London, Part 1
These photos were taken on Monday, 25 September, basically our first day in London. We arrived the previous day, but after flying out of Columbus around 3 on Saturday and finally arriving at the hotel at 10:30 Sunday, that first day was pretty much a wash. We dropped off the luggage (check-in was not until 2!) then went walking around Notting Hill and bought some records. When we finally got to our room, we both were just filthy and wanted a shower, and then we just crashed.

Monday we did some shopping. Chris found a lot of stuff (an English version of a book he only has in Spanish in addition to the Tintin, Milou and Capt. Haddock figurines in the photo) at the Tintin shop, and we both spent a lot of time in Forbidden Planet, a geek paradise. I felt totally at home there-looking around at sci-fi books and the music playing was the soundtrack from Twilight Zone-The Movie.

We ate dinner at a pub called the Bayswater Arms and ate fish and chips-excellent. Something was up with the ketchup. It is bottled here in England, and it tasted a little different. It was thicker and not as sweet-it was much better than the American ketchup, and we are not sure why. We did notice after we ate it that the expiration date had passed, so maybe it was just fermentation. And if that is the case, I'm going to leave my ketchup out in the sun for a month when we get home.

We also had our first ride on the London Underground. Chris was a lot better at finding his way than I was-I was really glad he was with me. Having lived my whole life in a city with really crappy public transportation (you know I love you, COTA, but you just aren't enough!) I have never been good at figuring out what train to take and when. Chris spent a lot of time on the DC Metro, so he was ready for the tube. We never got lost, but I'm sure I would have had I been alone. But, after a few transfers I finally got the hang of it. I really wish we had something similar in Ohio-it is so fast and really helps with congestion. If everyone on the tube had driven into the city it would have been jammed. They even have an 8 pound congestion fee.

Our hotel is very nice. It is small, but has a sofa in addition to the bed, a kitchen area with sink, microwave, fridge, and 2 burner range, and a dvd player. We've been stocking the fridge with snacks and drinks from the Tesco down the street. Some of my new favorite things are cheese and onion crisps, and the Magnum strawberry secret. We will say that Irn-Bru is not our new favorite thing.

















From Top:
1) Chim-Chimney, Chim-Chim, Cheroo--the view from our hotel at night
2) The view on our first day in London, uncharacteristically hot and sunny
3) Ah! This is more like it! Xan on her way down a rainy Carnaby Street to browse the selection of Dr. Marten's Boots
4) Forbidden Planet
5) The Tintin Shop UK
6) "I can assure you this is not the least bit amusing" says Xan as she rides the escalator in the Tottenham Court Tube Station, site of much Lycanthropic scariness in An American Werewolf In London
7) Examining the day's spoils back in the hotel room

We're on our way to the UK!
More later!
--C

Comics News

Here's the pencil art for the cover of The Midnighter #3...


















...and you can click HERE to see a 3-page preview of The Midnighter #1 over at the comics news website Newsarama.com. They've posted the pages out of order, but you can get a sense of what the color work on the book will look like. You can also download a PDF version of the preview, complete with the cover(which they appear to have switched back to the original one I drew) by clicking HERE.

If you care, and frequent comic book shops, here's a tentative release schedule for upcoming projects of mine:

-Tom Strong Hardcover Collection #6 - Sept. 27

-Worldstorm - Oct. 11 (contains a Midnighter pinup)

-Justice League Of America #3 - Nov. 1 (did a Superman cover for this)

-The Midnighter #1 - Nov. 1

-The Midnighter #2 - Dec. 6

--C

Hey, the lamp's running away!

Well I suppose Jess-Belle in her little space helmet needs some 'splainin'. The story beings with her getting spayed, nothing out of the ordinary. Spay and neuter procedures are some of the most common animal surgeries. She was spayed on a Tuesday, and all was well until Saturday night.

She had been doing just fine. Her first day she was weary, which was to be expected, but after that she was pretty much back to normal, which was good and bad. She was feeling better so she was back to normal activity, but she needed to be taking it easy-not playing so rough, not jumping as much or as high, that sort of thing. We tried to keep her activity down, but she is a kitten still and quite the pistol so it was difficult.

So Saturday evening comes along, and around bedtime (after midnight is all I remember) Chris noticed an egg-sized bulge under her incision. It was hard to the touch, but it didn't seem to be hurting her all that much. Yet we felt it would be best to take her to the emergency room just to be sure.

Taking her in was probably the smartest thing we have ever done, because a few hours and some x-rays later the er doctor told us that the bulge was in fact her intestines pushing through the internal sutures which somehow Jess-Belle had managed to break. There is no way to be sure how this happened-maybe her jumping, maybe loose sutures, who knows? Her external sutures were still intact so this wasn't some Evil Dead moment or anything, but it was dangerous. When this happens to cats they run the risk of the intestines pushing through the sutures which stresses the tissue, requiring removal of such tissue. It is the same concept as wrapping a string around the tip of your finger until it turns purple and leaving it that way for a few days. Ouch.

We decided that emergency surgery was the best idea, since there was no way to know if and when the intestines would push through further. By this time it was 5am Saturday night/Sunday morning, so the surgery team had to be called in for this. So, a few more hours and a few hundred dollars later, Jess-Belle was healing from being re-opened, tucked back in, and re-sutured, this time with a much longer incision and staples instead of stiches. Again I say ouch.

So now, to make sure this does not happen again, she is on cat bed rest. She is confined to our bedroom which we have basically stripped down to a bed on the floor as she is not supposed to be jumping or climbing stairs for the next 10 days after surgery. She has to wear that lampshade until the staples come out so she does not pick at them. The vet suggested a cage until they noticed she was trying to climb the cage in the hospital, so we decided an empty bedroom was the best way to go. She takes pain pills 3-4 times a day, and is basically pitiful.

We can remove the lampshade for her to eat, but it has to go right back on because those staples are the first thing she goes for when it comes off. And she hates it so much that she attacks it while it is off and on the bed. It cannot come off soon enough for her and us. We have been spending as much time with her as we can. Today has been better than other days, since the original theatrical versions of Star Wars came out on DVD and there was an ipod/itunes update that allows for Tetris to be installed on the ipod, both of which ensure we have plenty to keep us occupied while she is sleeping.

The vet says this is not a rare thing, but also not common, yet also completely fixable. If she stays rested, she can have her staples out next week and be back to a normal crazy kitten. We are all anxious for her to heal. Especially since she keeps hitting the wall and losing her balance with that lampshade, resulting in moments where you don't know wether to laugh or cry.

No matter how difficult this ordeal has been for all of us, this is no reason for anyone not to heed the words of Bob Barker-always have your pets spayed or neutered.

My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nachos-get used to it!

Chris came up with this as a replacemet to My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles. I suppose it could be what the next generation of budding astronomers will learn in their 1st grade science unit about the solar system. My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles was of course, until recently, the mnemonic device to help remember the planets. Each letter at the beginning of each word is also the first letter of each planet in our solar system in their order from the Sun-Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. But this won't work anymore, because Pluto has been demoted.

According to the new criteria for being a planet, Pluto no longer makes the grade. Oh, Pluto is still out there-it didn't pull a Krypton or anything, it's just no longer considered a planet. According to the International Astronomical Union, being a planet by definition requires that a planet "has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit."

So what the hell does this mean? Pluto isn't conjoined to what had been it's moon, Charon, so isn't it then in a clear neighborhood? Whatever. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I am any sort of expert-the experts are already hotly debating this issue. Only 424 out of 10,000 astronomers around the world voted on this decision, so the validity of this vote and it's severe lack of majority are being questioned.

People are not happy about this demotion from Pluto the Planet to Pluto the Dwarf Planet. Dwarf Planet being a silly title in itself, because a dwarf planet isn't even a planet. It comes as no surprise that the September 1st protest at New Mexico State University was joined by the wife and son of Clyde Tombaugh, the man who first discovered Pluto in 1930. I'm sure I would join the picket line if less than 5% of the world's astronomers decided that my dad had actually discovered a dwarf something or other.

I too am unhappy about this demotion. I liked Pluto. I liked being served nine pickles. It seems like now, this little planet who was way out there, trying to hang on and be part of the group has just been kicked out of the treehouse like some annoying little brother. Granted, our solar system is a very exclusive clique with some very cool members (like who isn't intimidated by Saturn's coolness? And you squares can just forget about being invited to Jupiters kegger!), but is going down from 9 planets to 8 really going to make our lives better? And what message does this send to the little guy? "Sorry little dude, 5% of us decided that you just aren't good enough so scram and don't let the stars hit your ass on the way out!" Real nice attitude, International Astronomical Union. Or should I say, International Couple of Guys who Hate Pluto!

But then again, I suppose we do need rules and definitions for celestial bodies. Otherwise all of those filty asteroids would want to be planets too, stupid mynock-filled wankers that they are.

It's official now...















...we're a houseful of geeks!

Working at Home

So I finally achieved my lifetime goal of working at home, and I didn't even have to gain 62 pounds to do it!

Medco has set me up with a remote workstation upstairs in the house. So now I do the same thing I did at the office, just in my music room. It is so wonderful I cannot even describe it. It is so much quieter and the day goes by quite quickly.

The system is in a locking cabinet that takes up about as much space as a computer desk. The photo is of the cat trying to get used to it. I unlock it, do my thing, then lock it at the end of the night. And being upstairs means Chris never has to walk by me, making me HIPAA compliant.

To celebrate, I considered buying a mumu, a fat guy hat and a reaching broom, but Chris begged me not to buy a mumu. Maybe I will get a drinking bird, though.

At this time, I have no plans to begin washing myself with a rag on a stick.

More Comics Stuff
Here are two of the final three Tom Strong drawings I'll be doing. These are the front and back covers for the 6th Tom Strong Hardcover collection. The front cover may look a little bare, but it'll be composited with a psychedelic photographic background and serve as the basis for a color painting by another artist. The final drawing, which I haven't done yet, will be a new front cover for the 6th and final softcover collection.
--C




(Remember--you can click on almost any photo or piece of art on this blog and you'll be taken to a larger image than you see here. Roll your mouse over the lower right corner of the new image and a little square icon with arrows will appear. Click on that icon and you'll usually get an even larger version to look at or download!)

The Midnighter

Here's a look at the inked version of the cover for the first issue of The Midnighter. Allow me to explain for those of you who aren't familiar with what actually goes into making a comic book: I draw a page or a cover with pencil on an 11X17 piece of Bristol Board art paper(about as thick as poster board). In most cases, the pencil artwork is sent to an inker who goes over the artwork with black india ink using various brushes and pens, thereby making the artwork suitable for printing. Some inkers have such a unique style of their own that they can change the look of the finished piece dramatically, sometimes making the artwork better, sometimes not. For several years, I've been lucky enough to work with the inker Karl Story, who is one of the guys who makes the art better! You can compare the inked cover to the pencilled cover and see for yourself.
--C

The Ohio State Fair
The Sights, Sounds, and Smells of the Ohio State Fair

Ah, yes, the Fair. A long standing Central Ohio institution that let's face it, is mainly attended by people looking to eat something that just might kill them.

But Chris and I really dig the Fair. Well, we dig parts of the Fair. We avoid the animals and the midway, as neither one of us is fond of smelly animals facing either a blue ribbon or their doom, nor are we big fans of carnival rides or games. If I really wanted an inflateable Spider-Man, I would just buy one. But the prizes at the Fair are a really good way to get an idea of what the kids were into 2 years ago.

We dig the food, the collectibles pavillion, and the Marketplace. This year I was so hungry when I got there that I filled up immediately on a calzone and was too full to indulge in fried cheese on a stick or mini donuts. I think I am probably better off for skipping those, anyway. Chris had his traditional bratwurst, and grabbed a calzone for the way home. An interesting thing about Chris is that he has experienced very little in the way of fair/carnival/festival food. Until he met me, he had never experienced the glory of a lemon shake up. Our first year together was also shockingly the first time he ate a funnel cake. True, he hasn't much of a sweet tooth, but a funnel cake is a must. He still to this day has never eaten a corn dog.

The collectibles pavillion is a weird and wonderful place. There are 2 outdoor pavillions near the 11th Ave. entrance to the fairgrounds, and each year one is chickens and the other is collectibles. There you can find tin signs, movie posters, sports crap, Star Wars figures, trading card sets, and Pez. There is also a dealer who sells nothing but old metal enameled pins. You can find old concert pins, car logos, or Kermit the Frog.

Then there is the Marketplace. Politics, sunrooms, hot tubs, and every product you have ever seen on TV all under one roof. Where else can you enter to win a free sunroom, read anti-death penalty literature, get your signature analyzed and purchase an Oxy Clean Laundry Ball all in the same building? Nowhere but the Fair! While the Marketplace has some dumb stuff (cheap leather purses and anti-choice rhetoric) it also has fun stuff like the latest in massager technology, and it is where I purchased my first pair of Crocs. It also has one of those bulk candy dealers, where you mix and match crazy candy and pay by the pound. I love them because they have a good selection of non-chocolate candies, and they usually have Pez. The Marketplace is also air conditioned, which I swear, saves lives. The only other air conditioned place at the Fair is the dairy display, and it is usually packed with ice cream buyers and people checking out the butter sculpture. Which come to think of it, we missed this year, dammit!

By the way, we just photographed the BatCopter, we didn't ride in it. No way in hell were we paying $30 a person to ride a helicopter at the Fair. No way in hell.

The family visit continued with some fun in
a couple of local parks...

... followed by a kids' movie festival(lots of
Jim Henson and George Lucas)...

...then the grand finale--a day at the
Columbus Zoo!

On Sunday, we all went to the Star Wars exhibit at COSI. The Millennium Falcon cockpit mini-planetarium was a hit with the younger set (and Xan), while I enjoyed seeing Luke's landspeeder, the lightsabers and the 6ft. Millennium Falcon filming miniature up close.

Xan's parents met us later for Italian food, and while we went back home exhausted and full, Xan headed to OSU Hospital to spend the night in the sleep study wing...

Nephew & Nieces

Last week my parents packed the grandkids into a minivan and made the trip up to Columbus. Saturday night we had an India slideshow again for the first time in years(this time on TV via my laptop instead of a rickety old screen). The kids had never seen the pictures before, and seemed to enjoy the horrible late 60's/early 70's clothes and hairstyles the most. The girls loved this photo of their dad reading to Aunt Megan:


Jess-Belle surprised us that night by not being
terrified by a houseful of strangers. She really
took to Shannon (and vice-versa).

Jess-Belle

4 months old today, and she almost looks full-grown--she seems to grow overnight sometimes! I'll write some longer posts soon--busy with work and getting ready for company (the nephew and the nieces).
--C

The Midnighter

Here's a quick peek at the pencil artwork for the cover of The Midnighter #1. At least I hope it''ll be the cover--it still has to be approved; I did another piece that was supposed to be the issue #1 cover, but it's now being used as the cover of #2.
--C

June was a month of reconnecting...We started this blog for one thing, getting a few reponses from old and new friends ( Hi, Hiroshi! Hi, Leighton!). Xan and I also had a nice visit with my family, our first in a long, long time. My Uncle Jim from Wisconsin visited us last week as well--lots of fun!

Here are some recent photos:


Top: Xan & Shannon.
Center: Xan & my dad at Harper's Ferry.
Bottom: the family looks at who knows what while Xan looks at me.

When we weren't working, travelling or entertaining, we spent every spare second with our new little girl. She's still amazingly affectionate and playful(see the photos below). She's had all her shots and gotten a clean bill of health from the vet. Only problem so far is that she chewed through the speaker wires in the studio. I'm now investing in cable organizing tubing.

Sickeningly cute...I can't believe these are the first photos I'm posting of myself!
--C

New Project
A couple of people have asked about my current job, so this post is going to focus on that--anyone who doesn't have any interest in comics can skip this post, because it's going to be all about the funnybooks.

I'm working on The Midnighter, with writer Garth Ennis and Karl Story on inks. The Midnighter was created by Warren Ellis, another writer with whom I've done a few projects, and is supposed to be the most lethal man alive. He's previously appeared in Stormwatch and The Authority, both written by Ellis. I will warn anyone who cares about such things that this is probably the most violent book I've worked on(and if you've read Ocean and the WILDC.A.T.S./Aliens book I did with Warren, that's saying something), so it's not one for the kiddies--sorry! I'll post actual pages--the less violent ones--later, but for now, here are some pieces I did in preparation for the series as I tried to get a handle on the character. These probably won't be published anywhere, so it's a SprouseNet exclusive!

By the way--if anyone hasn't noticed already, if you click your mouse on most of the photos/images on this blog, you'll get to see larger versions of the selected image. In the case of the drawings below, the larger versions are almost the same size as the original artwork.

--C

India Again

This is one of my favorite slides from India--the Sprouses in front of the Taj Mahal, ca. 1971. Can't say "Hey--look at us--we're in India!" any better than that...I'm not exactly sure why we, the kids, look so grumpy. Maybe this was after Mike fell in one of the reflecting pools, thereby ending all horseplay for the day...

This one is my Dad at the Khyber Pass. That sure sounds exotic and full of intrigue...

--C

This was the view today from my drafting table...she's snuggling with my laptop.

She's three months old today and looking very different than she did just three weeks ago--less fuzzy all over(except for the ears) and much bigger. Much more coordinated, too.

Still cute as heck, though...
--C

Happy Father's Day
At left is one of my favorite photos ever of my Dad(and Mom). I chose this picture to share on Father's Day because I'm currently working on a project involving scanning the hundreds of Sprouse Family India slides(from our stay in India from 1970-72) into my computer.

I don't think I've ever said this before, but thanks, Dad, for allowing us to have such an interesting and colorful event in our lives. We rode an elephant, saw the Taj Mahal, visited countless other exotic sites. You taught me how to draw over there, and fostered our love of comics and science fiction. I wouldn't be the same person I am today without that trip as part of my past.

It isn't just the trip that is making me all nostalgic and syrupy. I also treasure the memories of the nights we'd hunker down as a family in the rec room and you'd set up the screen and projector while Mom prepared the fondu(it was the 70's)--or better yet, homemade Indian food--and we'd watch the India slideshow, complete with your narration. I've heard a lot of people complain about watching vacation slideshows--not me, at least in this case--those were good times!

Again, thanks, and happy Father's Day!
--C