That being said, I had an idea of the tone Joe likes to write in, and someone too threatening might not be able to sell the comedic beats I need him to hit. Then I remembered this DARIUS DRUMM character from Kirby's SILVER STAR. Sure, he was terrifying, but I always found his absurd and sort of funny. I mean, just look at the way he came into this world:
This was Jack's early design...eerily similar to Darkseid.
And now slightly more "cartoony"...
I read a review somewhere that spotted this little homage to the RED GHOST. They were correct.
And while I'm laying out all my cards on the table, I have to say one of the biggest inspiration for my Demon Empty design would be 70's singer-songwriter, variety show mainstay, Mr. PAUL WILLIAMS. I'll also admit he used to scare the hell out of me!
So I began...and at first needed to confirm I DIDN'T want a big, scary monster:
Once I got that out of the way, explored my initial instinct of making The Realm's most powerful Chaos Magic Mage and grand schemer be a literal, walking juxtaposition. I love drawing 'little people'!
There. I finally hit something I liked: a Darkseid/Darius Drumm/Red Ghost/Paul Williams hybrid I could get behind--and more importantly, have a ball drawing.
And there you have it. Now, I know there are other inspirations I left out, I can think of a few of MR.MIRACLE'S antagonists off the top of my head, but this was more or less the road to and through my creative process. Hope you've enjoyed. Go buy Charlatan Ball. And a sketchbook. And a teeshirt.
5 comments:
Andy,
Not to familiar with Mister Miracle's antagonists, but I'll take your word for it.
Thanks for showing the sketch process on this character. It also reminded me that I need to locate some Silver Star issues at some point as well.
I cannot even type how happy I am that you are putting a book out like Charlatan's Ball. It's been a breath of fresh air and I always look forward to much more!
Also ordered your art book (finally) and if I could request the sketch to be of Mister Miracle himself then that'd be great. But really I don't mind who you draw, I am sure it'll be awesome!
-matt
Those inks are so hot.. man, I wish I had the confidence you do with that brush! Mine are always so tight. I can TOTALLY see Paul Williams in there as well as the rest. Strange who haunts your past! It's great seeing sketches and unfiltered inks.
Hey guys, thanks! Both of your books are en route.
As for Silver Star, though not Kirby's BEST work, the entirety is collected in a hardbound graphic novel, REpublished through Image Comics.
Though seriously, nothing can beat the enormous ETERNALS hardbound Marvel put out a year or two ago. Worth every penny. Then definitely grab all 4 of DC's FOURTH WORLD collections, where you'll find the entire MR.MIRACLE run--my favorite by far.
GREAT art work... as usual... and I have to admit Mr. PAUL WILLIAMS has always kind of freaked me out as well... when he would appear on the Merv Griffin or Mike Douglas show it was like watching the circus sing.
Great blog and stuff!!
Amazing drawings here!!I'm a great of Kirby's work too!
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