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Summer 2011 Commision Sale!

Since I want to pay bills and take a vacation this summer (living the dream!), I thought

I would do a commission drive. Something new this time as well, I will color and print out

a hi-resolution copy of your commission and mail both the original and color version to you.

These spots are limited as I only have a short window open so let me know if you're interested.

11x17 b/w commission (1 character, minimal b/g) = $50 (Additional characters $15)

With 11x17 color print + $40

9x12 b/w commission (1 character, minimal b/g) = $30 (Additional characters $10)

with 9x12 color print + $25

Add $7 for paypal fees, shipping and handling within the U.S.

Sketchcards with spot color are $20 + $2 s+h

I also have some left over stock from my spring conventions, if you're interested.

Sketchbook V2 (40 odd pages of sketches plus an original sketch on the back) = $5 (+$3 s+h)

ICARUS Convention edition, 30 pages of story + 10 pages of bonus material = $5 (+$3 s+h)

Paypal address is super75press@gmail.com

*Please note, if you want me to draw your original character, please contact me prior to payment.

ACE Comic Expo! - recap

This past weekend I was at The ACE Comic Expo in Albuquerque. We supertrucked out Thursday night and made the 320 miles in just over 4 hours. The drive between Flagstaff, AZ and the ALB is beautiful, lots of good scenery but the I-40 in New Mexico is terrible, they have no reflectors on the roads like we do here, so it was pitch black out and made the nighttime driving more stressful than it needed to be. We arrived at my good friend Shar's house around 11 and proceeded to catch up on old times.

Friday morning Shar and I headed over to the con and set-up. I had a great spot next to Andy Kuhn and Shannon Denton. The crowds for the show seemed small, I guess that was to be expected for a first-time show, and even on Saturday never seemed to get too busy. Shar hung out with me at the table for a good chunk so it was still good times even when it was slow. People seemed to really dig the prints I had on hand and I sold most of my stock. I only did a few commissions which seems to be the trend for me at cons lately, but they were fun ones. I also sold a handful of ICARUS and was able to talk about the book a bit. Overall the show exceeded expectations, even with the small crowds and is a solid addition to my convention rotation, I hope they invite me back again next year. My only criticism about the show would be that they seemed to charge a lot for admission. Their prices were comparable to the Phoenix show which is about 3 times as large. I noticed a large majority of the attendees were not buying anything and I wonder if the walk-up admission price had anything to do with that.

A couple highlights from the weekend.... James O'Barr, creator of The Crow, stopped by my table and picked up my sketchbooks. I did a quick Crow sketch on the back for him and we chatted for a quick bit about how over-rendered art sucks and brush-style is where it's at. Super cool guy. I also sold a Star Wars print to a guy who works at Lucasfilm, he picked up a couple more and said he would try and get one to the voice actress who plays Asoka, so that's neat. I met Chris Evans' Captain America stand-in. He was in town working on The Avengers, and I also met Mitch and Bettie Breitweiser. Besides being adorable, they are the nicest people ever. We also spoke about over-rendered artwork and talked color theory a bit. They were very nice, showed me some samples of books they are working on and gave me some coloring tips as well. So awesome.

Anyway, here are some pics from the weekend.

Me.

Shar at my table. Nice big table too.

Andy and Shannon

ACE Comic Expo!

This weekend I will be at the ACE Comic Expo in Albuquerque. I will have convention edition copies of Icarus #1.5, the very popular Harry Potter prints, original artwork and a new sketchbook. This limited edition print will be selling for only $5, just like everything else.

How I would make it better - Green Lantern Movie

I just got back from watching the Green Lantern movie with my kids. I'm going to geek out a bit here, so just bear with me. Here's how I would have made the movie better, if they only had asked. If you have not seen the movie, and actually want to, you should stop reading now. Typos and lack of Green Lantern history sure to follow...

THE VILLAIN - The casting, except for Mark Strong/Sinestro and Michael Clarke Duncan as the voice of Kilowog was all wrong. Strong was the only actor who looked like he even gave a damn. If I were given the choice to write the movie I would have gotten rid of Parralax (who looked ridiculous) and Hammond who I, a heavy comic book reader between 1986-2000), had never even heard of. I would have started the movie out with the lantern corps coming back from a failed mission (possibly mentioning Parrallax here, therefore giving them a main villain for a sequel) and Sinestro being angry about the lack of power he had. He would then argue with Abin Sur over the creation of the yellow ring. Sinestro tricks the guardians into creating the ring, rebels against the Corps and mortally wounds Sur, who then crashes to Earth and seeks out Hal Jordan.

THE ORIGIN - Abin Sur gives the ring to Hal like always, when Hal questions what to do with it, Abin tells him that the ring will imbue him with the knowledge of the other Corpsmen who have owned it before. In one fell swoop we explain how Hal knows the oath, how his powers are supposed to work and how to manipulate them. More importantly, it conveys to him the importance of his new responsibility. They tried something similar in the movie that I don't think was explained enough. Hal is called to Oa for hands-on-training with Kilowog and Tomar Re, and admits to not being able to handle the pressure and responsibility. They tell him he is needed to help strengthen the corp in the wake of Sinestro's treachery.

- THE STORY - Hal struggles with the pressure, Carol Ferris could then serve a real point in helping him rebuild his confidence after he freaked out and crashed during a test flight at the beginning of the movie. Her love, and honoring the memory of his Father gives Hal something to fight for. Sinestro wants Abin Sur's ring, since Abin was one the most powerful Lanterns. He invades Earth and the entire third act could be a huge fight scene between the two, Battle: Los Angeles or Transformers style. Hal comes close to beating Sinestro but Sinestro's experience and hate fuels his power. At the end, Hal is willing to die to save Earth but the other corps members show up and Sinestro retreats. BOOM. Instant sequel where Sinestro builds his own corp in order to attack Oa.

Other nitpicks - the effects were terrible, as were the constructs Hal built. All of the creative (or in this case, non-creative) minds in Hollywood and they come up with him constructing a giant Matchbox car track to stop a falling helicopter and when he is being pulled into the sun, he conjures up two jets? Why not just create a super-fucking-awesome jetpack/booster on his back instead of being tethered to two jets? Ridiculous.

FINAL THOUGHTS - Lame effects, lame villains, lame casting. It should have been Green Lantern vs. Sinestro, instead of saving that for the sequel. Also, there is no real build up of Sinestro getting angry enough, or fed up enough to be putting on the yellow ring at the end of the movie. It made no sense other than to appeal to the fanboys.

Failsafe Promo

One of the next projects I hope to be working on soon is a one-shot/girl-in-space sci-fi mindbender called Failsafe. The project is contingent on funding so I will be linking and promoting the Kickstarter campaign once it's up and running, but here is a taste.

Phoenix Comicon 2011

Back from Phoenix CC 2011 and I had a great time overall. Sales were up slightly, people seem to dig ICARUS and people LOVE Harry Potter, sold through most of my HP prints. On the other hand, they seem to loathe Clone Wars, only sold 1 of my Asoka Tana prints. Had a lot of fun hanging with my Comic Improv homies, Derrick J.D. John Dadicus West. Scott Godlewski and Ben Glendenning, even though I barely saw Ben he was so busy. Met some cool new artists and got to reconnect with my long lost love, Rob Osborne. It's always good to see local Phoenicians who have supported me over the years and to catch up with friends that I only see at cons. Next up for me is ACE Comic Expo, end of June in Albuquerque. Looking forward to it. Here is some stuff I drew for people at the con.

Phoenix Comic-Con swag (pt.3)

Phoenix Comic-Con swag (pt.2)

Click for full size, these are the prints I will have this weekend at Phoenix Comic-Con

Phoenix Comic-Con swag (pt.1)

A couple things I will have for Phoenix Comic-Con this weekend.

Phoenix Comic-Con commissions pre-sale info.

Phoenix Comic-Con commissions pre-sale info. If you're thinking about getting a commission from me at Phoenix Comic-Con and don't want to wait around for it or would like me to spend a little more time on it, I'm accepting pre-con commissions now. Email me @ hurricanekids (at) gmail for more info.

My Great weekend pt.1

Had a great time this past weekend down in Phoenix. I got to see lots of my great comic friends, had a blast sketching all day at Atomic Comics in Chandler for Free Comic Book Day and hopefully I helped raise some decent money for The Hero Initiative in the process. I only took 1 pic of any of the sketches and it came out terribly so I have no photo evidence to show ya. I do have this...

Shannon Denton took this, and I'll have to get him back one day. Awesome. One of the best parts of the weekend was abandoning my low-carb diet (which is working) and having the best 3 days of dinners I have ever experienced. Friday night we hit up Republic Ramen in Tempe. Delicious udon, edamame, gyoza and Orion beer. Only brewed in Naha, Okinawa, Japan. It was the best.

Saturday night I was treated to a five-course dinner at Cork restaurant in Chandler. I had Kobe beef, ahi, steak tar tar, foi gras ice cream, salmon, amazing roast beef and creme brulee for dessert. Then Sunday night I had homemade lobster tails, delicious steak and homemade creme brulee. Man, it was a good weekend, gained back a couple pounds but it was worth it.

Seventy-Five Volume Two!

My new sketchbook is now available. $5 from me if you see me at a convention, $5 through IndyPlanet and only $1.99 for the IndyPlanet digital version. 40 pages, cardstock cover, a perfect compliment to Seventy-Five Vol.1

UFC 129 picks

Here are my semi-regular picks and my nonsense for picking who I pick.

Welterweight bout: Sean Pierson vs. Jake Ellenberger - I'm picking Ellenberger here, he's beaten Mike Pyle and came close to beating Carlos Condit and has just faced the stiffer competition.

Welterweight bout: Nate Diaz vs. Rory MacDonald - This is a tough bout for Diaz, MacDonald was a touted prospect and took Carlos Condit the distance (almost), so we know he's tough. He's not noted as a big wrestler though, so with that I give the boxing and jiu-jitsu edge to Diaz. I love watching Diaz fight so this should be a good one.

Lightweight bout: Mark Bocek vs. Ben Henderson - Ben Henderson put son enjoyable fights and he was a favorite of mine in the WEC. Bocek is a skilled jiu-jitsu guy but Ben has proved he is almost impossible to submit. This is a toss-up for me, but I'll go with Henderson.

So far I have picked all the American guys. That will change, trust me.

Light Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Lyoto Machida - Randy wins if he gets Machida against the cage or on the ground, Lyoto takes it if it's a striking match. I think Lyoto is too quick and elusive for Randy and I think he picks Randy apart. Machida is my pick.

Light Heavyweight bout: Vladimir Matyushenko vs. Jason Brilz - I honestly do not care.

Featherweight Championship bout: José Aldo (c) vs. Mark Hominick - Aldo is a beast. Beast! He wins via TKO. Maybe round 2.

Welterweight Championship bout: Georges St-Pierre (c) vs. Jake Shields - I don't think there is a welterweight on the planet that can beat GSP and I should know, I always pick against him. Not this time though, GSP wins on the feet, scrambling out from under Jake's take downs and picking him apart like he did Koschek.

Updates

I have pages being posted Monday through Friday right now, feel free to check it out and please feel free to leave some comments, I'd love to have some intelligent discussion going on.

Mon, Wed & Fri - Robot 6, part of Comicbookresources.com runs ICARUS, currently we are just over halfway of issue #1, then we'll roll right into #2. Even if you have already read the book, comments and thoughts are always appreciated.

Tues & Thurs - My run on the popular webcomic Jesus Christ: In the Name of The Gun continues. I'm about 9 pages from wrapping this one up, I'm well ahead of the pages that are being posted and I feel like I am finally hitting my stride. Sadly I am hitting that stride towards the end. It's not too offensive in my opinion, but may bother you if you religious. It's more of an adventure comic, it just happens to have Jesus, Ernest Hemingway, Gary Busey, Albert Einstein & Winston Churchill traveling through time, fighting archangels and dictators.

After I wrap that up I'm continuing work on ICARUS and I'll be doing a one-shot called FAILSAFE at the start of the summer. More on that later.

Upcoming appearances -

May 7th, Free Comic Book Day at Atomic Comics in Chandler, AZ
Memorial Day Weekend - Phoenix Comic-Con
June 24th - 26th - ACE Comic Expo, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Cha-cha-cha-changes

I'm starting to make some changes lately that I hope will positively affect my life. First and foremost is that I am on a diet for the first time in my life. I always thought as I was gaining weight that it was just a phase and at some point I would go back to my normal size. I realized in February of 2010 that this was NOT the case and I had to do something about it. I went to the gym pretty regularly for about 9 months last year, but never really saw a significant weight loss, no more than 10 pounds or so, and that's because I never adjusted my diet.

Last week I made a decision to cut out all fried food, soda, sweets and almost all carbs. I'm not eating any potato, rice or pasta until I get back down to my goal weight. I'm not working out anymore, but I hope to start doing it again soon. One other change I made that I hope will have some health benefits is that I ditched my chair and am now standing at my desk/drafting table. It'll take some getting used to, but it's better for me in the long run. I was used to sitting in front of pages and my computer for up to 10, 12 hours a day sometimes. It's been 6 days on the diet, only 2 with the standing and I'm down almost 5 pounds. I don't think that trend will continue at that pace, but it's better than anything else I have done in the past several years.

On the comic's front, I am close to wrapping up Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun V2. It's the longest project I have ever worked on and will clock in around 115 pages when I am all done. I should wrap that up beginning of next month. After that I hope to work on a one-shot for Black Label Comics. No other work lined up this year but I hope to nail something down soon. I also plan to try and make a noticeable difference in my work when I start my next project. I hope to bring a little more excitement to my pages. ICARUS will continue to be plugged away at. I'm still shocked more people have not picked up the .99 download, but it's something that I'll need to work on. ICARUS is still being serialized over at Robot6 so if you check it out over there, I would appreciate any feedback you may have being left in the comments section. Here's some art to look at, as a small reward for reading my gibberish. Some random panels from Icarus #2.

ICARUS on ROBOT6

If you missed ICARUS when I ran it on my site, and are too stubborn to drop .99 on a digital copy, then you're in luck. The fine fellas at Robot6, the super-cool blog hosted by mega-site Comicbookresources.com is serializing the comic online, with new pages every Mon, Wed, & Fri. Even if you did read it when I was posting pages, it would mean a lot if you could hop over and leave some comments, to encourage other people to do the same. I have a goal in mind of what I want to accomplish with Icarus and a major part of that is increasing viewership to increase downloads. The first page and intro is up here, so bookmark and visit often.

Oh and here is some eye-candy for you, a recent gift for a best friend who is getting married Saturday in Tokyo.

5 for 5!

Kitty'spryde.com gave ICARUS #1 a stellar review. 5/5 isn't too shabby. Some of my fave bits are....

At first glance it just appears as if it’s about an assassin that kills supers. But as the issue goes on, the premise expands and the last page really knocks it for a loop and turns the idea of the story onto it’s head.

And the last page was a total surprise. That happens so rarely in comics nowadays.

Icarus #1 receives
5 out of 5

A dynamite first issue with an ending that is a total surprise.

Thanks to those fine fellas and if you haven't downloaded Icarus #1 yet, get hopping. It's only $1 on Drivethrucomics.com

MARS pin-up

A pin-up for my comic ICARUS featuring a character called Mars. He will play a pretty significant role in the book. I am so happy my friend Andy Kuhn decided to contribute, his work is so dynamic and graphic and awesome. Andy drew it and I colored it.

Here is the black and white image before I messed it all up with colors.

UFC 128 Picks

Brendan Schaub V. Mirko Filipović - I think Shaub is a real up and comer in a lackluster division. I think he beats Crop Cop pretty easily. I'd like to see him face off with Mir. My pick - Shaub via Decision.

Nate Marquardt V. Dan Miller - Miller is a late replacement and he's in deep trouble. I'm sure he took the bout to get in the good graces with the UFC as well as getting a big shot on the PPV. He has lost to any top tier middleweights he has faced in the UFC and Nate should run through him. My pick - Marquardt via highlight TKO. Nate will probably get the chance to beat the shit out of Michael Bisping after this.

Jim Miller V. Kamal Shalorus - On paper this seems like a highlight fight for Miller and a way for the UFC to dismiss one of their many lightweights if Shalorus loses. Miller has more wins over more elite competition but he's not in the mix at lightweight yet, not in my opinion. Miller would need to get past a Clay Guida, Anthony Pettis or even a Ben Henderson to put his name on the shortlist. My pick - Miller via Decision.

Urijah Faber V. Eddie Wineland - Two former WEC champs going at it. Faber is the more hyped fighter and someone the UFC wants to continue to build up and a co-headline bout on this card is huge exposure for them both. Everyone and their mother is picking Faber and I see no reason no too as well. My pick - Faber via Decision.

Maurício Rua V. Jon Jones - I am a big Shogun fan and while I admit Jon Jones is something special to watch, I think it's too soon for his title shot. He has not faced even a top 5 light heavyweight. His best competition was Ryan Bader (who I picked to win) and he ran through him like a freight train. Still, the difference between Bader and the Lyoto Machidas and Rampage Jacksons of the world is huge. I think Jones will hold the belt someday, but if Shogun is 100% with his knee injury I think he takes this. My big concern is that Jones will take Shogun down at will. I just hope that Shogun's game off his back will be enough to convince Jones to keep it standing. Jones is a beast, so is Shogun and I am super excited for this fight. I do not want to see Jones win the belt, at least not yet. Long live Shogun, I'm picking him via TKO but I am not super confident in it.

Big Game

I recently did a color job over my friend Scott Godlewski on a pin-up for Shannon Denton's upcoming TPB Big Game. I had a blast doing this. If you like it, a print can be ordered through my DeviantArt account.

Drive-thru comics.

Drivethrucomics.com now carries my comic Icarus. I write, draw, color and even letter this adventure/superhero/assassin comic and have gotten some great reviews on it. If you have not picked it up yet, it's only $1 and the money I make will help me move forward with the series. Issue #2 is in production and should be out the end of next month.

http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=89281

"Icarus #1 is a somewhat gritty assassin comic where there are solid characters being introduced. Cody's illustrations are a perfect fit for the subject matter. " - Jonathon Pilley - www.omnicomic.com

"Wow. This first issue blew me away. I was really, really surprised with this one. Written, drawn, inked and created all by Ryan Cody; ICARUS #1 is an intriguing first issue that zigs when you think it'll zag and continues to leave you spinning right up until the last page. Fans of Dini's BATMAN ADVENTURES, Bendis' POWERS, Brubaker's SLEEPER, and Eisner & Cooke's THE SPIRIT (books I hold in very high regard) will definitely find ICARUS as much of a surprise as I did." - Ambush Bug -www.aintitcool.com

"His style has the same crime noir feel that Michael Oeming's Powers has, which works well for the story. There is a definite secret and conspiracy feel to this title, and the art direction definitely complements that theme." - Jonathon Chuang - www.brokenfrontier.com

Emerald City Comic-Con 2011 re-cap

The Emerald City, Seattle, one of my favorite cities in North America. I spent the last 3 days up there for the always magnificent Emerald City Comic-Con. This is my 3rd year being a guest up there and each year has been better than the last.

I didn't get to the show until about an hour and a half after it started on Friday but once I set up it was pretty busy. My busiest day actually. The Thor print I made sold really well (sold out halfway through Saturday) and I sold some original art too, making it a great start to the convention. People love Thor. I was set up next to Brian Churilla, a fantastic artist and writer who everyone should be aware of if they weren't already. I was also across from my buddies at Steamcrow who I love dearly and always are able to supply me with tape, sound advice and evil stares. I was beat Friday night after the drive down to Phoenix and the flight and all the running around so after a nice dinner at Dragonfish, we called it an early night.

The first sketch of the show was this SPIRIT which I had a lot of fun with. Saturday started out pretty well, I sold a lot of prints and some ICARUS comics. In the end though, there seemed to be a huge crowd of people that just weren't into my work. It happens at every show and I totally understand it. I was feeling a bit low at the end of Saturday but after having a few drinks and meeting up with my writer (and publisher) of the Jesus Christ: In the Name of The Gun webcomic, Eric Peterson, I started to turn around a bit. Eric introduced me to Ethan Nicolle (Axe Cop fame) and Doug Tennapel (of Ratfist, Earthworm Jim and being super ridiculous tall fame) and the 4 of us along with my girlfriend Michelle talked for a while. It was fun picking Doug's brain and talking about comics. Those guys really made me feel better about my work. Michelle and I walked around a bit, had another drink at another bar and called it a night. I wish I was able to talk to more creators but I'm notoriously shy and always feel as if I am imposing at these social gatherings.

Sunday was slow as well but when all was said and done it was the best Emerald City I had done. I spent some time Sunday chatting with cool guys like Andy Kuhn and the only Atlanta Thrashers fan in Vancouver, Jason Copland, (check out his Kill All Monsters webcomic). I talked shop with writer Mark Sable and poured over Paul Azacleta's amazing pages for their new book Graveyard of Empires.

I also finally met some guys who I have only known online for a while, Evan Shaner, Mitch Gerads, and Chris Samnee. Chris is one of my favorite artists working right now and he was very nice and humble. I'm a big fan. I geeked out chatting with Guy Davis and didn't get a chance, or the nerve, to talk to Sean Murphy. Overall though it was a great show and I hope to do some work in the next year that will make those awesome fellas at Emerald City Comic-Con want to have me back in 2012. Thanks again, as always, to Brian Meredith for making it all happen.

Emerald City Comic-Con

I'll be in Seattle this weekend for Emerald City Con. I will have some limited copies of Icarus #1 and my sketchbook as well as some limited copies of prints. I will be taking commissions and sketches so please stop on by and say hey. Look for this awesome banner.