Thanks for all the comments everybody! I'll get my replies in the bottom of this post. Another Fashion Sandwich this weeks, odds and ends in-between. Weirdly after years of stuff I've finished in the pipeline, seems like October a bunch of stuff is finally coming out - So here's a few peeks at some of this crap..
The first issue of the 30days monthly.. here's a splash from issue two i finished a couple days ago. Before cleaned up in photoshop (.. you can see the white out on the girls arm.)
Plus and the long finished and gathering dust Batman Mad Hatter Trade paperback (think it's in october..?) is finally coming out, it was done three years ago, but be warned it goes from realistic to VERY outlandish, even for me!
Plus that way-cool 'Chickens' web collaboration between me and Jon Ways$ak will have it's own web page in october too. I'll explain more on the web page once it's up.
And now, after all these shameless project plugs... (and because it's completely stupid and indulgent), I'm going to waste all our time with the brief story of my misbegotten ink bottle.
This is the Higgins bottle of India Ink I've taped and (foolishly) glues to my art table probably about 4 years ago. I glued it so it wouldn't tip over and spill. I keep it open to thicken up the ink, which is too thin for my taste.
I like it nice and black, so when the attacked bottle gets low, i pour in a new bottle... like in figure A below.
Now here's the only problem with that... in figure B you can see there slowly grows a layer of *really* think ink on the bottom.
Now, I couldn't see this, but, as figure C shows, I suspected it... because when i'd dip my brush down inside, i noticed I was having to dip less and less far into the bottle for ink.
Eventually it got so bad last week, it turned from sludge into... well... cement, or something close to it!
I know this seems like a gimmicky thing I made up, but sadly it's true. I figured since i was going to such lengths, why not take a few photos of my stupidity? In the end it actually took a friggin' jumbo pair of pliers to budge this thing!
Finally, I managed to extract the little bugger!
Pretty, eh?
Look at that indentation. Most of the ink was absorbed by a cloth I also glued to the table, but still... what a mess!
So surgical goal was successful. I promise i won't usually waste a blog in a eroded bottle of ink, but since it has been four years and a mistake i'll (hopefully) not soon repeat, i figure you wouldn't mind.
Something I dug out.. an old MPC cover... notice marvel cropped some of the plant foliage on the bottom, they also zoomed in a little on Wolvie and Nightcrawler.
I was disappointed, as the point to me was all that black empty sky against to two little lone figures, but hell... it is a super hero cover, which aren't usually known for their subtly.
Actually, this is the first time anyone's been able to see all that gray wash in the plants, rather proud of that. It was just colored solid green on the printed comics version. Again, not bitching, things were mostly flat colors back then.
I may throw up some of my favorite old classic MPC covers on the blog so folks can check out the originals, what do you think?
Oh yeah, least i forget... here's the bottom half of the sandwich.
COMMENTS
Oh no, your not done yet - just a few replied to last posts Legs comments:
On Vassilis's comments on this reminding him of the Maxx letters column - wow, I never really thought of that, but it's sorta true. But this is even more back and fourth, and quicker too. I wish you HAD written buddy... ! I also echo Andra k on Julie/Sarah non-standard body types... ( whatever that is! ). Andy's saying this stuff does hit you when your a teen and reading any comic. Is this me? could I be this person? a geek or chubby or a outcast?
Glad Elliott Mom was open to my comics too. I think it's odd so many comic creators who ARE nerds themselves... wind up drawing nothing but idealized stuff? I mean, that's fine too. Wish fulfillment. Cody's right too, my stuff skews female, but obviously some guys dig my stuff too. Something for everyone. Not designed that way, just how my brain works.
Obviously i did 'idealized' on Wolverine, but even my best version of a 'heroic wolvie' was 'weird' ... to say the least. Every month marvel would get letters from little kids begging me to STOP draw wolverine's feet so big. But, the subversion had begun.. and years later.. would soon flower, full force in the Maxx. Many of these same kids would grow into teens who would then write to me that they now suddenly 'got' my weird outlandish stuff they hated as kids, much to my surprised relief.
Oh yeah, Elliott, i'll check out Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzie, in my cue now. And yeah Frank, far as Project Runway, I have mixed reactions to these fashion shows . It's sorta hit and miss .. subjective opinions vary widely on these shows, what's considered 'tacky' or what looks 'great', leaves me scratching my head. But yeah, i do get inspired by some of it. Oddly enough my fashion fixes goes more back to being a little kid in the 60s. So what draws me to fashion...is kinda more of a personal vibe than a modern designer thing. But it's always been there, just not much room to express it in super hero comics.
Edmund asked about my maybe selling my asian or tree paintings. I think it will happen, but I need to find a way to connect to the few folks who actually want that stuff. I don't yet know if their my usual fans, they probably are) ... or some other group out side of comics. I guess it doesn't matter. In the end. I didn't mean to come off as 'charing more' money for 'asian/tree/abstracts' art out of elitism, only because i know there just less folks, overall... who are interested in that stuff. Thus, and I'd rather sell fewer of those types of art, to those few folks who really might enjoy it.
I'll try to negotiate some common ground between ALL my art, and find ways for everybody to get some of it, whatever it is. Lemme think on that a bit, kay?
Thanks again!
