O Brother, Weird Art Thou?

Brother Voodoo--Marvel 70's horror meets 70's Blackploitation! It's a magical mix!
I was telling some friends recently that I would love to do a Marvel comic that takes place in 1970's New York and has a French Connection vibe. I'd put Brother Voodoo in it as well as Power Man, Iron Fist, Doctor Strange, Tony Stark (as if played by Burt Reynolds) and of course a cameo by Dazzler. Marvel should run with this--it'd be like printing money.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Occult Dirty Bastard

John Constantine, the quintessential occult detective. It has been a long time since I've read Hellblazer and doing this commission really brought back memories of how much I liked the book back in the day. I'm talking 15 year ago, maybe. I read the entire Ennis/Dillon run as well as some before and some after but when they left the title I more or less left with them. I really should go back and pick up some of the later runs.
When I received this request I was actually kind of struck that no one had ever asked me to do a Constantine drawing before. It seemed right down my alley but I can honestly say that I had the hardest time of any commission ever to come up with a composition that I liked. In the end I think it all worked out though. The second hardest commissions? Oddly enough, the ones that feature characters from THE DAMNED (my creator owned series). Can't explain it...

Them What Ails Ya, Part Four

Did I forget to mention that Part Three was posted last week? Yes I did. whoops.
It can still be found here.
If you are caught up you can make your way to the fourth and final installment of the SIXTH GUN Christmas yarn, "Them What Ails Ya'"! Head on over to the Oni blog to read Part Four.

Stay posted--I should have some new art from the book to share with you in the next week or too! I can't wait!

Sand By Me

click-it-to-big-it

I love the classic Spider-Man rogues gallery so it was a lot of fun to do this drawing of old web-head going up against Sandman. The biggest challenge was the all grey wash background--it took forever to build up!

Them What Ails Ya, Part Two

I forgot to mention this yesterday, but in case you
missed it, the next installment of The 6th Gun Christmas story
has been posted on the Oni Press blog!

Them What Ails Ya, Part One

The Sixth Gun is the upcoming full-color, supernatural western from writer Cullen Bunn and myself. Although the first issue doesn't release until the spring we do have a little introduction to this world to share with you. Head on over to the Oni Press blog to see the first of four installments of THE SIXTH GUN Christmas Yarn: Them What Ails Ya. This prose story will come out every Tuesday between now and Christmas and each installment will be accompanied by an illustration by myself.
Hope ya'll like it!

Ape in the Air

This recent commission called on me to do a version of the classic Hawkman cover where he battles a winged ape (see the original below). Winged characters now join my list of most challenging super-heroes to draw (along with archers and speedsters)--the images are hard to compose because you have to make room for those big 'ol wings! But don't think that that means I didn't enjoy doing this piece! I'm always up for a challenge!
Hope you all like it!

The Sixth Gun in the Twelfth Month

There's a little bit of news on the Sixth Gun front including the newly revealed, official logo! Instead of me regurgitating it all for you here why not pop over to the Oni Press blog and read about what's in store for the month of December--click here!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! And to my non-American readers--Happy Thursday!

The Lightning Round

For this commission I was asked to riff on the cover to Thor #411 where the God of Thunder goes up against the Juggernaut. This was a classic from the Ron Frenz era of Thor. As much as I love the Walt Simonson run it wasn't until much later that I came to appreciate the art stylings of Mr. Frenz. He was obviously, channeling Kirby when he worked on this series and he really captured the weight, power, and dynamism of "The King's" art. Here's the original cover to this Clash of the Titans:

I Feel the Need. The Need for Speed.

Another recent commission to share with you all. I braced myself when I got this request because I feel that speedsters are some of the hardest characters to draw (and make interesting compositions with). You might say that they're my Achilles Heel (groan). But as I lay in bed one night mulling this over (this is a my most tried and true method of brainstorming) this image just popped in my head and the final result is about as close as I ever get to creating what's in my mind's eye. I'm very happy with the final result and I hope you all like it too.

Hot Damned, Here I Am(ned)

I know, right? It's been forever since my last post, but on the upside, I have several things to post over the next month or so. Starting with this recent commission: everybody's favorite cursed brothers--Morgan and Eddie from THE DAMNED. Every time I do a DAMNED commission I get a little sad that I'm not currently working on this book. I get very excited about all the ideas Cullen and I have for this series. The good news is, fingers crossed, I should be working on the next mini-series starting this spring.

Boy and Arrow

Here's a con sketch from the Windy City show I did a few weeks back. It's Ronin from the New Avengers and I have to admit I was unfamiliar with this character until this sketch (it's been a few years since I read any Avengers). But I was won over by the guy having a bow and arrow--'cuz archers are cool characters to draw. Cool but hard. Anyway, I think he turned out pretty good.
I hope update pretty soon but I'm currently in Portland visiting Oni Press and friends. I have some new commission posts coming up in the near future.
Stay tuned!

Jack Russell Terror

for full effect--click on image

Fun, fun, fun! I've been sitting on this for a couple weeks and have been anxious to post it--had to be sure it's new owner was the first to see it. There are werewolf fans and there are wolf man fans (yes, there is a difference) and I fall into the wolf man category. This particular wolf man happens to be one Jack Russel (no joke) also known to Marvel Horror fans as Werewolf By Night. Did I read this comic as a kid? No. Yet, how do I know all about the character, you may ask? I work with Cullen Bunn. Cullen, to anyone who knows him, is an authority on all things horror and has a very special place in his heart for the Marvel Horror of the 70's. Before finishing the piece and sending it off I felt compelled to seek out his approval. Thankfully, he gave it his blessing.

Thanks again for this request Filippo!

Hand to Hand Combat

Here are a recent pair of commissions I did in the style of a diptych.
I like the both of them but I think I'm particularly fond of the Daredevil half of the piece.

As these were designed to hang next to one another I thought I'd
include the pair side-by-side to give you an approximation of what they'd look like.

click on any image to enlarge

The 6th GUN, Part 5

I just finished the inks for the first issue yesterday!
Here are the very first conceptual pieces I did for THE 6th GUN based on the earliest pitch. Some of these characters remain in the story unchanged, some have been tweaked in their design and some have disappeared entirely. You'll know which is which come this spring!

Have great weekend everyone!

The 6th GUN, Part 4

Here's the last of my concept art "set pieces" from THE 6th GUN.
Drawing those Confederate soldier zombies was a whole lot of fun!

Stay tuned, I still have some sketches and character drawings to share with you!

The 6th GUN, Part 3

Hope you all had a good weekend!
Here's another teaser image from the project I'm currently working on, THE 6th GUN.

Happy Birthday Dad!

The 6th GUN, Part 2

Here's another concept art from THE 6th GUN that I wanted to share with you.
Another scene from the book that may or may not appear, featuring characters who may or may not look like this. I guess you'll just have to wait until Spring '10 to find out!
Stay tuned--more to come!

FINALLY! (The 6th Gun, Part 1)

Those of you that have run into me at shows over the last few months have probably had a glimpse at this image (and a handful more) while for the rest of you this will be new. I have been dying to share this (and over the next week even more images) for about a year now! It was finally announced in San Diego this past week that Cullen Bunn and I will be doing a new book, a FULL COLOR book, for Oni Press. I won't talk to much about plot right now--I'll try to let the art speak for itself. Needless to say, this is sort of a dark epic fantasy set in the Wild West. It's a six-issue mini-series and it'll debut sometime in the spring.
First issue is already penciled and half inked.

It's called THE 6th GUN.

Stay tuned!

Belayed Heroes Sketch

Here's another Heroes Con sketch that almost slipped through the cracks.
Thanks again for sending the scan, Brian!

Grave Robin

I was really happy with the way this one turned out and just happy to even be commissioned to do it (thanks again, Kevin)! This is Earth-2 Robin as he appeared in Justice League #55 (see below). Kevin had run this by me a while back but we'd never gotten around to having me do it so I was really psyched when he came back to me with it. I figure it's probably the only time anyone will ever ask me to draw this incarnation of the character. Again, a whole lot of fun!

Everyday is Thors-day!

I decided to post these two pieces together for obvious reasons. I had two friends each order a commission of Thor recently. One wanted Thor in his new, Coipel-designed, costume and the other one wanted my take on the mythological Thor. I did both these pieces back to back and had a blast with each one! My loyalty keeps swaying back and forth to which one I like best--I hope that says something to how much I liked these. As an added bonus, anyone who knows me knows that I got into comics reading G.I.Joe but it was at a flea market that I was really sucked into the Marvel Universe when I picked up one of Walt Simonson's issues of THOR. So the guy holds a fond place in my heart.

Sister of WhereBlade and WhoBlade

I only just realized this as I was posting this commission, but Witchblade is the character that I've known the least about when asked to do the commission. I hope it doesn't show! I still had a lot of fun doing this--it's not often I get to draw tough, curvy women in tattered clothing. Not a bad way to make a living!

(by the way, I take a lot of pride in coming up with
these really stupid post titles. You're welcome.)

Speedy Commission...That I Took My Time in Doing

Here's a drawing I did of the most recent Speedy of the Teen Titans!
You really can't go wrong with archers. Tell me one comic book archer that sucks. And then you've got the cool hood and everything...very cool all 'round.

More Heroes...and Villains!

Here are three more images from Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC!
Thing VS Terrax (I used the classic Byrne run as my reference), Hawksmoor (from Stormwatch/Authority), and Zorro! I gotta believe you can't go wrong asking an artist to do a drawing of Zorro. All were a lot of fun to do.

If anyone out there has any drawings I did at the show and
you haven't sent them to me I'd love to get a scan or a photo and post it here!

More from Heroes

Two more from the Heroes pre-order list.
I was really pumped when I got the Snake Plissken commission because it gave me an excuse to sit down and rewatch Escape From New York. Y'know, for research. I mean, it had been almost 6 months since I last watched it. Apparently I'm not the only Snake fan--this sketch sat in the protfolio through most of the show and almost everyone who came by commented on that. I'm definitely going to have to do more drawings of Snake.
And, of course, the image below is of the iconic, bad-girl, British super spy: Tara Chace. A character I always love returning to.

(my internet connection seems to be working fine so,
fingers crossed, I'll get some more posts up real soon!)

Heroes Return

Well, another Heroes Con has come and gone and I'm a little sadder for it.
Now I have to wait a whole year to return to what I consider to be the best convention out there. Got to see a lot of familiar faces and meet some great new people.
Here are a couple of pre-order drawings I did before heading to Charlotte.
Hope you like them!
I have several more images to post and I'll try to get them up soon.
Right now my internet is down (burned up modem, I think) and I'm posting this
from the local cafe's unreliable network. Stay tuned!

Heroes Sketch Pre-Order

I will be attending the Heroes Convention in Charlotte next weekend and
I'm taking a handful of con sketch pre-orders. Anyone interested in ordering a sketch
prior to the show can contact me at :

brihurtt@hotmail.com
(I may not be able to get back to you until late Sunday/early Monday
as I will be out of touch this weekend)

The sketches will run $50. I will also be doing these at the show of course but there they are first come, first serve, on a day to day basis. If the history is any measure I tend to stay pretty busy at this show.
Heroes is a great show all 'round and I recommend it to everyone!

Moss Def

click-it to big-it

Here's a recent commission I did! Swamp Thing is a lot of fun to draw--you can just go to town on this guy drawing roots, grass, fungus, etc. It's hard to know when to stop.
Hope you enjoy!

A New Commission Sale!

A window has opened up in my schedule and starting late next week I'll be doing commissions. The above drawing is and example of the style and quality of the commissions. I had such a great response to the holiday sale that I've decided to run a different kind of deal.
All commissions are brush inked and then toned in a grey wash on 11"x14" Bristol board with a one inch border (actual image size is 9"x12"). The price is still $150 plus $8 for shipping (this includes the plastic sleeve I ship them in). The deal this time around is one piece for $150 but if you get a second commission it's only $99 (hell, if you want a third piece, to make it a tryptych, I'll do that one for $99 as well). This also gives you the opportunity to go in with some friends and everyone can get a savings. I already have a couple folks lined up so space is limited.

If you're interested contact me at brihurtt@hotmail.com

You can see some more examples of commissions in this style by clicking on "commissions" at the bottom of this post (when you follow the link, disregard any images that are not grey toned).

I Got Spade for Charity

Last month I attended the FX Show in Orlando. The organizers of the show sponsored a charity poker tournament featuring a special deck of cards--each designed by a different guest of the show. I was asked to do the 3 of Spades. Above is the original art and below is a scan of the actual playing card. The original art was supposed to be auctioned after the show with the proceeds from that and the tournament going to The American Cancer Society.

Catching Up!

It's been a while since I posted so I apologize for the art dump here.
All of these are con sketches from shows I've attended in the last couple months. I'm trying to make a point of at least taking photos of my sketches at shows as it is usually the last time I'll see them. I still manage to forget half the time. Thanks to all those people who send me scans or photos of con pieces! It's great to be able to have these for the sake of posterity.