The SINDIECATE

The SINDIECATE

****** CLOSED DOWN ******

THIS IS THE END

Lafuente here with a final report.

THE SINDIECATE is closing down its doors. This month marks the first year of the collective authors and initiative to pay tribute to independent comics. And it’s a good moment to call it a day.

Thanks to Jorge Muñoz, James Harren, Mike Choi, Ryan Ottley, Colleen Coover, Matteo Scalera for joining me on this project. It’s great to look back on that idea I had for the website and see what has become thanks to them.

And thanks to the people who liked our homages, helped spread the word and maybe make some new readers for the indie authors behind the books.

Adios! : )

Usually I start these things with a vague plan but I sure as shit didn’t have one here. I just watercolored, acryliced and photoshopped my way to the end. Enjoy!

Usually I start these things with a vague plan but I sure as shit didn’t have one here. I just watercolored, acryliced and photoshopped my way to the end. Enjoy!

inks. I tightened the thumbnails on Photoshop CS3 and then I reinked everything on Paint Tool Sai because the inking feels better there for some reason. I might do some slight changes, like fix some lineweights on Smax and fix that leg. -jorge

inks. I tightened the thumbnails on Photoshop CS3 and then I reinked everything on Paint Tool Sai because the inking feels better there for some reason.

I might do some slight changes, like fix some lineweights on Smax and fix that leg.

-jorge

Detective Wanda “Synaesthesia” Jackson from Top Ten by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon!

Detective Wanda “Synaesthesia” Jackson from Top Ten by Alan Moore, Gene Ha, and Zander Cannon!

Lafuente here. I believe TOP TEN is a truly masterful piece of work. If you haven’t read it, please correct that, you are missing one of Alan Moore’s best books. And probably the best of Gene Ha’s, a brilliant creator whose project choices always left me a bit puzzled.

Lafuente here. I believe TOP TEN is a truly masterful piece of work. If you haven’t read it, please correct that, you are missing one of Alan Moore’s best books. And probably the best of Gene Ha’s, a brilliant creator whose project choices always left me a bit puzzled.

Top 10 week! created by Alan Moore and @GeneHa published by Wildstorm under the amazing ABC Comics umbrella.

I chose to do Smax as seen on the SMAX Miniseries by Alan Moore and Zander Cannon, one of many great series from the ABC imprint.

ABC was some of the finest Alan Moore comics I’ve had the chance to read, many people prefer the more serious stuff like Big Numbers but I love what he did on ABC, good, engaging and fun comics.

I’ll be posting the process of this piece during the week, Today here’s my final thumbnail design and compositions.

Back to the drawing board!

-jorge

James here! The Cape up there! 

James here! The Cape up there! 

Lafuente here. A little late but THE CAPE!

Lafuente here. A little late but THE CAPE!

The Cape week by @joe_hill @JasonCiaramella and the amazingly talented Zach Howard. This is a GREAT comic, one of the most satisfiying series i’ve read in a long time.  Didn’t had much time this week, but i’m quite happy with the results. Sometimes I neglect my inner cartoonist and over-render the hell out of my drawings. Not this week. -jorge

The Cape week by @joe_hill @JasonCiaramella and the amazingly talented Zach Howard.

This is a GREAT comic, one of the most satisfiying series i’ve read in a long time. 

Didn’t had much time this week, but i’m quite happy with the results. Sometimes I neglect my inner cartoonist and over-render the hell out of my drawings. Not this week.

-jorge

Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon! One of the things I always liked about the Dragon is that, yes, he’s a superhero, but he’s also a a regular COP. I like to think that urban cops spend a lot of time patiently listening to little old ladies talking their ears off.

Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon!

One of the things I always liked about the Dragon is that, yes, he’s a superhero, but he’s also a a regular COP. I like to think that urban cops spend a lot of time patiently listening to little old ladies talking their ears off.

When I was in 6th grade, Image happened. I had started to go to a local comic shop that was new at that time (same store I ocassionaly go 20 years later). The dollar was cheap against the mexican peso (1 USD = 3.40 pesos. Right now 1 USD = 13.40) and I started buying more comics with my allowance. At a local mall, somebody opened a small kiosk with trading cards, they had all kinds, sports, cars, Elvis and of course comic books trading cards. Remember those? For me it was cheaper to buy 3 packs of cards of different series than 1 comic book. And there I saw it, The Savage Dragon Trading Cards, with the chromed white package and the words “Erik Larsen’s”.  Holy shit!! Erik Larsen I was an avid reader of Spider-Man, I bought the mexican editions, back in the day they used to print them slightly oversized and on cheap paper. All my Spider-reading friends where into Todd McFarlane’s, but for me it was Erik’s all the way. The way he drew Venom, the crazy character designs (Cardiac!!) and The Six Sinister Saga. The good stuff! Then he vanished from my Hombre Araña comics, and I got stuck with Mark Bagley (not a diss to Mark Bagley but he was no Erik Larsen for my 11 year old self) Then, Savage Dragon. Back then I had no internet, didn’t knew about the Image revolution, I just put 2 and 2 together and figured it out on my own: These guys were doing their thing. I never bought the first issue from the mini, it was sold out, and my local comic shop (the only comic shop back then and now) had one, bit it was on the wall of the expensive comics, I don’t remember how much it cost, but it was out of my reach. I bought everything else, completed my trading card collection with all the prism cards, the rest of the miniseries, the regular series up until issue 13 or 14. That’s when the economy crisis caught up with my comic buying. Later I tried to buy a single issue here and there but with just one comic shop it was hard. I remember those days very fondly, when comics where cheap and fun. Savage Dragon had it all, chicks, bullets and mayhem. I remember being upset with issue 7, the one were Overlord throws Dragon out of the window. On these comics I felt that the characters were in real danger. Erik Larsen is still at it 20 years later.  I saw him at a Wizard World in 2001, he was giving a dude a critique on his work. That kind of scared me a little to go and say hello, also because everything was wrong with me back then. But I saw the fire, the love for comics. Now after 20 years of Image, I say thank you Erik Larsen, for Savage Dragon, for Spider-Man and for sticking to it.  -jorge

When I was in 6th grade, Image happened.

I had started to go to a local comic shop that was new at that time (same store I ocassionaly go 20 years later). The dollar was cheap against the mexican peso (1 USD = 3.40 pesos. Right now 1 USD = 13.40) and I started buying more comics with my allowance.

At a local mall, somebody opened a small kiosk with trading cards, they had all kinds, sports, cars, Elvis and of course comic books trading cards. Remember those?

For me it was cheaper to buy 3 packs of cards of different series than 1 comic book.

And there I saw it, The Savage Dragon Trading Cards, with the chromed white package and the words “Erik Larsen’s”. 

Holy shit!! Erik Larsen

I was an avid reader of Spider-Man, I bought the mexican editions, back in the day they used to print them slightly oversized and on cheap paper. All my Spider-reading friends where into Todd McFarlane’s, but for me it was Erik’s all the way. The way he drew Venom, the crazy character designs (Cardiac!!) and The Six Sinister Saga. The good stuff!

Then he vanished from my Hombre Araña comics, and I got stuck with Mark Bagley (not a diss to Mark Bagley but he was no Erik Larsen for my 11 year old self)

Then, Savage Dragon. Back then I had no internet, didn’t knew about the Image revolution, I just put 2 and 2 together and figured it out on my own: These guys were doing their thing.

I never bought the first issue from the mini, it was sold out, and my local comic shop (the only comic shop back then and now) had one, bit it was on the wall of the expensive comics, I don’t remember how much it cost, but it was out of my reach.

I bought everything else, completed my trading card collection with all the prism cards, the rest of the miniseries, the regular series up until issue 13 or 14. That’s when the economy crisis caught up with my comic buying.

Later I tried to buy a single issue here and there but with just one comic shop it was hard.

I remember those days very fondly, when comics where cheap and fun. Savage Dragon had it all, chicks, bullets and mayhem. I remember being upset with issue 7, the one were Overlord throws Dragon out of the window. On these comics I felt that the characters were in real danger.

Erik Larsen is still at it 20 years later. 

I saw him at a Wizard World in 2001, he was giving a dude a critique on his work. That kind of scared me a little to go and say hello, also because everything was wrong with me back then. But I saw the fire, the love for comics.

Now after 20 years of Image, I say thank you Erik Larsen, for Savage Dragon, for Spider-Man and for sticking to it. 

-jorge

Lafuente here. Jorge has a mean deadline and will be back tomorrow. As for now, let’s begin the ERIK LARSEN’S SAVAGE DRAGON tribute week.

Lafuente here. Jorge has a mean deadline and will be back tomorrow. As for now, let’s begin the ERIK LARSEN’S SAVAGE DRAGON tribute week.

Just dusting off an old CHEW piece that I never got around to coloring.  -james-

Just dusting off an old CHEW piece that I never got around to coloring. 

-james-