An American Apocalypse: The First Mistake

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An American Apocalypse is a politically driven comic based on the few days right after Katrina. It's written by a former Colorado State legislator and provides an alternate reality that gives the mistakes made by those in charge of the clean up efforts after Katrina a proper justice. Check out more images at the official home page for An American Apocalypse here: The Reckoning Project

More Apocalypse

These two images are more promotional pieces for my latest project. One is a version (may not be final) of the main character and the other is the banner for the website. An American Apocalypse is a story based on Katrina and an alternate history to some of the real people involved. Keep checking here and at the official blog of An American Apocalypse: thereckoning2005.com

Nowlan's Captain Marvel

Kevin Nowlan is one of the premiere comic artists currently on the scene of mainstream comics. I was referred to his artwork by Shawn Crystal

who is one of the up and coming, soon to be premiere, comic artists in the world of Marvel currently. Nowlan's blog periodically has pencil sketches available. This is one of those. The inks are mine, the pencils are Kevin's. Enjoy!

A New Project

Not a lot I can say about this project at this time, but it's going to be a fun, entertaining, and wildly political zombie book written by a former Colorado Legislator. These are some initial head sketches for some of the characters.

Paradise Lost: Page 20

Here, Eve tells Adam how amazing he is. Satan listens in on this and when, in the poem, they go into each others arms and perform the act of creation. He leaves to explore more of Eden. He is eventually found and thrown out before he makes his way back in as the serpent and tempts Eve with the apple from the tree of knowledge. This is also, unfortunately, the last page of my thesis. There will be some changes, which I'll post, and I'll put it up lettered and ready to read as well as a post that is the paper that goes along with this, but until then...Courage...and keep moving forward. And stay posted for the lettered version. I may even print a few for give away...we'll see.

Paradise Lost: Page 19

Here, Adam starts to explain his relation to God and Even with Eve. It's a touching moment that Satan listens to intently.

Paradise Lost: Page 18

Alright, here Satan is moving into the territory occupied by Adam and Eve. This is the first point at which he is isolating the couple and feels like he is hidden enough to get this close.

Paradise Lost: Page 17

The next few pages are all about Satan stalking Adam and Eve. When he notices they are different than the rest, he follows them and listens in on their conversation before heading off to explore the rest of Eden. So here he is changing his appearance and watching Adam and Eve.

Paradise Lost: Page 16

When Satan enters Eden he changes his form three times, from a Cormorant sitting in the tree of life, to a lion, and finally a tiger. Over the next few pages, you'll see that transformation happen by the clothes he wears. When he comes out of the tree, he loses his hat, and over the next few pages he'll put on a trenchcoat, a feather boa and finally another hat, therefore representing these changes.

Paradise Lost: Page 15

SWINGERS! This is the inside of Eden and Satan's entrance into Paradise

Paradise Lost: Pages 13-14

This is a two page spread. The text on this page gives a large and detailed description of Eden (which in this instance is a bar and night club). There needed to be a lot of room for text. Satan is looking through a window from a fire escape into Eden. He is alone on the left hand page of this spread, and the "animals" and club goers of Club Eden are on the right hand page showing his separation and isolation from the rest of creation.

Paradise Lost: Page 12

The beauty of comics is this: The marriage of text and image to create a truly stunning piece of artwork. This page is a great example of a page that is missing a significant portions of it's final piece. There is a large blank space of black road that runs through the middle of this page. It made this page go rather quickly, but makes it look empty. There is a lot of text that goes with this page, and therefore it can't truly look complete until the text is added.

Paradise Lost: Page 11

Satan ventures off toward Eden. This was an integral scene showing he could fit in if necessary. But he is still alone and an outcast. So fun scene. The two middle panels show the two sides of town. One dark and the other watched by God. Of course, Satan heads towards the area watched by God, which is Eden.

Paradise Lost: Page 10

The end of his monologue. Satan heads out to find Adam and Eve and heads off to Eden.

Paradise Lost: Page 9

At this point Satan realizes he can corrupt man (God's greatest creation). He finds the picture of Adam and Eve amidst the mess he created and decides they are his new target. One thing to talk about artistically with this page. There is a design theory out there that talks about amounts of gray, black, and white that should be on a page to create focus. If you think about each as a paint bucket, there should be a gallon of one, a quart of another, and a cup of the last. This page is a good example of that theory. There is a gallon of black, a quart of white, and a cup of gray. This creates focus in areas where they overlap and/or are surrounded by a varying tone.

Thank you Steve Jobs

This image is a repost from a previous post on this blog. I felt it necessary to put it back up, not only in homage of Steve as an innovator and creator, but as a person. Steve Jobs has brought computing home and made it extremely simple and accessible to everyone. He has done this multiple times with multiple projects and created an entire connected culture that will not be replicated for a long time. He was an innovator in technology, accessibility, and ease of living. He will Truly be missed by this artist and person.

Paradise Lost: Page 8

This series of imagery from the text referred a lot to God and his role is Satan's demise, as well as Satan's realization that he can not defeat God. He looks up to the Sun in the last panel and talks about his reverence for God, and I used the light of the sun to represent that.

Paradise Lost: Page 7

I think this was the most fun to draw out of all the pages thus far. It pushed me as artistically to play with perspective and focus. Although one of the biggest rules of cinematography is don't use a straight down bird's eye view, this one works because the focus and secondary focus are on the floor and the desktop. So seeing those from above is very important, hence the shot choice. I added the fan at the top to help draw the eye between the two focus points and add a significant amount of depth. The viewer is sitting on the fan blades looking down upon the scene.

Paradise Lost: Page 6

One of my main objectives when it comes to this project is really pushing myself on camera angles, adding depth, and most of all clarity when it comes to my comic pages. This is a large image that really draws in a particular focus. Satan's face, I think pops right off the page, and the rest if the image is composed in such a way where you can't miss his expression, his exasperation, and his anger. What do you think?

Paradise Lost: Page 5

Not much to say today or I'll be late for work...oh well. ENJOY!

Paradise Lost: Page 4

Page four takes a look outside the Satan's hell and shows us what's around him, the "purgatory" that is around him, which really is not bad at all. Just shows his separation from the rest of the world.

Paradise Lost: Page 3

Throughout Satan's rant, he talks in length about the loss of his own Paradise (his seat in heaven) and how he can't defeat God. His appearance changes three times throughout this monologue. The first change is in the bathroom mirror. The second and third come later and make his appearance harder to recognize, check them out.

Paradise Lost: Page 2

Paradise Lost is Milton's Epic poem about Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden. In Book 4, Satan has lost his first battle for heaven and is retreating back to hell. On his way, his soliloquy about his own pain and loss of being God's most favored angel ends with his conviction to corrupt God's favorite creation: Man. This page starts this soliloquy and it goes for the first half of this comic.

Paradise Lost: Page 1

over the next few days I am going to be posting the pages from my MFA thesis: John Milton's Paradise Lost. I am adapting the first 500 lines of book 4 into a noir detective story. Satan is the detective and Adam and Eve are his current marks. To see the full text, click here. This book starts with Satan leaving heaven after losing his first campaign to take over and destroy God. This post also marks my 100th post on my art blog! Thanks for staying with me for this long!

Paradise Lost

Milton's Paradise Lost is by far one of the most annoying books to read in the entire world. In the style of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Milton decided he'd do an Epic poem. His is about the lost of Eden by man and the corruption brought on by Satan himself. This comic translates the first 500 lines of book four into a 20 page comic. Satan is a noir style detective hunting for Adam and Eve, his current case. These are pages 2-6 of this story.

Lion-O

So, a good friend of mine and soon to be sought after comic artist Michael Lavelle, did this Lion-O based on the new TV series. I decided to ink it as a warm up for the past couple of days, so here's the final product, you can see the original here: Mad-Arts Lion-O

Rowan Pepper

This is a one page story about a girl. It's an exercise where you cut up the panels before giving them to students. They will then put them in a logical order and make the story work. Enjoy

The Watchmen

One of the most striking things about Watchmen is the fact that there isn't a team called the Watchmen. The only team of heroes that are eluded to are the Minutemen from the 40s and 50s. If they were to start a team, this would be the roster....except some end up exiled or dead at the end...hmmm.. Also, today is the tenth anniversary of the twin towers being attacked and destroyed. I was sitting in my dorm room at school when my roommate's girlfriend woke us up with the news. We thought it was a joke, then we saw the news cast and we were glued to the TV for the day...and school was cancelled for the day (one positive from all the negative....maybe). Where were you?

Comedian

The badass of the book. The Comedian is the most ironic name for any of the characters. He is completely jaded by the world and has spent time in Vietnam, Europe during WW2, and think the whole world and the politics of it are a complete joke. And apologizes for NONE OF IT!

Rorschach

Like his mask, his world is only black and white. There are no levels of gray. If one had to choose, this would be the book's protagonist. He is the first to research the "hero killer" brutally and without remorse, yet ends up gaining our complete sympathy by the end of the book.

Ozymandias

Handsome, extremely smart, rich, and in perfect physical condition. One of his most daunting lines in the whole book is "then I'd just have to catch it wouldn't I?" He is talking in reference to being shot at and catching the bullet. He is the catalyst behind the entire story of Watchmen. He is trying to make a better world. Truly a noble idea...or is it?

The Silk Spectre 2

Ahhh....the Silk Spectre 2. Perhaps one of the most beautiful women in comics. Her outfit in the comic was dated, even for the 80s when the comic was released, but it still looked good. Zach Snyder, in his movie version of the book, updated the look for modern superhero cinema, and I must say, did a great job.

Nite Owl 2

The most moral of the characters in Watchmen is the Nite Owl 2 and his predecessor. They both have very high standards for themselves and those around them. That is what makes them great. Nite Owl 2 becomes a complete character when he gets back into his costume in Watchmen and becomes the most Noble of all the heroes in the book. I love all the characters in Watchmen, but his morals put him right at the top of the list.

Watchmen Week: Dr. Manhattan

Robert Atkins does a great blog with a new sketch nearly daily. I love to see his work and his interpretations of many of the well known and loved comic and cartoon characters. In that same vein I am doing a Watchmen week. So I reread Watchmen...again. I do believe this is the 15th or so time I've read it. This time it was research for my thesis. By the way, I LOVE doing a thesis based around comic books. Anyway, I decided I'd do some sketchcards of the characters and use Letraset Tria Markers for it. This is the first of the week: Dr. Manhattan

Minimum Paige

I just heard I was accepted to Minimum Paige, Harvard's (yes THAT Harvard) first comic anthology. My story Ross and the Yeti will be included. The release is September 22nd, and I'll keep you informed as to where you can pick up a copy! To Celebrate: This is Hewett the main character of a political thriller I am working on. He is a Harvard graduate and Berkley drop out.

2099 FOREVER!

So I was looking through the scores of comics that I have collected over the past MANY MANY years and found my COMPLETE, and yes I said COMPLETE collection of Marvel's 2099 series. Let the laughing start...NOW! HAHAHAHA!! I was completely intrigued by this series. The artwork of Chris Bachalo on Ghost Rider 2099, or Rick Leonardi on SpiderMan 2099, and most importantly Rom Lim on XMen 2099 started my true love affair with drawing comics. So here is the start, and hopefully not the end of my homage to Marvel's 2099....SKULLFIRE!

Charlie Brown

So my friend and fellow artist, Robert Atkins has started a daily sketch blog. It's a great way to keep inspired, as well as get the creative juices flowing in the morning when it's been a long night, or day.
Anyway, in that vein, this is a Charlie Brown sketch I did for a friend's child's birthday...unfortunately his birthday was like 4 weeks ago.....oops. Hope you like it!

Battletoads-Pimple

I've ben reeling nostalgic this week. I have been watching old cartoons and finding old video games. I recently came across an article of the 10 hardest video games created and this one came up...BATTLETOADS! What an amazing game. You have to beat it in one sitting, there are no saves, and the levels take a LOT of memorization to beat. I think I took this game to the end once and only once, and lost....then I sold my NES and got a Sega Gensis...OH! Nostalgia.

Also, this weekend I'll be attending the Cutthroat gaming convention at the TIvoli Building in Denver on Saturday the 30th. I'll be in artist's alley selling my wares. COME VISIT!

Darkwing Duck

Let's get dangerous.

If there was a cartoon character I would choose to work on over any other it would be this one. He is, of course, a Batman rip off, but he gives such great potential for comedy, noir, drama and adventure. All in a completely unthreatening disney cartoon...how great is that?! By the way, you should definitely check out Boom Studio's Darkwing Duck Comic written by Ian Brill and drawn by James SIlvani. It's amazing.

The SIlver Surfer

So, for heroes con in 2010, I had a good friend Tony Zollo color a series of prints for me to sell at my table. The first one I have sold out of is The SIlver Surfer. So I recolored it and will have it available at the Cutthroat Con on the 30th of July. SEE YOU THERE!

Thor Colors

So here is the final colored version of the Thor commission. I am going to get it printed soon so it can be sent off to the rightful owner. I hope the colors come out alright, I don't have my calibration system on my newly set up computer yet...so we'll see! Enjoy

Thor Inks

Final Inks for a Thor commission. It's a Chris Samnee inspired background with a lot of fun play with black and white.

CUTTHROAT CON

Yes, this title is ALL IN CAPITALS!! This is Denver's gaming convention and game tournament finals. The guest of honor this year is the ever talented with a strange sense of humor, Zach Howard. He has done work for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Dark Horse, including the spectacular, and humorous Outer Orbit with Sean Murphy (American Vampire, Joe the Barbarian, and HellBlazer and Off Road). I am going to be in attendance with a table showing off my artwork and perhaps playing some video games come visit me! I'll let you know where I am when I find out! Check out the details here: Cutthroat Con Also, here's an in progress Thor commission, for those of you that visit my site to see new art work. I know who you are....the one of you! Thanks