Saturday, August 2, 2008

The Eternal Smile

Two big news items here at Lowbright manor:1)You know what's a word I haven't been able to say in a while? DONE. That's right, the book that I've been working on for the past two years is finally in the can. At long last. I can't tell you how much lighter I feel right now. 2)The book finally has a title: THE ETERNAL SMILEAs I mentioned before, this book is my collaboration with Gene Yang. Gene writing, me illustrating. This project has consumed my life for the past year, leaving little room for anything else. (As I'm sure you've noticed from this vacant website.) I worked my ass off on this book and I think I can safely say it's the best artwork I've ever done in a comic. Okay, that's not saying much, but still. (That's a full page panel from the book above.) But even better, the three stories that make up this book are some of the best pieces of fiction Gene has ever written, in my opinion. It was an honor to be drawing for Gene. Being that this book is Gene's follow-up to his towering masterpiece, "American Born Chinese," I'll be even more honored to ride his coattails. ;)"The Eternal Smile" is full-color, clocks in at around 170 pages, and will be released next spring. I can't wait 'til it's finally out. (If we count from when "Duncan's Kingdom" was first produced, this book would be 10 years in the making!) I hope you'll give the book a chance. Everyone from Gene and I to all the wonderful folks at First Second Books that made this possible have put everything into this thing.Further details and images to come as the release date draws nearer.