Obey! Here’s the cover for Green Arrow & Black Canary #8, on sale next week. I tend to like doing more graphic covers, and luckily this issue really lent itself to this idea. The poster background was a lot of fun to draw, with that slick, high contrast style. Click on the image for pencils and inks.

Nick Magazine recently published their annual cartoon issue, and I got to do this small illo on superheroes. While the finished piece called for a different approach, I did get a kick out of the little iconographic sketches I did for the editor. It’s one of the rare instances where I actually liked the sketches on their own.

Green Arrow & Black Canary #7 is on sale this week. I think I got the idea for this cover after catching Quadrophenia on cable at 4 AM during one of my all-too-frequent all-nighters. Between the leather and the motorcycle, Black Canary looks like more of a Rocker than a Mod, if you ask me. Click on the image for pencils and inks.

Countdown #4 is on sale this week, and features a 2 page Ra’s Al Ghul story drawn and colored by me. With an origin story, the time and setting jump around quite a bit and each panel basically becomes its own little illustration. What I thought would be a pretty simple job ended up feeling like I was producing 11 covers at once. I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out, and I got a big kick out of drawing the old school Batman with a sword. Click on the images for a closer look.

I read a lot of those Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was a kid, which probably explains my third grade reading level and short attention span. I also like TV and comics. Now, through the magic of licensing and the internet, I can have them all at once! All I need is a flying car, a robot maid and a dog with a speech impediment and the future will be complete. Anyway, over at the Smallville website, they’re doing a digital comic where the readers vote on plot choices, American Idol-style. Also, there are prizes. So, go over and let your voice be heard! Rock the vote!

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Green Arrow & Black Canary #6 is on sale March 12! With only the slimmest of leads, Ollie, Dinah and Mia begin their international search for Connor’s kidnappers. First stop: Prague; and when they pose the right questions to some very wrong people, Team Arrow becomes the target!

With this issue, I’m sad to say that I’ll be leaving Green Arrow & Black Canary. Due to some recent family medical emergencies, I’ve elected to take myself off the book. Pencilling and inking 22 pages a month isn’t easy even under optimal conditions, and the last few months have been anything but. Rather than continue with the book and subjecting the readers to rushed artwork or intermittent and unexpected fill-ins, I thought it best to exit on a high note and asked my editors to find a new permanent replacement. It’s been a blast working with writer Judd Winick, and incoming artist par excellence Mike Norton is more than up to the task. And I’m not completely out of the picture — you’ll still be seeing me on covers. Best of luck to the team (though they won’t need it), and now I can look forward to reading the book like everyone else!

Here’s looking at you, kid! Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Green Arrow & Black Canary #5 is on sale this week! Green Arrow… no more? Following his son’s tragic accident, Green Arrow contemplates leaving the superhero life altogether. But what does that mean for Black Canary? You know the drill: click on the image for pencils and inks.

Here’s a cover I did for the Hawkman Companion from Twomorrows Publishing, which will be out in May 2008. Click on the image to see the original cover, along with pencils and inks. I always dug Joe Kubert’s Hawkman, even though he never wore a shirt. Hawkman, I mean. Dunno if Joe draws bare-chested, but he can do whatever the hell he wants cuz he’s mighty Joe Kubert. Me? I wear a skinny suit and tie and drape my jacket carefully over the back of my drafting chair before I roll up my shirtsleeves and start drinking — I mean, drawing. Anyways, Joe’s Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkgirl go front and center, and there’s a bunch of fine feathered friends I never would’ve known about if not for writer/designer Doug Zawisza. I’d love to keep yapping but you’ll have to excuse me, Baby’s meeting me for lunch over at the 21 club. Now, scoot!

I know, I know, it’s serious. Green Arrow & Black Canary #4 is on sale this week, and marks a turning point for the Arrow family. Connor’s been shot thru the heart, but who’s to blame? Who gives love a bad name? It looks grim, but the story ain’t over yet… This was a difficult issue to draw, partly because Judd’s script was so effective and moving, and partly because it reminded me that I’ve spent too much time around hospitals this past year. The plus side is that it was pretty easy to get reference — check out the Foley bag on Connor! So worth it.

In other sad news, with this issue our colorist extraordinaire, Trish Mulvihill, is moving on to other projects. We’ll miss her terribly, but wish her the best. I’ve seen little peeks of her next big book (with Lee Bermejo!) and it’s a beauty.