attack of the 50-foot comic book!

towering over the competition...it's WEDNESDAY COMICS: the collection!

We made it to Barnes & Noble, ma!

billie holiday...finally...well, not really.

I keep putting off the third jazz painting that I've planned. It's of my favorite female vocalist ever, Billie Holiday. I'll start it soon, I swear. At least I did a tiny color sketch for it this afternoon.

That's a start!

the Empire decides not to strike back...

I was recently invited to be a guest artist at the upcoming Star Wars Celebration 5 con in Orlando.  I attended it a few years back and had a great time producing a limited edition Stormtrooper print (see my earlier post).

I've decided to skip this year's con, even though I did a sketch for a new print.  On top of all of the hoops that Lucasfilm makes their artists jump through (don't ask!), I just ultimately wasn't 'feeling' the sketch.  I thought it was a neat idea and would make for a cool visual, but the sketch just leaves me 'blah.'  Oh, and I couldn't figure out where to put R2.

File this sketch in the sad 'unused ideas' folder.

It happens.

the great american (comic book) novel?

I FINALLY just finished reading every issue of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's epic and brilliant "100 BULLETS." all I can say is wow.

I had been meaning to sit down with the entire 100 issue run, and finally did so. wow. ok, I already said that.

Also, a monumental tip of the hat to cover artist extraordinaire Dave Johnson. I turned down this gig years and years ago and regretted the decision for a long time. Eventually I realized the only thing to regret is that Dave did twice as good a job as I ever would have!

Well, at least I was sorta part of the team, as I did a pin-up of cool character Cole Burns for issue #26...or was it issue #25? My memory aint what it used to be.

sneak peek...

i'm having a blast illustrating a kid's book called "Tyger lilly", written by good friend Lisa Trusiani. It's absolutely the most beautifully written children's book I've read in a long, long time.

whatever i want...

my brother recently asked me how i decide what type of stuff i put up on my blog. Was it purely an art blog or was it about your life in general, he asked.  I told him there was no rhyme or reason, and that I put up 'whatever I want.'

With that in mind, check out this photo from 1951 of aspiring comic book artist Martin Landau.

wow

i found myself seated next to a wonderful Italian couple from Brooklyn. It was a charity event for ALS, and I'm usually self conscious at these things and tend to eat my dinner, have a few drinks, and not say much to anyone.

You can tell nice, real people the minute you see them. I looked the fella in the eyes and I knew. I just knew. The first thing out of my mouth was, "You're the guy." He smiled a shy, Bensonhurst smile and nodded. I said "you're the guy that caught the ball," and indeed he was.

Sal Durante was a 19 year old kid when he caught Roger Maris' 61st home run of the 1961 season. It broke Babe Ruth's immortal record and put Roger and Sal's photo on the cover of every newspaper in the country. For a few days, Sal was the most famous kid in America.

50 years later, last night, I sat next to Sal Durante and his wife Rosemary and talked about that day. They were warm and real and we enjoyed each other's company. There was no ego, no histrionics or steroids or money, just a wonderful guy and his wife, sitting next to each other, holding hands, just like they did on that day 50 years ago in the right field stands at Yankee Stadium.