It seems the Fall is bringing all kinds of new things to comics these days. There is, of course, the new 52 from DC which has peaked my interest a little bit and there is also the Spider Island story line that kicked off in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man that I am desperately trying to track down . Normally I don’t read many superhero comics any more, mainly because they’ve just become too run-of-the-mill as of late, but Spider-Man has always been a favorite of mine and I’ll pick up one of his books if the mood suits me from time to time. The reason I picked up the Spider Island stuff was because of the cover to Amazing Spider0Man #666. The Statue of Liberty with the Spider-Man mask on just jumped out at me.

Anyway, I was thinking yesterday that I needed to do something to keep my creative drawing juices flowing while I gear up for production on Robot Friday later this month and the idea hit me to post a drawing a day here in the blog of what ever came out the day before. Right now I’m kind of on a superhero/fantasy kick so that’s probably what I’ll fill the blog with the most for now.

I’ve just started playing Dragon Nest as well and the fantasy stuff has been going through my mind because of that so I’ll try to work in more dragons and swords and stuff too. For today, though, I give you Spider-Man in more of the style I’m moving toward for action (if I can pull it off). So enjoy and follow us on Twitter and G00gle+ and Facebook for up-to-the-minute updates of new art and what’s going on in my little comic riddled world and spread the word

I’m not as happy with today’s sketch (overall) as I was yesterday’s. Today the sketch isn’t very animated, but I do like the form and shape that the drawing has. I like the head too. One of the biggest things I like about this sketch, though, was the process. Again, not as filled out and dynamic as the Spider-Man sketch, but this one kind of kept me guessing.

One of the things I feel that I have problems with is being able to see in my mind’s eye as dynamically as I want. Some times I just can’t get anything right at all and the sketch kind of takes form as I put lines to paper. Its frustrating but very exciting too because once I get something out it’s as big a treat to find out what it is as it would be for the viewer of the sketch for the first time.

I think it’s a fun little drawing and I like this version of Batman. I see him more as a mix of the Adam West and Michael Keaton Batman’s. Don’t forget that there will be new blog sketches 5 days a week and in the middle of September the comic will start back up 3 days a week too.

A final thing, each Friday I record a podcast called the Artzen Podcast and me and my co-host record it live via G00gle+ hangout so check in at 7:30 PM PST and join the fun

Over the last month or so I’ve begun revisiting my love for reading superhero comics like I did when I was a kid. It’s been many, many years since I last bought a superhero comic – probably since the mid to late nineties – and I am sure most of you can guess the reasons why.

But in recent weeks, comic events such as Spider-Island from Marvel and the New 52 from DC have driven me back to the supers again, first out of curiosity and now out of the joy I am getting when I read the comics again. Both events are serving up the superheros I remember, not some over hyped Image Comics competition any more and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

But something really scary is happening that could take that excitement away. Almost since the very day that I bought an iPod Touch over two years ago I’ve been a very avid user of Comixology. I’ve watched the app grow from just one of a handful of comic apps to the premier app and applauded their web browser platform as well. But when I tried to find some of the Spider-Island books in their app I was genuinely taken aback by the prices! The comics on the app are now, at least for the newest of the new stuff, at full cover price ($4.99)! WHAT?!

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m more than willing to pay for a product that I feel is worth the price, but the reason I have supported Comixology so strongly is because the prices for the comics were much lower than cover prices of physical books. To top it all off, Comixology – as well as any comic browsing app – only really “rents” the comic to you. You don’t have a file of the comic somewhere on your mobile device or computer, so if  - God forbid – Comixology goes away or the publishers decide to pull distribution rights so goes your comics and your money. But I’ve been willing to look the other way and not think about all that for the $.99 – $1.99 price of the digital comic.

When Comixology announced they would be going day-and-date with their comic offerings (which means that the digital comics on their app will be available the exact same day that print comics arrive for the first time in the brick and mortar comic book stores) I was excited just like everyone else. But, again, the price of the digital being the exact same price as the physical comic makes day-and-date not even close to worth it for me! Why the price hike? I’ve read blogs and news articles about how the pricing structure breaks down for all of the links in the chain involved to make the day-and-date thing work for Comixology and the book stores. But the question, to me, still remains – why the price hike?

I remember in the 90′s when prices for books shot through the roof over night. A book I was paying for in the late 80′s for $.60 was now at a cover price of $1.99 – $2.99. The way the publishers justified the hike back then was that they had changed their printing standards. The books were now printed on better stocks of paper, with digital coloring that made the range of color far more expansive than it had previously been. The art and writing was better as well since they now had younger talent that were introducing innovative techniques and styles into their work. The overall comic product was better than it was in the 80′s – and we all bought it. It made sense.

But what about now? Why the price hike now? It’s been more than two decades and the only change that has been made in the distribution or production of comics has been digital internet. There is no better artwork. No better writing. No better paper to print it on. No revolutionary coloring or crafting techniques. Nothing has changed since 1996. Except digital.

I feel cheated. I can spend the same price on movies or music and receive – in my opinion – a far better and longer lasting experience. It pissed me off a little bit in the 90′s when they did this, but I understood why. It’s really pissing me off again, but there seems to be no reason why other than fear. The stores are afraid of digital. Digital is afraid of the stores and the publishers are afraid of stagnation. Well, what I’m afraid of is going broke if I keep supporting a product that’s not really worth buying any more.

Today’s sketch is of Green Lantern (in case ya couldn’t get that on your own). At this rate I’ll have the entire Justice League drawn by the end of the week! It hasn’t been my attention to draw the Justice League, but since we’re on the subject  I gotta say that I was pleasantly surprised by Justice League #1 of the New 52 from DC. Of course I love Jim Lee’s art and I really like Geoff Johns writing as well, but what I liked the most surprised me. I liked the fact that they were starting over and giving me clues to who is who and why. I realized I don’t know as much as I thought about superheros it seems and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the new books in the coming months.

Anyway, I hope you’re enjoying the daily sketches. Book 2 progress is going very well and I hope to cover sketches to show in the next few days so keep spreading the word

Today’s sketch is of Cloak minus dagger from the Cloak & Dagger comics. I was a kid in the 80′s when the original Cloak & Dagger comics were introduced and I loved them. Cloak & Dagger was a more gritty reality based comic (for the 80′s) than anything else at the time – or anything else that I read at the time. The creators tackled sensitive issues of the day such as racism, mixed race sexuality, drug abuse, homelessness and runaway youth. All of these things were pretty hot button topics when I was a kid and they were shaping the way the next 20-30 years would look at these issues and try to overcome them.

I’m glad they are reviving the characters. I’m currently catching their three issue mini-series tie in with the Spider-Island stuff and so far I like what I see. Hope you dig today’s sketch and spread the word

Like I said last week, before long I’ll have sketched the entire Justice League. Today’s sketch is of The Flash. The Flash has always been kinda of a cool character to me, though I can’t say that he’s ever been my favorite or anything. I do remember the show from, I think, the 90′s that I loved to watch – though I’m sure it’s probably pretty bad.

I like this sketch for the anatomy and movement in it. I’ve been trying to improve on both of those fronts and I think this one is pretty spot on. So, enjoy today’s sketch and spread the word

Keeping with my Justice League theme, today’s sketch is none other than Aquaman. I have to confess that I’ve not read many (if any) Aquaman comics, but my friends and I watched the Justice League every Saturday morning when we were kids in the 80′s. After the show – in the summer – we’d make a bee-line down to the public swimming pool and argue over who would be Aquaman (yes, my friends and I would argue about who’d be AQUAMAN, no Batman or Superman.)

Enjoy the sketch, spread the word and remember, Monday starts the comic strip back up with M-W-F updates, woot!

Sticking with my Spider-Island story line characters I sketched up Spider-Girl today to end the week. I’ve never drawn Spider-Girl before and never read any of her comics either. That’s one of the cool things about cross-overs (if I decided to get on board with them) is that it usually forces me to read comics I never would read, sometimes – most of the time – it turns out I don’t like the comics, but it’s always good to try new things.

Don’t forget that on Monday there will be a new Robot Friday comic and the M-W-F updates begin. I alluded to, last week, that I would continue doing daily sketches as well as the three days a week comics and I really hope I can keep that up. Comics for sure, sketches when I can will be the compromise if there has to be one. Thanks for reading and keep spreading the word

I posted this over at my Google+ feed, but wanted to post it here as well for any interested.

I’ve been a printer/graphic designer in one facet or another for the better part of 15 years. This has been my professional life, so I will admit that I don’t really understand professions outside of design very well. Having stated that, my question is thus, are other professions as outdated and systematically broken as graphic design?

For instance, a student will leave high school with a diploma. Enter into a 4 year graphic design degree program at a good 4 year school (I’m not talking just Junior College). This student will be promised and told things to expect from the industry that just aren’t true. Furthermore, when this student does graduate with a 4 year degree in their field they find obsolescence in the workplace that wasn’t touched on in their degree path.

I guess what I am getting at is the majority of new designers entering the profession have been told one thing about the industry only to find something completely different and less appealing once they’ve enter the field. I think that this fact is what leads, much of the time, to uneducated designers willing to work for almost free thereby undercutting and undermining the whole of the industry.

Are the rest of the world professions like this? Just wondered, would love to hear comments and have a discussion about all this.