Canister X – A.P. Fuchs: Zombie, Paranormal Romance and Superhero Novelist, Blogger, Artist, Publisher

This was completed yesterday.
Axiom-man No. 2
Cover. Click for larger version.
Remember, pre-orders for issue one (coming out Mar. 14) can be made here.
Thanks.

My wife found an old USB and some of my old drawings were on it, so here’s a one-panel gag I drew several years back. Consider it your cheesy joke of the day or something.

For the majority of Coscom Entertainment’s books, I like to do something other than plain *** for scene breaks in a novel/story. Whether it’s the dripping blood in A Red Dark Night or the claw-made slash marks in Animal Behavior and Other Tales of Lycanthropy, to me, inserting something other than a simple *** adds to a book, creates some atmosphere and, in the end, gives the reader a little something extra as a thank you for picking up a Coscom book.

I’m in the process of finishing up the formatting for the newest anthology I’ve edited called Metahumans vs the Undead, which is a superhero vs zombie anthology featuring a bunch of stories all spotlighting established indie superheroes vs zombies.

Below is the image I drew to replace the *** breaks in the stories, a kind of zombie super symbol.

One of the things that’s common for all artists–and especially us Winnipeggers–is our desire to do things as cheaply as possible without compromising final product integrity. That said, currently Axiom-man No. 1 is being drawn on good old-fashioned 20lb, 11×17 white paper, with a 10×15 “live area” blocked out on the page for the actual artwork. Why 20lb paper instead of the standard bristol board comic artists use? Simple: it’s waaaaaay cheaper, something to the tune of 500 sheets for about $14 CAN.

And though this stuff works, my handicap is three: 1) I need to create my own 10×15 template for every page I do (which is no biggie as it only takes a couple minutes), and b) the big one, it can cause trouble if I decide to switch to using dip-and-brush ink instead of the Sharpies I’m using now, and c) whether for commissions, the sale of original art or simply having them on gallery display, 20lb doesn’t look as professional as its bristol board counterpart.

So why not get bristol board and go to town with it? BECAUSE IT’S STUPID EXPENSIVE. In Canada, a pre-lined pack of 24 pages is $27.99. Without the comic guideline’s, bristol board is $24.99 for 24 pages. For the time it saves on drawing the lines, the extra $3 spent is worth it. But I’m not paying that much for paper.

Except for today. I had a 50% off coupon and used it wisely and got 24 pages for $13.99, pre-lined, all set to go for when Axiom-man No. 2 gets underway.

I’m excited as I’ve never drawn on real comic paper before. Bristol also holds ink way better and is of better quality than 20lb so provides the customer with a better product if I end up doing commissions or selling original art from the series.

Here’s a pic of the pages side-by-side, individually, and close up where I put the page’s details.

I’m stoked to start using these, but even more excited to start sharing the comic with you. I have 10 pages done, so I’m getting there.

Here’s a bit of art I did inspired by Keith Gouveia’s and Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat and the Ghoul.

Set up a DeviantART account and uploaded a sample of my artwork.

My main style is comic book, though I am versatile and hope the work I posted shows that.

If you’d like me to do spot art for your book, draw you a comic, do a pinup or commission something else, please email me at apfuchs at gmail dot com. My rates are reasonable and can give you a timely turn-around.

My DeviantART account can be found here. Hope you see something you like.

Thanks.