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
via FoxyTunes

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
via FoxyTunes

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
via FoxyTunes

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
via FoxyTunes

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.

CGStories Intial Cover Designs

There had been some discussion on the Comic Geek Speak forum for quite a while about doing some sort of anthology. The idea would get kicked around every so often, and then die. Sometime during the past year, a concerted effort was started to make the thing a reality. Chris Murrin shouldered the daunting task as editor of the entire project. It went for a grand 100 page plus monster of an anthology down to a typical comic book length read. A title was selected, CGStories, by a poll on the forum. What he didn't have was a suitable cover for the book, so he asked me. I gladly accepted and set about designing the cover. I ran through a half dozen goofy ideas and settled on an idea based the artwork of M.C. Escher. I wanted an image that would convey the fact that the book was done by artists and writers that are fans of the CGS podcast. Here are my initial sketches and mock-ups.

This first sketch is my original blueline rough of the cover idea


This next image is a cleaner and slightly inked version of the sketch. I added the outline of what would be the sheet of drawing paper and I added the iPod controls.


This image is the black and white mock-up, without type, that I sent to Chris for his approval. He really liked the idea and the art so I proceeded. I added the CGS logo and woodgrain to show what I was going to do and I rotated the art slightly to mimic the original illustration by Escher.


I'll post the initial colors and final artwork for the CGStories anthology comic soon.

Have One Helluva Holiday Season!

Here's a scan of the artwork I sketched onto the cards I sent to the CGS Podcast and to Comics on the Green, my local comic book shop. For those that may not know, the sketch features Mike Mignola's Hellboy and Abe Sapien characters as Santa and his little helper. My initial sketches also included Liz Sherman (the firestarter) and Johann (the guy in the containment suit) also dressed-up as helpers. It was a little too busy and I felt using just Hellboy and Abe worked best to convey the message.
(Pens and brush pens on bristol board and colored with a variety of markers)

The Christmas Cards . . . now in Glorious Color!

You've seen the black and white images of my custom Christmas cards, well here's scans of the colored versions of those cards.

First up is the "Walken" card.


Next, the colored version of the "Yul Cheer" card from this year.


(Art laser printed on buff-colored card stock and colored with various markers)

'tis the season: Christmas Card Week, Part 4

Today's Christmas card is brand spankin' new. This is the card I'm sending around this year. I intended to do this one last year, but ran out of time before the holidays. I have all the cards completed to a point, all I have to do is color and fold each one.

The front of the card . . . hopefully folks will remember who Yul Brenner was:


The inside with the comedic gold punchline and standard checklist greeting:

I'll post a scan of one of the hand-colored cards tomorrow.

(Micron pen and brush pen on drawing paper, scanned in Photoshop and imported into CorelDRAW for layout.)
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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - Episode 337 - Previews
via FoxyTunes

'tis the season: Christmas Card Week, Part 3

Today's card is from way back in 1990! Once again, I don't have any hand-colored originals, but I do have scans of the inked line work. No extra work done on these, hand lettering and photo copies this time around.
The front features the nativity:

On the inside, the payoff:

(Felt tip pen on drawing paper and photo copied)

BONUS! Ich Bin Ein Klawspiel Prize

While I was out shopping recently, I spied one of those claw game machines in the store's lobby. You know those machines, the ones that you use controls to manipulate a crane and claw to pick up prizes like toys and clothes. Well, when I peered at the prizes in this particular machine, I saw this:

Yep, that's right . . . a plush President John F. Kennedy doll. I was kinda shocked and taken aback by the thing. I NEVER expected to see one of the US Presidents as prize for a kid's game. Seeing the lonely little JFK doll sitting forlornly in the corner made me feel sad. The more I thought of it, the sadder I felt. I knew I had to capture the wee guy in pixels for posterity.

'tis the season: Christmas Card Week, Part 2

Today I'm posting scans of the big Christmas card I did last year. The card was over-sized and a copy was given to my local comics shop Comics on the Green and another was sent to the cast of the Comic Geek Speak podcast. Naturally, the subject of the card is comic book related. Since each card was an original, I don't have a color copy. I do have scans of the inked artwork before they were colored.

First, the outside of the card featuring that lovable ol' Marvel planet eater out for a stroll on a brisk Winter's day:

The inside features those four fantastic do-gooders as kiddies, and they're up to no good:

(Micron pen and brush pen on drawing paper, scanned in Photoshop and imported into CorelDRAW for layout.)
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Now playing: ELO - Out Of The Blue
via FoxyTunes

'tis the season: Christmas Card Week, Part 1

It's December, so I'm finally giving in to the holiday hype. All this week I'll feature original Christmas cards I've drawn over the years. This first card was done two years ago. I drew the original card and then scanned it and laser-printed numerous duplicates. I then hand colored all the individual prints. I don't have any of the colored originals laying around, but this is a scan of the original inked art.

The front of the card, featuring everyone's favorite character actor:

Inside the card with the punchline and my standard checklist greeting:

(Micron pens and brush pens on drawing paper, scanned in Photoshop and then imported into CorelDRAW for layout.)
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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - Episode 334 - New York Anime Fest, Bryan's Back from Italy, and the mailbox
via FoxyTunes

Meet You, Greet You at the Lady's Room

Another quickie (also large) sketch for today. This just happened during lunch. (FYI: my cubicle is located just outside the women's bathroom here at work, so it's not uncommon for me to be in that general vicinity...really.) I don't know what compelled me to draw it, I just had to.
(Micron Pigma pens on scrap paper.)

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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - Comic Geek Speak: Book of the Month 05 - Tomb of Dracula
via FoxyTunes

Halloween 2007 Walken Goofiness

It was a Christopher Walken kinda day at the office today.
Mask downloaded from brandonbird.com
First, we have the hastily-colored Walken mask:



Now some great moments from Christopher Walken's career, first CW as Whitley Strieber in the movie COMMUNION (FYI: That scene when the alien peeks around the corner still scares the bejeezus out of me.)



Next, Christopher as Bruce Dickenson on SNL



Chris as Captain Koons from PULP FICTION



Your favorite hoofer in the Fatboy Slim WEAPON OF CHOICE video



Finally, Christopher Walken as Nicky from THE DEER HUNTER
"Didi mau!"



Thanks to Vince Bonavoglia and Scott Shemo for the photography.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Goofy #123 - Seizures

I was feeling silly today and quickly whipped-up this sketch during break.
(Faber-Castell artist pens on scrap paper.)
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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - CGS BOMC 19 - Comic Geek Speak - Book of the Month Club - Episode 19 - Marvels
via FoxyTunes

Lace 'em up!

I was messing around with CorelDRAW today when I was inspired to do a logo after installing a new font. The font reminded me of the font used on the circles on the Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers. I threw it together in CorelDRAW and added a texture in Photoshop. I'm pretty happy with it. I may take this a bit further.
(CorelDRAW and Photoshop)
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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - CGS BOMC 18 - Comic Geek Speak - Book of the Month Club - Manhunter
via FoxyTunes

Messing Around with a Couple New Brush Pens

I love to try new drawing implements just to find new and fun ways to draw. At the CGS Episode 300 podcast, Mr. Bruce Rosenburger (the Dean of Comic Podcasts) gave me a Bienfang brush pen for my birthday. One day this past week, my computer at work went down. I filled the down time by playing around with the pen. I had an older Pentel brush pen and the new Bienfang to test drive. The first image is a self portrait done with the older pen. I like how scrubby the line is, it looks kinda like a Gary Panter drawing. (Note: the drawing was done while listening to my Phillies being beaten by the Rockies during the first game of their playoff series.) The second drawing is of my buddy and officemate Vince. I did the Vince doodle with the new Bienfang. I really like the line, although it may be a bit heftier than the line I usually use. It should come in handy for some specialty work or when I don't feel like getting a brush dirty.
Check out Bruce Rosenburger's KomicsKast podcast HERE.
(Bienfang and Pentel brush pens on scrap paper.)
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Now playing: AroundComics.com - Around Comics Ep. 137 - The End? Not Really
via FoxyTunes

2007 CGS Freking Sweer Award

Every year since 2005, the Comic Geek Speak podcast has awarded their Freking Sweer award. The award is presented to listeners and forum members of merit as decided by the CGS cast. This year I was amongst a group of 4 recipients of the award presented during the 300th episode celebration in Reading, PA. I'd like to thank all the Geeks at CGS for this honor, it was humbling and totally unexpected. For more info on Comic Geek Speak click HERE.

CGS Episode 300 Trading Cards

Here are three original art trading cards created for the Comic Geek Speak Episode 300 artist card exchange. I decided to use my Mr. Zombie and Chad characters and I added one of myself. Since the cards are cut to the same size as traditional baseball cards, I designed them to look like classic Topps baseball cards.
(Micron and Sharpee pens on smooth bristol board, colored with markers and colored leads)

The Geeks Episode 300 Finished Artwork

Here's the finished artwork for the CGS Episode 300 comic book.
(Pen and brush on smooth bristol board, scanned and colored in Photoshop, text and vector art added in CorelDraw)
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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - Episode 300
via FoxyTunes

The Geeks Episode 300 Original Inked Linework

More geeky goodness! Bryan Deemer from the CGS podcast asked me to submit some artwork for their 300th episode commemorative comic book. I said yes and started to ponder what I was going to draw. The inspiration came to me as I was boxing some comics. I saw the cover for the first issue of Garth Ennis's THE BOYS. I thought doing a parody of that cover was the way to go. There's no way I could ever expect to match the great Darick Robertson talent wise, so I hope my attempt is taken in the spirit it was presented. Here's the original inked linework for the image.
To learn more about the Comic Geek Speak (CGS) podcast, click HERE.
To find out more about The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, click HERE.
(Pen and brush on smooth bristol, scanned)
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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - Episode 300
via FoxyTunes

Big Iron Pinup Finished Artwork

Here's the finished colored pinup artwork for the Pixelstrips Big Iron comic book.
I scanned my jeans to get the color and texture on the pants, I scanned my leather jacket for the vest and holster, and I scanned a pillowcase for the texture on the shirt.
(Pen and brush on smooth bristol board, scanned and colored in Photoshop)
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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - Episode 300
via FoxyTunes

Big Iron Pinup Original Linework

To kick off the return of the Sketchblog, here's the original inked linework for a pinup that appeared in the Pixelstrips Big Iron comic book. Thanks to Pixelstrips and Kevin Volo for the opportunity. You can enjoy Pixelstrips web comic strips by going HERE.
(Pens and brush on smooth bristol board, scanned)
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Now playing: Speakers of Geek - Episode 300
via FoxyTunes

The CGS Illuminati

Over on the Comic Geek Speak (CGS) podcast forum I posted a new Freking Sweer strip. Here's a detail from that particular cartoon. UPDATE: The original inked drawing for this particular image will be donated to the CGS auction during Episode 300.
(Pens and brush on smooth bristol board, scanned and colored in Photoshop)
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Now playing: The Who - Quadrophenia
via FoxyTunes

It won't be long now . . .

Yeah, I know that's what Lorena Bobbit said to John, but it's true. To coincide with the release of the artwork I've recently completed, I'll fire this sucker back up shortly. I'll be posting the usual inane oldies-but-goodies and I'll sprinkle in the new work here and there for taste.
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Now playing: Gossil - Mookalooka
via FoxyTunes

Where The Hell Have You Been, Asshat?

Okay. I heard ya. I haven't put anything up here on the blog in quite some time. Well, I'm taking a short vacation this week, and when I come back I'll go back to posting the same stuff I was posting before. I do have a couple things in the works that will debut here, so check back often.
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Now playing: Gorillaz - O Green World
via FoxyTunes

Just what the hell is going on here?!

Okay, okay. You may (or may not) have noticed that I've taken a long break from posting stuff to the blog. My original goal was to post something once a day for a solid month. I did that and then some. I still have TONS of older stuff I can post. But I want to set things up where there are running themes along with the possibility of posting topical and relevant new content. It'll probably mean I'll get away from posting daily to posting something 2 or 3 times a week. I'm currently completing some new drawings and scanning older stuff with the goal of relaunching my MAD World. Keep checking back, I'll be posting the new stuff very soon. I promise . . . really.

I also intend to follow through on Mr. Zombie and Chad.

Don't say I didn't warn ya'll.

Goofy #122 - NASA Today 2

Part 2 of the NASA Today comic from 1979. Where this comic was going next is a mystery, a story that's lost to the ages. I can't remember what art or storyline was to come next. You can see where all those years of reading Mad magazine really rubbed off on the younger me. I'm lucky to be scanning these pages now, the paper and markers aren't in the best condition.
(Felt tip on drawing paper.)

Goofy #121 - NASA Today 1

Okay, I took another weekend off. To make up for that, I'll post what are the oldest sketches added to the blog to date. I did these drawings back when I was still in high school in 1979. NASA was having a tough time of it and I thought they could use a little positive PR. This sketch is the first of two I did as a possible comic solution for the situation.
(Felt tip on drawing paper.)