Skank Nipple: C'MON, C'MON, LUUUUV ME FOR MY MONEY...

        THAT'S RIGHT, OLD MAN. DANCE, OR BE BEATEN LIKE A

        BLOKE WEARIN' WOMEN'S UNDERPANTS!




Smelba: YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME TWICE, OL'

        BUDDY! I CAN CUT A RUG BETTER'N THEM N'SYNC

        BOYS! LISTEN TO THIS: "I WANT...YOU...BACK!"

My family and I have just finished moving. If my biceps aren't 32 inches around by the end of all of that, I'll be surprised. I always hate moving. Especially after I've already had a week vacation off of work for Christmas, straight into lugging 7,000 lb. pieces of furniture. I'm just glad I'm settled in. Now, mayhaps I'll look into buying a new home so's I can move again!

I found an old video tape of my old punk band, the GhoulTones. It's a live tape, and the video quality kind of sucks, but I decided to convert it over to DVD so at least it won't get any crappier than it is now. I shouldn't have expected any better, it being a show from October of 1997. I'm also going to see if I can clean up the sound any and put it on CD. As it stands, this could be a huge task, so I don't even know if I'll get around to finishing it. But, we'll see how it goes.

See, didn't I tell you? I tried to tell you, but you didn't want to listen. You went and f*$&#d with the stingrays, and now they're going to f*#@ with you.

A man reportedly went into critical condition in Florida, when a stingray JUMPED INTO HIS BOAT AND STUNG HIM IN THE CHEST!!! If that's not a vendetta, then I don't know what is! One died in self defense, and then a bunch of humans come in and murder their families. Now an innocent bystander has suffered at the hands of a stingray. What is the world coming to?

I know this happened a couple weeks ago, but I heard the craziest story, and I just thought of it. When Steve Irwin died, it really took everyone by surprise. People of all ages enjoyed his TV show for years. He was a brave man. I know I wouldn't stick a 5-foot venomous snake in my face, taunting it while making lots of noise.

It's tragic and a little ironic, I'm sure you agree, that he was killed by the "non-lethal" stingray. You know, the one whose stinger will not kill you.

I know there are tons of loyal followers, and those who are getting bitten in the face daily by poisonous snakes because of his inspiration to crocodile hunters all over the world. But, the thing I don't understand is the string of stingray slayings that followed.

It has to stop.

What did the stingrays do to you? I know they killed your best friend, but you have to let it go. It's in the past now, and you have to separate yourself from it, before it kills you, too. I mean, think about the families of the stingrays. They go swimming along the bottom of the ocean, and when they come back, their father stingray or mother stingray is suddenly missing. How could you? Why? WHY?!

That's all I have to say, before I become unhinged and break something. Where's my gun, you son of a--

Okay, here's a little rock'n'roll movie that I gotta see. It looks like it's going to be the rockin'est, head bangin'est movie since School of Rock. Chekkit:

TenaciousDmovie.com

I read today about a company in Manhattan that goes around in the online role-playing games, gathering gold, and selling the virtual gold for actual currency. What's the friggin' deal here? Here's a rule of thumb: if yer gonna throw yer money away, don't buy stuff for a guy that's made of pixels.

Don't get me wrong. I know there are people who shell out tons of money for online gaming, and if I had a ton more free time than I do, I might be one of those gaming enthusiasts. I might own all of the Final Fantasy soundtracks, and I might have a tattoo of Claire Redfield on my left buttock. I might even buy a moogle sex toy. But, giving money away for play money is where I would have to draw the line...

Where do you draw the line between personal achievement and fame? I've just accepted a contract with a small comic book studio to draw a graphic novel. It was a hard decision to make to abandon my work for 1+ years to work on something that is not owned by me. It is really a completely new style of comic book, one that I'm trying to grow accustomed to. Probably one that if anyone knew me, they would say doesn't sound like something I would really get into. But, I have already worked on it a week or so, and I do really enjoy it so far. The character visuals are all created by myself, so I get to have fun with most of it. But, since I signed a non-disclosure clause in the contract, I can't release any details until it is published...;)

I have so many 3 Witches stories on backlog that I couldn't possibly get them done while working on other projects (two others at the moment!) I also have two open-ended Legends storylines that I have left on the table for now, and that was to develop my 3 Witches idea in July of 2005. It seems like I never have a chance to complete my own projects for one reason or another. Once I knock out this graphic novel(!), I can get to work on other things, but I think it is the best decision at this time to try and get my name out there. Besides, it's a paying job, and that does make a difference, believe it or not.

Also, I'm working with Rain to get our submission together to send to comic book companies. I think our combined storytelling skills may some day lead to something. We've been a little slow getting our pages together, but once we get it finished, it'll be something that I would have a lot of fun completing, if it was picked up by a publisher.

I'm just hoping that in the next year or so, I don't end up pulling all of my hair out. Or sticking my head in a vat of boiling acid...

Today, I had an interview at the Kingsport Times-News with Rain Smith, a reporter who wanted to include me in a story he is doing for Free Comic Book Day, which is on May 6th this year.

I had never been in a news room before. It actually kind of reminded me of something you would see in the Daily Bugle. People flying around like locusts, trying to catch up with the latest stories. I was taken into a photography room, where I had to do all kinds of crazy poses. I felt kind of like that guy in "10 Things I Hate About You," who carried around headshots of himself.

It was a lot of fun, though. I had to answer a lot of questions about stuff I hadn't thought about in a long time. Like, what got me into comics, and why I do comics, and that sort of thing. I know I should have expected it, but I guess I was concentrating on answering the harder questions.

It kind of made me sit back and think, because I haven't actually been into a comic shop more than a couple of times in the past 5 or 6 years. I know that sounds lame coming from someone who writes and draws comics, but it's the truth. Any more, going to the comic shop is an inconvenience. It used to be a real treat to get to go to one, but now, I have a job, a family...pretty much a busy lifestyle.

It seems like the older I get, the more valuable my time is becoming. I think that's a sign of old age. I may be 28, but I feel like I'm 103 sometimes.

Why don't they just put comics back into grocery stores? I remember when I was younger, I always worried about going to the comic shop, because I had to have the version that didn't have the UPC symbol on it. It had to be the version that had Spider-Man's head in the little white box, or just a blank white box, or it wasn't as good as the rest of my collection.

But, still. I'd like to just be able to sneak a couple of comics into my grocery cart while my wife isn't looking. I'd like my daughter to be able to be exposed to them, instead of having to be in some kind of secret club.

I think it was the worst thing Diamond and the other big comic book distributors could do to pull comics from grocery store shelves. It exposed them people that wouldn't normally buy comics. Now, all you have are the die-hard readers, and the friends of die-hard readers. Sales have fallen massively overall since the 90's.

TPB's in bookstores have risen greatly since then, but so what? That's TPB's. That's good and all, but what about COMIC BOOKS?

My only question is, what are they going to do now? If they are going to survive, they can only do one of two things: get comic books back to the general public, OR go digital.

People don't like digital comics as well, because for one thing, they are new. Also, people like to actually be able to hold comics in their hands when they read them. At least, I do. I like to collect them and keep them in my closet by the thousands. I may never read them again, but hey, I have them, and when I want to, I can go over and pull one out and go to town (or the nearest galaxy).

Anyway, enough of my rant. Check out the Kingsport Times-News this Saturday (May 6th) for the full story on this year's Free Comic Book Day. And, send everyone you know to your local comic book shop to get free comics. And, pick me up some while you're there.

J.T. Blevins

I just got an offer to paint a book cover for someone, using Guru.com's freelancing service. If you don't know how it works, writers and artists can post their resume and portfolio so that potential employers can hire them if they like what they see.

This particular offer was made a few days ago, and I had accepted, stating that I would be able to begin the project in a month or so, since I was already working on 2 other projects, not including my own material. I didn't hear from this person, so I wrote back, asking if they still want me to do the job or not.

I had realized that comic book artists and cartoonists were in a sense looked down upon by other "higher class" industries, but I had not yet really come face to face to this reality until this little incidence.

Well, the pompous jerk had the audacity to reply that there was some "confussion" on awarding the project to me, that he hadn't meant to. But, I was welcome to bid on the project like everyone else. He had worked on this book for two years, and he had come too far just to award this project to someone out of the blue. And then, there was a p.s. that said this was a BOOK COVER, and not a "cartoon."

Needless to say, I replied to him and let him know that I had been doing this for 15 years, and I had completed countless projects, freelance and otherwise, and I had made much more money doing my "cartoons" than I would have made on his lousy book cover. I almost said some nasty words, but I decided to just include my own p.s., saying:

"P.S. Learn how to spell "confusion," and learn some grammar and your book just may sell."

~J.T.~

It is funny how life can go up and down. After I lost my job at the *ahem* city...bank in September, I thought my life was on a downhill slope. I had told them about the insanity that had happened within their company, and I was very proud of myself. The first four years or so had been great there, but when all the departments shifted around, I had mucho problemos with management. But, I won't go into details. After all that racket, I realized that I was left without a job...

That time period was something about my life that I have been trying to put behind me.

I feel much better about my work environment at the pharmaceutical company I work for now. I started out as a temp, cleaning equipment and containers that they use to make medicine. Yes, it was a little bit lonely, sitting in a room by yourself for 8 hours, cleaning equipment and drums, but it was nothing compared to being blessed out by customers daily, and watched over your shoulder by someone who wants nothing more than to see you fail, anyway.

I had a couple of good friends at my last job, in between the hundred plus calls I would take daily. It seems like my life has changed so much in the last few months for the better. I know pretty much everyone in my department. There are only about 10 or so, compared to almost 500 before.

Then, last Friday, I was told something to make things even better! I have been hired on permanently as a batch mixer! I will now make $5.00 more an hour (and $3.00 more than I made at my last job!)

Hopefully, things are looking up for me and my family. Now I just have to figure out how to get myself into school, get a degree, and then publish millions and millions of comic books. Well, maybe not the degree part! :)

My head hurts. I'm into my third month of freelancing, and it's been pretty tough. For my most recent project, I have been working with a gaming company, creating 150 x 100 pixel graphics for space ships, buildings, and defense mechanisms. This, I thought, would be one of the cooler projects I have ever worked on. I thought I had it in the bag. I was going to breeze through this like it was nothing. Boy, was I ever wrong.

It really is a fun project, don't get me wrong. But, as far as devoting time to it, it's taken a lot of my family time/off-time lately. I have actually under-charged the company, because I figured that I signed an agreement, and I didn't want to go too far outside of it. My agreement allows me some leeway to how much I can charge, but also, I don't want to charge too much for such small graphics (about an inch and a half wide.)

I really need the money right now, because where I lost my credit card customer service job, they decided to jack up my interest rate. And, considering my credit, I believe I might be up the creek.

Freelancing can be some tough work, depending on how well your employer describes what they want. Most of the people I have worked with have been great, and I have almost an exact idea of what I am going to draw before I start. I have had a couple of instances, though, where I have been told what to draw, but the details were vague. When details are vague, I am left to fill in the blanks, so I assume that they aren't exactly sure what they want. Several times this has happened, and I have been left to redraw preliminary sketches because the employer left out tons of details about what they actually wanted.

Most of it is fun, though. I like being able to really let go on some of the stuff I get to draw. I have been lucky to be able to draw some fantastic landscapes of other planets, and space ships, and an action figure, and all kinds of other stuff. AND I make money while doing it.

But, even considering all of the upsides, I also have been neglecting my duties of all the roles involved in making 3 Witches (besides coloring. Guillermo is still going to help me out, I think.) I have had an itchy pencil finger lately. I just really want to get back to doing my own stuff. The money has been helping out a lot, but I think I might take a break from freelancing for a couple months after I finish my current project.

     Hmm. I've been wondering about this for a long time. I grew up reading superhero comics. My favorite comics were X-Men, Batman, TMNT, and anything written by Stan Lee. I never even picked up a fantasy comic until at least my late teens. Now when you go online, the only comics you will find are mostly Fantasy or Action/Adventure.
     Even the few superhero comics that I have been able to find have mostly involved some sort of humorous take on superheroes, or are set in some alternate world or something. To illustrate my point, I went to OnlineComics.net and browsed to the different categories; and here's what I came up with:

---Action/Adventure Comics › Page 1 of 124
---Fantasy Comics › Page 1 of 119
---Horror Comics › Page 1 of 27
---Manga Comics › Page 1 of 157 (!)
---Science Fiction Comics › Page 1 of 64
---Super Hero Comics › Page 1 of 31

     I myself do an online webcomic, and though my main influences in comics have always been of the superhero genre, my comics don't contain superheroes, per se. I don't think the crowds reading comics digitally these days are from a completely different generation, I just think a certain set of standards have been set by creators who have ventured to put their works online over the past few years.
     Superheroes have historically been big sellers, and that still hasn't changed today, with Marvel, DC, and Image still being the "big 3" in mainstream comics. You can find comics from the big 3 online at their respective websites, but overall, Fantasy, Manga, and Action/Adventure webcomics far outweigh superhero webcomics in sheer number. Obviously, quality is more important than quantity, but I believe webcomics creators have done what the pioneers did in the Golden Age of comics books; they have built a solid basis for a new and important part of our culture. And, until some other form of new media comes along, the stories presented by the many creators who have been brave enough to present their comics to the online community have set the ongoing standard for creators to come.

I had always heard that looking for a house was hard, but I never thought it could be so crazy. We've only been seriously looking for a house for about a week, and it has already been a mess. At first, we found a few decent little houses in our price range, but everything was too out of the way of everything. Today, we found a really nice place that was a foreclosure. It had a big 2 acre flat yard, and it had 4 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms, with a giant bathtub.
Then, the neighbor decided to stop by along with his 3 kids. He was a thin fellow of about 110 lbs with a dusty blonde stack of hair, and a healthy "womb broom" to match. As we were leaving to go make an offer to the bank, he flagged down our real estate agent. I saw them walk over to the house we were looking at and he went underneath like it was his own house! I got out to see what was going on, and he was giving some story about how the previous owners had a water line break, and ruined all the insulation under the house. I felt of it, and it seemed like it was sagging a little, but nothing major. I was going to have someone come out and inspect it before I bought the place.
He then said something that gave away the reason for his trip over there. He said, "I made an offer already for $25,000, and they said I couldn't have it!" The guy reeked of alcohol, so the real estate agent and I thanked him for the heads up, and started to leave. Then he ran over to her truck and flagged her down again.
I thought that was a little odd, but I just thought he was being nice. Come to find out, the guy had stopped her and said: "You tell them kids that this driveway is on MY LAND!!!" Later, when the real estate agent was explaining the property lines, I thought it was kind of funny because she kept referring to him as "Freaky Guy," like "Freaky guy's house is here, and here's the house you were looking at..."
I think I'm forever haunted by weirdos wherever I go, because I could tell a story about pretty much every place that I have lived (and that would be like eight places.) The real estate lady said we could all go and roll his house one night. I think that would be quite the hilarity. We suggested to go and paint "This is our driveway! (from the Leprechauns under the house next door)" on the side of his house. He sounded kind of like one of the villains off of Scooby-Doo or something with his "Tell them kids" statement. I wish I had an evaporator gun so that I could make people like him just evaporate into the air. Maybe that'll be my next project...