Comics I Made, Comics I'm Working On, Comics I Like, etc.
Author:Dan
Lives in: Cambridge, Mass.
Does: comics.
Used to live in: Topanga Canyon, California
But grew up in: Cambridge, mostly
Used to do (maybe still?): Screenwriter, journalist, teaches some too
Now through September 17, Boston Comics Roundtable is raising funds for the second year of “Boston Powers,” Superhero comics for kids, set in and around Boston:
A virtual reading/signing for Lunatic will be hosted by the Harvard Bookstore on Thursday, January 28 at 7 pm. The event is free, and will feature a “reading” and a conversation about the book with the great Whit Taylor.
Two recent positive reviews for “Lunatic.” In the Boston Globe, Nina McLaughlin wrote on December 17: “Moonglow. Cambridge native Dan Mazur’s magic new book “Lunatic†(Ninth Art) is an elegant, moving wordless story of a woman’s ardent relationship with the moon. The illustrations move from her infancy to her adulthood, as she tilts her gaze upwards, dreamy and yearning, to see a companion peering back down at her. She devotes herself to its study at university, and launches herself towards it in more literal ways. The atmosphere of illustration shifts as time moves; Mazur, a co-founder of the Boston Comics Roundtable and the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo, uses ink washes, pencil and nib pen, acrylic paints, giving each lifestage a distinct energy. The main character has a force and vitality to her, and a solitude. There is ardor in her, and melancholy, too. Mazur takes her on an otherworldly journey, and opens us to the different incarnations intimacy and life meaning can take. He also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process and decision-making that went into the making of the book, a compelling look at artistic choices for both artists and readers alike.”
My new character, The Blue Lobster, makes his debut in issue 3 of “Boston Powers,” the kid-friendly, Boston-based superhero comic from Boston Comics Roundtable (which I also edited, so no wonder my story made it in!) You can buy it! Here: http://bostoncomics.com/boston-powers-on-sale-now/
I got my copies of the “official” Fanfare edition of Lunatic, so I now have the book available in 2 sizes: the Fanfare version is 240 by 190 mm (about 8.5 x 7.5 inches). My first version was printed at 12 by 9 inches, so… bigger! I still have a few of those left for sale, the downside being it doesn’t have the 11-page “process” epilogue added for Fanfare. But they’re both $20 (plus $5 for shlepping and handling), so take your pick! Asking your local comics shop or bookstore to order it for you works too!
Order here – please specify which version you want (price is the same $20 = $5 shipping)
My graphic novel/wordless book “Lunatic” will be published by Fanfare Presents and available in stores this winter; I’ll have copies this month, and it can be pre-ordered on Amazon as well.
But RIGHT NOW I have a copies of a Special Limited Edition, printed before Fanfare picked up the book. One feature of this version is that it’s printed at the actual art size (the book is 12″x9″). The regular edition will be slightly smaller (approx 9.5 x 7.5″). It’ll look great at that size too of course.
Relative sizes of Limited Edition (left) and Fanfare edition (right)
Relative sizes of a 2-page spread in the Special Edition (above) and Fanfare version (below)
Both editions are hardcover, and both will cost $20, plus shipping & handling ($5 in the U.S., contact me for overseas shipping). I don’t have many of the limited edition ones though!
I’ve gone back and added a few pages to the final chapter of Lunatic,… a chance to do more spattering!
Pencils:
Inks:
The globe-y thing in the middle is supposed to be casting light, so I want to shade the character’s clothing and face using ink-spatter. I mask off the areas that will NOT be shaded, using lots of little pieces of blue tape (and a piece of paper to block off the rest of the page):
Then pull out the old toothbrush-dipped-in-black ink and flick it at the paper a bunch of times: