Batman: The Brave and the Bone!

Wahoo! This Wednesday the issue of Batman: Brave and the Bold drawn by me (and written by J.Torres) hits the stands. The special guest Heroes are the old/new Doom Patrol! Way back when Torres and I were working on Alison Dare we used to talk about dream characters we'd love to work on. Both of us have a strange infatuation with the Doom Patrol. Torres first worked on them in Teen Titans Go which he wrote for, like, ever single issue!

Now I finally got my shot! J. wrote us a fun story with the full team and I more or less got to design them for the B&B style! In order to keep them familiar with the old Teen Titans Go audience I kept the purple and black costumes (and also because those costumes are cool) and I just made a few little minor tweaks to make 'em my own.

I love the heck out of the Doom Patrol and hope I get to draw them again!

This is my favourite page out of the book. I don't know why...it may be the duck...but it just makes me laugh that I drew it.

best,
j.

He's Just a Baby Duck!

Sometimes, especially when I've got a lot of work on the board, I just want to draw something for ME! A doodle that makes me laugh, or an idea I've had for awhile but just never took the time to jot down in black and white (or grey if I only have time for pencils). Baby Huey is one such drawing. I LOVE the Harvey characters! Dark Horse has been releasing collections of Harvey kids, sort of a Best OF selection (though I really wish someone would do a COMPLETE collection...at least of Hot Stuff).
I'd had an idea to draw Baby Huey lookin' a little...dumber. He's a big dumb oaf in the comics, and the cartoons, which is all part of his appeal as a character. He's a baby with the strength of an ox!
So the above is my take on Baby Huey!
Here's the Super Friends ABC News screen cap as nabbed by blog reader Javier. Thanks, Javier! That's pretty cool!
And speaking of Super Friends, I finally finished the interiors to another issue. I'll let you know when it's coming out, but I drew the interiors for Super Friends #18 guest starring the Bizarro Super Friends! Holy socks, is there ever some funny stuff from writer Sholly in this issue.

best,
j.

Super Duper SUPER FRIENDS!

Urgh, I should have posted this last week...the latest issue of the Super Friends, #15 on stands now, has interior art by me! Once again I had a ton of fun drawing Sholly Fisch's terrific story! This issue has a paper cut-out doll of Wally West (and the Flash) as well as a fun little stand-up cut out of Batman and Robin! This is Robin's first appearance in the series.
I also found a review for the big by one of my biggest fans and a guy who loves this series: Adam Dechanel.

Story - 2: Wait didn't we just do a birthday issue a few issues back? Struggling for ideas anyone? The story itself is solid and perhaps if this wasn't a deliberate cash in on Batman's 70th Anniversary, so very close to the Superman birthday party an issue or two back, I may have given it a higher rating.
Art - 2: J. Bone's covers have been a shining light for this series on occasion but it just seems like the whole book was rushed. Some panels look great while others seem to have been aggressively churned out.
Cover Art - 2: Just last month I'd seen an upturn in the book and suddenly to prove me wrong we're delivered this... nice homage to the Silver Age style covers but though it presents a challenge the reader must participate in it's not J. Bone's best.

And here's some genuine love from the dear, sweet Rachelle, who interviewed me and posted about my book on the day it actually hit the stands! Click her name to see what I had to say about drawing for kids and making stuff out of yarn! Thanks, Rachelle. You're a peach!

best,
j.

Goddessess!

This weekend, May 9 and 10, I will be at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival! It's at the Toronto Reference Library this year. I'll be sitting with local super talents and Transmission X buddies, as well as doing a few panels throughout the weekend. I'll do my best to have original art on hand and a few prints available (I've moved recently and have yet to find all the art boxes).
I was itching to draw Storm for some reason, and the top sketch is the result of scratching that itch. I actually like that Loki is now a dame though I don't read any of the books in which she appears. She looks pretty cool, eh?

If you can make it out to the Festival stop by and say "Hi".
best,
j.

Sha-ZAM!

It's out on the 'net so it's now okay to show off the cover I did for the Magic of Shazam (DC comics). I always try to err on the side of caution when it comes to covers and what projects I'm working on...it feels like I might jinx things if I announce too soon. Now, I've only done this one cover. The new team was announced on DC's website and it's a pretty spectacular gang. Franco and Art Baltazar of TINY TITANS fame and Stephen DeStefano. I can't wait to see DeStefano on art. I LOVE his stuff. I think he draws the best Mxyzptlk the DC world has ever seen!

The issue of Brave and the Bold that I'm drawing has also been solicited...so I can talke about that now, too! I'm drawing the G.D. Doom Patrol!!! Holy AWESOME! And I'm drawing them in a style that feels pretty much like my own (in fact, apologies to James Tucker and the amazing group of guys working on the Batman B&B tv show but I may have strayed off-style a little with some of my artwork...I try not to but I sometimes can't help myself).

Sha-ZAM!
j.

Coco Framboise!

Another drawing of the lovely and talented Coco Framboise! She appeared here first as Uhura, real name unknown...before the delightful Nicole Stamp told me who the model was. Click on Coco's name above to see a video of her Candy Apple routine! It's delicious!

j.

Challenge of the Super Pets!

It's time for another Super Friends cover update! This week the Super Pets appear in issue #14 of the Super Friends. The story is written by the fabulously talented Sholly Fisch and hilariously drawn by Scott Shaw, Mike Kazaleh and Terry Beatty. Wow! Was this ever a fun cover to draw! My editor suggested I go iconic with it...and when I think I iconic I always remember Art Adams drawing covers with legions of heroes leaping out at the reader. So this is my Art Adams Super Pets Super Friends cover!
Two more covers to enjoy. The Circus issue is already out! I love the elephant on that one. Hey, does that horse only have three legs? Oops! The mystery cover is for issue #15 for which I drew the interior art. I can't show you any of that or else I'll risk spoiling the surprise. I will tell you that the cover image gives you NO CLUES for solving the RIDDLE...er, I've said too much :)

best,

j.

p.s. Just tacking on a p.s. to say that there's an interview with J.Torres and myself at the Doom Patrol blog. We talk about, well, Doom Patrol.

Drawing Lena Love!

Last night I attended my very first session of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School Toronto Chapter. I don't think we could have asked for a better model with miss Lena Love. She wore some incredible outfits and struck very striking poses!
I wasn't paying attention during the intro to the first contest of the night...we were to Theme our drawing and this sketches theme was to be "Video Game Character". I just drew Lena as was and therefore did not win any contest. C'est la vie!




The girl in the pony tail is the photographer for the event.



This time I incorporated the contest theme into my drawing...Lena wanted a Dark Carmen Miranda. Dead fruit and a cobweb shoulder ruffle weren't enough to rate. But who cares...I had fun. This sort of 'life drawing' is really all about the model as a personality and character. Usually the point of the exercise is anatomy and not (necessarily) likeness.

best,
j.
p.s. In case anyone missed it in the comments section...Uhura from the previous post was played by Coco Framboise! She's a local burlesque performer!

Uhura's Hoops!

Yet another drawing based on that very same incredibly awesome night of Classic Star Trek themery from Dr.Sketchy's Anti-Art School Blog! I love the stunning beauty who portrayed Uhura! I've been going through the blog trying to find other pictures of her and discover her name. Hopefully she's a regular so I'll get a chance to draw her at a future session.

j.

Marta! Dancing Girl Divine!

I recently learned about a fun life drawing program taking place at the Cameron House, here in Toronto. It's called Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School. The models for the sessions are costumed, themed or otherwise not your typical life drawing models. Star Trek was the theme for a recent "class" and I'm very pissed that I missed it. Check the link to the blog to see some fantastic photos of the event. The girl dressed as Uhura is gorgeous! I love the photo of her with the knife between her teeth. What a great pose!

On the subject of Grammar: in reading Dr. Sketchy's event title I question the placement of the word "anti". Is Dr. Sketchy against Art itself or just Art-School. If it's the latter wouldn't they be better called "Anti-School Art Class" or some variation of the same. Not that I'm an expert on language...I just read the name as Anti-Art, which is not what I think they mean.

Either way, I'm glad they didn't call the sessions "Anti-Life Drawing School". I've never enjoyed drawing the dead nor wish to die in a life drawing class.

:)
best,
j.

Madman #14!

Gee whiz! I completely forgot that this was coming out this week! Madman #14 has a back-up story written by me, Drawn by Darwyn and colored by Laura Allred. I poke gentle fun at the ever-in-development Madman movie! I truly hope Mike gets to see his creation hit the big screen one day.
Y'know, when I first got into comics I used to buy just Spider-Man titles. I branched out occasionally to other titles if there was something about the art that I liked, but mainly I stayed with Marvel. Then a friend gave me an ashcan of Madman that had come in his copy of Heroes magazine (Heroes was a Wizard clone that didn't last). I loved the art. The story was kooky, so I didn't even know what to make of that...but the art and colors had me poring over that ashcan. I used to carry it around so I could flip through regularly. I was still inking with a marker back then...but I remember trying to figure out how this guy, Allred, got such thick lovely lines. With no other artists in my family I had no one to tell me that you could ink with a brush! I was not art savvy!

Anyway, years later, still collecting Madman, get published by ONI press and find out that Jamie S. Rich is good friends with the Allreds. Boy, was I ever nervous sending out that first e-mail to Mike. I think I may have even addressed it to Laura as a coloring question rather than babble on about my love of Madman and the Allreds.

I'm glad I did strike up a friendship with Mike and Laura. We teamed up back then for a Mr. Gum one-shot, I drew a Madman pin-up (which is re-printed in the back of Madman #14...and is, thankfully, relatively embarassment free art-wise) and then finally this latest issue...which I got to work on with my other great pal in the world, Darwyn.

Blah, blah, blah...enough nonsense from me. Check out the book and see if you can find the super secret hidden Scientology message. I'll give you no hints!

best,
j.
p.s. Okay, one hint: it's in the dialogue.

ICE to Meet You!

Ah, the joys of ice fishing! What kid doesn't love throwing on eight layers of clothing, itchy thermal underwear, three mittens per hand, scarf, tuque and snowpants and following his father out onto the frozen lake for a ten hours of chopping through ice and waiting for the fish to bite. I know I used to LOVE it! Freezing! Running out of hot chocolate by noon! Peeing behind a snowbank and praying that your bits don't get frostbite! It was really my favourite childhood winter pastime.

The ice fisherman looks more than a little like my own father. It's not his fault I'm not built for the cold (actually, it sort of IS his fault genetically speaking :) My brother and sister didn't mind ice fishing at all.

Enjoy!
j.

Making Lemonade!

"Sun! Surf! Snow! I am in a tropical paradise! I am in a tropical paradise!" My mantra for the past few weeks as Toronto's refrigerating system reaches all time lows. As promised, I am only drawing girls in bikinis until the weather grows warmer. However, I couldn't resist a little tongue in frost-bitten cheek humour...they say draw what you know! Well, it snowed here the entire weekend. I've almost forgotten what a sandy beach looks like, but I still remember how to draw a girl in a bikini.

Warmest regards,

j.

Summer Lovin'!

It is currently minus 20-something degrees celsius...which is, I think, -4 degrees farenhiet (I count on you guys to correct me if I got that all backward). Either way you slice it, it's cold. And it's snowing like a sonovagun! Yes, I've lived in Canada my whole life and I know what winter is all about. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. I find no joy in frosty fingertips and wearing layers of clothing in my own home. 

Which is why I've decided to post summer images until Winter is over! I drew this Black Canary piece with the hopes of selling it at a store signing. It's been a while since I've drawn pin-up girls, I've been so busy with Super Friends and my other illustration work. 

I'm going to enjoy drawing bathing beauties while outside it blizzards. 

j.

Rise the Demon, Etrigan!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday! To me it feels as though 2008 flew by. Last week was February, when I went to San Francisco with the Cookes and learned how to crochet (the two are, indeed, oddly linked). A few days later was summer and I rode my bike downtown for Wednesday Comic Book (aka Superman Club, aka Jimmy Olsen Club) lunch with the guys. Yesterday was Halloween and I dressed up like the Fly from the old Vincent Price movie. Mere hours ago Christmas came and went and now we're at the dawn of a new year. Incredible!

Next year I will pay closer attention to the passage of time. I'm quite convinced that my drawing table contains some kind of worm hole. Or perhaps it's the internet that steals away the days. Whatever the culprit I will find it out and slow the passage of time. This is my New Year's Resolution.

best,

j.

Evolution vs. Creation of a Christmas Card!

Christmas is just around the corner. The first bit of snow and cold weather are a reminder to me that I haven't even started to think about my annual Christmas card yet. This year I managed to come up with an image pretty early on, sketched it out in a day and was finished by the following afternoon.

This first sketch had everything I wanted in it and would have been my card were it not for a distinct moment of clarity. I was working on another view of the same scene when a carol of bells rang loudly in my head. The bells said "BORING!" The bells were right. What a boring scene. Boring Santa. Boring kid. Boring everything. 

So I started sketching up a tighter shot. One with just the kid and a bigger, fatter, beardier Santa. I thought of all the talented cartoonists I know and how embarassed I'd be if I sent them the really boring card this Christmas. I thought about Christmas specials on TV and how the best ones have a distinct look. Santa in each show has a unique appearance. You'd never mistake the Rudolph Santa, for example, with the Santa from Nightmare Before Christmas. So I imagined what Santa would look like if I made a Christmas Special.  

In my Christmas Special Santa is just a little bit weary of kids bringing him gigantic lists of things they simply MUST have. He's tired of them not saying "Please" and "Thank you" when he gives them a candy cane. He's tired of dry cleaning his beard to wash out the sticky stains from their grubby little chocolate covered fingers and wearing extra padding on his knee to soak up the pee from their urine soaked trousers. 

He's especially tired of not being asked what he'd like for Christmas. Is it too unreasonable that someone might bring HIM a gift for a change. 

And the little tot will cry, because he doesn't understand why Santa is being mean to him. The mothers in the line would glare at Santa and "tsk tsk" his rudeness, snatching their children away from the "worst Santa they've ever seen". One of them might even call Santa a nasty name. They might suggest he find another line of work, one that doesn't involve terrorizing children. They'll file complaints with the store manager, exaggerating the experience with suggestions of "alcohol on his breath" and "he called my son a snot-trough!" 

Meanwhile, Santa (who just so happens to be the REAL Santa) will take off for Africa where he'll build houses for Habitat for Humanity and the people who live in those houses will share their food with him and thank him for all of his hard work and he'll be appreciated. 

In my Christmas Special Santa might just call the whole thing off and leave the parents with the job of filling up stockings and putting presents under their trees. Maybe then they'll see what it was he did for them year after year. By the time they realize their mistake it'll be too late. 
So have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad and a Jolly ___________! (fill in the blank with celebration of choice). 

all the best,

j.bone :)

Astro Boy!

This is my first time drawing Astro Boy, though I've been a fan of his since I was a kid. I used to carefully watch each weeks episode so that when Astro reported his adventure at the end I'd be able to catch his one inaccuracy. Was it right for Astro to teach kids that it's all right to lie if you're just kidding around?
I had one small problem with the above image...I wasn't sure of the short form for "Kilograms". I wasn't even sure if that was a whole lot of weight! Did I drop high school math and science too early? Perhaps. But I obviously wasn't paying enough attention anyway. I know that One Million of anything is an awful lot. So one million kg's of electo-gravitic weight ought to be impressive.
I confess that I am embarassed by my ignorance.

Here's Astro Boy being caught by surprise. Perhaps he just learned that I had to look up Metric weights on Wikipedia in order to complete the above drawing. I still use the old British system of weighing by Stone. I weigh exactly the same as one Chris Stone.
My good buddy Mike Cho pointed out that Astro looks a little like he's giving the finger. It's the way I simplified the fist with the first finger sticking out slightly. Mike's right, though. It does look a bit "bird-ish".

best,
j.bone
p.s. I have since educated myself further in matters of Metric. I am now better informed.

Reviews of Super Friends #9

A nice, short review from Rachelle over at Living Between Wednesdays

J.Bone not only did the cover for this issue, he did the interiors! Yay!It's Superman's birthday and everything is adorable, from Lex Luthor being cranky about not being invited to the party, to Batman explaining pinatas to the readers

A not so good review from Adam Dechanel for the Superman Homepage

Story - 2: Quoting Myra in a script by David Odell "Jeez, they're really scraping the bottom of the barrel these days!" Lex Luthor, the greatest criminal mastermind of our time is jealous of a birthday party? This is just Dora & Diego in capes isn't it? I appreciate them trying to filter the Lex/Superman dynamic down to the base level for children, but even they wouldn't buy a story like this.

Art - 3: Ugh, the constant smiling makes you think Colgate should be paying for advertising, even more than Mattel for enforcing this book's existence! It's just not fun anymore, it was nice to see the character designs for other Superman villains but everything just seems so 'cookie cutter'.


Cover Art - 4: Superman takes centre stage in this book for once!... Hey, is that ME in the bottom corner... ooh I'm famous! Joking aside it's a nice fun, family friendly cover - where the heck is my slice of that gigantic cake??

The art is "Ugh!" Really? Adam apparently doesn't like smiling or cookies. I think somebody needs a hug. Super bonus points for quoting from Supergirl, though.

Here's another review. This time by Doug Zawisza for Comic Book Resources!

This Johnny DC title does what no title in the DC Unverse proper did this year –- it wishes Superman a happy birthday. After all, it's not every day that a globally recognized, American legend turns 70. To celebrate, a Superman museum is opened in the Johnny DCU, much to the lament of the Flash.


Fisch provides a serviceable title, easily approachable for younger readers with just enough nods and winks for the older crowd that is trying to help foster comics reading for those newer comics fans. The art is simplistic, but well crafted, as it replicates the chunky feel of the toy line these heroes are based upon.
Lex Luthor, of course, shows his bald head to ruin the affairs of the day, with a mischievous plan that smacks of the types of schemes he used to cook up in the Superman stories of the 1960s.


In a time when Superman seems to be encountering a great deal of strife, a title like this does provide a nice reminder that comics were once geared towards a less stressed-out readership. The fact that it includes a recognition and celebration of Superman's birthday with his best friends and his dearest family members only adds sweeter frosting to the birthday cake.

A "less stressed-out readership"! I like that. I really do read this book every month...okay, it's my job. I read the scripts in order to work up a cover idea. But I would be reading this series anyway because I think Sholly is doing such a great job of updating the old World's Finest, Superman Family and Justice League type stories from the 60's. You know, when Batman used to smile and villains were foiled by Green Lantern wearing a rubber Superman mask! When Mxyzptlk and Bat-Mite were just imps causing mischief not bizarre dwarfish demons tearing up the Universe with death-hungry powers.

Anyway, here are some more Super Friends covers! Count the smiles!

best,

j.

Superman's Birthday Book!

Wednesday the 18th of November is the day Issue #9 of the Super Friends hits the stands. This is the issue with Superman's birthday celebration, the first appearance of the Super Friends' Super Baby and the first issue where I draw the interior art (as well as the cover).
I loved drawing the interiors for this issue. Sholly Fisch wrote a super fun story and I had a super fun time with it.

One of my favourite parts was the Superman Museum and Hall of Villains because I got to draw a few of Superman's greatest Foes.

Mxyzptlk turned out to be my favourite of all the favourite parts about this story. He only appears as a statue, which is a darn shame. Maybe I'll get to draw him again for another story.

If you've got a comic shop near you, and you feel the inclination, pop in and take a gander at this issue. Let me know what you thought!

Also, the dear sweet Nicole at Pageslap blogged about me and my odd new hobby! I started a new blog dedicated to my Amigurumi! Amigurumi is a fancy Japanese word that means "crochet dolls". Yup, I crochet. And I make dolls. Superhero dolls. Check 'em out at my new blog, Skein and Bones.

best,

j.

Craft coroner with J.Bone.

For the past few weeks I've been elbow deep in Papier-mâché...or paper mache for those who don't read Français. I'd decided on what could be a really cool costume if I could only pull it off. I really wanted to be the FLY! Specifically the version seen in the RETURN OF THE FLY!

I wanted the giant eyes and threatening mandibles, claw hand and lab coat. So I took myself back to my grade school days and crafted up a paper mache head and hand.
This is the mess I made on the dining room floor crafting my Fly helmet. You can see all the tools of the Papier-mâché craft...the thin layer of newspaper to protect the floor, bowl of flour/water mix which is your glue, the strips of paper for covering your sculpt, foam head and kid's helmet on which I originally created the tape-and-paper sculpture, bottles of alcohol for holding up hand parts for drying and the craftsman in his pajamas getting glue in his arm hair.

That's right, I didn't even bother to bathe before starting my mâché-terpiece.

This is the first version of the head almost ready for paint. Something was...bugging...me about the eyes. They weren't BUGGY enough. I tried a few different things with wads of paper before I remembered another trick learned in grade school...balloons. We would cover balloons with Papier-mâché (and once we did it with string coated in glue). When the mush is dry you simply pop the balloon, pull it out and you've got a lovely bulbous shape to work with. I cut the "balloon" in half and taped 'em to my Fly helmet.

A little extra paper for brow shapes, another few layers of Papier-mâché and you've got yourself a relatively passable fly head. You'll note I left a face area open. On dark Halloween nights you never want to cover your face or eyes. It's for safety, sure, but also because you need your mouth free for eating and drinking and eyes free for seeing all the envious looks of other Halloweeners as they eyeball your awesome costume.

Oh, and there's the hand all mashed together with crumpled mash paper as texture.

Some black spray paint, green paint and super shiny spray on lacquer and you're done. I finished this two weeks before because I had a super fun Halloween party to go to the weekend before Halloween.

The suit is from Value Village (where I do all my Halloween shopping). Lab coat was borrowed from a Doctor friend, black face make-up (also Value Village) to sorta hide my human face and the costume is complete.

Oh, and did I also have a mini version of my head on a fly's body? Yes, as a matter of fact I did. That you will see when I take some good pictures of it :)

Happy Halloween, my friends.

best,

j.