Star Wars

No Disintegrations!

~ J.Ho

Okay, I was supposed to post yesterday, but I got a little busy. In fact, if you’re here, you probably already know that I have 150 commissions to do for a very good cause.

If you haven no idea, this should answer all your questions: CLICK HERE

I’m going to talk a little more about it, particularly some of the incredibly gracious write-ups that have been posted, but since people don’t troll the internetz as much on the weekend, I think I’ll save that for early next week. Besides, I have a tiny bit of drawing to do right now.

So, here’s the Boba Fett marker sketch that I did, that’s been floating around the internet:

Predictably, some of the other sample sketches that have been floating around will make it to this blog in the next few weeks, and of course I will be posting all of the commissions as well. Please stay tuned, and thank you again for all of your support.

Back to it!

I’m back, but more importantly: TRON x STAR WARS

~ J.Ho ~ 6 Comments

Very briefly: I’m going to start posting again, but I think I’m going to ease into it first… let’s see how one post a week goes until I get back into the swing of things, shall we? I’ll talk a little bit about my hiatus in a future super-boring post, but for now (if anyone still reads this thang), let’s just get right back to the main event: ridiculously dorky nerd art.

So, Dave and I were talking about Tron and Star Wars action figures, and the following happened:

6:40:11 PM ME: so i opened my white light cycle
6:40:14 PM ME: and it’s awesome
6:40:21 PM ME: but i had two thoughts
6:40:39 PM ME: 1) white light cycle would match ackbar’s white uniform
6:40:42 PM ME: or
6:41:12 PM ME: 2) blue lights would match a blue mon calamari, but i would have to put the mon cal head on a tron body w/ blue lights
6:41:16 PM ME: ._.
6:41:18 PM ME: just sayin
6:41:35 PM DAVE: lol
6:41:37 PM DAVE: oh man
6:41:46 PM DAVE: you ponder that some more
6:41:47 PM DAVE: or DRAW IT
6:41:52 PM DAVE: and put it on your sketch blog
6:42:04 PM DAVE: TRON CALAMARI
6:42:06 PM DAVE: omg
6:42:13 PM DAVE: i basically just gave you that for free
6:42:15 PM ME: O_O
6:42:18 PM ME: NICE

And thus was born a custom figure created from Star Wars action figure Ibtisam (info/figure) and Tron: Legacy action figure Sam Flynn (info):

click above for larger view

I’m not an experienced customizer by any means, so this was a pretty basic head and arm swap. First, I used the boil-and-pop method to remove the relevant body parts from the original figures. Ibtisam’s forearms plugged right into Sam Flynn’s elbows, but as a result the custom’s arms are a bit short. The socket in Ibtisam’s head was too big, so I bummed some Epoxy putty off of Hammers to partially fill in the socket, and then used the superglue method to make the ball joint fit tightly. Aaand then I drew this:

click above for larger view

So, for those of you keeping track at home:

  • I have purchased Tron: Legacy toys.
  • I have made a custom Tron Calamari figure.
  • I have drawn dorky fan-art of Tron Calamari.
  • I am listening to the Tron: Legacy soundtrack at home, in my car, and at work.
  • I have been flipping through the pages of the Tron: Legacy artbook.
  • I have not seen the movie yet…
  • … but have tickets for a 3D IMAX screening on Saturday morning.

It feels good to blog again. If you’re reading this, thank you.

What the what?

~ J.Ho

Question 1: Is this the dumbest thing I’ve ever posted? Probably.

Question 2: Is this the nerdiest thing I’ve ever posted? Almost certainly, but I have every intention of trying to continually out-nerd myself.

Question 3: In spite of being both dumb and uber-nerdy, is this also the most awesome thing I’ve ever posted? I think so, yes.

For reasons unfathomable even to myself, here is Darth Vader, if he were an Alpha Lantern of the Sinestro Corps:

click above for larger view

If you’re still reading, you’re probably still asking yourself, why? Well, I’ve been enjoying Green Lantern since the Sinestro Corps War, and I really like the idea of the Sinestro Corps having high-profile members like Superboy Prime, Mongul II, and Hank Henshaw. So my naturally nerdy brain was scanning its archives for other characters capable of instilling great fear, and since I had already crossed over Star Wars with the Green Lantern mythos, once or twice–I came up with Darth Vader.

Before you protest–yes, I’m aware that this concept wouldn’t really work in the continuity of either Star Wars or the DC Universe due to the fact that Darth Vader died a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… long before the Sinestro Corps had ever been formed. If I had to come up with an explanation, I would say that the ghost of Anakin Skywalker was psychically controlled/driven insane by Parallax, and had regressed into the psyche of Vader once more. With his spirit trapped in the hollow shell of his suit of armor, and powered by a yellow power battery, Darth Vader is now forced to serve the Sinestro Corps as perhaps their most powerful enforcer.

It had occurred to me that Vader could have made a good Red or Black Lantern. However, I’m not so into the Red Lanterns, and I’m not entirely sure how the mechanics of the Black Lanterns work. Overall, I find the fear-based Sinestro Corps to be more compelling.

The really scary thing is that these hyper-nerdy thought-processes basically all occur without conscious effort. I’m just walking around doing normal things, like drinking Vitamin Water and playing with Legos. Meanwhile my brain is running these dorky match-ups between continuities in the background, and I’m only aware of them in a vague semi-conscious manner. BAM, next thing I know, I’m drawing Darth Vader with a yellow lantern embedded in his chest. It’s a blessing and a curse, people. A blessing and a curse.

Star Wars Lite (5 of 6): If you buy a translator be sure that it speaks Bocce…

~ J.Ho ~ 2 Comments

I was just reading over the past few posts and realizing how monotonous I have become with saying how I had nothing to say. And yet, I have nothing to say! Here’s C3-PO:

See you on Friday for the conclusion of this series. I’m not sure what will follow immediately, but I have a bunch of Street Fighter pieces in the works, a neverending supply of He-Man stuff (naturally), and a smattering of other random nerdy sketches. And as always, thanks for looking in!

Star Wars Lite (1 of 6): That little droid and I have been through a lot together

~ J.Ho ~ 1 Comment

Plug first, sketch second–you all know my crony/chum Hammers, right? He’s better known to the world as Nathan Hamill, and he’s been interviewed on StarWars.com regarding his participation in the most recent series of Star Wars Galaxies trading cards. Click HERE to read it.


Notably, the article mentions a non-Star Wars item–Nathan’s upcoming foray into designer toys, with a bad-ass vinyl racoon. You read correctly, a bad-ass vinyl racoon.

And as an unintentional coincidence, I’ve prepared a series of Star Wars sketches for the next few weeks. Here’s R2-D2:

You can imagine what might be coming up in the ensuing weeks. And if Star Wars isn’t your cup of tea, you philistine, stay tuned for more Street Fighter and He-Man after I wrap these up.

Laugh it up, Fuzzball…

~ J.Ho ~ 2 Comments
I was playing with a sepia colored brush pen, and this is what happened:

That’s the not the actual piece of paper that I drew the wookie on, I just complusively felt the need to dress up this otherwise simple sketch. I confess, this is a somewhat lazy post. Let’s see if I can cook up something substantial for my next post.

Going Green (Part 3 of 4)

~ J.Ho ~ 1 Comment
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:

click above for larger view

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 1 of 4)

~ J.Ho
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 Ballad of Jonny Prequels

~ J.Ho ~ 3 Comments
Let me tell you a story, children,
Come gather ’round the fire,
Let me tell you the story, of a man,
Named Jonny Preex

Jonny… Jonny Preex
Preex, short for Prequels
Jon-ny Preex
Jon-ny Prequels
Jonny, he loves them prequels

Now over at the comic book factory
Was a hard working young man
He was a man of few words, drove a truck as big as the sun,
And we called him, Jonny Preex

Jonny… Jonny Preex
Your truck blocks out the sun
Jon-ny Preex
Jon-ny Prequels
Jonny, I can’t see the sun

See, Jonny Preex had a pretty little girlfriend
And he didn’t live with his mom
So it might surprise you to hear, that his one passion
Was Star Wars

Jonny… Jonny Preex
Oota goota Solo?
Jon-ny Preex
Jon-ny Prequels
Jonny, that’s no moon

Now Jonny truly did like Star Wars
But what he really loved were the prequels
That’s right–the prequels
Episodes One, Two, and Three

Jar Jar… Jar Jar Binks
Mace Windu is kind of mean
Jan-go Fett
Kit Fis-to
Darth Vader says ‘NOOOOO!’

One day it got dark all of a sudden
At the old comic book factory
I looked outside, and there was Jonny Preex’s truck
Blocking out the sun

So I says to Jonny Preex, I says
‘What are you up to Jonny Preex?’
He looked at me with determination in his eye, and said,
‘I heard tell there’s somthin’ out there, somethin’ called
‘Expanded Universe… ‘

Katana… Katana Fleet
Luke married Mara Jade
Te-ras Kasi
Ta-lon Karrde
Chewbacca’s dead… I said he’s dead… those bastards killed him…

Jonny jumped right in his truck
And revved that monster up
Drove off into the darkness seeking the Expanded Universe
And we never saw him again.*

Jonny… Jonny Preex
Preex, short for Prequels
Jon-ny Preex
Jon-ny Prequels
Jonny, he loves them prequels

Jonny… Jonny Ee-Yew
Ee-Yew, short for Expanded Universe
Jon-ny Ee-yew
Jon-ny Expanded Universe
Jonny, may the force be with you
May the force be with you

Now sometimes, after you watch a prequel
If you listen real carefully
You can hear Johnny Preex flipping through the pages…
Of a novel ’bout the Jedi Academy

* Actually, that’s not true–we saw Johnny Preex at work the next day, and the day after that, and so forth.

click above for larger view

Jonny Prequels is in fact a real person–however, surisingly, his first name is not Jonny. Perhaps even more surprising, I actually do call him Jonny Prequels, or Preex for short. Even more surprising than that, there’s actually a tune that goes with the chorus to The Ballad of Jonny Preex. I’m not musical at all, so I imagine I must have heard it somewhere–it’s something along the lines of the themesong to the old Davey Crockett television series or the themesong to Branded which I recall hearing on an episode of Married… With Children.

Anyhow, I was stuck at work after hours one day due to awful Los Angeles traffic, and I asked Jonny Preex what I should draw. He suggested this guy, but neither of us knew his name or military classification. We just knew he was one of the Clone Troopers that attempts (unsuccessfully) to kill Yoda when Order 66 is given in Episode III. A few weeks later, when I got around to coloring this piece, Coheteboy (who’s more versed in Star Wars than Preex and I put together) told me Commander Gree‘s name off the top of his head, and gave me some color reference.

Phew. Writing ballads really takes it out of me.