Woohoo. Only a couple weeks until my favorite holiday of the year -- Halloween! I have always been obsessed with Halloween since I was a kid. From the costumes I can remember, as a kid, I was a vampire, a clown, Batman (with Michael Keaton rubber mask from Spencers!), an angel (that's what going to a Baptist private school will get you), and, as a grown up, I have been a zombie, had my throat slashed, and been a $3 bill (you will get the joke if you think about it). I am not sure what I will do this year yet, which likely means back to some dead dead thing -- i.e. time to break out the red dye and corn syrup!

Amber Atoms is on Comixology's ComiX app for the iPhone. The first issue is free and the second issue is only 99¢. I colored the first four issues, and Kelly Yates wrote and drew the series. Please support the title; Kelly deserves it.

I just finished coloring issue #11 of Star Wars: Clone Wars for Dark Horse. I had a pull a few all nighters because I took a weekend off to celebrate my partner's birthday and then this past weekend off to attend Baltimore Comic-con (more on that in a second). I have been informed issue #12 is the last issue of the series. It's sad because I really have grown to care about these characters. But I was given the opportunity to color the cover to the final issue. So, that one will be all me!

Baltimore Comic-con was very cool. I have been told about it for years because it is big enough to draw some great people, but it is also small enough that you can get close to the people and talk to them. I forgot my convention sketchbook at home, and I keep kicking myself because there were so many great artists there and I could have queued up to meet them.
As for the people I did meet, I got to see my good friend Laura Martin again and her husband Randy who runs [link], an original comic art site. I also spoke with Jose Villarrubia, who is the sweetest man in comics. I also got to see Tom Raney, Brandon Peterson, Karl Kesel, Kelly Yates, and a ton more. I shook Joe Kubert's hand! I got to finally thank Ryan Ottley in person for sending me some Invincible pages a couple years ago to tryout on. And I got to tell Mark Chiarello how much respect I have for him and give him some of my comics.
Being that Clone Wars is ending, I was trying to make some connections. And while I did get to talk to a few editors, nothing was lined up. But I guess this is kinda how it goes: you try to meet people and hope they put a face to a name and if they need you down the road they may give you a shot. I spoke with Top Cow, Peter Steigerwald of Aspen, Mark Chiarello, Mark Waid at Boom!, and I left cards with a few people. I have an utter social retardation, though, because I am not good at this sort of thing. So, hopefully, I didn't make a complete fool of myself.

Otherwise, I have done two commissioned samples for creator-owned work that hopefully passes mustard at Image or one of the small press publishers. Beyond that, I guess I will be doing new portfolio pieces to save up for the next go-around with pimping myself out.