Q&A with "Artboy_X", part 2

Today I finish our much anticipated q&a with Artboy_X, in which I unfairly try to corner him into drawing some Teddy and the Yeti, and he expertly dodges it.  Seriously, it was impressive.  Here we go!

JM: Tell us a little bit about this X-Plosive Comics anthology you'd like to put together. What is your overall goal with it? What do you hope to accomplish?

X: The X-Plosive Comics anthology will introduce characters from the X-Plosive Comics Universe. I’ve been a comic book addict since the 7th grade - since then I’ve had this burning fire to share my stories and characters with the world. My goal is to create stories that are unique and entertaining; with the help of my comic book creator friends I hope to stand toe-to-toe with Marvel and DC and bring peace to the world - via our comic books.

JM: In addition to Mr. Massive and a few other short projects, one that stands out to me is Bloodspade (beyond the fact that its name contains the word "Blood" like so many Image books from the 1990s). Tell us a little bit about the character - what makes him stand out?

X: First off I would like to state that yes I am a BIG fan of Image Comics and Rob Liefeld books! I basically grew up on CyberForce, WildCATS, YoungBlood, Spawn, WetWORKS, Savage Dragon and many other books from the 90s. Rob Liefeld may not draw hands or feet properly but his designs are second to none - and his art bleeds excitement.


BloodSpade is a book that dares to ask the question, “who will save our super heroes?” A serial killer is on the lose and he specializes in killing super heroes. The police protect our neighborhoods, the CIA and FBI watch over countries, super heroes save the world, but who will save the super heroes? BloodSpade is in development and continuously evolving as we speak, but that is the basic premise. 

JM: Now that you are an adult, do you continue to eat all of your vegetables when you have dinner?

X: Broccoli and cabbage are my favorites. Actually, I am a big fan of healthy eating, but once in a while I will reward myself with a bucket of cookies & cream ice cream or a large pizza. My full-time job requires me to stay lean and mean. The world depends on it... 

JM: You used to live out in sunny California before moving to the East coast. What do you miss most about southern Cali?

X: Living in the Long Beach/Los Angeles area made it a lot easier to check out all the local conventions. The San Diego, Long Beach, and Los Angeles comic conventions were 30 minutes to two hours away. But, seeing how 99% of my family resides in Southern Cali, and me being away for so long, I would have to say that family is what I miss most...and of course the weather, oh and this may seem a little odd but I do miss the traffic on the 405 and 91 freeways. (just a little)

JM: THE WORLD IS WATCHING, so you must be honest: will you draw a pinup for a future issue of Teddy and the Yeti? You know it'd look great.

X: Yes, Yes I would love to draw a pin-up for Teddy and the Yeti. It is already on my bucket list! Just need a little lead time...how about two years? (WELL DONE, SIR! - JM)

My pursuit of a successful career in the comic book industry started in 1996 (when I sent out my first submission to Marvel and hundreds of other publishers). Fast forward to 2011 and I find myself with my first interview. I think I’m making good progress.

And that's it for this round of Yeti Q&A.  The X-Plosive Comics anthology has its Kickstarter page here...check it out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028284042/explosive-comics-black-terror-mr-massive

Superdogs, The Dark Knight Rises filming schedule, John Watkins and more!

- One post of mine that gets frequent attention is "Who Owns Superman Ice Cream?", which questions the legality of Kroger's name for their red, yellow and blue ice cream.  Unless there's been an upswing in desire for a dessert treat based on the philosophy or Friedrich Nietzsche ("God is Dead Cookies and Cream", perhaps), it's probably something that Warner Bros. and DC Comics know about but decide to look the other way.

I was shopping for, well, meat the other day, and I came across the above package of hot dogs - "Superdogs" with Superman's "S" shield logo stamped right on the package.  It's not even a variation of the logo, it's the exact comic book S that we see on the Man of Steel.  Interesting stuff.

- The "Captain Mal" art by Sammy Gomez that I won at a screening of "Serenity" made it on to i09's website a few days ago, under the heading "The Coolest Firefly Art in the 'Verse".  It was not only awesome to see the art I own online with a link back to this blog, but there were lots of other great pieces of art on display as well.  And it all made me miss Firefly/Serenity even more.  Sigh.

- "Smart Alex" McKinley wrote a nice blog about the Mr. Massive/X-Plosive Comics Kickstarter project that my friend Artboy_X is heading up.  I've never met Alex before and I have no idea who he is, but he had this to say about, well, me:

Mr. Massive, by Michael Oeur and Jeff McLelland, chronicles the adventures and misadventures of a boy who uses his superpowers as any typical boy would- particularly if he never had an Uncle Ben Parker telling him, "With great power comes great responsibility." Given Jeff McLelland's previous work on a variety of comics including Teddy and the Yeti, the zaniness of his "stupid" Youtube show Franks and Beans, and the premise of Mr. Massive, I think it's safe to say we'll see hilarity ensue.

To hear someone I don't know talk about Franks and Beans makes my head spin a little bit.  I don't even mind that he spelled my name wrong (it happens, I understand).

- Great day in the morning, "The Dark Knight Rises" is almost upon us.  As you can see from the above Post-Gazette photo, the bat-logo shone upon downtown Pittsburgh recently in anticipation of the start of filming, which begins...any day now!

The website onlocationvacactions.com printed a comprehensive list of just where the movie will be filming - apparently, the studio sent letters to homeowners in the area to keep them aware of what would be happening (so they won't, you know, call the police if things start blowing up a half a mile down the road), and someone decided to put it online, much to the appreciation of you and me.

Here's part of it - go here for the complete list: http://www.onlocationvacations.com/2011/07/16/the-dark-knight-rises-filming-locations-in-pittsburgh-august-10th-20th/comment-page-1/

In the coming weeks we will be visiting all of the businesses and entity in the area effected but our proposed activity in order to ascertain the best way of minimizing are impact. We are also working with building managers in the area to facilitate tenant access to properties. Our goal is to make this a positive experience for everyone involved and we would like to address your individual concerns, no matter how small. Please do not hesitate to call us with any questions at our cell phone numbers listed below. 

Throughout our preparation, filming and restoration periods, Security guards, Pittsburgh Police Officers and production assistants will be visible during our film shoot to insure public safety as well as address any immediate concerns you may have about the filming.

If what is on the website is an exact transcription of the letter that actually went out, I think I'll gouge my eyes out in response to the grammar.  "Minimizing ARE impact"?!?  Perhaps they meant that recently released Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El would be rampaging the streets of downtown Pittsburgh.  Perhaps.

- Paul Tucker recently finished our short story, "John Watkins: Phantom for Hire", and it is fan-friggin-tastic!  We're currently making a few small adjustments before we try to get it in front of some faces.  Paul has a really great blog where he's broken down much of his process for this story, and you owe it to yourself to check it out at http://tuckercomics.blogspot.com/.

- And now, a few non-comic related items.  First, as you can see in the screenshot above, I made it into the trailer for a movie.  Not just any movie, mind you, but a movie with an embarrassing title; one that I have to preface with "it's not a porno" every time I tell people about it.  It's actually a Saturday Night Live movie - or at least it has a number of actors from SNL in it.  It's called...sigh..."A Good Old Fashioned Orgy" and it's going to be released in September.  I was an extra on the set in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2008.  Here's the trailer!

- Lastly, congratulations to friend of the blog (that's not entirely true) Sidney Rice on his signing of a $41 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, losers of Super Bowl 40 to Jerome Bettis and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Seahawks come to Heinz Field the second week of the season - September 18th - and I wish him the best of luck.  But I hope his team loses...badly.  I do.

Teddy and the Yeti card by Antonio Crespo

Last year, when I printed out the 18-card set of Teddy and the Yeti trading cards, I made sure to get a greater amount of card #1 so I could hand them out at conventions.  It so happens that I have run out of those extra cards, and rather than get more printed, I decided to do something a little different and print out one new card that will serve as a promotional item for future conventions.

I like this idea for a couple reasons - first...dammit I just like to see new Teddy and the Yeti art.  Second, while the first card of the trading card set certainly has some introductory elements to it, it didn't do much to give people an outlet to learn more about the series.  If someone picked up the card at a convention and didn't look at it until he or she got home afterwards, that person might be stuck without enough reason to check out the series online.  On the back of this new card I'll have information about the book, the trading card set, and perhaps most importantly, where they can go online to find more stuff about the characters.  I think it'll serve me well in the future - starting with the quickly approaching Baltimore Comic-Con.

The very talented Antonio Crespo is responsible for the great new art that will be gracing the card.  I asked him to create an 'iconic' image of the two main characters, as is befitting a promotional item like this, and he didn't fail to impress.  The Yeti is much more beastly than she's been portrayed before, and Ted is sporting some fancy new goggles, but I'm happy with the interpretation and I'm sure it'll make some people look twice at the book.

The card is being printed by Versicolor Productions, the same company that produced the first card set, so I'm confident that the quality will be high when I get these back in a little while.  If you're coming to the Baltimore Comic-Con on August 20th and/or 21st, stop by and grab one of these cards!

Here's a fun fact about Antonio: we both went to Youngstown State University, though he left the place the year before I started.  We had a fun conversation about all of the porno shops and liquor stores in the surrounding area.  Check out his deviantART page here: http://tonytorrid.deviantart.com/!

Q&A with "Artboy_X", part 1

I've known the mysterious, talented and mysteriously talented "Artboy_X" for quite a few years now, having working with him on various projects, most notably the Mr. Massive character.  I recently sent the X (as I like to call him...from now on) a list of questions, and he sent me back some answers.  Most of them are funny, and all of them are interesting.  Here's the first part of my interview with Artboy_X:

JM: This first question is one that many people (or perhaps just me) have been wondering about for years and years: where did the name "Artboy_X" come from? Is there any significance to it? Are you perhaps in the witness protection program?

X: If I was in the witness protection program, I think I would go with a name that was closer to “normal”...like Joe Brown or Joe Momma. Something that would not draw too much attention. I’ve always been a big X-Men fan and so everything I create must have an X in it...or else I’m not happy. In my world, any name, logo, or title that incorporates an “X” is automatically cool in my book. For example: eX-con, eXcalibur, eXtra, eXtra-ordinary, eXtreme, XXX, Triple X, eXample...you get the idea. X is just cool.

JM: What was the process you went through in first designing Mr. Massive? What were your influences for the character design?

X: My ultimate goal was to keep it simple and hopefully achieve that iconic feel of yesterday’s heroes such as Captain America, Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. I started with a rough ball point pen sketch and when I went to color it - everything just came together.

JM: Mr. Massive is played out as a comedy. Why do you think the character lends itself to funny stuff rather than more serious storytelling?

X: The name lends itself well to a comedy, in my opinion. In our reality, today’s America and world...what would be the first thing on your to do list if you just found out that you (a 15-year-old boy) had powers that would rival that of Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Captain America, Thor, Green Lantern and the X-Men (first class)? I don’t know about you, but a visit to our neighboring galaxy would be first on my list. I understand with great powers comes great responsibilities, but kids will be kids. Mr. Massive is a kid gifted with the powers of gods. Also, I think we just need more funny books in the funny book industry. Why so serious Batman? Why? 

JM: Who are some of your artistic inspirations?

X: I learned early in my art career that, as an artist, you can’t just limit yourself to learning from other comic book artists. So I try to keep my eyes on all forms of art and artists from other industries. When I first had the idea of becoming a comic book artist, I would reference the work of Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Whilce Portacio, Rob Liefeld, Todd McFarlane and Erik Larsen. I’ve always been a big fan of the team books and the mainstream style of the time.


Here is a short list of the artists who inspire me in my growth as an artist and pursuit of my individual style: Jae Lee, Bart Sears, Rags Morales, John Paul Leon, Larry Stroman, Dale Keown, Brandon Peterson, Alex Ross, Joe Mad, Albrecht Durer, Michelanglo, Rapheal Sanzio, Donatello (and all the other Ninja Turtles), Bruce Timm...I can go on and on but I have a questionnaire to finish.

JM: You are currently an artist who is enlisted in the US Army. Do your fellow soldiers ask you to draw things often? Tattoos, perhaps? What kind of stuff do you design for your comrades-in-arms?

X: Yes, the request for tattoos never end. It's a good thing I graduated from the D.A.R.E program...and mastered the ability to say no to friends and associates. But things changed once they started offering George Washingtons and Benjamin Franklins as a sign of their eternal gratitude. I’ve designed t-shirts, logos for some of the units and a couple tats. One thing that I am proud of is the mural of Transformers I did on the back wall of a classroom in Virginia in 2007.

I'll stop there are finish this interview in just a couple days, in which I'll ask Artboy_X about Image comics and vegetables (not necessarily in the same question).  In the meantime, you can check out the Kickstarter page he's set up for an X-Plosive Comics anthology here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028284042/explosive-comics-black-terror-mr-massive

Ultimate Hero pinup by Ruben Cordero and Todd Swain

Here's more nearly forgotten artwork that I happened upon recently:

It's the Ultimate Hero (and Gary) by Ruben Cordero!  A little while after our "Eye of the Beholder" comic came out in Strip Search, Ruben and I teamed up with co-creator Mike Adams to put a treatment for this character together.  Unfortunately, not too much has happened with these characters in the meantime, though I still have hope that one day the full story might get told.  A short story appeared in the back of Teddy and the Yeti #3, and I've got two more short stories hanging out on my hard drive (one a glorious five-page story by Duane Redhead).  I don't have any immediate plans for them, but they might just show up in a future issue of T&Y.

Below you see the inked version by Todd Swain.  Mike colored it, but we ended up going with a different color scheme in the end, so if this were to be used in some capacity in the future, it'd have to be redone.  Perhaps that's wishful thinking, but perhaps not.

alternate art for Teddy and the Yeti: Seeing is Believing

I was doing some cleaning today when I came across the three pages posted below; I almost forgot I had 'em in the first place.

Back when artist Duane Redhead was working on the first set of Teddy and the Yeti stories, he sent me these pages for our "Seeing is Believing" tale.  The style is a little different and the main villain has a very altered look, and Duane ended up re-drawing them using his more traditional style.  What's cool about these is that Duane did every single thing you see - pencils, inks, colors and (I believe) letters, showing off why he probably doesn't need me on this project as much as I do him.

"Seeing is Believing" was collected with other short stories in Teddy and the Yeti #3, and it's interesting to compare these pages with the ones that actually made it to print.  It's pretty excellent for stuff that didn't make the final cut.

News on The Baltimore Comic-Con, Batman/Avengers movies, Brink and more!

It's time for new about things!  Hooray!

- The Baltimore Comic-Con recently updated its website with a list of guests, including some of my favorite creators like Scott Snyder, Geof Darrow, Chrissie Zullo, Walter Simonson...and me (I'm on my own list of favorite creators?  How gauche).  The convention website not only listed me, but everyone I was planning on taking to the show with me as well.  I got four passes, but at the time I filled out the application I wasn't sure on what I'd do with the last one, so I just wrote down "George Newman", not knowing that it'd eventually be published (perhaps in the convention program, which would be fun).  George Newman, of course, is "Weird Al" Yankovic's character from the movie UHF:

Unfortunately, though, Weird Al will not be appearing at my table at the show.  Unless he reads this, thinks it's a funny joke, and decides to show up as if to say "I get it...and I approve".  In which case, there's a seat waiting for you, Al.

- I got a confirmation e-mail for the Saturday, August 6th filming date for "The Dark Knight Rises" at Heinz Field.  The grammar is atrocious as expected (apparently an apostrophe can be used...whenever) but there was some good information included in this mass mailing.  The scene being filmed is described as the "kickoff scene" which could be literal or could refer to this being the opening shot for the movie (though I doubt it).  We're encouraged to make signs and bring them (presumably as long as they don't say things like "BRUCE WAYNE IS BATMAN" or "watch Franks and Beans!"), colors to wear are black and gold, and the scene in the movie will take place in late fall or early winter.  So, yes, at the beginning of August we'll have to wear winter coats.  I'll update everyone on how many die of heat stroke on the set.

- Sean Kleefeld wrote a pretty cool blog (and took the above picture) about his experience for the recent "Avengers" casting call in Cleveland.  It sounds like, while there were fewer people to show up, it was pretty similar to the Dark Knight casting call in Pittsburgh.  Kleefeld writes, in part:

There seemed to me a refreshingly diverse mix of people there. I figured it would be heavily fanboyish and, while they were clearly represented well, there were all sorts of other people too. Obviously, the aspiring actors and actresses with resumes in hand but also a range of folks who just heard about this and thought it might be interesting and/or fun. Plus, one thing that I'm ashamed to admit hadn't occurred to me prior to going, someone mentioned that he was guessing about half of the attendees were simply out of work and needed a job of any sort.

Read his full blog here!  This movie will soon film for four weeks in Cleveland and for one week right outside of Pittsburgh.  Maybe I'll manage to sneak on as an extra at some point, if only because both Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion (of Firefly/Serenity fame) are both involved in the project.  And then we'll all become best friends and they'll bring the show back as a result of that new friendship.

- Paul Tucker is knocking our John Watkins: Phantom for Hire story out of the park.  Above is a panel from a recently completed page.  This is what happens when you smoke, kids.  You die.  So don't do it.

- Brink, the webcomic I'm currently lettering (by James Emmett and Daniel Erenberg), has recently updated with several new pages!  Check it out and follow along here!

- And finally, here's a picture of a sack of potatoes.  Enjoy.

"The Dark Knight Rises" at Heinz Field

Rumblings of the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises", have been frequent around the Pittsburgh area in the last few months, though the anticipation has far outshone any actual information on filming, at least to me, before earlier today when I learned that the Warner Bros. tentpole will be filming on Saturday, August 6th at Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I found out about this from the website of the Pittsburgh Film Office, which posted this casting notice and a link to this website.

This is set up to be a scene with thousands of extras, which will be a pretty big undertaking on the part of the movie crew.  I'm a little surprised that this will be filming at Heinz field, which is a fairly recognizable stadium - when I first heard about this, I thought this scene might take place indoors at the nearby Consol Arena, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Arena Football League team, the Pittsburgh Power.  It seems that they're going big for this scene, though, and that's just fine with me.  We're told to expect special effects of the explosion variety, which will be a interesting to see.

While I am absolutely excited to sign up for this and get a chance to be in this scene, what stood out to me most was just how awful the "Be in a Movie" website really is.  The pictures I'm posting up here are all screenshots from the website.  If you take a few seconds to read some of the actual text that appears on this site, I think you'll see what I'm talking about.

Beyond looking like a high school PowerPoint presentation, a lot the information on this site is exactly what gives people the wrong impression about what being an extra is like.  That is to say, when people first show up to be an extra on a show or movie, it's not uncommon for that person to expect a party.  My best response to that mentality is this: even production scenes that are supposed to take place at a party are not like a party.  Or maybe they're like the worst party you've ever been to.  My point is, being an extra is tedious work over unreasonably long hours.  It can be fun, but it's not the type of fun that this website seems to be promising.

Just look at the abundance of exclamation points and unnecessary capitalization.  The picture at top starts simply with "YES!!!".  The next has one line that just says "WOW!", followed by the pseudo sentence "This will be an action packed unbelievable fun day of Movie Making Experiences You'll Never Forget".  In the photo directly above, you'll see that as part of appearing on set, everyone will receive a more than 30 page booklet on how to become a paid extra.  Thirty pages?!  Here, free of charge, I'll tell you how to become a paid extra in one sentence: SHOW UP AT THE DAMN SET WHEN A MOVIE NEEDS EXTRAS.  Oops, now I'm using too many caps.

This next screenshot might be my favorite, because beyond promising to send "drivnig" directions (and improperly using "you're"...my goodness, people), the site gives you a preview of how popular you will become by being an extra in this movie.  Under the heading "Here's Some Things People Will Say After We've Made This Movie With You!", the following conversation questions are posited: "You really got to hang out on the set with all those stars?"  The answer is supposedly "Yup!", even though I will guarantee absolutely zero extras will get to hang out with Batman or any other main actor.  The next question you're sure to hear is "Hey! I saw you in that film.  Way cool.  Was it fun?"  Again, the answer is sure to be a dopey "Yup!"  In reality, there is no chance that you'll be seen other than for a picosecond in a blurry pan across the field.

My goodness, I'm full of vitriol tonight.  I guess I'm a little miffed at the fact that this website is going to mislead thousands of people about this opportunity to be an extra in what is sure to be a cool scene and a great movie.  Though this scene may be the closest thing anyone will ever get to having a party during the filming of a movie, it will most certainly not be a party.  It will be lots of waiting around for setting up, shooting, re-shooting, re-shooting again, re-shooting a dozen more times, moving equipment, rehearsing, rehearsing with stand-ins, rehearsing with principle actors, rehearsing with sound, rehearsing without sound, shooting, re-shooting again...you get the point.  This is going to take all day and there will be a hours and hours of downtime.

In case anyone's wondering, HECK YES I will be doing this.  It's the Batman movie, and it's filming in Pittsburgh!  How could I stay away?  Man, I think I've been too hard on this whole process and this website.  Look at me, getting all worked up over nothing.  Oh, there's one more picture from the website, I wonder what it --

"Where did you here about this"?  Where did you HERE about this?!  HERE?!?  ARE YOU KIDDING ME>!?!1?!  Holy crap.

Oh, Superman.

Poor Superman.  Hey, Superman, you know this is why DC is relaunching your book, don't you?  I mean...you do, right?  Right?  Superman?

Mr. Massive on Kickstarter

A few days ago, I happened upon a link that told me, much to my surprise, that Mr. Massive will soon be appearing in a new anthology from Explosive Comics.  I'm a bit out of the loop for the time being, but I have a good feeling that this story will be the one included:

Well, I mean, that's not the whole story, but it's a clip from something I worked on a few months ago and would make the most sense for a book that features a number of different characters.

The book currently has a page up on the Kickstarter website, which is designed to raise money for various projects (in this case, a comic book anthology).  I checked it out and it even has a backer at this point!  So that's interesting.

I'll try to find out more about this project and figure out exactly what the plans are for Mr. Massive and the rest of the book, and report back here when I have a better idea.  In the meantime, here's the website address for the Kickstarter fundraiser: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2028284042/explosive-comics-black-terror-mr-massive

Feel free to check it out and, if you're so inclined (one of the "rewards" is a custom action figure), throw some money at it.  To be continued.

P.S. Oh goodness, there's a 45-second video of me on there talking about Mr. Massive.  Hide children, lock doors.

My cool "Can't Stop the Serenity" swag

The sixth annual "Can't Stop the Serenity" event was held this last Friday in Pittsburgh and boy! was it a fun time.  Not only was Serenity screened, but I got to meet a bunch of other Firefly nerds like myself, there were themed games to play, and (hooray!) I went home with the above 11x17 artwork of Captain Mal Reynolds, drawn by Sammy Gomez.  Some of the prizes up for grabs included the first graphic novel and other comic book related items; the art is what I had my eye on the entire night, though, and I'm glad that I managed to snag it.

The entire night was lots of fun, and all the proceeds went to the Equality Now charity.  This was the first CSTS event I was a part of and I'm certainly going to the 2012 edition - there were rumblings of a Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog party this September, too.

I have to get my hands on more pictures from the show (I took one with several others wearing the Jayne Cobb hat...), but here are a couple:

And in this picture, the guy dressed up as Mal stares eerily down at me as I play a modified version of the game "Operation".  Good times.

Who edits DC letters pages? And what in the world is wrong with them?

Letters pages are back in most DC comics, and despite the fact that recent reintroduction was just a cheap way to trim the story page count down by two, there is something comforting about them - the nostalgia, the interaction, the permanence of seeing your name published on a sheet of paper...maybe it's something that will one day disappear for good, but as long as readership demographics stay the same or similar to what they've been for a while, they'll have a place in comics.

That's not to say that I think the current letters pages are very worthwhile.  In fact, I've been a little creeped out by the editorial responses in most books when I've taken a minute and looked at them.  For some reason, the answers to most letters seem so hyperbolic, so vacant, so generic, like DC picked the most hyperactive computer in a room, handed it some mail and said "GO!"

Case in point is the recent Justice League of America #58.  I'm generally a fan of James Robinson's writing, but right now the book, to me, is just a directionless mess.  Now, the JLA title seems to have a fairly pronounced ebb and flow, so I'm sure it'll get on track at some point, but for now the book seems to be drifting without much purpose.  The letters page falls in line, too.  The first page of letters is posted above, and its vapid over enthusiasm is a little off-putting.

The second page, though, has some real winners.  Here's the first letter:

I'm not sure if its meant to be ironic or something, but when you realize that the assistant editor typing this response is probably a 30-year-old man writing to other 30-year-old men, the phrase "OMG" stands out a little.  Really?  OMG?

This next letter was the one that did it for me:

"Hey, we messed up lots of information about your home country and implied that Algeria is home to rampant, uncontrolled drug cartels, but who cares?  It's a comic book, so it doesn't count."

Now, I understand that we're talking about the Justice League, here.  The book with a giant gorilla as one of the main characters.  And I don't think that every single comic has to be a serious piece of high literature, but "It's just comics"?  Way to set the bar on factual accuracy as low as you possibly can!

Beyond all of this, doesn't it seem like DC is trying to go with "14-year-old on a sugar rush" as a house style for letters page responses?  It's got just right blend of excited sales pitch and fuzzy disconnect to create an altogether unnerving experience.  "Keep coming back for more...and enjoy the summer!"  Yikes.

FUBAR: Run Silent, Run Dead

The first showing of FUBAR volume 2 is getting ready for the printer, and just as with the first volume, I am working on lettering a story in addition to writing my own.  The clip you see above is from a story titled "Run Silent, Run Dead", and it's written by Stephen Lindsay with nice, moody art by Daniel Thollin.

This beast clocks in at 16 pages, so the lettering on my end has been fast and furious, as the deadline approaches quickly.  It's almost certainly the speediest I've ever lettered anything, but I'm happy with the results so far (I've still got four pages to go), and beyond that, since I didn't write it there's less of a chance that it's unnecessarily wordy...so that helps.

This volume of FUBAR debuts in under two months at the Baltimore Comic-Con!