Jack Davis

Jack Davis was nearly 92 when passed this year. He was prolific and worked on iconic magazines and promotions, including early Mad magazine issues, TV guide covers, Time magazine political covers, and a slew of movie and related advertising work.



He will be remembered.

Emilio

Alan Moore Birthday!

Alan Moore celebrated his 64th birthday on November, 18, 2017. He was born in 1953, in Northampton, United Kingdom.

Recently he completed his novel, Jerusalem. It is a complex narrative, rich with detail, plot, and character development.

"Will you still need me.
Will you still love me when I am sixty-four."
McCartney/Lennon

In other celebrations, this year marks the 100th birthday of Jacob Kurtzberg (aka Jack Kirby), and Will Eisner's 100th as well.


art © 1987 Bill Sienkiewicz

The Vibrant colored Thor Movie ala Jack Kirby

The design within the movie screams out Jack Kirby as loud as the Kirby Crackle effect.



The design, lettering, and color scheme for the promotion is similar to the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The last Thor movie was dark and had little humor. Marvel made sure to add humor onto the new movie, ala Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid, with Hulk and Thor. They rolled out the plot like a GOTG movie and it appears to work.



The designs of the costumes also allude to the Thor comics drawn by Jack Kirby, and scripted by Stan Lee, who adds a small interactive cameo.



The Valkyrie is not the one from the comics but she is the heroic lead in the movie.



Perhaps part of the obvious Kirby touch is due to the settlement with the Kirby estate. Who knows, still, Kirby received recognition from Comic-con this year, and from the Disney convention. This Thor movie is released on what would have been Kirby's 100th birthday.

Geof Darrow & his new Shaolin Cowboy book: Who Will Stop the Reign

Geof Darrow & his new Shaolin Cowboy book: Who Will Stop the Reign

"If you are not familiar with Geof's work be prepared. It is filled with detail--lots of detail. Detailed does not begin to describe the detail.
It is for mature audiences, graphic imagery and all.



This is probably his best Shaolin compilation to date.
It is ambitious and complex, running several narratives.
In one you find the Shaolin Cowboy with recollections of his past, and sound advice from his mentors, this section is in monochromatic tones.
In another, you find the Shaolin Cowboy tailed by the infamous Crab.

One of the mentors bears a likeness to Robert Mitchum, the actor, if you do not know his work--check out his movies, especially the "Night of the Hunter."



If you are not familiar with Geof's work be prepared. It is filled with detail--really.

On the surface the work appears to be a violent adventure strip, to say the least, but it filled with layers of deconstruction. In part it has quite a bit of visual acknowledgements to the deconstructive westerns from the 60s, and early 70s, the samurai movies from the 60s and 70s, and other genres mixed in as well.




Vintage samurai and western movies were often shown at an old school movie theater (with the awning, light bulbs, and movable letters) on Santa Monica Boulevard and I am almost certain that Mr. Darrow probably saw some of the classics there.

Darrow is the modern day Heironymus Bach, tearing down the facade of society, the establishment, and of the consumer, drone-like, world. He stitches together several cultures, world views, and eastern philosophy onto a world all his own.

There is humor to all the madness as well.

The coloring by Dave Stewart works well. It compliments the narrative with vibrant and, yet, very subtle hues throughout the book. This is challenging as the amount of detail, from the line work, allows for multiple possibilities of what to color and how to color it. Dave manages this complex work with steady choices of hues, monochromatic colors, and expert coloring of many of the consumer packaging items throughout each page, or the subtle hues of a desert scene during the day or night.

Stewart also uses dichotic choices, such as the varying, painterly, application to Zombie heads.
There are many challenges with color and Stewart succeeds on every page.

Shaolin Cowboy is published by Dark Horse, and available wherever books are sold. Check it out!"

Emilio Soltero

Comic-Con Pro Professional registration opens in a couple of days!!!SDCC 2018

2018 SDCC Pro Registration Info

Comic-Con 2018 creative professional badge registration will begin at 10:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) on October 11, 2017.

All "NOT DUE" creative professionals are guaranteed a badge for Comic-Con 2018, but you must register online before April 12, 2018. 

Visit the official SDCC website for more info.

Joe Kubert's Birthday!!!

Mr. Kubert was very nice and encouraging. He had a passion for teaching, drawing, and fighting for the underdog.

RIP.

We will try to post part of an interview soon.

Claremont, Len Wein, Wolverine & X-Men connection

Claremont started on the X-Men when Len Wein was the Editor-In-Chief at Marvel comics. Claremont, along with Dave Cockrum and John Byrne, made the X-Men the hot property for several years. But before that, Wein and Cockrum created the game changing Giant Size X men, with the all new diverse cast of characters.



recently the Hollywood Reporter spoke with Claremont. he worked alongside Wein, who apparently had the only real office with a door. He was there when Cockrum and Wein worked on Giant Size X-Men 1. shortly thereafter the Giant size books were cancelled and the X-men, regular series returned with Claremont at the helm of the writing chores.



Claremont spoke about Wein, "He loved the medium, and more importantly, he loved the craft."


A note from Alan Moore to Len Wein when they first started on the seminal book.

Dr. Soltero presents at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2017

The presentation was a success with great artists, volunteer models, and artists of all ages.

Check it out for the next few days--where else can you find Buzz Aldrin.




Soltero was a little under the weather but was able to make it for the late evening event.

There is an interactive STEAM component--bring your kids, students.

Bernie Wrightson has died-- fame with DC , Swamp Thing, and Batman

Mr. Wrightson died from brain cancer. He was famed for drawing Frankenstein, Swamp Thing, and Batman.

Dr. Soltero met him in Sacramento, a cordial conversation was had, and Steve Engelhart was there as well.

Wrightson originally show a strong influence from Frank Frazetta and Graham Ingels, later he developed his own version of Franklin Booth inspired Frankenstein images that are uniquely his own.
This work is very impressive.

Dr. Soltero presents/demo at Wonder Con 2017

Emilio Soltero will present a figure drawing demo on Saturday afternoon.
He will draw/demo the figure from any angle, and without reference.

Saturday April 1, 2017 3:00pm - 4:00pm 
Room 210

Professionals, beginners, and cosplayers welcome.