Freddy vs Jason

My first entry into 31 Days of Halloween and Inktober. Drew this while in line for the Haunted House of the same name at Halloween Horror Nights.

Lea Thompson

As a young teenage kid I had two major crushes. Girl Next Door Sandy from Grease, and Lea Thompson. Particularly Back to the Future Lea. So today I got to meet the girl of my teenage dreams lol. She hasn't aged a bit. And while I found the TRUE woman of my dreams and married her, I still couldn't help but tell her, "Teenage me would be so jealous of current day me right now." 

She gave a genuine laugh, leaned on my shoulder and then gave me a hug. This was one of those rare moments where meeting your heroes/crushes turned out pretty damn good!

Tampa Bay Fanboy Expo

This weekend we'll be set up for the first of two shows in beautiful Tampa Bay, Florida! Come visit us at the Grand Hyatt Gulfport and hang out! All the details can be found here. www.fanboyexpo.com

I'll have some cool new pieces available including this limited Belle and Gaston. Both the voice actors will be in attendance and you can get it signed! 

In addition Adam West and Burt Ward, televisions original Dynamic Duo Batman and Robin will be there as well. And since Id never drawn those incarnations before, I couldn't leave them out! 

Should be a POW and WHAM heckuva weekend! 

Disney Pixar's Inside Out

I can't believe I'm about to write these words. But, here they come.....

I didn't really care much for Inside Out. 

There, I said it. Got the words out that are very contrary to popular opinion. And to be honest I'm very mad at myself for feeling this way. I hate that I rank this movie only above Cars. (And I truly loathe that movie. But what do you expect from a guy who knows even less about cars than he does about Algebra?)

Back on point. I really wanted to go into this movie and fall in love with it. After all, I loved the sitcom Herman's Head. Basically the same idea, with lots more time to flesh it out. But the reality of it was, I just couldn't connect. 

Fair warning....from this point on there will be SPOILERS. So if you haven't seen it, and don't want to know some stuff...maybe you should look at my Megacon pictures again. The last thing I want is for you to unleash your little ANGER on me. 

You may be wondering why a guy who seemingly could care less about the movie owns TOYS based on that which he doesn't love. Well, that brings us to the one thing I really did like about it. The character designs. They're all so damn cute. For the character designs alone, I went to see this movie. I see so much of me in Anger. I mean, hell, we even have the same fiery pointy hairstyle when he blows his lid.

Other than that, the movie just left me indifferent. Maybe it's because the center character is a little girl? And even though I've been known to act like one at times, I'm not a little girl myself. 

Riley (the above little girl) has a wonderful, happy coherent life. It has everything most kids hope to have. An original two parent household that offers love and unity. She's got the beautiful home, with swings and laughs and sports. And in her darling little head, she has this awesome group of emotions (Joy, Anger, Sadness, Disgust and Fear) Life is GOOD. 

Until dad announces that's it's time to shake things up. Take Riley and her band of emotions and cause some chaos with a move to a new city, new life. Complete with new school, new apartment, new friends and new problems for those little colorful characters in her head to deal with. 

Is it the emotions? Is it Riley? Who can be sure. All that we know for sure is, through a series of mishaps Sadness and Joy become separated from the core group and have to work their way back to brain central before Riley literally loses her marbles. (The marbles in this case being cute little glass balls of memories)

From this point based on early comments about how dark and deep the plot became for children, I half expected Riley to turn bi-polar. But the truth of the matter is, it wasn't that dark. It was just something most kids in the real world have to deal with. 

But back to the plot. 

Joy and Sadness end up as far away from the command center as can be, but luckily they stumble upon Bing Bong. An adorable mix of Elephant, Cat, Cotton Candy and that funny hobo on the street corner who sings Mister Celophane. Long forgotten, Bing Bong is Riley's imaginary friend. And he knows the way back! 

Adventure ensues, and ensues, and ensues some more. In the meantime we've lost the cool dynamic of all the emotions together, and the movie honestly drags through some funky, abstract Picasso like scenes that I assume will best be enjoyed after you've popped some sort of happy drug or are drunk off your ass. 

I really wish that all the emotions had shared this journey BACK together. But ultimately, someone had to keep watch of Riley's sad developments.

Now I won't lie, I shed a few tears. Pixar knew exactly how to bring those out. Towards the end Bing Bong makes the ultimate sacrifice to help Joy and Sadness make it home. Nothing like a good Disney death to get you right in the cockles. 

The girls make it back, realizing that sometimes you NEED the sad memories to compliment and create the happy ones. All the emotions hug it out, Riley balances out without a need for medication and therapy. And in typical fashion, happy ever after is the result.

Some of the best sequences come at the end, when we see all the emotions interacting in variations of themselves through others eyes. Even the versions that live in the heads of dogs and cats. I think if we'd gotten more of that, it would make for a much better film. 

Bottom line, it wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen. My two little girls liked it. My oldest even watched it a second time. Although she came out of it liking it less on the second viewing. I wish maybe they'd kept Anger or Fear in the mix, or even made Sadness a boy. The plot isn't female centric. These are problems both boys and girls face alike. But most of it centers around the three girls Riley, Joy and Sadness. And although I'm in touch with my feminine side. I just got bored as it progressed. 

I'll own it im sure, because it's so pretty to look at. And maybe after Rewatching it a few times it'll grow on me more. But for now I'm content with sticking it in Lightning McQueen's passenger side and watching it drive off into the sunset.

Megacon 2015

It seems like I just started doing this awesome show last year. How time has flown by. I have to admit that this year was not only my best Megacon yet, but also holds the number two spot among cons of all time. Just behind New York this past October. Thank you everyone who came out and supported us, shared some laughs and kept me busy! You make it all worth while! Next stop C2E3 in Chicago! I'll be in artist Alley R! 

Marvel's Princess Leia Number 1

Picked up a few of the new Princess Leia blanks from Marvel Comics. I had heard that the card stock was less than stellar. This scared me a bit so I decided to draw one tonight and experiment with color and inks. The stock definitely is a little more slick than Id like, but I feel it still works. Anyway, its listed on ebay now and you can see the link in the comments below.

We Can Be Heroes

I had the opportunity to step out of my shell today. I'm not an introvert by any means. Lord knows I love people and I love to run my mouth. I'm always out and about and I set up shop at so many conventions. I meet and draw hundreds of smiling faces every year while caricaturing at Disney. 

But cosplay? Not really my thing.

Honestly I think there are so many others who do it way better than I can. I respect the time and effort fans of the genres put into bringing their favorite characters to life. 

I can barely sew a button badly onto a pair of pants. 

But there is this little fella who is sick. A very young child named Armani. A horrid cancer has set up shop in his brain, and he's bravely fighting an uphill battle with it. 

Treatments aren't cheap, and bills are mounting up. So our good friends at World of Comics decided to hold a fundraiser to help ease the financial burdens that Armani and his family are facing. And they managed to do it while bringing a smile to his face.

Like most little boys his age, he digs superheroes. What better a way to show that he isn't facing his villain alone, than to bring cosplay warriors to his side. 

I could've easily drawn a piece for a raffle, done caricatures or simply made a donation on this day. But something in my head told me I should join his team of champions.

Thanks to my good friend and (awesome cosplayer in his own right) Xavier, I was able to temporarily become someone else. Someone larger than life, and eager to smash some bad dudes.

Today, I was the Wolverine.

My costume wasn't the most extravagant. Hell, I blended in more with the crowds than I did the cosplayers. But I got to be a part of something bigger. I was able to see the interactions, the wonder and the moments where this strong young soul got to become an honorary member of the Green Lantern Corps. He was able to run around with Spider Man, and be flirted with by Supergirl and Black Cat. 

Today Armani got to just be a kid. 

He got to escape the monster for a while, and play. Seeing him surrounded by so much love, and so much spandex, was a testament to the good that the cosplay community does.

So thank you cosplayers. Thank you secret superheroes for everything that you helped bring this mini hero. Both emotionally and financially. 

And thanks for letting this silly pusher of pencils and ink join you for a day in your crusades. 

I kinda liked being a super hero today BUB!

Batman Black and White SketchCover

I know it's been another while. Been busy beyond belief, but here's one I did just for fun.....but it's still for sale. 50 buckers!