ULTRAIST STUDIOS

Alan Watt quote:

“Those who control entertainment actually control the direction of thinking of whole generations.” *

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All new GLOW IN THE DARK Spy Guy Gear is now available through spreadshirt.com! Featuring a design I’ve been wanting to do for a while now. Rollover the image above for a simulation of the GLOW IN THE DARK feature. You can chose from a range of clothing styles and colours.

Take a look!

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When Diamond Comic Distributors informed the Direct Market retailers they would not be shipping comics in the fifth week of December, Jake Ekiss and friends leaped into action proclaiming December 30, 2009 – January 5, 2010 as Indy Comic Book Week!

In an interview with The Fabler, Jake says:  “This year was the perfect storm.  It came from Diamond’s benchmarks raising and some new distributors edging onto the scene in response, then culminated with some wonky UPS holidays that meant Diamond would skip a week of shipping in December…  [Diamond] tends to overshadow a lot of other great work that’s out there. This year is special in that we get to have that work, for however brief a time, take a front seat.”

Ultraist Studios answered the call to action, by using ICBW 2009 as a platform to launch SPY GUY #1 into the direct market.  As of today, over 500 comics have been shipped out to stores across the USA.  For a complete list of ICBW friendly comic book shops, click here.

To take a look at all the other comic book creators that are participating in ICBW 2009 click here.

Thanks to everyone who has come together to make this event happen.  Personally, I’m excited to see how this all unfolds.

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Haven Distribution has just released their fall catalog, and low and behold; SPY GUY #1 received their STAFF PICK! Click the image below to launch the catalog and flip to page 97:

In fact just yesterday, I received an e-mail from Lance Stahlberg saying some very nice things.
Thank you Haven.

I think Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca said it best:

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Jack Spirko quote:

“This is not my path… these are not my stars.  I am standing in the wrong place, the stars do not look familiar.” *

Admiral Jarok quote:

“I thought it would bring me some comfort… But these are not my stars. Even the heavens are denied me here.” *

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Getting ready to bust out the inks on Page 3.  As you can see, I’ve got my Frank Miller contrast reference ready, and my Mike Mignola “Kirby Dot” reference ready.  You can also see the Sharpie and Pentel Correction Pen rough for a general idea of what I’m going for.  Note the Post-it note rough dialog, that trick sure comes in handy.

Also, if you look closely in the top left hand corner of the desk, you’ll see my mini-sketchbook… I sketched out a true story from Toronto back in 2005… that true story will be integrated into Page 12 (when I get to it).
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Gary Vaynerchuk quote:

“Storytelling is by far the most underrated skill in business” *

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Spent a few hours over this weekend inking sound effects on page 2, and was quite happy with how they turned out.  The uzi “ratatat-tat” has come a long way since SPY GUY: Bootleg.  On the last panel, I took the advice of Sean Robinson over at the TCJ message board and went with an onomatopoeia sound effect as opposed to the more literal “snap” I originally had in there.  I’ll be doing the onomatopoeia sound effects on Page 3 as well.

Speaking of Page 3, I spent some time locking down the roughs for that one this weekend too.  Hope to transfer the pencils onto illustration board this week.  This page will pose some inking challenges.  Should be fun.
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Breaking News:  Ultraist Studios is proud to announce the team up with Haven Distributors to bring you SPY GUY (as well as all the one-shot back issues).  Stay tuned for more information.

Update:  To order SPY GUY through Haven Distributors, simply go to havendistro.com and you can browse the online catalog by using the ID: guest + Password: guest. Retailers can place an order by calling 1-877-HAVEN-50 (1-877-428-3650) or faxing 866-561-6280 or filing out the contact form here.

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Warren Ellis quote:

“I think I’m also going to sit around with a bottle and just think for a while. The thinking time is essential. At least half of all writing involves just sitting and staring into space. Letting your brain out to hunt down ideas, bringing them back all warm and bloody between its teeth.” *

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