a mirror image... : comic books

Didst thou ever want to be a pirate?

Jason Embury — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:31:00 GMT

I think everyone has wanted to be a pirate at one point in their life. Especially when you’re a child. Thrills, excitement, danger, sword fights, and all of the swashbuckling fun that goes with being a scallywag. There are very few adventures you can undertake as an adult that hold that kind of wide-eyed wonderment, and even fewer jobs you can wind up having that fill you with that enthralling sense of fascination. I’ve been very, VERY lucky the last 3 years of my adult life to have such a job. But I’m not sailing the high seas, raising a flag with a jolly roger on it up the mast, drinking obscene amounts of rum or pretending like I know how to handle a sword (well...that’s not entirely true, I do enjoy drinking obscene amounts of rum now and again) No, I’ve been coloring comic books and doing illustration and digital painting commission work, but mostly coloring comics. So while that can be a pretty exciting job, that allows you a lot more freedom and the occasional moment of wide-eyed wonderment, it can also at times be the thing that causes the kind of stress which drives you to want to drink obscene amounts of rum for one reason or another. Trust me on this. Taking into account all of the positive and negative aspects that come along with being a freelance artist, it is still almost like stumbling upon buried treasure when you come across a project that gives you freedom, enjoyment and offers you the opportunity to grow as an artist. So I was more than a little wide-eyed with wonder when I was given the opportunity to work on my next comic coloring project...... Neverland. THE Neverland, of Peter Pan fame. My absolute favorite story of all time. Everything that you ever dreamed of doing when you were a child, meeting Indians, giant pirate ships, rescuing maidens in distress, fighting pirates and fighting WITH pirates, living in a treehouse, mermaids, fairies, sword fights, danger, excitement, and lots and lots of FUN. Especially when you take into account the fact that THIS version of Neverland is going to be a darker, more twisted version of the classic tale, complete with all sorts of new interpretations on the characters we all know, and introducing some new ones as well. All of the things I love, and an opportunity to really showcase all of the strongest elements in my work. You can read more about the series here,

Neverland Interview

and yes....Captain Hook...... ....if you’re listening, I really DO want to be a pirate. :D

Custom Sketch card commissions are open!

Jason Embury — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:32:00 GMT

you can visit my personal blog for all of the details!

http://www.jasonembury.net/blog/

Virtual Comic book convention

Jason Embury — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:51:00 GMT

figured that I’d set up a virtual table for the upcoming Facebook Comic Convention in March. Head on over to my page and join up, Jason Embury’s virtual table for the Facebook Comic Convention.

not much time for that much rambling right now. Working on Take a Chance #5 right now, as well as starting colors for 1001 Arabian Nights: Adventures of Sinbad #9, cooking dinner and taking care of a sick wife, running kids to basketball games and practices, and trying to find time to get some gaming in still. Not to mention planning out the rest of my year so I can get some personal projects completed too. and boy is that Prince of Persia for PS3 is addicting for some reason (i’ve got to get back to it some time soon here), and I’ve found myself playing some OLD SCHOOL Castlevania lately on the Wii. Who needs sleep right?

Monday morning meanderings.

Jason Embury — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 11:26:00 GMT

forgive the spelling mistakes today. just finished an all nighter, literally, and I could care less about how many spelling errors I make right now. just wrapped up colors for Beyond Wonderland #4 with Nei Ruffino, Garry Henderson, and Blond (who came on at the last minute to save all our butts) The issue is made of complete AWESOME in my opinion, Dan Leister did an amazing job on the art for the book. Put on a pot of coffee for my wife who's waking up in about 5 minutes now, thinking of cooking a huge breakfast, and then crashing till the afternoon once these high rez files finish uploading. I probably won't take off the entire day today, I'll squeeze in another page or so I think likely as not. Strangely, not too tired right now, so if I can't fall asleep I may just stay up all day and dork around. this week, have to get the rest of our xmas shopping done, for the kids. I have a couple things left to get my wife, but I think we're planning on heading into town on Friday to do shopping. then I'll probably take the kids either Saturday or Sunday to pick up gifts for her. It's pretty apparent that I'm jumping all over the place right now too. It's been really refreshing to have so much work lately, regardless of how busy it seems I am. I'd much rather be swamped right now, than be out of a job like so many other people. I think I'm doing some good work too, at least it seems that way to me :D I'm pretty happy with what I've been cranking out, and I've been cranking out a LOT of stuff. The first issue of my Dabel Bros. comic, Take A Chance is out this month. Can't wait to get a copy of that and check it out, the art is fantastic, and I love the concept of the story (and the writing) K, I'm losing it, it's time to wrap things up, and get something to eat here, I'm starving!!!!!!

Quick random thoughts for Wednesday

Jason Embury — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:37:00 GMT

busy week, busy MONTH coming up here. here's what I've got brewing inside my head this morning.

The new Cure album, 4:13 Dream, might be my favorite album in the last few years. It might be the best Cure album since Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me or Wish actually. Which is saying a lot because I'm a huge music fan, and I've loved a lot of albums that have come out the last few years. But I have a special place in my heart for Robert Smith music :D

It's dawned on me the last couple of weeks here, that the work I've been doing might not actually SUCK. Which is, you know, a GOOD thing. It's that time of year again where things are starting to get crazy, especially with kids and the holidays coming up. So to be doing good work, have PLENTY of work to do, and headed into winter which is a traditionally slow time for freelancing is a good feeling.

Starting to wonder, worry and think on what I'm going to get my wife for Xmas this year. Won't be anything NEAR like the diamond earrings she got LAST year, that's a given, but I need to get creative and find something that will get me those extra brownie points nonetheless. :D

k, lots of cool things to lose myself in this morning, like coloring this fantasy story for the Grimm Fairy Tales 2008 Annual for Zenescope, and also a splash page with the JABBERWOKY from Alice in Wonderland to break out the painting skills on.

Quick random thoughts for Monday

Jason Embury — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:13:00 GMT

going to drop some quick thoughts more frequently here as a way to sort of stay on track. so here goes. Mondays usually suck in general, but I’ve been plugging away at things all day today, and have accomplished a lot of things to make this particular Monday not suck quite as much. I’m semi-happy with that. I’ve been doing some great work the last month here, stuff that I’m actually pretty proud of. Just wrapped up a Mary, Mary short for an issue of Grimm Fairy Tales by Zenescope, and I’ve started in on the Grimm Fairy Tales 2008 Annual which is looking great so far if I do say so myself. Excited about this book, because it’s a fantasy type of story, and I’m at my best working in that type of genre I think. Raven Gregory has been a really GREAT editor to work with, and I’m glad he likes my stuff enough to keep throwing work my way :D Also finishing up the last half of issue 3 of my book Take A Chance from Dabel Bros./Del Rey, issue 1 is out next month and I’m super excited to see what that will look like in print. I originally colored that back in 2006, and this year I went in and sort of revamped each page just because I decided that it wasn’t anywhere near as good as the stuff I’m doing this year so it couldn’t possibly go to print looking subpar. I’m on my second pot of coffee here, it’s about 7pm. I need to get back into the routine of getting about 6 hours of sleep, maybe 7 each night, and maximizing my work time each day. I’ve finally got a steady work load for a while here and I want to keep on top of everything and keep myself busy all winter, and that isn’t accomplished by lazing around. I’ve decided that I’m going to land a coloring gig at DC Comics in the next year here, and now I have to start cranking out the work to garner that kind of attention :D Alright, have a cover for Herbert West #6 to make a TINY change to, and get that over to Raven here in the next hour. Also have to finish up the page I have going here tonight before bed, maybe do one more. BUT….Chuck is on at 8 tonight, and I love me some geek squad goodness (not to mention hot blonde spy chicks)

rollercoaster ride? or a mystical game of chutes and ladders?

Jason Embury — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:46:00 GMT

wow, I don’t know if my life is stuck in a proverbial and sort of mystical projection of a game of chutes and ladders the last 2 weeks or not, but it sure does feel like I’m on a huge game board right now, and the Universe keeps letting me climb up one of those ladders only to find myself sliding down a chute a day or two later. It’s been insane.

So I’m back to coloring things today, and REALLY focusing on painting and coloring this week. I’ve started the wheels in motion for my own large scale, undoubtedly overly ambitious, possibly completely unrealistic project the past few days as well. So far so good. I’m still ironing out the best way to present things and utilize the screen space as much as possible. I’m NOT the best web designer when it comes to implementing all kinds of code and stuff to make the most functional site. But I have been able to utilize iframes and some simple navigation and stylesheets as much as I probably can. Now it’s a matter of getting the updating and “look” of everything just right before I start putting up content. I have plenty of content to get started as well, probably a good 4 months worth of material already ready to go. I just need to find those extra few hours each day to fit in, and right now, they just aren’t there.

Been busy pursuing some other avenues here as well, I’d really like to try and shift more of my work online as opposed to being strictly a print industry colorist. I see lots of successful and semi-successful things out there that makes me think I can bring a lot of my own flair too.

for those of you that read the blog on a regular basis, I had been forced to make the decision to leave the coloring duties on Hero By Night last week. It was the RIGHT decision to make logically. One of those decisions that you make with your head and know is right. Well, over the weekend, seeing how upset my kids got when they learned I wasn’t going to be doing the book anymore….I made a decision with my heart. And sometimes, you need to listen to your heart instead of your head. This is one of those times I’ve realized. So thank you ALL, for your emails, phone calls, and kind words. It’s funny to me to have so many people actually CARE about me and to recognize my contribution to something like that. It’s not often that people in the print industry of comics care so much about someone as far down the totem pole as the colorist. Heck most companies STILL don’t include the colorists name on the covers of their comics. the interesting thing being, comics aren’t colored anymore really. They’re painted. So to ignore the fact that someone is in reality PAINTING work on a book, is a disservice to that artist really I think. And I really do appreciate everyone who not only recognizes my work, but goes out of their way to get in touch and tell me what a fan they are of my work. (and a little hint, for all you fans, you may be able to actually purchase prints and paintings of my personal work in a few months if you’re so inclined )

That is all. I need coffee, and I have some Hero By Night pages to color today

Order Hero By Night issue 4 for only .79 CENTS (with FREE shipping)

Jason Embury — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:32:00 GMT

I can't say much more, .79 cents for the full color, 32 page, issue 4 of Hero By Night from Platinum Studios Comics. You can't find a superhero comic ANYWHERE that cheap. It's 32 pages of high quality, (beautifully colored if I may be so bold) compellingly written, superhero GENIUS for less than a dollar. the best part, FREE shipping. If you're like me, you're spending over $5 just to drive to and from your local comic shop. why not get FREE shipping and get yourself a little extra each month. Heavyink.com now offers 20% off of EVERY single book or trade collection at their site, and free shipping on ALL orders. You can start a subscription to all of your favorite titles (like Hero By Night for instance) it's easy to sign up, and it's where I'm buying all my books from now on as well. Check it out, and order your copy of Hero By Night for less than a dollar!!!!

Wizard World LA 2008 style

Jason Embury — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:12:00 GMT

headed out to the show today, some last minute prep here then I'm off to sign some books and network and what not for a few days. Strangely enough, I'm thinking 3 or 4 days of sleeping in and not doing ANYTHING are actually more attractive right now. But I'm sure that will change once I get going and start doing things out there.

I've got 2 scheduled signings on Saturday at the show, Hero by Night signing is at noon with creator and buddy DJ Coffman, and then the KISS 4K signing is at 1pm right afterwards with artist Tone Rodriguez and fellow colorist Nei Ruffino. Also I guess I'll be part of some digital draw off, painting competition that Wacom is setting up there over the weekend. I guess they are setting up 5-7 Cintiqs for display in our booth, and we'll be challenging competitors in some form of public humiliation and ridicule :D Actually, it sounds like fun. It'll be nice to play around on a Cintiq and have what I'm doing NOT have to see print or meet a deadline for once. Should be a good time for all.

Need to get cracking here, shooting a commercial today as soon as the plane gets there, and I need to double check what I'm wearing because as the assistant director pointed out to me on the phone last night at 12:30 am (which granted was only 9:30 his time) I can't wear white. So I've had to ditch the shepherd robes and go with something a bit more updated. I think I'll manage. Better make sure my iPod is loaded up and ready to go, that my phone is charged, and that I've got enough to keep me busy on a 4.5 hour plane ride today.

Wheeee! Picture from the show to come next week when I get to it.

Hotshot and Mighty Girl graphic novel sneak peek!

Jason Embury — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:33:00 GMT

not much in a writing mood this morning, however here's a little peek at the Hotshot and Mighty Girl graphic novel coming out in March from Platinum Studios. Written by Fred Van Lente (Marvel Adventures, Wolverine: First Class, The Incredible Hercules), with pencils by Billy Penn and colors and stuff by yours truly. enjoy!

Hero By Night #1 ongoing review at The Pullbox.

Jason Embury — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:09:00 GMT

Great review up from the guys over at The Pullbox on Heroestv.com,

http://heroestv.com/blog/strongbadwi/2008/01/23/hero-by-night-1-new-on-going-series/

"I suggest that fanboys cut the fat they’ve been choking down out of their comic budgets (*cough* Spider-Man *cough-cough* Superman) and add in some nutrition in the form of Hero by Night." I might just have to agree with him on this point, although I'm biased of course.

Ringing in the New Year with a comic from the Dabel Brothers!

Jason Embury — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:10:00 GMT

Novelist C.E. Murphy (The Negotiator Trilogy,The Walker Papers) has signed a deal to produce her superhero comic series Take A Chance, with the Dabel Brothers! Issue 1 of the series is completely done, issue 2-5 will have art by the amazing Ardian Syaf, and I will be providing digital inks AND colors for this series. More news and updates to come as they roll in here, but I'm literally NECK DEEP in work here in the studio wrapping up colors on Hero By Night issue 2, and finishing up colors on the Hotshot and Mighty Girl graphic novel for Platinum Studios in the next month as well. Here's a sample of my colors from issue 1, and a sample of the digital inks from issue 3!

Looking back and stepping forward.

Jason Embury — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 20:47:00 GMT

2008 is here, and I’ve gotten caught up enough with work, and taken enough time off to enjoy family and relaxation here, that I can look back on the great things that 2007 brought to me, and look forward to what this year has in store. I’m not a big list guy, but there will be lists in this post just to make it shorter. Get ready to scroll down!!! So first up, last year.

2007

Family wise we had a great year here really I think. We accomplished a lot on the home front such as: a new stone patio in the backyard, retaining walls around the burms behind our waterfall/pond area, put in a fire pit off the patio, planted more trees in the yard, got our basement almost finished, got the pool table set up and re-felted in the basement, painted both of the kids bedrooms (which involved a lot of hand painted silohettes and things on the walls, an entire wall of giant Kracken tentacles and a treasure map in my sons room, tiny little stars, custom shelving, borders and 4 different colors of paint in my daughters room) watched both the kids play baseball and softball and be successful, found time to fit in a real family vacation for the first time in a couple years, and generally just really made this house start to feel like it’s our home now instead of just being the “new house”. So in that regard things were hectic and busy as ever, but also fun and even relaxing at times.

I met a few people in 2007, that I’ve come to regard as friends as well. GOOD people first and foremost, and all of that has nothing to do with them working in comics, but everything to do with them just being real people without any sort of agendas or anything. Hard workers, and people that share a lot of things in common with me. People like Dan Forcey, Rob Richardson, Jason Maranto, Dale Mitchell (a.k.a Adam Black), Carly Wagner.

And lest I not forget my long time buddy DJ Coffman. DJ and I have known each other for a long time, but this last year I think we really started to become not only better friends, but a sort of Batman and Robin type of act. We share a lot of the same philosophies on life and family, politics and spirituality, and of course comics. I honestly probably owe a large part of my current happiness and success in comics to DJ. I was working as a colorist in the industry before I started coloring his Hero By Night book, doing various things at Image including a stint on Shadowhawk right before, but having him ask me to color HBN was probably what really solidified my financial situation enough for me to hone my craft, make more connections, and become good and fast enough to make a living coloring comics all day. I have had an immeasurable amount of fun working with him over the last year, creating an enormous body of Hero work, talking shop, bitching about things that seem lame and petty, and as stupid as it sounds…..looking to the future and dreaming. He has a lot of big ideas, and big goals, as do I, and I think I’ve seen enough of this industry at this point, to know that we have a real chance of making those things come to life some day.

In terms of work, 2007 was really a breakthrough type of year for me. This was the year where I really transitioned into coloring comics full time. The year started with wrapping up colors on the successful Hero By Night mini-series, started coloring the new KISS comic KISS 4K, which also allowed me to color the Guiness World Record largest comic book ever, doing some digital painting commissions, creating some card art for Fantasy Flight Games, working with some extremely talented creators on various projects…..Also starting with Wizard World LA, where Hero By Night debuted, where the KISS comic debuted, where I signed a lot of autographs and such, went to dinner with Scott Rosenberg (who was a real genuine and nice guy) and had a great time. I went to all of the Wizard World conventions this year, met some other great creators, publishers, fans and people in general. I met a lot of cool people and generally had a blast.

By the time summer rolled around I was busier than ever here. In May I started as the VP of Creative Development over at the new publisher Big City Comics. I had met Jeff Kaufman in LA, signed up to color one of his books shortly after, and then as his plans changed and we talked more and more, I decided to come onboard and help him coordinate things, find talent, and make the comics he was producing the best they could be. So here I was, trying to coordinate things with Diamond, design ads and promotional materials, color 2 Big City books, as well as the KISS 4K comic. It was a great experience, I learned even more about the comic industry, met even MORE great people, but I realized after a couple months I was really stretching myself pretty thin trying to be a colorist AND be on the editorial/administrative end of things for a publisher, and it was having a negative impact in my life (and on my health) I decided to step aside and continue just coloring for them after a period of a few months, and really focused myself on doing some outstanding coloring work on their Dragon Cross title, providing near painted pages at times for that first issue. Literally the week I finished the last page of Dragon Cross #1, a series of things happened rather quickly: first, my lucky 3 legged chinese frog who holds in i-Ching coin in his mouth and sits on the top of my desk had the coin drop out while I was dusting. THAT DAY, I got a call from my editor on the KISS comic, and was informed I had been let go as had then entire creative team on the book. Well, evidently I hadn’t put the right side of the coin back in the frogs mouth, so I immediately rotated that coin. I’m not sure which happened next, but I know that a check I had been expecting to come the week before, and NEEDED to get to me that week, didn’t show up. So THAT wasn’t a lot of fun, and again, the coin got rotated in my lucky frog. The next day, I had gotten offered enough work for the next 6 months here, and that frog hasn’t been TOUCHED since. All of that happened some time towards the end of August/beginning of September I think.

So as September got underway I now had several things going once again, had gotten back into a much saner schedule work wise, and the quality of life started to improve dramatically for me here. DJ and I were working on the new Hero By Night webcomic coming out 3 times a week, had started planning for the upcoming ongoing HBN series launching in December, I was starting work on an 88 page graphic novel, and things were going fairly well. October and November were much of the same thing, with a trip of WW Texas thrown in. As November close, I found myself finishing colors on HBN 1, steadily working on my graphic novel, and ignorant of what December was about to blow into the studio. One day, early in the month, I had just finished putting in about 8 hours here, it was around 4pm I got a call from my EIC over at Platinum, and was asked how many pages I could get one overnight for the KISS one-shot KISSmas special book, written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Tone Rodriguez, I guess they had some problems with scheduling and stuff or whatever, and the book had to go to print the next day. Well I thought about it some, told them I could do 6 pages, hung up, thought about it some more, talked to my wife, talked to DJ, decided I could in fact probably do 13 of the 15 pages they needed for the right price. So I called back 15 minutes later and agreed to do 13 pages. I then proceeded to knock out all 13 pages, with the help of some VERY wonderful and reliable people who were able to flat for me, and low and behold from 5pm to 11:45 am the next day, I did indeed to get all 13 pages done, after which I proceeded to eat lunch, lay down long enough for the phone to ring 3 times, the dogs to go crazy and get absolutely NO sleep before heading up to the gym and coaching my daughters basketball practice for almost 2 hours. So I took the next weekend off basically, then did another 11 pages of my graphic novel, wrapped up the HBN webcomic for the month, started issue 2 of the HBN series, heard from an author in Ireland that I had colored a book for in late 2006 that my services may be needed for the remaining 5 issues of her story as she was working out the kinks in a deal with a major BOOK publisher and distributor for her series, then around the 18th got a call from my buddy Rob who informed me his book was going to be late if it wasn’t done by the 4th of January because they had a colorist drop out after issue 2. This was the Dragon Cross book I had to leave to take all the work I had signed on for at Platinum. Rob is such a good guy, I saw how issue 2 had turned out, I had just done essentially half a book overnight a week or so earlier, I still felt bad for HAVING to leave his book, so I agreed. Lo and behold it’s January 2nd, I was able to take time off to spend with family on Xmas and New Years, and I only have 3 1/2 pages left of issue 3 of Dragon Cross, and the whirlwind that closed 2007 will have come to an end. WHEW!!!!!!

Which leads us to….2008

I’m not sure about doing resolutions this year, life is a spontaneous, ever changing thing. But I do have some goals for this year though, which if you want to think of as resolutions I guess they could be seen that way. In no particular order:

1- Find more time to create art for just me. I have a couple of projects I’m working on right now of my own that I would really like to find time to develop and produce. I also would like to find time to set aside for working in my sketchbook every day, for throwing around some colors in a traditional way (i.e. with markers or real paint)

2- Finish losing the weight I wanted to lose last year. I lost 15 lbs in 2007, I have about 10 more lbs to lose to get to where I wanted to be in 2008. I think I’ll get there by the end of the year though.

3- Become a better digital painter. I made some great strides this year, I really did. From taking 2nd in a Gnomon School of Visual Effects monthly digital art contest and winning lots of great training DVD’s, to painting my first comic cover (Dragon Cross issue 4) I have a vast amount of potential for growth, more than I EVER saw for coloring comics when I started. So I really want to take the steps to become an even better painter this year.

4- Learn a new software program. The likely candidate will be Painter X, however getting my hands on Maya or a similar 3D app would be nice.

5- Paint the elvish script around the decorative ceiling shelf in our living room for my wife, and include a large celtic/elvish design motif painted on the ceiling for her. I told her that I didn’t want to do anything this year but mow the lawn, however if this is ALL I have to do extra, then I can count myself lucky!

6- I have a comic coloring related goal I don’t want to mention really. I’ve established myself this past year as being undeniably GOOD and reliable. IF I can make as much progress this year as I did the last year and a half, I can approach being great I think. I know that may sound selfish, but I think all artists want to be more than just good, it’s in your nature as an artist. That’s all part of it though.

7- Make more connections. I made some great connections in the comic industry this past year, as well as in the digital art community, the concept art and gaming industries, and I want to further those connections this coming year. Being a freelancer isn’t easy, but having a larger pool of editors, publishers and potential employers that know your name is always a good thing.

8- I want to start to step back a bit and give my kids more freedom. NOT an easy goal, and hard to explain, but my wife and I have always been VERY involved in our kids lives, making decisions, coaching sports teams etc….. I’ve come to the realization though, especially as my daughter is in that pre-teen stage now, that we really need to start letting the kids, mostly HER, start to become more independent, and either succeed or fail on their own. I think we’ve done what we can to make them strong enough to handle things, and we’ll obviously still be guiding them, but the only real way to learn some things is through adversity, and learning to deal with that adversity on your own (especially when you get to be a teenager) They are both at the absolute top of their classes in school academically, they both have reading levels that are FAR beyond their grade level, and they both are good athletically as well. It’s hard being a parent, but I think if we don’t start to step back a little bit, that what will happen is that the kids will start to RELY on us to be there for them at all times, and the fact is, as a parent you CAN’T solve all the problems.

9- Relax more. Deadlines can be stressful. I need to actually eliminate some things from my daily routine here, and add some others in order to accomplish this. I’ve moved away from meditation a lot in the last year or so with how busy things have been, but I really feel I need to get back to that a lot more. I also need to do things like read more, find more time for family and doing brainless activities like watching TV, and playing some video games now and again, playing pool. Sadly deadlines drive your life as a freelancer, and living in the state with probably the WORST economy in the nation right now….you take whatever work you can, when it’s there. I’m extremely blessed to do what I do for a living, but I can’t be content. If I were to have to go FIND a job out in the “real world” right now, there is NO WAY I could find something that would pay me as much as I’m making now (which is kind of sad) There are just no good jobs to be had, so for me to be able to work from home, remotely, and for employers that are from all over the world, is really something of a miracle.

10- Become a better person. Don’t get me wrong, regardless of the few people out there that may think I’m a jerk, I’m really a good person. There are certain things I want to work on though for sure. I think we probably ALL have this goal somewhere deep down, for some it might be buried in their sub-conscious, but the bottomline is just being the best person you can be. A better dad, a better husband, a better friend, a better brother, a better son, a better artist, a better citizen….that’s a lot of hats for any of us to where, and yet finding the BALANCE is the key. At 31 I think I’m just starting to get the right weights on each side of the scales, now it’s just a matter of adjusting the scales until they’re balanced.

Whew. That’s it I guess, probably some other things I want to do I’m not mentioning, I’m probably forgetting some things too. But in a nutshell, that’s pretty much it. I’d like to look back NEXT year at this time, and say that I was able to make progress on each and every one of those goals if not accomplish them outright. Hopefully everyone else can think of at least 10 things they can work on or strive for in the coming year. I’d like to throw world peace on there somewhere, as a lot of us would I’m sure, but working on being a better person will have to suffice as a write in for that one. Happy New Year everyone!!!

First review of the new ongoing Hero By Night comic book series!

Jason Embury — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:05:00 GMT

The first official review is in that writer James Patrick found for our new Hero By Night series…. see here:

Kevin Powers: Silver Bullet Comics Line of Fire Reviews: http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/reviews/119827005595745.htm

“Overall, I am very excited about the return of Hero By Night. Coffman has the opportunity to bring some creative ideas to the table, as evidenced by the introduction and conclusion of this issue, and expand and introduced characters that could not be covered in the mini-series. I think this is definitely a great series to follow that has a level of realism in the writing and some fantastic artwork to really bring it all together.”

Hero By Night is published bi-monthly by Platinum Studios Comics. The webcomic can also be read online for free at HeroByNight.com

Can We Chill

Jason Embury — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 14:26:00 GMT

Wow. I slept great last night. I had wanted to finish up the 3rd page of the day last night, but decided to just get a good nights sleep. Good decision on my part. I’m REAL energized today. So as soon as the wife gets back from helping out at the school with breakfast for my son’s class today, we’re likely headed into town to do some grocery shopping and stuff.

-We had basketball practice yesterday, likely for the last time this year, and I still need to call the other coach here and get things squared away, I’m not going to be head coach anymore after the New Year, but I MIGHT be able to help him out at some practices, and maybe at tournaments since I’ll be there anyways. It would likely benefit the girls to get more one on one coaching with shooting and dribbling and things if there was more than one coach. And..I have to say this since I used to play point guard in high school and I know the position well, that I’m actually rather surprised and impressed by my daughter the last couple of practices. She’s working hard, busting her butt, and taking control of things when she has the ball in her hand. Directing other players, telling them where they need to be, being a VOCAL leader, and also being aggressive and leading by example. This is something that sort of took me by surprise as she’s never been THAT aggressive or outgoing, she’s not SHY, but she’s never shown any sort of real leadership abilities. I think she’s realizing that she HAS the talent finally and she’s gaining a lot of confidence, which is great. It’s not like we try to ingrain that stuff in our kids, but I think that kids may absorb things from their environment, and she’s the top student in her class as well. My wife and I don’t SETTLE. I think in some ways, my kids see how hard we’ve worked to get where we’re at, and they’re understanding that subconciously (even if they aren’t picking up their rooms and stuff) I think she’s USED to being successful, so maybe that’s rubbing off finally on the basketball floor. I’ve seen some dramatic improvement, and it’s strange because I still think of her as a little kid, but watching her direct things out there yesterday, step up and take control of the other girls out there….it dawned on me that she’s NOT a little kid anymore. She really IS growing up, and that’s sad in some ways, but at the same time, watching her be a leader among her peers is also very rewarding as a parent and it makes me proud as well.

-It’s been like one extended vacation the last week or two, I’ve been dealing with some nagging pain issues but jeez…It MIGHT be because of the holidays, but I’ve just been having a blast working here, doing some GOOD comic book pages. I think I’m actually doing the best work of my entire career the last couple weeks. I’ve got like 30 published books under my belt now or something, and I finally think I’m starting to realize my potential and hit my stride. I’m not GREAT, but I think I am GOOD. So it just feels great to consistently to do GOOD work, be reliable, and just crank out page after page of solid comic coloring. I mean, I’ve even got time now if I wanted to, to start get into some more painting again. I’ve been actually getting through some Gnomon training DVDs I won last year in a digital painting competition the last month or so too, learning little tricks here and there, and generally just getting inspired.

-So when I get back today from hanging out with the wife, it’s coloring time here. I will do 3-4 pages today, nothing going on tomorrow so I can sleep in if necessary. Time to crank up my music, burn some incense, and just chill…