W I D E   A W A K E

JUNE GLOOM

June 8, 2006

Month six is a time known affectionately to people in LA June Gloom. The days are generally cloudy and gray. This year's June weather has been on course, as each morning the skies look as if they're about to unleash buckets of rain. Thankfully they never do, but the gloominess remains, nonetheless. By mid-to-late afternoon the gloom burns off and the sun reveals itself for a few hours. It's a nice ending to each day, really, and a precursor to the July thru December sunshine that is just ahead. We are jogging again, running quite a lot lately, and feeling better each day.

Bang

A shooting at Venice high-school made national news this week. Police and news helicopters circled our neighborhood for hours as it was believed that the shooter had fled over to the nearby gang turf of Venice. No arrests were made, and gun violence has claimed another life. But hey, don't mess with anyone's right to bear arms.

Mantlo

The Bill Mantlo tribute magazine (working title Mantlo: A Life in Comics) is slowly coming together. I was sidetracked with several freelance writing projects and have a few other small jobs to complete. Once these are finished I'll be devoting more time to the magazine and hope to have it ready for press in a few months.

Future Releases

Though delayed from its July 2006 release, as far as I know, the collected and reworked Death by Chocolate anthology is still being published by Top Shelf in the near future. When? I have no idea.

Altercations is currently seeking a publisher. Will it find one? Details to follow.

The Jesus Squad graphic novel will likely begin production in July 2006. The book is storyboarded so I'll just need to work from the breakdowns. Unlike previous books, I'll be working from a rather smaller live area, though the book itself will still be standard size. I also anticipate doing much looser art and completing much of the finishes in Photoshop. Jesus Squad is 100+ pages so will be on the drawing table for many months...many, many months.

Two future graphic novels are in the works. One is an as-yet untitled project of approximately 80 pages. The second, also untitled, checks in at 86 pages. Breakdowns for both stories are done, but it'll be some time before these are in production and scripted.

Next week I'm going to start adapting NYSS: Post 9-11 into graphic novel format. This basically means I'll be doing breakdowns to gauge the pacing and length of the story, which I expect to be in the 100-120 range.

Next: More June madness.