Rocket Raccoon #5 & 6

There I go falling off the face of the internet again! Anyway, let's continue our slow (painfully slow) journey through the Rocket Raccoon series. These two issues marked the debut of Jake Parker, who would take over art duties for the rest of the run (except for the next two issues). Luckily, the colouring style I used on the first 4 issues worked pretty well here, so there wasn't too much adjusting needed. At least, I think they came out alright enough-- though looking back I can definitely see some room for improvement.

Well, enjoy!

Issue 5

Issue 6

"Find something else to eat!"

Due to a shockingly rare series of events I've had a bit of spare time recently, so I decided to do some doodling. I did a lot of experimenting with this piece, trying out new techniques and methods. Some times experimenting pays off, and some times it's a spiraling mess of damage control. Unfortunately, in this case it was the latter. The end result is nothing like what I had in mind, and I feel like all I could do was salvage it so I didn't have to waste a bunch of time starting over. ;) Guess it turned out alright in the end, and I still learned SOME things in the process.

Looks like the poor ogre is gonna have to find a meal elsewhere... Anyway, enjoy!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad #1

Time for the next series in the Disney Kingdoms line. This one is a fun wild west romp masterfully illustrated by Tigh Walker. I quite like colouring desert scenes, so I was pretty happy to get this gig. There's actually a lot of fun stuff in here that I don't get to colour often, so it was pretty refreshing.

Anyway, here are a few sample pages (which, as it turns out, were pretty hard to pick-- there's a lot of good stuff in this issue). Enjoy!

Invincible #116

Time for more Invincible! I was still trying to figure out the colouring style on this one, so it's different from what I'm currently doing (which I believe I nailed down in issue 117). Nothing really particularly wrong with this look, per se, but I find it still didn't mesh quite right with Ryan's ultra-clean look. This was a pretty light issue in terms of action (especially compared to the last one), but it had a really nice variety of locations and scenes.

Anyway, here's are a few pages from this issue. Art by Ryan Ottley, naturally.

Rocket Raccoon Covers

So here are the rest of the covers I painted for Rocket Raccoon. These were a total blast, and it's a real shame we didn't continue like this with the rest of the series. Oh well-- guess there were other plans. 

I'd also like to take this opportunity to wag my finger at Marvel for their crediting practice on cover art. Generally, they never mention the colorist. That sucks. So in this case, if you look at the credits page it says that the cover was done by Skottie Young. Ok, true enough, he did draw it. But this is what it looked like;

Now, I don't want to sound like I'm belittling his work (it's awesome), but I'm rather proud of what I did on these covers, and I'd like a bit of recognition, is all. For them to say that Young did the cover and leave it at that is kindda shitty. And that goes for all the other times where they fail to mention the colorist that worked on the cover (which is basically all the time). Shame, Marvel!

Anyway, let's get moving! The cover for issue 2 is by far my least favourite. I had a really hard time with the palette, and the piece didn't really speak to me. It was a struggle, but I managed. Sort of. The other two worked out nicely I think. Anyway, enjoy!

Issue 2

 Issue 3

 Issue 4

 P.S. I also have a Facebook account now, so feel free to follow me on there. Or whatever it is the kids do nowadays...

Avengers: Undercover #8, 9, 10

And here we are at last; the conclusion of Avengers Arena. Sadly, Kev Walker wasn't there for the finale, but on the other hand, the artist they brought on to fill in is one of my new favourite person. Seriously, Tigh Walker's work was so refreshing, and really inspired me to do what I feel is some of my best work on the series. I'm thrilled that we're currently working together on the next Disney Kingdoms title (which, incidentally, is also written by Dennis Hopeless, so it's like a reunion). Anyway, on to some pages!

First off is issue 8, which-- if I'm not mistaken-- is Tigh's big comic debut. His work really spoke to me, and told me to really cut loose with the colours. I don't know what it is, but I was just in the zone. It's one of those deals where I look back at and think "I didn't do this! How did I do it? I wouldn't be able to do that again.". This issue was a total blast, and it was really hard to pick just 5 pages.

Onward to issue 9, which was basically a giant brawl leading up to the conclusion. Not a bad issue in terms of color, but it ended up being somewhat monochromatic-- which tends to happen when the bulk of the action takes place in the same location. Tim Green resumes art duty here, so I was back in my comfort zone.

And finally, issue 10. The bittersweet end to the Avengers: Arena/Undercover saga. It was a wild ride, and I just so glad to have been part of it. Tigh Walker was back on the art here, and once again his haunted pages made me do crazy things. As you guess, it was REALLY hard picking pages for this one-- I'd just post the whole damn thing!

Invincible #115

So a while ago I was brought on as the new colorist for Invincible. Yeah, I'm as shocked as the rest of you. Funny thing is, I've known Ryan for over ten years. Well, okay, we worked on a project together  back in 2003-2004, but we haven't really spoken much since. He moved on and became a big-shot on Invincible, and I slowly clawed my way up.

Anyway, a few months ago he asked me if I'd be interested in coloring Invincible. As nervous as I was at the prospect, I though "what the hell" and did a few sample pages. I guess they were good enough, because I'm here now! As a side note, I have to say that replacing insanely talented artists on titles (first Frank Martin Jr. on Avengers: Arena, and now John Rauch on this) is both humbling and depressing. At any rate, the best I can hope for at this point is to not piss off fans of the book too much.

So, posted below are a few pages from my first issue on the series. Luckily, it was a pretty simple (yet awesome) affair-- mostly a giant brawl between two characters. A good way to ease into it, I suppose! I have to say I'm loving working on this book. Ryan is an absolute beast, and I feel like I'm producing some of my best work.

Enough talk-- here are the pages! Oh, and they were drawn by the legendary Ryan Ottley.

Avengers Undercover #5, 6, & 7

I know this isn't exactly timely, but I'm just trying to catch up. Besides, I really liked this series! Anyway, here are three more issues, with the last three coming in a future post.

Let's start things off with issue 5. Pretty standard stuff here, and I was really starting to get comfortable with the book. Art by Kev Walker.

Moving on with issue 6. It was hard picking just 5 pages from this one, as it's pretty action-packed, and I'm quite fond of a lot of the pages here. This one was drawn by Timothy Green again.

Changing gears again with issue 7. A "quieter" issue, with lots of plot-building and a nice twist at the end. Nice variety of locations and characters, which is fun. Kev Walker back for this one.