I am Kalman

New Years Kiss in Deep Space

2012-01-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

So this one snuck right past me. Still not on top of this whole double shipping thang... But this is the cover to X-23 #19 and it's out now!

Rumour squashing time: Sadly, X-23 as an ongoing series is coming to an end, beloved though it may have been. The final issue, though, will be #21, not #20 as many seem to believe.

A kiss is not a contract.

But it's very nice, very very nice.

Happy new year Kidlettes! Let's try not to fuck this one up as badly as the last one! Mwah!

I'm so, so sorry.

2011-12-13T16:10:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-11-28T12:47:00.000-08:00

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

2011-11-14T20:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-11-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

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

Adventures in Mutant Babysitting

2011-10-31T15:12:00.000-07:00

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

2011-10-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-10-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

...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

2011-10-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-20T17:26:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

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

2011-09-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-08-23T10:24:00.000-07:00

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!

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

2011-08-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

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

2011-08-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-07-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

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.

The Claw Daddy

2011-07-12T07:53:00.000-07:00

Finally. The thing I've wanted since my first real gig at Marvel back in '07, to draw the man himself, Wolverine. And here he is on the cover of X-23 #11.

Believe it or not, it was a bit challenging to get Wolverine on the cover of a Marvel comic, even one he's actually in. I tried so hard to fit him in to the cover for X-23 #10, with sketch after sketch, but editorial wanted something different.

I needn't have fretted though, because the very next month...

The Last Vamp in Paris

2011-07-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

A little out of order here, but you can deal, right? This is the cover to X-23 #10, part 1 of the 3 part Paris arc.

These covers are a bit of a tour of the city's landmarks, and this one is set in the catacombs, an elaborate network of tunnels and tombs beneath Paris. In my head: Vampires + Paris = Catacombs. Can you blame me?

X-Men Vs. R.A.I.D.

2011-07-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

Red rain falls in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

What happens when X-23's trigger scent is tweaked to effect all humans? Paris goes... goes... errr, what's crazy in French? Fou? Paris goes fou!!!!

Out today, in your favorite Brick n' mortar comic shop: X-23 #12.

A point of possible interest: In addition to the Silver Elvis (not so silver here) and the Peruvian Mandolin Player, this cover also features the mighty Marvel debut of myself and several of my studiomates at the R.A.I.D. Studio in sunny Toronto, Canada.

So step to it reader! It's Where's Waldo O'clock!

Four Of Nine

2011-07-05T09:38:00.000-07:00

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends. But sometimes takes long hiatuses (hiati?)

The spread above appeared in Artifacts #7, from the good people at Topcow. Each issue features a 2 page story, detailing the origin of one of the major players, and mine is all about lovely, lethal, verdant-locked gynoid, Aphrodite.

Nice to stretch my neglected sequential page-making muscles after a year of covers. As an origin vignette, it's more a series of tableaux, not really all that sequential, but still...


Pencils!


Inks!!

Oh Hot MooX!

2011-06-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Cover art for the X-Men: Earth's Mutant Heroes handbook, out in finer comics selling establishments last week.

I'm an X-Men kid. If I had my way, it'd be nothing but mutants 24-7. Sooo nice to draw a couple of heavy hitter whom I haven't drawn before on this one.

Collision! part 2 of 2 (Or: I Learned Things.)

2011-05-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

The final. Original art still available!

Cover art to X-23 #9, part of the Collision crossover with the Daken book.

What can I say? For a seemingly simple cover, this one took a lot of twisting and turning to get out the door. This is a moment I've wanted to show for a while, and I was going for an intense stand-off, but I'm not sure the body language is selling it.

Finding the right color scheme took many passes as well, the journey from magenta to brown had many stops and side-trips.

An earlier version, as appearing in Previews. I dunno, I thought I was Benjamin or something. Or Jim C.

I'm reasonably pleased with the Daken (although the physical copy printed so red he looks sunburnt) but getting my flat style of rendering to 'work' on Laura, at such a large size was a whole other challenge.

In the end, it is what it is. I learned things.

For he's a Jolly Good... Snail.

2011-05-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's Free Comic Book Day this Saturday May 7th. It's also the 35th anniversary of the Silver Snail comic shop, a landmark of Toronto comics culture, and I'll be spending it there.

Each year they commission an original poster to commemorate the event, usually featuring store mascot Bobo (the big robot guy,) in some fashion. This year, they asked me. (See image above,) If you want one come down to the store, they're gratis.

Past posters have been drawn by the like of Charles Vess, Dave McKean, Stuart Immonen, Adam Hughes and Simon Bisley, among others. Clearly, someone screwed up this year, but I'm pretty chuffed about the whole thing, regardless.

The Silver Snail and I have had a long association, and it's inseparable from my secret origin. It was the first comic shop I ever set foot in as a kid with my Dad. I didn't buy my first comic there, but pretty damn close. It was a wellspring of inspiration for me growing up, for years I couldn't just walk in to the store, as soon as I saw it at the end of the block, I had to break into a run. It was the fire in which my love for comics was tempered. It was a place where amazing, undiscovered things lurked on every shelf.

And I had plenty of time to discover them all, as in later years, my mom would often drop me off there while doing purchasing in the neighborhood, leaving me to wander the store for hours. I'm sure the staff loved that, and later still, in my twenties, when I worked there for a year or so (with some of those same staff, I might add,) I came to understand just how god-damned annoying I must have been.

I don't get to the store much these days, I live and work in neighborhoods in other parts of the city, with easy comic purchasing options walking distance. But I wish I did.

And hey, I'll be there tomorrow.

Artists Help Japan

2011-04-14T07:53:00.000-07:00


Poster art by Kei Acedera.

I'll be at Revival in Toronto this coming Sunday the 17th, along with a whole slew of other Toronto creators and DJs, drawing like the wind to help raise money for earthquake and tsunami relief via the global grassroots movement Artists Help Japan.

I'll be on hand from around 6pm to midnight, taking commissions just like I do at conventions, except 100% of the fee will go towards the cause.

The event is all ages, and free to attend. For more info, click the poster above, or you can read the whole press release here.

Collision! 1 of 2

2011-04-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

Cat added in post. My editorial crew and I agree, the addition of cats improves almost anything.

Out this past Wednesday, X-23 #8 featuring Daken, son of Wolverine!

It takes place on one of my favorite locales of the Marvel U, Madripoor (Which, as a child, I'd always mix up with Majipoor. Careful kids, we are deep in the nerd zone now.)

You can see the favor by how much love and attention is paid to the environment in this image. How utterly unlike so much of my other work...

Also of note: This issue and the next one, both parts of the Collision! crossover, are beautifully drawn by one Mr. Ryan Aloysius Montgomery Stegman. Check this out, if only for him. He is ninja.

See? No cat. Also: available! (hint hint)

Sketchin' Mutants at the Con, Like a Wizard

2011-03-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who came out, chatted, got drawings, bought prints or picked up originals. You made the weekend awesome, each and every one of you.

I'll also be at the Toronto ComiCON Fan Appreciation Event April 9th and 10th, so if you missed out, you have a chance to make it right in just 3 short weeks!

Photo Ref Wednesdays No.3

2011-03-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

Welcome back, my friends to our newest (Semi)weekly feature, wherein I post embarrassing photos of myself, taken in the hopes of capturing a certain je ne sais quoi for the art. All for the art...

Oh to be that young and that thin again, but with all the suave yet charmingly brash confidence I now possess... (You can't see me, but I'm rolling my eyes at myself as I type this.) So here I am as both the Chief and the Sniper! The girl I managed to work out on my own, without the aid of a camera.

This was the first pro gig where I used a significant amount of photo reference. My art director, who was just not feeling the reality or weight of the drawings I was submitting, kept sending me back to the drawing board, over and over, and finally suggested I take some pictures.

So I ate those 4 small pomegranate seeds. What harm could they do?

It made a huge difference to that particular illustration, and it definitely transformed my working process on every piece thereafter. Bold step forward or the beginning of the road to hell? Probably not for me to say...

I was commissioned to create a background city-map, which curiously, is also based on a photo. In the end they went with their own image (see below) so this is the official debut of that unused map!

The final cover, featuring Other Map.

Not quite a Tutorial

2011-03-12T21:23:00.000-08:00

Cover Artist Kalman Andrasofszky talks shop at NYCC from The Comic Archive on Vimeo.

As I ponder what might be a good assignment to decompress into a tutorial, here's a video interview with me from NYCC 2010 where I go into great rambly detail about my process.

Appearing Live!

2011-03-09T22:54:00.000-08:00

I'll be appearing at the Wizardworld Toronto Comicon March 18th, 19th, and 20th. Come find me for prints and commissions and dry wit. More info here.

In other news, please look to the right. Your right (stage left.) There's a new link up there! Yes, that's right, for the first time in almost 3 years, I have a portfolio gallery online again.

I'll continue throw everything at the wall on this here blog though, don't you worry! The portfolio, is a more streamilined beast.

Avast ye Scurvy Dogs!

2011-03-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

Out today, in comic shops across the country (and in the US too!) X-23 #7: The All-Pirate Issue!

What can I say about this cover, that it can't say for itself? What if? I mean really what if Remy Le Beau and Laura Kinney were tearing it up 200 years ago, wreaking havoc on the high-seas? Would it look something like this? I like to think, yes.

In related news, as a result of this cover, there are those who think a series of X-Men Pirate pieces would be a fine thing to behold...

A note to concerned parents: this issue is for mature readers only. One might say it was rated Arrrrr...

Update: This baby got featured in iFanboy's Best of the Week... in Covers!

Photo Ref Wednesdays No. 2

2011-03-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Can't show what this is for yet. I'll give you a hint though, it's a drawing of someone with at least one hand.

V-Day Salute

2011-02-14T13:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day boys and girls! In line with the spirit of this most hated holiday, I humbly present the cover art to X-23 #6. Why? Because, really, what could be more Valentonian than a busty leather-clad vixen stepping on someone?

If you don't agree, that's okay. it just means your Valentine's Day is probably going to look a lot different from mine.

Actually remembered to scan the pencils... that never happens.

The original art for this cover is sold. A lot if inquires from Italians, they were very eager for this piece. Make of that what you will.

Bucking the trends

2011-02-07T23:38:00.000-08:00

So apparently there's this thing called ESPN Magazine, and every year before basketball season they do a preview issue where they make predictions about each team in the NBA. This year, Marvel Comics handled that section and I was asked to contribute an illustration.

Key members of each team were represented by Marvel characters. My team was the Milwaukee Bucks, but if, unlike me, you know something about sports, you already knew that. You could tell just by looking at the illustration.

Me, I'd never heard of them before I got the reference. Nor had I heard of players Jennings and Bogut, featured here as Powerman & Ironfist, respectively. (Powerman & Ironfist I had heard of.)

None of that really matters though. Here's why: despite knowing jack and shit about sports, I really like drawing sports imagery. If you think about it, athletes and superheroes... not so different. I mean, they both wear colorful, icon encrusted costumes, both have idealised, chiseled physiques, and drawing both requires the ability to capture intense dynamic motion.

Not so different.

Chain-link fence in background added digitally. Why? I'm not crazy, that's why.

My original version. See above for the slightly tweaked final. ESPN got uneasy about depicting a black dude wearing "shackles and chains."

Photo Ref Wednesdays No.1

2011-02-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Boo!

I'll try to keep these up as long as I have reference to post, and I have a lot. This one relates to yesterday's Big Head post, but in the future I'll include whatever piece of art the goofy photos in question relate to.

A note to Messrs Paolo Rivera and Stuart Immonen, I'm not sure which one of you I saw doing this first, so props to you both.

Dot-eye added in post.

The Big Head

2011-01-31T22:30:00.000-08:00

A bit of unfinished business from last year: the cover art to R.E.B.E.L.S. #19. My final cover for the series.

I'd written up a lengthy blog post about it at the time, but in a spectacular techtard moment, deleted the whole thing irretrievably.

It was just too much.

I'm a fragile-spirited creative-type, I couldn't go back after that, and so it languished among my drafts. This tragic event also may or may not have contributed to the 6 month blogging hiatus. I'm not saying it did, but re-read the above carefully, and draw your own conclusions.

I'm dusting it off today though, as I've just gotten news that I'm among the 2011 Joe Shuster Award nominees. The Shusters are Canada's own comic creator awards, and I'm pretty chuffed to be recognized by them this year. More info about them and what they do here.

But wait, what has that got to do with...?

This cover is among the pieces I'm nominated for, and the only piece on their list not yet on the blog. Oh, and also? Getting the nom has given me one.

So, enough jibber-jab, this is my attempt to (sorta) re-create the post you would have read, if I didn't have fat Hungarian sausage-fingers. Ahem. This cover was different from all the others before (and since,) in that pencil never touched paper.

I did my rough digitally as per usual, but worked it a little further and blocked in some shadows.

And after an embarrassing photo-shoot in the studio bathroom, in the dark, lit only by the LED on my bike lock key, I had my reference ready to go. (Please see future Photo-ref Wednesday posts...)

And so I proceeded to skip the pencil stage entirely to lay in the blacks, straight onto the bristol (with a brush!)

And then proceed to lay in grey tones

In successive layers from dark to light

With Copic cool grey markers.

Maybe not as intricate as the original would have been, but there you have it kids!

Clement Sauve

2011-01-27T10:26:00.000-08:00

Died last night.

He was 33 years old, two years younger than me.

I barely knew Clem, I only met him a handful of times. We sort of crossed paths career-wise at Devil's Due in the early 2000's. I took over from him first on Infantry covers, and then on Voltron for all of one issue before it was canceled.

I liked him, but I barely knew him, so it's not my place to get into some of the things other people are, but he was one of us.

This has been borne out by enough of my peers that even though I can only speak for myself with absolute authority, I'll say it anyway: Most of us who create as a way of life are driven by similar things. Our secret origins are often eerily similar, and tend to result in a lack of faith/interest/understanding in real-world trappings like wealth, family, and shiny things. We just want to make shit. And underneath that, perhaps born of simple fear, we share a desire to leave something behind, long after wealth, family and even we ourselves are gone.

Clem left a wealth of awesome behind.

Whether you knew Clem well, or never heard of him until this post, please take a moment today to learn a little more about him and look at all the beautiful things he made.

Sit and Deliver

2011-01-26T13:35:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd balance yesterday's case study in less-than-hoped-for results, with another Soldier Zero cover, this time the cover to #3, which is one I think came together well.

This one was a bit of an experiment, both in terms of layout, and use of graphic elements. Stuart, the man inside the alien suit, hadn't been seen on the covers yet, and I thought featuring him, a human character for humans to identify with, was important.

Funny how there's a lot less to say about a piece I'm happy with...

The Road is Long

2011-01-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

The version I liked best, to see the version they went with and printed, keep reading.

Sometimes despite your best efforts, a piece doesn't quite come together how you planned, and this piece, the cover art to Soldier Zero #4, available last week in finer comics establishments is as good a case study of this unfortunate phenomenon as any.

I had high hopes for this cover and a pretty clear idea of what I wanted: Ominous up-shot of the alien, who we're still not sure is hero or menace, dark roiling clouds behind --a storm brewing (pretty clear subtext there,) as well as a visual touchstone (hydro poles) showing us that, despite the freaky sky, we're still here on Earth, in familiar territory.

There's a voice, that keeps on calling me...

In drawing the final, I added a roadway (it would have to be there to justify the poles,) but that combined with his abdominal twist kind of made him look like he was sauntering on down the road, whistling a jaunty tune.

...down the road, that's where I'll always be.

The publishers request to make the sky less druggy (I'm parahrasing) resulted in a red sky in almost the exact same shade as the red guy.

Also along the way I'd given the cover a flip (we do this sometimes) not thinking it through fully in this case, and thus ensured the sunset would be obscured by the logo.

In digging up this image, I see they darkened the cover a fair bit on the production end, which, I think helps some (thanks guys!)

What do y'all think?

It's Raining Men

2011-01-19T15:10:00.000-08:00


Hallelujah!

So my buddy Wheeler is starting a new themed sketchbook.

A themed sketchbook, for those of you who don't eat, sleep, and shit comics, is a book fans (and occasionally non-drawing professionals) will use to collect sketches and commissions by artists, all adhering to a single theme. Such as Green Lanterns, or jungle girls, or monsters, or occasionally, a more rarified choice, like the Royal Tanenbaums, or in the case of Wheeler's sketchbook: Gender bent superheroes, specifically, female to male.

The whole thing kind of arose out of a conversation we had about the way I'd approached gender bending the JLA in a Superwoman/Batwoman one-shot I did a few years back. Redesigning a male superhero costume for a female is so elementary, you barely stay awake while doing it. But going the other way, from female to male presents some interesting challenges, since so many female heroes' costumes are designed to accentuate and emphasize their (female) sexuality.

They wouldn't let my male Black Canary wear the short shorts I'd given him. They made me give him long pants, and I'd even done away with the fishnets to show what a good sport I was... They did let me have my stalky, hirsute, bearded Wonder (Wo)Man though.

I had the honor of inaugurating the book with Man-Storm, maybe the only female to male gender bent character with less clothing than his female counterpart.

A bit of context for the less-than-obsessed.

More Wheeler fun here and here.

And Along came a Gambit

2011-01-19T11:57:00.000-08:00

X-23 #5 comes out next week, and that made me realise I haven't breathed a word about the fact that I'm the new regular cover artist on the book.

I couldn't be happier with this gig for a ton of reasons. Most notably though, because it puts me squarely in my favorite corner of the Marvel U: Mutant Land, and because it reunites me with my NYX partner-in-crime Marjorie Liu. And speaking of NYX, there's a nifty kind of NYX synergy here dontcha think?

Oh yeah, also? I get to draw Gambit.

Out of the Void

2011-01-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

Surprise surprise, he's back.

I know what you're all thinking: All the neglected blogs get a brief flurry of activity in early January. This is only because New Years forces everyone to confront the aspects of their lives they could have tried a little harder on. There's never any lasting change.

Don't worry. No promises here. I'm not turning over a new leaf. I'm not a different guy. Drawing things will always be my first priority. Posting things... well, that's a different number on the list.

But I do have this piece of cover art to show you from Soldier Zero #6.

Maybe in a few days I'll show you another one.

Art, in fact

2010-08-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

It is the time of new cover gigs and here's another one: cover art to Artifacts #3 from Top Cow.

I got to choose the subject of my cover, since this series involves pretty much everyone they got. Surprised I picked Nottingham? I think he's a badass, and he gets no love, because everyone's always distracted by the boobage.

Not on this cover, baby, no boobage to distract you here...

Countdown to Zero

2010-08-17T09:44:00.001-07:00

Check it out, I have a new regular cover gig on BOOM!'s Soldier Zero. Based on a concept by Stan Lee (Yes, that Stan Lee) and designed by Dave Johnson, I think this one's gonna be cool. You can find out more about it here.

Hawk Brains

2010-06-17T16:15:00.001-07:00

I humbly offer up the next two R.E.B.E.L.S. covers for your perusal and (one hopes) enjoyment. These would be for #17 and #18, respectively, one featuring hawks and one featuring brain(iac)s.

I guess the argument could be made that every issue of R.E.B.E.L.S. features Brainiacs, but this one features 3 (count 'em 3!) generations of 'em.

More Warring Stars

2010-05-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

I contributed some illustrations to the Star Wars RPG game book Unkown Regions. Now that the book is out, I can show you.

I don't say this nearly enough, but thank you for visiting my blog. Yes, I mean you, you are awesome.

Drink'n Draw

2010-05-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Went to my first Toronto drink'n draw at the Black Bull last Wednesday. These are held more or less weekly and are put together by the conjoined efforts of Marcio Takara and Marcus To, and are open to all.

A good time was had, and I met some cool folk. I set myself the challenge of trying to draw the cast of a certain soon-to-be-completed TV series from memory. I offer you here, the most successful of the lot.

It occurs to me now, that he was actually talking to Ben when he said this, but that's what you get when you doff the reference.

Oh Hot Moo Too!

2010-05-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

Second of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z Update series. If I could do this one over I think I would tilt the fan in Lady Bullseye's left hand a bit, but what's done is done.

This series is on a somewhat irregular schedule, but I've been told it'll be 5 issues in all. Currently working on the cover to #3, which features the likes of Yondu, Orb and The Girl Without a World.

Secret: I've always really liked Yondu.

Calgary Expo

2010-05-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Back from the west. What an awesome show. Thanks to everyone involved with the Calgary Expo (especially Paul, for the 1 am liquor store run) and thanks too, to everyone who came by the table whether you bought commissions, prints, or original art, or just stopped by to chat or get something signed, it was great to meet you!

The piece above was done for the show's annual art book, a handsome hardbound volume featuring an illustration by each of the show's guests. For the first time this year, the theme deviated from the usual Cowboys & Indians, to Sci-Fi Adventures.

Needless to say, mine was not the only Spacegirl.

The Thing about the Cover to R.E.B.E.L.S. 16 is...

2010-05-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

...it's actually 3 covers.

Stay with me. It started off like this (this is what you saw if you checked out the appropriate issue of PREVIEWS):

Also, unbeknownst to you, before I started as the regular cover artist on R.E.B.E.L.S. I was commissioned to create this inventory cover:
It was kind of a test, but it never got used. (Personally, I thought it would have made a handsome cover for the first trade collection, but no one asked me because I'm not running the company yet.)

What on Maltus does this have to do with the cover to 16, you ask?
Well, at the 11th hour, approval came down from on high to put the two newest members of the R.E.B.E.L.S., who join in #16, on the cover. What's the big deal about these two?

They're Green Lanterns. And these days, the Green in Green Lanterns stands for greenbacks, or cash money, as the kids say. Also, notice the poster they're bursting through? My clever editor came up with a great way to make use of that inventory cover (the team line-up has changed enough that it's not really usable as-is) and save me a few grey hairs on the tight turnaround in the process.

Bedazzled

2010-02-23T00:37:00.000-08:00

Well, the proverbial cat's out of the bag.

It's been banging around on twitter for about a week now, and I have to say, I'm a bit taken aback. So far the buzz and interest about this one adds up to roughly double everything else I've worked on put together (which may not be saying much, but I'm impressed.)

My new Marvel project is... *drum roll* Dazzler!

Not just any Dazzler, Disco Dazzler.

Which is, for some people, the only Dazzler.

The story, entitled "In the Blood", is written by #1 Dazzler superfan and Marvel Marketting majordomo Jim McCann, and will be out in May. The solicitation'll run in the next Previews. Be sure to bug your local comic establishment to order high. Why? 'Cause! It's Dazzler, man. Back in the silver jumpsuit.

Actually, allow me to speak to that for a moment. No, it's not a flashback or Year One story. And yes, there is a very good, story-dictated reason why she is back in them disco duds. You'll just have to read it to find out what that is...

Jim talks at length about the project here.

Also, follow me on twitter if you haven't already. I'm tweeting my Dazzler playlist, track by track.

Almost Forgot One

2010-02-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

This, my friends, the cover art to R.E.B.E.L.S. #14 marks the last comic image of mine with starfish anywhere in it. Yes 14. Which comes before 15. I know, I know... see the title.

Those of you playing the Kalman-Starfish drinking game over these last few months have been getting pretty pickled, I know, especially since we counted stars of any kind for at least one month during my Captain America story.

Speaking of which, I never did post any pages from that Cap story, did I?

See how I did that? I am ninja, hear me roar. The story was called In Memoriam and ran as a back-up in Captain America #600.
In other Mighty Marvel News, I finally have script in-hand for my Mystery One-shot. The cover is done and approved, huzzah! and should be appearing in the next Previews, at which time I can finally fling back the curtain, and reveal who the star is.
Wait, star...?

Guess who's a R.E.B.E.L. now?

2010-01-22T14:46:00.000-08:00

Above is the cover art to R.E.B.E.L.S. #15. It's notable for a couple of reasons. First off I tried a new (to me anyway) technique here. After drawing Starfire the usual way, in blue pencil and pen on bristol, and scanning the line art, which looked like this:

I printed it out again, smaller, on some nice paper and laid down the skin tones using a brush and inkwash, which looked like this:

Yeah, I flipped it at this point, thinking it worked better, but was asked to flip it back for final. Which is what you see up top, digital colors and hand painted tones married together, huzzah.

Secondly, this cover features *wait for it* the return of a signature! Or, if you're a purist about such things, the return of a name. Aren't you glad you read all the way to the bottom for that tid-bit...?

The SIEGE That Almost Was

2010-01-06T18:07:00.001-08:00

Today sees the release of the first part in Marvel's new geekstravaganza, Siege. Now I say that with love, I ran to the store today to get my copy, just like I do on any Wednesday where there is new Olivier Coipel art out.

In honor of this happy day, I'm gonna share with you the ghosts of a Siege promotion that never quite came together...

The concept was to have 3 full page illustrations, I guess to run in Marvel titles a month or two before the event as teasers, showing Thor's hammer, Cap's shield and Tony's armor, ravaged, burned and/or blood soaked.

It only got as far as these roughs, however. Shortly after the first sketch got approved, Marvel marketing decided to go in another direction for the promotion. These things happen, and I was paid for my time, but now I have this little piece of Siege apocrypha on my hard drive...

Aaaaand Action!

2010-01-02T20:57:00.001-08:00

Picked up a bonus cover gig this month, Action Comics #887, just to add a little extra sparkle to the holiday season. The bonus to the bonus? Getting re-teamed with my Checkmate compadres Rucka & Trautmann.

I'm kind of embarassed to admit this, but drawing (and coloring) the Kryptonian crystals, at all kinds of sharp contrasting angles, like how they were in the movie (the good one), gave me nerd chills.

More Coverage

2009-11-30T12:02:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd offer a peak at my next two R.E.B.E.L.S. covers. Looking at these here (along with the covers to R.E.B.E.L.S. #10 and Annual #1) I'm detecting a pattern. I seem to somehow have become Giant-Face-Guy.

How did this happen? I have a couple theories but I won't bore you with them. I do, however, pledge the following: a moratorium on enormous visages for the next few months. You heard it here first, True-believer!

Blackest Night R.E.B.E.L.L.I.O.N.

2009-11-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

I've been so nose-to-grindstone, that one of these puppies has even come out before I got around to posting about it. Issues #10 and #11 of R.E.B.E.L.S. cross over into nerdgasm-of-the-year, Blackest Night and are extra large-sized at 30 pages each. If #10 is any indication, they also feature Andy Clarke doing some of his best work yet, and that's saying something because he is a beast. They also feature a Yellow Lantern Sinestro-Dox design by Yours Truly.

Oh Hot Moo!

2009-11-21T16:20:00.000-08:00

At last! I can finally reveal my new regular cover gig: Marvel Universe A to Z Updates!!
This is a nerdgasm of the first order for me. Back when I was wee kid, I read more Marvel Universe comics than actual comics, and it was a secret dream of mine to one day contribute to one. Once I started working in the industry, that even seemed possible.
But in the intervening time a few things had changed. They'd switched from commissioning original character art for the entries to clipping and/or redrawing panels from the comics.
So that's that, thought I. But then one day I got an email asking me to do covers... *shudder.*
Best of all it's for the update books, which means that each issue is chock-full of all the oddballs and morts that I love. For instance on the above cover I got to draw Gladiator, Nimrod AND Xemnu the Titan. Xemnu the fucking Titan!!
Next issue: American Eagle, Fat Cobra, and Pixie... booyah!

Dungeons of the Past, Dragons of the Past

2009-11-19T12:40:00.000-08:00

One of the things that's been keeping me away from you all is a new D&D book I'm contributing to called The Players Strategy Guide. This one should be interesting, as it's incorporating a totally new visual style distinct from other D&D products. As it's waaay to early to talk about posting any of that stuff yet, you'll just have to wait and see what I mean.

But it got me thinking back about all of the D&D art I've done over the last few years, that for one reason or another, I never got around to posting on the old site. So without further ado, I present for you here, a stroll back in time through my D&D folder.

I present these first two in glorious black & white, since with the benefit of hindsight, I'm not really feeling the colors. But enough yammer... onward!

The preceeding images appeared in Faiths of Eberron and Secrets of Sarlona, repsectively. Now for some good old fashioned mainstream D&D, from The Book of Nine Swords...

That last piece is from Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, as is this next one, which also features a break from form in that it's in pencil-tone, which, at the time, I think, was the mandate for D&D Chapter starts. It's also noteworthy in that it was co-opted and used as the Myspace icon for some metal band from Des Moines or something.

Pssst, hey, Metal Band from Des Moines, you can send royalty payments (and/or fruitbaskets) via the email address above. K thx.

I Fell into a Burning King of Fire

2009-09-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

So seen here, is a promo illustration commissioned by my NYX partner-in-crime, Marjorie Liu, for, among other things, the July/August web exclusive over at chez Liu. Since it's now September, I think it's safe to post it here too.

The Fire King is the ninth book in Marjorie's acclaimed Dirk & Steele series. You can learn all about the book and how to get it here.

Based on the comments left on Marjorie's blog here, it sounds like a lot of readers thought this was the actual cover art for the book. Since it features typographical elements like a book cover, I guess I can understand the confusion. Still, wanna know how you can tell that there is no way that this is an actual book cover?

The title is bigger than the author's name. No publisher would ever let that happen.

I had a great time interpreting Marjorie's characters and flexing some character design muscles... haven't really designed anything I've illustrated since NYX, and even those were re-designs.

Marjorie and I are hatching plans for future collaborations related to the world of Dirk & Steele. Can't say much more than that for now, but watch this space (or Marjorie's blog) for more soon!

Marjorie and I at NYCC 09, with an auspicious portent looming over Marjorie's shoulder.

Spider-man Black (and White)

2009-08-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

By request (talking to you Cyberweasel) the lineart for my cover art to Spider-man: The Clone Saga #3.

I was never a big Spider-fan as a kid, but the Bendis/Immonen run on Ultimate Spider-Man turned me around completely on the character. So much so, that I had real jitters breaking this piece down, trying to come up with something iconic and appropriate but also a little bit different.

Spider-man Spider-man

2009-08-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

...does whatever a spider can. Spins a web, any size. Catches thieves, just like pies.

How I thought the song went from age 4 to age 9.

This is the cover art to Spider-man: The Clone Saga #3. Yep, you heard right.

Some New Covers

2009-08-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

In the throes of a nasty deadline crunch, so this is going to be a terse post with a bland title. Behold the cover art for R.E.B.E.L.s annual: STARRO the Conqueror, and for #9. I'm doing a 9 page chapter in the annual featuring the secret origin of STARRO!

A Peek Behind the Colors

2009-07-10T11:32:00.001-07:00

While on the Deviantart page of the monumentally talented David Williams, I realised something. I really like looking at line art. Dave's posted the final lineart alongside every finished cover he's done (Click the link if you're curious, this is my blog...)

Sure a finished colored piece is great, but there's just something about black & white, so I'm taking a page from Dave's book and catching you up on my last bunch of covers in lineart versions.

Maybe, like me, you'll realise you like looking at lineart too.
As an added bonus, here's the lineart for my as-yet-unseen cover for STARRO: Unleashed. Color version to follow once solicitation imagery is released...

Some Props

2009-06-30T15:58:00.000-07:00

A nice little piece about me and my R.E.B.E.L.s covers went up today over at the DCU Blog (thanks guys!) Since they've done so, I'm going to go ahead and also post my cover for R.E.B.E.L.s #8.

Glub!

2009-06-24T20:43:00.001-07:00

Will Vril Dox meet his end in the murky waters of Gil'Dishpan? And what is this ominous, uniquely shaped shadow looming over him? Find out all that and more in R.E.B.E.L.S #7.

A Candied Bacon Testimonial

2009-06-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Despite being one of the most erratic and inconsistent bloggers I've ever met, I've somehow found myself enough in demand to be doing some guest blogging.

Step on over to pageslap to read my heartfelt candied bacon elocution. Wait... candied what? Relax, just read the original post and learn what all the fuss was about. Of course, to really find out, you'll just have to make some yourself, and then post your heartfelt testimonial.

Pageslap is the blog of Nicole Stamp, a ninja of the acting and the Lara Croft of internet strangeness.

It's Just Lines on a Page, Dude...

2009-05-20T16:51:00.001-07:00

Out Wednesday May 20 at finer comics peddling establishments -- NYX: No Way Home the premier hardcover. Offered in both handsome LCS-friendly edition and plucky mass-market edition (pictured below).

Strange, how flipping through this handsome volume, I don't feel at all what I felt flipping through the individual issues as they came out. That is, I don't feel like I'm being bayonetted in the side with each flip. Instead, enough time has passed that it just looks like comics to me.

The title of this blog post is something our resident studio zen master has been known to utter, particularly when I get worked up over the minutia of knuckle-structure, or some other such thing. Flipping through this volume, it's obvious he's right.

Little Red Vectors

2009-05-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

Musical obsession du jour: Slagsmålsklubben. It's simple, but it works, and it's been getting me through the long stretches of inking plants, curtains, windows, and flying star-spangled shields, as I bring my Captain America story on home.
Yes, the visuals are very much inspired by the video for Remind Me by Röyksopp. Young Tomas Nilsson is very up front about that, plus, it's a student work (!) so the kid gets a pass.

Daft Love

2009-05-11T11:04:00.000-07:00

Very very occasionally, a working stiff like me will get a moment to breathe, a chance to step away from the drawing table and experience normal life, like all those multitudes in the world who get two days off for every five they work. What do guys like me do when those rare, precious moments arise...?

Um, draw. Sad but true.

And here's the real testament to just how rare and precious those moments actually are: I started the Daft Punk fan art above some time in August of 2008.

I came late to the Daft Punk party. Despite being a fiend for all kinds of electronica and digging the 'Da Funk' video, I didn't really pay close attention to these guys until I caught a screening of their Interstella 5555 at RESfest (RIP) years ago. After that I was hooked.

It was to be their next film Electroma, though, that would really get under my skin, despite not actually having any music by Daft Punk in it.
Who knew, back in the late 90's that Daft Punk would turn into what they turned into? They showed up hawking a minimalist, just-out-of-date electro groove, at, what was arguably the heydey of lavish, high-production electronica, but it clicked and, strangely, they were totally embraced by indie-rock kids too. More than 10 years later, it's inarguable that they've spawned their own sub-genre of fuzzy, thumping dance music. Without Daft Punk there would be no MSTRKRFT, no Boyz Noise or Justice. Maybe even no Chromeo. DFA records might still exist, but it would probably sound a little different.

I wasn't sure if I liked Electroma after my first viewing. I found myself thinking that maybe it was a bit self-indulgent and, I'm ashamed to admit, I fast forwarded through some of the slow parts. And there were many slow parts, or, not slow exactly. Rather, long. Long takes, long shots, many of them eerily silent. But as days went by, it haunted me. I found myself going back to youtube again and again to re-watch certain scenes, like this one:

And this one:

Electroma is not about narrative satisfaction. There is a story, but it's extremely decompressed and archetypal to the point where it's debateable that it's there at all. What Electroma is about is moment and mood. It's haunting and beautiful and it will get under your skin and stay with you if you let it. Needless to say, it is excellent background to draw and write to. Especially if what you are drawing or writing is sweeping and morose, as what I do so often is.
Apparently, Electroma was originally conceived, shot, and editied as a visual accompaniment for the Human After All album, and the film is said to sync up perfectly with it (see below) which explains some of the long stretches of silence in the official score. The sync job down there is a little shakey, and I have yet to try it out with the whole film and the whole album, but you get the idea. Further below that is the same opening scene with a custom score featuring M83, which, I think, works even better, both in terms of tone and syncing. See the whole movie re-scored by that guy here.

And now, Some for the Other Side

2009-05-04T13:18:00.001-07:00

This month's PREVIEWS magazine is a first for me. One man, one month, 3 covers. We in the industry call that a 'hat trick.'

...no, not really.

Two of the three feature below, and are my first ever covers for Marvel. Hopefully the first of many (hint hint). First up, Dark Reign: The Goblin Legacy, apparently reprinting some Gobliny Greatest Hits.

Next up, (and a real feather in my cap,) an alternate cover for Tomb of Dracula Omnibus Vol. 2. All of these deluxe hardcover omnibi feature re-interpretations of classic covers by contemporary artists as alternate covers, and I got to do the Gene Colan cover For Tomb #70 seen below.

Bad Blogger

2009-04-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

Yeah I'll cop.

New York Travelogue? Sorry. Kind of past it's sell-by date now though, no? Why don't we just move forward and forget all those broken promises that hurt you so?

One of the good things that happened in New York was landing the regular cover gig on DC's new sci-fi series R.E.B.E.L.s. It's kind of a Legion-ish thing, but set in the present. Perhaps you remember L.E.G.I.O.N. '89 from back in the day...?

No? How old were you again?

Anyway, here are the covers to #5 (NOT drawn by Ed Benes, as erroneously reported by Diamond... hissssssss...) and #6, out in June & July respectively.

The Final Countdown...

2009-02-18T16:06:00.000-08:00

Well kids, this is it. The final issue of NYX: No Way Home hits stands today.

What a bizarre little rodeo it's been. If I could do it over, I'd probably do, oh... everything differently, but that's the beauty of monthly comics: no looking back, only forward, soldier, onward and upward. There really is no better type of work to kickstart evolution when you're too self satisfied and/or too caught up in your own bullshit.

To celebrate the occasion, my co-conspiritor Marjorie Liu is blogging short "look back" interviews all this week with various members of the creative team. Today happens to be my turn. If you were ever curious about my cats (and why wouldn't you be?) you can finally satisfy yourself by clicking on over there.

What's next for your humble narrator, you ask? You mean other than going outside and talking to other human beings for a change? Right now I'm working on a new D&D book, a piece for the Darkstalkers Tribute Book out in a few months, and the first of what looks like a new regular cover gig. More in this space when They let me talk about it.

Also NYX: No Way Home will be collected in a hardcover edition, which is royalty, er, I mean royally amazing!

Up next: My NYC Travelogue!

NYCC on the horizon

2009-02-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to say I'll be attending the New York Comicon again this year. I won't have a table, but I'll be signing (and maybe sketching, if you're good) at the Marvel booth (#1141) on Saturday from 5:00 to 6:00 PM.

If you miss me there, and you're interested in getting something signed or sketched, feel free to bug Karl at table C1 in artist's alley, he'll likely know how to find me.

Chasing the Dragon

2009-01-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

I think I may have discovered the secret to more frequent blogging. Post something you can't stand to look at, so you're forced to post more just to force that image off the screen!

The image above is a wrap-around cover I did a while back for a manga adaptation of a novel called Chasing the Dragon. Published by Houder & Stouton UK, The story is the first-hand the account of author Jackie Pullinger's misadventures in the massive lawless slum Kowloon walled City, or KWC as it is affectionately known to it's many admirers. No joke, I'm one of them. How could I say no to this gig?

From the excellently comprehensive KWC section of archidose.org:

Inhabiting a block the size of the Tokyo Dome, Kowloon Walled City resembed a
living, breathing creature, born from its inhabitants over its long lifespan.
But the walled city was more than a physical conglomeration of buildings and
people, it was an inadvertent symbol of the long struggle between China and Hong
Kong, ruled by neither. It was an "in-between zone" whose remarkable existence
today can best be comprehended through images, statistics and interviews. These
pages give a brief overview of Kowloon Walled City (KWC) in historical,
personal, architectural and political terms.

Sadly KWC was finally demolished in 1993, but not before getting immortalized as a set piece in Bloodsport (!).

The other Flash

2009-01-12T13:35:00.001-08:00

Welcome my friends to the first of many studio sketch-offs. Yes that's right, after a hiatus of almost two years, we're back in action. We're going to try to keep them up every Monday, as a way to keep sharp, get the work week rolling right, and to offer a momentary escape from our various obligations.

Today's topic: Flash Gordon. Participating today: Action Andy B and Ragin' Ramon Perez, and, of course, me, your humble narrator.

Being a child of the 80's, Flash to me will always be a flaxen haired Sam Jones, in tight, tight pants. But that's just me! The beauty of the sketch-off is, you can interpret the topic any way you want! For my studiomates' interpretations click here and here.

The verdict? I'm rusty. These'll be good for me.

Not as exciting as art but...

2008-11-06T18:12:00.000-08:00

A short summary of a talk I gave on the life and lot of the comicker to the Sequential arts illustration students at Max The Mutt Animation school.

http://www.maxthemutt.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/27/guest-speaker-kalman-andrasofszky-comic-book-illustrator/

Max the Mutt is, to my knowledge, the only school offering any kind of hands-on Sequential art/graphic novel/comics illustration program in Canada. It's pretty cool that they're in my hometown.

I'll also be teaching there next semester, but that's a tale for another day...

The Force Unleashed

2008-11-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

A long time ago, but not so very far away (it was right here, in fact,) I did some interior art for the new edition of the Star Wars RPG. All was quiet for a long time, but earlier today I got a handsome FEDEX box with some comp copies of the book, which apparently is called The Force Unleashed (on sale now!), so I guess it's safe to post.

Also, please note the change in email address. As of today any mail should be sent to evilkalman@gmail.com as the old mail, the horhaus mail, no longer works, and any correspondence sent there will go spinning off into a yawning black void.

Queen Takes Pawn

2008-10-14T20:12:00.001-07:00

So I'm burning the midnight oil tonight, which is not at all unusual, but it makes for a nice opener. NYX #3 is out this Wednesday at finer comics selling establishments. In honour of that fact, I'm posting nothing at all to do with NYX!

Even after all this time, I haven't added my Checkmate cover run to my gallery. Yeah, I'll cop -- I'm lazy, and way more concerned with drawing new things, but since I can't post new things here yet, here's a tast of that run, out from the archives.

Checkmate marked my first regular comics gig working on something I actually enjoyed as a reader (NYX is the second such gig), so it was an important turning point, at least for me. The cover to #21 (second from the bottom here) is probably my favorite image from the run.

Shazap!

2008-09-30T12:26:00.000-07:00

So under the gun...

That's where I've been, under a big, black, heavy gun.

While doing a bit of, um, research today I stumbled across this video review for NYX #1, so I thought I'd throw it up here so there'd be something this month.

This guy says some really nice things about Marjorie, and about Joe Q, and, well, everyone but me...

But who has time to be bitter when you're wrestling guns?

Also: Best song ever. For now.

Also also: Redecorated.

Toronto Fan EXPO

2008-08-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

Happening this weekend, August 22-24 at the Metro Convention center. I'll be there, along with all my RAID studio cronies. I'll be doing sketches and commissions (like the one pictured above) and I'll be sporting the usual array of goodies too - prints, original art, comics, and also some extra-special NYX mystery merchandise.

Come say hi.

Hadoken!

2008-08-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

So, as you may or may not know, Street Fighter is 20 years old this year.

Yeah, I know, this fact sent me straight to the mirror looking for crow's feet too.

At any rate, to celebrate this momentous anniversary, and possibly stave off any uncomfortable self reflections it may dredge up, UDON, that notorious Toronto art collective is releasing a huge anthology art book of various artists' interpretations of the SF characters and their world. It's entitled Street Fighter Tribute and you can learn more about it here.

Why am I shilling for UDON and their book? Because I'm in it. See pic above. I was a total Street Fighter II fiend as a kid (although I pretty much sucked at it --no taste for blood, me) so I jumped at the chance to contribute, and decided to do a re-interpretation of the fight between Chun Li and Vega (or Balrog for the hardcore) as seen in the first SFII animated film, a sequence that's totally stayed with me over the *choke* years.

And yes, I do know that Chun Li doesn't actually hadoken, you nerds...

A note on the scarf...

2008-08-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

So I received a letter from an NYX reader with an unusual question today. He was kind enough to let me post his email, along with my answer, which will hopefully serve to allay any similar concerns anyone out there may have.

The email:

Hello Kalman,

I just picked up the latest issue of NYX, in which you were the artist, and was a little concerned to see Kiden wearing a keffiyah, a show of solidarity with Palestinian terrorism. Was this your intention or is this a misunderstanding?

I look forward to hearing back from you
-Dan

And my response:

Hey Dan,

Thanks for picking up the book, and for writing.

There is absolutely no political agenda at work here. Whatever the keffiyah may mean to Palestinians, or to you, or to Israelis etc., it's undeniable that here in North America it has become a ubiquitous fashion item among urban teen hipsters. I'm not really able to speak for said hipsters, but I'm certain 99% of them are against terrorism of any kind, Palestinian or otherwise. As am I, for the record.

My decision to dress Kiden in this scarf, simply boils down to the fact that she is an urban teen hipster, and I made her fashion choices reflect her time and her subculture. It's pretty safe to say that if asked, Kiden would have no sympathy for terrorism in any form. Furthermore, she, like most urban teen hipsters, would probably be unaware and unconcerned with the issues of the Middle East, and probably equally unaware of the origins of, what to her and her peers, is an apolitical fashion accessory.

All the best,
-Kalman

And there you have it.

This is the day, this is the hour...

2008-08-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is it kids! Out this Wednesday August 6th at your LCS (as the nerdvine calls it -- see how I did that?), NYX: No Way Home #1.

Pick it up, give it a flip, let me know how you like it.

Arkham Knight

2008-07-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

So I've been hearing whispers through the nerd-grapevine (the nerdvine?) that my Heroclix booster art has finally been posted in the Heroclix regions of the interweb. And I'm here to tell you that it's true. The images are out there, so now they can be here too.

The top version was what I originally submitted. The bottom version was what they wanted. The middle version was our compromise. The bottom version is what they went with. That's the biz kids, (when you deal with Wiz kids... oh I slay me.) I have to say, despite my trepidation about ALL THAT WHITE overpowering the characters and drawing the eye to all the wrong spots, it actually looks pretty good on the final package.

Crank-tastic

2008-07-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

So I found myself on the crankcast earlier this week, much to my surprise.

Hold on, the what?

The crankcast, the comics/ramble podcast put on by stalwart mensches Mike Norton and Chris Crank. If you're at all curious what three nerds like us could possibly talk about for an hour-and-a-half, you can stream the 94 minute monster, or simply subscribe through itunes.

'Cause I'm not going to tell you here.

Oh, and for the record, that's NOT a picture of me on the crankcast site, next to the relevant post (It's Nigel Kneale, actually.)

But I'm kind of wishing it was... maybe it's time to shave the beard and bring the burns back...

You saw it here first...!

2008-07-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

...unless you didn't.

Presenting the lovely variant cover for NYX #1 by the equally lovely and talented Jo Chen...

*Drool* Yet another excellent reason to buy this book, people.

In other news I'll be at the Paradise Toronto Comicon this coming weekend of July 12th and 13th. It's being held at the Holiday Inn on the corner of King and Peter St. Come by, say hi, and thumb through an issue+ of yet unseen NYX art.

The Rip

2008-07-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Brilliant brilliant song. Brilliant brilliant video.
This track was an immediate stand-out for me on Portishead's new THIRD album, but recently it's crept back into heavy rotation. And since I can't share the things I'm drawing...

NYX preview art

2008-06-10T11:15:00.001-07:00

At last! Huzzah! W00t w00t!

All right, all right. I know I promised you art here first and then got scooped by Newsarama, but look there's art here now. All of the art from that interview, in fact. Which, incidentally, seems to have vanished off the Newsarama servers, at least for today.
But you gotta cut me some slack, because the reason I haven't been posting, is that I've been drawing, and really, you'd rather have me doing that, wouldn't you?

So here I am working hard to save you clicks. And if you did click over there and find nothing but red X's where the art should be, well I sincerely apologize on behalf of Newsarama.

But we're still friends, right?

More NYX Press, this time with art...

2008-05-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

A whole new interview about NYX, with pretty much everyone involved in it but me (not bitter, just sayin'), just went up at newsarama.com. Check it here.

The best part is that they posted like 6 pages along with it. That last one I handed in just yesterday...

Hulk... shoot?!!?

2008-05-22T14:03:00.000-07:00

So our entire studio (along with some friends of the 'family') got tapped by the Paradise Convention people to do badge art for their upcoming show, and since Herb Trimpe is the guest of honour, the order of the day was all things Hulk.

I chose the new red Hulk, and didn't get even the tiniest bit of ridicule from my mates, much to my surprise.

Now it's no secret that one of the things I hate to draw most are guns (right after chains, cars, and hands, in that order) and I quickly realised that that being the case, I chose the wrong Hulk, but there you go.

Still, it was really satisfying to take a piece from start to finish in a matter of a couple of hours. No sketch approval, no elaborate camera angles, just me, my pen, and the Hulk.

And his gun.

Midnights

2008-05-05T22:26:00.001-07:00

Or Minuits, if you're French.

The character designs that follow were done while galavanting around Argentina for five weeks in January of this year. The project (See above title, in the language of your choice) is a sci-fi/spy-fi series set in near-future Hong Kong. The creator and writer is the always effervescent Sebastien Latour. The format is Bande Desinee, french-language graphic album. And the mad rush that necessitated drawing in hotels and cabins was in order to get art together for the pitch session in Angouleme.

The project did indeed find a home, but ultimately morphed into a quarterly anthology series. I may still possibly draw a volume next year if all the ducks line up, but at this point someone else will be designing the cast, which, as I understand it, has undergone some major revisions anyway.
Which means you guys get to see art.

Some NYX Press...

2008-04-27T21:12:00.001-07:00

IGN has posted a brief roundtable interview with the whole NYX 2.0 gang. Check it here.

No new art there though.

Just sayin'.

For that you're going to have to keep on coming back here.

NYX in NYC

2008-04-23T13:54:00.001-07:00

So I'm back from New York in one piece (mostly).

It was announced Friday at the Mondo Marvel panel that there is a new NYX series slated for August release, and that I'm doing it. The preview page above was colored by the magnificent John Rauch, who will be coloring the entire series, and the writer is Marjorie Liu, a paranormal romance author new to comics. You can find out more about these fine folks under the collaborators heading.

I'm a good chunk into issue 1, and I'm finding the nuts and bolts of this project to be satisfying in a way that none of my previous work-for-hire has been. I guess I just find cute, hip teenage girls more fun to draw than angry men punching each other. Who knew?

The whole studio went down, and we even arranged a few days on either side of the show to spend some time in New York. Last year we did the usual con hit-and-run thing, hardly left the vicinity of the Javitz, and came home asking ourselves if we'd even been to New York.

Some highlights of awesome from the trip:

Porter airlines- Upstart commuter airline flying out of downtown Toronto. We decided to give it a try. No $50 cab ride to the sticks, no line ups, no bullshit, complementary wi-fi and continental breakfast in the lounge, as well as fantastic graphic design. A++
Clement Sauve's Pantheon City Pencils- I could have spent all three days just staring at them.
Drinking with Kwanza- I could elaborate here, but it's very simple really, Dude introduced us to some fantastic people, and some fantastic bars.
Galaxy Rangers out on DVD- We never got this in Canada, but every visit to the states I made sure to catch an episode. Now I can have them all.

The Unkown - Teen Love in Space

2008-04-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

I just finished this piece of cover art yesterday, and I thought I'd post it, since that's what blogs are for. It was commissioned by writer Len Kody, it's for his sci-fi/horror/teen-angst project The Unkown. See detail below.

I'm in a maelstrom of angst myself as I desperately try to get half an issue in the can before I head off for the New York Comicon next week. Half an issue of what, you ask? Sorry, I can't tell you. I hate to be a douche, but there it is.

It will be announced at the show though, so at the most you have 7 days of suspense to endure.
I'll give you hint though: It's got mutants in it.

Vampires, Hunters, and Addicts, oh my!

2008-04-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

A few months back I was asked to audition for a pencilling job on Marvel's adaptations of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels. Since the series was already underway, they asked me (and the several other artists they approached) to use the existing character designs and even try to emulate the style of the departing series artist.

With my silver tongue, I managed to talk them out of the latter requirement, but could make no headway on the former one. Still, it was a fun couple of days.

I accepted a Countdown-related gender-bender extravaganza for DC shortly after doing these, which put me out of the running. In any case, I don't think my art was to the author's taste.

Ron Lim got the gig.

A little Background

2008-03-31T15:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know me, and have no idea what the last post was all about, please allow me to introduce myself.

I'm a freelance illustrator. I guess I'm best known for my work in comics (Checkmate, ION, Satana, Belle & Sebastian) and role-playing games (Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars, D20 Modern), although I've also been known to do editorial illustrations, storyboards, and design work for animation and videogames.

For the last 8 years my main web presence had been under the horhaus.com banner, along with Karl Kerschl, Matt Forsythe, and Brenden Fletcher.

Things, they change. Even though I did finally get to share actual studio space with Karl for about a year there, he's now moved back to Montreal, and I'm here in Toronto kickin' it with the fine people listed over there on the right, under the Studio header. In 2000 having a virtual studio was important. For me atleast it was a lifeline to a world I was struggling to reach for, believe in, and step into fully.

Things, they change.