Drawing TWO BROTHERS

a short video we made for the brazilian blog when we released the brazilian edition of TWO BROTHERS.

New tricks, or the lettering magic

Here's a recent video I made with Bá for a lecture we did about comic book lettering. After years lettering my comics in the computer thanks to the fabulous work of letterers and font wizards like Richard Starkings (who I had the pleasure of meeting recently in Leeds, his home town, during Thought Bubble), Nate Piekos (whose great fonts and balloons have been helping us tell Umbrella and Sugarshock stories) and many others, I have recently decided to apply myself on the art of hand lettering. I always had crappy handwriting, which distracted the eye from the drawing when put together on my comics, but after meeting Craig Thompson, Dustin Harbin, Cyril Pedrosa and many other artists whose lettering also helps to convey their art styles (which is the case in most of the european artists), I decided to figure out what my stories would look like if I hand lettered them, so I've been practing and experimenting with different tools. A part of me – the part that inks everything with the same brush – wants to letter with the brush and see how would that go, but I guess I would have to draw a little bigger to pull that off. Seems to work with Paul Pope, and I know he draws pretty big.
I'm still not satisfied with my skills, but it's fun to learn with the mistakes you make while you're discovering a new world.

Angoulême 2013 - the video

We did a little video with some images from the first part of our trip - the festival in Angoulême, the artists we knew, the town. I hope you like it.

Watercolor video

Five steps of one of my latest watercolors in a video I made for a brazilian site.
Enjoy.

Daytripper - Eisner Awards 2011 - Best Limited Series

GULA inking and the DHP variant

I love inking.
I made a video of some of the inking on my new Casanova GULA cover.
I hope you like it.


Also on the cover front, the folks at Dark Horse Comics announced my variant cover to the second issue of the new Dark Horse Presents anthology. I'm thrilled to do a cover for this comic book. I still remember how hugely influential it was to me to buy Dark Horse Presents when Sin City just appeared on the anthology, or when I read a Hellboy story in it. And then, when the anthology relaunched online, I was super happy to be part of it with Sugarshock, and now it seems the anthology's path crossed with mine once more. I really like the fantasy and science fiction feel of this cover, an homage to some of the greatest things to explore in comics form.

Here's the sketch and final version side by side, to show how much I really saw on the initial idea, and before that doing the final version was way easier.

Daytripper challenge

Last week, the Daytripper collection came out in comic book stores, for everybody to find, buy and share with their loved ones. Some people ordered it through Amazon, and then they saw that it was only going to be available on February 8th. In the same fashion, regular bookstores would only get the book and start selling it on the same date.

Today.

So, the direct market gets a one week head-start, and we should take care of our direct market and the comic book stores, but now there are a lot more venues where you can find Daytripper. Now, people who doesn't usually buys comics - or who at least usually doesn't go to a comic book store - can bump into our book and discover it for the very first time. I believe there are a lot of potential readers in bookstores, in movie theaters and everywhere in general, and they just don't read comics because they don't know the variety of stories that are being told in comics form, some of their liking for sure, so the more we can have our book along with other books, the better.

I think that that's what Steve Niles called "reaching out of our bubble" on this blog post, and I couldn't help but agree with him that there must be a more positive approach to our support to Creator-Owned stories than just complaining.

That's one of the reasons I made this video.

I also made this video because it was fun, and it reminds me that making comics is also fun, and it's supposed to remind readers - and specially those who venture themselves to bookstores with their cameras and phones in hand (I trust you, guys!) - that reading comics and discovering new stories is also a lot of fun.

The challenge has been set. I hope a lot of people join in.

So, what do you think?
Are you ready?
Go!

Talking about the trip

"Have you ever realized how our lives can change at any given moment? Have you noticed how we can plan ahead all we want, but we're always surprised by the unexpected? And that, afterwards, we end up with a sum of moments, both good and bad, that really define who we are, what we want, and what we love? Well, such roller coasters of ordinary life happen every day, and that's what DAYTRIPPER is about."

That's part of our "On the Ledge" text that can be read on every Vertigo book this month and also here.

DAYTRIPPER is 10 issues mini-series and it's a story about life and all the little moments that ask the big questions. It's an adventure just like life itself, a journey where it's not so important where you're going, but how you get there.

Fábio and I are really excited about this. More than the day this idea struck me, more than the day the project was accepted, now the time has come for it to become a reality. We gave a long interview to Comic Book Resources almost a month ago about the series, but now this is actually happening and we want everyone to be there when it does!

I was talking to Gerard last week, chatting about life, traveling, comics and music, and we talked a lot about Daytripper. How could we not? Fábio had the camera ready and we got it all recorded, just so we could share this very special conversation about our very special project.

DAYTRIPPER #1 will be on the stands this wednesday, December 9th, and you should all go to your favorite comic-stores and be part of this story.

It's time to do it and it's up to you.

We'll be falling off the face of the world for a few weeks. New comics must be made, and written, and drawn, and it's up to us to do it (our part, at least). A good artist creates art and the art is a reflection of his world, and so we must live in this world and interact with people, but at the same time we must learn to respect the attention that is required to produce new work, and to pay attention, there are times when we must focus. Imagine if we lose this window of opportunity?

We love comics. To be able to draw and write comics every day is amazing. To be able to communicate with others with stories you tell is the best job in the world.

While we're at the drawing board, send your email to us and we'll answer them the best that we can, but if we don't, it's just because we're making new comics and that is what everybody wants, right? Updates will continue when we have something important to say (or to show), even if we have to twitter it.

Some important news:


-Pre-order PIXU 2

Khepri is already taking pre-orders for the conclusion of our little PIXU saga. Don't miss out on this internet bargain, and your best bet to acquire the limited edition of the second volume of this horror curse.

-Eisners:



Since we've been making the Why comics videos, we also meant to show our little participation on this year's Eisner Awards, but when we we're enthusiastically winning the award for best anthology with 5, we didn't film it. Now, more than a month later, we discovered that someone did, and we're finally able to remember what we said up there when we were already high on the happiness of it all.

It's up to all of us to make more, and make it better, and keep going.

Until we're back, behave. And let's make great comics.

Why Comics? - part 2

Why Comics?

answers by:
Gerard Way (Eisner Award winner, writer of The Umbrella Academy);
Gabriel Bá (Multiple Eisner Award winner, brazilian storyteller, author of De:Tales, 5 and PIXU , artist of The Umbrella Academy and Casanova);
Dave Stewart (Multiple Eisner Award winner colorist of BPRD, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cut, Hellboy, Lobster Johnson, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); The Spirit (DC))

Why Comics? - part 1

Why Comics?
answers by:
Matt Fraction (Eisner Award nominated writer of CASANOVA, The Immortal Iron Fist, Punisher War Journal and Uncanny X-Men);
Ivan Brandon (Eisner Award nominated writer of NYC Mech, 24seven e Cross Bronx);
Grampá (Eisner Award winner, brazilian cartoonist, author of the graphic novel Mesmo Delivery)

Why comics - the preview

Today, we finished the breakdown of one issue of Daytripper. Bá is already moving on his Umbrella chapter, and we're trying to get as many PIXU pages done as we can before things get crazy once the BPRD 1947 arrives and we have to do it all at the same time.

When we're this busy, working like crazy, staying awake around the clock, we sometimes wonder "why comics?" Why do we have this need? What drives us? What drives anyone to go out there and do comics, out of all things?

We started thinking.

And then we started asking around.

One day, lotta work! Off to the Comic Con!

Last day of work before leaving for San Diego. We're all set.
- We're gonna sell original pages of Umbrella, Casanova, Sugar Shock;
- We have PIXU!!
- We also have CASANOVA vol.1 softcover, CASANOVA vol. 2 set(issues 8-14), Ursula, Rock'n'Roll, the Eisner nominated 5 and the Eisner nominated De:TALES.

we'll be on booth 2729, from Wednesday 'till Sunday.

We'll be signing at:
Thursday - Dark Horse - Fábio and Bá - 1pm-2pm
Saturday - Dark Horse - Umbrella Academy - 4pm-5:30pm
and at CBLDF at some point.

And now here's a video of my last day of work, penciling 2 and a half pages and inking 5, in order to travel to San Diego in peace.

The last drops of ink on CASANOVA

Here's a video that shows Bá and myself inking the last pieces we did for Casanova.
I'm inking the last page and he's working over the image on the back cover.
I'm left handed and ink with a brush, Bá's right handed and uses pens.

Hope you enjoy it.