A Class Act. And just when you think you've seen it all, then rides in a true man with a gesture that exemplifies what we all can strive to be. I doff my hat to you, Mike. Superheroes got nuthin' on you.

Hellboy Painting on auction for Rick Cortez. See post below for links to message boards about our sturdy comrade-in-arms Rick.

Comic Book Resources article by Seth Jones about this.

Photoshop 7, Wacom Cintiq, desperation sandwich and a cuppa joe

Why the world still works. Ever come across something that shows that people are worthwhile inspite of what the evening news doles out that argues the contrary? I stumbled onto this thread and I was sure this was a prank with a wicked funny punchline at the end or something. The joke failed to materialize as the details read on...

" As some of you may or may not know. One of the administrators here, Rick Cortes (HellboyOne), suffered from some sort of stroke and was in the hospital for a week. After numerous tests, and several medications during his stay, he was able to return home. Now he’s better health wise, but just got the bill recently, and was floored. So the members the Hellboy.com forums and The Drawing Board forum (two of the forums that he regularly frequents) have started a fundraising project to help put a dent in his medical expenses he incurred."

Check out the The Drawing Board and Hellboy.com's forum.

We wish you a speedy recovery, Rick. Drawing on the way.


Go and damn the torpedoes. I got asked to do a commando job that has the potential to grind me to dust. The upside is that I get to tell a story and stage the dickens out of something that I know I can kick some royal a** in. The ratio of how much pain something's going to be versus what gains you can walk away with usually promises a lot of front-loaded pain. The gains may be as meager as being able to say that you tried it. That should be enough, shouldn't it?

Like all humans, I like naps. You know the kind. The ones you can't take during the work week. The ones that you say will be there for you upon retiring (whenever that is). The ones that call to you when there is a pile of human politicking, drudgery and toxic bruising awaiting you after your morning coffee. Sigh. I do understand that my mortality is creeping up on me and it doesn't even bother to sneak up anymore, it thrashes the furniture and rattles the cupboards making sure I understand that it's a permanent resident. I got so many runs at this left before hips give out and memory sputters till what's left to me is just that: naps.

So, inhale deep and jump in, I said to myself, because I'm a sucker for missions. And odds are that if this is in front of me then the fates had their time snickering at the comedy about to ensue and they've figured out that I know this lesson by now: Move forward or just wave at the parade from the bleachers.

Suggestion #11 When I see portfolios I see so much of the production boards from shows people have worked on. Stacks of boards drawn on model, with dialogue written by other writers and staged according to the style of the show or director. You see where I'm headed with this. With those samples I can't see who the candidate really is. What stories do you tell when you tell stories? Have you done a reel of those ideas? What characters are you fascinated with? Did you do a scene of them? Writing? This is the same way I am not able to see the real artist from clean-up work done of a drawing. Where's the thought process? What jumps at me are mostly the small, rough stories of some character that I have never seen before but is fascinating. I mean, if this were a storybook at a bookstore would I be compelled to read it?

Suggestion # 12 Don't look for Suggestions 1-10. There aren't any. Eleven sounds like a good number to jump to. So, sue me.

Nina Echoes. Some of you might already find this old hat but for me it's still quite the novelty and gives me the delight giggles--you know, the unflattering kind that could ostracize you from cocktail parties. I've been very flattered recently to have had Nina be the subject of what Rick Cortez prophezised as a "ridiculously long" thread at the Sketchbooksessions/shanesboard message board. Rayl started the thread, generously enough, and everyone came by and dropped off a drawing. I said it many times in that thread and I say it again, it certainly warms the heart. That board has been the home where Paper Biscuit tends to hang out and gets a slingshot shove into the world and I am eternally grateful to the community for the show of support. The other magnificent thing is the art. Oh...my...GOD. Amazing work that the community at large comes by to visit to the tune of thousands of viewings (another chuckle of appreaciation there) and the best part is that they all came for the Nina drawings. I would post the drawings on this here blog but I want to make sure that that gallery be housed where it should be--right where it is. It does me a great honor to have them there. My thanks to all who came by to view and heaping loads of gratitude for all the great art posted.

And as if that weren't enough... I found the above drawings from OK-BBs boards coming from Japan. Now, see, Paper Biscuit is really a private print run (compared to what the majors print and distribute it barely qualifies even for that) for the one event of the San Diego Comic-con and subsequently sold through Stuart Ng's, Meltdown, Kinokuniya and Pendragon books as well as this website. Not a very big organization, Paper Biscuit Industries is a one-man operation that chugs alongside that of Enrico's endeavors since we recognize that having company in this marathon gets better results, like actually finishing the books and getting them sold for instance. So, when I uncover these drawings of Nina from another country (Where Otomo Akitsuka's website holds a page for Paper Biscuit) I am particularly amazed that there are others beyond our community who are drawing our favorite dreamgirl in black. I can't read Japanese but it appears that Nina has made an impression with our counterparts over there in the Land of the Rising Sun. Chuckle me, giggle giggle...sigh. And since it is kinda out of the ways I decided to create the above collage from the images I've seen.

(I posted a reply to one drawing post of Nina and the author responded (in Japanese) by making sure it wasn't an April Fool's prank--someone posting as me. I reassured him--alas, only in English--that it is indeed the father of Nina himself (beam) but then I wonder, "Well, heck, how can you really be sure out there in the wild and wacky internet?" I'm thinking that this post above should add to my athenticity, eh?)