Haunted Shopping Cart Attacks!
Ghostly parking lots, IMAX anime, and new comic art!
Hello, Explorers!
This month I’m a little behind on my newsletter, I know. Life has been crazy around my place as I’ve had a new floor and kitchen cabinets put in, and, as you might have guessed, most of my possessions sit on that floor and had to be moved to the building’s basement. Then, once the work was done, they all had to be moved back up. (Exciting news, I know!) Despite that, I haven’t been completely unproductive creatively, and I have some cool stuff to share!
First things first: If you missed seeing the short comic I drew for the Panelsmiths anthology, you can read it now FREE on Global Comix! Written by @gregtvold and lettered by @tomlynott !
Global Comix has been shaking up the digital comics world with the launch of their new comics reading app. It is still in the testing phases, but so far looks like it could be a cool option for reading your digital comics. This app has some unique features that set it apart from other readers including the ability connect to artists’ crowdfunding campaigns and a social media feature to encourage conversations and reviews around the comics. Also, this app offers both a Webtoons style scrolling format and traditional page format rather than one or the other. It will be interesting to see how it goes, but in the wake of Amazon’s botched takeover of Comixology, it’s nice to see some options on the horizon that seem geared to appeal to the nuances of the comics reading community.
If you are interested in a more detailed run-down, you can see the whole presentation here (which I kindly cued to skip the ads at the beginning while they waited to go live):
Second: art for my one-shot, The Airship, is drawing closer to completion! The inks are done for the whole story, so now it is on to colors and lettering. I don’t have a completion date yet, unfortunately, but I expect it will be available later this year sometime. See some samples above of the amazing artwork by Nico Longoria!
Finally: I’ve been taking a fun writing class with the always wonderful and talented Paul Allor (who also happens to be my editor on The Airship.) This class is about writing freelance for comics , and our assignment has been to write a five page comic book script for an existing I.P.
Paul gave us a list of options at the start of the class such as Spiderman, Star Wars, Planet of the Apes, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, etc. We got to choose in a lottery, and I ended up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Fortunately, that was one of my top picks, and I’ve had a lot of fun going back to re-watch some episodes. My story features Buffy and Willow getting into some mystical shenanigans at a local rock show. I may share the script here when the class is done in case anyone wants to check it out.Â
Anyway, that’s all for now. Have fun out there and stay curious!
Sterling
Unknown Japan
I went to see Suzume in IMAX last week and loved it! This is the latest Makoto Shinkai film that was released last November in Japan. It just got its theatrical release here in the U.S. this month. If you are familiar with Shinkai’s previous work, you should already understand why his animation warrants a full IMAX experience. Click below to check out my review!
The Latest Strangeness with Casey O’Malley
Casey has a creepy real-life video for you to watch of a haunted shopping cart taking vengeance on an innocent man’s car! Is it moved by a ghostly push or just a gusty breeze of air conditioning blowing from the open doors at Walmart? If you need help deciding, Jimmy Thompson, Casey’s fourth grade neighbor, is back to offer a counterpoint op-ed to Casey’s story.Â
Sterling Martin is an artist and designer living in Chicago, IL. His background includes drawing, writing, theatre, teaching, improv & sketch comedy, and whatever else he can get his hands on to be creative. You can find him on the internet at:
Instagram: @sterfest.art
Website: sterlingmartin.design
Twitter: Still not interested.
Tik-tok: That’s the one you make videos, right?
Linkedin: I’m pretty sure I have one of those
Facebook: Ugh, do I have to?