Just a quick post.

I have failed to post in the last week. So I thought I would do a quick one to make me feel like I'm not neglecting my blog. Deep breath and.......

I went and seen The DaVinci Code on Friday, and in my opinion it's an incredible movie. Go see it and enjoy. I also started my belt test in Karate and I'm going for my 6th Kyu (in my style it's a yellow belt). That's been very fun and in the end hopefully rewarding. And I've been working as hard as I can to complete the first issue of The Sorrow by the 15th of June. It's being printed stateside and I have to get the stuff off to the printers by then. I want to have the books in my hand before I go to San Diego, and it usually takes 3 weeks to a month to get them. Oh yeah, one more thing : GO OILERS GO!!!! They are going to the finals, baby! That's all for now.

That was intense.

Tonight's hockey game between Edmonton and Anahiem was crazy! First the Oilers scored 3 straight goals to open the third; they lead 4-0. Then the Ducks fought back and scored. Then they scored again. Added one more for good measure and we had a game agian at 4-3. The Oilers answered back and made it 5-3. But the Ducks kept pressing and scored agian. Then they missed the net with 12 seconds to go and almost sent things into overtime. My heart was racing like crazy. This is what the playoffs are all about. Intensity, on the edge of your seat, nail-biting drama. It's good to be a fan of the game, and I'm very happy the Oilers are 1 win away from the Cup. One more game boys, one more game. Go Oilers Go!!!!!

My brother and sister night out with the Suicide Girls!

Last night I had the honor of accompanying my sister Chantel and her friends to the Demonika's Symphony of Horrors Show held at the Warehouse Nightclub. Suicide Girls Demonika and Visha were in attendance, and seeing as how I'm a huge Suicide Girls fan my sister figured it would be a good night for some sibbling bonding. She's so smart! The show is a combination of burlesque, gothic fantasy, and seductive skit all performed to the dark deelight and sensual pleasure of the hungry crowd in attendence. It was truly something to see! Beautiful women and men, full of tattoos and piercing, and dressed in the finest Demonika clothing entertained the audience until 2 in the morning. I was witness to some of the most erotic and sense-numbing performances I have personally ever witnessed. All the girls (and the 4 guys) who performed had something unique about their style, and they sure knew how to work the crowd. I had the pleasure of witnessing my first exotic belly dance routine, 2 very talented spinners who amazed me with their abilities, and a girl who grinds metal that is strapped to various parts of her body. There was a dark and gruesome pregnancy skit, and a wonderful topless dance number that got the crowd going. My personal favorites were a little red riding hood routine with an incredibly sexy Red, and the beautiful Visha playing head mistress and being led to the front of the stage on the backs of her subs. Very hot!!! The grand finale for the evening was miss Demonika herself being pierced with feathers and coming out of it looking somewhat angelic! It was a fantastic night.

So thanks to my sister Chantel and her friends Crystal (mohawk), little Crystal, and Tara for allowing me to tag along for the night. I rarely get to make events like this and it's always a treat when I do. And a big shout out to Demonika, Visha and all the performers who put on an awesome show for us last night. I've been told that they are going to do this again next year and I will certainly attend it again.

Damn websites can be confusing when you don't know shit!

I just finished updating the Out of Mind Studios site, and without Kevin's help I would have been f@cked! I have very limited knowledge of computers, html, and all things to do with the "interweb" (Kevin's going to kill me for that!). But I'm trying to learn. So far I'm doing okay but I still need alot of help figuring out all the intricate detail of our website. And props to Kev, he's made it as easy as possible for me, switching to a Wordpress format and even sending me his version of "How to update our site for Dummies like you Rich!" in an easy to follow file. It will take time. But I will catch on, and very soon after that I will take over the world. You will all bow before the might and awsomeness of "SUPERVIRGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mwahahaha.

Okay, that was a little overkill. Although I do believe I would look quite stunning in tights, I don't think I'll be taking over the laundry room, let alone the world anytime soon. So if you have nothing going on, check out the OOMS site and view my new pin-ups and laugh at my update. It would sure make me feel warm inside if you did and may even supress my "WORLD DOMINATION" hunger. This, in turn, will allow us all to live on a Supervirge-free planet for at least the next 15-20 minutes. Or until I find something better to do. :)

Go Oilers Go!

I didn't think they would be able to pull it off, but they did. The Edmonton Oilers beat the San Jose Sharks tonight to make it to their first Western Conference Final in 14 years. Very cool. And since the Oilers are the only Canadian team left in contention, I'm going to back them all the way. Now I've said it before but it needs to be said again: The Ducks are a solid hockey team and are going to be difficult to beat. But if any team can figure them out, it's the "we just beat Mr. MVP Joe Thorton's team's ass" Edmonton Oilers. So go get em' guys and make your country proud. You're are only hope!

31 degrees and lovin' it!

Calgary was hot as hell today. I heard reports of 31 degrees from the DJ's at CJAY 92. The path ways around town were packed with sun worshippers of all walks of life. And I had to work.

No worries though, I was able to experience every degree first hand! I worked with my friend Dwight today doing various decal installs around the Foothills Industial park. We had a job this afternoon that we had to do outside due to the customer having limited shop space. Normally this isn't much of a problem, but when you're working with stickers the last thing you want is a blistering hot, one-touch-certain-stick surface. The heat is great for a suntan but bad for decal installations. Never the less our hands were tied and we had no choice but to do the installs outside and take in some sun while doing it. For 2 hours we worked in the 31 degree heat, pretending to complain but really just enjoying the weather. And everything went on without incident so there really wasn't any need to complain. Although, a case of wabbly pop and some sun worshipping beauties (more on them next paragraph) to chill with would have been more fun. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything!

The only side effect from today is that I'm feeling a little water logged from the copious amounts of water I drank to stay hydrated. I seriously drank alot of water, like 8 bottles! And I'm still thirsty for more! Now like I mentoned before, if only today could have been spent on a patio somewhere, or perhaps partying with the topless girls (not a typo!) who called the radio station complaining that no one was paying attention to them sunbathing on the corner of McKnight Blvd. and Center St., it would have been an even better day.

Now here are my questions of the day:
How could any male with even on ounce of testosterone drive by these bare-chested ladies and not notice them? In this weather? During "spring fever" season? And is "topless sunbathing" even allowed in Calgary? Is there a club I could join? Why don't we do any work around there? And how come all this was going on when I was on my way back from Airdrie, miles away from all the fun? I would have honked!! Probably would have crashed into someone to boot. Damn my luck :P

Man, I miss out on the good shit happing around town. I need to bring this up at the next meeting. On a patio. Or a corner. Whatever works for the boss.

The longest 72 hours of my life.

I'm back.I'm tired. And I'm sick of gummy candies and chips.

Road trips like the one I just endured can only be done once and awhile. Too much of that kind of punishment can not be good for the mind and body. Not that we had any problems; the trip itself was entirely uneventful. But it's incredibly difficult to expect oneself to travel from Calgary to Winnipeg, work all day upon arrival, eat like shit, and then drive back to Regina before finally stopping to sleep, shower, and clean up in general. I must admit that I missed these trips alot. Dwight and I did have a great time and kicked ass on the job. But I'm feeling the effects big time. I want to sleep now, and I never want anything remotely related to junk food again as long as I live. McDonald's can kiss my ass with their new menu, and I have to move to Winnipeg if for no other reason then to fall in love with any one of the 15 beautiful waitresses (shout out to Shailee) currently employed at the new Moxie's on the east side. It feels good to be back doing decals again. Now, if only I could get my stomach to stop hating me for the shit I ingested in the last 72 hours, I'd be a happy man.

On a side note: someone has to do something about the roads in Saskatchewan. They are the drizzling shits! I have never experienced such a rough and bumpy highway ride in my life. I use to complain about the roads in northern Ontario but now I truly believe the roads in Saskatchewan are fantastically worse. So get on it government guys and fix your shitty roads. More people would probably visit if there was no fear of literally being vibrated to death! I know the sceneries nothing to write home about but they make up for it with beautiful women ( I love you A & W girl!) and a kick ass comic store (Comic Reader's in Regina; very cool store!).

They makes me want to visit again, but not until the roads are better. And I get feeling back in my lower body. Fuckers.

We've re-launched OutofMindStudios.com.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Kev and I have re-launched outofmindstudios.com. It has a new look, is easier to navigate, and as Devon said " woo, verra sexah!"

So, check it out. Or don't. But know that if you do not check out our new sexy sight I will be forced to PUNCH YOU ALL IN THE FACE!!!!!

And hit you with puppies. Cute ones at that.

I'm going to Winnipeg.

I got a call today from my friend Dwight to see if I wanted to do some work in Winnipeg over the next few days. Seems there's an outfit in the 'Peg that needs instruction on applying large-scale decals to their transit buses and we're the guys to do it. I'm really excited to go. I haven't been on a road trip with Dwight for some time now and it will be great to get out there and start decalling again. I'll be dedicating a couple days a week to decal installations while I spend the rest of my time working on our comic book commitments, and extra money is always good. So I'll be gone for the next couple of days while we make our way to and from Winnipeg. I think I'll utilize my time in the car to finish writing up The Sorrow and I'll do some sketches as well. It should be a great trip and I'll post an update when I get back.

In the mean time it's back to the drawing table for me. I have to get this weeks strip done before I go. And tommorow I'll be picking my Dad up from the hospital. He went in today for surgery to repair a hole in his left rotator (shoulder) and to re-attach his bicep. He's been in tremedous pain for some time now so hopefully the surgery will correct everything.

Cheers to all for now.

I had the most incredible weekend!

This weekend, as some of you know, I attended a Free Comic Book Day event in Edmonton on Saturday. I also had an Artist Alley table set up for the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo on Sunday. Without a doubt I had the most amazing weekend of my artistic career!

FCBD was a blast! Kevin and I got up at 6 am to make the jaunt up to the 'Chuck to be guests for our friend Jay, owner of Happy Harbor Comics. Thankfully we had a very uneventful trip up, and amused each other with our typical banter. We even utilized some of the time to plan the near future of Out of Mind Studios. There are big plans in the works, but more on that at a later time. Once we arrived at Happy Harbor we were greeted by Jay dressed head-to-toe as DC's Captain Marvel. Sweet costume by the way. After settling down and meeting our fellow camper's for the day it was time to get to work. For me, this meant copious amounts of drawing which I totally love. And for Kev, well, this was an excellent time to grab up some free comics and scope the place out for beautiful women. Trust me, this day would turn out to be an incredible day for meeting beautiful women! So... long story short ( I could write a novel on how great of a day it was) I drew several sketches, met alot of people, picked up a copy of the Comic Talks book that HH published covering the sessions several of us local creators participated in, Kev got us some great photos, I fell in and out of love 37 time, and we were given a great opportunity to create with fellow creators and enjoy the love of comics together. We even managed to make Kev draw a picture! The girl was cute; that in itself was a great motivater. Oh yeah, since this is my blog and it needs to be said, either Catwoman (who I'm told is a friend of Jay's) or Harley Quinn (the wonderfully talented Erin) need to marry me!!!! They were terrific!

Anyways, after an exhausting but rewarding day, we started out for home and bid farewell to our friends of the north. We stopped in Leduc for a quick bite and quickly found out that the McDonald's there has the most beautiful staff of any that I've been to. I'm moving there tommorow! Okay, I'm not....for now. In total I spent 15 hours on Saturday sitting on my ass ( 7 in the car, 8 at HH), got Home, felt stoned, realized I wasn't and went to bed. End of Day 1.

On Sunday we got up at 7 am to get ready and drove to Kev's parent's place to pick up their van which was packed full of comics for the Expo. 16 comic boxes to be exact. And when we arrived at the Big 4 we quickly found out that the unloading and transporting of our goods to our final destination inside the hall was going to be one hell of a long, back-braking journey. You see, from the point where you enter at the back of the building to the place where our table were located is the equivalent of several football fields in length. Not good for 2 dudes with 4-5 hours of sleep! But like the hardcore troopers we are, we managed to make 4 trips. Then we decided to find a cart to make things easier. One load later and we were good to set up.

We weren't quite sure what to expect as far as a turnout for the show this year. In previous years the only Calgary events we attended were held at the Red and White club, a significantly smaller venue that averaged between 400-600 people yearly. That wasn't the case this year. The Expo boasted the best talent line-up ever for a Calgary show, and any doubt of there being a poor showing was extinguished by the droves of people that poured in the door at 10 am. I was later told by my buddy Dwight that people were waiting up to an hour just to get inside. And the traffic inside the Big 4 showed it. It was packed!

From the moment the show started right up to the very end I was a busy, busy man. I drew countless sketches (seriously, I don't know an exact number), sold many prints and comics, met fantastic people, and got a true taste of what being behind the table at a event like this is like. And for the first time at one of these events, I was charging for sketches. I hadn't planned on it, believe me, until my first customer insisted on giving 5 dollars for my time. It felt very weird at first. "Who the hell am I in the grand scheme of Comicdom?" I thought. Well, I guess I'm somebody who gets 5 dollars a sketch. And I gave everyone the best I had. For 5 bucks, I'm going to give people their money's worth. And everyone I sketched for went home happy. I might even get a few commissions out of this! Several people told me they were framing my stuff. My fucking stuff!!!!! This completely blew my mind. But this is something I was told I have to get used to (thanks Dale!). If you give people quality stuff, they'll reward you. I feel very rewarded today. I am very honoured that people liked my stuff and a big thanks to everyone who stopped by. You made my day. I want to cry now, I'm so happy! *sniff*

Moving away from the sketching and crying and on to the event itself. The show this year was a total blast! The Vicious Ambitious guys are starting a new webcomic and had flyers to promote it. They we good enough to include several of the Maple Ink Comics people in the strip, including Kev and myself. They even cut off my drawing arm. I love those guys, even if they are trying to kill me! I will have my revenge!!! I also picked up a copy of the Comic Jams book that our good friend G. Gerald Garcia made up for the event which I was lucky enough to by a part of! Had dozens of people stop by for autographs on the pin-up I did for the Expo Sketchbook. I was truly honoured to be showcased in a book filled with so much talent, especially knowing all proceeds from the sale go to the Christopher Reeves Foundation. I got to meet several other creators, had a great conversation with Dale Berry (great guy!) and even had Humberto Ramos stop by and say hi. * Insert geek out moment here* I met up with my friends from the north
(shout outs to Jay, Brain, Rudi, Daniel, and Erin), got to visit with Devon and Ryan, Rove and Nate stopped by, and local legend in the making Fiona Staples even chatted me up. So it was truly a great day. Oh yeah, we even made some cash today! Yay for us:)

I'm looking forward to next years con in a big way. We'll have more stuff, more talent lined up, and we may even get another day of con goodness. Thank you very much to Kandrix and all the people who worked hard to make this show a success. I think it paid off! And an extra special thanks to the 3500+ people who attended this year for you have made it possible for us to do this again next year. I desparately need sleep now. I'll post to you all again on Tuesday when I wake up from my coma. Must go sleepy now............

Let the Madness begin.

What a crazy, busy week this has been, and now the real fun begins. Tommorow I'm off to the City of former Champions (hopefully not fun long, GO OILERS!) for the Free Comic Book Day event being put on by the great folks at Happy Harbor Comics. If you're in the Edmonton area tommorow you should pop on by. I've been told that there are 8 artists (including myself) on hand to draw and talk comics with anyone stopping by, and nobody should pass up the oppertunity for a Free comic. It should be a good time.

In preparation for this weekend's events , Kev and myself have put together an 8 pages preview of our upcoming Dead Last graphic novel that we'll be giving away in Edmonton, as well as in Calgary for the Comic Expo. We have copies of Twice Thursday: Fablequest available for purchase, fresh off the press! I've also been busting my ass this week preparing 3 really nice limited edition prints that will be available for purchase at the Expo. They're full colour pin-ups and I personally think they're some of the finest work I've done to date. So come check things out if you're in the area. If not, we'll have stuff available on the newly revamped Out of Mind Studios website, launching this Monday. We have so much stuff going on in the studio right now, and it really is an exciting time for me as not only an artist, but a fan of the comics medium. Lots of stuff going on and no time for resting!!!! So I'll post some weekend updates as soon as I have some. Now, I'm off to get more shit done for this weekend.

Remember kids, Free Comic Book Day is nation-wide, so go support your local comic book retailers. And if you're in Calgary, makes some time to check out the Expo down at the Big Four on Sunday. With over 40 guests from various parts of the industry, there's something for everyone. You won't be dissappointed.

Holy Shit! We got beat by the Ducks!

This is such a shitty thing to have to post, but tonight my Calgary Flames got their asses handed to them by the Disney fucking Ducks. So much for the Stanley Cup run and so much for the much needed battle of Alberta. We just plain blew it. We were out played, out battled, and in the end completely out done by the Ducks. The only good side to this is that the Ducks have a few good, quality, and genuinely nice player in guys like Selanne and the Niedermayers, as well as a stand-up goalie in Ilya Bryzgalov. I hope they do well. But now we as a nation are down to 2 teams, and only 2 teams. So Edmonton and Ottawa, the hockey hopes of the nation rest in your hands. Do us proud.

Next year, we'll bring the cup home. Remember this: Calgary made the cup finals in '86, lost to Montreal. After an early exit the following year we rebuilt and in '89 we brought the Cup home. So give it time. In a year or 2 we'll have lots to celebrate and this series will be a distant memory.