(Hey, I just checked their website and there are four covers shown there, the new one and past issues. Three of the covers are mine. That's pretty cool.)
The piece was drawn by hand and laid out and colored in Photoshop.
What's New Pussycat?
If I'm going to keep doing these pieces, I want to make sure I change things up every now and then. This Catwoman illo is done in Adobe Illustrator, which allows me to do mathmatically perfectly curves. I figured that would be a nice effect for capturing Selina Kyle's sleek and sexy look.
As for the costume, like Supergirl before, this is the one I grew up with. I once told a Catwoman fan that this was the outfit I liked best, and was chided for thinking a cat burglar would wear high heels, a cape and a skirt. I'd never thought of that, and it makes sense, but I still like this outfit.
By the time you read this, I'll be on my way to Mid-Ohio-Con. Hope to see you all there!
Cuz I Can
I think I'm drawing characters from my childhood. Supergirl at one point had as many different costumes as the
I think the movie uniform from the otherwise-forgettable Supergirl movie was pretty decent. The red skirt instead of blue is a nice touch. But back in the 70's and into the 80's, the Maid of Might had a 70's style that didn't carry the taint of the bell-bottom and platform shoes look. I have no idea how the choker cape worked, and the S-shield becoming a patch was probably a mistake, aside from the obvious benefits of the V-neck blouse. She briefly had those strappy Wonder Woman shoes, but eventually switched to the classic M-top boot.
Anyway, this is how Supergirl looked when I was growing up, and I still think she looks kinda cool.
Ring Around the Rose Colored Costume
Stop a War With Love
I mentioned that I did some commissions at Wizard World Texas. One of the things that helped, I think, was doing this Wonder Woman/Wonder Girl piece as a sample. I intended to finish it up as a color piece, and I had some time at Jesse's house while watching the Cowboys game, and later on the plane. I think it turned out pretty well, all things considered. I'm thinking about doing a series of super heroine illos, maybe throwing them together in a sketchbook or something. I'll post them as I get them done.
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Over the summer I did an illustration for Scene Magazine featuring a number of Cleveland icons including the newly-minted Iron Chef Michael Symon. Everybody else is doing Symon-based stories today, hoping to use his newfound fame to geneate a little notice for themselves. Strangely, I am no exception.
And Goofing Off is Half the Battle
I should be working right now. It's one of those days where I don't feel driven to do the work I'm supposed to, so I'm playing around with something else. Hopefully it'll act as a warm-up and I'll be able to draw the three other illos on my drawing table.
The guys on the always-excellent podcast Comic Pants did a program on the GI Joe comic. I was a Joe fan in the Eighties, and have mentioned how the famous silent issue of GI Joe managed to inspire my Raider series. I haven't read the book since then, and maybe it doesn't hold up, but I think it was that perfect combination of solid writing and solid storytelling that combine to make a project stronger than the whole. And Larry Hama deserves a lot of credit for wrangling a toy franchise into a darned interesting comic book, and writing something that, while it wasn't necessarily the real military, certainly felt like it. I think the big words crowd would call it verisimilitude.
My favorite character of the original set was Flash, the Laser Rifle Trooper. I dressed as him for Halloween one year, my Dad making a kick-butt costume, including a laser rifle that lit up. So, I decided to try another all-digital piece featuring Sgt. Anthony S. Gambello, and yes, I had to look that up.
And, if you get the chance, take their geektastic GI Joe Mission Challenge, where you get the opportunity to send a team of Joes to attack Cobra. Yo Joe!
Our Revels Now Are Begun!
It's time for my hand, an actual printed copy of Love and Capes #6 straight from the printer, Booster Gold and Skeets, and yet another Mocha of Victory! The books look good, I'll be taking possession of the bulk of them on Monday and they'll be shipping soon. But for now, let's revel in my done-itude! Revel I say!
Can You Dig It?
See, I knew I'd have more artwork to post.
The radio is an important part of my work environment. I work solo, like the renegade maverick loner I am, but I find that I miss human contact. Talk radio of one sort or another fills that void with me. Starting with Lanigan and Malone, I listen to a lot of talk during the day. I don't need to agree with the content, just have the host be interesting to listen to. And it creates the illusion of conversation to keep my mind engaged during the day.
One of the local radio hosts is a guy named Bob Frantz. I met him in person at a blood drive, and did the relentless self-promotion thing. He wondered if I might be able to do a caricature of him and his gang. I told him I could. I was wondering if he could relentlessly promote me. He could. It's been a good relationship so far.
Right now, the above image only appears on his web page, but there are plans afoot to have it appear in three dimensions sometime soon. I'll ley you know more about that when I can.
Groo Crew
I've mentioned before a little show called Mid-Ohio-Con. It's my favorite comic convention for a lot of reasons, but maybe the biggest reason is the people I get to meet.
A while ago, I met Sergio Aragones, who is, hands-down, one of the coolest guys on the planet. Absurdly talented, demonically fast, and just a nice guy. He can draw and write, which makes him a double threat. And he's funny. A bunch of us were in a van being driven by Bob Ingersoll, co-writer of that Star Trek story I've mentioned a million times, and by day, a lawyer. As Bob was driving, an ambulance came up behindd us. Bob didn't get over, as it was obvious that the ambulance was going to turn before it needed to pass us. A bunch of writers in the car, and Sergio says "That's the only time I've ever seen an ambulance chase a lawyer." Damn his talent!
Sergio, or as I call him, Mr. Aragones, is doing the cover of the Mid-Ohio-Con Program Book. I got the opportunity to color his fine, frenetic work. I've been looking at Sergio's work since Mad Magazine and it's just indescribably cool that I get to work with him at all.
And, of course, you too could meet him if you head over to Mid-Ohio-Con on Thanksgiving weekend. You can meet me, too, but I'm sure that's not as much of a thrill.