Thank you, George Lucas!

Yesterday was the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars. Thirty years?! I was six years old on May 25th, 1977 when the movie was released. And to this day, I still remember going to see it in the theater. And as cliche as it sounds, Star Wars did deeply affect my life.

So like so many other Star Wars fans around the world, I celebrated the anniversary on my own. I woke up and actually put on a Star Wars T-shirt, I hit the post office to buy the newly released stamps, I popped in the Star Wars DVD and watched the original theatrical version, then I watched the live coverage of the Star Wars Celebration in L.A. on G4, caught up on all latest issues of all three Dark Horse comic series, then I watched the original theatrical version of Empire Strikes Back. Yes, I'm a big dork... and proud of it!

There was thing I didn't do though...


As you can see from the pic, I still own a full box of unopened packs of the original Star Wars cards, third series for anyone who cares, and I pondered opening a pack just for nostalgic value, to make me feel like I was a kid again. I actually did it about 15 years ago and even went so far as to eat the gum, which made me sick. But nausea aside, I remember it took me forever to find a pack to replace the one I opened back then, and while it might be a little easier to find now with eBay and cons, still I decided against it. But I took out and opened the box to have a look, and I have to say, the sight of the box sitting there, filled to the brim with unopened packs, with the smell of the wax and paper and gum still lingering... it made me feel like I was six years old again!

Happy Anniversary, Star Wars! Thanks, George!!

The Darkhawk Playlist

I was talking to a friend of mine recently and he said he was struggling with finding the voices for a couple of characters in a comic he was writing. I suggested he trying using music find their motivations and he told me he can't listen to music when he writes. I'm the same way actually, I need dead silence when I write, and explained that I listen to music before I write, to help get me inside a character's head.

What I do is look at what's coming up on my schedule and what I'll be writing on any given day. Then I'll create a playlist for a specific script or character I'll be working on. I put myself in that characters shoes or situation and figure out what music and bands they like and would be listening, not only in that setting, but in their lives in general. A lot of it's personality based too. Then I'll pop on my iPod and go for a walk around NYC or go and sit in a bar and listen to the mix while thinking about the story and the character(s). I find this gives me a better understanding of their personality and internal motivations, helps me better grasp their emotional state, and helps me work through their feelings and decisions. It also makes the dialogue flow more easily. Sounds crazy, I know, but it works.

I made specific mixes for all of the Loners characters as each issue is told from one of their perspectives. As an example, I thought I would share Darkhawk's playlist here, featuring a selection of sonds that got me into Mr. Chris Powell's charcater. Enjoy!

Break Stuff - Limp Bizkit
My Hero - Foo Fighters
When I Grow Up - Garbage
Name - Goo Goo Dolls
2000 Light Years Away - Green Day
Faint - Linkin Park
Shamrocks And Shenanegins (Butch Vig Remix) - House of Pain
Mr. Brightside - The Killers
Rudderless - The Lemonheads
Shadow On The Sun - Audioslave
Juke Box Hero - Foreigner
Symphony Of Destruction - Megadeth
Adam's Song - Blink-182
Who Can It Be Now? - Men At Work
Big Dumb Sex - Soundgarden
Kickstart My Heart - Mötley Crüe
Epiphany - Staind
All Apologies - Nirvana
Head On - The Jesus & Mary Chain
Don't Follow - In Chains

I'm working on my Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm special now so have Nico's Goth playlist in heavy rotation!

My 2007 Convention Schedule

Hey, all-

Here's my tentative 2007 convention schedule. Most of this is locked, but the European cons at the end of the year still have a few more details that need to be worked out..

June 15-17, 2007 Wizard World Philly, Philadelphia, PA

July 26-29, 2007 Comic-Con International, San Diego, CA

August 9-12, 2007 Wizard World Chicago, Chicago, IL

August 24-26, 2007 Toronto Comic Con, Toronto, Canada

September 8-9, Baltimore Comic Con, Baltimore, MD

November 3-4, Lille Comic Festival, Lille, France

November 8-11, 2007 Fórum Fantástico, Lisbon, Portugal

November 17-18, 2007 Dublin City Comic Con, Dublin, Ireland


And it looks like I'll most likely be heading back to Angouleme again in January 2008!

I'll post booth locations and schedules and all that for the individual shows as they get closer.

Hope you see you this summer!

Take care,
C.B.

CBC in 24/7 Volume 2

The cover of the second volume of Ivan Brandon's wonderful Image anthology [B]24/7[/B] has been leaked, and on the back cover I'm pleased to announce you'll find my name. For those unfamiliar with it, [B]24/7[/B] is all about robots living in NYC, and I contributed a story about an undercover female detective in Chinatown that was illustrated by the incredible Nuno Plati! Hopefully Ivan will show some interior pages soon, but for now, here's the cover...



And be sure to check out Nuno's amazing work over at his blog... http://www.nunoplati.blogspot.com/

Drain 4 Preview

I just so love Sana's latest pages and wanted to share...