Robots, Aliens, Heroes, and Villains...

And a lizard, too. 

My latest Substack is up and is all about some watercolor pop culture images that I did some time ago and forgot about. You can click HERE to check them out.

Second Star #3 Preview

 

My latest Substack has a sneak peek at issue #3 of my comic book, Second Star, which is currently being lettered and then colored. I also go over what the comic is about, in general and a review of the previous two issues. So, click here to be most informed.

Second Star Character Profile: Uncle Buck

 

5x8

ink in sketchbook 

So, I'm currently inking the third issue of my comic, Second Star. In this issue there is a character called Uncle Buck, who is the uncle of the main guy, Holden. In this comic, all of the main characters are based on people that I know or knew when I plotted this whole thing out. Don't even get me started on all that! Uncle Buck is based on my Uncle Chuck, who passed away in 2016. I even drew him with 'The Spy' on his t-shirt. 'The Spy' was a sketch that he did for me when I was 10. I still have that sketch, too. He was a big fan of Mad Magazine and Big Daddy Roth and I'm sure that his sketch was inspired from somewhere in those things. Anyways, in this issue he plays a small, but important role in Holden's search for his missing and presumed dead, archaeologist grandfather. 

And I think that my uncle sort of liked it when I called him Uncle Buck. I'm sure that he was a fan of John Candy. Stay tuned for more about Second Star...

Ruby Thursday

 

6x9

ink on bristol board

This here is a commission from the Sh!tshow Kickstarter that I had at the end of last year. You may have heard about it. This enchanting young lady is Ruby Thursday, the Marvel Comics character that appeared in The Defenders comic book among other titles. An obscure, but interesting character.

Tin Tin

 

6x9

ink on bristol board

Here is a recent Substack Reward commission done of Tin Tin (and Snowy) done in the style I used for the Sh!tshow book. He's a little portly here, wouldn't you say? Still, no less adventurous! 

Black Panther

 

6x9

ink on bristol board

For this commission of one of the best comic book characters of all time, I couldn't resist taking a Jack Kirby approach, although I originally did want to use the more modern look, whilst keeping that Kirbyesque feel to it. So, as you can plainly see, no modernity to this at all. 

The Black Knight

 

6x9

ink on bristol board 

The Black Knight is the next commission from from the Kickstarter that I ran at the end of last year. I wasn't going to be that strict with what I offered and allowed any character to be requested, not just politicians. But, I did and am drawing them in that style. And it made for more fun for me.

So, this version of the Black Knight (also known as Sir Percy of Scandia) is not the same as the Marvel Comics version. This guy was an ancestor of the later Marvel character and this Black Knight, although created by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely, made his first appearance for Atlas Comics, which was a precursor of Marvel. I used the Joe Maneely design as requested. It was  lotsa fun using all that ink!  

Iron Man Commission

 

16x20

ink wash on illustration board

Recently, I did two commissions for a client, one that I cannot show at this time, because it is part of a bigger project. But, I can show this one. Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man. It had been some time since I last did an ink wash and after a brief moment of hesitation and awkwardness, I was back in the swing of things. This was a fun job, for sure.

Iron Man Process

 

I don't normally show process shots of my work, maybe I think that it will jinx it somehow. Hell, I don't know. So, why not show it? Anyways, this commission will be done as an ink wash and this is the pencil layout. I started in on the darkest inks the other day and will probably hold off on doing the eyes, beard and eyebrows until last, since they are thinner lines and smaller bits and I can build up the gradation if needed. Yeah, that's how I'll do it...

Patton M.O.D.O.K.

 

As much as I'm looking forward to watching the animated M.O.D.O.K., I have to say that I was a bit disappointed that we will not see Patton Oswalt's face as the A.I.M. super villain. 

Second Star: The Artist Formally Known As Phil

(click to bigefy)

This is a turnaround profile that I whipped up for the character of Fil, otherwise known as The Artist Formally Known As Phil. Ha, and I drew it in purple! How about that? 

Fil will be appearing in the 3rd issue of my comic, Second Star, which is currently being penciled. He was once a well respected and well known artist who went off the deep end and disappeared for awhile. When he reappeared he took up refuge in a blimp called the Grey Shark and became a wandering, grumpy, reclusive artist alongside his wife, Bitsy. 

Second Star #3 is on it's way!

Second Star: Janus

I haven't done one of these in a while, so here's another character profile from my comic Second Star.

Janus is one of the main characters and a friend of Holden, who is helping put things together in getting their mission underway. 

Janus is named after the Roman god, the two-headed or two-faced one. In this context, our Janus operates a ministry of sorts that caters to both the light and the dark of things. I won't say, the good and evil because I don't think that that is the case here. It's more of a tax-free haven type of enterprise as is explained somewhat in issue #2.

I've shown Janus here in what I think will be his 'official' sermon attire. He doesn't give them often, but I'm sure that when he does the topics will be crazy and completely irrelevant. Maybe. I'm also not sure if a sermon will find its way in this story arc, but it's a little background info of the character, for sure. 

Stay tuned, as the store on my website will be active shortly, so copies of Second Star will be available through there. 

Second Star #2

So, in between the usual gigs and work and stuff, I finally finished issue #2 of my comic Second Star. I really had a lot of fun doing this one, so I hope that that shows through. This one really pics up steam and the adventure is on! Come along as Holden, Ronnie, Janus and the rest as they set out in search of clues regarding the disappearance of Holden's grandfather. 

The printing is being done now and I will have them in plenty enough time to have them available for my first show, which will be next month at the Great Lakes Comic-Con. Or you can hit me up directly. 

Second Star Character Model

As I was drawing (and now inking) issue #2 of my Second Star comic I was becoming a bit frustrated with the way that I drew the character Holden from the front and then to a profile view. I've never been happy with that transition. It was the hair that was throwing me off. I had a similar way of doing things way back when, when I was doing a comic strip called Wade's World. So, I decided to fix that for future issues. I made a small bust of Holden so that I could see the transition from front to side, to see how that flop of hair looked from different angles. From the front, he looks the same, but now the issue from the side is solved. And I'm hoping that the drawings take on a more sculptural look to them, even though they are very cartoony. 

So, shall I do some more sculpting for all of the characters? Probably so. Many problems can be solved, not just with the shapes, but lighting, as well. 

Oh, and I changed that cowlick on the back of the head some. 

Second Star: Buffy

As I'm making my way through the inks for issue #2 of Second Star I'll be sure to post some of the characters that will make up this story arc.

This is Buffy and as the same as the character Deepo, she is modeled after someone that I went to high school with (K through 12, actually). Of course, Buffy is not her real name (although, the nickname that she did have was kind of similar). Her looks are not how she looked either, but I always felt that she had this Adam Ant/Duran Duran vibe going on, so this is a tip of the hat to that. 

Issue #1 is available through me (just send a message!) and hopefully, issue #2 will be out and about before the end of the year.

Deepo Prost

This guy here is a minor character in the forthcoming issue #2 of my comic, Second Star. He helps push along a resolution to a long seething conflict between two other characters and in doing so helps the adventure along. 

As most of the main characters are modeled after people that I know or have known. Deepo is based on a guy who I met in high school and through odd circumstances, I still see from time to time to this day. This guy was one of the first people who I met that also read Heavy Metal magazine and his sketches from that time had that very European feel to them. So, the hat is a nod to Moebius, who as you know, was ubiquitous to Heavy Metal Magazine. The name Deepo is a reference to Moebius, as well. Deepo is the name for the bird-like creature from The Incal. His last name is a contraction to his actual last name, so there's a teaser for ya.

The uniform? That is from the character Tan Divo from the animated series, The Clone Wars. And that is because Tan Divo looks and talks just like this friend. I have no idea why I chose orange shoes. It just fit with the color scheme, I guess. 

So, I hope that you enjoyed this little bit of trivia from the comic and I plan to post more tidbits like this as I go along. 

I don't have a store yet, but if you are interested in purchasing Secon Sta #1, just shoot me a message or an email and I will get one out to you.

Star Wars And Marvel Artist Proof Sketch Cards

Here are the listings from two sets for my Artist Proof cards. The top ones are from the Upper Deck set Marvel Beginnings and the bottom are from the Galaxy set by Topps. The links are below:

Machine Man

Black Bolt    The Controller

The Emperor    The Emperor 2    Darth Maul

Darth Vader    The Emperor 3   Darth Vader 2    Jabba the Hutt

Iron Man 2 Artist Proof Sketch Cards

This week's Artist Proof sketch cards are from the Iron Man 2 set put out by Upper Deck. They gave me something like 15 AP cards for this one, so I did them over time. The first ones, more realistic from 2010 and the 2014 ones a more cartoony style. The links are below:

Iron Man 1

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 4

Iron Man 5

Iron Man 6

Stealth Suit

Madame Masque

Space Suit

The Constrictor

The Controller

Star Trek/Planet Of The Apes Sketch Cover

Here's a very recent sketch cover commission on a very interesting, if odd mix of franchises. But, I had free rein to do what I wanted, so after fooling around with some sketches, experimenting with different crossovers, I thought it might be interesting to combine the characters themselves, so we have here Dr. Bones and Dr, Zaius as one, complete with crashed Enterprise in the background ala Planet of the Apes. Definitely a fun commission.

Golden Age Of Comics Artist Proof Sketch Cards

Who knew that if you actually make an attempt at selling these things, they sell! So, let's keep this going. This week's AP's are from the Golden Age Of Comics set by Breygent. The links are below:

Lady Fairplay

Fire Fly

Mutt & Jeff

Felix the Cat