Just realized....

Just realized that we never dropped a note here to say what was up...

Well, Took received some great feedback but no greenlight.

And during the process I (Adam) ended up getting a contract for other work. So look for me in the next Previews (Dec/Jan) for items selling in March 2010 under Image Comics.

Anyway just thought I'd drop in in case anyone was left wondering. For the most up to date info, you can always follow my blog or site.

Small Update

Well... the con was a success for us I think. We're still awaiting final word from publishers but, we did get some amazing feedback on all of our hard work. So in my mind, it was a success-- to hear the kind of feedback we did by some of the top creators in the comic field is just... mindblowing. And I do mean TOP.

It certainly meant a lot to both Raph and I and it certainly tells us that we're headed in the right direction with our craft. So thank you very much.

Like I said though, nothing to officially report at this point but we remain hopeful.

It's the BIG day

Well, the time has finally come. And it certainly feels like it's been an awful long ride getting there heh.

Took is off to New York Comic-Con this weekend to anyone willing to look at it. ie Publishers

Wish us luck and we'll be sure to let you know how we made out.

Thanks
Adam & Raphael

PS: If for some reason no one does like Took, Raph and I have already discussed future plans on creating some other books. So have no fear, we'll find something to do together. We'll drop a line here as well if it comes to that.

Act 3 - Took short story (Last chapter)

And here is the final chapter of our Took short story. Hope you enjoy it. This one explains what happened to poor little Chuckie at the hands of Martinez. Let us know your thoughts! Same credits as the previous shorts.

Act 2 - Took short story

It's time for the next round of story. This one features the local street kids and Emmit. Enjoy!

Took - From Then to Now to the Future

I really don't remember how Took started out. All I remember is that I was on a huge crime kick and an idea just germinated in my mind-grape. And boy did I squeeze that mind-grape for all it was worth. 

At first, Took was going to be my look at a larger ensemble by taking whole issues to look at new characters. These characters would interconnect to a larger story about a city in peril (not the typical comic book peril. No poisoned water supplies here folks). The way I'd explain it to anyone who would listen was Local meets the Wire. And being a huge fan of both, I started creating something I actually wanted to read.

Little by little, this small idea took shape. I had a pretty diverse cast, I had an over-arching plot, and a story I wanted to tell. Being a comic writer, all I was missing was an artist. Previously, I'd had little--well, that's being generous. I'd had no luck with artists. I mean, no luck at all. So much so that I went and made a bloggy, whiney post on the ever-amazing Brian Michael Bendis Board (over at Jinxworld) that entailed my experience at being an almost-comic writer. I meant for it to be tongue in cheek, but it came off as me describing why I quit writing (which I hadn't). And whiz-bang-pow, Adam popped in the thread and wanted to give my work a look. 

Now Adam, in my mind, was a bit of a big fish on the board. I'd seen his work and was always blown away by it. Of course, I never approached him because why would a guy like that want to work with a guy like me? That'll teach you, faithful reader, that you too can take the prettiest girl to the prom. All you have to do is work up the courage and be really, extremely handsome. 

So with Adam onboard, we talked. And talked. And talked. As weird as this may seem, it really helped us. Both of us had worked on comics before, but didn't have much success getting work out there. I had never worked with someone who wanted to be a partner/collaborator, so I had a lot to learn with the give and take that comes with that sort of relationship. For better or worse, Adam (who was getting married around this time) found himself a new wife named Raph. 

Eventually, Adam and I decide to work on the shorts, Act One of which is below. I'd already had at least one script in the can, but at least with this prologue we could work out the kinks. And that's exactly what we did. What you see below is all the product of my and Adam's work. He did all the art-ing, including colors and lettering. We both poured over the lettering stage, cutting and slashing at bits of dialogue to make everything fit. I'm pretty sure we broke a ton of rules in the process, but hey, rules are for pissing all over. 

And now we're at the precipice of something (hopefully) big. Adam and I are trying to do what a good chunk of the comic reading public are trying to do; find a publisher for our little book that could. In the coming weeks and months, we're going to have something to show publishers and hopefully we'll have something to show for it. And if not, we'll take the feedback and work harder and work better. 

After that? Well, here's hoping there's a Took Volume Two.

Presenting.... Act 1 - Took short story

Well, the time has finally come to start unveiling our Took short stories. This is the first of three short stories.

They're meant to be a sort of ashcan preview of sorts. We decided in the end that doing these stories would help us immensely. For two reasons really -- one, Raph and I had never worked together before. So this allowed us the opportunity to work on something small. It's also nice to have a chance to see how the other works and responds to feedback, suggestions, etc. We've learned a great deal about each other by working our way through this.

The other reason was quite simply so we could figure out what Took was going to look like before it was actually Took.

Anyway, this one features Detective's Alonzo Ramirez and Cassandra Hill.

Credits:

Words - Raphael Majma
Art and Letters - Adam Geen