Tuesday, 1 March 2011

Hi everyone!

Marineman 4 is all tied up and out the door! Look for it toward the end of the month...

Cracking on with finishing 5 now...

MTV Geek did a feature recently on the best underwater characters and Marineman came in at number 3! Not bad for a character who's only been around for a few months! Here's the link...
http://geek-news.mtv.com/2011/02/17/the-7-best-superheroes-in-the-seven-seas/

Speaking of underwater - The sad news of today is that Jane Russell has passed away at the grand old age of 89. Watching her movie - 'Underwater!' - as a kid, was one of the key inspirations for me inventing Marineman. As I've mentioned before, I based the look of Marineman loosely on her co-star, Richard Egan. In my eight year old brain Marineman looked like Richard Egan, but in reality he looked nothing like like him!

For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, here is the 1955 trailer...Great movie but not as exciting as the trailer makes it look!

Wednesday, 26 January 2011

I know what you're thinking, that Ian churchill is like a bus - no posts for ages and then suddenly two at once!

Well the reason is that my wife went out earlier and returned with the latest issue of DIVER magazine that just so happens to have a cracking review of Marineman issue 1!

In reference to my earlier post, as a result I had to go about amending the Marineman website to compensate for interested parties who aren't specifically into comics, and who may be passing through having read the review! I certainly hope that as many divers as possible prove curious and seek Marineman out, not just for my own sake but for the sake of the industry. We need as many new readers as we can find!

So if you are a reader of DIVER magazine, and are thinking of trying Marineman out, then welcome aboard and I hope you enjoy the experience and come back for more...

DIVER is a great magazine and certainly worth checking out if you are partial to scuba diving.

Marineman was reviewed in the book review section and here it is if you're interested in taking a look...

DIVER's online magazine can be found at the end of this link...http://divernet.com/
The only problem with being a one man show, is just that - being a one man show!

It means that although you have control over what you're doing, you're constantly being dragged back and forth to different aspects of the production that demand attention!

So since my last post I've done the cover to issue 6, which I think is the best one so far, finished coloring issue 3, addressed some elements on issue 4 and got the coloring underway, laid out the whole of issue 6 and all the while trying to draw issue 5!

Issue 5 is penciled and i'm currently inking it. the final changes have just been made to the lettering on issue 3, so it's out the door to the printers and according to Image, should be with you in stores on February the 16th.

The best thing about being a one man show though, of course, is the ability to shape the project as you see fit, and although it's a lot of hard work - it's fun in equal measure!

Marineman issue 2 got a great response from everyone which I'm very grateful for, and issue 3 in my opinion is the most emotive chapter to date. I hope when you read it that you'll all agree...

I did a little Marineman thumbnail while liaising with Comicraft over mods to the lettering the other day so thought I'd post it, it might make a good pin-up or cover at some point. I think it has good kinetic movement to it.

Thanks again to everyone who's supporting Marineman, and I'll try to post again soon!

Thursday, 6 January 2011

Hi everyone,

Marineman issue 2 is released this week, I hope you can pick one up and that you enjoy the read!

It's been a while since my last post I know - mostly down to a combination of illness and Christmas. Still on schedule though, even if it does mean burning the midnight oil!

I'm happy with how issue 2 turned out and for all those who thought issue 1 needed more action - well it's made up for in this issue. All part of the master plan...Insert maniacal laughter right here!

Issue 3 is a few pages away from heading to the letterer and next on the agenda is to get the cover to issue 6 finalized for solicitation. I'm still laying out issue 6 but it's looking like it may have to be double sized to comfortably fit everything in - I'll keep you all posted though.

I'd like to take the time to thank everyone for the support you've all shown me and my creation, it really means the world to me.

It came to my attention that Marineman was a sketch challenge on Deviantart recently, which I have to say was hugely flattering! There was some great renditions of Mr. Ocean in action and it was strange to see him drawn by someone other than me for the first time!

Here's the link if you're curious....

http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=marineman

More soon...And happy new year to you all!

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

So It's December the 1st! Marineman issue one is officially on sale today! Scary and exciting stuff I can tell you!

I've seen and listened to a few reviews and so far they've been favorable so that is really encouraging...

Issue 2 is off to be lettered by the hard working guys at Comicraft, it's all wrapped aside from that.

Issue 3 is being colored by myself and my new coloring companion - Alex Sollazzo. You may have seen his work on the other Image Comics publication; Morning Glories.

I'm still hacking my way through the drawing of issue 5 and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

I want to thank you all for pre-ordering issue 1 of Marineman and for the support everyone has been showing the book - It really means a lot to me.

Here's a link to a podcast review of issue one by 'House to Astonish', the part about Marineman is about three quarters of the way in so you may want to skip ahead as it's a long podcast!
http://housetoastonish.podomatic.com/player/web/2010-11-21T13_18_36-08_00

Enjoy!

Friday, 12 November 2010

I sent one of the advanced copies of Marineman to comic book legend Dave Gibbons earlier this week, as I promised I would, and he sent me an email this morning saying that he really liked it!
So, thanks Dave!

Thursday, 4 November 2010

I just had an advance copy of issue one of MARINEMAN sent through and it looks FANTASTIC!
I am so excited! I was a little nervous because there's always the chance that it might print too dark or too light but judging by the copy I have, it looks spot on! I can't wait to see it in the store!
I'm feeling like a little kid all over again! I love comics! There's just something about physically holding one in your hands and losing yourself in the story... Much as I like digital comics, for me they'll never replace that tactile feeling of holding and reading an issue as it was intended.
Roll on December 1st!!!