April 2/2

So, why the blog (let's get that out of the way)

Because of the context and the continuity. It's easier to keep track, for both me and you, of what I'm up to, and if I post a picture I made, it probably won't be sandwiched between a meme and news about gun violence.

Because of the pace. Come here and be caught up with everything in five minutes. If you think of me once a month, that's already more than enough, and thank you.

Because a blog can go in depth. These first two are updates, but I can make the next post an article about a weird composition thing, or writing, or something I might be thinking about in regards to Formal Aspects of Narrative (unlikely), or which pens to use (hello no). I could also go into very long rants about things I don't like (naming names, etc etc), which we can all look forward to.

There are actual paragraphs. If the very idea of paragraphs fills you with anxiety and you fear about missing out on Content elsewhere, skip to the end. Also don't call things content. And for your own well-being, I hope you're not making "content."

(See why I have a blog?)

A blog because it was a mistake to abandon them in the first place. Other platforms appeal with the ease of posting and quick thinking and responding. This is sometimes great. If it's the only thing, then ultimately both the art and the interactions get shrunk down to fit in that phone-sized two-seconds box. It's very, very easy to click a tiny heart and scroll on. I do this myself, and it sometimes makes me angry.

Instead of speeding up and cutting down everything to fit in that slots machine, a blog is making things slower on purpose, and hopefully at least slightly more substantial. This is a human writing; not a human trying to be a brand -- no daily quotas of instagram posts to hack the algorithm or keep you clicking that "like" button daily. 

This blog template came with a built-in "like" button. It is now gone. There are also no comments. If you want to comment, you'll just have to send me an e-mail. Let's call it an experiment for both of us. Let's see where all of it goes. Twenty-two posts to go.

Of course, the "scroll, like and forget" option is still available.

TOTAL NUMBER OF SHORTS I'M WORKING ON: FOUR (4)

Two you know about and two secret ones. I'm not writing one of them, so that one is the official vacation.

Other than that, more covers:

The print edition of Inktober

-- is at the printer. It is in color after all -- hooray. A physical proof arrived today:

Available mid-May on the website, in person at TCAF (god-willing), and later in some stores. I'd say The Beguiling in Toronto is a good bet (I didn't ask them yet, but they are very very nice).

There will also be a limited amount of special "let's cover the printing costs / possibly fund my newfound photography problem" sketch editions. The limit with those is time, so I'll probably start with 30, but I am happy to do hundreds. Let's get that photography problem really going.

I'll open orders / preorders as soon as I finalize the proof and know the weight for shipping, so the next time you hear from me you'll be able to buy it on here.

look at this perfect candidate for an oversized chest tattoo

See you in two weeks or so-- thanks for reading.

Tonci

April 1/2

Hello.

Yes, this is really a blog, again. I will write about the why next time. For the first post, I'd rather just go with the planned structure of twice-a-month updates. A newsletter that doesn't show up in your inbox (wow!). You have enough mail. And it's not really the same thing.

If you're coming here from The Platform We're All Kinda Tired Of, there will be some overlap, so bear with me for a minute. If you're coming from the old blog, thank you for the patience, and here's a recap of what I'm working on.

What am I working on?

I have mostly been working on a very dense sci-fi short story called "Indivisible Man" for a while now, and I am finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on that one. It's turning out well, but it's also the last time I write a story that way god damn it (for now). All I have left to do is rewrite it three or four times and draw the entire thing, but that's the easy part. (no joke)

***

The next short was supposed to be another very dense story, and a story that I'm excited to do, but I couldn't handle the thought of working at the same pace for a several more months, so I sat down last Thursday and came up with a brand new thing and a brand new family for it, and the aim is for "Grid Family Deliveries," as it's currently called, to be in the next RAID Studio Anthology this summer, RAID.TWO.

(If you don't have the first one, there's even some sketch editions still available. There is an eight-page Hard Planet story of mine in there.)

***

Last years's Inktober is creeping towards a print edition -- I have talked to five different printers since February. For some reason, this one is twice as expensive to print than a full-color comic. In the goal of keeping the price down, it will be in black and white, at least this first run. I know you will miss the blue ballpoint as much as I do. If anyone knows Gerhard Steidl, maybe we can do some proper cloth-bound editions sometime.

Update on this soon, but the idea is to have boxes of them ready for TCAF, in May.
 

***
 

(I will be at TCAF, by the way. TCAF is the best. You should come. Go TCAF!)
 

***

In the work for hire department --

-- I have been working almost exclusively on covers in the past few months, while other things get going and while I battle with my own scripts. Here are a few recent ones for Valiant Comics:

I have been using the iPad more on these, doing layouts, pencils, and early stages of painting on it. It's worked out pretty well so far. I wouldn't yet attempt to do finished work entirely on it, but It has saved the day a few times already, particularly during flu season, and while in Ottawa train stations. Please don't ask me which app it is, or what brush, or how to hold the pencil.

The website--

-- itself is being updated too, throughout April and May. Worry not, it will not languish in "under construction" hell. It works now and it should look very nice on your tablet and computer. I will be adding more recent and more older work to make it a somewhat comprehensive overview of work I did since 2006 or so. I've already added a complete four-page story, for an example.

That's enough for now --

-- what is this, a newsletter? Less next time.

For day-to-day updates on soup, pictures of cement trucks and complaining, I am still on the Generally Despised But Occasionally Very Rewarding Other Platform (and Instagram).

Hope to see you here again in two weeks or less, and thanks for reading.

- Tonci