Arena of the Elders

Hey, folks! A few weeks ago my friends and I launched a Kickstarter for Arena of the Elders, a strategy board game we designed. I created the art for the game.

In the game, two to eight players divide themselves into two teams and choose four characters with which to battle. There are nine characters to choose from, each with their own unique abilities.

I had a lot of fun designing the art for the game, and it's pretty fun to play, too. If you'd like to help get this game published, you can back our Kickstarter. Every cent counts!

For more info on the game, check out its website.

"Please Hire Pat Hilling" Now on YouTube!

My new short film, Please Hire Pat Hilling, is now available to watch on YouTube! For more information on the film, see my Movies page.

It's also available to watch on Vimeo, if that's your thing.

MeCAF 2016, and other news

Hey, everyone! I've returned to the blog today to announce that I'll be attending the Maine Comics Arts Festival again this year. The festival is on Saturday, June 4th at the Portland Public Library.

It's been a busy year, so I unfortunately don't have any new work to sell, but I'll be selling old prints and books, as well as original art commissions. So come on down! If you want to!

Oh, and I'll also sort-of be promoting my new short film, Please Hire Pat Hilling!

Please Hire Pat Hilling is a film I wrote and directed with Tom Adams. It's a comedy about a woefully unoriginal screenwriter who is trying to get hired by a TV network. The film stars myself, Blair Legere, Dan Wolotsky, and a bunch of other awesome people.

The film took the two of us a total of about eleven months to write and produce. We're very proud of how the film turned out, and we plan to release the film tomorrow, June 4th, on Tom's Vimeo page and my YouTube channel.

So stay tuned, everyone, and have yourselves a wonderful weekend!

"Plaster the Wall," and other news

Heyo, everybody. I'd like to announce that "Plaster the Wall," a film I acted in, is now available to watch on Vimeo.

The film, written and directed by Tom Adams, chronicles Falmouth High School librarian Dan Wolotsky's attempt to get the school film club to write a movie for the film festival. I play a pretentious fictionalized version of myself. It's great.

Meanwhile, I've created a new page with info on and links to all the films I've worked on recently. As you can see, there's an film called "PokerPalooza!" directed by Alex Britton coming to the internet soon.

And don't let the sudden presence of movies on my blog worry you. Wormhole Issue Two is already in the works! Stay tuned, kids.

Here's "Pointless," My New Short Film

My new short film, "Pointless" is now online. You can watch it right here, or you can check it out on YouTube. The choice is yours.

Announcing "Pointless," a Short Film

UPDATE: The film will be online SOMETIME THIS WEEK. I've been having last-minute technical difficulties, because why should things go according to plan, right?

Hey, everyone! Earlier this year, I made a film for a screenwriting class I took. And on May 30th, you'll be able to watch it here.

"Pointless" is a crime film set in a high school about, if you couldn't tell from the poster, pencils. It'll, uh, it'll make sense when you watch it.

The film stars Alex Britton, Stefan Joyce, and many other fabulous acting talents. I wrote, directed, edited, and everything else'd it.

It will premiere at the Anchors Film Festival at Falmouth High School on May 29th. I'll be uploading it here on May 30th.

I also helped make a couple of other films this year. More info on those to come! Stay tuned.

MeCAF 2015

Hey, everyone! This Sunday, May 17th, I'll be attending the Maine Comics Arts Festival once again! There, I'll be selling more "A Clash of Genres" prints, as well as copies of the new full-color, re-lettered Second Edition of Wormhole, Issue One!

Speaking of which, here's the cover:

Additionally, here's an exclusive look at the first page, showing the new colors, the new lettering, and a corny joke that will likely misrepresent the quality of the issue! Enjoy.

And, if you're thinking, "Wow! That is some darned excellent lettering right there," it's because I didn't do it. It's one of the many excellent fonts created by Nate Piekos. You can thank him for making my book readable.

That's all the update you'll get today, but there's more to come this week! Stay tuned.

MICE 2014 Information!

Hey, everyone! This weekend I'll be exhibiting at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo! It's in Massachusetts. And it's two days. Pretty crazy.

There, I'll be selling my remaining copies of Wormhole, Issue One: the original, black and white edition. These will come with a free digital copy of the Full-Color version (as soon as I finish coloring it), so it's still worth the $6.50 price tag!

I'll also be doing $5 single-character sketches and commissions like I did at MeCAF.

Lastly, I'll be selling this behemoth of a print for $15. I call it "A Clash of Genres," as it features a superhero, a cowboy, a warrior, some guy in a spaceship, robots, and zombies. And a car, for some reason, but that doesn't have much to do with anything.

If you're stopping by, I'll see you this weekend! Adios.

I'm Baaack...

Hey, everybody! I have returned from something of a hiatus, it seems. Yep. I haven't posted anything since Wormhole. Well, figures.

Anyway, I'm back, with more news than ever. At least, compared those last news posts I did. Those were bleak. This is the real, share-worthy stuff. Get on it.

Wormhole: Issue One - Second Edition

Back in May, I was a bit pressed for time in getting Wormhole printed and ready for MeCAF. I've apologized enough for that in that Introduction O' Self-Loathing. I'm coloring the full comic and making a bunch of minor edits that my readers have dutifully mentioned to me in the past few months.

This will be what Wormhole was meant to be. Like a Director's cut. Don't worry, I'm not gonna Lucas it. Here's the extent of what will be changed:

• Eye-popping technicolor.
• Re-lettered, using a digital font created out of my own handwriting. (I KNOW, RIGHT?)
• Art corrections. Like ink blots, scribbles, overlaps, creepy faces...
• A NEW COVER!
• And I might make the jokes funnier. Don't judge me.

When it's finished, I'll be doing everything in my teenage power to broaden its publication. I'm definitely going to try using the crazy awesome ComiXology Submit service. Check it out.

Oh, and if you bought the original edition copy? Don't worry! I'll send you a free digital copy of the new one.

Wormhole: Issue Two

Yes! It's official! I'm working on Issue Two! Unfortunately, there's not much to elaborate on that. Figures.

Other Stuff!

You know, sketches and stuff. The usual. Nothing new here. Don't expect anything, though, because I'll be very busy preparing for (drum-roll, please)...

MICE 2014!

This October 4th - 5th (that's two days, by Godfrey!) I'll be exhibiting at the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo. Or, "MICE." It's in Massachusetts. Pretty crazy.

Now, I don't exactly expect that I have any "fans" in Massachusetts, so the purpose of this exhibition will be more to get my work "out there," as they say. Of course, if you do want to drive all the way down (or up? Maybe?) there to say hello, by all means, go right ahead. I'll have an update on what I'm selling as the date draws nearer.

So, that's that. I'm back. I just said a bunch of stuff that loosely translates to "commitment," which, you know, gives me the spooks. If anything, I hope you didn't miss me too much, because if that were the case, I can't do anything right.

MeCAF Recap

I had a great time at the Maine Comic Arts Festival today. It was a great experience. Thank you all who stopped by!

I've still got plenty of copies of Wormhole left, so, if you'd like to purchase one, you can just contact me and we shall do business.

Lastly, I created and sold a few sketches there today, and here they are:

Rocket Raccoon:

Albus Dumbledore:

Spider-Man:

Boba Fett:

Wormhole Review by Zack Wright

Because working on the same project for 15 months tends to give one self-esteem issues, I asked my friend Zack Wright to write a detailed, honest review of Wormhole, Issue 1 before I released it. Faith is restored. Thanks, Zack!


WORMHOLE ISSUE #1 REVIEW

 By Zack Wright 

As I began Wormhole, the very first few pages were a bit unsatisfactory. The jokes were a bit tacky and I thought things weren't looking great for the rest of the comic. However, let me tell you; the beginning does not set the tone for the rest of the book. At all. Immediately the story starts to pick up and as more characters are introduced I started liking where things were going. The dialogue is good, the plot is intriguing, the drawings are stunning and although there are a few oddities throughout the comic, by the end nonetheless you're left craving a sequel. 

So. What do I think of Wormhole as a whole? I think it shows a lot of potential and with a little work can become something amazing. I'm curious to see where this comic goes, and by my guess, that place is tremendously far.

Updated "Wormhole" Page

Have you ever found yourself wondering what my upcoming comic book "Wormhole" is actually about?

Well, now you can find out, with the all-new official Wormhole page!

The page has a description of the series in general, and a description of the first issue.

However, the series is general is the first issue, so they're fairly identical (for now).

In other news, I've asked a couple of my friends to write reviews for the first issue. I asked them to be honest and specific, so that their reviews could actually help people decide if they want to read the comic. I'll be posting two of those reviews later today, so stay tuned!

MeCAF / Wormhole News!

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm proud to announce that "Wormhole," the comic book "pilot" I've been working on for over a year, is finally completed, printed, and ready to be read!

As I've announced already, I will be selling copies at the Maine Comics Arts Festival. Joey Han and I will be at table 38 (which happens to be right next to Kazu Kibuishi's table, so we'll be hard to miss).

I will have only thirty copies of Wormhole available! The books contain 30 pages of black-and-white comics, along with a (probably too self-deprecating) introduction by yours truly. They'll cost $6.50, which is actually normal for a 32-page book.

I will also be drawing inked commissions for $5.00. Requests can be any single character, be it one of my characters, a licensed character, or even one made up on the spot.

Lastly, here it is: the cover of Wormhole. See you all Sunday.

Wormhole Sketch and RELEASE DATE!

Today's a big day for people who don't know anything about this comic I keep talking about. Today I'm announcing the release date of Wormhole: It's May 18th, the date of the Maine Comics Arts Festival! There, I'll be selling signed copies at my table (alongside Joey Han, who will be promoting his own work.) So come on down and see this book that has driven me insane in the last year!

Oh, yeah, and if you can interpret the scribbles of writing on that check, you'll find out more about the comic than I've ever told you.

Announcing My Exhibition at MeCAF 2014

This year, I'll be attending the Maine Comics Arts Festival! There, I'll be promoting Wormhole, drawing commissioned sketches, and more.

The convention takes place on May 18th, 2014 at the Portland Company Complex, located at 58 Fore Street in Portland, Maine. For more information about the convention, check out their website (though it hasn't been fully updated with 2014 schedules and whatnot just yet).

I'll be exhibiting alongside Joey Han, my fellow ambitious cartoonist friend, who will be presenting and selling his own artwork.

I'll post more information about my exhibition (table location, commission prices, etc.) as the date draws closer. This will be the first convention of my career, and I'm very excited. So, if you're in town with nothing better to do, come on in!

Yeah, So That Happened.

Hello, friends. Strangers. No, check that, I don't think any strangers actually read this. Probably because I don't post anything besides sub-par bizzaro "Doodle Book sketches" and hints about my upcoming comic series you all know nothing about.

Which is why this year, rather than looking back, like I did last year, I'll be looking ahead.

Now that 2013 is over, I can break last year's "resolution:" to not give you expectations, like due dates, or anything. So, without further ado, here's what I've got planned for 2014:

• An annual story publication of some form, be it improv shorts or exercises, or maybe an ongoing tale.
• Essays, or ramblings, on storytelling, pondering the concepts of characters, dialogue, plot, and anything I happen to be thinking about at the time.
• More art; I've got a good list of potential sketch ideas I can pick and choose from, and maybe I'll even bust out a Wormhole promo every few weeks.
• I have other interests than comics, including filmmaking, TV, comedy, roleplaying games, and others than I'm eager to work on and you probably had no idea about.
• I had one last thing... it was important, I remember. Huh. Well, I'll tell you when it comes to me, I suppose.

Have a happy new year, and thanks for sticking with me through all the nonsense that was 2013.

- John Rioux

An Airship Thing

Here's the latest in the ol' Doodle Book. I messed up on that kid's hair, and it took a strange turn. Oh, well. To see all the other Doodle Book sketches, click here.

Some Joey Han Art

These are a few pieces by my friend Joey Han. He needed to put them online, but he doesn't have a blog yet, so he asked me to post them here. Enjoy.

Two Wormhole Characters and Some Clouds.

Here's another Wormhole sketch with two of the main characters.

And now for the News:

I recently learned that I could directly edit the code of my blog, rather than being limited to the Blogger template. Now I can use the power of CSS to edit the look and feel of the website even further. As you might have noticed, I made the border of the blog more sharp, and added shadows.

This probably doesn't interest you the slightest, but as a designer, I find it pretty exciting.

Now, I originally wanted to change the background to a sketch of some clouds, but it didn't look as good as I planned. Here they are anyway, in all their cloudy glory:

The Hulk. Punching Mimes.

Okay, today's Doodle Book page was pretty vague. it was just a "Danger" sign with the caption: "Whoops!"

My mind immediately went to a quicksand pit, but there was no inspiration there. In the end, I couldn't think of anything that would utilize the "Danger" sign, so I just threw Hulk into a circus and had him punch a mime.