It’s Wednesday, and normally I don’t post anything on Wednesdays, but I thought you all might like another look behind the scenes of Issue No. 1. Today I’ve got some examples of thumbnails and their corresponding pages.

This week we take a brief break from new pages to bring you a look behind the scenes.

But you’re probably more interested in the results of this issue’s cover poll. Despite my brother Paul’s attempt to rock the vote, Half-Assed Hero Pants did not win an unequivocal victory. Basically, we’re in constitutional crisis territory here.

Yep, that’s right. We have a tie. And what the heck, I guess I’ll try to do both. Which means that I really need to get working on the first one since I don’t have a lot of time to churn out two of these things before the next issue kicks off!

I will take comments into consideration as I work. Thanks for the input, and thanks for voting!

Well folks, that wraps up Issue No. 1… Now’s a good time to go back and read through the whole thing from start to finish! We’ll wait here for you.

All done? Great! Issue No. 2 is just about ready to start coming your way, but first, we’ve got a cover to create. And when you get the end, consider sending us a letter!

Typically, comic book cover artists submit a set of possible thumbnails to their editor, who invariably picks the worst one, and that’s how a cover is designed! Since I am my own editor, I’ll ask you to pitch in and give me some input. (To be specific, please help me pick the best one!)

We have three lovely choices for Issue No. 1 covers. And by “lovely” I of course mean “hastily scrawled and barely competent.” Let’s get this celebration instigated. Continue reading →

• If I recall correctly, the trailers tried to imply that this was an alien invasion movie. It’s not. It’s an alien communication movie.
• It’s about learning to communicate with beings that think in a manner and fashion that is utterly unlike the way that we do.
• It’s also an exploration just how humanity would react to first contact.
• Some solid and unexpected twists and turns.
• It’s a thinky movie, not an explosion-fest. But the kind of more cerebral science fiction film that often gets ignored in favor of its big-budget explosion-focused blockbuster cousin.
• Solid performances throughout, and Amy Adams is terrific in the (difficult) lead role.

• At the end of the credits of Dr. Strange, there’s a warning about distracted driving. It’s probably unnecessary.
• Come for the redemptive character arc, stay for the awesome facial hair (and I mean that in the classical sense — it’s terrifying in some scenes).
• They retconned The Ancient One from a racist stereotype into Tilda Swinton, and it’s surprisingly successful. She really blew it out of the park.
• Cumberbatch also nailed it. He’s annoyingly arrogant but not in the same way as he is in BBC’s Sherlock. And he manages to really sell his character’s emotional turmoil.
• Is it a superhero movie? It’s certainly less spandexy than some, but it still wears its comic book origins proudly.
• And all of that is moot because the visuals are amazing. Really cool stuff. It reminded me of Inception in parts, but it also really utilized the psychedelic imagery that the source material employed — just as I was hoping.
• Anyway, I’m a sucker for anything Marvel at this point, so my opinion is not exactly unbiased. A bit of drama, a healthy dose of humor, solid action and some awesome effects. See it in theaters if you can!