Sketchin’ 2012
| January 23, 2012 | Posted by CalamityJon under Sketches and Illustration |
Among my resolutions for 2012 are (a) to get back into disciplined sketching and (b) to fill up some of these blank sketchbooks I’ve had laying around forever-and-a-day. I must have a dozen of them – I’ve gotten in the habit of doing all my doodling and sketching on loose pieces of paper.
Here’s the first page of the sketchbook I started last night (Offer not valid in some states):
What Does Superman See In Lois Lane?
| January 20, 2012 | Writing |
This is an article I posted on my Tumblr some months back, and which proved fairly popular at the time. It’s been getting some reblogs recently and I thought it might be worth reposting on my own blog … ==================================== What does Superman see in Lois Lane? Well, let’s set aside the obvious, to… (more)
The City Desk – The Eat at Joe’s Riots
| January 20, 2012 | Writing |
The City Desk was a blog documenting the daily life and often absurd history of an unnamed, imaginary city somewhere in North America. Dozens of contributors helped give weight and breadth to this storied, anonymous urban institution over the course of several years, including yours truly. What follows is an article, written by me, which originally… (more)
Half-Pint Heroes – Superman’s Rogues Edition
| January 17, 2012 | Half-Pint Heroes |
A few months back, I did a series of proto-Half Pint Heroes featuring Superman’s Rogues Gallery – my favorite collection of villains, hands-down (I do have a Superman bias, mind you). I recently went back and re-did three of them – Luthor, Brainiac and Mxyzptlk – to have them fit the current Half-Pint template, and… (more)
Relaunched Presents: WATCHMEN-TOO
| January 16, 2012 | Blogs and Online Projects |
The collaborative art blog RELAUNCHED started off as DC FIFTY-TOO and then MARVEL UNIVERSE TOO - with artists reimagining their own approaches to DC and Marvel Comics properties, respectively. Today, Relaunched announces its next theme month, WATCHMEN TOO: Rumors have abounded for the last several years that DC Comics was planning a series of prequels… (more)
The City Desk – Friday Facts for June 12, 2009
| January 13, 2012 | Writing |
The City Desk was a blog documenting the daily life and often absurd history of an unnamed, imaginary city somewhere in North America. Dozens of contributors helped give weight and breadth to this storied, anonymous urban institution over the course of several years, including yours truly. What follows are The City Desk’s Friday Facts for… (more)
Half-Pint Heroes
| January 11, 2012 | Half-Pint Heroes |
Many many years back, I collected action figures. I had hundreds of them, some still in the packages and some loose. Not even the vast majority of them were on display, but they still occupied an overwhelming amount of space in my home – I had two full bookshelves, several partial bookshelves, dozens hanging on… (more)
Iron Man #100 on Covered…
| January 11, 2012 | Posted by CalamityJon under Blogs and Online Projects |
Covered is a blog operated by Robert Goodin (see Robert’s superb take on an Arnim Zola comic over on Relaunched) which features reimagined recreations of existing comic book covers. I’ve contributed to it a couple of times before – first with my version of a super-fun Sekowsky/Anderson Brave and the Bold cover featuring Batman and Metamorpho, and then later with a border-busting Little Archie).
I’m back on the blog today with a reconstruction of the classic Iron Man #100, which was – fun fact for anyone writing my scandalous unauthorized biography – the only Iron Man comic I owned or read between the ages of five and … now. You can check out my cover below, or visit Covered to see it and hundreds of other excellent cover recreations.
Relaunched!
| January 10, 2012 | Posted by CalamityJon under Blogs and Online Projects |
Last year, when DC Comics announced a sudden relaunch and revamp of their entire line, I had an idea to organize and curate something of a response to the event. I contacted some independent and alternative artists of my acquaintance – and had quite a few more introduced to me in the process – and asked them to imagine and create their own revamped take on DC’s vast volume of characters, titles and concepts.
The result was DC FIFTY-TOO, which received a lot of positive coverage all over the web. The participants also had a blast taking part, and I was encouraged to repeat the effort with MARVEL UNIVERSE TOO: WHAT IF, where the crew from Fifty-Too (plus a few extras) jumped in and tackled the Marvel Universe.
Even though I had the hectic job of managining and organizing the event, I even had time to get in on the act. From the Marvel Universe, I gave long-time Alpha Flight regular Puck his own ongoing series, and on the DC side I was ecstatic to pencil a Plastic Man cover which was subsequently inked by the great Stephen DeStefano, hands down one of my favorite cartoonists:
After Marvel Universe-Too, there was a lot of buzz among participants as to what to do next – Vertigo, Valiant, classic Golden Age characters, assorted independent titles, even Harvey Comics - but the fact was that running and organizing the events were taking a big bite out of my free time, and I didn’t think I could continue to run the show.
Luckily, all-around good dudes Ryan Cody and Benjamin Birdie stepped up to shoulder two-thirds of the burden. With the new year, we’ve rebranded the DC Fifty-Too/Marvel Universe-Too site as RELAUNCHED - inviting artists to reimagine any comic book property which tickles their fancy – and have opened to door to general submissions, so that anyone can participate.
Our first entry went up last Tuesday - a great take on Dennis the Menace and friends by Charles Guthrie – and our second entry is due to go up any moment now – plus we’ll be announcing our first theme month on Thursday! I hope you’ll check out the site and keep an eye on the new submissions, and – if you’re an artist yourself – that you’ll consider contributing as well. Swing on by!
Economy of Line II at Urbanlight Studios
| January 9, 2012 | Posted by CalamityJon under Events and Appearances |
This upcoming Friday the 13th (oooh, spooky!), Seattle-based sketchgroup The Bureau of Drawers (of which I’m a merry member) will be hosting their second Economy of Line show at Urbanlight Studios (8537 Greenwood Ave N, Seattle WA) during the Greenwood-Phinney Art Walk.
More than a dozen members of the group will be set up at live-drawing stations on both floors of UrbanLight studios, actually creating the gallery show from scratch – we begin the evening with all the gallery walls completely devoid of art, then we draw like little crazy people in an attempt to make enough original art to fill every square inch! It’s madness!
The last Economy of Line show was a blast, so I hope you Seattle-area locals will join us – the artists will be approachable, available, and happy to chat, as well as to take suggestions and commissions. Additionally, all the work produced that night will be for sale, for very reasonable prices - you can walk up and buy the art right off the wall, and for little more than walking-around money. You got walking-around money, don’t you? If not, why are you walking around? See, I win.
So, please do swing by, we’d love to see you, and help spread the word if you can:
The Bureau of Drawers present Economy of Line II
@ UrbanLight Studios
8537 Greenwood Ave N
Seattle, WA – (206) 708-7281
Part of the Greenwood-Phinney Art Walk
More info here …
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