Del Taco Tie-In

February 11th, 2012

A few months ago, Joe Olson and I worked with Idea Planet to design a tie-in package for Del Taco using the art of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. I provided them with high resolution art files and some layout mock-ups and from there, the Idea Planet designers did a mighty fine job putting the final package together!

So if you feel like getting some food at Del Taco, make sure you get your ITSP playset!

We were sent a bunch of extra playsets and will be including those free of charge with any Gagne International orders until they run out.





Fun at the Annie Awards Ceremony

February 6th, 2012

Just got back from Los Angeles and we had a blast! On Saturday, Nancy and I met Joe Olson (my partner), his lovely lady, Susan, and Travis Phelps (our lead animator) at our hotel in Westwood, and from there we proceeded to Royce Hall where the pre-show champagne cocktail was taking place. Had a few drinks, saw a few celebrities, and felt very antsy with anticipation.

The suspense wasn't too long, as the videogame award category was the first one on the schedule. The nominees were announced and time seemed to stand still as the envelope was opened... and then... Hurrah!!! What a great surprise to hear our game getting the prize, especially considering some of the heavy hitters that were featured in the category.

The evening was capped by a nice dinner where all the presenters, nominees and winners gathered to eat, drink and chat and have a good time. A night to remember!

Full list of nominees and winners can be found here.





Annie Awards Ceremony

February 3rd, 2012

I'm heading to Los Angeles on Saturday for the Annie Awards Ceremony. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet is nominated for "Best Animated Video Game of the Year" and my game partner, Joe Olson, and I (and a few other members of our crew) will be there with our fingers crossed. The show will be streaming live Saturday, February 04, at 7:00 PM PST right here, and according to the program book, the video game award will be the first one of the night!

If the window above doesn't work on your computer, go to UStream.com to watch it live.





ZED #10 Available at Last

January 27th, 2012

One of my childhood dreams was to one day have my own comic series. So in early 2001, I made that dream come true and started writing and illustrating a cute yet grotesque science-fiction series called ZED. I planned to tell the story over 10 issues and felt pretty confident at the time that I could have the whole thing wrapped up in a couple of years. Little did I know that it would take me eleven years to finally bring the series to fruition. One thing I realized was that doing an independent comic series all by oneself is hard work.

The first four issues were done relatively quickly as I enjoyed the novelty of the medium and my enthusiasm was high. By the time I reached number four, I was running out of steam and my interest shifted to other things. However, I promised myself I'd return to ZED one day. After a hiatus of two years, I did issue five and made a vow that I would find time to do at least one issue a year from that point on. I kept my vow until issue 9 which was released in 2008.

Then, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and Fixed Fragmented Fluid (as well as quite a few other things) happened and all my free time was highjacked. I had the entire issue 10 in my head but no time to bring it to physical form. Finally, at the end of last year (2011), I got the necessary time to get it done.

So there you have it: A sci-fi epic eleven years in the making!

ZED # 10, the conclusion of the series, can be ordered exclusively here, from Indy Planet, or as part of the complete signed ZED set offered on our website.





Interview for The Independent Gamer Magazine

January 26th, 2012

Issue 2 of The Independent Gamer is out and it features an interview I did with them about a week ago. You can download a digital copy of the magazine for free or get a printed one for $3.80. Check it out! You can also visit their official website here.







Some Recent Reviews

January 23rd, 2012

My latest book project, Young Romance: The Best of Simon & Kirby's Romance Comics, is about to hit the stores next week, and reviews are starting to pop up on the web. Here are the latest from Comics Bulletin (they rated the book 5 stars!), Comic Book Resources and AV Club.

Meanwhile ITSP is still gathering good press. Check out these recent reviews from IGM (they named ITSP Best XBLA game of the year!), Lexington Herald Leader, and this one from Spain.





Lantern Run World Record Captured on Video

January 14th, 2012

One of Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet's mode is called Lantern Run, which can be played with up to four players on line or locally. Recently, I received a YouTube message from Davio14U informing me that the Lantern Run world record had been captured on video, and that it would be uploaded soon. I got a notification this morning that the videos are up! Those guys are crazy good players! Check out the three-part video below.















You can also see the single player world record on Davio14U's channel.





ITSP Nominated for an IAA

January 12th, 2012

The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) today announced the finalists for the 15th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (IAAs) and I was delighted to see that Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet received a nomination in the "Best Downloadable Game of the Year" category.

The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, February 9th at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas during the 2012 D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit. They will be hosted by comedian, actor and proud game enthusiast, Jay Mohr. This year’s IAAs will be streamed live on GameSpot.com in its entirety at 7:30pm PT / 10:30pm ET.

Check out the press release for additional info.





Interview @ Comic Book Resources

January 5th, 2012

Check out this recent interview where I discuss my latest project.





ZED 10 Completed

January 2nd, 2012

One of my goals last year was to finish ZED, my 10-issue comic series started way back in 2001, over ten years ago! Well, it's done! I managed to turn it in just hours before the new year. The issue should be on sale before the end of the month. Now, I going to start tackling my next project. Stay tuned and Happy New Year!