Nepotism Friday! Keiren Smith edition!

I always talk about how busy I am around here, creating fine comic book based entertainment for the masses with all those crazy knucklehead characters I get to write and draw….

Like my wildly hysterical script for Avenging Spider-Man #8, (cover by Shane Davis, interiors by Matt Clark), due in stores in just eleven weeks! Silver Sable and Doc Strange Guest Star! Order yours today!

…but my wife has been doing so much colouring work around the funnybook biz lately that this month, she’s got more to read out there than I do.

So, because you should love her as much as I, I’m showing off some pages from her most recent work, with links to where you can read it online.  Who says my home in Toronto isn’t the House of Ideas?  Oh, this Cease and Desist order from Marvel  does.    Well, OTHER than this legal restraint?  Who?  Who?

First up:  A few teaser pages from a HEROES OF THE NORTH story about their characters Nordik and Eightball, available as an online comic book before the print edition comes out later (from Ardden Entertainment; the first omnibus collection sold out, so grab the second one as soon as you see it!-kts).  Read it while it’s free, fans, it just went online a few days ago.

I LOVE the blues she chose.  The pencil and ink artwork is by my friend David J. Cutler, who did the fun-but-hard-to-find-a-copy-of Johnny Canuck and the Northern Guard comic book with me last year.  I just can’t seem to quit David J., but one look at these pages and you can see why I’m a fan.

The lesson of this tale seems to be:  Ladies, dress warmly for cold weather.  Either that or it’s a thrilling murder mystery with cool action sequences and gunfights and stuff, like a good comic book should be.   All in glorious colour for LESS than a dime!  Beat that!

I dig the first panel on this page!

So click on over and read this story and show our Canadian comic book creators a little love.  It’s even better with the word balloons, though it covers up the pretty drawings and the pretty colours.

Keiren also just finished colouring a project called “Taking Flight” for writer Stephen Sutherland and artist Garry McLaughlin, who hail from Glasgow, a town with even more foreboding weather than Toronto.

If you're getting a "Frank Quitely" vibe, you're not alone.

This is the just the first three pages.  It’s available for pre-order at Laser Age Comics, but it won’t be printed up until April 9, so you’ll have to pace and bite at your nails until then.  I really like the colour work my one-and-only did on these pages.  The sense of quiet and peace as this character learns what it’s like to fly is really brought across by the palette she chose.

Here’s a page from a YMCA comic book project Keiren finished a few weeks ago…

The Adventures of Y Guy, written by another Holmes Inc. alumnus Kathleen Gallagher

Pencil art by Christopher Yao this time around…an alumnus of the Holmes Incorporated comic books I put out every year with the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop.  You can read the story here, and pick up the comics at local YMCAs in the Toronto area.

Just so you don’t think I’m a completely lazy sod, I have an issue or two of Ultimate Spider-Man Adventures coming up that I’ve done script and art chores for a story, as well as an issue of the Simpsons I wrote and drew, due in stores any time.  And my OWN Heroes of the North 12 pager in the pipeline for early summer.  Oh, and don’t forget tasty, tasty BACON!! (more on this as it crisps and develops).

But you guys get enough of me around here.

Check out the work of my own personal comic book colourist (her deviantART site), and let her know she’s pretty good at this gig.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your Keiren Templeton-Smith Bun Toon Bonus Moment:

One of Keiren's first appearances as a bunny in a Bun Toon from the early 90s!

Happy Birthday to my favorite comics professional! YAY!

This post is unforgiveably late in the day, but better late than never.

Script: Mike Marano. Art: Alex Greychuck. Letters: K.T. Smith. You think it was easy fitting all those word balloons on that page and not cover up a single figure?!?

Today is the birthday of my favorite comics pro: a letter and a colorist named K. T. Smith, who has done more for Canadian comics and cartoonists in the last few years than most of the trees in Quebec. (That’s not even counting her Marvel and DC credits!)

Script: James Cooper. Art: Daniel Wong. Letters: K.T. Smith

It’s one of the unknown truths that bad lettering can make a good comic look amateurish, and great lettering can make a second rate comic look professional.  And sometimes the letterer has one of the most crucial jobs on the page.  This is entertainment that has to be read, and if you can’t read it, you can’t be entertained by it.  Smith has pulled off some of the most impressive rescues I’ve seen, finding every single space possible for word balloons, and making crowded pages looks smooth and easy.  And it’s something NOT easy to do.

Script: George Olenick. Art: Sam Agro. Colours and Letters: K.T. Smith

Here’s a gig for a comic series called “BLUE REMOTE” where the editor asked her to make every page predominantly blue in the colour scheme (to remind you of the title, I suppose) and it comes across as natural, without calling attention to itself.  That’s not easy to do.

Art: Gibson Quarter. Colours: K.T. Smith

And when she’s allowed to pick the palette herself, I LOVE the colours she chooses.   Dig that polluted sky in Mega-City 1.

Script: Ty Templeton. Art: David J. Cutler. Colours and Letters: K.T. Smith

There’s a reason I’ve hired her for a couple of jobs myself.  Her bold choices remind me a little of the bright styles of old-school comics, while still making those subtle effects common in modern comic shine.

Script: Ty Templeton. Art: David J. Cutler. Colours and Letters: K.T. Smith

There’s more going on in these pages that the reader knows.  Any fool can put colours on the page with photoshop, but it takes skill to move the eye in the right direction, to keep from overwhelming the pencils with meaningless spots of contrast.  She’s good at the subtle stuff.

Art: Leonard Kirk. Colours: K. T. Smith

All right.  That’s enough gushing.  I just wanted to show off why I’m so fond of Smith’s work, and wish her a happy birthday.   I’d tell her myself, but she’s upstairs colouring and lettering a pile of pages for “HEROES OF THE NORTH” (the multi-media Canadian super-hero project I was blogging about on Tuesday) that are amongst the best pages she’s ever done.   I’d post them here, but it’s not my project, and I can’t exactly give out sneak peeks without the editor’s permission.  But I’ll let you know when it’s done, ’cause you guys will love it.

Happy Birthday, Keiren.  I’d have married you even if you WEREN’T a skilled professional, but it sure helps when I have deadlines.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your BONUS Keiren Templeton-Smith moment:

Yeah, she’s THAT gorgeous, too.

Dog Poop Romance Bun Toons, YAY!

Wait, DOG POOP?!? I must have mis-typed that!

Today:  A special “unseen Bun Toon”  Honest To God True-Life Adventure with an odd origin and a bit of a guest starring art-job from TK Labus (a friend of mine who is currently an animator on the bizarre cartoon series Ugly Americans).

Not too long ago, I was a guest on a reality TV show called “Outlaw In-Laws”, where I was asked to teach a man and his soon to be mother-in-law how to write and draw their own comic book to be printed and given out for the young man’s wedding.  Amazingly enough, these two didn’t learn how to write and draw their own comic book in the space of half an hour.  Instead, with their nuptials looming, I was conscripted into service to write and draw the darn thing myself.  Badly pressed for time and partly because I liked the more feminine style that she uses, I asked my friend TK Labus to help out with the art, and she penciled the story from my thumbnail layouts, after which I added a bit of wash tone to the whole affair and we made it time to have these handed out to the wedding guests as they attended the reception.  It’s the romantic story of our hero’s proposal told in Honest To God True Life Adventure form.  And it involves dog poop.

Sort of.

 

That should bring a tear to your eye…either with emotion or something else. Considering she said “yes” to that proposal, I assume they were meant for each other and are enjoying their life together.   I didn’t attend the wedding myself, there’s no telling what was in the cake.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your dog poop comic book Bonus Moment:

From Captain America #281.

__________________________________________________

For last week's outrageous Sherlock Holmes Bun Toons, click on the great detective's hat.

For Every Bun Toon ever, click the rabbit's nose.

Holmes Inc. Pin Up

woo hoo. Really. woo hoo.

Ty asked me to post this–because he forgot that I’m crazy, artistic and singularly unable to do a thorough tooting of my own horn. So, I’m posting this sheepishly, with an “aw shucks” and an urge to point out every single thing that I think is wrong with this. Except–LOOK AT THAT ART!

That, my friends, is Mr. Daniel Wong, and he is but one of the many talented Fit-to-Printers taking part in Holmes Incorporated #2. This is his pinup contribution to the Holmes Inc. website…and it’s a doozy. Lovely fun to colour over.

So, check out the site and click around to see more…(some of the creators have links; there are more to come. But click through and see more of what these guys are capable of!).

And keep your eyes on this spot to find out when this collection of talent and creativity hits the newstands and digital universe.

Keiren

Northern Guard #2 is out, OFFICIALLY this time.

In the fifteenth quatrain of the eighty-ninth stanza of the Complete Prophesies of Nostradamus,  the great seer wrote:  “and shall the beaver, after long delay/find distribution through the patterns of diamond/unto the shops therein/the second week of March”.

Only a fool would argue with Nostradamus.  So it’s OFFICIALLY OUT ON WEDNESDAY! Northern Guard #2 (featuring Golden Age Canadian Superheroes JOHNNY CANUCK and FREELANCE) is hitting the stands, it’s kicking the stands, and it’s slapping the fans around a bit, too.  Don’t just take my word for it, check these  sample pages with art by David J. Cutler and K.T. Smith to whet the appetite of the most discerning reader and wet the beds of the most scardy-cat ones.

–

How can Moonstone Books cram that much action into one comic?  It must include science and wizardry.  I know I’m running out to buy a copy just to find out how they did it!

The excitement is overwhelming me, I have to sit down.

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now,  your shameless Plug Moment:

SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG DECEMBER 15 2010

Yeah, yeah, this was originally written and published in November. November 23 2010 to be precise. But life happens…plans change, especially plans of publishers and printers. Both these books were delayed from their original release date, but it’s been confirmed that they will really truly be in stores tomorrow, Wednesday December 15 2010. So, read this re-post quickly…then off you go.

SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG

Every now and then, comics I wrote or drew get published, and I get to ask you to buy them.  I often forget to do this, but this week, I’ve got enough coming out in a row to pester you.

I PRESENT THE SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG

Shameless Plugging you with the Jason Edmiston Cover A

First up:  I’m fairly sure that Johnny Canuck’s big return to comics in the NORTHERN GUARD is this Wednesday or next Wednesday, if your local doesn’t get it tomorrow.  There’s some chewy good fun in this comic – a revival of some terrific Canadian Golden Age characters, and the first published work of a couple of good Canadian pals of mine.  (I just called my wife a “pal”.  I’m a dead man.)

 

Shameless Plugging you with the less-often-seen David J. Cutler’s alt cover B

Speaking of the lovely Keiren, it’s fun to see her credit on the Harvey Pekar meets the Thing story that’s coming out NEXT week.   She’s lettered a couple of the stories I did with Harvey Pekar, and keeping with the tradition, she gets her first Marvel credit.  And she did a terrific job!  I’m allowed to show off the first page, now that Marvel’s put it into promotion rotation.  This one’s in the stores in a week, I’m told.

If you have any fondness for Pekar, you’re going to love his take on the Thing.  This is, by far, my favorite Pekar story I ever got to do, sad as the events surrounding it were, and I’m going to blog about why it was so wonderful and bittersweet, right after it comes out next week…no spoilers here.

The cover looks like this, so you’ll know to get it when it’s out…

 

this series is so cool, you should be buying it, regardless.

And just to top off the sudden flood of Templeton product on the market in one fortnight, this came out in England last week –  check it-

 

Issue #14 of Murky Depths.

It’s a horror/sf writer’s magazine, with both prose and comics contained within.  Not a bad little offering and you can find much more about this publisher at   http://www.murkydepths.com  But you probably figured that out on your own.  I’ll bet you can order copies there.

For my part, I did thumbnail layouts and original edits on a terrific horror/adult story about a man who finds out the world is going to end, and wants to go out – ehem…with a bang.  It was written by Greg Dunford, and illustrated by Gibson Quarter and Eden Bachelder –  a group of friends who are all merry members of the Toronto Cartoonist Workshop usual suspects.

All right…the shameless plugging is done for today. Though it may come up again when my issue of Mad Magazine comes out next month, or my upcoming issues of the Simpsons.   Or…

Ty the Guy OUT!

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Here now, your Shameless Plug Comic Book moment of zen:

 

Look at that outfit. The man is clearly shameless.

 

SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG NOVEMBER 2010.

Every now and then, comics I wrote or drew get published, and I get to ask you to buy them.  I often forget to do this, but this week, I’ve got enough coming out in a row to pester you.

I present the SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG

Shameless Plugging you with the Jason Edmiston Cover A

First up:  I’m fairly sure that Johnny Canuck’s big return to comics in the NORTHERN GUARD is this Wednesday or next Wednesday, if your local doesn’t get it tomorrow.  There’s some chewy good fun in this comic – a revival of some terrific Canadian Golden Age characters, and the first published work of a couple of good Canadian pals of mine.  (I just called my wife a “pal”.  I’m a dead man.)

 

Shameless Plugging you with the less-often-seen David J. Cutler's alt cover B

Speaking of the lovely Keiren, it’s fun to see her credit on the Harvey Pekar meets the Thing story that’s coming out NEXT week.   She’s lettered a couple of the stories I did with Harvey Pekar, and keeping with the tradition, she gets her first Marvel credit.  And she did a terrific job!  I’m allowed to show off the first page, now that Marvel’s put it into promotion rotation.  This one’s in the stores in a week, I’m told.

If you have any fondness for Pekar, you’re going to love his take on the Thing.  This is, by far, my favorite Pekar story I ever got to do, sad as the events surrounding it were, and I’m going to blog about why it was so wonderful and bittersweet, right after it comes out next week…no spoilers here.

The cover looks like this, so you’ll know to get it when it’s out…

 

this series is so cool, you should be buying it, regardless.

And just to top off the sudden flood of Templeton product on the market in one fortnight, this came out in England last week –  check it-

 

Issue #14 of Murky Depths.

It’s a horror/sf writer’s magazine, with both prose and comics contained within.  Not a bad little offering and you can find much more about this publisher at   http://www.murkydepths.com  But you probably figured that out on your own.  I’ll bet you can order copies there.

For my part, I did thumbnail layouts and original edits on a terrific horror/adult story about a man who finds out the world is going to end, and wants to go out – ehem…with a bang.  It was written by Greg Dunford, and illustrated by Gibson Quarter and Eden Bachelder –  a group of friends who are all merry members of the Toronto Cartoonist Workshop usual suspects.

All right…the shameless plugging is done for today. Though it may come up again when my issue of Mad Magazine comes out next month, or my upcoming issues of the Simpsons.   Or…

Ty the Guy OUT!

———————————————————

Here now, your Shameless Plug Comic Book moment of zen:

 

Look at that outfit. The man is clearly shameless.

More Canadian Superheroes!

Okay, I’ll admit I’m a Canadian.  It’s something I was born with, I’m not bragging or anything…

And as a result of all that Canadian blood in my veins, and stuff, y’all know that I’m the writer for a new mini-series from Moonstone Books featuring Johnny Canuck and the heroes of the NORTHERN GUARD, all based on the Canadian Golden Age comic book heroes….

Ty Templeton, David Cutler, KT Smith, covers Jason Edmiston

but did y’all know that my wife, the lovely and talented KT SMITH, is the letterer  for ANOTHER Canadian superhero series, an online extravaganza called HEROES OF THE NORTH? And they JUST put up the latest issue of the online comic and the latest episode of the online live-action series.

written by Michel Brouillette & Yann Brouillette/ art by Marcus MASMan Smith/ letters by KT Smith

You heard me right, snow-heroes…HOTN has downloadable comics, live action webisodes, and more, and it’s great fun.  Click here to bathe in the rich, bacony goodness of heroism amidst the tundra fur trappers. (Click HERE to join their Facebook Fan Page)

Ty the Guy OUT!

Here now, your comic book moment of zen:

The Bobby Bomber Strikes!

It’s Monday.   Just a week to go before Canada’s answer to San Diego Comicon, a little sumthin’ we call FanExpo.  It’s just as much fun, but with more Bill Shatner, since he’s from here in the first place.   As mentioned a zillion times, we’re debuting the first issue of the brain-explodingly exciting new series HOLMES INCORPORATED at the convention, and I’ve been previewing the pages for the breathlessly awaiting world.

Today’s Holmes Inc. fix is brought to you by the never-before-published creative time of Rarin’-to-go Rob Oakman (script) Jazzy Jeff Rusland (pencils) and Joyful Jeff Longstreet (inks), along with so-hot-I-married-her K.T. Smith on letters.

Don’t you love it when stuff blows up on page one? Much better than starting the story in a restaurant, I always say…unless the restaurant blows up.

And this story ends up with an action sequence featuring the guy in the wheelchair that’s great fun.   Who says this isn’t the Octogenarian Age of Comics?

Go HERE for the cover!  Here for more pages!  Here for even MORE pages! and HERE for more pages.   This 52 page extravaganza of modern detective fun can be had by you for a mere $5.95 at the convention as a pre-release deal (can we truly be selling this comic for so little in these tough economic times?!?  Hell yeah, we’re giving your wallet a break and your brain a great time!)

TY THE GUY OUT!

Here now, your comic book moment of Zen

To share post:

MORE HOLMES INC. PAGES. (Imagine a big Michael Bay-like explosion right there and that’s how exciting this is)

Get out your heart medicine and keep it handy as you view these pages  – likely to burst your chest pumper with excitement!  In fact, keep a cardiologist on speed-dial as you check out the rich chocolatey goodness that is Holmes Incorporated.

Today’s sampling, fresh from the pile of pages which went off to the printer yesterday (late this morning?)…

Fingerless Prince, written by the Hellagood Heather Emme,  penciled and inked by the Amazing Adam Gorham, lettered by the  Cantakerous KT Smith, and enjoyed by humanity everywhere.

Okay. Two pages–that was the deal.  Any more and you’ll figure out the ending before the Holmes family does!

Come to FanExpo Canada next weekend to buy your very own issue from the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop before we sell out.   And while you’re there–all the creators will be doing signings over the weekend (I’ll be there Saturday, 2-4pm with Gibson Quarter), and you can breathe the rarefied air of artistic genius.

Now, I have no time to keep the avalanche of adjectives going so–go, go home!

TY THE GUY OUT!

Here now, your COMIC BOOK moment of zen.

UPDATE! According to my blog counter, there’s suddenly a thousand people showing up here, and I don’t want them to miss out on the earlier entries, cause THERE’S SO MUCH MORE HOLMES INC to see!

Go HERE for the cover!  Here for more pages!  Here for even MORE pages! and HERE for more pages.   This book is great to read, and fun to look at and I’m happy to be a part of the start of so many great careers in comics.  Check back on Monday for even MORE pages in this exciting new project, and don’t forget tomorrow, the GREATEST FIGHT IN HISTORY:  Hulk vs. Buddha.  (Go here to see JESUS vs. Superman!)