Be Alive...

Hello Friends, today is a pretty simple topic, being alive and being happy.

What a thought eh? But why is this such a big deal to me? Well I think it mostly comes from the fact that a lot of my ideas tend to have a dark undertone of sorts, And I think sometimes, especially with my own history, it's important to look at life and reflect on everything you have going for you. I get caught up at times with everything that I don't have, and yeah, I get into a slump about things. But the reality is, I've got a lot going on these days and a lot to look forward to as well. School has been a great learning experience for me, work has been good as well although I am thinking of looking for new opportunities. I have the ability to go as far as I want to go with my creativity and my craft, and I plan to go as far as possible and beyond. I don't want to become ruled by my fears, doubts and insecurities. 

I've got a lot ahead of me these next weeks as I aim to complete 22 pages of my very own first independent comic book, Brewgatory! It's exciting and fun project, but it's a lot of work! For anyone who has ever tackled this, I am in awe of your power! And for those who are thinking about doing one, by all means go for it, just know that it is a dedication, you can't half ass this one. I am missing out on a lot of social gatherings and outings, but I know this is the only thing that makes any sense to me, there's nothing more important for me. And when you find your passion, you have to go all in. 

I am still waiting to hear back from a certain comic book convention that takes place at the end of the summer, but here is hoping I can get a spot on the floor. This would be the first time on my own at a show, but with the experiences I've had with my friends and brothers in the comic book art scene I aim to take everything I've learned and make my mark in this business. I am not the prettiest, not the flashiest, but God damn it I plan to be a part of this world! Come hell or high water, I am going to be a comic book artist! 

So to you mt dear friend, if you are living with depression or anxiety or any mental health problems, take it from me. You are not your mental health, it is a part of you but it is not what defines you. And even though some days it is harder than others, fight, fight with everything you've got and create something incredible. I know you can do it. 

Until then, keep chasing the Storm. 

Of Stone: Stone Cold Comic...

Of Stone, a comic you may haven't heard of from a comic book writer/artist that you should know. Seriously though Dave Bishop is one of the best feel good stories in the independent comic book world here in Toronto. A hard working family man who's passion to create drives him everyday to work on comics, he has tackled zombies, squirrels and even work on the new under water thriller, Deep Sea, with writer Ricky Lima. With a second issue in the works, I wanted to take a look at this epic of the stoic stone ogre, the first issue of Of Stone. But for this post, I wanted to explore a few of the themes and symbols that could potentially be linked to this story. Because as far as I am concerned this is a book you should get, because with every book purchase you help an artist get one step closer and closer to his goals. So it goes without saying, buy Of Stone. Hell get two copies of it for a friend over seas. And besides once you get a copy of this book, I would love to hear your own opinions and thoughts on the issue, what did you see and what did you think. With that out of the way, let's take a deeper look at Of Stone...

•Walk Harder: You hear this a lot, especially in books and movies about the struggles of growing up and coming of age stories, you have to be hard. It's one of the obvious themes, I mean it's literally in the title of the book. But you start to understand it more and more with each page. The main character of the story is a warrior and a hunter, Gan, the most you get from him though his a sense of responsibility  and duty. He knows the creatures he hunts are bad, a threat to the world. And so he wants to do everything he can to clean the world of these creatures. But it's not until the end of the issue that you get a feeling that maybe he is doubting what he and his people have been doing for years. Because maybe it's not meant to be questioned, you just do as your told. Even with the lost of his own son, he doesn't stop hunting, he keeps moving forward with a heavy heart. Through the harsh winter, the mountain terrain and even through the pain of battle, this one tough cookie. 

And you know in life, sometimes we need to be tougher then we really are. It's not easy and it can be the challenges of trying to hold a job and feeding a family, or maybe trying to finish a deadline. But no matter what, we need to be strong, we need to be "Of Stone". Anyone who accomplished a change in the world, they made sacrifices to get to where they needed to be. And much like the author of this story, he is still fighting everyday to create great works. 

•Know Your Enemy: As mentioned earlier one of the turning points in the story is when our hero is fighting the dark shadowy demons and suddenly hears their voices, he hears one of them cry out for his now dead brother. So not only can these creatures communicate, but much like the ogre community in the mountains, these creatures have family. How much does this change things exactly? Well it is much easier to hunt something you know is bad for the planet, especially if it doesn't think or feel. So then realizing this beast isn't as wild or unaware as you were told, perhaps changes things. What if all they wanted to do was live like you do? What if all the legends and tales that were told were lies?

This reflects much of our current state of fear mongering in the news and media, all we need to know about our enemy is that they are dangerous and they want to kill us. But how much does a soldier know about the war he is going to fight? The less they know and the less they question, the better soldier you have fighting for your cause. How much will this reveal change things in the next issue, I am looking forward to finding out. 

•My People: The last theme I wanted to look at was community. In the book you get to see three races; humans, ogres and these shadow creatures. From an ogres point of view, you see that the ogres are people of great strength, pride and tradition. They hunt to protect the planet from this enemy, and unlike the humans who live on tales and lies about heroism and bravery, the ogres bring skull trophies back home, as a token of unquestioned strength. 

There is no doubt we should be proud about who we are and the community we represent. For every success you accomplish you are representing your family, your city, your country and of course, humanity as a whole. Creating a standard of strength and success is a way to make sure all who follow your path will continue to keep that reputation high.

Plenty of food for thought here, and possibly even more that I didn't even touch on. Of Stone is one of those books you can read again and again, to see those messages and see how they play out in the story. I can't recommend this book enough, and I am personally super excited to see what's in store for the next issue and how each of these past themes will be expanded on. 

So give Dave Bishop a follow here or here and see what show he will be at next and be sure to get Of Stone and join the conversation, I want to know what did you take from the story? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in comments below. As always you can contact me on Twitter or Tumblr, over @ChileanStorm, let me know what you are reading and what I should take a look at next. Remember to give plenty of love to all the indy comic book artist who are taking off. Thanks for reading, and until then, keep chasing the storm.

Squirrel Crazy Good...

Not going to lie, really was looking forward to my indy review this week and a lot of them coming up, hell maybe I should just do indy book reviews. But it's exciting for me to share with a large potential audience the incredible work of friends who inspire me to keep pushing forward and bust my book out. A lot of the books that I will be plugging here, I know the creators have been working away for years and I definitely feel like they deserve way much attention and fan attention. So it's with great excitement that today I get to share the work of Dave Bishop! So this one has been a long time coming, and I've got to admit being at fault for being extremely disorganized, still working on that and I plan to keep all things more in order. But I got to meet Dave about two years ago or so, and man, his work is really good! From a very disturbing and psychologically haunting zombie tale in Stranger to some epic out of this world setting in Of Stone and even the underwater thriller, Deep Sea. Dave has created some incredible worlds, as a writer and as an artist you can see it all come to life. One of my personal favourites of his work though, was a very early work of his and it's a short story, simply titled Squirrels. A one shot story on the secret lives of squirrels, and holy f*ck does it get dark really fast, and I love it! I wanted to hit up Squirrels first because I will be looking at all the other books I mentioned earlier as well, so I figured start at the beginning of his work. Not to mention I am blown away at how engaging a short story about squirrels could be. 

So off the bat, you don't even have to open the book to start the story, it begins right away on the cover. A squirrel runs onto a road and gets run over, splat, dead. That's odd? Why would it run on the road and accept it's fate, the squirrel stands and looks directly at the oncoming vehicle. It's an acceptance of ones mortality, welcoming the fate of death head on. An acceptance or even a protest if you will, die on your feet instead of living on your knees. And this does add up especially by the end. You end seeing how all the squirrels have a secret society and a certain code of conduct that they must obey or be casts out, which you could directly tie to the world we live in today, your workplace or hell even your family. A world where curiosity is shunned, defiance is punished and jealousy runs rampart. All of these elements take place in this short story in the world of squirrels and holy crap, that's nuts...pun totally intended. As a writer myself, I was blown away by this, here we have a short story that drops all these elements, and it's not like everything is given to you, there are a lot of questions on how that world works and what are the rules. But the concept being that hey, you know how sometimes when you drive down a long road to the city you may happen to run over a squirrel, ever wonder what life that little creature lived? We don't think that, we never ask that. I mean most humans have a "boot to ants" kind of mentality, we just walk where we want and take what we need. 

This comic was created as part of the twelve hour comic book challenge, which I've done myself and it's really hard to make a story that makes any sense at all and gives you something. I wanted to try to do the same with Part Timer and I hope it works, but I am bot sure. I was totally inspired by Bishop's work here with Squirrels, his ability to tell a lot with the small amount of space is pretty incredible. And you get a sense of bigger and greater settings in his other books as well, which you will be seeing here as well. The only thing is, I am not sure how many copies of Squirrels are left or even available, being an early work of his and all. But hey you go to a show or convention and find Dave's table, pick up anything that is available. If you are looking for comics that challenge it's readers and tell a deeper story, get his books. And also something that needs to be said, Dave is an absolute blast, so talk with him and get to know him, really really cool guy and one of the many guys working that I look up to. 

Dave and Ricky working away.

So there you have it guys, another indy book and creator that you guys should check out for sure! I highly suggest you guys take a look at his work in Deep Sea by checking out the link over here for the Facebook page. And also be sure to let me know, should I look at and review more indy books? Or do you know of a small book that I should be looking at? Let me know in the comments below and I will take a look for sure! Got an editorial coming up for the weekend, so got to plan a rant about something, going to think that one up at work today. Until then guys, keep chasing the storm! 

Diary of Glass: Entry 6

I finally got around to scanning the pages for issue 0, taken me much longer then I thought it would. Then again working on this book alone, it has taken me longer in general. I never accounted for life, work and all the other little things in between. But finally scanning the pages, I can start to clean them up on Photoshop and get to lettering as well, all the steps until I get it done and send it out there. And I mean that in of itself is going to be a new learning process for me, so I am learning and working as I go on this, I just hope it can still be a good presentable product. The thing is, looking through the pages I realize, and I will consider this especially moving forward, I need to work on panelling better. Maybe I am being critical or picky here, but while I like how each page looks on it's own, I don't think there's a good flow in general. But live and learn, I need to pay more attention to all these different elements, I mean especially considering the amount of comics I read and analyse.  

So since I did get a chance to scan the pages and all, let's take a look at one of the pages that will be in Glass Prison #0. Consider this like a backstage pass into the making of Glass Prison, a commentary of sorts, except your reading, so sound excited or something like that. I am not sure if I have a good voice for commentary of sorts or anything like that.

So first up, this is a straight up scan, I didn't clean it up at all. The raw presentation of it all, from pencils to inks. With this page, it plays with the idea of Jason, the main subject of the story, going in and out of reality and the nightmare world of his own sub concious.One thing I want to play with as an artist and as a story teller is distortion, warping the world and the characters around however I see fit. Playing with limbs and the faces is a lot of fun and through the shapes I am looking to present different elements to the panels and pages. In time I want to master the idea of distorting even the panels, melting them or as you see here, broken glass panels, telling the story of a broken man. The idea here is having Jason hold his hand for help, as if he was drowning and needed a hand to save his life. The only thing he gets is another bottle of nameless beer, another drink. The other hands reaching out are the "warden" demons, I wanted to have it seem like they are the ones getting Jason a new bottle to refresh his addiction. A few the hands stand out a bit better than some of the others, I need to make sure to flesh out all the little details on these monsters, especially considering how important they are to the story. In the last panel, I wanted to have Jason look pissed off, his anger at his own weakness and inability to quit, to be able to be free. In the story, the alcohol and drugs play out as the walls to Jason's prison. I know that Jason wants to be free, he wants to clean up his life. But at this point in the story and early on, he needs to honestly look at his life and be ready to face his past if he wants any chance at a future. He wants someone to save him, but he is unable to take it upon his own to do anything. I need to work on my backgrounds more, especially on the top panels, I couldn't think of an appropriate background, so I decided to leave it alone for now. 

So, what do you think?

Please let me know, any kind of comment or suggestion, I am all ears. As a new comic book artist and storyteller, I need to listen as much as possible. So let me know what you think, I need all the help I can get. And hopefully you are enjoying this process as well, I want to try and update every week and as I am going I am trying to write up five blogs per week, staying up late and drinking a lot more coffee. Be sure to check out the previous entries in my Diary of Glass series, you can see how I wanted to rush this out and how I decided to just do a good job and see the process along the way. Thank you again for reading and until next time, keep chasing the storm. 

Black Holes Over A*#holes!

The best way to describe the current relationship between comic book fans and the two big companies in comics is a pretty simple one when I think about it. You ever remember threatening your parents that you were going to run away from home? You would grab the box of cookies, three juice boxes and your favourite toys and tell them you were done with their crap and you were going to live a life free of their oppressive state. In most case, the parents would tell you to cut the crap and wash your hands for dinner, but if you were brave enough to leave and play in the park for an hour, your parents knew you would be back home in no time. That is what we have here today with comics. And you can see this from both Marvel and DC Comics, they can cancel series at a whim and/or completely destroy any beloved character you hold dear to your heart, you know why? Because you will be back. I f*cking hated DC Comics for relaunching everything, but I own at least five #1 issue of several series. And I absolutely despise Marvel for what they did to Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver! And for what? A movie that is going to make millions even if they left these characters alone. Going to get more on that tomorrow. My point is though, we keep coming back. It's a very abusive relationship we have here, for the little they give, they are allowed to take anything they want from us. And where else can we go? Where you ask? Indi-f*cking-pendent! Seriously guys, there is tons of incredible comics that you have no idea about, go to artist alley and find these books, go online and follow these great stories. But you have to be willing to change the channel and take a chance on all these artist and writers who deserve you time and money.

"But you always review big two comics?"

...point. And I am going to change that today! 

So I decided to do different books everyday, and in that rotation will be indy comics as well. So you will get some classic or old stuff from Marvel and DC Comics, and I can mix that up with Image and Dark Horse comics as well, but then always do a new indy book or series. To represent from those who really deserve the spotlight. And today I am going to start with one of my current favourite series that is going on, the sci-fi adventure, Black Hole Hunters Club! 

The latest issue of Black Hole Hunters Club is issue 5, and with the first four you get to meet the entire cast of BHHC, a wide range of strange and down right gross looking aliens, all working together on a common goal and an overdue space bar tab. You always see what has happened to the father of Lars and Hector, a character who had a really good build up in the first issues, so it made an impact when he finally showed up and well...he was kind of a dick. But why? Well that is the question. But in issue 5, we got the brother and Liliam trekking through a forest when Lars suddenly finds a really kick ass bug. Like the coolest little dude ever, seriously. But then they get caught, shit. Not to worry though because the action isn't far away and we get to Lars use his transformation powers again in a really awesome way and we see Hector fry the crap out of some dick head frog, wicked stuff. 

While the issues aren't big, they get to the point. And why not? Who cares how much Trevor has been drinking on his way to the space supermarket? The story doesn't drag on, the pace is steady with plenty of humour and action, it's extremely refreshing to see this in a comic. If I have to make a complaint though, I still feel even with the larger cast that Hector and Lars (especially Lars, he's fucking awesome) steal the show. The others characters haven't really stood out as well yet, but there are plenty more issues to come and fix this problem anyway. And I guess one thing also, I wish the bad guys survived a little bit more to be developed, but hey you can always have magic zombies from outer space. Seriously bring back a stitch headed Prince Human from issue one, that would be sick! Aside from that, I can't stress how badly you guys need to start reading Black Hole Hunters Club! If you see Ricky Lima or Shane Heron at any of these shows, get the books! If you get a lot of them, Shane will draw you anything. And I hear he enjoys drawing a lot of the characters from My Little Pony. True story. 

 Down below I will give you some links to see more of both these guys and also where you can find these guys next. 

• BHHC Facebook Page
• Heron Art Blog!
• Heron Twitter Page
• Ricky Twitter Page
• BHHC Instagram Page

So there you have it guys, now you know one series and creators to start following. It is about time we take back control of our hobbies and of the things we love, comics is no different. We have two guys here who work their asses off to make some great unique comics and will continue to do so, they have tons of other stories and comics as well. Both helped out in the Monstrosity anthology comic and Ricky just released Deep Sea, with art from one of my favourite guys in the scene, Dave Bishop. Honestly if I can be anywhere near as good as these guys I will be happy, all of them inspire me to be the best comic creator I can be. But that's all I got for now guys, got to get some sleep. Been pretty consistent though eh? Until then, keep chasing the storm! 

Diary of Glass: Entry 5

It's been a long time since I've been able to talk about anything related to my pet project, Glass Prison. I was working away on both issue zero and issue one, then life happened and it took a back seat to practically everything else, which was my fuck up. I want to blame this on having a lot of different birthday celebrations  and picking up more hours at work, lord knows Visa is still looking to murder me (I think), but the cold truth of it all, it's on me. I haven't found the time to sit down and finish it up, but issue zero is practically finished, I just have to but some finishing touches to it and send over to the scanners. At which point I still need to clean it up on Photoshop, letter it and put it all together. But God damn it, this is a lot of work! And look I am going to slay this fucker one way or another, this book will happen, but the reality is I am an out of shape guy who gets home drained from his job after 8 hours of service and cleaning. And I still got tons and tons of things I need to learn as an artist and as a comic creator, I still look at my work and think and know I could have done things differently, better. And I still got to draw out issue one, which I need to get more paper and actually I might have to remove a page, I may have written 25 pages for this 24 page comic. So plenty to do, and I think I know what I want to do to improve these current problems...

One, me and my brother are going to sign up for a gym. We figure it's a good time to meet up and work together, he is already in shape though, me, I've got a gut to slay and roll out some rolls. That's the reality of things, and not to mention you can get pretty inactive sometimes in the winter, so best work it off. But it's also something I want to add to my daily routine, after or before work, something to keep me going with stronger energy. And then by the summer time, all the selfies! Maybe. Most likely. I apologize now in advance. 

Two, I need that drafting table and a good chair for work. My current set up right now has my computer and whole bunch of other things, mainly different collectible blind bag figures. Coolest one being...hmmm...I've got to give that to the Mega Man helmet (Red variant)that I got from Loot Crate. But yeah, while this spot is great for digital work and for blogging, I need to make space for a work table, a place I can go to and attack any project I got. That and I want a board to see what I have to finish and all that jazz, organize myself to a greater scale. I want to be an artist, I got to start taking this shit more seriously. With this work space, I can also study more techniques and practice more and more.

But there you have it, that is what is going on with me so far and the Glass Prison. I have not forgotten this project and I will not stop until this done and finished, this is something I have to do, come hell or high water, I need to do this. And thing is, here in Toronto, we got guys doing some absolutely incredible work, a lot of guys who I want to be to hang with, to be able to say that I am part of that collective. Because now, I can't say much to my name, I am invisible as far as the world of comics is concerned. I want to change, I want to be known and I want to tell my stories. So if you've been following me and my work so far, a big big thank you to you and continue to do so you incredible wonderful person, thank you! Until then, will see what I get done when the next update rolls around, which I am going to try and make sure is once per week. So until then, keep chasing the storm! 

Diary of Glass: Entry 3

No rest for the wicked. That is something for sure to be said, with under a week to go and with every second counting, for the second time this month I got sick. It's mainly allergies to dust, which luckily my shared living space here has got plenty of dust to spare, dust for everyone. And when you are away most of the time, yeah things end up collecting a lot of dust. Part of me thinks that is some kind of strange metaphor for my current state of life, things collecting dust and why it makes me sick. I might be onto something here, maybe. Regardless Storm Clouds, I have got some good news, I finished up the cover, so that's going to be getting scanned up today! If you follow me on Instagram, and if you don't follow me at ChileanStorm, you would have seen that I posted up five images, each of the five "wardens" of the Glass Prison. I will be posting them here, so take a look and see what you think...

Greed

Indulgence

Desire

Pain

Guilt

The five demons or the five wardens are the main antagonist of the Glass Prison story, while they are here to drag Jason down into eternal damnation, each of them has their own agenda and story. While some mainly want to conquer and dominate the mind, others are looking for something even greater and much darker. I want to go into greater detail for each of these guys, but I can't give away too much, it ruins the story and the surprise of it all. 

So get to know these five monsters, they will be here for awhile.

Well that's all I got for now, if you have any questions or comments, you can ask down below or you can give me a follow on all the different forms of social media, ChileanStorm for practically everything I do. I will be back tomorrow with a new blog, until then keep chasing the storm! 

Diary of Glass: Entry 2

Big news everybody! (Always wanted to open a blog like that)

So just this past weekend I was able to put the last finishing touches on my first small comic book project, Part-Timer. The project was from the 12 hour comic book challenge back in the Spring, and was something I've been meaning to finish off for sometime now. My hats off to any comic book creators who can pull off the challenge, like Shane Heron and Ricky Lima, who created their sci-fi adventure from this challenge, Black Hole Hunters Club. Great stuff guys! And if you guys have yet to read these books, go here right now and give them a follow. But yeah, I finally finished my little 12 page book. And with that finished, it will be part of the zero issue which I am going to try and finish for Glass Prison, so fans and curious people can get a sneak peak of what to expect from this nightmarish journey. 

So Part-Timer as the name goes is about a part time worker. We follow this nameless dude through out his day, and you get to see how he goes about it. In each page we see what small daily task he is doing at work, and the extreme measure he wants to take to escape them. I don't want to give away any more, but if you have worked a part time job before, then you could probably relate in some way or another. Although the character is also very drastic, you are most likely not as exaggerated. 

So yeah, that's one for the books, onto the next 8 pages and one mighty cover. And all this to be done by next week. Draw, ink, letter and print. Time to make a f*cking comic. Come on Storm Clouds, time to kick some ass! 

Reblog, post and all that other good stuff and of course, keep chasing the storm. 

Diary of Glass: Entry 1

Remember back when, I said I wanted to make a comic book. Well welcome to today, I am doing it and it is going to happen, and while this may be the most personal and time given project I will be working on, I know still that it is going to be rough and flawed, I know this, but the one thing I need to do as an artist and a storyteller is do it, I need to do it and keep going. So with that I am proud to say, that on November 26 2014, I, ChileanStorm will be releasing at retails here in the GTA and page by page on the weekly web-comic site, The Sequentials, a trip into the broken mind of the Glass Prison! This was the first project I wanted to do since joining the comic book artist community here in Toronto, and I feel like the need to release this project instead of being just another fan artist is essential to my future, I want to do this for a living, I want to be known as a storyteller and an artist. And so, I wanted to do start writing up my daily progress of each day as I work away to the deadline, so you can follow my progress and share thoughts and opinions as well. This will be a long ride and it will take some long hours to finish what I've started here, but for me there are no other roads left, time to start running.

I will give you guys a little synopsis on what the Glass Prison is all about for today's entry...

For those of you who are progressive metal fans, you may have noticed that this book shares the same name as the title track of Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence from legendary band, Dream Theatre. Give yourself a bonus star point, you would be absolutely correct. The song itself, an incredible musical journey based off Mike Portnoy's rehabilitation from alcohol abuse, it's the first three of the twelve step program. As far as music goes, absolutely brilliant! By far my favourite track from this incredible band, the thought that goes on behind the words of the lyrics to every rift and note is mind blowing, absolutely perfect execution. As far as music goes, I can honestly say Dream Theatre is near untouchable as masters of their craft. So needless to say this was just one piece to my idea...

The other element is more out of tragedy. A few years back, a distant friend, Kyle Miller, passed away. For many years Kyle had an extreme problem with addiction, drugs and alcohol. By the time of his passing, I had lost touch and contact, a lot of us did. I was angry at him, upset, I never could understand why he couldn't save himself, I felt that since I was able to put those vices behind in my own life, that he would be able as well. But we had very different lives, while both poor financially the one thing I had was always a lot of love at home. I need to pay a tribute to him, I need to tell a story about him in some way shape or form, I need to forgive him and myself for our mistakes. 

So taking the song, Kyle and the elements of my own mind, I created Glass Prison. The story that centres around a young recovering addict, Jason, who is trying to regain control of his life. Unfortunately for our hero, he is haunted by many of his inner demons that nightly take him down to the dark corners of his mind, down to the glass prison. And what happens when the dream is real, when you can't wake up from the nightmare, when you can't escape the prison. Jason will have to travel the dark hallways of his twisted psych and find an escape if he ever wants to see the light of day and the chance of hope ever again. 

So that's the plot. What do you think? Is this something you would like to see and read? Interested at all? Well let me know on the comments below or on Twitter (@ChileanStorm) and we can go on about the progress of my project. But now that you know the plot, be sure to come back and check often on the progress of the Glass Prison. A lot to do in the next days and weeks and a lot of ground to cover, but will be on this journey together. Be sure to also follow the #GlassPrison on all social media forms, I will be doing my best to update as much as possible, until then, keep chasing the storm. 

Human Lizard Rules Toronto...

Human-Lizard pin up by Jason Loo.

A quick disclaimer before I begin this comic book review, that I will be reviewing this book based on my experience reading the book. I say this because as a Toronto artist and comic illustrator, I am so proud and happy to know Jason Loo. The fact that this book is in my hands and in the hands of plenty of others all across the country and the globe, well that is incredible. This is the kind of work I want to be able to do and to be able to reach as many as possible. We are both huge fans of Seven Lives Tacos as well, it is our bond. So that being said, time to let you guys know, what The Pitiful Human-Lizard is all about.

So the basic plot...

"The Pitiful Human-Lizard is a new comic book series created by cartoonist Jason Loo. The story follows corporate lackey Lucas Barrett who finds excitement outside his 9-to-5 job as a struggling superhero. The debut issue is a grounded underdog story that takes place in the city of Toronto. It's a new, comical approach on a superhero who is uniquely Canadian." 

That is of course the most basic and spoiler free description of the book.

The book is just so much more then that though, with an amazing pace and page flow with the ability to make you laugh all the while delivering an incredibly classic comic book story. The different relationships that take place for Lucas/Human-Lizard is amazing, from stronger heroes to the locals of Toronto or his work or even his parents, the book shows all these different relationships and how he reacts with everyone. The progress of these relationships flow and change through the book, to being practical invisible to most all the way to being the next big hero for kids all over Toronto. The Human Lizard doesn't go from zero to hero completely though, and he still has a lot to learn himself, which gives the readers so much to look forward to in the next issues. And while Human Lizard is doing well, Lucas still hasn't landed a date or gained any kind of respect at work. Needless to say I am very interested in what's going to happen next. 

I highly recommend this book to fans of independent and super hero comics alike, especially fans of Spider-man and The Spirit. And while Spider-man has died and come back to life, it's been a long time since I've gotten a good laugh with one of his books. Something that Human-Lizard was able to do plenty of times, from a late night brawl with a harmless hot dog vendor to the ring tone of the boss in Lucas department. And with plenty of different locations of Toronto used, it makes for an awesome back drop, with locations like the club district and the Royal Ontario Museum making an appearance, plenty of sights to see. Another thing to look forward to is where will the lizard be next. 

Human-Lizard pin up by Vince Sunico.

With the amount of anticipation that I had for this book, I am so glad it delivered. It's been awhile since I've had fun reading a comic book, and it's great to know this is from a local Toronto talent. So to everyone in the GTA, go out and get this book at your local comic book store now, it is more then worthy to be part of your collection. Also be sure to stay tuned and like The Pitiful Human-Lizard Facebook Page as well to keep track of all Human-Lizard news, not to mention Jason Loo will be at many different locations signing copies of the book, so be sure to be there. 

That's all the time I've got for today guys, be sure to follow and comment below here and let me know what you thought of The Pitiful Human-Lizard or give me suggestions on other great comic books that I should be taking a look at. I will try and do a book review atleast once a week, especially with Fan Expo coming at the end of the summer, it will let you know what books are worth your time and money. Thanks again for your time, and keep chasing the storm.