Fables

Fables wasn't a series I followed at all.  The deconstruction of Fables and Mythology is old hat as it were to a child from the 70's.  Writers began the deconstruction during that period and so it was familiar territory.  To do these pages I read some of the books.  I tried several techniques in doing these pages which I failed at miserably, but only in retrospect.  Two page spreads are difficult.  I laid the pages out, printed the layouts, then drew the pages separately.  Bad choice.  My understanding of perspective is getting better and I push myself pretty hard to try new angles and shots, working on developing skills rather than playing it safe.  Because of that there are mistakes and failures.  This two page spread was a failure and not representative of what I am capable of doing.  Perhaps if I perfected playing it safe and get more comicbook work under my belt and experimenting in my own time or on my own projects I would get some pencilling work?

My Legion of Superheroes Elseworlds Part Two

I am getting out some of the ideals, that I have had over the years.  This was one such story and I have four versions based on the various versions of the LSH.

Page 5 Panel 1 Glamour Girl: Braniac 5 should have some tool to help us!
Panel 1 Ferro Lad: Mon El, your pole seems off its azimuth is something troubling you?
Panel 1 Sunboy: I feel bright and clear!
Panel 1 Kid Symphony: Lets make sure there are no sustained injuries.
Panel 1 SFX: Zuuun!
Panel 1 Cosmic Boy: Zoid! This magnetic bath soothes aching muscles!
Panel 2 Mon El: My own mortality... I've never had to face it!
Panel 2 Sunboy: See my corona I am Sunboy!
Panel 2 Kid Symphony: Sunboy meet sunEATER. You didn't stand a chance sour note!
Panel 2 SFX: Zuuun!
Panel 3 Brainiac 5: It will stop the suneater, but it has to operated from within the beast! It is a simple combination that must be pressed by hand. I'll transmit the instructions on the telepathic channel so everyone will know.
Panel 4 Mon El: Did you hear it? The invitation to my last dance has been sent! With one button push she is inviting death into this chamber!

Page 6: Panel One- Glamour Girl:My senses detect death for anyone who uses this device. Brainiac 5 why trust that murderous machine Tharok?
Panel Two - Mon El: I've been super so long I forgot the fears that come with being normal...
Panel Three - Mon El: It's humbling to realize how fragile and therefore precious life is.
Panel Four - Glamour Girl: Braniac 5 believes you have the best chance of surviving...
Panel Four - Mon El: I WON'T survive this, but I pray that I accomplish the mission before dying.
Panel Four - SFX: FWASH
Panel Four - Ferro Lad Thought: Mon El is still weak, but I am strong! Iron Strong! I CAN accomplish the mission before dying!

Page7 Panel One: SFX:Kang!
Panel One: Sunboy: Flares!
Panel One: Kid Symphony: Wha?
Panel One: Cosmic Boy: Foul Play!
Panel Two: Caption: Ferro Lad braves the dark void of space on a date with blazing destiny!
Panel Three: Glamour Girl: While the blow was well struck, Ferro Lad has gone on suicide mission!
Panel Three: Sunboy: In Mon El's weakened state Ferro Lad could have killed him!
Panel Three:Cosmic Boy: He was out of bounds! Here Mon El, get up so you can walk it off.
Panel Three: Kid Symphony: Calibrate the scanners so we can find out where Ferro Lad is at!

Page 8: Panel One: Glamour Girl: He's deep inside the suneater! He's stopped flying.
Panel One: Kid Symphony: We should have worked together! Everyone on this team keeps trying to solo, when we need to harmonize!
Panel One: Sunboy: Blazes, he laid a blast on you! Here Mon El, good buddy, I'll help you get your strength back with some yellow sun radiation.
Panel One:Cosmic boy: That was bad play, hitting you when you weren't looking.
Panel Two: SFX: Glkaaaaaaaaarrrrrrhhhhhhhhhh (Same size letters in sinuous line) Carrying over to Panel Three
Panel Three: SFX: (continuation)
Panel Three: Glamour Girl: Kid Symphony, you cry out in grief, is good. But we must help our friend. Perhaps...

Page 9:SFX:GLHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh...!
Caption 1: The sound carries over the vastness of the nebula that makes up the body of the suneater.
Caption 2: After the attack from the Legionnaires the suneater has changed it's bizarre chemistry! The roiling clouds of nebula gases are super heated to above 2400 degrees F...
Caption 3: ... the magnetic waves are a chaos of complexity...
Caption 4: ... enough red sun radiation to drain any Daxamite, Andromedan, or Kryptonian foolish enough to dare the nebula! A perfect physical defense. However, it underestimated the super-strength of the human heart!
Caption 5: It was Ferro Lad's Iron determination that allowed him to fly into this hellish maelstrom! Super heated and tossed by the magnetic waves, he was almost ejected several times, but he would not quit...
Caption 6: ... exhausted the youth completed his death march. Activated the Boojum, and screamed his pain and frustration into the vast nebula beast!
Caption 7: He passed out. Not hearing the answering scream.

Page 10
Panel One: SFX: Huraghurrrrr
Panel One: Glamour Girl: Cthru's Beard! Kid Symphony has Ferro Lad!
Panel One: Sunboy: With my Sun Powers I can absorb the heat
Panel One: Mon El: With my Invulnerability I can hold Ferro Lad
Panel One: Cosmic Boy: With my magnetism I can hold Ferro lad -- Mon El you're not fully charged!
Panel Two: SFX: rrrrrrrrrrrrrr (same size letters rising and falling in a line)
Panel Two : Glamour Girl: Halt Fools! You would kill Kid Symphony! Ferro lad's superheated body has burned through Kid Symphony's protective suit and is cooking his flesh!
Panel Three: SFX: rrrrrrrrrrrrrr (same size letters rising and falling in a line)
Panel Three: He is putting himself in a trance and singing a stasis field around the parts where Ferro lad is touching him, but he can't put himself in stasis or the song ends!

Page 11
Panel One -- Caption: The swirling cosmic energies of the Boojum absorbed the deadly nimbus of the suneater.
Panel Two -- Caption: The Boojum was stored in a zero g stasis field for safe disposal later.
Panel Three -- The Legion Cruiser took a short Hyper wave jump and landed in clear near Earth lane for a quick landing at the Legion Clubhouse
Panel Four -- Gentleman Genius: You had 18 degree burns on most of your body. Rebuilding your bones, tissue and skin will require at least six days.
Kid Symphony: So Long?!! On Matlell Island I could have it completed in three!
Glamour Girl: Ferrous, you were so brave.
Ferrous: Um, I guess Princess. Just doing what anyone with the power would do.
Ferrous Thought: Think about Baseball, I don't want to go iron... Greatest pitchers of all time...

Punisher 2099 Sample

I received a script from an editor at Marvel mid to late 90s.  For Punisher 2099.  I did some exploratory things, but overall I like the pages.  It didn't turn into a job, I don't know if it was because the editor didn't like the artistic flourishes or (blame this on my memory) I didn't turn in the sample in a timely manner.  I know I did multiple styles of art for the piece and this is just one version. I haven't done anything in this style in a while, the technique holds up even after all this time.  My underlying structure has improved -- perspective, design, light and dark, but all in all not too bad.

Astonishing Xmen 37

When I sent my second completed set of tryouts for I sent this to the Submissions Editor: Here's some pages from Astonishing Xmen 37 featuring the formidable Fin Fang Foom! I consider the FFF the grouchy old man of monsters, the original FFF looked like a grouchy old man and sounded like a grouchy old man -- he just wanted to go back to sleep! I can picture him telling kids to stay off his lawn. I was a photographer for Google and one of the programs that they have is street views of the larger cities of the world one of those cities is Tokyo. So I used images from Shinjuku in Tokyo for the location of the story. The vehicles are the most popular vehicle in Japan, the Suzuki Wagon R. The truck is a Dekatora -- decorated truck, they are covered with lights, perfect for a night scene. guess that's it -- references for anyone that needs them.

Black Panther Layouts 3

Black Panther laying into the Man-Ape?

What would I do differently now? I would establish the village much better, give the area a more complete feel. In the second set of layouts there was supposed to be a page spent riding in a areo chariot to the village that I took out, but I think it should have been there. Using reference for the Haggia Sophia as a basis for the Panther "Castle" was one of my best considerations. There was way too much thought that went into the story. The chair in Layouts One has a historical story to it, as well as, the Panther Castle. The paints given to Captain America in Layouts two were classical oil paints of a type not available currently.

Mutant X 27

My love of second banana characters extends to alternative universe stories, like the Mutant X series. This is mutant X a vampire Storm fighting for a vampire Gambit against a dark Dagger. Penciled in a funky Chunky style, similar to my Hawkman, but less gritty.

Hawkman

I've always been a fan of the second banana superheroes. The guys who put on their tights like the big guys, but don't get the recognition. Some of these guys are one trick ponies who really haven't got much going for them, so they end up killed and brought back sometimes a whole generation later, their history is changed, their powers are amped up or they're sent to live in the Amazon Jungle, anything to inspire interest. Some have basic stories that are full of potential... Hawkman back to basics in a rough line style

D-Boy the Manga Part 4

The Startling conclusion!

D-Boy the Manga Part 2

D-Boy Continued...

Dboy the Manga

My little manga tryout serialized

New Warriors

The New Warriors by Kevin Grevioux and Paco Medina, started off pretty good, but Paco left after the first Six issues, I'm sure the move was good for his career, but bad for the series. It shuffled through a few artists and died. Tryout from issue Seven.

Green Lantern Kyle Rayner

For all the years that the character has been around I really don't know much about Kyle Rayner as Green Lantern. I knew he was an artist, I had no ideal how he lived and from what little I saw of the series, most writers know nothing of the lifestyle of an artist. Its kind of like the transporters on Star Trek, its just meant to get to another point not an interesting item in and of itself. Later in Star Trek they played with the potential of the transporters I don't think they ever addressed what it meant to be an artist in Green Lantern. My tryout was way too long, I think it is sixteen pages long.