Alex Toth passed away yesterday, leaving behind a masterful and unique body of work.

He was a great inspiration to me. One of perhaps five creators in the comic art field that made me want to draw and tell stories in this medium.

His crusty, blunt but honest approach to life — and the art and business of comics — will be missed.

Rather than blowing a trumpet about this with the first page I thought I’d let a few pages build up… at least that gives people something to read, right? Anyway, Max - Television from Another Planet now has 26 pages in the can (so to speak) and tells the story of Max, er, a biological television from another planet.

Max has arrived on 1980s Earth with the mission of finding intelligent life. Meanwhile, university student Jo Millen is having a fairly crappy day of her own making and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be getting better any time soon. So after 26 pages of set-up the story is now about to kick off!

Max - Television from Another Planet is my attempt at a B&W sci-fi adventure comic that has been developed from a strip I drew for my university newspaper some years ago (which was then redeveloped for a mini-comic, which was then redeveloped for a TV magazine, which was… well, you get the picture… it’s been a long time in development). Currently updating once a week on Webcomics Nation… check it out!

http://chaloner.blogspot.com/

Yeah yeah, you heard right: another bloody blog!!! BUT THIS ONE IS DIFFERENT! This one has a web cam attached too it, with it’s cold unblinking eye fixed permanently on my drawing board! What does this mean? It means that every ten seconds you’ll get to see what I’m drawing, as I draw it (that’s when I’m not working on the computer, toning artwork or designing). It’ll also be a production diary of sorts as well. The blog posts will be talking about comics, Australian or otherwise, ‘Will Eisner’s JOHN LAW’, as well as the process of drawing, writing and creating the pages. It’ll be fun! It’ll be different! It’ll also be in a different time zone to you zany ‘Mericans! Spooky!

Come by and visit…

The late, great Will Eisner interviewed by Hogan’s Alley scribe Tom Heintjes plus four classic stories from 1940 discussed: ‘The Orphans”, “Orang the Ape Man”, “The Return of Orang” and “Ebony’s X-Ray Eyes”.

Coming soon! The last ever interview with Roy Crane!

http://adventurestrips.com

After the server crash that affected ALL the MT sites, AdventureStrips.com is back online on a secure, safe and sound server. So for an ever-growing source of info about the classic adventure strips of the past, please mosey on by and bookmark the site. I have Jim Ivey’s interview with Roy Crane to be uploaded shortly, plus more on Will Eisner and The Spirit from ‘Hogan’s Alley’ scribe Tom Heintjes. Lots more in the planning stages as well (but I’m only one bloke!)

Enjoy!

Gary Chaloner
http://adventurestrips.com

An upcoming book by Modern Tales’ own Steven Withrow and John Barber features a number of Modern Tales artists (Shaenon Garrity, Tom Hart, Cat Garza, and tons more). Here’s the press release:

WEBCOMICS HOW-TO BOOK ARRIVES IN AUGUST

Authors explore the tools and techniques behind today’s best online comics.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Barron’s Education Series, in collaboration with The Ilex Press, will release Webcomics: Tools & Techniques for Digital Cartooning by Steven Withrow and John Barber on August 1, 2005.

Webcomics is an introduction to one of today’s fastest growing and most exciting new media — online comics. Created digitally and distributed on the Internet, webcomics represent both a new publishing model and a brand new art form. They range in style from traditional-looking cartoon strips to innovative, experimental works that may integrate imagery from photography, video, and other sources, and feature audio soundtracks, animation, and interactivity.

Webcomics offers an in-depth look at what is happening in this area — revealing who the pioneers are, what sort of work they’re doing, and what kind of digital tools and techniques they employ. Combining profiles of well-known webcomics creators with detailed workthroughs that reveal the nuts and bolts of every aspect of comic creation and presentation, this book is a must for anyone interested in where comics are headed in the 21st century.

Paperback: 192 pages
Barron’s Educational Series (August 1, 2005)
ISBN: 0764129821

For more information, please visit http://www.webcomicsthebook.com/.

About the Authors
Steven Withrow is also the author of Toon Art: The Graphic Art of Digital Cartooning (Watson-Guptill Publications/The Ilex Press; 2003), and John Barber is the creator of the innovative webcomic Vicious Souvenirs at ModernTales.com.