BLAST FROM THE PAST: Maxx Scans..

Scanning - scanning-scanning... I'll probably be soooooo sick of seeing Maxx at the end of all this, but has to be done!  That my camera cord dangling across the Maxx art.

People who see page one often ask if there's some significance to all those maxx 'logo' lettering in the upper left.  Just a artsy design element, nothing more.

Here's a little friend of maxx cover.. on small paper.. i did the previous friend cover on larger paper, but it has less detail than this smaller version. Really no rhyme or reason to why pages are different sizes.

For ease of printing headaches most Maxx pagers were mostly 10 x 15, the comic art size. This just fit those big 11x 17 scanners.

Sometimes the art was a little bigger on the Darker Image Maxx pages. Course i need to stop taking pics and put the art on face down if we're gonna scan now, eh?

Here's probably one of my favorites... i don't mean it egotistical way.

I just mean... *this* kind of creature is more like what i'd naturally draw, instead of trying to stuff Wolverine or Ghost Rider into my usual oddly-shaped proportions.

I could totally relax... be myself... while drawing this guy.. Maxx is really more of a fantasy book than super hero if you think about it.

Another nice part of the collected and Artists edition is.. i always intended to have the whole series start with darker image 8 pager ... following by Maxx issue 1.    I never got around to doing it in the old Maxx reprint trades from Wildstorm.

But we may as well get it right this go-around. Above is a little panel that kinda gets lost in the color. Kinda crude actually... but it's easier to see original art size.

I felt kinda embarrassed about a Artist Edition. Walt Simonson,  Mingola, sure. They deserve it. Honestly a lot of later issues of the Maxx have really hit and miss art. My fault mostly. Not Jim Sinclairs'.

I'm not fool enough to equate myself with the classic artists who IDW's done. I know it's just commercial popularity of the Maxx that would call for a Maxx artists edition.

I'd love to see an 'Epicurus' Artist Edition too... but that's much less popular (and not as well known. ) What i should really do is shut-the-heck-up and be grateful their even including Maxx in this series.

Yeah, while old school classic golden and silver age art collectors may cringe a 90's 'Image' comic made it in Artists Editions ... remember, Maxx is 20 years old. Some fans who were in high school at the time,

....those who grew up on it... *they* might dig checking the originals, right?

And if not, don't buy it, right?   I'll never be able to please everybody out there.

Star Wars Art Book: the 'put-put' page

I was fortunate enough to be contact by Jonathan Rinzler and George Lucas, who asked if I'd like to do a commission for this big-ass Star Wars Art book. They did a cool one on Star Wars Illustrators,  and this one had tons of comic-book original art.

The book mostly reprints of old star was comic pages, but they approached something like 20 artists George specifically commissioned for new pieces. 

They told us it could be a pin-up, or a story page.  The only rule was.. try to only use 'sound-effect' words if possible.  In other words, try to let the pictures tell the story.  Plus we we're sought out to do it in our own style. it was pretty cool to just be asked.

Then, after the art came in, they choose 5 artists, me, Dave Dorman, Frank Quietly, Mike Mignola, Ryan Sook, to do signed and numbered prints too. Not to seem immodest, but considering the skills of these other dudes, I'm surprised I was asked.

Here's some behind the scene pics I took as I drew my piece, signed some prints of it and got the finished book in the mail last week.

When Jonathan asked me, I'd done some star wars work-for-hire art before.  Tons of artists have. But Jonathan assured me his was different, and promised me George did want my weird-ass style - and freedom to explore any star wars character I wanted to draw. Not just a hired hand to do licensed art. I asked if I could do two page spread, and they said sure, whatever I wanted.

I wasn't sure if George even knew my Maxx stuff, so I sent alone some sample art, to make sure he was cool with it. I dug up this, because I knew he liked Al Williamson Frazetta EC stuff, so I thought he might be okay with my fluid organic brush work.

So I sent one of my weird Maxx creatures, actually this one..

I also sent alone this pencil 'rough', I did.. I wanted to do a Williamson Frazetta style too, but I think it came off a little stiff, some because of stage fright George would be seeing it, also because... well, I'm no Williamson or Frazetta. But he approved it anyhoo...  

So Jon told me George also liked the Maxx piece too.  So they asked if I'd do a THIRD piece for the book,  in the style of my goofy Maxx creatures? Yeah. Like I'd gonna say "forget it'.  I was thrilled to do it.

Now the funny part is, this piece, (one Jon eventually called 'put-put' page), was the one that was the most fun. because i wasn't trying to be classic old school art, like in the double page spread.  I'd passed inspection from George on the two pager, so i just relaxed here, dug up some camel shaped Star Wars creature I could pour my 'outback' style into...

It all came together really perfectly, effortlessly. Only trouble was it was just one panel. I wanted  to do a little story stuff. using a sound effect. Maybe a string of small panels along the top?

 Jonathan mentioned how George loved another one pager another artists, Ian Gibson did (where a little R2D2 robot was going 'put put') - and the sound effect was the only dialogue on the page.

Jon said George's favorite part was that there were no words, just little sound effect giving 'motion' to the page. The funny thing is I never saw this page, Jon just described it to me over the phone. And Jon somehow remembered the sound effect Gibson drew as 'put-pit', so that's what I drew, 'put-put' -

So I decided to (shamelessly) suck up to George and do my own little robot that made the same sound.. 'putting' along in some tall grass, then bump into the chest of this four legged big-ass creature.

But it wasn't until after I drew mine, that Jon realized he told me wrong, and Ian Gibson's sound effect was 'tup-tup', NOT 'put-put'.  If your brain numb from all the tedious minutia yet? It's all moot now, but now... in a way, I'm glad it's put-put.

Also one other thing I cringe over..

I should have fixed the fourth panel balloon, so it didn't cramp up the vertical 'sight' dotted line.

I could have digitally,  but somehow, i felt trapped by wanting the printed page to match the original art. Looking back, i also could have pasted in a replacement panel too, but whatever... It's kinda cool to work without a digital 'net', working by hand, flaws and all.

I also just liked the idea of something so silly and light. Just a goofy little robot... and a weird little yellow orange monster sandwiched in such an big classy important Star Wars book.

Jon liked it the finished 'put-put' page, and (amazingly).. do did I.

And another amazing thing is..

that I'm finally out of...

..words!

Next post,  PART TWO: where I'll show the other piece I did for it, the double-page spread... how that came into being!

Why a Trout?

A lot of people ask me this... what's up with all this Trout crap? Well, if you're  inside my head, and don't know the 20 graphic novels and four art books and all the trout history clogging my brain (most of which aren't published yet),... then it's totally understandable to wonder. Hell, I'd ask too. 




But before I get into the Trout, first up goes back to how I draw... and think... in general. I notice I tend to unconsciously reduce everything I draw to shapes, like in Zero Girl. Nothing special there: most artists think in circles, squares, etc. In my mind all three of the examples above are all pretty much the same skeleton, only with different 'skin'. Here's what I mean: 

Legs was Maxx, who, before that, was the Magic Trout. While compiling stuff for the art book, I came across an old page that shows this pretty well. The Trout was just a side-ways S shape and so was Maxx... still unformed. Just doodles in dozens of sketchbooks. 

I layed out a crude story of the Trout as a grit salesmen, as a sort of joke. 

This idea was based on a frame from an old rare short film (that's long been lost) which supposedly shows one of few existing photos of the Trout. 

I used this 'mute man' from the film later in my Ojo comic. The Mute man was one of hundreds of folks dating back to the 1900s who (along with Annie), had a profound experience when they saw the Magic Trout. 


My sketchbook doodles of the trout are kinda like the source of everything, all of it... everything came from it. Nothing to do with actual fish or fishing for trouts.  It's just randomly evolved into this whole universe, which bookends my whole career. I tried to keep it separate from the Maxx universe, but, like everything I dream up, it's part of a 'family of everything' I create. For me the Trout world is already as fully formed as the Maxx world. All that remains is the act of patiently laying it down in print and online.  

These crude panels from the Ojo comic show that whenever the Trout 'speaks', it's utter nonsense to human ears. Yet we process it as what we want to hear. In the 1900s people tended to hear a weird noise from the Trout that sounded to human ears like the words 'cheese and garbage'. 

I have no idea what it means either, it's just another mystery of this Trout world. 


So why should you give a crap about all this? No reason. I don't know why believe in imaginary things like a big purple super hero. Or a skinny guy in black that Neil called the Sandman. It only exists because somebody doodled in a sketchbook or wrote in a note pad. 


Here's an old vintage Trout Balm advertisement for Balm from the turn of the century. Something people don't even remember anymore. 

All this Trout nonsense will make a little more sense as various books start tumbling out. Trust me. Creations are goofy things; creator and readers conspire to pretend something unreal happened, matters, and emotionally moves them. It's totally organic, starts inside, then pops out. Totally stupid.



Yeah, I know. I don't get it either. 

Batman sketch & Old Maxx art

My old pal Terry Fitzgerald asked me if i could scrounge something up for a charity auction for the Alumni Association of Vancouver Island University (VIU). Thus, this batman doodle:

I thought I'd throw it up here so a few more folks can see it than who might stumble across it on ebay where they'll action if off. I'll post a link next week or so where you can find it on ebay, if anyone's interested. I usually don't hawk my work online, but this is for a good cause. 

DEMON PAGES

Still doing the Demon for DC... Same deal as Lobo: Scott Ian writes and I confuse the hell out of everyone with a surreal combo of monster muscular bad-ass dudes, cartoon violence and twisted humor. 

Here're some Demon pages & sketchbook art cluttering my art table right now.  Yes, I made the colored tabs on the sketchbook—I neurotically color-code everything, don't ask why... 

Scanning MAXX CHAPTERS from 'Art of Sam Kieth' book...

I can see these waaaaay too much unpublished maxx art to ALL fit into the Art of Sam book! Yeah, we give two whole chapters to it, one to the comics and one to the cartoon, but there's still about 200 pages of unseen maxx crap, so i may have to throw that into the Monster art book, or maybe parcel them out into the sketchbooks... dunno yet. 

Here's a good example: one of the maxx trade covers in its original 'non-digital' form: 

I reversed a stripe with Julie, but looking back now I think it was a mistake—too late now. 

A lot of art we'll print in 'Art of Sam' book are old maxx or MPC covers you may have seen. Why? Mostly because they're larger, sometimes full size... and because they printed so poorly in the original comics. Not always, but sometimes. So, I figure you won't mind checking out some originals, because in some cases, it IS almost like seeing a new piece of art all over again. But tons of unpublished crap will be in there too, if that's your thing. 

I don't mean to harp on maxx, but those are the chapters I'm knee deep in right now. Here's one of a ga-zillin little color 'roughs' littering my studio closet: 

Nice to get them out there so people can see them before they crumble to dust. This has been a very emotional experience, looking back on all this art I've piled up all these years. Sort of like a visit from an ex-wife at times. 

But it's a blessed relief as well. So many regrets, so much I'm thankful for. I hate to seem so melodramatic... but there's a crap load of ambivalence about whatever 'comes out of me'. But what artist doesn't drive those he lives with crazy with moody-assed dramas? 

Here's a wide painting we used in the old maxx animated series—I did it specifically for them to 'pan' across during one of the shots. I'm amazed it's still in good shape, as watercolor can be so friggin' fragile. 

One good thing about bad art? At least it's all Landfil once we pass on. I don't mean that bitterly, I just get sick of my own trivial personal little dramas all artists get stuck in. How cool is it to not BE here anymore? Wiped clean. Like a blackboard. Poof. Chalk dust.  I don't mean suicide or anything, I just mean naturalness of death. Like autumn leaves turning brown and curling and drying up. Like all the characters disappearing at the end of the maxx series, one by one... Like you and i will someday. It's almost cathartic in a way. 

And yes, that's budget crude 'white out' I used on the creature. :) 

So I hope I haven't depressed you either, that wasn't my intention. We're alive TODAY. You're reading a goofy comic book post, and I'm writing one. Another day. Anther chance. How cool is that?