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At the STAPLE! show last weekend, a fine conventioneer named Freddie offered me his sketchbook, which I promptly besoiled with the following:
This actually isn't good! Phones only show you horrors when they're VERY DEPRESSED, or at any other time
Drawing: Ink-wash study
Broke out the dip-pens and watercolors today. It’s been far too long.
I realized as I was sharpening pencils that I haven’t actually sharpened a pencil in several years. I’ve bought pencils (intending to put them to use) far more often than I have actually used them. So I dug through my drawers and found all the pencils I could that needed sharpening, then sharpened them all for good measure.
This piece has an outline inked with crowquill and brush, after which I diluted the ink and went back in with a wash brush. The thin piece of scratch paper that I used wrinkled from the watery ink — I really love how in the scan the wrinkles give the dude a radiant Byzantine-halo effect. ALL HAIL OUR LORD AND MASTER
A very special announcement!
What’s this?
It’s my new book! This 96-page hardcover will be hitting bookstore shelves in June, courtesy of Dark Horse Comics. It picks up where The Annotated Wondermark left off, and includes 131 comic strips (including many that have never appeared on this site) as well as Treachery!. I’ve also written loads of fun extra material especially for this collection, including a Dispatches from Wondermark Manor prologue chapter.
And the best part is…it’s available on Amazon now for pre-order!
The last few weeks have been a bit of an education in publishing for me. Typically, the way I’ve sold books in the past is: 1. I design the books. 2. I print the books. 3. I sell the books to you. This model has worked well for me so far, but for the new book, I’m having to change tactics.
The revised model goes like this: 1. I design the book (done). 2. You pre-order the book. 3. Dark Horse looks at those pre-order numbers, and decides how many books to print and how much of a promotional effort the book deserves. 4. The book is a resounding success, and Dark Horse and I go on to make more books -OR- the book does poorly and I go back to the previous model of bookselling.
In other words, pre-orders are extremely important. In addition to encouraging individual sales, I’ll be urging as many bookstores and comic stores as I can to order copies for the shelf. You can do the same in your area! The book will be solicited in the June Previews (which comic stores will receive next month), and it’s already in the Dark Horse Summer Catalog, which bookstores should have a copy of. The ISBN is 978-1593079840.
Another new way that you can help support Wondermark is by making general Amazon purchases via my site, by using the search box just over on the right, in the sidebar. Anything you buy on Amazon after clicking through from Wondermark earns me a commission, and it doesn’t cost you an extra penny! I see it sort of as a tip jar. Feel free to use my site as a portal for your general Amazon searching — or, if you think I’m being crass, then don’t! That’s fine too.
Check out: Street Magic!
If you like to laugh, and you’re not put off by buckets and buckets of profanity, check out the “David Blaine: Street Magic” videos here. These guys are actors at the Groundlings theater — watch all three Blaine spoofs in order for maximal hilarity.
If you don’t get what they’re spoofing, here’s a real David Blaine video. CAUTION DOUCHE AHEAD
Check out: Toupydoops
What if Hollywood was run by the comic industry, instead of by movies? If Marvel and DC were the big guns instead of Fox, Paramount and the like, and if starry-eyed youngsters moved to the city to audition for issues instead of episodes? Such is the world of Kevin McShane’s Toupydoops. It’s a great premise that Kevin pulls off pitch-perfectly, with clean artwork and sharp wit. Check it out!