Blog

Hey folks! I’m at SDCC. Come find me at the small press section, table m12! It’s in the back middle.

Also I’m on a bunch of panels! So come check them out

And here is the full details on my panels:

Friday, July 20 • 11:00a.m. – 12:00p.m., Room: 28DE
Publishers Weekly Presents: Crowdfunding Ethics and Evolution, Friday,
Crowdfunding has become an established method of publishing but as it has grown questions about how to use it have arisen. What’s the right thing to do when a Kickstarter goes wrong? What’s the next step in crowdfunding? What’s the future of Patreon and Drip? Calvin Reid, Kel McDonald (Sorcery101), Josh O’Neil (Beehive Press),  attorney Jeff Trexler and Camilla Zhang (Kickstarter) will discuss legal and ethical issues in crowdfunding, and the latest trends.

Friday, July 20 • 3:30pm – 4:30pm Room 8
So You Want to Edit Comics? A Closer Look at the Industry’s Secret Warriors
Think you know everything about making a comic? You may know what writers and artist do, but do you know what it takes to edit comics? comiXologists Matt Kolowski and Kiersten Wing lead a panel of editors and creators including Will Dennis (Scalped), Hope Nicholson (Bedside Press), Megan Kearney(The Secret Loves of Geek Girls), Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Revival), Mike Norton (Revival), and Kel McDonald (Cautionary Fables & Fairytales) in this peek behind the curtain of comics creation.

Friday, July 20 • 7:00pm – 8:00pm Room 29AB
comiXology Originals: Comics for the YA Fan
The biggest news in comics is comiXology’s exclusive content program, comiXology Originals, but did you know they’re also offering an outstanding selection of comics perfect for young adult fiction readers? comiXologists Matt Kolowski and Kiersten Wingchat with the talented minds behind comiXology Originals’ YA offerings like Superfreaks,as well as other upcoming titles. Hear from Elsa Charretier (Superfreaks, Star Wars Adventures), Pierrick Colinet (Superfreaks, Star Wars Adventures), Margaux Saltel(Superfreaks), Tyler Crook (Harrow County), Kel McDonald (Cautionary Fables & Fairytales), M. K. Reed (The Castoffs, Palefire), and Tish Doolin (Modus Operandi) as they recount their creative journey and give tips on crafting comic stories aimed at the young adult fiction fan.

The Better to Find You With page 44 is up.

If you’d like to read the comic pages early click here! Right now page 48 is up

The Better to Find You With page 43 is up.

If you’d like to read the comic pages early click here! Right now page 47 is up

The Better to Find You With page 42 is up.

If you’d like to read the comic pages early click here! Right now page 46 is up

page 1 – 2

Darkhorse told me they want to start all the Buffy High School year books with the Slayer chosen one monologue. Just to give Buffy something actiony to do to start the book while the intro happens. These books are supposed to get younger readers who haven’t seen the show into Buffy.

page 3 – 7

Since the story is set in season 1, I wanted to use Principal Flutie. Also he’s definitely the type to push being more well-rounded on to teens. He kinda has the over eagerness to him that could help set up this plot.

This scene is a lot of talking, so I tired to give each character an action to do. That way it’s not just talking heads. I wanted to clearly pin point why each of them was taking a class. Like Willow is mostly there for moral support and Xander is focused on the less class. It kinda sets up their roles in this story.

page 8 – 10

The teacher is Ms. Miller from the Out of Mind Out of Sight episode. I wanted to use more familiar faces than just the main scoobies. I tried to go a slow build up to the reveal of the tiger monster.

page 11 – 12

For Mr. Blake I wanted to make him look kinda like Guy Furi with red hair tips instead of blonde. Then I realized that teachers can’t really dress like Guy Furi so part of that gets a little lost.

page 13 – 17

I always like when Buffy vents while training. There is a gag here that doesn’t quite work since it was my first time working with Yishan. I kinda wanted it to be clear that Giles got lost in thought and lowered the pad. So Buffy has to remind him it’s training time. You can kinda see that going on but it’s not completely clear. Yishan’s art is great but since I hadn’t worked with her in the past I couldn’t play to her strengths as an artist or know how much detail to give her. I think the next Buffy the High School Years turned out better because I saw what she did with my scripts here.

And no one it ever sick in Sunnydale. They are just eaten/in danger.

page 18 – 19

I sent Yishan I little layout for the restaurant. Kinda here’s the kitchen, here’s the dining area etc. I also found a bunch of Rain forrest Cafe pictures for her to base his hide out on.

page 20 – 26

Mr. Blake yelling at all the students in the students took me awhile because I’m not a very good cook. I went with omelets because it’s something that can go wrong in a lot ways but still be editable if something isn’t picky like Xander. I wanted the little set of what everyone did wrong to mirror when Buffy and Willow make cookies from scratch in the next scene.

page 27 – 31

Willow’s drawings are always mentioned as bad in Buffy even though we never see them. I thought I’d continue that with her painting assignments. Willow’s little pep talk to get Buffy and Xander hyped to do cooking stuff might be a little too confident for season 1, but I wanted to keep her active in the plot rather than on the sidelines.

page 32 – 36

Making cookies from scratch is like omelets something that can go wrong in a lot of ways but also have something with easy visuals. There is actually a what went wrong with my cookies illustrated guide you can find online. I sent that to Yishan so she knew how each mess up effects the look.