"In my own, special way."

[Sinc']

Inks: Got a couple boards from Jim & Scott for this one. One's the Joker and the other was blood splatter which Jim wanted dropped in behind the Joker.

Solicits: We were pressed for time to get this to solicits so I did 2 quick versions (left and middle). DC did not want to reveal that the Joker would be in this issue so I did the one on the right which is what was printed.

Cover: While I was coloring it, Jim mentioned that he wanted to have a big 'ol tattoo on the Joker. Everyone loved the idea and a few days later I got the scan for it. I had already colored the cover by then so all I had to do was google "dragon tattoo" for reference and color it accordingly. I added it to the Joker; tweaked it so it would look like it's on his body and shipped it out.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Sinc'

Introducing Livio Ramondelli--WildStorm's newest Gelatomettista

[jimlee]

In fine WildStorm Studios' fashion I introduce the latest addition to the artists and creators here at WildStorm proper in La Jolla, California. His name is Ramondelli, Livio Ramondelli (pronounced LEE-vee-oh RAH-man-deli) and he comes to us from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. In fact, he has a Masters from the AAUSF making him the holder of the highest degree amongst the artists unless you count JJ Kirby's Doctorate of Your Royal Badness. Fresh out of school, the young Livio (pictured far right of above photo) has actually been with the studio since this year's San Diego Comic Con but in holding with WildStorm tradition, we kept him in solitary, half submerged underwater Vronksy style, locked and chained to an iron desk, working on the DCU MMO letting him out to sunshine only to buff all our rides ("wipe on, wipe off") until he was hard and lean and mean enough to withstand the final challenge of the WildStorm Octagon.

Several Patron shots and Rum and Cokes later, Livio withstood the brutal assaults of the Octagon including but not limited to the High Hand of Hope, the Choi Chop Chop, and the Mad at It and powerleveled up (DING!) to Acolyte of Concept of Art. As such, Livio (pronounced LEE-vee-oh reminding you again cause you will mispronounce it LIV-ee-oh at least 5 or 6 times before it makes sense ) has been producing great stuff for the video game as a concept artist--none of which I can show you at this time and point but trust me, it's cool stuff! The man whose name is pronounced LEE-vee-oh is also a crazy movie buff and more importantly, a passionate comics fan, looking to bust loose and produce art for comics in the very near future.

It was also his birthday yesterday so wish him here a hearty welcome as he has gained posting rights. And btw, he received a Transformers calendar as one of his birthday gifts and was ecstatic about it even though it had absolutely no pictures of Megan Fox...the big buff robots were enough I guess...

And here he is with his own words and illustrations:

Hi everyone! It's definitely surreal to be writing for this blog, since as a comics fan I've been checking it on pretty much a daily basis for the last few years. I'm now working as a Concept Artist here at WildStorm, joining a very talented team of designers on the massive DC MMO game. I'm really excited to have become a part of this fine studio. As cool as I thought the notion of working here would be, the reality has been even better.

Before joining the ranks here, I recently finished a Masters degree at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. My focus was on illustration and conceptual design.To give you an idea what my work looks like, I posted a few pieces here. The first two images ( the "skull" and "ice" ones) are both digital paintings I created in Painter IX. These were two in a large series of environmental designs that I did.
Based on these three samples it's probably clear that I really enjoy science fiction and "widescreen" imagery.

And just to mix it up, the third image is a pencil drawing which was an idea I had for an ancient race of "monk"-like aliens. I'd like to give one last shout out to all the great artists and friends here, including Carlos, Oliver, J.J., Eddy, Mike, Joel, Rich, Sandra, and especially Jim. You guys have made me feel very welcome and I can honestly say I enjoy waking up in the morning when I know this studio is waiting for me!

-Livio

Akira!

[Lopez]

Hello out there. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! During the holiday I had a chance to work on a commision for a friend, Jon Bolerjack, that I wanted to share with you.

This is Tetsuo and Kaneda from AKIRA, in case you were unfamiliar with the characters. This is a little different from the other toned paper sketches, the difference being just a little more color. I am a huge lover of graffitti-and when I get a chance to throw in that influence, I absolutely do not pass up that opprotunity.

Also thanks to everyone who commented on my last posting. Sorry, I am still learning to reply to your comments now.

That's all for now, see ya.

All Star Batman and Robin 9 pencils

[Eddy]

Homage to Jack Burnley.

Written by Frank Miller
Art and cover by Jim Lee & Scott Williams
Variant cover by Neal Adams

The Dynamic Duo: yellow-bellied? Green Lantern tries to convince Batman & Robin to fall in line, but the pair takes him to school…in color theory!

On sale February 27.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wanda Maximoff

[Nome]

Hey yalls, here's a Scarlet Witch I did right before Comic-Con 07'. I just wanted to do a nice headshot of a female that I hadn't drawn yet and thought she'd be perfect with her headpiece and all. Fans also seem to want sketches of her a lot so I also wanted to get a good feel for the character.

J.J. "The Greatness" Kirby colored the piece very beautifully. Looking forward to him coloring some more of my work in the near future.

Drop it like it's hot!

[Lopez]

Howdy people, this was a sketch I did a few months ago at Comic-Con. Yes, yet another shot of Voodoo, one of my favorite WildStorm characters ever.

For this sketch I wanted to try and draw her "droppin it like it's hot!!" She was a stripper afterall. Always fun drawing the ladies.

Anyhow , that's it for now. See ya.

Iron and the Maiden

entry ricH

Hey it's been a little while since I've posted and I have been adding some new and old work on my deviant art page. It's a little of everything (some Bachalo, Portacio, Charest, Lee, a little new art from me etc.) This isn't a cheesy plug but I did at least have one newer image I could post here (finally) so I thought I would.

I've been working for the last 5 months pretty much non-stop. Schedules and publishing dates as they are....I've had nothing on the shelves since I think....May?? Which means very little art I can show online.

It's a weird catch 22. As the work comes out people will usually go "man you are doing a LOT lately" and the reality is....I've been doing a lot of work the last 6 months but it's all hitting the stands around the same time.

Iron and the Maiden is a HOT looking book. Francis Manapul and Joel Gomez do some amazing pencils....and the colors by Danimation are great. This is the cover for issue 4 Jim and I did, which I believe came out last week. Check it out.

see you all very soon~!

ricH.

deviant_art

Gametap Interviews

[jimlee]

The crew here at WildStorm got to take its shot at reinterpreting Lara Croft and created a short Tomb Raider vignette which can be seen at Tomb Raider: GameTap Collection. I will have a more in-depth piece about the work the studio did but I wanted to throw a couple of video interviews that Gametap produced on one of their visits to the studio. We talked about Tomb Raider, Comics, the Studio, Batman and much more. I will put up a couple interviews now and the rest in about 9 days when I get back from Ireland.

Iron Gelatomettista Champ - Dan Panosian!

Soooo.....I would like to congratulate Dan "The Urban Barbarian" Panosian for winning by a landslide and slaughtering me, Oliver "The Iron Lotus" Nome. Thanks to all of you who voted for your fave and thanks to those who had kind words for a newbie like me:)

These "Iron Gelatomettista" battles are always a fun challenge and I can't wait till my next one.

Untill then.....Oliver

Thanks Oliver! It was a real treat to be a part of the action!

Looking at my piece now I think you really nailed the look of the character! Mine could actually be a cross between Kusanagi and Black Widow...! Let's just say it was quite an intense hour! Thanks for the kind words and votes everyone!

Years ago I did a bit of work for Wildstorm and always looked forward to visiting the studio! You know how they always make it seem like one big happy artist party over there? Well, it actually is! Between the great staff and in-house art teams you can't help but enjoy yourself!

Go Wildstorm!!!

Iron Gelatomettista - Oliver Nome!

Vote for Oliver Nome by posting a comment below!

Iron Gelatomettista - Dan Panosian!

Vote for Dan Panosian by posting a comment below!

Iron Gelatomettista - Motoko Kusanagi!

Side-by-side! (Don't vote here.)

Final voting ends at Monday, 5:00pm PST.

Iron Gelatomettista Challenger - Dan Panosian!

Dan Panosian may be a newcomer here, but he should be all-too familiar to the blogosphere and long-time comic fans. Outside of the occassional cover, like the two above, he's been hard at work in the advertising world these days, but still finds time to Drink and Draw at the same time. Don't let his wide-eyed enthusiasm fool you, this man is a highly-trained professional. Highly. Trained.

When we all found out Dan wanted to throwdown here, the only one who didn't cringe with defeat was our own powerhouse, Oliver Nome. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the headphones he had on at the time either. Btw, if you're reading this Oliver, you're going up againt Dan Panosian. Oliver?

So you all know the drill, post your choice for one character you'd like to see them draw in an under an hour and come back later to vote on the winner. It all goes down tomorrow, so in the meantime, check out Dan's blog to see why both men and women call him the Urban Barbarian!

UPDATE: They'll be drawing Ghost in the Shell's Major Kusanagi!

Iron Gelatomettista Champ - Jim Lee!

First off, thanks to everyone who voted in one of our closest and most-hotly-debated challenges yet! Both sides brought their "A" games and the final result could've gone either way, but today, Jim took home the title 101-86. Take a bow guys and for everyone interested in owning one of these two gorgeous pieces, please keep checking back for a time and date when the CBLDF puts them up for auction.

Secondly, hope everyone enjoys JJ Kirby's colors over Jim's winning piece above. He wanted to show some love for Cloak & Dagger too.

Later this week, we've also got our next Iron Gelatomettista challenge lined-up with a fresh, new challenger to the blog. But before we get to that, here are some comments from Jim on drawing against the clock, followed by Francis' reply:

Got to tip the hat to Francis...he's a battler. And has the makings of a great Iron Chef Gelatomettista-Killer...and what are those qualities? Well, the secret to these 1 hour challenges are imho the following:

1--you got to have a sketch style. You can't simply expect to use the style you use for published covers and interiors for a quickie like this. Not that you have to draw poorly or sketchy--just that the time constraints force you to strip down your style to the bare essentials. And Francis has this. Check out his sketches vs his Gelatometti pieces vs his published work. His style through and through...just different levels of detail and clarity fairly unseen by the casual viewer. That's why I think Jeff Campbell lost in his previous challenge...he was bringing his pro high finesse high polish style to his piece and didn't finish the image he had in his head.

2--Need a creative hook for viewers to latch onto. Each image an artist creates has to say something. Yes, we don't have words but we have faces, gestures and composition. And even in a static, single image, we have storytelling. A piece is not just a drawing of a character...it's a visual interpretation of a character's personality and life story and the more the image presents and represents that, the more the image engages the viewer. Fans often overlook this when they talk about why certain artists are more popular than others but it's this quality that separates those who draw the pictures from those who live through them. Francis brings that storytelling as well.

3--Have to strength under pressure. Doing a live, online challenge like this can mess with your head...it's the closest to participating in a sporting event you will find while holding a pencil. The only thing more intense would be to do it in front of an audience at a con which I have done too. Doing it online is a fraction less intense but still a lot of fun if you have confidence in what you can deliver in an hour. That's why you see the guys with more experience under their belt do better in the long run.

4--You got to be fast...I've had the pleasure of attending smaller cons with Francis, once at Essen, Germany iirc and also at Angouleme, France and the 'Pul is as quick a draw as they come.

Kudos again to the Toronto Kid...we're gonna duke it out tonight on Halo3 too I think. The contest truly never ends heh.

-

Jim Lee

Thanks for the kind words Jim! That means a lot!

I was blown out of the water when I saw your piece, it just goes to show how much I have further I have to go.

This was a huge battle for me for many reasons. I've been a big fan of yours since I was a kid, so the fact that the master entertained a battle with a student was good enough for me!

Till next time Jim!

Francis

Iron Gelatomettista - Jim Lee!

Vote for Jim Lee by posting a comment below!

Iron Gelatomettista - Francis Manapul!

Vote for Francis by posting a comment below!

Iron Gelatomettista - Cloak & Dagger!

Side-by-side! (Don't vote here.)

Final voting ends at Monday, 5:00pm PST.

Ding, ding!

Feel that adrenaline kicking in? It all goes down in fifteen minutes!!

Jim Lee in one corner and Francis Manapul in the other with the Iron Gelatomettista title up for grabs here.

Grab some popcorn and keep checking for the all latest on the challenge and find out if your favorite characters get thrown in the ring too!!

UPDATE: Keep an eye out for Cloak & Dagger!