Brysketch: Zelda

Since I can't stop drawing, here's another quick one - a head sketch of Zelda, as she appears in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword:




I don't play video games as much as I used to. In fact, before I got Skyward Sword for Xmas, the last time I played anything seriously (beyond Wii Fit or a few rounds of Street Fighter) was about a full year prior. And even then, I'm only maybe 1/3 through the game as of now - I only play when I'm in the mood and have nothing else pressing to take care of, so it's not super often.

But damn. DAMN.

It's really incredible. I'm loving it as much as I did Ocarina of Time back in '98 (when I was... holy shit, 14!?), and that game was practically a religious experience for me. The Zelda series has always been a huge favourite of mine (and it's maybe worth noting that this is coming from a dude with a Triforce symbol tattooed on his arm) but this has to be one of its best games yet. So basically I'm saying you should play it immediately.

Brysketch: Power Girl

Just a quick sketch today - I finished Monday's comic early yesterday and felt like doing a little something extra, but something different - a character I've never drawn before. Since the character's been redesigned recently, I went with DC's Power Girl (created by Gerry Conway, Ric Estrada and Wally Wood).

The funny thing is, I don't think I own a single comic with Power Girl in it. I haven't ever really followed the character that closely, despite being familiar with her... I just noticed the redesign online the other day and it got me thinking about the character for some reason.

Power Girl's probably most well-known for her "classic" costume. You... can probably see why. It's a pretty shameless look, and some artists (most successfully Amanda Conner) have embraced the cheesecake aspect in a fun, self-aware kind of way. Which is totally fine - that certainly has its place. But putting impractical, "sexy" costumes on female superheroes is incredibly widespread and overdone all-around, and it raises a lot of arguments about sexist attitudes toward women in comics that are pretty uncomfortable to say the least. I'm generally pro-practical when it comes to costume design for male or female characters, and feel that costumes are generally far more appealing -- and even sexier -- without tits or ass hanging out, or looking like they'd fall off or apart under any form of pressure.

But I'm not a huge fan of the new costume, either. It's... okay, but doesn't really grab me. It does away with the "cleavage window" but adds overly-busy gloves and boots with a lot of unnecessary lines (a common "New 52" design choice), while, as Comics Alliance pointed out the other day, looking a lot like the Image Comics character Supreme. And worst of all, the new Power Girl looks a bit... slight. The best part about her classic look was that she was a visually powerful woman. Unlike many/most superheroine designs, she didn't look anorexic or impossibly-proportioned; she was strong, healthy and curvy - often with a bodybuilder physique. That's a big part of what made her look so iconic, and now that's been lost.

I do like the covered chest/legs and exposed arms in the new look, though, so I took those aspects and worked them into the core of the classic design, and this is what I got.

Now, I did this really quickly while I was fairly sick, so it's... not great. I feel like the proportions are a bit off, but I didn't want to redraw it, so to hell with it, here it is anyway:




I know I'm not the first to draw something along these lines, and I'm sure it's been done much better elsewhere. But I think it's a solid tweak to the classic design that takes away a lot of the cheesecake factor while still remaining recognizable.

Everything in its Right Place

I've got about 700 unfinished blog posts saved in the queue and no time to finish them. By the time I get around to it, they'll either be irrelevant or I'll have lost interest. That's okay. I'll update eventually.

For now, it's life, work, comic. I'm damn close to hitting #100, which is sort of exciting!

This is how the process looks right now:


I have a system. Honest.

More... soon?

2012

It's here! It's here.

(Rather, it's been here for a week and a half and I've been too busy/distracted to update...)

I don't buy into any of these 2012 "end of days" theories because I'm not superstitious and require a little evidence to believe pretty much anything. But my next birthday will fall on 12/12/12, so if the world does end (it won't) and it turns out I'm the Double Antichrist or something... well, sorry about that.

For 2012, I'm predicting a year like any other, except I hope that people smarten up and try to destroy our society and planet a little less than usual. (And also that Community gets renewed for a fourth season.)

My resolution for this year is to stay the course. More specifically, keep working on the comic, step up my game and invest in my future, and basically be as awesome as possible. Also, I plan to continue working on myself, particularly becoming better at dealing with stress and frustration (I'm much better than I was a few years ago, and hope to keep moving in that direction) and just make a point to live in the moment a bit more and enjoy life as much as possible.

As for last year's resolutions? I think I did all right. Aside from a few hiccups and a little hiatus, I kept the Hereafter updates coming on a decent schedule for the most part. I mostly kept a positive attitude during some trying times, which in retrospect was a pretty damn good test of my mindset. I feel like a much more well-rounded person now than I was a year ago, more connected and self-assured, more motivated and productive. I'm not all the way there yet, but I've made some strides, I think. I just have to keep moving in that direction.

My good friend Mel posted her theme for 2012 the other day, so once again I'm stealing her idea. This is mine:



Have a great year, everybody! I'll try to update again before 2013.

The War on Christmas

I've got a confession to make. Brace yourself, Internet...

I say "happy holidays".

I know that this is a grave offense to some. Every year, certain segments of the population get all worked up over some never-ending "War on Christmas" that threatens... I dunno, something, I guess? Apparently so much as neglecting to say "Merry Christmas" at every given opportunity is the equivalent of firing cruise missiles into the heart of Jesusland.

I admit I'm biased. Oh, you'd better believe I'm biased. But it doesn't come from a place of disrespect. I'm the ripe old age of 28 now, don't you know, complete with a few little traces maturity and wisdom and everything! I may have issues with the more extreme versions of Christianity, but "to each their own" is my philosophy these days; stirring up trouble is for hot-headed kids. But while having strong beliefs is fine and good, if you can't respect others for their own at the same time, that strikes me as more than a bit hypocritical.

And that's what it comes down to for me - just simple equality and fairness. I've got nothing against Christmas, I celebrate it in a secular, non-religious kind of way. And I'm cool with anyone's individual personal beliefs, so long as they remember the personal part. But the thing is, people in our society believe more than one thing, and celebrate more than one holiday, and the need to have one singled out above all others doesn't ring true to me in any kind of free, open culture. I just can't accept the mindset that not specifically mentioning Christ is somehow discriminatory, either. Nearly 80% of people in Canada and the United States identify as Christian, so yeah, I find it a bit hard to buy into the idea that they're somehow victimized over this. The argument has been made that "you can't say Christmas anymore". Which is funny, since I've heard it every day for weeks.

(And for the record, I don't get upset when I hear "Merry Christmas". It's not my religion, but it's just intended as well-wishing, so I just respond with a cheery "you too". And usually the opposite is true when I say "happy holidays" - not always, but usually.)

"Happy holidays" is all-inclusive. That's the beauty of it - whatever holiday you celebrate, it's covered. That's the ideal to me - it shouldn't matter if yours is the most popular or the most mainstream or whatever, just live and let live and wish everyone the best. Shouldn't be that hard.

Besides which, what we now call Christmas originated as a Roman Pagan holiday celebrating the god Saturn, so y'know, let's not get too defensive about "the reason for the season".


I'm essentially finished gift shopping for the year - just waiting on a few late packages to arrive. I only buy for my parents, my girlfriend and my dog. I like to keep it fairly small and simple, but it's easy to get a bit carried away, I guess. Gift-giving is pretty fun, far more enjoyable than gift-receiving to be honest. It can basically be a challenge to see how well you "get" someone you care about - though I'd argue that anyone who really cares for you in return should be appreciative regardless. I had fun with it this year. Sometimes nerve-wracking, but the reactions will be super rewarding.


I've received some really cool stuff from my girlfriend and my parents already - some birthday gifts, some early holiday ones:

My girlfriend gave me the gifts of mutual nerd obsession, a Doctor Who t-shirt (she got herself a matching one) and my own Sonic Screwdriver.

My mom got me this super cool hanging lamp for my studio. It's made up of a bunch of plastic pieces that lock together into this "ball", and the green glow it makes is phenomenal. Really completes my working space.

About a month ago, my mom surprised me with this Boston Terrier tree ornament. Because she's well aware that Logan rules this house.

That's it for now, gang. If I don't update this beforehand, have a happy holiday, whichever one you celebrate!

Then and Now

Christmas 1986 (I think):


Christmas 2011:


(Hair and height aside, I don't know if I've changed all that much.)

The Difference

The big difference between me at the beginning of the year and me now at the end is that my dreams aren't haunting me anymore, they're reassuring me. I wake up so often now, feeling like my brain just gave me a hug and told me, "You're doing all right! Stay the course, good buddy!" (My brain is goofy, but I like it.)

Change seems to be a regular topic with me. Or at least it feels like it's been my basic theme this year. There's been a lot of it, and it's been really positive, overall. It's important to take these regular moments to appreciate that, and my immediate response is always to share that in some way, to talk about it - or write about it, in this case.

Today I posted the 81st "Welcome to Hereafter" comic, and this week the site's been active for a full year. I started drawing the comic sporadically in January 2009, posting them to my now-long-dead LiveJournal. I had no schedule. I had no discipline. Things went on this way for well over a year, and this meant I had very little to show for that time.

Toward the end of 2010, I was staring down the barrel of 27 ("officially in my late 20s," I'd say to myself) and decided I had to get serious about things before that imaginary switch clicked over. I understand now that the difference between 26 and 27 is meaningless, but buying into this mindset, seeing periods of life as a series of "levels", was actually pretty helpful at the time. I got to work. I set a schedule, I made a website, and I brought the comic back to life. Back then, I felt the need to have something, some outlet, some product to show for my time and energy. Something tangible. A year later, I don't see it quite the same way.

I took a hiatus from the comic earlier in the year when I was dealing with a lot of changes in my life and just couldn't feel the drive to work on it regularly. That drive came back, but it came back different - less about a feeling of need, now more out of simple enjoyment. I like doing it, and I'll keep doing it as long as that enjoyment lasts. I'm learning from it in a lot of ways. Getting comments and compliments from readers -- total strangers to me beforehand -- is a more recent development. And how amazing is that? Even one person who enjoys something I've done and feels the urge to tell me about it... That's huge. That means an absolute ton to me. So cool.


Not much else I feel like writing about right now, so here are yet more pictures of my best buddy and loyal ally, Logan:


You can't tell me that last picture isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen. You just can't.


And hey, wrapping this up with a really great song my friend Mike introduced me to a while back, but I kept forgetting the name of - "When I'm Small" by Phantogram: