Sunday, July 30, 2006

AND NOW FOR AN IMPORTANT COMMERCIAL ANNOUNCEMENT


Hello. Are you between the ages of 8 and 80? If so please stay tuned you may qualify for special savings now available through MITCHELL FAMILY COMICS. Right now we are offering Mitchell Family mini comics at a special discount when purchasing one or more. These fine comics are sure to be a pleasant addition to any small press, or mini-comic collection, and right now they are so affordable you just won't be able to pass on the savings.

Our flagship comic ZOMBIE BOY #1 is regularly available as a mini-comic for $3.50, but if you order soon for our premiere package we'll allow you to choose one of our other mini's at no extra charge! Think about it, that's two amazing Mitchell mini's for the price of only one! But that's not all. Order today and we'll also throw in a dandy ZOMBIE BOY decal, (while supplies last) perfect for lunchboxes, refrigerators, or back to school notebooks. Wait there's more!

Order our FANBOY PACKAGE and receive all four Mitchell mini's, two stickers, and a customized sketch by Mike Mitchell...All for just $10.00! We are so sure you will like these comics we're willing to write you a note that says sorry sucker if your not 100% satisfied.

Still want more, okay how about this? For the low, low price of $19.95 you can now order our special SUPER GROOVY PACKAGE. For a limited time we will send you all our mini-comic's, We will swap the ZOMBIE BOY #1 mini for a FULLSIZE AUTOGRAPHED COPY, and include a nifty ZOMBIE BOY T-shirt in your choice of size and color, plus the stickers ALL for just $19.95!! What are you waiting for? You may never see another offer like this. Order right now while I'm still at the computer.

TO ORDER YOUR MITCHELL MINI COMICS PACKAGE TODAY CONTACT MIKE MITCHELL c/o mitchellcomics@verizon.net for security reasons we ask you to place your order through this Email address where a friendly operator will assist you with your purchase.
Have a great day, and thank you for choosing MITCHELL FAMILY COMICS .

KEEP WATCHING THIS SPACE


Hey there Blogger buddies, your favorite workhorse is hard at it again. In a bold unprecedented move I am showing you a work in progress. I need another day or so to finish this piece, but it's just so much fun, and since it is show and tell Sunday, I thought I would let you all have a sneak peek. When it's finished I'll re-edit this post and insert the final version.

I hope to do a whole series of these which I title MOVIES THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN. The idea occurred to me when I was looking for some source material for an illo Jim Main suggested of She-creature, and coincidently noticed a nearby photo of the Stooges. Having a passion for mixing horror with humor, I couldn't resist combining the two.

When I was a wee little lad some friends from school and I would hang out on rainy Saturdays and watch old B-movie horror flics on WSBK's CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE. This would occasionally lead to conversations about what would've made the movie better, different actors, different rivals, location, ect. Now I have come up with a short list of lobby cards for MOVIES THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN, (and I think you'll get a kick out of them), but I would also like to hear from each of you out there in Blogger-land...what movies would you have liked to seen during the schlock film era? Please let me know, If I use the idea, I will send you the original art.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

COFFEE BREAK NUMBER 17


Well I've put it off long enough...Here is page 17 of Monster Disco. I was really disappointed with this one. I wanted it to come out so good, as it is the first time we see Draculas Brides as back-up singers. But I was just having an off day I guess. I rushed everything, the pencils were not well planned, the lettering was choppy, the spot blacks were slap n'dash, and the result is a big mess.

This series is about learning however, and making the most of my free time. The pages are done "on the go" as it were and God knows that can sometimes be very challenging. I've tried not to beat myself up too badly over this page, since I have been encouraging my friend Megan not to be self-deprecating, but it sure is tough sometimes.

There are already two-or three pages of Monster Disco that will have to be totally re-drawn, and this one will now be added to that pile. Part of the problem has to do with envisioning this vast studio scene, and then trying to squash that down into a panel ruled out to actual print size, (another part of this series challenge) It was just a simply bad decision to lay things out that way. I should've opened with the largest panel for the studio, then the two blocks, then finished with the wide screen shot of the brides.

The point is, all this is valuable lessons that can later be applied to my more serious comicbook work. Also, we are pushing the story ahead still which is a good thing. Hopefully the next page will see me back on track artistically.

Friday, July 28, 2006

WASSSUP?


Yo Dude's and Dudette's, Check out the narly sidewalk surfer I just zapped off to my friend Mike Roden, (see earlier posts) he's AWESOME!!!. I try to throw in something new with every piece I work on. With this I was experimenting with line weight, cross-hatch textures, and marker-wash. I named this piece Stevie De'Gone, after a skateboarding friend of mine from the 70's. Steve wasn't a bad looking young fella, (unlike this ugly mug) but when practicing jumps, his hair would fly back, his eye's would pop out, and his tongue would spit out of his mouth. I composed this poem to accompany the drawing:

Stevie De'Gone, rode his board dusk till dawn,
I thought he would skate till his teeth were all gone!

Now he's not young and brash. He's retired with cash!
Yet he's still somewhat covered with nasty road rash.

The whole Wolverton/Roth look is coming a teensy bit easier to me now, but is still a really big departure from my own stuff, and a total 180 degree shift from the pulp illo's I've been doing for Ron Fortier, (see earlier posts) Oh and Ron, if your reading this...Don't worry, I'll be getting back to Professor Stone and the gang real soon. Ron was nice enough to invite my whole family and I to a pool party at his house last weekend, while relaxing by the pool, I got to know Ron better, and also to meet several independent creators.

But, I digress....I must apologize for leaving my blog un-attended for an entire week. I could make a bunch of really good excuses for my absence, but let's just chalk it up to the distractions of summer.. Shall we? The good news is I will be back at the drawing board for several day's and churning out my usual plethora of pulse-pounding pictorials for your perusal. Stay tuned blogger fan's...The super summer of illo's continues.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

LOOK UP IN THE STARS...IT'S SUPER GROOVY MAN!


Hello Blogger boy's and Girl's... your 'ol pal Uncle Mitchy here to say it was a simply scrumptious day to be up at the lake relaxing with the family. The water was grand, but after about two hours I was feeling a little wrinkly, and decided to take a spot in the shade with my wife by my side, and my trusty art kit in my lap.

What spilled forth during the next 45 minutes was SUPER GROOVY MAN. Who I have decided will be the next star of my COFFEE BREAK COMIC SERIES as soon as I finish up with MONSTER DISCO sometime near summers end.

I think if I were filthy stinking rich I would spend every day relaxing at the beach, going for a nice long swim, followed by a cool stiff drink in the shade, and catching the final ray's of the day whilst pumping out silly comics from the comfort of my surfside lounger...aaaahhhh Now that's what I'm talking about!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

ACTION, ADVENTURE, INTRIGUE,....PROFESSOR STONE


Hey Groovy ones, Your Ol' Busy beaver Mitch here. Today's offering is a piece for Ron Fortier's Pulp projects, this one a Character from a Novel by Wayne Judge. His name...PROFESSOR STONE. The character Judge has created is equal parts Doc Savage, and Indiana Jones, a real dashing, intrepid, smart guy who stops the villains at every exotic locale. Ohh-hoo, and villains there are a plenty. It looks like this series will keep me busy for as long as these two creators want to keep pitching this stuff to me, so keep your eyeballs peeled.

Note: Just before Stone decapitated the native witch doctor, the fiend had managed to make off with every last one of the pizza's I ordered you guy's for FREE PIZZA TUESDAY. Sorry I think he threw them in a volcano or something. There's always next week blogger fan's

TIME FOR A LITTLE COFFEE BREAK


It has been quite awhile since I've visited the coffee break series, but nevertheless, here is page 16. Now I cannot, (in all fairness to the regular visitors) rehash what this whole project is about. Suffice it to say an education on the subject can be easily had by gleaning earlier posts. I had a good bit of fun with this one especially the dialogue between Vlad and the Witch-like shopkeeper. Summer conditions and considerations, both at home, and at work, have slowed this project down considerably, but I am determined to see this personal pet project through till the end. I originally wanted to be done by July 4th, but that was back when I was going to make it a simple 16 pager. Had I kept to my original plan I wouldn't have been too far off, since I finished this page on the 10th of July, but the story as it developed was just to fun to confine to anything less than 24 pages. In fact, I may keep this going till the end of the year and make it a 58 page special...whadaya think fanboys? (and fangirls...which I'm proud to say we have many off) Hmmmmm?

Sunday, July 16, 2006

DEATH HAS A COACHMAN


This recent piece is a favorite of mine, and Mike is going to use it in his up-comming Skele-toons
comix. I was really surprised how nice this came out. But don't bother to ask for the original...I already sent it to my new favorite E-pal Michelle, congradulations shelly...your a winner!

HOLY HANNAH IT'S HOT ROD RODDY!


This is a guy I made for Mike's comix, but I'm not sure where he's going yet? With that set of wheel's he can go just about anywhere you want, as long as you don't mind him pickin his nose a little on the way.

HERBERT FINE


You may remember an earlier post entitled Herbert Fine, But just look at the incredible background Mike Roden inserted it in!!!! Not only that but he Jazzed it up with color and made it an entirely new piece of work. Mike and I have done more than a few pieces together, me doing the characters, and Mike doing the background. It still astonishes me the wild details he comes up with that really help put it over the top. Let's look at some more.

Saturday, July 15, 2006

OCEANFRONT VIEW


Hey retro-freaks, and geeks! Your old pal Mitch here with an update to the blog. Yesterday my wife and kid's convinced me to take a much needed break from the drawing board, and we all went to the Ocean for a lovely day of swimming and building sandcastles. But you know me....with my trusty traveling art kit in tow I couldn't resist sitting in my lawn chair surfside and banging out this homage to my good friend and 1970's Hulk artist HERB TRIMPE. Herb was, (in my mind) the consummate Hulk artist, and one of the first illuminati to visit my blog. Now before I get ten-thousand e-mails from fanboys saying this cover is all wrong, I want to say I know that already, and I was just unwinding at the beach and having fun okay? Sheeesh, the nerve of some people! I did the pencil sketch in about 15 minutes, the ink in about 20, and my wife was kind enough to offer to drive home so I could give it the Ol' crayola treatment.

The summer fun continues this weekend with an over-nite fishing trip with my boy's, and back to the beach for some rays again tomorrow. Have you been enjoying these Black and White spot illo's I'm doing for RON FORTIER'S pulp series? I know I sure have. Stay tuned lady's and Gent's the Moonman is coming....He's the main character for this story and the next illo in the series is the big finish, Also be ever watchful.. Sunday-nights show and tell will feature all the silly characters I've been whipping up for MIKE RODEN'S underground hippie comix. And first thing Monday morning the latest Coffee Break post, I promise.

Gotta go see if the big one's are biting!

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Monday, July 10, 2006

A LITTLE SUMMER MONSTER TOON FOR A FRIEND


Hey it's a nice hot summer day! Why not head to the beach and take a dip, catch a killer wave, or say hello to an uninvited sea monster?

Sunday, July 09, 2006

IN THROUGH THE WINDOW COMES RONDO


Here is another classic horror illo for a totally different magazine. This portrait of B-movie actor RONDO HATTON was commissioned by Tim Goebel, publisher of MONSTER-A-GO-GO, a truly fun and entertaining read for any monster movie fan. Tim had me do a portrait of TOR JOHNSON recently, which some of you may remember from an earlier post. Mr. Goebel was so pleased with my TOR he just had to have a RONDO as well. I wanted to do something different for this and chose pointilisim. For those of you who don't know pointilisim, or stipple, as it's also referred to, is the process that employs a light pencil outline covered over by layers of millions, (literally ) of tiny dot's placed one at a time by tapping the paper with varying grades of tech pen's. at least that's how I do it. The result gave the piece a real grainy 1940's feel. If your not familiar with RONDO you should know he had a progressive disease similar to giganticism that distorted his facial features, and led to him being cast as goulish villans. This was a real blast to tackle.

LOOK OUT! IT'S THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN


Here is one of the magazine illustrations I've been promising to post for awhile. It was done for small press publisher, Jim Main's excellent fan mag MAKE MINE MONSTERS. The medium is ink wash, and it's one of the few times I've used this style exclusively in a portrait. Of course their is always room for improvement, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. I gave Steve Bisset a sneak peek via E-mail last week and he said " Looks great, but none of us will ever top the Basil Gorgos painting of Ol' Crater face." Believe me I was extremely conscious of this fact when Jim suggested the idea. I went through great pains to distance myself from the master's classic work for the cover of FAMOUS MONSTERS #53. For starters I did a left facing three-quarter downward view, instead of the right facing one-quarter forward view Gorgos chose. I was fortunate that the assignment called for Black and white, which further distanced me from Gorgos' brilliant use of color. I at first considered doing a view from the abdomen up, (my thought being that would prevent even further comparisons) but ultimately chose a head shot, to better capture all the gory detail. Gorgos is the consummate classic monster artist, so I suppose just being asked to tackle the same subject matter is a reflection of others faith in my ability. I hope I hit the mark...what do you think?