"Guy Davis-meets-Ditko-meets-Joe Staton-meets- Wally Wood-as-inker" or...More Reviews

The title line above is, by far, the coolest thing anyone has ever said in a review about my art. You can read that review at The Johnny Bacardi Show here.
Also, check out Around Comics who have posted their early review of The Damned right here.
The Good News continues in the HollywoodJesus review that takes a look at our book from a Christian viewpoint.

For all you cynics who are wary of all the positive reviews I promise that I'll post any negative reviews that come my way. I might wait until next year, but I'll post them.

Banner Ad and DAMNED reviews!

Above is the banner ad I put together to appear as an ad on Comic Geek Speak's site. I hope to see this popping up around the web. Please feel free to use this willy-nilly.

Speaking of Comic Geek Speak, my cohort and creative dynamo, Cullen Bunn, recently did a podcast interview with the CGS crew. Drop in and give it a listen, but be sure to link to it through Cullen's site first where you can read his brief self-critique.

Last, but not least, a couple of reviews have already started to pop up--I can only pray that the tenor of all future reviews is about the same. Take the time to check them out here and here!

Ooh! One more quick thing! Wasteland #2 came out a couple weeks back and the 6-page preview was in the back. Unfortunately, the local comic shops are sold out so I've yet to see it. I'm dying to see how the pages look in print. Cullen has already seen the book and has told me that the pages actually look better in print than they do on the 'puter. I hope that's the case--I've been nervous about how the grey tones would reproduce. Fingers crossed. Has anyone out there seen this? What do you think?

DAMNED #2 cover

Long time, no see. I've yet to get my main computer hooked up to the internet so all blog updates go through my laptop still and are posted from public places. It's a bit of a hassle but I think posts will begin to appear more frequently.
Been meaning to post this image for a while now. It's the actual cover to The Damned #2. It was solicited in this month's Previews with the original cover to #1--not the alternate cover that was solicited with #1 or the actual cover to #1. You follow? I'm not even sure I do. Anyway, here it is, in all it's digital glory. I'm quite fond of this image, actually. I've had the image in my mind for about a year and it was great to finally make it real. I'm having a blast doing the covers and I'm really learning a lot about my own ideas about color. This cover and the cover for #3 (which I'll post when the next previews comes out) are both examples of final colors that in no way resemble my original intentions. In both cases I tried coloring it the way I saw it in my mind's eye only to see that my mind's eye may be color blind. I then start playing with and experimenting with different color combinations until I stumble across something that gives me a visceral reaction. The color scheme may not be for everyone but I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. Just the same, I'd love to hear what people think--good or bad!

Click to enlarge

Teaser Time!

Cullen and I recently cranked out a 6-page, all original, teaser for The Damned. This teaser will not appear in the comic but acts as a kind of prologue to the upcoming story. It is viewable at Newsarama along with the accompanying press release for the book. You can also view it in pdf form on the Damned page of the Oni Press site, here. The teaser will be appearing in upcomng books from Oni, beginning with Wasteland #2 (due out tomorrow!). Let me know what you all think! Stay tuned for a preview of the first issue--it'll be posted online sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Convention Sketches

myself and Cullen Bunn manning the Damned booth
photo courtesy of Cullen's website--he has a few more posted here

I spent all of last weekend stuck behind a table sitting underneath what seemed to be the only AC vent in the showroom. Froze my ass off. The gust was so strong that we had to tape pennies and quarters to our free-standing signs to keep them from being blown off the table. I would've been completely miserable if it had not been for all the nice folks that stopped by to say hi and check out art from mine and Cullen's upcoming book. Not only did the lift the spirits---they deflected the air from the vent. ; ) A big hello and thanks to all the great people I met this past weekend!
Two of those nice folks were Nathan and Joel who made my weekend by asking for sketches of Hard Time's Ethan Harrow, and Queen & Country's Tara Chace and Paul Crocker. The last two may be my most favorite sketches from the show.

Order Now!

THE DAMNED #1
By Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt

During the prohibition era, gangsters grew rich on our vices, and rivalries between criminal organizations resulted in open war. But unknown to the masses, a more sinister power controlled the crime cartels, using greed, gluttony, lust, and other sins to fuel a much more lucrative trade: mortal souls. Three demon families—the Aligheris, the Roarkes, and the Verlochin—control soul-trafficking within the city, capitalizing on “the rackets” to lead unfortunates into their grasp and poor Eddie is caught in the middle…

40 pages, black & white
Contains harsh language and mature situations.
In stores: October 18, 2006
$ 3.50 US, $4.00 Can

In Previews now! Order code is AUG06 3487--tell your local retailer!

Also, we now have a sign-up on the Damned website for our Damned newsletter. Sign up now and be entered in our raffle for original art. I haven't decided what it'll be yet but I promise it won't suck. We'll be sending out the newsletter probably about once a month (we won't be clogging up your inbox) and we also plan to do a drawing every month for free swag. Drop by, sign-up, and be sure to order The Damned #1.

DAMNED Postcards--The Final Four

Long time no see! It's been a crazy month here in the Lou (St. Louis for those of you not in the know). Been finishing up the first issue of the Damned, doing covers, redoing covers, prepping for Wizard World Chicago, doing promitional art, and not least of all, packing up all my junk and moving across the river to Illinois. My computer has been disconnected from the internet for a week and a half and it took my thick skull almost that long to buy a jump drive, enabling me to move files from my desktop to my laptop. So here I sit in my local cafe (god bless the free wireless) and updating my blog...sometimes I love living in the future.

So, at long last, here are the final four postcards from my 5-card Damned postcard set. I put these together specifically for Wizard World and any upcoming shows or signings I might attend. It's a limited run of a hundred and if anyone interested can contact me through this blog or the official Damned website. $10 dollars a pop includes shipping and a quick sketch.