Oh, DO Go On.

I drew this several years ago, one of about 15 illos I was working on for a book aimed at teen girls to encourage self-esteem (paradoxical, I know). About halfway through the project, the publisher was tragically killed in a car accident, and the book was never finished. I still have all the art, most of it at least half-inked, sitting around in the stacks of bristol board all over my studio. I've always liked this one, and decided to go ahead and spend a little time finishing it.

It's weird, though... for some reason, every time I look at this piece, I imagine that the girls are laughing at me.

No Express Lane for You

Here are a couple recent illos from Remodeling Magazine, who always provide a fun challenge. The first is from an article espousing the convenience of on-site delivery for building materials, and the second examines the many non-traditional ways to get your business noticed.

Why Of Course You Can Borrow My Pants

Dressy

Shirt & Socks

More Than Shapes

Pipe Dream

Mr. Sun

Ah, vacation time!

Ohhh, Donna...

Meant to post this yesterday, but flat ran outta time!

New Comics Day: The Pernice Brothers Die

One of my favorite gigs ever was a few years ago, when Joe Pernice of the Pernice Brothers, having dug a portrait of him that I'd done and sent his way as a fan letter, asked me to create a short comic to be used as a giveaway for folks who pre-ordered the CD Discover a Lovelier You. Joe wrote a little story, I did the artwork and design then sent it off to be printed, and a few days later, several hundred copies arrived at my house, awaiting my autograph. It was indescribably cool to get to work on a project with one of my heroes, and if I say so myself, everything turned out great.

This was the main "story" of the comic, a goofy little rumination on life and death.

As it happens, I have a few copies of the comic sitting around...the next five folks who order something from the blog, my website or at my Etsy shop will receive their very own copy of this rare piece of Ullmanalia.

U-Go Girl

This illustration began as a convention sketch, which I did for a fella at Baltimore ComiCon last year. He posted it to Comic Art Fans, I futzed with it a bit (and added a foot), and then printed it out in cyan on a big sheet of 2-ply bristol. Great inking practice!

U-Go Girl was a pretty awesome character, from Peter Milligan and Mike Allred's run on X-Force. She didn't last long, only a half-dozen or so issues, before dying in the line of duty on some mission in space. The book really didn't last too long, either, which I think is a good thing...it was a blast of gonzo, unpredictable fun every month for a couple years, before going away entirely and leaving you with fond memories (as opposed to apathetic regret that it wore out its welcome). More comics oughta follow the same path; stories are better when they don't need to go on forever.

Dr. Sketchy RVA: Pretty Penny

As a result of being busy as hell with work and SPX prep, and average daytime temperatures of around 1,000 degrees, I've been holed up in the house for most of the last two weeks. Inspired by the beautiful new Rocketeer: Artist's Edition I received that afternoon, I ventured out to The Camel for this month's Dr. Sketchy RVA meeting last Wednesday night. I'm glad I did; the model was Pretty Penny, who had a sort of an old west thing going on...I think Dave Stevens would approve.

The session began at 5, but as usual, I didn't arrive until almost 6, meaning I missed most of the cowboy hat and boots poses (drat!). But Penny's second costume, a long saloon dress, was a lot of fun to draw as well. Anyway, here are a few of my drawings:

Bumblebee Buccos

There was an interesting, exhaustive article on Uni Watch earlier this week about all the times the Pittsburgh Pirates have worn throwback uniforms from their "bumblebee" period (stovepipe hat, black and bright yellow colors, and occasionally, pinstripes) over the last few years. It's a great article, with tons of beautiful photography, and it got me all nostalgic for the stovepipe Pirates cap that I had when I was a kid, and led me to draw up some sketches of that oddball outfit in action.

I've been meaning for years to grab me a new 1970's Pirates hat to wear around and look ridiculous...but the nature of sports apparel being what it is, I can't find one in my size (probably a 7 1/2) anywhere online to save my life. Oh, I can buy this, or this, or even this...but the stovepipe? No dice. Might hafta draft one'a my yinzer pals for an assist on this one...

Gagtown

Until their untimely demise a couple summers ago, I used to occasionally do gag cartoons for Nickelodeon Magazine. It was a fun gig; I miss it.

Hockey Sketches

Up In a Tree

A couple recent Virginia Living pieces today...the first accompanied the story of Lorraine French Brown, who in 1935 climbed and perched for days in a stately maple tree, to prevent it's being cut down to widen the streets of the town if Woodstock, VA (her efforts paid off; a judge soon issued an injunction to save the tree).

The other tells the story of the aptly-named Assateague Island on the eastern coast of Virginia. Thanks to an article in Playboy Magazine, nudists once flocked to this area in droves...that is, until 1985, when a bunch of Baptist prigs in the nearby town of Chincoteague led a successful effort to ban public nudity and impose a $1000 fine and a year in the slammer for offenders. That's progress for ya.

Sketch Cards

I got some free little sketch cards at Heroes Con this year, and doodled up a few of 'em just to do a little inking warmup a few weeks back. Added a little color with some Copic markers I bought on a lark awhile ago. They're fun to work with; I'm anxious to mess with 'em a little more!

Hello Kitty Craft

My cover for the band Kitty Craft's record "Hello Kitty Craft". Space girls and giant robots...what's not to love?

New Comics Day - Project: Telstar

Another comic from the vaults today...my story from the long out-of-print Project: Telstar from AdHouse Books, an astounding anthology if ever there was one. The theme was space and robots, and the talent sandwiched between those two gorgeous Dave Cooper covers (remember when he did comics? Yeah, me too. *sigh*) was truly a thing to behold.

My strip was actually a collaboration with a few of my pals, with as many of us contributing as there were pages in the story. It was written by Bill Burg and Galen Showman, I handled the art, and Eric Gordon helped out with the color. 

Looking back, I'm still pretty happy with how it looks, a little looser and less labored than the rest of the comics I was doing at the time, mid-2003 or so. Not to say there aren't some cringeworthy moments...especially Allison's face at the bottom of page 3. UGH! 

This was the first of three books I'd work on at AdHouse (followed by the CHEESE! sketchbook with Jay Geldhof and the superhero-centric sequel to Telstar, Project: Superior), all of which completely sold out! I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'...

Threshold

More wedding stuff today, this one some art that I created for a wedding invitation.

Before You Know It

The Small Press Expo, better known as SPX, is a scant six weeks away...Yikes! It'll be here before I know it. I have a little project in the works that I hope to complete before then...a mini-comic called Diamonds are a Girl's Worst Enemy, featuring the same characters that appeared in That's Just Super, which came out in 2005. There's words this time, and a little bigger format, probably 5.5 square or so, so it's been a little more work than I intended (as is usually the case). I'm gonna have to hustle, but I think I can do it!

Also, my pal J. Chris Campbell (with whom I'll be splitting a booth at SPX) and I have decided to try and post every day for the month of August in preparation for the show. Nothing like making more work for yourself! Today, it's a quick, pencilled panel from the new book. Enjoy!

Planet of Wine