WISHLESS: A Graphic Anthology

Cover by Lyndon Navalta

It brings me great pleasure to announce the upcoming release of WISHLESS: A Graphic Anthology, a project that has been in the works for the last year or so, featuring eight talented Canadian cartoonists.

Starting from an idea proposed by Sho Uehara, it explores the question "what if Pinocchio's wish was never granted, and he never became a real boy?" Each artist explores this question in their own unique way, in a variety of styles, genres and mediums that show us the Little Wooden Boy like we've never seen him before!

Below is a sneak peek at the eight stories included in the anthology, and the creators behind them:

YOUR STRINGS by Lyndon Navalta

PINOCCHIO'S A PUNK!!! by Jarett Sitter

(THAT) WHO IS HUMAN(?) by Nicole Brunel

UNBURIED by Jackson Gee, Nick Johnson and Lyndon Navalta

SHINING FAIRY by Jillian Fleck

DON'T LOOK UP by Nick Johnson

THE TOY BOY by Joanne Leung

GRIM by Sho Uehara

WISHLESS will debut in a very limited print run at the Panel One Comic Creator Festival in Calgary on June 4th this year, after which we will be raising funds for a larger print run. It has also been submitted to comiXology, and I'll let everyone know of the digital release date as soon as I have it!

So damn proud to be a part of this amazing project. Thanks to all of the creators who contributed such amazing stories. Special thanks to Lyndon, Jackson and Sho for assisting me with the design and layout of the book, as well as prepping our beautiful booth!

More news soon!

It's a Dangerous World for a Little Detective

Ahhh, after a week of recovery time, and then another couple weeks of wrapping up some illustration and comic projects, I think the time has come to reflect on yet another Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo.

One of the best parts of the Expo is chatting with table buddies and table neighbours and this year was no exception. I had the pleasure of conning out with Steven Charles Rosia and Stacey Bru, two extremely talented creators, each bringing something uniquely their own to the comics medium. Please take some time to peruse their work, I know you won't be disappointed.

I didn't do too many sketches this year, focusing more of my time on pushing books and chatting with familiar faces and new friends but I have a few choice pics to share this time around. My pal Mike shows up for a sketch every year and he always suggests the most interesting characters, even bringing me amazing comics I'd never heard of, total forgotten gems. This year he brought along some Mr. Monster comics; really cool stuff, sort of like a horror themed The Spirit.

This take on Supes, with a slight Jeff Smith feel, was for another regular face at the Expo, Michelle. Gotta love dat spit curl!

And finally, a sketch of "something satanic" by request, for a fella who was filling up his Necronomicon sketchbook. I just hope he doesn't read those spells in the back out loud...

Just to remind you why this blog is called Nick Soup, here's a fun ingredient to add a little extra flavour. Last year I had the distinct pleasure of being a part of Grown Ups Read Things They Wrote As Kids. Follow the link above to hear my real life, gritty, noir tale of crime in the halls of my elementary school. My story starts at 6:25 but I assure you the entire episode is fantastic. A seriously great night.

That's all for now, big news regarding my next project is coming in a few days!