[jimlee]
Thanks to all who sent their well wishes in regards to the fires which have literally besiged San Diego. Some of the people from WildStorm were forced to evac from their homes but everyone is accounted for and safe. There was a large but smaller fire back in 2003 (Cedar Fire) and the city and county learned from their mistakes from that disaster and the handling of this fire though much larger in scope and scale has been a lot better. The evacing has gone fairly smoothly as the 911 reverse calling system calls people at their homes with notifications to move out as the fires' way. Determining that has been the tricky part as the Santa Ana winds are particularly strong and are changing direction a lot. Shelters are well run. Saw on the news that there were as many volunteers at Qualcomm stadium as there were displaced people at one point. I'm actually buying supplies to take down to the shelter. Apparently handi-wipes are a needed item as people don't have access to showers and need to clean off. Last thing I would have thought to be in short supply.
Tons of people were forced out of their homes but the losses have been primarily property with about 1800 homes destroyed thus far. But estimates are still vague.
I'm close to the ocean so we've been unaffected except for the smoke, heat and general bad air conditions. Eyes are perpetually raw etc and the headaches from the poor air quality make working a bit more difficult. Can't get away from the smoke even indoors. It's hot but I've not even been running the ac and as few of the appliances as possible to conserve electricity as part of the power grid is down and getting overloaded.
First night (Sunday) was bad enough that I ended my normal drawingfor the night early and laid down and put water compresses on my eyes. I'm sure it was made worse by the fact that I was up in Del Mar earlier that Sunday afternoon. That valley was sucking in a lot of hot air and smoke from the large fires due east and the skies were a dark gray with ash and leaves with debris flying about from the heavy winds as the sun burned a dark red in the hazy sky. It started up fast and got bad quickly. No immediate danger tho as that was still miles from the fire site; in fact, from La Jolla, you wouldn't know about the fires except for the smell and smoke in the distance. The streets are fairly empty which is very unusual. Can't imagine how awful it would be to be closer and feel the intense
heat and smoke.
Things are still chaotic today (Wednesday) but the winds have died down a bit making efforts to fight the fire a bit easier and a lot of relief workers have come from other parts of California and the US to help.
As I mentioned, WildStorm is fine...voluntary work attendance as the mayor has asked people to not go to work in general to allow relief workers easy access to all parts of the county. Lots of friends have been evaced but all are safe and sound staying with friends. Exact nature of damage won't be known for a week or so after the weather changes which is expected by this weekend.
Thanks again for the inquires. I've been meaning to put up a number of blog entries but it seems only bad news gets me motivated to post...will need to rectify that and now!
Above, is a black and white of the Heroes TPB cover. It's the one for the Direct Market.
Alex Ross did the mass market one and nailed the likenesses. Portraits aren't my thing but I had a great time doing the piece. Here's a link to the color one on TV Guide.com...kind of small and doesn't do justice to Dave Stewart's awesome colors. Will see if I can get a larger file.
For anyone who's been following the Iron Gelatomettista challenges here, the name Francis Manapul should be all too familiar. Not only was he the first challenger to step into the ring, but he also beat four of our own 'mettistas in his last round here back in July. A dark day for the blog indeed!
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