inktober #5 - Moon Girl

I'm getting tired already. My brain keeps guilting me into getting back to the story I'm pursuing. He's right, my brain.

"I'm surrounded, and yet alone."

Inktober #4 - Moon Girl

These drawings exercise my brain and my hand and my creativity. Maybe I'm spending too much time with them, time I should be spending on any other one of my... my...
I don't know how to call stories that aren't stories yet. I don't want to call them projects (even if that's what I call them when I have to write an email and say I'm already working on too many projects), and I don't want to call them ideas, even if that's what they are. My ideas are much more something that I feel that I want to turn into a sequence of images, to try to prolong this feeling and, perhaps, to make it grow into unexpected interesting moments.
"You hold the key to my heart", I say to her.
She knows.

Inktober #3 - Moon Girl

Another inktober drawing. Another girl, holding a cigarette with one hand, and a piece of paper with the other. Again, an animal stands beside her. All these constants in an attempt to create a connection between the images, a link that my brain always makes to make sense of the random drawings without a story.
I wrote:
"I try to put the pieces together and make sense of what I'm feeling."

Inktober #2 - Moon Girl

"Looking for the wisdom to make the right choices", I wrote that as I finished this first drawing of my inktober series. I then tried to imagine what was written in the piece of paper she's holding, already searching for the backstory every image brings.

smoke signals

Warm-up sketch, sending out my usual smoke signals.

Umbrella Academy TV series at Netflix in 2018

We couldn't be happier with this news.

'Umbrella Academy' Live-Action TV Series Set at Netflix'

The 10-episode drama will launch in 2018 and is based on Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's beloved comic of the same name.

Costumes! Costumes! Costumes! CBLDF auction

Costumes! Costumes! Costumes!
Drawing I did for the CBLDF auction that will happen next week during #sdcc2017. You will have a chance to see this original at the CBLDF welcome party at the Westgate Hotel on Thursday night, July 20th (among several other incredible pieces of art), and the auction will happen on Saturday (check out where at the CBLDF website).
I’ll be at the party. See you there!

BLACK HAMMER cover and signing

Recently, I made this exclusive variant cover for Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston's BLACK HAMMER. I had a blast doing this retro looking cover, paying homage to Kevin Maguire's iconic Justice League cover. Here you can see the idea sketch, the pencil stage, inking during two moments, the final scan and the final cover. It changed very little from sketch to final image, and mainly I changed who would have the arms crossed to better reference the Maguire cover.

Doing a Black Hammer logo with letters also similar to the Justice League logo, and adding the tagline on the top, gave this the perfect feel of something from the past of superheroes comics.

I’ll post all our San Diego schedule soon, but I’ll be signing this exclusive edition with Jeff Lemire on Friday, July 21, from 3PM to 4PM, at the Dark Horse booth.

See you there!

Paolo Nutini

Recently, I did this poster for the scottish singer Paolo Nutini's show here in São Paulo. Here at the studio we've been so busy creating new stories that rarely I do anything that's not comic book related anymore. I'm not complaining, because I love comics and I have the chance to do only that, but sometimes you get that itch to do something a little different, related to something else, another world (the music world, the poster world) and it's nice when the itch comes and it coincides with that tiny little amount of free time you save every month just in case you come across an opportunity.
Paolo happens to like my comics, which I think was one of the reasons I was invited to do the poster, and I happen to like his music, which was one of the reasons I wanted to do it.

Back to the comics now.

International Women's Day

On my book, today's like every day. Every day I thank the women in my life for existing and for helping me be a better human being. (some men help, too)
But I did this warm up drawing to celebrate today anyway.

100 years of Will Eisner

Will Eisner would have been 100 years old today. We, like so many others around the big world of comics, were deeply influenced by his work, so we did these drawings in his honor today, to say thanks.

The Spirit is by far Eisner's most famous character. I can’t help but wonder that, if created today, a Spirit of our time (for our time) might have been a woman.

Paco

São Paulo-Angoulême connection

Bá and I were working this Saturday when my phoned made its noise for incoming messages. It was a video from Michele, our dear Italian editor at Bao. In fact, not only from him, but also it was from François, our dear French editor at Urban Comics. This weekend, the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée is happening in Angoulême once more, and apparently both our editors met in this cold Saturday to let us know, in our current hot summer day, that they were plotting our future at that very moment.

They were trying to confuse us. Deceive us with smiles. Their eyes betrayed them, and we knew they were up to know good. Europeans and their secrets and all that.

We replied with another video, and we smiled back, and we waved.

They're coming for us.

We know it.

We'll be ready when they come.

But we can enjoy our summer while we wait.

Masks

My art is this mask I wear.
I painted the cover of a new notebook.
A new project begins.
Something exciting.
Different.

the last page of 2016

My sketchbook holds the last drawings of 2016. Before the end of the year arrived, before the fireworks, before the champagne bursting and the bubbling in everyone's glasses in the merry toast of the new cycle, before the jumping of the waves and throwing flowers to Iemanjá, before the candles lit in a circle in the sand and the wishes each candle held, before all that I doodled in my sketchbook a few lines.

Who would have thought I would write and draw a Wonder Woman story? Not me, not before this year, not even when I was reading all those old Wonder Woman comics that now live in my childhood's memory. And yet, I'm happy that when I was invited, an idea struck me before I could say no, and I said yes, and my homage to Wonder Woman now lives inside an anniversary issue celebrating her 75th birthday.
Another incredible experience was being asked to adapt a Neil Gaiman short story, and that's why I drew Wonder Woman reading our How to Talk to Girls at Parties.

I was happy with this drawing, but I wanted to finish 2016 with a couple more images, so I kept going on the bottom part of the page.

Casanova, our crazy spy comic with writer Matt Fraction, turned 10 in 2016, and survived to keep going until his story is complete. We released three new issues this passing year, filled with guest pinups by our friends, with one variant cover reproducing the line art of the first cover of the first issue from 2006 (we felt like we were doing our own Artist's Edition, if only for the cover), and with more of the amazing back-stories Michael Chabon wrote and Bá drew. Here's to the next 10 years.

And then there's the bunny, my fertility animal, wishing for fertile grounds in the coming year. We'll need to be strong, and be fierce, and be patient. Be true to your heart's desire, and let it lead your path and direct your sword.

It has begun.

Creatures of the end of the year

Sitted by the sand, watching the casual dance of the waves as the sun sets, I sketch to mark the passing of another year, in hopes the coming cycle will bring more of what I love and crave and pursue.

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