Epic Tales of the Mundane

Winning?

2012-01-12T17:27:00.001-07:00

Actually, I didn't even pay for my table (thanks, Shawn!), and I really wasn't expecting to sell giant shitloads of minicomics to people that were there to see Robert Kirkman or Rob Liefield, or just to get good deals on comics. But, it's funnier if I bitch about stuff, right?

Meanwhile, here's some other stuff:

This is a drawing I did as a color study for an acrylic painting in my Color Theory class last semester, and ultimately abandoned (and did this instead). I do kinda like it on it's own, though.

And, here's a couple new sketchcards and I drew before the con, and then inked and colored 'em with color pencils.

And finally, a full page pinup of Eric Esquivel's "Blackest Terror" character! I might do some more shading and stuff like that if I decide to put this in my portfolio later, but y'know, whatever.

Okay, I'm spent.

INTERLUDE: Various Art Stuffs, and more excuses

2012-01-02T08:40:00.001-07:00

Holy crap, it's been a long time since I posted anything on here! I've just been so hard at work trying to get stories done for these anthology projects (and continuing with the "Record Heat" strip), I haven't had time to draw any "Epic Tales...". Well, regardless, I think it's about time to at least post SOMETHING on here, so here it goes:

This is an 20"x30" acrylic painting (on illustration board) of Charles Bronson that I did for my Color Theory class last semester. If I were to give it a proper title, it would be "Don't Fuck with Chuck!".

Here's another acrylic painting for Color Theory class, this one being on 15"x20" watercolor paper. I just like how the colors blended together.

NOTE: I also did a "Too Much Coffee Man" painting that I'm kinda proud for that class, but it was NOT returned to me at the end of the semester.

Finally, here's a sample panel of the 8-page story I'm finishing up for the second vol. of this book; This is probably the bloodiest, most violent comic I've ever drawn, and it's a pretty fun project to work on.

I think I've already posted at least two of these pics on my Facebook page already, but hopefully the next time I make another entry on this site, it'll be with NEW illustrations and comics.

The Power of Love

2011-11-23T21:15:00.001-07:00

Normally, I'd complain about being too busy with school, job, parenting, blah, blah, blah to keep up with the strip, but instead, I'm just gonna post some sketches (in various states of completion) that I made in class recently ( rather than doing the actual assignments ), all having to do with upcoming comic projects ( non-school related, of course).

Stay tuned; As soon as the semester is over, updates will be back to normal. And if you miss me, go read Record Heat.

Occupy my Mind

2011-11-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

HAHAHA, I'm an ignorant American!

Also, if you didn't do it before, check out my other webcomic, "RECORD HEAT"... it updates every Monday.

Working Late

2011-10-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

Always good to come back from a short hiatus with a poop joke, am I right?

Anyways, if you were at all curious as to why I hadn't posted any new strips recently, it was because I was cheating on "Epic Tales..." with another webcomic of my design, which is called "Record Heat". The new strip is remarkably similar to this one, except that it will be focusing on the music scene in and around Phoenix, AZ, and will run weekly on the Phoenix New Times music blog. I'm about four strips deep into it now, so hopefully that will give me enough lead time that there won't be any interruptions in the scheduled posting once it debuts ( as is prone to happen with this webcomic! ). So, uh, that's going on.

How's school going, you ask? Well, it's okay. Here's an example of what my notes for my classes look like;

INTERLUDE: Spawn #6

2011-10-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

A while ago, I sent this drawing off to the guy that runs the "Covered" blog (where creators redraw various comic book covers, in their own style), but I don't what happened after that. It was either rejected or somehow got lost in the interwebz, but here it is;

And here's the original, by Todd McFarlane...

Redrawing stuff from comics is just a fun exercise, and makes you think about composition and layouts in ways you might not normally consider. I chose to redo this one merely because I thought the contrast of drawing "styles" was sorta comedic in it's own right.

Aiming for the Middle Ground

2011-09-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

Yeah, so "Epic Tales of the Mundane" was awarded 'Best Local Webcomic' in the Phoenix New Times, which is kinda cool. If you wanna read the little article/blurb about me and the comic, you can find it at http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/bestof/2011/award/best-web-comic-2728749/ .

Under Advisement

2011-09-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

The constant anxiety of school tends to put me in a dour mood.I recently purchased an 11x17 scanner, so this is the first strip I've drawn on 11x14 Bristol board (which is considerably larger the 8.5x11 boards I normally work with); It's nice to have a little extra space to draw.

Also, here is the cover to "Epic Tales..."#9, which I'll be sending to the printer in the next month or so.

Belief

2011-09-17T07:02:00.003-07:00

Once again, it's becoming harder and harder to eek out time to draw the strip, what with all the homework at the school. I'll do my best, but I also have a couple other projects I'm trying to find a little bit of time to work on as well, but more on that later...

Burning the Red Tape

2011-09-08T16:52:00.002-07:00

Inside my head, LOTS of people get punched in the face.

INTERLUDE: Mutants and Manimals

2011-09-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

I've been busy with a good chunk of homework at school, so I'll be sticking with my "1 strip a week" formula for the foreseeable future. But, I always have a few random sketches and whatnot to share.I'm working on story for an anthology, and have been trying to nail down the character designs. I don't wanna give too much info, but the main protagonist is a mutant with a sentient tumor, and there will be a battle with mutant animals (or, "MANimals", as I like to say) and robots. Here's what should be something close my final design:

Speaking of mutant animals, here's another version of a black and white ink drawing I posted awhile ago, but now with color, and a sort of experimental background.

Hopefully, I should have a new "Epic Tales..." strip up by tomorrow.

Proposition 2.0

2011-08-31T16:46:00.005-07:00

"Planet of the Apes" (well, aside from that stupid Tim Burton one) is easily one of my favorite movie franchises, right up there with the "Jaws" series, and only to be topped by my love of the showa-era "Godzilla" films.

INTERLUDE: Panda vs. Robot, and other stuff

2011-08-27T09:27:00.006-07:00

Well, school has started once again, which means I'll be attempting to post one strip a week during my hectic schedule. But, until next week's installment, here's some random stuff I drew in the lull that is the first week of the semester.

Magnets?

2011-08-23T15:42:00.001-07:00

(Sigh)... Juggalos.

Prefatory Panic

2011-08-18T05:27:00.004-07:00

I'm sure I've made other strips that are similar to this about how much stress I feel during the course of the semester, but it's no less true now.

I recently printed 50 copies of "Epic Tales..."#8 at a print shop (it's the first time I haven't done it all by myself, at Kinko's), in a slightly larger format; 7x8.5 (legal size, folded), with bristol covers. I'm not putting it up in the store because I need 'em to sell at various shows in the near future.
Here's a sketchcard I recently drew of Vaughn and Mark Bode's "Cobalt 60". I discovered this series in a friend's brother's collection of "Heavy Metal" magazines when I was in 7th grade (around the same time I found the original Ninja Turtle comics), and it's been stuck in my mind ever since.

And finally, here's a pic from my sketchbook of Crimson Cloak punching a Punk Rock Panda in the face... I've been working on a lot of autobio stuff recently, and I don't often get the opportunity to draw fisticuffs in those comics, so I thought I'd take a little break.

Spoilers?

2011-08-11T08:01:00.002-07:00

Take that, Hollywood!

Birthdays Suck

2011-08-08T15:56:00.003-07:00

If I were to put out a collection of all these strips, it would be called "Epic Tales of the Mundane: The First Four Years".

Rolls right off the tongue, right?

Longbox Diving

2011-08-05T07:55:00.004-07:00

I decided to go ahead and just do a black & white strip for today because the real star of this post is the"John Jacobs and the Power Team" comic book! First, it should be known that the real life John Jacobs is this weird "Christian" muscleman that has a live show in which he and his team of freakishly large meatheads use their faith in Jesus (rather than steroids) to gather the strength necessary to perform such tasks as ripping apart telephone books, and snapping baseball bats in half. You can see the actual cover of this comic below:

And, here is a single page of the awesomness contained within this book:

You're welcome, reader!

Nerdling

2011-08-02T22:18:00.004-07:00

She's fairly close to being able to actually say, "Godzilla" now, too.

INTERLUDE: Uncle Sam flier!

2011-07-31T07:40:00.009-07:00

I agreed to design the flier for an upcoming show that I'm playing (w/ the "Might've Beens"), and this is the end result. I spend way TOO MUCH time on drawing and photoshoping these kinds of things, and I'm never fully happy with the end result. But, it is a way for people who don't care about comics to see my art, and I don't have to foot the bill for the photocopying.

I decided to draw 2 seperate images for this project, and then combine them (along with the text-elements) after the fact so I'd have a little more control arranging the Mouse Soldiers. Here's how they look isolated from one another;

Bodily Malfunctions

2011-07-25T09:51:00.004-07:00

My neck is slightly better today, but still really, really stiff. It was a little sore yesterday morning, but I think I sprained it at some point when I took Kennedy swimming, and after that it was pure agony.

Man, you know you're REALLY out of shape when you sprain a muscle while sleeping.

Instant Coping

2011-07-21T12:07:00.003-07:00

I started watching "Star Trek:TOS" with the intention of eventually viewing the entire series, but much like classic "Dr.Who", there's too much dialog for me to keep up with while I have toddler running around the house, opening things and getting into stuff she shouldn't. So, I've opted to watch the 90's "Spider-Man" cartoon 'cause I can miss a minute of it and catch up pretty easily.

INTERLUDE: "... Punk Rock Pandas" update!

2011-07-17T12:30:00.005-07:00

Here's the newly completed cover artwork for the "Genetically Modified Punk rock Pandas" minicomic, sans title.

BTW, I've decided that whenever I make a post that doesn't include an "Epic Tales..." strip, the title of said post will say "INTERLUDE", just because I'm that anal retentive.

Somewhere, Lars Ulrich is shedding a tear

2011-07-14T11:18:00.001-07:00

If Lars played guitar instead of drums, the title would've been, "Somewhere, Lars Ulrich is SHREDDING a tear"...

Mind-Meld

2011-07-12T12:51:00.007-07:00

I don't know why, but for a long time, I'd come up with an idea for a strip, and then sit down to draw it, usually without any sort of thumbnails. Over the years, I've managed to screw up a lot of perfectly good premises for scenes and jokes using this method.But, after listening to various comedians talk about their processes on podcasts such as "The Nerdist", I decided it would make sense to write stuff down in my own version of a 'jokebook'. You'd think that sketching out ideas would come naturally to someone that draws so often, but for whatever reason, my thumbnails were usually relegated to planning out longer comic stories, or school art projects, rather than comic strips. Live and learn, I guess. Anyways, Here's the sketch for today's strip:

And here's another drawing from my sketchbook, this being a much more finished peice.

The Funnies

2011-07-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Just so I don't offend anyone's craft with this one, I DO understand that comedians have to revise and refine jokes as they're shaping their set; What I'm trying to say is regardless of that, they do get an immediate reaction from the crowd, whereas I draw these little strips and cast them into the ether of the interwebz, sometimes getting a response, but usually not. Wah for me.

Also, I'd be a really terrible comedian.

A Turd By Any Other Name Still Reeks of Sh*t

2011-07-06T12:57:00.004-07:00

For the record, I do think "Robot Repair" is a slightly better name than the other, both because of the alliteration and the fact that it's a referance to a "50 Million" song... On the other hand, however, I now realize that they are both really stupid names for a band.

Independence Day in the A.Z.

2011-07-05T08:10:00.005-07:00

Shannon read this strip and said she didn't think it really made sense because she doesn't see a connection between Mexico and firecrackers. I don't know, but when I see Mexico in my mind, I think of firecrackers almost going hand-in-hand with pinatas during celebrations, and being a staple of the culture. Am I wrong, am I making this up?

PS I decided to post this strip regardless of whether or not it makes sense based on the fact that it wouldn't be the first time I posted something that was unfunny or nonsensical.

Plead Sanity

2011-06-29T07:16:00.004-07:00

Sometimes, random thoughts should not to given a voice.

Honestly, this conversation happened a couple of years ago, but for some reason I suddenly remembered it yesterday, and decided to draw it.

Anatomy

2011-06-23T20:10:00.004-07:00

I almost always exaggerate Shannon's reactions because, much like anatomy, subtly isn't my strong suite.

The Opposite of Trending

2011-06-21T22:14:00.000-07:00

I think I can partially attribute the slight increase in pageviews to the simple fact that I've been posting more strips, more regularly now that I'm on summer-break... I wish I could keep this up forever, but I'm too close to getting my associate in Digital Art to quit now. But, I'll do my best!

Zitorious Maximus

2011-06-19T22:06:00.002-07:00

HAHAHA, I'm kinda gross!

Catcalls

2011-06-15T21:50:00.004-07:00

It's been a long time since I made a comic featuring our cats, Beans 'n Rice... I probably should have changed their litter box instead of drawing this comic.

Epic Tales of the Undead

2011-06-12T04:31:00.003-07:00

Can YOU spot what's wrong with this drawing?

Stuffs 'n stuff

2011-06-11T06:23:00.004-07:00

I haven't drawn an "Epic Tales..." strip today because I'm posting this before I go to work, and I was planning on drawing a new one on my morning commute. But, I did want to share another page from the "Genetically Modified Punk Rock Pandas" minicomic I've been working on recently: BTW, a week or so ago I had an entry on the 'Repaneled blog' in which I redrew a panel from TMNT (my head is very much stuck in the world of mutant animals right now, I guess!)... You can see it here.

Marital Sacrifices

2011-06-06T21:41:00.002-07:00

The whole hubbub with DC Comics is interesting to me, but I don't really care one way or other.

Clumsy Weapons

2011-06-01T07:42:00.003-07:00

Okay, I think I'm done making comics about the Convention this year...

Conventions of Conventions

2011-05-30T19:32:00.004-07:00

You can tell I'm the villain in this strip because the panels with my character are predominately purple and green, much like Lex Luthor.

I had to work a lot this last weekend, but I still managed to hang out at the Phoenix Comicon for good chunk of time, and came away with some pretty awesome finds for discounted prices. I also got to hang out with some friends I hadn't spoken to in awhile. All in all, it was good time.

CONAN, the Accountant

2011-05-23T16:01:00.005-07:00

I'm not sure why I chose to color the dude in the suit like he was from the 70's, but I like how it worked out.

Here's the first finished page of "Genetically Modified Punk Rock Pandas", an 8-page TMNT parody/homage minicomic I'm working on. It's a riff on the first issue of the original, black and white "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" comic by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Google the first page of that comic if you wanna compare this to the source material.

Contemplation Street

2011-05-23T13:41:00.005-07:00

Universal truths are cryptic.

Here's the original drawing I used as the basis for the illustrator image I posted recently. I screwed up the perspective, but I like it regardless of that.

Classic Media

2011-05-17T21:37:00.006-07:00

I'm almost 30, and I'm still interested in a lot of the same stuff I was into when I was a 5-year old, such as dinosaurs, robots, superheroes, ninjas, and badass-ed-ness.

Never Forget!

2011-05-14T05:15:00.004-07:00

It was Shannon's idea for me to draw this comic, and she's one of the only people I listen to when a strip is "pitched" to me; She's my wife (so I have to listen), but more than that, she's genuinely funny, and usually understands the kind of humor I'm going for.

Below are my last 2 projects of the semester for my 2D Computer Design class. Early in the semester, I was relying pretty heavily on using a tablet to create my projects in Adobe Illustrator. But, with these two images, I was trying to get more comfortable using the pen tool.

And, finally, here's a flyer I designed for a show we'll ("Might've Beens") be playing very soon. I'm excited about this show 'cause "The Fucking Cops" are pretty awesome, as are the other bands.

Oddities and Ends

2011-05-05T16:11:00.005-07:00

If I wasn't so busy right now, I'd use these guys in an TMNT homage/parody minicomic that I wanna draw. I figure since Nickolodeon owns the turtles now and is planning a big push for the characters this year (with a new cartoon series, as well a live-action movie, in the works), it's as good a time as ever to retread the ground carved by such comics as "Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters" and "Pre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos", amongst others, in the '80s-black 'n white-boom. But, I'll just have to put "Gentically Modified Punk Rock Pandas" on the backburner till I have a little more time.

Meanwhile, here's a couple pics of 2 charcoal drawings I did in my Drawing II class, one more finished than the other.

Additonally, if anyone reading this is interested, you can now download, for free, the 8-song EP of the band I'm in ("Might've Beens") at our bandcamp site, here!

RECAP!

2011-04-25T23:14:00.011-07:00

I worked on this comic for, like, a week, usually while waiting for buses... maybe I should have just done a bunch of shorter strips, but I didn't.

So, here's what's been going on, more or less.

Comstupider

2011-04-01T01:11:00.007-07:00

I happened to be going through one of my sketchbooks for school today, and came across the penciled page for this strip, which I'd somehow forgotten about. I've actually been done with the class for a couple of weeks, now.

At the last second, before the UPC 'zine thing up in Phoenix, I decided to go ahead and run off a few copies of "Epic Tales..."#8 since I already had the material put together. I only ended up printing 10 copies because, only a day or so earlier, I'd just printed a bunch of issues of #7 and was running low on cash.So, I'm out of #8 right now, but I'll have some more soon enough. And finally, here's a couple of sketchcards I've made recently.

"JAWS" is one of my favorite movies...

2011-03-23T20:31:00.003-07:00

No new comics today, but I did work on this drawing for my DRAWING II class at MCC. I like how it's coming along, so far.

Bruce Lee... Centaur?

2011-03-22T14:35:00.002-07:00

Here's another picture I'm working on for my 2D Computer class... I'm not gonna try to explain the overall concept 'cause this speaks for itself.

2011-03-21T08:35:00.002-07:00

Here's the cover to the newest issue of the aforementioned "Epic Tales..." #7 minicomic, which will be available for purchase March 26th at the Underground Publishers Convention in Phoenix! I only made, like, 20 copies, so get there early.

Not Far from the Tree

2011-03-11T22:34:00.003-07:00

I know I draw all of the characters in this strip as really simplified, sort of generic figures, but I don't think I could ever capture just how cute my daughter is in real life, even if I tried!

In other news, I will be attending the Underground Publishers Convention on March 26th, and so should you! I'm not sure whether I'll be behind a table or not, but regardless, I will have a backpack full of minicomics. "Epic Tales..."#7 will be the first new issue of the series that I've released in about 2 and a 1/2 years! Time flies when you don't have any extra, I guess.

Grackelion!

2011-03-07T19:25:00.003-07:00

This is another drawing I did in Illustrator for my 2D Computer Design Class. It's a cross between a Grackle and a Dandelion...

We have strange assignments.

Query???

2011-03-06T18:33:00.015-07:00

Hey there, internet-peoples!

Yep, I'm still alive, and still severly overburdened with schoolwork, but I somehow found the time to draw this comic (I even renewed the "blackmarkercomics.com" URL, so you know I'll always come back here, whenever I get a slight reprieve). I wish had the time to draw more comics, but it takes lot of time to do all weird assignments and art-shit for my classes, like this drawing I did in Illustrator for my 2D Computer Design course:

Alright, hopefully I'll get back to drawing strips regularly during the summer months, but who knows?

BLAST FROM THE PAST: "Missing Link", from 1/20/08

2011-02-07T17:03:00.008-07:00

Man, I cannot tell you long it's been since I actually drew at my drawing board. Nowadays, I'm lucky to devote a couple minutes a day to drawing in my sketchbook, and its usually while I'm waiting for a bus.

I also haven't drank coffee for the last week, but that's just because I'm broke until my financial aid check from school arrives (hopefully soon).

I don't know if I ever posted a link to this on here, but the new band I'm in, the "Might've Beens", recorded a demo (just 2 songs) a month or so ago, so please follow the link and give it a listen (or, download it for free) if you're at all interested. We'll be recording a full length at the end of this month (well, a short full-length, anyways).

What it is...

2011-01-31T16:26:00.006-07:00

This was drawn over the weekend, and mostly, while I was waiting for the bus I ride to work. I'm not all that happy with the colors, but... whatever, at least I got a chance to post something new.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: "Techno Funk", from 8/28/07

2011-01-28T09:43:00.004-07:00

I look at this strip now, years later, and all I can I think is , "I can't believe we still have the same computer. This thing is ancient, now!" Hopefully, once I get my student aid for this semester of school, we'll be able to get a new tower, and leap into 2011, technologically speaking. Besides, it's sort of necessary when you consider that I'm trying to get a degree in Digital Illustration.

Random Sketches and whatnot

2011-01-24T08:43:00.006-07:00

I just started the new school-semester last week, so I don't expect to be making many posts in the immediate future. However, I was trying to go through some papers that had piled up in our home office, and I found a couple of drawings in a sketchbook that I'd forgotten:

The robot one was an idea for a T-Shirt design that I abandoned, but colored in photoshop, regardless.

The sketch below it was probably drawn out of boredom, back when I had the time to be bored.

And, if you have a hankering to see more of my bad drawings, I recently contributed to the "Repaneled" blog, here, and redrew a weird panel from Jack Kirby's "Fourth World".

Working on Stuff

2011-01-09T21:16:00.003-07:00

I've been trying to finish up the last few pages of the 50 pg "Get into Comix!" story (that I've been working on forever) before I go back to school on the 17th, so I haven't had a chance to draw any strips; It sucks that I haven't been able to keep up, but I really wanna finish this damn comic!

Here's a panel from a page in the story that I recently drew, in which a slightly younger, unmarried and childless version of myself daydreams about having sex with a waitress at Denny's:

Fourth World

2010-12-26T21:59:00.004-07:00

I used a brush pen in my attempt to approximate a 'Jack Kirby' drawing in this strip; It worked much better than I expected, but it's still a shoddy impersonation of the King's style.

Christmas went very well this year, and I don't know if I've ever before received as many thoughtful gifts as I did this time around. It was pretty awesome, and I can't wait for next year, but mostly because my daughter will be almost 2 years old, and able to get really excited for all things Christmas. This year, she enjoyed the boxes and wrapping paper just as much as the toys (I would've posted some pics chewing on ribbons and bows, but my computer tower is screwed up, and can't read my camera's SD card).

All that being said, I did miss spending time with my Mom, stepdad, and siblings, but at least we were able to visit them at Thanksgiving this year. Still, it wasn't hard to enjoy myself with the In-laws, being as they're all kind, generous people, with good senses of humor.

Anyways, Merry Christmas, or whatever, and Happy New Years, peeps!

Charting the Semester

2010-12-19T00:01:00.004-07:00

I somehow managed to pass all my classes this semester ( with three "A"s and a "B", no less ) without having a nervous breakdown, so I made out a lot better than I expected I would! And, now that I'm on a break from school, I can actually eek out enough spare time to make marks on paper that won't be graded, and this strip's hiatus can finally end.

My last project for my Digital Arts class was to download and edit footage from the internet, combining them into a single piece of video. My idea was to combine examples of technology in old SciFi movies and T.V. shows against their modern counterparts. Here's my student project:

Finally, here's a drawing I completed while listening to an instructor babble on and on about one assignment or another:

The Heat is Off ( for the time being )

2010-11-20T22:53:00.006-07:00

Hey, it's another valiant attempt at continuing to draw comics, despite my life being consumed by child rearing and school! You can really tell when I'm pressed for time when the only way in which my comic is at all sequential is through the progression of the thought balloons.

By the way, here's a caveman!

Our Powers

2010-11-08T07:02:00.005-07:00

Yep, I'm going old school, with a B&W comic this time around. It's possible I might quit doing color strips (except for every once in awhile) in an effort to make drawing the comic strip less time consuming while I'm going to school, but I don't know... It's probably more likely that I'll just be posting sporadically, anyways.

On a completely different note, I neglected to post anything for Halloween, so here's a pic of me and my daughter, right before her epic battle with 'Count Dooku';

School Days

2010-11-02T07:09:00.015-07:00

As I've said before, I haven't had time to draw any comics, but I am producing a lot of, um, "art" at school. So, I figured I'd go ahead and put up a few pics of things I've made there, all in varying stages of completion.

2010-10-30T23:50:00.002-07:00

This was for an animation assignment in my Digital Art Survey class. I haven't really had a chance to draw any comics as of late, but I have been doing a lot of drawing, so I just thought I'd share some of what I've been working on (Press the "Go to Video" button after it plays through once to see a better quality version of it);

Cutting Edge

2010-10-18T07:17:00.004-07:00

Yep.

Also, while you're waiting for me to draw my next strip, be sure to follow the link below, and then download and listen to all the music from my old band, John Denver's Last Flight, for free!
You can also visit the Facebook FanPage, and look old pics 'n stuff.

Pet Names

2010-10-07T18:05:00.007-07:00

It's been really hard to find time to draw this strip while going to school; Homework and the baby take precedence, so I can only do it every once in a while. That being said, I do sometimes have the odd moment here and there to draw in my sketchbooks, so here are a few of the things I've "doodled":
I listened to a Comic Geek Speak episode about the Punisher not too long ago, so he ended up in my sketches.
In my 2D design class, we had an assignment where we were supposed to find a picture in a magazine and abstract it into organic and geometric forms. I traced an elephant on the light-table, and then decided against using it as the subject ( in favor of a picture of 'Ultraman'), and turned it into this pic instead.

Living within the Panels

2010-09-21T00:16:00.004-07:00

This strip is also a project about 'identity' for my digital arts class, which I have to turn in tomorrow. Hopefully, I do okay, even though the cartoony wedding picture looks kinda creepy.

Gluttons for Punishment

2010-09-10T00:07:00.004-07:00

This is definitely not the first time I've played badly at a show, but it is the first time I've played badly with "the Might've Beens"! Regardless, it was awesome and fun, and I think we might be playing a house party next weekend...

What's that? Shut up and draw a ninja turtle kicking someone in the face? Well, alright...

The Difference Between Us

2010-09-01T05:43:00.002-07:00

I'm actually in the middle of my second week of school, now; that should give you an indication of how much time I've had to draw comics.

The Matrix

2010-08-24T22:08:00.003-07:00

It took me waaaaay longer to add in the "digital" panel ( drawn on a piece of graph paper ) and color it than I'd like to admit. I could have cleaned it up some more and made it look really good, but the hell with it.

The first 2 days of school usually mean that you're lectured on how the classes work and what to expect, blah blah blah, and then you get out of class early. This means you have even longer to wait between classes, so in addition to the first 2 panels of this strip, I drew this guy today...

BLAST FROM THE PAST: "Better than the Metric System", from 10/22/07

2010-08-18T20:23:00.003-07:00

Here's an old strip that's pretty apt, considering how long it's been since I last posted. That seems to be a running theme within "Epic Tales...", now that I think about it.

I've just been working on the "Get into Comix" graphic novella for the past couple weeks ( which you would be able to read @ my comicspace.com page, but the site is down for an upgrade), so I haven't had a chance to draw the webcomic. So far, I'm up to page 43 of an estimated 50, so I'm hoping to be done with it relatively soon (fingers crossed!).

It can only get Worse !!!

2010-08-09T20:50:00.003-07:00

It took me a few days to finish this gigantic strip, so that's my excuse for not having posted in such a long time. Well, that, and having a full-time job, and a 4-month-old. Anyways, I think it came out okay.

By the way, this event happened about 2 weeks ago now, so it's kinda old news.

Fear Mongers

2010-08-02T10:44:00.004-07:00

Sometimes dealing with other parents is more difficult than dealing with your child.

Out with the Old

2010-07-26T09:21:00.002-07:00

HAHA! Reality is inconvenient.

C-A-U-T-I-O-N !!!

2010-07-19T22:46:00.005-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted a strip (once again), but I've still been trying to keep up with my drawing. I'm attempting to finish a couple longer stories that have been sitting on my desk for some time now, but in order to do that, I've been neglecting the webcomic a little bit more than usual.

Now, for something completely off-topic; Here are some pics of what our daughter, Kennedy, looks like in real-life nowadays, as opposed to the hideously drawn likeness that appears in the strip...

Education?

2010-07-08T08:42:00.003-07:00

It'd be great if she really did learn Japanese, because later in life, people would ask her how she came to learn the language, and she'd say something, like, "Well, my dad was really into Godzilla movies..."

Breath of Relief

2010-07-07T23:04:00.004-07:00

It's been a little more difficult to keep up with the strip lately, but I'm going to try to put more effort into drawing more often than I have in recent times.

SciFi !!!

2010-06-29T15:33:00.006-07:00

After semi-careful consideration, I might be going back to school to try and get a graphic arts degree, and I'm trying to find some scholarships and whatnot. One of the ones Shannon found is awarded by a science fiction foundation, and requires me to make three separate illustrations having to do with the genre. Here's my first entry:

I have to say, I'm not very hopeful about winning this scholarship. I feel like they might be looking for those "realistic" paintings that printed on the covers of cheap Sci-Fi paperbacks, and my drawings look much like an amature indie cartoonist (which I am). oh well, I'm still gonna give it a shot!

A Touch too Much

2010-06-24T08:40:00.002-07:00

The weirdest part of this comic is that I seem to be implying that there is an acceptable amount of touching one's genitalia in public that should be deemed acceptable...

Forlorn Art

2010-06-23T21:16:00.002-07:00

I haven't been drawing very much now that my daughter is a little older, and doesn't sleep as much during the day as she once did. Once I get home from work, I have to relieve Shannon for a little while so she can get a break from the kid. Then, after dinner, we kind of trade off taking care of Kennedy, until one of us puts her to bed. By that point, the most I wanna do is watch an episode of "Buffy" on Netflix, and call it a night. It's getting harder and harder to find the time (and ambition) to draw. But, I'm sure it'll get easier, and I'll get better at managing my time.

On a similar note, you might have noticed I've gone away from the traditional 2 to 3 panel, across-the-page strips that I used to do; That's because what little cartooning I actually do is in my travel sketchbook, and I simply draw in the amount of space allotted by the page. But, I kinda like working on a different sized 'canvas' every now and then. Eventually, I'll go back to how it was before, but for now, this is how it's gonna be.

A waste of time...

2010-06-22T20:43:00.003-07:00

Yeah, I know it's just a marketing tool for the "Scott Pilgrim" movie, but I love those books, and I like anything where I can make a likeness of myself. You can do one of your own mug here.

New comics, coming soon, so stay tuned!

BLAST FROM THE PAST: "Consume", from 8/18/07

2010-06-15T18:56:00.002-07:00

This comic is from back when I was a neurotic cheapskate that hated spending money. Now that I have a child and a wife that is an unemployed student, I have no money to spend, period.

Hell, Again

2010-06-11T21:18:00.004-07:00

So far, so good; It's been a week since I smoked a cigarette. Let's see if I can see it through this time.

Happy Angst

2010-06-08T12:24:00.004-07:00

Being as that drawing looks absolutely nothing like our bass player, I'm really starting to see to why James Kochalka draws people (outside of his family) as weird, one eyed monsters and animals of various kinds in his autobio strip, "American Elf"; It's just a lot easier than trying to come up with a unique caricature of everyone you meet.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: "Expectation", from 8/11/07

2010-06-05T20:08:00.000-07:00

This comic was one of the first few I posted on this here site. It seems a lot less funny to me now that I've had MANY posts to which no one has left a single comment... I don't think I can type anymore because of the tears in my eyes.

Small Miracles

2010-06-01T12:50:00.006-07:00

That's not a very well drawn cartoon-likeness of my daughter, but as long as you can tell it's an infant, I'm satisfied.

Also, I drew a new sketchcard. It features "Death's Head", a C-list character from the Marvel UK line of comics. I've always really liked the character for some reason (If you're at all interested in finding out more about Death's Head, I found an awesome little cartoon strip on the web chronicling the character's history, fictional and publishing, at the afore-highlighted link) .

A Brisk Morning Hate

2010-05-31T04:43:00.003-07:00

My iPod is an integral part of my life in that it keeps the grating monotony of my job at a minimum ( Maybe 'Apple' will see this and offer to buy my webcomic as a marketing tool, and it will become "APPLE presents, 'Epic Tales of the Mundane' ) .

All Aboard the Crazy Train

2010-05-28T18:38:00.005-07:00

In reality, I could have made a much longer comic about the guy going into even greater detail of how he would market his "invention". But, I figured as long as I'm riding public transit, I'll have plenty of other interactions with people that have mental problems to draw strips about.

oh yeah, I know that I misspelled "vacuum". Maybe I'll fix it later. I'm far too lazy right now.

Here's a picture of a raccoon-gunslinger in a post apocalyptic future. I might make a minicomic about him at some point. Maybe.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: "Freudian Mishap", from 8/8/07

2010-05-26T21:20:00.002-07:00

Being as I don't really have time to draw as many new comics as I would like, I've decided to rerun some of the old strips, now and then. This one is from the "black and white" era(obviously), and features one of the laziest drawn backgrounds ever.

Too Much Coffee

2010-05-24T11:57:00.003-07:00

Seriously, though; I drink my coffee while I ride the train to work in the morning, and nearly crap my pants at least 3 times a week. Apparently, my super power is to narrowly avoid the embarrassment of filling my drawers with poop.

Take Aim!

2010-05-22T21:42:00.009-07:00

Now that our daughter is 8 weeks old, she's "leveled up", and has gained some new abilities", like looking at us in the eyes, being able to hold up her head pretty well, smiling ( and not just because she has gas), and being alert and awake more and more often. All of which are awesome to see, but the latter development has made it much more difficult to draw this strip on a regular basis.
I'm not complaining or anything (well, publicly, anyhow); I just want it to be known I have a genuine excuse for living my life without thoroughly documenting it. Of course, no one was emailing me threatening letters and demanding that I return to my drawing board to crank out some scribbles, anyhow... but, my point remains!

In other non-news, if you're friends with me on Facebook, you've probably already seen these pics of Kennedy (which were taken by our friend, Kelly Lawson), but if not, here's my little girl;

Sometimes I Forget

2010-05-17T16:57:00.004-07:00

I also wore a "World's Greatest Grandpa" cap during High School.

I've been watching the Japanese audio, English-subtitled versions of the original"Dragonball" series (which I think is infinitely better than "Dragonball Z") on Netflix. It's one of the few anime cartoons I've ever really got into.

Alpha-Nerd-Tizing

2010-05-12T12:27:00.007-07:00

I told Shannon that I was embarrassed to be such a nerd, but the truth of the matter is that I was much more embarrassed by some of the terrible comics I own; I still have a huge amount of early 90's comics throughout my longboxes.

Meanwhile, I can't really afford to buy very many new comics nowadays, but the public libraries have a LOT of trades and graphic novels. I've read 5 or 6 "Usagi Yojimbo" collections in the past 2 or so weeks, so I thought I'd draw a sketchcard of the samurai rabbit.

EMO-ness!

2010-05-10T17:41:00.004-07:00

I drew this a few days ago, and I thought to myself, "This isn't funny, it's just sad! I'm a sad, sad man... I should quit drawing this comic strip because I'm not funny, I'm just sad."
Which is kinda true, but I looked at it again today, and thought, " Well.. it's kinda funny."

Hi-Tech America

2010-05-07T08:13:00.004-07:00

HAHAHA! Our problems are laughable in comparison to life in a 3rd world country!

It's what's inside that counts

2010-05-04T18:33:00.003-07:00

I don't think I can really elaborate on this picture.

Trying to Impress the Indie-Comix-Girl

2010-05-03T19:17:00.007-07:00

I should really try to figure out how to draw girls to look different than how I draw Shannon; The girl in this strip just looks like Shannon wearing a disguise.

Anyways, here's a link to where I posted my "Free Comic Book Day" comic online, so go read that shit!

!

Tow Truck Drivers are Assholes

2010-04-29T19:32:00.007-07:00

It case I didn't quite make it clear in the above comic, I was at work while the car wouldn't for Shannon, and in order to use Triple A, the cardholder ( which happens to be me, for the time being) has to be present.

Later, at the impound yard, the jerkoff informed us that he couldn't hold our car ransom, but he could send the charges to a collection agency and fuck up our credit. Regardless, we didn't pay him for the car because we did nothing to deserve being put in this situation ( and unbeknownst to him, whatever charges he was threatening to ruin our credit with would be minuscule in comparison to the amount of money we already owe in student loans!).

In other news, I should be photocopying that 9 page ( it went from 7 to 9 pages pretty quickly) Crimson Cloak story for "Free Comic Book Day" tomorrow night, and will probably be dropping off a stack of 'em Saturday morning, @ Samurai Comics. I'll probably only print up 25 or 30 of them, and soon after, I'll post the story online. Here's the image from the back cover;

Kicking Ass!

2010-04-26T19:23:00.004-07:00

I should have probably put all this crap on and took a picture of it, but I am far too lazy.

The Sad, Sad Truth

2010-04-22T08:50:00.003-07:00

Y'know, it's strips like this that I sometimes question posting, now that I know my family, and Shannon's family, read them from time to time. But, I think it's a good joke, so... whatever.

The British Call it a "Holiday"

2010-04-22T07:14:00.004-07:00

Yep, I'm back to trying to draw strips on my morning commute, 'cause I don't always have time to do it at home. Normally when I do this, I just do my pencils, and ink it when I get home that night ( or, because I sometimes work on strips during my lunch break at work, I'll just touch it up once I'm back at home), and it makes me feel like I'm being more artistically productive than I really am, or have the time to try and be.

"The more you know...!"

The 11th Hour

2010-04-17T22:51:00.008-07:00

The episode actually premiered in Britain sometime around the beginning of the month, but premiered on BBC America last night. I could have watched it on the internet (and a few of the subsequent episodes that have aired since then), but I really wanted to watch it on my Mother-in-Law's big ass, HD television, and enjoy it. I'm also pretty proud of myself for managing to stay away from any of the big spoilers, especially considering I follow a 'Doctor Who' blog ( I scrolled past anything written about the new series, whenever I came across it).

I drew this strip yesterday, but wasn't able to post it until right now. So, you're thinking, "Did you watch the episode? What did you think of it?" Well, watching TV with an infant child means that if you're lucky enough to have a DVR system, you utilize it, pausing every time she's crying, or needs a diaper change, etc. So, as of this morning, I've only watched (maybe) 1/3 of the episode... but, so far, so good!

PS This is the second time I have accidentally made a strip with a title that I've already used (in a previous strip), but in my defense, I only named this one the 'the 11th Hour' because that's the name of the first episode of the 5th "Doctor Who" season... so, get off my back!