Draw! #5 by TwoMorrows Publishing

NUMBER 5

THE “HOW-TO” MAGAZINE ON COMICS AND CARTOONING

IN THE U.S.A.

WINTER 2003

$5.95

AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKE WIERINGO BUILDING POWERS BY BENDIS, OEMING AND THE POWERS CREW DRAWING HANDS BY BRET BLEVINS DESIGN—THE DEPTH ILLUSION BY PAUL RIVOCHE THE MUST HAVE ART BOOKS FOR YOUR STUDIO BY TERRY BEATTY THIS ISSUE CONTAINS NUDITY FOR THE PURPOSE OF FIGURE DRAWING. INTENDED FOR MATURE READERS.

Number 10, Winter 2003 • Hype and hullabaloo from the publisher determined to bring new life to comics fandom • Edited by Eric Nolen-Weathington

S’long CBA... ...Hello ? First off, some disappointing news: COMIC BOOK ARTIST magazine is moving to Top Shelf Productions. After five years and two Eisner Awards at TwoMorrows, “Ye Ed” JON COOKE got an offer he couldn’t refuse, so #25 (slated for April, and featuring Alan Moore’s ABC line) will be the last issue before the switch. Refunds to subscribers for issues beyond #25 have been mailed, so if you didn’t get yours, give our phone or e-mail box a jingle. And if you’re missing some CBA back issues, don’t worry; we’re still handling sales of all the TwoMorrows issues until they’re sold out, so now’s the time to stock up! (If you’ve been anxiously awaiting the previously announced SWAMPMEN book, sorry—it’s been shelved due to CBA’s switch.)

TIDBITS lthough DRAW! is consistently our top-selling magazine, it’s also our most erratic at shipping on-time. While the magazine has fallen behind due to contributor and scheduling issues, MIKE MANLEY has vowed to get DRAW! out more regularly in 2003, and has a ton of material “in the can” for future issues, so look for solid quarterly or better shipping starting with #6 (above)! ow that ALTER EGO is monthly, it’s our most regular mag, and ROY THOMAS hasn’t missed a deadline yet! (Of course, designer CHRIS DAY helps a little, too!) Be sure to check out #23 in April, showcasing the recent discovery of two NEVER-PUBLISHED Golden Age Wonder Woman yarns! RITE NOW! editor DANNY FINGEROTH shared with us this quote he received from STAN “THE MAN” LEE: “WRITE NOW! is a great mag… reading the interviews will turn all your subscribers into better writers. As if we ain't got enough competition now!“ If Stan likes it, we bet you will too! Pick up issue #4 (above) in April, featuring HOWIE CHAYKIN, WARREN ELLIS, and other top pros on both sides of the desk giving tips on writing for comics, animation, and sciencefiction!

Modern Masters Making Waves!

So just what is TwoMorrows going to do with that empty slot on its schedule once CBA is gone? Glad you asked! We’re hard at work on SUPER-SECRET PLANS for the launch of what we predict will be the NEW MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR! Look for the formal announcement next issue, but rest assured it’ll appeal to the same audience as CBA, and is destined to be THE ULTIMATE COMICS EXPERIENCE!

For those misguided individuals who still think we only cover the “old school” artists of the Golden and Silver Ages, take note. TwoMorrows production assistant (and all-around good guy) ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON is editing our new book series spotlighting the top talent working in comics today! MODERN MASTERS: VOLUME ONE showcases the work of ALAN DAVIS, the British superstar known for his stunning work on DETECTIVE COMICS, X-MEN, JUSTICE LEAGUE, KILLRAVEN, and of course, CAPTAIN BRITAIN! This first volume of the series explores his life and career with the longest, most in-depth interview Davis has ever given. In addition to pages and pages of rare and previously unpublished artwork, Alan gives a tutorial on the artists that influenced him, plus his views on graphic storytelling. Also included are interviews with long-time collaborators Paul Neary and Mark Farmer. (Neary also provides the Foreword, while Farmer contributes the Afterword.) The 128-page trade paperback ships in March for $17 POSTPAID IN THE US. And next up for Volume Two? GEORGE PÉREZ!

Lightning Strikes Again! Hot on the heels of the success of THE FAWCETT COMPANION, TwoMorrows presents BECK AND SCHAFFENBERGER: SONS OF THUNDER, a splitbiography book (with a Foreword by KEN BALD) on the careers and lives of two of comics’ greatest and most endearing artists, C.C. BECK and KURT SCHAFFENBERGER! Both men are known for their seminal work on FAWCETT COMICS, and this upclose and personal retrospective journey takes you from their childhood years to the Golden Age of comic books and beyond! Co-written by FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) editor P.C. HAMERLINCK and MARK VOGER, this book is chock-full of previously unpublished art by both artists, including pre-comic book work, art from CAPTAIN MARVEL, LOIS LANE, and more, plus hundreds of RARE PHOTOGRAPHS! If you’re a fan of either of these Golden and Silver Age greats, this is a book you can’t miss! The 160-page paperback ships in April, for $20 POSTPAID IN THE US.

Barnes & Noble, Here We Come! TwoMorrows has signed an exclusive deal with DIAMOND BOOK DISTRIBUTORS to get our trade paperbacks into major bookstore chains around the world! This extra exposure means we’ll have the opportunity to publish some groundbreaking tomes by authors who might’ve overlooked us with just Direct Market distribution. Next issue, you’ll see the type of material we’re talking about. STAY TUNED!

To get periodic e-mail updates of what’s new from TwoMorrows Publishing, sign up for our mailing list! Go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ twomorrows

Whatta December! First, an ice storm ripped through Raleigh, NC (TwoMorrows’ home base) and knocked out the electricity for 8 long, cold days! Then, just 36 hours after the lights came back on, wife Pam woke publisher John Morrow at 4am and put him on a plane bound for Miami, to take a surprise week-long Caribbean cruise to celebrate his 40th birthday! (Pam packed his bags while he was consumed with working on the new KIRBY COLLECTOR, so he didn’t suspect a thing!) By the time they returned, the holidays were here, and a trip to visit family (and show off 16month-old daughter Lily) was in order. So now you know why TJKC #37 won’t be shipping until Feb. Sorry, Kirby fans!

Coming Soon! Alter Ego #22 (March) Alter Ego #23 (April) Comic Book Artist #24 (Feb) CBA #25 (April, final issue) DRAW! #5 (Feb) DRAW! #6 (April) Modern Masters Vol. One (March) Sons of Thunder (April) The Jack Kirby Collector #37 (Feb) The Jack Kirby Collector #38 (April) Write Now! #3 (Feb) Write Now! #4 (April)

CONTACTS:

John Morrow, publisher, JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR editor, and for subscriptions): twomorrow@aol.com Roy Thomas, ALTER EGO editor: roydann@ntinet.com Mike Manley, DRAW! editor: mike@actionplanet.com P.C. Hamerlinck, FCA editor: fca2001@yahoo.com Danny Fingeroth, WRITE NOW! editor: WriteNowDF@aol.com Jon B. Cooke, COMIC BOOK ARTIST editor: jonbcooke@aol.com And the TWOMORROWS WEBSITE (where you can read excerpts from our back issues, and order from our secure online store) is at: www.twomorrows.com

THE PROFESSIONAL “HOW-TO” MAGAZINE ON COMICS & CARTOONING NOW ON-LINE AT: http://www.drawmagazine.com WINTER 2003 • VOL. 1, NO. 5 Editor & Designer • Michael Manley

Publisher • John Morrow

Logo Design • John Costanza

Front Cover Illustration • Mike Oeming Proofreader • Eric Nolen-Weathington

FEATURES PENCILING A FANTASTIC INTERVIEW WITH CURRENT FANTASTIC FOUR PENCILER MIKE WIERINGO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 DESIGN DESIGNING FOR DEPTH BY PAUL RIVOCHE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 BUILDING POWERS A STEP-BY-STEP DEMO BY THE POWERS CREATIVE TEAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 HITTING THE BOOKS REVIEWS OF VINTAGE ART BOOKS TO HAVE IN YOUR COLLECTION BY TERRY BEATTY . . . . . . . . . . . .54 FIGURE DRAWING DRAWING HANDS BY BRET BLEVINS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 LETTERS COMMENTS FROM READERS ON OUR FOURTH ISSUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

SUBSCRIBE TO DRAW! Four quarterly issues for $20 US Standard Mail, $32 US First Class Mail ($40 Canada, Elsewhere: $44 Surface, $60 Airmail). We accept US check, money order, Visa and Mastercard at TwoMorrows, 1812 Park Dr., Raleigh, NC 27605, (919) 833-8092, E-mail: twomorrow@aol.com ADVERTISE IN DRAW! See page 2 for ad rates and specifications.

DRAW! SPRING 2003, Vol. 1, No. 5 was produced by Action Planet Inc. and published by TwoMorrows Publishing. Michael Manley, Editor, John Morrow, Publisher. Editorial Address is PO Box 2129, Upper Darby, PA 19082. Subscription Address: TwoMorrows Publishing, 1812 Park Dr., Raleigh, NC 27605. DRAW! and its logo are trademarks of Action Planet Inc. All contributions herein are copyright 2003 by their respective contributors. Action Planet Inc. and TwoMorrows Publishing accept no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. All artwork herein is copyright the year of production, its creator (if work-for-hire, the entity which contracted said artwork); the characters featured in said artwork are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners; and said artwork or other trademarked material is printed in these pages with the consent of the copyright holder and/or for journalistic, educational and historical purposes with no infringement intended or implied. Static Shock, Bizarro, are TM and ©2003 DC COMICS • Tom Strong TM and ©2003 America’s Best Comics LLC. • The Human Torch,The Invisible Woman, The Thing, Dr. Octopus, Mr. Fantastic, Sleepwalker, Spider-Man, Modulus TM and ©2003 Marvel Characters, Inc. • Powers TM and ©2003 Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Oeming • MR. X is TM and ©2003 Vortex Comics.• Tarzan is TM and ©2003 The Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate • Tellos TM and ©2003 Todd Dezago and Mike Wieringo • This entire issue is ©2003 Action Planet Inc. and TwoMorrows Publishing and may not be reprinted or retransmitted without written permission of the copyright holders. Printed in Canada. FIRST PRINTING.

FROM THE EDITOR Figurative interpretation by Bret Blevins

We’re here, we’re here, we’re here! DRAW! is back from our long hiatus. In the time since we last met I attended the 2002 San Diego Comic Con and had a blast. It was great to meet so many of you DRAW! readers there who stopped by our booth to chat with Bret and myself. The drawing demonstration that Bret and I gave was filled to the rafters, which was a great surprise and lots of fun. I just let Bret do all the talking and most of the drawing. The biggest news this time around is the official launch of DRAWMAGAZINE.COM! That’s right, DRAW! will now have an official online home, where you can surf in to find the latest news and updates, back issues and links, peruse and post on our message board, view our online tutorials on drawing, inking and more. You’ll also be able to get in touch with regular DRAW! contributors Bret Blevins and Paul Rivoche as well as Ande Parks. I also want to thank you all for your patience and support as we work to get the magazine back on track schedule-wise. Look for on-time quarterly shipping from now on! Once again a big thanks goes out to my regular contributors Paul and Bret for another series of great articles and making this job easier. I’d also like to thank the Powers team, (Brian, Mike, Ken, and Pete) for giving us a cool cover and a glimpse behind their working process on one of the most popular comics being published today. A big tip of the hat to Terry Beatty for his great and informative article on art and illustration books that all artists should try and acquire for their bookshelf (watch those eBay auctions fly), Mike Wieringo for opening his files and supplying ample copies of his amazing work and sketches (more than I was able to print unfortunately). So enjoy this issue, then surf onto our new website and drop us an e-mail, and look for DRAW! #6 to show up with the Easter Bunny in April. Best,

Mike Manley, Editor The DRAW! message board is up and running, so please post feedback and ask questions at: http://66.36.6.76/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi

E-mail: mike@drawmagazine.com Website: www.drawmagazine.com Snail mail: PO Box 2129, Upper Darby, PA 19082

ADVERTISE with TWOMORROWS FULL PAGE: 7.5” wide x 10” tall — $300 HALF PAGE: 7.5” wide x 4.875” tall — $175 QUARTER PAGE: 3.75” wide x 4.875” tall — $100 INSIDE COVER OR BACK COVER: Please Inquire

Rates at left are for black-&-white ads, supplied on disk (TIFF, EPS, or QuarkXPress files acceptable) or as camera-ready art.Typesetting service available at 20% markup. Due to our already low ad rates, no agency discounts apply.

GET THE TWOMORROWS TWO-FER! Prepay for two same-size ads in DRAW!, Comic Book Artist, Alter Ego, Comicology, or any combination, and save! (Display ads are not available for The Jack Kirby Collector.)

Send ad copy and check or money order in US funds to: TwoMorrows 1812 Park Drive Raleigh NC 27605

FULL PAGE: 7.5” wide x 10” tall — $500 ($100 savings) HALF PAGE: 7.5” wide x 4.875” tall — $300 ($50 savings) QUARTER PAGE: 3.75” wide x 4.875” tall — $175 ($25 savings) INSIDE COVER OR COLOR BACK COVER: Please Inquire

Questions? Phone: (919) 833-8092 Fax: (919) 833-8023 E-Mail: twomorrow@aol.com

2 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

We also accept Visa and MasterCard! Please include card number and expiration date.

THE FANTASTIC PENCILS OF

MIKE WIERINGO PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

For over a decade Mike Wieringo’s animated and appealing artwork has graced some of the biggest icons in comics. From his break-out run on The Flash to his amazing work on Spider-Man to his creator-owned work on Tellos, to his current run on the first family of comics, The Fantastic Four. DRAW! editor Mike Manley conducted this interview over the internet and by phone with the easy-going, busy artist from his Artamus Studio in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

WIERINGO: This is a panel from FF #61 where Ben is on the track of someone who played a practical joke on him. It was fun to show the public’s reaction to this lumbering monster running down the street. I tried to give the guy in the foreground a Sam Jackson-kind-of look.

DRAW!: Let’s begin with a brief bio. Give me the specifics. Where were you born? Did anyone introduce you into comics? WIERINGO: Well, I was born in Vicenza, Italy in 1963. My father was in the Army when I was born and that’s where he and my mother were stationed.We left not long after I was born, and we moved all over the place for years. We lived in New York state for a while, Virginia, over to Germany for three years and then back to Virginia in the U.S. in 1974. I’ve been in the U.S. ever since. My dad was actually the one who introduced me to comic books. He would buy comics from the base PX (Post Exchange) when we were living in Germany and he’d let me read them. They were mostly DC comics like Superman and Batman, but he would occasionally buy the odd Marvel like XMen or Spider-Man. But overwhelmingly, they were the DC books. DRAW!: Why was that? Did you find DC just more appealing for some reason? DC’s were certainly more accessible in other mediums like TV and cartoons.

WIERINGO: Well, these were the books being bought by my father in Germany that I’m talking about. This was when I was between 8 and 10 years old. I didn’t start buying my own comics until I was 11 years old and back in the O.S. I wasn’t allowed to go to the PX myself because there was a lot of drug dealing and violence going on, on base (if you can believe that... but it happened). But I remember my dad telling me about the comics he bought when he was a kid—things like Airboy, The Heap (a predecessor to Swamp Thing), Blackhawk as well as Superman and Batman. I read what he bought, but when I got to buy my own books, I was into the Marvel stuff. DRAW!: So you were you into comics and cartoons as a kid? WIERINGO: Yeah—I really took to comic books immediately. The first time my dad brought some home, I was hooked. It’s always been that way. I can very easily get drawn into the “reality” of whichever comic book I’m reading/looking at. The comic book medium has always affected me in that way. I can open a comic book and get sucked in from the first couple of pages— DRAW! • WINTER 2003 3

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

even in the bad ones. It’s like my brain is tuned into the language of comics, so it’s very easy to get immersed in whichever book I’m looking at, and it’s been like that for me since childhood. I’ve always enjoyed cartoons and movies as well, but nothing connects with me as much as comic books. DRAW!: When did you get started in the business? WIERINGO: I got started in late 1991 drawing a Doc Savage mini-series for a small publisher called Millennium Publications. I was working on samples at the time and had a pretty friendly relationship with the artists of Gaijin Studios (guys like Cully Hamner, Brian Stelfreeze, Karl Story, Adam Hughes and others) and they hooked me up with the publisher at Millennium. It was quite a learning experience, I’ll tell ya. The difference between working on samples and trying to get them “perfect,” and working on pages on deadline was a real eye-opener, no doubt.

WIERINGO: All of that, yeah. But mainly it was, and remains to this day—drawing what someone else has written, as opposed to drawing my own stories. I guess the thing I had the most trouble dealing with is the fact that I had been drawing my own stories for many years before actually starting to work as a freelancer for anyone. From around age 11 or 12 I had been creating my own little comics of varying length with stories either about my favorite existing characters from Marvel and DC or from my own knock-off characters. Every kid that likes to draw comics had their own versions of their favorite existing super-hero (I would assume; every kid I knew that drew did), and so I had years of my own storytelling and pacing habits in place. Not all of them were good, mind you, but it was very hard to go from creating and drawing my own stories to trying to get inside a writer’s mind to try to convey what they’re looking for in a story. It has also been a challenge from day one to draw things that I’m not used to drawing or really don’t have a lot of interest in drawing. One of the big problems I have with some of the writers I’ve worked with is their penchant for writing long scenes that take place with a couple of characters sitting and talking at a desk or in a small room or what have you, that will go on for 5, 6 or 7 pages at times. It’s difficult to maintain enthusiasm for

something like that when you have to draw it. It’s great for television, but not so hot for comics. I 4 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAW!: What was the hardest part of this for you? The working when you don’t want to, or get tired, or drawing things you don’t find interesting?

think some of these guys would love to be writing for episodic television instead of comics, because that’s how their scripts read at times. DRAW!: What or who were you studying at this time artistically? Who were you learning from? WIERINGO: Well, I was a huge Brian Stelfreeze nut, to be honest. Up to the point that I discovered his work when visiting a Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC. I had been into the old fan favorites like John Byrne and George Pérez, but when I saw Brian’s work, it was so unique and from such a different point of view, it just blew me away. My mistake was in trying to really emulate his work at the time. I’ve discovered over the years that personally, for me, trying to draw “like” someone else is a very frustrating and ultimately fruitless endeavor. When I was younger and just getting started doing samples and getting little nibbles from publishers, I was like a magpie and was trying to incorporate stuff from every new artist I was exposed to that enthused me and it was getting me nowhere but confused and lost. It wasn’t until I let my own nat-

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

his working methods and his own influences, so it was pretty much alien to me. I was just trying to emulate the surface stylistics without really understanding the mechanics of what he was doing—so it was kind of clashing with my own natural tendencies, which are much softer, rounder and bouncier lines, so it looked really weird, stiff and clunky. As far as studying art and artists outside of comics, I was exposed to a lot of work while in college that was eye-opening and really expanded my worldview of drawing and painting. But my personal goal was always to work in comics, so I kind of put those elements aside when I first graduated and spent most of my time taking in more comic book related influences. It’s not been until the last several years that I’ve begun to look outside the comic book world again for inspiration. Speaking of the animation and illustration stuff we were talking about earlier. Over that past several years, I’ve been buying as many of the “Art of...” Disney books that they publish after each animated film comes out. I’ve also been buying things like the Society of Illustrators award books and books like Spectrum. As far as feeling as though I had to conform to a house style, I don’t think I ever felt that early on. I guess as the comic book business has imploded over the years, and especially the “mainstream super-hero” aspect of it, I’ve felt some pressure to conform my work to what’s “expected” in the long-underwear books. A lot of that is probably self-imposed pressure. It comes from reading too many critical posts on internet message boards, and that’s something that I need to stop doing. I really need to learn to just draw for myself and enjoy what I’m doing for myself instead of worrying about what others think of my work or would like me to do with my stuff. I think that if I make myself happy with my own stuff, it’ll show in the work and thus people viewing it will enjoy it as well. DRAW!: You mentioned when we talked earlier that you got started later. You went to college later. Were you taking art classes? Did this add any seriousness to your approach to breaking in, to your work ethic? (ABOVE) WIERINGO: This is the layout and pencils for a page from FF #60. I love the humor Mark Waid writes into his scripts. This was a funny scene. LEFT: This is a sketch for an illustration an acquaintance who owns a plane asked me to do for the side of his plane—kind of like a WWII “Good Girl” illustration. He wanted her topless and I didn’t want to do it, so it didn’t go anywhere. It was fun, though.

ural tendencies take over that I started to feel more comfortable and started to make headway. DRAW!: How far along in your career would you say that was? Were you doing any study of artists and art outside of comics at the same time? Did you feel you had to conform to a “house style” at all? WIERINGO: Well, this was fairly early on. It was after I had graduated from college (in 1991)—but before I started getting work from the “majors.” On the Doc Savage mini-series the Gaijin guys lined up for me, I was trying to do a Brian Stelfreeze riff, but it was so difficult for me to even “try” to emulate his work. At the time, I didn’t really much understand

WIERINGO: Well, my parents couldn’t really afford to send me to college right out of high school, so I went to work in the grocery business. For a while, I kind of lost interest in drawing since I couldn’t go to art school like I wanted right out of high school, but after a couple of years of working my ass off, I realized I could get stuck in the cycle of working and buying stuff and I didn’t want to get stuck in the small-town community my folks lived near, so I set my sights on saving my own money toward going to college. Drawing comics had always been my ultimate goal from childhood, so I was pretty driven after a while to get to art school and get some drawing classes to help my meager abilities at around 20. I think that working for six years before college (I started at VCU in Richmond, VA at 24 years old and graduated at 27) helped me to build a real work ethic and drive to reach my goals. I really hated working in the grocery biz, so I was very set on reaching for the “brass ring,” so to speak. DRAW!: So do you feel that since you had “real world” working experiences before getting into the comic biz, it helped you be more “professional” in certain respects. More responsible? DRAW! • WINTER 2003 5

MIKE WIERINGO

Things like answer your phone? I know that sounds funny, but a lot of artists get bad reps for just not answering their phones. WIERINGO: It’s a combination of the “real world” working experience and the fact that I come from a very economically lower-class background. My folks live in a very rural area and my father’s income was never very high. We had everything we needed, don’t get me wrong, but we weren’t what you could call middle-class by any stretch. So growing up never having much money, it has made me very fearful of returning to that state of existence. They say that most folks are only a few paychecks away from being broke, and I’m no exception to that. I had a few “fat” years at the tail end of the comics boom when there was a lot of merchandising art money to be made from Marvel and DC’s creative services departments, doing stuff like Chef Boyardee can art and Cookie Crisp Spider-Man animated style trading cards made me a lot of money for a couple of years, but that all dried up fast. So it’s tough to keep head-above-water these days. It keeps me working. DRAW!: Could you pull any experience from that time and use it in your work for characters and situations etc.? WIERINGO: I could, I suppose, but it wouldn’t make for very exciting comics (talking about my time working in the grocery business). It would make for the sort of depressing Joe Matt kind of auto-bio comic that was big a few years back, but I kind of doubt that people would enjoy reading about someone who absolutely hated his job in the produce department of Food World and would wish that he’d get hit by a car and killed every morning on the way to work, which is how I felt most of the time. It’s just too depressing. I guess if I could work in some humor it would make for a good sort of sit-com comic, but I’m not sure I’m into that kind of thing right now. 6 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAW!: I think it could be really funny, strong material. Sounds like you have a real passion there even talking about it. Do you follow the indy side of the biz? Do you have any desire to do small press or mini comics?

PENCILING

WIERINGO: Well, I have a strong negative passion about the whole situation. I suppose I could create a comic that would be funny by creating humorous situations and characters within the framework of the grocery business, but in reality, the job was just incredibly monotonous and thankless and that’s why I hated it so much. I buy many, many more small press and independent comics than I do anything else these days. Super-hero comics just don’t interest me much anymore. I’ll buy certain superhero books if it’s being drawn by an artist whose work I really enjoy, but as far as the cape stuff is concerned, I think there’s not much new under the sun storywise, so they don’t do much for me. I’ve really gotta think that the real, long-term life of comic books is in alternative work. So I always keep an eye out for fun and interesting stuff being done in indy and small press areas. I would love to do work in the small press area myself. It would be a real blast to just let go and create any kind of story I wanted to and not have to worry about trying to “market” something to the majority of the audience reading comics these days in an effort to really generate big profits.

DRAW!: You’ve had the chance to work on some of the biggest icons in the comics biz. When you start working on a character like Spidey or like Superman, do you take time before you actually start working to try and “work out” your ideal or your “take” on the character? WIERINGO: I feel very, very fortunate to have had the opportunities I’ve been given. Working on characters like Spidey and

PENCILING

Superman, real icons of the comic book world, is the kind of thing I never thought I’d get the chance to do starting out in the business, so when those opportunities came, it was incredibly intimidating. I always try to take a significant amount of time to work out my “take” on the characters I’m working with, trying to get a handle on how I’m going to draw a specific character. The big problem I have with that is that no matter how much I try to work out a method of depicting a character, over the period of several issues, the way I draw a character will change anyway. My work tends to morph over a period of many issues of whichever title I happen to be drawing. It’s not really a conscious thing, it just happens every time I draw a new character or title. The way I drew, say, Spider-Man looked completely different from my first issue to my last, and I was on that book (Sensational Spider-Man) for some 18 issues. It’s not something that I hate in my stuff, it just happens. DRAW!: I think that happens with everyone. If you look at any character, he evolves over the course of time. The Thing or Bugs Bunny are good examples here. Do you find that the character becomes more and more like a real person, a real fleshed-out person in your mind, or artist’s eye? WIERINGO: It does if I’m really into the character and the writer I’m working with. For instance, on Sensational SpiderMan, I really enjoyed working with Todd Dezago (the writer) and we had many of the same sensibilities as far as how we like to tell a story and what we want to do, so I really came to enjoy and connect with Ben Reilly (yeah, the clone) and later, Peter Parker. The Spider-Man stuff was a blast to draw, but I also very much got into the personal life aspects of the characters as well. What you could call the more soap-operatic aspects. The characters did seem more real to me—more like they were tangible. I don’t get that feeling with characters or stories or writers I’m not really into.

MIKE WIERINGO

DRAW!: Does that make it easier to draw or make the character act on paper? WIERINGO: Absolutely. When I’m really connected with a character, it’s very easy to draw them, even in situations that are new, that I’ve never had to tackle before. And if something is very difficult, or is a real challenge and becomes frustrating for me, I can get through that because I enjoy the character so much. If I encounter something like that with a character I don’t like to draw, it makes the road-block that much more difficult and frustrating. It makes me want to quit rather than conquer the problem. DRAW!: Do you feel sometimes like you have to restrain yourself stylistically? That comic book fans today seem to not want a cartoony or broad approach to these characters. Do you feel you must conform in some sense? WIERINGO: Yeah, definitely. I don’t know why it is, but it seems that comic book fans, especially fans of super-hero comics, have this need to see their characters depicted in a “realistic” or gritty, dark and “serious” style and that kind of thing has never really appealed to me. My own work would be a lot more cartoony if I felt free to let loose and draw things the way I see them in my head. My stuff is open and cartoony anyway, but the kind of thing I enjoy doing and seeing is a lot more extreme in that direction than in the “realistic” vein. But to keep a toe-hold in the “mainstream” of popular comic book culture, to be able to make a good living drawing comics, I feel like I have to conform to a great degree to what fans expect. DRAW!: So you feel restrained in some sense. That fans may react in a negative way to you really cutting loose? Like they would drop the book? WIERINGO: That’s a big fear with me, yeah. I’ve seen so DRAW! • WINTER 2003 7

MIKE WIERINGO

many artists fall by the wayside for one reason or another, and I’d hate to join those ranks. I don’t know, sometimes I think it’s more self-imposed than anything else. It’s just a deep-seeded fear of rejection, I suppose. That and going broke. But there’s a part of me, a voice in the back of my head that says, “Don’t do anything that might ‘rock the boat’ and make people turn away from your work.” Even though it’s probably the most frustrating thing for me to deal with out of everything one deals with in being a comic book artist. Above the deadlines, the stories, the editors, the lack of time for a personal life, it’s the frustration of not feeling comfortable enough to just let loose and get as free with my drawing as I’d like. DRAW!: So how does one “self edit’ here? Do you rough out things, then decide you’ve gone too far, and then pull back? I find this rather distressing, but I can sympathize with you here, as I think many artists feel they can’t cut loose, and pull back on mainstream work. They feel that the mass audience can’t follow along. Yet our market is pretty much a niche market now, so you’d think fans would be so familiar with the characters and material. Enough to stretch a bit. Maybe even be tired of the status quo? WIERINGO: Well, it’s the oddity of what I see as the majority of the fan mentality. Most of the folks reading comics these days are our age or a bit younger. I’m not sure what the demographics are exactly, but I’d put it between 17 and 40-something for the most part. And mostly male. And the largest part of this group still reads super-hero comics, but to keep from feeling too squeamish about that, they seem to gravitate toward stories that are more “adult” in nature and illustrated in a style that is more “realistic” in its representation. I look at the popularity of guys like Alex Ross, Jae Lee, Brian Hitch, Greg Horn, J.G. Jones and a whole host of artists that either rely on photo reference (some are a slave to it) or try to draw in a kind of pseudo-photorealistic style and it just seems to dominate the market to me. Most of what DC puts out is done in that style. The kind of 5th-generation Adam Hughes clone. That doesn’t interest me. I take heart when I see guys like Darwyn Cooke, J. Bone, Jim Mahfood, 8 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

Scott Morse, Mike Oeming, Jason Pearson, and others getting wider recognition for doing more open, more expressive work, but I’d love to see even more of it become the norm. DRAW!: There are artists like Bill Sienkiewicz who have a career based on going “over the edge.” WIERINGO: Yep, and that’s great. But I’d like to see it happen more regularly. I look at the huge diversity of styles and stories that are popular in Europe and I wonder why there can’t be more of that kind of mentality here in the States. It’s the old saying, diversity is a “good” thing, but that doesn’t fly in American comic books, for the most part. DRAW!: Do you feel the mainstream books are not a place for such experimentation? That it’s a place for status quo work. Or is it just that on big icon books you tend to hold back? I just find this whole self-editing very troubling, and sort of sad. I want to see the crazy Mike Wieringo! WIERINGO: In my mind, it’s mainly more on the big icon books that I get that feeling—but oddly enough (I should say luckily enough) I’ve really only worked on those kinds of books. I’ve gone from Flash to Rogue to Robin to

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

WIERINGO: These are the pencils for the cover to Fantastic Four #60 (my first issue). Since it was the first issue for the new creative team, the editors had me go though tons of sketches for this. They wanted something that would highlight the whole team without being “narrative”—so after many tries, we came up with this montage-style piece.

BELOW: One of the many roughs Mike did for the cover.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO their own way and the enjoyment they have really shows. So I don’t want to come off and be completely negative here. I’m hoping, really hoping, that one day, I’ll break my own constrictions and do the kind of work I want to and folks will like it. I’m always hopeful. DRAW!: Well how then do you keep your artistic fires pumped. Keep the batteries charged up while doing a monthly book?

WIERINGO: Well, if I can get into a groove, it’s pretty easy to stay charged up, really. I’m the kind of person that needs to draw every day and keep a regular routine going to keep the momentum of drawing a monthly book going. It’s very frustrating that real life tends to get in the way so often. There’s always something coming up that stymies the flow when I get in it. Like the ice storm that just happened here, I lost an entire week of work because of not having power for that long. Now it’s going to take me days to get a rhythm going that will allow me to produce pages in a timely manner. That’s really why I can’t do a book month-in and month-out. I can really only generate about eight or nine issues a month just because I have to deal with things around my house, my cat, my car or whatever. I’m pretty isolated here without any support structure to help me with those things, so it’s too easy to fall out of the groove. (ABOVE) WIERINGO: This is the sketch for a cover I did for Randy Green’s Dollz comic that he published through Image Comics. This was a real blast to do—it has lots of cute girls in wild costumes and a wonderful cartoon bunny. I thought this was a wonderful comic—but alas, it was short-lived.

Spider-Man to Superman to Fantastic Four (with just a tad of creator-owned stuff thrown in). And all those characters have fan followings that have certain expectations that I feel awareness of. There is also a part of me that believes, however, that if you’re doing work you enjoy, it will show in the end product and that the viewer/reader will tap into that joy and come along for the ride. I’ve also seen that happen with folks who just went their own way and the readers gravitated toward that as well. Folks like Mike Mignola, Jeff Smith, Terry Moore and others are shining examples of this. People who want to do comics 10 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAW!: Was there a difference between working Marvel “plot method” or DC full-script method that you preferred? WIERINGO: Absolutely. I so much more enjoy working from plot method than full script. Plots allow me to pace the action and storytelling the way I’d like to see it as opposed to the way the writer sees it. To my mind, that is the collaborative method, not so much conforming to the writer’s vision of how the comic should be paced. As long as the intent and focus of the story is maintained, I prefer to be left to my own devices as far as pacing is concerned. I feel really constrained working with a full script. Working full script just makes me feel like a “hired pencil” that’s basically interchangeable with any other artist. That doesn’t give me the feeling of teamwork or collaboration. It just make me feel like a cog.

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

ULTIMATE POSSIBILITIES?

DRAW!: So you feel less mentally involved then? Like the corners are already defined by the script? WIERINGO: Yeah, that’s it. Even though I know it would be a lot more work for me, I would prefer to be given the loosest plot possible. That way, I feel as though in at least the visual sense, the pacing and visual storytelling, I’m able to create the world from my own imagination. This is difficult when the plot is too loose and the artist is made to feel as though they’re really writing it (which is how I imagine the way Stan Lee and Jack Kirby worked together) but I almost feel as though the pain of that kind of frustration is more agreeable than that of the frustration of feeling boxed into the writer’s vision. It just doesn’t feel as collaborative to work from full script. But I’ve started to grow used to it somewhat, so it’s not so much of a problem as it was coming off of doing Tellos with Todd. That was so fluid and give-and-take that going to a concrete, full script, fully dialogued story was a real culture shock. DRAW!: Do you still attempt to re-pace things even with a full script? Make one panel two, move dialogue, restructure the narrative in some way to make the storytelling clearer, or more dramatic? WIERINGO: Occasionally, yes. Sometimes I’ll split a panel into two if I think that it makes for a better “moment,” to give a beat for emotional emphasis or to stress a characters reaction to something. Or, if the writer has written something for one panel

WIERINGO: This was an interesting assignment from Marvel that never happened (for me, at least...). They asked me to create a series of sketches featuring a young Peter Parker getting into his costume in an alley as the beginning of an idea they had to create a comic that would re-introduce and revitalize the Spider-Man mythos. It’s what ended up being Ultimate SpiderMan, as it turns out.

that I think needs to be broken into two or more panels to make the storytelling more clear. I will never do anything that hampers storytelling, I can tell you that. My sensibilities run more toward a feeling of animation, so if anything, I’d tend to stretch things out and add extra beats for effect, not to subtract. DRAW!: Is it the opposite feeling when working on your creator-owned projects like Tellos? WIERINGO: Oh, yes. I feel so much more free and liberated when working on creator-owned stuff. I feel it allows me much more freedom to stretch my legs as far as pacing, layout and the way I depict the characters and action. This sort of ties into the question about cartooniness as well. When I’m working on my own creations, I figure if someone is buying it for me and my work, I’m going to give them and show them what’s in my head and in my heart as far as how I like to draw. That’s why I’m so sad that the present market is so weak that it really can’t sustain creator-owned books with personal visions. At least not in a way DRAW! • WINTER 2003 11

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

WIERINGO: This is another example of having to work out the different elements of the page separately. With the crazy demands of the large panel, I couldn’t make it all work smoothly on one layout page, so I had to work it out separately.

12 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

WIERINGO: This is another page from FF #60. It’s one of the most intense, chaotic things I’ve ever had to do. The idea is that these scientists have inadvertently release an “anti-gravity liquid” that’s causing a mess. I had to draw scientists, equipment, and the FF themselves flying around. Mark Waid’s always giving me challenging stuff to draw.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 13

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

that creates financial security. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of wonderful comics being done that are unique and personal to be sure, but they don’t do great numbers. DRAW!: Do you use any sort of reference for your work at all? Does the computer come into play at all?

DRAW!: Are you planning to better learn the computer side of things like drawing with a tablet, etc. Do you follow that edge of the field at all? I notice the Fantastic Four covers are digitally painted. Do you collaborate in any way or have input here? Do color guides, etc.? WIERINGO: I do have plans to learn the computer side of art14 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

WIERINGO: I use reference for things like locations or vehicles—or for the kind of clothes and hairstyles folks are wearing. I use the computer to search the web for reference I need, but I’m not very proficient in using Photoshop for stuff, so it’s more of a search tool than anything right now.

(ABOVE) WIERINGO: A penciled page from FF #63 and a sketch for one of the panels. Sometimes when a layout isn’t coming as easily as it should, I have to layout some of the panels separately. In this case, I had to do so for every panel on this page.

MIKE WIERINGO

PENCILING

(ABOVE) WIERINGO: Layout and pencils for a page from FF #60. Notice the first panel—initially, I didn’t like the original sketch, so I reworked it. In hindsight, I like the original best.

work. I’m very interested in coloring my own work— at least on covers. I’m determined to learn coloring in Photoshop. I’m just the kind of person who has to be shown how to do something many times before I can pick it up. I’m slow that way. I want to do sketching and coloring artwork and the like. I have a full set up with a Mac G4 computer, a 12" x 17" flatbed scanner, printer and the whole works—it’s just a matter of finding the time to expand my knowledge. As far as the FF covers go, Richard Isanove does a great job and doesn’t need any input from me. DRAW!: What’s your typical work day like? WIERINGO: I usually get up at about 6:00 a.m. and get ready for work. I have breakfast and get dressed and get to the studio around 8:00 a.m. I start work on a

layout and hopefully get it done by lunch. I have lunch at 12:00 noon and then start transferring the layout onto artboard using my light table—and the goal is to finish the page by 5:00 p.m. Then I get to the gym to work out and get home by 7:30 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. I eat dinner and hit the bed by about 10:00 p.m. Then I get up the next day and start all over again. DRAW!: I understand you share a studio. Who are your compadres? Does this atmosphere help with the work? WIERINGO: Yep, I share a studio with Richard Case. At one point, there were 8 or 9 artists in the studio. That was the reason I moved to North Carolina in the first place was for the large community of comic book artists sharing this studio. I wanted to be a part of the creative juices that were flowing here. I’ve been a part of this studio for going on 10 years now, but now everyone has moved on to greener pastures but Rich and me. So I’m planning to move to Richmond, Virginia sometime in 2003. My family lives there and I want to get back to VCU to take some more art classes to refresh my skills. I’m starting to feel a little stale—and I never want to stop learning and improving. DRAW!: So you feel that returning to school, doing figure drawing etc., is very important? Do you draw from life much? DRAW! • WINTER 2003 15

MIKE WIERINGO

WIERINGO: I feel that figure drawing is very important. Whenever an aspiring artist asks me for advice on how to better their work, I always tell them to draw from life as much as possible. I was fortunate to get four good years of life model drawing in college with a fantastic teacher named Donald Early who taught me so much more in those four years than I could have ever learned on my own. But I haven’t had the benefit of doing much life drawing since I graduated, and I just think my work could benefit even more from getting back into it. At least on a semi-regular basis. DRAW!: Do you study at all now? Do you feed your muse? WIERINGO: Only by looking at artists whose work I really enjoy for inspiration. I always keep lots of fun books around to get my juices flowing when I’m feeling the need to kickstart my drawing on a day when I’m feeling at a low ebb creatively. 16 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

PENCILING

(ABOVE) WIERINGO: Another example of working out elements of the page separately. I went through several versions of a sad Franklin as his mother chastises him on the way out the window. (RIGHT) WIERINGO: I started to work out the layout for the FF heading toward Modulus from the ground-level, but I rethought it and decided to make it a down-shot to add some variety from the slight up-shot of the first panel.

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

DRAW!: How do you interact with the other artists in the studio? Do you show each other work, help out on deadlines, etc.? WIERINGO: Well, there’s only two of us in the studio now. Richard Case (artist on Hunter, Age of Magic—and of Doom Patrol fame) and me. We’re good friends and we get along really well in the studio. We look over each other’s shoulders all the time to see what the other is doing. It’s still a good atmosphere, but not as thrilling as it was when there were about eight guys here. DRAW!: Did you find that environment helped you grow or learn at all?

WIERINGO: Oh, most definitely. Especially at the height of our membership. I was exposed to different styles and methods of working and I was always able to go to someone when I was feeling stumped creatively and get advice or help with something that was giving me trouble. I can still do that with Rich, but I miss having a wider variety of opinions available. DRAW!: Do you keep a schedule to have a certain amount of pages done per day? WIERINGO: I keep on a very regular schedule. I think that working for years before college gave me a good work ethic. However, I’m not the fastest artist in the world, so I shoot for about five pages a week output—but more often than not, it ends up being four pages per week. Real life seems to get in the way too, too often. I’ll have to mow the lawn, take my cat to the vet (she’s really old), take my car to the shop, run errands— whatever it is. And I don’t really have any support structure here, so I have to handle it all by myself. That can get in the way of productivity very often. DRAW!: Do you keep a sketchbook?

WIERINGO: I sketch a lot, but not in a real traditional sketchbook. I enjoy drawing on 81⁄2" x 11" copy paper. I really enjoy the way if feels to draw on that paper with blue pencil. It makes me feel like an animator. So I just have stacks of sketches on separate sheets of paper. DRAW!: Do you find that a sketchbook is intimidating in some way? That loose sheets of paper have no formality about them? WIERINGO: There is that—but it’s mainly a comfort thing as well. I just really like the texture of copy paper and it’s something I’ve been drawing on since I was really young. I used to draw all my own comics as a kid on copy paper. My folks would always keep me in copy paper. They were very encouraging when it came to me drawing—so whenever I’d get low on copy paper, they’d get me more. I’ve never found a sketchbook that has the exact feel of good copy paper. There’s also the fact that I don’t like drawing in a sketchbook because the book is too high and it doesn’t feel comfortable on my wrist when it’s resting on the edge of the book. I like working on something very flat without having my forearm bent down even slightly, DRAW! • WINTER 2003 17

MIKE WIERINGO

PENCILING

WIERINGO: Another page from FF #63. Reed’s headed into the “Modulus Realm” to try to stop his rampage. I really enjoy the character play between Reed and Sue.

18 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

board Marvel provides on my light box. I use 4H or 5H drafting leads in a Berol lead holder for that. DRAW!: Are your layouts pre-gridded? Do you copy off a grid that you can use to preset enlargements on the copy machine? WIERINGO: I just use a full piece of copy paper—and I rule off about 3⁄4 of an inch down the right side and draw on the rest. I usually draw all the way to the edges of the paper, so there’s no exterior ruled lines that serve as a border. If I have a grid or border on the outside, I just feel constrained. It’s just another quirk I have right now. I have in the past used layout templates of various sizes and I’ve changed the way I work over the years. I used to draw my layouts about trading card size, four to an 81⁄2" x 11" piece of copy paper. And the layouts used to be much, more loose and I did more finishing when I was tracing the layout onto the art board on the light box. But as the years have gone by, my layouts have gotten bigger, until they take up the majority of the piece of copy paper. Now I enlarge it 125% and it’s usually the right size for transfer to the art board. WIERINGO: This is just a sketch I did in ink for a Flash Gordontype character. I like playing around with different genres when I’m just sketching. BELOW: A self-portrait/caricature I did for a Gorilla Comics press release.

which is what happens when I work in a book. I know it probably sounds strange, but that’s just the way I feel. DRAW!: Do you sketch for fun, to learn, or both? Does any of this sketching or ideas work its way into your commercial work?

DRAW!: Do you prefer the rough or smooth surface paper? WIERINGO: THE SMOOTHER THE BETTER!!! I very much prefer smooth art board, my favorite is actually a plate finish. The best paper I’ve ever encountered is Image Comics’ board that they provide to people publishing books with them. It’s a little thicker than Marvel and DC paper (so it’s a tad harder to see through on the light box), but it’s really incredibly smooth and I’ve always enjoyed drawing on slick paper. Most of the Marvel and DC stuff has too much tooth for my liking.

WIERINGO: Mostly for fun. When I sketch, I tend to draw in the way I wish I could draw all the time, even in my freelance work. I guess sketching for me allows me to stretch and explore my more open, cartoony side. I tend to draw characters that I have floating around in my head and I work out ideas for characters and stories that I’ve been thinking about. DRAW!: What do you do when you hit a snag or have that day when the work isn’t coming easily? WIERINGO: I scream and cry. Barring that, if I can keep my cool, I’ll take a walk or look at artists whose work I really like to get inspiration or just start sketching whatever makes me feel good to get into a groove and hopefully get the creative juices flowing.

ART TOOLS and THE PROCESS: DRAW!: What are the tools of your trade? Pencils, markers, paper etc. Make and type, be as specific as possible. WIERINGO: I do my layouts on 81⁄2" x 11" simple copy paper with blue Sanford Col-erase pencils. I’ll tighten them up with .05 2H graphite in a click-feed lead holder/pencil. Then I blow them up on the copy machine and transfer them to the bristol art DRAW! • WINTER 2003 19

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO make is in their line quality, not in what they have to interpret. DRAW!: What about inking? Are you old school, pens and brush, or do you use markers? WIERINGO: When I do ink my own work—mostly covers—I use Pigma markers. I used to ink my own stuff with a brush when I was younger and just working on samples, but my hand is a little too shaky for smooth brush work. I do use a brush to thicken up lines in certain areas when I’m inking, and for filling in large black areas, but mostly I use markers because they’re more comfortable and give me more control and a feeling of drawing. I have some pen nibs that I’m going to try using some day when I get the opportunity to ink something else. DRAW!: Is there a reason you don’t ink more of your own work?

WIERINGO: It’s mostly a lack of confidence in my own abilities. And mostly in inking small things on the page. I ink most of my own covers— mainly when doing personal work— because the images tend to be big and easier to ink. But when it comes to inking small details on a page, I tend to freeze up and get shaky with the ink pen. I know that it’s just a matter of inking enough to get comfortable with it, but I’ve been in situations where I’m just penciling—and on a monthly title—for so long, that I rarely have the time to practice. DRAW!: It seems like you like a fairly hard lead; is this because you want that very clean look to your pencils? Sort of an animated clean-up line? Your work is so nice and clean you could just shoot from your pencils and fill the blacks in in Photoshop.

DRAW!: White rubber or kneaded erasers?

WIERINGO: Yeah, it’s to keep a clean and clear line. I try to make my work as tight and clear as possible so that whoever’s inking me never needs to guess at what I’m doing. It’s also a way of controlling as much as possible the end-look of the artwork. Eventually, I’d like to get into inking my own stuff—but right now I don’t feel confident enough to jump into it. So by keeping my pencils really tight, it’ll hopefully look consistent from job to job. That way, the biggest difference the inker can

DRAW!: Are you influenced by manga or anime at all, or animation in general?

20 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

WIERINGO: White rubber. I have some large Magic Rub erasers for big areas, and various thinner click-erasers for smaller, more delicate areas.

WIERINGO: I would say I’m somewhat influenced by Japanese animation and comics—mostly the comics—but I’m not nearly as much into that kind of thing as I used to be years ago. I really enjoy the style and slowing down and stretching out of the storytelling that manga achieves. It’s a great way to tell a story about people without worrying about cluttering up the

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

pages with tons of background details. It tends to speed up the reading process—but that’s their charm. In more recent years, however, I’ve really gotten into Disney animation as well as various movies that have come out like The Iron Giant and The Road to El Dorado. Whether the stories are great or not, the really strong design elements of a lot of American animated movies these days really jazzes me. The Iron Giant was a real revelation of just how cool an animated movie can be and the character design was just incredible. But even movies that really slipped below the radar of most folks, or even engendered some scorn like The Emperor’s New Groove, Atlantis, and Lilo and Stitch have a great fascination for me as far as the actual art of the animation. But it really started with movies like Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame for me. It just seemed like Disney was incorporating new influences for their animation and it really resonated with me. When I talk about stretching my work and experimenting with the way I draw, that’s the kind of think I’m talking about. Trying to explore more open, expressive, animated-looking work. In fact, I did a fill-in issue of Meridian for CrossGen right on the heels of Tellos, which I had done in a very animated style, and the general consensus on the Meridian message boards was that it looked way to much like a Disney movie. They didn’t mean it as such, but I took satisfaction in that. DRAW!: So you feel more freedom to stylistically experiment on some of these, for lack of a better term, “iconic” books?

WIERINGO: Another layout and finished pencils from FF #63. I didn’t like the original sketch for panel 3, so I reworked it. Also notice—sometimes when I’m transferring the layout to the artboard, I’ll tweak things here and there, such as the machinery in the big panel 3. The diagnostic equipment behind Reed and Sue and the tank Ben’s in have been tweaked just a bit..

WIERINGO: No, less. Like I said, I think fans of the major “icon” characters have definite expectations of what those characters should look like, and I don’t feel as though my work fits those expectations most of the time. DRAW!: Switching up a bit here, how much time did you spend doing design work for something like Tellos? I mean it’s a whole world you are creating from scratch as opposed to doing riffs of already established “universes” like Marvel’s or DC’s. How did you go about fleshing Tellos out? DRAW! • WINTER 2003 21

MIKE WIERINGO

TELLOS TM AND © TODD DEZAGO AND MIKE WIERINGO.

PENCILING

WIERINGO: I spent a long time fleshing out the Tellos characters and settings. Longer than I’ve spent on anything else I’ve ever done. Todd Dezago and I had a definite idea of the whole of the story, which characters were going to be involved, what they were going to be doing and where they were going to be going. And with the project not really being “on schedule” to begin publication as is often the case at Marvel or DC, I was able to take the time to really develop the looks for the characters and settings for Tellos. Even though the characters ended up looking a bit different by the end of the series than they did at the beginning, but that was more a stylistic thing rather than design driven. But I’d say I spent a good two months or more working on the designs for the Tellos comic book. DRAW!: Do you have any advice to artists just getting into the comics business or who are thinking about it? WIERINGO: I think that the best advice I could give to an aspiring artist who wants to draw comics is to be true to him/ herself, and don’t expect to get rich. As far as staying true to one’s self—I mean don’t try to conform to what others want from you. An artist will have the most fun and satisfying experience doing the kind of comics they want to do instead of doing the kind of comics others want them to do. That’s just a view I have from personal experience. I’m really grateful about the success I’ve had in the comic book biz, but sometimes I wish it had gone in another direction. I remember that my brother and I were starting to work on a personal project together while we were both living at home with our folks 10-12 years ago (maybe 22 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

PENCILING a little more), and I was really antsy to move out on my own, so I backed out of the project with my brother and concentrated on working on samples to get freelance work. There are times when I think I would have been much more creatively satisfied and fulfilled if I had concentrated on producing personal stuff rather than work-for-hire comics. A whole lot poorer financially, but more satisfied, I think. And in the current market climate, it’s going to be very difficult to make a good living from work-forhire unless you’re an already established artist. Whenever the market is depressed as it is now, it becomes much more of a closed shop as far as getting a foot in the door at Marvel or DC. But then, this sort of ties into the first part of this question. If you can’t get work from the “biggies,” don’t worry about it and just do your own comics. That’ll get you noticed just as quickly.

MIKE WIERINGO

movies, as I said, I’ve been to see every traditionally animated Disney movie since The Lion King, Hercules, and Hunchback. I’m planning on catching Treasure Planet even though I know it’s bombing at the box office. It just looks really cool. Draw!: I see here that you are not having your penciled pages of the Fantastic Four inked in the traditional way. How did this come about? Was this your decision? WIERINGO: This is something that the editors on Fantastic Four told me would be happening from the very beginning. It certainly wasn’t my decision, I think it came from the top. I think it’s something that Marvel is doing with several books whenever possible as a cost cutting measure. It’s sort of an extension or variation on the process of having pencils colored without inking. DRAW!: What does this entail on your end to facilitate this? You do the scanning and send the pages along to the inker? Can you describe your process? WIERINGO: Well, the idea was for that to happen, yeah. The ultimate goal was for me to scan my own pencils in and upload the scan files to Marvel’s FTP site. Karl Kesel (the inker) would then take those files from the FTP site and print them out in non-photo blue on his printer and ink those. The problem with that process is three-fold for me. One,

DRAW!: What are you watching and reading today in comics and animation etc.?

WIERINGO: Let’s see, in comics, I regularly buy Jeff Smith’s Bone, Mike Kunkel’s Herobear and the Kid, anything by Dave Cooper, Love and Rockets, which is being published again, thank goodness, anything by Dupuy and Berberian (if it’s not translated, I just look at the pictures), anything by Jason Pearson, Carlos Meglia, J. Bone, Darwyn Cooke, Art Adams, Jeff Matsuda, and a bunch of others. Notice the cartoony trend in the artists? As far as animation, I’ve been watching Kim Possible. I was watching Invader Zim before they canceled it, damn Nickelodeon. I also like the Proud Family for it’s character design. I also think Jackie Chan Adventures is a hoot. As far as (ABOVE LEFT) WIERINGO: This was a sketch for a Serra (from Tellos) lithograph for anotheruniverse.com that never happened. LEFT: Sketches of lions. I love animals and have always played with the idea of doing a “Savannah Drama” that would feature talking African wildlife. RIGHT: A sketch of Koj from Tellos.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 23

MIKE WIERINGO

PENCILING

(ABOVE) WIERINGO: Koj fighting some Shadow jumpers from Tellos. I created tons of developmental sketches for the comic. (LEFT) A preliminary sketch of the FF to get a feel for the characters before starting on the comic.

(RIGHT) A sketch of Hauser—a villain from the Tellos comic.

24 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

DRAW!: Does this effect the way you work, or pencil at all now that the work is not being inked on the board? WIERINGO: No, not really. I still pencil the same way. I suppose that Karl’s scanner is sensitive enough to pick up all the more delicate or subtle line work that may be in certain parts of the page, so I still pencil the same way.

DRAW!: Do you prefer the old way, where you ink on the pencils? WIERINGO: Oh, I’m pretty old-school as far as comic book original art is concerned, so I definitely prefer the old way. It’s the same way I felt when everyone went to computer lettering and it was done via file transfer and not done on the page. Without the actual lettering on the page, it just doesn’t feel like a real piece of original comic book art. And without the inks as well, it just looks strange and naked to me. But it doesn’t seem to bother most folks who buy original art. In fact, a lot of them like the novelty of it.

the Marvel tech guy gave me the passcode to their FTP site, but he never told me how to actually navigate my way to the site. And two, Karl doesn’t like the quality of my scans. I did a test and scanned one page and sent the file to him via e-mail. He was afraid that a lot of the fine detail was getting lost in my scanning process. So he prefers to scan them himself. Three, I’m only on a dial-up internet connection, so sending huge files for inking would take so long as not to be cost effective. And I can’t afford a DSL line or Cable Modem at this point. I’ve got too many other expenses. So as it turns out, I’ve just been sending the pencils to Marvel and they’ve been FedEx-ing them to Karl. So there’s really no shipping savings with us on FF. But Karl prefers this method, so Marvel’s still going through with it. I think Karl likes the idea of keeping all his inks. DRAW!: Does Marvel compensate you for this? WIERINGO: Well, since the process isn’t really working the way they’d like it to, no. But even if it did work for us, they wouldn’t compensate me for anything in this. But I already had my computer setup with the big scanner and everything before they started doing this anyway.

SEE SOME MORE SPECTACULAR ART FROM MIKE WIERINGO ON PAGE 50. DRAW! • WINTER 2003 25

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE

DREAMING DESIGN THE DEPTH ILLUSION

This article is meant to investigate how to create, and ways of strengthening, the “Depth Illusion”—the illusion of three-dimensional space created on two-dimensional paper. The focus will not primarily be on typical perspective rules and techniques such as vanishing points, horizon lines and so on. Those are very important, and should be studied, but they are not the main concern here. Instead I want to concentrate on other factors affecting whether or not an image has a sense of depth. Sometimes, despite employing perspective convergence, studiously making all your lines obediently converge to a vanishing point on a carefully placed horizon line and dutifully following all the “rules,” there’s still no “illusion of depth”! Let’s see if we can discover the other factors which either add to or take away from the creation of a sense of depth in a drawing... THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL LANGUAGE The first thing to clearly realize when investigating the “Depth Illusion” is that there really is such a thing as a “two-dimensional language,” with its own, and sometimes complicated and peculiar, set of rules, and its own psychology. In the eagerness to create a successful image, and to contemplate mentally all the 26 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

fascinating nuances of figure gestures, vehicles, backgrounds, and so on, it is easy to forget that, in the end, all of these threedimensional dreams end up flat: as flat lines and shapes on a flat, two-dimensional piece of paper. That piece of paper is like a “bottleneck,” a gateway, which the artist must contend with in the process of transmitting his images from himself to the viewer. A picture starts as a visualization of three-dimensional form in an artist’s mind, and ends, if the image communicates successfully, as another three-dimensional image in the viewer’s brain. But in between lies the transmission device: the decidedly two-dimensional flat piece of paper. It takes a while to realize this piece of paper has entirely its own language, with its own grammar and syntax, and that what we see in our three-dimensional vision must be translated into a two-dimensional language of overlapping, spacings, scale, and many other factors. Since doing a drawing is all about making choices, we must realize that some choices more clearly communicate three-dimensional form, while others obscure and camouflage it. The artist who draws has a chance to edit, to stage his lines, shapes, and forms, choosing the ones which will best explain what he is visualizing to the viewer. Because that is exactly what the two-dimensional

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE

and eliminate accidental effects and placements—anything that does not communicate clearly. True cartooning is an art of intentional arrangement, using the two-dimensional language. LANGUAGE So what is meant by “a two-dimensional language?” What is it exactly? Its components, its vocabulary, are lines and shapes— really all the various marks we draw on flat paper. We can call it a “language” because all the sorts of marks we can make, and all the various ways they can be arranged, will all communicate different things. Some will have more clarity, and some much less. The goal is to discover the order, the reason, behind what we do—then our expression will be more clear, more powerful, more intentional and less accidental. We strive to communicate form—which is three-dimensional—using a solely two-dimensional communication device, the flat surface of the paper. In the end that’s all the artist has: flat lines and shapes shuffled around on the flat two-dimensional surface of the paper—only two dimensions, height and width. Out of the realities and difficulties which arise from accommodating this simple reality arises “the two-dimensional language.” In many styles of drawing found in animation and comics we strive to suggest three-dimensional form and space. Those are the sort of drawings which this article concerns itself with. In other, purposely “flat” styles of work, and purely decorative drawings without any focal point or points, the goal is not to create “depth,” in which case some of these remarks may not apply. Furthermore, most of my comments here have to do with line drawing—plain lines without blacks or tones or color, the raw foundations of the structure of an image. There are many worthwhile things which could be added about the uses of blacks and tones to create depth, but for purposes of space I will have to leave those comments for another time.

ABOVE: If I was to do this sketchbook drawing over, I think I’d position the elephant’s trunk a little more to the right, so it would line up a bit less with the edge of the stall behind it. Composing a drawing is a constant juggling act, a series of compromises between different necessities. The subject has its needs, which can’t be forgotten, but neither can these sorts of staging problems be neglected either. Sometimes different demands compete with each other, which is why it’s a juggling act.

language involves: a lot of explaining and translating. We explain three-dimensional forms to the viewer using two-dimensional shapes and one-dimensional lines and points; or you could say we translate three dimensions into two. It’s not enough to just “trace” or “copy” reality literally, or the exact shapes from a photo, to achieve depth; one soon discovers that something is lacking if that approach is employed. What is lacking is the editing process, the process of accommodating perceived forms to the limitations of drawing. In the quest to describe form and space, the cartoonist must distill things down

DEPTH BY DIMINUTION First, consider “depth.” To the human eye, things appear to diminish in size the further away they are, which is one cue of many which help us decide the distance of an object, at least in the case of objects whose scale we know beforehand. Notice that proportions—i.e., ratios such as the ratio of the width to the height of an object—do not change as things diminish, as long as they are seen flat-on to the viewer/picture plane. When things tilt, and the object is no longer parallel to the picture plane, then foreshortening occurs—the apparent narrowing of an object. SENSING FORM AND SPACE In a picture, the scene portrayed can range from being fairly shallow to deep space—infinity. People can’t “see” depth directly, because obviously empty air can’t be seen. That may sound silly, but it’s the first step to realizing that to “see” depth, people must rely on cues from objects—visible forms. To judge the intangible, i.e., invisible space, people are used to seeing and focusing on tangible objects. We use the placement, relative sizes, angles, and so on, of visible things around us, to make spatial judgments. In short, visible objects are used as “markers.” So in a composition, if you want to achieve a sense of depth, you must clearly mark and illuminate the progression of space into the distance for the viewer, using various signposts. It isn’t enough to simply slap down a few converging perspective lines and DRAW! • WINTER 2003 27

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE background, or when those elements are present but are obscured by each other, or tangled into each other.

SPACING The sort of spacing used in a drawing greatly affects whether or not it creates a feeling of depth. Evenly sized divisions and spacings of lines, shapes, and forms usually suggest flat planes, not ones receding in space. If there is too much equality across the picture surface, whether it is the too-even spacing of smaller individual lines or breakups, or the too-even spacing of various larger picture elements, the eye associates this regular division with a flat surface. So it is good to get in the habit of using perspective spacings, as suggested by the diagram, even if you are not drawing the receding boards of a fence or similar subject. You can use perspective spacing, for example, in the positioning of figures in a crowd, clouds in the sky, and so on—the applications are endless. ABOVE: In this image of Mister X tracking down a wounded robot, I was careful in my choice of where to place the horizon line, setting it at about the level of Mister X’s gun, and on the same level as the robot’s severed arm. This purposely focussed attention on the gun and the robot’s damage, and also split the difference between looking up at the robot and down at the rubble on the ground plane. Looking up at the robot made him look large and dramatic; and looking down allowed me to add to the depth effect by keeping the receding layers of rubble visible. Too low a vantage point would have meant that only the first row of rubble blocks would have been visible, which would have had more of a “cutout” effect because none of the tops of the blocks would have been visible. I was also careful to overlap the rubble blocks and other picture elements clearly, aiming to stage the shapes for clarity. To add to the depth effect, I included two levels of windows: the nearer ones outside the broken wall, and much more distant ones in the city. This gave the picture more “depth of field.”

think that is enough. In viewing daily reality in front of us, our two eyes give us stereoscopic vision. We judge depth by comparing the small differences between the views from each of our eyes. The comparison of these two views helps us overcome any confusion which might come from odd overlappings or placements of the things we see—we simply move our heads and get more information about the three-dimensional forms in front of us, by gaining a new view. But in regarding a flat, still drawing, no such advantage is available to us. No amount of moving our head will help us to “read” and decipher a two-dimensional drawing. The artist must make up for this lack by employing the two-dimensional language, by artfully and intentionally arranging his work to compensate. Everything about the three-dimensional forms and spaces of his scene must be explained by the artist with one view, with flat shapes and lines. If you have properly drawn forms, clearly placed in space, “depth” will follow naturally. Problems often come when everything is habitually drawn too flat, in simplistic cutout shapes, and when everything “sticks” to each other and to the picture plane. Many times this happens when there is no evident foreground, middleground, and 28 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

USING ALL THREE PLANES AND AXES For depth and compositional interest it’s helpful to have forms moving in all three axes rather than only one or two. This creates a three-dimensional feel by marking out each axis for the viewer. It’s very important to convey information about all three planes of the form you are depicting—you must explain the subject’s length, width, and height. If you draw in in a style that solely consists of a staggered series of flat cutouts, in may seem to be “three dimensional,” but isn’t really. That’s fine if done BELOW: By sketching real objects around you, from different angles, develop your “perspective sense”—the sense of how much foreshortening is appropriate to a given angle, what sort of spacing is correct for the perspective you have chosen. After a while it becomes second nature—you get more of a sense of what works and what doesn’t. The best way to develop this sense accurately is to observe from life.

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE CROPPING It’s important also to watch cropping—the way you choose to frame your scene. Cropping can make or break depth: you can easily crop out one or two planes (like the ground plane or a wall plane) depending on how you position your frame. It’s all too easy to lose depth information this way, especially in close-up views. SEAM LINES Another way to give the viewer’s eye clues about depth is to add what I call “seam” lines, where possible and believable. These can be anything from a literal seam line, to exploiting anything in your subject which plausibly gives you a line or lines curving or wrapping across the form. This helps “explain” it to the viewer, just as a cross-section would if the object was sliced open at that spot.

intentionally, as a design style, to achieve a certain look, but not so effective if it’s done by accident while trying for a “depth” style of drawing. If you do it by accident, if you oscillate back and forth between flat drawing mannerisms and three-dimensional ones, the overall effect will be intermittent and will probably be visually boring. You might have a subject that absolutely requires using only one axis, or two, but even then there are usually opportunities to inject some contrast by adding one or two small forms in an opposing plane. A greater feeling of depth can also be obtained by adding little rims and thicknesses where possible and appropriate, to give visual relief and contrast to otherwise flat surfaces.

WRAPPING This is pretty much the same thing as “seam” lines, except using three-dimensional forms instead of flat surface lines. Showing forms wrapping around another, and partially disappearing if possible, often generates a strong depth sensation. Cues like this give depth hints to the eye. SPATIAL HONESTY Place things honestly in space. How do you do this? 1) Create a perspective viewpoint for your scene, decided by you from the beginning. Choose a horizon line and vanishing point(s), and stick to them!

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 29

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE unknown ones. In this way we can decide the size of less familiar things we see. As we go through this “sizing-up” process, we depend on the fact that some objects commonly familiar to people have relatively fixed, predictable sizes or a narrow range of possible sizes—things like people, cars, windows, and so on, with people being the paramount one. We start with whatever familiar scale-reference objects we can spot, and then make decisions about nearby objects by comparing them to our “yardstick” reference objects. In this connection, it’s important to study the sizes and proportions of various common objects. This knowledge will come in very handy in scaling illustrations clearly. How does this all matter to the cartoonist? Because it suggests how to go about setting up a picture with a successful depth impression: start by deciding the scale, which actually goes hand in hand with deciding on a horizon line and viewpoint for your picture. It’s not enough to simply choose a horizon line and stop there; you must also set the scale of the objects displayed in your image, by deciding where you are going to set the height of the horizon line, and where the contact points are— where the subjects contact the ground plane. A simple way to do this is to get in the habit of creating a scale comparison lineup for characters or elements that must be drawn repeatedly. Drawing a lineup means forcing yourself to deal with and decide their comparative sizes, and of course also helps keep your different drawings of the same item consistent. Another helpful habit is that of jotting scale figures into your rough drawings as you work on

2) Draw transparently—construct your three-dimensional forms and intersections fully. Run trace lines and center lines to check that forms are lining up properly. 3) Establish a scale for your scene and its components, and follow that scale (see below). If you strive for “spatial honesty” you will avoid creating strange impossibilities of form. PERSPECTIVE, SCALING, AND PROPORTION To create an impression of depth, a sense of scale must be established, otherwise everything floats around vaguely, neither large nor small. To understand this it’s worth first considering how people judge the scale of things they see. Since objects appear smaller and smaller as they get further away from us, how then are we able to determine what their true size is? Well, we do it by comparison. We start with clues given to us by known objects, and compare the size of those known quantities against the 30 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE them, even if it is a drawing which has no characters. You simply erase the scale-figure after it has done its work of reminding you to size things carefully and consistently, especially as they recede into the distance. Another point to note here is that, as long as they are seen flat-on (i.e., parallel to the picture plane) then the ratio of the width to the height of an object doesn’t change no matter how far away it moves. Its apparent thickness, as measured on the flat paper surface, may change due to the effect of foreshortening (when it is turned on an angle to the viewer), but the ratio of width to height does not if it is seen flat-on, and so can be a useful tool for scaling without needing to do a lot of complicated perspective line work. This fact about the width/height ratio is also crucial to a method of creating perspective simply by proper scale and placement of objects. This method is often called “hanging figures on a horizon,” although that name can be a little misleading because it applies to a lot more than just figures. It can be used for properly sizing and placing any object(s) in perspective, provided they are all standing on a common plane, without any ruling of lines.

OVERLAPPING Overlapping tells us what is in front of what. In the two-dimensional flat world of the paper’s surface, we judge “what is in front of what” by examining the way things overlap, just as we do in the real world. In a conversation, whoever is interrupted is pushed to the back, and the one doing the interrupting comes to the foreground. Likewise with drawings: interrupted (i.e., overlapped) shapes recede—the eye interprets them as “behind”—and the ones doing the interrupting come to the front. For the purposes of picture-making, besides showing depth, overlapping also affects composition. One way is that the shape that is being overlapped has a “bite” taken out of it, while the foreground one is unaffected. Principles of overlapping apply from the macro to the micro: i.e., they apply not only to the largest elements of your composition (how the big shapes of your image overlap each other), but also to the different parts of any given element, the details of those LEFT: In this rough for a possible Mister X cover, I set the horizon line at approximately shoulder height. This can be seen by comparing the foreground Mister X to the distant suggested figures: the horizon line crosses them both at a common level, at the shoulder. The scale of the grid windows, and of the individual windows at the right behind Mister X’s head, are made to seem very large by the simple method of adding those distant figures. Because they are a known quantity to the viewer, they act as as scale, a yardstick, making the windows seem immense.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 31

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE This is a necessary accommodation to the immobile two-dimensional realities of the flat paper surface. Think of your picture as the set of a stage play, and the viewer of your drawing as the audience viewing that play. We only have the height and width of the picture to work with, and the audience is fixed in place and cannot move around to see behind the foreground objects if something is confusing. So just as on a stage, the more objects there are filling up the foreground, or the bigger the foreground objects are, the less room (i.e., negative space) is left in between to show the more distant layers of objects. So you must juggle things as you overlap them, to keep all clear to the viewer. It’s a good idea to construct your composition’s layers from foreground to background, and as you go back, you have to ration things out so you are left with enough negative space to clearly show the more distant layers. The more of the flat picture surface you use up on the foreground layers, the less is left to devote to the more distant ones. THE ARRANGEMENT OF MASSES AND PROPORTIONS The sizing and positioning of compositional masses help create

parts, and so on down the line. Once acquired, the habit of overlapping for clarity, of staging shapes so that they can be clearly understood, is a habit that can be applied across the entire range of your picture. But be sure to stage your overlaps very carefully, because they are crucial. Too many, or poorly positioned overlaps can kill the Depth Illusion. You can easily “lose” lines or shapes as they pass behind another element. It is generally not a good practice to stop a form so that its termination ends up hidden as it passes behind a foreground element, when you’ve staged it in such a way that the viewer is led to expect that it will come out the other side. The eye expects it finish, and if it doesn’t, it leaves the viewer in a kind of visual suspense—you are hiding something from them. You can see this in figure drawings sometimes, in the situation where a limb is hidden behind the body; poor staging can make the figure look as if it is missing the limb. You can have the same sort of problem with shapes in general. There is no set “formula” for overlapping, but it is possible to arrive at some conclusions about what definitely does not work when it comes to the two-dimensional language. If you have too many shapes overlapping simultaneously in the same area, you may only create confusion for the viewer. A disconnected series of fragmented shapes will result, creating a puzzle for the viewer’s eye. A remedy for this is something you could term “Staggered Overlapping.” This is when you have several overlapping elements, and instead of overlapping them in the same spot, you stagger them—left, right, in a curve, up or down, whatever arrangement suits your composition. The point is to keep your overlap, but also preserve the clarity and the silhouette of each element. You overlap only a portion of each element and put the rest of it “in the clear” for the viewer to see. 32 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE “The Depth Illusion” without using perspective lines at all. You could also call it “the staging of shapes.” The reason for the word “staging” is that it’s like a presentation, on a stage. You try for an arrangement that best explains the form you have in mind to the audience. The actual, literal subject matter can only be taken in if the presentation is first made clearly, using the two-dimensional language. IMPLIED LINES In a drawing you can make use of actual lines on the paper, or only “implied lines.” These are lines which are not actually drawn on to the paper but are suggested or implied by the arrangement of other

BELOW: This sketch had a lot of overlapped block forms. I added lots of surface detail for contrast with those forms, because by themselves they would have been too simple. Finer details give visual interest and texture to the forms. I looked for places to add forms moving along all three axes.

ABOVE: In this panel from a Tom Strong story, I tried to achieve a sense of depth by using as many spatial cues as possible. The basic ones are the steeply converging perspective lines and the large change in scale between the foreground and background characters. Beyond that, I was careful to diminish the size of the windows in proportion to the size of the building masses, and I also tried to keep the receding forms of the buildings clear. For example, there are no important changes of form wherever the buildings passed behind Tom; the more complicated forms were saved for above and below him on the flat paper surface. That kept Tom’s silhouette from getting “tangled” as it overlapped the buildings, allowing for a clean visual separation. Generally speaking, when layers or elements overlap, if both are of the same level of complexity, it’s easier for them to get confused together—so for the sake of visual clarity, it’s best to make one of them simpler and one of them more complex.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 33

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE

lines or shapes. For example, a series of items, like dots in a row, can suggest a line by their positioning, even though they are only separate points. The more closely the dots are spaced, the clearer the imaginary line which they form becomes. The eye always looks for connections or patterns not only in things themselves, but in the way they are placed. We constantly scan for relationships, not only between people but between inanimate objects. So these subjective lines can be created by the arrangement of repetitive objects, or even dissimilar objects. This tendency to seek for implied lines can be used to create depth effects, by implying converging perspective lines simply by the arrangement of shapes. SILHOUETTING FOR DEPTH How you arrange the silhouette has a big impact on the feeling of depth. Not all silhouettes are created equal! The accompanying diagrams present a few ideas about composing silhouettes for depth: REPETITION Repeat elements can act as scale cues. The diminishing size of any standard elements whose scales are RIGHT: It’s not enough to arrange the silhouettes of individual picture elements for clarity; you must also exercise great care in how they are overlapped, or else things at different depths can very easily get confused together, effectively flattening that area of the picture. Here, in the middle picture, you can see how the tangled overlapping has lost many key characteristics of the robots. They touch at so many places that the eye cannot sort them out, and has to work extra hard to even begin to realize where one ends and the next one begins. Generally speaking, don’t overlap different elements at many points if you can get away with a few.

34 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

known to the viewer (i.e., windows, trees, people, vehicles, etc.) gives cues as to their distances away—it “explains” the change in space clearly. Of course, you need at least two of the same object shown, at different distances, to get a depth effect—but a minimum of three is even better. The more change in scale between the objects, the more distance is implied, and so the more depth is created. You must make sure that you keep everything consistent to each other as things recede back, though, so things do not drift out of proportion. The spacing of details can help create, or hinder, “The Depth Illusion,” without using perspective lines at all. One example is the spacing of textures on a surface which is receding into the distance. The principles of foreshortening apply here: a steady rate of diminution suggests a flat surface; a changing rate can suggest a curve, or suggest any sort of surface or form imaginable. So for a convincing depth effect, textures and details should follow the topography, and be handled with care. There is something of a paradox here for the

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE LEFT: There are very many possible choices in staging a drawing, both for good and for bad. Drawing is about making decisions—a lot of them. So it is helpful to have a clear basis in which to make those decisions. What I am trying to get at in this diagram is to be very careful about not obscuring key parts of the composition, ones which reveal form and depth. Often such things as corners, contact points, intersections, etc. should be shown, because concealing them robs the viewer of information about where the forms turn or change. Covering corners up can be uncomfortable, much in the same way that, in framing shots in film and comics, it is advisable not to crop characters at their joints. If you have an element in your image that adds character and charm, like the cliffside and bay in this doodle, stage them clearly and straightforwardly. If a background element passes behind your foreground level(s) completely, make sure it comes out cleanly on the other side. If you stop one element and start another one behind a foreground element, i.e., completely out of the viewers’ sight, confusion can result. If you can’t make your background element pass completely behind the foreground one, then try putting it all the way to one side or the other. No diagram can explain all this, since each drawing is a process of progressive discovery. Performing a similar experiment to this one, trying variations on one’s own composition, can be quite revealing.

artist employing only lines: because of convergence, as objects recede, they become smaller, thus making the details crowd closer together and in turn creating a denser texture or tone if rendered with line work. On the other hand, the closer a subject is to us, the more our eye is able to see all the details which are there, so there are more details which could potentially be included in a drawing. This can be a real problem when drawing in outline as cartoonists do; in either case described, if all the visible details are included, the picture can easily become cluttered and illegible because of all the line work. And the choice, the paradox, can be: do you put more detail into the foreground, or the distance, when you are doing outline-based artwork? Which gives a greater depth effect? Obviously you cannot draw everything into a picture, every last detail—you must decide to include some things and leave others out—you must edit. But on what basis? If you put equal detail both in the foreground and the distance, you will certainly flatten out the picture. The point to be remembered is to have a basis on which to decide, and to employ it consistently. Often it is best to simplify forms as they recede in space, progressively eliminating details until you are eventually only left with basic masses and silhouettes.

In this way, even in a line drawing, you can suggest “aerial perspective,” without using tonal values at all. DEPTH-TROUBLESHOOTING CHECKLIST WHEN THINGS DON’T SEEM “RIGHT,” ONE OF THESE MAY BE THE CAUSE... 1) TANGENTS—when two or more lines intersect or “touch” at the same point, then even though the objects they belong to are on different planes, that spot is effectively “flattened,” and the depth illusion is destroyed. 2) LINEUPS—similar to tangents, when an element on one plane is lined up with or at the same height on the picture surface as another element on another plane of distance, what you could call “a visual pun” is created. The depth illusion is again hampered. The eye tends to connect lines that have a similar angle or direction, tending to the assumption that they are part of the same object or on the same plane. This fact can be useful in having rhythm lines run through your figure or composition; but it can also cause depth problems if it creeps in unwittingly. DRAW! • WINTER 2003 35

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE

flattening, bringing everything up to the same plane. 5) UNCOMFORTABLE CROPPING AND OVERLAPPING— examine the way you have cropped your image to see if anything is visually confusing, for example if you have cropped off or overlapped part or parts of an object that are crucial to conveying its form, such as corners, or at an “uncomfortable” spot such as the joint of a figure. Each of the geometric forms which we use as “building blocks” in a picture has its own basic nature or character. Poor cropping and overlapping can obscure this character, inadvertently making a sphere read as a semicircle, or a cube read as a parallelogram, and so on.

3) CENTERING—a foreground element, not at the vanishing point, that centers in the middle of one behind it at whatever distance, especially when the two elements are the same size or mass—this creates a flat effect. 4) EQUALITIES—equal size lines/shapes/forms on foreground/ midground/background planes tend to flatten them—equal spacings and divisions between elements, within elements. Use perspective spacings for depth—repeating the same pattern/ texture on different planes of distance—this has the effect of 36 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAWING AND DESIGN

ABOVE: Repeating the same thing at different sizes is an effective way to suggest depth. In this page from a Tom Strong story, the diminishing sizes of such elements as the windows and the rivets on the girders helped to create a feeling of space.

PAUL RIVOCHE

ABOVE: This layout is a good example of what happens when there is too much detail for its own sake. There are a lot of textures and markings, but they do not work together effectively to communicate form, space, and information. If you squint at the image as a whole, you can see that the spacing of detail across the picture surface is more or less flat, making a kind of even tonality which in turn flattens out any sense of depth. Individual details, such as the grass on the hill or the texture on the tree trunks, do not “turn” with the form, but instead sit flatly on it. There are no clearly distinct planes—everything is soft and flows together, making it hard to identify separate items. The foreground grass is almost the same size and spacing as the grass in the distance, which defeats any sense of diminution. There has been no horizon line or viewpoint chosen, most clearly shown in the treatment of the road in the foreground, so it is impossible to get a sense of perspective and depth. Excessive, uncontrolled detail like this can easily kill a drawing, instead of enhancing it.

LEFT: In this sketch the problem was to maintain a sense of depth despite the fact that a lot of it was empty space. Additionally, I didn’t want to use the classic depth trick of placing something large in the very close foreground—I wanted to keep the feeling of great emptiness and space. So that left me with the devices of suggesting space by very carefully overlapping the forms, and progressively diminishing the spacing and sizes of the lines of the clouds.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 37

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE

6) TOO MANY OVERLAPS—if too many things overlap at once confusion can result. Things do not read clearly and distinctly, and layers become tangled and thus flattened—“camouflage” is the result, instead of clarity. 7) NOT ENOUGH OVERLAPS—if you have too few elements overlapping then nothing is clearly placed in space—it all “floats.” There’s no hierarchy established. It’s better to decide which elements should have prominence, and which should recede back. 8) CONTRADICTING THE PERSPECTIVE—when you have too many horizon lines, and/or too many vanishing points, all unrelated and contradicting each other, you can’t achieve a depth effect-when the perspective is too shallow, too steep—i.e., “warped” in various ways FINAL THOUGHTS In many ways this article has also been about composition, since perspective and composition and the other aspects of artwork do not really exist separately, but are present simultaneously in a drawing. In many ways, good depth practices also make for good composition. The more you understand what I’ve called “The Depth Illusion,” the more you investigate this fascinating two-dimensional language cartoonists employ—the more intentional your depth effects will be, the less random and accidental. You can monitor your drawings and check to see if there’s anything you missed. After all, that is what we strive for as artists: control. Control allows us to flatten out the frustrating highs and lows of 38 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

daily drawing attempts. So even if you are drawing a “flat” style of cartooning (and I hope I’ve made it clear there’s nothing “wrong” with drawing flat, as long as you do it on purpose), it helps to be aware of the boundary line between “flat” effects in drawing and choices and arrangements that create “The Depth Illusion.” The difference can sometimes be very subtle between a convincing three-dimensionality and an entirely unintentional flatness. The trick, as always, is noticing that difference.

RIGHT: This cartoon drawing by Gluyas Williams is a beautiful example of clarity in staging. Since he included a lot of figures at once, a high horizon line allowed him to get a clear view of them all, without the foreground ones blocking out the more distant layers. He used staggered overlapping to arrange the figures as they flow from the foreground into the distance. The diminishing sizes of the black and grey masses, as we go into the distance, and the way they cluster together more as they go back, all contribute to an illusion of depth.

©THE NEW YORKER MAGAZINE, INC.

DRAWING AND DESIGN

PAUL RIVOCHE

LEFT: In this diagram I have purposely tried to include as many mistakes as possible, all in one image, to illustrate by complete exaggeration what can happen if you desire depth in your image, but ignore the two-dimensional language. Some of these may seem quite obvious, but mistakes like these are made all the time. Generally, there are some very awkward foundation-level staging choices, such as the placement of the left-hand figure over the lower corner of the building, or the right-hand figure covering up the corner of the sidewalk. Additionally, there is an overall lack of perspective convergence; in a view like this you would expect the lines to taper more, and that there would be more tapering of the vertical lines to help the “downshot” feeling. Lastly, judging by they way they are scaled and placed, these figures cannot be standing on the ground plane; if you extended the drawing below its bottom edge, and projected height-lines from the figures to the wall, you would find that they are giants relative to the size of the building and car. The only way they could be this size, in this image, would be if they were standing on some sort of higher platform or balcony that put them closer to the viewer; but as this has not been indicated to the viewer, the sizing simply reads as wrong. There are several mistakes of “equalities” in the picture: the round sign at 5, which is supposed to be more distant than the figures, is roughly the same size as the figures’ heads, which flattens the depth effect. Other equalities have been marked with the letter “E” and a connecting line, and they too deaden and flatten the drawing. I have labeled the tangents with a “T”; there are many of them, and they could easily have been avoided with some re-staging of the shapes.There are scale problems with the stairs and doorway—the stairs are too large and steep, and the doorway is too small to fit the figures. The line labeled 1 is poorly placed—it could be some kind of diagonal breakup on the wall of the building, but since it’s on the same angle as the car and street behind it, it ends up looking like a hole in the building. Similarly, the line at 2 could be a seam line on the street, but because it lines up with the edge of the sidewalk, it’s confusing. Lines 3 and 4 don’t fan upwards to create a perspective effect, and so look very awkward, and line 3 gets confused with the roof line of the car. Line 4 creates a tangent as it hits the edge of the picture and the pole simultaneously. As I said, these mistakes may seem obvious, and therefore easily avoided, but in practice it’s a lot harder than it might seem to avoid all of them, as one grapples with the various considerations involved in making a drawing.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 48

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 39

Everyone deserves a

Golden Age!

Well, MIKE “Romita-Man”BURKEY wants to buy your Amazing Spider-Man #39-297 art, as well as “any” comic book art from the ’30s to present! Check out Mike’s Web site with over 700 pictured pieces of art for sale or trade at:

www.romitaman.com or write: P.O. Box 455, Ravenna, OH 44266 PH: 330-296-2415 • e-mail: MikeBurkey@aol.com

GiVE BACK TO THE CREATORS WHO GAVE YOU YOUR DREAMS.

SPOTLIGHT

POWERS

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 41

SPOTLIGHT

42 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

POWERS

SPOTLIGHT

POWERS

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 43

SPOTLIGHT

44 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

POWERS

SPOTLIGHT

POWERS

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 45

SPOTLIGHT

46 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

POWERS

SPOTLIGHT

POWERS

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 47

PAUL RIVOCHE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39

HOWARD PYLE ABOVE: This image by master illustrator Howard Pyle reveals many depth cues at work simultaneously. First, Pyle makes sure to include foreground, middleground, and background elements to create a sense of space. For example, the chests, bags, and boxes in the lower left corner (1) act as a foreground spatial element—they give the eye something close to notice, from which it can flow back into the picture, and also carry the eye around the corner of the picture. Without these foreground depth elements, as can be seen by covering them up, the picture is not only lacking in depth but compositionally off-balance. The treasure containers create depth by their smaller size when compared to the second, more distant grouping of them, behind the pirate leader (2) in the center of the picture. The of course there is careful attention to diminution, such as the way the ground texture gets progressively smaller as it recedes. Another spatial device to note: the hanging lantern (3), suspended by a cable in the middle top of the image. Besides being part of the compositional structure, it helps create a feeling of depth. It serves as a kind of “three-dimensional punctuation,” by being something which the eye can grab onto in the air, in front of what would otherwise be a large area of blank wall. Besides being “local color,” adding the lantern creates spatial interest in that area of the picture. The cable’s left end is clearly 48 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

shown to contact the wall, and from this cue we can see that it hangs above the pirate crowd—the contact point (4) places it in space. Pyle has also done some very interesting things in terms of the staging of his shapes. The two main figures, the pirate leader and the kneeling captive (5), are the largest figures in terms of mass, and so come forward. They are not significantly overlapped by any other figures, whereas the rest of the figures are partly covered up (the leader’s cape is only slightly overlapped at the left, placing him spatially behind the foreground element). We can see that the pirate leader is the tallest in height, except for one pirate in the back, near the doorway— but he is far enough away that we don’t really notice. The pirate leader’s height gives him dominance. We are directed to him by the fact that the horizon line (6) is placed at his eye level; and similarly we are directed to the kneeling captive by the fact that the view-point (7—i.e., where we are standing to view this scene) is placed directly in front of him. BELOW: Although this is an illustration in which there are no strongly converging perspective lines, illustrator Howard Pyle has nevertheless achieved a wonderful feeling of depth. The masses of the three figures diminish progressively and strongly in size as they go back in space; this immediately helps them recede. He has been very careful to work out the scale of the distant bricks in the house wall, as compared to the foreground ones; they are convincingly smaller, and both sets of bricks are still in proportion to the figures. Details like this are crucial; if any of the bricks had been the wrong scale, or had changed relative to the figures near them, the feeling of depth would have been damaged or destroyed. Pyle has made several perspective choices to work with his compositional intent. He has set the horizon line at the foreground man’s eye level; this horizontally directs our attention there, and combined with the vertical line of the gate intersecting his head and the dark mass of foliage behind his head, we are compelled to focus on the man’s face and eyes. If Pyle had set his figures on flat ground, the further man would still be visible; but the open gate would have covered up the woman in the window. So he made the ground in the garden rise up gently, a believable arrangement because land around houses usually rises upwards towards the house for

DRAWING AND DESIGN

TECHNIQUE

PAUL RIVOCHE

LEFT: A wonderful drawing from French illustrator Maurice Boutet de Monvel, from his 1896 book Joan of Arc. There are so many lessons for the modern illustrator in this and similar work from the past, where you often find a much better understanding of depth creation. This image, and the other inspiring drawings in the book, shows Monvel’s profound command of depth and perspective, from the careful silhouetting and overlapping of the foreground figures, to the way the various boats on the river have been sized and carefully “hung on the horizon line.” Careful study of this sort of image yields many lessons still useful to today’s cartoonists.

had been flat, there would have been too many elements in the picture flat-on to the picture plane. drainage; and this rise lifted the figures into view. They are still overlapped by the gate, leaving us with the sense that we are only glimpsing what is going on. The gate serves as a powerful compositional device to lead the eye to the woman at the window, and also the fact that it is open and protruding into the walkway creates some three-dimensional contrast—if the gate

Paul Rivoche is a Toronto-based freelance commercial artist and designer. Paul can be reached via e-mail at: privoche@yahoo.com

LEFT: This drawing is a spontaneous sketchbook creation, done with no preparatory drawing, just a thin line marker. This approach is fun and risky—it forces the artist to grapple directly with multiple concerns, one after another, or simultaneously. Sometimes plunging in like this works, and sometimes it doesn’t, but it is invariably stimulating. In this case I started with the seated rider, working from the head down. Next I added the saddle underneath, and then the alien beast. The moment I added the creature’s feet, I was forced to decide on an exact horizon line and viewpoint for the rest of the scene. I chose the rider to be on a plateau, drawing in only the silhouette of its top plane. Then I lightly made a horizontal tick mark where the distant horizon line would be, where the clouds recede into the distance. Having committed to a horizon line and viewpoint, I now stuck to this quite carefully and tried to make all the successive picture elements “obey” the “rules” they set down. To carefully manage the depth progression, I made sure to work from foreground to background, not jump around from one plane to another. I added the side wall of the rider’s plateau, then started on the large tower and associated buildings in the midground, working from top to bottom, trying to rhythmically lock in the shapes, and use varying forms and planes to flesh out all three axes. After that, the snaking shape of the river established the flat plane of the ground going off into the distance. Finishing the image was a matter of working over the whole picture surface, trying to balance the various densities created by the different clusterings and patternings of marks and elements. To get a fresh eye for balances, angles, patternings, and so on, I always look at the image in a mirror, and equally look at it (and adjust it) upside down. Turning it upside-down allows me to regard it as pure pattern and design, separate from the subject matter.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 49

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 25

On this page are development drawings from Wieringo’s sketchbook for a Tellos back-up story that ran in the back of Section Zero, part of the Gorilla Comics line published by Image. Wieringo says he’ll sometimes do several sketches to help develop a character even if it’s not a major one. NEXT PAGE: The drawings on the next page are development ideas for an abandoned project, a sketch of Serra from Tellos, and a few random girls.

50 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

TELLOS TM AND © TODD DEZAGO AND MIKE WIERINGO.

On the next four pages is a fine selection of solid, charming and sexy sketches and drawing from Mike’s own sketchbook, all on 81⁄2" x 11" bond typing paper. Many were drawn in blue Color Erase pencil.

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 51

PENCILING

MIKE WIERINGO

Another development drawing from Wieringo’s sketchbook for Tellos.

52 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

PENCILING MIKE WIERINGO

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 53

BOOK REVIEWS

TERRY BEATTY

“There will always be a certain amount of confusion about what is talent or native ability in drawing and what is knowledge of the craft. Too often, knowledge is construed as talent. On the other hand, drawing that lacks constructive knowledge is seldom successful as drawing.” —Andrew Loomis, Successful Drawing

ABOVE and RIGHT: From Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth by Andrew Loomis.

54 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

fter twenty-some years of working full-time in the comic book business, you might think I’d be sitting back and resting on my laurels (whatever the heck “laurels” are), but it seems the more I draw and the older I get, the more aware I am of what I don’t know. In light of this, I’ve lately decided I need to go “back to school” and work at expanding my knowledge and improving my art skills. With a full work schedule, a hefty mortgage and demanding family commitments, there’s neither enough days on the calendar nor enough flexibility in the household budget for me to actually return to school full-time (though I have just signed up for a once-a-week life drawing class, just to get back in gear), so I’ve taken another route to increase my knowledge and skill level: I’ve been on a vintage art instruction book buying binge.

I have haunted used book stores since I was a kid, looking for “cool stuff ”—and along with vintage paperbacks with great cover art and books of/about comics, art instruction books have always been something I’ve sought. My best find? A hardcover copy of Andrew Loomis’ Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth, in dust jacket, for the princely sum of $6.00. Of course that was twenty years ago, and you’re unlikely to find that essential volume at so cheap a price these days. But you never know what you may find, and I still haunt the shops just in case a rare gem pops up at a bargain price. However, we now have the advantage of something that didn’t exist twenty years ago (at least not in its present form): the Internet. With auction sites such as eBay, and sources for used books such as Half.com, a plethora of vintage “how to” volumes are offered up every day. A quick check of prices on the webpages of used/rare book dealers will drive home just how lucky we are to have these other sources available. It’s not unusual for a copy of Loomis’ Fun With a Pencil to sell in the $40.00 range on eBay, while one used book dealer is asking for almost $700.00 for a copy! I suspect that copy will remain in inventory for many years to come. The books I’ve been picking up seem to fall mostly into the following categories: correspondence course volumes, cartooning books, anatomy/figure drawing books, general drawing/painting instruction and specialty titles (How to Draw Horses, etc.). Some of them have struck me as great fun on a collectible level, but with little valuable information—some have had little to recommend them at all—and still others have had me wondering where they have been all my life, so full of

ABOVE: From Fun With a Pencil by Andrew Loomis.

incredible advice and information that I can’t help but wish I’d had them in my library thirty years ago. My intention here is to sort through this three-foot-tall stack of books sitting by this desk, and point you in the direction of the ones that you may find useful, and direct you away from a few that might be a waste of your time and money. This is by no means a complete list of worthwhile art instruction books. There are many volumes I don’t own that I’m certain are worth having (see sidebars for recommendations by other artists). I’m just going to share with you the information I do have. Let’s look first at some correspondence school volumes. The cartooning field has a long history with correspondence schools. Biographies of early newspaper strip artists will often mention that they took instruction from the Landon or Federal Schools. I have a bound copy, two-and-a-quarter inches thick, of the Federal Schools’ Modern Illustration (Including Cartooning) lessons, and while it does contain some solid advice on figure drawing, perspective and more, I’m afraid that, by a hair, this one falls into the collectible category. There are contributions from cartoonists as notable as Winsor McCay, William Donahey and Frank King—and illustrators the likes of Parrish, Gibson and Russell—and an excellent section on animal drawing by Walter J. Wilwerding (more on him later)—but much of the technical advice (“Zinc Half-tones Versus Copper”), and most of the styles presented here (lots of “big-foot” cartooning as in Sidney Smith’s The Gumps) are too out-of-date to be of

TERRY BEATTY

much help to today’s working cartoonist. A number of cartoonists have created their own cartooning courses—one of them was Paul Robinson, who drew the teenage gag strip Etta Kett. His two-volume Professional Syndicate Cartooning for Greater Profits from 1958 is a fascinating look at how he created his strip, full of sweet examples of his funky artwork (lots of pretty girls—always a plus, in my book). Good stuff here on coming up with gags, laying out a strip, etc.—but all for a kind of comic strip that doesn’t really exist anymore. Another one for the collectible category. The king of the correspondence courses is, of course, that offered by the Famous Artists Schools. Silver Age comic book readers fondly recall the back cover ads for the school with the portrait of Albert Dorne (and later Norman Rockwell) at work in his studio, inviting us to be a professional artist. What some may not know is that there were a variety of courses offered by the school. You might be surprised to read that I am not going to send you in search of the three volume cartooning course. Despite some wonderful contributions from comic strip giants Milton Caniff and Al Capp, this too is a wee bit too dated to be of much use to the current cartoonist. One notable exception is the lesson on drawing “pretty girls” by advertising artist

BOOK REVIEWS

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 55

TERRY BEATTY

BOOK REVIEWS

ABOVE: A lesson by Robert Fawcett from the FAS Painting Course. Fawcett was one of the founding members and had a volume devoted to his work.

Joe King (no joke—that’s his name), an excellent tutorial on how to draw a fetching female figure. There is a great demand for these hard-to-find volumes among collectors of Caniff and Capp—boosting prices on Internet auctions into the hundreds for a full set. And without making any value judgements or comments about copyright law, I will note that there are photo56 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

copy reproductions of these out there that sell for much less…. What I will send you after is the FAS commercial art course. I understand these volumes were updated over the years. I have the 1960 edition, and have no details on what may have been changed in later printings—but this version is a “must have, double-bag item,” as we fanboys used to say. The first two books of this three volume set contain more worthwhile drawing advice than you are likely to find anywhere else I know. Clear, concise lessons on figure drawing, animal anatomy, composition, various drawing techniques, and much more are presented with examples of work by the school’s founders, Robert Fawcett, Al Parker, Jon Whitcomb, Austin Briggs, etc.—though for me, the “star” of the books is Albert Dorne—good lord, could that man draw! Unlike the (excellent) painting course, which is aimed at the amateur artist, the commercial art course is clearly designed for the professional who is looking to improve the quality of his work. Despite a large amount of outdated material in Volume Three (printing techniques and such), these books get my highest recommendation. Thankfully there are many copies out there, and can often be gotten at internet auction for around $30.00 a volume—sometimes cheaper if purchased separately. This is a huge bargain when one considers that the folks who took the course paid hundreds of dollars to do so. Of course, you’ll no longer be able to send the lessons in to the school to have them graded as the original students did, but that shouldn’t stop you from searching out these remarkable volumes. The painting course is worth having, but does repeat much of the content of the commercial art course, so if you’re only going to chase after one of them, get the commercial art course. There is also a “Young People’s” version of the painting course, which I actually took as a kid in the early 1970s. Well, to be truthful, I did the first few lessons and then flaked out and didn’t finish the course. Yes, I’m a Famous Artists Schools drop-out! But looking through the portions of the course I still have, I must say it still leaves me cold—heavy on design and concept (“Cut out these shapes and make a design”) and light on actual drawing/painting advice. I think if

BOOK REVIEWS I’d had the commercial art course instead, I’d have gone the distance. Though I still don’t know why my parents didn’t kill me for wasting their money by not completing the lessons I did have…. Often confused with the Famous Artists Schools course is the one offered by Art Instruction, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota (a direct descendant of the Federal School). This is the one with the matchbook ads that invited you to draw the cartoon turtle or the pirate. Unlike the oversized three-ring binder volumes from FAS, the Art Instruction course presented its material in booklet form, ranging from a flimsy 12 pages

TERRY BEATTY

(How to Draw the Arm) to a fairly hefty 72 (Design and Decoration). I have a small selection of these booklets, and they range from terribly outdated (Reproduction Processes) to lovely and inspiring (Book and Magazine Illustration, with color plates by Frank Schoonover and others) to a superb sixty page tome on animal drawing by the school’s VP Walter J. Wilwerding (I told you we’d get to him again). The figure drawing booklets are okay, but not essential. My advice on these? Just pick up the volumes with subject matter that interests you. In general, they are not in the same league as the FAS material—but there is good stuff here if you pick and choose. Do make sure they have the inserts with the color plates! Lots of these seem to come up for auction quite regularly. I was lucky to find a big stack at an antique mall for $2.25 a booklet—and I always recommend antique shops as a good source for “lucky finds.” Most of the books I have that are specifically about cartooning fall into the collectible/outdated category. Who could resist a book as funky as Draw Comics! Here’s How by George Carlson? But if you followed all his advice, you’d end up drawing like a 1930s’ “big foot” artist, and there’s not a lot of call for that anymore (no matter how much I might still be attracted to that style). Panel cartoonist Lawrence Lariar and strip cartoonists Dave Breger (Mr. Breger) and Carl Anderson (Henry) all wrote books on cartooning—each fun and fascinating—but only from an historical/nostalgic perspective. Jack Hamm’s Cartooning the Head and Figure is too far into bigfoot territory, too— though his (still in print!) books on figure drawing and animal drawing get very high marks

LEFT: From Laugh and Draw by Jefferson Machamer.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 57

TERRY BEATTY

BOOK REVIEWS

ABOVE: One of the very educational tutorials from Loomis’s Fun with a Pencil. LEFT: Alex Raymond’s drawing lesson from A Complete Guide to Drawing, Illustration, Cartooning and Painting.

from me. The “All American” Art Cartooning, published by the Higgins Ink Company (!) in 1944 is full of wonderful examples of strip art (Frank King, Al Capp, V. T. Hamlin, etc.), and as such makes a great collectible book, but the cartooning advice is so basic (and again, dated) that I don’t suggest it as a learning tool. Likewise for the extremely long-titled tabloid-sized These Top Cartoonists Tell How They Create America’s Favorite 58 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

Comics. This 1964 volume devotes an over-sized page each to 39 cartoonists, printing a photo, sample drawing and brief bio and summary of working methods—wonderful to look through, but you won’t learn much in the way of technique, as the deepest the working methods section goes is (for example) to tell us that Roy Crane uses Craftint board and Hank Ketcham a #170 pen point—not quite revelatory. One of my favorite cartooning “how to” books is Laugh and Draw with Jefferson Machamer. Machamer was a panel cartoonist, mostly for “girlie” magazines. His rough and tumble broads are clearly influenced by the work of Russell Patterson, but while Patterson’s glamorous ladies dressed in gowns and sipped cocktails, Machamer’s dames more likely hung out at the corner tavern and guzzled beer— and if their broad shoulders were any indication, would win an arm wrestling match with any guy in the bar. Half of this book is a collection of panel cartoons—the other half a “how to draw” book. And I like his frenetic, crazy drawing so much, that it almost doesn’t matter that, while he gives some solid advice about working methods, much of his drawing instruction is just plain wrong! Machamer’s section on drawing the head is just so off-base and wacky that it would never work for anyone but him—though it somehow does work for him. He also headlines a page with this advice: “Technical Anatomy Study is Unnecessary.” This is a prime example of a wonderful book by a remarkably stylish cartoonist, whose working methods are so personal, that they probably won’t translate well to anyone else. But if you do happen to stumble across a copy of this 1946 rarity in a used bookstore, I recommend it, if only to see that sometimes breaking the rules works. And hell, his cartoons are damn funny. Gene Byrnes was the creator of the comic strip Reg’lar Fellers, a popular strip in its day, but not one that’s much-remembered now. Byrnes also authored several similarly titled books on art. The Complete Guide to Cartooning (1950) is a fabulous volume, packed full of images and commentary by dozens of artists, from Al Capp and Milt Caniff to Earl Oliver Hurst (who details the creation of a Collier’s cover illustration). Hal Foster supplies a progressive study of a Prince Valiant panel—and the two pages of Alex Raymond promotional drawings from Rip

BOOK REVIEWS

TERRY BEATTY

Kirby are worth the price of admission all by themselves. I’ve never seen Raymond’s linework printed so crisply and precisely as on these two incredible pages—not a “how to,” but worthy of hours of study just the same. Jefferson Machamer even contributes a few pages! A Complete Guide to Drawing, Illustration, Cartooning and Painting (1948) is an entirely different book—but just as sweet. Like Byrnes’ other volume, it is a compendium of examples and commentary by and about a multitude of artists—in many ways similar to the format of the Federal Schools booklets—but with content that remains more valid to today’s artists. Alex Raymond provides a progressive study of a head and of a female nude (in pencil!), portions of books on anatomy by Vanderpoel and Bridgman are reprinted, a seven-page section details the creation of a Dean Cornwell painting, showing many preliminary studies—need I say more? In my younger days, I used to sneer at the very notion of bringing a Walter Foster art instruction book into my house, thinking they were all over-sized pamphlets on tole painting and clown portraits, written for little old ladies who want to play at painting on Sundays. But I now have a pretty good stack of ’em, and have discovered that there is more than fruit baskets, barns and seascapes to be found within their covers. A number of books on cartooning were published by Foster, my favorite being the first (undated, but no doubt circa 1930s) edition of Modern Cartoon. Later editions have entirely different contents (largely by Hal Rasmussen), but this first version (in the early 8 x 14 inch format) has some sweet artwork by Russell Patterson, Clifford McBride, Vernon Grant—and even a page full of Tarzan daily strips by Hal Foster. A few “nudey cutie” cartoons from the French magazine Vive le Soileil round out the book, proving that students of cartoon art have been attracted to the nude female figure long before DRAW! began publication. Preston Blair’s Animation is an undisputed classic, while Howard Broughner’s Cartooning Jobs for Beginning Cartoonists is an outdated bit of goofy fun. Vintage Foster books are often full of lovely nude studies—often under covers that offer no hint at the expanse of female flesh presented within. Drawing in Charcoal by Charles LaSalle features a beaming child’s face on the cover and starts off with page after page of excellent character faces—but hit the centerfold, and there’s a stunning full-color pastel pin-up nude— followed by many more (in black-and-white). Foster used a number of pin-up artists to author his books. Merlin Enabnit produced several, though none on pin-up art. Earl MacPherson did do a book on his pastel pin-up techniques—long out-of-print and usually quite expensive. Fritz Willis’ books for Foster include DRAW! • WINTER 2003 59

TERRY BEATTY

BOOK REVIEWS

ABOVE: Alex Raymond’s pretty girls illustration from A Complete Guide to Drawing, Illustration, Cartooning and Painting.

Faces and Features, The Nude, The Model and Art Secrets and Shortcuts—all worthwhile, and fairly easy to find at low prices. Figures from Life by Robert Duflos and Walter Foster and Drawing the Figure by Russell Iredell are also worth picking up, particularly if the price is right. A few other Walter Foster books that I’ve found to be useful include Perspective Drawing by Ernest Norling, The Cats 60 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

in Action by (him again!) Walter J. Wilwerding (hey, the guy was good!) and Children by Walter Foster himself. An early book in the slimmer old format, Children contains terrific, easy to understand info on body proportions and how they change as children age, all illustrated with graceful clean-line drawings by Foster. Foster later published How to Draw and Paint Children by Viola French— which despite its “icky cute” cover art, is a damn good book, too. Anatomy and figure drawing studies are of primary importance to the cartoonist, particularly those working in an illustrational or “adventure” style. George Bridgman, who, for over thirty years, lectured on figure drawing and anatomy at the Art Student’s League in New York, authored numerous books on the subject. For some (including me) his notions of “wedging, passing and locking” can be a bit tough to wrap your head around—but who said something worth learning was always going to be easy? Bridgman’s books have been through multiple printings over the years—and are thankfully in good supply on the used book market. I’d suggest the compendium Bridgman’s Complete Guide to Drawing from Life as your best bet— 350 pages of brilliance. The Human Figure by J.H. Vanderpoel, originally published in 1907, but with multiple printings, including fairly recent ones, is rightly considered a classic. Victor Perard’s Anatomy and Drawing from 1928 (with later editions often up for grabs in the $10.00 range) is a remarkable little volume chock full of well-presented, easy-to-absorb diagrams and drawings—with hardly any text other than labels for the anatomy studies. Equally focused on figure drawing and anatomical studies, few books are as concise and thorough as this—put this near the top of your list of books to find. However, don’t jump at buying Perard’s other drawing books, which are mainly aimed at the amateur artist. I get a little nervous about figure drawing books that only take an anatomical approach, fearing that too much study of that sort of book can result in the sort of “skinless” figures that amateur would-be super-hero artists sometimes draw. David K. Rubins’ The Human Figure could lead you down that road if you’re not careful—but his diagrams and text are so good and detailed that I have to recommend it anyway. Rubins’ figures

stand in static poses throughout the book— only coming to life in the wonderfully expressive endpapers—making one wish he’d cut loose a little more within the body of the book I’d only caution against drawing your figures with every muscle as carefully delineated as in Rubins’ figures. Remember that these static figures are meant as diagrams for studying anatomy—and that when you draw figures in a comic book story, they shouldn’t look like a medical chart. Those muscles are under the skin, and in real life tend not to have a hard outline. The opposite approach is taken by Arthur Zaidenberg in his 1939 book, Anyone Can Draw! He eschews anatomy studies and looks more at the basic forms of the figure. His art deco-era drawings of people and wildlife are quite lovely—though his women often have the sort of “big fine legs” that would set Robert Crumb a’quivering—no “pin-up” types in Zaidenberg’s work— these women are healthy. You might find his approach too simplified and may disagree with his philosophy, but you can’t argue with his results. This one is certainly worth picking up, especially considering the large supply that seems to exist and the cheap price it tends to go for—mine was eight bucks—and I’ve seen it cheaper. One book I won’t recommend—at least not for its drawing advice, is Drawing the Human Figure Using Photographs (1965) by photographer Bunny Yeager and artist Tony Floreani. Floreani’s drawings and tutorials are, sorry to say, nothing to write home about. The high prices placed on this rare volume are strictly for Bunny Yeager’s gorgeous pin-up photography—and the many shots of the legendary Bettie Page to be

TERRY BEATTY

BOOK REVIEWS

ABOVE: An example of Loomis’ Informal Subdivision theory from Creative Illustration.

found within its covers. Though there is this shot of Bettie in Egyptian garb on the beach, that I must admit is one of the most inspirational things I’ve ever seen... For sheer clarity and ease of learning, you can’t beat Walt Reed’s The Figure: An Artist’s Approach to Drawing and Construction (1976—but still in print!). Largely culled from the figure drawing material in the DRAW! • WINTER 2003 61

BOOK REVIEWS

TERRY BEATTY LEFT: A great threetone illustration reproduced in black-andwhite here (the grey being an olive color) by Aldren A. Watson, from Forty Illustrators and How They Work.

MIDDLE: A wash illo by Earl Oliver Hurst, also from Forty Illustrators and How They Work.

Famous Artists Schools course, this volume is one of the best on its subject available. Just go get a copy. And speaking of the best, I suppose it’s time we get to Andrew Loomis. Loomis’ volumes on art, Fun With a Pencil, Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth, Drawing the Head and Hands, Creative Illustration, Eye of the Painter and Successful Drawing (later revised as Three-Dimensional Drawing) are among the most sought-after art instruction books on the used/rare books market—and for good reason. Loomis, a remarkably talented commercial artist, was also a great teacher. His gorgeous drawings and friendly text both inform and inspire. The most common of his books seem to be Fun With a Pencil, Figure Drawing, and Drawing the Head and Hands. The latter two tend to sell fairly regularly at auction in the $70.00 dollar range, a great deal less than the list price from rare book dealers—and are worth every penny (and more). Cream of the crop, these are—and it is something close to a crime that they are not currently in print, except for the severely truncated versions offered by Walter Foster, and a German-text edition of Figure Drawing (which Bud Plant books has been selling recently). Fun With a Pencil is often dismissed by potential buyers since, on first look, it seems to be aimed at the amateur artist (“How to Draw Funny Faces” and all)—and to a large extent it is—but Loomis can’t seem to cut any corners, and also 62 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

BELOW: From Victor Perard’s Anatomy and Drawing.

includes information on head construction (his “ball and plane” method), perspective, composition, light and shadow, etc., that could go a long way toward turning an amateur pro. Do be aware that the book contains caricatures of ethnic stereotypes that, while commonplace in the year of its first publication

(1939), are unacceptable today. I can’t, and won’t defend those few offending images, but will overlook them in order to glean the knowledge contained therein. I’ve just been lucky enough to get my hands on copies of Creative Illustration and Successful Drawing. Both titles had been selling fairly regularly on eBay in the $80.00 to $90.00

BOOK REVIEWS

quite afford and re-sold it after reading it to get my money back. Some might suggest making a photocopy to keep, while others would frown on that notion (including many photocopy shops). I’ll never tell. A similarly insightful read is On the Art of Drawing by Robert Fawcett (1958), which the artist/author jokingly (or maybe not so jokingly) claims he considered calling the book “Drawing Made Difficult.”

range, but recently shot up to around $130.00 to $150.00 each. That higher price, though, has seemed to lure many more copies of them (particularly Creative Illustration) out of the woodwork, so there is a bit of a silver lining to that inflationary cloud. Fellow artists who own copies consider even the suggestion that they part with them to be akin to “fightin’ words.” Loomis’ lessons on subjects such as color, tone, composition, and perspective are presented in such a thorough, yet straightforward manner, that even a quick flip through these books will have you wishing you’d owned them from the beginning of your studies. Too many art instruction books (particularly in the field of cartooning) seem to be written by people who have had no particular success in the arts— other than getting “how to” books published— and so offer very little worthwhile information to the working professional. Loomis was a successful commercial artist who knew the problems and challenges other artists would be facing, and shared his knowledge whole-heartedly. Jam-packed with essential information and stunningly beautiful drawings (and paintings, in the case of Creative Illustration), these are the absolute top of the line. Eye of the Painter (1961), published posthumously, is Loomis’ treatise on “The Elements of Beauty” (and sub-titled as such). Not so much a “how to” book, but rather a thoughtful and insightful commentary on the subject of beauty in art. Illustrated primarily with the work of other artists, it does contain a few Loomis paintings and diagrams—and a great photo of him on the dust jacket flap, posed in front of a lovely painting of a typically gorgeous Loomis “all-American” girl (the painting itself can be found in the pages of Creative Illustration). The most rare of the Loomis books, often selling around $250.00 at auction, this is an eye-opening read. I bought a copy I couldn’t

TERRY BEATTY

ABOVE: Joe King’s pretty girl tutorial from the Famous Artist School’s Cartoon Course.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 63

TERRY BEATTY

BOOK REVIEWS

ABOVE AND BELOW: Two illustrations by Albert Dorne, one of the founding members of the Famous Artist School.

For inspiration, I recommend 22 Famous Painters and Illustrators Tell How They Work (1964) by Mary Anne Guitar. In this case, the artists profiled are the faculty of the Famous Artists School. The similarly-themed Forty Illustrators and How They Work (1946) by Ernest W. Watson is even more inspiring, with nearly double the artists, and more samples of the work of the artists profiled. A few of the artists featured in Watson’s book are Boris Artzybasheff, Harrison Cady, Dean Cornwell,

64 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

Albert Dorne, Harvey Dunn, Earl Oliver Hurst, Norman Rockwell and the always amazing N.C. Wyeth—not an easy volume to lay your hands on—but well worth the search. And should you need a figurative kick in the pants to get you back up and studying, the commentary by E.B. Kaminski in his slim, but oh so worthwhile volume How to Draw—A Logical Approach (1949) will do the job. I hope that at some point DRAW! will be able to reprint Kaminski’s comments in their entirety, as this long out of print book is a goldmine of inspiration. His simple “beginners’” lessons on the laws of light, forms, perspective and textures should be required reading for any art student, but few will have the chance as long as the book remains largely unavailable. It is a shame that many of these wonderful volumes are long out of print, but the artist who is serious about expanding his knowledge and abilities will be greatly rewarded by the results of the hunt for these often elusive tomes. Internet auctions and booksellers, used book shops, antique shops, library sales, even yard sales can often turn up the most elusive books at just the right price. Keep searching. One word of warning: beware of musty or moldy copies of older books. I know many people (myself included) who have become terribly ill from handling them. If you tend to be allergic, or have breathing problems, take care to ensure that any vintage books you buy are clean and free of such irritants. Another possibility, if you don’t mind only borrowing the books in question, is your local library. You might be surprised to discover what wonderful books have been sitting on the shelves waiting for you to check them out. And if your library has none of these books on site, look into the possibility of

TERRY BEATTY

BOOK REVIEWS

inter-library loan. I checked with my local system and discovered that most of the Loomis books were available—and amazingly, rarities such as Jack Faragasso’s Students’ Guide to Painting and Donald Graham’s Composing Pictures were in the system as well. Neither of those books has shown up on eBay in months of searching—and the available copies from rare book dealers are astronomically priced (from $200.00 to $750.00— or higher). If you haven’t used your library card in a while, perhaps it’s time to put it back in service. Oh! I have one more book sitting here—goes under the specialty books category—Animal Drawing and Painting (1956) by (you guessed it!) Walter J. Wilwerding! Hands down, this is the “go to” guy when you need info on drawing wildlife. And besides, I just love saying “Wilwerding.” Don’t you? Let me leave you with the words of Andrew Loomis: “Drawing is vision on paper. More than that, it is individual vision, tied up with individual perception, interest, observation, character, philosophy, and a host of other qualities all coming from one source. It cannot, and to be successful should not, be anything else.” Now get out there and DRAW! TOP: Earl Oliver Hurst from the The Complete Guide to Cartooning.

ABOVE: From Animal Drawing and Painting.

ABOVE:From the Walter T. foster series, How to Draw and Paint Children by Viola French. LEFT: Anyone Can Draw! by Arthur Zaidenberg.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 65

BOOK REVIEWS

TERRY BEATTY

LEFT: A Dean Cornwell preliminary drawing from Forty Illustrators and How They Work.

WHAT SHOULD BE ON YOUR BOOKSHELF? DRAW! asked a cross-section of some of today’s top artists working in comics and animation what books they recommend and consider essential for every artist’s bookshelf. Bill Wray—MONROE, MAD MAGAZINE: Jack Hamm’s cartooning book is corny but good. John Pike, Vanderpoel, Bridgman, Fawcett, Kautzky. Matt Haley—VAMPIRELLA: Well, aside from the ever-popular Loomis books, I’d cite Vanderpoel’s Human Figure book (published by Dover, out of print) and Jack Hamm’s How To Draw Animals. Also maybe Burne Hogarth’s Dynamic Light And Shade. Ronn Sutton—ELVIRA: Illustrator’s Figure Reference Manual— Chartwell Books [1987], Illustrator’s Reference Manual (Hands & Faces), Chartwell Books [1989], Fairburn Figures & Hands (Male-Full Figure), Fairburn Publishing [1979], Fairburn Figures & Hands (Female-Full Figure), Fairburn Publishing [1979], Fairburn Figures & Hands (Situation Poses & Hands) Fairburn Publishing [1979], Fairburn Faces & Heads (Males) Fairburn Publishing [1976], Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration—Park Lane [1979], The Book Of A Hundred Hands—George B Bridgman—Dover, Draw 50 Horses—Lee J Ames—Doubleday [1984] GRAHAM NOLAN—THE PHANTOM: Other than the Loomis Books, I like Bridgman’s Complete Guide to Drawing from Life. He simplifies the figure into wedges and basic shapes and there is a dynamism to it. A must for comic book artist wannabes. Jamar Nichols—DETECTIVE BOOGALOO HIP-HOP COP: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain—Betty Edwards

66 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

Terry Beatty is the inker of DC Comics’ newly relaunched BATMAN ADVENTURES series, marking the beginning of his seventh year on DC’s animated-style Bat-books. His previous credits include several collaborations with Max “Road to Perdition” Collins—notably a twelveyear run as artist and cocreator of MS. TREE. Collins and Beatty created WILD DOG for DC, and their JOHNNY DYNAMITE: UNDERWORLD mini-series is being collected as a trade paperback by AiT/PlanetLar. Terry regularly contributes painted covers to SCARY MONSTERS magazine, and in his “spare time” sculpts and produces a line of figural “pin-up” model kits called “Beatty’s Beauties.”

DRAW!’s Online Art Supply Stores Index This is a list of online art supply stores I have used and ordered from with success.—Ande Parks, The Crusty Critic. ASWexpress.com An extensive site, which features some hard-to-find products. Product: Faber-Castell Pitt Pen Set Forms of payment accepted: Mastercard and Visa Note: Order took two weeks to arrive via First Class Mail. For the high minimum shipping charge, one might expect at least Priority Mail delivery. comictones.com They specialize in tone screens and markers, seemingly catering to the manga market. Product ordered: Neo Piko pens Forms of payment accepted: Mastercard and Visa Note: They included a nice T-shirt free... a bit tight on this critic, but nice, nonetheless. danielsmith.net A large site, with an extensive selection. Product ordered: 3-pen set of Pigma Microns Forms of payment accepted: All major credit cards Order arrived in 5 days. Note: The site does not automatically calculate shipping costs. misterart.com Very large and well-organized site. Products ordered: Sakura Brush Marker, set of Alvin TechLiners. Forms of payment accepted: All major credit cards Order arrived in 5 days. Note: They offer a VIP membership, which costs $25. Extra discounts available to VIP members. Worthwhile if you plan to order a lot. scrapbooksuperstore.com A scrapbook specialty store which carries Zigs and Pigmas. Product ordered: 5-pen set of Zig Millenniums. Forms of payment accepted: Mastercard, Visa and Discover (no American Express) Order arrived in 6 days. John Poole Pen Nibs: john@poolej.freeserve.co.uk http://www.poolej.freeserve.co.uk/homepage.html 16, Brookfield Crescent, Harrow, HA3 OUT, England PHONE/FAX: (44) 020 8204 5315 Order by mail order via fax, email or even snail mail. A unique collection of pen nibs, many of which can only be obtained from them. Dick Blick http://www.dickblick.com/categories/inks/ A great source for inks.

Have a store or a source for art supplies or reference you’d like to recommend? Drop us a line at: mike@drawmagazine.com

ONLINE REFERENCE SOURCES Need a picture of something, or reference for a comic or illustration? Maybe you’ll find it here: City Skylines References Links to various city skylines. http://www.rgimages.com/location.htm Free Foto Tons of FREE photos for reference! http://www.freefoto.com Free Logos in Vector Format Thousands of free logos in vector (.ai) format, for PC or Mac... many major western corporations, also Russian ones. http://www.logotypes.ru/default_e.asp Law Enforcement and EMS References Supplies and Gear http://www.safetyl.com Medical Supplies References pics http://www.tvmsonline.com Taxi References http://www.checkercabs.org/pics/ Vehicle References Lots of images for various vehicles. http://www.motorcities.com/main_vehicletypes.html Dinosaur References Links to tons of dinosaur sites: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/1638/plinks.html History References Brief info but broad: http://www.historyplace.com

DRAW!’s Crusty Critic Ande Parks returns next issue with a review of white-out, opaque pens and correction markers.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 67

IF YOU LIKE DRAW!, DON’T MISS #

THE NEW MAGAZINE FOR WRITERS OF COMICS, ANIMATION AND SCIENCE-FICTION! Issue #3 ships in February, featuring writing tips by the top names in comics! • All-new Incredible Hulk cover art by MIKE DEODATO, JR.! • New interviews with and articles by BRUCE JONES, AXEL ALONSO, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, KURT BUSIEK, FABIAN NICIEZA, and STEVEN GRANT! • DENNY O’NEIL’S Insider Tips on comics writing! • Reviews of books on writing, plenty of UNSEEN ART, and more!

c. cters, In l Chara Marve 3 0 0 2 M&© Hulk T

(Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH • 80 pages) Four-issue subscriptions: $20 Standard, $32 First Class (Canada: $40, Elsewhere: $44 Surface, $60 Airmail).

TwoMorrows. Bringing New Life To Comics Fandom. TwoMorrows Publishing • 1812 Park Drive • Raleigh, NC 27605 USA • 919-833-8092 • FAX: 919-833-8023 • e-mail: twomorrow@aol.com • www.twomorrows.com

DRAWING HANDS

BRET BLEVINS

DRAWING HANDS BY BRET BLEVINS

he human hand is a miracle of function and design—an instrument of wonderful dexterity, strength and grace. Our opposable thumb is generally credited with the rise of Homo Sapiens as the dominant species of Earth—the hand’s sensitive flexibility enabled and encouraged the human mind to create technology and reshape our environment, and continues to do so. When drawing hands, you are engaged with a unique marvel of the natural world—approaching them with awe will help you understand their complexity. Although knowledge of anatomy is crucial, the subject is too deep to cover in this article—I suggest using the material I’m presenting in conjunction with a good anatomy book designed for artists. Our focus in these pages is the capacity of the hand to express human emotion. The face and two hands form a triad of visual expression that is capable of remarkably subtle communication—as every child quickly learns, interior thought and emotion is often revealed more clearly by these silent means than through speech. Indeed, the amazing structures that crown our arms can literally place language in the hands of mute or deaf people who learn to talk by signing. It’s useful to keep this image of “speaking hands” in mind when posing the hand gestures in your figure drawings—what are the hands in your image “saying”? Always remember their importance as expressors of interior emotions, thoughts, intentions and attitudes, and compose the hands as condensed visual “dialogue” that punctuates the character’s body language. Of course, in many cases the position of the hands will be determined by the need to

explain a physical action—there is limited emotional nuance to be gleaned from the gripping of a hammer or the motion of unscrewing a jar lid—but even here you can find opportunities to convey character and personality if you are attentive. Watch someone eat leisurely, savoring the food, and compare their actions to someone on the run scarfing down a hurried meal— the difference in body language is startling. For a more whimsical contrast, compare the demeanor of a child eating vegetables to that of a child eating ice cream! Beginning with a sketch done from life, I’ve made a second drawing that clarifies the forms by simplifying detail and accenting the important contours, the third drawing is a pure “rhythm chart,” and the fourth is an arrow diagram of the big sweeping rhythms of each pose. Train your vision to notice and “feel” this

underlying movement—think of it as visual music—learn to hone in on the melody lines first, and worry about flourishes and detail later. As I mentioned above, the rhythms of the hand echo those of the entire body—everything is a flowing connection, as these two whimsical sketches illustrate.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 69

DRAWING HANDS

BRET BLEVINS

RIGHT: The essential means of achieving this clear communication is, as always, an understanding of rhythm. Grasping the rhythm of the hand (which echoes the rhythms of the entire body) requires close, intuitive observation. Fortunately, the hands are almost always unclothed and exposed, so opportunity for study is everywhere—including the ends of your own arms! A small hinged cosmetic mirror is an invaluable aid for drawing your own hands. Here are a few studies of hand rhythms.

BELOW and RIGHT: Surprisingly, I often see figure drawings that haven’t integrated the hands with the body—take care that a character’s hands agree with the rest of his or her body. A gaunt person doesn’t usually have plump hands, and vice versa. A bricklayer’s hands don’t belong on a hairdresser, etc. ABOVE: Watching (and sketching) as patrons eat and drink in a cafe, musicians play instruments, carpenters work, children play with toys—examples to study are endless. Especially instructive for our purposes, though, is to watch people talking and thinking with their hands. You can often read a person’s thoughts by watching what their hands are doing. In these examples notice how the action of the hands immediately suggest an interior state of mind, and how shifting the hands changes the character’s attitudes and thoughts.

70 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAWING HANDS

BRET BLEVINS

LEFT: To strengthen the expressive clarity of a drawn hand, an awareness of our old friend silhouetting (see DRAW! #1-4) is crucial—though hands present challenges particular to their structure. From many viewpoints the fingers inevitably overlap, forming an indistinct “clumped” silhouette— care must be taken here to prevent confusion, or simple lack of drama (visual interest). Often this requires a strong accent on the gesture’s defining fingers within the shape of the entire hand.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 71

DRAWING HANDS

BRET BLEVINS

A second problem specific to the hands are the loose folds of thin or padded flesh that permit the fingers and palm their extreme range of movement—when the edges of these folds are intensified by the heightened contrast inherent to line drawing, the hands can easily appear withered, gnarled, or too old for the rest of the body they belong to. Here a kind of “interior silhouetting” of the forms is needed—we’ll use the term streamlining. In essence this means accenting the edges or directional lines that most succinctly convey the rhythm of the entire gesture, and minimizing or deleting those that don’t— notice how the angles of the forms have been sharpened by slightly exaggerating the change of direction—making the shapes easier to “read.” Even where the need for clarification is slight or subtle, careful streamlining and “sharpening” can strengthen a drawing.

72 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAWING HANDS

BRET BLEVINS

ABOVE: Once these notions become a habit of mind, drawing the complexities of the human hand is much less intimidating, and after you’ve filled a few sketchbooks with accurate observation, it becomes easier to “animate” the expressive power of the hand in the realm of stylized character designs. In these examples the basic visual gestalt of the human hand has been mutated into mild or extreme variations, but they convey the intended meaning of the character’s emotion or attitude because the underlying natural rhythms and gestures “read” as the expressions of a more-or-less human consciousness.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 73

DRAWING HANDS

74 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

BRET BLEVINS

DRAWING HANDS

BRET BLEVINS

Following is a gallery of examples that depend heavily on careful “hand acting” and accurate knowledge of anatomy and gesture to achieve the desired effect. Study them closely and imagine how weak, unconvincing hands would sabotage the believability of the images—poorly realized hands will always mar an otherwise competent figure drawing. Get to know them inside out! See you next time!

Bret DRAW! • WINTER 2003 75

BRET BLEVINS

DRAWING HANDS

In this humorous Archie comic book page, the character’s hands are conveying a great deal of important storytelling. Note the contrast between the lively gestures of the girls and the forced nonchalance of the boys—their pocketed hands communicate attitude even though we can’t see them! In the last three panels the silly villain and his sidekick do most of their acting with hand gestures. In this opening page of the story we already have a clear sense of the exaggerated slapstick comedy we can expect, largely “sold” by hand acting.

76 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

BRET BLEVINS

DRAWING HANDS

On this page the hands are engaged in specific actions particular to the ball game—the slices of precise moments building up to the final panel required clear, realistic poses and accurate drawing. The drama is enhanced in the final shot by the contrast of the naturalistic human hand and the oddly distorted (but still recognizable in form and gesture) alien hand.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 77

DRAWING HANDS

BRET BLEVINS

BELOW: The hands in these sections of a storyboard are stylized into the simpler forms demanded by animation, but the accurate, recognizably human gestures clearly convey the actions and attitude of the character. Because Bizarro is an awkward, misshapen Frankenstein-like caricature of the heroic Superman, these gestures are particular to his personality. Look through each frame and imagine Superman in exactly the same poses—he would appear limp-wristed, graceless and unheroic. Always know who you’re drawing and express their personality through every gesture.

78 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

DRAWING HANDS

BRET BLEVINS

BELOW: In these bits of Static Shock! storyboard, note how carefully the hands echo, embellish or strengthen the emotions expressed in the character’s face and body.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 79

BRET BLEVINS

DRAWING HANDS

80 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

BRET BLEVINS

DRAWING HANDS

LEFT and ABOVE: Here Tarzan’s bumbling father-inlaw struggles with the discomfort of expressing his romantic inclinations. The hands play a very important supplementary role to the acting conveyed by the face and head. Imagine the scene without the hands—a great deal of subtle character information would be lost. In these frames the clarity of the Professor’s body language depends almost entirely on the accents provided by the hand gestures. RIGHT: This comic book panel is full of human emotion—conveyed largely by hands—they even allow us to infer the discomfort of the two characters whose faces are cropped.

DRAW! • WINTER 2003 81

letters

Please send your letters to: PO BOX 2129 UPPER DARBY PA 19082 or e-mail: mike@ drawmagazine.com VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT: http://www.drawmagazine.com ALSO VISIT OUR MESSAGE BOARD AT: http://66.36.6.76/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi

Space is tight this issue so we’ll get right to it! Please keep our mail bag full either here or on the DRAW! message board. Now onto our letters.... Hello Mike, I have spent the last few days reading DRAW! #4 and am utterly impressed and glad I bought the issue. Reading the incredibly LONG interview with Erik Larsen was like striking gold. It is great to read about a professional artist with boundaries between his art and family life; one who has confidence in his work, keeps it fun, and works under his own guidelines. Just great. Please keep the format the same (interviews and articles that read in consecutive pages—why do other publications insist on making us turn to page 90 for the rest of the piece?). It would be fantastic to read something about or by Kevin O’Neill from The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. Or how about Scott McDaniel as he moves from Batman to Superman? Also, a contest for non-published artists would be fun, perhaps some creative assignment to draw one panel or something. The prize doesn’t have to be anything more than to be printed in an issue. That would be a honor for most artists out there. Oh well, there are my thoughts, but whatever you do I’m sure it will be fine. I’m glad to have discovered all of TwoMorrows publications; you have given me a lot to think about. Jaye (via the Internet) Thanks Jaye, I might do some sort of drawing assignment for you readers in the future. But I think that is something I’d do on the DRAW! website so it would be easier to have a real back-and-forth with the participants. Dear Mr. Manley, DRAW! #4 lived up to the high standards set by the previous three issues. The interviews with Erik Larsen and Kevin Nowlan did a comprehensive job at not only showcasing the working methods and history of the artists, but also gave readers a glimpse into the unique personalities which so strongly shape their distinctive styles. Especially appreciated was the printing of their work in various stages of completion with the artists’ own specific commentaries. There is no bigger treat for art fans to see the thinking and problem solving processes that go into finishing a piece. Paul Rivoche’s design article was a double whammy of good stuff with gorgeous production pieces and engrossing theories on how to develop imaginative concepts into working practice. Ande Parks’ hardware review on paper was informative as always. An additional boon was the way in which the specific criteria for the reviews was listed at the beginning of the column, giving the readers a concise set of factors that led to Mr. Parks’ final assessment. Dave Cooper’s article on coloring line art with Photoshop made good use of the color section of the magazine. A great benefit of articles like this one is that even if you don’t use the exact same methods, the exposure to other people’s techniques can often lead to experimentation with unfamiliar aspects of Photoshop. It can spur ideas on how to develop better and more efficient ways for creating art in the computer. “Composing Figures” by Bret Blevins did a great job in showing how to use human anatomy to aid in the storytelling process of comics, and the substantial amount of his lush pencils used to illustrate his points was an added bonus. Keep up the great work! Mei-Yi Chun, F. Ortolland, France Thanks Mei-Yi.

82 DRAW! • WINTER 2003

Dear Mike : Wow! This was by far your best issue! The Erik Larsen interview showed him to be a contemporary comic book master, which I always thought he was. His comments on King Kirby were right on. His favorite books, FF #44-102, are indeed the best run in the history of comics, although I focus on FF #52-67 as being the best of the best. Paul Rivoche’s “Dreaming Design” installment just blew me away. I read that 5 times to absorb the detail he was lecturing on. I went to the websites recommended by the Crusty Critic and found them to be great, as advertised. Thanks Ande! And Bret Blevins certainly bookended this outstanding issue with a rock solid tome on composition. This also I read 5 times... and will read 10 times more! Blevins’ brief but hard-hitting article should be the standard introduction to comic book composition from this point on. What a great article!! So, obviously, I’m very, very pleased with DRAW! as it has developed so far. I didn’t have high expectations when you first hit the market, but you sure surprised me with the quality so far. Keep up the good work!! Michael Greczek Apex One Graphics Michael, glad we’ve exceeded your expectations. I agree with the comments on Bret’s article. This is really vital info that anyone working in comics or animation, or who composes pictures of any type should memorize. Glad you also found Ande’s recommendations useful. TO: Mike@actionplanet.com Wow! I just came back from my vacation! I went to San Paulo/Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and delighted myself with laying out in the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema sipping a Pina Colada! One of the greatest experiences was to actually ride and later pilot a boat called the Deusada Liberdade on the Bay Sepetiba, and making brief stop overs at islands Martins & Maria Russa. Anyway, I am back and ready to do my escapism through comic books and found your magazine DRAW! #4 Summer 2002 a sheer joy! I’m a super amateur artist... well, I mean I don’t draw worth my weight in beans. I enjoy reading various artists concepts on how to draw professionally. Enjoyed Erik Larsen’s feature and now I know what he means when he says he blows something up. That is a neat trick of the trade on using that photocopy machine. I was completely blown away by Kevin Nowlan’s artwork, he has an exceptional eye for details! Thank you DRAW! for taking me on another vacation through your magical magazine of comic book artwork! Also, I tell my artists at my website that they should always pick up the latest issue of DRAW! for a good resource tool! Many of my artists display their handiwork on our gallery section at Jazma! Sincerely yours, Paul Dale Roberts, President Jazma Universe Online! http://www.jazmaonline.com

Thanks Paul. I want to go on vacation with you next time! Well, that does it for this issue. Again, we need letters, we crave letters here at DRAW! We read each and every one, so please keep them coming via e-mail or snail mail!

NEXT ISSUE! DRAW! #6

ALSO • Working in the digital realm in with cover artist Celia Calle • an inking tutorial by Editor, Mike Manley! • adding light and shadow to your work by bret blevins and product reviews with Ande Parks and introducing DRAW!’S new ComiCS SECTION and more!

88 pages with COLOR SECTION, $5.95 IN STORES IN APRIL! The Mike Manley Sketchbook Is now in stock and ready to ship. It is limited to 500 copies. It’s 48 drawing jam-packed pages for only $10 US. Send a check or money order (preferred) to my mail box: PO BOX 2129, Upper Darby, PA 19082, or my Paypal account by sending money to Action Planet Inc. mike@actionplanet.com DRAW! Returns with another spectacular lineup OF TOP TALENT AND sporting a terrific cover and separate interviews by former Ren & Stimpy cellmates Bill (Monroe) WRAY and Stephen DeStefano.

If you’re viewing a digital version of this publication, PLEASE read this plea from the publisher! his is COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL, which is NOT INTENDED FOR FREE T DOWNLOADING ANYWHERE. If you’re a print subscriber, or you paid the modest fee we charge to download it at our website, you have our sincere thanks—your support allows us to keep producing publications like this one. If instead you downloaded it for free from some other website or torrent, please know that it was absolutely 100% DONE WITHOUT OUR CONSENT, and it was an ILLEGAL POSTING OF OUR COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. If that’s the case, here’s what you should do: 1) Go ahead and READ THIS DIGITAL ISSUE, and see what you think. 2) If you enjoy it enough to keep it, DO THE RIGHT THING and purchase a legal download of it from our website, or purchase the print edition at our website (which entitles you to the Digital Edition for free) or at your local comic book shop. We’d love to have you as a regular paid reader. 3) Otherwise, DELETE IT FROM YOUR COMPUTER and DO NOT SHARE IT WITH FRIENDS OR POST IT ANYWHERE. 4) Finally, DON’T KEEP DOWNLOADING OUR MATERIAL ILLEGALLY, for free. We offer one complete issue of all our magazines for free downloading at our website, which should be sufficient for you to decide if you want to purchase others. If you enjoy our publications enough to keep downloading them, support our company by paying for the material we produce. We’re not some giant corporation with deep pockets, and can absorb these losses. We’re a small company—literally a “mom and pop” shop—with dozens of hard-working freelance creators, slaving away day and night and on weekends, to make a pretty minimal amount of income for all this work. We love what we do, but our editors, authors, and your local comic shop owner, rely on income from this publication to stay in business. Please don’t rob us of the small amount of compensation we receive. Doing so will ensure there won’t be any future products like this to download. TwoMorrows publications should only be downloaded at

www.twomorrows.com

Add $1.50 for shipping. Over seas orders add $7.00 US

THE BEST IN BOOKS FROM TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING

PANEL DISCUSSIONS

TOP ARTISTS DISCUSS THE DESIGN OF COMICS Top creators discuss all aspects of the DESIGN OF COMICS, from panel and page layout, to use of color and lettering: • WILL EISNER • SCOTT HAMPTON • MIKE WIERINGO • WALTER SIMONSON • MIKE MIGNOLA • MARK SCHULTZ • DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI • MIKE CARLIN • DICK GIORDANO • BRIAN STELFREEZE • CHRIS MOELLER • MARK CHIARELLO If you’re serious about creating effective, innovative comics, or just enjoying them from the creator’s perspective, this guide is must-reading! (208-Page Trade Paperback) $24 US

STREETWISE

TOP ARTISTS DRAWING STORIES OF THEIR LIVES An unprecedented assembly of talent drawing NEW autobiographical stories:

THE COMIC BOOK ARTIST COLLECTION, VOL. ONE

THE COMIC BOOK ARTIST COLLECTION, VOL. TWO

Reprints the Eisner Award-winning COMIC BOOK ARTIST #1-3, plus over 50 NEW PAGES of features and art:

Second volume in the series, reprinting the Eisner Award-winning COMIC BOOK ARTIST #5-6 (spotlighting 1970s DC and Marvel comics), plus over 50 NEW PAGES of features and art:

• Barry WINDSOR-SMITH • C.C. BECK • Sergio ARAGONÉS • Walter SIMONSON • Brent ANDERSON • Nick CARDY • Roy THOMAS & John SEVERIN • Paul CHADWICK • Rick VEITCH • Murphy ANDERSON • Joe KUBERT • Evan DORKIN • Sam GLANZMAN • Plus Art SPIEGELMAN, Jack KIRBY, more! Cover by RUDE • Foreword by EISNER

• An unpublished story by JACK KIRBY! • An interview with NEAL ADAMS about his SUPERMAN VS. MUHAMMAD ALI book (including unused art)! • Unpublished BERNIE WRIGHTSON art! • An unused story by JEFFREY JONES! • Extensive new ALAN WEISS interview (including unpublished art), & more!

(160-Page Trade Paperback) $24 US

(228-page Trade Paperback) $26 US

EISNER AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SHORT STORY!

EISNER AWARD NOMINEE!

• New interviews with MARSHALL ROGERS, STEVE ENGLEHART, & TERRY AUSTIN on their highly-acclaimed 1970s Batman work! • An extensive look at perhaps the rarest 1970s comic of all, DC’s CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE, showcasing unused stories from that decade! (208-page Trade Paperback) $24 US

E! L SA $6! N O VE SA ALTER EGO: THE CBA COLLECTION Reprints the ALTER EGO flip-sides from the out-of-print COMIC BOOK ARTIST #1-5, plus 30 NEW PAGES of features & art: • Special color cover by JOE KUBERT! • All-new rare and previously-unpublished art by JACK KIRBY, GIL KANE, JOE KUBERT, WALLY WOOD, FRANK ROBBINS, NEAL ADAMS, and others! • STEVE DITKO on the creation of SPIDER-MAN, ROY THOMAS on the birth of THE INVADERS, and more! (160-page Trade Paperback) $20 US

SENSE OF WONDER Acclaimed historian Bill Schelly gives you AN INSIDER’S TOUR of comics fandom of the 1960s & ’70s. The fans, the comicons, the fanzines—they’re all here!!

MR. MONSTER

HIS BOOKS OF FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, VOL. ZERO MR. MONSTER is back with a new book collection featuring TWELVE TWISTED TALES of Forbidden Knowledge, featuring:

• Introduction by ROY THOMAS, cover by DICK GIORDANO! • Share Bill’s encounters with FREDERIC WERTHAM, STEVE DITKO, BOB KANE, JIM SHOOTER, and more! • Over 150 photos and illustrations by KIRBY, DITKO, NEWTON, EISNER, C.C. BECK, KALUTA, KRENKEL, COCKRUM, SINNOTT, GIL KANE and others!

• Over 30 pages of ALL-NEW Mr. Monster art and stories by MICHAEL T. GILBERT! • Collects the hard-to-find MR. MONSTER stories from A-1, CRACK-A-BOOM! and DARK HORSE PRESENTS! • The lost Mr. Monster NEWSPAPER STRIP! • New 8-page FULL-COLOR STORY by KEITH GIFFEN & MICHAEL T. GILBERT!

(216-page Trade Paperback) $20 US

(136-pg. Paperback) SALE PRICE: $14 US

“I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS GUY!” Explore the lives of the partners and wives of the top names in comics, as they share memories, anecdotes, personal photos, momentos, and never-before-seen art by the top creators in comics! • ALAN MOORE • WILL EISNER • STAN LEE • GENE COLAN • JOE KUBERT • JOHN ROMITA • HARVEY KURTZMAN • DAVE SIM • HOWARD CRUSE • DAN DeCARLO • DAVE COOPER and many more! (208-Page Trade Paperback) $24 US

Prices Include US Postage. Outside the US, Add $2 Per Item Canada, $3 Per Item Surface, $7 Per Item Airmail (except Warren Companion Hardcover: add $14 Airmail)

T OU

FAWCETT COMPANION THE BEST OF FCA

COMIC BOOKS & OTHER NECESSITIES OF LIFE

COMIC BOOK ARTIST SPECIAL EDITION

Presenting the best of the FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA newsletter!

A collection of MARK EVANIER’s POV COLUMNS, featuring a NEW COVER and ILLUSTRATIONS by SERGIO ARAGONÉS! Includes his best essays and commentaries, plus many never before published on:

An ALL-NEW comic-book size special, previously only available to subscribers! Focuses on ’70s DC, with a BRUCE TIMM cover, and interviews with and unseen art by ADAMS, TOTH, WRIGHTSON, HEATH, KIRBY, and more!

• New JERRY ORDWAY cover! • Index of ALL FAWCETT COMICS! • Looks inside the FAWCETT OFFICES! • Interviews, features, and rare and previously unpublished artwork by C.C. BECK, MARC SWAYZE, KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, MAC RABOY, DAVE BERG, ALEX TOTH, BOB OKSNER, GEORGE EVANS, ALEX ROSS, Foreword by MARC SWAYZE, and more!

• The state of the art form (as only Mark conveys it)! • The industry’s leading practitioners (including JACK KIRBY and CARL BARKS)! • Convention-going and Mark’s old comic book club (with unforgettable anecdotes)!

(160-page Trade Paperback) $20 US

(200-page Trade Paperback) $17 US

(68-Page Special Edition) SOLD OUT!

KIMOTA! THE MIRACLEMAN COMPANION

CAPTAIN ACTION

G-FORCE: ANIMATED

THE ORIGINAL SUPERHERO ACTION FIGURE

THE OFFICIAL BATTLE OF THE PLANETS GUIDEBOOK

CAPTAIN ACTION debuted in the wake of the ’60s Batman TV show, and could become 13 different super-heroes. With over 200 toy photos, this trade paperback chronicles his history (including comic book appearances) with historical anecdotes by the late GIL KANE, JIM SHOOTER, STAN WESTON (co-creator of GI Joe, Captain Action, and Mego’s World’s Greatest Super-Heroes), and others, plus never-seen artwork by GIL KANE, JOE STATON, CARMINE INFANTINO, JERRY ORDWAY, and MURPHY ANDERSON (who provides a new cover)! Includes a color section!

The official compendium to the Japanese animated TV program that revolutionized anime across the globe! Featuring plenty of unseen artwork and designs from the wondrous world of G-FORCE (a.k.a. Science Ninja Team Gatchaman), it presents interviews and behind-the-scenes stories of the pop culture phenomenon that captured the hearts and imagination of Generation X, and spawned the new hit comic series! Cowritten by JASON HOFIUS and GEORGE KHOURY, this FULL-COLOR account is highlighted by a NEW PAINTED COVER from master artist ALEX ROSS!

(176-Page Trade Paperback) $20 US

(96-Page Trade Paperback) $20 US

Learn the behind-the-scenes secrets of ALAN MOORE’S MIRACLEMAN, from his beginnings as Marvelman, to the legal and creative hurdles during the 24-issue Eclipse Comics series, and why you never saw the final NEIL GAIMAN-scripted issue! • New MARK BUCKINGHAM cover! • Intro & back cover by ALEX ROSS! • In-depth interviews with ALAN MOORE, JOHN TOTLEBEN, NEIL GAIMAN, MARK BUCKINGHAM, GARRY LEACH, MICK ANGLO, BEAU SMITH, RICK VEITCH, and others! • UNPUBLISHED ART, UNINKED PENCILS, SKETCHES, & CONCEPT DRAWINGS (including art from the never-seen #25)! • Special COLOR SECTION! • NEVER-PUBLISHED 8-page Moore/ Totleben story, “Lux Brevis”, and an UNUSED MOORE SCRIPT! (144-page Trade Paperback) $17 US

EISNER AWARD NOMINEE!

JACK KIRBY CHECKLIST

This is the definitive checklist of Kirby’s work! Lists all his PUBLISHED COMICS in detail, plus PORTFOLIOS, UNPUBLISHED WORK, & more. It even CROSS-REFERENCES REPRINTS, making it easy to find inexpensive alternatives to the original comics! A MUST-HAVE for eBay shoppers! (100-Pages) $7 US

WARREN COMPANION

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO WARREN PUBLISHING JON B. COOKE and DAVID ROACH have compiled the definitive book on the world of Warren Publishing, the publisher of such mags as CREEPY, EERIE, VAMPIRELLA, BLAZING COMBAT, and others. Reprints the Eisner Award-winning magazine COMIC BOOK ARTIST #4 (completely reformatted), plus nearly 200 new pages: • New painted cover by ALEX HORLEY! • A definitive WARREN CHECKLIST! • Dozens of NEW FEATURES on CORBEN, FRAZETTA, DITKO and others, and interviews with WRIGHTSON, WARREN, EISNER, ADAMS, COLAN & many more! (272-page Trade Paperback) $35 US Also available as a Limited Edition Hardcover (limited to 1000 copies) signed by JIM WARREN, with custom endleaves, 16 extra pages, plus a WRIGHTSON plate not in the Trade Paperback. (288-page Hardcover) $57 US

BACK ISSUES FROM TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING ™

Edited by ROY THOMAS ALTER EGO, the greatest ’zine of the ’60s, is back & all-new, focusing on Golden & Silver Age comics & creators with articles, interviews, & unseen art. Each issue includes an FCA (Fawcett Collectors of America) section, Mr. Monster, & more!

AE #2: (100 pgs.) All-new! AE #3: (100 pgs.) ALEX ROSS AE #4: (100 pgs.) 60 years of AE #5: (100 pgs.) JSA issue! AE #6: (100 pgs.) GENE AE #7: (100 pgs.) Companion AE #8: (100 pgs.) Bio of EISNER “SPIRIT” story, cover & interview, JERRY HAWKMAN & FLASH! ROY Intvs. with SHELLY MAYER, COLAN intv., how-to books by issue to the ALL-STAR COM- WALLY WOOD, ADKINS & KANE, FOX & SCHWARTZ on ORDWAY, BILL EVERETT, THOMAS remembers GIL GIL KANE, MART NODELL, STAN LEE & KANIGHER, ALL- PANION! J. SCHWARTZ intv., PEARSON intvs., KUBERT The Atom, L. LIEBER & JACK CARL BURGOS, Giant FAW- KANE, intvs. with KUBERT, GEORGE ROUSSOS, FCA with STAR SQUADRON, MAC JLA-JSA teamups, MAC intv., FCA w/ BECK, SWAYZE, BURNLEY intvs., KANIGHER, CETT (FCA) section with C.C. MOLDOFF, LAMPERT, FOX, BECK & SWAYZE, NEW RABOY section, FCA with RABOY, FCA with BECK & & ORDWAY, MR. MONSTER, FCA, new color BURNLEY & BECK, MARC SWAYZE, & FCA with BECK & SWAYZE, INFANTINO / ORDWAY wrap- BECK & SWAYZE, COLAN & SWAYZE, BUCKLER & BECK WOOD & KUBERT covers, more! $8 US KANE covers, more! $8 US more! $8 US KUBERT covers, more! $8 US around cover, more! $8 US RABOY covers, more! $8 US covers, more! $8 US

AE #9: (100 pgs.) JOHN AE #10: (100 pgs) CARMINE AE #11: (100 pgs) Interviews AE #12: (100 pgs) GILL FOX AE #13 (100 pgs.) TITANS OF AE #14 (100 pgs.) JSA FROM AE #15 (108 pgs.) JOHN AE #16: (108 pgs.) COLAN, ROMITA intv. & gallery, plus INFANTINO intv. & art, never- with SYD SHORES, MICKEY on QUALITY COMICS, never- TIMELY/MARVEL Part Two! THE ’40s TO THE ’80s! MIKE BUSCEMA TRIBUTE ISSUE! BUSCEMA, ROMITA, SEVERIN ROY THOMAS’ dream pro- seen FLASH story, VIN SULLI- SPILLANE, VINCE FAGO, seen PAUL REINMAN Green JOE SIMON & MURPHY NASSER & MICHAEL T. BUSCEMA covers & interview, interviews, ALEX ROSS on jects! FCA with BECK, VAN & MAGAZINE ENTER- MAGAZINE ENTERPRISES Lantern art, origins of ALL- ANDERSON covers, Silver Age GILBERT covers, intvs. with unseen art, ROY THOMAS on Shazam!, OTTO & JACK SWAYZE, & TUSKA, MR. PRISES, FRED GUARDINEER, Part Two, FCA with BECK, STAR SQUADRON, FCA, MR. AVENGERS section (with ORDWAY & LEE ELIAS, never- their collaborations, plus BINDER, KURTZMAN, new MONSTER, ROMITA & DICK AYERS, FCA, MR. MONSTER, SWAYZE, DON NEWTON, MR. MONSTER on WALLY WOOD, BUSCEMA, HECK, TUSKA, & seen 1940s JSA pgs., ’70s salute to KURT SCHAFFEN- ROSS & FRADON/SEVERIN BERGER, & more! $8 US covers, more! $8 US GIORDANO covers! $8 US more! $8 US MONSTER, more! $8 US more! $8 US THOMAS) & more! $8 US JSA, & more! $8 US

IN INGH! M CO ARC M

IN INGL! M I CO APR

I ING ! M CO MAY

AE #17: (108 pgs.) LOU FINE AE #18: (108 pgs.) STAN AE #19: (108 pgs.) DICK AE #20: (108 pgs.) TIMELY/ AE #21: (108 pgs.) IGER STU- AE #22:(100 (108pgs.) pgs.) EVERETT & AE #23: (108 pgs.) Two AE #24: (108 pgs.) NEW ❏ #7: Companion overview & art, ARNOLD GOLDBERG interview & art, SPRANG interview & art, MARVEL focus, INVADERS DIO with art by EISNER, FINE, KUBERT interviewed GIL unseen Golden Age WONDER X-MEN intvs. with STAN LEE, issue to the ALL-STARbyCOMDRAKE & MURPHY ANDER- plus KIRBY, DITKO, HECK, JERRY ROBINSON on FRED overview with KIRBY, KANE, MESKIN, ANDERSON, CRAN- KANE & NEAL ROY WOMAN stories examined, COCKRUM, CLAREMONT, LEN PANION! JULIEADAMS, SCHWARTZ SON interviews, plus EISNER, AYERS, ROMITA, BUSCEMA, RAY, BOB KANE, CARMINE ROBBINS, BOB DESCHAMPS DALL, CARDY, EVANS, THOMAS on teamups, Sub-Mariner, intv., JLA-JSA MAC BOB FUJITANI intv. Archie/ WEIN, ARNOLD DRAKE, JIM CRANDALL, DAVIS & EVANS’ EVERETT, WALLY WOOD’S INFANTINO, ALEX TOTH, intv., panel with FINGER, “SHEENA” section, THOMAS COLAN, RABOY, BUSCEMA, FCA with SEVERIN, BECK & MLJ’s JOHN ROSENBERGER SHOOTER, MORT MESKIN non-EC action comics, FCA, Flash Gordon, FCA, KIRBY & WALLY WOOD, FCA, SPRANG BINDER, FOX, & WEISINGER, on the JSA, FCA, DAVE WOOD, FCA, BECK & EVERETT SWAYZE, BUCKLER & BECK & VICTOR GORELICK intv., profiled, FCA, covers by FCA, rare art, more! $8 US COCKRUM & MESKIN! $8 US LOU FINE cover, more! $8 US SWAYZE covers, more! $8 US & RAY covers, more! $8 US FCA, rare art, more! $8 US STEVENS cover, more! $8 US covers, more! $8 US US more! $8

Edited by JON B. COOKE COMIC BOOK ARTIST, 2000-2002 Eisner Award winner for “Best ComicsRelated Magazine,” celebrates the lives & work of great cartoonists, writers, & editors from all eras through in-depth interviews, feature articles, & unpublished art.

CBA #7: (132 pgs.) 1970s CBA #9: (116 pgs.) CHARL- CBA #10: (116 pgs.) WALTER CBA #11: (116 pgs.) ALEX CBA #12: (116 pgs.) CHARL- CBA #13: (116 pgs.) MARVEL CBA #14: (116 pgs.) TOWER MARVEL! JOHN BYRNE, PAUL TON COMICS: PART ONE! SIMONSON, plus WOMEN OF TOTH & SHELDON MAYER! TON COMICS OF THE 1970s! HORROR OF THE 1970s! Art/ COMICS! Art by & intvs. with GULACY, DAN ADKINS, RICH DICK GIORDANO, PETER THE COMICS! RAMONA TOTH interviews, unseen art, Rare art/intvs. with STATON, interviews with WOLFMAN, WALLY WOOD, DAN ADKINS, BROWN, STEVE BUCKLER, DOUG MOENCH, MORISI, JIM APARO, JOE FRADON, MARIE SEVERIN, appreciations, checklist, & BYRNE, NEWTON, SUTTON, COLAN, PALMER, THOMAS, LEN JIM MOONEY & STEVE GILL, MCLAUGHLIN, GLANZ- TRINA ROBBINS, JOHN more. Also, SHELLY MAYER’s ZECK, NICK CUTI, a NEW E- ISABELLA, PERLIN, TRIMPE, SKEATES, GEORGE TUSKA, GERBER, new GULACY cover MAN, new GIORDANO cover, WORKMAN, new SIMONSON kids, the real life SUGAR & MAN strip, new STATON MARCOS, a new COLAN/ new WOOD & ADKINS covers, SPIKE! $9 US cover, more! $9 US & more! $9 US more! $9 US cover, & more! $9 US PALMER cover, more! $9 US more! $9 US

CBA #15: (116 pgs.) LOVE & CBA #16: (132 pgs.) ’70s CBA #17: (116 pgs.) ARTHUR CBA #18: (116 pgs.) COSMIC CBA #19: (116 pgs.) HARVEY CBA #20: (116 pgs.) FATHERS CBA #21: (116 pgs.) THE ART CBA #22: (116 pgs.) GOLD ROCKETEERS! Art by & intvs. ATLAS/SEABOARD COMICS! ADAMS & CO.! ART ADAMS COMICS OF THE ’70s! Art by COMICS! Art by & intvs. with & SONS! Art by & intvs. with OF ADAM HUGHES! Art, KEY COMICS! Art by & intvs. with DAVE STEVENS, LOS Art by & interviews with interview & gallery, remem- & intvs. with JIM STARLIN, SIMON & KIRBY, WALLY the top father/son teams in interview & checklist with with RUSS MANNING, WALLY BROS. HERNANDEZ, MATT ERNIE CÓLON, CHAYKIN, bering GRAY MORROW, ALAN WEISS, ENGLEHART, WOOD, AL WILLIAMSON, GIL comics: ADAM, ANDY, & JOE HUGHES, plus a day in the life WOOD, JESSE SANTOS, WAGNER, DEAN MOTTER, ROVIN, AMENDOLA, HAMA, GEORGE ROUSSOS, GEORGE AL MILGROM, LEIALOHA, KANE, SID JACOBSON, FRED KUBERT & JOHN ROMITA SR. of ALEX ROSS, JOHN BUSCE- MARK EVANIER, DON GLUT, new STEVENS/HERNANDEZ new CÓLON & KUPPERBERG EVANS, new ART ADAMS ’60s Bullpen reunion, new RHOADES, MITCH O’CONNELL & JR., new ROMITA & MA tribute, new HUGHES new BRUCE TIMM cover, more! $9 US cover, more! $9 US covers, more! $9 US cover, more! $9 US STARLIN cover, more! $9 US cover, more! $9 US KUBERT covers, more! $9 US cover, more! $9 US

E N SSU! G I Y! I N I L L R M A RI CO BRUA FINN AP I FE CBA #23: (116 pgs.) MIKE CBA #24: (116 pgs.) COMICS CBA #25: (116 pgs.) ALAN MIGNOLA SPOTLIGHT, plus OF NATIONAL LAMPOON with MOORE’S ABC COMICS with JILL THOMPSON: Sandman to GAHAN WILSON, BODÉ, NEAL MOORE, KEVIN NOWLAN, Scary Godmother! Mignola ADAMS, FRANK SPRINGER, GENE HA, RICK VEITCH, J.H. INTERVIEW & ART GALLERY, ALAN KUPPERBERG, BOBBY WILLIAMS, SCOTT DUNBIER, extensive CHECKLIST, new LONDON, MICHAEL GROSS, JIM BAIKIE, and NOWLAN & cover, & more! $9 US more! $9 US WILLIAMS covers! $9 US

COMICOLOGY

Edited by BRIAN SANER LAMKEN COMICOLOGY, the highlyacclaimed magazine about modern comics, recently ended its fourissue run, but back issues are available, featuring never-seen art & interviews.

CC #1: (100 pgs.) BRUCE CC #2: (100 pgs.) MIKE CC #3: (100 pgs.) CARLOS CC #4: (116 pgs., final issue) TIMM cover, interview & ALLRED interview & portfolio, PACHECO interview & portfolio, ALL-BRIAN ISSUE! Interviews sketchbook, JEPH LOEB inter- 60 years of THE SPIRIT, 25 ANDI WATSON interview, a look with BRIAN AZZARELLO, view, LEA HERNANDEZ, years of the X-MEN, PAUL at what comics predicted the BRIAN CLOPPER, BRIAN MANYA, USAGI YOJIMBO, 60 GRIST interview, FORTY future would be like, new color MICHAEL BENDIS, BRIAN years of ROBIN THE BOY WON- WINKS, new color ALLRED & PACHECO & WATSON covers, BOLLAND, huge BOLLAND portfolio, & more! $8 US DER, & more! $8 US GRIST covers, & more! $8 US & more! $8 US

Edited by MIKE MANLEY

Edited by JOHN MORROW

DRAW! is the professional “How-To” magazine on comics, cartooning, & animation. Each issue features indepth interviews & stepby-step demonstrations from top comics professionals on all aspects of graphic storytelling.

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR celebrates the life & career of the “King” of comics through interviews with Kirby & his contemporaries, feature articles, & rare & unseen Kirby artwork. Now in tabloid format, the magazine showcases Kirby’s art at even larger size.

DRAW #1: (108 pgs. with DRAW #2: (116 pgs.) “How- DRAW #3: (80 pgs.) “How-To” DRAW #4: (92 pgs.) “How-To” DRAW #5: (88 pgs.) “How-To” color) Professional “How-To” To” demos & interviews with demos & interviews with DICK demos & interviews with ERIK demos & interviews with mag on comics & cartooning, GENNDY TARTAKOVSKY, GIORDANO, BRET BLEVINS, LARSEN, KEVIN NOWLAN, BRIAN BENDIS & MIKE with art demos by GIBBONS, KLAUS JANSON, JERRY ORD- CHRIS BAILEY, MIKE MAN- DAVE COOPER, BRET OEMING, MIKE WIERINGO, ORDWAY, BLEVINS, VILLA- WAY, BRET BLEVINS, PHIL LEY, new column by PAUL BLEVINS, new column by MARK McKENNA, BRET GRAN, color BLEVINS cover HESTER, ANDE PARKS, RIVOCHE, reviews of art sup- PAUL RIVOCHE, color section, BLEVINS, PAUL RIVOCHE, & more! $8 US STEVE CONLEY, more! $8 US plies, more! $8 US more! $8 US color section, more! $8 US

TJKC #18: (68 pgs.) MARVEL issue! Intvs. with KIRBY, STAN LEE, ROY THOMAS, JOHN ROMITA, JOHN BUSCEMA, MARIE SEVERIN, HERB TRIMPE, unseen Kirby art, Kirby/Sinnott cover. $8 US

TJKC #20: (68 pgs.) KIRBY’S TJKC #21: (68 pgs.) KIRBY, TJKC #22: (68 pgs.) VIL- TJKC #23: (68 pgs.) TJKC #24: (68 pgs.) BATTLES! TJKC SIMON TJKC #26: (72 pgs.) GODS! TJKC #27: (72 pages) KIRBY ❏ #7:#25: (100(100 pgs.)pgs.) Companion WOMEN! Interviews with GIL KANE, & BRUCE TIMM LAINS! KIRBY, STEVE RUDE, Interviews with KIRBY, KIRBY’S original art fight, JIM & KIRBY! SIMON, & COLOR NEW GODS concept INFLUENCE Part One! KIRBY issue to theKIRBY, ALL-STAR COMKIRBY, DAVE STEVENS, & intvs., FAILURE TO COMMU- & MIKE MIGNOLA interviews, DENNY O’NEIL & TRACY SHOOTER interview, NEW JOHN SEVERIN interviews, drawings, KIRBY & WALTER and ALEX ROSS interviews, PANION! JULIE SCHWARTZ LISA KIRBY, unused 10-page NICATE (LEE dialogue vs. FF #49 pencils, FAILURE TO KIRBY, more FF #49 pencils, GODS #6 (“Glory Boat”) CAPTAIN AMERICA pencils, intv., JLA-JSA teamups, MAC SIMONSON interviews, FAIL- KIRBY FAMILY Roundtable, story, romance comics, Jack’s KIRBY notes), SILVER STAR COMMUNICATE, KOBRA, FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE, pencils, FAILURE TO COM- unused BOY with EXPLORERS RABOY, FCA BECK & URE TO COMMUNICATE, all-star lineup of pros discuss original CAPTAIN VICTORY screenplay, TOPPS COMICS, ATLAS MONSTERS! unused 10-page SOUL LOVE MUNICATE, more! Kirby/ story, history of MAINLINE SWAYZE, BUCKLER & BECK BIBLE INFLUENCES, THOR, Kirby’s influence on them! MR. MIRACLE, more! $8 US Kirby / Timm cover. $8 US story, more! $8 US screenplay, more! $8 US unpublished art, more! $8 US Kirby/Stevens cover. $8 US Mignola cover. $8 US COMICS, more!$8$8USUS covers, more!

TJKC #28: (84 pgs.) KIRBY TJKC #29: (68 pgs.) ’70s TJKC #30: (68 pgs.) ’80s TJKC #31: (84 pgs.) TABLOID INFLUENCE Part Two! Intvs. MARVEL! Interviews with WORK! Interviews with ALAN FORMAT! Wraparound KIRBY/ with MARK HAMILL, JOHN KIRBY, KEITH GIFFEN & RICH MOORE & Kirby Estate’s ADAMS cover, KURT BUSIEK KRICFALUSI, MIKE ALLRED, BUCKLER, ’70s COVER ROBERT KATZ, HUNGER & LADRONN interviews, new Jack’s grandkids, career of GALLERY in pencil, FAILURE DOGS, SUPER POWERS, MARK EVANIER column, VINCE COLLETTA, more! TO COMMUNICATE, & more! SILVER STAR, ANIMATION favorite 2-PAGE SPREADS, Kirby/Allred cover. $8 US Kirby/Janson cover. $8 US work, more! $8 US 2001 Treasury, more! $13 US

TJKC #32: (84 pgs.) TABLOID! KIRBY interview, new MARK EVANIER column, plus Kirby’s Least Known Work: DAYS OF THE MOB #2, THE HORDE, BLACK HOLE, SOUL LOVE, PRISONER, more! $13 US

TJKC #33: (84 pgs.) TABLOID TJKC #34: (84 pgs.) TABLOID! TJKC #35: (84 pgs.) TABLOID! ALL-FANTASTIC FOUR issue! JOE SIMON & CARMINE GREAT ESCAPES with MISTER MARK EVANIER column, mini- INFANTINO interviews, MARK MIRACLE, comparing KIRBY interviews with everyone who EVANIER column, unknown & HOUDINI, Kirby Tribute worked on FF after Kirby, STAN 1950s concepts, CAPTAIN Panel with EVANIER, EISNER, LEE interview, 40 pgs. of FF AMERICA pencils, KIRBY/ BUSCEMA, ROMITA, ROYER, PENCILS, more! $13 US TOTH cover, more! $13 US & JOHNNY CARSON! $13 US

N GI ! MIN L I O C APR IN INGARY! M CO BRU FE TJKC #36: (84 pgs.) TABLOID ALL-THOR issue! MARK EVANIER column, SINNOTT & ROMITA JR. interviews, unseen KIRBY INTV., ART GALLERY, FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE, more! $13 US

IN INGL! M CO APRI

TJKC #37: (84 pgs.) TABLOID TJKC #38: (84 pgs.) TABLOID HOW TO DRAW THE KIRBY KIRBY: STORYTELLER! MARK WAY issue! MARK EVANIER EVANIER column, JOE SINcolumn, MIKE ROYER on ink- NOTT on inking, SWIPES, talks ing, KIRBY interview, ART with JACK DAVIS, PAUL GALLERY, analysis of Kirby’s GULACY, HERNANDEZ BROS., art techniques, more! $13 US ART GALLERY, more! $13 US

IN INGARY! M CO BRU FE

Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH WRITE NOW!, the mag for writers of comics, animation, & sci-fi, puts you in the minds of today’s top writers and editors. Each issue features writing tips from pros on both sides of the desk, interviews, sample scripts, reviews, and more.

WN #1: (88 pgs.) MARK WN #2: (96 pgs.) ERIK WN #3: (80 pgs.) DEODATO WN #4: (80 pgs.) Interviews BAGLEY cover & interview, LARSEN cover & interview, JR. Hulk cover, intvs. & articles and lessons with WARREN BRIAN BENDIS & STAN LEE STAN BERKOWITZ on the by BRUCE JONES, AXEL ALON- ELLIS, HOWARD CHAYKIN, interviews, JOE QUESADA on Justice League cartoon, TODD SO, JIMMY PALMIOTTI, KURT PAUL DINI, BOB SCHRECK, what editors really want, TOM ALCOTT on Samurai Jack, LEE BUSIEK, FABIAN NICIEZA, DIANA SCHUTZ, JOEY CAVADeFALCO, J.M. DeMATTEIS, NORDLING, ANNE D. BERN- STEVEN GRANT, DENNY LIERI, STEVEN GRANT, DENNY O’NEIL, more! $8 US more! $8 US STEIN, & more! $8 US O’NEIL, more! $8 US

US funds only, drawn on a US bank. Prices include US Postage. PER ITEM: Add $2 Canada, $3 Surface, $7 Airmail. Read excerpts & order online: www.twomorrows.com

NOW SHIPPING FROM TWOMORROWS! SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

COMIC BOOK ARTIST #23: MAGIC OF MIKE MIGNOLA!

JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR #36: THOR’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY!

ALTER EGO #21: IGER STUDIO AND THE JSA!

• NEW HELLBOY COVER by MIKE MIGNOLA! • Career-spanning MIGNOLA INTERVIEW! • Possibly the most remarkable gallery of RARE AND UNSEEN MIGNOLA ART ever published! • JILL THOMPSON interviewed, from Sandman to Scary Godmother! • HARLAN ELLISON talks comics in a lengthy interview! • JOSÉ DELBO speaks in our classic artist showcase, plus our regular features and more!

With pages of KIRBY’s UNINKED THOR PENCILS plus:

• DAVE STEVENS COVER and “SHEENA” section with art by FRANK BRUNNER and other “good girl” artists! • Inside the Golden Age Iger Shop with art by EISNER, FINE, CRANDALL, MESKIN, CARDY, EVANS, & others! • ROY THOMAS on the JSA & ALL-STAR SQUADRON, with art by GIL KANE, JACK KIRBY, ALEX TOTH, and JERRY ORDWAY! • MICHAEL T. GILBERT and MR. MONSTER, FCA with BECK, SWAYZE, SCHAFFENBERGER, & more!

(Edited by JON B. COOKE • 116 pages) $9 US POSTPAID (Canada: $11, Elsewhere: $12 Surface, $16 Airmail).

WRITE NOW! #2: THE NEW MAG FOR WRITERS OF COMICS, ANIMATION, & SCI-FI Get practical advice and tips on writing from top pros on both sides of the desk, including: • ERIK LARSEN on writing/drawing Savage Dragon! • STAN BERKOWITZ on scripting the Justice League show! • STEVEN GRANT offers 10 rules for comics writers! • TOM DeFALCO shows the nuts & bolts of plotting! • PLUS: LEE NORDLING, TODD ALCOTT, and more! (Edited by DANNY FINGEROTH • 96 pages) Four-issue subscriptions: $20 Standard, $32 First Class (Canada: $40, Elsewhere: $44 Surface, $60 Airmail).

• KIRBY THOR COVERS inked by MIKE ROYER and TREVOR VON EEDEN! • Never-published 1969 KIRBY INTERVIEW! • Interview with JOE SINNOTT about his THOR work! • JOHN ROMITA JR. discusses his work on THOR! • NEW REGULAR COLUMN by MARK EVANIER! • Huge THOR ART GALLERY, “Tales of Asgard” explored, “FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE,” & more! (Edited by JOHN MORROW • 84 tabloid pages) Four-issue subscriptions: $36 Standard, $52 First Class (Canada: $60, Elsewhere: $64 Surface, $80 Airmail).

(Edited by ROY THOMAS • 108 pages) Twelve-issue subscriptions: $60 Standard, $96 First Class (Canada: $120, Elsewhere: $132 Surface, $180 Airmail). FOR SIX-ISSUE SUBS, JUST CUT THE PRICE IN HALF!

“I HAVE TO LIVE WITH THIS GUY!” TRADE PAPERBACK

DRAW! #4: THE HOW-TO MAG ON COMICS & CARTOONING!

Writer Blake Bell explores the lives of the partners and wives of the top names in comics, as they share memories, anecdotes, personal photos, momentos, and never-before-seen art by the top creators in comics!

• Cover, interview, and techniques by KEVIN NOWLAN! • Penciling discussion and demo with ERIK LARSEN! • BRET BLEVINS shows how to compose figures! • Step-by-step digital coloring with DAVE COOPER! • Designing for comics and animation by PAUL RIVOCHE! • Plus reviews of the best art supplies, links and more!

• ALAN MOORE • WILL EISNER • STAN LEE • GENE COLAN • JOE KUBERT • JOHN ROMITA • HARVEY KURTZMAN • DAVE SIM • HOWARD CRUSE • DAN DeCARLO • DAVE COOPER and many more! (208-Page Trade Paperback) $24 US (Canada: $26, Elsewhere: $27 Surface, $31 Airmail).

(Edited by MIKE MANLEY • 88 pages w/color section) Four-issue subscriptions: $20 Standard, $32 First Class (Canada: $40, Elsewhere: $44 Surface, $60 Airmail).

A NEW BOOK SERIES ON TODAY’S TOP ARTISTS!

MODERN MASTERS VOLUME ONE

ALAN DAVIS This first volume in a NEW BOOK SERIES devoted to the BEST OF TODAY'S COMICS ARTISTS presents the ultimate look at the work of a true modern master: ALAN DAVIS! • Davis’ most IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW to date, including INFLUENCES, and his VIEWS ON GRAPHIC STORYTELLING! • Deluxe SKETCHBOOK SECTION! • Huge gallery of RARE AND UNPUBLISHED DAVIS ARTWORK! • Interviews with collaborators PAUL NEARY and MARK FARMER! (Edited by ERIC NOLEN-WEATHINGTON • 128-Page Trade Paperback) SHIPS IN MARCH! $17 US Postpaid (Canada: $19, Elsewhere: $20 Surface, $24 Airmail)

PLUS NEW BOOKS ON CLASSIC ARTISTS!

BECK & SCHAFFENBERGER:

SONS OF THUNDER • A split-biography on two of comics’ greatest and most endearing artists, C.C. BECK and KURT SCHAFFENBERGER! • Co-written by FCA (FAWCETT COLLECTORS OF AMERICA) editor P.C. HAMERLINCK and MARK VOGER! • Filled with UNPUBLISHED ARTWORK from CAPTAIN MARVEL, LOIS LANE, and more, plus rare photographs! • Foreword by KEN BALD!

(Written by P.C. HAMERLINCK and MARK VOGER • 160-Page Trade Paperback) SHIPS IN APRIL! $20 US Postpaid (Canada: $22, Elsewhere: $23 Surface, $27 Airmail)

THE LIFE AND ART OF

MURPHY ANDERSON • Lavishly illustrated AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR of the man whose style DEFINED THE DC LOOK for a generation of fans! • Covers his career in comics, from his beginning in the MID-1940s to his glory days at DC COMICS on such characters as SUPERMAN, HAWKMAN, ADAM STRANGE, SPECTRE, THE ATOMIC KNIGHTS and beyond! • In-depth coverage of little-known syndicated comic strip work (BUCK ROGERS) and educational comics (PS MAGAZINE FOR THE MILITARY)! • Includes recollections and behind-the-scenes stories and anecdotes about LOU FINE, WILL EISNER, CURT SWAN, GIL KANE, and others he worked with—and rare art from every phase of his career, including Fiction House, Ziff-Davis, and DC Comics!

(Edited and compiled by R.C. HARVEY • 160-Page Trade Paperback) SHIPS IN JUNE! $22 US Postpaid (Canada: $24, Elsewhere: $25 Surface, $29 Airmail)

NOW SHIPPING FROM TWOMORROWS PUBLISHING

K! OO EB ID GU

LEX NEW AOVER! C ROSS

G-FORCE: ANIMATED is the official compendium to BATTLE OF THE PLANETS, the Japanese animated TV program that revolutionized anime across the globe! With unseen artwork and designs from the world of G-FORCE (aka Science Ninja Team Gatchaman), it presents interviews and behind-the-scenes stories of the pop culture phenomenon that captured the hearts and imagination of Generation X, and spawned the new hit comic series! Co-written by JASON HOFIUS & GEORGE KHOURY. 96-page FULL-COLOR Trade Paperback! NEW PAINTED COVER by ALEX ROSS! $20 Postpaid US ($22 Canada, Elsewhere: $23 Surface, $27 Airmail)

A N I M A T E D TH EO FF ICI AL

G - F O R C E :

LOOKING FOR ACTION? CAPTAIN ACTION

With more than 200 toy photos, this new Trade Paperback Book chronicles the history of CAPTAIN ACTION, the quick-changing champion who could assume the identities of 13 famous super-heroes! Included are photos of virtually every CAPTAIN ACTION product ever released, spotlights on his allies ACTION BOY and the SUPER QUEENS and his arch-enemy DR. EVIL, an examination of his comic-book appearances, and “Action Facts” that even the most-diehard CAPTAIN ACTION fan won’t know! It features a foreword, new cover, and unseen package illos by MURPHY ANDERSON, plus historical anecdotes by the late GIL KANE, JIM SHOOTER, STAN WESTON (co-creator of GI JOE, CAPTAIN ACTION, and MEGO’S WORLD’S GREATEST SUPER-HEROES), and LARRY REINER and LARRY O’DALY (formerly of IDEAL TOYS), with never-before-published CAPTAIN ACTION artwork by GIL KANE, JOE STATON, CARMINE INFANTINO, JERRY ORDWAY, and MURPHY ANDERSON! INCLUDES DELUXE COLOR SECTION!

THE ORIGINAL SUPER-HERO ACTION FIGURE

176-page Trade Paperback! NOW SHIPPING! $20 Postpaid US ($22 Canada, Elsewhere: $23 Surface, $27 Airmail)