DC Conspiracy | Blog

The last 'Spadefoot'

2008-07-02T05:46:00.001-05:00

This is it--the final page of the 'Spadefoot' saga! The Web comic will be collected into a trade, hopefully ready for the Small Press Expo in October.

Anatomy of a scene

2008-07-01T15:52:00.006-05:00

I really love watching directorial info in the special features of a good movie. When the director blocks out the way he shot a scene, why certain events were critical and why others ended up on the edit room floor have taught me a lot about storytelling. How to shave the fat. Getting down to what the story is really about.

Anyway, not that I think I'm a great shake, but I thought that someone might get some information out of my process for working in art. Maybe I'm doing something that someone far more talented than myself will find useful, and go on to create the next great work. It'd be nice to think anyway.

step 1

PENCILS

I did the pencils pretty quickly. This was a single piece for August Adams novel 'National Dark Roast Day'. Very clever book. I really enjoyed reading it, and I was honored that he would want me involved. Anyway, I'd like to say that August approached me with the most composed and professional proposal I'd ever scene. Not only did he tell me exactly what he was looking for (with finished dimensions) but he provided a copy of his novel, and the location in the story where my scene would take place, so I could just read what was necessary. Really impressive. Anyway, after some discussion with August on the pencils I made some changes and moved on to inking.

Step 2

INKS

I was working at 200% ratio. It's not a scale that I'm used to working with, so I kept trying to keep in mind that every line was going to be twice as thin in it's finished proportions. I tried not to add too much detail, so that when the piece was finished it wouldn't look cramped or too dense.

Step 3

Grey tones

It used to be that inking was my favorite step in the creation process, but lately I really think it's been grey washing the piece. I used Dr. PH Martins conentrated watercolor, and chose sepia so that it would be easy to determined what was a hard black line, what was watercolor, and what was pencil marks. Using the Sepia also made the original art really beautiful. I was pretty happy with it at this point, and August seemed to be right on board, so I went ahead and moved on.

Step 4

Colors

I would just like to say that I HATE working in color. I am very uneasy, and unsure of myself in this step. It sucks. I never color anything that I'm really happy about. I mean, I think my colors are 'okay' but I also think that someone else with a stronger sense of color theory could make my work look a lot better. Anyway, I wasn't really sure if I liked the colors, but I wanted to do my best and make it look as sharp as possible. Seriously, looking at this makes me feel like someone with a mutant pimple planted between his eyebrows heading into his senior prom. "Please don't look at it!!"

Step 5

Corrections

Immediately after sending the finished work to August I thought, "nope, there's got to be more green in there." The whole piece looked too washed out, and it would severely compromise what I thought was a pretty solid piece. So, another hour in Photoshop and I had something I was really proud of. Probably from start to finish this was about 12-16 hours of work, and I thought it came out well. I'm super excited that it's been finished and August is happy. Mostly that's because I foresee myself spending the rest of the year working in various projects in black and white after the last two were color.

Anyway, that's how I work. Hope you enjoyed!

New Techniques

2008-06-29T20:32:00.002-05:00

Click to Enlarge

This project is still in the planning stages, but I'm really enjoying trying out a new style.

Final 'Spadefoot'

2008-06-28T05:29:00.001-05:00

The final page of Spadefoot, sans lettering and colors. Andrew did some wonderful pencils. So much so that I'm a little intimidated to do the colors!

Need a little help

2008-06-26T22:33:00.000-05:00

I'm coloring the cover of the Liquid Revolver graphic novel and I'm trying to decide which of the three versions below looks best. Thoughts?

Altar of Meat 2008!

2008-06-21T00:04:00.002-05:00

2006...

2007...

It's time for the third annual DC Conspiracy BBQ. Some old favorites return, some go away, and some new recipes enter the mix. But first my supplies...

And for me to drink, of course...

And my sister, who was "helping" me:

The Feta Burgers make their return this year:

Joined by my new bacon-cheeseburgers (turkey bacon, mozzarella, and eggs):

Ready to go on the grill...

My Italian Chicken makes its THIRD trip to the DC BBQ:

And this time it's joined by my new Chipotle Chicken (tomatoes, chipotle peppers, brown sugar, wine, lemon juice, and garlic):

As you may notice, my BBQ ribs are not making an appearance this year. There are just too many people coming and I don't have the time to make enough for everyone. But I hope the new burger and chicken recipes will make up for the loss of the ribs.

See you all tomorrow!

Writers: Finding Artists

2008-05-29T09:15:00.001-05:00

In case anyone is interested I started a thread over at DC Conspiracy on how writers can find artists and how to work with them once they've found them. Like I said in the thread, I'm not claiming to be an expert on this but I have my methods and I think they've been working so far. Head on over and check it out if you're interested.

CrumbSnatchers promotion

2008-05-23T07:29:00.002-05:00

Starting today I am going to be posting preview pages and extra stuff from CrumbSnatchers every Friday at the Little Foot website.

I assure you they are not scary...
They are tons of fun.

Enjoy!

It's Eisner Voting Time

2008-05-19T10:12:00.001-05:00

Comics professionals should head over to http://www.eisnervote.com and vote for this year’s Eisner recipients. I’m not going to beat around the bush – my book Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened has been nominated for Best Anthology and any votes that can be thrown my way would be appreciated. I really don’t want folks to blindly vote for the book, however – I want you to know what it’s about, see if it’s your thing, and, if so, give it a vote. Therefore I’m reposting all of the reviews and features with artwork or full-stories from the book. Give it a look if you have the time, pick up the book at your local comic shop, bookstore, or library if you feel so inclined, and then make up your mind.

1 – The first page of every story in Postcards
2 – Publisher’s Weekly preview of Stuart Moore and Michael Gaydos’ Tic-Tac-Bang-Bang
3 – Comic Book Resources’ preview of Tom Beland’s Time

And in case you wanted to see some of our bigger reviews, head on over to USA Today, Daily Candy, Ain’t it Cool News, Bookslut , Washington Post, and the 2007 Kirkus Reviews’ Graphic Spotlight.

And then go vote in the Eisner’s. Even if you don’t vote for Postcards there are a still a lot of nominees that deserve your love.

Why aren't you people at the LOC?

2008-05-09T21:03:00.001-05:00

To those of you still in the DC area, the Library of Congress has acquired the first appearance of Spider-Man. Seems that approved researchers will be able to see it in person.

Free Comic Book Day at Beyond Comics in Frederick

2008-05-09T15:58:00.002-05:00

Members of the DC Conspiracy at Beyond Comics in Frederick, MD, talk about their work, Free Comic Book Day, and the DC Conspiracy.

FCBD pics!

2008-05-04T06:28:00.001-05:00

Below are a few pics from yesterday's Free Comic Book signing at Beyond Comics' shop in Gaithersburg, Md. That's me (Matt D.), Andrew Cohen and Dale Rawlings in that group pic.

The DCC @ Free Comic Book Day

2008-04-29T20:13:00.002-05:00

For this year's Free Comic Book Day event on May 3rd, several members of the DC Conspiracy will be signing their books at the two locations of Beyond Comics in Frederick and Gaithersburg, MD.

At the Frederick shop:

Rafer Roberts (Plastic Farm)
John Bintz (A Moment of Clarity)
Rebecca Simms (Girl Ninja)
Evan Keeling (Crumbsnatchers)

At the Gaithersburg shop:

Matt Dembicki (Mr. Big, Spadefoot and the upcoming Trickster)
Andrew Cohen (Spadefoot, Howzit Funnies and Lawmonger)
Dale Rawlings (Down and Out on Planet Earth, Skidoo)

You can find Beyond Comics at the following locations:

Lakeforest Mall
701 Russell Ave.
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
(301) 216-0007

5632 Buckeystown
Route 85
Frederick, MD 21704
(301) 668-8202

Raised By Squirrels 1.12 now available!

2008-04-22T23:41:00.002-05:00

Yes, yes, it's the first new RBS in over a year! I know...! Where does the time go??

The Mountain, Part 1
Rose and Tyler move to press their advantage — but first, they have to get out of Los Alamos alive.

Download issue 1.12 (as well as previous issues) at Raised By Squirrels.

'Dr. Dremo' trade?

2008-04-21T15:24:00.003-05:00

The fourth and final installment in the Dr. Dremo anthology series may be coming in a trade collecting all four books rather than as an individual issue. Stay tuned!

Panel Discussion on Writing for Comics

2008-04-11T12:01:00.002-05:00

This Tuesday, the Writer's Center - https://writer.org/index.asp - (a few miles up Wisconsin from D.C.) is having a panel discussion on writing for comics. They have 2 6-week classes teaching the subject beginning April 22nd, an entry-level and a more advanced one.

Jason, Matt, and myself will all be on the panel. Jason and I teach the class. Most of you probably have heard what we have to talk about but maybe you have friends or co-workers who would like to know, so I'm passing the info along.

Tales from the District

2008-03-10T08:42:00.004-05:00

Over at the website Brightest Young Things my buddy Jason and I have been doing a webcomic called Tales from the District. I try a bunch of different styles so click and check it out.

The basic premise is that you send in a story about a crazy, interesting, weird or exciting thing that has happened to you in the DC area. Jason writes it into a script and I turn it into a one page comic (sometimes two). Then you revel in your fame.

We are calling out for stories.
So if you have a story you want turned into a comic, write Jason at...

TalesFromTheDistrict@gmail.com

See ya in the funny papers (or funny web, I guess that is more appropriate)

New comic

2008-02-25T07:00:00.002-05:00

Here's a comic I've just about finished. I need to add a title, and I'm still not entirely sold on the wording, but I thought I'd put it up here all the same.

Sign up for The Dossier

2008-01-28T09:39:00.000-05:00

The DC Conspiracy is launching a monthly newsletter starting later this week. This newsletter will have DC-centric comic and arts event news, profiles, and announcements. Sign up at the link if you want to be kept up-to-date on the status of future meetings, future Counter Culture shows, and future projects from the DC Conspiracy and friends.

CCF 3 video and photos

2008-01-23T10:44:00.001-05:00

Here is one more video from the Counter Culture Festival 3:

And here are almost a hundred photos!

Great work, everyone.

Counter Culture Festival 3 VIDEOS

2008-01-22T10:03:00.000-05:00

The Counter Culture Festival 3 was a huge success on every front. There are pretty much hundreds of photos from all of us. I plan to put mine on my tabloidcowboy gallery and blog, and the MySpace page. We should also have links to photos on our forums.

Until then, enjoy these easily digestible videos:

The DCCCFIII Line-up

2007-12-21T21:27:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder, the party (hosted by the DC Conspiracy) is January 19th, 2008 at Dr. Dremo’s (2001 Clarendon Boulevard in Arlington, one block from the Courthouse Metro). Admission is free and you must be over 21 if you plan on staying past 8PM. We have artists, comic creators, fashion designers, crafty folks, writers, a sideshow (glass walker, a guy that hammers nails into his face, etc), and six bands. We take up the entire back portion of the bar and this year we’ll be spilling into the front bar as well. Dremo’s has plenty of good food and a wide selection of beer so be prepared to come on down and have a good time. Below is our line-up as of December 19th.

Vendors (4PM-8PM)
Alexandra Hargrove
Andrew Cohen
Andrew Moch
August Adams
Beth Baldwin
Carolyn Belefski
Chandi Kelley
Chris Piers
Claudia Hosky
Dale Rawlings
Evan Keeling
Jared Davis
Jas Art
Jason Rodriguez
Jeff Barrus
Jen Athanas
Jenny Isaacs
Jim Dougan
John Bintz
Jon Wye
Josh Eiserike
Karen Barnes
Kimberly Stark
Krissy Downing
Mal Jones
Matt Dembicki
Michael O’Brien
Michael Auger
Molly Lawless
R.M. Rhodes
Rania Hassan
Rebecca Simms
Rich Potter
Rusty Rowley
Sakiko Judge
Scott White
Sean Hennessey
Steven Noppenberger
Tina Seamonster

Entertainment (8PM – Close, Listed in likely order of appearance)
The Cheeky Monkey Sideshow
Belladonna
American Sinner
Stupyd Cow
Boats to Tangier
Lucky Dub
Blodsai
Schaffer the Darklord

December Jam Comic

2007-12-17T17:43:00.000-05:00

Here's the jam from the December meeting. I think I got the right names to the correct people matched to the appropriate panels, but please correct any mistakes.

Page 1, Panel 1 = Matt
Page 1, Panel 2 = Andrew
Page 1, Panel 3 = (Mango) Chris Mararacacacacacacacacacaca

Page 2, Panel 1 = Art
Page 2, Panel 2 = Eric
Page 2, Panel 3 = Pat
Page 2, Panel 4 = (That) Becca

Page 3, Panel 1 = Jeremy
Page 3, Panel 2 = Evan
Page 3, Panel 3 = Sean
Page 3, Panel 4 = Andrew

Azban

2007-11-24T07:25:00.000-05:00

Here's an inked paged from my forthcoming anthology "Trickster."

DCC Drunk Jam

2007-11-01T15:02:00.000-05:00

At the last meeting, we passed around a sheet of paper and everyone doodled a panel. Does the story we created make sense? That's up to you to decide: