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"ZEGAS" All About Process Los Press

Zegas #1: Process and Props

The response to Zegas #1 has been remarkably positive from all sorts of pockets of the comics world! A reminder: this self-published effort contains all-new material that cannot and will not be seen online in its entirety. I can hardly promise that it will be collected into trade form, either. This comic is specifically designed to be read page to page as a physical object, ideally on an issue-by-issue basis. Izzat cool witchu?

At the moment, it can be purchased from me through Etsy (many thanks to those of you who have done so) or support your local comic book shop by purchasing it through them, most notably Bergen Street Comics, Desert Island, Jim Hanley’s Universe, Big Planet Comics, Time Warp, Floating World, and Quimby’s. You can also find it in book stores such as BookCourt, P.S. Bookstore, and St. Mark’s Bookshop.

P R O P S

Zegas #1 was recently reviewed by Matthew J. Brady for his Warren Peace Sings the Blues blog. It’s always a pleasure to read his comics reviews and a thrill to carry a combative dialogue through message threads with him. Keep in mind that this is not the same Matt from Newsarama; this one likes cats.

Another review was by Matt Seneca for The Comics Journal. I’ve followed Matt’s comic, “Affected”, for a while and have enjoyed its formal boldness. Plus, it’s fun as fuck. Whether it be through Death to the Universe, Your Wednesday Sequence, or his Deathcast, Matt’s critical observations always cut straight to the bone and are worth your time.

Pop Dose just put up this review of Zegas #1 in Johnny Bacardi’s column, Confessions of a Comics Shop Junkie. Mr. Bacardi and I go way back, in that this interview of mine with Trevor Von Eeden wouldn’t have been possible without his help. It was through his Thriller website that I met Johnny, and I’ve been following his blog since. Do the same.

P R O C E S S

Since I’m a fan of the comics-making process, I thought I’d share a few brief examples of how I worked on certain aspects of Zegas #1. The way I make a comic page changes all the time, but below are the most typical steps I take.

This issue contained a larger cast than I’m used to handling. I’ve gotten used to drawing the main characters, Emily & Boston, but I wasn’t sure how these other folks were gonna look. Thankfully, it didn’t take a slew of study sheets to nail them down.

One panel, three samples: pencil, ink, and color. All by hand.

Another character sketch.

I knew I had to carefully stage this following splash page. Lots going on here, but the main concern was clearly portraying a sense of movement through a specific space. I liked the rough layout and tried to remain faithful to its foundation.

Writing comics has got to be one of the most difficult things I do throughout this entire process. Takes me forever, too. I write and re-write and edit the results while trying not to kill any initial spark they may have had. I’d hate to snuff out the spontaneity of any given scene, so I try not to overwork it.

As far as a “script” goes, I find that scribbling on any ol’ sheet of paper yields better results than typing. I can barely get a sense of how a comic will read any time I read a comic script, by anyone. This is how I’m most comfortable.

Here are a couple of layouts.

“Plum” is the only story that has portions of digital coloring. See those dot patterns down there? No, not the black dots, those are actual sticker sheets of Zip-A-Tone (running low, should scan). I mean the red and orange parts. Those are digital. It was fun to do, but I’d hate to color an entire comic like that. You start getting really hateful towards the end and you wish all color would disappear from the world. Maybe that’s just me.

That’s the word on the first issue. The second issue is coming along and looking great. I’m not even that distracted by the sudden rush of accomplishment and adoration. Actually, I can’t work fast enough to get more Zegas issues out there, and I have all of you to thank.

–Fiffe

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"ZEGAS" Comics I Make

ZEGAS #1 is coming!

I’m proud to announce that Zegas #1 is making its debut this August! I’ll let the official release date be known as soon as I know myself. I’ve started taking the first few steps toward building a self-publishing empire, y’see, and the first thing out the gate is this limited edition, full color, 32 page, magazine size premiere issue of Zegas with print exclusive new material!

Some of you may be familiar with the Zegas characters, Emily and Boston, from their previous anthology appearances. This time, print is the preferred mode of presentation and, again, it’s all new material that will remain offline. This is the precise direction Zegas was always intended to go in, specifically in the single issue format. Meaning, each issue will feature self contained stories while expanding the overall structure. Other non-related stories will be subsequently added, which will essentially make Zegas a one-man anthology driven by the potential of the comics form and the absolute freedom to execute them. All that through the intimate and unique, yet casual delivery system of a physical, pulpy comic.

In light of all this, a celebration is in order!

To celebrate the occasion, Brooklyn’s own Bergen Street Comics will be hosting the official Zegas #1 release party on Friday, August 19th! They’re one of my favorite shops and I suspect most of you will be back from your Caribbean Cruise by then, so please join the festivities!

The very next day I’ll be at the Baltimore Comic-Con, sitting and signing copies for the remainder of the weekend while suppressing the urge to rifle through back issue bins. It’ll be a packed weekend, for sure, and I look forward to seeing you all!

There’s no other way to put it: I can’t wait for you to see this. I’ve been waiting to release Zegas in this exact format, with this exact approach for quite a long time. Every imaginable step of the way has been exciting and as a result, I’ve never been more proud.

–Fiffe

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"ZEGAS" Art & Illustration

Zegas Commissions & the Black Terror

These here pieces are a few recent commissions I did of my Zegas characters, Emily & Boston. It’s weird drawing commissions because there’s little room for mistakes. Zero room, actually, and so I was super careful in the inking and hand coloring. Considering how messy I can be sometimes, I’m proud at how clean they turned out!

On the flip side, I’ve been toying around with digital coloring these past few weeks, and who better to practice on than the Black Terror? You may have seen this guy around, he’s one of those public domain Golden Age properties. It’s basically the Punisher with a cape… how could I not draw that? The drawing itself is in ink and his gray/yellow suit is hand colored, the rest is digital. Although it looks like the simplest, most rudimentary set of choices, what you see here is me trying to figure this whole coloring thing out.

It was fun, but I don’t know if I’d like to do an entire comic like that. It would take forever. For now, I’ll try to stick to what I know.

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"ZEGAS" Los Press

ZEGAS on MTV

My comic ZEGAS is being featured over at MTV GEEK! ZEGAS is the first in line of many other Act-i-vate comics to be showcased over there. Additionally, my art adorned the MTV GEEK site for these couple of weeks (art details shown above and below). Anyway, the comic looks really great and is easy to navigate (via Comixology). Forgive my naive geeking out over the fullscreen option, but the pages look nicer than I anticipated so I’m pretty taken with them.

MTV has split the ZEGAS story “Birthday” into three installments: One, Two, and Three.

Also of possible interest, read this accompanying interview I did which is full of laffs and yuk.

On top of all this, yet another ZEGAS story has been posted over at ARTHUR MAGAZINE! The story perfectly fits the “sidescreen” format and I really appreciate them having it aboard. I’ve been a longtime fan of the magazine, so this is a real treat for me!