PIXU and 5 at Floating Wolrd!

Floating World Comic, in Portland, will host this amazing exposition of original art form all the awesome creators of the Eisner Winner 5 and the new face of terror, PIXU!
Can't miss this event!
And if you haven't ordered PIXU yet, do it while you can. Our very limited 1000 copies print run WILL END FAST.
Click HERE and guarantee your copy!

Why Comics? - part 1

Why Comics?
answers by:
Matt Fraction (Eisner Award nominated writer of CASANOVA, The Immortal Iron Fist, Punisher War Journal and Uncanny X-Men);
Ivan Brandon (Eisner Award nominated writer of NYC Mech, 24seven e Cross Bronx);
Grampá (Eisner Award winner, brazilian cartoonist, author of the graphic novel Mesmo Delivery)

There and back again.

Home. Here we are, and we're safe, and we're happy.

And busy. We've been busy for a long time. We were very busy during the convention, as we were on previous years (maybe more), and being busy is a good sign, is a sign we're working, we're building something that hopefully will stand the test of time as worth of the reader's time. We work because we feel this need to tell stories, and being busy is a way of knowing that stories are being told. This year, above all, I felt that not only stories were being told, they were being read as well.



We work our best, but the job is only done when we find our readers, when they do their part, when they get the books and read the stories. Maybe they'll like it, maybe they won't. Every year, as we work more, I think it becomes easier to find our stuff and to read our stories. Having a body of work certainly makes it easier to be seen in this sea of artists and that's something most people don't realize. Doing comics is not easy and more often than not there are no overnight successes. It takes a long time, it's a long road, and you have to love it.

We do love it.



I still can't believe we won. It's overwhelming, it's flattering, it's unbelievable and, at the same time, undeniable. I remember well that, during the ceremony, I completely forgot to thank anyone, so say anyone's name, or to express my gratitude for these awards. I was holding myself from bursting into tears, I was high of happiness, and I was pumped by my love of Comics.

From that moment on, all I could think of was how bad I wanted to do more comics, and I hope that's the effect these awards have on people: this is it, you won, now get back to work and do it better, do it harder and do it for as long as you can. No words can really say how it feels, or how it felt for me, so I just want to work an keep doing what I love, and what it seems people also love, and have the work be my way of saying thanks.



It's great to belong. It's great to have friends. Nobody is an island, we were not made to be alone, and it's great to find people who can take this great trip along with you, people who share our love for comics, people who also want to do their best, who don't settle, don't give up and they always want to do more, and do it better.

These are great friends to have and I wouldn't have it any other way.

On the plane back, I started drawing. I couldn't help it, I couldn't wait any longer and I just did it, between the first and the second movie on the second and longer leg of my trip, and it was great. It's great to draw, to create and to share. I inked the drawing when I arrived home, 'cause the plane was too shaky. I knew this drawing world need good inking, 'cause these are friends you have to treat well. They're great, and I miss them already.



We have a second PIXU to finish now, and just too much more to list at the end of this narrative, and we just can't wait to get to it. We love comics, and we thank all of you for your tenderness and support.

Monday comics.

Monday, we got together with two friends, Grampá and Rafa Coutinho, and at dinner we made a fast crazy comic at eight hands on my sketchbook. One would ink the other's pencil, and then the next had to continue the previous panel.

Nothing that makes sense, but great fun.,


First panel is Grampá inked by Bá, second panel is me inked by Rafa.

Then, it's Bá inked by Grampá, and Rafa inked by me.

Now, it's Rafa inked by Grampá and Ba inked by Rafa.

Finally, Grampá inked by me and the last panel is Rafa inked by Bá.

Less than a month before San Diego, and we're all so excited.

5 part 1: we love comics.

5 is our cool new comic. We did it with our friends because we all love doing comics, and we wanted to do something together for those who love comics as well.

Grampá, who loves comics, did this cover.

We loved it.

More to come, and expect a lot of love when this baby hits at the San Diego Comicon.

Grampa.

Grampá is a friend of ours. We just talked about him a few days ago, as he worked with Bá on that giant wall thing. He did most of that. He's awesome.

The first comic book story he EVER drew was four pages long and it's feature on the Gunned Down anthology book, published in 2005 by Terra Major (get it here). We would never believe it was his first pages ever if we didn't know him. After that, we were constantly asking for more, for the next one, for something bigger, longer, bolder.

It's coming.

This year, as an way of committing to his story (or maybe as an necessary excuse to finish it), he's going with us to the San Diego Comicon, and we all will share a booth with the also awesome Becky Cloonan and Vasilis Lolos. Such an international roaster called for an extra effort, so we are all doing special stuff just for the booth. And Grampá is doing a brand new story, a brand new book.

And he created a blog to talk about it!

And here's the first image:



This post won't allow comments, so you can rightfully go to Grampá's blog to comment there.

Figueroa Hotel

I hear from Matt that Casanova 7 will come out February 14th. A week before carnaval here in Brazil, and a great way to start the festivities. If you think Bá's artwork has only been getting better, wait until you see the entire new level of awesomeness issue 7 brings. But, while we wait, what can we do?

One of the most different things Bá did last year was collaborate with Grampá and Denis on this huge triptych image on the walls of the Figueroa hotel, in L.A. Grampá did the players and the colors, Bá did the buildings and Denis directed the animation spots for TV, which Grampa did concepts for.



It's strange how this things happen worldwide nowadays. While Bá and Grampá worked together all night long on several nights, they were talking with Denis, who is living in Barcelona, to do this work for a client in New York for something that would be seen and done in L.A.