ESO Podcast #42

This week we take a peek at the animated side of the Lucas Universe and talk about Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and then we are joined by Chris from SciFi Summercon to chat about his upcoming show.

Join us for another fun filled podcast that we like to call Episode 42: This Time The Animated Adventures in the Lucasverse

Table of Contents
0:00:00 Intro / Welcome
0:02:33 Rants & Raves – The Cape / Prostitute’s Ball / Rare Export / Halo Books / The Hobbit
0:23:38 The Geek Seat w/ Bobby Nash
0:33:12 Star Wars: The Clone Wars
1:15:05 Chris from Sci Fi Summercon Atlanta
1:54:43 Show Close

Listen to ESO #42 here, or download this podcast from iTunes.

ESO Podcast #27

Our first interview since I joined the show! Much thanks to Bobby for being available when Stan Lee wouldn't take our calls!

This week on ESO, Mike, Dan and Mike are joined by comic book writer Bobby Nash to talk about his new trade paperback Yin and Yang, and then we dive back into the world of Star Wars and talk about Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Also this week we try again at our new crew rant section “Crew Kudos”.

Join us for another fun filled podcast that we like to call Episode 27: I Think I’m A Clone Now, There’s Always Two of Me Just a Hangin’ Around!

Table of Contents
0:00:00 Intro / Welcome
0:02:26 Crew Kudos – Batman: The Cult / The Akinator / Superman – Batman: Apocalypse / Comic Book Prices
0:28:48 Bobby Nash Interview
0:53:32 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
1:29:13 Show Close

Listen to ESO #27 here, or download this podcast from iTunes.

Dragon*Con 2010 - Kit Fisto Rules!

It just wouldn't be a con without getting a sketch or two of my favorite Jedi - Kit Fisto!

Stephanie Gladden
Randy Martinez

Wizard World Chicago Comic Con 2010 - Kit Fisto Rules!

Last weekend, I travelled to Rosemont, IL for the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con and had a blast! Although I did manage to catch the "Wizard World Exclusive head cold" on Thursday night, it was well worth any suffering on my part. Especially to acquire some fine additions to my collection of Kit Fisto commissions!

Drew Jones
Matt Hansel
Jay Brant
Jeremy Sorrell
In addition to these four fabulous pieces, I also got Invisible Scarlet sketch by Dan Parent, which can be seen at the Invisible Scarlet O'Neil blog.

Heroes Con 2010

Slowly but surely, I've been recovering from the awesome craziness that was HeroesCon! It is easily my favorite convention of the year and I strongly suggest placing it on your schedule for 2011. I did not have a booth (next year - definitely!), but spent the weekend visiting with various fans and pros. it was great catching up with folks such as Francesco Francavilla and his wife Lisa, Jim Cheung, Jeremy Haun, Keith DeCandido, Nathan Edmundson, Stephanie Gladden, Kyle Puttkammer, Allen Belk, Jamal Igle, Rob Jones, Nathan Massengill, Chris Walker and all the HeadHunta Studios crew, Susan Soares and the Sky Pirates of Valendor guys, Chris Moreno, Dave Wachter, Jeremy Bastian, Steve Niles, Kelly Yates, Joe Staton, the CGS geeks, Shawn Pryor and his PKD Media posse, Roy Thomas, Bernie Wrightson, and for little more than the blink of an eye and click of a camera, Bobby Nash.

I also met some folks for the very first time. Some true headliners - Mike Mignola, Tim Sale, Brian Bolland, Jim Starlin, Christopher Moeller, Adam Hughes, Bill Willingham, Ben Templesmith, Kevin Maguire, James O'Barr, Scott Hampton, Steve Lieber, Greg Horn, Rick Leonardi, Todd Nauck, Jim Mahfood, John Beatty, Chris Giarrusso, Stephane Roux, and John Van Fleet, each generous with their time and in some cases, their talent.

But in the midst of all this name-dropping, please allow me to highlight two talented individuals. Van Jensen, writer of the newly released graphic novel, Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer. I picked this up because of the CBT and expected it to be a novelty with a few chuckles. However, this book delivers the concept with some depth and respects the original tale. He also had a life-sized Pinocchio at the con table which was very cool!

In addition, I was also impressed with the work of Chrissie Zullo. I have seen her gorgeous covers for the Fables: Cinderella mini series, but her entire portfolio was chock full of stunning pieces as well. I anxiously await to see her sequentials in an upcoming arc of Madame Xanadu!

And of course, I added some more images of Kit Fisto to my collection!

Christopher Moeller

Todd Nauck

Andrew Charipar

I also added another sketch to the Visions of Scarlet gallery at the Invisible Scarlet O'Neil blog.

I would like to thank Shelton Drum, the hard working con staff, all the guests and attendees and my fellow NLP founder Bill for a wonderful weekend! Let's do it again next year!

HeroesCon Sketches

Hard for me to believe that HeroesCon was three weeks ago! I just got around to scanning my sketches this week and they are sweet! I got more this year than at any other con I've been to and I didn't even spend a lot to get them. Hope y'all enjoy them as much as I do!

Dian Belmont - Guy DavisGuy is kind enough to draw free head sketches all weekend. Last year, I was excited to have a Wesley Dodds Sandman by Davis added to my sketchbook and now Wes is joined by his love, Dian Belmont.

Doctor Who & Martha Jones - Kelly YatesKelly was handed a double-edge sword filling in for Pia Guerra in the Doctor Who: The Forgotten mini-series, but his work more than holds its own IMHO. Be sure to check out his creator-owned Amber Atoms series too.

Black Beetle by Francesco FrancavillaWhat can I say about the amazing style of FF that I haven't already said before? He's got a new project - Black Beetle. This sketch was added to the back of my copy of the preview issue which is quite the teaser. I want more!!!

Frank by Dave WachterDave included individual sketches on the back covers of the preview edition of The Guns of Shadow Valley, which was another teaser that left me wanting more. All for a mere $2! IMHO, the best deal of the show!

Kit Fisto by Chad CicconiI think it is obvious that Chad knows that Kit Fisto Rules! Chad was in Charlotte with PKD Media and it was great chatting with all the guys in the booth. See more of his work on his online art journal.

Kit Fisto by Dustin NguyenI am a big fan of Dustin's work and picked up a print of his watercolor Bat-family poster. He's also done one for Marvel characters and based on the Kit Fisto head sketch he graced me with, I hope he does a Star Wars themed group pic sometime. That would be sweeeeet!

Scarlet O'Neil by Michelle PoustI'm always looking for alternate takes on this classic character, and Michelle gave her a great modern makeover! See more of her work at HAC-Studios at deviantART.

Free Comic Book Day 2009

This Saturday, it is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY and guess who rules?


I strongly encourage everyone to visit his/her LCS and pick up some free books, look around the store, and buy some more. I'll be spending most of my day at Galactic Quest in Lawrenceville. Though I will be dashing out in the late afternoon to catch the most exciting two minutes in sports.

I would also like to help promote a FREE offer you can take advantage of without even leaving the house!

Even in the depths of the Great Recession, the best things in life are free! Mark your calendars for this Saturday, May 2: Free Comic Book Day. Send us an e-mail ON THAT DATE with your mailing address, and we’ll send you a FREE issue of Hogan's Alley! No obligations, no strings attached; the only thing it will cost you is several hours as you enjoy the issue. (This offer is valid for all U.S. residents, whether you’re a current subscriber or not.) Remember the one condition—we must receive your e-mail request on Free Comic Book Day (May 2), not the day before or the day after. (Before and after that date, any
requests for freebies will receive only scorn and derision.) The email address is hoganmag@gmail.com.

Hogan’s Alley is a great magazine devoted to the art of comics and cartoons (and I'm not just saying that because I'm scheduled to have an article in the next issue). For the price of a virtual stamp, you can check it for yourself!

Future Previews Solicitations (I hope)

DARK HORSE


INDIANA JONES & THE MONKEY KING #1 (of 6)

Written by MICHAEL A. GORDON & WILLIAM KIELHORN

Art by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

Indiana travels to eastern China on a quest to find the legendary Staff of Sun Wukong and once again crosses paths with gangster Lao Che. But is he a friend or foe?

Format: FC, 56 pages
Price: $5.99



STAR WARS: JEDI - KIT FISTO

Written by MICHAEL A. GORDON

Art by ART ADAMS (not shown)

A Double-Sized Clone Wars Special!

Having won the Battle of Mon Calamari, Master Fisto and his former Padawan Nahdarr Vebb are sent to Kamino to protect Senator Bail Organa from a group of assassin magnaguards sent by Count Dooku.

Format: FC, 48pg
Price: $4.99

MARVEL



BLAZE & STORM: FLAMES OF FURY 1 (of 4)

Written by MICHAEL A. GORDON

Art by JOHN ROMITA JR

The Toys are back in town! And their target is Johnny Storm! Comte de Saint Germain wants revenge, and he is ready and willing to go through the Spirit of Vengeance to get it! Will these two hotheads be able to stop him? And who is St. Germain's new master?

32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99


TIGRA: EYE OF THE TIGRA #1 (of 4)

Written by MICHAEL A. GORDON

Art by FRANK CHO

She's been an Avenger, a private investigator, a New York police officer, and galactic hero. But who is the real Tigra? Has this cat used up her 9 lives? Tigra embarks on a journey to explore some answers about her past and future and her first stop is the Savage Land!

32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

Happy Belated 24 Hour Comics Day!

This past weekend, folks all around the world took part in 24 Hour Comics Day, a challenge to artists to create a 24-page comic book in 24 consecutive hours. It is not an easy thing to do, as I know from personal experience. I haven't attended one of these events in a while, but my first was in 2001 at Galactic Quest in Lawrenceville. I was an observer and managed to stay up all night with the artists involved. I even modeled for Brian Stelfreeze and appeared on the local FOX morning show the next day. Here's a shot of all of us who answered the call...

The following year, I decided to take part. My goal was small. Instead of 24-pages, I would try 24 panels. I did manage to complete a 6-page comic starring the cool Jedi that is Kit Fisto. (It was actually this night that the phrase "Kit Fisto Rules!" originates.) Below are the results. If anything, it is a fairly good example of how difficult the artist marathon can be.

Two More Reasons Kit Fisto Rules!

Blogging about the Star Wars: The Clone Wars tv series made me realize that I had not posted some of the fantastic sketches I acquired this summer at conventions. Here's two very different, but equally cool interpretations of my fave green guy:

This piece was done by the amazing Katie Cook at Wizard World Chicago. She has done licensed work for DC, Marvel, Star Wars, Heroes, Lord of the Rings, and many others. In fact, she's so familiar with Star Wars, she did not need any reference photos at all for Kit. She's going to be contributing to the Clone Wars online comic soon (hope it stars Kit!).

This was drawn by Eric Basaldua (aka e.bas) at Dragon*Con. Now, Eric's not known for his portraits of male figures - quite the opposite - and he almost seemed uncomfortable sketching. But I think he rose to the challenge quite well! He's also a super nice guy, so maybe next year I'll make it up to him by asking him to draw Slave Leia.

Kit Fisto Lives Again!

Earlier this week, the theatrical trailer for the animated adventure Star Wars: The Clone Wars made its debut and it looks like all kinds of awesome. If you have not already done so, you can check it out at StarWars.com.

For those wondering why Lucas chose to make a series set during the time between Episode II & III, the answer is very simple...
KIT FISTO RULES!