Alien Nation: Firstcomers, 1991

Most days, I forget that I spent months of my life drawing a 4-issue Alien Nation miniseries for Adventure Comics, an imprint of Malibu (which also published Eternity comics). I also tend to forget the Alien Nation movie and TV series that I watched back then. But every project you undertake has something new to teach you, whether you remember them or not.

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Pirate Queen Emeraldas, 1990-91

I've had the honor of transforming some of my favorite anime into comic books for American readers, including the Captain Harlock series created by the great Leiji Matsumoto. My entry point into that world was this 4-issue miniseries from Eternity Comics about the mysterious pirate queen who wanders the infinite eternity of space...

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Chaser Platoon 5 & 6, 1991

The finale of my six-issue series! For the mech-pilots of Chaser Platoon, galactic war was a way of life…until one mission changed them forever. When the speartips of two armies meet above the bleeding scar of a secret planet, strategies collapse and everything shifts in the blink of an eye. One way or another, the mission ends here!

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Chaser Platoon 3 & 4, 1991

The middle issues of my 6-issue series were all about expanding the story and building tension. In the same way the plot-heavy issue 1 set the table for the action-heavy issue 2, 3 and 4 both set the table for 5 and 6. They also used up all the previous material I'd written for my Votoms fanfic, so after I crossed that line it was all fresh territory for me, too.

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Chaser Platoon 1 & 2, 1991

For the men of Chaser Platoon, galactic war was a way of life...until one mission changed their lives forever. In our enlightened times, stories and rumors abound in the popular culture about corporate greed and indifference. This is a story of accountability. Here you'll find the first two issues of my 6-issue SF mecha action series, originally published by Aircel Comics.

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Roots of Chaser Platoon, 1986

In 1991, I got Malibu Comics to publish a 6-issue series I created, an SF war story titled Chaser Platoon. This article presents the roots of that project for the first time anywhere. You can call it my Fifty Shades of Grey, since it started out as fanfic for something else: Armored Trooper Votoms.

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Lensman: War of the Galaxies, 1990-91

This was the third and last Lensman run I drew for Eternity comics, in which we merged the movie adaptation into the TV anime series and took off in a new direction. The biggest question going in was if it would last long enough to cover all 25 episodes. How far did we get? Spoiler: a lot less than 25. See every issue here!

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BROID: the unpublished issues

This right here is the number one reason I wanted to set up ArtValt. There are lots of things from my personal archives nobody else saw until I shared them here, but this one is exceptional: the climax and finale of my first original comic book title. It was shocking and thrilling to feel it rush through me onto the page. It was the reward for my dedication.

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BROID: Shatterpoint #4, March 1991

Though his capabilities have been elevated, Aaron Broid still can't make a decisive move even with his enemy finally in sight. But in a moment of weakness, he gives in to his impulses. This decision puts him on a collision course with his own lost past. That collision is the shatterpoint that the entire story has been building toward. Nothing will be the same afterward.

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BROID: Shatterpoint #3, February 1991

We begin this issue with a changing of the guard on the enemy side. When the effect of this hits our rebel group head on, help comes from an unexpected source and a major step forward is taken on the path to the shatterpoint. In the real world, it was June 1990 and my first few comics were in stores, so I should have been flying high. Instead, I was working harder than ever.

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BROID: Shatterpoint #2, January 1991

Revolution! This is the halfway point in the story, in which a major event pivots Broid's rebel group into a new paradigm. And it wasn't even one they planned. All it took was one oversight on the enemy side to shift the ground under everyone's feet.

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BROID: Shatterpoint #1, December 1990

When we last checked in on Aaron Broid and his gang of human trash, they had just secured a valuable alliance and taken custody of an enemy hell-bent on destroying them all. And he'd do it, too, if not for that amnesia standing in the way. Thanks to the new intel that has landed in Broid's lap, he now has the initiative to take a bigger step forward. And with that step comes bigger risk.

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Lensman: Galactic Patrol, 1990

I wish every one of my comics had gone as well as this one. The editor agreed to it right away, I got to write and draw all of it without interference, every issue got published, and - amazingly - I got one of the best inkers I could ever ask for. It's rare, but once in a while, things line up just right. See all five issues and some extras.

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Lensman: Secret of the Lens, 1990

In every sense that matters, Lensman: Secret of the Lens #1 was my launch pad as a professional comic book artist. Like all the most important things in life, it was a right time/right place situation. It was an unbelievable opportunity composed of lucky breaks, valuable lessons, and unexpected drama. Here's all six issues and the story behind them.

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MECHA, 1988/89

I entered the comics industry exactly the same way I entered the animation industry. I showed up with a project to pitch and someone said, "Your thing is pretty cool. Now come over here and work on my thing." In this case, that project was the continuation of one of Dark Horse's early success stories: an anime-inspired series called MECHA.

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BROID #4, August 1990

Aaron Broid leads his team into another city to look for potential allies. Their enemy isn't just an oppressive system, it is the indifference of those being oppressed. The masses have never known another way of life and lack the imagination to build one. It will take someone from outside the bubble to ignite them. And he can't do it alone. Meanwhile, in the real world, the comic book industry broke my heart for the first time.

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BROID #3, July 1990

In this chapter of the story, the heroes (if we can call them that) have just taken their first lumps, and Broid himself is beginning to see what an impossible task it is to upend a system of government. I wanted to demonstrate how arrogant he could be, wielding his intellect like a cudgel against Sef just as the younger man is beginning to invest in their crusade.

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BROID #2, June 1990

BROID #2 was only half the length of #1, but it was a lot denser with more characters and a busy city environment. Drawing the second issue of a series is when you realize that your hobby has become your job, and the calendar now rules your life. So you better REALLY love drawing comics, or you're not gonna last. Fortunately, I did (both).

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BROID #1, May 1990

A lone man awakens in a dark future of dust and smoke that make it very difficult to tell friend from foe. Life is hell at the end of the world. Only the best survive. Here is the first issue of the my first original, for-real comic book series from cover to cover, a post-apocalyptic SF action epic inspired by some of my favorite stories. Every finished page is accompanied by its corresponding rough and pencilled version.

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