Blitz: The League II Trailer

The trailer for Blitz: The League II is now online in HD. The game comes out from Midway at the end of September. I got to storyboard the trailer and a lot of the cinematics for the actual game. The animators at Midway went all out in bringing it to life. It's going to be kick-ass (if I do say so my own self)!

The First Five

Whew, that was fast! The Marvel Masterpiece Artist Proof cards sold out in less than two days! If you still want a sketch card commission, you can get on the list for the Series 2 Artist Proof cards which I should be getting soon from Upper Deck. I can also do plain old sketch cards as well if you want one of those. Email me for details at aaronsowd@mac.com. The Marvel Masterpiece Artist Proof cards are very limited, they only give 10 to each artist. Here's the first five of my commissions:

Thor for Thorsten in Germany!A recreation of Uncanny X-Men #141 for Kevin in California. I grew up on Byrne/Austin X-Men, so this was fun. Hard to fit all that detail on a tiny card, though!
A double shot of Wolverin and the Hulk for Billy who is stationed in Iraq. Hope you like them. Come home safe and sound and soon!
And a recreation of my recreation of Hulk #1 by Jack "King" Kirby for Paul in Maine. That's a lot of recreational recreation. OK, I'll shut up and get back to drawing now...

We'll Miss You Michael

I just heard Michael Turner died last night. He was only 37. CBR reported that Mike passed away Friday night at 10:42 Pacific Time at Santa Monica Hospital in Calfornia after a long battle with cancer. The only thing that cheers me up is I know Mike lived more in those 37 years than most people do in 73 years. Ever since the first day he walked into Top Cow as Marc Silvestri's background assistant, we all knew he was destined for big things. Needless to say, that only lasted an issue or so, and Mike was soon off penciling books on his own, then co-writing and co-creating Witchblade and onto super stardom, going beyond Top Cow and creating his own company, Aspen Comics. All this before the age of 37. It's like he knew exactly what he wanted to do and made sure he had time to do it all. Mike always had a smile, a joke and contagious energy. He was so enthusiastic in everything he did, just tackled it head on. Even when he got sick, we all thought if anyone can beat it, Mike could. After all, he had overcome every other obstacle in his path with ease. We'll miss you, Mike. Thanks for the friendship and inspiration. Your time with us was too short, but you made it to heights most people only dream of.
UPDATE: I found this photo of the Top Cow gang from our first big signing at Golden Apple. Must be circa 1996 0r 1997. From left to right, the back row is boy wonder and editor Tim Hernandez, J.D. Smith and Nathan Cabrera. The front row Peter Steigerwald, Duy "D-Tron" Tron, Michael Turner, Brandon Peterson and Matt "Batt" Banning. I'm not in it because I took the photo! Damn, we look young! Those were good times. We'll miss you, Michael.

Accepting Commissions

OK, I usually don't have time to do commissions, but Upper Deck was nice enough to send me 10 Artist Proof cards (see above) for just that purpose. So what the heck, it'll be fun. But I only have 10 cards, so first come, first serve. Email me at aaronsowd@mac.com with your request. There's also a few rules I have to follow (see below) before emailing me. Thanks!

IMPORTANT NOTE on the AP (Artist Proof) cards- they must be scanned and sent in for approval before sale. They have both the Marvel and Upper Deck logo on them, and are considered licensed material. So the same rules as to what can be drawn on the regular sketch cards will apply to the artist proof cards. The last date these cards can be sent in for approval is November 20th. If for some reason your requested sketch is not approved, I will refund your money in full.

Rules* for the cards :
NO Nazi symbology (this includes Iron Crosses, Iron Eagles, swastikas, etc.)
NO zombie iterations of any Marvel character
NO nudity
NO gore or over the top violence
NO licensed characters (Rom, G.I. Joe, Transformers, or any other licensed property)
NO shots of any Marvel character smoking
*Marvel's, not mine!

Hulk Cover/Kirby Tribute

The Hero Initiative is putting together The Ultimate 100 Hulk #1 Cover Project. They picked 100 of the best comic book artists like Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Todd McFarlene, Dale Keown, Jae Lee, Bill Morrison, Joe Benitez, George Tuska, Bob McLeod, Sean Phillips and many more (yeah, I don't know how I got on that list, either!). Each artist did an original, one of a kind sketch in pencil, ink and marker (or some variation thereof!) on a blank variant sketch cover of Hulk #1. I think only 100 variant covers were printed especially for The Hero Initiative. A rare collectible if you can get one! They will be actioning them off a few at a time at comic conventions and on ebay. I'll try to post a link when mine goes up for auction. Please bid if you can, it's for a great cause! You can see a bunch of them on Marvel's site.

The Hero Initiative (Formerly known as A.C.T.O.R., A Commitment To Our Roots) has had the good fortune to grant over $200,000 to the comic book veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today. They are a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to helping comic book creators in need of emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

I decided to go old school with my sketch, I love the original gray Jack Kirby Hulk most of all. He was huge and more of a creepy Frankenstein's monster than a straight-up super hero. I went back and looked at Kirby's original cover and decided a homage to The King was in order!

Thanks to Jim McLauchlin for getting me involved! It was a blast!

Woo-Hoo! The Simpsons Ride Opens Today!

Woo-hoo! The Simpsons Ride opens today at Universal Studios Hollywood! I think the one in Florida has already opened! I got to storyboard this amazing motion simulator ride. It was one of the funnest animation projects I've worked on to date, and a dream job to draw The Simpsons! If you live in California or Florida, go, go, go! It's going to be some much fun!

More Marvel Masterpieces Series 2 Sketch Cards

If you can't tell by this batch of sketch cards, I grew up on the classic Chris Claremont & John Byrne X-Men. I still love looking back over that run. Amazing stuff! Wait, how did Iron Man get in there? I just saw the movie and I loved it so it must have been on my mind. I sketched these out really quick in water color and ink. Tried to keep them loose and sketchy, but I always ruin it in the inking. Must sketch more!

This is post #100! Whoo-hoo!

Marvel Masterpieces Series 2 Sketch Cards

Wildfire

I dunno why, but Wildfire was always my favorite member of the Legion of Superheroes. I just liked the way he looked when I was a little kid, I guess. Timber Wolf was cool, too. And Cosmic Boy just plain sucked. Tough to look butch in pink tights!

This was a quick sketch for the San Diego Comic Con souvenir book, I inked it up just for fun! Every year CAPS does a jam piece and this year we picked the 50th anniversary of the Legion of Superheroes. Wow, 50 years? Isn't the 30th century here yet? I want my Legion flight ring already!

Woman's Work

I just wrapped up work on a great little independent movie called Woman's Work, directed by Chad Benton. It's a short film about a housewife who accidentally discovers she is a superhero, and how she balances the life of a superhero with being a mother and a wife. It was a ton of fun! It should soon be making the film festival circuit and hopefully showing at San Diego Comic Con this year! You can find out more on the movie website here.

Loss of Inspiration: Dave Stevens

It's been almost a month since I heard Dave Stevens died, and it still hasn't quite sunken in. Dave was one of the nicest and most talented artists I've had the pleasure of meeting. I didn't even know he had Leukemia. He was only 52. He always seemed happy and healthy. I didn't know Dave that well, but we took a painting class at Associates in Art together. I was shocked to see Dave in a class he easily could have been teaching! He was always learning and looking to take his talent even further which is a hallmark of a great artist. His paintings where gorgeous. After an hour or two, he would have what to my eyes was a finished masterpiece and I had barely finished my lay-in! We always talked at conventions whenever we saw each other. Dave was always inspiring and encouraging. I'm really going to miss that. I'll treasure his art always.

His webmaster offers a great suggestion that I hope you will consider:
For anyone attending the San Diego Comic Con this year, please wear a Rocketeer shirt or pin as a way of remembering Dave at the Con. You don't have to say anything, or do anything, just represent Dave's memory with an image of his best-known creation.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs

This is pretty cool, I didn't even know it existed until it showed up in a box on my doorstep. A whole box full of them, actually. Thanks to the fine folks at DC for thinking of me. I've worked in comics off and on since I was 18 and I think this is the first time I've had any of my work collected into hardcover form!* Lots of trade paperbacks and softcover reprints, even prestige format, but never bookshelf quality hardcover! Sweet! They even put my name on the cover! Which is rare, since inkers in comics hardly get any press unless it's being the butt of a joke in a Kevin Smith movie! Rodney Dangerfield got more respect than inkers! So this was a big deal! If you want your own copy, you can buy it here.

The sad thing is that I can't look at the Joker now without thinking of Heath Ledger. That's a real shame.

Heralds of Galactus Cards

Last year I did a few of the Heralds of Galactus cards for Upper Deck's VS card game. Fun stuff! I hardly ever get to see the finished cards, but I found a few of them online. They turned out great, mostly due to the masterful colors of Dean White. Damn, that boy's good! He even makes me look like I know what I'm doing!

Happy Hulking New Year!

Happy New Year! Hope you're having a great 2008!

Sketch cards are all the rage with the kids these days! They're more popular than POGs! Hmmm... wait, POGs were never popular. But you get the point, sketch cards are big. Fun to do, too! Unlike a full sized commission which can get put on the back burner and then back up for months and become daunting simply because of the time involved, you can crank out a little sketch card in an hour or so. I try to put a little more work into them then a con sketch. These were for collector Mike D who has a cool gallery you can see here.

Sometimes they turn out pretty cool. The main thing I have to do is loosen up on my inking! Having been an inker for so long, I immediately gointo inking mode with a pen and try to make lots of pretty lines! I need to knock that off! Sketchy and loose is the way to go! That's my #1 New Year's resolution for 2008: forget everything I know about inking so I can draw better! Resolution #2 is to actually draw better! What's your New Year's resolution for 2008?

Aces: Curse of The Red Baron

Here's a quick pin-up I busted out for my buddy Shannon Denton. His comic book Aces: Curse of The Red Baron is being collected into trade paperback and this will be part of it. Ever since I was a little kid, I loved The Red Baron (mostly due to reading Peanuts) and then there was the song, Snoopy vs The Red Baron, which I would sing ad nauseum and drive my parents nuts! Remember this?

After the turn of the century
In the clear blue skies over Germany
Came a roar and a thunder men had never heard
Like the scream and the sound of a big war bird
Up in the sky, a man in a plane
Baron von Richtofin was his name
Eighty men tried, and eighty men died
Now they're buried together on the countryside

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more
The Bloody Red Baron was rollin' out the score
Eighty men died tryin' to end that spree
Of the Bloody Red Baron of Germany

It's by a band called The Royal Guardsmen. I must have had the record; I'm not sure how else I would have heard it. Takes me back! I had a more ambitious Mike Mignola type layout in mind with more characters and a castle and everything, but I had to get it done in less than a day. I squeezed in a very Mignola-esgue crow, though! Too much work! But it was fun!

Still The Man!

CAPS, the Comic Art Professional Society, held our annual banquet to honor the great Stan Lee last night. Each year, our guest of honor receives the coveted Sergio award. It's a statue based on Sergio Aragonés, legendary artist of MAD Magazine and creator of Groo and one of the founders of CAPS. Bill Morrison and Mark Evanier presided over the ceremony with speeches from Scott Shaw! and Marv Wolfman.


Stan was then presented with a beautiful leather bound book of original drawings from all the artists of CAPS in his honor. Above is my contribution to that book.The event was organized by Stephen Silver who did an amazing job, as well as the cover to the program! Thanks, Stephen! Love you, Stan!

Be Smart, Don't Start!

So why do skunks stink? Because they have a two and a half pack-a-day habit, of course! More unused character designs which went right into the trash and onto my blog! It's the same thing really...

I just post all my stray ideas, throwaway sketches and broken dreams on this blog in hopes that someone will see them, someone will love them, someone will give them a hot meal and a good home.
So please, adopt an unused character design today. Unless you're Ellen Degeneres. They make great pets, they're good with the kids and don't fuss too much if you buy them smokes.
But remember kids: smoking is a filthy, filthy habit. Right up there with heroin by the way society treats it. So be smart, don't start!

Character Design: Puff The Magic Dragon

So where do unused character designs go to die? The web, of course! Here's a few unused character designs for a project that never got used. Poor Puffy. He never had a chance. He's addicted to sweet, sweet nicotine. You see, he's covered in nicotine patches but but he can't stop smoking! Silly dragon! Maybe that's why dragons are extinct. Like the Gary Larson Far Side cartoon about how the dinosaurs really became extinct!

Anyway, they wanted a twisted take on the classic Disney and Warner Bros. cartoons. Cute, but twisted! The bunny with the oxygen tank cracks me up. The juxtaposition of cute and sad is so perfect. I also like the tough guy cupid. He almost has a John Kricfalusi vibe to him. I love John K. He's a genius. I'm a hack. So there!

Wonder Woman Day 2007

Has it been a year already? Last year, Wonder Woman Day raised over $15,000.00 for the two shelters: The Raphael House of Portland Bradley-Angle House. Andy Mangels masterminded the event to be a part of national Domestic Violence Awareness Month. You can bid here. Lots of great original art by Adam Hughes, Jim Lee, Steve Rude and lots more! Even if you're not in the area, you can bid online. It's a really good cause.

WONDER WOMAN DAY II
Sunday, October 28, 2007 -- 2pm-6pm, FREE
Excalibur Comics, 2444 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, Oregon
A part of national Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

SPECIAL GUESTS SIGNING:
Phil Jimenez (Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, Infinite Crisis)
Gail Simone (Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, All-New Atom)

Teaching at Art Center

I'm teaching the Storyboarding for Filmmakers class this semester at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Having never gone to Art Center as a student, I was honored to even be asked and jumped at the opportunity. With past instructors and graduates like Ansel Adams, Ralph McQuarrie, Bob Peak, Drew Struzan, Burne Hogarth, Syd Mead, Michael Bay, Craig Mullins, Ryan Church, Feng Zhu, Scott Robertson, Stan Sakai, Zack Snyder and Michael Whelan to name but a few. Whew! What a list! It reads like a Who's Who of art and film. All guys I've admired and studied their work more often than my own. How they worked their way down to me, I'll never know!

Storyboarding for Filmmakers is Tuesday evenings from 7-10 if anyone is interested.