that's LIFE june13

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one of my favorite summer movies is The Parent Trap 1961, didn't every little girl and possibly boy, want to be Hayley Mills? Here from 1960-as POLLYANNA, a childhood tearjerker. It might be time for a Hayley Mills film fest.





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Thor Covers Part 3

Well, I got sidetracked for about a week there, but here finally are the final 2 Thor covers from the series I did in 2004.

Thor Covers Part 2

Here's the next two in a series of Thor covers I did back in 2004. Issue #81 and Issue #82-

Thor Covers Part 1

Since there seems to be quite a bit of buzz around Thor right now (I think there's a movie coming out this week or something), I thought I'd present the seven Thor covers I've done in the original black and white. Back in 2004 I was asked to provide the covers for the six issue arc that would end Thor's (then) current series. The arc featured a Ragnarök (the final destiny of the gods) themed story by Michael Oeming and Andrea DiVito and I jumped at the chance to do the cover art for each issue.

The first two issues, numbers 80 and 81, both featured guest stars. Issue #80 showcased Iron Man alongside the Thunder God and issue #81 boasted Marvel's big three from the Avengers - Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man.



Two more covers tomorrow!

New Avengers 100 Project

This is the sketch cover I did for The Hero Initiative's New Avengers 100 Project. I decided to feature the characters who were prominent in the book during the time I was drawing it, after all, at the time they were the New Avengers! Read more about the project and see some amazing covers turned in by some of the other artists involved here.

THE MARVELS PROJECT #8 Cover

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The final issue of THE MARVELS PROJECT comes out tomorrow, wrapping up the eight issue mini series. I had a great time working on the book and will miss drawing all those Nazis. In the meantime, I'm at work on my new project for Marvel, which should be announced soon. Have a great week everybody!

Click here for a preview of THE MARVELS PROJECT #8.

THE MARVELS PROJECT #7 Cover

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The Marvels Project #7 hits the shelves in two short weeks on March 24th. What will you find inside? From Marvels' online catalog:

Cap meets Bucky! The origin of the Destroyer! The interrogation of the Sub-Mariner! And it's all leading up to the Nazis' conspiracy to bring the US into World War Two!

Below is the original cover sketch. It's obviously very rough, but it does its job in that it shows essentially what the basic elements of the actual cover painting will be. As you can see, quite a bit of compositional shuffling went on as I worked on the final image, but this was submitted with the understanding that it's a basic framework that I'll be working from, not an image set in stone that I'll follow slavishly. After so many years working with my editor, I can get away with a pretty rough sketch for the approval process, since he trusts me to turn it into something that's actually printable. Incidentally, the top portion of the sketch is left blank because that area will be covered by the banner logo.


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THE MARVELS PROJECT #6 Cover

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THE MARVELS PROJECT #6 ships next week (Feb 24th) and features an epic battle between the Human Torch and Prince Namor in the skies of 1941 Manhattan. As with the previous issues, this one has three variant covers, and I think this is the first time mine has been shown. Hope you all dig it!

MARVELS PROJECT #5 Cover

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Previews of Marvel's solicitations for January 2010 have started to appear, and included is The Marvels Project #5. Here's what's going down in a few short months:

THE MARVELS PROJECT #5 (of 8)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by STEVE EPTING
Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN
Variant Cover by GERALD PAREL
Marvel's ORIGIN story continues! Out of the ashes of the Project: Rebirth comes America's first Super-Soldier -- Captain America! Witness the first mission of Cap in New York...as Namor stalks the city streets and the Angel finds the hero killer he's been searching for. By the award-winning team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99


Once again trying to emulate the feel of the old pulp cover paintings.
Love that triangular shield!

Marvels Project #3 Cover

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Over on CBR Ed Brubaker talks about The Marvels Project - featuring a preview of some of the art for issue #3. Click on over and take a look!

The MARVELS PROJECT Project - CAPTAIN AMERICA

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Another Newsarama article on THE MARVELS PROJECT - this time focusing on Captain America and featuring my cover for issue #4:

The MARVELS PROJECT Project - CAPTAIN AMERICA

The Marvels Project #2 Cover

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Marvel's September 2009 solicitations are now available for all to see, and this time they include The Marvels Project #2. Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

THE MARVELS PROJECT #2 (of 8)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils by STEVE EPTING
Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN
Variant Cover by STEVE EPTING
Variant Cover by GERALD PAREL
The award-winning and best-selling team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting bring you CHAPTER TWO in this definitive tale of the origins of the Marvel heroes. As 1940 hits the world is already changing -- The Human Torch is on the run, The Angel makes his masked debut, The Sub-Mariner stalks the surface-worlders who have targeted his people -- and a young soldier named Nick Fury saves a German scientist from the Nazis and leads him to the USA. The battle-lines drawn in this race to create superhuman weapons of mass destruction still reverberate today in the Marvel Universe -- as this epic espionage thriller continues to unfold and reveal new twists!
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Painting the Human Torch on fire is still a challenge. I probably spent as much time on the Torch alone as I did the entire rest of the cover. Below is the rough sketch that was approved, and this time around I followed it pretty much exactly when doing the final painting.


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The Marvels Project #1 Cover

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Preview solicitations are out for August 2009 featuring The Marvels Project #1. Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

THE MARVELS PROJECT #1 (of 8)
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by STEVE EPTING
Variant Cover by GERALD PAREL
70th Anniversary Party Variant by PHIL JIMENEZ
The centerpiece of Marvel's 70th Anniversary celebration! Who is the mysterious old man who lies on his deathbed in a hospital in 1939, and how does his passing mark the beginning of the first heroic age of the Marvel Universe — and signal the rise of the superhumans? Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting unveil the defining story of the origin of the Marvel Universe, revealing the hidden connections that unite the earliest costumed champions, and whose reverberations are felt dramatically into the present day! It’s a world on the brink of war, and the race is on to create the world's first super-soldier! Witness the first days of the Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and many more-- how they shaped the world to come, and how the future they would create in turn shaped them! The must-read event of the season for any Marvel fan from the Award-Winning creators who redefined Captain America for the modern audience!
32 PGS./Cardstock Cover/Parental Advisory ...$3.99

Lots of texture overlays and some different painting techniques this time around, resulting in a slightly different look than the Captain America covers (at least I think so). I wish I had more time to experiment, but the ever present deadlines are relentless, as always.

Captain America #600 Cover

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No, you didn't miss 449 issues. After Captain America #50 in May, the book will return to it's original numbering making the next issue #600. Here's how it's described in Marvel's June 2009 Solicitations:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #600
Written by ED BRUBAKER with MARK WAID, ROGER STERN & OTHERS
Pencils by BUTCH GUICE, LUKE ROSS, DALE EAGLESHAM & OTHERS
Cover by STEVE EPTING
50/50 Cover by ALEX ROSS
Where were you when Captain America died? It's the anniversary of the day Steve Rogers was killed, a day of reflection and mourning in the Marvel U...a time to look back on the things Steve did and what he stood for... or is this issue actually the beginning of the most wicked plot twist since issue 25? Yeah, actually it's both. Plus, contributions from Cap creators past and present, including a very special essay by Joe Simon, a classic story from Cap’s Golden Age, a full gallery of 600 Cap covers, and more anniversary shenanigans than you can shake a shield at!
104 PGS./New and Reprints/Rated T+ ...$4.99

A fairly straightforward cover of James Buchanan Barnes in his three identities all under the watchful eye of Steve Rogers. It should be a great issue and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Captain America #50 Cover

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Better late than never (or so I'm told) - here is the cover to Captain America #50. What will you find inside? Here's what Marvel's solicitations have to say on the subject:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #50
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils by LUKE ROSS
Cover by STEVE EPTING
Bucky Barnes, another man out of time, is the new Captain America now...but today he's trapped in the past, because today is Bucky Barnes' birthday. See Bucky's favorite and least favorite birthdays - from the cold winters of the Depression on military bases, to the front lines of WW2 fighting alongside the Invaders, to his new mission as Cap. Oh yeah, and someone's trying to kill him. By Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross.
48 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

This, and the rest of Marvel's product for the month of May 2009 can be found here.

Captain America #49 Cover

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Marvel's solicitations for April 2009 are now online, featuring Captain America #49. Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #49
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils by LUKE ROSS
Cover by STEVE EPTING
The most important issue of Captain America since issue 25 is finally here! Sharon Carter's dreams are forcing her to relive the death of Steve Rogers -- and her time under the control of Dr. Faustus. But will these dreams also reveal hidden secrets about what she saw and did the day Steve died? By Ed Brubaker and Luke Ross.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

This is my 28th cover painting, and it's certainly not in any way a departure of what I've been doing stylistically. I'm conflicted over my approach to the covers. I want to do more loose, expressive, painterly pieces (note Boba Fett's cape, for example), but I have established a certain look for the covers of Captain America, and I like the idea of keeping the run consistent. For now, this is the side that's winning.

Captain America #48 Cover

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Yes, it's that time again: when Marvel leaks out some previews of upcoming books, in this case for March 2009, featuring Captain America #48. Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #48
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by STEVE EPTING
The New Captain America faces the crimes of his past as the Winter Soldier as the Sub-Mariner and the Black Widow struggle to stop a new foe from unleashing a deadly attack on the world! By the best-selling Eisner, Harvey and Eagle award-winning team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

This cover presented a new challenge in that I haven't ever really tried to paint fire before (at least not this close up). All in all, I don't think it's quite as successful as another recent painting challenge I had with splashing water, but it's always fun to try something new. Anyway, the focus of the image is the Invaders, and that's always a good thing.

Captain America #47 Cover

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Marvel has released a preview of their February 2009 Solicitations, including Captain America #47. Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #47
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by STEVE EPTING
The New Captain America in the hands of the enemy in China! His secret past as the Winter Soldier in danger of coming to light! And what are his old Invaders teammate the Sub-Mariner and the Black Widow doing while Bucky Barnes faces his darkest past? By the best-selling Eisner, Harvey and Eagle award-winning team of Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

A pretty straightforward cover with a symmetrical composition, but I'm fairly happy with it. I remember back during my Crossgen days I sort of got stuck in a rut doing several covers in a row with this same type of composition featuring a central figure until Butch Guice snapped me out of it. I'm certain it won't happen again here though, because I've already done the cover to issue #48, even though I can't show it to you yet.

January Covers - BONUS!

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I wanted to make sure it was okay to show this cover before posting it on my blog since it didn't actually appear in the solicitations, and now that I've been given the green light, here it is - the variant cover for AVENGERS/INVADERS #8 featuring the new Captain America and the original Invaders. Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

AVENGERS/INVADERS #8 (of 12)
Written by JIM KRUEGER & ALEX ROSS
Penciled by STEVE SADOWSKI
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Variant Cover by STEVE EPTING
With the real enemy revealed, two teams of Avengers are drawn together for a brutal battle royale. Meanwhile, a secret from the Invaders’ past threatens to destroy the present, upend the chessboard and send several heroes back through the veils of time...perhaps lost forever.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

I've always loved the Invaders so I jumped at the chance to do this. And here's a little bonus - the approved thumbnail layout:

January Covers

A couple of covers have leaked out from the January 2009 solicitations.


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First up - Captain America #46. Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

CAPTAIN AMERICA #46
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by STEVE EPTING
70th Anniversary Variant Cover by MARKO DJURDJEVIC (see page 4)
Eisner-Winning artist Steve Epting returns as the New Captain America comes face-to-face with an old ally -- Prince Namor -- on a dangerous trip to China. Can Bucky and Namor team up to save the memory of an old comrade-in-arms as Cold War crimes come back to haunt the Winter Soldier? Part 1 of 3.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$2.99

You may notice that I'm erroneously described as an "Eisner-Winning artist", when in fact I am only an Eisner nominated artist. I'll have to try to get that corrected if possible.


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The second January cover is for the CAPTAIN AMERICA: THEATER OF WAR series of one-shots covering Cap's time during WW2. Here's how Marvel describes it:

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THEATER OF WAR: AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL
Written by PAUL JENKINS
Art by GARY ERSKINE
Cover by STEVE EPTING
The third in a series chronicling the adventures that made Captain America the hero we know today, Paul Jenkins (MYTHOS) does what he does best, weaving a tale of war, brotherhood and legacy. From skinny Steve Rogers at boot camp to the Super-Soldier leading a battalion of men against the Nazis, this is the Captain America you thought you knew but you’ve never seen. And when the choice is between his country or his best friend, this is the decision he had to make.
64 PGS./Rated T+ ...$4.99

I had great fun painting this one, and even though this is the fastest I've ever painted a cover I'm fairly pleased with it. I would love to do more WW2 stuff.