SAMURAI JACK ISSUE FIVE COVER...

The road to the final cover was sort of different, from start to finish. Sort of. Still the same general layout--only my pallet changed quite a bit. I wanted to highlight the end of the "THREADS OF TIME" storyline finale, thinking the golden hues showcased that--but ultimately didn't feel it lent itself to the gravitas of the Aku showdown in this issue, hence the much darker tone in the final version of the cover to #5.

1) Initial sketch

2) First version

3) Final cover

SAMURAI JACK ISSUE FOUR COLOR SCRIPTS...

Josh Burcham is a beast when it comes to color, but when I have a specific idea(s) I send them along--

PREVIEW SAMURAI JACK ISSUE FOUR IN STORES TOMORROW JANUARY 22nd!!!

I don't see many preview pages beyond the cover, so I thought by showing a few it might prompt you to go pick up Samurai Jack #4 tomorrow! 

Issue 4 was one of my favorites, artistically--and the reviews continue to be extremely positive, here on the Examiner and the good folks over at IGN. 

See you tomorrow at the shop!

SAMURAI JACK ISSUE 4 ROUGH DESIGN SKETCHES...

As we near this weeks release of Samurai Jack #4, I will keep teasing bits of the issues process. Below are some super rough sketches (the final versions of these character's typically come together in the layouts and cleanup phases). 

Make sure to pick up issue four this Wednesday!

SAMURAI JACK ISSUE FOUR ON SHELVES JANUARY 22ND!

In anticipation, I am posting both the rough cover sketch and the final cover.

Pick it up next week and let me know what you think, as this issue was a personal best for me--in my humble opinion. And check back because I will start showing some rough designs, color scripts and pages as we get closer to Wednesday.

ALSO: Have you been to COSMICSCOUNDRELS.COM yet?? More about that later as well!

SAMURAI JACK ISSUE THREE: BLACK AND WHITE PREVIEW

You can see a full color preview of Samurai Jack Issue Three over at Comics Alliance --or better yet, go buy the issue this week. Here's the B&W version of those same preview pages. 

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SAMURAI JACK ISSUE THREE DESIGN CONCEPTS

Issue 3's story resonated stronger with me than the previous issues, which lent itself to a clearer idea and visual direction I knew I wanted. Especially color pallet, demonstrated below in my rough color scripts. Our colorist, Josh Burcham took my initial ideas, added his own, then pushed it all to the next level.  

Pick up issue 3 this week!

"ANATOMY OF A COVER: SAMRAI JACK ISSUE THREE"

I didn't have more than one rough concept sketch for issue 3's cover--because I knew I wanted it to look like one of my favorite comic and covers from growing up: Jim Starlin's DREADSTAR #20. When you read Samurai Jack #3, you'll understand .  

 (Rough)

(Final)

Pick up Issue 3 this week!

SAMURAI JACK: ISSUE ONE FINAL COVER & "THANKS!"

Thanks for all the positive words regarding SAMURAI JACK and my recent posts. I will start digging up other projects to post soon, maybe even some stuff from MICKEY MOUSE. TMNT? Other comic projects in the works? Let me know what you'd like to see and I'll see if I can share.

In the meantime, you might have seen my cover for the first issue, but that wasn't final--so here is the final version:

SAMURAI JACK: PAGE FOUR PROCESS

Do these little 'behind the scenes' sneak peaks make you more or less inclined to pre-order from your local comic shop?

SAMURAI JACK: PAGE THREE PROCESS

I can only show a couple more pages, but here's page three.

SAMURAI JACK: PAGE TWO PROCESS

Following up yesterday's post, here's page 2. If you like what you are seeing, PRE ORDER your copy of IDW's Samurai Jack series from your local comic book retailer. 

 Thumbnail for approvals...

 Cleaned up "pencils".

 Ink

Colored page. Not final. 

SAMURAI JACK: PAGE ONE PROCESS

So how do you crank out a monthly Samurai Jack* book by adhering to the series stunning, line-less visual style?

You don't.

Well, you can, but I didn't. I really hope fans of the groundbreaking series that I worked on will appreciate what I do bring to the book I'm doing with writer Jim Zub, despite my opting for the utilization of holding lines. Yes, there are lots of traditional and digital trickery in our arsenal and at our disposal as artists, but instead of simply mimicking the series aesthetic qualities that would no doubt pale in comparison to the original and thus fail any fans of the animated series and readers expecting a seamless translation--I decided to dig deep into early inspirations for Jack and other visual, tonal reference elements we utilized doing the television show and go with a far more boiled down, traditional method. So traditional, that it might look like it predates modern comic book series and hopefully harken closer to the golden age books,  MAD Magazine and Harvey Kurtzman in particular.

So, how do you handle translating a show with no holding lines? Well, in my case, you add tons and tons of lines.

 Above: initial thumbnail roughs sent to Jim and Carlos (editor)

 I tightened a bit more before cleaning up.

 Final inks

Colored PG 1. (Not final art) But close enough to post!

*Make sure you PRE-ORDER Samurai Jack #1 from IDW Publishing NOW!!! The book will be out in October.