I can’t believe I actually drew Etan in what look like fringed bell bottoms. Thanks so much for coming to my official website to read my work. Your patronage helps finance this series. I am able to continue posting daily through the end of the year, and at least three times a week through next year. I’m hoping to raise enough money to reserve at least six months of full time work for this series beginning later next year. In the meantime, I am working on two graphic novels for Vertigo, have another book contract I can’t discuss, and am doing some conceptual work. Check out some of my other…

The cash-strapped rebels attempt to achieve some level of luxury in their surroundings by decorating with tattered wall hangings and tapestries. As always, the hatching and stippling are by hand. This takes a very long time. I do not use assistants on my work except for tone sheet placement. Occasionally, I use an assistant to help fill in large areas of black ink, but for some odd reason, I usually do that myself as well. Anyway, a new installment on Monday. In the meantime, you might want to scroll down and have a look at my blog. I’ve written a number of articles and posts which I hope will be…

Page 1 of A Distant Soil #15. No, we did not skip issue 14. Issue 14 was a fill-in full of development art and pin-ups. This issue is the first issue published by Image Comics. I let issue 14 serve as a break for me to prepare for my move to Image in 1996. And I’ve been there ever since! I’m embarrassed to admit I had forgotten the “skipped” issue, and tore up the office looking for the missing art and files. I need to get more sleep or something.

A number of people have asked why A Distant Soil isn’t in color. First and foremost, I have about 200 pages of the tale left to write and draw, and my time and effort and financial resources need to be reserved for completing the project. I’ve had a number of people come forward to offer their services for free, but I don’t believe in hiring people on spec. While I appreciate the gesture, I can’t guarantee a back end payment on this project. Despite the many kind offers, I simply can’t accept them. It would take many months of effort to restore all the original art for color (tones would…

No digital work, tone sheets, or patterns were used on this page, except for the background tones in panels 2 and 3. All other drawing, including stippling and detail work, is entirely by hand. Volume I of A Distant Soil collects the first 240 pages on this site.

I’ve drawn some pretty rough scenes in comics over the years. A human slaughterhouse in Clive Barker’s Nightbreed, Thessaly peeling off Creepy Guy George’s face in Sandman, and the tortures of Hell in Barker’s Hellraiser. But this scene creeps me out more than anything else I have ever drawn.

Cliffhanger. Come back on Monday!

If you’ve been reading this comic online, you may have noticed a strong change in the inking style over the last 200 pages. I drew the first 180 pages of the book around 1986, then picked the project up again in 1991, adding a few splash and expository pages. I didn’t continue the story until years later, 1995. When I started drawing the book in the 1980’s, my inking style was very smooth. Later, it became harsh and edgy. I think I may have been responding to criticism that my work was “too pretty”. Women cartoonists were routinely dismissed for pretty work, while artists like Mike Kaluta received nothing but…