Fuck-Wits

Hiya. I recently launched a massive fund raising campaign for a project that I have been developing for over 10 years. It is located here.

This is MY BABY, for my Baby. For my wife. Stacie.

I have been very fortunate and lucky in my 22 year career. I have weathered being fired, getting great jobs, personal tradgedy, winning awards, getting fired, being lied too, losing friends, having creative awakenings,, being fired, losing friends.. you get the idea. but I love what I do. i feel fortunate.

So when i am attacked publicly by Trolls who feel safe behind their monitrs, I attack back. Anyone who knows me, knows i am a bulldog. But i try to argue my point with intelligence. So i feel like after you go to the link I posted, and read ALL you see on that site. then read this:

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This is a must

Update #7 posted 41 minutes ago

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I hate to have to do this. But i feel it necessary. A friend pointed out a few sites where i am being crucified for being Smug, and Selfish. So I sat down ,and tried to think about all the question that people might have. Here goes.

"I am not a crook".

hey guys. Lemme clarify a few things i have tried to, more than once on Kickstarter. I guess i have failed.

To call me smug, or greedy is just, I dunno, kinda mean.
You DO NOT have to donate a single dime. BUT, I am asking you to, if you are a fan of mine, and you want this book, which has been hard to get placed, see the light of day.

WAR HEROES?? Kirkman and I are talking, It will finish. Follow me on Twitter @TONYFINGHARRIS and you will get weekly updates on that. The money is finally there to get it done.

Whistling Skull??? Coming out in 2011 from DC Comics. Painted all 6 covers. Just got first script approved, start drawing next week.

ROUNDEYE????

Heres the skinny? You asked for it? You got it. I was trying to be a gentleman and not spell everything out about my personal life, but if I am going to be blasted publicly for being selfish, to try and commiserate with like minded people, and as a public figure reach out to THOSE people, and ask them to help me make it happen and entertain them in the process, then i am gonna tell you, what is what.

I get paid $275 to pencil a page, I get paid $150 t ink a page, i get paid $125 to color a page. Thats $550 a page. Thats $52,800. I am foregoing the writing $$ altogether. I am paying out for lettering, which is usually $10 a page. Thats almost a Grand. So I take it to a publisher, finished. DONE. they DO NOT HAVE TO PAY OUT A SINGLE FUCKING DIME TO PRODUCE THE ART BECAUSE I ALREADY TOOK CARE OF THAT THROUGH FUNDRAISING ON KICKSTARTER( PLEASE GOD!!!) Hell yeah, they are gonna guy it. And publish it, with a big fucking smile on their face. NO I WILL NOT be paid all over again by said publisher. I will share in profits after the publisher makes back all their printing , and advertising, and administrative costs. Which by the way includes anywhere from a 40, to 60 % discount off cover price from Diamond Comic Distributors. Not to mention Tons of Advertising costs and unseen bullshit.

There isn't really a whole lot of profit to be made. Serious, ask ANY comic book guy, or girl, and they will tell you they don't do this for the money.
And, any other book you can think of, from X-Men, to Ex Machina to Y- the last man, to Superman, to Batman, and to whatever, they all cost the same to produce. And in most cases more. Because they have bigger names than me writing and drawing them, and their rates are a lot higher than mine. So I could go on, and I will if need be, but i hope that clears up a few things. you are not a fan. Dont donate, if you are? i will NEVER forget what you did. And I will shake your hand and sign your book an draw in it, and make you know that you made it happen. YOU.

I don't know how I can be any more transparent than this. I just wanna make beautiful comics. Thats it. if I wanted to be rich, i woulda gone into another field, If I wanted to be Famous, Comics would have been the LAST job I pursed.

I just wanna tell stories.

TONY

Im back! Quick update, and lots more...

Heres a quick update. ......

http://kck.st/fnMsfU

....Lots more to come as far as keeping you guys updated.

Old man Harris

MOVING ON

Hi all. Been a little bit since I posted, so i thought I would give a shout, and maybe share some art. First things first..... I dumped all my accounts on the Internet except this blog, and my website ( which is being rebuilt right now)which you can find HERE. I rolled up Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace, and all my memberships on message boards, and deleted them permanently. I was just spending too much time on those sites, and not at my drafting table producing art. Plus they are so full of Piss and Vitriol it's staggering. I mean REALLY staggering. I just couldn't take it anymore. So I wanted to focus my attention down to a fine point. I wanted to hyper focus on my coming and current projects, this blog, and the Jolly roger Studio website. I also am reducing the number and frequency of appearances at American Comic Book Conventions as I would like to travel, and meet some fans abroad. There is a huge string of European conventions that I want to visit, and see how our brothers in other parts of the World, live. So I am starting out by going to The Thought Bubble Sequential Arts Festival in Leeds, England in November! And my good Friend, and wonderfully talented Barry Kitson promises to hook me up with quite a few shows, including ones in Holland, and France.

My other big focus right now, having just finished my 50 issue run on my Eisner award winning series, Ex Machina, is my new Series. It's called The Further Adventures of The Whistling Skull. It is co-created and written by B. Clay Moore, and will be released through Wildstorm Comics. I will be pencilling , inking and grey washing all the art, and my dear Friend, and amazing talented colorist JD Mettler will be joining us on the trip along with Ex Machina Editors Ben Abernathy and Kristy Quinn. This will mark my return to 2 of my favorite things: The 1940's, and Traditional Painted covers. We are planning on using Mike Mignola's Hellboy as a model, and do Skull as a series of mini-series instead of a back breaking monthly. So the first arc will be 6 issues, and Clay has already turned in his masterful script. Ben has asked me to paint all 6 covers in advance of beginning the interior art for the series. I think this is brilliant as we will have fully painted art to promote the book as we near it's release date. Stay tuned here, and from time, I wil share what I can of the books creation with you. I am also involved in a super secret book being developed right now, that I hope will allow me to finally finish ROUNDEYE: For Love. My very personal graphic novelI have been developing for years. More on this, as I am allowed to . That's all for now. So stay with me here, and you can always reach me through my website, here or my email if you have it. Cheers.

Tony

AN ARTIST AND HIS PATRONS

I have wanted to have an Artist/Patron relationship for many years. The closest I have ever gotten is the rare Commission ( due to my busy publishing schedule) or the sketches I do at conventions for you guys. But never the connection with a true Patron until now.

After I finished my 50 issue, 6 year run on Ex Machina for Wildstorm/DC Comics, It was simply time for a break. So I decided to open up myself to be available for Private Commissions, and not to focus on published material for a short while. These are Not Con-Sketches, mind you, but Commissions. The same level of quality, thought, and dedication that goes into all of my published work over the years. Except with these commissions, they are conceived of by you, and designed, and executed by me, with the Patron acting as kind of an Editor. Not so much telling me to change stuff, but giving me points of interest that they would like to see included in the Illustration, or painting. Just 2 people, (Patron, and Artist), making pretty pictures.

It has been liberating. Not only creatively, but purely from a point of Stress levels. I find myself really loving my Studio Space again. Connecting with it in away that you can't when under the breakneck speed of constant deadlines.

And more often than not my Patrons have said, " I would like this character, but with your spin on it", or my favorite: " Do whatever you want". So it is pure joy picking up the pencil or paintbrush. That is the second thing about this that is so liberating, that I am being asked to Paint on board again. I haven't done it hardly at all since I adopted Photoshop years ago. But It's nice to pick up a brush again, and has re-invigorated me for traditional painting to the point that I will be painting my covers on my future projects ( mostly, as time allows).

Either way, I'm painting again, and my wife is thrilled.

Here is the first commission I took, of Lon Chaney ( The Man of a Thousand Faces), and his many creations. The Patron asked for atheme here. Whatever character I wanted to draw in a trophy room lined with appropriate villians, or what-not. So this is what we hatched at Heroes-Con one year. I have included the Lineart, and the Greywash. In the coming weeks, I will be posting, other commissions featuring The Shadow, Captain America ( Golden Age), Thor, Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, Zatanna, and the Golden Age Flash! Enjoy.

HEROES-CON!

I love this Convention. It really is what I consider to be my "Home" show. Like having the home field advantage in sports. I just feel at ease there. It isn't hard to do that when you have such a great host like Shelton Drum. He and his amazing staff( I'm talking about you in particular Dustin!), plus his amazing wife Linda really know how to throw a great Con. Mainly because he goes out of his way to make it a Family show. No Strippers or Porn Stars selling autographed pics of themselves, whilst their Boobages spill out all over the con. Sheesh, the Cos-Players have that angle covered already, but that's one of my fave parts of the cons too. But it is also Kid Friendly. I see more children at this Con than at ANY other! That's why I wanted my children's first Con experience to be Heroes Con. And it was, last year. They had such a blast! So much so that my wife and I decided they should come back this year, and it was even better for them. Anyway, I am gonna do another update here soon with a bunch of Pictures, and scans of Sketches and what-not! More soon. In the meantime, enjoy this Conan commission from the show. I did this for a fella named Gin Kung. This was clearly my favorite one of the show. Thanks for asking Gin!

OLD MAN HARRIS

The "REAL" Mitchell hundred

So I just scheduled my last photoshoot with a fellow named Jimmy Hill. Now for most of you, that name means nothing. To some though, you will remember that Jimmy Hill has played a character for me in Ex Machina for 6 years. The characters name is Mitchell Hundred. He happens to be the mayor of New york City. And a guy who got fucked up, and recieved the Ability to control Machines with his voice. He spent a short time trying to be a Hero, then cashed in what little success he had into a political career. He ran for Mayor of NYC, won by a landslide ( after he stopped the second tower from being destroyed on 9-11, and then unveiled his secret Identity an d announced he was running for Mayor).

So Jimmy has come over to my house every month, for 6 years to pose for, and to BE Mitchell Hundred. And lemme tell you, he Owns this role. I stopped second guessing whether or not he knew what to do as we were shooting an issue in our first year. He started giving ME suggestions as far as what Mitch should be Emoting. Point is, I will miss Mitchell. I will miss Jimmy too. It's really weird. I feel like I know Jimmy as well as I do anyone, including myself. I'll miss you Mitch. And in turn, I will miss you, Jimmy.

SAEG progress

Writing the Mission statement over the last few days. Almost there. Then I am gonna run it by Steve Niles, and a few others. Once it is where we think it needs to be, we will put it to the group for a vote. Then on to the next step.

Meanwhile, we are building the website and whittling down our choices for a logo in the back ground of all of this, all the while trying to stay on top of deadlines( Ex Machina #50, JLI covers, Various secret projects, etc...) and spending time with my family( School ending, kids getting awards, and performing). Sheesh. I keep reminding myself, and all of those who have joined in with SAEG, that anything worth doing is hard. Keep telling yourself that. It isn't supposed to be easy. If it was, everybody would do it. But If you are on the fence, and you are reading this, PLEASE contact me. We need you. The group needs you. The more of us that band together, the easier it's going to be to get Insurance rates lower, and lower. It will be easier to put together a retirement plan to will yield MAX benefits. Hell everything will be easier. This is really just a reminder that we are still here. Don't lose steam because you are busy, or you haven't heard a Rant in a few days. Take care.

OLD MAN HARRIS

So these are concept Illustrations for a project Steve Niles and I are "Slowly" developing. I think we have a year in it already? Anyway, It's me trying to figure out a visual approach to the 2 main characters. It's NO secret who these guys are, but I want you to go and read the descriptions on these cats in their respective books, and you will see that I am "trying" to channel what the Authors were visualizing. More on this later. When I am not so buried in work!

OLD MAN HARRIS

Heres the final design, minus the body-suit, for B. Clay Moore's and my New book called The Further Adventures of The Whistling Skull!!

OLDY T

BIG-E

Heres the man himself, Enzo ( Big-E) in the Studio.

THEM'S WHO NEEDS COURTIN'

So I have a 14 year old son who is apparently a damned artist. Least that what I think. I have talked about him, and his work to friends ,family, and fans alike over the years. So nothing in that regard has really changed. Just like all Fathers, I am proud of my kids( I have 3).

But something has changed recently. He has made the first noticeable creative leap ( which I hope is the first of many). I look at everything he draws, or sculpts, either because he brings it to show, me, or I will see it lying on his desk, or a table in the house. So I try to keep my finger on the pulse of his talent. But these drawings lately, which he has added the use of grey washes to, have been far beyond what I have seen in recent weeks.

I'm not sure what to think yet, except to feel proud of his burgeoning ability as a young Illustrator. He really loves it too. i know this, because I can see it deep in his eyes, when I look in them. Listening to him tell me about the particular piece we might be sharing at any given time. I know it when I see it, because I have it. I have had that same passion, and love for Art since before I could articulate it, except visually with pencil, paper, or paint.

And he does it all. Not just drawing. He paints, and Sculpts. He makes shit outta' Duct Tape. I mean REALLY cool shit. And one of our( my wife's too) favorite things over the years has been his "Twist-Tie" sculptures. Little people, doing various and sundry things. My wife has one hanging from the Mirror in her car to this day. And one standing vigil on her nightstand as she sleeps. ( I think this one has a bottle cap as a helmet, and a sword.)

He has been working with me in the studio now for about 6 months or so, and really has turned out to be a great assisstant( when he's not chasing his girlfriend around, or going to the park with his buddies). but when I really need him, he's there. He fills in blacks on all my pages, and covers, and generally helps me around the Studio when I need it. And he gets paid. $10 a page for filling blacks, and $15 a pop for covers. So I am trying to teach him the value of a Dollar, and a deadline.

All I can do is hope that if Art is something that he wants to pursue as a career, whether it be comics, or otherwise, that he attains that dream. My wife and I will be right there to help him make it happen , with whatever we can do. But until then, I will aid, support, encourage, and critique his Art, and teach him.

All of the Drawings above are by Vencenzo Anthony Harris, 14 years old, 6 Ft. 4 In. We call him Big-E.

So I come into Work this morning, check my email, and I received this

http://www.headlinenewsmakers.com/index.php?key=1d12f0fa931143050bf1f911bee53a67

from my friend Brad Meltzer. We recently have been talking about the SAEG organization, which he gladly has become a part of. Thanks for that Brad. Made me smile first thing in the door. Not a bad way to start my day.

OLD MAN HARRIS

Setting Sail for Bluer Waters

Well. Here it is. My Blog. For what it's worth. I am going to be moving all my posts from Twitter about SAEG here I think. Then when we are ready to launch the SAEG website, I will have a link there, that will bring you here. Hopefully this will allow me to talk a little more openly, and stop clogging up your feeds on Twitter. I can also put some art up here and make it really feel like the Captains Quarters. Anyway, welcome Swabs, to Art & Skulduggery ( yep, that IS spelled right). Hope you hang around.

OLD MAN HARRIS