Albert the Alien goes to the Movies!

So several of you have written me e-mails asking why there have been delays in the comic updating. Well, there are a few reasons for this:

1) Some personal stuff came up (weddings, funerals) that I didn’t have a large enough buffer to cover off on – so my bad there
2) I’m working on so many other projects right now, and some of them had to be prioritized recently

What projects might those be, you ask? Well, I’d be happy to talk about them more right here!

There are two big Albert the Alien projects in the works:

1) Reading with Pictures volume 2: The Graphic Textbook. The anthology that launched Albert the Alien is returning in 2013, and Albert will be another big part of this educational anthology. Albert the Alien in It’s a Figure of Speech will focus on Albert’s language barrier. Below is the synopsis:

Albert is an alien from another planet, so English is not his first language. Every day he hears phrases that don’t make sense to him (ie: falling in love, racking our brains, etc) and is confused by them. He often thinks of these phrases literally, not figuratively, which makes for some hilarious misinterpretations. While working on an English project with his friends, many of these Figures of Speech come up and Albert is trying to decipher their meaning with visual equations in his head – which are always wrong and hilarious. Gerty and friends work to walk Albert through some of English’s more bizarre figures of speech to help him better understand our language. Educational content would cover figures of speech, including metaphors and similes.

The first volume of Reading with Pictures was nominated for two Harvey Awards, so the bar is set extremely high for the second installment.

2) More Albert the Alien short stories! Gabe and I put out an Albert book in April of this year, which has been selling out at comic conventions. If you’re not able to make one of the shows I attend to buy a copy from me, be sure to buy a copy online from Gabe. He may even put a sketch in it. Or you can order watercolors as well!

Anyway, the book has been so positively received that we’re doing another one: Albert the Alien is going to the Movies! Here’s the premise:

There’s a new movie out in theaters, and Gerty and Albert want to go see it opening night. However, the movie is sold out. Not wanting to be the last kids to see it, and with the help of Wally’s devious mind, the three kids concoct a series of schemes to try to sneak into the theater. However, the manager is very resilient against theater hoppers. Can the kids sneak into the theater and see the movie, or will they be caught and kicked out of the theater?

Gabe has been hard at work on the pages for this, and so for the first time I present below the opening two pages – revealing the trailer for the movie Albert and Gerty want to go see so badly.

Page 1 of Albert goes to the Movies; an opening trailer sequence for a summer blockbuster flick (art by Gabriel Bautista)

Page 2 of Albert goes to the Movies; the kids are now excited to see this big summer movie (art by Gabriel Bautista)

I’ll be posting more about this project as more work comes out. This book will contain:

– Two short story adventures for Albert the Alien
– An original backup story written/illustrated by Gabe called TOUT LE MONDE
– Fun activity pages
– and so much more!

Be sure to stop by the website for more information as it comes out.