Rico Rico Ricochet

We are finally at my favorite page in the series so far.  I have a soft spot for ricochet, as I too was (kind of still am) as flighty as a hummingbird.   He’s really infatuated with his butterfly.   Expect that to be a bit of a re-occurring theme in the remainder of this series.

But yeah, this page just reeks of awesome.  Twyla inserted a bit of energy and just a twinkle of her mischief in this page.  I think she had a blast drawing it.  I had a blast seeing it for the first time.  The fact it still makes me crack a smile means that there is something to it.

I may have to buy this page up the road.

I digress.  I’m writing this to let me people know that we are coming up to the end of the first issue.  It’s been a bit of a learning curve for me.   Even though the pages are done, life seems to have a way of getting in the way of things like this all too often.   When we finish issue two, this problem will not exist in any form or other.

The other major issue is the fact that we need to advertise this book better.  i appreciate each and every one of you that do visit.  It’s cool to see people pop in and out.   So I need to come up with some kind of content in between the story.  I think I have a solution there, but we’ll see.

Beyond that, I’m glad to see this first issue is nearly done.  I’m hoping in the coming weeks to do an interview with Twyla on the site in order to do a proper commentary on issue one.

In the meantime, I got the rest of issue two to finish.   I must be going now.  Page 21 is going to drop before you know it.

Thanks for reading!

Taking Care of Me

This isn’t my typical promotional post – that said, page 17 of Paradigm is up now.  We’re near the end of the first issue.  I’m kind of excited we got this far, and kind of sad that after it will be awhile before the next issue.  Twyla is working on issue two as we speak, but I can’t in all good conscience tell you when issue two will happen.   It will be fun though;  I guarantee it.

Okay, let’s talk about me for a bit.  This is kind of going to be a bit ranty, so if you want to skip this, I understand.

I’m very blessed.   A lot of cool opportunities and things have happenhttps://paradigmcomic.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.phped this year.  The Watcher came out.   Paradigm is going well.  I got another project coming up and this week I’m starting to write a story or two for some other people.  That’s an awesome bunch of stuff on my plate.

That said, I still work full time.   My full time job is very blue collar and very physical.   I think the all nighters doing my dreams and the regular hours have broken me down a bit.    The last few days I’ve been tired in ways I’ve never felt before.  Maybe it’s a sign of me getting older, but I also think it’s just part of the price I’ve paid for juggling my dreams and my bills.

Passion is awesome.  Passion is what drives us, but like all great things in life, passion has a price.  The lack of sleep, the myriad of projects, the starts and the stops, and the struggle.  There are days I feel like a beaten man.

I don’t write this for pity.  I know many people struggle like I am.  I just feel like I have to make some changes.  Take less hours for the day job crosses my mind for example.    All in all this is a week for me to reflect and to move forward.

Also, did I mention passion?

This week some cool things will be up here and at http://michaelthroughtime.wordpress.com.   I updated the Watcher Page already.  This week I have an interview that’s kind of special.   I hope people enjoy that little heart to heart.

A few other things may happen too.  As I said, I realize that I am not invincible and that I need to take time for me a little bit.   I’ll figure it out.

Look for Page 18 wednesday.

Hope you are well and hope you are chasing your dreams.  Passion does have a price, but it is worth paying.   I hope to see all of you doing your thing as well.

Half The Run Is Gone!

Page 16 is up.    That is probably one unhappy bird up there.

How is everyone?

Twyla April and I have already have sold half the run of paradigm.  I’m surprised how quickly I’ve gone through the book.  I was nervous about this printing.  It’s a small run yes, but I was really wondering if people would be interested in it.  So far I have no complaints.   I’m going to have to do another run before this is over.

I will have some announcements  this week about appearances.  As is, a lot of things are still kind of in flux.  I can say that I’ve officially started a project with Gio Marko.   What it is, I can’t quite say yet.  I will say that the revolution is coming.  #jointherevolution will be the hashtag to watch on my twitter.

Alright, for now, I’ll be silent.

The next page will be up tomorrow.  Hopefully with a cool picture as well.

I’ll be adding another blog on this soon.  I really want to talk about the project a little bit in more detail.  I feel like this blog is a touch too bare.

I know, I know

It has been a crazy couple of weeks.  I realize that there is no excuse.   I’ve been juggling balls the last few weeks.  Opportunities have come my way since I last talked.  I’ve been trying to do them, but in doing so I’ve been neglecting this site far more than I should.

I’m hoping to FINALLY be back on track the rest of the month while I finish the first issue.  And yes, we are finishing the first issue this month.  I’m hoping by the end we’ll be ready to start the second.   Twyla is hard at work on issue two as we write this  and I’m happy to say it’s going well.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for signing announcements if you are in the Calgary area.  Twyla and I will hopefully be sighted doing some book signings at comic shops and other random places in  a week or so.

Our first run is selling quite well.  Even without signings, copies are going quickly.  It’ll be a matter of time before we go to our second run.

I know I’m being cryptic as all hell right now and saying a lot of hopefully’s and maybes.   The next blog will talk about certainties.   I’m tired of being up in the air on a lot of things and hoping this week that this will change.  Until then, I wish i could be clearer, but as I said, doors are opening for me.   Some of them I’ve been dreaming about for years.

I may have some big news in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, enjoy our newest page.  Also, if you have a chance, check out my interview with Larime Taylor on my main page right here.   I hope you enjoy it.

Will be back next week.  By then, everything should be on schedule.

Joshua Pantalleresco

Paradigm is here

Something arrived in the mail today… Think it’s cool.

Upcoming Appearances

Twyla and myself will be appearing at the Medicine Hat Roundup  on June 21st and we’ll be at the Vancouver Fanfest June27th through 29th.   Paradigm the book will be making its debut at both shows.  Twyla and I will autograph it.  Maybe, just maybe I’ll be able to re-enact the scene where his wife threatens to kill us all on Page 11.

Maybe.

Assuming Twyla doesn’t kill me first.

Maybe…

Once again, feel free to check us out both days.  We’ll happily say hello.

JP

Timing is Everything

Once again, we’ve been caught up by being late.   Once again, I’m the one that deserves the blame.   I could list a myriad of excuses and of things coming up, but the bottom line is that you, the reader, have not been receiving your weekly dose of Paradigm like you should.   That will change from here on out (scheduled breaks aside.)

Yes, there are scheduled breaks planned for the book.  Paradigm much like a lot of other webcomics is a labor of love.  When we started this enterprise, a certain amount of pages were already finished.  Twyla is working on more as we speak, but she is a full time mom and as such, has to work at her pace.   I’m not going to rush this story.  Issue two is written, and I’m writing issue three as I type this.   It will be finished.

That said, it will no longer be interrupted by me.

We’re coming into some of my favorite scenes in the first story.  I enjoy writing villains, and the scenes with the Cosmics themselves I think, are awesome.   Ms. Cosmic may be the most dangerous mom alive.   Dr. Cosmic is more than a bumbling eccentric.  His character (all of the characters actually) flesh out as the story progresses.

I find myself growing to like this story the more and more I work on it.   I saw this story as a chance to simply have a blast, but worried that I wouldn’t have anything worthwhile to say.  Call me old fashioned, but I always think every story should have a bit of weight and message to it.    Getting to the heart of this story has been a real treat.   I cannot wait until the moment arrives.

In the meantime, enjoy this week’s pages.  Twyla really delivers here, and I feel this is some of my strongest stuff in the first issue.

Enjoy.

JP

Off to the Printers

My computer apparently had a caught a cold – a minor virus to  exact.  Figuring out how to deal with that took a few days, as did just some general maintenance to the machine.  As is, I apologize to all of you about only one page being available this week.  The regular two will be up monday and wednesday next week as we resume schedule.

On my other blog I will be posting up part two of my interview with Jimmie Robinson as soon as this blog is finished.  I’m really envious of Jimmie’s ability to do well with absolutely every aspect of comics.  Here I am with my stick figures in revolt, and Jimmie is the one man rock show.  Take care to click on this link here to read part one.   Part two will be up shortly.

Twyla is becoming a first time radio guest this week – from Japan.  I’ll have more information with the next page, when, and where you can hear it.

Paradigm is also officially off to the press.  Next month, along with the release of another book, issue one will be out in its entirety and available at any convention Twyla or Myself will attend.   More details are coming soon enough.

All in all, things are going well.  If you like to leave a comment on any of the pages do so.    Thanks for reading!

Introducing…the Cosmics

Happy Monday everybody.   Page 6 is up.  The words are mine, the letters are James Reddington’s and the illustrations are by Twyla April.  Up till now, we haven’t seen the all powerful Doctor Cosmic and it was time to remedy that.  Dr. Cosmic is fairly eccentric as you’ll soon see…even for a supervillain.  He has a bit of an impulse control problem that is going to lead to some interesting things up the way.  Needless to say, he’s been a blast to write.

But who hasn’t thought of their parents as villains sometimes?  Now grant you, usually it’s for our own good.  No matter how much we think otherwise, kids don’t have all the answers.  Sometimes the parents have to be tyrants. I think the Cosmics came from that part of my subconscious.  I have no idea though.  Still, who hasn’t as a kid wanted to save the world from our parents, especially if they are mad scientists?

Twyla is killing it.  She’s getting better and better with each page I see.  We’re doing our best to keep ahead and hopefully we’ll be able to keep pace the whole story.  This last week kind of blew as I caught something from the Calgary  Con, so I’ve been slower.  That changes this week.  For now, enjoy Page 6.  Page 7 drops wednesday.

Stay tuned to my other blog right here.  Some cool things are dropping this week.

Comments are welcome, as always.

Joshua Pantalleresco

Works In Progress

I can’t believe we’re already on page three.  I know the change of scenery on this page here may seem a touch abrupt, but I do promise that the school will become important somewhere down the road.   Hopefully it will all make sense in the end.

Some of my fascination with Paradigm comes from video games – in particular, one of my inspirations for this game is the persona series.  While this series will get nowhere near as dark as any of those games, the idea of masks and personas and shadows do resonate with the concept of Paradigm quite a bit.  I’m a bit of an identity freak, and I’m always fascinated with the concept of figuring out who the heck you are.

One thing I read once in an interview with Terry Goodkind once was that writers should really get serious about writing when they are older.  His reasoning was that people needed context and experience to fully write a story .  While I don’t buy his argument at all, I do have to agree a bit on context.

One of the hardest things I think any artist in any endeavor has to figure out is who they are.  Because it’s difficult as heck to communicate anything without some concrete idea and clarity of what you are trying to say to people.  What I wanted was an easier question for me to answer than this and I had to go through a bit of a wringer to find part of the answer.  Once I did, I’ve noticed that by and large my writing has improved.  I still have a few technical snafus to work on.  Grammar and diction and how to tell a tale are artforms I think I’m going to be working on till my dying day.

That said, I know who I am and I know what I want to say.  I think that makes me a touch ahead of the game.  What do you all think?

There is going to be an archive soon.  Don’t be surprised if it’s finished by the weekend.  I got enough pages on here to make need of one finally.   Beyond that I promise to hunt down Twyla April and make her write her own bio.   All in all, expect this site to be constantly being improved upon in the weeks and months to come.

Beyond that, I’m at Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo this weekend promoting this said comic as well as the Watcher which will be out…I think I’ll save it for my other blog on thursday.  I need to be sure I can tell everyone at this point.  Beyond that, if you are in the Calgary area this weekend, come by and say hello.

Every monday and wednesday there will be a new page.  Count on it.

See you all again next week.  Tell your friends.  They’re welcome too.