I figure there are a few people out there who are curious about the status of Mark Schultz’s upcoming illustrated novella Storms at Sea. With this in mind, I flew out to visit Mr. Schultz to see exactly how far he has come in completing his ambitious project.
This picture above is photographic proof of Mark’s efforts. Here, he is using his Wolf carbon pencil to work on the details of his latest piece. The script is complete, and the artwork nearly halfway done. The finished pieces look amazing. This book will be well worth the wait. A release date will be set once Mark completes all of the artwork.
Mark happened to have his original cover art for Death Rattle #8 (first published Xenozoic Tales) on loan from the owner. I asked Mark if he could pose with it, as well as with the Storms at Sea art he was working on. This picture appeals to me as it shows Mark’s first published comics work, and his most recent artwork, together.
This picture is a detail from one of Schultz’s Xenozoic Tales original art pages. There was this great panel with these tiny intricate figures. I was mesmerized with how he was able to draw the characters so small by using a brush. I pulled out my macro lens and took this shot. This picture greatly magnifies the original art to show the delicate brushwork on a larger scale.
My visit to New York and Pennsylvania, during the first week of January, was for three main reasons. I was able to meet with Walt and Roger Reed at Illustration House, in New York City, to go over the final details for the Harvey Dunn book. This title is on track for its July 2010 release date. Then, Mark Schultz and I visited with the Williamson’s to go over options for our next Al Williamson book. (More on that in a month.) And, I was able to spend time with Mark to plan out his next two books, outside of “Storms at Sea.” (Full details on these soon!) What I can tell you now is that I will have a few exciting new Al Williamson and Mark Schultz projects to announce next month!
I also had the pleasure to visit with Brad Kunkle. He is a wonderful guy and terrific fine artist. Brad is working on a new series of paintings that will be available for viewing at his one-man show at Arcadia Fine Arts in New York City this spring. Go check out his website here. He’s absolutely amazing!
Best,
John
John Fleskes
Flesk Publications