Dammit, Dick!

Nothing extra to add...this is the last one. Just to go along with the Bat-rantings.

Batboys

DISCLAIMER: I have not read this new crop of Bat-books, so if you want to dismiss my uneducated and uninformed opinions, I give you the opportunity to disregard this and not waste your time reading it.

That being said...I understand many of the choices made in the latest changes to the Bat-family universe were made for dramatic impact OR to draw out the whole shittery as long possible. I'm throwing this out there again, I DO NOT read all 12 of these books on a regular basis, so I don't know if they've morphed these characters INTO the types of characters that would do these sort of things, but it seems like some of the actions don't stand to reason. It feels to me, like some of the character's actions are soley to move the story in the direction that's wanted, NOT to service the character's true motivation.

Dick Grayson, happy go fuckin lucky boy wonder turned darker solo hero in a different city. To me, I always thought some of the entitlement went to his head. To storm off in a huff and quit being a sidekick because he doesn't want to play second fiddle anymore, seems to be the seed of not wanting to be a team player. There's already multiple issues against THAT theory w/ him staying w/ the Titans and whoever the hell else. The problem that I see (which is a common one) the guys in charge think "No, this will be cooler." Regardless of whether it stands to reason with the characters true motivation. I don't think Dick would take over the Bat-mantle...for a couple reasons: One, if he was so disenfranchised with the whole hero/sidekick arrangement, why would he choose to become a part of one? Two, I don't think Dick has it in him to take over for the identity that (whether he likes it or not) has a God-like status in his eyes. Now I realize the new Batman&Robin dynamic that everybody loves wouldn't work w/o Dick as Bats and that Damian kid as the new Robin. But whether he's known Bruce the longest or not, he was RAISED by Batman, he was trained throughout his entire life by this mythic figure. I think it's more realistic to say he would be one of the people saying that NO ONE can fill those shoes and show a great disapproval towards whoever did take on the cowl.

Tim, even though his "stuck as a 14 year old" status wouldn't physically work for the new Batman, I think he's the ONLY choice for the Batman takeover. He's the only faithful ward to ever come into the Batman/Robin relationship on a more equal footing. Obviously no Robin will ever be EQUAL to Batman, they're called a sidekick for a reason. But Tim was a partner and is the only one that has the makings to produce a quality Dark Knight. I hope that in the worldly travels that they're sending him on, have him return seeming older and more suited for the role than he already is. Tim made the Robin character kick more ass than it ever had before. The skills that he had even before Bruce's training set him on the path to become someone LIKE Batman already. I think that the hurt Bruce feels from losing Dick and Jason (as different as the losses were) would make him have much less of an "old chum" sort of relationship between he and Tim. That would allow for a hardening of Tim that would facilitate the transformation into Bats even more.

I like the simplistic design of Tim's costume and the old school comic booky illiteration of the adjusted name, RedRobin. The direction that they're taking him now has the possiblity of being cool, but i have a feeling that regardlesss of the mysteries he uncovers, the glory of uncovering those mysteries will be left to Dick because he's the one in the BatSuit. It'll be more graphically dramatic to have Batman on his knees holding the recently recovered body (alive or not) of Bruce Wayne. I personally don't think Dick has the chops, if they're true to the characters, Tim would blow the lid off whatever their plans are...whether he'll get to do so, though? Doubtful. I've seen a whole bunch of folks pissed because Tim is not the new Nightwing....WORST IDEA EVER! If there was a better way to completely invalidate Tim's character? I can't think of it. They made the right choice by having Tim make his OWN new version or darker version of Robin. Nightwing is Dick Grayson, and there's nothing wrong with leaving it that way. DC pulling back on the whole "rotating indistinguishable white guy in a mask" thing is not a bad idea. The Flash has the market cornered on his end, let's not let that weakness into the Bat-family.

I love reading all the nerd detectives exposing the timeline discrepancies and age inaccuracies. I'm not being sarcastic, I enjoy that chore in fiction of keeping the history accurate and so I appreciate the work that these guys do when they uncover something decent. I think job one of this whole mess of crap should be to start skewing Tim older. He should be reflected as at least 19 or 20 by now. All the adventures he's had with Batman, not to mention all he's had on his own, in his own book, can service to age him a little. We also have a new kid in the mix- this Damian kid is now the kid, Tim doesn't have to be anymore. Speaking of Damian and his age, I'm understanding he's supposed to be 10 years old. FUCKING TEN YEARS OLD! What the hell is wrong with these writers? The question every character has should be, "What the fuck is Dick thinking letting a 10 year old jump out of a fucking plane, let alone suit up and fight crime?" I realize Batman started all this young boy sidekick stuff, but Bruce would roll over in his temporary grave if he saw that. How would Gordon of all people be cool with that? I can just SEE Bruce smacking Dick in the back of the head (when he gets back) and saying, "What were you thinking?"

Last tidbit- I don't know, because again, I havn't read every page of the 9 ongoing books that catalogue these events, but they should have these guys stick to their weapons of choice. They (the writers) should pay a little more attention to the man/boy BENEATH the mask and not just the mask itself. Dick has been jumping off rooftops for YEARS as Nightwing using to batons two crack heads. What about a cape and pointy ears would make him, the man beneath the cowl, give that up? I havent' seen one shot of new (more slender Bats) brandishing batons like he has for years. What's up with that? Tim kept his staff. I don't know, I like details like that.

I welcome your insights (those of you that do pick these up on a regular basis) lemme know your thoughts and whether your empty wallet is justified.

-matt

Emerald Scarab II

So this is Scarab's wannabe sidekick turned replacement. He's a bit of a technical whiz and invented scarab-themed gear to assist him in his superheroing. He also updated the rather plain classic look of the Emerald Scarab and incorporated a little more flash and spectacle.

If it wasn't for his hero worship of Emerald Scarab, he could have created a rather unique identity all on his own. Teddy has expanded on the original scope, using scarab-themed non-lethal weaponry like gas bombs and graplers. His most astounding achievement is the light weight anti-gravity shield skiff. When not in use, the shield is worn like a backpack (visually mirroring a scarab shell) and can also be held as a shield. There are two pressure plates that depending on shifted weight controls the skiff funtion of the shield allowing close-to-the-ground flight.

EXTREME STUDIOS- FlyingPhantom

I am an assHOLE!

enjoy

Blue Scarab is lookin a bit green

That's because I'm thinking about calling him the Emerald Scarab instead. I don't think there'll be any mistaking that the original goldenage BlueBeetle is his inspiration, so a slight name modification makes him a little less lame. Hopefully this change will allow the character to stand on it's own a little bit more.

I'm working on a new self contained (while still subject to Every Major City continuity) about bringing classic goldenage character into the present day. I'm sure I'll be posting more doodles for this story, it's been my obsession of late.

I blame old time radio, DC comics, and GranTorino for this latest invention.

Robbed of a 3-day weekend

I don't know who else out there is getting hosed out of a glorious 3-day this week, but dammit it all to hell.

Getting paid for doing nothing is fine...but a day off is even better in my opinion. It's strange how that paradigm shifts as you get older.

Die mans are forever

Here's my attempt for Starshield to pull off a hip shot....it reminds me of the JamesBond intro for some reason.

You gonna get poked

There's any number things a demon hunting dude could stab you with...but it takes some stones to use the busted tip of an ancient spear.

Another bad day already

This stupid damn hump job is draining me dry. Not only am I obviously dumb enough to be working for a living (because idiot tax payers like myself pay out the ass for all these other ingrates to live off of the state for free) They're also the same fuckin scumbags that I have to deal with all day.

So I get the initial slap in the face by having them rape my paycheck on a bi-weekly basis and then on top of that THEY believe they're entitled to more or special treatment BECAUSE they don't work or contribute to society.

I don't remember the last time I got to take the whole family out to dinner, and I am required to be courteous to some troglodyte who's collecting from the state, while commiting fraud and calls me up from his iPhone (while driving in his Escalade) calling me an asshole because his card didn't work at the fine family dining establishment where he just finished eating.

Fuck society. Civilization's a fuckin joke.

Monday......Uhhhhhhhh

Sometimes a new week really eats at your brain.

*rimshot*

A relaxing flight in the time of Doo-Wop

Oliver Glickman as Starblast, in the 1950's, having a nice relaxing glide with a pissed off look on his face...

Damn youse, pose/expression inconsistency

Playing with my chisel tip

...and my new pen too. HEY-OH!

I gotta little Prismacolor combo pack w/ a chisel and a smaller brush (than i'm used to) and a couple tech pens. I decided to play around with some spandex shadow on Starshield/Starblast for funzies.

So enjoy a buncha pen sketches w/ no clean up.

-matt

Alternate mode of transportation

See, Darkcry was "going green" way before all you trendy fuckers. Demonic appendages come in handy for all kindsa stuff.

So, some cool news on the MAM front- over the last few days we've been slapping some finishing touches on a couple stories, so we'll be at 70% or so. Thanks for your patience.

Stating the oblivious...

Nothing quite like having a big ol' mess of text explaining exactly what you can already see, right?

This is a little more of the GreenGhost rip-off guy that I was playing around on, to fuck with Scotty. I apparently was having some real fun with it, because I realized how many little pen sketches I had actually done. So as usual, if they got drawn, more than likely they got scanned- if they got scanned, sooner or later you can bet they'll have a little splash of color added to'em.

There probably won't be too many more of these...

Stick that in yer cap and smoke it, Mel

This is my entry for Darwyn Cooke's almost blog http://darwyncooke.blogspot.com/ for his upcoming book based on Richard Stark's novel, The Hunter.

I threw up the raw inks as an added bonus.

Some people just won't quit smoking...

...no matter WHAT happens to'em!

Lung cancer, emphazima, acute demonism, you name it- somefolks just can't live w/o that cool smooth flavor.

Demons tip-toe too

Well, Darkcry isn't really meant to be a comedic character...but sometimes I just can't help myself. Trying to write dark and moody noir stories too long results in a tip-toing demon drawing.

Sadly this is also the first image of him during his nearly full blown demon phase.

Flailing Limbs...

More Darkcry...I've been sprung on this guy for a WHILE. I've only recently stopped covering every spare scrap of paper with head skeches of this guy. Now since i have done so many scribblings of this fine demonic fellow, i scanned a bunch and will post of of'em (some w/ color and some w/o).



I just finished off the letters for his story's next installment. It'll be in the soon-to-be released Summer issue of Mysterious Adventure Magazine.

thanks for lookin'

GoldenAge

The great script re-work is underway...

Hopefully I can flash it up a little w/ a bit of polish in between scribbling out stories MAM and other stuff.

the RED SPECTRE is coming!!

Hey, this is the RED SPECTRE! He's a brand new character...inspired by nothing! He is in every way a unique and singular character! He's all new and all original!

His all new and all original adventures are gonna be so awesome. The only thing that I forsee putting a stop to his cavalcade of masked mayhem would be if someone, who had a character that was strikingly similar (that teased us with one adventure already) finally came out with another installment in his mysterious monster fighting misadventures!

Ahhhh, if only there was someone out there who could do such a thing!

-matt

Random Nerdity

Here's some more ink work- this is my unauthorized rendering of Scotty's Beast from Twin Shadow Island (you can see the original pencils in his deviantart gallery).



Okay folks, so I had a few days off from all things electronic and/or web-related...it was weird, but ultimately nice. So I had all kindsa nerdity to catch up on. I'm still nowhere NEAR being done with all the blogs, galleries, submissions, posts, and what-have-you that normally gets monitored daily.



Here's a few jems...




Apparently Marvel's gotta chick Bucky coming out in CaptainAmerica...a "Buckette" if you will. The shitty thing about that already crappy idea, is that they didn't bother going more original with the design. I can forgive the uniform (it matches the original Bucky's) but the WWII goggle wearing chick sportin' a 45 has not-so-recently been done by the good folks over at AtomicRobo. You can see Wegener's prelim designs at his blog. My thing is this: I realize we're all gonna stumble upon similar designs here and there, but for fuck's sake, open your eyes.






So DC has been dropping little images on their website hinting at new titles they will be releasing. So obviously by the image on the far left, it looks like DC will be bringin us some DocSavage action (while cool) and while that image is pretty decent, they should've tapped Godlewski to do it up right.















Just checking out Dark Horse's August Solicitations, is a treat. There's a crapload of Mignola books coming out that month, with Mignola covers t'boot.














BlacklistDA or Daniel Bradford's (as his parent's named him) has finally got his book out. ROBOT-13 is gonna debut at the Museum of Comic & Cartoon Art Festival. Fellow deviants have been treated with sneakpeeks along the way and Daniel has worked on this.

Check it out folks




alright, that's it
-matt

Crappy Workspace

Well here I am, on the bandwagon. A look at my mess of an office. There's usually more toys, but I had to box up a bunch of them while moving shit around, from when the guys were working on the roof and alas....too lazy to put'em back up.

-matt

Dirty Inks over clean lines

Heya folks.

So I've been inking...and every dribble of the black stuff that I put down on page has made me more appreciative of good inkers.

I would be proud to be called a "Fuckin' Tracer!" as long as I was doing a good job. My first major foray into sequential inking was over Scotty's lines for "Found In The Desert" in the MAM Spring issue. I had asked Scott if I could do sketchy stylized inks (ala Barry Windsor-Smith) to give our Western Monster story a little more authentic feel. I thought it turned out alright, but technically I was "trying something else" not actually trying to do a good solid and accurate ink job. There's a few pages that I get to screw up with ink in the next issue of MAM and I'm trying to play it straight. I'm trying to stick to the original art in every way, lineweights, hatching, spot blacks, etc.

When I saw Scotty's lines for his "Pulp Heroes" I decided to cut loose and try some "dirty inks." I tried to limit my use of technical pens and use mostly brushes. I got to leave a tone of voids and even added different values that weren't in the original lineart.

So here ya go...who doesn't love a big Ol' NaziRobot?

-matt

Gun blasts and boxers

Could there be a bigger badass?

Nope.

I'm just apeshit about this guy...

I hope nobody's upset that I keep posting shitty pen drawings instead of full blown colored pieces. This kinda stuff has just been alot more gratifying lately.

...and no, he's not in a planter with demonic shadow shrubbery, no matter what it looks like.

This one's just some random sketchery

Playing with negative space

Not much to say really. I've been really into my new brush pen. It's made me play with "features" of other pens that I've had for a long time: using chisel tip sharpies really quickly to leave dry brush looking marks and working with different fill techniques so that auto level adjustments aren't always a requirement to hide my shitty tell-tale fill lines.

So more demonic shit for your enjoyment.

-matt

"All my favorite singers have stolen all of my best lines."

A while back Scotty and I were joking about how sometimes we feel like somebody must be sneaking into our house at night and rummaging through all of our best ideas. Mainly in response to seeing characters or concepts that come to pass in existing books or even in a new one that mirrors something we've already created. Now obviously these creators are not stealing these ideas from us, but rather inspired by the same things as we are therefor creating something along the same lines.

So Scotty had mentioned two particular rapscallions riffling through his stuff at night, and it created too perfect a picture.

-matt

MAN OF BRONZE

DOC SAVAGE

So here's the final colored version of a drawing that I had started a week or so ago. It took me a while to get through the ink process, colors always go quick (for obvious reasons).

The original was just a little pencil sketch on a regular 3x5 card. I blew it up and inked it (primarily with my new Faber-Castell PITT brush pen...which I LOVE) I wasn't getting the control that I wanted with my TOMBO so I had to venture out and try something new. Anyway, great pen, only a buck-49 at OfficeDepot, I highly recommend it!

thanks for looking
-matt

I'm Green (Ghost) with Envy!

So there's this fuckin guy named Scott Godlewski and he's one of those genius artists who just doesn't seem to realize it yet. Anyway, he's got the character TheGreenGhost, and in his deceiving simplicity is what originally drew me to the character. Then you get in there and you find all the layers, not only in the concept and scope but also physical design.

You can pick up the GreenGhost's first published adventure over at Indyplanet.

I wanted to do a coatless and hatless bust to see if he still retains "the look" that he establishes when fully garbed.


Apparently i thought he should be a hunchback in this one. Oops. I was mostly wanting to play with distressed ziptones.

I like the GreenGhost....can you tell?

Casual Shotgunnery

3x5 card art

in an effort to keep drawing steadily

finishing off Feb

just finishing off the whole "draw every day in Feb post....oops