Cleopatra in Spaaace!

I’m excited to announce that Cleopatra in Space will finally resume regular updates in June! Sorry it took so long. I never planned for this hiatus to last as long as it did, but some things came up (besides a baby) that made it impossible for me to return any sooner. But I’m so ecstatic to be back and can’t wait to start updating a regular webcomic again.

A couple of things to note:

• CiS will still update once-a-week every Monday. Sorry, but I just don’t think I can keep up with a twice-a-week schedule and maintain the quality I want for CiS. Especially for some particular pages down the road.
• The story is set up in three acts and Act 1 is paced a little slow. Important (possibly funny) stuff, but slow. So I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to hold off a few months and read it all in one chunk. The other two acts however are very action packed and I can’t wait to start drawing them. I hope you all enjoy it.

Also- starting TOMORROW, a 4-page “deleted scene” from Chapter 2 will start updating twice-a-week. It’s a fun little exchange between Cleo and Akila written by me with art by two of my absolute favorite creators, Wes Molebash and Josh Ulrich. So hopefully that’ll tide everyone over a little longer till June gets here.

Bryan Ballinger (who has an upcoming Cleo guest strip) sent me this wonderful fan art from his ten-year-old daughter over the weekend, apparently a big fan of the series.

This is great. I need to implement a gigantic gaterzilla into this comic stat. You can see more of Merrill’s art on her art blog.

Thanks, Merrill! I love it!

I’ll once again be at MegaCon this weekend in Orlando, FL. One of only two or three shows I’ll be attending this year (HeroesCon and possibly Baltimore being the other two). I’ll be in my usual spot in Artist Alley- white section, table 7- as indicated on this useful map:

And here’s where I’ll be in relationship to Stan Lee for those who are interested.

Also, since I know people will ask, I will have ALL my usual prints and books available. Yes, even those no longer available in my online store. I’ll even draw Batgirl or Supergirl for you if you ask nicely (and hand me money). Plus, there’s the possibility you might even get to meet my son if you stop by since he and my wife will be enjoying the entire weekend with me.

Hope to see you there!

Just received this excellent fan art from Courtney Godbey:

I adore Courtney’s work! So much love and character in everything she draws. Make sure to peruse over to her blog or follow her on the twitter. You won’t be disappointed.

Guest strips aside, it’s been a while since I’ve received any drawn fan art. But I have received some three-dimensional fan art recently!

First up this awesome Khensu plush toy sewed together by the talented Dee Pirko:

Aint he cute? You can see more of Dee’s custom made plushies in her Etsy shop. I’m pretty sure she takes commissions!

Second, my coworker (a HUGE ray gun aficionado if there ever was one) took it upon himself to build this life-sized replica of Cleo’s ray gun:

How cool is that? I’m thinking he and I should mass produce those suckers. They could make excellent laser pointers.

Now that it’s almost the end of January, I bet a lot of you are wondering when Cleo and Khensu are coming back. As some of you know, I originally planned on Chapter 3 starting up this month. Unfortunately, as in the norm whenever plans are being made, some stuff has come along that has forced me to put a pause on working on Cleopatra in Space.  I’ve recently had some publishing/freelance opportunities that I couldn’t turn down as well as fatherhood being more of a dent in my productivity than I originally anticipated. These are both GREAT things! Just not for this webcomic.

Thankfully, a few of my friends and fellow comic makers are stepping in to make sure this site does not go unupdated any longer. Starting Monday, I’m going to be posting guest strips from some of my favorite people working in comics. Just judging from the handful of strips I’ve already received, you guys are in for a treat. I don’t even think you’re going to miss me. But just in case you are, I’ve written a four page “deleted scene” from chapter two that Wes Molebash and Josh Ulrich are lending their fantastic artistic talents to. Akila fans should definitely enjoy it. I can’t express how thankful I am that all of  these creators are taking time out of their own busy schedules to offer some content for this site. I hope you are as excited to see what they have in store as I am.

I want to be clear though that I am NOT ending this webcomic. This story was planned as a three chapter arc and I’m going to finish it one way or another. I even started working on it before that other stuff came along. It’s just going to take a little longer than planned is all.

Sorry for the lack of posts on here! Here’s a little Cleo illustration I drew this morning to hopefully make up for it.

Some updates:

• Yes, my son was born (a little over three weeks ago). Oliver Prime Maihack was born on October 13th at 7 lbs, 10z, 20″ and he’s pretty much the best baby ever. But those of you following me elsewhere know this already since there’s been a gazillion pics of him online already (mostly posted by my wife).
• The plan is still to continue Cleopatra in Space in January. Although my pace on the comic has slowed down a bit (see above bullet point).
• I have plans to give a you a bit of a bonus comic before then. More details later!
• There’s also some uh… other Cleopatra in Space stuff going on. Maybe more on that later, maybe not. We’ll see what happens. Regardless, I’m staying busy!

I really appreciate everyone’s patience while I figure out this new life schedule I’m on and work ahead to make sure chapter 3 is updated regularly. Seriously can’t wait to start sharing  this comic with everyone again!

Two new interviews with me up this week! The first is a short one on The Brave and The Old primarily about my recent Supergirl/Batgirl work. [LINK]

The other is more of a conversation with me about all my comic work pre-supergirl/batgirl craziness. Lots of fun tidbits about all things Mike Maihack in that one. [LINK]

Speaking of Supergirl and Batgirl, I’m doing something new and putting the orginal art for both my DC Fiifty-TOO cover and my 6-panel comic up for bid! Check them out and place a bit if you want. [LINK]

Also, I’m getting a lot of questions asking when Cleo is returning. The plan is still the beginning of next year. But I do have plans to bring you some other stuff before that. More on that later!

The other question I keep getting asked is when the baby is due. The answer is October 13th. No, that’s not a Friday. I already checked.

It’s been a while since I posted any fan art on this site. Thankfully Cas Grace has fixed that problem with this wonderful piece she sent me over the weekend:

I can so see this happening in the actual comic. And wow, love the colors on this too! See more of Cas’ art on her blog, as well as a process for this piece.

Thanks, Cas!

Been a while! Production on chapter 3 went full swing this month. It’s going well. In the meantime:

There’s a pretty extensive interview with me up on Ziggy Nixon. I talk about my comics, faith, influences, all sorts of stuff. Read the interview HERE if you’re curious to know more about me and/or Cleopatra in Space. There are two parts so make sure to click on both.

Speaking of Cleo, as of last week all of the preorders have been sent out! I’m already hearing from people that have gotten theirs in the mail, so if you haven’t received yours yet expect it any day now. Here’s a quick snapshot of the book and some pics of  a few of the Artist Edition sketches I posted around the various social networks last week:

New Cleo books, both regular and Artist Editions are available HERE.

Also, a reminder that I’ll be at Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend, Aug 20-21! I’ll be sitting with the Comic Book Diner folks again. LOVE this show. Can’t wait.