From clockwise left: Psylocke, Buffy, the Spectacular Spider-Ham and Rogue & Gambit. Still having fun with the watercolors! I may have to go out and by some tubes that aren’t over ten years old.

If anyone is interested, these color card commissions currently run about $30 each. Just contact me if’n it’s somthin’ you want.

i’m afraid unless you’re familiar with the characters though, this little doodle might be lost on some of you. i also realized that, as huge an avatar fan as i am, this is my first avatar fan art. and it is fan art of avatar fan art. so sad.

some spider-man stuff (that one card over there is actually the first time i’ve ever drawn spidey. i guess i just never had an excuse until now!):

the incredibly emotional hulk:

and one of my most favorite marvel teams (and books!) in recent years, good ol’ nextwave.

 an extra NSFW one below the cut. :)

haha. yeah right. the dark knight opened this weekend.

after watching flugtag we went over to the imax theater to watch what made me jump out of bed like it was christmas that same morning. and it didn’t disappoint. my spoiler free review behind the cut.

i’m  going to copy and paste what i already wrote on the flight forums if that’s okay:

this is my favorite film of the year. even the small complaints i’ve heard don’t affect my love of this film, and i think it all boils down to my absolute love of batman- and not just batman, but gotham city- and how perfectly nolan handled this world. every last bit of the dark knight felt like this is how batman is. this is how things should be done.

i think it’s similar to how speed racer (my favorite movie of the year up until dark knight) really hit home to fans of the series- because the wachowski duo payed such special attention to what fans of that series really loved about the show. that’s how i felt while i was watching the dark knight.

what i don’t agree with is how i keep hearing how this is the best superhero movie or how nolan has taken the superhero mythology and reinterpreted the genre. i’ve never once in my life thought of batman as a superhero. batman is a crime fighter (yes- there’s a difference)! and nolan made a wonderfully executed crime drama with gotham city as it’s star. it’s the batman/gordon/dent story i always wanted to see on screen and yet still managed to show me comparisons to those characters i hadn’t even thought of before. as for the pacing- couldn’t get enough of it. it started making my heart thump from beginning to end. zimmer and howard’s relentless score couldn’t have been more fitting. and yes- heath’s joker? best joker ever (sorry hamill!).

also- make sure you see this on IMAX if you haven’t. totally worth it. my fear of heights was all too present watching those souring shots on that giant crystal clear screen. i’m so glad i’ve seen my two favorite films of the year in this format so far. i wonder if i can still go catch kung fu panda again…

so yeah.  that was awesome.  but we still had the series finale of avatar the last airbender to look forward too (except for the whole “it’s gonna be over!” part). anyhoo, we watched it last night.  and…

I CAN”T BELIEVE IT’S OVER! i have never been so completely in love with a show in my entire life.  i’ve never been in to a show where i could never decide who my favorite character was because they were all great.  ALL of them.  and the show completely delivered on what it’s been building to for three seasons (or.. *ahem*  books). it was just fantastic.  the choreography on those final battle scenes was incredible (i want to see those storyboards).  the music was exceptional (i want a score for avatar SO bad). and the relationships? the relationships?? everything was resolved so well. i couldn’t have more respect for the people responsible for this show. they were able to create something that is going to inspire me to create and tell stories and make art for the rest of my life.  well done guys!  bravo!

now i can’t help thinking, how in the heck is shyamalan going to even come close to the scope, action and humor of avatar in live action? i have huge doubts.

new art tomorrow! or wednesday! i promise!

also, last night before bed, i finished reading the last volume of y the last man. trust me when i say i’m not going to spoil anything here (i’d never want to spoil a series this good for anyone), but i just have to write something. i could not sleep after putting down that book. i was seriously wide awake for over two hours thinking about what i had read.  i should have just got up and gone drawn or something, but i really wanted to fall asleep.  but i couldn’t!  it was like this mixed up emotion of being depressed that this great story i’ve been reading forever was over and the excitement of going out to san diego next weekend.

and then i realized what i was really depressed about.

it wasn’t anything directly related to anything within the last volume. i was depressed over what i had read over the course of the entire series.  the whole time i was reading about yorick and agent 355 and dr mann and the countless other very real characters vaughan had created, i just wanted to know what happened next.  i think i read the ytlm trades faster than any book i ever have before.  the story was just really riveting i guess.  i wanted to know the cause of the mystery.  i wanted to know where yorick and co were going to go next.  and who they were going to run into. but then, it was over. and i couldn’t spend time with them anymore.

and i realized this is how i kinda go through life. i’m always looking for what’s next. or working towards what’s next. and not really focusing on spending time with what’s actually happening all around me. after reading ytlm, i wish i didn’t read through it so quickly. i wish i spent more time with the characters. and luckily, being a book, i can go back and read their adventure all over again someday.  but i only get one shot at this life i’m living now, so i better take the time to take it all in while i can.

years from now, when i’m looking back on this day, i might not even remember posting this entry. i might not even remember that i had just finished ytlm or been excited about heading out to sdcc. but i do know i want to remember that hug i got from jen this morning when she told me she loved me before rushing off to work.  and ash falling up against my leg purring for attention. and my sister emailing me to let me know she’s going to pitch in some money to make sure i’m able to eat while i’m out west.  and eating two bites of that strange foreign honey candy my boss brought back from greece before throwing it in the garbage.  those are the reasons to take time out during the day.

but i don’t. i’m off to the next thing, ready to see what happens next. and not taking the time to take in what’s happening now. that’s why i was depressed.

(MAJOR YTLM SPOILIER WARNING- CLICK HERE ONLY AT YOUR OWN RISK!)

and yes, i know this is the second post in as many days with no new artwork.  i’ll get that fixed right away.

well, not entirely. i did stay pretty busy. first off, me and all of the lunchbox funnies guys were asked to provide some guest strips for scott kurtz of pvp fame. and because we at lunchbox all think scott is a super great guy, most of us said yes (that and the promise of increased traffic to our sites is always a good bribe). click here to read mine!

also- i worked on the parable site a bit. the book is completely done, so i thought a little revamp of the site would be nice while we scout for publishers. especially since i won’t have much to update on it till we actually have one.

also- i added my current seed blog comic panels to comicspace in an effort to get more use out of a great community that i rarely ever visit (but should!). once i get around to drawing more of those, i’ll update them on there as well as here.

also- i started playing zelda: twilight princess on wii finally! and it was so worth the wait.

also- i saw the simpsons on friday and thought it was hillarious. and before going to the theater i simpsonized myself!

jen and i are seeing travis tonight in orlando. before the concert we’re going to try to visit one of those 7-elevens they turned into kwik-e-marts. :)

yeah, these are all over the place. i’m a little late to the party. jen did one too.

so last year i:

became more public about my faith in Christ.
started to act on that.
started a christian comic anthology.
got mentioned on drawn!.
joined drawergeeks.
drew a backup story for a comic.
gained a new niece.
finally went to comic con (and met many friends!).
started a new job (which i love).
reached 127 strips of cow & buffalo.
published a book (yes! i did! more on that later!).
saw two of my best friends get married.
made many new friends both online and off.
drew everyday, 365 days in a row.
created more illustrations in one year then i have the entire time i’ve been out of college.
discovered pocky.
started up seed again (albeit slowly)
and created this blog.

it felt like a great 2006. and no doubt it all stems from those first two things i mentioned. chances are, troubled times are ahead, but i still have the feeling 2007 will be better then the last. :)