Washes: D-O-N-E!

Guess what's next? Yeah, "colors", I'm looking at you. You can run and hide, but I've got you locked on target...

Before and After: An example of obssesive compulsive time wasting?

Version A: Original art from book pitch to publisher.



Version B: Revised art for final published book.



See the difference? Yeah, me neither. Perhaps redrawing my pitch pages was not the best use of my time, but there are subtle tweaks in the revised versions that help improve story flow... AND if I had just "cheated" and reused the originals in the final book I know I would never forgive myself.

The proud new owner of my first-ever ISBN!

The biggest change from self-publishing to having a publisher is accepting that it's not all under my control anymore, especially marketing and distribution. Case in point: I had no idea you could pre-order my book in Canada and the UK. (The control freak in me would like to point out that besides the author name, publisher, and language all the other book deets are inaccurate.) Suddenly it all feels... very... real.

How I celebrated the arrival of 2010:

Happy New Year everyone! With the exception of book peripherals (like chapter headers and endpages) and a few re-edited/re-composed pages/panels, VIETNAMERICA is finally I-N-K-E-D! Reaching this benchmark took longer than I predicted, but still deeply satisfying as a huge weight is lifted and I float closer to the finish line. Now on to completing the washes...

11-0: the perfect season!

SVA's public figure drawing just went on winter break and rumor has it it won't be returning which makes this extra poignant: after attending for over 8+ years, this was the first semester I made every session. I am officially now more disciplined then I ever was in college!




When I'm on my deathbed and my life flashes before my eyes, this crowning achievement will certainly be the main feature. Special thanks to fellow figure drawers Alex Meyer, Debra Ziss, Matt Fleck, Leland Purvis, and Tyler Chin-Tanner for helping keep my eye on the prize.

Spreading some cheer for the holi-daze.

"Do you draw anything else besides comics and naked people?" "Yeah, really crappy email responses."

Wednesday figure drawing: still hangin' in there...

... despite VIETNAMERICA consuming virtually my every waking moment.

Sooooo close yet sooooo far...

I'm getting re-focused and back to work after a lengthy holiday family reunion: "Tran-Giving", as it's known among my kin. 18 family members spanning three generations under one roof trying not to drive each other insane = fun.

While away my editor reacted to the latest draft and sounds like they're pretty happy with what they've got so far. I'm entering the 11th hour of what now has become a 20-month/300-page marathon so pep talks like hers are my crack cocaine. I'd show you the other 3/4's of the book washes but I should be actually working on it instead of setting up more screenshots.

"So I Remember..." Part II

Part I here.

Reminder: If you're looking for something to do this weekend...

... check out KingCon!



I made this mini comic collecting my worst/best email gags to sell at cons--available this weekend with a bunch of other stuff by cartoonists and comic peeps way more talented than myself.