Smooth Mr. Mallard

You know how a duck looks pretty chill while he's floating past your canoe, but we all know that he's paddling like a maniac under the surface?

Yeah, I think that's the blog at the moment.

It's been pretty quiet around here but I have two really exciting, totally massive projects on the go, that have guaranteed me a very busy summer. I am excited to share it with you when it's all wrapped up, but in the interest of keeping this ravenous blog fed and content, here is some stuff!

Another Alpha Comics Cover Challenge has come and gone, this one judged by Calgary's Own Scott Kowalchuk, of Batman '66 and Down. Set. Fight! fame. I snagged 3rd place for this one (which I slightly altered from the original.) I'm kicking myself for forgetting some Bat-Sweat Stains. You can see the list of mega talented contributors HERE. Congrats to Anna for another big win. She is kicking some major keester!

Here is a cast of characters I created for my buddy James Davidge's political group 1VoteMatters. It was a lot of fun getting to create these folks, especially Maurice the Moose, because how often do you get to draw such a smooth operator? Casanova with antlers...

My day job is with a company called Icom Productions, and I lucked out into a comic gig for one of our clients, Telus! They needed three comic strips created for a contest where kids submit scripts and characters and get them turned into real comic strips. It was fun working with the kids on these and I was quite pleased with the final results.

I recently did an interview with Beatroute magazine in support of a very cool documentary getting filmed here in Calgary, focusing on the Calgary comics scene. It has been my pleasure to be interviewed, along with my Wolf Hands cohort Justin Heggs, several times by these passionate filmmakers. The details for the film are found in the above link and they could really use your support for funding right now too. Here's the link to do just that:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/issue-no-1-indie-comics-doc#/story

And that's that for now. Hopefully I'll have some more updates for you soon! Until then, paddle on my brothers and sisters.

Paddle.

On.

The Red is My Reward

Another Calgary Expo has come and gone. I am exhausted and thrilled after 4 days of sketching, selling comics, and most importantly, talking with so many fantastic people.

This photo was taken by my pal Nathan. If you're wondering why I'm hiding my hand, it's not because I'm imitating an Imperial officer, I just broke my pinky at Dodgeball last week, and I am hiding my monstrosity of a hand. It was a hell of a conversation starter!

Every sketch I do tends to have some vibrant red/orange colour used on it. It's the part of the drawing I save for last because it's like a reward, candy for my rods and cones. Well that's what the Expo has always been for me. A giant celebration of all the hard work that goes into comicking throughout the year.

This year was special because it was the first time I was invited as a Creator Guest. I am very appreciative and had an amazing time at the booth. The volunteers and staff were super supportive and tons of fun to joke around with all weekend. Really looking forward to next year already!

Now that the souvenir book has been released, I can reveal my art contribution. The original art was donated to the Expo where the pieces were bid on for charity. I was very proud to have been able to contribute to this and thankful that the Expo set it all up.

And without further ado, here are some of my sketches throughout the con. Sorry about the focus issues on some. My phone camera is out of commission so I had to use an ancient artifact known simply as a "digital camera". It is 5 megapixels and apparently can't focus, haha!

The Goddam Batman

Cato

Ultron vs. Deadpool

I think this one's my favourite. I forgot how much fun it is to draw Spiderman!

Betty and Veronica formed a new band called Who Needs Archie?

Black Panther

Jawas, oon-tee-hee!

Joker. On the Batgirl cover... I'm not trying to start shit, I swear.

Finally, I was lucky enough to be a part of some great promotional interviews throughout the convention. Here is a snippet from an interview on Trending at Shaw. It was tons of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD3cLAS5Bzk

And here is a rather loud interview with me and Justin by my pal Chris Doucher of GNN. His interviews are a ridiculous amount of candid fun, and this one includes beers so... be warned! It really shows off the social spirit of the community during a con which makes the experience so damn special.

http://www.geeknerdnet.com/blog/2015/4/19/calgary-expo-2015-wolf-hands-2-nick-justing-talk-season-2-over-beers-many-beers

That's all for now! Time to recharge the batteries and dive head first into the next exciting projects!

Dash, Bradbury!

Adorable Little Dreamer Boy:

Daddy, where do comic pitches go when they die?

Eternally Patient, Enabling Father:

An idea never dies, son. 

It just bounces around the void until it finds the perfect home.

Well, that's the scenario that plays out in my head anyway.

I mentioned Dash Bradbury! a bunch of times throughout the blog. It is a pitch I created with the uber-talented writing team of Tim Daniel and Jesse Young, with some fantastic letters by Thomas Mauer. Unfortunately, the pitch did not find a home. The silver lining being that I can now show you a year's worth of hard work making some seriously fun comic pages.

And who knows, if enough people see the pitch online and enjoy it, Dash may yet have his day.

Enjoy!

The Calgary Expo is just a week away, so if you happen to be there, be sure to visit me at table E12, where I'll be sketching, chatting, hamming it up and belting out tunes, as per usual. And with a little luck, signing issues of Wolf hands : Season 2! God speed USPS. God speed.

The Perfect Gig-Storm!

Warm air from a low pressure pinup system + a flow of cool, dry air generated by high pressure deadlines + tropical moisture provided by Hurricane Wolf Hands = the Perfect Gig-Storm!

That is my heavily researched (Wikipedia) metaphor for what the month of March has been like thus far, with a bunch of projects popping up, in addition to moving to a new place and getting Wolf Hands out on a regular schedule. Yep, it's been busy, and when you're in a tiny-ass boat getting tossed around by giant-ass waves, things get a little scary.

Why am I trying so damn hard to get you to visualize pictures in your mind box? This is an art blog. It's time to show off the fruits of my labor using actual pictures.

Big news: For the first time ever, I am a Creator Guest for the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. As such, I wanted to be sure that I submitted something for the Souvenir Art Book this year. Since they don't want us revealing the image till it is printed, I have provided a snippet.

To tease and to tantalize.

It may or may not get picked for the book, but hey, there's a dinosaur on it, how could they say NO?

Had a few days to put this album cover together for my old pals of Puttin' On the Foil, an Okotoks band that is gaining quite a bit of popularity due to their drunken shenanigans and high energy tunes. I did their initial mascot drawing a few years ago, which you can see on their website.

They're always fun to watch and I really wanted to infuse this piece with the same energy they display on stage. This image is coloured slightly different from the one I passed on to them for the cover but I like it for the hot-hot colours and Mad Max vibe.

Seeing as how my sketch book is filled with lumbering naked, pudgy old men, doing a pinup for Steven Rosia's Muskoka comic was a no-brainer. He's been kicking all kinds of ass on his Kickstarter and from what I read in the preview, this book has some serious horror legs to stand on. Twas a pleasure to be a part of the campaign.

Did someone say "Legend?!?"

Huh? No? Oh, sorry...

Well, let's talk Legends anyway! Damian Wilcox, of Dorkboy fame, has been independently producing comics for 20 years now. He is a staple of the indie comics community in Calgary and was one of the earliest influences on my comic career. Since he is celebrating the anniversary with a collection of his work, I just had to provide a pinup. I nearly didn't make it in time, but I snuck this piece in based on one of the first Dorkboy comics I read, issue 5.5. Still a classic.

And of course the Alpha Comics Cover Challenge is still going strong. They really build up the artistic community  and its always a pleasure to visit the store, lay down some lines and joke around with everyone. I ended up getting second place for the Batgirl cover, special thanks to Judge Cameron Stewart. The jury (Chip Zdarsky) is still out on the Howard the Duck one.

And last but not least, i did some more concept work for music video director Doug Cook. I did a few different pieces but I really like this simple sketch of a band playing it up for/in spite of the prying eyes of Big Brother.

Now I shall get back to inking the remanants of Wolf Hands, as the Expo is ready to rear it's ugly (no, I mean, majestic and awe-inspiring) head, and there is much work left to be done.

Once more into the breach, my friends. 

Once.

Friggin'.

More.

:)