one last one for '08

rounding out the commissions for 08 is the third zatanna piece of the year (this one was a bit more work trying for the likeness of the girl and her dog...)

okay, looking back, this year has been pretty good 'round these parts (including the sweet new site design by kieran chapman)... we relaunched the 'haps over at image and managed to get 5 issues out (the 6th just missed by a few weeks...) and i've had plenty of work over a marvel as well (the x-men first class fill in as well as the spidey loves mj mini), as well as a great slate of conventions, a slew of commissions, and oddball freelance stuff... 

09 is shaping up to be a pretty good one too... we've got big plans for the haps (with some of our incredibly talented friends - like jason, leanne, scott, matt, christian, fred, rich, and more - pitching in to keep us on some sort of schedule) and i'll be busy with the marvel adventures  captain america stuff and more down the line...

so, here's wishing everybody a good 09 as well. cheers!

-c

 

... and one more for ya...

okay, so here's the last (for now) holiday card i drew back in 2000... (and the caption inside read "season's bleatings")...

and while i'm at it, here's a recent wonder woman commission (really dig that battle armor...).

-c

new years 98...

so, knowing i was gonna miss getting christmas cards out BY christmas, i went for the extra week and did a new year's card ( and it should come as no surprise to anyone that the quote inside was wishing folks one helluva new year... )...

and the latest marvel solicitations are on-line, and wouldn't ya know, they're doing a hardcover collection of the spider-man loves mary jane (i've posted the direct market cover here... the "regular" one features the art from the cover of #1 along with terry's name in HUGE letters ... you'll be hard pressed to miss it )... looks like it's a plain ol' "premiere edition" which means no extras or bonus stuff...

okay, back to work, hear we might be in for some snow this weekend!

-c (awfully disappointed that pushing daisies only has a few more episodes left...)

christmas '97

okay, so next up is the card i did back in 97... so, i was already working at dc at the time (and the main reason i know this - because my mind is like a sieve when it comes to dates - is that i drew this on a dc board)... the caption inside read  "this ain't no pillow, baby... it's 100% claus")...

hope everybody had a good weekend (i practically slept the entire weekend - shaking the ick i most likely got from the kids), looking forward to tonight's holiday themed chuck (and yeah, i'll end up watching the end of this arc of heroes...)

-c

christmas '96 x2!

okay, trying to keep up with todd's cards through the years progression, here's not one but TWO christmas cards i did in 96 (wow, crazy how much time a guy without kids had back then)... the "alien" card had the oh, so quippy "merry X-mas" inside (but with the x being a copy of the then in vogue x-files logo)... and the giant angry santa gorilla card (don't remember what the caption was inside, but come on, it's a giant angry santa gorilla)...

and since it was a LOT easier and cheaper than full color back then, these were b/w on card stock with red and green letraset foil ironed on...

have a good weekend! 

-c (hey, this "mining old stuff for posts" thing is a heck of a lot easier than having new art to post) 

christmas 95

okay, so following up on the christmas cards, here's one i had done in 95 (or so the date on the art itself says)... the caption read along the lines of  "wishing you a real gonesville christmas, daddyo"...

but ya know, i'm pretty confident i never actually got these cards finished. go figure.

funny how much i played with patterns around this time (you'll see more of this kind of stuff when i get to the "tall tales" b/w stuff), now it's all about open linework.

-c

oh, yeah, todd... two can play that game...

okay, for all you folks who've been reading todd's blog entries about his homemade holiday cards, i figured i'd chime in as well since he's up to the point i started making my own cards for a few years (before the kids and deadlines took hold of whatever free time i have)... the first one i did after college was pretty simple in b/w (on red or green card stock maybe? that sounds right... but i can't seem to find a copy of the card). anywhoo, the art here is a colored version i worked up later...

oh, and i figured since it's off to image (finally!), i figured it's safe to post the new and improved, actual cover to perhapanauts 5 (on sale in finer comic shops early in 2009)...  

and while i was digging out the old holiday card stuff, i did find and scan some other pre-comics odds and ends that i'll be posting here as well...

-c

!annataz rehtona ,kool, yeh! *

*okay, for all the non-complete comic nerds out there, it's "hey, look, another zatanna!"  backwards like the way she casts her spells, get it?... and would you believe the next one in the queue is zatanna as well? go figure (besides that, i've got one last one of dani and serra from tellos hanging over my head, then i'm done with the commission backlog... well, if you don't count that exiles one for jim... or the "REALLY long overdue but with any luck it'll be done by the time you have your baby" one i owe one of my oldest friends (yeah, bobbby, that's you)

so, here's yet another LONG in the works commission of zatanna and scarlet witch for the very patient hitoshi amano (it's been laid out for months but i never seemed to find the time to finish it)

putting the finishing touches on the last 2 pages of haps 5 and sending them to rico to work his usual magic, layouts for the first marvel adventures cap story are moving along... 

finally got around to finishing the update to the canson paper galleries (6 pages already?) after working out a few kinks with the web hosting server.

seemed weird last night to NOT sit down to a new episode of the shield... sigh. (yet, i still watch the heroes i'm tivoing in the hopes it might get back to being mediocre... but it's like watching a new trainwreck every week... at least chuck is still pretty fun - just rewatched all of season 1 this last week while working and enjoyed it even more the second time)

took the kids to get a picture with santa today... maybe next year we'll manage to get'm both to smile at the same time...(but cat not crying in the picture this year was nice)...

well, these comics don't draw themselves... back to work.

more marvel on the way!

so, looking at the latest solicits for marvel books in february, cat's outta the bag... after wrapping up spider-man loves mary jane 5 (and currently putting issue 5 of the haps to bed FINALLY!), i've jumped right onto another sweet project... 4 issues of marvel adventures featuring CAPTAIN AMERICA! there's gonna be 4 issues (pretty sure they're rotating characters monthly, so the deadlines not killer and will allow me to keep up with the haps) with 2 stories (modern day and 1940's) written by scott gray and roger langridge (who did those great fin fang four stories a while back)...

was gonna post some sketches of cap, but i've been too busy with haps 5, so here's a zatanna commission i finished from a while back (and i was too lazy to write the blog entry title backwards...).

and on that note, back to the haps! i'll post some cap stuff later this week.

-c

(only 1 more shield EVER?! i can't imagine how it's gonna end... this week's confession was mindblowingly intense...)

brand new day

feels like we're watching history unfolding before our eyes and it's pretty amazing... here's hoping president elect obama can start to set this nation back on track (but it certainly won't be easy, with the economic turmoil and unpopular wars... and just a bit of extra pressure being the first black president and all).

so, getting ready to head out tomorrow to wizard world texas ... i'll be in a few panels and signings throughout the weekend, as well as in artist alley  booth 2720b... if you're there, swing on by and say "hey!"

so, since i'm short on time, let's cut to the chase... here's a piece i did for an article in the umass dartmouth alumni magazine about a few of us who got into comics (me, bob almond, dave tata, norman lee and bettina kurkoski)... 

back to work!

-c

forgot to mention... even with all the election hullaballoo, i did manage to watch the shield on tivo... holy crap! talk about feeling the noose tightening... only 3 (!?!) more episodes left.

well, here's another quick post... realized i needed to get my last 3 artist proof sketch cards in for the marvel masterpeices set, so.... i decided to just do the cards i wanted to and see if they'd sell on ebay  (bid now and bid often... gotta make that money to pay rico to work his magic on the colors for issue 5 of the haps!)

... and away we go!

so, as you can probably see (well, unless your reading via rss feed then maybe not), things are looking a bit different... kieran's done a fantastic job building a new, stylish, easy to navigate (and update!)... there maybe a few kinks to work out as we go, but come on in and check it out... take it for a spin and kick the tires... 

-c

coupla tiki con sketches...

just a quick post, gotta keep going on these pages if i wanna take the night off thursday to go see los straitjackets ... found these 2 scans online of the sketches i did the other weekend at the screaming tiki con (amusingly enough, i met fellow artist dave aikens - who does plenty of great stuff for nickelodeon and was kind enough to send a backyardigans book home for johnny - thanks again, dave - at the show and he ended up requesting 4 of the 10 or so sketches i did that weekend for his friends and fellow collectors).. not always a fan of my convention sketches, but these came out alright (shane sent another over i'll post later this week... along with the picture of todd and me in the batmobile!)...

oh, and we have to wait HOW long for the next season of mad men?! not an earth shattering cliffhanger season finale, but a powerful character-driven episode that makes me think it's one of the best shows on tv today...  just glad there's still a few episodes of the shield to get me by... and i'm just getting into the first season of pushing daisies on dvd (had it on the tivo last year but the hard drive met an untimely demise... luckily, the new season is on the even bigger new hard drive)... enjoying life on mars so far (haven't seen the bbc original so i can't compare it)... and brian, i didn't even bother with my own worst enemy based on lackluster reviews.

-c

tiki accomplished

okay, back from ohio... and already gotta think about getting ready for my next trip.... not sure if i posted it here, but i'll be attending the wizard world texas show in dallas nov 7-9. wasn't on my radar, but since they were nice enough to invite me to come down to participate on a few panels (spider-man loves mary jane, creator owned books)  i figured why not (and heck, i can finally meet terry moore in person!)... so, i really should get some stuff done here in the meantime.

but i did have a fun trip to the brand new "screaming tiki" con in ohio last weekend (the image above is the the art for the exclusive print todd and i put together for the show... we've got a few left over, so keep an eye on todd's blog for details on how to get your own)...  i got to meet folks like mark sumerak, cat staggs, mark mchale, and fellow animated batman artist christopher jones... seeing how it was their first show (and a big one at that), i'd say the folks who put the show together did a bang-up job.... really, how many times  can you say that you hung out with peter "chewbacca" mayhew and spent the weekend sketching for fans in an inflatable dome!

issue 3 of mj is out, issue 4 is out next month and 5 is well underway (same goes for haps 5, which wraps up the first arc of the image run... wish sales were better, but that seems to be the state of the industry)

so, the sox lost to tampa bay... and i really can't say that bothers me much at all... here's hoping the rays can go all the way!

been riveted by both mad men and the shield these last few weeks... GREAT television there.

bart in the house

keeping with the them of this drawing, it's gonna be a quick post... here's another one that was done for a patient fan, dave!  (hitoshi, yours is on the board RIGHT NOW... honest! that just leaves one more tellos drawing from heroes and a few from baltimore)... i sure do miss bart.... hmmm, maybe we need an impulsive speedster over in the haps... (not like dc's doing anything with'm)

-c

(so, sox go to game 4 of the play-offs on big jim's anniversary - and he's got tickets, so here's hoping it's a good game for you and missus q!)

back from baltimore!

well, everybody made it back safe and sound... had a great show, enjoyed spending time with family and friends this weekend. managed to do a few sketches for folks at the show (and did a few to bring with me... this one of choopie and howard the duck was done for our good pal roger ash)... now it's back to the drawing board, gotta get pages done on both the haps (folks we talked to seemed to be liking issue 4 ad wondering what happens next!) and the final issue of my mary jane run (wow, this job flew by... must be working with that terry moore guy)...

tv is getting back into full swing (gotta get through all the stuff we tivoed while we were on the road), but i did manage to watch the office (good stuff, back in fine form), heroes (moving at a good pace, but really all over the map, inconsistent and derivative... don't know how much more i'll stick around for) and listening to the new ben folds cd while i work...

a few more marvel sketch cards...

so, first things first.. above are a few of the marvel upper deck artist proof sketch cards i've had a chance to do for folks (i've still got a few blanks left to work on here...)

baltimore comic-con is right around the corner on september 27 and 28, so we're in gear to get  get as much done before then as possible (if you're anywhere near the area, you ARE going, right? it's easily one of the top 3 comic conventions i go to - heroes in charlotte and emerald city in seattle being the others - all of which have a similar family friendly, comics first atmosphere run by great folks)... i've had a few folks email about getting on the show  commission list (i hesitate to call'm sketches anymore, since they're not really...), if you're interested, drop a line and we'll see what we can do (i'm planning on doing a  lot of the prelim stuff on the road before the show once i wrap up those last 3 lingering commissions from WAY back and heroes) 

issue 4 of the 'haps will be out that week and we'll have that as well as the other image books, ti shirts, the trading card prints and STACKS of original art for sale ...

work on issue 5 is moving right along too (we've obviously taken a hit in the monthly schedule, but we're trying hard to get it out as fast as possible without sacrificing quality AND making sure you get your $3.50 worth...)

working hard on getting issue 4 of mary jane wrapped up (response seems to be okay... i knew going in there'd be - a. fans who miss the anime look ('cause this ain't it), b. the three of you out there who'd buy it since i was drawing it, c. terry moore fans who'd buy it no matter who was drawing it...) but i'm happy with the way it's turning out (some brilliant coloring by guillem mari), and i'm pretty sure the folks at marvel are happy too (we're talking about my next gig already...)

been watching a LOT of tv on dvd lately while putting in a lot of late nights  (season 4 of the office which went off the track for a bit but managed to pick up towards the end of the set, heroes season 1 holds up pretty well in a short viewing as opposed to spread out over the year... we'll see about season 2... and 3)... been loving the shield this season (nothing good can come of all the plotting and manipulation going back to the very first episode) and trying to get into sons of anarchy (but so far, all the characters are so deeply flawed and criminal i've got one to root for)

on the comics front, not so much getting me really excited about my weekly trip to the shop (the goon, b.p.r.d., criminal are still some of the best books around... most dc stuff leaves me STONE cold these days, while marvel's so hip deep in skrull stuff - good god, it's been SIX issues of a beautifully drawn mini-series that has about TWO issues of content - and i'm not about to read all the other marvel titles connected to have to get the rest of the story...)

-c

hellboy trophy wall

here's another commission that's been in the pipeline for a good long time... chris has an AMAZING collection of pieces with the "trophy wall theme" (some have got to bee seen to be believed... chris' comic art fans gallery) and asked for a hellboy wall... and while his first thought was rasputin and the cthulhu tentacle type stuff, i knew it had to have von klempt, head in a jar collecting other heads... wish i had the time to color this one, but gotta keep moving on haps 5 and mary jane 4 (both of which are coming along  nicely, thanks for asking)... 

also figured i'd set up an account on deviant art ('cause all the cool kids are doing it), should have some stuff posted over there later this week.

oh, and tv starts back into swing this week with the final season of the shield on tuesday (gotta finish watching the new dvd set to refresh my memory)... looking forward to a lot of returning shows in the coming months (... and trish, well, she's looking forward to the new 90210...)

-c

like i need a reason to draw hellboy...

here's one that i finished a while back between 'haps pages and mj pages (which is whittling my outstanding commissions down to a few VERY patent customers)... interesting pair... i'd buy that book (or draw it... you  know, if they asked )...

dark knight returns

okay, just a quick one.. gotta keep working on mary jane and the 'haps!

here's a coupla pieces i did a little ways back for my pal, inker extra-ordinaire, art collector (and all around great guy) tim townsend...

-c

spider-man loves mary jane 1!

so, issue one of the 5 issue mini-series hits tomorrow! having a blast doing it, hope folks enjoy it... it's clearly not american manga this go-around, but still a fun and light-hearted style that (if i was successful) suits terry moore's story.

ADDED - and for the folks that have been asking, pages from this issue (and the x-men first class issue) are now up for sale over at comic art house 

dark knight... and other stuff

so, one thing about the bosstones performance the other day i forgot to mention was straight outta "spinal tap"... during the final song of the set ("let's face it"...?), the bosstones dropped the banner with their logo on it to reveal a banner of barack obama... or at least, it would've, if one corner of the banner hadn't gotten stuck and hung up, half obscuring obama, no matter how hard the crew tried to pull it loose (and oddly, the up-until-then-very-enthusiastic crowd booed ... pretty loudly. go figure)...

both bands put on great shows (if i had to choose, i'd say i dug the bosstones better, but that's me... but clearly a lot of folks were there to see the dropkicks tear it up ... heck, to a good chunk of the audience the bosstones would be classic rock... ugh)...

and besides that show, it's been work, work work (mj and haps are chugging along) ... oh, and running up to the imax theater north of boston to see the preview of "the dark knight"... wow. i've certainly made no bones about my dislike for plenty of the first movie, but this was in a whole 'nother class. fantastic, brutal, thrilling, chilling, action-packed, poignant, character-driven, perfectly acted... you name it. practically everything was note perfect - the batman, harvey dent, gordon, the joker...i won't spoil anything, but man-o-man, was this the movie i was hoping to see... (and believe me, i wasn't expecting it to be as good as the hype)... and in imax, it was even more intense (not to mention the fact that this imax theater has subwoofers in the seats so you could feel the tumbler roaring down the streets of gotham)...

so, in keeping with the dark knight, here's the second mini-comic for general mills... (after seeing the movie i'm kinda surprised they wanted these as cartoony as they did... )

catching up...

well, figured it's been a while and wanted to post something...

on the work front, issue 2 of spidey loves mary jane is all wrapped up and working hard on issue 3... (in an amusing - to me, anyway- press release about an alternate cover to #1 by adrian alphona - who was the artist originally lined up for this book - i'm a "rising star"... who knew?)

issue 4 of the haps is well underway - issue 3 should hit shops THIS week ...

the dc licensing job i've had lined up for months is all done (phew - not that most folks'll see it... it's a custom justice league (animated style) comic for conedison - a NY power company - to hand out to kids in the NY school system about energy conservation and the like...)

wading my way through commissions (and sketches that didn't get done in charlotte)... here's a canson piece that took some time to get done...



so, besides work, saw hellboy 2 the other night (wow, great looking film... quite a departure from the first, storywise, but a lot of fun... can easily see why guillermo is a perfect fit for the hobbit movie next)...

went to mccoy stadium in pawtucket last night to see the mighty mighty bosstones and the dropkick murphy (great sets... but pretty bad sound for both bands)...

catching up on mad men on dvd in time for the premiere of season 2 later this month...

i'm sure there's more, but i've got work to do (clearly!)...

up next, more dark knight min comic stuff!

-c

back home...

okay, so it's been almost a week since coming back from charlotte and i'm finally getting back into my grove (and getting over the convention "ick"). it was a great (albeit bittersweet) weekend for us ... i sold art, sketchbooks and sketches all weekend, todd and i managed to sell more than a few comics and t-shirts... and we got to meet a buncha the board regulars in person for the first time (or in a few cases, find out that folks we've seen at the show for years were posters). we spent quality time with good friends old and new (matt and suzanne christian, mark waid, scott and gino, jeff parker, nick cardy, kelly yates, chris kemple, the case family, karl kesel and myrna... to name a few) - and since our better halves went to the show, we were able to go out together at night and talk and laugh for hours (and the ladies went to get manicures and drinks while we were at the show, so it was a win-win)... we reminisced about 'ringo without getting too maudlin (but his absence was definitely felt all weekend, sometimes like a punch to the gut when you weren't expecting) and managed to get the sketchbook together and raise money for the ASPCA in mike's name (you DO know all about the sketchbook, right? if you don't, check out todd's blog... and while you're there, read about to show in todd's words, too)...

but now i'm home and working hard to get everything done on time, so it's back to work...

-c

just read about michael turner's untimely passing from cancer at the age of 37!... while i can't say i was ever a fan of his work, i did respect the hell out of him as a person for how he managed to fight until the end... and it's a tragedy he died so young. damn.

heroes con 08...

okay, so i'm hard at work getting everything ready for my trip down to charlotte for this year's HEROES CON... a show i've gone to almost every year for the last decade or so (didn't get there the year john was born... thought leaving a 2 week old at home'd be a bit much), it's become a favorite. this year's gonna be different (and not just because todd and i will both be bringing our significant others)... it's the first year without 'ringo. it became just as much of the tradition for todd and i to head down early and spend time with mike, and every year we'd get our tables next to each other and hang out all weekend... as weird as it surely will be, at least we know we'll be able spend time with mike's brother matt, who'll be at mike's usual spot (and i couldn't think of a better guy to be there)... matt's gonna be set up to promote...

the mike wieringo scholarship fund

and without further adieu, here's the press release...

Mike Wieringo Scholarship “The ‘Ringo” Announced

Wieringo’s Friends and Family to Host Special Fundraising Booth at Heroes Con

CHARLOTTE, NC (June 6, 2008) When Mike Wieringo abruptly passed away last August, the comics industry lost more than a great artist and creator – it lost a friend. Now, Mike’s family has teamed with the Savannah College of Art and Design to create The Mike Wieringo Scholarship or “The ‘Ringo” to help keep his spirit of generosity alive.

Created by Mike’s brother Matt and his sister-in-law Suzanne, the ‘Ringo is designed to help provide similar help to artists at the Savannah College of Art and Design or SCAD. Domestic and international students with have a minimum 3.0 grade point average who demonstrate financial need and display a serious interest in pursuing comics as a career are eligible. The scholarship will take effect in the artist’s second year of classes, and is renewable for up to two additional years, provided the student continues to meet the criteria.

The recipient will be chosen from three finalists determined by the college in a portfolio review by Matt and Suzanne Wieringo, along with a rotating group. The ultimate goal for the ‘Ringo is to raise enough funds so that it can cover a full year’s expenses at SCAD, approximately $30,000.

Toward this end, a table staffed by Mike’s family and friends will be set up in his traditional spot in Artists Alley at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. Heroes was a big part of Mike's life and career, and was the industry event he most looked forward to every year.

The table will raise funds through donations and the sale of remaining copies of Mike’s sketchbooks, copies of comics featuring Mike's work, selected pieces of Mike's original artwork, sketches by Mike's friends in the industry who will be appearing at the booth, and items donated by other comic professionals. Pros appearing include Jeff Parker, Rich Faber, Craig Rousseau, Todd Dezago, Mark Waid, Richard Case and more to be announced.

“SCAD is one of the most impressive programs in the world to focus on the medium of comics,” says Jeff Parker, creator of The Interman and Agents of Atlas, who worked with Mike at Artamus Studios. “I'm pretty sure Mike would have loved to have attended such a place in his student days. It would make an excellent legacy for him if we can grow the Ringo scholarship into a launch pad for the future greats of comics.”

Despite his success on such books as The Flash, Fantastic Four and his own creator-owned Tellos, Mike Wieringo never forgot what it was like to be a struggling creator. For many up-and-comers, Mike served as a mentor and friendly voice, whether it was providing free covers, advice, or just the encouragement to keep going.

With your help, the Mike Wieringo Scholarship can continue to grow and help a new generation of creators get the training and connections they need to start their careers. Mike’s talent, enthusiasm and generosity inspired many in the comics industry to be their best as both creators and as human beings. With your help, Mike will continue to be an inspiration for creators in decades to come.


look forward to seeing folks there!
-c

okay, so while i'm here, i might as well show some art right? here's the original line art for the scarecrow cover i showed last time... (to keep with the cover design of the other two, i added a second element behind the main character... but after a few tweaks, it was decided that a screaming-nasty-smoke-bat-monster might be too much for a box of cereal...)

dark knight!

okay, so word on the street is that the custom comics i did to tie into the new batman movie are now showing up in general mills cereals (bill found his in cookie crisp!)...

i did these way back in the end of last year and kinda forgot about'm since i couldn't show'm to anybody ... there's three different mini-comics (cute at only 4"x4" with 4 pages of story)... i did all three covers and the stories in 2 (my man pop mhan did the third and the activity page art)...

found these scans on-line.. here's the first one and the cover...






-c

(well underway on spidey-mj 2, working on haps 4... and another custom job for dc... sleep? what's that? luckily, i'll be able to get some sleep in charlotte, right? )

spidey loves mj!

okay, so i'm hard at work on issue 2 of spidey loves mary jane and just wrapped issue 3 of the haps (our lead story is 14 pages - we meant to go 12, but it just wouldn't stop! - with 2 killer back-up stories by tad stones and new proud poppa kelly yates!) ...

now that it's listed in previews, i guess it's real... "spidey loves mary jane" starts august 6! the stories by comics legend terry frakkin' moore are a LOT of fun (and it's cool that while it's a marvel comic and it's spider-man!, it's not all superheros and fights... spidey is just a supporting character in tmj's teenage world)... here's the colored page that ran in previews... (again, i'm going with a fun, bouncy open animated style 'cause it fits the feel of the story... and the colorist just knocked it outta the park)...



-c
can't believe we've gotta wait until next year for more lost! (what a great finale...)

luchadore!

okay, joe, here's a new update for ya...

so, todd and i got our copies of haps #2 when we got back from seattle (a GREAT show out west... sold a lot of books, did a lot of sketching, talked with a lot of perhapa-fans, and had a great dinner at ruth chris' with jeff parker, matt maxwell, karl kessel, and todd... and i even managed to get out and see speed racer - despite the critical thrashing it's gotten, i really enjoyed it- fun, fast, colorful... and even a positive message) and the book looks great (oh, poor karl).

working hard on wrapping up issue of the haps 3 and issue 2 of spider-man loves mary-jane... and hopefully getting to a few of the commissions waiting patiently.

not much to show, but realized i still haven't shown these spot illos for wwe kids magazine (for an article "is you teacher a luchadore?") a fun job.




okay, gotta go do some yardwork!
-c

my how time flies!

been almost a month with no posts... you'd think i've been busy or something...

so, as y'all know, todd and i are hard at work on the just relaunched perhapanauts over at image... response has been great so far (we sold out of all the books we brought to the nyc convention last month and had folks clamoring for more), issue 2 is at the printer, 3 is well underway...

but besides all the work going into the production of the 'haps, i've also been spending just as much time on my other project, which was announced at that nyc show as well... i'm drawing (pencils and inks) the new, terry moore scripted run on spider-man loves mary jane! issue 1 is gonna be wrapped before i head to seattle for the emerald city convention this weekend... and then straight onto number 2 (all the while keeping the 'haps moving along as well)...

commissions are still in the queue and hope to get to the last few waiting real soon.

i did get the chance to run out and see iron man the other night... loved it. thought it hit all the right notes and the cast was great. easily one of the best superhero movies i've seen.

as for tv, can't believe we're in the home stretch for the "regular" season - battlestar galactica and lost have REALLY gotten a sense of urgency now that there's a definite end planned -which makes for great tv. still enjoying the nbc comedy block (milf island on 30 rock? priceless.)

okay, back to work!
-c

oh, since you've been so patient, here's some new art... the "not quie final but you get the idea" cover to haps 5...

back to the future...

okay, so after that brief look back at some early stuff (there's more on the way... some old samples, early jobs... maybe even pogs... you name it!), it's back to a recent commission... of phantom girl from the legion of super-heroes... (not quite the animated style... but my take on the design)...



-c

the saturday morning comic!

okay, after mentioning it the other day, i went and dug out a copy of "the saturday morning comic" from marvel back in 1996 (and my first published comics work... so that THAT, impulse!)...



created as a tie-in to the "altoonative rock for cartoon lovers" cd (their words, not mine), the comic follows the record producer and a "john smith" from the future, and the duo track down all the acts on the cd (matthew sweet, liz phair, the ramones, the violent femmes, helmet, butthole surfers, reverend horton heat, collective soul and more) and have'm record covers of saturday morning cartoon theme songs before some bad guys from the future... do something (didn't really re-read it, just flipped through it quickly)... so i can't say much about the story, but it did have some great fun art from tim sale, steve lightle, trevor von eden, steve leialoah, pat oliffe, tom morgan, rick parker, tony salmons, rick geary, chris bachalo, kieron dwyer, neil volkes, chris moeller, michael avon oeming, steve yeowell, klaus janson, steve purcell, bob fingerman, mike zeck ...and me. (kinda crazy all the talent dana moreshead lined up for this book... and then threw me in. go figure... but thanks again, dana!)

so, without further rambling, here ya go...



-c

when pulling out this page, i found a SLEW of old sample pages and tryouts from way back... might haveta scan'm and post'm from time to time.

x-men: first class 10

okay, so a quick one to let you folks know that my first "real" marvel comic came out this week*... i'm pleased with how it turned out (and clearly my editors were too, since it led to my new gig)... and the colors by emily warren are just beautiful (always funny to see folks other than rico color my stuff these days... luckily, i've worked with talented folks like lee louridge, rico and giulia brusco... and now emily)... and of course, jeff parker's story is pretty swell, too. so go buy a copy.. or two.



-c

*my first published work at marvel was WAY back before impulse - 1 page in a comic based on a cd called saturday morning hits (covers of cartoon theme songs by alterna-folks like the reverend horton heat, liz phair, matthew sweet, helmet and more)... my page was for fat albert and the cosby kids, covered by a band called dig... and again, i have a big thanks to dana moreshead for that one (besides an unknown like me, there was some crazy talent involved - cover by bill sienkewicz, pages by chris bachalo, tim sale and a bunch more... gotta dig out my copy)

still drawing away...

so, x-men first class comes out this week... had a great time working with our pal, uber-talented (and omni-present these days) writer jeff parker... with any luck we can find time to do more together in the future... but can't imagine taking on any more work for the time being... yikes, i'm busy!

over on todd's blog we'll be posting about some of the promotional perhapa-onslaught we're planning for the convention season (only 25 or so days until the nyc show?!)...

in the meantime, here's another commission i finished recently... (unfortunately, this is one of those that fell through the cracks since last heroes... d'oh! sorry this one took so long...)



-c

the shadow knows...

okay, as you can guess, things've been just crazy busy... and there's no sign of letting up for the foreseeable future (not that that's a bad thing)...

besides all the work going into the extra long story in the 'haps annual (now out), the x-men: first class 10 (out next month) getting the final, lettered issue 1 of the haps off to image last week, jumping onto issue 2, working on a special 5 page 'haps story - and cover- for an image compilation/sampler (more on that later), t-shirt stuff and promo stuff for the upcoming convention season, and gearing up for a 5 issue series over at marvel (pencils and inks! more on that later, too)... i've managed to get to a few commissions...

so, here's the shadow.



whew, i'm tired just thinking about it all. but i've got more work to do tonight...
-c

a quick hellboy

so, this one's for nick, who was kind enough to snag me one of the hellboy prints mike mignola had for sale at wondercon last weekend..



other random bits -
-feedback has been pretty good on the 'haps annual (now at image!) so far... and i think folks'll dig the on-going as well...

-speaking of which, i'm working hard on wrapping up issue 1 and and jumping onto 2 (and a few other 'haps things we'll announce when the time is right)

-got a few fun discussions going about dream cover artists and possible drawing jam over at the 'haps board

-starting to line up some great guest cover and/or back up story artists for upcoming issues (who may or may not be on that list)

-a few folks had asked... the harry potter/ron/hermoine canson pieces are up for sale (as a set) over at serendipity art sales (almost done listening to the deathly hallows - think voldemort is gonna have to be next in the series of sketches) ... oh, and the x-men-first class art'll be up there when the book is released next month!

-on a COMPLETELY unrelated note, i'm still appalled by a telemarker, who called (on a sunday afternoon, no less) to get me to renew a magazine subscription... when i politely interrupted and told her i still had over TWO YEARS on my current subscription, she snidely snapped "well, thanks for at least listening to what i had to say" ... before hanging up... when did this become acceptable? no wonder i don't answer out of area" calls any more... sheesh.

okay, back to work before i haveta pick up the boy at school!