Comic Strip Classics - original production art

Production art by Susan Thomson for the Popeye cachet, produced by the Washington Press for the Postal Commemorative Society Comic Strip Classics first day covers

 

 

1995 Classic Comics stamps first day covers from the Postal Commemorative Society produced by the Washington Press. The original art is converted into an engraved printing plate from which the cachets are produced. Some manufacturers produced one design to be used for the stamps. The Postal Commemorative Society covers were produced for each individual stamp issue.

Popeye production art on 11 x 14 bristol board

Autumn Frederickson - Pocket Panda Christmas

2018.11.10 White's One Day Comic Con, East Brunswick, NJ

Autumn Frederickson, is a fantasy and editorial illustrator specializing in children's media. Autumn has provided work in sketch cards for Cryptozoic Entertainment on titles Big Bang Theory, DC Comics Super Villains, Ghostbusters, Adventure Time and Rick and Morty.  Autumn has also provided pencils on Jake Semahn's Waterloo, part of Infected from Image Comics

Pocket Pandas and the companion web comic The (Mostly) Daily Panda bring a whimsical and playful jaunt into the absurd

Daydreams & Giggles

Etsy

Merry Christmas - Happy Holidays

James Rodriguez - Wonder Woman

2018.11.04 Long Island Comic Book Expo, Melville, NY

James Rodriguez is a freelance artist, who started drawing at age 4. He studied at the School of Visual Arts learning from several comic book legends, including Joe Orlando and Walt Simonson. Rodriguez has been illustrating sketch cards, comics, film and TV storyboards.

Rodriguez believes in continuous learning, from everything around him and has many influences on his art.

Rodriguez' current passion is working on a creator-owned book "Sara of Earth", which readers can find out about through his Patreon page. Sara is a 16 year old latino that accidentally gets infused with a powerful and unstable power unit. A mix of Buffy and Green Lantern, Sara must learn to use this power with the aide of an alien soldier she calls "Bob"......

jrodart71

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Terence Leonard - Goku : Dragon Ball

2108.11.04 Long Island Comic Book Expo, Melville, NY

Terence Leonard is from Long Island, NY. He grew up inspired to draw comics based on Pokemon and Sonic the Hedgehog. As a child he attended the Hofstra Saturday morning cartooning classes to help develop his skill. He would go on to attend the School of Visual Arts in NYC, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Cartooning.

I requested a Goku, Super Saiyan form, sketch from Dragon Ball to adorn the recently released Dragons stamps first day cover

Artstation

Pictame

Inbeon Mag interview

John Handler - Green Lantern

2018.10.13 Lehigh Valley Comic Con, Schnecksville, Pa

Looking over John Handler's booth you get the view of a talented artist, with a passion for superheroes. Batman and Catwoman, Lanterns, Captain America....

John had a large poster sized artwork that featured several of the Lanterns. I liked the style in which he was drawing his Green Lantern, so I requested the above sketch..

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Jim Wiltshire - Magic

2018.10.13 Lehigh Valley Comic Con, Schnecksville, Pa

Jim Wiltshire studied illustration and animation at William Patterson University, currently working as a freelance artist. His art focuses on the fantasy, magical, video game style. The closest I could get to a related first day cover was the recent Magic issue, on which which Jim drew a beautiful red-haired witch

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Angel Santiago - Guardian City Saint

2018.10.13 Lehigh Valley Comic Con, Schencksville, Pa

Angel Santiago was born and raised in Hell's Kitchen, NYC. He always had a love for graphic novels and comics. He started creating his own comics in grade school and now he has started his own series, which was funded on Kickstarter... Guardian City Saint

Angel attends the Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art. He was also the artist on Project: Shadow Breed, Evil Cat Comics

Amazing Action Comics

Trew2Art - Stitch

2018.11.04 Long Island Comic Book Expo, Melville, NY

Tremaine "Trew" Worrell has had an eye on the art world since he was 5. He would see his mother sketching little doodles and the amazing transformation that a line could turn a reality

Trew is working freelance and producing amazing art. On his table he had an excellent TMNT sketch he had been working on. I asked what his favorite character was. His response Stitch. I commented that none of his art displayed featured Stitch. Since that was the case, I thought what could I come up with for a Stitch sketch.  Since Stitch is an alien it was feasible that his planet was part of the United Federation of Planets. That in turn meant Stitch could serve on the USS Enterprise, and thus the idea was born.

Drew has Stitch attempting the Vulcan greeting. I was wondering what color uniform Stitch would be wearing,... my guess would be red!

Trew2Art Instagram

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Brett Breeding - Steel

2018.10.13 Lehigh Valley Comic Con, Schnecksville, Pa

The Folk Heroes stamp was issued in 1996, featuring Mighty Casey at the Bat, Paul Bunyun, Pecos Bill and John Henry.  John Henry the steel driving man, who challenged a steam driven rock-drilling machine and won, only to die in victory when his heart gave out...

The character of Steel, John Henry Irons, from the Death of Superman series in 1993 was created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove, has roots to the original John Henry

Brett Breeding, worked primarily as an inker for DC Comics Superman character and is the co-creator of the characters Doomsday, Shadowdragon, Saviour, Blaze and Satanus.

Breeding started his career as a background assistant to Bob Layton, inking backgrounds on Iron Man. At DC Comics, he would work on Weird Tales, The Superman Family and Green Arrow backup stories. He would work with Don Heck and George Perez onJustice League of America, as well as many other titles

I had been looking for someone to draw a Steel sketch for a while and felt Breeding was the right person for this

Mike Manley - The Thing

2018.10.13 Lehigh Valley Comic Con, Schnecksville, Pa
"It's Clobberin' time!"

I knew Mike Manely was currently working on the daily newspaper strips The Phantom and Judge Parker, and was co-creator of Dark Hawk for Marvel Comics. But I was not sure which character I would request.

I asked if he was given a piece of paper and asked to draw whatever he wanted to, what would he choose? His answer The Thing.

I selected the Science and Technology first day cover to coincide with the Thing's origins of Space Travel and radiation, and as the pilot of Reed Richards doomed rocket ship.

Matt Pace

2016.11.19 NJ Comic Expo, Edison, NJ

Matt Pace is a freelance illustrator and student at Joe Kubert's School of Cartoon and Graphic Art

Mike McKone - Johan Cruyff

2016.11.19 NJ Comic Expo, Edison, NJ

Mike McKone is an artist from Newcastle, whose work was published work includes Justice League of America, Justice League International, The Punisher War Zone, Exiles, Teen Titans, Fantastic Four, Deadpool: Suicide Kings, Ms Marvel, Amazing Spider-Man and many other titles...

Originally McKone was going to provide me with a sketch of Batman, an easy out.. but as we discussed other possibilities he was very willing to accept more of a challenge. Our discussion turned to his being from Newcastle, England and supporting Newcastle United, a football club that was recently relegated from the Premier League. A team that has a devoted fan base even though the team has had difficult seasons. (I have heard many stories from a friend who is also from Newcastle!)

I asked if he would prefer to sketch a footballer to a super hero, and he took up the challenge. As a father of 2 football (soccer in the US) players I usually have a football FDC with me. I left McKone not really knowing what he would come up with...his final product was a beautiful rendition of Johan Cruyff.

Cruyff was a Dutch footballer who played in the Eredivisie (Dutch League), La Liga (Spainish League) and the North American Soccer League (USA). He is considered to be one of the most influential figures in football history. His style of play and his total football philosophy has influenced many managers and players..

Scott Kolins - Blue Beetle

2018-04-27 East Coast Comic Con, Secaucus, NJ

Scott Kolins is an illustrator, writer and creator of multiple superhero and science fiction comic books. His main credits are as a penciler, but he is an established inker and colorist as well. Kaolins has illustrated numerous titles for Marvel Comics from 1992 to 2008, including Excalibur, Hawkeye, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Thing, The Avengers, She-Hulk, Wolverine, The Fantastic Four and others

Kolins has also illustrated several DC titles including Green Lantern, Superbly, Legion of Superheroes, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Superman/Batman. Kolins started work on Blue Beetle in 2016

After studying at the Kubert School, Kolins landed a job with Valiant Comics, before moving on to Marvel

Kolins is credited or co-credited with the creation or co-creation of several characters including Peek-a-Boo (Flash super-villain), Iron Maniac Gear (alternate universe Iron Man), Tar Pit (Flash super-villain) and others

The Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) is the third incarnation of the character, created by Keith Gifffen, John Rogers and Cully Hamner. The original Blue Beetle, Dan Garret first appeared in the Fox Feature Syndicate Mystery Men Comics #1 (August 1939)

Karl Slominski - Astronaut

2018-04-28 East Coast Comic Con, Secaucus, NJ

After I obtain the sketches I had planned for a specific convention, I walk the room to look for unexpected surprises. Karl Slominski gave me the wow feeling. His con banner featured a skeleton astronaut, which grabbed my attention. I explained my collection and asked if he would be able to reproduce the astronaut, which was very detailed. I appreciate the detail Karl was able to provide in a small sketch.

Karl Slominski is a graphic novelist and an alumni of the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Arts. His work has been featured in a wide rate of cartooning and illustrative outlets, including the graphic novels Golgotha (written by Andrew Harrison), Run Like Hell (written by Jeff Dixon) and Ashes: A Firefighter's Tale (written by Mario Candelabra) Tad Caldwell and the Monster Kid (written by Kurt Amacker). His recent works include his creator-owned comic book series Star Child, Fixer and the graphic novel Teeter Topple.

Slominski has also worked in the film industry, notably for the horror anthology The Mortuary Collection from Trap Door Pictures

@KidReverie

Kyle Starks - Rick and Morty

Kyle Starks drew several web-comics before committing to comic books. His first venture was Sexcastle, funded through a Kickstarter campaign and eventually being picked up by Image Comics. Starks received an Eisner Nomination for the book.

Starks is a writer for Oni Press' Rick and Morty series, starting with issue #16. Starks also works on the Invader Zim comic and has a new book called Rock Candy Mountain.

Robot Mountain

Ben Harvey - TMNT

2018-04-27 East Coast Comic Con, Secaucus, NJ

Ben Harvey found an attraction to art at an early age, through cartoons, video games and comic books. Harvey attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia, which exposed him to the world of digital art, which he takes advantage of in almost all of his work.

He describes his style as heavily manga influenced to comic booky with hints of manga. Harvey has work on projects for publishers Tokyopop, Radical Comics, Beach Studios, Image Comics and IDW

BenHarveyArt

AJ Morrone - Micky Dolenz

2018-04-27 East Coast Comic Con, Secaucus, NJ

When I read the guest list for the Con, and saw Mickey Dolenz was going to be in attendance, I wanted to obtain an autograph. I have seen the Monkees in concert, grew-up on the TV show and I appreciate the music. 

Dolenz started out in television in 1956 starring in Circus Boy, portraying a water boy for the elephants in a circus. The show ran for 2 seasons. 

Prior to auditioning for the Monkees, Dolenz had led a rock group called Mickey and the One-Nighters. The Monkees success was both due to the music and the comedy of the show. It connect with the younger viewers.

Since I decided to obtain an autograph, I knew I did not want to carry around a record album, and I did not want a photo. I decided to find an artist at the show who could provide a sketch of Dolenz. AJ Morrone is a sketch card artist for Upper Deck and Fleer trading cards. He accepted my challenge and produced in short time a sketch that truly captured Dolenz' personality.

I selected a Richie Valens first day cover, a celebration of early rock n roll....

Steve Lavigne - TMNT : Raphael

2018.04 Garden State Comic Fest, Morristown, NJ

Steve Lavigne was the first person hired by Eastman and Laird at Mirage Studios. He inked a backup story in the 1989 collected "Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

Along with Ryan Brown, they illustrated the artwork seen on the majority of officially licensed TMNT merchandise, which included art for Burger King, Pez, New Line Cinema, Konagi, Colorforms, and other toy lines.

I requested Steve to choose which Turtle and style he wanted to draw.

Shellback Artworks

Greg Hildebrandt had prepared a sketch for the charity auction, which featured Bebop and Rock Steady and April from TMNT. With this late twin Tim, the Brothers Hildebrandt worked collectively as fantasy and science fiction artists, producing work for books, movie posters, calendars, trading cards and other items.

Best know for their work on the Lord of the Rings, Marvel and DC Comics, Greg has been a fixture at the Garden State Comic Fest, meeting fans while actually working on one of his paintings. A great experience to be able to ask him questions while he works.

The TNMT pencil sketch was drawn at the request of the show organizers for the charity auction

Joe Barbosa - Simon's Circus

2018.04.27 East Coast Comic Con, Secaucus, NJ

Joe Barbosa released his comic Simon's Circus through 3Kidz comics. It is a hilarious and rude comic. Rude if you are a fan of clowns. Funny if you don't mind seeing a clown get trashed by an elephant. It seems the circus elephant Eddie hates clowns, as well as visitors to the circus. Eddie would rather be playing golf, when not beating up on clowns.

Definitely not for little kids

Simon's Circus
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John Beatty - Batman

2018.04.17 East Coast Comic Con, Secaucus, NJ

John Beatty entered the world of professional artist at age 15, when he was hired by Camelot Publishing to produce cartoons for computer instruction manuals. shortly after graduating from high school, he wrote and drew "Crime Smasher", which found publication Tom corrigan's Super Hero Comics. while attending a comic con in orlando, Beatty met AC Comics publisher Bill Black. After seeing Beatty's work, Black offered him a job as an inker.

Soon Bob McLeod asked Beatty to assist him on some pages, which inducted drawing backgrounds.

Beatty then had a second opportunity to show his work to Jim Shooter, who offered him work, if he came to New York. Beatty would spend 20 years inking titles such as Captain America, Punisher, Secret Wars, The Nam, The Adventures of Superman, Batman, JLA and many other titles.

Mike DeCarlo - Batman

2018.04.17 East Coast Comic Con, Secaucus, NJ

Mike DeCarlo has been involved with numerous titles as both penciler and inker.
With DC comics in the 1980s, DeCarlo work Batman, Tales of Teen Titans, Legion of Superheroes inking the pencils of George Perez, Greg LaRocque, Keith Griffen and Jim Aparo.

DeCarlo has also worked on diverse titles as Atari Force, Cartoon Network Block Party, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Fantastic Four, Pinky and the Brain, Simpsons, Superman, Bugs Bunny, NFL SuperPro, Thor, Conan the Barbarian

Bongo Comics Radioactive Man series received an Eisner Award in 2002 for Best Humor Publication, while DeCarlo was one of the series artists

Fernando Ruiz - Cosmo - Animal Jam

2018.07.08 Garden State Comic Fest, Morristown, NJ

Animal Jam is an online virtual world launched in 2010 by WildWorks and the National Geographic Society. Players discover various facts about zoology. The popularity of the on-line game has launched other media products including shirts, notebooks, playlets, plush figures.

In 2017 Dynamite comics released a 4 book mini-series of comic books written and drawn by Fernando Ruiz and Eric Esquivel (this includes #0 a Free Comic Book Day publication).

When I came across the FCBD copy at my local store, I had to grab it because first there was a koala on the cover and second because it was by Fernando.

My wife does not know Fernando, but she loves koalas. Given the choice of me or a koala, it would be the koala. I knew Fernando would be at a local show, so I went on eBay to look for a first day cover that featured a koala stamp and kept an eye open for Fernando's appearance. I am posting the cover this week, as Nancy birthday is in a few days, so this is for her. (cheap gift)

There are several main Alphas that oversee the Animal Jam community which includes:

Liza the Panda (leader); Greely the Wolf (animal magic); Graham the Monkey (Inventor); Sir Gilbert the Tiger (warrior), Peck the Rabbit (non-conformist); Cosmo the Koala (expert herbalist), Tavi the Dolphin

Charles Paul Wilson III - Pooh's On First

2018.07.08 Garden State Comic Fest, Morristown, NJ

As a fan of Abbott and Costello, I had been looking for someone to draw a Frankenstein Meets AC. Then i taught it would be great to obtain a sketch related to the routine "Who's On First". Which is still one of the greatest comedy routines ever!

Then it hit me - "Pooh's On First!"

Why hadn't I thought of this before (this is where I smack myself in the head!). Charles Paul Wilson III was the perfect artist for this. If you ever saw Charles at an event you know he uses the Pooh character in many of his works. I had to wait it bit before Charles was at an event I was attending. Charles accepted the challenge to draw a baseball related Poh character.  Pooh is dressed in an early style uniform with the round painters style cap (See Willie Stargell - Pirates c.1970s)

Thanks to Charles Paul Wilson III for his great style...

Dylan B. Caleho - Love and Power

2018.07.08 Gaden State Comic Fest, Morristown, NJ

Source Point Press is a publisher in alternative fiction in books, comics and graphic novels, with a focus on horror, science fiction and pulp fiction. One of their books is The Seance Room, written by Ben Goldsmith and illustrated by Keyla Valerio. The story features a haunted mansion owned by a ghost monger. Six ghosts reside within, and should you find your way to the Seance Room, one of them will enlighten you.

As I walked past the Source Point Press booth, which was covered in books and staffed by several creators, I glanced a a sketch that was lying on top of one of the books. Ben Goldsmith noticed my interest and mentioned the sketch was from their artist intern, Dylan B. Caleho. The sketch was of Death, one of the ghosts residing in the Seance Room. As he pitched the story to me, I asked if it was possible for Dylan to provide a commission. Ben asked Dylan if she would, we discussed the subject and agreed on the ghosts from the second story Love and Power. 

Dylan is an art student at the Moore College of Art and currently serving an internship at the Source Point Press. Dylan's work can be followed at dylanbeedoodles and Instagram. Dylan provided a great sketch, thank you and I wish you the best of luck. Hope to see you at your own booth in the future!

The Seance Room follows the style of the Twilight Zone, Tales from the Crypt as a horror anthology. The cover above from The Seance Room 2, featuring Love and Power

Kevin Altieri - Batman

Kevin Altieri is a graduate of the Joe Kubert School. Alteri started working for DIC on Saturday morning cartoons and launched his career in animation. He is a director on Batman: The Animated Series, C.O.P.S. and Stripperella. Additionally he was a storyboard artist for Exterminator 2 (1984), storyboard designer and sequence director on Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), director and screenwriter on Gen13 (2000), visual development on Treasure Planet (2002)

Altieri also co-directed Pearl Jam's music video Do the Evolution with Todd McFarlane

Batman: The Animated Series developed by Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski and produced by Warner Bros Animation originally aired on Fox Kids in 1992 and ran until 1995 airing 85 episodes.
The series brought a new look to television animation with a darker tone and higher artistic quality, which had been missing on television.  The story lines shared continuity with DC Comics providing a broader range of fan involvement. As a Saturday morning kid, glued to my TV watching cartoons well into an age when my parents didn't think I should be watching kids' shows, I was overjoyed to see a return to TV of quality animation. The fact that it was Batman was even better.....