D-ORKS

Wizard World weekend has come and gone. A great time was had and I owe it to some of the most generous people that wouldn't let me stay home and sulk. David Gruba, Matt Wendt and Becky Grutzik were very kind to invite me to the show and hang out with them. A big thanks to them to and of course to my fiancee who wanted to do everything she could so I could have a good time but I'm glad that bills come first.

At the show I got to meet a very nice guy named Mike White. He was sitting next to Matt and Becky and he does one of the funniest books I've read in ages. Amity Blamity. I advise all to read it and buy his books. Not only does he have a great comic book but he's also a very funny guy in person. You couldn't ask for a better con neighbor at a show. He was nice enough to give me tips on inking, while letting me record him work and he did a great Dorks pinup as well. This piece below was all done in one sitting and he was just engaged in it. He kept asking me "should I do this" and so on and I just wanted to say you've drawn enough as it is but he really just kept going. Thanks again Mike. You were awesome and I hope to meet you again.

P.S. He's also friends with Greg Hyland of Lethargic Lad fame. I couldn't believe that. As if that wasn't amazing enough, he was the one that did the Lil Lethargic Lad strips that were featured in the books. Wow.

The Fighter Issue 1

At one point things looked a bit bleak with Instant Press Comics and it's projects. There was a bit of internal turmoil going on and it's a period that is not really reflected on when we get together. One thing that happened though was that artist Dann Phillips was free at the moment since there was a hiatus on the White Knife project. His talent and art was so great and eye catching to me that it hit me like nothing I've felt before. This could be the guy that could bring The Fighter to life.
I proposed the idea to Dann Phillips and if anybody knows Dann, you know he gets excited about working on something new. He's always up for a challenge and puts his all into the project. He did prelims on the Fighter and after much nitpicking on my part I was finally satisfied and the ball got rolling.
As my usual self, I was lazy on supplying the drawings for The Masked Avenger and The Perfect Gentleman when it came time to do the story. To my surprise though, Dann pretty much did the designs in the style that I had sketched out, only good. When I saw page 5 I knew I was working with the right person. The action sequence there was just jaw dropping. considering that the script called for, "Big action sequence" Dann did a great job of putting two and two together. I left it all up to him and he delivered.
Things didn't progress much after issue one due to me. I once again got too caught up in how I wanted to tell the story and how long it would be until The Fighter came on to the scene. I do hope to return to this project one day and I hope that Dann will be available to do the artwork again. It was a thrill to work with such a skilled artist.

The Fighter Action Figure

For Christmas one year Stan Tanaka surprised me with a really sweet home made Fighter action figure. The coat was from a Gambit action figure and the mask is hand sculpted. I forget the other components but all in all, it's a great representation of The Fighter.

Here's an update from Stan on the different parts of this figure:

body: Silver Surfer action figure
coat: Gambit action figure
staff: Gambit action figure
mask: TMNT Casey Jones action figure
hat: Mr. Fixit (Grey Hulk) action figure
brick wall diorama base: Punisher action figure
blood, sweat, and tears: Stan Tanaka

And Stan's awesome recollection of that glorious nite:

I remember Christmas night when I drove over to your house with this Fighter action figure.
You were smashed drunk when you answered the door, and barely recognized what the figure was.
I brought it over in a shoebox, and you probably thought I bought you a pair of Nikes.
True story, dude.
You were plastered that night.

The Fighter Guest Artist Part 2

There isn't too many guest artist pin ups of The Fighter to share. This second batch is pretty much it. I guess though that there are more of him there is of Imp or the Rulers of Razura. Maybe this Wizard World trip I'll fix that. Or maybe just get more Dorks pinups. :P

Art Baltazar - Artist on the popular title Tiny Titans. Here's a fun Fighter drawing done in Art's trademarked crayon coloring way.

Nino Messerina - The man who brought you Unbelievable Laundry Detergent Man comes this retro, Ditko looking pic. I always enjoyed this one. It was a nice action shot and just all around nice feel to it.

Kevin Girard - This one is a homage to a Batman pic and it came out rather nicely. Like, questioning the mask or rather who's behind it.

Ivan Flores - A simple pic Ivan did while working on Unit 1. Just striking a pose.

Lance "Doc" Boucher - A fun pinup with Fighter teasing Wolff Hunter. I wonder who would win in that fight.

--- Moy - I'm not sure which Moy did this but I like it alot. He did a fantastic job on him.