Grey Days III: The Tower Grows Again

It seeks only its own expansion.

The tower of ego knows no limit, no retraction, no restraint.

Yet in the end, it will always fall.

Grey Days II: It Rises

A beast revealed, unburdens its deceit.
It climbs from the grave of earth,
revealed in horrible glory.

From the Sketchbook Archives: Ghost

This piece was created very shortly after Sharpie premiered their new fine tip writing pens.  Needless to say I was VERY excited by the mark making possibilities.  Straight to paper here with no graphite sketching before the pen.  I was playing with the new fine point and this little guy emerged.

No Peeking

Katie woke with a start.  She grinned.  Was it time yet?  Was it time?  The room was still dark but for the safe warmth of her night light.  She listened for Bobby to see if he'd beat her downstairs.  The house was silent.  The street light outside cast a lightning thin slit between the curtains and across to the door opposite.  Mom and Dad said not to get out of bed until morning.  NO PEEKING! Katie frowned and fidgeted under the covers.  What if she needed a drink of water?  What if she had to potty?  She wouldn't peek.  She'd promised.

Katie closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but suddenly her insides were all tingly and excited and she knew she had to go potty.  She pushed the covers back and huffed at the ceiling. She wouldn't peek. She wouldn't even look down the stairs.  She would just potty and come right back to bed. Santa knew she was a good girl. She wouldn't peek.

She slipped out from under the comforter and tiptoed to her bedroom door.  It creaked loudly as she opened it and her eyes went wide.  She kept still and waited.  Did mom hear? She held her breath, one foot carefully balanced on tip toe for her next step.  She exhaled and placed her foot flat on the floor.  Maggie, the family Chihuahua, leapt through the open door and onto her foot.  She squealed and fell backward.

Maggie was on Katie's face in a flash, licking her repeatedly and making her giggle.  Katie held the dog back with both hands and whispered fervently, "Maggie no!  We have to be quiet!"  She managed to push the eager dog back enough to get on her feet.  "Ssssh!"  Katie dusted herself off and glared at Maggie.  Maggie looked up intently and wagged her tail.

Katie pushed the door all the way open and stepped out into the hallway.  The tingling was growing worse.  The hall was almost completely black, but she could see the nightlight in the bathroom at the far end.  She faced the wall as she moved.  Halfway to the bathroom the hall became a landing that looked over the living room and if she wasn't careful she'd be looking right at the Christmas tree.  She was pretty sure that would count as peeking.  She took quick steps and was on the toilet in no time.  Maggie whined as Katie closed the door.  The dog whimpered and scratched at the base of the door, trying to get in.  "Maggie, No!"  Katie whispered as loud as she could.  The dog whimpered and then Katie heard the familiar kathump kathump of Maggie descending the stairs.    

As she wiped herself clean she heard a thump on the roof.  Oh No Santa!  She zipped her jammies up fast and rushed to the door.  She opened it a crack and looked down the stairs.  No lights on.  She quickly tiptoed out.  Halfway back to her room, She heard another thump, downstairs this  time, followed by a yelp from Maggie.  Katie stopped without thinking and looked directly through the railing at the Christmas tree.

There was a sound like wrapping paper tearing, then  someone was chewing loudly with their mouth open. Katie could see someone moving at the base of the tree.  She stepped up to the railing.  "Bobby!  Bobby!  Mom said we were supposed to wait until morning!  I'm gonna tell!  I'm gonn-"  The thing that wasn't Bobby turned its head to look directly at her.  In the dim colored light it looked like a Christmas elf, but some thing was wrong with it.  Its clothes were spotted with something dark and its eyes were empty like a closed down store. Beyond the creature, Katie saw a dark spot in the carpet and something that looked like a chicken leg.  The Elf thing stood and turned toward her, its face a tight rictus.  Its mouth was covered in something shiny and dark.

Katie wanted to scream, but all the air was gone. She turned to run back to her room and tripped over a present lying in the hallway.  It collapsed under her weight and spilled its contents onto the hardwood floor, a thick dark liquid that was warm and sticky.  Katie scrambled to stand, her breath coming in short quick gasps.  Her arms and legs fumbled beneath her like a cartoon character slipping in oil.  Tears poured down her face.  The thing from downstairs was at the end of the hallway. It twitched and giggled and slowly stepped towards her, its fingers jerking like it was playing piano.  I didn't mean to peek, she thought.  It was too late, the Chrsitmas elf has seen her.

{Images created in Adobe Illustrator}

Up on the Rooftop

"Later that night, he heard the jingling again.  Faintly, just as before, it circled the house like a passing car.  As before, the soft padding crunch of snow and again, the faint jingling.  He stood in the kitchen, a cigarette quivered between his enraged fingers. He smoked two more as the jingling continued for another fifteen minutes. He'd had it with those damned kids.  Ed grabbed the broom and his flashlight and headed out into the snow.

"Alright you little bastards!" Growling, he threw the door open and waived the broom in a wide arc.  The light flashed across the snow.  It was smooth.  No footprints.  He stepped out, broom at the ready.  No footprints anywhere in the yard.  His face full of confusion, his broom lowered.  He heard the jingling again, just beyond the corner of the house.  He raised the broom once more and moved to intercept. They weren't gonna get away.  The snow on his ankles tickled and burned with each step.

At the corner of the house he found no footprints, but could still hear the jingling. Something hit his arm and bounced into the snow.  He leaned over and picked up something wet.  It took him a moment to adjust his hold on the broom and get the flashlight up to his other hand.  It looked like a shredded piece of cloth from a coat, but it was covered in red paint.  No.  No, it wasn't paint.   Ed dropped the cloth and backed away from the house.  His line of vision moved slowly up towards the roof.  His mouth hung agape at the sight of the thing.  It was chewing absently above the bloody patch it made, a ring of bells circling its neck.  Each time it chewed, the bells would softly jingle.

Ed turned and ran.  The flashlight fell free into the soft snow, a small glowing thumbprint disappearing behind him. He hadn't gone that far, the door was just a few more feet away.  He heard a loud snort and his bladder emptied into his pajama pants.  Then there was a hard pinch at his neck, like when his mother used to grab him as a child.  His arms flailed as he was yanked back.   Ed screamed, but then a rough blow at the back of his head made him quiet.  He felt dizzy now.  He lurched and vomited blood as the pinch at his neck grew harder.

"I'll be good Ma.  I won't do it again."  The pinch grew harder still and he knew he was gonna get a spanking.  Then he was flying, flying up and into the christmas sky.  A trail of paint splattered on the snow beneath him. No. No, it wasn't paint."

Recommended Listening:
Svartsinn
Torchbearer, Kill the Light
Elegies for the End

{Image created in Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop}

The Upstate Comic Book Club

My friend Josh began the Upstate Comic Book Club (UCBC)  and invited me to come along.  This is the flier he and I created to advertise the club.  

{Created completely in Photoshop Elements using the Bamboo Pen Pad}


Update 020814:

I had forgotten about the second version of the exterior of this flyer.  To push the membership drive of the club, we added all of the trades that we had read so far.  I found it recently looking for some other files.  Enjoy!