Stadium Comics Signing Recap 18/09/13

Another delayed recap of another fun event!

This past Wednesday saw the release of two comics I had a small hand in contributing to. The first being Executive Assistant Iris #1 from Aspen Comics. I illustrated a retailer incentive variant for Stadium Comics and it came out pretty slick (see here).

The second title I had a minor role in this week was Zero #1 from Image Comics. I had the privilege of inking along side Michael Walsh, who drew the book. It was a blast to do and I'm really proud to see the finished product looking so dope.

Anyway, I tried posting as many of the sketches from the day as I could on Twitter. In case you missed them, here they are...

Morning Warm-Up: Mother Night pt.2

Excerpt from Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

Continuing with yesterday's depiction of the novel Mother Night, Howard W. Campbell Jr., Nazi propagandist and American spy, says good-bye to his father in-law, Werner Noth, before leaving for the Russian front. Campbell is in fact fleeing the war to America. In their last moments together Noth, the police chief of Berlin, lays all his cards out for Campbell.

Morning Warm-Up: Mother Night

Excerpt from Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut

I've been loosely re-reading Mother Night recently, one of my favourite novels by one of my favourite authors, Kurt Vonnegut.

It tells the story Howard W. Campbell Jr., his double-life as a Nazi propagandist/American spy during the second world war, and his displacement and isolation after the war. It's a poignant and tragic book whose famous moral is made explicit in the author's forward:  

“Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.”

Revisiting the book time and again, I've come see the book also examines the power of convictions, and Campbell's lack thereof. At any rate, it's long been a quiet dream of mine to adapt this book as a graphic novel. This morning's warm-up will have to do for now.

The scene depicted takes place near the end of WW2. The Russians are advancing on Berlin as Germany realizes their war is all but lost. Campbell, whose wife Helga was killed in a Russian bombardment, is fleeing the war--and Germany--for good. Under the pretense he is headed to the Russian front, Campbell visits his in-laws one last time before disappearing to America.

Signing @ Stadium Comics, Wednesday Sept. 18th

This Wednesday I'll be appearing at Stadium Comics in Brampton for the release of Executive Assistant Iris #1 from Aspen Comics.

I illustrated an incentive variant for the title that is exclusive only to Stadium Comics.

Be sure to stop by Wednesday from 12-8 for a signed copy. I'll also have copies of Teuton Vol.3 for sale and will be doing sketches.

For more super awesome details on Wednesdays even, jump over to Big Sexy Comics.

This marks the second commissioned cover I've done for the awesome people at Stadium Comics and Aspen; the first being Bubble Gun #1. While I took my time for that cover and got it just the way I liked it, this latest was very last minute and I was left feeling like it could've gone in different directions.

I received the offer from Stadium to draw their Iris variant while I was buying gear a day before I left to the badlands of Montana for a fossil dig. They needed a fully finished piece urgently and I had a very small window in which to complete it.

Working quickly, I was left with two versions I liked equally. Well, one perhaps more than the other. Ultimately I let Stadium decide which they preferred. I think they made the right choice. Still, one serves to make the other more interesting I think. So have a look at the road not taken...

Morning Warm-Up: Red Heart

Lyrics from Red Heart by Hey Rosetta!

**UPDATE**

To address the misquoted lyric in this morning's warm-up, I'd like to point out that I realized my error soon after posting it. I was working quickly to finish and missed it entirely. Then I sung my bastardized version in my head and had to laugh at myself, and so it remains.

Enjoy the art and join me in laughing at artsy hubris.

Daily Warm-Up: Lost Coastlines

Lyrics from Lost Coastlines by Okkervil River

Additionally, here are a couple of sketches from yesterday for people who purchased Teuton Volume Three online.

Jealous? Don't be. Get your copy at the Big Sexy Comic Shop!

New Morning Warm-Ups

Lyrics from And It Spread by The Avett Brothers.

Morning warm-up sketches are important. In fact, most artists will tell you that it takes a couple hours of drawing time to mentally and physically fall into the groove of a work day. This is as true for me as it is for every other working artist.

Sometimes thinking up subject matter for a warm-up is a hurdle. The key is to not over-think it. You're essentially turning the taps of your creativity on, so let it flow and go with whatever spills out. I do, however, like to choose themes for my warm-ups and loosely follow them for as long as the mood lasts. In the past I've sketched my favourite villains and anti-heroes from film and literature. It's a well I enjoy returning to.

But another element that's a common part of my morning warm-ups is music. Songs will play at random and out of that mix a song or lyric will rise to the top of my awareness and trigger a thought or a memory or an image that quickly inspires. So recently I thought, why not try to capture those tiny moments?

Hence the images above and below. I recommend listening to the songs these pieces were inspired by. Enjoy!

Lyrics from Oh Patience by Shona Foster

Big Sexy Comic Shop

Fearless Fred and I fared very well at Fan Expo the other weekend. We debuted the much anticipated Teuton: Volume Three, the final installment in our medieval epic from Big Sexy Comics. The reaction from fans were phenomenal and we sold out of V.1 & 3 completely by Sunday!

With that said, copies of Teuton V.3 are available for purchase online at the Big Sexy Comic Shop!

There's actually a ton of great stuff at the online store, including all three Teuton books, prints, and original art by Yours Truly.

Recently added to the store are my Superman Unchained and Green Lantern/Silver Surfer prints for just $10 each.

As well, come painted sketches from Fan Expo 2013 are up. Check it all out!

FAN EXPO 2013 Interview

TGT Media interviewed me briefly over Fan Expo weekend.

Christ, that already feels like a long time ago.

This is the first interview I've actually felt good about after seeing it. Magic was in the air those five minutes, and you can witness it!

Spectacular Views II

I've returned from my second tour of duty excavating dinosaur fossils in the badlands of Montana. There were many neat finds, lots of hard work, some close encounters with wild life, and some great laughs with my fellow dino-diggers.

Here are several panoramic views of the hard country in which the remains of some of the last dinosaurs to have walked the earth can be found...