Disney Kingdoms: Seekers of the Weird #1

So here's one of my current projects. This is a weird one (HA!)-- it's actually a comic based on a Disney attraction that never saw completion. I think it was supposed to be an addition to the Haunted Mansion. Anyway, this truly is a fun project, with lots of bizarre stuff going on, and a chance to go a bit crazy with the colors. This is another book where I used a lot of the stuff I picked up on Integer City, and I really tried to tell the story with meaningful palette choices. I also tried to go for a more classic or pulpy feel. Don't know if I succeeded, but I had a blast doing it!

Art by the masterful Karl Moline. Enjoy!

Dark Horse Presents: Integer City chapter 1

Here's a fun little gig I worked on a while back. This was the first of a six part mini series featured in the Dark Horse Presents #30 anthology, each part being only 8 pages. It was strange working on such bite-sized "issues", but still great fun and a perfect opportunity to try out some new things (I've come to adopt a lot of the techniques used in this series for other work-- like in The Rise, for example).

The story was a retro sci-fi noire crime story with some Lovecraftian elements. Basically, it's awesome. Throw in some masterful artwork by Brent Schoonover (LOVE his old-school style) and you've got something worth checking out!

Emerald City of Oz

How time flies. It's hard to imagine that I started work on the first issue of Oz way back in 2008. It sure doesn't feel like it, and while I was slacking off not updating my blog, I also happened to color the very last issue. The Emerald City of Oz #5 marked the end of the line for Skottie and the bunch as Marvel stopped translating Baum's novels into comics (at least for now. No telling what the future might hold).

I have to say it was one of those bittersweet situations. On the one hand, it's quite sad to see all those  characters go and move on, but on the other it's also exciting to look forward to other, new projects. Oz had become a very familiar and comfortable place for me, and I truly did love my time working on these books. I really can't thank Skottie enough for getting me on board with what has been one of the most defining projects in my career.

Anyway, in an attempt to catch up with more current work, I've decided to post pages from the rest of the series (being issues 2 to 5). As always, it was hard picking pages from such a large pool, but I hope you'll still enjoy!

The Rise #1

A while back I was commissioned to color a fun little indie project called The Rise. The issue featured lots of shadowy government projects, covert ops, political intrigue, and it gave me a chance to really cut loose and go wild with the coloring with all the moody and atmospheric stuff. This project was even successfully funded on Kickstarter recently. Looks like I'll get to color more of this title in the future-- which is good!

Written and created by Matt Wahlquist with awesome and unique art by Ryan Winn. Anyway, enjoy a few choice pages to help pique your interest. ;)

Avengers Arena finale

Boy oh boy have I ever gotten lazy with these updates. Meanwhile, the world keeps turning, and issues keep getting released. In fact, Avengers Arena saw it's last issue released not too long ago, and I'm only at #14! How time flies by! I have to say this book was one of my favourite gigs. It was a total blast (even if the schedule was at times a bit insane), and I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity. I really got into the zone by the end and learned a lot of new tricks and styles, and to make a sweet deal even sweeter the story was absolutely riveting. I often couldn't wait to get started on the next issue just to see what was going to happen. 

So, in the spirit of catching up to reality, I've decided to just dump a few pages from all the remaining issues. I tried to keep the list short, but it was hard picking my favourites out of five issues. But we have to move on! I have more recent work I want to post here, including the follow-up to Arena; Avengers Undercover (which looks awesome, if I do say so. Kev really knocked that one out the park, and I can't wait to share).

Anyway, for the time being enjoy these pages, and I'll try to be a bit more diligent with these updates. Oh, and all art by series guru Kev Walker, except one issue by Karl Moline.

Emerald City of Oz #1

Back to Oz we go! Not much to say about these, to be honest. I've been coloring the Marvel Oz books for what now, five years? It's pretty familiar territory for me at this point, but it was still lots of fun to revisit Skottie's Nome King, and I have to say I have a fondness for the muted palette of Kansas. I try to mix it up a little with each new series, and this one is no different, though the overall look is still similar-- it just amounts to subtle variations on the same basic technique. I'd love to go crazy and really experiment with the style and colors, but I can't deviate too much from what was established oh so many years ago.

Sadly, I colored this issue before I got the new monitor, so it suffers from excessive yellowness. This is something I got around to mitigating on the second issue and beyond, but for now try to see past the drabness of it all. ;)

Avengers Arena #13

Skipping ahead a little here. There was nothing wrong with issues 11 and 12-- they were both fine issues which I enjoyed quite a bit. But I'm lagging behind with these posts, and issue 13 is a bit different. First off, this was the first time I worked with my new monitor and calibrating kit. Second, this was also the issue where I "found" my coloring style for this book. Moving forward, I started to like my work on this title more and more. Even if I still can't touch the original colorist.

Anyway, this was a slower issue, with a bit of a "meanwhile in the real world" feel to it. Artwork by the awesome Karl Moline, in an attempt to give the regular guy some breathing room (this book was on a crazy release schedule).