Oh God, Finally!

JUST got back from DICE con in Dublin. And when I say "just", I mean 3 days ago, but thats how long it took me to unwind and get with my feet back on the ground:

YES, it was THAT good.

I got like, a MILLION things to announce and tell, but I promised myself I wouldnt allow myself more than 10 mins online today (LOADS and LOADS of pages to do), so I'm just posting the smaple pages I had the pleasure and privilege of showing to CB Cebulski, of Marvel fame. He liked them apparently ;)
As usual, open on separate tab to see them MUCH bigger.

Inks:

Pencils:

And these are older, but he liked them too so I thought to post them again, for whoever hadnt seen 'em:

Cool, Im afraid thats really everything for now, I'll come back soon with a LOT of news, images and probably a name change to the blog. I'll explain later.

Peace out.

LuCa.

New old stuff

Been so taken with finishing Glimmer Man #1 lately (again, the book is out on Atomic Diner Press and you can find it for now at Sub-City Comics in Dublin) that I forgot to post colored pages from my short story (whic I also wrote) published in the 3rd issue of Lightning Strike magazine, of which I also drew the cover.

The book has been out of a while now so I dont think its gonna be a problem to post these.

This is my first double-page spread for the story, pages 3 and 4. Open in new tab for bigger view.

Story/art/colors/lettering by me. if youre interested in the book, drop them a line on Twitter at @LsComics or on their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/LightningStrikeComics

BONUS: added the cover to the same LS issue, sans logo. Hope ya dig it.

Peace,

LuCa.

Finally! PAGES!!

In what is starting to look like a suspiciously recurring pattern, Im back after a long absence. And to prove that I havent slacked around like the lazy bastard everybody seems to think I am, heres -finally- the first 3 pages from the project that I have been working on for this whole summer (and planning since even earlier) that I couldnt show until, basically, yesterday.

The book is GLIMMER MAN #1, written by Darrin "dashing" O'Toole, edited and supervised by Rob "ravishing" Curley and drawn and lettered by "marvelous" me.

What the guys wanted to achieve with the book was the genesis of a new kind of Irish superhero, respectful of the Lee/Kirby tradition but at the same time 100% historically accurate for a change. Darrin and Rob researched a LOT of WWII facts and anecdotes revolving around the overlooked role of Ireland in the last war, and I want to believe that I did my part of the job in illustrating it with a style that in my vision wanted to be nostalgic but "messed up" by a more modern inking. Posterity will judge if I failed miserably or kept my promises.

The previews are unlettered, so if you want to know what the funny people are saying you still have to buy the book in Sub City Comics in Dublin, you cheap bastards you ;) Open them in a new tab for a bigger preview.

Should be distributed soon in the UK too, Im told. I'll let you know when that happens.

Over and out, and hopefully be back soon.

LuCa.

Dots and Rockets

HUGE fan of the Hernandez Bros, and yet I couldnt come up with a better tagline...

Anyway.

Heres the 5 pages for a short story written by @AdlaiM that I really enjoyed myself doing. Even took the opportunity to experiment a bit on a new distressed halftone technique, a honour I usually bestow only to the finest of projects.

No pencils this times, I inked directly from print size layouts, a process i found interesting, even if a bit more time-consuming than my usual thumbnailing. But thats just coz Im not used to visualise story-telling at that size right away. DEF wanna try it again.

Pentel brushpen on Bristol, couple of new supercool Kuretake markers, and too much Photoshop.

Inks!

So, remember the pencils shown here not too long ago? Well, these are the inks.

The writer, Mr. Dave Hendrick, seemed quite pleased with the result, so yeah, theres that.

Inked from bluelines printed on smooth Bristol with brush, nibs, pens and whatever else gets the job done.

I have to say, I DONT completely hate'em, which is not uncommon.

Also, Im preparing layouts for a short superhero sequence for portfolio review, in preparation of the next comic conventions season. Ideally, it shouldnt take too long and Id be able to post stuff soon.

But again, ideally I should be working in the field right now, so yeah, theres that...

Feeling a bit grumpy today. Got absolutely NOTHING to do with this great, fun short story, I swear ;)
Mr. Hendrick, if you read this, thanx again for the trust and the countless pats on my back ;)

L.

PAGES!

So, I got a busy and all with some things Im doing at the moment, but  got a moment (it actually took the whole fucking morning) to scan these pencil pages and prepare them for inking (turn them into blueline, fit them in a print template, add digital panel borders). Which means, finally theyre here.

I posted a long/useless process entry some time ago, with explanations on how I work from layouts to preliminary sketches to finished pencils. Its here.

Well, now you can finally compare those with the finished pencils. Inks are coming too. "When?" You ask. Fuck you.

Again, theyre from a collaboration with the VERY talented Dave Hendrick, hopefully the first of many more to come.

Btw, Ive also been penciling pages for a 20-smthing pages long crime story that should be out hopefully this year from Markosia publishing. Its gonna be inked by somebody else, which is new for me an Im kinda curious/excited to see the final pages. Im basically 2/3rds into the pages, and once Im over, Im gonna post the whole thing here. Like, the whole story, from start to finish. Unlettered and not inked, but hey, better than nothing. 

Thats it, now Im back to doing stuff.

L.

Im weird like that...

Last night we saw Casablanca in a cinema. Today I did this.

Make sure to open in a separate tab if you wanna have a clear view.

L.

PS: "And what about the pages?" - I hear you asking. I actually DID finish them, but I figured Id rather spend a couple more hours drawing today than scanning all that shit.

No, Im not dead + Finally! PAGES! And a lot of them!

Been criminally absent from these shores for a while now.

In my defense, you have no idea what PAIN and SUFFERING are if you never moved from one flat to another before. Took me more than two weeks to be back 100% operational in my new place. Plus, of course, an almost-penumonia which left me bed-ridden for more than a week. But now Im better.

What have I been up to in the meanwhile? PAGES, finally!

I finally got around a personal project of mine that MIGHT see the light earlier that I thought (at least in this) first incarnation and whaddayaknow, its the same project that gave this very blog its name:

Ladies and gentlemen, without much further ado, I hereby introduce you to... SPECTOR! The trailer! Pencils and inks!

Still not finished (the complete mini-story is 6 pages, so Im not THAT behind) and YES, that is my first two-pages spread, which took more time and pain to physically build and tape than actually draw...

Id like to explain more the concept and inspiration of the whole thing, but if youre familiar with the AMAZING fellow Italian artist Francesco Francavilla and what hes doing with Black Beetle at the moment, well, my project basically comes from the same humid and pulpy backstreet of pop culture ;)

Anyway!

+ BONUS! Two pieces I did to get in the right mood BEFORE the mini story: it started with one simple scene, imagined as a one-page teaser/ad for the story, then I decided to do another as a story-telling exercise in how to tell the same sequence in a different way. Then I decided to color them coz hey, why not. My first proper foray in to coloring. Cant shake the feeling its a bit amatorial but they were fun. And just to keep with the exercise, lettering is on its way!

Take care,

L.