www.dannyzabbal.com

Emily Infinity – The Sensational Sorceress

She’s taking the bus because her Pegasus is in the shop.

The Everyday

Adam Cadwell is his name, and his comic is The Everyday. What is about? It’s about everything. All those lovely details you spot off the corner of your eye. The interesting foibles and charms of the normal world, and their beautiful uniqueness. The Everyday is the quintessence of smelling the roses, to say nothing of the amazing illustration.

By his own admission Mr. Cadwell says he’s inspired by American Splendor but I think his work goes beyond. The Everyday isn’t a contemplation of the nothingness of being, it’s about being. Being there to see it, enjoy it, and maybe laugh about it. Well, thats what is means to this reader, at any rate.

Personally this is my favorite strip but there are tons more to choose from:

Got to his site and check it out. You’re going to love it, believe me: The Everyday.

Explanations and Announcements

Allow me this brief moment of self-absorption.

Part I: Explanation

In regards to my webcomic. Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the longevity of Journey in the 6th Dimension. There’s a gang of folks out there who want to know if I’m stopping after eight pages. The answer is, “No I’m not.”

That said, I can understand the confusion. It’s really my fault for not being more specific about the format.

Journey in the 6th Dimension will be an exhibit of different science fiction, fantasy and super-hero stories. I’ll always do the drawing but every once in a while I’ll get a guest writer to assemble a great script. The constant element will be Phoebe and Drake, they’re going to introduce and conclude each tale. Sure, “Drake’s Universe” is coming to a close, but that means there’s a new story just around the corner. Like I said, I should have been more specific. Sorry about the confusion.

Phoebe and Drake are just the beginning.

Part II: Announcement

In response to general interest I’m compiling the superheroes from my flickr gallery into a book. However, it wont just be a flip-book of blurbs and drawings. The idea is to take these characters and expand on their stories with prose and additional illustration. It will be a sort of superhero storybook, if you can imagine that.

The plan and structure took a lot of deliberation, so I’m not treating lightly; it’s got to be done the right way. So in respect to the prose I’m bringing someone else, my close friend of many years Etan Muskat. He’s a very experienced, thoughtful and gifted writer, and as far as I’m concerned there’s no one else more suited to write the stories for these superheroes. As far as illustration, I’d like to avoid rehashing as much art as I can. Dictated by the stories and layouts, I’ll be composing new drawing for these characters.

Unfortunately, this means that I wont be making any new characters for a while. At least until we have some sample chapters shop around. Instead, I’ll be uploading work-in-progress for the book. Chances are, you’ll be seeing assorted drawings for the same characters rather than a whole new character every week.

I’m really excited about this project. I got the first story on Monday and it’s really amazing. I think Etan and I are going to put together a really fine book.

The Book

I’m hard at work oscillating between Journey in the 6th Dimension and this as-of-yet unnamed short story book. When you hop back and forth you start to discover strange things about your work habits. For example, I spend as much time on a full comic page as I do on one tiny illustration. That’s not necessarily surprising, though when I hold them up side-by-side I can’t see the discrepancy in hours

In any case, everything is chugging along smoothly.

Below is an illustration for one of the sample chapters Etan and I agreed on. We thought we’d start with Eugene Linder-Flowman, I think mostly because he strikes the right balance of the mundane and fantastic. This, as you can probably tell, is one of the more exciting images the story evokes. I enjoy the composition, although frankly I’m not too sure if I’ve pushed it too far and weather or not the coloring is appropriate. Experimentation will answer all questions, great and small. If I learned anything from concept art, you never nail it on the first try.

Still, I’d appreciate any thoughts you might have so please let me know.

Nick Derington

Boy I tell you, I really like this guy’s work. Everything is so solid and confident, and his subject matter rides the a subtle wave of abstraction.  Peruse his flickr set and you’ll definitely agree. Also, make sure you drop by his website www.nickderington.com. You can scope out some his previous work and, if you’re as intrepid as I think you are, go and buy some of his books. I say, festoon your walls and shelves with his art, because it’s super-cool.

Buddy Squad

Collect all six!

Chronillogical

I’m a sucker for time travel, aren’t you? I grew up watching Doctor Who on PBS and wearing out my family’s VHS copy of Back to the Future. Suffice to say, I love the concept. Not in any kind of eerie way-too-personal sort of way, I don’t wish I could go back in time and win the pennant for my high school. No, I just enjoy the freedom of the narratives. Once you take the linearity of time out of the equation, you open up the doors to any and all possibilities. Bearing all that mind, I really like John Chouinard and Greg Poulos’ strip, Chronillogical.

Chouinard and Poulos describe Chronillogial as, “…a webcomic about time traveling grad students.” But I have to say, it’s so much more, for starters it’s extremely well drawn. A sort of fusion of Chuck Jones and Kyle Baker, two artists I love and whose love child I’ve been eager to see. But like all comics, the art is only half the equation. As far as the writing, I think within its idiom it’s kind of brilliant. Each page is a satisfying addition to the narrative, while also introducing a gamut of gags and jokes. It’s the sort of strip I can’t wait to see collected into a treasury. I think the effect of John and Greg’s story on the printed page, is going to push their vision even farther.

A lot of people might describe this strip as wacky, but I wont go there. Rather, it’s frenetic and strange; high energy weirdness… Which, I think, is the effect their going for. It really is a gem.

There’s tons of content, I hope you can make the time to read it.

http://chronillogical.com/

EDIT: When I originally posted this, I forgot to mention the other half of this team, John Chouinard. My apologies John, I’ll get my eyeballs replaced.