GRIFFITH JUMPS ON THE SCENE

As we get closer to a submission to Image Comics, I keep getting blown away by the artist that has partnered up with me on this project. Andy Budnick has been getting deeper and deeper into each character. I wanted to share with my friends and family a picture of Griffith that Andy did recently. I tried to ink it myself, so i do apologize ahead of time, I will post the drawing, and the inked. (the inking done by a professional would rock, and i think Andy still needs to do detail on the left arm)

The first 7 pages that we are sending to the comic book company are being work on right now. I am finishing with the synopsis letter, and the script for the first issue. I will post some of that as we get closer. Just a tease now of Griffith!!

Moving in the Right Direction

Just thought I would update a bit on the current projects I am working on. It has been a while since mentioning fully, but since this is titled "ideas's" from mars, I thought that maybe an update is in order.

The World Within My Walls.

Geoff is currently plugging away with re-writes. Several months ago we had put the book aside after finishing it and basically took a break to think about other things. I dabbled with my other child "Disciple 6" for a bit, as he continued to work on some things also. Now more recently (a month or 2 ago) we dove back in, with a fresh outlook, and new thoughts and ideas on things. It has been amazing again since then. Everything seems to be falling into place, things we once questioned have been changed for the better, or small parts have been added to make the story more fluid. I can't wait to see what Geoff has been doing, and slowly but surely The World Within My Walls seems to be writing itself...... and that's a good thing.

Disciple 6.

Andrew Budnick recently graduated from Kendal. with his newly found art degree in hand (not literally) we met for the first time at Panara Bread. He seemed like a nice kid, really eager to learn about the story, or if he could have the job of being the artist. He brought several pencils he had done, including some finished work. It was very well done, schooled, and I could see the raw talent, with obvious schooled applications. It didn't stop there. I wanted to get to know him a bit more. I mean, no one really likes working with people they don't get along with right? His love for superheroes was an obvious, and his dream of someday penciling a Wolverine book is encouraging. But when he muttered some words about Masters of the Universe Classics...... That's when I was sold. (for those who don't know MOTUC is the new toy line for collectors of He-Man figures) I thought, I could definitely work with this kid! I mean, have you ever met someone who was a He-Man freak who wasn't genuinely a great guy?!?! (ahem....)

so, as much as I am an "ok" artist...... The Rook went from......

to ........

So, as you can see I am very impressed. You can check out his blog and some of his other work at budnickart.blogspot.com

Seriously though, seeing my creations take form like this. Seeing his interpretation of my ideas, and characters has been amazing this past couple of weeks. Soon submissions to the comic book publishing company, and who knows, maybe you will see our book get published. I am currently writing Issue 2 titled "Amazing Grace". If you want to read any more about the actual outline, it can be found in last years December blog.

So there you have it. Slowly but surely my hobby and love is turning into so much more. Thanks to Geoff, and now Andy.

PS. Its my fathers birthday today. He is 66. I couldn't have asked for a better father.

McKinley Ave.

So, things are going pretty good in the Rodriguez' household. Ella is becoming such a good helper. She lets the dog out for us, and helps with the little one. She really loves being the big sister. Sophia is occasionally making her naked butt all the way to the bathroom to go pee. She gets really excited to go potty and pulls off whatever clothes she can. Ella never had the "run around naked and laugh" stage. Sophia Grey is apparently going to. She has a couple more teeth that are coming in so those were bothering her last night. Little Levi Drake is crying less and less at night giving Rachel a little more time to sleep. His little gentleman personality is showing more and more each day. Rachel is walking around in her new shoes :) and is back in the swing of things called JC PENNY. Her new clippers work "amazing" she tells me. As for me, things are going well, I am a bit tired, but its my own fault. I have a new love.... Its called, "Supernatural" a tv show my friend B turned me on to. It has that undeniable quality called the "hardy boy factor" that I really love. The brotherly banter, and the mystery is all I need. Basketball also starts tomorrow. Every Wednesday night Taylor, my brother in-law and I will take our NBA skills to the local Holland Civic Center, and prove to the rest of the city...."we got game" My comic book titled Disciple 6 is coming along very very smoothly. Andy Budnick, a local Kendall graduate has taken the reigns on the art for it, and I have been more than pleased with what he has come up with. I will be posting some sketches he has done, along with logo art, and title work that we may or may not use. But overall, his vision for the project, along with Geoff's script for it seem to be meshing as well as it could. I have always felt confident in my creations, but this comic is building up to be something great.

That is what is going on lately on McKinley Ave. The Rodriguez family is living, loving, and having as much fun as possible. Now the ten:

10. Kobe should never push out his jaw
9. The timing belt/water pump myth is getting annoying
8. Marriage is easy, if you are married to the right person
7. LeBron James is a child in a mans body. I have very little respect for him
6. Marv continues to sell more cars than the people that work for the company.
5. I should pray more than I do
4. Money is necessary. But I will never love it.
3. Owning a home is fun, there is always something to do. (tired face)
2. I haven't spent money on toys in a very long time. this is a good thing.
1. Hungry Howies has the best meatlovers pizza I have ever had. They also have, by far, the worst pizza EVER to re-heat. Its disgusting

ReFresh Button: Sigh

Isn't it weird sometimes how life is.

One day we could feel like complete trash. Nothing going for us, or nothing to live for, down and out.

The next day we could be on top of the world and in complete satisfaction in what is happening in life.

The differences between day one and day two were absolutely NOTHING.

It was all about outlook.

I sort of laugh at days that I am down and out. They really mean nothing to me, and I shouldn't give them any more thought than, just to get past. I try and focus on all that I have, and all I have been blessed with. Those are the things that are CONSTANT. Family. Kids. Home. Dreams. God. Those are the things that do not change between day to day.

I see people sometimes have a "negative" outlook or attitude. Man is that annoying. Seriously. Its like they have a "bone to pick" with LIFE. The justified person that sees life as half empty. I do not need any of that. I love my life. (and I do admit, i have it easier than some) But I was never one to "scrooge" my way through the day.

I am very tired today. My eyes feel heavy (though not as heavy as my wife's as she feeds our son in the middle of the night) But for some odd reason, I feel very refreshed. Like someone was sitting at the computer, My LIFEPAGE is on their screen, and they just pressed the refresh button at the top of the page.

This stripped everything back to blank. and put everything back up. Background. Titles. Images. text. Like you could see everything that got you where you are. every piece of your life.

Obviously I didn't think or see everything, but I encourage you to think about this. Think about why you are standing, or sitting where you are. and how you got there. What paths you took. think about all the great things that led you to NOW.

I hope most of you smile.

Because you are currently LIVING LIFE. And if you are busy frowning, reflect. pray. and try hitting the refresh button.

take a deep breath.

The Dragon Has Arrived

Greetings family and friends. Last night Rachel and I decided to go to the hospital. About 3:46 in the morning Levi Drake came into the world.

So it has already been a great day for the Rodriguez family. Levi says hello and he can't wait to meet you.

Ella Shay and Sophia Grey were very excited to meet their little brother Levi Drake today. Sophia was very interested in his feet and face, and she loved to touch his hair.


A little insight on this past month for the Rodriguez family:

1. A GIFT OF BUTCH LOVE.

Rach and I got to go and see our favorite musician Butch Walker in Grand Rapids. Our first time seeing Butch was last year @ the House of Blues in Cleveland OHIO. It was Rachels birthday gift to me. The sad thing is, we were taking pictures outside in line for a while, and no joke, our camera broke right when we walked in!! So all of our amazing memories from that show were just 3x5's in our mind.

This time around was a bit different. As a valentines day present for my wife, I purchased Butch tickets for a March show in GRap. I am always a bit nervous to do this kind of stuff on-line, but we knew that this tour he was playing smaller venues and it was for the wife, so i did. My daughter Sophia even dressed up for the show (but she didn't get to go)

Within a week A friend of mine whose name will be left unsaid to keep his identity safe (his name rhymes with Feenan) told me he couldn't get tickets, but I did. Which meant that I was one of the first 30 tickets to be purchased. THIS meant that I would get to MEET BUTCH and my wife and I would get to watch him warm up, and a meet and greet!!! what an honor. and soo..........

Preshow:Meeting the Artist:
Time to Rock:

The concert was amazing. It was alot of fun hanging out with my friends who were at the show also.

2. CARS

This month has also been a good month for MARVS car lot. We have been selling alot of cars, and I continue to learn more about the industry, and sales, and even meeting more and more people in the community.

3. MARRIAGE+DOMINOES=FUN.

This past month or so, my wife and I have been playing Dominoes on Fridays. After dinner either at my parents house or mine, Luis and Dawn, along with Rachel and I have found a new addiction. Mexican Train Dominoes. Seriously. If you havent played yet you need to come over to my house. I will teach you, and you will love it.

4. And now I leave you with these:

Mustache March and New Wings for Old Things

Greetings Ladies and Gents.

Welcome to Mustache March. Where upper lips everywhere get a little warmer during this brisk Michigan weather. I hope you all (obviously men......) are going to participate. I would love to see some nice stache' pics at the end of this month.


My story Disciple Six is now taking on new life, thanks to Geoffrey Haney. My story arc for the series is going through a little bit of retooling, and some good writing is being added. All is the same though, so do not worry, Disciple Six is still the same beautiful story it has always been, just now told with a little bit more description.

While that is happening, an artist named Kevin who lives in Cali and I have been talking about him doing the art for the project. Things have been going very smooth in this process, but part of me also thinks I could find a great local artist (kendall/grand valley) who would be a short drive away. Do you know of anyone? hmm........


So with Geoff co-writing my creation, and Kevin possibly doing some sketches, hopefully shortly some of these things will be coming together nicely. (for the purpose of an image submission)

The stories and Characters that I have for D6 are going to be some of the most tragic and compelling ideas I have had.




Little Levi Drake will be with us soon. My wife is beyond sick of being prego. we just pray that he is healthy and born soon! we have about a month to go so it will be a little bit. Until then we shall paint rooms, and built play sets in the yard.

We also bought Sophia Grey a car bed. Man that thing is nice. And she can't fall out of it.

Ella is getting big. And really good at drawing (she gets that from my side)


Hopefully things warm up and everyone will come over for a grill out!


PEACE!

My takes on Baseball and Monopoly Money

Ok. It has been a little while. But these past few days have got me all hot and bothered and I need to do a little venting. so here you are, and here I am. Thanks for listening ahead of times, its days like this that I am glad you are here.

BASEBALL. steroids. Seems like hand and hand lately. In an attempt to help you understand how I feel about the whole situation as a whole, I will explain that I have two opinions. And there are two sides to every story.

I am not for the use of illegal substances. Obviously it is wrong. For the past handful of years I have found it to be comical how the excuse for using ILLEGAL substances within the laws of the U.S. have been "it wasn't Illegal in baseball....." lol. seriously? because it wasn't written in the baseball rules, that makes it ok. Did you know that the baseball games/teams and players are in the U.S.???

and then there is the other side of it. Lets say HGH is good for people. Doctors are already using it to help common people like you and me get stronger and/or healthier. (people like us who do NOT actually abuse our bodies with our occupation) Are you telling me that steroids like this should be DENIED to people, that their occupation is to ABUSE and use there own body to the highest performance possible.

seems sort of backwards. ex:

well Jon, what do you do? ohhh you sell glasses to people. oh ok. and a bit of indoor men's volleyball. ok. well, we are going to get you on this steroid, and hopefully it will help get those knees back into good working form. remember to wear those knee pads.

well Jon, what do you do? ohhh you play a professional sport? oh wow thats cool. you work out, and train, and give 100% every time out on the floor, leaving everything. and training your body to work in PEAK physical ability? well, we do have some steroids that could help you (ALOT) but we really shouldn't be giving you this stuff. cause well, your body needs to fix it self without these medical discoveries. It compromises the game. I know I know, we give this stuff to everyone who isn't an athlete, but. we want our sports to be "pure".


I know I am being very general. I am talking about HGH and things of that nature more than I am talking about steroids to a certain degree.

now on to the game of life.


Can we make things simple. For one second. So you are telling me that we (as a country) are going to MAKE more money (that doesn't come from anywhere) and we are going to give it to everyone hoping that life gets better?

seriously.

My personal statement is: We are too weak of a country to admit that we are wrong, and we are going to make life very hard for our future generations, instead of us just dealing with the problems right now.

It is the cycle of LIFE.

if it is broken. it needs fixing.

not a band aid. fixing.

Personally I think a fall flat on our faces would do this country some damn good.
people would stop complaining about gays, churches, and politics.

they would be united in ONE crisis. MONEY.

not pretend money.

real money.


Guess what is going to happen. Guaranteed. People will get checks. and they will do what they did before. they will pay off debt. they will help themselves.

that is not helping the economy.

that is giving a get out of jail free card.


its a big difference.

again. I am all for helping people. But to literally say, "I am going to help the CURRENT American people, and in 10-15 when I am not president and stuff goes wrong, I wont be here."

I care about my grand kids. they are not here yet.

I would much rather live a shitty life. a life of hard times than them.


that is what I want.