Sketches! (and stuff)

THE EXPATRIATE #5

2011-05-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

As yet unpublished, the fifth issue of THE EXPATRIATE was set to kick things into some awesomely strange new directions. Here's a direct scan of the top half of a page from that issue, which Jason Latour gave to me some time back. I'm a longtime Beatles fanatic, which he's well aware of.

I should mention that the Beatles poster wasn't just there as an homage. The Beatles appearance in Washington, D.C. during the time of the story was an important piece of the puzzle...

Click HERE for a larger look.

ANTHEM headers

2011-02-03T08:10:00.000-08:00

A bit ago I posted a link to an earlier blog entry on Twitter, featuring Toby Cypress's original designs for ANTHEM (which became BATTLE HYMN after Roy Thomas complained about the title, and when Jeremy Haun stepped in to revamp the concept with me). I actually have three inked sample pages from Toby, but the only copies I have are from badly scanned faxes. Still, here are two tiers that show off his take on things.

Nick Derington's Destroyer

2010-10-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

This one isn't in my Timely sketchbook. I pulled it from an earlier book, but it's pretty sweet. Nick Derington (who drew the second issue of HAWAIIAN DICK: THE LAST RESORT) contributed it some years back. Nick's a pretty amazing talent. Wish he did more comic work:

http://www.nickderington.com/

So, this one time I was in INVINCIBLE...

2010-08-03T13:50:00.000-07:00

Back when I worked full-time for Image, Benito Cereno and Nate Bellegarde worked me into one of their brilliant INVINCIBLE back-up strips:

Long after it became clear to Nate that I lacked the financial wherewithal to pay him what the original page was worth, he was nice enough to gift it to me. If you see Benito or Nate's name on a comic book, buy it. No questions asked.

Coffin!

2009-07-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

Andy Belanger (Andy B.) and I agreed to collaborate on a project a few years ago, and things have always stalled out (usually on my end). We did chat about it in New York again, and if I can get the damn thing written, I think Andy would be game to wrap it up.

Lately Andy's been tearing it up over at Zuda.com with Bottle of Awesome: www.zudacomics.com/bottle_of_awesome

So here are the cover inks for THE MAN CALLED....COFFIN!, followed by a couple of finished pages (click on the cover and the last page for massive views):

Hawaiian Dick Debris: Bone and Latour

2009-04-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

The rarely seen original Hawaiian Dick sketches by J. Bone, who was intended to have been the original artist. He also did a great little color sketch that I've somehow lost. If you read the backmatter in the first Dick trade, you'll notice Steven asking me in an early exchange whether or not he should stick to Bone's take, or go his own way. Ultimately, he went his own way.

Jason Latour drew the "second printing" cover for the latest HAWAIIAN DICK #1. Here's his mockup of the cover (he conceived and completed the cover in a day), followed by the published version:

Finally, here's a little rough that Latour did a while ago. I get a kick out of it:

Robbi Rodriguez does the Bat

2008-12-12T10:47:00.000-08:00

A killer con sketch Robbi gave me in Texas back in 2005. Golden Age Batman.

Anthem and Toby Cypress

2008-12-05T15:42:00.001-08:00

So, way back in 2003, I was putting together what would eventually become BATTLE HYMN. My initial title was ANTHEM, and my initial choice for art was the amazing Topy Cypress. There were some issues not worth going into about Toby's suitability for the book (though I still think he would have rocked it), and before long Toby dropped out and Jeremy Haun climbed aboard.

Below are a number of Toby's preliminary sketches for the book. As you can see, we ended up using some elements of Toby's designs, although a few of them (the Proud American, for example) were in place before Toby got to them. Jeremy added his own flair once he came on board.

Blackhawk

2008-12-05T12:51:00.000-08:00

I pitched Blackhawk once. I'll probably pitch him again.

A Rick Burchett Blackhawk sketch from some years back:

The Timely Sketchbook

2008-12-05T08:36:00.000-08:00

Over the past couple of years, I've asked friends to contribute to my Timely sketchbook. Most of them have obliged (except for Jeremy Haun, who is a douchebag). I think I'm missing a couple of scans, but I'll add 'em if I find 'em.

As anyone who knows me understands, I'm a geek for the lunatic fringe characters of the Golden Age, and Marvel/Timely had some of the most gonzo nutjob characters of the era.

So, without further ado:

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Mike Norton's Blue Diamond:

Mark Englert's Captain Wonder, cheered on by Whitewash Jones (a real Marvel character from the forties):

Shane White's Blazing Skull. Shane thought the Skull's flames were fur, but it still looks kickass:

Rick Remender's Captain America, and one of the coolest takes on the Human Torch I've seen:

Andy MacDonald's Fin:

Chris Samnee's Golden Age Vision:

Ryan Ottley's Miss America:

Ed Tadem's take on Miss America (color!):

Kalman Andrasofszky's Golden Girl in bondage:

Kevin Mellon's Golden Girl about to get flattened by a train:

Grant Bond with another Blazing Skull:

Erik Larsen's Challenger:

Steven Sanders' Fin is full of angst:

Christopher Mitten with one more Fin:

Robbi Rodriguez and the Vision:

Tim Seeley's bootylicious Miss Fury:

Jason Latour's Blazing Skull:

Sean Dove tackles the Thunderer:

Dave Bryant's manga Sun Girl:

Nate Bellegarde's Marvel Boy:

Chuck BB's conflicted Destroyer:

Shawn Crystal's punching Patriot:

Kody Chamberlain's Thunderer:

Speaking of the Destroyer, he's one of my all-time favorite characters, so it's only fitting that three of my favorite artists (and people) tore the hell out of some amazing Destroyer double-page sketches:

John Lucas does a mix of old and new, with our boy battling Nazi apes (of course):

Paul Azaceta, always amazing with the ink:

And, finally, Tony Moore absolutely nails our hero as he smashes the shit out of some pesky JAPANESE subs and...things: