I had just finished reading the newest Lethargic Lad which reminded me how much the new FF bothered me. Just this week I got these comics via ebay which I thought was a much better concept. I bought this comic when it came out just because it had The New Fantastic Four in uniform, but I didn’t like that Ghost Rider was replaced with Iron Man, and I still didn’t like that it was Grey Hulk instead of Green Hulk. I wondered what the proper team would look like in uniform, and so I decided to do this sketch to find out. In a recent interview I was asked “What comic characters other than your own would you like to work with?” After this sketch, I think I’d have to add “The New Fantastic Four” to that list.

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Friday we arrived at 4:00 pm and were continually misdirected by security and volunteer staff on how to actually get into the convention floor.  Turned out that in order to pick up our exhibitor badge we had to enter an area that you could not get into unless you had an exhibitor badge.  Yeah, that’s right.  You could not pick up your badge unless you had your badge.  What a mess.

It was an hour later when one of the volunteers who was on the ball came to our aid and offered to escort us past security.  There were a lot of horror stories like this with nearly everyone I talked to.  Very unfortunate.  Oh well.  Hopfully Fan Expo cleans up their act for next year, because it really is a GREAT comic con.

Photo by Jules Faulkner

The space in the north hall was smaller, and the floor seemed more crowded.  The largest booths seemed bigger than usual (yet like dwarfed versions of their San Diego counterparts).  The windows and daylight I did enjoy.
We do have video footage this year that will be edited together into a mini documentary and posted as soon as we have time to do it (har, har, har… the story of my life).  That said, here are some pics:

Here’s a great drawing from Brenda Hickey.

And a Spy Lad by Greg Hyland.

And here’s a sketch I did that I thought turned out pretty cool…

And here’s a first; a custom Spy Guy appearing on the cover of Possum Mini Comics #1!

I also heard from numerous sources that there was another “Spy Guy” comic created by some other folks in artist alley. Very interesting. I’ll have to keep a pulse on that as things develop.

In closing, to everyone that took a moment to stop by our table to chat and support the work that we are doing:  Thank You!  That more than anything else makes doing these shows worth while!  See you again next year.

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Cerebus as Spy Guy head sketch by Dave Sim.
You know this has to go in the letters page of Spy Guy #2.

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Back around 2004 I got to thinking that every comic book should have a “hook”.  A page that while you’re flipping through it in the comic book shop, it catches your eye, and you go “whoa!”, and in that moment you are given enough information to get a gist of what the book is about, and are enticed to learn more.  It would most likely contain a splash page image, and should contain a joke or one-liner that can be absorbed in an instant.  When I began brainstorming what the issue #1 hook should be, this gag came to mind.  It is one of the earliest Spy Guy drawings ever done, circa 1988, and is what I consider to be an iconic image for Spy Guy.  What better place to use it than in the very first issue of the Unlimited Series.

Pretty good gag. But for the comic it had to be more dynamic. That became very apparent while I was putting together the mock-up copy that I use to pace out the comic with.

Once I started the full sized roughs of the new dynamic pose, I realized that I wasn’t getting the drawing right at all. Once you tilt it at a bit of an angle, you start getting some perspective and the way the trench coat falls gets more complicated. I needed photo reference.

In doing video reference for animation, I discovered how much superior using video reference is compared to using photo reference, because you can capture thousands of frames to chose from, and you get better action because you don’t get stiff as you hold still for the camera.

From there I did some pencil sketches in front of the computer on 11 x 17 paper.  Here is the 11 x 17 rough I created.  The sharpie work was done on the bus on route to the GO Train back when I had a daily commute and was featured in a blog journal post a while back.  I find the sharpie is useful for really blocking in some forms to base the final pencils around.

From there I took the sharpie rough, and did a tracing paper pencil over it to tighten the drawing before transferring it over to the S-172 Bainbridge illustration board.

For the final pencils and inks, I pulled out the gun reference that I keep beside the drawing board at all times.

And this is what it looks like in the final page.  You can read it in context right here.

The page has gotten quite a few comments, so I can only assume that it accomplished what I set out to do with it. Now there you have it;  the making of SPY GUY #1 Page 7.

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Getting ready to bust out the inks on Page 3.  As you can see, I’ve got my Frank Miller contrast reference ready, and my Mike Mignola “Kirby Dot” reference ready.  You can also see the Sharpie and Pentel Correction Pen rough for a general idea of what I’m going for.  Note the Post-it note rough dialog, that trick sure comes in handy.

Also, if you look closely in the top left hand corner of the desk, you’ll see my mini-sketchbook… I sketched out a true story from Toronto back in 2005… that true story will be integrated into Page 12 (when I get to it).
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Here on Page 6 the action ends, and we start getting into intensive dialog and character interaction. Something I always find difficult to write for comics. However on this page I’ve started experimenting with writing the dialog on post-it notes, taking the cue from they way they used to do storyboards in these parts for animation. Doing it this way allows for endless re-organizing of the word bubbles making the editing and visualization of the final page super simple. I think I’m going to work like this more often.

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So early morning Saturday I tracked the packages from Mirabel to Burlington, and intercepted the transport truck at the sorting station just before noon, grabbed my boxes of comics, and sped to the Fan Expo where Blair was manning the booth.  Talk about deja vu (nearly the same thing happened for the release of Spud & Harry #1).

Never the less, the comics arrived in time for FAN EXPO 2009, and the people couldn’t be happier (except for Christopher Miller who came by early on Friday… sorry Chris).

Both Deadpool and The Comedian agree that SPY GUY #1 is the best SPY GUY comic yet!

Speaking of celebrities, I managed to take these pics:

Linda Hamilton

Lou Ferrigno

Bruce Campbell

Now I REALLY wanted to get a pic of Spock, but unfortunately wasn’t able to… I missed him and Captain Kirk back in 2006 as well…  oh well.  Maybe next time.

And what would a comic con be without FREE SKETCHES!?
Here are some of my favorites:

Black Widow vs. SPY-Derman

Spy Guy vs. Fazeman

Dark Possum vs. Dark Spy Guy
(The un-expected concept of this one is one of my favorites since Spy-Mite! And the idea never would have existed if it wasn’t for doing these sketches.  It’s great exercise in creativity.  I’d really like to colour this one).

Spy Guy vs. The Possum
(These team-up sketches are always fun to do.  Especially trying to mix it up by fitting in a gag that wasn’t expected.)

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Be sure to check out his stuff over at Meanwhile Studios.

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Last Sunday was the annual Word On The Street festival in Toronto, and despite calls for rain, the day ended up being warm and sunny. Once again Ultraist Studios was in attendance with Possum Press, and this year we debuted the SPY GUY and The POSSUM Superhero Movie cut-out stand-ups for the first time ever, which got a lot of attention (and photos).

An interesting side note:  I noticed all day that I was drawing a disproportionately large number of sketches with children robbing banks.  Must be a sign of our times.

Click to enlarge.

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