It’s always very sad to see someone go, especially an artist as talented as Juan Romera, but he’s been getting more and more high-exposure jobs and just can’t stay on Frater Mine anymore. Of course, I’d love him to stay to the end of the “Here, There and Nowhere” arc, but he definitely deserves to be unleashed on the world so everyone can see how talented he is.

Enric Simon will be replacing Juan on issue 9. Their styles match very well, and after seeing a test page of the FM characters, I can say that Enric (like Kav) is an excellent successor to Juan.

Enric says of himself,

My name’s Enric Simon, I’m 31 years old and I live in Barcelona(Spain). I started working as an illustrator and comic book artist 10 years ago. The first work as a comic book artist that I did was political cartons in one Spanish newspaper, then I published one-shots and some covers and illustrations in magazines and indie publishers specialized in horror.

In the U.S., I have published with Incubator Press, Babylon Comix, Divine Authority Comics, Rna Brand. And now I’m working on 3 different projects with others publishers.

More of his art can be seen on his DeviantArt page. Welcome aboard, Enric!

Juan Romera has been really busy with other projects lately, so I went looking for another artist to help him catch up with the story. It took a very long time, but I finally am able to announce that A. Kaviraj will be taking over pencil and ink duty for Frater Mine #10. There were a lot of talented people who applied, but Kav’s style was the one closest to what I want for the series. As you can see, he has shadowy, black-and-white panels down:

In his own words:

A. Kaviraj is a teacher and artist who lives in Sacramento, CA. He’s been an artist all his life but only recently became good enough to draw professionally. That’s right, kids; it can take a long time! He draws 4-5 pages a week, pencils and inks, and enjoys every minute of it. He’s always bugging his editors for “More script! More script!”. What he DOESN’T like is people interrupting his drawing or watching him draw at the local coffeshop where he does his inking. His favorite artist is Sean Phillips.

More of his work can be seen here and here!

Welcome aboard, Kav!

Juan Romera sent me pages this week from Frater Mine #9, and I couldn’t be happier with the way they look! Juan’s style continues to evolve, and even without words, the tension and humor and anxiety in the scene is there.

Juan captured my favorite line in the issue perfectly: “Do you allow.. guide llamas? They are uncanny navigators.”

Brian Cronin, who is the voice of Comics Should Be Good over at Comic Book Resources is reviewing one LGBTQ comic book a day for the entire month of March. On March 13, Brian reviewed Frater Mine and he completely made my week with his praise for the book, especially recognizing the (in my opinion) superlativeness of Scott, Dan, Juan, Andres, and Ed. So, please take a look at what Brian had to say about the comic and the team.

Because I’ve been involved in the LGBTQ comics community for a while now, I sometimes think that I know all the players, but thanks to Brian’s reviews, I am now aware of comics and artists I had no idea existed. I definitely am going to check out Dar: A Super Girly Top Secret Comic Diary, Wandering Son, and Tough (so far as his list has gone). See Brian’s full archive for anything that might interest you.

Oh, YEAH!!!!

After several years of looking at my first few attempts at getting a comics book out into the public and all the mistakes therein, I’m happy to announce that a new trade paperback available at Indyplanet.com collects Frater Mine issues #1 to #3 – “Family Reunion” – with a new introduction, and corrected text and images. FINALLY!! Now maybe the OCD-induced nightmares will stop.

The interior art is by Juan Romera (the faithful artist whose work just gets better and better) and Andres Barrientos (who was aboard only for issue #2). Re-lettering was done by Ed Brisson, who has been doing all the Frater Mine issues since #4. He’s an amazing talent, and right now is working on issue #8. I intend to keep him around for as long as possible. Cover art was done by my brother Scott with contributions from Austin photographer Dan Machold. This is a great team, and I’m thrilled to know and work with them.

Also, in about a week or so, a new webcomic – “Rise of the Pink Ninjas” – will be available for download. It’s drawn and colored by Benjamin Ruth (whom I’ve conscripted to help with “Unmouldered Vespula”, another new project) and lettered by Christopher Moshier. I’m not going to give everything away, but here’s a sample of page one:






The download will be free. I’ll make an announcement when it’s ready for your reading pleasure.

Juan Romera sent in his finished pages for Frater Mine #8, “And Thro’ the Field the Road Runs By”, part six of “Here, There and Nowhere”. And I have to say they’re brilliant! Click to enlarge:

The pages are going to be sent off to Ed Brisson for lettering. Look for it to be printed by the end of the year!

…about Frater Mine. The guys over at Comic Book Queers discussed FM during this week’s podcast. It’s towards the end after an excellent discussion of Cloak and Dagger (my tied-for #2 characters after Magik). Give a listen here:

I’m really embarrassed about the reference to the “Mary Janing” I did in the book. I try to own it, but looking back it just seems like lazy writing. Like Twilight. I know I’m not the only one to do this, but I’d like to think that I’m not a lazy writer. Well, at least I’m working to make the characters less like people in my world. Even if Matt does have a twin brother and adorable nephew…

François Peneaud of The Gay Comics List and Brother to Dragons gave Frater Mine #6 and 7 a great review on his site. Click on the image to embiggenate:

My recent perseveration is getting the word about my comic out more, but I want to avoid the “user” (pushing myself at the expense of others) and “abuser” (flooding people with updates) models of self-promotion. There has to be a third option, but I have no idea what it is. I do know, however, it will involved a new website design.

Orthocomics is pleased to announce that Frater Mine #7, “Through the Wave That Runs Forever”, by the team of Sean McGrath, Juan Romera, Ed Brisson and Scott McGrath is now available at IndyPlanet.

Mark, Matt and Colleen are on the run and looking for their missing kids. but where do they start and who’s on their side? New players jump into the fray, but if they’re friends, they certainly don’t act like it! Check out this story of magic realism that Rachel Pollack said she “really enjoyed”.

Order your copy now while the price is still $2.50 (the real price of $2.95 should be posted soon)!

Please feel free to send feedback, fan mail or requests for divination. Sean specifically requests that fans send used (not soiled) underwear (with pictures).