Greeting from me, my fine internet readers:
Today is an absolutely glorious Autumnal day in Indiana, and I’ve got some housework outdoors to do. First, however, I’m working on edits to the Black Dirigible, and beginning this blog. Benita is taking a nap, and so are the cats, and I’ve got a cup of hot tea and a calm mind to work with.
Announcement No 1:
I’m busy setting up a new site, scottastory.com, for me and my non-Johnny Saturn work. Between writing prose, doing covers, drawing commissions, working in 3D, and so forth, there is quite a bit to cover. This new site is where I’ll blog from, have galleries, my resume, and so forth. This site will become a Johnny Saturn-only site, with both a storefront and all my “about” material. I’m quite jazzed about all this, so hooray for me.
Announcement No 2:
Next year, in 2019, I’ll be returning to comics. I’ve been away for a few years, but now I feel the fire to get back to drawing and doing sequential art. More on this as it develops. I will say that Benita and I are working hard on the plot of a fourth Johnny Saturn arc. The missing issue 19, which I showed on the website but was never published, will probably never appear as such. I imagine I will simply work that material into the greater story. We’ll see.
Miscellaneous
Clip Studio Paint: So far, Celsys has shown a very hands on approach to updating and improving Clip Studio Paint, formerly Manga Studio, and not charging users for the updates. I approve. With their latest version, 1.8.2, the application’s previously humble 3D abilities have been expanded a great deal. As a regular user of Blender, I find Clip Studio’s free accompanying 3D program a bit quaint, but I realize that this product wasn’t made for hardcore 3D developers but for comic artists who want to dip their toes into the 3D pool.
Dark Nights: Metal: I bought the deluxe edition a few days back, and I have to say this is the most fun, coolest crossover I remember from DC. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo simply rock. Grant Morrison was my favorite modern Batman writer, but Scott Snyder is catching up very quickly.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets: First, you can tell that this was made by the filmmaker Luc Beeson who made the unbelievable good Fifth Element. Similar setting, colors, visuals, pacing, etc. That is all a good thing, because the Fifth Element is a cult classic. This is also bad, because as good as Valerian is, its not as good as Fifth Element–how could it be? Still, it’s well worth watching. Snappy, fast, well-paced fun.
The Pen and Cape Society: Soon this fine collective, of which I am a member and sometime cover artist, will soon be putting together their fifth “The Good Fight” anthology, and we will be finding the theme of this book any time now. I’ve seen the top five theme choices, and they are all compelling. I’ll include a story in this book. In the last anthology, I wrote an novella named “Skorned,” and I’m still quite proud of it.