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Season's Best

Channel Evil #3

Page 12.

Enjoyed doing this one so much that i laughed out loud.

snow in gotham

portrait of the artist at work...

The Un

Stuffing the Scaly Stocking

The Haunter of the Dark; Page 1.




Ground floor for sacrificial daggers, curses and arcane books!

'UK publisher Self Made Hero has positioned itself on the cutting edge of British comics publishing, producing a wide variety of high quality books. Volume one of The Lovecraft Anthology is no exception.

Visually, this is a stunning collection. The production values are extremely high but more importantly, the artwork is varied and of exceptional quality. Each artist brings their own unique vision of Lovecraft’s imaginative genius, challenging themselves to channel his peculiar brand of cosmic psycho-horror with innovative page layouts, bizarre creature designs, and clear storytelling. D’Israeli and Shane Oakley were my favorite artists of the bunch but each and every contributor really knocked it out of the park.

The Lovecraft Anthology is definitely an artist’s book, in terms of creative contribution. This isn't to take anything away from the exceptional stable of writers assembled for the collection but Lovecraft’s voice is so distinct and robust it overpowers the unique characteristics of those adapting his work. While every writer approaches the work with obvious passion and respect, making excellent storytelling and plot choices, none of them really takes the opportunity to deviate from straight adaptation. This is perhaps as it should be. The Lovecraft Anthology isn't meant to reinterpret these classic tales of horror but pay tribute to them through translation into a different, visual storytelling medium.

Perhaps one of the best anthologies I've come across in the last couple of years at least, The Lovecraft Anthology is a great introduction for those unfamiliar with his extensive body of work, touching upon all of the major beats in his literary career. For those readers already lost in the mountains of madness, exploring the visual interpretations of Lovecraft’s universe realized by this superlative stable of artists is well worth the cover price'

Broken Frontier

...purchase The Lovecraft Anthology if you'd like the creeps for Xmas.

NO FUTURE!

and...

a panel from Channel Evil # 3

Friday Frankenstein

Niven & Tate Investigate

Panel from Channel Evil # 3.

Mika

Warm-up sketch. Brush pen and photoshop.

walking with dinosaurs

Two panels from Channel Evil #3.

RIP Ken Russell

SOUND OFF Special Edition: A Ken Russell Retrospective

Mary Shelley; Mother of the Monster

I was gonna go on at great length about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. But today I'm too tired and stressed to find time or adequate words.

I LOVE it.
I LOVE IT!

Loved it when i first read it. Loved it the last time i read it. Simple as that.

So it was an easy choice when Steven Gettis invited me to contribute to his very splendid website Hey, Oscar Wilde! It's Clobberin time!

I visualized my piece as a cover to an old paperback edition, the kinda art that was popular in the 60's and early 70's. In an alternate universe this is what i do for a living, and I'm a very happy man.

let's be frank...

By Richard Pace at http://burningmonster.blogspot.com/

I Eat My Hat

I don't make decisions lightly.

I used to.

I was up for anything, anytime, anywhere, more or less.

I was stupid, reckless and more stupid.

But now i think long and hard. I weigh up the pros and cons, ponder the possibilities, the variables: the goods, the bads and the indifferents. I measure and calculate and dissect until I'm 99% sure what i want to do and why i want to do it. This can take me a few minutes, hours or days(if it's lemon cheesecake or bookshops, it's less than a second).

In the case of Facebook, it's taken me YEARS. It was a 'have i got the time?' thing, a don't-wanna-be-a-member-of-the-club thing; a philosophical thing.
It was easier going the dentist, having my hair cut short or saying yes to a camera down my throat and up my jacksy.

But i did it, i signed up.

Still not sure, so come and say hello and 'befriend' me before i change my mind and crawl back into my batcave.

Look for the skull.

Remember

The Haunter of the Dark; Page 7

Season's Screechings!

a mouldy but goody

Mr. Tremens

Batman Fall

Shoe polish, uni-ball white gel pen and the thunderous rhythm of Art Blakey.

Pardon me, but your teeth are in my neck

Over in Little Shoppe of Horrors #27 the full moon shines down on Dance of the Vampires/The Fearless Vampire Killers.

This is my contribution. At a quick glance it should look like Sharon Tate.

Fang you for looking.

The House that Roared

a shortcut home

Growing out of it

Back in 1988, i was invited to work with Jamie Delano on a 4-page story for AARGH!,(Artists Against Rampant Government Homophobia) a collection of comic strips, illustration and text pieces, all opposing Clause 28.

It was a time when i considered myself a novice; an enthusiastic one, but still a loooooooong way from professional. I doubted my work could stand up next to industry greats like Frank Miller, Dave Gibbons, Kev O'Neil, etc. But i believed in the book, and in making protest - my ego could take the knocks.

The art is rough, VERY. I was still learning and struggling, and you can see that; the lack of control and refinement, how scrappy and unfinished it looks.

Still one of my favourites.

It helped cement a friendship with Alan Moore and Jamie, helped me conquer my 'stage fright' and marked a dramatic change in my attitude towards art and storytelling.

Beyond it's crudeness i can see a playful spirit and personality that still defines the way i think today.

It's available to read, Along with a retrospective review of AARGH! at The Gay Comics List

Friday Frankenstein

This is part-art from an abandoned pin-up. It's easily the best part because it features the Frankenstein monster, the rest isn't so good, that's why I'm not showing you.

The finished, full colour piece, was to be a back cover for a new US horror anthology; the editor invited me/asked me, it was my creepy bag, i said 'yes', he said 'cool', and i did what i do.

...or i tried.

It was giggle at first, then Mr. Pleasantenthusiastic editor turned into a fascist control freak who wanted to neuter everything about my art that makes it my art.
At every turn he had a list of suggestions, nit picks and 'corrections' waiting for me, most of them contrary or contradictory, most of them incongruous, or simply dumb - the guy knows little about art or what he likes.

All this was especially aggravating since i was not getting any cash up front(just merchandise and a possible cut from down-the road royalties).

So, i ended up redoing and tweaking until i hated the fucking thing.
...and when it came to 'de-emphasizing' the nipples and cleavage of the resident cheesecake vampire, well, i chucked in my sweaty skull-adorned towel.

But, i did get to draw the Frankenstein monster, and that's always a good thing.

You can't kill what's already dead

Panel rough from a story in progress.

bummer...

Haunter of the Dark; A panel in 4 steps

The Fear