George Pérez.  Scarlet Witch. ‘Nuff Said.

They call her the McDonald’s Hunter
‘Cause she grills both men and meals.
Double timing blood and grease with
Deadpan mannequin counter face.

“How may I serve you?”
“Babe, you’re dead sexy.”
“Your order’s up.”
“I haven’t ordered.”
“Don’t call me babe.”

Her teeth glare and moonlight blinds me.

“You don’t get fries with that. “

Her rich dad makes her work here.
He won’t give this demon fox
The allowance she deserves
And she won’t give me the
Rending of flesh my body
Desperately needs every
Time I order McNuggets and a Coke.

Today I was drawing the X-Men and I was looking at back issues for inspiration.   I kept returning to the issues drawn by the late great master Dave Cockrum. There’s just something fascinating about his linework!  I couldn’t ask for a better artist to emulate. Here’s some images that I found from his tribute website.  I encourage you check out more of his work.  Here’ some of my favorites below!

The whole gang is here in this classic look at the X-Men. Now that I think about it, I think my favorite X-Men from this era are the top three in this image.

Avengers Assemble! Well, at least three of them took the time to show up. Hawkeye, Goliath and Black Widow look positively dynamic in this piece. I’m not keen on the random shape behind them, but I’m sure Dave had his reasons.

Once upon a time, Mantis and the Swordsman were newlyweds! Now Mantis is green (Does anyone know how that came about?) and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Swordsman is no longer among the living. There’s that distracting shape in the background again. Grrr.

The Vision and Captain America arrive late to my Avengers Assemble call. Better late than never as they say. I’m loving how haunted the Vision looks and Cap’s expression is priceless.  I think the circle works better here than the amputated triangles shown in the two images above.

It’s a Knight! Of horses? Or maybe he’s the Rook! Could he be the Rook Knight? Does he have special chess powers? I don’t know. However, I really love the design of this character from his winged helmet to his science fiction boots. Cockrum knew how to design a costume, sometimes merging seemingly disparate elements into a cohesive whole!

Cockrum’s creation, the amazing Nightcrawler, is having a bit of a hard time in this last image.   Dave obviously had a great sense of humor.  The inclusion of the vulture is simply too funny!

Thanks for checking out Dave’s art with me! I hope it inspires you like it has me!

I can dive into ancient wetness
I can soak my senses in salty brine
I can turn my back on the highest heavens
releasing breath and light
losing my flesh in shadow.
I descend in spirit form
haunting merfolk and pirate ships.
Surrendering to the invisible roiling
realm of the underworld. Death Gate.
Time to time one craves the
possibilities of creative darkness.

~STORM

Oh, X-Men Forever, how I want to love you!  Really, I do!  I love the concept and I love the era in which the comic takes place (The conceit of this title is that it picks up right after legendary author Chris Claremont was forced off the title 16 years ago).  Having Dave Cockrum covers like the one above is certainly a nice treat!   However, I have not been loving this series.  It was a refreshing switcheroo to have Wolverine taken off the playing board right off the bat, and I even enjoyed the “evil” Storm that came out of nowhere.  It was a bit madcap and perhaps it was done for shock value, but it certainly got my attention.  I started off reading the series with the excitement I used to feel when I was a younger reader, but that excitement diminished with each issue.  Kitty somehow absorbs/phases one of Wolverine’s claws?  There’s a possible child clone of Storm?  And to add insult to injury, she’s going to be called Lil ‘Ro? Professor Xavier is keeping secrets?  Nick Fury is going to be a mainstay character in the title?  A whole issue is dedicated to exploring the background of another Trask descendant?  Oh, but wait, the real clone may be the evil Storm?  It’s all too much.  It feels like Claremont decided to jettison all the elements that made the old X-Men stories beloved.  Killing off Wolverine (although we’ve been treated to flashback stories about Logan and Nick Fury after his death) in favor of a toothless Sabretooth falls flat for me.  Evil Storm and child Storm are two Storms too many (I can’t believe I just said that!) and the fact that one of them might be a clone is an old chestnut that has lost its flavor.  Breaking up Jean and Scott over an affair that never happened feels forced to me.  Okay, Jean held a torch for Logan and was keeping his secrets.  And how many more stories do we need about Xavier keeping secrets?  

*shakes head*

I want to like this title.  I really want to love it.  But upcoming solicits like the following aren’t going to make me hold my breath for a glimmer of excellence. 

X-MEN FOREVER #15 & 16

Written by CHRIS CLAREMONT
Penciled by PETER VALE (#15) & TBA (#16)
Cover by TOM GRUMMETT
GREAT JUMPING ON POINT…the fate of PERFECT STORM! The last time we saw Storm, she was fleeing from the X-Men, having blinded Sabretooth and killed Logan. Now, we turn our focus to Wakanda to see what became of the evil clone of the woman that the X-Men loved and trusted. ALSO: new two-part story starting with Issue 16 as CHRIS CLAREMONT continues his landmark run on X-MEN FOREVER! Don’t miss a single panel! Plus, an extra feature detailing a timeline of what other Marvel Universe stories were occurring during the current X-Men Forever saga!
#15 – 40 PGS./Rated A …$3.99
#16 – 32 PGS./Rated A …$3.99

Tom Grummett is certainly a capable artist and I have read that Claremont enjoys collaborating with him.  However, Grummett’s art, while serviceable, doesn’t excite me.  I find his figures to be pretty standard, lacking a sense of pizzaz.  Costume design is rather generic as the above image represents.  This Storm must be pretty evil as she’s wearing hand me downs from Captain Universe.  It doesn’t bode well that the artist for #16 is To Be Announced.  Hopefully Paul Smith will pick up the pencil for a few more issues, but even his art has been more than a bit loose for my taste.  I was willing to drink from the well of super-scribe Claremont, but in regards to this series at least, the well seems a bit shallow.  

I miss this Storm (words by Claremont and art by Cockrum).  Fierce, determined, and fueled by naivete and outrage.  This is a character worth reading about with no need of clones or alignment changes to make her interesting.

The page above comes from the Classic X-Men reprint series and is drawn by Dave Cockrum.  It was inserted in between pages 3 and 4 of Uncanny X-Men #104.  I always love seeing the human touches on original art pages even if it’s just the series title and page numbers.  It’s a glimpse of the magic behind the scenes that makes the art process relatable.  I find it inspirational.  Part of me wishes that Claremont had run with a Logan and Ororo romance in X-Men Forever.  What other place could this relationship be properly explored?  And Banshee’s alive in this alternate reality!  Hopefully he’ll return to the team, but I highly doubt it.  He was briefly seen at Wolverine’s funeral, but he was canoodling with Moira MacTaggert.  I’m still going to keep reading X-Men Forever, but I hope the series tightens up its cast and plotlines.  This book has the enviable position to explore new territory with some of the most interesting characters in comics.  I hope it gets around to it.

Halloween may have been yesterday, but today we take a look at some versions of Storm that definitely celebrate the spirit of the holiday!

This classic Bill Sienkiewicz cover depicts Storm as a thrall to Dracula!  This story was a thrilling read when I was younger.  I could not fathom a way that Storm could reverse the vampiric curse!

You actually have to read Uncanny X-Men #159 before you read the Annual.  Brent Anderson drew this stunning cover.  Oh, the horror!

This mini-series featured a Storm from an alternate reality who due to her time in Limbo has lost her natural mutant powers and instead relies on magick.

This is the original artwork of that same cover by the legendary John Buscema!  What an amazing look from behind the scenes!

I leave you with an Andy Kubert drawn Storm dressed as a witch from the 1996 Fleer trading card set.  Happy Halloween!

Starting in November I will be teaching a doll workshop at Swankety Swank!  Now you can learn how to modify Barbie dolls like the ones I sell on etsy!  You can choose to take one class or all four!  Here’s the syllabus!

Building a Better Doll: Doll Shaman 101

Ready to modify your Barbie? In this class I will teach you how to transform your doll into your own One Of A Kind creation! You will learn how to properly repaint your doll’s face, modify her arms and curl her hair with each of the classes. We are focusing on completing one doll for this workshop but you will need to bring at least three Barbie dolls. Your Barbie dolls need to have long straight hair and plastic arms that are not jointed at the elbows. $20 fee per class $10 material fee.

A New Face: Removing the factory paint and repainting your Barbie’s face!  Sunday, November 15 3-5pm

Body Sculpting: Learn how to shape your Barbie doll’s arms and hands!  Sunday, November 22 3-5pm

Curls, Curls, Curls: It’s time for a permanent wave!  Sunday, November 29 3-5pm

Getting Dressed: Hand sewing an outfit for your doll!  Sunday, December 6 3-5pm

I’m super excited about this class!  Here are some dolls from my modified doll collection!

Oyanara is looking particularly fierce with her face paint and faux fur sheath dress!

Mother Gatekeeper and her Runechildren pose for a heartwarming family portrait!

Maricopa wears her distressed hair and faux fur outfit proudly as she walks down Divisadero Corridor to go shopping at Swankety Swank!  Be sure to check out all of the classes offered!

I am totally off my rocker for this amazing artwork by Corey Lewis for Strange Tales #3 from Marvel Comics!   Many thanks to Robot 6 at Comic Book Resources for featuring this preview!

The X-Men as a band is a great concept and I am loving who Corey picked. Of course the amazing thing about this story is that it features Longshot searching for Dazzler! It’s exciting to see such a great talent taking one of my favorite eras of the X-Men and making it so contemporary and fresh! Let’s just say that this mohawk Storm has a very special place in my heart already!

Last week’s Alternative Press Expo was amazing!  Debuting my first mini-comic was a great experience.  I loved seeing a lot of people I talked to last year as well as meeting a horde of new folks this year!  Press has been very kind to me and my funny book endeavor and I am feeling so much gratitude that it is simply quite humbling, dear reader!

Princess Witch Boy made it into the take home pile of JK Parkin from Robot 6 of Comic Book Resources, Comicvine reporter Sara Lima interviewed me on the first day of APE in a heartfelt exchange of mutual admiration, and JK Parker quotes me in his article about “The Garage Band of Comic Cons.”

Sara Lima is the Lois Lane of our generation!  Her energy is infectious! You can really tell that she loves comics!  Check her articles out on Comicvine and chat her up in the comments section!  Start up a conversation with her about Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl or Namor the Submariner, but make sure you know what you’re talking about!  Not only is she smart like Lois Lane, but she is also tough like Wonder Woman!  To wit:

I really wish I had met Sara at WonderCon when I was dressed as Black Widow! What fun we would have had!  There’s always next Con!

So, after you watch the video and read JK’s articles, check out two pages from Princess Witch Boy.  The meaning behind the pages may seem a bit esoteric, but please remember that they are taken out of context.  I wanted to share some of the work without giving it all away.   The image below depicts Princess Witch Boy drawing under the protective powers of an Egyptian Goddess.  (And yes, these pix have ginormous borders).

I had a hard time coming up with a three dimensional design for the Goddess, and by that I mean I wanted a more realistic approach to her without resorting to flat hieroglyphs.  For a few weeks I was really stuck.  Then on my birthday I went to the Tutankhamen exhibit here in San Francisco and I had a sign.  My Goddess was beautifully rendered at the head of a Queen’s sarcophagus and her sister was at the feet.  Yes, I’m being deliberately vague about the identity of the Goddess right now and I never call her by name in the pages of Princess Witch Boy.  However, I do draw her hieroglyph in the book.  So it’s not exactly a secret, but it’s also not important that I name the Goddess in Book One.  There’s already enough people to get to know in the beginning.  I will reveal more about this Goddess in Book Two.

Velvet is one of the three women that Princess Witch Boy turns into in his imagination.  Her story runs concurrently with his in Book Four.   Velvet is a magickal hybrid of human and djinn.  As such, she has untapped potential and power.  However, Vivian Van Ray, the daughter of billionaire tycoon Count Vincent Van Ray, would rather stay at home in her greenhouse studio and paint all day.  Then something happens that rips her from the safety of her father, her art and her home.  A betrayal of blood at first and the worst of all prisons in the end.

Velvet is a very important character for me because she was the first superhero that I traced off of a comic book to get the proportions right.   I used to trace all of the bodies for my female characters off of Storm from Classic X-Men #3 and the How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way image of Susan Storm.  The Reed Richards image from the book was used in conjunction with a Hal Jordan Green Lantern comic to trace the bodies of the male characters.  I’ve have drawn Velvet all of my life and she’s gone through many incarnations.  I love her most recent one the best and that is how it should be.  Looking forward to sharing her story with you, dear reader.

However, now I must show you some fun pictures from APE antics!  Indulge me! if you will, as I celebrate some fabulous folks!  What an amazing coincidence that I appear in every photogtraph!  Enjoy!

My buddy the wizard wunderkind Tristan Leder shows his Princess Witch Boy pride by wearing the appropriate color for the launch!  Much love to Wuvable Oaf for bringing the pink in the first place!  Check out Tristan’s blog for some amazing King City art by Brandon Graham!

More Wuvable Oaf love brought to you by yours truly and the #1 White Queen fan in the multiverse Ken Kneisel!

Writers Old Fashioned give good booth!  From left to right, yours truly, Emily Stackhouse, DangerBob and Steph Godfrey!

And I leave you with one of my favorite images from the weekend.  At Isotope’s APE Aftermath party, James Sime relays very important information to me and I pay close attention.  Time has stopped and we are casting spells like the comic book sorcerers that we are!  Or maybe he’s telling me to go clean up all the empty cocktail cups off of the window ledge.  Yeah, that’s probably it.

ENDLESS

Lately when I go outside
The skies cry that the worst is over
Is this the place we are supposed to be?
Something is reaching out to me
Should I be walking back or forward?
Is the wait enough to make you go down on your knees?

Maybe, we’ll be alright
In a long run that seems like heaven
Like hearing silence far away
And lifting high
I know the pressure is on
In a race for the life of endless love
If it seems too much
Remember
All these things are endless

Midnight has been calling me
With a feeling that could be deadly
I can love the fall ’cause that’s a part of me
Drifting in several different worlds
With the stars colliding all around you
I can feel the distance to a past that’s on its way.