very little about The Switch

Hey Everybody, how goes this week?

First off, I was asked by some friends to spread the word of a project they currently have running on Kickstarter. I'm going to do this in an official kickstarter update too but wanted to give you, our faithful few million blog readers, the heads up first.

Bart Sears is a legendary comic artist renowned for the dynamism and powerful anatomy of his figure work. A while back, he used to write and draw a monthly feature that would give drawing lessons to readers. So now, all those columns are being collected with new material, insights, and lessons for all of us to learn from. I'm a backer and if you're interested in becoming one too, please click on the link below. They've got five days left in their campaign.

Brutes and Babes

Thanks to the networking efforts of a couple of super-friends, I started on a major new writing assignment for DC Comics this week. I'll be working with another member of our Switch team so wanted to share the good (albeit vague) news with you guys first. I'll be very excited to let everyone know more about it when I can. Or ask me about it next month on the 19th at Limited Edition Comics in Iowa or over the weekend of the 20-21st at the Minnesota fairgrounds. Tom, Robb, and I will be assembled at both locations with a new Switch print for readers. You'll even get a chance to get Doug to sign it in Minnesota.

As for The Switch itself, closer and closer every week. I haven't communicated much with Tom over the last couple of weeks but I know he's killing himself every day. I got some pages from him to ink yesterday so I'll be jumping on that to speed the process along. Here's this week's sneak peek at some of what I received:

That's all for now, amigos. Catch up to you soon and thanks as always for your backing and support.

Keith

Some more sneak preview art...

One day when this book is finished, do you know what I will not miss?  Coming up with clever blog titles every (other) week when they practically are the same thing--MORE EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PREVIEW ART!!!  But before we get to that, I do want to mention that in a month the entire Switch team will be at MSP Comic Con!  And by entire I mean our favorite gimp Keith, myself, new colorist Robb Miller, and Doug Mahnke (who did the variant cover--so that counts!!).  We'll also have a special exclusive Switch print on hand to autograph for all of you good folks who stop by our tables.  :)  If the good Lord is on our side, then we'll be completely done with the book by then.  This past week I got side-tracked with a freelance project that is finally in its final stage.  Then it's Switch Switch Switch.....

Onward to what you really came here for...MORE ART:

Villains meeting....

A new look at our German bad-ass, Nagengast. I actually changed up for hair a bit for something a little more unique.

The charming, smarmy look of Lover Boy, always up to no good.

Someone's getting an ass-kicking!

Who is this? One of our backers (her look not yet finished in this panel).

A startling confession

Hey everybody, happy Good Friday to all of you. If you need a break from dying Easter eggs or relaxing on an extra day off, well, you can always count on the trusty old Switch production blog to provide a minute or two of a distraction for you.

This week, I have a startling confession to make. I'm really tired of The Switch. I've been living with this thing (and the constant stress of how far behind the production process has run) for much longer than intended at this point. For me, all the fun, creative parts of my contribution to the graphic novel were finished a long while ago. Now, all that remains is the grunt work of flatting colors or lettering pages whenever new pages trickle in. Producing a project of this size is a marathon. In this case, it's turned into an ultra-marathon.

Anyway, don't cry for me, Argentina! At the end of the day, we'll have an amazing, Kick-Ass project to be proud of for the rest of our careers and all of our supporters will have something cool on their bookshelves to someday hand down to their children and grandchildren. An heirloom of the graphic variety, if you will.

The finish line is in sight. Just gotta power through some creative fatigue and get there. Somebody cue the 'Chariots Of Fire' music while I get back to it over here.

In the meantime, here's some screenshots of some stuff I've done this week. Happy Easter, everybody. You'll be in Tom's capable hands again next week. He moisturizes his hands so they're nice and soft and comfortable. Or so I'm told.

Thanks as always for your support. See you soon!

A Day Late, and Rewards Update (Tom)!

Sorry the weekly blog is a day late-- yesterday was a hell of a day for me due to tax time (my least favorite time of the year), needing to organize all of my paperwork and receipts, and just barely making my appointment in time to see my tax accountant. But that is not your problem. Regardless, here is your weekly update on The Switch, albeit a day late (only the second time we're late with this blog, if memory serves; still proud to have hit every week except for one during Christmas season).

Last weekend I did a signing at one of my favorite stores, Limited Edition Comics & Collectibles in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  I wasn't the only pro there: industry friends Erik Burnham and Brent Schoonover were also on hand to sign autographs and do sketches for the fans. In short, it was a fantastic time, and if you're really curious about the details of the weekend, then you can check out an upcoming vlog soon on my YouTube channel.  But I mention this signing for 2 reasons.  First, one of the sketch requests I got that weekend is Switch-related: a drawing of Nasty Cat for Nick:

I showed the finished sketch on my Instagram, but here is the first time I've shown the actual process.  I'm always excited when people request Switch characters!  The second reason I bring this up is because I've had several people at the signing mention how much they appreciate the weekly updates here (busted! Now I know there are more than 4 people who read this blog!), as that was a big goal of Keith and mine--to be as transparent as possible for this project for our backers.

Speaking of transparency and updates, here's one regarding the free headshot sketches everyone will receive (which we'll work hard on finishing asap after the book is sent to the printers).  In my rare spare moments, I'll layout and begin the headshot sketches.  In fact, here are a few peeks (keep in mind, they're unfinished but will be inked) of some of our characters for our backers:

Nagengast

Snow

Nasty Cat

Moss

Lover Boy

Electricia

Hope you've enjoyed the art here, and have a great weekend!