I've had a few people ask me about how the filming for Electric Playground went while I was in San Diego. It was a lot of work, but it was a lot of fun too. Since they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, here's a few thousand for ya. And yeah, if you haven't seen me before, that's me with Stan Lee in the last picture.

Signing for fans


Tommy realizes what his priorities are


Interviewing a legend


Excelsior!!

Showcasing some artistic talent

So, here's a little project I set up that I thought you guys might have fun taking a look at. For the upcoming issue of Play, I had Randy Green draw up a cover based off of the upcoming BloodRayne 2 video game. The cover was pencilled and inked by Randy, and the colors were provided by Val Staples from MVCreations. Here's an opportunity to see how the cover piece developed from beginning to end. It's actually a little hard to see in these smaller images, but there were some minor coloring issues fixed between the first colored piece and the final artwork. All that's left is to incorporate the magazine's title and cover graphics into the final piece and then go to press. Let me know what you guys think of the images.

Initial Sketch


Inked Art


Initial Colors


Final Image

This was also a good opportunity to toy around with the Picasa image hosting. It works pretty good, so expect to see more images in the blog now (kind of like the Audioblog). Beyond that, nothing major going on today. I'll keep you posted as soon as anything develops.

Post Con recovery

Okay, so I've been slacking a bit updating the blog. It's not intentional, but the show took a lot of my time ... and getting settled after the show took even longer. I got back into town late on Monday, and used the better part of Tuesday to recouperate. After that, I started work on my con report for Play Magazine, as well as some general writing for a few other places. Also, I've begun preliminary work on some major new projects. I'd love to actually open the floodgates and let you guys know everything that's going on, but I have to keep my lips sealed on it. (Shane, YOU know what it is ... heh). Don't worry though, as soon as I can say something, I will post it here.

More news to use

This has been a productive day to say the least.  Met w/ Dave @ Play today and disceussed my future.  It looks like Play wants to hire me on staff in order to cover games AND comics, since they're adding a new section for comics.  Another nice aspect is that I'm not required to give up my freelance gigs if I take the job at Play.  Also, Vic has decided to bump up my title now.  This means that instead of being listed as a production assistant for the show, things have been bumped up for me so I'll be listed as the "Comic editor"

More big news to come, but right now I'm too beat.  Will talk later.

Con news on the run .. literally

Let the circus begin

Okay, so I made it to San Diego in one piece.  I spent the day dead on my feet though.  I wrapped up GameSpy's 10 Worst Comic Game list at 3:00a, then got about an hour and a half worth of sleep before getting up to get to the airport.

Preview Night for Comic-Con has come and gone now.  I spent the time running around confirming interviews for Electric Playground's Comic of the Week segments.  I also found some new projects to do interviews on.  I'll be running the list by Vic tomorrow to see what he thinks.  I'm even trying to work in a few surprise celebrity interviews if things come together well.

Like last year, I beat everyone I'm working with into town by a day.  Starting tomorrow, I've got to meet with the usual suspects (EP, GameSpy, and Play), as well as set up some meetings w/ a few other media outlets.  I'll be splitting my time up a lot, while still making sure to leave a little time for myself to have some fun.

Look for updates here as I get news, and expect to see some Audioblog entries over the next few days. 

Bound for Comic-Con

Well, things are going to be hectic for the next few days.  Tomorrow I'm flying out to San Diego for Comic-Con International for a whole pile of projects.  I've got filming with Electric Playground, articles and panels with GameSpy, con coverage for Play Magazine, and host of meetings and interviews to handle.  I'll be updating the blog regularly while I'm there, both via email and via Audioblog entries.  I'll also post some pictures of the show after I get back into town.

Keep checking in to see what's happening.

Another day another .. well, you get the picture

Still a busy time in preparation for Comic-Con.  I've got most of EP's Comic of the Week interviews nailed down.  I've also got some meetings before the show w/ GameSpy and Play Magazine to discuss coverage of the con.  I'm also talking with the guys at GameXilla about doing some work with them.  If you haven't checked out their site, go do it ... you won't be disappointed.  Also, I've just found out about a new game "magazine" on the market called Konsole Kingz.  The magazine is sent out in DVD format and it's set up with a Hip Hop flair.  Their website is over at http://www.konsolekingz.com
 
Moving right along, the last of the 10 Best Comic Games went up on GameSpy's site today.  You can check out the complete list over here.  I'll get more updated to the blog soon.  Keep checking in, okay?

Trial by fire

This is going to be a very busy and very ... interesting ... week. Right now, it's full swing on the writing career. I've wrapped up half of the "best of" list I've been working on for GameSpy. Also, I've got most of the interviews squared up for Electric Playground's Comic of the Week segments.

Tomorrow, I've got a lot of phone calls to make and take. I'll be trying to set up a meeting with the editor of Folio Weekly about setting up a weekly column for the paper. Also, I should be hearing from the editor of Play Magazine about some new opportunities coming up. Besides all of that, there's the usual grind for EP, GameSpy, and anyone else that comes along.

So, guys and gals, keep your fingers crossed and hope I don't burn myself out soon. Heh

Later.

"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat, "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

It's just one of those times when that particular passage comes to mind. The world is a mad house, and we're all in the straitjackets. Things are going to be crazy around here for the next few weeks. Want a rundown?

First off, I'm going to be up to my eyeballs in comic games for the remainder of the week. Today alone I need to write up summaries of at least four games from the 10 Best list. I'm also going to go ahead and wrap up my preview of Monster Hunter by week's end. And during all of that, I need to make sure I remember to fill out the paperwork required to make sure I get PAID for all the work.

I also need to make a number of phone calls finalizing plans for San Diego and working the show. I have to come up with some ideas for an interview with the VP of Konami (discussing Yu-Gi-Oh!). I need to talk to the guys at EP to get the latest batch of articles up on their site. I've got to work on some ideas for a gaming column for a local publication. Etc. Etc. Simply put, I'll be buried in writing related work for the foreseeable future.

There's a lot more madness going on too, but as things progress it'll be posted up here. In the meantime though, I need to dive back into the paperwork. So until next time ....

Another busy weekend

Well, there's no rest for the wicked once again. The guys at GameSpy are currently looking over information for my upcoming series of articles. Since things are already underway, I can say that I'm working on a series for GameSpy discussing the 10 best and 10 worst comic book based video games of all time. It should make for an interesting read ... especially with the extra surprises I have in store.

Besides that, I'm working on wrapping up a few more game reviews for Electric Playground, and I'm going to go ahead and get the first "Comic of the Week" segment written up for the EP site. The first review will cover DC's Identity Crisis. Speaking of the "Comic of the Week", I'm putting together the final list of "CotW" segments to be filmed in San Diego. Oh, let's not forget that I'm doing the initial design work on my personal site. And if all of that wasn't enough, I also have a large number of emails to send out ... dealing with everything from interview requests and confirmations, to inquiries about writing for other outlets. All in all, it adds up to a hell of a lot of writing over the next few days.

Anyway, it's been a hell of a week ... with a lot more fun to come.