Exit 6 Back Cover

So with a little extra time on my hands and not really sure what to do with a couple of projects I found myself sitting most of the day and finishing up the coloring on the back cover of the Exit 6 book.

The front cover is done as well and I'll be posting that tomorrow.

Now I just need to finish writing the book, put all the pages together, and get this thing to the printer. It's not nearly as far along as I'd like it to be but it's further along than it was last week.

So, that's something...

Free Comic Book Day

Geez, I've been meaning to get to this post for days now so I figured I might as well finally sit down and get to it. I really don't know where the time goes anymore.

Free Comic Book Day on Saturday seems to have gone really well. I dropped off a nice stack of books to Time Warp Comics, my local comic book shop, on Friday. I got a chance on Saturday afternoon to stop by quickly, see the sites, talk to a few of the artists, and grab a few free books for a friend's kid. The OilCan Drive books were nowhere to be seen so I hoped that they had all gone to good homes and weren't sitting behind a counter somewhere forgotten.

I did find this photo later on Facebook and, if you look closely, you can see that, in fact, the books were out on the table, available for the taking. Or maybe Wayne, the owner, is standing there and telling people, "take any book...any book in the store...but this one!" Who knows? ha ha. I didn't get a chance to talk to Wayne on Saturday and see how it was going. He really seemed to have his hands full with the crowd.

Along with free comics, Wayne really put on a great day. His store featured the Batmobile, a Ghostbusters hearse, the General Lee, a jeep from Jurassic Park, a regiment of Stormtroopers, a full sized R2-D2, and a bunch of other cool stuff. So, I could see why he was so busy.

I also quickly stopped by the artists' table and said hello to a few people I used to sit, sign books, and do sketches with at comic conventions and in store signings like this. It was good to catch up with people I hadn't seen in a while and see some of their new work.

But, I could only stay for a while. I had to run off to a friend's brother's graduation party/daughter's birthday. Adam is a great friend who was only in town for a few days for his brother's graduation so it was good to see him and his family again.

And later, the most fun part of my day happened. Adam's brother took us out to an empty school parking lot and taught me and Adam to ride a Harley Davidson Sportster 1200cc motorcycle. I've been on motor scooters and bicycles before but never a full blown motorcycle, much less a Harley. But, I learned quickly how it handled, how to start it up, and how to ride and shift it. And I didn't drop it or crash into anything even once.

So, of course, now I am looking into getting a motorcycle. We'll have to see how that goes.

I hope everyone had a great Free Comic Book Day! Talk to you soon.

From The Vault - OilCan Drive FCBD 2002

I might have posted the cover to this book once before in the From The Vault Friday section but, what with Free Comic Book Day being tomorrow, I thought it was a perfect time to revisit it.

This is the first comic book I ever did of OilCan Drive back in 2002. I conceived the idea of OilCan Drive sometime in the middle of 2001 and this first book was done for the first Free Comic Book Day back in 2002.

I remember really trying to get this book done in time for that first Saturday in May, 2002. Not only was I trying to do a full comic book but this was the first book I ever fully colored on the computer and was putting together digitally. Up until then I was still painting with my airbrush and putting everything together by hand. So, I was pushing a lot of personal boundries trying to get this done under a deadline.

And not only was I trying to get the artwork done but I also remember the struggles I went through in trying to get this book printed in time. I think I finally got all the copies printed and bound on the Thursday night before that Saturday. I know I was cutting it close but it got done somehow.

So, when I read that this year is the tenth anniversary of Free Comic Book Day I really felt compelled to get something done for it. And since I had an almost already completed new OilCan Drive book ready to go I decided what better way to celebrate the tenth anniversary than to give it out an my local comic shop for Free Comic Book Day.

So, if you're in the area of Boulder tomorrow stop by Time Warp Comics and pick up a copy of the new book. I was actually early with them this year and gave them to the owner today. But, there are only 50 of them so get there early. I don't know if they'll run out or not.

And, who knows, I may even show up there myself for a while and sign a few copies.

Have a great weekend!

Messing With the Webcam

In the midst of getting the new OilCan Drive book done and printed up for this Saturday's Free Comic Book Day I've been pulling out a lot of other ideas I've had over the years and now feel compelled to pursue.

So I've been playing around with the OilCan Drive website, getting embedded music players to work, and trying to get an online store set up so I can finally sell some of my own stuff on the web.

And yes, the first thing that will be up for sale will be the new OilCan Drive book. I figure those of you who won't be able to get to Time Warp in Boulder, CO this Saturday might like a copy too. So I am doing my best to get that set up and make it happen. It's been fun. I've found a lot of sites that I have bookmarked over the years that I am finally putting to some good use.

And I broke the computer's webcam out for another idea I have and started testing it last night. I like the way it can take black and white photos and video and I even found a time delay so I can take photos without having to keep my finger on the mouse button.

So I played around with it while I was messing with the acoustic guitar and playing some songs.

And of course, what is a fictional cartoon rock and roll band in your head worth if they don't have women in the front row flashing them. And while Monika was kind enough to give me permission to put these photos on my blog they won't be showing up on Facebook or anywhere else her Mom and family might see them anytime soon.

So, count yourself lucky.

I sure do.

From The Desk(top)

Here's a quick peek at some new pieces I've been working on this past week. They're almost done and ready to be sent off. Then it's back to trying to get these OilCan Drive books printed for Saturday.

Two more days until they have to be done!

Working On It

I knew that the annual Free Comic Book Day was coming up this Saturday. But, what I didn't realize was that it's the tenth anniversary of the event. The first OilCan Drive book I created I did for that first Free Comic Book Day. So, for the tenth anniversary I wanted to do something.

Of course, I didn't have much time.

So, I pulled out the last OilCan Drive book I was working on and I've spent the last week trying to get it all finished. It's really not nearly as much work as I thought. I had to write some new text pieces and do an interview with the band (which was odd) but I was amazed at how much work was done that I simply abandoned.

I don't know what's wrong with me that I can do that much work and get so close to having something done and simply quit right before I cross the finish line. But, thanks to Free Comic Book Day I will have a new OilCan Drive book done and ready to go by Saturday.

And, if all goes well and the printing gets done and looks good, I just may have a few books I can sell here on the site.

But, first things first, getting the book done!

Wish me luck!

Happy May!

I've been busy this past week juggling both client work and something I've been trying to put together for next week (more on that soon.) But, I did want to welcome the month of May by doing a new blog header featuring Vincent Spicer, OilCan Drive's lead guitar player and resident bad-ass.

Now I just need to find some time to do a piece like this for Nicole and Henry and I'll have a complete set.

OK, back to work for me. I'll let you know what I've been working on a little more this week.

Have a good one!