Askari, King's African Rifles

Another one of those drawings I mentioned, this one of an Askari from the 3rd Battalion of the King's African Rifles, just prior to WWI. 

King's African Rifles Officer, 1912

I've been doing nothing but inking Crogan's Loyalty (for which I now know the release date: June 6th) and teaching for the past few weeks, so I've had very little to post on here.  Yesterday during Penny's nap Liz and I watched some TV, and I drew a handful of pictures - just-for-fun drawings of folks in uniforms, based on reference pics that I had in books.  I figured I should post them over the next few days. First up: An officer of the King's African Rifles, 3rd Battalion, circa 1912: 

Dad's New Book

My dad's newest book is out today!

It's a period (1940s) mystery set in Chicago in which a giant cop (and ex-Bears lineman) named Merl tries to catch a killer who is sure to strike again.  I enjoyed the heck out of it.  And pop let me try my hand at a cover - my first for one of his novels.  Anyway, YOU SHOULD GIVE IT A READ.

CAS Postcard

Well, Dragon Con was a LOT of fun.  I did far better moving books than I expected - I sold out of all of my Crogan books (which means I'm out for the rest of the year, though YOU can still get them) and about a case of sketchbooks.  And though there were quite a few folks who had, say, read the books at a library, there were a LOT of first-time readers, and in both instances most of these people were folks who I'd not met at cons before, with a few exceptions. A lot of times I'll find the same people at a lot of shows.  This was an almost entirely different crowd than the one I find at Heroes, SDCC, NYCC, etc.  Anyway, it was great to meet so many new readers!  Plus I got to see Janet Lee's amazing original art again, which is always a treat.  For those who don't know, she does her pages on inch-thick pieces of wood. I also tried my hand at a new type of art yesterday, that digital painting that looks like mid-century kid's books, or posters.  I may make a postcard of this.  Does it look okay, or should I keep at it? 

Jungle River Packet

Before explaining the pictures below, I want to remind everyone that I'll be at Dragon Con this weekend. I'll be in the comic section (not sure where that is yet, but I'm sure your program will tell you if you're going) doing sketches, commissions, and I'll have plenty of sketchbooks and Crogan Adventures to sell, so please come by! I'm also on a few panels. Here's the info: Friday, 11:30am: The New Age of Comic Strips Hanover Room F @ the Hyatt Friday, 1pm: Graphic Novels and Young Adults Room A707 @ the Marriot Sunday, 4pm: Brigands and Buccaneers: Myth and Reality of Pirates International Room (BC) @ the Westin The other day, my colleague Nolan Woodard had a baby (well, his wife did) and I subbed for his concept design class. They were finishing up maquettes, and I thought "hey, I've been wanting to make a paddle wheeler for some time now" and so I stopped at Hobby Lobby on the way and picked up a couple of pieces of balsa. During the class I built the deck, and that night built a boiler, engine, and paddle. I haven't taken a day off from doing comics in quite a while, so it was fun to do a hobby project.

I made the deck from three pieces of foamcore, topped by a thin-ish piece of balsa wood. I "drew" in the planking and wood grain with a bamboo skewer. The sides were done the same way.

I made the boiler itself out of one of those little wooden barrels. The rivets were added with puff-paint, the pressure gauge is the inside of a brad, the whistle a couple of pieces of plastic tubing, and the smokestack is a faber-castell PITT pen with the top cut off. The valves are the backs of sewing snaps. The engine is two more (though smaller) wooden barrels, some plastic piping, and more balsa. The paddle wheel was a round needlepoint pattern (two, actually), cut to look like the metal part, and balsa for the planks. If you look next to the boiler, I added firewood, some old coal leavings, and a stack of replacement boiler tubes.

Here's the thing with the cabins on it, and the upper deck. It's still not finished - I need to add the bridge (which I expect will take longer to build than I presently have time for, as I want it to be open-windowed with a visible interior) and the stairs to the upper deck, which I have but forgot to paint and put on. I'll do that later.

I wanted the boiler visible, but wanted the area to feel like it could be enclosed. Hence the hanging canvas, made from "green stuff," a type of sculptable epoxy.

The railing is just chicken wire, with dabbs of puff-paint put on the cut edges to keep it from being sharp (which, believe me, it IS when left uncovered). You can see where the stairs will go on the upper deck, in the middle and on the back, where the rails open up. There will be four staircases total.

The whole thing was painted black, and then I added colors in successive layers, drybrushing on really cheap acrylic with a bristle brush. Since this is supposed to be a jungle paddler, I decided to show algae growing on the paddle and around the bottom of the visible hull. I tried to let it show that it would've splashed up around the wheel and the back of the engine, too. These kind of boats are prettiest when they look their worst.

The whole thing measures in at about sixteen inches long. I don't have a story in mind for this one right now - it really was a hobby, something I could turn to finishing this afternoon when my back started to hurt from being stooped over the drawing desk all day - but I'll find one for it eventually. Since I've got it (mostly) done, it'd be a shame to not use it for reference. One more note about Dragon Con - I'll be bringing most of the drawings in the store section, so if you've had your eye on a piece and want to guarantee that you get it before somebody else does, I'd say get it now. Have a great weekend!

A Few Pages, Inked

Well, two big bits of Crogan-related activity have occured.  The first is that I've undertaken inks on Loyalty.  Here are a few pages to give you a taste:

The second is that I've written the fourth Crogan book, Crogan's Escape.  Usually I don't get to writing until about six months or more after the previous book is finished, but this doing pencils first approach has been so trudging that it's given me the opportunity and inclination to do research during production, somethign I've not heretofore had time to do.  The story treatment (tight, but covering only the specific plot details) clocks in at thirteen pages - roughly the same as the last three books.  Hunter Wook-Jin Clark read it for me, and gave me a couple of things to think about and fix, but they're minor.  In my free time, I plan to continue doing design work and practice sketches, with the hope that I could, in theory, start pencils on Escape the day I finish inks on Loyalty.  I probably won't, of course - I tend to indulge in a day's vacation upon  completion of a large project - but I like the idea of having the option to work on through, should I be in a lather, or just wish to prove a point. Another note: If anyone is going to DragonCon,  I will be there!  I'll post my panel schedule in a day or two.  Also, don't forget that sketchbooks and original art can be purchased here.

Boat Studies

Sorry to have been so long betwen posts! I've finished the pencils for Crogan's Loyalty.  All of it.  Framing sequence and everything.  So I'll start inking next week.  Woo! Some notes:  I've posted a bunch of original art for sale.  In the past, it's been all pages.  Now it's drawings, too.  Check it out. Here are some sketches done in preparation for the next book.  I'm having a tough time coming up with the name of the boat.  I'll keep at it, but I may have a contest sometime down the road, if I can't think of one. 

The Borneo Identity

While Liz and I were hanging out last night, I drew this Borneo Tribal Chief. 

Funny Animal Pulp Project

My friend Chad Thomas (whose art run on Archie's Mega Man begins next month) and I have, since first meeting around five years ago, played with the idea of working together on a kid's adventure comic.  The ideas continually shift and change, and he's one of maybe five people that I can comfortably chat on the phone with for more than a couple of minutes (I'm just not a phone guy). 

We had the chance to work together on a couple of books coming out this Fall - some younger reader choose your own adventure-type of books that I wrote and Chad drew (he handled Coyote and Monkey) - and are chomping at the bit to do so again.  I love Chad's animal characters - he's really great at them - and we've been talking about the idea of doing a "funny animal" project together ("funny animal" is basically just a term for anthropomorphized animal character stories, which includes comics like Usagi Yojimbo to Blacksad and movies like Disney's Robin Hood, Kung Fu Panda, and Rango... they don't necessarily have to be FUNNY).  We're starting to put it together to pitch to a publisher - hopefully as a floppy - and have been doing a few sketches just to get an idea of things.  We'd both be handling writing AND art duties, in an attempt to do a much more intensely collaborative approach than is usually done.  It would have a very 1930s setting, and be very pulp high adventure type of stuff (big surprise, I know).

Anyway, here are a few sketches we've done to start getting our heads around it.

And here are a few of Chad's...

In any case, we're in the EXTREMELY early stages right now, but feel good about the project.  It has a good premise that allows for a lot of episodic narratives, a fun idea for an overarching story, and best of all it gives me and Chad a chance to work together again.  Don't worry; Crogan's comes first.  I'm working on finishing the current book and am hard at work prepping the next one.

Steampunk Commission

Well, I just got back from a long trip - two stops in Texas, Miami, and New Orleans, hot on the heels of a visit to Kentucky and just before a trip to North Carolina and then Tennessee. Woof! I'll post some details later (maybe - I'm bad about remembering to do that sort of thing), but for now I want to offer my sincerest apologies and thanks for the patience of the many people who have ordered sketchbooks and Crogan Adventure Society memberships over the past few weeks. I've finally caught up, and just in time for the post office to close! That means that, because of Monday's holiday, everyone's stuff will go out on TUESDAY. Including a commission that slipped under the radar somehow from almost two months ago (eek!), a "steampunk guy and girl."  Here it is below:

(click the image for a full-sized version) The drawing was done at 5x7."  I'm putting more details in my inks these days.  My thanks to Robyn for her patience!

Sketchbook Now Available for Online Orders!

As promised I'm making the sketchbook available online!  And since everyone is so used to Amazon's free shipping, I'd hate to bring on a case of the grumps by not doing the same.  The following options are available: • Regular price: $20.  I will include a sketch of one character or object in the front of each book. • Crogan Adventure Society price: $10.  One of the perks of being a Crogan Adventure Society agent!  This offer only applies to agents who got their memberships before April of 2011.  But future discounts will apply to future agents, so find out more about the C.A.S. here.  I will include a sketch of a character or object in the front of each book. • Retailer Price: $10.  A fifty percent discount for brick-and-mortar comic and book store retailers.  Please send me store info for validation.  All books must be shipped to the store. • International Orders: $25.  In order to cover additional shipping costs, international orders require an additional $5.  I will include a sketch of a character or object in the front of each book.

To order, select from the following:

Regular Price $20.00 Crogan Adventure Society (agent before April 2011) price $10.00 Brick-and-Mortar retailer price (send store info for validation) $10.00 International Purchases $25.00

Please allow one to two weeks for delivery.  It takes a little while to do the sketches, and sometimes I'm out of town.  Thanks for the order!

HeroesCon Schedule

The sketchbook release went really well!

A whole lot of people came out, I was signing nonstop from 5pm until 10:30, and all in all it was a really fun evening, though I was too busy to eat any of the excellent food that Liz prepared. And now... HeroesCon!  This weekend is HeroesCon, which I've talked about before.  You should go if you're able.  I'll have sketchbooks there, along with copies of The Crogan Adventures and some prints.  I'll also be doing a number of panels:

Friday at Noon Teaching Comics Room 203A In the past decade or so, Graphic Novels have invaded the syllabi of many colleges and Universities throughout the country. Join moderator Shawn Daughhetee and Professors Craig Fisher, Chris Schweizer, Mike Kobre and Alan Rauch as they discuss what is involved in teaching comics at the college level. We will be taking attendance. Friday at 2:30pm Composition & Clarity (Part of the SCAD Workshop Series) Room 201 For a comic to succeed, artistically or commercially, it needs to read clearly, and at the heart of clarity in comics is strong composition. Chris Schweizer will teach you about clarity in composition, from using value to define planes and visually invest your reader in a scene, to identifying and avoiding any of the six types of compositional tangents that can pop up in even the best artist’s work to ruin a panel. This is a chunk of what will be a practical textbook that I'm working on.  I think it's really valuable information if you're a comic artist, so I hope you'll come up! Sunday at 11am (I know, I know, this is just as the con is starting that day.  Still, Don Rosa!  DON ROSA!  You should go). Room 203A Blending real historical facts and humor based comics into something provocative and highly entertaining is no feat. Join Chris Schweizer (The Crogan Adventures) as he leads the discussion with Ben Towle (Amelia Earhart) and Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge) as they explain the intricacies of the creative juggling act. Sunday at 1pm Family Friendly Comics Room 209 This panel has become a yearly tradition at HeroesCon. We take pride in this convention being for the entire family and what better way to celebrate Shelton Drum’s vision than by spotlighting comics the entire family can read. Comic News Insider’s Jimmy Aquino will interview Chad Bowers, Andy Runton (Owly), Chris Schweizer (the Crogan Adventures), Chris Giarusso (Mini Marvels), Jamie Cosley (Cody the Cavalier) and come see what all the buzz is about

Again, if you're a Crogan Adventure Society agent, bring your ID to get the sketchbook for only FIVE DOLLARS.  For everyone NOT going, I'll have the books available for sale via the website next week.  Keep your eye on the blog! Also, a TON of SCAD-Atlanta students will be there, at the Temple of Cartoon Mojo table.  They'll be selling their own work - some of it truly awesome - as well as a mini-comic anthology edited by Max Currie, who's one of the most driven and enthusiastic guys I've ever met.  He's read every book I can throw at him, he works around the clock, and he's definitely a guy to watch out for.  Anyway, the anthology is called Sightings, and it's all short stories and drawings about monsters like Bigfoot, Loch Ness monster, etc.  It's pretty awesome, and only a buck.  Don't foget to check it out!  Plus I'll be putting the original for my John Carter poster in the auction!

Commissions, done!

I've mailed off a chunk of the commissions I took a couple of weeks ago.  I still have three left to do, but seven should have, by now, reached their owners, so I'm throwing them up here.  All of them were drawn at 5 x 7" and for some of 'em I used gray markers, which I almost never do on brush drawings.  I liked how they turned out!

One of the requests was a self-portrait.  I haven't done one of these in a while, and I was never good about making them look like me.  This one, I think, looks like me, so that's good.

 I was also asked to draw Stan Sakai with his comic creation Usagi Yojimbo.  I did a few sketches of Stan during his visit to Atlanta a few months ago, and looked at these to do the drawing - I never actually looked at a photo!  I thought him holding a real rabbit DRESSED like Usagi would create a more interesting drawing than him standing with the character, so here you go.

Here's Strong Guy from X-Factor.  I had an action figure of him in sixth grade, and I really liked it.

I got another request for "Something Usagi," so I did a picture of Usagi and Jotaro in 1632, 30ish years after the events in Usagi Yojimbo take place.  I love drawing established characters old; I can see why all of Allan Moore's books are about what they're about.

A picture of Michael May's Daniel Baboone fighting a Cephalopod.  There was a Daniel Baboone story in an Activate comic, which I really dug: http://www.act-i-vate.com/114-28-1.comic

Grimjack, who was commissioned by the guy who ran the comic shop in my hometown where I probably bought the aforementioned Strong Guy figure back in sixth grade.

And, lastly, Shipwreck and Beachhead from G.I. Joe.  Just a reminder, there is a sketchbook release/signing on Thursday!  I'll have my new book - though the retail is $20, at this signing it'll be $15 to the public and $5 to anyone with a valid SCAD ID or Crogan Adventure Society agent card.  Thursday, May 26, from 5-8pm at SCAD Atlanta, right next to the front doors (Gallery 1600).  SCAD's address is 1600 Peachtree ST NE, Atlanta, GA 30309.  Hope to see you there!

Team Cul de Sac

As some of you might know, Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac is without question my favorite comic strip from the last decade. It does a better job of capturing the essence of children than just about any other narrative I've ever encountered. It's phenomenal. I can't recommend it highly enough. If you're a fan of Calvin and Hobbes or Peanuts, you should be picking up these collections. I'm lucky enough to have an original hanging on my wall, and it's one of my most prized possessions. Last year, Richard announced that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, a deginerative nervous system disorder that often manifests itself in uncontrollable tremors and shaking, which is terrible for anyone but is especially horrifying for someone whose job and passion is to have pretty much infallible control over his or her hands. Luckily, he seems to be doing well and is still perfectly capable of making some of the most wonderful comics ever produced. I got to join Richard and a few friends for dinner last year in Charlotte, and with us was Chris Sparks, one of Richard's friends and the fella in charge of his web page. Chris has since taken on the task of preparing a benefit for Richard called Team Cul de Sac. Cartoonists of all stripes are doing their take on characters from Richard's strip. Some of the art will be collected into a book being published by Andrews McNeel, and all of it will go to auction.  The money will be used for Parkinson's Disease research through the Michael J Fox Foundation, whose stated mission is to cure the disease.    Here is my piece:

click the image for a full-sized version As soon as I find out details about the auction, I'll post them.  There will be a lot of great stuff on there.  I do want to note that, in order to ensure that the piece raises as much money at auction as is able, this will be the only Cul de Sac drawing I will ever do, or at least the only one that will ever be available for sale.  Again, I'll be sure to let everyone know details about the book and auction as soon as I know them.  One note - the drawing is actually in gray marker wash; I added the hues digitally, after seeing that many other contributing artists had done the same. If any cartoonists wish to contribute and have not yet done so, fret not; the deadline has been extended to June 18th.