We Are The LAW

Egon Spengler by Jon

2010-11-23T23:45:00.003-05:00

I haven't had time to do a proper drawing for this blog for a long time, so I thought I'd just do a couple quick sketches of my favorite Ghostbuster, Egon, in the Real Ghostbusters style. People have often called me "Egon", both because of my considerable nerdiness and because my hair tends to spontaneously form into a Harold-Ramis-esque pompadour without my realizing it.

Ghostbusters Geistbusters by Zach

2010-10-31T02:18:00.001-04:00

Things have slowed down on this blog a bit, but we keep picking new characters to draw, and the next characters chosen were the Ghostbusters, so I figured what the Hell. I wanted to show them busting somebody, and thought it would be fun to put a famous ghost in the trap, rather than some generic ghoulie. I suppose I could have put Deadman in there, or Starscream, but I just couldn't resist the pun potential in choosing Poltergeist from Justin Aclin's comic Hero House.

Again, this is one where I gave up 75% of the way through because I thought I'd bitten off more than I could chew, but ended up going back in after getting inspired (this time by Alex K.'s animation on the new Marvel What The....?! and Sean T. Collins' new comic). I even got fancy with my computer coloring, throwing a Mike Dimayuga panel into the picture frame and using some glowy filters on Egon's stream and the ghost trap. We lose Egon and Ray's ankles, but we're all better off, to be honest. As much as I love coloring, I may try to do an actually good black-and-white sketch next time, rather than going for the finished look.

Check out a 50-page preview of Hero House here, then order it from Amazon. Then order MY book, Pop Sculpture, from Barnes & Noble!

Captain Caveman by Alex K.

2010-09-25T22:12:00.005-04:00

I never watched the cartoon as a kid, so I caught a few YouTube clips of Captain Caveman to get an idea of what the character is all about. I probably watched three full episodes and couldn't figure it out. Oh well, here he is looking like a barbarian.

For Mel <3

The Warriors by Zach Oat

2010-08-26T01:13:00.002-04:00

Following Rickey Purdin's amazing entries on this blog is a thankless job, but he always inspires me to draw better, so I revisited my Warriors sketch, which I had given up earlier, thinking it was too ambitious for my skills, and managed to tighten it up a bit and finish it.

I'm not saying it's the best drawing of any of the Warriors -- Ajax, Swan and Rembrandt are okay, I guess, but Cochise comes off looking like a woman -- I'm just happy to have finished it, and to have figured out how to do a crazy gradient background on the colored version.

All-Star Warriors by Rickey

2010-08-24T22:12:00.005-04:00

Our next theme is actually The Warriors, the classic Walter Hill film, as chosen by TJ.

I cheated and tossed together an all-star Warriors team made up of (from left to right) wrestler "Road WARRIOR Animal," Mel's Gibson's Road WARRIOR "Mad Max," the Wizard Master kid from Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream WARRIORS, Swan from the WARRIORS, wrestler The Ultimate WARRIOR, and Antonio Banderas's 13th WARRIOR.

So many hardcore warriors...so much ass to stomp.

Batman Lost in Time by Alex K.

2010-07-28T21:40:00.004-04:00

Taking a cue from Chris Ward's take on Batman Lost In Time, I decided to Photoshop this entry.

I thought this would be a cool place for Batman to end up.

Orko by Alex K.

2010-07-20T09:41:00.004-04:00

I never watched He-Man. I'm kinda glad about that, though. I have enough trouble trying to get my hands on Mattel's DCUC and Ghostbuster toys, I don't have the patience for another toy line. So although I'm familiar with Orko's image, I have no idea what he does. Something magical? Is he an orc? "Orc..." "Orko?" I'm gonna say he's an orc. I painted him like an orc.

Destructor by Alex K.

2010-07-13T21:43:00.003-04:00

Sean T. Collins' creation Destructor faces off against a Terminator.
You can't really tell, but trust me: Destructor has turned his hat backwards Over-The-Top-style, so I think you already know who's the winner of this match. I was also going to draw Bender, R2-D2 and some other robots clutching money, screaming and betting on the match in the background, but I got lazy.

Geist by Alex K.

2010-07-13T21:25:00.008-04:00

Hello! This is Alex Kropinak with my first post here on the LAW Blog: 'Geist Dude,' featuring Justin Aclin's Hero House character! Remember Ghost Dad?

I was going to put the faces of three HH characters peeking out of the right side of the paper so it resembled the original Ghost Dad movie poster more, plus made more sense for Geist to be flipping the bird to someone, but I got lazy.

In case you care, I make videos for Marvel.com. For example, the stop-motion animated show "Marvel Super Heroes: What The--?!" I'm not much of a writer but I sure do like drawlin' pitchers! I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog but I'm looking forward to posting more!

Boys Club by Rickey

2010-06-27T21:52:00.002-04:00

I can't choose a favorite member of Boys Club, so I just chose Pepe from a strip that I think Dave commissioned for use in Wizard once. Pepe's nards hurt, so Andy told him to hop up and down, which led to ungodly amounts of puke for no reason. PERFECT.
And this is my first watercolor painting. I'd be proud of me if I were my own son.

Boy's Club by Sean T. Collins

2010-04-29T19:35:00.006-04:00

Andy is funny
Brett is funky
Landwolf is drunk
Pepe is hungry

Together they are the stars of the funniest comic series in the world.

Captain Caveman by Rickey

2010-04-05T19:56:00.001-04:00

I like my cavemen with big dumb grins and monkey feet. RESPECK.

Captain Caveman by Ben Morse

2010-04-04T23:05:00.001-04:00

Look, if an image of Batman in caveman times starts making the rounds around the same time we're drawing Captain Caveman here, I'm just going to do what comes natural...

Dino-Bat in Time by Rickey

2010-04-01T23:14:00.003-04:00

Bruce Wayne coulda been transformed into a dinosaur by the Omega Effect, right?

Boys Club by Zach Oat

2010-04-01T21:31:00.001-04:00

First of all, I need to thank Sean T. Collins. Not only did he create Destructor, he's introduced me to literally dozens of indie comics I would never have known about otherwise. So when he chose Boys Club by Matt Furie to be the next subject on the LAW blog, I looked it up and was blown away. Four guys (A frog, a... wolfman? A... bear? Some other thing?) just hanging around, eating, drinking, doing drugs, being naked, spouting catchphrases and vomiting. Funniest shit ever. I was particuarly intrigued by the wolfman-looking character, Landwolf, whose appearance I can only assume is inspired by Teen Wolf. In homage to the T-Wolf, I drew the following:

It's Landwolf in Teen Wolf's basketball uniform, about to dunk over the heads of his friends Andy, Brett and Pepe. I have no idea which is which. Hope you all like it.

Shaving Captain Caveman by Sean T. Collins

2010-04-01T20:37:00.003-04:00

LAW goes NSFW! I tried to make this as creepy as Rob's drawing of the Captain. Did I succeed? I think the scrotal stubble is the kicker.

Orko Revealed by Sean T. Collins

2010-04-01T20:33:00.006-04:00

Taking a cue from TJ, who He-Man-ified Orko's torso, I decided to Skeletorize his face. Orko revealing he was a double agent the whole time then stabbing Prince Adam in his sleep would have made a great ending to the cartoon.

Batman of Gondor by Sean T. Collins

2010-04-01T20:28:00.006-04:00

J.R.R. Tolkien treated his Middle-earth mythology like it took place on the Earth we know, in an ancient time lost to history. So technically, the Omega Effect could have transported Batman to Numenor in the Second Age. You just know he'd have resisted Sauron's corruption, fled the destruction of the island kingdom with Elendil, helped found Gondor and Arnor, and gone on to become an inspiring symbol of good. So that's why I drew the emblem of the Kings of Gondor with the Bat-symbol in place of the White Tree. It's not because I can't draw Batman himself, no sir.

The Captain Caveman Was Here

2010-03-30T18:34:00.004-04:00

I used to watch this show all the time when I was a kid, but I only remember three things: he had hot sidekicks, he screamed a lot, and he beat people over the fucking head. That was my favorite part. This is the Captain Caveman head smash ambush in advertisement form. Everyone seems to be having a great time, which is the magic of advertising. It's also the magic of Mel Caylo, who had the Captain Caveman idea for this week's post. Click for bigger version.

Captain Cavemerica by Zach Oat

2010-03-26T00:09:00.001-04:00

I don't know if Captain Caveman was designed first or named first, or if he was the result of some sort of decades-long Hanna-Barbera R&D project, but he is ridiculous. Is that a massive beard, or is his body furry and peanut-shaped? I'm sure this was explained in the cartoon, along with where his powers come from, but it has literally been decades since I saw one. So I drew him as one of my favorite superheroes, Captain America, and I dressed his son like Bucky in the background.

It's sad that one of the most iconic images of Captain America I can think of is Ultimate Cap pointing at the "A" on his forehead and saying "Do you think this stands for 'France'?" Damn you, Mark Millar. Anyway, I wasn't gonna color it, but I had a few free moments while watching "Jason and teh Argonauts." So here you go.

Scooby-Doobies Doooode! by Matt P.

2010-03-23T14:39:00.003-04:00

I love how I post to this blog more regularly than my own, but I aim to change within the next few days.

Last week Melly Mel called the shots and sent us back to the Stone Age with Captain Caveman.

My earliest memory of Captain Caveman came from USA Networks' Cartoon Express show, "Laff-a-lympics." Essentially, there were three teams of Hanna-Barbera characters each led by a recognizable character who competed in Olympic-type events. The teams were-The Yogi Yahooeys (led by Yogi Bear), The Scooby Doobies (led by Scooby-Doo), and The Really Rottens (led by Dread Baron or, if you prefer, Dick Dastardly).

So, in my contribution to this blog I went with my favorite and Captain Caveman's team, The Scooby Doobies, and included two of his teammates--Hong Kong Phooey and Dynomutt. Enjoy!

Cap'n Caveman by Rob

2010-03-20T14:11:00.003-04:00

I hate Captain Caveman. He always freaked me out. Partially because as a man, he was clearly nude, even though he was cognizant enough to wear a cape; also because he was entirely covered in hair, which, as a nearly hairless person myself, makes me intensely uncomfortable and a little jealous. Still, when Mel Caylo says draw Captain Caveman, you do it or you get the shit hugged out of you.

I knew I wanted to bring out Captain Caveman's innate creepiness with a reasonably realistic face, and when I thought of beings who were mostly eyes and noses, I immediately turned to Ringo Starr. So I tried to model the face off of his photos on the cover of With the Beatles and A Hard Day's Night. The cigarette seemed somehow necessary after I finished the eyes and nose. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out in that it's really, really creepy.

The Hair Club Featuring Captain Caveman by TJ Dietsch

2010-03-17T03:05:00.004-04:00

When Mel suggested we draw Captain Caveman this week, I figured I could take it easy and just do a quick version of a childhood favorite. Instead, I found it difficult to really capture CC's essence. I think it's the eye/nose combination that really makes him unique. Anyway, I decided to make things harder on myself by setting this drawing in a dance club and adding Cousin It and Hair Bear to the mix. Plus turntables. Anyway, here's the original, pres-Photoshop version.

After scanning it, I went through and basically bleached everything but the black lines by using the paintbucket tool to make just about everything white. I've found the more I do of this, the easier it is to go through and add color in big waves as opposed to really intricate work. I apparently didn't do enough though as this piece still took a lot of zooming in an altering. I then grabbed some images online of the characters and used the eyedropper to match the colors. After that it was just a matter of adding the other colors and patters. And voila, here's the finished product.

Centurion Batman by Rob

2010-03-15T14:23:00.004-04:00

I picked this week's subject matter, exactly so I could draw Batman in a bat-themed Roman centurion outfit. My inspiration was of course DC's recently revealed Return of Bruce Wayne comic covers, my stupid-enormous passion for ancient Rome, and the fact that I'm pretty sure my fellow LAWyers would have hated me if I'd asked them to draw Dr. Druid (next time, though).

I took the pose from a Jim Lee Hush pic, and then kind of immediately fucked it up. Between the nightmare happening with Batman's right foot and the fact that I'm not nearly competent enough to draw all those straps around Batman's groin and shoulders, I decided to leave it in pencil to keep it from looking too atrocious. I feel it was a good move.

Punk Rock Batman by Zach Oat

2010-03-13T22:17:00.007-05:00

As a fan of DC's Elseworlds stories (as well as the Legends of the Dark Knight toy line by Kenner), I could draw Batman in different historical outfits all day. Unfortunately, I'm not that good an artist, so Braveheart Batman and Black Knight Batman aren't really options. But after catching an advance screening of "The Runaways," I started thinking about the 1970s glam rock/punk rock movement, and after briefly debating if it made any logical sense for Batman to do anything in the '70s other than be Batman, I kinda sorta made him the frontman for the Stooges.

I don't know what the other Stooges look like, but I gave Batman Iggy Pop's chiseled abs and skinny jeans. Of course, I instantly regretted not making Batman David Bowie, since then I would at least have an easy pun. ("A Bat Insane," "The Thin White Bruce," etc.) The name "Iggy Pop" doesn't lend itself to Batman-related puns, although I suppose you could call the band "Iggy and the Bruces." And of course he would perform such hits as "I Wanna Be Your Unofficially Sanctioned Vigilante," "Search and Place in Arkham Asylum" and "Lust for Street-Level Justice." Here's a colored version.

Check out the amazing covers for Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne at DC's The Source.

Holy Stained Glass, Batman!...by Matt P.

2010-03-12T14:24:00.007-05:00

Even though it seems like everyone in Gotham has to have seen The Batman at least once in their life, I like the idea of him being a mythical figure. With the theme of a time-lost Batman, I imagine he'd like to keep a low profile when taking out the bad guys to, y'know, not throw off the whole space-time continuum.

So the first idea that came to mind was, "What if someone one happened to catch a glimpse of the Caped Crusader?" So if Bats ran through Medieval times, I bet his insignia would catch the eye of an onlooker and inspire them to create a stained glass image as a tribute or just as a cool idea. I wanted it to be simple and was really pleased with the outcome.

Also, Here's some other cool stained glass images I came across.

Here's the Photoshop color version to give you the full effect:

'Nam Batman by Ben Morse

2010-03-12T01:26:00.001-05:00

No lie, when I heard the time-lost Batman pitch, the first thing that popped into my head was to do a Saturday Night Fever riff, but then without any discussion between the two of us, TJ went and did it first, so instead I did this...

I don't love how I did the shading (particularly on the pants) or that the bandana looks like some sort of earpiece, and in retrospect it would have been neat to add some more bat gadgets or touches, but hey, here we are.

Hat tip to the poster for the original Rambo.

Ward's Version of Batman: Out of Time

2010-03-11T14:16:00.006-05:00

What if Batman got on a Time Machine and got lost? That was the inspiration here.

This photo manipulation inspired by Rob Bricken and Corey Ian Haim. CLICK photo for Biggie-Fries Version.

Banorko

2010-03-10T21:20:00.003-05:00

What if Orko had a banana head? That was the inspiration here.

Disco Batman by TJ Dietsch

2010-03-09T22:16:00.006-05:00

After Rob of Topless Robot fame suggested time lost Batman for this week's subject, I was at a bit of a loss. A Batman from anywhere throughout the whole history of time is a bit daunting. So, I went pretty simple and just did Batman as Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever, ripping the pose off of the poster. I did the usual pencils then inks, then I had a cocktail and thought coloring it with markers would be a good idea. Here's how it looked before I poorly Photoshopped it.

Then I poorly Photoshopped it, giving Bats a wooden dance floor to dance on, a pschadelic background and a disco ball to dance under. I really wish I could use Photoshop more effectively. Or at all really. Anywhere, here's the eye-melting version.

For more of me, head over to UnitedMonkee.

The Secret Origin of Destructor

2010-03-04T20:27:00.007-05:00

I've been chronicling the adventures of Destructor and The Mob since I was in third grade. I've done this in a variety of different ways: Prose stories and histories, long lists of characters, playing "Mob" with my siblings and the neighborhood kids or just by myself, or even simply mentally advancing the storyline by increments as I drift off to sleep. Nowadays of course there are also the comics I've done with the great Matt Wiegle. But the main record of Destructor's world that I've kept over the years is in the form of hundreds and hundreds of drawings of the characters, from the waist up, mugshot-style. I drew these all through elementary school, middle school, and high school, mostly in giant three-tiered sheets of computer paper, the kind that had little holes on the edges. I've got a blue binder full of these things--if you're ever at my house, I'll show 'em to you.

So here are the three drawings I have of Destructor from that period.

This is the earliest extant drawing of Destructor, but it's not the first one I did. I first drew Destructor and a lot of other characters in third grade, but lost all the drawings on a class trip. I redrew him...I'm not sure when, exactly. Several months later, maybe the next school year? So that would date this drawing to around 1987, most likely. Note the spikes and horns, always a very prominent part of how I saw the character. You'll probably be seeing them down the line.

As I got older and "better" at drawing, I started redoing some of the most important characters so that they'd look as cool as I was capable of making them look at the time. I'd imagine this drawing was done in middle school, so around '90-'91, something like that. More spikes, bigger horns.

In high school, I finally bit the bullet and broke the mugshot format, and started drawing legs and feet. I did this in a series of full-body pin-ups on loose leaf, no doubt inspired by the pin-ups in the comics I'd finally started reading by this time. This probably was done in 1995. None more spiky!

Pfft, Orko...more like, Dorko. by Matt P.

2010-03-04T12:45:00.006-05:00

I remember being really into He-Man as a kid (btw, I would have loved to have seen the marketing meeting to see the guy who actually came up with the idea to name the show "He-Man." I'm sure the office threw him a free lunch that day.) and I don't really much care for it now. So I don't have any kind of real attachment to the characters more than the main characters, their wacky names, and crazy costumes.

I drew this from a random picture online found here I like the graytones and just smudged it with my finger to give some color contrast. To add a little magic, I just erased in the letters at the top left to read "Orko" as if they appeared from nowhere.

I would like to point out in my search for reference I found this awesome Orko drawn by UK artist, Rob Jackson on his blog.

Orko by Rob

2010-03-04T10:43:00.005-05:00

I'm willing to bet I'm the biggest He-Man/Masters of the Universe fan here at The LAW, and even I hate Orko. I always wanted MotU to be more serious swords and sorcery, and Orko was clearly kiddie crap (oh, how I loathed the fact they brought him back for the 2002 MotU cartoon, exactly as goofy as his '80s counterpart). That said, I'm also likely the biggest Final Fantasy fan here, and obviously the similarities between Orko and the Black Mage have certainly not been lost on me over the years.

So I decided to make a Orko version of the 8-bit, Final Fantasy I Black Mage sprite. Or rather, I assumed someone already had, looked around the internet, and couldn't find one. I cannot believe I'm the first person to do this, but at any rate, here it is now. Other than the "O," the position of the Black Mage's left arm and the ear (and the colors, of course), it's 100% accurate Final Fantasy I Black Mage. I was going to draw it on graph paper, and then I realized I could draw it in Photoshop far easier, and color it, too. If this is truly the first time this has been done, then I have performed a very nerdy service for the world indeed.

Orko by TJ Dietsch

2010-03-04T00:32:00.003-05:00

Hey gang, TJ Dietsch of UnitedMonkee here. I've been blown away by Zach and Ben's reinterpretations of Orko and decided to keep the ball rolling by drawing him as a cross between one of his burly Masters of the Universe brethren (hence the furry briefs) and one of the Spartans from 300 (the DVD cover of which I clearly swiped the pose and sword from). The idea of his furry drawers ending with no legs and his tunic acting more as a cape in this pose really tickled me. And speaking of pastels, this is the first time I can remember coloring something with pencils in ages. I've tried using makers, but they streak, pool and smudge more than I like. Well anyway, here it is. I sure wouldn't mess with him.

Orko by Ben Morse

2010-03-02T00:10:00.001-05:00

Continuing my homage/re-casting theme from last week, I give you Orko: Sorcerer Supreme!

If I didn't live up to the standards set by Marcos Martin, well, that's something I'm prepared to live with.

Destructor by Ryan

2010-02-28T23:48:00.003-05:00

Destructor's a wicked cool robot. I love robots. I love hamburgers. I love hamburgers that have silly names because there's all kinds of junk and stuff on 'em. Oh, and Sean's a vegetarian and Destructor's his baby, so I threw a veggie burger in there. Mmmmm, hamburgers for robots.

p.s. How about that Photoshop coloring, eh? Sweet, right?

Orko Redux by Zach Oat

2010-02-28T00:44:00.006-05:00

This week we'll be expanding the scope of the LAW Blog to include characters NOT created by LAW members. The first lucky winner? Fricking Orko from Masters of the Universe. Don't ask me how he won -- it's a long story that involves bourbon, a nostalgic YouTube video and no small amount of emotional blackmail. And while I respect Orko as a person, I hate the way that he looks. Looking at him and hating him, I decided to see what I could do to make him cooler. This was the result.

First, I decided that Orko needed legs, because only losers hover. And since he was going to get tired walking around, I gave him a horse. Specifically, I gave him He-Man's robot horse, Stridor. And I gave him Castle Grayskull to live in, too. Basically, I gave Orko He-Man's entire TV show, because if Orko had legs, a horse and a cool castle, he'd be much, much cooler than a half-naked barbarian. And for the first time, I think my sketch looks better in color!

Call him Vampire Hunter O. Hopefully, other bloggers will draw Orko the way he really looks, because my sketch really isn't the best way to kick off Orko week. I'd say buy a Orko comic, but I'd rather you bought Hero House.

Des-truc-tor?! I barely know her! by Matt P.

2010-02-26T20:12:00.005-05:00

It's my goal to make every one of my post titles a pun. We'll see how I fare.

With this piece, I originally wanted to go with a Andy Warhol-esque Campbell soup theme (hence the four boxes) However, I just chose to go with four different poses of Destructor from my bud, STC's comic.

In retrospect it looks very "class picture" like, but I'm still pretty pleased. Really, I'm just glad to be sketching again.

Destructor by Rob Bricken

2010-02-26T10:54:00.003-05:00

I ponied up for a sketch pad last weekend, and a new set of problems have arisen. Why is it scanning in a variety of beiges and whites? Why aren't my pencil marks erasing that well? Why am I so terrible at perspective? Questions for the ages. Still, drawing STC's Destructor was hella fun, not just because it's a great comic, but because Destructor is a fabulous design. Still, I think I might prefer an anarchy logo on his stomach instead of the star, but that's probably just me.

Destructor by David

2010-02-25T23:31:00.008-05:00

If you stare at the horizon for too long all you can see is fire.

Magnadoodle Destructor by TJ Dietsch

2010-02-25T12:06:00.003-05:00

I didn't intend to double dip this time around, but I was babysitting yesterday and the kid brought out a Magnadoodle, which compelled me to try my hand at Destructor again. I think Sean should definitely consider turning this whole thing into a kid's book.

King Suckerman's take on Destructor

2010-02-25T08:53:00.004-05:00

These are just straight-up pencils I tinkered with a tad in Photoshop to increase the contrast and mimic (as best I can) the sketchy, gritty quality of Sean and Matt's original strip. I love the design of Destructor and the other characters in the story, so this was a lot of fun to draw.

Destructor by Rickey Purdin

2010-02-25T00:34:00.004-05:00

I've always wanted to draw Destructor. Maybe even a little Destructor strip if Sean will have me one day when I stop sucking so hard. The Prison Break story was filled with so many awesome character designs that I can hardly stand it. Just a pure design bonanza. I fucking love comics and KNOW this isn't my last Destructor drawing. Here's Destructor, Tarkor, and a Mer-soldier leaping into action along with my favorite line from the strip.

Destructor vs. Croc-Man by Zach Oat

2010-02-24T23:48:00.008-05:00

When I first read Sean's "Destructor Comes to Croc Town," I was blown away. I had to read it twice to make sure I hadn't missed something, some clue to the enigma that was Destructor, but I hadn't. Destructor was simply a metal can of awesome, and he kicked crocodile-man ass. I was going to do an Iron Man tribute cover, having been inspired by Ben Morse's ode to Tales of Suspense, but in the end I just had to do the comic's great, mostly wordless story justice, and show Destructor locked in mortal combat with a massive Croc-Man.

This is the moment when his arm is torn off, and the Croc-Man has yet to learn that that was not necessarily the best move to make. Not only does Destructor now have a five-fingered wingman, he's got a blunt instrument to swing. The scene as drawn by Matt Wiegle is awesome, which is why I tried to computer-color it, in an attempt to do more than lamely imitate Wiegle's amazing art. Eh. Not my forte. Here it is anyway.

Read "Destructor in: Prison Break," then buy both Destructor adventures in Murder.

DESTRUCTOR VS. CHRIS WARD

2010-02-23T21:22:00.004-05:00

I LOVVVVE Matt Weigel's Destructor from the Sean T. Collins comic of the same name. Something about the art is right up my alley...if we were speaking in terms of music, Destructor would be considered in my register. I drew Destructor fighting the only robot I've ever created (in 7th grade), which itself must be some kind of Scud rip-off, but I can't remember. I don't think it was on purpose, anyway.

My robot (which, for over 15 years now, has no name) is taking Destructor apart piece by piece, the sad lunk that he is. I felt bad about having my character win this battle after I drew it, sort of like that short story where the kid defeats his father in a wrestling match as an adult, and gets sort of sad and wistful about life and shit like that.

This sketch has a major technical error of Liefeld-ian proportions, which I'll leave you to figure out. It's a mistake I make all the time.

The art in Destructor reminds me of my first comic convention, and this little indie, stapled-together comic I picked up called "Skank the Chimp." My first exposure to stapled-together, indie comics. I was really into SKA at the time, and this rude-boy, scooter riding chimp was indeed appealing. I bought a Skank the Chimp t-shirt, and became known as "Skank" at school because the shirt was so "quirky" and "outsidery" in my backwoods town. I wonder if that indie creator knows how much mileage and lifeblood I got out of his character. A Google search for Skank the Chimp reveals 0 results.

Destructor & Friends by TJ Dietsch

2010-02-23T17:11:00.004-05:00

Hey gang, after peeping Zach's homage image of Geist, I decided to give it a shot by copying one of my all time favorite artists in the history of art by doing Sean T. Collins' Destructor by ripping off Jim Steranko's oft-copied Nick Fury: Agent Of S.H.I.E.L.D. #1. I even got my ruler out to try and get those stacked boxes in fighting shape, but when I went over them in ink I used freehand hence the shaky-at-best lines. To fill out the rest of the characters I used the stories Destructor Comes To Croc Town and Prison Break for reference. There's a croc soldier with monocle/scope eye on top from Croc, one of the mouse soldiers, The Brain and one of the domed dudes from the end of Prison Break. And of course Destructor who should have been much bigger. My anatomy leaves much to be desired, but here it is in all it's black and white "glory."

Not being able to leave the base line of well enough alone, I decided to try and color the thing on Photoshop. I didn't do a very good job as there are lots of white spots and I just left the figures non-colored because it was just too fine. So, here you go. My apologies to Steranko, Sean and artist Matt Wiegle who kicks ass on these strips.

King Suckerman's take on GEIST.

2010-02-23T14:31:00.002-05:00

Feel that.

Destructor by Ben Morse

2010-02-23T00:22:00.000-05:00

Inspired by Zach's homage last week, I decided to do my own, casting Sean T. Collins and Matt Wiegle's character, Destructor, as Iron Man from his first appearance:

Destructor is a super-fun character to draw and I'm quite pleased with how this came out, with the exception of getting cocky with the logo and thinking I could do it straight off with ink then screwing up the "S".

Check yourself out some Destructor here.

Geist by Ryan

2010-02-22T23:23:00.002-05:00

I wasn't sure I'd participate in this. I mean, I can't draw for shit. I mean, I REALLY can't draw worth a damn--especially when it comes to humanoid things.

But then, I had this idea. Why not draw the food that comes to mind when I think about the character in question? That'd be goofy and ridiculous and maybe let me get past my own insecurities about drawing.

So what made me draw a G-shaped pudding pop as my entry for Geist? I thought--and this is completely true--"Geist? Hmm. A ghost. A ghost? Ghost Dad! Haha...fucking Ghost Dad. Hmm. Bill Cosby. Ah! Pudding Pops!" So this is the result of that whole...thing. Geist brand puddin' pops.

Geist by Jesse T.

2010-02-22T22:30:00.001-05:00

Hey gang, my name's Jesse, and I'm an editor with Maxim.com. First off, I must apologize to everyone reading, as I am by far the worst excuse for an artist you're gonna find on this blog. (Seriously, I haven't even attempted a doodle in 5-6 years.) But I'm obviously in very good company and am honored to share the LAW stage. And taking a stab at a drawering was actually a lot of fun.

For this piece, my main concern was just making a recognizable Geist. He wound up looking exactly like Christopher Walken instead, but I'll lie and claim that was intentional. I used a charcoal pencil on drafting paper, and that's an actual sticker for the T-shirt on his chest. I was trying to hint at some of the more heavy-duty stuff that Justin plans to address with the character, but the Beetlejuice quote seemed like a natural fit for Geist's personality.

Geist by Chris Ward

2010-02-22T22:00:00.000-05:00

Hi guys, I'm Chris Ward. I mostly don't do shit all day. I'm a little late to the party, but here's my version of Justin Aclin's Geist (apparently short for "Poltergeist," not "Brandi Geist," a girl that went to my school).

In it, I project my only fantasy I've ever had about the power to walk through walls: going into a women's locker room. If I were Geist, this is all I would ever, ever do. Try to stop me. You can't. I just go back through the wall while you're looking for a door. A close second would be phasing through turnstiles at Six Flags, because I hate turnstiles and have an irrational fear of something getting pinched in them. It also really bugs me that they only go one way, and this sets off my OCD something awful because a lot of my OCD quirks hinge on things doubling back the same way.

For example: if I get out of a car and walk around to the gas station pump, I need to walk the exact same way going back, and I even need to get back in the car a certain way. If I were Geist and I phased through a wall into a women's locker room, I'd need to double back the exact way I came. If you knew this about me, it would be the only way to catch me with a net. Also, I'm terrible at drawing naked women. When I was a child I would try to draw breasts and then I would furiously erase them and rip up the paper into a thousand pieces and swear I'd never do it again because I felt so ashamed. Although this isn't the sole reason I'm terrible at drawing breasts, it's got to be one of the reasons. I could never practice without the terrible guilt that came along with it.

Geist by Jon Gutierrez

2010-02-22T21:35:00.001-05:00

I figure'd I'd try a mugshot profile of Geist, although I've never seen a campus police station has old-timey mugshots. (They presumably have an old-timey wild west photo booth, too.) And based on the amount he's chubbed up since the other drawings, I'm assuming he's being booked for Grand Theft Fluffernutters.

Like all the other Law bloggers, I'm definitely not a professional artist, mainly because I hate drawing hands enough to just leave that placard floating in front of him.

And for my plug: I'm a writer/performer with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and I write comedy videos for UCBcomedy.com, which you can see on my blog.

Geist by Mel Caylo

2010-02-22T20:31:00.000-05:00

Hello, LAW-abiding citizens! My name is Mel Caylo and I'm the marketing manager at indie comics publisher, Archaia Entertainment, based in sunny LA. Like some of my fellow LAW-yers, I cannot draw to save my life, but since this isn't a life-or-death situation, I will gladly add my shameful rendition of Geist to the collection. I am very proud of Justin for persevering and seeing Hero House through. Please buy it and read it!

A couple of things about my "drawing." I decided to draw Geist throwing the Shocker hand sign. Sue me. I also have him wearing an ironic t-shirt because Rob Bricken already drew Geist with a Justin Aclin t-shirt. And like TJ, I, too, don't know how to draw feet, so the wispy entrails of a ghost were much easier to sketch. I did this "drawing" at my desk in the office after 5 p.m. on a Friday, so if it looks rushed, it is.

Enjoy!

Geistspell by Sean

2010-02-22T19:56:00.002-05:00

I am not an artist. Heh, to a fault. But I am a doodler, and this drawing was made with my preferred media: Uniball pen on blank white paper. And it's a reference to my preferred musical: Godspell.

What happened was that I didn't just want to ape the angular eyebrows and sinister grin Geist sports on the Hero House cover. So I drew his mouth into what I thought was going to be a sneer. Then I inverted his eyebrows so he'd look worried rather than pissed off. This had the effect of making his "sneer" look like a plea for help. Combine this with the off-model length I gave his ratty hair and that prominent Hero House logo on his t-shirt, and I started thinking of Jesus and his Superman shirt during the crucifixion in Stephen Schwartz's wonderful musical. A few paraphrased quotes from the lyrics to "Finale" and boom, a sketch with cross-market appeal to both superhero fans and musical theater devotees. Since the LAW includes several of both, including Geist's creator Justin, I figured this would be spun gold.

He's a hero in dis-GEIST! BY Matt P.

2010-02-22T00:28:00.001-05:00

Well I made it. Somehow.

This blog is making me sketch again, which is cool and kinda scary considering I've lost what little drawing prowess I've had. However, I love the idea (and the 80s) so here's my Geist complete with mullet and confirmation that 1984 apparently ruled.

Also since everyone is plugging away, check out my blog Saturday Morning is Awesome! where talk about everything cool that i can remember about my saturday mornings; from toys to food and classic commercials.

The Geist-meister! by David

2010-02-20T17:20:00.001-05:00

Geist's favorite book is The Amboy Dukes by Irving Schulman.

(I took a photo of this cos i don't have a scanner!)

Geist by Ben Morse

2010-02-20T16:00:00.000-05:00

Hello, I'm Ben Morse, assistant editor of Marvel.com, contributor to The Cool Kids Table, yada yada yada.

So when I thought about my approach to Geist, I figured the other guys had kinda covered the zany fun-loving stuff, so I'd go for a more "He's a vampire tilt." Whether owing to me not pulling it off or the character just being too inherently fun to go full horror with (though I'm sure some people could quite well) I ended up maybe halfway there. I'll cop to borrowing the hands from Tony Daniel's cover to Teen Titans #37 (hands are tough, yo) and of course using the concept art Justin has shown elsewhere, but the rest is mostly me.

No idea how that Medusa mullet happened.

Anyhow, as you should know by this point, if you're digging any of these or if you're not, go buy Hero House. Now.

Geist by Zach Oat

2010-02-19T23:12:00.001-05:00

I wanted to do an homage for my piece, and the minute I started to think about famous comic covers to emulate, Silver Surfer #4 popped into my head, with Thor fighting the Surfer. Mostly because it's so damn famous, but also because it had a flying character fighting a standing character, which worked for Geist and his opponent, whoever he was going to be. I almost made it Turbine, but then I decided to go with Brutal, since he's bulky like Thor and he has a bad history with Geist.

This is the first thing I've drawn in a looong time. You can check out all my old comic strips at my old Angelfire site, and of course, you can buy Justin Aclin's Hero House on Amazon.

Geist by Rickey Purdin

2010-02-19T23:03:00.000-05:00

I love horror movies on video tape and I would love to watch Geist star in his own horror film - preferably on video tape. You hear that, Hollywood? Make me happy.
Click on the image for the bigger, more detailed version!

Geist by Adam Tracey

2010-02-19T12:12:00.001-05:00

Hi kids! I'm Adam Tracey and I'm a freelance writer for UGO.com's "The Goods" channel about all the stuff that makes geekdom so damned materialistic (toys, DVDs, t-shirts, etc.) and therefore so damned fun!

I am an incredibly awful artist. Seriously. No, it's not quite clear yet: I suck at drawing, sketching, doodling... My best work almost always involves rulers and/or protractors. So when TJ asked us to contribute to a sketch blog, I was nervous. But when the inaugural subject was announced -- Justin Aclin's Geist from Hero House -- I was psyched!

You see, Geist and I are kindred spirits (pardon the pun). We're both what you might call "professional drinkers." So I knew that I could use my 8-year-old style of drawring to capture this guzzling ghoul in a way that does justice to his character traits. I imagine that if Geist and I were to become friends and party together, this is one of the last things I'd see before blacking out. Well, this and Rob Bricken yelling at Geist not to "bogart that bottle!"
Told you I was bad. But dammit if I'm not proud as hell of this horribly drawn picture. Plus, I really enjoyed tracing that bottle of Patron from a magazine ad. Hope you dig it!

Geist by Rob Bricken

2010-02-18T11:28:00.001-05:00

Hey, folks. I'm Rob, editor of Topless Robot, and as the rest of the LAWyers will tell you, the least informed on American comics in the group. That said, I'd been wanting to get back into sketching for a little while now — just for kicks, since I'm kind of terrible at it — and I don't think I'd be any more terrible at drawing American comics characters than I would anything else. Plus, my buddy Justin Aclin's Hero House is awesome. So there.

I apologize for the smudges; I was drawing on printer paper since I don't have a sketch pad yet. Also, I can't draw hands; I don't know what I'll do when the character isn't a ghost. Also, I would totally wear an ACLIN shirt were one made.

Geist by TJ Dietsch

2010-02-16T00:17:00.000-05:00

To kick things off here at the LAW Blog, we decided on one of the greatest new characters to hit stands recently. That's right, none other than Geist from our buddy Justin Aclin's Hero House from Arcana. Buy your very own copy here! Since this whole thing was kind of my idea, I figured I'd take first crack and here's the result.
I don't consider myself anything close to an artist but I had a great time drawing this guy. His somewhat cartoonish features (no eye details or legs) made this even easier for me. As you can see by the gentleman leaning against the wall at the bottom of the piece, I'm not much good at drawing feet. The layout just kind of popped into my head and after playing around with the angles, I decided on this one. I'm pretty happy with it with a few exceptions, but I'll leave those for you guys to find. Oh, also, I hope Justin doesn't mind that I drew his characters swiping booze from a liquor store, but I just couldn't resist.

If you liked this post, check out my blog UnitedMonkee! Sorry, I just can't resist a good plug.

Welcome

2010-02-16T00:14:00.000-05:00

We here at the LAW Blog know a good idea when we see one. And we've seen enough weekly, character-specific art blogs popping up like ComicTwart to figure we should get in on the game. Now, don't be mistaken, we're not professional artists by any means, but we like to have fun with our pens and pencils.