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: