Creating a Graphic Novel : Art – Food – Photography

It’s been a while since the last Puny Parker post. The artist Vitor is still continuing the adventures here. However a while ago I did an interview with Jennifer Tanner about her strip Boy Genius. Thought I’d showcase another one of her strips!

Puny Parker has been fantastic but I’d thought I’ll share the showcase space with other artists currently on my list. Before I forget don’t forget to check out some links to Jennifer’s work below!

For more on Jennifer Tanner check out her website :
http://www.jennifertanner.com

More of her art :
http://www.silver-sehkmet.deviantart.com

Comicartcommunity is a fantastic resource website for anyone interested in comic art. I had the opportunity to discuss with the founder Terry Maltos, on his site and the impact to the comic art artists.

When did you start up comicartcommunity?

Summer of 2003 if I’m not mistaken. I *think* we’re 6 years old.

Did you start the site by yourself or are they are any other founders? Why was the motivation for starting up?

Well, the initial founder is and has always been *me*. Terry Maltos. I started the site to offer Comic Art Auctions. An alternative to FEEbay. That went well for a time but eventually faded out because the Gallery Of Comic Art was the spot getting all of the traffic. So instead of being an Auctions site like we once were, we’re primarily a comic art images gallery now.

So what are your future plans?

Ah, the future. Well, I hope to have a flying car. If I can get a flying car, I think I would be ok. If not – a joy ride in outer space would be cool. I’d love to look down on the earth from above in some luxury space shuttle.

Haha . . that’s cool and all but . . .

Wait – do you mean… The web sites? The sites I’d love to watch evolve as they will. I want to continue representing my friend Al Rio and watching him draw. Here’s a sample of A Rio’s work.

I also want to reach a million images at the Gallery Of Comic Art – but we’re only at 34,225 now and that has taken 6 years … I would hope to see Comic Art Commissions become “the” go-to place for artists and buyers. I also hope to somehow make some money doing all of this. Right now, it’s all *costing* me greatly.

How does it feel supporting the artist community?

Since I’m so into art, it’s great. This is like a hobby to me. I love *comic art* in particular because of the characters and creativity. I’m always a big fan of people with talent. So it’s my pleasure to be serving the artist community.

Thanks for your time Terry!

Link to comicartcommunity :

• http://comicartcommunity.com/
• http://comicartcommunity.com/gallery/

Check out Terry’s various sites :

• Comic Art Links Directory – http://dragonberry.com
• Comic Art Commissions – http://comicartcommissions.com/
• Al Rio – http://alrioart.com/
• Colorist Thomas Mason – http://mycolorist.com/

Previous featured artist Sean Harrington did an amazing step by step photoshop tutorial for this site. He’s released a new comic Spying with Lana : Year One which is definitely worth checking out.

How did you come up with the idea for “Spying with Lana”?

I first got the idea for Lana when my brother and I were doing a “writing exercise” where we would each come up with a concept and write a short story about it within a week. The concept I came up with was a spy named Lana and the story of her mixed-up missions. I’m still not much of a writer, so the writing exercises didn’t help a lot on that end, but I thought the character and the stories were fun, so I decided to turn them into a comic.

I checked out the preview and the stories are hilarious. Here’s a sample of the Spying with Lana.

The publishing part in producing a comic can cause headaches. How did you find this process with Spying with Lana?

Publishing was pretty drama-free this time. I learned a lot from printing my first couple of books, mostly that book printers are the modern-day equivalent of highway robbers and snake oil salesmen (except without those nifty hats). However, when I had my graphic novel The Bikini Commando Squad printed by Ka-Blam it was a really straight-forward, easy and fraud-free experience so I’ve been doing all my printing with them ever since.

What’s the future hold in store for Spying with Lana?

Lana’s crazy and pointless cases will continue (now in full-color) and more of Lana’s fellow agents will be showing up, too. I hope to put out a couple of Spying with Lana books every year, as well as a yearly Lana calendar and a few other things like that.

Thanks for your time!
Good luck with future Spying with Lana issues.

Spying with Lana is available at :
http://www.harrington-artwerkes.com/Comics.htm

Check out Sean’s site for more amazing artwork.

Remember to submit an entry to win Original Hulk artwork!

Featured artist Keith Dotson has a female Thor for showcase. I think his sketch work is incredible, it’s nice to see how an artist builds up a piece. This one is also available on eBay if interested.

Sketch :

Pencils :

Remember to submit an entry to win Original Hulk artwork!

Previous featured artist Dean Juliette who did an amazing Aspen sketch has some auctions on eBay! Check out his work and if you like what you see bid high and bid often!

Zatanna – eBay :

Previous featured artist Lee Sargent was nice enough to offer “Hulk in the rain” as a competition prize. Own a piece of original art done with copic markers!

How do you win?
Simple! Leave a comment on this post with what do you think the Hulk is thinking right now.

Hulk in the rain :

More Details :

1. Competition closes 24-Oct-09.
2. Decision on the winner will be final. Quirky, funny thoughts are always welcome.
3. I will contact winner by email from comment.
4. Open to anyone in the world!
5. Please visit Lee’s page http://www.quityourdayjob.com.au and say “Thanks!”
6. One entry per person.

Update 10-Nov-09 :
Competition is now closed. And the Winner . . .

It’s been a while since my last food related post. Thought I’d share some photos taken by Toshio at a recent yum cha (dim sum) in Sydney CBD at a restaurant called Zilver.

Lotus Leaf Chicken Rice :

Zha Liang :

Siu Mai :

Egg Tart :

I really don’t know if explanations are warranted but just in case, Siu Mai is a pork dumpling whilst Zha Liang is deep fried bread wrapped in rice paper. I’m much prefer the steam dishes as opposed to the deep fried ones.

What makes a good yum cha outing?

(01) A wide assortment of choices
You need to be able to choose and try new things as well as be able to have the old favourites.

(02) Fried Foods
You need these ones piping hot and not too oily.

(03) Steamed Foods
It’s difficult but the skin surrounding most of the dumplings should be thick enough to hold the contents but not too thick as to be starchy. Well steamed so the contents are cooked.

(04) Good Company
In the words of Stan Lee. ‘Nuff Said.

From previous featured artist Keith Dotson, I thought it would be nice to showcase another one of his works. This time it’s a Black Cat (Felicia Hardy). I love Keith’s style of sketching! It’s similar to the gesture drawings I did in the past.

Final :

Sketch :

Frank Kadar has done some amazing covers on Marvel Projects including White Queen and Poison Ivy. Had a quick chat with Frank and Thing (Fantastic Four) will be the last one he’ll be selling for a while on eBay. Last chance!

Thing – eBay Auction :

As part of this post, Frankie is showcasing the original inked sketch cover! More importantly from yesterday’s post, Marooned on Mogo written by Andrew Leiter and Frankie Washington is available now at the below online retailers :

• Barnes & Nobles
• Amazon

Sketch :

For more information check out the official website :
http://www.maroonedonmogo.com