Nguyening It!
cyborg
What a journey!
I know I don’t post as often as should, but that’s a good thing as I’ve been busy with projects. I thank you for hanging around and checking in on my blog every so often. Your company is greatly appreciated.
As you know, 2020 has been wild to say the least. Most of the time, it has been truly heartbreaking. I lost a good friend before the pandemic hit. I think about him in particular now because the Dodgers are in the World Series and he was a huge fan. He was also an amazing artist and we would have had a lot more conversations about this year.
I had my largest convention schedule planned for this year but COVID-19 took care of that. It was going to be a lot of firsts for me. Surprisingly, other opportunities have presented themselves. As you know, I was honored to be a part of Gerry Conway’s Skulls for Justice campaign.
Since then, I’ve had the privilege of doing a sketchcard set for Marvel & Upper Deck’s Marvel Anime trading card series. I started posting them on Twitter & I guess someone in Japan found the Venom card already. I’m fanning out that I’m in a set where Peach Momoko is the headline artist. Insane! Here’s a look at all of my cards:
I’ve also been working quite a bit with my friend Mike Korpi. He’s an amazing writer and I wanted to bring his stories to life. You may remember we were in Wannabe Press ‘ Cthulhu is Hard to Spell: The Terrible Twos right before the pandemic hit.
We now have an opportunity for a comic book anthology hat trick. Our second and third anthologies are live now on Kickstarter. The first one is from the creator collective we belong to: the Sketchy Bug Group. The book is called Danger Arcade and features 10 stories by 21 creators plus pinups. Click here to check out the campaign! The cover is by Mike Penn from Heavy Metal magazine. Ed Dukeshire (from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers & Hulk) is doing letters for some of the stories, including ours! Our project was recently backed by BOOM! Studios as part of their 100 First-time Comic Kickstarter Campaigns initiative. We have 2 weeks left to fund and we’re almost at 50%! I hope you’ll consider it.
Mike and I are also in great company with a horror anthology that we’re a part of called Nightmare Theater. This campaign just launched today and is over halfway funded. It features a ton of phenomenal talent like Ringo Award-Winners Rylend Grant (Banjax, Abberant), David Pepose (the O.Z., Spencer & Locke, Going to the Chapel), David Avallone (Bettie Page, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Drawing Blood), Terry Mayo (Wicked Righteous) and many more. It’s insane. The book is over 200 pages! Mike and I have a story in it we’re sure you’ll love and I did a pinup.
I also did a pinup for my friend Steven Prince and his book Monster Matador! It’s also live on Kickstarter with only 5 more days left, if I’m not mistaken.
I hope you enjoy these amazing projects. If you support any of them, sounds off below and let me know! If you find any of my sketchcards, let me know!
@PablotheGorilla & I need your help! Nominate us for the #Ringoawards! @Ringoawards
As you may know, creating Pablo the Gorilla has been an amazing journey but it’s not over yet! You can have a part in nominating Pablo for a Ringo Award!
The Ringo Awards are held at Baltimore Comic-con, which I’ll be at in their Artist Alley if everything goes back to normal. It’d be great if a longshot like Pablo the Gorilla made it on the ballot. First, it’d be a special thing to walk into Baltimore Comic-Con with that nod. Second, and more importantly, the award celebrates Mike Wieringo, an artist that I admired and who believed in the fun of comics. Making Pablo was about making a fun comic and I believe it truly embodies the spirit of the award. You have the chance to affect the ballot simply by nominating the comic and me in all applicable categories! I hope you’ll consider it! Thanks!
Started from the bottom
Last 48 hours of Pablo the Gorilla on Kickstarter. Can you believe it?!
If you’ve been following the process behind Pablo, you know how much work has gone into creating this comic.
The comic is now waiting its final funding count. It was fully funded after 72 hours and stands at 143% right now. It now is $73 away from hitting $5400 in funding. The second stretch goal (a funding goal that stretches beyond the original amount) is in reach. That goal would produce the first pin design.
We are now in the final 48 hours. It’s been a blast! There are three last stretch goals and a bonus. If you’re in the Los Angeles area and have backed, you’ll love this- a pizza party if Pablo the Gorilla reaches or exceeds 200% funding!
This has been an incredible experience. It’s like living a dream having not only the comic being made but also having two- time, Eisner Award winner Dustin Nguyen creating a variant cover. It’s been a really wild ride this past month. So if you’re a comic book fan, especially of indies, hope you’ll love this one. Like I’ve been saying, “I’m not saying it’s going to be the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but I’m not not saying it either.” 🤣
@Pablothegorilla looking to hit 2nd stretch goal
This has been a great year so far. There’s still a lot of work to be done. Since Pablo the Gorilla’s kickstarter campaign started, I’ve been reiterating the mantra, “Kickstarter is a team sport. ” It really is. With only 11 days left on the campaign, or is already heading toward the second stretch goal. The are three fun (and super difficult to guess) pin designs waiting to be made if the stretch goals are hit. They don’t have to be made. They’re just tertiary rewards as a thank you to those who came in at $35 or higher, should they be produced.
The campaign is already at 136% funding. It currently stands at 104 backers. I’m honored to have two time Eisner Award winner Dustin Nguyen (no relation) doing a variant cover. It really had been amazing. Thanks to everyone who has pledged, shared, commented or helped in anyway. I can’t wait to put this book in your hands!
Here are some early reader reviews.
“Pablo the Gorilla is great fun, and really packs a pizza-delivering primate cyborg punch.”
– D.E. Schrader, co-creator Baby Badass
Only 500 made #SDCC2019
Going to SDCC? Find one of these, take a photo & tag @NguyeningIt on Insta or Twitter. Better yet, Support the Kickstarter as we climb toward $5,000 funding & 100 backers.
@Pablothegorilla & the road to 100 #backers on @kickstarter
It has been an amazing week. Pablo the Gorilla funded after 72 hours. That means I head into San Diego Comic-con to promote an already successful campaign. Big thanks to my family, friends and new backers.
However, this is not the end. As the campaign nears the ends of the fourth day we’re at 74 backers. Will we get to 75 by 9 a.m. ?
Pablo the Gorilla is now racing to 100 backers and aiming for 200% backing. Reasonable goals?
If you’re reading this and you haven’t already, join Team Pablo!
Pablo the Gorilla is about an albino, cyborg gorilla that delivers pizza and just wants to live life. However, the government that created him wants their AWOL pet project back. We also discover a mysterious fiend tracking Pablo as well.
If you’ve been following the blog, you’ve no doubt seen all the work behind Pablo. Pablo is coming to life in print, but it’s up to fans to prove to the comics industry that they want to see new ideas from fresh faces. That means successful projects need to have big numbers and creators need followers.
Pledges start at $1, rewards start at $5 with physical rewards at the $12 level. The project even has a variant cover being done by Eisner Award winner Dustin Nguyen of Lil Gotham and Descender! After pledging, leave comments and share! Follow me on Instagram and Twitter!
This is an indie comic inspired by the spirit of books like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Usagi Yojimbo, Tank Girl, Hellboy and the Crow. Mash that up with 90s comics like X-Force or Cyber Force and throw in Mighty Joe Young and Planet of the Apes. Sound up your alley? Join Pablo the Gorilla’s Kickstarter now!
Some exciting news
I’m gonna leave this here. Pablo the gorilla launches 7/10. Comic-con, we’re coming for you.
The payoff. Thanks WordPress followers!
Thank you for following the blog for the past few years everyone! I know it’s transitioned away from a daily sketch blog recently, but that doesn’t mean it won’t continue to be a blog about my art and art process.
You might remember seeing the loose storyboards for Retro awhile back. I told you to keep an eye out, right 😉? We did it! We premiered yesterday with Dances with Films at the famous Hollywood TCL Chinese Theatres!
The response was overwhelming! Truly humbled and thankful. The story doesn’t end here. Retro is going to be reworked by the creator for comic format too! The kickstarter for Pablo the Gorilla has a launch date for June 26th. That’s right, in 10 more days! We’re going to need all hands on deck. Click here for the email signup!
Then I’ll be at Rose City Comic-con in September.
So…
I’m starting an email list for Pablo the Gorilla’s first comic. I won’t be spamming, but I do intend to keep you informed. The list has actually already been growing before the launch of this sign up page. Thanks to all the fans who loved the pitch and signed up already.
For those of you following my journey and the path to making Pablo the Gorilla as a comic book, I hope we will walk forward together into the next leg of our voyage. Thank you so much for being a part of this.
Nguyening It! 