SWAT's Blog

formspring.me

2010-11-08T09:39:00.001-08:00

Ask me anything http://formspring.me/DarthSWAT

Talonted eCard

2009-11-16T22:37:00.000-08:00

Here's the first of many Talon eCards to come. Enjoy and send to your friend why dontcha'.

Send this eCard !

What's Next?

2009-11-10T15:38:00.000-08:00

As many of you know Talon 0 released just a couple of weeks ago. In celebration, I recently attending the Cincinnati Comic and Anime Con with my wife, Abrana, and we sold just over 30 copies. It was amazing to see people take interest in my book. It was even more amazing that they liked it well enough to spend their hard-earned money on it. I met some really great people while there, Marc Ballard, Michael Nicolosi, Tony Moore, The Quarantine Comics group and Brian Williams (creator of Lucius Hammer). It was also nice to hang out with RD Hall and Mark Kidwell again. I enjoyed every conversations about my work, the book and comics in general. I also enjoyed all of the great questions asked of me, but the biggest and most popular question was what's next. So I thought it would be good to take a few minutes to let everyone know what is next. I'm currently writing a 128 Talon graphic novel and a Talon Animake Over book which will be penciled by an anime artist. A Talon Sketch Book is in the works which will be filled with tons of sketches and behind the scenes material. I'm also working with Studio123 to produce a series of Talon eCards as well as trying to work with a t-shirt designer to create a line of Talon shirts. It's early in the game but I'm also in talks with a toy company to produce a line of action figures based on characters from the series but it's way to early to release any real details. I will keep everyone up to date as it develops. Last but not least, I'm working on a line of Talon prints as well. So there are many things being developed for Talon as I type this and it's all very exciting. I can't wait to see what's next, lol.

Thank you to everyone that stopped by my table. You guys really have no idea just how special it was for me to be sitting there talking with each of you. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

A dream come true

2009-10-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

I was a young boy when I first conceived Talon and the world she lives in. I couldn't count the number of times I "slightly" revised her look as well as her supporting cast of heroes and villains. I knew I wanted to mix real history with fiction so I decided to have Talon's tale take place during the Hundred Years War. There was so much source material to work with from the Black Plague to Joan of Arc, the War of the Roses to Vlad the Impaler. As I grew older and matured so did the material. What hadn't changed was my love for the medieval time period. I watched every movie, read every book and researched as much as I possibly could at the local library. Just last night I watched the History Channels Dark Ages. Not being one of those artist's lucky or gifted enough to make it in the professional ranks just after graduating high school I went on to serve in the Army which by the nature of the job I had to put creating comics aside. A lot changed for me during my term and life got complicated as it tends to do. For years after my term I tried to become a professional comic artist but found no success. I hit the cons, worked for very small start up companies and even tried forming a local group of creators in order to produce comics. It was two years ago when a friend told me to enter Talon in the Small Press Idol held by Dimestore Productions. I ended up winning it but lost my job on the same day. From there I lost my grandfather, my dad got cancer, three friends committed suicide and my mom had a heart attack which required a triple by-pass surgery. When my mom had her heart attack I was devastated. All my life I witnessed a woman that let nothing bring her down and then suddenly, she met her Kryptonite and for the first time I saw my hero's mortality. I struggled for some time after just trying to figure out what was important in life. Slowly as each day passed I regained composure and strength but still, to this day I'm not myself. I looked to my wife and two boys for the encouragement to finish what I started two years ago and was able to finish Talon 0. It was a very long road, filled with many trials and life-altering events that reshaped my life. Unlike many who just flat out don't finish what they start out of pure laziness I simply lacked the drive. My priorities shifted. I knew comics would always be around with or without me, my family and friends on the other hand won't always be. I had to spend time with those I care about during their time of need and if that upset some people then I'm sorry. Not becuase I took time off but because they lack the compassion to understand what's truly important. It's for my family and those that stuck with me through all the hard times that I found the inner strength to finish the book. I owe you guys more than you know. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you enjoy Talon 0 as much as I do. Stick around because I'm just getting warmed up!

My First Mission Report

2009-04-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

Many of my friends have been getting on to me about starting a blog so I finally fell to the pressures and here I am blogging. I am a tattoo artist and comic book artist/writer by trade. I also write reviews for video games, movies, DVDs and comic books. You can read some of my articles at Helium. Well, that about does it for this entry. As I familiarize myself with how this all works I'll be sure to write more but until then visit me on Facebook and Myspace