Tuesday, December 30, 2008

New Stuff...



My buddy Davey Z had a thread going on his Facebook about Christina Lindberg from a film called THRILLER-A CRUEL PICTURE or THEY CALL HER ONE EYE.

Adrian Salmon -Brit artist supreme- did a great little sketch of her and this prompted me to follow suit-thus the above montage from said flick...;o)

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Another piece of the Shrine



I got back from the store appearance at 2:30am-nice people at ALL THINGS FUN-I also contributed my third piece for the Aquaman Shrine: Black Manta (the art was actually in my usual "shades of gray" style but it's kinda hard to scan the tones)
-a tradition now after having done Aquaman and Mera for his sketchbook-check out their blog...


...and all of you Vokes Folks have a very Merry Ho-Ho!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Santo vs the Brainiac!


a couple of Mexican horror icons in their 1st face off-done as a Xmas gift...;o)

New (almost) Stuff...




...What I mean is that these are not new drawings-i have a stash of files of old con sketches and stuff that I'm slowly unloading on my blog.

The 1st is a villain called the Phantom-the older fans out there will recall him from the Fantastic Four comic years ago...

Below is also a con sketch - Two-Face,of course...





Then we have the Creeper-a fave Ditko character i hope to draw someday in a book...





this is an old pin up from the LIFE, UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING series i did but i just added a grey tone to it today-just because...;o)




Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Hammer & Beyond: 999 Challenge

What the heck am I talkin' about, you may ask?

Head on over to my good buddy (and fellow Hammer Films fanboy) Holger Haase's blog and read his newest entry...

could be fun...;o)

Let's see...

here's a VERY basic breakdown of 1st thoughts-this will need some expanding in the next few weeks before '09:

1- 9 western films (but only ones from the 90s-1990 to 1999- to keep a theme going here-westerns were virtually non existent by then-should be a challenge-lol )

2- 9 horror films (the same goes for these and the next couple film genres-this helps keep me more focused i think-besides, i haven't bothered with a whole lot of "new" films in the horror/comedy/sci fi/foreign genre-should be enlightening)

3- 9 comedies (same)

4- 9 Sci Fi films (same)

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 (i have more than nine on my "to read" shelf already-and just added more this Xmas!)

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-maybe semi autobiographical in nature?
as soon as i've picked the exact films,etc that will be on the list I'll update the entry...;o)

...wow-only 365 days to do all that...what shall i do with my free time-lol

Also keep an eye on my Blog list sidebar-it shows several blogs I'm following,including some that are in on the challenge!

That's All,Vokes!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Super Mega Comic Fest - plus bonus art...


Hey strangers!

I've been remiss in adding any new content to the blog but stuff happens (or this last weekend,stuffing!) so here's a slight update...

I'll be appearing at the Super Mega Comic Fest Show in East Hanover,NJ this weekend ( Dec. 6-7) along with comic book folk Tommy Castillo,Murphy Anderson,Herb Trimpe and Joe Staton among others-there will also be many movie and tv celebs and a slew of wrestler types!

So if you're in the area come on over and see us...;o)

In addition here's a couple pieces i did for good buddy Davey Z...




...this Hulk/Spidey piece has a fun bit of trivia behind it- after finishing the linework i thought it might be fun to color it so i asked my daughter-i think she did a great job (all i added was a touch of wash/shading to it...;o)





...til next time...
That's All,Vokes...;o)

Friday, November 14, 2008

New Stuff: Marvelman


Another commission-the Brit version of Captain Marvel,who also had his named changed thanks to Marvel Comics.

Here's a few of the steps:
















...Leading to the finished piece:


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

CONGRATS TO PRESIDENT ELECT OBAMA!

you've all just witnessed history being made,my friends...;o)


"Rosa Parks sat so that Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so that Obama could run. Obama's running so that we all can fly."

--Rapper Jay Z.

Monday, November 3, 2008

25 hour horror movie marathon!

My ETP bros (7 of us plus a film buddy from Philly) and i went to a 25 hour (DST added another hour to the event!) horror film marathon in Philly from 12 noon Saturday to 12 noon (technically 1pm) Sunday-wotta blast!

i am rather sore-back and knees-but then I'm also 54 years old-lol-but I'll say with pride i was in my seat the longest of my friends-drank no coffee (i don't anyway-i kept to water and a couple sips of Dr Pepper-so a little caffeine got into me about midnight-lol)-took no drugs (ok- a couple advil ;o) -and ate very little (a few "breakfast bars") - afterward i was ready for more!

today I'm gonna zone out and relax...and watch more movies!

here's the list of flix we saw-and no one knew what was on the list until we actually saw it onscreen (as my buds pointed out, very "mainstream", but lottsa fun when seen on the big screen-so rare nowadays-and with friends) :

The Fog- great "old school horror" from John Carpenter

Destroy All Monsters-ya hadda have an old Godzilla classic-even if it wasn't one of the best

Phantasm 2-not as good as the 1st but fun

Wicked Wicked-the first time ANY of us saw this "duovision" flik from the early 70s- but it became our top fave of the marathon because it was an unintentionally hilarious film-not a good movie by any stretch,but VERY entertaining ;o)

Nightmare on Elm Street-another classic-always a pleasure to see the "original" Freddy

The Incredible Shrinking Man-a great flik but a surprise because of it's vintage

The Boogey man-HORRID film but NOT entertaining-maybe my least fave

Fright Night- i ADORE this vampire classic-great choice

Dead and Buried-great,rarely seen horror by ALIEN writer Dan O'Bannon

Island of the Damned (Who Can Kill a Child)-the only "Euro horror" (which disappointed my ETP pals-after all,the group IS called the EUROTRASH PARADISE-lol) but a very good film-not an entertaining film on the level of a FOG or a PHANTASM but more thought provoking and uncomfortable due to it's subject matter

Equinox-not a good movie but fun in it's way-the one film that had the most technical difficulties-and few did-the fella running the projector did a great job!

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2-no match for the original but pure,mindless,LOUD (very loud),gory "fun" -assuming that sorta thing entertains you-lol

Food of the Gods-AWFUL-a toss up for my least fave with Boogey Man

Return of Living Dead-a great finish to the show (the 2nd flik written by O'Bannon) -i would call this a classic as well

...so-when's the next one?!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

New Project

Remember that entry on the new book Bob Tinnell and i are working on-i tried to be ambiguous about it-but Bob has let the bat outta the bag on Fearnet.com...

And i thought i was a big blabbermouth-lol



New Stuff: CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF

I've been working on this-on and off-for about 3 months-not consistently- as I've slipped several other commissions in between then and now-i was able to do that because the fella that asked for this is an understanding guy-and a friend-but i made him wait too long.

The reasons are not just the delaying of it-sometimes these things hit me from the mention of the idea-and sometimes...not so much.

It wasn't the subject-no sir-COTW is one of my favorite Hammer Films flix-and my fave werewolf flick-i have a plethora of reference as well-nope-this was just one of those pieces that makes me work a little harder-not a bad thing...;o)


Anywho...here's a couple prelims and the final piece-i hope you enjoy it (and i hope the guy feels it was worth the wait...;o)










Friday, October 24, 2008

Wonder Woman Day 3-reminder...


Remember: I'll be appearing at the COMIC FUSION store in Flemington, NJ on Wonder Woman Day-October 26th-if you're in the area, drop by!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

WATCHMEN watching...

It's been a rather Watchmen-ish couple of days for me here.

I just received the new book by artist Dave Gibbons, WATCHING THE WATCHMEN (awesome prelim artwork and details on how they created this landmark comic) and just saw the new trailer for the film adaptation.

Wow- I thought DARK KNIGHT was a film I geeked out for in the extreme (and worth every geekish exclamation) but WATCHMEN is shaping up quite nicely.

If you decide to check out the trailer don't read the short article on the site -if you are familiar with the book's ending you may be getting a shock (tho not a deal breaker kinda shock) so keep a few secrets to help enjoy the film itself...;o)

Monday, October 20, 2008

Facebook Fever!

Yup-it's true-I've finally succumbed to starting a Facebook page also- geez-what's next-my own BLOG?!

...uhm...wait a mo...

...er...anyway...

Well, if you feel like hopping on the lemmings Webwagon as we all ride blissfully over the cliff edge together,then you can become a 'Book friend...

...I'm such an internet whore...;o)

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

New Stuff...

A recently finished commission of the Archie Goodwin/Walt Simonson version of DC's MANHUNTER:




...;o)

WONDER WOMEN DAY 3: update!

As mentioned previously I've done several pieces for the annual Wonder Woman Day charity (see archives for info-I'll also be appearing at the COMIC FUSION store in Flemington, NJ on WWD-October 26th-if you're in the area, drop by!) and i just wanted to show you fine folk the 2nd piece i did this year:




Hope you like it...;o)

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Busy in Balty...


Well it was another great show in Baltimore thanks to Marc Nathan and his very friendly,helpful staff (always ready with a howdoyoudo,info,snacks,lunch,etc...) and all the wonderful fans (several EAGLE fans showed up to thank me for the old series-one even said i was a strong influence on him-poor boy- and they also berated me about not putting out new stories!) and my many friends in the biz (I managed to get a few minutes with old pal and legend, Nick Cardy-you couldn't ask for a more kind,generous,talented fella to call friend-he signed my copy of his new book NICK CARDY:BEHIND THE ART-which just so happened to include the pin up of Cotton he did for THE WICKED WEST! ...WOW...i was so frikkin honored-i got all verklempt.) and many more whose names would just make me a name dropper-but i luvs these guys-no bull...;o)

Can't wait till next year!

CRABS' FURY!

CRABS' FURY ...?

An unusual subject line for this blog, i admit, but it got your attention, didn't it?

My good buddy,David Zuzelo has asked me to help promote the rerelease of this highly sought after graphic novel- through Ghostwriter Publications- by infamous-and prolific- writer Guy N. Smith (i readily admit to owning several of his novels myself-oh the shame-the joyous pulpy reading shame ;o)

As this was asked by a friend and collegue (i've mentioned the project Z and i are working on in this blog before) and it is drawn by another old friend and fellow comics artist, Charlie Adlard, i had to mention it here in my humble blog.

Please take a peek at it if only out of curiousity...thanks...;o)

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Time for a Quickie...

Much as i wish this referred to something else...ahem...i just wanted to let you know i'll be traveling to the annual Baltimore Comic Con tomorrow.

It's one of my favorite shows and i look forward to meeting up with old friends and new fans-if you're there please drop by my table and say hi!

I'll leave you with a little quick sketch (thus the subject line ;o) done for a fan:



Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Comics Industry for Obama


View my page on Comics Industry for Obama

I am by nature a very UNpolitical kinda guy- I believe my faith in our leaders severely declined in the 60s-Heck,growing up in the Viet Nam/draft/Watergate/Nixon era was traumatizing for a teeny bopper.

My point is that i usually ignore-best i can- anything to do with politics-but these last 8 years of the Bush Administration has forced me to start paying attention-and these NON STOP ads by Obama and McCain about the OTHER guy being wrong for our country are driving me postal!

I'm sorry to say that it feels like i'm choosing the lesser of two evils (tho McCain is doing his damndest to prove he does NOT belong in the White House) but i had to commit to a side.

So without going into any details about the whys and wherefores of my reasoning i decided to make a stand with some of my fellow Comics Industry peers- i won't be out campaigning or carrying placards at rallies or anything like that-yeesh-but i will put in my two cents on our future President by placing this entry in my blog.

Forgive me for getting all serious in what is essentially a very unserious forum,but i thought i needed to make my feelings known on this subject...for what it's worth.

The Envelope Please...


These pix are all done on envelopes-i have a fan who is a collector of stamps-limited edition type of stuff- he also gets artists like meself to do original drawings on envelopes.

For this most recent batch he asked me to do a Halloween theme with witch babes and monsters-there's even a Jersey Devil in one-enjoy...


















Saturday, September 20, 2008

Wonder Woman Day 3

Last year i did a couple drawings for the annual Wonder Woman Day event...








I'll be doing a couple more this year-actually one's already done...





...it's a great cause and there will be a lot of great art and merchandise up for auction-check it out,lads n lasses...;o)

http://www.wonderwomanmuseum.com/WWDay3/WWDay3.html

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Dracula Returns...to my blog...;o)

Some of you may recall this piece i did awhile ago-it was an exercise to get comfy with doing the wash style i love so much- the reason i picked a drawing by Gene Colan (actually a couple pencil scans i found online that I inked over) was that his older Warren magazine stories (among others like Ditko,Frazetta,Craig and Adams) were some of the inspirations that led to me doing this kind of work myself.

I inked it in a brush style-tho brush is not my natural inclination-i need much more practice-because his pencils were so alive that almost ANY inkline would kill it's power.





What led to this particular post is that recently i was asked-among many others- to contribute something to a charity of sorts to help out the Colan family with their many health bills- i felt it would be the least i could do so i took part of the 1st drawing and redrew/inked it as a separate piece for the donation:




There are many artists who influenced me when growing up and it's only been the last few years where i began to realize how very much these gents meant to me-as a fan and as an artist...;o)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

New Stuff...

1st a Vampirella-with the image of the Warren mags' version of Count Dracula in the bg...




This was for a fan who enjoyed my stint on FRIGHT NIGHT, the comic series.

I was a huge fan of the film-still am- and it was my pleasure to return to the characters i drew in the comic (which started out with a bang and ended with a whimper-long story) well, actually i never got to do the central vamp from the film, Jerry Dandrige or hero Charley Brewster's girlfriend Amy, save for a panel or two-this was to be primarily a new storyline starring Charley and horror host/vampire killer, Peter Vincent-tho the infamous Evil Ed was still flapping his leathery wings about in several issues.

But anyway,here's the piece...




This commission started as a single piece with Peter Parker/Spider-Man changing into his web slingin' self in a Daily Bugle storeroom.

Then the fan who ordered it decided they wanted to expand it into a kind of story so it became 3 pieces.

The 1st is of the Bugle's editor, J. Jonah Jameson,screaming for his secretary, Betty Brant-she's missing and Peter sees a note on her desk giving him her whereabouts:




Then Petey heads to the always empty storeroom (Clark Kent and Peter visited those storerooms a lot in the old days-i guess because no one ever used them ;o) where we get an iconic hero changing outfits shot-a classic pose:




Lastly we have our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man crashing into the waxworks lab of the evil Parafino who is about to add Betty to his collection.





For those of you Spidey fans who don't recognize Parafino that's because he was a villain from the '60s cartoon show-what's more he looks nothing like my version-he was a rather drab looking baddie who made wax figures or something-so we decided to change him into a more dramatic horror filmish villain-i used the idea of a HOUSE OF WAX / PHANTOM type of character with a disfigured face who wears a mask-with a touch of theatricality in his outfit and the extra masks.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

I am Dracula-Enter freely ...(updated 8.18.16)

I have always loved the character of Count Dracula-in books,movies,toys,etc.-so needless to say,as an aspiring artist I've been drawing this guy since i could first draw.

Thanks in part to the literary stuff i recently shared and a brand new project I'm doing with best pal writer Bob Tinnell , which will feature the vampire lord (that's all i can tell you for now-but suffice to say,if you dug THE BLACK FOREST you'll dig this ;o) i thought it would be fun to showcase all the various versions of Dracula I've drawn since that 1st illo from 1980 (in actual fact,i've drawn him before that but have little in the way of copies of that early work)

So here's some of the many Counts that have emerged from my fevered brow in the last 30 odd years (including a few i forgot when i first did this post) ...beginning with those that i did based on the film and comic versions...


1st we have a commission which featured the major Universal Studios versions: Lugosi, Chaney Jr., Carradine and Langella (i was asked to do it in pencil for the fella to ink himself-i hope to do an inked version soon myself):




The next is the very 1st art i ever had published-it was 1976 and i sent in a "fan drawing" to a horror film fanzine called CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT-they put it in their 3rd issue-I was in heaven-i also sent in artwork to several other zines and fan club newsletters (mainly for Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing's clubs) a humble beginning but an important one...





Next we have a true rarity-a painting (i did maybe 2 or 3 paintings like this in my lifetime-not counting a couple murals) i did of Christopher Lee as the Stoker's novel describes the Count-well,at least the mustache is from Stoker anyway...





Then another film related piece, DRACULA'S GREAT LOVE-this was of Paul Naschy, better known as the werewolf star of a series of Spanish horror classics (the art was in the fanzine VIDEOOZE, published by another good friend, Bob Sargent):




The cover for a independent comic company's adaptation of the novel-i didn't get to do the interiors tho i begged to-it's based on the story's visual of the character:





I am a huge fan of Marvel's TOMB OF DRACULA series with Gene Colan doing the art chores-classic storytelling at it's best-and when i found some copies of his pencils of the Count i took it upon myself to do an inkwash from it-this is the result-i felt i captured his ethereal style rather well...he humbly brags...




And here's another take on the Marvel Drac-a fan gets artists to do "minute later" drawings-usually what happens right after a scene on a cover-in this case a TOMB OF DRACULA cover costarring the WEREWOLF BY NIGHT:






Now this next batch of Counts are all the many variations I've come up with thru the years for single illos or stories I've done both before and after becoming a pro-my versions of Dracula-usually based on the novel or inspired by the films.

This is another from the era of those literary pieces-1980-mainly done with marker,it looks like:




this was a "promo" i did for one of MANY stories i drew in the old amateur days-i drew lotsa comic stories back then-usually monster rallies (i got to do a real comic book years later that brought me full circle: THE BLACK FOREST) starring all my favorites (this piece also showed Van Helsing,a werewolf and a mummy) ,but ALWAYS featuring Dracula:





Below is a panel from my early pro days at Comico Comics-my 1st story ever was published in their new talent showcase, PRIMER- soon after i plotted a short tale that would begin a proposed series that was basically a variation on my pre pro days' work (and own design of Drac stayed the same) -i drew it and GRENDAL creator Matt Wagner did the dialog and inks.

To show you how "clever" i was the title of the story was AND ETERNITY SHALL BECKON...

...if the laughter has died down we can continue...

Ultimately the story never saw print-maybe one day-when I'm feeling rather masochistic-I'll publish it here...maybe... (see update below ...:o)

It starred a bounty hunter i created named Josef Talon Falconer-he tracks down a group of men who get taken by a cult who wants to raise Drac from the dead-a kind of sequel to the novel.

Years later i incorporated Falconer into my EAGLE series-never let a good character die:





The next place my version of Drac appeared was in a series called BLOOD OF DRACULA-this was a series i began with writers Mark Wheatley and Ricky Shanklin- i pencilled the 1st 6 issues with Mark's inks-i then laid out the next 6 with a young up and coming artist on finishes: Adam Hughes.

The greatest treat for me was that i got to design the Count-and yes i used the version i had been using for the last few years in my own amateur stories- it wasn't credited to me until many issues later when i put up a stink about it-hey,after all those crappy comics i drew-mainly for my own amusement-i wanted the world to know i did this-lol

This is also the only cover i did for the series-actually i penciled it and another artist did a painting based on the pencils:






Then there was FRIGHT NIGHT!

I was asked by Now Comics to do SPEED RACER-mainly because of my time on ROBOTECH a few years before-which i really had no interest in drawing- i finally agreed to do one issue if they would allow me to do the new FRIGHT NIGHT comic,based on the film-a favorite of mine-it turned out to be a mixed blessing for many reasons but at least i got it outta my system.

A few issues before i quit the book (for those aforementioned reasons) i was able to convince the powers that be to let me do a Dracula story-instead of using the actual Count we composed a tale (i actually got a co-plotted by credit for the 1st time-not always granted in this biz,i'm sad to say) about an actor well known for playing the role on screen, Boris Christopher (whom i based on Christopher Lee the way they based Fright Night host Peter Vincent on Peter Cushing)

The twist would be that he gets attacked by Evil Ed and becomes ,in effect,Count Dracula-at least in his delusional,recently vampirized mind anyway-it was a fun story and my virtual swan song to a series i had high hopes for.

So allow me to add this version of Dracula to my LONG list:




This you may recognize as the Dracula i designed for my aborted VAMPIRELLA comic (see archives):



I was then asked to follow Jose Gonzalez' Drac for the book- this here is a layout page from the series-as far as i got before being dumped (it was done on graph paper-thus the lines):





This is the cover to one of my three X rated Draculas...yup...X rated-hey, I'm all for a little naughty fun on the comics page-this actually only used Drac in a cameo role-the "star" character was a rather nude young vamp who was modeled on Spanish Eurotrash star Lina Romay:





...this next one was an adaptation of the novel, but with much naughtiness added-i only got to do the opening chapter of the series, tho-sad to say-because i thought-even given the erotic take on the novel-i did some of my best artwork for this-below is a direct scene from the novel:



There was a third comic i did starring Dracula but it was a story about how he became a vampire-basically an X rated version of Vlad Tepes before the fangs-it was called DRACULA IN HELL and I'd rather not share the art here-it was a touch TOO extreme for me...;o)


This is yet another redesign of him for another series i was going to do with my characters from the old Primer comic story-it never got beyond this one piece:




Here's another variation done for a commission:





Here is the character of Graf Orlok from my BLACK FOREST book-i included him because he was, at least originally in the silent film NOSFERATU our Dracula- but under another name:





Another take on the Count for a "chapbook" cover, which to date hasn't appeared-but i like the piece and felt it needed to be seen:





a more recent design-not used-for a comic i was going to do with Bob called ONLY AT NIGHT-we didn't do it-it's a long story I'll tell someday (and who knows,i may still get around to drawing it-no,it's not the mysterious Dracula comic i referred to at the beginning):






The most recent attempt at a comic starring my favorite vamp was going to be a dual feature with BARON FRANKENSTEIN, done by Bob and Adrian Salmon-the conceit was a comic "adaptation" of two of director Terry Sharp's most famous classic films (he of course was a fictional character created by Bob and Ade for their book TERRY SHARP-he was a horror film director by day and an adventurer by night-great book-look for it) -we still plan on doing this someday...time will tell...





Our last-and certainly not least-i hope-design is for the new project we're working on called FLESH & BLOOD-it is based on the wonderful Hammer Films movies Bob and I love- we took their approach at the classic horror monsters and built our own story from there-their films are kind of our inspiration,more than source material-I'm hoping to finish the 4th ish...someday....








Then there are the many commissions I've done featuring Dracula...


 And how about the numerous illos I've done for my buddy Richard Klemensen's mag Little Shoppe Of Horrors...















I've recently done a new version of my old unpublished Comico Primer Falconer story for a new book called Dark Tales From The Vokesverse bringing the Count into the Eagle universe...



...which brings us to the most recent Dracula drawing-a cover image from a young readers novel which features Dracula battling a...uhm...I can't say yet...you'll see...soon...;o)

                                                                 DRACULA

An obsession of mine that has produced some very cool work (and some not so cool,i guess) thru the last 32 years...

...and i suspect for the next 32...assuming i can still hold a pencil...;o)


That's All,Vokes!