Joker At 75

The Clown Prince of Crime or The Joker if you will has been messing around in the Batman universe 75 years now and he shows no signs of slowing down! Anyways I tend to like to create my takes on the Joker once and awhile so here are a few posted below. They were created in traditional and digital media. So keep the funny times coming Joker!

Jack Kirby Day!!!

It would of been Jack Kirby's 97 birthday today and in honor of that this week I created some Jack Kirby created characters in Photoshop. I really have fun drawing his characters and it is fun to bring in some of his style.
Also there is this going on http://www.kirby4heroes.com/. in relation to this day. So check out this site and donate if you can. Anyways keep reading comics and also pick up a Jack Kirby comic or two as you will really enjoy them.

 

 

 

Batman Time!

Ever since I was little kid seeing the live action BATMAN and animated shows on TV, along with getting the comics I really got into the character of Batman. Heck it seems like at least once or twice a week I draw him or characters from his universe in my sketchbooks. The Batman character now has been around 75 years and is still going strong! So in tribute to that and in part I am going to be in major pop culture mode being at the San Diego Comic Convention in a day or so here are some more finished Batman images I have created over the last few years. Some even are in tribute to other artists takes on Batman. A couple of the images are even my take on a possible future Batman. The images below were created in Illustrator, Photoshop, ink pen and acrylic paint.

75 Years of Superman!

It is the 75th anniversary of the release of Action Comics #1, with the first appearance of Superman in a 13 page story by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. I grew up with Superman and he was one of those characters like Batman I was really interested in due to the various TV shows and comic books I was exposed to. Anyways this morning I did one of my Photoshop warm up drawings and this came out. Here is to 75 more years and also remember the creators that brought him into existence!

The Dark Knight Arrives!

I was a big fan of Frank Miller's twisted Batman tale THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and remember eagerly buying all four issues! With me being a big Batman fan it was one of those great comic book moments! It is not the ultimate Batman story to me, but I thought it was really an engaging one. Something about a bitter older Batman trying to work through some of his issues while dealing with a battered Gotham city of the future appealed to me at that time. Yes this Batman tale may seem a bit dated now with some of it's story elements and a bit over the top with other elements, yet I still like the Two-Face/Joker stories and how they wrapped up mixed in with the satire. As for the Batman/Superman conflict it was fun to see those two characters differences played out!  

Flash forward to the present an animated adaption of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS has been produced and the first part was released this week. This image below I had started to create for a contest connected to the release of the DVD. I got side tracked with work and did not make the deadline, but decided to finish it up anyways. The image was created by drawing over a pencil rough in Illustrator. I looked at many pages of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS comics to get inspired when creating this and decided to create my own take on the scene from the junkyard where Batman and Robin take on some mutant gang members. So that is it in a long winded nutshell and I have heard rumors there was a sequel to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. I hope it is a rumor as I think the TDKR story ends just right, but that is just my opinion.

Happy Twenty Year Anniversary BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES!

It was twenty years ago today I think one of the better versions of a televised/motion story version of BATMAN debuted on TV. It was BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES. Creative types like Bruce Timm, Eric Radomski, Paul Dini, etc. did such a great job in putting this show together! In addition actor Kevin Conroy really gave us a fully realized BATMAN with his voice work! Also other actors like Mark Hamill, etc. did excellent voice acting on characters like the Joker, along with other classic and new characters in this BATMAN universe! BMTAS had a perfect mix of crime/film noir style, mood, adventure, drama, and dark humor all in a kid's show if you can believe that! I could not resist in creating an image of BATMAN in Illustrator of the style of Bruce Timm who set the visual look of the show. 

For more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_The_Animated_Series      

Now I think I will go watch an episode or two! 

"Villain"- Group Show The Wrap Up

Well the "Villain" show is now in the past and now I reveal my two paintings that were in it. They are still for sale if you are interested, just contact me for details. Also as this show ended I now have 12 pieces on display at The Box Factory in SF. I hope to try for more shows in the near future. So from that show here are revealed my two acrylic paintings on illustration board, Dr. Death Von Tiki one of my many characters and my gentle satire of a famous Grant Wood painting called American Joke.

Batmite!

I saw the final episode today of one of my more recent favorite animated shows BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. It was a show that really had fun, was very creative and really hit the beats so well! I am one of those types that likes all types of Batman stories and this show went with the more cheerful and fun story lines with the Batman character. The final episode had Batmite manipulating things and it was a blast as usual! So adios to this version of Batman as it was a fun and interesting ride! In honor of this show and the Batmite character himself I creating this image posted below here in Illustrator today.

A Couple DC Icon Images

Hey I hear there is this GREEN LANTERN film coming out soon! Anyways it inspired me to do this Green Lantern image and then I could not resist doing this other character Superman. Both of these images I created in Illustrator and I wanted to really try for a streamlined approach with just very minimal detail. So I present my style is a very optimized way and next time I might push it further!

Superman and Ironman

I was in the mood to do some fast digital painting exercises in Photoshop today. I also felt like doing retro takes on Superman and Ironman and having them up in the sky. Here are the results and I spend roughly 3.5 hours on them.

Wonder Woman!

 A Wonder Woman drawing I had started some months back and finished in Illustrator recently.