Wow – this is a big one. And I was really happy to get the chance to participate and contribute. Duties on this Bendis/Maleev title ranged from logo design (Alex finally won), IFC, backcover, letters page header, print ads, web ads and more. The asthetic was ‘punk’ and you get that right off from Alex’s final logo design, which looks like nothing more than a ’spray-painted’ hack job.

Ted McKeever’s new mind-twister is soon to be released. I had the pleasure and honor to contribute the IFC (interior front cover). Jim Valentino (publisher) and Ted’s direction was simple enough. make it look like a resturant “tab”. So I went with the old fashioned diner style, handwritten approach. The challenge here was to create a “color” palette using only greyscale.

I can not spell HEROINES to save my life…so I inserted the hot chick silo. Shameless but effective and now no one will even pay attention to my spelling. This title is still in the development stages and Michael Sarrao and John Broglia are teaming up yet again for this project which is part of a new anthology and is sure to find it’s way into your hands in a very interesting manner. The notion here was to work from the old HEAVY METAL logo, hence the bold typeface and hot chick. I’ll be back later with a finished version and the proposed color scheme is Pink/Silver.

Designed this cover for Brian Michael Bendis’ re-issued, first-time-ever-in-color deluxe hardcover edition of his now classic Hollywood tell-all. Wanted the design to build upon prior versions and to allude to comic book panels and film strips.

The very first trade paperback collect I’d had the chance to design. The cover was hard, the interiors are giving me fits.

Have been waiting on this book for a while now and I’m very excited to see the first teaser debut on CBR this week. I designed a six-pack of these and a group shot to run at the conclusion of the teaser series. It was pretty easy work considering Rodin’s inspired art, and if the series cover artist ain’t grand enough for you, wait until you get a load of Joe Eisma’s interiors.

The original back-breaker returns! Jim Valentino’s SHADOWHAWK returns this spring from Image Comics. Jim asked me to take a shot at the interior front cover. His direction was simple – street-level, gritty, dirty, shitty. What follows is the art I created by manipulating a variant cover and creating a dingy brickwall background. It dawned on me that Shadowhawk should be just that…a mere shadow…dishing out brutal, unforgiving vigilante justice.

There’s some hint that this might see the light of day! I’m pulling hard for Michael Sarrao and John Broglia, a deserving writer/artist team from the the east coast. This is one of the earliest logo designs I did but vital to my development since it dawned on me that a logo could contain an element (the domino mask) seperate from the type itself – a domino effect that lead to works for Shuddertown (scales of justice) and Payload (the H bomb).

From the mind of Image Comics Founder and publisher Jim Valentino comes ‘Fractured Fables’, a fable-fairytale anthology with an astounding array of talents both on writing and art chores. After some early runs at the cover design, Jim & editor Kris Simon cut me loose. Inspired by the opening squence of Shrek I arrived here:

This one is a hardcover, and the spot varnish proposed for the finished product will make Mike Allred’s art really jump-off!There’s some cool news coming about this one but you can first pick up a sampler of the book at FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2010!
In anticipation of Emerald City Comic Con with Stan Lee and Brian Michael Bendis in the same place on the same day (nerd moment there) I organized and helped to produce a full-color 8.5 X 11 print to commemorate their work on Spider-Man with the help of up-and-coming artists Joe Eisma & Jeremy Dale. In preparing the prints, I used the layout & design DNA from the incredibly iconic Amazing Fantasy #15 cover and the more recent sleek look of ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN. After completing the background and layout, typography and coloring I then integrated the finished art from Joe & Jeremy.
Thank you to both artists for spending their valuable time and sharing their considerable talents, and a special thanks to Kelly Dale (inks) and Nate Lovett (colors) on Jeremy’s print in helping to produce such incredibly cool and fun pieces in honor of both Stan & Brian.
In alpha order:
Jeremy Dale

Joe Eisma

Larger versions: Jeremy | Joe
Please visit their websites at: jeremy-dale.com | Supajoe.com2.0