late
congrats on the marriage. I'm married with two kids in Lathrup Village and
Hassan is married with three. Hope your brother is doing well too. This
probably sounds corny but we are always proud to see any of your always
great looking stuff. Keep cranking it out!"

"Until we cross paths again. Todd Johnson"

March 13, 2005
Just got back from hanging out with my dad. My dad is a retired anaesthesiologist, and one well loved in South Bend. When I'm there people often come up and recall my dad's bedside manner. He's good at making deathly ill people laugh.

Growing up in South Bend, I thought most Korean immigrants were doctors or math professors. Telling my parents that Dr Kim called was pretty useless. We'd say, "Dr Kim, Henry's dad, is on the phone!" I was awfully confused when I found out the stereotypical Korean was a green grocer.

Over lunch, he started to enviously list off the accomplishments of the other Korean kids I grew up with. Lotta doctors, just like their dads. Then he looked off into the distance and wished that one of his sons could have become a doctor or a lawyer.

I thought he'd made his peace with my comic book career, but I am wrong yet again. I wish he were happier with my job, but I don't have any doubts about my choices. Comics have paid for my grub and my mortgage. I enjoy the crowd I work with (I wish I could hang out with them more). I love the folks who read my books. I really savor not having to fight Chicago traffic every weekday morning.

The single best part is that when I feel inspired, I can plant the idea and rough hew as it grows. And somehow, with a creativity greater than mine, divinity shapes the ends.

March 9, 2005
Not much news today. First off, shout out to my anadromous friend in Minnesota, Alosa sapidissima! He doesn't actually have a website anymore, so I'll just throw in one for a random superhero by weekend, law student by day.

No, none of that was supposed to make sense.

Gotta get back to work soon. Cole, I've printed out the story but I can't read it yet. I can say that I like your tast in music, and musical quotes!

March 6, 2005

What can I say? I saw it on a blog and had to steal it.

Rest assured, at least you'll have the Jack Chick readers coming along with you.

I first saw it on Shakespeare's Sister. Then I traced it to the neo-conservative blog Trust me, you have no idea how much I hate Bush. I was a little disappointed to learn that it had been synthesized on a very clever website, Church Sign Generator. You can write anything you'd like and create an image. Great fun!

February 21, 2005
My brother Donn (the web designer) is lounging on my couch. I'm over here at the computer, working on the website. I tried to recreate the problem with image files I had earlier, but I can't. Now that he's driven an hour across town. Poor Donn. I owe him a nice lunch. But anyhoo, I hope you like the preview of The 49ers cover up top!

I'm into the thickest most architectural part of the graphic novel. More drawings of a neoclassical train station.

And now for the latest rant at Art! I'm just trying to see how long it takes him to check on this news pages again. Art is connubial with a Hoosier hemerocallis! And he seems completely unashamed.

February 17, 2005
Time served. It's a weird concept. Some judge realizes you didn't shoot at the cop (you're blind and were born without hands) so he convicts you of resisting arrest to justify the five months you spent in lock up.

Stay with me here. All this DNA testing stuff is freeing hundreds of people convicted of murder, rape, and murdering rapists. But you've already spent a decade or two in prison. So what if we count this as time served for whatever you do next?

If you've got all that extra credit, use it to set up your new life as a free man. Blow out the kneecaps of the prosecutor who put you away. Rob a few banks and invest the proceeds in an IRA. Or if you're not feeling antisocial, feel free to jaywalk every day for the rest of your life.

Finally saw Sky Captain on DVD. A few very good qualities, but now disabused of thinking Ms Paltrow can act. However, I was blown away by the six minute short. It's a vivid lesson about cutting out the excess in your storytelling.

February 16, 2005
You'll notice that there's no image at the top of this type column. That's because I'm not competent with this web design stuff. Argh.

Somehow, when I design a page and stick an image at the top, it doesn't show up in IExplorer or Firefox. So until my brother (the polymath who designed this site) gives me a refresher course on Dreamweaver, I'll have to leave out any more graphics.

Onto the news! I could mention how much I hate the policy incompetents in the Bush administration, but that's not news. No rant today: folks like Kevin Drum do it so much smartier than can I.

I'm hard at work on The 49ers, the Top 10 prequel. Seventeen pages to go. Half of the pages take place in giant neoclassical great hall, the other half during a dark and stormy night. I'm looking forward to the nearly background free outdoors scenes! The indoors stuff.....

It looks like I really do have some friends who check out this blog, so here are my first shout-outs! Kurt, don't let your boss catch you reading this, and loved the new sketch pages. Cole, I really do enjoy your story ideas, so keep in touch. Ivan, glad everything's copacetic again (copacetic is my favorite fake word!). Art, sending Ellen seasons 1-6.5 SatC with the next package, forgot. And, you're a peripatic scotophile and a Marantaceaen solicitor. Visit his webpage, but beware: some say he's a closet gynotikolobomassophile.

February 3, 2005
I'm using Dreamweaver to update these pages. Great program, but I don't understand how it works sometimes. I seem to have deleted all my earlier 2005 posts while trying to repair a mistake. Gahhr.

Anyhoo, things are going fine here. Still hard at work on The 49ers. The cover looks nice. Still got 15 pages left to pencil and ink. Very exciting.

After that, I'll take a little break from storytelling. I'm hoping to do some covers and posters and what have you. Do some sketching, rethink my style. I want to experiment with other people's styles again.

The last time I did this, I was very impressed with the heroic proportions of Chris Sprouse's figures. I took a lot from his style, but you wouldn't mistake our work for each other's. (I realized months later that Jeff Smax looks like Tom Strong in negative).

I'd like to try sketching in the style of cartoony animation and see what I come up with. Manga and anime of course. 1950s Disney cartoons like 101 Dalmations, really nice design there. And I'm a big fan of Brad Bird's work on The Iron Giant and The Incredibles. I would love to find ways to speed up my backgrounds without making them look like toy blocks.

And (he said mysteriously) I'd like to do some storyboards for Stardust Telephone...

Lastly, if you're a personal friend of mine and you're reading this, let me know. I'm curious who keeps in touch this way!