Benefit Book Drawing



Added a larger image of the Thunderbird piece.

Dave Cockrum was probably best known as the concept designer of Storm Phoenix and Nightcrawler of what was then called the NEW X-Men. However, his sleek design for the Native American hero Thunderbird was what caught my eye when I was a young reader of comics in the 70's. It was the character I used for my portfolio tryout that caught the eyes of DC Comics editors (even though he was a Marvel character) that eventually landed me my first job in comics. So it was a small favor in return to contribute a piece of art to his benefit book and auction when Dave was struggling to make ends meet due to health problems and no financial compensation from Marvel three years ago. Writer Clifford Meth corraled many comic book creators to help out and along with the guidance of artist Neal Adams, they took Dave's case to Marvel and got Dave royalties to characters that have made millions for the comic book compnay.

I only met Mr. Cockrum once in the eighties when we were guests at a con. So I got to thank him personally for his influence on my work, and he was a gracious good - natured fellow. My condolences go out to his loved ones.

RIP Dave Cockrum.

Unused panel layout rough.

Since July 2001, one of my clients has been the martial arts-based entertainment production company called GO!
that provides performances for Industrial, Theatrical and other venues.

The image above was the first image that was used for their logo.

It's a fun gig, I've had the pleasure of working with Hollywood stunt performers, a real Shaolin monk, Brazilian JuJitsu champ, Japanese stylists, a Tae Kwon Do Olympic medalist, Gymnasts, Wushu practioners and many more - all at a high level.

It's great to see the same work ethic and dedication across the board.
The GO! performers assist in motivating any crowd, and provides them with several exciting scenes that show how this translates to everyday life and the work environment.

Check out more about GO! here:
GO!

This is the DVD cover, NOT my art card.

DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH

I drew a 4x6 exclusive Defenders of the Earth art card which comes with the dvd set. The other artist in my set is the ultra cool Mike Allred. I'm not allowed to show my art image online so all you curious cats will have to check it out using other means... like...um... buying a set!

Other artists on these DVD art card sets are Alex Ross, Adam Hughes, Bill Sienkiewicz, David Mack, Frank Cho, Bruce Timm and many more.

It was fun drawing the Phantom, Flash Gordon and Mandrake, I remember drawing these characters when the animated series first came out (using crayons!) and when I first discovered the work of Joe Kubert on Tarzan and Sy Barry on the Phantom! Then I read the P. J. Farmer books which ties many of these types of characters together, even suggesting links to Ian Fleming's Bond and Sherlock Holmes.