Cleopatra in Spaaace!

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.

…and I had a great time! Sold a lot. Went to some parties. Met up with friends. Good time all around. Last time I go it alone though, that’s for sure. It was exhausting! Only time I was able to step away from my table was a half hour before the show opened on Friday. And even then it was just a quick glance around. So apologies for not finding my way over to see some of you. I wanted to, but that’s the downfall of soloing a table I suppose.

I just wanted to give a big THANK YOU to all of YOU who stopped by or made a concerted effort to find me (I know it’s tough in the circus that is SDCC). I think there were more people that told me they read Cleopatra in Space then their has at any other convention I’ve been too. That was amazing! And encouraging! Totally charged up to work on chapter 3 now.

I’m not going to do a big con-sketch collage like I usually do since all I really did was head/torso sketches but if you want to see some samples of what I drew, you can check out the few I was able to toss on TwitPic.

Next (and last) stop for me will be Baltimore, August 20-21. Hope to see more of you there!

Comic-Con is only a few days away and I’ll be there! I’m pretty close to where I was last year, this time at table O-02 in the Small Press area (aisle 1800). Here’s a map:

You can click HERE for where that is in relationship to the entire gigantic floor.

What I’ll have: Cleoptra in Space #2 (which debuts at the show), copies of Cleo #1 and limited copies of Cow & Buffalo. Also lots of prints and I’ll probably throw some original art into my suitcase as well.

As far as commissions go, since this show is so insane and I’ll be handling sales solo this year (my lovely, child-carrying wife is understandably sitting this one out), I’m only going to be offering head/bust sketches this time around. But super cheap: only $25. If during the weekend I feel caught up, I might offer more. But judging from last year that’s not likely to happen.

SDCC is always a fun time. Can’t wait! Hope to see a lot of you there!

EDIT: If anyone would like to commission a sketch early for pickup at the show, feel free to PayPal me at mike@cowshell.com. $25 head/bust sketches only.

After two weeks of no updates, I bet the big question on a lot of your minds is “when the heck is chapter 3 going to start?”

Let me first start off by saying I’ve started it! I have it outlined and I’ll be diving deeper into the actual pages for it this week. It’s a really fun story, much more linear than chapter 2 was, very Westerny, and connects a lot of the plot points from both chapters. Now the bad news: you won’t see any of it until the beginning of next year.

Now before you start raising your digital torches and pitchforks let me explain the reasons why:

FIRST AND FOREMOST, and I think a lot of you know this already, is that I’m having my first child this fall. Well not me physically, but my wife is. And from what she tells me I’ll be a big part of this. This is EXCITING! And I could start chap 3 in a few short weeks like I originally planned and update at my typical page-a-week schedule, but realistically I know that come baby time that schedule is going to get thrown right out the proverbial window. So rather than updating only a few pages until October and then stopping suddenly, I’d rather just hold off and update the comic altogether.

WHAT THIS MEANS: My goal is get enough pages of chap 3 completed to allow me to update at least TWICE A WEEK next year. This should be great news for all of you but also great for the comic since I feel I’m doing a diservice to it by only updating once a week. I think a lot of you will agree the story I’m writing simply isn’t paced properly enough to warrent seven days between pages.

LASTLY, starting a family has shifted my priorities a bit. As much as I would LOVE to spend every waking drawing moment I have working on Cleopatra in Space, the sad truth is this comic isn’t exactly a huge revenue maker for me. I draw it because I love comics and love telling Cleo’s story, but paying work has to come first. Now more than ever since I’ll be having a whole new human being to care for. So I’ll be taking on more freelance. Possibly some extra comic work. Maybe even open up commissions again (which should come as more great news to a bunch of you out there). Who knows? Maybe one day any of those things will substitute the need for my current full-time day job.

This was a tough decision to come to. Especially considering Cleo is more popular than ever right now. But ultimately this will be better for the comic and therefore you, my awesome and hopefully super loyal readers.

And I don’t plan on abandoning this site! I will continue to update with extras, new art, and sneak-peaks at my process. Maybe I can even sucker my friends into drawing some guest strips for me. Best way to keep up with everything though will be to follow me on the various social networks like twitter or my most recent favorite, Google+. And if you have any questions or simply want to yell at me, feel free to do so in the comments below and I’ll be sure to respond.

For now, back to the drawing board!

There’s a new interview with me up at Panel Patter today focusing on Cleopatra in Space. I challenged myself to answer with shorter, concise sentences since I feel I can tend to be a touch over-explanatory sometimes. Hopefully I didn’t come off as trite.  :P

Read it HERE.

(Thanks Rob for the great questions!)

I am now taking pre-orders for Cleopatra in Space #2! The 72 pg full-color soft-bound book will be priced at only $10 and all pre-orders will receive free shipping (starting in August, due to increased shipping costs, all shipping for books in my store will be $2).

Pre-orders help cover my costs for book 2 which, due to it’s page count and color printing, was an expensive book to produce. But it’s going to look good. Real good. Especially considering you’re going to get new and never-before-seen art by me, a behind-the-scenes process, and all-new guest art by Tony Cliff, Otis Frampton, Mitch Gerads, Chris Houghton, Tracy Lee, Sarah Mensinga, Jon Morris and Jez Tuya!

I’m also, for the first time, offering an Artist Edition which will include an original pencil sketch by me (something more substantial then my usual book doodles). The Artist Edition will be priced at $15. Both the regular editions and Artist Editions will be signed.

So what are you waiting for? Pre-order Cleopatra in Space #2 right now!