The A-To-Z Challenge 2016: Best of P

I'm phoning it in again today. I don't have more than two sketches from any artist whose last name starts with the letter "P," so screw it, I'll post a small selection. Things should clear up on Thursday.

Carlos Pacheco

I got a sketch from Carlos at Comic-Con International in 2003. This was back when Arrowsmith was out penciled by him and written by Kurt Busiek. It wasn't on par with Astro City, but it was a nice creator-owned miniseries. This is the rock creature Rocky Rakhrakhmata.

Greg Pak

Greg is another critically acclaimed writer with semi-decent drawing skills. I've gotten two sketches from him at MoCCA: Hulk in 2008, and Amadeus Cho (the current Hulk) in 2011.

Jimmy Palmiotti

Two sketches from Jimmy: the first Kyle Rayner I ever asked for (taken from the Secret Society of Superheroes Elseworlds miniseries, which Jimmy inked) and Iron Man without his helmet.

Yanick Paquette

I met Yanick at New York Comic Con in 2007. I wound up getting Bulleteer from him; this was back when I was trying to get all the main characters from Grant Morrison's maxiseries Seven Soldiers. The only other memory I have of Yanick was later that year in Toronto, when I was trying to find my sketchbook.

Rick Parker

Back in the day, Rick was the artist of Marvel's Beavis and Butt-head series. I had a blank-covered copy of Avengers Assemble #1 on hand, and I was in the mood for some crossover fun.

 

 

Patrick Thomas Parnell

 

Speaking of crossovers, I came to Patrick with the idea of dressing up the main cast from One Piece as American comic book characters. I asked for Franky as DC Comics hero Cyborg, and I liked the result.

 

 

Pere Perez

 

Originally, I was asking artists for sketches of Transformers I owned as a kid. I intended to do the same for G.I. Joe figures, but it stalled with this sketch of Alpine. The only other Joes and Cobras I remember having were Clutch, Tollbooth (with the Bridgelayer), Frostbite (with the Snow Cat; the guy who wasn't Snowjob or Iceberg) and Crimson Guardsman. When I came to Larry Hama, I just asked him for Snake Eyes.

 

 

Khoi Pham

 

Here's another sketch of Amadeus Cho. I was picking up trade paperbacks of The Incredible Hercules with Amadeus in a supporting role, and Khoi was penciling Mighty Avengers, which also featured Herc and Amadeus.

 

Warren Pleece

 

I had gotten a copy of Incognegro from DC Comics, back when I was reviewing graphic novels for Beyond Race Magazine. It's a must-read about a black writer passing himself off as white while undercover in the 1930s, as he reported on lynchings in the South. I met Warren and author Mat Johnson at New York Comic Con in 2008, and I got this sketch of Zane Pinchback from Warren.

 

 

Krissy Puff

 

This was back when I was seeking out sketches of South Park characters as the various ring-wielding heroes and villains from DC Comics. Krissy completed the theme for me with White Lantern Kenny. While I didn't tell her that the costume was just for White Lantern Animal Man (hence the "A" on Kenny's front), she did a bang-up job. You can read about my concept here.

 

George Perez

 

I'm amazed that I got anything from this legend. When I came to New York Comic Book Marketplace in 2012, a fellow collector let me know that George was sketching headshots at an affordable rate, and I wound up spending a few hours on line for the privilege. I had some random stuff in my bag, and I wound up giving him Storm as a reference. Special shout-out to Andreas G. for putting up with my blathering while we waited on the line.

 

 

THE REST: Paul Pelletier (one sketch from the CrossGen booth), Jamal Peppers (a quick in-store freebie), Ramon Perez (convention freebie), Rich Perrotta (two), Brandon Peterson (another CrossGen sketch), Bill Plympton (quick doodle from the cartoonist), Howard Porter (quick sketch from the JLA penciler), Michelle Poust (second Death Note-themed sketch I received).

The A-To-Z Challenge 2016: O

I'm going to do something a little different today. I don't have a "go-to" artist whose name starts with "O." Since there are only a few artists in that category, I'm going to post them all.

Bryan Lee O'Malley

While I have commissioned many artists to draw characters from Bryan's "Scott Pilgrim" books (including all seven of Ramona's evil exes), I've only met him once, at MoCCA in 2006. While I'm thinking about it . . . if anybody knows what the insignia on Scott's shirt represents, please let me know. And check out his books. The movie wasn't as good as those.

Kevin O'Neill

I've gotten all of Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen books, but I have but one character from that series: Mina Murray by co-creator Kevin O'Neill. Maybe if I get enough money, I can shell out for other figures and incarnations.

Nikki O'Shea

This is from the first time I went to AnimeNEXT, an anime con located in Somerset, NJ. I only went for one day that year, but I managed to get four sketches. I gave Nikki some references from Detroit Metal City, and she ran with it. The premise behind the manga is awesome: a wannabe hipster milquetoast is secretly the head of the most vicious death metal band in Japan. If you ever got into Metalocalypse, you should seek the books out. Here's what I found when I searched Nikki's name. I hope that's the right link.

Michael Avon Oeming

I've gotten three sketches from him, all quickies, including one of Deena Pilgrim from Powers, the series he co-created with Brian Michael Bendis. That was the first sketch I ever got at MoCCA.

 

Victor Olazaba

 

I got a quick Wolverine from Victor at the Marvel booth at New York Comic Con last year. I'm more of a DC Comics guy, but that company insisted on putting their area on the other side of the Javits Center, and the guest schedule was only available via app. I don't even take my iPad with me when I go out, so I wound up not going there, opting for freebies from Marvel.

 

Jerry Ordway

 

I met Jerry at The National in 2006. This Lady Blackhawk went well with the other Birds of Prey-themed sketches I acquired while Gail Simone was writing the series.

 

 



The A-To-Z Challenge 2016: Todd Nauck

I'm not an art-motivated person when it comes to buying comics. If I'm drawn to a book, it's usually the writer or the concept that motivates me. I never got into Image Comics in the Nineties, where the fanboy-geared art was the selling point. These days, there are artists I try to get sketches from whenever I see them. Sometimes, I get stuff from artists whose work I've grown to like.

Take Todd Nauck, for example. Originally, I got in on the "ground floor" of Young Justice (not to be confused with the animated series of the same name) because I liked the concept of a "JLA Jr." Written by Peter David, the book lasted for years with Todd handling pencils for most of the issues. To me, there was a lot to like . . . the sort-of-dead heroine Secret, junior archer Arrowette (who was the daughter of a woman who called herself that while teaming with Green Arrow in the Fifties), the Teletubbies-themed Hugga Tugga Thuggies, the mysterious Empress, a de-aged Lobo . . . I could go on. And I consider David and Todd to be the second-best portrayers of Bart Allen/Impulse after Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos. While I understand why Geoff Johns felt compelled to evolve the character into Kid Flash, I have a soft spot for the big-haired, big-booted knucklehead. As a result, I wound up getting three YJ-based sketches from Todd.

 

Todd would go on to creating WildGuard for Image. I remembered the original concept in a preview book in the Nineties, where it was going to be a superpower-tinged take-off of The Real World. By the time it was launched in the 2000s, Todd incorporated American Idol into the design, going so far as to let readers vote a character on the team. Since I was heavy into reality television at the time, I wound up getting all of the printed issues. Todd also had great names for the heroes and heroines. Yes, the Thor-esque girl that made WildGuard was named Lily Hammer.

 

 

 



 

Nowadays, I don't get to hit up Todd. Usually, I'm watching my wallet carefully. I do say "hi" to him most of the time, because I like the guy. The last three sketches I've gotten from him have been on blank covers, including a quick head shot of Spider-Man at the Marvel booth during New York Comic Con last year. Four years earlier, he did a great commission for me: Ant-Man and Wasp from Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, which might be the best animated series in Marvel's history.

 

 

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS: J. M. Ken Niimura (one sketch based off the acclaimed I Kill Giants written by Joe Kelly), Mike Norton  (two from The All-New Atom; one day, I'm going to get a Battlepug from him),  Phil Noto  (two Birds of Prey and Chewbacca).

The A-To-Z Challenge 2016: Amy Mebberson

We're officially halfway home for the A-to-Z Challenge. I've had to make a few tough choices, and I'm thinking of doing "bonus" material in May, but things have gone smoothly nevertheless.

Today. I'm focusing on Amy Mebberson. I see her from time to time at the bigger conventions, but I've only gotten five sketches from her so far. Back in 2010, I got two covers sketched by her for The Muppet Show from BOOM! Studios.

From her tables, I saw that she was into Doctor Who. Or maybe I saw her stuff online, such as this take on the Doctor's companions (up to Rose Tyler). I wound up getting two sketches featuring companions from the Fourth Doctor's era: Leela and (the first) Romana.

The last time I hit Amy up was at New York Comic Con in 2012. I had a blank-covered Uncanny Avengers #1 and references of late-Nineties Scarlet Witch from George Perez. Amy knocked it out of the park.

HONORABLE MENTONS: Jerry Ma (a detailed commission of Black Widow on a blank cover), Francis Manapul (three quick sketches), Mark Mariano  (four; including this Miser Brothers-as-Rogues sketch that I use as an avatar during the holidays), Bordin Marsinkul (an outstanding quick commission of Scarlet Witch from Avengers: Age of Ultron), John McCrea (two Hitman-related quick sketches from Comic-Con), Nick Mockoviak  (four, starting with this Superman sketch to start off my sixth book).

The A-To-Z Challenge 2016: Louie La Palombara III

Sometimes, you don't know if an artist you like will be at a convention until you get there. Last November, I went to Long Island Who 3, my first Doctor Who-themed convention. I had my sketchbook with me even though I knew this wasn't going to be like the cons I usually visit, because I saw two artists were going to be there. What I didn't know was that one of the vendors was Geek Boy Press . . . also known as Louie La Palombara III. Turns out he had designed a t-shirt for the convention. Small world.

Louie is one of those artists where I always try to get something from him. He usually sells t-shirts and prints, but I don't buy either of those often. If he has the time, he can draw something for me,  The first time I met him was at Wizard World Philadelphia in 2008, where I got a sketch of Hyperstrike from Who Wants To Be A Superhero? In retrospect, I probably should have paid extra for color.

Usually, I wouldn't know when Louie would be at a show I was hitting, and it would be a pleasant surprise. When I got something from him, it would be very catchy, and he could roll with some of my odder choices with enough references.

 

 

 

Also, the odds were good that I would be in the mood for a Doctor Who-based sketch. A lot of the merchandise Louie would sell was related to the show, so of course he was a fan.

 

 

 

As for Long Island Who . . . Louie was happy to draw for me, and I had the latest copy of Doctor Who Magazine for reference material. I wound up getting The Foretold from "Mummy On The Orient Express."

 

 



HONORABLE MENTIONS: Roger Langridge (four sketches, including the second, third and fourth-most viewed items in my CAF account as of this writing), Michael Lark (one; the only Joker commission I ever wanted), Alvin Lee (two; both highly-viewed), Jeff Lemire (five, including this stellar Essex County-based commission), Yasmin Liang (two),  Scott Lobdell (one; this portrait of me he drew while I was getting a sketch from another artist).

The A-To-Z Challenge 2016: Matt Kindt

Another day, another time to be light on artists. After some deliberation, I figured that Matt Kindt  should get the spotlight today.

I've become familiar with Matt when I got a copy of Super Spy from Top Shelf Productions. While he's been writing on more mainstream titles as of late, it's his unique artistic style that drew me to him. I met him in Baltimore in 2008, where he drew the first Nite Owl from Watchmen.

Less than a year later, I hit him up at MoCCA Arts Festival for Bane. Shortly after that, I got the First Doctor from Doctor Who at Comic-Con International.

 

 



The last time I enlisted Matt was at Big Apple Con in 2011. I came to him with a blank-covered Wolverine #1 and references from the popular "Old Man Logan" storyline. Matt churned out an awesome dystopic take on the character.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Joe Kelly (four sketches; he'll probably kill me for including him, but he's got a little artistic skill for a writer), Ryan Kelly (two), Barry Kitson (one sketch of Superman from Kingdom Come that has a story to it), Michael Kupperman (six; four from his amusing Tales Designed To Thrizzle series).

The A-To-Z Challenge 2016: Phil Jimenez

Once again, I'm a little light letter-wise. Spoiler alert: I'm just going to show off all my sketches when I get to "O."

Truth be told, I haven't had much contact with Phil Jimenez, who has been a mainstay for Marvel and DC Comics for almost two decades. In fact, I have him down on my CAF account as "Phil Jiminez," which is something I'm going to correct. All three of my sketches are Wonder Woman-related, starting with Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) from 2002 . . .

. . . and continuing with Donna Troy/Troia in 2006, complete with what I like to call Donna's "cosmic dandruff."

Finally, in 2010, I had just read Blackest Night, and I hit Phil up for Wonder Woman as a Star Sapphire. Considering he only gave me a sketch from the neck up, I'd say it came out better than a full-body commission. Star Sapphires were not known for their modesty at that time.

HONORABLE MENTION: Jason (real name: John Arne Sæterøy, though he's filed under "J"; I got two quick sketches from him), Nikkol Jelenic (one sketch: this great female Thor headshot), Geoff Johns  (two sketches; not bad for a writer), Dave Johnson  (one: the obligatory "Batman from Superman: Red Son with Russian hat" that he probably had to do all the time in the mid-2000s). J.G. Jones (one: this nice Cheshire headshot).