So here’s some from the father of manga. Creator of Astro boy and the reason why you watch anime today: Osamu Tezuka

So what’s your excuse?

Well we don’t make excuses here. Tezuka and I are too busy Making Comics!

Shadows of Oblivion #1 special editions are here!!

For those of you who are new, Shadows of Oblivion #1 features a 28 page story  taking place 5 years  after Wolf Clan disbanded in issue #0. The world has collapsed into complete and utter disorder. Cerberus, blamed for the Nord Catastrophe, now tries to earn redemption from his former Clansmen and himself as he attempts to set the world right.  It also features a 2 page backup story written by myself and illustrated by the very talented Brooke Clayton.

Depending on your level of fandom, and which copies of past issues you own I have 3 different bundles available to you.  But I only printed 50 copies, and just 25 copies are left.  So if you want a copy I would not delay in ordering.

These three bundles are:

1. SPECIAL EDITION - order now -

Price: $25 plus shipping

You get:

• Shadows of Oblivion #1 with a one of a kind piece of art sketched on the cover. This can be of whatever you’d like, the Demon girl is just an example. Examples of past covers I’ve done.
• An exclusive print of a never before seen piece of art.  This print will only be available to those who order the special edition.

2. Issue #1 Bundle - order now -

Price: $30 plus shipping

You get:

• Shadows of Oblivion #1 with a one of a kind piece of art sketched on the cover. This can be of whatever you’d like, the Demon girl is just an example. More examples of past covers I’ve done.
• Shadows of Oblivion #1 with the standard cover
• An exclusive print of a never before seen piece of art.  This print will only be available to those who order the special edition.

3. Collectors Bundle - order now -

Price: $45 plus shipping

You get:

• Shadows of Oblivion #1 with a one of a kind piece of art sketched on the cover. This can be of whatever you’d like, the Demon girl is just an example. Even more examples of past covers I’ve done.
• Shadows of Oblivion #1 with the standard cover
• Shadows of Oblivion: Better days. Standard issue
• Shadows of Oblivion #0 with BONUS SKETCH of whatever you’d like! (again Starfire there is just an example.  You can have whatever you want drawn inside the issue)
• An exclusive print of a never before seen piece of art.  This print will only be available to those who order the special edition.

So those are the three bundles available to you.  If you’d like to order, all you have to do is click on the link that says “order now” next to each bundle, or you can send me an email to shadows@shawnmccauley.com.  Any questions you may have can also be sent to that email address.

Like I said earlier I only have 25 copies left. So if you’re a big fan and you want to make sure you have a copy of the special edition, Don’t wait I don’t want you to be left out.

Last but not least. If you’re a big fan and you want to get your hands on a copy, but you cannot afford the special edition prices. I do have some “budget friendly” options for you.  They don’t come with any personalized sketches, or exclusive prints.  But it’s the comic, and in the end, thats why you’re buying this right?

So if you want to only spend $3-$4 you can get print copy of the comics. You can pick them up at Indy Planet. (just click on the link, it’ll bring you to a page featuring my books.)

If you want to spend $2 you can get digital copies of the books. Issue #1 isn’t available yet digitally, but you can get:

Issue #0 digitally at lulu.com

Better days digitally at indyplanet digital

Thanks again for being fans everyone and for your unyielding support!  I know it might sound a bit contrived to say, but its the truth when I say I can’t do this without your support.  If it wasn’t for you guys, this comic wouldn’t of gotten terribly drawn sketches in my sketchbook. So thank you for enjoying my art, and my stories, and for buying my books, I can’t describe to you how happy it makes me to know you enjoy it!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Until then remember to Make Comics, not Excuses!

Not everything is for everyone. And that’s okay, it doesn’t have to be.  The fact that different things interest different people is what makes the world go round. You don’t have to be a comic artist, or a writer, or a doctor if it doesn’t interest you and you have no desire to pursue it. In fact, the only acceptable excuse not to do something is “I’m not interested.”  And thats not even an excuse, its a declaration that you have no interest and therefore will not pursue a given goal.

So if that’s the case when you read my “No excuses” post, just disregard it.  Because these posts are people who say “I want to make comics, but….”  They say it’s something they want to do but have some sort of excuse why they can’t.  And I’m here to tell them they can if they stop making excuses and start making comics….

So today’s excuse I really haven’t heard until recently, but i feel like it should be addressed.  It was put a few different ways, but all made the same point. Basically it goes “I want to be a comic creator, but I don’t want to risk losing joy in my art.”  or “I don’t want it to become my job, cause I’ll grow to hate drawing.” or “I stopped trying to be a pro when I realized I’d spend all my time working, and I’d never got to do anything fun.”  Basically what this excuse is boiling down to is “If I make comics for a living, It’ll be my job, and therefore it won’t be fun anymore.”

Well I have to say, the reason you think that is because you guys have the wrong idea on work.   Most of you have day jobs.  I guarantee you hate your day jobs.  They’re boring, and your boss is a dick, and you co-workers are assholes, and your customers or clients are idiots.  You work all day miserable, and when you get home you want to just watch tv, or play videogames, or read comics or do anything that will bring you a little joy for the couple free hours you have before you have to go back to that miserable place of work.  You probably even draw a little bit don’t you?  And if you’ve been in the work force for one year, or 10 years, this is all you have known work to be.  Am I right?  Yeah? How did I know?  Cause I was there once!! It’s something we all go through!  It’s part of life.

So I understand your fear.  If all you’ve known of work is this miserable hell that consumes your soul and leaves you this empty husk of a human, why would you think making comics for your job would be any different?  I especially understand this fear if one of your favorite escapes from hell is drawing.

But I’m hear to quell those fears of yours!  If drawing is something you truly love to do.  If making comics makes you happy.  Then doing it professionally is nothing more than you getting paid for something you’d do for free.  And I tell you my friends, there is nothing better than that in the world.

Does that mean its easy?  Oh hell no.  Making comics for a living is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.  Late nights, tight deadlines, not very much of pay. It’s no picnic.  But I LOVE making comics. I work this hard on my own comics essentially for free.  So if I get to do it AND be paid, that’s an amazing deal!  Some of you don’t realize how hard you work on your own creations, but you don’t realize it because you enjoy it so much,  You don’t realize you’re doing all this hard long work for no money, just for joy.  Doing it professionally is no different, only It won’t be your characters, and you have hard deadlines, but the work you put into it won’t be any different.  In fact it might be a little easier if you’re not a good writer.  Because a skilled writer has already given you the script, you just need to draw it!

My Dad put it best.  When I was young, probably around 10 years old, I was telling him what I wanted to be when I grew up.  At that age, I think I wanted to be an Astronaut, or an Archeologist (i was obsessed with dinosaurs.)  But my Dad told me something that stuck with me until today. He said “Find a job you love to do and you’ll never work a day in your life.”

Now I know my Dad didn’t invent that saying (though I thought he did when I was 10.)  But those words really stuck with me and inspired me to follow my dreams to do what I loved to do.  Because he was right.  I LOVE drawing, I LOVE story telling, I LOVE making comics.  Even though its hard and somedays are not as good as others, there is nothing else on this world I rather be doing.  And you know what? My dad was right.  I don’t feel like I’m working.  Those days I worked in an office doing design, or those days at an Insurance company, or even when I worked in the Supermarket, I finished the day exhausted and feeling like my soul had been crushed.  But when I work on comics, I want to do more.  I want to make more.  It pisses me off that I have to sleep because it takes time away from making comics.  This is not what it feels like to work. And I thank God that I’ll never have to know what it feels like to work again.

So I kinda rambled alot on this one, sorry.  But I just wanted to hit home the importance here.  If you really love drawing.  If you really like making comics.  Then there is is no need to fear.  If you start doing this for a living, the joy won’t leave you.  You will not grow to hate it.  You will continue to love it just as much as you ever did.  AND you’ll be paid for it!  There is no reason not to try!

So let’s stop making excuses, and stop working, and start making comics!

Okay, so for those of you who don’t know, I am a giant X-Men fan. It’s Jim Lee’s X-Men in the 1990′s that got me into the comics to start.  Coupled with the X-Men animated tv show of the 90′s the X-Men became, and still is my absolute favorite superhero team comic book.

I dropped off from reading the X-books for a while, but was sucked back in during the Second Coming story.  Which, has to be in the top 3 of my favorite superhero stories ever.

Anyways, since the end of Second Coming they’ve been hinting that the Mutant Messiah named Hope is somehow connected to the Phoenix. I’m also a big fan of Jean Grey, and the Phoenix Saga, so when I heard the New Comic event Avengers vs X-men was centered around the Phoenix, and Hope, I got instantly amped!

That’s Saying something, cause 99% of the time, I do not care at all about the “events” that Marvel and DC put out.  I might read them… eventually.  But I never get excited about the hype.  Maybe it’s Cause I’m a giant X-men fan, or maybe It’s cause I hate the Avengers. (except for Cap, Iron man, and Thor.)  But I just want to see the X-men kick the crap out of the Avengers, and I want to see the Phoenix eat a planet or two!!

So in Issue #1 of Avengers vs X-Men, not alot happens, that you kinda already knew was going to happen without reading the book.  The Phoenix is coming to Earth.  Everyone suspects it’s coming for Hope. The Avengers want to take Hope and destroy the Phoenix.  The X-Men want Hope to become the Phoenix and truly be the savior of Mutant Kind.

Not much to review.  Great Set up issue, with great art, but nothing really happens except for the set-up to the rest of the story.  So I want to speculate on what they’re going to do with it.  Mostly it’s just my hopes of what they do with the story, cause at this point there is no evidence to support my ideas, I’m just an X-Men nerd imagining the possibilities.

So even though they’ve been building up that Hope is the Phoenix, that’s all they’ve been hinting at. They haven’t been building up a sense of doom or salvation that would result from having her become the Phoenix.  Nothing that gives a sense of urgancy to Hope’s fate.  Nothing that gives a sense of who is right or wrong in the AvsX conflict. As a result, to have Hope become the Phoenix would be pretty borring story telling. To foreshadow that she’ll become the Phoenix without simultaneously foreshadowing if its good or bad ruins it when Hope becomes Phoenix.  Because when she makes that transformation, the audience won’t know if they should feel joy, or fear. So without the emotional context, the “big reveal” will followed with a great big feeling of “so what, i know” instead of “oh shit!”

This leads me to believe there’s going to be a twist, and Hope is actually a red herring.  My hope (no pun intended) is that the Phoenix, like so many times in the past, is actually coming to earth to resurrect Jean Grey.  Thats probably wishfull thinking on my part.  But that’s the only thing I can think of that stays within X-men Mythos and gives a great, “oh shit” moment to the big reveal, instead of a “so what” moment.

If they went with an even different, bigger twist, I’d be on board.  I just don’t want Hope to take on the mantel of Phoenix.  This story as too much potential for awesome to follow such an obviously linear story plot.

But We’ll find out how wrong I am soon enough won’t we?

That’s my two cents on that. Tomorrow I’m going to yell at you for making excuses.

until then make comics instead!

A comic book, though dominated by pictures, is more like a language than anything else.  It’s communicating a story, information, and/or ideas to somebody else.  In order to communicate clearly there are certain rules that need to be followed so that everyone understands what the story, info, or idea is trying to convey, much like a language.

There is alot of rules to comic book and sequential art composing.  So we’re going to do this in two parts.  Part one is the bare bones basics.  Next week will be part two, where we talk about some higher level concepts.  Still the basics, but part two is useless to you unless you understand this part today.  So lets get started.

1. Panel Direction

*side note for those who are unaware:  the word “manga” is the japanese word for comic. It is not an art style.  Though there are artistic styles that are nearly exclusive to japanese comics, the word manga is not the name of that style.  So when you’re saying “I’m making a manga” you’re not saying “i’m drawing in an eastern or japanese style,” you are saying “I’m making comics.”  and making your comic read from right to left, when you speak english, does not make it more “authentic,” it just makes it confusing.

2. Panel Layout

3. Word Balloons

So thats the bare bones basics in comics.  If you can nail down these three things, then at the very least you’ll have an comic thats clear and easy to read.  Next week we’ll talk about pacing, panel sizes, and depicting movement.  If you can nail down that lesson with today’s tutorial, then the only thing left to know is the actual drawing part!

Hoped this helped you guys.  If it did leave a comment and let me know!

And remember, we don’t make excuses here, we make comics!

For THIS monday I’ve decided to share with you guys different places around the web that you can find me. I’m not just here on my blog. I’m on facebook, twitter, tumblr. I just started instagram after intense peer pressure. Some places you’ll find duplicate info, and posts.  But depending on where you go, and when, you might find me releasing different artwork at different times.  So You might see a sketch on twitter before I ever post it here… So here are the places you can find me around the net…

Official Website: http://www.shawnmccauley.com (duh)

My original comic “Shadows of Oblivion” Official Website: http://shadowsofoblivion.shawnmccauley.com (double duh)

Facebook (make sure you click “like”): http://www.facebook.com/ShadowsofOblivioncomic

Tumblr: http://thegreatshono.tumblr.com/

Instagram: thegreatshono (can’t really link it since its a mobil only app…)

Blog: http://shawnmccauley.com/news

My twitter page: http://twitter.com/TheGreatShono

Shadows of Oblivion’s twitter page: http://twitter.com/shadowsoblivion

Pick up Shadows of Oblivion #1: http://www.indyplanet.com

Buy issue #0 in print: http://indyplanet.com

Download a digital copy of “Shadows of Oblivion: Better days”: http://www.indyplanet.com/digital

Download a digital copy of Shadows of Oblivion #0: http://www.lulu.com

Email me: shadows@shawnmccauley.com

I think thats all my social networks. If i forgot any let me know!

I hope all of you Enjoy the work I do and keep on following me!

And always feel free to comment and email me! I love talking with fans, so don’t be shy!!

Talk to you all soon!

And make comics not… eh you know the rest by now…

Cassandra Cain aka Black Bat

Marvel's Scorpion

Jonni Future

Fan's Original Character Dipset

More sketches coming next week!

But in the mean time make comics not excuses!

Now I know thats a little bit harsh language but this excuse really pisses me off.  I’m not angry at the person who uses the excuse “they tell me I can’t,”  I’m pissed at the people who tells the person they can’t. Seriously, anyone who says you can’t do it is making up shit and doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

I’ve heard many different variations of this excuse. “THEY” can be your mother, father, brother, sister, best friend, teacher.  ”They” can be people on forums, or professionals you’ve talked to that have their head so far up their ass they forgot what it was like to start out.  But no matter who “They” are, the fact of the matter is they don’t know anything about what you’re trying to do. So what qualifies them to judge if you can do it or not?

What reasons did they give you to back up this wild claim of “you can’t do it?”  Was it because You don’t have the education?  the skills?  Is it because you won’t make much money?  Is it because they don’t think you have the dedication or heart to pull it off?  Well it doesn’t matter cause none of that matters either.  If you don’t have the education, you can read books and go to school.  If you don’t have the skills, you can practice.  If you won’t make much money, you can have a part time job, until you do make enough money.  If you don’t have the dedication… well then you wouldn’t want to do this to start with would you?
The bottom line is that people who tell you “you can’t” are people who don’t want you to. I don’t know why they don’t want you to follow your dreams, but its bullshit and it’s not their choice, it is yours.  If you want to do something, the only thing that can stop you, is yourself.  You can do whatever you set your mind to do.  That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy.  You might have significant obstacles in your your way. But they’re just obstacles, not dead ends.  With enough hard work you can overcome them, you just can’t give up.

So if someone says “you can’t” punch them in the ear and say “that’s from Shono”  then proceed to show them you can.

Because we don’t make excuses, not like they do, we make comics.

So I’m still waiting for the Special Editions of Shadows of Oblivion #1 to arrive in my studio, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to get your hands on a copy!

This is for all of you out there who don’t care about original artwork, or sketch covers, or exclusive prints. This is for all of you who have tight budgets and can’t afford $25 for a special edition.  This is for all of you who can’t wait for me to finish your sketches and want to get a copy in your hands as soon as possible.

You can buy a copy of Shadows of Oblivion #1 for $3.99 through indy planet right now!

Just want to be clear.  If you buy this right now, you don’t get any cool perks, like sketches, or prints.  You don’t even get it signed by me.  But you do get 36 pages of awesomeness to hold in your hands just $3.99.  Can’t complain with that can you?

While you’re there, you can pick up past issues like Issue #0 for $2.99 and Better Days for $3.99.

Hope everyone can pick up a copy!  I’ll have more details on the Special Editions once I get them In stock!

Thanks for you’re support, I seriously can’t do this without you!  and don’t make any excuses, make comics instead!