To Sarah on 7...

On Monday...

...I'd appreciate if you stopped by Kickstarter.



More info 8.1.11.

Doctor Who Annual 2011 Advance!

(Front cover on the left, back cover on the right)

Also featuring artwork from;

Dan McDaid - [CLICKY]
Mitch Gerads - [CLICKY]
Josh Adams - [CLICKY]

Via my editor, Denton Tipton, here's his photos of an advance copy of the IDW Publishing Doctor Who Annual 2011.

As you can see, elements were added to the cover - I always expected that, but figured it'd just be those windows filled with previews of the stories within.

Instead, each of the interior artists drew the Doctor in perspective (based on the original Escher) in those windows.

To see what I original drew of the cover, click here --> [CLICKY]

Really like how this turned out, though I would've like to see sigs next to the other Doctors. Credit where credit is due and all. Also, if I had known this was the intent, I would've put something more interesting in the star-field of the empty window.

Nevertheless, this cover looks great, and I've already seen all the interior stories - this is going to be an awesome book.

If you're a fan of the Doctor, you'll want to grab this - end of August, 2011, in printed format at your local comic shop, or via the IDW App for iOs devices and other mobile devices where applicable.

Cheers!

8.1.11

Stay tuned...

Zombies on the iPad?!

Remember that zombie comic I worked on, ZombieBomb? No? Well, it's already sold out, so...

...but fear not, flesh-eaters, there's a way!

ZombieBomb!: Zombie Anthology from Terminal Press now has it's own app. More info if you click here --> [CLICKY]

As the pop culture behemoth that is Comic-Con International rolls into San Diego this week, your hardworking friends over at team ZombieBomb! have BIG news for all fans of our special brand of undead goodness: the ZombieBomb! App for the iPad, out today.

The comic anthology that's been setting zombie fandom on fire for the past year lurches into the digital age with an app sure to satisfy both hardcore ZB! devotees as well as those coming to the series for the first time. The ZombieBomb! App offers access to every issue of the ZB! series, as well as serving as a hub to our Facebook community and ZombieBombTV episode library. Additionally, exclusive wallpapers and an official ZB! alarm clock round out what is sure to be one of the most killer apps you download this year.

I've downloaded it myself. The app itself is totally free and the issues of the comics themselves cost only $1.99 - that's way cheaper than cover price for the printed edition.

If you're looking for my story, Der Strasse (written by Tom Bennett, and drawn, colored, and lettered by me), check out issue #4, "Dark Daze" in the comic store within the app.

Download it, and enjoy. A must for an zombie fan (or if you just really want to see me draw zombies).

Cheers!

Page 4. Panel 5.

Atomic Robo - THE MOVIE!

Well... not really.

In the comic I'm currently working on (my creator-owned thang), I wanted to have some movie posters up in certain places. I joked on Twitter that I'd slip one of my favorite characters, Atomic Robo in there, and Robo artist and co-creator Scott Wegener said "go for it."

So I did, cos it's just too cool to pass up.

I didn't want to spend hours on an image that'd be tiny and covered with foreground images in most of its appearances, so it's a very simple layout, and not a very dynamic pose. I also didn't use the actual Atomic Robo logo, as I'm not sure of the exact legality of that. The "text" below is unreadable, as I just pulled it from a real movie poster (I'm not even sure what the movie was - I just took the first easy to isolate poster I could find in Google).

And there you have it. A very blatant nods to one of my favorite books out there (why aren't YOU reading it?).

Returning to the scene of the crime...

...this time, for color!

You can see the black and white line work for this panel here --> [CLICKY]

I'm taking the coloring of this kinda slow, as I'm trying to find a tone and scheme for the book. This panel will be trendsetter for outdoor night scenes in this story (of which there are more than a few).

Cheers!

From the pics or didn't happen file...

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that on Free Comic Book Day this year, I sat next to legendary Swamp Thing artist, Stephen Bissette, and that we jammed on a small Eleventh Doctor and Swamp Thing" sketch for a raffle they held at the store.

Here was the sketch;



And, finally (courtesy of Newbury Comics in West Lebanon, NH) here's the pic of me (the big dude), the winner (sorry, I didn't catch her name -- gosh... she looks afraid of me) and Steve himself;



I once waited in line to get his autograph - and on that day he suggested I jam with him on a piece?! That's crazy talk!

Some days, my life is just that awesome.

Commission Sale!

While I have things to do, I have some bills on the horizon, so it's time to open up another commission sale!

All my digital pieces are on sale, with 11"x17" color image prices dropped darn low.

UPDATE: Sale goes until midnight, Sunday, July 10th, EST, or when I get four (4) commissioners.

You can find the sale here --> [CLICKY]

(If the prices don't say "SALE" next to them, reload the page or clear your cache.)

Here are some samples of what you could pick up;

Black and white lines;



Black and white lines with grays;



Full color;




Thanks for looking, and thanks for your patronage!

Me and backgrounds...

Manga Studio has made certain things like backgrounds easier than Photoshop, and even easier than traditional in many ways (via the Perspective Rulers).

Which means, my tendency to want to over-detail cannot be stopped, save by my wife saying "no one will ever notice that."

Above is a panel from something I've been working on (you can probably guess what). I'm no Geoff Darrow, but I try to put as much into my backgrounds as possible. As I am coloring this myself, I'll take that opportunity to refine the focus of the panel.

(FYI - the face in the mirror has been replaced as I didn't draw the character to my satisfaction.)

SCREENCAP003.JPG

The Colby Block, c1900

Today marks the beginning of the celebration of my town's 250th anniversary (of the town charter).

I was apparently too late to get into the art show (which I didn't hear about until a few days ago), but nevertheless, one of my pieces is making it into the celebration (via the historical society).

It's the piece above, which I created back in 2007, and described thusly;

...on May 6th, 2007, my hometown lost one of its oldest buildings, a fixture, a landmark in the town, the Colby Block.

Today, the town held an auction for the victims of the fire. Everyone who attended was encouraged to bring an item to auction off. There was a host of things there, from pool accessories, Red Sox and Patriots tickets, canoes, to hand-knit items, and color TVs.

I felt like contributing too.

My father's cousin had a business in that building years back, and I used to go in there often when I was young. She'd often sell me (sometimes give me) Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. Our town's only grocery store was based out of that building under one ownership or another from about the 1940s.

It wasn't a building that you went into every day. It wasn't a building you thought about every day. But it was part of the landscape, an integral piece of the history and identity of the town.

So in that vein, I thought I'd create something directly related to it. I went to the town hall and requested to see photos taken early in the existence of the building (from the early 1900s) and got photocopies of those images. I then took them home, studied them (they didn't photocopy very well ) and managed to put together an image via my Wacom and Photoshop.

Anyway, I submitted to the silent auction (running parallel to the normal auction), hoping that it would snag $10 for the cause. My father's cousin, the one that ran the store years ago, said it should be in the regular auction, and ran it over to the line. A few minutes later it was up for auction, and a minute after that had sold for a final bid of $90. That's much more than I thought my mage would bring.

I also gave one copy to the town hall for their record, to say thanks for letting me use those original photos as reference.

More info on the town celebration can be found here --> [CLICKY]

Cheers!