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: