April 11, 2006
Short n' Sweet

   This week I don't have much prepared in the way of theme, nor do I have a handful of random nuggets to collect here. Instead I'll just give you an Inside Baseball version of what comics I've been busy with lately, in chronological order.

   Coming up soon is the Villains United Infinite Crisis Special, surely one of the longest titles of any comic coming out this month. This gave me the opportunity to revisit the pencils of Dale Eaglesham, with whom I inked some recent Superman pages, which are now showcased on this site's -

   *NEW FEATURE!*

   Go to the Pencil-to-Ink Study section and look for Just The Inks. This will take you to black & white pages scanned from the original art of recent comics I've inked, before the lettering and color was added. This gives you the chance to take in the visuals of the line art established by the penciller and inker, some of which changes when color holds "knock out" a black line for a special effect. I've purposely added no commentary because I don't need another excuse to ramble. Webmaster Chris and I'll be adding more original art pages periodically in the coming months, usually during blog-Tuesdays.

   Dale really put Art Thibert and me through the paces on the Villains United IC Special. One of the pages I inked has a total of 32 heroes, but somehow Dale managed to not make it look crowded-not an easy task. There's also a full-splash of hero-on-villain-on-hero mayhem that appealed to the lil' fan in me ("Lil' fan, get in mah BELLY!").

   Then, in the span of one week, I managed to do the second half of Team Zero #6 (over Doug Mahnke) and it was a rare time where I felt my pages met at the intersection of Speed and Quality. I must mention that the previous issue, #5, which just came out, also has some pages done by me, and it features some of the best printing, coloring and truest reproduction of my inks. Kudos to the Wildstorm production department! Don't wait for the trade paperback, grab the back issues!

   Inking someone new is always a rewarding experience. I got to ink a few pages of the New Avengers Annual #1 over Olivier Coipel and I've been wanting to ink his stuff since his Avengers issues with the Wrecking Crew that introduced the new Captain Britain. Hopefully, this won't be last time we work together (I'm not above grovelling, Olivier!).

   I've been catching up on some reading as well. I know I'm late in the game to promote this, but I finally picked up Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier from DC ( from '03 or '04). I had trouble sleeping the other night, and before I knew it, I actually read the entire thing straight through! I think it's the first time I've been able to experience a trade paperback-length story in one sitting! The New Frontier contains many flashes of brilliance and magic moments that ONLY be achieved in the comics medium. Cooke ties the various Silver Age heroes origins together in a way that naturally unfolds, rather than feeling contrived. In short: Highly recommended! When I finished, I was kicking myself in the ass for not grabbing the second trade (with the concluding chapters) the same day I picked up the first. Thankfully, I have it in my 'pull file' at my local comics shop. Now I'm absolutely convinced that Cooke is the man to do Wil Eisner's The Spirit justice this Summer, not that he needs my endorsement.

   Along with the newly-displayed Eaglesham Superman pages in the Pencil-to-Ink Study/Just The Inks are pages from Firestorm #22, pencilled by newcomer Eddie Barrows, who shows a strong Alan Davis influence. I think he'll be a big name before we know it. See for yourself!
 
 
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