X-Infernus Debuts in France

And Cammo and I were there in Angouleme for the launch...


(Should've gotten that haircut before I left.)

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Marvel Talent 2009

As I mentioned over on Twitter, I've been in the process of figuring out just how many new freelancers were hired by Marvel in 2009. So after looking over various spreadsheets and data, and culling down lists of talent we've started working with in the last 12 months, I've calculated, albeit in no real exact scientific or mathematical way, that Marvel's editorial/publishing arm hired 144 new freelancers in 2009! That high number surprised even me, to be honest. Not bad for being in a recession, eh? Looking at that number more specifically in terms of artistic disciplines, here how it further breaks down...

Writers - 24
Pencilers and/or penciler/inkers - 81 (Provide non-color line art)
Digital painters - 13 (Provide complete artwork from sketch to color, covers and/or interiors)
Inkers - 8
Colorists - 15 (Provide color only over line art)
Letterers - 3

A few other quick observations just looking over the list...

- 18 of these talents were women.
- It struck me the number of writers from the previous year when we were publishing Marvel Comics Presents and the Unlimited line of anthologies.
- The increasing number of pencilers who have started to ink themselves lead to a fall in the number of dedicated inkers we hired as well.
- Geographically speaking, the largest percentage of talent came from the U.S., followed by Italy, Spain and South America.
- These numbers reflect what I'll call "first-time talent" who had never been published by Marvel before. I took out any talent who had returned to Marvel after a long period of time after working in other industries or at other companies, and also removed artists who left studio systems and came to work for us directly, of which there were quite a few.

And I'd like to publicly thank Angie Nunez and Alex Morales at Marvel for their help in getting me all the freelancer data to review. I couldn't have done this without them.

Marvel Fairy Tales - On Sale Today!

In comic and book stores everyday...




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Hallo, Berlin!

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On Sale Today!

Nation X #2 goes on sale in comic shops across America today, featuring a Jubilee story co-written by me with Jim McCann, and beautifully illustrated by Mike Choi and Sonia Oback! Here's a preview over at CBR...

Four Pieces of Advice for New Artists

I get sent and review at least ten portfolios a day from new artists, and I usually find myself replying to each and every one with one or more of the exact same four comments. All newbies tend to get ahead of themselves make the same four mistakes. So much so, in fact, that I now keep these four constructive comments as a document on my desktop that I cut, paste and expand from for each individual. Since some of you have been asking about FAQs for new pencilers, I figured I'd start with this. Here you go...

1. When doing layouts, stick to the grid. Boring, I know, but learn and use the basics when it comes to storytelling. You need to walk before you run.

2. Don’t break panel borders. This is a more advanced penciling technique that is usually mis-used and abused far too often, causing the reader's eye to go to the wrong panel and only serves to confuse your storytelling.

3. Pull your camera out. You are going in too tightly and cropping out too much of the figures/body parts/action. Don't be lazy. Start by learning to draw everything asked for in the script inside your panel walls effectively first.

4. Include more backgrounds to give us a better sense of place. Think of your background as another character in the story and use it to help enhance the storytelling and the world your characters are inhabiting.

More soon...

Fresh Sushi Tonight!

Bagged two nice Mahi Mahi about a half an hour after leaving Lahaina harbor...



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Buffal-arrgghh!!

Buffalo wings are probably my favorite food on the planet. They're my choice for my "last meal before dying". So I'm always on the look out for great wings (recommendations always welcome!) and tend to order them of the menu of whatever new restaurant/bar/pub I visit. I also have the bad habit to being attracted to any kind of "buffalo style" snack foods I find in supermarkets, like chips and cheeses, and these are usually ALWAYS disappointing. But today's find takes the cake for crappiest buffalo style flavored product ever...



I can't even begin to describe the taste of these bite-sized bits of barf it was so revolting. It's not chicken. It's not buffalo sauce. They're a just a jumbled mess of processed who-knows-what with some kind of unidentifiable heat/spice added that instantly makes you want to spit it out if you put one in your mouth.

It's too bad too because as far as mass market, packaged jerkys go, Jack Links usually does a good job, like with their Prime Rib Tender Cuts. But I recommend avoiding these buffalo "chicken" ones at all costs! Trust me on this.

Merry Christmas!

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Jubilee Sneak Peak

A quick couple cropped panels of Jubilee, illustrated by the amazing team of Mike Choi and Sonia Oback, from the story Jim McCann and I wrote for Nation X #2!

Just To Be Sure

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Mobile Test

Trying out the new eBlogging app from my iPhone.




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Three Alternate Ideas for Turkey Leftovers

If you're tired of turkey sandwiches on Black Friday, here are three quick ideas for more "international" ways to cook up your leftovers...

1. Break up nice chunks of turkey by hand and fry them in a pan with Korean kimchi. I personally prefer using cabbage kimchi, cut into bite-size pieces with scissors. Serve over rice.

2. Shred the leftover turkey and mix it with shredded pepperjack cheese and minced garlic. Stuff into whole cubanelle peppers after removing just the tops. I use a grapefruit spoon. Let them then sit in the fridge for a few hours to harden. Take out and grill or bake till the peppers blister and the cheese melts.

3. Fry bite-sized cubes of turkey with olive oil, diced onion and chopped garlic. In a separate pan, heat some dry white wine then add in heavy cream and a few pinches of coarse black pepper. Reduce till it thickens into a sauce. Add in the turkey you fried. Then mix in penne al dente and saute it all on low heat for a couple minutes.

Anyone got any other simple, original ideas? Please share.

Beer Me

Whenever I travel I do my best to try as many of the local culinary customs as I can. And that includes beer. I make it a point to drink the best local beers and microbrews I can at the bars and pubs of whatever city I'm in. But it recently dawned on me that whenever I come back to NYC, I always fall back into old habits and order my usual pints of Bass or Magic Hat. Which is a shame as New York boasts a pletora of amazing local breweries! So I've started consciously adapting my drink orders to sample as many local NY beer offerings as I can when out and about here in my hometown these days.

This week's recommended brews of choice are Ithaca Apricot Wheat and Allagash White, both enjoyed at the Fat Cat on Christopher St.

Correction: I just discovered I was misinformed and Allagash is actually brewed in Portland, ME.

Toronto, Here I Come!

This year, for the first time, I'll be throwing one of my Chesterfest bashes here in Toronto, Chesterfest North! Here's a look at the invite, featuring me and the lovely ladies of Canada's own Alpha Flight, illustrated by the insanely talent Adrian Alphona!

FanExpo Toronto Schedule

Here's where I'll be, what I'll be doing and where you'll find me this weekend...

Friday, August 28

Dark Reign Panel – 6 to 7PM, Room 714

Pint of C.B. – My Annual Breaking into Comics Panel – 7 to 8PM, Room 714

Signing at the Marvel Booth (#538) – 8 to 9PM, bring comics!

Saturday, August 29

Cup O’ Joe Panel – 4 to 5PM, Room 716

Signing at the Marvel Booth (#538) – 5 to 6PM, bring more comics!

Sunday, August 30

Signing at the Marvel Booth (#538) – 12:00 to 1:00PM, bring even more comics! And water. And Tylenol with codeine. (Do they still sell it over-the-counter in Canada?

Marvel Your Universe Panel – 3 to 4PM, Room 714

Mondo Marvel Panel, 4 to 5PM, Room 717

When I'm not in any of these places, you should be able to find me either at the Marvel booth or at my Artists Alley table.

See you this weekend!

'Nuff Said

CBC at SDCC 2009

Here's where you'll find me the rest of the week:

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22nd
7:30PM - 8:30PM: Signing @ the Marvel Booth
Later in the evening: Probably at the TweetUp, then over at the Hyatt later.

THURSDAY, JULY 23rd
11:30AM - 12:30PM: My First Secret Twitter Portfolio Review (Follow @cbcebulski for details)
1:00PM - 2:00PM: Mondo Marvel Panel @ Room 6DE
3:30PM - 4:300PM: The Breaking Into Marvel Panel @ Room 6DE
5:00PM - 6:00PM: Signing @ the Marvel Booth
Later in the evening: Some parties, probably at the Hyatt again later.

FRIDAY, JULY 24th
11:00PM - Noon: X-Men Panel @ Room 6DE
12:00PM - 1:00PM: Game Show @ the Marvel Booth
2:00PM - 3:00PM: Cup 'O Joe Panel @ Room 6BCF
4:00PM - 5:00PM: My Second Secret Twitter Review (follow @cbcebulski for details)
Later in the evening: A couple parties, probably at the Hyatt later.

SATURDAY, JULY 25th
11:300PM - 12:30PM: Dark Reign Panel @ Room 6A
1:30PM - 2:30PM: My Third Secret Twitter Review (follow @cbcebulski for details)
4:00PM - 5:00PM: The Comic Experience Panel @ TBD
Later in the evening: Several parties, probably at the Hyatt later.

SUNDAY, JULY 26th
Noon - 1:00PM: My Last Secret Twitter Review (follow @cbcebulski for details)
2:00PM - 3:00PM: Game Show @ the Marvel Booth
3:00PM - 4:00PM: Signing @ the Marvel Booth

Marvel Signing Schedule

The most important times circled in red!

My Omnivore Hundred

The Very Good Taste Blog have something they call The Omnivore's 100 and someone sent it to me to check out, so I figured I'd play along. Below is their list of 100 things that they think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. Bolded are all the items I’ve eaten. Let's see how many I've tried...

C.B.'s Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

So it looks like I'm 79 out of 100. Wow. Living in Japan helped out on a large part of the list though.

I've of course had clam chowder, but never from a sour dough bowl.
I've had absinthe but not the one listed here.
Don't even know what clotted cream tea is.
Not crazy enough to try a scotch bonnet raw.
Not sure what Kaolin is either.
Currywurst I've been dying to eat and will do so in Berlin in October.
And you ain't never getting me to smoke a cigar. So that's out.
Same with tomoatoes. No way.
Everything else, I just haven't had the chance to taste yet, but am looking forward to!

All in all, not too shabby!