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.

Gil Thorp, Part 2

I'm almost afraid to post these, after reading a few talkbacks at Gil Thorp sites! Eh, what the hell, here are the rest of my tryout pages—this time for football season.

The first batch of samples (yesterday) featured characters that I tried to keep "on model." That's not the case with today's samples. I had a couple of pages of scripts and descriptions, so I was able to design the characters myself. I wish I'd have searched for the published version of Cully Vale. Wow.

Marty Moon, the announcer, ends up looking a lot like how he was previously drawn, even without reference.

I've received a few inquiries regarding why the Trib is looking for an artist. I have no idea if they're looking for someone to spell Mr. McLaughlin while he's on vacation or if they're looking for a permanent replacement in the event of him leaving the strip. I have no idea of a timetable as to if/when anything will happen. I just had fun drawing samples.

Gil Thorp, Part 1

A few weeks back, I was contacted by Tribune Media to try out as a replacement artist on their 6-days a week sports strip, Gil Thorp. I didn't get the gig, but it proved to be a lot of fun to try and work within the confines of the strip format. I think drawing a soap opera every day would have been a tremendous learning experience.

If you're curious about learning more about Gil Thorp, I found the This Week in Milford blog to be both informative and hilarious.

(Thanks to "johnw" for the spelling correction on "Thorpe/Thorp!")

Today at the Ursula Wilde Production Diary, we continue our look at the character sketch stage of development.

And on the Athena Voltaire Blog, I post a few more (previously unseen?) commission pieces.

More Ursula Wilde Preview Art

Over at the Ursula Wilde Production Diary, we're examining the original concept art for the character. Posted here is another preview page from the upcoming mini-series.

Meanwhile, at the Athena Voltaire blog, we're looking at the earliest AV commission I did.

It's an artwork-intensive day!

I want my COMICS NOW!

Taking a break from artwork today, I'd like to point you toward the first issue of Comics Now! magazine.

It's published by my friends Bryan Deemer, Brent Erwin and David Hedgecock and features a terrific blend of mainstream and indie comics, with an in-depth focus throughout each of the articles (think: Back Issue magazine, for contemporary comics), wrapped in a lavish, slick full-color package.

The first issue is in stores now. You owe it to yourself to check it out. You'll be glad you did.

Just go to your retailer and proclaim "I want my Comics NOW!"

Then visit Comics NOW! on the web.

Mu-King Colors, Page 1-3

Next up, we look at the lush colors Jason Millet provided for these three unpublished pages. I was going for a big, epic look when I drew these pages and Jason really knocked it out of the park when he did his magic.

As it turns out, page 2 is one of my all-time favorite images of our globe-trotting avaitrix.

AV: Mu-King Inks

Continuing with our look at Athena Voltaire: The Legend of Mu-King, here's how those first 3 pages look inked. I'm not sure how far through the first issues I'll go with these posts, since I'm also back to updating the Athena Voltaire Blog, as well.

Also, I've just launched the production diary for Ursula Wilde. The blog is still in the "rough clay" stages, so it won't be updating all that frequently yet.

The Atomic Tiki blog will still update every day and I'll point you to new postings on the Athena or Ursula sites.