Conan #2 preview on Newsarama.com

Newsarama is running a full color preview of Conan #2 and it looks great if I do say so myself.

I gotta tell you, I love working with guys as strong as John Lucas and Dave Stewart. They make me look good :-)

Here's the pencil versions of those pages, before they edited. So, yeah, boobies and all that. Enjoy!









Best,
Mike


PS - Thanks to my pal Patrick for the link were :-)

2010 Holiday art give-a-way today!

Hello everyone!

Ok, today's the day! I'll be having two art give-a-ways today for the followers of this blog, as well as the folks on Twitter.

Around 1pm on Twitter I will be picking a follower at random, and that person will win this piece of art



Around the same time I will be picking a random number (using http://www.random.org/) and matching it to the corresponding follower of this blog. That winner will get a free 8" x 11" commission drawn by your brother-from-another-mother, ME!

So, stay tuned and Happy Holidays!

Mike


EDIT - The contest is over, and the winner is........ Jamie S. Rich! Thanks for playing everyone, and Happy Holidays!

2010 Holiday art give-a-way tomorrow!

Hey everyone,

If you've been following the blog for a while, you'll remember last year I had an art give-a-way for the folks that follow the blog (as well as my followers on Twitter). I'll be doing it again tomorrow. SO, you know, stay tuned! :-)

Mike

Conan: Road of Kings #1 behind the scenes pt.II

As promised, more pencils from Conan: Road of Kings #1. Originally it had more naked. I had to cut back on the naked, so you have the un-nakeded version in the final comic.

I know I'm misbehaving when I draw this stuff, but I risk it...GOOD GOD I RISK IT ALL, you YOU my Bretheren! FOR YOU!

More soon,
Mike

Conan: Road of Kings #1 behind the scenes pt.I

So, now that Conan: Road of Kings #1 is officially "out" I can share some of the pencils with you fine folks! This was a spread from the issue that I had a great time drawing. Seriously, I'd draw then take a break to dance with joy then go back to drawing. Repeat that for a day and that was pretty much the process.

Dudes!

Anyway, I'll post more tomorra'!

Best,
mike

Conan: Road of Kings #1 in stores today

So, apparently there will be a Conan comic in stores today with my name on it...

...I know, weird!..

Anyway, if you get a chance go check it out and let me know what you think. I haven't seen it yet, so you'll be more "in the know" then the guy who drew the book! ;-)


Best,
Mike

Dizzy Cordova, from 100 Bullets, on Comic Twart

hey everyone!

It was my week to pick the subject for Comic Twart, and I chose Dizzy from 100 Bullets! Go check it out :-)

Best,
Mike

Holiday art sale coming soon...

Hey all,

I'll be posting some art for sale in time for the holidays. Haven't updated my store in a while, so I figure this is the time to get on it.

I did post my Comic Twart Dick Tracy sketch card over on my Etsy store...





...but if anyone has interest in any pieces feel free to e-mail me here - mike @ mikehawthorneart.com

Also, I'll be doing another Holiday art give-a-way for blog followers again this year. Stay tuned for that.

Best!
Mike

Saxton Hale sketches

More Saxton Hale sketches I did a while back for fun :-)

Mike

Hale soup - The drawing that made my daugther cry

This one needs some set up. My good friend Mike Oeming works for the video game company VALVE, and I got to see the fun stuff he was doing with a hysterical character by the name of Saxton Hale. So for fun I drew this piece of Hale making shark fin soup. If you know the character, then you get the joke.

Right?

Now, my oldest daughter is an animal lover. Won't even let me kill spiders in the house, I gotta release them to " be free!".

One day she walks into the studio when I was wrapping this up. She knows nothing about the character....and she did NOT see the humor in it. I looked at her face as I tried to explain and saw her eyes welling up with tears!

So, yes. I made my little girl cry with a drawing. I used my powers for evil, and I'm ashamed....

Kinda ;-)

Best,
Mike

Conan: Road of Kings #1 color preview on CBR

Check out the color preview for the first issue of CONAN: Road of Kings over on Comic Book Resources!

Hope you like it!

Mike

Minimalist Dick Tracy

Hey,

Totally forgot to show you folks the piece I did for minimalism week on Comic Twart.



I chose Dick Tracy, and did it as a sketch card with ink and hand cut tone. Here's a pic of it to give you an idea of scale.



Might put this up in the Etsy store for sale soon.


Best,
mike

PS - No "little Dick jokes! ;-)

Queen & Country's Crocker

Here's a commission a bit ago of Paul Crocker from Queen & Country. I love that fans of the series are still so dedicated to it, and remember my measly run ;-)

In case you missed it, here's the last Queen & Country commission I did.

Best,
mike

Fear Agent 30 reviews

Some new reviews for Fear Agent #30, which came out last week.

Newsarama.com's "Best Shots"

Geek Goggle Reviews gives it 4.5 out of 5

And a video review on Comic Book Club

Best,
Mike

Ghost Rider!

Got this commission which just so happens to coincide with Marvel week at Comic Twart. I had actually considered doing Ghost Rider for C.T., but decided against it. So it's funny to be asked to draw him the same week!

best,
Mike

Elektra Lives Again! process

I decided to finish the Elektra Lives Again piece for week two of Comic Twart's Marvel theme.

Here's the final.



And here's the step-by-step process for the piece.











Enjoy,
Mike

The "almost" What if?

Before I settled on the two themes I'm going to do for Comic Twart's Marvel weeks I almost chose The Punisher. I decided against it since it felt too "on the nose" for me. Good thing too, since Declan went with Big Pun.

Anyway, here's a sketch I did when considering The Punisher.

Mike

What if Comic Twart ran Marvel?

Hey all!

So, the fellas on Comic Twart got the idea to devote two weeks to the theme of us all taking over various Marvel books. I expect great things from the boys.

I've picked two books, one for each week. This week I chose The X-men. I had planned to paint this but CONAN is calling. So you'll have to settle for the pencils till I can either paint or ink it.




Here's the rough version with all the construction drawing done in red-


Best,
Mike

PS - After I started this I noticed I forgot to add Beast, so here's a piece I did of him for a pal a while back.



PSS - I shoulda' added Rogue too! Drat!

CONAN Road of Kings #1 preview

Dark Horse ran a five page preview of CONAN #1, with inks by Mr. John Lucas, so I figured I'd show the pencils here.


Issues one and two are available for pre-order, so let your local comic shop know to reserve you a copy.

Best,
Mike

SHAZAM!

I drew this Captain Marvel for Comic Twart's ketchup week. If I can find the time I want to color it.

Best,
Mike

CONAN Road of Kings #1 available for pre-order

Hey everyone,

The first issue of my run on CONAN with writer Roy Thomas is available for pre-order. Ask your local comic shop to reserve a copy for you.


(pencils by me, inks by John Lucas)


Here's some info on the issue, along with Doug's amazing cover.

Best,
Mike

Come meet me at the Capital Bookfest Sept. 18th!

Hey everyone!

I'll be speaking at the Capital BookFest Harrisburg this weekend in the PA state museum. Mostly I'll be talking about the process of getting a comic made, from script to art. I'll also have a question and answer segment at the end of the talk.

If you're anywhere near the Harrisburg area, please consider stopping by. Looks like it's going to be a ton of fun, with many great guests and lecturers.


Here's some info:

Saturday, September 18, 2010
10a.m. – 6p.m.
State Museum of Pennsylvania
300 North Street - Harrisburg, PA 17120
(717) 787-4980

THE CREATESPACE (INDOORS)

10:30a.m. – 11:30a.m. Panel: Getting Published
Marsha Blessing – Book Publishing Firm
Kevin Wayne Johnson - Give God the Glory Series
Charisse Nunes – Publisher & Children’s Book Author
Mike Hawthorne – Author

The schedule is here.

Hope to see you there!
Best,
Mike

Fear Agent 29 in stores!

Hey everyone,

Just a quick note to let you all know Fear Agent #29 is finally in stores! Go check it out, and here's a review for the issue. (Watch out for spoilers!)

Here are some of my pencils from the issue-





Here's a preview for the issue.

Finally, for you process junkies out there, here are some older posts showing some pencil to ink comparisons.

Best,
Mike

Fear Agent 31 advanced preview

Hey everyone,

Rick posted some sneak peek pages for Fear Agent 31, so I figured I'd share them here too.

I've also heard 30 ships next week. Not sure why it's late, as it's been finished for some time, but that's life I guess.

enjoy,
Mike

LONE WOLF & CUB on Comic Twart

Lone Wolf & Cub is easily one of my most favorite comics ever. One of the most amazing accomplishments I've ever seen in the medium. Here's my Twart for the week.




And here it is with the rough pencils visible.



Best,
Mike

SANDMAN by Mr. Hawthorne

Just posted my SANDMAN for this week's Comic Twart. Done with white ink on black paper. Had hoped to do something a little more elaborate, but have been under the gun deadline wise.

Anyway, hope you dig it.

Thanks!
Mike

Comic Twart - FRANKENSTEIN!

This week's character is Frankenstein's monster, who I love drawing. Here's how I did it.









Mike