Okay, technically, it’s 11 days in so I apologize for my tardiness.  You might recall Neill Cameron’s Santa Sketch Fest for last year, and believe me, there were some pretty funny/disturbing stuff going on. Though yesterday’s post put my Christmas mood into overdrive.

Kirby Santa, requested by Chris Sims.

Mr. Cameron has been taking requests this year as he did last year, but to qualify for something like this you have to buy one of his comics (which you can do here). If your request goes up, you get the comic as well as the original art of your suggestion. Sounds like a win-win.

I think that there is no reason why a Kirby-esque Santa shouldn’t have his own limited series. You can follow Neill on his blog and watch the Santas march on.

A few weeks ago, DC’s The Source gave us our first look at Kevin Maguire’s Tanga and Aaron Lopresti’s Garbageman for the upcoming Weird Worlds anthology. Back in October, Lopresti talked to Newsarama about his unique creation. Blog@ had the chance to talk to contemporary master, Kevin Maguire, about his extraterrestrial lady, Tanga.

Blog@: So, Kevin, you’re more well-known for your artistic duties. What people might not know is that you’re also one heck of a film buff and actually involved in sketch comedy and short films. Do you feel that your creativity comes more naturally at an artist’s desk or the writer’s chair?

Kevin Maguire: Well my create-o-meter’s a bit on the fritz, but if I’m reading it properly, it’s leaning towards writer’s chair. If I’m drawing then, generally, I’m telling someone else’s story, assisting someone else in bringing their vision to the masses. Maybe not masses, as much as small assemblies.

Blog@: What made you want to be a part of this incarnation of Weird Worlds?

Maguire: It never started as being a part of Weird Worlds. About a year and a half ago, at the Philly Con, Dan DiDio sat at my table and, knowing that I wanted to do a series about a character who, at that point, I was calling “My Space Girl”, said “Let’s pull the trigger on this”. That was one of the happiest moments of my career. At first, we were talking about having it as a second feature to R.E.B.E.L.S, which I thought would have been a very nice fit and went to being the second feature replacement to Metal Men. Somewhere around that time the Weird Worlds title was introduced and they put Tanga very comfortably there.

Blog@: So I guess the big question is who is Tanga?

Maguire: Tanga is a girl who has been flying around the fringes of space looking for some kind of intellegent contact. She’s seeking some kind of connection, any kind of connection. She legitimately feels like there’s no one else in the universe quite like her. She’s right about that. She possesses both enormous cosmic power and an inability to self-edit, a combination that will, inevitably, always lead her into trouble. My short hand pitch has always been “The power of the Silver Surfer and the personality of Sarah Silverman”

Blog@: How long has this idea for Tanga been rattling in your head?

Maguire: It’s been floating around my fertile noggin for quite a while in a far more embroyic form. It wasn’t until I was being interviewed for my highly-flattering, but perhaps premature, induction in the Modern Masters series that I’d come to realize that I always enjoyed doing projects that I wrote and created far more than anything else. It was after that that I started giving more form to her and her world. I knew I wanted to have it take place in outer space because I have so much more fun creating environments wholly out of imagination. I knew it would be a female character because, well, I love women.

Blog@: What was your inspiration for Tanga?

Maguire: In terms of her character, that’s tough to nail down. I’ve described it as if there was a second soul inside my body that’s been aching to get out and hit the page. I’m sure she is, in some way, a representation of some part of me, if , of course, I was smoking hot babe. Visually, she’s inspired by British model Carla Brown, a petite brunette with a real sparkle and intellegence in her eyes. Warm but mischievous.

Blog@: Will she be interacting with other characters from the DCU?

Maguire: Not in this story arc, but she will do some name-dropping. She’ll mention that Lobo thinks she owes him money, but she disputes that. I’ve got ideas for at least four more Tanga story arcs. My hope is that the character will be well regarded enough that DC will allow me to continue telling stories about her. Honestly, once I’m finished with the Generation Lost covers, I would be happy working on nothing else for the rest of my comics career. It’s just been far more satisfying writing, pencilling, and inking something of my own creation. And, hopefully, my colorist , and part time physicist, Rosemary Cheetham will continue working on it with me. It’s been a different and unique working relationship on this project. I’m really enjoying it.

Blog@: What can fans expect from this story?

Maguire: For my chapters, you can expect aliens, giant monsters, lots of action, lots of fun and a very funny and gorgeous central character. Oh, and a background for every panel. No floating heads. Well, one floating head, but he’s a character in the story.

It’s been a long-time debate between best friends, comic forums, and just anyone who has ever read an issue of Spider-Man or Batman: who has the better rogues gallery? Mark Robinson shows us the possibilities of what could happen in his series of “Foe vs. Foe”.

“The basic concept so far is putting these two foe groups together in the same space and see the chaos ensue,” states Robinson on his blog. “IMO there is/are no hero/es out there with a better villain gallery than that of the Spider and the Bat.”

He has pretty interesting clashes here, like Catwoman trying to wrangle the Rhino, as well as Harley Quinn vs. the Scorpion and Kraven vs. Poison Ivy. Each piece is just as striking as the last. While the project is a bit old on his blog, he’s mentioned it more than once he needs to start that up again. I fell in lust with Robinson’s art last NYCC after I saw him draw a stellar and majestic Aquaman.

Currently, Robinson is doing the Rick Jones back-up feature on Incredible Hulk with writer Jeff Parker.  You can follow Robinson on both DeviantArt or on his blog.

Having done 20 out of the 21 covers for GI JOE: Origins, Tom Feister certainly has had one heck of a ride. This cover, GI JOE: Origins #21, gives off a more propaganda feel, like the previous #20 issue did. Though not in the usual WWII-style of posters, the cover of #21,  Feister was trying to convey classic American illustrators, especially J. C. Leyendecker

“The idea was, what would it look like if Leyendecker did a Cobra recruitment poster,” Feister told Blog@. “I did my take on Chinese propaganda for the last issue, but I wanted something here that would make Cobra seem appealing, seem almost American.”

With two more covers on the way until the series concludes, I have no doubt Feister will blow Joe fans away.

Dustin Nguyen’s title to his homage to Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke, refers to a rare psychiatric syndrome of the same name. Meaning “a madness shared by two” pretty much sums up Batman and Joker’s relationship. On his DeviantArt account, Nguyen stated:  ”I love this book, and this panel ended the book for me so well. Originally, I didn’t want any color in this piece, like the original panel was b&w. but since it’s a stand alone, I thought it was okay, and also, thinking back to the joke the Joker tells at the end, I decided to go with some whimsical carnival tones. Desaturated to give it a place in time.”

The Killing Joke is one of those stories that you either love, or hate. Readers and critics have praised it as the ultimate Joker story, yet Alan Moore having gone on record as saying “I don’t think it’s a very good book. It’s not saying anything very interesting.”

So whether you praise or trash the story, you can’t help but admire the inspiration it’s given to a generation, which gives us amazing art which, in turn, inspires others.

Fire and Water: Bill Everett, the Sub-Mariner and the Birth of Marvel Comics
Written by Blake Bell
Published by Fantagraphics

Blake Bell chronicles the life of cartoonist Bill Everett, most famous to most current comics readers as the creator of Marvel Comics’ Namor, the Sub-Mariner and Daredevil, the Man without Fear, in his latest book, Fire and Water: Bill Everett, the Sub-Mariner and the Birth of Marvel Comics.  An effective biography and a great showcase of classic comics artwork, Bell’s book provides an intriguing look into the life of a man who played an important role in the shaping of the creative side of the comics industry.

Although it weighs in at over 200 pages, Fire and Water does not provide a detailed biography.  As the figures behind the comics were not recognized during much of Everett’s career, interviews with the cartoonist are not plentiful.  As such, Bell relies on accounts from Everett’s family and colleagues to fill in the blanks and trace the young man’s introduction to the comics business and evolution across forty-odd years as an illustrator.  Accounts of Everett’s non-comics jobs and alcoholism are plentiful, as are tributes to his talent and lamentations to his many wasted opportunities.

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Halloween is fast approaching. Can you believe it? Soon, candy commercials will flood the airwaves, the History Channel will have Halloween-themed specials, and who could forget costumes and decor all over your local grocery or department store.

One thing I love especially is the imagery of the holiday that inspires people. Perfect example of this is Francesco Francavilla’s 31 Days of Halloween, of course he is Day 3 into the project.

Already Francavilla has covered the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Frankenstein’s Monster, and recently Nosferatu (see above). I love the “sketch” look to it. Adds that sense of horror and the fact like it is straight from the 1922 classic film.

It’s a shame this holiday only comes around once a year.

Chris Samnee put his contribution to the Wonder Woman Day art auction on his site today, and Great Hera it’s wondrous.

Also on the entry is Samnee’s pencils for the piece, which with an artist like him and his style, I always find interesting to see. It’s solid work and Samnee is quickly becoming one of THE artists in comics today.

Ted Naifeh, like most artists, loves drawing Batman. Much like how almost every artist has that one character they get sheer joy out of drawing, Naifeh’s is definitely Gotham’s Dark Knight. Recently, on his website, he displayed some mock covers of Bat-books. Now, he’s already done some redesigns of Bats’ rogues gallery and other miscellaneous Gothamites, but what he’s done here is completely different, and truly amazing. Naifeh spoke exclusively to Blog@ about Batman and his thoughts on the character’s legacy.

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Oh, Doc Shaner. When will you ever be not awesome?

At Shaner’s blog, he’s doing these sort of sketches to prepare for the start of this week’s ComicTWART theme: Popeye, the Sailor Man. “I’ve been a fan of Popeye long before I got into comic books, watching the Fleischer cartoons that ran on television when I was a kid,” explained Shaner. ” I only discovered the strip in college, but if you go back and look at some of the early Segar strips that’s some of the funniest writing in comics history.  Not to mention the fluid and dynamic cartooning.”

I love the fact he has Volstagg and Wimpy in the background.

Andrew Robinson has been in the comic scene for almost 20 years now, with his cover art ranging from Starman, Superman/Batman, Titans, as well as indie work such as The 5th Beatle and Dusty Star. While he faded out for a while, he’s back into swing with some killer new stuff. I know I’m late to the ballgame, but check out some of these commissions he worked from Baltimore Comic Con.

The Shade is probably my favorite of that assortment. I love the detail of the shadows and smoke. If you’re a fan of Robinson, or want to see more of what this talented guy has to offer, check out his DeviantArt account.

What started simply as a doodle from artist Katie Cook, took Twitter by storm today (at least for me since I follow a ton of artists). Soon you had artists like Skottie Young doing his rendetions of various cat characters.

I can’t post them all, obviously, but my favorite has to be Catvengers Assemble by Mike Maihack. Vision Kitty is too adorable. Yeah, I said adorable.

Over at Project: Rooftop, P:R regular Jemma Salume put a little twist on the Seven Evil Exes, well, maybe not little. With a bit of creativity, Salume put together all of the Exes, if they had been the opposite sex. Must admit, there is some pretty cool stuff. I love how “Ingrid Todd” turned out. Dean Trippe added the clever names. Be sure to check out the rest of them here.

“I want that power. By right, it is mine. For ultimate power is the ultimate destiny of Doom.”

Leave it to comicdom’s mad scientist, Eric Canete, to draw Marvel’s greatest mad scientist, Dr. Victor Von Doom. Dr. Doom has one of the most iconic looks to him, yet remains one the more simple of designs. Though, with Canete’s eye, nothing is ever just simple. What Canete has done here with the good doctor is really a visual feast. Showing off Doom in some sort of Kirby-esque contraption.

As always, I’m blown away by Canete’s intricate line work. Especially around the energy from the cannon and background. The feathering on even his mask is even more impressive.

If you’re not following his blog, you are missing out on some great artwork and an intense talent.

[Hat tip to Chris Shields]

Any artist will tell you that a great inker can make you look even better. The art of inking has been around since comics themselves. From legends like Kevin Nowlan and Dick Giordano to contemporary legends like Karl Story and Scott Williams, just to name a few, have done tremendous work on making great comics. There’s awards for inking, as well as tutorials and they’ll tell you that it’s more than just being a “tracer”.

Chasing Amy reference’s aside, there seems to be a bit of debate over at DeviantArt, the world’s biggest site for amateurs and pros alike to display works, about the art of inking.  Over at Jeremy Dale’s DA blog, I read this, basically stating that art that isn’t yours is not allowed. Yes, that includes penciled artwork that you happened to ink.

You are not particularly clear in your reply, but from what you have said I would assume that this “inker” simply took sketches and drawings that were the work of another artist and “inked” them without first obtaining proper permission to do so.

This practice is in violation of our copyright policy since you must obtain a proper license to use any material which you intend to use (“ink”) before you submit it to your deviantART gallery.

That was DA’s response to artist Bob Almond about the situation. So basically, Deviant Art told this inker that nothing in his gallery “may not contain material or images which were not created entirely through your own effort”, and his images were deleted. I don’t get this rule and needs to be altered. What about collaborations? Or colorists? It’s utterly mind-boggling that an art site would see things in generalizations and black and white.

I’m sorry, but this is just ridiculous. DeviantArt needs to rectify their rules because not only is inking a legitimate artform, the talented men and women behind the brush and pens need to be recognized.

If you’re not familiar with Anthony Clark and the Nedroid Picture Diary, I recommend you do so.

That being said, this past week on his twitter, Clark had posted some rather interesting spins on everyone’s favorite teenage reptiles and supporting cast. The Krang one above especially tickled me.

There’s a few more after the jump.

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Gene Gonzales never seems to sleep apparently. There is always something on his blog everyday, whether it’s a layout of something, a progress on a sketch, or a series of sketches he just wants to do for fun, like the Martian Manhunter above. For a few days he’s been in a cartooning mood and has done Etrigan, the Creeper, and the team of Cloak and Dagger in this sort of style. Talk about characters who don’t get enough love.

I love Gene’s linework, and it’s fun to see an artist like this take a stab at something different.

[Via Press Release]

For decades comics have largely been viewed as light-hearted and amusing stories told through simple line art. But in recent years, comics have moved from the cultural fringes into the artistic and literary mainstream. The Los Angeles Times recently added a Graphic Novel category to its slate of annual Book Prizes, citing the medium as “an expanding part of the book landscape, both aesthetically and commercially.”

“Comics at the Crossroads: Art of the Graphic Novel”, on view at Maryhill Museum of Art September 18 – November 15, 2010, showcases the work of 40 Pacific Northwest artists who are established stars and emerging lights in the comic art universe. Artists such as Joelle Jones, Michael Avon Oeming, Mike Allred, and Craig Thompson will all have something on display.

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Three years ago today, artist Mike Wieringo passed away. I can’t say I knew the man by any means. I did shake his hands a few times and watched him draw and talk about art. To quote fellow Blog@ and Newsarama contributor George Marston: “I love looking at a comic artist’s work, and seeing clearly that they love comics.” That was definitely the case with Wieringo.  I’ve seen Facebook and Twitter updates and posts about him all day as well as tributes, such as Eric Canete’s.

Canete drew the central characters of Tellos, a comic created by Todd DeZago and Weiringo about a decade ago: Jarek, Koj and Sierra. After Weiringo’s passing, the series was put on hold, but DeZago has mentioned that he would put it out again where there a demand. I think the demand is out there, and is one of those books I wish I had created because it is that good.

I’m curious to know if you have a ‘Ringo story, or how his works have affected you. Mike Weiringo may have passed on, but his art, creations, and legacy will never fade away.

“I am the Sandman. And none can escape my dark dreams.”

I am floored by this. I am even more floored by the fact I will have a week to lust have some great art brought to you, and me, by the ComicTWART guys. Chris Samnee, who has been mentioned more than once on blog@, comes today with his rendetion of Wesley Dodds aka the Golden Age Sandman.

Samnee states, “I feel like I’ve drawn Sandman a bunch, so I tried to do something a bit different that what I’ve done before. Can you find all the Sandmans?” I found four: Wesley, Dream, Sandy, and Garret Sanford.

The dynamic angle and great use of lighting makes this just jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Dian would be proud that Samnee made her man look so good.