New page from Hades: Charon's Approach

For your viewing pleasure, a finished (well, black and white, not colored) page from Olympians Book 4, Hades: The Wealthy One. The book opens with a tour of the Grecian afterlife,and here comes ferryman Charon to take you across the Styx. Hope you have a coin for him.

Comics Carousel at the NYPL! September 1st!

Come see me and a host of other talented cartoonists (Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, Aaron Renier, Susan Kim, and Laurence Klavan) as we perform dramatic, multi-media readings of our work at the Chatham Square Library. Cartoonist Bob Sikoryak's ongoing Carousel Slideshows have been entertaining the cool kids for years, and now you get to see it for free! Come on down, the fun begins at 4pm-- you won't be disappointed.

Persephone pin up!

Isn't she lovely? A round of applause for the Dread Queen of the Underworld, everybody! This is the first piece of finished artwork I completed especially for Olympians Book 4, Hades: The Wealthy One. More to come soon.

Hekate and Persephone, not in that order

good news! It was only in the low 90's today! It's like a veil has been lifted from my brain!

In celebration, a few more character sketches for all of you from Olympians Book 4, Hades: The Wealthy One. First up is this sketch of Demeter's lovely daughter Kore, after her transformation into the Dread Queen of Hades, Persephone.



And nextly, someone who has ended up being one of my favorite characters in the book, Hekate, goddess of the Crossroads. She becomes Demeter's loyal companion as she searches for her daughter after Kore's abduction. It's a subtle little craziness in her face that is the thing I like about her so much.

Old Men I drew

The heat continues unabated here in NYC. I've eaten nothing but berries for so many days now that I know what a bear feels like.

Here are a few doodles of a couple of gentlemen you might run into in the afterlife. On the top is Kharon, ferryman for the River Styx. I have to admit, it was pretty tough to not just copy the skeletal design of him from the classic "Clash of the Titans" (not the new version-- that was the worst movie I saw all year-- maybe in several years). Beneath Kharon is Tantalos, who you would only run into if you had been very, very naughty in life. Tantalos is being punished eternally in Tartaros. He stands beneath grape vines that pull up whenever he reaches for them, and in a pool of water that recedes whenever he stoops for a drink. I imagine he's gotten pretty hungry and thirsty over the millennia. This poor dude is where we get the word "tantalizing" from.

Hot as Hades in NYC today...

In honor of the old saying and the fact that the temperature has been in triple digits here in NYC, I thought I'd share this double page spread from my sketchbook, with doodles of an armored Hades, a thoughtful Demeter, and a drawing from behind of a certain demigod who may have been surprised to find himself in the Underworld.

Come see me draw at Greenlight Bookstore!

As part of the ongoing Fulton Fab Fest in Brooklyn, this Sunday, June 27th, I'll be hanging out around my friendly neighborhood bookstore Greenlight in Fort Greene Brooklyn, making chalk sidewalk drawings (which may or may not look like my crude Photoshop approximation below), signing books, beating all challengers in thumb-wrestling, and just generally hanging out from about 12 noon onward. If you're going to be in Brooklyn anyway, why not come on by to one of my favorite booksellers and get a signed copy of Olympians or 20?

More Hades Dramatis Personae...

...This time, a profile sketch of Hades himself, and a shot of Kore/Persephone, after her transformation into the dread queen of the underworld. Enjoy!

Hades Dramatis Personae: Demeter

Book 4 of Olympians, Hades: The Wealthy One is a bit more like Zeus in its structure, in that it principally tells one big story (in this case, the abduction of Persephone) rather than a tapestry of interconnected tales, as in Athena.

It may be Hades who gets the title nod, but he really shares the starring role with both Persephone and her mother, Demeter. Of all three main characters, until this point in the series Demeter has gotten the most panel time, as it were, but only as a supporting or background character. As a result, I've spent a lot of time sketching the beautiful Goddess of Grain in a wide variety of moods and poses, as she really gets put through the emotional ringer in this book.



The first step when I'm writing a book is to fill up some sketchbooks with "key Scenes" that may or may not make it into the final version. Here are a few sketches of an enraged and distraught Demeter, including an action shot of her in her role as Demeter Khrysaor, or Demeter of the Golden Blade. Looks like she's pretty miffed at Zeus. I wonder why?

Zeus and Athena Reviewed at Aint It Cool News

Its been a while since I've posted a review of one of my books here, but when one crops up on a site I'm a regular reader of, well, I just have to. Venerable movie news site Aint It Cool News runs a weekly + comic section, and in the latest installment, way down toward the bottom in the Indie Jones subsection (y'know, where the cool comics get their due) is a double shot review of both Zeus and Athena. Please give it a look!

Hey, ain't this supposed to be an online sketchbook?

If so, where're the sketches?

been awhile since I posted anything sketchbooky here, so to remedy that, here are a few studies of the gloomy lord of the underworld as he'll be appearing in Olympians Book 4 Hades: The Wealthy One. Enjoy!

Giant Athena/Zeus Release Party!

So what are you doing May 1st? WRONG! You're going to come to the gigantic book release party we're having at the best comics shop in the known universe, Bergen Street Comics! In addition to me and my own books, Zeus: King of the Gods and Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess, I will be joined by Mike (Foiled) Cavallaro, Pascal (City of Spies) Dizin, and Leland (Resistance Book 1) Purvis.

Our release party starts at 7, and there will be refreshments and stuff, but kids and kids-at-heart should join us earlier at 5 for games (like, Make Mike Cavallaro Cry, What's Pascal Eating Now, and Pin The Tail on The Purvis) and a general celebration of Free Comic Book day (our books will NOT be free, but we will have free materials that are way cool). Plus-- anyone who buys one of our book will be entered into a drawing to win the original black and white artwork for the jam piece above, by all 4 creators! Snap!