Don Simpson, Cartoonist at Large™: convention sketch

Showing posts with label convention sketch. Show all posts

Monday, February 17, 2025

2025 Show Schedule: Megaton Man's 40th Anniversary (cont'd)!

Megaton Man #1 came out in December 1984, so all of 2025 is still Megaton Man's 40th Anniversary! The Complete Megaton Man Universe Volume I and Megaton Man: Multimensions will both be coming out in 2025, and a number of special events are planned. We are doing a special print for the occasion (below), and other events and panels are planned at various shows. Here is how things are shaping up:

My schedule for 2025 (so far):

February 2025

California Comic Con, Anaheim, California, Sat-Sun, February 1-2, 2025

March 2025

Pittsburgh Comic Book Show, Crowne Plaza Hotel, 165 Fort Couch Road, Sunday, 10 am-4 pm, March 23, 2025
Just Added: Pittsburgh Indie Expo, Heinz History Center, Downtown Pittsburgh, 11 am-5 pm, Sunday, March 30, 2025, signing and drawing at the MAKE MORE COMICS table - Admission Free with Advance Ticket

April 2025

June 2025

August 2025

September 2025

Ed Piskor (Eddie P.) Comicon, Homeville Firehall, 3900 Greensprings Ave West Mifflin Pennsylvania 15122, Sat-Sun, September 13-14, 2025

October 2025

Baltimore Comic Con, Baltimore MD, Fri-Sun, October 17-19, 2025

November 2025

Akron Comic Con, Akron OH, November 8-9, 2025

Shows and dates subject to confirmation.

Commission Artwork Price List, Fall 2023

Update: For the time being, I am only entertaining commission assignments from collectors wanting to own a piece of original comic art. I am NOT doing pinups, covers or variant covers, collaborations, freelance assignments, or renderings other people's IP for publication at the present time, including creator-owned IP, small press, big press, crowdfunders, etc. It is true that I have done such work in the past and may still have one or two pieces coming out from various third parties in the months ahead, but I have been turning down all such work for several months now. This is because of a very poor batting average I've had in recent years with various schnooks and some particularly terrible experiences in 2023 (I intend to blog about some of these soon). Nothing personal to all you creator-publishers out there; best of luck to you and stick with it! -- August 23, 2023.

OMAC - The One-Man Army Corps!

Here's a commission I completed in 2021 for a collector of OMAC, Jack Kirby's quasi-loopy DC comic from the early 1970s, which was aborted somewhat prematurely for Jack's heralded return to Marvel and Captain America in time for the Bicentennial. Those DC Kirby comics -- namely, his improbably run on Jimmy Olson -- were some of the first comic books I could call my own. Although lacking the sparkly of Stan Lee's "Master of Ceremonies" scripting, they were some of the mature Jack's most energetic and creative work. This 14" x 17" commission, which came to me online, was begun during the afternoon lull at the 2021 Akron Comic Con as a lone pencil figure, then completed at home.

Upcoming 2022 Shows and Recent Commissions!

For more original art and commission examples, see my Comic Art Fans gallery!*

Since 1984, I have been a guest of numerous comic book conventions and shows from coast to coast, and many of the convention sketches I have drawn over the years can be seen all over the internet. I've also drawn a growing number of commissions in my studio and either shipped directly or delivered at shows. Below are some of my most recent commissions from 2021 shows.

So You Think You Can Ink? The Dandy Don Tryout Page!

A number of fans, enthusiasts, and even fellow pros have asked me if they could try their hand at inking my stuff ("stuff" being the technical term for "pencil art"!). I've posted tons of my drawings hither and yon, on Facebook as well as this and related blogs (usually right before inking them myself, so some images have already been inked, others not). I've gathered some of my favorites here below to appease those lockdown inkers who want to give it a go. Those interested may find others be searching this blog or Google Images.

A Signal, Two Girls, and Three Recent Ink Drawings!

I had some time to use India ink at Wizard World Pittsburgh July 26-28, 2019, something I haven't done in many years, and produced three fairly nice ink drawings, all on 11" x 14" Aquabee sketchbook paper, with a Hunt #102 "crowquill" pen.

Princess Diana and Mary Jane: Some Recent Commissioned Drawings

Wonder Woman and Spidey's Girl Friend are among the subjects of several recent commissions (a couple below are older and may have been posted before, but well worth revisiting).

For some reason I never warmed up to Harry G. Peter's original version of Wonder Woman; like Steve Ditko on Spider-Man, I grew up on a different, later version of the character, and it is only in maturity that I recognize the originality in their respective versions. I also have come to appreciate that Peter was attempting to do a kind of classical antiquity thing with the drawing, aping Greek figure vases by way of early twentieth century pulp illustration. I also like the early Wonder Woman's mid-thigh-length pants, which have recently come back into style as biker shorts or yoga tights (I never cared for the Linda Carter high-cut thigh look, personally).

Anyway, below are a few recent drawings along those lines, along with some other characters that are obviously not owned by me.

Wonder Woman repels the Cheetah, in a homage to an early H. G. Peter splash page.

Princess Diana takes a jog in the high-heel boots that become more or less standard early in her career.

Wonder Woman in her Art Deco hairstyle and Neo Grec ribboned sandals.

Apropos of nothing, a topless Mary Jane Watson and Spidey (pencil rough).

Spidey defends (pointlessly) Mary Jane's modesty; inked on vellum.

Wonder Woman in the more classic panty bottoms, but losing her fine featherd bustier, which chooses to fly the coop. Wonder Woman is the property of whatever corporate interests own Hollywood at the moment, but Megaton Man™ and © Don Simpson 2018, all rights reserved.

For more racy (or at least weird) convention sketches from the past, proceed to the previous blog post.

Please consult my Commission Price List and contact me if you are interested in acquiring an original custom drawing for your private gallery!

Deviant Don: Creaturely Commissions from the Empowering Eighties!

Here are a couple of convention sketch commissions I created in 1989-1990 for cartooning connoisseur and former longtime Comics Buyer's Guide columnist Kim Metzger, who has a passion for what he calls "transformations" (a term I was unfamiliar with) - in this case, female media personalities turned into hybrid animal creatures. This is definitely a very minor part of my oeuvre - I can't recall more than a few other "furry" type commissions at shows over the years, among hundreds of PG con sketches of my own characters (Megaton Man, Border Worlds, Bizarre Heroes) and other mainstream superheroes.

Mr. Metzger's sometimes requests became legendary at conventions like the old Chicago Comicon and Mid-Ohio Con, and many artists felt uncomfortable and even refused them; but I'm glad to see at least the best of his collection curated on a very nice Kim Metzger Deviant Art Page.

Former Miss America Diane Sawyer as a lizard, colored by another artist (I think they may have added the tongue and sound effect, too, since it does not appear to be my work) for collector Kim Metzger.

Material Girl Madonna Ciccone as a feline (gripping her tail suggestively), for Kim Metzger.

***

For collectors and would-be collectors of original Don Simpson art wishing to see just how far I will go, you may get some idea by visiting the Anton Drek DeviantArt Gallery for slightly censored sexually explicit content, and more directly, the Anton Drek Blog - WARNING! SERIOUSLY MATURE ADULT XXX SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT - (although honestly, I don't know why people always confuse my work with that guy; there isn't any similarity between our respective styles at all that I can see!).

Please refer to my Commission Price List, and please remember: requests beyond garden-variety PG are never embarrassing, but you'll pay through the nose, and I reserve the right to turn down any request for any reason whatsoever.

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Three Rivers Comic Con Sketches

The third Three Rivers Comic Con was a great time, with a critical mass of guest artists and a lot of fans looking for original art and sketches. This is most of my output for the two-day show (May 19-20).The sketches on 3RCC sketch paper (carefully selected by New Dimension Coimcs' Jon Engel) and the Wasteland covers were created for the charity auction; the others were for collectors, except the 11" x 14" Megaton Man pencil, which is unclaimed. (Sketch and commission price information can be gleaned elsewhere on this blog! Email me.) More convention sketches and other pieces of original comic art collected by fans at Comic Art Fans!

Monday, October 6, 2014

Adventures of Nick and Megs: Two Recent Commissions!

Here are a couple recent commissions I did for fans at Lawn Con 5 in Youngstown, Ohio on October 5, 2014. The first I did in advance of the show for Bill Lait, the second I drew on site for Mark Sweetwood. The first is a parody of Neal Adams' "Kryptonite Nevermore!" cover for Superman #233 (January 1971); the second is my interpretation of Nick Fury in his black rubber latex suit. I was a bit worried that doing all that Neal Adams feathering would affect my work for the next sixth months, but the cool outdoor temperatures of a rust-belt Indian Summer had me reverting to a rather straightforward Kirby-Romiat roundhouse style in no time! Great fun and good times.


Pen and India Ink, watercolor and colored pencil on Strathmore 400 Drawing, 11" x 14". Collection of Bill Lait.

Pen and India Ink on Strathmore 400 Drawing, 11" x 14". Collection of Mark M. Sweetwood.

I've been very lucky to have received numerous commissions and freelance assignments in 2014, and I am humbled and grateful for every one! If you would like to own an original piece of my art and would like me to draw something for you, please look over my commission price list and contact me with your request! Thanks -- Don Simpson.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Wooverine: Megalogan Man!

Blue and graphite pencil on blank comic book cover.

Pen and brush with India ink on blank comic book cover.

Don Simpson, Cartoonist at Large™