Best WildStorm Cover...Ever?

[Eddy]

I'm a big fan of DVD commentaries, so it was cool to read Jim's thoughts on the covers showcased in last week's "WildStorm Fine Arts Spotlight on Jim Lee." Inside, Scott Williams wrote up a nice introduction on being a fan of his art, plus Alex Sinclair gave a peek into his coloring process and even recolored a few pieces, including this cover above. He kept the original '90s coloring, but still managed to update it with his usual "Sinc-isms."

IIRC, the first time I saw this image was as an insert poster in an issue of "Inside Image" and later on, as the cover of the SNES WildC.A.T.s game. Anyone play that videogame? Oh, and it was also used on the cover of a Toy Fair giveaway comic too. They're all in their full-on "Image" poses and I always liked the extra tech on Zealot and the backwards cap on Grifter.

Also, in this month's DC comics, Art Director Extraordinaire, Mark Chiarello, asks "what's the best cover that has ever appeared on a DC comic?" and it made me wonder the same thing for WildStorm's comics. So what do you guys and girls out there think? Is WildC.A.T.s Vol. 1 #1 your favorite cover? Did Gen13 Vol. 1 #12 give you a warm, fuzzy feeling? Or do you consider WildC.A.Ts/X-Men: The Golden Age #1 a work of art?

Tell us which issue holds the title for Best WildStorm Cover and why you think so below. And that includes all of WildStorm's imprints too, like ABC, Cliffhanger and Homage titles.

Please vote only once and for one cover. Voting ends on January 5, 2007 at 12:00 A.M.

Happy Voting and Happy Holidays!

KirbyColors - Hulk Buster Iron Man

[KirbyColors]

What up folks! Fresh Alias aka KirbyColors back atcha' one mo' time with a freshy.

Some of y'all may have seen this one before and some of ya may have not, but me and mine, we have deemed this image worthy.

They sent me a jpg of the toy, I drew the card and it was a blast seeing Adi Granov's cover with him on it. I couldn't wait to color the highlights on his hands and face. Plus the electricity was hella' fun to do.

Hope y'all like a da juice, savor the flava. Peace out.

Deathblow #2 - Lost & Found

[Eddy]

After being MIA for six years, Deathblow's having a little trouble readjusting to civilian life. So much so, that even the word ballons are against him.

This panel from the bottom of page two had the tail, but no words or balloon. And yes, the irony of those words aren't lost on any of us.

Benjamin - Grifter/Midnighter #1

[Ryan]

I'm excited to be working on this book for WildStorm. When I had a chance to work on a Grifter title again, I jumped at the opportunity to flex my pencils on it. Midnighter is a badass character and someone told me he's finally drawn like he should be!

After a couple weeks of thinking about the cover, I decided to go with my ink wash technique. It turned out great on a Vagabond cover I did, so I decided to go with that again...Just on the cover, or else it would be really late. I'm doing the same style for each cover too, hoping to outdo the previous one as I go.

One day I'll do an entire book in this style. Maybe on the secret book (shhh!) Sean Ruffner and I are planning.

Hopefully you guys n gals will like it. Peace!

3

(entry Rich)

I am not sure what to say..The blurry effect was a lucky break. I use the smudge tool a lot and I also used a texture called of all things....'texturize'

r~

Phoenix Rising

(entry ricH)

my version of dada art.

( a form of collage using scrap created in Berlin in the early 1900's) although I did do some real "work" on this image in photoshop. I tried to keep things looking pasted up. It seemed to fit better that way;

'dada' was traditionally politically fueled art that was as much "anti-art" as it was anything else....this probably has too tight a theme to really be considered a true 'dada' piece.

ricH.

Lee - Ninja Scroll #3 Variant

[Eddy]

Ninja Scroll #3 hit stores yesterday and here's a look at the variant cover with pencils and inks by Jim, "I like inking these on my own. Can be a blast."

Written by J. Torres with art by Michael Chang Ting Yu, this issue also reveals what the Ninja Scroll is and concludes the "Jigoku" arc. That's a Japanese term for hell.

And nothing says hell like a giant red skull thanks to Alex Sinclair:

Wolverine

(entry ricH)

I know how much Eddy loves my non-comic posts so I thought I'd make the title at least comic fan friendly.

:)

this piece is actually called 'seer'. It's based on reading bones...although I've heard it's not actually a bone.

:P

ricH/

chisel

(entry ricH)

for the past...I dunno year or two I have experimented a lot with art. It's been curious at times learning about my own personality, attitudes, and interests working with a more stream of consciousness approach to my work...it's not always pretty or comfortable to go through it. I avoid certain themes because I don't always know if I want to spend time thinking about all the darker experiences in life. That said;

I am working on a lot of dark mixed media pieces right now and it's been compelling to create this type of imagery. This piece is just a test image for personal use...and I am really only scratching the surface of what I am going after, but it's important to put it out there/..let people know what I am doing...eventually these will be paintings but for now it's more about creating the ideas and putting things together.

ricH.

Mixtionary Madness!

Mixtionary Madness!
Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.

[jimlee]

My friends John Nee and Scott Lobdell (with their friend Mia Christou) have a book that's come out from IDW called Mixtionary. It's a bunch of funny words that they made up to describe situations in life. Each one is illustrated by supremely and diversely talented Shawn McManus.

For those of you who don't know, Nee was my right hand guy at WildStorm and ran the business side of things there until he moved to New York a few years back to take over Business Development for DC Comics. A lot of people that know John casually think he's a pretty humorless bottom line oriented guy who takes an apparent unholy glee at making tough business decisions. If you know him well, he's a pretty laid back guy with a cutting sense of humor.

You all know who Lobdell is. We worked on X-men together and he's been in WildStorm's writer stable from nearly the beginning. He's written comics for 18 years and has been doing a lot of work in Hollywood of late. He used to do Stand Up comedy which is obvious if you have ever read his punchy but moving scripts.

I have never met Mia, but it seems like she's the Equator (with Lobdell and Nee as the North and South poles in this bunch). From her podcast on their myspace page, I gather that she's Englsh and it looks like she was the female in their Electric Company parody video.

OK, so yes, I am giving a review and plug for my friend's book, but I have to say this was one of the cleverest reads I have had in a long time. They have made up words like EMAULED (email + mauled). We all know what that is. EBAYSIVE (ebay + evasive) is one I have personal experience with. My favorite, however, is MANTIQUES (man + antiques): like most of you, I have my long boxes of comics that I have been collecting my whole life, GI JOE figures, ok....I also have a life sized Storm Trooper and Darth Vader. All my prized possessions that I will not get rid of. Not sure I would classify them as antiques but you get the drift...

This book looks like it would make a great gift for any Fan Boy's significant other (read Civilian!)

Check out their profile and website at:

Myspace Mixtionary
Mixtionary Homepage

They are running a sweepstakes to create your own words there too. Have fun!

Best,
Jim

Olympus

(entry ricH)

I've been keeping busy doing the usual nine to five thing with inking (which has turned into more like 9 to 5/ add 5 or 6 more) then add every weekend for the last 10 weeks. It's pretty much been a knuckle duster.

I've still been taking a lot of photos. I don't set up my shots or have this elaborate process for any of the pictures I take. I point and click. It's been interesting seeing the results and also the growth I have had with it. I am always pushing myself to get the pictures or ideas I see in my head to come through with anything I touch. Photography for me, is just an extension of that. I could take hundreds of photos and maybe 1 or 2 would meet my standards. Dealing with nature and how fast even something like a sunset evolves and decays is tricky and you can miss your shot so easy/.

My basic rule is carry my camera everywhere. The days I don't, I kick myself if I miss something I would have shot. Tonight I missed an amazing opportunity to shoot the full moon framed by these two objects. Needless to say I was pissed at myself.

keep it real.

ricH.

deviant

mrotSdliW!

[Eddy]

Thanks to everyone who came out today! Met a few fans from the blog, which is always cool, and one fan even walked away with all of the sketches above. Thanks Dr. Painfree! You can check out his growing Zatanna collection here.

I also talked to Christos Gage about his upcoming StormWatch: PHD plans and I think WildStorm fans will be very happy to see what he's got in mind. Another thing I learned, was how to pronounce Doug Mahnke's last name: MAN-key.

You learn something new...

The All-New, All-Different Gelatometti!

[Eddy]

I thought the site could use a new coat of paint after two years, so I've been tweaking things here and there starting with the above banner. Besides being a not-so-subtle promotion for our books, it also shows off the colorful talents behind the blog too. Quite a change from the TicTac design below, huh?



I'll also update it at least once a month with new covers to keep up with all the WildStorm titles hitting the stands these days. Hopefully, we'll have some more videos back on the blog too. I remember that was the one thing I wanted to see the most before I started working here, so we'll think of some cool stuff to show soon.

Right now, we're getting ready for the big con this weekend, where we'll have plenty of promo posters, autographs, commissions and sketchbooks on hand, so stop by and say "Hi," if you're in LA!

Gomez - Nightmare on Elm Street #4

[Joel]

Hey all, just thought I would finally post and tell you guys a little history as to how I came to the Wildstorm family. Originally, I started my career at Top Cow productions as a marketing intern where I managed to successfully show my stuff to several staff artists there that needed help with their books-mainly doing backgrounds.

The experience on those first projects extended my working relationship to a lot of different artists who were pressed for time. I had assisted on everything from Witchblade, Tomb Raider, and Evo to Marvel Knights Spider-Man and Uncanny X-Men to a short stint on Soulfire. All the while I had kept in contact with the Wildstorm crew and had been lucky enough to visit the studio once or twice, always feeling that there was a level of quality and professionalism there that I strived for.

In 2005 while I was working on Soulfire, I began to work with Francis Manapul and video game super guru Jason Rubin (creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter for Playstation) on the development of his latest property, Iron and the Maiden. When I met with Jim Lee at WizardWorld's 2005 Los Angeles show I got the opportunity (thanks Ale!) to show Jim my work and the rest, as they say, is history!

Next, I plan to post how I worked with all the great artists here at Wildstorm to develop my approach to this book. I would also like to thank Alé, Carlos, Richard, JJ, Sandra, Eddy, and Ryan for making me feel welcome. I would especially like to thank the main man-Jim Lee for giving me a chance. Thanks, man.

And please keep an eye out for Nightmare On Elm Street #4, my first fully-penciled project due out in January.

Lastly, for all you aspiring artists...I never got many opportunities when I started chasing this dream, I created opportunities by becoming a team player and servicing the deadline. I made sure to be timely and take anything I could.

Be hungry and good luck!

JOEL

A Close Shave

[Carlitos]

…So, Deathblow #2 comes out tomorrow and, for any of you that liked the first issue, I think you’ll really dig this one as well. I felt more comfortable and happier with the art, and the story is starting to get fleshed out in ways that I sure as hell wasn’t expecting…. Heheheh. Let me tell ya’, that Azzarello guy is crazy and looooves his curve balls. It’s pretty damn enjoyable to get his scripts and see just what he’s doing to poor ol’ Mr. Cray. (^_^)

…Anyway, very much in the same way as the first cover, Brian had a pretty good idea of what he wanted on this second one as well, so I did a few ‘takes’ on it, and these here are two of ‘em. The final piece always changes a bit (I hate drawing the same exact thing twice ‘cause it bores me to tears), BUT the overall idea remains, just with some tweaks here and there. I still don’t have a whole lot of color work under my belt, so I still get intimidated a bit by it (so many damn choices!!!), BUT I was happy with the overall mood on this one…There are always things that you wish you could go back and change, BUT I think that’s one of those things that ALL artists have to deal with. Sometimes you just have to know when to let a piece go, and more times than not, those are the evil, bastardly deadlines! (^_^)

…Alright y’alls, for those of you kind enough to get Deathblow tomorrow, let me know what you think.

By the way, I was really looking forward to the convention this weekend, but unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it because deadlines have my ass glued to the drawing table. (x_x)

Carlitos

Hey kiddies...

[ale]

Hey yo kiddies! Just wanted to come and announce that I, kinda like Richie, have started my own little blog! Checkitout!

Ale Garza

Looking forward to seeing ya all over there! WOOT!

-a
PSHOO!PSHOO!

Christos Gage Signing! - December 3, 2006

[Eddy]

The big WildStorm signing is this weeked at the Shrine Auditorium for December 3rd's Los Angeles Comic Book Convention and StormWatch:PHD writer, Christos Gage will be joining us!

Christos has really breathed life back into the StormWatch crew with a mix of old and new characters along with Doug Mahnke, so it'll be great to have him join us for the show. And check out some of his script for the first issue, plus commentary on Newsarama.

Above are all three covers by Doug Mahnke and Trevor Hairsine, respectively, so bring one or all three to get signed!

Top ten things we're doing when we're not blogging

10. Food coma
9. Watching Michael Richards self-destruct
8. Listening to Aloe Blacc
7. Updating applications to the Amazing Race and Survivor for the tenth time
6. Gay clubbing
5. Watching movies (The Departed, The Prestige, Borat, Casino Royale)
4. Damn Splinter Cell
3. Searching for fashionable size 5 shoes
2. Watching Peter Jackson DVDs
1. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines

A brand new day...

[ale]

So I was thinking, again, I know, scary... Anyway, I was thinking about what an exciting time it is in comics now. We may have, at this point in the industry, more talented people putting together projects than anytime in the past.

From Joe Mad coming back, to the occasional Travis Charest sketch that's dropped every once in awhile, it is a great time to be a fan of comic book art. I mean, how kick ass is it going to be seeing J. Scott Campbell and Jeph Loeb doing Spidey? I know I can't wait. Ed Mcguiness, Frank Quitely, Chris Bachalo, Leinil Yu, all these amazing artists putting out amazing work on the regular.

There's even an influx of new talent that promises to keep the good stuff coming! Guys like Karl Kerschl, Mark Brooks, Oliver Coipel, Ivan Ries, all these guys provide some of the coolest stuff you can see in the comic format!

I haven't even mentioned our own head cheese here, Jim Lee, working on two books at the same time?! Or all the other talented mo fo's around here, each with our own little suprises in store! I myself have a plum gig coming up (more info on that a bit later).

All in all though it's exciting, not only to be working in this industry, but to also still be a fan of these little things we call comic books...werd...

-a
"and that's why you leave a note!" PSHOO!PSHOO!

Lee - The Fountain

[Eddy]

Jim created this illustration inspired by Darren Aronofsky's upcoming movie, THE FOUNTAIN, starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. Here's his quote from The New York Times:

“I think they’ve created a film which every reviewer is going to bring their own interpretation of it,” said Mr. Lee, who focused on the couple central to the film’s plot. “My comic book work, I normally do superheroes, so I tend to keep it really slick so the line work is smooth,” he said. “This artwork I wanted to have an edge to it, so I used a croquill pen. It gives you a much cruder line. I wanted it to seem more spontaneous.” Choosing an image was not hard for the artist. “If anything, it was a turning down process to focus on one image,” he said. “It was interesting that no one repeated a thought.”

To see Alex Sinclair's colors, click here.

Ten other comic artists were also invited to create their pieces, including Phil Hale, James Jean, Bill Sienkiewicz and the late, Seth Fisher.

WildStorm Signing! - December 3, 2006

[Eddy]

I love going to comic book conventions. I get to look for back issues to fill in that hole in my collection, hang out with friends and best of all, meet my favorite creators. And if I'm really lucky, I might even get a great sketch to take home too!

Well, now I'm friends with some of my favorite creators here at WildStorm and we'll all be hanging out at the Shrine Auditorium for December 3rd's Los Angeles Comic Book Convention.

So bring your favorite comics to get signed, take some pics and maybe even get a sketch or two from:

Adam ARCHER - Friday the 13th
Ryan BENJAMIN - Iron Man, Phantom Guard
Carlos D'ANDA - Outsiders, Deathblow
Rich FRIEND - Wetworks, Batman: Confidential
Alé GARZA - Batgirl, Skye Runner
Joel GOMEZ - Nightmare on Elm Street
Sandra HOPE - Justice League of America
JJ KIRBY - Backlash, DV8
Dustin NGUYEN - Batman, Manifest Eternity
Whilce PORTACIO - Wetworks, Batman: Confidential

Seeya there!

detailing 2

(entry ricH)

Here's another piece.

This was the preview and cover image for issue 1. This piece had to be edited for the mild monster nudity....so you can also catch a peep of some boobage. It's pretty tame really. I always find it interesting that extreme graphic violence is ok in the United States.....but hide those nipples!

anyway. Again this piece has a ton of detail, now with the "magic" of the internet..you can see the whole thing after I got my hands on it. Lots of tiny details and little places to get lost in. Lots of different textures, and objects to work with. I spread this piece out over a few days. I wanted to enjoy the process so I would ink a few hours on this and then work on something else. I don't normally work that way but if I have the luxury..I take advantage of it.

large scan might take a moment to load. Both new WW scans are off the original boards for even extra high quality viewing here.

r~

detailing

(entry ricH)

Here's an interior from WW #2. It's always interesting to see what you turn in and how it reproduces in the comic. Sometimes you get word ballons over things, other times special effects take out some line work that you've done, other times color can overwhelm or consume little details. I normally don't worry too much about it....it's part of the biz....and I am pretty used to it.

Wetworks 2 was pretty dark. I worked hard on a lot of the little things only to discover I couldn't see much of it...again part of the biz. Cool thing is...with the internet. You can always show it later.

So here's one that has a lot of work that is now presented in a way where you can really see the detail.

the scan is pretty huge so it might take a sec to upload.

r.

No Quarter

(entry ricH)

Figured I'd go for a trilogy on these pics/.

Really foggy day up in La Jolla last week and I got some great pics.

I am a big fan of landscapes in part thanks to the amazing work of Maxfield Parrish. I came to discover his work in an odd way early on which was via Hipgnosis founder Storm Thorgerson. A great album cover designer who's worked with bands like Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Mars Volta, Muse, and Audioslave just to name a few. He would do these blown out colors with a strange Kubrick styled silence and use of space to them. I always found them completely compelling as images...almost hypnotic.

This is my nod to Thorgerson's work on Houses of the Holy.

The record connection

(entry ricH)

My earliest experiences with art boil down to a couple things. I remember going through my dads desk as a kid (without his knowledge of course) and I found all these cool car and monster drawings he had done (probably in high school) and I was just in awe that you could create stuff like that with a pen and paper. The other strangely enough was my dads record collection.

I have always loved the design and look of album art. Whether it's a logo, a photo, a painting....there is so much great art on CD's.....I just love the medium because there are so many ways to take things.

I just picked up the new My Chemical Romance album(which is great by the way) and as I was sitting in my car at the Target parking lot as I opened it. I saw the art and was like....."this looks like James Jean." sure enough it was. I had mentioned a while back that he was one of the few artists working in comics today I could relate to the most. His work is unusual but still appealing. He does more illustrative work, and the variety of art he produces is just amazing. And he's now working with more and more bands.

Btw, Gerard Way (singer of My Chemical Romance and ex DC comics intern (yes you read that right)are also working on a new comic with covers by James Jean and you can read about it here.

So go James Jean!.....he's really kicking ass and is even more an inspiration for what I want to do in the future.

This was another photo I took recently. It's in a building where we sometimes grab lunch near Wildstorm/ This photo angle literally makes me nauseous. It's not the color I used but the angle that literally makes me dizzy or experience a slight sense of vertigo when I see it.(check it out large here by clicking the photo and see if you experience that sensation)

I am sure my compulsion for doing images like this goes directly back to my fascination with album cover art and design.

ricH.

Change of Seasons

(entry ricH)

Happy Halloween.

(freaky tree pic is by me with some nob turning in photoshop for the after-effects.)

funtroducing...

[ale]

Wanted to come on and welcome a new member to our evergrowing family, Joel Gomez! Having honed his skills and abilities at both Top Cow and Aspen Studios, Joel is kind of a studio journeyman. Not only is Joel a fantastic up and coming talent, but he is also one hell of a guy!

Wasting no time making himself known around these parts, look for upcoming posts from the man who is nicknamed the hamburgler, Joel Gomez!

-a
"O-kay, who'd like a banger in the mouth?"
PSHOO!PSHOO!

Digital Deathblow

(entry: Carlitos)

Waddup y'alls, how's it going?!? Feels like it's been FOREVER since my last post, but let me tell ya', these days it seems like there's only enough time for drawing and sleeping!!! Since the begginning of last year (more or less), we started designing DC's MMO over at Wildstorm.

It's an awesome job, very BIG, very challenging, and it has really pushed my 'designing' muscles to all kinds of new places, BUT between the MMO and Deathblow, there's not a whole lot of time in between... now I understand when Alex Sinclair joked about 'sleep being a waste of time', there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day sometimes (that is the main reason why the editors at WS decided to make the series Bi-Monthly, otherwise they'd kill me!!! :) )

I've really, really enjoyed Brian's (Azzarello) stuff since I first read "Jonny Double", and his "100 Bullets" stuff is by FAR one of the best books out there, so when I had the chance to work with him on my favorite WS character "Deathblow", it was one of those "where do I sign up?" kinda' things!

...this here is an intial cover idea I did based on something Brian suggested... It's all done digitally in Photoshop as a quick mock-up. I don't want to spoil any of the story, but any of you watching the news should be able to see the parallels between all the crazy things happening in the world and Wildstorm's favorite assasin. Reality is often much stranger than fiction huh?!?

The book comes out Wednesday, so for those of you who decide to pick it up, hope you enjoy, and let me know what ya' think! :)

Carlos D'

WildCats #1 - Sturm und Drang

[Eddy]

For many fans, the first run of the “WildC.A.T.s” is their favorite. For others, the second “Wildcats” volume captured a certain characterization that they loved. And more recently, the “Wildcats 3.0” direction of the team struck such a chord that a virtual outcry left them wanting more. Well, Grant Morrison and Jim Lee are hoping their first work together will satisfy them all and then some.

Turning the clock back to the nineties with it’s larger than life storytelling was a sure expectation for Jim’s fans, but inviting Grant to the party was a real wild card. Sure, he can do larger than life, but he can also do laughing at life too, so it’s not easy to predict what he had in mind. This first issue isn't “Doom Patrol” revisionism or even a “New X-Men” recreation, so much as it is a JLA-sized return to greatness for the team. Grant took the best of what's come before and Jim polished it for a fanboy's dream come true.

Now, just imagine Grant pushing the reset button and playing a new game of all his favorite “WildCats” moments. It's the same cast of personalities and motivations, only streamlined and expanded at the same time to fit in Halo's 3-D phones, Gamorran suicide bombers, Daemonites and the all-mighty Omnia Codex all together in one issue.

Cole Cash, aka Grifter, may be down on his luck, but he's also back on his feet again and doing what he does best. Spartan's in charge of Halo Solutions and he's not only rekindling his past romance with Voodoo, but actually doing something about it too. And is that a carrier he's got in his pocket? Zealot's back on Khera fighting to save her Coda Sisterhood and a weary Majestic returns just in time to save the day. But is his new helmet hiding something more dangerous than those glowing red eyes?

And what's better than facing off against their most memorable villain? Facing off against two of them with the supervillain team-up of Kaizen Gamorra and Helspont!

After a double-page history of heroes in this new WorldStorm order, Cole’s found lying somewhere in the Tropic of Capricorn waiting to fade from obscurity with booze and smokes his only concern. And no matter how much he wants to be left alone, a little boy ends up dragging him into a local conflict with some thugs.

The double-page spread is one of my favorites in the whole issue because it not only shows off the previous WildStorm heroes, but also the oversized talents of Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair as they both make each panel distinct while carrying on a new era of the ‘Cats.

The next page leaves Cole Cash lying back on the ground again and eventually pulls way back to the orbiting space station of Halo Solutions where Voodoo's come to meet Spartan one more time. By now, Halo's changed the world with it's 3-D phones and affordable superheroes, but it's still not enough for Spartan who wants to explore the question of "How would truly adult superheroes behave?"

This is where boy robot finally gets his girl and psychedelic colors define the world or for at least a page. Then we find out that Spartan has already brought in Warblade or "Cutlery Kid" and Grifter back on his team to keep an eye on the bad guys. Speaking of which, Zealot and Majestic find their hands full of Daemonites and Grifter finally confirms Spartan's suspicion of their presence on Earth with a few swift moves and one shot to the head. To emphasize the violence, Grant even switches to the German language to best describe Grifter's true nature:

"Grifter! Grifter ist verwirrung! Grifter ist tod! Grifter ist verwirrung! Grifter ist chaos! Unt tod! Unt tod! Unt tod! Das ist Grifter!"

"Grifter! Grifter is confusion! Grifter is death! Grifter is confusion! Grifter is chaos! And death! And death! And death! That is Grifter!"

Here, Grant just nails Grifter's character and rightfully gives him center stage for this first issue. If there's any one character that's defined the "WildCats" for me, it's always been Grifter. He doesn't even bother taking names when he kicks ass, because he doesn't care what it is, so as long as they know what his is right before he finishes them off!

And Majestic was always another Superman knock-off, but here, Jim gives him the scary edge of Batman to strike fear into the hearts of Daemonites with just a look. Visually, he’s also the character Jim changed the most this issue.

Beyond letting Jim loose on the team again, Grant's loaded this first issue with enough teases and ideas to make any hardcore "WildCats" fan smile. The one dangling point he doesn't reveal though, is what exactly WorldStorm means. It’s only hinted at as being one month away, but whatever it is, it's obvious the "WildCats" are back in fighting form and at the “top of the food chain” again.

flippin tha switch

[ale]

Got to go and see one of my favorite bands this past week. Ladytron performed down here at the Belly Up Saloon. Saloooon. I like that word.

Anyway, a lot of the Wildstorm crew made it out for the occasion, Carlos, Jim, Trevor Hill, Larry Berry, and our newbie Joel Gomez. I slipped all the way up to the front because I wanted to be as close as I could get. Gotta say I kinda fell for Helen, the lead singer. I saw angelsssss, hoooo!

Lol, no but seriously they were awesome! We were wondering if perhaps they named themselves after our [Wildstorm's] character, Ladytron? Hmmmm, maybe. Either way, fantastic night! Beautiful women rocking it fo sheez. werd.

-a
"Cold Banana. Delicious brown taste!"
PSHOO!PSHOO!

That tiger faced boy

[ale]

hmmm, where have I been? hmmm? well, to be completely honest i haven't had a whole lot of reasons to crack wise lately. life kinda took me by the ass and proceeded to kick it quite well over the past five, six months. but. i'm back now. full of all the silly stuff that used to get me through my days!

first off. an apology. to all of you out there who have supported my work in the past. i owe a lot of you, and i promise this. i'll come through for each and every one of you. please feel free to contact me and let me know what i can do at: alegarzacomplaints@yahoo.com

as a side note above is a little world of warcraft piece i did for fun. i love fantasy stuff, hence my little book skye runner, and this game is just visually a blast. cool thing is i got to do a doodle, and inker extroidanaire alex garner polished off the ol' quil and laid down some masterful inks! not to mention alex sinclair coming in and adding his own special kinda flare.

hmmm, three alex's on one piece...silly...triple a...werd...

-a
"alias is a show about a spyyyy"
PSHOO!PSHOO!

WildCats #1 - WorldStorm Wednesday

[Eddy]

I thought this would be a fun page to see in black and white because of all the different textures going on, plus all the rain coming down too.

Nowadays, Scott uses a brush to ink most of his pages and you can really see it in his work here. If you pull out one of the early WildC.A.T.s issues from 1992, the difference in his style is very noticeable, since he mainly used a pen back then.

Another interesting thing here, is the way Jim spotted his blacks to frame Cole Cash and the kid in the foreground while still keeping a nice depth of field to the buildings behind them.

Oh, and check out Grant Morrison's original pitch to the series too. He talks about the concept of "adult superheroes" vs "adolescent power fantasies" and gives his take on all the main characters for his run.

Okay, one more day to WildCats #1 in stores!

WildCats #1 - Desktop

[Eddy]

Have you checked out all of DC's desktops patterns lately?

That's where I found this image and I've also got the Gene Ha Authority piece on my computer right now. Sweet stuff. And they've got a lot of different ones from WildStorm, Vertigo and DC too.

Oh, and the McFarlane cover's a 1/10 variant. Plus, there's another pencil variant of Jim's cover limited to 1/50 copies too.

Just two more days to WildCats #1...

Flashbacks

(entry ricH)

As I was working today I got a strange sense of Deja Vu.....and the not the strip club kind.

:)

Working on Whilce reminds me a little of when I was first inking Chris Bachalo on Steampunk. I don't know if it's the rainy weather were having in San Diego(which is how it was when I was inking the preview book 'Catechism' for Steampunk) or just the feeling of working on incredibly complex art and doing it at a balls out speed. There's something rewarding in tackling something like this and I think the feeling of having a lot of work finished that no one else has seen....yet....and then of course...wondering what people will think of it when it comes out. It's a fun time, starting a project for a creative team.

Image attached is Chris Bachalo and myself....The character is Mambutu X from cover 9 of Steampunk. The signature 'Chrisendo'.....always confused people. He's 'Chris'...I am Fri"end".....and the "O" was from Bachal"O".

I always thought of Chris as sort of a magician of comic art, or like a snake oil salesman in some rickety wagon with his name scrawled on the side...like Harry Houdini or something....."the Great Chrisendo"...hahaha

it worked for me.(Chris too...)

;P

r/~

Whilce Factor 3

(entry ricH)

I didn't realize there was already a new Wetworks image or I would have scanned and got something else together for a post. I am super short on time.....so as they say in the biz....."grrr...grahble, bleh-de dee blah, de-ghah...do-doo, the show must go on."

uhm.....Whilce is crazy and I am convinced he not only set out to do 2 kick ass comics with Batman and Wetworks..he was probably determined to kill his inker.

;)

I would have to be that guy.

pic is a cover to an upcoming issue.

ricH.

Benjamin - Wetworks

[Eddy]

WORLDSTORM #1 hit stores last Wednesday and was filled with previews of STORMWATCH: PHD and TRANQUILITY, along with some sweet pin-ups of all the new WildStorm titles, including this Wetworks piece by Ryan Benjamin and Saleem Crawford.

They've worked together on PHANTOM GUARD, STAR WARS and hopefully, more coming out soon!

PREVIEW - WildCats: WorldStorm #1

[Eddy]

UPDATE: Sinclair's original color files posted.

Psst...Have you seen the seven page preview of WildCats yet?

It's up on Newsarama right now and it's just a teaser for what's in stores next week!

That's right! One more week to go and the WildCats are back in covert action with Grant Morrison joining Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair and the rest of the wild crew for a trip 'round the world!

little more Portacio Batman

(entry ricH)

Here's another Batman image by penciler Whilce Portacio. I think the new 'Previews' has a 3 page preview of the artwork from issue 1 so if you get a chance you can get a small sneak peak there(it may be online somewhere even, although I haven't seen it anywhere). The piece was inked by me and the new series is being colored by David Baron. I honestly don't know too much about the Batman 'confidential' storyline or concept. I have seen the art for the first 3 issues and it get's more and more insane as it goes. I can say that.

:)

ricH.