ORIGINS #5 sneak peek

Chris Ryall posted a couple of panels from issue #5 of ORIGINS, so I figured I'd post it here too.

I finished ORIGINS #5 this week, and am really damned proud of how it turned out. More soon.

Best,
mike

ORIGINS line and color comparison pt I

More line art from the new JOE series, but this time I'm including the final art so you can compare. You'll notice how I'm using it to describe volume, set mood, and show depth in a room.

Hope you dig it.

mike

ORIGINS line art

I have a friend who freaking loves the JOE stuff I'm doing uncolored. He's just into the line art more, for whatever reason. SO, I figured I'd post a few pages of line art for the rest of you folks to check out.

Personally, I'm thinking of these pages as a total package. It's just not done till it's colored. I don't consider this a finished page, as many of the decisions I'd normally make in the inks (Adding volume to the forms, lighting, etc.) I'm now doing with the color.

BUT with that said If you folks like seeing the uncolored pages, I'll post more. Let me know what you think.

best,
mike

Sturgeon River preview 3

This is a page from Sturgeon River - my new book with UMBRA writer, and good friend, Steve Murphy. I penciled very minimally for Sturgeon, because most of the magic comes out in the inks with this book. Check past Sturgeon posts to see what I mean.

Mike

Casanova

I drew this sketch of Casanova*. For fun.

Mike

*The comic character, not the ladies man.

John G's art show!

Man, I meant for this post to go up yesterday. I had set it up to post using Blogger's schedule feature, but messed up the time so this is a day late now. Sorry folks.

Anyway, my pal and underground juggernaut John G. has an art show up at the Front Room Cleveland gallery in Cleveland, OH. If you're any where near the Ohio area you should swing by and check the show out.



You can check John's blog out for more info as it comes up.

The release party for his comic, Caveman Diaries Vol. 6, was last night but I bet you can still pick up a copy if you drop John a line. Caveman Diaries are some of my favorite underground flavor, and I bet you folks would dig it. Like nothing else out there.

best,
Mike

Alternate page from ORIGINS 3

Here's a little behind the scenes info for you hard core fans.

There is a page in ORIGINS #3 where Chimera (the really, really bad guy) is explaining how he killed his families (yeah, plural). I don't like to pretty up violence (since it's never really pretty, especially if it involves women) so I tried to tell a story with the blood trail, show a bit of the struggle and just how ugly a thing it was to do.

Hasbro asked (very nicely I might add) if I could tone it down, which I did for the final comic. They let me keep the puddle under the poor woman, but everything else went. The page still packs a punch, maybe a tad more of one since it's so focused on the person and not the blood.

There you go.

Mike

G.I. JOE : ORIGINS #3 page 16

Another page from ORIGINS #3. One of my favorites.

Mike

G.I. JOE : ORIGINS #3 page 14

Another page from issue 3 of ORIGINS, with the JOES doing their thing.

Best,
Mike

Jumping from a plane - G.I. JOE style

One of the more fun pages from ORIGINS #3 :)

If you picked up the comic, feel free to swing by the forum and discuss it.

Best,
Mike

PS - Here's another cool review for this issue.

G.I. JOE : ORIGINS #3 out today! (4/29)

Issue #3 ships today! Go check it out!

Then swing by my forum and let everyone know what you thought.

best,
Mike

G.I. JOE : ORIGINS #3 preview (lettered)

Hey all,

You can read the first five lettered pages for ORIGINS #3 here on Issuu, or here on CBR.

Best,
Mike

Why I don't do conventions

With the summer convention season coming up I've been getting some e-mails from fans asking about which cons I was going to attend, and I have to tell them how I really don't do cons. I have to explain how it isn't that I have something personally against conventions. I find myself feeling I have to defend my reasoning for not attending conventions and fear that fans will get the wrong idea.

SO, I figured it's about time I give my specific reasons for not doing cons.

First off, no I am not antisocial. In fact, I'm very social. I just don't socialize with comic folk often - which again is nothing personal against them. I think fans understand this, but to my comic creator friends this is odd. One friend went so far as to say that I only had my kids to hang out with (he was joking...I think), which made me laugh. It seems the thinking is that if they don't see me hanging out with them then I must not be hanging out ever. Or if I'm not online with them playing a video game (I wouldn't know how to if I wanted to anyway) I must not have any friends. Or that if I don't attend a lot of conventions I must not know many people.

I think to many comic creators, their friends are mostly other creators. Most of their conversations are about comics. I know that's a broad generalization, and I don't mean to insult anyone. it's completely fine by me. God knows that if I'm talking to a comic friend more often then not our conversations are primarily about comics, or rather the business of comics.

However, most of my life is lived outside of comics. And assuming that if I don't have many comic friends then I must not have any friends is a huge stretch of logic, and kind of insulting.

Not going to every comic convention is good for my state of mind. Believe it or not, most of my days are spent thinking about and immersing myself in the ART of MAKING comics - not so much the comics themselves. The little bit of time I have to spend thinking about comics or continuity or "pimping" a comic makes me tired and so I keep it to a minimum.

Second, I am NOT anti-fan. I do NOT have any fan horror stories from cons that have scared me off. No one has ever been really creepy, or weird, or whatever, to me. Honestly, I've always been treated great by fans! Every con I go to I'm praised, and complimented. Fans give me money for drawings and comics. Really, how can I complain about that?

However, no matter how much I like fans I kinda' like my family better (Sorry, nothing personal :)

I work a lot. I mean, tons. My family is really patient with me, especially around deadline time, so when I DO have free time (like a weekend) I'd rather spend it running around with them. We're extremely active and are constantly doing something.

I also just like my free time to be free, you know? If I have a free night, I can go have a cigar with a friend and hang out. Can't do that at cons. Trust me, I went to many more cons before all bars went with the no smoking ban then I have after! ;)

Anyway, fans are fantastic. They really are. I actually like to do store events more then cons because you can get to know people better. My last event, the Comic Creator Cookout at Comix Connection (say that five times fast!) was fantastic. I cooked for a few dozen fans, raised a bunch of money for the Hero's Initiative, chatted and hung out. That's how I'd always meet fans, if I could. Not from behind a table, but face to face - over Bar-B-Q!


Third, I don't have any problems with traveling. Another comic friend of mine said once how I have to "suck it up", ditch the family, and just go to a con in Europe. Now, I love this dude and I know what he meant. Truth is I should go see these cons overseas. However, if I travel overseas I want my family with me. I want my kids to experience other counties (Especially since my wife and her family are from Europe). Working a convention is not what i want to be doing overseas.

Again, just cause you may not see me traveling from one con to the next doesn't mean I'm not traveling. We're all going to Europe (second time for the kids!) this summer (where I will start a new book), but no cons will be visited. We're also thinking of taking a trip to Puerto Rico soonish. We're taking a mini-trip to New York next week, and DC in a few weeks. We just went to Florida in November. We take trips all the time, just not to cons. See, I like traveling. Just not traveling, then sitting in a convention hall. I'm not knocking, nor am I against any cons anywhere. But again, if I have a choice I'd rather visit a PLACE, not a CONVENTION.

Now, with this all said I'm not unilaterally writing off all conventions. I occasionally do Baltimore or Philadelphia because they're so close to home. I may do more in the future, especially with my new Vertigo graphic novel coming out in a few years which I'll have to promote.

But cons are work, and while I can I choose to play ;)

There you go.

Mike

G.I. JOE : ORIGINS #3 preview (unlettered)

Here's a peek at ORIGINS #3. The first five lettered pages have been floating around online, so here they are unlettered. Unfortunately the action picks up after page 5, so you don't get to see them really get down in this preview.

Anyway, enjoy ;)







Don't forget to pick this up next week. You won't be disappointed :)


Mike

ORIGINS #4 - super sneaky peek!

My pal and boss Chris Ryall showed this over on this blog, so I figure it's cool to show here.

Issue three (which is out next week) really ramps up the action, with the JOES moving out on a mission. Issue 4 goes ALL OUT with the cool JOE action, and five will have you on the edge of your seat. I think you're gonna love it ;)

Mike

Early G.I. JOE: ORIGINS #3 review

Sorry I haven't posted more art lately. Just under the gun to finish JOE #4, and start #5. I promise to show some stuff soon.

Anyway, I wanted to post a quick advanced review for ORIGINS #3 (I don't believe the actual comic has shipped yet).

Check it out here.

Best!
mike

Fear Agent: Agent Zero

Did I mentioned I finished an issue of Fear Agent last month? You wouldn't believe how crazy fun it is. Honestly, it's so packed with action that EVERY page has a spoiler of some sort. So, I can't show you much.

The good news is that in addition to Heath my arc features two of my favorite FA characters, Agent Zero...



... and Nick.



You're gonna love it. :)

mike

Miscellaneous Debris

Hey, meant to show you guys this a while back. I was at a signing months back with my pal Brian Keene and someone I went to high school with brought in a special comic for me to sign. The FIRST comic I EVER did! Some friends and I had self published this book called Miscellaneous Debris back in high school, and I sold them out of my back pack all over school. It was a great experience that I keep with me to this day.

Anyway, this was very cool to see and I wanted to share it with you folks!

Best,
mike

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, unless you're a Jew, Muslim, or Orthodox Christian in which case just ignore this post ;)

Mike

Star Trek pencil art for sale...soon

hey all,

Back in February I had planned on updating my art store, but have been under the deadline gun for so long that I just haven't gotten to it. I hope to change that next week, once I had in another issue of JOE. I think I'll be posting some Star Trek, and maybe some JOE art on there. Haven't totally decided if I want to part with the JOE stuff yet. We'll see.

Anyway, I'll keep you folks posted.

Best,
mike