A Touch of Color

I’ve been experimenting with watercolors for the first time in years. Once upon a time I filled sketchbooks with color experiments. But after over a decade, my technique has gotten rusty, and I have to relearn to wrangle physical color media in my spare moments. It’s been slow going, since Courtney keeps my pretty busy, but I might try my hand at doing acrylic painting again soon. In the mean time, my color sketches have been pretty fun. And yes, I’m taking the occasional commission.

Courtney #5 in Stores

Courtney Crumrin issue #5 is out today. Hit up your local store for a copy. Or get your digital copy here!

Some quick info about Courtney #5.
Originally, when setting out to do the next series, I’d conceived it in a similar way to previous issues, as a stand-alone aside before the main story began. Little did I know that Oni’s editor in chief, James Lucas Jones, had big plans for Courtney this year. Specifically, I didn’t know the ongoing series would be in color, or that all the previous volumes would be re-issued in a huge promotional campaign to celebrate the series’ 10th anniversary. In short, I thought the new series would be more of the same, not a relaunch. I had this story stewing, so I went ahead and did it.

James couldn’t be more dismayed when he got the finished issue. It dealt primarily with back-story from volume 2 and the Aloysius spin-off. Courtney was barely in it. He had all these plans to push Courtney as a premier ongoing independent series, and somehow, I hadn’t gotten the message.

“Of all that cockameme- This is no way to launch a monthly series!” he shouted, chomping his cigar. “Get Naifeh in here NOW!”

I sat down in JLJ’s steamy office above the Oni sweatshop in Portland’s docklands, and he set me straight. “I’m tryin’ to hand you the brass ring, kid,” he growled, his cigar aggressively circling from one side of his mouth to the other. “But if you tangle with me, I will bury you!”

In a terrified frenzy, I went home and wrote out the arc I’d been planning to follow this story with, and nervously passed it to James.

“By cracky, this is just what we need to launch the new series,” he roared, thumping the table.

Sighing with relief, I agreed to launch with the new arc, and JLJ agreed to put the original first issue at the end. It’s a little out of order, and it may have to go at the beginning of the collected edition, though at this point, I’m not sure that makes sense. Anyway, the upshot is that this story is supposed to take place before the events of the last four issues.

Sorry for any confusion.