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

800x600



1024x768



1680x1050

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.