Atomic Tiki Studio Etsy Store

I opened an Etsy shop yesterday!

It's still a work in progress, with a few pieces of original art (more to come), and the Art of Athena Voltaire hardcover.

Stop in, take a look, bookmark it. ;)

Thanks!

--Steve

San Diego, Here I Come

It's not supposed to be this hectic. I planned and prepped for this show like never before. "No way," I said to myself, "will I return home to a house that's a mess and a studio with stacks and piles of artwork, display materials and miscellaneous debris littered everywhere.

Unforeseen circumstances.

The washer died (laundry at mom's...what am I, a college student?). Books were delayed. Time collapsed in on itself.

Okay, so the house isn't 100% clean. Upstairs looks great, but the studio looks like a war zone.

On the bright side, The Art of Athena Voltaire hardcovers are being shipped to my hotel and I'm not hauling my suitcase filled with 60+ pounds of artwork,* so I'm traveling light.

The copies of the ashcan of Cipher arrived today (see picture). Plus, I have a few other pitches I'll be schlepping around the show to publishers and anyone interested in ancillary rights. And samples, lots of sample packs for potential illo gigs.

For more info on Cipher and The Art of AV, look here. Other stuff I'll have for sale: both Athena Voltaire trade paperbacks, all the single issues of Athena Voltaire to date, copies of the issue of Domino Lady I drew for Monstone, and all 3 of my previously published sketchbooks.

Additionally, I plan on doing inked grayscale figures for con sketches ($40). Depending on how they turn out and how long they take me, I may revert back to just doing the $25 toned pencil headshots. Come early!

And I'll be on a panel, Kickstart Your Comic because we've already established what a whore I am. Also on the panel will be Kody Chamberlain, Pat Loika, and Steve Earnhart. Details here.

If you're coming to the show, stop by and see me. I'll be at Small Press, table M-14 (Atomic Tiki Studio) next to my pals Jim and Mike Heffron of Lawdog Comics.

* No more amusement from the random guy who seems to be on every flight, offering to take my suitcase from the overhead compartment, and herniating himself. "It's really heavy," I warn...

New Stuff I'll Have at Comic-Con

New stuff for sale at Comic-Con in San Diego later this month!

The Art of Athena Voltaire
Hardcover
134 pages, 20 pages of color.
Signed & Numbered Limited Edition of 500
$30.00
The Art of Athena Voltaire looks at the last 8 years of Athena Voltaire. The book features a color cover gallery, showcasing the covers to all of the AV comics, plus previously unpublished color promotional pieces and unused/unpublished color covers. An extensive section of pencils and inks, spotlighting how some of the work looked before being colored, as well as concept art, private commissions, thumbnail sketches, roughs, and photo reference.

I'll have about 30 copies at the show. Email me at atomictikistudio@gmail.com if you'd like to preorder one.


Cipher #1
Convention-exclusive b/w version of my upcoming series with art by the amazing JunBob Kim! $4.

Cipher follows the adventures of Doctor Ursula Wilde and her team of experts as they investigate impossible science. In the first series, Doc Wilde and her crew unravel the mysteries of Pope Sylvester II. Who was the "sorcerer pope," and what does he have to do with the disappearance of Ursula's parents 20 years ago and the end of the world..?

Big Savings on my Sketchbooks at DCBS

The great folks at DCBS (Discount Comic Book Service) have a great deal on my sketchbook this month.

STEVE BRYANT SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS VOL 1
The first collection of artwork focusing on Eisner and Manning Award nominee Steve Bryant features conceptual art for his series Athena Voltaire, as well as commissions of Big Two heroes, the Buffyverse and a galaxy far, far away. Signed and numbered limited edition of 500. Color covers, b/w interiors. Product Code: OCT099003 (Steve Bryant)
Cover Price: $15.00
Your Price: $7.50 (50% discount)

STEVE BRYANT SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS VOL 2
The second volume of Steve Bryant’s sketchbook series showcases more Athena Voltaire work in progress, as well as commissions, samples and a look at the artist’s prep work drawing 24’s Jack Bauer for IDW. Signed and numbered limited edition of 500. Color covers, b/w interiors. . Product Code: OCT099004 (Steve Bryant)
Cover Price: $15.00
Your Price: $9.75 (35% discount)

STEVE BRYANT SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS VOL 3
STEVE BRYANT SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS, volume three Steve Bryant’s third sketchbook features more Athena Voltaire work in progress (of course!), as well as commissions, samples and a peek at the artist’s sketchbook studies of life drawings and more. Signed and numbered limited edition of 500. Color covers, b/w interiors. . Product Code: OCT099005 (Steve Bryant)
Cover Price: $15.00
Your Price: $9.75 (35% discount)

SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS VOL 1-3 Set *FREE PRINT*
All three volumes of STEVE BRYANT SKETCHES AND DRAWINGS in one set, featuring Athena Voltaire, as well as commissions, samples and a peek at the artist’s sketchbook studies of life drawings and more. Each volume is signed and numbered limited edition of 500. Color covers, b/w interiors. Buy all three volumes in this series and receive a free, exclusive, limited edition print, signed and numbered by artist/author Steve Bryant.

Product Code: OCT099006 (Steve Bryant) Your Price: $27.00 First time DCBS customers, get additional savings with the order code CGS8!

IDW announces The Complete Rocketeer

...taking a break from my artwork today, for some great news...

It's no secret that Dave Stevens is one of my all-time favorite artists (in fact, I'll be talking about him more later this month). I was thrilled to hear the announcement yesterday that IDW will be publishing The Complete Rocketeer in October.

The entire book will be digitally recolored by Dave's hand-picked colorist, Laura Martin (whose spectacular work has graced such titles as The Authority and Planetary). The first piece of artwork from Stevens and Martin is shown at left.

My favorite part?

“Sure, the regular hard cover will be great, but the Deluxe Edition will be incredible,” Editor Scott Dunbier said. “Oversized, about 8 x 12 inches, and loaded with unpublished Dave Stevens Rocketeer art. There will be tons of drawings, sketches, cover roughs—100 pages of them! How’s that for the ultimate Rocketeer collection?”

Between this and their forthcoming reprints of Alex Raymond's Rip Kirby, IDW will be getting a whole lot of my money in the latter half of this year.

Sketchbooks for Sale

I have a couple of volumes of my sketchbooks for sale. I print these up for sale during convention season, but you can buy them here—through the magic of the InterWebs any time! Each book is a comic-sized volume, signed and numbered (limited edition of 500). Volume One is 40 pages and Volume 2 is 36 pages.

Each book will set you back $15 + $4 shipping (Priority Mail), or you can buy both together for $25 + $4 shipping.

I accept PayPal, but not credit card payments through PayPal. If I accept a credit card payment, they'll take a percentage on every purchase thereafter—whether it's a CC payment or not. So please, let's keep payments through bank accounts. My Paypal address is atomictikistudio at gmail dot com.

That's also the address to email if you would like to purchase sketchbooks but don't have a PayPal account. Email me and put Sketchbook Question in the subject line.

Steve Rude: Artist in Motion

Two weeks ago, I got a treasure trove of art books in my DCBS order—among them, last week's review, Modern Masters Volume 15: Mark Schultz, and today's book, Steve Rude: Artist in Motion.

Usually, when I receive art books, I look at the pictures and read passages that interest me, eventually working my way through the whole book. With the Schultz book, I read it start to finish and devoured every image in the sequence of the book. It was such an enjoyable process that I decided to do the same with the Rude book.

Wow. This book is an artistic journey. Rude has long been one of my top 5 guys, but this book only increases my appreciation of the man and his work.

And it makes me want to draw. A lot.

I can't recommend this book highly enough—whether you're into comic art, illustration or the artistic process, you need to own this wonderful volume.

Mark Schultz, Modern Master!

Another break from my artwork today...

It's no secret that I think Mark Schultz is one of the finest comics artists of the last 30 years (oh, hell, EVER). An incredible draftsman, superb storyteller and excellent technician, Mark is the real deal.

And the latest volume of the terrific TwoMorrows Modern Masters series (vol 15) celebrates Mark's talents.

Every volume of the Modern Masters series is top-notch, and I'm now at the point where I buy each one regardless of my familiarity with the artist. I think there are a lot of people who are that dedicated to this series.

And therein lies my one gripe about this book. I would have preferred to see TwoMorrows include notations of the media for each piece (pencils, inks, etc) in the cut lines next to the illustrations. While I know the level of inking ability Mark has, I'm not sure that someone first exposed to Mark's work would realize that some of the tonal pieces featured in the book are not pencil drawings, but incredible drybrush pieces created 100% in ink. The b/w piece that accompanies this entry is an example. No pencil. All brush and ink.

Aside from that, it's a beautiful book.

If you enjoy this book, be sure to check out Mark's Various Drawings series from Flesk Publications, as well.

Today, at the Ursula Wilde Production Diary, we continue our look at the character designs for the upcoming series.

Over at the Athena Voltaire Blog, we get a glimpse of what might have been, with the Jason Millet's and my cover to the aborted mini-series, The Legend of Mu-King.