"The Vessel of Terror" Officially Arrives!

This has been a long time in the making and I can't believe it's finally here! I started working on the original pitch for "The Vessel of Terror" almost two years ago exactly, with Norwegian writer Magnus Aspli. It's truly been a joy to work with Magnus on this. "The Vessel of Terror" has been challenging and rewarding in so many ways. I'm definitely a different artist since I began drawing it, but I'm really proud of every page.

October 26th will see its official US release from UK publisher AAM Markosia. I'm going to be celebrating with an in store signing at Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, MI.

I'm honored to be having the signing at Green Brain. Not only are Dan and Katie real swell people, but Green Brain is partly responsible for me getting back into comics and starting my career!

I hadn't been in a comic shop for about ten years, until I began taking classes at The University of Michigan-Dearborn. I would pop into Green Brain to kill some time during my breaks. The breadth of their selection blew my mind! Week by week, comics started to sink their teeth into me, and my obsession returned.

I'll be at Green Brain Wed., October 26th, signing comics and doing free sketches. If you live in the area, stop by, get some comics, and say "Hi"!

If you can't make on Wednesday, you can get the comic through Amazon, AAM Markosia, or your local comic shop (Diamond code AUG11 0741). It will also be avaialble digitally through Markosia's website.

Here are some choice words about "The Vessel of Terror", including a thumbs up from Fangoria!

“A sophisticated storyline, art that makes the eyes linger on the panels, and realistic dialogue with wit, humor and intelligence. After setting up its believable characters and dark premise, VESSEL explodes into a page-turning frenzy of sex, violence, suicide and reality-bending mayhem[...]" - Fangoria

"[...] a masterful, genuinely frightening slice of horror fiction." - ComixTribe

Created and written by Magnus Aspli
Artwork and lettering by Dave Acosta
Colors by Goran Kostadinoski & Jeremy P. Roberts
Script editor: Alex De-Gruchy


$17.99 / £12.99
128 pages - full color
Available from AAM Markosia Enterprises
ISBN: 978-1-905692-68-2

The Vessel of Terror Page 5.3

Here is a page from Chapter 5 of "The Vessel of Terror", layouts, pencils and inks.

I drew the layouts on my Wacom Intous Tablet in Photoshop. Sometimes it's easier to draw layouts digitally because I make so many changes and do a lot of resizing. Once I have a layout I like, I resize it to 11x17 and use the Duotone option to make it a non-repro blue. Then I print them out on Bristol board and pencil over the layouts. Then I scan in the pencils, adjust whatever I need to in Photoshop and print them out on a fresh piece of Bristol board and ink over that. It sounds like a lot of work, but overall, my workflow is more productive.

As you can see, I flipped the last panel, to make the page flow a little better. Panel 2 was changed because I accidentally drew a close up of one character instead of the other. That's why it always pays to read the script!

TVOT inks

I'm adding inkwash and adding a little color to the scenes that take place in 1349. I'm liking the results.

Motor City Comic Con

I'll be in Artists Alley at the Motor City Comic Con this weekend in Novi, MI. I'll have some singed and numbered prints for sale and also (hopefully) be doing some sketches for people. I'll also be showing some artwork from a new project that I'm working on which I haven't be able to post about yet.

Here is the latest page from The Vessel of Terror that I'm inking. A quiet scene on a Norwegian dock. The woman is modeled after Mad Men's Christina Hendricks because...well, why not?