Anatomy Of Japanese Folk Monsters

I just can't get enough of these ANATOMICAL DRAWINGS of various monsters from Japanese Folklore.  These are from a book called YOKAI DAIZUKAI by manga artist Shigeru Mizuki. I want this book!!!

ILLUSTRATED HORROR FILM POSTERS

These days, illustrated film posters are increasingly rare. So, in celebration of this diminishing art form, here's a GREAT collection of 100 illustrated posters for horror films: PART ONE and PART TWO.

APE 2009

Here's an awesome Polish PLANET OF THE APES poster to celebrate this weekend's convention, APE 2009-! If you've never been the the ALTERNATIVE PRESS EXPO before, it's definitely worth a look. Ted and I will be situated at Table #267-!!

Corben Ape Thing

Love this little Richard Corben panel from an 1974 TARZAN strip he did...

BIZARRE GELATINOUS CREATURE

"...not good for eating."

even more ERAGON creeps...

more ERAGON creeps...

Some of the development drawings that preceded the artwork from my earlier ERAGON post...

CEREBUS THE BARBARIAN

Here's a recently finished commision based on Dave Sim's CEREBUS THE AARDVARK...it was especially fun to do since i'd never really drawn a finished CEREBUS piece before-!

VACATION

   I will be on vacation in KAUAI until September 16th.  I can't quite decide which of these KONG faces better describes the feeling ...

SITHISIS: Visual Development

Back in 2004-2005,  I did a 14 page story for STAR WARS: VISIONARIES, a graphic novel designed and created with fellow artists from the EPISODE III Art Department.  We were given more or less free rein to do our own take on our favorite Star Wars characters.  With DARK HORSE set to publish, and LUCASFILM'S blessing, we all set out to create our stories. 

 

I wanted to do a piece centered on the Dark Lord of the Sith, PALPATINE, and I wanted it to give the reader a glimpse of some arcane and secret Sith Ritual. 

 I had lots of fun coming up with ideas and possibilities,  generating a bunch of sketches and designs.  I was even able to arrange a phone interview with Ian McDiarmid, who portrayed Emperor Palpatine in the films, and discuss with him some of his impressions and ideas he had about the character.  He was very gracious and insightful, and complimentary of my approach and the drawings I'd done...

ERAGON creeps

Here are some creature designs I did for the feature film adaptation of the popular fantasy novel, ERAGON back in 2005...I got called in specifically to take a pass at the RA'ZAC, ringwraith-like meanies who pursue the boy hero.  The major brief from director Stefen Fangmeier was to avoid visual parallels to the Lord of the Rings villains, so I took them in another direction.  This was a fun bit of design work, and the last bit of pure freelance that I did before I started work on WALL-E in the beginning of 2005...

Belated COMIC CON Photos pt.2

This guy gets the prize for the most chilling JOKER costume...scared me right out of focus....

Special E-VILLE Agent Anita Coulter showcases some product with the help of Wonder Woman and Green Lantern...

E-VILLE Booth crew in effect...Ted,  Nina and Stephan help make the magic happen.

Now there's some dedication...Wonder Twin Powers-ACTIVATE!  

ARRRRRR....

This dude gets my vote for Best CON Tee-Shirt.

Belated COMIC-CON Photos

Since  returning from this years Comic-Con, I've been up to the gills in work, so I haven't had a chance to post any photos from the show....here's a sample of some memorable moments:

Here's our booth...Ted at the ready...

The Convention floor was pretty much this crowded all 5 days.  An absolute sea of humanity...

Fantastic New School and Old School TRANSFORMERS costumes!  Bumblebee had a huge mob of fans wherever he went...

POTA crew...awesome!

I've seen more and more elaborate and groovy  STEAMPUNK related costumes in recent years...these two were a couple standouts...

Once again, Jamie and Rhode knock it out of the park as the DISCIPLES OF COMIC BOT!!

   And finally, there was this crazy Furry-Squirrel running around and looking creepy.  I had to get a shot...according to reports I read later, this might actually have been JOHNNY DEPP, roaming the CON floor undercover.  Seriously?...

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL

It's almost time for the 40th edition of the COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL!

I've been attending this show on a regular basis since the late seventies, but it still never ceases to amaze me...

   You'll be able to find me, along with the mighty TED MATHOT, at Booth # 1215...on Row #12 towards the front 1/3 of the building.  We're listed as : E-VILLE/DEREKMONSTER/ROSE &ISABEL.

  In addition to my brand new DEREKMONSTER ANNUAL 2009, I'll have last year's ANNUAL, along with my GNOMON DVD and original artwork for sale.  The book will also be available for sale on this blog, however we won't be fulfilling any orders until after the CON...

See you in San Diego!

COVER

CRUNCH TIME!

Just a few days left before the DEREKMONSTER ANNUAL 2009 goes off to the printer...I'm finalizing layout now, adding last minute color tweaks and trying to finish the cover, which has been a real challenge... 

   There will be 32 FULL COLOR monsters in the center of the book this time around, distinguishing it from previous editions... 

  The book should be hot off the press just in time to debut at the 40th Annual COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL in San Diego next month!