Ask the kids about MarioKart!

| Aaron McConnell

Racing into your week with a high speed pencil rendering of Mario and pals for the Periscope Tumblr sketch challenge. I enlisted my son to help me with the reference on this piece. We did some father/son bonding as we Googled the various race track worlds. I ended up using Wario’s Gold Mine, a most treacherous track indeed. Check that Tumblr link for more MarioKart art in the coming week. And by the way, you can fill your Shopping Kart with this MarioKart Original Art at the Periscope Etsy Store .

Work in the Spirit World

| Aaron McConnell

Miyazaki Week at the Periscope Tumblr finds me reminiscing an Epic Failure back in 1994, I think it was.  I thought I’d work in the kitchen of Aplets and Cotlets for a summer job, and gave up without even putting in a full day.  I’ve always had a strong sense of self-preservation and the combination of smoldering hot caldrons bubbling with candy and my poorly developed muscles, I was afraid a full day of work would end in disaster.  I left the job in shame, and decided I’d spend the rest of my life at a drawing board.  Now that I’ve confessed, I think you may be able to appreciate the personal significance that this scene from Spirited Away has for me.  Quite powerful.

The return of Not Brand ECHH?!

| Aaron McConnell

Wow!  Came across this milestone issue of Not Brand Echh in my extensive internet browsing.  I gotta make sure my comic shop reserves a copy!  Consistently mild-mannered comic book consumers will transform into raging, stampeding Hulks to get their hands on this;)

Self-Indulgence

| Aaron McConnell

Two adventures this week (so far).  I went downhill skiing with my son for his birthday.  He was on a snowboard, and that seems to be the preference based on the SkiBowl crowd up Mt. Hood.  The other adventure was seeing TRON: Legacy last night!  I was fully immersed in the grid.  Loved it!  So here’s a little tribute to those two events.  **This may be the most idyllic drawing I’ve done of myself, possibly ever.  I guess I’m ending 2010 on a positive note.**

I’m Your Man. I’m Batman.

| Aaron McConnell

Here’s something that may or may not need an explanation, but I’ll offer one nonetheless.  It’s basically a sight gag that occurred to me that I thought would be amusing to draw.  The original inspiration was from the latest issue of Batman Odyssey by Neal Adams, a comic that I’ve been enjoying for it’s madcap portrayal of superheroes and the expressive drawings.  The story reads a lot like a Mad Magazine movie parody, a narrative style that I enjoy.  It jumps from scene to scene and the characters talk to each other a lot, but they don’t really seem to listen to each other, and they often talk directly to the reader.  It’s nutty and I like it.  The first page of issue 5 depicts Bruce Wayne eating a banana and drinking raw eggs.  The banana reminded me of Leonard Cohen who I’ve been listening to  recently on the home stereo.  The cover of the album I’m Your Man is a real cool pic of Cohen in sunglasses … eating a banana.  It tickles me, and so there you have it.  Batman, Leonard Cohen, banana.  Beyond that I don’t know what to tell you.

Malinky Robot

| Aaron McConnell

This is a piece of fan art for the comic Malinky Robot by Sonny Liew.   I met Sonny back in 2001 at RISD and we’ve kept in touch over the years.  He’s been much more prolific than I.  The comic that he started in 2001 has developed into a GN and will be put out by Image some time next year.  Apart from this book he’s done stuff for DC and Marvel, a very unique sequel to Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, edited a couple anthologies on the side, done some painting, and did I hear that he traveled to the moon, too?  That might be a rumor, but I wouldn’t put it past him.  My Fan Art celebrates a couple of the many colorful characters that show up in his Malinky Robot collection.  It’s a really playful comic.  And Sonny is an astounding talent.  I remember the day I met him, he cranked out a high energy dynamic one page comic about a character cutting his toenails.  Brilliant!  Here’s the link to the guest artist site:  http://malinkyrobot.wordpress.com/ You’ll be rewarded with some stunning illustrations if you follow that link.  Turns out he’s friends with a bunch of movers and shakers in the comics/illustration industry.

Key Players in the 54th Regiment comic

| Aaron McConnell

Here are some snippets of finished art from the comic I recently illustrated about the 54th MASS regiment.  Frederick Douglass makes a “cameo” in the opening pages as he is recruited to recruit volunteers for the regiment. 

 The main character of the story is William Carney, a 23 year old volunteer who plays a crucial role in the attack on Fort Wagner in the climax of this historical retelling.    

The young Colonel Shaw, at 26 also gets the spotlight in the book.  I tried to draw him youthful in this portrait, but hardened.  He’s seen a lot of death by this point.   Things haven’t really changed much have they?  Sending the kids off to do the dirty work …  BUT ANYWAYlet’s not go there right now!  Let’s talk about the anonymous paymaster that I based on Daniel Day Lewis:D  This time he’s in full color!  Sorry to pigeon hole Mr. Day Lewis, but have you heard?!  He’ll get a chance to redeem himself from this disgraceful casting as the Paymaster when he plays Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming Spielberg production.