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Friday Flashback: Marvel Submissions

I know it's not Throwback Thursday, so we'll call this Flashback Friday.

Back in the days when Marvel Comics took open, unsolicited submissions, I sent in five pages of a Spider-Man adventure. It was very timely. I drew them while reading Spidey's Back In Black story-arc (which was truly kick-ass and came just before the One More Day retcon). I think this was also around the time Norman Osborn took over SHIELD and formed the Dark Avengers, but I can't be bothered to fact check right now. Alls I know, Mac Gargon was Venom and including Green Goblin and Bullseye seemed like a bulletproof idea.

Anyway, I remember pouring myself into these five pages, drawn on 8x10 printer paper with a mechanical pencil for the most part. Although why I felt the need to fill everything in and add shading is beyond me.

In case you find the plot too hard to follow...

Page 1: Venom spots Spider-Man just a'swining through NYC and thinks, I cannot wait to fuck this guy up. Before he can, the Green Goblin--who must've been silently gliding nearby?--sidles up to Venom and calls dibs.

Page 2: Spidey-sense in full effect as GG prepares to lob a bomb from behind. Spider-man narrowly avoids the bomb, but as it whirls by he catches it with a web. Now tethered, Spider-Man swings the bomb around in mid-air like a shot-put, connecting with GG's glider. The glider explodes as Spider-Man free falls into an alleyway for cover.

Page 3: Before he hits the ground, Spider-Man swings back into the air, all while being completely oblivious to Bullseye who I guess was milling around on a nearby rooftop with throwing star at the ready. BE expertly severes Spider-Man's web via throwing star--something his spider-sense oddly did not detect--which proves a rather pointless effort as Spider-Man simply spins another web and swings far away from a guy stuck on a roof. But he's not out of hot water yet, because Venom finally moves in for his kill.

Page 4: Venom latches on to Spider-Man mid-air web-swing and together they crash through the side of a building. Venom uses Spider-Man to break his landing, fucking Spidey up but good.

Page 5: Venom finally has a wounded, defeated Spider-Man exactly where he wants him, and spends two panels holding and staring into Spider-Man's goggles. Not smart! Because Daredevil shows up and lands a billy club right in Venom's face!

THE END...?

Batman '66 Vs. Mutant Leader - Updated!

After seeing my sketch online, writer Tim Daniel (Enormous, Cursed) took it upon himself to throw some colour on it with is free time. Check it out!

I Sat By The Ocean

Imaginary Acquaintances: Futuristic Fairy Tales

White Walker

For Fun

This page started as a single sketch of a generic Action Hero type fighting two non-specific thug-types. Before long I had drawn other snippets of corresponding panels on other sheets of paper until I had the makings of a little action beat. I scanned each individual drawing and arranged them digitally. It's not the ideal way to create a page, but it was a fun experiment. Apart from the severe lack of backgrounds, I think it's kind of neat.

Test Pages

Recently I did some spec pages for a project I was considered for. They were a lot of fun and I enjoyed making them. Here are those pages.

Sherwood Black

I mostly draw comics for a living. Well, it'll be a living some day, but I digress. When looking for inspiration I often look to other artists in the medium I revere or I try to discover new works by artists new to me. Sometimes though it's necessary to look beyond the field I love so much to enhance my mood and jump start my thinking.

So it's with that spirit of discovery that brought me to the work of Alexandra Sherwood Black Morrison, a Canadian painter whose intricately arranged pieces are soulful and alluring. You can check out her work here. Enjoy!

William Innes

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