KILLEROO: Armageddon

So awhile back was the Armageddon popculture expo. For the first time, I was invited to attend as a guest (I guess the ridiculous reception I got last year initiated that). Unfortunately, cos I'm now living in Los Angeles I was unable to attend. Is that ironic in the normal or the Alanis Morisette sense? I think the latter.

Anyway, I'm working on a Killeroo story for Darren Close. I love Killeroo, and I love both writing and drawing him. As a preview for that story I thought I would put together a pinup and possible cover for the issue. Darren is even talking about collecting it in a special "Jason Badower edition" of Killeroo.

I'm very proud of the story. It follows my theme of, "the price of doing the right thing."

We're tentatively calling it KILLEROO: THE HARD ROAD.

I will let you all know when it's out. Right now it's been written and laid (layed?) out.

CONCEPT

I had very little time to draw this, and Darren would have been really appreciative if I could have coloured it too, and I don't wanna disappoint anyone, let alone the Big Man himself, so I had to fit colouring into my schedule too.

I normally spend a great deal of time conceptualizing things. Not usually on paper, but in my brain. Just masticating ideas (get your mind out of the gutter) until they form into my darling little children on paper. For this I had NO time. I had to punch it out asap. This is kind of like being asked to build a house in a week. Sure, it can be done, but you have no room for error.

All I knew at this stage was that I wanted to draw him in profile. WAYNE NICHOLS, a fellow Australian comic book artist was goofing around and he drew what I consider to be the most seminal Killeroo picture ever (see left).

Also affected by Waynes' picture, Darren suggested a piece that was very similar to what Wayne did. But he wanted a front on full body standing shot that he could use as a cardboard cut out one day. But it was just too soon for me. I just didn't want to play in Wayne's playground for two reasons. One, Wayne had kicked it out of the park and did that angle and pose about as good as it could possibly be done right now. I needed some time to digest from the artistic blow that Wayne had dealt. And I just didn't think I could add anything to that image at this stage. Two, I wanted to give the fans a fresh take. What's the point of having two pictures that look alike? Give em some options!

LINE ART

All I knew was that I didn't want to draw him facing us. For some reason I was obsessed with drawing this sneering profile. I then got drawing and realised it was SO hard! I actually had to do some sketches figuring out how his skull worked, and then had to figure out his lips so that we could see his teeth. It became kind of involved. What you see here is the finished product.

As you can also see, I'm leaning towards more linework these days. When I drew Zero G, I was very influenced by Steve McNiven. He has this very, very clean open style with minimal rendering and powerful flowing lines. I found that on my graphics tablet I couldn't create the lines that he did on a reasonable time scale. They just took too long! So I've been wandering back towards more of a Brian Bolland style, who, coincidentally (not ironically in neither the true nor Alanis Morissette sense) also works on a graphics tablet.

I really dig the visually heavy middle of the picture with his dark torso and her dark top and hat. Then it becomes really light around the bottom and the top. I especially like how the lines on the jeans turned out on both of them. I think they have a lot of energy. While I like Killeroo (and especially his hands) my favourite thing about the piece is Lee, the girl. She just has great energy and dynamism.

Having finished the piece I was about to start colouring. Then my conscience started creeping up on me. I just knew that I had to put a background in. Now remember I was talking about having no room for error? Well, you better shove over cos I made one in my haste. Now unfortunately, it's a bit low. If she's bending her knees like that, how can a bar stool (which generally sits slightly around hip level) be so far below her? It's like they're standing on boxes (or a pile of bodies?).

Oops.

It's a nice (though poorly placed) background though. When I go back to it I will fix it up.

BROWNING

I would say colouring, but really, it was just browning and exploring different shades of brown. I remember my friend, Mitch reviewing Carnivale (the tv show) as "brown".

I think there's some blue. Last I checked, that's not brown, but let's not let a little bit of a blue come between a good joke (in Aussie slang, a blue is also an argument or fight - so I just made some sort of lousy pun - no extra charge for that one!).

What I love about colouring is lighting. I love tones and the way light falls and reflects off surfaces onto other surfaces. So I love key lights. I will just zone out while I'm listening to someone talk and just be studying the lighting on their face. So if I get this weird look in my eyes, I'm probably doing that not planning to chop you up and put you in my industrial fridge.

As a last minute easter egg, I added the Claire from the last post as no one had seen it undistorted at that stage.

NEXT: So, I'm told Jim's, Annette's and my story will be up tomorrow, or tonight, or whenever. You know, sometime soon. So I will be posting about that next. You might even get to see the dodgy (that's "shady" to you Americans) and sordid drinking photos of Jim and I. Ok, maybe you won't. But there will be art. And naked chicks.

CLAIRE AND NOAH

Hey gang!

While I have heaps of artwork to show you, I'm only showing you this piece cos it's nice and quick. You see, I have my monthly deadline Monday and I have a bunch of work to do. I'm trying to not leave things to the last minute, but I'm not very good at it. That is, I'm not very good at not leaving things to the last minute. Hopefully I'm good at my job! My editor and I are going to try weekly deadlines from now on. Fingers crossed it should make everything much easier.

I have a fairly full weekend planned. It's my last 9 days in LA before I head home back to Australia for Xmas and there's so many people to see and do. I mean, people to see and places to do. Heh. Freudian slip. Just ignore that. But if you need "doing" before I leave LA just form an orderly queue to the left here.

So while I love you all, I'm leaving you with a brief one.

Ollie and I were concerned on the last page of Sum Quod Sum that people might not know where they were (go to the nav links and find the last page of SQS if you're not sure what I'm talking about. But if you're not sure what I'm talking about you're probably like most of the people I talk to - so everything's normal). I was worried my Lyle wouldn't look like Lyle and that we needed an anchor to ground people. I suggested we add a little photo of Claire and Noah in the corner so people would know where they are - the Bennet house.

When I draw photo inserts I generally draw them in a separate file (ie. piece of paper - but digital like) and then place them in as an indicator for Annette. She then colours the flat piece and then mimics my placeholder. This way we get the perspective perfect. It's very hard to draw flat images on perspective. The only artist I know who can do it is Frank Quitely - but he's a genius.

I'm not, so I do it this way.

I think it's one of the best Claires and Noahs I've drawn which is why it gets its own post.

Competition winners, please gimme til Monday. I think I've got you all now!

On Monday I wanna show you guys my Killeroo piece. And no, that's not a euphemism so just settle the hell down.

THE WRITER'S STRIKE

I have been contacted by some of you asking how the writer's strike in Hollywood is going to affect the HEROES graphic novels. Apparently they have up to episodes 11 and 12 in the can. But as most of you know, the graphic novels are created on a much tighter time frame. So how does the strike affect your HEROES graphic novel?

Funny you should ask.

I was recently contacted, by my editor, Frank about doing a HEROES story. The script by Chuck (0.07%) Kim came through. It's called "The Ten Brides of Takezo Kensei" and it's a ripper of a story.

Unfortunately, due to the strike, Chuck asked that the script be pulled. Apparently he also had a specific artist friend of his in mind to draw it. That's a huge shame as I would have knocked this one out of the park. This one is so up my alley it's not funny. So when you do see it, you can try to imagine if I'd drawn/painted it.

But to answer your question, this script is set after the events of episode 11 (it specifically says so). So they've pulled the web comic episode that's set after the week of episode 11. I have no idea if the stories before it have been pulled. But now you know that is your thin red line as far as the HEROES graphic novels go.

For those of you angry at how this affects you, consider these hard working writers who are asking to be included in the 21st century as far as financial credit goes. They're asking for compensation for internet and mobile phone sales of their work (currently there is little or none) and an increase from 4c per dvd sold. I don't think they're being unreasonable and I support them 100%. I just hope the networks and the writers can reach some sort of agreement soon.

JAS SPEAKS BRAZILLIAN

Actually, I don't but I actually gave this image of Claire to 9thWonders.net for their INTERVIEW with me. They've had it for about a week now. I thought I should share it with you. For those of you interested in what I had to say, I will post the translated transcript over the next few posts.

This image set me back big time on my timeline on BLACKOUT. The opening scene for page 1 said:

"We’re CLOSER ON SURESH, but he’s still behind the windshield. Reflected in the windshield are images of the HEROES he’s talking about: CLAIRE running from a fire, NATHAN and PETER FLYING, HIRO wielding a Samurai sword."

I knew I wanted to draw these images as full posters and then paste them onto the windscreen. I knew that having them as full posters would be handy. Besides, I think the prize I was supposed to draw for Karathephantom back in the Jurassic period was of a similar image of Hiro. And I thought having a poster of Claire like this would be cool anyway. But I got so caught up drawing these images, I ran out of time to draw the Nathan and Peter one. Eventually I had to steal my art from the end of the Death of Hana Gitelman.

For those in Melbourne or heading down to Melbourne:

JASON BADOWER SIGNING AT COMICS R' US

With the new HEROES graphic novel out, and as the major contributing artist, I will be signing at:

COMICS R'US CITY: 9th November 12pm-2pm
COMICS R'US CHAPEL ST: 10th November 12pm-2pm

I will have a new print run of sketchbooks ($15) and I will be doing sketches ($10) and autographing the graphic novel (free of course!). I hope to see you all there!

Bennet and Claire

Aw man. Mugged by my own kindness. If there was a rug it would've been pulled out from underneath me. So, anyway, my present to Pngauo's thunder got stolen. If you read the comments on my last post you would have found it posted already on the heroeswiki.com site.

For those of you who didn't follow the link, here it is in its lessened glory with a slightly smaller head on Bennet.

Ah well.

Anyway, I designed the two pictures to work side by side. It was (obviously) twice the work, but I thought it would make a really nice piece with the two side by side. What also helps is that I like both the characters and their relationship so much. I found their story was one of the key ones that drove me to watch the show. It was a good call drawing Claire, as I have to say that she was the second most popular character I was asked to sketch after Hiro.

Gotta run and finish Mohinder. It's going to be a 2-4 hour sleep night. Frank said I can have an extra day, but while I don't want to rush, I think it's more important to be punctual. Besides, I have Zero G stuff to do!

As a bonus, I drew an extra picture of Claire for the Blackout story. In the story it's tiny and slightly distorted, so I will post the full picture here once the first part goes up next Tuesday.

SAN DIEGO EPILOGUE

This is an addendum to San Diego, and it's a story too amusing not to share.

It was Saturday night. I had been at the convention all day in meetings and running around. After a massive Mexican dinner that night, I was exhausted. Mitch and Simbo had tickets to go see Richard Cheese about 30min out of downtown San Diego. After some cajoling from those two and JAn, I was dressed up and hitting the town.

Richard Cheese was hilarious. He does lounge covers of all sorts of music, but he does an especially good job of covering metal songs. I got chatting to the cute blond bartender (No, I did not say that "I loved her", I'm sure that was someone else) and we were doing round after round. She allowed us to stay back drinking well after everyone had left. After another shot of vodka, JAn tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Look around."

I turn around to see a concentric circle of security guards around us. Time to leave. We tell her that we need a cab, and she hands us a card with two words and a phone number on it: Party Cab.

Simbo calls the guy and he says he will be there in 10minutes.

In that time out the front of the club, we'd made a bunch of friends - including a girl that was very attached to me. Party Cab rocks up and the guys all wave at me telling me they're going. I'm looking at the chick, and looking at the one seat in the car. Reluctantly I climb into the cab. Party cab was totally black inside with glow in the dark stars on the roof, little domes full of electricity, a light show and a kicking sound system. It was like a little mobile nightclub that got us back to our hotel.

As we came out onto our floor we were greeted by what looked like police tape in the form of a cross on one of the doors in front of us. Upon closer inspection it said, "Girls Gone Wild" over and over again. We shrugged, went to our room, grabbed our alcohol and I knocked on the door. A cute black girl opened the door, and it turned out we had knocked on the door of a bacholerette party. Drunk as a sailor I wander past the "door bitch" and into the room. I was amazed as they had a room with two floors joined by a spiral staircase. I was more amazed that I had walked into a room full of fifteen cute drunk girls in their underwear with more food and alcohol than I'd seen in a long while. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

By the time the guys had negotiated their way in, the girls had already handed me two Jaegers. I was kicking back chatting to the girls when one girl hands me a home made cookie (no idea what it was) when there's a knock on the door. It's security, "One more warning then you guys are out of here."

Silence. I take a bite of my cookie, it was fantastic! "Oh my god!" I yell, "This is the best cookie in the world!"

Immediately another knock on the door. It was security again, "Ok, that was your last warning. Next time you're all out of here."

A sleepy girl wandered downstairs and points at us and says two words, "Australia. Out."

Suffice to say the guys were totally pissed off that I got them thrown out of a bachelorette party. Simbo leant over to me on the way back, "You better enjoy that f*cking cookie man, cos it's the last solid food you're gonna be eating."

ART: While I did bunches of sketches, I also brought some prints to the convention of HEROES characters as commissioned by my competition winners. Pngao my first place winner asked for Mr. Bennet and possibly Claire in the background. I figured the first place winner deserves something special. A two parter. Here's the Claire part. Oh, and here's Pngau with the sketch I did for him. All my competition winners will be getting their prizes in the mail really soon - and a special bonus for waiting!