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