Sketch Dump: Veronica

Some more Archie sketches.  This time we feature some more Veronica.  These are based on Bob Montana art.

Here's a happy Veronica.  Actually, this was such an unlikely pose for her, I misidentified it as a Betty drawing at first.  I've been looking at too many sketches lately.

Here's a charcoal of Veronica.

Veronica in a cute hat.

A winsome Veronica.  This is another unlikely pose for her.

Lastly, we have a sketch of the Veronicas singing group.  Lisa and Jess are identical twins who front the group.  Okay, they don't look much alike in this sketch.  It's because I used charcoal and couldn't fix my mistakes.  Why was I ever drawing with charcoal?  Anyway, the group is named after Veronica, so it still thematically fits.

   

Sketch Dump: Betty

A few more Archie sketches.

I like this Betty sketch.  I'm not sure where it comes from.  That's a sketch of an actress on the right, that I can't identify, next to her.

The rest of these sketches are from Bob Montana art.

I've probably posted this before, but I wanted a better scan.  I've been trying not to duplicate posted pictures, but there's too many to keep track of at this point.  It's been a mess doing the scanning.  This is probably also my favorite Betty sketch.

Betty and Veronica looking stylish.

Comics Review: Elvis, Juliet, and Grimm Fairy Tales

I had a week off last month, so I went out to Barnes & Noble, the used bookstore, and Zia Comics for reading material.  I’m going to characterize these trips as mostly a success.  The Titans trade I got at B&N was great. 

At Coas Used Bookstore, I looked over their trades and later regretted turning up my nose at a couple I was interested in.  I went through the bargain bin instead and picked some interesting ones.  The best of the bunch were a couple of 80’s Gladstone Disney comics.  Mickey and Donald generally don’t disappoint.  I also got three later day issues of the Teen Titans.  Well, actually two of them were issues of just Titans (#3 and #4 from 2008).  The characters were fully adults, even if they didn’t entirely act like it.  The artwork was highly stylized, but good.  My main criticism would be that the story is told mostly in big panels and splash pages. 

 

Also in the bin was a collectible, an Archie’s TV Laugh-Out issue from the early 70’s.  Unfortunately, they knew about it and were asking $10.  I was tempted, but resisted.  The title usually featured Sabrina and Josie and the Pussycats, but it was bagged and boarded and I couldn’t look at it.  Oddly, I’d run into an issue of that comic a few years ago at another comic book store.  I’d thought it was in the bargain bin, but again it was an expensive collector’s item.  It you can find an issue of this comic cheap, get it.             

           

The Elvis Experience

My mom was a big Elvis fan.  I think it was a day in the 90’s when I happened to find an Elvis comic book in a dollar box and I picked it up for her.  I’d noticed it was pretty detailed.  I never found any other issues.  On my recent trip to Zia Comics, I noticed spinner rack only featuring titles from an independent company, Tidal Wave Productions.  There were a bunch biography comics there, mostly political and a bit dated, but right there was an Elvis trade paperback.  I picked it right up.

 

I didn’t remember much about that original comic.  The artwork was black and white and serviceable.  I didn’t understand the framing sequence where Elvis was being interviewed by a psychologist.  The Elvis in those scenes seemed oddly out of character. 

The story takes place after Elvis’ death.  The psychologist was helping him review his life and learn from it.  In the afterlife, Elvis’ intelligence had been boosted, accounting for his new personality.  About halfway through the volume, another artist came in with a more cartoony style.  Another artist did the final issue.  These changes weren’t for the better.  The framing story becomes more prominent and metaphysical in attempting to explain life itself in the final issue.  There are odd alternate versions of Elvis’ life explored.  The book ends with him cleaning up his life and becoming president (and dating Madonna).    

 

You can take or leave all that.  The interesting part of the trade was the retelling of Elvis’ life and career.  It includes many fascinating details.  Some of these I knew, but many I didn’t.  My only complaint was that it never mentioned the Aloha From Hawaii concert, surely a career highlight. 

 

Much like the Titans trade, this Elvis book is also dense in text.  This is not a quick read for a comic book.  For about $10, this was certainly worth it.  Overall, it’s not a flattering look at Elvis’ life, but it is an entirely sympathetic one.  It’s an amazing life to look at.

 

Juliet 

Also on the Tidal Wave spinner rack were their more traditional comic book offerings.  I picked up this one, since it had a nice cover.  Like comics from bigger companies, it is $4 and printed on slick paper.  Storywise, it could have used a summary page up front.  This being a totally unknown character, I had to just had to go along with whatever was said in context.

 

So, Juliet is a woman with superpowers and amnesia.  She’s being chased by other superpowered people.  I suppose I could reread this to give a more detailed explanation, but that’s too much effort for this comic.  The art inside is maybe a tick below professional grade, but not bad.  The problem is that the some of the pages seemed to have been produced independent of one another.  The story doesn’t smoothly flow from page to page.  Okay, this purchase was a mistake.

 

Grimm Fairy Tales #33

Like every other guy going into a comic book store, I’d noticed Zenoscope’s somewhat salacious covers.  Today was the day I finally succumbed to try one.  The company has been around for a while producing comics featuring beautiful scantily-clad heroines in Disney-esqe settings.  Other than that, I didn’t know anything about the setting or characters.

Up front was a recap of the story thus far.  That was kind of helpful.  The artwork inside was good.  The story was functional.  Basically, it was a couple of standoffs and a fight scene.  I’m not sure if this was good enough to get me to try another issue.  Maybe a trade, if I could find one.  The promotional ads in the back for other comics from the company did look interesting.  I was a bit peeved that my issue had some sliced pages inside.  Since all of the comics in the shop are sold bagged and boarded, I didn’t know until after I’d bought it.    

 

Sorry that these two comic book reviews weren’t very informative, but after reading that Titans trade, I suspect most comics are going to look very dismissible for a while.  

Comics Review: The New Teen Titans Volume 1

This material little needs my review.  I found this at B&N looking for something to read during my vacation and couldn’t believe my luck.  It’s a nice thick trade printed on a soft pulp, like the Huntress volume I’d found a month ago.  It’s sturdy enough to read over and over and only cost $20, compared with over $30 for trades with newer (and not as good) material.

 

The volume contains the inaugural issues of the Marv Wolfman and George Perez run relaunching the Teen Titans.  This group had originated in the 60’s as a vehicle for the kid sidekicks of the various adult heroes.  Except for Superboy, because he wasn’t a sidekick and a contemporary appearance with Superman would have disrupted the space-time continuum.  Also, Superboy was hanging out with his far future friends, the Legion of Superheroes, and having fun in outer space.  The original Teen Titians (previous review) were kind of losers by comparison.

That’s how the editors at DC saw the Titans when Wolfman approached them about restarting the title as he writes in the forward.  He had a great plan for the new team.  He gave them all issues, especially with their parents, and set them up with clashing personalities.  They’d band together, in spite of their differences, because they were superhero peers who could relate to one another.  Obviously, Wolfman’s best move was recruiting Perez to draw the comic.  His exceptional artwork must have made the concept a much easier sell.  The editors not only approved the new title, but promoted it with a special introductory insert comic (included in the volume).

 

Disappointingly, Wolfman didn’t mention the real reason the New Teen Titans came into being: Marvel’s All-New All Different X-Men.  Marvel’s initial crack at a teen superteam in the 60’s didn’t go over well.  It was relaunched in the 70’s with a more international and edgy cast.  When Chris Claremont and John Bryne later took over, the X-Men became a hit.  Claremont emphasized the group’s outsider mutant status with the general population and internal group friction from its widely different personalities.  DC wasn’t about to let Marvel upstage them in superheroes for long. 

 

Somehow the Avengers and the Justice League with their experienced heroes and adult problems weren’t as relatable.  The X-Men and Titans were not the same group, but had some things in common.  For both groups, their personal lives and romances took a prominent role.  Their conflicts usually weren’t with a random villain of the month, but took the form of months-long slowly developing and escalating confrontations.  The X-Men had their Phoenix Saga.  The Titans would have their Judas Contract.  It was a winning formula for Marvel and DC.  Both titles were the best sellers of the 80’s.  There was even a rare inter-company crossover comic featuring both teams.  (I never read it, but saw a Youtube video about it.  It was pretty great.) 

All that would be in the future.  This volume shows how the new Teen Titans came together.  Robin, Wonder Girl, Kid Flash, and Changeling/Beast Boy were established characters.  Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg were new characters introduced with some mystery.  H.I.V.E, the Citadel, the Fearsome Five, Trigon, and, perhaps most importantly, Deathstroke the Terminator would start their long-running feuds with the Titans.  There’s even a fight with the Justice League.  Since Superman isn’t with them, the fight isn’t an instant wipeout.  There is even an issue just showing the group at rest in their daily lives.  Given the size of the cast, some members are highlighted more than others, but everyone gets some spotlight.    

 

This book is no decompressed quick read.  It is dense with verbiage and action.  The battle with Trigon is exhausting for the Titans and the reader.  The artwork is finely detailed to accommodate the packed storytelling.  It is also gorgeous artwork.  The women especially are impossibly beautiful.  

If I fault anything, it’s that Raven is not shown unhooded enough.  Little wonder Kid Flash falls for her so easily.                

Dick Grayson is awesome.

Your obligatory superhero headquarters diagram.  Of course, there’s a jet hanger, a copter pad, and a sub pen.  It’s located in New York City.  You can see the Fearsome Five flying by the World Trade Center on their way to attack the Titans Tower.  Later versions would move the group to San Francisco.   

 

So, do I recommend this more than the Teen Titans Go cartoon or the Young Justice cartoon?  Ye . . . Well . . .  Okay, it depends on what your mood is what you might enjoy more.  If you want a superhero comic book, this will scratch that itch and then some.  I’ll gladly buy any more volumes of this series I come across.

Sketch Dump: Archie Characters

Here's a few random (non Betty or Veronica that is) Archie girls. 

This first one, I have no idea who this is, but it's clearly in the Archie house style.

Oooh, if there's someone who could easily pull me away from Betty or Veronica, it's Melody.  This first one is a classy pic probably from the 90's.

Here's a 60's Melody, pre-Josie and the Pussycats.  Her personality was exactly the same then as now.  (Errr, depending on if you're not paying any attention to Melody from that Riverdale show.)

Here's a Bob Montana drawing.  This nurse was a background character.

These last two are of Wendy Weatherbee.  Yep, that's right.  She's Principal Weatherbee's niece.  Talk about forbidden fruit.  She's also got a great personality.  

  

This is still Wendy, but with her two-tone hair in this style, she looks a lot like Roxy from Gen 13.

Sketch Dump: Really Random

I had a few scanned sketches left over from a previous batch.  I've got another batch, but they're not ready to go yet.  Sorry that there's no attempt at theme here.    

This is the elf character from the Baldur's Gate comic.  I hate that comic.  It's not her fault.  (It's Minsc and Boo.  They're so dumb.)

  

Here's a couple more Ilya Kuvshinov sketches.  They're honestly not as good as my other ones.  

The girl on the left is unknown.  That's Miranda Cosgrove on the right.  I ran into her on Saturday morning TV a couple of months ago.  She's the producer of a girls science program.  She's only a host on the show, but she's pretty funny.  Here's a clip of outtakes.

Here's a sketch of Mockingbird.  The artwork in her comic was pretty good, but the story and her character were awful.

This is a sketch of an opera singer.  I had fun with that blue pen.

These two are of a fictional character of mine named Tilly.  They're really old.  The bottom one is a Patrick Nagel painting with her head put on it.

Sketch Dump: Models

The models aren't actually "models."  I just don't remember who I was drawing.  Some of these are just killing me.  I've got the original pictures somewhere on my hard drive.

Charcoal drawing.

I think the one of the right is an actual model from a newspaper ad.  It's one of my favorites.