Casanova step-by-step

This week, both Bá and I did new original drawings for the annual CBLDF auction that takes place in San Diego during Comic Con. We took some time from our crazy-busy schedules (made even crazier by the fact that World Cup is going on just outside our studio window) and created two new images with characters we have created. TFAW, who always helps coordinate this, will make prints of the images that the artists will be able to keep and sell, so I decided to make a full color image that would make a great 10 x 17 print.

My first idea was to do a Sugarshock image. Everybody seems to really love those characters, and you could say that right now Joss Whedon, writer of Sugarshock and nowadays writer and director of the Avengers movies, has never been as popular. I sketched the characters on my notebook and started working on the final image, but something wasn't clicking and I wasn't happy with where I was going with the drawing. I decided to call it a day and get back to it the next morning, and I'm glad I did.
Next morning, I went looking for inspiration at one of my sources: Pinterest. I used to keep thousands of images in folders on my computer, but nowadays it's much easier to keep everything I think might inspire an illustration or a story on my Pinterest page. If you go check it out, you'll find elements of my recent CMKY stories for Vertigo, as well as research for the short Hellboy story, and many other images from across the internet that I keep in handy to mix up in my head when I'm at the drawing board.
The new wave of inspirational images made me decide to change characters, and the drawing became a Casanova image. It's easier to imagine Casanova in any situation, anywhere, with anyone. Much more pleased with this second sketch, I showed it to Bá:
"It's great", he said, "but lose the cheetah and the boat". I agreed and started working on the final piece.

I took pictures of the process to post on twitter, and it's a great way to see the way I was thinking visually, how I left many decisions for the inking stage, how I helped to make the characters pop by using cool darker colors on the background, how the red elements united the characters, how dripping and large expressive brushstrokes help give it a "drawing" look, a "hand-made" look.

After it was done, dry and ready, I scanned it, adjusted the colors on photoshop and sent it over by email. The original will be going with me to San Diego, where I shall say farewell to this painting, hoping it will find a great new home on the collection of some lucky fan.

SUGARSHOCK all-in-one!

Sugarshock is out today is fine comic book stores across the country. Finally, the story in an awesome "all in one" package, with tons of sketches, pencils and concept art. You can't miss it this time around.

And, if you think you still didn't have enough, some of the originals for the pages are still available for sale at the Beguling, including the cover for the one-shot, which I think I did a pretty awesome job (it definetly makes me want to do more covers).

Finally, original art for sale!

Ever since we started working on high profile projects like Casanova, Umbrella Academy and Sugar Shock, we've been getting mail about selling original art. Since we live in Brazil and it's not an easy task to deal with shipping and money transactions, we only have done this sort of thing personally when we go to San Diego.

Well, we're very glad to announce that we have some pages available for sale with the nice folks from Beguiling, in Toronto. They have some pages and art cover from all the projects above. If we like how this goes, maybe it's the way to make everyone happy after all.

For pages of Gabriel Ba:
http://www.beguiling.com/artproductlist.asp?ID=79

For pages of Fabio Moon:
http://www.beguiling.com/artproductlist.asp?ID=80
 

MySpace DHP cover.

My Space Dark Horse Presents Vol. 1 will finally put on paper my Sugarshock story and it will be out in September. Before the San Diego Comicon, they were advertising the book with my first page as the cover, but I was asked to do a brand new cover for the first volume of the anthology, which they had on display at the convention.

As I just wrote earlier today, doing covers is completely different than doing comics, and you can play on a completely different set of rules.


I had fun doing this cover and I hope you like it.

Eisner Award Winners!

We won for best Anthology with 5. AWESOME!
We won for best limmited series with Umbrella Academy.
We won for best digital comic with Sugarshock.

Thank you all.

We love comics and we love you.

Original art for sale at SDCC - second call.

We're almost done finishing up all we need to do before our trip. Two or three sleepless nights and we're set to go. If you're going to San Diego and has that inner desire to buy some original art from either Casanova or Sugarshock, this is your chance, as I'm bringing the pages to SDCC.

I'm not bringing EVERY SINGLE PAGE, so if you have any particular one you'd like, let me know. If you need a hand, click on the images below for a bigger image:

Casanova
Looking at the pages again, I realize I really like the work I've done on this series.


I loved to draw this sex sequence.

The last issue has some of the best pages I've ever done. It was a very nice farewell to this characters, and I miss them as much as you all.

Sugarshock


Pages 1, 3 and 6 are real favorites of mine, and I had no idea where the story was going when I started drawing the series. I thought it would all take place on Earth, for starters.



Action! Fights! Space! Who knew I would draw that some day, with all the down-to-earth relationship stories I like to tell? I really like the way the characters move and behave throughout this series.

I'll bring all pages from issue 3 as well, and a lot more pages from Casanova, but I wanted to give you guys a taste and a reminder of the pages before you can decide to hang some art on your wall.

We'll be at the Image Island booth at SDCC, which is booth 2729, so come look for us there, and don't forget: GET PIXU WHILE YOU CAN.

Interview! Eisner! Voting!

There's a new interview with Bá about his work on Umbrella Academy. It has been on the Dark Horse site for over a month, but we just noticed it now. Check out for some insights on Bá's impressions on the series.



Also, the voting for the Eisner Awards have begun, so if you're a professional in the industry elligible to vote, and you might have liked Umbrella Academy as best mini series, Sugarshock as best online comic or 5 as best anthology, go ahead and place your vote at http://eisnervote.com/.

nominations for the Eisner Awards

Today is a really special day. They've just released the list of Eisner Awards nominees and Fábio and I have been nominated for a couple of awards.

Best Limited Series - Umbrella Academy (Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá)
Best Online Comic - Sugar Shock (Joss Whedon and Fábio Moon)
Best Anthology - 5 (Becky Cloonan, Fábio Moon, Gabriel Bá, Grampá and Vasilis Lolos)



If you haven't seen 5 yet, you can order it online from Khepri, or look for Becky and Vasilis at the upcoming NYCC.
Congratulations for all the other nominees, including Ivan Brandon and his 24seven (also running for best anthology), Dave Stewart for best coloring, Matt Fraction and the crew of The Immortal Iron Fist (best new series) and Sensational Spider-Man Annual (best single issue), Brian Wood (best writer) and Chuck BB (special recognition).

Also on the nomination news, Umbrella Academy has just been nominated for 2 Eagle Awards, as Favourite new comic and Favourite Cover (for issue #1).

All over the net.

Man, I'm late.

I'm still finishing issue 11 of Casanova. I'll finish it this week, and then go right into 12, but still I feel I'm late. Even if I'm my own colorist, my own inker, and so mostly the art is all up to me, still I feel like I'm late.

It sucks to feel like that.

Meanwhile, have you already read the last Sugarshock chapter at DHP? It's online, waiting for you. (as well as the previous chapters and Bá's umbrella story on the first issue of DHP)

Also, you can read the entire Casanova issue 8 online as well, so there's no excuse for anyone if you have no idea what I'm drawing at the moment.

Since the robot story I did for the second 24Seven was also previewed at MySpace, this year all the books I'm currently working on had either previews or entire runs on MySpace.

This is so weird. I like paper. I like to turn the page. I like to read comics in the bathroom. Suddenly, all of my work is primary online. Weird.

Also, it seems the internet sales of our work are starting to grow, as we keep showing up over at the Khepri top 5 list almost every week.

Always with me.

When I started working on Sugarshock, the only thing I knew before getting the first script was that the girls should be cute. Then, there was something about a robot and them all being a band.

Okay, I thought. Simple enough.

After I've done all three chapters, I can say I have drawn stuff I never imagined could be in the same story of the "cute girls in a band with a robot" story, which comes as a lesson to any artist. You should always be prepared to draw everything, and should always be learning how to draw and show new things. The artist should be always curious, asking questions with his or her eyes, learning from what it's around. Look at those trees, aren't they big? They're branches only start all the way up there, twenty feet from the ground. That other tree is fat, and twisted, and has branches from the height of your midget friend up to the top of those other trees you saw first.

Artists must always be looking for the stuff. You know, stuff is a bit vague, but so is looking. Anything could be the stuff, and you should look every where to everything you see.

And then you have to make all this reality look like something you make up when you draw. Or make the stuff you make up look like reality. Or a little of both.

Go, artist.

The next sugarshock chapter is coming. It's the end of the first story. Yet again, I had to draw stuff I haven't drawn before on the story (maybe on my life), and I kept thinking when would I draw those characters again. Maybe I could keep drawing them for myself, as sketches on my notebook.

I remember the first drawings I did of the character. I did them on my notebook, the little one I carry all around with me. So, even if I don't know if I'll ever draw these characters again, they're always with me. They're close.

Of course, you don't need a notebook to keep them close. Nor should you.

But it's nice, isn't it?

Sugarshock in space!

The newest issue of Dark Horse Presentson MySpace went online today, and so has my second SUGARSHOCK! story. If you think Joss wrote a fun and strange story on the first chapter, wait for this second one (actually, wait for the third one)

Enjoy this new chapter on the band's story, filled with twist and action and ... well, go read it. It's free.

Most of all, it's fun.

Coincidentally, I just finished the next chapter today, and I think all ends up really nice. After three chapters of the and, I really feel I have a good handle of these characters, and they come out pretty easily.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, LOST THE AWARD AND IT WAS AWESOME!

As incredible as it may sound, after going 11 straight times, this year's San Diego Comic Con was unique, in good and bad ways. Every year we learn new things, meet new people and realize why we're once more there, among so many people who love comics.

The top spot on the most amazing things about this year was joining with Becky and Vasilis, that's for sure. We've known each other for some 3 or 4 years, but we always had very little time to spend together and talk and have fun. This year, we've made "5", the COOLEST COMIC of the year, hands down the most wanted item of the convention, and we were practically STUCK in our table together, just having fun and freezing under the air-conditioning from Hell. Our table, by the way, was only possible because of Ivan Brandon who had asked for 2 tables at the Image booth and passed one along to us. He has been doing amazing work in comics and has been putting great people together on his projects, like the amazing second volume of 24seven. The table was another great thing he's done for the sake of good comics.



As it was expected, everyone was amazed with GRAMPÁ's cover of "5", as well as all the other art he had in there. The awe for his work was only matched by his absence on the show, as he was truly missed and tons of people now want to see more of him.



Our table was, as we so accurately described, FUCKING FODA! Like a well balanced meal, it had all sort of colors, a variety of genres and all the powerful range of stuff we all are able to do. Next to our amazing and best-selling "5", we had Becky's MINIS, an amazing collection of her early mini-comics, and East Coast Rising, her Eisner nominated series from Tokyo Pop; and we had Vasilis' brand new graphic novel Last Call, as well as his mini-comic Hats and Pirates of Coney Island, published by Image; also their collaborate work on Nebuli, the first time I saw Vasilis' work and the starting point of the urge for us to make something together; And Fábio and I had the brand new CASANOVA #8, as well as the hardcover edition, alongside copies of the "who-are-these-amazing-brazilians" ROCK'N'ROLL we have made with Bruno and Kako. We got some FCBD comic from the Dark Horse booth, as well as the free poster and our one copy of our Eisner nominated De:TALES to show people and point them to the DH booth to buy it.


Speaking of Eisner Awards, this year was a great sample of independent authors and amazing different works and I think the most significant nominees and winners were from outside the mainstream comics, or super-heroes. As much as we were disappointed to lose, we could not have lost to a better book. The first time I've seen Jason's work I thought "we're so gonna lose to him". One of the things I regret about this year is that I didn't have any time to check out all these comics and creators on the floor, at the convention, because we were always selling at the booth or at some important meeting. I'd love to get American Born Chinese and Fun Home, as well as Jason's award winner The Left Bank Gang. One thing I'm definitely going to chase is Eric Powel's Satan's Sodomy Baby. I'm getting everything from Brian at Khepri.com.

Shout out to our awarded friends Jill Thompson (painter), James Jean (cover), Dave Stewart (colors) and Paul Pope (writer/artist - series). And Sam, congrats again and thanks for the Old Boy edition.

As it would be expected of someone who have been publishing constantly in the US for the last 5 years, our work's following of fans have increased considerably and we were happy to witness statements of gratitude, admiration and respect from lots of people who would stop by our table, as well as other fellow authors during all four days of the convention. It all started on our beloved USA Hostel, where we've been staying for the last 6 years. Our roommates, 2 funny auzies, not only have seen ROCK'N'ROLL, but also would not believe when they connected the dots between us and CASANOVA and Umbrella Academy that we would share that room with them. They were the nicest and funniest roommates we'd had in years. And it was full of amazingly hot women all the time, awesome and talented Ky-tee in particular. As much as nobody would believe or understand why we stayed in the hostel, and that this have been probably the last time we stay there, you won't meet so many different and interesting people from all over the world in the hotels.

Moving to a whole other level of stardom and recognition, this year had obvious aspects of our work that called a lot more attention, like my collaboration on The Umbrella Academy, written by Gerard Way. The same way I'm having a blast working on this book and I'm really proud of the results so far, Gerard could not be happier with our creation and the first thing he said to me was "thank you for this wonderful job". On the couple of hours we spent together on saturday, we did an one-hour signing for 80 lucky ticket winners, surrounded by an unbelievable sea of teenagers with cameras flashing, shouts and laughs, and It was really amazing to me when someone would come with a copy of CASANOVA, De:TALES, URSULA and "5" among the Umbrella Academy or My Chemical Romance items. As Gerard himself have put on an interview for MySpace, the main idea of making this comic is acknowledging the fact that he has millions of fans and use that to see if he can bring more people to know comics, not only our, but all comic that he loves. He just want to see comics do better and reach more people, and so do I.


various moments of the time with Gerard, the madness of the signing and at the bottom, the Umbrella team: Nate Piekos (letters), Dave Stewart (colors), me (art) and Gerard.

Another moment on the Olympus of fame was when Joss Whedon came to our table to finally meet Fábio, who's been working with him on his brand-new Sugar Shock comic for Dark Horse Presents. Everyone around was so excited and thrilled and whispering "oh my god, it's Joss Whedon", while Joss was excited and thrilled and whispering "oh my god, it's Fábio Moon". Promotional genius that he is, he asked Fábio to draw the main character of the book on a T-shirt that he would wear on his panel and signings and Fábio stood up for the task and made an amazing job, right there on the fly. Joss would parade with his new T-shirt for the next 3 days (on top of clean clothes, ok) and he even wore it on the exclusive EW party on saturday night. Walking around with Nisha Gopalan, the lovely girl who was kind enough to include and interview us for the TOP 100 EW list, we asked to be introduced to J. J. Abrams, who said he loved Joss' T-shirt, to which Fábio answered "well, write a comic for me to work on and I'll make you a T-shirt".


Fábio and Joss Whedon...


... and the famous Dandelion T-shirt.

This year we had a lot of time to talk to Diana Schutz, our godmother, our light and guide trough the helm of comics. We owe her so much that it cannot be described with words. Only making amazing comics we can honor our debt with her.


Fábio and Diana.

We had our share of meetings and projects are indeed moving forward, as the doors have been open wide to us and we have to make sure they won't close. As usual, we hanged out a lot with other creators on lunches, dinners and late at night at the Hyatt bar. We've met M.K. Perker, an amazing and hilarious artist from Turkey, we were introduced to John Cassaday and talked a lot to Jim Lee, who was really impressed with Becky's work. The dead-dog party that wraps the convention was one of the best I've ever been to, where all the creators present were really happy with the show and the direction comics are going. With lots of drunk smiles and sincere joy and respect from one another, we ended our trip with hugs and toast and, as I was making fun of Paul Pope and Jim Pascoe that "if I wasn't wearing this hat, I would be on your "messy-hair" team", he said to me in a natural voice and with an honest smile on his face:

"You are on our team. We're all on the same team".

SDCC: 5 and Sugarshock!

Here we are, in San Diego. Days are long, nights are nice, and comics are our business and business is good! Tonight, the Eisners!

Click here to see my new project, a mini series called SugarShock, written by Joss Whedon!

It's nice to have a table again, and to be in such nice company. If you're going do the convention this weekend, stop by at the Image booth and find our table. We're cool, we're there, and you want to meet us and read our books.

Yes, you do.