Southpawian Fury

Gokaiger

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:23:00 +0000

I watched the last episode of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (Pirate Sentai Gokaiger) yesterday, the latest Super Sentai series in Japan. I ended up loving this series so much that I thought it warranted its own blog post. If you have no idea what Sentai is, it's basically the set of Japanese superhero team series that have been adapted into Power Rangers here in the U.S. Every season the Sentai teams change, and so (sadly) must Gokaiger.

The 2011 Gokaiger series was celebrating the 35th anniversary of Sentai in Japan, so they obviously had to go all out. I'd never watched any Sentai before (though I've been a Power Rangers fan since Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers in 1993), but usually every year I'd only keep an eye on what the new outfits looked like (knowing that they'd eventually make it over to the U.S. in some new Power Ranger series). I actually distinctly remember rolling my eyes when I heard that the 2011 Sentai would be pirate-themed. Stupid pirates, I thought. Then I actually saw the uniforms, and was surprised how cool they were. But I still wasn't planning on watching the thing...

Then at Power-Con last year my friend Augie told me how freakin' cool the series was, and tipped me off on where I could download subtitled episodes. So I decided to give it a shot... and then I was hooked. I mean, hooked.

The premise of Gokaiger is that a group of space pirates are trying to find the "Greatest Treasure in the Universe," which they track down to Earth. However, they can only obtain the treasure by first acquiring the powers of the previous 34 Super Sentai teams. They end up having to battle the Space Empire Zangyack, whose invasion force wiped out the 34 Sentai teams before the Gokaiger series starts.

So basically, the Gokaigers can transform into any of the previous 34 Super Sentai teams after obtaining their powers. Want to see the team randomly transform into the Mighty Morphin' rangers to battle it out? Check. Want to see different color combinations from various teams at any given time? Check. Want to see an all blue/black/white/red/etc. team fighting it out at any given time? Check. The combinations are endless, and that's part of what makes it so fun.

But apart from that, the characters in this series are fantastic. Every one of them is likable in their own way. When Gai, the sixth member of the team, showed up, I disliked his overly enthusiastic nature for like half an episode. Then I couldn't get enough of him. He (along with Doc) ended up being my favorite characters. But I love them all, really.

I didn't want this series to end. And I can't count how many times I teared up either thinking about it ending, or seeing screengrabs from the last couple episodes and knowing that it was almost time to say goodbye. (And I would think, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME, it's just a Japanese show aimed at kids! But still, I couldn't help myself. It was too damn good.) And the last episode, which we finally watched last night, didn't disappoint. It was glorious, with balls to the wall fight scenes and a proper goodbye to our favorite characters. Sigh.

I still have two Gokaiger movies to watch that haven't been subbed yet, so at least I do still have something to look forward to. But still. I will miss this show terribly. Such a great way to get into Super Sentai. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to either give it a shot, likes Power Rangers, or is even slightly curious about Sentai.

Goodbye, Space Pirates!

Happy Xmas + Holidays + Etc.!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:01:00 +0000

It's been ages since my last blog post (as usual), so I figured I'd better get one in here before 2012 is upon us! (Plus I'm sick at the moment, and I figure I can't feel any worse sitting here in front of my laptop getting this update done...)

Above is the holiday greeting we used as a voting incentive pinup for Blue Milk Special this year as Vader and TK8008 enjoy themselves with a bit of holiday cheer. Hope everyone had a nice holiday!

Since I haven't posted in a while, here are some updates: Power-Con in Los Angeles back in September was awesome-- I had a great time and met up with so many friends I hadn't seen in years. Definitely one of the highlights of the year for me. My auction piece was bought up by pal Jon Kallis, who I'm sure will put it to good use... if he knows what's good for him. XD

While at Power-Con I was interviewed by MTV Geek. You can watch both clips (if you DARE) in which I talk about my work on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Blue Milk Special.

Part One:

Part Two:

Apart from that, Rod and I also had a great time at the Virginia Comicon in Richmond, VA in October. It's always great to meet up with friends and fans, and the VA show was no exception. Extra thanks to Matt, Suzanne and Charlie Wieringo for being such great hosts! Love you guys.

Apart from all that, work continues on BMS, though we had serious doubts as to whether or not things would keep going as they are. At the beginning of this month we had a scare with Rod's health issues (for which he's having surgery in January), and having to read nitpicky comments from readers knocking us for trivial things right in the middle of all this real life drama just didn't mix well. We questioned whether it was worth dealing with keeping BMS going at all. But in the end we had a really great response from readers (we were both totally overwhelmed by the support), that we decided to keep going, at least for now. But in order to do this, give Rod time to heal and have time to work on our own projects, we're cutting back to one strip a week beginning in 2012. But fear not, we'll still be around (I think Biggs might kill us if we weren't).

Other than that, work is progressing on a manga webcomic project that Rod and I have been planning for ages (more on that in a future update when we have more to show), I got a bloody fantastic boxed set of Rammstein's music videos and making ofs that we just finished (I did not think it was possible to love this band more than I did before, yet I was WRONG), we discovered the Japanese Sentai series Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (which I love and am obsessed with and can't say enough good things about and when it ends I will cry), and we're still continuing with our Doctor Who watching. We've made it up to the end of the 6th Doctor's first season, which has been... interesting (and not in a good way). These last few seasons have been quite the ride. But we're in it for the long haul, behind the scenes drama and all. (I'm going to eat popcorn when we watch the documentary that deals with Colin Baker's firing, though. I'm not kidding.)

So... with that finished, here's to a much better year for everyone. Bring on 2012!

Power-Con!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 02:48:00 +0000

In just a few hours I'll be on a plane bound for Los Angeles, CA where I will be a guest at the first ever Power-Con/ThunderCon, a convention devoted solely to Masters of the Universe and ThunderCats.

There is a really large and impressive guest list, and I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of friends I haven't seen in years.

There will also be a charity auction at the show, with proceeds going towards the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation. For more information on how you can bid on a piece of art (regardless of whether or not you'll be attending the con yourself), go here.

The inked piece I donated for the art auction (pictured above) measures 11" x 17" and features Stratos, Teela, He-Man, Man-At-Arms and Skeletor. I thought someone reading this blog might find it interesting to see my process as I worked, so I figured I'd leave everyone with that before I head out for my long weekend in L.A.

I've started working digitally a lot lately, so I thought it might be fun to do all of my thumbnail and roughs in Manga Studio (my drawing program of choice), so this was basically my first stage-- roughing out ideas:

Once I'd decided on this composition, I set to work fleshing it all out. I actually used several layers to get this rough piece. One was mostly for anatomy, another for adding costumes/armor, and another where I roughly laid in areas I wanted to be shadowed when I inked the final piece.

I then printed out my rough and used my light table to do the final inks by hand.

Then I spent several hours coloring the piece in Photoshop. While the black and white original inks will be auctioned off, I will have this colored version for sale at my table as prints. So if you're interested, swing on by!

And with that, I'm off to finish packing up the last of my things. See you in CA!

Bmore and VA Con Followups

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:45:00 +0000

I've been horribly behind at getting updates to the blog about the shows we've been to lately, so I thought I'd throw up a quick post with some sketches and photos and all that good stuff.

Rod and I attended the Baltimore Comic Con a few weeks back, and it was our first real show of the year. Kind of strange getting back into the swing of things, but we found our footing pretty quickly once we hit the show floor. I always love meeting and talking with people who enjoy the work we do, whether it's Blue Milk Special or some of the comic work we've done for other projects. That's always one of the highlights of the shows for me. And it's also really cool seeing some of those same faces or people we'd only just met at a previous show, but dug our work enough to come back and talk to us again. It always makes it worthwhile.

(Our table also happened to be next to the signing area where Stan Lee was camped out off and on throughout the weekend. He walked past our table a couple times, which was pretty freakin' sweet. It's one thing to read about Stan or watch him in movies and such, but seeing him in person is like tahiepaheioaghepoiahgoebngoeiahgeo29ruaeagr. Just sayin'.)

The other upside to being at these shows is seeing all of our artist/creator friends again. Always awesome catching up and hanging out with our pals! Todd Dezago, Craig Rousseau, Matt and Suzanne Wieringo, Kelly Yates, Rich Woodall, Bryan and Judy Glass, and others I've forgotten (but are no less awesome). And my buddy Jon Kallis was again on hand to help us out at our table-- he is always a huge help!

I sold out of my remaining sketchbooks, we sold a ton of prints and I did a slew of commissions (and finally got my first Harry Potter commish, which was refreshing)! Here are some examples of the commissions for the Baltimore show...

Guy Gardner:

Karl (from Perhapanauts) and Stratos (from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe). Probably my favorite commission of the show:

Han and Luke:

Remus Lupin and Sirius Black:

Vader sketch card:

Endor Rebel Trooper:

Vision:

Vegeta:

Slave Leia:

We didn't have much time to catch our breath before heading to the one-day Virginia Comicon the first weekend of September. This was our first time attending this show, and we had a lot of fun. Definitely a smaller show than Baltimore, but it was nice seeing some of our regular readers and especially hanging with the always awesome Matt and Suzanne Wieringo.

Also, I finally got to meet Charlie! I think we are best buds now. I was reading one of Matt's comic scripts and he kept me company while everyone else was downstairs:

Yep. BFFs.

I did a few commissions at this show, too, including a Cobra Commander and my first ever Star Wars vehicle commission of Slave-1:

I also drew this up, which Rod lovingly colored a few days later. It's our tribute to the new Star Wars Blu-Ray disc set:

And just like that, the VA show was over. We had a complete blast hanging out with Matt and Suzanne and dug the VA show so much that we'll be back for their Halloween show next month! More details on that soon.

Now I'm getting a few last minute things ready for Power-Con this weekend. Whew. But more on that tomorrow!

Baltimore 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:39:00 +0000

It's that time again...

Time for one of my favorite cons, the Baltimore Comic Con!

Both Rod and myself will be at the Bmore show this weekend, August 20-21. If you can make it to the show, you'll find us in Artist Alley at table A175, located at the end of one of the rows facing the signing area (bottom right hand corner of the convention floor plan). As always, I will be doing commissions sketches and we'll be selling prints of all kinds, as well as giving away Blue Milk Special postcards and milk cartons. And we'll also have a BMS exclusive Baltimore print (if I can manage to finish it in time...).

You can click here to download a larger version of the convention center floor plan.

Baltimore Comic Con is semi-local for us and it’s a pretty large two-day show that keeps growing and getting better every year. It takes place at the The Baltimore Convention Center on Saturday and Sunday, August 20 & 21, 2011. Show hours are: Saturday 10-6, and Sunday 10-5. Stan Lee will be there!

Apart from that, still been chugging away on Blue Milk Special, which has recently gone through a site makeover, and working on putting the last issue of Rob Zombie's Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock? comic series together. Also, thanks to my sister's rather ingenious birthday present of a sketch journal back in June, I've started doing daily sketches. I post all of them on my twitter account, but some of them also make their way onto Facebook. I'll add more every once in a while. They're all totally random and usually based on what I'm currently watching or reading or whatever. Check them out if you're into that sort of thing.

Oh, and if you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and check out the new trailer for the big screen adaption of The Woman in Black. The British TV movie that came out in the late 1980s is still my favorite ghost movie of all time, and I'm pretty psyched by what I'm seeing so far with the Radcliffe version. F-ing sweet.

That's it from me. Hope to see some of you this weekend!

The Reign of Pertwee

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 20:06:00 +0000

Jon Pertwee is a badass.

Just wanted to get that out of the way first.

As I mentioned in my last blog post, Rod and I have been going through the entire classic Doctor Who run, and now we're into the Third Doctor's last season. I decided when we started this journey that I was going to completely wipe out my list of favorite Doctors (I'd never seen much of William Hartnell's era, and certainly not enough to base an opinion on, so it wasn't a complete list anyway) and I'd decide as we watched each season how my new list of favorite Doctors would shake out.

I surprised myself by the time I got to the end of the Second Doctor's run by just how underwhelmed I was with him this time around, and pretty much knew that he'd end up slipping a few slots (previously he was my second favorite Doctor). Patrick Troughton seems to be a pretty popular Doctor with people nowadays, and I mean, he was way up there on my initial list, too. He's funny and quirky and likeable. But after going through his entire run (including reconstructions of missing episodes) I came to the conclusion that his popularity is probably due to the fact that a lot of his stories are, in fact, missing, including some pretty horrible ones. So most Who fans only get exposed to his better works, and they don't have to sift through the blandness of stories and companions and recycled storylines over and over.

Anyway, by the time we got into Jon Pertwee's era of Doctor Who, I was psyched. It was a breath of fresh air. One of the reasons the Third Doctor's run saved Doctor Who from cancellation back in the day is because the thing is so damned solid. There are very few stories that I'd call bad or bland, and the Third Doc also has the luxury of having an absolutely brilliant supporting cast in the way of U.N.I.T. (except for Mike Yates, who I have issues with), and some great companions. Oh, and having the the first (and best) incarnation of the Master, played by Roger Delgado, doesn't hurt either.

Also, Pertwee had that knack of kicking ass.

Indeed, this Doctor is a James Bond kind of Doctor. A guy who wears frilly shirts, capes and velvet coats and won't hesitate to kick your ass while doing so. Jon Pertwee brought a physicality and a love of adventure to Doctor Who, and suddenly the Doctor went from being a loveable, funny (and sometimes terrified) kind of Doctor, to someone more stern and authoritative (who could still crack jokes and poke fun with the best of them). His Venusian Akido could cut anyone down, and he could paralyze opponents with but a touch.

Pertwee's run is tons of fun to watch and you can tell the entire cast was having a blast. Great stuff, and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to watch a really nice, solid run of classic Who.

So now my only dilemma as we near ever closer to the fantastic Tom Baker's era of Doctor Who is.... who comes ahead on my list of favorite Doctors? Hartnell or Pertwee? I really grew to love Hartnell's incarnation of the Doctor, and yet Pertwee is so badass and has such a solid run... Who will come out on top?

Ahh, decisions, decisions...

Anyway, whatever happens, I wanted to draw a Doctor Who piece featuring the Third Doctor ready to beat someone down, frilly shirt, cape and all. So there you have it.

And as a side note, I hope all of my pals heading to Heroes Con this weekend have a great time and a safe trip. Wish Rod and I could be joining in on the fun! But at least the Baltimore Comic Con looms ever closer. More info on what you can expect from us at the show will be forthcoming!

Elisabeth Sladen

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 01:59:00 +0000

Elisabeth Sladen passed away on Tuesday morning, aged 63. She'd been battling cancer for some time, although as an intensely private person, it doesn't seem that anyone but her immediate family knew she was ill. Lis played the character of Sarah Jane Smith on the long-running sci-fi program Doctor Who (and would later return to the new Who series as well-- her reappearance on the show was so popular that it resulted in her own spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures).

For many of us, Sarah Jane was OUR companion. THE companion. She was someone you instantly liked, wanted to root for and become friends with. As viewers we could relate to her, and we saw things through her eyes. She was one of the reasons I took to the series after my husband (who grew up with the show) introduced me to it after we met. In many ways, I suppose, when I think about our early relationship, the Doctor and Sarah will always be linked in there. I remember when I went to New Zealand to visit him and meet his family for the first time, we watched 'The Ark in Space', a 4th Doctor and Sarah adventure. I will always remember that.

It wasn't long before I was drawn into the Sarah Jane era of the program, which just about everyone considers to be Doctor Who's Golden Age. There is a reason for that. And much of it has to do with Sarah Jane Smith, plucky, independent journalist, who meets the Doctor, falls into joining him on his adventures and quickly becomes his "best friend."

Last year, Rod and I decided that we would rewatch the entire classic Who series, starting with William Hartnell in 1963 and working our way through to Sylvester McCoy and the end of the show in 1989. We just finished 'The Time Warrior' on Sunday night, Sarah Jane's very first story. We have been through 10 years' worth of episodes, three Doctors and 13 companions (many of whom I have enjoyed), and then here comes Sarah Jane, and she is such a huge breath of fresh air. She is a light. A refreshing, plucky light of a person who isn't afraid to tell anyone what she thinks (no matter what time period she may be in). This time round I was immediately struck by how well she played off of Jon Pertwee's 3rd Doctor, and it made me even more excited to get to Tom Baker's era because her chemistry with him is magic. MAGIC.

When the new Doctor Who series started and reinvented itself into something I wasn't taken with, it was still cool to see that Sarah Jane was still Sarah Jane. Elisabeth Sladen still played her as the same person. That same plucky, likeable character you wanted to root for. It was as if she hadn't aged a bit.

And so it was devastating to fans to hear that she had passed away, and so suddenly. I was absolutely gutted and didn't want to believe it, even as more and more sources began confirming it. I had always wanted to meet her one day, but now I will never get that chance. And now there are tribute pages and tribute art, stories from people who knew her, and even a link on the Sarah Jane Adventures website to help parents in comforting their children about Lis Sladen's passing. I love so, SO much that she had this resurgence of popularity late in her career, and that the character of Sarah Jane Smith could be introduced to new fans, and to children. How wonderful.

I cannot imagine how devastating Lis' passing must be to her friends and family. My heart aches for them. She left behind such a wonderful legacy.

There are many pieces of tribute art popping up online. And, after taking some time to process things and deal in my own way, I decided that I didn't want to do something sad. Sarah and the Doctor had a special relationship, and neither wanted to part. Sarah was there with the Doctor through it all because she wanted to be. I loved that when she did leave, it was out of necessity and was forced upon them, rather than having her written out of character and marrying someone she'd just met, or deciding she'd had enough of traveling. Doctor Who companions come and go, but Sarah Jane was special. And so was Lis Sladen.

So, I decided to draw a picture of one of the happier adventures the Doctor and Sarah may have had. Not sad, but looking to the future. Because Sarah Jane Smith will always live on.

Truly Outrageous

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 03:07:00 +0000

Quick post today. This drawing is actually four years old. FOUR. And I only just colored it today. I have no excuse except that I simply forgot about it. I'm a bad person.

But I drew it sometime after Rod and I went back and re-watched the entire Jem and the Holograms cartoon series from start to finish. I used to watch it when I was younger and remember really liking it, but man, what a fun series. And brilliantly written, too. Great character depth, awesome villains, intelligent writing and great tunes. Can't ask for better than that.

Also, I threw Synergy in there front and center because she doesn't get enough love. So there.

TRON: Legacy

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 04:29:00 +0000

Rod and I were almost certain we were going to miss seeing TRON: Legacy in theatres. With my hand surgery and the holidays and everything else, the time just sped by to the point that we thought we'd almost missed it. Last Friday Rod noticed that the theatre he passed every day on his way into work was no longer showing it, so we kind of panicked and drove out to one of the theatres around us still playing the thing, lest we miss it entirely.

We'd both been completely blown away by TRON's trailers and Daft Punk's amazing soundtrack, so this film was one of the few we'd really been looking forward to seeing. I am very anti-3D (I see it as nothing more than a pointless passing fad), but we figured if we were going to see a film in 3D it would be this one. And so, we did.

I read some mixed reviews (mostly knocking the story), but honestly, I freakin' LOVED this movie. I loved the soundtrack, the effects, the acting, and yes, the story. It wasn't hugely complex, but it was decent enough. Throw in a weirdly hot computer generated Clu (BONUS), and you have a movie that will entertain Leanne.

As for the 3D experience, I hated it. I thought it was pointless and took me out of the film at times. I'd never do it again. But I can't wait to get this film on DVD so I can watch it in proper 2D.

I did the above sketch while I was killing time today waiting to hear back on some Rob Zombie comic layouts. I loves me some Jeff Bridges. His modern day Kevin Flynn is like an uber cool Obi-Wan with badass powers. Can't go wrong with that!

Sovena and Hand Surgery

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 02:08:00 +0000

Long time no see.

Part of the reason for that is not just because I've been slacking in updates and/or can't show some of the things I've been working on just yet, but also because last month I had surgery on one of my hands. I'd had severe pain for several years but figured it was nerve damage from an old softball injury and kept putting off having anything done about it. I finally decided enough was enough and went through several tests to figure out what was wrong. I was even at the point of wanting a permanent nerve block done so I would feel nothing in one of my fingers. It would have been better than putting up with constant pain. But all nerve tests came back negative, and the mystery deepened...

But one visit to a hand specialist was all it took to have someone describing my bizarre, painful symptoms back to me, and it was such a relief. Turns out I had a rare tumor in my finger-- something that apparently usually isn't diagnosed properly until someone's gone through around six doctors. So it was a definite shock, but also a relief to finally know that there was indeed something wrong and that it could be fixed.

I had surgery on my hand (the right one, thankfully-- I'm a lefty, remember) last month to remove the tumor, and it's taken me several weeks to recover. During that time I was banned from doing much of anything with the thing, especially typing, and it just was too hard and frustrating to even be in front of a computer knowing that I could only type one-handed (going from typing 85 words per minute to like 20 really, really sucks). So I went kind of AWOL for a bit for my own sanity. Thankfully yesterday my doctor gave me the okay to start using my hand more, so typing this blog post is kind of physical therapy for my hand as much as it is anything else.

So. While I was recovering, I also took a break from drawing much at all, and have only just started easing back into it over the past few days. The drawing of Sovena Red above is a quick sketch that I decided to ink and color. Rod and I have exciting plans for Sovena and her adventures that we hope to unveil very soon. In the meantime, I hope to have some sketches and sneak peeks to post every so often. And you can now own the print version of Once Upon a Superhero-- featuring Sovena-- for only $3.99 HERE. Check it out!

As I get back into sketching, working on Once Upon a Superhero, drawing my last couple backup stories for Rob Zombie's Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock? and gearing up for the Empire Strikes Back story arc for Blue Milk Special, I'm going to try and post a lot more. Sketches, random things, etc.

Thanks for sticking around. Here's to an exciting 2011!

Once Upon a Superhero

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 02:38:00 +0000

I still need to create a blog entry to sum up my experiences at the New York Comic Con a couple weekends ago (short version is that we had an absolute blast and really enjoyed seeing so many readers and friends!), but I wanted to devote this blog post to Rod's new comic, Once Upon a Superhero.

He's had this in the works for a while, and had help with art in the awesome drawings of John Amor to make this a reality. This issue features pin-ups by greats like Mike Maihack and Robbi Rodriguez, and a new cover by myself with colors by the ever talented James Offredi.

It tells the story of Russian born superhero Sovena Red, who-- on her eleventh birthday in 1954-- mysteriously gained godlike super powers. Since that day, she has dedicated these amazing abilities to protecting the innocent and defending the world from all manner of super villainy. However, there was one small catch...

This issue is now available for digital download, with a printed version coming in November. Please help support the comic by checking it out and purchasing an issue-- you won't regret it!

BVS Backup

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 01:59:00 +0000

Like I mentioned last post, here's some info about Rob Zombie's Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock?, currently hitting comic shops through Image Comics. I've been working as an editor on this book for the past few months and it's been a ton of fun, as always. Rob's done a great job with the series and the characters he's created. I worked with Rob back in the MVCreations days when we were publishing Spookshow International, and I'm still finding myself impressed with the range of stories he comes up with-- anything from comedy to horror to more gritty, serious works. The guy does it all!

Baron Von Shock has turned out to be a very gritty, mature story sprinkled with the kind of comedy only Rob can deliver, and it's been a great pleasure to be a part of. But I was totally stoked when Rob asked if I would be willing to do some backup stories in BVS. I'd shown him some of the work I'd done on Casper and the Spectrals for Ardden Entertainment and he dug the style. So I worked up some quick sketches of the main characters in a more cartoony style and we were in business.

I'm working on my third backup story now, but I thought I'd post the lineart for my first tale here. BVS #3 hit comic stands today (or last week depending on your local comic shop's shipping schedules). Check it out!

Back from Bmore 2010!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:20:00 +0000

I know this post is horribly late and all I can say is... I guess I'm a bad person. But better late than never, right?

As my previous blog post states, Rod and I headed up to Baltimore a couple weekends back for the Baltimore Comic Con 2010. It's always been one of our favorite shows (the fact that it's local rocks pretty hard, too!) and love the friendly, creator/comics-focused atmosphere. That definitely didn't change this time out! It was a great show, and almost as soon as the doors opened I was flooded with commissions and people interested in Blue Milk Special. It was one of the best show days we've ever had, and it was awesome.

(It was also very cool to see so many people walking around wearing Orioles or Ravens gear-- go Baltimore teams!)

Ahem...

I drew a load of commissions, but what was especially awesome about this was that it's the first time I've ever been asked to do Blue Milk Special commissions! It was tons of fun, and I hope everyone enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed working on them.

Thanks to all of the BMS fans who came out to show support, especially our littlest fans below. Our prints and 'make your own BMS milk cartons' were a great hit, and we'll have more on hand for New York Comic Con in October!

Aside from the commissions, seeing fans and meeting new people, these conventions are great because I get to see my friends that I normally only see once or twice a year. This time out our good friend Jon Kallis was helping us with the table once again, and we had a table next to our friend from forever and ever, colorist extraordinare Val Staples.

We got to see the always awesome Bryan Glass and his lovely wife Judy, but definitely not long enough! We'll make up for this in NY (perhaps with a game of Dracula?). Mice Templar won another Harvey this year, which was completely deserved!

And we got to hang with our great pals Craig Rousseau, Rich Faber and Kelly Yates. Our table was next to (Doctor Who artist) Kelly's, so we got to hear a lot of Doctor Who talk throughout the convention. (Thankfully some of it was Classic Who talk.)

Here's a normal group shot...

But then Kelly had to try and steal the spotlight... again...!

These cons also give Rod and I a chance to hook back up with two of our favorite people, Matt and Suzanne Wieringo. Not enough Hammer talk this year, but we did get into a 'Woman in Black'/ghost stories discussion on the way back from dinner...

My sister Rachael stopped by on Sunday and we took that opportunity to finally walk around the show a bit with her. (We should have gotten that Don Rosa Uncle Scrooge print...)

Another pal we always love hooking up with (and he's still told the funniest story I've ever heard in my life) is Rich Woodall, who joined us for dinner on Saturday and also did a badass Zombie Sovena Red sketch for Rod!

I wasn't able to get a shot of pal Todd Dezago (who cut out like the Flash on Sunday) but it was great seeing him again, especially because I thought I wouldn't see him at all this year! Since we both worked on an issue of Casper and the Spectrals together recently, Todd was nice enough to buy me a big trade full of old Casper stories. Really awesome stuff. Thanks, Todd-- you're the bestest!

Here are some of the other commissions I worked on while at the show...

Best Green Lantern ever, Kyle Rayner:

Tim Drake in his old school Robin threads (that I miss very much):

Tim in his newer Robin costume:

Jubilee:

Spider-Woman:

And lastly, here are a couple of cool costumes. I'm pretty sure this is the same little guy who came to the show last year dressed in an awesome Impulse costume. This year he came as Kid Flash!

And this has to be the cutest Woody from Toy Story I've ever seen:

And that's all I got! If you made it this far, thanks for hanging in there.

Next post coming up soon... Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock?

Baltimore 2010!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 01:32:00 +0000

It's that time again! Rod and I are heading out to our first convention of the year tomorrow, and it's one of my favorites. Baltimore (home of my beloved Orioles baseball) is just up the road from us, and it's always put on a great show. It seems like it's grown in size every year, and-- unlike other comic shows I could mention-- it is focused on comics and creators.

This year we decided to focus on Blue Milk Special, our Star Wars parody webcomic, so our table is BMS-themed. We'll be selling prints and handing out postcards, and I'll be doing commission sketches during the show. I also still have some 2009 sketchbooks left, so I'll be bringing those as well.

Even though I love going to these shows to meet new people and bask in the con atmosphere, I'm really looking forward to seeing my friends again. Rod and I will be set up at table A54 right next to Val Staples at table A53, and we'll be right across the aisle from Matt and Suzanne Wieringo, Todd Dezago and Craig Rousseau at booth 2306. And of course, our good pal Jon Kallis will be on hand helping us out once again. Can't wait!

Here is a floor plan of the convention center where you can find us.

Looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend! Stop by and say hey!

Baron Von Shock

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:20:00 +0000

Been a while. But first, above is a quick digital sketch that I decided to color a few days ago. I've been completely immersed in World War II books, documentaries and memoirs for the past few months, and also had been recently following the World Cup (my teams were the U.S.A., New Zealand and Germany). So this cartoon popped into my head. It was a lot of fun to do and I really dug working in this particular rough style. I'm trying to do more digital sketching these days.

Anyway, seeing as though the subject of this post mentions Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock?, the new Rob Zombie comic I'm editing, I figured I'd finally say that I'm currently drawing backup stories for this series, starting with issue #3. It's been a ton of fun to do and it's cool working with Rob as an artist and not just an editor for a change!

I'm working in an overly cartoony style for this one, kind of similar to my recent work on Casper and the Spectrals #3. It was fun cartoonizing Rob's characters and going to town on these scripts. And you might be seeing more of this sort of thing from me in the future...

Speaking of Casper, I've been getting a peek at the colors Kieran Oats did on my pencils for issue #3, and they look sweet! I can't wait to see this thing in print!

So, other than all of the above, Rod and I are gearing up for the Baltimore Comic Con next month where we hope to see all of our pals! We'll have a Blue Milk Special table this year, so be sure to check us out!

Moving on...

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 05:17:00 +0000

Been a while since I last updated this blog, so I figured I'd get a post in to mention a few things before I reveal what I'm working on at the moment (which will be in a follow up post!).

Firstly, I finished up issue #3 of Casper and the Spectrals for Ardden Entertainment, which was a complete blast. I really had fun with it and ended up making it my own by the end of the issue... which I guess could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. But this issue gave me a chance to brush up on storytelling and layouts, and I really had a great time drawing Casper and the gang. Todd Dezago wrote a brilliant and fun script and I hope I managed to do it justice. Thanks for all the encouragement, Todd!

Secondly, Pulverized, the educational comic I finished work on a few months ago, is now available online for sale at Ka-Blam. Check it out!

Thirdly, I was really bummed to miss Heroes Con this year. I heard it was yet another great show, and Rod and I missed hooking up with our pals. Craig, Matt and Suzanne, Rich, Bryan and Judy, etc., etc. You guys know who you are. But, we are happy to say that we will definitely be at Baltimore Comic Con in August and the New York Comic Con in October. Can't wait!

Fourthly, I'm not in my 20s anymore. I celebrated my big 3-0 on Thursday, and it was a little depressing. But Rod made it special and got me a huge, custom-made cake with the Cool Whip-ish icing I love. He's the bestest! Only downside is that I've gorged myself on cake for the past three days. Double-edged sword, that one.

And finally, my cat Ban is awesome. Check him out showing off one of his tricks:

Casper!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:11:00 +0000

So since I'm allowed to say what I'm currently working on, here we are. I'm penciling issue #3 of Casper and the Spectrals, written by one of my favorite writers ever, Todd Dezago. (And yeah, Todd, I'm going to gush.)

Years ago when I was reading comics and drawing my own shabby ones on pieces of 8.5" x 11" typing paper I'd steal from my mom's printer, my absolute favorite writer/artist team was Todd Dezago and Mike Wieringo. Absolutely fantastic combination of great, fun storytelling and characters, and out-of-this-world art. That's what I wanted to do, I told myself.

I've come a long way since then, and it's thanks to guys like these that I'm where I am today.

So over the past couple years I've gotten to know Todd, and he's an awesome guy (and very, very nice and friendly, and approached me at a con when I was too shy to talk to him-- I will never live that down). I knew he'd been working on Ardden Entertainment's new Casper series, and I was psyched to read it because it looked like a lot of fun.

It's been great working on this project, and Todd's script has been fantastic. It's awesome to be drawing fun comics with great characters and working with a writer I've admired for years and years.

And I'm fortunate that J.M. DeMatteis and Brendan Deneen gave me great encouragement during this whole thing, and it only helps fuel my drive and enthusiasm for this project and comics in general.

Can't wait to see this thing colored and in stores!

Pulverized

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:04:00 +0000

For the past few months I'd been working on an educational comic book for science students. This is something I've always wanted to do-- educate and get kids excited in school subjects though comics. Rod and I even discussed and had done preliminary sketches for an idea of our own a while back.

So when I was approached by science teacher Jim McCarter to create an original comic book for kids, I was psyched. Jim created a great, fun script and let me go to town on it. He gave me a great group of kids (based on some of his own students) to work with, and I ended up having a blast on the project.

This was also the first time I've done everything on a comic, art-wise -- pencils, inks and colors. It was a challenge and great fun.

Jim Calafiore graciously did a cover for us based on my designs (which in itself was a total thrill!), and Rod lettered the issue to finish things off.

Hopefully this will be out there for sale soon either at conventions and/or in schools!

Spoon!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:20:00 +0000

I guess I might as well post this now.

This is one of the sketches I did for the folks at New England Comics a few months back, along with some sample Tick pages. We met at the Baltimore Comic Con in October and they were interested in my work, and I was pretty stoked when we talked about possibly doing a new Tick story together.

But alas, it doesn't look like this particular story is going to pan out right now. I'm kind of bummed, but I thought I'd post this sketch anyway.

I actually have some other possible things coming up, which I will announce soon-ish...

Buh-Bye, Idol!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:14:00 +0000

Quick cartoon, because Simon deserves it after today.

Suck it, Idol! Bring on American X Factor! (Even Rod said he'd watch it with me!)

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas and New Years. We spent ours in New Zealand, 18 hours ahead of everyone on the East Coast of the U.S. And it was warm and sunny the entire time-- we went to the beach three times! Of course, as soon as we landed in D.C. the weather made us pay for it with 20-degree temps and crazy strong (and COLD) winds. Ahh, winter.

Here's to a great 2010!

Flash! Ahhhh...

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:19:00 +0000

Just a quick post for today. I drew these two Flash Gordon pieces based on Ardden Entertainment's new comic series. They were looking for a new artist a while back, so I submitted a few things to show them.

I didn't end up getting the gig, but it was still fun. I need to do sketches like these more often.

This may be my last blog post before the holidays-- Rod and I are leaving for New Zealand on Friday to spend Christmas and New Years with his family. I'm really looking forward to it, because I haven't been back since 2003. I'm bringing my iPhone with me (thanks to a handy international data package via AT&T), so I'll be updating my Twitter and taking photos and such.

So if I don't get another chance to say it, Happy Holidays, everyone!

Zombie Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:47:00 +0000

This past weekend was a really cool one for me-- first because Maryland got its first snowfall of winter, and also because I got to take a break from working on comic pages to go to Rob Zombie's show on Saturday night in Washington, DC.

I worked with Rob years ago back when I was with MVCreations and we were doing his Spookshow International comic series, which was tons of fun. Rob was always totally cool to work with and I was struck by how down to Earth he was. He has a great, wicked sense of humor that I love (and it always made my days pick up, especially when I was going through new scripts he'd turn in). And now I'm working with him again as the editor on his Whatever Happened to Baron Von Shock? comic (which will be coming next year from Image Comics!). Keep an eye out, because this series is proving to be just as hilarious as Spookshow was.

I've talked to Rob on the phone more times than I can count, but I'd never actually met the guy in person before... until Saturday! Rob graciously invited me out to the show at the 9:30 Club, and hooked myself, my husband Rod, my sisters and their friends up with VIP passes. He took great care of us, and it was very cool to be able to see the show from a decent perspective (I wish I saw Rammstein in the VIP section last time I was at the 9:30 Club years ago!).

We met up with Rob for a bit before the show, and he's just as nice in person as he is through email or phone. We talked comics, his El Superbeasto animated film and music, and he kindly obliged and posed for pictures with all of us before heading backstage to get ready for the show.

And speaking of the show, it was the best I'd seen in years. Great visuals and music. The opening bands were fantastic (and I immediately loved Captain Clegg & The Night Creatures for having such a kickass name-- Captain Clegg, or Night Creatures as it's known in the U.S., is my favorite Peter Cushing Hammer film), and it was great to finally see Rob perform live. One of the highlights was when he got a woman-- who was situated in the corner of the room beside the stage doing sign language for the crowd-- to sign a string of expletives for everyone. And she was a good sport and did it all (and Rob told her she had "dirty hands").

So the show was awesome. And to end it all, as we were leaving, there was a guy outside the 9:30 Club handing out Rammstein stickers promoting their latest album Liebe ist für alle da. He gave me two stickers because I was wearing my Rammstein jacket. Aaaand while we were walking back to the metro I spotted a bunch of promotional Rammstein miniposters, one of which I snagged and now have framed and hanging in my living room.

Great night.

(And yeah, I totally snagged Rod's latest blog entry title because I loved it. He has another photo and info from the weekend posted up on his site too. Check it out!)

Lava-Roid

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I'm late posting about this because I'm a horrible person, but Lava-Roid-- the comic I finished a few months ago-- has been getting some really cool reviews.

Lava-Roid was created and written by my pal Kevin Conn and co-written by Stephen "Jesus Hates Zombies" Lindsay. It's a hilarious little book, and I was thrilled to be able to work on it. I had a ton of fun and Kevin gave me full reign with character design and layouts and wackiness.

So... onto the reviews!

The peeps at Ain't It Cool News gave the book a really nice review that you can read HERE (by scrolling down a bit).

Then, Newsarama gave it a shout-out, which you can read HERE (by once again scrolling down a little).

Jennifer Pierce also gave the book a nice review on her blog, which you can read HERE.

And to top that off, G4's Blair Butler mentioned the book on Fresh Ink Online. I am completely humbled and flattered that she mentioned my art. You can check out the review (about 1:32 in) here:

Video Games - E3 2010

Thanks, everyone, for the great reviews! It was a labor of love and I was glad to be involved.

If you want to check out Lava-Roid for yourself, it's available to purchase on Indy Planet. See what it's all about!

Zombie Time

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Wanted to jump in here real quick to pimp something I should have done days ago. In December, Image Comics is publishing a trade recollecting all of the Rob Zombie's Spookshow International comic issues from a few years back. It will be packaged as "The Haunted World of El Superbeasto" to tie in with Rob's recent animated film. Back when I was with MVCreations, I was the editor on this title (and others), and had a blast with it.

Rob is working on a new comic project called "What Ever Happened to Baron Von Shock," so I'm stepping into the editor role once again. Comic Book Resources did an article just recently about the El Superbeasto animated film, the trade publication, and Rob's new Von Shock project. I was quoted a bunch of times (and tried to get a Peter Cushing mention in there-- sadly, it didn't make the cut). Check it out here:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=23501

Also...

I'm a horrible person for not posting a Baltimore Comic Con recap, I know. I haven't done it yet because I've been busy with projects (more on those soon), but I'm going to try and get a post up Friday or this weekend (I swear!).

But I will say that Rod and I had a fantastic time-- it was great meeting new people and hanging with friends. And I bought a bunch of Green Lantern comics from Shelton over at the Heroes booth. It was nice to be able to walk around and talk to people and really experience a convention again. But more on that in my next post!

Baltimore Comic Con!

noreply@blogger.com (Leanne) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 02:19:00 +0000

It's that time of year again! Rod and I will be at the Baltimore Comic Con this weekend, October 10th & 11th. We'll have a lot of goodies for sale, including prints, limited quantities of my 2009 sketchbook and a brand new Blue Milk Special convention special booklet.

We'll be at table 116, so stop by and say hello!

I'm also going to be doing commissions again, but I'm going to be limiting the amount I do this time around. At Heroes Con this past June I ended up getting swamped, and I'd like to be able to walk around the con and check it out a little more than I did at Heroes.

Also at my table will be my pal Kevin Conn, who will be selling his Lava-Roid comic, which I just finished working on. It's a really funny read, so be sure to check it out! Stephen Lindsay (of Jesus Hates Zombies fame) helped write it, and I hear there may be talks of a signing at some point this weekend...

I'll keep my Twitter and Facebook accounts updated with info and photos all weekend.

Hope to see some of you there!

(And for those people who think because I'll be out of town this weekend my house will be an easy target, think again! Rod and I live in a neighborhood full of old people who watch everyone's houses like hawks. And the old woman who lives next to us will hiss at you like Dracula if you so much as look at her. Well, not really, but Rod and I joke around that she does... 'Cause it wouldn't surprise me if it happened one day.)