The Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner... on stage!

Roughly 11 or so years ago, I had proposed a production of William Gillette's play Sherlock Holmes with my illustrations used as the set design to one of the local theatres in Worcester. They didn't bite and several years later I ended up adapting the play into a graphic novel.

Roughly a year or so ago, I think right after I got married, my agent contacted me telling me a Ken Hailey from the Kentucky Repertory Theater wanted to stage William Gillette's Sherlock Holmes using my artwork as the basis for the set design.

Ken's a great guy and I've been really excited to see some of the pictures from the press photo's of the set and costume design. And who knows. Maybe if they have a successful run down in Kentucky, maybe the play will see it's way up here.

The Sherlock Holmes Pub

When I went on a trip to England back in 2000, one of the places I really regret not getting the opportunity to check out while visiting London was the Sherlock Holmes Pub. I did get the opportunity to tour the Sherlock Holmes Museum. But not the pub.

I really didn't find out about the place until a couple years later when I picked up a copy of Sherlock Holmes's London used from That's Entertainment. I had to slap myself in the forehead for missing the opportunity to check it out.

Mostly because they have on the 221B Baker Street Study used in the Festival of Britain on permanent display behind glass in the pub. If you've seen the 1959 Hammer version of The Hound of the Baskervilles starring Peter Cushing, then you have seen this display used as the set design for Baker Street.

I've actually used and continue to use it as reference for my version of the Baker Street Study. Actually, I combine it with the the one from the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

If and when Syd and I decide to go on a vacation across the Atlantic, I may have to make an effort to get a pint at the Sherlock Holmes Pub.

Bid on Alice Faulkner+ORIGINAL ART!!

BACK IN PRINT!! And it never felt so good ;-) To celebrate the nationwide THIRD PRINT RUN, here's your chance not only to win a copy of Sherlock Holmes: The Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner PERSONALLY SIGNED TO YOU but also a chance to win some ORIGINAL SHERLOCK HOLMES INSPIRED ART!! Click on the image below to place your bid today:

The game's afoot for the second print run of ALICE FAULKNER!!

Sherlock Holmes: The Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner has officially gone into A SECOND PRINT RUN!! Click on the cover below to order your copy today!!

OUT NOW!! Sherlock Holmes: The Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner

My graphic novel Sherlock Holmes: The Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner based on the 1899 play by William Gillette and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is OFFICIALLY available for purchase!!

With cover coloring and graytones once again masterfully done by Rori Shapiro and a really fantastic introduction written by Brenda and Effie/Doctor Who: Hornets Nest author Paul Magrs.

Click on the links below to order your copy today:



AND AT:

Alice Faulkner on Amazon.com!!

Now available at Amazon.com!! Stellar cover coloring and graytones by Rori Shapiro with a terrific introduction by Brenda and Effie/Doctor Who Hornets Nest author Paul Magrs and a dedication to my late Professor Patrick Welch. Who I owe a great deal of my inking style to.

Click on the image below to order your copy today:

Alice Faulkner available for preorder!!

My adaptation of William Gillette's famous 1899 stage play comes out in December but you can preorder your copy of Sherlock Holmes: The Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner today by clicking on the cover below:

Womag Billboard

I just found out yesterday my cover for Alice Faulkner was featured in Worcester Magazine's Billboard. Click on the link below to check out the short blurb they have online about it:

And be sure NOT to miss the latest installment of Zanzo Moxie by Veronica Hebard in this issue of Worcester Magazine. Collect 'em all!!

Promo's

I started putting together an ashcan to promote my upcoming Sherlock Holmes graphic novel at Boston Comic Con and Free Comic Book Day this year. It's not going to be anything fancy schmancy. Just something to get the word out and tell people where they can go to find out when the book will be released and whatnot.

For the freebee, I've created a couple of promo's. One for Undercoverfish and another to promote the books I already have out. Three of which I will be selling at the show (Peculiar Boy is currently sold out).

But here are the promo's I came up with:

Alice Faulkner promo

I finally took some time to design a promo for my upcoming Sherlock Holmes graphic novel. I plan on passing them out at both Comic Con as well as printing some off to put in the stores sometime soon.

Sherlock Holmes on the auction block

To promote my book Sherlock Holmes and the Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner I have some new artwork available for bidding on E-Bay.

Sherlock Holmes and Alice Faulkner

Sherlock Holmes and the Second Stain

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson

And be sure to click on the link below to check out my other auctions. You never know. You might find something you were always looking for in there:

Off to Xeric

Well for the past month or so I've been preparing to submit Sherlock Holmes and the Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner to the Xeric Foundation to be considered for a grant.

I had learned about Xeric from my buddy, Art Museum cohort and Undercoverfish chairman of the board Andy Fish from his blog. I was intrigued and thought perhaps it would time to take a risk on something like that. I've been very happy with my association with both UCF and Alterna Comics. So, it's nothing to do with being disgruntled. But I had not really taken a chance and possibly taking advantage of what Xeric has to offer with funding my book.

I suppose if the truth is to be told, I had been licking my wounds after Diary of the Black Widow was rejected by Fantagraphics. But that was four or five years ago now and apart from doing short stories with UCF, I did not have a graphic novel published. To be completely honest, as much as I would have like to make like things like that didn't phase me back then, being that I was still struggling to be recognized it did hurt me a lot more than I would have wanted to admit to myself.

But not nearly as bad as it did when I first started sending my work out back in 1999. I was frustrated back then because I didn't really have a direction for my work or a style I was really happy with. And I turned my back on comic art for the longest time until I was invited by Andy to be a part of his group. From there, I started appreciating comic art and being part of a diverse group of artists that not only supports you but tries to build you up and push you to do more with your work.

It's been four years and four (going on six) books since that rejection. It's been a great deal of fun being on the ground floor of a new company with Alterna that is putting out some quality books as well as continuing to be a part of UCF and being associated with such a talented group of artists that I am very happy to call my friends.

But I have not taken a risk like Xeric before. Honestly, I can't say I'm too worried. I did all I could with the submission and now that it is in the mail it is out of my hands.

If I get the grant, that would be great!! I will be doing the Charleston on a flagpole.

Well, maybe not. I will be thrilled nonetheless.

The fact of the matter is if I don't try I know I'll regret it. The worst that will happen is I wasted $60 in making copies and another $10 in shipping it off to Xeric. I have a drawer full of rejections which I plan on either wallpapering my room or making a quilt out of someday.

But despite anything that happens, I'm happy I took a chance.

Alice Faulkner is DONE!!

Apart from editing, proofreading and some general tidying up I have officially finished lettering Sherlock Holmes and the Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner at around 2pm this afternoon!!

I started penciling and inking the project in May of last year (after several false starts for the past four of five years previous) and now it's done!!

I may spend a little bit of time working on a few new E-Bay illustration in the next couple of weeks and then hit the books again. Well, graphic novels.

The next book I'm continuing working on is going to be a collection of sequential poems by Joshua Michael Stewart. I am also thinking about doing a murder mystery based in the Quabbin Reservoir. Well, it won't be in the reservoir. But you'll just have to wait and see good readers.

And who knows. There might be a Detective Inspector story somewhere in the mix. One can never tell.

More pages from Alice Faulkner

I've been working like mad the past week or so lettering pages for Sherlock Holmes and the Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner. Here are a few selected pages. So far, I've got 42 out of the 106 pages letter thus far. So, I still have miles to go as far as that is concerned. But I've been able to get a lot of the other stuff out of the way like the title and credit pages as well as a few of the DVD Extras at the end of the book ready as well.

First five pages of Alice Faulkner REVISED

Upon some good technical advice, I fixed the dialogue to the first five pages. I made them smaller and brought the lines closer together:

The first five pages of Alice Faulkner

Here are the first five pages of Sherlock Holmes and the Painful Predicament of Alice Faulkner. Looking at them, I'm actually considering redoing the lettering at a smaller size. Right now, I have them at around 9. But since I'm lettering on the 6x9 page format, so they might look better slightly smaller.