Summer is heating up both literally and figuratively!

For me personally, I love the heat, though the humidity can be a little tough. I got out for an early paddle on Friday and I was pretty gross afterwards (though partially because I was doing some river floating too).

As usual, things have gotten very busy. July is always action packed. Last week, we were in Chicago to visit family and see the Gundam Base Store!

The highlight of our summer is our annual beach trip to Seaside Heights, which is already coming up next week! I’m looking forward to lots of swimming and eating New Jersey delicacies…

My Niece Asked Me to Draw This

Last summer at the beach house, my niece was doing as all teenagers do and taking a selfie in the big mirror in the stairwell. So of course I had to goof and photo bomb to picture. The result was so funny, that recently my niece and sister asked me to draw it in my mini-cartoon style.

Fantastic! I was very excited that she asked me for this so I was happy to do it.

Announcing My Convention Tour!

Now that I have stacks of books in my basement, it’s time to bring them out into the world! I’ve got a few shows lined up for the back half of the year! I hope to see you out on the road!

Indie Comics Corner - Fox & Willow by Allison Pang and Aimo

Recently I received my copy of Fox & Willow Volume 4: The Better to See You With and ended up catching up on the series as a whole (there were more pages on their website!). I’ve been following along with this webcomic since my Tapas days, so it was a real joy to be diving back and seeing the story starting it’s epic conclusion.

Each chapter of the tale follows Willow and Gideon, who are bound together by an unknown curse, as they travel across the land. Each adventure is inspired by a different fairy tale, but it’s not obvious which one until you really dive in. For me personally, I love that you have to guess what story is being used for inspiration and how much they play with elements of that story.

Willow and Gideon’s relationship is very layered and difficult, but also very endearing as they both learn to forgive themselves and each other. The story itself has great emotional depth for both our main characters and the side characters they meet along the way. Punches are not pulled, and the endings are rarely happy, much like traditional fairy tales. Willow especially has a beautiful character arc where she has to learn to face the ugly parts of herself, while also learning that she is still worthy of love and happiness.

You can read the whole series on the Sad Sausage Dogs website.

Parting Note

Been feeling a lot of ways about AI lately as it’s being pushed a bit more at work, but I read some good articles that reminded me to keep fighting the good fight.

In other news, I’ve had a good steady clip of progress on Black Ball coloring, getting a few pages done last week. This is great for me, since I’ve been struggling with coloring lately.

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Lately, I’ve been rereading one of my favorite manga, Full Moon wo Sageshite by Arina Tanemura. It’s a drama filled shoujo filled with some surprisingly dark twists and turns, and even now many years later I’m still seeing the story in new ways. I also can’t put it down once I’ve started!

Arina Tanemura is one of my favorite manga artists. I have several of her series in my collection, as well as some of her art books that have been released in English. I just love her art style! Not only are the drawings themselves very pretty, but her panel layouts throughout are also very lovely as well, enhancing the storytelling.

I have always struggled a bit with my inking and now lately I’m wondering how I might change thinks up to make the inking process more fun and also put my own brand of stank on my work.

In some ways, I feel my comic pages look a little too unpolished and computerized, even a little stiff, when I would like thinks to feel more natural. I also like the look of manga inking in general, and have enjoyed being looser with my inking on paper (but still don’t feel it’s very good yet…).

I’ve had these halftone grit brushes from Jason Piperberg for some time, and played around with them a little bit but not as extensively as I would like. I also picked up Marc Burnett’s Starter Pack brushes for free (even though they are for PS, I was able to adjust them to work in CSP). I’ve been seeing examples of using a more textured or looser brush for the line work. I also started playing around with adding texture to my black fills for things like hair.

But I wanted to see how far I could push it, so I decided to try some casual illustrations to test out different brushes and shading styles. We’ve been playing a lot of Fire Emblem: 3 Houses on a Blue Lions run, and just raised Felix and Annett’s support love, so there was only one thing to do!

I tried to keep it loose an light, even keeping the ink lines a little sketchier than normal. Sadly, my favorite part is still the screen tones. I’m still not quite there…

I was still hungry to try more, hence the video in this week’s post! You can see that I did a lot of playing around even in the structure (I even needed a 3-D model, but just for the right hand’s perspective)! Specifically I wanted to try some different ways of shading the hair to give it detail and direction. This is a better result, but it makes the hair take much more time, so it isn’t practical yet for comic pages (but is pretty nice for something like this). Here I think I was the most successful to the tone scraping sections, where I used the halftone grit brush on the transparent setting to cut into the tone layers.

Overall, I still have a lot more work to do to find what I like best.

Screaming About Indie Comics

Something that’s been on my mind lately is how easily we talk about what manga, comics, books, video games, and tv series we’ve been watching, but rarely are we screaming about the indie comics that we’ve been reading. We all can attest that we love indie comics, both making and reading them. I love seeing what other people create. And I am reading indie comics. But have I told anyone about them lately?

So I’m going to make an effort to go through my back log of digital pdfs to, first off, read all these great indie comics I’ve gotten from Kickstarter, and second off, to TALK ABOUT READING THEM. Let’s start elevating indie comics and talk about them as easily as we talk about everything else we enjoy, starting with…

Indie Comics Corner - The Mighty Kaaw by

I picked up the full run of this series in it’s last campaign, and have been looking forward to reading it ever since. It’s very much Saturday Morning cartoons mixed with some grown-up violence to give us a sci-fi romp with a revenge story. On the far off planet of Zion, the bird race of Crowmagons has been dominated by the technologically superior Angelic race, subjected to slavery and, in the case of our title character, entertainment. Mighty Kaaw rose up to be the champion of the coliseum, and then leader of a rebellion, which got him marked with a pretty hefty bounty. When our story begins, he’s been captured by some insectoid Skeetian bounty hunters, who come the end of issue one are very much regretting their decision, even with the high price tag.

I’ve read the first two issues so far, and it’s been a wild ride from the start. I really like how the prologue is told through the eyes of one of the Skeetians, who is having a flashback to when he would watch the coliseum shows and first saw the Might Kaaw in the ring, before we come to present day to see Kaaw captured in an impossible situation. The story throttles the gas from there, where Kaaw must fight his way through an entire slave ship of nasty crew mates, taking out everything in sight.

In the second issue, where the gore is turned up a notch as Kaaw is taking out Skeetians and Hellhounds a like, we get some mini breaks in the form of a fan art corner and an activity page. I always enjoy when a comic can pull this off on theme, and in The Mighty Kaaw it’s pulled off brilliantly, flowing with the story and keeping that cartoonish vibe going even when alien guts are flying all over the panels. Speaking of the panels, the layouts and fantastic. They are engaging and easy to follow while breaking out of the typical grid layout.

While not usually the genre I read, I have to say I’m enjoying The Might Kaaw for it’s strong aesthetic and wickedly good time.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

SAMSON #1-3 - Samson Versus The New Reich! by Ben Lacy

During WW2, Nazi scientists at Auschwitz have been experimenting on twins, Samuel and Solomon Zucker, in an effort to create an army of Nazi Super Soldiers. When they succeed far beyond expectations, Sam and Sol use their new powers to escape. Now though, they've wandered straight into an armored battalion of the German Army. Meanwhile, years later, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the adult Samson has finally captured a Nazi super human wanted for horrendous war crimes. However, it turns out that not only are there other Nazi super soldiers who survived the war, but a New Reich has finally discovered how to create more super soldiers.

Check it out here.

Parting Note

I’m afraid I as ambitious in the digital comp for this one! But nothing ventured, nothing gained! As stated, I’m doing the Evening Showcase for IX in the fall, so I want to have some bigger pieces to display that show off my painting skills.

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

I can finally say I’ve gotten back into the swing of comics making, as I am moving along with both coloring pages, and also roughing/pencilling out some pages I storyboarded while I was in Charleston.

I actually have the storyboards for Black Ball Issue 5 finished! But how exactly do I use these storyboards, you might ask? Let’s take a look this week…

It’s a First Draft for Someone Who Used to Not Write Scripts…I mean, a “visual person”

I do write scripts now! But I used to do my writing and layouts in one step that I call “storyboards.” I have this big ol’ Blick Studio sketchbook that I use for this —in fact, I’ve had this sketchbook for over 10 years! It’s a very trusty sketchbook!

For Black Ball, it just feels right to do storyboards first, so I’ve continued with that while transitioning to writing a script for my other works like The Alchemist of Aurillia (did you know you can get Volume 1 in my store?!).

You can think of the storyboard stage as my first draft, where I’m getting the general ideas down for the layout and text. When moving from storyboards to starting the pages, I’ll make changes to edit down the length, move panels around, or even merge and cut pages together as makes sense for the story.

You can see from my notes in the sweet, sweet progress tracker where I merged and changed around pages, including adding a WHOLE NEW PAGE which I’ll focus on today.

We need some breathing room…

In Issue 5, I needed to set up for Chester to be confronted about some secrets he’s been holding on to. This happens through Henry, who’s an old friend of Chester’s, as established earlier.

However, in the storyboards originally, I had Henry notice something about Chester before everyone leaves the speakeasy, and then ask Emily about it and a few other things like how is it that Chester is so familiar with Sherry Blair?

But it didn’t feel like Henry’s concerns had been given enough time to fester and develop.

Since I’m an indie creator working alone, it gives me the ability to add in or change around pages on the fly as I find I need to expand on some story beats or set up something.

It’s also why I’ll work on pages in chunks, giving me time from when I initially did the story boards a few weeks ago and to penciling now — time is the best editor, and as I was coming around to pencil pages I had an idea of how to build up Henry’s suspicions, starting with adding him to a panel on page 187.

And then to further dive in, I added an extra page, the new page 188, for Henry to get a moment to actually say “hey, wait a minute…this is weird.”

I will say that I got the idea for this while I was re-reading Red River 1-3, and the shoujo style of paneling, which isn’t afraid to just take a moment and dive into the character’s reactions and emotions, giving some extra OMPH to those important story beats.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Egoraven: Heir of the First Unicorn Volume 3 Fantasy Trade by

In Volume 3, collecting issues 9-12 of this 16-issue series, after being falsely imprisoned for murder, Egoraven survives the Ordeal of the Tower, emerging with a sacred dagger and the title of Knight of Ternam. As she travels with her loyal friends and a group of the King’s Riders to reclaim her enchanted kingdom, Egoraven must confront the dark truth about her heritage, the growing chaotic magic of the Valley, and her deepening bond with her blacksmith companion, Daniel. The stakes rise as she realizes the Dragon Lords are attempting to resurrect the First Dragon, Miraon. After refusing a tempting offer from the manipulative Prince Rillian, Egoraven is forced to assert her rightful claim to the throne of Edinrahn in a challenge against the rival elves who resent her return.

Hot damn, it’s only my favorite indie fantasy series, back for the next trade collection! I’m exhausted after putting one volume together, I can’t imagine doing three, but here we are! If you’re looking for an epic fantasy both soapy and serious, check out Egoraven today!

Check it out here.

Parting Note

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Just a stupid idea I had. Poor Wufei, having to put up with another timeline’s shenanigans.

Remember, real warriors just start fighting.

-Melissa J

Wait, so you’re telling me it’s JUNE? Like right now?! Yikes, where does the time go?

Already it’s shaping up to be a busy summer! We’ve already scheduled out every weekend in June and most in July. As usual we have our annual Family Beach Trip, plus Dr. Husband and I will be popping out to Chicago to visit family and friends. Add to that family birthdays, weekend trips, and some other events…it’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’m going to be very tired…

The Issue 5 Cover is Finished!

I’m very happy to report that the cover for Issue 5 is now finished! I popped it in the branding and I have to say, it’s looking pretty slick.

I colored Emily and Chester in with marker as usual, but used watercolor to get the marble texture on the background. I was kind of worried that this would make the cover look out of place when compared with other Black Ball art, but honestly I am in love with the effect, so who cares about that! As we need to remember, the perk of being indie is that we can do whatever we want!

I did feel some challenge with this piece in terms of just getting the contrast I wanted, but by the end I think I ended up right where I wanted to be.

Remembering Marjane Satrapi and Persepolis

In college, we were assigned to read Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi for our World Lit class. Besides being an incredible autobiography of her experiences growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, it greatly impacted my world view and understanding of Iran. One part that struck me the most was her relationship with religion, particularly as a child, and how it felt so similar and familiar to my own, despite me being Catholic and her being Muslim. It’s something that has stuck with me ever since, and helped me to develop a more open, empathic world view from my early 20s and into today.

So I was greatly saddened to hear of Marjane Satrapi’s passing over the weekend at just 56. She was an incredible writer and cartoonist, with her stark black and white comics carrying so much weight and emotion while also helping to open the door to a world often misunderstood in the west. Both Persepolis and Chicken and Plums are some of my favorite graphic novels, and show just how far the medium can go.

Parting Note

I’ve been scooching along with colors for Black Ball pages finally, something I was kind of putting off…but now I’m back to it! I’ve also been getting in some writing here and there as well.

Did you miss out on The Alchemist of Aurillia Volume 1? You can grab your own copy in my store! Paperback, hardcover, and PDF versions are all available!

Get Your Copy

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Hope you had a great Memorial Day! I guess this is officially the start of summer, but it’s still too cold to go swimming so I feel like it’s jumping the gun a bit. Really, I think we should scooch summer back to start in June, but run till October, when it’s still plenty toasty out and much nicer water temperatures to boot.

I spent last week in Charleston, South Carolina, where a lovely group of friends has invited me to join their Writing Retreat. I figured I can work from anywhere, so it’s about time to take advantage of this remote job and see some different parts of the country!

Living a New Life with Bluetooth Headphones

Before I left on the trip, I finally set up the Bluetooth on my headphones. I had still been using a cord because old man me was like “why do I have to charge my headphones?! I charge everything else! I should just be able to plug them in and they work!” However, I can confirm that my whole life is now changed, and I’m tripping over fewer wires in my office.

Getting Out to Find Focus

The idea of the writing retreat is to get out of your normal environment to find focus and work towards certain goals. For my professor friends, it was working on research and scholarly articles for publication. For me, it was doing my day job and then with any spare time after that working on a script for Project Marie, my secret new script I’ve been writing (but won’t draw until at least Black Ball is finished). And to get some Black Ball drawn as well.

Even when I am focusing at home, there are still many things to distract me. In the morning when I get up, it’s going up and down the stairs, wrangling and stepping over Major (and scooping him up as well), seeing things here and there that need to be cleaned up, having all the options of things to do, and not to mention the cursed yard. When you travel, you only have a very limited number of carefully selected things to bring with you. You only have a fraction of your clothes, so picking an outfit becomes easy. It’s a minimal, focused environment. And it really helps to reset.

Also, all the trees in South Carolina are AMAZING. Sweetbay magnolias, which are a native tree, are in every yard, along side palm trees. It revitalizes the soul to see such great trees, much nicer than the invasive Tree of Heaven I’m always fighting at home.

Going Out and About

I didn’t really know much about Charleston besides what I’ve seen in one of my trash shows. It turns out, this city has it all — beautiful trees, bustling streets, and it’s right on the ocean?! There’s nothing like strolling in the city park and getting that fresh salt air.

Being in Civilization

It’s not a secret—I don’t like living out in creation in PA. To the point where when people ask me where I’m from, I still say New Jersey because YOU CAN’T TAKE THE JERSEY OUT OF THE GIRL.

Being out somewhere with people and places around, feeling like we’re actually SOMEWHERE lifts my spirits so much. I’m a rare breed of artist — an extrovert — so I get energy from being out and around people. Even just walking in a crowd or down a city street feels great to me. And in turn, it gets me motivated to sit down and get at it.

I was built for warm weather and city living…I wonder if this is why everyone moves to the Carolinas from the north?

Returning Home

To be fair, I had the poison ivy BEFORE we left, but everything else is unfortunate souvenir from Charleston. Thankfully, Dr. Husband is taking good care of me.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

THE RESISTANTS Volume 1 Hardcover Comic Book Collection by KJ Kaminski

Interval, a guilt-driven soldier whose actions marooned her people on earth, leads a group of like-minded individuals to topple a corrupt alien leadership she helped put in place. Though a majority of its citizens’ financial and security motivations allow them to believe the oppressive corporate-state’s propaganda, there are still a few humans and aliens who feel a responsibility to expose the truth and return the power to the people. They are resistant to manipulation, resistant to corruption, and resistant to the greed that fuels the corporate-states’ military industrial complex.

They are known as...THE RESISTANTS.

Check it out here.

Parting Note

I have been playing out with some characters for sticker designs. Behold: STRESS FLAMINGO! I think it could be fun to play around with this one.

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

It’s been a whirlwind of a week, mostly because I was hard at work finishing up the last of the fulfillment for The Alchemist of Aurillia Volume 1 Kickstarter campaign!

Some of it even while watching playoff hockey…!

I can’t tell you how great it feels to finally get this done! It’s hard to believe just a year ago I was thinking about just starting to put this book together, and now it’s here! And the first batch have gone out into the world! I’ve been hearing so many kind words about the books as they arrive at their destinations.

Once more I have to give a hearty shoutout to my 105 beautiful backers who helped bring this book to life! It wouldn’t have been possible without them.

Now that fulfillment is done, it’s a huge weight off of my shoulders. For me, a Kickstarter campaign isn’t truly “done” until I know that my backers have their rewards heading off to them. Until then, I’m low key stressed about how my backers are feeling and how the campaign looks. The bigger the campaign, the more pressure I feel to not mess up! So now I can say that the campaign is finally done! It’s nice to close the chapter on this project and work towards the next one.

If you missed out on the campaign and want to scoop up your own copy, then head on over to my store and pick it up today!

To the Store!

Rounding out my week was more tinkering and progress made on the Black Ball Issue 5 cover! I played around more with lighting and changing up the background colors a little bit on the digital comp…

And then worked to print out the blue lines (which took a little work because the cyan ink on my printer got clogged! Nothing a few runs on the maintenance cycle couldn’t fix!)

However, I’m not 100% happy with how I decided to ink the background, so I am contemplating printing it out again and trying something else. That is one thing that has become convenient about adding digital to my process — I can experiment a bit more and if it goes horribly wrong, I can try again!

I also had a very fast turn around on a painting project — two days! I can’t share it just yet but it was a great and fun challenge in a lot of ways. And it helped break me out of a painting funk I’d been feeling lately!

Needless to say, with such a packed week, I was feeling very accomplished, but also very tired.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Legends of the Realm Volume 1: The Watcher Saga by Jack Holder

The kingdom of Dannisfire. A quiet land, one that has been recently rocked to its core. There is a new king on the throne, and a mage wandering through the land. One Camriddeon, promising a miracle as he explores his adopted home.

Journey with Camriddeon as he visits the wonders and terrors of Dannisfire. Caught up in a quest to understand the magics of this new home, the mage hopes to find what he can do to help the kingdom. To do this, he will see the floating city of Providentia, and the oasis of Fountaine. Battle raiders, and guardians. Climb the mountain of shadow. And at the end, hopefully, he will bring a miracle to a land, that does not know how desperate its situation truly is.

I’m so very excited that there will be a collected edition of Legends of the Realm! Make sure you don’t miss out on this one from my good pal !

Check it out here.

(Also, I did some sticker designs for Jack! Here’s the first one unlocked already as a milestone bonus!)

Parting Note

I’m hitting the road this week and taking my travel set of watercolors with me, so I’m looking forward to doing more loose observation paintings to work on those skills!

If you’re in the US, then Happy Memorial Day weekend coming up! Hope you have something nice planned.

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Videos two weeks in a row?! You’re getting spoiled! But this is one of those times I actually remembered to hit the “Record Timelapse” option in Clip Studio and I though it’d be fun to take a deep dive into how I put this cover together! Let’s take a little dive!

The Initial Idea

I had the idea for awhile that I wanted to show Emily and Chester falling, with Emily reaching out to try and save Chester - a hint of things to come in the story yet.

I had a small sketch in one of my sketchbooks already where I sorted out the initial idea, so now it was time to take it into Clip! I sketched out the initial figures in some very rough roughs.

Using 3D Models For the Poses

One of the great things about Clip Studio is their posable 3D models, which I use to help me with some of the more complex poses and angles. In this case, I really wanted to get Chester really feeling like he was limply falling through the air, while Emily is more active, almost diving forward. The top down view was going to be tricky on her!

Roughs and Pencils

When it comes to using the models, I prefer to draw roughs over them first rather than directly tracing. That way I can learn more along the way! Then I pencil over the roughs, filling in the details over the structure. Because the angles were so complex, I did reference back to the 3D models, as you can see in the video above.

Penciling tends to be my favorite stage - things are very loose and am experimenting at this point.

To the Vector Software! Away!

After looking through some art deco interiors as reference images, I thought it would be a neat idea to make a geometric pattern in the background to really set that 1920s mood. Because I’m really awful at drawing geometric patterns freehand, and since Clip’s shape tools don’t snap and align, I decided to bring the pencil sketch into Affinity Designer (which is essentially Illustrator without robbing you blind) and create my pattern here.

I actually went through a couple different renditions. I really liked my first pass, but it didn’t align to the characters or help the composition, so I put it aside. With Designer I can really play around with shapes very easily and make everything much neater.

I decided that the characters should be in two bigger main shapes to help frame them and reduce background noise behind them. It also looks like they are “trapped” in the diamonds, with Emily breaking out of hers to try and get to Chester. Much better!

Bringing it Back for Inks

I export the background lines into the Clip file and create a mask so I place it behind the characters. In order to preserve the effect with Emily’s dress having a sheer overlayer, I set my brush to a lower opacity where the sheer skirt passes over the background. It really helped sell the transparency! Huzzah!

Flats and the Dress Effects

I lay in my basic flat colors, the step where I’m reminded that my digital color picking skills are lacking. I remind myself it will look better in the final illustration.

Getting back to that sheer fabric, I made a new layer set to overlay and filled it with the gold color. It was a little early, but I got excited and played around with some options for the patterns on the dress as well with various blending modes.

Okay, but that Background is Marble

After going through the rest of the flats, shadows, and highlights, I remembered I wanted the background to be marble! So I looked up some royalty free stock photos of marble patterns. At this point I was pretty particular, and it was difficult to get exactly the effect I wanted without lightening up the background too much.

At the end of the day, this is just the reference, so I just need to get it to a point where it gives me the information I need to paint it.

Shoot, I Forgot About the Logo!

As I was looking at the comp in Clip, it suddenly dawned on me…I didn’t have room for the logo! If I left it as is, then the logo would cover up most of Emily! And worst of all, it would look stupid!

Putting a quick mock up with the comp in my working file for the cover layout (you can still see the Issue 4 badging) proved my worst fears to be true. However, all was not lost. Because of the background pattern being pretty geomteric, I decided that I could zoom out the line art and then extend the background, placing Emily more outside the area of the title logo (I don’t mind if it overlaps a little bit.)

Much better! That little bit of overlap isn’t so bad, and the point of the decor under the logo actually points down to Emily’s outstreched arm. Even better!

Since the extended background is pretty self-explanatory color wise, I won’t go back and try to extend the comp. I’ll use these as my print lines instead.

And Now We’re Ready to Print!

All that work and we haven’t even gotten a final illustration! For that, we have to print out the ink lines onto the paper I’ll use. To save my sanity, I’ll end up inking the piece by hand as well so that whether I chose markers or watercolor (or a mix of both) I’ll have the right ink down that won’t smudge or smear.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Sacrimony #1–9 | 300+ Pages of Love, Life and Death by

Supreme Herald Nicholas Ravanna has died. But then he got better. As the world’s highest religious authority, he’s expected to speak for the gods, but his body is failing, a fallen god claims the afterlife is a lie, and the only person keeping him alive is a dangerous criminal that he shouldn't be associating with. Will he continue speaking for gods who have nothing to say… or break his vows for something more human?

Sacrimony is an indie comic I have really enjoyed over the years. It’s a different kind of fantasy - one that takes on cruel indifference of the gods, challenges the world order, and delivers flawed, compelling characters with aplomb. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you’re definitely going to want to hop on now!

Check it out here.

Phew! This was a long one! I hope you found it interesting to see a little bit into my process!

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

It’s true! The books are here! Watch the video above and see both the softcover and the paperback in their FULL GLORY! WITH MY FACE, NO LESS!!

If you missed the Kickstarter, you can pick up your very own copy in my store!

Get Your Book!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!

In other news, I got to hang with my pal Ryan Kroboth of over at The Portal Comics and Gaming! We had a blast catching up and celebrating making comics with a lot of excited comic readers! It totally reinvigorated me and was a much need escape from my solitary studio.

Parting Note

Look at that! Looks like there’s some new Black Ball art on the drawing table! More on that next week…

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Well, it’s finally happened! I have hit 100 posts on Substack!

It seems apt that when one hits triple digits that one should reflect on the progress they’ve made. I remember when I made the 100th page of Black Ball…

One Step at a Time…

Doing 100 of anything is a big deal! It shows staying power, perseverance, and the ability to do the things you say you’re going to do. But getting there is not easy - it happens step by step over a long period of time, rarely in one big sprint. And when you take it one day at a time, it kind of sneaks up on you. Just as I was once surprised that I had made 100 pages of Black Ball, I find myself surprised again to have reached 100 posts on Substack.

There’s been a lot of things I’ve loved about Substack. One is how easy it is to writer my weekly newsletter. I just click “new article” and start typing. While I haven’t used the other formats too much, it’s also nice to have the option for video and audio posts! If I want to share an old article or notes post, it’s just a matter of pasting in the URL and picking from some nice formatting options. And with the app, I can respond to comments or share things quickly on the go.

With showing up every week, I have built a new organic following over time, the greatest reward! People have stayed with me, and I have made new connections as well as discovered new comics.

Really, it should come as no surprise that taking consistent small steps is what leads to results, not big bombastic one off efforts.

I’m Just Gonna do What I Want

Awhile ago, I was lamenting about the state of social media and indie creative space online with the rise of AI and a stronger influence from grifting culture taking over the space.

Lately I have been trying to live by the mantra of “I’m just gonna do what I want.”

I’m gonna make silly comics.

I’m gonna draw Digimon.

I’m gonna post my comics out on the internet and print up books at my own pace as I tell the story I want to tell.

I’m not gonna say that Substack has been the be all end all of this attitude, but it has certainly helped logistics wise as a nifty tool. I’ve always enjoyed writing to you, my cool cool pals on my email list, and with a less formal space like this it’s allowed me to try out some things; from my little comics I include in these newsletters, to also writing a few short stories on the side.

I’ll admit, I called this newsletter “Makin’ Comics!” because I didn’t have a better, catchier name. Sometimes I worry if I’ve lived up to the name or not. But I think having a space like this to play around in and throw stuff out there (like my casual Last Time on Gundam Wing comics) has only helped me explore and decide what it is I like and don’t like.

I don’t have to grift. I don’t have to worry about what genre is hot or what tropes are trending. I can just make the thing and put it out there and what happens with it happens, but the important thing is I made, finished it, and had fun doing so!

100 Posts Wiser?

But while deciding to do the things you want, it’s also important to be open to learning. Accept defeat when it comes for you. Understand what you can do better next time. And don’t be afraid to branch out again.

100 posts is an accomplishment, but the important thing is to take the lessons learned about myself and my creative work and carry them forward. Keep showing up. Keep making the things you want. Make SOMETHING! Because doing the thing is the only way to get somewhat better at the thing. And you have to suck at it first.

I Finally Got a New Ski Coat

Look, when your previous ski coat has lasted you 20 years, you want something that will last just as long, if not longer. You’ll be proud of me to know that I did actually make a decision and picked out a new coat! I’m excited to wear it for the upcoming season!

(And yes, I did actually say this to the sales guy.)

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Feed Them to the Crows #1 - A Horror / Thriller Comic by

On the cusp of adulthood, a boy failed by the system comes face to face in a chance encounter with the man he blames for his mother’s death many years ago; a man he believes wields supernatural power and influence. This meeting sets our lead on an obsession-fueled quest for revenge that threatens to ruin the life of a younger sibling, the only family he has left. A collision course of blind determination and a thirst for justice, Feed Them To The Crows is a journey of self discovery through a lens of unshakable trauma in the same vein as The Little Things meets Fright Night.

James is another great pal, and he’s been talking about his latest project lately through his own newsletter. I’m not usually a horror fan, but the preview pages along have got me hooked!

Check it out here.

Parting Note

I thought this article I read last week perfectly fit into what I’m talking about today - creative work is a long-term endeavor! Putting in the work over a long period of time and thinking ahead will bring you more than trying to dash something out quickly!

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Life is hard for Toronto fans. Almost as hard as it is for Tifosi.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Snow Paw Vol1: 19th Century Scottish Female Werewolf Fantasy by Rob Multari

Cirilla (Cirray) MacKinlay is a strong-willed farm girl, born and raised in the Scottish Highlands during the 19th century, who dreams about a life of adventure. Upon discovering her Pureblood Monoki werewolf lineage, Cirray’s eyes are opened for the first time to the existence of Supernatural beings and creatures of Fantasy. With the aid of Silver Mane, a fellow Pureblood Monoki, Cirray must find her place in the world while training to master her lycanthropy in order to battle the Dark Covenant of the European region, led by the malevolent Mongrel Monoki, Grim Fang.

Cirray MacKinlay is Snow Paw!

Rob is a legend, and I’m so excited for Snow Paw to be in a collected edition!

Check it out.

The day job’s been kicking my ass and I’ve been taking care of the more administrative side of comics, so not much to share this week.

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Look at these fancy drop caps Substack has added! I really appreciate that they are adding more features, like being able to schedule notes. It’d be even better if I could do it from Buffer, which I’ve been using for my other social channels, but I’ll take what I can get.

As always, Holy Week leading up to Easter was bonkers busy. First off, I practically am living at church since there are so many liturgies that happen during this reverent time- Wednesday Pre-Sanctified, Holy Thursday, and Good Friday.

And then we hosted my parents for Easter weekend, which was a delight. Now my hyacinths are popping up in the yard and my phlox are starting to get flowers. Spring is upon us!

I also dropped a new short story that I had been sitting on awhile in my drafts: “At the Bells of St. Agnes”, another story set in my Spectre Hunters universe.

I was really glad that I was able to finish this story and share it with you. Do you like seeing these short stories from me? Let me know! Personally, I like it as a fun writing exercise to get the muscles working. It’s also a low stress way to explore an idea.

New Black Ball Art!

I need some new promo images for Black Ball, so I decided to dive in and make some! A classic Emily and Chester pose is just what we need for this “Year of Black Ball”. It still feels like I’m fighting with my markers a little bit, but I’ll continue to push through and find a way!

Don’t forget! You can read Black Ball in it’s entirety on the website! That’s a lot of webcomic goodness as you catch up on all four issues! Issue 5 is coming in June!

Read Black Ball

Last Time on Gundam Wing

It’s back! Let’s see where Relena’s at…

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Blazing Blade of Frankenstein Volume 1 by Fried Comics

My pal Clay Adams is back with a trade collection of his series Blazing Blade of Frankenstein! In a world of magic and mystery, darkness and doom, a lone hero strides the plains of fantasy. Man, monster, and myth, he is life born of science--created from death itself. He is Frankenstein. And the fate of a universe rests in his hands.

This is the monster as Shelley wrote him: intelligent and sensitive, with super-human speed and strength. No Boris Karloff grunting and shambling here...

Check it out here.

Parting Note

I’ve been doing a lot of writing behind the scenes, so James’s advice couldn’t come at a better time. Check out for an excellent library of writing advice and tips!

The Zelda Awards!

This past weekend was the First Annual Zelda Awards, the award show that honors amazing women in indie comics! Congrats to all the winners and nominees! You can watch the replay on the Ororo Comics Podcast’s Youtube channel!

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

One knock.

Two knocks.

Three knocks.

Reine understood immediately. She clutched tight to her bone sword as she stilled her racing heart, bracing herself against the old armoire she was crouched behind. The spectre was about three lengths away, and coming closer. It would probably get her scent soon.

Even though she’d been on numerous hunts before, Reine still got that nervous edge every time she faced a spectre. No matter how many boney visages and ghastly forms she’d come up against, she’d never shaken it. She didn’t think any hunter really did.

A box tipped over nearby. The spectre stopped to investigate the sound. Two length away now. This was where Reine made her move. She’d have a better chance if she took it by surprise.

Percival…she thought intensely, sending the message to that particular corner of her own head. I’m going now.

The spectre had been sniffing around where the box had fallen. A second object — hard to tell what it was from the sound — tipped over next to it, keeping its attention. This was the opening she needed.

She darted out from behind the dresser and thrusted her sword forward. It landed true to her aim — between two boney ribs near the spine of the spectre. It released a ghastly roar — a cacophony of wails and screams, as if its victims were all being killed again at the same time. Reine winced. It was always terrible.

She pulled out her sword before the spectre swung around at her. One advantage she had was the tight space of the attic. The spectre wasn’t the biggest she had ever fought, but in this setting it was comically large, maneuvering around the old furniture and piles of chests and boxes scattered about. It stumbled as it became caught on the edge of an old table, knocking it over.

Good job, Percival! Reine thought. I’ll take it from here, but be on the lookout for another opening.

She was hoping her next strike could be an easy shot at the neck, but this monster was quicker than she thought. It rounded on her with a boney arm. She quickly brought up her sword to block.

Knockknocknock!

Too late. Percival had tried to warn her of the tail swooping under her feet. Reine lost her footing and fell to the floor, hard. The pain reverberated through her elbows, and into the rest of her body.

Get up, Reine, come on! She urged herself. The spectre came over her and pinned her down around her waist. All the warmth left her body, replaced by the chilling cold of death that only a spectre could inflict. Reine knew she only had about 30 seconds before the ashfright would set in. She had to get out of its grip, now.

Clatter! The toppling box was not meant for the spectre, who was too focused on its potential prey. No, Percival wanted her attention. She scanned for the source of the noise. A small wooden box was tipped over, its contents spilled out. A small decorative bottle of herbs…

Dried laurel leaves! It was a bottle of dried laurel leaves!

Now that she had an edge, Reine found renewed strength to wretch one arm free. With bone sword in hand, she stabbed into the spectre’s leg. It recoiled immediately, pulling back and shrieking. Reine scrambled, the bottle in her sites, though unfortunately had to release her sword as it was stuck deep into the sinew of the spectre’s leg. But this is what set Reine apart — she had the expertise to know when to do what might be counterintuitive. A hunter is usually taught to never be without their bone sword, their only weapon against the horrid spectres.

Unless you were Reine Pellas, and saw an opportunity.

She dove for the bottle, rolling across the floor to lessen the impact. The frantic series of tapping alerted her that the spectre have begun to pursue her.

Percival, I appreciate it, but not now! She chided to that corner of her mind. As softly as she could, she dashed around a pile of chests as it chased her, hoping to get around behind it. But it was too fast, and if its was comically too large to maneuver before, now with a crippling injury it was downright destructive. It crashed through the stacks, wobbling back and forth as it went.

She had to get behind it. She looked around frantically as she swerved around a stack of crates. The spectre crashed through them, sending splinters of wood and the debris of stored objects flying. A fractured porcelain torso that had been in one of the crates stopped in mid air and flew back the other way, smacking the spectre in the back of the head. It shattered on impact, but it was enough to catch its attention. Percival had given her an opening once again.

While the spectre looked for what wasn’t there, Reine scrambled up the pile of smashed crates, tall enough to let her climb on top of other piles and then into the exposed rafters of the roof. She hoisted herself up onto a beam and then carefully crawled along it, bottle still clutched in her left hand.

Percival turned over a couple other smaller boxes and chairs, goading the spectre to follow the noises. It was clearly confused — something was clearly knocking these things over, but it couldn’t see what. There was nothing there.

Reine was now right over top of it. Clutching the beam below her as tightly as she could with her thighs, she sat up and pulled the cork out of the bottle. She felt horribly precarious. There would only be one shot.

The spectre now passed directly below her. Her bone sword, still stuck in its back, practically glowed in the dying evening light.

She felt the tug in the back of her head, the one that urged her, now!

She tipped the open bottle upside down. The laurel was dry and crumbling, some bits little more than dust. But it was enough. As the laurel leaves landing on it, the spectre froze.

Now, the tug urged her again.

If it has to be, Reine thought back. She tipped to the side, and let go of the beam with her legs. It was an ungraceful landing on the spectre’s back, but close enough for her to grab her sword and slice down as she slid off and down to the floor.

It was over quickly, for as the spectre turned to snap at her, Reine jabbed her sword into the exposed part of its neck. It stopped, the eerie glow of its eyes fading like a candle blown out. It collapsed, and then crumbled into dust.

Reine had remained completely still, barely breathing. As the last of the spectre joined the dust pile, she let out a great breath, and fell to her knees, exhausted. She felt Percival, as if he had come up beside her, his presence comforting.

“If only more spectres were as mild mannered as you, Percival.” she said aloud. “But then, I’d be out of a job.”

For Percival was the spectre that she had been born with. He had no body and did not speak, but she knew he was always there when she needed him.

Reine didn’t know how injured she was until she went down the stairs to the chateau’s foyer, where her client, a noble lady in a rich silk gown, was waiting. Stairs, she decided, were awful. She wished someone would carry her down, but besides the client, there seemed to be no one else in the house. They’d all run off scared, the noble lady had said.

The noble lady waited at the bottom of the stairs, biting her lip, looking anxious and expectant. This lady had been haunted by the spectre for weeks, though it had never descended directly from the attic. The Order of Owls had sent Reine to solve the case, since with the tight space only one hunter could have maneuvered. And Reine, as one of the best veteran hunters, was ideal for the job, one of the few hunters who could operate on her own. Having her own incorporeal assistant also helped.

“Madame Hunter?” The noble lady questioned as Reine reached the bottom of the grand staircase.

“Madame, your attic spectre has taken care of. You won’t need to worry anymore.” Reine reported. As she came to stand face to face with the noble, she noticed the candles in the wall sconce flicker on their own. Percival. She made no outward sign that she had seen anything change, but the lady clearly had looked.

“Please give my thanks to the Order. I shall send the payment shortly.” She said, relieved.

“That won’t be necessary. I already know you won’t.” Reine said. The lady’s face screwed up in confusion, before she crumpled forward. Reine’s sword had already pierced through her.

“How did you…?” she rasped before becoming dust.

"A territorial dispute between two spectres. Though putting on a human face is new for them. We must tell the Order.” She sheathed her sword. “Good catch, Percival. I couldn’t even tell she wasn’t human.”

It all made sense now, though. The empty house, that the lady stayed behind alone, that the spectre never came downstairs. It couldn’t, because the lady spectre downstairs was strong enough to hold it back. But not strong enough to be rid of it.

“So she asked their worst enemy to help and thought she might get away with it…” Reine didn’t like how clever they were getting. Spectres were supposed to just be mindless animals, barely sentient horrors that only sought to hunt. Were they evolving? Or had the stronger ones always been in the shadows?

Reine didn’t have a good answer. She stared at the ancient stone ceiling, candlelight and shadows dancing. Next to her, Simon stirred.

“Reine?” he mumbled. He had dozed off an hour ago, at least. In his half waking he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “What’s wrong?”

“Just today’s hunt. Don’t worry about it.” She responded. She felt Percival’s exasperation, as if he chided her, if you can’t talk to him, then who can you talk to?

Instead, she turned to the other matter on her mind. “When are you going to leave the church, Simon?”

Simon sighed and squeezed her tighter. “When you leave the Order and stop being a Hunter.”

It was the same conversation every time. Two unwanted children, one cursed with a spectre, the other an extraenous son, dumped at St. Agnes of the Church of Euclid. Pinky swears then had given way to secret kisses behind pillars. Simon always promised he’d leave the priesthood and they’d run off together and get married. Reine promised she’d leave the Order. And yet, neither of them ever did.

The first time she saw an angel, Reine was seven. Up until then, she had thought Percival was simply her imaginary friend, who could move her toys and knock on her walls and calm her when she woke up from a nightmare. She thought everyone had a Percival.

They were playing in the woods, and Percival had just swept up a pile of leaves into the air. As Reine danced in the falling leaves, a great light shone from behind a nearby tree.

It was hard to describe an angel. They looked like war machines, ready for battle, all layers of armor and too many arms and no faces, but eyes and lances and swords everywhere. The angel’s voice was a whisper and a sounding boom. A warm breeze radiated off of him.

“Child cursed with a spectre, hear me.” It said.

“I’m not cursed. I’ve never seen a spectre ever.” Reine responded. It was then she had noticed that Percival curled far, far back in her mind, the farthest away he had ever been from her. Was Percival…scared?

“The one you talk to in your head is a spectre. It was trapped within you as you formed, and you were born with it. You are cursed with it.” The angel explained.

And the angel told her many things. But Reine decided she didn’t like angels much. Her opinion hadn’t changed since then.

Read my other Spectre Hunters story…

AI has been everywhere for awhile, but lately I’m feeling extra fatigued by it. Maybe it was that New York Times article from a few weeks ago about the author who equates spitting out books as fast as possible with “winning”, to getting yelled at in an AI debate, to a work presentation about how to use AI to overly complicate writing an email response to your boss by making it play a gameshow with itself.

I’ll be the first to say that there are some actually helpful things AI can do — it can help researchers sort through large data sets. It can help developers find that one missing comma in 8000 lines of code. But all these generative platforms owned by these loser tech bros who’s only goal is to churn out slop to keep the masses from realizing they’re getting screwed over, while hoarding as much wealth as possible? Blergggghhhhhh.

We can also see a lot of parallels with grift culture. Remember the Michelson twins? You may remember their ads for how you can make a passive income “writing” non-fiction audio books for cheap and throwing them up on Kindle Unlimited. There’s countless other examples as more and more, I see people leaning into the mindset of churn out slop, make money, run from accountability.

Meanwhile, this was my writing session this morning:

I wrote previously about how when I’m doing my first outline pass, I like to handwrite it in a notebook (covered in stickers) and use post-it notes while I work out my ideas.

If you flip through my notebook, you might see some chaos — crossed out words and paragraphs, notes scribbled in the margins, post-it notes layered on top of each other with extra notes and rewrites.

Writing is like a Legend of Zelda temple

When thinking about the overall process, I was realizing how much I enjoy the nitty-gritty piecing together of a story. For me, since I’m the writer and artist on most of my work, I end up shifting things around and making changes even into the inking stage! Each step of the way is like exploring a temple in The Legend of Zelda, specifically harkening back to my endless hours in Ocarina of Time trying to figure out how to solve the puzzles.

I was so bad at it! I would run around the map and look everywhere and die a lot but when I could actually beat a temple by myself, it was so satisfying to see all the mystery come together. (And it wasn’t often.)

Writing is the same way - you don’t know what the map looks like until you enter a new room. You probably don’t have a 100% clear view of the whole thing. But you enter new rooms, gradually piecing it together. You might have to backtrack to solve something you couldn’t before.

Bit by bit, it all comes together when you face the final boss - finishing your story!

Of course, it’s hard. You’re building up a whole world and it’s characters - the rooms and denizens of your dungeon. Deciding where the treasure chests are hidden and what obstacles block them.

And it’s fun! Pushing yourself, arranging things, asking “well, what if this?” or “maybe this instead?” and moving the building blocks of your story around, and finally seeing them slot into place is so much fun and so satisfying. It’s the whole point of writing in the first place! It’s this exploring, this trial by fire, the refining and reshaping over and over that makes writing, writing in the first place. And I’m happy to keep exploring!

We all talk about “writing a book” with the final product in mind, of course, but what so many of these AI bros miss is that the actual book is the very smallest part of what “writing a book” actually is. Putting in the time, activating those good brain juices, setting your imagination free, and working through your road blocks is what the whole thing is actually all about. It’s what makes any creative work a work. It’s the reason people fall in love with writing and drawing. It’s what makes me pick up the pencil and say “what’s next?”

Images of the Finished Softcover!

My printer emailed me this week with images of the completed softcover book! Look at that spine! The whole thing is chef’s kiss good. Delightful!

The hardcovers are still in production and then they’ll be shipped over to me! I’m very much looking forward to seeing them in person after all this hard work to put them together.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Seekers of Science Vol 1+2

Seekers of Science (AKA “SOS”) is a STEM-based comic created by Tamara Robertson, Dr. Tracy Fanara, and Todd Black. The trio came together to try and showcase the wonders of science in its many forms, and prove that there absolutely is a field of science for you to enjoy and be a part of, even if you don’t think of the field as being “science-focused.” Over the last several years, the trio has worked on and off to create one comic after another, touching on topics like oil spill cleanups, how insects can actually kill forests through natural processes (and how to stop them), VR, how aquaponics can help third-world countries, and more! Science is for everyone, no matter what language you speak, and we hope that Seekers of Science will bring readers of all types together to enjoy what STEM can offer.

Check it out here.

I actually finished the as yet untitled angel painting! It took so long…I’m actually not very satisfied with it despite there being some individual parts I thought turned out quite well. I’ll chalk it up to a learning experience.

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Well here’s something I haven’t seen in a YEARS: a healthy buffer on the Black Ball website.

I’ve been starting up consistently posting on website, cutting up and posting all the Issue 4 pages that I hadn’t uploaded yet since the last Kickstarter, especially as I start getting pages of Issue 5 through coloring and pivoting to my “webcomic first” approach I talked about last week:

I knew I had a nice chunk of backlog, but seeing it all queued up and ready to go is a nice feeling. And when I look at the sweet, sweet progress tracker, I’ve almost got another 11 pages ready to go:

I had a pretty nice chunk o’ pages that I finished inking, so I printed them out and am now going through the process of coloring them with markers, which brings me to the theme of this week’s newsletter.

How We Got Here

Over the past few years as I’ve gotten a screen tablet and learned Clip, I’ve integrated more digital tools and methods into my workflow. I can quickly make digital comps, pencil and ink pages, add effects, and more. Inking digitally has really helped me get a more polished look, and get pages done faster. But for Black Ball specifically, color plays such an important part in the storytelling that I knew I wanted to keep going with coloring the pages in marker, just as I’ve always done.

But lately I’ve been on the struggle bus with my once favorite medium, alcohol markers.

The Problem with Markers

I’ve used Copic markers for years. These were the tools of so many of my favorite manga artists. I really wanted to develop a color style similar to them, but I ended up more doing my own thing than anything one would recognize as traditional manga.

A variety of factors have led to me pivoting away from alcohol based markers for my work. Mostly general curiosity, a desire to make different kinds of art, and also the fact that Copic changed their ink refill bottles so that they are LESS THAN HALF the volume and incredibly difficult to squeeze and get the ink out. Why am I paying more for a worse experience?!

I always worry about my markers running out of ink, and then I don’t have the refill for it, so I have to use a different color or wait for an order to come in. Or, as I’ve been finding lately, the nibs harden up and crystal over. It’s got a terrible feel if you accidently try to use it. I even clean the nibs and the markers and switch out the nibs and add new ink and the markers will STILL crust over again. It’s been getting worse lately too, as my markers are getting quite old (10+ years for some of them. I am, truly, in my skeleton phase).

Not to mention always having to worry if certain markers are running out and either needing to switch to a different similar color or waiting for a delivery to arrive…it can be quite stressful.

And we haven’t even gotten to the actual coloring part yet! No wonder I’m dreading the process!

We’re back on weekly updates for Black Ball! When her sister is murdered and a mysterious spellcrafting kit turns up in her bedroom, Emily dives into the underworld of rum runners and spell slingers to find out why!

Read Black Ball

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Egoraven: Heir of the First Unicorn #12 Mature Fantasy Drama by

In EGORAVEN: Heir of the First Unicorn issue twelve, Egoraven, the rightful heir of the enchanted kingdom of Edinrahn, faces the treacherous elf prince Rillian as he attempts to force her surrender and retake her place by his side. Egoraven refuses, learning that the dragons are enslaving the unicorns and siphoning their magic to ultimately start a war with the outside human kingdoms. But a trio of elves from her past challenges her decision and her right to lead and rule. The unicorn princess finds herself having to prove herself once again, not only to protect her beloved home of Edinrahn from destruction, but also the entire realm. My favorite indie comic series is back and I can’t wait to see what the next installment brings!

Check it out here.

Printing Update for The Alchemist of Aurillia Volume 1!

Great news! After some collaborating between myself and my printer, The Alchemist of Aurillia Volume 1 has gone to print! My poor rep’s emails were getting eaten by the void, but thankfully we were able to circle around and get things moving. They’ve told me they will send some photos and video of the production process, which I’m very much looking forward to sharing.

This whole process has been more complicated and taken longer than I thought, but by being upfront and honest with my beautiful backers, everyone has been patient with it and still feel good about the project. Transparency is the most important thing when running a campaign and building trust with your audience.

Also, check out the paper they are going to use for the endpapers of the hard cover edition:

Very nice!

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Good news! The Internet is back! I mean the REAL internet. No platforms, no Google, no algorithm. Just people making websites, message boards, and little delightful games on their own little slice of the world wide web.

The Shambling Husk of the Social Web

There’s a general sense of malaise on the internet these days. Certainly there’s a lot of bad news in the world that’s hanging over everything. But there’s also a sense that the Social Media Internet that has been the ground work of our digital lives for over 20 years is very much dead. Or nearing it’s end. Kind of like the Ottoman Empire in 1914.

The fact is that these platforms worked REALLY well — for entertainment, connection, and monetization — until they didn’t. And with the failed promise of Web 3.0, failing before it even began, people just keep waiting for the next thing as platforms slowly die in the depths of enshittification.

And people are realizing, we want something better. We want originality. We want weird. We want fun. All the things that algorithms and advertisers and tech bros told us we couldn’t have.

Building Your Own Website is Cool Again!

I happened upon that Youtube video above by a cool dude going by Onio, and that launched me into the wonderful world of people building their own webpages for their own enjoyment. Some are little browser games for chilling, some have chatrooms where people come and go, and other just want to play around with their coding skills. Still more just want to post stuff they like or find interesting with no further goal than that.

Links:

• Vibes Quest

• Ribose

• KuroiOS

• Arlita’s Page

It all stems from a love of what the internet used to be, and could be. Remember what it was like to go online circa 2003? I remember spending a lot of time on Neopets. I had a playlist of the few anime openings and endings that I could find on Windows Media Player that I’d play while on the computer. Of course Simple and Clean was on it.

Even when I started getting into webcomics, a lot of them time I’d find new ones to read because a site I was already on linked to it. There was also a webcomics listing site that I can’t recall the name of now, where people put up and image and a brief synopsis with some genre tags. It was up to you what to explore.

Browsing through the new Indie Web brought back all of those feelings. And also a sense of joy. People are so damn creative. And filled with multitudes. It’s just wonderful to see people embracing the creative canvas of coding and webpages to put out into their world whatever they want, free from the restraints of tech bro tyranny.

It’s like the internet is alive again…

A Place to Own your Own Work

Bringing it back to comics, one of the best pieces of wisdom I know is “own and control your own work.” Posting on social media and platforms like Webtoon is fine and all, but it’s vital that you have a place where you retain control of your work — your own website. In this day and age, it can be easy to overlook the power a personal website has. How are you going to get eyes on your work if it’s NOT on a big platform?

But chances are more than likely that even on a big platform, you’ll not be seen. Not these days, anyway.

And besides, wouldn’t it be more fun to have your comic set up and displayed however you like, in a little corner where you can set your own boundaries and schedule? And not need to bow to the almighty algorithm gods at the same time?

Reviving my Own Websites

I have two websites that have basically just kind of sat for the past year or so, with only some poking here and there: the Black Ball website, and my main Portfolio website. Look at these sites now, I would definitely like the lean back into them and bring them back to the forefront. Make them more of a digital home for me.

That’s why I’m excited to announce that the Black Ball website is once again updating with the rest of the pages from Issue 4! If you like 1920s murder mysteries, historical fantasies, and characters who make bad decisions, then Black Ball might be for you!

You can read the FULL Black Ball comic for FREE on that site. And I’ve been going through and optimizing pages for mobile as well with vertical scroll. It’s a work in progress, but we’re getting there!

I’ve never been fully happy with my Portfolio site, so I might tinker with it some more to really make it home. I was also thinking of giving my Last Time on Gundam Wing comics a little home there along with some of my other silly doodles from the newsletter. We’ll see what I land on.

I still love Substack and am not going anywhere, but I definitely want to lean back into website building! It’s how I got my start in my day job, and how I got my comics off the ground in the first place.

Parting Note

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our good chonky girl Mickey last week. She was such a big personality and kept me company on many a long night of comic-making. We miss her terribly, but we’re so grateful for the seven years we had with her. Adopting a senior cat is a wonderful experience, and I wouldn’t trade it or her for anything. It’s been a very tough week in our house. I still turn to her chair, expecting to see her snoozing. Or to hear her demanding some pets.

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

What’s this?

The sweet, sweet progress tracker is back! And with new blocks filled in! I’ve been hitting the drawing board again with inking pages in the backlog for Black Ball Issue 5 as well as uploading missing Issue 4 pages to the Black Ball website. Once I get them all loaded in, I’ll start up again with weekly updates.

Rethinking the Webcomics Game

After my last Kickstarter, and when taking in the current economic landscape, I’ve been rethinking how I want to distribute my comics. Part of me wonders if it might be less stressful and more ethical for me to lean back in to webcomic-first distribution.

Black Ball was a webcomic first, after all. And I haven’t really spent time into not only updating the website, but also promoting the comic outside of Kickstarter campaigns.

Plus, I’d like to just share comics with people. Give something entertaining to help brighten your day. And also just focus on making the comic until it’s done. That’s not to say I’ll never do a Kickstarter again (I’m running low on Issue 1!) but I think I would just like to make comics and give them out to people for free for a bit.

If we’re leaning in to the Year of Black Ball, then let’s really lean in!

Reliving my Romanian Club Life

The late 2000s into the 2010s was a great time for club music, let’s face it. And the best club music came out of Romania. As Terry Wogan once famously said “Night clubs are a national sport there.”

I fell in love with what’s sometimes called “Popcorn Music” when I was on my college trip to Greece. Both “That’s My Name” by Akcent and “Stereo Love” by Edward Maya had just dropped and were both on the radio in the tour bus and in restaurants over and over again. We were all trying to figure out what these songs were, and to add to the confusion they sound quiet similar what with both having accordions layered over electronic beats. We eventually did find them when we were visiting an internet cafe to check email and Google the elusive songs. My love for the genre, and both artists, was born.

I’ve been trying to listen to music more during the day and branch out from just lofi (though I do really love lofi) so I dove back in and pulled out one of my favorite albums to play in my car while driving to and from work, King of Disco. Delightfully and unapologetically 2000s. Just a good time. Still hits good.

Give Me that Good 90s Shoujo

Have you noticed that old shoujo manga from the 90s and early 2000s are getting reprints here in the US? There’s been special editions of the big classics like Sailor Moon and CardCaptor Sakura of course, but even some of the more obscure titles too, such as Red River by Chie Shinohara.

I had heard vaguely of Red River (also know as Anatolia Story) years ago, so I was curious and picked up the reprinted 3-in-1 edition. Here’s a short blurb from the Viz site:

Finding herself entangled in the social and political drama of a fractured royal family, Yuri begins to maneuver through their manipulations and learn how to survive while stuck deep in the past.

It’s got that classic 90s shoujo art - sparkly, dreamy, with beautiful characters. It’s definitely rated Older Teen for a reason, but I found I enjoyed the unique setting (15th century BC Hittite Empire), the notes of historical accuracy that influence the plot, and the high drama between the characters. I devoured the first volume and am looking forward to reading more!

I’ve been enjoying branching out and reading more genres across manga outside of my usual shounen fantasy adventure bubble. It really gets the creativity flowing!

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Sky Sharks Remaster 1-3: Complete Dieselpunk Pulp Adventure by Wes Hartman

Imagine a world where the roar of diesel engines defines the very fabric of history and the clouds are thick with the scent of adventure. This is the breathtaking realm of the Sky Sharks, where every sunset brings a daring mission and every dogfight is a dance with destiny. But the time for casual treasure hunting has passed.

In the explosive finale of Sky Sharks Remastered, Captain Frank Derringer and his fearless crew face their darkest hour. Dr. Kassle’s terrifying doomsday weapon is primed within the floating steel fortress known as War Island, and the fate of our very world hangs by a single, fraying thread. This is a desperate race against time as our heroes join the Allied forces to silence the engines of destruction once and for all.

Check it out here.

Parting Note

I was feeling a bit under the weather the past week so I actually took time to rest so I wouldn’t be completely out of commission.

But I have been getting a ton of writing down, including a SUPER SECRET story outline that’s been nagging at me to get put to paper. It will probably be awhile until anything comes of it, but it’s always worth getting the idea down.

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

My latest SmArt School course, Scott Fischer’s Gaming Illustration, wrapped in the beginning of the month! 14 weeks of intense study into composition, values, contrast, and more techniques to take my art to the next level! I was very excited since I had been a fan of Scott’s art from when I was on the grams, and had even audited his course last year.

In case you missed it, here’s how my first SmArt School adventure went:

Branching Out to New Subjects!

Scott presented us with two options of syllabi to follow for the course — one more focused on D&D, the other on Magic the Gathering. I really liked the assignments in the MtG syllabus because it covered a wider range of subjects - artefacts, goblins, undead and angels! That was appealing to help me break out of my shell and expand my horizons.

Now, I don’t know what a Magic is, so for our first assignment, an artifact, I simply looked up a list and decided to pick whatever sounded cool. So when I came across Clock of Omens, I thought that sounded rad as hell.

This was a tricky one! I wanted to lean into my strengths of drawing architecture. Shout out to Zach Moeller, one of my fellow classmates, for keying me into the perspective tool in Clip! It helped out a lot to get all the angles right, especially since I was doing 3 point perspective.

Of course, there was some trouble with this image in the form of my clouds.

For some reason, I couldn’t get the watercolor paint to lay down evenly! It kept becoming very grainy and then would lift up with each layer. I think making them green was also part of my downfall, as they looked more like trees than clouds. I took a gamble using water soluble oils to cover up everything and try again!

Well they were…better. Sort of.

I honestly have never been so vexed by clouds. In the end, I digitally edited the clouds out as a stop gap, because the tower was to good to let a background detract from it.

The next assignment was much better — my own take on the Ecstatic Electromancer!

Goblins are inherently a little silly and goofy in the world of MtG. So I ended up getting this idea in my head of spoofing off of ol’ Benny Franklin’s famous kite experiment. I wanted my goblin to be very much a home grown scientist — originally I had him in a homemade apron, but I switched it out for two pillows tied onto him with a belt, exactly what an amateur scientist would think is adequate protection!

This one went much smooth all around, especially taping off my lightning to keep it white. The background took a lot of layers to get it dark and smooth enough!

Disaster struck with the green yet again! I just could NOT get any edges in the green of the face, and got the same grainy quality! I prefer to mix my greens with primaries rather than use a straight green pigment from the tube (not that I haven’t utilized sap green from time to time!) I ended up going in with colored pencil WAY earlier than I would have wanted.

In the end, I had to redo the head anyway from the ground up! I did this on its own small piece of watercolor paper, and was much more careful with my layers, leading to much success! I really like how this one came out.

I ended up ditching my undead idea and skipped to the last assignment for the last stretch of class. This was resurecting an old concept sketch I had done for my previous class. And of course, who can pass up an opportunity to paint St. Peters? Not this kid!

This painting is still in process, but I’m please with how it’s coming along!

It’s How You Practice!

An important thing that I learned in class was a new method for practicing drawing. One of the themes of the class is the importance of drawing — amazing painting can’t save a bad drawing!

One method of practice is to use stock photos and trace over them carefully, taking very special notice of where overlaps, folds, and planes are to understand the structure. Of course, you wouldn’t trace for a painting or final drawing, but for practice in private, it can really help train your eye and hand, giving you a better understanding of form. Once you trace the image, you can try drawing it on your own with just your memory of the image. You should be able to draw it better!

And the Verdict Is…

Last year, I was really proud of getting through my class and all I learned, but wasn’t happy with how my projects came out. This time around, I was able to build on the foundation from the first class and move forward to better hone my skills. I got an even better understanding of composition and how to plot areas on contrast together for pleasing designs.

My biggest downfall was doing a Kickstarter during the class, as it was impossible to run the campaign and work on class assignments and balance my day job on top of it all. It was a little too crazy. I would definitely never do that again!

Subscribe now

Check out this Kickstarter!

Swarm of Eyes new EP release—ONCE MORE UNTO THE BREACH

This 5-song EP showcases what the band loves about metal: it's heavy, groovy, and bombastic—where each instrument carves out its place and elevates the song. Swarm of Eyes eschews formulaic metal to create dark, angry soundscapes that travel from the epic spires of doom metal to the desolate lowlands of power thrash.

Something a little different to showcase this time! I’ve been hearing my pal talk about his band’s EP as they were working through it, and now I’m hype for them to have this release!

Check it out here.

We’re halfway through the Birthday Bonanza Sale! Use code BIRTHDAY37 will get you 37% off all items in my store! If you haven’t checked out issues of Black Ball or The Alchemist of Aurillia, now’s your chance to pick them up!

Go to the Store

Parting Note

It’s starting to warm up here, but I find that with the damp I feel colder. And of course, I’m afraid for my ski season! Got to get in while the getting’s good!

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J

Share Melissa J Massey - Makin' Comics!

Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes last week! I had a lovely day with Dr. Husband, where we played some Digimon and Gundam cards, had my favorite Dry Rose, and finally got to see the movie Summer Wars, which was a very delightful film about family coming together.

But of most note is that it’s the Winter Olympics! I couldn’t tell you much of what happens in the Summer Games, but the Winter Games are my jam!

My Favorite Winter Olympic Sports

Winter Olympic sports are just so weird and wonderful. I have really been enjoying these and learning about how the skiing events work like the Downhill and Slalom! And can’t wait for Ski Mountaineering, a brand new sport!

Learning Appreciation from the Best in the World

In my fresh old age, I’m learning new ways to appreciate humans, even when the world gives me a lot of reasons not to. Look, things are kinda weird right now. I have had moments of giving into despair. But there’s something else I’ve learned, watching all these athletes compete in sports both familiar and unknown to me.

These people are the best in the world. Even if they don’t take home a medal, they have put in the time, effort, and passion to be the best in their country, to come here. In a way, that’s a win! So, recognizing that even the 24th ranked couple in Ice Dance is still the 24th best couple IN THE WHOLE WORLD, among hundreds of couples, it’s still so impressive! And it makes it really delightful to watch each and every single athlete and team. I’m just having such a wonderful time seeing these people be really good at something, no matter where they place.

I have found that I just really enjoy people being good at a thing. Even if they’re better than me in things I actually do. It’s nice to just sit back and appreciate. And in these dark times, it’s exactly what I need to help take heart.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

TATSUMI: The Serpent Mistress #1-2 A Swashbuckling Adventure by Insymmetry Creations

TATSUMI NAKIHANA is the last remaining daughter of the fallen Yamaran Empire. She's pursuing a path of retribution and revenge against the evil horde that left her kingdom as nothing more than a trail of embers, ash, and corpses: The post-human DARK KONQUESTORS, and their vampire-like, spirit sucking accomplices: The SOUL RIPPERS. Before she can do that, however, she's figuring out her own path of survival in a world she didn't even know existed. After being left for dead, and floating adrift in the Serpent's Sea, she's become aligned with the most unexpected of individuals: The crew of THE SIDESTALKER, a pirate ship out of the renegade Port of Alabassus.

Check it out here.

Birthday Bonanza Sale!

The Birthday Bonanza sale is going till the end of February! Use code BIRTHDAY37 to get 37% everything in my store!

Go To The Store!

Parting Note

This great article by new pal does a deep dive into Char’s Counterattack and the ideological conflict between the two main characters, and how it’s more of a reflection of our modern society than you think. Personally, I want to have Amuro’s outlook of having faith in the long term - in the end, the good of humanity will win out, that things change slowly. Well, just read it for yourself!

‘Till the next time
Melissa J

It’s my birthday this week and I’m going to be 37, not 38 as I keep thinking for some reason…

For the entire month of February, when you use the code BIRTHDAY37 in my store, you’ll get 37% off each item! ebook, physical book, anything in the store, it’s 37% off!

The sale goes until March 1st, so get it while you can!

Go to the Store!

Skiing at 1 Degree

Transcript

Panel 1:

The artist, decked out in ski gear, stands at the top of the mountain.

The Artist: Yay! Time for skiing!

Panel 2:

The artist begins to ski down the hill. Coming up from below is a big gust of cold wind.

SFX: woooooooosh!

Panel 3:

The Artist, hit by the cold wind, is choking and doubled over in pain.

The Artist: cough! hack! hack! Ah! I can’t breathe!

Caption: The Effects of 1F Wind Chill

Print Files Done and Sent to the Printer!

Everyone give Katie a HUGE round of applause, because the print layout is done for The Alchemist of Aurillia Volume 1! And it is beautiful!

After a lot of careful review, revisions, adding and substracting, and learning how to set up files for gold foil detailing, the files are all packaged up and sent off to the printer. Now comes the file stretch of printing! For a hot minute, I was worried I’d never make it through this part, but now the book is feeling very, very real.

Check Out This Kickstarter!

Tokyo Blade Detectives #1-12 by BlackMagicWolf Productions

The story is set 200 years in the future, where Japan has been rebuilt through incredible technology and several new laws. But the one that no one can break is "No Guns Allowed." While noble, it creates a power vacuum that is filled with groups using "laser swords." Now, the capital of Tokyo is constantly under siege. Five factions have risen up to take everything for themselves, and our main character, Miko, a 16-year-old detective, is just trying to live through it all. The epic conclusion to volume 3 includes a shock reveal and hard truths to be faced!

Check it out here.

Parting Note

This week, my SmArt School class finishes up and then it’ll be all birthday celebrations from there on out! Huzzah!

‘Till the next time,
Melissa J