Hourman in Columbus

This is officially the last post from the Mid-Ohio show. This piece was done in advance of the show and at the last minute the person it was intended for could not attend. I promised to mail it to him after the show but it was a hard promise to keep. It sat there in my portfolio on the table and I had several people who wanted to buy it off me then and there. Don't think I didn't entertain the idea. Needless to say, I resisted, and the drawing found it's way to it's rightful owner.

This is my last post before the holidays--I'm going on vacation tomorrow and won't have access to a computer until the new year. Until then...

Happy Holidays everyone!

Ragnarok N' Roll

It's probably been said before that when I first started reading comics, it was Thor that brought me from G.I. Joe into the Marvel Universe. It was about midway through the Walt Simonson run on the book and I still maintain that Thor has never been as good.

Anyway, needless to say, this was a lot of fun to draw!

Sophie's Choice

Yes, folks--another drawing from Mid-Ohio. Be patient, we're almost to the end of these--just two more, I believe.
This one is Sophie, from The Damned, of course. I know you all know who she is because I know you all read the book at least 3 times and loved it enough to buy copies for all your close friends and immediate family. Surprisingly, this is only the second time anyone has asked that I draw one of my own characters. As busy as I've been this is the first time I've drawn any characters from The Damned in a couple months. Can't wait to get back to working on the follow-up. Just another month or so...

I Heart Hulk

I haven't picked up a Hulk book in years but I still love drawing the guy(I do plan on picking up the John Romita Jr. World War Hulk stuff when it gets collected).
By the way, I'm also super psyched about the upcoming Hulk movie.

Speaking of Bar Wenches

Here is the bar wench that I spoke of in the last post. Also, as an added bonus, I was sent a photo of the Frost Giant that I did for this same person.
Thanks to both Shannon and Billy!

Rasputin the Dragonslayer

Two more from Mid-Ohio! Continuing a trend started at last years Heroes Con, I have been asked to return to doing an X-Man, by way of Asgard. Always a ton of fun! I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out. I have a feeling I'll be doing more of these in the future.

It's not often that I'm asked to draw a dragon but I loved the challenge. My favorite dragon? It's the black scary one from Sleeping Beauty. Least favorite dragon? Puff the Magic Dragon (that song made me cry when I was a little kid) or maybe that puppy dog looking dragon with the weird eyes from NeverEnding Story. The one that looked like a theme park ride. Falkor!

Both of these were done for a guy who tends to like to get fantasy themed commissions--which is completely fine by me, I love playing in that world. I will say that the other piece he commissioned at the show will probably stand the test of time as being the only time I'll be asked to draw a "bar wench". In the end, I think that one turned out pretty well, actually.

The Dude's Legacy

The Nexus one was fun to do because in looking around for some reference I was reintroduced to Steve Rude's art. I had forgotten how amazing he is. Want to feel intimidated while doing a commission? Try drawing a character that is so closely identified while the art stylings of one of our generations greatest draftsmen. That said, I was pretty happy with the way this final piece turned out.
While at Mid-Ohio I saw an early copy of Steve Rude: An Artist in Motion (due out this month). If you're any kind of a fan of "The Dude's" art, I highly recommend this book. It's a really nice production chock full of sketches, studies, paintings, etc. Keep an eye out for it!

Hasbro's Bonnie and Clyde

G.I.Joe's Destro and Baroness. Another fun piece from Mid-Ohio. You can't go wrong with the Baroness--you've basically got a hot librarian in tight leather. Even 9-year-old me knew that was hot.

We Interrupt These Con Posts...

I still have plenty of drawings from my recent show to share with you but I had to point out something that almost slipped past me. I hadn't been to the comics shop in a couple weeks so I was quite surprised and happy when I dropped in today. On the shelf was the new Fear Agent (#17 or Hatchet Job 1 of 5). Normally that would be enough to get excited about, but what really made my day was seeing my pin-up on the back cover. Now, this wasn't a surprise, I had done the pin-up two or three months ago--I just wasn't sure exactly when it'd see print. I was also really happy with the way the thing printed. I had done the color on the piece as well and had tried a couple new ways of approaching that (just trying to be a little more painterly in Photoshop) and to see it turn out more or less the way I had intended was quite a joy. I still got a ways to go to meet Tony Moore's level of coloring but it was tons of fun none-the-less. This drawing was so much fun to do--Fear Agent is such a change of pace from the kind of comics I'm used to doing. I'm not given much of a chance to delve into the fantastic (even The Damned can be a little too "grounded" for my tastes sometimes). Here's hoping there's more of this kind of work in my future.

One Ring to Rule Them All

I'm thinking about just doing a whole series of JSA drawings in advance of my next show. They are so much fun to do and it seems for every one I do I have 3 or 4 other people trying to buy it off me. I hadn't realized how deep the fan base for these characters are. Of all the JSA characters, the Alan Scott Green Lantern is probably my favorite to draw.

Tonight We Dine in HELL...On Monkey Brains

Here are some photos of a couple drawings I did this past weekend at Mid-Ohio. I had a lot of fun with both of these. Was a little nervous about doing an Indiana Jones piece but I think it turned out all right--I don't think I brought any shame to the franchise...I'll leave that to the professionals.

On a completely unrelated note: I've recently become obsessed with the TV show "Journeyman". In my opinion, it's the best new show of the season. Maybe even the best on TV right now. I'm telling you this because although it's ratings are slowly moving up, the show still hovers on the edge of cancellation. I had no interest in this show when I first saw the early promos and did not plan on watching it (even though it does star Kevin McKidd/Lucius Vorenus from "Rome"). To me the show looked like a rip-off of Quantum Leap. Then, one week, I left the TV on after Heroes and ended up catching the second episode. I was surprised--it actually wasn't that bad. Still seemed like a bit of a weekly formula show, but at least it was a well written, well acted version of one. So I let myself watch it again the next week. After the first few episodes this show revealed itself to be much more than I had thought at first. By the fourth episode you'll be hooked. There is a really interesting mythology being built on the show and the writing is never cheap or not well thought through. Little things that seem incidental in one episode will have impact in later episodes. Things have consequences. That seems obvious but so many shows reboot every episode to the status quo. This show keeps growing and is exciting in the way that only Lost is to me. It keeps you guessing about what's going to happen and about all the possibilities the concept offers. Anyway, I'm really going on here. Just trying to spread the word. To give you an idea where I'm coming from, what my tastes are, here's a list of some other TV hour-longs I heart: House, Friday Night Lights, Pushing Daisies, Lost, Heroes (not so much this season), The Closer, and Life.
So watch it if you can (if there is any way I highly recommend starting at the beginning) and if nothing else check it out on dvd.
I'll now step down from my soapbox.

Rockets and Sparklers

Just returned from a successful weekend at the Mid-Ohio Con. I could've stood to sell a few more books (not that I did badly) but I did very well with commissions. I was as busy as ever and had to turn down some requests--even after doing several in advance of the show.

Here are two of the commissions I did recently--one in advance and one at the show. The Rocketeer was pre-ordered and I definitely took my time with this one. This drawing was to be the first page in a Rocketeer sketchbook and I wanted to do my best to get the book off to a good start. No pressure, right? The other drawing is Jenny Sparks, from the Authority, of course. Not, as some may have conjectured, Tara Chace with a nasty case of static electricity.

As always, if you had a sketch done at the show and you have the ability to scan your drawing and send it my way, I would much appreciate it!

Columbus, Ohio...You've Been Warned

I'm leaving tomorrow and headed to Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus. I'm dragging along a bunch of Damned trades and commissions that I did in the past week. Can't wait to post this batch of sketches--I'm quite proud of them. Also joining me in Ohio will be my friends Chris Samnee and Matt Kindt. I know they are both taking sketch commissions at the show so if you're planning on going you should drop by their individual blogs and check out their offerings.

Looking forward to seeing some of you this weekend at the show. The rest of you--I'll see back here next week!

Put on Your 3D Glasses for Full Effect

Been holding onto this one for a while. I always wait until the recipient of the actually receives the commission before posting it. As a rule I don't send ahead scans either--I believe that the first impression of the piece should be a tactile one. No matter how good the scan it never fairly represents the original. Unfortunately, this one took the long way to the owner--it was lost in the mail for about a month. Poor guy new the piece existed, new it was on the way, but had not actually seen it yet.
On an up note, when it finally showed up, it was on his birthday. Happy birthday, Sean!

Pre-Order Time!

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and so is the Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus, Ohio (Nov 24, 25). If you can make it, please do stop by and say hi!
I'll be taking commissions all weekend and my current asking price is $50 for a single figure, inked, with grey wash tones. If you're the type who likes to plan ahead, and knows they want a sketch from me (I've already heard from a handful of you), then I'm giving you the opportunity to save a little cash. If you would like to pre-order a commission from me before the show I'll knock ten dollars off the normal price( that makes it $40 a drawing for those of you without calculators handy). Unfortunately, this only applies to those commissions that are not going in a sketchbook--these are commissions to be done leading up to the show and will therefore be done on my own paper. Space is limited!
Anyway, hope to hear from some of you and hope to see even more of you at the show. To contact me, email: brihurtt@hotmail.com

Go Johnny, Go!

Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt! I kept hesitating on this commission because I just couldn't get the right composition. It didn't really click for me until I bit the bullet and decided to go with the whole "early 40's" motif.
Hope you like it!

Grab Bag

Here's a collection of sketches I've done over the past couple weeks. I wanted to break up the monotony of ink wash commissions and con sketches and share some of my doodles. Enjoy!

What Do You See?

This post almost got lost in the mix. This is one last image from the show I went to a couple weeks back. I was surprised and pretty happy with how this one turned out.
Hope you like it!

Intergalactic Planetery

click-it to enlarge-it

Chris Samnee beat me to the punch today by posting this so I thought I'd better hurry up and get it up on my blog.
I really love this piece. Samnee and I were each commissioned to do a drawing in this sketchbook. Chris was to do Galactus on one page and I was to do Silver Surfer on the facing page--an epic duel (Galactus and the Surfer not Samnee and Hurtt). I think the piece turned out great!
So, Chris and I sat at the con tables discussing how to approach the drawing--I said "I think I have and idea of how it should look" and Chris said "I have an idea of how we should do it". So we each grabbed a post-it and started doing our thumbnails. Chris finished his in about 10 seconds and slid it across the table to me. I took one look at it and then slowly, and inconspicuously, slid my paper off the table and into the trash box. Needless to say, the above drawing is completely Chris' layout. The guy knows what he's doing.

Bullseye!

I'm pretty fond of the design on this one. The image is was adjusted in Photoshop from a photograph so some of the subtlety in the grey wash is lost here (that's generally par for the course with my grey wash scans). Still, I think it's a nice piece. This was done the weekend before last at a Kansas City show.
I only got two and a half hours of sleep last night so I'm going to go take a nap now. I'll have another post for you before the weekend!

Hurtt/Samnee Crossover Event

This was a one-off commission that I did with my friend Chris Samnee. I doubt we'll do this sort of thing again (neither of us really likes giving up control of our work) but it was definitely a lot of fun and we're both happy with the way it turned out. For this piece, Chris drew the original breakdowns/roughs and I then did the inks/finishes as well as the grey wash. It was quiet freeing to do the piece--pencils are always the drudgery of doing a piece, it's the inks that are fun and relatively stress free. For that reason I was happy to have Chris pencil this piece-- coupled with the fact that he's just an excellent artist. He makes pencilling seem so effortless. I know he'd say it was otherwise, but I sit next to him at shows a lot and it's always me who's doing all the cursing and erasing.

Inking over someone is always exciting because you get to know their art more intimately and learn a thing or two in the process. I ended up seeing a lot of things in Chris' work that I hadn't before and I have to say that in the subsequent days I noticed myself picking up some of gestures and techniques in my own work.

To see the original pencils for this piece go check out Chris Samnee's Oct 5 post.

Leave it to Chace

Another fun Queen & Country commission from this past weekend. It's always cool to get another shot at drawing Ms. Chace. I feel that my art style has changed so much since my initial run on Q&C--it's nice to come at the subject matter with fresh eyes.
Hope you like it!

The Life and Times of Paul Crocker

This past weekend I did a small show in Kansas City. I have a handful of commissions to show for it--all of which I'll post over the course of the next week. My friend Chris Samnee also attended the show. Because we were sitting next to one another and because both he and I have worked on Queen and Country we were asked to each do a drawing of Paul Crocker in someone's sketchbook. The catch: I was supposed to draw Crocker 20 years younger than his present day incarnation and Chris was asked to draw him 20 years older. I had the advantage in that, having done Q&C:Declassified, I know what a younger Crocker would look like. Chris' drawing was more challenging. Watch him hit it out of the park here (you might have to scroll down a little--the post is from Monday, Oct. 1). I'd also stay tuned to his site so you can see all the other outstanding pieces he did this past weekend.

Seems Like Just Yesterday

This recent commission took me back to my roots. Queen & Country: Operation Morningstar was my first real comics work. And it shows. I would post some of those early pages for comparison but they would be cringe-inducing for me. For this drawing I was asked to revisit the main characters of the book (at that time)--Paul Crocker and his Minders. It was nice to get a chance to redraw these characters--especially Wallace and Kittering (right and left, respectively). I'll always have a fondness in my heart for this book--having done two tours of duty with it. It's a great graphic novel series and I also highly recommend the prose novels.

WWC Drawings Pt. 5

Another commission from the Chicago show that showed up in my Inbox this morning (thanks, Josh!). I was nervous about this one as I was doing it but it ended up turning out pretty good. I think. Josh was kind enough to let me draw him in his 70's get-up. I'm a big fan of some of the 70's costumes and Iron Man and Power Fist were both the epitome of that style. It only made sense that they'd eventually team up.
If you haven't already been checking out Chris Samnee's blog (Samnee rhymes with Omni)--then you should do yourself a favor and head over there. He has posted a bunch of his sketches from Chicago and there are a lot of "beauts" in there. My faves being Harlequin, the Thing, and Ronin Wolverine. In that order.

U.S. of Kickin' A.

I picked up the first trade in the Brubaker run on Captain America on a whim a couple weeks back. The next day I was back at the store buying the rest of the series. This book is a blast! And as good as all the artists are the whole thing really clicks when Steve Epting is doing the art chores. The guy is fantastic. I'm not completely caught up on this series as I've only read the trades. I can't wait until they collect the Death of Captain America.
I liked this book so much that I also picked up Brubaker's Sleeper (also really good) and I plan on picking up his work on Daredevil.

WWC Drawings Pt. 4

Breath easy. This is probably the last of the Wizard World convention posts. There is an Hourman commission out there somewhere that I would love to be able to post at some point but the odds are slim that it'll show up. In the meantime you'll have to settle instead for this drawing of Black Adam that I am also quite proud of. I was really happy to be given the opportunity to draw this bad SOB and I hope it shows.
Until next time...

WWC Drawings Pt. 3

Here's a Deathstroke I did in Chicago. This is the second time I've drawn this character and I hope I get asked to draw him again. He just has one of the coolest costumes in comics.
Hope you enjoy--have a great weekend, all!

WWC Drawings Pt. 2

A couple more faves from Chicago. I had a lot of fun with both of these. I was surprised when I realized that this was the first time someone had me do a Daredevil drawing. And I almost never get the opportunity to draw female characters so doing the Black Cat was a blast.

WWC Drawings Pt. 1

I'll be honest with you--sometimes at these shows I turn out some real duds. That wasn't the case for me this year in Chicago. I'm pretty happy with all the commissions I did this at this show and I think they've been steadily improving over the last few cons. I think it's a sign of me being more comfortable with my style and also not taking on so many commissions that I can't give them the time and care they deserve. Here are three from the past weekend--I hope you enjoy.

The above is a reimagining of the Birds of Prey cover I did. I was really excited when I got that job but then disappointed when I was basically told to just have Black Canary and Lady Shiva standing back to back. This drawing helped to ease that pain.

This Green Arrow turned out even better than I remembered.

The call remains out for anyone who got a sketch from me this past weekend. There are still some I'd love to have on file but whose owner's I've yet to hear from.
I'm talking to you Kevin. : )

The Post Con Post

Well, I'm back from the show and I have to say that it was a resounding success. Last week Cullen and I had purchased a case of our books to last us the next few shows. By close of the show on Saturday we had sold out of the entire box. We were pretty happy about that--it had really exceeded our expectations. Because Cullen had to leave early Sunday to get back to town and because I had no books to sell, I took the day off. Sunday was the first day in years that I was able to actually walk around a convention at my leisure and enjoy it as a fan. It was such a relaxing and enjoyable day. I was even able to get home early and still have time to go to the movies (went and saw Stardust--thought it was really good if you go for that sort of stuff).

I want to thank all the people who picked up the book at the show, all the people who brought the book along to be signed, and all the people who just stopped by to say hi. Everyone's kind words were very encouraging for both Cullen and I.

A great big shout out to the great guys over at Around Comics. They have been really supportive of The Damned from the very beginning. I can't tell you the number of people who either already had the book or picked it up at the show who said that they had heard about it on the Around Comics podcasts and message boards. I think I can say without a doubt that the show wouldn't have been as big a success without their advication. Do yourself a favor and go check them out here.

A reminder and a plea to all who got commissions from me this past week. Just a reminder to those who said they'd send me scans of the drawings--I'd love to post them and have them on file. A plea to those I did not ask to scan the drawings: If you have the capabilities, and the time and inclination, I'd be really grateful if you could send along a scan or digital photo. I was really happy with the quality of the images I did at the show and I'd love the opportunity to share them with everyone.

The above drawing was something I did on a whim last week. I took it to the show and it sold pretty quickly. I had a few other drawings I had brought along that I was also able to sell. I think I'll probably try to have a small batch of pre-drawn material to bring to future shows--it seems to work out pretty well and it also provides great material for the blog.

Hugs and kisses...

Pre-Order Drawings: Wizard World Chicago

Here it comes, Wizard World Chicago. Just finished recovering from San Diego and I have another long weekend ahead of me. At least with this one I'll spend most of my time sitting on my rear rather than standing. I'm looking forward to Chicago because, unlike San Diego, I'll get to spend a lot of time drawing. At San Diego there was no time to do commissions so not only to I fall out of practice a bit but I feel a little bit at a loss---I have no idea what to do with myself at a show if I'm not working.

Now, to the point of this post. Although there are only three days left before I leave for the Windy City I wanted to give folks attending the show the opportunity to pre-order commissions. My rates for Chicago for a single character commission w/ ink wash (similar to above image) are $50. Each additional character is $30. Background (if any) and pose/layout are at my discretion. Any commissions for characters from my comic The Damned are a bargain at $40. Any orders placed prior to the show (pre-paid) are $10 less than the above listed prices. All interested parties can reach me at brihurtt@hotmail.com.

Space is limited.

Even if you're not interested in a drawing, please stop by the table in Artist's Alley (table #5308). Cullen and I look forward to seeing you all!

Click on the "convention drawings" label right below to see other examples of my convention commissions.

Dream A Little Dream

I have either been busy, busy, busy or lazy, lazy, lazy. Take your pick. Either one is probably a little bit true. It's convention season which, apart from being time consuming, can also be quite draining. I always have to factor in at least one day of recuperation whenever I return from a show. I got back from San Diego late Monday--had a good time, glad to be home. That's my con report. And to add that we sold out of all the copies of The Damned that we brought. Oh yeah, and there was this announcment in last Thursday's issue of Variety:

DreamWorks drawn to comic pair

Parkes, MacDonald to produce 'Damned'

DreamWorks has scooped up the film rights to the Oni Press comicbook series "The Damned" and "Courtney Crumrin," for Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald to produce.

"Courtney Crumrin," an ongoing series written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh, revolves around a misfit who moves with her social-climbing parents into her uncle's spooky mansion. While her parents strive for status in their new, swanky neighborhood, the oddly charming girl finds magic in her uncle's library.

Series consists of 12 comicbooks compiled into three graphic novels. A fourth novel, "Courtney Crumrin and the Fire-Thief's Tale," is set for publication on Aug. 15.

"The Damned," a horror-noir series penned by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt, is a gangster thriller with a supernatural twist. When a pack of demons arrive in their city, two rival gangs must join forces to defeat their new common enemy. Comicbook series, which first hit the stands last fall, has been compiled into a five-part graphic novel that's set to hit the stands Friday.

Eric Gitter at Closed on Mondays is also producing the projects via Closed on Mondays Entertainment, the film production arm of Oni Press, a leading independent comicbook and graphic novel publisher. Both projects will be touted at Comic-Con, which gets under way today in San Diego.

Lisa Gitter, Steven V. Scavelli and Joe Nozemack will co-produce the two projects for DreamWorks, while Peter Schwerin will exec produce. Alisa Tager brought in the projects to shingle Parkes/MacDonald, which is based at DreamWorks.

Parkes and MacDonald previously ventured into the comicbook world when bringing the "Men in Black" franchise to the bigscreen. Other producing credits include "Catch Me if You Can," "The Ring," "Road to Perdition" and "Gladiator." They are currently in post on Marc Forster's "The Kite Runner" and Tim Burton's "Sweeney Todd," starring Johnny Depp.

Oni Press, through Closed on Mondays, has several projects set up around town, including "Scott Pilgrim" and "Leading Man" at Universal. Independently, Oni is producing the bigscreen adaptation of "Seasons of Dust," with Tim Blake Nelson set to direct.

Oni and Closed on Mondays are repped by UTA.

Admittedly, they didn't get The Damned plot synopsis quiet right, but that's okay, Cullen and I are very excited nonetheless. Congrats are also in order to Ted Naifeh and his Courtney Crumrin series. I've been a fan since the beginning. I'll be sure to keep you posted to any updates, right here. In the meantime let me share some previously unseen Damned images:

D to the O to the F to the P

That's Days of Future Past to all you haters.

Ain't nothing cooler that old Wolvie sporting those Reed Richard-looking white-walls.This commission was the very last page in someone's X-Men sketchbook that was started sometime back in the ealry 90's and has some great drawings by folks like Steve Epting and John Romita Jr. No pressure at all, right?
I got this commission after the owner of the sketchbook saw this old post.

I Say Thee, Aw Shucks!

Another Cannonball, circa early 80's Asgardian Wars. Having liked my take on Dani Moonstar from the same story ( see here), I was approached by someone at HeroesCon to do a Cannonball from that classic epic. Unfortunately, I didn't have any reference for him so I had to wing it (see here). As I was doing that drawing someone else came up to the table that basically had the exact same idea. He'd even brought a print-out for reference. It was too late for the current drawing but I could use the reference for his drawing when the time came. After looking at the drawing I was doing, he basically told me to forget about the reference and draw him in the garb I had made up. Just have him "blasting". Easy enough. So, above is the result of this second Asgardian Cannonball drawing. Yee-ha.

Bring Out The Damned

What's that you say? You feel like you really need a solid dose of mobsters and monsters? Well, my friend, you're in luck! The Damned trade paperback is officially in stores today. If you have any goodness in your heart you will rush out and buy this wonderful production brought to you by Messrs. Bunn and Hurtt and the fine people at Oni Press. If you're a really wonderful person you'll buy copies for your friends!

If you have had a chance to read the book, I know that Cullen and I would love your feedback!

Speed Racer

This one is a post HeroesCon follow-up. Being the last drawing on the list I wasn't able to get to it so I promised to take it home and mail it to the owner. I have to admit to being a little apprehensive about drawing the Flash (Golden Age or not) because when trying to draw him in the past I've always had a problem making running look, I dunno--dynamic. To my surprise I think this piece ended up turning out all right.

Queen & Country Redux

First, here is one of two Tara Chace drawings I did at HeroesCon (if whoever I did the second Tara for happens to read this, I would love a scan of that image). It's always fun to revisit Tara, as she was essentially the first protagonist I ever drew in comics. Being my first gig I don't think I did her any justice. So it's always nice to feel like I'm given another shot.

After posting a bunch of con sketches over the past couple weeks I was contacted by someone who said they thought maybe I'd like to post one of their con sketches that I'd done...two years ago. I braced myself, expecting the worse. I usually can't stand to see anything I've done that's more than a few months old. But y'know what? It wasn't half bad. Here's an image of crotchety Crocker sitting at his desk:

I felt like this post needed one more drawing to feel complete. It's always been a hope of mine that I could do just one more Q & C story. Just about the most fun I've had doing a comic (outside of The Damned) was my three-issue Queen & Country: Declassified story featuring a young Paul Crocker. I've always liked the idea of returning to do one more Paul Crocker adventure. There are too many obstacles that stack up against that ever happening but it's still nice to daydream about. Here is a quick ink sketch of young Crocker that I did at 4 a.m. this morning. I don't think it turned out half bad.