Friday, July 31, 2020

Swamp Monster!


Not only does the comic Weird Mysteries #5 have one of the creepiest covers ever, it has Swamp Monster by Basil Wolverton inside of it. You can read it below.

But first, since Halloween is near, I thought it would be fun to turn a panel of it into shirts and such! Click here to take a look at my TeePublic store!



And now, on with our story! Originally published in June, 1953. Click to enlarge each.







Okay, even though I shutter to do it, here's the cover--


Friday, July 24, 2020

What Artists Think - Blue Bolt Edition


I'm currently on a streak of turning old, public domain, comic images into T-shirts, and such. My latest can be seen above. Available by clicking here. I'm very happy with the results, but this image was filled with a few challenges. Click on any image to enlarge.

The original cover, from Blue Bolt #105, is below. Here's a few thoughts-- Note the reflection of light on Blue Bolt's helmet. I've noticed in old comics, artists often use this shape to indicate a highlight. The hilarious thing is that it's in four sections, like light coming through a window frame. This works great for apples in a still life, painted inside, but not so much for outdoor scenes. I suppose it merely became a symbol for reflected light at some point.

Also, his left, lower leg is really long! I had to draw his right, lower leg from scratch and decided to make it a similar length. I took liberties with his cape too, just to make it a nice shape overall.


I knew I would need to re-ink this cover to get the maximum clarity out of it. But, as I started to work on it, I realized there was no way such tiny hatch work was going to print well on fabric. That kind of detail would definitely clog up and get blotchy.


I paused and considered not even doing this image. Except, I really liked it! It was draw by the magnificent LB Cole and was a great representation of sci-fi comics from the Golden Age. I ultimately decided to simplify the inking and replace the hatching with shadow colors. Happy it worked out.

And here you thought doing art was all cheese and crackers.




Monday, July 20, 2020

Bigfoot vs Clown, Again


I put up a new shirt at TeePublic. It's actually a bit of a rework from art I did a while back (seen below), which never seemed quite right. Looking at it fresh, I realized the clown was too big! I also wanted to help with the storytelling by adding the clown's angry word balloon and the heart showing Bigfoot's love for the shoes. Small stuff, but I like it better!



Sunday, July 19, 2020

The Brain-Bats from Venus!


I really love Basil Wolverton's old sci-fi comic work! Most of it is in public domain, so I decided to design a shirt using his Brain-Bats from Venus story. The story first appeared in Mister Mystery #7, in 1952.

Here's my design! Order it on a shirt or or products at TeePublic, CLICK HERE.


What's that? You want to read this amazing, 7 page story? Okay. Here is it! Click each to enlarge.








Friday, July 17, 2020

Genius has limitations. Stupidity has none.


I have several new images up at TeePublic! Click here to see my store. I just finished the above art for an Albert Einstein quote, "Genius has its limitations. Stupidly, sadly, has none." I really debated whether or not to add the distress texture. Ultimately I decided to, since I wanted it to feel vintage. This is all my original art, created by looking at a few different photos. Did he really say these words? It's comics, folks!

Hmm, that quote is a bit on the negative side, but society might have gotten me down lately. I also posted my redrawing of an old Fletcher Hanks panel from a Stardust, the Super Wizard story. The comic is in public domain. It's now on a shirt and multiple other products, like masks.



Crazy stuff, huh? Here's the original page, from Big 3 Comics #2, 1941.





Monday, July 13, 2020

This Looks Like a Job For... Crap!


Another new shirt at TeeFury. Sorry for the watermark. Out of all my art, this image is the most bootlegged. So, I'm finally releasing a OFFICIAL place to buy it on product. Oddly enough, women seemed to like this more than men. Get it here!

SPIDEROSAUR!!!


Okay, I won't post every time I put a new shirt on TeeFury, but I sorta love this one! The spiderosaur is from an old Spacehawk comic by Basil Wolverton. So great. CLICK HERE TO GET IT!

Here a link to the original story, from Target Comics #12) if you'd like to read it!

Saturday, July 11, 2020

Weird T-Shirts!

I've been adding new designs to my TeePublic store. I won't post every time I do, but I'd like to create a new one everyday for a while. Here are the most recent additions, based on Fletcher Hanks old comics!




Also, I've had my zombie/balloon art on Threadless for years. I've been very happy with it's steady performance. But, I thought it would be fun to add it to TeePublic where folks can choose their own shirt color. Oh! I also added some shading just for kicks. It will be on sale for the first three days--


Click here to visit the store. If you do, THANKS!!

Thursday, July 9, 2020

SPACEHAWK art!


I'm trying something new! I love reading old, public domain comics, and I often wish I had a cool shirt or two. Not a mere old panel on product, but something actually DESIGNED. So, I decided to make a few myself and place them on TeePublic. I uploaded my first one. This artwork is based on various Spacehawk comics by Basil Wolverton. His early work is fantastic! You should buy a shirt, or tote bag, or such, just because his stuff is great! (And it helps support me!) For the first 3 days, it's only $14 for a shirt as compared to the normal $20. CLICK HERE!

EDIT: I just got a comment that about WHERE can you read these public domain comics? I love the DIGITAL COMIC MUSEUM site. Spacehawk appeared in Targent Comics #1 and continued for several issues. If you'd like to shell out a few bucks, Fantagraphics has a great book reprinting visually-cleaned-up versions of all the stories. I did not use the art from their book for my shirt. Thier labor is their own. I created my own from original sources.

Just for fun, I'll present a randomly-picked story right here in my blog! From Target Comics #8, SPACEHAWK and the Vulture Men from the Void!  Click on each to enlarge--