Kirby-gasm - THE "LATINO EFFECT"

Warning: looking at these colours will actually make you a little high.

Gorgeous hues once again supplied by Kyle "Omega Sanction" Latino.

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OMAC-Colour!

Scorching colours by Kyle Latino. Thanks, Kyle - it's gorgeous!

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One Man Apple Core!

Really enjoying the all-new, all monstrous, Keith Giffen-ized version of OMAC. Here's my take on the big, beefy bugger:



Colours to come? Maybe!

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(kudos to Kyle Latino for the blog title)

Kirby-gasm - INKED!

Click to King-size it!

Here's yesterday's pencils if you want to compare and contrast. I tightened up the Kirby logo, removed Infinity Man (sorry Kevin), removed Darkseid's pupils (couldn't make them work) and did a bunch of other small fixes and tweaks.

I had a blast - hope you like it!

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Kirby-gasm!

This is a commission I'm working on at the mo - I was asked to do a whole bunch of Kirby characters in the style of one of those Marvel Handbooks. Remember those? Anyway - cool stuff, and it's nice to scratch that Kirby itch again. Inks to follow!

Harry Potter on a unicorn, flying out of the TARDIS

A semi-recent commission piece. Three of Jen Vaughn's favourite things, as requested by Chris "Chris Sims" Sims.

Enter: Sandman (literal version)

This is a pic that's been yelling at me to draw it the last few days. It's almost certainly been done before, but it's pretty irresistable nonetheless.

I'd like to reiterate here how much I love drawing Sandman. Striped top, cornrow hair - he's an inker's dream. Actually, both he and Spider-Man are brilliant for this sort of abstraction - Sandman cos of the stripes, Spidey cos of the webs and spot blacks.

The first one I did of these was a bit Romita-esque. I think this one is quite "Ditko-ish".

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The Crimson King!

(Not final art)

So, the cat's out of the bag - The Crimson Hand, a collection of comic strips from Doctor Who Magazine written by yours truly and drawn by a host of top flight British talent (and me), is finally coming out next year. I'm totally thrilled to bits about this, for any number of reasons: primarily, it's going to be nice just to read the whole thing as a novel, with its subplots, callbacks and running jokes plain to see. While I was writing TCH, I was hugely influenced by my other half (AKA The Brains of the Operation), who has a fondness for The Great Gatsby, Gothic fiction, and the freewheeling chutzpah of mid-century screwball comedy. So all that's there, and I'm hoping that when read as one piece, all those influences and levels will have an extra resonance.

The other reason I'm chuffed to see The Crimson Hand out there at last is that I'm a writer. I don't get to do much writing at the moment - I've got so, SO many art jobs on at the moment, it's untrue - but I don't want to forget that I'm a writer, and it'll be nice to point at an object and go "See that? I wrote ALL of that."

Now. All being well, I expect the trade paperback to include the following strips from Doctor Who Magazine:

Hotel Historia (art by me)

Thinktwice (art by Martin Geraghty - this is one of my favourites)

The Stockbridge Child (stands up quite well, despite my reservations at the time. Has some lovely Mike Collins art)

Mortal Beloved (my actual favourite, probably. This is where the influences mentioned above really come into their own. Fantastic, mordantly funny art from Sean Longcroft)

The Age of Ice (another cracker from Martin Geraghty. When the pages started coming in for this, I pretty much flipped my lid - bold, slick, sexy stuff. Why Martin isn't a bigger deal in comics I don't know)

The Deep Hereafter (a story I'd been struggling with for ages finally unlocked itself in the middle of a dark and stormy night. Beat poetry, noir, Eisner's The Spirit, all beautifully drawn by Rob "yer actual genius" Davis. Something a bit special, I think)

Onomatopoeia (how many times did I have to write that sodding word while working on this strip? Bit of an experiment: an entirely silent strip, with a story told entirely through sound effects. Detailed, vivacious art by Mike Collins)

Ghosts of the Northern Line (Bloody hell! It's Paul Grist!)

The Crimson Hand (the grand finale! Even I was surprised at how well the threads all tied up at the end. More gorgeous work from Martin Geraghty, apocalyptic colours by James Offredi)

Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? Even if I hadn't written this thing, I would still be all over it. So feel free to soil your pants with excitement, because this is going to be GREAT.

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Absorb THIS!

A little belated tribute to The King - Absorbing Man gives the New Gods' Orion a bit of the old Ultra-Violence.

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The Golden Age!

UPDATE! Now with added INK!




This was a recent commission piece, where the commissioner asked for 10 (actually 11, but I couldn't fit the Atomic Thunderbolt in) of his favourite Golden Age heroes in one super team. My initial instinct was to do something really dynamic and showy, with the characters all racing towards us, lots of speedlines etc. But I feel like I do that sort of thing quite a lot, so I had a go at doing something a bit more thoughtful. A bit more - dare I say it - Alan Moore-y.

These heroes are, going clockwise from the left: Stardust, Moon Girl, Hydroman, Green Giant, Blue Fire, Doc Strange, Iron Vic (that's the guy with the cigarette - my favourite, as you can probably tell), Kid Tyrant (how about that name??), Black Cat and, in the centre, a guy called Strongman. As you can probably tell, I've worked out a whole backstory to go with this picture - I might work it up into a pitch sometime.


- D

Goin' Underground!

My favourite panel from this week:


This is from TIME SHARE, coming soon(ish) from Oni Press!

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Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with Some Cables

This is the panel Doctor Who strip editor Scott Gray described as "Kurtzman-tastic". Shamefully, I know next to nothing about Harvey Kurtzman (and he's never been a direct influence), but I've been compared to him enough times that I need to find out more. Where should I start, gentle reader?

The panel above is from a recent strip I drew for Doctor Who Magazine, script by Johnny Morris (not that one. Or that other one. That one). Doctor Who has a beard now. Beards are not, and never will be, cool.

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Panel of the Day! (no. 6)

I loved drawing this panel SO MUCH.

- D

Panel of the Day (no. 5 in an occasional series)

This is my favourite thing I drew today:


This is from mine and Patrick Keller's TIME SHARE, coming soon from Oni Press. Watch out for it!

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BIZARRE!

My friend Andy Suriano very kindly aksed me to contribute to his and Joe Casey's magnificent DOC BIZARRE, MD. And how could I refuse??



Slight departure in style for me, drawn quite small with a slightly chunkier, more precise line. The rest of the book is glorious, vivid SPACE-BUG COLOR, so I figured the only way to really stand out was to go for mono with a wee bit of fake zipatone.

Doc Bizarre, MD will be in comic shops everywhere on October 19th. Make a note in your diary, gang!

-D

BFF!

Two more characters who will never turn up in an Avengers movie. Beast, cos he's also an X-Man, and they're all tied up over at EvilCo... I mean, FOX. And Wonder Man because he's... well, because he's Wonder Man. Ironically, Wonder Man in the comics is a semi-successful Hollywood actor. Pff, couldn't make it up, could you?

Regardless, they're two of my favourite Avengers. If they're in Avengers Mansion, then good times can't be far behind!

-D

The Doctor is IN!

The chances of this doofus appearing in the Avengers movie - or, indeed, *any* movie - are pretty slim. But I sort of love him all the same.

Savage? Moi?

Nailing my colours to the mast here: She-Hulk is the best female character in superhero comics, and if she doesn't turn up in Marvel's forthcoming live action Hulk show, then there ain't no justice.

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ME(N)TAL!

A recent (quite mad) commission piece.



My undying love and respect if you can name all the robots in this picture!

-D

Screw HYDRA!

I love the Black Widow! When I went to see Iron Man 2 at the flicks, there were audible sighs of appreciation (from both sexes) when Scarlett Johansson arrived on the scene. The only other time I've heard that at the cinema was when Chris Hemsworth took his top off in Thor. Phwoar!

Hulk Out!

All A-Quiver!

I have literally never drawn Hawkeye before. I am 34 years old.

Hail to the CAP!

By Odin's Raven!

Dear Thor - you're awesome. Signed, Everyone.

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THUNDER Struck!

THUN-DER! DC Comics' fantastic THUNDER Agents 10 is out in all good comic shops today... and I drew a big chunk of it!

Thumbnail!

Inks!

Colours (by Brad Anderson)!

You'll recognise my bit - I'm squeezed between comics legend MIKE GRELL and modern marvel NICK DRAGOTTA. Hell of a thing.

Go buy it. Then go back and buy all the issues so you know what's going on. It's one of the best books out there, so... you know. Do it.

DO IT!

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Panel of the Day (no. 4 in an occasional series)

This was my favourite thing I drew yesterday.

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Back in ACTION!

As of September, the Man of Steel is getting a makeover. In Superman comic, he's going to be all kneepads and seams, in Action Comics #1, he's going to look like the son of a farmer. I wasn't sure about this look at first, but after drawing him for myself...



I totally get it now.

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Tales from the TWART - Space Ghost

Had time to do a (belated) Comic TWART this week. Space Ghost vs. THE ALIEN:



Mmmmm!

Weapon X

This just up on COMIC TWART:


I first read Weapon X round at my friend Alex Jamal's house. Marvel Comics Presents, issues... I don't know. Maybe from issue one onwards? I don't remember. What I do remember is having my tiny mind completely blown by Barry Windsor Smith's stunning, horrible, gorgeous artwork and - just as importantly - his spare, punchy, visceral writing (I probably wouldn't have used the word "visceral" back then. Then again, I might - pretentious child). For a while, I was fascinated by Windsor-Smith, how his art morphed from the early Kirby-stuff to the more delicate, art nouveau-inspired stuff. I even kind of got into Mucha cos of how much it reminded me of BWS.

I haven't thought about Weapon X and Barry Windsor-Smith much since the early 90s, so it was a real pleasure to go back to them for this Twart. If I have time, I might do a colour version of this.

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Nerdgasm!

If you're in the vicinity of Glasgow tomorrow, why not drop by and see me at the GLASGOW COMIC CON? I'll be stinking up the Forbidden Planet table from about two onwards, making with the sketches and whatnot. Come along and ask me to draw the Punisher (no particular reason - I've just got a yen to draw the big angry bugger)

(The above pic, by the way, is from my forthcoming issue of Richard Starkings' seminal ELEPHANTMEN. Not much more to report on this just yet, but it's going to be VERY COOL INDEED.)


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*WINK*

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They're coming!

Be afraid!

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Back in Time!

Hey you! I thought you might like to know that the new issue of Doctor Who Magazine is out, and it features ten pages of utterly mental comic strip from Jonathan Morris and, well, me. Here's a snibbet:



Colours by James Offredi. Oh man, he killed on this thing. Wait till you see it!

Buy it and make my old man proud!

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Console Yourselves!

A sneak peek at what's coming up in my next Doctor Who strip. Coo!

Thumb of the Day

No. 2 in an occasional series.



This is from Time Share, coming soon from Oni Press. Look for it!

D

Something something fezzes

Doctor Who is back tomorrow - hurrah!

Maybe Amy Pond will start to grow on me?

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The War - in Colour!

DESTROY! Colours by Sir Luke Pickett.

Extermineren!

Boom! Dalek Tank!

Panel of the Day! (no. 3 in an occasional series)

This is from that secret project I've got cooking over at Oni Press.


You're gonna love this - I guarantee it.

D

Never Mind the Boll*cks...

Here's the Punisher!

(apologies for the ridiculous, made up gun)

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WHO wants one?

Prints of my Doctor Who/Doctor Doom pic are now for sale - huzzah!

Gloriously illuminated by "Debonair" Dean Trippe, this pic measures a little larger than 11x17, is matte printed on high quality paper, and would make an ideal gift for the Whovian/Marvelite in your life, probably, I dunno.

I'm selling them for 15 UKP (or $30) a pop, shipping included. If you'd like one, drop me a line in the comments section below, or email me at danmcdaid@yahoo.co.uk

ADVERTISEMENT ENDS

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Who knows...?

The Shadow Knows! *sings, does jazz hands*



This was another recent commission piece. Came out pretty well, I think!

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Panel of the Day! (no. 2 in a series)

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Panel of the Day!

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Ladies and Gentlemen...

I give you the most ridiculous thing I have ever drawn:



Ain't that something? This was another (completely mental) recent commission.

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GIANT!

Hey! Just a quick reminder to high-tail it down to your nearest supplier of comic books tomorrow to buy this year's Superman 80-Page Giant. I've got my comp copy already and it's really, really good. Pretty much every story in it is a wee gem, but look out especially for Neil Kleid and Dean Haspiel's belting Perry White/Wildcat story, a terrific Lois Lane short from Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, and a Jimmy Olsen story from Abhay Khosla and Andy MacDonald which I'm calling the short comics story of the year (even though it's only Feb).

There's also more of this sort of thing from Steve Horton and me:



I hope you love it!

D

Terry and the Pirates...

...and some sharks, a few seagulls and a dolly bird.



I put off drawing this for ages, cos I had no idea how to approach the subject matter, and (shamefully) I know almost nothing about Terry and the Pirates. I also know how beloved Terry and (creator) Milton Caniff are in artist circles. So yeah, daunting.

Hope I didn't botch it too badly.

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