3/19/2007
WIZARD WORLD LA CON REPORT
The truth is that the show was at best just okay, at worst, pretty empty. None of this can be hung at Wizard's door step, it's not their fault, it's a byproduct of the L. A. area. Since I was a young twelve year old kid, L.A. shows and signings pale in comparison to shows in other regions. Even at the most popular point in my own career in the 90's, the turn out was always the smallest in L.A.
The Midwest and East coast are where the devoted fan bases are.
I even passed on a local store signing featuring Art Adams, Mike Zeck and George Perez when I was sixteen years old because it was a nice beautiful spring day outside and I chose to hang with my buddies instead. These were my 3 favorite artists of X-Men, Secret Wars and Teen Titans and I.........found something else to do instead.
In the past fifteen years, L.A. has a near monthly comic show with prominent guests located at the Shrine Auditorium as well as a TWICE WEEKLY convention in Pomona featuring hundreds of dealers as well as regular celebrity guests.
And then there's the grand daddy of them all 2 hours down the road, the Uber-show of shows, San Diego Comic Con. Most people I talk to choose to wait and do SD every year, because everything big occurs there and they don't see the point of other shows here in So Cal or otherwise.
To it's credit, Wizard does the best they can do at booking a ton of talent. From the cast and staff from television's big buzz hit HEROES to the man who killed Captain America, Ed Brubaker, the show had noteworthy, popular, relevant guests all around. And yet, the show had a smallish turn out on the usually busiest of all days, Saturday. Wizard is discovering what a difficult venue So Cal is and if I were them, I'd pull out and not return. This is the fourth year of steady decline. The first year was bustling, busy, busy, busy, it exceeded expectations, but every year since has seen diminishing returns.
I was fortunate to pull out of the responsibility/commitment of a full fledged booth a few weeks back. I went with my gut that the show would struggle to find attendees and I was correct. The previous year, Arcade had good product, good placement, good talent and a good staff and we struggled to connect with the crowd that was otherwise indifferent too much of the show's offerings. I'm very pleased that I withdrew from the show and that Wizard was cool with me downgrading to an artist alley booth. Had I stuck with the booth, it would have been a disaster. Going small was the right choice.
I was buried pretty deep in artist alley, and it was pretty comfortable and me and Marat and Matt Swift chilled throughout the show casually observing the severe lack of action on the floor. I left early on Friday and arrived at 3pm Saturday, I skipped Sunday completely. I was fortunate to book my usual quota of commissions and sold a surprising amount of Onslaught Reborn books. (Apparently Onslaught Reborn #1 is a book that is harder to find then I anticipated ) Those free head sketches I did in Chicago and Texas now book for 100.00 and full figures remain in the 300.00-500.00 range depending on what you want. I booked about 8 bust shots, mostly of Captain America, some of various manga characters, sorry I forgot the camera. But my best sketches of the show were a full figure Luke and Leia circa Star Wars IV and a massive New Mutants double pager in an amazing sketchbook that I've owed since San Diego. There's a nice, long overdue Black Canary as well. I'll post the New Mutants and Star Wars sketches on my website later today. Unfortunately, I talked to plenty of fellow creators who felt the show was notsomuch.
The show MVP of the artist alley and the entire show would have to be J. Scott Campbell who showed up and promptly produced dozens of AMAZING sketches on the very cheap. $40-$60 sketches that were 3/4 figures, of a $300.00 value and above variety. Seriously, they were sharp, detailed and in color. He made his mark in a big way. Fans were thrilled with his incredible work. He completely owned the floor as far as artist's go. Bravo to him as he performed at the highest level. He came in with the eye of the freaking tiger and took over.
Other artists of note in the alley were Tim Sale, Humbero Ramos, Ale Garza, Whilce Portacio, Bill Sienkewicz, Josh Middleton, Phil Noto, Dan Panosian, Jeff Johnson, Dave Johnson, Mark Beachum, Sean Chen, Philip Tan, Bernard Chang, John Paul Leon and Amanda Connor.
Guys like Mike Turner and the Aspen and Top Cow crew were in the publishers area in the front of the room and I didn't see much of them but I heard they did okay.
Marvel had the biggest lines of the show, hosting Ed Brubaker, Jeph Loeb, Mike Perkins and Paul Jenkins. They had their usual diet of steady, winding lines with eager fans. DC skipped the show leaving Marvel to dominate the room.
I know Jimmy and his Jay Co. comics booths did very well at the retail level, selling tons of new books in high demand. They had 2 prominent booths at the show filled with thousands of comics. Other retailers......notsomuch. To his credit Jimmy runs the best retail booths at any shows, they have whatever is in demand at good prices as well as an increasingly impressive library of back issues. Plenty of other retailers show up with a fortress of old long boxes and sit there with a scowl expecting you to dive through their personal assorted, ridiculously priced mess.
Gene Simmons and KISS had a ton of hype leading up to the show.....they did okay, frankly, I think they were expecting a bigger frenzy. Long lines at this show were of the 10 or more people variety.
DC comics very own Dan Didio was trolling the artist alley all weekend long seeking new cheap talent in order to to keep the trains running on time. Marvel so dominates DC, I can't imagine the pendulum swinging back for at least 4-5 more years. Marvel has their act so totally together from a commercial stand point that it's more impressive that DC even manages to stay only 10% behind Marvel at this juncture. Having Geoff Johns write everything for your company is definitely NOT the solution.
I love the DCU, but presently I find it unbearable to endure. Watch for diminishing returns barring them killing Batman in the next few months.
Marvel continues to pile on the talent, it seems like they have EVERYONE at this point, considering the artist of their last hit, Infinite Crisis is now drawing Spider Man.
I was able to hang out with Marvel top editorial staff, Andy Schmidt, Tom Breevort, Mark Panniccia and my own crack editor, Jon Barber. Bill Sienkewicz dropped by my table in the freakin' cafeteria to introduce himself, Marat was my witness as was his buddy Dave, and my jaw dropped, he's a great guy and an amazing artist. It was a pleasure meeting him. I hung out with Jeph Loeb for about an hour and caught up with old Extreme alums Dan Fraga, Todd Nauck, Dan Panosian and Jeff Johnson very briefly. Chatted with Eric Basaldua aka Ebas from Top Cow who confirmed all the beautiful pages he's drawn as a Silvestri ghost, I told him I'm very much looking forward to his upcoming Quasar one-shot for Marvel.
All in all it was a pleasant, soft show. Wizard should move it to Anaheim and host it near Disneyland where Creation Conventions hosted tons of successful shows in the 80's. Orange County would produce 2 very good years, drawing a more diverse crowd than L.A. The O.C. is untapped. Otherwise, Wizard should focus on their successful trio of shows in Texas, Philly and Chicago and wave good bye to an indifferent L.A. market.
rob
Rob
Star wars click here !
NEW MUTANS coming soon
1/05/2007
Thank you to everyone who is out there buying up all those copies of
Onslaught Reborn! We're sold out of both #1 and #2 and you are directly
responsible! I hope you are enjoying it as much as we are producing it.
Here are some exclusive preview pages from issue #3 to wet your
appetite for the next issue.
Rob
click here !
12/01/2006
"Cap, Thing and Franklin Richards. Onslaught Reborn #2.....nuff said!"
So Onslaught Reborn launched yesterday and we're rollin' along through
the 3rd issue right now. Here's a new preview page from issue #2 to
whet your appetite until issue #2 ships in a few weeks! Thanks for all
the support!
Rob
click here !
11/15/2006
"WIZARD WORLD TEXAS 2006- UPDATE "
More sketches from Wiz World Texas enjoy.
Rob
click here !
11/13/2006
"WIZARD WORLD TEXAS 2006 "
Wiz World Texas was great fun. The people are always nice and
enthusiastic.
The Texas crowd is always polite, kind, patient and enthusiastic, this
year was no different. Our table was busy, busy, busy. It never ceases
to amaze me how Arcade comic books are received by comic fans. This is
why it's so important for small publishers like Arcade to get out to as
many con's as possible.
I started doing free sketches, smaller than normal, and on the 3rd
sketch I whipped out my few colored pencils and did some quick colors
and they came out pretty good so I made it the norm for the rest of the
show. It did seem to seperate the sketches from the pack.
Our crowd got out of control on Saturday, with the line wrapping around
3 other booths and getting the other vendors justifiably cranky. So
they talked to the Wizard staff and the line was immediately capped
even though I agreed to extend my hours at the show and the line was
moved to accomodate the other vendors. All ended well, I finished about
35 sketches all total, thankfully not everyone wanted a sketch and I
left the show to finish the commission list.
Here's some pics and sketches for you to check out.
Rob
click here !
10/20/2006
"GIANT SIZE YOUNGBLOOD "
I'm been working for years on a Youngblood one-shot, tentatively
reffered to by me as Giant-Size Youngblood #1. The Youngblood line up
in the illustration I've worked up is an indication of some new things
to come. It's intended to shake everything up.
The illustration is actually pen and ink and colored markers over a
light copy of a sketch I blew up. I like crude sketches like this for
the simple fact that it's not refined.
Giant-Size Youngblood #1 is in your future circa 2007. It also features
work by Jon Malin, Marat Mychaels and other talented folks.
Enjoy!
rob
click here !
10/13/2006
"Luke meet Franklin, Franklin meet Luke...."
So when I knew that I'd be drawing Franklin Richards through much of
the upcoming Onslaught Reborn mini-series, I recruited my two sons,
Luke and Chase to do much of the posing for various Franklin scenes,
including close-ups such as this one.
I took a few photos of Luke for this particular sequence and a few of
my younger son Chase for an earlier sequence that I'll show you in a
future installment. Luke did a nice job acting in awe and fearful, both
of which helped give a little more flavor than usual to these scenes.
As is the norm, my color collaborator, Matt Yackey colored this page to
perfection adding the necessary mood and setting the eerie scene nicely
as described by Onslaught Reborn writer, Jeph Loeb.
Next time up, I'll show Chase Liefeld's comic debut. Both boys believe
they are integral to determining the outcome of the fight with
Onslaught in November! Onslaught Reborn can't get here soon enough as
far as they are concerned!
rob
click here !
10/06/2006
"HULK vs THOR...Try 2! "
Okay, so in the spirit of continuing to look at the process of how I
put together pages, here is an alternate version of the Hulk/Thor
splash I showed the other day. I tend to always go for the tight shot,
closing in on the action as much as possible, but I think this shot
might work better than the previous shot, given that it's pulled back
further and at a tilted angle allowing for more impact. Whaddya think?
Oh well, I still have time to figure this out.....maybe a third version
is the answer.
rob
click here !
10/04/2006
"HULK vs THOR ! "
So here's another Onslaught Reborn preview from issue #2. This color
rough from slightly unfinished pencils shows Heroes Reborn Hulk with
the longish hair and the bigger physique slamming into Heroes Reborn
Thor, setting the stage for a big, Big, BIG CONFLICT in issue #3.
I do these color roughs to help me see the page and determine wether
the foreground and background have enough depth, in this case I wanted
to see how Thor popped against Hulk. Again, they aren't meant as guides
for the colorist in any way, they help me see the page better.
More soon,
Rob
click here !
09/19/2006
"ONSLAUGHT MARCHES ON! "
Here's the latest Onslaught Reborn update as I wrap up the second
issue. The first issue as is so often the case in big events like
Onslaught Reborn, serves to set up much of the conflict and action,
with the second issue, things really kick into high gear. We are deep
in the Heroes Reborn universe and Captain America and the Avengers join
the fight, along with the Hulk, Enchantress and Loki.
It's action packed from cover to cover, with most of the initial action
taking place on the Brooklyn bridge where Onslaught confronts the
Avengers. I had no idea how much I missed drawing Cap and company,
Thor, Iron Man in action, they combine to pummel Onslaught early on,
momentarily protecting Franklin Richards from Onslaught's fury.
The pages I've picked to preview some of the action. I'm showing some
of the process that goes into creating the pages from preliminary
sketches to finished pencils to color guides. The color guides are in
no way intended for the colorist, but for me to see if the depth of
field as well as figures work out as I've designed. After creating my
guides with color pencils or old fashioned watercolours, I tend to add
more black to the page or add or subtract rendering, cross hatching or
other effects that will be better handled by the colorist. My color
notes to my colorists are usually communicated by phone, generally
involving fx or light sources. Matt Yackey has been coloring my work
for seven years and he knows exactly what he's doing. He renders,
sculpts, lights and paints me up in digital excellence. The color
guides are just an excercize intended to help me see the page clearer.
For instance, all the pages I'm previewing will show pouring rain,
something Matt will create in photoshop, something I wouldn't even try
with my watercolours.
Enjoy the preview!
Rob
08/22/2006
"Onslaught Update 2."
So Onslaught Reborn is well underway! The solicitations for Onslaught
Reborn #1 arrived today and we're set for November 2006!
Here's a few more pages from issue #1, written by Jeph Loeb and drawn
by me, colored by Matt Yackey.
I've shared page 16 before but after talking with Jeph, he agreed that
it would look cool if Sue Storm, The Invisible Woman, was materializing
from an invisible form. I discussed the effect as I saw it with Matt
Yackey who quickly implemented it making it look far better than I had
hoped for. Now the page is complete, the drama in full effect.
Page 6 is a particular favorite as it showcases the mighty Thing
punching one of my favorite Fantastic Four villians, Blastarr! Again, Matt
colored the heck outta this page, adding the final blue rim lighting put
it over the top.
Page 22 speaks for itself. Franklin, now present in the Heroes Reborn
Universe, meets the female Bucky and Onslaught arrives to finish off
Franklin. The mood is menacing and sets the tone perfectly for the rest of
the series.
Check back early and often for sneaks of Onslaught Reborn #2 and
beyond!
Rob
Click Here
06/14/2006
"Onslaught Update ."
Thought I'd offer another sneak peek at some upcoming Onslaught pages?
Why is Reed fighting Sue? Is this Onslaught or freakin' Civil War? Find
out in November when Onslaught Returns hits the stores! Enjoy!
Rob
Click Here
05/26/2006
"Titans Talk ."
Holy Crap! I just got a Teen Titans royalty!
And here's the rub, the royalty check shows that the issue sold 84,000
copies. Not the 74,000 reported. My jaw dropped in astonishment. And
that's direct market, not newstand.
My DC tale is a sorid one that will not be told today, but sometime in
the near future. Fact of the matter is that the previous non-Liefeld
issue sold 67,000 copies, which means that we sold an additional 8,000 up
front and a whopping 10,000 additional re-ordered copies.
So is it in bad taste for me to discuss this, yes, probably. But if I
don't no one else will, so I do. DC had a juggernaut in their hands,
plain and simple. Without the promise of a variant cover which in all
honesty were about as easy to come by as a taco stand in Tijauna this time
last year, and zippo promotions, other than the postage stamp placement
in Previews, we posted huge gains.
They just put a variant cover on the OYL launch and it sold 82,000 to
date.
My DC insider told me they were keeping the man down and now I'm
staring at evidence of confirmation. Ugly but true, it happens in business.
Unless you actually are in business to sell comics and make profits for
your company and when given the opportunity to do so you supress it.
Then, well then it's just plain stupid and sad.
Let's just say I'm feeling really strong about our Onslaught Reborn
prospects right about now....
Why discuss sales? Because like box office and ratings, they matter,
like it or not.
For the record, the 85,000 would have placed us as the #11 book last
August. No bells, no whistles. A variant would have put us at 100,000.
That probably would have posed a problem. Your best selling Titans comic
is a fill in. I get it.
For the doubters I'll print the STUB right here.
My DC memoirs alone will burn ears.....the grass is most definitely not
always greener. I submit the recent exodus of talent back to Marvel as
proof.
To commemorate this unexpected occasion, I'm posting the unpublished
sketch version of an early version of my cover to Teen Titans #28. Now
that I look at it, I prolly should have gone with this one. Live and
learn.
Have a great holiday folks,
Rob
COVER
05/19/2006
" Next Generation Liefeld's create New Blood! "
One of the absolute joys in my life is experiencing everything through
my children's eyes. Their lives are care free and packed with
imagination, pouring both into and out of them at an alarming rate.
Despite my efforts to shield them from my own comic book obsessions
and tendencies, the recent explosion of comic heroes in pop culture had
no problem reaching out and sucking them in over the course of their
young lives.
They watch a steady diet of cartoon network where they have bonded with
Ben 10, Teen Titans, Billy and Mandy and Foster's Home for Imaginary
Friends. Yu-Gi-Oh and Naruto have recently made quite an impression as
well. So my two boys, Luke (6) and Chase (4) have begun creating their
own universe of characters, clearly influenced by their favorite
heroes, but with quite an original flair and original names as well.
Which brings us to KidWatch and Everyman. For the boys birthdays, both
in May, I'm illustrating both boys favorite concepts. These are quick
marker comp's trying to best visualize the characters for the boys
based on their descriptions. Kidwatch, as imagined and named by Chase
Liefeld is a young boy who through matching "watches" can syphon off
the powers of any comic book characters he encounters. If he were to
encounter Superman he would adopt Superman's powers, and so on and so
forth with Hulk, Spidey, Wolverine, etc. For his eventual debut in the
pages of an Arcade Comic book, we had to limit his reach to characters
I controlled, such as Youngblood, Supreme, etc. The thing I love about
this concept is it a wish fulfillment of sorts for Chase himself who
will enact the powers of any super hero he encounters via television or
comic book. If he is watching Spider Man, you can bet he's jumping
around the couch and onto the table and shooting imaginary webs from
his imaginary web shooters like so many of us did as a child. Chase
Liefeld is for all intents and purposes, KIDWATCH. The only decision
left for me to help out with if Kidwatch lives in the same world as the
heroes he syphons, or if he draws from their appearances in print and
on television making it even more mysterious and interactive.
EVERYMAN is the product of Luke Liefeld who simply states that Everyman
draws his powers from EVERYONE and EVERYTHING. I was sold in an
instant. What a great name! Luke continues to point out that "If he's
standing next to 2 people, he draws the power of 2, if it's 2o, then
he's getting the power of 20." Same applies to rocks, water, fire, etc.
I just dig it. Simple but effective. A larger Everyman illustration is
on it's way, but for now, this is an early Everyman preliminary sketch.
So I responded with a brand new character of my own, one that I'm as
excited about as anything I've ever done. Check back next week for the
debut of my answer to Kidwatch and Everyman.
Rob
Click Here
05/19/2006
" Onslaught Reborn Sneak Peaks... "
So to say that I'm having an absolute blast drawing Onslaught Reborn
from Jeph Loeb's script would be a cruel understatement. I can't tell
you how much I'm enjoying illustrating each and every panel. So far
there is a heavy dose of Fantastic Four, which is fine by me as I love
the F.F.
I wake up every day, eager to draw every sinle panel on every page,
which is a far cry from where I was at a year ago this time. Everyone
on Onslaught Reborn is on the exact same page and the energy is
contagious. I've pieced together a few panels and one complete page for
you to sneak a peak at. I can't give too much away and it seems like
November is an eternity away, but it'll be here before you know it!
Enjoy!
Rob
Click Here
04/24/2006
"No More Mutants."
Onslaught Reborn begins with those 3 words. This page is a symbolic
representation of the event that kicks everything into high gear. More
Onslaught Reborn art throughout this week....
Rob
Click Here
04/12/2006
LADY SUPREME PREVIEW !
UPDATED
So today I'm previewing the some select pages of gorgeous art from LADY
SUPREME: SUPREME SACRIFICE written by myself and drawn by amazing new
talent Wayne Nichols. The story kicks off with a confrontation with
OVERTKILL the infamous villain co-created and owned by Todd McFarlane
and myself. Wayne's art is beautiful and detailed, he has listened to
every change and direction that I have supplied to him and is certain
to light up the comics industry in short order. I first met Wayne
through the message boards connected to this site. I've been fortunate
to have met so many very talented folks througfh the web and
specifically this site since we launched almost a year ago.
Look for more LADY SUPREME updates later this week. Be looking for
SUPREMA:SUPREME SACRIFICE in Diamond PREVIEWS later this month as well.
The issue kicks off our summer storyline which resurrects SUPREME from
a more than half decade slumber. SUPREMA also features a chapter
featuring Supreme written by Robert Kirkman and illustrated by Jon Malin.
Click here to preview LADY SUPREME!
04/11/2006
SUPREME SACRIFICE PREVIE IMAGE !
This new page is a preview of what's to come in later issues of Supreme
Sacrifice courtesy Marat Mychaels and Adelso Corona! Click here
04/04/2006
EMERALD CITY REPORT !
So as I write this I'm thousands of feet in the air, flying home to
Orange County after a busy weekend at the Emerald City Comic-Con in
Seattle, Washington. Jimmy Jay and I decided to go to the show about 2
months back. We'd heard great reports from the previous few years but
we were hesitant because we were adding yet another show to our
schedule which includes additional travel, packing and planning.
Ultimately we decided to go forward, bite the bullet and make the trip
to Emerald City.
We arrived Friday night for the 2 day show and immediately settled in
to watching the Lakers beat the Seattle Super Sonics. Kobe went off in
the second half and reminded Ray Allen who was the man, leading the
Lakers to another victory. Jimmy and I took this as a good welcoming
omen. Our beloved Lakers had prepared the way for a great weekend.
SATURDAY
We arrived for a quick set up, loaded with Starbucks cursing through
our veins and judging by the crowd in front of the convention center we
were going to need all the energy we could muster. The show opened and
a stampede of fans stormed through the aisles. The show had a very
impressive artist alley and we were fortunate that our booth was
positioned at the entrance of the alley. We faced the first row of the
alley which featured the stellar talents of Adam Hughes, J.G. Jones,
Alex Maleev, Rick Leonardi, Carlos D'anda, Ale Garza and many others.
Their was a constant flow of fans the entire day Saturday, our booth
was packed as we filled up the sketch list and I ended the day
producing 11 sketches total. I only started sketching at shows 3 years
ago after not sketching for almost 12 years. I used to hate the
pressure that comes with drawing in front of a crowd, but now I thrive
on it, it's tremendous fun to draw a request for a fan and to fulfill
his desire for a custom sketch. The commission/sketch competition is
fierce, everyone has lifted their game in the last several years, every
artist wants to outperform his peers and I've seen some fantastic
sketches pass through my table the last couple years. The fans are the
ultimate beneficiary of this new level of pride and competition.
Jimmy Jay promoted our new line of Arcade comic books, SUPREMA/SUPREME
SACRIFICE and NITROGEN:EXTREME FORCES to the masses and we nearly sold
through our entire inventory for the show, Fan reaction to the
re-emergence of the Extreme characters has been extreme for the lack of
a better term. Wether it's nostalgia for a youthful time or excitement
at the great quality of the new books we're producing, the fever seems
to be growing. We sold out of our stock of Youngblood Max Edition
Hardcovers, which has proven to be our most consistent seller over the
last nine months and half a dozen shows.
Good news definitely travels fast as the first dozen or so people that
lined up around our booth were eager to discuss the details of the new
ONSLAUGHT REBORN mini-series I'm doing with Jeph Loeb. The news only
broke a few days before the show in the pages of Wizard magazine and
through in depth coverage over at Newsarama, but fans were informed and
very excited about the return of Onslaught and a re-visiting of the
Heroes Reborn era. My very first sketch of the show was a request for
Onslaught himself. I'm stunned, but really shouldn't be with how up to
speed today's casual fans are. One fan had printed out high gloss
reproductions of the Onslaught Reborn artwork on expensive photo-stock
paper and had me sign them all. We had grabbed a handful of older
Captain America and Avengers comics circa Heroes Reborn and they flew
off the table. I thought this project was going to be successful but I
had no idea how huge the response was going to be. Onslaught Reborn is
going to be bigger than I had anticipated. Bringing Jeph, myself,
Onslaught and the Heroes Reborn together looks to be combustible for
Marvel. November can't get here fast enough it seems.
I took one extended 15 minute break throughout the day, during the
show's final hour, otherwise drawing the entire show, open to close.
Another interesting note about the art of the show and how different
shows have decidedly different profiles is that Seattle, in stark
contrast to our recent Wizard World L.A. appearance has a strong
interest in the art of comics.
For instance, in L.A., business was strong and we sold many more books
of a much larger inventory that Seattle, but over the three days at
Wizard, I drew 5 total commissions. In Seattle I drew 11 the first day,
similar to Baltimore and Texas where I drew around 12 a day each day
of the show. In Seattle, Artist's Alley was the heart and soul of the
show, the buzz was palatable and the crowds were thick and constant.
I met Gail Simone for the first time, and chatter her and her husband
up briefly. She is as sweet as she is talented and I'm looking forward
to her new batch of books, especially the ATOM with John Byrne and GEN
13 with Talent Caldwell. I caught up with Tim Sale, we've become old
friends, meeting exactly 10 years ago through Jeph Loeb and have bonded
several times over during that period. He is so freaking talented it's
just sick. He enjoyed tremendous attention at the show, his fans were
out in force.
I caught up with Erik Larsen who showed me the most recent issue of
Savage Dragon. He really seems to have regained his mojo after taking a
year long break from the book. He's coloring the entire book now, which
is just astounding to me, and his enthusiasm is boiling over. I'll
definitely be adding the book to my pull list again. Erik at his best,
can channel Frank Miller, Gil Kane, Jack KIrby and Walt Simonson
simultaneously in a way that no one else can ever touch, his latest
issue reminded me of his best efforts on past issues.
Talked briefly about comics and the business with Image Director Eric
Stephenson. Image is putting out real good stuff, I wanted to hear what
was next on the horizon and it sounds like good stuff is coming our way
in the year to come.
Emerald City is a more independent minded show, there was no presence
by either Marvel or DC, leaving the door open for Image comics, Slave
Labor Graphics and Oni Press to fill the void. This was sort of like
their San Diego comic-con, where they took center stage and ran away
with it. In the brief period I visited the Image booth at the close of
the day, the table was hopping with Ryan Ottley of Invincible fame, The
Luna Brothers, Jay Faeber and Erik Larsen surrounded by fans.
The industry does seem to be growing again. There is a renewed
enthusiasm, many fans I meet are coming back to the hobby for the
first time in years. They have great affection for the comics of the
90's because that was their generation, the Image era was their right
of passage and they grew up into adults and out of the hobby as many of
us had done in previous era's. My comic collecting was at an all time
low in my late teens, right up until I became a professional in fact. I
was much more interested in hanging with girls and friends and being
free from the bonds of childhood. So many fans have expressed their own
stories of leaving comics, starting their profession, growing families
and settling down only to be inevitably drawn back into their passion
for comics. It's great to have them all back again, discovering new
comics, catching up on old one's, filling in the gaps. Things seem to
be on the upswing all around.
We ended the day at a local sports bar watching my UCLA Bruins defeat
the highly touted LSU Tigers to advance to the championship game.
Whatta way to end the day. I headed off to sleep dreading the dreadful
daylight savings time that would rob me of a precious hour of sleep on
Sunday.
SUNDAY
The last day of the show was much more active than I'd anticipated. We
took an early list of six sketches and worked in several quickie head
sketches throughout the day. We actually moved more comics than
Saturday, another aberration of this show. People brought hundreds more
books to sign than on Saturday, citing the longer lines and constant
crowds on Saturday as their reason for loading up on Sunday. Two fans
in particular made 3 seperate trips to the car in order for me to sign
all their comics. I haven't attended a show in the Pacific Northwest
for 15 years so there was a big back up on books to sign. I took the
first hour of the show for shopping and chatted briefly with several
retailers, shopped for toys and treats for the kids and bought several
old Treasury-Sized Marvel and DC comics that were so prevalent in the
70's. The day went much faster than expected and unlike Saturday, the
crowds came in waves enabling Jimmy and I some down time.
I started the day in a funk due to the time change, but got fired up in
a discussion about the hated Seattle Seahawks and the Super-Bowl. One
fan mentioned how Pittsburgh really were the "Stealers" in that game
and I made the mistake of going after the Seahwaks, talking light trash
about the players and coach. One fan was so visibly disturbed and upset
that he couldn't get his signatures and out of the line fast enough. He
was seriously mad. I thought maybe I should keep my thoughts on local
sports teams to myself, but couldn't help talking trash about Ray Allen
and the Seattle Supersonics to the very next guy in line. But he was
enjoying egging me on and he saw how it was energizing me while I put
more effort into his sketch. Smart guy. But next time I need to shut my
trap when it comes to sports, especially Seahawk fans who are still
smarting from their loss to the Steelers.
I caught up with Karl Kesel, my co-collaborator from Hawk and Dove, I
hadn't talked with him in almost a decade. He caught me up on his new
work from Marvel and we discussed the good old days. He looked like he
hadn't aged a day and it was great to see him after so many years.
Stayed until closing on Sunday, headed to the airport and caught my
flight home where I can't wait to see my wife and kids. I'm a naturally
homesick type, I miss my family terribly whenever I'm away, which is
why I'm such a stickler about leaving town and doing even more shows.
But Emerald City was a great show with great enthusiastic fans who love
comics in every way shape and form style and size. Arcade had a great
show and showing and we continue to spread the word on all our
projects, so every trip is worthwhile. The show runner's were as kind,
courteous and attentive as any show I've ever attended. The city and
the show are in great hands with these guys.
The list of the drawings In did goes lie this, Onslaught ( 2 times),
Cable, Captain America, Shredder, Wolverine ( 3 times), Suprema ( 2
times), Domino ( 2 times), Rogue, Deadpool ( 2 times) and a few
Badrock's.
I managed to get pictures of several of the drawings I did and I'll
post some of the convention pics I did right here.
Rob
Click Here
03/22/2006
ONSLAUGHT REBORN!
So the cat is out of the bag. I can officially talk about my next
project, a return to the Onslaught/Heroes Reborn era with superstar
writer Jeph Loeb! I'm thrilled to be working with Jeph again for the
first time in nearly a decade, we met just prior to Heroes Reborn,
which for the uninitiated was a major event in 1996 where Jim Lee and
myself re-designed and re-launched Captain America, Avengers, Fantastic
Four and Iron Man. Despite the controversy of Marvel outsourcing the
production of their books for the first time, the comics were a huge
success with fans, sales triple-quadrupled and I've been signing them
at every show and appearance I've made ever since.
Jeph Loeb was a mere pup in comics at the time of the original Heroes
Reborn and now has grown into one of the top writers in the comic
industry. He's a 3000 pound gorilla, or as several retailers have
mentioned to me, he's the man with the Midas Touch. With his track
record of excellence, from Batman:Hush, Supergirl and Superman/Batman,
fans know that they are in for an exciting ride whenever he's onboard
as writer. Onslaught Reborn features the Avengers, Captain America,
Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, Namor, Enchantress, Loki and my own
personal favorite, Bucky!
So get strapped in, I'll be checking in with sneak peeks at the pages
I'm drawing in the upcoming weeks and months. So don't be a stranger!
Here's a few pages and covers to chew on until the next update.
Rob
Click Here
03/22/2006
WIZARD WORLD LA !
Here are a few pics from the con...enjoy.
SKETCHING, Batman and here it is done BATMAN.
CAPTAIN AMERICA , SUPREMA and the SAM LOEB PANEL .
03/09/2006
ROB LIEFELD ON NBA NATION ON ABC MARCH
I'll be appearing on NBA NATION on ABC on Sunday, March 12th talking
about the comparisons between NBA superstars and super heroes. The
segment was shot in my studio and features me discussing how today's
NBA players such as Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Yao Ming, Dwane Wade and others
compare to comic book super heroes. It's a fun segment, I talk about
Kobe reminding me of Spider Man with his agility and super leaps, Shaq
as more Hulk than Superman, Yao Ming is Giant Man, Phil Jackson as
Professor X and Mark Cuban as Doctor Doom. It was a great opportunity
to combine my love of basketball and comic books!
Check your local listings!
SUPREMA PREVIEW!
We're launching a number of new titles at Wiz World L.A. , among them
is SUPREMA, part of our SUPREME SACRIFICE event. Here are a few preview
pages to check out. Come by the show and pick up a copy or two.....or
three!
12/05/2005
This is the latest in a line of nostalgic Heroes Reborn commissions I'm
doing. Enjoy.
12/02/2005
It's rivalry week here in Southern California and I belong to a radical
UCLA booster family. The Bruins have a tall order in front of them when
it comes to defeating the top ranked USC Trojans, so it should be a
helluva game. Always is.
To celebrate both this occasion and the recent birthday of my
Super-UCLA booster Father In-Law, Winston, I painted an illustration of
superstar UCLA tailback Maurice Drew as a gift for Grandpa Winston.
Next thing I know he has driven up to the team's practice to have
Maurice sign the original and has given out laser copies as gifts to
Maurice and the coaches.
I love drawing sports figures, I could do this stuff in my sleep and
Maurice has been as dynamic as they come this past year. I love it as
much as drawing comics. Hopefully I'll share more of these soon. In the
meantime here's the illustration and here's the pic of the tailback and
my father in-law with my illo.
Also I've been catching up on some long over-due commissions. Here's
the Captain America link and this one will take you to the original
OMAC.
Take care,
Rob
