Nige's Page a' Rage

This Weekend...

2012-02-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

...I have mostly been chillaxing but have squeezed in a few drawings. Next week I plan on pencilling some pages but I also have three characters I want to draw and feel like doing a proper illustration rather than the fun quick ones I'm currently doing for TAB. Anyway, here's tweaked and corrected versions of the last two week's entries, along with Marvel Girl, a background element for another entry...

PG Tips

2012-02-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

Of all the new Dc titles, I'm enjoying Batwoman and the Shade but most of the rest of the line leaves me cold. Making arbitrary changes to characters (primarily making costumes clunkier, presumably to synergise with any future movie version) doesn't improve or create greater popularity for the characters. After the initial sales spike, figures are dropping down, a bunch of titles have been cancelled already and lack of any stability from the creative teams hurts the line further.

Still, I was hoping Earth 2, James Robinson's JSA-featuring series, would have some soothing flash of familiarity. Then I saw the covers above and all hopes were dashed. Somebody feels that Wonder Woman may be Donna Troy but that's not any Donna I'd like to see. Similarly, the new Power Girl outfit is pretty...yuck.

I was aware of PG from DC ads that ran in comics I had before I could read (similar nostalgic memories of Captain Marvel and Jay Garrick) but the first time I read anything with her was the first JLA/JSA crossover I ever read. (This was also my first real exposure to Dr Fate, another favourite). I liked PG but it would be a few years before I realised she was essentially the Earth 2 Supergirl. I was glad to see her post-Crisis but Bart Sears' mega-boobed version (and her snarky attitude) in Justice League Europe didn't sit with my vision of her character. After a few (not terrible but unnecessary) costume changes, PG eventually returned to her classic costume.

I love the original, not for the chest hole people always comment on (in the earliest stories I remember, i seem to recall the hole was gone) but because I like the purity of the white and the simplicity of the design. Whenever characters get a new look, they inevitably become more complicated but I generally believe simplicity is the best design factor is superhero costuming.

So, as with her sorta cousin, I was disappointed to see PG now lumbered with clunky boots and gloves and a rubbish emblem to replace the hole. I can deal with the covered legs (DC said they want to create less sexy/sexist costumes for their heroines) but the emblem's just executed poorly.

I recently drew a Power Girl pic that I've not got round to uploading yet but when I saw the new version, I made two simple tweaks that I think reduces the gratuitous elements but keeps her recognisably PG. I simply removed the chest hole and added a skirt, removing knicker flash but also echoing Supergirl's classic design more.

Job done, I feel but what do I know?

Busy Saturday

2012-01-29T05:29:00.000-08:00

After a pretty crappy and stressy week, spent the day drawing yesterday...I'm slowly rediscovering the joy of drawing just for drawing's sake but these pieces were all done for specific reasons. From the top:

The top three are character designs so these characters will appear fairly soon. The top two pics are obviously the same character, the first being an experiment to see how a different nightgown would look form the second. In my mind, the latter was always what was going to be used anyway and I think looks much better...the lady in red was interesting as I'm not used to drawing buxom, curvaceous women but think it came out ok...

Tinkerbell is this week's entry for the Weekly Themed Art Blog, had to rush it through yesterday or else it wouldn't get done...

I wasn't happy with the rush job backdrop for my recent Amethyst, she seemed to be just plonked in so I spent time doing a new backdrop. It's still not perfect but I think looks less half arsed than the original...

Final two are illustrations for a housing association project, two done, two to go. Quite happy with the bird actually...

May The Devil Take Ya

2012-01-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

Bad News/Good News...

I've been circling towards doing a graphic novel adapting some of Manly Wade Wellman's short stories of Silver John/John the Balladeer for a while and had cleared projects to start with some two-pagers in a week or so. I presumed the character was in the public domain as there was no copyright notice in the recent collection I read and could find no mention of anything online.

Gearing up for it, I dove back to do a deeper search to find that there is an agent for Wellman's estate but there is already a graphic novel adaptation in the works.

While a little annoying (I was looking forward to that!), it means I can refocus on my own project instead. I want to do two projects at the same time so if I get bored with one, I can flip to the other, but need to come up with a fun adventure to work with. I have tons of dialogue and scenes worked out for my main project, now to start thumbnailing some pages. This will be the one drawn cleanline, so could be a bit of a challenge for me...especially as I still don't have a title or first name for the main character(s)!

January Update

2012-01-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

Been a few weeks since my last post, but have been quite productive art wise, along with being busy generally, so thought I'd post some stuff.

As well as three pages for Too Much Sex And Violence #3 and continued contributions to the Weekly Themed Art Blog, I've spat out the above pieces:

From the top: a modern twist on Harvey Comics' Black Cat. I've been following a blog featuring artists submitting their own redesigns of Superhero costumes and decided to submit a few of my own. I'd drawn a few tweaked characters here and there before (the Sharon Ventura Ms Marvel, Gypsy Moth) but felt like doing a few new submissions. I wasn't looking at great pieces of art, just getting the costume down so won't post the others I did (maybe later), but I'm fairly happy with the art on this one.

Just finished reading Esperanza, the latest Jaime Hernandez Love and Rockets collection and fancied drawing something in his style. It was weird drawing with my wider-nibbed pens but I think this gives a nice Hernandez-finish. Getting the art right in the first place was the hard part, surprisingly difficult smacking down the urge to add definition but with Jaime, less is more.

Finally, Niko (from Runaways) and Amethyst. During my art save period recently, I unearthed earlier drawings of these two characters that I couldn't save (for instance, Amethyst being done for the A-Z of comic characters thread a few years ago and drawn at A5 wasn't suitable for saving) but wanted to do decent drawings of.

Niko is OK but still not great so no doubt I'll return to do a final pass but having started an earlier version of Amethyst a few weeks ago (sketch posted in a recent post), I decided it was just too stiff and no matter what I did, wasn't worth trying to save. Instead, I started over from scratch and am quite happy with the results, especially as I was using new pens instead of my usual Pilots. My natural habit was to fill in clothing creases on the dress and add shading but I decided to keep the art pared down and despite the annoying urge to doodle with the dress, I'm quite happy with this actually. I added a really quite backdrop just for a change but think I prefer the figure on its own.

Following Amethyst's abandonment and subsequent success, think I'll be erasing the Rogue I did at the same time and starting almost over from scratch on that too (though I really like the head so will be keeping that)...

January Blues

2012-01-02T08:09:00.000-08:00

Well, back to work after tomorrow after a stonking 10 days off and I'm not sure whether it's the thought of a year kicking off with personal problems going on or just the thought of going back to work after having a relatively hassle free time off...but whichever, not looking forward to tomorrow.

Tried drawing just for fun earlier and got stuck at the pencil stages...the figures just weren't flowing despite numerous tweaks so I'll probably just start all over again (though I like both heads, particularly Rogue's). Amethyst was part of my art save thing but as the original was A5 and done for the A-Z of heroes project going a few years ago, this is less a save and more (actually) a whole new drawing. I also plan on redrawing Nico from Runaways but after these (and two others that can wait)are done, time to refocus on sequential stuff again...had an expert tutorial in lettering, will be interesting to see how much I remember when it comes to that stage!

I've also bunged up a pic I saw on Bleeding Cool yesterday, Erica Durance as Wonder Woman from some David E Kelly show: hmm, while great as Lois, I think she'd be a good Wondy too...

The Art Restoration Project Part 5: The End!

2011-12-30T04:16:00.000-08:00

At last, I've reached the end of my art save project...well, there's one more but that's a whole illustration rather than just a figure and I can't figure out why it's so bad so that's for sometime down the road, as are two characters I want to draw again so less restoration and more of completely new versions.

Anyway, these are the last of them for now, so from the top:

After fiddling with resizing and tweaks, the previously saved version still felt wrong proportion wise so I just gave in and drew a whole new upper body. Think this works a lot better now and glad I can finally lay this Frankenstein's monster to rest...

Next the middle pic. I actually had nothing against the original version except it was done as a request for somebody and the face looked a bit generic and not really like the subject (I had no reference to work from) so I just did a new head to divorce it from the person it was supposed to be...

Finally, Daphne of Scooby Doo. The original version is OK but I wanted a cleaner polish. Already there were two versions of the original, the second being a slightly altered one extending the legs. I used this as the starting point for the new version, altering the position of the shoulders significantly. I liked the cleaner version but the skirt went wrong so I did it again and finally got it right. I realised the figure would look better with complete legs rather than just tapering off so I drew the legs separately (due to running out of space on the page), resized the upper body to match in Photoshop and voila, finis. Ironically, my original idea was to draw a realistic version of a cartoon character but by eliminating most of the detail, I've returned to an almost cartoon-like version but still like it...

Recent Reads

2011-12-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

In between drawing here and there, I've still been managing to whittle down my Sisyphean pile of reading material. (I'm currently reading a good biography of Joe Kubert and have over 18 books/graphic novels to wade through, though thankfully some of them are artbooks so will take less time to digest).

One of the best books I've read recently is Supergods by Grant Morrison. I've mentioned it previously but it's a cultural history of the superhero, intertwined with a semi-autobiography of Morrison. It's one of the most infectious, illuminating and fascinating reads I've had in a long time so would urge anyone to have a read, even if they're not fans of Morrison's work.

Modern comics, I've been enjoying JH Williams' stuff on Batwoman and James Robinson's return to Opal City in the pages of The Shade. I picked up the Must Have collection of Ultimate New Spider-Man #1-3, mainly as the preview art looked gorgeous and indeed it is, Sara Pichelli jettisoning the cartoony/manga inspired style she used in Runaways for a more natural one, excellently served by some of the best computer colouring seen in comics by Justin Ponsnor.

Again, my gripe with Bendis is his pacing: great dialogue but he sacrifices the plot in favour of it. Three issues in (much like the original Ult Spidey), Miles still hasn't donned his costume. I don't mind that but in three issues, essentially he gets but, manifests powers, moves to a coveted school with his best friend and learns his uncle is a bit dodgy. It's like a McDonald's burger, OK when you're taking a bit but once you're done, you wonder where the real heft was.
Incidentally, I hate the Ultimate Spider-man costume as it looks like you could only comfortably draw it using layers or fiddling with the select tool on photoshop. The whole think looks awkward so I took a shot at revising the costume, this pic being the second after the first (which just eliminated the webbing and played with the emblem really) pretty much sucked.
I've been continuing to sample vintage and Euro comics, turning up some obscure stuff by accident. Blazing Combat is a collection of the 4-issue series from the 60s, featuring short EC-influenced war stories set anywhere from ancient Greece, the Revolutionary War, the World Wars and Vietnam. With art by Wally Wood, John Severin and Alex Toth among others, this was a great collection with terrific art: Russ Heath's sole strip featured perhps some of the finest comic art I've ever seen.
I've never read too much 200AD but the art attracted me to their new collection of Cradlegrave. Great storytelling and art help make the council-estate set tale of a neighbour with something wrong feel totally real, bringing to mind TV shows like The Fades or Misfits: this could easily make a decent telemovie.I stumbled across an edition of Sam Pezzo, PI, an Italian detective comic that I'd never heard of but fell in love with the art: must find more stuff by artist Vittorio Giardino. Legend of the Scarlet Blades is a sumptuous collection of a fully painted European series set in feudal Japan but with touches of fantasy, another pleasant discovery.
My real find is Milo Manara. I've always wanted to try his work but was put off by the sexual nature of a lot of it. I read X-Women, which was pretty but not a great read but then I found Pandora's Eyes and the first edition of Dark Horse's Manara Library. I was blown away by the latter: each line looks effortlessly graceful and the storytelling is beautiful: despite the nasty events, the opening pages are totally silent and really draw you in. Looking at this makes you realise again just how crude most comic art is in comparison to those true artists working in the field. I can't wait for the second (of 9) volumes and may even be tempted by Dark Horse's 3-volume collection of Manara's erotica. Nevertheless, I'd highly recommend the Manara Library...

The Art Restoration Project Part 4 (of 4 but now 5)

2011-12-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd pulled out the last remaining bits of old art I felt able to save (BTW, I saw Kevin Nowlan doing this recently on his blog, which made me feel a lot less pickety :) ) but I've done a fair few commissions this month so while making scans of them for myself, I looked into my folder of commission work (ranging from cartoony, semi cartoony and realistic) and felt I could tweak a few and reclaim them as pieces of my work rather than for others (drawings of strangers don't feel like I own them for some reason...)

Anyway, from the top:

Quite like this one: just had to erase the over sized head (it was a caricature), some stuff from the right hand, specific text from the books and a few other bits and I think this is pretty spiffy now.

This was originally part of a group picture so I dropped the two guys, erased the original head, shaved the shoulders off a bit and added a new head and bingo, another save.

This was actually a cleaner reinked version of an old pic, the outfit based on one somebody I worked with wore: the geometric designs reminded me of a comic/sci fi costume design so thought I'd commit it to paper. This isn't a likeness of the person though (though similar hairstyles)...

Boy, this one was work. Originally a slightly exaggerated A3 caricature of 9/10 year old, I looked at it after and thought I could save that. I had to reproportion the whole thing by shortening the legs, reducing the size of the upper body, repositioning the arms and dropping in a new head (which annoyingly looks to me like Erica Durance, who I can't seem to get right even when I want to I attempt to draw her!!Rrrr!! I coloured this blonde just to break the similarity) and removing an X-factor logo from the microphone. Still slightly odd proportions but not a bad Frankenstein's monster...

Finally, another figure I'd already saved from a group shot. I just went back and slightly reduced the head to more standard proportions and removed details from the face and repositioned some features slightly.

Now there WILL be only one more Art Restoration post to follow (with two other subjects already in mind).

Well, it's 24 December so Happy Easter!

Dr Who Christmas Woddafug?

2011-12-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

Not sure how to link to videos (did it so long ago, I've forgotten) but have a look at posibly the most bonkers Dr Who ever...

Christmas Card Conundrum

2011-12-20T12:09:00.000-08:00

Ah, the Christmas card...there are those who begrudge them, feeling you should stay in contact or express goodwill to those you know more than once a year. I can understand that...but annoying and ephemeral as they are, who doesn't really feel a little twinge of pleasure upon receiving a Xmas card?

Friends and family, no problem...but the workplace? Oh, that's an entirely different species of reindeer. Much as you can't choose your family, you generally can't choose your workmates. Some will be great company, others intolerable monsters and other still just..there. So when it comes to card giving, things can get a bit awkward.

There are people in my office I genuinely want to give a card to, a handful of others I really don't and most others floating somewhere amongst my indifference. Thing is...how do you give cards to some and not the others without causing offense or recriminations? If you cave and give cards to all, then what's the value of the cards you genuinely want to give? This is the Christmas card conundrum.

I need C-3PO as honestly, what is the protocol here?

I think I'm just gonna bite the bullet and give cards to the few people at work I really want to...

The Art Restoration Project Part 3 (of 4!)

2011-12-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

Thank God for time off over Christmas as I've been drawing my arse off lately. As well as 6 commissions of varying size and difficulty, I've managed to squeeze in a few other bits here and there. Originally sparked off when sorting out my art files recently, I've had a small number of old pieces I really liked but that could do with a slight tweak. I've been light boxing and re inking these in a cleaner style or adjusting proportions, errors and so on.

As a result of two different stages, the Carol Danvers Ms Marvel above doesn't actually exist in the physical world, as it's composed of a reproportioned drawing from the emblem up with the original body below. The dolphin isn't technically what I'm calling an art save as it's a completely different version of a commission originally let down by a poor likeness but it shows some of the commission stuff I've been doing. The Sharon Ventura Ms Marvel and Saturn Girl are streamlined re-inkings of old pics and technically the angel qualifies as a save as I've added a different backdrop to replace the original done over at the Weekly Themed Art Blog.

Only a handful of stuff left to do then 3 pages for Too Much Sex and Violence to ink and then I'm nearer to pondering my own two projects...

Hugo There!

2011-12-16T05:44:00.000-08:00

It has to be said, I'm not a Scorcese fan. That's not to say I don't like his work- he's undoubtedly a master - just that the subject matters for his films (sports, crime, period pieces, etc) usually hold no interest for me. I've only seen the first two Godfathers (both OK but overlong, despite numerous great scenes), Taxi Driver's OK but overrated and I've never watched Goodfellas, raging Bull or many other careers highs.

So last night we went to see Hugo: I've read nothing and heard nothing about it so went expecting nothing...and found myself sucked into a film that feels like a fairytale but is actually totally non-fantastical but becomes a very meta thing. It's hard to talk much about the film much without giving away spoilers but about halfway through, you realise we've been watching a movie about movies, commenting on cinema's earliest days and echoing its effects in the literal world.

There are some great performances: Chloe Moritz's warm and charming turn with a pitch-perfect English accent, Sasha Baron Cohen being brilliantly odd but not extreme (I dread to think how Carrey would have hammed that role up), a stern but soft Christopher Lee and touching support from Emily Mortimer and whoever plays the wife of Ben Kingsley, who also puts in a typically solid performance.

This won't be every body's cup of tea, a critic's dream but a mainstream audience's anathema. It's not a worthy movie in the hand wringing sense...but it's well worth a look if you fancy something charming and intelligent, topped off with some probably the best 3D seen since Avatar...

The Art Restoration Project Part 2

2011-12-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

Been busy with tons of art recently. As well as pencilling three pages for Too Much Sex and Violence #3, I've ghosted a page for #2 (panels above), continued performing art "restorations"(i.e., either applying patches to save previous work or light boxing them in a cleaner line style) (with varying degrees, turns out I still prefer my decade-old versions of Saturn Girl and Ms Marvel than the clean line versions I did today), tried doing a male figure in clean line (dunno why Adam Warlock sprang to mind but he did) and am currently nearly halfway through a commission while pottering about an another art save.

Time to sit back and relax with some good reading before Misfits tonight, so pix above should hopefully speak for themselves but may be interestingly confusing...

The Art Restoration Project

2011-11-27T09:59:00.000-08:00

Whilst off ill this week, I took the opportunity to tidy up a box file of art I have and found a few interesting pieces I'd forgotten. Although I'm dabbling with a clean line style, I found some doodles from a few years back also done in this style. I have no idea what they were done for but with a little tweak here and there, I thought I could save them and transform them into pieces I could bear to look at. So, after some scanning of art patches and usage of Photoshop, here's the pieces I managed to retrieve yesterday:

From the top, these three were done as experiments. The first two just needed new heads to save them (I like the far left one best but it was hard to get decent detail on the faces at the size drawn) but the far right (originally done as Suzy from the Jock on a doodle page with other Jock stuff) needed just the face redoing and the hair filling out slightly...

Of the Supergirls, only the flat colouring was done (replacing more elaborate efforts in the past) but the fast was quite a patch job. Originally done as part of a commission featuring a whole family, I still had a scan of the original line art, as well as a photocopy. I drew new arms to replace ones cut out (as they interacted with other family members), layered them in via Pshop and slightly reduced the size of the head (as it was a slight caricature). Not a bad save, I think...

I'd always fancied redesigned the Flamebird costume (introduced as the post-Crisis version of the 50s bat-Girl) and her reappearance in new togs in Batwoman #3 reminded me of that. I always hated flame designs on clothes but liked how JH Williams III added ruffles of cloth to emulate flame. I came across an4 scan of a Batwoman pic done a few years ago and intended to lightbox but there's something about it that bugs me that I just can't specify so this Flamebird is actually a whole new drawing based on the original. It's a slightly streamlined version of the current outfit, extending the tunic tails into the same skirt as the Flamebird costume and adding Bat-Girlesque scalloping to the cape...

I lightboxed a Power Girl that I used to like but now slightly bugged me. Keeping to a clear line this time, I lowered her left (our right) shoulder and added a whole new cape: now I'm pretty happy with this (though the hair bugs me a bit...)

I quite liked the line art to this Mucha piece but hated the original coloured version. I removed some elements of the background that spoiled the whole thing for me (though I have made another alternate version whilst working on this that keeps certain elements, mirroring them to make a squarish backdrop rather than the more pleasing circular one) and flat-coloured the figure. Like the Power Girl, slight edits but ones that really help this sing for me...

Less of a save and more of a second attempt. Annoyed at how shite the first attempt at Katy Perry went (again, don't ask), I did a really quick drawing using different reference. I was intending to shade this and scan it in, but I really liked the simple line work so scanned it in as is, shaded/coloured it via Pshop and ta-dah, a whole better than KPMk I...

As mentioned previously, this is a reinked version of an earlier pic of Amy Pond that I mostly liked, except for the brush inking (lightboxing your own finished art feels like a weird thing to do for some reason...)

Finally, just another flat recolouring of an older drawing, this Rogue isn't perfect but is one of my favourite pieces of line work...

AHmazing

2011-11-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I threw caution (and cash) to the wind and travelled up to Leeds for the Thought Balloon comic convention. I didn't know what to expect but was pleasantly surprised, it was a comfortable venue with a range of small press and pro comics, as well as a number of big name creators.

Of course, the main reason for me going was to see Adam Hughes, long since my favourite artist. He has given up doing convention sketches as too many people were flipping the art straight on to eBay, screwing both Adam and his fans over in regards to money charged.

We got there as the con opened, made it in surprisingly quickly and I picked up the schedule/layout thing and darted straight over to where Adam was sitting. There was a queue already forming but it moved fairly quickly and Adam was not only signing but doing free quick head sketches on card slightly smaller than US comic size. Of course, I took my copy of Cover Run (one of my favourite books) and got a Wonder Woman sketch inside (I saw some nice Catwomen and Batgirls that Adam drew, and would have liked Power Girl really but felt it might be a bit generic in black and white so defaulted to WW).

As well as picking up his latest sketchbook, I also got the following items signed:

Eagle #6 (Adam's first published work)
Comics Greatest World: Ghost (first appearance of Ghost by Adam)
Star Trek Debt of Honour HC (early full-length project)
Justice League #31 (Adam's first issue)
Dark Horse Presents #50 (fun one-off strip by Adam and Karl Story)
Gen 13 Ordinary Heroes #1 and 2 (last major interiors done by Adam)
Comic Book Artist #21 (great cover and interview, plus I( get a credit!)
as well as a bootleg foreign sketchbook (that's pretty shonky as it's full of art cribbed from the net) that I pointed out that Adam may not want to sign but he did so before realising it wasn't official (so that's rare but I'll never part with it anyway).

The rest of the con could be a washout as far as I was concerned as I had what I wanted and was well pleased, but the day continued being pretty cool. Definitely do it again, though will have to think about the travel (train was so overcrowded, a girl passed out and the railway still don't even know as it was so ram-packed, they weren't even checking tickets...)

Washing The Ships Roll In...

2011-11-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

Typically, my washer/dryer decides to pack up at the most inopportune time, plunging me further into financial woe in the run up to Xmas and curtailing a long-awaited weekend away as I had to be back to wait for the engineer to come out today. Still, took the time to finish a few art projects, as seen above:

Top: I really liked the Amy Pond piece I did recently...but hated some of the brushwork so I decided to redo it using pens. I couldn't find the original ref I had so lightboxed my own original drawing! Much happier with the new version (nobody else will see the difference but I know...). Frustratingly, I found the ref after finishing the re-inking...

Next: Inspired by how Amy came out, thought I'd try another face and settled on Katy Perry (don't ask). As a likeness this is atrocious but as a piece on its own, I quite like this...

Next: Coloured version of a recent Catwoman (done experimenting with a pared down rendering style)...

Finally: Originally done as a Dave Sim/Glamourpuss-inspired experiment with lightboxing, I am fairly happy with this drawing so decided to simply colour it with flats after completing the more involved Catwoman...

Not pictured here are a scan of a Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and Cyclops sketch done on the train this weekend, an old Rogue pic I also started recolouring today and a portrait of Will Self (yet again...don't ask...)

Indiana Wants Me

2011-11-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

I still have a collection of Alex Toth strips from the 50s sitting on my shelf waiting for me to get around to reading but after reading Genius Isolated, I was inspired to try and emulate his approach: no faffing about, just bold simple linework with a minimum of detail.

I did this Indy figure a while back but couldn't figure why it didn't work and it suddenly dawned on me a few days ago. His left hand (as we look at him) arm was a few inches too short so I extended it via Photoshop and suddenly, the basics were right. No time to do a decent backdrop so I cheated on this attempt to capture a pulpy feel. This style's not for me but think this is an ok attempt, nothing I'd keep in a portfolio though...

Bits n Bobbins

2011-11-13T08:13:00.000-08:00

Managed to pop out a fair few bits recently so thought I'd post them here (another piece done is being held back until it's formal unveiling)...

So from the top, the first four of which were all done yesterday (although the second only needed shading):

Thought I'd take a crack at a modern animation style tweak of Space Ghost...

Completed version of a Christmas commission, quite happy with this (though could have been better if my marker's weren't running out)...

Rejected idea for a mashup thread on the Weekly Themed Art Board: after rejecting a Blue Beetle/Booster Gold amalgam and the X-Men done as Family Guy characters, I decided to take the current Star Trek/legion of Superheroes crossover comic one step further and enlisted Saturn Girl (more the 90s legionnaires version) into Starfleet...

Ultimately I decided against this and went for the Loony Tunes as the JLA...

Another Art Board thread was Dinosaurs and I picked Old Lace from Runaways but used Carolina instead of Gertie as it meant I could continue practising render-free detailing...

The last is just a colour job of a Wonder Woman done by Adam Hughes for a DC office mural of the new 52, thought a quick colour version would be nice to see...

Where Are You Going, Bo-Lland

2011-11-09T11:18:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the Grange Hill derived (can't say inspired, really)...

Just finished reading Cover Story: The DC Comics Art of Brian Bolland...I say read as while it's essentially a gallery of his covers for DC, each page also features commentary by Bolland himself. I'm a bit of a sensualist with my big art books, leaving them in their clingfilm wrapping for as long as I can resist the urge to crack open the book. The aroma of that glossy paper wafts up and I'm always intrigued to see what's under dust jackets. The Bolland book had a black and white printing of a superb Sgt Rock piece that is a favourite of mine (despite not being a Rock fan). By the time I got to the first few pages, I was really excited to discover the joys within.

I savoured the book and pored over my favourite pieces, most of which had full page reproduction (I really liked the Zatanna one-shot cover but that only got a half page). I finished the book, put it down satisfied...then thought "Hang on!"

Some of my favourite Bolland pieces were absent and I realised that while the book covered 95% of Bolland's output, there were a few notable absences. As a result of my disappointment of these omissions, I have posted them above: enjoy!

Artichokes

2011-11-06T09:39:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd stick up some stuff I've done in the past few weeks, so from the top:

The top three pics are my first designs for the main character for a project I'm slowly cobbling together, although I still don't know the character's first name (though have the surname). I'm trying to draw this in a cleaner, render-free style, similar to Lonely Boy in Pjang. The top piece was drawn at A3 and scanned in in two pieces, which is why the arm on the right is a bit shonky...

Picked up 9and already passed on) a kitsch Catwoman book from the Works recently and fancied drawing the classic costume. I forgot about that idea until watching the Catwoman short on the Batman: Year One DVD tried my hand at anther render free drawing featuring her...

The next two pieces are commissions, the first semi-cartoony (hence the unusual proportions) and the second more realistic (this has all the line work, shading to follow)...

Finally, just a detail of a larger piece, lips sealed for now. You may try to urge me to speak, but we'll have nun of that bad habit around here...

Recent Rumblings

2011-11-03T07:26:00.000-07:00

Final Smallville this week and about time too. Could have been so much better but I blame lack of vision from the mawkish writers. Whereas once there was usually enough per episode to hold your interest, things deteriorated so that it became only interesting to see which DC characters (and there were actually loads) popped up. I don't mourn the show, I mourn what it could have been. Still, we get to see cheaty Superman shots and the final image was indeed what I always assumed it would be. Have to admit that as that John Williams theme kicked in the final seconds, a big grin broke: I'm a sucker for that music. Will miss Lois more than Clark and I actually like the character a lot more after Erica Durance's depiction.

As Smallville shuffles off, Misfits shuffles back. It's not the same without Nathan but still watchable, although Simon's really the only truly interesting character. The Fades was also not bad (while not brilliant) but gets Brownie Points for at least three references to Alan Moore...

Still reading Supergods, Grant Morrison's fusion of autobiography and cultural history of the superhero. It's an utterly absorbing and illuminating read, highbrow references but still accessible. It explains more about Morrison's 90s statements about fictional realities and our interaction with them and is well worth anybody's attention. The Talking With Gods DVD is also an interesting companion piece.

Watched Batman: Year One, DC's 13th direct to DVD original animation (following Marvel's lack lustre 8 outings). While this showed how slight Miller's story actually is (it's then revolutionary storytelling proving to have the real kick), the quality of animation just continues ti improve each time. Using crisp modern digital techniques (such as the Simpsons does: you can tell the old hand animated episodes), this is a treat for the eyes to rival some anime offerings. There's also a Catwoman short that's virtually plot free but strangely features about a minute watching a pole dancer strut her stuff, fling off her bra and narrowly avert a very rude way to pick up a diamond...

Read the second volume of Morning Glories yesterday and despite the dubious interior art, this is one of the most intriguing modern comics around. A group of pupils at a select private school get involved in mysterious shenanigans going on that remind me of Lost at a its best, in that each issue is character-focused and hints at larger secrets. Everybody should give this a look, as they should Ultimate X. This features probably Art Adam's strongest art and is sumptuous to look at but the real surprise is Jeph Loeb's writing. Having hated pretty much everything he's written for years, this is another series that follows an individual character each issue but ties them in to a larger ongoing narrative. I don't know if there's more issues to come, but I hope so...

Wonder Who This Is?

2011-10-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Few months ago, I reorganised my art files and considered an old pinup I did for the small press back in the 90s. I didn't mind it but for whatever reason, it didn't sit right with me: there was something about it that I just didn't like. A few years ago, I tweaked it and turned it into a pic of the Black Cat, which was possibly even worse than the original but whilst reorganising the art, I lightboxed the figure again and waited until I could think of a suitable character to turn the semi-pencilled figure into.

Then, along comes the new Teen Titans relaunch...I really like the Kid Flash design but the new Wonder Girl was perfect for the figure, as it was sleek, skintight and dark (ish). I eventually had to download #1 to get decent refs for the new Wonder Girl outfit only to discover that the design for the armoured bits is incredibly inconsistent, changing from panel to panel: at one point, her bracelet looks like a weird skull, at others barely ornate so I had to make up my own version of the armour in the end anyway.

So anyway, here's my new WG, not great but I think I've finally nailed that old pic now...

Anatomy Of A Cover

2011-10-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

Now that issue 1 is out and available at http://rolhirst.co.uk/, thought I'd run through the cover process...

Rol sent me a brief idea or two, which I developed around 20 crude thumbnails designs from and sent on to him, who picked out elements that he liked, leading to a more refined second round before a design was settled on.I drew the art at full US size, then reduced the line art down to A4 and added gray tones that I scanned in (untidied version above) and sent to Rol for approval. Once that came through, I began colouring in Photoshop, knowing that I would add the signage in once all the colouring was complete.
Once the colouring (except for the sky, as I was doing that separately on a separate layer) was complete, we hit a snag: when I did thumbnails, Rol told me I needed to add the pier but he was unable to fully view the line art I sent him as he was away and only had his Blackberry to view from. Later I figured out that mentally my geography of the town layout was about 90 degrees from the actual locations, leading to about three different amendments removing the pier and inserting a new one. Eventually I got there and when #1 turned up today, I was relieved to see that you actually can't tell there's any jiggerypokery.

Anyway, once the art was corrected and locked, off to Dave Metcalfe-Carr who added the logo and job done. Now go buy the comic, it's probably the best new small press comic you'll read all year...

Jibba Jabba 2!

2011-10-14T06:23:00.001-07:00

Absolutely disgusted by Sainsbury's..well, it was actually the Danny Dyer DVD boxset. Yes, that's right: Danny. Dyer. Boxset. WTF?! I felt my brain losing intelligence just looking at the cover...

Also had to buy a new hoover this week. That sucks.

Last night, held my first pubquiz. A few technical issues aside, went down well and free drinks are never to be sniffed at...

In the midst of a ton of books at the minute. Been a fan of Al Williamson's ever since his Empire Strikes Back adaptation art blew my 9-year old mind (c'mon, compare his work to the weird Infantino stuff that came before...) so cracked through the first volume of his Secret Agent Corrigan/X9 work from IDW. To think this was running at the same time as the cruder art seen in 60s superhero comics is a bit of a wonder...

Also reading Supergods, Grant Morrison's historical placing of the superhero in the cultural consciousness, peppered with his own autobiographical comic career trajectory. Immensely enjoyable, high-falooting but always relatable, this is a seriously absorbing read.

ALSO picked up a kitschy Catwoman book for £2.99 from the Works: for that price, just nice to look at the poppy old artwork: given me the bug to draw Catwoman in her classic costume now though...funny how some designs you hate as a kid, you evolve to appreciate more over time...

Jibber Jabba

2011-10-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Brian Bolland has a blog now. Kewl.

Avengers trailer hit yesterday, featuring the first look at the new tweaked Hulk (looks the same as from the Norton film but seems to have better skin texture closer to the Ang Lee film). Think I might like this film.

Saw Red State and quite liked but want to see the alternative version where THAT music means the OTHER thing (I'm avoiding dropping spoilers). That end would have made the film bloody awesome but scary...

Enjoying the Fades but looking forward to the return of Misfits hopefully later this month. Maybe in the Smallville slot but dunno if they'd be able to show Misfits at 9.0o...think it's time Smallville went as it's been treading water for ages, the main problem being lack of imagination from the writers more than anything else, although the appearance of DC characters usually livens things up a bit...

Laid out and ready to go, think I'll be pencilling pages for TMSV #2 this weekend but have also been developing another project to draw alongside Silver John, this time in a clean line style. Bit of research to do yet though...

Set a pubquiz for tomorrow night, could be interesting. Manager's also asked to speak to me for five minutes tomorrow, THAT could be interesting too...I didn't ACTUALLY put a chair through the window only thought it, so should be safe on that account...

Time to fly...

Just for Me(Na)

2011-10-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

Haven't done any drawing for drawing's sake (IE, not for a specific purpose) for a while, so thought I'd do something this weekend while recuperating from a slight bug...read the latest League of Extraordinary Gentlemen recently and really enjoyed so thought it'd be fun to draw Mina Harker as depicted in 1969, mainly as my style is completely different to Kevin O'Neill's. I picked one of Mina's less garish outfits and did two backdrops, not sure which works best so here's both versions...

Recent Quickies

2011-09-24T08:20:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd load up a few recent pics done for the Weekly themed Art Board...these are just fun little jobs, drawn at A4 to get them in quick in between everything else the average person has to do on their average week...

DCPu!!!!

2011-09-20T11:18:00.001-07:00

Recently, I came into the possession of New Avengers #7. Given, it was drawn by Romita Jr so I was never going to like the art but at least he knows how to pace a story, which is just as well as this was another 5-minute read. I like Bendis' dialogue and that helped maintained interest in a comic comprised of only four scenes. I thought this was a perfect example of how modern mainstream comics have become poor value for money, a five minute read that's instantly forgettable.

And then I read the new Justice League. Better art, less characterisation and only TWO scenes. Yes, that's right. #1 consists entirely of Green Lantern teaming up with Batman in Gotham, then buggering off to Metropolis, where they interrupt football practice and meet Superman. THAT'S it.

And the big two wonder why they're losing readers? I have no problem with serialised storytelling but make each issue not only worth the reader's time but worthy of time in general. I'm reading DC Comics Presents: Metal Men at the minute: each chapter takes longer to read than either of the above two comics and represents better value as a result. Imagine paying for a cinema ticket only to be shown the pre-titles sequence before the end credits roll, because that's what a lot of current comics have become. The worrying thing is, with 70% of the US comic market shared between Marvel and DC, if they go down, the infrastructure supporting the smaller publishers collapses too.

Be afraid, comics readers, be afraid...

More Webdings

2011-09-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd bung up some more random images cribbed from the net...

We start with Spidey by Mike Wieringo...he drew one of the best Spideys in my opinion, I was surprised to read recently that his art was not popular at DC, despite his excellent run on the Flash (pun intended)...Jimmy Cheung started out at Marvel Uk, and I love this image featuring the classic Captain Britain stories from the 80s...
I absolutely love Bolland's work and his art combined with the simplicity of this Zatanna cover make it one of my favourite images ever...
I like seeing modern artists take on "classic" characters, so dig this Art Adams Ms Marvel...
Wish I could justify the expense of the above Black Widow PVC statue, one of the more tempting pieces of merchandise for a while...
Just love this Jason Pearson pic of Mary Marvel and Supergirl...
Again, simplicity helps this image sing...
While clearly riffing on Adam Hughes' work, I still can't help loving Ryan Sook's version of Lois Lane...
Spaaaaaace Ghoooooost!!!!
One of my favourite artists drawing one of my favourite characters, what's not to like?
Done by the same artist who did Ms Marvel on my last post, I love this: stunning but simply, elegantly done...

Not especially an Elektra fan but this is one of the most striking covers I've seen, really love this...

Webdings!

2011-09-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned previously that I tend to haunt the net cribbing artwork that catches my fancy from time to tome, everything to published art, designs, sketches, preliminary art, convention sketches, etc so just thought it might be fun to show a few pix (in no particular order) and explain why they speak to me...

Darwyn Cooke's Judge Anderson: other than being one of the few 2000AD characters I have any affection for, it's always cool seeing a character handled by a totally unexpected creator...

I've always loved Cockrum's Ms Marvel redesign but this art just blows me away, don't know who did it but it really sings for me...
As a kid, I loved the original Wonder Man design but later looked back on it as kitschy. Today i kinda like it again and Art Adams' version really knocks it into shape...

I had to include a Hughes piece so chose this Wonder Woman cover, comparing the lineart against the colour version...
I also love some of the merchandise currently being produced but can't afford most of it. Swinging by at Bowen Designs fills me with joy and sadness at the same time...
Occasionally I'll find nuggets like this Kevin maguire Beetle and Booster pic, always a treat for this JLI fan...
Couild spend ages looking at his Simpson jam...

Also love JH Williams' art and love this design sheet, nice art and clear motivation for the design choices...
Also a big fan of Steve Rude, here with a Gwen Stacy pic that caught my eye...

Oh, look who it is again!
Bruce Timm has loads of Good Girl art online but his heroes are pretty cool too, and obviously I'm gonna like this one....
One of my favourite Invisibles covers, this is the uncoloured version by Brian Bolland...I love the open, unrendered art here, reminds me of the ligne claire or animation-inspired art styles...
Always love Dave Stevens' art and this cropping from one of his Rocketeer pages features probably his most striking depiction of Bettie Page...
I quite like looking at model sheets, especially ones that feature pre-existing characters as it shows how much you can change a character's look while remaining true to the concept. This is Arisia from the original Green Lantern animated DVDs...

Frustration

2011-09-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Well, BICS was last weekend, quieter than normal but still fun. After nearly 2 hours, gave up waiting for Chris Sprouse as he only did four sketches in that time and I was feeling nauseous standing on the spot for so long. I trundled about and picked up a few bits but the real bargain was the Wolverhampton branch of FP, who were having a sale on the Sunday. As well as picking up two Euro albums and Bigg Timme for £4 each, I also picked up Skizz for the same price.

I've always wanted to try this but the art has always put me off but for £4, I gambled and picked up a winner. Alan Moore and Jim Baikie (who's art I soon warmed to here) crafted a solid "ET meets Boys From The Black Stuff in Birmingham" story that rolls along at a great pace. Unable to add as much complexity as his later work due to the four-page instalments, Moore still turns in an emotional level that helps make this book sing. If you've never read it, give it a go (and I rate it much higher than Halo Jones).

Wish I could say the same with my art...I've been pushed for time for the past two weeks and everything I try to do just comes out shit...I'll have to slow down and not try to rush through stuff so much, as the above work shows...

Light (box) Entertainment

2011-08-25T08:18:00.000-07:00

I search the web a lot for artists I like, and invariably end up cribbing a lot of pieces I like and as with the net in general, I often stumble across interesting further work. Some of this inspires me in curious ways...

For instance, I saved a Kid Flash model sheet from the Young Justice show and one of the few things I like about the DCNu is the Kid Flash design (though I still prefer the original). I wanted to devote time to drawing the new costume when I decided to do a comparison instead: lightboxing the model sheet, I quickly finished all three versions...unsigned of course, as I don't feel this is my work at all...

However, I'd always fancied a crack at inking Jack Kirby's stuff. It's so bonkers and abstract, I always thought it would be an interesting challenge as I know I'd inevitably try to beat it into a more realistic shape. So, inspired by the Kid Flash messing about, I downloaded two Kirby pieces. I've got a Superman piece to ink, which I'll ink in my style (i.e, it'll look nothing like Kirby probably!) but thought I'd test the waters trying to be true to Kirby on another piece first. I picked an Orion pic and while it seems quite faithful, I still caved slightly and made a few corrections:

1. The helmet wasn't quite symmetrical at the top so I curved it off a bit and redrew the left (as we look at it) wing, which didn't match the other one at all. In fact, for all Kirby's weird geometric costume designs, his drawing was far from symmetrical! I also gave the helmet "my2 metallic sheen as opposed to Kirby's , raising the trim at the edges.

2. Kirby always drew weird thumbs and fingers so I corrected them before trying to impose some kind of implied musculature on the upper arm, while tidying up the lower arm and filling out the elbow a bit.

3. I extended the glimpse of the far pectoral muscle and added a spine between the shoulder blades, which I tried to define a bit. I misinterpreted the art and mistakenly omitted the shoulder ring but tried to suggest an oblique muscle and texturised the belt.

4. I tidied up the upper leg muscles slightly, reworked the knee areas and redrew the foot so that it no longer resembled a frogman's flipper, also adding a trip to the boot design. There seemed to be a consistent flow of clothing creses from the groin to the the rear arm, so I kept that in the trunks but tried to imply some anatomy trhough them. I did some major streamling on the knee/upper parts of the receding leg but left the lower parts mostly untouched.

I'll add the original version as a comparison, along with another Orion that just made me laugh..

Finally, although I've used them before, I wanted to play around with the (non-Copic) markers I picked up recently. While they work like Copics, the gradations between them aren't as smooth as the Copic range so I think I'd choose to return to them for something serious. Here are an few headshots of Erica Durance shaded with the markers: not great likenesses but I'm warming up to the effects now so will probably colour these at some point.

First though, I have a Kirby piece to return to...
PS Just added a side by side comparison above...

Bitz n Bobz

2011-08-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

Currently, I am nearing the end of a week-long stint house sitting and looking after a dog, cat, fish, guinea pigs and lizard. Armed with a stack of reading (thus cutting down my backlog of reading to one book, two Williamson collections and a Frazetta collection), I found that typing on a laptop is a bloody frustrating exercise and abandoned my plans to continue revising my comic-0n-TV book for the second printing. So what else has been going on recently?

Two things are out now featuring my work: details of the tsunami relief project Spirit of Hope can be found at http://www.comicbook.org.uk/spirit-of-hope/ , while Dirty Bristow#2 is out now, a Birmingham based magazine featuring a few of my illos for a piece by Mr Tom Lennon, also available online: http://dirtybristow.co.uk/pledge/

Nice feedback here too:

Danny found his interview with an Otherkin was relatively easy to write but tracking someone down willing to talk to him was in his own words ‘the ballache of the year’. His pick is Tom Lennon’s Mythical beasts of Birmingham.

“It’d be a cliche to say how difficult it was to pick my highlights because they’re all so good wouldn’t it? I’ll just say that Tom’s piece is top quality funny and writing from a fresh local talent given room to write something that probably wouldn’t fit elsewhere. With frankly jaw dropping illustrations from Nigel Lowery, it’s why we started the magazine in the first place”

I've also been contributing more often to theweeklythemedartblog recently. I missed a few for being spoiled for choice but the one about robots coincided with watching an DVD tutorial by Adam Hughes, so I was inspired to create the piece above, Platinum of the Metal Men. I've also attached my version of Forbidden Planet (not likeness-strong as I wanted to change the horrid 50s hairdo) for the same blog...

Also put up a jam between me and Tony McGee: he inked my Loki, I inked his Magneto then he sank my battleship...

Fancied a chance on the Space Ghost DVD, as I only ever saw about three episodes as a kid, shuffled around the ITV schedules as space fillers. I LURRRVED them...but oh, dear, they've not held up well. Still, an excellent feature length documentary on Alex Toth makes it all worthwhile: odd to see quotes I've just read in Genius isolated spoken aloud on the DVD!

Ahead of the Avengers (shot of above) next year is Ghost Rider 2...it's almost certain that it can't be worse than the original (though the Rider himself, his bike and Carter Slade were all well executed) but it actually looks pretty decent. It feels more like the mood of the comic and the last few minutes alone are worth watching the trailer for:

My Review of Adam Hughes DVDs

2011-08-11T06:26:00.001-07:00

Originally submitted at Jerry's Artarama Art Supplies

"How to Draw Good Girls" - 80 minutes Follow Adam through his artistic process, from a clean, blank sheet of paper to a completed pin-up illustration. Adam will demonstrate how he draws, inks and tonally renders in marker a "Good Girl" illustration right before your eyes! Adam H...

AH! Shouls Say So

By Nige Lowrey from High Wycombe, Bucks on 8/11/2011

Pros: Easy To Understand, Good Resource, Informative, Entertaining

Best Uses: Occasional Refresher

Describe Yourself: Intermediate

As a fan of Adam Hughes and a beginning to dabble with markers artist, this DVD was a must have for me. First the bad points; this isn't exactly a bad point but this DVD isn't really an instructional on how to draw (although Adam is seen sketching and fleshing out the drawing), it's a tutorial for how to use markers. many artists are starting to use marker techniques so it's great to watch one of the best practicioners at work. Starting from scratch, Adam builds the work up in layers, clearly explaining the techniques, his processes and the choices he makes as he goes along. While providing an insight into the artistic process, this is best viewed as an essential tutorial in effective use of markers. Production value is simple but clear, while the contents are quite inspiring. Well recommended.

The mermaid Adam creates during the DVD

(legalese)

Little and Often

2011-07-28T11:27:00.001-07:00

While it may not seem like it, I've been fairly productive artwise recently...I won't post everything but have placed some work above, including:

3 pieces done for Chris Askham's The Weekly Themed Art Blog

One of three pages for Too Much Sex and Violence (I thought I was lagging way behind but think I was the first to turn in pages!)

Design work done locally and for the local council (you won't believe the amount of tweaking and discussion some of this involved!)

Feeling able to draw again is quite nice, though it's distracting me from updating my book...though I'm also working my way through my backlog of reading material too, currently halfway through The Batman Vault, picked up cheap from the Works...

Fantagraphics Nick My Idea!

2011-07-27T13:14:00.000-07:00

Two posts ago, I wrote that if i won the lottery, " One of the first things I'd do would be issue a collection of all Wally Woods's EC sci-fi stories (followed by a similar Al Williamson volume, then a Wood collection of his other EC work and yet another with his other short stories for other publishers)."

I later learned that six days earlier that Fantagraphic have accquired the rights to the EC library and are planning to issue some black and white collections. However, these are not simply collections of entire series but themed collections instead. They have announced a few but of particular interest to me are:

* Came The Dawn and Other Stories. This is a Wally Wood collection, but of his tightly-wound suspense stories rather than perhaps more traditionally lauded work.

* An untiled book featuring 174 pages of Al Williamson's science fiction tales.
Can't wait for these, and I hope a wally Wood sci-fi collection isn't far behind...

Dredding It

2011-07-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

It's been quietly progressing under the radar but now pics are starting to filter out in the run up to Dredd, starring LOTR/Star Trek movie Karl Urban in the title role.

While the Stallone Judge Dredd movie isn't as bad as it's rep (it's a solid story with decent effects: it's just that Stallone and Rob Sneider scuttle every scene they're in...but you knew I'd say that), I'm looking forward to a new interpretation. I was disappointed when I first saw the uniform as again it was a deviation from the comic version: it wouldn't bug me so much if Comics International hadn't run a pic of a fan in spot-on accurate Dredd gear that looked amazing. However, the helmet IS spot on and I like the battle armour look of the movie Judges.

I'm waiting for the trailer but will be hoping this could be quite fun...

Wood You Believe It

2011-07-25T01:42:00.000-07:00

I doubt it's just me, so I gues we've all pondered what we'd do with a huge lottery win. After securing a nice home and having a nice holiday in New York and the wider US, I always thought I'd set up a comic company devoted to quality products. One of the first things I'd do would be issue a collection of all Wally Woods's EC sci-fi stories (followed by a similar Al Williamson volume, then a Wood collection of his other EC work and yet another with his other short stories for other publishers).

While not exactly quite the same thing, I'm pretty excited by the news that IDW will be following their Dave Stevens Rocketeer and Walt Simonson Thor Artist Editions with a Wally Wood volume. Shot directly from the original art, these volumes represent as close as possible a reproduction of the original art as you'll ever get, corrections and all. Some of these corrections can be distracting but are nevertheless fascinating insights into the artists' work. At £75ish, I'm gonna have to save my pennies but what a collection...

...and I'm kind of tempted by the Romita Spider-Man edition too...

JLIconic

2011-06-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

While I have no interest at all in the new ongoing Justice League International series, I'm eagerly awaiting the upcoming DC Retroactive JLI 90s issue reuniting Giffen, DeMatteis and Maguire on the team again (the one-shot also features a classic reprint, please be #23, please be #23!). Looking closely, it's another variation on the classic Justice League #1 cover, surely one of the most aped and emulated covers alongside fare such as Amazing Fantasy #15, Action #1 and Uncanny X-Men #1.

For no real reason, thought it might be fun to bung up a few variations of that classic cover...

These Three Days Point

2011-06-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Coloured the Flash (that became the Reverse-Flash, Professor Zoom) and thought I'd stick 'em together in a race, first prize being a new continuity apparently :)...

These Three Days

2011-06-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Well, a busy few days...

Saturday saw me attending Launchpad in Birmingham, a one-day seminar for aspiring comic creators. While I wouldn't rule out working for comics publishers, I feel telling my own stories may be the way to go as it allows far greater freedom. It's still insightful getting portfolio reviews so I showed mine to DC editor Joey Cavalieri (possibly the vaguest review I've ever had) and John McCrea (who's comments were much more helpful). Joey's comments did reflect comments made in a lecture by Klaus Janson...

...now anybody who knows me knows I'm far from a Janson fan as aesthetically his work is too rough and (deliberately) messy for my liking, but I respect his ability and his knowledge: i still have his book on pencilling (though yes, I did pass on his inking book). His talk was confident and full of little nuggets: both confirming things I already knew but also reminding me of things I'd forgotten and introducing a few new ideas. I learned a lot from his talk and for that alone, launchpad was worthwhile. However, I also went to see an inking demonstration by him that I ducked out of to attend what turned out to be a hilarious talk by John McCrea that topped off an informative day...

I also picked up a few art supplies, a brush pen (more chunky than the one I own) and a set of grey tone markers (not Copics unfortunately but I've been assured they last longer despite being non-refillable). I'm a huge brushophobe but after experimenting with a Dr Strange pic recently, I was eager to push the same colouring techniques. With the new brush asking to be tried, I thought I'd give it a shot at the same time and pencilled a piece that I intended to brush-ink and computer colour.

I chose Professor Zoom (mainly so I could also place it on The Weekly Art Board) but drew it as the Flash: I may want to do a Flash/Zoom version so by drawing it as the Flash, I only had to reverse the art and black in the emblem (which is why I didn't draw it as Zoom then flip it as the Flash). Far from the greatest drawing and the inking is very uneven...but surprisingly I managed to ink the whole character with the brush. It's not bad and I like the boldness the brush line gets but think I'll stay with pens for comic art but will definitely use the brush in future for other things.

Originally i was going to draw Green Lantern after having seen the movie this weekend: thankfully, it wasn't the disaster I had hoped for as it had a lot going for it. Extremely faithful to the comics, I can't see why people are complaining about the info dump opening the film: almost every sci-fi and fantasy film from the 80s opened with a voice over or opening text, something that never hurt Star Wars. Anyway, Reynolds was good as Hal and most of the rest of the cast is great, especially Sinestro. Blake Lively isn't film-destroyingly terrible as Carol Ferris but is an emotionless plank (thankfully she has a nice wardrobe so you at least have something to look at while she's babbling).

Like X-Men: First Class, the film zips along fairly well as it doesn't get mired down in A and B plots but there are some large structural problems. They are not exactly plot holes but occasionally a character appears with little reason or explanation as to why they're there: Amanda Waller's appearance is pointless as her presence is never really explored so only if you know her from the comics will you suspect a government connection, for instance. There seems to be a few scenes dropped or lines cut somewhere.

Green Lantern's another Big mac of movies: could have been a lot better, could have been a lot worse but it's perfectly fine while you're experiencing it but afterwards you wish you'd chosen something a bit more substantial...although that green pickle is really good...

Quick Post

2011-06-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie, the coloured versions of the Avengers and Flash Gordon pics posted a couple of posts ago...was going to take time to do some decent colouring on the Flash piece but it's fairly busy so I went with flat colours instead, although I may do some tinkering if I get the time...

The Sue Storm was the second of two pieces done on holiday: I bought a paper and drew two pics from inside at A5 just for fun. This was originally Fergie from the Black eyed peas and I adapted it into FF style Sue Storm, though I only REALLY kept the mostly-white colour scheme...

DCNu or DCPu?

2011-06-03T06:37:00.001-07:00

I don't have a problem with DC's upcoming line-wide relaunch: in fact, post Crisis On Infinite Earth s and Zero Hour results aside, I think it's a pretty cool idea, a chance to revitalise the line by trimming dead titles, spinning out new ones and tweaking successful current ones. It's good to breathe in new air from time to time.

Well, the early signs are that the new air is somewhat flatulent.

I have no problems with the creative directions and tweaks, although the fact that this is yet ANOTHER continuity reboot for the DC line just a few years after Infinite Crisis (which saw a 12-issue DCU Legacies series follow that explained the history of the new timeline, which has now been wiped out again...god knows how the Legion will be affected now!) kind of rankles a bit. What bugs me is the creative choices for some of these relaunches.

Geoff Johns and Jim Lee sounded like a great time on Justice League...until I saw the art. The Flash had a simple, graceful, effective costume design...which has now been slapped with unnecessary tinkering. This detracts from the look of the character but doesn't add anything either: the results look like a toddler has scribbled over things and as the changes are minor...what was the point?

Aquaman looks OK, Wonder Woman I can deal with and Green Lantern has unnecessary fiddling added but what the hell's going on with Cyborg? He's always been fairly streamlined and had a nice Mike McKone redesign a few years ago...but now he looks like an awful 90s Rob Liefeld reject. How can you relate to Vic Stone when he looks so clunky.

I can deal with the tweaking of Superman's emblem: it's not really changed quality wise, just different but pointlessly amended as it has no real impact doing so. I like the loss of the red pants...but why has he got lines across his forearms? Another pointless fannying around that adds nothing. Hawkman's helmet is an ugly clunker and while both new Firestorm designs have interesting elements, neither holds together as well as the original Ronnie and Jason designs. They bring back the JLI: then give Booster a new costume that's only out-uglied by his 90s armour.

The execution of this has not only dropped the ball, it has let it roll off the courtyard and into the road. I'm hoping a crushing meeting with an oncoming vehicle isn't far away. These needlessly ugly tweaks have really disillusioned me from Dc and makes me remember why I have less and less interest in Marvel and DC's creatively bankrupt output despite desperately wanting to find something from them to enjoy.

I'm currently reading an IDW trade that is so much more satisfying than Marvel or DC's output and reminds me why I'd rather work for myself than on corporate characters at the moment...

More Quick Updates

2011-05-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Just back from holiday and managed to get caught up on alot of reading as well as some drawing, so in various stages of development, take a gander at what I've managed over the last week...

The Avengers is a composite of various pieces I inked but I still think that the central original Avengers could do with being a bit larger...

Kathy is a design for Rol's new comic, the next two pieces were drawn at A5: the first was lifted from a pic from a newspaper as I fancied doodling something after completing my larger pieces and the pirate was done in another clean line experiment (as I had just read another Euro comic using that style).

The bottom piece is Flash Gordon, with a tweaked face for Dale Arden...not perfect but I'm fairly happy with this one. It took ages to ink but I had the Williamson Flash Gordon collection out while pencilling this as I wanted to capture his sense of Mongo without directly swiping. Hopefully this feels like Mongo as seen drawn by him and Raymond...

As I plan to colour this using a few effects, I had to be careful with the inking, being mindful of how it will affect later colouring stages. Let's hope it comes together well...

You Be The Judge

2011-05-16T11:42:00.001-07:00

As mentioned earlier, doing the recent Judge Anderson piece made me want to do a larger drawing, so I planned on doing a completely new execution of my original idea. Then I thought "What's the point?" and repositioned the main figure and when it came to drawing a new backdrop, I felt there was nothing wrong with the original so a little jiggerypokery and ta-dah, similar but new Judge Anderson pic!

I don't mind the pic but it feels a bit "American" and doesn't FEEL like Anderson to me. Still, happy enough if not overjoyed by it...but I can't settle on which backdrop works best. Any favourites, folks?

Who The Hell?

2011-05-15T10:15:00.000-07:00

Dr Who's back and while I still love the cast and enjoy the little ongoing mysteries regarding River, Amy and that regenerating girl (the Rani?), none of the episodes have been as classic as last season's yet. Still, it's nice to see the cheesy kid-friendly spin of the RTD still gone and even subtle things like changes in the music cues helps the show still.

Anyway, Who was announced as the theme this week on the Weekly Themed Art Blog so I went online to crib some refs and knocked up a piece yesterday. however, today I tinkered with it a bit in Photoshop to come up with a slightly more polished version: coincidentally, I was going to ink a Judge Anderson sometime while away on Holiday, but I inked it today and will probably do a variation on the last Anderson pic I posted...seems pointless but I wanted to practice drawing "full scale rather" than just at A4...

How Enchanting....

2011-05-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Been a bit pushed for time so can't spend as much time colouring as I would have liked, but here's the properly coloured version of the Enchantress...was gonna use a purple/lilac backdrop but gave up as I can't seem to get a decent composition :(

Colour Me Experimental

2011-05-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Been practising some colouring recently, thought I'd post the results here. Nothing particularly exciting, I'm just getting ready to try and stretch a bit, try something new. Some minor effects take an amazingly long time and I'm not sure of the results. take the Enchantress, been experimenting with "line holds" and I'm not entirely convinced. Maybe it's my choices rather than the technique but I prefer the less worked version (although I intend to colour this version in my usual manor over the next week or so...)

The Jonah Hex was drawn fairly quickly and loosely, inked very quick too in an effort to achieve a grittier look than I normally go for (don't really think it worked though). My main aim for that was to experiment with line holds again, which woks better here than the Enchantress, though I'm quite happy with the render-free Amora artwork...

Middle two pieces are me just colouring pics by Adam Hughes and Steve Rude just because the urge took me :)

Nother Update

2011-05-07T09:22:00.000-07:00

Just a quick random roundup:

Only just realised launchpad is around the corner so have dug out the portfolio to spruce it up as I never got to show it at BICS last year. Doubt I'll have time to do any sequential stuff before then as I have alot going on but have pencilled a few pieces I hope to ink on holiday, preview above...

Also did my first Silver John head pic...not quite right as it looks a bit Indiana Jones but this is essentially my version...

Been watching Being Human Season Two, which is again pretty damn good but disappointed by the fact that Nathan won't be in Misfits series 3: he was the crux of the show and its funniest character. I loved the Middleman graphic novels so took a chance and picked up the DVD box set of the first and only season of the TV version. Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. I can't put my finger on exactly which quality is missing from the show: dramatic tension, any kind of budget or decent actors probably. It's a shame as the scripts are fun and witty and the Middleman himself is perfectly cast and is actually pretty good...but it's a chore sitting through these so might take me a while to finish this...

Finally started reading the first Rip Kirby collection, which is surprisingly easy to read but difficult to hold due to its colossal size (which bodes poorly for Secret Agent Corrigan volumes I have yet to start!). I found even though I have a nostalgic attachment to Alex Raymond's earlier creation Flash Gordon (see above illo), I found Kirby easier to read.

While babysitting today, I managed to read the entire first volume of Mary Perkins On Stage. I bought this as I loved the art: the seemingly effortless technical ability, character acting and level of clear details is mind blowing and it's a shame we no longer see this kind of solid drawing as style currently wins out. What surprised me was that the story also dragged me right in: a soap opera about a struggling actress should never have been so engaging but no wonder it ran for 20 years. May buy more when I clear my backlog of comic collection reading...

Thor Point

2011-04-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

Just been to see Thor, so how does it hold up? Spoiler-free details below...(and BTW, saw it with NO adverts but trailers for X-Men and an extended Captain America trailer explicitly featuring Howard Stark)...

There's not too much to stimulate the brain as it's a fairly straightforward story but thankfully the characters and acting, even Hemsworth, carry the film along. The film is less of a hero vs villain piece and more a faltering step for Thor towards herohood. While there is some flirting with Jane Foster, the real meat of the story lies in the relationship between Thor, Odin and Loki.

I can see why Branagh was approached as he manages to squeeze Shakespearean style acting while keeping it accessible to the average moviegoer. How does he handle the battles and effects?

Well, firstly, DON'T waste any money on the 3D version: its a poor conversion and really only the scenes set on Bifrost really pop, most of the time you can't really notice the 3D. Having said that, Marvel have been holding back: I hadn't expected the film to be so spectacular. Most of the film is set in or around Asgard, which is stunning. The battles are savage, the Destroyer is incredible and the effects are overall stunning.

Once again, sit through the end credits for another secret scene that sets up the next Marvel movie. I predict it will follow the comics template of Loki manipulating the Hulk, thus effecting the creation of the Avengers, but we shall see.

Finally, what I didn't like and what I did:

Didn't:
Would have liked to have seen Balder
Thor's helmet is only in one scene! C'mon, that's an iconic part of his ensemble!

Did:
The first time Thor spun his hammer made me grin
When Thor is reunited with Mjolnir after being separated leads to a great hero moment
Stan Lee's cameo (and did I glimpse Walt Simonson at the end?)
Ooh, introduction of one of the Avengers!
A handful of Marvel references
The Destroyer kicks WAY more arse than in the comic
The Odinsleep: every other 70s issue of Thor seemed to end with everyone stressing as Odin had a nap so I liked the inclusion

Roll on Captain America....

The Adjustment Bureau

2011-04-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Just time for two quickies: the completed Mucha piece and an ever so slightly tweaked Judge Anderson that makes the pic just that bit better (though still not perfect). Mucha would have spent ages drawing his pieces, I'm sure: I spent about an hour with the background, hence the shoddy results, but not too bad a pic if you forgive that...

Simbolism

2011-04-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

Dave Sim's Glamourpuss is the only ongoing title I currently buy and while that's mainly due to his history of comic art, I've also greatly enjoyed his illustrations, lifted from fashion mags. I saw a video that showed how little basic drawing was done as Sim basically lightboxes (traces) each image. As he's mainly interested in technique, this is not as questionable as it may well otherwise be.

I liked the results so felt like experimenting with aping Sim's style/approach. I'd only ever used my lightbox for corrections so this would be something new. I raided a friend's stash of fashion mags at work in order to select a few nice full figure and headshots (and discovered why so many women detest size 0 models: it's not jealousy on their behalf, it's that the skeletal models look like zombies, ugh!)

Anyhow, here are some of the results...

First up, a headshot of Natalie Portman: I'm not sure if it's recognisable as her (I wasn't really going for a likeness but if I'd added more lines, it would become an ugly drawing) and I never even noticed the bow until I started lightboxing, but I'm pretty happy with the results actually.

I had lightboxed another face that I wanted to inky in my "style" as a comparison to the Portman piece when I received an e-mail that Judge Anderson would be the subject for this week on Chris Askham's Weekly Art Blog. Alongside Dredd, Johnny Alpha and Luke Kirby, Anderson is about the only 2000AD character I have any affinity for so I took advantage of the time babysitting yesterday to get cracking adapting the lightboxed pencils into an Anderson backdrop. Anderson feels like an 80s creation and was inspired by Debbie Harry (apparently), so I wanted to do an 80s style homage. Eventually I thought the better of it but kept the backdrop as part of the image: I drew Anderson and her psi-rings on two separate sheets, combining all three together in Photoshop. It's not perfect, but it's passable.

Back to Sim, here's a full figure I picked out...I was unsure whether to shade the legs with lines but went ahead and then immediately regretted it. I removed them all in Photoshop as I like the contrast between the detailed dress and the less rendered limbs.

After the above, I went online to find a pic more to my liking: the fashion mags have some normal models but they're usually pretty hard to find. I forget what I searched for but I sound found some galleries and printed off a couple of pics to lightbox (getting an e-frame was supposed to eliminate this process but I guess this is an exception to the rule!). Like the faces, I wanted to contrast my style with Sim's so inked this one in my own style. I'm quite happy with this, despite being disconcerted by how similar the model looked like Mallory off the West Wing!

Finally, another WIP: another Mucha-inspired piece. As a with all the pieces above, this is only done at A4 and isn't how I'd draw a "proper" illustration piece but are handy sized palettes to experiment with. I love Mucha's art but I'm not generally a fan of the evening gowns seen in his work so I hoped to approximate his line work but with a modern sense of dress. If I'd drawn at A3ish, I think the thicker outline effect would have worked better as the figure would have been twice the size. Still have the ornate backgrounds and colours to do before this is finished so it may still come together...

Well Well Wellman

2011-04-23T01:06:00.000-07:00

For stories for the longest time, I've wanted to read some stories featuring Silver John aka John the Balladeer by writer Manly Wade Wellman (I'm not sure if Manly was a given name or a nickname!). I don't know why, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I've always been aware of John but dunno why. Wellman was a prolific writer of novels, short stories and even comics: although the primary Aquaman writer throughout the 1940s and a collaborator with Will Eisner on the Spirit, Wellman's most notable contribution to the comic field was the creation of the Phantom Stranger, even though he never wrote the character himself.

After I read Mike Mignola and Richard Corben's Hellboy: The Crooked Man, a direct homage to the Silver John stories, I thought it time to track down some Silver John material. There were five St John novels but the character originated in and most frequently appeared in short stories. Luckily, a new collection of the short stories had been released under the title Who Fears The Devil? This wasn't the first collection to use the title but was the first comprehensive John collection, featuring every short story in one volume.

Inspired by a young Johnny Cash, John is a Korean War veteran who has returned to his home region of the Appalachian mountains. Similar to a wandering minstrel, John is a simple man who basically travels searching for new songs to learn. He owns only the clothes he wears, his camping pack and his prized possession, a guitar strung with silver strings. This small supply of silver, allied with John's inherent decent nature, come in handy for in John's search for the truth behind the songs he learns, he often comes into conflict with ancient and evil forces. These are sometimes from Appalachian folklore, sometimes new creations of Wellman's but the distinction is never clear.

The stories are short but drip with atmosphere, narrated by John in his Good Ol' Boy twang and bringing the most fantastic events down to earth and making them feel totally believable. I've not read much fiction in the past few years, as time and lack of concentration has limited my attention, but this book was a very comfortable read.

I'm left with a fondness for the character and actually plan to adapt some of the stories into comics. Some of the stories are short enough that I've laid them out and can fit them into one or two page strips. I hope to draw. The short strips will be enough to ease me back into sequentials before adapting longer stories and moving on to other stuff I want to draw. There was a (reputedly awful) 70s movie adaptation of the Silver John material but I have settled on Nathan Fillion as the model for my John: he has the look and tone of John so I'll visualise him when I hit the drawing board...

My Very Last Nerve

2011-04-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

I saw an on TV advert yesterday for a new DOUBLE (!) CD from granny's fave, James Last. Despite an obvious trick of laying the new tracks over brief clips of concerts probably held a few years ago, that in itself is no big problem...Last has his audience, presumably the elderly, slightly retarted and purveyors of telephone hold music, but an audience nonetheless. No, what got me was the last two tracks: first, a brief medley of "old favourites"(i.e. stuff the average person has never heard of) and new "hits" such as "I Got A Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas and "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga. Really?? How the hell does that work? The BEP and Lady Gaga aren't the most extreeeeme!!! of artists, but they do possess some level of vitality. I can't believe anybody who ever heard either song went "Y'know, I really liked that track but y'know what would make it better? If you sucked all the energy out of it and reduced it to a nice chinwigging song instead of a stomping dancefloor hit". Do you think a Lady Gaga fan, no matter how rabid, will pick this up? Do you think any 80 year old duffer sat festering in a nursing home has any idea who the BEP are? Is anybody, no matter how neurotic, really desperate for a tuned out song just in case it incites a panic attack from them? Can anybody explain the above choices without stifling a snigger? Or is this really the start of Yourent's muzak hell?

Now For Something Somewhat Different...

2011-04-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Although I've been too busy to do regular comic art lately (though I thumbnailed out a few pages today, yay!!), I have kept my hand in with various other requested art jobs. These are usually personal gifts and so won't be of interest to most folks, but I featured one or two in Odds And Ends II and thought I'd just post a few others here to show what else I've been up to .

Again, this isn't a complete collection of these requests but my favourite pieces (except the crap ducks and building, which I only added to vary things a bit more) from the completed work I've scanned. I've actually decorated two cakes too, but they're harder to scan :)

Pucker Sunch

2011-04-08T05:46:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw the trailer for Sucker Punch, I thought "I'm seeing that"...I knew not to expect the greatest story but I was still surprised by the negative reaction, even though I hadn't read any actual review. This kind of put me off but still, I decided to take the plunge...

And was glad I did.

I'm not going to say this was a great movie or even a good one but what it WAS, was absorbing. Many films I've watched recently haven't been bad but have failed to engage my interest or empathy. It's possible the fault is mine but I doubt it: I always hope to be entertained at the cinema. Seeing a film in a darkened theatre can be utterly absorbing and quite therapeutic: more than once I've sat down to watch a film in a low or bad mood only to leave the theatre far less stressed as I've been transported somewhere else.

Let's start with Sucker Punch's flaws: I knew the story would be sleight but there's almost no plot, just excuses for the spectacle. There's no great performances and some of the dialogue is a bit ropey, the while many of the effects resemble a computer game more than real life.

However, the flip side to that is....

There's no faffing about as the film opens with a stylish flashback for the lead character before cracking on with the set up that she is about to be lobotomised and sets up fantasy scenarios within her mind to try and escape her fate. The mix of effects and music, often edgy covers of classic songs, creates a wonderful alternate reality. Yes, it's style over substance and it's not always convincing...but what Sucker Punch is about is pure unbridled visual imagination.

Knights storming a castle as a dragon chases a Second World War plane? Shiny sleek robots defending a bomb on a train set to destroy a futuristic cityscape? Steampunk zombie German soldiers fighting in the trenches? Giant sword wielding samurai? This has all of that and more, and it's unapologetic: it's not about plot, it's about visual spectacle, the joy of the imagination, COOL SHIT without the need for justification.

This is unadulterated pulp fun.

And then the end...most of the film washes over you (and if any of you are ever going to see it, it HAS to be at the cinema, watching at home will kill the immersive effectiveness of the film) but the end...well, I won't spoil it.

But out of nowhere, the film shows that all the time, it DID have a point and more than just as an allegorical context. Fir the first time in ages, I wanted to punch the air with the sense of invigoration that literally came from nowhere.

I can't say it's great but if you watch with your critical faculties in reverse and your fun gills open, hopefully you'll be left with the genuine thrill I had at the end of the film, and THAT was the real Sucker Punch....

Jive Talkin'

2011-04-04T06:25:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post about this ever since the event a few weeks again, but as usual, my time's constantly been eaten up. Nevertheless, better late than pregnant...

Some of you may have been affronted with a copy of my self-published book, Comics On Film And Television (I have about thirty updates to do plus an index and appendix before I hopefully push out a second edition later this year). While the book was at the printers at Fallen Angel Media, I received an e-mail asking if I'd like to develop the book into a talk for two small press expos.

My immediate reaction was "Waaaahhhhhh!!!" Talk in public? To people? People I don't KNOW? Me?? I felt nothing but panic and fear at the whole thought of it...yet...yet there was still a sensible part of me that realised that this was a cool opportunity, something different that not everybody gets to do.

I was undecided but eventually trusted friends and colleagues convinced me that I should do it and so I thought "Faggit, what the hell" and accepted the challenge.

I had nothing to gain other than the experience really: I only had two copies of the book left and they weren't priced to sell anyway, they were done as a way of exorcising a project (that was alot more involved than I expected) out of my system and not letting months of work go to waste.

I struggled with an angle until Tone suggested a Comics Adaptations Through The Ages Approach, which quickly started fizzing things together. I focused on American adaptations as time and brevity wouldn't enable me to cover EVERYthing in the allocated hour. I pulled out my book and started collating a timeline of comic adaptations, double checking details online to verify my already verified (but possibly still erroneous) research.

Pretty soon I had a year by year time frame (with the occasional hop back and forth through time) and started creating montage "stills" of the source comic and the screen versions, along with a ton of downloaded clips of various adaptations (seriously, you have to see some of Legends of the Superheroes to be truly horrified by such sights as Ghetto Man and Hawkman's papier mache wings, helmet and chest emblem, which peels off during an argument with Solomon Grundy attempting a disguise as a petrol pump attendant).

I figured that nearer the time, I'd start to panic and even though I was distracted by compiling the visual aids up until the day before the talk, I still felt pretty calm.

So, the day rolls around and Tone had travelled down via Brum and I met my pal Martin in Amersham: originally I had two more friends attending but they had to drop out at the last minute. Being girls with no real affinity for comics, I was disappointed they couldn't make it but felt that I could unwind a bit and not repress my Inner Geek. The trains and tubes were running amok but I carefully planned our route, which was time consuming but thankfully smooth and pleasant.

We finally rocked up at Goldsmith College and I asked for Mallory, who was to help me with the talk. I was told I couldn't miss her but I wasn't unsure, but sure enough, a tall tattooed Amazon with red hair tied in bunches was pretty easy to find amid a (remarkably comfortably well laid out) small press dealer hall.

I confessed that I had no idea if the talk would run long or shorten and that I had no experience talking in public. Mallory said not to worry as she had plenty of experience and would intro the talk but said to stay calm and keep the speech fairly slow: this simple trick helped me incredibly.

While Mallory guided us up to the talk room and tried to sort out the technical problems with the visual support (the projector seemed to miss images and we had to switch to a laptop that was crystal sharp but was Mac-based and caused some delays), I set out my drink on my table at the front of the room and leafed through my 30-odd pages of notes. I was expecting to use this as a reference point but ultimately never actually referred to it (though I glanced at it once).

As I'd created the visual files to accompany the adaptations, they ran in the correct order and I just talked about each project as they came on screen, with Mallory scrolling through at my prompt.

Finally, time turned against us: the delays in setting up and the sheer number of topics meant that I had to steamroll through the late 90s into the 200s, finally having to be cut short around 2004 (I had planned up till 2008).

Amazingly, I never did develop that final flush of fear and seemed to cope okay. Afterwards, Martin or Tone asked me how I felt it went and I couldn't really answer. I gave the talk but it wasn't for me to say: it was a good turn out, only one person left when we overran, there were a few laughs and some audience interaction so I THINK it went well, but it's not my place to say.

However, I've just had an invite to repeat the talk at the Bristol Comic show in May so it can't have been a total disaster. Public transport willing, looks like I'll get to do an encore in a few short weeks...

OK, Justice Once

2011-03-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Really, I should be posting about my recent talk but I've been renaming and filing loads of classic Jose Luis Garcia Lopez DC style guide art from the late 70s/early 80s...for me, his art defined the look of what superheroes should be as i grew up, with his adorned on all kinds of merchandise and advertising. He can still draw most people off the table...

Then today i saw this new Kevin Maguire cover and thought "Oh-ho yes!!"...

And then I saw the Smallville Blue Beetle and Booster Gold and thought "Hmmmmm...."

A Few Quickies

2011-03-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post...I'm HOPING to get round to posting about my recent talk based on/inspired by my book at the weekend but in the mean time, thought I'd just post a few quick pics...

From the bottom:

A pub sketch of an animated-style Batman, not particularly based on any screen version. I've been looking at a few animation model sheets lately (particularly liking the Young Justice and Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths designs) and I think I'm going to attempt to design a decent stab at animated versions of the Avengers as DC seems to be able to piddle all over Marvel's cartoons from a very great height...

Next up, Cyclops in a Tron style, done for Chris Askham's new art blog. I kind of rushed the backgrounds so I've removed it from this piece, taken odd the glow but added the visor glow. It looks less Tron, but I prefer this...

Finally, a piece I'm working on for a charity project in aid of the Japanese Tsunami relief effort. I wanted to do something a bit hopeful so searched for pics of survivors and this pic cropped up alot and seemed powerful enough. I originally planned to add a Japanse rising sun but I don't know if that would detract from the image. I'm not my own biggest fan but I'm quite happy with this so far but feel I may cock it up by fiddling with it too much...

Who's that? Just me, chekin' in !

2011-03-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Gonna have to be a brief one: I've finally completed all my notes for my talk on comic films and TV shows next Saturday (http://www.thefallenangel.co.uk/spexpo/london.htm) but I'm gathering together visual reference, which is enjoyable but time consuming. I have most of the stuff I need though so my only real concern is my voice now: I'm on a course of antibiotics so hopefully I'll be able to say more than three sentences before hacking up.

While compiling this visual ref, saw this Hulk pic and you know when something amusing just tickles you? I had to put in the voice bubble.

Anyway, I completed a Cinebook graphic novel called Blake and Mortimer, a 50+ year old Tintin style book that took a bout 300 years to read (slight exageration but take my word for it, it's a tad wordy) but was a joy to look at. I fancied trying the clean line style and for no reason I can remember, I settled on doing all the Doctor Whos. Dunno why, but there we are. Drawing didn't take long but it's taken a few weeks to get round to the colors, which I did this morning.

Using the clean style was quite nice actually and I had no real probs with the faces but the main composition threw me a bit, especially as I hadn't really left myself room to actually draw much of anything.

Eventually, I dropped all the non-Doctor stuff as unnecessary distractions, enlarged and repositioned the Matt Smith doc, may have slightly done the same with Tennant and drew the planets on a separate sheet, then scanned 'em in and comped it all together. Went for a simple gradienty starfield thing as I still have no idea how to pull off the effect I have in my mind's eye without doing it the traditional freehand way.

Anyway, once the talk is done, I plan on tweaking the book and sending it off to be proof read (Rol, this may be news to you but I've not been able to get to the post office with your completed letter and copy of Odds and Ends II yet!) ((Oh, yeah, Odds and Ends II is out, a couple of glitches with gradient printing that were fine in my proof copy but nothing to get too narked about)) and printing off a handful of new copies: they're too costly to print up a load hoping they might sell somewhere, which is why the first edition is unpriced). After that, hope to get the old juices going with Chris Askham's new Facebook art blog (I'd like to do something this week but there's no way I'll get anything done this week) then at last embark on my own one shot before returning to Lonely Boy.

Hmm, I'm knackered already!!

Even More General Mutterings

2011-02-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, so the first Captain America teaser has been released...while not hating the movie cosume, I would have liked to see the traditional comic design but I have to admit that Cap looks great in action. Weedy Steve Rogers is done well, the shield looks substantial and the Red Skull looks pretty good. Fingers crossed for this, which has suddenly shot up in my list of upcoming films.

Thor still looks ok, but nothing exceptional. New Spidey looks a bit rubbery. I don't miss the silver webbing but the costume doesn't really need the unnecessary tweak, especially as Garfield's more accurate lanky frame casts quite a different look anyway. By pure coincidence, I was leafing through Spider-Man: With Great Power the other day and I think the movie costume is lifted from there. Briefly used in his wrestling days, see what you think....

Earned some Amazon vouchers in return for art a while back so bought a few DVD boxsets. Watched the first season of Being Human, probably one of the best UK dramas of recent times...not saying much, but it's a decent show.

Also rewatched season one of the should-hate-it-but-don't-as-it's-good-really Misfits...viewing it now knowing Nathan's powers, there were some clever allusions to it in earlier episode dialogue, with him actually having used his power in another episode but without him or the audience knowing. I'm diving back into the even better second season now and I'm looking forward to finally watching the Xmas special, which I missed.

Got doodling during a course at work the other day (about extremism!) when a face I was scrawling reminded me of Matt Smith as the Doctor. Inspired by the gorgeous clear line art of the Blake and Mortimer graphic novel I'd just finished reading (bloody text heavy but stunning art from a decade before Kirby's bombastic energy swamped the US comic field and squeezed out solidly drawn and composed illustrations in favour of emotive dynamism instead), I started doodling a pic of the 11 Doctors in a similar style. Tom Baker needs work and Matt needs complete reworking, but an interesting experiment...

Yet Another Quick Update

2011-02-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

Really, I should be working on a talk I'm preparing to give at a small press expo in about a month but I've been shattered this week so after finishing up the illustrations below, I think I'm going to take a little siesta.

The Obi-Wan below is one of the first things I ever coloured on Photoshop and always bugged me as it could have been so much better. So, a quick tinker adjusting the skin tones and an edited star field backdrop later, a picture that now bugs me less (it's always the details that bug me!)

Sniffle Piffles

2011-01-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

Blasted flu has wiped me out for a few days but I'm getting my strength back and should be heading back to the slave pits tomorrow. Tons of stuff I could have been doing but had the energy to do nothing but lie down for three days!

Anyway, just thought I'd post some random bobbins:

During our regular pub sessions in Brum, we often end up filling A5 pads with numerous sketches. I uploaded some to Facebook recently but thought I'd try and colour this Amy Pond (drawn as it was the Who finale that day and we were discussing t inbetween sips of alcoholic beverages). It's not great but thought I'd post it as something a bit different. By the way, talking of different stuff: stick my name in on Amazon (or apparently WHSMiths or Waterstones, apparently) and the second humour book I've illustrated should show, a bit ruder than the first one but nothing TOO bad...though there are a couple of images I'm not putting up here!

Finally saw the Richard Donner cut of Superman II and have to say, it's a lot stronger than the theatrical version. It feels shorter and follows the original fairly closely (as most of that was shot simultaneously with the first movie by Donner anyway) but tonally and thematically is a lot stronger than the campier original. Gone at last are the bloody stupid animated cellophane S shield Superman throws at the end and his stupid new powers like the memory loss-inducing kiss and lasers from his hands: Zod still shows telekinetic abilities in one scene, but who's to say he did not have this ability already?

Lara is excised completely and Marlon Brando reinserted for some strong father/son stuff with messianic overtones. What at first look scenes set on Krypton from the first film are actuallyy not: they are the same scenes and takes but using footage shot from differing camera coverage, so the scenes are familiar but actually observed from a whole new direction.

A few new FX shots have been added as missing film had been cobbled together from numerous sources around the globe. As a result, some of Richard Lester's directed scenes remain to maintain continuity and a scene never shot for the film but used as screen tests for Reeves and Kidder has been reinserted. Quality of the image doesn't alter but it is amusing to watch their hairstyles jump around a lot! I never could take to Kidder as Lois but have to admit she was quite attractive in the right light. Still can't beat Erica Durance's Lois...

Talking of, attached above are the actors set to play Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and the new Blue Beetle in Smallville. Although his appearance was hinted at but never confirmed, Ted Kord definitely appears, though probably not as the Blue Beetle.

Proof copy of something I put together turned up and had great reproduction. Unfortunately, three pages were printed at the wrong ratio so when this is rectified, should be something new out in a few weeks, nothing major but something to hopefully gee me up into drawing properly again...

...although I do have a few illustrations to do by end of February, as well as prepare a talk for a small press show in March, so I'm gonna busy for the next month or so, as well as possibly starting therapy. Although I've been held in a weekly prep group for months, I've comparatively steamed ahead as only four other people have gone forward in this time. Still keeping my head down for a month or so to recover my pennies as there's a holiday in May to prepare for too.

Despite being off on the sick, plenty to keep me occupied once I get back to health!

Simulation

2011-01-22T01:32:00.000-08:00

Despite admiring the visual storytelling, I always found Dave Sim's Cerebus pretty impenetrable and could never really get into it. However, after sampling a copy before buying the run off of eBay, I have to admit enjoying his current Glamourpuss series.

Using the football adage, Glamourpuss is a game of two halves. For me, the first half is inconsistent but occasionally interesting. This would be the fashion magazine parody material, a one-time limited joke spread thin over each issue. Using fashion magazine adverts and articles as a source, Sim peppers each issue with numerous splashes lifted from the mags but adding his own subversive text. Sometimes, the sarcastic humour hits the mark and is amusing but never hilarious, but mostly the text is just something to wade through before getting on to the real meat of the series' subject matter.

Despite the format, Glamourpuss is not a comic but an illustrated treatise on comic art, particularly the photorealist school founded by Flash Gordon creator Alex Raymond and continued by Al Williamson, a hero and huge influence on Sim. In fact, there's very little drawing in Glamourpuss as the fashion drawings are not actualy redrawn but lightboxed directly. This is fine, as Sim is not presenting these as original drawings and even shows his methods on Youtube. Sim chose fashion mags as he just wants to draw attractive women (though for my money, fashion models are usually sickly thin) and is using them while focussing on his real interest: inking techniques.

He is attempting to capture as much of the essence of Williamsn's inking in these recreations and he also lightboxes original art from numerous sources but primarily Alex Raymond, specifically his Rip Kirby strip. In doing so, he is trying to ape the inking methods these classic artists used in an attempt to deconstruct and learn the process for himself.

As someone who has been delving into the work of Raymond, Foster, Williamson, Wood, Caniff (who's stuff I couldn't take to) and other classic artists for the last few years, this side of Glamourpuss is of great interest as it is an education in comic history as well as a primer in inking technique.

It won't be for everybody, but Glamourpuss holds more than enough fascination for me at the moment to add it to my regular buying list...

Hmmmm...

2011-01-20T06:12:00.000-08:00

So, Magneto, Moira MacTaggert, Emma Frost, Azazel (hoodafug?), Beast, Havok, ????, Mystique, Professor X....

Like the classic-inspired designs, Havok looks cool but...how can Emma Frost be like this AND in Wolverine Origins? Was the Beast cameo in X2 using an Amazing Adventures-era mask to disguise the fact that Hank is a furry mutant?

Anne Hawathay as Catwoman and Tom Hardy as BANE?....

Hmmm....

Mucha Do About Nowt

2011-01-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the Works, I got my grubbies on a humongous book devoted to famed Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, the first artist to successfully balance careers as a commercial and fine artist. I began reading the book but soon gave and pored over the artwork instead.

I can't paint: I haven't the dexterity or colour awareness but I can draw (to what degree is open to debate :) ) and perhaps this is why I'm enamoured by Mucha's work as I can relate to it because of his drawn line work. I came to Mucha through Adam Hughes' homages but looking at this book, I can see hints of his work showing in the art of other comic artists such as P Craig Russell and Kaluta.

I love the effortless-looking but spot on line work and intricate designs, the soft colour palettes and the personalities of his subjects. What I don't like are his faces: classical and well drawn but plain faced, wonky-nosed and straddled with unfortunate hairdos.

Thus, the next piece of art I produce will probably another, more confident attempt at swiping Mucha's style but featuring a completely contemporary modern woman. How things turn out remains to be seen, but will posted when complete so be warned...

Axel Grease

2011-01-06T04:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the start of a new years and some big news with Axel Alonso replacing Joe Quesada as editor in chief, after a 10-year spell in the role that makes him the second longest serving Marvel EIC after Stanny boy. I'm cautiously optimistic: having briefly talked to Alonso at a Bristol convention, he seems like an intelligent guy and he's well respected within the industry (other than the infamous Darwyn Cooke fight).

I'm a Marvelite at heart but I feel the company is in such a creatively bankrupt mess that the only stuff I've bought from them over the past few years has been the Dark Tower and Stand collections. I'm hoping Alonso will bring a new vision and reinvigorate the company as Quesada did but there are two points that make me rub my chin with suspicion: Quesada remains as Chief Creative Officer so his vision may still trump Alonso's but if not, Alonso has apparently been performing some of the EIC tasks for a while anyway so maybe some of Marvel's current fare is his fault anyway.

My lack of interest in Marvel's current output makes me think back to the 80s and 90s...I grew up with comics in the 70s but was really excited by them in the late 80s and early 90s when I could afford to buy more stuff and there was lots of fun, interesting stuff coming out. Somewhere along the way, I've lost that pure joy of comics. I still love the medium and adore some work I pick up, but that zeal has long gong.

I have kept a few classic runs: Uncanny X-Men, JLI, Preacher, Starman, New Teen Titans, the Giffen LSH, David Hulks, etc but by and large I'm currently enjoying more work found slightly off the mainstream. Manga and Euro comics have made up a small part of my reading but I really enjoy rediscovering older work from artists who could REALLY draw: 80s fare like Stevens' Rocketeer or Schultz's Xenozoic Tales and classics like Wally Wood's sci fi work, Williamson's work, Frazetta's comic work and Raymond's Flash Gordon.

Currently I'm nearing the point where I can dip into a collection of Williamson's work and a collection of unknown (in the UK) 1950s newspaper strips, with a Frazetta collection eagerly awaited. These older works have also led to a comic series I've been grabbing back issues of, which will probably be the subject of an upcoming post...

New Year Gubbins

2011-01-02T04:04:00.000-08:00

Unlike most, I'm pretty pessimistic about 2011. It's kicked off with a serious financial dampener for me, Cameron & Clegg (Camegg?) are sure to push the country closer to the edge of social ruin and there's still major uncertainty regarding my longtime employment due to various proposed changes.

On the plus side, got a free holiday, won some free bowling games and may finally start therapy, if I'm lucky so it's not all gloom and doom, just mostly....

The Xmas break has enabled me to catch up on some much-needed rest and to get stuck into my read pile: I'm nearing the first Williamson Secret Agent X9 hardcover at last! Finances and lack of gray scale printing at the printer I was considering mean that the new collection I've cobbled together (featuring only 5 pages of comics, but it is new...ish), so thankfully I don't have to use the Powerpuff Girls pic above as a rear cover. Not sure about that at all, but I also came across some nice Steve Rude pics of the Marvel Family so for fun, I quickly coloured them and put them together.

Dunno when Smallville will be back on E4 but I'm still waiting to see Beetle and Booster. In the meantime, here's their version of Mera...

Right, Fred's Dead: The Walking Dead TV Show

2010-12-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

Considering how pathetically bad festive TV has been (with only Dr Who being of any interest and the new Lucas/Williams show being woefully bad), I was lucky to have a disc with the first series of The Walking Dead series to watch.

Although not a huge zombie fan, there's something about the modern post-Romero zombie that has always had an effect on me. I think that as most such tales focus on a small band of survivors staving off an onslaught of ravenous cannibalistic reanimated corpses, it's the tension built from facing death literally stalking you that gives zombies their appeal.

I started following The Walking Dead comic with the first trade makes and have just read the 13th. Like many, I loved director Frank Darabont's adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption and seem to be the only person alive to not hate his Green Mile: so how does his adaptation of the comic fare?

Well, it starts off incredibly faithful before branching out to follow its own story while still parallelling the plot of the comics. The first series shorts just short of the first six issues, roughly, anddeviates enough to be original but still honoring its roots. The first episode is utterly silent at first as we follow Rick Grimes into the post-zombie world but gradually dialogue is introduced as he starts to meet fellow survivors.

I like Andrew Lincoln, but he looks nothing like Rick Grimes (the rest of the cast looked pretty much spot on to their comic counterparts, though the TV Andrea is maybe a decade too old): fortunately, he manages to nail the character pretty well, as do his regular cast mates. The inclusion of a larger band of survivors means there's more to lose to the zombies, who are a more potent threat than in the comic. One or two are no great threat, especially as they loll about fairly slowly until they start bearing down on you, when they DO become a threat, especially when assembled into hordes. Some of the zombie killing would definitely rate an 18 at the cinema and are probably the bloodiest effects I've seen on TV, yet still manage to avoid being gratuitous.

There are some really great moments in the series and the acting, direction and great effects more than compensate for the show's few missteps. Roll on (the 13-episode) Season Two!

Sneaky Peaky

2010-12-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

Coming soon, probably January or February...

Five pages...

Other details secret...

Hmmm...

Durance Durance

2010-12-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post: after completing the Kristin Bell pic(s), I got around to attempting an Erica Durance, something I've been pondering for a while. It's not a bad likeness (especially considering how quickly I managed to get it done), it's not as good as I hoped and not really useable for what I intended it for.

Still,hopefully not awful...

Bell Aremberg UPDATED!!!

2010-11-29T12:11:00.000-08:00

After the previous acceptable likeness of Kristin Bell, seems like I managed to pull off another one (this reminds me of what they say about buses...)

I scanned this in grayscale so the skin tones are a bit dirty as I didn't remember to adjust the levels but it's a fairly decent pic (if you forgive that). Not one of me best, but a decent attempt, I think...

UPDATE That dirty looking skin colour bugged me so I rescanned the original, tweaked the levels and coloured it again. I've taken the original version down and put the new one up, adding a comparison below...

Bellissima!

2010-11-28T10:05:00.000-08:00

Finally,FINALLY I managed to get a decent Kristen Bell likeness today! I'm not obsessed with her but I have been obsessed with getting her likeness right ever since I first tried to draw Elle way back during season two of Heroes.

I still haven't abandoned the pic that I posted earlier but I want to copy the lineart first in case it all goes wrong in the pencil shading stage, hence another attempt at a likeness today. I shall post that once done but I have a few artjobs on at the moment and the coldsnap is still putting up an all out assault so dunno when that'll be...

Turning Japanese Part Two: I Really Think So

2010-11-27T10:53:00.000-08:00

And here's the rest of the stuff completed earlier today...

Turning Japanese

2010-11-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

Well, as ever it all started down the pub...

I forget the genesis of the idea but I came up with a tragicomic character called Zygote the Aborted Foetus, who we soon developed numerous scenarios to play around in. After picking up a few Mugg-style postcards featuring funky Japanese/urban/designer riffs of well known characters, I thought "I could do this". Last weekend I went to memorabilia for the first time in about a decade and stumbled across a similar stall selling funky designs on T-shirts and merchandise.

Again, I thought "I could do that"...and so I have. I still have a few more anime-styled designs I have jotted down but I'll post here all the cutesy Japanese style designs I've been working up since Thursday night...

You Can Ring My Bell

2010-11-27T10:16:00.000-08:00

Curse the freezing cold snap! I've been busy drawing away this week but can only do it until I lose the sensation in my fingers due to the biting cold that seeps through my windows.

As a result, I managed to do one commission this morning after finishing other bits (which will feature in my next posts) and went on to try and do a decent Kristin Bell again (I think I lucked out with my Hayden Panetierre likeness as I can't seem to nail Bell right). I think I managed a decent headshot of her then realised it was a weird size that made getting a whole figure on the page difficult. Stumped for ideas, I dug out reference from years ago and found a Gillian Anderson pic that fitted with the headshot and space I needed, so I shamelessly lifted it!

It got too cold for me to finish it up, but things are looking hopeful at this stage, just hope I don't cock it up!

Another Quick Update

2010-11-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

Just another quick update as things are a bit busy at the minute but I have managed to do some drawing today. I added a phoenix effect to an old Jean Grey pic (from the A-Z thread I think), pulled out a three year old attempt at drawing in a Mucha style and added a completely new art deco backdrop to make it feel more like Mucha and I've done a few more cartoony pics for a second book to go on sale via Amazon. I also scanned in five pages of comic art that I've battered into something resembling a story, though I've only scrawled out the dialogue so will need to go through and refine it to read better and make more sense.

I also have about a foot high stack of stuff to read, with a similar sized stack of DVDs to peruse at my leisure but saw the first official Green Lantern footage today, which looks CG heavy but fun...

Quick update

2010-10-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

Been busy beavering away on a few bits and bobs: abaove are four new Christmas card designs following up from last year's successful project: I personally hate the bear (drawn during a lunch break as time has been at a premium the past two weeks) but like the angel at the top. I was intending to properly shade this but time didn't allow so it's flat but I think the colours work.

The cartoon of the lady is a detail from a larger piece I was asked to do that I thought I'd colour just for fun (as it only took a few minutes) and I've completed the rear cover of Pjang. I need to reduce it before I can scan it in and I'm still undecided whether to shade it in pencil or on the computer in colour, but I think I might keep to flats to emulate the style it's homaging, I'll have to see.

Finally, click below to find a book that I did the illustrations for, with more to come (the second being written as we speak):

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Mans-Guidebook-Being-Engish/dp/1453862366/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1288545549&sr=8-1

Other than that, I have a few little things bubbling under, just depends howI feel...

Weeta BICS!

2010-10-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

I've been quite busy this week so this post is a mite later than intended but anyway...

This year's BICS continued in the vein of last year's event in so far as being just a mellow affair. With no portfolio to show (I was too late submitting pages to be considered probably) and nobody of any great interest for me to grab a sketch from (I would have liked a Vess, Nicola Scott and even a Paquette but couldn't be doing with queueing) and no items i was eager to snap up, I floated happily throughout the event and watched a few panels. Despite early morning starts, it was an enjoyable weekend and was even something of a surprise in that Wendy bought more comics than me and Tone!

Anyway, highlights included:

* Not spending a fortune. Money's extremely tight at the minute so luckily there was very little to tempt me into parting with cash. A couple of Cinebook albums, two issues of Al Williamson Secret Agent Corrigan, a Wally Wood issue of Jungle Jim and a set of three European hardcovers for the bargain price of £10, a Blue Beetle keyring and that was about it.

* The Simon's Cat panel. I have to confess to have never heard of this and didn't see the interest in the books but when they started playing the animated version (available on YouTube), I did actually remember seeing one of the cartoons before. The cartoons are fun and made the panel enjoyable.

* The Walking Dead panel kicked off with exclusive clips that make me eager to see the series. I hope it's a success as it looks faithful, well acted and well produced. Plus Tone made the US TV exec smirk in the elevator...

* I managed to nab the very last of 180 tickets to attend the Jonathan Ross panel, which was very engaging. Lots of fun titbits (many involving Spider-man and Ditko) and behind the scenes info, including positive hopes for the new X-Men film based on a Professor X/Magneto fight Ross had seen on set.

I came away somewhat reinvigorated artistically and may soon make a return to drawing comic art, although I can't promise...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tuf61OjvoPQ&ob=av3e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsVTmCdnlsg

This Week I Have Mostly Been...

2010-10-14T04:20:00.000-07:00

Drawing!!

As well as tidying up my retrieved files from my old hard drive, this week I've done more drawing the past week than I have in the past year or so! I found myself quite enjoying it again but still don't think I can concentrate enough to do sequentials yet...though having said that, I do have a story idea percolating that I want to get around to.

Anyway, have a gander above...I also half-inked the second of two covers for Pjang #5 but Rol can premiere them...

Inappropriate Comics

2010-10-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Came across a gallery of inappropriate comic covers and thought I'd crib the best here: strangely, there was a JSA cover (featured as one of my favourites) that for the life of me I can't see why it would be considered inappropriate...

Jeremy Kyle: What A See You Next Tuesday

2010-10-08T06:09:00.000-07:00

At lunch time at work, I was checking my e-mails and saw the news story that Jeremy Kyle had been attacked by a guest. As a rabid hater of the moron-baiting Kyle, I immediately clicked on the video clip (thankfully I have no sound at work) and was a bit disappointed to find some chimp-faced chav not whacking Kyle but throwing an envelope at his head, eliciting a huddle of security guards around the guest (presumably to protect Kyle from the menance of a papercut) while Kyle steps forward to berate the guest as "immature" (according to the artcicle).

Hmmm.

Watch that clip again. Yes, the chav chucks the envelope at Kyle: but only after Kyle slams the envelope into the guest's lap! So, not only is Kyle hypocritical as he condemns his guest for retaliating in a like manner but it proves his bullying ways. Acting in a hostile way to his subliterate guest before restraining and taunting him while protected all the time by a bunch of underworld bouncers.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Jeremy Kyle must die.

http://uk.tv.yahoo.com/news-extra/article/76671/guest-lashes-out-at-jeremy-kyle.html

Gatcha, man!

2010-10-07T06:15:00.000-07:00

While (fruitlessly, I might add) searching online for a decent pic of Kevin Maguire's variant cover to Justice League: Generation Lost #1, something sparked my mind and I remembered a film project announced yonks ago. A quick Google later and look what I found (I'd have preferred Mark or Princess, but it's better than Tiny or Keyop)...

Comics On Film And Television Is Here!

2010-10-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

Tone and (IIRC) Rol have been using Fallen Angel for printing recently so I thought it was about time to dust off my old book proposal regarding filmed adaptations of comics. I added a quick post script as the book was completed two years ago now and updating it properly would have taken ages but a proof copy indicated I had to renumber the contents page and make a few quick chops.

I ordered 10 copies, enough for me and a few friends who may be interested and with three copies left over, the plan is to see if they get any interest at BICS. Interesting, I've been asked if I want to do some talks or Q & A sessions at two comic Expos as a result and I've only handed one copy out so far!

It feels good just to be able to put this to rest now as my creative juices have slowly been boiling again and I have the desire to take my time and do a self contained graphic novel: I've got a number of ideas and I'm conscious that I owe plenty of art to other projects yet, but other than an upcoming cover and some cartoony pieces, I think this may be the next thing I start.

My PC went kaput recently and I thankfully managed to retrieve all my art from the old hard drive, most of which I don't actually like so I think I want to take my time and start percolating some ideas as "proper" drawing is still too much of a drain for me at the minute, although I'm looking forward to doing a cover next week...

Gundam It!!

2010-10-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

While I was dipping my foot into the manga field for a while, my mind wandered back to the 90s and a mag called Manga Max that often had cool samurai-esque robots. The top brand of mecha was Gundam and so I found myself picking up a cheap Gundam model kit off eBay.

I only ever had three or four model kits as a kid and they were all disasters, glue, paint and decals plastered everywhere. These Gundams require no glue or paint (though they look a ton better with a lick of paint) but the visual diagram instructions are all in Japanese.

While going through a black period, I found building these to be quite therapeutic: building them completely distracted me from everything else going on and I had a cool fully articulated mecha at the end of it. As the months went by, I'd pick up a kit here and there and even splashed out on one of the larger kits (though not the largest: there are a number of scale ranges).

Above, in no particular order are the results of my work: I still haven't been brave enough to try some paints but have used a marker in spots and added panel lines. I had a power cut today and so mostly completed a kit I had stockpiled, with a more intricate kit of the original Gundam robot kept aside for when I have the time...

Avengers Prequel

2010-09-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

On the day that the first pics of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers are revealed (looking pretty authentic too), thought I'd post this link to a fanfilm showing a vintage 1950s Avengers team: not convinced by the Iron Man but the rest works well...

There are 18 Marvel characters depicted, so I'll list who I think they are in a reply to this thread...

Coming soon, more posts!!

Wildstorm RIP

2010-09-22T05:22:00.000-07:00

Interesting news that Wildstorm is being closed down by DC following their recent bi coastal realignment. To be honest, they lasted under DC a lot longer than I thought they would. Although DC have a long history of buying other properties and absorbing them into their line, Wildstorm was always kept distant and never really felt part of the DC group. The only real effect of the acquisition was bringing Jim Lee into the fold.

While far from my favourite line ever, the Wildstorm brand seemed the best of the original Image set. Superior colouring and production values helped elevate commercial but less than stellar art above its limits, though the stories were never much to write home about. Having said that, Chris Sprouse, JH Williams, Art Adams, the Gaijin Studio, Adam Warren, Kevin Nowlan, John Cassaday, Travis Charest, Brian K Vaughn and Alan Moore all pooled their efforts at one time or another, so it was never entirely creatively corrupt. However, the constant rotation of creative teams on largely interchangeable titles usually failed to inspire even the most fleeting of interest.

DC say they will be resting the characters before they eventually return, but I hope they are kept as part of a separate continuity rather than being integrated into the main line. Much as the JLA and Teen Titans have suffered from poor rosters in recent years, I really don't want to see Deathspoon, Killbum, Razordark and Booble* joining the DC iconography...

*(OK, those are made up names, but I bet they were considered at some point!)

Return of the PC (Not the Mac)

2010-09-20T10:20:00.001-07:00

Last week saw me picking up a brand spanking new PC...and boy, was it ever heavy (nyuk nyuk nyuk).

Regular blog posts will hopefully resume if I can retrieve files from my old hard drive but in the meantime, here are some cartoony illos for a book project. I'm not over fond of cartoony art but the lack of attention to accuracy made these almost fun...two more to go but one involves a bus, so I doubt that'll materialise too soon (bloody vehicles!)...

If I Was A Religious Zealot...

2010-09-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

Now, if I WERE to believe in angels and demons or black magic, I'd be prett sure I'm bedevilled, cursed or both at the moment as over the past three weeks:

* My washing machine stopped heating, resulting in two visits from an engineer, two weeks of trudging to my sister's and back to do my washing and a wallet that was £100+ lighter.

* Bubblegum on a bus ruining my work trousers, incurring another £20+ being liberated from my account.

* The above expenditure was impacted further by shelling out £30 for a Spamalot ticket and again £100+ on utilities bills, meaning I've overreached my income this month and have had to borrow to get through as my online banking refused to accept my CORRECT details and has locked me out until I receive a new passcode.

* Finally thought things were getting back on track when a power cut seems to have blown my computer. I don't know if it's a memory, motherboard or on switch but it's more expense that could result in a 6-month loan to get a new system at a time when I don't know if I'll even be working in six months. What annoys me more is the loss of alot of stuff on the PC that I hadn't got around to backing up: art files, art from the net, personal pictures, music, Word and stuff.

(I'm not sure if I'd be able to retrieve any of those somehow: if I could just boot my system up once, I could retrieve everything!)

With only a few unread graphic novels and no online distractions, I'm forced to endure bloody awful weekend TV now so I'm just about expecting my head to drop off at any minute now...

PS Proving my point, the system at work was jamming me from saving this post, dammit!!

Scottest Night!

2010-09-01T06:02:00.000-07:00

I'm at work on my lunch break so you'll have to forgive the lack of illustrations, you will, you will!!

Saw Scott Pilgrim vs the World last night. I've only read the first graphic novel, which was OK despite Scott being a royal git. Michael Cera managed to instill the character with a vulnerability that made the character more sympathetic than the print version. Most of the cast are great, especially Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans and Brandon Routh and the film is tirelessly inventive, lifting computer game iconography to transform cinematic visual storytelling. Of course, the whole thing is fantasy and bears less and less resemblance to real life as the film progresses.

Quirky and certainly unique, the film is great fun but may date itself fairly quickly...

The other piece of triumphant fiction I've devoured lately was the Blackest Night hardcover. This is the exact treatment I like to see in collections: a consistent creative team throughout and with the titles and credits removed from the individual issues to create a greater sense of a cohesive story rather than a staggered grab bag of issues. Following the disastrous Infinite Crisis series, I was cautious about this but the buzz and leaked news around BN made me hopeful and that chance really paid off.

Characters were wiped out, other popular ones resurrected (why bring Captain Boomerang and Osiris back but not Ted Kord or Tempest?) and an overpowering menace to defeat. The characterisations were spot on, the art atmospheric and spectacular (double page followed awesome double page spread filled with bazillions of characters) and there were a few nice extras at the back, although the commentary wasn't as informative as I'd expected, resorting to backslapping self congratulations at any given moment. Still, as superhero epics go, this one really does live up to the hype and tells a great redemptive story...

Shelf Porn Expired

2010-08-22T04:31:00.000-07:00

Well, as stated, I've removed the shelf porn posts as I don't want them lingering online forever. There's very little rhyme or reason to the items pick up and I've not been picking much up over the past few years. However, there are a few things I'm keeping an eye out on...

While Cyclops remains my favourite comic character, the Blue Beetle and Booster Gold partnership still rates as my favourite comic reading experiences so I'm chomping at the bit for the animated style Blue Beetle to match the Booster Gold I already have, as well as the JSA 3-pack: I'm not that bothered by Hawkman but an Alan Scott would be cool and I love the GA Flash too (nostalgic stuff having to do with seeing him in comic ads in the 70s before I could actually read myself).

Also, while I know I won't pick it up due to sheer expense, it'd still be cool to pick up the impending 12 (yes, 12!) pack Legion of Superheroes set. Featuring the classic Giffen era team, this features a decent Superboy at last and cool versions of Lightning Lad and Cosmic Boy. Can't wait to see the Wildfire!

I'm still getting some plastic for my shelves though, as will be discussed in my next post...

Shelf Porn Is Coming!!

2010-08-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Due to something to be eventually covered in the final post of this short thread, I've been looking at shelf space and the items I have lying about on display...which isn't much. I'm usually both in awe and fear of those collectors who get featured in books or online revealing their humongous collections of whatever their thing may be. Some of the US collectors have museum quality displays set up, sometimes taking over whole rooms.

I don't have the space so most of the knickknacks I've accrued over the years, including some great Bowen Designs busts (started when I walked into the Sheffield Space Centre and just HAD to have the Cyclops mini bust!), are boxed away in my storage cupboard. I felt it was a shame not to be able to see all that stuff so I thought I'd dig it all out and take some photographic evidence.

The statues and the few Marvel figurines I have from the partwork series were too awkward to hook out, but I pulled out a few boxes and started snapping away, putting a few things aside to hand on to my niece and nephews. (Though for the most part, I couldn't be arsed to go rooting about for all the accessories, stands and so on).

So, above is the preview of this upcoming strand of maybe four or five posts...the only figures I have on display are the Mattel Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, who are joined next to my PC by the DC Direct Dr Fate from the New Frontier wave. I love all these figures (I've discovered that I have less than 10 figures that I really really like!), even though they're hardly unique. I have DC Direct's earlier Blue Beetle figure, a rarity (hence why it is still unopened) I picked up on Ebay when DC Direct released their Booster Gold figure in the 52 wave. Available in both modern and classic variations, I of course went for the classic original look. I'd picked up a few Dr Fate items but have stopped with the New Frontiers figure, which is perfect in almost every way (I'm a bit disappointed there are bare hands instead of gloves but the fig is so cool overall, I can forgive the decision).

So, coming soon then, a plethora of plastic characters!

The Little Things...

2010-08-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

When I began this blog, I wanted to use it as the place to waffle on about anything that I felt like, only I realised most of what I thought about would make for dull reading so usually just post about what I've been reading, watching, etc. For instance, I could rant about the problems I'm having with my washing machine and the service people, but it'd hardly make sparkling prose, would it?

However...

Had a bit of a poor birthday as I was quite ill but when we went bowling this week, I was presented with a balloon-festooned bag of gifts and a box of toffee apple cakes (thankfully there was no singing of Happy Birthday!). (Remnants pictured above, face of the baker chopped off to protect their identity :) ) I think this was my first ever real birthday surprise and it's amazing what just such a little thing can mean. I was having a bad, BAD week and this gesture completely turned my mood around...

...till the washing machine packed up and then, the m*&^%)+@~~??s....!!!

Random Reviews

2010-08-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm obviously still not settled enough to create, dahlinks, so what's been catching my interest lately? (And I dunno why the start of this post comes up as a link!)

First up is the Norwegian Nazi zombie movie Dead Snow. The concept alone is great but this is the most fun I've had from a movie in a while. In an Evil Dead-style setup, some Norwegian medical students head up to the mountains for a break and run straight into an army of Nazi zombies. There's no excuse for how the Nazis became zombified, but they are swiftmoving and silent under the command of their imposing leader. Funny, gory, original and lean, this is a great film that I'd recommend to everyone.
Next up is Heavy Metal: oh dear. I'm tipping my toe into Eurocomics and have been intrigued by the Heavy Metal magazine for some time (as well as a lovely painted scifi strip run by Marvel UK in Strip, Havoc, Meltdown or a similar early 90s mature-readers anthology that I can find no reference to whatsoever online). I saw the DVD of the 1981 animated feature dirt cheap online so thought I'd give it a try. Oh dear. Oh deary deary dear. The animation is pretty ropey, the acting dodgy and the scripts pretty poor: here is proof that boobs and decapitations may be for an adult audience but it definitely isn't mature.

The first story foreshadows Blade Runner's city design (understandable as Ridley Scott was using the HM mag as a visual starting point anyway) and is echoed in Fifth Element, the second story is an adaptation of a dull Corben graphic novel, the Bernie Wrightson-derived Captain Sternn segment is actually quite fun before zipping in to a brief but effective EC-style story featuring World War II zombies (them again!) and the last is quite clearly based on Moebius' Arzach. Getting the rights to the original European strips was harder than expected so while emulating Moebius style, this sequence substitutes a silent warrior princess astride a flying plucked chicken thing for Moebius' character. Actually, this sequence is probably the most involving, probably due to the fact that the rotoscoped animation for the female warrior is so naturalistic that is stands head and shoulder above the rest of the animation. Held aloft by soundtrack contributions from classic rock acts like Black Sabbath, Nazareth and Blue Oyster Cult, probably only 10-year old boys could really enjoy this...
So, moving on, I managed to finally lock down a (surprisingly cheap) English adaptation of the first volume of the Dutch comic series Storm, featuring fully painted art by British artist Don Lawrence. Published in 1982 by a crossword/puzzlebook publisher of all people, I'm glad I didn't shell out much for this: the art is fine but the plot is fairly generic and uninspired, again highlighting the European preference for plot over characterisation.
More successful is the second volume of Garen Ewing's The Rainbow Orchid trilogy. It's been ages since I've seen any new stuff from Garen but it's as clearly meticulous as ever. His visual research results in authentic locales and details, all presented in lovely full colour. Written, drawn, coloured and lettered by Garen, this is a creative tour de force and I hope the Adventures of Julius Chancer continue after The Rainbow Orchid concludes.
It's been years since Garen and I first crossed paths in the small press scene but really the only stuff I still read seems to be by mates such as Rol and Ralph. However, the most prolific output remains with Tony McGee, who has the first collection of his fun Martian sci-fi Eva Nova strips out in between issues of the nearly complete Outcastes series. #8 starts bringing background details to the fore as the plot threads start to twine together to lead to a rocketing final few issues. This is probably Tone's most ssured writing and is well worth a look.
Finally, Booster Gold #32 is the start of a story finding BG back in the past alongside Ted Kord once again. Written by Giffen & DeMatteis, this feels more like the classic JLI than either the current Generation Lost or the last Formerly Known As JLI series (maybe it was me, but Ted in that darkened Beetle costume just felt odd and kind of spoiled the fun a bit). I would have picked up the previous Blue & Gold arc but, y'know...Jurgens art...but Batista's art is pretty decent and it's always cool to see comics' greatest buddy relationship together again, supported by third stooge Mr Miracle.
I've been slowly reading Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 on the train for months now...I have to admit that although on one level, it's an easy read, on another the florid prose and snail pace plot has been leeching me of any enthusiasm for completing the book, so when I saw the graphic novel in The Works, I snapped it up as I can read the whole story before deciding if it's worth continuing with the book. I don't think I'll bother. The graphic novel is stylishly done and is a solid adaptation but overall, the plot is poetic and deep but also slight and uninvolving.

Darryl Not Richie: Psychiatric Tales

2010-08-05T05:44:00.000-07:00

When I started getting involved with small press comics in the early 90s, I always felt I was an outsider. Only a few of us seemed to be creating mainstream style comic stories while the majority of the small press seemed to focus on alternative, avante garde and more personal fare. As a member of the latter group, Darryl Cunningham was a frequent contributor and I was aware of him rather than his work. Recently, Previews solicited a book he had drawn called Psychiatric Tales, a graphic novel informed by Cunningham's own experiences as both a mental health professional and sufferer. I managed to pick up a copy from FP in Wolverhampton last weekend and read it on my train trip home.

Usually, I buy comics for the artwork and while Cunningham's cartoony art is not the sort of thing I'd pick up, it services the subject matter very well. Following a line through from the art of Scott McCloud, Cunningham's simply rendered art is open and inviting and easily accessible to non-comic readers, easing them into the book's subject matter, which is what I was really interested in.

Split into various chapters covering subjects such as suicide, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, the book sounds heavy going but is actually very uplifting. By explaining a few simple facts illustrated with a few examples, Cunningham relieves the stigma from various mental afflictions without downplaying their serious effects. Having read this book now, I think I know one or two psychopaths: Cunningham makes it clear without ever belabouring the point that there are many psychopaths in our society and far from all devolving into murderers (though still remaining people you'd sooner not hang out with), some have attributes actively valued by certain professions.

Illuminating and humanising, Psychiatric Tales is well worth your attention...

Golden Age Nugget

2010-08-04T06:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it's taken nine months since I first posted about it but finally the Justice Society episodes of Smallville have arrived...

I watch next to no TV but Smallville conflicts with two shows I do like, Shooting Stars and Mitchell & Webb (and The Deep airs at the same time on BBC1 and I wanted to give that a try). As a result, I planned to watch the comedies then catch Smallville on E4+1. Then I saw the trailer, and that was it, I was watching Smallville asap!

To be fair, Smallville's never been great: debuting in the wake of Buffy's success, it was kinda like Buffy with superheroes instead of monsters, but there were usually enough redeeming moments that made it worth following. The last few series have dragged a bit but last year's was a lot better than the show's been in years. What a shame it's returned to its fairly pedestrian ways: other than habit (and Lois), I can't really see why I watch it anymore. Maybe it's becuae it's winding down so I'd like to stay with it through to the end.

So anyway, last night's episode was a BELTER for a JSA fan. I knew there would be allusions to other JSAers but I literally swore at the TV within a few seconds: "Fucking Jack Knight!!" Only it wasn't, it was the Star Spangled Kid with Jack's cosmic rod (in the comics, the Kid inherited a cosmic rod and belt from Jack's father Ted). Obviously done on the cheap, the unseen fight between the Kid and the Icicle (surely played by Rhydion off the X-Factor?) was still effective and JSAers were gradually incorporated.

Sandman was handled better than the somewhat vapid Stargirl, but surprisingly Michael Shanks played Hawkman to perfection, playing the character's barely restrained aggression without resorting to caricature: his conflict with Green Arrow was a nice holdover from the JLA issues where the diametrically opposing heroes frequently butted heads. I didn't like how Kent Nelson was portrayed as unhinged but it made the character interesting and Dr Fate was AWESOME: loved the ankh energy effect and how the helmet melts itself over its wearer's head.

I wasn't expecting as many as were included: references to Dr Fate's wife Inza, Stargirl's stepfather Stripsey (former partner of the Kid) and the Star Rocket Racer were subtle than the display cases featuring items belonging to Hourman, Mr Terrific and Hawkwoman. However, nothing prepared me for the flashbacks featuring a whole bunch of other JSAers: they were uncostumed but it was still cool to see Green Lantern, Wildcat, The Atom and the Flash on screen: less sure about Ma Hunkel as it was funny to see her but I always hated her (as she wasn't a proper superhero so didn't belong on the team!).

Which got me thinking...outside of the Justice League animated series, I think Smallville has featured more comic book characters than any other show. I put my thinking head on and arrived at 28 characters from the Superman mythos alone (though I don't know if Lionel Luthor has been retconned into the DCU as Jimmy, Perry, Mercy were and Chloe is about to be) and another 30 characters from the wider DCU.

Not bad for a show everybody thought would tank within a few episodes!