Sandman Bookplates, a few Maxx Covers....

This little package came on Friday...

Bookplates for the Comic Art Museum's Sandman book. Mike Drigenberg did a fantastic job penciled it. and tried not to goof it up too much when i Inked it. - Mike suggested it would be cool to do the reverse of how we worked together on Sandman.

Just wanna assure anybody who ordered it this limited edition Sandman art book, that - yeah, it *does* exists . . .

. . and it *is* going to be mailed to you - soon as Mike and i finish signing these suckers.  I'll leave a space for Mike to sign on the left.. since he's penciled version got the ball rolling.


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Same goes for those 25 drawings for the Limited Maxx collection. Those are FINALLY done too!!! - they went out to IDW last week.

 Will try to throw a few extra pics of those too in my  next post.

But enough of that sketch stuff....


* * *

Now back to starting various Maxx covers..

... in various states of decomposition. 

I tend to work on batches of Maxx covers at the same time . . 

.. . . sorta like multiple downloads.. traveling at different speeds . . . 

This one's changed since i took this photo yesterday. It looks pretty gruesome here while it's wet, and the bronze paint is better blended now. Kinda fights the purple here.  Hopefully I can pull it all together. 

Okay, let's jump over to this one now. I'm trying to stay lighter on this cover, not over-work it like i did the previous one. 

I love jumping from one cover to another.  I like to think doing a series of covers together... means they may influence each other. But maybe not.  Who can say? It might just feel like that in my head. 

Either way, doing a "gang of covers".... it creates the *illusion* I'm getting a lot done, 

Or the possible alternative is . . . . .  that i'm slowing myself down by finishing several covers at once. Maxx is peaking out from behind this branch here. 

It's weird how. . .  after you draw it, it seems like it's really happening, does't it?  Even when your the one drawing it. 

I don't seem able to not do pages, stories or covers out of order, and thrive on doing on various projects at once. Doubt I'm alone in this. 

Looks confusing until i finish this tree, doesn't it?  'Floating mushrooms' on a yet-to-be-drawn-tree . . . 

Wanna try to make the Maxx logo here like different too.. more fantasy like, just for this one. 

But for now let's jump to a third Maxx cover instead... 

This one has Gone in it.. here's the whole thing. I penciled it tighter than usual here. Not sure i'm wild about Maxx right elbow sticking out like it does. 

Okay, bold choice - rounded off that elbow. . . not it looks like Maxx's arms are an inner tube, doesn't it? 

Might be a huge mistake... on the other hand, Maxx is the ideal character to distort, sorta like a beefier version of plastic man, isn't he? 

Well in comics energy and moment is everything.  It's amazing what you can get away with if your bold and confident. Or sometimes you don't.  

Either way i doubt one elbow will make or break this cover. 

I'm changing my focus from "the elbow question" back to Gone's face. 

Here's a goofy accident, swirling this cover around and it got caught in the ripped bristol i use as a pallet on my art table.  But it also makes a handy 'grip' to hold the cover in place. 

Leave some space for Gone's fingers to dig into Maxx's arm here.  All thefolds in Gone's cape means this Cover will take longer, so won't get far on it this round.

Color helps... but still a ways to go on this sucker.

Meanwhile, here's a fourth one I finished last week.. so you have something more finished to feast upon.

Sadly this one happened to fast i didn't have time to even grab a camera.. sometimes you get in a groove and hate to break the spell.. you know?

Okay, hopefully that will hold you for a little while.

Wanted to add, thanks for all the comments. While I rarely get around to replies, your comments feedback and praise is *never* lost on me!!!!!

Thanks
Sam

Maxx, Worlds Sketches. . . 20 years ago today. . .

            ( Update added to bottom of this post! ) 
                                 -----------

FYI:  The Sandman exhibition at Cartoon Art Museum ends on April 27th. 

There's a sandman piece Mike penciled and I inked in the a Museum catalog, limited to 1,000 copies pre-order copies now, since they won’t be going back to press with this one once it sells out. (I didn't post it because i forgot to scan it - sorry.)

If your a sandman freak, GET this book. 

Just remember my and Mike's Sandman pin up are only one one page of it. But it does help a worthy cause, (the Museum), so here's order info: 

  

Hopefully your not too sick of the Maxx. . .  

. . but here's a few versions of another painted cover.

Thanks to everybody - looks like IDW blew through those Maxx Limited books pretty quick. 

Promise to make the Maxx sketches worth it - I'll throw them up online as I work my way through them . . . so everybody gets a chance to check 'em out too. (remember, *this* one is a Maxx cover, not a sketch!) 

I'd be forever if i tried to draw every sketch with this much detail. 

Wanted to try something a little different with this Maxx cover, hmm. . . . not sure about the orange under-lighting.. 

getting a little psychedelic. .  even for me. Let's see if i can't save it.. 

. . or make it LOTS worse...

 either one. Okay, still a little busy? Too much going on? Probably.

 Above's an earlier version and one i painted a little later, side by side. Tried to ground all that orange in the 2nd version. 

Which do you like better? 

Notice i painted over my signature. it was too big anyway. : )  

I still think i can make the top of the 2nd version darker on the edges. 

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I'm also doing some sketches for a few friends in some Worlds books too. 

Notice the ink's still wet here. Can't close this cover yet. I love working on this brown paper.  So restful this stained coffee brown isn't it? I love 'defacing' all my own art here.. scribbling over the inside pages like this. 

Here's another one.  

i'm not sure this is enough, seems kinda boring... 

let's adding something else here. little blobs of white out floating up from this guy's eye ball... 

Okay, this one's totally out of control now! * sigh * 

In fact take a look at the same page ( below) in another Worlds book for comparison, see?  

By now you've spotted the third book, and the little orange guy. 

Just another weird same monster. Outback creature. whatever. Just more weirdness. 

if the eye looks a little odd around the edges it's because i pasted it in. couldn't get the acrylic smooth enough. 

That's what sketches are always hit and miss aren't they? It's like musicians playing live. No safety net. Esp. if you doing it in a big-ass art book, more pressure not to screw up. 

But this (my worrying) is just me psyching-myself-out. . . because you couldn't ask for a more appreciative buncha fans than you guys n' gals out there..  'course with friends there's should be even less pressure, right? 

But it's fun too. A challenge. I'm leaving this guy alone. No need to busy it up top any, less is more here, eh? 

Check out how the flash caught some of the paint texture in one pic, and hid it with a secondary source of light.  Funny how light can either . . hide. . .  or expose. . .  brush texture, isn't it? 

Okay, enough of this little guy... 

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It's weird looking at all this old Maxx art. Most of my problem with Maxx had to do with publishing/editorial/printer things that had nothing to do with the story itself.  Production crap, and various professional 'dirty laundry', ego, greed, gossip, tons of worthless crap that won't help anyone by being aired publicly and most of which have - thankfully - faded from everyone's memory. 

For me, Maxx is like having Four Ex Wives, all getting together and revisiting you, and each compare notes.  Tons of mixed feelings, affection, regrets, embarrassment, ambivalence. All that. But that's MY own personal baggage and neurosis, and damage, not yours. 

Yeah. Maxx lasted. Weird. Kinda pretentious sounding, but I don't mean it in an ego way either. For some odd reason, it HAS left an imprint. 

I know for a fact it's changed some people. . . because of the TONS of letters I've received over the years. 

And even at SDCC, various strangers, who in an instant touched my arm, leaned into me, looked eyes with mine, and this weren't strangers at all... people who assured me yes, they *were* deeply moved by something in Maxx. Or that something happened in their life, *while* they were reading it. 

Key moments, teen angst, someone they loved, lost, or discovered. Personal hardship. Trauma. Abuse. Broken heart. Healing. Recover. In the middle of a whole world or crap, they found . . . some glimmer of hope in the stories. words. ideas.  

I know, because you've been kind enough to share it with me. This humbles me.  Drawing him is second nature to me.  All this, reminds me that, in a way, " I ", really have nothing to do with the Maxx. 

It's something that travels far beyond me . .  

even if it happened to have started  because of me, you know? 

Okay, enough of my babble. Thanks for listening. 

. . and looking. 

- Sam 

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                          UPDATE  

Also, kinda interesting fact, as you can see above, the original Maxx 9 panted cover is NOT red colored.

The original art's (right) was actually PEACH colored..!!! ~  years ago, i had the production guys at Image reddened  the cover up in photoshop because i though the original didn't look 'violent' enough. Now, i actually prefer the original peachier colors. Which do you like?

Above is a cool contrasts.. my New Maxx 9 cover. on the left, and the classic Maxx 9 cover on the right. In some ways, how i paint Maxx is totally different than how I used too, and in other ways, some of same weirdness. . . .  carried on with a changing bag of tools, tricks, ideas.

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Here's the same cover, hours earlier. Paints still wait on top, as I've darkened a new upper layer.

This is like the third variation on this cover's background. So much gets lost in the printing too.

Started so bright and psychedelic.  Now look at it..

Another shot, but this one catches more of the texture.

Some things i would have never done back then, like the orange under-shadows.. also Way$hak pointed out for some odd reason i'm making Maxx's claws curlier now.. never noticed that.

I threw it up here again, since my black Maxx logo covers the top background,  so now you can *what* the black logo actually covers up. Notice once it's dries, much of the texture is lost in a scan. But that's what's cool about seeing art from different lighting angles.

Okay - enough already! 

- Sam 

SDCC, 25th Years Sandman Panel, Tons of Fans, and a little Closure.

( Okay - this is a little confusing.. but i'm thanking Donnovan, Proxy and Ramon Kool for retrieving the Sandman post i lost, which i've edited down a little bit. Also Hey to Random Toxy. Also to Jenn: Yeah, the SDCC edition of Worlds wrap around cover swallows up the 'stick bird' on the back, but luckily the majority of fans will see the sticky bird in the regular edition.  Thanks to Adam S. and Amy B.. thanks and i'll try to sign some more copies soon... also have fallen behind on tons of old comments.. but thanks to my old small press pals John Holland and Tom Stazer for saying 'hey'.. and to anyone else i've missed. THANKS...!!! )

San Diego was NUTS... as expected, but the con crazies was all made worth it by everyone who stopped by! Praise to Ted Adams and the IDW folks for bring me out in the first place too! I'm afraid i was too bus signing to take more pics of myself signing, but there's enough of those online.

An old pal Joseph Melchior showed me his Sandman page (above), which I drew some 25 years ago. Way back in the day, Neil asked for the Sandman's cape to not go outside of the circle, so they shrunk Morpheus down on a state, which Joseph removed and had put on a stat.

After the Sandman panel Both Neil and I stared at the page.. so weird to see it after all these years...

Todd Klein took this cool pic of Neil checking the Sandman page.

I've always tried to keep a respectful distance from the whole Sandman thing. As I've said 

before, was less that proud of my brief contribution to it all. Also I struggled to have a career on my own after the Sandman too, without dissing Neil or the book itself. Fear of always seeming like Neil's little brother caused me to hermit away and I failed in staying in touch with him for too many years. Working together on the Charity Book for Heros.. helped mended those fences.

Above is a short video.. you may have to use headphone to hear what we're saying. 

Below is how the panel must have looked to fans in the audience.

Below how it felt inside...

Okay, I have no evidence Dave Mckean was checking out a hot babe, but J.H. Williams did tell me after the panel he was nervous too. Who wouldn't be? - it was a friggin' huge crowd.

But to jump back for a sec, when I finally saw Neil in person back stage for the first time in almost 20 years, and was intense. I sensed the PURE appreciation and love of all his fans flooding the audience with cheers and support even before we got on stage, it was damned near impossibly not to be moved. Yeah, it was Neil's night, righty so. And he proved he's an awesome verbal storyteller too.. and sure, i was proud for the small role I played in the book. Towards the end of the panel, I got kinda of flustered and started to ramble, but I thanks to Neil's graceful assurance that I was helpful in bring the Sandman to life. .... hopefully I didn't make too big a fool of myself.

Here's a big wolvie... and a little one. 

Seeing everyone, Neil, the fans.. kinda overwhelming, in a good way. 

For a guy who's often told he's often too hard on himself... was an kinda of emotional moment, 

and it sorta was a kind of 'closure' of sorts for me. 

ps: Thanks to my pal Tal Vigderson and Justin Eisinger for the sandman pic up top.