I get rather grumpy when I don’t get to sit down at my drawing table and draw for a couple days. I get pissy and bitter and just generally not that pleasant. I know this. My wife knows this. My kids probably don’t know this because they are kind of oblivious (or they just think I’m grumpy all the time). And yet, sometimes, it’s unavoidable. Life gets in the way. Long weekends visiting the parents, for instance(4th of July weekend). I can usually keep my non-drawing grumpies at bay for a day, maybe even two, but beyond that, it’s just impossible. Drawing and making comics are my drug of choice and, man, when I need that fix, I need that fix. Oh, sure, I could bring all my shit with me and draw wherever I am, right? What, you think I haven’t tried that? I need to be in my space, to have the right set-up in place. I’m rigid and particular and a perfectionist. That’s enough things to be without adding grumpy asshole to the mix. So, I shall just lock myself in my studio and draw and be happy (well, at least, not grumpy).
I have decided to go back to running Carbon as a weekly web comic. I’ll add a new page every Monday, until I change my mind on the whole thing once again. Anyway, that’s the current plan. I’ve been cranking away at the third installment of Carbon. I like to think I’m past the half-way point but, really, I have no fucking idea how long it’s gonna be. Stories sometimes blossom out of control on me. And by sometimes, I mean all the times. In an attempt to be more productive in my comics making, I have started getting my ass out of bed early in the morning, so I can get a solid 1-2 hours of work time in before the kids get up and my coveted alone time comes to an abrupt end. So far it’s been making a difference. I’ve been completed a page about every other day, which I’m pretty happy with. I’m a helluva lot more tired than I was before as well, but, hey, we all gotta make sacrifices, right? I’m trading sleep for drawing time. I can live with that.
Okay, so, as some of you may have figured out, I pretty much gave up on my weekly updates of Carbon. I kind of knew that would happen eventually. I really had no indication that it was being read by anyone anywhere and I just got sick of trying (and failing) at promoting it every week. So, I tried something and it didn’t work. Not the first time. Not the last.
What I did do, though, is make actually print copies of Carbon Book 2 that are now for sale. How ’bout that?
You can buy in in MY SHOP
Well, kind of complete. I have finished the meat and potatoes of the book (the inside pages – 80 of ’em!), now I just have to do all the “fun” computer stuff to get the book ready for print. I should probably draw a cover, too. I have Part 3 all mapped out, as well, and will jump into drawing that soon. I also have a new comic that I’ve been writing which I am quite excited about. More on that later, though.
Still plugging away at chapter 2. I am finishing up inks on a scene with Powell & Corr, then I have one more scene to go (guessing that will be 8-9 pages). I have spent just over a year on this second chapter (chapter 1 was finished last May) and I feel like I’ve had a decent output for a year’s work. Must be around 70 pages, although it feels like a lot more. But still, it feels good to be actively making this book. It really fulfills that need to create like nothing else can.