TheNextAmazingHero

Old Canary

2007-03-31T17:19:00.000-07:00

Old piece I found in my sketchbook the other day that hasn't been posted yet...

-J out.

New Year, New Opportunities

2007-01-01T16:17:00.000-08:00

I am extremely excited about 2007, and it seems as though every year (at least in my case) something new is just around the corner, and I can't wait to get started on it.

I can definitely say that I am grateful for the friends and family that will experience my side of 2007, and I wish each and every one of you the very best in all of your endeavors - even if they are not comic-related, lol.

I suppose I should at least let you all know exactly what I've been up to the past year and a half...but in another post.

Onward to '07!

-J out.

Merry Christmas!

2007-01-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year- regardless the size of your stockings. For me, the best part was watching my oldest boy (3 yrs old) get excited about Santa, his presents, etc.

Can't beat it with a stick!

-J out.

Goodness, USA!

2006-09-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

My contribution to the boys over in the Middle East...Go get 'em!

-J out.

Teaser

2006-09-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

Guess what..? Yep, you guessed it.

How's that for a teaser...

-J out

Sundown, sunset

2005-11-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

This has been a wild ride, and I have enjoyed every minute.

J out. Permanently.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2005-10-25T07:59:00.000-07:00

Just throwing some sketchbook work to move the blog along.

I apologize for not being as active on here as I would have liked; however, I am wrapping things up with Sundown so my frequency (or lack thereof) should change by the end of the week =)

J out.

Comin At'Cha

2005-10-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

Just another quick glimpse of Clay from issue 3 of Sundown: Arizona to keep the blog moving.

He's one bad - shut'cho'mouth!!

On another note, check out the latest NEWS.

J out.

Name that Baby!

2005-10-04T11:12:00.000-07:00

I had to mention this. It's rather hilarious.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage's wife of 14 months gave birth on Monday to the couple's first child together, a son they named Kal-el -- a moniker recognized by comic book fans as the birth name of Superman.

The child's delivery in New York City and his full name, Kal-el Coppola Cage, were confirmed by the actor's publicist, Annett Wolf, who said of the family, "They are healthy and happy and it's quite lovely."

No further details were released, including how the actor and his wife, Alice Kim Cage, were inspired to borrow from the mythology of Superman in naming their child.

Cage is known as an avid comic book devotee who once sold his personal collection, including a copy of Superman's 1938 pulp debut, at auction for more than $1.6 million.

The nephew of famed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, the actor adopted his own stage surname from the Marvel Comics superhero Luke Cage.

Cage also was at one time slated to star in a Superman movie under the direction of Tim Burton, a project that ultimately was scrapped and replaced by a newer Warner Bros. remake expected for release next summer.

J out.

Old Ways

2005-09-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

Been meaning to post this for about a week. I sketched it out on my lunch hour a few weeks ago and just got around to throwing down the inks about a week and a half ago.

One of my absolute favorite movies is “The Last Samurai”. The original one is cool, but the latest one is just uber-superb with all the rich landscapes, etc. I am not ashamed to say that I am a fan of Tom Cruise’s movies (note that I said his movies, not him, lol), and I think that he did a more than amazing job with this role and Ken Watanabe as a supporting actor truly rounded out the movie.

I’ve wanted to tackle a “full-on” samurai, complete with helmet, etc for a while, and don’t ask me why, but I decided to draw this sans the helmet. I think that it shows a but more personality with the character since we can see his face, but is not near as menacing as it could be if a helmet was attached. I ended up adding the tree to add a serene feel to it since we can see his face. Hopefully I will draw some more samurai-genre artwork when time permits.

It’s easy to compare comic book art with old Japanese art since both mediums use similar line work/brushwork techniques. It’s neat how something can be so detailed yet so uncluttered at the same time (I am referring to original Japanese artwork, not mine, lol).

J out.

Pocket Full Of...

2005-09-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

Currently I am working on a double-page spread for issue 3 of Sundown. When I first read the script, I was thinking to myself, “Holy guacamole, I am soooo screwed!” I have to admit, I was a tad apprehensive right up to when I started on it, but then something weird happened…I totally relaxed and so far IMHO it is looking like the best page(s) of the series (on my end at least).

My mind tends to wander when I am “in the zone” on a page, and all sorts of things bounce around the ol’ noggin. One of them was the fact that I had never attempted to draw the Man of Steel. Yeah, yeah, I know…you’re thinking, “WhaddayameanyouhaventdrawnSuperman?!?” Pretty sad, actually, lol

Anyhoo here is my feeble attempt at taking a stab at the last son of Krypton. I initially wanted to go for the “classic” look, thus the HUGE symbol on his chest a la John Byrne. It also had hardly any rendering and shadows done to it since it was, after all, just a sketch to say I’ve drawn Supes, but once I threw the first spot of black on the leg I was screwed, lol.

The ironic thing is that it took me three times as long to throw down the colors (a little over an hour) as it did the actual artwork…I guess you can now add the mouse as well as the sword in terms of falling prey to the pen. At least in my case =)

J out.

Antagonize Me

2005-09-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

So I’ll bet you’re all wondering…just who ARE the antagonists in Sundown: Arizona?!? Here’s a sneak peak at a shot from issue 3 of one of the many, many “bad guys” in the book. The main villain will be revealed at the end of issue 2, and when you find out who it is, there ain’t no way you won’t be picking up the final issue! Darn tootin’!

J out.

n1

2005-09-13T09:38:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned previously in another post, I’ve been warming up less and less before approaching a page due to time constraints. However, when I do stretch the old art muscles it’s typically been in the form of throwing down some pencils then following up with some quick inks the next night in order for me to have something worth keeping in the sketchpad. I guess I’m weird in the sense that I feel as though if a piece in my sketchbook isn’t inked then it’s not “keepable”. This is probably due to the fact that I am inking my own work and am not used to seeing it “unfinished” so to speak.

I had the idea for Nissa’s “arrow” pants and I thought they would look cooler on a chick than on a dude. I also want to incorporate some kind of sleek, non-abrasive (lol), samurai battle armor for her to wear when she’s decked out for a fight. Gotta have protection!

See post below for additional screw-ups on this character.

J out.

n2

2005-09-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

This sketch started out as an outline of Nissa’s body that I was planning on adding the “sleek samurai battle armor” to, but when I began to throw down the tech pens to the rough sketch I completely forgot about the armor! Ah well, I guess it warrants another drawing of this femme fatale!

I initially wanted to lay an ink wash over the finished “armor” piece to create some depth in terms of the raised portions of the armor, but since I dropped the ball on that one I decided to add some depth with the pencil. I went back and applied the same method to the above sketch as well. I suppose you could call it a “poor man’s wash” lol

J out.

Clay

2005-09-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

For Sundown I am leaning more towards a less refined and craggier look. The above pic is of one of the main characters, Clay, the town sheriff and all-around bad boy. It’s up to him to make the important decisions, and as we learned in issue 1 there is more to him than even his brother realized.

Jay has done an excellent job with character development, and the individuals presented in this book have personalities that really shine through. Unfortunately it has taken me until issue 3 to feel comfortable enough to say that I've caught my stride with them - and this is the final issue in the miniseries, lol.

For another great example of awesome character development, check out High Roads...every character brings something unique to the table be it dialogue, mannerisms, or simply the contrast in looks to other characters in the book. That WS creative team did a heckuva job on that title - action, intrigue, humor, you name it, this book has got it! Sure, I may be partial to my man Gerry Alanguilan, but all personal favs aside, it really is a wonderful book. And I can't mention his name without giving him (yet another) plug, Silent Dragon. Three words: Buy. It. Now.

Perhaps I will “spotlight” the other main characters in a later post.

J out.

100!!

2005-09-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Been holding onto this sketch for a while with the intent of posting it on my 100th entry. It’s hard to believe that I’ve actually had that much to say, but then again, those that know me are well aware of my uncanny ability to ramble, lol

I originally intended on this being an exercise in foreshortening, but like most “exercises” I have in my sketchbook they end up being drawings of various heroes. So, Ms. Marvel, here’s to you and the wonderful assets you bring to a fight.

J out.

Revving Up for Exposure

2005-09-02T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to the latest INTERVIEW.

J out.

Settling In

2005-08-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

I definitely had an action-packed weekend! We are settling into our new house nicely, and my oldest son (will be 2 in September) has taken to it rather well =)

I managed to get the essentials of my office set up last night with plans to start hitting the drawing board tonight. After the weekend’s move and about 600 lbs of comics my arms didn’t quite feel like holding a pencil, at least not confidently, lol

Thankfully, the weather held out long enough so that nothing got wet (Google: Hurricane Katrina) in the process. We aren’t in any danger since we live in the Northeast corner of the boot state, but rain is inevitable.

Oh ya, the above sketch is really old, but it’s the only thing I had on my pc that hasn’t been shown before…I’ve been procrastinating in regards to scanning any newer stuff, and I need to get some more things onto the pc (I have the “conclusion” of the warm-up sessions a.k.a. El Patron collecting dust in my sketchbook).

J out.

See Ya Later

2005-08-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

We are moving houses this weekend, and I’ve been packing things from my office throughout the week. I had been meaning to take some shots of my “studio” prior to the packing but completely forgot so what you see here is a stripped-down version of my work space, complete with about 8 boxes of miscellaneous stuff in the middle of the floor (which I tried to conceal as best I could). The office measures approx. 10’x15’ which I find pretty ironic due to what I spend most of my time doing in there (those of you who are comic artists will get it) although for some reason in these shots it looks tiny, lol.

The cool thing about my comic collection other than a couple of short stacks of newer issues they are already “packed” in boxes for ease of transport =)

Pictured here in my makeshift panorama is my entertainment center (sans entertainment, lol), road bike, mountain bike, art table, tools of the trade (in two separate containers w/three drawers each – which you cannot see because of the angle :P), pc, and the entry/exit into/out of the office. I haven’t managed to take down my Jim Lee posters yet as they will be the last thing to leave the old office and the first thing to be set up in my new one…gotta have some inspiration from somewhere =)

I added the sepia toning to the pic because it gives it that “so long, old friend” feel, lol.

This shot was taken @ 2:36 a.m. this morning after I decided that the pencils I layed down were adequate enough to constitute going to bed. It’s going to be a long weekend…

J out.

My First Time

2005-08-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of nostalgia (and Dadicus’s most recent blog entry) here is a shot of the first ever comic book I ever owned – and I didn’t even purchase it myself.

The year was 1989. It was a typical Saturday afternoon and my family and I was visiting the local mall as we always did on Saturdays. My aunt was with us that weekend from out of town (not sure of the occasion), and as she and I were en route to meet my parents at the food court we (at my request) passed through CardCo, the tiny kiosk that housed comics, baseball cards, and (in a few months) boxes of Batman™ cards from the original movie ::drool::

As I was looking at the new releases rack, she said she would buy me a comic book, but nothing over 75 cents. As I scanned the rack for something that fell into that price range my eyes fell on “Solo Avengers Starring Hawkeye #14”, a must have for any serious collector, lol. I distinctly remember picking it up never realizing that I would someday try to emulate the things that my eyes were seeing.

I wish I could say that I had been hooked and spent all of my allowance on comics from then on, but it wasn’t until around the time of Jim Lee’s X-Men that I truly started taking the idea of comics “seriously.” Like Dadicus, it was the 7th grade, and I met another who shared the same passion…but that is another post altogether and I am working on getting the newspaper clipping from that story as we speak =)

Quick stats on the aforementioned comic:
Solo Avengers #14
Cover Date: January 1989
Writer(s): Tom DeFalco; Chris Claremont
Artist(s): Al Milgrom; Alan Davis
Inker(s): Jose Marzan; Joe Rubinstein
Colorist(s): Janet Jackson; Paul Becton
Letterer(s): Jack Morelli; Tom Orzechowski
Story Title(s): When the Widow Calls; Court Costs
Appearances By: Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Black Widow; She-Hulk, Titania

Alas, it now sports a nice tear on the cover thanks to my younger brother, lol.

J out.

Sundown

2005-08-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned prior to this posting, Sundown has been a stretch for me artistically in that I have jumped head-first into very unfamiliar territory. Here I was thinking that I would specialize in the post-modern, high-tech, superhero settings in the comic book realm and I get a story set in 1880 instead =)

Just goes to show that expecting the unexpected is always a good adage to live by.

This is a panel from Sundown: Arizona issue 2. Here we find one of our main characters (along with a group of others) plunging deep into the heart of one of Sobrante’s mineshafts with nothing but a torch, a pistol, and his wits. The reason for all of this? You’ll just have to pick up issue 2 to find out! I would have posted a shot with the colors and lettering, but I wanted to give a “behind the scenes” type of image as you will be able to check out all of the cool effects, etc when the book comes out this September.

I may post up some images of another of the main characters, Clay (the roughneck sheriff and brother to the guy in the above panel) some other time. I must add that Jay did a really nice job with coming up with the different characters and giving them their own voice =) I only hope that my artwork will add that extra dimension to the story.

J out.

Hospital Woes

2005-08-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, was spent at the hospital due to my wife and mine’s decision not to have any more children – snip, snip, lol. Needless to say, I brought my sketchbook with me and got quite a bit of tinkering accomplished as the doctor was performing surgery on my wife. I was this close (holds finger and thumb approx. 1/8 inch apart) to lugging the latest page of Sundown up to the room with me to work on, but decided against it since my wife was priority number one, and I should probably see to it that she was comfortable, not me =)

Anyway, I found myself revisiting some of my favorite characters and came up with a couple of sketches of the Venger (yes I am THAT egotistical to say that he is one of my favorite characters of all time, lol). I ended up drawing a total of three Vengers, Psylocke, a random superhero, and …Chuck Norris?!? Not too shabby for a few hours of waiting.

I took off the rest of the week to cater to my wife and watch the young’ens. I did, however, get to work on Sundown a little =)

J out.

Getting iNTiMATE

2005-08-08T08:12:00.000-07:00

One of my fav books right now is the Intimates (even tho my excitement has dwindled a bit since Cammo left). At last year’s Wizard World Texas DC did a panel showcasing the book, and I picked up a couple of “exclusive variant covers” of issue 1 (complete w/Jim and Cammo’s sig). This title is as close to manga as I’ll get to, and in a way it’s sort of like the American version of the ever-so-popular Japanese style of comics.

On another note, all’s I got left are the inks to page 24 and issue #2 of Sundown: Arizona is complete on my end! The vacation I took last week was a much needed one, and I managed to get seven pages completed in a span of four days – whew! But its onto issue 3 now…=)

J out.

Video Killed the...Comic Book Star?

2005-08-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

It seems I missed the boat regarding the Tuesday/Thursday “warm-up sketch sessions” as I cannot seem to remember to bring my sketchbook with me to scan the rest of the pages. Oh well, you are probably sick of seeing El Patron anyway =)

On a brighter note, follow this link to check out a blogger surprise I created using extremely high-tech equipment, lol. When you get to the page, simply download the link (dial-up users beware as it is a whopping 10 mb file!).

The artwork for Issue 2 of Sundown: Arizona is almost complete, and when I get the word from Arcana I plan on posting a couple of images from the book. This book is truly going to put the Western genre (long overdue) back on the map!

I will say this: this has definitely been the most challenging artwork I have ever been a part of, but a definite learning experience. The “hands-on” experience I am desperately trying to grab from this is improvement on my storytelling. It’s amazing how the little things that comic readers take for granted (or don’t even notice!) are often the reasons that certain books contain that specific “feel” to them. For instance, the size of the gutters, even the color of the gutters can affect a story tremendously. With Sundown, the story revolves around suspense. Mix that up with a generous dose of horror, and it’s no wonder that all the gutters tend to end up being black, and it’s amazing the effect it creates.

Hopefully, Sean (Arcana’s President/EIC) will shoot me over some sample colored pages soon to whet your appetite.

In the meantime, go have yourself a nice oatmeal and raisin cookie – they’re the coolest =)

J out.

Warming Up: Part VIII

2005-07-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

Well, suffice to say I have been working pretty hard on Sundown due to the stringent deadlines set before me. On a typical night, I spend anywhere from 6 ½ to 8 hours at the drawing table – and I log in about 20+ hours on weekends. My elbows/forearms are achy, as is my back and neck, lol. But it’s ALL worth it because, hey, yours truly is going to be in the August edition of Previews =)

This warm-up page needs no text/translation because a.) the dude in the foreground is obviously a bad guy and b.) El Patron is about to smash his head with a friggin’ chair.

Have a nice friggin’ day.

J friggin’ out.