Harley & Mister J

An ink drawing of Harley Quinn and the Joker that I did during Saturday at Detroit Fanfare. Will be making this into a digitally-colored print, so expect to see that eventually. Comfort has already threatened to dropkick my butt if I don't.

Bizarro -Superman- PSC

Here's the first in a set of three sketch cards with the theme of Superman doubles. Never was much of a Superman follower, but I admit Bizarro was one of my more favorite characters. Or maybe I should say, "Bizarro am no favorite of mine, so me ignore with horrible art."

The original artwork is part of The Treasure Chest of Art charity, so unfortunately is not for sale. _{(Outside of buying a chest set from the charity, that is.)} However, I am aiming to make 11x17" print variants of these, as wells as others, available for purchase.

And the nominees are...

The Harvey Awards are currently accepting votes and as it happens 'The Uniques Tales' has been nominated this year for Best Anthology! This is a considerable honor to myself and all the other talents that contributed to the book, and with your help perhaps we can win this award. If you would be so kind, visit the Harvey Awards website to fill out and submit a ballot before the August 6th deadline. Votes are accepted only from contributors in the comic field (independent or otherwise), however, so keep that in mind.

Thanks, and wish us luck!

Batman -Crimson Mist- PSC

Read Doug Moench's vampire trilogy, ending with Batman: Crimson Mist, a while back and began this sketch card shortly thereafter. Then work came up a few weeks ago, so I hadn't gotten to finishing this until yesterday. Even though it's less emphasized in the third graphic novel, the imagery of the red rain seemed essential to include, here. It was a little tricky, but turned out well.

Purchase this original art for $25 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs (except for international shipping). Contact me if interested.

EDIT: This sketch card has been purchased, so it's no longer available.

Wayne and Ivy -Halloween- PSC

Finished reading Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween a while back, which inspired me to illustrate this particular scene where Poison Ivy has seduced Bruce Wayne. This series's rendition of Ivy was the catalyst, to be specific. But instead of illustrating the scene verbatim, I took the liberty of drawing artistic influence from Gustav Klimt's painting, "The Kiss." The backlighting with the window helped to preserve some of Klimt's original, golden palette.

Purchase this original art for $25 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Rainbow In The Dark, comic cameo

Friends and colleagues, Adam Withers and Comfort Love are independent comic book creators that have self-published titles like 'The Uniques' and the subsequent, collaborated mini-series, 'The Uniques Tales.' (Which, if you recall, yours truly contributed to in issue #3, "...As Defined by the Choices," with character designs for the Taskforce and a team pin-up.) Their most recent release has been 'Rainbow in the Dark,' a series that entails a world where most are unknowingly prisoners to a grey, mundane existence called "the Gloom." Just past this monotone haze are colorful, bohemian-like communities that rebel against these shadowy puppetmasters. Think 'Pleasantville' meets 'The Matrix' with a dash of Woodstock and overall hearty helping of rock n' roll, though that description doesn't do the title real justice.

'Rainbow in the Dark,' #3 cover

Getting to the point of this post, I learned that in their third installment of 'Rainbow in the Dark,' this artist actually makes a little comic cameo. Look at the last panel in the page below, towards the bottom left corner. You can see me seated amongst the others, who I assume are being indoctrinated into the Gloom mentality, as it were. But fear not, for apparently I do make it out. Having thanked Comfort, she replied that I will make another appearance and in color. If that page should be posted, I'll be sure to include it in this one as well.

So be sure to get yourself caught up with the first two issues of 'Rainbow in the Dark,' which are available for purchase online in traditional paperback or PDF/CBZ form. (The third will be available for download today.) It certainly gets my stamp of approval, for what it's worth.

"Welcome, my son. Welcome to the
machine." -Pink Floyd

Mr. and Mrs. Death PSC

Adapted from the video games of the same name, the Death Jr. graphic novels are amusing with their mix of small town suburbia and the macabre. Plus, it has had contributions by three amazing artists, namely: Mike Mignola (cover art), Ted Naifeh (interior illustrator), and Guy Davis (comic short). Anyway, the best example of this mismatched marriage is Mr. and Mrs. Death, parents of the story's protagonist, Death Jr. It's an odd match, but they're very sweet.

Purchase this original art for $25 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Batman vs. Superman -DKR- PSC

Another of my Christmas presents included Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. The most iconic scene, to me at least, is near the end when Bruce goes toe-to-toe with the Man of Steel. Don't get me wrong, Superman is a good guy, but nobody likes a Big Brother figure, least of all one with near invulnerability. So to see a man, albiet an extraordinary one, put a boot upside his head... Well, you just can't help at least smiling a little, if not outright rooting for the underdog.

Purchase this original art for $25 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Red Skull -Old Man Logan- s.c.

Been going through some personal matters as of late, which has kept me near my family, but the circumstances have been difficult on us. So with what free time I have had recently, I've spent trying to lose myself, at least a little, in various stories told through graphic novels. Certainly, I have art projects to tend to, but everything has more or less been put on hold. (My clients have been very understanding, which I am thankful for.) And it just feels good to do something like this for myself. Gives me an outlet for what I've been reading while being productive at the same time.

At any rate, I'm a sucker for those alternate timeline, "what if?" type of tales (which you likely could tell by my previous, Superman: Red Son sketch card), and re-reading Wolverine: Old Man Logan put me in the mood to make this sketch card. Here's the Red Skull as the new American President in front of the former White House. As to why he's wearing Captain America's costume, the Red Skull eloquently explains, "The ancients wore the skins of their fallen foes. Why shouldn't I be allowed my eccentricities?"

Purchase this original art for $25 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Superman -Red Son- sketch card

Among the Christmas presents received this year, one of my gifts included Superman: Red Son. I've read Mark Miller's graphic novel already, but this put me in the mood to make some artwork. So here's Soviet Superman, rendered after an actual propaganda poster of that era. The text is Russian, reading, "Superman. Role model of our Soviet youth." Or at least it should. Blame Yahoo! Babel Fish if it's incorrect.

Purchase this original art for $25 USD, which comes in a plastic protector and includes no additional mailing costs. Contact me if interested.

Witchfinder sketch card

When the individual issues were being released, I followed along with another of Mike Mignola's Hellboy offshoot series, that being Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels. However, it wasn't until this afternoon that I borrowed the graphic novel and read the series in its entirety. Good stuff, needless to say.

Recently, I was also sent a reminder of a sketch card charity event, The Treasure Chest of Art, which I had agreed to participate in at the last Motor City Comic Con. And having just finished Witchfinder, it seemed like a fun choice for my subject.

If you would like to have this original piece of artwork, purchase your very own chest set, which includes an additional forty-nine sketch cards. All proceeds will go towards the Pediatric Oncology Treasure Chest Foundation, a worthwhile cause.

The Unique Tales #3

So here's the big reveal of all the work that's been going on behind the scenes as of late. The latest issue of 'The Unique Tales' has made its online debut today and is available for your reading pleasure, absolutely free. If you're a fan of Adam Withers and Comfort Love's 'The Uniques' series, I probably don't need to elaborate too much. But for those of you who are unfamiliar, 'The Uniques' is a present-day, superhero comic book series revolving around a younger generation, rag-tag team of heroes. Issue three of 'The Unique Tales', 'The Uniques's sister mini-series, delves into the Golden Age of their heroes' precursors during World War II. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Read 'The Unique Tales' #3, "...As Defined By Our Choices," here.

I have to really applaud Adam and Comfort with their undertaking in 'The Unique Tales'. It's no small task orchestrating a mini-series like this, collaborating and constantly deliberating back and forth with the contributors involved. They may not work for Marvel, DC, or the other big name publishers out there, but make no mistake they are true professionals. (And quite frankly I am glad for their independence. They have their own, real identity as artists and in their work.) So it's been a privilege working with them and indirectly with the others contributing to this particular issue.


Aside from the Golden Age Taskforce character designs, here's my main contribution to issue three. From top to bottom, left to right, the team is composed of: Ghost, Virtue, Guardian Angel, Liberty, Countryman, and Mercury. Technically it's still a work in progress, but I was satisfied with this stage of the pin-up for the web premiere deadline of this issue. I'll be sure to post the finalized variant sometime before 'The Unique Tales' reaches the publication point. In the meantime, however, I'm going to take a break from this beast and work on some other interests. And if you're interested, 11x17" prints of this pin-up are also for sale. Contact me via e-mail.

Motor City Comic Con '10

This makes my third year attending the Motor City Comic Con, and I have to say that it feels good having another one under my belt. Again, I had the pleasure of sharing a table with Jason Westlake for a second time, as well as Brandon Cox, a first-timer to the comic convention scene. Both are former Kendall College classmates of mine and all-around real good guys, too, so it made for a very comfortable visit of drawing and chatting during the show. Sadly, while Adam Withers and Comfort Love (creators of the self-published series, 'The Uniques') were unable to attend, we were able to see some other familiar faces from the Grand Rapids area, including Gina Verdoni, Scott Wygmans, and Damian Goidich. It was very encouraging to visit with each of them for a bit.

convention table setup, early Friday

Jason with his spread of sketch cards

As has been the case from personal experience in past shows, Friday was an expectantly low-key day. Business was slow, but Jason and I did manage to drum up a little for ourselves. As for Brandon, he wouldn't be joining us until Saturday due to work obligations. Even with just the two of us, the table and display boards were pretty well covered with our artwork, a good sign in this artist's opinion. During our downtime between the occasional sale or visit from passerbys, I kept myself busy hammering out some drawings of my own to sell. If I've learned anything, it seems that original artwork tends to sell better than prints. Jason did rather well for himself last year doing this, and likewise this year with the sketch cards, so I try to follow by example. Figuring out what works and what doesn't was a big part of why this year was more profitable for myself.

The Joker - $15 USD (plus $3 for S&H)

Captain America - $15 USD (plus $3 for S&H)

Doctor Octopus - $20 USD (plus $3 for S&H)

Thor - $30 USD (plus $3 for S&H)

Granted, none of these particular drawings sold at the show, but they are available for purchase through this site. What was fun about this was trying my hand at monochromatic markers, which gave the 9x12"inked drawings a very distinct look. Definitely going to get my hands on a set before next year comes around. Jason was kind enough to lend me his set during the convention.























What turned out to be a smart addition to my goods and services was offering caricatures, which was a big success. I've done a few children's art classes on caricatures and worked as a caricature artist at a graduation open house before, so I know firsthand that they tend to go over pretty well with people. As it turned out, caricatures made up over half of my sales this year. Those aside, the Fast Food Mafia prints were well received and it was interesting talking to some of the individuals who came by and commented on it. You can wager that I will explore further into both of these venues.


















Saturday was drastically different from Friday, with patrons of comics and pop culture alike filling the aisles. While I did not wander about the previous day, deciding to spend my free time sitting and drawing, Saturday was one where I couldn't afford to leave my seat. Indeed, Saturdays have always been the busiest day during the Motor City Comic Con weekends. And as such, it is always the most lucrative. Compared to last year, you could see that people were much more willing to shell out for artwork. Given the situation with the economy in recent years, it would seem that we're finally starting to turn the corner on this depression. Good news, especially for us freelance artists.

Sunday, surprisingly, actually turned out to be busier than I had anticipated. The first year that I had set up table at Motor City, Sunday was all but a ghost town in regards to attendees. Last year, my second, was better but about on par with the Friday trend. This time around it had an even better turnout with more attendees, and business, than Friday. I can only hope that this Sunday crowd will remain constant or continue to incline. So while I was kept occupied off and on with occasional sales, I managed to spend the last hour of the show wandering about, visiting a couple other artists of particular interest to myself, namely Scott Wygmans and Guy Davis, and browsing through the discounted graphic novels. Aside from the two graphic novels that I purchased, the rest of my Motor City goodies were free.

'High Roads', 'The Marquis' pin and convention sketch, 'High Moon', and a pair of stickers by Scott

See also: Motor City Comic Con '09

Unique Tales: golden age Taskforce

Been keeping myself busy, partly with a special project for Adam Withers and Comfort Love, creators of the self-published The Uniques superhero comic. If you follow them you'll likely know this already, but for those not in the know they're starting a new series called Unique Tales with short stories written and illustrated by other artists that expands on the history and setting of The Uniques. I've been working out character designs for several WWII era superheroes, the Taskforce, which has been exciting since I love this line of work and greatly admire Adam and Comfort. There will be some adjustments made, as you can see with Countryman, but these are the initial designs.

________________________________________

Countryman
the original design

the modified design________________________________________
Virtue
This design was too decorated for Adam and Comfort's liking,
however the uniform will be used for more ceremonial scenes.
________________________________________
Mercury
________________________________________
Liberty________________________________________
Guardian Angel
________________________________________
Ghost

BPRD trio pin-up

Sometime I'll get back to finishing my six-part series of Hellboy pin-ups. But in the meantime, here's a variant 11x17" print that includes the three main characters: Abe Sapien, Hellboy, and Liz Sherman. If you've been on the fence, unable to decide on which of the three individual prints to buy, perhaps this combination will do it for you. You can purchase one for $7, plus an additional $5 for mailing costs. I accept payment through PayPal.

Motor City Comic Con '09

Yesterday was the last day of the weekend-long Motor City Comic Con held in Novi, a suburb of Detroit in Oakland county. This was my second year as a guest artist, setting up a table and displaying my work. Last year I shared a table with Jason Heuser and Matt Geerling, both classmates at Kendall College. Plans were made to do the same this time around, but ultimately Jason wound up at a different table with some friends of his while Matt was unable to attend. However, I was fortunate to share my table with Jason Westlake, also a former Kendall colleague, whose company I enjoyed immensely. And speaking of good company, I was able to see some other familiar faces, including: freelance artist couple Adam Withers and Comfort Love, Image Comics' The Astounding Wolfman artist Jason Howard, fellow Kendall alumni Scott Wygman, and Mouse Guard writer/artist David Petersen. While I've only met David Petersen briefly when he spoke as a guest at my college, the others I consider friends of mine or at the very least acquaintances.

Here's my table on Sunday near the convention's end.
Jason worked that day, so I spread out my material.

Fridays are always slow at the convention, as I've seen firsthand last year and heard from Adam and Comfort, so business was slim but not unexpected. I managed to sell one print, which I spent the pay on the latest issue of The Uniques, a comic written and illustrated by the a fore mentioned couple. While the goal of attending the convention is ultimately to earn money, it's hard not to spend a little of it. Besides, it's a personal belief of mine to support fellow artists, especially those that are your friends.

The Uniques, issue six

On Saturday it was like the floodgates had opened and the people just poured in. Still, business wasn't much better for Jason and myself, though we did sell some work and do a couple convention drawings. With the economy as it is, it's no real surprise. Even Adam and Comfort, who have been attending as guests for years at this convention and developed a following of regulars, have felt the pinch. Instead of buying a large print, someone buys a sketchbook. Instead of commissioning a full body drawing, someone commissions a portrait drawing. There was a noticeable pattern of people downgrading their purchases, Adam explained, and if they themselves didn't meet a bottom line quota of earnings, they might not come to Novi next year. I certainly hope that won't be the case.

To encourage my own sales I took a lesson from Jason, who did pretty well for himself by selling original artwork. Many of the comic dealers sell trade back graphic novels for half-price, which is a real steal, so I purchased Alan Moore's The Watchmen and did a few character drawings to add to the table. With the popularity of the recent movie, it seemed like a smart move. As luck would have it, however, none of them sold.

While this may be discouraging, I still enjoyed myself. There were plenty of good points that highlighted my time there that Saturday. For instance, my parents visited and took a look around. Before I started coming as a guest artist, my father had taken me, along with one or two friends, to the Motor City Comic Con a couple of times, so he was familiar with the convention scene. However, this was my mother's first time ever coming to one, so I can imagine how unusual some of the sights were, especially the cosplayers. But there were sights and people she did enjoy, like meeting actress Julie Newmar, who she grew up watching as a girl.

Julie Newmar -1960's tv series Batman

Eric Avari - tv series Heroes, The Mummy, Stargate, ...

John Schneider - tv series The Dukes of Hazzard, tv series Smallville, ...

No Motor City Comic Con is complete without a few Star Wars cosplayers.
Jason joked that it would make a good drinking game if we could take
a shot for every stormtrooper we saw.

That Saturday I also met for the first time artist Guy Davis, who is especially known for his on-going work in Dark Horse Comics' B.P.R.D., a spin-off series to Hellboy. Despite being anxious, I knew I shouldn't pass up the opportunity to meet him. Intending initially to get his autograph on my copy of The Marquis: Danse Macabre, I expressed my admiration for his Marquis series. But when I saw him doing miniature convention drawings for free, I knew I had to have one of the Marquis. After Mike Wieringo's passing, who I never got the pleasure of meeting but had wanted to for some time, I've compelled myself to at least see these artists I admire if I'm able. You never know if the opportunity will come again.

Finally there was Sunday, the last day of the convention, which felt very much like a repeat of Friday with it's thinned attendance. However, comparatively, my sales were slightly better than those of the first day. Regardless of the the humdrum, the atmosphere was even more casual than before, which was pleasant. And as things wrapped up near the end, I was given a couple of prints: one from Adam and Comfort, the other from Alan Schell, who I first met that weekend. I didn't know of Alan or his work, but being a stranger didn't stop him from coming over to my table occasionally to make friendly conversation. He was a nice enough guy, who I hope I'll see again next year. After all, profits aside, part of going to the conventions is to make connections.

Hellboy pin-ups

Been working on a six-part series of Hellboy pin-ups, which can be pieced together to form one large picture in the background. (This was inspired by the '94 Fleer Marvel Cards of Spider-man, which did the same in sets of nine.) So far Abe Sapien, Hellboy, and Liz Sherman are available. Eventually this will include Johann Kraus, Roger the homunculus, and Captain Daimio. You can purchase a 10x15" gloss print for $5, plus an additional $4 for mailing costs. As an added incentive, you can purchase three prints for $12, plus $4 for mailing, which saves you a few dollars. I accept payment through PayPal.