Bring On the Bad Guys!

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We were only too pleased to be mentioned today in A Fuse #8 Production, Elizabeth Bird’s blog for the School Library Journal website! An excerpt:

[A] cut above the rest….[T]he art is good, the writing is good, and the storyline adapts well to the webcomic format (which is to say, serialized)….If it follows the lead of such other successful webcomics as Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Jellaby in print form, I will be well pleased.

Read the entire review here. And thanks, Elizabeth! We’re pleased to find ourselves in such great company.

Bring On the Bad Guys!

SMASH Episode 7 premieres Friday, April 24th!

Reports are pouring in from all around the world — literally!

Our own Aunt Katie reported seeing a Smash T-Shirt on a kid in a McDonald’s in Sayreville, New Jersey! How random is that? I couldn’t find Sayreville on a map of New Jersey with “Sayreville” marked by a giant, red-neon sign (not too good with the maps and the map-finding and the finding of things on maps).

We’ve gotten some great photos of people wearing their Smash gear. Here’s Christina from Portland:

And Quinto, all the way from the Philippines!

And here is the best volleyball team ever, Team Smash, from Seattle:

We want to see your Smash gear in action!

If you’ve bought any merchandise from our online store, send us a photo of you wearing or using it, and we’ll gladly post it on the blog. (All we ask is that you keep it clean!)

Last fall we posted a Craigslist ad in Seattle to find a colorist for Smash. Out of more than 80 responses, the one whose work we all agreed we didn’t just like, but loved, was Sarah Fenton. As of this writing, Sarah has colored three episodes of Smash and is working on the next one.

We wanted to get to know her better — and we thought you might, too. So we came up with a questionnaire that she graciously answered for us…

What got you started in comics?

Well, when I was little, all the boys hoarded their comic books (and Magic cards), so besides the old Tank Girl, Superman, and Batman movies, I didn’t have too much exposure. In my teens I got really into Manga, like Record of Lodoss War, X/1999, and Sailor Moon! Then in college, a friend introduced me to the comic Defiance, and that sent me questing into comic book stores, and I haven’t turned back since!

Did you want to have any super-powers when you were young? What kind?

Who doesn’t want to fly, I mean, really? I think that’s the staple super power for every little kid, and most adults. I also always pretended to have super strength, like I could take on any villain and get away with it! I think the most obscure super power I ever created for myself was the power to use and control CDs as throwing weapons!

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It’s been about 22 years since I had my own box at a comic shop.  I can’t believe it.  I’m so excited that Arcane Comics is in West Seattle!

I went in around noon today.  Inside I met Scott, and the guy on the floor, Jeremy, was great in helping me around the store.  Arcane just opened on Monday, but they are working overtime to get all the shelves stocked and the store completed.  I didn’t even notice, they were very friendly and helpful.  Jeremy turned me on to Scalped by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guéra.  Really great artwork, I can’t wait to read it.  And he showed me Air by G. Willow Wilson and M. K. Perker — again, art is great and I’m eager to find time to get into it.

Thanks, Arcane — you made this cloudy, rainy day bright and sunny. Now it’s time to draw.

-K.

We’re on Twitter now!

Follow us if you dare…

He’s got powers. He’s got a costume. And he’s got a name (whether he likes it or not).

Now things could get ugly…

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Another awesome Seattle ComiCon comes to an end. I’m always sad when the con is over. It feels a little similar to the day after Christmas — but not quite. I had a great time; I got to meet some of my idols in comics, and also some movie icons, mostly from a distance, though.

Some of the highlights…

Got to meet Ernie Chan, artist of Conan and Power Man and Iron Fist back in the late ’70s and early ’80s. I remember always recognizing his style and taking pains to understand how he could get muscles to look just right.

Met Phuong-Mai Bui-Quang, or P.M.B.Q., and saw her awesome character designs and deceptively simple, almost bamboo brush drawing style. She and her partner have created “Unemployed Pandas,” which I really enjoyed. (Thanks for the free copy of the comic!!)

Spoke with the fantastic Fleet Street Scandal artists Kevin Dart and Chris Turnham (left). I was happy to buy a collection of their work… and get it signed! If I could draw backgrounds half as well as they can, I would die a happy man.

Spoke the longest with the incredibly friendly and talented Steve Rolston, artist of Queen and Country and Emiko Superstar, among other work. He told me about Vancouver’s five annual comic-cons (compared to Seattle’s one and only), so I’ll definitely check those out.

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