It's here!

Yep, finally the wait is over, you can go to your local comic store and buy the chapter one of Zooniverse!  The serialization begins in issue #9 of Island Magazine published by Image Comics: Here's the official page.
Shown below is the original 1986 eclipse edition on the left against the new fully rescanned, recolored and larger Island version on the right...

A comparison of the old and new editions.

It's been a long haul since my first post in may of 2011, but I've finally reached a huge goal. This blog records my efforts trying to relaunch Zooniverse with limited funds and resources. I've tried everything I could think of, animation, self publishing, iPad app, commissions, online sales and Patreon. Now I have a color comic sitting on my desk and it looks better than it did 30 years ago! I couldn't be happier and I owe it all to Brandon Graham giving me a second chance at the comic industry. Island is his brainchild, a Heavy Metal magazine for Image. I began collecting Metal Hurlant and Heavy Metal in 1977 when I was fourteen years old. All those artists, all that inspiration. Corben, Moebius, Bilal, Forest, Caza, Druillet, Claveloux, Mezieres and Franquin so many visions that would help me escape the mundanities of urban bleakness. I dreamed of submitting comics to Heavy Metal, and Zooniverse was my thank you to all those who inspired me. They had set the benchmark and at the tender age of twenty one I did my best to meet it. Thirty two years on and here we have Island, a brand new comic magazine that I can be a part of because Brandon found Zooniverse inspirational when he was growing up. It feels so destined.

Still, there is a lot of work ahead and I am happy to do it. Currently I'm halfway through recoloring chapter two (the original 2nd issue). Helen Maier has gracefully agreed to return to her old job helping me color Zooniverse so that deadlines can be met. She is doing the first pass of coloring (flatting) on chapter three. I've completed a brand new Gatcheralis story for Island issue #10.

I have moved my attention away from this blog and onto Patreon where my posts are financially compensated which has helped greatly. At Patreon I've done one hundred and fifty posts and published thirty two PDFs for the higher tiers which has taken the place of self publishing. Three of the PDFs are old Zooniverse comics, one of which has never been published before. I will always release free posts for important announcements so it's worth bookmarking and checking out occasionally. Thanks to my patrons I am preparing a new Zooniverse animation. It's a short test, but I would like to do more in the future.

Thank you for all of your encouragement and support as I complete this blog and move on.

Zooniverse at Image Comics

When working on projects I prefer to stay quiet until everything is officially announced, a habit I picked from decades of working in Hollywood. This is one announcement that I've been holding my breath for, now I can finally talk about it ...

At the 2015 Image Expo, Brandon Graham and Emma Rios revealed that Island Magazine will begin it's ongoing publication this year!
[Read more about it here] 

Promo for Island, a comic magazine. Click to enlarge

The line up of artists and stories is impressive, it's an exciting project and one that I'm immensely proud to be a part of. The Magazine will be a larger format (Heavy Metal magazine size) than the regular US comic and my original 1986 Zooniverse story will begins it's run in about six months. Give or take.

Here is a look at the panel that was included in the middle top of Brandon's promo above. I'll be recoloring the whole series and finally do justice to the old art.

A panel from the 1986 Zooniverse comic digitally recolored.

Now where does that leave my self published Zooniminis? I'm still publishing them, I'm currently up to issue #4 and I intend to keep going as artwork is completed for Island. I love the format. I have to decide whether I publish them in black and white to complete the run or print exclusively in color once my stock is sold out. Which is considerably more expensive.

Which brings me to my Patreon account. It's like a tip jar, tip me as little as $1 a month and you will have access to my creative world. I have completely committed to comic work, I don't have a day job, this is my only source of income and it doesn't pay well, in fact it's like living on a knife's edge. But it means that I'm always doing something interesting, every day and you will be part of an exclusive club, my patrons get to see work no one else will have access to. Plus you'll have a  ring side seat  on all of the projects that I'm working on, with 8house: Yorris and Zooniverse due out later in the year, what could be more enticing.

Zoons! Zoons! Zoons! : A Four Page Short

I originally did the four page comic "Zoons! Zoons! Zoons!" in 1995 as an experiment with short Zooniverse stories that was hoping to self publish. It was eventually printed in issue #10 through my Australian company's magazine, Artopia Quarterly, in 2001.

A panel from "Zoons!" published in 2001

It will be reprinted through Image comics on the 22nd of Feb appearing in the back of Prophet issue #22 which Brandon Graham has been working tirelessly to make a success. Brandon has been a great source of encouragement and support in my efforts to get back into comics. I wish him all the best with this title and his own creation King City.

The cover from Prophet issue #22 by Simon Roy