Let’s look back at the year 2022 and all the news and updates to the site!
Salvage Hounds
Salvage Hounds, a brand new comic, was released! This book took longer than most to complete. After all, I had to design an entirely new universe before I could even start drawing page one. That meant lots of new character designs, of course, but also spacecraft, weapons, robots, space suits, and even a giant mecha suit! And all of those designs (with detailed notes and technical readouts) are included in the 40 page book.
Salvage Hounds was finally published in February.
In March, I showed how a page from Salvage Hounds is created. And in case you missed it, I also posted a video to the You Tube channel back in 2021 showing how the cover was painted. Check these out if you’d like to see how the sausage gets made.
Salvage Hounds is available as a digital download now. Printing the book has proved difficult during the pandemic, but I hope to try again in 2023, especially since I’d like to have hard copies for the convention season.
You can find out all about Salvage Hounds on its official page, including checking out the first five pages in their entirety, or check out the following links.
Soul Chaser Betty Book 08
I began writing the next Soul Chaser Betty Book in late 2021 and was able to start penciling pages in early 2022. This new story features terrifying, feral, animal gods hell-bent on devouring Betty and the Mark of Cain she carries.
In general, I have about 10-15 hours a week I can devote to comics, and penciling, inking, and lettering this new 32 page story was my major art project in 2022. Inking is now done. After a few revisions, I’ll be moving on to shading and finishes / effects. Oh yeah, I also need to draw and paint a cover before it’s all done!
In the mean time, if you’re interested in catching up on Betty’s adventures, the original graphic novel (collecting issues 1-6) is available in hardcopy, PLUS, I released issue 7, Slumber Party of DOOM!, in ebook form in 2022. You can find everything in the store.
Here’s some choice updates I made throughout the year for Betty book 08, including character designs, a reveal of a new character, and some advance art showing the new pages. There’s lots more to come in 2023, and I’m excited to start sharing more art now that the book is nearing completion.
Prince of Demons
All my 2022 art time was devoted to comic pages or commissions, but I finally found time to sneak in a new illustration. This was a piece I’d been thinking about for quite a while, ever since I read the Flat Earth series by Tanith Lee many years ago.
Prince of Demons depicts a couple of the main characters from that series. It was originally planned as a color piece, but since I had to ink it before painting, I decided to go ahead and do a finished pen and ink version. You can find each in the Drawing, Pen & Ink, and Illustration galleries, or check out these posts showcasing each version for more info.
Updating the Art Archive
I finally got off my keister and put some effort into updating with art that’s never before been posted. Some of this stuff goes back 10+ years. I’ll be updating with more for quite a while, usually every other week. There’s commissions from fans, personal projects, experiments, and even doodles. In the meantime, check out these posts to see everything that’s already gone up.
Fantasy Novel
Well, they say you have your whole life to write your first novel and apparently I’m taking advantage of that.
Honestly, I kind of hesitate bringing it up in these “year in review” posts. I mean, it’s kinda just a big tease if there’s nothing to show, right? On the other hand, it was a huge part of my life In 2022.
I’d received some really great feedback from beta readers at the end of 2021. Just about all of them were liking (or even loving) the vast majority of the book. But… (there’s always a but, right?)
The book follows an ensemble cast, a war story interwoven with adventure and politics and lots of action. Unfortunately, I was seeing some very consistent feedback about one of the story threads (and its characters). While this was enormously disappointing at first (the book seemed so close!) I decided to embrace the fact that this bit didn’t need an edit, it needed a new life. In fact, one of the main characters needed to be completely re-imagined.
And rather than half-ass it (there’s that butt again, right?), I did a lot of research and rethinking, isolated the chapters that needed to be rethought, and dove in.
Like with the comics, I only have about 15 hours a week to devote to writing, so progress seemed slow even though I was making huge strides. I finished that rewrite a while ago and then immediately turned my attention to editing the overall work to bring the new elements together and streamline the entire novel down to its best, final form.
One that’s done, I think it’ll time to just let it go into the world and start working on a second book. If you’re a fan of stories and worlds like Septerra Core then oh boy, you might just love this book!
Best Laid Plans
So what’s coming in 2023? First, I plan to keep updating with more archive art! You’ll definitely see the next Betty book published in the first quarter. Plus, I’m already gearing up for another romp in the Salvage Hounds universe with the crew of the Mutt.
I also hope to do some new pinups and illustrations. It’s funny. When I’m making illustration art, I lament the fact I’m not creating new comics. Then I finally start new comic projects only to find myself lamenting about suddenly not having the time to do art pieces. It’s never a ending cycle! Maybe this year I can figure out that balance and get a few color or pen and ink pieces done.
And hopefully you’ll be seeing me at more shows in 2023. So far, I’m signed up for Northwest Indiana Comic Con and the Oak Lawn Public Library Fan Fest. Hopefully I’ll have more to share soon (check the home page for the list as it updates).
In the meantime, have a great New Year, and thanks for being a fan!