The Sellout.

The last 24 hours have been, well… you never know where things will take you.

I came home last night after working all day to find my computer totally unresponsive.

There’s nothing like a PC catastrophe– it sent my day veering off into a hell of confusion, cursing, and the cracking of tiny computer bits. Dread sank deep inside me as I desperately encouraged my computer to start, to show some sign of life besides its sad whirring of fans.

I scoured the internet for some help, and after a few hours of scrambling around the computer’s innards, I resolved that I was doing much more harm than good. I would, sigh, have to pony up some cash and have a professional repair it.

Just then, someone called about a Craigslist ad I’d posted weeks ago, trying to unload some old comic trade paperbacks. He ended up coming over, chatting for quite a bit, and buying a huge pile of them. Just as he was leaving, he asked me about my computer trouble, and suggested a good repair place nearby.

I headed there this morning, sure I’d have to spend hundreds to salvage my creative productivity– I had finally gotten back into the swing of things with preparations for a new webcomic:

Despite my pessimism, the repair guy (Shung at Core Components in Ann Arbor) turned out to be friendly, helpful, and had my computer working in a few hours! And he didn’t charge me, even though I insisted.

I can’t express what a relief it was to find such a generous, genuinely cool guy to help me through my morass of self-pity and howling at the universe.

Once I got home, my monitor decided to die, promptly after hooking it up to the newly fixed computer. But I’m confident Shung can repair that, too.

In any case, I started work on the top image of this post, which is the sixth and final illustration for a novelist (Manuel Munoz, yet another great character I met through sheer happenstance).

As the drawing was taking shape, my roommate Tina gave me a call–she had checked our old mailbox one last time before handing in the keys to our landlord, and she had found a handwritten letter to me from Craig Thompson.

I had submitted some art to him earlier in the summer, hoping to work with him at an artist-in-residency program. Although that didn’t work out, he sent a gracious, encouraging note, and a delightful drawing of Doodleville’s protagonist Drew and his beloved character Chunky Rice!

Yet another good thing to come of adverse circumstances, an unexpectedly pleasant surprise!

(I’m only barely managing to restrain myself from posting it here)

Tina dropped off the letter for me at my new place–one of innumerable kindnesses she’s shown me in the years I’ve known her. She’ll soon be leaving Michigan, but I gave her this in the hopes that she’ll remember me (and my kitties) fondly:

(The first experimenting with watercolors I’d done in years! Expect to see more in the near future!)

Despite the rollercoaster ride of the past day, I feel oddly blessed by the cold, bleak emptiness that is our universe.

It’s something, I guess.

So, I’ve spent the last few weeks busily moving into a new place, dismantling shitty office equipment, going through books, desperately trying to sell stuff on Ebay and Craigslist, catering to my skittish cats, etc.

Although the home I’ve moved into is delightful, the move has been a stressfest. Despite all the many other reasons, the primary one is that I haven’t been able to work on comics. One trait that I probably share with a lot of artists, though which confounds others, is that I base my entire self-worth on creative productivity. Even when I’m on a wonderful vacation with loved ones, within a week, I’m preoccupied with the need to get stuff done.

In any case, most of my moving has been completed, and my office/studio was the first room to be set up. I’ve finished work on my first new comics in weeks, and I couldn’t be more excited. Posted above is a glimpse at that upcoming project–clearly more adult in tone than my other recent work.

Shadow Play is scheduled to keep posting daily into December–I wish I could get my website to upload it faster, but I’m limited to that sluggish pace. Regardless, by then I’ll have amassed a significant buffer of cool new comics to upload. There will be monkeys, exotic sea creatures, sexy people, and there will be Foolgirl.

I stumbled across this surprisingly poignant summation of Artist’s Alley at the San Diego Comic Con, which just wrapped up this weekend. It addresses the same mix of admiration and horror I’ve sometimes felt at the few conventions I’ve attended, either as wandering geekboy or exhibitor.

I’ve spent the last few years toiling away on my books Vreeland and Doodleville, with the goal of selling them to major publishers and becoming wildly rich and famous (and of course, critically beloved). But when neither sold, I stopped work on them, and so years of effort have resulted in two half-finished projects. Although I still love those books and want to return to them at some point, I’ve decided to:

1) Set aside my ambitions for “the big book deal” and just get my work out there! (most likely through these here internet tubes)

2) Commit to finishing my damned books.

3) Play with fun, shorter pieces.

4) Go to conventions, no matter what.

5) Blog more, because that’s what the world needs.

The last few months, I’ve been experimenting with a number of styles, formats, and stories. Shadow Play is one of the strange little projects that has emerged. It resulted from playing around, seeing what worked, and taking it where it wanted to go.

That’s as much as anyone can do, I guess. I think it’s turned out pretty well–today’s installment is one of my favorites:

So if you see me exhibiting at a convention with a crazy look in my eyes, don’t be afraid. Come over and say hi.

I’ve posted the first scene from my new project Shadow Play. A new page will be uploaded every day over the next few months, so be sure to check in and tell your friends!

You can start reading it here.

I’ve been working on an experimental new project (currently called Shadow Play) and hope to start posting it soon!

I’ve also been making an effort to get more involved in this Web 2.0 business, so I started a Tumblr account (though it mostly just features work already posted here in a prettier layout): http://chadsell.tumblr.com/

Also, you can find me on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/panja57

More soon!

I’ve finally uploaded the first 90 pages of my new graphic novel Doodleville! Click here to go read it.

I’m currently looking for a publisher and will keep everyone updated on my progress! For now, I’m taking a break from further work on the book, though I’ll be posting some more Doodle-related work soon!

Here’s the cover image:

After some thought, I’ve decided to resurrect an old comic strip of mine dating from my college years: Some Words of Advice From Your Mother. I’ll be basing it on stories friends and readers send in about their mothers’ nagging, unwanted advice, and any other funny, heartwarming, or poignant experiences they may share.

He’s a sample drawing of my own dear mother:

(I promise that my mother will only appear in the very first strip and never, ever again. I swear, Mom, I swear!)

Here are two little excerpts from two projects I’ve been working on. Hopefully, I’ll have one posted in its entirety soon!

I’ve posted an assortment of new illustrations I’ve done–as you’ll see, they pertain to a few different projects that are in the works.

Here are three concept pieces from a sci-fi story I’ve been toying around with:

Here are two concept illustrations utilizing some goofier characters:

These are two moodier pieces:

And finally, here’s a sample from a new project I’m particularly excited about!

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be relaunching this site to feature my new work and a new focus: how to actually make money when making art. Thus, the name of my new blog will be: The Sellout.