Friday, December 31, 2010

Out with the Old


Wow, it's an actual blog post! Yeah, I thought I'd end out the year with one of these rarities. 2010 was a wonderful, confusing, horrible, and strange year for me. I experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows of my life this year. It will certainly be memorable, but I'm more than happy to kick it to the curb and look forward to 2011. I'll be working toward a prosperous and exciting time ahead, and I hope the same for all my friends and family out there.

Of course, I can't finish out the year without showing some sort of art. I'm a little ahead of schedule for my work at IDW, so I'm ending out the year(and starting the next one) with a double page spread I'm creating for the new Transmetropolitan Art Book. It's a fancy new book in which a bunch of artists have been asked to contribute art relating to the world of Transmetropolitan, the comic series by Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson. I've posted just the sketch. I may post the pencils later. If you want to see the finished piece, you have to buy the book! All proceeds from sales of the book go toward the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and The Hero Initiative. They have a Kickstarter campaign to help raise money for production. Check it out here and consider donating!

That's all for now. Enjoy yourselves, be safe during the holiday, and join me in 2011 as I battle to protect the innocent and destroy evil in all it's forms!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Why I've been away

As you can see, recently my contributions to this blog have been slim pickings. Also, Guns of Shadow Valley fans are aware that the webcomic has slowed it's production rate. This is because I've had to devote my time to a new gig at one of the bigger publishers. I've been pretty tight lipped about it publicly, but I've been given permission to reveal a few things about it from the publisher. For the last 6 weeks or so I've been drawing and inking pages for a three issue miniseries for IDW, called That Hell-bound Train. It's penned by Joe and John Lansdale and is being colored by Alfredo Rodríguez. It will be solicited some time in March for a May 2011 release. I'll be giving out more details when the time comes, so look out for that. So far, I'm having an immensely fun time working on these pages. It's a great story with lots of cool imagery. I'm also pleased that I'm able to keep up the production schedule, which is always one of my greatest worries. This is my first work for a larger comic book publisher, and I'm incredibly thrilled about it. I view this as a chance to prove myself and I hope that it will lead to more work down the line.

Come next year, as I close out this project, you'll see more sketch posts from me again. Especially as the 2011 convention season warms up. I'm very grateful for everyone who follows this blog, or just stops in once in a while, as well as all the great fans of my webcomic The Guns of Shadow Valley. Have no fear, my pace on these may have slowed, but they are not going away. I appreciate your patience and I hope you all check out That Hell-bound Train when it hits the shelves. Don't worry, I'll remind you again. And again.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Prints for sale!

I've put up a new page in the Store with 35 different prints that can be purchased online. They are each $15 for U.S. orders, $18 int'l. That includes shipping. Payments made through PayPal. See them all here!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Sketches from PIX


These are some of the sketches I did at the first Pittsburgh Indy Comics Expo last month.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Gorilla Grodd


Maybe I'll just draw gorillas from now on. Guns of Shadow Valley can be about cowboy gorillas. All gorillas, all the time!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Jim Dietz: Zombie Chef

A drawing of my buddy Jim for his birthday. He owns The Gypsy Cafe, and if you're ever in Pittsburgh, I definitely recommend it. Though they rarely serve human brains.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Hero Corp's The Pro

This is The Pro, lead character of M. L. Walker's Hero Corp, which made it's debut at PIX. I created this pinup for the book.

Eventually I'm going to write a short con report about PIX. I swear.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

King Kong and t-shirts


A little King Kong for you today. Also, check out the Store Page, where you can now order a Guns of Shadow Valley t-shirt!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Frankenstein's Monster


A little something I did the night before PIX to have to sell at the table. Can never go wrong with this guy.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Order Monsters sketchbook online!


I now have a STORE PAGE up and the first item available for order is the Monsters* Mostly sketchbook.

100 pages of b&w sketches of monsters, creatures, heroes, villains, and dames. 5x7, paperback, perfect bound. It's just $15 for U.S. orders, $20 for international, shipping included.

Download the 10 page PDF preview.

BONUS: Each copy comes signed with a free original sketch doodle on the inside back cover!

Choose Option:
Payments are made safely and securely through PayPal. If you don't have a PayPal account, it's easy to get one, or just email me.

More great merchandise coming to the store soon. Stay tuned!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Monday, September 20, 2010

Wonder Woman Day


This piece is for the upcoming Wonder Woman Day art auction, October 23-24 at Comic Fusion in Fleminton, NJ. The bidding for the art auction begins October 1st, where you can bid on this piece as well as work from Sergio Aragones, Michael Golden, David Mack and many more. All proceeds go to charity, so check it out!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Scarecrow


Unfortunately, I've had to cancel my trip to the Wild Pig sale. It's too bad because I've always heard such great things about this small show in Springfield, NJ. If you are interested in some serious comic bargains you should really check it out. And there will be some really cool artists there, as well as contests and raffles throughout the weekend. I did this drawing of Scarecrow as a pre-order before I knew I had to cancel.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Red Skull


I did this drawing right before Baltimore and sold him at the table. The guy who bought it slipped it into a clear holder and strapped it to the front of the cart of stuff he was pushing around. He did the same thing at Heroes Con, too. It's an awesome advertising technique because both times I got people coming to the table as a result, asking about that drawing. Thanks, Nick!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Baltimore Comic Con Report

Wow, Baltimore, who knew? Everybody but me, I guess. The comic con here is simply fantastic, on par with Heroes Con and Emerald City as one of the best mid-to-large all comic shows. Baltimore Comic Con is another great example of a good sized comic book show that doesn't need celebrity media stars, video games, or movie studios to be energetic and successful.

In a wide room resembling the hanger bay of the Battlestar Galactica, housed in an expansive modern convention hall, which is located in the center of a rejuvenated tourist friendly city center, this comic con was packed wall to wall with guests, dealers, and best of all, eager attendees! Arriving two hours early for setup on Saturday, there was already a long line stretched outside. My opinion of this show is going to be somewhat limited, however. This was my first time at Baltimore and I was so swamped the entire time with sketch commissions and people coming to the table. As a result, I never had a chance to walk the con floor. Fortunately, I felt like I still had a full experience because it seemed like a lot of the con came to me at one point or another. But my biggest regret, as is often the case, was not being able to see so many of the other great exhibitors and guests that I knew were there. But, it's not a terrible problem to have, and I did have a wonderful experience at the Baltimore Comic Con.

Big thanks to comic book, sketch card artist, and my good buddy Chad Cicconi for the drive from Pittsburgh and being a superb roommate. We rode together down to Heroes earlier this year. Both times I've brought a handful of cds but never bother to open them as the conversation is constantly flowing throughout the journey. The city of Baltimore had me a bit worried, besides it's questionable reputation and portrayal in shows like The Wire, on our route into town it was clear that this city was in need of some serious urban renewal. As we got downtown and near the convention center, it was clear where all the money went, as this area was very new, shiny, open and ready to receive visitors of any shape and size.

The organizers of the convention really have their game together, everything from my my angle went smooth as silk, and they really take care of their exhibiting guests. Every convention needs a vip room!! Good job there, Baltimore Comic Con! Seriously, I cannot stress how helpful this simple addition to the exhibitor amenities really helps at a busy con. I wish every show had one. I had so many great conversations, saw some many wonderful people, everyone was positive and excited to be right where they were. Lately, I've been very busy at conventions, but even in light of other recent successful shows, I was still astonished by how much business I received in the two days at Baltimore. I wish I could draw faster, because my sketch list filled so quickly. The first day, I had to tell a number of people to come back first thing Sunday to try to get on the sketch list. I didn't expect anyone to actually come through with this offer, but they all did! Ten minutes after opening on Sunday my sketch list was again full and I knew I'd be busy right up until the closing minute. I also sold a really healthy amount of prints and I moved the Guns preview book off the table at a rate twice that of other successful cons. I want to give big, enormous, no, ginormous thanks to everyone who came by the table and got a book, a print, a sketch, or just came by to talk and tell me they liked my work, that really means a lot.

I wish I had a boatload of pictures to share from my weekend, but like I said, I was just too busy. I couldn't even stop to take pictures of the myriad of great costumers as they passed by my table. Save for just one, and if you check out my pics you'll see why I just had to snap that photo: All Hail Skroob! This was my first experience of the Baltimore Comic Con and I recommend this show to anyone who can attend. I know I'll definitely be back next year!