Star Trek Art

This is a sample of the work I'm doing for the Star Trek Manga. The final BW tone is being done by The Bucce and I look forward to seeing the final art!

A Job...well it's Done

I am no stranger to a job taking longer than expected. There was a job I did for Jazzercise that put me over the edge...that's a long story as well. But this job I'm working on for TokyoPop is finished! Good thing too, because I was starting to lose weight worrying about the deadline.

Now that I have handed over the pages, I can start a to-do list. There was no such list for the last month or so because I was consumed with the job. Now that I have more time, this is what's on the agenda.

San Diego Con. So much to prepare for San Diego!

Still Wondering.

Another photo from the Daytime Emmy Awards. I guess Lisa Renna is a Soap-Opera star and Elmo is a star from his toys and Children's programming. It makes sense that they would be seen on the red carpet together. I only hope they are not dating.

Pretty Face

It's been along day Inking Star Trek Manga. I have just enough energy to post a photo of Marcy Rylan. A Soap Opera actress. She was at the 34th Annual Daytime EMMY Awards in LA recently.

Raising a Family

My Friend Jose Marzan just sent me photos of his newborn baby boy. It's been a stressful day, but that email link to his photo gallery perked me up. I've known Jose since High School and he started Inking Backgrounds as a senior. I was so jealous! Now he and his wife have a beautiful baby. Now I'm so happy for him.

UPDATE...This is a photo of Jose back when he lived in NYC. He moved to FLA a while ago. I think that Florida is a great place to raise a family; except when it's hurricane season.

Where are these Cougars?

I read an article about Cougars at NYTimes.com. There seems to be an increase of TV shows with sexier, single older women. Older Actresses portraying professional women on the prowl! Only on TV! Where are these prowling Cougars? Do they only date younger men?

I'm looking for a 40 year old professional female to date. Do I have to take an acting class? I'm just sayin...

I read The Onion

The Onion 'Newspaper' has an article about "5 wonderfully weird moments from Fantastic Four comics". I saw the headline and thought that it was some snarky, sarcastic humor piece. How could they insult my favorite Super Team? Then I read it and realized that they were right. Now you read it! Onion.com

Iron Man

I caught this snapshot in a magazine. This photo in addition to the great casting I hear about. It makes me want to see the film in 2008!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there.

Unseen Alan Weiss

As you may know, I am a big fan of the work of Alan Weiss. He puts a lot into every page he pencils and it shows. I don't remember when I came across the art I've posted here. I do know that it was drawn by A. Weiss after his stint on The Avengers in the mid-Eighties.

Weiss draws the Sub-Mariner entering a colorful, swabby bar and I guess the locals pick a fight. He lays out the storytelling in notes on the bottom of the page. This stuff looks like so much fun to ink, and I think I might have lightboxed a page to ink for practice a few years ago.

He did not finish the story. Only 5 pages were done and the fifth page is incomplete. He could have handed over the pages to the Editor of the book at the time, and they sat around the Marvel office. That's how I saw them. These are some beautiful pages and i wish I knew the whole story. If someone can shed some light, let me know!

Old fashioned

I am inking my Star Trek story and I find myself using a variety of pen points. I even went to the old Esterbrooks. For those unfamiliar with this type of nib, It's a steel pen point that you dip in your choice of black ink. It's a pen and ink point used by all kinds of old school inkers. If memory serves me, I bought 2 boxes from J. Rubinstein a long time ago. There were so many in the boxes, I wondered if I would ever use them all! Now I am so glad I made the investment.

R. Esterbrook 600-School, steel pen points. Maybe the same type Frank Giacoia used! They don't make them like that anymore.

Star Trek Art

For my 300th post, I will post a page from the Star Trek Manga I am working on!

Let's have some laughs

Comic Conventions used to be a lot of fun! Mark Gruenwald used to enlist a bunch of MARVEl regulars in his Convention skits way back when. These shots were printed in Marvel Age Magazine in 1992. Can you believe that I was Capt. America?

Hey! That was 15 years ago!

Let's draw Jeannie

It might have been 6 or 7 years ago when I did a few tryout sketches for an 'I Dream of Jeannie' Comic Book. I forget what company published it, but they didn't go for my version of what it could look like. Oh well.

Pretty Horse

As I fan of Western comics, I can appreciate a good horse.

Robots

This month, Mass Appeal magazine is all about the history of TRANSFORMERS! The toys, the fans of the toys and of course, the comics. There are interviews with the comicbook Editor Bob Budiansky and Writer Simon Furman, but no interview with Editor Rob Tokar! I hope that Rob is not missing out on the TRANSFORMER bandwagon. This movie coming out might rain a few bucks on anyone associated with it.

Do not fear PUFNSTUF

A friend said recently that he had gotten the HR Pufnstuf Complete Series on DVD. The Sid and Marty Krofft TV show from the 70s known for it's freaky characters. My friend mentioned that although he's had it for a while, he could not bring himself to watch it. That the show scared him! What's that? Frightened by a Saturday morning kids show? I remember watching reruns of the show but I could not understand what might have affected him so.

I asked if I could borrow the DVD set. I know the show was freaky, but maybe I could figure out what was so frightening.
Yep. I figured it out.

The opening credits show the beautiful young boy Jimmy running around and playing with his flute. A magic flute he calls Freddy. A boat appears on the shore, the boy and his flute climb aboard and the the seas get rough. The boat was really a trap! It seems like there's a witch interested in Jimmy's flute. Witchiepoo is working herself into a frenzy and can wait to put her hands around Freddy! The pair escape the evil boat and are rescued by HR Pufnstuf. HR Pufnstuf is the Mayor of Living Island, A freaky fellow with a strange accent and bags under his eyes.

After jimmy dries his clothes while in Pufnstufs' home, Freddy the Flute cries out, "Jimmy, squeeze the water out of me or I'll go rusty!" The dripping flute is a suggestive visual. Knowing that need help against the aggressive, dramatic Witchiepoo, the threesome head to Doctor Blinky for some protection. At one point in the second episode, there is a shot of the Magic Flute sticking out of Jimmys' pants. Don't you all get the hint?

I'm sure that the Krofft brothers were only trying to create some groovy, early seventies entertainment. But when you look at the subtext of the show, it's scary. Witchiepoo is the only Woman on Living Island. An Island filled with strange Male creatures. The creatures want to befriend Jimmy and his incredible flute, The Crazy old Witchiepoo wants to grab his Freddy and this underage boy only wants to escape this strange Island with his flute in his pants.

If you are a kid watching this show for the first time, you could enjoy the lame jokes and wacky makeup. But if you are an adult you may see the show for what it really is. You could be frightened for poor Jimmy and his Magic Flute.

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.