Lurking and Working...

It's been a while since the last update, and I gotta say the burnout I experienced from beasting out 100 pages for My Lovely Omnivore was insane.  It's been a couple months since then and I've only just gotten my head what my next step should be and how to go about it.

The reality: I now have 4 ongoing comics series to juggle, and the chance of getting a new issue out for all of them in time for October Expo is nil, lol.  Time to prioratise...

The next comic I put out will be Beholder of the Eye 5, which should be the last issue!  It's had the longest wait since the last issue and so is most deserving of my attention.  I'm starting to make some headway into the pencils and it's looking to be the biggest issue of the series by far.  Getting it done in 2 months will be very tricky but I'm just going go for it and hope for the best, batshit crazy ending and all!

I'm not going to talk about other comics for now, or else I'll get distracted.  Will keep you posted. ;-)

MCM London Expo this weekend!

We're just a few days away from the event now, so thought a general run through of what to expect from my table on the day.

Firstly is that I have two new comics out on the day. More hacking and slashing with issue 4 of Beholder of the Eye and also a brand spanking new issue of Japanofail.

I still have a complete range of comics on the table, so will be offering multi-buy bundle deals for those who fancy stocking up on a few of my comics. ;-)

I will be there all 3 days of the event (remember entrance on Friday is only for those with full weekend tickets), so please feel free to come say hi. The guys at the comic village have released a map of where to find artists on the day (I've marked my location below) - hope to see you all soon!

Beholder of the Eye 4 - Photos

This just came in the post, so thought it might be nice to share some photos. As I have them, they are now fully available on the shop and are 100% for appearing at future comic events.

Beholder of the Eye 4 is complete!

This was sent out to the printers last night, so hopefully over the next week or so I should have these soon! It's my biggest comic yet (48 pages) and contains lots of drama, action and other general craziness. :-)

I've booked a table for London Expo, so this are definitely going to be making an appearance. It is also available on my shop for those who can't make that event. Please look out for it! :D

Beholder of the Eye 4 is coming!

Just wanting to start a little hype for Beholder of the Eye 4 as I'm getting toward the end of it now. It's going to be a thicker comic - 42 pages - making it my longest one yet! :-O

I've been working hard on this, so please look forward to it as it should be ready in the next month or so. :-)

Beholder of the Eye 3!

There's been a fair gap between issues but issue 3 of Beholder of the Eye is here and good to go!

Carrying on immediately after the end of issue 2 Chloe and Luthor are on the run after their operations are discovered. Taking stock and trying to decide what to do next, they find themselves sucked into a path of no return...

Available at events (London Expo next month!) and at my shop!

The Suspense!

Okay, we're getting pretty close to new comics arriving now. I'm a bit fidgety waiting for the finals copies to show up so in the meantime will start to leak info. First up is Beholder of the Eye 3 which will look something like this:

Bit of a departure from the usual shenanigans, but suits the general tone of the comic imo. It's more of a character-driven issue this time before it heads back into the fray.

Alongside that, I'm also waiting for this:

Yes! Japanofail 4 is done! XD I had a spare week off work and a bunch of ideas to use so was able to run through this pretty quickly.

Both comics are coming from different printers. Which will arrive first? Hopefully I'll have them in the next week or so and once they're with me I'll start giving more as well as add them to the shop. Not long now, and currently well in time for Expo next month! ^_^

More updates

Just a few things:

- Beholder of the Eye 3 is complete! Has been for a while actually, just a case of waiting for the hardcopies to arrive and then I can announce it properly. ^_^ I took some risks with it (when don't I? haha) so am hoping it comes out well!

- I'm currently working on Japanofail 4, which is coming on pretty well. I'm going all out and it's well over halfway done already. Just a matter on time really but it's looking good for appearing at London Expo as well.

- I've signed up for a table at the London Anime Con once again. I'll have a table on the Sunday only as this is the day when all the artists come in.

That's it for now! ^_^

Progress...

Just a short post on general progress. Beholder of the Eye 3 is nearly there. All but one of the pages are inked and I'm now filling in general gaps, tones and trying to get things finished off. Not got a front cover sorted either, so still a little more to go!

It's the London Comic and Small Press Expo in a couple weeks time as well! Sorry to say the new comic won't be done in time for it, but it'll a cert for London Expo!

Got one or two more tricks up my sleeve over the next couple of months as well - will announce as and when things are in stone! ^_^

Expo is this month! :D

So it's coming up to the MCM Expo in London once again. I am booked, registered and officially attending! List of artists can be found here:

http://www.londonexpo.com/show_features/comic_village__expo.html

The bad news: I was mentioning to people that I might perhaps have a new Japanofail ready in time - I've failed! ;_;

Things have gotten a bit on top of me lately, so while I was optimistically hoping to get a new issue done, it was not to be. :-( I'll still have issues 1+2 available, as well as all the rest of my comics (Beholder of the Eye 2 was finished in March, but it'll be its first Expo appearence), so hopefully there'll still be stuff for people to see.

The good news: There will be 'something' new appearing at the event. It's finished, and off at the printers. So as soon as I've officially got something sellable - I will announce it! ^_^

4 weeks to go...

The Thing 2010 is upon you!

Not long now - it's tomorrow in fact! (as it's gone midnight now, lol) The Thing is coming!

No new news really, just a general reminder and summary of what to look out for:

- The Anthology: Epic dinosaur-themed book with lots of pages and stuffs. Contains 2 pages of specially made Japanofail! :D (which incidently celebrated its first birthday yesterday! :D )

- Beholder of the Eye 2: New comic - come get some! (Warning: contains 'rar')

- Stickers: Passports will be given out to attendees to collect creative stickers for fun times. It's all free, so don't be shy! ;-)

Still a little nervous as it'll be my first time with a table at this particular event, but then again it's been 5 months since the last event so am looking forward to being in a comic atmosphere once more. ^_^

Into hibernation...

This is pretty much it for the year. It's getting colder, night comes earlier in the evenings, and there's no events going on for a good few months now. It's time to huddle by the fire and get comfy for the winter.

As it's a long stretch of time I'm going to try and use it to make something epic. As such, Beholder of the Eye 2 is now deeply in the works. I actually started pencilling in the summer, but only recenrly has it started to get scanned and inked on computer. Pending launch is The Thing in March, so it's a little (VERY!) early to speak of real details. Also, the pencils still haven't been completed so I can't confirm a final page count, but it's definitely going to bigger than the first one.

I'm really trying to up my game with this one, so while it's a long way off please look forward to it! :-)

Bored waiting between now and then? You can follow me on twitter if you like...

Japanofail 2 has begun!

Hi there, it's been a while!

I've been AWOL drawing an 8 page comic which for my entry to the Manga Jiman competition. Part of the rules state that I can't put any of my entry online before submitting, so with nothing to show I couldn't really update. ^^; The deadline's toward the end of the month if anyone's interested and feeling extra speedy with their art. Got my entry in during the week so it's done and dusted! Fingers crossed I can share it with the outside world at a later date...

Now for some bad news. Beholder of the Eye 2 won't be ready for the October Expo. ;_; I've got to a certain stage and realised that the plot's geting ever more epic, demanding a bigger page count and a story telling ability which I'm trying to measure up to. Basically it needs a bit more time to develop. If things go well with my other drawing projects I should start work on it again in under a month. Please bear with me - it's going to be immense!

Any good news? Well, work has started on Japanofail 2! Don't believe me? The first new strip has just been uploaded online! Go check it out!

I'm really hoping to get a whole new issue done for the Expo, but as I've literally just started on it I need to do something crazy like 2 strips a day in between everything else to make it on time. It's risky stuff, but I'm going to give it a shot so wish me luck! (don't hate me if I don't make it lol...)

XD

The Mission!

Okay so I've drawn myself up a little chart so I can get my new comics done in time for October's London Expo... and I'm in trouble already.


For Japanofail 2, I need to do on average 4 strips per week. Simple, right? Next comes Beholder of the Eye 2: I need to pencil a page a day, and once they're done it's inking a page every day without fail, which should then leave me with a couple of weeks to get it all sent off to the printers. These plans would have to run simultaneously as well so it's going to be a bit of a squeeze...


My never ending search for free time is starting to pay off, but even so this is going to be tough! That guideline doesn't allow for getting covers done, inevitable cock-ups and system failures or getting my Manga Jiman entry done.




To be honest I should be more sensible about it, focus on one comic at a time with the full expectation that only one comic will get done... but I'm not a very sensible person. It's all or nothing with me so I'm going to try and bust myself to get these done, and hopefully not at the expense of the quality (it's thin on the ground as it is!).


Anyone reading this: Don't let me get behind. If you're at Ayacon, ask me how much work I've done, demand to see my sketches. At any other time, send me messages here, PM me on forums - just make sure I'm on track! I'll be giving updates here (and sneak previews if there's anything non-spoilerish to show, like the above pic from Japanofail, hee!), it's time to sink or swim! >_>;


For now though I'm tired, pessimistic and vaguely determined... this so isn't going to happen, lol.


Regardless: Ganbarimasu! XD

Diving in once more!

Just a general update this time to say I'm finally starting up my drawing again. It's slowgoing, but work has started on both Japanofail 2 and Beholder of the Eye 2.

Japanofial will basically be more of the same. I'm slightly worried that my jokes might start to repeat a little as I reuse theme, but for now I've got a bunch of ideas and just want time to draw them up. If I'm lucky the weekly updates will proceed uninterrupted. ^^

As for Beholder of the Eye 2... whew it's going to be a tough one to crack. I've pencilled about 6 pages so far, and I'm trying to develop in all areas as much as possible. I'm making things deliberately difficult for myself to force both my artistic and narrative skills to improve. More action scenes and very controversial themes will make or break this series for a lot of people. I seriously hope I can pull it off.

Chances of getting these done in time for October Expo? Let's just say I'd be very ambitious to say they'll be there. But if the wind's behind me and have the time then who knows?

Will update soon, maybe even with an image or two! ;-D

People read my comics! XD

The guys over at Sweatdrop have been one of the main promoters of UK-made manga styled comics in recent years, encouraging not just their own work, but pretty much anyone and everyone who draws stuff.

Their latest podcast is an Expo special, and they spend much of the time talking about al the people who had new coimcs to sell. It's a great compliment (and a little scary) to hear them mention my coimcs as well! A little quote on what they said about each one:

D.R.U.N.K - "... I'm slightly worried."

Japanofail - "It's really, really funny."

Beholder of the Eye - "Draw more, there will be the beating stick if you don't!"

If you want to have a proper listen then go here here. My stuff appears at just after the the 36 minute mark, but be sure to listen to the whole thing to get the scoop on everybody else's work as well! ^_^

And of course if you're intrigued by what's said and want to read my stuff, the shop is here. *enters pimp mode*

I'm suddenly feeling good about myself and have an hour or two to spare. It's been a couple months, so it's about time to get drawing again! :-O

Expo action!

Today and yesterday were the days I'd been waiting for with a mixture of excitement and stress - it was the London Expo!

Things went pretty well, especially considering this was my first time out and not m/any people knew my work. D.R.U.N.K., Beholder of the Eye 1 and Japanofail 1 all debuted at this event, with Japanofail outselling the other two put together! 0_0

Thanks to everyone who took a look, and even more so to people who risked buying something - you guys rule epicly! Even cooler are the people who bought one, and then returned later for more - how awesome are you!? ^_^

Seriously, this could have been an embarrassing disaster with a worst case scenario of me throwing the in towel, but thanks to all the people who gave me the benefit of the doubt and gave my work a shot I'm really looking forward to producing more work. You hear that? MOAR! XD

Beholder of the Eye 1 - Official Preview!

Here we go - comic number 2 official preview!

Not much to add from what I said on the previous announcement, but here are a couple of preview pages to check out.

Currently being printed, so should be fine to bring to the Expo next weekend! I'm absolutely petrified about the idea of selling these things and its repercussions. I think I'm getting better at it, but on the scale of things I've still no real clue on how to write a comic or anything like that. I'm just going with the flow for now and hoping that people like what I've done. I resist the urge to descend into a screaming panic. There's no room for regrets! Onward! XD

Beholder of the Eye is available at my online shop: http://www.ushiocomics.co.uk/

Title announcement - Beholder of the Eye!

Just finished working on issue one last night - it's done! *collapses of exhaustion*

A new title, chapter 1 of an ongoing story, and it's NOT a comedy! We're talking action/drama all the way. Had a lot of fun experimenting and working on something a little more *intense*, so am really hoping that people enjoy the finished product (once it's printed).

As with D.R.U.N.K. preview pages will appear closer to the time. ^_-

Guess this is also a good time to announce my attendance at the London Expo. I've sent off for payment, so should be good to go. It's just under 4 weeks until my self-publishing debut and I'll totally be bricking it all the whole way. There's still lots I need to get done and typically I've left it all until the last minute... pray for me people.

But hopefully this means there'll be at least 2 comics on my table though so please look forward to it!

Generic update

It's been a week without anything new, but may as well give an overall update as to what I'm up to:

- Japanofail is still ongoing, quite happily it seems. Up to page 8 so far which is faster than I originally intended, but uploading pages is strangely addictive so I'm struggling to help myself! ^_^

- Have sent D.R.U.N.K. off to a potential printer who seem like very nice people. Pending the proof and deciding on how many to get printed, this one is pretty much done and dusted! *squee!* How on Earth I'm going to get this into people's hands for them to read is something else entirely... o_o;

- D.R.U.N.K's pretty old now, but I'm actually nearing the end of a much newer comic. Have only just given it a name, but reckon it will be called 'Beholder of the Eye'. You heard it here first folks!

More news as and when it happens. :-)