March 1: Creator-Owned Comic Day!

I love the fact that there's an official day for my favorite kind of comics: creator-owned ones! So, naturally, today's entry centers on my book, Athena Voltaire.

A globetrotting aviatrix battles Nazis, occult science, and mythical creatures against the backdrop of the pulp era. It’s Indiana Jones by way of Hellboy, starring a Joss Whedon-style female pilot. The series originally launched online at the Modern Tales family of webcomics sites, and earned an Eisner Award nomination.

Below is a teaser short story, The Isle of Death. The "red" cover (above) is for a short that was featured in Double Feature Comics (you can read it in its entirety for a mere 99¢).

I'm currently working on a new AV mini-series The Volcano Goddess, as well as remastering the existing AV material (200 pages or so) into an Omnibus edition (also pictured above).

Contact me for more info on Athena Voltaire, or publishing/rights inquiries.

Commission: The Shadow

The weed of crime bears bitter fruit!

Here's the first piece from my current "Buy an 11x17 commission, get a free page" sale; pulp hero The Shadow!

11x17, ink and Copic marker on bristol board.

And if you're curious about the sale I'm currently having, here's the skinny:

In an effort to start building up funds for convention table space, and tackle a chunk of Buddy's outstanding surgery costs , I'm having a commission sale.

Buy an $80 inked 11x17 single-figure commission, get a free page of original art (any of my pages that my art dealer, The Interior Pages,
priced at $40 or less). Add in $5 for shipping and you're set. 2 pieces of 11x17 inked original art for $85 total!

I'm currently planning to limit this to 10 customers.

Examples of my commissioned work can be found here.

Order your 11x17 Commission NOW! Be sure to mention which original art page you'd like to reserve!

For a full listing of the pieces available, click here and scroll down (link intensive!).

Athena Voltaire and the Wings of Death!

Wow. This year marks a decade since Athena Voltaire originally launched as a webcomic. So it's only fitting to celebrate that auspicious anniversary with a return to digital!

Athena Voltaire and the Wings of Death is an 8-page story for Four Star Studios' Double Feature app.

If you're not familiar with Double Feature (or the studio), it's the brainchild of Mike Norton, Tim Seeley, Sean Dove and Josh Emmons (the four stars of 4 Star Studios). Every month, they release a digital comic with two 8-page co-features for only 99¢. Genres range from Action, Horror, Science-Fiction and Fantasy. This month's release is Action, issue #3.

The iPad app allows you to do more than just read the comic. You can strip away the word balloons, the color, and the inks—allowing you to see each stage of the comic's production. Additionally, you get a cool director's commentary that gives insight into the process, the characters, and other stuff!

Not an iPad owner? No prob. The geniuses at 4 Star Studios release every issue of Double Feature in PDF format, too!

It's a great bargain and 100% creator-owned!

Commission: Marshall Law

This one isn't part of my current "Buy an 11x17 commission, get a free page" sale...I drew it a few days before. Marshall Law is a character I was familiar with, but hadn't read. The costuming presented a challenge to balance all of the details with some fun leather textures inked loosely with a brush. Overall, a very enjoyable piece to draw!

9x12, ink on bristol board.

And if you're curious about the sale I'm currently having, here's the skinny:

In an effort to start building up funds for convention table space, and tackle a chunk of Buddy's outstanding surgery costs , I'm having a commission sale.

Buy an $80 inked 11x17 single-figure commission, get a free page of original art (any of my pages that my art dealer, The Interior Pages,
priced at $40 or less). Add in $5 for shipping and you're set. 2 pieces of 11x17 inked original art for $85 total!

I'm currently planning to limit this to 10 customers.

Examples of my commissioned work can be found here.

Order your 11x17 Commission NOW! Be sure to mention which original art page you'd like to reserve!

For a full listing of the pieces available, click here and scroll down (link intensive!).

Commission Sale!

In an effort to start building up funds for convention table space, and tackle a chunk of Buddy's outstanding surgery costs , I'm having a commission sale.

Buy an $80 inked 11x17 single-figure commission, get a free page of original art (any of my pages that my art dealer, The Interior Pages,
priced at $40 or less). Add in $5 for shipping and you're set. 2 pieces of 11x17 inked original art for $85 total!

I'm currently planning to limit this to 10 customers.

Examples of my commissioned work can be found here.

Order your 11x17 Commission NOW! Be sure to mention which original art page you'd like to reserve!

Following is a full listing of the pages available for free with the purchase of an $80 single figure 11x17 inked commission:

Flight of the Falcon #1
Page 13
Page 16
Page 17
Page 19
Page 20
Page 24
Page 40
Page 41

Flight of the Falcon #2
Page 2
Page 3
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7 SOLD
Page 8 SOLD
Page 9 SOLD
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22

Flight of the Falcon #3
Page 2
Page 4
Page5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 16
Page 19

Flight of the Falcon #4
Page 8
Page 11

Terror in Tibet (Collected Webcomics)
Page 3
Page 4

Wrath from the Tomb (Collected Webcomics)
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 5
Page 8
Page 20
Page 21

Athena Voltaire FCBD 2008
Page 3

Isle of the Dead (AV story from Athena Voltaire/Black Coat one-shot)
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 5
Page 6

Sketchbook Stuff

I haven't updated the blog in a while, so I thought I'd share a sketchbook image (I just scanned this the other day as part of my portfolio submission to return to school). It's drawn from life, after having the opportunity to sit in on a terrific life drawing workshop in Evanston last summer.

I never get tired of drawing from life.

Meet my Art Dealer: The Interior Pages!

I'm thrilled to announce that The Interior Pages is my exclusive art dealer! The Interior Pages is the brainchild of longtime comic fan (and supporter of the arts!), Jason Palmer.

Growing up, Jason read comic books as a way to learn how to read. Years later in middle school, he met a kid who handed him a Punisher comic book and forever changed his life. After college, when money was easier to come by, Jason began buying comics again, transitioning to original comic book art and commissions. This quickly turned into a full fledged hobby. After years of collecting art and making contacts in the comic art world, Jason fell backwards into the art dealing world by helping his friend Rahsan Ekedal with his sales. After a year, he added to his stable by bringing in Joe Eisma. From there, The Interior Pages were born. Jason is married and has two kids and currently lives a few miles north of Seattle Wa.

Jason currently has over 150 pages of my original art, pinups, and covers up for sale, including all four issues of Athena Voltaire: Flight of the Falcon, both stories from the Complete Webcomics (Terror in Tibet and Wrath from the Tomb), the 2007 Athena Voltaire FCBD story, the Athena part of the Athena Voltaire/Black Coat crossover one-shot, my ComicTwart pieces, and a few unpublished pin-ups.

Check out all of the other fantastic artists that Jason represents:

Joe Eisma

Rahsan Ekedal

Scott Clark/Dave Beaty

Justin Greenwood

Brent Peeples

Juan Castro

Martheus Wade

Chad Cicconi

Matthew Warlick

David Rivera

And once you're done checking their work out, drop by The Interior Pages! Comic art makes a great Christmas gift! ;)