Madman Christmas Sketch for my LCS

I did this quick sketch of Mike Allred's Madman as Santa on the back of one of my Christmas cards for Dave and Matt down at my local comic shop, COMICS ON THE GREEN.
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Now playing: The Beatles - Christmas Albums.mp3
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My Department Christmas Card 2008

Every year I make a batch of custom Christmas/Holiday cards for my coworkers.
Since I work with an editorial staff, I used that fact as the theme.

The outside


The inside


I make the original drawings, scan 'em and lay 'em out in CorelDRAW.
I print them out on a laser printer and then hand color each.
If you want a PDF of the card, click the link below.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/vv6oki
I'll post my annual card for the Geeks over at CGS a bit closer to Christmas.
Stay tuned!
(Pen and ink on smooth Bristol, scanned in Photoshop, edited in CorelDRAW, printed on buff card stock and hand-colored with markers)
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Now playing: Comic Geek Speak_Episode 559 - Top 5 Christmas Comics.mp3
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Batman Paintings

My wife asked me to do a couple Batman drawings for the seven year old son of a guy she works with. He already had a Batman theme for his bedroom, and he liked the Animated Batman more than the darker movie Batman. I decided to do the illustrations as paintings. I haven't set a brush to canvas in ages, so it did take some time to shake off the rust. Luckily, I found canvases on sale at the local art supply store. I stayed close to the Bruce Timm style Batman.

First, a close-up of the Batman. I'm very happy with this one.



Next, Batman fixing to throw a Batarang. There's some wonky stuff going on there, but the kid loves it.



They're not masterpieces, but they're not bad for being out of practice since the 80s.

(Gesso and acrylic paints on pre-stretched canvas)

I Don't Like Ike

My thoughts and best wishes go out to all involved, but this was the first image that popped into my noodle when I say this exact headline on CNN.com . . . TEXANS FLEEING IKE

(Sharpee on scrap paper)

Grendel and Kevin Matchstick (Mage)

Here's a scan of my long-delayed "Secret Santa" sketch for Damian Smith, Lord Shaper on the CGS forum. Shaper requested a sketch of Grendel, I decided to spice it up with the addition of Mage; another Matt Wagner character. I did a few rough sketches in anticipation of doing a cleaner final. I actually liked the roughs better, so I went in that direction. I hope it was worth the wait. Damien co-hosts a podcast called KRYPTOGRAPHIK. Check it out HERE.
(Brushpens, Micron pens and Sharpee on smooth Bristol board.)

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Listening to: The Motels - Suddenly Last Summer
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Dwight Howard Who?

A thank you sketch for Chris Murrin for all the hard work he did editing the CGStories comic. Chris works on Fox Sport's Best Damn Spots Show Period and collects sketches of Mr. Mxyzptlk. After seeing the slam dunk contest at the NBA All Star game this year, I thought this would make a perfect sketch.
(Brushpens and Micron Pens on smooth Bristol board.)


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Listening to: The Dickies - Stukas Over Disneyland
via FoxyTunes

Happy Saint Patrick's Day 2008

All the blessings of ol' Saint Patrick be with ye on this fine day.

In addition, the blessings of St. Jack, St. Will, St. Wally, and the inky litany be on ye.

May your pull list always be full.
May your life be long and your long boxes even longer.
May you wake every morn to new comics smell.
May your "to read pile" always be one comic too many.
May your future be the best Con imaginable, with your name atop every sign-up sheet on artist's alley.
May ye be in heaven a full hour before the devil knows you've been bagged and boarded.



Have a great day and UP THE REPUBLIC!

What the hell is all that crap on your bulletin board?

Since my days as a young lad, I've had this compulsion to cover my bulletin board with things I find interesting. I did it in my room at my family homestead and I've continued the practice at every place I've worked ever since. There's found stuff, used stuff, important stuff, goofy stuff, lots 'n' lotsa stuff. I get this Zen thing going and I add, remove, and move stuff to match my mood. It's a constant work-in-progress. Here's my current bulletin board.



If you're the slightest bit interested, here's a list of the stuff on the board:

• a bamboo back scratcher (used quite often)
• a faux dealer's name tag for a fictional Indian Casino (Hello, I'm Marty Thundercloud)
• a Xerox enlargement of a Drew Friedman cartoon of Tor Johnson from an old punk magazine
• a photo of me in my Central High School marching band uniform (with drum!) from 1979
• a 2000 visitor's pass from Colonial Williamsburg
• a blinking lapel pin from a former employer
• a homemade wooden Christmas ornament of a former boss
• a baseball glove key chain
• a Coconut Monkey insert from an old PC Gamer magazine
• a Church of the SubGenius informational pamphlet
• a personalized card from the defunct Spacemon CCG
• art inserts from the Captain America and Bucky Marvel Legends figures
• a das ArtWerks company card
• a plastic sheriff's star
• a photostat of Pinky Lee
• an Elvis Christmas ornament (dressed in gold lamé)
• a cardboard pirate eye patch (with elastic string)
• a photo of my old fire-damaged archiver's desk (insurance photo)
• 2003 NRA membership card
• my Spacemon name tag from the 2002 NY Toy Expo
• a faux I LIKE IKE button
• a Yukon Cornelius key chain
• a Jim Benton "Bunny" postcard
• a Nexus meets Madman promo poster (art by Steve "the Dude" Rude)
• a news photo of Teddy Kennedy yelling
• a Mister Coffin "Wacky Packages" sticker
• three Mike Mignola Hellboy coasters
• an Alex Ross art card insert from the Unbreakable DVD
• loose desk calendar pages
• a news photo of former PA Governor Dick Thornburg watching a kitten fall off a desk
• a post-it supposedly written by Bela Lugosi
• two American Legion lapel poppies
• three Evan Dorkin Milk and Cheese coasters
• a brown bag from a local Chinese restaurant with "Free Soup" written on it (long story)
• a Frank Miller That Yellow Bastard promo poster
• a Jim Benton "Just Plain Mean" postcard
• a Yoe Studios business card (with attached safety pin)
  
• a Christopher Walken Halloween mask
• a small American flag
• a stuffed paper Christmas partridge covered in colorful sequins

Happy Birthday Billy

I was asked to do a card for my nephew Billy's birthday this week. I was given free reign to do anything I wanted. Thanks to recent events, I got my gag.
(Pentell and Micron pens and brushpens on bristol and colored with markers.)
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Listening to: Iggy Pop & The Stooges - No Fun
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Captain America?

As a huge fan of funny books, especially funny books featuring Captain America, I have a small collection of Cap figures on my desk at work. Just before Christmas 2007, I found a neat little plush Captain America at the local Target store. The little guy has been sitting right beside me ever since. I was glancing at him during lunch today when something disturbing caught my eye.



Yikes. Izzat a cameltoe that I see?

T-Shirt Week #5: CON! Unused CGS Tour Design

The guys over at Comic Geek Speak held a competition recently to design a shirt they can wear to comic conventions around the country for 2008. There were many good entries. I decided to go off in an odd direction when I was yelling the word "con" at home. It immediately reminded me of Captain Kirk in The Wrath of Khan movie. My design was born.



Some understandable legal concerns removed the design from the competition, but I still like it.

(Photo adjusted in Photoshop, converted to vector and imported into CorelDRAW for text and layout.)
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Now playing: 40Kradio_episode02
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T-Shirt Week #4: It's Cool to be a Viking

This was the design that replaced the first two entries. It was aimed at the general school population. I removed the instrument and music cleft and substituted a 'hang-loose" sign and a RHS tattoo. The shirt was printed in dark navy ink on red t-shirts, the school colors for the Riverside Vikings in Taylor, PA.
(Micron pen and brushpen on drawing paper, scanned in Photoshop and imported into CorelDRAW for text and layout.)
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Now playing: Web Comics Weekly - EPISODE24 - Working Space
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T-Shirt Week #3: Band is Cool Shirt

My niece Sara asked me do do a design for a T-shirt that her high school marching band could sell to raise some money. She wanted to push the point that band is cool. As a former band geek myself, I accepted the task. The mascot for Riverside High School is a viking, so I did the design based on that.



I also did a female viking to keep my options open.



The officials at the high school liked the idea. They liked it so much they decided to delete the band element and do a shirt that could be sold to benefit the entire school.

(Micron pen and brushpen on drawing paper, scanned in Photoshop and imported into CorelDRAW for text and layout.)
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Listening to: Webcomics Weekly - EPISODE25 - COLORIZE!
via FoxyTunes

T-Shirt Week #2: NEPA Chorus

The T-shirt design for today was done for my niece Sara for the regional high school chorus. They wanted shirts to express a certain attitude but still seemed "cute". I went with a sort of Watterson-eque kid, without being a blatant Calvin rip off. I tried to render the thing as loose as possible, yet still make it silk-screen reproducible.



(Micron pen and brushpen on drawing paper, scanned in Photoshop, traced into vector and imported into CorelDRAW for text and layout.)

T-Shirt Week #1: Bait 'n' Tackle

This week on The MadWorld, it's T-Shirt Week! All week long I'll post designs and art of t-shirts that I've worked on recently. First up, Bait 'n' Tackle.



My nephew Tommy asked me to design a logo for his inter mural flag football team at the University of Scranton. The name of the team was Bait 'n' Tackle. That clever name needed a clever design. So I did a sketch of a can of worms, with one of the worms wearing an old-school leather helmet and striking the classic Heisman pose. Now that I look at it, there are some things I would have done differently (the shirt was white on cardinal red), but this the art as printed.

(Micron pen and brushpen on drawing paper, scanned in Photoshop, converted to vector and imported into CorelDRAW for text and layout.)

CGStories Anthology Available on IndyPlanet!

The CGStories comic book anthology is now available at INDYPLANET.COM.
It costs a paltry 3 bucks and all the proceeds benefit the CGS Super Show this September.
Go out and buy your own copy (or copies) NOW!

CGStories Final Cover Design

Thanks to the incredible Mister Chris Murrin, I got my comp copies of CGStories in the mail today . . . and it looks BEE-YOO-TEE-FOOL! Kudos to everyone involved. So finally . . . drum roll please . . . the cover artwork for the CGStories anthology.