Page Layouts Complete!
Updates on My Comic, Historical Heroes, and More!
Hello Explorers!
This month was busy at my day job, so this time I’m just going to throw out a smattering of creative happenings and intriguing perspectives to satiate your paranormal palate. Enjoy!
An Update on My Comic: Pencils are Complete!
The talented artist, Nico Longoria, is back to work on the last ten pages of my comic, The Airship, and they look great! I recently approved the updated pencils, so now Nico will move on to inking and coloring the pages.
For anyone interested in the process, when I receive the first pass on the pencils, the editor, Paul Allor, asks me for any notes I have. I send back my thoughts on some adjustments, and then Paul works with the artist to incorporate those notes into the edited pages. Because I am working through a service at Comics Experience, part of the contract stipulates that all the communication is mediated through the editor.
From my understanding, this is just a safeguard against creative conflicts, and it allows the editor to maintain quality control. Just because I give notes doesn’t mean they have to use them, but I like this aspect of the process because it forces me to relinquish some control of the vision to allow for unseen possibilities from the other artists’ creativity.
Nico and Paul have incorporated many of my notes, but more often than not, they have come up with some amazing ideas that I could not have seen on my own. I think it is a testament to the fact you can never be too rigidly attached to your own ideas and interpretations when it comes to art.
Historical Figure in Comics & On the Stage
As much as I loathe social media much of the time, it does have the special power of sometimes introducing complete strangers with common interests. Such is how I came across actress, Sara Sincell (@harrietquimbylive), who followed my instagram account. (I imagine because I hashtagged Harriet Quimby on a piece I drew.)
It turns out Sara has produced a one-woman show about the famous aviatrix that she has been performing across the United States. As a former theatre nerd myself, I have massive respect for anyone who can carry an entire show solo. Mix in a cool historical figure, and I am sold!
Aside from simply wanting to promote live theatre, however, Harriet Quimby actually plays a small role in my upcoming comic, The Airship!
In the story, I based some aspects of my main character, Elizabeth Scott, on the real-life pioneer, Blanche Stuart Scott, who was the first American woman to fly an airplane in 1910. I also included Harriet Quimby as Elizabeth’s rival.
Like Scott, the Quimby of my universe is a fictionalized version (not entirely accurate to real world facts.) However, the real-life Quimby is a fascinating character who deserves a story all her own. This is exactly what Sara Sincell is doing with her show, Harriet Quimby Live!
If you are unfamiliar with Quimby’s life, she was a fascinating person who not only flew airplanes in the early 1900’s, but she was also a journalist, a photographer, and an actress. You can get a good summary of who she was in Sara’s excellent promotional video here:
Currently, Sara is performing her show in Maryland at the Performing Arts Center in Garrett, MD (@garrettcollege) on March 10 and at College Park Aviation Museum, College Park, MD on March 18 (@collegeparkaviationfirst). I wish I lived closer so I could see it myself, but if you are in the area, you should go check it out and see why Harriet Quimby was one badass lady!
If you want more information about how you can bring Sara’s show to your area, you can contact her at: info@sarasincell.com
Tynion’s “Blue Book” is Off to a Great Start!
A couple weeks ago, I picked up the first issue of James Tynion IV’s long awaited comic, Blue Book. The series is based on real life stories of high strangeness, some coming directly from the files of the infamous government program, Project Blue Book, which was tasked with studying the UFO phenomenon in the 1950’s and 60’s.
The first half of issue number one starts with one of the most famous abduction cases of the 1960’s, Betty and Barney Hill. If you do not know the story, this is a pretty faithful reimagining of what the couple’s encounter may have been like while driving at night on an isolated country road in New Hampshire.
Tynion’s vignette only focuses on the beginning of the encounter, so much of the story remains to be explored in later issues. However, even though it is brief, the comic does exactly what a traditional non-fiction retelling cannot: it places you directly in the shoes of Betty and Barney trying to make sense of this bizarre mystery in real time. I am both extremely impressed and insanely jealous because it is exactly the way I would choose to retell a story like this one in comic form.
What made me like the comic even more was the second story based on the alleged sightings of an airborne “frogman” over New York in 1880. This chapter takes on a completely different style and tone from the Betty and Barney Hill story. What I really appreciated was that aside from the creature story, Tynion also shares some non-paranormal stories about weird oddities of forgotten history such as a brothel built in the shape of a giant elephant that once existed in Coney Island.
If you want a good paranormal comic, be sure to pick this one up at your local comic shop or you can follow the latest news about Tynion’s comics on his Substack here:
What Does “Close Encounters” Creator Steven Spielberg Make of the Latest UFO News?
Stephen Colbert sat down with Steven Spielberg (“Even Stevphen” reference, anyone?) to get his honest thoughts on recent news of the phenomenon, and Colbert pitches his idea for an E.T. Sequel. Watch the interview below!
BONUS: In case you never saw “Even Stevphen” years ago on the Daily Show, don’t miss out on some comedy gold:
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: Looking more like it might be Hive, now
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?