MADMEN_90 minutes

More 'Dark Knight' as requested by ERIC JIMINEZ and his COMPATRIOTS.

He asked if I could stay in the Batman frame of mind after my previous post and after visiting their Dark Knight tribute blog, I thought it'd be fun to have a say. But as most memorable and obvious scenes in the movie were already spoken for, I was at a loss as to what to do. So I decided to take on this little ditty - I thought it'd be a great exercise in how to render something in black and white (Batman and the Batpod, both being completely matte black, are practically silhouettes throughout the entire chase and showdown) and still have it be semi-legible, and also how to represent speed in a still image (they're zipping around at full-tilt speeds though Gotham - especially when he tries to run down The Joker after the semi flips over).

So I thought, "Well... that seems easy enough." Heh.

Then I start to draw the thing and I think, "Crimeny! This is a lot tougher than I thought!" That and because of the angle I chose and the compostion, I had to draw Batman's butt sticking up into the air. That's just bad planning, man! This one took less than 90 because I didn't have to render too many elements - just a ton of black areas. The only hold up was the fact that I had to find reference on the Batpod.

Speaking of which, have you guys seen the thing running? I somehow remember seeing clips of it zooming about with a guy in a red and white jumpsuit riding it. Point being, the sucker works! How awesome is that?!

"JUST HIS VOICE. JUST HIM."_ 90 minutes.

"Like the gestapo, they moved in on us - Batman and that brat army of his - you'd have thought we were criminals... who gave him the right?"

THE WAKE_90 minutes

"Something Dian used to say to me. She'd say, 'Wes, don't say anything unless you've got something to say.' Advice I took to heart. She would also say, 'It's a long, long trail that has no turning.' And how right she was."

"I'm not a young man anymore. I'm retired now. But I sometimes think that all the things in my life that have made it worth the living have been as a result of my connection to the dead gentleman."

-Wesley Dodds

"SEND A HEART BEAT TO"_90 minutes

The void that cries through you
Relive the pictures that have come to pass
For now we stand alone
The world is lost and blown
And we are flesh and blood disintegrate
With no more to hate

Is it bright where you are
Have the people changed
Does it make you happy you're so strange
And in your darkest hour
I hold secrets flame
We can watch the world devoured in its pain

"THAT IS WHY YOU FAIL..."_90 minutes

" Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere... yes. Even between the land and the ship. "

THE LAW OF MURF_commission

For those not in the know, I am working full time from home nowadays - no more animation for a bit; just comics, comics, and more comics. And it is for the first time, since I've been able to be home by myself without the distraction of SDCC or other things like preparing for SDCC, that I've actually been sitting and working on comic book pages. But perhaps, due some recent events that have given me some nihilistic perspective, that's not a good thing.


A few days ago, I walk out to the driveway and I find that my car has a flat. Upon further inquiry all the tires needed to be replaced and that it'd cost me around $700 to do so. I ask the fella' from Sears Automotive why it would cost so much and he explains that there's all sorts of things that need to happen before they can actually replace my tires: alignment, disposal, labor, taxes, the Men's USA Basketball Team winning the gold medal in Beijing - you know, things like that. So considering I need to drive, I burn the money and that was that. Oh! But according to the sales associate I'll get a mail-in rebate for $75 so, as he so poignantly put it, "... that ought to make me feel better or something."

A couple of days ago, I was informed that the latest version of a specific program was out in Beta version and I look for it online. And yadda, yadda, yadda (Jerry Seinfeld style)... my computer goes bananas due to a virus or adware or spyware and it can't find the main drive anymore. Yay! So I go to the local electronics store to talk to my buddy about it and one of the first things he asks is, "What the hell were you doing man - looking at porn?"

Yesterday, in the throes of a mid-afternoon munchie, I decided it would do me some good to heat up some microwavable popcorn. The bag says "Cook for 4 minutes on high". I realized that maybe I should crank that down a bit, so I stick it in the microwave for two and a half. I head back to the office, wait for the telltale "Ding!" and then I run back salivating like I was Pavlov's pooch - only to realize that the entire kitchen has filled with smoke (we're talking plumes here) emanating from the microwave. I'm going to guess that it's because this particular bag of popcorn was from the early 90's and popcorn, microwavable or otherwise, has a shelf life. Regardless, the house smells like mesquite and still does so this morning. Maybe I should have followed directions and stuck left it in there for the full four minutes? Who knows.


So it's been a whole week where I've been home alone and 1) I've spent more money than I've cared to (BTW, as a capper, the "Maintenance Required" lamp has been blinking on and off starting yesterday. Awesome.) , 2) I've crashed a computer (I've bought a new one since and that's the machine I'm typing this entry on now. Hooray - more money spent!), and 3) I've damn near burned down my house (I'm about to go buy some air purifiers to get that damn burned popcorn smell out of the air).

It is to say that I probably cannot be left alone, unsupervised, for any lengthy duration of time.


But... *BUT*... the NFL season is soon to start, Naomi Baker's color pages for TEL rock the house (we just looked at 'em all side by side last night and I'm so insanely happy) and I'm watching Michele Gondry's "Be Kind, Rewind" movie for the umpteenth time. Things aren't all that bad.
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PS - I did this Black Widow image seven times. That's right - SEVEN. I'll upload the rejects here later if I get the nerve. Thanks for waiting, JJ. You're a saint.