IDW Publishing released G.I. Joe: Best of Larry Hama last week. Sweet. I love G.I. Joe for oh so many reasons, but here are my top three:

1. The Crimson Guard commanders Tomax and Xamot. To this day, whenever I experience a sudden, random ache or pain I instantly wonder if I have a twin who’s under attack somewhere.
2. I learned how to tread water thanks to Torpedo and one of the awesome PSAs. 
3. Lady Jaye (I always wanted to be her.)

A cool footnote, IMPACT author Chris Ryall (Comic Books 101) is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of IDW Publishing. Check out his blog, Ryalltime.

And of course, I have to conclude this post with a link to the trailer for the G.I. Joe movie.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.  

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixrVnVXwdUw

I don’t have an iphone, but get jazzed with every new app I hear about. I want that virtual level tool (just because I like watching the bubble move), and it would rock to have the app to help me figure out what song that is that I keep hearing on the radio. 

Now there’s a brand new app on the market, and it fits in just perfectly with what we do here at IMPACT… talk about comics! This app–Comicstrips–is for reading comics on the go, and newsarama.com has an exclusive interview with its creator in it’s brainstorming digital comics blog.

Check it out, then take your own comic strips history lesson with Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton’s book, Comic Books 101–where you’ll explore the humble beginnings of the comic book, all the way through to the popularity of today’s comic-based blockbuster films. 

A new preview to the video workshop Hi-Fi Digital Coloring with Brian Miller is now available. Click here to watch the clip and learn about special effects for digital coloring. You can also watch the introduction to the workshop here. The full streaming video is now available on artistsnetwork.tv.

Also be sure to check out the book Brian co-authored with Kristy Miller:

Get coloring and have a great weekend!
mary

Buy Here.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djOl5NIYIVE&feature=channel_page

The Hi-Fi Digital Coloring with Brian Miller video workshop is now available at artistsnetwork.tv. You can check out the awesome preview on the IMPACT home page. Brian is the co-author of Hi-Fi Color for Comics: Digital Techniques for Professional Results.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Tn6RE-_eQ

Calling all comic book lovers out there… Hugh Jackman and the staff of IMPACT Books remind you to mark your calendars for May 2: FREE Comic Book Day! 

For those of you not familiar with this event, FREE Comic Book Day is the first Saturday in May when participating comic book retailers across North America and around the world give away comic books for the low price of FREE! To find a participating store near you visit freecomicbookday.com and use the store locator.

Click here for a special message from Hugh Jackman himself (and a glimpse of X-Men Origins: Wolverine opening May 1).

Would you like to learn how to get your comic book published or just how to become a professional comic book writer? Going to be any where near Comic Con in San Diego this coming July?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then check out the IMPACT University Pro Comics and Art Workshop, a one-day intensive of comics, graphic novel and art educational programming featuring some of the industry’s top names–among them–Peter David, writer of stuff.

Peter is the author of Writing for Comics With Peter David and the upcoming revision, Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels With Peter David, and one of the most prolific writers in comics today, with hundreds of comic book credits to his name.

Check out Peter’s full biography and bibliography, then head on over to the IMPACT University Pro Comics and Art Workshop web page to register.

See you there!

Want to learn more about Peter David? Check out the below YouTube video Clips:

Peter David talks about how he came to work at Marvel Comics.

Peter David talks about working on The Dark Tower with Stephen King.

David Adams loves to portray the fantasy realms of the wee people within a theater of natural intricacy and wonder. His first book FairyArt: Painting Magical Fairies and Their Worlds is set for release on May 6, 2009.

Click here to see an album of FairyArt pages and painting on IMPACT’s facebook page. You can preorder your copy of FairyArt here. Find out more about Adams below.

Hometown:
Fukuoka Ken, Japan

Current residence:
Port Orchard, Washington

Kids and/or pets?
I have no children or pets, though I would like to have children someday. I had a cat that passed away a few years ago. I intend to have several aquariums with tropical fish in my next home.

Favorite food:
My taste in food is very diverse—I love ethnic cuisines and I like the bite of burgers and fries as well. My palette leans toward Asian and Spanish foods. Italian dishes appeal to me also.

Favorite candy bar:
I don’t eat sweets!

Favorite TV show:
I don’t watch TV much (I’m so darn busy). However, when I tune in, I watch Top Chef and Iron Chef…I love to cook!

Favorite movie:
I have a huge collection of DVDs. I watch a movie every night!  It’s so relaxing after a hard day of work! I cannot name a favorite movie…there are so many! The actors I admire are Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Renee Zellweger, Sandra Bullock and many others.

Favorite website(s):
www.komando.com, www.foodnetwork.com, www.allrecipies.com, www.scrimshawgallery.com, www.ebay.com and www.amazon.com.

Favorite blog(s):
Hmmm! I have never gone to a blog—I know what they are, but have never taken the time to visit one…I’m too busy!

Do you collect anything (stamps, comics)?
Yes, I collect mineral specimens and artifacts—I collect coins and I collect insects. I collect scrimshaw and fine art as well.

First job ever:
My first job was picking strawberries and raspberries in the farm fields of Puyallup, Washington at the age of 14.

Best job ever:
My best job ever is what I do now—working as a freelance artist…I paint fairies and nature. I’m also a world-famous scrimshaw artist, and, on occasion, I design jewelry. I also sculpt and carve gemstones.

When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
I knew that I wanted to be a professional artist when I was very young (5 or 6 years old).

Give us a taste of your latest project?
My current project is a series of photo-realistic scrimshaw for the Scrimshaw Gallery in Saulsalito, California. The designs are tastefully executed nudes. In addition, I’ve been working on a fun project (in my spare time) for the past 3 years; I’ve been delineating coloring sheets of fairies with pen and ink. Hopefully, these sheets will become a wonderful coloring book for children.

Talk about a time you felt star struck in your line of work.
The first time I felt “star struck” was when I won first place at the bicentennial art exhibition for the Tacoma News Tribune in 1976 and was featured in their paper. I gained more confidence when I entered and won competition after competition throughout my formative years. I felt doubly star struck when a piece I scrimshawed landed in the Smithsonian Institution.

What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve received?
The best advise I received was stay off drugs and follow your passion; be the best that you can be with what you’re good at. Stay focused… and, always hold on to your dreams! Your dreams of success are already realized—time simply has to catch up with it. The universe rearranges itself to accommodate your picture of reality.