other projects

I have met and made many friends in the comics industry, self-publishers like myself, who have asked me over time if I might be willing to do a pin-up for them that they could publish in their comics. I’ve always been kind of, “Yeah, yeah, whatever, we’ll see.” It was nothing personal against them or their books. I just felt there was so little time in the day to work on MY OWN PROJECTS, that are dear and precious to me. It would just be time away on something I’m less passionate about.

But last year (2009), I kind of had a change of perspective. I finally realized, we’re all in this together, struggling and trying to make it, and we should support each other, any way we can. If they want to support me by allowing me to be published in their work, I should support them by trying to make a really nice pin-up for them. It’s a compliment that they want me included in their book, and I should be gracious.

These are my friends who’d been asking to make pin-ups for them, for some time:

Anthony Leano and Paul Allen do a comic called “BRAINS” (From The Land Beyond Publications), and Mike Hampton has a comic called “Hot Zombie Chicks.”

Anthony and Paul had a party to celebrate their birthdays in June 2009, so I decided I would make them pin-ups for their birthday. Here’s Anthony’s:

I’ll post Paul’s tomorrow.

Here is the completed work, including texts I added, all by hand:

Daniel Loxton beautifully colored the image:

Skeptic launched this as the “cover” of Junior Skeptic, which is an insert in Skeptic Magazine #35! They’re the greatest!

Visit WWW.SKEPTIC.COM

So ever since I created Dr. DeBunko, I’ve been in touch with the Skeptic Society, who has always been ultra-supportive of my comics work. Junior Skeptic Magazine editor DANIEL LOXTON began to discuss possibilities for collaborating for Skeptic, including some Skeptic Magazine Dr. DeBunko possibilities which never panned out. In May 2008 he mentioned “some little projects coming up we might be able to help each other with.” In June he confided that it would be for a Junior Skeptic illustration, possibly a cover, and that he had the go-ahead to use me as the artist if he wished.

In October, he said we should be ready to begin that project in about a month. In November he said they had to bump the project to complete some books. In April 2009, he finished his huge projects, and we began!

These were my instructions (my “script”):

“… Doris Danger style image of two 1970s teenage *males* confronted at a lakeside by (very roughly) this emerging black-lagoon-style creature … Action is menacing monster, scared teenagers (either standing in Shock! Horror! or fleeing are good). It can be stylistically as over-the-top as you like. (You may wish to hand-draw the Junior Skeptic logo to keep the style unified.”

He sent me some photos and sketches of what the Thetis Lake Monster is believed to look like. He may have sent some links to stories too. I read a couple articles online, and looked up photos of the Thetis Lake. Then I sketched this in pencil:

When I picked sidewalk square number 25, it was before 8am, and it seemed like a very pleasant spot. By 11am, the sun was getting pretty hot.

 

 

 

 

“Alyssa Mann” is the person who sponsored my drawing. Sponsors paid to have their names worked into the artwork. Most of the sponsors were businesses, but my sponsor was just a kind person who believed in supporting children’s art programs.

 

 

While I worked on SPLUHH, I overheard people who walked by, who would say, “Wow!” or laugh. The other sidewalk artists didn’t make Kirby-style giant monsters.

 

 

 

 

Now that you’ve seen the “ACTION SHOTS,” here’s a break-down of how I did the piece. I brought with me a print-out of my SPLUHH monster for reference:

 

 

 

MY FIRST HOUR: I don’t remember ever doing a sidewalk chalk art piece before. When I checked in, I was given a nice box of really intense-colored pastels. I was also given a sheet of sidewalk chalking “tips.” These tips included using water, spray bottles, or brushes to spread the chalk and bind it to the sidewalk better, and to get a more solid color. I hadn’t been prepared for any of this.

 

I grabbed my purple pastel and sketched out the SPLUHH lettering to make sure it would fit. Then I grabbed my yellow, and fleshed in a SPLUHH shape. Procrastinating, I colored in the SPLUHH letters, grinding the pigment into the concrete with my finger tip. It made the color look better and more intense, but I could tell my fingertips wouldn’t last long this way. AND, next thing I knew, my purple chalk was gone, used up completely by the lettering. Then I realized I hadn’t yet put my sponsor’s name in, so I hastily squeezed it into the composition. My chalks were going fast, and I realized I wasn’t going to have enough.

 

Luckily, I have two small boys, so at 9:30 am I made the twenty-minute trek back home, raided their closet, and came back with a couple extra packs of chalk. I also returned with a bottle of water, a small bucket for the water, and some brushes.

 

I had trouble with the square format. It changed things compositionally. I found I wouldn’t be including a lot of things I’d planned to include, due to space constrictions.

 

I tried playing with the water and brushes, but ended up not liking the results anyhow. So I just ground the chalk into spaces as deep as I could.

 

I began just filling areas with color. I filled SPLUHH with yellow. I colored blue areas behind SPLUHH. I colored green areas underneath SPLUHH for grass, and tan areas for hills. I used the cheap pastels from home to fill all these areas. I saved the nice, bright pastels for later, hoarded them like precious things, hoping their diamond-value would help the piece shine, when applied at the end. If I applied them now, they would just get covered over with the cheap, lacklustre filler.

 

I knew I wouldn’t be drawing any fleeing, running figures in the foreground, but I decided to draw a few palm trees. I had trouble making a mouth shape I was happy with. Notice in the photo above, my “SPLUHH” reference image, and the tips of my shoes, as I took the picture.

 

I had a conversation with a passersby, who said the piece looked done. He associated “done” with all the areas being covered with chalk. All the areas being filled. I explained I had to highlight and accentuate areas now.

 

When I make comics, I only use black. Now, here, I only had one black chalk, so I knew this would be a very differen’t looking piece. It would look like a chalk piece. Color-wise, I was reminded of Wayne Thiebaud’s art.

 

Wayne Thiebaud. Cake Window (Seven Cakes). 1976

I was fortunate to take some classes from him in college. He talked about mixing colors around edges. Edges of objects, edges of shadows. Mix colors that don’t belong in those edges. Oranges and yellows and blues. It gives the objects a luminescence, and inner glow, and energy. So I mixed some pinks and oranges around SPLUHH. Then I butted those colors up against purplish bluish skies, so that the complimentary colors would give SPLUHH an extra pop. If I didn’t like something, I just ground a new color of chalk over the top, and that took care of it. But the overall piece was still very “chalky”. I finally grabbed my darker, nicer pastels, and began highlighting areas of SPLUHH, of the cliffs, of the trees.I reddened the eyes and lips. I put some grass stalks. I felt done at around noon, then visited with other artists, looked around, dickered with the piece for another couple hours without making any real changes, packed up, and called it a day at 2:30pm.

 

September 4, 2010

Sacramento’s “Chalk it up” festival is a non-profit organization created to support art education programs. Their website is www.chalkitup.org

This is their twentieth year. Labor Day Weekend (September 4-6), two hundred artists came out and drew on five-by-five-foot sidewalk squares. There was live music, food, vendors, and children’s activities.

I was invited to participate this year. I decided to draw my Jack Kirby-style “Spluhh monster.” A lot of artists take the three-day weekend to create their masterpieces. Registration was at 7am. I hoped to get there by 8am, and finish in time for a late lunch that first day. I suspected I would work faster than a lot of artists.

Here is the square I chose for myself. Number 25.

My wife popped over with my boys at around 9am, after I’d had a chance to write “SPLUHH” and roughly sketch out SPLUHH’S shape. It was an interesting exercise trying to fit the work into a square rather than rectagonal composition.

I shamelessly brought a pile of shwag to sell to passersby. I think I was the only one.

Since they were there, I let the boys help with the piece, and add some lines to the work. Boris did it first. He grabbed a piece of chalk and started “chalking.” I tried to capture the act on film, but by the time I had the camera up, he was on to other things and didn’t care to participate again. Oscar worked at the piece for a little while, though.

TUNE IN NEXT MONDAY, fans! Chris will walk us through a “BEFORE AND AFTER” process, start to finish, of creating his FULL-COLOR five-foot-square “SPLUHH” monster! See you then! – Rob Oder, Editor-in-Chief!

My friend, Jefferson Pitcher, asked me to contribute a portrait to his gorgeous three-disc CD package, “Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies” by J. Matthew Gerken, Christian Kiefer, and Jefferson Pitcher (Standard Recordings, 2008). It comes with a book, showcasing a portrait for each President. Lots of great art.

You can read about the project HERE!

You can buy the CD at AMAZON.COM!

I was given a few choices for a President I could do. I was on the fence between drawing Coolidge and Cleveland. There’s a fantastic shot of Coolidge on the farm, in overalls and a silly hat, with a scythe or something, whacking at grass. And I was so tempted to use that pose. But I ultimately chose Cleveland for some reason. I was transfixed by a portrait Eastman Johnson painted, in particular with Cleveland’s face (that expression!) and his delicate, pudgy hands.

I referenced the image for my portrait, but just took the parts I was interested in – the face and the hands – and truncated the rest to fit in a square “CD case” format.

I was working on the piece at DragonCon 2007, and Frank Brunner (sitting at the table next to me) looked over my shoulder and commented on the strange hands.

EDUCATION
1990-1995 University of California Davis, Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art
1990 South Tahoe High School, graduate

AWARDS
2012 Best of Geeky Sacramento: Best Local Comic Book Writer or Graphic Artist

PUBLISHED COMICS WORK

Graphic Novels
2014 “S Is For Spanko: A Frightening And Realistic GIANT MONSTER Alphabet Book” (SLG Graphics, 32 pages, hardcover), writer, artist, editor
2011 “Monstrosis: A Doris Danger Giant Monster Adventure” (SLG Graphics, 176 pages, hardcover), writer, artist, editor
2009 “Doris Danger Giant Monster Adventures” (SLG Graphics, 96 pages, plus “creator’s commentary” CD), writer/artist/editor
2007 “Doris Danger Seeks …Where Urban Creatures Creep and Stomp” (self-published, 64 pages), writer/artist/editor
2007 “Doris Danger Seeks … Where Giant Monsters Creep and Stomp” (self-published, 56 pages), writer/artist/editor
2006 “The Lump” (self-published, 160 pages), writer/artist/editor/publisher
2005 Sam Kieth’s “Ojo” trade paperback, (Oni Press, 124 pages), co-artist

Comics
upcoming? abandoned? 2012 “Journey Into Astonish” (Bob Burden’s Marble Comics) artist
upcoming? abandoned?  2012 “Impossibility Bucket” (with Jhonen Vasquez) artist
2012-2013 “Zombie Annihilation” 1 and 2 (Silver Phoenix Entertainment) artist
2006 “Doris Danger in Outer Space” (self-published, 24 pages) writer/artist/editor
2006 “Doris Danger Greatest All-Out Army Battles” (self-published, 24 pages) writer/artist/editor
2005 “Dr. DeBunko: The Short Stories” (self-published, 32 pages) writer/artist/editor
2004-2005 Sam Kieth’s “Ojo” #2-5 (Oni Press, 22 pages each), co-artist
2004-2005 “Tabloia Weekly Magazine” #572-576 (self-published, 32 pages each, fifth issue 48 pages), writer/artist/editor

Digital Comics
2011 “Monstrosis” #1-6 (SLG Publishing, roughly 28 pages each), writer/artist/editor
2010 “Doris Danger Giant Monster Adventures” (SLG Publishing, 96 pages), writer/artist/editor

Online/Web Comics
2008 “Spider Twins Companion” (encyclopedic web-comic and weekly contest, 54 pages), writer/artist/editor
2006-2008 “Dick Hammer: The Dailies” (web-comic, 108 pages) writer/artist/editor
2006-2007 “Diary of a Struggling Comics Artist” (blog on the process of creating comics), writer

Mini-Comics
2011 “Monstrosis: A Doris Danger Giant Monster Adventure” #1-6 (roughly 28 pages each), writer/artist/editor
2008 “Shocking True Stories of the Bible, Featuring John The Baptist” (40 pages), writer/artist/editor
2008 “Shocking True Stories of the Bible: The Images” (48 pages) writer/artist/editor
2008 “Spider Twins Companion” #1-3 (32 pages each, plus 90 minute “creator’s commentary” CD), writer/artist/editor
2008 “Dick Hammer: The Dailies” #1-3 (collecting the web-comic, 32 pages each), writer/artist/editor
2006 “Dr. DeBunko: When Human Flesh Bursts into Flames, writer/artist/editor
2006  “Dr. DeBunko: The Devil is My Lover”, writer/artist/editor
2006  “Dr. DeBunko: Who Killed My Cow”, writer/artist/editor

Anthologies, other publications
2012 “Neil Hamburger Comics Digest” (BS Comics), contributed two three-page stories
2012 “One and Done” (Invest Comics) – contributed a one-page story
2011 “Alien Echo” (Lost in the Dark Press), pin-up contribution
2011 “Giants” (Dan Burke Publishing), 10-page Doris Danger story contribution
2011 “Slam Bang #6 Vol. III the ROBOT issue (200 pages, FanAtic Press), 10-page Doris Danger story contribution
2011 “Hot Zombie Chicks” #4 (Halo Productions), pin-up contribution
2010 “Sidekick #1 (insert for Comic Heroes Magazine), 4 page Doris Danger sneak preview
2010 Captain Rochester (Rochester Electronics publications, trading card set #1), trading card contribution
2010 “Brains” #2 (From The Land Beyond Publications), pin-up contribution
2009 “Junior Skeptic Magazine” (Skeptic Society, Skeptic Magazine), cover contribution
2008 “Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies” (Standard Recordings, CD) album art contribution
2007 “She’s a Super Freak” #2 (Movement Comics), pin-up contribution
2007 research project for University of Connecticut on effects of pro-social messages in American entertainment media, artist for nine-page comic
2005 “Dead By Dawn Quarterly” #1 (Scar Comics), writer/artist/editor of four-page story
2005 “Oolar! Stories from the Wild World of Caveman Robot” (Tetragrammatron Press), pin-up contribution

Convention Appearances and Signings
2015 Store Signing, Empire Comics Vault, Free Comic Book Day, Sacramento, CA
2012, 2014, 2015 Big Wow Comic Fest, San Jose CA 
2015 Grape City Con, Lodi, CA
2015 store signing, Comics and Collectibles 29th Anniversary, Sacramento, CA
2014 store signing, Creator-Con, A-1 Comics, Sacramento, CA
2013-14 Crocker Con, Crocker Art Mueum, Sacramento, CA
2005-2010, 2012-14 APE Con, San Francisco, CA
2013-2014 Stockton-Con, Stockton CA
2004-2014 Comic-Con International, San Diego, CA
2013 Kraken Con, South San Francisco, CA
2004, 2011, 2012 (two appearances) Sacramento Comic Book, Toy & Anime Show, Sacramento, CA
2012 Store Signing, Bizarro World 20th Anniversary, Davis CA
2012 Store Signing, SLG Art Boutiki, San Jose CA
2012 Store Signing, Alternate Reality Comics, Las Vegas NV
2012 Second Saturday Art Walk, The Urban Hive, Sacramento CA
2012 Store Signing, Comics & Collectibles, Sacramento CA
2012 The Great California Paint Out and Auction, Natsoulas Gallery, Davis CA
2012 Image Expo, Oakland, CA
2005-2011 WonderCon, San Francisco
2009-2011 SLG Presents Comics Fest II, San Jose, CA
2007, 2010 Emerald City Comicon, Seattle WA
2010 Store Signing, Red Sky Comics, Merced CA
2004, 2010 Store Signing, Bizarro World, Davis CA
2010 Indie Euphoria, Sacramento, CA
2008 San Jose Super Comic, Toy & Record Show, San Jose, CA
2008 From The Land Beyond: Sacramento’s Horror and Sci-Fi Show, Sacramento, CA
2004, 2006, 2008 Store Signing, Empire Comics, Sacramento, CA
2007 Dragon Con, Atlanta, GA
2007 Wizard World, Chicago, IL
2007 Store Signing, Toy Fusion, Rancho Cordova, CA
2006-2007 Super-Con, San Jose, CA
2007 Wizard World Los Angeles, CA
2007 New York Comic Con, New York, NY
2006 Stumptown Comics Fest, Portland, OR
2004, 2006 Store Signing, Small Press Day, A-1 Comics Sacramento, CA
2006 MegaCon, Orlando, FL
2005 Baltimore Comic-Con, Baltimore, MD
2005 Bristol Comic Expo, Bristol, England
2004-2005 Store Signing, Free Comic Book Day, A-1 Comics Roseville CA
2004 Big Apple Con, New York, NY
2004 Store Signing, Big Planet Comics, Washington, DC
2004 Store Signing, Neighbors Bookstore, South Lake Tahoe, CA

Comics Panels
2008 From The Land Beyond Horror and Sci-Fi Convention (Sacramento, CA) “A Visual Assault to the Senses: A Comic Book Panel!” with Dan Brereton, Joshua Dysart, Tone Rodriguez

2007 Dragon*Con (Atlanta, GA) webcomic panel with Pete Abrams, Chris Hazelton, Kitty Hawk, Jennie Breeden, and Gina Biggs

2007 Dragon*Con (Atlanta, GA) independent comics (“Outside the Big Two”) panel with James Ritchey III, Peter Bagge, Marie Croall, Jennie Breedon, Andy Runton, and Ted Naifeh
2006 University of California Davis Experimental College “History of Comics” class by Dan Urazandi, guest speaker
2006 Utrecht Art Store (Sacramento CA) “Making Comic Books” Art Class by Dan Cooney, guest speaker
2005 Comic-Con (San Diego, CA) panel on “The Sequential Art” documentary with director Espen Jorgensen, Denis Kitchen, and Roberta Gregory

Interviews of Wisnia
2015 (May) Reality Comics FCBD Mini-Con on-site video interview
2015 (May) Empire Comics Vault FCBD pre-Mini-Con video interview
2014 (May) “Nerdvana” podcast on Free Comic Book Day at SLG’s Art Boutiki
2012 (Oct) “Forces of Geek” interview by Stefan Blitz
2012 (Sep) podcast interview by Decapitated Dan
2011 “Mr. Lobo interviews Chris Wisnia” video by Christopher Perguidi and James Myrick
2011 podcast interview Decapitated Dan
2010 “The Electric Playground” televised comic feature of Doris Danger
2010 “Blog Talk Radio” podcast interview” by Dan Vado, Supreme Commander of SLG Publishing
2010 “Talking Comics with Tim” by Tim O’Shea at Comic Book Resources
2009 “Davis Life Magazine” thirteen-page article by Jessica Hughes
2009 “From The Tomb Magazine” interview by Decapitated Dan Royer
2009 “Comicon The Pulse” by Jennifer Contino
2009 “Comixology” Podcast interview by Peter Jaffe
2009 “Baker’s Dozen” by Bill Baker
2009 by Mark Allen at “4 Color Commentary”
2009 by Richard Vasseur at “Jazma Online”
2009 by the Big Bad Wolf at “Comic Monsters”
2009 “A Review a Day” by Greg Burgas at “CBR Live”
2009 “Geek Tragedy” podcast live at APE Con
2008 “Planet Comic Book Radio” podcast interview by Javier Hernadez
2007 “The Amateur Scientist” podcast
2007 “The Comic Book Haters” podcast interview
2007 “Secret Identity” podcast number 50.5 live from New York Comic-Con
2007 Atlanta television interview for Dragon*Con
2007 “Treasury Comics” by Rob Kelly
2006 “I Read Comics” blog by Lene Taylor
2006 “Comicon The Pulse” interview by Jennifer Contino
2006 “Jazma Online” interview
2006 “Skepticality”, official podcast of Skeptic Magzine
2005 “Jazma Online” interview
filmed 2004, documentary upcoming? “The Sequential Art” (documentary by Espen Jorgensen) interview, alongside Will Eisner, Sam Kieth, Gary Groth, Neil Gaiman, Daniel Clowes, Scott McCloud, Chris Ware, and others

Reviews of Wisnia’s Work
2013 (Dec) Paul Castiglia’s “FirstComicsNews.com”
2013 (Oct) Glenn Walker’s “Welcome to Hell”
2013 (Oct) Glenn Walker’s “Biffbampop.com: 31 Days of Horror: The Atlas Monsters”
2013 (Jan) seconprinting.com’s “365 Comics”
2012 (Oct) John Holbo’s “Crooked Timber” online
2012 (Oct) Michael May’s Robot 6 “Question of the Day” at “Comic Book Resources” online
2012 (Oct) Henry Chamberlain at “Comics Grinder” online
2012 (Sep) Ricky Sprague at “Unleash the Fanboy” online
2012 (Sep) Louis Falcetti at “Bleeding Cool” online
2012 (Sep) “Major Spoilers” podcast review
2012 (Sep) Richard Vasseur at “Jazma Online”
2012 (Aug) Derek McCaw at “Fanboy Planet” interviews SLG President Dan Vado on Monstrosis 
2012 (Aug) by Louis Falcetti for “Bleeding Cool” online (reviewing Neil Hamburger comic)
2012 (June) by “Robot 6” for “Comic Book Resources” online
2012 (Apr) article about SLG Publishing by Orion Petitclerc at “SJSU Access Magazine” online, in which Chris is quoted
2012 (Jan by Luke Milton at “Fruitless Pursuits” online
2011 (Dec) by Decapitated Dan at “Comic Attack” online
2011 (Sep) by Kumar at “Kumar’s Reviews” online
2011 (Sep) “Dave’s Unspoilt Capsules and Awards” online
2011 (Jul) a “Major Spoilers Podcast #325” review online
2010 (Nov) by Libby Miller for “The Davis Dirt” Magazine
2010 (Aug 12) by  Stephanie Rodriguez for Sacramento News and Review Magazine
2010 by Chickity China at his website
2009 by Evan Dorkin, at his official blog, “Big Mouth Types Again!”
2009 by Manly Pointer, customer review at Amazon.com
2009 by Dan Royer, article in “From The Tomb Magazine” #29
2009 “Robot 6” by Michael May at “Comic Book Resources”
2009 by Rachel Edinin at “Sequential Tart”
2009 by Adam McGovern at “Comic Critique”
2009 by Decapitated Dan Royer at “From the Tomb Magazine” online
2008 “A Comic A Day” by Karaoke Fanboy
2008 article by Jeremy Nisen in “Comics Now Magazine” #3
2007 by Rachel Edinin at “Inside Out”
2007 by Marc Mason at “Comics Waiting Room”
2007 by Steven Grant at “CBR Permanent Damage”
2007 by The Big Bad Wolf at “Comic Book Monsters”
2007 by Johnny Bacardi at “The Johnny Bacardi Show”
2007 by The Comic Book Haters”
2007 by Marc Mason at “Comics Waiting Room”
2007 by DJ Grothe at “Point of Inquiry”
2007 by Rob Kelly at “Treasury Comics”
2007 by Mark Arnold at “Comic Base”
2007 “A Comic A Day” by Karaoke Fanboy
2006 an article in “Jack Kirby Collector” #47
2006 by Troy Brownfield at “Newsarama”
2006 by Matty-Matt at “SFist”
2006 by Leigh Anne Wilson at “The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society”
2006 by Johnny Bacardi at “The Johnny Bacardi Show”
2006 by Robin Lewis at “Comixfan”
2006 by Paul Dale Roberts at “Jazma Online”
2006 by Glenn Walker at “Comic Widows”
2006 by Johnny Bacardi at “The Johnny Bacardi Show”
2006 by Steven Grant at “CBR Permanent Damage”
2006 by Robin Lewis at “Comixfan”
2006 by Glenn Walker at Comic Widows
2006 by Steven Grant at “CBR Permanent Damage”
2006 Don MacPherson at “Eye on Comics”
2006 by Matty-Matt at “SFist”
2006 by Leigh Anne Wilson at “The Journal of the Lincoln Heights Literary Society”
2006 by Steven Grant at “CBR Permanent Damage”
2006 by Robin Lewis at “Comixfan”
2006 by Randy Lander at “Fourthrail.com”
2005 by Chris Garcia at “Fanboy Planet”
2005 an article in “Jack Kirby Collector” #41
2004 by Glenn Walker at Comic Widows
2004 by Steven Grant at “CBR Permanent Damage”

That’s right … Chris Wisnia’s Resume!
This week, we offer a real treat to fans! We hope it will help all you aspiring comics professionals, not only to see what a resume should look like if you have no actual experience or qualifications, but also as inspiration to fill out your own resumes!

Before our own artistic hack, Chris Wisnia, began his “serious” (i.e. “actually published”) professional comics career, he spent many years waiting in many portfolio review lines, and sending a lot of packages to publishers, and never getting any work! Below is – NO JOKE! – an exact duplicate of the resume he submitted over and over for these endeavors!

Personally, in hindsight, we don’t recommend you aspiring comics people try using this technique for youselves, as Chris never once heard back from an editor he sent this resume to! They never called or wrote to share how amusing they found this resume! Study it closely, and tomorrow we’ll post Chris’s current resume . . . for comparitive purposes! -Rob!

_RESUME_ (minimized to one page)

COMICS RELATED EDUCATION:
N/A (Bachelor of Arts in studio art, U.C. Davis, Class of 1995)

PROFESSIONAL, NON-COMICS WORK:
1999-Present Guitar Instructor, Private Lessons, Davis CA
1997-2000 Store Manager and Head Picture Framer, Jeff’s Objet D’Art, Davis CA

MONTHLY WORK FOR MARVEL
2002 none
2001 none
1999 none

LIMITED SERIES OR ONE SHOT PROJECTS FOR MARVEL
1997 none
Feb-July 1995 none
1972 born May 13th

MONTHLY WORK FOR DC
1962-1992 no work for DC

FILL-IN ISSUES, ANTHOLOGY AND BACK-UP STORIES FOR DC
Upcoming 2003 no plans at this time
1492 none

WORK FOR INDEPENDENT COMIC COMPANIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO FREE-LANCE PLOTTING, SCRIPTING, AND GHOST WRITING
1997-present nothing

ADDITIONAL TRAINING, WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, ETC
2001 Told Mike Allred his art is cool at San Diego Con
1984 Read “How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way”

RELATED EXPERIENCE
1998 Re-read “How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way”

In February 2007 at the New York Comic-Con, I was approached by Joseph Gregov, a student researcher at the University of Connecticut. He studied mass media effects, and was putting together a project to investigate the effects of subtle pro-social messages in American entertainment media. He chose comics because the nature of the panels and balloons allowed him to better edit the story and see if different versions produced different results in different groups of readers.

As a card-carrying Skeptic with a strong conviction in the benefits and importance of “SCIENCE,” this sounded like a fun, good, and meaningful project for me to contribute to. I low-balled a fee I would charge, hoping to solidify the position, and I got it. Here are the first four pages of the story I was given, before the word balloons were added. I worked from Joe’s script.

[click on image to enlarge]

This is the story:

A guy, who’s just out of a long, serious relationship, gets picked up by his friends to drive to a party, where they meet up with some girlfriends bringing their friends. One of the girls has sewn a banana design on her skirt.

I assume this is where the research and study of people’s reactions to pro-social messages begins. Notice the two below pages are an “alternate ending 1” and “2”. Both begin with holding the car keys, and deciding what to do with them. Decision one: be responsible and don’t give the keys to the drunk. Result: you’ll make out with the girl and she’ll come home with you. Decision two: the drunk asked for the keys, so give them to him, and let him drive you home. Result: the drunk will crash into a parked police car.

Joseph wrote to me in December 2007 to give me some updates on the research project. It was posted digitally online, and he was able to recruit over 400 participants. The statistics showed that overall (65-70%) the primarily non-comics-reading audience enjoyed the art. He didn’t tell me any specifics about the data of the study. For instance, I was interested to hear how people like morality stories jammed down their fiction . . . “DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.” I was interested if people noticed there was a subtle morality lesson by the lead character not letting his drunk friend drive, or if they just thought it was a nice love story. Things like that.

Joseph said he was planning to post a public link to the story, but I haven’t heard from him again (it being three and a half years as I post this), so I don’t know what the story looks like completed and lettered. I had worked from a script, but he had told me the script would probably change once he saw the art.

Joseph, we’d love to see the story! Are you still planning to post it?

In February 2006, at the Orlando MegaCon, I befriended Andrew Gregory, who said he was enjoying my Doris Danger stories, and gave me a copy of his bizarre and entertaining comic, “She’s a Superfreak” (Movement Comics). By the end of the con, he had commissioned me for a pin-up for his book. It was my first paid commission. He asked for a Kirby-style giant monster, and this is what I came up with:

[click on images to enlarge]

It was published in “She’s a Superfreak” #2 in 2007. Meanwhile, I altered it for my own sinister purposes, and included it in “Doris Danger Seeks … Where Urban Creatures Creep and Stomp!” (2007) as a splash page of my own.

Fans! You can buy our self-published Doris Danger comics on our MERCHANDISE PAGE! You can buy the 96-page “Doris Danger Giant Monster Adventures at AMAZON.COM!