Month: March 2010

Worlds Collide!

~ J.Ho ~ 1 Comment

For today’s post, I’m offering up a rare crossover betwen my day job and my blog.

In the past, I’ve mentioned a few times that I work for Bongo Comics, publishers of a variety of Simpsons and Futurama comic books and collections. Well, last Wednesday, this gem finally hit stores:


This deluxe collected edition features both Simpsons/Futurama Crossovers, which were written by the very talented Ian Boothby, and pencilled by the equally talented James Lloyd. The hardcover book measures 7.5 x 11 inches (larger than standard comic dimensions), clocks in at 208 pages, and comes in a robust die-cut slipcase. It retails for $24.95, which is already a great value, but can be found for a significant discount from the usual online book-sellers. Please check the book out–it’s very funny, smartly written, gorgeously illustrated, and (I say this as a fan, not an employee), it’s truly one of my favorite Bongo stories of all time.

This new collection has some bonus materials, including some great preliminary sketches and character designs from James Lloyd’s sketchbook, and a pin-up gallery featuring Alex Ross, Sergio Aragonés, Geof Darrow, Kyle Baker, Glenn Fabry, Tone Rodriguez, Peter Kuper, Ty Templeton, Bernie Wrightson, and more. Well, somehow, there’s also a pin-up in there by a total unknown, AKA yours truly. If I may present today’s post, my pin-up, titled, Cosmic Brouhaha:

click above for larger view

(Apologies for the watermark)

I’ve been at Bongo for well over a decade (basically my entire adult life), so this piece has a great deal of personal significance, as I feel like it represents my growth both on and off the job. This pin-up really gave me a chance to stretch my wings, and I think it’s my most ambitious color piece to date. Stylistically, I chose to keep the characters relatively on-model, but in terms of the general crowded cross-overy energy of it, I did my best to channel George Pérez. Overall, I really had a blast with this!

Now we’re talking…

~ J.Ho

As I’ve mentioned (a jillion times), I’ve been dealing with some crushing sinus pain. Vitamin C, Sudafed, bed rest, and nasal lavage have all provided some degree of relief, but the crushing pain was persistent. Until…

Scotch! Just one glass of quality Scotch, imbibed with a solemn sense of responsibility, and I feel tons better, even a few days later. DRINK RESPONSIBLY OR DON’T DRINK AT ALL.

It’s looking like I’ll be back to the usual nerdy stuff next week (knock on wood). Have a good weekend (without crushing sinus pain) everyone!

Today is not opposite day

~ J.Ho

Josh needed some last-minute help for a project, so he came to me. I told him I would not help him, but little did I realize it was opposite day. Bound by the ancient playground covenant, I did indeed end up helping him. The title of the project is “The Life and Death of My First and Last Pack of Cigs,” cover art provided by yours truly:

click above for larger view

I closely followed the layout and composition Josh provided for me, which basically made my job easy. The background color was his choice too, and that really set the tone for the colors–again, making my job easy. The perfect crime!

Bruce Lite

~ J.Ho ~ 1 Comment

It’s the Street Fighter franchise’s ersatz stand-in for Bruce Lee, Fei Long:

click above for larger view

I’m continuing my attempts to pepper in some more actiony pieces in my series of Street Fighter drawings. I was pretty pleased with this when I came up with it… but as often happens, I’m not sure how I feel about it after the fact. Hmmm…