Yep, haven’t rambled about hockey for a while, and with the Stanley Cup Final tomorrow night this seems like as good a time as any. Also, I just upgraded to a new version of WordPress and want to test it out.

As at least some of you are already aware, I’ve been working on a comic about mutants playing hockey in post-apocalyptic Canada called Hockeypocalypse. Since getting out of school in late April  I’ve been doing a ridiculous amount of work on it. There are six pages already posted on this site (here). As of this writing, there are twenty-two completed pages sitting in a file folder next to my drawing desk. I’ve got two more pages to go until I’ve finished the first of three “periods” (chapters. For those who don’t get it, hockey is played in three periods, which coincides nicely with the three act structure). After that I’m going to draw the four page prologue (”Morning Skate”) before starting work on the second period (which I’ve almost finished the script for). Hopefully you guys will be able to see the whole thing later this year (or early next year, perhaps. There are gears in motion!)

Detroit and Pittsburgh are playing in the Stanley Cup Finals tomorrow, although at this point I’m more interested in the draft on June 25th and what the Oilers will do then. Dany Heatley wants to leave the Ottawa Senators, and apparently Oiler GM is looking into acquiring him. Reportedly the Oil would need to give up a top four defenceman (probably Tom Gilbert, to make salary cap room) and a top six forward (ideally Dustin Penner or Robert Nilsson). I don’t know if Heatley could solve the Oilers’ offensive woes from last season, but seeing as he’s scored more than 50 goals in each of the past two seasons while part of a weak Sens team I’m pretty sure he could add some punch to an offence that only had two players score more than twenty goals. There’s also a rumour floating around (which the Edmonton Journal’s hockey writers seem particularly fond of) that the Minnesota Wild are trying to deal goaltender Josh Harding to the Oilers in exchange for a forward (probably Patrick O’Sullivan, who they drafted a few years ago). That deal makes a lot of sense if Dwayne Roloson isn’t resigned, but I think ol’ Roli still has enough fire in him to last until Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers is ready to take the starting goalie job.

Another new illustration. This one was inspired by the Brahm Revel’s Image comics miniseries Guerillas. It’s in the Illustrations gallery.

I posted a new illustration on Tuesday. To go along with the blog I wrote about the new Unknown Soldier series, here’s an illustration. Click for big-ness.

Unknown Soldier (DC/Vertigo) by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli

I wanted to post a piece of Unknown Soldier fan art that I drew, but I haven’t quite finished tweaking it yet, so a demand that you read the books will have to suffice. The Unknown Soldier is a new series that takes the title and premise of an old DC series and transplants it into modern-day Uganda.

The Unknown Soldier was an old DC character that I don’t really know much about. From what I understand, the soldier’s real identity was never revealed. In Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli’s new series, we know exactlywho the soldier is right from the first issue. Dr. Moses Lwanga, a Ugandan born and American educated doctor, returns with his wife (also a Ugandan and a doctor) to their native land as part of a third world medical program that I don’t recall the name of off the top of my head. After killing a child soldier with his bare hands and having his face severely damaged, Moses starts hearing another voice inside of his head. The first story arc, which lasted six issues and was called “Haunted House”, deals with Moses’ slow transformation into the Unknown Soldier.

Despite being a giant history nerd, I know pretty much nothing about Uganda. Dysart clearly anticipated this, and included a condensed history of Uganda (with a focus on the events that led to the civil war which the story is set in). Along with the history is a glossary of terms used in the book that would be awkward to explain in-story. This is great, because it adds some really helpful context to the story without bogging it down. Dysart also maintains a blog that adds more background information about Uganda and the chaos in Africa in general. It’s good stuff, I recommend it. Check it out at unknownsoldiercomic.com.

Ponticelli’s art is perfect for this book. There’s a certain rugged surrealness to it. My favourite detail is that the AK–47s look huge and scary. Especially in the hands of the child soldiers, where they look even bigger. The guns look like they’ll send the kid flying with their recoil, which just makes the whole situation seem even more scary and insane.

A trade paperback collecting the first six issues of Unknown Solider should be on the way within the next few months, based on typical comic release schedules. Check it out, it’s one of the best books on the shelves right now.

I’ve now made my first appearance on the Comic Book Resources site, which you can read here. Stephanie Chan (colourist on Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose and I think some other stuff) made the rounds of Happy Harbor’s FCBD festivities and wrote about it, including some of the pictures she took. She also took a bunch of pictures of our hour-long journey from HHv1 across the street to Dan Schneider’s truck. Yes, it should have been a thirty second walk from the inside of the store to the truck, but having to herd drunk folks slowed things down quite a bit.

Also, new comic later today. Yay!