HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I wish everyone a truly happy Mother's Day today-every mom should appreciate their family and every family should do the same for her!

I never got to know my mom-my dad and her broke up when i was about 4,i think-so i don't even remember what she looked like (and my dad doesn't talk about her) and I haven't heard word one since these last 51 years.

This isn't meant to depress you so much as make you appreciate what you have-some of us wish we could hug our moms today.

...have a great day,Vokes Folks...;o)

EAGLE review

My pal David Zuzelo-of the blog Tomb It May Concern- has done a cool review of my reprint volume of the early Eagle tales-check it out!

Free Comic Book Day '09!

For the last 7 years-since the 1st SPIDER-MAN film,i think it was-comic shops across the country have been celebrating Free Comic Book Day.

Since the 1st FCBD,I have been a guest at the Captain Blue Hen shop in Newark,DE, thanks to my very cool and extremely generous hosts,Joe,Dani and Aeryn Murray.

This year-on Saturday,May 2nd-I'll be back in their most excellent store,signing books and doing free sketches,from about 12 to 5pm (i shall also have copies of my new book,EAGLE:THE ORIGINAL ADVENTURES) along with other luminaries of the comics world such as Mike Manley, Rich Faber and Jamar Nicholas.

Every year Joe has me do a piece that he makes copies of so that fans can have it signed-i usually do a shot of the character that the recent film was about-last year it was IRON MAN and this year of course it's of everybody's favorite short tempered X-Man, Wolverine (X-MEN ORIGINS:WOLVERINE opens on May 1st)

So here's the step by step of said piece-including an inkwash finish i did over the original which will be a door prize at the store...;o)













...That's All, Vokes...;o)

Related articles by Zemanta

• (Really) Final Wolverine Trailer (screenrant.com)

New Stuff: Holmes Horror

I posted this work in progress commission recently (a request for a central figure of Sherlock Holmes surrounded by Hammeresque fiends) to be inked like the Ditkomania cover i did a short time ago.

Here's the 1st two steps with the final piece-hope you like it...

Image via Wikipedia

EAGLE:THE ORIGINAL ADVENTURES has arrived!

The copies of EAGLE have arrived at my doorstep!

All in all they look pretty good- i will have to tweak a couple things in a 2nd edition tho-so grab these up,Vokes Folks-they'll become collectors editions-lol

New Stuff: in progress...

A new commission that I'm in the middle of inking-it's a request for a central figure of Sherlock Holmes surrounded by Hammeresque fiends-inked like the Ditkomania cover i did recently.

Here's the pencils,followed by the inkline:

EAGLE:the original adventures

Well,i finally got around to publishing the 1st volume of Eagle reprints.

My buddy Davey Z suggested lulu.com as a potential outlet-i could design my own book and only have to pay per each copy i printed-or in bulk if i choose to-the same goes for whomever decides to order this 1st edition (i fully expect to revise it soon to tweak any rough spots)

Take a look at the preview (or even order a copy) and let me know what you think,Vokes Folks-i value your input!

Frank Springer: R.I.P.

Frank Springer

Veteran comic book and strip artist Frank Springer died last Thursday at the age of 79. The cause is being reported as prostate cancer.

Born December 6, 1929 in Queens, New York, Springer graduated Syracuse University with a degree in art in 1952 and promptly went into the army, where he did mostly illustration work at Fort Dix. Upon his discharge in '54, he began assisting George Wunder on the comic strip, Terry and the Pirates, a post he held until 1960 and returned to on occasion when Mr. Wunder was behind and needed help. In later years, Springer also occasionally worked on other strips including several years of Rex Morgan, M.D., plus ghosting on The Heart of Juliet Jones, On Stage, Friday Foster, The Phantom and many others. He also did strips he originated like The Virtue of Vera Valiant, written by Stan Lee.

His comic book career began in '60 and he later recalled Brain Boy, a Dell comic, as his first assignment. He drew many books for Dell including Charlie Chan, Ghost Stories and Toka, Jungle King. He also began drawing for DC and later, Marvel. Fans recall his byline on the DC series, The Secret Six, and for a time on Marvel's Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD and later on many Spider-Man titles and Dazzler. He also did a lot of uncredited work, including a few Batman tales under the "Bob Kane" signature.

In the late sixties, he teamed with writer Michael O'Donoghue and produced several adult comic features for Evergreen Review, the most notable being The Adventures of Phoebe Zeit-Geist, the episodes of which were collected into a best-selling book. When O'Donoghue became an editor for National Lampoon, he brought Frank in and soon Springer was drawing many of their comic book parodies to great acclaim.

Frank was admired and loved by his peers, and the National Cartoonists Society three times awarded him its trophy as Best Comic Book Artist of the year and once elected him its president. He was a guest of honor at the 2004 Comic-Con International in San Diego where I had the privilege of interviewing him twice before his many fans. On one of those panels, he said of his career, "There were some raggedy times, but I always had work, raised five kids, bought some houses, bought some cars...I've been lucky." Personally, I think skill and dedication had a lot to do with that.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Barbara, as well as four children and seven grandchildren.

---Mark Evanier

SKETCH CARD BENEFIT AUCTION - AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

I've done a few cards for the auction again this year-they're in a previous post-and it's for a good cause-so visit the site and buy a card... or seven...;o)

"Blue Line Art is organizing its second annual exhibition and auction of original sketch card art to benefit the American Cancer Society. Makers of Blue Line Pro comic book paper, they have provided the blank cards, and the artists involved have returned some fabulous artwork that will be auctioned off for the cancer charity.

There will be a public exhibition at the Comics 2 Games Florence, Kentucky location on April 4th 2009. The auction of all the original art cards will go online starting the week before the Sketch Card exhibition and will end that evening. All proceeds from the sale of the cards will go to the American Cancer Society.

Bob and Mike Hickey, founders and owners of Blue Line Art, are organizing this fundraiser in honor of Bob’s wife Katie, a breast cancer survivor. Blue Line publishes Sketch Magazine and Graphic Novel Scene and sells Blue Line Art boards to both comic book companies and individual artists. The Hickey family has long been aware of the generosity of the comic book community. All involved are looking forward to another successful event that celebrates the diversity of comic book artists’ unique talents and their heroic spirit of helping those in need.

For more information, you can go to the charity's website at: www.comicsforcures.com

For more inforamtion, you can contact: cs@bluelinepro.com "

New Stuff: Patrick McGoohan

Number six has finally escaped the Village - but Mr Patrick McGoohan's many great films and TV shows live on.

A fan asked that I do a montage piece of the actor and this is the result...;o)

Related articles by Zemanta

• my life is my own: patrick mcgoohan 1928-2009 (strangebeautiful.net)

999 Challenge: update

starsOK- more stuff done (* = finished - 4 star system) i hope to sit down one day and write reviews soon as i can :

1. 9 Western films:
1990 -1999

*Dances with Wolves -4 stars
*Quigley Down Under -3 stars
*Maverick -3 stars
*Unforgiven -4 stars
*Tombstone -4 stars
*The Quick and the Dead -4 stars
Bad Girls
*Last of the Mohicans -4 stars
Geronimo: An American Legend
----------------------
2. 9 Horror:
1990-1999

*Exorcist III -3 1/2 stars
*From Dusk Till Dawn -3 1/2 stars
Full Eclipse
House on Haunted Hill
*It -3 stars
*Shadowbuilder -3 stars
*Prophecy -4 stars
*Night of the Living Dead (Savini version) -3 stars
*Innocent Blood -3 stars
-----------------------
3. 9 Comedies:
1990-1999

*Dogma -3 1/2 stars
*My Cousin Vinny -4 stars
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
*Bowfinger -3 stars
*Spy Who Shagged Me -3 1/2 stars
Addams Family
*Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey -2 stars
*The Mask -3 1/2 stars
The Big Lebowski
-----------------------
4. 9 Sci Fi films:
1990-1999

*Soldier 3 1/2 stars
Virtuosity
Deep Blue Sea
*Predator 2-3 1/2 stars
*Robocop 2 -2 1/2 stars
*Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace -2 1/2 stars
*Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country-3 stars
Alien 3 (dir. cut)
*Lost World: Jurassic Park 2 -2 1/2 stars
----------------------
5. 9 Martial Arts:
1990-1999

Kickboxer 5
Full Contact
Once Upon a Time in China III
*Above the Law (Yuen Baio) -2 1/2 stars
*Fist of Legend -4 stars
*Police Story 2 -3 1/2 stars
*Rapid Fire -3 stars
*Showdown in Little Tokyo -3 stars
*High Voltage -3 stars
---------------------
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)

Sapphire and Steel
The Tick
The Persuaders
Millenium
Dr. Who
Buffy
Star Maidens
I,Claudius
The Wild,Wild West
---------------------
7. 9 books:

*A FORTUNATE LIFE (Robert Vaughn's autobiography) -3 1/2 stars
*MY WORD IS MY BOND (Roger Moore's autobiog) -4 stars
*ERNIE (Ernest Borgnine's autobiog) -4 stars
WORST NIGHTMARES by Shane Briant
*UP TILL NOW by William Shatner (autobiog) -3 stars
*MY BORING-ASS LIFE by Kevin Smith -3 1/2 stars
VIDEODROME: Studies in the Horror Film by Tim Lucas
IN SPITE OF MYSELF (Christopher Plummer's autobiog)
*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) -4 stars
---------------------
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'm not sure yet-still working out a theme.

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

ELEGY: the stages of a page

A page goes thru several stages before it gets to you, dear readers-sometimes it can go very quickly and at other times...

Well, this splash page (or title page-it will contain the title of the story at the bottom) went thru many stages.

For your viewing pleasure, here are a few of them (yes-there were more) from the 1st ish of Bob's and my new book, ELEGY:
























...That's All,Vokes!

New stuff...

Bekka-wifey of New Gods hero Orion...

Dorian

This seems to be my day for showcasing artists.

Dorian Cleavenger

this gent may be doing a cover for our new book-check out his work-very nice...;o)

Billy George ROCKS!

My pal David Zuzelo just started a new comic based on the BLIND DEAD horror films with an artist I'm sad to say i never heard of (an experience I myself am all too familiar with) Billy George.

His paintings remind me of famous artist Richard Corben-and that's a good thing.

Well now I am a happier person thanks to my intro to Billy's work.

You too can be a happier person.

Go ahead-i dare ya...;o)

GOBSMAKT STUDIOS!

Since the masses were screaming for another blog that showcased my art- maybe not screaming-I'd like to present the debut of Gobsmakt Studios!

Actually it showcases mine,Adrian Salmon's and David Zuzelo's work.

It's just a fun idea we had in a moment of weakness-check it out when you have the time...;o)

Until then here's a recent pencil commission...

999 Challenge-update (2.19.09)

OK- more stuff to check off (* = finished - 4 star system - reviews soon as i can get to them-busybusybusy):

1. 9 Western films:
1990 -1999

Dances with Wolves
Quigley Down Under
*Maverick -3 stars
Unforgiven
*Tombstone -4 stars
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 -3 stars
*Prophecy -4 stars
Night of the Living Dead (Savini version)
*Innocent Blood -3 stars
-----------------------
3. 9 Comedies:
1990-1999

Dogma
*My Cousin Vinny -4 stars
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
*Bowfinger -3 stars
*Spy Who Shagged Me -3 1/2 stars
Addams Family
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey
*The Mask -3 1/2 stars
The Big Lebowski
-----------------------
4. 9 Sci Fi films:
1990-1999

Soldier
Virtuosity
Deep Blue Sea
Predator 2
*Robocop 2 -2 1/2 stars
*Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace -2 stars
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Alien 3 (dir. cut)
*Lost World: Jurassic Park 2 -2 1/2 stars
----------------------
5. 9 Martial Arts:
1990-1999

Kickboxer 5
Full Contact
Once Upon a Time in China III
*Above the Law (Yuen Baio) -2 1/2 stars
Fist of Legend
*Police Story 2 -3 stars
*Rapid Fire -3 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)

Sapphire and Steel
The Tick
The Persuaders
Millenium
Dr. Who
Buffy
Star Maidens
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) -4 stars
NIGHT OF THE CRABS by Guy N.Smith
*UP TILL NOW by William Shatner (autobiog) -3 stars
*MY BORING-ASS LIFE by Kevin Smith -3 1/2 stars
VIDEODROME: Studies in the Horror Film by Tim Lucas
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) -4 stars
---------------------
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

Image via Wikipedia

Steve Ditko-the name conjures up teen-aged nerds crawling up walls;mystic masters of the supernatural;bizarre mindscapes;otherworldly dimensions and creatures-not to mention a world of stark black and white philosophies...

But for this entry it conjures up the cover of a fanzine devoted to the legendary artist: Ditkomania!

I was asked for a commission that would also be used for an upcoming ish of the fanzine-knowing my love of all things Ditko and horror,i was asked to do a cover design that evoked the work he did for the Warren magazines CREEPY and EERIE (in my humble opinion, some of the best work he ever did!) -in this case, specifically, a story called "Collector's Edition" - a great little tale drawn by Mr. Ditko and written by the great Archie Goodwin.


Here we have some of the steps i went thru...




after deciding on a concept (which i ultimately did not use) i began pencilling it out...





I was inking the piece when it started to bother me-it didn't feel eerie (or creepy) enough for Ditko- too average -so i decided on adapting a panel from the story and elaborating on it...





I used the characters and creatures from the Warren story (and a few others) in a montage-building it around the neat storytelling device he used of the obsessive collector's eyes in a separate panel (i won't spoil the tale for you-track it down!)






After pencilling i began the inkline- i usually add a wash nowadays, but Mr. Ditko used a cross hatching style this time so i tried to follow that idea...




It has a different feel than my other recent work but i rather like how it came out-all those lines are a bitch but the mood still comes thru as planned- hope you like it...

10 Questions

That's what they asked me-that's what ComicsCareer.Com is asking another 364 artists,writers,publishers,etc - one for every day of the year-today (2.8.09) was my turn.

Check it out:

http://www.comicscareer.com/

and check out the others as well...;o)

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)