Punk Jughead Redux

 My friend Steve is a huge Archie Comics collector, and sometimes he buys lots on eBay, inevitably stacking up piles of duplicates. He's been generous enough to share some of those with me, and as a thank-you, I offered to do a cover recreation for him. He chose JUGHEAD #327, in which Archie's best pal shockingly (and temporarily) goes PUNK! *gasp*

As an old punk rock fan, I tackled this with glee, mostly for the attempt to make it actually a little more punk rock, rather than the "I don't know, what's punk, is it like with headbands and earrings?" look that Stan Goldberg used on the original 1983 cover. Additionally, I swapped "normal" Jughead with his Captain Hero persona, got rid of the weird "Punk vs. Funk" blurb (is Forsythe normally funky?), and used a 1977 JUGHEAD trade dress and issue number to make it more era-appropriate. 

Below are the digital version, the hand-lettered and colored original I sent to Steve, the work In progress, and the original cover. And thanks again to Steve for his generosity and friendship! 

Prince Street News: The Honorifics

The new BACK ISSUE (#158) is dedicated to the MISTERS of the comic book world, from Freeze to X to Monster to A to Weatherbee! For this issue's comic strip, I did the first in what I plan to be a series of mock-up impossible comic book covers under the PRINCE STREET NEWS PRESENTS umbrella. THE HONORIFICS depicts every comic book & strip Mr., Mister, Miss, and Ms. I could think of (mostly good guys descending on two bad ones). Had I known that BI was going to do a follow up issue using the feminine titles, I'd have maybe made this all dudes, but probably not. 

I also had to put together a guide, of course, but see how many you can name without looking! 

Tommy Conwell / Dynagroove flyer

 Here's a job I did that took me back almost forty years! In the 1980s, I did work for Lancaster PA's Chameleon Club while simultaneously working as a cocktail waiter (oh, you shoulda' seen me navigate a crowded dance floor with a tray full of glasses and pitchers balanced over my head!). Two favorite acts from those days were Tommy Conwell and Dynagroove (both out of Philadelphia). Last month, my old boss, Rich Ruoff, who took over reopening another old Lancaster nightclub, the Village, asked me if I'd like to do a digital flyer for this fun throwback show! I instantly said yes. 

To see much more about the process and some goofy vintage graphics I did for both bands, click on over to Tough Guy II. And go to the show if you can! 

PRINCE STREET NEWS: Muscular Robots, et al...

 The latest BACK ISSUE (#156) is a look at Bronze Age graphic novels, but the Prince Street News inside has nothing to do with that theme! Rather, "Muscular Robots, 3D Paintings, Pristine Footwear, and Perfect Cosplay" is a look at some questionable creative choices that were commonplace among comic book artists of the past. I'm talking about things like costumes looking like they were spray painted onto muscular bodies, with no fabric weight at all, hair that stays in place underwater, and old superheroes looking as fit as when they were in their prime (to name a few, just read the damn thing!). 

The most fun part of doing this one was aping the works of fine artists in delineating comic book characters, in this case Paul Klee painting Green Lantern, Picasso throwing some Spider-Man pottery, Jim Flora drawing Archie, and Henry Moore sculpting Batman & Robin (okay, so maybe Jim Flora isn't exactly "fine art," but you get the point). I'm posting details on those pieces below the strip. Dig! 

Archie Andrews ala Jim Flora (based on a Sauter-Finegan LP cover, 1954)

Green Lantern ala Paul Klee (based on "Error on Green," 1930)

Batman & Robin ala Henry Moore (based on "Two Forms," 1934)

Spider-Man ala Pablo Picasso (based on Moon Face on Blue Ground," 1947) 

Vintage Halloween Mask Series

 I just completed this series of 20 drawings of vintage (mostly Ben Cooper and Collegeville) Halloween masks. All of these are black light pieces (some more than others, as you can see below), done in ink and marker on bristol. All of these are available for sale (originals), will be posted on the Etsy page shortly... or contact me directly if you're interested. Each is $100 (plus $10 if you want it framed, another $10 for shipping & handling). Happy Howloweeeeeen!!!