patokon blog

Haven't been posting a while as I've been busy working on an artist fundraising FB page to benefit Typhoon Haiyan survivors of the Philippines.  (The FB page and more information about how to help is here: http://facebook.com/artistsdo) I woke up early this morning and felt like renting a flick on iTunes. OLDBOY showed up in my suggestions (for only 99 cents - SCORE!) and I figured that it was about time I bit the bullet and powered through the 'ouch' scenes. I'm a total wuss when it comes to tortuous scenes and I knew OLDBOY had a few it was famous for. As I started watching, I immediately felt the urge to put brush to paper (in this case, my little Moleskine or as I like to call it, THE LITTLEST GODDAMN SKETCHBOOK EVER) and did a drawing of Oh Dae-Su when he first meets Mido.  Come to think of it, it's a miracle that I got by all these years without someone spoiling this movie for me. It really is a terrific and satisfying film. I should have expected as much ...

[Note: Check This $#!% Out was originally a seperate blog but is now a feature of patokon blog ] Everybody loves Harley! Right? She’s quirky and funny and petite (depending on who is pushing the pen) and gothish-ish and very naughty. She’s able to make us sympathize with that madman, The Joker just as Robin made the Batman more accessible. She was born in the 80’s animated Batman show and animated-world Harley is always much more fun than the “canon” comics Harley. So why did I buy Harley Quinn #0 written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiatti after I was so disappointed with the last time she had her own series? 4 names – Timm, Cooke, Hughes, and Kieth (that’s how you spell it!). More than anything I wanted to see how BruceTimm would interpret Harley’s recent costume. A page of that right there would be worth the cover price to me, a die-hard Timm fan. Darwyn Cooke is one of my all-time faves and has earned mega-respect from me for his Parker adaptations. Adam Hughes ...

[Note: Check This $#!% Out was originally a seperate blog but is now a feature of patokon blog ] I don't know why I keep trying but I'm going to try to convince you guys to buy some digital comics again. WHY? 1) I love good comics 2) These are GREAT comics and they are ON SALE!! (some are SEVERAL hundred pages for a few 100 yen) 3) Also, if you use the Comics by Comixology app, they are quick and easy to buy through your iphone or ipad and you only have to buy them once to read on all your devices. I'm serious, guys! No bull$#!%. Here is the link to the sale: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/news/925 My advice: 1. Go to the site. 2. Click on any title that is on sale. 3. Click on the PREVIEW button and read a few pages to see if it is interesting to you. 4. REPEAT until you've explored every title. My recommendations: We Can Fix It http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/we-can-fix-it/720 Far Arden http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/far-arden/636 Splendor in the Snow http...

Science, dammit!

I've been battling colds and neck/back pain this weekend and thus limited output for the last few days. Also spent much of yesterday registering my webcomic (Hexenringe @ http://hexenringe.blogspot.com) with a bunch of websites to try to get some regular readers.  So this morning I'm jumping back on the horse with this line experiment of Masato Sakai (堺雅人) of 'Mita-San' 'Hanzawa Naoki' and 'Legal High' fame.  This was drawn with a grey brushpen while on the train.  EDIT I decided to add this shaded version to show my improvements.  Better, huh? The ink flow was uneven in this pen so lines would be heavier than I wanted. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

I like it when heroes aren't too serious. Kyle Baker's turn on Plastic Man, Flaming Carrot, Megaton Man, normalman, The Tick are all favorites of mine. I think I like Deadpool for the same reasons. 

For some reason, our supermarket always had Count Chocula and Franken Berry, but never Boo Berry which was my favorite (because the character in the commercials was so damn smooth!).  I started out planning to draw a sexy chick, but my wife was watching America's Next Top Model and looking at Chris' forehead made me want to do a monster which became a vampire with a serous widow's peak which then made me go COUNT CHOCULA! He needed a companion so I did a Franken Berry and that was that.  Buff and pissed Count Chocula. Add milk and run like hell.  Franken Berry didn't get the good brain either. He's not a fan of fire, but you know what he hates more? Pop-Tarts. 

John Buscema is an amazing artist and really exemplifies "the Marvel look" for people of my generation. His Conan is THE Conan and his Silver Surfer is THE Surfer for me. Reading his interview in the John Buscema Sketchbook that came out a few years ago, I'm convinced that besides being a master of storytelling, he's also a really decent human being. He doesn't hesitate to gush over the artists he truly respects - Frazetta , Al Williamson , Jeffrey Jones ,  comics,art,Inktober,weapon x,sketch,heroine,dailysketchchallenge,drawing,X-23,marvel,wolverine , etc. I found it extremely interesting that he says he outgrew Burne Hogarth (famous Tarzan artist and creator of several books that many comics artists learn from) saying he was "too stiff" and "more involved with muscles than the movement of the figure" and that he prefers Hal Foster and Alex Raymond .  Of Jack Kirby he says "he's number one then, today, and in the future".  He...