10/03/2005
Robservations Fall 2005
What a busy Fall 2005 it's been so far. My oldest son started
kindergarten and my youngest son started pre-school, I embarked on the
busiest September schedule of my career and still managed to balance
all of the father, husband, cartoonist, pitchman, producer hats.
Some random thoughts on the summer past and the fall to date.
- Comics are healthy and getting healthier, by and large through the
mainstream publishers. Comics is a cyclical business and it just so
happens we're in the throes of a surge by the big two mainstays Marvel
and DC. Between all the talent that both companies have locked up, the
quality out of both houses is ensured for the very near future and
probably beyond. By no means does that leave the independents out in
the cold because there are plenty of top drawer indie comics to support
out there. SHARKNIFE, STREET ANGEL, SCOTT PILGRIM are just a few of the
great alternatives to go along with indie powerhouses WALKING DEAD and
INVINCIBLE. Eventually this generation's young talents will devote
their energies to creator owned books, through Marvel, DC or otherwise,
and the variety of product will increase, but until then there are
plenty of cool indies you should be checking out.
As far as mainstream Marvel and DC comics go, I'm currently digging New
Avengers, House of M, Sentry, Wolverine, Superman/Batman, Supergirl,
Rann-Thanagar War, Green Lantern, Ultimates, New Avengers and Cable/
Deadpool. House of M has surprised me with how much it has sucked me
in, all the Infinite Crisis mini-series have primed the pump for the
biggest event of the year with Infinite Crisis. I mean I'm even running
around trying to buy Wonder Woman issues that factor heavily into the
main story. I can't tell you how long it's been since I was desperate
for issues of Wonder Woman. Dan Didio, the official Crisis architect
has pulled off a real feat in that it seems as if the entire DC line
seems to be getting a huge surge of sales, buzz and attention as a
result of the carefully planned build up to Crisis. If you had told me
20 years ago, when I was in high school and devouring the original
Crisis on Infinite Earth's that I'd be enthusiastically anticipating a
sequel, I wouldn't believe it, much less even consider the possibility.
Crazy.
Artists whose work I'm digging are Steve McNiven and Olivier Copiel,
both producing the best work of theit relatively young careers. Both
artists are working with Brian Bendis and juggling GINORMOUS casts of
characters, and still maintaing space enough on the page to breathe.
Good inks and colors are also deserving of credit in making their books
look so nice. I'll follow these guys for years to come. Good stuff. And
you just know that their best work is still ahead of them. No company
benefitted from the CrossGen fall out more than Marvel who seem to have
signed every significant piece of talent that became available when CG
shut down their operations. Along with McNiven, they grabbed Jimmy
Cheung, Brandon Peterson, Greg Land, Laura Martin, Steve Epting and
Justin Ponsor. What an amazing windfall for Marvel.
With the pending arrival of super scribe and long time buddy Jeph Loeb
and his posse of blockbuster artists, Joe Mad and Michael Turner,
things appear to be tilting heavily in Marvel's favor in the post
Infinite Crisis world.
There is no single comic I'm anticipating more than ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely! Yowza, yowza! November can't get
here fast enough.
On the movie front, run, don't walk to see A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. It's
a friggin' brilliant film that is incredibly, delicately, carefully
directed by David Cronenberg in a subdued style that harkens back to my
personal Cronen, favorite, THE DEAD ZONE. Viggo Mortensen,Maria Bello,
Ed Harris and William Hurt deserve awards for their performances. The
movie clocks in at a brisk 90 minutes, there is no fat in this film.
See it now!
So the NBA training camps begin tomorrow. Can anyone dethrone the
Spurs? Doubtful but worth watching. With Phil Jackson back on the
coach's seat in Lakerland, Kobe Bryant will regain his title of best
all around player in the association. Shaq and the Heat have all the
expectations of being a champion but with their bloated roster of
has-been's they don't stand a chance of dethroning the Spurs or the
Pistons for that matter. I can't wait for the first distribution of
blame by the Shaqhole when things go bad for his team. The Big
Pretender has to realize that he won't be regarded as the best big man
in the game, much less his own era. That honor and distinction now goes
to Tim Duncan. Shame.
I hate Fantasy Football. So much so that I joined my first league, got
the first pick in the draft and am currently 4-0 in my league. I'm
obsessed and dread losing, it's completely dominating my
weekend's.....which is why I hate Fantasy Football. Serves me right.
I've got some new Titan pics to share as well as brand new pages of
NITROGEN 2: ANNIHILATE THIS! coming in November. Jimmy Jay plotted, Jon
Malin pencils. This stuff just rocks!
Also there's a new sketch of Avengelyne in the sketch section as well
as a pic from Baltimore. The Baltimore Comic Con was fantastic, great
fans greeted us enthusiastically and were very patient. I need to get
out east more often.
Okay, that's all for now. Check back soon for more rants and raves as
well as some clues about my upcoming comic projects.
rob
5/18/2005
|
Image, Widescreen and Manga
Around 1997 as the Image Age of comics
was setting on the horizon, a
new era was dawning, a writer driven era. That era was defined
by the
rise to prominence of Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid, Jeph Loeb, Joe Casey,
Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis. The era lasted for several years
and
new players on the scene were shuffled into the line up, names
like
Brian Bendis, Mark Millar and Geoff Johns exploded and extended
the era
until around 2002. In the same way that the original Image owners
were
later eclipsed by their own offspring, J. Scott Campbell, Mike
Turner,
Stephen Platt and Joe Madueria, the new writers, Johns, Bendis
and
Millar carried the torch further and forged bold, new ground for
the
writer's movement.
The writer's movement created a term called
"Decompression" , an
approach to comics storytelling that drastically slowed the pace
and it
worked largely because the Image styled comics had cycled out,
even if
it was largely because all the Image styled artists took a much
needed
break after a decade of decadence like none the industry had
experienced before. Comics became more talky, more constipated.
In some
instances it worked out well. For writers like Bendis and Morrison
who
can turn a phrase with the best of them, it offered them the chance
to
shine like never before.
Then in 2002 Jim Lee joined the best selling
Batman scribe of his era
in Jeph Loeb and the two of them created "Hush" and
reminded everyone
how much they liked pretty pictures to go along with their well
crafted
stories. We all remembered that without pictures, comics are novels,
and big pictures are better than small pictures. And big pictures
drawn
by top flight, first class artists like Jim Lee are even better
yet.
Hush was a return to Image styled comics,
the comics that invigorated a
generation of fans who wanted more bang for your comic dollar.
Hush was
fueled by the same big, splashy action that defined and characterized
the early 90's Image comics.
Batman had never been depicted in such
a bold, handsomely rendered, in
your face style. The issue where Batman relentlessly pounds Joker's
face into the pavement was pure 90's era-guilty pleasure. As a
fan, it
was pure adrenaline filled excitement, the kind of action that
had been
missing for years on the comic book landscape. There is a segment
of
the populace, the comic book "inteligencia" that believes
such a
splashy approach to comics is strictly low brow fare.
Critics derided Hush as dumb, shallow
and vapid. What I could never
understand was that when Jeph Loeb wrote the same style of story
for
Tim Sale in Batman: Long Halloween and Dark Victory, no one griped
or
complained. Those comics are chock full of splashy action images
of
Batman, Catwoman, Penguin and Poison Ivy. I used to tell Jeph
how great
it would be to draw those exact same pages, I was in awe of the
stories
Jeph gave Tim to draw. There was no doubt in my mind that once
Jim
joined the Bat party that Jeph, astute as he is to calibrating
his
stories to his artists strengths would push the limits even further
with Jim. Jeph would press the pedal to the metal and laugh all
the way
to Arkham Asylum.
Certainly Jim and Tim have a different
aesthetic approach to their
work, but both artists thrive when depicting Image styled action
and
storytelling.
So Hush with its Image stylings shot straight
to the top of the charts
and comfortably perched itself there for an entire year. Whaddya
know,
Image ain't such a dirty word after all. The comic fans of America
clamored for Hush, even I was buying multiple copies and hard
covers
and trade paperbacks by the truckload. It was safe to splash again.
At
least at DC.
Loeb followed Hush with similar pop styled
stories on Superman/Batman.
Ed McGuiness, Mike Turner, Carlos Pacheco, Ian Churchill, it doesn't
matter who Loeb's paired with he brings the fun action, splashy
moments, big drama that artists love to draw and with it, he brings
the
big sales to each and every arc of each title he touches. If Bryan
Hitch is the best Image styled artist then Jeph Loeb is the best
Image
styled writer of all space and time.
"Image style", does that term
still carry a dirty connotation? Are we
still condemning Image styled comics as guilty pleasures? The
best
selling titles of recent months and years are plastered with an
Image
styled approach to its storytelling. Green Lantern: Rebirth, New
Avengers, Ultimates, Wolverine and Superman continue a return
to the
bigger is better approach that Image popularized and Manga thrives
on
each and every month.
Manga continues to push the offerings
of american comic publishers
further to the sidelines of every major bookstore I visit. The
shelf
space for manga seems to expand on a weekly basis. The manager
at the
Barnes and Nobles mega store told me that manga are the best selling
books for the store and the chain overall.
Black and white comics featuring dragon
fighters, swordsmen, warrior
princesses, sorcerers, assassins and ninja's routinely kick all
our
collective arses. The stories are jammed with breakneck action
and
fighting, dynamic figures leaping off the page, kicking and punching
into the camera. And speed lines fill the backgrounds, zipping
in every
direction.
It's no secret that I love manga and that
Appleseed very specifically
influenced every page I drew early in my career. The various figures
breaking the borders of the panels and leaping all over the page
challenged me to make my pages more exciting, breaking the traditional
four and six panel grids. My career took a flying leap forward
soon
after I began implementing a more manga styled approach to my
work.
I wasn't alone in seeking out a more manga
styled approach. For Todd
McFarlane it was Akira, for Erik Larsen it was Fist of Northstar,
for
Jim Lee it was Ghost in the Shell, we all had our favorites and
we were
all routinely absorbing and regurgitating the influences on our
own
work. Throw in a healthy dose of Jack '"The King" Kirby
and the visual
appeal of Image comics wwas born.
But the Image style of comics became mistakenly
intertwined in the
minds of the masses with the bad business practices that myself
and
some of my Image peers committed, along with some that we didn't,
and
suddenly, the term "Image anything" became a dirty one.
So what does it all mean? For me, it appears
that after slight surges
the last two years, when the top of the charts were climbing in
sales
after a period of stagnation, things have slowed again and I can't
help but wonder if it's time to adopt more old school Image stylings
to
a larger, broader crop of books and see if the results don't bear
themselves out.
Otherwise, the only "Hush" you're
likely to hear is the quiet footsteps
of young fans shuffling their way to the ever expanding aisles
of manga
fare at a bookstore near you.
|
5/16/2005  |
Talkin' 'bout Widescreen....? Wha...?
Okay so finally, after five years of all this "widescreen
comics" mumbo
jumbo that has become so fluent in the comic book vernacular,
I had to
speak. With all apologies to Warren Ellis whom I remain an avid
fan of,
I can't bear to read the further discussion of widescreen, fight
comix
and game logic without giving all of those terms their proper
due.
It begins and ends with Image comics. We invented the
re-mix Warren.
Panoramic, cinematic, double page spreads depicting
breakneck action
was popularized and immortalized by the founders of Image Comics.
Lee, Liefeld, McFarlane, Larsen, Silvestri and Valentino
delivered
widescreen comics back when the comic populace referred to them
simply
as Image comics.
We produced the best fight comix in the world. We began
each and every
day with game logic.
Widescreen was a term developed to take credit away
from Image comics.
Ditto for fight comix and game logic.
As outlined in his multiple columns, Bad Signal and
Streaming, Warren
continues to deliberate, pontificate and analyze the popular
stylings
of the trends that were popularized at Image comics. He creates
new and
colorful terminology intended to explain the appeal of popular
comic
books that feature what me and my former bandmates coined as
"Image
stylings".
Youngblood, CyberForce, Savage Dragon and Spawn were
swimming in
widescreen graphics. Fight comix was what we were all about,
game logic
never looked so good.
We created Image comics to expand our artistic endeavors,
to push the
limits of the comics page and to experiment with graphic storytelling.
Those artistic endeavors may not have involved much more on
any given
day than proving that two or three or four consecutive double
page
spreads were better than one, but hey it was our ability to
illustrate
our stories the way that we desired that fueled our decision
to form
Image in the first place. If we wanted it drawn sideways it
was drawn
sideways, no drama.
Artists love to draw big stuff, big stuff is fun and
cool to draw. At
least the boys of Image comics felt that way. If I wanted to
draw a
story with mostly splash pages, as was the case in Youngblood
Strikefile issue #2 or with mostly double page spreads as with
Youngblood Strikefile #3, I did it. It certainly wasn't out
of
laziness, it was the desire to go bigger, bolder, to get louder
and
scream right out of the page that drove me. Part rage, part
pleasure,
100% pure joy. For me personally I was trying to push what Jack
Kirby
had started with comics like KAMANDI and CAPTAIN AMERICA.
Kamandi is my personal favorite run by Jack Kirby,
Splash page followed
by double splash, 3 four panel pages, splash page, double splash,
splash, repeat. The imagination, the action, the world of Kamandi
itself screamed off the page. Widescreen was born with Jack.
Kirby's return to Captain America at Marvel in the
late 70's was
similar in execution to Kamandi. Splashes and double truck splashes
were in generous supply. Bright, bold daring images leapt out
at me as
a young boy dazzling my senses. Critics cite this period of
Kirby's
work as mindless and unfocused, his weakest work. Similar criticisms
follow the early slate of Image comics.
When fans and peers alike would comment on their enjoyment
of our
visual arsenal, I'd tell 'em, we're just doing Jack Kirby. It's
all
Jack baby. In fact, Jack himself would tell all of us Image
boys how
much he enjoyed our comics and how what we were doing was exactly
what
he would do given the same opportunity. He wasn't talking about
our
business decisions, he was talking about our artistic approach
to the
page.
When Jim Lee illustrated a bound-in-double-gatefold-fold-out-spread
in
Wildcats #5, I dropped my jaw in admiration. Jim had gone bigger
than
any of us had to date. The depiction of Zealot and Grifter blasting
their way through broken glass was breathtaking, all that was
missing
was the 3-D glasses. It was pure Jack Kirby adrenaline. I smiled
with
envy, maybe someday I'll do a triple gatefold spread in order
to take
it one level further.
But apparently when Warren Ellis writes double truck
spreads for Bryan
Hitch to illustrate it has to be coined 'widescreen". Authority
read
like a great Image comic, better dialogue, slightly improved
plots, but
without Bryan Hitch and later Frank Quietly drawing dynamic,
detailed
depictions of super hero action, it achieves none of it's popularity.
Hitch and Quietly can bring the Image stylings with great ease.
Bryan
Hitch may in fact be the greatest Image styled artist to ever
draw a
comic book. When he kicked off his JLA run with a Treasury sized
edition, my heart skipped a few beats.
If it looks like an Image comic, walks like an Image
comic, talks like
an Image comic, than it's an Image comic. Widescreen be damned.
Jim's Batman run, "Hush" was the best Image
comic of our era, not
surprisingly, it was the most successful. Sure people bitch
and
complain but the fact is, it connected with the masses and sold
better
than any other comic of the modern era.
We weren't first, but we were the biggest and best,
which is why so
many try to repeat our steps but can't cover our tracks no matter
how
hard they try,
Widescreen be damned.
It's all about Image and Image was and remains everything.
And don't call it a comeback, we've been here for years.
|
5/10/2005 |
So I've been answering a lot of questions
concerning the Youngblood
Maximum Collection lately. Seems as if people are divided into
2
categories on this one, they are either in love with the idea
or are
confused by it. "Why are you re-mastering the original mini-series"
is
the most common question. Some have even gone as far to intimate
that
it's just another opportunity to "re-hash old work".
Huh? My viewpoint has always been that
If you can build a better
mousetrap, you should do it. And that's what I'm doing with the
Maximum
Youngblood collection.
Youngblood officially launched the Image
Comics revolution some 13
years ago, it was printed on upgraded paper stock, colored with
computer color seperations and it featured flip stories focusing
on the
2 Youngblood branches, the home team, dealing with domestic concerns
and the away team which dealt with international affairs.
1 million copies were sold of the first
printing. We started a fan
frenzy. The color and printing were state of the art for their
time,
features that loyal Image fans came to respect and expect from
all our
various titles. 15 years later, those same colors from 92' are
less
impressive and the printing looks antiquated, out of date. Colorists
have dramatically improved across the board. The rendering is
better,
the palette more varied and the special FX are more advanced.
The key decision in green lighting a new
colledction was two-fold. One
was to take advantage of today's more advanced color work and
secondly,
to put together the first official re=printing of the original
series.
Yes, the original 1992-93 series has never
been officially collected.
Diamond Comics distributed a limited collection of the original
mini by
gluing the actual comics complete with ads, bound in trading cards
and
all. It's sort of a makeshift collection achieved by gluing your
own 4
issues together against a glossy cover.
I've never sold a single page of the original
series and the
opportunity to have Matt Yackey color from the original scans
was too
good to pass up. Seeing his modern color techniques wash over
the pages
brings new life to the originals. The colors are more vibrant,
richer
and bolder.
As with everything I'm doing in my comics
career at the moment, I'm
doing this for my own personal satisfaction, for my own pure enjoyment.
To that end, I'm going to print up a generous amount of trade
paperbacks and hardcovers and have them on hand at shows and other
distribution networks in case anyone else would like to purchase
one.
The Maximum collection features more than
just re-colored pages, it
features new script as well from a top scribe in our business.
The
writer is a name that will certainly light up the fan frenzy,
a proud
addition to the previous corps. of Youngblood scribes that already
includes heavyweight writers Alan Moore, Mark Millar, Kurt Busiek,
Robert Kirkman, Kieth Giffen and so many others.
The story behind the writer will be revealed
shortly. Until then check
out a few new pages from Youngblood Maximum edition. click
here
Take care,
Rob |
5/6/2005 |
Today we're adding yet another comic
book preview in the comics
section, this time it's for a new comic strip called "Magic
Men". The
story behind Magic Men begins with my fascination with Magic and
the
legends of magic lore from The Wizard of Oz' Wicked Witch of the
West
to H.R. Puffenstuff's "Witchiepoo" and everything and
everyone
in-between from Gandalf to Dumbledorf.
I imagined and conceived of Magic Men
as a potential film project, a
friend described it best as "CSI meets magic", I refer
to it jokingly
as "Men In Black Magic". Both fit, both provide accurate
glimpses of
the concept.
I illustrated a one sheet intended to
conceptualize the Magic Men and
had it colored by Matt Yackey, but when it came time to do the
actual
strip and story boards that would better visualize the Magic Men
concept, I was swamped with other commitments. I was fortunate
to have
access to Dan Fraga's considerable talents and as fate would have
it,
he had a brief opening in his busy schedule and was able to produce
the
fantastic story boards that grace the Magic Men comic preview
in the
comics section.
My manager loved the project and assigned
his hottest up and coming
writer, Ali Russell who had just completed the current draft of
ISIS
for Paramount Pictures, to write the screenplay based on my written
treatment . I received the first look of Magic Men last week and
was
blown away by Ali's script. It's imaginative, funny and flat out
exciting. It's an introduction to a whole new world with a view
of
magic not yet seen before. We'll be delivering the script to several
producer's and studios in the next week or so. I'm confident that
it
will catch fire and find it's way to the fast track.
My manager and I have constructed several
spec scripts based on my
comic ideas, you just can't beat a completed script, having sold
a spec
script myself, I know how powerful having the script in hand can
be.
The best news I've had concerning one
of my film projects was delivered
this week, unfortunately, the studio has yet to announce it yet,
but it
should be public this time next week.
I love the film business because there
are so many diverse
opportunities available to basically anyone. The last 5 films
I've had
the good fortune to sell are all comedies, my favorite genre.
I love to
laugh. I haven't pitched an action film in years, the comedic
possibilities and twists of action comedies seem so much more
appealing
to me at this point than straight action.
With fingers crossed, I'll keep you posted
on both Magice Men the movie
as well as Magic Men the comic strip.
Take care,
Rob
|
5/3/2005 |
So I have Star Wars on the brain. We all do don't we?
As we anxiously
await the release of Revenge of the Sith, I can't help but think
of my
past Star Wars experiences. The 22 consecutive weekends I saw
the film
in 1977 are burned in my psyche, it became ritualistic and later
on,
competitive as I sought to see it more than anyone else I knew.
I was
addicted to all things Star Wars, action figures, posters, soundtrack,
t-shirts and comic books. It was the first movie that was more
religous
experience than a movie for me. Viewing the films at the theatre
never
got old for me, I was always discovering some new droid or alien
in the
background and seeing the Death Star blow up was always harrowing,
would Luke make the shot again? and again? One more time?
As I got older, I would see both Empire Strikes Back
and Return of the
Jedi only once each in a theater. I loved both sequels, but
the juice
was gone, neither of them pumped me up the way A New Hope had.
Cut to 1997 and the twenty year anniversary Special
Editions where I'm
back waiting in long lines with my wife and new friends, admiring
the
new Lucas magic. The news that he would return to film the prequels
had
me going out of my mind with excitement and anticipation.
So while waiting in line for The Phantom Menace, I
met a young man who
asked if he could me samples of his digital coloring work. He
noticed
me in the line and had a couple sample copies of his work stashed
in
his car. I looked over the samples and knew that this was a
diamond in
the rough, I offered him some quick work and here it is 6 years
later
and Matt Yackey has become the most important addition to my
artistic
arsenal. We've worked together for so long that some days I
can't
remember having been colored by anyone else.
Matt's work has evolved as mine has and we understand
each others
dynamics so much better over time. He is fast, professional,
flexible
and eager to improve his work on a daily basis. The Teen Titans
project
we are doing together offers the brightest palette for us to
date,
given the bright primary colors of the individual Titans, the
pages
should be popping panel to panel. So far, so good.
So for me, Star Wars has memories that go beyond even
the films, who
knows what new memories will be forged during the Revenge of
the Sith.
I'll be taking my two sons this time around, they've seen the
prequels
and original trilogy on DVD, but their little senses are being
pounded
on a near hourly basis from all media outlets from Disney, Nickolodeon
and the ever present Cartoon Network. I certainly never dreamed
I'd be
attending the final Star Wars movie with two miniature versions
of
myself in tow, but sometimes reality exceeds your dreams. For
me it has.
Back on our site, I'm excited that today we debut the
World Premiere of
YOUNGBLOOD:CENTURY. The script is by Eric Stephenson, the art
by Keron
Grant and the story is gigantic and amazing. YB:Century takes
place one
thousand years from now in a post YOUNGBLOOD:BLOODSPORT future.
Youngblood is gone, replaced by a malevolent force called the
CENTURIANS. SUPREME has vanished as have other heroes of legend,
GLORY,
PROPHET and BRIGADE are rumored to be dead.
What does the future hold?
Check out our first installment of YOUNGBLOOD:CENTURY.
We'll talk again soon,
Rob
|
5/2/2005 |
So as we continue to get this site loaded up with goodies,
yes, we're
probably at 45% capacity of where we will eventually be at,
it was time
to turn to a SHRINK! Not the 200 dollar an hour,
listens-to-your-problems Shrink, the SHRINK! comic strip that
I created
back in 2001.
Some of you may remember that Jennifer Lopez, at the
height of her fame
and popularity, optioned my online comic strip and as a result
2 huge
screenwriters signed on to write an amazing script. The 2 writers
Glen
Requa and Jon Ficarra penned BAD SANTA and the upcoming BAD
NEWS BEARS
re-make. SHRINK! is laugh out loud hilarious, a real page turner
as
they say in Tinseltown. It came in budgeted at well over 100
million
bucks which given the diminishing returns on Gigli, which was
released
in theatres just as the script was turned in, gave everyone
at Sony
pause. So production on the film was halted, but I'm a firm
believer in
Jennifer Lopez' staying power as the upcoming Monster-In-Law
will prove
to the accountants in Hollyweird and I'm eternally optomistic
and
confident that Shrink! will eventually have it's day.
In the meantime, I drew a few new SHRINK! strips and
will debut the
first new one today on the site. The old strips will be archived
there
as well. I commisioned a former Extreme studios artist and current
animation storyboard guru, Deitrich Smith, to illustrate the
script by
Jon and Glenn, we'll be unveiling that here in the next few
days.
Hollywood is a crazy place, much more so than the comics
industry as
there are much greater sums of money involved and at stake,
but I love
the ride. I've met people and gone places I never would have
imagined
in my dealings with the Lords of Movie Town, the creative learning
curve has proved steep at times but the payoff has always been
worth
it.
On the comic book front, look for Youngblood:Century,
Doom's 4:
Fourtress, The New Kaboom, Warchild:Apprentice and a few other
cool new
comic features to debut here on the site in the upcoming weeks.
Check
back early and often.
Talk to you tomorrow,
rob
|
4/29/2005
|
So yesterday I showed you some pics of my workspace
and it occured to
me that for so long, my primary work space was whichever Starbucks
I
regularly frequented. I drew most of Youngblood Bloodsport #1
and #2
and most of X-Force 1-3 in Starbucks. Mind you, I don't sit
center
stage, I find the furthest spot in the back and quietly draw
on my lap
board. I hate when citizens stare at me drawing because you
spend most
of your time answering annoying questions that take time away
from the
work. Fortunately, I'm rarely if ever bothered by anyone, I
pick my
spots well I suppose.
When Starbucks implemented their wireless
internet system I ended up
spending entire workdays at the coffee house. Friends and fellow
professionals find my drawing habits really peculiar but I just
can't
draw in solitude. I enjoy the hustle and bustle of people walking
by
and the hectic pace of life happening while I'm standing still.
In the
evenings, I usually draw while my wife Joy and I watch television.
Church has always been a great place to draw, I do some of my
best work
during sermons and always have. I've overcome numerous artistic
blocks
in Church with multiple pages of layouts exploding in the course
of 60
minutes. I always told myself that if anyone asked me to stop
drawing
in Church due to my being a distraction, I would promptly stop
drawing.
It's been nearly 25 years and I'm still waiting for someone to
lean
over and tell me to stop drawing and pay attention to the sermon.
Some
artists need solitude, I need people in order to draw. To each
his own,
everyone has their peculiar quirks. Drawing on the go is one of
mine.
For the record my drink of choice every day without fail is a
Venti 5
pump mocha Frappuchino. Quite possibly the best meal of my day.
My
wife, Joy predicted 6 years ago that my frapp addiction was a
passing
fad, little did she or I know the lengths and depths of my Starbucks
afixiation.
So today I'm posting my final Shatterstar
cover and a re-colored
Youngblood #3, both by Matt Yackey who has been my near exclusive
colorist for the past 6 years. Boy is he good, we work really
well
together and we continue to push each other in terms of what we
can
accomplish on the page. The original plan was for Shatterstar
to launch
subsequently with X-Force which to me sounded like the best way
to
maximize both series but it was changed at the last minute and
here we
are at the end of the X-Force road as Shatterstar #4 prepartes
to ship.
I loved re-visiting the X-Force family of characters, it's sad
that
it's at an end but boy did I have loads of fun putting the old
team
back together.
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The Youngblood cover is part of the Maximum
Youngblood collection
arriving this summer. The original Youngblood series that launched
the
Image revolution has been re-colored, re-scripted and in some
chapters
and pages extended and re-drawn. The mystery scripter will be
revealed
real soon. Look for an announcement in this space next week.
Rob |
4/28/2005 |
Well reaction to the site has been great so far. People
from comics and
entertainment have been sharing with me how cool they think
the site
is, another testament to the great work Adrian has done designing
the
entire program.
So for those of you who don't know, I'm an NBA FANATIC.
I love all
things hoop and have been glued to the playoffs since the weekend.
My
wife asked me who we'd be rooting for since our beloved Lakers
are
sitting home this post season and I told her we're rooting for
The
Houston Rockets. I love T-Mac's game and Yao Ming has been a
blast to
watch as he's developed his first few years in the association.
I
respect their coach, Jeff Van Gundy, he's a brilliant strategist
who
makes every team play at his speed, so any team should know
the Rockets
always come to play. T-Mac has surpassed all expectations so
far in the
span of only 2 games but he and Yao are single handedly crushing
the
Dallas Mavericks, a team I really don't dislike, I just like
the
Rockets more. The Rockets have always given my Lakers fits,
and now
that T-Mac and Yao are clicking like Shaq and Kobe, it could
be
curtains for everyone. Unfortunately I'm not sure the Rockets
could
defeat Shaq's Heat team in Miami, so that series wouyld end
badly for
me.
I loved Shaq the Laker, but MIami Shaq must go down
without a
championship or I just wouldn't be a true Laker fan. If Shaq
had been
lean and mean like he is for the Heat, Dr. Buss would have given
him
anything he wanted. But we had fat Shaq his last 3 years with
the Lake
Show, his new found form is a result of him wanting to punish
the
Laker's. He's deadly but I think DEtroit can keep him from a
championship. Time will soon tell.
So many of you have wondered about my studio space
and my new office in
my new house is not quite up to speed yet, it needs pictures
hung, heck
even the bulletin board isn't hanging yet, but all in due time.
I
posted some pictures to show you the space where I write and
draw my
latest work. You'll see it's pretty boring but it's a nice home
studio
for the time being. Plus it's located right outside our theatre
room,
so I'm never too far from watching the latest DVD's.
So the Titans wave brought about the predictable wave
of controversy,
it's gotten so that I could write the responses of the ever
shrinking
naysayers, it's the same old song everytime. I honestly never
get tired
of the moaning and droning though. All that matters is when
the book
ships and flies off the shelf. Based on past performance I have
every
reason to believe that Gail's and my Titans mini-run will sell
thru.
Birds of Prey and X-Force had no problem selling for retailers
and
Titans is already a top seller for DC so we're in good shape
come
summer time. Gail will have exploded on the scene by then, I'll
be
riding her coat tails through this one for sure. Titans+Gail
Simone+Liefeld equal summertime fun for all!
Talk to you tomorrow,
Rob |
4/27/2005 |
Hey everyone, so this is my daily
(hopefully) journal. I'll start off
with some comics news and mention that I will be collaborating
with the
beautiful and talented Gail Simone for a 2 issue arc on Teen Titans
this summer. It starts in August and guest stars a pair of characters
at DC that I have some history with, Hawk and Dove. Some of you
will
remember that my first work in comics was the Hawk and Dove mini-series
that introduced the modern day Dove. The original series was a
great
experience for me and really helped launch my career so I'm very
grateful that I get to re-visit Hawk and Dove as part of mine
and
Gail's Titans arc.
Gail's scripts are fantastic, action packed, tense
and exciting. She
writes the Titans with great ease as if she's been writing the
book for
years. We're both very conscious of the strong Titans fan base
and we
look forward to contributing to the Titan's canon. I consider
myself
very fortunate to be working with Gail as she is producing outstanding
work each and every month on Birds of Prey and has the
already-instant-smash-hit-before-it-ships-Villians United arriving
in
stores next week.
I met with Geoff John's early this year and we talked
Titan talk for
hours, he told me he would be missing the summer and was very
instrumental in putting Gail and I together on the book to warm
the
seat while he is busy writing his next big opus for DC. I just
want to
thank Geoff for his support and making this Titan's experience
a
possibility.Thanks also to Dan Didio for his support.
So Teen Titans is keeping me busy through the spring
and summer but
it's certainly not the only project you'll find me involved
with this
summer. Look for announcements in this space tomorrow and the
next few
days for more Liefeld related projects and some additional names
that
will be contributing to my very own long running Youngblood
canon.
I thought I'd share some early Teen Titans work from
my youth with all
of you, just so you can see that I've been waiting for what
seems like
forever for the opportunity to "OFFICIALY" draw these
characters.
If any of you are interested in chatting me up on a
regular basis, join
me over on the forums over at HEROREALM.COM, I check in several
times a
day.
Talk to you tomorrow,
Rob
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