Today’s sketch post is a page of various sketches for a morning warm up that are of a more cartoony nature. My work is naturally cartoony– but I usually have to struggle day-to-day to pull in the reins on that natural tendency. Or maybe to put it another way– I have to push hard to add as much “realism” into my work on a daily basis to try to keep my work as “mainstream” as I can for working on superhero comics for the majors. But my natural, fall-back tendency is toward really cartoony work. This is just an example of that.

And a couple of folks suggested in yesterday’s comments section that they might like to see some of my drawings from when I was a kid. So– I thought it would be a kick to do that occasionally. Thanks to Brian and JPK for the suggestion. I was (and still am, really) a HUGE Jim Starlin fan when I was a kid– and his work on WARLOCK in particular. His cosmic comics really blew my mind, and he was a big influence on my passions in the realms of comics and writing. So– here’s my “homage” to Jim Starlin from probably around the time I was 14 or so.

See you tomorrow.

Mike

Today’s first sketch is of Sue Storm… better known as THE INVISIBLE WOMAN. It was one of a couple of ink and grey marker sketches I did for Andrew Neal at SECOND FOUNDATION COMICS as sort of “tipped in plates” to be inserted in two FANTASTIC FOUR hardcover editions he was giving away in a drawing (I think for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY). The other one is of THE THING, which I’ll post another day.

The second sketch is one of two that I did for an upcoming cover for Robert Kirkman’s INVINCIBLE comic. I wanted to give him a couple of ideas to choose from, and Robert decided to go with the other sketch I had provided (which will be the cover to INVINCIBLE #16)– but I thought it would be fun to put this one up to show you.

See you here tomorrow.

Mike

OK– today I’ve got several sketches to show you. The first couple are of the new character SALAMANDRA that was introduced in the FRIGHTFUL FOUR story arc that just finished. Karl described her as an arrogant, vain and dangerous woman– so I thought giving her a flamboyant overcoat with a fur collar would make a nice touch. Karl opted not to include that. So the second sketch is a pared down version of my first attempt– but with the addition of some sharp “Spock” or elven ears at Karl’s suggestion. Since SALAMANDRA is a shape changing dragon, he thought it might add something exotic and indicative of that ability. After seeing it, he immediately changed his mind… (heh). So I’ve got those two sketches, as well as a sketch of SAL in her dragon form…..

The last sketch is a splash page layout/sketch from FF #68– early in the “UNTHINKABLE” story line. Mark (Waid) was asking for an establishing splash of MEDUSA and CRYSTAL standing with FRANKLIN and VAL on the balcony of their palace in the INHUMANS city on the moon. This original sketch was “shot” pretty close in– and I had done another (which ended up as the actual page in the book), but I was unsure of which to use. I really liked the figures and expressions in this shot, but it didn’t leave much room to show the wonders of ATTILAN. I asked Mark his opinion, and he told me to go with the one that was ultimately published. I’ll do this from time to time because Mark’s got a great sense of what LOOKS GOOD in a comic, as well as what READS WELL. As usual, he made the right call.

That’s it for today.

Mike

Today’s sketch is the design for HYDRO MAN. Still with the leather– still trying to make the character modern, dark and dangerous. This story arc was supposed to introduce a leaner, meaner FRIGHTFUL FOUR– one that was truly scary and… well, FRIGHTFUL. The reviews were mixed.

Anyway– here’s the sketch….

And for a little something extra, so this post doesn’t seem so “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am”… here’s another rejected sketch for the cover I did for J.Torres and Takeshi Miyazawa’s SIDEKICKS comic.

OK– “FRIGHTFUL” finishes up tomorrow…

Mike

Today’s sketch is the design for the WINGLESS WIZARD I did for the last FF story arc. This is where the “leather look” really comes in. At least, that’s what I intended it to be– in the actual comic, it looked less so.

And I came across another design that I did initially for NOIR. Karl Kesel (who co-wrote the arc) wanted something that looked less like a “costume”, so this one was rejected. Frankly, I like this one better.

Tomorrow– HYDRO MAN.

Mike