Tales from the Brain Jar, #25

I haven’t posted a Tales from the Brain Jar since last December, so this is overdue.  For those new to Tales, I’ve been collecting sketches involving brain jars since 2004.  Today’s Tales from the Brain Jar comes from 2010’s Star Wars Celebration V.  I remember being surprised that Star Wars artists were going to be attending and I was more than happy to bring my sketch book with me to the convention.

Today’s sketch is done by Katie Cook.  Katie is probably best known for her web comic Gronk.  She also wrote the incredible and illustrated the mini book, “Fuck You, Box”.  That book is a must read for anyone who has ever owned a cat.  She also writes the My Little Pony comic book.  So yes, Katie is just a whole box full of awesome. 

The sketch today is considered a “mini sketch” and is something Katie is known for doing at conventions.  It makes sense; artists can either do a few full sized pieces or a number of little ones.  This way anyone who wants a piece is able to get one and it’s affordable to most people.   Since we were at a Star Wars convention I opted for some Jawas, because I can totally see them stealing a brain if they could get away with it.  Because Jawas are so small anyway I think them being so tiny on the page actually adds to the piece.  Anyway, check out Katie’s webpage HERE and see more of her work for yourself.

Tales From the Brain Jar, #24

Tales From the Brain Jar is a reoccurring feature here at That F’ing Monkey. I’ve been collecting art from some of my favorite creators for years now and Tales From the Brain Jar is a way it off a little. Today’s sketch was done at Botcon 2010. Botcon is a Transformers convention. I probably wouldn’t travel to go to a Botcon, but when it came to Orlando I had to check it out.

The sketch was done by Matt Moylan whose art can be found at lilformers.com. Matt ran a Lil Former’s web comic for a long time. He now works for Udon Entertainment and does web comics for Bravoman and Wagan Land. Matt is extremely well versed in Transformers lore, so I could have asked for any number of Transformers. Instead of going for my all time favorite (Springer), I went with another bot in my top 5.

Slag is one of the Dinobots. The triceratops was always my favorite dinosaur as a kid, so when the Dinobots first were introduced he was the one I wanted. But there are other reasons that Slag is perfect for me. His name is a generic curse word in the Transformers world. It’s not a nice word in British slang either. He also breathes fire; his file card even stated he likes melting enemies into pools of liquid metal. The file card also goes on to state he’s such a complete and total asshole that the other Autobots won’t come to his rescue when he gets himself in trouble. “Me Slag no like anything” indeed.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #23

It’s back; it’s Tales from the Brain Jar! If you’re unfamiliar with Tales from the Brain Jar, I’ve been collecting convention sketches since 2004. I thought the middle of October was a perfect opportunity to show off another brain floating in a jar. Today’s sketch was done back at the 2009 Megacon by Joel Carroll. I’ve talked about Joel on the site before when he launched his Topaz web comic. I feel pretty lucky that I live near Joel, so I get to see him and his artwork on a pretty regular basis.

Joel’s artwork shows up all over the place. You’ve probably seen it on Project Rooftop or on Comic’s Alliance. At the time I had this sketch done Joel had just finished a bunch of sketch cards for a series of Indiana Jones cards. When I saw the cute, cartoon style he had done them in I knew I needed one. And then, here is where I’m strange. I needed it to include Short Round. I love Short Round. I’m still mad that we never got a movie with a grown up Short Round taking over for Indy. If I had my way, that would have been the fourth movie. Anyway, check out Joel’s site for even more of his incredible artwork.

I have a handful of other Joel sketches not in my sketchbook that I really need to share at some point. Shark monsters, giant robots, super heroes, and Star Wars; seriously he’s drawn all my favorite things for me.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #22

Queue the spooky music, rattle some chains, and get the wolf to howl…Tales from the Brain Jar is back! The journey through my brain jar themed sketch book continues. Andy Kuhn did this amazing Rex Mantooth sketch for me at the 2009 Megacon. Andy’s name is usually associated with the comic Firebreather. He has been working with IDW on their TMNT series. He also provided the art for the subject of today’s sketch, Rex Mantooth.

The Annotated Rex Mantooth is the funniest comic I’ve ever read. The trade paperback consists of three stories. On the left of each page is the annotated script for that page. There are countless intros at the sart of the book.  This is the kind of treatment meant for a literary greatness. That’s the joke; Rex Mantooth shared three issues with another comic. It’s a kung fu gorilla super spy who spouts obscenities and saves the world. It shouldn’t have fully annotated scripts, but it does, and it makes the whole thing even better.

A lot of times when I get a sketch done, I already have a good idea of how I want the brain jar included. With my Starman, I knew it had to be a tattoo. On Jonah Hex, it had to be a wanted poster. I had no idea how to involve a brain jar with Rex. There is no Sergeant Brain Jar in the comics; it all came from Andy’s head. I sincerely hope that we’ll see more Rex Mantooth someday. Deep down I hope that appearance will include Sergeant Brain Jar.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #21

It’s been months since I ran a Tales from the Brain Jar. For those who don’t remember I have a sketch book with a brain jar theme. I’ve been very lucky to get some amazing sketches from a number of talented artists. Because I’m pretty proud of the book I like to show it off and hopefully let people know about some books that they may have missed. Today’s sketch comes from Francesco Francavilla.

I met Francesco back when I used to be a regular member of the Hellboy boards a very long time ago. I was obviously impressed with his art. I finally met him in person at Heroes Con in 08. He was working on Zorro and showing off pages from Dracula Meets the Wolf Man (written by Steve Niles).  There was a large group of us who stayed up way too late talking about break dancing, Robocop, and every once in a while, comic books. I may have gotten really drunk.  That weekend I pretty much begged him to come to Megacon just so I could hang out with him again. I also really wanted him to do a Zorro in my sketchbook, but I had run out of time at Heroes and his list had filled up.

This sketch was done at the Megacon mentioned above. During the convention I went to a Pulp Hero panel that had Francesco , Sergio Cariello (Lone Ranger artist), and a writer who was working on Green Hornet prose. I apologize I don’t remember the name of the Green Hornet writer. The panel had a horrible turn out because it was scheduled against a massive Leonard Nemoy panel. I still remember saying how surprised I was that both Lone Ranger and Zorro comic started by retelling the origins. I had though everyone knew those stories, but when the room (of like 6 people) was polled I was the only one already familiar with those stories.

I love the Zorro sketch, but now that Francesco has his own character I would love to get a Black Beetle sketch some day. Also make sure you check out Francesco’s Pulp Sunday blog for more of his amazing art work.

Flash Friday: Tales from the Brain Jar, #20

Happy Flash Friday everyone! Today we’re going to be crossing Flash Friday with one of my favorite reoccurring features, Tales from the Brain Jar. In case you missed any of the earlier entries, I’ve been having pieces added to my brain jar themed sketchbook since 2004. Today’s entry is posted on Flash Friday because the picture is of Bart Allen back when he was Impulse.

This piece was done during the 2009 Megacon. If you can’t tell just from the looks of it, it was done by the incredible Humberto Ramos. I was very excited about this sketch, when I picture Impulse in my mind it is Ramos’ version that I see. While talking with him that day he said he was embarrassed that so many people come up to him thinking that he designed Impulse with Mark Waid, when Mike Wieringo was actually the artist behind the character.

For those not familiar with Bart when he was still Impulse, one of the things that made him stand out is that he never had text in any of his thought bubbles, it was always pictures. It was very different and one of those little quirks that I knew I had to have included in my sketch. I don’t think it’s bragging to say that the sketch came out amazing. I got to talk a lot about his run on Impulse and his thoughts on the character in general. We also talked about the Dark Horse mini-series Revelations, but that is a topic for another day.

Starman Week: Tales from the Brain Jar, #19 pt2

Welcome back to Starman week and the second part of my Jack Knight Tales from the Brain Jar. Yesterday I discussed the Heroes convention in 2008 where I met Tony Harris and his unique way of picking what sketches to do. Today’s story is from that very same day, although it was later in the afternoon when he was getting ready to do my sketch.

I was walking past Tony’s table and he called me over. He was getting ready to start my sketch and he wanted to ask me a few questions. So as I walk over he says, “Goat or no goat?” I wasn’t really expecting it, so I was caught a little off guard. I must have gone slack jawed for a split second, but I recovered and realized he was talking about Jack’s facial hair. He nods approvingly and then tells me that he’s going to put something in the sketch that I should get since I’ve read all the books.

I didn’t say this yesterday, but I’ll mention it today. I am intimidated by Tony Harris. It’s just that I admire his work so much, and he just seems so cool, I don’t want to say or do something that would appear dumb in front of him. Is it geeky? Yes, I realize it is. I’ve talked to him numerous times and he is a fantastically nice person, but I’m still nervous that I’m not cool enough when I’m around him. So the fact that he was putting an Easter egg into my sketch was awesome and terrifying at the same time.

My mind was racing, what would happen if it was some obscure reference from the comic and I didn’t catch it? I’d be humiliated. As he worked the two of us talked about tattoos and the series in general. No matter how awesome that conversation was though, I was constantly thinking about that reference that I needed to get. Luckily for me, it was something I easily recognized. You’ll notice the name of the tattoo parlor is a reference to Turk county in the story. I can’t really describe how relieved I was.  Of course besides getting the reference, I also recieved the amazing sketch that we've been talking about.

That’s it for this Tales from the Brain Jar. Check back the rest of the week for more Starman goodness.

Starman Week: Tales from the Brain Jar, #19 pt1

I hadn’t realized it, but it has been months since we’ve ran a Tales from the Brain Jar. Just in time for Starman week comes one of the most impressive sketches in my entire book. It is by Tony Harris and it was done at the Heroes convention in 2008. There are two stories attached to this sketch, so we’ll get right to the first of them. Because this may run a little long, I’ll post the second story tomorrow.

Any time I know I’m going to a convention I keep track of the artist list so I can budget both time and money accordingly. I usually plan for 1 sketch, with the possibility of picking up a second depending on how much I’ve spent already. For Heroes, I knew I wanted a Jack Knight from Tony Harris. I could have left the convention with just that and still called the weekend an amazing success.

Due to someone very awesome that I won’t name right now, I managed to get into Heroes about 10 minutes before the doors were opened. I quickly parted with my benefactor and started for Tony Harris’ table. I found him about 5 minutes before the doors opened and found that I was the third person in his sketch line. I was disappointed I wasn’t first, but I figured there was no way I wouldn’t get a sketch if I was third in line. That’s when the convention opened and Tony explained what he was doing this weekend.

Tony explained that he can do a certain number of sketches during the convention (I forget what that number was). He then went on to tell us that to make it more interesting to him, we would have to write our names down and then write down what we wanted a sketch of. Tony would then to the sketches that he thought were interesting. It made sense, but I was suddenly terrified that Jack Knight getting a brain jar tattoo wouldn’t be interesting enough to make the cut.

The first guy in line writes down his name and then writes “Batman”. Tony looks at the list, arches an eyebrow and pretty much tells the guy. “Hey, Batman is pretty boring. I get tons of Batman requests, there is a good chance I won’t do this one.” The guy sticks to his guns though; he seems indifferent about the whole thing. He doesn’t go into an impassioned speech about how Batman is his favorite character in the world; he just kind of nodded and went on.

Guy number two walks up and writes down “Wonder Woman.” Inside I’m cheering, I’m still worried that my sketch isn’t interesting enough, but if this is what I have to compete against I figure I’m a sure thing. Tony looks at this guy the same way I must be. I honestly don’t believe he thought he would get a Batman and Wonder Woman so quickly after telling people he didn’t want to do generic sketches all day.

Finally it is my turn. I get my first omnibus signed. We both comment on how nice the book is. I joke that after the singles, the trades, and finally the omnibus that the story must be something special because at this point I’ve bought it three times. I write my name, what I want, and I show him the other 18 brain jar sketches in my book. I was relieved to know almost immediately that he would be doing my sketch, but the story isn’t over yet. Check back tomorrow to find out what else happened.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #18

Tales from the Brain Jar is back! Since last December I’ve turned this into a monthly feature because I was burning through the sketches in my brain jar sketch book way too quickly. The good news is that I still do have a buffer. Right this moment I have 11 sketches that haven’t been featured on the site yet. So I have some time to pick up more before I run out. Eventually I will run out of sketches but I hope that won’t be for a long time.

So with the slightly depressing news out of the way we can talk about today’s sketch! Scott Wegener did this amazing Atomic Robo for me at the 2008 Megacon. The brain in this specific sketch is Robo’s enemy, Baron Heinrich Von Helsingard. A lot of times it is hard to figure out why the character would have a brain jar in the sketch, but when one of the big bad guys in the book is a brain in a jar, it becomes pretty simple.

If you aren’t familiar with Robo he is an automatic intelligence created by Nikola Tesla. After that he goes around with his Action Scientists and runs afoul of all sorts of supernatural strangeness. The book jumps around through different time periods and mixes in a lot of humor with all of the action. There are a number of trades out there when you ready to jump into the weirdness.

Flash Friday: Tales from the Brain Jar, #17

Happy Flash Friday everyone! Today I’m doing something that I’ve never done on the site before; I’m merging two of the regularly occurring features together. Today Flash Friday meets up with Tales from the Brain Jar! TftBJ runs about once a month on That F’ing Monkey and shows off the sketches in my brain jar themed sketchbook. Obviously Flash Friday runs Flash related topics every Friday.

The featured sketch today was done by Art Baltazar at FX back in 2008. As you can see it is of Kid Flash and Brain Flash racing neck and no-neck. In some sketches I ask for something very specific, but on this one I handed my book to art and just asked him to come up with something involving Kid Flash. As you can see it is magic. If you’ve never checked out the Eisner award winning Tiny Titans you owe it to yourself to read it. Charming and funny, I know more then one Titans fan who prefers the Tiny version over anything other Titans in recent years.

This is the second Art Baltazar sketch in the Brain Jar book, my second page was a sketch of Patrick the WolfBoy which I talked about last August here. In case you’re wondering about the style of the sketch, Art and Franco do con sketches a little different then most artists. Instead of only doing a few super detailed sketches, they churn out tons of marker and crayon doodles on comic backboards. They are of course, super popular.

That’s it for this week. If you see Art and Franco at a con, get yourself an awesome sketch and give them an “aww yeah man” for me.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #16

Just when you were distracted with holiday weekends and court trials, Tales of the Brain Jar is back!  We are taking another look back into my brain jar filled sketchbook. Today’s sketch was done by Jeremy Haun at the FX convention back in 08.

Jeremy did this sketch of Mid-Nite Hour for me, a character from the Image mini-series Battle Hymn. The series was B. Clay Moore with Jeremy doing the pencils. If you haven’t read Battle Hymn, it’s a story mixing superheroes, the government, and World War II. Every review of it I’ve read brings up parallels to Watchman, The Golden Age, and Ultimates; and I see that to a point. It is a darker more realistic look at politics and superheroes; everything is colored in shades of grey. That being said I think Battle Hymn stands on its own and is worth tracking down.  In fact I just read it again last night and am still impressed with the story.

Mid-Nite Hour looks a little bit like the Hellboy pulp hero Lobster Johnson. The trade paperback that collects the story actually mentions this. Mid-Nite Hour existed for a long time before the Battle Hymn book and went through a few different costumes.  I can only imagine the horror of having designed a character only to see his spitting image show up in another comic book. Regardless of that, Mid-Nite Hour was my favorite character from Battle Hymn so I was thrilled to have Jeremy do a sketch of him. 

 

If you read the Heroes Con interviews you’ll remember that we talked to Jeremy. He is working with Top Cow doing art duties on Artifacts and will be working on the Darkness. We should be seeing his Pilot Season project announced around SDCC. Jeremy is also a writer. I’d highly recommend his book Narcoleptic Sunday.  I really can't say what it is about without giving it away, it is one of those kinds of stories.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #15

Prepare yourself! It’s back! It’s another, Tales from the Brain Jar!! While I was at Heroes I was lucky enough to get two more fantastic Brain Jar sketches, but it’ll be a bit before I talk about them. Since we’ve been going through the sketchbook chronologically today’s featured sketch was done at Dragon Con all the way back in 07.

The sketch is of The Nail and is done by Nat Jones. I know you’re thinking, “Nat Jones? That name sounds familiar.” That’s because just last week I ran the interview I did with him at Heroes Con about his new comic ’68. So consider this a preview of his fantastic art work. The sheer amount of ink on this page makes it one of the sketches that everyone stops and comments on. If you’re wondering where the brain jar is in this sketch, check out that sick wrestling belt.

The Nail was a four issue mini-series published by Dark Horse in 04. It was a collaboration between Steve Niles and Rob Zombie. I already mentioned Nat Joes, he had the art duties on it. Joy Fotos did colors and Nate Piekos letters. The covers for the series were done by Simon Bisley. The series is set in the 70s and has the feel of a classic horror movie. There is a ton of story crammed into those four issues I honestly wish the series was an issue or two longer.

Rex Hauser is the Nail, a pro wrestler who decides to take some time off and go camping with his family. Obviously things don’t go as planned. The book mixes wrestlers, biker gangs, and demons in a delightfully bloody action-fest. I won’t give anything else about the plot away. The trade may be a little hard to track down now, but it is worth the effort.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #14

Tales from the Brain Jar has returned, with a brand new bottled brain to thrill and delight! Well, it is new to the website anyway. Today’s sketch comes from the 2007 Megacon and is by Amanda Conner. You’re all probably pretty familiar with Amanda’s amazing work, but I think I got something pretty different out of my sketch.

Here in all his glory is Dr. Mid-Nite studying a brain in a jar. I know many of you are shaking your head at me. Where is the Pro? Power Girl? Terra? Supergirl? Amanda is known for drawing stunning women and here I bought a picture of a guy in sunglasses. In my defense I really like Dr. Mid-Nite and I really like what Amanda did in the sketch. The Megacon this was done at wasn’t long after the JSA Classified arc Power Trip, which began with the good doctor running some tests on Power Girl. After reading that I knew I wanted a Dr. Mid-Nite running tests on a brain jar; all the humor in this one was totally Amanda’s idea.

So I realize I’ve probably lost some of you. The current Dr Mid-Nite (Pieter Cross) is the third character to use the name and is actually a medical doctor. Due to an accident he can only see in pitch darkness using forms of infrared and ultrasonic vision. He outfitted his goggles with all sorts of scanners and carries blackout bombs; which he can see through but blind everyone else. This is not an ultra-powerful character, but it is a really cool one. One of my favorite things about him is that he’s become one of the go-to guys in the DC Universe when superheroes need medical help or advice. Oh yeah, and he trains owls.

Most of his appearances have been in group settings; or like I mentioned above, as the doctor in the background. Two of the JSA Classified arcs have been about him. One was vampire related and the other about superhero organ snatching. Pieter’s debut story though was a three issue mini-series by Matt Wagner and John K. Snyder III. The entire story has been collected into trade and it is a fantastic read. It felt more like a Vertigo title; the story has the Cross running a street clinic and trying to take down a new, dangerous drug. It was very cool and had a very different feel from the normal superhero fare.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #13

Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the internet, Tales from the Brain Jar has returned! It has been far, far too long since we’ve done this and there are some of my favorite sketches coming up soon. Today’s sketch marks the first time in my sketch book that an artist has a second entry. That artist is Chris Moreno.

This one might need a little more setup then the others. We’ve already established there was a comic full of awesome called Monkey in a Wagon vs Lemur on a Big Wheel. It was incredible, that is 100% fact. A sequel book was eventually put out called Monkey in a Wagon vs Lemur on a Big Wheel: Crisis with Infinite Critters. The cover picture you see above was shamelessly stolen from mycomicshop.com, you should check them out too. In Crisis with Infinite Critters there are pages that show in different worlds animals different then Monkey and Lemur are at war. One of those panels depicts one of my favorite designs ever, the Gorilla in a Submarine.

So when I saw Chris at the FX in 07 I knew I hat to get a Gorilla in a Submarine sketch. I don’t know what draws me to him. Maybe it is that giant body shoved into the smallest part of the sub. You can imagine the little legs dangling in there. It could be the massive arms that actually hang down past the sub itself. Regardless of why, it is fantastic. You can see my enthusiasm for Gorilla in a Submarine in Chris’ quote of, “To Ken, Happy now?” Yes Chris, I’m very happy.

Want to see more of Chris’ work? Check out Super Frat! I don’t think I’ve ever run the full-sized picture he did of Brandon and me. That was a convention commission. You know I don’t think I ever mentioned that Chris is mostly responsible for giving Brandon the Cake Fucker nickname. I’m just dropping all sorts of strange trivia today. Seriously, if you’re at a convention on the West Coast and Chris is there, you need to sketch. You won’t regret it.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #12

The last time I did a Tales from the Brain Jar it turned into a multi-sketch epic by the amazing Dan Brereton. Obviously that isn’t something that is ever going to happen again.  Today’s entry comes from the FX convention in 07. Considering last year’s FX was totally canceled a month before it was supposed to happen I’m pretty sure that is a dead convention. Who knows though, maybe it’ll pop back up in another year or something.

This amazing piece is from the Reverend Dave Johnson, one of the best cover artists out there. The character is Cole "the Wolf" Burns from the crime series 100 Bullets. Besides 100 Bullets, Dave has done some incredible covers for Batman, Punisher, and a lot of others. They seriously look like they should be hanging on a gallery wall and not on the rack at your local shop. You know that iconic Superman Red Son cover where he is standing on the hammer and sickle? Yeah, that’s Dave Johnson. Just look at that Batman cover below.  Incredible stuff.  You're going to be able to see a lot more of his art now, Dave just became one of the newest members over at Comic Twart.

As if that wasn’t cool enough, Dave is also a founding member of Drink and Draw. Encouraging artists to go out, meet each other, sketch, and have a few beers. I know a group of local artists in my area have a sketch group at a book store here, but I’d be way more likely to go if I could have a beer. Of course I’d actually need some form of artistic talent, but except for bitchin stick figures, I suck.  Back to the sketch itself for a moment, besides how awesome the character looks, I love the little nods he threw into it from the story.  Anyone who read 100 Bullets will never hear or see the word Croatoa the same again.  And the owner of those glasses is unmistakable.

When I was introduced to 100 Bullets the first three arcs were already in trades. A friend of mine I used to work with handed me the first two and told me to give them a shot. I made it through the first one but I wasn’t blown away. I made a comment to him about not knowing if I liked it enough to read the second one. He insisted that I press on and I’m grateful to him for that. The second book floored me. It tied into so many things in the first book that I had to read it again. That’s 100 Bullets, layers upon layers of double crosses and plots.

If you go and seek out the book (and you should) I whole heartedly recommend that you don’t start with the first trade; start with the first two. After that you’ll really get a feel for if you are going to like the series or not. The series wrapped up at issue 100 and all the issues are currently available in trade. Working on this installment I realized I’m actually more then halfway through my sketchbook. Luckily Megacon isn’t too far away and I should be able to add one or two new sketches. Hopefully you enjoy the artwork and the brief look on the artists and characters involved.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #11

You hear that whispering from the shadows again. That blur of motion at the corner of your eye. The soft scratching sound you only hear when you close your eyes. Fear not, it’s only…Tales from the Brain Jar! And not just any Tales from the Brain Jar either, issue 11 happens to be the longest of the tales to date. It is a tale of ghosts, zombies, and dead girls. So check it out after the jump.

Tales from the Brain Jar, #10

It has been almost a whole month since we’ve done a Tales from the Brain Jar. This one will be a little shorter then the others. Not because I don’t love it, in fact it is one of my favorite pieces in my sketchbook. In each Tales from the Brain Jar I try to say a little bit about the character, incase you are unfamiliar with him. The star of this sketch is Jonah Hex. Who I’ve talked about here, here, here, and here. Needless to say that he is one of my favorite characters. Yes, yes I know about the movie, let's move on.

It was at the Orlando ComicCon in 2006 when I got this amazing Phil Noto piece. The convention was a tiny one and I don’t think they even had one the year after. As a retailer that sucks. As someone hunting for sketches it was fantastic. I run into Phil all the time, we used to go to the same comic shop. He is fantastically humble, I highly recommend his art book, and if you ever get a chance to check out a showing of his paintings I can not recommend it enough. And one day I’m going to get him to do a Tallulah Black sketch to go with my Jonah.

Tales From the Brain Jar, #9

I must warn you; today’s Tales from the Brain Jar is powerful stuff indeed. If you aren’t prepared for it, I’m not sure your heart will be able to take it. The sketch in question was done at Megacon in 2006. So I warn you again, click the link only if you dare!

Tales from the Brain Jar, #8

Remember when we used to talk about convention sketches? All the great times we had before we got all caught up in hockey talk. It’s back now and today is a fun one. I’ve already mentioned Chris Moreno on this blog before. He is the artist who did the art for my picture and the one of Brandon and the cake. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you are at a convention and want a fantastic sketch, go see this man. Funny, gory, sexy, etc… He brings it all.

So after all this man crush talk about Chris you can see I got this fantastic Monkey in a Wagon versus Lemur on a Big Wheel sketch! This was done at Megacon in 2006. Obviously if given a choice, all brain jars would ride roller skates. If you’re unfamiliar with the characters, it is an epic story of two creatures whose hate spans decades.

Actually it is a collection of short stories where a monkey and a lemur due battle in all sorts of different settings and time periods. Kind of like a primate Spy vs Spy. It is hysterically funny and worth tracking down all of the issues if you can find them.

While I’m at it, I’d also recommend you pick up the Sidekick trade. More comedy gold right there; and also drawn by Chris. The man knows how to make with the ha ha. So the next time you are at a convention, check the artist alley. If you see Chris tell him Ken says hello and then get him to autograph pornographic comics he didn’t write….he loves that!

Tales from the Brain Jar, #7

Tales from the Brain Jar might have taken a week off, but we’re back! We are also getting about a third of the way through my book. So I guess I need to be on the look out for new opportunities to get some sketches. In the last installment I mentioned that Brandon was up at Motor City Comic Con and was kind enough to get me two different sketches. The first was the awesome Mouse Guard and this week we look at the second one.

Guy Davis did this Liz Sherman for me. If you don’t recognize Liz, she is a member of the B.P.R.D. and to a lesser extent was the love interest in the Hellboy movies. I say lesser extent because I could never get my head around the idea of the two characters hooking up; it bothered me so much I have never seen the second Hellboy film. Ever since Hollow Earth where Hellboy is shown like a big brother, it makes it almost incestuous. Abe and Liz? Sure, I’m fine with that. Sword of Storms made me giggle like a school girl.

Let’s get back to Guy Davis though. Since the show I’ve had chances to meet him and he is just a super nice. I knew of him from the Nevermen series and already loved his work from that. I was unsure what to think of his take on the B.P.R.D. characters when he did his first one-shot. As he became the main artist for B.P.R.D. he put his own mark on the characters and now it is hard for me to see anyone else draw them.

Guy also gets extra cool points for doing a drawing of Roger in a kilt for the Hellboard. Dark Horse has announced that they are doing B.P.R.D. omnibuses so if you missed out on the fun, there will soon be an affordable way to catch up.  Next week the sketchbook goes back to Megacon.