John McCrea, Artist

Memorabilia

2010-11-22T06:04:00.015Z

Thanks to everyone who came along to the Memorabilia at Birmingham this weekend. I was signing and sketching alongside my son Kirby, who had his own self-published comic to sell (which he sold out of!) -- big thanks to Harry McMurray, the crazy guys who get pics of Spidey fighting lemons or whatever, Rob and his crew and all the rest of you -- you are stars!

Thanks to Lee Bradley for organisation, and great to see Kit and Kiran Shah, Richard Brooker and Phil Eason who are all gents.

As always, pics from the show below. See if you can figure out which pics Kirby drew -- a No-Prize to the first person who figures it out...

More Memorabilia photos on Chrissie's site.

Lille Comics Festival

2010-11-19T11:14:00.009Z

Just back from the Lille Comics Festival, where I had a fantastic time -- thanks to Julien and all the team for looking after us so well and to the fans who I met. Evenings were spent kicking around with an appalling bunch of reprobates -- Esad Ribic, Vin Degan, Jock, Andy Diggle and his wonderful wife Angela, Barry Kitson, Phil Winslade and the fabulous Pippa, David Hine and sublime Vicki and her amazing coat, the legendary Mick McMahon and too many more to list. We even stayed up til 12.30 one night -- now that's what I call anarchy!

See below for a bunch of sketches I did during the show.

Spectacular Spidey #210 Out Now!

2010-10-09T18:11:00.002+01:00

Spectacular Spider-Man #210 is in the (UK) shops now with an 11-page Vulture story by Ferg Handley, pencils by meself, inks by Lee Townsend and colours by James Offredi -- here's a page from it to whet your appetite -- get thee to the shops now a pick up a pulse-pounding copy, Frantic One... I may be quoting there...

Cards & Ka-Zar

2010-10-06T10:05:00.005+01:00

Here's some trading cards I did during my Italian trip.

And here's a lot of doodles of Ka-Zar from my sketch book -- apologies for the dodgy Zabu, ref required, methinks...

Strip Magazine puts on 'Warpaint'

2010-10-02T01:32:00.002+01:00

Press Release:

Lancaster, England, 1st October 2010: Print Media Productions is delighted to announce that Strip Magazine, launching in early 2011, will include a brand new creator-owned strip, 'Warpaint' by Phil Hester & John McCrea.

In 'Warpaint', a homeless teen finds herself drawn into a cataclysmic struggle between mankind and elemental monsters bent on the destruction of our world. Clad in a hulking, indestructible second skin, and with the aid of a mischievous trickster god, Mia Tsatoke must not only defeat the rampaging behemoths, but navigate the perilous path between her own fragile humanity and the vast, unearthly power now at her fingertips. Only by confronting her own painful past can she solve the puzzle that will bring an end to the seemingly eternal cycle of violence. Only by donning her Warpaint can she bring peace.

Written by Eisner Award-nominated artist Phil Hester (Green Arrow, The Black Terror) with art by Eisner Award-winner John McCrea (Judge Dredd, Hitman), Warpaint is a fast paced, but thoughtful adventure bridging the worlds of fantasy, American Indian mythology, bleak realism, dystopian science fiction, and super heroic action. it is a tale that will engage readers from the full spectrum of comics fandom and hopefully beyond.

"Ever since my sixteen-year-old self saw a moldering stack of UK weeklies in the corner of my first comic shop, I have longed to be part of the UK and European comics scene," says Phil Hester. I'm so happy to be a part of Strip Magazine's effort to storm the newsstand with smart, fun, breakneck action stories. The chance to work again with the brilliant John McCrea makes this one a dream come true. Warpaint is a strip we think is unlike anything else in comics and we can't wait to show it to you."

"I try to work with Phil as much as possible," adds John McCrea. "His writing is smart and cool, with characters you believe in and care about- and so it is with Warpaint. Add to the mix that I get to work with the extremely talented Andrew Elder, whose colouring would make even a mediocre artist look good :) and I am, to quote Proust, an extremely happy bunny."

Strip Magazine, a new monthly magazine for the UK news stand, will launch in 2011, along with a series of graphic albums that include numerous creator-owned projects from creators such as PJ Holden, James Hudnall, John Ridgway, Kev Hopgood, Ferg Handley, Gordon Rennie, SMS and others. The Iron Moon, a steampunk adventure by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page, launches the range in October.

Based in Lancaster, Print Media Productions is the UK arm of Bosnia-based Print Media, publishers of Strip Magazin, Plavi and Metal Hurlant. Strip Magazine is their first UK title.

Follow Phil Hester on Twitter: twitter.com/philhester

For the latest news about PMP projects visit www.stripmagazine.co.uk

Hero Initiative: 100 Avengers

2010-09-27T18:05:00.013+01:00

Just completed a couple of covers for the Hero Initiative's 100 Avengers project -- here's a little look at the pencil to finish stages on one of them.

First, I had to come up with a design -- so I decided to steal -- I mean, do an homage of one of my favourite Avengers covers, namely issue #28. It also has Hawkeye, the Scarlet Witch and Giant Man as the central characters -- they are my favourite Avengers (along with the Vision) , especially their costume design at this time. I had only got from 12 midday til around 9 in the evening to complete all the work for these covers (and that included picking the kids up from school and feeding them their tea) so I decided to leave out the background that was in the Kirby original, Vinnie Colletta style!

Here's my initial pencils, this is where I try to figure out where to place the legs so that the figures look grounded and you can see clearly I was trying several options on Hawkeye and the SW. I'd normally do this stage in a sketch book and then lightbox from a photocopy so that there are no messy pencils but no chance here as the cover has a pic of the actual cover image (by the ridiculously talented Stuart Immomen) on the back.

Final pencils, not as tight as if I were pencilling for an inker, but tighter than I would when inking myself normally. This is because I don't want to make any mistakes that would have to be corrected with white out as I may want to put colour or a grey tone on with markers. Markers don't work over white out.

Drop all the large black areas and main lines in with a Zig brush pen. This is the way I usually ink as I don't want to waste time switching between pens.

Final inks with a Zig sketching pen.

Not enough time for colour but enough for a quick gray tone with a -- you guessed it -- Zig colour marker. Ta da, job done and it's 8 in the evening. Only an hour left to do the other cover and 2 sketch cards...

Here's the other cover, went for bold, close up head shots of my fav 3 -- quick and easy, got it pencilled and inked in 50 mins, so quick colours seemed ok -- took 10 mins or so out of time for my 2 cards.

But I wanted to do em so v. quick headshots, 5-10 mins each and then straight into a page of the Boys (which I got done by 2.30 in the morning...) -- sigh, another 19 hour day... the freelance life!

Highland Laddie

2010-09-20T13:51:00.002+01:00

The Boys: Highland Laddie #1 (of 6) (Dynamite) is in the comic shops now (I think). Written by Garth Ennis and inked by Keith Burns, this tale sees Wee Hughie heading back to his home town to escape the insanity of his life in New York, but hijinks ensue nonetheless.

Spectacular Spidey #211

2010-09-20T13:40:00.005+01:00

Here's a cover I did for Spectacular Spider-Man #211 (Panini) featuring an 11 page Man Wolf story story by Ferg Handley (script), Lee Townsend (inks) and myself on pencilling duty. The cover was inked by me and coloured by Andrew (Captain America) Elder. This shows my initial layouts which the ed, Pat Bishop, thought was a bit quiet -- and he was right, the reworked version is much better -- thanks, Pat!

I've had a good run on these Spidey stories -- my Avengers/Hulk/Thor issue is in the shops right now and I'm working on issue 212 featuring Hawkeye! Needless to say, I'm enjoying every minute of it!

Back From Italy

2010-09-20T13:31:00.005+01:00

Just attended a convention in Narni, Italy, with Dougie Braithwaite and his fab wife Sue. Had a fabulous time in certainly the most scenic setting for a show that I've ever attended -- the top of a castle on top of a hill looking out over a valley. Thanks to Luisa for organisation and shepherding us about, Francesco for running the show and all the other fine folks who looked after me during the weekend -- too many to mention (I'm high maintenance), but cheers all the same!

The same trip I signed in a shop and need to thank Mario the owner and Ariadna, his lovely wife, not forgetting the irrepressible Leo for sightseeing duties and suchlike. I had a blast at both of these events and the fans were fantastic -- though signing a comic for someone on the side of a roundabout on the motorway on the way to the airport was probably the daftest signing I've done... A bunch of the sketches from the show below, hopefully more to be posted.

Spectacular Spidey Previews

2010-07-08T17:50:00.003+01:00

Some random pages for the Panini published Spectacular Spiderman comic for the UK and Euro market. I'll be the artist for upcoming issues 207, 209 and 210, plus I'm in the latest issue of their Marvel Heroes comic too. Just such fun stuff to draw, especially the Spidey / Hulk / Thor / Avengers story in issue 209. All these stories are written by Fabulous Ferg Hanley...

Marvel Heroes Step by Step

2010-05-27T10:52:00.005+01:00

Here's a page from the latest Marvel Heroes comic published by Panini which is in the shops right now. This is page 7 of a 14 pager I did featuring Spidey, the Thing and the Human Torch -- thought I'd show the progress from layouts to colours.

First, my layouts, which I do in a Moleskine notebook -- my dad gave me a bunch of these for Christmas 5 years ago and i've never used anything else since -- lovely to draw in. As you can see, my layouts can be a bit random at this stage, here I just jump from page to page drawing the panels that pop into my head as I read them. I also chose this page to show you how hardcore I am drawing at 5 in the morning with a crying, snot-filled toddler on my lap -- of course, many will say that explains a lot about my artwork!

Next, I blow my layouts up on a photocopier and trace them onto art board (cheapest propelling pencil I could find, 2H lead) using a lightbox. Then scan 'em in and send them to Lee Sullivan to be inked.

I always have Lee send me the inks as it never ceases to amaze me how many mistakes in my art I can see only once the blackline is put down -- I usually spend about 20 minutes going throught the art reducing the size of characters heads, lenghtening legs etc in photoshop. Also in this page I pinched a previous shot of the Thing and using the transform tool, popped it onto Doc Doom's screen in panel 1. God, I love photoshop (almost as much as I hate it...).

Finally the colours which I have a bit of input into as well (being a total contol freak) generally to do with special effects not looking quite the way I want 'em.

And that's it, job done.

Just finished an 11 page Spidey story for Spectacular Spider Man #206, featuring Daredevil and the Enforcers, written by Ferg Handley, inked by Lee Townsend and colours by James Offreddi -- will post some pages later.

Tim Leatherbarrow

2010-05-19T15:01:00.002+01:00

Tim Leatherbarrow, madcap gag cartoonist whom I have had the good fortune to know for many a year, rambles hilariously on his blog here, and see examples of his zany scribblings here.

New Book Illo

2010-05-13T22:11:00.001+01:00

Here's a wee job I did for Dorling Kindersley recently for their upcoming book 'Danger' due out mid September. Colours by my partner in crime Andrew Elder. This is for a piece on deep space, with super massive black holes and colliding galaxies represented as super heroes -- great fun!
www.dk.com

Memorabilia Pics

2010-04-29T10:11:00.005+01:00

Here's a few more pics from the NEC -- the crazy 'Spider man vs a Rich Duck at Connect 4' illo was done for Simon, Jonneh and Dave, 3 regulars at the Memorabilia show who always ask for mad Spidey pics. They also sent me a few others I've done for them -- 'Spider Rawk' and the classic 'Spider Man vs a lorry'. Pleasure to see these guys, good fun to chat to and always an artistic challenge... or something.

And the Human Torch was for Adam Meade, all round good guy and gentleman!

Infinity Pics

2010-04-29T10:08:00.002+01:00

Thanks for everyone who came along to my two events at the Infinity and Beyond shop in Shrewsbury last weekend -- I had a great time and was well looked after. Here are the first 2 sketches I've been sent -- thanks Rik.

Narnia Fumetto

2010-04-21T14:07:00.002+01:00

Will be attending the Narnia Fumetto in Narnia, Italy on 4-5th September. This will be my first ever convention appearance in Italy so really looking forward to it!

Go to www.narniafumetto.com for details.

Bristol Expo Print

2010-04-04T23:45:00.003+01:00

I've got an exclusive Boys print selling at the Bristol Comics Expo -- £10 a pop. It can be ordered in advance, either direct from me or via the Expo website (at http://www.fantasyevents.org/bristolcomicexpo FYI). It'll be full colour on good heavy weight art board, A3 and 100 print run - signed by me and Keith Burns, natch... Here's the finished article.

Memorabilia/Infinity

2010-03-29T16:55:00.006+01:00

Had a great weekend at the Memorabilia at the NEC in Birmingham, thanks to everyone who stopped by. Here's a pic I did for Rob Conner. Will post more as I get 'em.

Will be signing at the Infinity and Beyond comic shop in Shrewsbury on Saturday 24th April. Check out the flyer for all the info and hope to see you there.

Upcoming Appearances

2010-03-15T20:11:00.004Z

I am attending the Memorabilia show at the NEC in Birmingham on the 27-28th March for signing, sketching etc... I'm joined by my co-artist on the Boys, Keith Burns, plus a bunch of other guests. Here's the link:

http://www.memorabilia.co.uk/guests/comic_city.html

I'm hosting a workshop called Comic Creation for the Shrewsbury Cartoon Festival on Friday 23rd April at 5.30 at the Infinity and Beyond shop. Places are limited to 20 (ish) so book early to avoid missing this . Website:

www.shrewsburycartoonfestival.com

I'm a guest at the Bristol Comic Con the weekend 22- 23rd May. I'm drawing an exclusive Boys print for the show which will be limited to 100 print run -- they've started selling already so pre order from Mike Allwood through the show. Website:

http://www.fantasyevents.org/bristolcomicexpo/exclusives.html

Here's a preview of the sketch for the print:

And here's a preview of the pencils:

Lotsa Bullets

2010-02-12T08:14:00.001Z

Hitman: 10,000 Bullets has just been re-released in a spanking new tpb collection with all the covers printed full size this time round. A great read which reminds me how much I miss Tommy. Buy it from Amazon through this link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitman-Thousand-Bullets-Garth-Ennis/dp/1848565526/

http://www.amazon.com/Hitman-Thousand-Bullets-Garth-Ennis/dp/1848565526/

Another Vid!

2010-02-02T16:49:00.001Z

Thanks to Ricarda for finding this little gem from the Lille comic con a few years back -- Gene Ha, what a gent, not so sure about the second bloke, bit of an ass...

La Petite Emission #02.2
Uploaded by comicsplace. - Watch the latest news videos.

YouTube Interview

2010-02-02T14:46:00.002Z

An interview while I was signing and sketching at Asylum Books and Comics in Aberdeen, always good fun -- thanks to Mike for bringing me up and to all of the fans who showed, many of whom will be appearing as characters in the new Boys mini series I'm working on -- watch this space for details!

More Movie Days!

2010-01-24T23:16:00.001Z

Another pic from the Movie Days con, this for Björn Saemann (Ray from GhostBusters). A good bunch of folks, those Ghostbusters!

Braunschweig Redux

2010-01-21T23:22:00.003Z

Another sketch from the the Movie Days con in Braunschweig, this one of Daniel and the Punisher.

BTW: Pls excuse/ignore irrelevant header image that appeared earlier, if you caught it. Just fiddling with blog style. All better now!

Magic Mellow Out

2010-01-21T13:52:00.006Z

Just discovered these 3 unpublished Dredd pages from a story by Garth Ennis for 2000 AD called the Magic Mellow Out -- surprisingly, this was a parody of the Magic Roundabout! I was really trying to get the feel of the original TV series with this art, spending hours cutting out the shapes of the flowers, trees etc from coloured paper and sticking them onto the art, ably assisted by my fab wife Rachel... this was, of course, a long time before I had even heard of the name Photoshop.

Unfortunately, the then editor of 2000, Richard Burton (and part time husband of Elizabeth Taylor) was adamant that the characters did not resemble in any way the characters from the Magic Roundabout (which is not what parody is all about, I think, though tell that to a lawyer...). These pages were my second attempt to make them not resemble the Roundabout gang and Richard was still unhappy with their appearance, so he booted me off the story and gave it to Anthony Williams (very fine fellow and artist of one of my favourite DC books, the criminally un trade paper backed Scare Tactics).

So there you go, pics below. Anyone wishing to purchase these pages, drop me a line, I'm flogging them for £90 each. (As usual, click on 'em to see larger versions!)

More Braunschweig Sketches

2009-12-09T15:58:00.004Z

Here's three more sketches from the Braunschweig show for Dirk Juknys, my #1 German Fan!

Report: Movie Days, Germany

2009-12-04T13:12:00.006Z

Had a fantastic weekend at the show in Braunschweig, Germany, meeting lots of fantastic fans.

Big props to Angelo and his crew for looking after me (even if I'm still hurting from the Friday night bowling) and to Ulla for organising it.

Stand out moments were Mr Jeremy (Boba Fett) Bulloch and his awesome air guitar skills to Metallica:

I don't think I've laughed so much in a long time - Jeremy, you should take that show on the road.

Bolo (Enter the Dragon) Yeung (who looks in great shape for 71) is also a very cool guy and it was a pleasure talking to him.

My main men for the weekend were the inimitable Richard Booker and Dick Wieland (both who appeared in the Friday the 13th movies) and highjinx aplenty were had, including the inevitable gatecrashing the wedding party.

And hello to Lightning Bear, Ricarda Wegener and Richard Van Ekeren, great to meet you all.

Only have a pic of one sketch from the show, will post any more I receive.

A few photos from the show. Lightning Bear is the guy with the braids, Booker the big fella and Ricarda is the short gal.

Upcoming: Asylum Comics, Scotland

2009-11-23T16:54:00.002Z

I'm signing at Asylum Comics in Aberdeen, Scotland on Saturday 5th December, here's the info: http://www.asylum-booksandgames.com/shop/

Upcoming: Movie Days, Germany

2009-11-23T16:52:00.001Z

I'm attending the Movie Days convention in Braunschweig, Germany this weekend the 28th and 29th November. Hope to see you there! http://www.movie-days.com/

Welcome to New Blog/Page Preview

2009-11-23T16:48:00.007Z

Here's a page from an upcoming Siver Surfer/Captain Britain strip I did for Panini's Marvel Heroes mag (#16, out December). I love working on these strips as I get to fufill my inner geek drawing all the Marvel characters I've loved since I was 4! (Click on image to see bigger version.)