Shameless Plugs

Wherein I talk about my friend’s new comic, and ramble on a bit about next week’s blogging schedule.

~ J.Ho ~ 3 Comments
I had originally planned to post a Harry Potter sketch to commemorate the release of the final book in the series, but something even more interesting popped up this week–

My comrade Josh Williamson‘s comic, Necessary Evil is being solicited in this month’s Previews catalog! The comic is pencilled by Marcus Harris, inked by Vinny Navarrete and colored by Winston Suk. Josh created and wrote it, and Desperado is publishing it. Oh and did I mention that I did the character designs for the main cast? I’M MENTIONING IT NOW.

Please ask your local comic shop to order a bunch! Previews is out next week, and the first issue of Necessary Evil ships in October. It’s a great comic, and I hope you’ll all give it a try.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be posting some more of my Necessary Evil art and telling you all some more about the comic itself. But for now, here is a pin-up/mock cover that I created for Josh when he first asked me to design the characters:


click above for larger view

So, next week, is the big San Diego Comic Book Convention, which I have alluded to. Technically, it’s known as Comic-Con International, but I rarely hear people call it that. In fact, people usually just call it Comic-Con, with no qualifiers. The epic proportions of the convention are such that no qualifier in the human language would be appropriate. But I digress.

I will be gone at the convention for most of next week, which means I’ll be away from my precious computer and internet connection, which means no post on Friday. HOWEVER! I would never abandon you, dear reader–which is why on Monday, I will be putting up a huge mega-post, containing two pieces of brand new art to cover the entire week’s posts. And it is no coincidence that these two new pieces will both be terribly relevant to the wares that I am peddling at Comic-Con.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL–in addition to plugging my own projects, I will also be plugging the projects of my chums and cronies, who will be peddling their own wares at Comic-Con. Please stay tuned!

Post Script: The aforementioned Harry Potter post will go up sometime soon after the convention, probably with a review of the book.

K.J. stands for…

~ J.Ho ~ 2 Comments
As Comic-Con preparations have me somewhat busy, here’s another older piece, done for the cover of a mini-comic called Kid Justice:


click above for larger view

The actual Kid Justice story was written by Josh, drawn by Vinny, and published by Big Boss Comics. Incidentally, the Presidential seal in the background of my cover was snagged from one of Vinny’s panels inside the comic. The story (and a black and white version of my humble cover) are going to be included in a Big Boss Comics anthology, which will be on sale at Comic-Con. More on that (and my other Comic-Con happenings) as Comic-Con gets closer.

Quick Post, and a Plug

~ J.Ho ~ 1 Comment
(Posted early, as has become my habit…)

From a commisioned project where I was asked to illustrate a few distinct TV characters. First up, Eddie Munster:

click above for larger view

Drawn in pencil and inked with a Tombo brush pen and Sakura microns, meticulously touched up in Photoshop to make it look like I know what I’m doing, and then colored (in Photoshop). This piece is actually a bit older, but I think it holds up decently.

But enough about me–remember this post? Well Charles has completed the mystical fish’s extensive background story, entitled “The Children of Gods,” complete with an appendix explaining some of his references and influences.

It’s really an excellent piece of writing, so go read it! Go!

I don’t actually have a magenta hoodie or red hair… or neon skin… or a turquoise shirt…

~ J.Ho ~ 2 Comments
Taking a break from vector art and He-Man–a self portrait to appease my tremendous ego:
click above for larger view

This started out as kind of a quick random sketch done for the sake of fulfilling my Friday post (hence the self-deprecating word balloon and the super hi-larious t-shirt text). I felt somewhat lukewarm about it, until I stumbled upon the idea of using an abstract color scheme. Now I’m actually pretty happy with it.

The style of this piece resembles an Oekaki, but rather than using a dedicated Oekaki program or interface, I just used the pencil tool in Photoshop to sketch and color this. The simplicity of sketching with the pencil tool is something I’ve been enjoying, and I dig the pixelly pseudo-16-bit look.

Post Script: Perhaps you’ve noticed the advertisement on the sidebar for Skill City? Check it out–it’s free and fun, and… what do you know, my dear friend and longtime crony Jacob designed 90% of the visuals. Seriously, it’s good stuff, and I will gladly play anyone a game of Librum Confundo! My screen name on Skill City is “Ohsnap”–drop by and say hi!

**EDIT** It was brought to my attention that I should have warned people that Skill City is for Windows only. Sorry!

**EDIT#2** For whatever stupid reason, I had comments on this post turned off. I am an idiot. Comment away, if you so desire. Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience!

BONUS POST: Rare Mention of the Day Job

~ J.Ho ~ 8 Comments
My first professional writing credit will be debuting in comic book stores on Wednesday January 31. Before you get too excited, it’s just a 3-pager, and I co-wrote it with my friend and colleague, one Nathan “The Hammer” Hamill. This immediately brings to mind jokes about how many people of a particular brand it takes to change a lightbulb, but nevertheless, we are proud of our efforts. As it is a 3-pager, here is the only panel I can show you that has no spoilers.

In addition to co-writing the story, I pencilled it, and The Hammer colored it. The inks were executed with steady, surgical precision by the one and only Mike Rote. Our story is entitled “Scream A Little Scream” and it appears in Simpsons Super Spectacular #4, published by Bongo Comics: