Green Arrow  & Black Canary #14 is on sale next week. Connor Hawke is back!  I took some inspiration from exploitation movie posters, but what this cover really needs is some crazy kung-fu movie titling, Shaw Bros. style. Sadly, this is my last cover for GABC; it’s been a good run and it’s time to move on.  Hopefully I’ll get to play in the DCU again soon.

I had a lot of fun with this, especially since so many of the movie and tv show details lined up — the colors, the bike, the frilly lace.  I’m also pretty sure Batman played Prince’s father in Purple Rain, but it’s been 24 years since I saw it and I did a lot of drugs that night. Then I crashed my dad’s Porsche before taking my best friend to the prom and winning the All-Valley Championship.  That was quite a year, let me tell you.

So, out of the blue, my old friend Joey Nova asks me to draw some artwork for Shazam! — a new monthly party he’s throwing in NYC. If you haven’t guessed, its a superhero themed party.  The launch will be this Halloween and it’ll have burlesque dancers, a costume contest, and general mayhem.  Sounds good and trashy!  Joey wanted images of comic characters dancing, but I talked him into a series of 80’s record cover remixes to really push the music angle. I love the original Patrick Nagel illo, and I must admit it was nerve wracking to draw this thing.  Nagel’s design and line were so precise and just making these small changes required a lot of tweaking to look right. Kind of a tightrope act, but the next flyer is more “me.” I’ll post that in a week or so.

Green Arrow & Black Canary #13 is on sale this week. Date night! This is one of those covers that didn’t come together until the end.  I added the black sky and the burning fires in the background and suddenly there was a lot more depth and interest. Right before going to press, we also threw in some missiles to add to the mayhem. Note to self: explosions = good. I’m like the Michael Bay of comics. Boom!

Secret Six #2 is on sale next week! When I turned this one in, I also gave them 2 options for cover copy:

1. i can haz batmobile?
2. i’m in ur batcave stealin ur costume

We’ll see which one they go for…

I’d heard it was a great show, and the Baltimore Comicon certainly lived up to the hype. Promoter Marc Nathan and his staff were incredibly kind, attentive and welcoming, and I’d love to return next year.  A fitting end to the convention season…

I’ll be attending the Baltimore Comic-Con this weekend.  I’ve heard nothing but great things about this show, and the guest list is incredible. Plus, Jim Lee is throwing out the first pitch at the Orioles game on Friday! I’ll be drawing and signing comics all weekend, and doing a special signing with Indigo Ink Printing, complete with limited edition art print,  at 4pm on Saturday.

Also, this week sees the release of the Green Arrow & Black Canary Wedding Album, which collects (among other things) my first 4 issues of GA&BC.  This is my first hardcover collection and I’m eager to see how it turned out.

UPDATE: Looks like they pushed the book to October 8. Not my fault! I turned all the pages last year, I swear!

Green Arrow & Black Canary #12 is on sale this week. I had a couple different ideas how to show Black Canary’s cry, but in the end I went the most direct.  There was a more graphic version with lots of concentric rings, but it kinda made me go cross-eyed and into seizures.

Secret Six #1 is on sale this week.  I was only able to do the first 2 covers, but it looks like interior artist Nicola Scott has the cover gig after that (as she should!).  This group of characters has had wonderful covers from JG Jones and Karl Kerschl, so I was pretty flattered when I was asked to help kick off the new series. If you look over here at my message board, you’ll find the original and unused cover sketches too. Best of luck to Gail and Nicola!

Thanks to everyone at Fan Expo and especially to Kevin Boyd and Peter Fisico who made the trip possible. The show was a lot of fun, and I’m overwhelmed by the friendliness and generosity from fans and pros alike (Greg - thanks for the donuts! Jeff and Stuart - thanks for the inspiring books!). What I saw of Toronto was pretty great (thanks, Dar and Marsha!) and I hope to come back soon.

NOTE: A CALL FOR SCANS!
I’m trying to collect material for a future sketchbook, so if anyone has gotten a commissioned sketch from me in the past, I’d be grateful if you could send me a 300dpi grayscale scan. My email’s in the ABOUT link on the left. Thanks!