Monocyte #3 Cover

 

 Finally done with the B cover to Monocyte #3! You may have seen it being done on my instagram lately. 

I've just read issue #1, since I've had the privilege to stay and work with Menton3 in his studio the last week or so, along with Kasra Ghanbari, the co-creator. It's definitely a little unique and ambitious book. I describe it as being "like Deadwood being sodomized by HR Giger in a cathedral, narrated by Tom Waits."

Heh.

So anyway, in this day and age where books live and die on pre-orders, definitely check this one out. It's diamond order code is AUG110362, so go tell your local retailer you WANT it, so they order a copy. 

You can check out more on the book here and Menton's particular form of the dark arts here.

Wizard World Chicago!

I'm off for Wizard World Chicago tomorrow, I'll be there for the entire thing. ( And then hanging around Chicago for a bit and maybe doing one other signing, with the amazingly talented Menton3, though details are to come )

I'll be at my booth at the con almost the entire time, find me at booth 3215 with my red banner "T' logo thing.

I'll be doing commissions! Email me at bentemplesmith@gmail.com to get on the list or see me as early as you can at the con. Am likely to fill up. All info for commissions is here.



I WILL HAVE SOME COPIES OF SQUIDGIRLS WITH ME. Yes, indeed, a couple boxes worth should make it to the con by Friday or so. They're $50, come signed and with an original sketch page and fancy, personalized experience with me, idiot supreme. The power of Squid compels you, etc etc.

Also, I'll have a bunch of cheap prints. First come, first served.

I expect 3 very common questions/statements while at the con. Let me answer them for everyone in advance... though apparently nobody checks my various websites aaaanyway... :-P ( Maybe I'll just direct fans to my website here eh? )

1) What happened with FELL?

WORKING ON IT. ( Same with CHOKER )

2) What did you think of the 30 Days of Night movie?

IT WAS GOOD. YAY! I'm all about comics though, not many people get the chance to have a movie made of their work, so who am I to ever diss it? It was lovely. David Slade did a fantastic job.

3) I didn't know you were going to be here!

YES, the most common of statements made to me. I have a website, the con itself has a website, lets all make glorious comic music with each other, yes?  I'll be there. With bells on. At least pants. ( I keep saying this now. Maybe one day I'll actually go pantsless and shock you all? )

Being back in the US has been a good time. I nearly didn't come back due to family & personal stuff but bugger it, there's a lot of life yet to live. Seattle and it's surrounds continue to be beautiful, now it's on to Chicago and let's win this thing. ( Just don't shoot me on the way out through the kitchens please ) Oh, and then finally NYC where I hope to loiter for possibly a good few years and mix it with some amazing artists who continue to enthuse me about comics. If you happen to have an amazing NY apartment for rent, let me know. I may also at some point be looking for an intern in said city. But beware, the interview process will be long, awkward and involve knifey spoony.

A special shout out to Julie and Damien Shanahan. ( As well as Gerick, Killian and Emma ) Finer human beings I have not met in my short insignificant life. My pseudo family this side of the Pacific. I'll be back to Seattle next year.

I'm not dead.

 

Yes, I know it's seemed like it for quite some time but honest, I'm not dead. ( Well, yet. ) Had to go offline to deal with a few things, none pleasant and being offline becomes strangely addicting. Now to actually attempt to pick up the shambles of existence and go find my pink elephant. I'm sure I'll be back to bitch and moan on a regular basis soon but for now, San Diego Comic Con 2011 is upon us, with all it's musky geekery, sweaty crowds of people just there for the free movie promotional trinkets and to offer B grade celebrities the odd blowjob.

I'll be there, thanks to the fine folks of Gestalt Comics, like the poster says. Come say hi. Bring alcohol. ( No, actually, please don't. )

MODOK

Took a stab. He's a tad grumpy. Original art is on Ebay if you're so inclined too...

Hunter

Bat country.

Electra

The red lady. She's up here if anyone wants her.

Whoa

So, bloody eventful year so far, with more to come. Some of it keeping me from the work I should be doing sadly, so I'm back down in Australia for a bit to focus and get some things back in order. I haven't been putting the work first for rather a long time, so that needs to change. Yes, unbelievably, like a ferret reading braille I'll actually start posting art to the blog again!

Oh, and sadly, I've had to cancel some convention appearances. Comicpalooza in Houston, Calgary, Heroes Con in Charlotte and Albuquerque Comic Expo. Which sucks but had to be done. Hopefully I'll do them next year. Instead, if the Squid God is kind, ( mostly he isn't actually ) I should be at the Sydney and Perth Supanova's instead. So I'll still be about.

And still planning on hitting San Diego Comic-con.

I recently did a BUNCH of conventions though. Chicago, Kansas, Melbourne and Brisbane. All of them quite fantastique. Here's a bunch of art/commissions I did during them.

I *might* actually take on a few online ones soon, but a lot of other work ( and several promised commissions I'm behind on ) have to come first still!

Want more? Then check out my ComicsPipeline.com account for the special stuff. Going up momentarily.

C2E2 Ahoy

Alrighty! I'm off to C2E2 today. I'll have Squidgirls, some Wormwood, Hoxford, original art and of course sketches and commissions! All the info you need for those can be found here on my other blog.

I'll be spending the entire time of the con ( well, except for a panel on SATURDAY AT 1PM and bathroom breaks, ) at the COMICS PIPELINE BOOTH 617. NOT artist alley this year. I'll be right by Marvel and stuff. Rather new experience for me.

So come by, say hi, I'll sign anything you got and enjoy the chats with the people insane enough to buy my work!

When you work on your own comics, how do you work? Do you write a script before you start drawing, or do you do both at the same time?

I write a basic plot outline, then write pure dialogue, all by hand, then layout the entire book, then draw it, then finally after all that, I actually type up the dialogue and cut it up so someone else can actually letter the thing, because they can't peer directly into my head.

Ask me anything

Emerald City Comic-con And on to C2E2

Huge thanks to everyone who came out for the always awesome Emerald City Comic-con. Between the stresses of still only being half moved with all my proper con stuff in boxes, a longish commute to the con and sickness and lack of sleep it turned out really well and I hope everyone had a blast. ECCC is always so comics focused and friendly and the live art event thrown by Molly McIsaac on the Friday was really a highlight... and looks to become some sort of annual thing now for the show.



Next up I'll be heading to C2E2, assuming I make it through a mountain of things I need to get done first!

Here's what you need to know...

C2E2

I'll be there all three days.

I'll always be located at the COMICSPIPELINE BOOTH: booth #617 ( So scream that as loud as you can at the internet for everyone because I get so many questions and later, at con, so many people saying "I didn't know you were even going to be at the show!" Huzzah etc! )

COMMISSIONS INFO can be found on my blog. Yes, email me anytime now and I'll put you on the list/try to get ahead so I can fit as many people in as I can.

I'll sign as many books as I can, obviously, so don't feel bad if you bring a bunch. Don't limit yourself to just one. That's horribly thoughtful of you nice folks but I can sign a few more than that.

Quick sketches ( of vampire heads/zombies/skulls/my choice only so I can stay sane ) are always free, as is a quick chat. ( Though I tend to get loopy at the end so witty humour may start getting lost to me on Sunday! )

Live Art at Emerald City Comic-Con

Commissions and San Francisco!

Yup, I'll be up in San Francisco, most importantly doing this live art thing for the Noisepop Festival with DJ Samsupa and ALSO... this here thing below for ISOTOPE COMICS, only the best store I've basically ever been to.

This year, I *won't* be at WONDERCON sadly ( I'll be on another continent instead ) so if anyone wanted a commission off me, I'm taking some in advance of the SF trip and can deal with them at the Isotope event, where I'll be chatting/sketching/drinking the whole time. I'll also have a very limited number of SQUIDGIRLS: EROTICA TENTACULA on hand, for personalizations and sketchings in. This'll probably be the only time I'll be up to SF for the foreseeable, so come on out and see how great sequential art and the people who love it can be.

Details for commissions and such can be located here and drop me a note about what you want at bentemplesmith @ gmail.com. I really need to consolidate lots of info into something manageable, I know. When I eventually get time to breathe...

New Wormwood!

Ok, almost new...the really really new stuff is coming too. Yet again, Wormwood Volume 01 has sold out, so it had to go back to print and it's finally back in stores today. And yes, retailers can actually order it again too. PLUS, with a new Wormwood miniseries out eventually this year, there's new life in the old corpse yet I hope.

I even did a new cover for it. Got really sick of the old, first cover I ever did for a Wormy trade. Hope people think this one is just as good. A bit more in sync with the others.

You can buy it from all the usual places, IDW, and Amazon as well. Support your godly local retailer first if you can though.

Curse of Four

So I did this image for a book cover for Caitlin Kittredge's new thang, "Curse of Four" from Subterranean Press. One of my favourite images I've done in a long while actually.

It's up on her blog now, so am guessing it's all right for me to plug it and of course, check out her website!

Plans for 2011 so far

Alright you lot, apologies for lack of updating. Been off doing things, traveling and making so many plans, including moving city/state to Seattle. And it's not over yet so things may be a little sporadic for awhile. BUT...

In response to a lot of queries and questions, this is what's going on and I'm going to point you all here for the info.

WORMWOOD: BINGO NIGHT IN VALHALLA

Is coming! Got to work madly on it now. Will be solicited for July, more info to come and there's already a sneak peek on my tumblr.

FELL

Yes, amazingly, there's a new, full script for issue 10 and it's a spiffy one from Warren. I'm starting on that this month too. Right now it has to fit in with all the other crap I've got going on but it'll get done soonish. It feels really good to finally have a different answer to the classic "So when will there be more FELL?" question. The answer is SOON.

CHOKER

WILL be finished, Ben is working on the final script for issue 6 right now.

BLACK SKY

This one I'm getting into now too, script is coming along and I'll be fitting it around the other stuff. Yes, I'm a busy boy. Really got to get my arse moving on this one.

CONVENTIONS, FESTIVALS AND COMMISSIONS

Ok, so here's how the first half of the year is looking so far. Still doing a lot of travel and hopefully meeting all the cool people who amazingly support my work.

NOISE POP- February 27th I'll be down at the festival, doing some live art, specifically of FELL, along with DJ Samsupa. It's a free event at the festival, so come on down. and YES, wil be doing a signing/event thingy at Isotope comics with the insanely good James Sime and co. there'll be a signing and some Squidgirls for sale. I can do a small number of commissions to be picked up/paid for at the signing if there's demand as well. Email me to get on the rather short list for such things. ( bentemplesmith @ gmail.com )

EMERALD CITY COMIC-CON!

Yes, I'll be there. Yes, I'll be doing commissions and should have some Squidgirls for sale too. I'll be found in artists alley somewhere, wherever the big red banner with my "T" is basically.

C2E2 CHICAGO!

Yes, I'll be there. Yes, I'll be doing commissions and should have some Squidgirls for sale. I'll be able to be found at the COMICS PIPELINE booth the entire con.

And further on, all these cons are ones I'm pretty much committed to for now. Because I am insane, apparently. International stuff to come:

Planet Comic Con, Kansas City

Supanova Comic Cons, Brisbane & Melbourne

Comicpalooza, Houston

Heroes Con, Charlotte

Calgary Expo in uh, Calgary

Albuquerque Comic Expo

ZomBcon, Seattle

San Diego Comic-Con

New York Comic-Con