Thunderhead, Ink.

All in Color for a Dime!

2008-01-20T21:04:00.001-05:00

Just got a file back from Terry over at Students of the Unusual horror anthology. The Zombie Biker in color. It will be featured on the back cover for the giant sized SOTU music special. Ask your retailer to order plenty from the February Previews! Just click on for a larger view. Enjoy!

I know sci-fi, too.

2007-12-24T18:05:00.001-05:00

	I received 85 credits on The Sci Fi Sounds Quiz How much of a Sci-Fi geek are you?
Take the Sci-Fi Movie Quiz canon s5 is

Thanks to Craig over at The Zone. (By the way, I beat ya!)

"No king or prince has lived a better life." Evel Kneivel (1938 - 2007)

2007-11-30T17:29:00.000-05:00

Ceasar's Palace, The Snake River Canyon,13 buses at Wembley Stadium, The tank full of live sharks at the Chicago Amphitheater, The 40 broken bones, hero to this then 7 year old boy and yes, the Kenner action figure with wind up motorcycle. Rest easy.

And now, on to bigger and better things!

2007-11-23T19:27:00.000-05:00

Finally, a new post! Hopefully, I'm back in the groove here for the time being. Looking back through the posts, I see I did not show the final drawing for the Zombie Biker pin up I did for the horror comic Students of the Unusual. Well, here it is. It's a little different from the original prelim sketch I did a while back as you can see. I decided to go a little more scary, a little more emaciated, a little more ominous. Hope you all like it! I can finally get back to getting some commissions done, which I'll post in the days to come.

Hi, All!

2007-10-27T12:55:00.000-04:00

Lot's going on the last month. Moving, settling in, and finishing up loose end jobs. New entries coming soon! Promise!

The end of an era.

2007-09-14T21:16:00.000-04:00

Good ol' X-51, BBP'S mascot.

This past week saw the end of a truly great podcast, The Marvel Bullpen Bulletins Podcast. For the past year, hosts VinceB and David Price brought us a lot of insight,laughter, aggravation,(mostly aggravation.)and just straight up cool conversation about not just comics, but pop culture in general. Two of the best guys I've ever known. BBP's forums were the absolute best forums around. Friendly people all talking about what they loved best, and I was very proud to be a part of it.
The good news is, David will be doing a brand new podcast over at Comic Book Noise called Marvel Noise. Do yourself a favor, join the forum, stop by next Wednesday and check it out. You'll love it or I'll give you your money back.
Click here for coolness.

Heckrider

2007-09-10T12:51:00.000-04:00

"Gimme Shelter" by the Stones keeps playing in my head when I look at my son's latest picture.....

Zombie Biker!

2007-08-24T22:32:00.000-04:00

Here is a preliminary brush pen sketch for a pin up I'm doing for the cool ass horror anthology Students of the Unusual. It'll probably end up being a night scene with some swirly monster type clouds in the background. I just wanted to get a feel for the character. I'll post more as it goes!

It's in the can!

2007-08-14T13:00:00.000-04:00

I'm going out of town for a few days to visit family, but before I go, I thought I would post up a peek at the Cysco Kid Wyatt Earp book. All fans of manly western action should love this one! Click for larger!

Mike Weiringo (1963-2007)

2007-08-13T12:46:00.000-04:00

I don't even know what to say. Rest in peace and thank you for bringing so much joy to those who loved what you did.

Can you see it now?

2007-07-18T09:22:00.000-04:00

A little better scan of that Iron Man sketch from my earlier post. Good news is, it's now found a home sweet home.

Some folks have asked for a bigger view of the Godzilla / Gamera page. A few years back, Georges Jeanty (American Way) and I, who are both big Godzilla fans, tried to put together some sample pages to send in to Dark Horse for their old Godzilla series. This is the only page I could find from that old project.

I don't even know what this is from or for. Probably for my own amusement. My pencils, my inks. From the looks of the line work, it was done back in the 90's! Geez! I'm really bearing my soul for you folks!

Rick James was right......

2007-07-13T23:19:00.000-04:00

I'm in love with Mary Jane.

Not so much this guy, though.

Telephone doodles

2007-07-12T14:44:00.000-04:00

I keep a pad of paper by the telephone to take down numbers and notes and junk, but usually just end up doodling junk while I talk. Here's the result.

The Venom is from my "real" sketchbook, though.

Pulp Friction

2007-07-10T16:43:00.000-04:00

Just another little Pulpy sketchbook drawing. The face is a little wonky, but hey. They can't all be masterpieces. (I know, I know. I come close.)

El Sketcho!

2007-07-03T23:22:00.000-04:00

Just a few sketches I thought I'd share. These first three are from a sketchbook I use as an exercise to keep my brush control fresh and new. The actual size is roughly 4x5, and the paper is a very pulpy, porous grade of paper that "bleeds" ink if you apply too much pressure on your brush. So, a very light touch is needed. I try to cram as much detail into the piece a I can without having it bleed on me. Enjoy!

Everybody loves The Goon!

Playing around with brush pens....

I'll try to post more sketchbook stuff in the future! Hope you guys enjoy it!

"Hon, close the screen door. Galactus is coming."

2007-06-19T12:45:00.000-04:00

Ok. I went to see this movie last night. My friend wanted to pay my way just to get me to go, but I refused, not wanting my opinion of it to be tainted (giggle...he said taint.) by any outside influences such as a free ticket.
Let me just preface this by saying that I love the FF. My opinions of what an FF movie should be are somwhere in the middle of Indiana Jones meets Star Wars meets Doc Savage. And that's not what I'm gettin' from my FF movies these days. If you enjoyed these movies, that's great! I would never hope to detract from anyone else's enjoyment of them. I just have my own hopes and expectations of an FF movie.

I will admit, this movie was better than the last. But again, that's not saying much. I still had great problems with how the movie is cast. Jessica Alba is not Sue Storm. I don't buy it. It really takes me out of the movie everytime I see her try to act like she is.
Thing and Johnny are pretty dead on character-wise. Johnny actually had a character arc in this one. I just like Ben to be a little more massive and stand out even more visually. And Doc Doom? Don't get me started on that preening girly man. Victor Von Doom, monarch and sovereign lord, king of Latveria is not in this movie. (Better Doom armor this time around, though.)

These are kinda petty things though. My main problems are as follows:
The running time. 95 minutes? For the motherscratchin' Galactus story? C'mon!!! The first half hour is all about weddings and people walking and talking. Spider-man 3 gets the 2 1/2 hour treatment and FF gets this? How about a little more of Doom in Latveria? He awakens there, pulls his mask off, then leaves? How about a little more than that? How about some Surfer flashbacks on how he came to be in the service of a giant storm cloud? Is the cloud Galactus' true form, or just his machine for draining the Earth? The ease in which the Surfer dispatches the cloud at the end makes me think this is the case, but it's never explained. I'm not even bitchin' that Galactus wasn't a guy in a big purple helmet, but be a little more clear about what he is." Galactus consumes thermal...and organic matter." is about all the explanation we got. I know they're making a Surfer movie, and will probably cover all that there. So if that's the case, then go do a Surfer movie without the FF, and tell a different FF story. We're just being asked to take too many things at face value in this movie, and I felt cheated that we should have been shown so much more.
I just feel that Stan and Jack's Galactus trilogy was told with such wild imagination and sense of wonder and WOW! This has never happened before kind of innocence, that the movie could reflect that a little better.(setting the story in the 60's, perhaps?]Not just make it feel like a menace of the month type story.
Sorry for the long post. I know I normally do my liitle hit and run posts and I'm out, but I'm pretty passionate about the FF, and just want to see them done right and not as just another routine superhero movie. Not when they are so much more than that.

How about next movie, adapt the Negative Zone story in Anuual #6 where the boys travel into Annihilusville for the Cosmic Control Rod!
Maybe directed by Guillermo Del Toro...?

Just my thoughts......do with them what you will.

I originally posted this on The Bullpen Bulletins Podcast forum. If you're not listening to it, you're no friend of mine. Click the link on the right and give a listen. Don't make Vince and David come to your house and make you listen. Yeah, it's like A-1 sauce. It's THAT important.

Hard as gun metal and twice as deadly....this is how it all went down.

2007-06-15T17:59:00.000-04:00

DAY 1: Famous Faces and Funnies

My brother Rob (left) helps me set up for the day at Evil Rick's Famous Faces and Funnies.

Rick has a kewl shop and is one of the nicest guys I've ever met! If you're in Melbourne, Florida look him up!

Good thing Andrew brought some reference for his World of Warcraft sketch!

Don't ask.

Terry Cronin of the awesome horror anthology, Students of the Unusual stopped by to shoot the breeze with us! You should be readin' his comic!

Day 2: Big Dog Comics!

Rob's got my back at the kickoff!

Captain Joel.....or Mr. Tinkertrain?

Ok, enough fondling for one day!

Two Chads band together to form one giant wall of death!

The Gravediggerz combine to form Wall of Death2:Electric Boogaloo.

The infamous unclaimed Iron Man sketch.

The whole Hee Haw gang. Thanks for an unforgettable time, my friends!

Sometimes family is just family: The Fantastic Tour 2007

2007-06-15T09:00:00.000-04:00

Captain Joel T. Kilmer and me.

The reason I named this entry like I did is because it's true. Whether it's blood relation or not, sometimes family is just family. Growing up, we did a lot of moving around and never stayed in one place too long. My way of coping with that was to never become too emotionally attached to whoever I made friends with. I knew we'd be moving on sooner or later, so who needs the heartbreak? As I've gotten older, having my own family, the need to settle down and become stable has become more important to me. My relationships are more important to me. I'm moving more out of that "good things never last, so I should move on before it ends." part of my life.

After my dad's passing a couple of years back, I re-evaluated what family and relationships mean to me. I figured that I knew a lot of people, but were any of them my friends? And if I found that some weren't, was it my fault? Truth to tell, half the time it very well might have been. But when you have a few folks that still love you nevertheless, You can consider yourself very lucky. And I do. I feel like the friends I make and have right now, are the ones I'll have til I die. And to me, that's sayin' somethin'.

My dear friend and Brutha from anutha mutha, Joel Kilmer went all out setting up some store appearances while I was in Florida visiting my brother Rob last week. I got to meet local comic guru of Melbourne and all around good guy, "Evil Rick" Shea, Rick has an awesome shop and a great hospitable staff. Made some good friends there.
I never laugh so hard as when I'm hanging around the "Dog Pound" there at Joel's shop, Big Dog Comics. We only get to see each other but once a year, but it's like sticking a bookmark in until next time. Joel really does it up right with cake, food, and a whole clubhouse atmoshpere that's missing from a lot of shops these days.
See, the thing is, I'm not exactly what you would call a big superstar artist by any definition, and I'm well aware if it. I'm just a simple guy who loves comics, and loves being able to make people a little happy by drawing them. That doesn't make me a superstar. What does is how Joel and the rest of my friends make me feel everytime I set foot in town.

Doc Bruce Banner, belted by Gamma rays, turns into the Hulk!

2007-06-14T07:50:00.000-04:00

WARNING! SPOILERS!I heart the Hulk. (As should you.) He's not my absolute favorite character, (Ben Grimm) but,it's a character I've always identified with, no matter his incarnation. To be able to just turn into a big green (grey) giant who can level cities just because he's mad enough to do it always held a strange fascination with me. You don't know how bad I wanted that kind of superpower as a kid. Hell, even as an adult. Some idiot takes your parking space? RAAAAAR! You can toss his car into the next county. Boss piss you off? Make 'im fecalate his drawers with healthy blast of gamma irradiated halitosis. That's always been the draw for me with the Hulk. Just a bunch of smashing, dumb, chaotic fun. Especially through the Bill Mantlo and Len Wein runs on Incredible Hulk where Smashfodder like Cobalt Man and U-Foes existed just to be crushed to hell by ol' Greenskin. He wasn't so smart, but you felt sympathy for the big brute. He just wanted to be left alone. But as history has shown, that ain't playin' around here.

Which brings me to WORLD WAR HULK.

Greg Pak is kind of treading familiar ground with the Hulk as far as the Planet Hulk storyline goes. The Hulk on trial, getting transported to some strange new place, falling in love with one of the local higher ups(Jarella), death of said local. It's been done before, but Greg Pak brings a new emotional level to the game. Where the Jarella saga was told in just a few issues, we're sad for the Hulk when she dies, but it isn't as affecting because we don't really know Jarella that well. There wasn't really as great of an emotional connection as there was with Oldstrong.

Pak has fleshed out a world and characters that we have come to know, understand, and care about. The story has played out over the course of enough issues for this to happen. Pak actually made me feel as if I was there every step of every battle, bled from the same wounds, suffered the same losses the Hulk and his Warbound did. So when that time came when the Worldbreaker prophecy came true, and everyone died (including the Hulk's unborn child?), that emotional investment was strong enough that I felt the same rage and desire for revenge that the Hulk did. Greg Pak made me as a reader understand it.

After reading World War Hulk #1, I was left with a dreadful sense of satisfaction. And the realization that this shit aint over yet, made me shiver a little. You have a Hulk who is now very smart and cunning. A master strategist. Unlimited strength and power. In one issue, Black Bolt had what looked like the literal snot kicked outta him, (and we don't even know what happened to rest of the Inhumans) Black Bolt held up like a rag doll as an example to the rest o' you super sumbitches, Avengers tower flattened to the effin' ground, and Tony (I might as well had been wearin' tin foil) Stark at the bottom of the rubble. This is already doin' things for me that Civil War could only dream of. This could be the event that really changes things. I mean, when you read it, I'm stumped at how Pak will end this after all the wonderful carnage of the just this first issue. It's old school comic storytelling with a modern sensibility, and I am so along for the ride.

You won't see me reviewing too many comics here, for the main fact that I suck at it. But this one moved me. I can't wait for the next one.

I know. I'm a late poster.

2007-06-11T11:01:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry. For those of you who are kind enough and actually bothered to read this blog, posts have been less and less frequent. Deadlines and kids put time at a premium. And I'll be honest, it sucks having to always feel like you're promoting yourself or selling yourself. But it's a necessary evil these days it seems.(The reason I hate MySpace. But that's another story.)I just wanna draw comics and share what I do with the people who appreciate it. No pretentious bullshit. No fake ass sucking up. If you like it you like it, if you don't, then the hell wit ya. I just want to have a place where I can relax, talk about what I want, post some art, and my friends and family can just stop by and check out what I'm up to. And Y'know, there's plenty of comic artists out there who think they're bigger than their britches, and think their shit don't stink. But why would I want to strive to be like that? Self importance doesn't make you a superstar. It's just comic books. If you can write 'em or draw 'em, good for you. But if you're the one buyin' and readin' 'em, seems to me that's the more important aspect of the whole cycle. But anyway, I'm rambling. I can talk about this in another post. So, will I keep my MySpace page? My ComicSpace page? Yeah, just because they do serve some kind of purpose, despite my contempt. But here's where to come for the real me. Better than fried gold, too bad to be had, killer of giants, just little ol' me.

My blog is worth.......

2007-05-22T13:57:00.000-04:00

I actually thought it would be less than this!

My blog is worth $1,129.08.
How much is your blog worth?

Oh, well. I'm still just a young, up and coming blog!
Thanks to Mr. Zablo!

The Fantastic Tour 2007

2007-05-18T19:01:00.000-04:00

It's that time again! If you're gonna be around the treasure coast area in Florida May 31st - June 2nd, Come and see me! I'll be doing a couple of store appearances there, and I can't wait! First, I'll be at Famous Faces and Funnies on Thursday, May 31st, and then over to my brutha from anutha mutha, Capt. Joel T. Kilmer's Big Dog Comics on Saturday, June 2nd. So, come get some!

Hulk Smaaaaaaaaaash!

2007-04-09T13:58:00.000-04:00

A Hulk commission I did this past weekend. Click for larger! Hope you enjoy it!

My interview with LOP Magazine

2007-04-05T22:42:00.000-04:00

Just a little short interview I did with Hatch Tarr of LOP Magazine for everyone to check out.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=17537770&blogID=249790437&MyToken=bc649038-9089-473b-8c46-cb2807a346c8

To Geek or not to Geek.

2007-03-27T08:13:00.000-04:00

Recently, I went to dinner with my wife, a friend of hers from work and her husband. It was a pleasant enough time. The conversation was good. We talked about a lot of different things like favorite movies, TV shows, music and stuff like that. Later on, we drove home for dessert. While the ladies were in the kitchen, the husband, "Jim" we'll call him, and I talked about "guy" things.
NCAA, football, how Gracie should have just stayed in retirement and kept his dignity. Casino Royale could very well be the best bond movie EVER. Y'know, real "he-man" talk.
When, all of the sudden, "Jim" sees a Superman Statue on the mantle, my Eternals Omnibus on the coffee table, and various issues of Criminal and Iron Fist spread about the place.
"Oh, you're son must like comic books." said Jim. Not catching on right away, I replied, " Well, he's only 17 months old, but he does like looking at the pictures."
With almost a look of shock, Jim said, " So, this isn't his stuff?"
"No, it's mine." I said suspiciously.
"HA!" He bellowed. " You're a comic book geek!" he proclaimed proudly, as if he had just dropped a newspaper at his master's feet and was now awaiting his tartar control dog biscuit to come flying through the air.
Mind you, I had gotten along with this fellow up to this point. So, I decided to let him play his hand and see where he was going with this before I flipped his ass like a cheese omelette.
I said, "Well, I like comic books, if that's what you mean. And I make money drawing them."
Disregarding anything I just said, Jim quickly said, "Man, I used to beat the crap out of the comic book geeks at my school. Me and a bunch of my buddies used to torture guys like you. Wow, comic books. Really, dude?"
Hulk........angry! Hulk Smash Ignorance!!!!!! No, wait....think of.... wife and kid. Think of Jim's wife and kids. It wouldn't be fair that his children would be raised without a father should I release my vengeance. Instead, I bit my lip until it bled and kept my mouth shut. My wife would thank me later on when I found out she heard the conversation from the next room.
The rest of the night crawled by very slowly after that.
Later, I found myself asking, "What the hell was that all about?" Geek? Me? A geek?
I never got picked on in school for reading comics. Hell, at 225 lbs, a wrestler and football player extraordinare, I didn't get picked on for anything. But I always hung out with the other kids who read comics. Comics gave me a way to express myself that football or wrestling never did, even though I enjoyed those too. I was deeply imbedded in comic culture at an early age, and comics have played a big part in my life from one point to the next on into adulthood.
I never considered myself a geek or any of my friends who read comics as geeks. But, some people do, I guess. I guess what sticks in my craw is why someone who reads comics should be considered a geek in the first place. Or to have any kind of negativity placed on them for that matter. "Jim'' and I were man-bonding until he found out I read comics. No difference between his likes and mine except for comics. This lack of understanding of what comics are about bother me too. Even more so than the geek thing. People still think comics are kid's stuff.
I see comics (and I know you do too,) as being so much more than that. They encompass such a diverse spectrum of stories and art these days, comics can be all things to all people. So, am I a geek just for the fact that I like comics? Okay, I can live with that. So can Jim. I gave him some issues of Garth Ennis' Punisher and some Ed Brubaker's Criminal to read It must have hurt really bad for him ask if I had any other comics he might like. One thing's for sure. It hurt a lot less than having his jaw knocked loose. Even though it would have made me feel better.
Have a great day, all you geeks, wherever you are!

If I inked Jack....

2007-03-23T23:30:00.000-04:00

Like a lot of folks, I love Jack Kirby. It was always a dream of mine to work with Jack one day, but since his passing, I knew it wasn't going to happen. Going through some old photocpies of mine, I found some Kirby pencilled pin ups I had in my files, and thought I would try to ink one. And here ya go.

Let me know what you think.

Is it me, or........?

2007-03-12T10:25:00.000-04:00

I've been a pretty regular viewer of Heroes since it first aired, and I've let a few of the story elements slide with regard to originality, but after reading this story over at Comic Book Resources http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=9944, I have to say, if this story is true and not just a fake out or misdirection, This series is starting to take more than a little from Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's Watchmen. Not even a homage, mind you, but just an outright lift of the whole story. I won't go over every detail, but check out the story and tell me if I'm wrong.

Why Kurt Russell should just go ahead and play God in his next movie.

2007-02-20T21:20:00.000-05:00

I saw Ghost Rider this past weekend and saw a lot of kewl trailers. Spidey 3, FF2, 300, BUT THE ONE REASON I WOULD GLADLY PAY $8 AGAIN TO SEE GHOST RIDER WAS THIS TRAILER:Oh, my friggin' lawd! Once again proving my point that I've been trying to prove for the last 30 years: KURT RUSSELL IS THE MAN. Any body wanna fight about it? I didn't think so. And bring back Plisskin!!!!!

Don't you wish your bookshelf was hot like mine?

2007-01-25T14:07:00.000-05:00

Just got it today. Life just got interesting again.

If you want it, here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Creature-Black-Lagoon-Universal-Monsters/dp/1595820337/sr=1-1/qid=1169752297/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-8863835-1590052?ie=UTF8&s=books

Movies I'd rather see Hugh Grant in instead of another #*@%%$# Romantic Comedy Pt. 1

2007-01-25T13:47:00.000-05:00

Breakin' 3: Revenge of the Boogaloo Hugh
Doom 2: They're not Hughman
Brokeback Mountain 2: (No, wait. That's a romantic comedy.)
Silent Hill 2: Scary is the Hugh.
Hughniversal Soldier
My Super Ex Girlfriend is a Ho!

Feel free to come up with your own.

New Cisco Kid / Wyatt Earp pages

2007-01-23T13:50:00.000-05:00

Here's a few more pages of the Cisco /Wyatt book. Let me know what you think.

American Liedol

2007-01-19T09:04:00.000-05:00

Ok, enough is enough. First of all, I admit, I watch American Idol. But, I never watch or care about watching it after the auditon shows are over. Mainly because I love seeing huge ego morons get shot down on national TV. After that, I just don't care who goes on to be voted off or who wins. But to see a cocky, no talent know it all, who thinks they're all that, get blasted by Simon (and now, even Randy), Is just to good to pass up for me.
What I do have a problem with now, after watching the first two episodes of the season premiere, is that cruelty is the name of the game.
After the William Hung season, a lot of people say, " All these freaks are on the show now, just trying to be the next William Hung." And true, we see a lot of, how should I say it, "untraditional" contestants on the show. But is it legit? Can it be a set up?
Think of it for a moment. These folks go through a buttload of regional competitions that Randy, Paula, and Simon have nothing to do with before they even get to the auditions on TV. So they would have us believe that these "untraditional" folks made it past thousands of others who can probably sing their spleens out, go on tv, only to be screwed, blued and tatooed once they get to that point? C'mon!
Clearly, these folks are being put through as comedic fodder for the show, to be humiliated for the entertainment of the masses. Conjecture on my part I know, but this is how it seems to me.
Don't get me wrong. I love to see a smarty pants, jackass get his or her just desserts as much as the next person, but clearly, some of these people are innocents that just don't know they are being exploited. And if you watched these first two shows, you know who I'm talking about. I swear I wanted to cry for some of them. I think next season they are thinking about installing a trap door in front of the judge's table, above a pit of starving lions.
I don't think I will watch anymore. Not because I think i'm on some moral high ground. ( Just ask anyone that knows me. I've done my share of Jesse Custer type activities.), I just want something more from my entertainment than the adult eqivalant of making fun of the ugly kid on the playground. Every body just pick up a comic and read it instead.

World War Z...An AURAL History of the Zombie War.

2006-12-27T14:31:00.000-05:00

Anyone who has read this book, (and it better be everybody)knows that not only is it one of the best Zombie novels ever, but in some ways, the most realistic. Recounting events of the Zombie War, or "World War Z'', through people who actually lived through or fought in the zombie outbreak. And this is what sets the book apart from just a run of the mill horror novel. Through these recalled events, Brooks actually makes this feel like it really happened. I don't want to get into a review of the book, so I'll get to the point.

I loved this book so much, I did something I don't normally do. I also bought the audio cd. After reading the book, I was thinking back on how creepy, funny, and sometimes touching these accounts were to read, and said to myself, "Self?" And I said, "What?" And I said, "Why wait for the movie? Seek out the audio cd." To that I said, "Ok."

So I did.

It is AWESOME.

It brings a whole new dimension to the book to which it can be considered a companion piece. One of my favorite sections of the book in which Christina Eliopolis recounts her trek through the zombie infested swamp makes you just feel like you're right there with her.

The cast is pretty impressive as well. Alan Alda, Henry Rollins, Carl and Rob Reiner, Mark Hammill, John Turturro, and the rightly incredible Jurgen Prochnow all just bring a sense of realism to it that most audio books just don't bring to the table.

So, whether you like zombies or not, I highly recommend not only the book World War Z, but the audio cd as well.

Just go get it.

Oh, and don't forget Brooks' other novel, The Zombie Survival Guide.

You're gonna need it one day. I just know it.

Whatuffa hold thu pin lie kiss?

2006-12-27T07:58:00.000-05:00

Never having any formal art training (I know. It shows.), most of my training as far as inking goes, came from watching how others used the tools of the trade. Living in Florida most of my life, I was able to come into contact with a lot of other artists in the business. There seems to be an awful lot of comic people who live in or retire to Florida.
Every summer I would get to all the conventions in the area that I could and try to soak up as much knowledge as I could from different artists. As they say, practice makes perfect, so that's what I did. Mainly with a brush.
I used the brush for everything. Tiny details, backgrounds, tiny people in backgrounds, tiny backgrounds with people in them, a brush for everything.
The good news? Very adept with a brush.
Bad news? Had to learn to use all the other tools.
But, I was very fortunate to have people to ask and learn from, so that didn't take very long.

The reason I bring all this up is, when I'm asked questions about how to ink, I find It usually very difficult to explain terms of the trade to people.I can answer specific questions, or show you how I do it, but to actually explain how to ink is a different story. Since most of my art edjamacation has come from watching the techniques of others and how they apply the tools of the trade, I find myself at a disadvantage when it comes to explaining point A to point B. I know, I know, I could learn, but there are folks who can do it a lot better than I can, so why not let them do it?

So, when it comes to actually doing that, please look at Gary Martin's book, The Art of Comic Book Inking.
http://bookstores.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-709
Not only is it a very valuable book for amateurs, but professionals as well (yes, I own a copy), with plenty of insight from not only Mr. Martin himself, but other pro inkers in the biz. And the title is not just a fancy name for the book. Gary shows why inking is indeed an important art form in and of itself. You wanna know about contour lines? In there. How much can you expect to make as an inker? In there. What kind of beverage does Terry Austin drink? In there. Plus, I hear the second edition comes with blue line photocopied pencils from Jack Kirby and John Buscema! That alone is worth the price !

Another good way to find out about how to do something is ask a teacher! And Ben Towle is such a man. Ben teaches comics here in the Winston Salem area, he also is a talented comic book creator. Author of the graphic novel Farewell, Georgia and the series Midnight Sun from Kitchen Sink Press and various anthologies and mini-comics. Ben knows his stuff, so check out his site and check out his inking article under the Teaching heading . http://www.benzilla.com/?page_id=513

So, If inking is what you wanna go after, (and I hope you do.) learn all you can from wherever you can. And don't take no bum steers!

"And you knew who you were theeeeen...Goils were Goils and men were men!"

2006-12-22T20:43:00.000-05:00

It seems to me that these days either I'm an old fart (which might be true.) , or maybe I just don't have the same sense of wonder anymore. Now, I don't mean comics aren't good anymore, I still love today's comics dearly, but growing up in the '70's and seeing ads like this in the latest issue of Master of Kung Fu were almost as fun to read as the entire comic itself.

Ahhhh, they just don't sell 'em like that anymore. I just remember as a youngster seeing these ads and these books and just feeling like there was just a whole other world out there that I was missing out on. I had to be a part of it! All my lunch money, milk money, and lawn mowing money went to this little piece of heaven:

C'mon, Trimpe and Godzilla together in one monstrous mag! FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! You are a liar if you tell me that did not send shivers down your spine.

I feel fortunate to have grown up in this period. Yeah, there was a lot of crap out then too, but I didn't care. I got to see John Buscema draw the freakin' Monster of Frankenstein, Finally! In his own mag!

Gene Colan drawing Dracula, the book he was born to do (IMHO), Mike Ploog was all over the horror mags like Frankenstein, Werewolf by night, Man-thing, and Ghost Rider! Get 'em while they're hot!!!!!!

While kid friendly Steve Austin was running his little bionic butt around all over the place in slow motion, In Astonishing Tales, The absolute ugliest but most kick butt cyborg ever created was blastin' fools left and right and likin' it:

That awesome cover alone makes me wish yesterday did die today.

Jim Starlin was trippin' us out with Adam Warlock. Marvel two-in-one was tryin' to convince us that the Thing could team up with someone different every month, still have his adventures with the FF, and not even be a little tired. He was wearin' that smokin' exo skeleton back then, too. Meanwhile, Spidey was doin' the same junk over in Team Up, and no one noticed superheroes were literally flying into one another on a regular basis. Awesome!! Just means more comics I could read.

And a book that gave me nightmares but i could not stop buying:

Not to mention Kamandi, and Omac as well. And yes, I did read and loved Devil Dinosaur.

(I really did think America was going to die. Hey, I was 9 years old and comic-gullible.)

Maybe younger readers do feel that same sense of WOW that I felt about comics that I did growing up, and I hope they do. I still get that little twitch right before I read Savage Dragon, or Godland or even The Walking Dead. The feeling of it being something new where anything can (and will) happen. Maybe as we get older, we need to get our kicks in different ways, so I guess comics were still kind of new to me at that age, and I got wrapped up in the obsession of them, but DANGITALL! Bill Everett was inking Ross Andru on the Defenders! Whew! Only two more lawns to mow and it's mine! MINE I TELLS YA!

Martin Nodell (1915-2006)

2006-12-12T20:06:00.000-05:00

Goodbye, Marty.

The Playstation 3.......It Hurts!!!!!

2006-11-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

As reports are coming in that people are actually being robbed and shot(?!!!) in line coming out of the stores with their brand new Playstation 3 consoles, Sony has issued the following statement on purchasing safety:

1) When leaving store, do not hold Playstation 3 near any vital organs or head.

2) Bring an old toaster. If assailant demands your Playstation 3, flash the toaster into the sun, blinding the assailant, and kick him in the ding ding.

3) If assailant has grabbed your console and is trying to rip it from your grasp, say the following: "Hey, wait! I have to tell you something important!" When assailant pauses to hear what you have to say, kick him in the ding ding.

4) If you are waiting in line all night outside for your console, please be advised that all dead bodies will be shoved aside and lose their place in line. (dead bodies will be verified by a kick to the ding ding.)

5) Only assailants should be kicked in the ding ding. Store managers, stock people, friends and parents SHOULD NOT be kicked in the ding ding.

This is the official word from Sony, so Happy shoppin', everybody!

Wyatt Earp vs. The Cisco Kid

2006-11-03T13:41:00.000-05:00

Here's one of the first pages from the Wyatt/Cisco book. Eric J's pencils are pretty tight, and not much room for interpretation, but hopefully I was able to let a little of my style show through.

Pencils:

And the inks:
More to come! Let me know what you think!

When Worlds Collide!!!

2006-10-31T21:24:00.000-05:00

Captain Joel says.........."Best store appearance ever!"

The Wyatt/Cisco Kid pages from Eric J. are in, so I'll be working on that and posts might be a little sparse until I'm done. I'll post some finished pages when I'm done with the first few. The pencils look awesome, and are gonna be fun to ink.

I got a chance to go to Florida a few months back to visit family and do a store appearance for my good buddy Captain Joel Kilmer, and boy, did we have a blast! Here's some pics from the big event Joel billed, " WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE TOUR, 2006!" The incredible Heikes were there in full force also, and of course, as always with the Captain, FREE CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nobody does it up like Joel! Oh, yeah..... There was ice cream, too.

Like I said, the incredible Heikes were there, who are quite possibly the hardest working duo in comics. not only do they put out their own comic book, 21st Centurions, but also doing duty (which sounds like doing doodies) on Femforce for AC Comics as well. Not to mention all their freelance work. Mark has always been one of the coolest guys I've met in the comics biz. His knowledge of artists ranging from the golden age to the fecal age (the 90's if ya didn't know.) is boundless! And a dog gone better artist you won't find anywhere. Unless you're looking for Stephanie, that is. We all did a Fantastic Four jam piece while we were there that turned out pretty awesome. Talking over the good ol' days and catching up was so much fun I think it put Mark to sleep. Oh, well, if ya can't run wit da big dogs, stay on da poach! At least he looks peaceful......................

Mucho thanks to Joel's wife susan, who hooked up all the food and great hospitality, and she also avoided being kidnapped by Dr. Doom!

And the biggest event of the day came when The Gravediggerz came out of retirement to defend their title as da heavyweight champs of da ENTIYA EARF!

That's right. You can cower in fear now.

????????????????????????????

2006-10-28T19:59:00.000-04:00

I don't even have a smart ass comment for this........just enjoy.

Dang it all! I was hoping they wouldn't notice!

2006-10-25T10:30:00.000-04:00

Rich Johnston posted this little beauty on his Lying in the Gutters column at CBR on Monday:

If this is too small to read, click on this link and scroll down:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13

Now get out there and draw, Team!

Back at the Farm.......

2006-10-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

My next project coming up is a Cisco Kid/Wyatt Earp comic for Moonstone pencilled by Eric Johnson, co-creator of Rex Mundi for Image comics. Still waiting for those pages to come in, but in the meantime, Here's a pic of my soon-to-be chick magnet son that's just too cute NOT to post. His hobbies are drooling, eating, making a poopy diaper right after I change his wet one, laughing at me as I change the poopy diaper, and ripping any comics that I'm foolish enough to leave lying around. (hey, maybe he's not that cute after all.)

A Simple Creed

2006-10-21T21:26:00.000-04:00

When I used to make the rounds at convention a few years back,I had not been in comics for very long, and a lot of kids would come up and ask me what it took to break into comics. More times than not, instead of giving them the ol' "You really need to work on your anatomy." B.S., I would try to tell them it takes HARD WORK. At that point, I really felt that's what it took. Sure, you have to know anatomy, perspective, tools of the trade, but you have to work hard in order to master these things. Before I got into comics, I spent a lot of time in jobs that required hard work. Construction, plumbing, and drywall to name a few. Plus, growing up on a farm with all the chores an whatnot that farmwork entails, it was all hard work.

But it instilled a pretty good work ethic. With these kinds of jobs, if you did good work, you advanced and made more money. Hard work was the name of the game.

My very first comic assignment was for AC Comics' Good Girl Art Quarterly, it was over Mark Moore's pencils. Looking back, artists always shiver at their early work, but I look back at it fondly as a job that I worked very hard to do the best possible job I could. With it being my first comic job, I wanted to do well, and thus, recieve more work. And more work I got!

I loved working for AC. (Still do.) Mark Heike, "Wild"Bill Black, and the gang there did things the way I liked it. It seemed we all shared the same creed. Hard work pays off. Through AC, I got to meet or hear all the stories of all the old school comic creators who also shared this outlook. I still consider it a great honor to this day to have inked several issues of Femforce over the great Dick Ayers' pencils. Plus, hearing all the great stories he had. And meeting heroes of mine like Dick Giordano, Pat Broderick, Mike Zeck, Marty Nodell, and all the ol' Orlando-con gang was just awesome to me. Like a dream come true.

And as time went on, I could see the difference in my inking from issue to issue. There's nothing more satisfying than to know that the work you put in is paying off for you.

As I branched out later to other companies, this creed of hard work did not necessarily hold true. Rarely did I see people get by on talent and hard work alone. Nepotism and shadiness were often the order of the day. So was not getting paid. But that's all part of the game too. I just consider myself lucky enough to have started out with such a great company right off the bat.

So, to anyone trying to break into comics:

1) WORK HARD

2) LEARN TO SEPARATE THE CRAP FROM THE GEMS WHEN PEOPLE ARE GIVING YOU ADVICE ON BREAKING INTO COMICS. IF IT SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONE'S GIVING YOU DA BUSINESS,THEY PROBABLY ARE.

3)WORK HARD

4) PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

5)WORK HARD AT PRACTICING

6) DON'T BE AFRAID YOU'RE GOING TO ASK A STUPID QUESTION. YOU NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING YOU CAN ABOUT THE BUSINESS SIDE OF COMICS AS WELL AS THE ARTISTIC SIDE, SO ASK EVERYBODY EVERYTHING. OR READ A BOOK ON IT.

7) TRY HARD NOT TO COMPROMISE WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT. (IT'S JUST COMIC BOOKS.) FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHAT YOU DO IN COMICS, OR IT JUST BECOMES A JOB.

8) Oh, yeah, and try to work on your anatomy.

...And a fine red mist it is, too!

2006-10-15T23:25:00.000-04:00

I love Superman.

That's no joke. I love all the different incarnations of Supes in the media over the years. The radio shows with Bud Collier, the movie serials, the newspaper strips, the Saturday morning cartoons, and the motion pictures.( Yes, even 3 and 4). But most of all, I love the Superman of the '40's. In the comics and movies. I love the Superman who was not all-powerful, and who didn't have a superpower for every occasion. Somehow it made it more real for me, more dramatic, to know that Supes had to strain a little to stop a train or lift a car. I grew up in the '70s and 80's reading Superman and never experienced this less powerful version until later in life. Through comic reprints and the wonderful Kitchen Sink reprints of the old newspaper strips, it opened up a whole new perspective on the old boy. Here, we had a hero who was most definately THE man to beat as far as superheroes went, but wasn't at the level of a god like he is today. He was SuperMAN. Having abilities far beyond those of mortal men, but still a man all the same. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster's rendition of Superman is still my favorite, too. Even throughout the movie serials and the '50's Adventures of Superman with the great George Reeves, Superman was portrayed as just a regular joe, but one with fantastic ablities. I mean full on punches to the bad guy's noggin with no explodin' heads! I can relate to that. Today, if Kal-el tried that crap, it would be a thrown punch followed by a fine, red mist. I have trouble swallowing the idea of a guy who can shatter mountains with one blow and yet have the complete control to punch out a bank robber and not blast him to smithereenies. Harder to relate to. Ah, well. Can't have it both ways.

Don't get me wrong though. As I said, I love Superman. And I understand that for the sake of more dramatic and exciting stories, he's had to become more and more powerful over the years. And I did get kind of hopeful when John Byrne scaled back Supes a little on his run a few years back. But now it seems the big guy is back to omni-powerful again. And that's ok. I just prefer the old fashoned Superman, that's all. The important thing is, Superman still stands for the same thing he always has, no matter who's drawing him, filming him, or animating him.

Doing the right thing.

Sounds corny in this day and age I know, but truth be told, that's the reason I like Superman so much. It's also one of the reasons his critics don't like him. " He should be darker." or " He should be more like this guy or that guy." To do that would change who he is as a character. Truth, justice, and all that jazz is who he is.

So, with all the hits and misses over the years, Supes will still be around for a long time no matter what incarnation. Hopefully still doing what he does best. The right thing.

(Sometimes not trying quite hard enough to do the right thing.)

AAAAARH, Matey....Snap on me Gun...Peg...Leg.

2006-10-13T18:22:00.000-04:00

I'm usually not the first geek in line to see a movie, nor would I EVER camp out for days ahead of time to get a ticket, but you better pray to the god of movie nerds you are not ahead of me in line and buy the last ticket to see this one. I will kill you for it.

WHY, YOU'RE NOTHIN' BUT A TRACER.....! YOU TRACER!

2006-10-12T21:26:00.000-04:00

A few years back in the late 90's., I did a little q&a session/demonstration on inking comics for Shelton Drum at the Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. Little did I know Kevin Smith was there in the audience. At least I think he might have been there. Well, he had to have been there. How else could he have lifted word for word the conversation from that demo and put it into the script of Chasing Amy?
"Yeah, so you just trace what he does, right?", or " Can't the penciller just trace his own work?", " Wow, I wish I could trace like you.", "Isn't this just glorified tracing?" and my favorite, " You should change your name to Tracy. Yeah, Tracy Tracington. Heh, heh, heh, yeah, heh, heeh, hehheee."
Truth is, Kevin wasn't there, but the frusration that the guy from My Name is Earl felt in his movie was all too real. Let me give some perspective:
When I was just a wee lad, any pennies I could scrap up from seat cushions, my dad's pockets, or other kid's lunch money,(just kidding.) went to comics. Now, back then, I was very comics savvy. Even more so than now. I could tell you who the penciller and inker were just by looking at the first page. This was part of the great pleasure I had back then of reading comics. I couldn't wait to see who was inking Trimpe on the Hulk for example. John or Marie Severin were my favorites, with Jack Abel running second. And oh, man....John Romita inking Gil Kane on Spider-man was like crack to me back then. And the then there was the book that brought it all home for me. The one that really made me want to know what inking was all about. When Joltin' Joe Sinnott took over inking Jack Kirby's pencils on the world's greatest comic magazine. Chic Stone, Dick Ayers, and those guys were good, as was Vince Colletta, (Who, in my humble opinion did a much better job inking Kirby on Thor.) but in 1965, Fantastic Four number 44, the beginning of the Inhumans saga, the FF comic truly grabbed ahold of it's claim as WORLD'S GREATEST COMIC MAGAZINE and never let go. And as great a fan as I am of Kirby, he was putting out a lot of work in those days, and sometimes his pencils could look a little sketchy. Don't get me wrong, all of the trademark Kirby power was there, but the inker had to bring something to the table, not just trace what Jack had put there. And Joe Sinnott absolutely did this. He complimented Jack's pencils perfectly, and elevated (again, my opinion) the FF to the legendary status that run has to this day. The heavy, solid blacks, and the confident line work of Mr. Sinnott showcased the fact that he was indeed a very competent artist in his own right. And there, my friends, is your lesson learned. A good inker has to be somewhat of an artist himself. If you're given a page of pencils, (and I have) that just look like two stick figures fighting over a piece of spaghetti, and the script says, "These are two Demi-gods fighting over a planet, a real epic space battle showing the essence of good and evil."what will you do? It all depends on what kind of artist you want to be. That's right. I said artist. Inkers are artists. Not tracers.
Sure, there are guys out there who do indeed just trace over what the penciller has put down, and that's ok if it works for them and they are lucky enough to get pencillers who put down every line and indicate where every black area should go, but the truth is, it will not always be that way. So, if you're gonna ink, ink well, my son. And if you're gonna be a bear, be a GRIZZLY!!!
I think if I had to ink Ben Affleck's pencils, I would be angry whether someone called me a tracer or not.

I think it will fly.....

2006-10-12T21:10:00.000-04:00

Hell, I'd read it. Just don't wait for the trade.

Finally!

2006-10-11T23:31:00.000-04:00

Finally finished inking Gabriel:Angel of Destruction #1 for Moonstone. Felt like FOR-E-VER!!
Here's some pages:
Page 1:

Page 2:

Page 3:

Here's a Pin-up I pencilled and inked for Mark and Stephanie Heike's 21st Centurions:

DevilBones is the name. Shapeshifting is his game. Centurions is a very cool book. You should check it out!

MEANWHILE, 23 YEARS LATER......

2006-10-11T20:34:00.000-04:00

Where has the time gone? It slips like water through the fingers of us older fellas, so some of you young bucks might not know what I mean, but my brother does. I have two brothers actually, but one I met for the first time 23 years ago. This first entry's for you, bud.
"Captain Joel" Kilmer, owner and operator of Big Dog Comics down in my hometown of Fort Pierce, Florida, celebrated 23 years of said business this past weekend. I could not be more proud or happier for him. From a modest little shop all those years ago, to the awesome space with the 2nd floor gaming loft that it is today, It's quite an accomplishment to still be around in the crazy comic book world. And thriving!
But the Captain is more than just a businessman, you see. 23 years ago, he also encouraged and helped out a young, aspiring artist who would not have done it on his own. Late nights practicing and drawing until our fingers were stiff was par for the course in those days. He never gave up on me, even though I probably would have on my own. And it paid off. I did alright in the comics business, and still fortunate enough to still be in it today.
As with a lot of friendships, we've had ups and we've had our downs, but we always find each other again, taking up right where we left off like no time has passed. But time IS passing, things change, lives take different paths, people come in and out of your life, but the beautiful thing about my brother Joel is that he's a constant. No matter if we are together in person, or the miles apart that we are now, he's always there with me, everytime I put pencil to paper.
Thanks, Bro.
Give him a visit sometime.
http://home.bellsouth.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=16&groupid=302847&ck=
The Gravdiggers 23 years later