Knives to the Hilt!

It's amazing what you'll find when you're digging through your old material. Witness the following.
I used to be an avid reader of Blade magazine, a monthly journal of custom knifemaking. I suppose as a fantasy artist, it was inevitable that I take an interest in knives. Even now, I maintain a small blade collection, although it's leaned more towards utility blades in recent years ( I just never found a practical use for that brass lion-head pommel laser etched Toledo blade in the sealskin holster...go figure).
Part of my monthly ritual of reading Blade was to take some time to make reference drawings of the most interesting knives and swords I found in each issue. Recently, I came across a bunch of these drawings, and thought it might be fund to share them. The art is pretty crude, but the beauty of the design of some of these blades still manages to shine through.

Comic Book Follies

Update: Just for fun, I've published this book on Scribd. Now you can download the issue in pdf format from this page.

OK, to make up for my tardiness last week, I've got a full comic book for you this week.
Back in the mid-90's, I developed a character named DeathMask that I fully intended to turn into a limited series of comic books. At the time, in the wake of the launch of Image Comics, there was a glut of characters named "Death--" this and "Blood--" that, but this was meant to be a bit different from the rest. The catch to this character was that he wasn't a superhero, nor even an antihero, but a flat out serial killer who chose the concept of the superhero as a stage and rationale for his behaviour, sort of an ironic counterpoint to the trend that comics was taking at that time.
The concept was born in, of all places, an anthropology class at University. The course was on war, genocide and violent behaviour, and was taught by Elliot Leyton, who remains one of favorite teachers and authors. Dr. Leyton is a world-renowned criminal profiler who has had a huge influence on the way we perceive serial and mass murderers. As part of the course, he taught his book "Hunting Humans" and the excellent "Aesthetics of Murder" by Joel Black. Studying these texts got me to thinking about the possibility of a serial murderer who acted out his fantasies using comic books as his template, and DeathMask was the result.
Despite its apparently simple beginning, seen below, if developed the book would have gone on to explore Dr. Leyton's theories of the formation of the serial murderer's psychology, as well as the cultural impact of violent comics books and other media, and would have attempted to depict a realistic view of this deviant behavior as opposed to the glorified villains seen in films such as "Silence of the Lambs" and "Halloween" (fun they may be...accurate they are not).
I was pretty determined to make this book happen, and ended up submitting it to several publishers, all of whom rushed forward to roundly reject me. I think my biggest mistake was submitting it to Fantagraphics, thinking they might catch up on the literary aspect of it, only to have Gary Groth suggest to me that I might want to actually read a few of their books before submitting to them again. My greatest hope was for Caliber Press, but unfortunately, they folded up soon after I sent this.
Looking back at it now, I can see how amateurish the art was. I haven't exactly taken comics by storm since then, but I can see that I have learned a few things that I should have known before attempting a project of this scale. Even so, the story is still dear to me, and the book remains one of my favorite projects. In addition to this first issue, I've done two ashcan prequels, several pages of book two, and a ton of concept sketches. Maybe one day if I can ever drum up interest, I'll try tackling this again from a more mature point of view. Until then, here's the complete first issue for you to enjoy.

Days of Pork and Snuffles....

I really did mean to have some drawings to post today, but I've been behind the eightball all week, largely as a result of having to spend last weekend dealing with four kids, two cats, a dog, a hurricane and the resulting power outage, some amateur lumberjacking, and a wayward pig. I shit you not. Then of course, there's the cold that came about as a result of it all, which means that not only am I behind on my current project, but I had to miss a day's work at the office as well...which always puts me behind there too.
Anyway, there's a long weekend coming up, which will hopefully let me catch up on some of my art chores and let me find something entertaining to post in the coming week. Meantime, I can only offer this by way of explanation....

I HAZ LOLCAT!

I'm in ur internetz...


...participatin' in ur memes.

Skeletons In My Closet

This piece is a recent design done to be stencilled onto shirts for a pool team. Each of the players on the team had a different "bone" nickname, and the figures are loose caricatures of team members.

The Return of Paladin Freelance!

Just a technical note of interest....I've retaken ownership of my own domain, www.paladinfreelance.com. I had let it lapse when I discontinued "The Journals of Simon Pariah", but now it's mine again. For now, the domain will redirect you here, but I am tossing around website ideas, so who knows? In the meantime, it's an easier domain to remember than my blogspot address.

Welcome...Now Go Away

Today I'm going to send you somewhere else. Specificially, I'm going to send you over to the blog of Manuel Marino. Manuel has an interesting idea for a blog...he's getting people from various creative fields to write him short essays about their art. Each post is by a different author from a different artistic field. Recently, I've accepted his invitation to write a short piece on comics for him, and it's online as of today, along with a little illustration I did to accompany the piece. Go read it, and while you're there, check out some of the other informative and entertaining pieces he's posted.

When you're done there, you might want to check out this site...found via Boing Boing this morning, it's got a lot of rare and early Bill Watterson art. You can see the early elements of Calvin & Hobbes style in his university work, and it's clear that even then, Watterson was an insanely talented cartoonist. There's also a whole lot of C&H sketches for your viewing pleasure.

When you're done with that, you can come back here if you want and tell me if you think my short piece on comics was dead on the money or dead in the water.

For Barrett's Private Ears!

I've just finished the last page in my Bruno the Bandit story, "Bluenose Barrett, Privateer", and it feels good to be done. Not that I didn't enjoy the process, but this seemed to be the project that did not want to be born, as I ran into more problems, technical and otherwise, finishing this story, than any other project I've worked on to date.
Still, it's done and if you've been following, I hope you've enjoyed it. Below are some of the original sketches I did while planning the story; just preliminary roughs to lay done some of the character designs.
First there's Bruno himself...this apocryphal story takes place a lot earlier in his bandit career, so I knew I wanted him looking younger than he's normally drawn, but with features still recognizable compared to the way Ian McDonald draws them...


Next, there's Fiona, Bruno's sidekick. In continuity terms, she shouldn't have been in this story, but I figured if Ian can put her in Brunotots, then I could find a way to squeeze her into my tale...
Oddly, I find her harder to draw than Bruno. I can't quite wrap my head around the way Ian draws her back legs.


Next there's the pirates themselves. A lot of the visuals of the story depended on drawing Barrett's pirates in various activities. While a lot of figures appeard in the story, here's a couple that didn't get in...





And finally, there's Barrett himself. I was looking for the typical pirate look, but just about as mean as the day is long. In the story, he has a wooden leg, a glass eye and a hook for a hand, and if that doesn't make a man ornery, I don't know what would. I think a number of characters in my memory found there way into this one, including the pirate from "Blackbeard's Ghost" and maybe a bit of Hagrid...


And that's a wrap on that story. I'll be hip deep in my next project for a while, but I'm sure I'll be able to dig something fun out of my files to share. Keep an eye out to see what I come up with.

Vvroommm....

Looks like there's a lot of visitors coming here after reading my strips at Bruno the Bandit. Welcome, or welcome back as the case may be. I'm going to be putting up some rough sketches from "Bluenose Barrett, Privateer" later in the week, so be sure to check back. Meantime, here's a piece I'm working on just for fun. It started as a rough sketch after seeing a documentary on Big Daddy Roth, but I'm thinking that with a bit of tweaking, I could turn this into a T-shirt design, or some other sellable product. Suggestions?

Yarrr....

Yes, I know it's too late for Talk Like a Pirate Day, and everyone's done with Pirates of the Carribbean by now. Still, pirates are always fun. That's why my next project to see the light of day will be a pirate story, "Bluenose Barrett, Privateer", over at Ian McDonald's "Bruno the Bandit" webomic. This is a 9 page story that will be starting. as far as I know, on Monday and running over the next two weeks. Here's a small sample of the art:



Don't forget to drop by and read the story.

It Never Rains But It Pours...

Busy, busy, busy!
I'm just finishing work on one project (more about which in the coming week), when another big...excuse me...Big! one lands in my lap. How big is it? It's so big, I can't tell you about it. Yet.
However, for yet another month it looks like I'm not going to be able to fill any new commissions. Once I finish the one I'm currently working on, I'll be caught up, which is nice since I hate to leave anyone hanging. But anything new is going to have to wait at least a month before I can get to it. Still, as always, first come first served, so if you want a sketch done, get your request in early.

Meanwhile, I'll still be posting at least weekly with work from my archives, and you'll be seeing new work from me online at another site very soon.
Here's an old piece that I still enjoy. I've noticed that jungle girls are getting a bit of a resurgence lately, what with the reincarnation of Shanna and Sheena and Frank Cho's cleverly named book, "Jungle Girl". So, this is probably an appropriate time to post this one...



I think I was a little too obsessed with muscular detail when I drew this, and if I were to do it over, I'd probably go for some softer lines and less shading, but overall, I think it stands up as a decent little drawing.

...And We're Back!

After too long a break, I'm back at it. I've been working constantly, of course, but just haven't had time to update the blog. That, of course, is both good and bad. Good in that I've been busy with projects, bad in that it's hard to line up new projects if I'm not out there selling myself.
Speaking of new projects, here's a sample from one I've just completed. This is a page from a book titled "Deathmatch UK", written by Paul Holmes, with art by Nicolas Colacitti and Rodrigo Mavica. The book is currently being submitted to publishers, and if it gets picked up, I've got a pretty good shot at being the regular colorist. Keep your fingers crossed.


I'm working on another small project that will be available online in a couple of weeks, so watch for that as well.
This coming weekend, I'm going to be attending the "Word on the Street" book festival in Halifax. It's an annual book fair held in the city that always delivers some nice new discoveries in local literature. Plus, my favorite comic shop, Strange Adventures, always hosts an impressive display there. This year, their exhibitors will include Darwyn Cooke and J. Bone of "The Spirit"...the best non-Eisner treatment of the character possible...Seth of "Clyde Fans" and "Vinyl Cafe" fame, Marvel-zombie and jaw-dropping artist Steve McNiven, "Thieves & Kings" creative genius Mark Oakley, and Eisner award winner Hope Larson. So, it should be a good opportunity to meet some people and snag a few signed books. If you're in the area, I strongly recommend attending and checking out what folks in these parts have to offer.

Enter Sandman

Currently, I'm reading, and quite enjoying, the 90's Vertigo series "Sandman Mystery Theatre". I especially like the pulp-themed covers with their clever photographic work. I also enjoy reading a reimagining of an older superhero that does not depend heavily on the Moore/Miller style of reconstruction. Matt Wagner did some first-rate writing on this series, and it's quite a change from his work on Grendel and Mage, which shows his range. I've enjoyed Guy Davis's work since I first picked up Saint Germaine from Caliber, and I'm proud of the recent acquisition of a signed Baker Street hardcover. His work in SMT is a little tighter than it is in most other things I've read by him, but he's still got that loose line and distinct sense of form that bucks the typical comic book esthetic. Good reading all the way around, and highly recommended.



And on that noir note, I'm off for two weeks vacation in atmospheric Newfoundland as nature, proving that it lacks any sense of irony, is about to batter the eastern seaboard with Hurricane Dean. See you in September...and pleasant dreams.

Tellos Creator Passes Away

This is not the sort of thing I normally post here, but I thought it would be appropriate:

Found, with much surprise, on Drawn!:

Mike Wieringo has passed away

This is the sort of news that comes at you out of the blue and snaps your head around. Wieringo was one of those artists I never followed, but who always caught my eye with his work. He had a clear set of influences, yet managed to turn those into a distinct style all his own. His work was bright, fun and enjoyable, exemplary of some of the best things comics can be.
And he was only 5 years older than me.

I always thought of Wieringo as part of the "new breed" of comics artists....that generation of creators post-Byrne, Perez, etc. who were building on the work of their predecessors the way that group built on the work of Kirby and Lee. And, like most young talents, you see them as being damn-near immortal, or at least as having a good, long run ahead of them.
As an artist when you read something like this, it makes you wonder if you're doing as much with your own work as you could or should be. It makes you think about all those excuses you make for not getting down to that drawing table. And while it's probably not going to turn you into an instant workhorse, it does at least serve as a reminder that you're not going to be here forever.

So get to work.

All Booked Up, Uh Huh Huh....

Between vacation time and ongoing projects, I'm happy to say that I'm going to be booked up for the remainder of August. I'll still take sketch requests (hey, that Donate button ain't broken, pal!), but any requests received from this point forward will not be completed until September. But hey...keep those projects coming! As long as you keep payin', I'll keep dancin' to your tune!

Desk Doodles!

A few quick sketches from my blotter to finish off the week. I'd love to get time to color more of these, but there always seems to be something else demanding my time RIGHT NOW! Hmmm....maybe it's time for a sick day.

First up, a sketch sort of inspired by those creepy psychic kids in Akira...

Next, a sketch done while listening to Patrice on the Keith and the Girl podcast. I'm not into gossip, but she's just enjoyable to hear.



For something a bit different, there's this frosty lady...



A couple of larger pieces next. First, this CARniverous vehicle a la Big Daddy Roth...


And finally, there's this. Spongebob Batpants? Batbob Spongepants? A desperate cry for more sleep? You decide.




That's it. I'm off for a wet and wild weekend. Which unfortunately means flume rides and bumper boats with my kids, not semi-disrobed floozies and beer funnels. Oh well; ya takes what ya can get.

And We Have a Winnah!

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of the Bruno art contest is Robin Reed. Robin is a writer and cartoonist herself; you can find her work at Barstow Productions. Robin not only entered the contest, but took a stab at naming the characters in the drawing, getting nearly every one of them...and making me realize that there's one or two that I can't even name any more.

Congratulations, Robin. And thanks to everyone else who entered. Keep an eye on things here, as I've been thinking it might be fun to do other contests here. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to send them to me.

One Day to Go!

Just a reminder that you've only got one day left to enter the draw for an original Bruno the Bandit drawing. Tomorrow midnight is the deadline for entries, and a winner will be announced the following morning.
This contest got off to a slow start, but it's picked up speed in the last few days. Like any contest, you can't win if you don't play, so fire off those emails and get your name in the hat!

The Virtue of Elfishness

Here's another recent commission piece; probably the most interesting subject to date. The person who requested it wanted a portrait of Sananda Maitreya (formerly known as Terence Trent D'Arby) drawn as an elf in the style of Barry "Elflord" Blair. Fortunately, the subject has features that lend well to such adaptation. I'm not sure that I could have done as well if they'd wanted, say, Jean Reno or Robert de Niro. Just a reminder that if you want your own favorite celebrity rendered as a mythical creature, or any other subject, just click the link to your right to send me a $10 donation and put my meagre talents at your disposal.
Also, a reminder that the Bruno the Bandit art giveaway contest is still open; to qualify to win a free piece of art (see previous post), you only have to send me an email to be entered for a draw at month end.

Unicorns...Who Doesn't Love Unicorns?

Here's another recent sketch. I experimented a bit with textures on this and had a bit of fun with drybrush. The lady turned out a bit more elfin than I would have liked, but otherwise I'm pleased with it.