Rough Stuff #10

Celebrating the ART of Creating Comics!

No. 10 FA L L 2 0 0 8

Batman TM & ©2008 DC Comics.

$6.95

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82658 27766

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Volume 1, Number 10 Fall 2008

Celebrating the ART of Creating Comics!

EDITOR

Bob McLeod PUBLISHER

John Morrow DESIGNER

Michael Kronenberg PROOFREADERS John Morrow and Eric Nolen-Weathington

FEATURED ARTISTS 26

Matt Haley

44

Jason Paz

54

Alex Raymond

67

Andy Smith

COVER ARTISTS

Ron Garney and Bob McLeod Pencil scan courtesy Gabe Fieramosco

CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Bob Brodsky, Cookiesoup Productions SPECIAL THANKS Ron Garney Jim Clancey Matt Haley Ronald Sonenthal Jason Paz Graham Goss Tom Roberts Scott Hawxhurst Andy Smith Jordan Martin Neal Yamamoto Kenneth Lieb Bill Rienhold Elizabeth Leonard Jason Keith Melissa Mueller Kevin Nowlan Matt McDonald Gabe Fieramosco Pennsylvania College of Art & Design

ROUGH STUFF™ is published quarterly by TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614. Bob McLeod, Editor. John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Office: ROUGH STUFF, c/o Bob McLeod, Editor, P.O. Box 63, Emmaus, PA 10849-2203. E-mail: mcleod.bob@gmail.com. Fourissue subscriptions: $26 Standard US, $36 First Class US, $44 Canada, $60 Surface International, $72 Airmail International. Please send subscription orders and funds to TwoMorrows, NOT to the editorial office. Central cover art by Ron Garney and Bob McLeod. Batman copyright DC Comics. All material © their creators unless otherwise noted.

All editorial matter © 2008 Bob McLeod and TwoMorrows Publishing. ROUGH STUFF is a TM of TwoMorrows Publishing. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

ISSN 1931-9231

ROUGH STUFF FEATURE 38

Sequential Art 101 Bob McLeod

ROUGH STUFF INTERVIEW 3

Ron Garney

ROUGH STUFF DEPARTMENTS 2

Scribblings From The Editor Bob McLeod

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Cover Stories Andy Smith and Jason Paz reveal the process of creating a cover.

65

PrePro Art by Jason Paz, Matt Haley, and Andy Smith, done before they turned pro.

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Editor’s Corner Samples from editor Bob McLeod’s comic book career.

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Rough Critique Editor Bob McLeod critiques an aspiring penciler’s sample page.

84

Rough Talk Comments and opinions from our readers.

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

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SCRIBBLINGS FROM THE EDITOR:

A

utumn is a time of endings and beginnings. The calendar year is winding down, but the school year is just beginning.

The warm weather is gone, and the cold weather is coming. Publishers are bringing out new books which will push older books off the shelves. So in the spirit of Autumn, this issue features an article about some young art students’

first attempts at drawing comics, a critique of an artist hoping to start a career in comics, and another wonderful new artist just beginning his comics career, but also a celebration of one of the great legendary comic artists tragically cut down at the height of his career. His style of graceful figure drawing and masterfully flowing inks is seldom seen anymore in today’s comic art.

We open this issue with an insightful interview of our cover artist, Ron Garney. Ron infuses the power of Jack Kirby with a European flair. His art appears primal and raw yet at the same time it’s tight enough to be printed from the pencils. Wait ‘til you hear about what all Ron can do. I’ve always liked his pencils, but he really surprised me with his many other talents. We then have a couple covers from inception to finish by newcomer Jason Paz and veteran Andy Smith. Following that is a feature on writer/illustrator/designer Matt Haley, the artist and creative consultant for Stan Lee’s Who Wants To Be A Superhero. He does a bit of everything, and does it all very well. He works digitally on commercial jobs to save time, but still prefers paper and pen for his comic work.

For the last couple years, I’ve been teaching sequential art at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, and this issue I want to share that experience with you by giving you a feel for what it’s like, and showing you some art my students did. There are so many disciplines involved in drawing comics that trying to teach comic art can be very difficult, but also very rewarding and enjoyable. It was while I was teaching at PCAD that I was googling animal images and discovered Jason Paz, who had done an amazing, intricately rendered drawing of a sea turtle. Months later, I was very surprised to learn that his real interest is in drawing comics! His extremely detailed art is sure to blow you away.

What can I say about Alex Raymond? Where do I start? When I was first trying to learn to draw dramatic comics, I looked back to study the early pioneers of the art form. It was only then I found Flash Gordon and Alex Raymond. Years later, I discovered his Rip Kirby work. Although Raymond created Rip Kirby, I grew up reading it illustrated by his successor, the great John Prentice, one of my favorite artists. I then found and fell in love with Secret Agent X-9 illustrated by the amazing Al Williamson, only to later learn that it, too, was created by Raymond! To top it all off, I was shocked to find out he had also created Jungle Jim, the hero of one of my favorite childhood TV shows! But Raymond’s career extended even beyond all of these, as you’ll learn in a fantastic new book by artist Tom Roberts, The Life and Art of Alex Raymond. I’m thrilled to bring you some excerpted art from this book, with new comments by Tom written especially for Rough Stuff.

This issue also features an artist who’s done it all, from pencilling to inking to editing to art directing to writing best-selling books, the multi-talented but simply named Andy Smith. When does he find the time to watch TV? Closing out the issue, we had some extra pages this issue so I offer up another sampling of my own artwork I hope you’ll enjoy. You didn’t think all I did was write editorials, did you? Then a critique of promising young artist Neal Yamamoto, followed by your letters of comment.

Don’t stop there, though, go to my web site and see even more art and comments that I couldn’t fit into the magazine: http://www.bobmcleod.com/roughstuff.htm And remember we now offer every issue of Rough Stuff in digital form as a PDF download at http://www.twomorrows.com, including many images in full color, for just $2.95 (free for subscribers!). Also, please visit our guests’ web sites: http://www.matthaley.com/ http://www.glasshousegraphics.com/creators/pencilers/michaeljasonpaz/index.htm http://www.tomrobertsstudio.net/ http://www.andysmithart.com/

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Bob McLeod Editor mcleod.bob@gmail.com www.bobmcleod.com PO Box 63 Emmaus, PA 18049

INTERVIEW

RON GARNEY

R E N A I S S A N C E

M A N

By Bob McLeod

R

on Garney has worked on JLA, Amazing Spider-Man, Civil War, Captain America,

RON GARNEY This was a sketch for a

X-Men, Silver Surfer, Hulk and other books. He’s a guy who likes to have fun, and it comes through in his art. You can tell he’s having fun drawing. But as I

found out in this interview, he’s also a musician, actor, athlete and painter. I don’t know if there’s anything he’s not good at, but if there is, he’s probably working on it!

McLEOD: That’s true. The Internet

nerd who would have been sitting alone in his room

and video games today must use up

drawing all the time as a kid. How did you find time

a lot of the spare time of many kids

between chasing girls and playing sports to

who might otherwise be drawing. I

RON GARNEY: I think a lot of comics nerds are going to take umbrage with that statement!

Spider-Man in his new Tony Stark created armor from Civil War…

JIM CLANCY

BOB McLEOD: You don’t look like the type of comics

develop your drawing?

fan at a convention of

myself played a lot of baseball and softball when I could have been improving my drawing. Did you play sports very much?

I got this from Ron at the first NY Comic Con. It was done right after the Amazing SpiderMan issue that first showed the Iron Spider costume came out. I remember how cool it was to get the sketch.

The show was buzzing

McLEOD: Ha! No doubt. I

GARNEY: Neither

just think many people

my mother nor stepfa-

have a mental picture

ther were into sports,

of artists as not exactly

so when I played in

“buff.”

school I did so out of

GARNEY: Seriously though,

my own desire. Early on

that’s tough to say. I

before my mother mar-

wasn’t always the “non-

ried my late stepfather,

nerdy-looking” type, I

we moved around a lot,

I like a slender, sinewy

suppose. Where I grew

then basically settled on

Spidey, and it’s cool

up it was very rural, and back

eleven acres in the country in

how Ron was going for

then, there wasn’t the Internet,

the seventies, and all I had was

and one of the many conversations was about the new Spidey.

It was an easy choice in a commission to ask for.

BOB McLEOD

a trompe d’oeil effect

my imagination, the outdoors

with the wall shadow.

There were comics, records, monster magazines

and my ability and desire to

Up-lighting is such an

and Star Trek.

draw. There was literally

easy, effective way to

MTV or arcades to occupy a kid’s time.

heighten drama.

Spider-Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

courtesy Jim Clancey

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

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nothing I could even walk to for stimulus or to hang out

painter however, and my earliest memories of drawing

with friends regularly. My younger brother and I had each

were of her and my aunt teaching me to do Bugs Bunny

other. I played sports as well in school, but in the down

heads, and not long after that I was doing Batman and

time that’s what I would do.

Superman drawings.

McLEOD: Does your younger brother draw at all?

McLEOD: So drawing and sports—did you have any

GARNEY: No he doesn’t, but he is an engineer. He’s

other hobbies or interests growing up?

very technical. My late grandmother was an avid oil

GARNEY: I was also into music, so I was experimenting with a lot of things I found interesting, and I guess as I reflect on that, each of those pursuits served a different purpose for my evolving personality. I still do all of those things. I write music, play piano and guitar, train in jiu-jitsu and boxing, ride my Harley, play tennis or lift weights, or hike. Now, it just happens that I draw for a living. I had a rock band for a while as well, and we played all over New Haven county and recorded a couple CD’s, and that was some of the most fun I ever had, and we started developing quite a following for a while there. But it was just like the “behind the music” stuff you see on VH1. Too much drama and ego and the band split up. I continue to write new music and material and plan on doing that again as well.

McLEOD: No kidding! I played the trumpet in school, but I’ve always thought writing music is pure magic.

I’m even more impressed that you can do that than draw! I also play tennis.

Otherwise I’d probably weigh 300 pounds. And with boxing and jiu-jitsu

Spider-Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

and weights, it’s no wonder you’re in

RON GARNEY Any chance I get to draw a fight scene on a New York City street is fun for me. I enjoyed the confrontation between Iron Man and SpiderMan during the Civil War run, and when I was drawing it I got rather nostalgic, for instance, about how excited I’d be when I’d pick up a Marvel comic from the sixties or seventies like Daredevil vs. the Sub-Mariner or the Thing vs. the Hulk on the GW bridge (Kirby). I felt this confrontation had that same flavor to it and is what helped make the story so successful.

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ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

such good shape. What formal training have you had?

few plays and actually went back for a course a few

Did you go to art school or college?

years ago and really enjoyed it. It’s just having the time I

GARNEY: Yes, University of Southern Connecticut.

suppose with everything else going on in my life like fam-

McLEOD: Where did you work right out of school?

again.

ily and work. Someday, though, I’d like to do local theatre GARNEY: Well, I was a bouncer and bartender for a while in college, and continued that trend right into the

McLEOD: So I was right. You were acting, playing music

management of nightclubs after college. That’s where it

and sports; you weren’t just sitting alone in your room

became the most difficult to maintain myself as an artist. Not only professionally, but socially.

McLEOD: When did you decide to try to make a living as an artist?

GARNEY: Well, I was always trying in the eighties, and even had jobs as a teen doing murals and things in the seventies, but I started to get serious about it and comics between 1985 and 1988. I had gotten interested in the comics thing as a career by around 1985 and started working on samples and honing skills in that area. That was a very unique time of my life, however. I was working and living the life of a vampire basically. Going to work at six at night ’til four in the morning. It got so bad that at the crack of dawn I would catch fire and have to sleep under six yards of dirt. If I drove by a catholic church my eyeballs would start to bleed… but, I digress.

Spider-Man and Iron Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

McLEOD: Well, as long as you didn’t drink blood.... A lot of artists work through the night and sleep during the day, but to work at another job like that and then also try to draw must have been tough.

GARNEY: I did have some art jobs: I worked for a women’s newspaper, doing illustrations and the like. I also acted in some theatre productions, was a waiter, and...

McLEOD: Acting? How was that for you? Do you ever consider doing more of that?

GARNEY: Yeah, actually I loved it really, but didn’t have the balls to pursue it the way I would have liked. I acted in a FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

5

RON GARNEY This is a cover with my inks. It was my first inked one coming back to Marvel and I thought it turned out well.

There was talk between Quesada and me about putting Spidey’s emblems on in reverse silhouette there, but inevitably all it did was clash with the background…

BOB McLEOD Squint your eyes and look at this as an abstract design, and

blacks framing the bad guys, and balanced white surrounding Spidey, who's fairly Golden Sectionally placed.

Everything is positioned on diagonals.

This is a very well designed illustration.

Study and learn, students!

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ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

Spider-Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

you’ll see balanced

reading comics and drawing.

(mostly of Star Wars fame), doing pre-production illustra-

GARNEY: My roommate from college and I went through

tions and the like. But the storyboard thing didn’t really

a phase and sat around getting high when we had noth-

register with me ’til later.

ing else to do, and then would make ridiculous trips to Friendly’s restaurant and order gigantic banana splits

McLEOD: Yeah, Ralph McQuarrie is terrific, but I was

and laugh our asses off over the most inane sh*t ever.

already working in comics before I ever heard of him. So

One time we got so high we got in a wrestling match in

how did you break into comics?

our kitchen over who could get the most ice cream out

GARNEY: I had called and met Mike Zeck, who lived

of the box with our spoons. He won when, as we were

near me and we started hanging out a bit, and he was

rolling around on the floor wrestling over this box of vanil-

giving me critiques and advice about what I needed to

la fudge swirl, he jammed his spoon in the box and

work on. He just happened to be the artist on the afore-

pulled the whole damn block of ice cream out and

mentioned Secret Wars series and someone mentioned

plopped it on top of his bowl which was too small to fit

to me that he lived in the area. It was real invaluable to

it. I think we laughed so hard we got liver damage.

have access to a guy like that. It was like magic watching him draw, too. Very inspiring. Mike had that ability and gift

McLEOD: Well, getting back to your art, what made you decide to try to draw comic books rather than, say, storyboards?

GARNEY: I don’t know, I didn’t even consider storyboards at the time because I fell in love with comics accidentally. A bartender friend was reading a Secret Wars issue and I started thumbing through it, sort of fondly remembering, “Oh yeah, I used to read these as a kid,” kind of thing. Then it was like a bolt of lightning hit me and I got hooked almost immediately. It was weird. I was floundering around having no direction as to where I wanted to go with art as a career and then there it was right in front of me.

McLEOD: Yeah, that’s similar to how I got into drawing comics. A friend of mine was a huge comic book fan and said I had to try drawing comics. I was thinking more about working for Disney at that time.

GARNEY: I loved movies and thought about directing, but with my art background this seemed to make so much sense. I loved mythology in high school and college, and it all just clicked. I

RON GARNEY

thought of myself maybe going in

Captain America com-

the direction of Ralph McQuarrie

mission for a fan.

Captain America TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

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Courtesy Bill Reinhold

RON GARNEY I did this spread the way John Buscema would normally do his pages, full sized and fast. Then I went over it with a fresh piece of board and traced off the rough to get the finished pencils. Doing it this

All characters TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

way I’ve found to be expedient while retaining a lot of the energy put into the first draft. It happens to be one of the most fun, favorite and challenging pages out of my Spider-Man run. It was also an excuse to do a Pérez sort of thing with the composition.

with a lot people. And there are a lot of guys in the indus-

McLEOD: Yeah, that’s the classic movie a lot of comic

try who benefitted from his generosity that way. Guys like

artists have studied for that stuff. I always tell my stu-

Jerry Ordway, Dennis Janke, Mike DeCarlo, (some dude

dents to study movies and TV instead of just watching.

named Bob McLeod from the clan McLeod.)

GARNEY: But it was invaluable for Mike to be able to look at a page or panel of mine and say, “Well, try this

McLEOD: Mike’s a great guy. I met him when I inked a

angle here,” and it would be so much more impactful. It

Captain America cover over him, and then later on John

improved me by leaps and bounds quickly, rather than

Beatty started inking backgrounds for me and he was

trying so hard to learn it on my own with no teacher.

also getting advice from Mike, so the three of us started hanging out a little, and playing a lot of poker.

McLEOD: Exactly. Being self-taught is a slow way to go.

GARNEY: Anyway, once I got serious about it, I worked

It really helps to get some feedback and direction.

up some samples, and Mike thought I was ready and we

GARNEY: One time, in a sample I was working up, I had

went to Marvel.

Mary Jane (from Spider-Man) putting a Christmas angel at the top of a tree in a scene with Peter Parker in the

McLEOD: Do you remember anything specific Mike said

background, and the angle I chose was from behind

about your drawing that really made a difference?

Peter’s head, looking up at MJ and the angel. Well, Mike

GARNEY: Yeah, he taught, or more to the point rein-

said “try this” and thumbnailed a shot from the top of the

forced in me, to not be afraid of more interesting camera

tree with the angel in close up, Mary Jane in the middle

angles to create a more dramatic effect, like Hitchcock. I

ground, and Pete in the back, down on the floor. It was

mean, I was on my way there. I took a film class in col-

so simple, but it was like someone threw cold water on

lege and studied Citizen Kane, which was a real eye-

my face and told me to wake up. It made so much more

opener for learning framing and composition, lighting and

sense visually and I sat around putting out cigarette butts

texture.

on my wrist for days for not having thought of something so simple but so effective.

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ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

RON GARNEY Bill (Reinhold) did an amazing job here (of course he always does). His line weights and brush control kept the energy perfectly for this page, where it could have easily been lost.

RON GARNEY Same to Matt Milla— Courtesy Bill Reinhold

an amazing colorist, with whom I'd like to work again. His colors really lit up the page, distinguished

McLEOD: Ten lashes with a wet noodle works almost as

get discouraged when criticized, and just don’t stick with

well, and leaves fewer scars...

it. You have to have faith in your talent and keep plug-

GARNEY: Well—ok, not really about the cigarette butts,

ging at it.

but you get the point. I needed to stop being afraid of the more interesting angles because they might be

the space between all of those characters well and make you feel like your right there behind Cap.

more difficult to pull off, and challenge myself and attack it.

McLEOD: How exactly did you improve up to a pro level? What did you do or study?

GARNEY: Well, I would go to the tops of buildings and draw the people and streets and clothing and cars and stores and distance and perspectives and landscapes etc.

McLEOD: That’s a good idea. Frank Miller used to go up on the rooftop of his apartment in NY to draw water towers and stuff.

GARNEY: I would spend what little money I had and go out and buy books and just draw. Plus, I had determination not to fail. I knew I had talent, but just needed to embrace it.

McLEOD: That is so important. So many people FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

9

once Lee Weeks came up to my house to hang out and I was showing him those, and he told me he didn’t know whether to be impressed or really scared.

McLEOD: Can you describe the experience of drawing your first comic job?

GARNEY: Wow, yeah, that was something. It was Animal Man for DC comics. It was only an eight-page sequence to see if I’d be right for the job. During that though, the guy they originally asked to do it— Chas Troug—changed his mind and agreed to do the book. But it didn’t matter; I was paid for it and it was such a high, just being considered for the thing, them liking my samples and all.

McLEOD: So at least you got a little confidence boost, and some experience, and also some new sample pages. And Marvel is always easier to breach if they think DC

GARNEY: I probably did a thousand samples, and insanely redid the same pages over and over again from a thousand different perspectives.

McLEOD: I think you may be exaggerating just a bit there. But even 900 would be good. That’s what it takes, though. So many young artists can barely bother to finish a single sample page. You’ve got to draw a lot of bad pages before you can draw a good one.

GARNEY: It was actually quite a bit nutty. I remember 10

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

Spider-Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Courtesy Bill Reinhold

wants you. So did you try them next?

RON GARNEY Example of my inks from Amazing SpiderMan #539 back in black. Notice the rougher, looser textures of the background done with pen, white out and dry brush.

RON GARNEY I love drawing the Spider-Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

black costume. The “Back in Black” story in particular was fun because of the body language of Peter.

Also, the stuff in the sewer with the rats (next page) was a great chance for me to rely on some of my Zeck influence, particularly from “Kravens Last Hunt.”

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

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McLEOD: Success at last. There’s nothing like seeing your work in print for the first time.

GARNEY: When I got the copy at the store I carried it around with me like a proud papa, showing it to all of my bartender friends and lifting buddies who thought it was the coolest thing on the planet. They were always watching me doodle on pads at the nightclubs or gyms.

McLEOD: Who were your main influences starting out?

GARNEY: Well, Frazetta—I started out wanting to be a fantasy illustrator and all I did were paintings.

McLEOD: Well, that’s news! I didn’t know you were a painter. Why didn’t you follow up on that?

GARNEY: I had many, many oil and acrylic paintings that I had done over the years and tragically they were all stolen from my old apart-

GARNEY: From there, I went over to Marvel and showed my samples and got a couple of offers on my answering machine by the time I got home. I agreed to GI Joe. That was like jumping right into the fire, because I had to reference all of the vehicles and characters and they had to be just right for licensing.

McLEOD: GI Joe is a killer for reference. My hat is off to you.

GARNEY: I killed myself on it to make the deadline, too—a few all nighters as I recall, and it was my first official printed job.

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ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

Spider-Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Courtesy Bill Reinhold

ment, never to be seen again. I never really

recovered from that; haven’t really done all that much of it since. Lately, I’ve been thinking about getting back into it for myself.

McLEOD: Jeez, that’s really rough. What a blow. Hopefully, they’ll turn up on the market someday. So who did you like early on besides Frazetta?

GARNEY: I can remember being into John and Sal Buscema, Alex Raymond, Alex Toth. I remember even being young in the sixties or seventies and looking at Kirby’s FF and Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant Sunday pages, which even at that young age I thought were breathtaking illustrations. I can remember them right next to the strip Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller and thinking, “Wow, what a difference.” Just two totally different types of things going on there.

Both great, but light years apart; yet here they were together on a Sunday page.

Courtesy Bill Reinhold

Spider-Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

McLEOD: Yeah, I’ve always loved all kinds

of cartoon art, from Peanuts to Prince Valiant. Each can be very impressive in their own way.

GARNEY: I loved the deceptive simplicity of the Nancy cartoonishness, and yet was wowed by the lushness of the Foster work. I think that’s actually caused me trouble—I love different styles so much that I probably over-experiment with my own work.

When I was young as well, I watched TV shows like Captain Bob and would draw along with him, or had my Jon Gnagy art sets. But in other areas of art, I FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

13

RON GARNEY This series of cover roughs shows what a painstaking process it can be to reach a final draft, at least in my case. : ) Although each of those figures in of themselves are probably fine on their own merits, I wasn’t satisfied, until I reached with the last rough the more mysterious look I had been trying to achieve.

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ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

RON GARNEY Here’s the final—and an example where I think the pencils work alone without color—I would’ve liked to have seen this reproduced with maybe no color at all…

BOB McLEOD You asked for it, you got it, Ron! So often comic art is stronger without color. It’s always best to make the image work in black-&-white, so it can stand up without color, and then hopefully the color will enhance it. But don't rely on color to make the image have depth and form or you can run into trouble.

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

15

GARNEY: Well, when I was young, ink and crow-quill intimidated me, so I relied on the safety of a felt tip, and no one really taught me. Once I got older and braver, I started using those and still do. Each has its own benefit, but overall there’s nothing like the bounce of a brush going over the paper to create thin and thick lines and textures—and when you get into it you reach a place of zen that’s the most fun you can have. I don’t reach that place with a pen.

McLEOD: I know what you mean. I love inking with a pen nib, but there’s a kind of sensuality to inking with a brush. It’s a little more like painting than drawing. Are you generally happy with your inkers, or would you prefer to ink yourself?

GARNEY: No, I’m generally happy, but there are definitely people I don’t feel look as good over me as others.

That was something I had to get used to to accept, that it’s not so much a fault or victory of anyone as much as it was a style thing. I’ve seen guys who look absolutely

Courtesy Jason Keith

Courtesy Jason Keith

phenomenal over other pencillers, but when they ink me it

RON GARNEY

adored and still adore Rockwell, and the

What really attracted me to Jason’s script was the idea of opening up with Wolvie in a Mexican prison circa 1920. I love the old Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Westerns and was delighted to learn that Jason was a fan as well. Here I really wanted to evoke the Sergio Leone feeling in the comic, and getting to be the “director” was an absolute blast.

Interestingly, I also had another “Sergio” in mind when drawing it: The great Sergio Toppi.

Wyeths. I went through a Patrick Nagel phase back in the ’80s. That stuff looks so over comWolverine TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

mercialized now, but back then it just seemed so right for its time.

McLEOD: And who inspires you now?

GARNEY: I’m still inspired in comics by guys like Joe Kubert, and am inspired by my contemporaries—there’s so many—but Silvestri, the late great Wieringo, Kubert bros., Romita Jr., Charest, Hughes, Ross, you Bob, Zeck, Golden, Adams, Mignola. I mean, I could go on forever.

McLEOD: Well, thanks for tossing me in with all that illustrious company. How did you learn inking, and do you prefer brush or pen?

Pencils: Ron Garney Color: Jason Keith

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ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

Courtesy Jason Keith

RON GARNEY Ditto for the scene in the mosque. I also love drawing other cultures and countries, and again really attempted to pull off the believability of the time and place here.

Interesting contrast to have Wolvie in costume there with all of the men in prayer; more like an angel of death.

BOB McLEOD These are some of the best non-inked pages I've seen, proving that inking really isn't needed anymore over the right style of pencils (sigh). You can

Wolverine TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

see these pages in full color in the $2.95 PDF version of Rough Stuff available at www.twomorrows. com! You know colorist Jason Keith knows what he's doing when the color values hold up equally well in graytones. But trust me, you want to see these in color!

Pencils: Ron Garney Color: Jason Keith

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

17

Courtesy Jason Keith

thought some of it really benefitted from that. I do think that there’s a style there that would be cool as hell if I can get my hooks into it. It really worked for me on Wolverine, but my pencils were much tighter on that book.

McLEOD: How tight are your pencils usually?

GARNEY: It varies, with deadlines or enthusiasm for what I’m drawing—or style. There are times when I’ve done rough pencils for the simple reason that I like the look.

McLEOD: What led to the Skaar book being printed from the pencils, with no inks?

GARNEY: There’s a lot of controversy over my stuff about that, but all I can say is that on Skaar, I just came off a run on Wolverine where it was just pencilled and loved the result, so I continued it.

McLEOD: What are your thoughts on that trend in comics?

GARNEY: I think it’s just another area to be explored and not be afraid of. I don’t think it represents anything else. The inked page is

Wolverine TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

just too beautiful to ever go the way of the dodo, and it’s a true art form. But in my opinion, there are other roads that can lead to some beautiful things.

McLEOD: Do you do thumbnails or roughs, or just draw right on the page to begin? Do you use blue pencil, or a light box?

GARNEY: I can do both. Just depends on my mood, but generally I’ll start out with a small thumbnail or rough to see the page better. Earlier in my career I just worked large, á lá Pencils: Ron Garney Color: Jason Keith

RON GARNEY This is one of my favorites from the Wolverine “Get Mystique” run. I really enjoy illustrating time pieces. The costuming and sets really lend themselves to the believability of the story, visually speaking.

The styles and designs of the time are so strong and fun to draw.

18

falls flat, and vice versa. But I’m a difficult guy to ink.

McLEOD: Yes, you are. Your pencils are very open to interpretation by the inker, which I love, but that can give a lot of today’s inkers trouble. I noticed in your recent Son of Hulk job that there are no blacks. Were you just trying for a different look, or was there some other reason for that? Did it look like you wanted it to after it was colored?

GARNEY: No, some of it was the scan and the interpretation of the colorist. There are areas that I wanted solid black that were left looking like colored pencil, but I

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

John Buscema, with a sheet of bond paper with very energetic rough drawing on the

paper, and then traced off of that to get the finished product.

But I was having difficulty with the composition of the entire page, starting it that large, so I went small and it worked for me, being able to see it better from a distance. I don’t have to do that now, as I’ve gotten to a place after doing it so long that I can get to that place without going small. But I still do. Sometimes for schedule’s sake, I’ll do as much as I can on a small rough, just to make the finished page go that much quicker.

I’ve never done blue pencil, although I have tried it and

Courtesy Jason Keith

RON GARNEY I originally chose a down shot for this piece, then scrapped it in lieu of the more challenging angle with the figure in perspective. Being brave with your choices and challenging yourself can lead to good results, as I think this

Wolverine TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

page reflects.

Pencils: Ron Garney Color: Jason Keith

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

19

This was my first cover from the “Get Mystique” run I did with Jason Aaron. I

Courtesy Ron Sonenthal

RON GARNEY

went extremely tight for this and loved the results for the digital inking process. On the printed version you can barely tell that it wasn't inked. I like the sensuality of the piece.

BOB McLEOD Well, if you’d like to

out the Rough Stuff section of my web site to see my take on it. Ron Sonenthal, the art collector who owns this original, has asked a few different inkers to take a crack at it, myself among them (shh... don't tell Ron Garney!).

20

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

Wolverine TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

see it inked, check

the business I’ve swapped or traded with over

RON GARNEY

time. I have plenty of paintings and art I’ve bought

A couple of pieces

from non-comic related artists. I wouldn’t say I’m

from the movie I Am

an avid collector though, just whatever strikes my

Legend where I

fancy. There are guys I know though who are.

worked as costume illustrator…

McLEOD: That’s for sure! (Hi, Scott and Tim!) Well, thanks for the interview, Ron!

BOB McLEOD So we finish the inter-

GARNEY: You’re welcome, Bob, it was my pleasure.

view and then Ron sends me scans and

McLEOD: Any parting advice for young comic art students, other than to lock up their paintings?

there's these two costume illos for I Am Legend!… Can you

GARNEY: To any students, I would say learn to

tell us more, Ron??

trust your instincts about your art! If something doesn’t feel right about your drawing, or if that nagging little voice in the back of your head says you’re cheating on perspective, then you probably are! If that voice in the back tells you the piece is finished and to leave it, then leave it! It’s done! To me, that’s one of the most important parts of the journey, and the truest, because in the end that voice will never let you down and supports all the hard work you’ve done along the way.

RON GARNEY Working on I Am Legend was an extremely fun, rewarding experience. I was contacted by the costume designer for the movie. I guess they were having trouble with the live action actors who were originally hired to play the creatures. They just looked too funny on

never liked it. That’s a method better suited for much

film. So I came in and

tighter, bolder styles I think.

started illustrating the creatures in costume,

McLEOD: Do you watch TV or listen to music while you

and gave the creatures

work?

the comic-booky once

GARNEY: I didn’t use to, as it was too distracting for me, but

over in the illos. They

again with experience now, I can put the TV or music on. I’ve

evidently liked them

listened to movie soundtracks or the Beatles or what have

enough and it helped

you. I’ve found that it’s harder to get into that “zen” place

them decide to go CGI

when your drawing if you’re not allowing yourself to get there

with them. In addition

by putting on things that distract you. Generally, when I’m just

to being on the set,

thumbnailing, I like to watch a movie, but when the final draw-

meeting Will Smith,

ing on the page happens, I keep it fairly quiet.

his wife, and going to the wrap party, I got to

McLEOD: Really? I’m just the opposite. I need silence so I

sit with Francis

can concentrate when I’m doing layouts, but I like back-

Lawrence, the director

ground music or something while I’m finishing up or inking,

(Constantine), and

because that’s so much easier for me. Do you collect origi-

watch the dailies and

nal art? What art do you have on your walls?

talk about film influ-

GARNEY: I have a lot of stuff. I have a Kirby Surfer original,

ences. That was a real

a Byrne Surfer and Hulk original, lots of stuff from guys in

high point for me

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

21

COVER STORIES

W

hether a cover is inked or painted, it still needs to be approved in sketch form, then a finished drawing is done. But even after the sketch is approved, the artist may come up with a better idea and make some unexpected changes.

ANDY SMITH Claw #3 For issue #3, I did four different rough sketches to show my editor. As you can see, I don’t do much detail in the sketches. They are just for composition and to give a general idea of what is going on. The idea was Claw being attacked by someone off panel that we obviously can’t see, with a shadow of the attacker looming over him.

In the first sketch I did a down shot of Claw but I didn’t want to give away that the attacker might be that much larger then Claw and I felt too unattached to the scene. There was just not enough drama for me.

Sketch 2 is cool with the camera angle lower, but I wasn’t feeling it.

Claw is standing, which doesn’t give me the feel of impending doom looming over him—just too casual.

Sketches 3 and 4 were the ones I really liked. He’s backed up against a rock in sketch 3 and is seated on the ground, which would make it more difficult for him to get away.

Sketch 4 looks like he was just knocked down and is really in trouble, which I also thought was really cool.

However I went with sketch 3 because the composition works better for the logo placement and I also liked how I framed Claw’s face within the bow and bowstring.

22

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

ANDY SMITH Claw #3 My next stage is to take the rough sketch and enlarge it to about half-size of the original art and trace it off to tighten up the sketch.

ANDY SMITH Claw #3 From there I enlarge that to full size and trace it off on my light box to the tight full pencils.

This job was being printed from pencils so I was careful not to smudge it up too much while tracing it off.

BOB McLEOD Here we go again with “…printed from pencils…!”

And it looks fine!

But of course it helps that Andy’s also an inker, and is just using a pencil here instead of a brush.

Claw TM & ©2008 DC Comics.

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

23

JASON PAZ Levity #1 I remember being excited when I was one of the chosen artists to do a cover mockup/promotional art for the first season of the Who Wants to be a Super-Hero TV show by Stan Lee. I was assigned to draw this character Levity. I sent this very rough layout for approval to the editor.

BOB McLEOD A very professional comp for someone as inexperienced as Jason. But notice the important changes he makes when he goes to the finish.

Here, the horizon is curved, suggesting a smaller Earth, his foot would be cropped out of the picture, and he's positioned too much in the center.

24

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

JASON PAZ Levity #1 When I received the approval, I proceeded to enlarge the image with a photocopier, then trace the image to the paper with a light box. I did a slight adjustment from the original layout; tweaks here and there. I worked directly, inking my pencil sketch until it was finished.

BOB McLEOD This is an extremely impressive ink job (where was he when I needed a background inker??). It’s so amazing what can be done with computer coloring. Most people looking at the cover probably thought that was a photograph in the background, and he probably could have saved a lot of time and used one, with it grayed out in color this way. You have no idea how much work Jason

All characters ©2008 respective owners.

put into those buildings until you try to ink some.

JASON PAZ Levity #1 The final cover mock-up with the logo and text all over.

This was colored by Michael Kelleher. I also happened to design the lettering/logo for the character which is supposed to be laid out across from one end to another.

This was the approved promo art, but I still don’t know why his skin is purple! LOL! FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

25

I S T A R T

D U R E F E A T

MATT HALEY

aley strious Matt H The super-indu DC, then STAR TREK at started out on en went Dark Horse, th r fo T S O H G d di r became a PREY. He late F O S D IR B r He back to DC fo comic series. of r be m u n a co-creating t for Stan writer/artist, tive consultan ea cr d an st ti the ar ries. was recently RHERO TV se E P U S A E B O NTS T Lee’s WHO WA

MATT HALEY A rough sketch of Sif, from Sons of Asgard, a new cartoon project created by me and Eureka TV series creator Andy Cosby.

Tons of fun reimagining the Asgardian characters for kids!

... and the inks. Style changes can be fun.

I’ve learned not to limit myself to one comic-art style; have to keep things fresh, you know! For this, I read a lot of Asterix to get in the right headspace.

26

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

MATT HALEY The rough sketch and finished art for my new character Fem-I-Nine, for a manga teaching book for Random House I’m writing and drawing. I’m a long-time manga fan, but preferred the naturalistic style to draw in until recently.

MATT HALEY Elseworld’s Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl Still my favorite DC comic I’ve done.

My college roommate Tom Simmons and I pitched and sold Elseworld’s Finest: Supergirl & Batgirl to DC after having done Tangent: Joker, and we got to redesign practically the entire DC Universe!

Supergirl was the toughest to redesign, as putting her in anything other than the blue union suit just looked wrong, she had to be a female version of Superman, without being a Barbie doll, or too butch. I would dearly love to do a sequel

MATT HALEY

All characters ©2008 DC Comics

someday.

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

27

MATT HALEY A smattering of rough superheroine art for trading cards. I could draw superheroines all day for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. Maybe I should—!

BOB McLEOD Well, my wife gives me a hard time when I

MATT HALEY

do that…!

Supergirl and Power Girl ©2008 DC Comics Spider-Woman TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

28

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

MATT HALEY The Order The pencil rough for a doublepage spread from The Order, a book I drew for Marvel, inked by Dan Panosian.

MATT HALEY The Order And these are the pencils, my first Marvel Universe shot. While much of my output has been for DC, Marvel characters will always be my All characters TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

favorite. Now that I’m directing film, I may never have the opportunity to draw these characters again, but I live in hope... the only character I dislike here is Ben Grimm; I just can’t draw him like Mike McKone!

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

29

MATT HALEY Digital inks for the Pulsar character for Random House. Again done in Painter 9. I have inked many of my covers by hand in the past, and I still do if they are for comics publication, but for commercial gigs I stick to digital tools!

MATT HALEY A rough sketch done in Corel’s Painter 9, for an original character, again for my book for Random House. While I still love drawing with traditional tools, sketching with digital media can be a lot faster and easier, especially for commercial clients, as once I’m done I can skip the scanning step and upload finished digital art directly to the client.

30

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

MATT HALEY A pencil commission of Power Girl for a fan. Yes, I like drawing girls, but I try hard to make them look powerful and vital, as opposed to typical swimsuit poses.

Power Girl needs to look like somebody who can juggle Buicks, but still be lighthearted and

MATT HALEY

heroic!

Power Girl ©2008 DC Comics

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

31

MATT HALEY An old favorite for Avatar Press. A big piece of bristol board, and I loved drawing the hair, oddly enough! Billy Tucci’s a friend of mine, so it was fun to interpret his character, and WIlliam Christensen at Avatar let me play around with the

MATT HALEY

look of Pandora.

32

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

MATT HALEY My all-time favorite piece up to this point! Took four very long days on a huge piece of 4-ply board, all graphite. What a kick to finally draw Superman. Of course, my favorite part of this piece is Parker Posey’s likeness; I am a huge fan of hers, and how great did it feel to know she has a large version of this hanging in her home?

All characters ©2008 DC Comics

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

33

MATT HALEY A recent cover inked by the incomparable Kevin Nowlan.

Words failed me when I got the inks back... he and I bonded over our love of Bob Oksner. We still think Bob drew the sexiest girlsnext-door!

34

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

KEVIN NOWLAN I probably got a little carried away with the inks on this one. If I remember right, the pencils would have been fine to ink straight, but I played around with the lighting and filled out her lips a little.

Matt did a very nice job with the subtle hand gesture and the naturalism of the pose. I had fun with the texture of her hair and the brushwork on the leather jacket.

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

35

MATT HALEY MATT HALEY Tangent: Superman’s Reign One of my recent covers for DC’s Tangent: Superman’s Reign series. I created Tangent’s Joker character with Tom Simmons and

been a hoot to revisit these characters. This cover was done entirely in Painter 9, as I only had two days to do it, soup to nuts!

36

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

All characters ©2008 DC Comics

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37

Sequential

By Bob McLeod ell, we call this magazine Rough Stuff because we usually bring you BOB McLEOD

the rough preliminary art of the top pros, but this issue I also want

Jordan Martin was really the only one in the class who nailed the couch scene. It has a lot of depth and good characteriza-

W

to share with you a different kind of rough stuff; some work done by art school students I’ve taught. Regular Rough Stuff readers are familiar with my Rough Critique feature in the back of every issue,

where I take a sample page sent in by an aspiring comic book artist and critique it,

tion, and I really like the low camera angle, putting us in

trying to be constructive and show how to raise the page up to a more professional level. Every page has its own problems, and every artist has different things to learn,

the room at their height, not ours.

but there are many recurring problems I see in all of the sample pages.

The most important thing that is invariably lacking is the figure drawing. You just have to draw a lot of figures and memorize a lot of anatomy before you can draw good figures from your imagination, and then you still need to learn how to make them move dynamically. There are also always several problems with composition, many unique to comics and therefore new to illustration students, and comic book storytelling techniques. And most young artists don’t have much of a grasp of perspective. I do my best to offer knowledgeable advice in my Rough Stuff critiques, but I always wonder if the artists actually improve after hearing my critique. Does it all sink in, or is it too hard to absorb all at once and change the way you’ve been doing things? I have this vision of them reading my critique and a light bulb flashes over their head and suddenly they’re able to draw great pages and go on to become superstars.

In reality, it usually takes a lot more than one critique to get someone up to that next level. They may not want to make the effort to actually read those figure drawing books they have and practice drawing the manikin poses.

They might not want to study and work at it because

Courtesy Jordan Martin

that’s too much like real work. So many artists just want to draw Spider-Man, and they think drawing comics should be fun, not work. My own attitude at age 20 was frighteningly similar to that.

There were no schools I knew of teaching cartooning or comic art in 1969, and I was never able to find some38

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

Art 101 one to teach me how to draw comics, and never had a

what a human looks like and draw it in dif-

real critique. Even after I started renting space in Neal

ferent poses and viewed from above or

Adams’ Continuity Studios, I never got one of Neal’s infa-

below with no reference! That was a new

mous, ego-shattering critiques (Neal was the top artist in comics at that time, and known for making wannabes cry). The closest I came was when I first approached DC Comics and then-art director Joe Orlando (of EC Comics fame) told me I needed to go back to school and learn how to draw! I wasn’t about to do that. Instead, I stubbornly went back to my room and started cranking out more sample pages. I learned most of what I know from studying other artists and through trial and error. Drawing has always come easily to me, but it took me years to get competent at penciling superhero comics, which is why I did mostly inking in the early years of my career. Unlike most comic book pencilers today, I was not a superhero comic fan before I started in comics, and had intended to draw for Disney or do a comic strip in the newspaper.

I just wanted to draw humorous cartoons. But once I decided to give comic books a try, I was willing to study as hard as necessary and would have welcomed a rough critique to show me the way.

So I now try to teach others what I’ve learned, and hopefully spare them those many frustrating years of trial and error. To that end, I recently began teaching as an adjunct instructor at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design in Lancaster, PA, which I was very pleased to learn is a very good art school, with an excellent staff and excellent students. In the fall semester of ’07 I taught a class in “sequential imagery” (the fancy collegiate term for drawin’ comics), and most of my students majors, and when I had them draw figures with no reference the first day of class, I realized I had my work cut out for me.

Most of them had talent, but it was very undeveloped with regard to drawing comics. Their prior instruction had mainly all been drawing from a model or from reference. I

Courtesy Graham Goss

were juniors. Not all of them were even illustration

BOB McLEOD

don’t think they had ever been asked to draw figures

Graham Goss is an excellent artist with much more experience in painting than in inking. We

totally from their imagination, because most illustration

discussed whether splitting the explosion into two panels worked, and decided that it did. I was

careers don’t require that. It’s one thing to draw a figure

impressed by the way all of the students were trying to break new ground in various ways,

while looking at a model. It’s quite another to remember

rather than taking the easier, more obvious route.

FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

39

five or six or more illustrations working together on one page as a unified, balanced composition to tell a story. I began simply. I just asked them to draw two characters interacting in some way on a couch in a room showing two walls (hopefully to create some depth and perspective). In spite of my initial concerns, I was actually quite impressed by many of their drawings. Their characters had a lot of personality and they were trying to be inventive in presenting this simple scene, even though several forgot (or ignored) my instructions and drew just one wall, creating very flat drawings. The best way to draw something like that is to show it from a 45-degree angle, not head-on, which looks flat.

Nevertheless, I was sufficiently impressed with their abilities that I decided it was time for them to sink or swim, so I threw them into the deep end. I gave them the first page of a script by Randy Stradley from a Ghost comic. I chose it simply because Martin Balcer had sent

Courtesy Scott Hawxhurst

it to me along with his sample pages for my Rough

challenge for them. I frankly thought drawing a comic

Scott Hawxhurst’s

book story page was going to just be too difficult for

bedroom page has

them. Drawing comics requires being proficient in so

some problems with

many different areas. The job’s sort of a combination of

anatomy and per-

artist and movie director. There’s anatomy, dynamic figure

spective, but his camera movement, storytelling and wash tones are very effective. I really like what he’s trying to do with dramatic lighting.

40

drawing, composition, perspective and storytelling, but then there’s also lighting, camera angles, costuming, Courtesy Jordan Martin

BOB McLEOD

backgrounds (set design), lettering text and sound effects, balloon design and placement, character design, panel layout, inking and coloring! How could I teach them all of that in just one semester? I decided I couldn’t. I would have to narrow the focus.

This was not a figure drawing class. There was simply

BOB McLEOD

not enough time to work much on their figures. So I

Jordan’s bedroom page still cracks me up. Just the way he uses flies

decided I would concentrate mostly on layout and com-

as the characters in such a deadpan manner is so funny. In contrast to

position, because that’s the real meat of the problem in

his humorous art, Jordan is very serious and all business when it

sequential art—not just drawing a single illustration, but

comes to promoting his art and is sure to go far.

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

Critique in issue #7. Only one or two of my students had ever heard of the character. I gave them a minimum of instruction beforehand and let them have at it. I believe too much information given all at once is impossible to process, and a lot is gained from making mistakes and being corrected.

In some ways, it may well have been the most difficult assignment any of them had been given in any class up until then. This class was an elective, and while they had chosen to take it because they thought it would be interesting, only two or three of the dozen students were at all interested in comic books. Only one of them was into superheroes. But they gave it a good effort, and while most of them did at least some parts well, they also made just about every mistake that can be made. These were people who didn’t know what an inset panel is, or a panel gutter. I believe some of them must never have even seen a comic book. Some of them left an inch or

Courtesy Kenneth Lieb

more between panels, and they seemed to be enamored

of parallelogram panel shapes. There were huge empty

BOB McLEOD

areas all over some of the pages, and the figures were

Ken Lieb always put

shoved into the corners of the panel or needlessly

a lot of thinking into

cropped. Most of them had no idea how to construct a

his layouts. I love the

scene where the figures and objects around them were

way he’s used the

Courtesy Melissa Mueller

actually on the same ground plane. Buildings across the

BOB McLEOD

street looked miles away, and doorways were too large or small. Practically every panel was viewed head-on, with all horizontal and vertical designs, which tend to flatten depth and make static compositions.

In spite of my clear instructions, some drew the page

inset panels on this page so effectively, and the unusual camera angles. He also bravely attempted

the wrong size, used the wrong paper, etc. I had to give

some subtle pen nib

them all B’s and C’s, even a D, mostly just for not even

rendering, with no

Melissa Mueller’s bedroom page, with the inspired use of a wolf in

following instructions. I then gave them each a thorough

prior experience. He

sheep’s clothing. Her choice of colored pencil weakens the page, but

verbal Rough Critique, introducing the concept of

drew himself in the lead role, by the way.

the viewing angles and lighting are very interesting. You can see this

designing figures and backgrounds using diagonals

in full color in the downloadable PDF version available at

rather than horizontals and verticals, and assigned page

www.twomorrows.com.

two of the same script for the following week. To my FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

41

pages would also be lettered and inked. Although most comics today are lettered on the computer, I wanted them to be familiar with hand lettering, and introduced them to the good ol’ Ames lettering guide, a little plastic device to aid in drawing letters the same size and in horizontal rows. My only restriction was that the page have at least five panels, opening with an establishing shot.

Given that they could draw anything in the world, I was very surprised to find that some of them attempted extremely difficult pages that I myself would have really struggled to draw! Military combat scenes, jumping horses and riders, anteaters and warthogs, even ballrooms with orchestras and dancers! These were truly ambitious artists. Or maybe they just didn’t fully realize what they were getting into. But this time maybe 75% of my critiques had sunken in. They all received A’s and B’s (well, one C+). One combat page even had nice wash tones!

For the next assignment, I thought it might be fun to give them a simplified version of a script by Steven Grant from a Spider-Man mini-series I had drawn years ago

Courtesy Matt McDonald

(Spider-Man #32-34). Only I said they didn’t have to

BOB McLEOD

frustrated surprise, many of the same mistakes were

Matt McDonald has

repeated again. Sidewalks were sloping at 45-degree

a great imagination,

angles, and cars were floating in the air. Maybe 25% of

and it’s obvious here

what I had told them had sunken in, and I gave them all

in his take on the

B’s and C’s again. They considered me a very tough

turing a pro wrestler in love with a donkey. His work is always somewhat

grader, although I could easily have given some Ds. I used the simple concept of grading where C is average,

Courtesy Elizabeth Leonard

bedroom scene, fea-

B is good, and A is excellent. I was not seeing anything remotely resembling excellence. I tried not to grade them on how well they drew, but just on how well they incorporated what I had taught them into their pages. An

edgy, and he made

exasperatedly Rougher Critique followed, along with my

great progress during

best attempt at a quick overview of 1-, 2-, and 3-point

BOB McLEOD

the semester.

perspective.

Elizabeth Leonard’s final piece (also in full color in the PDF version) is

At one student’s suggestion, I agreed to let them write

42

simple but effective, proving that comics don’t have to be complicated.

their own script; whatever in the world they wanted, with-

The difference between her sunny colors and the more menacing

in obvious limits: no pornography, for example. But these

atmosphere of the gray tone version is very striking.

ROUGH STUFF • FALL 2008

draw it as a superhero page; they could use any characters they liked. The scene involved Spider-Man coming home exhausted after a tough day, brushing his teeth, getting undressed and climbing into bed next to his sleeping wife. One student, Jordan Martin, drew a hilarious version using flies for the characters. I couldn’t even look at it without laughing! It was fantastic. Another, Matt McDonald, had a pro-wrestler human coming home to a sleeping donkey wife! Yet another clever one by Melissa Mueller had a wolf in a sheep costume coming home to his wolf wife, unzipping his costume and flossing his teeth. By the way, I showed the pages to my daughter Molly, who was home from college for the weekend, and she immediately noticed that all the female students drew their two characters touching in bed, but all the males (except the one with the flies) drew them not touching, including me! That’s a very interesting bit of psychology, isn’t it? Anyway, although there were several good pages, there was also quite a bit of backsliding, and the grades were A’s, B’s, and C’s with mostly C’s for the inks because they were unfinished, or once again drawn on the wrong kind and size of paper. Many had also once again neglected to use the lettering guide, or used it (aaargh!) incorrectly.

I had never heard of it being done in an art class, but I decided to give a written test on what they should have learned. It probably wasn’t an easy test unless you had

the class page of my web site for them to review! I was extremely dismayed when most of the students did not do well. Only one person got an A. Most got C’s (six out of thirteen wrong). One even flunked it. I really didn’t see how you could flunk this test if you had been paying attention at all in class. These were things I had repeatedly stressed and gone over. So I went over the test with them in class and discussed the answers once more.

Courtesy Scott Hawxhurst

been in my class, in which case I really think the answers should have been obvious. All of the answers were on

BOB McLEOD Scott’s final piece, from his own script, is very close to a professional level, with almost no prior experience trying comic art. I love the variety of his viewing angles, and the clear, dramatic sto-

Then I retested them with a multiple choice version and

rytelling. You can see this in beautiful full color in the downloadable PDF version available at

they all got 100, thank goodness. It was now time for

www.twomorrows.com.

their final assignment: a page written by them and illustrated in color. This would be the real test of how much they had learned.

The finals were somewhat of a mixed bag. This class was an elective, and some students naturally put more effort into their core subjects, which affect their grade point average more than my class. But I could definitely see that the lessons had been learned for the most part.

They had come as far as I could bring them without serious work on their figure drawing and inking. Keep in

these pages look totally professional by inking them properly. Inking is a hugely under-appreciated ingredient in making art look professional. I don’t know if any of them will attempt to do comics or graphic novels after they graduate, but I do think they could if they chose to.

What do you think?

See the Rough Stuff pages of my web site to see more of my students’ art. http://www.bobmcleod.com/roughstuff.htm

mind as you look at this art that I could make any of

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43

D U R E F E A T

I S T A R T

JASON PAZ

lented yet another ta Jason Paz is Manila. artist, born in ic m co o in ip il F ology itecture Techn h rc A r disan as w He for a top pape r to ra st lu il orked as an g to student and w st now startin ju is d an s, ic trying com me across a tributor before him when I ca ed ic ot n t rs fi n. I gain recognitio rtle! he did of a tu on ti ra st lu il magnificent

JASON PAZ This is a Superman pin-up I did early 2005. An exercise to show if I could draw particular faces with distinct racial features, people, a city setting, etc. There is a silhouette of a sniper in the upper right corner of the page if you notice, pointing his rifle at the beauty queen/VIP of the parade on the float below.

I'm always questioning myself every time I see this early work, if Superman is holding these two kids, from what or from whom is

BOB McLEOD Late breaking news dept.: As we go to press, Jason just informed me that he’s going to be drawing a story called “Outlaw Territory” for an anthology comic for Image. His story will debut in volume 2, due out in June 2009.

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Superman ©2008 DC Comics

he saving them?

JASON PAZ These are the six sequential page layouts I did for an independent comic for Paperstreet Comics.

JASON PAZ

JASON PAZ

The finished inked pages. I just blew up

The finished toned pages. I applied gray water-

the layouts to 11" x 17" size and used a

color washes to a separate copy of each page.

lightbox and worked directly in inks. I was inspired to

I’m quite happy of the results but unfortunately I was not able to

utilize the style of heavy blacks and shadows to con-

be onboard for the entire run of the book because of conflicting

vey a dark and moody result.

work schedules. Victor, the writer, was kind enough to understand and proceeded with the project with a new artist.

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JASON PAZ This is a pin-up done in 2006 as a sample art for a book project for a very “dynamic” publisher. This is done just in pencils on a letter-size artboard. They liked it and sent me a rough script to make sample

JASON PAZ

sequential pages.

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JASON PAZ I’ve submitted a sample page for a pencilling job for a publisher featuring Darkman. I was sent a rough plot of the book for the try-out. This was a planned crossover with Ash from Army of Darkness.

This sample page shows a librarian with Peyton Weslake when they got ahold of the Necronomicon or the Book of the Dead as a cloud vortex appears on top of their heads. I’ve changed and adjusted the shots in a couple of panels from the layout to the final pencilled page. The series was a blast for Sam Raimi fans and drawn by James Fry.

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49

Daredevil and Vulture TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

JASON PAZ Here I’ve started rendering the Vulture. I’ve gone through layers of feathers on his body and detailing every one of them. You can also see the city as I alternately render the background every time I get bored with Vulture’s feathers.

JASON PAZ A sketch layout of a cover recreation.

Daredevil battling the Vulture high above New York City.

JASON PAZ

JASON PAZ

Here I’ve completely gotten bored

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drawing feathers and have decided to concentrate more on Daredevil and little parts of the background.

I’m so excited and eager to finish the piece that I’ve already put my sign “mjasonp” there.

JASON PAZ The finished piece.

A commissioned cover recreation of Daredevil issue #225. 11" x 17" artboard in pencils.

JASON PAZ

Daredevil and Vulture TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Thanks, Craig!

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JASON PAZ This is a preliminary layout of a commissioned illustration that I sent for approval to an art

Daredevil TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

collector.

JASON PAZ The commissioned illustration for an art collector who’s a fan of Daredevil. I’ve sent just a single layout because I’m completely bummed out of ideas and much to my surprise he liked it immediately! I’ve drawn this on a 10" x 15" acid-free paper in pencils. One guy in an image gallery hosting site had asked if my drawing hand hurt afterwards with all the hatching, “Hands? Nah, my back man!” I replied.

JASON PAZ You can see here as I work my way on the piece. The reptile in the foreground is almost done. I believe this time, as I can recall, I’m already fleshing out and rendering Daredevil starting with his wet boots.

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D U R E F E A T

I S T A R T

ALEX R AYMOND

s been an x Raymond ha The great Ale s of comic e on generation nc ue fl in ng ri endu standard that g a very high in tt se s, st ti ar meet ever 34. That have tried to h Gordon in 19 comic artists as Fl ng ti ea cr st known for on to also since. He’s be l, but he went ta or m im m hi JIM, ve made IRBY, JUNGLE K alone would ha IP R , -9 X T GEN aw SECRET A create and dr THE TOILER. , and TILLIE K C LU e from a ’S R LE TIM TY a small sampl st ju e ar s ge these pa m Roberts The images on d by artist To on m ay R t ou book ab also supplied wonderful new AND ART. Tom FE LI IS H — D AYMON called ALEX R . for the images the comments

TOM ROBERTS

TOM ROBERTS

All scans courtesy Tom Roberts

Preliminary study for Grasshopper Dance This image bears no major changes from the study to the finished piece. Obviously, Raymond felt the need to fully resolve all the contrast between the elements before starting the finished version in ink wash.

The composition is very much in the style popularized by Albert Dorne, with the figure in the foreground turning to look at the reader, and therefore pulling the reader into the scene as an additional participant.

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Preliminary study for Hard Work With the horizon line dividing the picture plane in half, it is interesting to note and study Raymond’s use of perspective, and the grid system he uses to establish the different planes on which the man and woman are standing.

BOB McLEOD An excerpt from Andrew Loomis’ Figure Drawing For All It's Worth shows you how to do this on my web site here: http://www. bobmcleod.com/loomisp40.gif

TOM ROBERTS Preliminary study for Sirenade Raymond, in his attempt to fill the spot vacated by George Petty for Esquire magazine, labored to imitate Petty’s style of pin-up. Raymond was apparently uncomfortable with the awkward look of the partially hidden right foot peeking out from behind the opposite leg, and hid it under drapery in the finished image.

TOM ROBERTS Preliminary study for Sonnet for a Bride This lovely drawing was framed and hung in Raymond’s home studio. The original drawing is now part of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, and was obtained in 2003 as a part of the J. Arthur Wood collection of original comic strips, drawings and cartoons.

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TOM ROBERTS Dreams This pin-up sample for Esquire appeared in print only once during Raymond’s lifetime in washed out black-and-white reproduced in the Washington and Lee college yearbook for 1941. Raymond was asked to judge a beauty contest at the school that year.

TOM ROBERTS Marine Pay Line of Carrier While undoubtedly working from a snapshot, the quick and loose feel of the penmanship in the image adds a vitality to what could easily be a stagnant scene.

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TOM ROBERTS Preliminary study for The Cheerleader Raymond uses every trick in the book to add movement and excitement into this simple scene: the diagonal figure, the overlapped bullhorn running perpendicular to the figure, the swish of the skirt and the sway of the bracelet.

While not evident in this reproduction, examination of the original drawing shows Raymond’s positioning and repositioning of the swish and lift to the skirt, working to find the right balance of length and flip to the light-

ALEX RAYMOND

weight material.

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TOM ROBERTS Preliminary study for So Proudly We Serve Probably working from a photographed model, Raymond created this image prior to enlisting in the Marine Corps during World War II. A printed version of the poster was displayed in the artist’s home studio.

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TOM ROBERTS Mechanics at Work This illustration represents a very awkward and disjointed composition, differing from the other more polished Military images.

A disjointed feel in an image might occur when an artist makes separate studies of individual elements and later splices them together to create a scene, allow there is nothing to prove of that happening in

ALEX RAYMOND

this case.

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TOM ROBERTS Plotting the Course Major Blaine H. Baesler, USMC (ret.), the subject of this illustration, retains fond memories of this image and of his friendship with Raymond.

It is unfortunate that this striking illustration, along with multiple other paintings Raymond created for the Marine Corps have vanished over time. Where the original art is, or what happened to them is anyone’s guess.

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TOM ROBERTS Concept drawings for Rip Kirby Trying to create a cast of characters interesting enough to sell an idea to a syndicate.

Done spontaneously without any type of reference materials, this study fully demonstrates Raymond’s pure drawing ability. They accurately capture an artist’s perpetual problem of taking ethereal personal thought and making it into a tangible image for the benefit of others who cannot visualize creatively.

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TOM ROBERTS Following his exposure in Esquire in the 1940s, Raymond made several attempts to place gag cartoons in upscale men’s magazines, each with double entendre captions.

“Would you like my cherry?” is the artist’s title for this ink on bristol rendering. Done in the style of Rip Kirby from the early 1950s, it displays Raymond’s flair for showcasing an alluring female.

TOM ROBERTS Photo courtesy of Ray Burns

Raymond, having just removed his reading glasses, pauses while writing a script for Rip Kirby to give a playful smile to his assistant, Ray Burns. This photo catches the artist as most of his acquaintances remembered him: jovial and pleasant.

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Although hardly new, the “good girl gone bad” motif was reoccurring in crime fiction during the post World War II years in films, radio, and comic strips. The femme fatale (French for “deadly woman”) made many appearances during the stylized film noir period of Hollywood preceding and following WWII. This drawing was also issued as a portfolio plate in the syndicate promotional folder, Suitable For Framing.

ALEX RAYMOND

TOM ROBERTS

TOM ROBERTS This rendition of the Rip Kirby villainess Pagan Lee appeared as a portfolio plate in the 1947 King Features promotional folder, Suitable For Framing.

The loose yet beautiful pen handling of the hair and features gives an added vitality to a otherwise static image.

Raymond is known to have added watercolor to printed versions of this image and inscribed them to acquaintances.

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TOM ROBERTS The leading periodicals of the ’30s, such as Collier’s or Saturday Evening Post, ran two-color illustrations for most of their interior art, and Matt Clark (1909-1973) was one illustrator that contributed many assignments to both.

In late 1934, Flash Gordon exhibited Raymond’s growing infatuation with the style of Clark, and this continued throughout the following year as Raymond’s own desire to become a magazine illustrator surfaced. His sample images were patterned in the then-popular dry brush style of Clark.

The model for this portfolio sample was Paul Dillon, the artist’s brother-in-law, upon whom Flash Gordon’s features and physique were also patterned.

BOB McLEOD Be sure to get your copy of Tom Roberts’ terrific new book Alex Raymond: His Life & Art on sale now.

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PRE-PRO

J

ust how well could the pros draw before they started doing comics? Were they any better than you at age 12? Maybe, maybe not. There’s also an important difference between drawing well from reference and pencilling comics well from your imagination. This issue Jason Paz and Matt Haley offer a glimpse into their pasts.

JASON PAZ I worked as an illustrator for a paper manufac-

BOB McLEOD I was astounded to chance upon Jason’s pencil drawing of a sea turtle when I was searching for animal drawings on the web one day. The level of detail is amazing, but what really impressed me were his tonal values, achieved completely by crosshatching.

turer here before, and these animal illustrations were made for a cover design for their notebooks. They were done with just pencils on a good stock of paper. I recall they provided several pictures for every animal, and I just Googled some more for the details, and did the drawing/rendering in pencil.

His tiger is equally impressive. You can see more of Jason’s animal drawings in the Rough Stuff section of my web site.

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65

MATT HALEY This is an early piece from 1988, freshman year of college. A group of politically incorrect heroes created by me and my friends, based on an early roleplaying game. Look, it was college in a small town; we didn’t have much to do! ; )

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D U R E F E A T

I S T A R T

ANDY SMITH

He’s a real dynamo.

Andy Smith is e, Acclaim arvel, DC, Imag M r fo d ke or w so an here he was al (w en mmerG ss ro C and ing various co do as l el w as director), best-selling editor and art illustrated the d an te ro w so MERICAN cial jobs. He al d DR AWING A an S IC M O C NAMIC ptill.

DR AWING DY

by Watson-Gu ed h is bl pu S E R-HERO MANGA SUPE

ANDY SMITH Stormwatch #8 page 6 layouts When I work I go straight to the board after doing a small thumbnail. This is an example of my initial layout. From here I would go in and tighten up the page to finished pencils.

ANDY SMITH Stormwatch #8 page 6 pencils Here are the finished pencils. When I started Stormwatch I wasn’t the inker as well. I full penciled the first seven pages and then the decision was made that I would ink the book as well.

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67

ANDY SMITH Stormwatch #8 page 4 initial layouts This was my first layout for the splash page in the danger room type setting.

ANDY SMITH Stormwatch #8 page 4 finished pencils You’ll notice that there isn’t a robot on the layouts, that’s because I designed him on a

ANDY SMITH

different piece of paper and then lightboxed him off to the original board. Once the

Stormwatch #8 page 4 revised layouts

layout was done I used my kneaded eraser to wipe away the pencils to where all that

I wasn’t happy with the female figure in the lower left cor-

was left was a really faint image. I then go back over those with a HB lead to do my

ner, she was just too flat on the page. I wanted more depth

finishes and rendering. The layout is the easier part for me and the finishing has

so I redrew her in a flying pose leading her into the scene. I

always been the hard part. I think it’s because I have more fun doing layouts and fig-

also think it’s more dramatic.

uring out the drawing and storytelling then putting the icing on the cake.

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ANDY SMITH The Atom #18 page 14 layout and pencils Here is another example of my layouts and full pencils.

BOB McLEOD The finished pencils look more impressive, but even though he enjoys it more, I think the real work is in the layout. That’s where all the important decisions are made. The rendering can be done any number of ways, but getting the layout right is the key to a suc-

ANDY SMITH

cessful page.

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69

ANDY SMITH The Atom #18 page 17 layout and pencils After I do a layout I’ll go back and look over it to make sure everything is working for me. In panel 3, The Atom’s head was a tad to large so I scanned in the page and in Photoshop using the lasso tool I selected the Atom’s head and using the transform tool scaled it down to where I was happy with it. Then I printed it out and light-boxed it off to finished pencils. If I were inking the job I probably would have just inked it and scaled the finished inks down in Photoshop to save some time.

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ANDY SMITH World War 3 page 7 These are my full pencils that I did for DC’s four-issue event World War 3. The last three panels were written as a one panel close-up of The Martian Manhunter in deep thought. The panel had three word balloons and I thought it would be cooler to split the panel into three individual panels and slowly pull the camera in closer on him as he is in thought. It also game me a chance to have his eyes slowly go from having pupils to clear in a slower

ANDY SMITH

All characters ©2008 DC Comics

manner.

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ANDY SMITH World War 3 page 9 layout and pencils Just another example of my initial layout and finished pencils.

In my layout before I draw anything in a panel, the first thing I do is lay down a perspective grid so I can visualize the scene better and make sure things are on

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All characters ©2008 DC Comics

ANDY SMITH

the proper planes.

ANDY SMITH World War 3 page 14 layout and pencils Here is the before and after of another page I did full pencils on.

The background is the San Diego convention center underwater. If you’re wondering why it’s not in the layout, it’s because I found a photo that I could use and traced it off and adjusted it to look more run down and I also added my own lighting to it to give it a more omi-

All characters ©2008 DC Comics

nous presence.

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ANDY SMITH Wildcats Nemesis page 22 full processes Here is my initial rough layout, my tightened up pencils that I ink from, and the final inks. In the initial rough, I reduced down the size of the head of the lead female in the foreground in Photoshop before I moved forward with the page.

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EDITOR’S CORNER

I

’m hoping we have some younger comics fans among our readership, and if so, they likely have no clue who I am, since I haven’t been very active in comics for the last few years. So when I found myself a few pages short this issue, I decided to show some of my own rough stuff. After 35 years, I could easily fill up an entire issue or

three, so it’s difficult to decide what to show in these few pages, but here are a few of my favorites.

BOB McLEOD Crazy #63, pg. 9 Some of the earliest work I did, and the most fun of my whole career, was for Marvel’s Crazy magazine. Then-editor Marv Wolfman was kind enough to give me my first freelance job. This is a page from a satire we did of Apocalypse Now a couple years later called “Apocryphal Nowland,” where the Vietnam War became a Disney-type theme park.

This is the type of work I had expected my whole career to be, but super heroes were fast beginning to dominate the comics business, and there just wasn’t enough of this work to keep me busy. I also felt my style was too derivative of my idol Mort Drucker, which is why I never tried to work for Mad. FALL 2008 • ROUGH STUFF

75

BOB McLEOD Red Sonja Unpublished Some time around 1980, I think, I wrote and pencilled a tenpage Red Sonja story for the Savage Sword of Conan magazine, but it was never published. It’s about her falling in love with a woodsman while recovering from being batted off the cliff by this gargoyle. Maybe I’ll eventually try to sell it to Marvel, or change it to a more generic character and use it elsewhere. It would be fun to ink it. Early on, my pencils had been criticized for being too stiff, so I was trying to make it as exciting as I could. You can see a couple more pages on the Rough Stuff section of my web site.

BOB McLEOD In addition to balancing each panel, I tried to balance the page as a whole with the combined gargoyles at the top against the large gargoyle

BOB McLEOD

in the lower left.

BOB McLEOD I always think upsidedown figures are interesting. Especially in bikinis.

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BOB McLEOD X-Men #152, pg. 2 I’ve rarely done finished pencils. I just like to draw loose breakdowns when inking myself, and because I’m slow, I usually did breakdowns for other inkers, too. But here’s an example of my finished pencils from X-Men #152, the job that landed me the New Mutants assignment. The White Queen and Storm have switched bodies and powers, much to Kitty’s surprise, as she suddenly awakens. If only I had had the time to pencil the New Mutants like

BOB McLEOD

X-Men TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

this.

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77

X-Men TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

BOB McLEOD X-Men #152, pg. 6 For awhile, I did small 5" x 7" layouts, which I then enlarged and lightboxed. It was helpful, because I could then easily move things around. But I gave it up because I hated drawing on a lightbox, so most of my later jobs were just drawn right on the page. Here, Emma Frost still inhabits Storm’s body, much to her paramour’s delight. I’ve always had difficulty drawing people kissing.

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BOB McLEOD Action Comics #674, pg. 2 Frustrated by my inker not doing anything interesting with my layouts, I once again turned to finished pencils for this Superman job. This is a scene obviously inspired by Star Wars. I had a lot of fun with all these aliens. I thought I did a really nice job on this, but got absolutely no response from DC or the fans. I guess not a lot of people were reading Superman at that time. They killed him off a few issues later (after I left the book) to raise sales. It

BOB McLEOD

Superman ©2008 DC Comics

worked.

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BOB McLEOD Spider-Man #33 Leaving Superman and returning to Marvel, I pencilled and inked a three-issue Spider-Man miniseries in the mid-1990s. I don’t know why I was doing fairly tight pencils, because as you can see, I always end up changing them in the inks anyway.

Maybe I was trying to impress the editors (futile!). I was having a ball inking after doing mostly pencils for the previous couple years, and after having been primarily a pen inker for most of my career, I did 90% of this job in brush, really using a lot of blacks. Here, we see Spidey get out his rarely

Spider-Man TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

used signal light to blind the reporters.

BOB McCLEOD Spotting changes from pencils to

BOB McLEOD

inks is a little like Where’s Waldo.

80

The main ones are the phone booth before and after reference and the Rogaine treatment in panel two.

Using such extensive blacks can be tricky. Students should study how I kept everything clear on this very complex page.

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BOB McLEOD Fantomen #24, 2003, pg. 13 From 2003-2006, I pencilled and inked a few issues of the Phantom for the Swedish publisher, Egmont. It was difficult work, requiring a lot of reference, and because it was from a finished script rather than a plot, it averaged 7-8 panels per page, which to me generally looks too crowded. But at least I was able to ink my own pencils. I seem to be incapable of faking anything, so working out the intricate folds of this net was a real struggle. These comics weren’t distributed in the U.S. so everyone here assumed I was-

Phantom ©2008 Lee Falk

n’t drawing comics anymore.

BOB McCLEOD I like the way I covered all the bases on

lishing long shot/down shot, an up shot, a well-balanced page design, I lead the eye through the page in a “Z” direction, and the inking really enhances the drawing. If only I was this satisfied with all of my pages!

BOB McLEOD

this page. I got in a close-up, an estab-

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81

ROUGH CRITIQUE

By Bob McLeod

T

his issue we have a very cool Justice League sample page sent in by Neal Yamamoto. Neal, the first thing I notice is that you’ve put in a lot of hard work on the backgrounds, which is very important, particularly on a sample page. You’re varying our viewing angle a lot, which is also very good, and you’re trying hard to compose with diag-

onals, which I always stress. Your compositional sense looks pretty good, and your storytelling is clear as glass.

You’re working hard, giving your best effort, which is really mandatory in the highly competitive business of comic books. But I see several things you need to work on to get up to that next level.

All characters ©2008 DC Comics

First off, when using inset panels you need to be careful that the backgrounds don’t blend between panels, making it hard for the reader to see what’s what. Inset panels should be like TV screens in a restaurant, where they stand out clearly, not like small screens in front of large screens at Circuit City, where they blend in. I added gutters around your inset panels to make them stand out from the background panel. If only all problems were that easy to fix. Second, as with most beginners, you really need to study figure drawing a lot more. Your faces need to be more attractive. A face can be relatively correct and still look goofy or strange. Study how the artists you admire most draw chins, noses etc. Learn to draw ears. They have a particular structure and they’re slightly lower on the head than you’re drawing them. Compare our Wonder Woman heads above. When drawing something such as crossed arms, it helps to get in the pose yourself. If you cross your arms, you’ll find that your fingers don’t reach so far around your arm, and your arms project forward rather than hang down, so foreshortening is needed. And you (along with most everyone else working in comics) also need to study perspective. Establishing a horizon and finding vanishing points is very important, as I’ll demonstrate. Lets look panel by panel at some of these things.

In panel one, it’s good to have the roof line of the mansion be on a diagonal, but by tilting the horizon it appears that the house is not on level ground, especially since the trees are vertical. The house should also be the focus of the panel, and by pushing it up and cropping it off, the hill becomes the focus. You’d want to crop it like this if someone were walking down the hill. You need to make the horizon level, and all horizontal lines should recede to a vanishing point (VP) on the horizon (H). That’s how to know what angle to draw things like the steps, which you’ve drawn sloping down severely on the left. Several lines on the house are also off, some of which I corrected. If you want us to be gazing up at the mansion from the bottom of the hill, as it appears was your intention, just move the horizon down more.

Remember this: the horizon is always where the viewer’s eyes are.

You should avoid having the center of interest (the house) in the middle of the panel, so I enlarged the art to bring the house over more to the right. That also gave me some white space at the right end of the

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BOB McLEOD The ideal woman’s nose is shorter; the chin rounder. Lower the ear and de-emphasize the jaw.

panel, which is preferable to the tree blending into the black outside the panel. It’s usually good to overlap objects to show depth, but by putting the moon behind a tree, it looks attached to the tree. We know the moon is far away in the sky, so there’s no need to put anything in front of it, and you’ve already established good depth by varying the size of the trees.

Panel two is a very nice establishing shot of the Batcave, but the figures are just too small. They shouldn’t be so small that we have to squint to see them. Even after I enlarged the panel, they’re really too small, but I didn’t want to crop off any more of your scene. I would say my Clark figure is about as small as you should get for figures with any detail, so I enlarged your figures up to his size. Basically, if it’s hard to draw them that tiny, they’re too tiny. And what is the light source? For those shadows, a light would need to be about 8' high in the center of the room, but I don’t see it.

(Just how is the Batcave supposed to be lit, anyway??)

In panel three, both the background and your placement of Clark establish the horizon up at the top of the panel. Our eyes are always level with the horizon, so we should be able to see the top of the table. If the horizon were down at the level of the table top, where it would need to be for the table to look as it does, Clark would have to be down behind the other figures, and the back-

ground lines would slant the opposite way.

Picture Clark getting smaller and smaller as he moves back toward the horizon. See, if you don’t know where the horizon is, you don’t know where to put figures in the panel. If the table is correct, Clark is floating in the air and the video screens are falling over. If Clark is on the ground, the table is falling over. Notice how your Clark looks humpbacked compared to mine, by the way. The Manhunter’s bicep would move up as it moves forward, and the forearm is poorly foreshortened. Look in a mirror at the proper placement of the elbow. Also, your Wonder Woman face is far too small. It needs to be bigger than Clark’s, similar to Alfred’s.

Panel four is tilted so much that the figures appear to be falling over. I’m not a fan of tilted panels at all, but if you must tilt them, don’t go so far. When I make Clark vertical, you can see that either he or Batman and the stalactites are still tilted (at about the most severe angle you should use). You at least need to be consistent when tilting the panel. Clark’s left forearm is too long and his shoulders are too low. By your placement of Alfred, you’ve established the “horizon in the middle of the panel, which means we should see the top of Batman’s chair. If your intent was to have us looking up at Clark and Batman, then Alfred is floating in the air. Don’t feel bad, many “pros” make this error all the time! Get the little $5 book Perspective by William Powell.

In panel five, Clark’s forearm is again too long. Draw the whole arm so you can find the elbow and judge the proper length. If you want the hand there, the upper arm would need to be at a different angle. Clark’s hair would fly forward as his head snaps back, and that impact is not nearly enough to cause his tie to leap out from inside his jacket. Batman is not centered in his chair, and his head is needlessly cropped.

In panel six, I always think a close-up should be as close as possible, so the reader will empathize more with the character, it’s more dramatic, and because compositionally you want to get a lot of variety in the size of your figures. Study my ear, and note that the human profile should not be flat.

I must say, panel seven is very well done (sorry, couldn’t resist…). So you’ve got some studying to do, but I hope you keep at it, Neal. You’re way too talented to stop now. Readers who would like to submit a sample page for a Rough Critique can mail it to P.O. Box 63, Emmaus, PA 18049 or e-mail me at mcleod.bob@gmail.com

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All characters TM & ©2008 Marvel Characters, Inc.

ROUGH TALK

Rough Stuff #9 just great! I found the Scott Williams piece most interesting. Buscema must have done two sketches of the illo on p.78. I’m enclosing the finished art I did over John for a video box cover years ago. Of course, I added the background, etc. There was no Thor in the illo I got from Marvel. I can’t imagine why Scott didn’t complete his.

I’ve enclosed a typical page that I used to get from John, especially in his later years. This illo was hardly more complete. You really think the inker may not be needed?

Keep up the good work.

Best, Joe Sinnott Thanks for writing, Joe! Yes, I inked similarly loose breakdowns by Buscema on Conan and Nova. Not only was an inker needed for his stuff, a penciller was need-

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ed as well! You and I are both, but not so with even some of today’s top inkers, from what I’ve seen. No one I know of pencils as loose as Big John anymore, either, however. He knew just the bare minimum required for another artist to be able to finish it up. Hey, great job on that video cover! –Editor Bob, I’ve been greatly enjoying the latest issue of Rough Stuff.

Your article on “Who needs inkers” was certainly compelling. My only conclusion is that it’s an us against them configuration, Bob. We are what we grew up with. That even goes for inking my own work. To not be in possession of the art of inking would diminish the enjoyment that goes into creating a comic magazine. I would be stunted as an artist. To see Giordano, Palmer, and Janson’s ontop-of-the-pencil brushwork brought back memories of what made the process so exciting. It’s a shame that will

all be extinguished by the next decade.

Keep flying high, The Dude [Steve Rude] All the issues of your magazine Rough Stuff, from issue #1 to the present, are a welcomed surprise. All the art represented, all the analysis, interviews... everything is fine! But with #8, the surprise was to read an article about French and Belgian artists; an article written by someone I know, Dominique Leonard. It is rare to read articles about some of “our” artists from old continental Europe in American magazines (sometimes it happens in The Comics Journal), and I think you did it very well.

Thank you for that. And I hope the [other] readers of your magazine will like it, too!

Best regards, Daniel Tesmoingt Belgium Congratulations on an excellent magazine. I have the first four issues of Rough Stuff and constantly read and thumb through them. I am going to order issues #5-8 this weekend. Well, actually, I’m making my wife buy them for me for Father’s Day. I am thrilled to see that Marie Severin is featured in Rough Stuff number seven. She is a long-time favorite of mine. I loved her work in Tales To Astonish #93 through #100 after which the title changed to The Incredible Hulk and Namor split off into his own title. She was a great replacement for Gil Kane, who had a brief run in the two-part Abomination origin tale. [Being called “...a great replacement for Gil Kane” is all any comic artist could ask for, I would think. Marie Severin has always been underrated, in my opinion. –Editor] Among my favorite Hulk stories she illustrated was the two part “Lord Of The Living Lightning” tale that ran in issues #98 and #99, if I remember correctly. After she left the Hulk she had a longer run in Not Brand Ecchhh! (however they spelled it). She seemed very comfortable with that comedic format, though I was always hoping

she would return to one of the super-heroes.

I hope Rough Stuff #7 contains some pages from her run on King Kull, Marvel’s adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s character from the bloody pulps. I distinctly remember at least one issue that was inked by John Severin (any relation?), a long-time favorite inker of mine.

In fact, his inks were the only way I was able to tolerate Herb Trimpe’s pencils. [Herb has a legion of fans who would argue that point. The great John Severin is Marie’s older brother. –Editor] On an unrelated note, I just saw Skaar: Son Of Hulk yesterday. It is illustrated by Ron Garney. It has no inker listed in the credits and actually looks as if it were scanned directly from the pencils. It brought to mind your editorial in the first issue. As much as I like Ron Garney’s work I must admit the look of the pages turns me off. The lines don’t seem to have any “pop” that I would usually associate with an inker.

For instance, one of the reasons I am such a big fan of your work and Joe Sinnott’s is the clean lines really made the work stand out. Which brings me to my question. The only piece of original art I ever owned was a Morbius page you did back in the late ‘70s or early ‘80s.

I even bought the issue it came from just to compare your art to the printed version. I was very disappointed to see that color had been applied to some of the white lines you put in. It changed the art considerably and taught me how much can change between production and printing. [I have to agree with you on the look of uninked pencils, and wrote an article about that distressing development in issue #9. Coincidentally, I talk about that Son of Hulk comic with Ron Garney in this very issue. –Editor] Anyway, I have always wondered what ink you used.

You and Joe Sinnott seemed to use a very black, opaque ink. The closest I have been able to find to what I think you used is a black ink produced by Winsor & Newton. I understand if you don’t want to give free advertising to a particular brand. I’m not sure it would still be available anyway with all the health related changes to art materials that have occurred over the last few decades. [I can’t

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be sure for any particular job from that long ago, but I’ve used Pelikan India ink for as long as I can remember.

–Editor] One last note: besides Marie Severin in Tales To Astonish was a wonderful artist by the name of Dan Adkins. I still fondly remember a cover he did of Namor lying in rubble. It was colored blue. I think it was number 96 or 97. His interior art work was also great. He was replaced by the great John Buscema when Namor split off from Tales To Astonish and I don’t think I ever saw any pencil work from him again, though he inked a lot.

His work might remind you of Russ Manning from “Magnut: Robot Biter” (yes, I actually bought and read Not Brand Ecchhh!). Any plans to include Dan Adkins or Russ Manning in future issues? [I’ll see if I can rustle up some art by Adkins or Manning… –Editor] Looking forward to my back issues of Rough Stuff and to many more years of publication.

Thank you, Charles S. Gaines a.k.a. CyberLord at ComixTalk.com I have received the back issues of Rough Stuff (#5-8) and I really like what I see, particularly the expanded coverage of non-Marvel/DC/Image/Dark Horse material. “The Independent Comics Showcase” in #6, “Graphic Novelties” in #7, and “Introduction to Belgian and French Comics” in #8 were fascinating glimpses into material that I was not always aware of. I hope you continue with this. In that vein I would like to see some coverage of artists such as Dan DeCarlo, Charles Schulz, Bill Watterson, Aaron McGruder, Harold Foster, Alex Raymond, and Brandon Peterson for a variety of reasons.

Comic art stretches across a vast terrain. Most of us focus on artists seen in Marvel or DC publications, but comics art is not so constrained. Your younger readers will not remember a time when a visit to a local drugstore (do they still exist?) or supermarket presented an opportunity to buy a wider variety of comics than are available today. Baby Huey, Casper, The Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich, Herbie, and Archie comics were drawn in a more cartoony style yet they still told their stories well. I think we can all learn something from the masters who created those stories as well as the likes of Jack Kirby and Jim Steranko. [The Harvey line of comics were definitely my favorites growing up. I was always more into humor than superheroes. –Editor]

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We have lost Charles Schulz, but Dan DeCarlo, Bill Watterson and Aaron McGruder are still alive, though Bill Watterson is something of a recluse from what I hear.

[Dan DeCarlo is deceased as well, unfortunately. I suspect I would get no assist from Watterson, so I don’t know if I can do much of a feature on him, much as I’d like to. Up to now, I’ve mainly tried to feature more “realistic” artists, rather than pure cartoonists like him and Schulz, much as I love their work. I’ll see if I can do something in that area if I get more requests. I am trying to broaden the readers’ horizons beyond mainstream American comics. –Editor] I included both Harold Foster and Alex Raymond for obvious reasons. They have both passed away, but there may be some interesting information about them out there. Back in the 1970s I bought the Nostalgia Press editions of the collected Prince Valiant and Flash Gordon. In the back of one of the Prince Valiant collections was an interview with Hal Foster that showed his process. I was astounded that he actually began his figure drawings with the skeleton first! The example in the book showed him drawing a face. He started with the skull and mandible, including two black circles for the orbits in the skull. He then drew eyes in the orbits and only later did he put flesh over the eyes. [It’s difficult to find anything new on Foster, but Alex Raymond is of course featured in this issue. How’s that for fast service?

–Editor] Later in the interview he made a remark about not liking the smaller sheet sizes modern artists had to use. Apparently in the 1930s and 1940s he used a larger sheet. I could swear I remember Jack Kirby expressing similar sentiments about comic book sheet sizes being reduced and that he did not like it. Do you know what sheet sizes were in use in the past and how they compare to contemporary sheet sizes? More importantly, did the larger sheet size allow elder artists to use storytelling techniques that we would find difficult to duplicate with smaller sheets? I have included a JPEG that I found of an old Rip Kirby strip that Alex Raymond produced in the 1950s. The original art for this daily measures 19 5 ⁄8" X 5 11 ⁄16". That is huge by today’s standards. (It looks like Alex Raymond used a combination of pen and brush, but I thought I would get your input.) [Comic book art used to be done twice up (12" x 18" image area) and is now done 1/3 up (10" x 15"). My understanding is that it was reduced so that the printer could photograph four pages at once. The larger size allowed better figure drawing on smaller figures, and smoother strokes on

longer feathering in the inking. Today’s inkers use much shorter, more inhibited strokes. –Editor] Brandon Peterson was included in the above list because I believe he uses a computer to generate some, if not all, of his background images. If we are moving in this direction, it would be fascinating to get the input of someone already using this tool, though I shun the computer for various reasons. I much prefer a “hands-on” approach to art. [I am featuring some other artists using computers, and hope to feature Brandon sometime.

–Editor] By expanding your coverage beyond the traditional Marvel/DC mold I believe you are helping comics grow.

Some future artist will have his horizons expanded and perhaps the art form we love will come out of its current doldrums. Thanks again for a wonderful magazine. I will not be able to let another year pass without Rough Stuff, so I guess I’ll have to sneak out of work sometime this month and go to Comic Relief in Berkeley to pick up Rough Stuff #9. [Or better yet, subscribe! : ) –Editor] Charles S. Gaines a.k.a. CyberLord at ComixTalk.com Thanks for your excellent profile of Rob Haynes. I have long been fascinated by his work and equally frustrated by my inability to see more of it. Thanks for filling in the gaps. If you do any kind of “p.s.” you should mention he has had some terrific short pieces in Negative Burn. I am not sure what they are originally done for and if there are more of them.

Anyhow, great magazine.

Best, R.G. (Rick) Taylor, www.ricktaylorstudio.ca

was inking, along with that Brunner strip for Pacific. Now, I only went over there a handful of times. I was hardly a regular. But I personally saw his tracings, which he had loads of, and we would talk at length about this stuff. He explained to me his reasoning behind the tracing, plus go over a few of the latest ones he’d done. Occasionally, he’d trace a whole page of some continuity he’d liked, but then he’d change something somewhere on the page too. Some panel he’d try another idea on. At this time, Hellboy was nowhere in sight, not even a twinkle in Mike’s eye. Who knew?!

Anyway, I just wanted to take this opportunity to lay to rest, for you and your readers, should you care to share this info with them, that the rumors are true. Mike did trace—as practice, to learn—Frazetta, along with a few others, like Jeff Jones and Wrightson. I saw it. Hey, it’s worked pretty good for him, right?

Thanks for your time, Mr. McLeod, take care.

Cheers, Ken Hooper SEND YOUR ROUGH COMMENTS TO:

email: mcleod.bob@gmail.com (subject: Rough Stuff) or snail mail: Bob McLeod, Editor- Rough Stuff, P.O. Box 63 Emmaus, PA 18049

Hello, Mr. McLeod, my name is Ken Hooper, and I just read the interview in your mag with Haynes and Townsend. There was the usual question of whether or not Mignola used to trace off Frazetta paintings and drawings, but only the black areas. I can personally confirm this rumor, as I used to visit him in Oakland, CA back in ’83 and ’84. Mike and I are nearly the same age, and we were both Wrightson and Frazetta fans, and, to be honest, I don’t remember how we hooked up at that time, but we did. He was inking for Marvel and DC, and I remember some Mike Royer pencils on Ka-Zar that he

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PLUS: over 30 pages of ALL-NEW material, including “full” and “Marvelstyle” scripts, a critique of their new character and comic from an editor’s point of view, new tips on coloring, new expanded writing lessons, and more!

Documents two top professionals creating a comic book, from initial idea to finished art! In this feature-filled DVD, WRITE NOW! magazine editor DANNY (Spider-Man) FINGEROTH and DRAW! magazine editor MIKE (Batman) MANLEY show you how a new character evolves from scratch! Watch the creative process, as a story is created from concepts and roughs to pencils, inks, and coloring—even lettering! Packed with “how-to” tips and tricks, it’s the perfect companion to the HOW TO CREATE COMICS FROM SCRIPT TO PRINT book, or stands alone as an invaluable tool for amateur and professional comics creators alike!

(108-page trade paperback with COLOR) $13.95 ISBN: 9781893905603 Diamond Order Code: APR063422

(120-minute DVD) $29.95 ISBN: 9781893905399 Diamond Order Code: AUG043204

BUNDLE THE BOOK & DVD TOGETHER FOR JUST $35.95 (SAVE $8)

NEW FOR 2008

FREE! FREE!

COMICS 101: HOW-TO & HISTORY LESSONS TwoMorrows has tapped the combined knowledge of its editors to assemble How-To and History lessons including: “Figure Drawing” and “How To Break Down A Story” from DRAW!’s MIKE MANLEY and BRET BLEVINS, “Writing Tips” from WRITE NOW!’s DANNY FINGEROTH, plus ROUGH STUFF’s BOB McLEOD provides “Art Critiques” of promising newcomers! There’s even a “Comics History Crash-Course”, assembled

by ALTER EGO’s ROY THOMAS and BACK ISSUE’s MICHAEL EURY! (32-page comic book) FREE! (shipping charge applies) • Diamond Order Code: FEB070050

COMICS GO HOLLYWOOD TwoMorrows unveils secrets behind your FAVORITE ON-SCREEN HEROES, and what’s involved in taking a character from the comics page to the big screen! It includes: Storyboards from DC’s animated hit “THE NEW FRONTIER” (courtesy of DRAW! magazine)! JEPH LOEB on writing for both Marvel Comics and the Heroes TV show (courtesy of WRITE NOW! magazine)! Details on the unseen X-Men movie (courtesy of ALTER EGO magazine)! A history of the Joker from his 1940s origins to his upcoming appearance in the Dark Knight film (courtesy of BACK ISSUE! magazine)! And a look at Marvel Universe co-creator JACK KIRBY’s Hollywood career, with extensive Kirby art! So before you head to your local cineplex this summer, make sure you pick up your FREE copy of this must-have item from your local retailer on May 3, 2008!

(32-page comic book) FREE! (shipping applies) or FREE at your local comics retailer on May 3, 2008

BEST OF DRAW! VOL. 1

BEST OF DRAW! VOL. 2

Compiles tutorials, interviews, and demonstrations from DRAW! #1-2, by DAVE GIBBONS (layout and drawing on the computer), BRET BLEVINS (figure drawing), JERRY ORDWAY (detailing his working methods), KLAUS JANSON and RICARDO VILLAGRAN (inking techniques), GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY (on animation and Samurai Jack), STEVE CONLEY (creating web comics and cartoons), PHIL HESTER and ANDE PARKS (penciling and inking), and more! Cover by BRET BLEVINS!

Compiles tutorials and interviews from issues #3-4 of DRAW!, with ERIK LARSEN (savage penciling), DICK GIORDANO (inking techniques), BRET BLEVINS (drawing the figure in action, and figure composition), KEVIN NOWLAN (penciling & inking), MIKE MANLEY (how-to demo on Web Comics), DAVE COOPER (digital coloring tutorial), and more! Each artist presents their work STEP-BY-STEP, so both beginning and experienced artists can learn valuable tips and tricks along the way! Cover by KEVIN NOWLAN.

(200-page trade paperback with COLOR) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905412 Diamond Order Code: AUG078141

(156-page trade paperback with COLOR) $17.95 ISBN: 9781893905580 Diamond Order Code: APR063421

NEW FOR 2008

COMICS ABOVE GROUND

SEE HOW YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS MAKE A LIVING OUTSIDE COMICS

BEST OF WRITE NOW! Whether you’re looking to break into the world of comics writing, or missed key issues of DANNY FINGEROTH’S WRITE NOW—the premier magazine about writing for comics and related fields—this is the book for you! THE BEST OF WRITE NOW features highlights from the acclaimed magazine, including in-depth interviews about writing from top talents, like: BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, WILL EISNER, JEPH LOEB, STAN LEE, J. M. STRACZYNSKI, MARK WAID, GEOFF JOHNS, TODD McFARLANE, PAUL LEVITZ, AXEL ALONSO, and others! There’s also “NUTS & BOLTS” tutorials, featuring scripts from landmark comics and the pencil art that was drawn from them, including: CIVIL WAR #1 (MILLAR & McNIVEN), BATMAN: HUSH #1 (LOEB & LEE), ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #47 (BENDIS & BAGLEY), AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #539 (STRACZYNSKI & GARNEY), SPAWN #52 (McFARLANE & CAPULO), GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1 (JOHNS & VAN SCRIVER), and more! Also: How-to articles by the best comics writers and editors around, like JOHN OSTRANDER, DENNIS O’NEIL, KURT BUSIEK, STEVEN GRANT, and JOEY CAVALIERI. Professional secrets of top comics pros including NEIL GAIMAN, MARK WAID, TRINA ROBBINS, PETER DAVID, and STAN LEE! Top editors telling exactly what it takes to get hired by them! Plus more great tips to help you prepare for your big break, or simply appreciate comics on a new level, and an introduction by STAN LEE! Edited by Spider-Man writer DANNY FINGEROTH.

COMICS ABOVE GROUND features comics pros discussing their inspirations and training, and how they apply it in “Mainstream Media,” including Conceptual Illustration, Video Game Development, Children’s Books, Novels, Design, Illustration, Fine Art, Storyboards, Animation, Movies and more! Written by DURWIN TALON (author of the top-selling book PANEL DISCUSSIONS), this book features creators sharing their perspectives and their work in comics and their “other professions,” with career overviews, never-before-seen art, and interviews! Featuring: • BRUCE TIMM • BERNIE WRIGHTSON • ADAM HUGHES • JEPH LOEB

• LOUISE SIMONSON • DAVE DORMAN • GREG RUCKA AND OTHERS!

(168-page trade paperback) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905313 Diamond Order Code: FEB042700

(160-page trade paperback with COLOR) $19.95 ISBN: 9781893905926 Diamond Order Code: FEB084082

NEW FOR 2008

NEW FOR 2008

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

TOP ARTISTS DISCUSS THE DESIGN OF COMICS

BEST OF DRAW! VOL. 3

BEST OF DRAW! VOL. 4

Compiles more of the best tutorials and interviews from DRAW! #5-7, including: Penciling by MIKE WIERINGO! Illustration by DAN BRERETON! Design

by PAUL RIVOCHE! Drawing Hands, Lighting the Figure, and Sketching by BRET BLEVINS! Cartooning

by BILL WRAY! Inking by MIKE MANLEY! Comics & Animation by STEPHEN DeSTEFANO! Digital Illustration by CELIA CALLE and ALBERTO RUIZ! Caricature by ZACH TRENHOLM, and much more!

Cover by DAN BRERETON!

More tutorials and interviews from DRAW! #8-10, spotlighting: From comics to video games with artist MATT HALEY! Character design with TOM BANCROFT and ROB CORLEY! Adobe Illustrator tips with ALBERTO RUIZ! Draping the human figure by BRET BLEVINS! Penciling with RON GARNEY! Breaking into comic strips

by GRAHAM NOLAN! Lettering by TODD KLEIN! International cartoonist JOSÉ LUIS AGREDA! Interviews with PvP’s SCOTT KURTZ and Banana Tail’s MARK McKENNA, and more! Cover by MATT HALEY!

(256-page trade paperback with COLOR) $29.95 ISBN: 9781893905917 Diamond Order Code: JAN083936

(216-page trade paperback with COLOR) $24.95 ISBN: 9781605490007 Ships May 2008

Art professor DURWIN TALON gets top creators to discuss all aspects of the DESIGN of comics, from panel and page layout, to use of color and lettering: • WILL EISNER • SCOTT HAMPTON • MIKE WIERINGO • WALT SIMONSON • MIKE MIGNOLA • MARK SCHULTZ • DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI • MIKE CARLIN • DICK GIORDANO • BRIAN STELFREEZE • CHRIS MOELLER • MARK CHIARELLO If you’re serious about creating effective, innovative comics, or just enjoying them from the creator’s perspective, this guide is must-reading!

(208-page trade paperback with COLOR) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905146 Diamond Order Code: MAY073781

MODERN MASTERS SERIES Edited by ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON, these trade paperbacks and DVDs are devoted to the BEST OF TODAY’S COMICS ARTISTS! Each book contains RARE AND UNSEEN ARTWORK direct from the artist’s files, plus a COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW (including influences and their views on graphic storytelling), DELUXE SKETCHBOOK SECTIONS, and more! And don’t miss our companion DVDs, showing the artists at work in their studios!

MODERN MASTERS: IN THE STUDIO WITH GEORGE PÉREZ DVD

MODERN MASTERS: IN THE STUDIO WITH MICHAEL GOLDEN DVD

Get a PERSONAL TOUR of George’s studio, and watch STEP-BY-STEP as the fan-favorite artist illustrates a special issue of TOP COW’s WITCHBLADE! Also, see George as he sketches for fans at conventions, and hear his peers and colleagues—including MARV WOLFMAN and RON MARZ—share their anecdotes and personal insights along the way!

Go behind the scenes and into Michael Golden’s studio for a LOOK INTO THE CREATIVE MIND of one of comics' greats. Witness a modern master in action as this 90-minute DVD provides an exclusive look at the ARTIST AT WORK, as he DISCUSSES THE PROCESSES he undertakes to create a new comics series.

(120-minute Standard Format DVD) $29.95 ISBN: 9781893905511 Diamond Order Code: JUN053276

(90-minute Standard Format DVD) $29.95 ISBN: 9781893905771 Diamond Order Code: MAY073780

Volume 1: ALAN DAVIS

Volume 2: GEORGE PÉREZ

Volume 3: BRUCE TIMM

Volume 4: KEVIN NOWLAN

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905191 Diamond Order Code: JAN073903

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905252 Diamond Order Code: JAN073904

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905306 Diamond Order Code: APR042954

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905382 Diamond Order Code: SEP042971

Volume 5: GARCÍA-LÓPEZ

Volume 6: ARTHUR ADAMS

Volume 7: JOHN BYRNE

Volume 8: WALTER SIMONSON

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905443 Diamond Order Code: APR053191

by George Khoury & Eric Nolen-Weathington (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905542 Diamond Order Code: DEC053309

by Jon B. Cooke & Eric Nolen-Weathington (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905566 Diamond Order Code: FEB063354

by Roger Ash & Eric Nolen-Weathington (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905641 Diamond Order Code: MAY063444

Volume 9: MIKE WIERINGO

Volume 10: KEVIN MAGUIRE

Volume 11: CHARLES VESS

Volume 12: MICHAEL GOLDEN

by Todd DeZago & Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905658 Diamond Order Code: AUG063626

by George Khoury & Eric Nolen-Weathington (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905665 Diamond Order Code: OCT063722

by Christopher Irving & Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905696 Diamond Order Code: DEC063948

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905740 Diamond Order Code: APR074023

NEW FOR 2008

NEW FOR 2008

Volume 13: JERRY ORDWAY

Volume 14: FRANK CHO

Volume 15: MARK SCHULTZ

Volume 16: MIKE ALLRED

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905795 Diamond Order Code: JUN073926

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905849 Diamond Order Code: AUG074034

by Fred Perry & Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905856 Diamond Order Code: OCT073846

by Eric Nolen-Weathington (120-page TPB with COLOR) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905863 Diamond Order Code: JAN083937

MODERN MASTERS BUNDLES

NEW FOR 2008

NEW FOR 2008

Volume 17: LEE WEEKS

Volume 18: JOHN ROMITA JR.

by Tom Field & Eric Nolen-Weathington (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905948 Ships May 2008

by George Khoury & Eric Nolen-Weathington (128-page trade paperback) $14.95 ISBN: 9781893905955 Ships July 2008

BUNDLE THE GEORGE PÉREZ VOLUME & DVD TOGETHER, OR THE MICHAEL GOLDEN VOLUME & DVD TOGETHER

ONLY $37.95 EACH (SAVE $7 PER BUNDLE)

MODERN MASTERS VOLUMES ON MIKE PLOOG AND CHRIS SPROUSE ARE COMING IN FALL 2008 SEE OUR SUMMER CATALOG UPDATE!

“HOW-TO” MAGAZINES Spinning off from the pages of BACK ISSUE! magazine comes ROUGH STUFF, celebrating the ART of creating comics! Edited by famed inker BOB McLEOD, each issue spotlights NEVER-BEFORE PUBLISHED penciled pages, preliminary sketches, detailed layouts, and even unused inked versions from artists throughout comics history. Included is commentary on the art, discussing what went right and wrong with it, and background information to put it all into historical perspective. Plus, before-and-after comparisons let you see firsthand how an image changes from initial concept to published version. So don’t miss this amazing magazine, featuring galleries of NEVER-BEFORE SEEN art, from some of your favorite series of all time, and the top pros in the industry!

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ROUGH STUFF #1 Our debut issue features galleries of UNSEEN ART by a who’s who of Modern Masters including: ALAN DAVIS, GEORGE PÉREZ, BRUCE TIMM, KEVIN NOWLAN, JOSÉ LUIS GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, ARTHUR ADAMS, JOHN BYRNE, and WALTER SIMONSON, plus a KEVIN NOWLAN interview, art critiques, and a new BRUCE TIMM COVER!

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ROUGH STUFF #2

ROUGH STUFF #3

ROUGH STUFF #4

The follow-up to our smash first issue features more galleries of UNSEEN ART by top industry professionals, including: BRIAN APTHORP, FRANK BRUNNER, PAUL GULACY, JERRY ORDWAY, ALEX TOTH, and MATT WAGNER, plus a PAUL GULACY interview, a look at art of the pros BEFORE they were pros, and a new GULACY “HEX” COVER!

Still more galleries of UNPUBLISHED ART

by MIKE ALLRED, JOHN BUSCEMA, YANICK PAQUETTE, JOHN ROMITA JR., P. CRAIG RUSSELL, and LEE WEEKS, plus a JOHN ROMITA JR. interview, looks at the process of creating a cover (with BILL SIENKIEWICZ and JOHN ROMITA JR.), and a new ROMITA JR. COVER, plus a FREE DRAW #13 PREVIEW!

More NEVER-PUBLISHED galleries (with detailed artist commentaries) by MICHAEL KALUTA, ANDREW “Starman” ROBINSON, GENE COLAN, HOWARD CHAYKIN, and STEVE BISSETTE, plus interview and art by JOHN TOTLEBEN, a look at the Wonder Woman Day charity auction (with rare art), art critiques, before-&-after art comparisons, and a FREE WRITE NOW #15 PREVIEW!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG063714

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV064024

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB073911

(116-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: APR063497

ROUGH STUFF #5

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NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED galleries (complete with extensive commentaries by the artists) by PAUL SMITH, GIL KANE, CULLY HAMNER, DALE KEOWN, and ASHLEY WOOD, plus a feature interview and art by STEVE RUDE, an examination of JOHN ALBANO and TONY DeZUNIGA’s work on Jonah Hex, new STEVE RUDE COVER, plus a FREE BACK ISSUE #23 PREVIEW!

Features a new interview and cover by BRIAN STELFREEZE, interview with BUTCH GUICE, extensive art galleries/commentary by IAN CHURCHILL, DAVE COCKRUM, and COLLEEN DORAN, MIKE GAGNON looks at independent comics, with art and comments by ANDREW BARR, BRANDON GRAHAM, and ASAF HANUKA! Includes a FREE ALTER EGO #73 PREVIEW!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY073902

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: AUG074137

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Features an in-depth interview and cover by TIM TOWNSEND, CRAIG HAMILTON, DAN JURGENS, and HOWARD PORTER offer preliminary art and commentaries, MARIE SEVERIN career retrospective, graphic novels feature with art and comments by DAWN BROWN, TOMER HANUKA, BEN TEMPLESMITH, and LANCE TOOKS, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: NOV073966

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ROUGH STUFF #9

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ROUGH STUFF #8 Features an in-depth interview and cover painting by the extraordinary MIKE MAYHEW, preliminary and unpublished art

by ALEX HORLEY, TONY DeZUNIGA, NICK CARDY, and RAFAEL KAYANAN (including commentary by each artist), a look at the great Belgian comic book artists, a “Rough Critique” of MIKE MURDOCK’s work, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: FEB084188

Editor and pro inker BOB McLEOD features four interviews this issue: ROB HAYNES (interviewed by fellow professional TIM TOWNSEND), JOE JUSKO, MEL RUBI, and SCOTT WILLIAMS, with a new painted cover by JUSKO, and an article by McLEOD examining "Inkers: Who needs ’em?" along with other features, including a Rough Critique of RUDY VASQUEZ! (100-page magazine) $6.95 Diamond Order Code: MAY084263

4-ISSUE SUBSCRIPTIONS: $26 US Postpaid by Media Mail ($36 First Class, $44 Canada, $60 Surface, $72 Airmail).

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TwoMorrows Publishing 2008 Catalog Update JUNE-DECEMBER 2008 • ORDER AT: www.twomorrows.com TwoMorrows Publishing • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • e-mail: twomorrow@aol.com

NEW BOOKS BY GEORGE KHOURY FOR FALL 2008!

All characters TM & ©2008 their respective owners.

From KIMOTA: THE MIRACLEMAN COMPANION to G-FORCE: ANIMATED and TRUE BRIT, readers know GEORGE KHOURY is the author that delivers the most in-depth books on the comics and TV shows they love.

Look what he’s up to now!

AGE OF TV HEROES

THE EXTRAORDINARY WORKS OF ALAN MOORE: Indispensable Edition

Examines the history of the live-action television adventures of everyone’s favorite comic book heroes! This handsome FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER features the in-depth stories of the actors and behind-the-scene players that made the classic super-hero television programs we all grew up with.

From legendary shows like THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN and BATMAN, to the modern era of THE TICK and SMALLVILLE, it’s colorfully presented in vivid detail, lavishly designed with a bevy of color photographs. Included are new and exclusive interviews and commentary from ADAM WEST (Batman), LYNDA CARTER (Wonder Woman), PATRICK WARBURTON (The Tick), NICHOLAS HAMMOND (Spider-Man), WILLIAM KATT (The Greatest American Hero), JACK LARSON (The Adventures of Superman), JOHN WESLEY SHIPP (The Flash), JACKSON BOSTWICK (Shazam!), and many more, including comments from REB BROWN, STEPHEN J. CANNELL, CHIP KIDD, STAN LEE, NOEL NEILL, JOHN ROMITA, ALEX ROSS, ILYA SALKIND, LOU SCHEIMER, LORENZO SEMPLE, LYLE WAGGONER, and other actors, producers, and crew. Re-experience the pop culture birth of the super-hero phenomenon, and relive the first time that these heroes came to life on TV! Written by G-FORCE: ANIMATED collaborators JASON HOFIUS and GEORGE KHOURY, with a new cover by superstar painter ALEX ROSS!

The definitive autobiographical book on ALAN MOORE finally returns to print in a NEW EXPANDED AND UPDATED VERSION! In it, Moore reflects on his life and work in an insightful and candid fashion through an extensive series of interviews about his entire legendary career, including new interviews covering his work since the original edition of this book was published in 2003. From SWAMP THING, V FOR VENDETTA, and WATCHMEN to the future of THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and beyond – all of his most important works and major themes are discussed. Within this tome, readers will find RARE STRIPS, SCRIPTS, ARTWORK, and PHOTOGRAPHS of the author, most never published elsewhere. Also, best-selling author NEIL GAIMAN headlines a series of tribute comic strips featuring many of Moore’s closest collaborators elaborating on their relationship with the great writer! Included as well is a COLOR SECTION, featuring the RARE MOORE STORY “The Riddle of the Recalcitrant Refuse” (newly remastered, and starring MR. MONSTER), plus his unseen work on JUDGE DREDD, and other tales by the creator of WATCHMEN (soon to be a blockbuster 2009 film).

Edited by GEORGE KHOURY, with a cover by DAVE McKEAN!

(192-page FULL-COLOR HARDCOVER) $39.95 US • ISBN: 9781605490106 Diamond Order Code: JAN088703 • Ships November 2008

(240-page trade paperback) $29.95 US • ISBN: 9781605490090 Diamond Order Code: JAN088702 • Ships December 2008

NEW ITEMS: Vol. 19: MIKE PLOOG

MODERN MASTERS SERIES

(120-page trade paperback with COLOR) $14.95 US ISBN: 9781605490076 • Ships October 2008

Edited by ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON, these trade paperbacks are devoted to the BEST OF TODAY’S COMICS ARTISTS! Each book contains RARE AND UNSEEN ARTWORK direct from the artist’s files, plus a COMPREHENSIVE INTERVIEW (including influences and their views on graphic storytelling), DELUXE SKETCHBOOK SECTIONS, and more!

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Vol. 20: KYLE BAKER (120-page trade paperback with COLOR) $14.95 US ISBN: 9781605490083 • Ships December 2008

MORE MODERN MASTERS ARE COMING IN 2009, INCLUDING CHRIS SPROUSE!

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KIRBY FIVE-OH! LIMITED HARDCOVER EDITION! Limited to 500 copies, KIRBY FIVE-OH! LIMITED HARDCOVER EDITION covers the best of everything from Jack Kirby’s 50-year career in comics! The regular columnists from THE JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR magazine have formed a distinguished panel of experts to choose and examine: The BEST KIRBY STORY published each year from 19381987! The BEST COVERS from each decade!

The 50 BEST EXAMPLES OF UNUSED KIRBY ART! His 50 BEST CHARACTER DESIGNS! And profiles of, and commentary by, 50 PEOPLE INFLUENCED BY KIRBY’S WORK! Plus there’s a 50-PAGE GALLERY of Kirby’s powerful RAW PENCIL ART, and a DELUXE COLOR SECTION of photos and finished art from throughout his entire half-century oeuvre, a previously unseen Kirby Superman cover inked by “DC: The New Frontier” artist DARWYN COOKE, and an introduction by MARK EVANIER! This LIMITED HARDCOVER EDITION includes a full-color wrapped hardcover, and an individually-numbered extra Kirby art plate not included in the softcover edition! It’s ONLY AVAILABLE FROM TWOMORROWS, and is not sold in stores!

Edited by JOHN MORROW. (168-page Limited Edition Hardcover) $34.95 US • Now shipping!

Only available from TwoMorrows!

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JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #52

COLLECTED JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR VOLUME 7

Spotlights KIRBY OBSCURA, uncovering some of Jack’s most obscure work! Learn about such littleknown projects as an UNUSED THOR STORY, his BRUCE LEE comic, animation work, stage play, and see original unaltered versions of pages from KAMANDI, DEMON, DESTROYER DUCK, and more, including a feature examining the last page of his final issue of various series BEFORE EDITORIAL TAMPERING (with lots of surprises)! Color Kirby front cover inked by DON HECK, and back cover inked by PAUL SMITH!

Reprints JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #27-30, with looks at Jack’s 1970s and ‘80s work, plus a two-part focus on how widespread Kirby’s influence is! Features rare interviews with KIRBY himself, plus Watchmen’s ALAN MOORE and DAVE GIBBONS, NEIL GAIMAN, Bone’s JEFF SMITH, MARK HAMILL, and others! See page after page of rare Kirby art, including a NEW SPECIAL SECTION with over 30 PIECES OF KIRBY ART NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED, and more!

(288-page trade paperback) $29.95 US ISBN: 9781605490120 Ships January 2009

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 US Ships January 2009 BRICKJOURNAL magazine is the ultimate resource for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages.

It spotlights all aspects of the LEGO Community, showcasing events, people, and models in every issue, with contributions and how-to articles by top builders worldwide, new product intros, and more. Edited by JOE MENO.

BRICKJOURNAL COMPENDIUM 3 VOLUME 3 compiles the digital-only issues #6-7 of the acclaimed online magazine for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages — for the first time in printed form! This FULLCOLOR book spotlights all aspects of the LEGO COMMUNITY through interviews with builders KNUD THOMSEN (builder of a LEGO city), ANTHONY SAVA (castle and dragon builder), JØRGEN VIG KNUDSTORP (CEO to the LEGO Group) and the duo ARVO (builders of many incredible models), plus features on LEGO FAN CONVENTIONS, such as BRICKFEST, LEGO WORLD (the Netherlands), and 1000STEINE-LAND (Germany), reviews and behind the scenes reports on two LEGO sets (the CAFE CORNER and HOBBY TRAIN), how to create custom minifigures, instructions and techniques, and more! Edited by JOE MENO. (224-page trade paperback) $34.95 US ISBN: 9781605490069 Ships January 2009

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BRICKJOURNAL #4

FULL-COLOR issue #3 has LEGO Event Reports from BRICKWORLD (Chicago), FIRST LEGO LEAGUE WORLD FESTIVAL (Atlanta) and PIECE OF PEACE (Japan), a spotlight on the creation of our amazing cover model built by BRYCE McGLONE, plus interviews with ARTHUR GUGICK and STEVEN CANVIN of LEGO MINDSTORMS, to see where LEGO ROBOTICS is going! There’s also STEP-BY-STEP BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS, TECHNIQUES, & more!

FULL-COLOR issue #4 features interviews with top LEGO BUILDERS including BREANN SLEDGE (BIONICLE BUILDER), Event Reports from LEGO gatherings such as BRICKFAIR (Washington, DC) and BRICKCON (Seattle, Washington), plus reports on new MINDSTORMS PROJECTS, STEP-BY-STEP BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS and TECHNIQUES for all skill levels, NEW SET REVIEWS, and editor JOE MENO shows how to build a robotic LEGO Wall-E!TM

(80-page magazine) $8.95 US (Digital Edition) $3.95 (or FREE to subscribers) Diamond Order Code: JUN084415

(80-page magazine) $8.95 US (Digital Edition) $3.95 (or FREE to subscribers)

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ALTER EGO focuses on Golden and Silver Age comics and creators with articles, interviews and unseen art, plus FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America), Mr. Monster & more. Edited by ROY THOMAS.

DRAW! is the professional “How-To” magazine on cartooning and animation, featuring in-depth interviews and step-by-step demonstrations from top comics professionals. Edited by MIKE MANLEY.

ALTER EGO #81

ALTER EGO #82

ALTER EGO #83

ALTER EGO #84

New FRANK BRUNNER Man-Thing cover, a look at the late-’60s horror comic WEB OF HORROR with early work by BRUNNER, WRIGHTSON, WINDSOR-SMITH, SIMONSON, & CHAYKIN, interview with comics & fine artist EVERETT RAYMOND KINTSLER, ROY THOMAS’ 1971 origin synopsis for the FIRST MAN-THING STORY, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

MLJ ISSUE! Golden Age MLJ index illustrated with vintage images of The Shield, Hangman, Mr. Justice, Black Hood,

by IRV NOVICK, JACK COLE, CHARLES BIRO, MORT MESKIN, GIL KANE, & others—behind a marvelous MLJ-heroes cover

by BOB McLEOD! Plus interviews with IRV NOVICK and JOE EDWARDS, FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

SWORD & SORCERY PART 2! Cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM, in-depth art-filled look at Marvel’s Conan the Barbarian, DC’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Dagar the Invincible, Ironjaw & Wulf, and Arak, Son of Thunder, plus the never-seen Valda the Iron Maiden by TODD McFARLANE! Plus JOE EDWARDS (Part 2), FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

Unseen JIM APARO cover, STEVE SKEATES discusses his early comics work, art & artifacts by ADKINS, APARO, ARAGONÉS, BOYETTE, DITKO, GIORDANO, KANE, KELLER, MORISI, ORLANDO, SEKOWSKY, STONE, THOMAS, WOOD, and the great WARREN SAVIN! Plus writer CHARLES SINCLAIR on his partnership with Batman co-creator BILL FINGER, FCA, and more!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships October 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships December 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships January 2009

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships March 2009

ROUGH STUFF features never-seen pencil pages, sketches, layouts, roughs, and unused inked pages from throughout comics history, plus columns, critiques, and more! Edited by BOB MCLEOD.

WRITE NOW! features writing tips from pros on both sides of the desk, interviews, sample scripts, reviews, exclusive Nuts & Bolts tutorials, and more! Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH. THE RETRO COMICS EXPERIENCE!

TM

BACK ISSUE celebrates comic books of the 1970s, 1980s, and today through a variety of recurring (and rotating) departments, plus rare and unpublished art. Edited by MICHAEL EURY.

DRAW! #17

ROUGH STUFF #10

ROUGH STUFF #11

WRITE NOW! #20

Go behind the pages of the hit series of graphic novels starring Scott Pilgrim with his creator and artist, BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY, to see how he creates the acclaimed series! Then, learn how B.P.R.D.’s GUY DAVIS works on the series, plus more Comic Art Bootcamp: Learning from The Great Cartoonists by BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY, reviews, and more!

Interview with RON GARNEY, with copious examples of sketchwork and comments.

Also features on ANDY SMITH, MICHAEL JASON PAZ, and MATT HALEY, showing how their work evolves, excerpts from a new book on ALEX RAYMOND, secrets of teaching comic art by pro inker BOB McLEOD, new cover by GARNEY and McLEOD, newcomer critique, and more!

New cover by GREG HORN, plus interviews with HORN and TOM YEATES on how they produce their stellar work. Also features on GENE HA, JIMMY CHEUNG, and MIKE PERKINS, showing their sketchwork, and commentary, tips on collecting sketches and commissions from artists, a “Rough Critique” of a newcomer’s work, and more!

Focus on THE SPIRIT movie, showing how FRANK MILLER transformed WILL EISNER’s comics into the smash-hit film, with interviews with key players behind the making of the movie, a look at what made Eisner’s comics so special, and more. Plus: an interview with COLLEEN DORAN, writer ALEX GRECIAN on how to get a pitch green lighted, script and art examples, and more!

(80-page magazine with COLOR) $6.95 US • Ships Fall 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships October 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships January 2009

(80-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships Winter 2009

BACK ISSUE #29

BACK ISSUE #30

BACK ISSUE #31

BACK ISSUE #32

BACK ISSUE #33

“Mutants” issue! CLAREMONT, BYRNE, SMITH, and ROMITA, JR.’s X-Men work, NOCENTI and ARTHUR ADAMS’ Longshot, McLEOD and SIENKIEWICZ’s New Mutants, the UK’s CAPTAIN BRITAIN series, lost Angel stories, Beast’s tenure with the Avengers, the return of the original X-Men in X-Factor, the revelation of Nightcrawler’s “original” father, a history of DC’s mutant, Captain Comet, and more! Cover by DAVE COCKRUM!

“Saturday Morning Heroes!” Interviews with TV Captain Marvels JACKSON BOSTWICK and JOHN DAVEY, MAGGIN and SAVIUK’s lost Superman/”Captain Thunder” sequel, Space Ghost interviews with GARY OWENS and STEVE RUDE, MARV WOLFMAN guest editorial, Super Friends, unproduced fourth wave Super Powers action figures, Astro Boy, ADAM HUGHES tribute to DAVE STEVENS, and a new cover by ALEX ROSS!

“STEVE GERBER Salute!” In-depth look at his Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, Omega the Unknown, Defenders, Metal Men, Mister Miracle, Thundarr the Barbarian, and more!

Plus: Creators pay tribute to Steve Gerber, featuring art by and commentary from BRUNNER, BUCKLER, COLAN, GOLDEN, STAN LEE, LEVITZ, MAYERIK, MOONEY, PLOOG, SIMONSON, and others. Cover painting by FRANK BRUNNER!

“Tech, Data, and Hardware!” The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, WEIN, WOLFMAN, and GREENBERGER on DC’s Who’s Who, SAVIUK, STATON, and VAN SCIVER on Drawing Green Lantern, ED HANNIGAN Art Gallery, history of Rom: Spaceknight, story of BILL MANTLO, Dial H for Hero, Richie Rich’s Inventions, and a Spider-Mobile schematic cover by ELIOT BROWN and DUSTY ABELL!

“Teen Heroes!” Teen Titans in the 1970s & 1980s, with CARDY, GARCÍA-LÓPEZ, PÉREZ, TUSKA, and WOLFMAN, BARON and GUICE on the Flash, interviews with TV Billy Batson MICHAEL GRAY and writer STEVE SKEATES, NICIEZA and BAGLEY’s New Warriors; Legion of Super-Heroes 1970s art gallery; James Bond, Jr.; and… the Archies! New Teen Titans cover by GEORGE PÉREZ and colored by GENE HA!

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships July 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships September 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships November 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships January 2009

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships March 2009

3

NEW STUFF FROM TWOMORROWS!

BACK ISSUE #31

ALTER EGO #81

WRITE NOW! #19

DRAW! #17

BRICKJOURNAL #4

“STEVE GERBER Salute!” In-depth look at his Howard the Duck, Man-Thing, Omega the Unknown, Defenders, Metal Men, Mister Miracle, Thundarr the Barbarian, and more!

Plus: Creators pay tribute to Steve Gerber, featuring art by and commentary from BRUNNER, BUCKLER, COLAN, GOLDEN, STAN LEE, LEVITZ, MAYERIK, MOONEY, PLOOG, SIMONSON, and others. Cover painting by FRANK BRUNNER!

New FRANK BRUNNER Man-Thing cover, a look at the late-’60s horror comic WEB OF HORROR with early work by BRUNNER, WRIGHTSON, WINDSORSMITH, SIMONSON, & CHAYKIN, interview with comics & fine artist EVERETT RAYMOND KINTSLER, ROY THOMAS’ 1971 origin synopsis for the FIRST MANTHING STORY, plus FCA, MR. MONSTER, and more!

DARK KNIGHT and SPIRIT executive producer MICHAEL USLAN on the writing process for films, Dennis O’Neil on adapting THE DARK KNIGHT movie to novel form, BRIAN BENDIS script and LEINIL YU pencils from Marvel’s SECRET INVASION #1, MAX ALAN COLLINS, MILLAR script and HITCH pencils from their run on FF, SLOTT script and McNIVEN pencils from BRAND NEW DAY, and more!

Go behind the pages of the hit series of graphic novels starring Scott Pilgrim with his creator and artist, BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY, to see how he creates the acclaimed series! Then, learn how B.P.R.D.’s GUY DAVIS works on the series, plus more Comic Art Bootcamp: Learning from The Great Cartoonists by BRET BLEVINS and MIKE MANLEY, reviews, and more!

FULL-COLOR issue features top LEGO BUILDERS including BREANN SLEDGE (BIONICLE), Event Reports from gatherings such as BRICKFAIR (Washington, DC) and BRICKCON (Seattle, Washington), plus reports on new MINDSTORMS PROJECTS, STEP-BY-STEP BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS and TECHNIQUES for all skill levels, NEW SET REVIEWS, and editor JOE MENO shows how to build a robotic LEGO Wall-E!TM

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Ships November 2008

(100-page magazine) $6.95 US Now shipping

(80-page magazine) $6.95 Ships July 2008

KIRBY COLLECTOR #51

EXTRAORDINARY WORKS OF ALAN MOORE:

HAWKMAN COMPANION

Bombastic EVERYTHING GOES issue, with a wealth of great submissions that couldn’t be pigeonholed into a “theme” issue!

Includes a rare KIRBY interview, new interviews with JIM LEE and ADAM HUGHES, MARK EVANIER’s column, huge pencil art galleries, a complete Golden Age Kirby story, two COLOR UNPUBLISHED KIRBY COVERS, and more!

(84-page tabloid magazine) $9.95 Ships November 2008

COLLECTED KIRBY COLLECTOR VOL. 6 Reprints KIRBY COLLECTOR #23-26 plus over 30 pieces of Kirby art never published!

(288-page trade paperback) $29.95 ISBN: 9781605490038 Now shipping!

Indispensable Edition The definitive autobiographical book on ALAN MOORE in a NEW EXPANDED AND UPDATED VERSION! Includes new interviews covering his work since the original 2003 edition of the book. From SWAMP THING, V FOR VENDETTA, WATCHMEN, and LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN and beyond – all are discussed by Alan. Plus, there’s RARE STRIPS, SCRIPTS, ARTWORK, and PHOTOGRAPHS, tribute comic strips by NEIL GAIMAN and other of Moore’s closest collaborators, a COLOR SECTION featuring the RARE MOORE STORY “The Riddle of the Recalcitrant Refuse” (newly remastered, and starring MR. MONSTER), and more! Edited by GEORGE KHOURY, with a cover by DAVE McKEAN! (240-page trade paperback) $29.95 US ISBN: 9781605490090 Diamond Order Code: JAN088702 Ships December 2008

Go to www.twomorrows.com for FULL-COLOR downloadable PDF versions of our magazines for only $2.95! Subscribers to the print edition get the digital edition FREE, weeks before it hits stores!

(80-page magazine with COLOR) $6.95 US Ships Winter 2008

Behind a fabulous CLIFF CHIANG cover, this collection documents the character’s history, and contains interviews and commentary from many who have helped Hawkman soar through the ages, including JOE KUBERT, GEOFF JOHNS, SHELLY MOLDOFF, TIMOTHY TRUMAN, JUSTIN GRAY, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, RAGS MORALES, STEPHEN SADOWSKI, DON KRAMER, BEN RAAB, TONY ISABELLA, DAN JURGENS, ROY THOMAS, STEVE LIEBER, MURPHY ANDERSON and many other top comics creators. Also included is a copious image parade, profiles on the Hawks through the ages, as well as their allies and adversaries, and a timeline of Hawkman's storied existence throughout the DC Comics Universe. With insight into the character and the creators who made him what he is, the HAWKMAN COMPANION is certain to please any Hawkfan.

Written by DOUG ZAWISZA.

BRICKJOURNAL COMPENDIUM, VOLUME 1 FULL-COLOR! Compiles the first three digital-only issues of BRICKJOURNAL, the ultimate magazine for LEGO enthusiasts of all ages! Features interviews with LEGO car builder ZACHARY SWEIGART, JØRGEN VIG KNUDSTORP (CEO of LEGO Systems, Inc.), Mecha builders BRYCE McLONE and JEFF RANJO, paraplegic LEGO builder SCOTT WARFIELD, BOB CARNEY (LEGO castle builder extraordinaire) and RALPH SAVELSBURG (LEGO plane builder), REVEREND BRENDAN POWELL SMITH (author of the LEGO version of the Bible), NASA Astronaut Trainer KIETH JOHNSON, JAKE McKEE (Global Community Director for The LEGO Group), features on the BIONICLE universe, how to make your own custom bricks, instructions & techniques, and more!

(256-page trade paperback) $39.95 ISBN: 9781893905979 Diamond Order Code: FEB084083 Now shipping!

(208-page trade paperback) $24.95 ISBN: 9781893905931 Ships October 2008

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

Media Mail

(80-page magazine) $8.95 US (Digital Edition) $3.95

MODERN MASTERS VOLUME 19: MIKE PLOOG

(120-page trade paperback with COLOR) $14.95 US • ISBN: 9781605490076 Ships November 2008

VOLUME 20: KYLE BAKER

(120-page trade paperback with COLOR) $14.95 US • ISBN: 9781605490083 Ships December 2008 Each features an extensive, career-spanning interview lavishly illustrated with rare art from the artist’s files, plus huge sketchbook section, including unseen and unused art!

1st Class Canada 1st Class Priority US Intl.

Intl.

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR (4 issues)

$44

$64

$64

$91

$152

BACK ISSUE! (6 issues)

$40

$55

$63

$91

$112

DRAW!, WRITE NOW!, ROUGH STUFF (4 issues)

$26

$36

$41

$60

$74

ALTER EGO (12 issues) Six-issue subs are half-price!

$78

$108

$123

$180

$222

BRICKJOURNAL (4 issues)

$32

$42

$47

$66

$80

For the latest news from TwoMorrows Publishing, log on to www.twomorrows.com/tnt

TwoMorrows. Celebrating The Art & History Of Comics.

TwoMorrows • 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, NC 27614 USA • 919-449-0344 • FAX: 919-449-0327 • E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com