I'm so, so sorry.

I mean it.

It's tampon tattoo day here at the Iamkalman Ranch. Did a little advertising work recently and drew these two tats, ultimately to be worn by a contrite actor in a new OB Tampon viral ad campaign. They've designed the thing to be a very visual and very personal apology, so no matter what your name (Yes, it even works with Kalman) it's a special act of contrition just for you.

If you want to try it out for yourself click here for US and here for Canada.

Your name here.

Here there be Dragons!

Hey! Wow! It's the cover art to X-23 #18! it's a dragon in Times Square and the Future Foundation kidlets!

 

In other news, only 3 more days left in X-23 month, the month where all X-23 cover art is 20% off! More info here.

Irredeemable

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be the regular cover artist (tag-teaming with the stellar Dan Panosian) on Irredeemable starting with January's issue #33.

The buzz on this book has been strong since the outset, but now that I've caught myself up on the series, I am a bonafide fan and couldn't be prouder to be a part of it.
 

November is X-23 Month!

For the entire month of November all X-23 covers are 20% off. More information here. And examples below!

Adventures in Mutant Babysitting

They MUST have Thor merchandise in the Marvel U, right?

Hey Wow! It's the cover art to X-23 # 17. Conceived to hearken back to certain well-loved teen movie of the 80's.

Hey, Adventures in Babysitting referenced Marvel, so now Marvel is referencing Adventures in Babysitting.

Hakuna Matata.

And apologies and much love to Mr. Drew Struzan.

A Touch of Frost

The last of my outstanding Fan Expo commissions. Well, except for one, but that's morphed into something entirely else now.

The first piece I did for Dani just this past spring, was a 60's/70's era Domino wearing a Mondrian dress (um, awesome,) and the follow-up request: Emma Frost, mashed up with the cover art below, did not disappoint.

UNDEADLINE!

...or The Artist Formerly Known as BOMBHEAD!

The real final!

I did some cover art last year for new publisher Kickstart Entertainment (NOT Kickstarter.com, which is what everyone thinks when I say the name.)

This is the first of them, for an OGN originally known as Bombhead! and ultimately released as Deadline! Above is the cover art I submitted, but for reasons too complex to go into here, the book was released with a slightly different look.

So here's the real cover (along with some process shots), this may be the only place you will ever see it, unless Deadline! goes into a second printing...

Pencils!

Inks!

Universe X-23

Apologies for the blog neglect my friends, it's been a whirwind month. I Just got back from NYCC and my head is still spinning. Up top, cover art to X-23 # 16, the culmination of the Future Foundation arc, which is also (cat's out of the bag now...) a Captain Universe arc!

I (Am) Fanboy

The fine folks over at ifanboy.com have featured me in their ifanboy upstarts column this week.

It's surreal (good surreal) to click on a link and find someone has written a well-researched and concise history of your career and has also scoured the net to find a broad cross-section of your work to back it up. Much of that work hasn't even been featured on this blog.

If you have a sec, please check it out here. And take amoment to peruse the amazing artists they've profiled in the past.

Future Foundation Down

What can X-23 do against this maniacal threat that the combined might of the entire FF failed to? Find out soon-ish in X-23 #15.

LUTHER

I'm not gay, but if some magic gay ray made me gay, my first stop might be Idris Elba's house.

Soldier in Repose

So this is my final Soldier Zero cover for the fine people at BOOM! 
 
This isn't our last dance together though. I have a new cover gig with them that I'll be announcing here soon, so stay tuned!

Expooooo! Pimp my Hide.

It's that time of year again. Toronto Fan Expo time! The show has been extended to four days (Thursday through Sunday) an I'll be there for all four.

Also of note; I'll be having a Massive Crazy Blowout sale on original art! For the four days of the con only! More info after the map.

I'm at Table 112 this year, along with the rest of my studio, the RAID studio. We're in a different totally different area this year, outside of artist alley and far from our usual spots in the 'guest row', so please take note.

A handy map for the finding of us, courtesy Salgood Sam

So about the sale...

For four days only, I'm blowing out almost every page I have at a mere $40. This price point includes plenty of illustrations and some covers and splashes. I'm reserving some mid-range pieces in a $100 binder, and only a few really new pieces will be for sale, but not on sale. But still! Almost everything $40!!! Some examples:

$40!

$40! Whaaat?!!?

$40! No way!

$40!

$40! No!

$40! Yes!

$40!

$40!

And so so much more. These prices only apply for the four days of Fan Expo! Come out and check it all out!

The Other Big Thing

I have started a tumblr. I hear they are all the rage.

I'll be treating it a bit differently from this blog. Here I only post my own artwork: finished pieces, occasionally sketches I'm reeeeally into. Then I elaborate and jibber-jab about them and add process steps too, but first and foremost it's about the pro work.

The tumblr will update more or less daily, but I'll be throwing all manner of biznass up there. My artwork, sure, but also links, random inspirado, other people's art (gasp!), photos, all this on top of all the general tumbl. You know, the tumbl of stuff that just tumbl's through tumblr.

Big Thing

This here is the cover to X-23 #14, part 2 of the FF arc, with amazing interiors by the lovely and talented Phil Noto.

Sometimes, a cover demands a ton of laborious detail to convey its idea (see last month's) resulting in endless windows, bricks, debris, or, ocasionally, French RAGE zombies. But other times, the concept is so simple and elegant it stands on its own, and any additional bells and whistles would only distract.

Luckily, this was one of those.

 

Here's a Mighty Marvel Fun Fact: Did you know the Thing (pictured above) is only 6' tall? I didn't! (Clearly.) According to some cursory research, this means that: Nick Fury, Doctor Strange (!), Gambit, Longshot, Cyclops, Margali (Nightcrawler's adopted mom), Hawkeye, Cable, and the Litterbug, are all taller than the Thing. 

I don't actually know who the Litterbug is. I have never read a comic with him in it. But I do now know he is 5 inches taller than the Thing.

My First Cosplay

This con ain't big enough for the both of us.

In my short career in comics, I've gotten to draw a lot of cool characters and costumes. Occasionally, I've gotten to tweak details of certain designs, over time, to my liking. It's rare though, that I get to make something up, design something new. The job is 99% interpretation. When I was doing gaming illustration, I'd be called upon to design new characters on every page, but comics is a different bag, getting to design something is rare and special.

Okay, so the design I'm talking about, wasn't actually in or even for a story, it was for an interpretive cover. And it's still a version of X-23, not from scratch. Nevertheless, I have a fondness for The Dread Pirate Laura, I feel like I added a little something to the character, and I got to flex some atrophied character-design muscles.

Here's what makes it even more special: Someone took the time to make it real. Someone chose that costume, that character out of all the others. It's a first for me. It was just a random email asking about the physics of the skirt, and then BAM! Marjorie is sending me this:

Paola Valera with Marjorie Liu at SDCC.

 Please note Paola's attention to detail: The key, the beads on the beaded necklace, the care taken in differentiating the yellow on the top/headband from the stripes on the sleeves. The pale, pale striping on the tights. Amazing.

Compare, if you will:

Soldier of Two Worlds

 

This is my penultimate cover for Soldier Zero. I've been neglecting the Soldiers for a while now, no real reason why, so it's time to catch up!

Also, I haven't said it enough lately, thank you for coming and looking at my pictures.

 

Spider-geddon!

Modern: Djurdevic styles!

 Hey, wow! A cover that matches the logo! It's the cover art to X-23 #13 featuring the luckiest character in the Marvel U, the Amazing Spider-man!

He's so lucky that New York is literally crumbling around him. Crumbling into tiny bits, all of which are getting sucked into that terrifying icon looming in the roiling orange sky! Roiling orange skies never portend good things. Lucky things he's lucky!

Classic: Ditko styles!

 There was some debate about what he should be wearing at this pivotal moment, and so I decided to hedge my bets and do both outfits. I am a huge fan of those swanky hex-tastic new FF costumes, but where foreshortening is concerned, you can't beat that webbing grid for really popping a limb!

Which grabs you guys more?

Lots and lots of bricks, and rocks, and window frames, and broken glass and...

The Other Right Hand of Doom

 A while back I was asked to do a Witchblade inventory cover for the good folks at Top Cow. I have now learned that that cover, which you see above, will be used as the San Diego Exclusive variant for Witchblade #146.

I've been a secret fan of Sara Pezzini for a long time. I haven't read a lot of Witchblade comics, but I've always dug the essential concept, and the current run treats Sara the way I always though she should be treated: she's a cop. Sure she's got some vestal endowments, but she's a cop, more Olivia Benson than Jenna Jameson.