surprises

one for free, and many others for the early birds

Let’s start with the free surprises. While Bá and Gerard are busy making the forth Umbrella Academy story, an opportunity presented itself to make something special for Free Comic Book Day. Free Comic Book Day is next weekend, and this all started three weeks ago, so Bá had to push his magic-horse-whisperer-rain-maker button and make this something in time to go to the printer.

He delivered.

Go look for a comic book store in your area. Ask if they’re participating in FCBD. Hope they are, and be there next Saturday to get some comics for free, and probably discover a whole lot of comics and artists you’ll like.

This won’t be the only Umbrella-related surprise of May, but it will be the first.

the commissions

Like I wrote last week, I’m going to my first convention since forever in July (Galaxy Con in Raleigh, NC), and I’ll open a pre-convention commission list with the fine folks of Cadence Comic Art. I only opened lists like this a few times before, and only when I’m going to a convention (as I like to hand deliver the pieces), but this is the first time that, due to Cadence’s help, I’ll be opening up my commissions to mail order options as well, which means all those people from Europe who keep asking me about commissions might now have their chance.

The Galactus image above is my most recent piece, an example of one character (where I get excited about the composition and can’t help adding the little Silver Surfer).

The list will open Tuesday, May 3rd, at 2PM EST. It won’t be a big list, even with the mail order option, because I intend to do all the commissions before I go to Raleigh. Click HERE to go to the link, know more and order your piece. If you have any questions of how the Cadence commission system works, you can write Andrew (andrew@cadencecomicart.com) and he’ll answer all of your questions.

I hope there are some challenges in these commission requests. Characters, either that I know or those I most probably ain’t familiar with, that can bring the most expressive and graphic aspect of my art, and compositions that, in a single image, might be able to convey that sense of a more complex story.

the value of original art

This Sandman page just sold for $90.000. At the time, Neil Gaiman was paid $50 for a page of script, and Mike Dringemberg and Malcolm Jones III a little more for a page of art.

From this image, we can see that the original was signed by Neil on the bottom left, and by Malcolm below Dream and Death on the first panel, so I’m guessing that, after this page was drawn, the original ended up as part of the the inker’s share of the pages. The pages are usually split between the penciler and the inker, I believe the penciler gets more pages (but I don’t know if they get to choose the pages they want), and sometimes a writer or an editor may end up with a page or two, depending on the project or the relationship with the artist.

something is broken, and it hurts

Neal Adams is gone. He was admired, loved, and will be missed. If you make comics, you were probably influenced by him in one way or another. He changed the way artists represent themselves, how they negotiate, and how the market views and respects the authors. His art influenced many others who went to develop into very distinct styles, and we all grew up in a healthier artistic environment because of his contributions to the medium.

I only exchanged a few words with him, long ago one night at Trickstr, that oasis of artists just outside of the San Diego Convention Center (it was the first night, and I was introduced to Neal by Cliff Chiang).

everybody hurts

Somebody I know had a heart attack this weekend and died. I believe I saw her last in December, she was the door hostess of a party I like to go dancing to, and she worked at the party with my wife, but I can’t be sure if she was really working this last time, because the pandemic makes all our memories fuzzy and I think maybe she wasn’t there and was working as a make-up artist at some location shoot (in Uruguay or Argentina), but since she was always there at the door before, I remember the December party with her.

Every time I go to the party, she’ll still be there with us.

Be safe. Be kind. Be curious.
Pa-ZOW!

Fábio Moon
Moon Base, São Paulo
May 2nd, 2022