Road to Oz #5

It occurred to me that I just stopped posting pages from Road to Oz. Let me correct that at once! Here's a few select pages for issue 5. It was hard picking just five pages, as this issue has lots happening with many different locations and plenty of reunions.

Anyway, enjoy!

Human Fighter

Seeing as I'm a big nerd, I also play Dungeons & Dragons (as well as numerous other RPGs). Naturally, I have to draw my character, because it's tradition. Right now I'm playing in a 4th edition D&D game as a human fighter, the most boring and ordinary of all race/class combinations. To be perfectly honest, I pretty much despise 4e. The only reason I'm playing is because one of the players in our usual group wanted to try his hand at running a game and it was the only system he felt comfortable enough with. Oh well; beggars can't be choosers, they say.

Anyway, since I'm an old school guy, Adler the human fighter is as old-school as they come in terms of visuals. I'd even say he's the antithesis to 4e art direction, and he really wouldn't belong in any of the books. But I think that's not such a bad thing. I also gave him a bardiche, even though the book says glaive, because bardiches are where it's at, baby!

Avengers Arena #8

Good gravy; and update! Well, I've been insanely busy lately, and here's part of the reason why! I was recently asked to do an issue of Avengers Arena (#8, incidentally), which I gladly accepted. Seems folks were pleased with the results, since I was then asked to be on the series full-time. Needless to say, I was thrilled at the news! It certainly is great to be working on a superhero title once more, and now that the issue has been released I can finally share a few choice pages.

Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about the results on this book. Most of it is due to the fact that I can't hold a candle to the previous colorist (who I inexplicably seem to have replaced), but a lot of it is also due to a lack of... insight? It's hard to explain, but I've been doing so much experimenting with my coloring lately that I sometimes don't know what I'm doing anymore. I seem to lack vision, and a clear understanding of how to make that vision come true. I really felt like I was stumbling through my work process and happened upon a result that I didn't really understand. Anyway, enough of my crazy jibber-jabber!

This was also my first time using a flatter, so mad props go to Kyle Hilton for helping me out (he's also an accomplished illustrator-- check out his stuffs, yo! www.flannelanimal.tumblr.com). Oh, and the artwork is by the masterful Kev Walker, with whom I worked on Marvel Zombies 3 and 4. Fun time reunion!