Some times my morning warmup sketches don’t yield much, content-wise. Take this morning, for instance… couldn’t really think of anything that interested me. And any attempt to sketch out characters for one or two of those ideas that are always floating around in my noggin for stories and comics I’ve been mulling just weren’t happening to my satisfaction. Sure, it loosened me up– greased the old creative wheels enough to get started working… but I just don’t feel like posting the half-hearted results here to show. So instead, I went rummaging through some of the many stacks of old art pages and miscellanea that I have laying around the studio and pulled out a couple of old pages to post.

These two pages are from a set of 4 I did as part of a proposal to the CAPCOM folks many years back for a comic book series featuring their characters. There was a local fellow — a very enterprising young guy– who had gotten contact information for the CAPCOM licensing folks, and had called them up to see if they’d be willing to entertain the idea of a STREET FIGHTER comic book (keep in mind, this was LONG before the UNDON folks started doing their books with the SF characters). They were, indeed, open to looking at such a proposal. This guy had an artist– who had a manga style– that he was working with, but the artist was highly unreliable, and when it came to ‘go time’, he hadn’t done any acceptable samples. So I stepped in and worked up some for this fella– and I did the 4 pages in 2 days– over a weekend. I inked the first two myself– the ones I’ve posted here– and the second two were inked by Rick Ketcham. Perhaps I’ll post those two on Monday. But despite the fact that the characters aren’t really spot-on style guide-wise… I was still pretty happy with the way the pages turned out, especially having been done at such a fast pace. Of course, the project fell through… but it was still interesting for me to try to produce that much material in such a short time. I kind of like the rough quality to the inks. Not a lot of background elements… but some times I think it would be fun to work in this manner all the time…. not worry about being so ‘precious’ with the work.

It was an interesting experience.

OK… that’s it for today.

This is Entry 325.

Mike

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Thanks to everyone for the well-wishes about the thumb. It’s actually doing better. I guess I’m a petty fast healer…. it’s still sore, but it’s not stopping me from drawing, thankfully. I have to hold the pencil a bit funny, and I occasionally wince when I accidently hit it on a table or something… but all’s well.

I thought I’d also post this sketch I did Monday. I think I’ve said in the past that I have a difficult time drawing even ancillary characters in the comics work I do without planning out what they look like in advance. If they’re going to be in more than one panel, I usually have to sketch them out to get a ‘feel’ for them to help me to draw the page(s). I’m incredibly envious of guys like Erik Larsen, who has said on more than one occasion that he tends to just design on the fly while drawing his pages– even characters that become major players in his stories. Anyway, these guys appear at the beginning of the first issue of the new project I’m working on now… so I thought I’d post the sketch I did for their design here.

OK… that’s it for another Wednesday. Have a great day.

This is Entry 324.

Mike

Today’s sketch is one that I drew quite a while ago… but have never posted here. I have been trying to hold back at least a FEW sketches that I could add to an “ART OF” book some day that I could tout as ‘never before seen’. But circumstances have forced my hand, no pun intended.

I usually use the microwave for almost all my hot meals. I’ll heat up frozen dinners just to save time. Drawing comics keeps me so busy that I don’t have much time for home cooking. But I DO enjoy cooking… and I like to, once in a while, make myself a nice self-prepared meal on my stove. Saturday, I went out and bought a bunch of great stuff to make myself a tofu stir-fry for lunch, and I bought a brand new– very sharp– kitchen knife to cut up the ingredients. Well, while swiping some chopped ‘schmutz’ off the blade with my right hand, I cut my thumb rather badly. I immediately knew this was a bad thing…. this is my drawing hand. I bled all day Saturday. I soaked through an entire box of gauze and band aids. I even had to put my hand in a plastic bag secured with a rubber band Saturday night so I wouldn’t bleed on my bed sheets. Either the bag came off or I TOOK it off while I was sleeping– and so… nice blood stained sheets. The bleeding FINALLY slowed down Sunday afternoon… and this picture (which I’ve intentionally kept rather small because it’s just so gross… sorry) was taken during one of my seemingly infinite bandage changes. And so…. with my thumb hurting like hell, I’ve got to try to get to work– and so my warm-ups will be of character designs and not something to post here. Hopefully by Wednesday, things will be closer to being back to normal.

As an added bonus for today– I wanted to let everyone know that I’ve signed up for a DEVIANTART gallery. So many folks have asked me about an archive of past sketches I’ve posted here on the blog– ones they may have missed. Well, there’s over 100 sketches and such in the gallery there– so go and browse as much as you’d like. I’ll be adding to it regularly– and I’ll repost the link probably every new post I do from here on out to keep reminding folks.

OK… it’s time to try to see if I can draw with a throbbing, bandaged thumb…..

This is Entry 323.

Mike

I went to see ROCKY BALBOA this past Saturday.

I’m a huge ROCKY fan. I grew into adult-hood going to see the ROCKY films in the theaters with the same enthusiasm and adoration that STAR WARS fans have for their favorite franchise. For a comic book fan who reveled in adolescent power fantasies on a weekly basis in his choice of reading material (comic books, of course), the ROCKY movies were a celluloid embodiment of those fantasies that substituted boxing for superheroes in spandex. I was already a boxing fan as well, having thrilled at the epic battles between Muhammad Ali and foes like Joe Frazier, George Forman and Ken Norton. So the ROCKY movies were a huge draw for me– and the colorful characters that populated the films like Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago– as well as Rocky’s trainer Mickey, his loving wife Adrian and her frustrating brother Paulie….. they were all terrific. Many people consider the franchise to be cheezy… but I think that’s because the movies became victims of their own success and became very over-the-top in their presentation by the time ROCKY IV hit. But at the core of the character, though every film, was a kind-hearted man who was trying his best to overcome incredible odds to reach personal goals and be the best he could be at his chosen profession– and as a person.

Like many ROCKY fans, I was very, very disappointed in the fifth installment of the film franchise. I thought that the fifth film had lost the heart of what made the previous movies so much fun and connected with me on a visceral level. That’s why I was so happy to hear that Sylvester Stallone was going to create another film– titled ROCKY BALBOA– that would put a cap on the ROCKY character…. that would end the franchise on a high note. And Stallone certainly accomplished that in my eyes. The original ROCKY film was an amazing accomplishment– it won 3 academy awards and had an terrific story with very powerful acting. ROCKY BALBOA hearkens back to that film in so many ways. The story is very touching. It’s filled with both sadness and humor– and the tale of a man who is trying to understand where he is in life as a long-retired boxer well past his prime. One of the things that always appealed to me about the ROCKY character is that he was on a journey– experiencing so many highs as well as lows in the various films. His was a character you could connect with during his many struggles. And ROCKY BALBOA is a wonderful look at a man much later in life, dealing with the loss of friends and loved ones, and coming to terms with his place in the world and in his own mind.

I’ve purposely not said much about the actual events in the movie, because I didn’t want to spoil anything for any of you who might want to see this film but haven’t had the chance yet. I can say, though, that it’s a great movie and a wonderful ending to a franchise that featured a character that has become a cultural icon of our society. The vignettes as the final credits roll in this last movie of ROCKY fans rejoicing at the top of the stairs in Philadelphia where Rock ended his training run in the first film are both humorous and very touching. ROCKY BALBOA is the end of a series of movies that have left an indelible imprint on our cultural zeitgeist. The images, the music, the dialogue…. as much as any other character in American cinema, ROCKY is larger than life– and yet so human to the core.

I’m so happy that Stallone made this movie.

Have a great weekend, all.

This is Entry 322.

Mike