The People’s Publisher

Hi everyone.

This week on Gustav Hayes we are slowing down from showing glitzy previews of the actual artwork to go behind the curtain a touch further. To begin. I had asked Morgan Jeske to give his insight into the process of building Gustav Hayes up to date. I thought this would appeal to those pitching and writing scripts - to hear the process from the writers perspective. Yes it is an easy blog post on my part. If I am feeling up to it (bloody head cold) than I might do a follow-up post else I will continue further upon this and more Gustav Hayes news next week. For now, take it away Morgan…

The Beta Book Editorial Process- Writers’ POV

The information was beamed to our respective brains from satellites the government doesn’t want us to know about, in the form of pink laser beams. It hurt…real hard. But seriously.

As I remember it, a series of introductory emails were exchanged between Robert (my editor) and myself, wherein we compared taste in comics, film, music etc. to get a sense of one another (it’s not what your like that matters, it’s what you like, silly) Quickly we dispensed with the pleasantries and got down to brass tax, reviewing the “script”(I think I wrote the original draft in crayon).

In my case, I had already formatted the script in one of many possible comic script templates. Panel description/action-Dialogue etc. So we had a leg up in that regard. Robert reviewed the script and sent back very detailed and constructive notes, suggesting changes in pacing and panel arrangement. Based on these brilliant notes, I took my baby (script) and cut off its arms (extraneous fat). You see without arms, it will fly out of the cannon faster. I developed the story in a way that allowed me to not get attached to any one aspect, very common law you might say, allowing the process to run very smoothly. I made changes, for the better, and we both approved the finalized script!

Robert (editor extraordinaire) hunkered down for what I can assume was a weekend filled with vodka and smelling salts, and thumb nailed the entire script for my leisurely viewing pleasure. Over at the dashboard, Robert and myself discussed the thumbnails compared to the script, also on the dashboard, and worked out any kinks in the story flow.

Parallel with our discussions of thumbnails, Robert and myself compiled what we refer to as a Vision Document. In this “bible” we crammed all of the influences for the story, be it images or links to similar comics. Also included were the aesthetic choices, such as, color palette, penciling style etc. In my case, I had already produced a story bible prior to the book getting picked up, so it was like a double whammy of culture. The purpose of the Document is to get the editors and the entire art team on the same page with regard to the overall tone and direction of the book. When all of the materials were combined, Robert and I reviewed and approved the Vision Document.

The next step was to choose our art team. This was the moment I had been dreaming about, on the nights I wasn’t dreaming about being the lizard the Kirk fights to the death on ‘Trek”, oh, to be blasted by the mighty rock shooting gun that Spock built(?!). Robert presented me with an artist whose style matched exactly what I described in the Vision Document (it’s really important see!) The Vision Document and the script were sent to the artist, and a series of character sketches were done and loaded onto the Dashboard for review by Robert and myself. After we settled on the art that worked, an official Pin-up to promote the book was requested of the artist. Once it came in we reviewed and approved it. On to Page X!

This is where the magical part of being a comic’s writer comes in. A page was chosen from the script, which represents the overall tone of the book, a page that contains within it, all the awesome the book has to offer. The artist penciled the page, we reviewed, requested revisions and approved. The penciled page was then sent to the inker, who inked (obviously), we reviewed and approved. Next the page was sent to colorist (who also happens to be the inker on ‘Hayes’, BONUS!!) We reviewed, requested changes and requested a few more, then finally approved. Last but not least, the letterer got his shot and turned in the “words” I wrote. Approved! This brings me to why this is so totally and completely awesome, I wrote some trite derivative story, and some really talented people took what I saw in my head and ran with it. In the case of Hayes, the pages that came in were interpreted in totally unique ways, beyond my expectations.

So there you have it, the process as I remember it. If I’ve left anyone or anything out and you’re reading this, and are enraged by my ignorance, please feel free to set your Bowel Disruptors to Pro-lapse and fire away.

I love you Comic Books!

Morgan Jeske
Gustav Hayes- writer

Are you pitching for Zeros 2 Heroes Comic Creation Nation? Are you working to flesh out your characters? Finishing up your script and figuring out which pages to upload for review? Trying to find an artist for your character sketches and ideas? Working on the final details of your pitches settings? Blogging about your development?

If so, Gustav Hayes wants to hear from you! He mutters to me in my sleep in that lovely stale vodka perfumed voice, “What are they thinking?” while I am struggling with the Zomboids around me. Quickly I answer, “Huh?” in a stylized word balloon over my head which draws my attention away from the Zomboids drooling attack. Looking like he’s about to hurl his cookies, Gustav begins to belt out a song and its like a blast of wind, the Zomboids smash against the wall and begin to melt away. I stumble to pull myself up from the floor only to get a hand from Sue Jones who helps refine Gustav’s question, “What are the people who are pitching for Comic Creation Nation thinking about the beta books?” Again I am very YeahBuWha? The scene ends with a number of shots with Malcom Ellis & Sue while Gustav finishes his version of That’s Entertainment by The Jam *. Gustav sings into a broken mic while balancing atop a few tables piled atop of one another inside the bar. The song and drinks take me back to my parka ridden teenage angst Mod days. Dreams. They mess with your head when you least expect it.

The question is still out there: What are the people who are pitching for Comic Creation Nation thinking about the beta books?

Have We The Editors (man that sounds like a bad bands name ), been given enough insight into the comic book creation? Is there anything else you are wondering about in comic book production? Anything else we are not showing or discussing? Are we giving enough insight to the process? Are you thinking about on what your pin-up will want to look like? Do you know which page of your script will make for a good Page X? We (me, my dreams plus everyone at Z2H) really want to know and hear back from YOU the people. The Z2H people! Give us a shout and let us know!

All that said, isn’t it wonderful to see the work being done on the beta books? The Mix & The Brothers McElroy look great. Did you see that teaser for The Mix? Bad ass! Gustav Hayes (the comic, not the dream) is rolling along. Development through rough pencils is being done, reviewed and revisions requested of full penciled pages. Here is a teaser of a panel rough by Mauro…

* Want Z2H editors to dream about your comic? Remember to provide a wonderful and great soundtrack play list that echoes in our dreams (Thanks Morgan!)

Hey everyone,

Welcome to more Gustav Hayes. Today I am going to discuss the pin-up for the book.

During the initial review and development with the writer, we came to what we thought would be a great idea for the pin-up. The pin-up is to characterize the central “hero” of the book for the entire team. We put together and sent this additional information to the art team so they had a good idea of the world for Gustav Hayes. Not everything is detailed in the script, as many who have made pitches can see - settings, themes, and characters need to be fleshed out to help give a better understanding of your vision for the book.

Here is Mauro’s initial pin-up of Gustav (I love this artwork so much, I might even get this shot as a tattoo!)…

As much as the writer and I agreed that this was a great profile shot it was not what we were looking for to really capture the accents of Gustav Hayes. So we asked for a revision and we got…

Now here we went from profile shot to full view shot but it still wasn’t exactly what we wanted. Another revision was requested…

This was a nice action shot of Gustav (love the jacket!), given that he’s a singer, but it was a little too much Elvis, Sintra and Michael Jackson. Gustav was to have that sad sack look and feel. The reluctant hero so after more reviews, revision we got…

This pin-up just nails Gustav! Shows the sad sack of a reluctant hero and a good base for the entire team. It then went from pencils to inks and full coloring (love the jacket and stains!)…

Bingo Bango and well here’s… Gustav! You may have noticed that both the pin-up and Page X coloring are using toning. The vision from the writer is to give it the old school ’80s feel to the book. The coloring through-out the book will be mixed with grey tones to give the comic that unique look and feel.

Thoughts? Do you like the pin-ups? Not like the pin-ups? Think that we missed something in your vision of Gustav? What do you think he would look like?

Next week more… wait.. what? *looks into the audience* No… I have no Page X lettered to show you all. Why? Well I am being a tease. I do not want to give too much away before the book is done. Next week, I hope to show you all some penciled “roughs” from Mauro of the first few pages of the full production of the book. Same Gustav time. Same Gustav channel!

*Listens to his ear piece* Oh yeah. Happy New Years! Hope everyone had a good one!

Feliz Navidad!

Is it just me or does eggnog create a zombie-like effect on the body? It’s a few days since Xmas and *hic* I am still feeling like about as smart as Frosty the Snowman. I think someone needs to stop spiking that ‘nog!

Okay… so what are we doing here? (squints off camera for a cue) *hic* Oh right, Gustav Hayes…

Did anyone get a chance to see Joshs great post which showed the aspects of putting a Page X together? What a wonderful post to get an insight as to what is involved in the process. Those thumbnails Josh made are great! My thumbnails on Gustav Hayes are more drunken monkey style (poor drawing) . During the script review process I had drawn out each page thumbnails for a visual sense of the dialog, the pacing and breaking down panels per page to see how they work. At times during Gustav Hayes certain pages may have needed more definition in this panel or maybe compress others to get a sense of pacing. Pacing, what do I mean by pacing? I mean that not each page needs to be written the 6 panel template - meaning 2 panels top, 2 middle, 2 bottom. Yes some writers can make it work in the comic book medium, Warren Ellis on FELL comes to mind, but if you look at the majority of comics they are not built into a set panel template. Pacing is built with the story and paneling toward a climax, scene or story arc. In my discussions with Morgan Jeske, I had built out the thumbnails which we then reviewed and helped finalize the script. Here is a shot of my Page X thumbnail (before I knew this would be Page X. To me this was Page 13 out of 22)…

After the finalized script, the art team worked to build out Page X. Starting on Pencils by Mauro Gianetto…

to Inks by Cristian Valdes…

to Colors also by Cristian Valdes…

To Lettering by… (looks off camera for his cue) Oh right, we are still in review and discussion of the lettering of Page X. Moving along…

Of course the writer has full approval along the way. One key element of the job as an editor is to coordinate between the artwork, the art team and the writer to ensure we are building towards the one single vision of the book. Often this means to take a critical look at all the stages for review. At one point we had a great colored page (see below) which missed the point that Gustav is to be wearing a powder blue suit. Also we wanted one of the other characters to have a slightly darker tone to imply that he is part Zomboid (cue creepy music). An eye for detail is required.

As mentioned, at this time we are in review and discussion of the lettering of Page X. That said, Mauro has begun working on pencils for the rest of the book and I hope to get that work flow from pencils to inks to colors started today.

Next week I hope to have the lettered Page X and perhaps some roughs on the others pages. It is great to say that Gustav Hayes has begun!

Hey everybody (in a Doctor Nick voice),

As you can see it has been a busy week for the beta books. The Mix and Brother McElroy look amazing! We are all in full production of the mysterious Page X which I am sure you have gathered now is not so mysterious. It is a Zeros 2 Heroes process of building 1 page of the comic book to get the look & feel, tone and overall sense of the book. With a nice range of action and all the characters in the book if possible.

During the recent production of the Gustav Hayes page X, I realized one key part of being an editor on this beta book. Managing expectations with everyone involved. Clear communication with the entire team is a must. I think at times it can be forgotten that working on a comic book, as cool and fun as it is, at this point is a business and professional. Often I think a clear outline of deadlines and expectations are required to keep everyone focused and on the same page. Often life crops up which can take your eye off the ball and a crucial role that an editor needs to play is the “coach” of the entire team. To know to pull the goalie or who to put out on the power play (My hockey reference for the day)!

To follow up on what Alex mentioned in his blog, what I bring to Zeros 2 Heroes and these beta books is my experience at managing various web development projects and exactly the same elements seem to be arising. Managing those expectations, managing the team and ensuring work flow for realistic deadlines. I have to agree with Alex’s post that important skills are knowing the language (written & visual), the love for the medium and a great deal of patience.

Now now enough about me rambling about myself, lets get to Gustav Hayes so far…

Gustav Hayes has gone through a few revisions on Page X and pin-ups and I am going to tease all you fans (maybe with enough comments, next week I will show more… maybe *grin*) with some pencils and inks. As mentioned the great pencils are being done by Mauro Gianetto and stunning inks and coloring is being done by Cristian Valdes. Here is a taste of page X, pencils and inks.

So in the coming days more production on Page X and final character sketches. Lots of work is underway so I am hoping tons to show you next week but wait… don’t run off just yet!

Now I know you are asking yourself - Who wrote Gustav Hayes? Do I know the writer? Well lets check out his bio…

Morgan Jeske

My brain retains an inordinate amount of Pop culture information. Comics, film and music propel me forward in daily life (that and coffee injected directly into my veins). My goal with this book is to create a story, which allows me to pour all of this knowledge into a Pulp action adventure story. I have dubbed it pop confection— with intelligence.

I’ve got some “serious” books in me, but with this first foray into comics I wanted to convey the love I have for that special feeling one gets upon finding bizarre old comics in a giant cardboard box handed down to you by a cool uncle. That is of course before your mom threw them away. It is a entertaining little slice of culture, something you can stuff in your back pocket and read many times over.

Gustav Hayes will definitely be a fun book! Wait, look, more stuff! I got a chance to corner Morgan and ask him a bunch of comic bookish questions:

1. Gustav Hayes is your comic book to be published by Zeros 2 Heroes, who is your favorite comic book hero?

I’ll automatically exclude the spandex fetishists and say Spider Jerusalem from ‘Transmetropolitan’. If there was a gun to my head. Robert, what are you doing? Put that down! That’s not to say I don’t love me some spandex, cause I do, but they don’t tend to carry Bowel Disruptors.

2. Your a comic book fan, Marvel, DC or ?

This will sound like a cop out, I know, but I LOVE of the medium in general. Right now I’m reading books from many different publishers.

3. Gustav Hayes based in an eighties post apocalyptic world. What was your favorite eighties fad?

Lycra. Key-tars. Shoulder pad imbued, post-apocalyptic villains. Delorians.

4. Your favorite comic book(s) on the stands these days?

Casanova. DMZ. Fear Agent. Doktor Sleepless. Godland. Punisher:WJ. Immortal Iron Fist. Criminal. etc. What? You expected me to choose one?

5. Your initials are MJ, Mary Jane or Gwen Stacey?

Which one’s not dead, cause that would be gross.

6. You’re a writer, your favorite cliche?

The anti-hero who chooses to—wait, never-mind!

“It is a cliche that most cliches are true, but then, like most cliches, that cliche is untrue.”
-Stephen Fry

7. Given that your comic is being done by Zeros 2 Heroes, who is an upcoming creator in the industry that you follow or support?

Matt Fraction. Though, at the moment he’s getting lots of press. I mention his books wherever and whenever I get the chance. Fraction, like Ellis, has a very distinctive voice, I know when I ‘m reading a book he has written. Has everyone read ‘Casanova’ ? THAT BOOK SHOULD BE IN BEDSIDE TABLES IN HOTEL ROOMS.

8. Better actor Morgan Freeman or Harry Morgan (Col. Potter in M*A*S*H*)?

You know, I never got into M*A*S*H*. I’ll get chastised for this I know, but, the laugh track always turned me off. So I ‘ll go with Morgan Freeman. Standout role : “10 Items or Less” A film he did a couple years ago. He played an actor, very laid back, how I imagine him to be. Plus he narrated ‘March Of The Penguins’ ! There’s a line he utters in that film that was unintentionally funny to me, “The penguin suffers excruciating pain” I kept picturing Andy Dufreine and the sisters.

9. You’re an artist, who is your favorite comic book artist?

Right now, at this very moment? Fabio Moon. Simple lyrical lines, very sensual. It is just dripping with awesome.

10. A movie that inspired you for Gustav Hayes?

Imagine yourself tied down ‘Clockwork’ style, forced to watch ‘Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome’ over and over, spliced with beat boxed samples of the ‘Escape From New York’ theme and multiply that by the first time you watched ‘Empire Strikes Back’/ ‘Say Anything’ + ‘The Weekend’ by Fellini with a man-sized serving ‘Big Trouble In Little China’

Alright. Stay tuned for more Gustav Hayes. Same Gustav time. Same Gustav channel.. ur…um.. blog!

Hey everyone,

Well production is starting to kick into high gear on the beta books. I am very excited to mention that Gustav Hayes is moving along from script to artwork!

All us beta book associate editors started out working with the writers to get the scripts up to par, review and revise to the point that it would be ready for production. While working on Gustav Hayes, I was lucky that Morgan Jeske had a great script already in a comic book format. I had a great time working with Morgan and a series of thumbnails (yes, bad Robert artwork and all) which helped put the script into its final format.

As mentioned we use a Zeros 2 Heroes tool called The Dashboard. This allows for discussion & review with the entire team on a comic book. As we are working on the Dashboard, us editors are also putting the tool through its paces in this test run. Noting bugs we find and making comments on what would make the tool better is all part of this beta books experience. From script edits to visual thumbnails and final artwork, the Dashboard is a great tool!

So production on the Gustav Hayes is in the pin-up stage where we are working to nail down one character sketch which encompasses the main character bang on. Our penciler Mauro Gianetto has also made a number of pin-ups of some of the supporting characters & villains. Take a look!

The above pencils are shots of Sue Jones, Malcom Ellis (wow - both these characters look like people I knew from mid-80’s high school! Yes, I am that old… *le sigh* :P) plus the dreaded post-nuclear Zomboid! I can just feel the zany and fun 1980’s nuke movies vein in these great pin-ups. The angular and lyrical lines are exactly that artwork that we wish on the book. The artwork gets me so excited!

From this point, we build the final pin-up from pencils to inks to coloring and once approved by the writer (to ensure that we are on the right track art-wise) then we move along to Page X. Yes, Page X it is as mysterious and mutant-like as it sounds. Once the final pinup is completed, I will post it up here for everyone to see the process of pencils, inks and finally the colors.

Cheers,
Robert

Hi everyone,

I wanted to introduce myself and start by talking about this great beta book, Gustav Hayes. Some people might know me, Robert Parizek, from my comic book blog Between The Staples and I am the associate editor on Gustav Hayes. I won’t bore you with my comic & tech geek background but I am a fan & writer myself. I am working closely under the great guidance of Julian Lawrence, Jessica Clark and Matt Toner along with the wonderful Morgan Jeske, the writer of Gustav Hayes. Those who might not know, Gustav Hayes is one of three “beta” books being done to test drive the comic book process for the upcoming Comic Creation Nation event. These beta books will give everyone, including and especially YOU fans, a chance to see how it all works under the hood. We hope that while we are in development of these books, you fans will give us feedback, comments and help guide the process of how we are making this comic for the Comic Creation Nation.

So lets talk Gustav Hayes. What is this book about? What kind of book is it?

Well this book has a strange yet crazy fun feel in the vein of other comics like Transmetropolitan, The Filth and Casanova. The book is heavily influenced by movies such as Escape from New York, Shaun of the Dead and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Wait why don’t I let the writer, Morgan Jeske, fill you in a little more on his thoughts on this book…

“Paleo-Future. The Eighties. In the wake of a nuclear war a burned out Pop singer with Totemic lyrical abilities battles hordes of evil creatures sent to destroy the remnants of civilization. Music will save the world.” - Morgan Jeske

I believe that sums up the book very well. This is not your typical super hero comic book which should make it stand up and be noticed! Gustav Hayes is your broken anti-hero amidst the post apocalyptic nightmare of a world he is in. A 40 year old former pop singer who wears it well considering the damage he’s done to himself. Picture Gustav dressed in the same powder blue tux (cockroach anyone?) he’s always worn, fighting zomboids, those post apocalyptic eighties armies (remember them from all those hordes of bad movies? Well I do and i love’em!) and his own dark faults all the while realizing that “Hey… maybe I do have the power to save the world!” while singing his songs.

Well that’s it for me today. I can’t wait till we get more from the art team to put up here. Stay tuned for more production news, artwork, thumbnails, concept artwork… you name it - it will be here - your one-stop-sop for all things Gustav Hayes!