Welcome to Trollwind.com

by Matthew  |  Apr 11, 2012

This poor fella gets a bad go of things in the myth. The gods curse his mother to become infatuated with a bull. Then when he is born different they shove him into a dusty old labyrinth with no trees and no friends.

by Matthew  |  Apr 05, 2012

Got a zany urge last night and wanted to draw a monster. For some reason, a harpy was the first thing to come to mind.

by Matthew  |  Mar 08, 2012

More pencils.

by Matthew  |  Feb 23, 2012

With Image Comic Expo (www.imagecomicexpo.com) starting this Friday over in Oakland, I decided to put together a little post of some of my favorite creator-owned comics that I've discovered over the last year or so. Some of these have been out quite a while, but I have only recently picked them up.

Back when I collected comics as a kid and a teen, I was strictly a Marvel guy. Captain America, Spider-Man, Daredevil, X-Men were my books. Batman was the only DC hero I was remotely interested in and it wasn't enough to get me to pick up one of his titles. When Image came along, I was drifting away from comics and I wasn't even remotely interested in any of these unknown characters.

Two years ago, when I started toying with the idea of visual storytelling, my love of comics resurfaced. Instead of going back to my Marvel titles though, I picked up Hellboy by Mike Mignola. The stories were different, the art was different, not every panel involved punching or even dialogue, and best of all, I didn't need to collect six other titles to understand what in the Hell was going on. My world was forever changed.

That first year back, I was still quite limited in my range of trades I would pick up: Hellboy, Eric Powell's The Goon, and Ed Brubaker's run on Captain America. Yet I have slowly branched out to more titles, most of which are creator-owned. Here are some of my favorites:

American Vampire by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque
Vertigo

This is the first time I read anything by Snyder who has become one of my favorite writers (and has since hooked me on Batman). Skinner Sweet is a new breed of vampire, powered by the sun and stronger and nastier than Old World vampires. He's a threat to the established vampire order, the local population and the government and all are trying their damnedest to rid the world of Skinner and his protegee, Pearl.

Snyder keeps the creepy tone of this book fresh by focusing the stories on supporting characters as they circle around Skinner from the 1880s to WWII. Albuquerque's style is a little cartoony and very expressive, but seems perfectly suited for dusty wild west, stylish flappers in the '20s, and nasty fanged (and taloned) beasties. Recently finishing volume 3, I can safely say American Vampire just keeps getting better and better.

Pick up American Vampire vol. 1 at Amazon.com.

Berona's War by Anthoney Coffey and Jesse Labbe
Archaia

Berona's War chronicles the ongoing battle between the Ele-Alta and the Cropones. While the Field Guide is more of a journal or manual on the different soldiers and weapons used in the war, these little bloodthirsty critters are so fun and adorable I can't wait to get my hands on Berona's War II: Battle for Amity and seriously hope the guys at Amity Ink keep putting out stories in this world.

Pick up Berona's War: Field Guide at Amazon.com.

Chew by John Layman and Rob Guillory
Image

Chew is the twisted and innovative tale of Tony Chu and cibopathic detective (meaning he receives psychic impressions from whatever he eats) set in a world where chicken is illegal and the FDA is the strongest law enforcement agency in the US. Tony's adventures involve reluctant cannibalism, poultry smuggling rings, spies, vampires, aliens and killer roosters.

Layman's writing is witty, sick, and funny as hell. He is able to carry a premise that at first glance seems suited for a single story arc at best well past twenty issues, each more compelling as the last.

I love Guillory's (robguillory.blogspot.com) art style. It's different than anything else you'll see in mainstream comics. A funky, expressive and sometimes hilarious look that is just as key to Chew success as Layman's writing.

Chew is is definitely at the top of my stack.

Pick up Chew vol. 1: Taster's Choice at Amazon.com.

Dare Detectives by Ben Campbell
Archaia

I've been a huge fan of Ben Caldwell's (purgetheory.blogspot.com) art style since I first picked up his Action! Cartooning a couple years back. His style is clean and lots of fun. Dare Detectives are down-on-their-luck detectives Maria, Toby, and Jojo who have failed on cases more often than not. They are trying to scrape together enough money for rent and avoid jail-time when their landlord is kidnapped by the ice-queen Madame Bleu and her gun-toting panda gang. You can see the fun Caldwell has with this wacky story with rocket monkeys, showgirls and a plot to steal snow peas.

Pick up Dare Detectives: The Snow-Pea Plot at Amazon.com.

Echoes by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Rashan Ekedal
Image

Echoes is the 5-issue story of Brian, a man learning to cope with schizophrenia who discovers his father may have been a serial killer. When he starts finding grisly trophies from previous murders, the voices Brian had under control return worse than ever. Echoes is the creepiest comic I've ever read. Yet as grisly as the premise is, the writing and art use more suggestion and imagination then blood and gore.

Fialkov (www.thefialkov.com) is one of those writers who I'd pick up anything he put his pen to. He could write fast-food chain menus and I'd buy 'em. He's that good.

This is the only book by Ekedal that I've read (I'm still looking around for The Cleaners - the first comic by Fialkov and Ekedal), but his black and white art conveys Brian's personal horror and crazy nightmares to perfection.

Pick up Echoes at Amazon.com.

I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Nimura
Image

I Kill Giants is the story of a girl who doesn't fit in at school or really anywhere else. She'd also tasked with defending the world against giants using 'Coveleski', her mystical hammer she keeps inside her little heart-shaped purse.

This was by far the biggest stretch for me. I'd never read a black and white comic before this and Nimura's raw pen and brush manga style seemed odd to me at first. It was only by the recommendation of Skottie Young on his blog, that convinced me to pick up this book.

This story is touching and simply amazing. In many ways it opened my eyes to what a comic could be (in both writing and art) as much as Mignola's work. Plus, there's giants.

Pick up I Kill Giants at Amazon.com

Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez
IDW

It comes as no surprise that Joe Hill (joehillfiction.com) can tell a good tale of suspense and dark fantasy. Locke & Key tells the story of Ty, Kinsey, and Bodie as they cope with the murder of their father and their new life at Keyhouse, a odd mansion in New England, that makes the Winchester Mystery House seem downright dull. Tragedy and murder follows the Locke children, but Keyhouse hold mysteries, magic, and dark secrets that at times helps and hurts them.

It took a little while for Rodriguez's art style to grow on me, but he's adept at balancing brutally bloody scenes, wonderful fantasy, and humanized characters. I think the strength of the characters truly makes this series great.

Pick up Locke & Key vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft at Amazon.com.

Northlanders by Brian Wood
Vertigo

Brian Wood's (www.brianwood.com) masterful storytelling, great art, and tons of Vikings? How could I not love this series? Northlanders is incredibly smart and well done all around... I'm sad for it to end.

Pick up Northlanders vol. 1: Sven the Returned at Amazon.com.

Sixth Gun by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt
Oni Press

Cullen Bunn (www.cullenbunn.com) and Brian Hurtt (thehurttlocker.blogspot.com) have the atmosphere to this book down perfect. Drake Sinclair and Becky Moncrief struggle to rid themselves of cursed six-shooters bound to their souls and stay ahead of the supernatural horrors trying to get their hands on the guns. The Sixth Gun is the best combination of western, fantasy and horror since Stephen King's The Gunslinger novels. Many books that try to do this are tonally off or seem flat in some areas. Not this one. Bunn slides gracefully between Civil War era setting and supernatural fantasy and Hurtt's clean, not overworked style, more than keeps up.

This is the comic I wish I had written. My current favorite.

Pick up The Sixth Gun vol. 1 at Amazon.com

There are many more books that I could list here like Criminal by Ed Burbaker, DMZ by Brian Wood, and Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn, but I've run out of time. Maybe I'll be able to follow up with a part two.

by Matthew  |  Feb 13, 2012

Here are some pencils for the little project I'm working on.

I'm drawing about 40% bigger than I was on the Trollborn comic, which I've found helps me keep my lines a little cleaner. We'll see what happens when I start inking, but I like it a lot. I also switched to a vertical format and moved to smaller, heavier paper (Canson Manga Art Boards). The switch makes it a little more managable for travel. The only weird thing is I'm only putting a third of a page per sheet, so if I need to do a full-page spread I'll either need to get bigger paper or suck it up and draw smaller.

I've also included a couple pictures of first drafts where I'm figuring out layout and figures.

More to come soon.

by Matthew  |  Feb 02, 2012

Playing with drawing some Victorian era scholars.

Trying to get the faces down first before working on the rest of the bodies. I'm finding it quite useful to draw first in my standard sketchy style and then redraw several times slowly reaching a more stylized cartoony look. This goes into the pre-work I spoke of in the last post. The more comfortable I am with a character and the cleaner my pencils are, the better my eventual inks will turn out.

I've got about another week of sketching before I start thumbnailing for this next project. Then it's on to the comic itself.

by Matthew  |  Jan 24, 2012

While I'm working on the script of the introduction to my next project, I've been doing a little research and sketching to keep myself in the habit of drawing. I think one of the problems with the art on Trollborn was that I did not do enough pre-work - getting comfortable drawing the characters and props before I actually put them in the comic. The backgrounds I think I had down by the last strips, but I also spent more time getting comfortable drawing the trees and rocks and water.

I have to give thanks to Chris Oatley of chrisoatley.com and paperwingspodcast.com for pointing out the importance of knowing your subject and spending the time getting comfortable drawing it. He has several podcasts and articles that talk about it, plus tons of extra tips for improving your art and storytelling.

Here are some concept sketches of winter soldiers (unfortunately not the Ed Brubaker version). I referenced photographs of British soldiers in the Crimean War and have been slowly reworking them in my own style.

More sketches to come as I tighten up the uniforms and rifles and move on to other characters in the story.

by Matthew  |  Jan 17, 2012

I've been doing a lot of thinking since the coming of the New Year in those moments between work and sleep. The Trollborn comic simply is not working for me.

It has been fine for learning how to draw and sequential storytelling and I have learned a ton over the last year (particularly what not to do). Yet, as I want to move forward into telling some real stories, I've found it is extremely limiting – or more truthfully – I've built up some mental blocks that have stifled my creativity.

The biggest issue is that I've been working with these characters and settings in some form or other for fifteen plus years. I've built them up and crafted such intricate mythologies for the world (or nine worlds) that they've become my sacred cows. This has lead to creative paralysis.

I'm afraid to introduce certain characters because my art style is not polished enough. I'm afraid to tell certain Scandinavian myths because I don't want to contradict myself later or forget vital changes. I'm afraid to tell compelling stories with characters I do use, as I don't want to lead them away from the storylines I set down for them years ago. I'm even afraid to truly describe the premise of the comic and the world it looks into. So I'm left with treading water in comic form until one day, I am suddenly good enough and the entire history of Midgardh flows out of me in one exquisite stream of consciousness.

I'm too old to wait for that day to come.

A couple of comparatively minor issues have also contributed to Trollborn not taking flight:

First is the world itself. Trollborn takes place in a pre-Viking world before written language and without the existence of Rome. Unfortunately, this has lead to limited and uninspired characters, costumes, and buildings (most of which have never made it to the comic or blog). Instead of building neat things that had the right tone of the world, I was more focused on being subtractive and not including elements that weren't historically accurate or seemed too fanciful. Midgardh became a world of wooden huts and identically dressed peasants.

Second was my process. I tried to take on too much, too soon. Instead of hammering out a complete and coherent story in black and white, I decided I needed color on the strip (likely to make up for a lack of compelling tales and action). While I could write, draw and ink a strip in about 3-4 hours, it took approximately double that time to color it. So instead of completing a couple of strips a week, I burned through my cushion and spent most of my weekends coloring.

I'm sure I'd eventually get faster at coloring, but it's not what I want to spend the majority of my time on. I want to tell stories first and foremost… and that's the one thing I'm not doing.

So what happens now?

Trollborn is going away for a while. I will be working on a completely different comic. It's set in a Victorian era where old gods and shadows are waking from their slumber. I imagine a combination of the ghost stories of Poe, Stoker and M.R. James mixed with Lovecraftian terrors, and just a splash of Indiana Jones.

I'm just now in the plotting and research phase of my first story. In the next few weeks, I'll start on concept art and character sketches that I'll post on Trollwind. While I won't be keeping myself to a posting schedule for this, I will be sharing goodies on a regular basis as I make progress. Look for the first bits to start flowing out at the end of the month.

I sincerely apologize for stopping Trollborn so abruptly and not living up to my part of the bargain, but I honestly think a fresh start is what is needed and probably what I should have done last year. The experience has been invaluable and I do not regret any of the time I have spent working on this comic.

This isn't the last you'll hear of Trollborn. It's just slumbering like the giant Ymir, waiting for the right moment to rise and take on the world.

I'm really looking forward to this year and sharing some fun stories with everyone. I hope you stick around to see what's coming.

Thank you,
Matt

by Matthew  |  Jan 02, 2012

click image to view comic

2011 has been quite a year.

This time last year, I was drawing up the first sketches for Trollborn, and questioning if I could ever do this. Even though the site's only been up for 5 months, so much has changed in that time. I've steadily revamped my drawing style, learned new processes and techniques, and gone from black and white to color.

Trollborn started out as a public forum while I learned drawing and sequential story-telling. While I'm going to continue to revise the art, once the Stained Wood arc is finished in February, my focus will move over to writing and telling a good tale.

I'm looking forward to the new year and getting Trollborn rolling. Thanks for tagging along, and I hope to provide some entertaining stories in the coming months.

by Matthew  |  Dec 12, 2011

click image to view comic

Durinn is finally seeing some action and is kicking some walking-dead (aptrganger) butt.

I'm slowly recovering from bronchitis that has laid me low for a couple of weeks. It hasn't impacted the release of the comic too drastically, but it did reduce the amount of time I had to work on Durinn's character model. They're not nearly as noticeable when I'm working in pencil, but like when I was first drawing Svithri, the rust shows when I ink the panels. I figure I'll have Durinn down in a couple of weeks and can start worrying about other new characters as they come along.

On the other hand, it is nice to draw some action scenes and even better drawing that damn boat beind smashed so I'll never have to draw it again. It's the little things in life.