COMICS WIP - Old-School Comics Cover
mmitchell_houston
Posts: 2,472
I was recently asked to provide a cover for a comics fanzine. Although the group does discuss current comics, most of the focus is on older comics from the 1970s - 1990s. That's why I decided to create a cover in the style of an old Marvel Comic from that period, back when they had the bar across the top of the cover.
The title of the fanzine is in the black bar: The Collectors Club Newsletter
The issue number is 107.
If you're interested in comics, look us up on Facebook.
This cover will actually be printed on paper and included with physical copies of the fanzine. Most members will get this paper version, but some will receive it only as a PDF. The cover features our club "Mascot" fighting Dr. Doom. The mascot, who appears in our normal logo, is named Captain Epistle (Epistle meaning letter writing, which is how this club used to function back in the days before the Internet -- you would write a letter and it would be included in the fanzine). The letter-writing motif is why there is a quill pen in his logo/name.
For this, I used Michael 4 model with a variety of morphs. You probably can't see it clearly, but both of the Capt. E characters have different body morphs applied. And Dr. Doom is so wrapped up in his armor, you can't really see his body shape, but it's different from the other two guys, as well.
MODELS USED:
- Free trunks, boots and gloves
- Genesis Super Cape
- Visor came with a Daz mask set, can't recall which one, though
- Free Dr. Doom armor
- Daz City Blocks (recolored in post work).
I created custom textures for the heroes, recolored the block.
I will now be taking this into Manga Studio so I can improve the quality of inks on the figures. Strong ink lines will, I think, go a long way to establishing the old-school comics look I'm after.
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Comments
Post the link to the Facebook group. Searching the name to find the group gave me a lot of hits, it's too generic.
Sorry for the delay. Here's the FB link to our group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/collectorsclubnewsletter/
I made some updates to the cover. I inked it, and then at the very last minute, came up with the idea that he should be flying out of the cover of our fanzine. I also changed some of the text around on the back cover. This definitely tells the story better.
I'm posting the current WIP version of the cover below.
Of course, right after I finish it (and actually make the deadline), the deadline has been pushed back two weeks! Now I'm finding it impossible to resist making changes. I will probably revisit it one more time to add a flash around the magazine cover, strengthen the crackle on Dr. Doom's hands (and Cap's chest), and probably add some tears to Cap's costume and cape.
I'm also toying with the idea of using a strong halftone filter on the lower half of the second hero so it looks like he's fading from print into reality. But if I do that, I will need to remove that effect from the sky. We'll see how that all that works out
The one thing i have to resist is the urge to redraw the second Cap so that his pose better fits him coming out of the magazine. That would take time I just don't have right now.
Nice line work. If you redid the colors you might be able to loose that weird 3d look. Flat colors might look best.
Wow! I'm watching!
These comics in the old style, give me the goose bumps ... A cold tasty as that happens when we are in balance, at amusement parks.
It transports me to the golden years
When I was a boy, and Jean Grey of the X-men had died, I was sick for several days, until very days later she reappeared in a pod (think the special edition: Marvel Adventures Super)
I was in love with her.
Thanks for the reply You definitely hit something that I was worried about (but had ignored because of the deadline, which was originally yesterday).
I thought the colors on the fallen hero were okay and looked suitably old school. Although I do want to revisit the blasted area on his chest. Hmmm. Maybe I should desaturate the colors on his body so they just look gray? That might help.
I also think Dr. Doom looks okay... not perfect, but okay. I think maybe tweaking his legs and the belt would make it look more authentic.
The flying hero -- yup. I'm going to revisit this coloring.
I remember that well. This was in the pre-comic book store days, especially in small towns. All the convenience stores near my house had sold out of that comic, but I was lucky that my parents took us shopping in Dallas (2 hrs away) that week, and I found a copy there. I remember reading it on the drive back home, and I was devastated. And then, years later, I felt kind of cheated when they brought her back. I still remember the issue of Fantastic Four where she escaped the pod... it's like all my emotional investment in the story had been for nothing.
Things like that are why I don't read a lot of comics any more. The countless reboots and reshuffling of the continuity have left me a bit numb to it all.
Here an announcement of sale of the old
http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-568824894-superaventuras-marvel-n-048-x-men-eternos-kung-fu-abril-mc-_JM
Hang in there, there's more. LOL!
From the latest headlines: Captain America is black, Thor is female, Iron Man has a new suit.
Thor is a woman?
Captain America is black?
Looks like Thor and Cap will not be able to continue as who they are so someone else will take their places.
I swear, these people just have no imagination left, at all. And of course, looks like more of that politically correct nonsense.
Indie Comics forever!
Hang in there, there's more. LOL!
From the latest headlines: Captain America is black, Thor is female, Iron Man has a new suit.
Thor is a woman?
Captain America is black?
Looks like Thor and Cap will not be able to continue as who they are so someone else will take their places.
I swear, these people just have no imagination left, at all. And of course, looks like more of that politically correct nonsense.
Indie Comics forever!
Yeah, they (producers) are always changing things
There was a Marvel Saga in the 90s called "Mutant Massacre", where once again the X-men succumbed ... and died.
Then came up with the cover: Reborn from Hell ... But all this maneuvering producers to enter into a new phase ...
nDelphi: I think Sam Wilson (aka The Falcon) is the new Captain America. And the identity of the female Thor ("I am woman, here me Thor!") will not be revealed for at least a few months. Yes, it does feel like they are pushing some sort of quota agenda, or something. I honestly don't get why they are changing two of the most recognizable characters from the Avengers franchise and changing them so dramatically.
Why not just create new, exciting characters?
I used to think it was lack of imagination, now I think it's the other extreme. I think you have creators who are DESPERATE to put their stamp on something, so they throw out EVERYTHING that made the character successful in the first place and put too much imagination -- unfettered by reason -- into what they are doing.
Honestly, the only comics I read any more are AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE (it is an amazing comic, and the graphic novel just came out, and I cannot recommend it enough). I'm also reading the graphic novels of the new series of THE SHADOW published by Dynamite. These are VERY good comics that stay true to their source material: The pulps of the 1930s-1950s.
JORGE: That is a cool cover. I'd never seen this version of it before. The cover is cool in its stark simplicity.
I took your advice to heart and have created another version of the cover. I think I'm 98% done.
Changes:
- Darker energy crackle on Dr. Doom
- Simpler colors on both Capt. E characters
- Yellow burst around the magazine
- Fallen Capt. E has tattered glove/cape, tears in costume
- Back cover, changed one building from brown to gray
- Added a little more inking to both Captains
The two things I still change are:
- The yellow burst under the magazine. I think it looks cheesy.
- The flying Captain's abs near the belt. They look weird.
Here's a news in Portuguese from Brazil, I translated to English:
https://translate.google.com.br/translate?hl=pt-BR&sl=pt&tl=en&u=http://zh.clicrbs.com.br/rs/entretenimento/noticia/2014/07/thor-mulher-capitao-america-negro-para-especialistas-as-mudancas-nas-hqs-sao-passageiras-4553507.html
Also here another interesting post about the fruit of creation together: Disney and Marvel, after Disney bought Marvel, I translated the post into English:
https://translate.google.com.br/translate?hl=pt-BR&sl=pt&tl=en&u=http://robertosadovski.blogosfera.uol.com.br/2013/05/09/demorou-mas-marvel-e-disney-anunciam-a-primeira-cria-juntos/
I've created another old-school superhero image.
Since it's for a new phase of this project, I decided to create a new thread.
Daz Thread
Thanks for sharing that Jorge- and it's good to know things will return to normal- those ideas are UGH!!!
I really like the covers- good to see how it's evolved while you're playing around with it. I remember when comics were everywhere in the stores- go to a drug store and in the small bookstand you could browse through several.
Thanks for sharing that Jorge- and it's good to know things will return to normal- those ideas are UGH!!!
I really like the covers- good to see how it's evolved while you're playing around with it. I remember when comics were everywhere in the stores- go to a drug store and in the small bookstand you could browse through several.
Hi novica,
Aahh .... Those times ... here in Brazil was also like: stalls comic books and newspapers, at each point of the street!
The comics had as much influence on my childhood, that even the typical food I eat today, bring me the memory of a character ...
In Brazil there is a typical food called "headlight", whose main ingredient, cassava flour.
So today, every time I eat crumbs, I remember the comic strip character Zé Carioca (parrot), Disney.
This is related to his first story, which I read in the 80s ...
This is an extensive list, each food brings to memory a character, and some of them were marked in my memory by striking situations
In the 90s, on a given day (can not remember which exactly) I just received the magazine number 100 spiderman, the number 100 spiderman was celebrated with his marriage, and that very day my mother was giving a lunch meetings for relatives, and I was eating too much chicken that day
today, when I eat chicken I remember wedding Spiderman in comic ...
Novica: I think the worst thing that ever happened to comics was that they were banished from grocery stores and convenience stores. Without these "breeding grounds" for new readers, comics have become increasingly self-referential, pandering to fanboys and their obsessions, rather than trying to reach and entertain a wider audience. While this may have led to the creation of some great works (Watchmen, Kingdom Come, Marvels, etc.), it has also made comics increasingly weird and inaccessible.
Jorge: I think it's great that comics and food are entertwined. I don't have a lot of memories like that, but I do have a few, and they're fun to remember.
I agree and yet it's OK to sell magazines like Vogue so young women can develop unhealthy habits to try to look like the models they see in there. I know I've learned allot of words I never heard of reading comics. I see a word, go "HUH?" and look it up (WAY before the internet) and read up on it and add it to my vocabulary. Comics helped to nurture my imagination and made me realize I wanted to be an artist. I bought MOST back in the day from 7-11 and Publix when I lived in Florida!
What dunces "banned" the sale of comic books in ordinary stores? Or was it the Witchblade covers that did it by showing more skin than the "girl" (age 37) on the front of a Maxim cad-zine?
Sorry for the very late reply...
Comics weren't banned, they were banished. Stores didn't want to keep them because of the low profit margins and publishers didn't fight to stay there because Diamond distributors switched to a non-returnable model. In other words, two shifting market forces conviened to "banish" comics from the shelves of supermarkets and convenience stores. The last hold is/was Archie digests, because they can fit nicely in with the small digests that stores sell in the checkout lanes. But even these are getting harder to find every day.