Category Archives: COMIC BOOKS

I just received word from my distribution partner Top Shelf Productions that the first printing of Tonoharu: Part One is almost sold out!

A second printing is in the works, but due to the time it takes to produce a hardcover book, Tonoharu: Part One may be unavailable in stores for a couple/few weeks. So those who want a copy in the very near future (or those who want a first edition) should get it from their favorite retailer now!

 Or if you can’t find it anywhere else, you can always buy a copy directly from me.

A big thanks to all those who helped to make the first printing of Tonoharu: Part One a success: the folks at the Xeric Foundation, Chris, Brett and Leigh from Top Shelf, the blogs and publications that give it coverage, my friends and family, and especially to the people that bought a copy! Whether my foolhardy dream of eking out a living as a cartoonist will pan out over the long haul still remains to be seen, but I’ve off a good start, and can’t begin to express my thanks to those who helped me get to where I am today.

This is a short entry, but since I’m busy prepping the second printing, I’ll leave it at this. Tune in next Friday for a new web comic.

Pictured: Tonoharu’s protagonist, before and after graphical edits

This is the tenth (and final) entry in a series of posts describing my process for creating my graphic novel Tonoharu. This post deals with the “post-production” edits (for lack of a better term).

I’ve been drawing comics since I was in junior high. I’ve experimented with all sorts of formats & sizes, drawing styles & materials. Most of these experiments were dead ends, but little by little (by the process of elimination if nothing else) they helped me to realize what sort of comics I wanted to make. By the time I started working on Tonoharu in 2003, I had a fairly strong sense of what direction I wanted to go in, not only for Tonoharu, but (presumably) for the works that will follow it.

But that isn’t to say that I had all the fine details ironed out. Daydreaming and theorizing about the comics I wanted to draw only took me so far; only by committing something to paper was I able to see what worked and what didn’t in practice. For the things that didn’t work out, I did my best to make them right after the fact, via graphical and textual edits. Continue reading Creating Tonoharu #10–Final Edits→

Pictured: Adjusting the levels of the artwork. What fun! 

This is the ninth post in a series describing the creative process behind my graphic novel Tonoharu. This installment offers an account of all the computer related stuff I do once the artwork has been inked. I’ll try my best to avoid technical jargon, but to explain this in a totally layperson-friendly manner would make this entry way too long, so I’ll occasionally use the technical terms (with wikipedia links for those that actually want to know more about some of the technical stuff) and hope that the accompanying pictures make what I’m talking about at least somewhat clear. Note: all artwork shown is from the work in progress, Tonoharu: Part Two.

Continue reading Creating Tonoharu #9–Computer Stuff→

There’s a paragraph-long review of Tonoharu: Part One in this week’s EW (the magazine with the GROSSEST initials in the publishing world). May 23 cover date, page 126. As always, I can’t seem to find a weblink to it…

They gave me a “B”. That’s pretty good, right? I wouldn’t even want an “A”, because then it’s like I’m the teacher’s pet or something.

Anyway, check it out. The same issue also features a cover story about Sex and the City, all the more reason to take a look at EW this week…

Thanks to EW reviewer Sean Howe for the writeup, and to Lemel Williams for letting me know about the review.

*UPDATE*:  I just found a link to the review online:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20200850,00.html