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.
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!
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.
L’il Logan!
My non-l’il version of Wolverine can be seen here, if you care to compare the two.
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:
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!
And a wallpaper–available, for your convenience, in both widescreen and fullscreen proportions. Please enjoy:
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.
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:
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!
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.
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!
Sketched in pen and Sharpie, straight up (in approximately 15 minutes). Cleaned up slightly and colored in Photoshop. The colors on this went relatively quickly for me and I whipped up the background treatment just so it wouldn’t be so plain. I drew this without looking at reference, but Iron Man’s costume is something approximating his mid 80’s gear, because apparently I am an old-timer who only remembers the allegedly good old days. It’s the good part that’s alleged, the old part has been confirmed by laboratory results.
I’ve never really been a fan of Iron Man–perhaps I should clarify that while the concept of Iron Man is interesting enough, I have never found his alter ego, Tony Stark, to be a sympathetic character. Actually, Tony Stark is kind of a jerk (I thought this long before Marvel’s Civil War crossover started), and his moustache is way cheesy. That said, his personality does provide for an interesting dynamic in a team situation, and I also think the trailer for the upcoming movie looks pretty decent.
I’ll follow up next Friday with another rich dude in powered armor.
Ren is part of the Paper Lotus Design Group, and she has cool and quirky greeting cards, stationary, apparel, and tote bags available:
Annie, founder and proprietor of Ape Kabuki, has beautiful block prints (hand-carved and pressed) for sale at her shop:
Last but not least, October may almost be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy Cat-tober at the Nathan Hamill gallery/blog/store (click on NEH gallery). After you’re done checking out his bleakly terrifying (yet strangely fascinating) kitty-cats, be sure to check out the greeting cards for sale at his non-Etsy store. CAT-TOBER!!!
Visit my friends, support independent artists, and do all your Christmas shopping early! We now return you to your regularly scheduled dorkiness–
My brain has been made of an inert slime lately, so when I needed a sketch subject, Josh suggested Superman:
I sketched this up really quickly (probably less than 15 minutes), but then ended up agonizing over it in Photoshop for 2 hours, tweaking the lines, and noodling with the colors. Superman seems basic, but if the slightest thing is off, it screws up everything. I’m not completely happy with this one, but I don’t hate it either. The proportions of the face and somewhat youthful appearance are influenced by the late great Mike Wieringo‘s version of the big blue boyscout.
The conclusion to my series of character designs for Josh‘s comic Necessary Evil, today’s character is the Matriarch, late super-villainess supreme, and mother to Jacob and Miller:
Although she’s already dead when the series begins, the Matriarch’s presence is felt strongly. Her death serves as Jacob and Miller’s motivation, and each of the twins must decide whether her infamous career as a super-villain will serve as an ideal to strive for or a cautionary tale.
Don’t forget, Necessary Evil #1 is available now!
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:
As expected, the first issue of Necessary Evil was on shelves this past Wednesday! The printing is gorgeous and I want to extend my congratulations to Josh, Marcus, and Vinny for a job well done.
The signing at Comic Bug went well, and there’s already talk of another signing for issue #2–I’ll keep you posted. Whether or not there’s another signing, if you live in the Los Angeles area, or happen to be passing through, definitely check the store out–it’s in a great location, street parking is no problem, and most importantly they’re well-stocked. Directions to the store are available on the web site.
Continuing my series of character designs for Necessary Evil, today’s character is Headmaster of the Necessary Evil Academy, the Marquee de Antihause, AKA Anti:
Anti is Jacob and Miller‘s Headmaster. But perhaps more importantly, he was the best friend and ally of the Matriarch, Jacob and Miller’s deceased super-villain mother. Can Anti provide the twins with answers about their mother’s death?
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:
Before I go on with today’s post: Necessary Evil #1 is in fact coming out this week! For those of you in the Southern California area, Josh (the writer), Marcus (the penciller), and Vinny (the inker) will be on-hand for a signing at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach on Wednesday October 10th–for all the details, please check out the The Comic Bug web site.
Continuing my series of character designs for Josh‘s upcoming comic Necessary Evil. Today’s character is another student at the Necessary Evil Academy, Thug Junior:
Thug Junior’s father never amounted to anything more than hired muscle, and that’s why Thug Junior is determined to be more. For now, Thug Junior does provide the muscle for Jacob and Miller‘s group, but they treat him as an equal.
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:
Resuming my series of character designs for Josh‘s upcoming comic Necessary Evil. Today’s character is another student at the Necessary Evil Academy, Pop-Up:
Like an annoying internet avertisement, Pop-Up uses his powers of teleportation to appear at the most inconvenient times. He becomes sort of a little brother figure in Jacob and Miller‘s group of friends.
Supposedly Necessary Evil #1 will be out next Wednesday (we are trying to get confirmation on this). At any rate, I will, of course, mention it if that is the case. There will also probably be a signing in the Los Angeles area–check back for details.
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:
On the surface, she seems like a typical teenager, maybe a little shy. Get on her bad side, and you’ll quickly discover that you’re dealing with one of the deadliest assasins around. As Jacob and Miller begin carving out out a niche for themselves at the Necessary Evil Academy, Sol quickly becomes an integral part of their group of friends and allies.
Ask your local comic shop to order Necessary Evil #1. It’s on page 265 of August’s Previews catalog, and the Diamond order number is aug07 3547. And after you’ve done that, add Necessary Evil as your friend on MySpace.
Previous Necessary Evil posts:
I’ll be taking a brief break from the Necessary Evil Character Files, and resuming when the book’s release date is closer. Stay tuned!
