It's been five years since my family and I decided to trek west to California. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing, or at least it felt that way to me. An instant spark jolted me to cut my wife off in mid-sentence as she attempted to ask me if I wanted to move to California. I said "Let's go!" faster than the spit comes out your mouth when you sneeze. Before I knew it, we were on the road, driving to California across the states. It was a surreal moment for me because the last time I moved that far from where I lived, was in 1995 when I moved to Utah. That time I did it alone. This time I was part of a team. I feel the same way about this project that I'm inking. It's the first time I've ever inked any one's work, but I'm doing this as part of a team. This is the third time the Turlock Toon Skwad collaborates on a project. It seems to be working
Turlock Toon Skwad Strikes Again
The #turlocktoonskwad decided to take on another project. This time, a poster for another comic con. What's different than the last one? This time Adam and Omar will be doing the artwork and I will be inking and laying out the elements. Then, off to Adam again to provide the colors and then back to me to put the graphic elements such as logos, text, etc. This should be fun as it will be my first time inking someone else's work. I will be doing the inking digitally.
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Invincible Comics
Over the weekend I had the chance to have a table at Sean's Invincible Comics. It was an awesome experience. Sean made me and the other artists feel at home. Adam was there, and I got a chance to meet Master Inker Micah Maté.
Sean, the owner of the store, was one of the coolest and most humble individuals I have met on this side of the country. By the end of the day, I felt like I had known everyone there for a long time. I look forward to visiting the store whenever I need to get some more comics. If you happen to be in the Modesto Area and love comics, it would be awesome to check out Invincible Comics.
Colossus Con
It has been a crazy year for me. I have been super busy with my day job and my other job of being a comic book artist. I never thought drawing would be as exciting as it has been since I started sharing my work online. The stories I used to create, and the original characters I dabbled with in my youth were all just for my own entertainment. It wasn't until I decided to share The S.H.O.W. comic, that I started getting more serious about comic art.
I remember hitting conventions to show my portfolio when I was younger. It is just recently that I have been able to have a table and promote my webcomic as well as meet some awesome people and draw a little.
It has been an awesome experience thus far and I can't wait for the next one.
I will be at Colosus Con this Saturday along with the rest of the Turlockoon Skwad, Adam Harris and Omar Salinas. If you happen to be there, come by our table and say hi.
Another Collaboration with Adam Harris
Here is another collaboration between the awesome Adam Harris and me. Adam took care of the colors on this piece. To view more of Adam's work, click here.
Don't forget to check out the Norcal Cosies website for more detail on this upcoming event and other Cosies events.
Here is a little video excerpt of me working on the inking of one of the pages for The Show Comic. You can find more at bit.ly/Theshowcomic
Making The Show Comic
Over the course of a couple of years I have been creating this webcomic in order to get my comic universe and these characters in the public eye. I have scraped some old sketches of old characters from old sketchbooks to aid in populating this universe. As it turns out, taking this long to put out this first chapter is a bit too long. What I propose for myself this year is to concentrate a little more on getting this chapter finished and creating shorter chapters in subsequent story plots. That being said, I want to thank all of those who have chosen to follow the story line and even add to it with your great suggestions and ideas.
Do you have a favorite character? I'd love to hear what you think so far in the comments below.
Turlock Comic Con
Join Adam Harris, Omar Salinas and I as we set up a booth at the First Turlock Comic Con held at the Stanislaus County Fair Grounds. For more info on the event if you live near Turlock and want to visit, click on the poster above. Click here to read the newspaper article.
Happy Birthday Super J
Today, January 13 is Super J's birthday. Well, not actually HIS birthday but the creator of the character. I am not sure if I've mentioned this before, but Super J was not created by me, but by my childhood friend, writer of the first episode and co-creator of The Show Comic, Jose Gomez. I have always enjoyed to bring things to life and in this case, I am grateful to Jose for allowing me to bring his character into the webcomic universe that is The Show Comic. Below are some early creations, early adaptations, fan art and even a DC Universe Online rendition of the character.
I was able to get a hold of Jose, detach him from his busy day, and ask him some questions I've gotten from people regarding the character:
So, how old were you when you created Super J and what made you decide to give him the powers you gave him?
I believe I was 12 or 13 years old. I modeled him after and idealized version of myself as a superhero.
Did you have any inspiration for the character?
I was inspired by quite a few well known comic book heroes. Captain Britain heavily influenced me costume wise. You can see how similar Super J's mask and costume are to Cap. Britain.
Did you ever think you would see your character in an actual book?
I dreamed of creating his own book when I worked for Marvel. But like most grownups, I gave up my dreams for a boring job. I never got to work for Marvel by the way and I don't draw like used to since my mid-twenties
You wrote the first episode of The Show Comic. Any chance you will be writing any future episodes?
It depends on whether fans of the book want me back. Haroartist seems to be doing a great job with story continuity and keeping with the characters main personality traits.
Are you working on any other creative projects now? If so, can you name them?
Currently I am working a lot and reading a lot of fiction (mostly sci-fi and fantasy). Hopefully reading will get my creative juices flowing again.
Besides Super J, are there any other characters you created that you would like to see in the show comic universe?
I would love to see Shank and Jaust preferably as mercenary anti-hero types like Marvel's Deadpool.
I just want to say "Thank you" Jose, and to all my readers and followers, join me today in celebrating Jose's and Super J's birthday. Happy birthday pal! You can send him birthday wishes on instagram and twitter using the @Embryonicgod handle.
The End to The Funnicks
Flashback to April 28, 2008 when I first started drawing The Funnicks and sharing them in public. This comic strip started at as doodles in my sketchbook and took off the moment I started posting them online. Soon after, Sam and Leroy were born (well, created).
I have to give thanks to these band of characters because they have paved the way for other endeavors and other projects. I Hate My Kids was one of these. Flash forward to today and unfortunately, the end has come for The Funnicks, but if you like the 'off-the-wall' type of humor that they have brought for about 9 years, then you can still check them out by clicking the button below.
I want to thank all who supported this comic strip by liking, sharing and commenting. If you get a chance, I would love to know what your favorite Funnick is (if you have one), just leave the number of the strip on the comments below.
Although The Funnicks have come to an end, I have some new stuff coming out this year which I would love for you to follow. Stay tuned for more information on that and thanks again.
Ode to McFarlane
One of my greatest influences for Spade (character for The Show comic) was Spiderman and as I was growing up and into comics, one artist was all over the title; Todd McFarlane. So, it is no secret that I admired his work as well as the whole Image Cast exodus from Marvel. Above is an homage to the McFarlane's Spiderman below.
If you'd like a signed print of my version, click the button below to head on over to my online store.
Hey Toon People,
Here’s a lil’ spark from the 90s X-Men run that lit up my sketchbook—Jubilee, in all her bubble-blasting, mall-hopping glory! I’ll never forget that iconic Jim Lee panel in X-Men Vol. 2 #1 (1991)—Wolverine, Psylocke, and Jubilee flying through the air like an MTV action sequence. That comic was everything. I used to study those pages like they were ancient scrolls passed down from comic book Olympus.
This original HaroCard is from my JuneToon™ series—Card No. 139—and it’s got that nostalgia hit with a twist of Haro sauce. Inked and hit with alcohol markers on custom 12pt. JuneToon™ branded stock (that’s just fancy talk for “it feels good and looks even better”). Hand-signed, embossed for authenticity, and tucked safely inside a protective 3x4 rigid holder. ✍️✨
Oh, and each card comes with a FREE JuneToon™ sticker while supplies last—because who doesn’t love stickers?
👉🏾 Grab this card solo or start your own X-Men collection from this series before Jubilee rollerblades outta here.
—Haro!