in Arbeit

FB 14. Oktober 2019
I'm thrilled to finally announce that for the past few months I've been assisting Thomas Yeates on art for the weekly newspaper strip Prince Valiant!
This week's installment (no. 4314) is the first one I worked on. My part is to fill out Thomas' rough layouts into finished pencils for him to then ink. The script is by Mark Schultz, with colors and lettering by Scott Roberts. Thomas Yeates is the fourth official Prince Valiant artist since 1937, following after the strip's creator Hal Foster, John Cullen Murphy, and Gary Gianni. Yeates is an amazing artist and is doing brilliant work carrying on the Valiant tradition. He's a pleasure to work with too!
I'm honored and delighted to be assisting on Valiant. I've been a fan since I was a kid, reading it in the Sunday paper!
More in the weeks to come. You can read Prince Valiant online at Comics Kingdom.

FB 7. Januar 2020
My pencils for the latest episode of Prince Valiant (no.4326) as I continue to assist Thomas Yeates, and the finished strip as it appears online at Comics Kingdom. Most newspapers will likely run the strip horizontally, rearranged with the last two panels stacked over each other on the right, but this vertical configuration matches how the original art is drawn and makes it look more like the classic Hal Foster strips of old. Here, our heroes travel through Cornwall as they return to England after several years away. Layouts and inks by Thomas Yeates, finished pencils by me, colors and letters by Scott Roberts, written by Mark Schultz.

FB 15.03.2020
My pencils for the latest Prince Valiant (no. 4336), assisting Thomas Yeates, and the finished strip as it appears online at Comics Kingdom and in newspapers near you. Fun to draw Val in action again after a few fairly quiet weeks. He's been investigating what appears to be a small town murder mystery while on his way back to Camelot, and these local thugs are discovering that he's not to be messed with. I think the finished art came out great! Layout and inks by Thomas Yeates, pencils by me, letters and color by Scott Roberts, written by Mark Shultz.

FB 22.03.2020
My pencils for Prince Valiant 4337, assisting Thomas Yeates, and the finished published strip. This marks the end of a very long day in the life of our heroes. Since Val and crew sailed into the port of Tintagel, Cornwall in episode 4325, published on December 29th, all of the subsequent action has transpired over the course of a single evening. Now, twelve episodes and three months of our time later, Val and Aleta are finally turning in for the night. „Come the Dawn“ will bring a new day. This is how Val manages to look so youthful after 83 years in print! Good fun with candle light this time. Layout and inks by Thomas Yeates, pencils by me, color and letters by Scott Roberts, written by Mark Schultz.

FB 05.04.2020
Once again assisting Thomas Yeates on Prince Valiant 4339 after a week off in which Tom drew the previous chapter solo. The castle is based on Dartmouth Castle in Devon, the long shot of our heroes approaching is partly inspired by the wide walking shots in the 2005 film of Pride and Prejudice, and the shot of Gareth's agonized corpse bears a resemblance to a panel form a Neal Adams story from Creepy magazine that I had found a copy of and shared with Thomas some weeks before, and which he had remembered from his own old collection. Not a conscious homage on his part, but perhaps evidence of a strong visual memory nonetheless! I'll post images in the comments. Had fun designing an appropriately medieval portrait of the old lord on the wall. Layouts and inks by Thomas Yeates, pencils by me, colors and letters by Scott Roberts, written by Mark Schultz.

FB 23.04.2020
When Thomas Yeates contacted me last summer asking me to assist him in drawing some Prince Valiant pages, I thought the gig was only going to be for two weeks while he took a road trip to Yellowstone. It turned into a working relationship that lasted half a year, with me filling out his layouts into finished pencils for him to ink for some 26 episodes of the strip. Along the way, I’ve outfitted camels, armored Byzantines, rigged sailing ships, dressed villages, learned a lot about the characters and the world of the strip, and, I dare say, improved my chops as a cartoonist. And Thomas gained some extra time to finish an outside comic project you’ll probably be hearing about soon.
It’s been a pleasure to get to know Thomas Yeates better as a friend and a mentor. From our first meeting on Hal Foster’s birthday last August, our weekly in-person sessions (often in delta riverside restaurants, halfway between our hometowns) along with his feedback, insight, and tales of cartoonists of old, have been a highlight of the journey. My admiration for Thomas’ work was already quite high before this, but studying him so closely and collaborating with him in carrying on the legacy of Hal Foster (no pressure there, mind you) has given me an even greater appreciation. Prince Valiant couldn't be in better hands.
This strip, episode 4341, is the last one I’ve penciled so far, and marks the end of my half-year run. Like all the others, it was a lot of fun, spiral staircase and all. Thank you Thomas Yeates for giving me this opportunity! It’s been a blast and an honor to be a part of one of the greatest comic strips of all time. I’m ready should you ever need a hand again!

FB 15.03.2023
repost 15.03.2020
Has it been that long? Remembering assisting Thomas Yeates on some Prince Valiant pages. Good times!