August Update
about 6 years ago
– Tue, Sep 08, 2020 at 05:01:19 PM
Most of my time right now is focused on finishing IMPOSSIBLE JONES, which heads off to the printer at the end of the month. Something I'm sure we are all happy about!
Meanwhile: I'm working on getting all the Original Art pledged to during the SZ59 campaign sent out— which means mailing the pages I have to Tom so he can sign them.
This is something I started a long time ago, but it got back-burnered due to… life. My apologies. Like a lot of you, so much of what I do lately is triage.
But the delay made me think: since I'm sending Tom art to sign…
…might as well send him the Bookplates, too! These are proofs I got from the printer last week— testing how sharpie wrote on different surfaces. I should have all the finished Bookplates in hand by the end of the week.
Then: I ship everything to Tom for his signatures!
Once Tom sends all that back to me, I'll start mailing out the art.
By this time next month, IMPOSSIBLE JONES will be off my desk, and I'll move back onto SECTION ZERO 1959. I have over 15 pages of Tom's art waiting for me, so I know I have some catching up to do!
As always, I appreciate you patience and understanding.
August Update
about 6 years ago
– Tue, Aug 04, 2020 at 11:53:57 PM
Sketches, Sketches, and More Sketches!
Tom's been a sketching machine lately— here's his latest batch!
I'll admit I'm the log jam in getting these inked and out to their proper people. Because:
- I'm about 6 weeks away from wrapping IMPOSSIBLE JONES, so all my focus is there.
- With 2 small children, no school, no summer camps, no playdates, and very few babysitters we trust or are available, my wife Myrna and I have to split the child-care, which effectively cuts our work-days in half.
- There's an ongoing family situation that constantly chips away at my time. Please respect my privacy on this.
All I can say is: I'm doing the best I can, as quickly as I can.
Once IMPOSSIBLE JONES wraps, I'll switch my attention back to SECTION ZERO 1959. As you can see, I have quite a bit of catching up to do.
And I'm looking forward to doing just that!
The State of ZERO
over 6 years ago
– Wed, Apr 15, 2020 at 03:47:55 PM
If you haven't asked me about the current status of SECTION ZERO 1959, I'm sure you've wondered. Here's the latest…
I'm unsure exactly when SZ59 will be finished, but my best guess is that it won't be fully drawn until near the end of the year. Not what you want to hear, I know, and certainly not what I want to tell you.
Two reasons for this:
- Tom hasn't drawn pages faster
- I haven't bugged Tom to draw pages faster.
When Tom accepted the ARCHIE 1955 mini-series only days after this project funded, it instantly threw the original schedule out the window. He promised me a very minimal amount of pages per week, but didn't deliver even that.
If this had been an issue of Superman or Avengers Academy, another artist would have been brought in to get the book out on time. But I think you'll agree with me that there is no SECTION ZERO without Tom Grummett.
While waiting for Tom, I launched IMPOSSIBLE JONES with David Hahn. Simply so I'd have something to work on— and be able to pay my bills.
When it became clear SZ59 wasn't going to be done by the end of 2019, I sidetracked Tom to draw the SECTION ZERO Christmas story— so Backers like you would receive something in thanks for your patience. Tom produced that story right on schedule. Because, as I was slow to learn, Tom works best when he has a hard deadline.
In January I Kickstarted some SECTION ZERO and IMPOSSIBLE JONES Trading Cards to have a bit of cash coming into my bank account. That resulted in me also producing a 10-page SAM HELL story— something that was not planned. It's the first comic I've written and drawn myself in over 10 years, and I'm very proud of it. I'm on track to ship the cards and SAM HELL preview by the end of April or early May.
Tom produced very little in all this time. I had a long talk with Tom, and he admitted he had a severe case of artist's block— not just on SZ59, but all his recent projects. To help remove some of the pressure on him, we agreed that he would only do layouts for the remainder of the SZ59 book.
Sadly, Tom is still producing very slowly. David Hahn, on the other hand, has been very regular and reliable in penciling IMPOSSIBLE JONES. That book is much closer to completion than SZ59, and so it's the priority project right now.
What Tom has drawn on SECTION ZERO 1959 is excellent. And I have worked with Tom long enough that I can promise you'll see very little difference between the pages he pencils fully, and the ones he only does layouts on. This will be a book you will love— but you probably won't see it for another year.
If this frustrates or infuriates you— I don't blame you. Trust me: I'm first in that line. But I also love Tom's work, and love working with Tom. I just have to be better at getting that work out of him.
(In all fairness: I've had some personal family issues that have slowed me down, too, and often made me choose the path of least resistance and not hold Tom's feet to the fire when I should have. But there are only so many hours in the day, and I only have so much energy. And if I have to choose between family and work, family wins every time.)
In light of all this, if you want a refund I will give it to you. But I hope you'll stick with us, because the book will be worth it. SECTION ZERO is the project nearest and dearest to my heart. I pour my heart and soul into it, never settling for second-best, and I believe you'll see that on every single page.
Stay well. Stay Safe. Talk soon…
