Thing sketchbook, part 20

It's been a long, long time since I've posted any updates to my Thing sketchbook routine. That's because my first sketchbook, purchased over 15 years ago from Waldenbooks, had exactly one blank area left, that being the inside back cover. I handed it to my pal Jeff McComsey a while ago with specific instructions. Now that it's been returned to me, I can say that the first Thing sketchbook is (mostly) complete. There are two entries that I might try and have inked at some point, but for now...all spaces have been filled. And there are 97 drawings of the Thing included!

Let's look at the last two entries, plus anything that's changed since I initially posted about them:

Jeff McComsey - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

This drawing resides on the inside front cover. It's a partial recreation of one of my favorite Thing stories - Marvel Two-in-One #50. Jeff drew the top half, all the way to the sketchbook's spine. Here's what the original George Perez/Joe Sinnott cover looks like:

Jeff McComsey - Baltimore Comic-Con 2011/Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

Not only did Jeff draw the Two-in-One recreation in 2013, but he finished up a sketch that he had started two years earlier at the Baltimore Comic-Con. At top is the 2011 version...

...and this is the finished version, completed at the Pittsburgh Comicon.

Derek Fridolfs/Ian Nichols - New York Comic Con 2013/Comic-Con International 2017

I met Derek Fridolfs at the 2013 NYCC show, and asked him to draw Ben Grimm from Marvel's Ultimate Universe. As those books were winding down, the Thing shed his rocky exterior in exchange for some energy-based powers. Also he was purple.

I thought that this was an entry that could use some color, because it's so different from what we usually think of when we consider the Thing. So at Comic-Con in 2017, I passed the book to my friend Ian Nichols and he added some watercolors to the inked version.

Chris Burnham - Comic-Con International 2016

This is the last actual page in the sketchbook. I knew that I didn't want to take any chances with the very last entry into the book, so I scanned artist alley at Comic-Con and found Chris Burnham, who might be best known for his Batman work with Grant Morrison. Chris was a little nervous when I told him that I had been carrying the book around since 2003 and was giving him the last page, but he stepped up and added another memorable Thing to the book.

Then he took a picture with the book! Love that Pac Man lanyard.

Jeff McComsey - 2019

And now here we are - at the end of the book. Jeff held onto the sketchbook for, wow, a couple years, and he tells me that he kept it in a fireproof safe while in his possession. But he finished it up in style, drawing this partial recreation of 1983's Thing #1 on the inside back cover. Here's a look at the original, from John Byrne and Ron Wilson:

Like I said, there are two entries in the book that I'd like to have inked, so this might not be the very last time to break open the sketchbook. And I started a new sketchbook at New York in 2016, so there are plenty more Thing posts to come. But this book will always hold a special place for me. I'm kind of surprised that I never lost it! I don't know that I'll ever be able to top it.

Geppi's Entertainment Museum in Baltimore

Steve Geppi is the owner of the Diamond Comic Distributors, which is the only major distribution network in all of comics. There's been a lot said about Geppi in recent months, and a number of people in the industry have some strong opinions about the man. All I'll say about the matter is that the industry as a whole would be healthier with more than just a single major distribution system for comics in North America.

I had the opportunity to share a table at the 2015 Baltimore Comic-Con last fall. After the opening night of the show on Friday, Geppi hosted an event for exhibitors and professionals at his very own entertainment museum. I didn't get to Baltimore until Friday evening, but since my hotel was right next to the museum, I grabbed my badge and went over to the museum, which is located right next to Camden Yards, the baseball stadium for the Baltimore Orioles.

Much of what the museum holds is Geppi's personal collection of pop culture memorabilia, and I was stunned at much of what I saw. I had heard of the museum before, but I never knew what kind of things it had on display. I took a bunch of pictures and thought I'd share a few here.

The layout and display of the museum is thoughtful and impressive, and there's a lot of different items to see, but I was of course most excited by the comics. As you can see at the top, Geppi has some of the most valuable comics in existence for all to see, including Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27, the first appearances of Superman and Batman. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out if these were even real copies or just facsimiles, and I overheard others asking the same questions. The staff let me know that yes, these are indeed the real things. The books were situated on a display that looked appropriate for the Constitution.

The room held hundreds of comics and pulps from various eras, all the way up to ones that were fairly modern.

There was original art from Frank Cho in one section as well. Other than time periods, there didn't seem to be a theme to many of these sections.

In addition to the obvious aesthetic qualities of this space, the movie posters that lined this hallway were simply incredible. There were posters from 80 years ago that looked brand new. How in the world were these kept for so long in such good condition? Maybe there was a sale at a movie studio lot. There was a wide variety of posters and prints to see.

It seemed like there was always another room to see, each with at least one mind-boggling piece on display.

One thing that stuck with me was just the preponderance of different items from all different eras. The different collections just seemed to go on and on.

Oh, look, Larry. He even has some Dukes of Hazzard items on display.

I saw a lot of movie memorabilia, the result of years of collecting and certainly millions of dollars spent.

The museum also had items on loan, including an entire room dedicated to Will Eisner.

There were dozens of pages on display that spanned Eisner's entire, decades-long career.

And there was even some Frankenberry artwork!

This whole exhibit was just a sight to behold. I showed up to the event toward the end, so I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked. I saw Geppi as I was leaving and expressed my disbelief at everything I had seen. It's hard to imagine that something like this museum even exists. If you're in the Baltimore area, you should take a few hours and take in everything that's here on display. It's impressive, to say the least.

Oh, and it happened that the Cincinnati Bengals were staying at the same hotel that I had booked for the weekend. It was odd, seeing coaches, staff and players walks the halls. My wife wouldn't allow me to run through the halls shouting "THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS HAVE SIX SUPER BOWL TROPHIES", but I did announce my presence at least once. After all of the turmoil between the two teams during the 2015 season, I kind of wish I was a little bit louder, but I'd say there would have been a 20% chance one of the players (you know which ones) would have beaten me up by the vending machines. Can't wait until the 2016 championship season is here, Steelers.

Upcoming convention appearances - Wizard World Pittsburgh, Baltimore Comic-Con and NYCC

My convention schedule has been fairly light in recent years.  I know some creators who travel all across North America throughout the year peddling books and other comic-related items - and I honestly can't understand how they have the money and mental fortitude to do it.  In any case, earlier this year I decided that I would try to get to a few more shows in the upcoming months.  My school schedule doesn't really allow for long trips outside of the summer, and the summer is swallowed up pretty quickly by Comic-Con in San Diego, but I've managed to get a few items on the schedule for September and October.

The first show is happening in...just a few weeks, it seems!  It's the inaugural Wizard World Pittsburgh show.  I'm not really sure what to expect.  Wizard World takes over for the former Pittsburgh Comicon, and it makes its move from Monroeville to downtown Pittsburgh, which is exciting.  Wizard World has a bit of a reputation for focusing on celebrities over creators, but so far I've had no complains about my interaction with the staff of the show.

They even put a link to my bio right on the front page, along with everyone else.  I, of course, forgot to include a reference to Imaginary Drugs, one of my two higher profile publications to date.  Oh well.

Next up, I'll be returning to the Baltimore Comic-Con for the first time in a few years.  This show takes place at the end of September, just two weeks after the Pittsburgh show.  Since expanding from their previous two-day format to a more traditional Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule, it's been more difficult for me to come to this show.  This year, however, I'm sharing a table with the very talented Jennie Wood, which allows me to be there just on Saturday and Sunday.  Jennie will be debuting the second volume of the popular Flutter series at the show.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to letter this new volume, so I'll be signing copies along with Jennie those two days.  Series artist Jeff McComsey will also be at the show, so it'll be a whole dang event.  Here's a visual representation of my lettering spree over the weekend:

We'll be at booth A223 for the show.  That's located in artist alley.

And just a few weeks after that, I'll be at the New York Comic-Con in New York City.  The plan right now is for me to be there on Friday and Saturday of the four-day convention.  I'll be wandering around aimlessly plenty of the time, but I'll also be making stops to sign books and generally gawk at the crowds at both the FUBAR and Flutter booths.

Oh, and Rafer Roberts will be giving out copies of the newest volume of Thanos and Darkseid: Carpool Buddies of Doom at the show.  I love these dang things.  I am going to snatch one up like nobody's business.

It'll be a busy few weeks.  Afterwards, I think I'll stay at home until February.  But we'll see.

Rotten Tomatoes "Your Opinion Sucks: Critics vs. Fans" 2014 Comic-Con panel

It's not always easy to see a panel at Comic-Con.  You've got to invest significant time - sometimes hours - to see what sometimes amounts to an hour-long advertisement.  That's not to say you can't take in a panel and enjoy it, but the sheer number of people trying to attend, many of whom have the same interests as you do, can often make it nearly impossible to see more than a few each day.

It's because of this that I try my best to pick out one or two panels each day at Comic-Con that I really want to see more than any others.  If I tried to see every panel that looked interesting, I'd spend all day jumping from line to line, probably missing out on most.

The Rotten Tomatoes panel, thought, affectionately titled "Your Opinion Sucks!", is one of those panels that is a must-see.

I didn't know too much about the panel until I saw Rotten Tomatoes EIC Matt Atchity walking on the convention floor during preview night.  Matt is a great guy who I've had the fortune of seeing at the show for the past three years.  I'll never understand why he recognizes me, but we were able to have a nice chat on Wednesday evening, during which he told me about the panel, which was to take place on Friday evening, after the convention had closed up shop for the night.

At around 7:00 on Friday, I made my way up to the second floor of the convention center and found the room in which the panel was to take place.  I went in early and caught the tail end of the Zenescope panel (which was something).  At 7:20, the room cleared and I took at seat at the front.  I'm glad that I made it there early, because the room filled to capacity quickly with minutes to spare.

I honestly didn't know what to expect.  The panel was described as "critics vs. fans", and Matt had mentioned that it had gotten a little rowdy in previous years.  Panelists began to file in and I got a few pictures before it all started.  The emcee for the evening was RT senior editor Grae Drake, dressed as Crow T. Robot from Mystery Science Theater 3000.  To say that she is quick witted isn't doing her justice.

I grew up watching Leonard Maltin on Entertainment Tonight with my parents, so I was taken back when he came in.  I had to get a picture to send to my mom.  It was well received.

In many panels, the line for questions and answers fills up almost immediately.  This panel offered something much different, though.  Audience members were encouraged to discuss a movie and rate it as either "fresh" or "rotten".  Then they had to justify their choice to a panel of professional movie critics.  We were all given paddles with the icons on them and everyone in the room, panelist and audience member, could vote on whether or not they agreed with the speaker.

I jumped up and got in line pretty quickly.  Above is a picture of me standing in line, apparently very pleased with myself.

In addition to Leonard Maltin and the Atchity/Drake team from RT, there were a number of other critics, including Alonso Duralde from The Wrap, Scott Mantz from Access Hollywood and Tiffany Smith from Fandango.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that it's probably the most fun I've had at a Comic-Con panel.  The back-and-forth interaction between the audience and panel was spirited and exciting.  It was one of the few panels I've seen where it seemed like everyone in the room was actually enjoying themselves.

I had a few people ahead of me in line, which moved quickly and dealt with a wide range of films and included some passionate debate and keen insight (a fan's review of Hancock changed the way I'll look at that movie forever).  To give you a little context as to the below video, the two people directly ahead of me talked about the Transformers movies (the first in the series and then the third).  They each provided some great setup for my entry into the discussion, which my wife happened to film, unbeknownst to me at the time:

I've apparently kept a lot of pent up frustration about the television show "Lost", and it was fun to let it out and tell my opinions to a large group of others.  The reaction to the show was fairly mixed at the beginning, but I think that I at least got my point across to those who might disagree.

Completely unexpected (and very much appreciated) was Matt's mentioning of the Tick after my rant was over.  I'm just glad I kept my composure and didn't totally freak out in front of a group of people, who all seemed genuinely excited that I was writing the book.

As the event let out (and we all went on to other events...pictures from which I'll post soon), I managed to get one more picture with some of the panel critics.  What a fun time.  The Rotten Tomatoes panel is on my permanent "do to" list as long as it has a forum at Comic-Con.  If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.

Thing sketchbook, part 15

The fabled Thing sketchbook is back for another round.  Let's see what's in stock for this round!

Carl Yonder - Beyond Comics signing 2013

Carl is a fellow FUBAR creator and a driving force behind the comic "Pirate Eye" from Action Lab Comics.  As he was in attendance at Beyond Comics for our big FUBAR signing, I of course harassed him into adding this great image to the book.  As Carl is the artist on a pirate-themed comic, it seemed only natural that he would draw the Blackbeard Thing from Fantastic Four #5.  It's the second of its kind in the book, but it's got a flair all its own.

Eric Spohn - Beyond Comics Signing 2013

I asked FUBAR artist Eric Spohn to draw in the sketchbook at a criminally late hour, as everyone else was either packing up or out the door, and all he did was draw a full figure rendition of the Thing in his favorite punk rock gear.  It's very Frankenstein-esque, moody and dark.  Certainly not bad for the last minute.  I'm glad Eric was willing to wait around!

Jeff McComsey - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

This entry is very much a showcase item within the book.  My goal with the sketchbook is to get a wide range or styles from a varied number of artists, to the point that no one artist has more than one sketch in the book...until now.  Here are the reasons I broke my rule:

- because this is actually on the inside front cover, serving as a frontispiece for the whole book as opposed to being "just" another entry
- because Jeff is my friend and who else can you abuse if not your friends
- because, honestly, who else could I have hogtied into doing something like this?

What we have here is a partial cover recreation of Marvel Two-in-One #50, a classic Thing tale from the likes of Byrne, Perez and Sinnott:

Jeff spent the better part of three days at the Pittsburgh Comicon sketching this out until it was perfect, and man, how awesome it turned out to be.  An early warning to Jeff McComsey: the book has an inside back cover, too.

In order to draw this cover, Jeff had but one demand...

Jeff McComsey - Baltimore Comic-Con 2011/Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

...Jeff told me that I had to let him "finish" his previous sketch from the 2011 Baltimore Comic-Con.  I, of course, didn't think that it needed to be finished, but then he handed back this with such added depth.  For reference, here's the earlier version:

And we can see the difference between the two versions.  A heck of a bargain, if I can say so.

Rusty Gilligan - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

Rusty Gilligan was one of my first collaborators in comics, inking the short story "The Deep" for the book Leesway from Ronin studios, which was...what, my third publication?  Something like that.  Rusty is a Marvel inker who worked on some classic books and famously worked with Stan Lee on some projects.  I got to meet him in person for the first time at the Pittsburgh Comicon, and he was kind enough to draw this classic Thing with a familiar street sign and balloon quote.

Barry Kitson - Pittsburgh Comicon 2013

Getting a sketch from Barry Kitson is a test of endurance.  As I learned in 2012, Kitson will graciously provide free sketches for anyone who is brave enough to wait in line for one.  He takes loving care with all the work that he does, and that means that sometimes a single sketch will take over an hour (or longer) to complete.  Due to the fact that Kitson is not a robot and conventions are not open all night, only a small handful of convention-goers leave with some art from him.  It's a fun tradition that requires one to get in line as early as humanly possible.

I gave it my best to wait in line for Kitson on the opening Friday of the 2013 Pittsburgh Comicon, but try as I did, I was only fourth in line by the time I got to his booth.  Because of this, I waited four and a half hours to land this watercolored sketch, but now that it's over, I can say that it was worth it.  Kitson put on a great show and I'm thrilled to have him add another piece and another story to the Thing sketchbook.

I bought some production artwork from Kitson's FF run while I waited in line, for a great price.  Since he worked on several issues of the title, I asked Kitson to draw the Future Foundation symbol in the corner of the page, to which he obliged, meaning that this is the first sketch of this version of the Thing in the book.  It counts, I tell you!

If Barry Kitson comes back to the Pittsburgh Comicon for the next go-round...I might just have to get back in line.

---

Okay, that's that for this time.  Hope you enjoyed seeing the latest sketches of the Thing!

Thing sketchbook, part 14

Lesley Vamos - Comic-Con International 2013

I found Australian artist Lesley Vamos on the last day of Comic-Con at a table shared with Jimena Sanchez.  As I had mentioned before, Lesley and Jimena had collaborated on a number of projects, notably a book a postcards, and I was impressed with the work that each of them did - and really, isn't it great that they could collaborate on comics from different continents?  It warmed the cockles of my heart.  Anyway, both ladies added their renditions of the Thing to my sketchbook and I'm happy to have 'em.  This cartoony Thing is a real treat.

Rafer Roberts - Beyond Comics signing 2013

I'm always happy to join in on some FUBAR-related events, but it's an extra treat when those events produce new Thing artwork.  Beyond Comics in Frederick, Maryland held a big FUBAR signing that I was able to join in on.  In between signing books and meeting with fans, I was able to harangue a number of talented folk into drawing sketches in the book.  First up was Rafer Roberts, he of FUBAR, Plastic Farm and Thanos and Darkseid fame.  I asked Rafer to draw a helmeted Thing, and he immediately knew just what I was talking about.  The Thing wore a helmet for a while after getting his face slashed up by Wolverine (whatever) as opposed to, I don't know, seeing a doctor about it or something.  It was a strange look for the character but it was a notable one.  Rafer did a great job all around.

Steve Becker - Baltimore Comic-Con 2011/Beyond Comics signing 2013

Steve Becker, art director of the FUBAR line, started sketching the Thing at the 2011 Baltimore Comic-Con, but ran out of time.  Since then, I've had a mostly blank page saved in the book in hoped that I could wrangle Steve into finishing the sketch, and he took up the baton at the Beyond Comics signing.  The result is an angry Thing that stands out among the others.  I'm loving the emotion with this one.

M. Giles Crawford - Beyond Comics signing 2013

Giles Crawford is another FUBAR contributor who added his take at the Beyond Comics signing.  Giles, a native Australian (that's two for this post), asked if he could do something goofy for the book, and of course I told him to go for it.  I added in one caveat - I wanted this drawing to be the first image drawn horizontally.  The result is a watercolored Thing mermaid.  Brilliant.

John Shine - Beyond Comics signing 2013

John Shine took the sketchbook after Giles had his way at the Beyond Comics FUBAR signing, and, unbeknownst to me at the time, started drawing his own rendition of the Thing.  He decided to go with the original "lumpy" Thing, though this is more reminiscent of John Byrne than, say, Kirby.  It's a beautiful, moody piece that does the most with the space available.  This here is a classic Thing with a lot of heart, and I'm thrilled to have it included.

That's it for now, but there's more Thing sketchbook to come.  Hooray!

Support "FUBAR: Mother Russia" on Kickstarter!

The newest FUBAR Kickstarter has hit the ground running, and by the looks of things, it's already a rousing success.  FUBAR: Mother Russia is FUBAR's first full-length, stand-alone graphic novel, written and illustrated by EIC Jeff McComsey.  Mother Russia follows a Russian dancer in 1943 as the faces two million zombies armed with only a singe rifle.

The first chapter of Mother Russia appeared in the very first volume of FUBAR back in 2009/10, and it is a story that I always hoped to see finished.  After volume three and as the current By the Sword series comes to a close, Mother Russia will pick up the slack in a big way.

FUBAR's Kickstarter campaigns have been successful in the past, and they've helped us to continue creating and putting out books at a good clip.  I think that all of that buildup has led to a dam-bursting event with the current campaign, and the result has been pretty incredible to this point.  I spoke with Jeff a few days ago and he mentioned that he was hoping to get Mother Russia out there and figured that the Kickstarter would be fairly low-key.  It hasn't happened that way, as it's got some good press from Kickstarter itself and other venues, leading to a deluge of donations and most likely an escalation of expectations.  I took this screen shot just a few minutes before publishing this post:

That's right: a very demonic 666 people have backed this project, pledging an ungodly sum of over 36 thousand bucks.  And here's the really incredible thing: this is after only five days.  There's still nearly a month to go!  Incredible.

Just because the book's print run has been funded, though, that doesn't mean there aren't still good reasons to back this project.  First and foremost, you can land a copy of the book.  Beyond that, there are some great rewards to be had, and there are some more on the way that will only be available through the campaign.  Keep it on the down low, but I just might have something to do with one or more of the upcoming stretch goals.

You can check out the FUBAR: Mother Russia Kickstarter page here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-mother-russia

The FUBAR train keeps on chugging along.  A number of folks associated with the book are currently in Baltimore for the aptly named Baltimore Comic-Con.  In the coming weeks, there'll be a handful of new FUBAR events, all of which I'll announce here pretty soon!  Here's a sketch from Baltimore from Dom Vivona to see us off for today: