Vicious AmBlogtious

Whoomp! There it is!

2008-11-17T00:14:00.006-07:00

Turns out we, at Vicious Ambitious, started a bi-weekly podcast. Apparently you can listen to it or subscribe thru iTunes right here after a fashion. Fancy that!

Another Rainy Night 4

2008-08-14T23:50:00.002-06:00

Dear Charlie,

I'm seeing an end to these letters. I hear your time is almost up and I hear you'll be returning to Toronto. Can't wait to see what happens then!

So, I had this crazy dream last night. I was taking Perry for a walk and we came across this, like, army of cats who started sniffing me and Perry. The cats all of a sudden started multiplying and multiplying until this whole field was filled with them. It started to become very scary at that point. I mean, I don't hate cats, but if you had to walk through them like they were the ball pit at FunZone you'd be a little freaked out too. Anyways I woke up right after that and Perry was just looking at me. What a wierd dream. And could you imagine the smell of all those cats? I don't even want to think about it.

So how's life for you, Charlie? I've been goingon in these letters so selfishly and now even considering how things are for you. Maybe that's why you never write me back. Now, now I'm on to you.

Gord Cummings

Another Rainy Night 3

2008-08-09T21:44:00.004-06:00

Do you remember yelling at me for turning on the propane on the camper? I recall it pretty clearly and I think it influenced the way I saw you for years to come. I wondered for a while how anyone could be so mean so quickly. I learned though to accept your temper and even adopt it at times. I have to wonder though how that shit is learned. Did I just answer my own question? Anyways see you after work. I look forward to meeting you finally.

By the way I rented "Air Time" which is a documentary of Michael Jordan. Maybe we can watch it?

Summer of Sundays. Part 2 of 10.

2008-07-03T15:38:00.029-06:00

Are you sitting comfortably? Good. 'Cause this is gonna be a loooooong post. Here we go!

This past weekend was a busy one for VA; 2 outdoor art sales in 2 days.

So. First up: The U. of C. Park Sale on Saturday. Almost all of the VA guys were in attendance, except for Chris who had to stay home 'cause he's hard at work right now working on an ultra-cool, ultra-secret project...I'm not too sure what I can say about it just yet, but yes, it will be super-cool and it will be super-blow-your-mind.
But even without Chris' pale radiance brightening our booth, the day still managed to be a beautiful one. Behold -

Here's the mandatory Nick-and-Gord-setting-our-booth-up shot:

Nick had a few wardrobe malfunctions early on...but nothin' a little duct tape couldn't solve:

And here's the mandatory group shot. As you can see, there's a gaping Chris-sized hole to the left of us....that is, assuming Chris was shaped like a large...blob of some sort.

And here's Steve drawing people as zombies, while under an umbrella. And if you think THAT'S strange, well....you'd be correct:

Here's DJ Anthony (Gord's son) throwin' down some hardcore traxx at the public Learn-To-Deejay booth:

And here's our good friend Richard "Madgrifter" Barkman popping in for a quick group photo. Hi Maddy!:

And THIS was cool. The organizers had provided some spraypaint cans and set up some boards in the courtyard for people to just walk up to and start spraypainting during the day. Seriously, it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Here's what the boards looked like near the beginning of the day:
And here they were at the end of the day (...you can't really see, but I duct-taped some branches and leaves on to the board on the far left, hee hee. It was awesome! AND artsy!):

Some of us even tried spraypainting the boards ourselves (on the backs of the boards, so as not to embarrass ourselves, heh heh). Here's Steve and Nick showing off their mad graffitti..."skillz":
And here's that same board a few hours later:

Seriously, the whole day was beautiful. Here's a pic of Gord, Nick and Vince chillin' and admirin' the beautiful scenery. It's so beautiful it almost looks like I fiddled with the levels in Photoshop...

And here we are waving goodbye to a wonderful day. See ya next year Park Sale!

...
...
...
...AND IT DOESN'T STOP THERE!
Like the title says, this is the Summer of Sundays, so, yes, a few of us also went to hock our wares the very next day, Sunday, at Olympic Plaza.
Here's Nick, Gord and Anthony settin' our booth up once again:
And here's a pic from later in the day. The day was pretty quiet. And...I didn't realize this until just now, but if you look closely, it looks like Anthony aged about 20 years that day. sigh...they grow up so fast:
And here's a pic of Nick and Yours Truly, holdin' down the fort. Gord had to take off and the other guys couldn't make it, so it was up to the 2 of us to represent VA, and, I must say, we did it gorgeously:

Uhhh...okay, so maybe we're not gorgeous, heh heh. But seriously, check this out. Nick was doodling pics all day and I asked him if I could ink one - so he pencilled up this cool Iron Man. So I inked it - and then he told me I had to colour it too, haha, so here's the result of our collaboration:
If you want to see another coloured version of the pic, check Nick's blog. I couldn't decide which version was nicer, so his blog gets one and this blog gets one, heh heh. To be honest, I was very happy with how this pic turned out. Nick's wicked, dynamic shapes and my squiggly, little textures seemed to work pretty well together, so, if you haven't already read it on Nick's blog, Nick and I have agreed to work on a story together (him pencilling, me inking) for the upcoming VA book; a sci-fi themed anthology. Truly, it shall beeth the awesome.

And, lastly, here's somethin' from Sunday that I doodled without pencils of any kind, heh heh:
Whew. See ya next Sunday!

-CogNoman

Another Rainy Night 2

2008-06-30T20:53:00.003-06:00

Okay okay okay, I can remember that song now. You know, the one you were singing to me? I'm sure I completed this picture that same morning before heading back to the grind of the Subway for another 8 hours of occupancy and 2 hours of effort. One day I'm going to quit that job. I know I've been talking about it for a while, but really I think I'm working my way up to it. Don't worry, I'm working my way towards ending my complaints to you. But yeah, thanks again for the wonderful song. I'll see you soon.

Yours always,

Gord Cummings

Another Rainy Night

2008-06-26T17:12:00.002-06:00

Don't look through that bag, man! It's your happy day. Here is a picture of you if you really need something to help tide you over until next we meet. Again, I miss you, but know that what you are seeing is all I have on short notice.

With love always,

Gord Cummings

Summer of Sundays. Part 1 of 10.

2008-06-22T19:59:00.045-06:00

What starts with "Vicious" and rhymes with "Nishusambishusizbakkonthestreetswuntsagain"?

Thaaat's right! Vicious Ambitious is back on the streets once again --- and this time, literally.

Yes sirs, yes ma'ams, Your Most-Favouritest Group of Capgun-Shooting, Face-Pieing Cartoonists has just signed up to take part in this year's "Sunday Summer Arts Bazaar".
....What in golly is a "Sunday Summer Arts Bazaar", you ask? Well...basically, it's a cool, little art market that will be happening every Sunday this summer, all summer long, at the Calgary Olympic Plaza (228 8th Avenue S.E). All sorts of artists will be there every week, selling all sorts of products of all types of quality, and The Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts (the fine people who are hosting the event) has been gracious enough to grant Yours Truly, Vicious Ambitious, some space there to hock our own fine wares alongside 'em all.

So yep, you heard me right. Vicious Ambitious will be at the Olympic Plaza EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY this summer, from June 22nd to August 31st, Noon 'til 6:00pm, desperately trying to convince random passersby that our books are worth buying.
Seriously - it's almost like we have our own comic store now, just with totally slack business hours.

So if you're sitting at home next Sunday and you're bored outta your skull, or you've just gotten out of Church and you're completely depressed, hop on down to Olympic Plaza and we'll help brighten your day by taking some of your money.
See ya next Sunday!

AND NOW - for your eyes only - here are some pics from Day #1 of this Crazy Epic Summer-Long Olympic Plaza Artstravaganza. (Yeah...I know...I probably shoulda mentioned all of this to you guys before Day 1 actually started, heh heh, but don't worry - we've still got 9 more Sundays to go this summer, so that means you've still got 9 more chances to mix it up with Calgary's Finest. So no worries if ya missed the first day, friend. No worries.) Here we go!

1. Here's a pic of Nick, Gord and Anthony (Gord's son) getting our table ready. The Art Market was held indoors today, but apparently all the rest of the days will be held outside, in the actual Plaza.

2. And here's one of Nick fondling the air and Gord looking like he's enjoying it. I tried to only take pictures when Nick wasn't fondling things, but that's harder to do than you think.

3. Hey - who's that bearded redhead in the bottom-left corner? Because gosh, he's glorious.

4. And here's Anthony, Gord and Nick again. In alphabetical order.

And here's a doodle I did today at our table. Nick and Gord also drew some pictures, but I don't have 'em on me right now, so I can't post 'em. If you want to see Nick's pics, he'll probably post 'em on his blog some time ( http://nicksoup.blogspot.com ), and if you want to see Gord's pics, drop by Gord's house and ask to see 'em. Because Gord is a blogless Hutterite.

Arrivederci,

-CogNoman

Release Party and Calgary Expo 2008

2008-04-16T22:48:00.003-06:00

Hey out there! Vicious Ambitious is back in the spotlight with 4 new books and a new video project: Enter the Dragnet 2: Dirty Badges. This is all available at two events next week. First up, the Comic Book Release Party! Cick the poster image above to get the all details. And of course, the Calgary Comic Expo next weekend. We'll be exhibiting both days at booths 804 +805 with directions located the map above. And back by popular demand, pies in the face, but only with the sales of our new books! So buy 'em up and you might be the lucky person who chooses our creamy fates!

Vicious Day's Night

2008-01-09T23:08:00.000-07:00

If you were lucky enough to see our documentary, Vicious Day's Night back in September and October, consider yourself a true fan. For those who didn't make it or are just discovering the joy of Vicious Ambitious, here's your chance!

A Vicious Day's Night in 3 parts- If you have a heart condition or have no sense of humor, do not watch these videos!

Part One-

Part Two-

Part Three-

A Vicious' Days Night

2007-09-23T23:51:00.001-06:00

We have officially taken Vicious Ambitious to the next level! This Sunday we'll be exhibiting at the Comic and Toy Expo at the McMahon Stadium Red & White Club, 1817 Crowchild Trail, Calgary. We're very excited to present a new book, Pumpkin Juice; a 72 page Horror Anthology, as well as the screening of our documentary, A Vicious Days Night. That's right! A movie! Truly the next level.

So be there! New book, new movie, sketches, all the usual awesome stuff we're known for as well as "What About Ivan" as our official announcer! It's gonna be the balls! Bring your grandma!

***EDIT - This just in, Gord Cummings will be debuting his new book, Mercy Seat 2 ***

Preaching to the Con-verted

2007-08-13T00:37:00.000-06:00

Well gang, we've got another appearance coming up soon. This Sunday, and Sunday only. We've got a panel or two we're doing at the Calgary Con-version!

Check out the programming schedule for more details. We'll be answering questions along with a slideshow and a tiny sneakpeek of our new video Documentary entitled A Vicious Day's Night. (Title not final)

Check it out Suckas! Oh, and we'll be at this year's Comic and Toy Expo as well, September 30th!

Something Old is New again.

2007-06-21T23:46:00.000-06:00

Hey Vicious Friends,

Vince has recently started up his own sketchblog over here.
Don't worry though, he's still with VA.

Check it out, now. The Funk-Soul Brutha!

Carry On my Wayward Son

2007-06-01T01:11:00.000-06:00

Hey Vicious Friends,

Another convention has passed and we are slightly more popular, slightly richer and definitely creamier. However, one of our own is moving on to different pastures. (Deep Breath) Johnny Luu has quit Vicious Ambitious. (Wipe Tear)Take in what you can at the homesite before we take down his material. You can still track our holy diver at his new blog - JLinks.

Goodbye, old Friend. May your inkwell never run dry.

-VA-

Boozahol

2007-04-16T22:35:00.000-06:00

Hey folks,

In case any of you are interested, some of us will be at a Drink and Draw this wednesday here in Calgary. Come if you dare.......

Creamy Goodness

2007-04-01T20:40:00.005-06:00

Hey Folks! It's that magic time of year again when the convention comes to town! The entire Vicious crew will be exhibiting at the Calgary Comic Expo. We'll be selling our latest release, Gord Cummings' Mercy Seat, as well as the debut of our annual anthology, Round Three! We'll also have posters, prints and sketches for sale. Inane banter, music and super secrets revealed by the hour! See you there, wankers!

24 Hours and Mail

2006-09-26T22:35:00.000-06:00

Hey Everyone,

Just to let you know that Cognoman, Nick, Gord and Vince are participating in this year's 24 hour Comics Day. Each of us will be doing up a 24 page comic in only 24 hours! That'd be Oct. 7th at Comickazi, right here in Calgary. Be there and be square. Bring brownies too.

Also, due to a major change in our mail server, we have unfortunately lost most of our mailing list clients. If you were on it before, please send an email to mailinglist@viciousambitious.com to re-subscribe.

Bye for now!

Toos-day Jam 2

2006-08-22T23:44:00.000-06:00

Here's some more stuff from tonights jam with my co-workers.

-Vince-

Toos-day Jam

2006-08-15T23:55:00.000-06:00

I started attending drawing jam sessions with some of the guys at work. Its every tuesday at a certain location after work and we just free jam whatever we feel like drawing. My first drawing warm-up was a stripey worm and then I started work on a character design for an upcoming project. She came out more eighties than I intended, but I might keep the eighties theme. It's all probably residue from Retrobution at the Warehouse last Saturday. What was old is suddenly new again.

-Vince-

Gabriel

2006-08-09T23:53:00.000-06:00

A quick blueline and ink of Gabriel from Constantine. 15 mins off a paused frame of the movie. Many, many people hated that movie. I did not. Suck it.

-Vince-

P.S. I intend to use this blog for various arts and sketches. It occurs to me that one post a month is silly. Downright silly. Expect more from me in vary amounts, mediums and qualities.

Rock Poster

2006-08-08T01:12:00.000-06:00

Less than a week away from X-fest and this lil poster will be on the streets soon enough. We're going to start doing up Rock Posters for every convention we attend, so look around, look around. If you'd like a print of this poster, they'll be for sale at the show. Also on sale is the Comics Jam War book that some of were published in. We'll be selling that book as well at a special discount price, or if you already own the book, bring it in for some Cocksure signatures.

Remember, that's X-fest at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Center 1320 - 5ht Ave NW, this Saturday August 12th. Doors open at 11:00am and close at 4:30pm. Be there or be shanked.

***Update. Posters are up along 17th Ave downtown. You can get an unstapled, pristine, cardstock print of this poster at the X-fest show for only 3 bucks! Support us or we die.***

Southern Sketches

2006-08-02T23:53:00.000-06:00

Howdy gangsters!

I spent last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico. What pray tell was I (Vince) doing there? I was sent on a business trip to briefly train a supervising animator and do some animation work for the Duke City Shootout film festival. It was pretty cool, they had a competition for films made in 48 hours during that week as well as a special event entitled, A Night with Ralph Bakshi. That's right, the man himself was there and interviewed on his past, present and future. And whadda ya know, this VIP animator got to hang with him in the green room. Ralph's a cool guy and my respect for him jumped a few notches that night. I also got to hang with Adrian Carter of Smiley Guy Studios, who directs Odd Job Jack and Sons of Butcher. Very cool guy, knows his tequila very well.

So all in all, a damn good time. Respect to Ralph, his son Eddie and Jess of the Bakshi School of Animation and Cartooning, Peg Ellithorpe of the Duke City Shootout, Heather and Reggie, Chris Kientz, Adrian Carter and all the other mad cats I met down in NM.

I also did a few sketches while I was down there. I tried a Beardsley approach and inked with no line quality. Here's two of the better ones.

Peace out bitches! Watch INCONVENIENT TRUTH right away!

-Vince-

Comickazi on your Waffles!

2006-07-13T23:09:00.000-06:00

Hey Scenesters,

We'll be making an appearance at the site of the New Comickazi Comic Book Store this Saturday from about 11am to 3pm. Check it out, it's now located at 4307 Macleod Trail SW and there's talk of a BBQ as well. We'll be signing, selling and sketching the day away. Also, we'll be at X-fest on August 12th. Go to this website for more details. The official Jam War book, for which we recieved an honorable mention, is coming out next Wednesday and we'll be signing copies at X-fest.

See you there.

-VA-

Oh Canada!

2006-06-22T22:23:00.000-06:00

I decided to take a crack at a Captain Canuck redesign after a challenge was posed on the Maple Ink Comics forum. Now, I don't know shit about Captain Canuck, but I figured a canadian superhero would look something like this.

Instead of being a vigilante, I figured our hero would become a member of the RCMP and kick tons of ass while still remaining within the law.

This was fun.

-Nick-

The Road to 200

2006-05-28T21:10:00.000-06:00

Hey scenesters,

Here's a sneak peak at some of the art I've been hoarding for my triumphant/semi-triumphant return to the Maple Ink Forums. Each day at work, I draw two or three pics of random stuff along with the name of a foodstuff eaten recently or that day. Most of 'em are done with a brush pen in anywhere between 30 secs to 4 mins. In addition to these, I'll be working on studies, sketches and life drawing to really buff out the 200.

-Vince-

I aim to misbehave

2006-05-23T01:04:00.000-06:00

Here's a sketch of Cap'n Reynolds from Firefly. I did ink and color it, but that went to a special someone. I still have the sketch, so enjoy the scan. When I gave it to ***** she thought his pants weren't hiked up enough. God damn, she's right. Next time *****, next time.

On a side note, back in December I exiled myself from the Maple Ink Comics Forum on the basis that I was coming up on 200 posts and I had less that a dozen of those posted with pictures. My drawing duties were being rather neglected, so I decided to lay low for a while until I had some more art to show. Fiona Staples had the brilliant idea of doing 200 pics for my 200th post. So here I am, after the big Round Two stuff's done, and I'm back on track, drawing everyday and working up to 200. I'm currently at 37. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I just took 5 life drawing sessions at the local art college starting this week. That, and in a bit of good news, my good friend Chad and I recently pitched an idea for a cartoon show to the studio we work at. Everyone liked it, so we've gotta put together a pitch bible for a pitchfest in Banff next month. My brain hasn't quite registered how fucking awesome that is.

So there you go. Expect a few sneak peeks of the 200 later.

-Vince-

Oh Brother!

2006-05-21T08:42:00.000-06:00

I am currently working, as some of you know, on a story with the talented Johnny Luu. We are doing a reconstruction of his title “Hellstone” that he did a few years back. I have always asked Johnny about this title and have told him that I have been excited for the follow up to his first issue release. Little did I know that I would be writing it.

As I was sinking my teeth into his original concept I kept my eye out for things that realistically appealed to me. I try to be a realist when I write, and Hellstone is a Sci-Fi/ Horror story by nature so I had troubles at first. However this story included something that was very real to me and I felt many people could relate to. That is an element of sibling relationships.

I resolved that the relationship between the two brothers in Johnny’s original story would be an ongoing vehicle of growth and intensity in my rendition of Hellstone. Included in this is feelings of loss, love, and of course; rivalry.

While writing this script and reading Johnny’s original I began to really consider my relationship with my brother. Not that I haven’t done that before. During school while I was working on my Diploma of Social Work I greatly considered this relationship as we had a families class and as my brother and I dealt with our own crises.

I can recall wanting my brother gone. Man, I used to think this and feel this with such intensity. When kids I work with now (in group homes) say this sort of thing I am appalled, but honestly I know what this feeling is like and a lot of it stems from jealousy. Some may consider, especially in the case of the group home kids that this comes from a style of parenting that favors one child over the other. However in my situation I can honestly say that my jealousy came from my own selfishness. I couldn’t get enough attention in any arena.

That jealousy made way for my own lashings. And every time my brother made me cry in front of my friends, whether being nine years old and him doing it in front of an older girl I had a crush on or being fourteen and him doing this in front of all my D&D buddies, I felt the feeling even more. I wanted him gone. And likely, as I grew up this could have stemmed why we were never close and although we shared friends and a bathroom, we never spoke. I think at some point in my adolescence I wrote my brother off.

Finally my brother left town to go to college. No more sharing a bathroom or CDs or friends. It was all mine. As happy as I was, I quickly became a hermit in the basement of my parents house. My parents worried for me and I was often depressed. I had lots of girls who I grew close to come and go, however I think on some level I was trying to replace my brothers presence with something else, only to discover that the cultures were too different, and they would end in heartbreak for those girls.

I wanted out of that town so badly. It consumed me as I escaped through countless movies and reading poorly constructed comics (This was the mid nineties and all I had at my disposal was the single shelf at my mothers place of work; The Bassano IDA). Finally however I turned 18 and my brother was calling me to come to his home in Calgary to drink with his college buddies.

This gave me direction socially, something I hadn’t had since my brother left home. Again we started to share friends and I grew close with some of them. My brother was always excited to invite me and he never treated me as a tag along to go look at nude playing cards with the other kids from the street.

We are men now. My brother lives far away, because of his career and I deal with limitless stresses of the clients I work with in my career. My brother struggles with severe depression, something I discovered only a few years ago. I also have stuff on my plate; my career as I mentioned, but I also have a wife and a son. My ties with my home in Bassano are completely cut as I navigate my family through a life whose course I am unsure of. As I get deeper into my own life I can feel the close bond that I have with my brother, even though he lives in the next province and we see each other little.

When we get together now, it is like best friends. Those memories of aiming a pellet gun at my brothers head for making fun of my girlfriends flat chest are long behind me and seem so foreign. If you were to observe us now, you might even think I was lying about our youth. My brother smiles when we are together. Instead of sharing mutual friends, we are sharing a friendship with each other.

So, now it is back to Hellstone. I have so much I want to say about the dynamics of this relationship, I don’t know if I can fit it all into an issue or an arc. I can’t summarize the experience that easily. I think I can include the emotions accurately however, only because of their intensity. Tones of fear, rivalry, and humility will be included, sitting in a direct relation to love, devotion, and trust.

gord

Cog Flogs Blogs

2006-05-16T01:56:00.000-06:00

I don't think that being a self-absorbed jackass is necessarily a 'requirement' for having a blog, but it definitely helps!

Welcome to Vicious AmBlogtious!

-CogNoman

And a Blog shall lead you

2006-05-10T23:11:00.001-06:00

Hello and welcome to the official blog of Vicious Ambitious Studios. This blog will feature events, rants, pictures, production art and anything else we want to pack in here. Alot has already happened this year including our 3 new members, a blog, and a webcomic. Round Two was just released locally and to top it all off; three of our members won an honorable mention in the Comics Jam War that took place on April 1st. Yeah, we rock, and we don't intend to stop.

So stay tuned, check out some of the links and do stop by regularly; same Vicious time, same Vicious Channel.

-Laters-