Hello everyone!

I finally have a printing schedule for the book.  I had to go through a couple revisions with the printer. It was a real learning process, but they were very patient in working with me to make sure the files were correct and we both got what we needed from the other. 

In the interest of transparency, below is the schedule exactly as I received it. 

• Ozalids + Proofs send out from HK – 13 Oct 11
• Ozalids + Proofs rec’d by you in USA – 17 Oct 11
• Approved ozalids + proofs send out from USA – 18 Oct 11
• Approval ozalids + proofs rec’d by me in HK – 21 Oct 11
• Printed Sheets send out from HK – 02 Nov 11
• Printed Sheets rec’d by you in USA – 04 Nov 11
• Approval by email – 05 Nov 11
• Advance copies send out from HK – 15 Nov 11
• Advance copies rec’d by you in USA – 17 Nov 11
• Approval by email – 18 Nov 11
• Bulk Ex-Factory – 23 Nov 11

 Yeah, I struggle with “printer-ese,” too. Bottom line: If everything goes according to plan, I’ll have advance copies by November 17th and then I should have all the books in hand in early December, since bulk ex-factory is a worse case scenario on when the books will leave the factory in Hong Kong. Everyone should have their copies in time for Christmas. (What a lovely gift, eh?)

Again, thank you so much for your patience.  If anything changes, I’ll let you know.

- JEP

In lieu of a strip this week, I decided to post the inks and the cover mock-up for The Thrill-Seekers graphic novel.  It’s been a particularly time-consuming affair, because I really struggled with coming up with just the right image for the graphic novel cover. My drawing board is littered with false starts and partially inked images.

The first hurdle was coming up with a composition that mirrored the Blaxploitation movie posters with their glorious, action-packed, painted montages full of the promise of all the excitement you were sure to see after you settled into the theater seat.  Cotton Comes To Harlem was a proto-Blaxploitation movie that preceded Shaft, but its poster set a high bar for quality and composition that many emulated, but few equaled.

The extremely foreshortened car is a motif that turns up regularly in homages to Blaxploitation homages, but since vehicles only played a minor part in The Thrill-Seekers, I opted to feature Bouchier’s yacht, instead.  I also wanted each element to have room to breathe, but still feel cohesive to create a unified composition.  Balancing that task was harder than I anticipated, especially since the bulk of my work is oriented around telling a sequential story.  Telling a story in a single image is a much harder proposition for me, because it requires the use of mental muscles I’m not used to.

Secondly, I struggled with coming up with just the right pose for Pastor. Although Pastor rarely uses a handgun, I found it difficult to come up with a good pose for him without one.  Also, since I’m drawing for my friend, Jeremy Summey, to digitally paint, the drawing had to be clean and clear.  However, the most challenging part was making sure it was all wrapped together in some of the best stuff I had ever drawn.  This is what I was going to use to sell The Thrill-Seekers, so I had to make it really pop.

Click below for an embiggenable version:

- JEP

This is the last episode of The Thrill-Seekers and the end is a little bittersweet.  Due to personal family issues that I have to attend to, I decided to wrap the storyline one strip short of what I had intended.  Therefore, I didn’t get to explore some of the characters stuff I wanted between Pastor and his attorney, Vonetta Foster.  Vonetta’s first name was originally supposed to be “Gloria,” but I renamed her “Vonetta” in honor of the the actress Vonetta McGee (Blacula, Hammer, The Eiger Sanction), who passed away last week.  With Vonetta Foster, I wanted a female character who could verbally spar with Pastor as an equal and, for the purposes of this story, represented the unfulfilled promise of Alicia Patterson.  Additionally, by returning Alicia’s class ring to her mother, I hoped to bring The Thrill-Seekers full circle to the first clue that started the story.

I want to thank everyone for your support for these past sixteen months.  It has been invaluable.

What happens next, you might ask?

Well, Pastor will return in four weeks in WORLD OF HURT: The Black Fist.  I need a little time to recharge my batteries.  However, while you wait for The Black Fist to begin, there WILL be new content on Wednesdays, and the Friday blog will still be in effect.  For the next month, I’ll be running a completely new short story called Western Sun Rising.  Western Sun Rising is the story of a samurai in the Old West.  It will conclude at the end of the four weeks, so you can consider it a brief intermission between the WORLD OF HURT stories.

Stay tuned, folks, because it’s been a long run, but we’re just getting started!

- JEP

At long last, the epilogue.  Only two (maybe three) strips left in The Thrill-Seekers, and I decide to introduce one more character.  How’s that for confident storytelling?

- JEP

When I came up with the The Thrill-Seekers, this episode was pretty much what I envisioned as the final strip in the story, with Pastor riding back to the city in a lifeboat.  The panels were pretty much unchanged from the way I imagined, but I had to alter some dialogue once my fiancee (now wife) suggested a fantastic, and very touching moment, which I felt should be included.  Her idea became the basis for the coda which will wrap up The Thrill-Seekers.  Thanks to that suggestion, it looks like you’re stuck with me for a couple more episodes.

- JEP

I’m back from my honeymoon with my lovely bride.  We had a great time.  I want to thank you for all your congratulatory comments last week.  That really meant  a lot.

Big thanks to my man, Andy Haworth for uploading this week’s strip!  I had some problems setting it up before I left last week, and once again, he came through in a lurch.

- JEP

This is the moment a lot of you were anticipating.  Pastor finally gets to use the special package he picked up from Rashid, with devastating results.

Now, I have some more good news for you.  This weekend, I’m getting married to the lovely, talented, funny, exciting, and adventuresome Noelle Phillips after nearly a decade of dating.  It’s been a wonderful trip so far, but I hope our journey together is just beginning.  One of the reasons she’s the love of my life is that she even makes the most mundane things fun.  We’re having a small ceremony  in northern Georgia with our immediate family in attendance.

So, as you’ve probably surmised, I won’t be around to check the website for the next week, but please feel free to leave comments.  I’ll enjoy catching up when I get back.  Also, in case you were worried, I already have next week’s strip lined up in the queue so I won’t leave you high and dry with an unresolved cliffhanger.

Take it easy and I’ll see you next week.

- JEP

I’ll tell you one thing: constructing a good, pithy, “Your mama” joke is tougher than it looks.  However, I do like the second panel and the force behind Tuck’s kick.  It just looks like it hurts.

I’ll do a full write-up for my Friday blog post, but I just want everyone to know that I had a great time at Heroes Con this past weekend.  It was fantastic meeting all the fans of WORLD OF HURT, meeting old friends and acquaintances and making new ones.  A couple of y’all even saw this strip in it’s pencil stage, since I was working on it at my table for part of the time I was there.

- JEP

I’ve been watching a lot of Deadliest Warrior on Spike TV, so I’ve probably given waaay too much thought into the speed and force that would be necessary to drive a k-bar knife through a guy’s head.

- JEP

Last weekend was a big, big weekend for me.  As you probably know by now, I received three Glyph Comics Awards on Friday.  The included the Rising Star Award, Best Male Character, and Best Artist.  I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the awards ceremony in Philadelphia, PA and blessed enough to have my parents, my brother and nephew, and my fiancee in the audience with me.  The Glyph Comics Awards are held in conjunction with the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention.  It was a very positive event that rightfully puts a lot of focus on kids, who are sadly overlooked by most of the comics industry.  I met a number of individuals whom I had only known as an online presence and had the added pleasure of meeting many more.

I honestly do believe that, in some way, all you readers deserve to take a bow for helping shape the character of “Pastor.”  It was your feedback and advice that let me know if I was on the right track.  I definitely appreciate that and your support in the past year.  You helped make what was only a distant dream over a year ago into a vivid reality.

Thanks again!

- JEP