Daily Sketch #230

Quantum of Solace

Did anyone else find Quantum of Solace a bit disappointing? 

Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad per say. But compared to the revolutionary Casino Royale, it just wasn't as strong. One of my biggest problem with it was that it was a direct sequel to Casino Royale. What I mean by that is I don't think you could watch Quantum of Solace without first having watched Casino Royale. When I was a kid and first discovered James Bond, it was on ABC Saturday Night Movies. They aired out of order and I never knew or cared. I was just excited to see a new Bond movie. That was missing for me in Quantum of Solace. 

Anyway, here's a random sketch from the honeymoon.

Blog Sketch #203

Tomb Raider

The other night I caught "Tomb Raider" or "Tomb Raider 2" on TV. I think it was the latter, but honestly who can tell. It's still a cheesy movie, but the perfect movie to air late at night on cable. The thing that struck me was how different Angelina Jolie's face looked just a few years ago. It was so much rounder and full. 

VERSUS

Anyway, Tomb Raider inspired the following African Warrior drawing in a weird way. Don't know why, but that's how my head works.

Daily Sketch #200

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Okay, that's probably BS, but I had to

 explain the delay in getting sketch #200 up, right? It might even make sense that I didn't have the sketch ready and was pulling my hair out over getting the best sketch together for the landmark #200. But no, that's not it. I had the sketch ready. I've just been doing so much traveling and work has been so hectic I haven't had time to post the entry. Sigh... I know, it's a lame excuse but it's the truth. 

So without further ado, here's #200. For those of you that get this, it'll be pretty hilarious. For the rest of you, probably kind of silly. Enjoy.

As a bonus, here's probably the funniest damn bit of viral marketing I've seen in a long ass time.

Daily Sketch #196

Hold Up

Here's a quick sketch of a guy holding a gun. I really ended up happy with the pose and motion. The foreshortening actually worked out really well which is a rare thing for me.

D and I watched "Sicko" last night. I'm not a Michael Moore fan, but it was definitely a compelling editorial about what's wrong with the US healthcare industry. I'm not sure I buy into letting the government take over completely, I've seen how our government runs other agencies and it doesn't inspire me. That being said, it seems pretty obvious that the current system is broken.

The French get 5 weeks vacation and a 35 hour work week? What is that?!

Blog Sketch #185

Just Doodling

Keeping up with my sketching, yay! D and I were watching "Transformers" last night on the new TV (which looked awesome) and I did some doodling. No idea who this is, but I took some inspiration from a recent Gnomen DVD I was watching of David Finch drawing. That and I think Indiana Jones was on the brain...

Daily Sketch #182

I Got My New Scanner to Work!

Success! I managed to get my new scanner at the office to work. Woo-hoo! So here's the first new sketch (hopefully in a nice long unbroken line of them).

Going to go catch Indy 4 this weekend. I've heard mixed reviews so I'll be interested to see how it turns out. I love the Indy movies, but I don't have the diehard attachment as some people. The trailer looks cool as hell.

Daily Sketch #164

Unlike David We Get No Sleep

Another page in progress update from "Dead Inspector" as David 'listens' intently to his girl Ashley. Not that I endorse this kind of behavior or ever engage in it...

So this weekend we have D's sister and her infant neice visiting us. We're loving spending time with both of them and of course the little baby is the center of attention where ever we go. D is fighting a pretty severe sinus infection, so between coughing, trouble breathing, and crying baby in the wee hours of the night - sleep has not been a friend the past couple of nights. The strange part is I don't remember wakening a lot during the night, but still feel exhausted when I wake up. It's a nice little insight into future parenthood.

Also... Sarah Silverman is awesome. Enjoy.

And enjoy the new "Wanted" trailer which aired during the Super Bowl last night. I'm baised but I think it looks badass.

Daily Sketch #161

Rambo

Part of a page in progress for Dead Inspector where David and Ashley share a quiet couple moment. Enjoy.

Last night, my buddy Joe and I paid homage to 80s maniliness and grabbed some ribs for dinner and then went and plopped out $10 down to see "Rambo". Oh, wow... was it awful. But awesome awful, filled with ridiculous gore and blood. Stallone (who also directed and co-wrote) didn't miss a single chance to show your decapitations, maimings, or guts. Did you miss that head flying off, don't worry just give it a minute. Plus the obligatory machine gun scene was even more absurd than the last Rambo movie. And prior to the Rambo induced carnage beginning, Stallone made sure you knew the bad guys were REALLY bad, that way no matter what Rambo did to them you would feel they had it coming. I leave you with a picture of Sly in gentler days...

The icing on the cake of seeing Rambo last night was two awesomely bad trailers that ran before it. Enjoy "Midnight Meat Train" and "Doomsday"!

Daily Sketch #146

Samurai Chic

I pulled this sketch out of the mindscape ether (i.e. I have no idea where it came from). Just a cool female samurai with a dragon motif. It probably stemmed from some Witchblade related thing I was thinking about at work.

Yesterday was crazy on the email as folks were dropping lines left and right to congratulate me over the job change. It was nice to hear from everyone and have folks be so positive. As my buddy Mark Britt said, "Bask in the glow" and I have been. Well, when folks haven't been hitting me up for a job. It cracks me up, as if there's some lottery where if you are the first person to email asking for work - you win! (There's not.)


D and I watched "Queen" last night and both thought it was incredibly well acted and compelling. We also watched a made for TV version of "Picture of Dorian Grey" from what looked like the late 70s, which was neither well acted nor compelling. Pity.

Daily Sketch #135

More Page Work

Here's another panel in progress from page 15 of "Dead Inspector".

The vain part of me was very amused to find an entry for my name on the Comic Book DB website.

Fast Food Nation made me happy that I don't ever eat fast food burgers anymore. And made me think twice about ordering a burger period.

Daily Sketch #133

Hoodie Guy

Just a quick warm up sketch of a guy wearing a hoodie. Somewhat inspired by watching "Superbad" again last night. Joe said I should have done some penis guy drawings like Seth did in the movie. But then again Mom reads the blog and what would she think...

Looking forward to getting the X-Box back today from the repair center. Woot!

Daily Sketch #130

Light Line Drawing


Using a very thin pen I did a quick head sketch with no real blacks laid into it. Just a fun warmup experiment. Not sure who this guy is to be honest.

I saw the "Namesake" last night and really enjoyed it. Kal Penn gave a solid performance but the real shining star in the movie was the woman who played his mother, Tabu, a Bollywood actress. Great movie about family, love, and discovering who you are. Also watched "Number 23" over the weekend which wasn't anything ground-breaking but certainly an entertaining Friday night thriller. Oh and we put up our Christmas decorations this weekend including our decorating the tree. The trouble twins (cats) proceeded to knock have the ornaments off this morning.

Daily Sketch #122

Dwarven Viking



Inspired a bit by Kenneth Rocafort's sketchbook this weekend and a bit by the incredibly cheesy but bloody "Pathfinder" I watched on the flight back to Baltimore, here's a double dose of dwarven viking warrior (to make up for my lack of sketch yesterday). I like the profile shot better than than the full figure.

In other news it looks like my X-Box 360 has the red light of death flashing and games are freezing inexplicably. Here's hoping Xbox Customer Service can help me out...

And excitingly enough I found out last night that my sister Anna will appear on an upcoming episode of MTV's "Made". Pretty damn cool! I'll let folks know once I know the air date.

Daily Sketch #114

Something New on The Blog

You may notice something new on the blog today. In the right column (scroll down) you will see some Google ads. I've decided to see if my free sketches can generate a little extra income for me (why not, right?). So if you enjoy the free sketches and drop by the blog on a regular basis, you can support me by clicking on a link from one of the ads. I've decided to go with the least intrusive option by utilizing the text only ads and only ads the relate to the content of my blog. Any and all clicks are appreciated.

I'm also toying with the idea of making some of the original sketches available for sale but haven't quite thought that one through. If that comes to fruition, you folks will be the first to know.

Today's sketch is David and Steve having a conversation over a cup of coffee (a complete panel from the current page). Quick observation - there are no good coffee joints in Central Virginia or North Carolina. It seems to be the last area in the country that Starbucks hasn't penetrated with the ridiculous saturation that is omni-present in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. I can't remember the last time I had to LOOK for Starbucks. In Durham, NC the only one I saw was in a Barnes and Noble. There's not even a Dunkin Donuts off the highway. Just gas stations and fast food. With Maxwell House (or something equally dreadful).

Also, I watched Ghost Rider yesterday. My mistake. It's every bit as bad as you've heard. Worse in fact. I would go so far as to say that Mark Steven Johnson should never be allowed to make movies again. He's done Daredevil, Elektra, and Ghost Rider. Three strikes and you are out my friend.

Daily Sketch #111

Panel In Progress (More!)

Here's a the panel from Dead Inspector with David at a grave site coming together further. Oooo, progress!

In other news, I saw American Gangster this weekend and it was quite excellent. Both Denzel and Russell Crowe put out killer performances. I love Denzel as a bad guy because he always plays them with such depth. Another actor would have turned that role into a charactiture but in Denzel's hands it was a fully fleshed sympathetic character. Crowe also delivered a principled but quite flawed hero. The only negative I have is it was a bit on the long side. Solidly recommended.

And a great weekend retreated for writing with my boys Andy and John. It was excellent to take that much time to reconnect with them, brainstorm, and get writing done. Plus a fun roadtrip to NC and bad meals at local joints and a Cracker Barrel breakfast. C and B, boys. C and B.

Daily Sketch #110

Another Sneak Peek

Here's another look at a panel in progress from the current page of "Dead Inspector". This one is of Captain Miller who's made a bevy of appearances on the blog recently.

Also make sure you check out www.wantedmovie.com to see the first official trailer for Top Cow's Wanted film (coming out March 28, 2008). We're all pretty stoked at work about this project. You'll also be able to see it this weekend when you go to "American Gangster" starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

Daily Sketch #97

I am Iron Man

It's Superhero Friday. For anyone who hasn't seen the Iron Man trailer with Robert Downey Jr., you should check it out. Downey totally gets the character of Tony Stark. And the Iron Man suit (the modern one) looks awesome. Plus they included Black Sabbath at the end. Rock.

I was thinking if Tony Stark was a real person he would be Richard Branson. I could totally see Sir Richard putting on a flying metal suit.

Also check out the trailer for The Golden Compass. Fighting warrior polar bears, angry monkeys, and Sam Elliot. I'm in.

Lastly, I'm looking at getting out of my Verizon contract. Apparently new fed regulations say that if you can find someone to take over your mobile contract your wireless provider can't charge you an early termination fee. I have a year left on my Family Share plan with 2 phones, which I'll throw in for free for anyone who wants the contract. You can find out more HERE.

(yes, I want an iPhone).

Daily Sketch #89

It's October?!

Wow. The year moves way too quickly. Really, just way too fast. It seems like just the other day it was the dead of summer filled with oppressive heat and for me running from one city to another for trade shows. This morning I got up to go for a run and realized it was still pretty much pitch black outside at a time when a few weeks back the sun would be coming up.

The weekend was gorgeous though and I managed to get a bunch of yard work done on Saturday. While I really enjoyed the time spent outside in the cool Fall weather, I couldn't help but notice how quickly the weekend flies by when you basically spend a day doing chores. Welcome to being an adult I suppose.

I saw "The Kingdom" over the weekend and thought it was an enjoyable and clever movie. Sure it had some flaws, but overall it was enjoyable and thought-provoking. I also saw "Fracture" on DVD over the weekend and thought it was a pretty mediocre murder mystery. I fell asleep during the tail end of it. Take that for what you will.

Anyway enough blabbering and here's the sketch. Steve from "Dead Inspector". Have a good week, all.

Daily Sketch #85

Eastern Promises

I saw "Eastern Promises" over the weekend and thought it was a great movie. After Lord of the Rings I think I'd watch Viggo in just about anything, but the combination of him and director David Cronenberg is incredibly solid. The movie had a number of great visuals including the Russian prison tattoos and mafia "captain stars". Those inspired the sketch below.

I also saw "Shoot Em Up" this weekend. Which was awful. Just plain bad, bad, bad. Why Paul Giamatti? Why?

Daily Sketch #65

Sometimes It Gets Rough in Pittsburgh

David from Dead Inspector has apparently gotten into some heavy $h!t in Pittsburgh and is in the process of dragging himself up some stairs. Or something like that.

Watched "Hot Fuzz" last night with D and some friends and it was wicked funny. The team from "Shaun of The Dead" worked the same magic on cop action movies. There's a priceless "Point Break" moment at the end that's well worth seeing.