Rudy Nebres Commissions - Helping Out a Local Artist

I have been running into Rudy Nebres for over a decade now. I think that I first got a con sketch from him at a show in Secaucus NJ, a Horror Chiller Theatre show I think. I do remember seeing an older woman from behind and being highly impressed; when see turned around and was revealed to be actress Tonya Roberts I knew why she was a star. But I digress.

It wasn't long before I realized that I lived fairly close to Mr. Nebres and when he invited me into his home to pick up a commission I decided that something was not right here. I was living within 10 minutes of a major comic book artist and even the local comic shop had no idea he was there. Relevant to this situation in my opinion is the fact that Mr.Nebres has no internet presence and no interest in changing that. I decided that I should do something about what I perceived to be an over-looked aging artist who was ready and able to produce excellent work right now but seemed to me to be lacking opportunity. I eventually wrote him a long letter offering to assist in the selling of his work in a variety of different scenarios but he never replied.

Then last year I saw him at a show. I was wearing a shirt I had made of the Doctor Strange vs Dracula commission he did for me and when I showed him the shirt he remembered the letter. I explained that I was fine with him not replying and I was only offering to help if he wanted...that it was all good either way. But to my surprise he told me that he would like my assistance in handling commissions; he explained that he had no less than three other people selling art or commissions in some capacity or another but that we could work together in a limited capacity. I thought that was great.

And now that I am into it a little I find that I have a lot of thoughts on the matter. So maybe I can share them here on my blog. I have been writing quite a lot in some of the emails to people interested in getting a commission from Mr. Nebres and will share some of that content in the next few days. I will also hopefully show the first finished commission that Mr. Nebres has done with my facilitation; that is en route right now and the owner should have it Tuesday. Maybe he'll let me share it here soon after.

But the process has made me think quite a bit and although some of these thoughts are best kept to myself I think sharing some of them will be productive for me and maybe help me better assist Mr. Nebres. So check back often if you'd like to see examples of Rudy Nebres' current chops or hear tales of how I handle the process of getting his commissions out to his fans. (I get to talk to this guy about art on a regular and specific basis!)

See you soon!

Commissions and The Fifty

When looking at pieces for inclusion in The Fifty some are easy and some are a bit harder to place accurately. As I said in my last post, the Simon Bisley commission I have of Dr. Strange and The Mindless Ones is one of the best pieces in my collection. Therefore its' inclusion was not even up for discussion. Then I looked at it among the other pieces and realized it was the only commission I had moved into the gallery.

You see, I may have a few pieces on display in The Fifty gallery on my CAF page but I have many many pieces in the gallery not yet active as well. So when I went to make the Bisley piece active I realized that the rest of the pieces are published pieces, pages and covers and the occasional pinup.

This made me think about what I was going for with The Fifty and if commissions really fit into my plans anymore at all. Because I once spent a large portion of my collection budget on convention sketches and home commissions. Seventy Five percent I would think. But those days are gone and in the last two years I have decided on far far fewer commissions and only a few sketches at any convention. I used to target about 20 artists and spend thousands of dollars on sketches and arranged commissions two or three times a year. No more.

I still get home commissions though. I got one of the two spots when Carlos Pacheco opened his list this past year. I got Dr. Strange and I love it. It is not for sale. It was $400, plus the stuff. But it will never be in The Fifty. It is 11X14 and just won't cut it in the end. So eventually it will be for sale. Five to ten years, but eventually. I have had a few Pacheco pieces over the years, even a published cover wit hDoc on it!, but have not yet found the one, the one that will make The Fifty. I would love a commission from someone like Art Adams, Mark Chiarello, or J H Williams 3rd (all possible sometime in my future so I hear) and will continue to give repeat business to people who have handled our past exchanges in exemplary fashion. That list includes Darryl Banks, Andy MacDonald, and Rudy Nebres - who have all agreed in principle but not specifics to their next assignments from Les Galleries Fedres.

And the same is true for convention sketches. Their is no way that I will not give money to Sean Chen for a convention sketch, especially more of the 17X5 pieces he has been doing for me these last few (FOUR!) years. Some guys, and some ladies as well, will always get my money if they have the time to take it. Andy MacDonald is again in this category. Tony Harris will never leave this category, even if eventually he will only draw cats and fish as superheroes and heroines from the 30s. And he will be dressed as Steampunk Tony as he does it! (Just kidding Tony, I love ya'! I always will! Come on up to NYCC or at least Baltimore!) Mark Texeira full figure graphic pieces when Renee is not around. (HA!) The days when I shell out $100 or $200 or $300 or even $500 (it'll be watercolor and everything!) hoping for the best are over. I spent ten thousand dollars over the last 5 years on convention sketches worth a grand on the open market. No more of that. But the guys I know are a sure thing, the Tonys and Andys and Marks, will always see my money at shows.

So I now forego those pieces for the most part in the quest for the next great piece. Or at least the next serious contender. But the ones that pan out? The ones that turn out truly special? Those may indeed find a spot next to The Biz in my comic art Valhalla! They have a chance at least, and now that I have thought it through I have a few more moved into the gallery awaiting active status. And as I look at them there, I know that they belong.

Simon Bisley's commission of Doctor Strange and The Mindless Ones - The Fifty

In the short history of The Fifty, I usually say pieces enter The Fifty but that is not appropriate here. Simon Reed once assisted me in getting a commission from Simon Bisley, THE BIZ! It went smoothly and although not completed at the London con that year as scheduled, Simon Reed was in touch frequently, I heard tales of it being seen started at the show, and two or three weeks later I had it in my hands.

Look at this amazing piece of comic art.

Dr. Strange vs. The Mindless Ones by Simon Bisley (2007 commission for me!)

I am going to go on a bit on this one, forgive me. I have not yet really commented on a piece when I name it to The Fifty. But I gotta groove on this one for sure. First of all look at the overall placement and orientation of the central image, Doctor Strange, and the relative placement of the supporting elements. As soon as you look at the piece your eye is pulled immedaitely to the center of the page and eventually to the face, arms, and hands of Doctor Strange. The eye then trails directly down Doctor Strange's figure to his feet. This immediately draws attention to the conflict in the piece from the blast at Doc's feet. Again the eye is pulled, first to the blasting Mindless One and then to the rest of them in the background. Doc's cape pulls you down and back to center again.

A masterfully laid out design by Simon Bisley on this commission tells the story in the first few milliseconds the eye hits the page. Scanning and visual saccades immediately transmit the information to the brain and in this case as soon as you see the piece the spell has been cast and the story has been told once again.

Then we can look at the figure. Each limb has a different technique utilized. One arm is straight at you foreshortening and one is off to the side. The legs are utilized to pull the piece back to center and are the source of the primary conflict in the blast, so one is used to anchor the figure to the ground, or at least close to it. I love the white hot of the foot. The other leg is used to show movement in the figure and increase the action level. In fact that back foot is a central piece in pulling the eye around the page.

And the hands! The Biz is the first of the many artists I have commissioned that has pulled off the circuular spell around the hand effect. And he does is so well. When I got this commission I immediately went "Wow. this is not what I expected! But it is better!!!". When I paid my rather large sum of money (most ever at the time by far, most still for a commission for me. Hopefully that changes soon though!) I expected less structure. But what I got far exceeded what I expected and certainly exceeded  what I would have been happy with out of the experience. Seven years later it is still the gem of my collection as far as I am concerned. I asked for it to be created, please sir!, and lookee here what I got in return.

So forgive me for crowing a bit. I may even be full of shit with all that stuff up above. I have no art experience myself but like what I see and like to analyze what goes into the art. Too much perhaps, eh?

So welcome Dr. Strange and Simon Bisley to The Fifty. And thanks again seven years later to Simon Reed and Simon Bisley for the professionalism and sheer enthusiasm they showed me in 2007. I still want another guys but what could be better than this?

As always, the official count.

The Fifty
1  BWS Storyteller Young Gods page 4
2  Simon Bisley Dr. Strange vs The Mindless Ones 2007 commission
3  Dan Green Dr. Strange: Into Shamballa splash
4  JH Williams 3rd / Mick Gray Promethea 24 double page spread

I think it is time to lay down a challenge. To myself. When I run out of posting members of The Fifty now in my possession I will buy another member. A new guy to sit at the table perhaps. Then that will be it for the year I think.

Unless you have some Starman or Flight of Bones art for sale? No? C'mon now...

Carlos Pacheco commission - Dr. Strange

Not much time for a write up, time for work. Here is a wonderful commission I was lucky enough to get from Carlos Pacheco recently. I loved his work on Avengers Forever in particular, so when this opportunity arose I took it eagerly.

Dr. Strange commission by Carlos Pacheco

Bill Sienkiewicz commission digitally colored by Gerry Turnbull

This here post is evidence of the nice people you meet in this hobby. (Well, technically I have never met him but he is at least virtually nice!) Since I am a huge Dr. Strange fan I have become aware of other Doc fans, as they have no doubt also become aware of me. There are a few of us out there, not too many that they can escape my notice at least. One of these folks is Gerry Turnbull. He is also a colorist, and my longtime and faithful blog reader will recall he colored my Nebres commission. Well when I posted this Sienkiewicz Superman commission and Gerry expressed interest in it I knew he would not be able to contain himself. It may have even been less than an hour or two after posting it that I had an email from Gerry saying he had colored it. No charge, no hard sell, just "hey look at this!". That is a nice guy. He even used my nom-de-plume for Bill, Billy da'Sienk, in the file name. Gold star for Gerry!

So check this out.

Digitally colored version by Gerry Turnbull

It really makes me speechless. Luckily I can still type though. '-) I originally wanted a color commission, but have grown to love the black and white version I ended up getting. This gives me the best of both worlds. It really is indistinguishable from the original I think. Beautiful, Bill and Gerry, just beautiful!

New Art Day - Superman 400 pinup recreation by Bill Sienkiewicz

Last year at NYCC I spent most of my convention budget on two things. The first was a Mike Mignola cover. But then I also set up a commission with Bill Sienkiewicz for him to recreate his pinup of Superman from issue 400 of Superman. We talked about it a bit and Bill told me no one had ever commissioned a recreation of that piece but that he had been thinking about doing one himself, but bigger. In fact I believe he said he had even started on one. So he was excited to take on the commission and then I made my first mistake. I did not sit there and watch him do it, but instead told him I was going home and would be back Sunday to pick it up. He told me he would do it and we agreed on the price for a color piece. Then I went home, a few thousand dollars poorer from these two purchases.

I had thought long and hard about offering Bill some big (to me at least) money for this piece. I had a few smaller ones, $200, $300, etc. but seeing people get these amazing pieces from Bill at cons made me think I had to raise my game a bit. I looked at a bunch of work trying to figure out what to ask for. I was settling on a shot from the Daredevil Love & War graphic novel where DD is kind of bouncing off a car with that crazy Sienkiewicz energy to the piece. And then I remembered a shot Bill did of Superman. It was really a great piece, it has the energy and scratch in Bill's best pieces but also had superb draftsmanship, yes only in a few recognizable parts, of the pinup. I knew immediately this was what I wanted to see Bill do for me.

Well, it isn't a surprise that things did not work out on Sunday. But it really wasn't any fault of Bill's, I just could not find him while at the show that day. For whatever reason he was not at his Artists Alley table when I was hovering and eventually I went home dejected. At least I had not yet paid Bill for the piece, but that was small consolation after planning it for at least 6 months!

Enter an angel from above in the form of John S. (I won't embarrass him with the full name.) I asked the comicart-l yahoo group if anyone could help me contact Bill in case the piece was done and waiting for me. Yes, I am an optimist. Eternally. John S emailed me to say he knew Bill personally and would try to help me out. Well, help me out he did. He kept on Bill every so often and eventually I got an email from Bill saying he would love to do it for me. He was going to do it the weekend of the London Comic Con, and John would be there to make sure it stayed on Bill's radar. Well, I got an email after the show from Bill; he thought I would be in London and had it ready for me. Well alright! 11 by 17 black and white. D'OH! Black and white? It seems in the months since NYCC some info was lost. But I knew that if Bill did it in b/w that it would shine as well, and since it was done what was I to do. So I took it anyway. Gladly. Eagerly. We agreed on paypal half now half when it was received. That was almost 4 weeks ago and I was kind of dreading confronting Bill about it by the 45 day paypal protection limit. But then he emailed me the other day with the piece attached. A few quicks email later it was going to Fedex and now here it is.

Bill Sienkiewicz commissioned recreation of Superman 400 pin-up

Fuckin' A Bill, fuckin' A! Thank you Mr. Sienkiewicz.

CGS Supershow...it was a quick one

I knew I did not want to spend all day at the Comic Geek Speak 2013 Supershow, but this is getting ridiculous. Almost 2 hours each way and I only stayed 2 hours total. I bought 5 tpbs - Alan moore Swamp Thing 1 and 2, Fables 16 and 18, and The Shade. I needed the Shade because my slack buying habits meant I missed out on the last two or three issues. Since I own the painted covers for issue 11 and 12 I should read it, dontchathink? Besides I really enjoyed most of the previous issues and wanted to see how James Robinson ended it all. I already had Fables 17 but not 16 somehow, and got 18 as well so now I can catch up on those. And I have many of the Alan Moore Swamp Thing issues, but to read them all (including the first one - issue 20 - that has not previously been collected) is too much to pass up. I can get the next volumes later on, as apparently there are 6. That satisfied one goal, cheap trades, even if the latest LoEG escaped me once again. Next week at the next show perhaps.

As for the other goals, I was able to get my pictures of Tim Truman and my Ratdog/Planet Drum/Hot Tuna poster painting right away. That was cool, and I also talked commission with Tim and he agreed to do a Grateful Dead inspired piece and I am really excited about getting that. It may be one in a series if I can get what I want with the first one. I can see them lining my hallway upstairs if it all works out well. Now I can get that painting framed and on the wall.

As far as talking commissions, I was able to do so with two other artists as well. Rudy Nebres was there with his lovely and demure wife, as well as one of his sons. He lives 5 miles from here in NJ but we all traveled 100 miles to talk in Pennsylvania. I was pleased to be able to wear my tee shirt with his commission on it and they seemed really happy to see it as well. I talked another commission with Rudy and he was all for it. I told him I know he will do it immediately and that I wouldn't order it until I had my money in hand. So that is on the horizon, and I really need to solidify my choice for the content. As I told Mr. and Mrs. Nebres, after I got my Dr. Strange/Dracula/Scarlet Witch commission what do I really need after that? Rudy mentioned a few times during the 5-10 minutes I was with them how he saw the commission online (he doesn't get online much but I assume a son showed him) and how a lot of people had mentioned the piece to him or ordered their own based on seeing it. That made me happy, as he really deserves it.

The other artist I talked commissions with was also the only guy I commissioned to draw for me at the show and handed money to - Tom Raney. I have had a few single figure commissions through Tom and his deviant art site but talked with him about something more. It may indeed work out but  again I have to really think out my content as this will be the seminal Tom Raney piece for me I think. The Defenders are an easy choice but beyond that I am having some trouble. Hmmm, I just had an idea. As for what Tom drew for me today, you can't see it. I got restless and left before he finished it. It started out great, as did a Red Sonja he was doing for someone else. He will mail it out to me soon with my Jack Knight commission that I ordered his last time round. Groovy, 2 pieces of freakin' dynamite art coming my way. I am scaling down the convention pieces, but Tom Raney's work really blows me away. Wait until we all see the large and in charge KANG coming my way, guns blazing!

I was supposed to pick up a JK Woodward Michael Golden portfolio plate homage but he didn't get it done. So I got him to do a Batman head sketch on my big blue board instead. That is the fourth head sketch on this jam, adding to those done by Chandra Free, Robin Riggs (in pencil and so hard to see in the scan), and Jonathan Case. Here is a look at that piece - it is too large for my scanner bed so you get two pieces. I hope to add one or two next week as well.

These people are drawing fairly large heads on this thing. The board itself measures 20x16. I may start another one, brown with Wolverine, next week instead of adding to this one. We'll see I guess.

I said I only paid one person to draw for me, and that was technically true but perhaps misleading. I also had Katie Cook paint Hagrid, but it was for my daughter. Katie was sweet and kind enough to add Hagrid to a 17x5 piece she started in 2010. Now Harry, Hermione & Ron have company and the thing is done and ready for framing. Rather than pay for the painting, which would be weird as Katie always does it for free for my girl, I bought $30 worth of Gronk. Gronk rules Fridays.

So 3 at home commission arranged and pretty much accepted, but only one head sketch on a jam and one Kang in the mail to show for half a day. That is a far cry from 15 sketches per convention, but it really reflects my priorities now in the hobby. Those 3 home commission will cost quite a bit, easily as much as 15 convention sketches, but it will be worth it. And my girl got her Hagrid! Thanks Katie!!!

New Art Day - Darryl Banks commission

I have gotten a few commissions from Darryl Banks. I got one Starman, but may not get any more. Nothing against Jack Knight, I love the character, but Darryl says his favorite character is Dr. Strange, and it shows when he draws him. Here is the newest commission I got from Darryl, Doc against Dracula, with Clea playing the helpless female role. (Hey, it is Dracula after all.)

Darryl Banks commission

I have been getting Doc vs Drac commissions for a year or two and have a few now. The Nebres is in a class by itself. but that one above is just so nice as well. Recently I been giving artists a female to include, and although many choose Clea that is fine by me. So thank you to Darryl Banks for the great art and fantastic service!

Here is another that Darryl has done for me. (I can't find the other scans as my old computer died. I have backups galore but finding stuff is another matter entirely.) this first one is an homage to the Michael Golden Dr. Strange portfolio from the early 1980s. This commission homages the cover of the portfolio.

Michael Golden portfolio cover homage by Darryl Banks

Mike Allred commission now colored

Gerry Turnbull took a go at coloring the Mike Allred Dr. Strange Beach Party commission and did a groovy job! Take a gander -

The reason this came so long after the original commission is because I never let Gerry go until I okayed the Hawaiian shirt I wanted for The Ancient One. Eventually I just told him to go for it and then he was nice enough to include another version as well. Here is the second version, closer to what I had initially envisioned. I would prefer the trees and colors randomly oriented, not so orderly. But this commission has never been about what I wanted as much as what the artists were able to bring to it, so that is fine. I think I like this second shirt better.

Either way, Gerry did a great job a brings a lot to the pieces he colors. Thanks Gerry!

Here is a link to the original Mike Allred inked, b/w commission.

Some thoughts nearing year's end

I have to tell you, I have really had a good year. Many blessings have come my way. I started this entry to talk about my comic art, surprise surprise. But I would be remiss if I did not comment on my wonderful wife and my equally wonderful daughters. They really make each and every day better. We are entering the teen years, and I know it won't always be so easy to get along but it has really been a blast so far.

I coached soccer again this year, and that was fun. We had the year end dinner yesterday, a few weeks later than optimal. Only 6 of the 14 kids attended, but it was good to see those kids again. I look forward to coaching again next year.

Okay, comic art. I had a great year. I sold more art than I ever have in one year before (I think) and I bought a bunch of really nice things. Maybe nothing to compete with last year's BWS Storyteller splash page, but what year could compete with that? I usually place my better pieces in my CAF Lowry, and looking at it now, I think it was a good year. Only one of those five things is on my comic art want list but that is really because I could not have anticipated the others. But they absolutely fall right in my collection wheelhouse. This is the one on my want list, a page from Dracula 44 by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer

Tomb of Dracula 44 page 22 Gene Colan / Tom Palmer

Although not in my Lowry, I also got a page from Dr. Strange 14 this year. This is the issue of Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts that crossed-over with Tomb of Dracula 44. Gene Colan was pencilling the art for both books at the time, and this issue is again inked by Tom Palmer.

Dr. Strange 14 page 10 Gene Colan / Tom Palmer

I got a whole lot of Gene Colan this year; in addition to those two pages, I got the only page pencilled by gene Colan that Walt Simonson ever inked; a cool page from Dr. Strange 38 inked by Dan Green; and have paid off a little over 50% of a nice splash.

 The Chris Stevens watercolor was a real treat. How I could expect he would start painting and I would get one of the first ones? Look at that piece of art.

Storm of Asgard by Chris Stevens

I got a Mike Mignola cover. It was a bit of an impulse, and I would trade it for the right Starman/Hellboy/Batman piece, but it is a wonderful piece of art. It may not have hellboy, but it has so much more that you want in a Mignola than many Hellboy panel pages. Check that shit out.

Mike Mignola Witchfinder 4 cover

I have a few collecting themes. Well, that may be overstating it but I like to get a few specific things. I now have gotten a second artist to recreate an image I can no longer find, online or in the real world. But Andy MacDonald was nice enough to take on the challenge and make this homage to a John Buscema poster of Mephisto drinking souls from his chalice. Frank Brunner did it once for me as well, and Andy was right there with his execution like the old pro! (Go buy Andy's latest masterpiece, the adaptation of James Patterson's ZOO)

Mephisto Drinks The Defenders by Andy MacDonald.

This year also found me finally getting a commission from Eric Canete. I once bought, and have since sold, a Silver Surfer from Eric's portfolio. But this year Eric joined a few other comic artists and stopped sketching copyrighted characters. There are many reasons for this, and not every artist has the same reason as the next guy. But if it is a reaction to the Gary Friedrich case it is a total over-reaction. But Eric is taking that position and talking to him in the past made it clear he is a genuine man. So when NYCC came around in 2012 I decided to get Eric to do an underwater Valkyrie. He was all over that shit. Check out the insanity he put on paper for me.

Eric Canete underwater valkyrie convention sketch - my idea, his execution

The next piece I have here represents another want list acquisition. This is the fourth page from issue 170 of Dr. Strange that I now possess. This is page 18. I think that may be enough now that the Tomb of Dracula 44 pages and Doc 14 pages are surfacing, but you never know.

Dr. Strange 170 page 18, art by Dan Adkins

And this year was also the year I got my Mike Allred commission, another want list item. I initially wanted to get the Valkyrie, Dr. Strange, Clea and other Defenders playing volleyball on the sand. After thinking about characters and cost ($200 per after the first four characters) I decided to get Doc and his posse: The Ancient One, Clea, Wong, and Rintrah. Simon Miller was a keen facillitator and Mike Allred just killed it for me. I may have stripes added on Clea's suit, and The Ancient One's shirt is supposed to be a Hawaiian shirt and I will have that added soon enough digitally. I also wish there were a few creatures, seagulls and crabs and such, but I did get the cute beachgoer in the background.

One of the best pieces I got this year is this cover by Kevin Nowlan.

Strange Tales 11 cover - Kevin Nowlan

That is a thing of beauty. It may not be his best of that period, but it is a great representation of those covers and is a very strong cover by a master artist. I loved Mr. Jyp so when this cover was made available to me I was glad to see him and Cloak & Dagger, plus Doc as well! The Doc only covers are my favorites, but MAN look at what I done got!


I also was able to score a major coup when I commissioned Rudy Nebres early in the year to do another one of my themes, Dr. Strange vs. Dracula. Rudy and his lovely, and patient, wife have been at quite a few conventions in my area in the last few years and I got to talking with them on quite a few occasions. It turns out they live 10 minutes from me, two towns over. I arranged to pick up the commission at their house and look at what Rudy Nebres presented to me.

I had given Rudy five different heroines to put in the commission and he chose The Scarlet Witch. This is right up their with my Simon Bisley, Paul Smith, and Jae Lee commissions as one of the best I have received from an artist. I loved it so much I sought out the means to make it into a shirt and now wear it proudly. I wear a comic art shirt, or more than one, every weekend and that Nebres commission started that whole trend for me. It is that great a piece of comic art.

Let's see, I also got a Starman cover this year. Issue 3.

Starman 3 cover painting by Tony Harris

What can be said after that. Thanks be to God, I am blessed.


...to be continued.

NYCC acquisitions #3 - Andy MacDonald at-home commission Mephisto Drinks...The Defenders!

Okay, here is a real gem of a piece and I cannot thank Andy MacDonald enough for the effort and the wonderful result. Quality all the way around. Another dynamite ANDY MAC ART ATTACK!

This one is funny because it starts with a memory of an image - Mephisto drinking people/souls from a chalice. The people are non-descript and formless, the focus is on the idea and the character of Mephisto. I believe John Buscema did a version in the 1970s that I am remebering, and Frank Brunner remembered the same image when he did the first recreation/homage for me. Joe Jusko, a huge Buscema fan, has done a version but I have been unable to connect with Joe directly to get the source image. Joe's painting is much too recent for the one I have in mind. Great painting though by Joe Jusko, a really terrific piece.

So Andy was kind enough to take on the challenge. Here is what he delivered at NYCC - a standard commission from him, just so you know.

Mephisto Drinks The Defenders 2012 Andy MacDonald private commission

This image is a beast structurally and has to really be well thought out compositionally. Andy did a stellar job, I like that he is really fearless in his art. look at the size of that Hulk, you really have to grasp the size of Mephisto and the scope of the perspective. If you make it fit it fits (or at least..yeah, it fits. SHUT UP!) and you can imagine the long fall as a Hell in and of itself.

I love all of the little details that Andy included. First one in is Daimon Hellstrom, Son of Satan, and he looks like he couldn't care less about the situation. Smirking smarmy smartass. In other words perfect characterization. Hulk, large and center stage as always - he probably leapt from the chalice and will still fall into the gaping maw below him. And up top all Hell is indeed breaking loose. The Surfer tries in vain to scramble back onto his board. Nighthawk looks very worried - such delicate linework to convey so much. Kyle and Iceman next to him are the last ones in the chalice and the most worried. One of the big choices in this composition is how you handle the arm of Mephisto. Andy gives up as hand, and a wonderfully delicate chalice that really stands out. Fit for a demonic king. The skulls are a nice touch.

So there it is, an at-home commission from an up and coming artist who never fails to impress me with his standout linework and composition. Thanks again Andy!

NYCC acquisitions #2 Mike McKone Asgardian Storm

If you have not heard me proclaim my love for Asgardian Storm, aka Storm as Thor, then let me extol her virtues a bit. Asgardian Storm was designed by Art Adams when the X-Men went to Asgard and Storm pick up Thor's hammer. You know, as people do. So if you don't know, Thor's hammer Mjolnir is inscribed
with "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor." So when Storm picks up the hammer she gets Thor's powers; of course this changes her appearance and clothes as well and we get the wonderfully designed costuming by Adams.

I have 20-25 convention sketches and commissions of Asgardian Storm. I decided it was a great character visually and have found that many artists really respond to the challenge of drawing her. I give them free rein to change the costume should they see fit, but almost all have chosen to stick pretty closely to the original designs. There are two versions, which can be called furry boots version and chainmail version. Furry boots version was the predominant choice for the longest time but chainmail version has been getting a lot of attention recently. Look for a Chris Stevens oil painting (!) of her soon.

But today revel in the glory provided by Mike McKone. Watercolor on 11X17 comic art board, this is an at -home commission delivered at NYCC. Thanks to fellow dr. Strange devotee Art Shotten for the facillitation and a big and hearty thank you to the talented and genuinely nice Mike McKone. We chatted for quite a bit yesterday and he was a lot of fun to talk to.

Asgardian Storm, watercolor, by Mike McKone 2012

Strange Dr. Strange commission

As I stated in my last post, there are basically 3 types of comic art: true comic art-pieces produced for publication including pages and covers; convention sketches; and studio commissions. Basically. I spend a lot of my comic art hobby money on commissions. Some of them (such as those by Paul Smith; Simon Bisley; Dean Ormston; Andy MacDonald; and Ulises Farinas among others) are among my favorites in my collection. But I have grown weary of the single figure commission (although I just ordered one yesterday, so sue me!), somewhat weary I guess, and more weary of spending big bucks on a commission in general. But  I sold a bunch of art a few months ago in anticipation of the July Heritage comic art auction and when I did not bid high enough for the pieces I wanted I had some money sitting right there that had come from selling some pretty cherished in my collection.

Hmmm.

I'll spare you the 2000 words describing the process, but eventually I decided on a commission from either Art Adams or Mike Allred. I had enough for good Mike Allred piece or a bit more than half an Art Adams figure. The Art Adams is a real priority for me, but the Allred pieces were 4 figures for $1000 and I had an itch I figured I may as well scratch. The time seemed right. You see, when Mike Allred started taking commissions I immediately did what I always do when a great artist announces commission openings, I thought about what I would get. now I have never read Mike's magnum opus MADMAN. Maybe an issue or two here and there but never really. But RED ROCKET 7 and SUPERMAN / MADMAN: HULLBALOO were big hits in my book. SOLO. I just loved the zany sense of fun and chaos in his comics. It was clear he was having a ball. So I immediately got a vague notion of Valkyrie and The Defenders playing volleyball on the beach, all drawn by Mike. I never really thought it through and never needed to go any further because it was clear: if there was to be a Mike Allred commission in my future it was going to be based on this idea. And what do you know? My future had arrived.

But wait, what could I do? The Valkyrie and The Defenders would be around 8 characters, and that was too much money. Because, and this is important, commissions do not have good resale value. They are high risk (too specific to your tastes, too weird DING!, they come out poorly, usually expensive, they could come out poorly, and did I mention...they could come out poorly). So spending all that money is one thing, but spending it on a weird and quirky idea is quite another. So The Defenders as a group was out. After trying to decide who to cut and who to keep in I decided to go in a different direction and go with Dr. Strange's posse. I even went the extra $200 for a 5th character when I decided on Doc, Clea, The Ancient One, Wong, and Rintrah..And a short time later, with facillitation by Simon Miller of www.gotsuperpowers.com, I had this-

Dr. Strange and friends - a day off at the beach by Mike Allred

Pretty cool, huh?

Two new commissions from Thony Silas - Asgardian Storm and Dr. Strange

Yeah, whodathunkit? Jack Knight seems to be my third choice lately when I need to choose a character for an artist to draw. Dr. Strange has always been #1 and now Asgardian Storm, aka Storm as Thor, seems to be my 2nd go to girl. Asgardian Storm was designed by Art Adams and is essentially Storm with the power of Thor, which she obtains by holding the hammer. I tend to give artists leeway on the costume, but the Art Adams' design is so wonderful most enjoy drawing that fairly faithfully.

I have been having fun on the collector's society forum lately, and a thread entitled "never heard of him" contained some work by Thony Silas and you know what? I had never heard of him! Now normally I steer clear of those without professional credits but it turns out that Thony has some, and the work was so good I had to jump right on it even if he had not.

First choice, Doc and Clea. What do you think of this?

Dr. Strange & Clea by Thony Silas

I know, right? (*said in best Craig Ferguson imitation)

And if that isn't badass enough I got this as well.

Asgardian Storm by Thony Silas

I mean, is this guy good or what? Yeah, I thought so. Now go get your own. He is on deviant art. Tell him you seen it here first!

PEACE!




(That closing salutation is an inside joke to the wife, Bonnie. I normally say "tippy tae on the sippy sie")

The Michael Golden Dr. Strange portfolio

In this untitled post here I described how I had the Michael Golden Dr. Strange portfolio plates displayed in my room at college and that I was occasionally having artists do homages/recreations/interpretations of the plates for my original art collection. I have had one or two more completed since then and thought I would post the remaining plates as a nice and easy reference point for future commissions. Plus they look so good nice and big like this.

PLATE 3 - CLEA

PLATE 2 - MORDO

PLATE 5 - ETERNITY

I posted the other three plates (The Ancient One, Dormammu, and Nightmare) in that untitled post I link to above. These are just fantastic pieces of art and I have inquired with Renee and Michael Golden about doing a recreation of one of the plates but the price is not what I am looking for, yet. So I will continue to get ones like this:

JK WOODWARD does Plate 1 - The Ancient One

Tales from Brave Ulises!

Ulises Farinas sent along my newest commission. I caught him at a good time and he was great enough to do the piece not once but twice. We shall never see the one that made Ulises unhappy, but here is the one he was satisfied enough with that he sent it along to me! And I am so glad that he did!

Asgardian Storm as envisioned by ULISES FARINAS

Thank you to Ulises for the great work. I am selling tons of art to finance a few bigger pieces but this won't be going anywhere. Ever. Soooo good.

Rudy Nebres commission - colored by Gerry Turnbull

Well, I usually don't go for digital coloring but have made exceptions once or twice before. But that awesome Rudy Nebres commission that I got last week was so good I wanted to see what it would look like in color. And this time I decided I would contact a fellow Dr. Strange fan, Gerry Turnbull, because I thought he would really enjoy working on it. Gerry has been doing some coloring and showing off his mad skillz (yes, I did that!) on the comic art fans website. I may be wrong but I do not think he does it professionally, although his work is certainly of a professional quality. So I emailed Gerry and he agreed to take it on. And that same night I got the results. I think they are wonderful, but see for yourself.

Wait, we're not done! When I had Tom Smith color a Jae Lee commission (also of Doc, and Tom did great work as well) he was nice enough to throw in an alternate coloring scheme. Well, I must have been correct about Gerry enjoying the piece because he did the same thing and I soon got this as well. A little more of the night music in this one.

And we are still not done. In the morning I got another and it is a beaut!

The flourishes are all Gerry, even the ripped edge on the top! Masterful. He really outdid himself and I could not be happier with his work.Now I can't promise that you will get all these extras, but I can promise that you won't be disappointed with his work should you choose to employ him. Check his gallery on CAF (http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=3603) for other examples of his coloring skills, as well as a stellar Dr. Strange collection that rivals my own for sure. In fact, between Gerry, Robert Turner and John Sisson I better keep acquiring these Doc pieces or they will leave me in the dust. Keeping up with the Jones' has never been so fun!

EDIT: It turns out I was wrong and that Gerry Turnbull does have professional colorist credits. He was one of the colorists on John Byrne's FX (IDW) and has colored the official posters for the Mid-Ohio Con and Cincinnatti Con for the past few years. Sorry about that Gerry!

Rudy Nebres commission - Dr. Strange vs. Dracula

I have been seeing Rudy Nebres at conventions for about 20 years now. My first purchase from him was at the SuperMega Show in Seacaucus NJ in the late 80s/ early 90s. I asked him to draw a Dr. Strange and he seemed a little frustrated that I didn't just buy one from his portfolios, but truth be told they were more money than he was charging for drawing at the show. Since I returned from exile in Indiana in 1998 I have seen him much more frequently, getting a few more Dr. Strange pieces along the way. Well, I eventually opened my mouth and chatted with Rudy and his ever-present and lovely wife Dolores and learned that we were in effect neighbors; we live about 7 minutes from one another. In fact Dolores invited me over one time if I wanted to see some art. I decided it would be a nice offer to take her up on, but only if I was picking something up at the time. So in May when I saw Rudy and Dolores again, at the Super Wild Pig show in Piscataway I set up a commission. I gave Rudy reference for 5 different Marvel heroines and asked for Dracula draining a heroine and being surprised by Dr. Strange. I have one other commission along these lines by Norm Breyfogle, with Clea in the role of "woman in distress" and I love that one but I thought it a good idea for more commission. Rudy got a choice between Clea, Moondragon, The Valkyrie, Scarlet Witch, and Captain Marvel/Photon/Pulsar, Monica Rambeau. Well, last week I got the call that the piece was complete and I was able to meet up with Rudy today at his home. Dolores was there, as were sons Ed and Melvin. A quick tour of the studio later and I was in possession of my commission. As much as I love it I must say the colored pieces in Rudy's studio really made me regret not going all out and getting this one colored as well. maybe next time, and there WILL be a next time. Why? Well, take a gander at this and you'll see why I am so confident about getting more.

So thank you to the Nebres family for welcoming me into their home. And thank you to Rudy Nebres for this wonderful piece of art. The Scarlet Witch may not like it, but I love it.

I guess I was at Wizard World Philly today...

...although I really spent almost as much time in Market Station as I did the convention center. I am in something of a shift in my comic art focus, and the convention sketch is becoming less important and I plan on spending more money on larger items such as commissions and published pages/covers instead. However, I have been targeting this convention for about a year since Wizard posted that Stephen Segovia was going to be a guest. I had noticed Stephen's work through Comic Art Fans (CAF) and his representative, Kirk Dilbeck, and was very impressed. In fact, I was impressed enough to get on Stephen's commission list a while ago, even though it takes a few years I guess. So while I wait I figured I could get a nice convention sketch. I emailed Kirk through CAF and he told me the price and that I could get on an advance list. I gave 4 characters for Stephen to choose from and there it was; I guess I was going to Philly.

Thanks to Kirk for facilitating and Stephen Segovia for the heavy lifting. Here is what Stephen ended up drawing for me: Asgardian Storm.

And since I was going, why not go all in? I looked over the guest list and was surprised to find only a dozen or so sketch targets, and no real MUST HAVES besides Stephen. There were a few close calls, mostly with the other guys Kirk reps, especially Carlo Pagulayan, so I decided not to go all in at all. In fact, I decided to make it a quick hit instead. I arranged two other commissions for Sunday afternoon pickup and figured that would be it. Unfortunately one of the artists, Tom Raney, messaged me to let me know he wasn't going to be able to make it last minute but that he would still do the piece. Works for me! Thanks to Tom for being a great guy and honoring the commission even though he is not at the show!!! A real nice thing to do and something I did not ask for or expect.

That left me with the reason for this post, to show off my other acquisition: Stargirl by Chrissie Zullo.

Chrissie drew one of the earliest pieces I featured on this blog, a 17X5 Star Wars piece  I have a few other pieces by her as well and when I saw she was going to Philly for the first time I knew I had to ask her for something. I saw a torso she did of Stargirl on her site and knew I would love one for myself and thankfully she agreed to have one ready for me on Sunday. Thanks Chrissie! I love it!

I had hoped to ask for Stephen and Chrissie to draw a quick head sketch on my colored paper and brought blue for Batman, red for Hellboy, and green for The Hulk. Unfortunately for me, but nice for them, they were too busy and I could see not to ask. Maybe next time!

It will be next time as well for Nostalgic Investments and Bechara Maloof. It was nice briefly chatting with Bechara and nicer for misanthropist me to look over his great selection of original comic art. I saw a great page from Dr. Strange but low four figures is more than I had today. I will be back Bechara! It was fun talking to him, and Mark Texeira was there as well looking at Kirby pages. I saw a page from Texeira's Wolverine run, a nice page (for $550) and showed Mark. He was intrigued to see his work in Bechara's portfolios; I sense a deal in their futures. I also impressed myself, if not Tex, by picking out an uncredited page in Bechara's portfolio (for $195, a deal I think!) from Punisher War Journal inked by Tex.

So it was a fun hour or so in the convention center and then it was out, out into the street, across the street, and into Market Station in search of my favorite turkey sandwich anywhere. Warm moist turkey, lettuce, and bread. Yes simple. Not dry though, believe me. It was satisfying, almost as satisfying as getting my art. Not quite though, because as I sit here and look at the pieces above and remember the smiles on Chrissie's and Stephen's faces as we talked and they took my money I realize how much I enjoy the this hobby.

Okay, ramble off. See you in NYC in October comic world!

Katie Cook - Starman Family Portrait

A little before Christmas Katie Cook opened her commission list for the first time in a long time. Really, she did. Really. She did. Go check, it is still open. But lucky me, I had previously discussed a commission with Katie of Starman and Nash and both of their fathers in a sort of perverted family portrait.

Left to right: David (deceased); Ted; Jack; Nash, with baby Kyle Theo; The Mist; Kyle (deceased)

So when her commission list opened up I made sure I was on it (I was) and we went with the 2 Starman / 2 Mist idea, baby included as well of course. Shortly thereafter I asked her to include the dead brothers and she graciously added them for no extra moolah. Watta gal. So as you can see above, The Starman family Portrait came out really well. As Katie told me when I last ehassled her about finishing it up, "the dead brothers sparkle", and they do. It is a nice touch, even if the scan fails to pick up the glitter in the paint.

So thank you Katie Cook! See you this summer! (Molly is dying to get Ron and Hagrid added to her Harry Potter piece!)