Old Work Published: Self Publisher Magazine #59

Doing a bit of vanity surfing, I turned up this product at DriveThru Comics: Self Publisher Magazine #59.  Apparently they reused my cover art for Sky Pirates of Valendor, Vol. 2, Issue 6.  I don't remember ever getting an email from them about this, so I'm assuming that the folks over at Jolly Rogue Studios gave them permission to use it.  I've got not problem with that, but it would have been nice to know so I could have helped promote them.
The irony of this is really that I got more credit for their reuse of the art than I did from Jolly Rogue Studios themselves, who "commissioned" the art from me.  Their listing for the issue of Sky Pirates doesn't even mention the cover artist.  
In any case, the product is free over at DriveThru, so go ahead and check it out.  It looks like an interesting magazine.

New Work Published: Sky Pirates of Valendor 2.6

Fresh up from Jolly Rogue Studios, it's "Sky Pirates of Valendor" Vol. 2, Issue 6.   I had the pleasure of doing the cover for this one, my second piece of work for this series (I had a pinup back in Volume 1).

From the book's description:

"Welcome to the World of Valendor, a bold new world where steam-powered ships sail across the sky and where you’ll find that the standard heroes come in any shape or form—even Pirate!

Change is coming to the Elven people of Galia. The oppression of the Death Guard will come to an end. Change is a very dangerous and deadly game though. No one knows this better than Tobin Manheim. Good thing he brought back up and his name is Bryan Sprighammer. With hammer and gun in hand, Bryan has a tough enough job fighting the hordes of the Death Guard. Imagine the added responsibility of watching Tobin's backside.

 

Join us for the epic conclusion to Volume 2 of Sky Pirates of Valendor!"

 

 It's got steampunk, action, elves, a catwoman and a talking bear with a warhammer.  What more do you want from a comic book?

 

The current issue and all back issues are available right now at DriveThru Comics. Sky Pirates of Valendor...check it out!

Avast Me Hearties! Sky Pirates Ahead!

Sky Pirates of Valendor, for whom I'll be doing the cover of their next issue, is running an Indiegogo campaign to raise some funds to print the 2nd collection of their comics.  For your buy-in (as little as $10!) you can get all kinds of goodies, ranging from a limited edition print by a Marvel artist, up to a starring role in the comic, complete with a custom comic story, written and drawn around your own character.  It's some pretty cool stuff, from a pretty cool publisher.  Even better, 14% of their proceeds will be going to benefit victims of the Colorado Dark Knight shooting.  I recommend you head over there and check out their project page...or I might just have to make ye walk the plank.  Yarr, and other piratey noises.

If you want to see what Sky Pirates is all about before you throw tons of cash at them, or if you just want to read some good comics, you should head over to their DriveThru Comics page and check out their incredible bundle deal.  For a meager $5.00, you get the whole story so far, including the collected Sky Pirates Vol. 1 and all 5 issues of Vol. 2 to date. That way, you'll be all primed when issue 6 with my cover hits the virtual stands. 

Sky Pirates Revisited!

I've just found out from one of the creators of "Sky Pirates of Valendor" (see this post) that the book is now being published by Jolly Rogue Studios, and series 2, issue 1, which included the pinup piece I did for them, is now in print.  You can buy the book direct from their site here, or digitally from Cloud 9 Comix here.  If you like pirate adventure and high fantasy, then this is the book for you!

Sky Pirates Return!

As promised in an earlier post, here's the color version of the Drew Struzan-inspired drawing I did for "Sky Pirates of Valendor".  While I'm no Drew Struzan, I really like the tone of this piece, and it was certainly an educational experience for me.  It's always great fun to play with someone else's toys.

Yarrr! Up Up and Away, Matey!

A while back, I got a great deal on a copy of Drew Struzan: Oeuvre, and fell into an attention hole over his work.  I've always enjoyed his movies posters, but never really studied his work until I got this book.  Like a very few other artists I can think of -- Boris, Frazetta, Alex Ross -- I occasionally find myself lost in some small part of a Struzan painting, studying the mechanics of the piece more than the gestalt of the thing.  His composition, lighting, and use of color border on the mystical for me at this point.  There's also his storytelling, his ability to capture the essence of a film in a single image, so much so that in some cases, his posters are better than the movies themselves...it's just astounding work all around.
Shortly after finding the book, I got the opportunity to do a pinup for a book called "Sky Pirates of Valendor", and since it is a team book, I thought it would be instructive to me to try and design it Struzan-style.  I can't say it was entirely successful, but still, I think it didn't turn out too bad.  The image below is the greyscale piece I turned in for the book, since it was b&w.  However, I do have a color version of this somewhere, and I'll post it if I can ever remember where I filed it. 
They've changed publishing tactics since soliciting the piece, and have now become a webcomic, so this piece, as far as I know, never got used, which is a shame, since I would have liked to have seen how other artists interpreted the characters.  It's a pretty good comic, and I recommend you read it if you get a chance.