Virge's House of Madness

Scott Pilgrim rocks!!!!

2010-08-29T17:46:00.002-06:00

It's truly an awesome, epic geek movie! From the opening credits to the incredible, video game fight scenes, this movie is sweet! The character casting is brilliant, and even Michael Cera, who takes his fair share of criticism for being the same in every movie, is assume as Scott. Mary Elizebeth Winstead is hot and sassy as Ramona, and was one of my favorite elements of the movie. Edgar Wright is his usual awesome self, directing this geek fest like no one else could! From the gaming sounds and references, to the accurate and authentic comic book surroundings, to even the clothes and hair of the characters, he nailed it! It's just pure fun, and sooooooo good. Could even be my most favorite movie of the summer! Which now bags the question: why is nobody going to see it? The theatre was near empty, and the movie has done dismal numbers since being released. It's a real shame, as this movie should be making nothing but money. Instead, it's not even in the top ten this week. Is it too geeky? Not a well known enough comic book series? Are people getting sick of Michael Cera? Whatever the reason, the world is missing out on a real gem. So do yourself a favor, and before it's too late, go see Scott Pilgrim!!! You won't be sorry.

Take care all!

Harry Potter makes me happy!

2010-08-20T19:48:00.006-06:00

Hello again, time for another update! I've been itching to get back on here and update some more, and since I've been reading Harry Potter again, I thought that would work for starters. So, I've been reading Harry Potter! I wanted to start at the beginning and read all the books in order, before the new movie comes out. I've read only a few of the books before, well, skimmed a few of them, and then read the Deathly Hollows entirely. I've seen every movie. But there are some differences between the books and the movies, so I've decided to read them all and fill in the blanks.

And so far, I'm loving the experience! I've finished the first 2 books and I'm eager to read the next one! The Prisoner of Azkaban was an incredible movie in my opinion and I'm looking forward to reading about all the stuff the movie didn't touch on. The things I've found out so far that differ from movie to book, well, no Peeves for starters. He's the Hogwart's resident poltergeist that to my knowledge has never appeared or been mentioned in the movies. There's also the ghost teacher, Professor Cuthbert Binns. He would be very cool on the big screen but so far has yet to appear in any film. There's other things to, like other students who have roles in the books, different settings, even the odd switch up of events, like the ending of The Chamber of Secrets. But none of this really matters, simply because I love the Harry Potter franchise as a whole, and find both the books I've read so far and all the movies I've seen to be equally awesome! They take me out of the moment, and transport me to a place of magic and muggles, Wizards and Witches, half bloods and pures, and phoenix pets and house elves. It's a wonderful escape, this world of JK Rowling's creation, and I'm so glad I have the opportunity to visit it.

To tie into all this, my girlfriend Leeann bought me the Harry Potter lego game for my birthday, and that too is all kinds of awesome! But the real awesomeness is still to come, as myself and the family will be heading to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Universal Studios Orlando in October. This trip will be truly amazing and is the ultimate real world experience for myself and every other HP fan the world over!! I can't wait to see Hogwarts live and in person, and I eagerly await the opportunity to select my very own wand (and my niece Kirsten's) at Ollivander's Wand Shop!!

Enough oozing of ultra geek! For now, I just want you all to know how truly excited I am about Harry Potter, how great it's been to read the books, and how much I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Oh ya, there's also the mind blowing anticipation of the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, in theatres this November!!!! Here's some eye candy to tide you all, as well as myself, over until then!!

Take care all :D

At the point of the knife, I RUN!

2010-08-18T10:51:00.002-06:00

Well, well, well. Over a year of non-activity on my blog. It's about time I do something about this. So here is my first post in a long, long time! I turned 35 last week, I've been training for a 10k road race and 1/2 marathon, and I'm finally in my year long sprint to my Black Belt in Kyokushin Karate! So I'm hoping I'll have some great stuff to blog about on here to keep me coming back more frequently and using it. For now, I'm just warming the blog up with this quick note.

Today we, being the lovely Leeann, our dog Oreo, and myself ran for 3.7kms for a little over 20 minutes of running. We run almost everyday. We love it! Tommorow we're hoping to do an epic long run, which for us is anything over 6.5kms. I'm in fantastic shape, and getting stronger by the day. All of this running is for a couple of reason, both of which I'll elaborate on later. But for now, we RUN!

And in 8 weeks, we're off to Orlando for some fun in the sun. Life is good! That's it for now.

Take care all.

Floating weightless..........

2009-05-23T23:08:00.002-06:00

I'm sitting here tonight, my first night alone in the new place, having a few drinks. I'm listening to music and building inspiration. A lot has happened since my last post. I had a great comic show this year, did another FCBD at happy Harbor, I got a new job at an old place of work, and I moved in with Leeann. I lost my Grandma, gained a step son. I started a new pursuit in the form of Reflexology, and I'm working with my friend Steve on a new comic book. And I'm getting into better shape, both mentally and physically.

Tonight is a nice release for me. I've been very busy lately and have needed this. I miss Leeann tonight but i know she's having a good time in Red Deer. And I'm connecting with myself and my life again. My mind is flooded with images, sensations, emotions. I'll feed on these tomorrow as creative empowerment when Steve and I have our first meeting to discuss the new book. What he's come up with so far is good. Really good. I'm going to draw the living hell out of it and love every minute doing so.

I'm also incredibly stoked to be going to finally see Alexisonfire in August as part of the Van's Warp Tour. I bought tickets yesterday and can't wait!! I'm listening to their new single as I type this and it's sick. Go out and find "Young Cardinals" if you haven't heard it yet, it's well worth it.

I'm going to float away now, mission accomplished for the time being. Take care all............

A new year, a new (out) look......

2009-01-22T13:25:00.002-07:00

Welcome to the still being improved blog of Richard V. Barkman!! As it's now 2009 and it's been far too long since I've posted on here (again), I figured a change in the scenery would be good! So what have I been up to you ask? Well, not what most people who know me would expect. I haven't really done much drawing lately, as my focus for it just hasn't been there. Instead I've been traveling a bit, going to the Dominican Republic just before Christmas for a nice all inclusive vacation. It was beautiful there, and the down time was definitely needed.

While I was down there, I took a lot of time to evaluate my life and come up with a focus for the next few years. I'm tired of being in the rut I'm in, as it's stifled my creativity in a huge way. I'm not overly happy with my day job (I work in the decal industry doing everything from bus wraps to window displays) as it has no future unfortunately. So I have decided to do something to give myself a future. This fall, I am looking into going back to school. My pursuit? I want to be an Acupuncturist! Now why such a change or a departure from the norm you may ask? Well, a few years ago I injured my shoulder really bad (doing decals) and was on the brink of needing surgery. Instead, I got to rehab my shoulder, and part of that rehab was the use of Acupuncture. And it worked amazingly!! I've seen the results first hand, and have been intrigued about it ever since.

I also believe that "alternative medicine", as Acupuncture seems to be labeled as here, has a huge future. And I want to be a part of it! I want a job I'm happy with, one that gets me excited to get out of bed everyday and go to work. And I want to learn as much as possible right now! So I'm looking forward to pursuing this further. And as soon as I have everything sorted out, I'll post it here!!

Now, as for my artwork and my pursuit of greatness in the field of comics, I'm still plugging away at it. But not like I have been in the past. Comics are a passion of mine, but I really can't see myself turning them into a career. I enjoy drawing as a hobby, but have found over the past few years that whenever that hobby becomes a job that I don't enjoy it like I should. So I will continue to draw and create when the time allows it, and when I get things drawn that I'm stoked about I will also post those here! So welcome to 2009 everyone, and for myself, I'm looking forward to a fresh start for my new future!!

Take care all.

An Update!

2008-11-06T22:29:00.001-07:00

Hello folks! Since it’s been so long since I've updated, I thought it would be most appropriate to give you some excuses and something to tide you all over. Problem is, I have nothing! No excuses, just that we haven’t been doing much so there hasn’t been anything to tell you. But I do have something, and that's to tell you that today the drive for next spring starts.

I have secured a table in Artist Alley for next year’s Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo down at the Round-up Center. I will be located at table A36 with my good friend Richard Grzela of 14u Comics. There will be some new books from our collaborated efforts, original artwork and pin-up’s for sale, and for all you who have been waiting a long time for it: issue 2 of The Sorrow! FINALLY!!You heard it here first! So mark down April 25-26, 2009 on your calenders and make the trip on down to check out us, as well as a number of cool guests that will be there. Check out the Calgary Expo site for more details. Thanks, and as always,

Take care all!

Some San Diego pics, and my first MLB game live!!

2008-08-27T00:00:00.007-06:00

Hello sports fans! I'm back with a quick but necessary update to this blog o'mine! Since I'm still experiencing scanner issues I have no new artwork to post, but I do have some cool pictures from my recent trip to San Diego and Dallas to share with you!!!

This year I attended the San Diego Comic Con for the 6th year straight, and although it was the most busy it's ever been I had a blast!! I attended some really great panels, met some awesome people both famous and aspiring to be, and brought home some cool swag! I got to party a few nights down there, mingled with friends from Edmonton and Calgary that I met up with, and even managed a trip to the beach. And I ate healthy and worked out!!! Crazy, I know. Some of the highlights of the trip for me were seeing the new Sideshow Collectibles 14 inch Darth Vader (finally), getting to scope out the new 25th Anniversary GI Joe figures, meeting Gerard Way outside the Eisner's shortly after he won for Umbrella Academy (in the washroom of all places, long story), and finally meeting Missy Suicide, founder of the famous Suicide Girls website. She was so nice and a really cutey in person! I also really enjoyed hanging out with the Edmonton bus crew for a few nights of debauchery, and I found it was really cool to see Calgary artists Riley Rossmo (Image's Proof) and Fiona Staples (Wildstorm's Authority: Hawksmoore) signing at the Image and DC Comics booths. Way to go you two! It was an awesome trip and I hope to get back down there again, maybe behind a booth myself! ;)

Darth Vader!

The Suicide Girls!

Squeak, Yours Truly, and Missy Suicide!

GI Joe goodness

I also got to spend a week in Dallas with my good friend Neil Erasmus the week after Comic Con! Neil is one of my closest friends and has been down in Dallas for a few years but unfortunately hasn't been able to make a trip back here to visit. And until this year I really didn't have a chance to go down to see him. But we more then made up for not be able to see each other with an incredible week long visit! Neil took me all over Dallas and really spoiled the hell out of me! I got to go to Six Flags in Arlington and went on a bunch of crazy rides (I think I'm getting too old for some of them!), I got to see the Kennedy Memorial in downtown Dallas, popped into several comic book shops including the famous Titan Comics, and spent several awesome days lounging in the family pool. And we needed to as the temperature was over 100 degree F everyday I was there!!! But the true highlight for me was getting to go to my first ever Major League Baseball game, which pitted the Texas Rangers versus my favorite team the Seattle Mariners!! And although the Mariners blew it and lost (they've had a rough year) the game was an awesome experience and I'm so greatful for being able to attend it!

Neil and I at the game!

It's bloody hot here!

Titan Comics

Drowning in the pool!

The Superman Ride at 6 Flags

Well, that's the update for now. I have some artwork to load, and with any luck will have it up in the next week or so. I just have to keep praying to the scanner Gods and sacrificing imaginary goats and with luck my scanner will work!

Or I could just get a new one. But where's the fun in that? Take care all!

More Marvel Masterpiece goodness!

2008-07-02T17:40:00.003-06:00

Hello sports fans! I'm back with a long overdue update! I've been trying to find a balance between work, karate, my awesome girlfriend and my art and I think I'm slowly getting there. It's tough to do, especially during the summer, but I'm determined to get this thing updated with great artwork more frequently! So to get back on the updating wagon, I figured I'd start off by posting some more Marvel Masterpiece 2 cards I recently did for Upper Deck.

I got an email from Mark, the art director of UD asking if I would be able to help out with some more cards for the series since they were short. I jump at the opportunity and did another 25 cards for him. I would have liked to do more but we were on a tight 2 week schedule and 25 seemed just right for me in that time frame. I'll also be doing 50 cards for Marvel Masterpiece 3 in the upcoming weeks and I'm super stoked about that! But for now, here's the other 25 cards.

I'm going to try and get some images posted soon too from the upcoming story I'm doing with Richard Grzela and 14u Comics. Work and scanner permitting (my scanner hates me) I'm hoping to have this little gem done by San Diego this year, which I leave for on the 22 of July!!! Yay, I "heart" SD! I'm also in the process of working on a cool story idea presented to me by my friend Nick Johnson and also hope to get some images and more details on it up here for all to see. I can tell you it's horror based and will have tons of creepy shit for me to draw in it! It's a great concept and will make a heck of a good book!

And on a completely different topic, I just recently passed my belt grading in Karate and I'm now officially a Brown Belt! I'm super happy about this and can't wait until the fall to rock out in my new belt. That's it for now, so as always good folks out there:

TAKE CARE ALL! (now in capital vision!)

Oh man! Too much work!!!

2008-06-17T13:35:00.003-06:00

Hey all. Sorry for the long delay in updates. I've been back at work in the crazy sign industry, as well as doing some more Marvel cards, tattoo designs, and Karate instructing like crazy!!! This last month has been insane! But fear not, I'm still around and still plugging away on stuff. I'm hoping to get a few of the things I've been working on loaded up here soon, but for now you'll have to make do with my words. My scanner is on the fritz and until I can get it working properly I'm out of luck with loading images for now. But bare with me, as I have some cool stuff I've been doing!

For now though, I'll update you all on the Seattle Comic-con I attended last month with my comic pals Chris Peterson and Nick Johnson. We left Thursday afternoon for Seattle for what would be a memorable road trip! The trip started out a bit sketchy, as we ran into a freak storm on our way out of town. Chris had just picked up his new car, and we were at risk of smashing it up thanks to the ridiculous amounts of slushy snow and crazy truck drivers on the Trans- Canada! But after a couple of nail biting hours we managed to get out of the snow and into clear roads and weather. The rest of the trip was a blast, with all of us taking turns telling stories and making fun of each other. It was a very fun road trip! We arrived in Seattle early Friday morning, thanks to Chris's unbelievable driving stamina. After catching a few hours sleep we ventured out into the downtown core to find the convention center and grab some food. We later traveled down to the pier area and took in some sites, got a picture of the Space Needle, and threw rocks into the bay! So fun!

The next day we headed out for the show! After stopping at one of the 20 or so Starbuck's in the area (that's no exaggeration either) we found ourselves at the Convention Center and got totally lost right off the bat. But thanks to a nice Convention Crew guy, we found our way. There was a really big line-up first thing, and that actually made me really stoked for the show. I figured if several hundred people were already lined up to get in that the show had to be good. And it delivered!

The show itself was amazing, plain and simple! I was very happy to see a huge amount of comic stars all congregated in the Washington State Convention Center! And they weren't segregated from everyone else as they were mixed in among the other folks in artist alley. Not only was it great for the fans to have such easy access to everyone, it was also great for the creators to have to opportunity to mingle and engage everyone as well. There was a fantastic line up of creators at the show, and many of them had lines that never let up! I was super stoked to meet and get a kick ass sketch from 2 of my favorite artists, Skottie Young and Dustin Nguyen! Skottie drew me up an awesome Pixie sketch from New X-men, and Dustin drew my pseudo alter-ego Grifter! And both of them had awesome sketch books available as well that I snatched up, and I must say they were fantastic purchases. Both guys were very friendly and a real treat to meet. I also got the chance to finally meet another chap I rather dig, and thats Mr. Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O'Malley. He was super cool, signed some books for me, did a cool little sketch of Scott in one of them, and was really cool to talk to.

I made some other really good purchases and got to meet some fellow Canadian creators down there, Trevor Frick and Camilla D'Errico. Both of them are really nice people and super talented, and it was cool to meet and talk with them! The Seattle show won me over big time and I'm definitely looking forward to next years show. Chris, Nick and myself had a blast on the trip and are thinking of setting up a booth next year to show off our stuff. The Seattle crowd is very comic friendly and showed a lot of support for indy books, so I think we'll do really well down there. 2009 here we come!

That's it for now, and I'll do what I can to get some images scanned in for my next post. Until then, take care all!

I had a great past 2 weeks, and now I'm going to Seattle!

2008-05-08T15:40:00.004-06:00

Hey there kids! I thought I'd pop on and give a quick update before I dart out the door for my trip to Seattle with Chris and Nick of Vicious Ambitious. Were heading down to check out the Emerald City Comic-Con, and it should be a blast! As most of you know the past 2 weeks have been comic crazy, with both the Calgary Expo a couple of weekends ago and Free Comic Book Day last weekend. The Calgary Expo was a blast, as we got to hang out beside the crazy dudes of VA and watch them pie each other in the face! We also had a decent amount of traffic to the booth, sold some swag, and got to meet some cool folks along the way. I'll post a bigger update on the Expo later, as I'm just waiting to get my hands on some photos from the event.

Then last weekend I had the pleasure of being an invited artist up in Edmonton for Happy Harbor's Free Comic Book Day festivities. Jay, Shawna and the crew are always good to me when I come up for events and as always spoiled myself and the art crew with food, drinks and free comics!! I had the privilege of traveling up with fellow Calgarians and artists Fiona Staples and Steve Gervais, which made the trip an enjoyable one. Thanks guys! And thanks to Trevor, Andy, Bob, and Nessa, my fellow FCBD artists for hanging out and making conversation, as well as to anybody who stopped by for a sketch. We were doing sketches for Food Bank donations and from what I've been told we made a decent amount of cash and had a nice pile of food at the end of the day. So thanks again everyone!

I was also fortunate enough to meet and talk with Ed the Sock and Liana K., two Canadian Superstars!! They're really great people, and we had a blast getting to hang out with them for a good chunk of the day. If you ever get the chance, pop on over to their site and check em out! I found out they both share a love of comics, and Liana is super knowledgeable in all things geek. They were awesome! I even did up a sketch for her, and she really seemed to like it. So before I leave you, here's some picks of me with the crew, and Liana sporting her "Power Girl" look!

I'll be back next week with more updates. Take care all!

And now, the rest of the cards.

2008-05-07T22:12:00.002-06:00

And here they are! The rest of the sketch cards I did for Upper Deck's Marvel Masterpiece series 2 card set. I had a blast doing these cards, but they really took a lot out of me!! My finger still has quite the lump from all the drawing. But it was a great opportunity to get to draw Marvel characters, as well as a nice bit of experience to help build up my resume. Hopefully I'll get the chance to do more stuff for Upper Deck and Marvel again in the near future.

Thanks for popping by, and as always.....

Take care all!

More Marvel Cards!!!

2008-05-06T00:20:00.004-06:00

Here's a couple more cards I did for Marvel Masterpiece's 2. I'll post some more tomorrow, as well as an update on the crazy-fun 2 weeks I've had! I'm super tired right now though, and this is all I can muster up for the time being. So until later, take care all!

Bring on the Expo.......

2008-04-25T04:43:00.004-06:00

This weekend is the Calgary Expo down at the Round-up Center. I encourage one and all to come on down and check out the festivities starting at 10am Saturday and continuing until 6pm Sunday night! This show is always a ton of fun, and I can't express how excited I am to be a part of it. I wasn't able to get 9 Doors off to print on time, but I did manage to put together a nice little ashcan of my story "Fairy Tale Sins". I have limited copies for sale, as well as some new pin-ups and sketches, so come on down and check out my booth (booth 806). As well, I think you should check out the works of my friends at VA (I have stuff out with them too!), Jonny Luu and Dan Andrews in Artist Alley, Fiona Staples and Andrew Foley against the wall in the Guests area, as well as everyone else you see! There's a ton of great artists, writers and celebrities at the show this year, and I know there's something for everyone. OK, enough cheap plugs! (I'm so tired, feel like zombie!)

In the meantime, here's a couple of the reason I'm tired, and that being the cover to Fairy Tale Sins (Ok, not done plugging yet!) and another batch of sketch cards. Enjoy, and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Take care all!

The cover says.......

2008-04-16T23:24:00.002-06:00

Hey there folks! I thought I'd drop in and update this blog o'mine with the fancy smancy cover to my new book, 9 Doors. This book is sort of an unofficial follow-up to Never the Less, the ashcan I put out a couple of years ago. I really like the main character Alex Tossman (he reminds me of me, probably because he is me!) and wanted to continue to explore the character and see where his quest leads him. As well, I was looking to do some experimental story telling and this book is anything but conventional. So hopefully folks like it!

9 Doors will act as a set up for the OGN I've been working on, and with any luck will be printed and available for this years Calgary Expo. I'm not overly worries if I don't get it back by then, but it would sure be nice! I do have a back up book for the show, as well as some nice prints and a cool little experiment myself and my associates whipped up. There is also the stories I did for Vicious Ambitious in Gord Cumming's Mercy Seat Presents: Children are Cruel, which I'm really looking forward to showing off and recommend one and all pick it up. Show I'll still have a showing even without 9 Doors. If it doesn't make it back from the printer on time, I'll let you all know where you can pick up a copy to check it out. I'm really stoked by what I've done, and hope that you folks like it too.

9 Doors will also introduce everyone to the new face of Out of Mind Studios, R.E.M.I. the Robot! Welcome him with open arms, as he's cool and would like to be your friend!! And he's one hell of a cleaner. :D

Weird! Take care all!

My pin-up piece for SDCC 2008 Souvenir Book.

2008-04-11T10:37:00.002-06:00

Here's a pin-up I've done for this year's San Diego Comic-Con Souvenir Book. Every year they open up the book to fans and pros submissions based on a variety of themes. Last year I jumped on the Star Wars train, and sent in a Boba Fett piece I'd done. This year, it's DOC SAVAGE! The Man of Bronze himself, in all his black and white glory. I haven't read any Doc Savage since I was a wee lad, and the movie didn't do much for me, but there's just something inherently cool about the guy. And since this year's themes were not a deep as previous years, I went with the one theme that struck me as being something I'd like to do. So here he is.

Feel free to bust my balls on the piece if you like. I did this up in about 4 hours, and I haven't been to bed yet so I'm a little out of it. So if it sucks, it sucks! If not, then cool! It just proves I can do things stoned on coffee and high on life!!

OK, enough of that. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, take care!

The Question!

2008-04-09T05:14:00.003-06:00

I'm a big fan of The Question from the Justice League Unlimted TV series, and since I've been watching the seasons as I work at night I decided to do up a little pin-up of my hero! He's a little wacky, a little quirky, and a whole lot unbalanced, but he knows his conspiracy theories and he's usually right! So here he is folks! Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by!

*Oh, and there are aliens everywhere, especially in coffee shops (and possibly Marvel Comics. SKRULLS!!) Ha ha!*

Take care all.

Zodiac Girl Pin-up.

2008-04-07T08:33:00.002-06:00

I've always got a million and 1 ideas floating around in this cranium of mine, and sometimes I jump at one of these ideas and make them real. I've been wanting to do a pin-up style book for some time now, and this is the start of it. so here's the first pin-up from the as-yet-to-be named pin-up book I'm hoping to have out for the summer time. I have much to learn in this craft of mine, but I'm making strides and reveling in the process of it all. Hopefully this year marks the sprint to the finish line. Take care all, and enjoy!

My first couple Marvel sketch cards.

2008-04-02T05:16:00.004-06:00

Here's the first batch or Marvel Masterpiece series 2 sketch cards I've done up. They got approved the other day, so I can show them off. Look for them to be random inserts in the card series, out later this year.

Take care!

More site stuff!

2008-03-28T06:34:00.003-06:00

This is really just an excuse to keep this updated, by hey, what the hell! Slowly but surely, we're getting stuff done. I loaded a bunch of new sequentials and pin-ups to the Out of Mind Studios website (follow the link in my links section), and thought I'd load a couple of the bio pics I did up for Kevin and I. Unfortunately he's been sick for a bit, but once he's back on his feet he'll get the rest of the updates done on the website and it'll be ready to go. I also did up some new banners, and some other things, but I'll wait till they get loaded on the site to show them. For now, this is it!

I also have some cool things in the works for both the Calgary Expo on the 26th and 27th of April, as well as the Edmonton Collectable and Toy Show on the 20th of April (cheap plug time kids!!). Once I have a few things finished, I'll post them here. Take care all!

Out of Mind Studios is getting a much needed facelift!

2008-03-14T02:32:00.004-06:00

Hey all. Just thought I'd post a quick update letting you fab folks who read this know that my studio (Out of Mind Studios) is getting a website face lift. That means more frequent updates to the site, a new list of projects we're working on, and more artwork!!! I've been working on new images and logos for the site over the past few days, and if all goes well the site will be up and updated within the next week or so. I'm excited because that means my studio is not dead, and I'm now getting to work on some projects I had put aside until I knew just what the status of OOMS was. So once it's up and ready to go I'll let everyone know. In the meantime, this is an idea for a knew mascot for the studio. He doesn't have a name yet, but we'll get him one. Take care all.

I'm creating again.

2008-02-28T04:48:00.003-07:00

I sat up tonight, working on finishing up some of the pre-story stuff on the Dual Convergence book I'm working on. And then I got to work on an idea I've had brewing for a bit, with the goal of getting as much writing done on it as possible. Several pages later, I've got the start of something I feel could be the best thing I've ever done. When it's finished and ready to go, I'll post some of the art for it here. But I'm happy that it's started off strong, and I just needed to post something on here.

God I need to learn to sleep at night.

Take care all.

A sketch I did.

2008-02-26T01:24:00.002-07:00

Here is a sketch I did of a character from one of my upcoming, forever in limbo stories that I hope to get out this year. Her name is Leah.

Take care all.

Pan pin-up-o-rama!

2008-02-26T00:37:00.004-07:00

Trying saying it 5 times fast, you'll go insane like me! Here's a pin-up I did for fellow local comic guru Chris P., for his Peter Pan comic. It's a great retelling of the Pan, and when it comes out (which I believe will be in time for this year's Calgary Expo) everyone should buy a copy and check it out. Truly great stuff.

As for me, I'm loosing it. Seriously. I've been battling some health issues (both mental and physical) and a lot of what I wanted to get done for the Expo this year just won't happen. I've been struggling on a few projects I have, but I'm thinking things will smooth out soon. Or at least I hope so. I'll post some updates (if I make any) on here, until then: take care all.

Ch ch ch changes!

2008-02-05T09:51:00.001-07:00

I'm thinking of changing this blog up a bit and making it an art blog as well as a life journal. I've had the bloody thing for what seems like forever and don't utilize it that much. So slowly over the course of the next few weeks I'm changing this monkey up! This is the warning shot. The next one's gonna hit ya! So here's a sample shot of the cover for a book I've got coming out soon. You can figure out what it's for if you'd like, cuz for now I'm not tellin'! Enjoy.

A little ditty about Japan. Part 1 anyways....

2008-01-04T00:05:00.001-07:00

Halo again! Well, I said I'd do a Japan write-up, so here it is. I figure the sooner I get this out of the way the sooner I can move on to other writings.

I left for Japan on October 21st with my friend Charles, bright-eyed and bushy tailed (not really) and eager to set foot in the land of the rising sun (that parts true). After a long (12 hours) but thankfully uneventful flight, we arrived at Narita Airport in the afternoon on Monday the 22nd to start our 2 weeks of adventure. Thanks to sleeping most of the flight, I was energized and ready to tackle Japan! That wouldn't last long, however, as jet-leg would kick my butt, but I'll get to that.

Charles has a wonderful friend named Yoko who works as an Air Traffic Controller at the airport, and she met up with us when we arrived and helped point us in the right direction so that we could catch the right train out of the airport to get where we were staying. Narita Airport is huge, and I was incredibly greatful that Yoko met with us to help us out. After getting our Japan Rail passes and purchasing a Tokyo Metro Pass we temporarily said bye to Yoko and got on a train bound for Asakusa, were we had a room booked at the Tokyo Smile Hostel. An hour or so later we arrived at the hostel, checked in with Masa, the cool dude who ran the place, and then set out for something to eat. My first true taste of Japan! The area around the hostel is busy, as Asakusa is home to several Temples, a thriving business district, and is also the home of one of Asahi Breweries office building. That's one of the most recognizable buildings in the area, as it has what looks like a giant golden turd mounted to the roof of the building. It's quite funny to see! Anyways, we left the hostel and headed back towards the subway entrances and over the where several restaurants and shops we located. Japan has a lot of tall buildings, as space is an issue, so everything is built "up" instead of out. And it's bright, with lots of colorful signage everywhere. It to is quite the site to see. After wondering around for a bit, Charles recommended we go for some gyudon (rice bowl meal), and what a great suggestion it was! I love GYUDON!!! It was the first of many Japanese dishes I had that I instantly liked. It's so good; rice with pan fried beef, covered in a delicious sauce, much like teriyake sauce. And it's cheap too, only 600 yen, or a little over $5. Awesome stuff!

Now this is where the jet lag kicked in. After we wondered around the area for a bit and checked out the Kaminarimon Shrine, one of the bigger shrines in Asakusa , I was starting to feel the toll the flight had on me and we headed back to the hostel. I was out cold in no time, getting rest for the next 4 days of Tokyo sight-seeing that lay ahead of us. So after a good nights sleep and a quick email check on the free computers the hostel offered, Charles and I set off for our first full day of touring Tokyo. This is also when I first encountered cara age, which became my overall favorite food in Japan. Something I never knew until we got there is that Japan has a lot of stores that we have here in North America, just with a Japanese twist. They have MacDonald's, Subway, KFC, Denny's, and 7/11 just to name a few, and all have a similar look to their NA counterparts, and even some of the same items, but mostly contain items which are anything but! Thankfully though, amongst some very weird but apparently appetizing (at least to the Japanese) delights there is food that a skeptical Canadian such as myself can enjoy. And cara age is definitely one of those things! For 120 yen, you get a kabob with 3 pieces of the tastiest little chicken bites I've even had! The flavor reminded me of honey-garlic chicken wings, without the bone. Sooooo good. But enough about that.

On this day Charles decided to take me to Akihabara, the nerd-geek-tech capital of Tokyo, and man was I stoked! I had read about Akihabara in one of my EGM gaming mags and knew a bit of what the area had to offer, and also knew that this may in fact be an expensive first day in Japan. And although I refrained from blowing a ton of cash, I still spent a bit. But it wasn't so much of what I bought, but what I seen in Akihabara that made it one of the big highlights of the trip and one of my favorite places to visit. This district is famous for having large gaming complexes, a multitude of comic and toy collectible stores, several adult store, and a 6 level technology based store called Yotoboshi Camera, which could best be described as a Best Buy store, only twice the size and 6 levels tall. Anything and everything geek can be found here, and it was very difficult to not drop a shit load of cash in this place. But quite possibly the weirdest of all attractions in Akihabara is their Maid Cafes. These are literally cafes where cute Japanese girls, dressed like maids, serve you your food and offer dining companionship to their clientèle. It quite strange to see, and although intriguing on a base level, I made the decision not to go into any, but to stare somewhat dumbfounded from a distance. From there Charles and I did some more shopping, played some video games, and decided to take a quick trip over to the Imperial Palace before dark to get some pictures. Unfortunately we got there just as the sun was setting and took some dusk pictures of the Palace, as well as some nice shots of downtown Tokyo as it lit up for the evening. Although we missed out on the Palace this day, we would get the opportunity later in the week to see it. Overall, day 1 was quite a fun experience with tons to see and do, and lots of stuff to take in. And although a vast majority of people are not bi-lingual, I didn't find it too difficult to communicate and get around. It also helps that Charles has a good command of Japanese, as well as a decent knowledge of Tokyo.

After getting back to the hostel and grabbing a bite to eat, Charles and I called it a day and decided to get some rest for another busy day. For on day 2, my inner child was allowed to come out and play, as we were off to Tokyo Disneyland! And what a blast that was!!! It's has a very similar layout to the Disneyland in California, only everything is Japanese! From the ride announcements to the food served, this was the first true day of culture shock for me. I think it's because we went to a place that is familiar to me, as I've been to Disneyland before. But never like this! Charles and I went on several rides, had a great curry meal in one of the many food halls at the park, took a ton of pictures, and did a bit of shopping. It was awesome, but truly made me realize for the first time that I was actually in Japan!

Well that's it for now. Part 2 will be up in a couple of days. Take care all.

Merry Christmas everybody!!

2007-12-25T00:10:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on a Japan write-up so please bare with me. But in the meantime, and in the spirit of the season, I wanted to wish everyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I spent tonight with my Mom, ensuring that her first Christmas Eve without my Stepdad wasn't spent alone. We exchanged gifts (I'm sooooo spoiled!) and watched National Treasure so that we can go see the sequel later this week. It was a nice way to spend the evening and I know she was happy to have me around. I know I enjoyed my time with her!!! Tomorrow I'm off to my sister Chantelle's place for Christmas with my Dad and Stepmom's family, where I'm sure to get spoiled again! Yesterday I spent the day at my sister Crystal's place , doing the Christmas thing with her and the family from my Mom's side. It was a great day and a wonderful meal. Thanks again Crys!!! So far I've had a great Christmas season and I'm very thankful for that. I can hardly wait for tomorrow. And even though you've heard it before it still needs to be said: BE SAFE!!!! Don't drink and drive; call a cab. Hell, call me if you need to (and if I live near you). It's not worth getting caught. Now that I've done my public service announcement for the evening, I leave you with this.

In a season filled with commercialism, gift-giving, and money spending, skip all that and give the greatest gift that anyone could possibly get this and any other Christmas season: the gift of friendship. Spend time with your friends and loved ones and let them know you love them and appreciate them. I think that's the greatest gift of all.

Take care all.

Damn, I knew I forgot something....

2007-12-14T03:22:00.000-07:00

Hello all (all 3 of you; you know who you are!). It's been awhile since I did anything on this crazy blog of mine, so I thought I'd update it finally! First off, a quick update on Japan: it was incredible!!!!! By far the best vacation/trip I've ever taken in MY LIFE! The country is amazing with so much to see and do. And the people I met were truly awesome, with each one of them treating me incredibly nice. I want to extend a big thanks to my friend Charles, who without him the trip really wouldn't have been possible. He's also by far the best travel companion I've ever had and I would travel with him again in a heartbeat! And also a big thanks to (in no particular order) Yoko, Hiro, Shuhei, Yasu, Yuko, Justin, Kaori, Maki, Gori, Katsui, Mihoko and the many other friends I made on my trip. You all made me feel very welcomed during my stay in Japan and I hope to one day see you all again. I'll try (I will, I swear!) to do a separate blog on the whole Japan experience over the Christmas break.

As for the rest of life, I've been busy training hard in Karate, having recently competed in the 2007 Vancouver Cup (a first round loss due to a nasty knee shot; ouch!) and also getting ready to compete this weekend in our clubs annual Team Tournament. I'm looking forward to squaring off against the other good fighters in our club and the area for what are sure to be some great, spirited battles. Go Team! I've also slowly but surely started to finalize plans for next years comic schedule, officially deciding on what I'm going to put out from Out of Mind Studios in the coming months. And yes, in case you've been wondering, Out of Mind Studios still exists, it's just been on hiatus while myself and other members of the studio handled personal issues that have been plaguing us. But I'm confident that things have finally started to clear up in our lives and we can all start to get back to what brought us together in the first place, and that's our passion for comics. I'll be updating everyone soon on what's to come, but for starters look for issue 2 of The Sorrow in the spring, along with a Twice Thursday 1 shot that'll be done in comic form rather then strip form, as well as a little story I've called Underloved arriving (fingers crossed) by late spring. I have a couple of other things on the go as well, but until things are finalized with the collaboraters on those projects my lips are sealed! But they will be good things, trust me on that.

Beyond that, not much is new. I was fortunate enough to be apart of Help TV out of Edmonton a couple of weeks ago, in a segment dedicated to comics. It was a great experience and I'd like to thank Jay from Happy Harbor for putting that together. It got me a lot more exposure then I would have thought it would, and there are good thing to come from this as well. That's it for now folks. I'll do my best to get something new up in the coming days in regards to my Japan trip, and in the meantime Happy Holidays everyone! Only 10 more days till Christmas everybody, so I hope you've all got your shopping done before the madness really starts at the malls!!!

Take care all.

I'm going to Japan, and I can't sleep.

2007-09-17T02:36:00.000-06:00

A few hours ago, I bought a ticket to Japan. From October 21 to November 4 I'll be touring around the country with my good friend and proficient in Japanese traveling partner Charles. He taught English in Japan for a couple of years, and wants to go back and visit friends, and see things he never got the chance to see before. I'm going because it's Japan, and I've always wanted to go there. Don't need many more reasons then that. But this will be my last big trip for a while. Because when I get back, I have some serious work to get done.

Over the last couple of weeks I've done 2 smaller projects for my friends at Vicious Ambitious. They have a couple of books coming out in the next month, anthology based projects, and I was fortunate (and honored) enough to get to do some sequential work for these books. Both the story were written by Gord Cummings, who has a very different way of thinking then I do, and therefor gave me an interesting and awesome challenge when drawing his stories. As both a writer and an artist, I look forward to working on scripts that I haven't written, because it gives me a chance to step out of my comfort zone and open my brain to being and thinking in a different and creative way. I had a blast working on these stories, and it's given me the drive I needed to get to work on some of the stuff that I've put off for the last little while. My current goal right now is to finish issue 2 of The Sorrow, my hottie-teen werewolf story, by the end of September, with the hopes that a new printer I'm looking at using can get it back to me in time for Pure Speculation 3, a show I'm fortunate enough to be exibiting at in October. After that I'll be finishing up the long-anticipated issue 1 of Dead Last, which I'm hoping to have finished for the beginning of December. After that, well, that's still to be decided, but I have a couple of things brewing right now, and when I've figured out which way to go, I let you know. But I have a couple of big (graphic novel big) things in the creative pot, as well as continuing to put out issues of The Sorrow and Dead Last set for the foreseeable future, so I have plenty to keep me busy.

That's it for now. Take care all.

I finished The Deathly Hollows tonight!

2007-09-04T03:20:00.000-06:00

Although this doesn't seem like much of a feat, or really even that big of a deal, I still need to blog about it! Tonight, I finished Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows. For those of you who know me well, this is a tremendous accomplishment. I've read through a fair share of books in my time, but nothing in comparison to this. I'm a slow reader, and besides comics I don't read a lot of "printed" material. But with this, I read every page, absorbed every word, and experienced the most emotionally gratifying story I've ever read. More times then not my heart raced; plenty of times I had to wipe tears out of my eyes. I became very emotionally invested as I delved deeper and deeper into the story. I can't remember a time in recent memory where I've felt like this.

It's truly over. The story has come to a close. And by finishing this book I've been able to put a bit of closure on a very trying chapter in my life. Every time someone fell to Voldermort in this book, I felt for those around them. I could feel their pain. Because that's what I've been feeling for 4 months now. For 4, long months. I've done my best to avoid it, done everything I can to stay busy enough to not have to deal with it. But thanks to this story, this silly little book (not to be taken in a demeaning way) I was shown a way to confront it. J.K.'s words allowed me the insight I needed to look at everything I've gone through, to process everything I feel and need to feel, because I had this wonderful cast of characters to follow. They suffered, they struggled, and in the end, they endured. Now I'm not saying I've dealt with anything the likes of what Harry and the gang were put through, but metaphorically speaking I can certainly relate. I have lost someone truly great from my life, and I've had triumphs and tragedies to deal with. But so far I've tried really hard to persevere. And I think I'm doing okay. In fact, thanks to this "accomplishment", I know I am. I'm getting by, and will continue to do so for a long, long time.

So I leave you with this tonight: If you need an escape, if you need some way of forgetting about everything for awhile, read a book. Hell, go read Harry Potter. It's helped me in more ways then I can truly express and I think it could help anyone if they're willing to let it.

Take care all.

Okay, here it is.....

2007-08-19T23:30:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted in awhile. I guess that goes without saying, since the last post was from June. "No duh!". So what have I been up to? Well, a lot. Besides the day to day handling of my families personal finances and issues, I've done some traveling. I drove to Las Vegas and San Diego with my friends from the studio Kevin and Brian. We met up with another friend of mine named Steve down in Vegas, and then proceeded to drink and gamble like rockstars for a couple of day. It was a blast. Then in San Diego, it was convention time! We all took in the panels and activities that we were interested in and I had the most fun at SDCC I've had since the first time there 5 years ago. It was a no pressure trip down this year, as I have enough comic book work to keep me busy for the next year or so. And that's what I'm going to concentrate on as soon as the rest of the family business I need to take care of is done. With any luck, that will be very soon.

I also just got back from a spur of the moment trip to Cancun! It's such a beautiful place, with clear blue water, white sandy beaches, and a constant temperature above 80F. A true paradise on earth. The trip was made even better by the fact that a good friend of mine Amanda accompanied me for this quick vacation. We didn't always see eye to eye, and we argued a bit, but it was good to have someone I care about there with me. We did some cool activities together, such a scuba and snorkeling, and we even got to experience a bit of hurricane weather! Although that might not sound cool to most people, I've never seen first hand what happens during a storm like that so it was a cool experience for me at least. We also did some shopping, took a boat cruise to Isla Mujures, and did a jungle tour complete with an alligator sighting!! I'm looking forward to going back there someday, because I really enjoyed my time there.

Now that I'm home from my travels, it's time to settle in and start taking care of the loose ends I have in my personal life. I've spent the last few months since the passing of my stepfather doing whatever was needed for my family, but I've let things in my life slip. I've put a lot of things on hold. And now I'd like to get those things rolling and start living my life again. The last few months I feel like I've been living in a dream state. It feels like nothing thats happened is real. Time hasn't seemed to have any meaning or purpose, and days just seem to bleed into one another. Some days I feel like I'm loosing my mind, because I've never had to be in control of this much responsibility before. And I've never had to not worry about money before. It's hard to get focused on me right now because everything up to now has been about everyone else. And every time I get to do just for me I feel guilty. I shouldn't feel guilty, but I do.

Every good thing that happened for me and my family is the result of my stepfather's death. Thanks to his preparations for an untimely death my Mom has been well taken care of financially. And she's doing what she can to help out everybody else, including me. I've fought with her about giving money away, especially to me, because I can take care of myself and I don't want to see her go without. But the truth is, without her financial help, I'd be in trouble. I haven't worked since Warner died because I stepped up to handle everything. I feel guilty about that too because in a way it was really selfish of me to do so. I didn't trust anyone else in the family to take care of anything, and the Leo in me wanted to control it all. It was a very chaotic couple of weeks following the accident, and I wanted to prove to myself that I could handle it all. I did. Now however, I'm dealing with the fallout of it all. I feel really emotional when I think of Warner. And little things make me sad. It's hard to deal with these emotions right now when there's still so much left to do for Mom. Really hard.

I'm just hoping I can keep it all together a little longer, just long enough to make sure everything works out. Then I can let go of it all, and with any luck I'll regain some sense of sanity again. Because this has been the craziest time of my life and I could really use a break.

I'll post again soon, when I can make sense of what I just wrote.

I passed my test!

2007-06-19T03:40:00.000-06:00

I'm now a 4th Kyu in Kyokushin Karate after receiving my new belt tonight! For those of you who don't know, that's a green belt in my style. Next up is brown, followed by black, but I'm still another year away from one and 3 from the other. Slowly but surely though I'll make it. I'm very happy right now. I think I tested the best I've ever tested for a belt this time around. The only thing I've been told needs work is my weight, which I've been working on for quite awhile and I'm not far off now where I want to be. And it's not that I'm fat or anything, it's just that I'm carrying around a few more pounds then I need to and it does slow me down a bit. But by the end of summer I'm sure I'll be where I want to be. I'm focused and determined to shed the extra pounds and to make Sensei happy in the process. A small group of us will be training throughout the summer, working on cardio, self-defense, and flexibility. I'm also looking at fighting at a couple of tournaments in the fall, one in Cranbrook in November and the other in Vancouver in December. So I want to be in good fighting shape and the summer training will help me achieve that. I'm looking forward to the hard training and all the results that will come from it. And in the fall, I'm going to do my best to help out with the earlier classes and get some teaching under my belt. It will be an exciting time for me in the fall!

And on a side note, I got my passport! And the best part is it only took 11 days to get to me. That's amazing considering some of the horror stories I've heard about wait times. My Mom's only took 9 days to get to her. That's even faster then the pamphlet in the passport package says it will take as a minimum (they say at least 10 days)! So I'm quite happy about that. Now I can travel freely any where my wallet and ambition will take me. First stop: San Diego! After that: Japan in the fall! And from there, well, we see when that time arrives. But I've heard rumors of a family trip to Europe.

Man will that ever be cool. Take care one and all!

Oddly enough, I might have a girlfriend.

2007-06-14T14:38:00.000-06:00

I've never been hit on more in my life then I have been over the past month. I don't know if it's the sad, puppy dog look in my eyes, the unshaven "brooding" look I'm sporting, or my new cologne. But whatever it is, it's working. Thanks to my friend Amanda, I've met someone. Her name is Brenna. She seems very nice, she's definitely strong (she's a farm girl), and she really pretty. But I'm taking my time with her. She was pretty jaded by her last relationship, and I'm not in a hurry to rush into anything right now. But we both like movies and have been spending a great deal of time together watching all the shows I've missed over the past few years. And she's athletic, playing both volleyball and baseball on a weekly basis. So we'll she where this goes. I'm off to Karaoke with her and a group of friends tonight, and those who know me know I love Karaoke! We'll see if she likes my singing.

It's been one hell of a month.

2007-06-14T14:26:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a month since I lost my stepfather Warner. And in this time I've endured a lot. I found out that when someone dies, those left behind not only have to worry about moving on and getting past their loss but that there is a literal mountain of paperwork that follows. But I've managed to get through it, and my family is healing. I miss Warner everyday and can't help but wonder what happened to him that made him make such a fatal mistake. I have trouble sleeping at night, but I've been told that this will pass in time. I keep playing the days events over and over in my head. There's nothing I could have done differently, nothing that would have changed things. I know that. But I wish there was. On the plus side, Warner was well covered. And now my Mom will be well taken care of. But no amount of money will bring her husband back, and I've forever lost a close friend and father. I miss you Warner, but thanks to the strength you gave me, and gave all of us, I'll make it. Thank you Dad, I'll see you again.

I've suffered a terrible loss.

2007-05-09T01:06:00.000-06:00

On Sunday night at 6:30 PM my stepfather Warner was killed in an automobile accident. The last 3 days have been the most difficult days of my life. He was a very important part of my life and I've always considered him to be not only my stepdad but truly one of my best friends. He supported me in every part of my life, from attending my sporting events to encouraging my pursuit of the comic book dream. Whenever I needed him Warner was there. And right now I'm having a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that I'll never get to see him again. I love and miss him so much, and I don't think I've ever cried so much in my life. My tear ducts are sore and swollen. But I've done my best to be strong for the family, especially my Mom, and I've handled all the most difficult things myself (going to the medical examiner's office, setting up the funeral) so no one else would have to. I've had to identify him, I've been to the scene of the accident (although not intentionally) and now I need to talk about it. But it's hard so I'll just type what I can.

Dad was a truly great person. And that's not me just saying that. He has so many friends and relatives and even people who hardly knew him who are all in a state of shock and morning. He touched so many people's lives, and due to this I've had to make sure that the funeral home can accommodate at least 200 people. He was liked and loved by most everyone who ever met him, and the outpour of support has been overwhelming. He will truly be missed by everyone and anyone who ever had a chance to know him. I have so much more to say but will have to say it later.

All I ask of anyone who reads this is this; say a prayer for my mother. She's the most affected by this tragic event and needs all the support and help she can get. She has nothing but her friends and family now so any sort of support you can get her would be definitely appreciated.

I must now go and cry some more. I really miss my dad :(

Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.

2007-05-02T00:11:00.000-06:00

Wow, just WOW!!! What an incredible day Sunday April 29th was. I was fortunate enough to be an exhibitor with my friends Kevin and Charles with an Out of Mind Studios booth, situated right across from the talented and friendly Gail Simone, the uber cool Josh Ortega, superstar artist Francis Manapul and the very lovely Rivkah. It was a great location, with tons of foot traffic and a lot of folks popping by to check out of stuff. I did 3 pin-ups for this show, all of which sold a few copies, and the very generous Bryan Hodgson of Happy Harbor comics V. 2 came by to purchase a piece of original art and a convention sketch from me. I can't say enough about how good the folks from Happy Harbor are to me. Thank you so much Bryan!

And thanks to Bryan I was fortunate enough to receive some very nice praise from the incredible Gail Simone and her husband on the piece of art he bought from me. So again, THANK YOU! As for the rest of the show I was able to touch base and say hi to all the creators and professionals I've been lucky enough to get to know over the years, and made a few new contacts and new friends. The great Bruce Timm signed an art book of his I have and even did a quick sketch for me. Coloring powerhouse Bobby Chiu set me up with one of his very informative coloring books and Ryan Woodward stopped by to say hi. Josh Ortega, who was cool enough to come out a have a few drinks with all us local guys at the James Joyce Pub Friday night stopped by to chat, give us some words of encouragement and check out our stuff. He's a fantastic guy and I wish him all the best with his soon-to-be new found superstar status thanks to his work on Image's Death Dealer series. He certainly deserves it. And I can't forget to mention getting to see and talk to one of my all time favorite artist Humberto Ramos. He's always very nice to me and I appreciate the fact that he takes time out to say hi whenever he sees me.

Thanks to everyone who came by our booth to say hi and an extra special thanks to everyone who picked something up from us. Everything we make from shows like this goes back into the studio to help create new books and merchandise so we truly appreciate every sale made.

Last but not least, thanks to all the volunteers and helpers, and definitely the organizers of the CCEE for putting on a fantastic show once again. This year was amazing and next year will be even bigger and better! See you all again April 27th and 28th, 2008. Two days of awesomeness next year!

Time for some catching up Blogger style!

2007-04-11T17:49:00.000-06:00

Hello all (you know who you are),

Well, I figure it's been long enough so it's time for some updates on this remarkably busy life I lead. First off, a couple weeks ago I was in Edmonton for a comic book show. The show was good, not from a money standpoint but certainly from a social one. While I was driving out of town I got a phone call from a good friend of mine named James. I hadn't seen or talked to James in a long time (at least a decade!) but a couple of month ago, by using stealthy Batman-like tactics, James found me! I received an email from him, which totally took me by surprise. But it was a great surprise and I was elated to hear from one of my best childhood friends. I found out he was married and living in Edmonton and is getting heavily involved in music! We communicated back and fourth over emails, and I figured if I was ever in Edmonton long enough for a visit that we should do what we could to hook up. So I emailed James the night before I had to leave for the show hoping he would get it in time to meet up with me somewhere. Thankfully he did and luckily he caught me before I left town!

It was fantastic to see him again. I thought about the saying "the more things change the more they stay the same" and I think that may very well apply here in a certain context. Both James and I have changed in many ways, but what hasn't was that great feeling of friendship that I remember we had as kids so long ago. There was nothing awkward about seeing him again, and our conversation flowed so nicely. We talked so much that night that even though James and I met at a coffee shop, the poor guy never got the chance to get a drink! It was truly fantastic to catch up with him and I'm looking forward to the next time we meet up, and hopefully the opportunity to meet his wife and children. Knowing James, I know he has a wonderful family and it will be awesome to finally meet them.

Second update is as follows: I did very, VERY well at the Alberta Open Karate Championships in Edmonton on March 31st. I had a total of 4 fights on the day in 2 divisions, which saw me winning the Mens 18 and over Color Belt Heavyweight Division as well as a 1 fight Mens Open Division. I was able to use my experience and strengths to overcome all 3 of my color belt opponents and won all 3 fight by Ippon (full point). And in the Mens Open I utilized my strong gedan mawashi-geri (Low roundhouse kick) to disable my opponent and also won the fight by Ippon. It was a great tournament to gain back some confidence after taking a beating in the Calgary Cup, and it was great to finally win a tournament in Edmonton seing as the last 2 time up there I didn't fair so well. The rest of our club also did great that day, with all of our fighters placing and doing our dojo proud. Our women's Color Belt fighter Kristen fought in what I considered to be the fight of the day against the much more experienced Jen Smith from Edmonton. Kristen showed great spirit and fought with all she had, unfortunately losing to Jen (who won the division) but giving her one hell of a fight in the process. I had the pleasure of traveling to and from Edmonton with Kristen and I see a lot of bright things for her in the future.

And almost lastly, but not leastly (I just made that up), I've been working too f'n much lately. It's just ridiculous really. Last week, in a 4 day work week, I put in nearly 60 hours! And this week so far hasn't let up all that much, with both Monday and yesterday being long grueling days. At least today wasn't bad and ended at a decent time (instead of close to midnight). But the one thing I can't complain about is that all this work is making me money. And I've been able to save a bunch. I want to be able to travel this year, to both San Diego and possibly Japan in the fall so all this extra work is helping. Plus it gives me more money for the comic hobby I have, allowing me (hopefully) more time in the coming weeks to get some stuff rolling and pay for printing. Which bring me to my last topic.........

I'm going to have to decide what it is I'm going to focus on with my comic work. I have had a tendency in the past to start going on something and not see it through to it's end. I've been a lot better with The Sorrow, even though there's only one issue out so far, I've at least wrote the next 2 issues and know how the series will end with issue 4. I just need some time to get the pencils going and the books will be done in no time. I guess my problem right now is I feel very much on my own with Out of Mind Studios. It started as a dream project by Kevin and I to have our own place to publish our own stuff, and with the inclusion of our friend Brian was only suppose to get bigger and better. But nothings happening. I've been working on my own stuff, Brian on his, and I'm not sure what Kev's been up to because he isn't really talking to me anymore. I don't know why, and I don't really thinks it's because there's "problems" between us, I think it has more to do with the fact that we don't live with each other anymore. And since I'm not around him, I'm kinda "out of sight, out of mind". No pun intended!!!

I want to really give things a go as a group, and create some crazy good stuff together as a studio, but I'm afraid that might not happen again. We'll see what transpires at the upcoming Calgary Expo since I've got a booth for OOMS as well as a couple other friends who wanted some space for their projects. I'll have some new pin-up work, and possibly a surprise book at the show, and I know the other guys will have something new as well. Hopefully we can figure out what direction this ship is taking and whose on board and whose not. Worst case scenario would be that we continue doing nothing and I start to look at doing stuff on my own. That would suck, but what can you do when everyone else's life is going in a different direction from yours?

I guess that's it, thanks for reading and letting me clear my head for at least a day or 7.

Take care all.

Tournament in the "Chuck" this weekend!

2007-03-30T20:01:00.000-06:00

I'm off to Edmonton for the 3rd times in 2 weeks for a Kyokushin tournament this weekend. I'll be fighting in the color belt division of the Alberta Open, my first fight in Edmonton in a couple of years. I'm looking forward to bringing the hurt and fighting the most intense I've fought in a long time. I'm very confident I'll do well and have good faith I'll be bringing home some hardware by the end of the day. I'll be bringing a new fighter named Kristen with me to fight in the women's CB division, and if she can get her high kicks and strong combos working for her I'm sure she'll do well. All in all it will be a good day for fighting and I'll post an update when I get back on the days activities.

On a slightly different topic I wanted to say I had a great time in Edmonton last weekend at the Edmonton Collectible Toy & Comic Show. I want to thank everyone who stopped by to say hi, all the organizers of the event, the Star Wars 501st for being on hand and just being cool, and to Jay from Happy Harbor for having me up their. It was great to hang out in a very "zen" like environment with my fellow creators and all the fans of the medium who came by to check things out. I sold quite a few of my prints and did my first Superman sketch for fellow Canadian Geek member and had a blast doing it. Although I didn't get to meet Larry Hama personally, I heard he was a class act and really approachable and had quite a few encouraging things to tell the guys who stopped by for a critique. I did however get to meet Daniel Logan, the young man who starred as a young Boba Fett in the new Star Wars trilogy and he was an incredibly nice guy. I gave him a print I had made of Boba Fett for the show and he seemed to genuinely like it, so much so that he gave me a signed picture in return. Just a super nice kid and a pleasure to meet.

So there you have it. An update, although somewhat brief, but an update none the less. I'll post the results of Saturdays tournament over the weekend, and might even post a picture or 2.

Take care all.

I'm finally a cover artist! But.....

2007-03-21T22:44:00.000-06:00

They gave the credit to someone else. Do you believe the luck?!?

The issue I did a cover for is Ezra: Evoked Emotions #3 which shipped and is in stores today. I've never seen the finished version as Sean from Arcana had someone else color it. But it looks really good, and the colorist did it justice. To damn bad someone named Pedro Delgado got the credit for it. But I'm happy none the less. It obviously too late to do anything about it so I'll just have to post an image of the cover and let the world know who the true artist is. And when Sean come to the Calgary Expo at the end of April I'll give him shit and make him feel bad. Until then, here's the cover.

Enjoy.

Happy Valentine's Day one and all.

2007-02-14T17:44:00.000-07:00

Well, the commercially charged holiday known to the world as Valentine's Day is here! And I'm at home alone and loving every minute of it. I've never had a great time (that I can remember) on Valentine's Day and up until recent years considered it one of the 2 worst days of the year for me.

I've had nothing but back luck on Valentine's Day. From car accidents to bad break-ups and even a run-in with the law (long story for another time) this day has been a dreaded one for me, and in more recent years I've done everything in my power to stay home, stay away from anything potentially harmful and wait it out until February 15th arrived. But over the past 2 years or so (maybe 3, Guinness makes me forget) it seems my luck has changed and I don't worry too much anymore about it. It is what it is, and for those of you out there who have a significant other to spend it with, Valentine's Day can be a really good excuse to spend quality time with the one you love and lavish them with all you can. So this post it for those of you out there with the ability to enjoy Valentine's Day for what it is, and it's a shout out to you folks to take this day and do something for the person in your life that means the most to you. Take said person out to dinner and a movie, or stay at home and make it a nice romantic evening complete with a beautiful meal and a passionate dessert! You have the excuse, now make it count for something.

For the rest of us, don't be down. Think of the money and time you are all saving! Well okay, maybe that's not much of a consolation but you should feel some comfort in knowing you're not alone. There are a lot of single people spending tonight at home alone and for some of us it's not for a lack of trying. We just haven't met that special someone (or couldn't afford to rent that special someone for now ;) and until we do Valentine's Day is just another day.

A lonely day but, hey it's Wednesday. At least the new episode of LOST is on tonight.

Take care everyone.

The move is over!

2007-01-28T00:37:00.000-07:00

I'm finished. Everything is moved. The old place is pretty much clean. And I'm exhausted.

The new place is awesome. Lots of space. Maybe a little too much. But I still have a lot to do around here so this will be brief. I'll update again in a couple of days. It's sleepy time now.

Cheers.

Looking in on the New Year.

2006-12-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

Well it's New Year's Eve. It's almost 6:00 am here and I should have been asleep hours ago. But a heavy dose of "My Name is Earl" on DVD as well as 5 hours of Zelda will keep a guy up. It's all good though, as it's almost 2007 and I have a big year planned and I'm utilizing my waking hours working on the details. 2006 was a good year with plenty of ups and downs as well as a lot of changes, and I'm hoping to make 2007 a great year. There's always room for improvements and this coming year I'd like to make some. Better health, more comic work produced, a girlfriend, and continued success at Karate are all on the agenda. I have some great project ideas in my head that I would like to make a reality, and I'd like to improve my physique in time for summer. There's opportunity to fight in the upcoming tournaments and I would like to do well if I compete. And my love life could use, well....a life! Once I get organized and settled into the new place I'm going to make an effort to get a relationship going. One step at a time :)

So here's to 2006 being a good year for change, and to 2007 continuing improvement!!

Happy New Year everyone. See you next year. Take care.

Rest in Peace Uncle Steve.

2006-12-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days that can put a real damper on the holidays. After having a busy but great last couple of days spending time with my family and celebrating Christmas, I received a phone call from my father around 8:30 that brought everything to a crashing halt. My uncle Steve died today. He was found dead on a C-Train downtown around 5 o'clock. Although nothing has been formally told to anybody, the initial cause of death seems to lead to one conclusion: He died of a broken heart.

Unfortunately though that's not the first thing asked when told of his passing. You see, my uncle had a problem. He couldn't say no to a drink. For the last 20 years at a progressive rate he lived out of a bottle. It ruined his career, his home life, and even took a toll on our relationship. Growing up I idolized him. He was the coolest uncle a boy could ever have. He took me to all kinds of cool places, let me have sleepovers when I came to Calgary for visits, and he always had a cool girlfriend who was nice to look at and nice to me. He was the absolute bachelor, living life care-free. He worked as a carpenter for as long as I can remember and was really good at what he did. But he drank all the time. A lot. And in the end it may have killed him.

In the last 10 - 15 years he really punished his body. He had a falling out with his common-law wife, left the house he helped build, and spent more time drunk than he did sober. He hit rock bottom, and ended up living on the streets. People tried to help him, from friends to family. And at one point he seemed to be turning around. But he slipped, and this time he never got back up.

I've spent the better part of a decade angry at him. We had a falling out what seems like a lifetime ago over money. I used to rent a basement suite from him and Kathy, his common-law wife. Things were good at first; I lived downstairs from the coolest guys in the world. But unfortunately I got to see a side of him I never knew before. After awhile things started to fall apart downstairs. I had an insect problem that was never addressed. His and Kathy's children would terrorize around the house and wake me at all hours of the day and night. And when they drank, Kathy and Steve did nothing but fight. So I gave my notice and moved. With the help of my mom we cleaned the place and left it spotless. And that's when Steve nailed the coffin shut in our relationship. He owed me $350 for damage deposit. And he stiffed me on it. He came up with every excuse he could as to why he wasn't going to give it to me. And at the time I needed it for my new place, so it left me in quite a bind. But more than that it left me with anger and resentment towards a man I used to look up to.

Ten plus years I stayed mad at him. Didn't bother to talk to him. And then one day I had to.

My father gave me some money that he needed me to deliver to my uncle because he was in a bind. Dad couldn't get away from work and I had time so he asked me if for one day, the five minutes it took to drive to where Steve was, if I could just put aside my anger for the man and help him out. Reluctantly I agreed to do it. The whole way over all I could think about is how pissed off I still felt about everything and how good it was going to feel to look down at Steve when I gave him his "handout". But when I arrived and he came out to the car all those thoughts went away.

I didn't recognize the man who came to the car. He sat down beside me, and when I looked at him he looked like he had aged 50 years. He looked so tired and old. And instead of looking down on him, I felt like crying inside. I put away my anger and talked to him. He wasn't the same. His life in the bottle had destroyed him and all that was left was a shell of the man he used to be. I felt so sad for him and gave him the money dad sent. As he was getting out of the car I wished him well. I didn't know what else to say. That was 2 years ago. It was the last time I would ever talk to him.

I'm crying as I write this for two reasons. First, I remember all the good times we had when I was young and how much the time we spent together meant to me. He was the coolest guy in the world to me and I looked up to him. And secondly, and most importantly, because a month and a half ago I seen Steve downtown when I was working. He looked a lot better than the last time I saw him. I was going to approach him and say hi, but he was talking to a lady and I didn't want to interupt him. I also didn't know what to say, so rather than take the time to at least say hi, I didn't say anything at all.

I'll never get that chance again.

Rest in Peace Uncle Steve. I'm sorry I never got over the shit between us. More sorry then you'll ever know.

I survived!

2006-12-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hello all. Well, as I said in my last post, this weekend was very busy. But I made it, and had a great time!

On Saturday I left the house around 7:30 to go to Mackenzie Lake and help set up the tournament. We had everything set up and ready to go in a little over an hour and the team selections and fighting began shortly there after. I was put onto Team 2, and being that I was fighting in the knockdown rounds I had quite the wait until I fought. Each person had roughly 2 fights (some more, some less) and we started the day off with the non-contact fighting for children and beginners. Everyone went out and did there best and to my knowledge made it through relatively unscathed.

I had to wait until 2 minutes before my first fight to find out who it was I was going to fight. First up was big Rudy, one of the kids/adult class members who trains with his daughter mostly in the intermediate class. He's tall and strong and doesn't fight much but he sure gives it his all when he is fighting. So I figured I would have my work cut out for me. Before we fought however, we (all the contact fighters) were advised to not go out and try and "kill" each other as no one wants to spends the holidays in pain. Sensei specifically told me that if it seems like I'm dominating the fight to back off a bit and don't hurt anybody. Good advice all around. Like I had mentioned before this tournament is geared to be fun and a good learning tournament; nobody needs to take it for any more than that. So in the ring I went. We were given 1 1/2 minutes to fight (most other tournament are 2 minute rounds, 3 for open division) and it took me that long to get into it. I didn't go near as hard as I could in this fight to start, and Sensei yelled at me to go harder so I stepped it up a bit. Like I said, Rudy is big and strong, but he seemed somewhat intimidated and I used that to move him around the mat and set up for my uchi mawashi keage (outside hooking axe kick) that I use in color belt fighting. It's a great kick to throw as it's easy to control for light contact to the head (which is a rule in color belt fights) and most opponents don't see it coming. It worked really well for me in each of my 3 fights in this tournament. I scored a wasari (1/2 point) against Rudy mid-way through the fight and then utilized my punches and low kicks to keep him on the move for the remainder, thus scoring 2 points for my team with the win.

Next up I fought my friend Gary, who fights and trains regularly with us fighters and fights in the 35 and over division in most of our tournaments. Gary is good at sneaking in jodan mawashi geri (high round house kick) when you least expect it so I knew I had to keep my guard up. This fight was a bit of a comedy of errors as Gary appeared to have scored a wasari by sneaking in his jodan mawashi geri but my guard was up so it appeared that I blocked it. To make matters worse for Gary I caught him unintentionally in the bridge of the nose with a finger (it scratched him and he started to bleed) while blocking one of his tecniques and he followed up the kick by immediately punching me in the face! That's a foul in our style and is usually rewarded with a chui (warning). The judges had to converse for a moment to decide what just happened. It was decided that the scoring kick was unconfirmed by the judges but that the punch was a foul and Gary was given a chui. I immediately went to work on his lower body throwing kicks to his inner and other thigh, one of which caught him a bit high as he was trying to move. This would normally be considered a foul on my part, but because I threw it towards his inner thigh and he moved into it he was considered at fault and no call was made. The fight stopped to give Gary a moment to recover and he came at me with more intensity once the fight started again. But I used this against him and then set him up when his hands dropped and caught him with a uchi mawashi keage. This not only earned me a 1/2 point, but also victory and another 2 points for my team as the time ran out on our fight. It's too bad we weren't given more time as it felt like both of us were just starting to get into a rhythm when the fight ended.

I wasn't sure if I was going to get to fight again but luckily for me Sensei Brad had one last fight set up. I was going to get to fight my good friend Stein in what would be my best fight of the day. Stein is a young strong fighter who continues to impress me with his constant growth as a fighter. We train with each other a lot and he always gives me a good workout. The fight started off as I would have expected, with both of us working low to set up for a high kick to score. I knew that Stein wasn't going to try and stand toe to toe and risk taking any damage from my punches and low kicks, so I used this to push him back and set him up for uchi mawashi keage which I scored with about 30 seconds into the fight. Now I know how I used to get whenever I was down a 1/2 point early in the fight and I knew Stein would do the same thing: go to the head as much as possible to get the point back. The problem with this is you stop fighting a smart fight and give your opponent too many clues as to what your game plan is and it becomes quite easy to defend against this type of attack. I spent the rest of the fight pushing Stein back and doing my best to block the flurry of high kicks that he threw my way. The fight remained back and for on offense/defense with Stein trying desperately to score the point back and force and extention, but he ran out of time and I scored 2 more points for my team. I liked this fight a lot as it was more physical then my previous 2 fights, but not to the degree that anyone was going to walk away hurt. It was more technical then my other fights and proved to me that Stein is a strong fighter who will only get better. Overall it was great to fight all three guys as I've never fought any of them in a tournament setting before and it was great to know that we could all go out there and put on a good show for the folks in attendance. And no one was hurt, which always makes me happy as fights in our style can be very physically demanding and there is always a chance of injury.

In the end, everyone had a good time and those who had never fought in a tournament before got their first taste of what it's like. Everyone did their best and everyone went home with a metal for their accomplishments. Team 1 was awarded Bronze, Team 3 Silver, and Team 2 (my team) was awarded Gold. Good job everybody! I'm looking forward to my next tournament, which I believe is the Calgary Cup in March, and stepping back into the ring, amping things up and continuing my growth as a fighter. The Team Tournament was nice for me in the sense that it showed me I can still go in and fight a good fight. I didn't fight to the extent that I would have like to, but it wasn't the sort of tournament for that. It was for fun and I had a lot! I'll post more in the next day or 2 about the rest of my busy Saturday, that includes getting a kick ass gift from my parents and some up close and personal time with some Burlesque Beauties. Take care.

A busy weekend ahead!

2006-12-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted, but with work and the holiday season both taking their toll on me I guess it's to be expected! Tomorrow, I get to fight in our clubs annual Team Tournament which is geared towards introducing new students to tournament fighting from non-contact to adult knockdown and even kata. It's a great tournament for learning to rules of fighting and is geared more towards fun than competition. I'm looking forward to my 2 team fights and hope everyone involved has a good time.

Once the tournament is done then I'm off to Cochrane for my mom and stepfather's family Christmas party. Every year we try to get together at my stepsister Amber's house for a family party to open gifts and stuff our faces with turkey, followed by our families traditional "Christmas Phase 10" game. It's always good to be with my family during the holidays and I'm looking quite forward to seeing everyone. But I'm not done yet!

After dinner and visiting I have to rush back to Calgary to get ready for a Christmas Burlesque show at the Warehouse that my other stepsister Chantel got us tickets for. Whenever Demonika of Demonka's Clothing puts on a show, Chantel gets us tickets for it. They're always a lot of fun and just my type of crowd: sexy, half naked Suicide Girls everywhere! This will definately be a great way to cap off the day.

On Sunday I have to try and hook up with some friends from Karate to practice a song that we're doing as a surprise for our Sensei at the Karate Christmas Party Talent Show on Monday. It's a song I've never sang much before by a band I don't sing very much like, but I'll do my best and we'll have a blast doing it! This will be my first time singing with a band playing behind me, as I'm usually just a karaoke singer. Should be interesting.

Other than that, I've finished all my Christmas shopping, have one more week of work left, and I'm still having a blast playing Final Fantasy XII! I'll do my best to update next week and let everyone know how the weekend went. And if anyone out there knows where I could get my hands on a copy of Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Gamecube please let me know. The thing's like the holy grail to find. Take care.

Damn I'm sore!

2006-11-19T15:57:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of weekends I've been working on tearing up all the flooring in the upper level of my new place. For those who don't know, the building that Kev, Dwight and I live in has been sold to a bunch of money-hungry bastards who think it's cool to come in and raise everyone's rent drastically. So we're all moving on and getting the fack out of here.

Good friends of Dwight and I own both sides of a duplex and have offered what used to be the Daycare side to us. It needs some reno work, but nothing that we can't handle. So even though we're not moving in until February, all of us involved felt that it would be beneficial to get everything done now. Which is a good thing, since we found out last week that the hardwood floor guys could only make it on the 23rd of this month. If not, we would have to wait until the end of February. So it's been a mad rush to pull up all the old flooring so that these guys can refinish the existing hardwood under everything. That's meant alot of pounding away with hammers and crowbars to pull up 2 layers of tile on top of 1/4 inch substrate, which is in turn on top of another layer of tile, which is covering the hardwood we are trying to get to. Did I loose you yet? And once we finished gettting all of the top layer stuff of, we then had to pull 10's of thousands of staples that were sticking out of the floor everywhere, just so we could begin to scrape off that last layer of tile.

And now my body is officially broken :P

Actually, it's not feeling as bad this weekend as it did last weekend. I spent some time in Karate yesterday morning helping train the people going to Vancouver for the Vancouver Cup in fighting, so I was a little more limber for doing yesterday's work. But I'm still sore. My legs, knees, shoulders, forearms and back are all feeling it today. Flooring is a fantastic workout for those looking to shed a few pounds. I'm telling you, it's a total body workout!

But in the end it's all well worth it because we get a new floor in our new place! I'm excited about how everything will look when it's done. Our friends Pete and Lorna are also going to paint the place and have a new tub, sink and counter going into the bathroom. It will be very nice!

So the next thing we have to concentrate on is the move, followed by the house warming party of the century!!!! Stay tuned for more.

So they're going to hang him......

2006-11-06T00:53:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd post a quick thought. Turns out that the good folks overlooking Saddam Hussein's trial have reach a verdict in his case and have come to an agreement: Death by hanging.

I'm not an overly political person and try not to voice my opinions on such topics too loudly (you never know who's listening), but today I have to. And it's simple really. He's getting what he has earned. Pure acid could not wash away the blood that is on Saddam's hands. And now he's going to die. The afterlife should be the most punishing of all for this man.

Because now he has to face what he's done. His victims will be waiting. And whoever he meets after he takes his last breath is truly going to hold him accountable for his crimes in this life. That's a hell I wouldn't wish on anybody.

Except him.

"When things were simple"

2006-11-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

"Hey there voters, how do you feel? Tired of same old voter appeal!"

I can't get this damn song out my head that Kev played the other day. It's by a band called the Pinker Tones and I think it's called Karma Hunters. The video is totally cool but unfortunately the song is extremely catchy and will keep you awake at night because you can't stop singing it in your head. So search for it at your own risk.

Now onto my actual topic. Yesterday, by the grace of the gods and by using up what karma power I had left in reserves, I completed my latest project. It's a story called "When things were simple" and it will be published in the first volume of an antholgy series called "Tales from the Harbor". I'm not sure when it will be out but I'll definately update on here when I know. I think it's especially awesome that our good friend Jay Bardyla of Happy Harbor Comics has put together this anthology for all us up and coming creators to showcase our work. I can't applaud him enough for all he does for the local community, as he truly gives us all a lot of support.

From what I understand the anthology is going to be a regular publication, possibly quarterly. But don't quote me on that as I'm not entirely sure of all the details. I was offered a piece of the pie and didn't ask many questions. I'm much happier that way!

When I get the okay to show off some of the pages I will. I had a great time working on this project and continue to see great advancement in my work. That's truly what I strive for. I'll be working on the second issue of The Sorrow very soon, as well as issue's 3 and 4. I'd like to have the series finished for spring of next year, so hopefully I'll pull it off. There is also the ultra-cool new story that both Kevin and myself are developing now, and when we have more of a finalized idea of what we're doing I'll be posting it!

I've also had a great idea brewing for some time that I think I'm going to turn into my regular contribution for Tales from the Harbor. But I'm not willing to share it just yet!

And on a final note, I picked up the lastest installment to the greatest RPG franchise ever:

Final Fantasy XII

It totally ROCKS! It's simply beautiful, and a refreshing update to the series. The new system of battle and character build-up will take a bit to get familar with, but so far it's a truly amazing game. I'm going to play some of it now. Take care everybody!

The joys of bying new DVD's!

2006-10-25T00:22:00.000-06:00

Today I decided to treat myself. My friends and I usually try and hit the big "box store" style electronic stores on Tuesdays to see what's new in the DVD, CD, and gaming departments. I tend to look for movies and cartoons while the others look for DVD box sets and T.V. shows new to DVD. Today we were searching for a couple of things: Dwight was looking for Justice League Unlimited season 1, Batman Beyond season 2, and a gem of a movie called Slither. Kevin was looking for much of the same as well as Scrubs season 4 and any other T.V. shows with seasons that peaked his interest. I was really only looking for NACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Libre! But I won't turn down a deal if I find one. And today I did.

Around this time every year I keep my eyes peeled for any specials that come up in the "Horror" sections of the many stores we travel to. I'm a bit of a horror film fan and like to add to my small collection of horror goodies when I can. As luck would have it I was able to find 2 movies in particular that were priced well ($9.99!) and that I've wanted to either see or own for awhile. The first movie, Clive Barker's HELLRAISER, is a classic that I haven't seen in many years and is a movie I can remember at the time of it's release was considered incredibly gory as well as "dark and twisted". And although I didn't watch it tonight, I'm looking quite forward seeing it before the end of the week.

The other movie I purchased was SAW II. I was fortunate enough to get an advance screening to the first SAW movie, and although I missed portions of the movie due to the non-stop screaming for the annoying prissy little girls sitting at the front of the theater, I did enjoy what I watched. And although the critics were mixed on the sequel, I was willing to pick up. The way I look at it the third movie is out this weekend and I'd really like to see it. I'd have to pay between 3-5 bucks to rent #2, or for $9.99 I can own it. If I don't like it I'm only out a couple of bucks and it can sit in my collection, and if I do then it's worth the price I payed. So really it's not much of a gamble. And because I tend to teeter on the crazy side of things I did in fact decide to watch SAW II tonight right after I watched NACHOOOOOOOOOOOO Libre! Did I mention I have to work in 6 hours? Ah, what's sleep anyways.

So after reading this drabble up to now (provided you made it this far) you're probably wondering what I thought of SAW II. Well? I liked it. I liked it very, VERY much. In fact, I think it's one of the most intelligent and enjoyable horror shows I've watched in a long time. The makers of this franchise have certainly stumbled onto a winning formula with Jigsaw and company and their puzzles. Ask anyone who knows me, I love a movie that offers me a puzzle to solve while I watch. And girls crying on film.........but that's another topic for a different day :P

Anyways, I also liked the characters used in this film, and enjoyed the acting alot more than I did in the first movie. Donny Walhberg plays a cop well and he does a great job here as Detective Eric Mathews. He's the main character by all rights, but is also closely tied into everything that Jigsaw has put into motion. Makes him a love em' or hate em' sort of guy. And of cousre there's Jigsaw. It was cool to get a glimpse into Jigsaw/John Kramer's psyche. He truly believes he's doing the right thing, and as any true puppet master he throws out clues left and right, you just have to be listening. The casting for the puzzle players was good, and offered a decent range of characters, from people you wanted to see make it out to those you were actually looking forward to seeing meet a gruesome end. All in all I thought it was a great movie, nuff said. And since SAW III is out in 3 days I figure the timing for seeing SAW II is pretty good. I'm recomending it so check it out if you get a chance.

Now what was that you were asking about NACHOOOOOOOOOOOOO Libre? Well, that's a post for a different time. As in not now. I'm still processing the sheer majesty of this soon-to-be classic, so check back in a few days.

It's all part of the game >:D And with that, I'm going to bed.

A very busy weekend.

2006-10-17T00:00:00.000-06:00

This weekend was busy. Very, very busy. But in a very good way and for 2 very good causes.

On Saturday I had the honour of attending a wedding in Banff that united my good friends Kandrix Foong and Laurie Breitkreuz in holy matrimony. Held at the beautiful Juniper lodge over looking Lake Minnewanka, were blessed enough to have decent weather for the outside ceremony. It was a good service, filled with the typical humour and goofy moments that I've come to expect from a clown like Kandix, followed by an amazing dinner and a touching slide show to honour their history together. There was a large group of us in attendance that all work in and around the comic book industry, and having several familiar faces around to relax and hang out with is always fun. I really enjoyed the many conversations and laughs I shared with Kelly Dowd and his wife Chris, Charles Silbernagel, Rove, Jim Demonakos, and Cody Baker (and his lovely girlfriend). It was really nice to have the time to mingle and celebrate this occation with the many friends Kandrix and Laurie share in the comic book community, as I've had the privaledge to get to know many of them over the years as well. Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the evening festivities (party, party, PARTY!!!!) as I was scheduled for a Webcomics panel in Edmonton the following day and had to leave Calgary early Sunday morning for the 3 hour drive. But I had a great time for the day I was able to spend in Banff and would like to thank the Foongs (that will take some time getting used to :D) for allowing me to be a part of their big day.

After getting a generous 4 hours of sleep (the same as the previous night) I was up, packing, and off to Edmonton with Kevin. We were invited by our good friend Jay Bardyla to be a part of the Pure Speculations show held at the Edmonton Delta South hotel. Jay was once again holding a series of Comic Talks panels that cover a wide variety of topics all centered on the world of comics. Because of our involvement in both Twice Thursday and Out of Mind Studios we were invited to share the knowledge we have gained in the industry with people who are interested in that knowledge. Or something like that :P For us it's a great opportunity to hangout and talk comics with people, many of which are friends and fellow creators and some who are aspiring to be. Neither one of us knew what to expect, but both Kevin and I seen this as a chance to gain experience in a panel-like setting and also spread the word about our product.

The panel was awesome, as we had more people then I honestly thought would show. Our fellow panelist were Rudi Gunther of Deathworld, Marie-Claire Gould of Will Work for Games, and Tarol Hunt of Goblins. Each one of us had something unique and interesting to say about our comics and offered the audience a great deal of information into the why's, what's, and how's of Webcomic making. It was awesome to meet each creator and to be able to spend time with them. We also had a chance to chat up Sean O'Reilly, the owner of Arcana Studios and visit with him for awhile. Sean an old friend of ours and it's always great to talk shop with him. We were also fortunate enough to get to hang out with Bob Prowder, The Vicious Ambitious guys, the costume savvy Erin Scott, and Brian Hodgson and I thank them all for visiting with us. Unfortunately the turn out for the show that day was rather small and I know the organizers were hoping for much better then that. With more advertising and word of mouth the show will hopefully get stronger next year.

After the event we headed out for a bite to eat and more shop talk with Sean. He needed a lift to the airport and we just happened to be going that way so things worked out good for him. I was hoping to get the chance to vist with James Adamson, an old friend of mine, but our schedules just didn't coincide. I'm sure with better planning on my part we'll hook up soon. Sorry dude!

The ride there and back was great for Kevin and I as it allowed us plenty of time to discuss our plans for the immediate future of our business. We have an amazing story that we've been talking about for the last couple of weeks and the trip allowed us the opportunity to throw out more ideas and get a good sense of what it is we need to do with these ideas. It was a great time for the creative process to flow, and I'm more pumped then ever to get things rolling! 2007 will be a big year for us, just wait and see!!

We finally arrived back home around 10 pm and I did my best to put things away, grab something to snack on and relax. It's nice to be able to have had a day to absorb the weekend and look back on things. Even though it was busy I had a blast! This was pretty much the last full weekend of events for me this year and I'm already looking forward to next year and the next big busy weekend. Maybe Seattle in April? Who know right now, but whatever and whenever it is I'm sure it will rock. Thanks again to everyone I had the chance to see and visit with this weekend, it was awesome to see you all. And with that, goodnight.

Thank you Kingdom Come.

2006-10-11T02:51:00.000-06:00

I sat down tonight and read Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Kingdom Come. I needed inspiration. From what I've been told Kingdom Come is an epic story that's a must-read for any and every comic fan. Until now I never bothered to take the time. I blamed not reading on "not liking Alex Ross" or "not having great character knowledge of the DC universe". Really quite lame excuses. But for some reason tonight, after having an interesting conversation with Kevin about "epic comics" and wanting to create something truly epic ourselves, I decide to read a piece of comic history that's described as being just that. So I read it. I absorbed it. And I feel I truly experienced something.....for lack of a better term: profound. Kindom Come truly is epic. It's an amazing accomplishment and a perfect example of what it is that truly makes comics worth doing. It's amazing.

I needed inspiration and I found it. Because of what I read I've been able to get more accomplished in a couple of hours then I've been able to do in a couple of weeks. I feel good about drawing and writing. I'm convinced now that I'll be able to finish what needs to get done. Because a story about never giving up has made me feel this way. A comic book story made me feel this way. Wow.

I know if read Kingdom Come a few years ago it wouldn't have meant as much. Maybe there was I reason I waited so long. But I'm glad I did. This is the most excited about comics I've been, well, quite possibly ever. The lenghts and strides that Waid and Ross were willing to go to bring this story to life is present in each and every panel and in each and every conversation. They created a story of epic proportions that I truly believe was meant to be inspiring for people like me who need that lift every now and then. I needed a boost. I really wanted to like what I've convinced myself is what I was meant to do. I'm here to create. My purpose is to develope and produce fantastic stories for others to enjoy as much as I do. I know this. But I needed to be reminded of it. I can do this. All I needed was to be inspired again.

So now I'm off to do a little more creating before I sleep. Tommorow I'll do more. And the next day and the day after that. I have fantastic ideas blazing through my head that I want to share with the world. Whenever I bounce the ideas off of Kevin I think we both get that giddy feeling inside that tells us that we're close. We're really close to breaking through. And when we do, look out folks! It can be done!

Thank you Mark Waid and thank you Alex Ross. Your story may well have saved this comic lover. I hope one day to create in a way that you've both done. And someday it will be an epic story that I helped create that will inspire someone. Somebody who just like me, needed to be reminded. Someone who needed that feeling once again.

Needed a change around here.

2006-09-30T20:50:00.000-06:00

I changed the look of the blog. It needed something refreshing. So here it is! I lost all of my links and fellow bloggers, so if I missed putting you back in let me know. Other than that, enjoy the new surroundings. I know I will!

Wow, cobwebs.

2006-09-29T23:32:00.000-06:00

I haven't been here for awhile. I think I was kidnapped or I died or something! Damn alien zombies!!!

Okay, I haven't been made into the living dead, or at least not yet. I've been doing that one dreadful thing that all mankind must do (or should do): I've been working. Alot. A fack of alot more than I want to be. But it's for a good cause. I have some bills I'd like to clear up, some new furniture I'd like to buy, and I want to travel somewhere warm this winter.

I want to live a little.

But in order to do that I need to make money, and right now I have the opportunity to do so. Unfortunately all this work has taken a toll on me. I've missed 5 classes of Karate, I've fallen way behind on my projects, and I think I'm the most out-of-shape looking that I've ever been. I look like shit, I feel like shit. But soon things will be better. I'm going to be getting my normal schedule back in about a weeks time. No more 10-14 hour days, and no more 5 days a week. Probably 4 days of work with 3 days to draw and catch up on stuff. Plus, with tournament season starting soon I'm in desparate need of some quality workout time, so I have to work that into the schedule. We (my father and I) have got some new equipment down in the gym that should help. A heavy-duty benchpress set, 300 lbs of weights, and a kickass stationary bike that doesn't hurt your ass. So things should start to get better and I can start to lose my unpleasent shape and start looking like me again!

And I'd like to send a special shout out to my friend Jose Potter. As I mentioned in my previous posting, Jose competed in N.Y.C. at the All American Open and fought incredibly well finishing second in her class. I've been told she fought 4 fights, beating the woman who placed 2nd at the World Championships, and eventually lost the finals to a very tough 17 year old from Bulgeria. Only 27 years younger than her :P So congratualations Jose on doing yourself and all of us here proud! My only wish it that she doesn't beat me up so badly now that the tournament is over. I'm getting old and my body can't take it anymore :D

It's feels good to be back!

2006-09-11T23:42:00.000-06:00

Tonight was my first night of training for the fall term in Kyokushin Karate. It was an awesome class that will go a long way to getting us all back in shape for the upcoming tournament season and testing in December. We spent a good portion of the class working up a sweat through the warm-up and continued on with some moving basics and sparring. And todays sparring was a special one as this is the last sparring my friend Jose will be doing before she leaves to compete in New York on the 22nd. We have to give her some time to heel from all the hard work and training we did over the summer! It felt great to be sparring again as I've learned a few new things over the summer and I'm looking forward to getting the oppertunity to test them out. And Jose gave me a heck of a fight which tells me she's more then ready for New York and will do very well. She's already made us all quite proud through her dedication and determination!

So it was nice to get back into the swing of things. I feel out of shape, but that's typically how we all feel after summer break.

My Sensei made the comment that I look like I've gained 20 pounds over the summer, and he wasn't far off! But I'll be working hard to get into good tournament shape and I'm feeling positive the extra weight will work to my avantage in my heavily competitve division. I was considered to be on the lower end of the Heavyweight Division but now that I've been able to gain some size I'm more evenly matched, which is definately favorable when you're fighting guys in the 225-250 pound range! I'm setting my sights on the South Okanagan Tournament on November 18th, unless they decide to hold the Cranbrook Tournament before then. It's a nice tournament to get the season going and will be a great place for me to build experience in the Open Division. I'm excited to be back training and I'm looking forward to the new tournament season. And it was really nice to see everyone again. I can hardly wait until Saturday and more in-class training!

A moment of clarity.

2006-09-09T23:59:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had a moment in your life, one fleeting perfect moment, where it seemed like everything in the cosmos suddenly became perfectly aligned and everything that you've been pondering and brooding over made absolute perfect sense?

Me neither. But right now, after a full day of watching Veronica Mars season 2 and doing my best to eliminate all the alcohol in my apartment via consumption, I suddenly feel like I might be the closest I'll ever be to that moment.

It all makes sense now.

And although this somewhat criptic message might not make sense to anyone but me, I feel it needs to be logged in my blog for future referrence. All anyone ever really needs to be satified is a reason. For some it's a cause; for others it's a purpose. Sometimes these things make us happy and sometimes they just bring about a sense of contemptment. But whatever the reason, cause or purpose, as long as there seems to be something there worth doing, the end result should always be the same. It's the journey, or quest, that we choose to take that ultimately provides us with life's pervebial "bumps in the road". They're there to teach us through trial and error the right and wrong way about things. Without them the journey would have no meaning, and therefore our purpose or reason wouldn't exist and we would all be back at square one. By taking these quests, and fullfilling our purpose, we should ultimately achieve an ending, and with that a sense of completion. I like to think of it as a "prize" for finishing our quest. Like a "trophy" that only we can see and it doesn't collect dust because it's on a shelf inside our mind. And everytime we think about it we feel warm and happy all over. It brings about a feeling of pride knowing that an end has been reached, and for better or worse no one can take that away. I'm going to be finishing a quest very soon. One that has been going on for a very long time, but it eventually had to end so that another can begin. I don't feel any sense of pride for finishing, but I do feel relieved which is a prize in itself. And my new journey will be epic; a quest that could very well take me the rest of this life to complete. The end result will be incredibly gratifying, but it's the quest that I'm most looking forward to.

It's time to unleash my potential. I've kept things under heavy lock n' key for well over a decade now. Over the past few weeks I've felt things building up, like a pot of pasta you fill too full and the water's about to boil over. It's been causing me a loss of proper sleep, a serious lack of motivation, and above all has made me feel tremendously unhappy. I like to be happy. I believe what I'm going to do will make me very happy, and above all be an achievement I'll be proud of accomplishing.

One journey ends, another takes it place. It will all happen soon and most people won't notice at first. But keep watching. All things happen for a good reason. And I have one. That's all I can say for now. Time to put a new pot on the stove, set it to the right temperature, and wait for the water to boil. You never rush if you want good pasta.

I'm feeling much better now, thank you.

2006-09-01T02:13:00.000-06:00

It's amazing what having a week off will do for a person. It's even more amazing how once that person goes back to work and is thrown face first into one of the most insane work weeks of his life, he just smiles. And that's what I'm doing now. Smiling.

It 2:12 am as I write this, and believe it or not I just got in from work. As most of you know I do sign installation projects with my friend part-time, and tonight we had a big one. We've been non-stop busy all week, putting in 30 plus hours in 3 days. Tonight we had to go to Eaton Centre, located in downtown Calgary, and remove/re-install all the signs on their escalators and elevators. It's a big job but well worth it's weight in gold. And having just spent 5 hours hanging 30 feet in the air helping to install these signs makes me giggle. Not because the thought of falling to my death if I slip is funny, although to some it might be. And not because the payout for doing this is stupid good money. It's because as of now my weekend has begun. And as of earlier this week I'm feeling it again. I want to draw. No, scratch that! I NEED TO DRAW!!!!

I'm going to be finishing up the project that has been bothering me, because I finally see that it's going to be alright. It will be good. And my next project is going to be great! And the one after that.... spectacular! Because I'll make it that way. I'm living my dream and I should be happy while doing it. Thanks to everyone who sent me words of encouragement. I heard them and they helped. I'm going to bed now. I have a busy weekend ahead of me.

I'm looking very forward to it.

Canadian Geek - A place to be heard!

2006-08-24T15:32:00.000-06:00

There's a new forum for us Canadian Geeks to be seen and heard. And conveniently it's located at
www.canadiangeek.org/forums

It's a great new forum created for geeks everywhere, but built by you. Go check it out. It's fresh and new and has something for everyone. And I'm told this is only the beginning. Get in on the ground floor of what I'm sure will be something very big and very special down the road. Now go check it out dammit!

I'm experiencing difficulties.

2006-08-22T23:53:00.000-06:00

I'm not enjoying this. I should be working on a story that I need to get done soon and I find myself not enjoying it. I'm getting frustrated and pissed off because what I want to draw and what I am drawing are not one in the same. And it's not the story; it needs work but I'm getting through it. What's bothering me is the process. I'm not enjoying this anymore. I love drawing, but right now I don't feel it. And I want to, I really, really want to. I have alot of free time right now to draw. I should be utilizing the time. But I'm just not feeling it.

Maybe this is the equilvalent of writer's block. Maybe I need to approach things from a different perspective. But as of right now, this very moment..... it's not there. And I feel lost because it's not there. All I've wanted to do for the past 3 years is have my life set up so that I can do the one thing I love to do: draw. And I have that. So why isn't this working? Why do I feel so frustrated? Am I being too hard on myself? No, I don't think so. What I think might be the problem is that I'm missing my drive. The passion to excel and push myself and my limits to new edges. It's gone. The passion is gone. And I know where I lost it.

San Diego.

Ever since I came back from what can only be discribed as " the biggest fucking waste of $2000 I've ever spent!" I've felt empty. And angry. I feel like a part of me was sucked right out of my very core. Like I'm missing a part of my soul. And it truly is a horrible feeling. This year's trip was supposed to be fun and progressive and seen as some-what of an accomplishment. Parts of it were. Las Vegas was amazing, and San Francisco was an experience. But San Diego? I usually leave there glowing and happy. This year I just couldn't wait to leave. It's become too much. The crowds, the "Hollywood" presence. It's just too much. Where's that overwhelming feeling of "Wow, I'm at ComicCon!"? Why didn't I feel like I was part of something great? Because the spirit of what it all used to mean is gone. It's dead. And I don't think it's coming back in a future issue. Dead means dead. And I couldn't be more depressed about it if I tried. So I've come to a decision:

I'm not going back. Not without a reason; a genuine cause. And I don't see one in my immediate future.

I need to do something soon. I'm hoping to get out of town. I need to go for a drive and collect myself. Maybe Drumheller. Maybe to my old place in the mountains. But I need to get away and regroup. Look at things with a clear head. Connect with what's lost somewhere inside me. I need my passion back. Before it's too late and I give up on comics all together. More than anything in the world I don't want that to happen. But I have a burning in my chest that won't go away.

I need to do what I can to make it go away.

It's my birthday and.....

2006-08-09T17:18:00.000-06:00

.......I'll party if I want to, drink if I want to, sleep if I want to. You'd do it to if it ...well...was your birthday :P

So I'm 31 years old today. Hold the applause, please, and just send gifts! It's been a stellar 31 years of existence to date and I'm looking forward to what can only be a bright and shiny future! Okay, hopefully it's at least a good and low-on-the-shitty-side-of-things future. That would be cool.

So I raise a glass and toast to being 31. Cheers and good wishes folks, I'm off to get drunk!

And we go live in 3..2..1....

2006-07-31T10:41:00.000-06:00

And I'm back. That had to be the longest bloody trip of my life. But not only did I go to San Diego to the monster of all comic book conventions, I also went to hot-as-fuck Las Vegas and cramped-as-hell San Francisco! And I have such stories to tell you all. But not today.

I'm still recovering from the very long trip back home were I received next to no sleep. Although I just slept 16 hours, it's still not enough to make my head and body feel any better. So within the next day or so I'll put up what I'd like to call the San Diego Rant, as well as share some stories and maybe even a few pictures from the rest of the trip.

So I'm announcing that I'm officially back. The 3 of you who read this should be gleeming with joy!

I'm going to San Diego!

2006-07-14T14:37:00.000-06:00

Since I'm leaving in the morning for my fun-filled road trip to San Diego, I thought I would write one last post as sort of an "update" if you will. In true SDCC fashion, the crazy folks in the professional registration office waited until the last minute to send my confirmation forms to let me know I'll be attending the Con as a pro. At least now I know!!!!! And the good folks (great, fantastic people really!) at ComiXpress came through with our shipment and we received the books yesterday afternoon. I will now be able to distribute the new books and will have some copies to give out in San Diego. I also finished up 4 new full color pin-ups for my portfolio, and have already sold 6 prints! (Thanks Mom)

So now that the rush is over, the fun can truly begin. We'll be heading straight for Las Vegas where my crew and I will spend 2 gambling and drinking filled days at the Excaliber Hotel and Casino. I just visited the hotel site, and it's a freaking castle! So cool!!!!! From there we'll be heading to San Diego. Let the Convention Madness begin!

So I'll be gone for a few weeks. I'm so excited this year, as I'll have plenty of people I know to hang out with at the convention, and my good friend Neil is flying in from Dallas to party with us. It's going to be awesome. The only downer to this all is that my best friend and studio partner Mr. Kevin Sole will not be able to attend this year. He switched jobs a few months back and in doing so lost his holiday time. So please pop by his blog over the next couple of weeks and keep him company, while I do my best to represent for the studio. Take care everyone.

It's arrived!

2006-07-06T18:37:00.000-06:00

I finally received my preview copy of The Sorrow today. I'm very happy! And because I'm also quite critical of my own work, I'll have to take Kevin's word on the book. He's says it's very cool, reads well, and looks quite beautiful. I love the cover, and the print turned out nice, but I have other opinions on the book. I always feel my stuff could use something more, but again I'm my own worst critic so I'll leave it at that. It is quite cool, however to have a copy of my very own comic in my hands. I'm really very proud right now. It is definately an accomplishment and I look forward to future issues and more great work coming from Out of Mind Studios. Being a creator is so cool!!!

In the mean time the folks at ComiXpress are hard at work (I'm told) getting the rest of the order together, so with any luck I'll have copies available late next week. Then all my friends (and some of you nice people out there who read my blog!) can grab a copy for yourselves and make your own opinions on the book. Is it any good? Does it suck? Should I give up now and chase my dream of being a circus freak while there's still time? Or maybe you think it's awesome and I deserve a pat on the back. I'll leave that up to you to decide. Look (hopefully!!!) for the book to be on local comic book shelves by the 3rd week of July, or order your copy direct from ComiXpress when it becomes available. And because I want to, and I feel it's necessary, thank you in advance!

I look forward to hearing from anyone and everyone who picks up the book.

My new belt.

2006-07-03T13:41:00.000-06:00

My friend Lalena wanted to see a picture of my new belt I received in Kyokushin Karate. And because I'm quite proud of the promotion, here it is. This belt is special to me because it's hand embroidered with my name and "Kyokushin Karate" and comes directly from Japan. I won the belt due to the money I raised at our clubs annual Kick-a-thon. It's a real honour to receive a belt like this, because there isn't very many like it handed out. Thanks.

Crazy things happen when women take notice.

2006-06-28T22:46:00.000-06:00

I'm laughing right now. Very hard. And not because I read something funny, but instead because the funniest thing is happening right now to my best friend. You see, him and another friend both have blogs, both linked from this sight. And on their blogs they've both mentioned from time to time about the perils of dating and their frustration with the "game". One in particular finds the whole experience to be a great big headache, vowing instead to not bother getting into the game so he doesn't have to deal with the end results. It's a defeatist attitude, but it's something he strongly believes in so I don't push the issue more than I could. Now, I believe I have a reason.

Both my friends posted a quiz on their blogs with 56 questions in total. The same quiz can be found on this blog as well. My best friend answered in his typical fashion, with cynicism and pessimism, while my other friend seemed to take a more light-hearted approach and answered with humourous replies to many of the questions. But the end result was clear: they are down on their luck with love and frustrated by the opposite sex. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not thinking negatively about either person. They answered the questions no differently then I would have expected them to and both have their reasons for it. And I know there have been times when I've felt the same. But something happened I don't think either one of them expected to happen. Much to both their suprise, a real life, flesh and blood woman called them out. She questioned their responses and gave them something to consider. And she started it all with one reply.

She told my best friend that "both of them needed to be whomped upside the head". She said to him that in his post he doubted any girl had a crush on him, but that both he and my other friend probably get hit on all the time and just don't pick up on it. Granted, it might be subtle since girl comic geeks are often as shy and awkward as their male counterparts, but it does happen. She even told him that he was" Cute, funny and can cook Kraft Dinner, what more could a girl ask for? Start asking for phone numbers."

Now a typical response from most of us would be something like "Wow, if it was only that easy!" He wasn't sure how to respond.

But uhm, wait a second, did a girl just tell them to start asking for phone numbers? Did they get unsolicited advice from a.......girl? Holy shit, I guess they did!

Now here is where the fun starts. The questions began, and the wheels started turning. The search was on for "Miss Cellaneous". Even doubt set in and they wondered if she was real at all. But after a lengthy back-and-fourth "do I know you, have we met?" and "it's probably easy for you to give advice since if you are who I think you are you're married" reply-fest on the topic, it turns out all 3 of us have met the woman in question. She is very much real. And from what I remember (I'm the one with the good memory) she is also very nice, and very pretty. So's also NOT MARRIED. So you might be asking yourself, "What the blue hell is the point of this post then? You've only recapped events that are already documented so get to it!"

Here's my point. This girl went out of her way to point out to my friends that there are women out there who have the same doubts and insecurities that us male geeks do, but it doesn't have to be this way. Because for every girl out there who might snub you, ingnore you, or just flat out not give you the time of day, there is the "Miss Cellaneous" girls who won't. They see you. They find something in you that makes them smile, makes them feel good, and they spend time thinking about you just as much as you do about them. They exist, and now my friend has been given an opportunity for what I call self redemption. His life doesn't have to suck, and he doesn't have to be miserable and condemned to eternal loneliness. She is out there, she's real. Take the time to get out of your funk and make a change in your life for the better. Take a chance. It might end up leading to nothing but it's a start.

Now he might say "Well I don't see you doing anything to not be single!" and that's why I'm laughing. Because he may believe he's right, but he's not. In the past couple of days alone I've exchanged phone numbers, made plans for getting together with one of the girls I've met, and have made it a point to do something about my situation. I'm optomistic about things and I'm quite happy to give it a try. She has been on my mind constantly, and it's a good feeling. I have something to look forward to and I like the anticipation. Who knows, I might have met a girl I could end up very happy with, or at the very least I've made a new friend.

For me it's all about timing, always has been and always will be. Granted, he might say it's easier for me, but I say it's only easier because I let it be. And now it's his turn. The timing couldn't be better.

In the end Miss Cellaneous has given my best friend a reason try. I hope he's willing to finally do something.

Because all the cool kids are doing it......

2006-06-25T22:42:00.000-06:00

Since 2 of my friends have posted this quiz in their blogs I thought I would as well. It seems like fun.

1) How old do you wish you were?
I'm comfortable being 30. I've have 30 good years of experience the lean on!

2)Where were you when 9/11 happened?
I was at home getting ready for work. I never went in that day.

3)What do you do when a vending machine steals your money?
I get a little pissed off. Then I usually walk away.

4)Do you consider yourself kind?
Most of the time.

5)If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be?
I have several tattoos already; the next one will be on my right shoulder.

6)If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
Japanese.

7)Do you know your neighbors?
Yes, he's one of my best friends.

8)What do you consider a vacation?
Anywhere that is far from home and brings me relaxation.

9)Do you follow your horoscope?
No, but I do get a kick out of reading it.

10)Would you move for the person you loved?
Yes, and I almost did once.

11)Are you touchy feely?
I am with the right woman. Right meaning someone who also likes to be touchy feely.

12)Do you believe opposites attract?
Not really. I believe attractiveness is different for everybody. Wheteher your opposites or not depends on the people involved.

13)Dream job?
Comic book creator. Oh wait, I already do that. So I'd want to be like the cool guys on Outdoor Life Network that get paid to travel the globe. Lucky guys!

14)Favorite channel(s)
Teletoon, OLN, Spike, TSN.

15)Favorite place to go on weekends?
The movie theater.

16)Showers or baths?
Showers

17)Do you paint your nails?
Not as a general rule.

18)Do you trust people easily?
I take everyone at face value. Trust is earned over time.

19)What are your phobias?
I do not like Bee's or Wasps. I'm alergic to bee stings and usually do my best to stay away from them.

20)Do you want kids?
In the right situation definately. For now I'll live viccariously through my sisters.

21)Do you keep a hand written journal?
No.

22)Where would you rather be right now?
Hawaii. So I could go surfing tommorow.

23)What makes you feel warm and fuzzy?
A sincere hug and a warm smile from someone I like. And my friend Lalena's cat Lexx. He's cool.

24)Heavy or light sleeper?
Light.

25)Are you paranoid?
Not that I'm aware of.

26)Are you impatient?
Yes, definatlely, but not with all things. Just with stuff that seems important to me that need to be addressed right away.

27)Who can you relate to?
I don't know how to answer this. I'm adaptive to my surroundings, so I guess almost anyone I meet I can find something to relate to. But I don't go out of my way to try to relate to everyone I meet. Makes sense in my head :P

28)How do you feel about interracial couples?
The same as I do about any and all couples. If you're happy and it works, go for it. Race, sexual preference, age, etc, as long as you love one another is all that matters.

29)Have you been burned by love?
Yes I have. I don't know too many people that haven't.

30)What's your favorite pick-up line?
Ha, I don't have one. Do they really even work?

31)What's the main ring tone on your mobile?
The one that came with the phone. "Hello Moto!"

32)What were you doing at midnight last night?
Eating pizza with the neighbor and his Uncle at Boston Pizza. Our waitress looked like Gwenyth Paltrow!

33)What did the last text on your cellphone say?
"Dude, that strip goes down in the history books!" It was in regards to the Twice Thursday comic strip I did this week.

34)Whose bed did you sleep in last night?
My bed.

35)What colour shirt are you wearing?
Black.

36)Most recent movie you watched?
Hitch. Very good movie I might add.

37)Name three thing you have on you at all times?
All times? My limbs, my hair, and my wonderful sense of humour!

38)What colour are your bed sheets?
Beige and Navy Blue.

39)How much cash do you have on you right now?
Around $40.

40)What is your favorite part of the chicken?
The breast.

41)What's your favorite town/city?
Besides Calgary, Seattle is awesome. San Diego is cool too.

42)I can't wait till:
I go on my upcoming trip to San Diego. It's going to be awesome!

43)Who sent this to you?
Nobody. I seen the quiz on Kevin's and Brian's blogs and decided to take it myself.

44)What did you have for dinner last night?
Tropical Chicken Pizza.

45)How tall are you barefoot?
5'10" I think.

46)Do you own a gun?
I own 2 airsoft guns. They look real and feel real, they're just not as dangerous.

47)What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Lots of water, followed by a Tim Horton's XL double double.

48)What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?
Well it wouldn't be a secret if I wrote it down here now, would it?

49)Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
Someplace where I'm happy. Maybe the coast. So I can surf.

50)Last thing you ate?
Some Doritos.

51)What songs do you sing in the shower?
I don't sing in the shower I sing in the car. And there are too many to name.

52)Last thing that made you laugh?
Most of Kevin and Brian's answers to this quiz. Those guys are goofy!

53)Worst injury you've ever had?
It's a toss up between a broken forearm and a seperated shoulder. Both hurt like hell but I can't remember which hurt worse.

54)Does someone have a crush on you?
I don't know but I sure hope so :D And if your out there, let me know!

55)What's your favorote candy?
Licorice.

56)What song do you want played at your funeral?
I have a couple. Angel by Sarah McLachlin, I Grieve by Peter Gabriel, The Grace by Never Ending White Lights, and then King of Spain by Moxy Fruvous to lighten the mood!

So their's my answers folks. Take time and answer this quiz yourself. It's fun and you might be surprised by some of the answers you give.

Happiness and frustration.

2006-06-21T21:06:00.000-06:00

I'm going through a gambit of emotions this week. On one hand I'm quite happy. I received my belt promotion in Karate and was pleasently surprised to find out that my belt was something special. I won a regional prize this year for the Kick-a-thon fundraiser we had but assumed that I would be getting a track suit as my award. Instead, and much more to my liking, I received a personally embroidered belt, brought in from Japan, which has my name in Japanese on one end of the belt and Kyokushin Karate on the other. For me, this is something truly special.

Achieving 6th Kyu is somewhat of a milestone for me. I've trained Kyokushin for 6 years now, but not all of that was consecutive. I originally started training back in 1997, but in the fall/winter of 1999 I unfortunately had to quit. I was in school at the time, in debt, not working much and just couldn't afford to do it. The really difficult thing for me was that I had to stop before I reached the level I am now. I was 1 month away from being a 6th Kyu, which is a yellow belt in our style. I never made it. Almost 3 years would pass until I began to train again. You are allowed a 1 year period where if you do not train and come back you will be allowed to stay at your previous belt level. I had to begin again as a white belt, but I'm very glad I did. I've learned so much more in the past 3 years of training and I believe I'm much better for it. And this belt promotion means that much more. So this is my happiness for the week.

My frustration comes to me from the world of comics, and more specifically the people printing my comic and the folks who run the San Diego Comic Con. First up is my printer. The folks at Comixpress are great and delivered our last book (Fablequest) in time for our show in May. Their product is great and the price of printing can't be beat. But what is bothering me now is that I'm on a tight deadline with SDCC coming up in July and I need to know what's happening with The Sorrow. I'd like to take a few copies with me to show to publishers and friends, but I can't do that if they can't get me the books on time. The e-mail we received when we first sent off the files said that "on or before the 20th of June we would receive an e-mail to let us know the status of our book." Sounds good to me. Except the 20th was yesterday. It's now 9:30 pm on the 21st and I still don't know the status of my book. GRRRRRRRR!

And now onto the folks at SDCC. I sent them a package on the 23rd of May by Xpress Post with my form for Professional Status for this years convention, as well as a copy of Fablequest for verification. They had a deadline of June 6th for applications, so I assumed I sent off everything with plenty of time. I did the same thing last year and everything was good. This year they've updated the Comic-Con website with a list of professional who will be attending. I'm not on the list. So I've taken the steps needed to find out why. I've e-mailed them twice; no response. I've called them a couple of time at the number they gave me; I never get to talk to a real person and the mailbox for messages is always full. AHHHHHHHHH! I know this is an incredibly busy time for them and I truly understand that. But I'm travelling to San Diego from Calgary, Alberta, "CANADA". It's a long fucking trip! It would be nice to know what's going on. Did they even receive my package? Do they need more information? All it takes is a few minutes to type me an e-mail and let me know. Last year we found out at the convention that we had badges as they didn't update the site on time. But this year they did; so what's the deal folks? All I want is to know if I have a pass or not. I'll make other arrangements to get into the convention if I have to, but I need to know my status first.Very frustrating!

I'm very much a planner, especially when it comes to my comic activities. I want to know what's going on so I can make the appropriate plans. Not knowing and waiting really gets to me. Hopefully someone let's me know and soon. Until then I get to flip-flop between "Damn this belt is so cool!" and "Why the fuck won't anyone get back to me?". Bloody hell!

The Deadline Dash ended at 2 am Tuesday.

2006-06-14T17:26:00.000-06:00

Wow, what an exhausting weekend. After 4 straight days of bustin' ass we completed The Sorrow at 2 a.m. Tuesday morning. The good folks at Comixpress have recieved the files and now we play the waiting game to see if they can get the books back to us on time for the San Diego Con. All the hard work seemed worth it to hear Kevin, Dwight, and my parents tell me that it looks great. Of course, I wouldn't be much of an artist if I didn't have my personal doubts. Or my list of things I feel could have been done better if I had more time. But the end result is a comic book that I can be proud of. An accomplishment. A dream fulfilled!

Hopefully in 3-4 weeks I'll have some copies to share with the world. In the meantime, here's the cover (thanks to my friend Rove!) and one of my favorite pages. Please enjoy and thank you to everyone who had words of encouragement for me. They really helped me out.

One more weekend of madness.

2006-06-07T00:03:00.000-06:00

Hello everybody! (Hey Dr. Nick!)

I've been working my drawing hand to the bare bones over the past few weekends in hopes of finishing issue 1 of The Sorrow. I have one more weekend left to to it. 4 days, 10 pages of art left, 22 pages of greyscaling and lettering. I'm seriously going to need some drugs. And loads of coffee. But I know it will get done. Somehow I always manage to finish. I have Kevin helping with scanning and lettering, and hopefully I'll even have a cover page from my friend Rove. So it's all good. I even managed to finish this week's Twice Thursday early so I can start working on stuff tommorow night. Everybody needs to check it out this week. I had some "artistic help" with the strip and it is truly something to see. :D

All I need to do now is put it in cruise control. 10 pages between Thursday night and Sunday morning leaves all day Sunday and Monday to finish things up. Send it off Monday night and we're away to the races. Well, at least it sounds good in theory! I'll keep you posted.

On a side note, I finished my belt testing in Karate this week. Overall I think I did just fine. I got stuck on my self-defence but managed to pull through. My katas were good and I was fortunate enough to be able to fight 8 fights this time around. I'm only required to fight 4 fights, but as one of only a few Open Division fighters in our club I always enjoy fighting more. I feel I did quite well for not doing any fighting for almost 7 weeks, and walked away in good health with the exception of my left thumb which always seems to get banged up. Last fight this time too, bugger all! So *fingers crossed* I did good. I'll know in 2 weeks.

Just a quick post.

2006-05-29T22:57:00.000-06:00

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.

2006-05-23T23:29:00.000-06:00

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!

2006-05-21T11:25:00.000-06:00

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!

2006-05-20T17:41:00.001-06:00

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!

2006-05-17T23:19:00.000-06:00

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!

2006-05-16T22:34:00.000-06:00

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.

2006-05-12T23:20:00.000-06:00

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.

2006-05-09T19:31:00.000-06:00

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.

2006-05-09T17:20:00.000-06:00

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!

2006-05-08T00:23:00.000-06:00

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.

2006-05-05T17:43:00.000-06:00

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!

2006-05-03T21:59:00.000-06:00

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.

Day 1 of a new life. Why do I feel so sad?

2006-04-28T10:50:00.000-06:00

Well, as of 6:00 pm yesterday afternoon my life as a heavy-duty mechanic came to an end. And although I won't miss the work very much, I found out yesterday that I will indeed miss the people involved.

I worked for K & P Drever for just over 4 years and in that time I came to meet and know alot of people. Because I was the least experienced person in the shop, I was responsible from early on in my career for going on parts runs when the other mechanics needed parts. Over the years of doing this I made some great connections at the different parts places the company had accounts at and I even made some friends. There was always somebody somewhere who had my back and went out of their way to get me the parts I was looking for. These guys took care of my parts needs, and a few even became interested in my life. Yesterday I was able to spend the better part of my last day searching for parts for the other mechanics, and this allowed me to say some goodbyes to those who I will truly miss. And it was good to know that I'll be missed right back.

I'm not the most emotional person you will ever meet, but some things do get me worked up a bit. "Goodbye guys, thanks for all you've done for me over the years." Seems like a simple enough thing to say, right? Yesterday it was incredibly hard to say. With every hand shake and every "Good luck Rich, I'll miss you pal" I had to choke back the tears. I never realized how much seeing these guys everyday meant to me. So if there is going to be any adjustment in my new life, this will be it.

Thanks to all the guys at Traction, Gregg Distributors, and Fleet Brake for making 4 dificult years of work a little more bearable. Getting to know you guys made getting through my days at K & P worth every minute.

Where'd all my hair go?

2006-04-26T23:12:00.000-06:00

It's getting to be that time of year again. A time when the temperature rises, and with it my desire for short hair. So I did today what I've done a few times in the past: I buzzed off all my hair.

I went into my usual hair salon and got my old friend Mo to crop it all off. And as he has done many times in the past, he paused and said " Are you sure?". Just being cautious I guess. After assuring him that it's what I came in for, he proceeded with a smile. And in just a matter of moments, I went from having unruly, messy and hard to work with hair, to having an air-conditioned skelp. The plus side is that I'll definately use less shampoo. The down side is I can see I'm loosing more and more hair each hair cut. Sucks getting older and inheriting your Mother's family hair gene. Not that I'm complaining, I still grow lots of hair, but I miss my old locks sometimes. I'm doing better than alot of guys in the hair department, I just don't know for how much longer. But needless to say I like the look. I call it the "Jason Statham" look. Now if only I had his jaw line, swimmer build, and kick-ass accent. I could be an action movie superstar!!!!!

Or not.

And tonight makes it 2-1 Flames!!!!!!!

2006-04-25T22:52:00.000-06:00

Well, the Calgary Flames responded to the critics. They responded to the skeptics. Most of all they responded to the fans. Tonight, they showed why they are considered Cup contenders as they beat the Mighty Ducks 5-2 down in good old sunny California. A commanding performance from start to finish allowed the Flames to get tonights win. And now we have home-ice advantage back. Let's hope the team continues this fired up (no pun intended, really!) style of play Thursday night and records another win, and takes another step closer to drinking out of the holy grail of hockey: The Stanley Cup!!!!!

Yes, I'm quite excited. I love playoff hockey. Go FLAMES Go!!!!!!

2 more days!!!! And other fun stuff.

2006-04-25T18:17:00.000-06:00

I have 2 more days left at work. 2 more days to endure in what I can only describe as "Hell on Earth" combined with toxic smells, dirt and grime, and the worst attitudes amongst grown men ever collected in one place! Well, okay, it's not quite that bad, but somedays it feels like it is. So in 2 days I have my freedom. I'm very stoked :)

I've also added a few links to some fellow bloggers of mine. Check em' out if you have a chance. I'll be adding more soon when I remember the names of my other friends blogs. (I've had a rough day and I'm having Kokanee for dinner so...... my mind is not here right now.) Cheers everybody!

Oh boy!

2006-04-23T22:32:00.000-06:00

And now my blog likes me again:)

I'm going to bed now. Stupid man-made junk!

What the f......?

2006-04-23T22:24:00.000-06:00

Okay, my blog hates me. I've been trying to post a movie review and for some reason the review won't update. That pisses me off. I've never had a problem before, and I don't wish to have any problems now. Has this ever happened to any of you? I hope it's just a temperary glitch. If not, then I guess I'll be writing the review again. Damn man-made junk!

Silent Hill, it's not for everyone.

2006-04-23T21:40:00.000-06:00

I just came back from seeing the new movie Silent Hill. I'm a big fan of the video game franchise and I'm also a big fan of the director Christophe Gans. With my fingers crossed, I went to see this movie hoping that it would remove the bad taste left in my mouth by every other video-game based movie I've seen (Resident Evil exampt). Unfortunately, this was not to be.

The movie itself, from a visual standpoint, is quite stunning. Christophe managed to capture the eerieness and macabre atmophere you find in the video game. Too bad he didn't spend more time on the writing. The whole movie feels like a Uwe Boll directed mess. And believe folks that's not a good thing.

If you've ever played Silent Hill then you know that the story is always a bit twisted and things are never fully explained. But if you haven't played the game and you are going to see this movie, take caution: The movie is just a trippy and confusing experience, loaded with poor acting and over-the-top gore! I don't know if I can fully blame the actors though, you can only do so much with crap. And everyone tries their best in this movie, it just doesn't help. Right from the beginning of the movie I got the impression that the story was going to be weak. With no initial back story, we the viewers are thrust right into the heart of this creepy little town of Silent Hill without fully knowing why. And up until the last 15 minutes of the show we're still left guessing. Now like I said before, if you're a fan of the franchise then this is to be expected. Every game's the same way. I guess I was just hoping for so much more given the people involved and the oppertunities available. Silent Hill could be a very good, incredibly intense experience if done right. Too bad the movie makers didn't capitalize on this. I found too many parts of the movie to be cheesy, and not enough of the movie made me jumpy. I crave that jumpy, uneasy feeling in my horror movies and the scary video games I play. I'm have these feeling playing the Silent Hill games and I wanted to feel this way watching the movie. But movie just doesn't deliver.

If you like your horror movies with little story direction and alot of visually graphic scenes, then you'll like Silent Hill. If you're a fan of the franchise and are stoked to see the game brought to life, you'll probably like it as well, but will most likely feel like I do. If you're a curious movie fan and are looking at Silent Hill to be an entertaining scarefest, stay away! You'll only be dissappointed.

So consider yourself warned, Silent Hill is not for everyone. Not even me.

And the Flames take game 1!!!!

2006-04-21T23:42:00.000-06:00

Many of you who know me out there know I'm a big Flames fan. Well tonight they took the first step in their quest to win the Stanley Cup by beating the Mighty Ducks 2-1 in overtime. Good old Darren McCarty scored the game winner. What a game! It's good to see the Flames start off on the right track and hopefully they can continue this way of playing all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. I know I'll be cheering them all the way, and with any luck they can avenge 2004's 7th game loss by bringing the cup back to Calgary. Go Flames Go!!!!!!!!!

And now we have 2.

2006-04-20T22:44:00.000-06:00

My roommate and studio partner broke down and bought a new computer tonight. He was going to wait until after the upcoming Calgary Comic Book Expo on May 7th., but I think the craving just became too much. He was there when I picked up my new 'puter, he got to see the joy in my eyes when I set it up, and it was too much for him to bare. That, and he got a pleasent surprise from his former employers in the form of an ample payout. So I guess that helped speed things up too.

So now our studio is up-to-date. We have 2 new computers and a big boost of ambition. I couldn't be more stoked! All this, and we recieved a preview copy of our new comic book in the mail yesterday. It looks soooooooo sweet!!! Seriously, it brought a tear to my eyes. This is the most ambitious project we've done to date, an actual full colour, 24 page comic book from Out of Mind Studios. It's based on the webcomic we produce called Twice Thursday. And we are like proud parents folks, let me tell you. As soon as I figure out how to post images I'll load the cover image for all to see. In the mean time just click the link I have to Twice Thursday and enjoy. And if you do happen to read this blog, live in the area, and you have nothing to do on Sunday May 7th, come to the Big Four Building and support some local talent. We would all sure love to see you. Okay, enough with the product plugging!

Man, what a crazy (in a good way) week this has been. And it's only going to get more crazy(still in a good way) from here. Bring it on boyo, bring it on!

The trouble with cars.

2006-04-19T21:44:00.000-06:00

I have an older model car. It's a 1991 Ford Tempo. It just rolled over the 200,000 km mark about a week and a half ago, and up to that point in time it's been quite reliable. But that has since changed. It began acting up shortly after the milage reached 200,100 km. First it started surging, then acted like it was running out of gas, and finally it stopped wanting to run. I knew I had to do something.

On Monday I decided that I was going to give the car a tune-up. Now as I've mentioned before I'm a mechanic, so this would seem to be a simple task to anyone on the outside looking in. But I'm a heavy duty, large diesel engine mechanic; not a small fuel-injected gas engine mechanic. And trust me, there is a world of difference between the two. Never the less I embarked on what I believed would be a problem-solving mission. Change the oil, the oil filter, the air filter, and the spark plugs and the problem would be solved. Right? Right!?!

Wrong!

You see, not having the knowledge necessary to work on a fuel-injected system can cause a whole lot of trouble for the person making the attempt. I was filling that role nicely as not only did my efforts not solve the problem, they actually seemed to make things worse. This did not impress me.

So I decided to limp the car home and take it in to my local area mechanic in the morning. Now, if you're are familar with Calgary, or really, any other large city, then you'll understand that commuting an hour in rush hour traffic with a car not functioning on a full capacity can be some what unnerving. I truly believe that the entire city was out on the road driving like asses just trying my patience. They wanted me to snap. I wanted me to snap. But I had bigger issues to deal with. My car wanted to blow up, and I just wanted to get it home. Every light turned red when I approached it, and every pedestrian needing to cross the road did so as I approached their crosswalk. I was freaking out. And so was the car.

I made it home intacted, and although I felt like drinking heavily upon arrival I felt it best to just let things go and focus on getting the car fixed. I dropped the car off in the morning and was told I wouldn't get the car back until today. And what a relief it was to get a call this morning telling me the problem was solved. "It was a simple sensor is all" the voice on the other end of the phone said. "She runs like a charm now!". Great! So a couple of days, a whole lot of headache, and $300.00 later, my car is fixed. I may have doubled the value of my car today but at least it's fixed. With my work being so far away I need a decent set of wheels to rely on. Even if it costs a fortune. That just the trouble with cars I guess.

Well, this is new!

2006-04-18T21:17:00.000-06:00

Hello world? Well, how the hell are you? I'm fine, thanks for asking. As you may or may not know, this is an entirely new thing to me. Blogging. What the hell is blogging?
Well, I guess this is.

You see, I'm a bit of a late bloomer. For the most part, everyone I know has a blog. And they've all had these blogs for some time. Me, well....I guess I have one now too. I just bought a fancy new computer today. It was both absolutely frightening and exhilerating, because I took a big chance. A very big chance.

I'm a heavy duty mechanic by day, or at least I will be until the end of the month. I quit my job a week ago to focus on my nightly activities. I'm an aspiring artist and writer. I'm part of a small studio. And I have a webcomic. It's all very time consuming and I need more time. So, due largely to the fact that I'm unhappy with the work I do (the pay is great, the grease and oil are bad) I decided to dedicate more time to doing what enjoy. I love comics. I love drawing them and writing them and creating them and...well, I'm sure you understand. So this is where the "big chance" I mentioned comes in. I won't be making the same kind of money I was as a mechanic in 2 weeks. I'll only be working 3 days a week. But I can honestly say I've never been happier. I feel I have a direction now, and having 4 days a week to be creative is just what I need. I'll get to have new experiences, and maybe fall on my face a few times along the way. But that's cool. I can live with that.

And now with this fancy new blog, I have someone to share these experiences with. That folks, in my humble opinion, is very cool. Definately something I can live with.