GOD MACHINE NEWS: The Angel & Devil Kitties are out of the bag!

Greetings & Salutations, my friends!

Long time since I’ve had real news to share, huh?

Well, I wanted to wait until I had something significant to tell you, and this is it:

I guess that’s a bit of news, huh? My new publisher! The God Machine has found a new home with Titan Comics. Not only is Titan going to put The God Machine back into print, but it’s also publishing The God Machine Volume 2 (my second significant bit of news!)!!! This is the same publisher who is now producing the Doctor Who comics, who is also publishing Lenore, along with a little title called Tank Girl… maybe you’ve heard of it? 😉 They’re an awesome creator-owned comics publisher based out of the UK, and are an imprint of the publishing company of Titan Books. If they weren’t before, they should definitely be on your radar now!

Twitter: @ComicsTitan

FB: ComicsTitan

So, what does this mean? MAGICAL THINGS! So much magic that it’s going to cause blood to spurt from your nose… wait, that’s not magical at all… huh.

First, we will be relaunching The God Machine. Starting with a deluxe edition of the first volume. It will include 20 new pages, a redrawn prologue, and new extras. No longer will it have the pin-ups and Doc Hammer’s foreword (sorry if you missed it). If you own the first edition I wanted you to have something special with that edition and if you pick up the new book I want you to be rewarded with new goodies & story. ALSO- I PROMISE NOT TO PULL A LUCAS WITH YOU ALL. (though now that i’ve said that I’m tempted to put a rock in front of R2-D2 who doesn’t even appear in my book…hmmm! ) >:Lawsuit:<

After we re-launch, we will be driving into the much anticipated volume 2. It’s a doozy! ❤

No dates yet, as we are currently working out publishing schedules. However, official news & dates will be announced at this year’s New York Comic-Con (which, yes, I will be there in artist alley!)

—And that’s the skinny, my loves. Apologies it’s taken so long for the 2nd volume to make it’s way to you. I promise, it’s worth the wait. Nothing has changed, it’s still so close to my heart. Unrelated to The God Machine, I also have another announcement that’s not just ready to see the light of day… yet. What could it be?!?!?! Ah! The constant tension! ;D

Til’ later,

-Chandra

 

Find God Machine news at: Twitter + Tumblr + Facebook

General Chandra Free News at: TheChandraFree (facebook)

Coloring & Mice Templar Vol IV #1 goes on sale tomorrow!

From The God Machine Art by me, Chandra Free!

I’ve been known to dabble in the dark arts [aka COLORING] for my own comic, The God Machine, and also for a book called, Sullengrey. Both of those projects are fully painted beasts. Meticulous in detail, everything is considered- from skin colors [i.e.- Olivey pale to convey Italian/french origins, pinky flesh to show Irish origins, brown/tan to show African/Indian origins..etc] –to mood lighting with color choices to change a scene from dread to delight. This is not work for the faint of heart! [It’ll also drive you nuts if you’re a perfectionist, too.]

Sullengrey. Pencils Drew Rausch, Colors Chandra Free.

Recently I’ve been recruited to lend my coloring talents to the alternate covers of Mice Templar, and even some pages in the first issue of the 4th volume of the saga.

Unlike my previous experience in coloring this was more in line with traditional coloring in comics [i.e. straightforward colors, simple shading, and a hint of texture for the background] — but the trick for me was to match the previous colorist’s style and color choices so the pages wouldn’t be too jarring. To meet deadline, Bryan JL Glass brought me in to color theses last couple of pages that Michael Oeming had done for the opening part of this chapter. Time was ticking, and I had 3 days to rise to the occasion to help my pals/colleagues out!

Mice Templar IV Issue 1: Line Art Michael Oeming, Colors Chandra Free.

Now, the fortunate thing for me coming in at the last second to finish up the first set of pages in Mice Templar was that it was the end of the chapter where very dramatic/epic things were taking place, so pumping up the colors to either be more detailed or grand wasn’t going to be a problem at all. [Which, admittedly, I like to over do coloring a bit… >_>;;]

One of the pages I did must have had about 12 major mice-cast members with distinctive colors for each. To keep them on model I color sampled from previous issues of Mice Templar. It’s important to do this to keep every character looking like they should so you don’t confuse the audience as they turn the page or even read the next panel. Consistency with the background colors is also as important as staying on model. Scenes need to flow, or otherwise it can be disorienting and throw the reader off from the flow of the story. Of course characters colors will change pending on light sources [i.e. A sunset will cast oranges on the characters, where nighttime will cast blues or dark hues and all colors change accordingly, and so on~] but with a project like Mice Templar the characters colors rarely change to help the reader identify such a large cast of mice.

So, after I was done with these pages I was brought on to do the color for the B covers from issue 3 and so on! I’ll post those covers when it’s close to their release times. 🙂

Tomorrow [for Comic Wednesday] the issue with my few pages goes on sale and makes for Mice Templar’s triumphant return!

Here’s the skinny:

Cover A by Oeming — Cover B by Santos and Gandini

“A DANGEROUS FAITH”
Long ago, the valiant Templar destroyed themselves through a vicious civil war, allowing the bloodthirsty crusade of the tyrant king Icarus to destroy mouse culture. Yet the inspiring tale of the young mouse Karic promises to restore the fractured Templar and overthrow the mad king. But while some accept Karic as a prophecy for good, still others see his rising legend as an omen of evil. 

Thus begins the climactic chapter in the epic saga of hope and despair, of tragedy and triumph, and where every secret will at last be revealed.

Written by Bryan J.L. Glass
Featuring art by Mike Oeming and Victor Santos
Colors by Veronica Gandini, Chandra Free and Serena Guerra
Letters by James Glass
Cover A by Oeming — Cover B by Santos and Gandini
Created by Oeming & Glass

OUT TOMORROW, April 3rd, 2013

Go forth to your local comic shop and pick it up! :3

Anyways, color- it’s hard AND important. This probably won’t be the first time I talk about color [there’s so much to say on color theory and all that rut.]

Til later~

Go-go gaget “publish,”

-Chandra

An Introduction~

It’s me and the best Bender cosplay i’ve ever seen at ECCC13.

Greetings and salutations Ladies & Gents of the inter-verse~! [Inter-verse… I’m not sure if I like the sound of that…]

I’m your ghost host, wait… no.

I’m Chandra Free! [there we go] ~your not-so-typical artist/writer comic maker- gal.  I do a spooky graphic novel series called, THE GOD MACHINE [published by Archaia] and a slew of other projects.

So!  For the longest time I’ve been wanting to do a blog that covers more of the professional side of comics- like the process in which it takes to make comics, art, writing, events, conventions, etc! Even cover my projects as I’m working on them, and talk about other creators and what they’re up to!  If this blog goes right, I’d like to talk on health of creators, food & places to visit while on the convention scene, convention reports, style & presentation, and various pop culture things as they relate to the industry. [Hopefully I will not deviate too far off topic!]

That’s my little introduction for now!

If there are any topics you’d like to see me cover in my blog, relating to comics, [i.e. How do you letter?  Females in comics and what that means? What’s the deal with CYMK? Art before process? DeviantART? etc] let me know! I want to help bring light to things that are not always so visible in this industry, plus input is always nice! 😉

Til’ next time GADGET… mmmrrrrrrow!

❤

Chandra

p.s. This weekend [April 6-7, 2013] me & the BLAM! Ventures crew are going to Reading, PA for Comic Geek Speak’s Super Show!