Wizard World Ohio art: Humberto Ramos (grail, baby!!!)

I normally don't care too much for anime inspired style, or much of a cartoony look, but I can't help but love Ramos' work. His style has evolved quite a bit over the last 15 years or so. I had exchanged some emails with his rep over the last couple years, hoping to get something from Ramos, but it never worked out. Back in the summer I asked if Humberto was doing pre-show covention pieces, but the answer was no. then, 3-4 days before the show, I received an email saying that Humberto could do 1 piece before the show, an asked if I was interested. Um...duh....?LOL
I asked for a sexy, fun piece, where Krypto had managed to tear off Wonder Girl's top, but she managed to cover everything. Originally I was told it would be extra to have Krypto drawn into the piece (this was already extremely expensive..I have only purchased 1 piece more expensive, and it was a full blown painting). I couldn't put any more money into it, so I had to pass on the idea. Well, I went to the show, an told Joseph (Ramos' rep) who I was, an he smiled. He said he told Humberto what I wanted, and he said sure, no problem. He had a lot of fun working on the piece, an I think it shows. I never realized that Humberto puts freckles on most of the female character pieces he does, so I wasn't expecting them when I saw the piece, but he executed the concept more than perfectly. I couldn't have asked for a better piece (well, i could have asked for something showing a bit more, thus makin it NSFW, or NSFJ (not safe for John, if my wife found out. LOL).

This is definitely the highlight of the show for me.

Wizard World Ohio art: Dan Parent

Okay, I haven't read many Archie comics, but just like most of the population, I am familiar with the characters. Archie is torn between the wholesome, girl next door Betty, and the 'not so safe' Veronica. Dan has done a TON of stuff for Archie, so I asked for a piece featuring Betty dressed in a Supergirl costume, with Archie dressed as the hero of his choosing (he went with Pureheart), and having Archie distracted by Veronica's skimpy Phantom Lady costume. As you'd guess, Betty isn't happy about that. I wasn't expecting the piece to be laid out horizontally, so that threw me a bit, but I think he nailed the concept.

Wizard World Ohio art: Mike S. Miller

Mike has held several different positions int he comic industry, and I really like his style. I asked for a fun Wonder Girl, an here is the result:

Wizard World Ohio art: Tyler Kirkham

I have been a fan of Tyler's art since I saw it on The Gift, then on Codename: Strykeforce. He received alot of notice and moved on to some pretty big titles. I decided to get 2 pieces from him. A Wonder Girl and a Calie, which is NSFW, so I won't post it here. There are 2 scans on the Wonder Girl piece. I darkened one so people can see the detail a little better. Both pieces are exceptional. I hope to get more art from him in the future.

Wizard World Ohio art: Mike Norton

I decided to request a sexy, cute, fun Calie Liddle from Mike this go around. Calie is from the various Wonderland books, currently published by Zenescope. In case you aren't familiar with the character, she is Alice's (from the 'in Wonderland' stories) daughter. Alice eventually escaped Wonderland, grew up, got married an had 2 kids, but due to her time in Wonderland, sort of went insane. Calie grew up to be kind of rebellious, while her younger brother Johnny inherited the madness from their mother.

Mike did a great job on this piece.

Cincinnati Comic Expo (final) art: Josh Blaylock

Josh is an incredible talent. He has brought so much to the industry in the last decade or so. He revitalized the GI Joe series at Devil's Due, so I had to request a sexy Baroness.

Cincinnati Comic Expo art: Whilce Portacio

Whilce is truly one of the masters in the comic book industry. When I saw that he was attending the Cincinnati Comic Expo, I had to try to get a commission. His wife, Jo, was so helpful and nice to deal with. I decided on a piece featuring Domino and Psylocke after they just fought off a bunch of Hand Ninjas. The piece speaks for itself. :)

Cincinnati Comic Expo art: George Perez

I have a wonderful wife. I told her how excited I was that George Perez was coming to the Cincinnati Comic Expo, she decided to buy me a commission from him. Even though she kept calling him George Lopez, it was an incredible offer. I asked for a sexy, fun , classic Ms. Marvel. Mr. Perez did not disappoint. He said he had alot of fun working on this piece, and I think it shows.

Chris Ivy commission

I have been a fan of Chris Ivy's wok for years. Several years ago, I bought a page of art from him, and he did a free single character pencil sketch. I asked for Flamebird (Bette Kane). I have seen a lot of his commission auctions over the last few years, and back in July (I think) i bought a cover commission from him. I decided on a fantasy Marvel Team-Up piece, featuring Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel. The back and forth was pleasant enough. When I got the art in hand, there was a crease all the way across the page, about 1/3rd from the bottom. I love the image, but the packaging could have been so much better. The art was just placed between a couple of thin pieces of cardboard and then put into a flat envelope. That was just asking for trouble.  I brought it to his attention, and he had said I was the first person who has ever had a problem. He offered a suggestion on how to get the crease out, and that was that.
As I said, the art is fantastic, but it wasn't cheap (at least for me). You can't see the crease too well in the scan, but it is there.

Oh well. Live and learn.

Holy crap I suck....

Damn all the available social outlets out there. LOL. I keep forgetting about this blog.
It's been a pretty good year so far. I've gotten some cool art (thanks for the Perez, Gretch!), work is going pretty well, we're going to have a baby in March (our 2nd and last), and Oliver turned 3 this past weekend. I'll be posting a ton of stuff in the next few days, but I want to start with this:

a cover quality commission from MC Wyman. I have been a fan of his work for years, and have a couple pieces by him that he posted on Ebay. Awhile back, I finally nabbed one of his cover commission auctions at a bargain price. I requested a Dynamo 5 piece, with the focus on Scrap and War Chest having it out. Since the cap is at 5 characters, I had to drop 2 of the normal cast in order for War Chest and Firebird to appear. I wanted a piece that was fun, sexy, yet tasteful. I think Wyman knocked it out of the park.