Sonic the Hedgehog 244 Cover

Hey guys! Wanted to share with you the raw artwork to Sonic the Hedgehog #244, drawn by Tracy Yardley with inks by Terry Austin. This one was alotta' fun to color - especially punching up Thrash's sonic-scream attack with those motion blurs!

December 2012 Solicits

Hey guys! Here are some of the books I'm coloring for Archie Comics, coming out in December. Hope you guys pick 'em up when they drop!!

MEGA MAN #21

 

“Countdown”: It's almost New Year's Day, and Mega Man is ready to celebrate in style! Rock, Roll and Dr. Light are amongst the crowd waiting to watch the ceremonial light-ball drop at midnight, but the celebration is short-lived as the Emerald Spears return to exact their revenge on our heroes! The epic grudge match between Mega Man and Xander Payne begins now, so grab a front row seat and prepare for the battle royale!

 

Script: Ian Flynn

Art: Ryan Jampole, Gary Martin, John Workman, and Matt Herms

Cover: Chad Thomas, Gary Martin, and Matt Herms

Variant Cover: Alice Meichi Li

 

Shipping Date: 12/26

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 1/9

32-page, full color comic

$2.99 US.

NEW CRUSADERS #5

 

“Trial by Fire” Part One: The Brain Emperor has invaded the Z.I.P. prison and unleashed a massive riot! The only ones who can act in time are the untested, untrained New Crusaders. Do they have what it takes to contain the chaos? And what sinister old foes does the Brain Emperor seek to awaken?

 

Script: Ian Flynn

Art: Alitha Martinez, Gary Martin, John Workman, and Matt Herms

Cover by Martinez, Martin, Workman, and Herms

Variant Cover: Francesco Francavilla

Character Variant Cover: Ben Bates

 

Shipping Date: 12/5

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 1/2

32-page, full color comic

$2.99 US.

 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #244

 

“Endangered Species” Part Two: Sonic and Team Fighters can't retake Albion on their own. Who can help turn the tide? Knuckles – that's who! Knuckles confronts old enemies and old hardships all at once to save the last of his people. And is it a good or a bad thing the mysterious Thrash the Tasmanian Devil has arrived?

 

Script: Ian Flynn

Art: Steven Butler, Terry Austin, John Workman, and Matt Herms

Cover: Yardley!, Austin, and Herms

 

Shipping Date: 12/19

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 1/2

32-page, full color comic

$2.99 US.

SONIC UNIVERSE #47

 

“All For One” Part Two: The Chaotix are on the hunt for the missing Mighty and Ray, and their investigation takes them to the heart of enemy territory! With the Mercian Freedom Fighters at their side, will they find the vital clue they need? Or will Lord Hood claim more prisoners for his dungeon?

 

Script: Ian Flynn

Art: Tracy Yardley!, Jim Amash, Jack Morelli, and Matt Herms

Cover: Yardley!, Amash, and Steve Downer

 

Shipping Date: 12/5

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 12/19

32-page, full color comic

$2.99 US.

 

Mega Man 20 Cover

Hey guys! Here's the raw artwork to Mega Man #20's cover, coming from Archie Comics in November. Drawn by Mike Norton!

Sonic the Hedgehog 243 Cover

Hey guys! Since the official solicits for November issues just came out, I suppose it's all right to share with you the raw artwork for some of these amazing covers I got to color! Here is the raw art for Sonic the Hedgehog #243, from Archie Comics. Pencils and inks were done by Tracy Yardley!

Sonic Super Special Magazine #5 Cover

Hey guys! Here's the raw artwork to Sonic Super Special Magazine #5's cover, from Archie Comics! I believe this ish will also feature s'more of my pencils on the Timeline pages. Be sure to check it out when it drops!

(Pencils by Tracy Yardley, inks by Terry Austin)

EDIT:  Hey guys, so I totally made a mistake and read the solicit for the new Sonic Digest wrong. The Super Special Magazine is not ending! So sorry for the mix-up.

Sonic Super Special Magazine #4

Hey guys! Just wanted to share a preview of Sonic Super Special Magazine #4, from Archie Comics. On sale now! This book features the first part of my contribution to the "Sonic Timeline," a graphic re-telling of world events in the Sonic universe. My portion covers events immediately before the start of the books and then... Well, close to the first 75 issues or so!

These pages were actually my very last penciling assignment before I went full-time colorist, drawn wa-a-a-ay back in late 2009/early 2010. It's kinda' surreal to see them finally published after all these years! I'll definitely try and uncover the original Jpegs of the pencils themselves from my e-Mails sometime. 

Sonic the Hedgehog #242 Cover

Hey guys! So I believe they are still putting together the official announcements on this thing, but this cover has been out there since last month's solicits so I thought I would go ahead and share the raw artwork for it! Pencils and inks by Tracy Yardley!

If you've checked out the solicit, you might notice a few changes happened in post - the cover was flipped horizontal, Sonic's smirk changed and Amy even has an all new wardrobe! But here's the original artwork. Super fun cover to work on - lots of bright, saturated colors!

Mega Man #19 Cover

Yikes! I haven't updated in over a month! It's been crazy busy the last four weeks - after getting back from our vacation to Northern Virginia I jumped right into deadline crunches back-to-back. I'm gonna' play a bit of catch-up, here. So here's a cover for an upcoming issue of Mega Man from Archie Comics, drawn by Chad Thomas and inked by Gary Martin!

I believe Chad's got a great breakdown of his penciling process on this one available on his blog, too - so be sure to check it out! 

Sonic / Mega Man Crossover in 2013

One of the coolest parts about working in the comics biz is that you're privy to super secret announcements like this months in advance... And one of the hardest things is keeping it to yourself for all that time! Comics, man. What an awesome job!

Just a couple days before SDCC 2012 hits and news broke about 2013's epic Sonic the Hedgehog / Mega Man crossover event via USA Today and Kotaku. I think everyone has been anticipating this since it was announced almost two years ago that Mega Man was gonna' be joining the Archie Adventure books. So psyched to see this coming down the pipeline!

(Promo images grabbed from The Mega Man Network, by the way. Best Internet stop for all Mega Man news and awesome-ness!)

Mega Man 18 Cover

Hey guys! Just wanted to share the raw artwork to Mega Man 18's cover, published by Archie Comics! Got to work with the tremendously talented Mike Norton. Had an absolute blast (Hehe. Get it?) with this one!

Sonic the Hedgehog 241 Cover

Hey guys! Just wanted to share with you the raw artwork to the recently solicited Sonic the Hedgehog #241 cover that I colored, from Archie Comics! I had a great time with this one - it's a "big hero moment" with all three of the current Freedom Fighting teams together.

Artwork by Tracy Yardley (pencils) and Terry Austin (inks). 

Sonic the Hedgehog 237

And here's a preview of Sonic the Hedgehog #237 from Archie Comics. Be sure to pick it up!!

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #237
"Loyalty" Part One: Team Fighters links up with Grand Chief Lupe as they track down the Death Egg. As they deal with the ferocious Felidae Warriors and Dark Egg Legion, a mysterious figure tracks them. Meanwhile, in “Heart to Heart,” Nicole and Mina finally confront each other!

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Ben Bates, Steven Butler, Terry Austin, John Workman and Matt Herms
Cover: Tracy Yardley!, Terry Austin and Matt Herms

Shipping Date: 5/16
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 5/30
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US.

Mega Man 14

Hey guys! Just wanted to share some previews of books I've worked on coming ou this month. Be sure to check 'em out! Here's a preview for Mega Man #14 from Archie Comics, on sale now!

MEGA MAN #14
"Spiritus ex Machina" Part Two: It’s pandemonium as the Emerald Spears extremist group has taken everyone at the A.R.T.S. hostage! It’s up to Mega Man and Rush to lead Elec Man, Pharaoh Man and Quake Woman to save the day! Meanwhile, Dr. Wily attempts to awaken the power of the mysterious Ra Moon.

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Jonathan Hill, Gary Martin, John Workman and Matt Herms
Cover: Patrick "SPAZ" Spaziante and Matt Herms

Shipping Date: 5/30
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 6/13
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US.

New Crusaders #1 Variant and SDCC Covers

I just handed in the last few pages of colors on New Crusaders #3 last week - the best looking book yet! This has been an incredibly rewarding book to work on... I'm finally coloring superheroes!

The books officially go to print in August - featuring a variant cover I got to color! But Archie Comics is putting together a special print-preview for SDCC with another cover I colored! So I thought it would be rad to share some of the raw artwork for those...

New Crusaders #1 variant cover, pencils by Ryan Jampole.

Cover to San Diego ComiCon 2012 preview comic, pencils by Mike Norton. 

September 2012 Solicits

Hey guys! Solicits for September are up, so here's a first looks at some of the books fom Archie Comics that are coming out that I worked on!

MEGA MAN #18

“Proto-Type” Part Two: The origin of Mega Man's wayward brother, Proto Man, continues! What happened to the robot named “Blues” after he left Dr. Light? And how did he make is fateful encounter with Dr. Wily? Then, in “Cold Feat, ” Guts Man comes to Ice Man's aid, but is the buff robot the bigger threat?

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Chad Thomas, Jamal Peppers, Gary Martin, John Workman, and Matt Herms
Cover: Mike Norton and Matt Herms
Variant Cover: Sanford Greene

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 10/10
32-page, full color comic

NEW CRUSADERS: RISE OF THE HEROES #2

“Ashes to Ashes” Part Two: Tragedy strikes the town of Red Circle! Shaken by the devastation to their town and families, the heirs to the Crusaders legacy face one more surprise: Joe Higgins, aka The Shield, is their legal guardian! But secret bunkers, talking space monkeys and hidden weapon caches aren't exactly the best way to make a first impression. Who knew? The kids made it through a battle with the murderous Brain Emperor - but can they get past Joe Higgins?

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Ben Bates, Gary Martin, John Workman, and Matt Herms
Cover and Hero Variant: Ben Bates
Variant Cover: Chris Cross and Thomas Mason

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 9/26
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US. 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #241

“Blast from the Past!”: Team Freedom has battled the Eggman away from New Mobotropolis, and now it's up to Sonic and Team Fighters to finish the job! The seeds of destruction may have been sown aboard the Death Egg, but what NEW evil has sprung? Meanwhile, in “Game On!”, Sonic and friends prepare for the ultimate competition in this super special Sega tie-in!

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Jamal Peppers, Tracy Yardley, Terry Austin, John Workman, and Matt Herms
Cover: Yardley!, Austin and Herms
Variant Cover: Greg Horn

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 10/3
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US.

THE COMPLETE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG COMIC ENCYCLOPEDIA

For the Sonic fan on the go and those who want to know it like the pros, this is the long-anticipated official source for Sonic the Hedgehog comic info! Includes new, exclusive information not yet revealed in the comic itself and packed with entertaining character and location listings that definitively explain Sonic's world, Mobius. It's a big place that has been featured in hundreds of issues of stories—the longest running video-game inspired hit comic ever! Who is Sonic? Why do they call Dr. Robotnik “Eggman”? What is a Chaos Emerald, and what exactly does it do? It's all here.

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante, Tracy Yardley!, Steven Butler, Jamal Peppers, Matt Herms & more!
Cover: Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 10/10
978-1-936975-25-9
192-page, 6 x 9” Trade Paperback
$16.99/$18.99CAN 

SONIC SELECT VOL.6

Sonic must face Dr. Eggman’s deadliest creation in this - the “Death Egg Saga!” Here you’ll get the complete “Sonic Quest” trilogy telling of Sonic’s first confrontation with the famous battle station - the Death Egg! Sonic and Tails must race against time to stop the monstrous flying fortress before it turns everyone into robot slaves! Also collected in this volume are the first hints and the dramatic reveal of the Death Egg II! Sonic Select vol. 6 collects the ultra-rare “Sonic Quest” three part mini-series, Free Comic Book Day issues from 2010-2011, and selections from Sonic the Hedgehog #224.

Script & Art: Various
Cover: Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante

On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 9/26
978-1-936975-18-1
128-page, 6 x 9” Trade Paperback
$11.99/$12.99CAN

E3 2012

So in addition to my crazy-hectic career as a comic book colorist-extraordinaire, I've done some part-time illustration work for a company called SoMoGa Games, most specifically on some graphics for the iOS ports of Sega CD classics Vay and (the still unreleased) Lunar: The Silver Star. The gents at SoMoGa were kind enough to fly me out to LA for this year's E3 for a day and it was an awesome, surreal and exciting experience!

Headed into E3's last day, I figured there were still gonna' be crazy lines - almost all the biggest announcements had already happened and at this point most everything was playable. But actually E3 seemed to - most of the time - keep things moving like clockwork. It was pretty rad! By the end of the day, I'd actually managed to get my hands on every game that I was really interested in. So if you're interested, I thought I might share thoughts on a few:

Sonic Anniversary

Yes! I finally managed to sneak in a few extra hours of coloring last week on this piece and get it done! It was super refreshing to work on my own thing start-to-finish again, and I'm very energized by the idea of getting a few more pieces like this done and ready to do maybe a convention or two later in the year.

It may be the year after now, but happy 20th, Sonic the Hedgehog! 

Cover Round-Up

I've been coloring up alotta' covers recently! And a few of my new favorites - including two of Archie Comics' San Diego ComiCon exclusives - just got released this week via Capcom Unity, Bleeding Cool, and Comic Book Resources. Check 'em out!

The variant cover to Mega Man #18 and the SDCC-exclusive New Crusaders #1 were drawn by Mike Norton, and the Life with Archie #16 SDCC variant was illustrated by Phil Jimenez. Will post up some raw artwork of these things when solicits/conventions happen.

Life with Archie 22 Cover

A couple months ago my editors at Archie Comics sent me a couple of covers with a rush turnaround time that were a little bit... Out of my wheelhouse? Actually, this wasn't the first time I'd gotten to work with the Archie brand, but I do usually stick to most of our superhero/licensed stuff. So it was really great to be asked to fill in on these!

It was also a chance to try out another colorist's style, too, as these needed to match Tito Pena's color style on previous covers as much as possible. Very fun! I hope I get to do some more of these in the future! (I've already knocked out another special one, actually - but I can't tell ya' anything about it yet. I am super excited for it though!)

(Regular Cover: Pat and Tim Kennedy; Variant Cover: Fernando Ruiz and Bob Smith)

Mega Man 17 Cover

I'm so psyched that this awesome Chad Thomas/Gary Martin Mega Man cover finally dropped in the solicits. I colored this up a couple months ago and in a rare moment of forethought managed to capture a few "snapshots" of the coloring process to share with you guys. So here we go - Mega Man #17's cover, featuring the debut of fan favorite Proto Man!

Here it is, in black-and-white. My editor at Archie will usually send me the inks in 450 to 600 dpi Bitmap mode. I was immediately excited seeing that Protoman was gonna' be the focus in this story-arc and I was very pleased to be working with Chad Thomas again. Chad's style is definitely what I think of when I think US-made Mega Man comic books.

The flats! I usually prefer to do my own flatting, especially on covers. This was a super quick job - Gary's inking style makes the whole process a breeze. Nothing fancy and in alotta' cases I haven't even picked out a final color for anything - right now I'm just getting the pieces separated to make coloring and editing easier.

Doin' some rendering! For this one I've got a couple ideas for color schemes to try out so I've done a pretty basic rendering on Protoman and company that I will tinker with in a moment. Right now we're just setting up the light sources and textures and will move onto trying a couple different tones in a moment.

And here we go! This would be the "first pass" that I send to my editors for input and apporvals. Went with a prominently red and fiery tone on this one to mimic Proto's colors. Overall it was felt that Protoman blended a little too much into the background of this one, so-o-o-o...

Here we go! Added some highlights and pushed the BG and other characters back a bit. And this pass passed and went to print:







August 2012 Solicits

Hey guys! Solicits for August are out and here are some awesome books I'm working on coming out from Archie Comics. Hope you check 'em out!!

LIFE WITH ARCHIE #22
“Archie Marries Veronica” – Archie and Veronica butt heads when the married couple can’t see eye to eye on Archie’s job offer from Mr. Lodge’s business rival, Fred Mirth! Tempers flare when the typically laid-back Jughead discovers Ethel has a new flame in her life plus the strain of reality television begins to take its toll on reluctant star Betty. Is an onscreen meltdown just around the corner? Emotions are at an all-time high in Riverdale and yet all these personal dramas are soon to be dwarfed by the shocking news that one of the gang has been shot!
“Archie Marries Betty” – In Archie’s counter-part reality, the gang welcomes back an old friend in need of support during a trying time. Cheryl Blossom breaks the news of her cancer diagnoses in the most touching issue of Life with Archie yet, proving that in Riverdale, home is truly where the heart is!

Script: Paul Kupperberg
Art: Fernando Ruiz, Pat Kennedy, Tim Kennedy, Bob Smith, Jim Amash
Cover: Pat Kennedy, Tim Kennedy, Bob Smith, Matt Herms
Variant Cover: Fernando Ruiz, Bob Smith, Matt Herms
Shipping Date: 8/1
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 8/15
48-page, full color comic
$3.99 US.

MEGA MAN #17
“Proto-Type” Part One: The story of Mega Man's long lost brother, Blues (a.k.a. Proto Man), starts here! What was it that drove a wedge between the first self-aware robot and the benevolent Dr. Light? Then, in "Construction Derby," Guts Man gets some not-so-friendly competition in the form of Concrete Man!

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Jamal Peppers, Chad Thomas, Gary Martin, John Workman, and Matt Herms
Cover: Chad Thomas, Gary Martin, and Matt Herms
Variant Cover: Jamal Peppers, Gary Martin, and Art Lyon

Shipping Date: 8/29
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 9/12
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US.

NEW CRUSADERS: RISE OF THE HEROES #1Red Circle Comics presents “Ashes to Ashes” Part One: Our world demands heroes – a new generation must RISE! Over a decade ago, the super hero team known as The Mighty Crusaders did the impossible: they won. Successful in their battle against evil and finding they’d made the world a better place, the heroes settled down to the small town of Red Circle to start families, unwind and take a much-deserved rest. When the quiet town is rocked by the return of the ultimate evil, the super hero residents are obliterated! It’s up to their heirs to fight for justice and crusade against evil. They are our last, best hope. They are: THE NEW CRUSADERS!

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Ben Bates, Gary Martin, John Workman, and Matt Herms
Cover: Ben Bates
Variant Cover: Ryan Jampole and Matt Herms
Shield Variant Cover: Ben Bates
Sketch Variant Cover: Mike Norton

Shipping Date: 8/8
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 8/22
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US.



SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #240
“Heroes” Part Two: Dr. Eggman lays siege to New Mobotropolis once again, but this time with no Sonic around! It's up to the brand new Team Freedom to prove their mettle against Dr. Eggman's Metal Series! Plus – what evil lays in wait, and just what in the world is "Operation: Deadly Cuddles?!” Featuring a stunning, all-new painted cover by Greg Horn!

Script: Ian Flynn
Art: Steven Butler, Terry Austin, John Workman, and Matt Herms
Cover: Greg Horn
Variant Cover: SEGA

Shipping Date: 8/15
On Sale at Comic Specialty Shops: 8/29
32-page, full color comic
$2.99 US.