The mystery of Adam Hughes's 1992 Fantastic Four cover

I've found my way to a few items of comic book production art lately.  I enjoy seeing the process that artwork goes through on its way to being a printed page.  I remember seeing the above image a while ago - a few years, at least - and it popped up on eBay again recently.  There's nothing unique about it in that it's a production transparency, made for coloring purposes on its way to the printer, but it's the image itself that caught my eye.  This image, if I'm not mistaken, has never been used by Marvel and certainly never for the cover of a book.

There are several sheets to this item, each revealing a different layer of color.  It's interesting to see everything come together to create a complete image.

If this image was never used before, then what was its purpose?  "Inventory" stories are not uncommon at Marvel - self-contained stories that were completed and saved in case a regular creative team missed the deadline to go to print - and that is the most likely answer to this question.  Of course, it raises other questions, namely if there was a story that went along with the cover.  Since it made its way to the film transparency stage, chances are that it's not just a pinup that someone did of their own accord.

With this in mind, I took a picture and tried to find out a little more about this mystery cover.  There's no signature on the art that I could see, but it reminded me of that of Terry Dodson, who had drawn this FF cover:

Thanks to the magic of the Twitter, reaching out to people you don't know is easier than ever before, and it was helpful in this case:

Soon after I had sent the inquiring tweet, Terry Dodson wrote back:

And, of course, he was right.  I don't know why (beyond the similar styles), but I often get art from the two mixed up.  I sent another message on to Adam Hughes, and he replied just a little while later:

This in itself was a mini-breakthrough, as I now had confirmation on who drew the piece.  The next question I asked was about context - was it for an inventory story?  A poster?  A pinup?  A reply came soon after:

This is a bit of a roadblock, of course.  The next step is to try and contact the editor of the book around the time it was drawn.  The copyright date by the "4" logo says 1992, which was right at the beginning of the lengthly Tom DeFalco/Paul Ryan run.  The two never missed an issue until they were replaced several years later, so if this was for in inventory story, it was never needed.

Who knows if this mystery will ever be solved.  This is a very cool piece of art and it gains even more notoriety since it's never been published before.  We'll see if I can't figure out its origins at some point.

After I found out that Hughes drew it, I found a scan of the original inked art online:

Maybe one day.

Teddy and the Yeti #4 cover by Pat Olliffe and Karin Rindevall!

This has been a long time coming.  Teddy and the Yeti artist Duane Redhead is 20 pages in to the 22 page lead story in T&Y #4, so this issue looms on the horizon.  As such, I thought that it would finally be time to show the finished cover (minus, of course, logos and the like).  This cover comes straight from longtime Spider-Girl artist and fellow Pittsburgher Pat Olliffe, who put together what is honestly the first story-specific cover for the series.

Pat both pencilled and inked this work, while familiar face Karin Rindevall provided the colors.

I've been holding on to this file for a long time, it seems.  It's nice to let it out for some air.  It'll be even nicer to have it printed and in my hands.

finally complete: the Andromeda Jones cover

Karin Rindevall dropped this in my e-mail today - it's the final version of the Andromeda Jones cover that has been a work years in progress, and it's truly an international collaboration.  Those who've worked on it have been from North America, Asia and Europe.  Pencils for this beauty are by Chris Whetzel, inks by Alan Gallo, colors by Karin Rindevall and the background image by Jason Moser.  I think it's one of the nicest pieces of art I've ever been involved with.  The final logo for the cover is below...all in all it'll look very nice in print.

More Horror

Artist Paul Tucker and I are currently working on a new concept titled "John Watkins: Phantom for Hire", which is right now just a short story exercise that threatens to take up more of our time in the future, as it's been loads (just loads) of fun to this point.  Paul even went so far as to draw a mock cover for the character, an homage to old EC Comics horror books that carries the title "Oh! The Horror!"  Interestingly, what I like most about the image is the furniture - that's not to say that everything isn't great, but just take the time and look at couch and endtable set!  Seriously, I love it.

I have no idea if this cover will ever be used for anything, which is why I wanted to get it up here for more people to see.  It's too swell for me to keep all to myself.  The title, by the way, is a reference to a short-run book that Paul and I put together a few years ago under the same name.  It contained three short stories, and...oh, I'd show the cover to it if I still had the image on this hard drive and not hiding away on a DVD-R in the closet.  Oh well, the best I can do is this picture from the New York Comic Con, with the book next to the Teddy and the Yeti paper heroes and the Franks and Beans DVDs.

That's a robot holding a sword in the desert underneath the title on the cover - that's how cool it is.

I currently have one single copy of this book left with me from the orignial print run.  One!  It traveled back from the Motor City Comic Con all alone.  The person who buys it at the upcoming Baltimore show goes home with a prize, no joke.

FUBAR: 2nd print!

I mentioned some time ago that the WWII zombie epic FUBAR had sold well enough to warrant a second printing: the image you see above is the cover to that print, which will be available to order soon. This cover is by the great Danilo Beyruth, whose website (with tons of great art) can be found here.  It's easy to see that he nailed the image.  If I were in charge of such things (I'm not), I'd have this piece be the first of three interlocking covers, one for each planned volume.  Heck, I'd chip in some money to make that happen if it were a possibility (hint hint!).

Speaking of further volumes of the book, below is an ad from Jeff McComsey for this fall's volume 2 release.  I'll have some more work in this book, and as I posted about recently, it's looking good.

I've still got some copies of the first print to take with me to next month's Motor City Comic Con, so if you're going to be attending that show, be sure to check it out!  Since that print run is basically sold out, perhaps you could buy it and then turn it around for...100 times the cover price.  Perhaps.

More Andromeda Jones

My last post about Andromeda Jones, in the matter of two weeks, became the most-viewed post in this blog's entire history (take that, Pop Culture Connection!).  While this is most certainly because my friend (and yours) Ruben Cordero put a link to it on his Twitter page, which was then re-tweeted by Todd Nauck, artist of the page I wrote about, I nonetheless feel that it is my duty to kowtow to the masses by showing more Andromeda Jones art.  Some of this is ages old and some of it is newer, but almost all of it is going to be printed sooner rather than later.

One of the things I like about Teddy and the Yeti is that it gives me the opportunity to print other short stories that otherwise don't have an outlet, and Andromeda Jones is the best example of this that I have.  I printed the five-page "Message in a Bottle" story, with art by Ryan Stegman, in issue #1 because I had been sitting on it and trying to do something with it for what seemed like forever.  And wouldn't you know it, I actually got mail that mentioned the story.

At the time, the Todd Nauck one-page story was the only usable sequential art that I had at my disposal, so to make it worthwhile for a future T&Y issue, I wrote another short story to appear with it - a three-page deal that artist Nick Acs and colorist Paul Little worked on.  The first page for that story is at the top of this post, and I think it turned out well.

I then went looking through my old files and found some other art that I had almost forgotten about, such as this pinup by Chris Whetzel.  I'm currently having this inked and colored and I plan to use it as the back cover for the issue the two stories are printed in, just like how Teddy and the Yeti #2 had a back Mr. Massive cover (coincidentally by Todd Nauck).

It should be noted that I've since changed the character's costume to make it a little less skimpy (or otherwise known as "just like every other female comic book character's costume", which I've tried to break away from), but hey, you work with what you have.  It looks nice in any case.

There are a few other pieces of art that I'm holding onto, such as the above pinup by Eric Pugh and the sketch below by Jeff Lafferty, but I don't have any hard and fast plans for either right now.

The Todd Nauck story, the Nick Acs story and the Chris Whetzel back cover will probably show up in Teddy and the Yeti #5 or #6, wherever it works out best.  It almost feels like spring cleaning, finally showing these things the light of day.

A (kind of) brief Teddy and the Yeti update

Hey folks, it's been a while since we've had a legitimate Teddy and the Yeti update around these parts, but now is as good a time as any, I'd say.

Back in 2009 when artist Duane Redhead and I were putting the book together for publication, I thought we could realistically do three issues at a time.  The considerations at hand were the fact that both Duane and I have "real" jobs in addition to having dreams of working in the comic book industry and the fact that publishing comics is darned expensive!  I wanted to tell a complete story as to not leave anyone hanging, and I think that was accomplish with the first run of the book.  We got trading cards and cool paper heroes out of the deal, too, which was great as well.

In the aftermath of the books coming out and last year's convention season, I think both Duane and I thought it'd be a good idea to continue the title for as long as we could, in the quantity that we could.  Right now, I think three issue bursts are what we can handle.  To that, we are planning on putting out three issues in 2011 using the same format as the first run: issues 4 and 5 will have a two part story and issue 6 will feature a few shorter tales.

Right now I'm not certain of the release date for issue #4 - it's still a little while away before that comes into focus.  I want to at least have issue #4 out by the Baltimore Comic-Con, which is in August, and then follow a bi-monthly printing schedule for the remaining issues.  After issue #6 comes out, we'll have another break in which Duane and I will decide if more issues are feasible.  I will say this - if it were up to me, Teddy and the Yeti would publish monthly for the rest of eternity, but reality sometimes gets in the way.  The only thing that I want to focus on is putting together issues of high quality that people can enjoy.

After issue #6 comes out, I am considering putting a trade paperback out of the first six issues with lots of extras.  TPBs have an extended shelf life and some people are more willing to check out a book in that format than the traditional monthly deal.  Plus they are cool, and that's reason alone, eh?

In any case, we are moving toward more T&Y this year, and that's a good thing.  I'll try to keep everyone up to date on release dates and progress as it's made.  In the meantime, here's two pieces of art: the first page of issue #4 from the desk of Duane Redhead, and (I think) the first look at the final art for that issue's cover, featuring beautiful art by Pat Olliffe and Karin Rindevall.

More to come.

Magic Bullet #2 cover

The cover to DC Conspiracy's "Magic Bullet" #2 has been released! I recently posted the short story Jeff McComsey and I will have in this free newsprint publication - if you live in the Washington, DC area, look for a copy soon!  If not, either travel there at great personal expense or just check out the Magic Bullet website for more info (I think there are pdf copies to be had, though I'm not 100% certain).

Oh, and look!  I made the cover, not just in name but in one of the thumbnails.  Yeah, I wrote that ellipses.  Here I go, showing off my writing skills again.

Look familiar?

This month, DC Comics is publishing most of their books with "theme" covers - simple, solitary shots of main characters in front of logos.  It's a cheap event that still manages to catch the attention of readers who might be scanning the shelves - and, if you ask me, it looks pretty neat.  I'd say that this is a win on the behalf of the DC marketing people.  Here's a look at some of the covers to the books, all of which are out now:

I'd be remiss, of course, in not pointing out that these covers looks strikingly similar to something done last year with the New Dimension Comics cover of Teddy and the Yeti #1 (by Alan Gallo and Karin Rindevall), seen here:

This is not to say that I'm trying to make any claim that DC somehow saw this and decided to copy it.  That'd be ridiculous, as it's a fairly simple idea.  I just think it's cool that Teddy and the Yeti #1 fits in with the above group pretty seamlessly.

Oh, and...uh...you can still buy that copy of Teddy and the Yeti directly from the New Dimension Comics website!

Ted sketch cover by Ron Frenz!

I got this piece of artwork in the mail a few weeks ago and just got it scanned in - several things are obvious about it.  First, it's a drawing of Ted.  Second, it's in the distinctive Ron Frenz style (another clue is the "Ron Frenz" signature on the bottom right).  Third, it's similar to Joe Sinnot's Yeti cover.  Fourth, IT'S AWESOME.

Ron is an industry pro with too many credits to list, though he might be most well known for designing the "electric blue" Superman costume.  If memory serves, he's also the first to draw Spider-Man in his black costume in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man.  Like Joe Sinnott, Ron has made important contributions to the Fantastic Four over the years.  Unlike Joltin' Joe, Ron's a Pittsburgh guy like me, which makes working with him an extra treat - not to mention he's been one of the nicest guy's I've worked with.

I originally had plans to run Joe Sinnott's Yeti sketch as the "B" cover to issue #4; I might switch that one out with this and move the Yeti to #5 (just because of positioning and because, well, Ted is listed first in the title).  We'll see.  Either way, they make great images and have a "bookend" feel to them.

Joe Sinnott is Yetitastic

Here's a preview of some new cover artwork I just received in the mail from none other than the illustrious Joe Sinnott, longtime inker of the Fantastic Four and all around great guy.  I met Joe at this year's Pittsburgh Comicon and I've gotta say - what a thrill it was to meet such an industry legend.  As you can tell, Joe's still a top-notch artist.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Joe used Phil Hester's cover to the first issue of Teddy and the Yeti as inspiration for this piece - he even drew in the faux ears that you can see on that cover if you look hard enough.  It'd be enough just to have this artwork done and in my possession, but I can't pass up the chance to use it in the book in some capacity as well.  The plan is to print it right away - I think I'll use this as a special "sketch" cover to issue #4 (in addition to Pat Olliffe's regular cover), due out whenever it feels like going to the printer.

Of course, that means that I might just have to get a sketch of Ted to use as a special cover to issue #5.  Oh, the life of a comic book publisher.  Such decadence.

issue #3 cover

Karin Rindevall recently sent me the colored version of the cover to Teddy and the Yeti #3!  How Kirby-esque!  Pencils for this beauty are by Tom (Godland) Scioli with inks by Alan Gallo, who drew the New Dimension Comics version of T&Y #1.  In the meantime, I am hard at work at actually putting issue #3 together...so I'm going to get back to that.  The end.

Cover preview, part 5 - New Dimension Comics exclusive

After the release of Teddy and the Yeti #1 a week and a half ago, I've gotten some really nice compliments on the book, but perhaps none as encouraging as from the folks at New Dimension Comics, who have been gracious enough to not only let me premier the book at their store, but have now agreed to sponsor a exclusive, low-run print of a future Teddy and the Yeti issue.  New Dimension Comics has done similar things in the past, offering exclusive covers to books like the Transformers and Witchblade, and I'm obviously thrilled to be a part of this.

The above artwork is from Alan Gallo, who has a great take on the characters.  I'm designing this cover similarly to recent variant "white" covers that Marvel has put out as of late, in that there will be the characters and a simple white background.  It brings the characters into focus and, hey, I think it looks cool.  Karin Rindevall will be coloring this, as she has done with all of T&Y's covers.

The exclusive copy will be for sale at the store and on their website...whenever it gets done.  Which should be soon.  I hope.

Pat Olliffe covers Teddy and the Yeti

Pat Olliffe has a lot going for him in my book. He's got a smooth, consistent style, he's reliable in a time where artists seem to jump from project to project without taking the time to put their mark on a book, he's from the Pittsburgh area and as such almost assuredly cheers for the Super Bowl champion Steelers, and he's working on a cover to Teddy and the Yeti.

I met Pat, probably best known for his long run on Spider-Girl, a few years ago at the Pittsburgh Comicon, and it's always been one of my goals to work with him eventually. Since I've got the book coming out at the end of the year, it seemed like a good time to give it a try. At this year's con, I managed to have a conversation with him and over the last few weeks we worked on the details of the cover sketch you see on the right of this post.

Obviously, this is just a sketch and not a final product, but I needed to show it off in any case. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. Thanks, Pat!

Cover preview, part 4

Remember when I told you that I wasn't actively trying to produce more Mr. Massive material (ALLITERATION!!)? Well, it's still true. Even so...there was a time when I thought I'd make it big with the character, and I did try in earnest to drum up some support for a Mr. Massive title.

As we all know, judging a book by its cover is just fine and dandy, which is why people pay so much attention to comic book covers - they are always EXACTLY INDICATIVE of what is going on inside. As I was peddling Mr. Massive around the Comic-Con International in 2006, I managed to convince all around great guy Todd Nauck to draw a cover for the book - it was planned that we'd do a second issue and it would be the main cover.

For a number of reasons, that never happened, and the world was deprived of a great cover for far too long. As Mr. Massive will be featured in Teddy and the Yeti's second issue backup tale, I figured that I might not get another chance to use this gem of a cover. Obviously, I'm not going to use it as the main cover for the book, but I wanted to use it somewhere, so it's getting the back cover spot - a criminally poor place for such a great piece of work, but better than sitting on my hard drive indefinitely, gathering digital dust.

I've posted the black and white inked version on the main site, but here's a little clip of the colored version - Karin Rindevall once again helped out and did a great job. To find the cover on issue #2, here's some instructions:

1) buy the book

2) flip it over

Viola!

Cover preview, part 3

If you look back far enough, you'll find cover previews parts 1 and 2...posted December 12th and 13th of last year. This one is a bit overdue, but once the whole thing is seen, I think it'll be worth the wait.

Wednesday of this week is the deadline to send solicitation information and cover images to Diamond for inclusion in the December Previews catalogue, and as such, I thought it'd be a nice time to show a little preview of the cover to Teddy and the Yeti issue #2.

Issues #1 and 3 will have covers drawn by Phil Hester and Tom Scioli, respectively, but this cover is all Duane's, and I have to say that he's done a knockout job. The detail, the action, the...ninjas...it's all a sight to behold.

Colors on this cover are once again by Karin Rindevall. You'll be able to see the whole cover, logos and all, pretty soon.

Cover preview, part 2

As promised, here's a peek at the cover to our third issue.  This one's pencilled by Godland's Tom Scioli - and if you know anything about the man, you might have a good idea of what the theme for this cover is.  At any rate, the Yeti sure does look concerned...doesn't she?

As you can obviously see, we're only in the pencil stage with this cover, but we've got lots of time before we need to see a final version, at least concerning printing and the like.  Duane is currently in possession of this piece of art (the electronic version, anyway...), and he's in the process of inking it.  Tom mentioned that he usually inks his own work, so this will be a different experience for him as well.  I'm sure it'll look great when it's finished...heck, it looks pretty good right now.

Cover preview, part 1

The past few weeks have been pretty exciting, as I've seen artwork continue to roll in as we inch closer and closer to releasing the book in stores.  It's always fulfilling to see a creation come to life, and I know that Duane and I are both just as thrilled to see some great artists put their stamp on a few Teddy and the Yeti covers.

The clip you see to the left here is from our first issue.  The pencils are done by none other than Phil Hester, a super talented guy whose work you might recognize from runs on Green Arrow and The Irredeemable Ant Man, to name a few.  Duane showed us his versatility in inking and Karin did her usual bang-up job in the colors department.

I'm just releasing a clip for now, but I'll show the entire thing soon enough.  I've got another preview from the cover to the third issue coming up soon, but for now...marvel at the awesomeness that is this part of our first cover.