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!