[	Tags	|	black bolt, inhumans, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, kirby, lockjaw, marvel comics	]
[	mood	|	cheerful	]
[	music	|	My Chemical Romance - This Is How I Disappear	]

My Favorite Characters: Black Bolt (with Lockjaw) !

My TMNT piece got DAILY DEVIATION (3/2/07)! . Still catching up on all my messages since Friday-- Thanks, all! Made my day.

The first time I read a Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four, the Inhumans guest-starred... and WOW. Just wow-- those Inhumans weren't like ANYTHING else in comics. CLEARLY a Kirby creation, The Inhumans were led by the silent Black Bolt, whose voice could topple mountains-- and even on the printed page, his presence was breathtaking. Sheer power in a somber shell. Married to the prehensile haired Medusa, Gorgon with the thundering hooves, Karnak with the fists that can shatter anything, Crystal who could... uh... win Johnny's affections? hehehehe-- Add in Lockjaw, their giant, slobbering, teleporter dog and you had me fascinated at every turn.

Jack Kirby was a true visionary, and it's his creations like Black Bolt, Kamandi, the FF, Captain America-- that really drive home this point. I wish I had HALF the drive Kirby possessed-- or the creativity! Just the sheer number of amazing, original ideas he had stun me every time I see his name.

A good friend of mine (whose art trumps mine easily-- check out his work here at DeviantArt here-- ([link]) recently sent me some old Kirby FFs, each with Inhumans stories. I could not put them DOWN! Stunning what you could achieve with so few pages back then. Wow.

So as I finish my daily "favorite characters" series, I look back over just a fraction of the characters that make me smile everytime I read their adventures... and what a list! Easily enough to fill a sketchbook at the very least. Along the way, I hit just about every major publisher and genre in the comics scene... and yet there are still so many more characters I WANT to draw!

Don't worry, I plan to keep adding to the series at least once a week or more-- I just need to focus on some pretty amazing projects I have on my plate for awhile. I hope you've been as inspired as much as I have!

Go out there and create something... I look forward to seeing what you're doing as well!

So there ya go! Check my blog tomorrow for more as I continue-- These pieces are ALL AVAILABLE FOR SALE and I'm also available for COMMISSIONS! Contact me if you're interested and we'll make things happen.


- jeremy dale

[	Tags	|	image comics, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, tellos	]
[	mood	|	jubilant	]
[	music	|	Hoobastank - Let It Out	]

My Favorite Characters: Tellos (w/ Koj, Jarek, and Serra) !

My TMNT piece got DAILY DEVIATION (3/2/07)! . Still catching up on all my messages since Friday-- Thanks, all! Made my day.

First off, Happy Anniversary, Kelly! It's been a wonderful four years of marriage so far.

Now then, let's talk Tellos. Todd Dezago and Mike Wieringo created what was, in my mind, the greatest modern comic book when they created Tellos. In an era when JoeMad's Battlechasers showed us the glory of a more "arcade" fantasy feel, Tellos brought in a fantastic tale of adventure and wonder in an all-ages format.

This isn't a children's book, per se-- I don't like it when people automatically assume that "all ages" means "for kids". No, Tellos had levels of entertainment, and several cliffhangers that left me speechless. I remembered what it was to be EXCITED about reading comics again, and inspired me to create exciting, fun comics as well.

I know you guys want to bring Tellos back again, and that you love the characters, so make it happen! There's no better time to bring in a new audience to marvel at the adventures of Koj, Jarek, Serra, Thomatharustra (I think I spelled that right), Scatterjack, Hawke, Rikk, and the rest. Man, do I miss it.

Heh-- and might I add that I waited a full year to see how the HUGE cliffhanger resolved itself (anyone who has read it knows what I'm talking about, it's too good to spoil here). My comic shop at the time simply didn't get a copy in, so I hit comic shop after comic shop and convention after convention trying to find the next issue the whole of the next year... until FINALLY I found one. I bought two, since my wife immediately ripped it from my hands to read it herself. GREAT STORY.

Tellos. Image Comics. Dezago and 'Ringo. Check it out.

So there ya go! Check my blog tomorrow for more as I continue-- These pieces are ALL AVAILABLE FOR SALE and I'm also available for COMMISSIONS! Contact me if you're interested and we'll make things happen.


- jeremy dale

[	Tags	|	captain america, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, marvel comics	]
[	mood	|	optimistic	]
[	music	|	Chris Daughtry - What I Want (Featuring Slash)	]

My Favorite Characters: Captain America (w/ Falcon)!

My TMNT piece got DAILY DEVIATION (3/2/07)! . Still catching up on all my messages since Friday-- Thanks, all! Made my day.

It's been a crazy month and a half so far, what with my "Favorite Characters" sketchseries and the Daily Deviation, buying a new couch, new car, and sadly... a death in the family. Thanks to all of those for their kind words on encouragement lately-- you guys and gals rock.

Captain America-- the greatest soldier that ever lived. Cap, trained to master every form of martial arts and fighting style on the planet. A master of combat and war strategy. Unstoppable, even in the midst of gods and the impossible. Leader of the Avengers, even though he has no powers of his own.

Captain America freakin' rules.

It's no wonder he's in my top 3 favorite characters ever. Over the years his book has seen a LOT of great creative runs-- Simon/Kirby, Lee/Kirby, Stern/Byrne, DeMatteis/Zeck, Waid/Garney, Brubaker/Epting... great stories, epic adventure. If superheroes were real, Cap is the one above all others I'd want to be around in a dangerous situation.

However, a lot of people see him as campy, old-timey, and guy that loves to make huge, long, boring speeches. THOSE PEOPLE ARE WRONG. Captain America is more about symbolizing the best of what makes America itself great... specifically, the ability to rise up from nothing and still succeed. NOTHING stops Cap.

I added in Falcon here because he's easily the best partner Cap has ever had, and is pretty cool in his own right, even garnering his name on Cap's book, a miniseries, a place in the Avengers (at first just because he is Black, later on earning it), and a new series started up just so they could team up AGAIN fairly recently.

So here we are-- I'm drawing some heavyweights in my "favorite characters" this week, and this is probably the biggest on the list (this week at least).

Captain America's book is better than ever right now, by the way-- Brubaker and Epting (and occasional fill-in artists) have been doing the quintessential Cap book, and it's been an amazing ride. Pick it up, I think you'll like it a LOT. Quite possibly the best mainstream superhero comicbook of late.

So there ya go! Check my blog tomorrow for more as I continue-- These pieces are ALL AVAILABLE FOR SALE and I'm also available for COMMISSIONS! Contact me if you're interested and we'll make things happen.


- jeremy dale

[	Tags	|	black cat, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, marvel comics, spider-man, spiderman	]
[	mood	|	nostalgic	]
[	music	|	My Chemical Romance - The Black Parade	]

My Favorite Characters: Black Cat w/ black symbiote Spider-Man!

Now we're talkin'! First off, let me just say that Spider-Man should totally be with Mary Jane-- PERIOD. Now that that's outta the way, let me praise the awesomeness that is the team of Spider-Man (in his symbiote black uniform) and Black Cat...

They just look freakin' cool. Black Cat is a hot character, obviously-- but more importantly, Spider-Man had reinvented his look in comics at the time. Fans said boo, it'll never last or be well-received. They were wrong. That outfit is clearly the second greatest in his closet, right behind the classic original (obviously), and history agrees. Marvel had redesigned a lot of the looks of their characters in the 80s-- just check out my Storm pic from a few days ago to see another popular 80s choice.

It was a cool time in comics-- sales were steadily moving up, superheroes were in the mainstream, and things looked pretty bright for comics and the new generation of creators coming in-- Art Adams, Adam Hughes, Byrne at his finest, Perez on Crisis, Mike Zeck... a lot of these guys had been around before, but it wasn't until the 80s that they hit legendary status... in my opinion, obviously. It clearly inspired me, and of course the Image boys as well as the current generation of upcoming creators. Just an exciting time.

As a team and a couple they were cool, too-- it was the most bizarre of Peter's relationships, what with she not even LIKING Peter but loving the Spider... and seeing them take on foes together was a nice change of pace. I'm really pleased that Black Cat is coming back into the Spider-continuity of late... and that the black costume is back on Spidey. I've MISSED it. It just looks so cool. Movie tie-in or no, it's freakin' awesome.

I really want to draw these two again. Maybe I'll sneak them in as cameos on other "favorites" pieces. All I know is, I don't have it out of my system on these two... not by a long shot.

So there ya go! Check my blog tomorrow for more as I continue-- These pieces are ALL AVAILABLE FOR SALE and I'm also available for COMMISSIONS! Contact me if you're interested and we'll make things happen.


- jeremy dale

[	Tags	|	dc comics, fairchild, gen13, image comics, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, wildstorm	]
[	mood	|	sleepy	]
[	music	|	Skype - Loston talking and talking and talking...	]

My Favorite Characters: Gen13 !

Gen 13... more specifically, FAIRCHILD and Gen 13. While scrounging through my stash of comics trying to come up with a topic a tad more modern, I came across this title-- and was immediately taken back to the awkward age of 16. Ah, my teenage years... thank God I never have to go back. What a horrid time.

Gen 13 was the first sign that Image had life outside of its founders-- it launched an artist's career (J. Scott Campbell, obviously) as well as threw a million kajillion tweenagers into puberty. Truly, Campbell's lines were gratuitous and juuuuust a tad risque.

The plots were basically Seinfeld-esque in that they were close to non-existant. It seems to me that each issue basically asking, "Hey, Jeff-- anything you ever wanted to draw in your ONE year of pro experience that you haven't yet?"

To which he would reply, "Why, what a delicious inquiry! I desire the opportunity to drawls th' pirates and the amazons and the ladies looking all sexalicious."

"By jove... I think we can DO that!"

And history was made. Huge sales, teenage boys drooling, and Caitlyn Fairchild posters on every comic shop wall and window. Truly, they were on to something here. If only it developed a real plot while Campbell was still drawing it, it might have cemented its legacy. Still, with amazing runs (which I've only recently read) drawn by Gary Frank and Adam Warren (or did he just write them? meh), Gen 13 has more than enough empty, fun comic stories to last you quite some time.

The latest series just started-- kind of a soft reboot with Gail Simone and Talent Caldwell on the creative end. THIS time around, the plot makes a LOT more sense... but the art is pretty much a poor man's Campbell without any of the charm or skill. I'm sure Talent is all fine and good as a Turner clone, but his storytelling is so bad I can barely tell not only WHO is who, but WHERE is who and WHY is who doing WHAT. I dropped it after issue 3... wishing I hadn't picked up any of them.

So here it is, a guilty pleasure from my teenage years that actually ended up being pretty entertaining in its own right. Despite the glut of his clones, I'm glad it DID introduce the world to J. Scott Campbell... and I'm glad these characters are back again NOW so a new generation can read about them.


So there ya go! Check my blog tomorrow for more as I continue-- These pieces are ALL AVAILABLE FOR SALE and I'm also available for COMMISSIONS! Contact me if you're interested and we'll make things happen.



- jeremy dale

[	Tags	|	grifter, image comics, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, jim lee, travis charest, wildc.a.t.s, wildcats, wildstorm	]
[	mood	|	thankful	]
[	music	|	Queen - Flash	]

My Favorite Characters: Grifter!

Okay, so I didn't get as much flak over the Spider-Ham as I expected... so I ended up drawing Grifter for today's installment in my "Favorite Characters" sketchseries.

I've found that Grifter is one of those characters that you either love or you hate. Really, it mostly comes down to when you started reading comics. If you started before Grifter arrived, you're more likely to dislike him on grounds of "blaming him as everything that was wrong with comics in the 1990's".

See... the thing is, Grifter is what went RIGHT with the 90's. No no, hold on-- hear me out. Not everything that was published in the 90's was drek... if you honestly believe it was, you're a sad, bitter person, and need to leave us that don't dig all that elitism jive alone.

Sure, Grifter wasn't Watchmen-caliber, but he WAS a lot of fun to read about. When every other book was being crapped out in the 90s, WildC.A.T.s was being rendered by the best of the best in the industry-- Jim Lee (and then Travis Charest a bit later).

He sported one of the more original masks I can think of in the recent past, and was the only (basically) non-powered character in the 'Cats. Grifter was your standard "tough as nails" mercenary but with a slight soft side, hung up over the loss of friends and a broken heart. Sure, it was kitschy, but it wasn't half bad! I really enjoyed it.

And hey-- in the 1990s, there were only a few new independently-owned characters that really rang out as iconic-- Grifter, Fairchild, Badrock, and Spawn. There are others, but those are the four I can point to that honestly captured kids' imaginations and excited them. Invincible is clearly one of this era's standouts, for instance. Anyway, that's not something to just pass over... clearly, a character whose mere appearance would catch your eye regardless of your feelings about it seems to be pretty influential to me.

He and the rest of the WildC.A.T.s' popularity propelled them to a short-lived, mediocre saturday-morning cartoon (check it out here ) opposite the OTHER 90s juggernaut, X-Men. Despite being THE X-Men fan at the time, I watched the 'Cats. It actually wasn't that bad compared to the X-Men 'toon at the time, which had hit a slump of sorts. It was crap, but I still watched it every Saturday with my younger brothers and we agreed-- Grifter was still cool.

For superior tales of Grifter, check out ANY issue of Wildcats-- the Alan Moore issues in volume one (checkitout) were really good, although unbalanced in the art by various fill-ins for Charest... though for my money, check out Charest's BEST works to see the best of Grifter-- WildCats/X-Men: The Golden Age (checkitout) and WildCats volume 2 (checkitout).

So there you are-- for me, Grifter was one of the few comicbook characters in the 1990's that left a lasting impact on me. Toss away most of the decade if you like... I'll be too busy in my studio re-reading my old WildCats to notice your whining.

Oh yeah-- and I dig this piece, by the way. I added more detail than I am used to using, and it turned out pretty well.



- jeremy

[	Tags	|	jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, marvel comics, spider ham, spider-ham	]
[	mood	|	accomplished	]
[	music	|	22 - Foo Fighters - Learn To Fly	]

My Favorite Characters: Spider-Ham!



The third in my series of favorite characters is easily the one I'll get crap for-- Spider-Ham. Hey, I love comics, and all forms of it. Spider-Ham rocks, haters.

When I was 5 years old and just starting to go to Kindergarten, Spider-Ham debuted in his own series from Marvel imprint Star Comics. Having had his Marvel Tales appearance (with Captain Catmerica and Hulk-Bunny) read to me numerous times by my father a year or more previously, seeing new Spider-Ham adventures thrilled me.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any issues past 12 or so-- and I hear it ran to #18... so these days I'm scrounging dealer booths at conventions, seeking out those missing issues.

Why do I love Spider-Ham? It was FUN, at a time when comics were still allowed to BE fun. I know it was a marketing vehicle to make money, but so is everything else, right (Spider-Man bubblebath, springs to mind)? I love that his snout is a perfect replica of Spidey's head-- that every character was a goofy knock-off of Marvel characters. I loved that I could figure out HOW to draw Spider-Ham-- Spider-MAN was a bit hard for a 5-year-old, and he was wearing the black outfit, so it was a cool time for Spidey stuff all around.

Thanks for the memories, Ham-- I hope the upcoming Spider-Ham book looks great, and that the artists involved know how to draw your snout.

- jeremy

[	Tags	|	absolute zeroes, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, newsarama	]
[	mood	|	crazy	]
[	music	|	Sixpence None the Richer - Breathe Your Name	]

I Made Newsarama again
http://www.newsarama.com/forums/show...threadid=64781

Press Release

Comic Book author Sean McKeever will appear at Alter Ego Comics in Muncie, Ind., on April 8 from 1 to 5 p.m. and appear on the new podcast taped weekly at the shop,
the "Alter Ego Comic Cast."

McKeever, who received an Eisner Award for comic book writing in 2005, will be appearing at Alter Ego Comics to sign autographs and interact with fans. An author of comic book titles such as Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, Gravity and Sentinel, McKeever will also appear on the Alter Ego Comic Cast which is taped each week in Muncie and broadcast on iTunes for hundreds of subscribers.

Comic book writer Troy Hickman will also appear at the signing. Hickman was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2005 for his acclaimed comic book limited series Common Grounds and most recently wrote for the City of Heroes comic based on the popular video game of the same name. And Indiana comics artist Jeremy Dale, creator of the comic Absolute Zeroes, will be on hand to meet fans of his work and do sketches throughout the signing.

"We're excited to bring Sean McKeever, who is becoming one of the most recognized writers in comics today, to meet comic book fans in Indiana," said Jason Pierce, co-owner of Alter Ego Comics. "The great thing about Sean is that he's well known outside just comic book stores because his digest-sized collections sell so well in bookstores.

"And having a great writer like Troy Hickman and our local favorite artist Jeremy Dale here too is just icing on the cake. It's like a mini-comic book convention for fans of great writing and art," Pierce said.

The Alter Ego Comic Cast, which can be found on iTunes or by visiting www.alteregocomics.net, started broadcasting recently for fans and subscribers, taping the show weekly within the comic book store in Muncie. Featuring the voices of store owner Pierce, Steve Schuler and Drew Slentz in a formatted discussion of comic book news and reviews, the new podcast already has hundreds of subscribers and recently got over a thousand hits.

"It's exciting to have so many people across the country listening to our podcast, and this signing event will provide us with the opportunity to have special guests on the show," Pierce said.

McKeever, a native of Wisconsin, is best known for introspective, character-driven tales, as seen in his breakthrough teen-drama series, The Waiting Place, which debuted in April of 1997. Since then, McKeever has written several comic book titles, including
Sentinel, Inhumans, Spider-Girl, Mystique, Mary Jane and The Incredible Hulk.

Hickman, who teaches college English classes in Indiana, wrote the self-published Holey Crullers about a coffee shop frequented by superheroes for many years before publisher Top Cow picked up the series and re-released it as the critically acclaimed Common Grounds. Top Cow later hired the writer to write the City of Heroes comic.

Besides his ongoing work on Absolute Zeroes, Jeremy Dale's work can be seen in comic books like Wildguard and Space Doubles. A resident Indiana, the busy illustrator recently lived in Muncie while his wife attended Ball State and has become a local favorite.

Alter Ego Comics, Inc., a retailer offering comic books, custom T-shirts, gaming merchandise, and collectibles, is located at 422 E. McGalliard in the McGalliard Square shopping center in Muncie, Ind. The store can be contacted at jpierce@alteregocomics.net
or (765) 282-5297.

Sweet deal! I had no idea this would be announced there... or many other places at ALL, to tell the truth. Yay for press!

Back in Blooming-town
Yeah, we're back-- but we're headed BACK out of town in a few hours to see the parents and then hit Comics JamWar in South Bend, IN. Fun fun.


------------------------
Have a good one, all. Be good to each other.

- jeremy dale

[	Tags	|	absolute zeroes, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, sean mckeever, troy hickman	]
[	mood	|	shocked	]
[	music	|	Alter Ego - Alter Ego Comicast #2	]

Signing on April 8th!


Well, look at that-- I'm doing a signing again! April 8th at Alter Ego Comics in Muncie, Indiana, I'll be signing with, as you see above, Sean McKeever and Troy Hickman! Should be fun, I look forward to it. I have met Sean before (at Mid-Ohio) and I'm a huge fan of some of his work (Mary Jane and Sentinel spring to mind), but despite being a huge fan of Troy Hickman (Common Grounds, Holey Crullers, City of Heroes), I've never met him.
For more information, check out http://www.alteregocomics.net/homepage.html .

Got some art that I might as well show... since I can.
So yeah... here's some art.

... but there's more! Where? Just look below to...
( ... CLICK FOR TEH ARTZ! )

Eh, some I like, others not so much. It's so annoying that I always dislike whatever I've drawn right after drawing it. Humbug.

Sounds like psycho
Doing a small mini spin-off for that fun online comic, Awesome Storm Justice 41, involving the Saiko character. Did a quick character study that's posted above these very words, and it's an interesting story. Not anything brilliant, just comic kitcsh at its... most kitschy. Fun to do something like this, where it's really just throwing lines on the page and trying to make it look like fun. It is, it's fun. Saiko's not my favorite ASJ character, but it works.

Goin' to Georgia
Did I mention we're headed to Georgia in a week or so for so Kelly can interview in Columbus? Pretty cool-- Adam wants to meet up and have dinner or something since we'll be in the area, so we might just do that. Really, it depends on how long the interview takes. It really sounds like this is Kelly's job to take at will, honestly, and we're thrilled. Between our top two choices, this is one of them and they are incredibly ecstatic about Kelly possibly working there. Keep us in your prayers as we make the choice soon on where to settle in for a while.

----------------
Okay, I'm off to another page to illustrate. Be cognizant of each other.

- jeremy dale

[	Tags	|	absolute zeroes, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale, john reppion, leah moore, newsarama	]
[	mood	|	accomplished	]
[	music	|	Relient K - The One I'm Waiting For	]

Hmm-- didn't expect it to be official this soon...
So that project I've mentioned a few times in the past few weeks? It's unveiled at Newsarama... CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE! For those too lazy to click, here's the excerpt of note:

"NRAMA: So you'll be continuing Albion, doing work for Dynamite…do you guys have anything else on your plate right now?

JR: Well, we finished scripting Albion a long time ago now but we’ve already got a few things due out in 2006 in addition to our Dynamite work.

We’ve got  .... Issue #4 of Space Doubles from new Canadian company Th3rd World will feature an eleven pager from us drawn by Jeremy (Absolute Zeroes) Dale... "

So, yeah-- I'm drawing an eleven-page story written by Leah Moore and John Reppion... at this very moment, actually. I was just taking a break from the page to check email, and I saw the article on Newsarama...

Back to work!
--------------------------------------
- jeremy dale

[	Tags	|	absolute zeroes, comic jam war, jeremy dale, jeremy-dale	]
[	mood	|	drained	]
[	music	|	ToeJam&Earl theme song	]

Warming up for JamWar!
Last weekend (February 11th, 2006), a bunch of writers, artists, and loudmouths got together at Eisner-nominated comic shop BuyMeToys in South Bend, Indiana for a warm-up session for the upcoming Comic JAMWAR!

I drove up from Bloomington to join in on the fun, and had a lot of fun! More information and PHOTOS from the event can be seen right here -- but for now, here's the first 4-pager I worked on that night, with writer Alan Schell and my wife on spotting blacks.

Total time? 4 pages in 3 hours! Yikes, I know.

I've hastily relettered the pages since to help them be, y'know-- readable... so here you are. The prompt? We used the contest guidlines at Young American Comics at the behest of writer Ben Avery, and this is what Alan and I came up with:


-----------( The other three pages behind the cut-- click here! )

Enjoy, all. By this time that evening I hadn't slept in 28 hours. Ugh. Still, though I had tons of fun. Looking forward to April 1st!

There's still another 2 pages I did for the second round with another team. I only pencilled those pages, thank goodness-- and I'm really looking forward to seeing how they turned out (I had to bail after I finished pencilling, so I haven't seen them completed yet).

Announcement of Epic Proportions...
I want a huge HDTV. My in-laws just bought one, and it's amazing. Must-- have... so beautiful. Seriously, it was cool.

Fatigued
It's past 5am and I still haven't made it to bed yet. Blast blast blast. I gotta get to bed earlier one of these days. Hehe yeah, like that's gonna happen! ;)

--------------------

- jeremy dale