Kevin Eastman & Simon Bisley

Sorry for the lag in posts. I initially tried to post something new every week, but life's been keeping me pretty busy lately. Anyway, on to more artwork!

During SDCC '08, I rushed to the Heavy Metal booth to pick up the Bodycount hardcover reprint. Kevin was there Thursday afternoon, and he was giving free sketches to all those that purchased Bodycount. I already got a Mikey sketch from him last year on my copy of his artobiography, so I ended up with Leo this year:



Kevin may not be heavily involved with the TMNT any more, but he's still incredibly kind to all of the turtle fans that were lining up at his booth. He told me that he'd be playing a role in the TMNT's 25th anniversary, but he didn't (or perhaps couldn't) elaborate on what he'll be contributing. I certainly hope it'll be more than a pin-up.

I caught up with Simon Bisley the next day, and I can honestly say that the man scares me a bit. He was cracking a lot of crude jokes (which I found hilarious), but he also enjoyed drilling the people asking him for sketches. One poor guy made the mistake of questioning Simon on his marker choices, telling the crazed Brit that black ink turns brown over time. Simon, who was rightfully irritated, gave him a hell of a hard time before finishing a sketch. When my turn came up, I was horrified that he'd sketch something obscene for me because I saw him write something pretty bad (the "c" word) on someone's sketchbook earlier. Fortunately, he didn't do much except try to sell me a painting, LOL. He gave me this funny sketch of "Biz Man", an obvious play on a certain caped crusader:



Meeting Simon was definitely an adventure in its own right. To see more of his artwork, check out his official website:

(WARNING: May not be work safe!)
The Simon Bisley Gallery

And for more of what Kevin Eastman is up to nowadays:

(WARNING: May also not be work safe!)
Heavy Metal

Coming Up Next: Leo & Usagi by Stan Sakai
Coming Up Soon: TMNT & Splinter by Rak
Coming Up Later: Hawkman by Ramona Fradon

New Poll

I know I don't have many visitors to this blog, but if you happen to stumble into my cave, please participate in the poll to the right. I'm curious to know which "turtleverse" fans love the most. So vote away! Thanks.

Leo by LeSean Thomas

Sorry for the late post, but whenever things at work get busy, I tend to disappear from the internet. Anyway, the following sketch of Leonardo is from LeSean Thomas, former artist on the TMNT Animated comics from Dreamwave. LeSean was hard to find during SDCC, and I visited the booth he was at twice on Thursday and Friday with no luck. A lady working there told me to keep dropping in because I seemed to keep missing LeSean by just a few minutes. On Saturday, I finally got the chance to meet him. He's a really nice guy and extremely gracious. I spoke to him briefly about his work as a storyboard artist, and I got to hear his views about art in general when an art student came up and asked him questions.

I made sure to pick up a copy of his volume 2 artbook, Midnight Maurader, which he signed. He also signed my copy of the volume 2 TPB of the Dreamwave TMNT and expressed his disappointment that the series didn't last longer. I agree. He and Peter David were just about to spin the book in a brand new direction (a la Archie's TMNT Adventures in the 90's) before things went sour at Dreamwave. It's a real shame; LeSean's art is so kickass, and I felt that it fit the TMNT like a glove. Check out his Leo sketch:


LeSean is currently a storyboard artist for the show Ben 10: Alien Force, as well as a character designer and director for the wildly popular Boondocks animated series. To see more of LeSean's work and to find out what he's been up to, check out the following links:

LeSean on deviantART

LeSean's official blog: Nervous Breakdowns

Coming up Next: Sketches from Eastman and Bisley
Coming up Soon: Leo & Usagi by Stan Sakai
Coming up Later: TMNT & Splinter by Rak

More From Todd Nauck

I wanted to share more awesome artwork that I got from Todd at SDCC '07. First up, is a sketch of Todd's original character, Red Rover, from the Wildguard series. RR is my favorite Wildguard character because of his simple powers, cool costume, and strong will to overcome the odds and become a hero. Coincidentally, RR was one of Todd's first characters that he ever created, way back in elementary school (a story that his wonderful wife, Dawn, shared with me). I voted for RR to make the team, though as it turned out, he was already one of the members Todd had chosen. The readers got to choose one member, with Todd forming the rest of the squad. The overall vote-receiver was a character named Freezer Burn, who has fire and ice powers.



The last bit I wanted to share was a limited print (#94/100) featuring the characters from the Teen Titans Go! animated series and comic books. Todd graciously signed it for me, and I now have it framed and hanging on my wall. Thanks again, Todd!

Leo by Todd Nauck

I first discovered Todd Nauck's work from an article that was published in Wizard years ago. They were spot-lighting his project called Wildguard, which was the first comicbook series that used reality TV as it's inspiration. Many characters, probably close to 50 or so and all created by Todd, were showcased over the span of 6 issues. Readers got to decide via an online vote which ones they wanted to see make the Wildguard team, which was similar to the American Idol format. I loved the series, as it often poked fun at the absurdity of reality TV as well as superhero stereotypes. It was a great series, and I've been a fan of Todd's work ever since then.

I met Todd for the second time at this year's SDCC, and I didn't know if he'd be willing to sketch a ninja turtle. Most of his work has focused on superheroes. Much to my amazement, it turned out that Todd was a huge fan of the TMNT prior to the cartoon hitting the airwaves. He told me that he drew them in his notebooks so often in high school, that when the cartoon show became a hit, his friends thought that he created the turtles! He seemed really excited to draw a ninja turtle again, and he said that he couldn't remember the last time someone requested one. I asked him to draw his favorite turtle, and Todd cranked out this incredible Leo sketch:




Todd is a very nice guy, easy to approach and talk to. If you see him sitting in artist's alley at any comic con, make sure to go and pay him a visit! Aside from Wildguard, Todd's most recent work includes runs on Young Justice, Teen Titans Go!, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and American Dream. Please visit the links below to see more of his amazing artwork:

WildGuard: The Art of Todd Nauck

Todd on deviantArt

Coming up Next: Leo by LeSean Thomas
Coming up Soon: Kevin Eastman & Simon Bisley
Coming up Later: Leo & Usagi by Stan Sakai

Cubee Craft Leo

Just a quick post inspired by a picture on Murphy's blog showcasing a Cubee Craft duel between Raph and Hellboy. Here's a picture of Leo, standing victorious over the Boom Blox Chicken:


Sorry for the quality of the pic, but it was taken using a co-worker's cellphone. We had a Cubee Craft day in the office during an especially slow Friday lunch break. I made Leo, of course, who now sits next to my monitor at work. If you want to try creating some Cubee Craft characters, check out the official website:

Cubeecraft.com

The TMNT are at the bottom of the page, just scroll down. There are a lot of other cool characters available (Duck Hunt Dog is one of my other favorites), so if you have a pair of scissors and some spare time, go for it! It can be surprisingly relaxing.

Don by Dario Brizuela

Dario's only signing was scheduled for Thursday, and I wanted to make sure that I took the opportunity to meet him. I was in a rush, however, since I needed to meet my cousin at the trolley station around 5:00pm, and Dario started signing around 4:00pm. Fortunately, I managed to find him without too much hassel. Dario was a totally nice guy and really fun to talk to. I even got to meet his wife and baby, who seemed to be enjoying the comic con. I got an issue of Tales signed, and then Dario was kind enough to give me a quick sketch. I asked him to draw his favorite turtle, and he chose Don:

It was a real pleasure to get to meet Dario, and I'm hoping he'll be returning to SDCC next year.

The very talented Dario Brizuela is currently working on DC's Superfriends and IDW's Transformers Animated. To see more of his art, please check out his official blog.

Dario's Blog

Coming Up Next: Leo by Todd Nauck
Coming Up Soon: Leo by LeSean Thomas
Coming Up Later: Kevin Eastman & Simon Bisley

Mikey by David Petersen

I've been a big fan of David Petersen's incredible series, Mouse Guard, since I first discovered it at last year's SDCC. I met David, picked up the 1st collected volume, and have been following Mouse Guard ever since. This year, I got to meet David again. I'll admit that I was really nervous this time around because I was requesting a sketch of a character outside of Mouse Guard. I didn't know how David would react to that. Luckily, he was really nice about it and was more than happy to draw a ninja turtle. I asked David to draw his favorite, and he went with Mikey. Check out this amazing sketch!

David Petersen is such a talented artist and writer. The Eisner-award winning Mouse Guard is drawn, written, and even colored all by himself. If you're interested in learning more about David and his work, please check out the following links:

Official Mouse Guard Website

David Petersen's Official Website

David's Blog

Coming Up Next: Don by Dario Brizuela
Coming Up Soon: Leo by Todd Nauck
Coming Up Later: Leo by LeSean Thomas

NECA

Here are a few TMNT pics I took at the NECA booth during SDCC:

I was a part of the Leonardo group, and I was thrilled to get Kevin Eastman to sign my B&W set. I also received a TMNT postcard signed by Peter Laird. The Mousers exclusive three pack was also available during the con, but I decided to pass on that. I want to wait for the moveable mousers that NECA promised would be released later on.

Coming up next: Mikey sketch by David Petersen

Coming up soon: Don sketch by Dario Brizuela

Coming up later: Leo sketch by Todd Nauck

SDCC: Some Thoughts

Woo! I just got back late from SDCC late last night, and what a trip it was. This year was my second time attending, and I can never get used to how huge this event truly is. At times, the convention center felt like a total mad house with all the people crowding around. I'm going to post a few pictures within the next few days of some TMNT stuffs (mostly NECA) as well as a few TMNT sketches I was fortunate enough to get. For now, I just thought I'd write some observations.

- The NECA booth did a great job promoting the TMNT with huge banners and displays. I was thrilled to see the turtles with a strong toy presence at SDCC. On the other hand, GoComics didn't have much of a display, though I did pick up a flier that featured Mikey on the front. The 4kids booth was a royal pain in the ass to find, and when I did find it, the whole booth was decorated in nothing but Chaotic. You'd think that the company that's producing a brand new TMNT cartoon in the fall would want to promote it in front of thousands of kids, since they seem to aim for that demographic and ignore the older fans (me included). The only hint of TMNT were the passports (see Murphy's blog) sitting on the table. As a major sponsor of the 25th anniversary, they could have at least made some sort of banner. I wouldn't have even bothered looking for the 4kids booth if I didn't need to get my passport stamped by them.

- Speaking of 4kids, a rep I spoke to at the official booth saw my TMNT shirt and asked if I were a fan. I said, "of course." He asked me if I visited the blog, and I assumed he meant the 4kids blog (this was the 4kids booth, after all). However, he meant Murphy's "fifth turtle" blog, which caught me by surprise. Either this guy is a fan himself, or 4kids is back on good terms with Murphy. Irregardless, he plugged Murphy's blog and told me I should be reading it (which I already do).

- Four guys dressed in turtle suits, minus the masks but wearing colored bandannas, were walking around throughout the convention. They were constantly yelling "cowabunga!" and "turtle power!". I also noticed that they were using surfer lingo when speaking to other people. At first, I just thought they were a group of fans, but then I saw them handing out TMNT passports. My thanks to whichever sponsor decided to hire these guys to run around and make sure people were aware of the 25th anniversary. Too bad I couldn't get a clear picture of them.

- While waiting in line to get Kevin Eastman to sign my B&W NECA figs, a woman came up to the cash register to buy the same set. When the cashier told her that Kevin was signing the figs and that she should get in line, she told him "I don't care about that." The guy gave her an incredulous look as she walked away. Her loss (unless she's selling on ebay).

- When it was my turn to get my NECA figs signed, I asked Kevin if he was going to participate in any of the 25th anniversary events. He cracked a few jokes, then finally confirmed that he would be taking part. What kind of projects, he wouldn't say.

- Overheard at the NECA booth:
Guy 1: "Oh my God, the turtles are back?!"
Guy 2: "Hell yeah! Check out the detail on those action figures. That's insane!"
Guy 1: "It looks like they just stepped out of the comics!"

- Kevin Eastman is a very generous guy who truly appreciates his TMNT fans. He's also got a great sense of humor, and I enjoyed talking with him. Simon Bisley, on the other hand, is one crazy man, LOL!

Coming up next: NECA pics
Coming up soon: TMNT sketches from various artists
Coming up later: More sketches (not all TMNT)

SDCC... I'm Almost There!

Okay, so I'm getting ready to pack up and head on out to San Diego for one of the world's biggest Comic Cons! I want to take plenty of pictures, especially anything TMNT related that I manage to spot. I'm lookin' at you, NECA! Now I don't have a laptop, so I may have to upload pictures a few days after returning. But I hope to have plenty of stuff to share with fellow TMNT fans.

I'm still planning to dedicate this blog to TMNT-related art when I recover from SDCC. I'm hoping to convince some of my favorite artists (David Peterson, Todd Nauck, just to name a couple) to sketch out a turtle in their unique style. My fingers are crossed that I'll be successful. If not, I still have a few pieces of older art that I can upload. I know for sure that I will have at least one new sketch to add to my collection, as long as things go well with a certain rabbit samurai. :)

Oh, and a special thank you to Alex for visiting my disorganized blog. I didn't realize there was more than one person in this cave!

Revamp

I've decided to revive this blog, but I need something to focus on. I still want it to be TMNT-centric while showcasing something different. There are already a ton of great TMNT news blogs and behind the scenes stuff, so I'm thinking about focusing on something specific. Maybe artwork? I do have some original sketches and whatnot... we'll see when I get more time.