sketching

Rare opportunities

If you’ve followed this blog, you’ll know RETRO was started quite a while back. We began with storyboards. Aaron animated those into a motion comic short. We’ve now created a shortfilm featuring actor Reno Wilson (Mikev& Molly, Good Girls, Transformers movies) and a full comic book. The regular cover and the live-action variant look killer (I am biased though).

I hope you can join us this Wednesday at the Comic Bug in Culver City from 12-3 as we sign & promote. We’ll then head to the Manhattan Beach location to do the same from 4-7P!

What a journey!

I know I don’t post as often as should, but that’s a good thing as I’ve been busy with projects. I thank you for hanging around and checking in on my blog every so often. Your company is greatly appreciated.

As you know, 2020 has been wild to say the least. Most of the time, it has been truly heartbreaking. I lost a good friend before the pandemic hit. I think about him in particular now because the Dodgers are in the World Series and he was a huge fan. He was also an amazing artist and we would have had a lot more conversations about this year.

I had my largest convention schedule planned for this year but COVID-19 took care of that. It was going to be a lot of firsts for me. Surprisingly, other opportunities have presented themselves. As you know, I was honored to be a part of Gerry Conway’s Skulls for Justice campaign.

Since then, I’ve had the privilege of doing a sketchcard set for Marvel & Upper Deck’s Marvel Anime trading card series. I started posting them on Twitter & I guess someone in Japan found the Venom card already. I’m fanning out that I’m in a set where Peach Momoko is the headline artist. Insane! Here’s a look at all of my cards:

I’ve also been working quite a bit with my friend Mike Korpi. He’s an amazing writer and I wanted to bring his stories to life. You may remember we were in Wannabe Press ‘ Cthulhu is Hard to Spell: The Terrible Twos right before the pandemic hit.

We now have an opportunity for a comic book anthology hat trick. Our second and third anthologies are live now on Kickstarter. The first one is from the creator collective we belong to: the Sketchy Bug Group. The book is called Danger Arcade and features 10 stories by 21 creators plus pinups. Click here to check out the campaign! The cover is by Mike Penn from Heavy Metal magazine. Ed Dukeshire (from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers & Hulk) is doing letters for some of the stories, including ours! Our project was recently backed by BOOM! Studios as part of their 100 First-time Comic Kickstarter Campaigns initiative. We have 2 weeks left to fund and we’re almost at 50%! I hope you’ll consider it.

Mike and I are also in great company with a horror anthology that we’re a part of called Nightmare Theater. This campaign just launched today and is over halfway funded. It features a ton of phenomenal talent like Ringo Award-Winners Rylend Grant (Banjax, Abberant), David Pepose (the O.Z., Spencer & Locke, Going to the Chapel), David Avallone (Bettie Page, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Drawing Blood), Terry Mayo (Wicked Righteous) and many more. It’s insane. The book is over 200 pages! Mike and I have a story in it we’re sure you’ll love and I did a pinup.

I also did a pinup for my friend Steven Prince and his book Monster Matador! It’s also live on Kickstarter with only 5 more days left, if I’m not mistaken.

I hope you enjoy these amazing projects. If you support any of them, sounds off below and let me know! If you find any of my sketchcards, let me know!

I’ve been making a bunch of art & I hope you enjoy it !

I’ve been posting primarily to IG & Twitter but I didn’t want to leave my longtime blogosphere people out. So, I thought I’d post some highlights here. I hope everyone is safe and well during this pandemic. Also, you can still pickup a free digital of Pablo the Gorilla at AltFCD or Alt-Free Comic Day until the end of today. If you enjoy it, don’t forget to nominate it for the Ringo Awards at Ringoawards.com for all applicable categories!

Now for some original art!

Grinding Elder God style with @Wannabepress & @Mikekorpi #MakeDreamsHappen

My friend Mike Korpi is a fantastic screen writer. He writes these amazing stories that remind me of Tales from the Crypt and the Twilight Zone. He now has his first opportunity to become a published comic book writer! It can only happen if the Kickstarter campaign for Wannabe Press’s Cthulhu is Hard to Spell: The Terrible Twos fully funds.

If any of you have ever bought a Wannabe Press anthology, you know the quality they bring. The stories and art are curated by the editors and the talent level is always high. Cthulhu is Hard to Spell : the Terrible Twos USA no different. In fact, they believe in the product so much, you can preview it by going to the Kickstarter page. This book features a bevy of talent that Mike and I are proud to join. Paul Jenkins who worked with an art hero of mine, Humberto Ramos, is on this book. You may know him from Hellblazer or Spectacular Spider-man & Fairy Quest with Humberto. He has a piece with Tony Donley from Myth and Legends. Ray-Anthony Height, artist on fan fave titles Spider-man, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Wakanda-verse has an entry. The cover is done by Aaron Alexovich from Invader Zim! Wild!

There are other talented from publishers like Vertigo, Image and brands like My Little Pony. There really is something for every comic fan. You don’t even have to know anything about Lovecraft or the Elder Gods to enjoy these stories. Let it serve as a key to the gateway. So join us and get your free preview!

Everyone’s favorite Cimmerian #conanthebarbarian #SavageSwordofConan

Did this pinup for the San Diego Comic-Con souvenir book submission. I went a bit Miami Vice/ 80s pastel for the palette. I did this because usually when you see Conan images, very warm tones are employed. I imagined the scene to happen on a giant outcropping of tourmaline. I had been inspired by crystal’s look on a recent Natural History Museum visit. This is one if my favorite recent pieces I did. It was a lot of fun and I hope you enjoy it!

@RAHeight’s #Midnight Tiger Kickstarter is $388 from 100% Funding! #fanart #pinup

I did a quick sketch the other day for Ray-Anthony Height ‘s MIDNIGHT TIGER #3: End of the Beginning, on Kickstarter and RA wanted to post it on his Kickstarter page. Instead of just a quick doodle, I offered to do a pinup instead. Here’s the sketch layout, the doodle and the finished piece. Click here to support!

Swing, Swing, Swing #spiderman

Working out some thoughts. One day, I’m gonna make that dream happen 😉 does Marvel still put out those free books for school kids?

@Pablothegorilla preview & touring info

2019 was personally a great year for me. Retro debuted at the Dances with Films festival. Siren’s Song with Andy Nordvall hit #1 on the Amazon Kindle in science fiction and fantasy illustration. We even broke into the print top 100 of ART! Pablo the Gorilla was funded and delivered on Kickstarter! It even sold out at my local comic shop. They’re on their second helping!

How is 2020 so far? Well, it’s going crazy!

I have 7 conventions on my schedule!

My first one of the year was Long Beach Comic Expo and I’d say it was a rousing success😊

Pablo and I got some shine on KTLA Weekend Morning News live from Long Beach Comic Expo!

Next up is Wondercon in Anaheim. Find me at Artist Alley table B-50 April 10-12th !

Preview of another collab with @brianluesang of @pablothegorilla & #GodloreComic

Why yes, that is a sword wielding Pablo the gorilla!

@brianluesang has a #crowdfund campaign on @indiegogo & needs your help! I did this piece & he’ll be inking it for his book Godlore vol.2 #collab

Check out Godlore Vol.2 on indiegogo! Brian will be inking this piece and I’m sure he’ll kill it. He successfully funded volume 1 on Kickstarter and needs your help to see this project through.