ComicAddiction.com Interview

I am positively knackered. As in, ready to have my body fat boiled down and made into glue, or whatever it was they did in the "olden days".

I am pretty sure, 30 Days of Night: Red Snow is now finally all done.

And I am still alive. Now onto yet more deadlines and other interesting things! I may actually be able to catch up on my inbox now, ( but don't hold your breath just yet. )

Recently I did a little interview for the website comicaddiction.com. Check it out. I say some...stuff.

Also did a podcast recently, but that won't be out for a little while yet, but it was a lot of fun to basically piss about. Made for some good conversations and probably ruin my career...so stay tuned!

I'm off to collapse in the corner for a bit.

( Page below is from Red Snow by the way. )

Original Art 14: Hellbooooy Doodle

Did this when I was desperately searching for an artistic break from the stuff I'd been working on for a week straight. It was a nice change of pace and just something I guess I had to get out. A random sketch I did up a bit. Don't usually add colour much to my actual originals. Pen, ink, tonal marker and watercolour.

Whacked it up on ebay if anyone's interested in the sketch.

Super-sized ancient croc unveiled

I love this sort of stuff.




CROCODILE Hunter Steve Irwin never wrestled a croc like this one.

As long as a tourist bus and with jaws big enough to pick up a cow, "Sarcosuchus imperator" lived 110 million years ago and was surely the biggest, baddest crocodile to ever roam the earth.

This week its scales-and-blood likeness was unveiled by the man who first identified and named the amphibious predator based on fossil remains found in Niger more than 40 years ago.

"It is impressive to finally see this animal in the flesh - excuse me, I mean in resin," said a smiling Philippe Taquet, a paleontologist at the Museum of Natural History in Paris.

Measuring 12m from snout to tail, and weighing in at 10 tonnes, Sarco - as the beast is known among dinosaur buffs - undoubtedly chomped on big fish and small dinosaurs, dragging them into the tropical rivers that once criss-crossed what is today the Sahara.

The reconstruction of the animal by the French company Ophys required 1800 hours of work and 750kg, and was undertaken under the watchful eye of palaeontologist France de Lapparent de Broin, who co-authored with Dr Taquet the first scientific article on Sarco in 1966.

Great News from Human Civilization 1

The dish in front of me is grey and shiny.

"Russian dog," says my waitress Nancy.

"Big dog," I reply.

"Yes," she says. "Big dog's penis..."

We are in a cosy restaurant in a dark street in Beijing but my appetite seems to have gone for a stroll outside.

Nancy has brought out a whole selection of delicacies.

They are draped awkwardly across a huge platter, with a crocodile carved out of a carrot as the centrepiece.

Nestling beside the dog's penis are its clammy testicles, and beside that a giant salami-shaped object.

"Donkey," says Nancy. "Good for the skin..."

She guides me round the penis platter.

"Snake. Very potent. They have two penises each."

I did not know that.

Sneeek Peeek 27: 30 Days of Night: Red Snow #1

30 Days of Night: Red Snow is now coming out first week of September. But that's ok, since apparently issue #2 will be out on the 19th of the same month!

At the same time as Red Snow #1, Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse Volume 01 should have a new printing available, since the first one sold out too. So hope those who couldn't can find a copy. Will post the cover to volume 02 soon.

So here's another peek at red Snow, coming soon. ( If you didn't pick up a copy at Comic-con that is )

Wormwood Oil Painting For Sale

Check out this fantastic painting currently up on ebay. If you ever wanted a real oil painting of ol' Wormy, this would be a great one to own I think.

It's by Colton Worley, the talented bugger.

South Carolina wins for Stupid.

How can I not post this? I'm guessing it's everywhere by now and if not, well, it should be.

Pretty people should be required to at least have sentience before they are allowed to get anywhere in life simply because they are pretty.

Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse Desktop

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Male Chauvinist Monkeys.

Monkey misery for Kenyan women villagers



In addition to stealing their crops, the monkeys also make sexually explicit gestures at the women, they claim.

"The monkeys grab their breasts, and gesture at us while pointing at their private parts. We are afraid that they will sexually harass us," said Mrs Njeri.

The Kenyan Wildlife Service told the BBC that it was not unusual for monkeys to harass women and be less afraid of them than men, but they had not heard of monkeys in Kenya making sexually explicit gestures as a form of communication to humans.

Stupid things I find while researching for work 3

No really. But don't ask why...

( Hey, I don't actually surf to find this stuff in the first place, I have a life outside the net...sometimes. )

Drunk shamings

Drunkenness, in its most common usage, is the state of being intoxicated by consumption of ethyl alcohol to a degree that mental and physical facilities are noticeably impaired. Common symptoms may include slurred speech, impaired balance, poor coordination, flushed face, reddened eyes, reduced inhibition and uncharacteristic behavior.

Many many more in link.

A vid for the weekend

Original Art 13: Wormwood

Currently for sale on ebay, all proceeds going to the 'Templesmith needs caffeine desperately as he has sucky deadlines' fund.

Sneeek Peeek 26: 30 Days of Night Red Snow #1

Regular edition out August 29th

Stupid things I find while researching for work 2

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

Well, you never know.

Duathlon organisers insure against Loch Ness monster attack

Organisers of a duathlon in Scotland have taken out a one million pound (nearly $AU2.5 million) insurance policy against attack by or sighting of the fabled Loch Ness monster.

First Monster Duathlon race director Malcolm Sutherland said they were planning for all eventualities.
Transport operator FirstGroup said in a statement its policy with insurers Royal and Sun Alliance would pay out should "Nessie" emerge from the murky depths of the vast watercourse and/or attack one of the competitors.
"This is one of our more unusual requests but it certainly gave our team something to get their teeth into," Royal and Sun Alliance trading director Jon Woodman said.
Any "proven sighting" has to be independently verified, subject to policy terms and conditions, the insurer said.
The September 2 event requires individuals in each team of four to complete two legs of the eight-legged event around the shores of Loch Ness, in northern Scotland -- one 10-kilometre run and one 20-kilometre cycle.
- AFP

New 30 Days of Night Movie photos

Apparently there are some new photos from the film up here.

Have I ever mentioned how Awesome Danny Huston is? Well, he is.

Sneeek Peeek 25: Wormwood #9, Calamari Rising

Ok, here it is, just for kicks. Wormwood returns in November, and starts a big story arc in December with #9

Stupid things I find while researching for work 1

Stephen Baldwin attempts to use his brain, hair accessories. Fails on both counts.

"God has called me to go and make disciples of the youth of America. That is what I am going to try to do, and if you try to stop me I am going to break your face."

Skullring on Wormwood #9: Calamari Rising

The fine folks over at Skullring.org just posted a sneak peek of the final image you've seen me working on the blog for the next Wormwood story arc " Calamari Rising ". ( Which'll be issues #9-12 after a stand alone story in #8 in November )

Check it out here.

US Tax Dollars at Work

...um, can I have some?

Plumbing boss charged Pentagon $1m for two washers

Plumbers are notorious for excessive bills. But none has come even remotely close to matching an extravagant claim by a South Carolina firm: almost $1m (£500,000) for two metal washers worth 19c each.

A vid for the weekend

We sure have come a long way from the days of ancient Greece.

Satan's Cheerleaders (1977) trailer

30 Days of Night: Red Snow gets 4.5 out of 5 stars.

At least it does over at ComicMonsters.com, in the first review I've seen. ( The book is out on the 29th I do believe ) Always nervous about stuff I've written as well as drawn.

Ben Templesmith makes his triumphant return to the book that sky rocketed his career. Not only does Templesmith do the artwork, but he also writes the book as well. The artwork still has the moody, feel that we have al come to expect from Ben Templesmith. With that being said, you can even see improvement in this book from his first run on 30 Days.
Hats off to Ben Templesmith and the crew at IDW for bringing us this spooky tale. Be sure to check out issue number two in September. The snow will be turned blood red.

30 Days of Night Movie Talk and My Handwriting...

Rotten Tomatoes have me up on their 30 Days of Night movie page yapping about the film. Disturbingly, I appear to be on the front page...which is sort of freaking me out seeing my ugly mug there.

There's also interviews up there from Comic-con with Josh Hartnett, director David Slade, Ben Foster and Sam Raimi. Check em all out.

You know, if I remember rightly, while chatting to an awesome guy playing one of the lesser vamps during one of my set visits, at 3am in the middle of a freaking field we jokingly decided he should be named "Templesmith" in the film....of course it'll never actually be known to anyone but us as I doubt it makes the credits, but the peeps were encouraged to name their characters, to help them get in the mood etc, even if they weren't the main vamps who had actual names. Sure beats "Vampire no.12" eh? What was best about it is he was wearing a shirt I'd drawn straight out of the book...literally my handwriting ( As David was *that* faithful to the visuals of the comic ) so if you want to pick who it is, go check the book. New Zealanders make very disturbing vampires, lemme tell you.

Heehee

"Warren ellis may be the internet love swami jesus, but Ben Templesmith is VALIS come again."

Currently on the work desk 40: Wormwood #9 Cover WIP

Adding some more definition and detail...



And some white paint and highlights...



And a dash of colour...



The final, before any computer work begins.

30 Days of Night: Red Snow Desktop

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Dream of a Mannikin/Nightmare Factory

Just remembered, ( which is pretty amazing considering how dead my brain usually is ) that I should probably post about yet another project I got done recently, an anthology story in The Nightmare Factory for Fox Atomic.

I got to work with Heidi MacDonald, ( Yay Heidi! ) and Stuart Moore, who is far too nice with the things he says about me on his blog. He just posted some preview pages from the story we adapted from horror writer Thomas Ligotti and his story called "Dream of a Mannikin". It was no mean feat either, since it's a bit of an "in your head" sort of story.

Stuart posted these pages already but here they are again just for kicks.

A thing of beauty

Look at that. The Aussie dollar has lost over 5 cents to the US dollar in a matter of days. It almost brings a tear to my eye.

Something seldom discussed, I think, in relation to the comics biz, is the fact that although most of it is US based, many artists and writers are not. Lately, folks in places like Australia, the UK and Europe have been doing it pretty tough with super lousy exchange rates as the US dollar plummets ( I am beginning to call it the US peso these days )...when the dollar goes down 30% that generally means so does income. So imagine my surprise when this lovely global credit crunch makes a lot of the currency speculators cut and run from the aussie dollar, sending it way down from it's 18 year highs against the greenback. ( Yeah China figures into the equation somewhere too with the distortion of the Yaun. )

But this is a thing of beauty my friends. Instead of earning 30% less than a couple years ago...it's not only 25% ( or so, roughly right now ). Of course in the US a dollar still equals a dollar, notwithstanding inflation, which seems on the rise everywhere. And I do, of course hope it's not hitting the mortagages of people I know too hard. Looks to be a bumpy ride.

I hope this is also good news for the creators in other countries who also get paid in US dollars. I know it's probably been killing My Master, Mr Ellis lately, among others.

Now, I just need to get paid in general!

Currently on the work desk 39: Wormwood #9 Cover WIP

New Wormwood #9 cover

Now for a little watercolour wash...



New Wormwood #9 cover

And a little more watercolour definition... ( I hope I don't cock this one up )

Club of Mars

I'm now a member of:

Club of Mars

This is not a Comet, this is a Star.

More in the link:
Colossal tail trails dying star


The tail measures a massive 13 light years in length

A distant star that hurtles through space at extraordinary speeds has a huge, comet-like tail trailing in its wake, astronomers say.

The appendage, which measures a colossal 13 light years in length, was spotted by Nasa's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (Galex) space telescope.

The researchers said that nothing like it had ever been spotted around a star.

They believe the star, known as Mira, will help them to study what happens as stars meet their demise.

Mark Seibert, a co-author of the paper, which was published in the journal Nature, and a scientist at the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, said: "This is an utterly new phenomenon to us, and we are still in the process of understanding the physics involved."

Currently on the work desk 38: Wormwood #9 Cover

Horribly backlogged on everything. Will get back to people on LJ and email soon as I can!

My first double post.

I got my Mug on SCI FI PULSE for 30 Days of Night the Movie

Along with some of the other major people involved with the 30 Days of Night Film. Disturbingly, I get a huge mention from Mr Raimi again ( cheers mate! ) as well as a bit of focus on my actual art...which is super nice considering the amazing visual job David Slade did withe look of the film.

Check it all out here.


Strange times. Currently fielding a whole bunch of offers and events around the time the movie opens, and trying to work out the travel plans to do as much stuff as possible. More on those things soon.

I'm going to be really upset if I'm going to be overseas when we've got an election here. ( I'm a nut for election coverage, especially if, finally my guys might win something for a change )

Currently trying to get through the backlog that being away from the studio for 4 weeks will create. Ungh.

Original Art 12: Book covers...on the actual books.

Did up another two book covers currently on ebay, since the first one went so astonishingly well. They're really fun to do actually, on things I'd normally never even think about doing.

So, if you're so inclined, check out Jane Austin's Emma





And The Brothers Grim, Magic Tales.

Mike Wieringo RIP

Shocked to learn today, via Warren Ellis, that Mike Wieringo died yesterday. Incredibly sad news. I never knew him, but I knew his work. There's a lot of people dying lately, specifically of heart related things. I should probably take care of myself better too. I also learned today that the US is slipping further and further back in the lifespan stakes. This all makes me generally depressed about the people I like and love and their general health and the system designed to keep them alive over there.

Signed Exclusives at ComicZone

Signed copies of all my stuff should usually be available at ComicZone, my local store, at 572 Hay Street. They just got a new shipment of artbooks and Fell in, ( they do a great job of supporting the local boys, honestly ) so naturally as soon as I got back I had to go in and doodle on the things. If you want you can contract them on: comiczone@iprimus.com.au and see about reserving a copy if you're so inclined.

A slightly late Vid for the weekend

Templesmith in America 18: La Finale

Before I left San Diego, I dropped by the IDW Publishing offices, and signed a few stacks of books. Look for them at their online store. ( over at www.idwpublishing.com )



Delving into an editor's mind by looking at his office toy setup.



Well it was goodbye San Diego, a week or so after Comic-con...



And off to a brief visit of Utah. The most Republican state left in America. The best thing about Utah was the sunsets. Ignore the lower level of healthy brown haze pollution in the picture though.



Then it was off to the East Coast for some meetings. New York= Pea Soup but not as tastey. I seriously hate NYC summer. The sweet smell of trash, cooking in the heat, the sweat, the hellish subway ( before it got flooded as I left ) Yet I never get to visit in the cooler months. Bugger.



A giant rat. No, I don't know why either.



Hanging on a street corner at midnight in the Bronx. I was not shot.



The best comic store in NYC, Midtown comics.



Back home in Perth going out for breakfast before starting to tackle the macklog of work and correspondence I need to get to. A sunny winters day.