CID Prologue Pages
January 6, 2012, filed under: El Cid, by LexI wanted to share some of the final watercolor work for the prologue to Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. The prologue is the part of the book where I retell the original epic poem for readers (here’s an earlier post about it). Since it’s a retelling of an epic poem with lots of big moments (as well as blood and clashing swords), I change up my style to reflect that, using a more traditional, representational comic book style. I then hand the pages off to my colorist buddy, Brian Kolm who does these terrific ink washes and really ramps up the drama. Brian did the washes on book 1 and book 2 and he’s done a bang-up job on the pages for El Cid too. You’ll notice that these pages are in color–even though the book is printed in black and white, doing these pages in color helps establish better values (and it saves time if I ever decide to print a color version of the book). Below are just a few of my favorites. (click to enlarge)
Winter Break
December 20, 2011, filed under: News, by LexI wrapped Part II of Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid last week and I think it turned out pretty well. Second acts are always tough and this one was no exception, but I think I’ve got all the pieces in place to make a strong third and final act. I’ll begin the script and thumbnails for Part III in the new year, until then, I’m taking some much needed time off!
One page at a time…
December 8, 2011, filed under: El Cid, by LexHere are few images from the latest part of Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. I’m always struck by how much time this part (the clean-up, halftones, and word-ballooning) takes. In my head this process is supposed to go much faster than it actually does, I just have to remind myself that it takes as long as it’s going to take and it will be worth it in the end. I hope to a have more in-depth posts down the road…once I get all this other book-writing stuff done. (click to enlarge)
Panel Parade
November 9, 2011, filed under: Sketchbook, by LexI’ve been radio silent because I’ve been consumed trying to wrap up Part II of Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. I’ve got five pages left to pencil and ink and then it’s all the gritty post-production (which generally goes pretty quickly). In any event, just wanted to drop in on the blog, say hello and post some artwork. Below are some panels I liked that I thought would be fun to post. These are in no particular order.
The Comics Jukebox
October 11, 2011, filed under: News, by LexI’m very pleased to report that Kid B. is now available for digital download through the super-awesome iPad app the Comics Jukebox! The Comics Jukebox is a free downloadable iPad app that features top-of-line all-ages comics: John Gallagher’s BuzzBoy, Steve Conley’s Astounding Space Thrills, Mike Maihack’s Cleopatra in Spaaace! to name just a few and now Kid Beowulf!
Book one, Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath is available as three separate issues (approximately 70 pages each). Each issue is one chapter from the book and sells for $1.99 each. Since I’ve got the luxury of color for the iPad, I’ve converted the halftones to color and added some special cast pages in color too. The pages load quickly and are crisp and bright on the iPad, it’s a fun reading experience. You can download a free, 13 page preview–so hop on over to the Jukebox and get your copy! A colored page is below followed by synopses of each issue.
APE Video Parade
October 5, 2011, filed under: News,Studio, by Lex
Thanks to all of you who stopped by my table at this year’s Alternative Press Expo! It was nice to see old fans and hopefully create new ones. I got to meet some terrific artists and came back to the studio fired up to finish Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. In a bizarre turn of events I was asked to be interviewed not once but twice at the show! First, the fine crew at Geek Speek Radio stopped by table on Saturday to discover Kid B. and then on Sunday, Eisner winning cartoonist Brian Fies swung by the table for one of his famous Two-Minute interviews (in which I spat in the face of convention and pushed it to three minutes). Brian was nice enough to post the video and do a write-up at his own blog the Fies Files.
APE Is Upon Us!
September 29, 2011, filed under: News,Studio, by Lex
This weekend the Alternative Press Expo (affectionately known as APE) descends on San Francisco at the Concourse Exhibition Center! I’ll be exhibiting all weekend long at Table 512 and will have an assorted array of Kid B. goodies to sift through: books, buttons, stickers, postcards, trailers and sculpts! On Sunday I’ll be doing a World Building Workshop at noon in the main exhibition hall; I’ll cover different theories and ideas on effective world-building. The workshop will be low-key and fun, so check it out!
APE will be the last big show of the convention season for me, after which I will sequester myself in my studio and bang out the last part of Kid Beowulf vs. El Cid. I’ll have some preview pages on hand so if you’re curious to see where it’s at come on by! Finally, there will be a cool Kid B. related announcement during the show, so be sure to keep tabs via the Kid Beowulf Facebook page or you can now follow me on Twitter @Lex_KidB!
