blog.

Greetings and salutations.

Last week was an insane one. I was awake for a good part of it. seriously. Tuesday morning til now, which is sunday night I’ve been awake. Naps don’t count, son!

Basically every current gig, whether it be writing or art had a deadline in the past 7 days. For reals, it was insane. I am alive and by friday night I had completed all the deadlines. This was a good thing as it the Toronto Comic Arts Festival was going down all weekend. It’s definitely one of the best comic shows on the planet, and it was a pleasure being a part of the TXcomics experience.

We had a gallery/merch table/print on demand setup which I must say was a first for a comic convention. And I’ve been doing the comic show circuit for over 10 years. History in the making.

I need to shout out my buddy Nick’s book KENK. First of all it looks AMAZING. Also, it graced the cover of NOW Magazine, which is one of the biggest Toronto weeklies.

Um. The show was great. It was even better to see old friends and just chill with everyone.

I worked my ass off and designed a 48 page art/sketch book in ONE NIGHT. On the whole it probably took me about 6 hours to gather it all together and send the PDF off to the printers. It looks great. Nuff respect to Guerilla Printing for their incredible job.

The book features about 20 pages of comics, most of which are available in various locations online, but I did grab my fave strips from Kissing Chaos ‘Til I die and crammed them in there. There are also a ton of drawings and a few paintings collected in the book. So if you did my art, perhaps you should mosey on over to the TXcomics store and get yourself a copy. It’ll be on sale there soon.

Here is a snap of the cover.

And of course I failed by not taking any pics at TCAF. But I am crazy inspired to create. So, let’s get to it!

ADC

I’ve decided that each day, I’ll do a warm up drawing of some kind of hipster doofus, or fashion core scene type of guy/gal. By the end of the year I should have a nice collection of doodles of “vacuous soldiers of the thrift store Gestapo”.

ADC

4/365

So, at my buddy Kayla’s behest, I’m only going to count words that I wrote this month, for my Nanowrimo novel word count.

I didn’t write squat on Nov. 1st, so during the past 3 days, I’ve written a totaly of 5217 words. I need to double up today to get back on track. I still plan on using the work I did in prior to November in the 1st draft, but for the sake of the rules of Nanowrimo, I’ll just be word counting stuff I’ve done this month.

Also, I’m preparing for my trip to Italy next week. It’s a working trip, and I plan to write many, many words and draw some pictures too! I’m accepting any travel tips, and suggestions for cool stuff I should check out in Rome!

-ADC

Massive amounts of apologies for being the WORST BLOGGER EVER in the history of the universe.

I’ve been hard at work on many goodies that will come alive in the coming months.

Of the plethora of writing projects I’m horribly multitasking at moment, one has secretly surfaced on ye ol’ interweb. It’s called THE 3 SECOND RULE.

This is a webcomic that I created, with the aim of writing the best hitman/buddy-comedy of all time. I’m handling most of the writing chores, and my buddy Jason Loo is busting out some great artwork for the comic.

I like to remain modest at best, so, the comic actually launched on September 21st. Yes, I’m that good a salesman.

We are putting up two pages a week, and it’s going to be awesome. So check it out. Updates every monday!!!

the3secondrule.com!!!

peace

ADC

So… as I mentioned before, Kissing Chaos: ‘Til I Die is going on hiatus. Apologies for this, but it’ll all be worth it, when the comic returns to TXcomics.com in January, 2010. I plan to run the rest of the comic every thursday starting with the first thursday in January. The series will finish it’s run without any delays or interruptions.

So, there.

I mentioned also, a brand new comic to start in January. That comic will be pushed back until KC finishes it’s current story arc.

I’ve got some big stuff planned for KC and TX in 2010, so stay tuned to this blog for details and previews!!

ADC

The past week actually felt like summer, and the weather, she’s holding up. So, August agrees with me!

In other news, my insane deadlines are still going on. Not cool. To fend them off, I’m trying the whole early to bed, early to rise thing. I woke up at 3am today, not on purpose, mind you, one of my 11 month old twins couldn’t sleep.But once I got him to sleep, I did laundry, excercised and did some work, read a little and played a little PS3 and 360. Fairly productive day until about 8am, when the family woke up.

This week I’m working on a film/comic script. A new KC comic strip. A new story pitch. A commission, which is loooong over due…

I love this song Hurricane by the Hush Sound. There are no good versions by the actual band on youtube, but here is one of the better cover versions… enjoi!

peace

adc

Surveillance intrigued me months ago with it’s trailer, and that fact that the film was directed by the daughter of my hero of sorts, David Lynch. Sure, Jennifer Lynch has done a number of films, sadly, when I watched this one, I sorta viewed it as David Lynch-lite. From parts ofthe score, the casting, some of the cinematography and finally to the general uneasy tone, it all screamed like Surveillance was a mainstream version of a Lynch thriller. This is not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. It just felt like a typical thriller dressed up in a D. Lynch costume.

Despite some reviews claiming it to be unpredictable, I guessed the twist right off the bat and ruined the surprise for those I watched the movie with. My bad.

But even then I did enjoy the movie. There was some “bad” acting, and bad stereotyping of basically all the characters, from corrupt cops, to crack addicts, to the nuclear family on vacation. I think this was all intentional, to maintain a strange, unreal feel to the film. I could be wrong, but while the acting at times would make me cringe, I took it in stride. The visuals were great.

In it’s most basic, spoiler free form, Surveillance is a thriller about a small town (street with one hotel and a police station) that is terrorized by a serial killer. It straddles the line of being a serious police procedural, and being a satirical take on the genre. After the “twist” I thought the tension and acting ramped up and some of my favourite scenes are near the end. The last line of the film is That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”, which had me lol-ing in it’s brilliance.

I recommend, if you are into this sort of thing.

ADC

Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond are amazing, by the by.

So, I just updated my webcomic. For longtime fans, this is somewhat of a monumental event. Not that I updated my comic on time, (okay, that might be a reason to celebrate), but the fact that the main character of the whole shebang, Angela, actually spoke in this comic. For the uninitiated, Angela has been mute for the entire series. Okay, I kinda cheat by having her thoughts narrate the first volume of Kissing Chaos, as well as at least one one-shot comic. But she has never spoken to another character. The closest she’s come is via txt message and email in various instances.

I think, part of the hook of the series was the fact that she was mute, and the narrator. It definitely added to the, dreamlike ether that prevaded the series 16 page debut, and set the tone for the countless pages that followed.

Why did I have her speak? I can tell you, and you’ll most likely think I’m nuts. But here goes…

The story for ‘Til I Die was written a while back, when I was still working with Oni Press. All I’ve been doing for the webcomic is drawing out a meticulously crafted tale, four years in the making. This elevator scene with Damien and Angela was originally going to be silent, with both of them staring at each other during the course of the elevator ride. It was going to be cute.

Well, this morning, when I got out of bed, I awoke from a dream where this girl and l, who’ll remain unnamed had were at a bar with a group of people. I had to leave early, and she walked me out where we said out good byes, and proceeded to have the exchange that Damien and Angela have in the elevator.

D:Angela…

D:Don’t go.

A:What’s that supposed to mean?

D: I don’t know.

D: Just, don’t go.

I dunno. I like it. LOL

18 more comics til I finish up ‘Til I Die!!! can’t wait!!!

ADC

Allright. Here we go with some movie slash TV reviews!!!

I saw Public Enemies over the weekend. Well, I quote/unquote saw it. I had a long and crazy day with only 2 hours of sleep max the previous night, so by the time we rolled into the theatre for the last showing of the Johnny Depp vehicle, I was pretty beat. Honestly, after the first fifteen minutes or so, I started dozing every 2 minutes. I know nothing of John Dillinger, other than what the trailers for this very movie have divulged, so about halfway through the movie I absolutely had no clue what the hell was happening.
I think I like Michael Mann, I think. He’s one of those directors that’s considered to be “good”, but really, has he done anything truly stellar? Within his given genre, I suppose he’s tops, but does that make one a great creator?
The one qualm I can actually legitimately have against this movie that I slept through, was the extensive use of digital, as opposed to film. Mann has been doing this with all his recent films. There’s a distinct, seeming low budget look to his recent work like the Miami Vice movie, and Collateral, due to the digital cameras, and the appearance of using only existing light sources (I dig the lighting for this fact alone). This aesthetic is perfect for a film like Collateral, adding to the grit and grime, giving the film an almost cenema verite sort of look.
However, for a gangster period piece, a time when there were no digital cameras, the look is a fail, IMHO. Some scenes felt like we were looking at Dillinger through the lense of a papparazzis camera. This totally ruined the immersion of the film.
All this said, the movie could be fucking great. Who knows? LOL

I’ve been marathoning the second season of Breaking Bad the past few days. For those unfamiliar, BB follows Walter White, an aged high school science teacher who, due to cancer, has been given but months to live. Walter’s been dealt a horrible hand in life, with his former business/science partner stealing his work and screwing him out of a massive fortune.
So, in order to make some money to leave his family when his number is up, Walter uses his chemistry skills to cook meth, and with the help of a former student who is now a small time drug dealer, he enters the seedy under belly of the meth trade and Mexican gangs.
The show is gut wrenching, but incredible. Even if the subject matter isn’t your cup of tea, the characters are fantastic. Seeing Walter balance the life of crime and his family woes is brought to life with some exceptional acting.
Recommend Breaking Bad for shizzle.

ADC

So, I get fashion. I understand the need to “look the part”, to look “cool”. I get it. However, I do have an issue with sunglasses. Sure, with the oversizeness, they do have the uncanny ability to make the average man look like celebrity or socialite, and if that’s your prerogative, then accessorize away, my friends.
For some reason, I can’t get past the fact that sunglasses are primarily functional, fashion being their secondary use. And because of this fact, from my perspective, it smacks of insane doucehbagery when I see people use sunglasses in situations beyond their function. Mainly indoors. Like, seriously, there’s no need for sunglasses indoors, so why wear them? Can one person be that vain? I’ve been with friends, and had entire conversations with them in their sunglasses, indoors. WTF?

For a brief moment, I thought, perhaps the effort exerted to remove glasses when one gets indoors and put them back on is too tasking, and not worth the time.
So, the other day, I put this theory to the test. I went into a Tim Horton’s to get some coffee with my sunglasses on. I stood in line and went up to the cash and waited for the cashier to take my order. But as soon as it was my turn to talk, I couldn’t do it. I HAD to take off my sunglasses to look the person in the eye. Call me old fashioned, but… whatever.

Does this make me crazy? Sunglasses indoors aren’t that evil, are they?

ADC