Saturday, August 25, 2007

Who We Are

So I received pages from the 2 artists still completing their stories with assurance that this will be the week that they're done, AND I got the inside cover finished. We're sooooo close!

I decided a long time ago that since so many people were contributing to this anthology, I wanted a unique way to showcase who everyone was. So I enlisted Lauren Monardo (as I tend to enlist her for everything I possibly can) to create zombifications of all of the contributing artists. These zombifications will make up a big portion of the inside cover -- and they're done!

So here they are, the JHZ faithful in all of their zombified glory!
(obviously you need to give the image a 'click' to actually see them)



~ Stephen

Friday, August 24, 2007

Cool Piece

I thought it would be interesting, as the anthology gets so close to being finished, to see all of the different interpretations of zombie ass whoopin' Jesus. So I put this piece together featuring a shot of Jesus from a panel from every story in the anthology. Damn all of these artists ROCK!

Click on the image to enlarge it.

~ Stephen

Pencils and Inks

I'm a major appreciator of art. I love it. I love sketches, rough pencils, layouts, inks, tones, colors, paintings... you get the idea -- I love art in all its many forms. So I figured for my post today I'd show you guys two examples of some great art in its various stages. First up is a penciled panel by Mark Lauthier from the story House of Worship:

That's Mark's interpretation of JCs faithful zombie sidekick Laz.

And here we have a completely inked and toned panel byJordan Dalton from the story Beginnings:


I'm like a kid on Christmas morning when I open my email to find artwork waiting for me.
~ Stephen

Thursday, August 23, 2007

For God's Sake, Cover Yourself!

Here they are, the front and back covers of Jesus Hates Zombies: Those Slack-Jaw Blues. Click on them to see larger versions.



Let me know what you think!

~ Stephen

Teaser-tease...

Just popping in to drop a tidbit from a panel by my boy Down Under -- Mark Lauthier.


Like I said, that's not the whole panel, just a tasty treat to wet your whistle...

Believe me, the story Mark is working on, House of Worship, hits so many levels of bad-ass-ish-ness that you're going to feel like you took a Holy Louisville Slugger upside your noggin'!

~ Stephen

Why I'm a Writer

My plan from now on is to drop a blog a day in here, regardless of what's going on (or not going on, as the case may be).

Today, there's not a whole helluvalot goin' on with the comic. I did receive an update from each of the artists still working no their stories, which is encouraging. I'm ok with waiting, as long as I know the work is being done. Hell, when you can't afford to pay your artists, patience is a BIG TIME virtue! You've gotta have flexi-deadlines because it's not like the artists involved can afford to drop everything and work on this project since it ain't puttin' food on their tables. (yet!)

One of the artists, Jordan Dalton, sent me a GORGEOUS page that he's just completed. His ability to use tones to bring a black & white page to life amazes me. He creates a living, breathing world that is devoid of color... and that's no easy feat! Wanna see what Jordan's view of my idea of downtown Heaven looks like?


Simply awesome... it's as gaudy and obnoxious as any large city here on Earth!

And now it's time for a little laugh at my expense. Here's the reason why I must rely so heavily on the talents of others to bring the JHZ world to life:


Yes, that is what JC would look like drawn by me...

Done laughing? Yeah... I know... thank GOD I have artists who are willing to work with me! LOL!

~ Stephen

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

New Look, Same Blasphemy

Ok, ok... so it's been 3 months since I last posted... I've been busy! I've had... er... stuff and things going on... Yeah, that's it. But I'm back now, and I PROMISE to be more diligent with my posting!

So what's going on with JHZ?

LOTS and LOTS and LOTS!!!

First, the anthology is nearly done. There are only 2 stories left to be completed. Once that's done, I'll somehow scrape together the money to start printing this thing! Please check out the ComicSpace page to see some really great stuff from the book. Each and every artist involved in bringing this crazy idea to life is my hero. They've rocked my socks off with the level of work they've done!

I also just recently turned in an exclusive 12 page JHZ story to Alterna Comics for a book they're publishing in October called Alterna Tales #2. Lauren Monardo provided the art, and we both feel like we've turned in a pretty sweet stand-alone JHZ story that you're not gonna find anywhere else but in that anthology! It's only gonna cost a couple of bucks, so if you dig JHZ, please please please pick it up! The more they sell, the better our chances are of getting a mini-series run for JHZ with Alterna Comics. And 2 creator/artist friends of mine have amazing books publishing through Alterna: Jeff McComsey's American Terror: Confessions of a Human Smart Bomb and Michael Bracco's Birth and Novo. Both books absolutely rule, so I highly recommend picking them up!

Wanna see the latest JHZ ad? It features artwork by Steve Willhite, one of the talented artists who's contributed to the anthology:


The cover to the anthology is also finished, and it features an amazing painting by Jeff McComsey:


The back cover is also completed, and it features more kick-ass artwork by Lauren Monardo. I was also lucky enough to get 2 terrific endorsements for the back cover by 2 people in the comic business that I really respect: Chris Ryall, the writer of Zombies Vs. Robots and the Editor-in-Chief at IDW Publishing and Matt Billman, the co-creator of the brilliant comic Living With Zombies. The simple fact that these guys would take the time to check out JHZ and then allow me to use a quote by them for the book blows me away. I'm eternally grateful to them both.

Well, I guess that's a pretty badass update for now, ain't it? There will be a lot more to come soon, I promise!

~ Stephen