Back to working on comics this fine Saturday morning, because, well, it’s what I do when I can. Today’s snapshot is a glimpse at what I do to break up sometimes monotonous flatting* work on comics. I’ll usually have a few Photoshop files open at any given time, and I’ll switch between them to feed my short attention span while still keeping me productive. This particular snapshot is from a “just for fun” project that I’ve had sitting on my hard drive for years. I figure I’ll finish it sometime around my 50th birthday.

2017 has been off to a weird start. My typically separate lives have been converging in unexpected ways. Ever since that Vegas Seven David Chang comic came out in January, I’ve been on the radar at the office as the guy who makes comics, which has led me to helping out with some illustration and training projects internally. Then there are vendors and sales people contacting me at The Cosmopolitan for comic-related pitches. I might need to recheck my LinkedIn settings. On the flip side, I launched (with the help of talented designers, writers and photographers) a new lifestyle blog for the resort, so there’s that.

The quasi-secret new musical project in which I’m playing a variety of instruments has been going steady, as we’ve actually been meeting weekly to write, jam and practice new songs. We’re probably still a ways off from any sort of public debut, even on the internet, but I’ll be sure to clue you in when that changes.

Otherwise, like many of you, I’m still dealing with the daily trauma of news relating to actions of the current White House administration. Every time I get an NPR breaking news alert on my phone, I know it’s going to be another story about the President trying to singlehandedly** undo the last 50 years or so of progress, whether it’s making it easier to pollute our rivers, bankrupt our citizens or persecute based on religion. I keep trying to make comics to address the situation(s), but new developments are happening so quickly, I can’t keep up. Probably shouldn’t even try at this point.

*Flatting = Filling in the basic big color blocks in a comic page, after the artwork has been inked.

**That single hand possibly belonging to Steve Bannon.