Iron Chef challenger afterthoughts...

Iron Chef challenger afterthoughts... Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

(message from artist, Marcus To)

It was a pleasure to take part in this draw off! I have to admit that I was a little intimidated by not only going first in a group of impressive match-ups but also by going up against Alé Garza! He really did some cool stuff on this one. It was exciting to be able to draw Colossus and Wolverine doing the famous fastball special - great choice by the fans!

By the way, my brand new series CANNON HAWKE premieres next Wednesday OcTOber 5th so please check it out. Also I can't wait to see Garza's work on his new adventure SKYE RUNNER! From the sketches I've seen I think that it's going to be a blockbuster event for Wildstorm. Thanks to the fans. Be Sure to be back in two weeks when the battle continues!

(message from Ale Garza)

Hey guys I just wanted to once again thank not only Marcus but all of Aspen and thier wonderful fans for participating in this event. back when I came up with this idea the hope was always to get to do things like this. The friendly competition we share is great not only for us as artists but hopefully to you as fans as well. Marcus gave me a run for my money, no doubt! As it was mentioned before we had a lot of back and forth. It was a blast to watch! Marcus definitely has a bright future, and being under Mike's wings I know he'll fly! Make sure to stay tuned for our next challenge. Koi is an amzing new talent, sure to turn some heads in the near future, and Carlos, is well, Carlos. I can say even Jim is afraid to challenge D'anda, lol! That's how much praise he gets around the studio. And as for our third battle, Rich is going to try his darndest to make it, but have no fear Micah, we will have someone for you, even if we have to unearth a Wildstorm Iron Chef from the past! So stay tuned fanboys and fangirls, no offense, lol, the next month and a half is going to be a blast around these parts!

-a

PSHOO!PSHOO!

Round 1! Iron Chef results

Round 1! Iron Chef results
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

This may have been one of the most thrilling challenges yet when it came to the votes. Never have we had such a tug of war in the polls. In the end we tallied a record amount of votes, 139 total!

With Wildstorm taking round 1, make sure to check in two weeks for round two, Carlos D'anda versus Koi Turnbull! Carlos is 4-0, and Koi is Michael Turner's right hand man drawing some hot stuff on Fathom! So make sure to stay tuned!

Alive and Well...

I'm Alive and Well... Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.

[entry: jimlee]

just wanted to pop in and tell people I have been busier than I have ever been in my 18 year career...I think I will finally get my head above water by year's end. In the meantime, I have had to cut back on a lot of blogging and net browsing in general. I can't talk about all the stuff I am working on besides All-Star Batman and Robin but once I can blab about the projects, you guys will get the 411 asap.

In the meantime, here is a piece I found in the closet. Long ago, back when Stan Lee was doing the Reimagining of the DC core characters (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, et al), Rolling Stone approached me about doing an illo for an interview Kevin Smith was going to conduct with Stan Lee.

For various reasons which escape my memory-challenged mind, I couldn't do it, but managed to do this concept sketch for the piece I had in mind. You see Stan's versions of Superman and Wonder Woman (the book I drew actually--ironically the first big project I did for DC was with Mighty Marvel Stan the Man himself heh). Anyway, I am pretty sure I was superjammed on deadlines, much like today, and by the time I sent this shot in, the deadline ship had sailed. Which happens more than you think. So many cool projects missed out on just cause of lack of time. I know that's the mutant power I would want...the ability to stop time. Just so I could get my deadlines done...ok I will have more Monday. Back to the salt mines for me...

Who's that girl? and Iron Chef status...

Who's that girl? and Iron Chef status...
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

[ale]

Couple things. Awhile back I was told by a colleague that I draw some of the hottest girls in comics. I laughed. And then took it as a great compliment. As long as I can remember I had that goal. To draw the cutest girls in comics, lol. Not the uber sexxy, or the extreme cheesecake, just the ordinary, totally hot, and out of your range, girl next door! For me my one inspiration and always has been, has been my lovely wife Carla. As you'll see above I always take random pics of different facial expressions of her just to keep as a library. She really has all the perfect features for the kinda girls I like to draw, awwwww. Sappy I know, but look, and you'll see a lot of similarities. Who knows, someday I may release a book of all my different facial expressions I have of her!

An update for the all the new bloggers we have now that we've started this studio wide battle. First off, welcome! It can be easily said that Aspen has some devoted fans, no doubt! You guys rock! Also a quick thanks to Marcus for participating. Great job man! I don't think we've ever had so much back and forth in one contest, and I know the others will be pretty much the same! For those of you who are new, voting will close at 12 noon pst on Friday. Make sure to get all those votes in!

Next up in two weeks, Carlos D'anda vs Koi Turnbull! Carlos is undefeated, and Koi is hungry for an upset! It should be knock down, drag out goodness! So with that peace to all you monkeys, keep on keepin on!

-a
"thats it im going to clown college!" PSHOO!PSHOO!

Iron Gelatomettista: Alé Garza

Iron Gelatomettista: Ale Garza
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

Vote for Alé Garza here!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenger: MARCUS TO!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenger: MARCUS TO!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

Here is our challenger's piece! Vote here for Marcus To!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenge: Fastball special!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenge: Fastball special!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

Our two pieces side by side!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenge: Ale Garza vs. Marcus To!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenge: Ale Garza vs. Marcus To!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

Here it is people, months in the working, and it all starts today! Our very own Alé Garza versus an up and coming star, Marcus To! These two guys are sure to slug it out till the very end!

You know the rules so start posting your art suggestions under here! The battle begins at 2:00 pst!!!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenger: MARCUS TO!

Iron Gelatomettista Challenger: MARCUS TO!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

Joining us for this first studio battle is Aspen's very own, Marcus To! Known as the boy wonder, Marcus' art is brimming with kinetic energy! Excelling at both hulking men, and beautiful women, you can check for Marcus' stuff on Fathom: Cannon Hawke!

IRON CHEF STUDIO BATTLE!!!

IRON CHEF STUDIO BATTLE!!!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

Get ready kiddies! I know things have been a little slow, but over the next month and a half things are gonna be heating up! That's right our first studio battle! And to make it interesting we're able to line up one of comicdom's hottest studios! Michael Turner's Aspen Studios!!!

Over the years Michael has been known for generating some of the hottest art in comics. Not only is he known for being a constant fan favorite, but is also known for discovering some very bright young talents! So with that we've set up four battles, each of which promise to generate tons of excitement, and introduce maybe for the first time to some of you, some of comics next generation of superstar artists! We will be kicking it all off later today!

Our first battle will be between our very own Alé Garza versus Aspen's Marcus To! Alé's hungry for a win, and Marcus is hungry to make a name for himself, so it should prove to be very exciting! Of course this will all culminate with the two head honcho's going at it! That's right Jim Lee versus Michael Turner! It will be awesome to see two guys of their caliber go at it! So make sure to start posting your suggestions and today's battle will take place at 2:00 pst!

BATTLES:

week 1: Ale Garza vs Marcus To

week 2: Carlos D'anda vs Koi Turnbull

week 3: Richard Friend vs Micah Gunnell

Main Event: Jim Lee vs Michael Turner

...more sketchies.

...more sketchies.
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.

(Carlitos)

...here's another page from a sketchbook. I was just messin' around with some Prismacolor markers. When they are brand new, they give you an almost 'water color' effect because they are releasing so much pigment, so you get those cool, darker edges to the strokes.

I like busting out those markers and doing everything with 'em (meaning, no pencil sketch before applying 'em). It pushes you into a 'corner' that can create pretty cool results, since it forces you to come up with something with the outlines you've already thrown down.

As a comic book artist, it's real easy to develop 'bad habits' in the way that you approach a drawing, and things can start to look 'formulaic' with time, and eventually, that can make the art look 'too' predictable, and worse, it can make it into a routine for us. It's's good to always be trying different stuff, even if it's just in sketchbook pages, it helps keep your mind fresh, after all, the worst thing that can happen to an artist is to get bored, 'cause that just KILLS creativity.

upcoming appearances...

upcoming appearances...
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

[ale]

Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I'll be attending this years Dallas Sci Fi and comic expo. The dates will be October 15-16, here's a link!

Looks like I'll finally be in a place where my cowboy boots and outlandish belt buckles won't stand out, yay! If you're in the area stop by and say hi to me and the missus. Yee-haw!

-a
"insert quote here" PSHOO!PSHOO!

Spidey a go-go....

Spidey a go-go....
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

[ale]

Hey guys dusted off this little Spidey layout awhile back. Threw some ink on it and voilà! I've probably said it before but I've been a huge Spidey fan going as far back as I can remember. I always loved the Sinister Six. So I thought what better subject matter... Spidey taking them all on! The art itself measures 11x17 and is done with ink and prisma markers, enjoy...

Spidey-size!

-a
"btw, this ones for sale..." PSHOO!PSHOO!

...random sketchies

... random sketchies
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.

... how's it going y'alls? apologies for not posting in a while, but work's kept me too damn busy (aka: Splinter Cell) ... hehehe, I love that damn game, but I do damn the day I decided to buy the XBox!! ...DAAAAAMN YOU HALOOOOHHHHHH!!!! :) ....anyway, I was looking for something to post, and I found this page I had scanned from a sketchbook o'mine.

If I am not mistaken, this was an idea I had for a 'vigilante' series with Rick Veitch. Mind you, at the time I was designing this stuff (about half a sketchbook's worth), I still didn't have Rick's script, but for whatever reason, I had 'diarrhea' of ideas that month, so I'll probably still end up using them at some point ... no idea should ever go to waste I say (^_^)

peace,

Carlitos

Thanks for playin...

Thanks for playin...
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

[ale]

Hey guys, I was excited to see the amount of interest in my previous post! I've been busy! For those still interested, I do have some space left! As a treat I thought I'd post this little Voodoo doodle I did.

I know it sounds funny since I've spent a majority of my career at Wildstorm, but this is actually my first attempt at the character. I went to Rich, since he's quite fond of the character, for direction. I was pretty happy with the way it came out! Aside from that, hope all is well and I'll talk to you all soon!

-a
PSHOO!PSHOO!

EYYY YO!!!

EYYY YO!!!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

[ale]

Hey guys just wanted to say hi! Got some interesting info for any of you hoping to own a piece of me over on my sketchbook site. Above is a recent doodle of the Blackcat. Love the Spidey universe. I think this is my first attempt of this character.

Haven't been posting much, but for good reason. Skye Runner is going to be one insane looking project! The pieces I've posted are just a small sample of what Rich and I are doing with the line art! Hopefully you can all get your retailers to order lots of copies! It'll be a shame if it's underordered. Hope all is well, and like I said check out my site... peace.

-a
"there's nothing more beautiful than the human wang" PSHOO!PSHOO!

Skye Runner Exclusives! Sinsha!

Skye Runner Exclusives! Sinsha!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista.

Keeping with the theme of spotlighting our new heroes, I give you...

SINSHA…is a young girl from a band of Wypsies, gypsy-like witches known for being especially devious. They typically relied more on illusions and trickery than real magic. Sinsha was blessed/cursed from birth with the unique gift of prophecy. Her band once tricked one of the nine Wizards, trapping him and draining him of his remaining magic. Sinsha couldn’t stand to watch the Wizard torturously drained of life, and rescued him to let him die in peace. In return, the grateful Wizard gave her his most precious gift as he died, a ring of power given to him by a mysterious God called Kura. The ring gave Sinsha the ability to manipulate nature, controlling to a degree the various forces of Earth. She followed the Wizard’s dying wish to use the ring to protect the natural environment and the world’s weaker creatures, but was trapped herself, and remains the prisoner of greedy humans using her powers for their own personal gain.

Ale's notes: I remember sitting down and coming up with this character thinking I really wanted to do a character that was just adorable. I told Allen, and he agreed! We needed a character like that for the book. Especially to offset the darker looks of our male heroes. We needed a light. Someone who seemed for all intents, and purposes, pure. I think we hit it with our little raven haired beauty, and I'm sure she will have her own fanbase amongst all of you in no time at all!

-a

PSHOO!PSHOO!

... aaaaand it's FRIDAAAAAAAY!!!

... aaaaand it's FRIDAAAAAAAY!!!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.

... not that it matters, since us 'artist types' don't 'officially' get these days off, but it's still a long weekend for most people (right?), so with that said, "Happy Labor Day" weekend y'alls (^_^)

...and to celebrate, here's "Hellgirl", just a little older than my last one this time around (I drew a "Hellgirl" as one of the 'Iron Chef' challenges a while back, only that she was about nine years old on that one, she might still be in the 'metti' archives, for anyone who doesn't know what the hell I'm talking about) :)

... heheh, one of these days I might actually get the whole 'sexy girl' thing right ... oh yeah, and if I'm not mistaken, this is a commission from the San Diego Con about two years ago?

have an awesome weekend y'alls.

peace, Carlitos