General Announcements – Page 3

Mark your Calendars – FCBD!

My fellow fans!

We’ve got our very first official announcements straight from the Shellback’s mouth!

Shellback Artworks in Wells, ME will have a few special guests Peter Laird, Jim Lawson and at least one other mystery guest…

AND… At Jetpack Comics in Rochester, NH, Kevin Eastman and Tom Waltz will be prowling about. So get ready to dress up, grab your shwag and have a good time!
~Machias

Dragonfly – A Graphic Novel by Jim Lawson

Well, looks like we’ve got some more original projects coming down the pipeline from our beloved Mirage guys.

Talking with Steve Levigne a few weeks back, he had mentioned that Jim was working on an original graphic novel. Jim explains a little bit about his new project:

I came up with the idea to do Dragonfly about a year ago. I’ve done dinosaur comics in the past, but I wanted this one to be a little different.
Although I’ve just labeled this a dinosaur comic, I don’t really consider it simply that. In the pages of Dragonfly, I knew that I wanted to gather all the creatures, things and characters that I have an affinity for- aliens, robots, funky post-apocalyptic vehicles and then of course, the occasional T-Rex.
Secondly, I made my decision early in the creative process to include both human and anthropomorphized characters in this world. I think that the cast of a story is terribly important and I’ve put a lot of thought into developing characters that work well together and enhance one another. The relationship that these individuals have seems like it could lead to some fun interactions and situations. Along with that, I wanted this new comic to be a little wacky and strange- I didn’t want to be constrained by scientific fact, or things that just wouldn’t be possible in our reality.

I’d not heard of this Kickstarter website before, so I looked into it. To contribute, you can offer Any amount… even a dollar. And Jim’s got all sorts of little treats and privileges to offer as a thank you for helping him reach his goal.

So if you like Jim’s artwork and want to chip in, or if you’re just curious to see what he’s up to, stop in and take a peek:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1056947565/dragonfly-an-adventure-tale-of-dinosauric-proporti

~Machias

New Episodes, Characters… and a sneak peek of our new Karai?

Well, big news is ALL over the internet right now – We’ve got new episodes starting up next week in a Friday night prime-time Premiere, and we’ve got new characters coming out of the woodwork!

According to Yahoo News:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is back with new episodes starting Friday, Jan. 25, 7/6c with “I, Monster.” In that episode, the Turtles face a new enemy, The Rat King. Nickelodeon will air a Ninja Turtles marathon that night as part of its “Total Turtle Takeover.” After that, new episodes will premiere in the show’s regular time slot, Saturdays at 11am/10c.

So we’ll finally be seeing the Rat King in all his decomposed glory..

We also had some updates regarding sneak peeks at some of the upcoming characters. First, it’s been confirmed that none other than Roseanne Barr is going to voice the evil “Queen Bee” of the Kraang. We’ll be hearing her cackle during the big Season Finale.

We’ve also learned that the buxom beauty once known as Elvira is going to be voicing a Genome scientist known only as Mrs Campbell – who strangely has found April quite Interesting… which could be good OR bad, depending on your personal take…

Next, we’ve also been confirmed that the one and only Corey Feldman will be making a return to the Turtle realm in the second season. He made a big hit as the original voice of Donatello in the first movie back in the early 90s. Some speculation is that he will be none other than the possible “April love interest” Casey Jones. If you’ve been peeking at the graffiti throughout the episodes, you may have been lucky to see some of his tags..

Last, but not least… and the one I wanted to leave to last… Kelly Hu, who’s been in just about EVERYthing, from Phineas and Ferb to XMen to Vampire Diaries and currently, Arrow (my personal favorite ATM), will be the voice of our upcoming villainess Karai.

Now, I’m sure some of you are staring at the picture up above and wondering what the design crew was thinking. I’ll admit, My gut reaction at first was,”She looks like she’s got a unibrow.” Some joked that if she is ‘as lethal as she is beautiful’, she’s going to be an easy target. But looking at this more, I can understand Some of the elements the design team used…

She looks older than the boys… like, closer to 17 years old. Plus, that pose and facial expression is not the most photogenic look for Anyone. So she’s not going to have the soft round face like April… the typical smarmy antagonist is going to jut their chin out like a jerk.

In the matter of her Wolverine Hair: She’s been raised as a warrior. Long hair is going to be a nuisance and probably less of a hazard if it’s been cut short. The bangs… probably the only thing to show her as female compared to the rest of the foot when in uniform. *shrug*

Personally, I’d like to see MORE pictures of her, maybe some different angles or poses, so we can get a better picture of what she’s going to look like. I’ve has my suspicions that Karai may be none other than Splinter’s ‘lost’ daughter Miwa, but… time will tell.

The show has not disappointed us with the character designs, so let’s give her a chance and see what else comes out.

Cheers!

~Machias

You’re gonna Love my Dad: Shellback Artworks, Wells Maine

Happy New Year, my fellow Machines!

Ahh, a new year, new beginnings… one of my personal resolutions being to get Back into drawing again. Unfortunately, I’ve had such a drought of creativity, I didn’t know where I was gonna find my starting point.

Then, last week, I received an e-mail from a pleasant fellow named David, and a link to a ‘commercial’ he created involving his best friend’s dad – Steve Lavigne – and his comic/art shop “Shellback Artworks”.

Needless to say, the commercial inspired me to go to the shop. It’s just over the border in Wells, and it was a nice drive today.

It’s a simple two-level set up, with original artwork on the walls TMNT and Non-TMNT. The main level has plenty of current comics, old swag from the Old Toon days, art supplies and even the full-sized Turtle statues. And they are BIG. They made me feel normal-height. 🙂

The upstairs was part art gallery, part classroom setting. Steve has some short classes where he helps kids and adults learn how to draw their own characters and make their pictures look like comic book covers. Talk about an experience to treasure…

The Mirage guys have taken part in a few signing events there, and they’ve all contributed to the shop in different ways. It’s nice to know that they still get together … like a wacky, slightly dysfunctional family.

Steve was a great host. We ended up talking for two hours about everything from comparing traditional vs digital art, Mirage comics and the current TMNT cartoon, even things like cars, transformers and best of all, the Mirage crew’s original projects.

One project in particular I liked were two children’s books Steve’s illustrated, which have music written by Tim Janis – very well known, if you’re from New England. “Shine like a Lighthouse” and “Twinkle Star’s Adventure”. It’s the tale of the sea creatures that live in the waters surrounding the Nubble Lighthouse in Cape Neddick. The illustrations are cute and colorful, the music is enjoyable (sounds a Lot like James Taylor), and the plushies of the two main characters are sure to become favorites with your little ones.

So after taking a picture and buying a few things, we bid farewell with plans to meet again – next time, with my brother’s antique car and some new artwork – if there was ever such a thing as a creativity transfusion, I received one today.

Be sure to check them out on facebook, learn of the glory that is the Eberhard Faber indigo blue drafting pencil, and stop by the shop and say Hi to Steve. Things are quiet right now, but as the weather warms up, so will the activities and upcoming events.

So Stay Tuned!

~Machias