RSC Arts

My Introduction to the World of Comic Books

Comic books have always seemed to be an important part of my life in one form or the other. I’ve been a fan of the stories, the rich character development, and histories, of course, the artwork, a hardcore collector, and I even owned and ran my own comic shop for years. My all-time dream is to be able to create my own comic book or be involved in the creative part of the industry. I am in the process of achieving that dream, and with hard work and determination I know I’ll reach my dream.

When looking back at my love affair with the comic book genre I realized that I actually remember the very first comic book I read. This was 25 years ago and I was like 9 years old. I didn’t go to any comic shops and I wasn’t actively looking for a comic book. I was just at home being a nerdy kid playing with my Star Wars toys. My aunt Ruth came over to my house for a visit. She handed me a stack of comics. They were taken from her husband who was a comic book collector. She was clearing out space at her home and thought I might like them. I had never really been interested in comic books before, sure I had watched Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends as well as the Super Friends cartoon. So I knew about superheroes, but this was my first introduction to the amazing world of comic (sequential) storytelling.

My Introduction to the World of Comic Books

The very first comic I read from the stack of comics she gave me was The Mighty Avengers 242. So this is officially the first comic book I ever read.

I remember the cover caught my eye because I wanted to know who the shadow figure was and why everyone looked so shocked. What I also remember most about this issue was the introduction of Mockingbird by Hawkeye to the Avengers. It was a good introduction issue for a new reader like myself.

There wasn’t really a lot of action in this issue, but there was a compelling story. The comic showed me how this group was friends and close like family. This can only really be shown in a long-running story. So I wanted to know more about these characters.

It ends with Captain America, Wasp, She-Hulk, Thor, Captain Marvel, and Hawkeye heading to a strange structure in Central Park New York, and getting zapped away. As a kid I didn’t know what was happening, did they die or what?

The next comic book I read was Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 1. With a great cover like that, you’d think it would’ve been the first one, I’d read. It’s actually my good fortune that I read this comic next. Avengers 242 leads right into this one. You can imagine my pleasant surprise to discover the Avengers didn’t die but were instead transported to an arena with a lot of other superheroes.

Again being that this was my first time reading comic books it was great to start with this issue too. It introduced me to all the major characters (heroes and villains) in the Marvel Comics universe. With a quick synopsis of who they were and what they were all about.

The premise of Secret Wars was that of a super cosmic being named the Beyonder and how he gathered Earth’s greatest heroes and villains to basically fight to the death. The winner would receive their heart’s desire. I remember how Galactus flies to attack the entity and is swapped like an insect. As a 9-year-old kid, this just blew me away.

The third comic I read was probably the most famous of the lot. Amazing Spider-Man 252. As most people know (well at least the one’s in comic book circles) this is the first appearance of Spider-Man’s black suit. Which we later learn is actually an alien Symbiote life form. Years later the suit eventually becomes one of Spider-Man’s deadliest villains named Venom.

I was familiar with Spider-Man from his Saturday morning cartoon series on tv, but this Spider-Man was very different. This Peter Parker was much grittier. He wasn’t as go-lucky as I had known him from the cartoon. With the addition of this black suit, the charter just seemed darker to me.

I remember the first page of the comic shows the Daily Bugle with the headline about missing superheroes. This issue takes place after the event of Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. So I was excited to know that Spider-Man would survive the Secret War. This was the first Spider-Man comic I had ever read and I was very intrigued by how different it was, I was super excited to read more.

The final comic in the group my aunt gave me was the one that showed me the depth of storytelling and character development that could be found in comic books. Sure I was only a kid but the story really blew me away and I knew this was something special. The comic was Phoenix the Untold Story and my introduction to the world of mutants and the X-Men.

This story is a reprint of Uncanny X-Men 137 with the original attended ending. It takes place after the Dark Phoenix Saga and is where Jen Grey is judged for her crimes as Phoenix. Like the Avengers comic I read, this group of heroes were more than just teammates, they were a family.

This comic book takes us through the minds of all the heroes, showing their hopes and dreams. It shows the love that Jean and Scott have for each other and the pain her loss will bring to the whole group. The X-Men fight against aliens with their own powers for Jean’s life. In the end, she sacrifice’s herself before the darkness that was Phoenix could return to harm her friends.

As I look back at these first comic books I read, I fully realized how lucky I was. These were groundbreaking stories and a great way to start my life as a comic book reader. I had no knowledge that comic book stores existed back then so every time my parents would put gas I’d look for the comic section. I didn’t care if the comics were bent (which they usually were) I was just excited to see what cool new stuff was out. I remember there was a gas station named the Good Time Store and its logo was a big smiley face. That’s where I always found the latest issues of Secret Wars.

It’s been a great 25 years of comic reading. There have been so many great story arcs and a few not so good, but it’s always been a huge pleasure. These stories have had the greatest visuals imaginable and anything is possible. I’ve read all the great character development through the hero’s adventures and tragedies. Although I started as a Marvel Comics fan I now read other comic companies like DC, Dark Horse, and so many Independent comics. I know that for the next 25 years and most likely the rest of my life I will enjoy reading comic books. They are our modern mythology and I thank my Aunt Ruth for introducing them to me.

This blog post was originally published on my former website, Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Artist Blog.

Nemcromn Character Design Sketches

Nemcromn Character Design Sketches

Last week I was working on character design sketches for one of my characters named Nemcromn. These were drawn in a pocket sketchbook I carry around. I thought it would be cool to upload these to show the steps in my thought process when designing what I want a character to look like.

These are sketches of Nemcromn’s Face. I did a 3/4 view, a front view, and a profile. I was trying to capture a sinister look. He wears a skullcap. His face has two major scars and his left cheek has one that stretches to his ear. He’s a mystic Zombie Necromancer so I tried to reflect this in his skin by making it look a little rotten. He also has no pupils.

Here’s a front full-body view. I like to draw a quick sketch of the form, then I can start customizing the character’s look. When I originally came up with Nemcromn’s look a few years ago I was really into Brom’s artwork. With his industrial mystic goth creatures and characters.

Here’s a sketch of Nemcromn with a little more detail. The skullcap stretches to cover his upper chest as well. He has leather straps wrapped around his waist and chest. The chest traps hold a small cape that goes over his left shoulder. Like the sketches of his face, Nemcromn’s body is that of a corpse. I wanted to show the scars and stitches that cover his entire body.

So who is Nemcromn? In life, he was Stephen Boyle, a wealthy adventurer who traveled the world looking for new and exciting challenges. Rock climbing, deep sea, and sky diving. He wanted to experience any and all he could. He began to get bored with these types of challenges and started to look inward and beyond. This route took him to dark places and eventually to the study of life beyond death. Using his vast fortune he bought all the knowledge he could in the study of life, death, and the undead. He became a powerful living necromancer and his studies taught him of the dark power that coexists with all life. In these studies, he learned of a celestial object traveling through space that could increase his power 1,000 times that of what he could possibly achieve on his own.

He discovered that one of these objects would fall to earth. Planning on taking the energies from the fallen object, Nemcromn using his original identity took 6 of his childhood friends on a dangerous hike up the mountain where he knew it would arrive. Like his former self, his friends were also adventures in extreme sports. Planning on sacrificing them and using their life forces to bond with the energies Nemcromn made a fatal miscalculation. The object fell to earth sooner than he thought, hitting the group and killing everyone but two of his companions. Nemcromn died in the impact that day. The power he craved was completely absorbed by one of the survivors, John McCarran. McCarran used the power to become one of Earth’s most beloved heroes, Solarus The Radiant Guardian.

Nemcromn who was now a master of life and death was not so easily defeated. No one knew of his secret life and Stephen Boyle was buried at his family plot. Several weeks after the funeral Nemcromn the lord of the dead dug himself out of the grave. He was now a powerful mystic zombie with more power than he had when he was alive. The necromancer used his dark knowledge to escape the afterlife. Now with a new purpose, he wants the destruction of Solarus and complete control of the world’s dead and living. He works in the shadows sending agents both dead and alive to set his plans into motion.

This blog post was originally published on my former website, Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Artist Blog.

Modern Age Comics Flyer ads

Modern Age Comics Flyer ads

A few days ago my girlfriend was cleaning one of my old portfolio cases. I told her she could use it for a collections class she is taking this semester. As she was taking out my old work that was still in the portfolio case she noticed there were some ads I created for my old comic book shop “Modern Age Comics”. I had created them a few years back and I had totally forgotten that they were in there. They were actually pretty good and I’m kinda proud of them. So I’ve decided to post them in this blog as a walk down memory lane and to showcase some of my old comic shop work.

This black and white flyer is actually the very first flyer I created for my store. I created it in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The images are halftone dots. I have always been very fond of using halftone dots. I remember making hundreds of xerox copies of this flyer and plastering them all over town and the university which was across the street from the shop. I had a lot of fun with this flyer. I remember choosing the image of Catwoman for this flyer because she had a great pose and I choose Goku from Dragon Ball Z because he was in a very dynamic shot.

This second flyer is actually the back of a magazine named the “Green Frog”. This is from the very first issue of this NMSU student-created magazine. I was approached by the magazine’s editor-in-chief who was also the marketing director. I wanted to make this ad a little more youthful and found a great image of Marvel Girl and Spider-Man in more updated costumes. This was a full-color ad and I used a red header that complemented the red in Spider-Man’s costume. I liked the targeting image I choose with the anime character too. This was a fun ad to create.

This blog post was originally published on my former website, Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Artist Blog.

Grimm Creeper Quick Sketch

Grimm Creeper Sketch

Here’s a quick sketch I did a few days ago of one of my characters, the Grimm Creeper. He’s an assassin/hunter who primarily works for Nemcromn the main villain in a comic story I’m working on. He has hyper-quick reflexes, agility is a master of stealth, and several fighting techniques.

This blog post was originally published on my former website, Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Artist Blog.

Dark New World Zombie Movie Premiere

Me with Carlos Parra Writer/Director of Dark New World

Dark New World Zombie Movie Premiere

“Bio-terrorists unleash a devastating plague across America and the chemicals from the bomb kill millions. Days after the attacks, the recently dead begin to rise and devour human flesh. Sam and Kat seek refuge outside of the city in an abandoned house with eight others. Rations are running low and people are dying. Sam and Kat are in over their heads.
Do they fight to survive out in the world against zombies or stay and fight the monsters within?”
Carlos Parra

This last weekend I took a trip down to my hometown of Las Cruces, New Mexico to watch the premiere of my friend Carlos Parra’s zombie film Dark New World which he wrote and directed. It was filmed in 16 days with a budget of $3,000 dollars. Watching the movie though, you wouldn’t know that it was done for so little. The quality of the acting and the storytelling was top-notch.

Although the premiere was actually at Allen Theaters on Friday the 13th (which by the way had 2 sold-out screenings) I went to the premiere on Saturday, March 14th at the Fountain Theater (which also had a sold-out screening). I chose to go to the screening at the Fountain Theater because there was a Q & A with Carlos and several actors from the movie.

It’s Zombie Time

I really enjoyed this movie. I’ve been a fan of zombie movies for over 20 years now. I still remember the first one I watched as a kid “Return of the Living Dead”, and of course I’m a fan of all of George A. Romero’s films. Like all good zombie films, this film doesn’t focus on the zombies but on the survivors of this Dark New World.

We see how people cope with the horrors of these monsters, but more importantly, we see how people’s true nature starts to surface. Who leads, who follows, who takes advantage of others, and who protects the weak? Carlos brings great camera shots and amazing character development though out the film. I thought some camera shots would look great in a graphic novel.

What’s really cool for me is the part about how I helped contribute to it. Although I wasn’t involved in the writing or the filming of this awesome movie, I did kinda help with the idea. A few years back I use to own and run a comic book store called Modern Age Comics. I remember and a few of my customers talking about zombie movies and how we should make one. Carlos was the perfect candidate for filmmaking, he had previously filmed a short for the Governor’s Cup film competition called “Why Can’t it be Tuesday” the day in the life of a graphic designer. Some of which were actually filmed in the comic shop.

Carlos took the zombie project by the horns and wrote a great script. Unfortunately, I was in no financial means to go any further with the project. I was in the process of closing my store down. But Carlos was energized by the zombie film and took it upon himself to see it through. I’m proud to say that I was able to assist with his casting call for the film. Carlos held the initial casting call at my store location the last weekend I still held the lease. The turnout was great with about 150 people showing up for the audition that day.

It was fun to watch people I actually knew personally on the big screen. The character of Frost was played by one of my old customers Tony Baker and the role of Jinx was played by Johnny Tabor who I worked with at the Las Cruces Sun News. Both these guys are great actors and brought the level of the movie to greater heights. I still remember playings Heroclixs with Tony in the comic shop. He’s now living in California doing stand up comedy and has been in a few movies. Right on dude! The funnest part in the movie was when Carlos himself made a cameo as “George”, a zombie movie buff quoting “Night of the Living Dead“. Like writer/director M. Night Shyamalan and Quentin Tarantino, Carlos casts himself as an unforgettable extra in his own film.

There was a lot of buzz for this movie too. Carlos did a great job marketing his film with a website, a myspace profile, and flyers. He received a good amount of press too. With articles written about the movie and it’s premiere in Yahoo movies, the Las Cruces Sun News, and an online interview he gave with KRWG public radio. It’s also very cool that the film is listed in IMDb (The internet movie database).

The movie will be showing at this years Eerie Horror Film Festival. Right on dude!

This blog post was originally published on my former website, Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Artist Blog.

Comic Book Digital Inking with Adobe Illustrator

Fantastic Four digitally inked by Ralph Contreras

Comic Book Digital Inking with Adobe Illustrator

Here is a digitally inked Pinup of an awesome penciled piece of the Fantastic Four by artist Ariel Padilla. I found the pencils on his DeviantArt page and I knew I had to ink it. I used Adobe Illustrator so I could create a vector image. This way it can be reduced or enlarged with no pixelation of the image. This is actually my second piece digitally inked but the first I’ve done in Illustrator. My Batman 2.0 character redesign was my first digitally inked piece but for that I used Photoshop. I have used Illustrator in the past to create illustrations, logos, advertisements, and marketing but this was the first time I incorporated my graphic design skills into inking.

I have a Wacom tablet but for this digital inking, I used only my mouse and the pen tool. So basically the piece is all straight vector anchor points. This illustration took about 5 hours, which is longer than I thought it would, but it was fun and a nice practice piece. On my next Illustrator ink, I plan on using the Wacom tablet and the brush tool. Right now it is all about having fun and learning to use the tools I use in my graphic design work in my comic book artwork. My next step will be to create flats for these inks and maybe color them too.

Original Pencils of Fantastic Four by Ariel Padilla

Here are the original pencils by Ariel Padilla.

Want to see the steps I took to create the digital inking? Check out my blog post: Comic Book Digital Inking Techniques with Illustrator Vector Anchor Points

This blog post was originally published on my former website, Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Artist Blog.

Some Sequential Thumbnails

Here is an example of some of my Sequential Thumbnails

Some Sequential Thumbnails

After drawing 24 pages of Sequential Art at last week’s 24-Hour comic, I’ve decided to post some comic page sequential thumbnails I’ve been working on. I’m planning on finishing these by next week so I can get them in 7000 BC’s String comic. It’s a zine-type comic book that has pages from local comic artists here in Santa Fe. They’re a really cool group. When I get my pages from the 24-hour comic back I’ll be posting them up here too.

This blog post was originally published on my former website, Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Artist Blog.

24 Hour Comic 2008

Me showing off one of my Comic Pages! Shazam!

24 Hour Comic 2008

This years 24 hour comic was great! I was able to create a 24-page comic in 23 hours. With the help of my wonderful girlfriend Consuelo. The best inker around! It was organized by 7000 BC and True Believers the local comic shop here in Santa Fe, NM. After 23 hours we created a fully inked comic book titled “Aliens and Heroes”. This was truly a great test of creativity. There was a great turnout here in Santa Fe. Over 25 fellow comic artists. I met a lot of cool people. After producing 24 pages in as many hours I feel a higher sense of confidence in my comic-creating ability.

Here’s a link covering 24-Hour Comic here in Santa Fe. I’m even mentioned in one. http://24hcd.blogspot.com/2008/10/santa-fe-just-about-wrapped-up.html

This blog post was originally published on my former website, Comic Book Graphic Design and has now been migrated here to RSC Arts, Artist Blog.