where the writers are
Shooting Star Comics Anthology #6 - "Death Becomes Me"

Hi all,

I'm a little behind in blogs, I've gotten sidetracked helping out on the film "In The Pines". It was a really interesting experiance and I even got to be a corpse! So look for that in DVD stores soon. I wanted to reprint an out of print story I did some years ago, first published in Shooting Star Comics Anthology #6, written by me and drawn by Nat Jones (of Spawn: The Dark Ages, Rob Zombie: The Nail, and Frank Frazetta's Death Dealer fame.)

I was really proud of how it came out! I am not sure how well this will show up on this blog but there are larger versions of the pages here:

http://www.comicspace.com/dannydonovan/comics.php?action=gallery&comic_id=904

Comments
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Hi

Wonderful to have you here with your visuals. We have very different stories and styles so I hope people will get see that comics encompasses a wide spectrum of content and tastes.

And I have much to learn from you from your end of the comics industry.

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Hi Belle! Thanks so much for

Hi Belle! Thanks so much for the kind words. Did you see the other blog where I posted a script and finished pages?

If you have any questions feel free to ask. :)

Writer At Large, Shameless Self-Promoter http://www.myspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.comicspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.dannydonovan.com http://www.unscrewedcomic.com

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Yes, I did

What's your medium? Do you use photoshop (for anything apart from text)? Do you send original work to your publisher and they scan or do you scan? What paper do use? How much of a panel art are you able to do in a single day? What's the dimension? Do you love your work? (I know the answer to this last one :)

I will have a lot more questions for you for you.

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Well actually I don't draw

Well actually I don't draw any of it. I am just the writer. I write the script, artists draw it, and then a letterer puts the words in the balloons and the colorist adds colors (if it's needed) So it's really a team effort.

I come up with the story, tell everyone what to do, and sit back and watch the magic happen! I can't draw a lick, which I kind of prefer, it's nice working with a team toward a singular goal. It keeps your energy and excitment up

Sometimes I work with artists from my studio, but most times I pitch a story, work up a script, and the editors assemble the team and cut me a check. :)

I do love my work! :) I'd love to do more writting, lately I've been helping all my other friends market and promote their art. :)

Writer At Large, Shameless Self-Promoter http://www.myspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.comicspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.dannydonovan.com http://www.unscrewedcomic.com

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Even better

for me to learn about the team which is an amazing synergy of spirits.

Do the artists submit sketches to you and after approval plow ahead with the art work?

So what medium--ink, charcoal, photoshop?

How did you come to working in this format--comics, that is.

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For the most part, yeah,

For the most part, yeah, they give me character sketches and I'll tell them what works and what doesn't quite fit the character. Right now I'm working on a manga project and the artist got a lot of things right on the first try except for the main character, which has a certain look as she goes through a journey of self discovery and begins looking one way and ends up finding an identity of her own and looking quite unique!

 So yeah once we hammer down what works they plow ahead with the script. Traditionally, artists in this industry works on 11x17 bristol board pencilers use pencils, inkers go over the pencils with ink, and then it all gets scanned in and the letterer and colorist do their jobs on Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator.

 Different artists however use different mediums. Some paint, using arcrylics and oils, and even folks like Bill Seinkevich used things like broken glass, clumps of dirt and other weird things in his artwork. which made for some REALLY interesting printed pages back in the 1980s. And of course, makes all of his early original art work all the more valuable as his pages rarely survive his process with the amount of weird things thrown on them. :p

I admit I fell into the business sort of by happy accident. I really suck at working 9 to 5 jobs. I don't do well with bosses. So I started freelancing, I've always prefered comics to any other medium because there's so much more of a 'family' feel. You have teams working toward a similar goal. You're able to get feedback right away and sometimes you surprise yourself on how the story ends!

When you do novels its sort of a lonely thing because you work until completion, then the editor gets it, and then nothing until the mass market gets it. In films there are too many hands stirring the soup. Everyone has their idea on how to improve you, that they don't even really pay attention to what story is being told, they just add stuff for the sake of adding it. Change things to get a certain actor, or add a plot element to take advantage of a certain trend, whether or not it works within the confines of the story or not. And at the end of the day it can no longer feel like your story.

 It can be hard to sustain continious money due to how insular the industry is (comics) but if you preservere you can thrive. And you can work without having to wear pants. ^_^;

Writer At Large, Shameless Self-Promoter http://www.myspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.comicspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.dannydonovan.com http://www.unscrewedcomic.com

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In the pines...

Really lovely artwork, Danny.

Interesting title for a flick.

"In the Pines" is one of the greatest songs in the history of American music. Have you heard Nirvana's version, beautifully rendered on their MTV "Unplugged" concert? Strangely, their take on it is titled "Where Did You Sleep Last Night". When you hear Kurt Cobain wail that chorus, it sounds like a hellhound on your trail...

Keep up the fine work, mon.

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Thanks Cliff! I had heard

Thanks Cliff!

I had heard the song (it's sung in the trailer by one of the actors, and whistled in one of the scenes)

http://www.vimeo.com/767878 (trailer)

It's written/directed by a talented fellow by the name of Chip Johnson,  I was really happy to get a chance to work on the movie, as a grip and learn about the OTHER side of story telling, actually making the story come to life and very litterally 'building worlds' and taking part in it, as a victim! (I get eaten in the 'zombie scene')

I'll post a blog when the DVD comes out so everyone can see me in all my dead glory. :) I will have to look up the Nirvana version! Thanks!!!!

Writer At Large, Shameless Self-Promoter http://www.myspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.comicspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.dannydonovan.com http://www.unscrewedcomic.com

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Thanks for the inspiration

I just wanted to leave you quick note, thanking you for some much needed inspiration. I've had several ideas cooking in the old nogin' that I've havnen't done anything with. One of them being a modern re-working of the Frakenstein story. I may post a little on my blog and ask you for some feedback.

Thomas Dotson

RedRoom.com Staff

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Awesome!

I'm glad I can help!

We all need inspiration sometimes! Lord knows I could use some to get through some of my current projects! lol. So I look forward to seeing your work when its posted!

Writer At Large, Shameless Self-Promoter http://www.myspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.comicspace.com/dannydonovan http://www.dannydonovan.com http://www.unscrewedcomic.com