I rock rough and stuff with my Afro Puffs/ (RAGE!)
Rock on, wit cha bad self

-The Lady Of Rage f/ Snoop Dogg – “Afro Puffs”

Inspired by the incredibly talented guys at ComicTwart, like Evan Shaner, Chris Samnee and Francesco Francavilla, I thought it might be nice to include a sketchblog feature from time to time.  It would give me a chance to flex my artistic muscles and draw something besides the strip.  (I was reluctant to include that link above, because those guys are killing it-just KILLING it-every week, and I didn’t want to look bad in comparison.  For example, Francavilla’s mock Johnny Recon poster from this week…stunning!)

Fellow 2010 Glyph Award nominee, John Aston over at OldeTowneComix.com, is preparing to print a follow-up to his graphic novel, Rachel Rage: Heartland.  The new graphic novel will be comprised of a collection of short stories featuring his Blaxploitation heroine, Rachel Rage and pin-ups submitted by some of his fellow members of “The Next 100,” including Rodney Blackwell, Samax Amen from GhettoManga.com, and myself.  I drew up this illustration based on the Heartland cover, since I owed John a pin-up from last HeroesCon and, besides, it was a great opportunity to inaugurate the sketchblog feature:

These are actually fairly tight pencils for me.  I overlaid the pencils with a sheet of vellum and inked the pencils using a lightbox.  (You will be happy to know that although I did reference the guns, I did not use reference for the butt.)  I was fairly happy with the final inks, except that I lost some of the edginess in her face.  In the penciled version, she’s glaring right through you, but in the inks, that look is softened considerably.  Rachel’s words below are the first ones she utters in the webcomic:

This was also enjoyable, because John created Rachel Rage with such a unique body type, and I tried to stay true to that form with the thick, strong legs and round face.  It’s a very different body type than you usually find in comics, so hat’s off to John for that.  The closest equivalent in comics would be Rosalyn from Larry Stroman’s Tribe, which was published in the early 1990s.  Finally, I was going to conclude with a statement about Rachel bristling with weaponry; her purposeful, challenging gaze; and female empowerment, but it’s late, and at the end of the day it’s still a booty shot.  Enjoy!

- JEP

Happy Friday!

Neilalien is the Granddaddy of Comics Bloggers, and in a medium where it’s easy to burn hot, but briefly, Neilalien has been steadfastly keeping the comics flame alive on his blog for ten years.  Neilalien.com bills itself as a “Doctor Strange Fansite,” but he also dedicates much of his time to following the comings and goings of the comic industry.  Several months ago, I was surprised and honored to discover that Neilalien listed WORLD OF HURT as one of his ‘Recommended Webcomics,” and a link to my site is prominently displayed at the top of his homepage.  So, knowing Neilalien’s penchant for Earth’s Sorcerer Supreme, I decided to dedicate this week’s sketchblog to Neilalien on the occasion of his tenth blogiversary.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

- JEP

I met Jeremy Brooks at HeroesCon, and if I’m not mistaken, he was the first guy to commission a sketch from me. He kinda threw me for a loop when he asked for a sketch of the Monarch from The Venture Bros.  I was familiar with the show, but I largely had to pull the character from memory. (At least until Jeremy brought over costume reference in the form of another Monarch sketch he commissioned from Eric Canete.  Although it proved to be useful in figuring out some of the details, having an Eric Canee sketch of the same character in front of me really amped up the pressure to do a good job.

Jeremy was kind enough to do me a solid and send a scan of the sketch after he got home, so I thought I’d share it with you.  I thought this one was pretty successful, largely because it’s such a big departure from my normal style, and still stayed true to the nature of Dr. Rusty Venture’s arch-nemesis.

- JEP

I was invited by Samax Amen of GhettoManga.com to contribute to the upcoming issue of his magazine which will feature a Luke Cage theme.  Luke Cage is experiencing a revival of sorts in recent years, mostly thanks to the Brian Michael Bendis featuring him so prominently in his Avengers books, especially in New Avengers where Stuart Immonen is killing it – absolutely KILLING it – on art.  Although I have a couple nits to pick with some of the choices Bendis has made in terms of Luke Cage’s character, New Avengers is the two comic books that I faithfully pick up on the racks these days.  (Chris Samnee and Roger Landridge’s Thor: The Mighty Avenger being the other.)

While these days, though, Cage is rocking the default Big-Bald-Black-Guy-With-A-Goatee look, for most of us, original recipe, Afro, tiara and butterfly collar sportin’ Luke Cage is where it’s at.

- JEP

In my last Sketchblog entry, I mentioned that one of the two comics that I currently collect on a monthly basis was Thor: The Mighty Avenger by Chris Samnee and Roger Landridge.  Well, this week, I learned that my reading list was cut in half after Marvel cancelled Thor: The Mighty Avenger.  I am confident Landridge and Samnee will find work on other books very soon.  Landridge worked creative alchemy with The Muppet Show comic book by adapting the television program’s quirky vaudeville/variety show format to the printed page.  I am envious of Samnee’s speed,versatility and high-contrast style.  As I said once before, Samnee is one of Alex Toth’s spiritual heirs and he keeps blowing the curve for the rest of us out there.

Comics Alliance is holding a contest in honor of the lamented, nearly departed Thor series in which it is inviting artist of all stripes to contribute some token of their appreciation for the book that is leaving us all too soon.  Here’s my humble entry.  Enjoy!

- JEP

This past weekend, I attended Wizard World Atlanta.  It was the inaugural show and only my second time exhibiting as a vendor, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  The general consensus among other artists and vendors was that business was a bit slower than expected and I experienced the same thing.  Foot traffic through the aisles was surprisingly light and I was sitting just three tables down from Gaijin Studios, across the aisle from Michael Golden, and kitty-corner from Bill Sienkiewicz and David Mack! 

I think there were several factors that contributed to the attendance issures, such as the fact that it was the first time the convention had been held, so the convention had not established an identity of its own yet.  Additionally, I’m not sure how many people knew about the convention, so Wizard World should make a bigger advertising push for next year.  The rainy and cold weather, the SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome that Saturday, and shockingly high prices of $35 per person for one-day passes may have also had am impact on attendance.  I will say that it was well-organized and the vendors and artists enjoyed large tables.  There was generous space behind them in which to set up displays and store their goods.  The staff and volunteers were also friendly and extremely helpful. 

Personally, I had a tremendous time, because I got to hang out for a while with my nephews, I met some great new people and re-connected with some old friends.  My old roommate, Anthony Summey , came up from Savannah to help man the table again.  John Aston, the creator of the Blaxploitation webcomic, Rachel Rage, met up again where we continued our bitter, bitter rivalry.  However, at next year’s HeroesCon, we plan on putting our mutual hatred aside long enough to get a table or two together.  I got to hang out a with old-school WORLD OF HURT booster and former Savannah-ite, Doug Gross.  Also, I gotta give a shout-out to Little John (not Lil’ John, though), a long-time Blaxploitation fan who may be the only cat who’s more into the strip than ME!  Also, I had fun meeting up with the fellas from the podcast, SiDEBAR, Dwight, Swain, and the newest addition to the cast, Adrian.  SiDEBAR is the reason why God gave comic book fans ears.  It’s smart, literate, yet fun, accessible and down-to-earth at the same time.  Awesome fellas who I can just shoot the breeze with like I’ve known them forever.

Other highlights include:

• I was honored to be invited by Dr. Jonathan Gayles to participate in his film project involving Black masculinity in comic books.  On Sunday, he conducted an interview with me where he let me pontificate about everything from WORLD OF HURT to Luke Cage.  The interview lasted about 40 minutes and perhaps in a little bit of an omen, as we were winding up on the last question about the history of Blaxploitation, Richard Roundtree wanders into the background of the shot.  The hallway was otherwise empty, but he just ambles by, as cool as you please.  You couldn’t ask for a cooler moment. I met John this year at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia, PA and he was kind enough to follow-up with me.  He’s a really great guy and I urge you all to check out his site at BlackSuperheroDoc.com.  He’s doing really exciting work (and I’d say that even if I wasn’t in it!)

• Actor, Nick Jones, stopped by the table.  He recognized me, because I follow him on Twitter (@njfuture), so he decided to come by and learn more about the strip.  For those of you who don’t know, Nick Jones plays John Stewart in the upcoming Green Lantern film.  (I have to admit, I didn’t ply him for more details about the movie, and I’m kicking myself for that now, but I did try to sell him on playing Pastor if they ever do a movie.)  I mean, the dude’s classically handsome and LOOKS like a movie star, but doesn’t act like it at all.  No pretensions or entourages.  He’s just a tremendously, tremendously cool guy and a lifelong comic book fan who was content to just chill at the show and take in the sights.

• Meeting Fred “The Hammer” Williamson (Black Caesar, That Man Bolt, Hell Up In Harlem) and gave him my quick elevator pitch on WORLD OF HURT.  Based on past interviews, I know he’s not a fan of the word “Blaxploitation,” so I carefully avoided it.  He looked at me a little skeptically, at first, but he soon warmed up a bit, took one of my postcards and said he’d check it out.  He was also nice enough to take a picture with me.
• Seeing Richard Roundtree (Shaft, Shaft’s Big Score, Heroes) in person.  He just happened to be walking by the table on his way to somewhere else, so as I saw him coming, I grabbed a WORLD OF HURT postcard and introduced myself. Nice guy.

- JEP

(P.S. I mentioned on Twitter that I’d be discussing Luke Cage today, but I’m posting that blog entry next week.  I wanted to discuss a scene from New Avengers #7 which I had seen posted online in previews.  I have not had the chance to purchase the issue yet, so I didn’t think it was completely fair to discuss the scene in detail without reading the entire issue.)