Penciled page previews from 'Flag Me Down: The Story of Wildwood's Tramcar'

 Here's some pencil preview pages I wanted to share/capture here on the blog!...

The funny thing about a pencil version of a comic page, is that today, there are so many ways to go about finishing it. You can of course, scan the pencils to then digitally ink the lines, making them that much closer to a digital coloring or further reproduction experience. Another way would be to make a copy of the penciled page and only ink the photostat... Of course, there's also the placement of vellum paper that can be used as a reproduction option. Where, only scanning the vellum actually preserves the penciled page, as the photostat does... 

Call me raw, but I like to ink right directly on the top of my penciled comic page. I guess what's running through my mind: knowing that there's only one that you're ever going to draw... giving myself one shot to make every line as purposeful as possible with the ink. Whereas a pencil page doesn't necessarily compare... there's an honesty here in every line I've forgotten and every line I plan to re-work in my ink process... making the penciled page a mere glimpse into what will become of a page and its hopeful lasting effect. 

I've been writing and drawing this feature simultaneously... as its creation is very much a living organism of an experience... hopefully, an immersive one for my audience... 

Here's pages 2, 3 and 9 for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Returning to the George F. Boyer Museum in Wildwood this Summer!...

 Join us, as we return to the George F. Boyer museum in Wildwood, NJ for yet another, two-day signing event from 10-3pm on Wednesday, August 9th and Friday, August 11th!... I'll have a limited supply of books available and will limit the sale of one book per person.

I'll be announcing my last Wildwood-themed book at this event - so, stay tuned!

A wild (and important) time it is!!.. (and more from 'The Wildwood Days of Doo Wop')

A wild time it truly is.. 

Sometimes I question the relevancy of my work, well.. scratch that, a lot of the times I do.. because I spend so much time on it.. Projects are time killers and you hope, that when you're done with it, the world will be ready.. Focusing on a town like Wildwood, New Jersey, progressive for it's civil understandings, is/was a town of diversity, even back when a lot of towns in America were not..



Wildwood, a resort town once built of a fisherman's haven, has of course, gone through its stages of history - it's most important, were the impact of traveling music groups.. groups that even, would travel from the mid-west, where, conditions from which they were coming from, were probably substantially worse than Wildwood, New Jersey. A town of complete cultural acceptance, escape and reflection in the 1950's and 60's.. So much so, I find stories about prominent vocal music groups of the day refusing to leave the resort town in southern New Jersey.. and boy, the Motels are a living cartoon.. and so much fun to draw.


What's beautiful, is that the motels of Wildwood share a coined name for the music style that those artists expressed - and the same motels of Doo Wop housed many of those acts and patrons who were there to support the Doo Wop vocal groups in various clubs and venues in Wildwood, while on their vacation.

Nearly 1,000 photo references and two years in the making (so far).. 'The Wildwood Days of Doo Wop' is coming.. and I couldn't be happier to complete it with everything I have, for every reader to come.

More half and half pages from 'The Wildwood Days of Doo Wop'!..

2020 brings in my second year working on 'The Wildwood Days of Doo Wop' which, explores both sides of the genre - the music and the motels. At nearly 70 pages in length, and more than a dozen to go, I'm shooting for a release this summer, 2020.. but I'm being realistic with myself - it may just be that it's released in summer 2021.. We'll see..

Either way, here's more half and half from the 'Wildwood Days of Doo Wop'!..

Even more half pencils/half inks from 'The Wildwood Days of Doo Wop' !..

One from 67' and one from 68' are both on my plate!..

Check out these two works in progress - as half pencils and half inks can only do justice!..

I'm normally drawing two to three comic pages at once for this next graphic novel feature and at this point, I've drawn over 100 motels.. and I'm not done yet!..

There really were so many of these motels (seems to be well over 300 at one point) in Wildwood,New Jersey when I was young, that I can't remember them all.. So, to discover new ones that no longer exist has been the most thrilling.

A dream project it is, with being a joy to produce and research this personally felt historic subject for nearly two years, I'm also planning on having a very special component to it (finger's crossed and more on that later). For now, enjoy these two pages as you are taken back to a special time and place via ink and pencil!.. More soon.. stay tuned and a happy new year to you!..

Promo from 'The Wildwood Days of Doo Wop' graphic novel!..

Here's a promotional piece I'm designing in conjunction with a few others, for the 'The Wildwood Days of Doo Wop' graphic novel. It's been a pleasure to learn about the various acts that made Wildwood such a diverse town for music. One of them, was of course, Philly born Bobby Rydell.

 I've had a blast going through his body of work and you can definitely tell he loved Wildwood, New Jersey in his music. He just recently, and in his seventies, performed in Wildwood again this September.

The most fun about making an architectural comic book, is finding the thematic cultural connection between the time period and the structure. Though this promo is more on the fictional end, the elements are still bound in the non-fiction - as the Cardinal Motel once had a rainbow in it's sign design (today it's more modern), Bobby Rydell's lyrics match it just right. Most certainly a Wildwood night bird, singing in the night as a cardinal bird might!..

CHILDREN, BE-HAYYY-VVVEE *** L.A. DWP Comic Book with Venice Arts -- THE COVER***

That's what they say, when we're together.. (Sorry, Been on a Tommy James and The Shondells kick)

Pardon my once again, for another month+ absense... I guess it does a body good to be busy and well, I was!...

I went back to the homeland of New Jersey for some partial business matters that were all totally fun. I enjoyed returning to a camp I once was a counselor at, and saw some of my former campers now 10 years older. A mega change from the 10 year olds I knew them as. I kept telling myself: time flies. Enjoy it and this, and everything... and I did. It felt great to get away from the drawing table or the guitar and just experience civilian life once again (haha)... and of course, seeing my family was amazing. I miss all of them incredibly. 

It's not like I'm too far off now from civilian life, mind you, but I will tell you, if I can compare my creative output right now to child birth, i'd say I'm giving birth to a small colony... but, more on that later.

I'm currently at the tail-end of a month-long workshop at Venice Arts, and the student cartoonist's work this year has been exciting me to the fullest. As promised, please find the cover to the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power cover of, 'Energy Vampires and Water Goblins" below.

I penciled the cover, my student Jesse Papik did the inks!..

This is a water and energy conservation comic book I lead in a workshop with twelve to fourteen 10 to 17 year olds. I'm super excited to see the change it hopefully brings to Los Angeles!

More on this later too!...