Alternate Course

On Saturday, I attended the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco.  It was a great chance to see what self-publishers are producing these days and I have to admit, those folks were bringin’ it.  I also had the chance to say “hey” to some fellow creators and pick up some of their work.  Most importantly, I left the show completely inspired to get back to work on the story of Roc and D’Sko.

So, next month I’ll be partaking in the National Novel Writing Month.  Check it out if you’ve ever wanted to write a novel but needed a little kick in the seat.  If you decide to sack up and take it on, my username is RocGaude so feel free to add me to your buddy list and we’ll fight that slope together.

My goal for this undertaking is to finish Roc and D’Sko’s back story.  Once that’s in knocked out, I’ll decide whether to leave it in the novel format or turn it into a graphic novel.  Regardless, what comes next will be a graphic novel so, ya know, yay and everything.

Finally, I’ve had the good fortune of attending some cartooning classes at the Schulz Museum here in Santa Rosa.  So far, I’ve had the chance to absorb some choce advice from Brian Crane (Pickles), Paige Braddock (Jane’s World), and Jason McNamara (The Martian Confederacy).  They’re all good folks so be sure to check out their work.

Next time you hear from me will be in mid-November with my NaNoWriMo update.  Until then, keep the dream alive.

Thanks for reading – Chris

As I’ve been fleshing out and creating this strip, I’ve decided that a weekly web comic is not the direction or format that I want to tell this story in.  Also, keeping myself tethered to mangaing a website is actually keeping me from making the comic which to me is the most important skill to hone. 

So, I’m going to take the strip offline and develop it into a graphic novel.  During the process, I’ll post my progress from time to time to show you where I’m at.  I’ll also continue to post blogs here if I get the itch to write about something.

Thanks for reading – Chris

The title of this post kinda says everything that needs to be said about “Local”, a 12-issue series by Brian Wood (DMZ, Northlanders) and Ryan Kelly (Lucifer) collected in graphic novel form by Oni Press. 

The story’s about a girl named Megan who, well, moves around a lot.  Each issue (or chapter if you’re reading the book) reflects a different town and a different piece of Megan’s story.  Each situation exposes a unique facet of Megan’s personality and how she reacts in times of struggle, loneliness, and pure happenstance.  The decisions made aren’t always for the best, but this story is by no means a tragedy.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s ever “suffered” from wanderlust, those who appreciate fine sequential art, and those of you who at least enjoy a good “coming of age” yarn.  It’s earned its place among my top ten “best excuses to read comics” list and has me itching to dive into Wood’s other works like DMZ, which I’ve shamefully neglected in reading. 

It retails for about $30 and worth every penny.

Further reading:

“DEMO” is Wood’s collaboration with Becky Cloonan.  It’s a collection of short stories set in modern times where each one reveals how an individual could realistically react if they had discovered they have some kind of “super power”.  It’s brilliant and definitely worth your time and moolah.