Old Time Radio:
I am a big fan of Old Time Radio, and I think you should be to. My Dad was a little boy in the heyday of Radio, so he would share with us kids some old recordings of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy or Abbot & Costello. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I sort of ‘rediscovered’ old radio shows. On a late drive home, I stumbled on an AM station that was playing an episode of Richard Diamond Private Detective. I was hooked. I found that Old Time Radio is the perfect thing to listen to when I’m working. Both XM and Sirius radio have a station dedicated to it and there are several sites to find episodes online for free. So every Saturday in Feb. I’ll be sharing one of my favorite shows.

The Shadow
genre: crime solving (super)hero
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men…The Shadow knows!” On September 26th 1937 Orson Wells became Lamont Cranston aka the Shadow for radio listeners of the time. The Shadow was already a popular character in the pulp magazine of his own name, but his radio persona became a new line of continuity for him. The radio show changed the character to have the power to “cloud men’s minds” both hypnotising them and making himself invisible to their eyes. This was, evidently, done to help speed along the show not spening narration time describing how the shadow was hiding or crouched or staying out of sight in general. The radio show also introduced the character Margo Lane as the Shadow’s love interest and crime solving companion.

Folow this link to 10 free episodes of The Shadow

If you liked the Shadow, I also fully recommend:
Superman, Challenge of the Yukon, or The Saint

New York Comic Con:

I will be at the New York Comic Con . I'll be spending most of my time at my table in Artist's Alley (I3), but I will also have some signing times at the ASP booth (949). And ASP just informed me we will have 500 copies of Winter #5 available! We should also have copies of the RPG, Fall 1152, and the other Winter issues at the ASP booth.

Top Cow is going to be releasing the cover I did for the Dragon Prince as a NYCC exclusive cover to issue #4. I will be signing Dragon Prince Covers at the Top Cow booth, though times are still TBA.

Cursed Pirate Girl

Jeremy Bastian's book Cursed Pirate Girl is currently in Previews (page 286 order code: FEB09 4407) Followers of this blog may know that I'm a big fan of Jeremy's work and so I'm very happy to see the first issue solicited. Cursed Pirate Girl is an all-ages nautical fairytale with some Lewis Carol influence. I think that fans of Mouse Guard will love this book too. Unfortunately there seems to be a mix-up in the previews listing...it has Jeremy AND I listed as doing the artwork. To be clear, I contributed a pin-up. Which can be seen here. Cursed Pirate Girl is 100% Jeremy Bastian goodness (he inks the whole thing with a brush!! A BRUSH!!!) Jeremy also just relaunched his website, keep checking it for news on his book and artwork.

Mr. Stuffins:

Boom Studios asked me to do some covers for their new Mr. Stuffins series. The book is about a Teddy-Ruxbin style stuffed bear that is programed more the the vein of 007 than a kid's best friend. So I did 3 covers saluting the spy/espionage genre starting with #1 a car chase (with one of my favorite classic cars, a 1957 Corvette). I don't have solicitation dates yet, but keep your eye out for it in previews.

Travels...

I will be out-of-town for almost all of Feb. We start with NYCC and then a 12 day trip to Fairbanks Alaska for several events as part of the Guys Read program (more on that once I get back) and the last leg of the trip is Wondercon. What this means is that I will be out of reach for next month and won't be able to do my normal blog posts or respond to as many e-mails. I do plan on having some pre-written posts throughout Feb. that I can quickly make 'live' all about Old Time Radio.

So until March, see ya folks!

(My sister-in-law will be staying here with the dog, so pet lovers, don't get worried about Autumn)

Jan '09 Q&A Part II

Here we go again with Q's from the comments of last post:

Neil had a question in two parts: part 1:
What other properties would you
like to work on (besides Hellboy)?

Well, excluding Hellboy (as you did in your phrasing of the Q) I have been fortunate to get some Muppet work from Boom’s licensing deal. Anything else Henson-related would be awesome too (Dark Crystal) I’d have fun doing some stuff with the X-Men..the Giant-Sized team is my fave. Star Wars is a no-brainer..anyone who gets to play in Lucas’ toybox is a lucky artist. And I was brought into comics with Eastman & Laird’s TMNT, and I’d love to do some Turtles work. I’m sure there are others I’m just not thinking of…the above represent my major ‘checklist’ for work I’d like to do

Part2:
Or transversely, which artist(s) would you like to see do a
Mouseguard story?

Oh there are plenty! First person I have given carte blanche to do a Mouse Guard story anytime is Jeremy Bastian. His work is incredible and he has been there for the creation of damn-near every issue. Another, Based on his own comic series and his pinup from Fall, Mark Smylie is an artist/writer that would be a good fit. A further dream list include: Rick Geary, Joao Lemos, Katie Cook, Mike Mignola, Karl Kershel, Nate Pride, Alex Sheikman….basically artists who have a very unique style that is defining and focuses the point of good storytelling . I’m sure again I’m forgetting some.

Kat & Twice Born commented on my thoughts about
magic in Mouse Guard...

Seeing your comments made me want to add that, while I’m against
using the type of magic that the mice would have control of, I’m not against magic in the sense of the supernatural: ghosts, prophecies, various animal’s abilities to seem like they have esp, or things that would seem magical/supernatural to mice in 1152. I have not really employed this yet, but I’m not against using it if I feel it can be fit in to serve the story without seeming like a loophole or a shoe-horned trick.
I’d say a mouse’s views on death in their 12th c. will be the first place I get the chance to explore these ideas.

Harold Kohl said...
Can you describe what led to the changes in their
look since then, and maybe even the look of Mouseguard
itself?

Sure. Here are a few images showing the transition. The two problems with the original designs were 1)I was referencing someone else’s work to achieve the look (Tom Phort) so I couldn’t keep it up indefinitely and 2) they looked more rat-ish than mouse-ish. This was important because the reader had to sympathize with the mice and consider them defenseless (not feelings associated with rats). Further changes occurred because I didn’t know what medium I would do Mouse guard in, pencil? ink? watercolor? I didn’t know. It had to be something I felt comfortable with and could repeat page after page.

After doing some OZ illustrations and redrawing the mice about that same time, I realized that I was very comfortable with the inking style I was using and could ‘keep it up forever’ (ß the thought that ran through my mind at the time.) Of course, further changes have happened since Issue 1 of Fall. That has more to do with getting comfortable with the characters and seeing what worked and what didn’t. Eyes got smaller, so did hands and feet, body stature became something I needed to keep more consistent as well as more characteristics to differentiate the mice.

Brandon said…
Is there a future possibility of a nice, large
hardcover Art of Mouse Guard book collecting your earlier work,
development sketches and other
Mouse Guard artwork and materials?

I would love an Art of Mouse Guard book…someday. I think we are way too early into me doing this to really be thinking about an artbook yet. I mean of the five story plots I had when I started Fall #1, we are only almost done with the 2nd. And I have written more since then! If something like that comes along, be sure that I want it to focus on unpublished art, things you haven’t bought already. (though I do like the idea of having covers reprinted sans-text.) Until then, consider much of this blog as an online art-of book.

dark turtle said...
With so many movies based on comic books these days, do
you foresee a Mouseguard movie sometime in the future? I think the CGI format would be the perfect way to showcase the world you've created.

A movie is something that we have been working toward for a while now. Mouse Guard is VERY special to me though, so I’m trying to take it slow and make good decisions instead of quick or simply lucrative decisions. As to the format, I agree, CG. A lot of fans would argue that 2d in a way that "matches" my style would be better. I have a few reasons for wanting to go the CG route (though our plan so-far is to have live action backgrounds and exterior models so as to not re-create all of nature). 1) I want the viewer to be afraid for the mice. If they look like cartoons that can squash and stretch, that fear is gone. 2) I do like the idea of the movie version being something slightly disconnected from the comics. If it tries to look like the comics, but doesn’t (as it never would seeing as how one is a 2d image that doesn’t move and the other would need to move and rotate etc.) it might seem like it ‘fell short’ (thanks to 'sally2315' for the cute photo manipulation')

Twice Born and Brandon both commented on the idea of annual
type releases of smaller stories…

I agree and the comments have already gotten me excited and inspired by the idea. I was even looking over logistics of page counts etc. I have a story about Saxon & Kenzie’s first days as Guard Mice (a story that came out of developing background info for the RPG) A few stories about the June Alley Inn and it’s keeper, and some thoughts about how fun it would be to show all the tricks of a ‘weather watcher’.


Thanks for all your Q’s. I’m going to try for 1 more ‘regular’ post before NYCC, but if you want to continue to ask more questions in the comments of this entry, I’ll get to them for a future Q&A post.

Jan '09 Q & A Part I

Last Blog Post I asked for feedback on what to post about while we wait for some of the stuff I can't show yet. So here is part 1 of the requests post:

Bo Harris said...I was curious how you come up with characters
(specifically guardsmice). Is it an illustration that guides the character, or
do you have an idea of a personality that you would like to get down on
paper?

Many of the main characters in the Guard started from the personalities or attributes of my friends. It was easier to think of the characters interacting with each other if I could reference our friendships or our experiences roleplaying together. That is not to say that Emerson is the mirror image of Lieam (I have never seen him jump into the mouth of a snake) Lieam started with Emerson, and has since become his own character. None of us are completely like our mice, but the ideas that started those personalities had seeds in our real life interactions.

That is also not to say that the visual or the niche-to-be filled doesn't form the character. The first three mice I drew were Saxon, Kenzie, and Rand. The idea was that the trio would act together perfectly as one. Saxon means sword and with his fiery red cloak, he was the combat/offensive one. Rand means shield, his yellow cloak like a caution sign, he was the defensive one. Kenzie (taken from MacKenzie) means wise and with his blue cloak (which registers as 'calm' & regal for me) was the brains that tied them together.

Rob said...I was wondering what was a deciding factor for you not
having any type of magic in your world?

Rob, when I started Mouse Guard, I really felt that in most stories and comics or even in role playing games I had played, magic was both an easy way out and a knot for continuity. As a writer you have to establish rules for magic. If it can be used at any time, how it's performed, what it's weaknesses are, etc. And all of that has to jive with any story you have already written or ever will. If it turns out that the first conflict of your book can be wished away by a character revealed as a magic user later on, it weakens the stories altogether. Someone who has done a BRILLIANT job of writing magic as an interesting part of life into their stories without ever tying themselves up in the loophole nature of magic is J. K. Rowling, and I'm no where near as clever or smart as she is. I also felt that if there was no magic, it would lend a larger sense of how helpless and downtrodden the mice would be.

Rob continued...will there be of the apiary keeper or spidersilk hunters in future
works?

I'll say 'yes' to both. However I have no idea when. The Apiary keeper was just too cool not to ever draw and explore again, but I don't have a function for him (or the bees) to play in the upcoming stories. Spider silk is something that came up in the talks about the Role Playing Game and it spawned an idea for a story that doesn't tie in to any of the larger story arcs right now (but I have thought about doing it as a deluxe or annual issue). Who knows though...stories change from outline to illustrated page. The Apiary Keeper and the bees weren't ever in issue 6 of Fall..they spawned out of a lunch with Jeremy Bastian.

Luis asksI was wondering if your special edition slip case Mouse Guard
book will only be available at the New York ComicCon or will others get a chance
to purchase it?

The Black and White edition was solicited ages ago and is now set for a Feb. release (we don't know if they will be printed in time for NYCC) So if your store ordered them in the past or not, they will be a Diamond item or available at the conventions either I or ASP do this year (until they sell out)

Me in full plate and unshaven... asksCan you do a series of how to draw
Mouse Guard characters?

Here is a quick video of me drawing Lieam.

rob lombraña mentioned
i hope that make toys with this.

In addition to the printable Mouse Guard finger puppets designed and created by Katie Cook linked here, a set of PVC figures and a plushie version of Lieam have been released by Diamond Select Toys. Poseable figures were not something we pursued because of balance (tiny feet mean they need to be pegged to a base anyhow...so what is the point, movable arms?) Also for future Mouse Guard items through DST, I don't know. I'd love to see more from them, but with the comic series hitting such a pothole last year with the delays and ASP restructuring, I understand why they have not. Once we get the ball rolling again, I will look into extending the line.

So that's it for this round. Feel free to comment more Q's to this post and I'll use them for next time!

Happy New Year!!

I know I'm a few days late, but I hope the fans of Mouse Guard and this blog are preparing (if not already having) a wonderful 2009. This year will bring the conclusion and hardcover release of Mouse Guard Winter 1152 (the LONGEST winter in history!!) I'll have completed my first children's book for publication, and I'll be doing more traveling (the goal was to keep the number of shows and appearances down to last year's list if not smaller...and we already passed that number) So it will be a busy but hopefully a happy year for the Petersens.

Blog Content:

I'm running low on content for the blog these days. I have work for Mouse Guard I can't show due to spoilers, and I have non-Mouse Guard work (Muppets, Star Wars, & a few other delights) that I can't show yet either. This keeps me hunting for things to blog about like the old artwork and games (I don't know how folks like James Gurney keep it up daily!!). I don't mind showing that old and obscure stuff, but it's not the only type of thing I want to share. So for my next post (unless I have amazing news or can start sharing the backlog of artwork) I'd like to have your suggestions on topics. Perhaps like a Q&A. So leave comments in this post and I'll not only try and answer them, I'll try and find some image or photograph that illustrates or enhances the answer.

Mouse Sculptures:

In tonight's wandering search around the studio for something to share, I saw my bronze mouse that I currently use as a bookend. I sculpted him from wax back in '96(?) and cast him in bronze for my sculpture class. It is supposed to be Saxon from an idea I had that once Saxon, Kenzie and Rand all return from the Winter War of 1149, they are so recognized as heroes, they are each offered towns named after them. Kenzie would stay with the Guard only visiting his town, Saxon wanting a large statue in his, and Rand retiring to become mayor of his city. As you can guess 98% of that idea doesn't jive with where Mouse Guard is today, but I plan on extracting the 2%, twisting it a bit and using it to pepper the future storylines.

The bronze mouse made me think of one of the gifts I gave Julia for Christmas. This is her mouse, June, keeper of the June Alley Inn. June has barely been in the comics so far (I don't know that she will have a substantial role until the 4th series) But I try and include her in sketchbook pieces and the RPG cover etc. So I wanted Julia to have something special and unique of her mouse. Everything is super sculpy except for the stone base, hemp belt, terrycloth vest and cotton sash.

Fan Art:

This was e-mailed to me the other day:

I had an hour to spare so I decided to make a low poly cel shaded mouseguard fan characternamed Darius.

Your fan,

David "Halo" B-R

Thanks David!!

Model Building:
Like many artists, I find it easier to draw something, if I have a visual reference for it. Even if you have imagined a wonderful setting or room or style of architecture, it can often be complicated to imagine that same image from a different perspective or under different lighting.
When working on Issue #6 of Mouse Guard Fall 1152, I had a tricky few panels that showed the portcullis at Lockhaven's main gate crashing down. I built a model out of bristol scrap stock I had laying around. Using an x-acto, some rubber cement, tape and a pencil to sketch in some panel details, I had a nice little model of Lockhaven's gate.

The trick proved so useful that when it was time to create the town of Barkstone for the 'field guide' portion of the Fall 1152 hardcover, I found several free paper-models used by gamers to use in tabletop miniature games. Julia assembled a doze of these or so and taking multiple pictures, I was able to make a rough layout for all of Barkstone.

At the start of the Winter series, the mice arrive in Sprucetuck, which was in my mind, to be an apartment style town of Ewok technology mixed with Brian Froud's design sensibilities. I was worried about showing the perspective of the various balconies, elevators, railings, etc. without some model help. I took a day to build a multi-floor section out of cardboard, bristol, rubber cement, and pencil drawn details. Using multiple photos and rotating the model, I was able to see a more full version of Sprucetuck, without having to build much of it at all.

Knowing that Gwendolyn's office was going to be a repeated setting, I made a model of half of her office in the Fall series. It was one of the fastest I have made, and I'm really looking forward to making a better one with the full run of her office. However, even this little crude version can instantly help me visualize a scene from a different angle and give me reference for what details will also be seen or not seen.

The repeated arches in in Darkheather, seen in the Winter series, were driving me nuts. I printed out a drawing of the arch pattern and tacked it to 1/2" insulation foam board (available at any Home Depot). I cut the shapes out with a jig saw and drew in the details with a pen. I used the same technique of shooting the model several times while not moving the camera, but moving the model, to create an elaborate maze of them.



Lockhaven's Larder is proving to be another frequently used location. Unfortunately, the model is out-of-date by the way I started drawing one of the walls in issue 3 of Winter. I thought about reworking the model, but this one is pretty small, and I'm afraid I'd ruin it and have to start over if I tried altering it. I just use it for a quick "pre-viz", as the move folks call it.

For the bone chamber that Saxon falls into, I knew I wanted the architecture to be grand and spooky. For this one I took photos of an arch pattern I liked and printed it out. I glued the printout onto bristol scrap and cut the parts to form the vaulted ceiling. The dome was tricky, but I made it using a paper model plan for a globe. There is a cut-out section of the floor so I could get an up-shot view and the dome is removable for a down-shot view.

This last model was the trickiest. With some of the models, I was dealing with rooms with simple shapes, or geometry I could easily get patterns for. This one, which is part of the mouse prison/tomb of Darkheather, was built from scratch. In bed one night I was thinking about the architecture of this space and thought that the floor plan could imitate the 6 sided patterns (a stylized heather bloom in most cases) I used to decorate the weasel home. I could imagine the columns from a top down perspective, but I couldn't imagine what the space would look like, especially at mouse size. I started with the central column and worked outward.

All the models hang around my studio (with the exception of Sprucetuck witch came all apart and is mostly stored in a bag in my filing cabinet). I really find that the models help with the visualization and composition of a scene, they can help with perspective problems, and force you to stop drawing and do something else productive with your hands and time (which can be a great gear-shift to give you a break when you are stuck in a rut).

2009 Appearances:
Here is list of the confirmed shows I am doing next year.
New York Comic Con: Feb 6-8
WonderCon: Feb 27-Mar 1
Emerald City Comic Con: April 4-5
Motor City Comic Con: May 15-17
Heroes Con: June 19-21
San Diego Comic Con: July 22-26
Wizard World Chicago: August 6-9
Baltimore Comic Con: Oct. 10-11
*more to be added soon*

Fan Art:
Thanks to the wonderful Katie Cook for sending me two awesome mousey-doodles.

I really love Katie's work and how she's never afraid to mix cute with gore.

From the Vault: TOWER!

Tower: The Board Game
(WARNING: COPIOUS AMOUNT OF GEEKY CONTENT TO FOLLOW)
I'm opening the Petersen vault (as I did with Jesters) on a game project. It started while playing the old TSR board game Dungeon. My pal Seyth and I were complaining about the flaws in it and how we would fix the flaws. It ended with a year long (not full time, we were both still in college) development of our game: Tower. Having played it on assorted game nights I can attest that it's not that much better than Dungeon, but because we made it, it has a soft spot in our hearts.

One of the first changes we made was to have more diverse characters. Dungeon had 4 (?) types of characters but multiple copies of those types. We decided that if there are two magic using characters, they should have differences. We made 15 characters and based a lot of them on our own D&D characters (My elven thief and Seyth's Dwarven Berzerker were first on the list). Here's another post where I go into more info & art about the characters

Tower uses three different kinds of cards. Treasure cards can be either worth gold or have a use in gameplay. They are separated into 6 levels (one for each floor of the tower) with level 1 being least valuable and 6 being the most. Spell cards help magic users keep track of what spells they know and which they have used. And after years of playing we decided to help balance some of the characters who weren't as well off with hand-drawn item cards. Each character gets 1 item specific to them at the start of the game. Unfortunately, this didn't completely balance anything, but made for other quarrels about how fair/unfair someones personal item is.

The game is played on three separate boards each showing 2 floors of the Tower. I layed out the boards in Pagemaker and have since lost the files (and my copy of page maker...good riddance). I originally wanted to have the boards stack and pivot out of the way to access the lower sections, but the design proved too tippy or heavy. This photo also shows the 'Monster manual" that is indexed as to which monsters appear on which levels. I id most of the artwork for the manual, but Jesse Glenn (Kenzie) provided several of the creature art pieces. Some of his are the most loved/memorable in the game (like the Owlbear).

In addition to making the characters all unique in the game, they all needed artwork and miniatures for gameplay. I customized Lego figures, drew portraits of each character, and fabricated character cards that could stand up to drunken use. I added sculpy to the legos and baked them in the oven at a low temp, so as not to distort the lego plastic too much.

To randomize which monsters appear in which room, I made lettered tokens 'A'-'E' & 'X'. I rolled out sculpy, stamped them with a rubber monogram stamp and then cut them into chips with a piece of thin walled brass tube. It was when I was fabricating these pieces that Julia and I were dating and getting serious. She still says this game fabrication was a bit scary for her and she wondered if I was stable enough to be a good boyfriend.

So there it is. A huge amount of work went into the game when I should have been studying harder or paying more attention to my girlfriend (especially when you consider how flawed it still is). But on New Years eve, it's the game that everyone wants to drag out and play.


Other Work:
I have turned in my dummy copy of Snowy Valentine's Day to Harper Collins. I have a while to breathe and tweak the sketches before doing the final work, but I am very happy with the results. Obviously, I can't share too much of the book, but here is one of the pieces/scenes I am most proud of. Jasper Bunny, looking for the perfect Valentine's gift for his honey bunny, visits the porcupine children who are knitting scarfs for their mother. Jasper learns he can't knit and that porcupine tots find that funny.

I also got an opportunity to do some work that will be featured on products for comic book artists (not sure if I can reveal who/what yet). I was asked to do a few sample panels in my style, but without being something already under copyright etc. The Ladybug with the top hat and moustache still cracks me up a bit.

Mouse Guard Winter #4

The wait is over! I really appreciate all the patience the fans have shown and I hope you all enjoy Issue #4. As I mentioned earlier, Jesse Glenn, who composed the music for the Ballad of the Ivory Lass, also recorded a version where he performed the lyrics as well.

So here for download is the MP3: Ballad of the Ivory Lass

Happy Thanksgiving to all! (I know I'm a day early) I am thankful for having such loyal and awesome fans who really appreciate what I'm doing in comics. It means a great deal to me that I went from being a fan, to having this as my profession, and I couldn't have done it without fans.

I am looking forward to getting back to posting more regularly about my various projects. I also plan on getting back to posting Fan Art, going into my artistic vault, and perhaps a few more tutorials.

Mouse Guard Issue #4
I have word both from Diamond and ASP that the long delayed Issue 4 of Mouse Guard will be in stores Nov 26th! This is my favorite issue to-date, has my favorite cover, and features Mouse Guard music!

Speaking of which, as I mentioned on my blog before, Jesse Glenn (the real life Kenzie) not only wrote the music for me to scribe a ballad, but once I was done, he recorded a version of it with him singing three-part-harmony! I will make the MP3 available here next Wed. once the issue is in stores.

So re-read Issues 1-3 of Winter (you may need the refresher, I certainly did!) and check back here Wed. for that special download.

Another note on ASP and Mouse Guard. The latest release date for the RPG is Dec. 24th, and the Limited Ed. Slipcase B&W hardcover is slated for release at the New York Comic Con in Feb.

I can't thank fans enough for not only taking a chance on a odd-shaped book about mice with swords, but also for being so patient and loyal. I have heard from many of you offering support and kind words when the book was in publishing limbo. Trust me when I say that it meant a great deal and helped me through a frustrating and stressful time. Hopefully that is all behind us now, and I can focus on just telling the best story I can and hopefully entertaining you fine folks in the process.

So if you are an old fan, or just joining us: Welcome.

"All Who Come Are Welcome"