Been playing with photoshop, I decided, for now, I’d prefer photoshop to painter, simply because it requires less resource, maybe when I got rich and has, like FOUR GIG of RAM.. then I’ll give it a try again, hahaha

I usually don’t like to use much fancy brushes, altho I like collecting them, mainly because I don’t want brushes to be the main focus of my works, but maybe I was thinking too much, whatever works, whatever looks good, eh? I’m trying to be less stuck up.

SLG released the Clarence Press Release earlier today. I thought I’d share it with you all ^^ oh and by the way, anyone who can help to get this press release out in places we’d REALLY appreciate it. Even if it’s on a blog entry or a forum post, you’d be surprised how much those kind of things actually help. Word of mouth is a powerful tool.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 2/21/07

Clarence, awakening in the bathroom where he died, wanders strange landscapes as he follows the directions of a cryptic message written in the steam that has settled on the bathroom mirror: “FIND ME.” This is no dream. This is death. A suicide, Clarence must find his way through the afterlife, meeting strange creatures and characters, in order to find the meaning of the life he chose to end. The Clarence Principle, a new original graphic novel to be released by SLG Publishing in May 2007, follows Clarence on his journey of discovery as he delves into his own motivations, disappointments, and fatal flaws.

The Clarence Principle’s two young creators, British writer Fehed Said and Thai artist Shari Chankhamma, are unafraid of tackling difficult topics, and though the story is peppered with whimsy, the book’s tone remains dark.

“I have trouble categorizing it into one genre,” said Said. “I hesitate to call it gothic or a fairy tale. That may be something readers have to decide for themselves, depending on what they get most form the book. One thing is for sure though–it’s definitely noir.”

For artist Chankhamma, Said’s visually challenging script gave her the chance to push her talent to its limits. She comes through with the characterization of Clarence himself, who is in turns melancholy, curious, and angry, as well as with rich, overgrown landscapes, desolate cities and even a stark stage set. Though her art is manga-influenced, Chankhamma said the visuals in The Clarence Principle also owes a debt to artists Ashley Wood and Ben Templesmith. “Fehed’s story allowed me to play around with plenty of quirky visuals and designs, forcing me to pay a lot of time and attention to backgrounds and settings,” she said. “It was difficult and tiresome at times, but I’m glad I’ve taken up the challenge.”

“Fehed and Shari’s hard work, dedication and creative vision have gone to into creating a beautiful work,” said Jennifer de Guzman, SLG’s editor-in-chief. “The Clarence Principle has a compelling story that tackles tough themes, and it’s visually stunning.”

The Clarence Principle, a 224-page graphic novel, is the first OGN that SLG has published since Nil: A Land Beyond Belief by James Turner, in 2005. It will be published in May 2007 and retail for $12.95. It is available now for preorder from Diamond Comics, and will soon will also be available at SLG Publishing’s website www.slgcomic.com, where there is also a preview of the graphic novel available for viewing.

Last night (does 4:30am still count as last night?) just before I decided to go to bed, one of our SKB fans pointed out in a comment that he’d found Clarence available for pre-order on Amazon.Com.

So for those of you who are keen to get their hands on a copy, you can now pre-order the book and expect it to be released on the 2nd of May. Click Here!

Once again, I ask if people can link back to us, that’d be awesome. Any link backs would be a great help, whether you use our buttons or just simple text links.

Thanks for your continued support!

A friend in the states had suggested getting some flyers printed to hand out at book-stores and stuff to help with the Clarence pre-release promo. But then we’d come across the idea of having some bookmarks made instead. Printing in the states is far cheaper than the UK, so I was happy to fork out the cash for 500 bookmarks to be printed for handing out.

I wonder how many of these will actually find a home. Any left over we’ll most likely take with us to Comicon if we ever make it there this year.

We’re working, or at least trying to work on stuff. Hence the quiet. We’d agreed to create a 40 page short for the next Best New Manga anthology (deadline is May, same time Clarence comes out), and we’re currently also working on our Tokyopop Pitch. Not to mention Shari is in talks with another publisher for a commissioned job that may start soon too. So yeah, pretty busy. Also things in general are rather uneventful, so nothing to share I’m afraid.

Just talk amongst yourselves for a while, ‘kay?