some mid-ohio sketches...

wow, over a month since my last post, eh? well, not much new going on work-wise, still on working away on captain america and the korvac saga (issue 1 hit shops a few weeks ago) as well as a page or two of the haps when i get a chance (SO close to finishing the lead story of the next issue... i figure when cap wraps next month, i'll have a bit more time... but i've said THAT before)... starting to figure out our next few con exclusive haps prints (emerald city in march and then boston in april - which, if nothing else, gives me a chance to draw the gang again)...

no new commissions to show yet, so found these shots of a few i did in mid ohio last month...

happy holidays!

-c

alien jungle girl

realized 2011 is right around the corner, and that means starting to figure out convention appearances (besides the tried and true heroescon, boston and baltimore comic cons )... todd and i really enjoyed the emerald city comicon a few years ago, so we started asking around... and now, it's our first convention of the year.

the last few years, show organizer and super cool cat, jim demonakis has put together a killer art book for the the show... and here's my "monsters and dames" piece (wish i had more time to color it, but tight deadlines and all that...)

speaking of deadlines, back to the korvac saga before turkey day gobbles up more work time (ahahaha, see what i did there with "gobble"? yeah, it was pretty bad, i know...)

-c

cap and the korca saga covers

so, not sure if i've posted any of these, but here's the first 3 covers (colored by chris sotomayor) for the 4 issue mini series starting in december, written by ben mccool and colored by rachelle rosenberg (issue 3 was just solicited for the february releases... guess i better get cracking!)... having a blast on this book, not only with the interiors but covers as well (a first for me at marvel... except for that cover to her-oes 1)

being an all ages, continuity free series, i've been given free reign on how these characters look... since i'm an old school fan, i kept the looks mostly classic avengers... but we did decide to push korvac past the lakers purple/yellow look on the cover to 3...

-c (gotta get to work if i'm gonna wactch "sons of anarchy" in a bit)

legends of the mouse guard

back from a great show in ohio... while i was there, i did some sketching, we sold plenty ofperhapanauts swag (pins, books, t-shirts and prints) and i signed plenty of books... one of which i hadn't had a chance to see yet - the sweet hardcover collection of legends of the mouse guard (super cool creator and all-around great guy david petersen had some on hand before it's officially released this week)... be sure to pick it up for great stuff from plenty of talented folks like david, guy davis, jeremy bastian, katie cook and many more... and me)

and oddly, seems like the individual issue my story was in (issue 4) hits store NEXT week.

-c

diggin' deep... pop up villains!

okay, more from the file drawer... this time it's art for a marvel's bad guys pop up book (that, to the best of my knowledge, never came out)... back before i was getting regular comics work, some folks at marvel's creative services dept took pity on me and got me some of my first professional work (pogs, coloring books, christmas ties, you name it)...

pretty straightforward with each picture to be broken down into three levels of "pop"... and the only time i've ever gotten to draw most of these guys (although i just found out one of the bad guys on one of the pages shows up in captain america and the korvac saga)

some of it holds up (dormammu), most of its wonky, but i had fun doing it... (much like most of my stuff)

looking at a lot of this older stuff, i wonder how i'd tackle it, 15 years later...

-c

hey, looking for new haps shirts? head over to the site and order yours today!

(more) diggin' deep... vertigo style.

finally getting back on track with work after the last few weeks of upheaval around here (has it been only two weeks since cat was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes? wow... but she's been handling it great, back in the swing of things in no time... and we're doing okay trying to keep her on schedule and enjoying life like an almost 4 year old should... and the boy's been a GREAT big brother to her through it all )

since i don't have any captain america and the korvac saga stuff okayed to show yet, i figure it's time to post some old stuff again...

trying to break in WAY back in '95, i was heavy into some of the vertigo stuff... funny how i went from sample stuff like this, to getting a job on one of dc's most kid friendly books, impulse (and then years of animated style books)...

more death/books of magic type samples coming next...

-c

another installment of "diggin' deep"...

since i really can't show much of the marvel stuff i'm working on right now (the first issue of captain america and the korvac saga is the new previews catalog this week- and the haps is chugging along.. .we'll be showing some of that stuff on our facebook page and todd's blog), i figured i'd pull some old stuff out of the file drawer... first up, a VERY early x-men sample page from '95 or so... (really never liked spotting black in pencils, hence all the lines)...

plenty more where this came from.

-c

peace of mind...

okay, so as an artist, i can usually find flaw in everything i do... something that could've been drawn better, composition could be stronger, anatomy is off, you name it.... i try to let it go and work harder on not making the same mistake next time (i make new mistakes) but sometimes i see something that just sticks with me...

case in point - for the screaming tiki con todd and i went to last year, we did a small print to sell at the show based on the idea of a... screaming tiki. after drawing it and getting it printed, i just wasn't happy with it (on practically every level) but let it slide.

with this year's baltimore comic con, we did another print, and i was pretty happy with it... and one for the upcoming mid-ohio show (you'll see it on todd's blog soon) and it made me realize how much i WASN'T happy with the tiki one... SO, for my own peace of mind, i went and re-did the piece. (while todd is quick to point out that "george lucasing" my work is just looking backwards and we've got plenty more to do going forward, sometimes it needs to be done)

speaking of the perhapanauts, been cruising along on new pages, a cover or two... and check out todd's blog in the next few weeks or so for news about some fun new t-shirt designs we're trying out...

anyway, back to the paying work! (captain america and the korvac saga is gonna be one helluva fun book!)

-c

(not quite) another one from baltimore...

so, i had planned to have this one done for louie to pick up at baltimore... naturally, i din't get to finish it (but i did when i got home)... i do love robert kirkman's invincible (haven't gotten to read the latest trade yet, but it's in the GIGANTIC pile of comics to read, next to the bookcase of books waiting for more than a cursory flip through... sigh.), so this was a lot of fun (and goes well with the invincible piece from a few years back)

besides that, the kids both started school (the boy in first grade, cat LOVING her first two days at pre-school) and work is moving along...

working on the cap/korvac project and making serious headway in the next haps book (as well as the mid-ohio con print we're putting together) as well as getting down to just a few kim possible related commissions outstanding...

almsot done watching season 1 of dexter (via the nextflix streaming app on the ipad while i work), loved the premiere of this season's sons of anarchy (glad i didn't write it off after the first few episodes... growing into one of my favorite shows on tv) and this week's mad men was one of the best in a while.

looking forward to taking the kids to the "life is good" music festival (they might be giants and ok go... sweet!) this sunday at blue hills and spending time with friends.

-c

back from baltimore!

yet another great comic show in charm city (easily in my top 3 favorite comic shows... heck, top 2 with charlotte)... the weekend 2 day show seemed to go by mighty quick, realizing how many folks i DIDN'T get a chance to talk to (or even see)... kept my head down, sketching away (pics of two of the color pieces i did above) but i did manage to spend time with good friends (you know who you are) and socialize a bit (and have a great breakfast with the gang)... next up, mid-ohio in november with todd.

mighty glad to be back home, getting back into the routine. the boy started first grade and cat goes to pre-k next week, so i'll get some time to work - and sleep!

working on the marvel stuff and haps stuff (hoping i can keep this enthusiasm and momentum going into the next few issues!)

-c

spider-man loves... death?

here's a recent commission (recent in the fact that i recently finished it, not in the fact that is was commissioned recently... it was commissioned AGES ago) based on a great cover from the spider-man loves mary jane series a few years back (not the one i did, but the "good" one.. ha!)... pretty sure the name speaks for itself.

since i don't do much drawing for myself these days, sometimes i try to use these commissions to let loose and have fun (and try out new styles)... since the layout was already done for me, i tried to push the inks a bit.... (bob almond was saying he saw a hint of simonson in the linework in the hair, and i'll take that as one helluva compliment, bob!)

getting ready to head to baltimore next week, putting the finishing touches on our baltimore exclusive perhapanauts print, along with other goodies (check todd's blog next week for info!), working on my haps story, the cover to cap and the korvac saga 2, a cover for a friend, a mascot logo for a friend (and , as todd says, pulling a george lucas on the screaming tiki perhapanauts print we did... )... whew.

back to work.

-c

(on the tv, front, enjoying mad men (don draper's personal downfall has been powerful stuff to watch) rescue me and got hooked on being human on bbc america... and the trashy fun of true blood)

old school daredevil

well, not that golden age old-school daredevil, but the first costume matt murdock wore back in daredevil 1 before going to the all red look.

without the crushing deadlines, we've been able to enjoy some family time down on cape cod, and did plenty of bike riding to help trish train for the pan mass challenge this last weekend (she, traci, heather, and thousands of other riders rode to raise money for the dana faerber foundation to help fight cancer)...

getting back into the swing of wrapping up the last few commission stragglers, as well as working the new haps pages and the captain america and the korvac saga project.

-c

a mouse story

so, finished up my six page legends of the mouse guard story this weekend (did the whole thing - story, art, colors and letters) and had a lot of fun doing it.... it'll be in issue 4, coming out next month or so, i think.

before that, i also did an 11 page ff story (pencils and inks) for a custom comic for marvel on a fairly tight deadline (i really have fun drawing the ever lovin' blue eyed thing... still don't quite have a handle on the rest - but i kept mike's ff run handy for inspiration)

AND over the weekend, i worked on my cover for #1 to the next 4 issue series i'll be doing at marvel - captain america and the korvac saga written by the one and only ben mccool ... should be a fun ride, issue 1 hitting shelves in dec.

and since i don't seem busy enough, started laying out the baltimore exclusive print and started inking some 'haps pages... (yay, i miss those guys!)

heck, i even managed to get out and see inception (loved it ) and re-watched all three seasons of deadwood on dvd... next up, by popular recommendation, breaking bad.

whew, i'm tired.

-c

catching up (and yet another hellboy sketch)

well, things seem to be slowing down a bit after finishing up her-oes 4 the other day (good thing, too... it's scheduled to be on the stands in a few weeks)... plenty left on my plate (first up - my 6 page mouse guard story for david petersen - been itching to get drawing it! also, just a few long outstanding commissions... and the next 2 convention exclusive perhapanauts prints for baltimore and mid ohio), not to mention finishing the pages for the first issue of the next haps arc and getting to work on the second issue)... and just got word about my next all ages gig for marvel... pretty excited!

hope to take the time and get to the stack of dvds here (got halfway through inglorious basterds on the flight from charlotte and never got back to it - big fan, and on numerous recommendations, the first season of breaking bad), comics (months worth of comics to be sifted through and read ... and a few on the ipad as well) and magazines...

been listening to the great new devo album... and on a michel giacchino kick on itunes, getting the soundtracks for fringe and land of the lost.

oh yeah, here's a hellboy sketch i traded a while back for a cool comic con breda 2010 exclusive hellboy comic (3 stories reprinted with a sweet new cover) - thanks again, kees!

-c

quick heroes con wrap up... and the darkness

sounding like a broken record year after year, but i had a GREAT time in charlotte at heorescon this year (even without my creative better half and a few others - rod and leanne, nick, to name a few - i still had the great company of matt and squeeze, brian and kelly) and got to next to rick leonardi and watch him do sketch after amazing sketch. saw plenty of friends, old and new. did quite a few canson paper color sketches at the show (sadly, didn't take any pictures, so i figure i'd post the last commission i did before heading out) and can't wait for next year (but luckily, baltimore comic-con is right around the corner, right?)

working on getting her-oes 4 all wrapped up and then jumping onto my mouse guard story and haps stuff...

-c

justified season finale already? damn.... good thing true blood starts up in a few days.... and another fantastic friday night lights this week.

listening to the castle book tie-in heat wave on audio book while working - solid and entertaining, but nothing ground-breaking (which is how i pictured castle's books, so it's all good)

clea and some strange

okay, another of the long awaited commissions that i had a chance to get through recently...

(plenty of times i'll draw something and see a little bit of a style from an artist i really dig, and this time it's 'ringo... dunno if it was thinking about how charlotte's right around the corner or maybe it's just how much i love the way he drew women)

so, her-oes 2 is out on shelves, issue 3 is in the can and 4 is well underway... after that, not quite sure what's next at marvel, but i'll be working on my tales of the mouseguard story and trying to getting some more haps done, too...

had a good holiday weekend (plenty of grilled/smoked meat and good company of friends and family), but really need to get cracking before heading to charlotte in a few days.

hope to see some of you folks down at heroes con! (i will be doing ink b/w and color canson pieces at the show, so stop by the table or drop me a line beforehand)

-c

absolutely LOVED the finale of lost, 24 ended on a solid note (a bit corny at the very end, but still a pretty good season to end with)... but friday night lights just might be my all-time favorite show (the whole upheaval of dillon football this season has been great)

ww2 cap and memorial day

figure posting this commission of ww2 era captain america during memorial day weekend is appropriate... thank you to all the soldiers who've served this country.

-c

(who also plans on enjoying this weekend with some grilling and smoked meat with family and friends.... i'll post more later this week)

kitty pryde

so, here's a commission i got to the other day... one of my favorite x-men characters back in the day (been so long since i've read the x books regularly, i really don't know what's going on these days... but i loved those claremont/byrne/cockrum/smith days)...

got a few more commissions finished and couple more in the works and the last pages of her-oes on the plate.

getting ready for the granite con this sunday in manchester, NH ... and then the big finale of lost that night! (trish is about 6 episodes from getting caught up... been interesting watching the last 2 seasons in a few weeks, catching small things the second time around) and the the finale of 24 ... i'll miss both shows, but have realized this season i've found myself looking forward to justified, friday night lights and community even more (the last few episodes of community have been the highlight of the thursday night comedy block on nbc for me... the paintball one was brilliant)

use the force, luke!

seems like it's been a while, eh? not much new in the way of commissions or other art to show, i've been crazy busy with her-oes (issue 2 hits stands next week! heck, check out the preview)...

but i do have this luke skywalker piece i did a few months ago and never posted... (which reminds me i should update the galleries with stuff i've posted on the blog at some point)

had a great time on free comic book day up at jetpack comics in portsmouth, nh (everybody pick up some free books that day? maybe even a copy of iron man/nova?) and already looking forward to next year...

making plans for charlotte (got a few commissions to bring with me) and it'll be a bit different with todd taking a year off - luckily, matt and squeeze will be there!

on the tv and movie front, saw iron man 2 (liked it, but didn't love it), catching trish up on lost in time for the finale (watched season 5 the last 2 weeks, and starting season 6 this weekend... whew), can't figure out whether community or modern family gets my vote for best new sitcom this year... friday night lights is back, as good as ever, and justified has been great...

-c

call me, beep me...

hope everybody had a good weekend... just plugging away on her-oes here (issue 1 comes out THIS week...!) and figured i'd post a quick one (or two) with kim possible...

back to work.

-c

batman beyond

so, another great boston comic con last weekend - a new venue (which, while much bigger, just wasn't big enough for the fantastic turnout they had) and a stellar guest list (mike mignola, jim lee, eric powell, jim starlin just to name a few) - along with having super cool pal kelly yates come up and visit for the show, great food and a chance to hang out in the city with woodall and booth boy extraordinaire brian, all made for a great time...

did plenty of sketching and signing at the show, and did only 2 extra pieces the night before to bring - a kim possible (i'll post that one next time) and batman beyond (even after all this time, i still dig drawing the character and i'm looking forward to the new book)

still working hard on herOes (issue 1 should be out soon) and getting a bit of headway into the next haps pages, finally...

i'm sure there's more to post about, like tv (the mini series the pacific's been fantastic on hbo, lost is crazy good, 24 is shaping up to go out in style...), movies (stll laughing thinking about some parts of hot tub time machine... although i imagine it'll be on dvd in, what, a few weeks?), music (new stuff from robyn hitchcock, black francis, and barenaked ladies) and the ipad (still loving it!), but i've gotta get back to work, so...

-c

by odin's beard!

and the third (and last for now, deadlines are tight for a bit) marvel treasury cover redo is thor... man, i LOVE drawing thor (i'd say the simonson run left a BIG impression on me.... this is a "romita by way of simonson" homage)... back to work.

-c

(took the time this weekend while working to watch a good chunk of flash forward that's been piling up on the tivo since i recorded the premiere... intriguing enough, hope they can at least resolve it all f they don't get renewed next year)

hulk smash!

so, after drawing comics for over 10 years, i still haven't had a chance to draw many marvel characters in published books ... and one i'd love to draw (but still don't really have a handle on) is the hulk...

and like i said before, i just don't have the time to color these yet... luckily, the boy does...

have a good weekend!

-c

(looking forward to hot tub machine tonight)

old school marvel

okay, so in between commissions, haps stuff, star wars cards and herOes, i've found the time to do a few pieces just for fun (based on the iconic covers from those old oversized marvel treasury books by john romita sr.)... up first, spider-man! (wish i had the time to color these up, but i do like to sleep a few hours a night...)

-c

tv bits - 24 is picking up (and making a seemingly ludicrous plot line a bit more understandable), lost was enlightening and crazy good, justified and the pacific have become must watch shows... (and i still have all of caprica and flash forward so far on the tivo to watch when i get the chance)

about 2/3 through listening to from a buick 8 (and have no idea where it's gonna go) and finished under the dome a while ago (vintage king)

now in color! with words!!

so, realizing i didn't have the time to really do it right (or this good), i got mike thomas (who colored the fred hembeck story in the halloween special as well as the recent molly one shot) to color the "poster" commission... i told him i'd been looking at drew struzan stuff a lot lately but my only instructions were "i dunno, make it look good "... and he certainly did.

and to round it out, i figured why not get todd involved and had him come up with the tagline and credits.

so there you have it.

okay, besides that, here's a link to an interview paul tobin and i did for the FCBD iron man /nova book ...

-c

working away on the next issue of herOes...

'haps poster part 2

okay, so been a bit longer than i thought (deadlines and all that)...

where were we? oh, yeah... onto the inks for that 'haps commission... pretty straightforward, really... at this point, most of my detail finishing is done with the inks (kind of relaxing to do details like the hair), so the pencils really didn't need to be tightened up ... i did decide to change the shot of mg slightly.

up next, colors... (and while i would've LOVED to color this myself, i decided to get someone who was a. faster and b. better than me... namely mike thomas, who did a killer job on the recent 'haps molly special.)

-c

not much else going on work-wise besides plugging away on her-oes for marvel (gotta say, it's fun stuff... and not just 'cause they're paying me to do it)... starting to figure out my con schedule for 2010 (tentatively -so far, it's boston in april, fcbd at jetpack comics in nh, charlotte in june... and more likely than not, baltimore in the sweltering month of august)

another step by step... haps poster

so, i figure since it's FINALLY off to the very patient customer, i can show the perhapanauts "faux movie poster" commission.

but since he waited so long, i figure i'll take some time and show it in stages... first up, pencils...

since this was gonna be a fake movie poster, i went straight to the well with drew struzan and his montage style... (and more than a bit of 'ringo as well)...

i'll post the inks later this week.... gotta get back to her-oes!

-c

oh, and for folks looking for to pick upon of my return star wars clone wars widevision cards, they're up on ebay...

for a birthday girl

another quick one with a post of a piece i did for a old friend's daughter's 12th birthday...

besides that, just been working away on her-oes and waiting for the snow to fall this afternoon.

-c

star wars galaxy 5 sketch cards

so, besides wrapping up the marvel iron man/nova free comic book day book and jumping into her-oes #1, i managed to get through (what's most likely my last ever) 100 topps star wars sketch cards...

for those not in the know, these days, topps packs the trading cards with randomly inserted actor autographed cards or artist sketch cards, usually 1 cards per case or so... since the set was wide open to any movie/story character, i tried not to duplicate and run the gamut of all 6 movies... probably could've done another 50 or so before getting to the even more ridiculously obscure characters, but had fun trying to do'm all in "my" style (plenty of folks do beautiful photo likeness stuff, but that's not my bag)... i imagine it would be a lot of fun to do a star wars book someday (i know the boy would like it... and keep me on my toes if i went astray)...

back to work.

-c (woohoo, lost tonight... 'nuff said)

next up...

is a four issue project called marvel her-oes, written by the crazy talented grace randolph... a sort of smallville-ish reimagining of some of marvel's female heroes (she-hulk, namora, wasp) back in a high school setting... and not only am i drawing it (and having a blast), i was able to do the cover for #1 (which, after all these years drawing funny books, was the first cover i've done at marvel)... the first issue is due in april (and gonna be solicited in the new previews catalogue coming up)...

besides that, there's the marvel free comic book day book with nova and iron man in may (not surprisingly on free comic book day)...

work on the haps has ground to a VERY slow crawl, which is unfortunate, because we LOVE doing it... (but also make NO money doing it at this point... heck, we lose money every issue with all the time and effort inloved)... which isn't to say it's done, it's just taking longer to get done (and we want to have the next arc in the can before soliciting, so it comes out when it's supposed to, not months late...)

have a good weekend, folks!

-c

2 more from calgary

here's two more pieces i did last year (wow, 2010 already?) at the calgary show...

wrapping up my iron man/nova free comic book day book this week... and jumping right into the next project at marvel (which, as it turns out, will not be the final issue of marvel adventures superheroes after all... got something else lined up, and even got to do the cover for the first issue this weekend)

-c

(yay! chuck's back on nbc... and 24 starts up next week... and lost isn't far behind)