The Cartooned Fall

A season of space, sketchbooks, and The Creature

And we’re off!

October was a great month filled with conventions, artwork, and the start of the NBA regular season - all of which are some of my favorite things. I’m hoping that the re-tooled Houston Rockets are poised to make a deeper playoff run in 2026. Only time will tell, but it helps now that we have a future, first-ballot Hall of Famer. I went to Toyota Center last week and witnessed the first win of the season.

March of the Empire

Good news, Star Wars fans! The Night After Endor is now complete. In fact, we just hit the go button at the print house, and a small print run is being made as we speak.

I’m very proud of this comic. It was my first time playing in an already established sandbox, and I had a joy doing so. I think that I proved to myself that I could do some cool stuff if I was ever given the opportunity to do licensed work. I’m excited to show off the comic. Unless something crazy happens, I will have a limited print run on my table at San Antonio’s CASA comic book show on November 15th. I will have them up on my webstore soon after.

Speaking of CASA, this will be my last show of the year. It has certainly been an interesting year for cons. I’d say that the cons of 2025 have been a roller-coaster ride, but as always, the experiences are invaluable. I’m looking forward to capping the year off with my comic buds at an awesome show that’s 100% dedicated to spotlighting comic books.

Painting Buddy

October has also been filled with a bunch of watercolor sketching. I bought these delightful little sketchbooks.

They’re perfectly portable coming in at 5.5” x 5.5” and filled with watercolor paper. I have fallen in love with them. I’m bringing this little guy around with me all the time to capture scenes and moments when I can. It’s almost as if I’m making hand-painted Polaroids - quick snapshots so that I can remember the moments later on.

I’ve mentioned it here before, but there’s really nothing like hanging out in the outdoors and painting the things you see. I already can’t wait for my next vacation. This sketchbook is the first thing that I’m packing.

The Creature

Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein has been playing in select theaters for the last few weeks, and my fiancé and I caught a matinee showing of the movie on Saturday at Houston’s lovely River Oaks Theatre. Frankenstein is a beautifully tragic gothic horror that is part adaptation of Mary Shelley’s trailblazing novel and part visionary field day by the one and only Guillermo Del Toro. If you are able to, please check this one out in theaters before it goes to streaming on November 7th. The movie is epic and it deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Without giving away too much context, there is a set in Frankenstein that involves a wrecked ship and snow that is flat out mesmerizing. We revisit this set multiple times throughout the movie and it gets more beautiful each time. The artistry of the movie is inspiring. I’d love to take a peek at Guillermo’s sketchbook as he was nailing down the atmosphere of Frankenstein. I’ll be first in line to buy The Art of book.

There’s really not much more for me to say. Are you a Guillermo Del Toro fan? should be synonymous with the question Do you have a brain? See this movie!

Brick By Brick

Before I run back to my creator cave, I mentioned last month that I’m working on a new, long-form project. Staring at a blank page is just as exciting as it is terrifying, but I think that this is how it should be. If you’re doing something in complete comfort, chances are that the result will feel like an old trick - easy to perform, but creatively stagnant after you do the trick 20 times. I think that the reader can sense this as well.

I’m embracing the newness of the experience. I won’t reveal what the project is right now but below are a couple rough concept sketches. I’m putting a lot of time into building the world. I’m loving the journey so far.

That does it for now. If you’ll be at CASA in San Antonio on November 15th, I will see ya then!

Thanks for your time,

Nico