Battle Girl: REDUX
August 28, 2009, filed under: Sketchbook, by LexIt’s Friday and I just realized I haven’t posted anything this week, so here are a couple of drawings I found in my sketchbook. Some of you may remember Battle Girl from an earlier post, but since that image was lost to the Great Blog Breakdown of ‘09 I’m reposting it now–because I can. I’m not really sure what Battle Girl’s story is (she’s not part of the Kid B. mythos), but I like drawing her. Below is a new sketch of Battle Girl, followed by the original.
Comic-Con Panel: All-Ages Graphic Novels
August 20, 2009, filed under: News, by LexI mentioned before that one of the highlights of Comic-con was sitting in on a panel with Jeff Smith and some other top-notch all-ages comics creators; among them: Jimmy (Amelia Rules) Gownley, Kazu (Amulet) Kibiushi, David (Mouse Guard) Petersen, Eric Jones & Landry Walker (Supergirl).
Now, thanks to Tom Racine and his terrific podcast Tall Tale Radio, you too can relive that excitement in your very own home! Enjoy it right here! Special thanks to Tall Tale Radio for giving this panel a home.
The Song of Roland: FIN
, filed under: Roland, by LexLast week I dropped in the last word balloon on the last page of Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland. This was for a 5-page epilogue that tied up some loose ends and left our heroes in good standing. A tremendous feeling of accomplishment washed over me when I inked that final page and knew I was done–it was a strange mix of elation and melancholy. I was elated to finish this book I’ve been working on (in some form or another) for the last four years, but melancholy because…well, it was done.
When I finished Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath I bought a large museum storage box to house all the pages, and I’ve done the same for this book. Roland is about 50 pages longer than Oath and the stacked bristol brims over the top of the box–a full four inches thick!
The book is in the editing process now and I’m passing it onto some friends to get their feedback. I feel pretty good about this book as I poured everything I had into it; so far the reviews have been very positive. Once I get all the editing squared away, I’ll be taking a break from scripting and drawing for a while as I try to leave the world of Roland behind me and take a vacation to recharge my batteries.
Here are the last two pages of the epilogue, just when Roland and Oliver think they can take a vacation of their own…(click to enlarge)
I’ll miss drawing these characters–I can certainly see the appeal of sequels, it’s only after we’ve suffered with our characters that we truly get to know them, and then once the story is done we have to move on to the next. My hope is that I can come back to the world of Roland some day and check in on Charlemagne and his Peers.
Just yesterday I raided our local art store during their back to school sale and bought microns, kneaded erasers, pencils and 6 reams of Bristol Board (120 pages–about half a book by my standards). The woman at the register gasped at the sight of all the paper, but I couldn’t help but get excited at the possibility all those blank pages bear.
Grendel Sculpt
August 6, 2009, filed under: Kid B., by Lex
Some of you may remember the sculpts I’ve had done of Beowulf and Hama, well now comes the third and final sculpt in the Kid Beowulf trifecta: Grendel! Masterfully sculpted by Pam Drucker, Grendel stands approximately 7″ tall and holds a rock (which is removable) and is ready for action. Here’s a quick turnaround video for your viewing pleasure:
The sculpt still needs to be molded and cast, but like the others it will be available in two versions: fully painted and a bronzed edition. At the moment, all the sculpts are painted by yours truly, but I’m on the hunt for a skilled sculpt painter, so drop me a line if you’re interested. Here is the model sheet Pam used to sculpt Grendel (click for larger view):
And because Beowulf, Grendel and Hama adventure together, a platform base has also been made that will nicely house all three sculptures. This will also be fully painted to match the other sculpts. You know what they say: collect ‘em all!
I have not yet set a release date for Grendel, but I’ll be sure to keep you posted on that. In the meantime, both Beowulf and Hama are available and can be purchased right here. So what are you waiting for?!