SUPER REAL NOTES: 6/22 - ANOTHER CONTEST!!

IF I MAY BE SO BOLD

As some artwork comes in, and I'm nearly brought to tears (of joy), I can not help but share a tease of some images here...
These are indeed Super Real pages from a couple cool artist friends, put to my scripts, for an as-yet-to-be-revealed (hopefully soon!) TOP SECRET SUPER REAL PROJECT!!!

Enjoy!

And because I like doing the contests on the blog, how about the first person to correctly guess what this TOP SECRET SUPER REAL PROJECT entails, gets themselves a free copy of the 2006 Vol2 Sketchbook (with personal sketch) for their efforts! Guesses as to what it may be, it's theme, the setup, etc.
Go on, I dare ya to figure it out! There're some pretty good clues in the artwork.
_____

ISSUE 3

So, what the hell is the deal with issue 3 anyway?!

For the astute Super Real observer, you may have noticed my communications all pointing towards a late June release. That would make the book shipping by no later than next week.
Well I can tell you it will not be shipping then, without a doubt.
What I can't tell you yet is why not, and when it really will...
Sorry, like the first item, it's still not something I can share (unfortunately, as much as I'd like to). I'm waiting on word from another party as to where we stand.
The good news is that the update won't be too much longer (hopefully next week), and the delay will also get the book more attention, with the extra time allowing me to better finish it up as well. Which, aside from the delay, are all good things!

STAY TUNED,
jason

CON SWAG: WWPhilly - Model Operandi

Wizard World Philadelphia was a few weeks back now, but I've still yet to share any of the cool books I picked up there, so here we go!

The first is MODEL OPERANDI

Model Operandi is a project I first came across on the web, artist Dennis Budd's mixture of sexy gals and cartoon lines caught my eye, and Joe Caramagna's scripts propelled me through the first installment they'd placed online as a webcomic some time back. I recently came across them again (perhaps Myspace) and found out the webcomic was being collected as a trade from After Hours Press. So naturally I was thrilled to find the creators on hand at the AHP booth in Philly!

Turns out Dennis and Joe are both swell men to boot! So I made sure to pick up the trade collection - Model Operandi #1 - for $5.99
It's full color and collects the 3 part story in an oversized 84 page trade that's full of snazzy pin ups of the characters as well!
MO is the story of rival model agency owners, clients, and Interpol agents amidst the backdrop of Paris. Full of comedy, action, and more than a few twists. Budd's artwork is a treat throughout, capturing the sexy women in a fun style, while his and Caramagna's story is peppered with sass, line after line. It's really a fun all around read.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The best part? Model Operandi can be yours in the upcoming JULY PREVIEWS CATALOG and is due in comic shops this September!
Make sure and pre order this one, it's the equivalent to 3 comics, with tons of extra pin ups, for only six bucks!

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Heroes

Check out this awesome piece by Mike Wieringo...
Apparently it's for the upcoming Heroes Con program book, according to weekly comics rumor columnist Blair Marnell. His weekly ALL THE RAGE column is must reading for me, and was the original home of Rich Johnston, the popular rumor columnist on CBR.cc
I dig All the Rage, in addition to Johnston's Lying in the Gutters, so check it out if you haven't.

Anyway, love the piece, and am a big fan of Wieringo. It just seems he's never on a book I can get into, currently PAD's Spider-Man (no thanks), and previously JMS's FF (tried it, didn't like it). Now he's on the program cover to the big con I should've gone to!
Drats!!

DeviantArt update - Issue 3 page 11

Still chuggin along with the pages on issue 3 of Super Real... I'm a few pages ahead of what's loaded on DeviantArt.com, but here's the latest...

This is page number 11, featuring three of our cast members being launched into their first mysterious challenge!

I leave out the text/script, so as not to spoil the book!
You can view the page at full size on DA HERE

STAY TUNED,
jason

I SAW IT ON TV: Summer series

Sunday before last was the return of a couple HBO favorites, DEADWOOD and ENTOURAGE.
Aside from Battlestar and Lost, they're two of my favorite shows. And with both of those shows on hiatus, and season two of Entourage being my favorite show of last year, we've been anticipating the start of their new season around the Martin household...

Since we have digital cable, all of the HBO series are available on demand, so we've just caught up with both shows as of last night.
After seeing episodes 1 and 2 of the new third season of Deadwood, it's off to a fairly great start. Episode 1 was a bit overdone, and hard to follow (mentally playing catch up after not having watched the show in a year... plus the shows on demand don't include the recaps provided on the live programs, grrr). Sometimes I think the writing is a bit too indulgent on Deadwood, and sometimes episodes can come off a bit goofy to me, but with episode 2, and being back up to speed, it's on pace for it's usual greatness.
For Entourage, I haven't caught last night's 2nd episode yet, but episode 1 was spot on, picking up right where season 2 left off, in terms of story and quality. Looks like we're in for another fun-ass ride!
Also, having picked up an Entertainment Weekly on my recent flight home from Wizard World Philly, which was the summer TV preview issue, we checked out a new show on BBC America called HEX. Hex is a drama about a young college girl beset by a curse, dealing with new magical powers and visions of ghosts and demons, of sorts. Very interesting, humorous, with some great writing at times, and a matureness not found in much American programming. It's a solid show, for now, a bit slow at times, with the "powers" coming off perhaps a tad cheesy, but generally worth it. We'll see how this one plays out, but for now, I'd recommend you give it a shot if you can.

Super Real issue 3 variant cover colors "You decide!" Contest WINNER!!

After 5 business days of voting, and 10 votes cast, the TSL audience has spoken, and the winner is...
and "Cary" is our randomly selected prize winner that will receive a free copy of the current Super Real sketchbook, with sketch!
Now, I know a "Cary" from the blog and around the net, but I'm not sure if this is the same one, so uh, can the "Cary" who posted contact me for their prize please? (jason@superrealgraphics.com)

Turns out the vote was rather close in the end... with the "pants off" version barely (get it, BAREly?) beating out the "pants" treatment.
A 60/40 split.

So, you my TSL readers have selected the variant cover for issue 3 of Super Real...
good job!! And thank you!

Thanks to everyone who voted, and hopefully you'll get lucky next time!!
STAY TUNED,
jason

DeviantArt update - Issue 3 page 10

For all those out there anxiously awaiting the third issue of Super Real (like me!), here's another page of artwork I recently uploaded to DeviantArt.com.

This is page number 10, featuring our cast preparing for their first challenge!

I leave out the text and script, so as not to spoil the book!
You can view the page at full size on DA HERE (or click the pic)

STAY TUNED,
jason

SUPER REAL NOTES - Pin ups

Thought I'd share a couple recent pin ups for Super Real I'd received...

The first is a new pin up from Boo, a friend of mine from DeviantArt who's also one of my collaborators on a top secret (and very exciting) project I'm working up... hopefully more details on this soon!

In the meantime, this is his pin up of Holly.
I'm going to go ahead and color it and post it on my DeviantArt page soon...

You can check out more of Boo's cool work at his website UnpleasentDreams.co.uk


Next is a pin up from Bryan Turner, artist on Identity Comics Return of the Way.
Most of the Identity Comics crew was at the Wizard World Philly con, and I checked out some of their cool books (which I'll be featuring here soon). Bryan was cool enough to get me this sketch of holly, just for checkin out the books!

Thanks again Bryan!

Check out Bryan's book, Return of the Way at the ID comics website HERE

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Dead@17 ongoing preview...

I'm a big Josh Howard, and Dead@17 fan (he did a cover for Super Real 1 people, come on!)... his latest comic book venture, the upcoming August Dead@17 ongoing series has a new website and it features the Free Comic Book Day preview of the series (which can be found HERE).

Check it out, it's a great series of splash pages recapping the mini series and building up to the ongoing!
WOW! COOL!!

The Super Real issue 3 variant cover colors "You decide!" Contest!!

It's day two of our TSL contest for a free copy of the current Super Real sketchbook (with sketch!), so don't forget all you have to do is pop over to this thread and leave your pick of the two cover treatments!

Speaking of, here they are, all mocked up...

COMICS REVIEW: Backlog

Even though I'm behind schedule on my book, it was time this past weekend to get away for some much needed R&R, camping in the great Northwest... Aside from relaxing in the outdoors and the usual fair, one of the things I look forward to most about camping, is reading, comics, lots of them.

Even though I keep cutting titles and scaling back, with little time to actually sit around and read them, I still end up with tons of comics that pile up, week in and week out. Thus the camping reading material is not only a way for me to relax, it's a way to get caught up in my "industry research"!

This weekend I plowed through 45 books! Not single issues, but runs of titles, from recent months. The following is my quick take on what I read:

UNCANNY X-MEN 470-473 - The end of one short arc, the start of another, with 3 solid artists, and some suprisingly fun and enjoyable Claremont writing. Bedard scripting Claremonts plots works well for me.
MILDLY RECOMMENDED

ULTIMATE X-MEN 69-70 - I was excited for Kirkman's run on the title, hoping for more pizzaz than the also anticipated, but underwhelming Vaughn run... but it's actually become even more mundane. The Oliver art, while accomplished, doesn't help the plotting at all. This is the X-Men reimagined? X-Levi-Men, or Genereric-X is more like it... blah. Hurry up and get better or the title that used to be one of my faves is history for me...
NOT RECOMMENDED

BOMB QUEEN 2-4 - Great book. Love it! Over the top, mature, and nasty. But also a great 4 issue storyline and interesting concept. GOOD BOOK!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MIDDLE-MAN 2.1-2.4 - Hey, look! There's a Super Real ad in issue one! I feel honored to be associated with such a great book. I really liked the first volume, the writing, the art, the characters, but I found the story lacking. Volume two is soooo much better than the first!! GREAT BOOK!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

STRANGE GIRL 3-8 - After reading the first 2 issues I was on the fence... I loved the concept and the art, but it just wasn't paying off for me. Coming in knowing what the book was about left the intro to the book cold, but once things get moving story wise, this book is great! I also enjoy that it tackles themes and issues that are big and outside the norm, while telling an entertaining post apocalyptic survival tale! GREAT BOOK!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

CYBER FORCE 1-3 - I love team super hero books, so I give most of them a shot at some point. This is really bad though. Really bad. No thanks.
NOT RECOMMENDED

SUPERGIRL 1-6 - Loeb can be fun, and I like books that feature the ladies. I really enjoyed this. Nothing too special, but great classic super hero comic book fun.
I'm not sure at all about the new ONE YEAR LATER direction though...
RECOMMENDED

ULTIMATE EXTINCTION 3-5 - Peterson's art is impressive, while still a bit stiff, I love the new graphic touches he's using. This one was a page turner, but a bit anit-climatic (especially for a 3 series story).
MILDLY RECOMMENDED

WILDCATS NEMESIS 2-9 - I like Talent Caldwell's art, and I love Wildstorm, so this was an easy sell. The book itself, not so much... it's actually two artists, Caldwell and Domingues, alternating plotlines, with Caldwell only doing the present storyline, not the flashbacks. At first the flashbacks are important to the story, but as we go along, they are pure fluff (and really hard to believe/swallow). This really should've been a 5 to 6 issue story (maybe even 4), not the odd 9 issue run it was.
NOT RECOMMENDED

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN 91-94 - This, for me, is Bendis's best book, nothing else he does comes close (except perhaps Powers, but I gave that up years ago). Ultimate Spidey is just as wisecracking as the regular Marvel U version, but in this book, he's actually funny! Bendis continues to weave the best continuity based title going, with each arc entertaining, while building on the past. Also, in this run he plays with the Ultimate X-Men, who are much more in continuity here, than they've been in their book in years!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

That's it, some mostly great stuff, and stuff I haven't got to talk up on the blog cause I'm so far behind.
Books on the edge, outside the norm you should check out if you haven't, like:
STRANGE GIRL
BOMB QUEEN
and MIDDLE MAN
Really good stuff!

So, tomorrow, the breaks over (well, it was today, getting caught up on the email etc), and it's back at it double time!!

SUPER REAL NOTES - Interview!

While at the recent Wizard World Philadelphia, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Stephanie Mangold of SilverBulletComics.com.

The interview has just gone up and can be found HERE

We talk a good bit about the book, and Stephanie even works in some questions I haven't fielded before! The interview was actually done live/recorded, so the transcription gets a bit rough in some spots, but it's a solid read for any Super Real fan!

Thanks again to Stephanie and SilverBulletComics.com!

SUPER REAL NOTES - 6/12 CONTEST!!

Hello all,

Sorry for the blog silence... I was away for a 3 day camping excursion amidst the fir trees and lakes of fabulous Mt. Hood - having that the weekend following a 3 day con trek to Philly makes me kind of behind.
But no worries there! Hopefully I've hashed out a new battle plan for the book that is falling into place nicely... more on that as it is finalized!
The bottom line is, I have just enought time in my schedule to finish number 3, and still get it some extra attention, hopefully!

Also, the top secret Super Real project I'm working up is moving along nicely, and should also be ready for public knowledge soon!!
It's very cool, and very exciting!! And just what every Super Real fan is crying for!!!

Thought I'd pop in real quick and share some of the art that was waiting for me in my inbox upon my return this afternoon (at least the one I CAN share)...

Below you'll see the Hector Sevilla 1 in 4 variant cover to issue 3, colored up by Eve from DeviantArt.com:
As you can see, there are two versions - one with pants, and one without!! (Click the pic for a larger view)
Here's what I want you loyal, but sometimes not too vocal TSL readers to do - Leave me a comment as to which version you prefer (I'm a generally indecisive guy, and with artwork variations, you tend to find reasons to like all of them), so I have my favorite, but I thought I'd see what you all thought.

Here's the thing, I've also been wanting to do another contest... so this is it!
Everyone who comments with their choice of the two, gets a shot at a free copy of my latest sketchbook, with a sketch of your choice included, FREE!!
All you have to do is help me decide wich version is best for the cover of issue 3.
The book has to go to press soon, so let's keep this open through Friday 6/16, at that point I'll put all the names in one of my Super Real caps, and select the lucky winner!

The Super Real issue 3 variant cover colors - "You decide!" Contest!!
Go for it!

STAY TUNED,
jason

HEY DJ! - She Wants it online...

Local alternative station 94/7FM has been offering a series of live music snippets for site subscribers (that can be shared), and the latest is from SHE WANTS REVENGE.
I recently picked up the SWR disc and enjoy it...

Follow this LINK for some exclusive live tracks!

They expire on Monday.

DeviantArt update - Issue 3 page 9

For all those out there anxiously awaiting the third issue of Super Real (like me!), here's another page of artwork I recently uploaded to DeviantArt.com.

This is page number 9, featuring Kityana, and Shana enhanced!

I leave out the text and script, so as not to spoil the book!
You can view the page at full size on DA HERE (or click the pic)

STAY TUNED,
jason

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Marketing time!

Newsarama's got a pretty cool new column on comic book marketing, SEQUENTIAL SMARTS, aimed at the self publisher.

The cool thing is, unlike most comic news site columns, this ones really professional, with some genuinely informed data to help everyone out!

Check it out HERE

IN CASE U MISSED IT: Speaking of Felipe...

The man is crazy.
After finishing up his cover for Super Real, while working on a poster promotion for MBQ (featuring 100 real life fans of the book), he went and did this...

LINK

A 14 page promotional comic...
Damn!
Ha ha ha!!

MBQ!!!

SUPER REAL NOTES - 6/6 Issue 3 variant cover

I still need to verify with my Diamond rep if it's okay, but here's the potential 3rd variant for the soon coming issue 3.

It's by the creator of the best OEL manga, and one of the hottest new talents in comics in general if you ask me (go on ask me), Felipe Smith! Felipe does the incredibly raw true to life book MBQ for Tokyopop, when he's not turnin out smokin variant covers for me!

The plan is to include this cover as the second 1 in 4 variant for the third issue. That would be a ratio of 2 of my regular cover to 1 of the Hecot Sevilla and 1 of the Felipe Smith...

I'm also hoping to have some potential new colors for the Hector cover shortly...
STAY TUNED

SUPER REAL NOTES: Wizard World Philly UPDATED

Now updated with pics!

I'm still recovering from another long, travel, con weekend, so sorry for the lack of updates...

On top of that, I'm really behind on production of the book, so I'll keep things brief... (oops, that didn't happen)

This was my first time out to the Wizard World Philadelphia convention, and I was impressed all around.
From the size and attendance of the show, to the wealth of stellar artist alley talent, the crazy cool neighbors, and the general location of the convention hall.

One of the main problems with most big cons are that the convention centers are located away from any kind of necessary amenities required by travelers, like affordable restaurants and shopping. Not the case at the Pennsylvania Convention Center as it is adjacent to a large market that's home to dozens of produce and fresh food sellers, as well as restaurants of all variety. I did find out however, the only drawback here was that the market closed at 6pm (same time the con closed) and on Sundays.
You can't win them all.
Otherwise, most hotels and downtown attractions were all concentrated directly around the hall. Wow, that's nice.

I flew in on the Thursday night/Friday AM red eye direct from PDX to Philadelphia, at just around 5 hours, catching some pretty good sleep en route. I arrived at Philly just before 7AM EST, which is 4AM PST, my time... so ya know jet lag is not gonna be avoided when doing that kind of time warp... any way, since it was relatively early, I had no problem catching a shuttle once I figured out how to.
TIP: Here's something I've learned recently, you can take a moderately priced shuttle bus from just about any airport to downtown area attractions for a fraction of the cost of a cab, or rental of course. Usually only having to pay 8 to 10 dinero plus tip.
So got that done and went straight to the convention hall by 8AM (in LA I made the mistake of going to my hotel first, expecting it to be accross the street, to only find out it was several blocks away). Now I thought the hall opened to exhibitors at 9AM and I'd have to wait, but I turns out it was 8 and I went straight in and was able to get set up by the time the show opened at 10 no problem. Even making a trip out for a real sit down breakfast at the aforementioned market across the street!

As for the show, and the rest of the trip, it was a blur...

I had some great neighbors, a local t-shirt designer/aspiring inker/indy publisher/comic shop employee, JD on one side, and Michigan pin-up artist TC Cor on the other. Both stand up guys with cool and friendly friends and significant o's... for JD's crew, that's good, cuz I only had a 4' artist alley space, and therefore split the other 4' of a table with him.
He had these really cool "Don't make me choke a bitch" Darth Vader shirts, and "Zod Posse" among others. He needs to update his website some more, but it is PunchThroat.com
There you should find mini comics, indy anthologies and cool silk screened shirts shortly!
He even inked up a sketch of mine on the spot (see sidebar)! His inking portfolio looked top notch to me, so I'd be surprised if he's not working in the industry post haste!!
As for the previously mentioned wealth of artist alley talent to be found, watch for some CON SWAG updates coming soon highlighting some of those...
I also had the good fortune of being interviewed for SilverBulletComics.com live on Friday AM, so you should see a review for issues 1 and 2 of the book and the interview in Stephanie Mangold's HEY SUPERGIRL column up on there soon as well.

I got to meet many folks in person for the first time, or others in genral... such as Jamar Nicholas, creator of the Detective Boogaloo, Hip-Hop Cop webcomic, the crew from Fenickx, some friends from MySpace, my print rep from Regent Publishing, former Marvel Comics editor and kickin creator C.B. Cebulski, BrokenFrontier.com creative director and Super Real advertiser Frederik Hautain (all the way from Belgium I might add!), Super Real reviewer and PaperBackReader.com columnist Dan Head, the crew from IndyComicReview.com (who also review and enjoy Super Real), and many more!

Other than that it was the usual bevy of awesome folks checking out the book, getting sketchbooks or sketches, and stopping by to say hey and get their books signed... speaking of, this con was by far the worst occurrence of mistaken identity for me yet, I had several folks looking for me throughout the weekend expecting to get their Jason Martin "the inker" comics signed... Yes, I'm a Jason, we are legion, but Jason Martin's are rather frequent too, and well, I'm not that Jason Martin. Wish I'd inked Joe Mad, Adam Warren and others, but alas, I haven't.
When I plotted my course into self-publishing, I was hoping this wouldn't be a problem, but more and more it is. It's not fun dissapointing folks all weekend long when they realize they've got the wrong dude... I mean, I know it's not for them, cause it's generally written all over their face, like it's my fault.
I might have to do something crazy like adopt my email name or throw in an exclamation point, or as someone else has taken to doing, calling myself "the" Jason Martin. Let me know what you think about that!

So, let me finish by saying it was a great show, not as good sales wise as LA for whatever reason, but still good in that regard, but overall, the con, the people, the city, the coordination, was great. A huge thanks to everyone I met and picked up stuff from me over the weekend!!
THANKS!!

I went straight from sketching past the show close of 5PM to the shuttle and 8:30 flight to PDX and the drive home by 12:30AM Tuesday PST. Monday, I was a bit zombie-ish till noon and then was back on track. Another marathon completed successfully!!

Now stay tuned for those CON SWAG updates, hopefully soon...
jason

DeviantArt update - Issue 3 page 8

For all those out there anxiously awaiting the third issue of Super Real (like me!), I've neglected to link to the pages of artwork as I've uploaded them to DeviantArt.com lately.

So this week, I'll add a page a day...

Today we have page 8!

This is Mike's first enhancement sequence!

I leave out the text and script, so as not to spoil the book!
You can view the page at full size on DA HERE

STAY TUNED,
jason