Unseen Blevins

Another artist I admire is Bret Blevins. When I lived in NYC and worked for MARVEL, I loved looking at his work. He penciled Doctor Strange, Cloak and Dagger, Sleepwalker and The New Mutants among others. Speaking of The New Mutants, this is a page he penciled. It was inked by Terry Austin, but I think I like it better this way.

Unseen Neal Adams

I love the Art of Neal Adams. He's good and fast and I think he's done just about everything when it comes to drawing. I buy the sketchbooks he puts out because I want to see how he does it! I know the guy is busy with his studio and he has a body of work, he must have a lot of drawings gathering dust. Unfortunately, I see the same old 20 year old stuff. I'm so demanding!

I'm posting a Neal Adams drawing that I bought at a convention many years ago. It was for some Country Music Christmas show and you can clearly recognize a few likenesses. This is the type of art I would love to see more of!

My VALIANT effort

I worked for VALIANT Comics in 1990. I wasn't there long, just long enough to get my business cards and a few stories printed. One of those stories was a back-up in a Nintendo book. I pencilled a METROID story as a back-up in a Captain N book. I had more experience as an inker at that time and I think it's obvious! I did layouts for the story first and the Art Director at the time, Art Nichols, made his notes. I was eager to learn and he had a lot to teach me!

I can't stand to look at my old stuff.

Okay Gang! Let's INK!

Whenever I get ready to ink a page, I make sure my ink is black, my pens are clean and that my reference is close at hand. I mean, samples of other inkers that I admire! I have my own style of course, but looking at some great work for inspiration and guidance can't hurt. Who are these inkers? I'll tell you!

Garcia-Lopez- I look at his stuff from the 80s. His line went from thin to strong when he got to DC in the 70s. I also look at D. Giordanos' work from the 70s as well.

Jorge Zaffino- I love the Winter World art and how he used his brush!

Al Williamson- whenever I ink hair or faces, I check his Secret Agent X-9 work. He knows how to keep it simple!

R. Villegran- Another master of the brush. His work on Atari Force in the 80s was excellent!

There are many others of course, but I keep it simple. I hope I'm able to influence someone someday.

Trish Hale signs my book!

I broke away from the drawing board to see an old friend and buy a book! I've known Trish since I first moved to LA and this is her cool new manga. I liked it and you should read an independant review HERE.

Sketch of the day!

The sketch of the day is some character design I did for my Western book. With the other stuff I'm working on, I can't say when I will finish. At least there's progress!

More Art

I got over my horrible 'Meltdown' by getting to work. I am drawing something for 'Tales from the Crypt' put out by Papercutz. I'll post the finished inks soon.

Meltdown Comics Sucks

On April 1st 2001, I was the first in line at a new Comic shop on Sunset Blvd. in LA. Meltdown Comics moved to a new location about a block away from the old location. I enjoyed shopping at the old location and I looked forward to the bigger, better store. I guess I had nothing going on that day, so i was the first person in line. Good deal, because the first 100 customers would get all kinds of cool stuff. Well, I waited and it the doors opened... But no stuff.

The manager at that time told everyone in line that a shipment was delayed in customs and all the neat Japanese stuff would not be there. Yes, I was disappointed, but the Manager wrote me a raincheck on the back of the flyer.

'#1/100 entitled to bag of Planet X toys' and a signature at the bottom. when I would visit the shop I would ask about it, but no one had an answer for me. I decided to go elsewhere for my comics. I felt ripped off!

That was six years ago and I kept the document.

Today, my friend Tricia Hale is promoting her TOKYOPOP book Grand Theft Galaxy at Meltdown Comics. I have not been to that place since the 'ripoff', but I wanted to support a friend. I brought the document with me. Trish was not there, but I asked for the Manager. A older guy who said he was the brother of the owner looked at it and listened to my story. His response was "I don't know what I can do for you...Good seeing that though." he went back to what he was doing. I got pissed and left.

So that's it. No more Meltdown. Meltdown Comics Sucks.

What's that?

I said, Meltdown Comics Sucks.

The Sketch of the day!

And what is the sketch of the day?

Eye-Candy for Marcus

I am posting some images of Lacey Chabert! I am a sucker for a pretty face and this actress fits the bill. I have been a big fan since the 'Lost in Space' Movie!

Book Festival video

Enjoy this jumpy video of my visit to the UCLA Book Festival!

Jersey Boys Book

I found out this week that the Jersey Boys Broadway show will have a book published. It's a chronicle of it's journey from idea to TONY Award-Winning hit! I am happy to see that I am featured in the book and my contributions are shown. I'm not sure when it will hit the stands, but as soon as I know, I'll let you know!

Words of Encouragement

I remember visiting a friends house a few years ago. She was going through some emotional problems and she was taking the right to get better. Anyway, while hanging out in her kitchen, I saw an Insipational message written on a blackboard. I don't remember what it was. I know it was something to keep her focused. Something that was important.

Well now I have something I've written on a bulletin board on my wall. It's something I need to remember when I draw.

Heebink Comments

Back in the early 1990s, I started inking a number of comics for MARVEL. One of my first monthly jobs was Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD and it was after doing background inking and One-shot issues. I was already on the book by the time J. Heebink started as regular Penciller. His art was good when he started and he inproved with every issue!

His figures were strong and his lines were fun to ink. He was a professional, and we got along well, so I guess by the third issue he wanted to give his opinion on the inking! I read his comments and made the adjustments I felt were needed. I have to admit that the best thing about the note was the paper he sent it on! I looks like he did layouts and blew them up to 11by17. Then I guess he recycled the paper. It was great to see the process!

Welcome to LA

It's been about 3 years since I did the first drawings for 'Jersey Boys'. Now it's come to Los Angeles! I hope to see the show in July. You should see it too!

The Ego has landed!

I had a post on April 15th that talked about computer coloring. I wondered if using a particular color palette could improve the black and white artwork and if a night scene would look better in reds and amber. I think I gave too much responsibility to the colorist and none to the black and white artists. I've gotten some responses from some professionals that I respect, and I think I should revisit the panel. This time, I'll focus on what's really wrong with it.

If you were to read the early posts on this blog, you would see some examples of me analyzing some poor stiffs comic art. I would also post my own art with comments. If I dish it, I should take it. I made a resolution to stop more than a year ago, but when I saw this page, I couldn't ignore what was wrong with it! Unfortunately, I thought it would look better with different color.

I took the time to sketch a version of the unnamed panel and suggest what could have been done differently.

In the original (top), the perspective is screwy and proportions are wrong. The car on the right is too small and is drawn badly. The white van in the BG looks like a toy. The inking over all is scratchy and scrawly. The page needed a lot more black ink and I tried to show that in my sketch below.

In my drawing, I added some dramatic lighting to the foreground figure on the left. Also, some solid black behind him and in the night sky. I decided on a perspective vanishing point and built the city around it. I did not leave the windows open for bright spots of light. It can distract from the focus of action and people usually close the drapes at night.

I guess I should have considered the uncolored art before questioning the colorist. My mistake!

I am adding a sepia photo that Steve refers to in a comment. Would this make a great night scene?

Kubert/Kubert cover

This is a cover by Andy kubert and Joe Kubert. Really nice cover, great compostition. You rarely see Joe Kubert draw Marvel characters, I guess he wanted to ink his son. As I recall, J. Kubert worked on an EPIC Comics project at the time. A stone-age character he created called 'TOR'.

More Dollar Comics

I picked up some more Dollar comics at my local comic shop the other day. I surprised myself by buying 2 issues of 'Mighty Samson' published by Gold Key comics in 1973. These were books drawn by real old school artists. Maybe the type that smoked cigars and drew any kind genre book out there. The book did not have any credits, but I'm sure I might recognize the artists' style if I looked at a few DC books of that era. Another treat was a bunch of KA-ZAR comics from Marvel. It had some of the sweetest art by Buscema and Alcala, but in color! The line work held up and Alcala did his own lettering. I especially enjoyed Issue 12 with a Kirby cover and Russ Heath art. I never knew the old KA-Zar books were so much fun. All that for a dollar each!

Comicbook color

I don't know how to color my own work on the computer. I have to surrender my art to someone else if It has to be colored. That's fine. When you draw for a living, you have to accept an Editorial process and evaluations and changes and blah, blah, blah. The problem is that there are a million ways to color a scene, and there are not many colorists that can be trusted.

I do not want to offend the colorists out there. Some of my best friends know how to rock Photoshop. It's just that I came across two examples of a night scene, and I wanted to talk about. The top drawing is a comicbook panel, and the bottom is a still frame from a movie. I love the movie frame and I think the warm hues add a creepy feeling to the scene. The cold blues of the top panel suggest fog and cold, but I think the art could be helped if the color person went with the warmer palette. I will not comment on the black and white line art.

Am I out of line with these comments? Are night-scenes better in Blue/grey as opposed to Red/amber? Gosh. I think I should take a class and color my own work.

Buscema Sketches

I think Jonh Buscema did a lot of sketches. On the back of art pages especially. I am posting two sketches he did that I really like! One is of character studies for a comicbook adaptaion of a movie. The other is from a Silver Surfer Graphic Novel.

Memories creep up on me!

I used to love to go to clubs and listen to music. I found this ticket stub while downloading my 'AMPS' CD onto iTunes. Is it really 11 years since that ROSELAND show in NYC? It must have been. I have a problem with nostalgia... I find myself retracing my steps, wondering where I could be if I would taken an alternate route. When I look at this stub I don't regret going. It was the first time seeing 'that dog'!

B is for Busy!

I wish I had more time to blog on the various site I blog on! I cannot because I am working on a few neat projects. Until I find more time, I will leave you with a sample of a job I'm pitching for.

Hot in the valley!

I left the office for a bite and I noticed a ribbon of smoke south of Burbank. I thought that there must be a fire near Universal City and I was right. Nothing I could do so I went to lunch. It was on the drive back that felt the effects of an intense and thankfully, short lived wildfire. Falling ashes, a strange haze and the smell of burning leaves!

Not a good feeling, but like I said, It was short lived.

Uncle Ben...The Bossman

I caught this article at the NYTimes website. I like that the company is changing a formerly racist stereotype and putting him in a true position of respect and power.

Another Western Cover

As excellent as this cover is, I think I like the lettering best. "Bite the desert dust --and die"? How do you read that and not buy the book? And at 20 cents, It's quite a bargain!

Western Cover

This is not really a cover from a Western comic. It's from an issue of MARVEL FANFARE! Alan Weiss drew this cover and I am waiting for that retrospective book about his life and work. His brush work is the some of the best I've ever seen and his characters are strong and brawny! I forget what issue number this book is, but the art looks better in black and white.

Khan Sketches

I drew a book for Moonstone Comics called KHAN. It was a sword and sorcery style book witten by Tom DeFalco. I drew the first issue and penciled the second before they cancelled the book! So here I am with 23 pages of un-inked pencil pages. I don't mind the wasted effort, just the wasted time. Maybe I'll have the book inked and it may see print. Until then, here is a sketch.

New Gallery

I went to a gallery opening on the West side of Los Angeles last night. It's a big, beautiful, U shaped space with a back patio. The space was great, and the art was excellent! The wildest part of the night was it's location. The gallery was across the street from the Mar Vista Bowling alley. I used to bowl there every Wednesday some years ago, and the neighborhood has really improved.

After the gallery show I had a drink at another new attraction on Venice Blvd., Club Good Hurt. They feature unsigned bands on the weekend. Cool! The bartender girls dress in dopey nurse outfits and they can't make a decent martini. Bummer.

Ad Agency

About two weeks ago a got a cold-call from an Ad Agency I won't name. The woman left a message about finding my work on the internet and wanted to know about my availability. She saw some art I did a year or so ago and kept some samples around. Neat!
She called about my availability, but I'm kinda busy these days. I did two spec frames from a script she sent just to show her that I would like to work with her in the future. I can't tell you what the product is, you'll have to use your imagination!

Costume Design

Congrats to me! I am working on a Star Trek Story for TOKYOPOP. I won't tell you the story, but it does involve a beautiful space princess! No shock there! I'm looking forward to drawing the story, so I am getting some character designs together.

I have to create the Princess. I'm not a fashion designer, so I think it's a cross between a Prom Queen and a Paegent Contestant. I don't want to put some crown on her, but a headdress would be appropriate. Oh, I don't know. Opinions are welcome!

Drawing of the day!

This is a frame from the Jersey Boys show. I haven't seen the show lately so I don't know when it pops up.

More Dollar Comics

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am buying some old comics at my local shop. Some guy sold his collection and The shop is selling most of them for a dollar a piece. This is is a bonanza for me because most of the books are from the Eighties and the unknown collectors buying habits were similar to my own.

The early eighties were a very furtile time for Independent books! There were more than one distributor and the direct market could give you exposure. I remember in High School, hearing about a new comic called the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was such a big deal, but I thought the art was heinous. I shouldn't talk. My art back then was just as bad. Anyway, The book was a direct market smash and it inspired all kinds of artists and publishers.

This image is of a book called The Survivors printed in 1983. It looks like it was created by just one guy in a studio and printed as a labor of love! I can relate! It was published by Steve Woron out of Connecticut, and I wonder what happened to him. Is he in the business or gone on to another field? If you are out there Steve W., know that you have a fan. Independent publishers rule!

Help!

I checked my TokyoPop blog and I saw this stat! Please someone visit it so I can get rid of this profile viewed number!

Star Trek

I did some Star Trek samples for a job. It's the drawing of the day!

Morgan Freeman

I found this snapshot in a magazine. I wonder if J. Aniston has seen this coaster.

Final Salute

Okay. Captain America is dead. I doubt the Simon and Kirby creation will disappear forever, The character has always changed with the political climate. He was at times a commie-basher, a nomad without a country and a weapon against terror. The problem I have with the news of his death is the dopey storyline that brought him there.

I have been reading the current Captain America series since issue one. The stories have been very good and well drawn, but I gave up on the book when the Civil War storyline started. If you don't know it, the Civil War plot is about having persons with superpowers register with the government. Some Heroes are for it and some are against it. Nice enough idea, but I knew things were heading south when Spider-Man registered and disclosed his secret identity.

The whole Civil War storyline saddens me because it seems like the inmates are running the asylum at Marvel right now. No one seems to be protecting the characters for future readers and the writers have more power than they should. I read a NYTimes articlethat had a quote the publisher Dan Buckley. He said "Sometimes stories just take you places" Maybe he's right. But killing Captain America takes me somewhere I don't want to go.

How do they get out of this one?

I want to read more about this before I comment. So please stay tuned.

Sketch of the day!

And what is the sketch of the day?

Dollar Comics

I stopped by my local comic shop and theyv'e had a bunch of new back issues. About a dozen new long boxes in new bags and for sale for a dollar. The manager told me that they bought someones private collection. The shop pulled the rare books and put the others out there priced to sell. I love reading comics. I noticed that this guys collection looked a lot like mine! I wonder when I might let go of my collection.

Editorial in 1990

I spotted this Bullpen Bulletins from 1990. Dwayne McDuffie leaves Marvel and Tom Brevoort takes his place. Tom used to be Marc McLaurens assistant! I think I was at VALIANT at the time so I missed the shuffle. It was always interesting to see the Editorial cards shuffling back then. I remember dating a girl who started as a secretary at Marvel, and when she got an assistant Editor job, she kept her secretary salary. It was more than the normal assistant starting pay and it caused a commotion. I wonder how Marcus remembers it.

Allen's Page

My friend and fellow blogger Allen Gladfelter posted a blog last week, Feb 17th. He's working on a comicbook and he had an issue with a page he was working on. He drew the page, but he thought he could have done better. He put it out there for public comment and I think he was brave to do that.

I think Allen is an excellent artist! He constantly works on improving his art and I can relate. Take a look at his blog Click Here As for critiquing his page, I did a few sketches. In the early days of my blog, I used to comment on other peoples art. What an ego! But this is not some mean dress-down of his art, just a response to his blog.

1-I changed the camera angle. The Hero looks in the window, and is surprised by a guard! I put the guard inbetween Hero and window. The hand touches the window showing interest.

2-Turn the head of the guard. Allens' page lacks close-ups and if there is any dialogue, you should have at least one head shot. Also, I show The Hero reacting in the BG.

3-The guard has a weapon and he is about to use it! I put the gun in the foreground. The Hero reaches out at the reader/camera.

4-I sketched 2 ideas for the fourth panel, 2 camera angles. The Hero gets his hands on the Guards throat and takes the weapon in the same move. The guard is supposed to hit the ground, and I address that in the next panel.

5-I put the camera on the ground to show the knocked out guard and the victorious Hero. The low-angle shows the Hero dominating the frame. Other guards enter the scene and it looks like they don't have a chance.

It's up to the artist to decide lighting and everything else. So there is my two-cents and I hope I was able to help.