The Shadow Knows...

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

George W. Bu..., oh, I mean, um, The Shadow of course!

Finally a commission where I get to draw a face (well, at least part of a face). Not to say that I don't love drawing Spider-Man or any other masked character. I love finding personality in the way I draw the masks. But still, it's nice to show that I can actually draw pretty nice faces once in a while.

I was delighted that Rick Foster commissioned this The Shadow piece. I've written in a previous post how much I love the 1970s The Shadow comic by Denny O'Neil and Mike Kaluta. I also have quite a bit of interest in the classic pulps from 1930s. Part of that interest comes from the interesting continuity of the character. The Shadow's alter ego is presented in most media and even most of the pulps as Lamont Cranston. The Shadow, however, is a master of disguise and he takes on numerous identities, including that of his agents. In the pulps it is established early on that Lamont Cranston is not the true identity of of the Shadow, but is one of his agents whose identity he uses most frequently. His true identity is Kent Allard who was a World War I fighter pilot who waged a war on criminals after the war was over. Interestingly enough, very little of the other media out there uses this true continuity, almost always referring to the Shadow as Lamont Cranston. This of course, leaves a great source of material, that is largely untapped.

The Shadow is such a cool character. I am amazed that he isnt' more popular in the modern era, as the character's appeal is dark, broody, and violent, very much in the trends of today. Perhaps it's the timeline in the past that is harder for some to pick up on. I for one would rather The Shadow remain a character of the 1930s, as there is so much style and fodder for great fiction in that very interesting era.

The Amazing Spiderman #39 pg. 1

I've posted this image before but the design wasn't complete until now. The first thing that Spider-Man enthusiasts might notice here is that it reads "The Amazing Spiderman", without a hyphen separating the words "spider" and "man". This was very much intentional, for two reasons.

The most obvious reason is that the use of the hyphen really limits the way you can present the typography. If you take the character Batman, he started out as "The Bat Man", then became "Bat Man", and then finally "Batman". And now, with the latest animation cartoon show, he's "The Batman". Well, for some reason there is more flexibility in a character like Batman. We've seen him dark, we've seen him as a respectable role model, and we've seen him campy. In some versions a man named Joe Chill killed his parents. In other versions his parents killers remain faceless and uncaptured. In some versions his adversary, The Joker has an origin and he even has a name in a few. In others the Joker in an enigma, whom you never know how he became what he was. That flexibility has allowed Batman to remain popular throughout many generations. As popular as Spider-Man is, his precise identity and continuity is held very sacred, which I think makes Spider-Man more difficult to take in different directions.

Which brings us to the underlying reason for the change. As much as I'd love to just ignore the hyphen for aesthetic reasons, I would not dare make the change for that reason. Amazing Spider-Man #39 is one of my favorite comics. In fact, a reprint of the issue that's featured in Marvel Tales is the very comic that hooked me into becoming a collector. In that issue The Green Goblin had unmasked Spider-Man which was unheard of at the time and he revealed himself to be Norman Osborn. It was an amazing two part story that featured the debut of John Romita doing the art. John Romita's art was beautiful. He popularized the look of Spider-Man that my generation grew up with and he drew some gorgeous girls. It was an amazing issue.

But there was something else about about that issue, it's only deficit; it was the first the first issue of Amazing Spider-Man that wasn't produced by both of Spider-Man's original creators. And it is an urban myth that artist Steve Ditko had left Spider-Man because he disagreed with writer Stan Lee on who the Green Goblin should be revealed as (I'm sure that there's more to it than that but Steve Ditko is a very private man who refuses to discuss Spider-Man). Well, it occurs to me that Steve Ditko was more than just the artist. In the 1960s Spider-Man comics were done in "Marvel-Style", where Stan gave his writers a brief description of what was to occur in the comics (and he's admitted that sometimes it was no more than a sentence or two), then the artist would draw the book with only that to go on, with Stan filling in the balloons and captions after that. There's no doubt about Steve Ditko had a huge role in the storytelling process and in the direction and style of the book. And after he had left, there was a definite continuity shift, with Romita's clean, more mainstream style becoming the lasting template. The book has never since had the pulp flavor that Steve Ditko brought to it.

One of the elements that forever changed, was the Green Goblin. While Amazing Spider-Man #39 and #40 together are one of my favorite Spider-Man/Green Goblin stories, the rest of those favorites are Ditko's Green Goblin stories and what made those stories different than any that came later, was that the Green Goblin was a character whom nobody knew who he was. That was the main appeal in the character. The Green Goblin had his own personality, independent of the man under the mask. His face was always shown in shadows. The anticipation and mystery is what made him so cool. But no new story could ever capture that quality before. The Green Goblin became Norman Osborn, and Norman can be portrayed as an interesting character. But he's never been the same impish, devilish, elf-like, mysterious gangster he was before the unmasking. Even retrospective stories told to take place in that time period featured the Green Goblin as Norman Osborn. The Green Goblin of that time period is lost, along with a lot of the qualities of Ditko's stories, underneath layers of continuity and decades of stories that have come since. And many of those stories are brilliant in their own right. But it's a shame that new stories cannot be told in the same vein as the classics. There are generations whom are growing up whose only sense of these stories is the retroactive continuity that has been added since.

So what do you do, if this is the kind of story you want to tell? How do you bring things back to remind people, where things were at when Stan and Steve did the definitive Spider-Man. Well, I know better than to tweak with Marvel Continuity. The Marvel Zombies would never tolerate such a thing, let alone Spider-Man fans in particular. And I don't want to make up my own universe, or "imaginary stories" featuring Spider-Man, because in my opinion, if it doesn't start with Stan and Steve, it isn't Spider-Man. But what if, and granted, this is just a dream project, but every dream has the possibility to become real, I was allowed to tell a story that took place right after Ditko's last issue. What if that story only followed the continuity of those original Ditko stories that came before it. It still wouldn't be Stan and Steve, but it would bring things back to where Stan Steve were at and go a direction not dictated by everything that's been established since. It would be a different take, a different continuity, but if it can be done with Batman, why not with Spider-Man?

So what do you call it. The first title that popped into my head was also the boldest. Calling it Amazing Spider-Man #39, even with another label attached to it, probably isn't going to fly considering that the real Amazing Spider-Man #39 is one of the greatest Spider-Man stories ever told. So names like "Spider-Man Pulp" or "Spider-Man Noir popped into my head, but, because I'm seeing a total retro design to the book and I wanted it to be clear that it's a continuation of Ditko's stories, I kept seeing the first issue as having a pulp style cover with "#39" on it. And at the same time I found myself drawing playing with the typographic logo, sketching out different type styles that I felt would make it look vintage, classic, retaining the same look, but in a totally new way. But that damn hyphen, what a pain in the ass it is to have to work around that. So it occurred to me that to fanboys the hyphen is significant, perhaps significant enough to distinguish a different continuity. Why mess around with titles like "Ultimate" Spider-Man.

So in my perfect hypothetical reality the first issue of my dream project is The Amazing Spiderman #39, with the #39 being marketed. In a slightly less perfect version, the title and numbering could be tweaked, but perhaps the shift in continuity could still justify the loss of the hyphen. It opens things up, without totally breaking the rules.

So that's the long story behind my Spider-Man portfolio I've been working on. Each page of the portfolio features a different character from this story. This serves to purposes for me, it introduces the story and the characters and, because each character in the story is very distinctively different from the rest, it shows my range and my ability to stretch genres. This splash page is designed to capture the feel of 1960s Marvel Comics and Ditko's Spider-Man in particular. I did almost everything in this page by hand. That is in part because of my appreciation for people like Robert Crumb, whom even renders the logos of each new cover of his comics as part of the original art. It's also used because there are some qualities that digital art on it's own had a difficult time achieving on it's own. I certainly took advantage of the digital process in finishing the page, including the fine fonts by Comicraft in the byline, but as little as I felt necessary.

The Crime-Master takes aim at Spider-Man!

This is one of the two paid commissions I'm doing for Rick Foster, or as he's known on the internet "Grandpa". Rick has been very supportive and enthusiastic about my art. We have similar tastes in comics (we both love this obscure 1960s Spidey villain, The Crime-Master, and the next piece I'm doing for him is The Shadow!!!).

I really appreciate the opportunity to do make a little money while getting my feel for these characters. Like I said, The Crime-Master is a favorite of mine, but I came to understand the character more through this drawing. I've always seen him as a gangster, but what really came through to me as I drew him, is that he's a blue collar gangster. He's not The Rose, whom is a Spider-Man villain from the 1980s whom also is an underworld character who wears a suit and a mask, but whom is rich, stylish, and powerful. The Crime-Master wears drab colors. For some reason I'm seeing him as old school Irish-American. He's a small time gangster, muscle, with bigger ambitions; hence the mask. I also think he's smart. He's been in the trenches, he's a survivor and there's blood on his hand. He has perspective. If he had been allowed, he could lead the mobs and he's brutal enough to do what it takes to hold power. Unfortunately for him, because of this social class and ethnic background, that's not a role open to him through the mobs. Hence the mask, which allows him to grab for power without becoming a target.

And here are my original pencils, which I thought I'd show so people can see how my art evolves. Sometimes it's not apparent to me what's working and what's not until the piece materializes in ink. I'm disappointed to lose sight of Spidey's right arm, but the perspective just wasn't working on that and I think the piece is stronger without it. These are actually really tough poses to draw. There are still a few decisions I'm not sure I made the right choice on, but there is a time when an artist needs to step away so he can meet his deadlines.

Please show Rick your support by shopping at his comic shop, if you're in his area. I spent some time with him on the phone this week and he's a really nice guy. Rick's store is:

Grandpas Comics
34161 RT.45
THIRD LAKE, ILLINOIS

Playing With Markers - The Green Goblin

I did this one a while back. It was just fooling around, coloring with my daughter. This wasn't really meant to be art. Sometimes when I'm loosened up and not "trying to be good" I come up with some fun unexpected stuff in different styles than I normally work in. I can't remember if she requested the Green Goblin or not, even though she's a toddler she knows who the Goblin is.

It's always fun to connect with my daughter.

Spidey Offed By Deadpool In Color

Same as yesterday's but this time in color.


And here's a little vintage-Todd art, the page from Bean that I stole this pose from myself.

Like I said in my last post, I think it worked better in the original, that was ten years old, even if it's rendered tighter in the contemporary version. I suppose this could be considered a spoiler for what happens in BEAN, but this scene doesn't exactly end here, and lets face it, it's not like it's a work of genius anyway.

I have no idea why this Deadpool guy wears a collar. Not exactly a choice I would have made. I would have taken that out but I wasn't sure if there was some significance to it so I left it in.

2 Character Commission: Spider-Man Gets Iced By Deadpool

Well, it seems like my supporters are just as into Spider-Man as I am because I keep getting requests. This particular gentleman wanted a scene with both Spider-Man and a character called Deadpool. I don't know very much about Deadpool except that he came out the 90s right before the image era, so this was my attempt to try to get to try to discover him through art. I'm still not sure I connected with the character, but I'll let other's decide that.

I borrowed the pose from a page of my 1990s mini comic called BEAN (Now available to download). If you ever wondered where my handle "beanlynch" comes from, that's half of it. I changed the pose a little to try to give it a little more perspective, but I'm actually not sure it works as well as the original, even though the polish is much nicer. There are some foreshortening issues and there's this sort of action lighting that's coming from between the characters, which isn't natural in real life, but it does draw the focus to where the action is coming together, so I'm not sure if that's working for me or not. I'm not sure that it reads that well that Spidey's leaping through the air, but you know, I've used enough Titanium White on this one already and although I'm tempted to do it from scratch, I think an artist has to know when to let it rest. What I learn form this one, goes into the next.

Flaws aside, this is a pretty good representation of what you will get from me when you purchase a two character commission. So keep that in mind. Remember, when you purchase commissions from me or any of the other worthy artists out there, you're not just getting a great piece of art, you're also helping an artist get his career going.

Vintage Mini Comics - BEAN: Interdimensional Mercenary - Now Available For Download

I wasn't going to post this here because I posted under my non-art blog and it's old material from a time period when I drew in a somewhat different style. But I decided that perhaps I'll post some vintage artwork here from time to time when life has me too wrapped up to pump out much artwork.

This is material that I did about ten years ago now (with a few modern edits). I wasn't sure if I was going to make it available because it doesn't reflect the current quality of my work. It also contains some personal reflection of a person that is longer me. But I've decided that it was always going to own me to some degree if I didn't set it out there.

Even though my art style was crude back then, often sloppy and drawn on cheap printer paper. The stories were very much stream of stream of conscious. I'm not even sure I knew where it was going. But I think even with the lack of structure and polish, my storytelling skills weren't that bad for a novice. It probably come from all that time reading comics.


Be aware, it contains some strong language.
Conservatives be warned, contains some pretty liberal commentary.

So anyway, here it is, available for download.
All contents are ©Todd Merrick Novak (me).

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SAMPLE PAGES

1 Character Commission: Spider-Man

So this is the first of the commission work I'm doing. To try to draw some attention to my art blog I'm doing a free drawing every month, picking one of the people, whom subscribe to my art blog by email (because those are the only subscribers I can track), by random, and doing a free one character (of their choice) commission in pen and ink on 9" x 12" heavy drawing paper. This one is for Reggie, whom really has made my day with his nice compliments. Reggie has his own blog, which is called Reggie Blogged, which is basically a comic fan blog, particularly focusing on Spider-Man. He has totally flattered me with praise in one of his posts, of which I'm definitely not worthy of, but it is much appreciated.

I'm not completely sure how I feel about this piece. I kind of loosened up a little for it, and a part of me really likes it, and another part of me isn't sure it's something that's going to connect with people. Reggie, let me know what you think of the image. If you're not totally satisfied with it I'll do another one. Otherwise this goes out your way on Monday.

If anyone is interested in a commissioned piece from me, you can always sign up on my blog and hope your name gets drawn, or you can email me and we can work something out. For a one piece illustration of this size, in ink, I charge $25. I'll even do nudies for ya if that's your thing. And remember, this sort of thing helps keep me doing art. It's a hard road to try to make it as an artist so when you buy art from artists whose art you appreciate, you're not only getting a great piece of art, you help that artist keep going in his art career.

Spider-Man In Color

I shopped this one around the web a bit, because I wanted to get the color just right. I'm pretty happy with the result, so here it is. My goal was to create an iconic piece of Spider-Man art, and I may not quite be at that level yet, but I think it's an honest attempt.

The original art for this piece is larger than standard original comic art size. I'll be listing it on my ebay store later this week. I'll probably list it at $250, which is more than I think a collector would be willing to pay for an unknown artist's work, but the inks are hyper-detailed and I have enough sentimental attachment to sit on it until I have more of a reputation (at which time maybe I'll sell it for quite a bit more). If there's any immediate interest, let me know.

Also, since I don't own the characters and Marvel doesn't own the artwork, I can't exactly sell posters of the image, but if anyone does want me to print out a display size giclee print for them, let me know and I'm sure we can work something out.

The Spectacular Spider-Man Gets Dimension

First off, before anything else I want to mention that the drawing this image was rendered over was not one of mine. It's important to mention because I do not want to be accused of plagarism. This image was rendered over character design sketches for the animated Spectacular Spider-Man animated television series. The reason it's show here is because I brought it to a whole other level with Photoshop, and I wanted to show off some of what I'm capable of rendering with Photoshop.

I've made no secret that my preference is for traditional illustration styles, but when I say preference, that does not speak a distaste for digital imagery. In fact I enjoy playing with it quite a lot and there is quite a bit I am capable of doing with it that goes beyond some of the normal things that I've seen. In this particular case, I was sitting up last night, enjoying some down time, about 8p.m., I looking at some images on the web, and almost without thinking I decided to render one of the images to make it look more "3-Dimensional". The next thing I knew it was 2 in the morning. Sadly, that's kind of what being an artist has done to me. Instead of catching up on my sleep, I get absorbed in little projects, many of which I have no intention of using, and in this case, not even the rights to use, other than for self promotional purposes.

Someone might point out that I'm using a transparency in the armpit webbing and one might think that this violates my declared pet peeve of transparencies overlapping graphic black line, so let me clarify here, there are no solid lines in this illustration. It is my opinion that graphic images should stay graphic, but in an image, such as this. There is no black line. What might appear to be a line around the figure are dark "glows", and soft shadows. In life, images are rarely focused so that a line is graphic like the black outline. I love ink lines. It is my favorite way to render anything and I have super protective about line integrity. But this is not ink and there are no graphic lines shown here.

Anyway, I have to say, I think that this animated Spider-Man series, is brilliant. I love the design. I love the very retro approach to the original source material. There are always things about shows like this that I could identify how I'd do it differently, but this is, for sure, the best animated Spider-Man series I've seen to date.