Trying to get as much of this done this week as i can, next week is going to be pretty intense getting Sequential to press. Go max go.
Like these two, facing set two count. After the long slow opening and establishing sequence for Charlie, i wanted some nice short bits to follow up with some of the rest of the cast before the next longer scene.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, drawing, pencils

Also some jawboning about lucid dreaming there for you in the blog.

Just two more left for this dream sequence to go.

That's right, i wanted to open the story with a nearly wordless, twenty one page dream sequence! You can see how it might have been a little hard to convince a publisher to go for that without seeing it all done :)

By the end of chapter one though, i hope to have made my case. Colored 20 last night and working on some pencils for 40-46 today.

max

salgoodsam.com

Labels: "Dream Life", anthology, Art, blogging, Comics, links

Dream life continues afoot. Or no, it's in the air. well, whatever, :)

There was a rewarding surge in traffic when the latest page dropped. Need to get the last few dream sequence pages uploaded tonight. I posted a clip of script that was cut out along with page 16 today.

Just completed a total renovation and conversion of Sequential to a word press site. Came out well i think. Lot of new functions possible now, Bryan Dave and I have been throwing round a lot of ideas. Need to catch up with TCAF things but so far everything seems to be coming together.

Labels: "Dream Life", "finger string", ack, design, donate, News, other stuff, press, TCAF, webcomics

enjoying the coloring i'm doing for Dream Life right now, here's a peek at tonight's work.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics

Psst,

hey buddy...

So I've been wanting to add comics to Sequential.spiltink.org for a while, and was wondering how to go about it.

Then i realized, hey, i draw comics! duh. Been working on a graphic novel called Dream Life for the last while, and it's been begging for a better site.

To be honest I've been reluctant to use Sequential to promote my own work, feel a bit funny about it. But it increasingly seems the best way to continue doing both, and truthfully it was while working out how to get my own work out there that i realized there was a need for something like it in the first place, so of course i should be using it.

Over the last 6 months I've been trying to remind myself of that. I've Just added a new area to the site, a WordPress webcomics page, hosted at sequential.spiltink.org/comics [rss] - for now the main attraction is Dream Life. I had been publishing it on Live Journal but it's needed a new easier to read/follow site for a while.

For the last week there's been a new post each day, after page 9 I'll have new updates every Wednesday.

I want to expand from there, eventually to be a fully online version of RevolveR. I'm still working out how Wordpress works, when i get it sorted I'll be adding an index for other stories of my own....

But if you draw comics, then consider this -


If you're interested contact me about publishing your comics on sequential.spiltink.org/comics Directly. Ongoing and short stories are both welcomed submissions. I want to leave the subject open on subject matter for the moment, but looking for good story telling and consistent work and i do plan to be picky. It would be great to have s traditional style strip to post right on the main Sequential blog too! Canadiana is very welcomed. Cheers - max.

Labels: "Dream Life", anthology, Art, Comics, News, revolver, webcomics

...man, kind of cutting it close for the trip. Getting there though, doing a dragon right now, in a novel pose i think, never seen someone do what we're doing in this scene. Fun.

Can't show you thought, sorry, secret stuff now, save for the big tada.

Took a few moments from some heavy inking work today to play though. Took a stab and composing the cover for one of my two projects for TCAF.



The text i laid-out a while back, didn't know what art i wanted to use though at the time. So been sitting on it for the last two years. After i drew the page, it struck me it would be perfect for the job, need to shade it still for the interior, but might use it like this for the cover.

 Want this to be ready for TCAF 2010, thinking probably a small run self published deal for now. Like this, looks handsome and would be easy to get printed well. Going to think on it for a bit but it feels right.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, drawing, links

Ok, i just like making film clips. I'd like to make a film sometime. For now, making comics. A friend said they wanted to see what was going on better in response to the other inking clip, so this time i did just double speed. Not quite as exciting to watch but informational. Even for me, editing this noticed a lot of little things i should be paying attention to. Should analyze my technique like this more often.


Again music is by Michelle Breslin and co. from the last album recorded buy sadoceanspacebear before braking up as a group. You can hear more here.
sadoceanspacebear
sicklittleslinky
moekellogg

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, drawing, proses, video

Another day at the desk. Someone wanted to see the work being done more clearly than you can in the last proses video i made, so this is only sped up a little bit.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, drawing, proses, video

Few days ago i saw a post by Cameron, then a gallery of art by some other friends of mine for a course they are teaching in Toronto. All inking stuff.

If you follow this blog you know i just wrapped up a wfh gig, and i'm trying to get in as much work as i can before a week long vacation in Toronto in February. Seeing that other work helped me get kick started inking some Dream Life stuff. Had a good day yesterday getting this done, and i penciled AND inked this tonight in one sitting! In all this page took about 4 hours. Helped it was a simple one mind you but still, like it when once goes that easy.


The music is by Michelle Breslin and co. from the last album recorded buy sadoceanspacebear before braking up as a group. You can hear more here.
sadoceanspacebear
sicklittleslinky
moekellogg

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, inking, video

Plunging away on #12 of K, looking at the last issue next week and looking for the next gig. Been thinking about pitching and talking to some editors about wfh work...


As always keep up with K on it's own sites here & here!

...I've been thinking about characters i'd like to draw if i were doing wfh. need to do some sketching later this week for that. Rocket Racoon and Ghost Rider are at the top of my list for marvel...

Did a set of character sketches for Dream Life last week, for a pitch pack as well.


I'll have a new post on LJ this weekend i think. See you then.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, k

Episode 5 is out, you can watch another little summery of the story by Sophie on the site & there's comments too - here's a Google translation link.

Did a layouts for 8 & 9's covers this week, these are my two favorite versions i think...



Also Inked & lettered page 27 of Dream Life - great week at the desk. But still need more freelance work. Some illustration or something.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, k, News

A page from Dream Life i penciled last night.

it's been muggy here when it's not wet. Life has been doing that evolving thing a lot lately. New friendships, old affairs put to a close - don't have the energy to explain what should be obvious anymore to some, working out what's not for myself all over again. Cue 80's pop song.

Need to read up on some friends for WOTS, on a panel with them. Want to get Jeff Lemire's newest book, looks good - and re-read the Essex County Trilogy. Also bone up on the work of Willow Dawson & Evan Munday who i know but have only read a bit of work from.

Last week of July, going to go watch fire works tonight.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, News

Hope the slump in GN sales brakes by the time RevolveR comes out - have't been talking about it yet but the release date has been pushed back a bit, syncs up now with a cool festival so that's a good thing but going to keep mum till the ink drys.

Also K is coming along, i hope to be able to wrap the art of it this month.

Some appearance to mention in September: I'm a guest at The Montreal Comic Con September 19th-20th. They have a new site for the convention and seems like a some new staff running things, look forward to seeing how that goes.

Then Sunday September 27th in my capacity as publisher of Sequential the Canadian comics blog, i'll be at Toronto's Word on the Street, Sponsoring & co-moderating two panels with Bryan Munn. I'll post more details about that in August.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, comic conventions, News

Something from the monster, made a nice dent in Dream Life over the last three days.

Also while i was at TCAF i missed the launch for episode 1, but i'm told it went well. The site for K went live, there's a vid intro by Sophie the lovely author of the book posted, and there also this one from page for the series on the publishers main site here. And i noticed the first issue can be read as a PDF to, you can find that here.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, News, work

Labels: "Dream Life", Art

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, illustrations

Inking some Dream Life, and other things. The winter hibernation urge has set in, Pigging out on Italian Corn Bread and Coffee and trying to be productive.


Modern Post Biblical adventure stories always thrill; Therefore Repent! by Jim Monroe and myself has earned itself small hills of praise for being and engaging page turner.

And why am i talking up my last grafic novel? Is it that i might want to suggest that you get that special comics freindly friend a copy of our book for Christmas?

Yep, might be. I mean, it's a post rapture grafic novel, what more slightly blasphemous gift could you give your hip and culturally savvy sweet someone?

In Canada and at the cut rate of $10 here on NMK, from Amazon [$11.24 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25]or IDW, or your local comic shop! Everyone likes getting puppies, this one talks and you don't have to worry about potty training :)

Hah! i should have been a copy writer! har! i kill myself.

OK. I just watched How To Lose Friends And Alienate People and now I'm channeling the main character! He he!

But seriously; it's also because i wanted an excuse to post a link here too for the big news!

If your one of the many who've asked me if there will be a sequel to Therefore Repent, and aren't already way ahead of me because you regular the NMK blog, then put your eye's on this sweetness!

The New Post-Rapture Graphic Novel

I'm [Jim Munroe] 2/3rds (AKA 66.6%) of the way through writing the graphic novel follow-up to Therefore Repent! so I thought I'd post some of the amazing sample pages by the new artist, Shannon Gerard.

I don't want to give away too many details, but it's set in Detroit, involves one of the Four Horsemen, and the first 22 pages should be debuting at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival in May 2009.

A: Yes there will be and no i won't be drawing it but don't you worry none, it's in very good hands. :D
Go see for yourself, check out the sample pages they posted.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, revolver, work

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, illustrations

This one came from a question i got on Panel and Pixel from Kevin Mellon & Jason Copland. I'm thinking this is fun stuff, so I'm probably going to start making vodcasts part of the regular CH 0 feed.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, av, Comics, design, ideas, layouts, media, podcasts, tools and trade, video

Been a slow month; with all the spring cleaning, recovering from con flu, and finding a roommate i've not got a lot done on dream life - grumble - nice chunk of the layouts but wanted to have more of the art done by now too. Any who, starting to get going, here's some stuff from the last few nights whittling.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, tools and trade

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, layouts, tools and trade

And another inch closer....

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics

finally got a bit of coloring done on dream life today. been so crazy busy, so many emails to get back to, stuff to mail out....ack....

Labels: "Dream Life", ack, Art, Comics, illustrations

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics

Taking a few days to ink, then back to Top Secret project.

Blocky thing takes forever to ink, I'm telling you, Boyo.

Having some interesting conversations with a few writers right now, considering illustration a sort of philosophical picture book, been approached about a couple of comic book ideas that if not too big I might end up doing, and maybe even seeing if I cant think of an interesting animation idea - had a studio contact me about the possibility of talking about developing an idea with them, pretty exciting the more I think about it. Pondering what concepts i've been kicking around might make the leap well, or if I have any new notions that might be worth pitching....hmmm.

Also making small steps towards writing a new Sea of Red project, that i've pretty much decided I'd like to do sooner than I can draw it, so looking into other artists for that maybe.

Been making plans

to tour for Therefore Repent!

It's looking very good for me going to the NYCC, and Paradise, and by hock or crook my first visit to the San Diego Comic Con. Also Windsor/Detroit as well in the next 6 months! Maybe more yet, haven't got a confirmation but might be giving a presentation here in Montreal at the end of the month as well in NDG, hosted by geekmontreal.com

Jim's going to hit the road as well a little bit, stay tuned and i'll have dates and places for all that.

Labels: "Dream Life", "finger string", Art, Comics, events, News, Therefore Repent

Well, i had wanted to be further along with the book than this by now, but a cool 7 page story came across my desk that i could not pass up - it will be in a very very big, high profile book this summer, just had to do it. But just the same, progress on Dream Life, while slowed a bit the last two weeks, has been very gratifying.

This character and the giant woman who appeared in Charlie's dream just before were inspired by some reading about Pablo Picasso i did a while back, and some of the interpretations of his use of the Minotaur and the Maiden motif in his work.

When John and i first worked on this story together years ago [at the time called 'Nuts'] he came up with the idea of a 'blocky thing' that would torment Charlie at different points though the story, play tricks on him and challenge his assumptions. At the time it was a great but unspecific creature, with no described form. I loved the idea of it, but it was always a shady non specific idea at the time for me.

Later when i dusted off those old bits of story we had worked on together and started re-working it into Dream Life, the blocky thing - while a very cool abstract literary idea, was really hard to give form to as a character for the comic.

I tried a lot of different approaches but none of them ever resonated for me that strongly.

It wasn't till reading about Picasso's minotaurs that I worked it out. I forget who it was who wrote the notes that cinched it for me, but their descriptions of what it stood for was exactly dead on for my interpretation of the Blocky Thing.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, design

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, illustrations

Was out for lots of walking today, brunch at a diner then off to exchange the scanner.

After that spent a few hours working on a short story gig that's popped up. It's top secret but very cool! Made a lot of progress visualizing the story and imagining the characters. Going to be a pretty one i think, like what i came up with.

Scanned a few inked pages later when i got the replacement scanner hooked up, posted those are on Flickr.

The hits have slowed a bit, but I'm happy to welcome a bunch of new regular readers to my new Solo project, Dream Life. about 700 of you have visited this site in the last few days, 3800 of you at flickr, and i have a lot of new friends on live journal and flickr.

Thanks to you all! The feed backs has been really positive, very encouraging.

I've found the rss feed for that as well not so you can add the comic to your reader. The XML live journal feed is here , and the flickr page is hear.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics

Tracked it back to the guys at Drawn!, posted about the new project - thanks Johnny!

Hopefully it doesn't present any server problems, never had one before so reason to hope. But there's been 100+ of you since 7pm! :)

Wow, well, hey there, hi to you all visiting from Drawn!,

Have a look see around. As well as the new project, Dream Life, maybe take a peek at my most recent book, Therefore Repent! - it's just come out in the US and has been available for a while now in Canada.

And I love feed back so please do feel free to drop me a line, say hi, all that.

Ok, got pages to draw and a short trip to pack for, talk soon?

cheers

Labels: "Dream Life", Comics, News, press

I've had a fallow blog on Live Journal for a few years, but i never found a good use for it, other than cross posting from my home page here.

That's not so great so really i just didn't use it. But as i considered how to distribute my new book online, i thought about how groups i've been admiring such as Act-i-vate and Transmission X have been doing things and hit on making use of the old LJ blog.

So I've cleaned out the old crap and started posting it there. I'll continue to post work in progress for the book on flickr, and the book will have a page on Comic Space too. But LJ will be it's full time residence from now on. The XML feed is here!

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, illustrations, News

So, started posting the new story over here on ComicSpace.

Also, if all went as planed, then the IDW edition of Therefore Repent! hit the stands today! Officially yesterday, but most places get new books Wednesdays. But in any case, go check it out! and if they don't have the coolest book of the new year in yet, ask them why the hell not!

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, News

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, illustrations

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, illustrations

Some art without the wash work, I'm feeling like a really good stride if being hit right now with this. Nothing against the last project at all, but it's so nice to be doing something i wrote myself right now. Primarily because of things like this: this was NOT in the script for these two pages, was just going to have a big panorama of the landscape. But the idea hit and i ran with it. No one to check with, i could strike while the irons were hot and it came out lovely, and will add a nice bit of layering to the story with this figure showing up in Charlie's dream here.

More to come when i get back from the holidays.

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics

Labels: "Dream Life", Art, Comics, design, illustrations