Tears of the Dragon » Blog http://www.totdcomic.com A Fantasy Epic by Tyler James & Koko Amboro Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:04:05 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 More TOTD Coming http://www.totdcomic.com/2012/01/16/more-totd-coming/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2012/01/16/more-totd-coming/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:04:05 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=601 Hey everyone! Sorry for the long hiatus.

No excuses.  Just life and other things popping up.  Koko got an incredible project he couldn’t pass up, and I’ve been busy working on other projects.  (See below.)

But rest assured, more TOTD is in the works.  I’m way ahead on scripts and Koko is returning to pages now.  I hope to announce the return of regularly scheduled updates soon, but want to make sure you get a nice chunk of uninterrupted story before I do.

In the meantime, here’s a preview of SCAM #1, a book I edited and am publishing, by the super talented Joe Mulvey.  COMPLETELY different than Tears of the Dragon, but just as fun.

]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2012/01/16/more-totd-coming/feed/ 0 ComixTribe Takes Manhattan http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/10/06/comixtribe-takes-manhattan/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/10/06/comixtribe-takes-manhattan/#comments Thu, 06 Oct 2011 20:45:14 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=583 Regular TOTD updates will resume again October 24, 2011. My apologies for the short hiatus, but I’ve been forced to put time into preparing for the New York Comic Con next week.  If you’re attending the show, definitely stop by the ComixTribe Booth #2537, where I’ll be signing copies of Tears of the Dragon and other books.

Want A Preview?

ComixTribe Takes Manhattan features an extended first look at EPIC #1. Written by ComixTribe publisher Tyler James and drawn by Matt Zolman, EPIC is the story of a teenager who gains incredible super powers, only to learn he has but one weakness…beautiful girls.

Also featured in this release are first looks at:

SCAM #1 by Joe Mulvey, a book about superpowered grifters who believe it’s better to die as a conman than live as a mark.

THE RED TEN #1 by Tyler James and Cesar Feliciano, a superhero murder mystery that’s Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” meets “The Justice League,” and features a NYCC exclusive cover by CP Wilson, III (Stuff of Legend).

The STANDARD #1 & #2 by John Lees and Jonathon Rector, the first two issues of the award-nominated story of an elderly superhero who comes out of retirement to avenge the death of his former sidekick.

RUNNERS # 1 by Steve Forbes and Mac Radwanski, a horror book that asks, “In a world over-run by zombies, with humanity on the brink of destruction, what the #$%! are vampires supposed to eat?”

ComixTribe can be found at Booth #2537 in the small press section.

Download a free PDF version of COMIXTRIBE TAKES MANHATTAN here!

Or read it online right here: http://bit.ly/CT_NYCC_O

 

Thanks for reading, let us know what you think, and if you like the book please share!


]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/10/06/comixtribe-takes-manhattan/feed/ 0 Things Heat Up in August! http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/07/19/things-heat-up-in-august/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/07/19/things-heat-up-in-august/#comments Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:38:47 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=528
One of the critiques of the first two chapters of Tears of the Dragon was that the action in the book was relegated to a short number of pages.  In truth, there was a LOT of exposition and table setting in the first 53 pages of my story.  But now that the table is set, the fun begins. And as you can see from a few layouts for pages in the upcoming chapter, the action picks up in Chapter III.

]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/07/19/things-heat-up-in-august/feed/ 0 Read TOTD on Graphic.ly http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/28/read-totd-on-graphic-ly/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/28/read-totd-on-graphic-ly/#comments Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:08:42 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=495 For a new way to experience Tears of the Dragon, check it out on Graphic.ly. Panel to panel transition mode is really cool!



]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/28/read-totd-on-graphic-ly/feed/ 0 Artist Edition Sketches http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/21/artist-edition-sketches/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/21/artist-edition-sketches/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 09:05:02 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=480 Check out a few sketches from the Tears of the Dragon – Volume 1 Artist Editions I’ve mailed out.

]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/21/artist-edition-sketches/feed/ 0 Cover Design: Concept to Finish http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/14/cover-design-concept-to-finish/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/14/cover-design-concept-to-finish/#comments Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:35:43 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=453 Tears of the Dragon is on a short a short hiatus, but rest assured, Koko, Miguel and I are hard at at work on the next Volume.  (What?  You want proof?  Okay, fine.)

Covers sell books.  There’s no question about it.  Though you all know the story is serialized on this site for free, I also sell TOTD digitally through Graphic.ly, DriveThruComics, and MyDigitalComics in single issue form for readers who want to own a copy to read anywhere.  So, during this hiatus, I made sure to ask Koko for a few cover images first, before he digs into the next batch of story pages.

So, let’s chart the cover creation process of what will be the cover to TOTD Book 4.

My initial cover notes to Koko

“Koko, let’s try to do a pin-up capturing an important moment from this next chapter.  We’re in the King’s bedchamber.  The ASSASSIN is in the foreground, but has been knocked down on the ground, and is looking up to the pointed sword of Yordania, age 19.  It’s night-time, the assassin snuck in to try to kill the king, but was interrupted when Yordania came in and knocked him down.  The Assassin has his signature cruel dagger in one of his hands (something that looks like this, perhaps.) Yordania has a look of rage on her face, as if she’s going to run him through.  She’s also in her night clothing, not a warrior outfit.  Behind her, in the background, is the old King, looking on, weary.  Again, we’re in the king’s bedchamber at night, there might be some candle-light and such, and maybe a piece of broken furniture or two, to suggest there was a struggle before the Princess got the upper hand.”

Koko’s 1st Layout

As he often does, Koko knocked this one out of the park on the first try.  In fact, I only had one note for him:

“Remember, this next chapter, we’re jumping into the future a bit.  The years are tough on King Torvuld, his hair goes white, he’s older, and wearier.  And his beard has grown long and white, like you had him drawn in image attached. Otherwise, looks good!”

Koko’s Loose Pencils

Now, here’s where Koko had an interesting proposition for me.  See, he’s trying to expand his artistic repertoire, as it were, and is interested in doing some fully painted Tears of the Dragon art.  Cool, right?  The only thing is, I have little to no experience with fully painted covers, and am not sure if I’ll be able to use them for the comic itself.  (But boy am I looking forward to seeing how it comes out.)
So, as a compromise, I asked Koko to give this cover a shot, but told him I also wanted to do a traditionally inked and digitally covered version as well.  But, I had the idea that yours truly would do the inking on this piece, leaving Koko to do the paints.  (Mostly, I was just excited to ink over Mr. Amboro.)
Koko, great guy that he is, decided to do me a solid, and do more finished pencils for me to ink.

Koko’s Finished Pencils

Damn, that boy’s good!

Tyler’s Inks

With Koko’s delicious pencils in my inbox, I simply brought them into Photoshop, through a blue line filter over them, and printed them out on my wide format printer.  On a personal note, I moved residences last week.  Inking this was my first official piece in my new studio!

Miguel’s Colors

Finally, I sent the inked page to super color artist Miguel Marques to perform his magic.  My notes for Miguel were pretty sparse:
- In this picture, the assassin is wearing a grey outfit, not white in the other one.
- That’s Yordania in the background, Red hair.
- The King in the background has grayish white hair now.
- It’s night time, so this cover should be appropriately dark.
Now, what floored me was the turn-around time.  I sent this to Miguel Sunday morning, and he had it back to me Sunday night.  Impressive.  However, what I didn’t mention was that this was the SECOND of two covers Miguel finished in one day.  (I’ll share the other one with you guys another day.)  The guy is fast, and good.  A great combination in a color artist.
So there you have it!  A cover from concept to finish, and for the first time ever, I got to ink over Koko!
I’m especially stoked to see how Koko’s painted version comes out.
Hope you dug this look into the creative process!

]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/14/cover-design-concept-to-finish/feed/ 0 Critics Praise Tears of the Dragon – Volume 1 http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/07/critics-praise-tears-of-the-dragon-volume-1/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/07/critics-praise-tears-of-the-dragon-volume-1/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 07:12:54 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=440 Tears of the Dragon has received a strong reception by a number of reviewers from popular comics news sites around the interwebs.  I’m happy to be able to share some of this praise with you here, and please feel free to read the entire reviews at the corresponding websites.

Stephen Jondrew, Project Fanboy

This book is nothing like many previous fantasy books that I’ve read…Even if you don’t like fantasy stories, you should check out the art as I would describe it as incredible. It’s crisp, it’s clean, it’s vibrant and it has a nice warm tone to it. There are a lot of artists that should take notes from this book as it really is a perfect example of what I like to see it comic book art.

Just like the art, other fantasy writers should take note of how Tears of the Dragon was written. Where I feel most fantasy writers often fail is in the exaggeration of old-english use. I understand that writers feel that it adds effect; however, I’ve always found it extremely distraction. The writing in this book, however, uses the perfect balance of both – just enough to keep your mindset in the times, but also little enough so that it’s an easy read…Overall I think this is an excellently written story and I can’t wait to see more of it – great writing, beautiful art and just a fun read.

Read the complete review at Project Fanboy.

 

Tom Feazell, Omnicomic.com

I love the range of colors used and obviously feel that the book is a value coming in at a hefty 58 pages. Tears of the Dragon Vol. I feels similar to Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard in format, only instead of multiple stories there’s one story continuing throughout.

It also reads like a graphic novel and has the twists and turns of A Song of Fire and Ice – orGame of Thrones if you’ve recently discovered the series on HBO – with betrayal and mystical creatures returning to haunt the main characters. Everything about the book is solid but the writing is what really drew me in to the story.

Read the complete review at Omnicomic.com.

 

Alex Widen, Brooklyn Comic Books Examiner, Examiner.com

The story takes place in a world of dragons, armored knights, swords and sorcery. The backdrop is that most of the action is revealed by an old grandfather who is taking his two grandkids on a pilgrimage; his stories are treated as being history of the past of their realm, but his involvement is unknown. The artwork by Amboro is fine; neither explosive or difficult to follow – he an artist with a strong grasp of the fundamentals who likely needs more experience before he truly erupts as a talent. He does, at least, draw some solid dragons and battle armor. The color work is quite capable, and of professional quality…
The cliffhanger will be followed up on and the characters in “the grandfather’s story” should develop as well, as James clearly has bigger things in mind for his saga. There is a gap in the market for fantasy comic books that aren’t parodies or genre deconstructions, and TEARS OF THE DRAGON should fill it for fan of dungeons and dragons.

Read the rest of the review on Examiner.com

 

Want a print copy of Tears of the Dragon – Volume 1?

Order NOW from Amazon!

Or get a signed volume with an artist’s edition sketch here!

About Tears of the Dragon

To entertain his grandchildren while on a pilgrimage, a well-traveled Old Man spins a grand tale of swords and sorcery, dragons and demons, revenge, regret and redemption, and above all…love. His story begins with a young nobleman with eyes on the crown. To prove his valor, the would-be king sets out to slay a dragon, earning the undying wrath of the mighty Sythic.

Volume I collects the first two chapters of the Tears of the Dragon saga!

Writer – Tyler James

Artist – Koko Amboro

Color Artists - Paul Little, Miguel Marques, Evan Surya Nugraha

56 pages, Full Color

Contains Mild-Fantasy Violence.  Appropriate for pre-teen and up.

8.5″ x 6″ Perfect Bound Trade

www.totdcomic.com

* Free shipping to US/CA. Add $5 international orders.

 

]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/06/07/critics-praise-tears-of-the-dragon-volume-1/feed/ 0 PROOFS! http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/04/11/proofs/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/04/11/proofs/#comments Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:48:29 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=379 Hey TOTD fans! Great news.  Proofs came in for Tears of the Dragon – Volume I and the book looks great!  I could sing its praises and all, but I’ll let the pics do the talking.

Want a Copy of Your Very Own?

My pre-order special is still going on!

Pre-order now and receive:

- FREE Shipping!*

- Artist Edition Upgrade! Original sketch in the book by series creator Tyler James!

- Free Bonus Digital PDF Copy !

Pre-ordered books will ship 5/15/11.

ORDER HERE!!!

About Tears of the Dragon

To entertain his grandchildren while on a pilgrimage, a well-traveled Old Man spins a grand tale of swords and sorcery, dragons and demons, revenge, regret and redemption, and above all…love. His story begins with a young nobleman with eyes on the crown. To prove his valor, the would-be king sets out to slay a dragon, earning the undying wrath of the mighty Sythic. Volume I collects the first two chapters of the Tears of the Dragon saga! Writer – Tyler James Artist – Koko Amboro Color Artists - Paul Little, Miguel Marques, Evan Surya Nugraha

56 pages, Full Color

Contains Mild-Fantasy Violence.  Appropriate for pre-teen and up.

8.5″ x 6″ Perfect Bound Trade www.totdcomic.com * Free shipping to US/CA. Add $5 international orders.

]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/04/11/proofs/feed/ 0 Pre-Order TEARS of the DRAGON – Volume 1 http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/03/17/pre-order-tears-of-the-dragon-volume-1/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/03/17/pre-order-tears-of-the-dragon-volume-1/#comments Fri, 18 Mar 2011 03:52:37 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=341 Great news!

Tears of the Dragon – Volume 1 is now available for pre-order!  This is the first landscape format print collection of TOTD, containing the first two chapters of the fantasy epic.

I’m running a special Pre-Order Campaign between now and May 15, 2011, with a number of great incentives for readers who choose to support the campaign.  This book has been a labor of love, and I’m really excited to be releasing this new volume.

Pre-order now and receive:

- FREE Shipping!*

- Artist Edition Upgrade! Original sketch in the book by series creator Tyler James!

- Free Bonus Digital PDF Copy !

Pre-ordered books will ship 5/15/11.

Order Here!

About Tears of the Dragon

To entertain his grandchildren while on a pilgrimage, a well-traveled Old Man spins a grand tale of swords and sorcery, dragons and demons, revenge, regret and redemption, and above all…love. His story begins with a young nobleman with eyes on the crown. To prove his valor, the would-be king sets out to slay a dragon, earning the undying wrath of the mighty Sythic.

Volume I collects the first two chapters of the Tears of the Dragon saga!

Writer – Tyler James

Artist – Koko Amboro

Color Artists - Paul Little, Miguel Marques, Evan Surya Nugraha

56 pages, Full Color

Contains Mild-Fantasy Violence.  Appropriate for pre-teen and up.

8.5″ x 6″ Perfect Bound Trade

www.totdcomic.com

* Free shipping to US/CA. Add $5 international orders.

]]> http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/03/17/pre-order-tears-of-the-dragon-volume-1/feed/ 0 Jules Rivera Pin-up! http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/02/11/jules-rivera-pin-up/ http://www.totdcomic.com/2011/02/11/jules-rivera-pin-up/#comments Fri, 11 Feb 2011 11:34:41 +0000 Tyler James http://www.totdcomic.com/?p=315 Wanna see somethin’ purrty?

Check out this pin-up done by creator Jules Rivera.  Jules is the artist of the popular webcomic Marsh Rocket, and the upcoming Valkerie Squadron.

Jules is a big fan of the TOTD warrior princess costume design, so she decided to take a crack at it here.  Methinks she did a great job!

Connect with Jules on her Deviant Art Page and follow her on Twitter @JulesRivera.

Thanks again Jules!

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