ARCHEOLOGISTS OF SHADOWS, Volume 2: Once A Nightmare, is the second installment of a graphic novel series that has been in development for more than five years. Writer Lara Fuentes and artist Patricio Clarey, based out of Spain, have collaborated with Septagon Studios to publish A.O.S., with editing and adaptation by Dr. Park Cooper.

Early reviews are describing ARCHEOLOGISTS OF SHADOWS, Volume 2 as:

“A visually stunning comic that will wow you with vivid imagery and a compelling story, going beyond the great foundation built up in the first issue.” — Brandon Pilley, Omnicomic.com

“At all times intriguing, magical, and engaging, Lara and Patricio’s series is everything modern comics should be.” — Cassie Rose, Bibliomantics.com

“This is an epic of all proportions that allows you to invest fully with the characters, the world and the stakes of the adventure.” — Michael Nimmo, 3millionyears.co.uk

This volume continues where volume one left off, with over 100 pages of immersive story and art that combine drawing, sculpture, photography, photo manipulation, and digital painting.

To learn more about ARCHEOLOGISTS OF SHADOWS, Volume 2 and to read the first chapter free, visit WWW.AOSCOMIC.COM.

Septagon Studios Inc.
Septagon Studios is a company focused on imaginative, innovative properties and concepts. We stand for creator freedom and artistic integrity. We embrace diversity, with a major focus on art and inspirational storytelling that will be exciting for the reader. Some of our projects include Scorn, Masks, and the web project Work In Comics, because what’s important to us is helping comics creators and facilitating their creative freedom. www.SeptagonStudios.com

Archeologists Of Shadows is set in a world where every living thing is becoming mechanical. Some think that the phenomenon is the will of the gods, and so the Authorities punish those who resist the transformation, although all wonder about the real reason for the changes.

Archeologists Of Shadows, Volume 1: The Resistance, is a graphic novel that has been in development for more than five years. Writer Lara Fuentes and artist Patricio Clarey, based out of Spain, have collaborated with Septagon Studios to publish A.O.S., with editing and adaptation by Preston Park Cooper. It contains over 100 pages of immersive story and art that combine drawing, sculpture, photography, photo manipulation and digital painting.

Early reviews are describing Archeologists Of Shadows as:

“An original story coupled with some of the most ethereal and stunning artwork to ever grace a comic book panel” –Jason Moore SciFiMafia.com

“Behind powerful and imaginative writing and artistic prowess that lends itself to film, Archeologists of Shadows may in fact be the most intriguing independent comic book released this year.” –Patrick Hickey Jr. ReviewFix.com

“Archeologists Of Shadows combines great writing with magnificent art” –Michael Nimmo 3millionyears.co.uk

This edition includes the first 4 chapters along with an art book that documents the making of Archeologists Of Shadows. It is available digitally for your computer, iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android devices for only $0.99 on Graphicly.com. To learn more about Archeologists Of Shadows or to read the first chapter free, visit http://www.aoscomic.com

So we have decided to just drop everything for a bit and write this post because it is a long time overdue and he is one of the most inspiring, creative and helpful comic creators we have ever come across online. We have learned a lot from Jason and although we have never crossed paths, he has helped us and probably many other comic creators immensely with all the amazing content on his website.

Seriously, if you are involved in any aspect of creating comics and your are trying to make things happen whether it’s creating your first webcomic, or printing a graphic novel or trying to figure out what are the best marketing strategies to get your comic noticed, Jason has already been there and he has written honest in-depth articles about almost every area of making comics.

In this blog post we will be telling you a little bit about who Jason is and we will be spotlighting some of his projects and our favorite articles on Jason’s website.

Who is Jason Brubaker? Here is a little snippet about who Jason is in his own words:

Jason Brubaker works at Dreamworks Animation in Visual Development, currently on Kung Fu Panda 2. At night, he puts on his cape and doubles as an independent graphic novelist and self-publisher. Okay, enough of this third person crap. I’ve worked professionally as an artist and animator on commercials and films since 1996. You can see some of my film credits at IMDB.  http://www.remindblog.com/about

What is reMIND and what is it about? reMind is a webcomic which later got turned into a self-published graphic novel. This is a beautiful book, it makes for a great collectors item or Christmas present. The actual book is like a piece of Art with dream like illustrations and hardcover binding with a limited edition print run. Years of work have gone into this project and it’s amazing to see how far it has come. We can’t recommend this book enough, it is really something worth having in your hands and in your collection.

Here is a short synopsis of reMIND taken from the reMIND Amazon page:

All Sonja wanted was to find her missing cat, Victuals, but when he washes up on the shore of her sleepy coastal town several days later with a head full of stitches and the startling ability to speak and no memory of how he got that way her quiet life is forever changed. Together they set out to solve the mystery of his disappearance, embarking on a journey that leads to a strange kingdom under the waves and into the heart of a royal power struggle, where the answer to Victual s true identity could save or doom them all!

What is the reMIND website all about? The reMIND website is a place where Jason documents his whole process, experiences and everything he has gone through during the creation process of reMIND. He discusses, in honest fine detail, everything he has learned about the comic world and self-publishing.

Here are some process images of Jason’s work:

Read the full article Jason wrote on how to color a comic here:
http://www.remindblog.com/2009/11/23/how-to-color-a-comic-part-1/

Jason has also started a new website called Making Comics which will be dedicated towards the advancement of the comic communities around the world, in print, digital and online. This website will also feature other contributors sharing their knowledge and experiences in comic creation.

Over the next 5 days we will be posting our 5 favorite, articles from the reMIND website on the Work In Comics Facebook page. If you are a comic creator looking for answers and you are just trying to get your dream project off the ground we highly recommend that you visit reMINDblog.com or MakingComics.com and simply just DIG IN! Jason Brubaker is offering a buffet of comic creating knowledge and you are bound to learn something within the first few minutes.

Our 5 favorite Jason Brubaker Articles in no particular order:

1. Before you start YOUR graphic novel…

2. (to be posted on Work In Comics Facebook page November 29, 2011)

3. (to be posted on Work In Comics Facebook page November 30, 2011)

4. (to be posted on Work In Comics Facebook page December 1, 2011)

5. (to be posted on Work In Comics Facebook page December 2, 2011)

If you are a comic fan and collector, check out the reMIND webcomic and graphic novel. reMIND is one of those stories that as you keep on reading it, your connection to the story grows deeper and deeper. If you decide to pick up a reMIND graphic novel for your collection, I promise you it will be one of those prized books that will stay with you forever.

Be sure to check out Jason’s Websites and Projects here:

reMIND webcomic

reMIND graphic novel

reMINDblog.com

MakingComics.com

We just want to say Thanks to Jason for all the inspirational and helpful articles you have posted over the years. We wish you the best of luck with your future projects.

Frank describes the character as ” a hero who closely resembles a Dirty Harry kind of guy that fights Al Qaeda”.
More about the book: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Terror_(graphic_novel)

Holy Terror is a graphic novel by Frank Miller scheduled to be released on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It was originally proposed as Holy Terror, Batman! in 2006 but is no longer a project associated with the Batman character or DC Comics.

Have a quick look at the trailer and get a glimpse of the Riddler as Edward Nigma makes his first appearance in Arkham City!

Are you a fan of video games based on comics? If so, what’s your favorite comic based video game?

About the video:
Yanick Paquette’s work can be seen across all the major publishers, and currently on Batman with writer Grant Morrison. His detailed yet fluid style is a fan favorite. Here he talks shop, about breaking into comics, finding satisfaction with his work, and adopting digital tools like the Wacom Cintiq for his pencilling process.

Penciller Yanick Paquette talks about his road through Comics from The Comic Archive on Vimeo.

Check out Yankicks work and follow him on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yanick-paquette-Comics-and-Music/263150396123

I got into comics at a young age simply because they were cool and that’s more or less the same for most of my friends. The iPad along with the Android tablet devices out there are really taking off because they offer a good reading experience as well as all the computing power you will need for your day to day stuff AND it’s all packaged within the size of your typical magazine. The feeling of being able to access 1000’s of comics anytime you want and to be able to carry them with you wherever you want is mind-blowingly awesome. If you’re not into the iPad there is a boatload of new Android tablets coming out in the next 6 months which also work just as great.

Ok so you have a tablet device, where do you get comics??? A great place to start is with Graphicly. You can find info on all the Graphicly Apps here: http://graphicly.com/apps . We like Graphicly because they have a lot of comics to choose from both indie and mainstream. They are constantly evolving and adding new features and they have a great social element which let’s you interact with friends and talk about your favorite comics. It’s actually hard to explain all the digital comic coolness that Graphicly has so we suggest you grab an iPad or Android device and try it out. If you don’t have either, we put together this quick video walk-through of the Graphicly iPad App with a preview of one of our recent digital comic releases, Gator Butch. For more info about Graphicly visit http://graphicly.com/benefits .

For those of you who don’t have an iPad or Tablet device yet, chill, I will be doing another video walk-through of Graphicly’s new desktop digital comic platform. Stay tuned.

Joshua Hale Fialkov is the creator (or co-creator, depending) of graphic novels Elk’s Run, Tumor, Punks the Comic, and Echoes. He has written Alibi and Cyblade for Top Cow, Rampaging Wolverine for Marvel, and Friday the 13th for Wildstorm.

It was interesting to see Josh’s perspective on the business of comics and to learn about his upcoming projects. Coming from an indie background, he has faced the same challenges that all comic creators experience. So check out the video and get to know Josh.

Short Bio:
Joao was born and currently resides in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He studied Design and obtained a bachelor’s degree but it was in his 4 years of communication drawing in high school where he gained an understanding and knowledge for the medium. His work is quite different as he uses a variety of tools to get his effects. He uses digital tools more often than not, but his true passion is demonstrated with the use of pencils, gouache and watercolour. And when used together his work becomes more intricate and vivid thus making his pieces take on a more 3-dimonsional look.

Like most artist’s Joao has many people who have influenced his career. Some of these great artists include J.C. Leyendecker, Franklin Booth, Joseph Clement Coll, Ivan Bilibin, Arthur Rackham, Howard Pyle, Norman Rockwell. He’s also inspired by Degas and Whistler but his favourite contemporary/modern day artists include the likes of Robert Mcginnis, Kent Williams and Phil Hale. Joao Ruas was announced as the artist for the comic book series entitled Fables in 2008, published by DC/Vertigo. If you have never seen any of Joao’s awesome cover work then check out the images below. He took over from James Jean another great artist who we will be featuring in the coming weeks. If you’re interested in reading what Bill Willingham (writer of Fables) had to say about Joao taking over the series here is a great interview over at IGN (*note: interview was conducted in December of 2008, none the less it’s still a great read) http://comics.ign.com/articles/939/939654p1.html

If you’re interested in seeing more of Joao Ruas’ work then visit his website: http://www.feral-kid.com/  his blog: http://blog.feral-kid.com/ or check out his Flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/feralkid  and even his Tumblr: http://feralkid.tumblr.com/

Short Bio
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshitaka_Amano

Amano was born in Shizuoka, Japan. As a young adolescent, he was fascinated with drawing. In 1967, he began working in the animation department of Tatsunoko Productions, where he was introduced to the early Japanese anime movement. His first paid project was for the Speed Racer anime franchise. He was a character designer for anime shows such as Time Bokan, Gatchaman, Tekkaman, and Honey Bee.

In the 1960s, Amano was exposed to Western art styles through comic books, which he claims among his artistic roots. He has cited Neal Adams as his favorite comic book artist, noting that he would often purchase used comics based on Adams’s cover artwork, only to be disappointed that the interior artist was different. Amano was also fascinated by the art styles of psychedelic art and pop art of the West, particularly the work of American Pop artist Peter Max. In the 1970s, Amano studied the artworks of the late 19th century and early 20th century European movement of Art Nouveau, as well as the ancient Japanese hand woodblock printing work of Ukiyo-e.

Although Amano is best known for developing and designing conceptual work for the role-playing-video game Final Fantasy, he’s also done work with Radical Comics on an adaptation of Wolgang Amadeus Mozart’s entitled: The Magic Flute. He has worked on several interesting ventures such as Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: The Dream Hunters which won a number of awards and was nominated for a Hugo Award. He collaborated with Greg Rucka on Elektra and Wolverine: The Redeemer. In 2006 the first volume of his HERO series was released by Boom! Studios.

Here is an in-depth interview on Yoshitaka describing his life, his work and his experiences. You’ll find this interview very interesting.

And if you’re still not satisfied, here is a quick slide show of some of Amano’s other works:

Yoshitaka Amano’s work is inspiring and ever evolving. His ability to combine contemporary with traditional styles of art makes him a true visionary. To see a complete list of his work visit: http://www.elevenland.com/amano/amano.php3