Right now I am on my way back from the Image comics Expo in Oakland, Ca. As you that have been following the Mythica story may know the first issue is complete. I am working on the second issue right now. Over the next couple weeks I will be posting a wide variety of things including preliminary work from issue #1 like we have here today.
This rough looks quite a bit different than the final. That is what doing roughs is all about. First you just get the idea down on paper. Once it’s there in front of you, you can use your skills and knowledge or even advice from editors or friends to make it better. For this particular page I showed the rough draft to a friend of mine who suggested making the demon smaller in the first panel to give a greater sense of depth.
Also, you’ll notice that i changed the angles of the last two panels to make it more dynamic.
I hope this was insightful.
See you all next week with more process stuff from issue 1 and maybe even a peek into issue #2!
Mythica-Behind the curtain
G.I.JOE Retaliation Sneak Peek
Ray Park as Snake Eyes in G.I.JOE Retaliation
The trailer for the new G.I.JOE movie coming out next summer has just been released! The G.I. Joe team faces off against Zartan, his accomplices, and the world leaders he has under his influence. It looks way better than the last movie for a lot of reasons! First let’s take a look at the trailer.
GO JOE!!
So..um, yeah the first obvious improvement in my opinion was the removal of a mouth from Snake Eyes’ mask. That looked ridiculous in the first film. When the trailer opened with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson i admittedly had my doubts but actually i think he is a pretty good fit to play Roadblock.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Roadblock in G.I.JOE Retaliation
I know, I know. Roadblock was a black guy and so was Heavy Duty. In fact they were cousins. Despite all that i still think it’s a good fit and besides, Dwayne Johnson is at least half black.
Now my favorite femme fatale of G.I.JOE was always either Scarlett or the Baroness. Both of these buxom babes werein the first film but it doesn’t look like they will be appearing in the second which make me a little sad. 
Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye in G.I.JOE Retaliation
However, Adrianne Palicki is looking pretty great as LADY JAYE. Much, much better than she did as Wonder Woman. Let’s hope she plays the part well.
Now, obviously the addition of the kind of silver screen badassery, Mr. Bruce Willis, makes this a must see movie for me. Even if he is only in it for a few minutes. The fact that he plays the original G.I.JOE is a pretty great nod to the Joe fans too.
In summation, i don’t know if this will be a great movie but i WILL be going to see it. Hopefully it won’t disapoint. Until then we will wait and look for more crumbs to drop about this movie. Because Knowing is Half the Battle!
Go JOE!
Ghost Rider pisses fire!
Nicholas Cage as Ghost Rider pissing flames in Spirit of Vengeance
The first trailer of the upcoming film by Marvel Entertainment, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance has been released on itunes. The film still stars Nicholas Cage. I wasn’t a big fan of the first movie but i loved the bike. I will probably still go see this movie based on what i see here in this preview. The movie is scheduled to release on Feb 17th. In the few seconds of watching this trailer i had a flood of ideas for my Mythica comic. I mean they fight demons in Mythica and i have yet to have a character in flames. What was i thinking!
Check out the trailer! Tell your friends where you saw it. Leave your comments about what you think about the movie, or Nicholas Cage or even Mythica for that matter.
The Week in review: 08/0711 Superman and Catwoman costume glimpses
Well let’s see, what happened this week.
Apes take over, Superman’s new costume, Anne Hatheway as Catwoman, Thundercats cartoon and more!
Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out in theaters on Friday. Perhaps it is because it is the last big movie of the summer but i swear i have seen more advertising for this movie than any other movie this whole summer. The film starring James Franco and Andy Serkis was originally going to be called Ceasar based on the ape that we follow throughout the movie from innocent infant to aggressive adult. However the producers felt it best to capitalize on the popularity of the classic Charlton Heston films. For those fans of the original films i hear there are some scenes that give homage to the old classics, particularly in the opening credits. I just don’t think they can make a reboot of the original without using the “damned, dirty ape” line made famous by Heston. I have yet to see this film as i have been preparing for Chicago Comicon but i’m sure i will. From what i have heard it is a good story. Not as much action as might be led to believe in the trailers but all in all a good film. We shall see.
Costume sneak peeks from DC!
Henry Cavill dons the new Superman costume in the upcoming "Man of Steel" movie
We got some special sneak peaks at some costumes for characters that many people have been waiting to see. The first glimpse was of the new Superman costume in the upcoming “Man of Steel“. The Man of Steel film is being directed by Zack Snyder and stars Henry Cavill as Superman and is scheduled to release in 2013. What was wrong with Brandon Routh? One thing Routh had going for him was how much he looked like a young Christopher Reeve. Who is Henry Cavill? A British born actor who is most notable known for his role in the Tudors. You may have caught a glimpse of him in a preview of the upcoming film The Immortals. A film that strangely looks a LOT like 300 which was directed by Zack Snyder. Zack Snyder told Hero Complex a while back that he prefers the more muscular style of Superman created by comic book artist Jim Lee. Looking at his other movies that is no surprise. Cavill is taking that to heart and training for hours everyday and in-taking 5000 calories a day! Let’s not go overboard here guys. Remember, Superman isn’t human. His power comes from the sun and his anatomical make up not his caloric intake and his gym routine. I mean come on Tom Welling pulled of ten seasons of a very successful show without being Super cut. As far as the costume goes i am on the fence. One thing that stands out to me is that damn mesh material. Do the studios have stock in that material? I am seeing it everywhere. It looked pretty cool on Spider-man but i hate it on this costume. What makes it even worse is that the mesh even goes on the chest emblem. Weird looking. When Mythica gets turned into a movie i hope they are over this phase of using this material. Can you imagine how silly Magnus would look running around during WW1 in this material? ugh. …but i digress.
Also this week we got to see a glimpse of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in the upcoming Dark Knight Rises film
Anne Hathaway as Catwoman in the upcoming Dark Knight Rises film
Honestly this image doesn’t tell us much. We can see that she is on the familiar Bat-Bike from previous films. Hopefully she is stealing it. We can’t see much of her costume. From what i can see i hope that this isn’t truly her costume. As many of you know i am a big fan of Catwoman and have drawn her many times at conventions. I even have a pinup of her that i made. I love her costume especially those reently depicted by my favorite artist Adam Hughes. What we see here in this picture could be anyone. It doesn’t show anything telling us it’s Catwoman. It looks more like Triity from the Matrix. However, again i will not judge too early. This could be any number of things. Maybe she hasn’t put on her costume yet. Who knows. I just hope it doesn’t look like this throughout the film.
Lion-O battles the Ramlak in episode 2 of Thundercats cartoon
Also this week the second episode of Thundercats aired on cartoon network. Last week i discussed briefly the new cartoon series. This weeks Episode “Ramlak Rising” has Lion-o, Tigra, and Cheetara come across pirates who sail the quicksand sea. Ironically the pirates are fish people. The Captain of the pirate ship is bent on getting revenge to the Ramlak creature from drinking up all the water (i couldn’t make this up) The Captain takes a liking to Lion-O as he also seems on a quest of vengeance for the death of his father. At one point Lion-o actually says the words, “We’re on a mission to avenge our father”.
In a classic learning his way type story Lion-o finally comes to the realization that he has lost site of what is important when he sees his friends are in danger. Not that original of a story and the Ramlak looks an awfully lot like the Kracken form Pirates of the Caribbean . Now this episode struck a cord with me as the whole pirate theme becomes pretty prevalent in my comic, Mythica. One of the main characters, Magnus MacDracken; who is also the Captain of the crew, is also determined to avenge the ones who killed his Black Watch crew. The difference is that Magnus is now in the same situation he was when his first crew died. He is responsible for them and they look to him for leadership so he constantly faces the dilemma of catching and destroying his enemies over the risk of endangering his crew. He has survivors remorse. Despite having a new crew now and wanting to protect them at all costs he still sometimes loses his internal battle which is one of the things that makes Magnus an interesting character.
Well that’s all i have for this week. I’d love to hear your input on any of these topics. I will be leaving for Chicago Comicon this Wednesday and not returning until Monday the 15th. My next post will be the highlights of that show!
The Week in Review: Thundercats, Cowboys and Aliens, & more!
This week was a pretty interesting week. The new Thundercats cartoon made it’s premiere on Cartoon Network, Cowboys and Aliens hit theaters, Mark Waid made an appearance at Austin Books and comics, and i finished up production on the Mythica preview/sketchbook. Let’s start at the top.
NEW THUNDERCATS CARTOON
Thundercats characters from the Thundercats 2011 cartoon
I was able to catch all but the beginning of this cartoon. The animation is beautiful. It definitely has an anime feel to it but hey until American animation companies get over the 3d hype most of the cartoons we see are gonna get made overseas. Most of the time reboots of old cartoons veer so far from the original that the old fans seem to hate it. Look at the new Transformers cartoons. They are mostly 3d and just don’t seem to relate at all to the originals so i never watch them.
Now THIS Thundercats cartoon feels like it is a prequel to the original cartoons and even though the style of animation is slightly different the characters feel very much the same. Well, except Lion-O. This story seems to be about him coming into his role of King. He is much younger and sounds a little off saying the line of the Sword of Omens that we all know. The show should be a hit with the younger generation but may still capture the attention of the fans of the old show since it airs of Friday nights. Guess they figure there are a lot of people who have cartoon network on while the party it up on a Friday evening.
Okay on to Cowboy and Aliens. I’ve got two words for you-Olivia Wilde!
Olivia Wilde in nude scene from Cowboys and Aliens
The movie was entertaining. I love Jon Favreau’s work especially on the Iron Man movies. Daniel Craig pulled off being a bad ass pretty well and i thought it must have been some sort of homage to Indiana Jones that Craig’s character, Jake Lonergan, kept going back for his dropped hat. Another reason to see this film is the beautiful Olivia Wilde. She has duel citizenship in America and Ireland and in 2009 she was picked as Maxim’s #1 pick for their Maxim’s hot 100. I first noticed her on the show “House”. She talked briefly with MTV about her nude scene here.
Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog
The best of the rest.
This week i finished up production on my Mythica preview/Sketchbook. It, along with my new banner, are at the printers right now and should be done my the middle of next week.
Mythica rough cut cover
Look for it at the upcoming Chicago Comicon August 11-14th at the Donald E. Stevens convention Center.
Also my man and Editor from CCP comics McLain McGuire got to chum it up again with Kingdom Come scribe Mark Waid. Waid made an appearance at Austin Books and comics over the weekend.
Let’s see what else happened. Oh as already mentioned in an earlier post Walking Dead helmsman Frank Darabont left as showrunner.
Okay that’s it for now. If you know of some upcoming coming events in the next few weeks or any art related event in the Colorado area please feel free to contact me so i can post it. If you are at Chicago Comicon please stop by. I can be found in Artist alley Aisle 3400, Section 2 Table # 3425
Captain America beats Harry Potter!
Well it looks like my predictions may have been right. Last week i predicted that Captain America would be the most profitable of all of the comic book movies this summer. So far the weekend box office results show that Captain America: The First Avenger has grossed 65.8 million dollars. Knocking Harry Potter out to become the highest grossing film of the weekend. It also means that it beat Thor which grossed 65.7 mil and totally smashed Green Lantern which did $53.2 mil.
What about Transformers? Well Transformers did nearly $98 mil on it’s opening weekend despite all the bad press about Michael Bay’s story telling ability. However Transformers cost a hell of a lot more to make than Captain America for one and although it is available as a comic i’m not sure i would catagorize it as a “comic book” movie since it’s fame started with the cartoons in the 80′s.
In any case it looks like the Captain is off to a good start and is still leaving everyone salivating for the Avengers movie next summer. Also, let us not forget that many of the comic fans that would be going to see this film have been attending the San Diego Comicon so i predict that the upcoming week will still show good numbers for the Captain.
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger
On another note i gotta say that one of the highlights of the film for me was this woman right here. Hayley Atwell looked stunning in this film. There is one scene where she walks into a bar wearing a red dress and her hourglass figure made my jaw drop. WOW. If you haven’t seen this film yet then she is another very good reason to see it. Not only is she beautiful but i thought she gave a great performance. Well i’m off to draw more comic pages for Mythica and get ready for the upcoming Chicago Comicon. What did you think of the Captain America movie?
Captain America: The First Avenger news
Chris Evans as Captain America in "Captain America: The First Avenger
Well in a few days the wait will finally be over. Captain America: The First Avenger, the final film release from Marvel comics building to the much anticipated Avengers movie, releases in 3500 theaters on the 22nd. How will this comic book movie do against the other blockbusters of the summer? Well i have my predictions but before i get into that let’s take a look at what Captain America is to the American public.
Created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby in 1940, Captain America made a bold statement right from the beginning. Not only was it the first super hero comic with it’s own title (Superman was in Action Comics and Batman was in Detective Comics) but the cover of the very first issue featured Captain America punching out Adolf Hitler! Both Simon and Kirby served in WWII and so the book was perhaps a bit more personal for them. In any case Captain America became an icon very quickly.
By 1950 the war had ended and comics in general were struggling. Captain America was canceled until 1964 when Marvel comics (used to be named Timely comics) revved the character thanks to some ingenious ideas from a certain Stan Lee and one of Cap’s original creators Jack Kirby. Stan developed a story line for a book called the Avengers in which Captain America had been frozen in ice since WWII and survived through suspended animation.
Any of this sounding familiar? It should. These stories have been the basis for Captain America’s entire background and even the upcoming Captain America movie.
Okay back to this First Avenger movie. The question was how will the Captain America film fare against the rest of the summer blockbusters? My prediction is that it will be more profitable than any of the other comic book movies of the summer. But, i am not just proclaiming this as a fan boy. I have some supporting evidence. First lets compare apples to apples. Let’s just compare The First avenger against the other comic book movies of the summer.
In the right corner wearing the red, white and blue we have Captain America: The First Avenger and in the left corner wearing a variety of bright colors we have
Thor, Green Lantern, X-men first class, and Transformers.
Now one advantage that Captain America already has over these other movies is it’s budget. take a look.
- Green Lantern budget=$200 mil/opening weekend box office=$53 mil
- Transformers budget=$190 mil/ opening weekend=$98 mil
- X-men First Class budget =$160 mil/ opening=$$55 mil
- Thor budget =$150 mil/ opening=$66 mil
- Captain America budget= $140 mil
So what we learn from this is that the Captain didn’t spend as much money and apparently doesn’t need a lot of fancy effects. He just goes out and kicks ass. So if it does at least as good in the box office as X-men or Green Lantern which i’m sure it will, it will already be ahead of the game in profits. But that’s not all.
As mentioned earlier Captain America is a much more recognizable character than Green Lantern or even Thor for that matter. When talking about the over 60 crowd most only know of the X-men due to the previous movies but a lot of them remember Captain America from their youth. But the movie isn’t really targeted to that crowd is it? It main target audience is the younger kids and kids at heart most likely. There has been a LOT of marketing for this movie. More than i have seen for the X-men or Thor. I think there will be a strong military support for the movie as well.
What Captain America has going AGAINST it is the Harry Potter movie. The final film of the 21 billion dollar Harry Potter franchise came out only last week. There are bound to be lots of fans still going to see that this weekend. I am not a fool, Captain America will not even come close to the opening numbers of Harry Potter but i’m saying that it will probably do better profits than any of the other coic book movies of the summer. We shall see. Do you agree? Disagree? let’s hear your thoughts.
Transformers 3 movie review
Transformers 3 Optimus Prime
It’s not very often that the third installment in a movie franchise is better than it’s prequels. In fact it is usually worse. That is not the case for Michael Bay’s Transformers Dark Side of the Moon. After the epic fail called Rise of the Fallen many people did not have high expectations of this new release including myself. Michael Bay has some very cliche camera techniques and has become known for having huge explosions in every movie. That being said this was still the best of the Transformers movies thus far.
Now don’t get me wrong it was still a Michael Bay movie and all of his usual stuff was in there but it definitely flowed better and made more sense than the previous movies. As to be expected there were tons of epic moments some of which even teetered on being emotional. Some things were improved on from the last film that even the director himself admitted was not his best. Case in point in Revenge of the Fallen every fight scene seemed to be shot with a shaky handheld that was zoomed in waaay too lose so that no one could make out what was happening. In this movie much of the shakiness was replaced with slow motion wide shots so that everyone could see exactly how Optimus was destroying the next Decepticon.
Speaking of which, this movie pushes the badassery of Optimus even further by having him annihilate Megatron in a most epic, Michael Bay way. The robot violence is off the charts and may be offensive to some parents even though it’s robots killing other robots. As one review put it : “It’s the cinematic equivalent of a Metallica concert!” Which is maybe the reason i enjoyed this movie so much.
**WARNING SPOILER ALERT BELOW! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE YET YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ ANY FURTHER!**
The story of the movie ditches most everything from the Revenge of the Fallen and instead focuses on the history of the Autobot/Decepticon war. Through a clever tie in with our own real world history we learn that the Decepticons have been secretly waiting to use a devise that will recreate Cybertron on Earth. How? With Leonard Nimoy of course! The voice of another old Prime and mentor of Optimus, Nimoy’s character does a great job of adding a twist to the movie and giving Optimus another boss to fight.
The characters of the movie are not all that strong an in many case not as believable as the robots. In fact the one’s who really shine aren’t in the lead roles at all. My favorite character in the movie is a newcomer to the franchise, Dutch, played by Alan Tudyk of the Firefly fame. His acting is the best in the movie in my opinion. I have never been a huge fan of Shia LaBeouf but his role in this film was also cranked up a notch. As he seeks to have a greater purpose and deal with his rich super-model girlfriend, he goes off on hyper caffeinated tyraids that are almost comical. I felt it fit his role well as a frustrated young adult who is getting pushed aside by the military, the rich and the seemingly more important. Actress Frances McDormand plays the role of a National Intelligence Director so well that you are just dying for someone to smack her. The tension created bewtween her very powerful character and Shia’s , “i can help” character leads to some really fun tension.
Transformers 3 Shia Labeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Then there is the new girl. Rumers circulated long ago about the removal of Megan Fox. Shia’s new girlfriend, played by Victoria’s Secret model Rosie Huntington Whiteley, is nice to look at so Michael Bay shot her at every imaginable provocative angle. In fact, we see her ass before we see her face; classic Bay move. All in all she wasn’t that important and i thought the tough biker chick ( Megan Fox’s character) bossing Shia around seemed more fitting.
The Good: I loved that the writers created some drama and moments of tension. As many followers of the Hero’s Journey will tell you, death and resurrection is an integral part of the story and in this movie they pulled it off not once but twice! I wondered for a moment if Bumble Bee was going to bite it so it counts. I also liked the slower camera shots and wider angles. The nearly hour log devastation of Chicago was fantastic and believable.
The bad: Optimus Prime and Sentinel Prime had almost all of the robot dialog in this film. How are we supposed to get to know them if you don’t give them dialog Michael? Also, the parents could have been removed from this film. They served little purpose. Lastly was John Malkovich’s character. I love John Malkovich but his character seemed so forced in this movie.
Okay that is my review of the movie. What are your thoughts? Do you agree/ disagree? Let’s here it.
Green Lantern Earns $3.4 million opening night
Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern
Green Lantern was released in nearly 1200 theaters at midnight last night. Reports are already in that the movie has made as much on that first night as X-men First Class and slightly better than Thor’s midnight run (3.3 mil)
Green Lantern opens today in nearly 4 thousand theaters nation wide. Over half of those being in 3d. Whether it does as well as Thor or X-men First Class over the weekend remains to be seen. Warner Bros is certainly counting on it to do well. The last installment of the Harry Potter movies comes out later this year and after that they are looking for a new cash cow so to speak. Will Green Lantern do that for them? I haven’t seen the movie yet but something tells me it’s not going to carry itself into three or more sequels. Now if they were to do what Marvel has done and start working us toward a Justice League film then that might work for them but i have seen no signs of that as of yet.
So far the reviews coming in seem to be coming from reporters at the New York Times or some other such publication. Most of these reports are from men over 40 who have never even looked at a Green Lantern comic. The problem with these reviews is that these films are targeted to a younger audience. The kids are going to eat it up and i’m sure millions of toys will be purchased. As for whether the film itself is any good remains a mystery to me. I am hoping to go see it this weekend. What i can say is that i was expecting Thor to be terrible and it wasn’t. They managed to tell the story of a god going between two worlds pretty well and keep me interested. Let’s see if Warner Bros can do it. Have you seen it? What did you think of it. Please leave a comment below.
Green Lantern Easter Eggs
Ryan Reynolds stars as Green Lantern
Green Lantern hits screens June 17th and there are a lot of us really excited while others are still skeptical. Some fans of GL debate one who is the best
Alan Scott( the original), test pilot Hal Jordan, John Stewart( made popular by the Justice League cartoon), Guy Garder, and Kyle Rayner.
Personally i think Hal is a good pick for a Green Lantern movie. However, for those of you that are fans of the John Stewart character, you have something to be excited about. Actor Nick Jones was at Comicpalooza and commented on his role in the film as John Stewart to writer Shawn Lealos. When asked by if Stewart becomes a Lantern in the film he simply replied, “no”. He later went on to comment that if you have read Secret Origins you will have a good clue where they are going with the film and possible sequels. hmmmm. Does that mean relatively unknown actor Nick JOnes may get his own Green Lantern movie?
For those of you still hoping to see some other DC characters i the film to help us hope for a Justice League film it ain’t happening as far as i can tell. Which is kinda sad. After the success that Marvel is having with building up the Avengers movie many fans are clamoring for a Justice League movie. You now have Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern films in place. what is the hold up DC?
Other things to watch for-How bout Star Sapphire? Actress Blake Lively plays Carol Ferris in the movie. As many of you know, in the comic universe Ferris has often battled Green Lantern as Star Sapphire with a gem that gives her similar powers. Watch for the symbol on Carol’s helmet early in the film.
Another Lantern makes an appearance in this film but you may have to watch really close. Do any of you remember Bzzd? if not here is the description directly from comicvine so i don’t have to retell it:”Although Bzzd was no bigger then a housefly, his tremendous willpower allowed him to be a capable fighter in the Green Lantern Corps. Bzzd’s power was evident in his penchant for creating constructs that were massive in scope when compared to his diminutive size, like locomotives and full scale roller coasters.” This tiny little character is one of Director Martin Campbell’s favorite characters and so he will definitely be in there somewhere.
Want more?
Well again, if you watch the trailer closely you can see the Sinestro corps logo forming. For those of you not up to speed with Green Lantern lore. You know that purplish looking guy in the trailers played by actor Mark Strong? Well his name is Sinestro. With a name like that you can figure that he would become a villian. In the comic universe he becomes the nemesis of the entire Green Lantern corps and forms his own. His corp rings are fueled by fear. If they were going to make a sequel my money is on this guy being the lead villain.
Some interesting side notes about the film. The Warner bros studio spent roughly $150 million making this film. Approximately 75% of that was spent in the great state of Louisiana. This make it the largest feature film ever shot in Louisiana. After being to New Orleans myself before and after hurricane Katrina, i am excited to hear that Warner Bros did so much in helping that economy. Also something to keep in mind is that the state paid out close to 35 million in tax credits. An investment that they believe is well worth it. What this means when you bring it down to a personal level is this. If you were one of those people that watched the devastation of hurricane Katrina or the BP oil spill and said to yourself, “i wish i could help somehow” but never actually did-well here is your chance. The better the film sales are the better the return for the money the state invested into it will be. That money goes back to the state and you in turn helped. So go see Green Lantern!