Mitchell Comics

SOON TO BE IN PRINT

2011-06-30T13:36:00.002-04:00

Hold onto your hair piece Harriet.... here now is a finished page from my very soon to be published story SPARKS WILL FLY, which will be included in the premier issue of what is sure to be an award winning horror anthology BLOKES TOMB OF TERROR. I am so very honored to be included in this issue with stories by Jason Crawley, and art by the incredible Mike Hoffman, and many other accomplished artists. Keep watching this space for news on how to secure your very own signed copy perfect for graveside reading.

PULLING OUT THE STOPS

2011-05-31T21:36:00.004-04:00

Hey there, Ho there, blogging boys and girls. It has been an interesting month of May as the rain just hasn't let up, and BLOGGER has gone bersurko! I don't know about you folks but I was locked outta my own blog site for nigh onto three weeks, and I heard tell of worse by other bloggin buddies. Pffft! technology..... what can you expect right?

Well over here at MITCHELL STUDIOS we celebrate everything lo-tech... as one can plainly see by taking a groovy gander at my drawing table. This snap shot is actually from MS studios SOUTH. The scene at MS studios NORTH is even more untidy and revolting :)

Even the smallest sideways glance will show that I am really pulling out all the stops on this story for the creepy folks at BLOKES TERRIBLE TOMB OF TERROR. All the old school pen and ink techniques are employed here, crosshatch, wash, and stippling, it has all landed on these pages.... not to mention the table tops, walls and chairs...YEECH!

SPARKS WILL FLY

2011-05-09T00:33:00.002-04:00

Hey Ghoulish gang members! I thought you might like to take a sweet sneak peek at a 6-page horror story I am brewing up. I can't say too much about it now, but in the weeks ahead, ( if all goes well ) you will be hearing a great deal more.

Till then kiddies.... stay out of the HOT seat :)

THIS IS SO NOT GROOVY!

2011-04-22T06:56:00.002-04:00

OKAY, okay, ok..... Even an ultra cool, totally enlightened, harmonic hero, like our SUPER GROOVY MAN can lose his cool once in awhile. Here 'Ol groove is just really having a flip out on accounta he needs to focus his chi power, align a few shakras, or metabolate, meditate ( or sumpin like that ) and everybody keeps buggin him!!! Whether it comes from the Mayor, to his young friend Mike, or over to his best goomba Tony, everybody is getting on his nerves!

Ahhhh well. It happens sometimes. See I just don't believe that anyone, anyone who is even one tenth human can keep their cool all the time... I mean Jesus.... no, literally Jesus dudes.... even he flipped his lid.... remember him turning over the tables in the temple??? That dude was ripped!

Anyway... I wanted to show that even though he mostly keeps his cool even our hero can have some cheese slippin off his cracker now and again.

Totally changing the subject now for a moment... did you know that in the development of the character Tony, it was decided that he is bald, but wears a toupee to make him appear more like his movie idol Charles Bronson. He is very self conscious about being bald, and thinks the chicks will dig him more if he looks like Bronson. I don't know why..... but that kind of vanity cracks me up :)

Peace Pals n' Gals.

UNDER THE BIG TOP

2011-04-11T12:47:00.002-04:00

Hurrah, hurray, hurah.... step right up! Witness the exciting, the amazing, the most death defying spectecal ever performed under the big top. Looks as though our hapless hero SUPER GROOVY MAN is being put to the test way back in those bygone days before he fully developed all his powers. Yes dear readers this is one of those most cherished of all comic book traditions, known as the " Flashback" or also in this case... " an ORIGIN story."

I can't post too much more about this page just now, but I am trying to do better with posting my blog, and keeping up with my out put, so I thought you might like to take a little groovy gander. Stay awake, and alert out there Kat's and Kiddies... and uh.... Oh Ya..... Never, Ever, play wiff guns!

Peace

KUNG-FU FIGHTING FROG

2011-04-01T16:16:00.002-04:00

Happy April 1st Hooligans! Tis a foin, foin day too. I have just been so chillaxed here in Mitchell Studios South. Not so chill that I couldn't pull it together and pump out a little pulse pounding page for my peeps. It's nice how quickly the pages have been coming lately....HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!

START YOUR DAY WITH FOOM!

2011-03-30T03:42:00.003-04:00

I woke up an hour ahead of the 'ol alarm clock this morning, and decided to steal a bit of "me" time by heading to the studio, and busting out some colors on this dusty old SUPER GROOVY MAN page from last summer. It looks a lot more groovier with the vibrant retro colors applied... dontcha' think? Anyways... It's great to start your morning off with a FOOM!

LEMON-LIME TIMELINE

2011-03-24T06:42:00.003-04:00

So nyah... didn't I tell youse it would be Collosal, Stupendeous, Outrageous??? Well.... Didn't I huh? Okay... so it's not half bad at least huh? Any-hoo here is the pesky little pusstule of a page from yesterday all dolled up and purty-like and even with words and everything like I promised, and even one day later no less, so I don't wanna hear no whinning... even from you sitting way out back there in the bleachers... okay? Ya.... you know who you are.... geeesh.... summ people!!!

FAR OUT MAN!!!

2011-03-23T07:02:00.002-04:00

Hey there Cats and Creeps! It is I your woebegone wondermaker. It seems it has been ages since I have posted a page worthy pusstule for you to puruse. At long last the solace has ended dear fiends. Before you is now displayed a dazzeling dapple of drama that in due time shall unfold itself into a veritable feast for the senses. TRANSLATION: It's a little scribbily scrawble that don't look like much now.... but just hold on there hommbres'. It's gunna be DYNAMITE! Truth be told the tortureous tides of winter have brought my comic chops to a grinding halt, but behold.... now as the sumptueous rays of spring appear I am renewed with great inspiration. Sheesh.... I better hang it up with the blabbity-blab before I make even me wanna heave :( Anyways... I did a little drawing gang, so I hopes ya all dig it dreamy like.

Peace

MONSTER HEADACHE!

2011-01-27T06:20:00.003-05:00

Hey there blogger Pals n' Gals! I was gonna title this doo-hickey "MAYHEM ON MONSTER ISLAND, but given the fact our hassled heroine is on the receiving end of a monster-ific psyonic blast from a mysterious beastie, I decided to mash on the moniker above instead. There can be no denying we are smack dab in the middle of the woeful winter doldrums, but as the snow piles up higher than the wads of cash you are laying down to pay for your winter heating bills... don't let your blues get in the way from enjoying a comic book or two. Things could be worse you know... you could be stuck on MONSTER ISLAND!

Peace friends~

SHE'S GOT IT...YA BABY SHE'S GOT IT!

2011-01-18T06:24:00.004-05:00

Here we go again, another page from issue#2 of ZOMBIE SUB -920, with that irrepressible redhead finagling her way aboard a zombie submarine. Her nursing skills are par excellente', but the rules are: " NO GIRLS ALLOWED". Does that stop our heroic heroine?.... NoOooooooooo WAY! Her powers of persuasion are far beyond those of mortal men, ( or mortal women for that matter ) did I mention in real life I am marrying this wonderful woman? Ya... true story... we got engaged on New Years Eve. So make with the congrats all you slap-happy comic book geek-azoids, and HAPPY NEW YEAR! one and all.

PRE-CHRISTMAS PENCILS

2010-12-21T06:32:00.002-05:00

Christmas is nearly upon us dear comic book blogging friends. I have kept the candles burning and finished this nifty little nothing to be included in the second issue of ZS9320. I hope you enjoy the happiest of holidays with family and friends. Thank you all so much for your kind comments, and encouragements throughout the old year passing, and I will look for each and every one of you in my journey through the new year swiftly approaching. Merry Christmas, and a very happy new year!

RETRO COMIC ROMANCE

2010-12-11T15:58:00.002-05:00

Hello there comic book friends and neighbors. Just taking a brief break from holiday preparations to show you a colored portion of the page I did a few weeks back. I hope each and every one of you find some time soon to be with family and friends and share a cup of cheer and maybe a comic or two.

Peace on Earth Y'all~

THREE YEARS IN THE MAKING!

2010-11-28T19:32:00.002-05:00

Happy post feeding frenzied greetings O' denizens of demagoguery! I present for your fevered enjoyment this mighty morsel of comicbook cornucopia, this laborious labor of love, this spectacle of superfluousness I call: "THE ARRIVAL". This woebegone wonder has lain dormant these past three years... smoldering in the simmering embers of my studio, patiently waiting for it's day of unabashed glory to arrive... that day, ( my fine festooned friends ) has finally, and indisputably arrived. Behold... the greatness that is... THE ARRIVAL!!!

Okay, okay.... so it's a little bit of chop and schlock that isn't much too special... so allow me my pomp and circumstance anyway.... SHEESH!

Point is... it is finally finished, and somewhat print worthy. I penciled this page back in odd 7, and just this very day finished the fine touches. In a fit of pre-holiday sleepless excitement the other night, I stumbled upon it's hidden potential whilst fumbling through my studio, and decided to give it the once over. The results, ( be they good or bad ) are now posted for your pulse pounding peepers to peruse :)

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving, and are looking toward the holidays to follow.

Peace my friends!

DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

2010-11-21T14:11:00.008-05:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK ... you tuned-up Turkeys! Just a happy reminder from yours faithfully not to get your feathers in a ruffle if things don't go 100% smoothly on your family day of feasting. Remember ... it's not about us... it's about them... ( the merchants of this great nation ) so get your lazy bum-bums out there and SPEND! SPEND! SPEND! Ummmm.... okay, that was a silly thing to say :D Moving right along.....

Below you see a lovely little page for the SUPER GROOVY MAN comic I was able to chew on a little last night. You can see by the panel above that with a photocopier and some imagination one can have quite a bit of fun playing around with dialouge insertion. Of course the real panel of the guy sweating has nothing at all to do with Aunt Pearl stealing both drumsticks... but it is kinda funny. ( and she is a drumstick stealing hog too!! HA! )
Well... I'm afraid that's all I have time for today my dearies... time to retreat to the old catacombs for some hard labor. Enjoy your holiday feasting with loved ones, and give thanks for all the blessings in life.

Peace Pals

WHERE DO I PUT THIS???

2010-11-05T06:33:00.003-04:00

Hello comic art consumers~ I had a wee bit of time so I whipped up this fantabulous page. I knocked it out in about an hour. I don't really know where to put it, as it doesn't truly fit with anything I am currently working on. It was supposed to be simply a practice page, but it came out so groovy that I'm thinkin' I oughtta use it someplace! Maybe I can use it as a tweener... yaknow stuff it in between a story somewheres? I dunno........ anyways, hope you dudes and duckies give it lots-0-lovin.

Peace Dawgs~

A SUPER GROOVY DAY!

2010-10-09T16:51:00.003-04:00

What a terrific fall day today! I was able do an entire page of my SUPER GROOVY MAN comic, (minus a few touch-ups ) time like this has been hard to find lately with all the over-time at my regular job, so it felt really good. I thought I would also show you that I started coloring the page I showed you last time. Enjoy your Columbus day weekend peeps.

INSOMNIA IS A MOTHER OF INVENTION

2010-08-31T23:29:00.002-04:00

Super sleepy howdy-doos boys and girls... Yer Ol' pardner Mitch is feelin' about ready fer the last round up with a few days of not much sleep under his belt, but fear thee not buck-a-roos! I got me a few days of R&R ahead, and I aim ta doze mah way thru. Today was the first day of rest, and I got myself so dern much of the stuff, I plum slept right thru ta dinner time! Now I'm sittin' up watchin' spiders crawl an goin' BLINK-BLINK-BLINK! I made me sum powerful good use of my time though by scrawlin' these purdy marks on this here scrap a paper. Maybe now I can grab me a few more winks! Adios lil' cowpies, an remember....keep watchin' tha skies!

VACATION ALL I EVER WANTED

2010-07-02T11:14:00.003-04:00

Hello dear friends out there in the land of comic-book-make-believe. Just a perspiring post to let you know I am enjoying my vacation immensely. It is just so wonderful to have so much time to draw and create, and catch up on projects long over due. Above is my little task for today, the lettering chores on page#2 of SUPER GROOVY MAN, ( a page I penciled over 3 years ago!!!! ) yikes! I'm basically jus' trying to loosen up the 'ol hands before I tackle the more recent stuff I'm behind on.... doesn't make much sense does it?....Oh well. Hope all you doggies and divas are either stayin' in the shade, or slatherin' on the coco-butter. Happy 4th of July faithful followers!

PRACTICE MAKES PERFUCT

2010-06-24T04:03:00.003-04:00

Hello there comic book lovin' loonies! Just thought I'd fling a little sumpin'-sumpin' outta my cage for you to feast your peepers on. It's a little bit of nuthin' really just making the most of some down time to, ( as the saying goes ) PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. The people who make the sayings up however don't always get it right, because practice doesn't always make perfect...in fact sometimes it makes poopies.... but isn't that the point after all? Get rid of all your bad habits, learn from your mistakes and all that jazz? Hurm........................... I guess in that respect it does make perfect, ( EVENTUALLY ) until then I gotta turn out duds like this once in awhile I guess.

Peace out peeps~

NEW STUFF!

2010-06-11T20:16:00.002-04:00

Hey groovie guys and gals.... It is me, your long missing master, with yet another punch packing post! I have mentioned many times past how woefully inept I am at all things technological. Well... the story is that many, many eons ago, ( alright it was really like a couple of years ago... okay? ) I purchased myself a WACOM tablet. For those unwashed minions who have no idea of what I speak, let me say simply that a WACOM tablet is a device that allows you to create art modifications with a wired tablet, ( this is the cool part ) right onto your handy-dandy computer screen! Yes... that's right.... whoda thunk it???

Anyhoo... I couldn't figure the darn thing out, and stuck it in a cob-webby corner of my studio, content to plod along in my comfy old fashioned manner with familiar paper and pen. Then a day or so ago... along comes my intrepid Son and decides to impress ol' Dad by hooking up and figuring out this whole WACOM doo-hikey thing-a-ma-jig.

Above you can see a very raw page for my new, SUPER GROOVY MAN comic, that I banged out the other day while waiting for auto service. I have made the command decision to finish this little number, ( not in my tried and true method ) but rather using the aforementioned wonderful WACOM.

I truly have no idea what the result will be, but good, or not so good, I am going to give it my best shot, and I promise dear followers to publish the results here lickity-split. I am pretty excited and intrigued, but judging from my initial forays I gotta say.... I still think the old hand drawn way is faster, and way more fun.

Still I have vowed to put aside my crumedgenly ways, and try sumpthin' new.... who knows what it will lead to?

See you later Crocs and gators~

Mitch

TRIBUTE TO THE KING!

2010-04-29T04:54:00.003-04:00

Hey Gang! Just thought I'd drop by and say a big howdy-doo. I have been thinking a lot about the King of comics...Jack Kirby. In my spare moments the last two weeks I managed to squeek out this nifty little practice page using only a pencil and a double sided Sharpie. Pretty Nifty don't ya think? Hope everyone has an enjoyable FREE COMIC BOOK DAY this weekend.

FLASHBACK

2010-02-23T14:03:00.006-05:00

Some of you hep cats from way, way back may remember a project I started a few years ago called SUPER GROOVY MAN. It is my take on a very 1970's style superhero. My comics prefrence has always been of the, horror/comedy/sci-fi type, so this was my first attempt to do a comic more along the classic MARVEL style superhero that would have existed in the 7o's.

As I clean up ZOMBIE SUB 920, I have been thinking more and more about SGM, and I really want to finish it up, so....... up, up, and AWAY-YYYYYYYY we go!

FUNKY RETRO COLOR!

2010-02-10T19:13:00.001-05:00

ON VACATION ... IN STUDIO

2010-02-08T12:47:00.006-05:00

Greetings gang! I am have a terrific time taking a much needed, mid-winter vacation right here in the comfort of my very own home studio. The ever lovely, and beautiful Michelle is here also, and she was kind enough to snap this snapshot of me making with the coloring and touch-ups for ZOMBIE SUB-920.

As my work continues to gain interest both here and on Facebook, I want to extend a warm heartfelt thanks to all of you who have taken the time to tell me you dig my stuff...you are all super groovy.

PRETTY WOMAN IN COLOR

2010-01-31T20:45:00.003-05:00

I spent the weekend in grand geek style. I watched an old horror movie, ( after pizza and wine ) colored the final page of my comic, ( seen above ) visited a comic shop I never went to before,( Chris' comics of Hampton NH ) where I bought a butt load of classic comics for not much $$$... AND to top it all off I visited a flea market where I bought a real life submarine officers cap and belt for REAL cheap, ( I'm talkin' way low bucks here folks ) WoW! The hat I intend on wearing as I hawk this puppy upon it's completion.... so LOOK for me at all the spring/summer cons!

I sure had a fantabulous time! I hope all you hepped up hombre's made the most of your wacky weekends. Until next time cats and kitties, stay loose.... ( er, um.... but not TOO loose ) like, I wouldn't want anyone to come unwound or nuttin'

Peace Ya'll~
Mitch

THE PLOT THICKENS!

2010-01-13T08:34:00.003-05:00

Oh how the wheels are spinning now my friends.... Thicker-er, and thicker-er the plot, um.... well, THICKENS. Just a few pages left, some clean-up, a dash of coloring, and a pinch of lettering, and this comic will be sent to the press room. February vacation is looming ever closer, and the goal at hand is to finish as much as possible of this retro beauty by then.

I sure hope all you monsters from Maine to Malibu are keeping your little tootsies toasty during this cold snap we're having...Br-rrrrr! I myself have broken out the sun screen, beach towels, ect, and I'm heading off to the trusty time machine, ( my studio ) for a trip back to poolside circa summer of '76.

Boogie on bro-beasties~

LIVE FROM SANTAS WORKSHOP

2009-12-24T20:09:00.002-05:00

T'was the night before Christmas an' all thru the blog.... not a creature was stirring... not even a frog! Exceptin' me of course... I couldn't resist just one more post to prove to you guy's and ghouls that this whole ZOMBIE SUB 920 idea I had way, way back in June is gunna be a real deal comic type book someday, ( by FCBD I'm hoping ) anyhow here it is... now the world may know at last that the treacherous monkey-men, the fragile foes of the fourth alliance are in fact in leauge with the dredded Simeons of Sirus 7.

Gobble it up my pretties~

Mitchell out-

READ ONLY POST

2009-12-20T06:50:00.005-05:00

Happy holiday hello-de-do's to you comic-blogger friends. Todays inspired offering gives you a little bit of an idea as to the story flow by way of showing you a tid-bit of text from late in the story. I did some faint pencil outlines, ( and inked a few panels ) last night, but really nailed some lettering, ( around which I will ink up all the images later ) sometimes I letter first, sometimes not, meh.... I know, I know cuckoo huh? Anyway... I gotta give some shout-outs here to Mykal Banta who has been posting some really jive stuff over at his GOLD KEY COMICS blog ( see ma blog roll missys and mistas ) in fact the keyed up king even took a request from yours true blue-ly, an' posted up some undifineable UFO yum-yumms.... check it out! Well I'm just a blabberin, an a yabberin, so it's time for me to shove off, and grab me some badly needed shut eye, but all you cats and crazies be sure sure to have a safe and comic book filled Christmas, and thanks to everyone who is taking an intrest in my humble efforts at cartoon-ery bufoon-ery :)

A POST FROM THE FRONT

2009-12-05T21:19:00.004-05:00

Hello there blogging boys and girls. I found another page to show you today. This one isn't colored or lettered yet, but it looked kinda nifty in this sepia toned digi-cam snapshot I took today. Hope you enjoy it.

AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...

2009-11-29T03:58:00.003-05:00

Those of you who know anything about me, know for certain that on any given day I can be relied upon to interupt one thing, and say: " Hey... check out this entirely different thing over here!" It's just part of my weird nefarious charm :) Any-hoo.... I was organizing a few things in my studio before beddie-bye last evening, when the dust and spiders scattered to reveal this little spooky tidbit I did quite some time ago. My brain said: " Hey.... check this out, I don't think I've ever bloged this piece before, so I checked, and sure enough I haven't.

So here it is guy's and ghouls.... a little bit of random geekery from Uncle Muck.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

2009-11-22T13:53:00.003-05:00

Attention! All crew members man your battle stations....THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!

I was going to finish and post this page after the upcoming holiday, but instead I figured I would give all you Thanksgiving turkeys a treat, and post it post haste. I know I enjoy seeing the rough stages of work someone else has done, so I'm guessing you guys might too. It's only half a page because .... well, I gotta have some secrets right?

Most of you regulars know this by now, but for the newly converted I'll toss out once again that I work at (regular) comicbook size. That's a page area of 6"x10" folks! Not to toot my own whistle, but I'm pretty happy with the level of detail I am starting to get from a two and one half inch square panel like the two above. If you revisit some of my earlier posts from a few years back you will see this has been a long time getting to this level.

Enjoy the Birds, and pass the Stuffin' !

LIFE AT SEA

2009-11-07T17:21:00.002-05:00

Hello fellow sea monkeys. Just posting the latest installment. I think this page is far from perfect, but there are certain elements that give me the warm fuzzies. I think the top left panel, ( see larger scan below ) has a sort of Scooby-Doo color scheme thing goin on, and the bottom panel background really reminds me of some of the actual background I saw aboard the USS ALBACORE in Portsmouth NH. I'm going for that whole GOLD KEY and CHARLTON comics kind of feel, and I think it really shows in this page.

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

2009-10-29T21:53:00.002-04:00

Meet Isaiah Cole, he is the ships doctor aboard Sub-920. Nobody calls him "Doc", or "Bones", or any of the more traditional nicknames... no, below decks he's known as "Preacher". If you want to know why everyone refers to a M.D. as a preacher, then your just going to have to buy the book :)

Goodnight ghosties and goblins~

Have a happy Halloween!

NOW IN COLOR!

2009-10-16T23:51:00.003-04:00

UNDERSEA ACTION & ADVENTURE!

2009-10-07T14:40:00.003-04:00

It's been a long time coming folks, but here it is.... the all new breath stopping, heart pounding cover of ZOMBIE SUB-920. Colored version to follow shortly. Hope you can dig it, cupcakes.

UNDDA DA SEA...

2009-07-17T00:13:00.004-04:00

Ahoy ye land lubbin loaf abouts! Tis I, Captain Mitch, Pilot of the 4th alliance Zombie Submarine 920. Currently we're in deep sea water, and steamin along an above the ocean floor.

When I gets a chance I retire to my cabin and bang out a page about our voyage, then I stuff it in an old whisky bottle and pop it out the port torpedo tube.

Sorry if this one got a little soggy mates. I'll use me a cork next time Arrrgggh.

HEY!....DON'T SPLASH !!!

2009-07-06T15:12:00.003-04:00

And a scoobie-doobie, whap-bop, hello to you faithful followers. I've been shuckin' an jiven' and lay'n down my sticks whenever I get the chance, and lately I was able to kick-out this groovy-hip splash page for my ALL NEW, comic titled: ( dig this now... ) ZOMBIE SUB-920. ..... Rightious, huh?

So just click on with your mouse machine and let that view screen of yours, like ...just EXPLODE , with symphony of far-out retro color funk, that is , ... this page.

Dig it brothers and sisters... the cat is back. Peace baby.

Don't y'all splash now. Children play nice.

SOME YAKKITY SMAKKITY

2009-06-29T13:31:00.004-04:00

Salutations and gratuitus greetings gore mongers, and gorilla fans! I have been on safari of sorts but my art kit has traveled at my trusty side, and together we have produced another pointless page of purille pallabor for you to peruse. Away from my scanner my only-est way of sharing is the dreaded dis-functional digi-cam which allows four panel viewing only. Eh.... well, that's enough for you lil' monsters any-hoo. I can't be givin away the whole shibang every week now can I? Huh... can I?

BOMBS AWAY!

2009-06-23T19:13:00.001-04:00

This is not a drill.....repeat, this is not a drill! Man your battle stations!

THAR BE MONKEYS ABOARD

2009-06-15T19:14:00.003-04:00

New page boils and ghouls.... It's that silly season, ( summer ) when I get itchin ta make with the new comic ideas, and I really got a fever goin for this story. I keep getting inspired by everything I see to add new elements to this story, and it has just been terrific so far.

If we are lucky enough to find a weekend with out rain soon, the lovely Michelle, ( my other half ) and I, have made plans to tour a de-comissioned submarine. Now ... it just doesn't get much cooler than that!

I'm really happy I decided to do this series in color, and take a break from the black and white stuff for a bit. It will be much more expensive to print this little dingy, but it just looks so much more alive.... yaknow? Which in itself is kinda funny because, well... it's a boat load of zombies!

I've been thinking lately about what I want the cover to look like, and have made a few notes to myself. When I pull off on paper what is floating ( no pun intended ) around in my head it is gonna knock off yer little black bootsies.

Stick around mates... the best is just around the corner.

BY THE DAWNS EARLY LIGHT

2009-06-08T16:04:00.002-04:00

uGGHHH.... busy, busy, busy. Well I guess that is what summer is about -eh ghoulish ones? Any-hoo.... NEW ZOMBIE SUB 920 page!!!! Feast yer peepers.

WE'RE ALL DEAD IN A ZOMBIE SUBMARINE

2009-06-03T10:52:00.005-04:00

So-o-o-oo freaked-out about this fanged ones..... I have been kickin' around the idea for a groovy story for over a year now, and since my latest ZB issue is coming into the home stretch I just could not resist plunkin' down some licks on the greatest sensation to hit small press... wait for it, .... ZOMBIE SUB 920. Sweet title huh?

It all takes place in a future apocalyptic Earth where there is global catastrophic climate change, biological mutation, alien invasion from space, and oh ya.... zombies. It's not all bad though,... see the government, ( a loose alliance of what is left of humanity ) has figured out a way to inoculate the poor folks who caught the zombie virus, and even though they look pretty horrible, they're actually pretty nice guys once you get to know 'em.

Anyway.... some of the mutated animals, ( like the monkey men ) aren't above lending a hand once in awhile too, but events in the past that were not so pleasant have caused them to be viewed with great distrust..... and with good reason!

A few other interesting bits is that NYC is underwater, the Western United States is a series of islands, and more geographical jigsaws than you can shake a stick at. The best part though is that in a rare, ( ha ) moment of narcissism I cast myself as Captain of the Sub. Hey.... I'm the creator, I can do that stuff if I wanna. Don't be a hater.

I just know everybody is gonna dig this, I just know it..... right? Hey... stop laughing!

YOUNG ZOMBIES IN LOVE

2009-05-05T13:42:00.003-04:00

Hello handsome horribles, and adorable un-deads... so happy to visit with you all again. It was a simply marvy FREE COMICBOOK DAY by most accounts. Plenty of free swag for geeks and Nerdies nation-wide. I had hoped to make the high holy day of comic collectors one in which my new ZB would be launched, but the lettering is coming a little slow I'm afraid. I did finish another page today so I thought I would share it with you. It's a digi-cam pic, ( not a scan ) so it may be a little distorted, but you get the drift.

Peace to you all... you priests and princesses of paranoia

ROCKET SCIENCE

2009-04-25T19:11:00.003-04:00

Just a little warm weather weekend post to keep me on my tippy-toes. This here is a silly little scribble that started as a practice page. I have been checking out a bunch of retro comic art scans, ( shout-outs to THOIA and Pappy, as well as WALLYWOOD ) all great stuff that can really get your 1950's art roots percolating, and that is just what happened too! I was sitting in Borders killing some ticks of the clock, sose I pull's out my art kit, ( always wid me ) ans I draws up a page. Here of which is two, ( count em ) two panels for ya ta gander.

Happy hunting blogg-uns!

IS THERE A ZOMBIE IN THE HOUSE?

2009-04-08T14:09:00.003-04:00

Greetings geeks, and gore-ophiles! Here is a sneeky peek of the new ZB cover. I had a real productive couple of day's art-wise, and I am feeling pretty good heading into con season. It sure has been a long time getting this issue off the ground, ( see July 2008 post ) but hey... this is just a hobby for me, and sometimes life directs our attention elsewhere... know whata mean jelly bean? Cuss ya do!

Anyway... lame excuses aside it is finally dragging it's zombified pages in the direction of the printer, and I couldn't be a happier Papa. Yes sir... that's my boy.

PHONE TAG

2009-03-28T12:20:00.002-04:00

Hey gang.... here is a pic I just snapped with a digi-cam of the four panels I finished up after breakfast this morning. Ya-ya I know it's a little distorted laying there as it is on my drawing board, but hey... now you know what I see when I'm scratchin away at the page.

Is everybody having recurring bouts of Spring fever like me???

So good to know that warmth, and green, and everything summery is soon returning~

Peace to you pilgrims of Earth~

GREETINGS FROM GEEK MECCA

2009-02-07T21:11:00.021-05:00

Michelle and I arrived in metropolis midtown for this years NY COMICON.

There were hundreds upon hundreds of comicbook, sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and gaming fans from around the country and around the world... all descending upon the ginormous Jacob Javitz Center.

The con itself was very well organized and professional. Being a veteran of many, but much smaller cons, I appreciated the little things, like the wide isles, the grid pattern layout, the numbered lanes, and best of all the cushioned carpet mats...ahhhh yes. After spending hours upon hours on your feet ogling booth after booth of comic eye candy one comes to value such things highly.

Enough about the amenities... time to brag about my loot! Lets see... I got a Dr. Zaius figure, I've been wantin' for about a hundred years. I also got some totally cool original Star Wars Kenners. OH....oh-hhh, CHECK-IT-OUT... I got a big fat honkin pile of awesome silver age comics from one of my favor-rite show dealers Gary Dolgoff. I got a "sweet" bootleg copy of every episode of the 1966 BATMAN TV series. Michelle and I spoke at length with the Master of Horror art, Basil Gogos, ( one of the worlds truly kind and generous talents ) who signed two prints for us.

There were many special memories that just popped up out of nowhere. Like capturing comicbook legend, and personal hero JOE KUBERT reading the latest copy of my Zombie Boy comic. Having a nice visit with my friend, Marvel artist Lee Weeks was quite a treat. Meeting the guys behind Kid America Club, or Outer Space Men... was the real Way-out there kindda stuff I dig.

ALAS.....

Try O' try as we might.... Michelle and I just could not see all there was to see. Our heads were spinning with information overload, our tummy's were begging for chow, and I was recovering from the sheer panic of, (temporarily) loosing my jacket! Counting ourselves lucky and blessed, we staggered away, ( as predicted... ) with "buttloads" of geek treasure strapped to our backsides. When we finally found our way to the 29th floor of the awesomely awesome, art deco-rateded NEW YORKER hotel we were treated to a totally stunning view of the Empire State Building filling the window of our room ( see below )

When it was all said and done it was truly the adventure of a lifetime. So.... listen closely now chill-un's... If you consider yourself a geek, and have never gone to the NYC-CON, then I strongly urge you to start saving now for next years show. Just do it! You will be so glad you did, and when you arrive... be sure to look for me, cause Dude... I am so there already.

HUSH NOW WHATS THAT SOUND?

2009-01-24T18:37:00.012-05:00

Greetings groovy gang members... It's been a long time since I posted, but here I am, still among the dead, and plugging away at the ALL NEW, and outta sight, latest, ( dare I even say ) greatest issue of ZOMBIE BOY ever to hit the comicon circuit. For those of you keeping score... I only have 8 panels to go to completion, ( that's panels NOT pages kiddies ) if all goes according to plan, the official sneeky peeky will be unveiled at none other than the biggest geek bash ever to hit the East coast. That's right fan boys and girls.... the happen-est hoopla of '09... the New York Comiccon!!!

Michelle and I are getting all psyched out to hit the show floor, and geek it out with hundreds of other collectors and fans at this years ultimate pop culture pageant. I will have a precious few advanced copies of the new comic to pass around to friends, and foundlings, and when its all over I will blog photos, and a post-con report of all the dynamite doings from the big apple.

Soon after we return with butt-loads of geek treasure strapped to our backside, I will do the final clean up and scans of my original pages, hit the printer, and prep for the official launching. I am happy to announce that everyone who digs hanging out here can place an order for an absolutely FREE autographed copy. Just my way of saying thanks for supporting me the blog, and zombie boy ( NOTE: One copy per request. Offer only good to bloggers who posted at least once in the year 2008. You must request your copy in writing by leaving a comment on this post. All requests meeting the preceding requirements WILL be honored )

Anyway... Hang loose krazy kitties, and dynamite doggies~ Stay cool, and Oh yeah.... dig this far-out panel above!

PEACE

IN SHADOWS HE LURKS

2008-12-29T15:51:00.004-05:00

Post holiday happies to you all, here is another panel. Hope you dig it. Say... I sure do a bunch of yacking around here about my comics and such, but ya wanna know what occurs to me? Well I'll tell you anyways.... I was figuring that since all you cool kids out there are geeks like me, that you must surely have snagged yourself some geek like treasure over the holidays....right? I sure would like to hear what you got.

My geeky girlfriend, and very bestus buddy got me a boxed set of the graphic novel, MAUS by Art Spieglman. My youngest son got me a DVD copy of MARS ATTACKS, and my oldest boy got me BAT MANGA by Chip Kidd

What did Santa bring you kiddies out there in TV land... Hmmmmm??

OUR PANEL SAID.....

2008-12-20T13:25:00.004-05:00

Fa-la-la-la...la fright fans! The Christ-messy season is upon us~ In between coping with ice storms, record snowfalls, and avoiding being trampled at Wally world, I have actually been making steady progress on my comic.

The very latest is that I have only two pages left to draw, and ink. I have been putting final touches and lettering on many of the finished pages, and it looks like I will be on track for a mid winter printing.

"Hey dude.... why we no see pages Man?" You might say.

Well... nifty little story there: See recently I was going over the pages with my very bestus friend and we were discussing how close to completion it was, and how exciting that is. We were discussing that to blog anymore from here would be the equivalent of giving away the entire comic for free, and could impact sales. A very good point! Still..... me being me, I wanted to blog my progress for all you fearsome followers out there... ( all four of you ), so finally we hit upon a diabolical plan.

From here out I will show only isolated panels. MU-ha-haa-wha-ha-haaaaaa! INGENIOUS!

One more bit of info from the main offices of Mitchell Comics... I have decided to paint the cover. Yes you heard me...PAINT! It will be in the classic pulp style with the retro flavor of some of those great Gold Key comics of the 70's ( Ripleys ghost stories, Star Trek, Magnus, etc... ) Oh I cannot wait to get crack'n! The cover by the by, I will indeed post. In fact I will be hounding each and every one of you to post it on your sites, your blogs, your gym locker, your neighbors car... anywhere you might think it could lead to a sale.

Well... that's it for now Santas helpers.

Peace on Earth and all that good stuff~

ANOTHER "SKETCHY" POST

2008-12-08T18:37:00.004-05:00

Greetings gore-lovers! Here is yet another "sketchy" post from your hard working hatchling. What pre-pubesent, angst filled teen wouldn't appreciate this page of our terror bound teen hero ZB going a round or two with his very own old man. That's right... here we see our thought controlled Ronnie kicking the snot out of his own flesh and blood Daddy. The senior Butler eventually get's the better of Junior by slipping the mind control watch from his wrist, and then the stage is set for retaliation against Dr. Tse and his dungeon of doom. I really didn't expect to have the space to do this page today, but all the stars aligned to make it happen. I really feel good about it too. I am generally not much for fight scenes but, I really think I nailed this one. Only four frightful pages until the initial art is complete. Then comes the finishing, the lettering, the publishing.... hooo.... baby steps, baby steps.

At least I am one step closer, ......and for today that will have to be cool enough.

Chill dogs~

A VERY "SKETCHY" POST

2008-12-03T13:19:00.004-05:00

Greetings o' hoary hosts of holiday hobgoblins!

Ti's I your horrible hombre here to offer up an as yet woefully undigested post-Thanksgiving morsel. The precious pilgrimy feasting was so-ooo fab it kept me away from the drawing board a fortnight or more, and thankfully so. Having some much deserved down time gave me the distance I needed from my new issue to put some sceneage into it's proper perspective. The result is this awesome new page. Well.... that is to say it is going to be awesome, right now it is a minor scribble. In fact... if you kooky kiddies out there can make hide or hair of this frenetic scrap of parchment you got mad skills in the imagination station... know what I mean? No?.... oh well. Enjoy, ....or just sit there and scratch your head.... t-th- that's okay too then.

~later.

STITCHING TOGETHER

2008-11-14T10:17:00.004-05:00

Here we are.... back to the operating , er... I mean drawing table. I have nothing too noteworthy to show you, ( 'cept this nifty widdle unfinished page I'll be hammerin on this weekend ) the real news is what I am not going to show you, the story is finally done. Yes... that's right, for those of you who have not been paying attention in class, ...... I have been pumping out pages of this comic for months now with no script, no thumbnails, no "real" idea where this comic was going, or what it would be when it was done... if it was done! What I am trying clumsily to say is simply this... I "know" now. I know what the remainder of the pages will be, what the dialogue is... everything. It just finally stitched itself together.... as I knew it would.

I don't really recommend this method of comics making. It certainly is not for the faint of heart, but for some reason it just works for me. It isn't always easy. You have to trust that the pages being fed to you from inside your subconscious will coalesce into some kind of story that will be readable, and entertaining. That is a tall order some days. It is almost like drawing in a darkened room.

The reason I do it this way is because the finished product I find to be more compelling, more balanced, and more seamless than trying to make the art fit the script. It gives a wide berth to creative impulse because you are not tied down to word, or form. The hope is that some of the anxiety, and sheer suspense I feel waiting to see where the art takes the story to will transfer to the reader also.

Any-hooo, Didn't mean to get to deep on you peace puppies out there in retro land. I'll be saying so long now... watts, and watts of work to do! Later~

LEFT OVER CANDY

2008-11-01T18:26:00.006-04:00

Just some left over trick-o-treat candy for all you hungry geeks up in da house. Yo check it dudes... I am sending out the first lettered page in this strand. Partly because I want to make up for the fact that it is only sparsly outlined so far, partly to hook you doggy-dogs into the story, and partly because I'm so frickin' jazzed about this page.

Now, just sos you know.... This is not how I letter a page, and it WILL be re-done correctly, and with tweeked dialouge, but I just thought after 8 previous pages to ogle you may want to actually read a page for a change. Consider it a belated Halloween treat.

Now do me a favor and leave me some feedback. This page really pumps me as I said because it is the second pivot pin to the story, and I would really like to know if it is solid. Alright... I know its really just some scribbles, and hen scratching, but can you at least imagine it as being solid? Huh... can yeah?

I know you could. You guys rock~

YOUNG HEARTS

2008-10-16T18:19:00.003-04:00

I know it's quite a switcheroo from last nights post, but tonight's ominous offering provides nothing less than the motivation for the entire rest of the issue. That is correct, oh fearsome faithful, our raging romeo, ( in his real life role of the undead Robbie Butler ) just cannot leave his former fem fatale' alone for very long. He is obsessed with winning her back into those happier days of yore before he became the rotting corpse that stands before her today. Alas... what pretty teen girl in undies could ever hope to make it with a smelly sack of decomposure like our ol' fiend ZB? She gently scorns his advances, which in turn propels him into the lab of our bald protagonist for assistance in rejuvenating his once handsome countenance. Of course the good doctor sees only opportunity in having complete control of an unable-to-die ally at his wicked summoning. Oooooooo this is turning into a real twisted tale ehh, comic fans?

TRICK O' TREAT

2008-10-15T18:24:00.004-04:00

Greetings groovy ghoulies, I managed to bang out the splash page for my new ZB comic today, and I couldn't resist "treating" all you tricksters to a terrible taste. The yolk is on you, however, on account of none of the previously purloined pages have one iota of insufferable dialogue to let you know just what the tale entails! Truth is, faithful fiends, not even I, the horrific host of this Hallow'eve honorarium, have a single solitary clue either. Yupp... you guessed it, The solemn saga has yet to be written on this creepy crafty-werk. I pretty much am making it all up as I ramble along from page to putrid page. I am only one parchment away from the mid-journey with this splash page however, and I am starting to gel a tale that will rock you rotten reprobates in true Zombie Boy fashion. Please stay tuned fright fans, the best, ( or worst ) is still..... yet to come!

BAD BOY-Z, BAD BOY-Z

2008-10-10T06:31:00.003-04:00

Looks like our ever-rotting Romeo has gotten himself in a bit of a bind with the local boys in blue.... why, there is just never any knowing what our little fiend will get mixed up in next. Pray to the great pumpkin he finds the straight and narrow soon ~ Hey... and don't forget to check out the comic-con in Portland Sunday.

SHHHAZAMM!

2008-10-05T19:00:00.002-04:00

Hey there horrible hombres, new Zombie Boy page. Dig it. More to come... get your trick-or-treat bags ready.

Peace to all~

A SHOCKING DISPLAY!

2008-07-31T19:20:00.003-04:00

Zap, crackle, pop!.... why just look kookie kiddos. It is the latest ZB boy page! Are you shocked at the frequency Hmmmm? Well I am.

Shmmmmm-oooo-kinnn~

IN A MAD DASH...

2008-07-25T02:55:00.003-04:00

TWO HOURS.

That is all the time I had available to me on Thursday. Finding myself with such a small window it seemed a little silly to try to tackle an entire comicbook page. "I'll wait until I have a larger space to work." I could have said, ( and have before ) " The work looks better if it comes out as a steady stream." ......er, can we say BS?

So there I sat. Blank page in hand, and fingers flying madly. Creativity flowed, thunder clapped, ( litteraly... it rained buckets yesterday ) and I didn't think, I didn't mull... I just worked the page. Two hours later I was forced to stop. I stood up, and looked finally at the piece as a whole, surprised, and impressed with how much was there. I know I will need to go in with at least another two hours, or more of touch up, but all the basic elements are there.

There is a valuable lesson in all of this. Mainly to not be so dismissive about short time spans, as opportunities. Space is another issue. It is easy to say to yourself, "Hey.. why bother I am not in my studio now, so it probably won't be any good." I did this with a sheet of copy paper, a two sided sharpie, a pencil, a 6" wooden ruler, and a pen. The conditions were less than ideal. I had an uncomfortable chair, poor lighting conditions, it was humid, and my drawing surface was an old clipboard propped up on my knee.

Nevertheless, just 120 minutes later my story had moved forward another leap. Call it shlock-art if it makes you feel superior. I call it progress.

Peace, my doggies~

THIS WON'T HURT A BIT

2008-07-23T18:37:00.003-04:00

Whoa..... we seem to be traveling backward a weensy bit in the ZB story. Here is another page that falls just behind, ( or is it two pages behind.... haven't quite decided yet ) from the page I showed you early peepers last time. See.... this is just the convoluted way I go about creating my Zombie boy stories. Even I don't know just how, or where, the story is going just yet. I get an idea, like... some bad guy doctor is trying to control ZB's mind, and I sorta run with it for awhile til it takes shape. Meanwhile... I plug in images, and such front and back of the original page until it all starts to gel into a story. Crazy?? .... yes, I know, but that is what happened with the first ZB story, and just look at what a hit that turned out to be! Any-hoo... If you compare this page with the previous post you will see it makes sense... ( sorta ).

I don't know, ( nor does anyone else at this point ) just how the dialouge will all shake out to tie the two pages together, but that is, ( for me anyway ) exactly what lends excitement, and motivation to it. Ya see.... I am as anxious as you oh, residents of geek-land, to find out just what is going to happen next.

Keep your optics open~

THE BOY IS BACK IN TOWN~

2008-07-18T22:31:00.003-04:00

Hello hapless hungries of horror....

Perhaps the eldest among you remember this eclectic enterprise begining with an undead do-gooder name of ZOMBIE BOY? The handsome, ( yet slightly rotting ) youth is roaming the streets again pondering the premise of his newest exploits in issue#3. Here we see him under the influence of a mendacious, and maniacal medicino who has outfitted our poor lad with a mod looking mind control wristwatch. Will our hero be swayed to sinister doings in such a state?

Stay ever alert faithful ones. More is yet to come.

DAS FUN MIT DER ROCKKETS

2008-07-15T16:30:00.002-04:00

oH-OH... it looks like zat sh-neeky Adolf is up to his tricks again! Zis is not looking too goot fer das koo-coo Amerikkaners~

Just a silly WWII summertime practice page I thought you geekophiles might take a gander at if your not too busy at the beaches.

Have a groovy summer~
Mitchell

COOL.... NEW GHOUL!

2008-04-10T20:20:00.003-04:00

Pull up a stump groovy goblins.... I'm here to tell you a frightfully good bit of news about my new project for FREE LUNCH COMICS, a dark and twisted tale of a naughty old soldier who left his platoon behind on the sands of some distant tropic isle during the darkest days of WWII. There his buddies were ambushed and mowed down by machine gun fire while our little fiend escaped to arrive home as a bona-fide hero.

However... on one dark and stormy night more than half a century later his old commrades in arms come to bring him to task for his cowardice so very long ago...

Writer Steve Kanaras was most kind in choosing me to bring his 8 page story to life. It will appear months from now in an up comming edition of his horror anthology ONLY IN WHISPERS, which has been the home to some very talented writers and artists.

It's a little odd vacilating pages between this creepy comic story, and the historical kid friendly FIRST IN FLIGHT ( see post below ) but, all in all it is very good to have so much work to keep me busy. Both projects came as a result of me making connections within the organization of CAG which serves as a guild for budding comic creators. Joining that group was one of the best career decisions I've made thusfar, and I highly recomend it to any of you who are looking to get some real world experiance in the small press industry.

I hope you all enjoy my putrid pencils this week... Keep your peepers propped open for more ghoulish goodies in the weeks to follow, until then stay comfy in your coffins kiddies, and don't forget.... when your out on the prowl, to sink your fangs into a stack of comics~

JUMP START

2008-03-16T13:46:00.002-04:00

Greetings geeksters! Just here to keep you posted on my preperations for the CAG annual story I am working on called, ( tentitively ) FIRST IN FLIGHT. The actual script for the story is just begining to be hammered together this week, but since I got my first round of reference photos heading into this past weekend, I decided to jump ahead and whip up a splash page.

Now... this page above, ( and the one below ) are strictly sample pages, ( think of them as elaborate thumbnail sketches ) I did them just for pure fun. It also helps me practice the background scenery. Because these two pages will not be going into the book, I took the liberty to make up some dialouge based on my rough understanding of the story outline, just to have the opportunity to practice my word balloons, lettering, ect. The actual story will, ( I am pretty sure ) use computerized text and lettering.

These are only warm-up excercises after all, so I have decided to limit my time spent on each page to about 3 hours. I wasn't able to polish this one up as much as I would have liked given my self imposed time constraints, but all in all it was a pretty good excersice~

Now if I could just get some details about that Ghoul story to start scribbiling on....

TEST FLIGHT

2008-03-10T14:58:00.002-04:00

A hale, and hearty, how-de-do there comic book fans, and fanettes... Boy do I got big doings to share with you folks! Seems a couple of weeks ago I went to a comicon in Boston and hooked up with a group called CAG ( the Comicbook Artist Guild ) I was seriously impressed with the talent in their ranks, and thought to myself "This is just the group of folks you need to be hanging with. " I forked over my membership dues lickity split, and soon found it paying off in spades!

In less than a months time I have landed two stories in two seperate publications, with two very promising, and talented writers! The page above is from a historical story by writer Robert Sodaro that deals with the first powered flight. It is a little known fact, but the very first powered flight took place nearly two years before Kittyhawk, and not by the gruesome twosome the Wright Bros. who actually stole their ideas from the hero of our story, a German imagrant by the name of Gustave Whitehead.

This story was selected to be included in the CAG annual comic featuring the years best Artists and Writers. Quite a huge honor since I have only been a member of this group for 30 days! I haven't read the script yet, but Robert gave me some research links to get me started, and since I had some time today I banged out the above page. I sent it off to him and his response was phenomenal, ( actually it was a string of happy and joyus explatives, but I'll spare the more sensitive among us ) he is just as excited as I am to get this baby up in the air.

Next time I'll post you guys some stuff related to my other project, a creepy, errie, scarry ghoul filled monster story....

Stay tuned Faithful viewers~

IN LIVE-INK COLOR

2008-02-18T07:08:00.002-05:00

Hey there Creepy cousins.... It is I, your humble horror comix hombre with a special serving of late winter lunacy. I have been buying bucket loads of old horror comics lately at conventions in Boston, and it has influnced me enough to produce this fun little frolic into vampirisim~

The page is a meld of all things wonderful about the genre, The darkened room with creepy figure, the voice of reason crying out to deaf ears, being cast out into the night midst a creepy fog, and the grappling with ones own sanity.... ahhhhh, just gotta love that stuff!

Not to mention of course, that I topped it all off with color! As many of you know I generaly stick to black and white, ( for the most part because it is cheeper to reproduce, and thus, easier to market ) however... this was such a fun and nostalgic page, I just felt it had to have that old school color groove working for it.

Hope you are all looking forward to the soon arival of spring, when all things dead become new again.... even VAMPIRES! ( just foolin )

ALIENS IN BOSTON?

2007-11-14T19:49:00.000-05:00

Hello again.... This is a little page to show you geek-sters I am still indeed working on my new comic: SUPER GROOVY MAN on a continuing basis. I was going to cut you guys a break and show you a finished page, but I am drawing on my iron will power and keeping things a little mysterious by only showing you the finished lettering, and the rough pencils.

Okay....I lied~

The truth is this... I fully intended to show the finished page, but my work schedule has kept me too busy to do little more than the lettering :-( On top of that free time is running out, because I am getting ready to go to, ( what is shaping up to be ) the WOODSTOCK of comicbook conventions...SUPERMEGAFEST in Boston!

Dig this hipsters... Adam West, and Burt Ward, ( the original 1960's Batman and Robin ) will be there, Julie Newmar, and Lee Meriwether, ( the two hotties who played Catwoman from that series ) will be there...THE FRICKEN BATMOBILE, will be there, Superstar Fantasy Artist Ken Kelly will be there, Holly form LAND OF THE LOST, Edddie Munster, BOZZO the clown, and a slew of other Big time B-listers...you can check it all out at http://supermegafest.com

If you are able to get there at all it will be well worth the visit, and when all the dust has settled, yours truly will be right back here at ye Ol' blogsite to give you a blow by blow re-cap.

Till then, keep yer pencils sharpened~

GET YOUR GROOVE ON MAN!

2007-11-07T13:38:00.000-05:00

Hello all you Cat's and Chicks! Here I is again with my latest humble offering from the pages of SUPER GROOVY MAN. In this page we see the groovy one before he had powers, or skill, or charm, or charisma, or anything closely resembling a personality. He is being confronted by the latest in a series of dates to tell him he is duller than a doorknob. She urges him to read something once in awhile so he has topics to discuss instead of pick-up lines. This urging leads him to Barlows Books where he meets a mystical proprieter, and his destiny is forever altered.

I often will letter a page first, then ink my balloons and caption blocks, then do my characters, then my backgrounds. Not this time however... Nope I am staying true to my promise of keeping a wee little bit of mystery surrounding SGM so I wanted to post this page sans detail, and keep ya hungry for more.

Hope you like this little sneak peek. May the god of all things geeky bless you with boogie beats, and a comicon soon~

NOT EASY BEING GREEN

2007-10-31T18:20:00.000-04:00

Trick or treat! I recently went to a comicbook convention in Boston, and I was talking about my work with Jim Steranko, ( yeah..."THE" Jim Steranko ) oKAY.....so I'm a shameless name dropper, so what else is new? ~ Anyway... Mr. Steranko was there to sign autographs, and I was fortunate enough to get to shake his hand, and hear some feedback about my portfolio. I must say the man was extremely kind to me. With a line of fanboys a good 15 feet long waiting to get his signature, he took the time to go through each and every page with me, and offer very helpful and constructive comments.

One thing he said I should do was to emulate some other comicbook artists for practice, and also that I need to "punch-up" my blacks...this is not the first time a top dog in the field has told me this, so I know it's a portion I still need to work on. Also while at the show, I bought a short stack of coverless comics for 50 cents a pop, Among them was an old INCREDIBLE HULK, with art by Marrie Severin who was not, to my knowledge, a regular artist on the Hulk run. Marrie was sort of the "Gal Friday" of comics, and much beloved by nearly every comic creator of the gold, and silver age. She got her start at the offices of EC comics in the 1950's as a secretary, and before long was being asked to do touch-up's, coloring, and corrections. It was interesting to see someone who did not have a buttload of experiance working their way through the monumental task of a 52 pager, and doing an okay job of it. It was actually very educational, and inspiring.

I looked at that comic and thought..." Alright, I'll give it a whirl. " So I chose some scenes I thought had enough action and drama in them. I mixed up the players, and changed a pose or two, re-wrote the dialouge to fit my new arrangement, and ...wha-la, my trick or treat HULK practice page was born. There are things I like about this page, overall it was a very good artistic workout, and though it is no prize winner I sure did learn a heck of alot.

Yaknow what else? When I was talking to Jim, ( Jim Steranko ya moron, haven't you been paying attention...sheeSH! ) He flipped through my pages, then came to a dead stop...flipped back one or two pages, stopped again and studdied the page with his hand cupped over his chin. Then he waved his finger at the page and said " This page I REALLY like... I like this one alot!" Then he went back to his place in succession. Now.... do you think this giddy fanboy thought to pay attention to which page he liked so well? .....Hell no, and it's been driving me cuck-koo ever since!

Enjoy your comics everyone!

A SUPER GROOVY SPLASH

2007-10-26T15:46:00.000-04:00

Hey all you groovy goblins out there, Just thought you would want to take a peek at the Splash page for SUPER GROOVY MAN. I was influenced on this page by both the 70's romance comics, and the work of comic master Gene Colon, who did, ( among many other great things) , a really inspiring run on HOWARD THE DUCK. The page isn't quite finished yet, and I still need to punch up the blacks quite a bit, so don't be surprised if this post is re-edited sometime soon.

I just wanted to keep to my new goal of posting bi-weekly ( instead of the bi-monthly posts of late ) and I wanted to put something real fresh up. Hope you guys dig it...

LOOK TO THE SKIES

2007-10-19T17:11:00.000-04:00

Greetings inhabitants of planet Earth.....

Bet you geek-a-zoids thought you wouldn't hear from me for at least another month or so huh? Well... you were all wrong! Here I am....and with the latest page from SGM to boot yet! This little number let's us see just how the two pointy headed pythons from Zenar 7 got here in the first place. It is the classic UFO arrival scene inspired by countless sci-fi movies, and also more recently by a comic selected especially for me by a very good friend.

I'm hoping you dig this little scribble. This was just a test of the inking I wanna do. What I did was, I took a copy of the original pencils, and just went over that with an ordinarry ball point pen while I was at work.

Of course, I still have the original pencil that I will take the time to ink properly later, but this gives ya a pretty fair idea of what it will look like in the end. Ooohhh.... I should also mention that since I was using a ball point, and not my good micron pens, I decided not to even attempt the lettering. If any of you are hard of seeing, an cannot make out the word balloons... you have my deepest apologies.....b'sides, I don't want you should all know everything upfront.

Who will be interested in buying my book then???

Hang loose hip, and hairy ones~

WHERE YA BEEN LATELY?

2007-10-16T18:41:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone remember me? I'm the goofy "retro" comicbook geek artist who used to post here...like, a really, really long time ago. I used to post quite often, as some of you may recall, but Ummmm well there's this stupid little place I go everyday called "work", and I sort of have to go there to keep the lights turned on in my house, ( really lame how that works ) anyway, and this place called " work" has like...really been eating up all of my time lately. Folks...I am so-o-o-o-o not kidding here, I just got done working ten, ( count 'em ) ten 12hr shifts in a row! Not only that, but half of them were night shift, and half of them were day shift! Yowza!

Anyway...enough excuses, and whinning, what you came here to see was art right? Well... here is a little doo-dad I had started on one slow night at work, and then stuffed in my locker. Every week or two I would pull it out, and dabble with it a little more as time allowed. It took me a month or so, but I finally got it finished. It is an homage' to the work of Gerry Taloc, who for years worked on the DC comics classic UNKNOWN SOLDIER.

I hope you dig this little number, and for those of you wonderin where I am at with SUPER GROOVY MAN these days....Wel-l-l-l-l-l-l, Let's just say the Groovy one is still back there perculating in the dark corners of my addled brain, and yes I did do another page, and yes I will post it soon, but I just wanted to show you this one first. IS THAT OKAY WITH YOU??? Sheesh.... You guys are tough! Jes kiddin :-)

Oh...a few other points worth mentioning. I went to the comicbook show in Nashua NH Sunday and was able to get my portfolio critiqued by a nice gentleman from DIGITAL WEBBING. My retro look isn't exactly what they have in mind for their upcoming projects, but the guy was really nice, and took his time looking over my work, and had very positive comments about it, so it turned out to be a very good experiance for me. He asked if I did all the writing, coloring, penciling, lettering, and inking myself, and I said: " Yeah ", and then he said: "WoW!" and so I thought that was very cool.

Finally...I promised to give a shout out to my co-worker Bert Barrett who gave me some fair amount of crap for not posting my blog lately. I asked why he was giving me crap about it, and he said " Cause I like reading the stuff you put up there." I thought that was very cool too. Thanks Bert for a well deserved kick in the kiester.

Peace out Geeky Ladies, and Gents~

WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY~

2007-08-01T04:40:00.001-04:00

Hey cat's and chick's! I thought it was time to do a little tiding up here at the old blog site, and this is one of the post's that is being re-visited, ( for those of you who are paying attention ) I originally posted this as a two part deal where I had my raw pencil post, and the finished ink, but...well, there are other examples of that in the archives, and I just wanted to have a nice flow of more finished pages for new visitors to look at. This page is when I decided to take some of my SGM practice pages, and meld them into a back up feature. I originally thought of a length of about 8 pages, but it now looks more like at least 12. The long haired young man in the lower left is a sort of morphing of me, and my son Brandon at age 13. The character could easily be recognized as eiether of us at that age. Well that's it for now ragamuffins,....Don't fall off your bicycles~

ZAPPO!

2007-07-11T09:02:00.000-04:00

Holy Cat's ! Super Groovy Man is being blasted by the cone head aliens from Zenar 7 ! Their leader, Klatok, has just unloaded a blast from the dreaded new weapon he calls: THE KARMA RAY. Can SG break through the wall of confusion and meditate his way back to his positive energy flow?

What is all this anyway? So glad you asked... it is just some busy brainstorming on what is sure to be the best Mitchell comic yet SUPER GROOVY MAN. This is just another doodle page really, but I am having so much fun with these I might use it for a mini-four page serial in the back of the book.

Say...where is everybody? It's as empty as a tomb around here....

Is all you all gone to conventions?

SUPER GROOVY SAMPLER

2007-07-05T16:52:00.000-04:00

Here is a finished page to give everyone an idea of what SUPER GROOVY MAN will be like when it's finally in the bag. This page isn't going in the book, it's just sort of sumpin I was messing around with at work one day. It does give you a little flavor for the style and themes however.

Give me a shout if your having a groovy summer~

HERE WE GO AGAIN

2007-04-04T18:44:00.000-04:00

Whassup blogsters? Well I'll tell ya what's up wid me. I have already penciled pg#4 of my new comic SUPER GROOVY MAN. I am getting real excited about this one! Yeah, yeah I know...what about issue #2 of ZOMBIE BOY? A funny thing... Ya see, I have come up against a brick wall with that, and rather than beat myself endlessly over the head, and spinning my wheels in "non-productive mode" I have decided to vent my artistic frustrations in a totally new direction by doing a coffee break comic featuring a superhero, ( my very first ) who is going to give voice to the many ideas ping-ponging their way around my head and stopping up the old ZOMBIE BOY flow.

See...it's like this here, ZOMBIE BOY, MONSTER DISCO, and even DISCO TALES, have all dealt with more of the humor, and horror side of comics. I have been thinking since last summer of doing a Superhero character who is sort of every guy, but through the power of self discipline, fervor, and actualization, tap's into powers which are latent in all of us, yet precious few ever apply.

In other words, ....anyone could be SUPER GROOVY MAN. His powers are not unattainable, they just require a journey which few are inclined to take. What started him on the path to this journey? Well, initially it was for the love of a girl, but he quickly realized, ( through the auspices and guidance of a friendly bookseller ) that he was but an empty vessel, waiting to be filled.

How did he fill his vessel? ( boy ...you guys ask good questions! ) Well since he was empty, and not very well read on topics of self improvement, he began his journey of attainment by discovering an interest in comicbooks.

SUPER GROOVY MAN is for any one of us who ever had the childhood experience of reading a comic and wondered: " What if ? " What if I could gain super powers? What if I were super smart? What if I were super strong? What if I had a divine path to follow?.... What if?

Of course, the adventures of SUPER GROOVY MAN are set against the backdrop of the year 1976, ( where all my fondest fantasies dwell ) and this only serves to make it all the more nostalgic, fun, and a little weirdly believable. It also gives me a reason to groove on my old 70's albums when I ink the sucker!

I know everyone will enjoy SUPER GROOVY MAN, I had alot of fun this past weekend at the COMICBOOK SHOW in Nashua NH, showing the rough copies to the whole gang and touting it as " The small-press sensation of the summer of '07 " Yeah that sure brought some funny stares! Seriously though....although many will think it an attempt at humor, and pure nostalgia, it actually has a very important message to send to any of us who has ever read a comic and wondered ..." What if? " , and be honest, who among us hasn't?

Peace out, comicbook cat's and doggie-dog's.

LOOKIT MY NEW COMIC!!!

2007-03-27T12:14:00.000-04:00

Check it out comicfans !!! I have penciled the cover for my new "coffeebreak comics " project called SUPER GROOVY MAN. I think I am going to do this years comic a little different in that I am going to do all the inking in the studio on the day's when I am not working in the mill. Last year I did the inking on the fly, and even though that comic MONSTER DISCO was a real fun blast to read, nobody ever really bought into it at conventions, because it was so rough looking. ( lesson learned ).

Anyways...another thing about last years comic was that I posted each finished page, and alot of folks said, " Yeah I've already read that on your blog. " ....POOF! no sale. Well this time I am only going to post the pencil pages, and I am going to skip a few here and there so you sneaky little wise guys won't know what your missing untill you fork over some dough and buy a copy. Ha-ha ( another lesson learned )

I am also am thinking about taking my mentor Ron Fortier's advice and really bitting down hard on the bullet to get this one proffesionally printed, and stop jerking around with the copy store print runs. Yeah it's cheap to do my comics that way, but nobody pays much respect to cheap desk top wanna be comics, sure it's got me this far, and thats great, but I am ready for the next step so look out ( third lesson learned )

This concludes our lessons in comicbook self awareness for today...stay tuned for further words of wisdom from me and SUPER GROOVY MAN.

SUPERMAN WEEPS

2007-03-07T04:09:00.000-05:00

I went to a comicbook convention not too long ago where I chanced among my many purchases to snag a copy of SUPERMAN # 298 from April of 1976. As many of you know I collect mostly low-grade reading copies of 1970's comics, so this was just another rag on the pile ya might say.

When I finally got around to reading this issue I was utterly amazed to see the panel at the bottom of page 14, by Superman master artist Curt Swan. Superman is crying!!

It turns out the story behind it all is equally striking... Superman, under the influence of an alien power, decides to live his life for awhile entirely as his alter-ego Clark Kent. Living as Clark, Superman is no longer troubled by the responsibilities, and demands once made of him as Superman. If a ship is sinking...oh well, ho-hum, I can't take care of it, Clark has a date with Lois tonight. ( Yaknow...that kind of thing )

Anyways....as you can imagine a good deal of suffering occurs because Superman is not around to help. Eventually Clark begins to realize what he has done, and riddled with guilt, decides his only course of action is to correct the matter by living exclusively as Superman for awhile.

At first Superman is happy to be back, but soon he realizes that the world has a never ending supply of woes, and cares to serve him 24-7. The burden filled Kal-El begins to crack under the strain of living an unbalanced life, and finally in panel 14...he weeps.

I thought the panel was very striking in it's simplicity, yet enormously powerful in it's execution. Curt Swan proves once again why he was the supreme Superman artist. I was reminded when seeing this of the shortest verse in the Bible, which simply reads: " Jesus wept". We ought not ...any of us, take for granted, or place too many expectations on those we think to have seemingly limitless power. We would do well to remember they have a human side to their nature as well. I hope all of you enjoy my feeble attempt at copying one of the great comic masters, Curt Swan.

NEW DIRECTION

2007-02-28T12:16:00.000-05:00

Hey gang! Well I have taken a little bit of a breather from drawing since the whirlwind completion of the Proffesor Stone book, and I am ready to start wading into some other areas artistically. As I try to figure out where I want to go next I thought I would post every few days some of the doodles I do during break time at work. I often give these little scribbles away to co-workers who express an interest, and sometimes will make a sketch or two on demand. Every so often however one of these little numbers grabs hold of me for some reason, and I decide to keep it for myself.

Take todays post for example, I did this a few weeks ago. It started out as just practice drawing a pretty girl, ( us artists types do have to do that once in awhile yaknow! ) I would add a little here, a little there, then I got to thinking...this girl has sort of a 70's style hair-do. Next I plopped in a little stylized icon of my favorite year...1976! When I got back to the doodle a few hours later I was thinking about being 10 years old in '76, and how I used to go roller skating all the time and hope a pretty chick like this would ask me to skate, ( hence the word balloon addition ) to spiff it up a little I added the flower power background.

One other note about this piece. This was a free flow of thought type exercise, ( sorta like dreaming through your hand ) and there was no forethought whatsoever going into it. There was no pencil sketch, no pre-sketch, and no outline. I just took a standard ball point pen and had a blast on some paper.

I like that. That is what makes drawing enjoyable to me, when you have no intentions, no design, and something just pop's out of your sub-consious to say hello to the world. Look for many more of these kinda thingys to appear in the weeks ahead.

Peace my brothers and sisters...Mitch!

LOOK...UP IN THE SKY! IT'S PROF. STONE!!!

2007-02-19T06:51:00.000-05:00

At last... at long last it is finished. You see before you the final spot illo for the new book, ( sure to make the NY Times best seller list ) Professor Stone, and the Eye of Re.

I am so very glad to have had this opportunity to work on such a cool project. I cannot thank Ron Fortier enough for giving me this incredible opportunity. I also want to thank Wayne ( Judge ) Skiver for his enthusiastic response to my illustrations. Anthony, and Rob...Thanks to you also for "tweaking" my doodles to make them printable. Finally thanks to everyone who encouraged me along the way~

It is going to be so exciting to hold the finished book in my hands just a few short weeks from now! I have great faith the book will be a tribute to the Wildcat line of pulp novels.

Help prove me right everybody..... by ordering your copy soon!

JUST LIKE DOMINOES

2007-02-17T06:23:00.000-05:00

Uh-oh...Sombody's gunna have a lot of esplainin' ta do!!! Stone has decided to create a big distraction by toppeling over one of the fifteen statues of the egyptian god, Anibus. As a very meek Professor Baumhaufer looks on in amazement. Why is the distruction of 5000 year old statuary neccesary? I dunno....buy the book and find out fer yourself Dummy! I'm just the guy what draws this kooky stuff. Whew... only one more full page spot, and a widdle icon to go and we can put this book in the bag...HOORAY! Soon hordes of people from Tiwan to Timbucktoo will be standing in line to scoop up Proffesor Stone and the Eye of Re, but not me...nope. I'm waitng for the major motion picture...ha-ha-ha. Sorry Wayne and Ron...I couldn't resist :-)

Back to the drawing board ~ Mitch

AMBUSH BY STONE!

2007-02-14T21:15:00.000-05:00

Sure there is still some clean up work to do on this one gang...but check out this new illo for the Novella EYE OF RE....it will keep you suspended....get it? ( I must be sniffing my markers again ) that joke was a real dud! Oh well....come up with your own snappy puns! Ha-ha

MEET DOCTOR PHOBOS KIDDIES

2007-02-07T19:18:00.000-05:00

Having trouble sleeping at night? Doctor Phobos can help...You will never, ever get to sleep again once his treatment begins. His friendly assistants are here to help deliver that one of a kind special attention that every new patient deserves. Hopefully your visit will be brief...if your very, very lucky..Mwhaaaa-hahahh

That rotten Wayne Skiver fella is rubbing off on me...scuse me. Gotta go take a shower now...I feel icky all over.

Seriously blog fans...this is just another of the illos for the new Professor Stone Book. This one is'nt quite finished, but I thought you might like to see a work in progress for a change.

HOW I SPENT MY WINTER VACATION

2007-02-06T19:21:00.000-05:00

BRRRR... As if the cold was'nt bad enough... now we got to deal with this!!! Just another illo from the Professors files...I think it's the best drawing Yeti !

TERROR TUBES

2007-02-06T18:56:00.000-05:00

Look out guy's! Wayne Skiver is up to his old bag of tricks again...scaring the pants off everyone with his pulpish ways. This illo is from the Proffessor Stone book and has an astonished Stone looking on as three victims are tortured endlessly in hermetricly sealed chambers. They are each exposed to their greatest fear. Ooooooo SPOOKY ! It is a total blast to draw this stuff I am going to feel a little guilty cashing all those big fat royalty checks Ha-ha-ha!

LOOK KIDS! SPACE GHOST!

2007-02-03T07:14:00.000-05:00

Right about now Ron and the gang at Wildcat books are going to reach through the screen and shoot me. Before they pull the trigger, I got a little somthin to say. Now any artist worth his salt will tell you that in order to stay on your game you gotta excercise. I am supposed to be working my brains out on the illos for the professor Stone book. But....see I reached a stopping point where I was waiting for word on where to proceede with the next batch of illos, and well see I was really on fire artisticly, and I did'nt want to let the blade get dull see, and I had this really cool space Ghost comic in my mits that my bestus buddy and all around imaginary friend sent me in the mail see, and well one thing led to another see, and well.....here is my tribute to Space Ghost.

Yaknow...it is only right considering that two of the main creators of Space Ghost ( Alex Toth, and Joseph Barbara ) passed away recently. Jo Barbara was in his 90's and led a very nice life...Toth went the way I would like to go...simply died at his drawing table. Now don't you get any ideas Ron...I'm in no hurry to go this weekend...ha-ha

Okay...back to work on Professor Stone now....Sheesh! You guys are no fun.

STONE VS ROBOT NAZI'S

2007-01-29T16:26:00.000-05:00

Check out the latest illo for the Professor Stone book which will be out very soon...so soon in fact I don't have a whole bunch of time to let loose with the " lips " just now...gotta get back to the drawing table! You just take yourselves a good ol' gander and make up your own silly little story to go along with this post...okay? Let me know what you come up with....( Oh boy this ought to be a hoot! )

ATTACK ON ISLAND X

2006-12-27T19:17:00.000-05:00

Hey gang! Here I am back to show off a snazzy new illo for the Proffessor Stone book. Well....what do you think? I did like about 20 pencil sketches trying different compositions before I finally settled on this one. For some odd reason no matter how I tried to set up the shot I just kept coming up with other layouts that looked a little better. This one I like as it has Stone looking a little more " heroic" than some of the other arrangements I trashed. Another change was moving the Prof.s submirsible seaplane the " MERMAID" to the left of the page instead of on the right where the original sketch showed it. In my mind this sets up a nice viewing triangle.

Artists....Pftt! What a kooky bunch we are....huh?

TO MOTHER FROM TWO BROTHERS

2006-12-07T06:19:00.000-05:00

Okay....now you are all sworn to secrecy. This is a Christmas portrait I did for my co-worker Steve. He is planning on giving it as a gift to his Mom on December 25th. Now none of you can ruin the surprise okay? I told Steve I would like to put it on my blog "after" the holidays, but he insisted it would be perfectly fine to go ahead and splash it up here now.

Actually I'm kinda glad he allowed me to do this on account of I think it is one of the better portraits I've done this year. I have some others to show you in the coming weeks so stay tuned, and stay merry.

Happy Holidays everyone!

AN ILLO FROM ISLAND X

2006-11-19T09:55:00.000-05:00

This, dear friends ... is an illo from the Proffessor Stone book I am working on. It is from the short story Island X. It features Stone encountering a secret Island filled with Dino-men, and an evil Russian scientist lady. The piece was finished a few weeks ago, but for two weeks now I have had no way of scanning art. As many of you know I am a computer dummy, so it has taken quite some time to figure out a solution. As it now stands I have to first scan my images to my photo impression program...transfer them to Picasa, ( a web host ) then log them in on a seperate post. Not, by any means, an ideal situation...but it's all I have for the moment. At least I am back on-line with much to show you in the comming day's.

I BEG YOUR PARDON.....

2006-10-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

Sorry for missing in action so much lately....I had quite a round of comic-con's to attend in the last two months. First it was Boston, then Portland, and just yesterday...Nashua NH. The show in Nashua was a super groovy time and sales of ZB products were very steady. There was a huge crowd, steady customers, some good friends, and lot's of new and interesting people to meet. The above sketch was started, but never finished, at yesterdays show.

As things slow down and we head into the winter doldrums, I am just going to have to breakdown and learn a bit more about this blogging stuff so I can post permanent links to the sites hosted by all the way cool creators I have met at these conventions.

Soon I will be posting the latest illo's for the Proffesor Stone series ( hang in there Ron ) and lot's of other cool stuff that has been perculating on the back burners of my drawing board. Trust me ....you guy's are gonna love it. Peace out.

A LITTLE CONVENTION SKETCH

2006-10-23T17:05:00.000-04:00

Some of you out there may be wondering how the comic convention in Portland went. Well, wait no more...I am going to tell you. My Son and I left the house at 6am in total darkness, (yes we were still without power!) and we couldn't help but wonder if we had forgotten anything after spending an hour packing up my comics and gear by candle light!

We arrived early, ( unlike my editor Ron Fortier....sorry Ron, couldn't resist ha-ha ) and got a great table. Dave at www.primatepromotions.com was a gracious host as always. The foot trafic was just a little slow and sales were a little marginal, however I did meet a bunch of good friends, Megan Miller was there, as was independant comic artist Mike Jordan, and several other customers who remembered me from previous con's. Of course my editor Ron from Wildcat books was there right beside me and we discussed plans for future illustrations in the Professor Stone series. I also was introduced to Howard Hopkins a Maine based Author.

One memorable moment came when a little girl about aged nine was looking through my portfolio.

"You do all these? " She asked,
"Why, yes I did. " said I.
" You're not too bad.." she said " Have you ever thought about being an artist someday?"
I answered cooly: " Yes.... I've thought about it a little "

PRICELESS.

CRAZY EDDIE

2006-10-07T21:03:00.000-04:00

Here folks is the newest submission to Mike rodens most excellent underground anthology CRAZY MEN COMIX. I have learned recently that Mike has had a bout in the hospital, and I hope you all will wish him well and check out his high quality comic goodness at :TBHCOMIX@aol.com Just ask for info on CRAZY MEN, and tell him Mitchell sent ya!

This no-goodnick I name CRAZY EDDIE, and as usual I include a little rhyme to introduce him which goes like this:

CHECK OUT CRAZY EDDIE,
HE STAYS OUT WAY PAST BEDDIE,
AND DRESSES AS IF HE WERE TEN!

HE FIST-FIGHTS TILL DAWN,
WHEN THE BEERS ARE ALL GONE,
THEN EACH EVENING HE DOES IT AGAIN!

NEW LOGO FOR ZOMBIE BOY

2006-10-05T20:02:00.000-04:00

Hey gang! check out the neato new logo I created for Ronnie Butler and his ongoing adventures as Zombie Boy! This new spify design will grace the covers of all future issues and is sure to spiff up the joint. Graphic artist extrodinaire, Anthony Schiavino , is going to scan this and enhance it and the rest of the banner to make a slicker look for the covers. Just thought you guys would get a kick out of the " raw' deal before it goes digital.

Hope to see you all soon at the comicons in Portland, ME and Nashua,NH I'll be the dude with the Zombie Boy tee shirt handing out free stickers. and hawking my doodles.....come on down and look me up!

HEY MUMMY...WHO'S YOUR DADDY NOW?

2006-09-29T09:47:00.000-04:00

Hello blogger hep cats!...Remember me? Mike the "hermit" Mitchell? Ha-ha, Okay... so's I been keeping it on the down-low just a widdle biddy-bit lately.....so sue me! I appreciate the concern from all you buddies of mine out there, but I assure you...all is fine and dandy in Retro-land!

My son-of Satan friend, Wayne Judge, wrote recently to insinuate I may even be going through the slip from reality madness that many artists seem to suffer inevitably....( he was teasing me of course....I think? ) unfortunately the real answer is pretty mundane, and far less dramatic.

I have just decided to take a little step back, sort of refine my blog a little...Posting everyday was getting to be more of a chore than a pleasure just now, so I'm trying to tone it down to once a week for awhile. As more and more potential customers log on to the blog to check out my junk, I want to make sure they are getting the best of my stuff, both art and writing wise.

Life is busy for us all sometimes, and you got to flex or you'll snap in two! Never fear ..Oh frenzied fans o' mine...I will be back to posting more frequently sooner or later. You jes wait'n see ifinn I don't !

Meanwhile why not take a good 'Ol gander at this wrist wringing, colossal cross-hatching, titanicly time consuming doodle I did for Wildcat books newest Professor Stone Novel. Whew! I wanna tell you friends...this puppy took a might longer to pump out than I first thunk it would.... I like it though...what do you guys thunk?...er I mean think?

Oh yeah...a little pesky friend O'mine keeps reminding me to tell you about the Boston show a couple a weeks ago...well, I did sell a bunch of comics...( just not ones I created) the show was more or less the victim of a most perfect day, a sunny end of summer Sunday. It seems the entire city wanted to be anywhere but at the show that day...( including me ) I did toss four long boxes of over-stock from my private stash of 1990's glut on a separate table my pal mal had inside the main auditorium. Miracle of miracles nearly two whole boxes sold to other dealers!

Damn! I knew I shoulda charged more than a quarter a piece for them rotten apples!

PLEASE COME TO BOSTON....

2006-09-08T19:42:00.000-04:00

If your looking for a place to let your inner geek explode, why not follow me down to "beantown" on September 17th ? I'll be there with lot's of other terrific creators, and dozzens of New Englands finiest comic book proprietors.

I'm going to be peddling my own line of comics, t-shirts, and of course magic stickers.... Why not make plans to go right now? All the cool kid's will be there!

For more info click: www.primatepromotions.com

GREAT KIRBYS GHOST !!!!

2006-09-06T16:41:00.000-04:00

I don't know why I do the things I do sometimes....Here I am with a mountain of illo, and comic work starring me right in the face, and what do I do? I go off on a lark and spend 8hrs doing a Kirby Homage....go figure.

It all started when I was working night shift last weekend, and came across a tattered old copy of CAPTAIN AMERICA # 196, ( April 1976 ) I love the old school Kirby stuff immensely, and couldn't resist grabbing a sheet of copy paper, and doing my best to pencil a page after the King of Comics.

This was supposed to be just an exercise to keep my pencil sharp during coffee breaks, but my heart fell into it, and I had to finish what I started. It's been so long since I've done a sequential page that I just couldn't put it down. I stayed up till dawn last night to get it out for you guys, and gals to take a gander at.

Warning!!! Do not try this at home ! Since I started at actual comicbook size, ( something you should never, ever do ) It was extremely tough to get those little details that make every Kirby comic work so well. Ever try drawing an action scene in a two inch square panel? It's a little nerve racking I assure you! Then I had in mind from the start to color it with standard Crayolas...why ?, you might ask.

Coloring with Crayons is fun and soothing, and makes you feel like a kid again Thats why...you nosey people you...ha, ha. Seriously this piece was not supposed to be an in depth study, just something done out of love for the form and the artist who made it great. When I saw the old comic in my locker I remembered when I first started drawing comics as a kid, and back then I colored all my comics with crayons, and so I just had to do it this way.

Well There you have it friends...a little visit from me,....me and Great Kirbys ghost.

DAVINCI DA - MONKEY

2006-09-03T15:07:00.000-04:00

Oh what a grand life it would be to be nothing more than an artistic little ape, whiling away the hours and days in total artistic pursuit. I often envy those brave souls who sacrifice all for the advancement of artistic virtue! But even a monkey has to earn a few bananas now and then right?

My shift work schedule is affording me little opportunities for drawing this week, yet I am trying to make the most of each moment that allows me a few minutes to push the pencil. I hope you guys and gals enjoy this little pencil sketch, and I hope you enjoy the labor day weekend as well!
While your attending picnics, and parties remember to celebrate a little for me....I'll be caged up in the zoo I call my job, and trying to think of ways to escape. ha-ha !