Marvel Comics

King Kirby

| Aaron McConnell

For the life of me I cannot make a Jack Kirby homage sketch without doing a poor imitation of his technique.  The unbridled energy is infectious in the most refreshing way.  I almost didn’t do the WakeUpAndDraw challenge today, thinking I had just too much on my plate, but then I realized that the graphic novel I’ve been working on borrows steals some of his visual language directly, I realized it would be unconscionable to not do something. Kamandi_WUAD_2014 Below are some of my previous imitations, shameful as they are…

bigbarda_v_lump_72dpi thor_loki_amcc_72dpi

Marvel Comics and Me

| Aaron McConnell

Some of my blog readers may know that my dad, Dan McConnell, inked Marvel Comics in the 90s, including X-Men #1 (thepizzahutedition).  I worked on a few Marvel issues a couple years ago as an assistant (either assisting with background pencils or background inks), but never credited.  However, this time assisting Karl Kesel on background inks for Fearless Defenders #4AU I will receive my first credit in a Marvel comic for some of my inking, further establishing me as a “chip off the old block.”  I was hoping to get a glimpse of what the colorist did with the inks and today I was rewarded with this Preview on CBR.  I had a hand in only two of the preview pages there, the rest of the credit goes to the extraordinary talents of Karl Kesel and the colorist, who appears to be unlisted in the preview.  Phil Jimenez, the penciler, had something to do with it, too, and of course the writer Cullen Bunn.  Anyway, check out that preview and I’ll proceed to curb my enthusiasm for being a small part of the corporate machine.

FearlessDefenders_pg1_previewFearlessDefenders_pg5_preview

One Strange, One Creeper

| Aaron McConnell

I managed to do a little drawing during ECCC.  I started this Dr Strange (reading Lovecraft) without a commission request and kept chipping away at it, but didn’t finish until I got home.  The Creeper piece was done for an entire sketchbook of Creeper drawings.  There were some really nice pieces in that book, and yes, I was intimidated.  I wanted to have rain pouring down on the Creeper through the grate in true Ditko fashion, but fortunately for the sake of time and sanity my table mate, Dennis Culver, talked me down from that ledge.  It takes experience to get comfortable sketching at conventions, I’ve found.  I’m amazed to see people who crank them out in the double digits.  Some artists manage to get commissions before the show and do a lot of the design layout prior, so they can focus on the rendering exclusively during the Con.  That’s a sweet arrangement.  Anyhow, I did a couple other commissions and if you, Dear Reader, were the recipient and want to send me a scan of the piece to post on my blog, please do so (find my email top right of this page).  I had a request for a Sandman in another sketchbook, but the timing didn’t work out.  I wish I had asked to see the book, though, and I’m wondering which Sandman it was.  I assumed Gaiman’s…but which Gaiman version…hmm, apparently I wasn’t prepared to do a Sandman.  Oh, but next time I will be;)

Last month of Sketch Challenge 2011 starts now!

| Aaron McConnell

Yeah, I’ve taken this Sketch Challenge seriously.  It’s been a terrible distraction, but also a great inspiration and I’ve really enjoyed playing in the sandboxes of my peers.  This week we’re celebrating Jonthan Hickman and Dustin Weaver’s S.H.I.E.L.D: Architects of Forever.  Dustin works at Periscope, and he’s almost always down there when I make my rare appearances.  I do most of my work from home, but I rely heavily on the studio in other ways, and picking Dustin’s brain and looking over his shoulder as he plows through page after page of dynamic drawing has really helped me out with my own efforts.  So, anyway, I wanted to do a SHIELD piece and I knew I couldn’t get away with doing it the “Weaver-Way,” so I took liberties with the Tesla character and his muse?/guardian?/dove woman.  I drew her sort of morphing into her dove form.  Something about it reminds me of Osamu Tezuka’s  Phoenix, and that has to be my subconscious at work because I know Dustin is a huge Tezuka fan.  HUGE.

If you can make out the signature at the bottom right of the drawing you’ll see that I credit Dustin as well as the legendary Jim Steranko.  This is my lack of willpower at work, Dear Reader.  I told myself I wasn’t doing a Steranko send-up when I went into this, but as you can see, I failed miserably.  The conversation with myself sounds quite a bit like the conversation that Tom Waits has with himself on Nighthawks at the Diner, you might know the one, he ends up “taking advantage of himself” or “making the scene with a magazine.”  For me it started with, “Why don’t I just put a little op art behind Tesla?” and before I knew it I’m drawing clocks and shadow dudes.  But in my own defense, I realized I had to put the shadow dudes in because… well, let me put this little diagram together for you.  Take a look…

See?!  Am I crazy or does it seem that we may find out who Steranko’s shadow men are after all these years.  I guess that still doesn’t explain the bike wheels, but Hickman and Weaver’s SHIELD isn’t over yet.  And I’m enjoying it, if you can’t tell.

Here’s the thumbnail of my drawing (pre-Steranko brain seed).  There was something that I liked about this little Tesla sketch so I ended up scanning/enlarging it to the 11×17″ board.

Now, it’s time for you to be wowed by Dustin Weaver artwork.  Go here:  http://dustinweaver.blogspot.com/ or here: http://dustinweaver.tumblr.com/ .  Lucky you! 😀

 

The doctor is out…

| Aaron McConnell

…of body.

My wife saw this over my shoulder as I was coloring it and it wasn’t clear to her that the figure above is the same as the man, Dr. Strange, in the trance.  I think I may have failed in that regard.  While an out of body experience can be disorienting I didn’t intend for the depiction to be.  I think I should have used the candle smoke in a way that suggested a more dynamic change in the mental state of the character.  Plus I should probably try to experience a trance first hand.  See you in the outer realms…