Whatever Wednesday: Name a Theme Week Contest!

That's right, gang! The burden of coming up with a subject for a week's theme now rests firmly on your shoulders.
Forget about the daily themes we've had going here lately, this is YOUR chance to have me draw something especially catered to your taste for five days in a row.
The fun doesn't end there though! The person who suggests the best theme will win one of the drawings done for their theme. Please submit your theme week entry in the comments to this post. You may suggest as many themes as you wish. Cut off for submitting a theme is next Wednesday, January 7th! Winner will be chosen by Laura and myself. I reserve the right to use your theme for a future week, even if you don't win this contest! ;)

Super Tuesday: Hulk vs Thor Commission- pencils

Here are the pencils for the commission I posted sketches for last Thursday. I was given the option of going with #1 or #4. Since the composition seemed a bit more dramatic in #4 that's the one I gravitated toward.
Thor's arm (the one with the hammer) was a bit awkward in the initial sketch though, so I tried to punch it up a bit in the pencils.

Bat-Monday: Commission Ligne Claire Inks

I thought this looked kind of neat after I erased all the pencil lines so I figured I'd post it here. This one is for any of you out there who might like to see a bit of the process before I put brush to paper.

Gal Friday: Cap Commission-inks

And here are the finished inks to the Captain America commission I've been posting about lately.
Yeah, I know. Two weeks in a row using Sharon Carter as our "gal" is a little cheap. I'll try to have something fresh for you next week though, okay?

Technicolor Thursday: Iron-man & Cap

Hope you had a great B-Day, Nathan and Joel!!

Oh, and I think today is some sort of holiday... Happy holidays to all you lovely blog readin' folks and to all a good night!!

Whatever Wednesday: Sleeper Commission- Sketches

Hope you all aren't sick of seeing all this commission stuff yet. I've still got quite a few scans to post...
Anyway, for this one I was asked to pick from six or so characters (with a bit of emphasis on Holden Carver and Miss Misery) from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips's Sleeper.
You're welcome to guess what we went with again, but it's actually another combo of two of these.

Super Tuesday: Cap Commission-pencils

These are the final pencils for the Captain America commission. I'll try to have the inks up here on Friday.

Bat-Monday: Commission Pencils

Here are the pencils to the commission I mentioned last Monday.

Leave it to the Joker to try to coax a child away from Batman with a nutcracker fashioned in his own visage:)

Gal Friday: Cap Commission-final sketch

Can we count Sharon Carter as this week's gal? Come on, cut me a break here!
Anyway, here is the final sketch for the commission mentioned on Tuesday, combining elements from the first batch of thumbnails.
Have a great weekend, folks. Watch out for those last minute shoppers!

Technicolor Thursday: Hulk vs Thor Commission- Sketches

'Nother commission for you all. Posted in crazy color and grey for easy viewing.

Whatever Wednesday: Devil Slayer #4 On Stands Today!!

Dont' forget to pick up the final issue of Devil Slayer on sale today!!

DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING DEVIL-SLAYER #4
STORY BY: Brian Keene
ART BY: Chris Samnee
COLORS BY: June Chung
LETTERS BY: VC - Joe Caramagna
COVER BY: Kaare Andrews
PUBLISHER: Marvel Max
COVER PRICE: $3.99

Its a final showdown in the Garden of Eden as the Devil-Slayer faces off against both demons and angels in an effort to stop Armageddon! Everything is at stake if he doesn't defeat the demon Belathauzer, the archangel Gabriel, the Bloodstone Group and the other Operation: Xenogenesis conspirators in time…in the terrifying conclusion to this much-talked-about reimagining, written by award-winning horror novelist Brian Keene (Ghost Walk, The Rising) and illustrated by Chris Samnee (DAREDEVIL: BLOOD OF THE TARANTULA)!

Super Tuesday: Cap Commission-sketches

Above are a few options given to narrow down what shape this Captain America/ Sharon Carter piece would take.

Only the characters were requested on this one, so I just tried to come up with something cool for them to be doing.  Jumping out of helicopters and deflecting bullets with a shield etc. You know, everyday stuff... for Cap anyway.

Bat-Monday: Commission Sketches

One of the commissions that I've taken on recently is of Batman protecting a small child from the Joker.  Oh, and the Joker is trying to tempt the child with a toy while hiding a gun behind his back.  Sounds easy enough, right?

Above are the four options I gave to choose from.

Can you guess which one we went with?  A big honkin' no-prize to the first person who guesses correctly.

Gal Friday: Simplicity

Toth just made it look too easy. I'm trying to simplify to barest necessity.
Wally Wood may have made "when in doubt black it out" his motto, but it's even harder to leave it out altogether!

Things You Need Thursday: Devil Slayer TPB

If you missed out on the 4 issue mini-series, now's your chance to get all four issues under one cover!

Abandoned by his fiancee, his family, his church, and his government, Sergeant Dan Sylva returns to Iraq for a third tour of duty - and a descent into Hell itself! If the demon Belathauzer and the mysterious mercenary group known as Bloodstone have their way, Iraq, the place where civilization began, may also be where civilization ends! The reinvented Devil-Slayer takes Marvel's Dead of Night to terrifying new heights, from award-winning horror novelist Brian Keene (The Rising, Dark Hollow) and artist Chris Samnee (Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula)!

Collects Dead of Night Featuring Devil-Slayer #1-4.

Paperback: 96 page
On sale April 8, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0785132813
ISBN-13: 978-0785132813

Whatever Wednesday: Indiana Jones

The latest Indiana Jones installment may not have been the best film in the world... but considering the fact that the first three WERE, it's a pretty tall order indeed to try to catch lightning in a bottle four times in a row.
That said, it gets easier to watch on repeated viewings. I wish the same could be said for Superman Returns.

Super Tuesday: Army of Darkness

Sure. He's not exactly a superhero, but I think Ash is pretty super:)

This is my BOOMSTICK!!

Bat-Monday: Dead End Joker

Hard to believe that this is the same guy who played Richard "Boner" Stabone on Growing Pains, isn't it?

Gal Friday: The Pleather Spy

This is just another little sketch (see last Friday) to test out a leather texture, before I committed anything to a finished inked page. It's veeeery simple but I really like how it turned out. Now if I could just get this kind of simplicity into my paying work.

Spend Your X-Mas Bonus!

I’m accepting a very limited number of commissions on a first come, first paid, first served basis.
Commissions are 11x17, one to two characters in black and white on Bristol for $175 (this includes shipping). Each additional character will cost extra.
All commissions will be personalized.
Turnaround time on commissions should be pretty quick, but may not be done by the end of the year.

If you are interested, please drop me a line. My email address is on my profile page.

Technicolor Thursday: Top Secret!!

This is just a bit of thinking on paper for a book Laura and I have been brainstorming. I was trying out a more European, muted color palette here.
I'd love to tell you more but I don't want to spoil anything.

Whatever Wednesday: Website Banner

A few weeks back Laura was working on my new website for one of her classes. You may remember a call out for evaluations one crazy Sunday evening.
Anyway, this is the header I worked up for the site. Nothing's going live just yet, but I thought you all might like to see this little noir-ish piece.

Super Tuesday: The Thing

Just a quick one today from a while back. I was trying out a new grease pencil here.

Bat-Monday: So it begins...

I've been struggling for monsters to post here on Mondays, so today marks the start of Bat-Mondays.
A character, and family of characters, I never tire of drawing. They certainly have managed to sneak onto just about any scrap piece of paper I put pencil to.

This sketch was drawn from one of my top 3 favorite Batman films. Batman: Dead End was a short, fan-made film done to promote Sandy Collora's directing skills back in 2003.
In these 7 odd minutes you get a look at the most comic accurate interpretations of these characters ever committed to celluloid.

I hope nobody misses Monster Mondays too much, but I promise loads of fun Bat-stuff to take it's place here in the future.
Check back next Monday for a sketch of the Dead End version of the Joker :)

Signing!!

If any of you live in the St. Louis area, I'll be signing at the Fantasy Shop in South County on Friday December 5th from 2-6 PM along with Jeremy Haun, Brian Hurtt and Cullen Bunn.
You can find out more about each creator by clicking on their names, and be sure to head over to this link to the ComicDorksCast blog for more.
Hope to see ya there!

Gal Friday: Marilyn

I've just realized that one of my biggest weaknesses lately is drawing small characters in any given panel of a comic, and being happy with their proportions. They all just seem a little too cramped, not to mention overloaded with detail. I guess I've gotten a little to comfortable with all the 9x12 sketches I've been posting for the last few months.
Anyway, I've starting doing a lot of the sketches you'll be seeing here at 4.5x6 to gain my confidence back at drawing at a smaller scale. So Marilyn here, based on a on a Jock Carroll portrait, will be the first of many to come.

Technicolor Thursday: Spawn

I can't remember the last time I read a Spawn comic, but for some reason the other night I just had an itch to take a crack at drawing him. It came out kind of neat I think. It was done almost entirely with at #4 Raphael brush before I broke out the markers.

Oh, and Happy Turkey Day!! Nothing says Thanksgiving like a Hellspawn, right?

Whatever Wenesday: Devil Slayer is Done!

I have now officially finished all my work on the Dead of Night Devil Slayer series. Whew!

Thanks for all the support and kind words I've gotten from you all while I've been hacking away at this book. It really means a lot.

Now it's time to pick up the pieces and get cracking on my new project. Well, after I straighten up my office that is. It looks like a damn tornado went through here!

I'm really excited about this new book. I can't wait to tell you all about it/ pressure you into buying copies :)

Super Tuesday: Batman

Bam! Zonk!!! Man, I just never get tired of drawing this guy. POW!!

Monster Monday: Hellboy

I was planning on posting this sketch of Ron Perlman/Hellboy on Technicolor Thursday... until I realized I didn't have any monsters sketched for this week. "Oh crap", indeed.

Gal Friday: Tara Chace

It's been quite a while since I've tried to draw anything more than just a quick head sketch of any of the Queen & Country cast. This one turned out pretty decent though, I think.

Have a great weekend, all.

Technicolor Thursday: Joker

HAHAHAHA,  I slept like two hours last night HAHAhe he he.  Back to work.
Heh.

Whatever Wednesday: Sweep the leg!

Oodles and oodles of leg sweeping doodles.

No amount of watching Karate Kid could help me figure out how to draw this effectively.

Super Tuesday: 2 minute Bat

Here's a really, really quick one from the other day.  Hope ya like:)

I'm keeping this one short and sweet today.  Gotta get back to the ol' salt mines.  Trying to get the inks for Devil Slayer #4 finished up soon.

Monster Monday: Superman's Pet

This little guy appears in the Menace of Superman's Pet, possibly the funniest and saddest of Superman tales, in World's Finest #112. 

Menace is actually the first story collected in Showcase Presents: World's Finest Comics volume 2, which, amongst lots of other goodies, I got as a birthday gift from my in-laws this past weekend. 

Who needs Krypto, Beppo, Streaky or Comet when you've got this fuzzy thing?

Volunteers Needed

Laura is taking a web design class and has created a website for me for her final project.  She is in need of two folks to test the site and fill out an evaluation form.  If you are interested and are able to test the site and return the form to me by this Tuesday (the 18th) at 5 p.m., please shoot me an email.  My contact info is listed on my profile page.  We would be much appreciative, and there will be something special (one sketch of my choosing - domestic shipping only) in it for you!  

EDIT: We already got our two volunteers - Thanks Chris and Dennis!

Gal Friday: doodles

These are just a couple of lighting tests for a page I'll be inking next week.  Not sure whether I love 'em or hate 'em.  Need to maybe set them aside for a day or so and look at it again with a fresh eye.

Okay. Back to work for now, so I can go celebrate by Birthday tonight:)

Have a great weekend, folks!

Things You Need Thursday: Devil Slayer #3 and 4

DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING DEVIL SLAYER#3 went on sale Wedenesday.
Here's a link to a 7 page preview over at CBR.

And if you dig that be sure to order your copy of #4 in stores: December 17, 2008.
DEAD OF NIGHT FEATURING DEVIL-SLAYER #4

COVER BY: KAARE ANDREWS
WRITER: BRIAN KEENE
PENCILS: CHRIS SAMNEE
INKS: CHRIS SAMNEE
COLORED BY: JUNE CHUNG
LETTERED BY: VC - JOE CARAMAGNA

THE STORY:
Its a final showdown in the Garden of Eden as the Devil-Slayer faces off against both demons and angels in an effort to stop Armageddon! Everything is at stake if he doesn't defeat the demon Belathauzer, the archangel Gabriel, the Bloodstone Group and the other Operation: Xenogenesis conspirators in time…in the terrifying conclusion to this much-talked-about reimagining, written by award-winning horror novelist Brian Keene (Ghost Walk, The Rising) and illustrated by Chris Samnee (DAREDEVIL: BLOOD OF THE TARANTULA)!
Explicit Content …$3.99

Whatever Wednesday: Harry Potter

I'm embarassed to say I've only seen the first two or three Harry Potter films, and have never read any of the books.  I was working at Borders when a couple of those books came out, and the craziness around the store managed turned me off from wanting to take the plunge.  Maybe now that it's been a while since anyone has told me I just HAVE to read them I'll take another crack at catching up on the movies.  

Does that make sense?  Whatever.  See ya tomorrow, folks.

Super Tuesday: Saturn Girl

After learning that Geoff Johns would be writing a few Legion of Superheroes-centric episodes of Smallville this season I've found myself wondering what shape the Legion's costumes would take.  

Here's what I kind of figured they'd go with... Just a guess really, but they do seem to skew toward more jeans and t-shirts than costumes.

Monster Monday: Dracula

Dracula counts as a monster, right?

I just realized that I only lasted a few days with the spooky Halloween theme for October. Sorry about that folks.  To make up for that I'll be posting all Thanksgiving and turkey themed sketches for the rest of November:P

Gal Friday: Arwen.

Hope you all don't mind a little Viggo in today's Gal Friday:)  I went ahead and included the line drawing here as well, since showing a bit of the process seems to be going over pretty well of late.

Anyway, I just saw Liv Tyler in a Nintendo DS commercial (I think) and it made me want to watch all of the Lord of the Rings films again.

If only I weren't so addicted to watching all the special features and stuff on those DVD sets. Well, there goes my weekend.


If you dig sketches inspired by films and tv shows, especially ones done better than the one you see above, be sure to check out Tigh Walker's blog. The one he did of In Bruges is so rad it hurts. Seriously, go! Look now!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Super...Thursday?! Supes & Bats inks

Above are the inks to the post from last Wednesday.

I meant to get something colored up here today. I just haven't managed to find the time to color anything lately.

Maybe next week, okay?