Robert McClelland conducts and interesting and fun interview with David at Essential Webcomics.
Monthly Archives: July 2012
Jason at Hershey Comic Con 2012
Jason Lenox will be a guest at this year’s Hershey Comic Con at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel in Hershey, PA. on Saturday, September 29, 2012. If you plan to go you could win a ride in the ORIGINAL BATMOBILE! Pretty cool.
Ugli interviews at QRD
If you’re feeling a little “retro” then the ezine QRD is right for you. Two of Ugli’s creators are featured in this month’s issue: David Paul and Gary T. Becks. The interview questions are formulaic (as has been QRD’s tradition for who knows how long!) but each creator’s answers are revealing and entertaining. Enjoy!
The Comics Store (event photo gallery)
Saturday’s signing at The Comics Store in Lancaster, PA. was fun and successful. Jason met lots of new fans and posed for pics. Building a fan-base is extraordinarily important for small press studios. The more people we meet face to face the more we are growing. Jason is hard at work this Summer and we want to thank all the fine folks supporting his work. Special thanks to The Comics Store for organizing the event. If you’re in or near Lancaster stop in and say hello.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
One year ago two creators had read about the new development for the movie adaptation of the magazine Heavy Metal as being led by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. An announcement was made that Rodriguez was accepting story ideas for his production of the new movie. They were not alone in their excitement of this news. Some time before that the admin at the forums of the Heavy Metal boards announced their intentions of shutting down the forums. A few contributors to the magazine and fans alike rallied and attempted to stay in touch. David Paul and Jason Lenox teamed up with another poster from the HM Forums and began to toss story ideas back and forth and made plans to submit their completed story to both the magazine and Rodriguez. The third party in the mix proved difficult to work with during the creative process. As such, David and Jason decided they would continue without the difficulty and soon after founded Ugli Studios.
In only one year Ugli has achieved numerous goals. David and Jason have brought in various creative contributors to continue growing this fledgling studio, with aspirations of publishing in-house comics and developing future projects in graphic literature and more.
While the studio grew between the Summer and Autumn months of 2011, working to develop two projects that would eventually become Ugli Studios Presents vol 1, it wasn’t until January 2012 when InvestComics made the official announcement that Ugli Studios was indeed open for business. In that same month David shared a few accomplishments with his “JOSEPH!” partner Gary T. Becks. InvestComics published “One and Done”, featuring a cover by Gary, interior production lettering by David, and a “JOSEPH!” story. David also had a one page story featured in the pages of the book. Its publication benefited the CBLDF. Elsewhere, Gary and David were back in the pages of Heavy Metal with a new “Fiendy”, although the cover marked the month as March.
February was a big month for new creators to get Ugli. The studio added Dani Kaulakis, Joseph Freistuhler, and long-time friend of Jason’s, Damon Haigh. These people would prove vital to the development of Ugli Studios Presents vol 1.
In March Jason teamed up with Tariq Moosa for a contribution to Gray Haven Publishing’s the Gathering Anthology’s Dark Special. GH liked his work so much they asked him to do a promo. But it was April that brought Jason the biggest event of his life: the birth of his son! Jason and his wife Crystal were blessed with Blaine Walker Lenox on April 13th at 5:26 AM after 20 hours of labor. More than anything that was the single most important event of Jason’s life.
Making the news in April, David and Gary made the announcement that the web-comic “JOSEPH!” would be taking a hiatus from its series run at InvestComics to focus on developing a graphic novel. The success at IC proved heresy is funny and David was encouraged to go for a wider audience. “JOSEPH! The Family Album” is still in production. So stay tuned.
May — what a month! Jason finished a pin-up to be featured in Viper Comics’ Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter by Russell Nohelty and Renzo Podesta. It was colored by Dani Kaulakis and promised a fruitful relationship with Viper. But May brought the fulfillment of a life-long dream when Ugli Studios published its first independent anthology “UGLI STUDIOS PRESENTS VOL. 1″. With experience at trade shows Jason hit the ground running. He began a tireless campaign to promote the book which had him unexpectedly meeting Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania’s 5th congressional district). The campaign continues now through the Summer and Fall (USP 1 has been reviewed by over 20 press sites!) and will later be picked up by David in the Winter. No doubt this is the book that showcases the fantastic year Ugli has been having, but the founders aren’t resting on its success. Already in the early stages of development is “UGLI STUDIOS PRESENTS VOL. 2″. As a footnote, it was also in May when David’s new literary work “From the Blood of Poetry” was published.
Although the months of June and July have been a time for focus on promoting USP 1 work at Ugli has continued. Cartographer Joseph Freistuhler had a new work included in the ebook “Twixt Heaven and Hell” and Jason earned a credit on the Internet Movie Database for the movie “Zero Charisma”.
Looking back on all that has been accomplished in just one year both Jason and David are looking forward to year two. Thanks for a fantastic year, and keep getting Ugli!
Don’t Forget your Homework
Ugli Studios Presents is a collection of two outstanding original comics from Jason Lenox and David Paul. The first story, Through The Eyes Of Grizelda, is a gloriously violent look at a world called Xendria, a once powerful empire now destroyed. In this world, the meek have inherited a nightmare of chaos and…
Jason Lenox on IMDb
Jason lenox’s credits now include a listing on the Internet Movie Database. Not much, as you can see, but it’s a start. We look forward to seeing more of Jason’s work listed in the future. Congratulations, Jason!
Joseph Freistuhler’s latest Map
Cartographer extraordinaire Joseph Freistuhler has a new work included in the ebook “Twixt Heaven and Hell”. Here’s a brief description: As both wizard and soldier, Darius has spent his life fighting alongside Angels – and fleeing from Demons. Now he dreams of a future without the War. Darius dreams of a day when his people need no longer give their lives to the ancient conflict, or suffer at the hands of their enemy. Darius dreams of victory – and of peace. Read more at Smash Words.
Panel Bound Interview
As far as being an independent comic creator goes, getting your work seen and appreciated by fans can be a grind. There is either the painful and arduous process of getting rejection letter after rejection letter from mainstream publishers, or the slow process of selling and promoting your own books as an independent creator. Even though both steps are a must for aspiring creators, it still doesn’t make the process any easier to swallow. For writers and artists looking to break into comics, we must have a certain level of
Jason’s Signing at Way Cool Comics
Ken Feduniewicz, owner of Way Cool Comics, once worked for Marvel as a colorist. His works include Captain America, West Coast Avengers, Daredevil, Iron Man, and many more. Like a number of folks who once worked on the inside of the industry Ken has now taken his love for comics and supplies the public with quality comics at his shop in Huntingdon, PA. He was kind enough recently to open his doors to Jason Lenox and hold a book signing to help promote Ugli Studios Presents vol 1.
Showing up to support Jason was Robert Hack (IDW, Image). Both artists are PA. residents. Be sure to check out Robert’s work at his very cool site. 
The signing was a lot of fun and Jason looks forward to returning to Way Cool Comics in the near future. If you happen to be in the Huntingdon area be sure to drop in, and tell Ken we sent ya!
