"GET BACK TO THE PAST--" and WONDERCON 2013

If you're down in Anaheim at WonderCon this weekend and happen past the IDW Publishing booth, take a gander at this banner...

 I can't confirm what my involvement in this upcoming title will be, but I did provide this cover artwork nonetheless. Here's the non-cropped full version:

Hope you like!

"I'M AN ANIMAL!"

Just working out some designs for an upcoming issue of BATMAN BRAVE & THE BOLD. I guess it's obvious who Batman will be teaming up with this time...

I love this character! Knowing Jame Tucker and Co. like to go retro, I sketched out the above STRANGE ADVENTURES version with the scales. That being said, the modern version below is one of my favorite DC costumes of all time.

I made the mistake of thinking the super-animal rights-hero's jacket was leather.

Which version did they decide on? You'll have to wait until the issue comes out!

BLAST FROM THE PAST...

I was at Target the other day, when I saw this 3-pack. I couldn't believe my eyes. Really!? They made NEW toys of possibly the most racist, unPC 'tokens' in the Superfriends (well, depends how you lean on Jace and Jan's sexual orientation). Foregoing my recent embargo on purchasing any more toys, I sort of used my son as justification. Plus, I loved that none of them wear pants.

I did this drawing out of pure giddiness.

FINALLY...

I've recently received almost all of my original comic pages back from DC Comics' BATMAN BRAVE & THE BOLD, MY GYM PARTNER IS A MONKEY--as well as CHARLATAN BALL from Image. CLICK ON THIS LINK, or the one at the bottom of the "SHOP ANDY" column to the left. I'm still uploading and organizing, so please bare with me and check back often. Of course, any questions and inquiries, don't hesitate to contact me at:
andy@asuriano.com

MORE COMMISSION FUN!

Another commission I did recently. Scott, the recipient should have received by now...
Well, the cleaned-up final version below--not the rough above! Just thought it interesting that the roughest, most scribbly sketch ever, turned into one of my tightest inks:
"Look! Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen's got a new iPhone!"

Then here's a Batman and Kid Eternity team-up I did in my sketchbook, purchased by the incredible J. Torres:
I could draw 'the Kid forever--or I should say, an Eternity! (rim-shot)

NO MORE BLOCK PARTY...

That's it. Wrapping up with issue number 58, there will no longer be any MY GYM PARTNER IS A MONKEY in Cartoon Network's Block Party title from DC Comics. I actually completed this final 8-pager last year. It was such a blast and I'm going to miss drawing these characters so much. It was also one of those rare times when the actual creators of the animated series were "allowed" to write for the adaptation! In this case, Tim and Julie Cahill--as well as story editor Tom Sheppard. Such. A. Blast.

Sigh.

But check out this BILL WRAY COVER! Incredible!


And here are a couple of my original pencil pages from this issue:
Page one.
Page four above was a "mad scientist" montage.

I was really happy with how much I pushed the squash-n-stretch with the characters in page six (above). Sometimes, when given model sheets for these things, the tendency is to remain so faithful the character's stay somewhat stiff and immovable. So I was happy I pushed it a bit.

Page seven: KIRBY crackle!

And the final panel of the final Gym Partner story, page eight..."Goodbye CDMS".

Sniff.

Thanks Tim and Julie and Tom and Dan Davis and especially, the best editor in the whole wide world of comicdom: Liz Gehrlein!

COMMISSIONS!

Recently I've been getting quite a few email requests for commissions. Not having considered it before, I took this one on as a test and discovered I really enjoyed it. If you'd also like a piece of original art like this, go ahead and let me know!
MY COMMISSION RATES are as follows:
LARGE B&W--11"x14" (on comic page; as shown above) is $100 for a single character, $50 for every character after that.
SMALL B&W and SOME COLOR--8.5"x11" (on comic book backing board; like the ones I send out with my tees and books) is $50, usually only one character.

Your best bet is to allow me to let my imagination loose, but won't think less of you if you ask me for a specific character! hahaha

All money is in USD; payable to my PAYPAL ACCOUNT. I'm still figuring out what shipping will be and the best way to ship. Feel free to contact me with questions and hopefully your requests: andy@bighairproductions.com

ALSO: If there's a particular ORIGINAL COMIC BOOK PAGE of mine you'd like to hang on your wall or use as a place matte; let me know. I'll try and post about this soon. In the meantime, sift through your issues of CN BLOCKPARTY, BATMAN: BRAVE & THE BOLD and CHARLATAN BALL to pick out which pages you want!

Thanks!
A

A TALE OF TWO ("PRESIDENT") BATMANS...

This has been a big week for me, comic book-release-wise; bigger couple of weeks, if you include CHARLATAN BALL #6, two weeks ago! Along with CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #55 (cover image above), BATMAN: THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #3 (cover also depicted above--it should be noted I did neither), came out this past Wednesday. Pretty neat!

I'll post some of my MY GYM PARTNER IS A MONKEY pages next week, but wanted to show you some rough pages from this latest Batman issue. You'll notice there are a couple versions of each--with one small, but major alteration...
In this story, Batman assumes the identity (by way of hologram) of the President of the United States. In the current comics climate of slapping Barrack Obama's mug on every funny book out there, DC decidedly didn't want to follow the current trend...and while my first take wasn't exactly our new Prez, he definitely wasn't different enough. So revisions were made and this is what ends up in the final printing.

I sort of think he ended up looking like the dad from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

I've been digging the 2-page openers...

This was a cool sequence: Batman fights Congress!


That being said, I've been loving working with Rachel, DC Comics and drawing Batman, writers like Matt Wayne and J. Torres, being inked by Dan Davis (who's working overtime on all the extra line work I've put into issues #4 and #6). I feel like I'm just starting to loosen up and bring a little warmth to my designs and panels. It can be really tough and at times, paralyzing, following someone else's designs--especially translating one medium to the other. But challenges can be fun too; it inspires growth and I'm definitely learning with every issue.

BATMAN'S BUDDY...

A couple of folks have asked if I'll be doing more BATMAN: BRAVE & THE BOLD comics for DC. The answer is YES. Supposedly (and hopefully), Dan Davis (the inker) and I will be one of the two teams of "regulars" on it (I'd do every one if I could). P.S. Please don't ask me to help you get "my" job on this. Ahem. Really?? Anyway, so far we've done issues #1, 3, 4 and 6. They are looking GREAT and we're both evolving, stylistically--becoming more relaxed and comfortable with the style and incorporating our own "voices" to it. I think we were both surprised and ultimately awe struck by show producer James Tucker's cover for #1. It was the shows style, but so much more. Incredible.

Here's an upcoming "SECRET FILE"...

As for the TV show, I storyboarded a Plastic Man opening sequence that will be coming up sometime soon I think.

"SPEAKING OF COVERS..."

No, do not attempt to adjust you monitors, this is my cover for CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #56 (I believe). Yes, obviously an homage (or blatant rip off) of ANDY WARHOL's (self-)portrait(s). This one was inked by Mike DeCarlo; the colorist's name escapes me, wish I could remember who Liz said, because they did a great job.

What's cool is, Comicbookresources.com ran a "Judging a book by it's cover" feature--where they described this one as: "Very clever Cartoon Network Block Party cover by Andy Suriano. Definitely the sort of cover that stands out on a rack." Made me smile--and appreciate an editor like LIZ GEHRLEIN for providing me the space and encouragement to take risks and think outside the box--(yes, even on a CN offshoot book like this). Check out all the covers, HERE.

And here's the devolution of the process...
This was the color comp I sent with my penciled page. The final penciled page.

Then, here are some of the rough concept sketches I initially did...

"GLAD YOU ENJOYED YOUR HOSTESS FRUIT PIES, LUNKHEADS!"

I'm not entirely sure why I've been keeping it under wraps, maybe I'm afraid they're liable to take me off at any second--but I'm the artist on the new BATMAN: BRAVE & the BOLD series hitting comic shop shelves tomorrow. It's based on the new animated show, which I helped with for a minute (more on the fun yet bittersweet sting of working on someone else's take on Plastic Man later)--design-wise, the show was/is attempting something somewhere between Bruce Timm and Genndy Tartakovsky's CLONE WARS stuff--which, as you know I worked on. James Tucker is a genius, as well as Ben Jones--who are really giving the show a its own "voice", separating it from all the other attempts at the Caped Crusader. The mood of the show is light, "jazzy" and intentionally (I think) cheesy. I read an article about it that said: "It's The Dark Knight without the darkness", which I thought was pretty dead-on. In the end, it's just fun--and I've had a blast working on the book with MATT WAYNE, who's an incredible writer and super collaborative, creative and cool; he's able to totally harness that tongue and cheek "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" feeling of the show (in which he writes, as well), and carry it over to the comic's medium. Plus, he doesn't use too much dialog balloons to muck up the pages! hahaha. Seriously, couldn't imagine anyone else writing these. I'm also still working with DAN DAVIS, an amazing artist in his own right, who's inked my stuff on the GYM PARTNER books and RACHEL GLUCKSTERN, our editor at DC.

Look at these amazing finishes by Dan: That being said, I doubt anyone would have hired me had they knew I was using these old HOSTESS FRUIT PIES ads as inspiration (hey, the show hadn't aired yet!). Here are some of my pencils from a sequence from issue #1 and you'll see what I mean. Can't you picture Lex Luthor (the old, WAYNE BORING version--Matt's idea) licking his chops, eating some of that "flaky goodness"?This page below is the perfect spot for the Hostess Fruit Pie ad:

P.S. Sorry for making POWER GIRL look like a tranny.

"THE ART OF ANDY"

BIG NEWS!!!

Debuting at the San Diego Comicon, via The Art of Fiction Booth (#523)!!! "THE ART OF ANDY" idea started off as a portfolio...then turned into a sketchbook...then into this beautiful, 120 page, hardcover, full color smorgasbord of designs and sketches ranging from development ideas, Samurai Jack models and Clone Wars layouts...to comic book pages and paintings, many never before seen! Not to mention super-cool intro by Spongebob himself, TOM KENNY. All for the mere price of $25!

*I will also be @ The Art of Fiction Booth (#523) as well as the IMAGE COMICS booth (#2729) all throughout the weekend, signing and selling my wears...

Check out:

http://www.artoffiction.com/5CChome.html

For those not coming to the con, you can also purchase at:
THE HOUSE OF SECRETS
1930 W. Olive Avenue
Burbank, California 91506
(818) 562-1900
e-mail:
houseofsecrets@earthlink.net

Contact them via their website and they will tell you how to get one via PAYPAL.

One way or another, try and get your hands on one. They are very limited, only 1000 copies were printed.