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Codename: Jericho (CNTRL/ALT/DEL) New Trilogy Story 2021 Goals

1/21/2021

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Gooooood evening, everyone! Hope you're all doing fine. I just wanted to write a brief blog about one of my most ambitious stories yet: a story that's a trilogy titled Codename: Jericho. It's something I've had in mind doing as a novel, starting off as part of the NaNoWrimo challenge a few years back.
Many personal things came about that made me abandon the challenge after having written 2 chapters, and it always bugged me that I never finished it. Especially since by that time I had successfully done Script Frenzy and an earlier NaNoWrimo. It's been in the back of my head since. I showed my mentor Rigz "Scorp" Jimenez years ago, and he really liked it. And last month I went over the overall story with my coconspirator Manuel Carmona, and he urged me to do the story. So, well, I will.
This one is a long term story in a way, it's not going to be as long as Warlord, but it will be longer than something like DTF6 or the 14 part maxi-series Via Crucis. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but it's basically a world where digital technology is starting to blur the lines between the digital world and the real world. I'm debating how long each story should be, but I should start writing based on the old draft I had started. I'm excited to get this story out there, I will show the work in progress throughout the year, I'm aiming for a release give or take second half of 2022 to start it off. Thank you all so much for reading, catch you next blog, stay safe!
​-Alvaro

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Art Challenges 2021: Which Ones Am I Taking On?

1/20/2021

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Written by Manuel A. Carmona
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   Well, this last two days I posted a list of art challenges that will be taking place in 2021 for anyone to partake. I'm sure there are many more challenges that I'm just not aware of, if you know of any feel free to name them in the comments section below; that way we'll edit the list. Granted, these are just art challenges, there are many more creative challenges people can be a part of like writing challenges, photograph challenges, sculpting challenges; etc. I simply chose the challenges that I felt would help my fellow comic book artists level up their skill sets. Maybe they feel a need to improve their inking or maybe they don't feel confident about drawing faces; these challenges will be very helpful for a lot of artists I feel. 

   But it's not just about others improving, I feel there are certain areas in my work that need improving; so I'm jumping in the art challenge pool. This year I want to really push myself artistically, so I'm going to be taking on an art challenge (or two in some cases) every month starting in February! I made a list by month so you all can get an idea of which ones I'm taking on and see if maybe ya'll want to join me on a few of them.

FEBRUARY 
   
- February Faces: February Faces is a great way to hone your skills and it'll undoubtedly improve your portraits. 

The Rules:
Draw a different face every day the entire month of February. It doesn't have to be a human face.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtag: #FebruaryFaces 

MARCH
   - ​March Of The Robots: 
This is pretty on the nose, illustrate a new robot every day for the entire month of March. You can draw them or create them digitally, just have fun with it!

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags:
  #marchofrobots or #marchofrobots2021
​
APRIL
   - 6 Minute Sketch Challenge: 
This challenge consists on you drawing one skatch every day, then post your dailies on social media for the art world to see; that's it! 

The Rules: 
There are no rules, so just draw every day for 100 days.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtag: 
#6minutesketch

MAY
   - Mermay: 
What is a Mermay? Sounds fishy right? ;D Well, Mermay is an art challenge all about illustrating mermaids. Every day in May you'll illustrate a new mermaid using whichever medium you prefer.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #MerMay and #MerMay2021 

JUNE
   - Six Fan Arts: 
Draw six portraits of popular characters – from any genre.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: 
#6fanarts or #sixfanartschallenge 

JULY
   - Fauna Focus: 
The Fauna Focus art challenge asks you to create artwork of, based on or inspired by a different animal each month. You can use any art medium you desire.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtag:  #faunafocus

AUGUST
   - The Sketchbook Challenge: 
Sponsored by the Brooklyn Art Library, The Sketchbook Challenge is a 28-day challenge to fill an entire sketchbook, and is intended to “help you cope with your creativity while you are stuck at home.” 

​The library will send each participant a blank 28 page sketchbook and then give them a different prompt every day for inspiration. 

There's also a 14 day challenge, which is specifically focused on portraits using a different medium than you are comfortable with. 

These challenges are donation-based on a “Pay What You Wish” model, and proceeds help support the Brooklyn Library of Art.

More information at brooklynartlibrary.org.

SEPTEMBER
   - 12 Hour Comic Book Day: 
12 Hour Comics Day is a Worldwide event dedicated to creating a short story from beginning to end in 12 hours or less. Usually participants meet at local comic book shops, schools, and/or libraries however this year (due to Covid-19); the challenge will be online.  

The Rules: 
Participants can use any medium they desire and the story can be four 12 pages or more, just as long as it's a finished story. 

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #12hrcomicbookday #12hourcomicbookday2021 #12hourcomicbookdayonline2021

OCTOBER
   - 24 Hour Comic Day: 
24-Hour Comics Day is an annual international celebration of comics creation. On this day, creative folks take on the 24 hour comics challenge: to create a 24 page comic book story, normally months worth of work, in 24 straight hours.

Usually participants gather at official event sites including comic book stores, schools, and libraries. And others take part in private gatherings, and many work on their own.

​However, this year, due to the novel coronavirus (covid-19), all the official event sites will be online.  (In other words, the venues will host artists online using Zoom, Facebook Rooms, Discord, Google Live, or any other type of video conferencing platform).
​   - Drawlloween: 
Drawlloween is one of the most popular art challenges in the United States.

The Rules:
Using the prompts on the website, or your own spooky imagination, just create a new Halloween image every day for the entire month of October. Any medium is acceptable.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtag #drawlloween2021 (with the current year) or @drawlloween.

NOVEMBER
   - Movember: This art challenge is really on the nose... LOL!

The Rules:
Draw a different mustache for the entire month of November. It can be just a mustache, it can be a portrait or it can be a full body illustration. You can use any medium you desire, just be creative and have fun.

​
Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtag: #MovemberArtChallenge 

DECEMBER
   - Drawcember: 
Drawcember was originally created by Disney Creates. It has a huge following, and is well worth your time and effort.

The Rules:
Make a new drawing every day for the entire month of December, using the prompt list posted online in the weeks before December. Many of the prompts are winter/holiday/Christmas related, but much like Inktober or Drawlloween; you can let your imagination run wild. And that's it! 

Don't forget to tag your posts with #Drawcember and #drawcember.
   Some of these challenges I've taken on in the past with various degrees of success but this year I'm making a commitment with myself to finish what I start. I know it's hard to stay motivated, that's why YOU are so important in this process! I need your fuel, every artist taking on these challenges need your encouragement and your engagement; so please feel free to Comment and Like and Re-Tweet and Share and anything else you come up with to show your support. It truly means everything to us. 
   
   I have my own small way to push myself and to justify this year long torture, I will be putting out books based on each and every one of these challenges; it could be digital only or print but it'll be my incentive to keep me motivated. Obviously the 12 and 24 Hour Comic Day Challenges are going to be comic books, but the rest might end up being sketchbooks or even full size books; but it's too early to determine that just yet. I wrote this blog to not only inform you all on what I'm going to be up to in 2021, but also to hopefully motivate some of you to take on at least one of these art challenges; amateur or pro this can only benefit you. In any case, stay safe and as always... keep it Truthful!
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Via Crucis Webcomic/Comic 2021 Goals

1/20/2021

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Good afternoon, everyone! Today I wanted to write about my most ambitious Spanish language comic yet. The title is Via Crucis, and it's a 14 part maxi-series.My inspiration for this came after gaining confidence in having written a few comics in Spanish.
For anyone that is not aware, over the years I have been writing short stories and comics for Silver Island Studios based in Puerto Rico, headed by my old friend and great creator, Jose Cruz. Aside from Weepaman y Weepito, I really haven't had any other experience writing a comic in Spanish. So I really want to challenge myself as a creator, and Via Crucis was born.
It's a 14 part comic based in al alternate reality Puerto Rico, where an event happened in the 90s that made PR an independent country and is inhabited by heroes/vigilantes. The whole story will take place in the 90s and will have many call backs events and popular culture at the time.
Many of you know that all my creations are love letters to the stories that inspired me, so, with Via Crucis, I want to write a love letter to comics like Watchmen, V For Vendetta, The Dark Knight Returns, gritty stories from the 1980s to early 1990s. I am excited and terrified of making a story of this magnitude and in Spanish, but if I want to continue to grow as a creator and continue to have fun, I have to get outside of that comfort zone and aim for the stars.
I have the basic plot points and how the story will end, I just have to flesh out the script and continue characters designs. I want to have that preproduction aspect done by the end of 2021, start production on it in 2022, and start rolling it out by late 2022 or early 2023. Thank you as always for reading, catch you next blog, stay safe!
​-Alvaro

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Never Mind Presents: Bicycle- 2021 Goals

1/19/2021

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Good evening, everyone! Tonight I want to announce a project I've been thinking on doing for a couple of years now. As you might know by now, Never Mind is my auto-bio webstrip, but a few years back after not doing a new season of the strip for a while, I had the idea of one story in particular, something kind of like A Christmas Story, sort of mixed with This Is Us. Then I read the graphic novel Smile, and it cemented my desire to make this story.
Never Mind Presents: Bicycle is a relatively ambitious project since I've never ever thought I'd attempt a long form story in this style. In contrast to the strip which are random glimpses into things that happened in y life, Bicycle is more focused on a particular moment in my life that threads together flashes from the past and more recent moments. 
Not only will the art be a challenge, it will probably be my most challenging script to do as a writer as well, to try and bridge different events that leads to a cohesive moment and a coherent story. It will be my most personal story I've ever written, and despite the challenges this projects presents, I am SUPER excited to work on this because of these challenges, and I hope you all look forward to it. 
My plans are to finish the script by the end of 2021 and start work on it art wise in 2022. I will be giving glimpses of the story throughout the year. As always, thank you for reading, stay tuned, catch you next blog, and stay safe!
​-Alvaro

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Art Challenges 2021 Part - B

1/19/2021

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  As I promised in yesterday's blog, here's Part - B of the art challenges you can join in 2021. There are some challenges that are easy and fun to do like the 6 Minute Daily Sketch Challenge which consists of, you guessed it; 6 minutes sketches for 100 days. Other challenges are are a bit more complex like the Fox & Hazel Watercolor Challenge, but the idea is that there's an art challenge for anyone who wants to advance their skills or maybe someone who wants a fun activity to distract their mind from this crazy Pandemic; just find the challenge that's best for you and your lifestyle. You can take on a 30 day challenge or a 100 day challenge... just pick one and join the fun. So, without further ado, here's Part - B of the 2021 Art Challenge List!
20 Art Styles Challenge
This is a popular, and quite challenging art challenge, 20 Art Styles requires you to illustrate the same character in 20 different styles! There are blank meme templates available for artists to download, with different styles already specified (like famous fine artists, animation studios, etc), or you can create your own meme with a five box by four row format.


Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #20stylechallenge and #20styles.
Draw This Again
This challenge requires artists to find an old piece they've drawn, inked, painted, digitally rendered or made in any medium and do it again. This is a great motivator because artists are usually their worst critics, but with this challenge the can see just how much they've improved.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #drawthisagain.
Fauna Focus Art Challenge
The Fauna Focus art challenge asks you to create artwork of, based on or inspired by a different animal each month. You can use any art medium you desire.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags:  #faunafocus.
Junicorns Art Challenge
Junicorn is a challenge where you have to illustrate a different unicorn every single day for the entire month of June. 

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #junicorn
Magical March Art Challenge
Every day in March you draw a magical girl character... or a witch?

There are no set guidelines for style or media, just have fun with it and work your magic. (See what I did there? ;D )

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #magicalgirl or #magicalmarch.
Sailor Moon Redraw
This isn't hard to figure out, Sailor Moon Redraw requires you to, well... redraw Sailor Moon in your own style. Draw, paint, sculpt, digitally render in any way the popular manga character Sailor Moon.
Slowvember
Started by Jake Parker, founder of Inktober, Slowvember is about shifting gears. While Inktober is a daily sprint, Slowvember is more of a marathon, it's more about slowing down and focusing on one single work of art. 
​
Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #slowvember.
​The Sketchbook Challenge
Sponsored by the Brooklyn Art Library, The Sketchbook Challenge is a 28-day challenge to fill an entire sketchbook, and is intended to “help you cope with your creativity while you are stuck at home.” 

​The library will send each participant a blank 28 page sketchbook and then give them a different prompt every day for inspiration. 

There's also a 14 day challenge, which is specifically focused on portraits using a different medium than you are comfortable with. 

These challenges are donation-based on a “Pay What You Wish” model, and proceeds help support the Brooklyn Library of Art.

More information at brooklynartlibrary.org.
24-Hour Comics Day
24-Hour Comics Day is an annual international celebration of comics creation. On this day, creative folks take on the 24 hour comics challenge: to create a 24 page comic book story, normally months worth of work, in 24 straight hours.

Usually participants gather at official event sites including comic book stores, schools, and libraries. And others take part in private gatherings, and many work on their own.

​However, this year, due to the novel coronavirus (covid-19), all the official event sites will be online.  (In other words, the venues will host artists online using Zoom, Facebook Rooms, Discord, Google Live, or any other type of video conferencing platform).

100 Heads Challenge
Can you draw 100 heads in 10 days? Crazy I know!
This challenge will help you build your discipline, as well as really honing your skills in portraying human expressions and facial features.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtag: #100headschallenge. 
Doodlewash
This challenge was established by a website with some very cool monthly art challenges. Basically a member of doodlewash will post a prompt list every month, with ideas of what artists can sketch or paint using watercolors. 

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #doodlewashjune2021 and #worldwatercolorgroup.
Faerie February
Faerie February is about creating a new fairy every day during the entire month of February. Duh! 

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #faeriefeb and/or #faeriefebruary.
February Faces
February Faces is a great way to hone your skills and it'll undoubtedly improve your portraits. 

The Rules:
Draw a different face every day the entire month of February. It doesn't have to be a human face.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags:
 #FebruaryFaces. 
March Of The Robots
This is pretty on the nose, illustrate a new robot every day for the entire month of March. You can draw them or create them digitally, just have fun with it!

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags:
  #marchofrobots or #marchofrobots2021.
Mermay
What is a Mermay? Sounds fishy right? ;D Well, Mermay is an art challenge all about illustrating mermaids. Every day in May you'll illustrate a new mermaid using whichever medium you prefer.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags:
 #MerMay and #MerMay2021. 
Six Fan Arts
Draw six portraits of popular characters – from any genre – and post them together in a meme using the tags #6fanarts or #sixfanartschallenge. ​
Smaugust
Every day in August, artists are required to illustrate a different dragon. That’s it.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtag:  #smaugust.
Toon Me
Toon Me was created by Marvel Comics artist Rene Cordova. It consists of artists taking a photograph of themselves and then render half of their face in toon style. When completed, their half human-half toon creation can be posted on social media.

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: 
​#ToonMe.
Movember
This art challenge is really on the nose... LOL! Draw a different mustache for the entire month of November. It can be just a mustache, it can be a portrait or it can be a full body illustration. You can use any medium you desire, just be creative and have fun.

​
Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #Movember, #MovemberArtChallenge or #Movember2021
12 Hour Comic Book Day
12 Hour Comics Day is a Worldwide event dedicated to creating a short story from beginning to end in 12 hours or less. Usually participants meet at local comic book shops, schools, and/or libraries however this year (due to Covid-19); the challenge will be online.  

The Rules: 
Participants can use any medium they desire and the story can be four 12 pages or more, just as long as it's a finished story. 

Don't forget to tag your posts with the hashtags: #12hourcomicday #12hourcomicday2021 #12hourcomicdayonline #12hrcomicbookday #12hourcomicbookday2021 #12hourcomicdayonline2021
Art Challenge By Month
January - Open**
February - Fairie February, February Faces
March - Magical March, March of Robots
April - Open**
June - Junicorn, Doodlewash, Kaijune
July - Open**
August - Smaugust
September - 12 Hour Comic Book Day
October - Inktober, Drawlloween, 24-Hour Comics Day

November - Movember, Slowvember 
December - Drawcember



**Open month to participate in any art challenge or come up with your own challenge.
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Art Challenges 2021 Part - A

1/18/2021

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   I know this Pandemic has taken a toll on all of us but one thing that's kept me sane is art. Wether is creating art, enjoying art, engaging in fantastic online conversations regarding art; Art has been a much needed ray of sunshine on this otherwise dark year. As I write this blog I'm one page away from fully inking the third issue of Project: New Wave and in all seriousness, I'm ready to go crazy art wise the rest of this year. My plan is to illustrate at least three different comic books and I'm also looking forward to pulling the trigger on a few art challenges. I want to push myself to the limit and channel Kobe Bryant's Mamba Mentality. I decided to compile a list of art challenges so that maybe ya'll can join in the fun, if you don't want to join me in actually doing the art challenges; ya'll can support my efforts by sharing my artwork and purchasing your copies of the books that will undoubtedly come as a result of these challenges. There are too many art challenges to compile in one blog so I decided to divide them in two: Part - A is the one you're about to read and and Part - B will drop tomorrow. On Wednesday I.m going to share with you which challenges I'll be taking on and I'd love to see which ones YOU are going to tackle this year. So without further ado, here we go...

Isolation Art Challenge
The Isolation Art Challenge is a 30 day art challenge for people in quarantine because of Coronavirus, so... each and every one of us. You can work in whichever medium you prefer, except digital art or photography pieces.

The Rules:
You can only post artwork that you create during isolation, you must follow the themes they provide, you must be kind and positive in your feedback of others’ work and that you do NOT talk about the virus.
Drawcember
Drawcember was originally created by Disney Creates. It has a huge following, and is well worth your time and effort.

The Rules:
Make a new drawing every day for the entire month of December, using the prompt list posted online in the weeks before December. Many of the prompts are winter/holiday/Christmas related, but much like Inktober or Drawlloween; you can let your imagination run wild. And that's it! 

Don't forget to tag your posts with #Drawcember and #drawcember.

​Draw 50 Things
Professional illustrator Will Terry created the Draw 50 Things Art Challenge to help people with drawing complex illustrations. The idea is to draw a picture which tells a story, has at least one character, and also has at least fifty other identifiable objects!  
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You can post your completed artwork on social media – just make sure that all fifty objects are identifiable, and that you tag it #draw50things.

Draw This in Your Own Style
Draw This in Your Own Style is an art challenge where an artist posts artworks, often OC (original characters), and asks you to redo them in your medium of choice. Then, post it on Twitter with the hashtag #drawthisinyourownstyle and enjoy reading the comments.
​
Note: You may also recreate an existing art piece from any source and post it with the same tag.

Face Your Art Challenge
An art challenge that requires you to analyze and describe your own work. 

The Rules:
Draw 9 different faces (though you can draw different things) and collage them into a 3×3 grid of squares. Then, look closely at your work. Identify mistakes and weaknesses, as well as strengths, interesting aspects of your style or craft, anything at all. Write a summary of your analysis and post it with the meme, and don't forget to use the hashtag #faceyourartchallenge. 

​​Fox and Hazel 30 Day
Watercolor Challenge

An art challenge created specifically for people who use watercolors or the ones who want to start.

The Rules:

This challenge is about quick watercolor sketches more than complex, fully realized pieces, and so is a great way for new watercolorists to show their work without worrying too much about criticism . It also allows advanced watercolor painters to do a bunch of quick paintings, get back to the basics.

This challenge is meant for the Instagram community, and you should tag your paintings with #foxandwatercolour.
Kaijune
The name of this art challenge, Kaijune, is a combination of Kaiju – a genre of Japanese monster movies like Godzilla – and runs thorughout the month of June. Created by Riley Phillips of Warner Brothers, this challenge is about drawing a different monster every day of the entire month. 
You can recreate an existing monster or image, or create a new beast, and you can work in whatever medium you’d like. Just use the #kaijune hashtag.
Inktober
Jake Parker created Inktober in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor with thousands of artists taking on the challenge every year.

The Rules:

Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want). Post it*. Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2021. Repeat.
Note: you can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. What ever you decide, just be consistent with it. Inktober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better.
That's it! Now go make something beautiful.
*Post it on any social media account you want or just post it on your refrigerator. The point is to share your art with someone. :)
Drawlloween
Drawlloween is one of the most popular art challenges in the United States.

The Rules:
Using the prompts on the website, or your own spooky imagination, just create a new Halloween image every day for the entire month of October. Any medium is acceptable.

Don't forget to tag your posts with #drawlloween2021 (with the current year) or @drawlloween. More information can be found at drawlloween.blogspot.com.

Drawtober
Basically Drawtober is a challenge for those that want to participate in Inktober without supporting the creator of it. Inktober is an art challenge that takes place every October, where participants follow a prompt list in order to create a drawing every day. Generally artists use only with black ink, however; many people have created their own versions of the challenge as well as their own prompt lists. For the most part, there are no official rules: Just have fun!

Don't forget to tag your posts with #Drawtober or #Drawtober2021

3 Marker Challenge
The 3 Marker Challenge is huge nowadays. As much a fun party game or activity for kids as a social media challenge, it has super simple rules.

The Rules:
Choose a black and white drawing, select three color markers at random and color it in. 
Some people prefer very simple images to color in, but using extremely complex pictures is a great exercise and can teach you a lot about colors and about your own techniques.
​

Don't forget to tag your posts with #3markerchallenge. 
​
6 Minute Daily Sketch Challenge
This challenge consists on you drawing one skatch every day, then post your dailies on social media for the art world to see; that's it! 
The Rules: 
There are no rules, so just draw every day for 100 days, and every day post that day’s work with the hashtag #6minutesketch.
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Servicio al Cliente 2021 Goals

1/18/2021

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Hey, there, you! Thank you for coming back! For this blog, I also want to touch on a story for a bit further ahead in the future. It's essentially a reboot of a strip that was originally going to be published, but wasn't due to circumstances beyond my control. I always wanted to revisit this idea, and I will. It is Called Servicio al Cliente, it is a Spanish language story that I always had in the back of my mind to try and do some day.
It's based around the life of a group of people that work at a specific shift in a customer service center. I had originally done this never having watched The Office (UK nor US), though it came out around the same time. Years later I watched the UK version of The Office and really liked it, so it kind of brought it back to my mind again. And then because of the pandemic, I watched the US version of The Office, and after finishing it the first time after watching the whole series multiple times, I have made it my mission to get this story done.
It will be a 4-6 chapter mini series in Spanish with the same basic premise of the original strip of being based around the lives of this specific group of people. I will be banging out the script by the end of the year and start production on it in mid-late 2022 likely after Hell Beneath You is done. This is a story I REALLY want to get out there and I'm excited to finish up scripts and putting this out there. Thank you all for reading, I hope you all enjoy the story once it comes out, catch you all next blog, stay safe!
-Alvaro

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Truthful Reviews: Gravestone: Dark Origins

1/17/2021

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   As you all know I'm fully committed to elevating indie comics and creators, not just from Truthful Comics; but EVERY INDIE COMICS STUDIO (except Comicsgate)! With that said, tonight I'm doing just that and we're going review Gravestone: Dark Origins issues 0 - 3. Starting from the packaging, Utopixia Studios puts out a high quality product all the way around. The books printing looks beautiful, each book was bagged and boarded, there were stickers and even a letter addressing the reader and thanking them for giving Utopixia Studios a chance; that's how you gain new readers. Gravestone was created by Danny "Dancore" Jiménez. The series is written by Eric "Elrick" Ramos, illustrated by Danny "Dancore" Jiménez and colored by Wilfredo Lopez Centeno. 

   The first thing that stands out to me about Gravestone: Dark Origins Is that we follow the villain of the story, or at least an anti-hero at best! He's searching for the same things the "heroes" are, but he's doing it for his own purposes. Gravestone observes and rules his section of the Underworld with an iron fist, summoning his minions to do his biding and feeding from humans as he desires. Another thing that stands out to me about Gravestone is how powerful he is. When you see powerful demons and creatures are tearing soldiers limb from limb, when you see them being unharmed by weapons of any kind and you see powerful beings and monsters are basically Gravestone's minions, it gives you a sense of exactly what type of being were dealing with. 
I use to have many names. Most recently, I go by the name Tom B. Stone. Remember those times you were afraid of something lurking under your bed? That soft voice that pushed you to do all those nasty things you later regretted? That was me. My strength lies within humans. They feed me. I dare you to make a wish... I might be near and grant it. Are you willing to pay the price? 
The Story:
   You can tell this story was well thought out for a long time. Gravestone's backstory, his motivations and his powers are clearly defined; as well as each and every other character in the series... heroes and villains. Not only that, the writer presents a wide variety of characters to the reader, a well defined universe (or worlds) they can really sink their teeth into and it all flows beautifully. Gravestone: Dark Origins is an action/adventure comic book series with deep horror elements in it as well. It reminds me of those old Mummy movies with Brendan Frazier, Indiana Jones or even Tomb Raider; all mixed in with many supernatural elements. Demons, gods, paramilitary forces, scholars... this book reads like an angry demon that grabs on to you and doesn't let go! 

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The Art:
​   They are on this book is really good and it gets better book after book. The character designs are cool, very distinctive and in some cases horrifying. Gravestone has a great design, he looks dashing and handsome; almost hiding how cold and powerful he truly is. His sleeveless trench coat is a different look that you don't see often, the last time I saw a sleeveless trench coat was when the Ultimate Warrior returned to the WWE back in the early 2000's; loved the look back then and love it now as well. The only complaint I have about the artwork is that there isn't enough of it!
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The Pros:
   Gravestone: Dark Origins is a fun and engaging read from beginning to end! This isn't your typical "big 2" fluff story that drags on for eight months to give you a disappointing finale; when you read Gravestone: Dark Origins you'll need to clear a few hours from your schedule, sit down and really bury yourself in the story; but by the time you read the third issue there's gonna a satisfying conclusion and a great jump-on point for potential new readers. The twist and turns will keep you guessing until the very end. 
Eric and Danny are doing it the right way! I highly recommend picking up this series!

The Cons:
   This book is a bit different than your average comic, you're consuming the story in comic book format but the interior is more like a prose book with an illustration on each page; which I think works perfect for this story. On the other hand, the format could potentially put off a few comic book readers simply because it's not your typical comic book with multiple panels on each page; it's more of a prose book with a full color illustration on each page. I enjoyed it, but other readers might not; especially those old school comic book readers that are set in their ways and won't accept anything other than what they're used to reading.    
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   The only thing that bothered me a bit was the way certain sentences and paragraphs are stacked on the pages. On some pages they're right, but on other pages there are sentences that are cut off in the middle and continue on next space to the far left; and there are some instances where the sentences are on top of the artwork. It's not a huge deal but when you're reading story with great art, you'll notice something like that real quick; and honestly it's something that can be corrected very easily. 

   Overall, Gravestone: Dark Origins was a fantastic read! It has a well defined backstory, well developed characters, good art and it gives you something to look forward to in future stories. Is Gravestone a villain? Is he a hero or an anti-hero? Is he a god? To answer those and many other questions you'll need to read Gravestone: Dark Origins!

​To stay up to date on everything regarding Utopixia Studios and the Gravestone series visit: www.gravestonecomic.com
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Christmas is the Icing- mini series announcement

1/17/2021

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Good evening, all! Tonight, I want to talk about something that will likely come out in 2022: Christmas is the Icing. It will be an original webcomic mini series. This comic is  story taking place in Christmas.
People that really know me should know I am not a huge fan of Christmas, so this one may come off as a bit of a shock, but believe me, no one is more shocked than me! But when a story randomly comes to you, what else can you do but write it and see where it goes? And for some reason this random idea just spoke to me and without warning a plot and characters and the world they inhabit just came to life.
I can't give away too many details yet, but I can say it will be a romantic comedy. There's plenty of that in Warlord, but I haven't written anything strictly romantic comedy since that old script writing challenge I wrote years ago called From Single to Married, from the Scriptfrenzy challenge, where you had to write a 100 page screenplay. I did it in 3 days, with a concussion. I might do something with that eventually, but for now, to borrow from a series I love so much, Winter Is Coming. But this time, it will be delicious.
Thank you all for reading, as the year goes along I will be posting updates, so stay tuned! Catch you next blog, stay safe!
​-Alvaro

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Hell Beneath You- 2021 Goals

1/16/2021

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Good evening everyone, welcome back to another blog! Today, I want to touch upon a comic mini series I'm SUPER excited about, Hell Beneath You.
This was supposed to come out for halloween of last year, but, well, the pandemic, the cries for social justice, and my day job were all at it's peak here in NYC, so I had to put this story to the side because I barely had time to even work on Warlord. 
If my main comics are a love letter to all the comics I grew up reading, Hell Beneath Us is a love letter to all the horror/terror/suspense movies I grew up watching.
My family, especially my mom, is a HUGE fan of horror movies. Even when my mom was pregnant with me, she'd go to special screening of horror movies in theaters, so I guess I literally grew up with horror movies. Halloween was a big deal in the little apartment we lived in at Williamsburg, in a very different time before all the coffee shops and artsy shops that are now all over there. Nightmare on Elm St, Halloween, CHUD, Silent Night Deadly Night, Psycho Cop, Witch Board, Hell Night, Prom Night, all the classics ranging from Stephen King classics to b-movie level movies, I watched it all and was a staple in our home. 

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Hell Beneath You is my love letter to all those movie and family moments I had growing up. I never have done a straight up horror story though some elements seep through sometimes in Warlord and eventually in Exorcist as well. I had always planned to do a horror comic, but, and I have never spoken about this, back when I was younger I actually used to go to church, and I was kind of talked out of it nicely at the time, and at that moment it made sense to me, so I shelved my horror ideas. Until a few years ago.
I was at SVA majoring in cartooning, one of my classes was with industry legend Klaus Jansen. Our last class project was illustrating a story we came up with. Since it was just something for school and just for myself, I did a small story with huge horror/suspense undertones, a small ghost story that was very personal. I was encouraged afterwards by Jansen to pursue a career in writing, and that planted the seeds for Hell Beneath You. I was hesitant at first, but when I made the first mock poster and presented them to TC president and cofounder Manuel, he was ALL IN for the comic!

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So I worked on character designs, more mock poster, and came up with issue titles. I have the basic plot done and was about to start the script writing process until everything had to come to a halt.
My goal for Hell Beneath Us is to finish the script writing process over the summer and start production on the comic over the winter, and premier it in fall of 2022. I want to take my time with this one because it's become a very close story for me, in a way it's a nod to the me years ago that was too afraid to put out this kind of story because of outside pressure and self doubts. If I want Warlord to be my lasting legacy, my crowning achievement, I want Hell Beneath You to be one of the crown jewels of my comic career, even if it doesn't become this big thing or not many people will read it, I want to selfishly put this one out for me, for my family, for those of us that ever held back from doing something but held back because of fear of what others may think, or doubted themselves for one reason or another.

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I have been very vague about the story for this comic, so, let me just give a small plot point as a gift for reading this far if you've gotten here.
The story revolves a family that after a tragedy, moves from their home to a small, sleepy, unassuming town, that is filled with secrets around every corner, and some of those secrets  turn out to be serious. Deadly serious. This is an 8 issue mini series that deals with family, loss, horror, and survival.
The one thing I'm not sure of, if this will be like Project: New Wave, as a strictly for sale comic, or as a webcomic first and then a physical comic. If you're reading this far, maybe you can give me your opinion either in the comment section here or wherever I share this on FaceBook?
In any case, thank you all SO much for reading, catch you all next blog, stay safe!
​-Alvaro

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