Production Blog 1

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Welcome to my first production blog for "The Super Cliche Hero Chick #3". This week I began work on my first page of the story. However it is not the first page of the book. That's right I'm doing the book out of sequence. The reason I'm doing it this way is so that I can get a better consistency with each setting and group of characters. For instance scenes set in the lab will all be drawn together, thus the lab will look the same in all of them because I'll be drawing it all at the same time. It's kind of like how a movie will film all of it's scenes on one set then move on to the next. I've done it before back on Neuropsychosis, but stopped when it became a twice a week web comic. I'm glad to be doing things this way again. of course the key to doing things this way is to have a tight script and thumbnail sketches. For info on that see the prologue.

The Hero Chick Production Blog: Prologue

I find that when I'm working on my comics I neglect my blog. I know all three of you are saddened beyond belief. Silliness aside I really do try to keep writing something on this thing just to keep up my writing skills at the very least.  So what I've decided to do, is make a production blog following the creation of "The Super Cliche Hero Chick #3". That way I'll be motivated to keep moving on the project and keep the Wonderblog active. I plan to update every Friday night, but may post on Saturday if schedule doesn't permit. Next week due to my appearance at the Comickaze Expo (Sept.15-16 at the LA convention center), I'll be posting on Thursday (Sept. 13). However since I decided to do this only when I'm starting on the artwork. I noticed it would skip an important part of the process, the writing. That's the purpose of this prologue.

I decided to do something new that I have never done before with Hero Chick #3. Write a good comic! Actually, it was taking on a co writer, my cousin Ruben. I wanted from the beginning to be open to collaboration on this project,  and when I was showing Ruben my stuff while drawing the first issue I noticed he had ideas for the book and not just ideas of the "hey I got an idea" variety that every writer hates to hear, but good ideas that gave me ideas. So at our niece's birthday I asked Ruben if He'd like to be a part of Team Hero Chick*

Happy Birthday Batman The Animated series!

Twenty years ago today, Batman: The Animated Series began to air of Fox TV. And the world of Super Heroes on TV Changed. The DC Universe began in this series is still going strong today.

So I'd like to thank Bruce Timm and all of the folks who helped this part of our childhood come to be.

Kevin Smith interviewed Bruce Timm on his Fat Man on the Batman podcast during Comic-Con last July*. He had some great things to say about the origins of the show, check it out.

Batman the Animated Series © Warner Brothers

* I was in the audience neener neener neener.

Because No One Asked.... My Opinion of DC's New 52 One Year Later.

Last Wednesday saw the release of the final twelfth issue of DC's line wide relaunch, which was an apparent attempt to gain new or lapsed readers. Since a year is passed I figured I'd  Hop on the Internet machine, and give my thoughts to the first year. And overall it's a resounding.

Meh!

The New 52 as it was so "hiply" called Started out strong, mostly on hype (Everything except the bat books is gonna change!!!) but very soon it devolved into same shit different day. True we had status quo changes except the bat books and hip and not so hip artists and writers on all steam but it really scarcely amounted to anything. I think it comes to two things. 

Ugg!

I wasn't planning on writing anything on the wonder blog until I made my "Year in Review of the new 52" then I saw this over at DC Women Kicking Ass.

According to writer Geoff Johns This is the new Status Quo, not a one off. Sometimes I despair.

(Goes and gets a whisky)

Alright,

This is a pairing that has never worked for me, and I've had to endure it in almost every Elseworlds as well as most of the Millerverse. It is the most fanwankish of fanwankish stories, as it only works in the physical, and usually stems from an over thought carnal fantasy ala Brody Bruce ... and really who wants to be him. really other than he's super, she's super, and she's invulnerable enough, what reason would there be for this pairing? On a character level they have close to nothing in common, they're even too far apart for "opposites attract" Superman's a farm boy She's an Amazon princess who is also a Demigod. True they care about justice but that only makes them co workers*. leaving once again the only point for them being together, sex. So in other words fanwank.

I will concede I may be being unfair to this, it may be a fling that leads Superman to fully realise how much he loves Lois, and Wonder Woman Steve Trevor, but with the way they've been sidelining Lois...  One thing I'll give em at least they did this early in the new DC universe, instead of trying to tack it on later.

Geoff Johns is a capable writer, even great from time to time, but this is why I have never liked him. He writes well in the technical sense, but many of his stories that I've experienced, have been Fanboy pandering, and don't let the talk of daring new ideas fool you, giving a group of vocal fans** exactly what they want is not daring and new it's pandering, but that's for the aforementioned "Year in Review of the new 52". This is not new and daring it's slash fiction.



*Also as a writer I believe that a superhero's best friend and or lover should not be a superhero, there is much more drama and capability for humanization of the superhuman character, that way. This opinion doesn't enter into my argument, but fuels it, so it's presented as an aside. 

**Silver Age fans I'm betting, many Dark Age fans hold a Lois is the love of his life opinion, and modern "new readers" raised on the DC Cartoons would probably prefer a Batman\Wonder Woman pairing ala "Justice League the Animated Series." 

Hero Chick #2 is Off to the Priters

"The Super Cliche Hero Chick #2" or as I like to call it "Hero Chick vs The Robot OF DOOM!" has been sent off to the printers. It has a publication date of September 7. This book was a blast to draw and the fastest turnaround between issues I've ever had. 

I will of course have it at Stan Lee's Comikaze, and The Long Beach Comic and Horror Con.

Cool Pictures

Last night the Curiosity Rover landed on Mars and here are some awesome pictures.

one of the first panoramas...

And this is cool, the orbiter got a picture of Curiosity parachuting down. You gotta admit that's awesome