Have enough Horror in your Life?

As of this writing, we're siting in the middle of a pandemic, so I figured it was about time to rise like Pennywise and update this poor ye bloggy.

As you can clearly see, this blog has been an on again off again project. But! I wanted to update everyone with our latest project: The Zombie Game!

You can follow us here at: https://www.instagram.com/thezombiegame/

 We have assembled a dream team to work on this graphic novel project! It will be a full color, full length, self contained story.

A group of college students attend an End of Year party only to find themselves hunted by the rich in a live-action zombie apocalypse video game.

Stay tuned for more updates and here is a sneak peek at one of the pages!

Update: Now Comes More

I have been involved with so much since the creation of Ties. My next big adventure awaits me and I will be bringing the book to a whole new market!

I can't wait for others to meet Ira.

In the meantime I met with one of those Hollywood types about developing the treatment I co-wrote for Ties into a movie. I thought Alex Pettyfer would make an amazing Ira. Luckily they represented him.  I live for the day Ira comes to the screen!  What do you think? Is he the right choice?

Comikaze Prep

It's that time again to head Downtown for LA's best convention: Comikaze Expo.

That means I have a million and one things to do to get ready for the show. Surprisingly last year, I sold little super hero ducks. I will do the same this year.

I also bought a tablet so I can show off my new webseries work: whatispandora.com
It's my first directing/writing/producing effort. It came from an old high school idea about what the lives of people who hunt the hunters would be like. What would it take to kill a vampire slayer or a demon hunter? I wanted to find out with an amazing crew of people. It was hectic but well worth it. Making a film, even a short one is an amazing experience.

Ira will be there of course, being grouchy and asking for scotch.

I will also have these guys there:

Neglect

Poor Ira has been neglected here for quite some time!
I was able to take him to SDCC 2013 with me but I guess I should update you on what else is rockin'!

I have my second book out on Amazon: Dead Stinky Animals

Please do corrupt your children with it.... and teach them their ABCs, of course.

I am also working on the next Book.

I am starting a gallery with my business partner: Illumination Gallery  Which has been a frightening process. It will be ultimately rewarding but as with most grand plans, things have not exactly been smooth.

I am also writing for Biff Bam Pop  I did some great coverage and got to talk to a bunch of people at this year's San Diego. I was almost crushed to death twice but it was well worth it!

Ira is still my baby and I carry him like a talisman wherever I go. I will see him made into something and the next book is rattling in my head.  Unfortunately, all the scenarios I see Ira in start veering into Oldboy territory and I have been a bit more upbeat as of late.  It's a massive amount of energy to go to dark places like that and try and protect your psyche. Not to sound too granola, but it's true.

So Things move forward and I am always taking the next step in this grand journey!

A New Year Update!

A new year and time to ramp up the comic making again. Every year I'm excited to get started on new projects and finish old ones. Sketches like this one in Ira's style keep me going. I should color it, yeah?

The ABC book is also coming along. Yay! Yes. It's dead, stinky animals.  Don't you want to teach your kid's their letters this way?! What could be more fun!

But Ira is not forgotten. There's a smart little girl out there named Alison who's ready to make trouble out of Ira's penchant for letters. More on her later.

Happy New Year!!

Beyond the Looking Glass

Happy Holidays, all!

Ira will always have a first and foremost place in my heart but I have been hard at work on other projects as well. This includes a pretty hilarious ABC book, Illumination Gallery and my next graphic novel, 4 Hire.

Ira's drawing style is still the most natural for me. Who wouldn't want to get away with not drawing noses?! I think I found a great balance between cartoony and realistic figures. I still like to sketch and doodle this way to get my ideas down.

Many people have asked about a sequel to Ties. I would like to do something more with the friends I've met in Ira's world but so far Ira hasn't had anything to say about it. Honestly, after working on the idea for over 8 years I think Ira's pretty satisfied .... for now. You never know when that imp will start demanding more stories to be told.

I hope all of you are having a blessed Holiday season. I know Ira didn't get you anything!

Crazy for Comikaze

It's time once again for LA's most awesome convention Comikaze.  This year it's Stan Lee's Comikaze and I can already see how much it's grown in just a year. I'm so looking forward to seeing what they do this year.

I will be chatting with one and all about the new book 4-Hire at www.four-hire.com

I will also be helping out master of the dead, Rick Marson, in his plans for world domination through the cutest zombies you've ever seen! www.zoms.com

Of course Ira will be there in full force with Ties and some brand new stickers!!! I will be tweeting everything is sight so be sure to follow me @EMcGuiness

So come on out and make it a grand old time!

The Big San Die-go

It's that time again boys and girls! Ties will once again be appearing at this year's San Diego Comic Con. I will be handing out bookmarks for Ties and for the new project, 4-Hire. I will also be doing a bit of reporting for Biff Bam Pop and my twitter stream will be up on their site. So find me on twitter @EMcGuiness !!

Update

Things have been rolling along and I'm looking forward to doing a Gallery Group Show in July with my and Lisa Brugger's Illumination Gallery.

I'm proud Ties will have a new home to share all of Ira's goodness.

I'm also working on www.four-hire.com, my next book.

Also be sue to catch me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/emily.mcguiness
And as always you can email me any questions to emcgui20@gmail.com
or on Twitter @EMcGuiness

Covina Art Walk

A long time in posting but I got to share Ties with another fine group of people at the Covina first annual Citrus Walk! It was 4 hours of great fun and amazing people.

I also get to bring Ties around with me to my various work conventions so we've made it to APE, WonderCon and Emerald City Comic Con so far this year.

I'll be going to San Diego of course this year so look for me there at the BOOM! booth.

Oh, and I get to do this every week:

Comikaaaaaaaazzeee!!!

Ira is at booth 4105 at this weekend's Comikaze Expo! Come catch the finished book and I will even do a little doodle for you. It's today and tomorrow at the LA convention center.

Don't miss it!

Or if you can't come out this weekend you can always get my book on lulu.com

You can also follow me on Facebook and I will be putting updates up there!

<3 Emily McGuiness

The Press Comes to Town

This fine morning I was interviewed by the gracious gentlemen over at The Comic Book Pitt. See my long winded answers here:

The Comic Book Pitt

I have enjoyed the marketing process just as much as making the book. I can see why people get addicted to fame. It's nice to hear people ask your opinion and care about the answer.

The Convention of Doom!

I am in the throws of preparing for the biggest event of the year! San Diego always brings joy and fear into the heart of every comics lover. I am no exception.

Though I will not be going with my art collective this year, I will be at San Diego Comic Con with Flesk Publications at booth 5019. I get to hang out with my old professor Mark Schultz, a true pleasure. I will be signing books on Saturday and Sunday so come get a copy and tell me how awesome Ira looks in person!

I'll be walking the floor and greeting all the fellow starving artists and strugglers out there so pop me an email if you want to meet up!

It's Up now!

By a miracle of friendship my trusty editor, Megan made sure to lend me her awesome new computer and finish up my book. Now it's up on Lulu.com, you can follow the link up there. It's available for sale with all of the bells and whistles. How I love seeing it for sale!  Go and enjoy it now!

Crawling Forward Inch by Inch

I got my computer working again for a decent period of time and got almost all of it done before it exploded again. I was so close to finishing it! I had numbered all the pages and got in all my extras. My cover is finished and I even have a new cover, complete with ISBN number. I am so proud!

So stay tuned. I am inching toward the finish line.

In the mean time I am taking over The Comics Industry Dinner. We will be meeting June 30th this month at Swingers Diner. If you're a comics professional email me for details!

Pitfalls.

This economy has hit everyone hard, not least of all me. I lost my job back in January and have been struggling since then to make ends meet. While I have been pressing ahead with my art collective, and could not stop the momentum of trying to finish my book, I find myself struggling to at last see ink to page!

I will not be deterred at this last stage, as you can see I met my Kickstarter goal, but I have been plagued by set backs. After meeting Stan Lee and heeding his advice for a new cover, I have been struggling for weeks to come up with a concept. Now that I have it realized, my computer is intent on exploding and I am racing to find a job to be able to afford to replace it.

My letterer has finished all the pages! No mean feat! Now it's up to me to work out the details and get my vision on paper. If I must crawl over broken glass I will see this accomplished. It's only one stumbling block on the path to personal greatness. No matter how many times I must literally beat my computer into working I will get this book DONE!

I am literally at the point where I am praying for a little karmatic mercy so I thought I would post to my blog in order to put it out there into the Universe.

The Aftermath of Raising Money

As you can see on my side bar there I have successfully funded my book! Now I have to get the most for my money. I have already pre-sold 50 copies and so I have to make sure I cover that and can get them out at the most effective price. I know my model is a bit backward. I'm supposed to build myself up online before I ever attempt a physical book, but I can't help wanting it in my hands!

I want to feel my accomplishment and be able to physically hand it to someone when they ask about it. Trust me if I wasn't unemployed I would be revving up my marketing engine to go full blast with this thing. The sad truth is that my star has not reached the epic level needed to live off my art. Shocking I know. So I must husband my resources carefully so I can reach the people that really matter.


I'm working on a new cover, and I have a sticker design in place, if I can get the scanner working I will have a sneak peek for you. I am also working on all of the commissions for the Kickstarter campaign! They gave me a bunch of fun requests for their art.

More later!

The Hottest Show on the West Coast

So tonight is the gallery opening at Qusqo. Hopefully we will not be blown away by the wind. It's in West LA and we will be setting up shop at 5:30pm but the real party starts at 7:30pm where there will be wine tastings. We will be promoting Ties and having a donation drive for Japan.

Here is the address:

Qusqo

11633 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90025
(Near the 405 Fwy,   Between Federal and Barrington Avenue)

T:  310-312-3800       F:  310-312-3807

Hope to see you there!

Dateline: Lettering

I feel lettering is one of the most important parts of a book, which is why I don't do it myself. HA! My letterer Terry Blas is hard at work making my book look beautiful. It's the last and most important stage of the process. Paraphrasing a film quote I heard today, You will make three graphic novels before you're done: there is the book you write, the book you draw and the book you letter.

I know Terry is doing an awesome job. I will post more images when my computer is back up and running.

Ties Prepares for Peru

With the upcoming art gallery show at the restaurant Qusqo I am preparing another image in a similar style to my book. The Catwoman print was the first one:

 Phoenix will be the next one. The prints will be available to buy over at the Latchkey Studios Store. I think they came out rather well. If you have any suggestions for more characters in this style let me know.

As always if you want to help support the cause go over to Kickstarter and get things started!