Off to Vegas!

...In two weeks, I'll be heading to America's Playground - the Legendary "Sin City"- ...LAS VEGAS!! I know, I know, don't get caught up in the glitz and the glam, but I can't help but be excited - I love the ambience of a city, especially during the Holidays (I can't help but think Vegas will be extra Christmas-y, despite being in the dessert...) and you can't beat the temperature! Plus the particular architecture and design of Vegas is truly unique, so that will be fun to take in. I expect we will be taking in a few shows and exploring the different locales, but the majority of the time I will be spending taking it all in - new places are always exciting!



In any event, it will be interesting to see the city that the first Graphic Novel I illustrated was set in, especially from close up. I'll be able to see how close (or NOT) I got it, and you can too if you read DRIVE! DRIVE was a fun crime caper gone awry, in the vein of Criminal. I thought the story was really strong and had a frenetic pace.

I of course was a complete novice and have never felt that I did the story justice. Well, there's no point in dwelling on it - I got an experience from it that I otherwise may never have and it stands as a testament of my ability at that time.

That was my very first foray into comic art, especially something so long form, so you can start to track my evolution as an artist. I did another one directly following, with the same writer (the fantastically talented Nate Southard, who has since gone to become a well respected young author in the prose horror field) which was not set in Vegas, but rather small town Indiana, called A Trip to Rundberg. Oh and it had Zombies...



Las Vegas is also the home of my friend and collaborator CJ Hurtt (we worked together on the six issue miniseries ONE LAST SONG by BRAIN SCAN STUDIOS. I hope to be able to see him while we're there, and get some tips on the best places to go in town.

I can't say there won't be something missing, however. Even in the midst of desert spectacle, I'll still be dreaming of a white Christmas - of course it'll be there when I return, so that will make up for it! What kind of plans do you have for Christmas?