Sketchbook Page - Joey Weiser

For general info about my convention sketchbook's theme, click here.


I am REALLY late posting this one. A few months back Joey Weiser was running a deal on his website for a free sketch if you purchased $10 of merch from his store.  Months earlier I'd considered picking up a copy of Tales of Unusual Circumstance, so I knew what to get!  Joey has a very nice style and Tales of Unusual Circumstance has some great short stories in it.  I sent him a link for this blog and told him he could draw anyone he wanted.  He chose to draw his original creation Mermin.  It's super cute!



Thanks, Joey! I've been keeping an eye out lately for kids comics for when Xavier is old enough to read.  Joey's stuff is on the top of my list!

The Random Dredd: Part 14

What could possibly pull me out of my pseudo-retirement to post another Random Dredd segment?! When I read this jem from The Judge Dredd Megazine #302 (Oct 2010) today, I just HAD to share it with you.

Judge Dredd is after a perp when he comes across his former robot comic relief (who has a lisp) and his incredibly old--and now deaf as a door--former cleaning lady.



I shit you not, I laughed for about five minutes just reading this over and over.  I still can't read it without laughing.

Sketchbook Page - PJ Holden

For general info about my convention sketchbook's theme, click here.

My favorite comic book artist to follow on Twitter is PJ Holden.  He's a UK artist that has done lots of stuff in comics over there and a few US books as well (most prominently Battlefields: Happy Valley written by Garth Ennis).  There are two things about PJ's art that grab me: he has a style that I dig, and he does beautiful black & white (inked) art.

Anyway, PJ announced on Twitter that he would be attending New York Comic Con this year and although I couldn't make it, my bestest friend Talia was going!  I asked her to get me a Judge Dredd sketch from PJ for my themed collection and he gave her this awesome pencil sketch for free while he was sketching at the 2000AD booth!  It's zarjaz!!!



Yes, that's Judge Dredd jumping over a candlestick.  You wish you owned this sketch.  Everything about this sketch is Awesome.

I played with the scanner levels a little to get the pencils to show up better, so this doesn't look as nice as the original (you can see less of the guide lines on the actual sketch).  I was thinking I'd try printing this blueline sometime and ink it up myself.  I think that'd be fun!  If I do I'll post the finished product here on the site.

Thanks PJ, I wish I could have made it to NY to meet you.  Thanks Talia for picking this up for me!

Don't forget to check out PJ's blog!

 

Sketchbook Page - TL Collins

For general info about my convention sketchbook's theme, click here.


This is the last in a series of sketches I picked up at the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con. TL Collins was in Artist Alley promoting a few webcomics he works on, mainly The SuperFogeys and Bullfinch. I was first attracted to his table because he had some original art pages from SuperFogeys: Origins on display and they looked really interesting. I really liked his art style so I requested a sketch. He was doing color sketches for a great price, so I got what I imagine will be the only color sketch I'll be able to afford for some time!



Since I showed so much interest in his SuperFogeys art, TL choose to do a character from the series. Keep in mind that I had never read any of the strips at that point, but I love this piece! I've shown it to a bunch of people and they've all laughed immediately. TL has a great sense of comedy.

That being said, let me tell you about Bullfinch. Bullfinch is TL's webcomic about supernatural beings in Vermont. When I told him I was from Vermont he laughed with this "oh shit" kind of "That's soooo weird..." I guess he thought I might get offended or something, but I have to tell you that growing up in Vermont I can testify that the comic is a fairly accurate portrayal of the place. ESPECIALLY the first comic, which is one of my favorite things EVER. I'm currently working my way through Bullfinch from the beginning.

Thanks for the awesome sketch, TL! I hope to see you at Baltimore next year so I can get a Bullfinch sketch for the collection!

Sketchbook Page - Tim Dzon

For general info about my convention sketchbook's theme, click here.


This is another in a set of sketches I picked up at the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con. I met Tim Dzon is Artist Alley and requested a sketch from him. I was on a really tight budget this year and he was willing to work with me to do a quick sketch in my book, which I greatly appreciate!



He did a takeoff on the old "Superman jumping over a tall building" routine, but with Old Shell-Head instead. The inking on the classic Iron Man armor is fantastic, of course Tim used to ink the War Machine series, so I shouldn't be surprised!

Thanks for the great sketch, Tim! You can check out his deviantArt page here.

Variant Covers are Racist.

Hey, its true. Variant covers are only okay if they're 50/50 variants: two different covers, neither is actually more rare or worth more than the other. Even then it doesn't make a lot of sense. You couldn't commit to just one cover, publisher?

Seriously, this is a disease. If you want something by that artist, get a sketch or commission. It will mean more to you and give them more money than this crap does.

Now you know.

And knowing is half the battle.

Awesome Adventures! Comics is here!

If you haven't heard, I teamed up with my good friend Charlie to create a new webcomic. You see, I've been learning to draw recently and I thought this would be a fun way to keep me drawing. We are both having a lot of fun and it's nice to be creating something new.

I hope that all of you will go and check out Awesome Adventures! Comics and leave a comment or comments on the site. There will be a new 1-5 page complete graphic story updated (roughly) monthly, so it certainly isn't a heavy reading burden! I look forward to seeing how my art skill will improve over time.

This brings me to the part of this post that (I hope) at least some of you might be disappointed in. With the webcomic, and life in general, putting more constraints on my time I'll be drastically cutting back the work I do on The Mutterings. Working on the blog is starting to almost feel like a chore, and since this is just a hobby of mine that means it's time to take a step back. I'll still post from time to time, but nowhere near as often. I still have a bunch of Iron Man Versus segments squirreled away, and I'll put those up as I feel like it. Next week I'll be posting the last of my sketchbook pictures from Baltimore Comic-Con, then I probably won't post much of anything for a few weeks. I still plan on doing monthly trade paperback reviews over at Nerdgasm. I seem to be having a hard time getting into the swing of it though.

I just want to say thanks to everyone that read the blog regularly! Keep it in your RSS feeds or on FaceBook so you'll still get updates of when new stuff posts here. And please go check out Charlie and my webcomic!

Sketchbook Page - Scott Derby

For general info about my convention sketchbook's theme, click here.


This is another in a set of sketches I picked up at the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con.  While walking around Artist Alley at the Con I came across Scott Derby's table.  Scott was selling these neat 3x5 inch print cards that featured cartoony versions of movie and comic book characters, as well as these awesome stylized classic movie posters.  One of the print cards was of Shaun from Shaun of the Dead.  I then noticed that he had a sign up for $10 sketches.  I told him his Shaun was awesome and inquired about getting a sketch.  I explained the sketchbook theme and broke one of my rules: I specifically requested Shaun.  Scott seemed really excited to do the sketch and asked for an hour.  What I saw when I got back blew me away.



I'm going to just come out and say it: this is my favorite. Out of all the sketches I've gotten, this one is my favorite based on it's sheer Awesomeness. And yes, I ended up getting one of the Shaun print cards too. Thank you so much for this awesome sketch, Scott! I hope to see you at Baltimore next year to get another sketch!

Check out Scott Derby's site at http://scottderby.blogspot.com/

Sketchbook Commission - Tyler James

For general info about my convention sketchbook's theme, click here.


This is the first of a couple sketches I picked up at the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con.  A friend of mine found out that Tyler James was offering a deal through his website that the first fifty people that contacted him before the convention would get a free sketch card (the size of a baseball card) of a character of their choosing.  He would also do a full character sketch on 7x10.5 inch board for $10.  Well, I thought this was a real nice deal, and poking around his site I saw that he has a nice style, so I emailed him.  For the free sketch card I requested ROM and am quite pleased with it.



I think I'm going to hang this on the front of my ROM shortbox.  It's all like "WOAH! There's Spaceknights all up in this box! Watch yourself, human!"

For the commissioned sketch I asked him to do Hawkeye because I've been wanting to get a Hawkeye sketch and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  I explained the concept of my sketchbook and sent him the site address and left the details up to him, like I always do.  The result is so cool, unexpected, and characteristically Hawkeye that I immediately fell in love with it!


As Tyler explained to me, "It's Hawkeye jumping out of someone else's car that he just drove off a cliff."  That is definitely something Hawkeye would do!  This baby's going up on my wall.  This is EXACTLY the type of action shot I was hoping for when I came up with the idea for this sketchbook!  I love all the stuff I've gotten, but I feel like this really hits the full "action" potential of the collection.  So thanks for the awesome sketch card and commission, Tyler!

You can all see Tyler's website and check out his projects over at TylerJamesComics.com

Sketchbook Page - Chrissie Zullo

For general info about my convention sketchbook's theme, click here.

My local comic book shop of choice, Captain Blue Hen Comics, was doing some pregaming for Baltimore Comic-Con.  The night before the con they had one of the convention guests, Chrissie Zullo, at the shop doing free sketches and selling prints.  Along with the bellow sketch I got a print of a smoking hot redheaded Medusa.  Awesome.

Not only is Chrissie the cover artist for Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, but she is also a really classy lady and is super nice.  I explained the concept of my sketchbook and she was all over it.  She took a minute to think of something that would be funny before deciding "I'll do Bufkin.  He has wings so he doesn't have to jump, so it's funny." I think Frankenstein's head is a real nice touch.  I really dig this one!



Comic book shop heroine extraordinaire Kita got this shot of us for the CBH website.  Thanks, Kita!


Despite the "deer in the headlights" expression, Xavier had a lot of fun climbing on the diner seats while Chrissie sketched Bufkin for me.

Thanks for the awesome sketch, Chrissie! You should all check out her deviantArt page!

Awesome August CONTEST WINNER(S)!!!

That's right, this contest kicked into AWESOME!

Awesome August Contest Entry #4

Alex sent these snaps from her iPhone to me via the Twitters.  Her awesome fiance recently got her Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.  the Ultimate Collection (2010) as a present.  I've never read it, but it looks pretty awesome from here!  Alex is still pretty new to comics, but she's on the right track here.






Yup, that's Warren Ellis dialog alright!  Hey, you know what else has Warren Ellis dialog? The prize for winning this very contest!  You have until midnight tonight to enter!  (You actually have until I check my email tomorrow morning, because I'm not that big of a douche.)

Iron Man Versus, Part 66

Welcome back for yet another installment of "Iron Man Versus", where Old Shell-Head lampoons loonies!  Today's very special segment comes from Iron Man v1 #217 (1987).  It's a little something I like to call Iron Man vs. Clark W. Griswold!





Yeah, I'm pretty proud of this find.

Awesome August Contest Entry #3

This entry comes from my best friend Talia, who I'm pretty sure submitted something because she felt bad that I only had two entries to my contest... HINT.  Anyway, here it is!

This is from I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space, issue 1 (2006?). It was originally a web comic, but I bought all of the issues when they were released in print. This is one of the first series that I subscribed to. This particular panel exemplifies why I became interested in comics. I didn't start reading them until a few years ago, mostly because I thought they were all superhero spooge. I am not interested in the Marvel universe, the DC universe, or zombie spin-offs of characters whose story lines have already been beaten to death and reanimated multiple times. Lesbian Pirates does not have fancy art, or a perfectly well-thought out storyline, but it is completely original and entertaining, and what do you really need besides that?

-Talia

And people think there isn't a comic book out there for them!

If you want to win a sweet set of comic trade paperbacks there's still time to enter the contest!

Reason #1457 Why Judge Dredd is Awesome: Gays

The title got your attention, didn't it?

Allow me to explain.

Judge Dredd takes place about 100+ years from now.  One of the ways that medical science has advanced in that time is that men can now bear children.  This means that gay male couples can have biological children (cloning and genetic engineering are also well established in the Dredd Universe).  

What is awesome is the way they portray gays in the comic: like normal people.  Especially gay men.  From what I've read they don't tend to portray them as flaming.  In fact, given that the stories often center on lawbreakers, gay men are often portrayed as tough gang members.  This is completely contrary to how gay men are portrayed in basically any genre in the USA.

I just find it refreshing.

Above panels from Judge Dredd Megazine #300 (2010).

Iron Man Versus, Part 65: Comic-Con Edition!

Welcome back for another installment of "Iron Man Versus", where Old Shell-Head does a dangerous dance of death with dorks!  Today we have a very special edition in anticipation of Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend, as our spotlight Avenger goes up against an entirely new and different threat!

I hope you enjoy, from Iron Man v1 #72 (1975), a little adventure I like to call Iron Man vs. the 1974 San Diego ComicCon!

 
As a special bonus, this story takes place during the time that Iron Man had a nose!   


 
 
Clearly, this story is a hilarious comedy of errors.  Like all (bad) comedy of errors, it ends with the protagonist triumphant!


Noticeably absent from the above panel: Iron Man.


Look, I've read the whole comic and it really doesn't make any more sense than the parts I'm showing you.  Just be glad I cut out the parts with the supervillains. 

Spider-Man in a Tuxedo

From Amazing Spider-Man #322 (1989).


I don't really have anything to add to this.  I just think it's fucking weird.

Honestly, I'm torn.  I can't decide if this is retarded or fucking awesome.

The Random Dredd: Part 13

Today's Random Dredd comes from the early 1990's story "Reptaur", which was recently collected and bagged with The Judge Dredd Megazine #297 (May 2010).  It contains bad-assery beyond approach.



In case you missed that, to prevent himself from falling to his possible death, Judge Dredd STABBED HIMSELF IN THE HAND to pin himself to the pipe he was holding onto!  It made a satisfying "STABB!" sound too.

Bad-ass.

Awesome August Contest Entry #2

Get read for a Hot Shot of Awesome ©™ care of my friend Sarah's submission to the Awesome August Contest!

Dear Doktor,

Please accept this submission for your Awesome August contest... for you cannot tell me that Axe Cop (written by a 6 year old) and Dr. McNinja are not two of the coolest web comics out there. Also, they are on a team. A TEAM!!!1! Can anything be cooler??? This is the best team-up since Nicola Tesla and Audi Murphey took on a nazi-controlled cybernetic Tyrannosaurus Rex. Ooooh...that would make a great comic....

~Sarah

That WOULD make a great comic! But we will just have to make due with the awesome we have, which truly is great.





There's still time to enter the contest! Do it now!

Iron Man: Political Commentator

Iron Man has always been pretty conservative, so it's so wonder that in the late 1980s he went a little Rush Limbaugh.




All the superheroes are always talking about how bad the roads are, but they never do anything about it!  Except, of course, blow them up.

From Iron Man v1 #251 (1989).