At the beginning of this month, it was announced in the entertainment industry trade publication, Deadline, that Long John was a show in development by Barry Linen, a production company started by actor Chris Pine and producer Ian Gotler.
This has beenin the works a very long time––this whole thing started back just before Volume 2 was released in 2016––and it has been tough to not really be able to talk about it. What I can say is that it all sparked with a single post––me answering a question posted by reader on the internet:
This all started because a reader said that Long John looked like actor, Robert Baker.
A year after that post, Robert Baker reached out and we started talking. The road from there to here has been wild, but I’m incredibly happy with where it ended up and the talent attached to it so far (the people you see named in the article; I don’t have any extra information). All that being said, you can imagine the relief of this news finally being out there in the world and able to share with everybody.
There’s not much I can say about it, mostly because it’s in the hands of the production company and the animation studio at this point and I’m here focusing on making my comics.
Like everything else, things completely changed in 2020. Among the losses was the annual CrockerCon––the pop culture convention held at the world class Sacramento art museum, the Crocker Art Museum. Sadly, COVID brought me the distinct honor of being the poster designer for the last in-person CrockerCon in 2019. With time, patience, and vaccines, the Crocker and the con organizers feel it is safe enough to bring the event––my favorite event––back into its hallowed halls. And I couldn’t be more excited!
I should say up front that the Crocker is taking COVID very seriously, and attendees are going to be required to provide proof of vaccination for entry and have required its exhibitors to do the same. They’re being as cautious as they can possibly be and I am incredibly thankful for it.
Of course, what I’m most excited about is to see all my local artist friends again, to catch up and hope, if even for a single even, to feel like old times again.
From thumbnail to final art. Click the image to see a larger version.
It has been really quiet around here, and that’s because I’ve been pushing myself to get the book done in as timely a manner as possible. There is always the encroachment of the day job, but, for the art, I became unsatisfied with some of it and had to do some touch-ups, and I have also been fighting some technological woes. However, none of this is stuff that can’t be beaten with a little patience and ambition.
For now, the entire book has flat colors on its pages and I’m just going through and adding shadows and highlights as the final pass on the art. I’ve already shared the first few steps of the process for this panel on socialmedia before, so I figured it would be best to complete the lesson plan, so to speak, by adding the flat colors and the final art.
Making any art is a dance with self-confidence and doubt––they step on each other’s toes as each one takes the lead for awhile. During the thumbnailing of the book, I was really excited about it, but once I pencilled it, I lost some of that surety. After laying down inks, there was no doubt that this was the best book I’ve drawn (despite needing to go back and redraw some panels or just touch them up a bit). Laying down flats is a slog on its own anyway, but there’s a consequence of flatting that makes the art look so dull and basic that I worried I, perhaps, rushed through this chapter a bit and even considered (for only a moment) going back to the drawing board and either redrawing whole scenes or adding pages to the book.
But when I sat down to do the shading and highlights––creating the final art for these pages––I was surprised to see my opinion flip again. Looking over a series of pages I finished, I said out loud, “Oh, okay, this does look like a Long John book,” as if it somehow wouldn’t fall into the aesthetic established by the previous four books.
These past few years has been a trial for everybody. Book 4 launched basically at the start of the pandemic and civil unrest capsized society for awhile. Book 5, with hope, comes out as this thing starts to wane. Things won’t be normal ever again; for most of us we our habits and preferences in life have changed in drastic ways as a result of everything over the last two years. Coming out of this, I know I want to run a different business than I was running before as priorities and opportunities have shifted, but the one constant I have through it all (and going forward) is getting these books created––thumbnailed, pencilled, inked, lettered, flatted, and finished. Even if the goal posts move for any reason, process is one thing we’ll always need and rely on to move forward.
Keep an eye here over the next few months. We still have the cover and title reveal to do as well as some announcements of upcoming shows (for real)! And, of course, as the book comes closer to reality, you can expect a build up to make that as much of an event as possible.
Keep a good thought, everybody, and I wish you all the best.
