Sideshow Monkey!

No-I'm not making fun of one of my fans again (besides i said "Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!" ...or was that Charlton Heston...?)

Anyway, the Sideshow Monkey of the title is the name of artist David Hartman's website- he's an awesome artist and if you love monsters and babes-or monstrous babes (and if you're a fan of mine,no doubt you do) then you will love his work- check 'im out!

Click here for an example of his art ;o)

Today's Inspiration

A favorite blog of mine to read-to get "inspirado"-is the Today's Inspiration blog- it's primarily about...well...let them explain it:

"A place for those with an interest in illustration from the 40's and 50's to share their knowledge, views and opinions."

it always has something fascinating to look at and today there's a nice piece on old TV storyboards-check it out...;o)

999 Challenge: Martial Arts films

The 1st of MANY reviews between now and the end of 2009:

5. 9 Martial Arts:
1990-1999

Kickboxer 5
Full Contact
Once Upon a Time in China III
Above the Law
Fist of Legend
Police Story 2

*Rapid Fire-
A Brandon Lee action flick-one of two on my list-this is because i really enjoyed his work-as short lived as the son of legendary Martial Arts star Bruce Lee's career was,he packed a lot of entertainment into his few films.
This particular flick was about a student who carries a large chip on his shoulder about his father's death-killed during the tragic Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989.
Now this is a very nice back story for our hero,but it is-as in most action flicks-just an excuse for Lee to kick many asses- he's caught up in a mob related killing and becomes a witness-seeing the boss (played by Nick Mancuso with as little subtlety as possible) personally murder someone.
Lee is taken under the wing of a tough as nails,screw the book cop played by the great Powers Boothe (also using the "more is more" acting style his co star Mancuso prefers) and many shoot outs and hand to hand battles ensue.
The highlight for me was when Lee is held captive by Mancuso in his Italian restaurant and Booth's cops wait outside for the mobster to implicate himself via a wire-many,many bullets fly from outside and in while Lee does his best to crack as many heads as he can-amazingly not getting shot in the process (a given rule in any American Martial Arts film is that the hero is basically bulletproof-or more precisely able to somehow avoid getting shot even when in a restaurant that is totally shot to pieces by the cops- and anyone who has a chance to shoot him is either disarmed or decides to take him on hand to hand-otherwise the film would be over very quickly) but the real fun of this scene is the choreography of the fights Lee has with the mobsters-he even has a couple moments where he gives a nod to his dad-for those who know Bruce Lee's work well-a classic pose and a scream-nice touches.
There's also a romantic thread with a beautiful female cop to keep the few girls watching awake but the main draw here is the son of Bruce showing off his onscreen fighting chops and the enjoyable tone of the film-it doesn't take itself that seriously and the main actors-knowing this-keep you entertained between fight scenes.
---3 1/2 stars

Showdown in Little Tokyo
High Voltage

999 Challenge: update...

999 CHALLENGE:

As i go thru the lists I'll add reviews to each entry-some will be very short and others...well, for anyone who is familiar with my stuff,they could go on for days-lol-but I'll try to keep them brief-so many films and books-so little time:

(Most are based in the 1990 to 1999 time frame ;o)

(a * signifies that I've watched/read/listened,etc to the entry in question-a review for each will follow shortly-I'm also using a 4 star rating system)

1. 9 Western films:
1990 -1999

Dances with Wolves
Quigley Down Under
Maverick
Unforgiven
Tombstone
The Quick and the Dead
Bad Girls
Last of the Mohicans
Geronimo: An American Legend
----------------------
2. 9 Horror:
1990-1999

Exorcist III
From Dusk Till Dawn
Full Eclipse
House on Haunted Hill
It
Shadowbuilder
Prophecy
Night of the Living Dead
*Innocent Blood
-----------------------
3. 9 Comedies:
1990-1999

Dogma
My Cousin Vinny
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
*Bowfinger
*Spy Who Shagged Me
Addams Family
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
*The Mask
The Big Lebowski
-----------------------
4. 9 Sci Fi films:
1990-1999

Soldier
Virtuosity
Deep Blue Sea
Predator 2
*Robocop 2
*Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Alien 3 (dir. cut)
Lost World: Jurassic Park 2
----------------------
5. 9 Martial Arts:
1990-1999

Kickboxer 5
Full Contact
Once Upon a Time in China III
Above the Law
Fist of Legend
Police Story 2
*Rapid Fire -3 1/2 stars
Showdown in Little Tokyo
High Voltage
---------------------
6. 9 TV series on dvd (one episode each):
(unfortunately not strictly following the 1990-1999 theme as most of the shows i tend to buy the dvds of aren't in that time frame ;o)

Combat
The Tick
The Persuaders
Millenium
Dr. Who
Buffy
Boston Legal
I,Claudius
The Wild,Wild West
---------------------
7. 9 books:

A FORTUNATE LIFE (Robert Vaughn's autobiography)
MY WORD IS MY BOND (Roger Moore's autobiog)
ERNIE (Ernest Borgnine's autobiog-you seeing a pattern here?)
NIGHT OF THE CRABS by Guy N.Smith
THE BODIES LEFT BEHIND by Jeffery Deaver
*MY BORING-ASS LIFE by Kevin Smith
VIDEODROME: Studies in the Horror Film
DRACULA ASYLUM by Paul Witcover
*HAMMER FILMS:A LIFE IN PICTURES by Wayne Kinsey (i know this is primarily a photo book,with little text,but i wanted a Hammer related item on the list since it was originally Hammer and Beyond's Holger Hasse's idea)
---------------------
8. 9 albums/cds (again i want to try to listen to bands i haven't before-or at least paid little attention to-also between 1990 to 1999)
---------------------
9. 9 chapters of a comic strip (i borrowed this idea from fellow blogger Davy Z) I'm not sure about what yet-something i haven't done before, i think-still working out a theme

That's all...Vokes...;o)

New Stuff: commissions

So there i was, sitting at a table at another convention in another hotel in Jersey- hoping someone might drop by for an autograph-a sketch-or even directions to the bathroom (don't ask how many times that has happened-lol) when a large, jolly fella named Glenn Tippett comes by to chat.

Well after a bit he asks if I'd be interested in doing a promo piece for one of his company's comics-it would be of a lovely Asian heroine and a evil dragon (see said heroine above).

After we worked out the particulars, he introduced me to the lovely young actress who would become the model for the character: Candace Kita...







...yeah-yeah-i know-the artist's life is a rough one...ahem...so i was to take their character and basically make her look more like Candace-then she could appear at cons, signing posters of the art in conjunction with the comic book.


So, here are the basic steps (minus a bunch of scribbles i tend to do.)





Originally she was to be the evil character with a dragon in BG-as my 1st sketches show-but that changed and she then became the heroine:




Getting the "attitude"-the "acting"- and composition comes first and then the details...



after lots of pencilling i made a thin inkline version for adding the wash and blacks to...



I kept the dragon in the background solely in wash -no blacks-to separate him better from her in the foreground-she's got to stand out from the piece due to the amount of detail-so after i added the blacks and grey tones i put a thin white line around her-an aura of sorts which brings her figure towards the viewer-a very basic 3D illusion if it works well.



and there we go- another one bites the dust...that's all...Vokes...;o)

999 Challenge: update-Films

A few changes and additions to my film lists-all based in the 1990 to 1999 time frame...;o)

Martial Arts:
1990-1999

Kickboxer 5
Full Contact
Once Upon a Time in China III
Above the Law
Fist of Legend
Police Story 2
Rapid Fire
Showdown in Little Tokyo
High Voltage

COMEDY:
1990-1999:

Dogma
My Cousin Vinny
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
Bowfinger
Spy Who Shagged Me
Addams Family
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
The Mask
The Big Lebowski

HORROR:
1990-1999:

Exorcist III
From Dusk Till Dawn
Full Eclipse
House on Haunted Hill
It
Shadowbuilder
Prophecy
Night of the Living Dead
Innocent Blood

SCI FI:
1990-1999:

Soldier
Virtuosity
Deep Blue Sea
Predator 2
Robocop 2
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Alien 3
Lost World: Jurassic Park 2

westerns:
1990 -1999

Dances with Wolves
Quigley Down Under
Maverick
Unforgiven
Tombstone
The Quick and the Dead
Bad Girls
Last of the Mohicans
Geronimo: An American Legend

Vokes really a Canadian?

According to my birth certificate,I was born in Florida-that's been a fact my whole life- but there are apparently those who believe my "true" origins began in the Great White North!

Awhile ago i was searching the net for something about my old character Eagle and i happened on a Amsterdam based site - Lambiek.net -that lists comic creators, with a bio and some art.

Even tho I hate reading about myself-ahem-i read the short bio and was surprised to see this:

"Neil Vokes has been active in the comics field since the mid-1980s ... Born in Canada, Neil has been living in New Jersey for more than 50 years.

I wrote them to correct this misinformation-well,that has not been changed yet apparently but hey-i don't mind-that I'm mentioned at all pleases me...;o)

Then-today on Facebook a fellow artist, Ronn Sutton-who IS Canadian-told me about a book he got from the library: "INVADERS FROM THE NORTH: How Canada Conquered The Comic Book Universe" and he asked if i was Canadian because I'm LISTED IN THE BOOK!

Heck-maybe I am Canadian and never knew it, eh?

...and the legend grows...;o)

999 Challenge: small update

An update to my book list-i just received Tim Lucas' new book about VIDEODROME ( I'd have loved to include his beautiful tome on director Mario Bava but it is massive- i shall probably be reading that for the next half of my life ;o)

7. 9 books:

A FORTUNATE LIFE (Robert Vaughn's autobiography)
MY WORD IS MY BOND (Roger Moore's autobiog)
UP TILL NOW (William Shatner's autobiog...you seeing a pattern here?)
NIGHT OF THE CRABS by Guy N.Smith
THE BODIES LEFT BEHIND by Jeffery Deaver
THE BATTLE FOR BOND by Robert Sellars
VIDEODROME: Studies in the Horror Film
DRACULA ASYLUM by Paul Witcover
HAMMER FILMS:A LIFE IN PICTURES by Wayne Kinsey (i know this is primarily a photo book,with little text,but i wanted a Hammer related item on the list since it was originally Hammer and Beyond's Holger Hasse's idea)

Total Film.Com Movie Blog Awards

Head on over to the TOTAL FILM site and vote,Vokes Folks!

and do me a favor and vote for my buddy Holger Hasse's blog: Hammer and Beyond (horror category, natch )

...no pressure...;o)

Ten Rules to Live By

Ten rules for making the world a much better place
by Dave Barry:

1. If there's a line, you get at the end of the line and you wait your turn.

2. You own ONE place in the line. You do NOT have the right to invite friends to join you in the line. This is rude to the people behind you, who got there before your friends, and will now have to wait longer. If you want to be with your friends, you can join them at the back of the line. And, no, it's not enough to ask the person immediately behind you if it's okay for your friends to butt in. This person does not speak for the entire line.

Also this person pretty much has to say yes, but only because he or she, being less rude than you, wants to avoid confrontation.

EXCEPTION: You may invite an immediate family member such as your spouse or child to join you in the line. There are no other exceptions.

EXCEPTION: Halle Berry.

3. If you're one of those people who go directly to the front of the line and either pretend you don't see the line, or act as though you some-how KNOW that your situation is more urgent than that of anybody else waiting, and somebody in line objects, and you make some vague apology but remain at the front of the line, you will rot in hell.

4. If you're in a supermarket checkout line, and you realize that you forgot an item, you're allowed to go get it, provided that (1) you apologize to the people behind you, (2) you know exactly where the item is and (3) you hurry. If you forgot TWO items, take your cart out of line. You are NOT allowed to leave your cart blocking the line while you wander the aisles trying to recall the ingredients for Beef Tongue Flambeau.

NOTE: Before you serve beef tongue, you should think about the things that cows lick.

5. If you're in the express lane, and the sign says 10 ITEMS OR LESS, then you should have no more than ...

Okay, we'll allow 12 items. We're not Nazis here.

EXCEPTION: Halle Berry can have as many items as she wants.

6. At a movie theater, you may save seats for a few people if the theater is not crowded. If the theater is crowded, you may save seats only if the people you're saving them for are on the premises, defined as "in the building or the parking lot." If the previews of coming attractions have started, and the theater is filling up, and you're still defending seats for theoretical people who have not yet arrived, and an actual person attempts to sit down, and you hiss "That's saved," and the person "accidentally" trips and spills that stanky movie-theater nacho cheese all over your hair, and you press assault charges, and we get selected to serve on the jury, we're
voting for acquittal.

7. Do not talk during the movie unless you have something important to say. (Example: "My water just broke.")

You may talk quietly during the previews of coming attractions.

EXCEPTION: Halle Berry.

8. At class plays, music recitals, graduations, etc., you may save a few seats for your IMMEDIATE FAMILY.

You may not arrive an hour early and squat at the end of a row and save large blocs of seats for relatives so distant that some of them are not even vertebrates.

NOTE: This rule applies even if you have turned the seating area into an indoor yard sale by marking each "saved" seat with a personal item such as a sweater, purse, sock, brassiere, etc.

EXCEPTION: If we see a seat marked by dentures, we're sitting somewhere else.

9. If you're talking on your cell phone in public, and people keep glancing at you, it's not because they're impressed by the fact that you are a busy, productive person. It's because YOU'RE TALKING TOO LOUD.

10. (This rule was suggested by our Research Department, Judi Smith, who one day will open fire with a machine gun in a public rest room.) If you're a woman using a toilet, and, because you are dainty and fastidious, you elect not to sit on the seat, but instead hover over it like a UFO from the Planet Weewee, and as a result you spatter the seat, do NOT just leave your mess, as if no human will ever use this toilet again.

CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF.

EXCEPTION: Sorry, Halle. Judi says you, too.

-------------------

So endeth the lesson...;o)

New Stuff: Tinnell/Vokes project

Another "model sheet" for our Hammeresque book-basically I'm just trying to warm up by drawing various characters that may or may not be in the storyline-it gets me in the mood of the piece.

Here we have 3 steps of the process-from loose pencils to inkline to finished wash...







I'm trying for a looser style to keep some of the energy of the layouts-we'll see if it works or not...;o)

New Stuff: sketch cards '09

Last year i did a few sketch cards for Blue Line Art's 1st annual auction to benefit the American Cancer Society (along with a bunch of other artists.)

I was asked again to contribute this year-here are the 4 i did-with their layouts (each card is actually only about 2 1/2 x 3 1/2.

The 1st is Red Sonja...




Then we have the Punisher...







...Batgirl...






and last but not least, Will Eisner's (not Frank Miller's) the Spirit...







that's all, Vokes...;o)

New Stuff: model sheets

...more stuff for the Tinnell/Vokes Hammeresque project-final title still up in the air...;o)

New Stuff: LSOH (again)

Here's the last piece for the next LSOH.

Step one-above-is the concept: Drac and the ladies of DRACULA AD 1972.





Then the clean up-in pencil-get the likenesses closer to the actors-i used to go for more exact likenesses but of late,I've loosened up a bit-the fans of the films will know who I'm drawing...;o)





Then the inkline and erasing of pencils...





And lastly the wash is added-i also add some white highlights and then do a little clean up in Photoshop.

Another one bites the neck...er...dust...;o)

999 Challenge-update 1.5.09

I've been trying to pick which films,music,books, etc that I'm gonna add to the list-here's a small update:

1. 9 western films (between 1990 to 1999) :

Dances with Wolves
Quigley Down Under
Unforgiven
Tombstone
Wyatt Earp
The Quick and the Dead
Last Stand at Saber River
Last of the Mohicans
Geronimo: An American Legend

2. 9 horror films (1990 - 1999) :

Dracula
Cemetery Man
Exorcist III
From Dusk Till Dawn
Full Eclipse
House on Haunted Hill
It
Silence of the Lambs
Prophecy

3. 9 comedies (same)

4. 9 Sci Fi films (same) :

(several of these choices are sequels to major hits of the Sci-Fi genre-and as such they rarely get the respect the 1st film gets -i thought it would be fun to concentrate on some of them)

Lost World: Jurassic Park, The
Dark City
Gamera 3: Awakening of Iris
Soldier
Virtuosity
Predator 2
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Alien 3

5. 9 foreign films (same)

6. 9 TV series on dvd (I'll keep it to one episode per show to be realistic -
i have at least nine box sets of various shows sitting amongst my dvd collection)

7. 9 books:

A FORTUNATE LIFE (Robert Vaughn's autobiography)
MY WORD IS MY BOND (Roger Moore's autobiog)
UP TILL NOW (William Shatner's autobiog...you seeing a pattern here?)
NIGHT OF THE CRABS by Guy N.Smith
THE BODIES LEFT BEHIND by same
THE BATTLE FOR BOND by Robert Sellars
MY BORING-ASS LIFE by Kevin Smith
DRACULA ASYLUM by Paul Witcover
HAMMER FILMS:A LIFE IN PICTURES by Wayne Kinsey (i know this is primarily a photo book,with little text,but i wanted a Hammer related item on the list since it was originally Hammer and Beyond's Holger Hasse's idea)

8. 9 albums/cds (again i want to try to listen to bands i haven't before-or at least paid little attention to-also between 1990 to 1999)

9. 9 chapters of a comic strip (i borrowed this idea from fellow blogger Davy Z) I'm not sure about what yet-something i haven't done before, i think-still working out a theme

New Stuff: LSOH

Hello again, Hammer Film fans!

I've been drawing yet another series of pieces for the next ish of my buddy Dick Klemensen's magazine, Little Shoppe of Horrors.

These four are from the two modern day-the early 70s-Dracula films that Hammer produced: DRACULA AD 1972 and SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA.













I'm going to try and do a couple more if i have time-I hope you enjoy them...;o)

HAPPY 2009 VOKES FOLKS!!

THE VOKES BOYS WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!