PopFUZE #49

Here is an awesome page by Marat Mychaels that will feature in a new Rob Liefeld/ Extreme Studios event launching from Image in April, the series is called SMASH! EXTREME! and will feature spin off/ crossover titles with other Liefeld concepts including Youngblood, Brigade, Supreme and Prophet. Rob's pencils (which you can see if you click the title of this post) are furiously cool.

WOO HOO! This is going to be unreal, I am particularly looking forward to seeing Marat Mychaels back on Brigade; he was the first non-Image founder to ever pencil a book for Image and that book was Brigade! Marat's lines are always so clean and his action moves like mercury across the page.

Click the title of the post to see more preview pics from Rob and Marat.

2009 To The Extreme!

DragonFUZE #29

My DragonFUZE Comics blog turns one year old today! Usually this would call for a celebration and a reflection back on achievements over the last year, only I don't feel that I made much progress at all on the creative front in 2008. I am not going to list the projects that were rejected on submission, fell by the wayside, or got derailed by other priorities, but there were some in all of those categories and I feel disappointed about that...

I largely view this year as one of creatively treading water when I had hoped 2008 would be the breakout year for my writing, creations and DragonFUZE Comics as an entity/ brand. This has been a very busy year at home and at work and all of the reasons as to why DragonFUZE Comics hasn't yet taken off are good ones.

As is often the case with me, I tend to bite off more than I can chew and 2008 was no exception. At one stage, I was working on HellGrunt, I Hate You, Scratch and Tikki's Giant while helping out others with some of their projects too. As I have written in past online columns and past blog posts; IT'S TOO MUCH! I may have written those words, but I clearly haven't learned those lessons; until now.

I will be away over the new year holiday period, so now is as good a time as any to dish out the Annual DragonFUZE Comics Thank G-d For You And All You Did To Support My Mad Schemes This Year Awards! And the winners are:

Brant Fowler
I don't really know how I could even contemplate my creative and life journey without this guy in the picture. Sounds sappy and all Hallmark-Card-like, but it's the truth. Brant has been a real support to me over the years that I have known him and I greatly appreciate that. He inspires me in many ways, but mostly through keeping his head up no matter what life throws at him and through his dedication to his work in comics. I suggest you check out my favourite comic of the year, Wannabez at the book's official website. Together, Brant, Scott D.M. Simmons and Ross Hughes have created a fun, light hearted and wholly original comic that is my favourite superhero tale of 2008.

Chuck Kennedy
Chuck is the most inspiring father I know; he had an 'instant' family of triplets some time ago and since then he has been faced with what I have faced over the last year, only multiplied by a factor of three! On top of that, Chuck finds the time to be creative, to offer me advice on life and my own creative path and to generally be a great friend! Chuck is also one of the most honest and straight forward people that I know, and that is a trait I really admire. I value his input which makes my stories better than they should be. Thanks also for the small ways in which you have contributed to helping me be a better Papa.

Cary Kelley
While I am always the man with the plan, Cary is the guy who puts the plan into action! He is the Action Man of our group and is now a self-publishing comic book creator. Fallen Justice is a unique super hero book, but only one aspect of Cary's creativity. Mate, you are also the adventurer I never had the chance to be. I know life has thrown you plenty of curve balls, I admire the way you take it all in your stride, allowing very little to knock you off course. I really value Cary's insights into creativity and story telling which have made me a better writer.

Andrew Law
Of everyone I am naming specifically in this post, Andrew is the guy I have known the least amount of time, but he is also the key to making things happen for me in 2009; we have agreed to work together on a Tikki comic that I will be writing over the new year break. Andrew is also a dedicated family guy, while being an insanely talented artist. I am really looking forward to working with you in 2009 and I am very honored that you would lend your skills to my creations. To get a sense of what some of our work might look like, here is a pin up that Andrew drew last year featuring my characters Tikki and Malinki:



That about wraps it for a look back at DragonFUZE Comics Year One. I hope to bring you more exciting news and definite progress with my projects in 2009. Over the next year I will be working on two Tikki comic book stories: Tikki's Giant and Tikki's Mirror, as well as planning out my new novel Enshae: Phayrie Seekers, which you can read all about here: DragonFUZE Creative.

PopFUZE #48

If you click the title of this post it will take you to an interview with Rob Liefeld. In the interview he talks mainly about his new graphic novel Armageddon Now: World War III (which I picked up from my LCS last night!), but also drops some cool hints of new books to come.

2009 is going to be an extremely awesome year to be a Liefeld fan!

PopFUZE #47

I can't even tell you how excited I am about this! If you click the title of this post, you will see that Robert Kirkman will be cramming a whole company wide crossover into one over-sized comic book with Invincible #60. The coolest thing is that I get to see Invincible and the members of Youngblood in the same comic! I had been hoping for an Invincible/ Youngblood crossover ever since Rob Liefeld announced the 'blood was going back to Image.

With Image United on the way, and now this, comics are cool again! LOL... Only one draw back for me though; I collect Invincible in hard cover format, so I will probably have to wait about a year to read this story - GRRR!! I just may be tempted to buy this issue as a floppy...

PopFUZE #46

The purge begins! Blood has been spilled, it's metallic stench stains the air. The tremors of my brutal actions are still rippling through cyberspace. You have heard whispers of my wrath, muttered by those too terrified to peel themselves from the fear-stenched shadows they linger within...

The deed has been done. Mothers will scare their children to sleep with unfathomable tales of my cruelty... they will speak in hushed tones of the unbridled joy that stained my face as I wielded my axe, cutting through the friend requests and littering the blood soaked ground with the crushed remnants of the stupid html coding that made up my now smouldering profile page...

The carcass of my MySpace page is now being picked at by ravens. My need for vengeance has yet to be satiated... My other social networking pages tremble in horrid anticipation; who will be next?

Who will be next?

MySpace is dead.

PopFUZE #45

I currently have a Comic Space, Facebook, My Space and Twitter account. HELP! I am suffering from SNOD; Social Networking Overload Disorder... So, it's time to take drastic action to meet the challenge of this near-crippling condition. Before the end of the year I will be undergoing major social networking surgery and it's clear that some inactive obstructions will have to be removed! There will be blood, there will be tears, but it just has to be done.

I am no computer whizz kid, so I really have to cut back on the sites that I feel are too unwieldy. Also, time is at a premium, so sites that offer little in return for the time I invest them will also have to go.

So, I am sorry to say, but as of the end of 2008 I will definitely no longer have a presence on My Space and most likely I will be gone from Comic Space. I LOVE Facebook, and I remain intrigued by Twitter (even though I have so few followers!), so that's where I'll be in cyber space in 2009. Of course, I will also be right here keeping you up to date with all matters related to DragonFUZE Comics...