You can guess who’s coming up next, but to start, here’s Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow:
Hmmm… I probably should have drawn his quiver of arrows. I guess Ollie is ‘off duty’ in this picture.
Hard Travelling Heroes (Part 1 of 3)
Superheroes
Going Green (Part 4 of 4)
When I was kicking around this impossible-in-reality idea for the Green Lantern Corps, the idea of using alien species from non-DC Universe franchises, was really just for flavor–I had some actual plot ideas as well. The biggest plot point was that Sinestro would be reinstated into the Green Lantern Corps (as he had been during the events of Emerald Twilight). The key to this idea was that it wasn’t a short term turn of events to be quickly undone, rather it would be the new status quo–whatever his intentions, Sinestro would have been working with the good guys for an extended period of time:
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Believe it or not, I drew this sketch some time ago, long before the Rebirth storyline–so the resemblance to Sinestro’s current uniform is actually just a coincidence. Of course, as a result of the aforementioned Rebirth storyline, it would be difficult (if not impossible) to write a credible story rehabilitating Sinestro in any way, shape, or form. I’m okay with that, because not only do I dig Sinestro’s current uniform (I even drew it once… sort of), I think the storyline of the Green Lantern(s) has been hitting all the right notes in recent years. But if Geoff Johns ever gets sick of his job, I’ll be glad to take over.
Going Green (Part 3 of 4)
Today’s post is probably my favorite of the set (I know, I always seem to shoot myself in the foot by posting my favorite sketch in a set second-to-last, but there’s a good reason the next post is the last in the set). Anyways, here’s a rookie Rodian Green Lantern:
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For my first take on this guy (left), I gave him the traditional Green Lantern insignia, but on the second take (right), I gave him Kyle Rayner‘s insignia, to emphasize his rookie persona. The next post is NOT a Green Lantern whose species originates from outside the DC Universe.
Going Green (Part 2 of 4)
Following the Skrull and Wookie from my last post (doesn’t Skrull & Wookie sound like the name of a really nerdy tavern?), here’s a Klingon Green Lantern:
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My apologies to hardcore Trekkies, the Bat’leth and D’k tahg were drawn without reference, so the details are a little sloppy. Stay tuned for more nerd synergy!
Going Green (Part 1 of 4)
Let’s dial up the nerdiness here… a while back, I had an idea for the Green Lantern Corps which could never ever be officially made–the gist of it was to populate the Corps with aliens from various science fiction franchises. And even though it could never be officially produced, I still drew up a bunch of character designs. Yes folks, this is how I choose to spend my free time.
These sketches were done quite some time ago–for the first installment, a Skrull and a Wookie:
As you might notice, these are blue pencil sketches, hastily inked and colored with marker. I basically just wanted to get these down on paper, rather than stress out over them. I’m not trying to make excuses though–that Skrull’s foot is terribly contorted and way too big. The next installment will be better, promise.
The Man Himself
I’m showing my age again… here’s the Batman–not Bruce Timm and Paul Dini‘s, not Cliff Chiang‘s, not Christian Bale‘s, or Michael Keaton‘s. Not Bill Finger‘s, or Jim Lee‘s, or Alex Ross‘s, or Dustin Nguyen‘s, or Jeff Matsuda‘s, or Jeph Loeb‘s or Grant Morrison‘s, or Brian Bolland‘s. Not Bob Kane‘s, not Frank Miller‘s, and not even Darwyn Cooke‘s or Kevin Conroy‘s.
I love all those versions of Batman–but to me, this is the guy. The Batman of Dennis O’Neil and Neal Adams:
He’s lean, he’s mean, he’s blue and grey, and he’s got the yellow oval (though I drew it a tad too big). And I’m waffling… he might sound like Kevin Conroy.
The Commish
I never followed up after mentioning that I was heading out to watch The Dark Knight. No surprise–I really liked it. What might surprise you, is that my favorite element in both movies is Gary Oldman‘s performance as Lieutenant Jim Gordon, later promoted to his trademark rank of Commissioner.
I drew this right after seeing the movie, but it’s only loosely based on Gary Oldman, drawn without looking at reference. More Bat-stuff next time. Perhaps even the Man himself?
Serious Stuff. Seriously.
I enjoyed Batman Begins, but I had a few gripes with it and just didn’t love it the way everyone else did. It took itself a little too seriously, no?
Given my complaint about seriousness, it was pretty funny to me when I found out that the Joker’s tagline for The Dark Knight was “why so serious?” At any rate, I’m looking forward to The Dark Knight.
Summer Reading!
Josh is at it again–this time it’s the Necessary Evil trade paperback, collecting the first five issues, and clocking in at 128 pages. Written by Josh, with art by Marcus L. Harris, Vinny Navarrete, and J.C. Grande. And it also happens to have a three pager that I might have mentioned before. Here’s a look at the cover, by Marcus and Vinny:
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It’s out today (Wednesday, July 9), so go support your local comic book store and buy a copy! Right now! Or order it online! Right now!
Don’t let it go to your head (plus a review of "The Fall")
Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing… MODOK:
MODOK is spectacularly hideous, and therefore great fun to draw.
And now, a five second review!
* * *
The Fall (In theaters now!)
Contrasting a slyly humorous, self-aware, and visually gorgeous fantasy world against a nostalgic yet poignant view of 1920’s Los Angeles, The Fall elegantly tells the story of two convalescent hospital patients. Watch the trailer here.
Verdict: Awesome. Just go watch it!
For More Fantasy Movie Awesomeness: Corny and not self-aware, Krull is still pretty awesome. Just saying.
He’s Small But He’s Scrappy
(Posting a l’il early, cause I’m a l’il tired)
L’il Logan!
My non-l’il version of Wolverine can be seen here, if you care to compare the two.
The Other Bat Sidekicks (Part 2 of 2)
Finishing up this two-part series, it’s Bat-Mite, Batman and Robin’s number one fan from another dimension:
If anyone from DC editorial is reading this, please hire me to write and draw a new Bat-Mite series, co-starring Ace the Bat-Hound. Thank you.
Sincerely,
J.Ho
Post Script: Here is a wallpaper as incentive, conveniently available in both fullscreen and widescreen:
click above for 1280 x 1024 (Fullscreen)
click above for 1920 x 1200 (Widescreen)
The Other Bat Sidekicks (Part 1 of 2)
It’s Batman’s dog, Ace the Bat-Hound:
This was drawn around the same time as the Batwoman and Bat-Girl pieces that I posted two weeks ago. If you haven’t guessed which character I’ll be posting on Friday, here’s a hint: he does wear short-pants sometimes, but he is not Robin. See ya Friday!
The Original Bat Ladies (Part 2 of 2)
A drawing of the original Bat-Girl (with some minor costume tweaks) to accompany my illustration of Batwoman:
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And a wallpaper–available, for your convenience, in both widescreen and fullscreen proportions. Please enjoy:
click above for 1280 x 1024 (Fullscreen)
click above for 1920 x 1200 (Widescreen)
The Original Bat Ladies (Part 1 of 2)
The original Batwoman, with a few minor costume tweaks:
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This is an older drawing that I colored up. You can probably imagine what’s coming next friday when I post the companion to this piece.
BONUS POST: Links to Awesome Stuff!
Daddy’s Little Girl
Josh asked me to draw a three-page story to help promote his comic, Necessary Evil which is published by Desperado. After much procrastination, I pencilled the sucker off of Josh’s script (and colored it too). The story gives you a bit of insight into Stacy‘s background–here’s one of my favorite panels:
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The full three pages are available to read for free (that’s right, free) on Josh’s blog, the Necessary Evil MySpace page, or on Desperado’s forum. Check it out at any of those sites, and let me know what you think! (EDIT: also posted on Newsarama and CBR)
The first two issues of Necessary Evil are available in comic book stores now, and Issue #3 should be on the stands in early January. Ask your local comic shop to order Necessary Evil–it’s available in Previews. And after you’ve done that, add Necessary Evil as your friend on MySpace.
Previous Necessary Evil posts:
- NE Pin-Up
- NE Character Files (Part 1 of 7): Jacob and Miller
- NE Character Files (Part 2 of 7): Stacy Trax
- NE Character Files (Part 3 of 7): Sol
- NE Character Files (Part 4 of 7): Pop-Up
- NE Character Files (Part 5 of 7): Thug Junior
- NE Character Files (Part 6 of 7): Anti
- NE Character Files (Part 7 of 7): The Matriarch
Yellow Bellied Villain
When I draw superheroes, I tend to draw them the way they looked 20 years ago because I am, apparently, a fossil. However today, I’m taking a brief moment to step out of my horribly obsolete mindframe, and present to you the classic Green Lantern villain, Sinestro, in his modern uniform (even though you can only see the collar):
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It started out as a quick pen sketch, but it grew on me, so I decided to color it up and post it. I chose to give him his present-day colors because frankly, it never made sense to me that a character who was yellow-themed would have virtually no yellow on his uniform whatsoever. The face is cut off because I wanted to show the duality of a former hero turned villain–the missing half of his face represents Sinestro’s sense of morality, forever obfuscated by… OKAY, IT’S ALL A LIE. I drew him too close to the edge of the paper. Listen, if I had realized it was going to turn out halfway decent I would have started on a new sheet of paper. Sometimes these things take you by surprise!
You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry…
Ladies and gentlemen, the Hulk:
He kind of looks more like the the Jolly Green Giant‘s little pal Sprout than the Incredible Hulk. OH WELL.
I started with a rough sketch in colored pencil, and then laid down the flat colors and main shadows in Prismacolor marker. I picked up the colored pencil again to draw in the lineart and add additional shading. Finally I used a white color pencil for some highlights. The only thing I did in Photoshop was adjust the colors to match the original (it’s pretty close) and drop in the type. Overall, I prefer doing my coloring digitally, but it’s nice to take a break and get back to my analog roots every now and then.
Billionaires in Power-Suits (Part 2 of 2)
Continuing the theme from last Friday–while coloring up my Iron Man post, I was IMing with Charles and Lex Luthor came up in conversation. Yes, we are that nerdy. Anyways, Lex in his early 80’s power-suit seemed like a good follow up to Tony Stark:
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From start to finish this whole thing took under 3 hours, which is pretty fast for me. Sketched in pen and Sharpie, but this time I did look at reference and I took a little more time cleaning it up in Photoshop before coloring it. Getting the colors right on this one was surprisingly easy. But I guess when you’re coloring lime and berry power armor, it’s pretty easy to zero in on the right colors. As for the drawing itself, Lex’s pose is a little stiff (somewhat intentional) and the composition is incredibly boring (not intentional).
Continuity-wise, this one is all over the place. Identifying Lex as a billionaire in the title of the post implies the post-Crisis version (I’m pretty sure all the pre-Crisis versions were finiancially unsuccessful). However, the reference I followed was the Lex Luthor action figure from the old Super Powers toyline, which implies either the version from the Super Powers cartoon (naturally), or the pre-crisis Lex Luthor of Earth-One. Furthermore, while drawing it, I decided to give Lex his kryptonite ring, which is definitely a post-Crisis detail, and to complicate matters his face is somewhat reminiscent of the version seen in Superman: The Animated Series” and Justice League Unlimited. Of all these confusing and obscure details, my favorite is the fact that post crisis-Lex has green eyes (according to the DC Comics Encyclopedia) and pre-Crisis Lex from Earth-One had blue eyes (according to Who’s Who volume XIV)–I gave this one blue eyes. So, in summary: hell if I know. Enjoy!