Weekly Sketch 10/27

Haven't posted any sketches in awhile...

Big Baby

This here was a recent piece for The Stranger, an article about the Seattle PD fighting tooth and nail against new measures which will actually help the department.

Cleve Brownies

Despite the extreme unlikelihood of it happening, I nonetheless decided not to risk jinxing another Pittsburgh sports team, and to hold off on posting this until after last weekend's game.

Reverend Zip

Wouldja believe that the basic concept for the Zip Codes used by the USPS since 1963 were originally proposed in the early 1950's by a professor of church music from Richmond’s Presbyterian School of Christian Education? It's true! Though James Rawlings Sydnor was never given official credit for it's invention, the Postal Museum “tends to support his claim”. In addition to writing several still-respected books on the subject church music, he contributed to every revision of the Presbyterian hymnal between 1940 and his death in 1999. Interesting guy. From Virginia Living.

Venus Throw CD...on sale now!

Just a little FYI, 'cause some'a youse has been askin'...the Venus Throw CD is now up for sale on my webshop, if you'd like to snag yourself a copy, along with a few other new items like women's shirts and note cards. Yes, I'm Wal-Mart.

Phantom Lady

This is a character who's really spoken to me ever since I first laid eyes on her years ago in an early issue of All-Star Squadron. Can't imagine why that might be!

Penguins Christen the CEC

It's all my fault!

My sincerest apologies, fellow Pens fans...I've ascertained the reason for the disappointing results of the team's first couple games at the new Consol Energy Center. Turns out, the blame lies with me.

I began this illustration the middle of last week, fully intending to put it up here on the blog to celebrate last Thursday's opener vs. the Flyers. But I got super-busy early that day, and it ended up being all I could do to even watch the game, much less finish the drawing. Pens lose.

Then on Saturday, I selfishly elected to go to the Richmond Music Festival with the family instead of taking care of business with the illo. Pens blow a lead in the last three minutes, and lose to the Habs.

Well, that's all over now. I knew I had to man up and finish this piece if the Hockey Gods were ever gonna allow the Pens a win on their new home ice! Down two defensemen or no, this befrecktacled beauty and I are guaranteeing our first win in the CEC tonight over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I'm sorry for what I did. It won't happen again.

Saturn Girl

Saturn Girl, along with Cosmic Boy and Lightning Lad, was one of the three founding members of the Legion of Super-Heroes, and has always kind of served as a mother figure to the other legionnaires. Except of course for the period in the mid-70s when she sported this Mike Grell Kim Metzger-designed and porn star-inspired uniform, making her more of a MILF figure to the other legionnaires.

I like this drawing, but I don't love it. I have another in the works, so keep your eyes peeled.

Venus Throw

About a decade back, my friend Bruce Smith was recording a record with his noir-a-billy band The Venus Throw, and kindly asked me to create the art and design the CD package. I jumped in with both feet and came up with the following image. Not bad, but kinda pedestrian, I'll admit. Frankly, this is where my skills were at the time.

Now fast forward a bit to early 2007...Bruce had a new Venus Throw album in the works, and again asked me to make it all pretty. Instead of a jewel case, he'd be going with a cardboard digipak this time....which meant if I wanted, I could design and illustrate nearly every inch of the thing. Running with the title, "Raised Right, Gone Wrong", my idea for the cover was a girl in a school uniform, sitting in the backseat of a car with her blouse unbuttoned and drinking a tallboy. To make it a little less creepy, though, I thought I'd have a centerspread on the inside of the CD where she's getting ready for a "date", and several "costumes", including the schoolgirl outfit, are hanging in the closet.  I took a few reference photos of my friend Catherine's 1963 Ford Falcon, and did a bunch of sketches right away:

As sometimes happens, life got in the way and the project ended up geting shelved until earlier this year...Bruce finished recording back in the spring, and I didn't end up finishing the art until a few weeks back, over three years since I began! I got my copies of the CD yesterday, and I must say, the package looks pretty great. I have some quibbles about the job I did, as always, but it's great to have such a complete piece of work...and the music's pretty goddamn great too!

Dawnstar

Crafty Bastards Time!

Aw, MAN September was a brutal month! Gallons of fun, but it was all I could do to keep my head above water, seriously. So much so that this is the first chance I've had to hype my appearance at the fantastic Crafty Bastards Arts & Crafts Fair, which will be happening tomorrow in lovely Washington, DC! I'll be camped under the City Paper booth, along with my pal Kelly "Pop Idiot" Alder and all my comical wares...it's supposed to be 70 degrees and sunny, just a beautiful day, so please drop by and say hi!

Crafty Bastards program cover by the amazing Ben Claassen III