Comicbooks published by my friends

Back in October, when I was attending the New York Comic Con I acquired several comics, some of them were produced by some very good friends of mine. I'm just now getting around to posting about it (sorry guys, life sometimes gets in the way).

In No particular order, here they are:

Andrea Grant’s Minx is continuing the tale of a a woman who walks the in-between spaces between the “real” world and the dreamscape that is just a shadow and a whisper beyond the veil of what we see.

By her own admission, Andrea has been working this comic for some 10 years, and has, over the past few years, issued a number of iterations of this comic as it has evolved. It is lyrical, engaging, and totally original. Andrea is a wonderful renascence talent that simply commands the space around her.

Check out her comic, you will be amazed.

A second comic that deserves your attention is Hell’s Blood #3, by Hector Rodriguez, and published by Guild Works Production.

Hector is just another average teen living in a small town in Massachusetts, However his whole life changes one day when his grandmother dies and he himself is relentlessly pursued by horrific monsters that are generally only seen in our nightmares. Soon, Hector finds himself fighting for his very life against an army of hell-spawned creatures that are led by a magma-spitting, fire-haired werewolf who threatens to bring about man's darkest fear to a terrible reality the return to Earth the demon known as Olosi (Satan) himself!

Hector is not only the artist who illustrated this powerful story but the storyteller himself. This issue (as was issue #2) was scripted by Chris Buchner. As each issue has been published, you can not only see the improvements to Hector’s art, but the story itself grows and deepens as we are drawn further and further into the world of Hell’s Blood.

In addition to this issue (and the first two), GWP has issued a combined copy of both of the first two issues in a single package. We strongly urge you all to pick up all iterations.

All of which brings us to a pair of stellar comics from our very good friends over at Atlas Unleashed. The Adversary #3 (by the incomparable Jim Webb) and Crimson Rose by Mark Mazz, Grey Williamson, and N. Steven Harris.

Webb’s Adversary which continues the story of a demoness who has managed to overthrow the reigns of her demonic lord and master (Beelzebub). These days she fights the demons she used to serve. While serving the minions of Hell she was one of its top warriors, now  she battles on the side of Heaven.

In this second issue she goes up against a demon named Belial who has possessed  a fallen priest, in order to lure Adversary out in the open in order to kill her. Only, things don’t go quite the way Belial (or Adversary) planned. It is a fun book to read, and this chapter delves deeper into the character of Adversary.  Jim is a delightful storyteller, making this book a Must Buy for readers.

Next up from Atlas Unleashed, is a preview con book entitled Crimson Rose. The comic that AU presented at NYCC is a fully-rendered penciled version of the comic without dialogue. While this may sound like “not quite” a comicbook, don’t think like that. Grey’s fully-detailed pencils are powerful and are fully-capable of telling a story without the need of dialogue.

Further, by presenting the pencils in this fashion, AU has given us the unique opportunity to see how intense and through Grey’s pencils actually are. Plus it certainly whets our appetite for the completed package.

Personally, we can hardly wait.

Also of note for this issue is the powerful cover by our good friend Chris Torris. We have to admit a personal bias towards Chris’s work as he was the penciler for our own relaunch of our own comic, Agent Unknown (Renegade Press) — the first story of which appeared in CAG #7, and the follow up is slated to appear under the AU umbrella. Any way, Crimson Rose looks like a very interesting book, and we are looking forward to the full version.

well, these were just a few of the comics we acquired at NYCC, and over the next several weeks as we approcah the end of the year, we will be posting about the other, so stay tuned.

Hell's Blood is here!

I just wanted to shout from the rooftops that the second issue of my good buddy, Hector Rodriguez’s comic, Hell’s Blood, has come out from Guild Works Productions. Now I want to say right off the bat that I really like Hector, and I was looking forward to this comic for quite a time, and have long been associated with both Hector (Through CAG) and with GWP, so it should be no surprise that I’m pimping his book in my space here.

Still, I want you all to know that Hector is a phenomenal artist, and if you want to experience some truly outstanding art, you need to acquire a copy of this issue. I was very impressed with the first issue (copies of which are still available), so needless to say, Hector has not disappointed with this follow-up issue.

The Story (penned by Chris Buchner and Liam Webb) picks up from where last issue left off and pits young Hector (the main character, not the esteemed Mr. Rodriguez) against all the demons of Hell (or so it seems). As expected, an all-out knock-down brawl occurs. To find out more, you’ll need to acquire a copy for yourself.

Remember, that’s Hells’ Blood from GWP

* * * * UPDATE * * * * * UPDATE * * * * * UPDATE * * * *

I just learned that Hector was also interviewed on Jazma online, you can read that interview here where he talks more about Hell’s Blood.

It’s All Going to Hell’s (Blood) Today

Today I want to talk about a very cool Indie comic produced by one of my all-time favorite Indie publishers, Guild Works Productions (GWP). Of course I’m talking about my good buddy Hector Rodriguez’s Hell’s Blood. this comic tells the story of a young kid named Hector (no relation) who lives in Holyoke, MA and inadvertently gets involved in occult activities after mystic forces attack his grandmother, Angela, one evening.

Angela is on her way home when she is attacked by a daemonic insect. Summoning her own arcane abilities, she fights back with tragic results, and eventually her grandson is drawn into this epic battle between the forces of the mystic darkness and the flesh-and-blood world. This story shows off Hector’s fine pencil work along with the able-bodied assist by the rest of his crew, Keith Murphey (art assist), Scott Scheaffer (script), Jet Amago (grayscales), Johnny Lowe (Letters).

We understand that Hector is already working on the next issue, and we can hardly wait to see where he takes this story, as it has us intrigued with the possibilities.

Hells’ Blood

I know that I’ve mentioned this before, but my good buddy Hector Rodriguez put together a truly knock-out project called Hells’ Blood I read an ashcan of it some time back and was very impressed with what I saw. I have just heard that the comic has gone to the printer and will be ready for the NY Comic Con. Personally I can hardly wait. In the mean time, here is more imagery from the comic.

I highly recommend it and urge you all to head over to Hector’s site and snag a copy for yourself. It is going to be good.

CAG means networking

I belong to a networking group called The Comicbook Artists Guild (CAG). I have been a part of this organization for three, or four years. I was first invited to join the group by my good Friend Mark Mazz. Mark set up a meeting between me and co-founder and current president Keith Murphey. I have since gone on to work with both Mark and Keith to actively promote the group at conventions and to various media outlets, as well as producing three newsletters for the group which have been handed out at conventions across the country. I was also privileged to relaunch my signature series, Agent Unknown in CAG #7.

Networking is really the only way those of us struggling to get in can hope to survive. Take my pal Chris Buchner. I first “met” Chris while we were both on SpiderFan, and when I realized that he was local to me (he’s NY, I’m CT). I brought Chris over to CAG and then, once I was invited to contribute to The Official Index to the Marvel Universe, I was able to get the invitation extended over to Chris, who is now contributing as well.

When my Pal and fellow CAGer, Carl Herring needed an inker for his self-published comic, The Enforcers, I was able to hook him up with another friend, Chris Torris (who painted my re-launch of Agent Unknown).

When CAG-pal James Rodriguez, was producing a 2009 art calender with a bunch of other CAGers and the very lovely and talented Belkis, I lent him a hand in the production and editorial phase of the project. (You can still buy this calendar, it is not only spotlighted here on this blog, but if you reach out to James, he’d be very happy to sell you one of your very own.)

So, now in the same vein as all of that I want to direct you to a trio of other online pals-o-mine, first up is the CAG web comic page. It is hosted on Drunk Duck, and you will find a bunch of CAG writers and artists assembling an impressive array of online comics. Go there, bookmark the page and then go back to see what we put up there over the coming year. I promise you that it will be very cool.

Now that I’m on the subject of web comics, I want you to head over to Rusty Haller’s page and discover the very entertaining Ace & Queenie; an anthropomorphic action/adventure spy series that he has been producing for Furrlough Comics for over four years (generating over 150 pages of printed art). About 2 years ago, Rusty brought his unique creation to the web where they can be seen in a new storyline.



If his name sounds familiar, it is because he is a cartoonist with quite an impressive history in the print world. His first published work was back in the late ‘80s for a small CT-based publisher, Spotlight Comics. From there Rusty managed to score a gig at Marvel’s line of Star Comics working on such titles as Danger Mouse, Count Duckula, Heathcliff, and Alf, as well as producing some illustrations for Marvel Age. Over at DC he worked on Tiny Toons Adventures, Looney Tunes, and Animaniacks. In addition to this, he worked on various Flintstones and Harvey titles for Archie Comics.

Another site I want you to bookmark is BelkisNYC: Marketing for the Creative Soul. This is the site of Belkis’ very cool and very knowledgeable marketing blog. (Hey I told you she was not only drop dead gorgeous, but wicked intelligent as well!) Currently there are only about a dozen posts, but I’m telling you that I’m already finding it invaluable.

These folks are all good friends of mine, and I want you to treat them well.

Whups, almost forgot...



Hell’s Blood is the creation of another CAG-buddy, Hector Rodriguez. This past Saturday (yesterday), CAG held it’s second annual mixer here in CT (in my old stomping grounds of Fairfield), and we held a Yankee Swap Gift Party. I donated a copy of Comic Values 2008 (of which I’m the features editor), and in return I wound up with a Hell’s Blood T-Shirt. A very cool gift indeed, as I’m currently in talks with Hector to team up his character and my very own Wülf Girlz, as well as the possibility of me colaborating on future issues of Hells’ Blood itself.

Now how cool is that?