Yesterday IMAGE released their solicitation information on COMICBOOKRESOURCES.COM for books shipping in May– and the TELLOS COLOSSAL HARDCOVER is included in those solicits. The book will be in a similar over-sized format as the regular INVINCIBLE and WALKING DEAD HC editions (not the OMNIBUS editions). The TELLOS HC is slated to be 288 pages of material with all 10 of the original series issues as well as the two 10-page stories from the PROLOGUE and PRELUDE specials and the 5-page story that appeared in the back of SECTION ZERO #1 from the old GORILLA COMICS line. The remaining pages will be made up of sketch material that I’ve accumulated over the years– both from before and during the original series publication as well as after. I never could stop sketching those characters, even after I moved back to freelancing– as those of you who are regular visitors here will know.

The artwork accompanying the solicits on CBR is kind of small, so I thought I’d give you a bigger view of the cover piece here. Paul tells me that these are just preliminary colors and that he’ll be doing some tweaking in places.

Be sure to ask your retailer to order you a copy!

Have a great weekend, all.

This is Entry 340.

Mike

In honor of VALENTINE’S DAY, I drew today’s romance tinged sketch of SERRA and HAWKE from TELLOS. For those of you who have a significant other, I hope that today is a wonderfully romantic and love filled day. My first instinct for this sketch was to highlight the slightly adversarial relationship that SERRA and HAWKE had in the first TELLOS series. For those of you who might not have read it, there was a secretive side to HAWKE that frustrated and angered SERRA at every turn. I’m not going to spoil that secret in case you might want to pick up the hardcover coming out this summer (hint, hint)– but SERRA always felt that there couldn’t be the trust she needed between them with HAWKE holding back as he was. Ultimately, though, I decided to soften her a bit and go for a more loving feeling. The relationship between these two was one of my favorite undercurrents to the TELLOS series. It really made them real for me.

OK… have a great day, all.

This is Entry 339.

Mike

I’m in the home stretch of finishing the first issue of SPIDER-MAN/FANTASTIC FOUR with only 2 pages to go. Once again, this morning’s sketching has primed the pump… but nothing worth showing has resulted, so I thought I’d go into my binder full of copies of odds and ends that many of you might not have seen. This first piece is something I did for a HERO INITIATIVE (formerly A.C.T.O.R.) auction held down at MEGACON several years back. I think it was while CROSSGEN was still in existance– and while Mark Waid was there working for them. I mention that because, if memory serves, Mark bid on and won this piece. It’s interesting to look back on work from even an handful of years ago and notice how things have changed in my drawing in that time. At this point, my work was a bit more…. bloopy… I guess you could say– much rounder and softer. I was also drawing the feet on my characters much bigger and balloon-like as well.

This second piece is a pencil page I did for an issue of IRON MAN a couple of years ago (I don’t remember how many, exactly). I think the premise was that Tony Stark was having a series of fevered dreams that thrust him into different bizarre situations. The editor at the time asked me if I’d be into drawing Tony in an ALICE IN WONDERLAND setting. It’s not often that one gets asked to draw a studly male hero from a comic book in a dress and in such a fun and odd landscape– so it was a natural that I’d say yes. It was indeed a lot of fun to do.

OK… hopefully I’ll have something original to post on Wednesday.

This is Entry 338.

Mike

I am a HUGE Art Adams fan. I have been from the very first thing I saw from him. I remember seeing the cover to that first issue of LONGSHOT, which was Art’s first big project. It was like a shock of ice cold water hitting me… his work just stood out immediately from everything else on the rack. It was love at first sight. The most amazing thing about Art’s work is that LONGSHOT was just the beginning… his work just skyrocketed and grew from there until he has become one of the most distinctive and recognizable visual voices in the comics medium. I will buy anything that Art works on… whether I’m into the story or not. I just can’t get enough of his artwork.

My FAVORITE Art Adams subject matter is his creator-owned comic MONKEYMAN AND O’BRIEN. It’s obvious that Art is a big Kirby fan, because MaO is filled with the kind of concepts and designs that would have made Kirby proud. The book is packed with so much fun and adventure–and the story and dialogue is as strong and interesting as the visuals. It turns out that not only is Art Adams a brilliant artist, but he’s a great writer as well. MONKEYMAN AND O’BRIEN is the kind of book that I could give to anyone as an example of the pinnacle of what adventure comics can be. It’s the kind of title that has wide appeal for every age group. It felt to me that like Mike Mignola’s HELLBOY, Art’s book was filled with everything that was close to his heart in the comics medium. It’s a thrill to read something that’s so obviously from that special corner of a creator’s imagination– that concept that’s just infused with everything they love. That’s why I’ve been so disappointed for such a long time that Art did so little with the book. Beyond his first miniseries with the now defunct LEGENDS imprint at DARK HORSE COMICS, a few short stories and a crossover mini with the GEN 13 characters, there’s been nothing else. I’ve always wondered why he never continued with MONKEYMAN AND O’BRIEN, because I’m sure it must have done well, sales-wise. I’ve seen Art at a couple of shows over the years, but I’ve never wanted to ask him, because I’m sure he gets asked about the book all the time, and he might be tired of answering.

But I sure miss it. It’s a gem.

OK… have a great weekend, all.

This is Entry 337.

Mike

There are times when I seriously consider ending this blog… and today is one of those times. It’s almost 10:30 AM and I haven’t even started working on today’s page because I’ve been struggling to draw something… ANYTHING… that’s worth putting up here to show. I’m now warmed up enough to start drawing for then next SPIDER-MAN/FF page, but I don’t have anything to show blog-wise. It’s all scribbles and scratches.

I just don’t have the time to devote to it anymore today…. so I’ll just have to go wtihout posting anything. My apologies… but the pressure of the SM/FF deadlines are really just starting to get to me.

Hopefully I’ll have something for you Friday.

*UPDATED– I forgot that I had a scan of a WATCHER sketch I did for Jim Demonakos. Jim was the Marketing Director for IMAGE COMICS for a while– and he also runs the EMERALD CITY COMICON– which from everything I’ve heard is a wonderful show. So… thanks, Jim, for sending me a scan of the piece.

Mike