david bowie

Sneak peek at Hallo Spaceboy

Comics, conventions, Hallo Spaceboy, Projects

Hallo Spaceboy is chugging along! I’ve finished inking and the first round of digital clean up, most of the way through lettering. All that remains is adding the spot colors, making the cover, and layout.
ywstwof_pg8_nocolor

Hallo Spaceboy will be 24 pages of story, broken into three movements.

I drew an inked all 24 pages in roughly two weeks, which I do not recommend doing. I ended up exhausted and close to sick. Next time I’ll plan better.

Hallo Spaceboy premieres at the Small Press Expo on Saturday, September 15.

 

Hallo Spaceboy process update

Hallo Spaceboy, Projects

I wrote back in May about revisiting my ‘Starman’ story.

That project is now in full swing. I’m creating a short memoir called ‘Hallo Spaceboy,’ which consists of three stories about me and David Bowie.

I’m working on it under the mentorship of Andrew White. His guidance will help bring this piece to life.

I’ve scripted these three stories, and I’m now in the design phase. Which means I’m now delightfully listening to loads of Bowie and drawing and seeing what sort of visuals evolve over time.

bowiesittinginfieldofstars

This one was drawn listening to lots and lots of the Five Years collection. I really like Tillie Walden’s ink drawings with their surrealist backgrounds, and pulled that in here.

bowieintriplicate

And a glorious accidental composition, but I like how the three Bowies coexist and morph into each other.

I’m debuting Hallo Spaceboy at SPX! This project will be completed by August 18.

Mourning David Bowie

Inspiration

David Bowie was a man of class, grace and exceptional talent. The last few months of his public life were focused on the release of his final album Blackstar, and the opening of the off-Broadway show Lazarus, rather than the cancer he fought privately.

He lived his separate lives, as ever-changing performer David Bowie, and in private as David Jones. I mourn the man who was shared with us, the artist. The beautiful thing about Bowie is that his music will remain. We have fifty years of music to savor and enjoy. Above all, we must remember that we are not his loved ones. A light has gone out in our world, but in theirs it is one that burned more brightly.

Bowie’s legacy shows a true artist, a chameleon who worked and created until the very end. Blackstar is a remarkable album, combining Bowie’s love of jazz and his unique vocals with a profound meditation on mortality. It’s a harsh yet elegant end to his brilliant career.

David Jones may have passed from this world. David Bowie has ascended to the stars, to live on as a legend.

“Oh, I’ll be free, just like that bluebird”

  • David Bowie, “Lazarus”

Revisiting Old Favorites

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

Over the last two weeks, I’ve been hit with a desire to reread books (actually, that’s a bit of a lie, as I’ve wanted to reread Howl’s Moving Castle since late March). While I love delving into new books, new stories and new plots, there’s something comforting about revisiting old friends. Through all change, if there is some consistency, even if it is merely a beloved story, things are a little easier (at least, that’s been my limited experience).

When I travel, I usually bring two books with me, one that I’ve read before (on my semester in Florence, I brought Roald Dahl’s Over to You and a couple of Patrick O’Brian’s works) and one that may be new to me. I figure, if the environment is too overwhelmingly unfamiliar, the least I can do to help the transition is find the comfort in the known.

Which brings me to the last two books I completed, Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones and The Prestige by Christopher Priest. The first book has been one of my favorites for years, since I first read it in fifth grade or early middle school. There’s something about the story that I’ve  always loved, be it the characters, the setting, the wonderful inclusion of Wales…okay, I just really like this book. I can’t pinpoint a reason why, but I continue to love it even more as time goes on.

As for The Prestige, I read it first nearly four years ago to the day. I hadn’t reread it since, as every time I would sit down to it, another book would come my way, be it for school or a trip to the library. Knowing that I would have some spare time over the last two weeks, I brought it with me for my brief stay in Boston. I finished, and enjoyed it the second time through. Knowing the ending made picking up on the little details easier, but part of it still came as a surprise. Priest does a good job giving each character a distinct voice, even in the Borden section (those familiar with the book will know what I mean).

I didn’t love The Prestige the second time through. I still enjoyed it immensely and will probably reread it at another time. I still want to read more of Priest’s work, as I could learn a lot through him.

And, of course, the book still remains better than the movie starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and David Bowie.