Certain Points Of View

I'm deep into working on the final art for Lucy & Andy Neanderthal book 3, but found time to contribute to the From A Certain Point Of View Star Wars anthology.
Head over to starwars.com to get a complete step-by-step look into the process behind making the piece!
*UPDATE*
And this just in, I was interviewed over at the Threadless blog for their podcast, which focuses on process and creativity. So you can listen to that, too!

Coloring Wars!

If you're like me, you've enjoyed making hundreds of Star Wars drawings and coloring them in over the years. But what if you don't like drawing Star Wars, and you just want to do the coloring? You'll finally be able to with the Darth Vader and Family Coloring book, coming out March 28! Available from places like Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and your local independent bookstore for $14.95. There are pages from the Vader and Son series of books to color along with brand new images. And no, this is not one of those "adult" coloring books, but it's not a kids coloring book either, so everyone in the family can enjoy! Except maybe your pet Loth-Cats. 

The Phantom Bully!

Today marks the release of Jedi Academy 3: The Phantom Bully! Here's a look at the sketches I drew when I started thinking about the cover. For book covers, I usually try to come up with 10-12 ideas to choose from.

My editors at Scholastic and Lucasfilm look over the ideas, giving suggestions about what parts they like and which idea they like best overall. Then I draw a rough color sketch at actual print size based on their feedback.

Everyone gives additional feedback after that sketch - in this case, there was too much green and so the suggestion was to make the chalkboard blue instead. A few other tweaks, and the final cover art comes together.

The title text is printed green even though I draw it in black, and the other cover elements like the Jedi Academy logo are added from the previous books.

Darth Vader and Friends and happening and stuff

Darth Vader and Friends came out today, and over at the Chronicle Books blog you can read a bit about how I pitched that and Goodnight Darth Vader. The new issue of Star Wars Insider magazine also has a feature with some behind the scenes and unused sketches. This Saturday (May 2) is Free Comic Book Day, so I'll be at Aw Yeah Comics in Skokie, IL from 11am to 1 pm, and Monday  is May The 4th (Star Wars Day) and I'll be at The Book Cellar in Chicago from 4pm to 530ish. That means I won't be at the Cartoon Art Museum for the opening of a huge exhibition of art from Goodnight Vader and Vader and Friends, but stay tuned for details on the reception when I will be there in June. Finally, I was one of the judges for the UNIQLO Star Wars themed T-Shirt contest, but also got to design two new Star Wars shirts - one for men and one for kids.

Darth Vader and Friends!

Darth Vader and Friends will be out later this month, and if you pre-order now from Chronicle Books, you can get this free tote bag. I'll also be making some appearances starting this month. First up, I'll be at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, with a panel on the University stage at 12:30pm on Friday (4/17) followed by a signing at Mysterious Galaxy (Booth #960) from 2-2:45pm. Then back in Chicago the following Friday (4/24), I'll be at C2E2, signing at Autographing Table #17 from 12-1pm. I'll also have a few of my Process Packs available for sale at C2E2, at the Scott Eder Gallery (booth 1760), which will also have other art of mine available for sale. The following night you can head to the CAKE BAKE fundraiser and bid on some of my hand-drawn trading cards. Finally, today is CCS shout out day - so go learn more about The Center For Cartoon Studies, where I'll be giving the commencement address in May.

UPDATE! Now with corrected times!

Saturday (4/18) at Celebration at 11am(PST), I'll be doing a short drawing demo at the starwars.com Cantina booth, which will also stream live on their site. And from 2-2:45pm, I'll be signing again at the Mysterious Galaxy booth.

Ask me anything!

I'm answering anything you want to ask over on Reddit. Also, today is the day Jedi Academy 2: Return of the Padawan comes out in stores. There are two exclusive editions - the Target edition has an extra whole issue of the Padawan Observer, while the Barnes & Noble edition has extra Ewok Pilot comics.

*UPDATE* A lot of readers ask if there will be more Roan stories, or if I'll be doing more Jedi Academy books. I don't have any plans for more at this time...I would love to explore the world of Jedi Academy with Roan and his friends more in an animated show (hint, hint, Disney!), and I'm also hoping to do more Star Wars books in the vein of the Vader series, once there's more material with the new characters like Rey, Finn, and Kylo. For now, I'm finishing up the Lucy & Andy Neanderthal series, writing and drawing my first (proper) picture book, and starting work on my new middle grade science fiction series. Stay tuned!

San Diego Comic-Con!

Here's my annual San Diego Comic-Con schedule! Goodnight Darth Vader will be making its debut, as well as the first copies of Jedi Academy 2. Goodnight Darth Vader comes out next Tuesday, but I'll be signing copies at the Old Orchard Barnes & Noble on Saturday at 2pm. On Tuesday, I'll be doing a Goodreads author Q&A from 10am to 3pm CT.

Goodnight Darth Vader

Coming July 22!

May the 4th Be With You

Once again, it's time for May the 4th - Star Wars day! This year it falls on the day after Free Comic Book Day, so I'm posting this drawing of me in Mandalorian armor from my 2012 FCBD minicomic.
On Sunday I'll be signing at Aw Yeah Comics in Skokie, IL, and I'll be bringing a bunch of buttons, bookmarks, Star Wars figures and Star Wars cards to give away. If you're in the Chicago area, stop by and say hello!

New Books Coming Soon!

Coming out next month is Kids Are Weird, which you can get a feel for in the trailer posted above. Also coming out soon is Goodnight Darth Vader, which should debut at San Diego Comic-Con this July.

Star Wars Weekend!

This weekend is Star Wars Reads Day, and Saturday I'll be in New York signing at the Scholastic Bookstore. Friday night, though, I'll be in Brooklyn at The Scott Eder Gallery for the opening of the Vader's Little Princess and Jedi Academy art show. If you can't make it to New York, though, you can still go to ebay and bid on this signed Star Wars books package to support Reading With Pictures.

Contests!

Right now, Chicago's Busy Beaver Button Co. is running their latest button design contest - this month's contest theme is comics, and I'll be judging. The winning design prize package includes a signed copy of Vader's little princess. Meanwhile, for much less work you can enter a contest with Chronicle Books to win printer's prooofs from Vader's little princess or the Darth Vader and son postcard book. Finally, for fun I posted some of my favorite Star Wars items (and the stories behind them) on the Collectedit! website. One more thing - head over to the Chronicle Books blog for a look at the process behind a page from Vader's little princess.

Vader's little princess

Just a few weeks now before Vader's little princess is out, just in time for C2E2, where I'll be taking time out from my busy schedule to sign copies. Look for me at the Top Shelf booth from 12 to 4 on Friday, 2 to 6 on Saturday, and Sunday 12 to 3. I'll be participating on two panels Saturday - at 12:45PM and at 7PM. If you can make it to either of those, you'll have a chance to snag a special advance reader's copy of another Star Wars book I have coming out later this year...

Happy Holidays

Chronicle Books made up a holiday poster and gift tags for Darth Vader and son that you can download from here. Meanwhile, yet another Kickstarter project to mention - this time an anthology that includes a ten page unpublished autobiographical story written specifically for this book about modern attitudes towards feminism, The Big Feminist BUT.

Darth Vader Reads

This past Saturday was Star Wars Reads Day, and I signed at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois. The highlight was having the 501st Legion's Midwest Garrison show up, and watching Darth Vader read my book to the kids...

Why did the chicken cross the road?

My son Oscar gave me the punch-line, which you can hear on The Dinner Party, where I also talk about some sci-fi moments that have stuck with me over the years. Also, in preparation for my first visit to Star Wars Celebration, I drew a little comic for a starwars.com guest blog post. If you're going to be at Celebration on Saturday,August 25, come see my panel (along with pop-up book artist Matthew Reinhart) at 11am, or stop by the Dark Horse booth for my signing at 4pm. I'll also be signing at the Barnes & Noble booth Sunday morning at 11am. Now back to drawing the last 113 pages of the second rough draft of my current project...

San Diego Comic-Con

San Diego Comic-Con is this week and as usual I'll be spending most of my time signing at the Top Shelf booth (#1721). I'll have a small amount of artwork and hand-drawn trading cards for sale, and you'll be able to find more original art at the Scott Eder Gallery (booth #4515). On Friday I'll be doing a Star Wars panel along with pop-up book author Matthew Reinhart, and Saturday morning I'll be doing a panel for Save The Date. Alison Brie, Lizzy Caplan and Martin Starr will be at the panel, and you'll be able to pick up a copy of my "Save The Movie" minicomic as well (you can also check the Top Shelf booth for the mini while supplies last).

May The Fourth Be With You

May 4th is Star Wars day, and so of course there's some promotion for Darth Vader and son happening. On starwars.com, you can download a wallpaper designed from the above drawing of Luke making Vader play with him, and over at threadless.com, you can watch a short interview about making the book.

Darth Vader and son: The Trailer

Less than a month away, something to watch while you wait for the book. Thanks to Matt Saunders for making my drawings move...

Darth Vader and son in Diamond now

I'm home from the Sundance FIlm Festival, where Save The Date premiered to a largely positive response. Hopefully everyone else will be able to see the movie soon, but until then you can get ready for Darth Vader and son, which will be out in May and is currently available to pre-order in the Diamond Comics Catalogue (you can also ask your local comic shop to make sure and order you a copy). Here's some pencil sketches from the process of designing the book's cover - trying out slight variations of where Luke and Vader are looking, as well as their positioning. I think I drew about eight pencil versions in all, and fully inked and colored three or four of those. In the end, of course, we ended up using the first drawing I did. Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Star Wars are all TM/R/C/etc. Lucasfilm 2012.