(liminal)
(liminal)
rozehead@aol.com
Hi, my name is Allen and I'm lost in this sprawling wilderness those have called the new frontier... Won't you help me find my way?
I like sushi. Yum!
I work on a musical-based line of toys for Hasbro called HitClips
I used to work on game.com.
(Read an interview I gave to CNN.)
(OR read another interview I gave to WIRED.)
I also used to work on Tiger's homegrown websites.
I used to help create games at Konami, perhaps you've heard of these companies??
I like video games, beer, films, comic books, TV, going to shows, music, basketball........and YOU!
I went to school at:Fenstanton Primary, Eugene Padan Elementary, Thornhill Elementary, Elkhorn Middle School, Franklin County High School, The University of Kentucky, and Northwestern University ....
As of late I have been collecting original comic book art. These are the actual pages the artist created that were published in the comic. So far I have several of my favorite artists:
MIKE ALLRED
Madman Comics 1, pg. 2
Superheros can be cool, snazzy and odd. All of that is captured in the offbeat work of Mike Allred. The first time I saw Graphique Musique, I knew Allred was special. Here's a great page showcasing Frank's lack of superpowers...they exist in his dreams...Thanks to Mitch Itkowitz for this beauty.
SIMON BISLEY
Swamp Thing 8 Cover Prelim
This is an interesting pen and ink prelim that Bisley did in preperation for the cover painting he did for the new Swamp Thing series. This is as close to a real Bisley cover that I'll ever come. His finished pieces are going for thousands upon thousands. Pretty nice score for me.
DAN BRERETON
Thrillkiller '62 pg. 13
Beautiful and elegant, fully painted page. Only a handful of comic artists paint and Dan is one of the best! The image does no justice to the vibrant colors of the original. Nice image of Babs Gordon and her father! Bought directly from Dan.
Here's Dan's signature.
Thrillkiller 3, pg. 10
Here's a very emotional and touching page in which Dick Grayson learns that his parents are dead. Barbara is there to catch him as he weeps in her arms. Counterpointing Dicks's tragic news is the portrait of Bruce Wayne's own murdered parents hanging just above his head. This is beautiful and sad. It was a Christmas gift from my ex-girlfriend.
World's Finest 2
Here's a wonderful Superman page that my ex-girlfriend bought for me for my 31st birthday. Classic Brereton. Great close-up of Superman.
JOHN BUSCEMA
Conan Movie Adaptation 2 pg. 1
Here's a splash page (literally) from the classic barbarian film. This really put Arnold on the scene. And what a cool scene this is! Nobody drew Conan like John Buscema did. He truly was my favorite Conan artist. When I saw this I snapped it up immediatley. Thanks to Albert Moy for this one.
STEVEN BUTLER
Sonic the Hedgehog 65, pgs 2-3
Excellent 2 page spread from a story titled "Fellowship of the Rings".
VINCE COLLETTA
Young Romance 176, pg. 4
Excellent, campy romance page from the kooky DC title. The 1970s we're the greatest, weren't they? --My heart pounded,my knees trembled-- cool....
EDDIE CAMPBELL
From Hell 2, pg. 14
Interestingly dark page from Eddie and Alan Moore's epic about Jack the Ripper. Eddie said he wasn't happy with the way the original page turned out, so he redid it for the graphic novel. This is the reworked page. "From Hell" is a major motion picture featuring Johnny Depp! I also have page 6 from issue 3. Bought directly from Eddie and Chris Staros.
RICHARD CASE
Doom Patrol 21, pg. 16
Here's a great 2/3 splash and early appearance of Rebis. Doom Patrol broke new ground for DC through the remarkable writing of Grant Morrison. I'm extremely lucky to have a page from his first storyline on the series!
Doom Patrol 22, pg. 20
Grant Morrison's first story arc on this groudbreaking title climaxes here. Rebis presents Orqwith with the ultimate paradox. In a puff of logic, the City of Bone, the Scissormen, and the Watch Priests simply disappear. I first saw the higher potential of comics with this storyline.
Doom Patrol 60, pg. 24
Here's an excellent splash ending page. Cliff Steele is DESTROYED?!?!!? I bought this page from Stan Woch, the inker. The whole creative team of Doom Patrol complemented each other so well. Writing, penciling, inking, and even the lettering -- man I loved this series.
EVAN DORKIN
Fightman 1, pg. 15
Possibly the funniest writer/artist working. I snagged this nice page from him at an indie comic show in Chicago several years ago. He was sold out of his "Milk and Cheese" art. But this is still a great page! Bought directly from Evan.
KEVIN EASTMAN
TMNT Leonardo
Kevin drew this large pin-up of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Leonardo, for me, for FREE! I met him at Capital Cities' Retailer summit many years ago. He said that the Turtles had been so good to him that he, "...just wanted to give something back". Luckily I was there to receive it!
WILL EISNER
Spirit Magazine Cover prelim.
Comics' debt to Will Eisner can never be repaid. He developed the icons and the vocabulary. After hearing him speak, I had to own something by him. This is really all I could afford, but it is beautiful. What a master.
MARK EVANIER
Spirit World 1, "Children of the Flaming Wheel" pg. 3
Here's a photo collage I thought was done by Jack Kirby. The published page is black and white, but as the bad scan shows, the original had some color. The models are actual photos, the backgrounds are magazine clippings. I thought this was an interesting piece and how many Kirby "Foto-Features" do you see? Well apparently not many. Mr. Evanier (who was Jack Kirby's assistant for many years) told me that Jack Kirby might have looked over his shoulder while he was completing it, but all was done by Mark Evanier. The people in the photos are friends of Steve Sherman (the other assistant editor of "Spirt World"). It's still a cool page and Mr. Evainer was very kind to explain its origins to me.
KEITH GIFFEN
Heckler 1, pg. 22
I really loved this manic, short-lived series. Giffen was in his kinetic, whacked-out element with this title. Here's the end page from issue 1. Thanks to Albert Moy for this one.
STAN GOLDBERG
Millie the Model 111 p.1, 2, 3, 5
Here's a complete, oversized 4 page story from 1963. "Millie the Model" is a hard to find comic, try finding the original art! It's done in the classic "Archie" cartoon style. Kitchy! Millie runs for Mayor! Written by Stan Lee! I recently found an additional page from this issue. It states that it is g. 28, but I believe it's page 3 from a backup story. Anyone have any other pages from issue 111? Thanks to Anthony Synder for these.
DAN JURGENS
Detective Comics 735, pg. 19
This is a beautiful, Bill Sienkiewicz inked page featuring Batman, Robin and Poison Ivy. Sienkiewicz really is one the the best artists, let alone inkers, of all time. This is a subtle, yet rich page.
JACK KIRBY
Strange Tales 92, pg. 14
Some people say that the character here is a "prototype" for Kang the Conqueror. Others will argue against "prototypes" altogether. I am certain, however, that it doesn't matter to me either way. This is, afterall, a large Marvel silver age page created by the King. It actually came to me via Kevin Eastman, who gave it to his cousin Jason, who in turn gave it to me. Jason told me that is was Kevin's first Kirby page. It was Jason's first as well. And, it is also my first Kirby. Did Kirby throw in a self portrait here?
Gunsmoke Western 64, pg. 27
Here's a Kirby western page. Also via the collection of Kevin Eastman. Inked by comics legend Dick Ayers. I met Dick in March of 2000 and he signed the page for me. Very nice guy who has some great stories.
Eternals 14, pg. 14
Nice, clean page with a 1/3rd splash at the top. Many characters here. Nicely inked by my favorite Kirby inker, Mike Royer.
Captain Victory 9, pg. 8
Much "flatter" example of Kirby's later work. Demonstrates Kirby's "cosmic machinery" for which he was so well associated.
Captain Victory 9, pg. 12
Here's a Kirby image of a damn big head. Woowhee! That's a big, big head! This is an up close sample of the King's Big Head style.
Machine Man 5, pg. 20
Machine Man is in all 6 panels.
Black Panther 12, pg. 21
Black Panther isn't on this page, but it is signed by the King!
Our Fighting Forces 155, pg. 1
My First Kirby war page. Excellent stat of the Losers along the right side of the page. I also have the complete Jack Adler color art for this issue. I don't have the cover, however. Anyone have this??
Silver Star 2, pg. 19
Here's an excellent half page splash. Great explosion and wonderful close up of Silver Star himself. Ok, I can't really afford a Captain America page of the same calibur, but this is the next best thing. Inked by Mike Royer.
JAE LEE
Namor 35, pg. 8
Jae has a nice splatter ink style. This is a good example. Lovely Tigershark growl and explosive Namor fist action!
TODD McFARLANE
Invasion 1, pg. 19
I had a chance to buy a relatively cheap page of Todd "Spawn" McFarlane's early work. This is from the classic DC mini series/crossover INVASION. Quite a few sketches of various DC characters. Pretty cool. And inked by P. Craig Russell.
SHAWN MARTINBROUGH
CREEPER 2, Pg. 6
Here's an interesting page from the new Creeper series. Wonderfully manic and angular. Martinbrough has a disticnt style that is really complemented by Sal Buscema's inks. I've not really cared for Buscema's Spiderman art (it was always too sharp and geometric) but here it works as excellent counterpoint to the overall feel of the title.
MIKE MCKONE
LEGION 91, Annual 4, pg. 41
I've always liked Mike's art. I was always strangely drawn to the LEGION series (don't ask me why...the heart wants what the heart wants...) When the opportunity presented itself to acquire an inexpensive page like this, I took it. The black circles are actually on an acetate overlay.
MIKE MIGNOLA
Rocket Raccoon 1, pg 17
I remember reading this mini-series as a kid, and now I have an actual page from it! Plus, it's by Mignola. Try getting one of his Hellboy pages...
GRAHAM NOLAN
Detective Comics 701, pgs. 18-19
Nice two page fight sequence between Batman and Bane. Bane holds Batman's head underwater which triggers an origin flashback.
Inked by Scott Hannah
JOHN RIDGEWAY
Hellblazer 1, pgs. 2-3
I guess this book (along with Doom Patrol and Sandman) really cemented my love for the medium. Comics could really do so much more than I ever imagined. Hellblazer was so scary! One of Vertigo's longest running titles begins here.
STEVE RUDE
Mister Miracle and Big Barda
I was last on the list at the WizardWorld convention in 2001 for a Steve Rude commision sketch (there were 5 of us). The one guy who was 5th originally dropped out so I could take his place (what a nice guy!) He said he already had one from a previous year. I've always loved "The Dude's" take on Kirby and couldn't resist an escaping Mister Miracle. Since I was last, and Steve was running behind, he stayed way after the convention was over (for that day) to finish this up for me. I was afforded a great opportunity to watch him work. I absolutly love this sketch!
Nexus, Sundra and cow
I commisioned this from Steve during his "Nexus Animated Fundraiser". He was auctioning sketches on EBay to raise enough money to start the Nexus cartoon pilot. My exact description of what I wanted from this piece was: "Nexus (in costume, mask off, however) performing some amazing feat, quite easily, while Sundra looks on and is laughing." I am pretty amused with the results.
RYAN SOOK
Spectre 6, pg. 3
Spectre 8, pg. 2
Here are a couple of very nice title pages from the new DC Spectre series. Sook is very much influenced by the style of Mignola, but he seems to be developing his own style now. I think these pages illustrate this transitional period. Bought via Jim Royal the inker (and Spencer Beck). Great prices!!
KENT WILLIAMS
Blood 2, pg 40
This was my first exposure to Kent's work. I've always wanted a page from this beautiful book. And here it is. Kent displays watercolor and ink. Very mixed here. Thanks to Scott Eder for this.
BILL WOGGON
Katy Keene Glamour 1, pg. 24
Pep 134, pg. 15
Man, I really dig this vintage, oversized good girl art. Woggon was amazing at this. I'll try to get better scans asap.
MASSIMO BELARDINELLI
2000 AD Prog. 311 pg. 4
The "editor" of 2000 AD, Tharg the Mighty, is here featured in his own storyline entitled "Invasion of the Thrill-Snatchers".
ERIC BRADBURY
2000 AD 226
Here is the full 4 page "Mean Arena" story from prog. 226. It's nice to have all the art for an episode...my first one!
SB DAVIS
2000 AD Prog. 1053
This is a fairly recently painted page from 2000 AD's Sinister/Dexter story arc. Another mixed media piece that came out quite well.
STEVE DILLON
2000 AD Prog. 405, pg. 18
Here's a nice page featuring both Judge Dredd and Judge Anderson. It is from the classic "City of the Damned" epic story arc. I think I got a deal on this page because the guy selling it didn't know who drew it. Steve is a great Dredd artist who is enjoying popular runs on DC's "Preacher" and Marvel's "Punisher". Although I think his art on these new American series is good, it really doesn't hold up to the detail he put into his work on 2000 AD. This is an atypical page, however. His style is represented more by the 2 upper right panels and not the splash. Usually he emulated Brian Bolland's clean and tight line work.
CARLOS EZQUERRA
2000 AD Prog. 88
Even though he co-created Judge Dredd, Ezquerra is most closely associated with the character Johnny Alpha -Strontium Dog- that he created in the pages of the British "Starlord" comic. 2000 AD eventually assimilated Starlord and Strontium Dog went on to even greater popularity. Here's a page from this excellent series.
2000 AD Prog. 205
Here's a page from one of my favorite SD storylines; "Portrait of a Mutant". I feel very lucky to have any Ezquerra SD art.
DAVE GIBBONS
2000 AD Prog. 1 Harlem Heroes Splash
2000 AD Prog. 2 Harlem Heroes Splash
These Dave Gibbons pages are a huge score for me. My favorite comic of all time is the English "2000AD". It is an anthology that began in 1977 and was the birthplace of Judge Dredd. I happened to be living is England at the time it came out and can still remember buying the first issue off of the newsstand. I was 7 at the time. The opportunity to purchase a couple of original early pages recently just presented itself and I jumped at it. These are large pages. Bought directly from Dave Gibbons.
IAN GIBSON
2000 AD Prog. 153 pg.3
One of my all time favorite characters from 2000AD was "Sam Slade, Robo Hunter". Here is a LARGE title page from episode 2 of the epic story-arc "Day of the Droids". I don't have any other piece of art larger than this one. It is amazing just how big these pieces used to be!
LOPEZ
2000 AD Prog. 64, pg. 25
OK, I don't know much about Lopez. But the chance to own another early 2000 AD page -- at a great price -- was too great to resist. This is a page of his, from the 9 issue series "Death Planet".
BRENDAN McCARTHY
StarLord 17 (2 Sept 78), pg. 14
Even though Carlos Ezquerra was the creator and principal artist on Strontium Dog, there were are few others who took on this great mutant storyline. This is an early page by Brendan McCarthy. Although not fully realized at this point, his distinctive style was just beginning to be seen here. Brendan later went on to draw many of my favorites including: Judge Dredd, Rogan Gosh, Strange Days and Paradax! Much later he went into animation and designed the characters on the TV show "ReBoot". This is a 2X up, full bleed page that is quite impressive in person.
KEVIN O'NEILL
Marshall Law 1, pg 15
Here's a large scan of the page from the book. It's actually quite a bit darker than the original page that I have. Kev drew, inked and painted this intial Marshall Law series himself. Very nice fight scene with lots of the good Marshall doing what he does best! Thanks to Jason Eastman for this excellent fight page.
2000 AD Prog. 238, pg 7
This is a page from a "Nemesis the Warlock" storyline. Possibly my favorite O'Neill creation ever. I've searched and searched and this was the first page from Nemesis that I could find. The character was what really put O'Neill on the map. Interestingly, O'Neill is the only artist whose art *style* was banned by the Comics Code Authority (the outdated, self-regulating comic book censorship association). I knew I liked his art for a reason...
JESUS RENONDO
2000 AD Prog. 168, pg. 12
This is an interestingly inked page. Lots of black and fingerprints. From "The Mind of Wolfie Smith".
2000 AD Prog. 230, pg. 12
Title page from the twist-ending series "Tharg's Future Shocks"
2000 AD Prog. 252, pg. 22
2000 AD Prog. 252, pg. 24
Here are 2 pages from Book 2 of "Nemesis the Warlock".
RON SMITH
2000 AD Prog 129 Dbl Page Title Splash
This is a great Judge Dredd Title splash. It is HUGE. Excuse the bad scan. From "Pirates of the Black Atlantic". Armageddon has arrived! Ron and Brian Bolland are my favorite Judge Dredd artists. Here's a spectacular dbl-pager. The scan does no justice to this oversized pages done on stiff board.
2000 AD Prog. 169 Dbl Page Title Splash
Here is a spectacular double page Title Splash from part 14 of "The Judge Child Quest". Very large! War Machines.
2000 AD Prog. 179, pg. 20
This is an excellent page also from the "Judge Child Quest". It features great shots of Dredd, the Angel Gang, Grunwalder and the Judge Child. Very clean and very large.
2000 AD Prog. 188, pg. 20
This is a page from an early "Otto Sump" story.
GREG STAPLES
2000 AD Prog. 955 pg. 23
This is a very nicely painted page from a Slaine storyline. Slaine and Ukko are featured enjoying a banquet. Simon Bisley and Glen Fabry (both former Slaine painters)influences are clearly visible. This is what Slaine fans have come to demand.
Here's a close-up of the upper 3rd banquet scene.
ANTHONY WILLIAMS
2000 AD Prog. 885, pg. ?
This is a fully painted (airbrush, marker, paint, etc.) page from the politically incorrect "Babe Race 2000" storyline. This example of Anthony's work reminds me especially of Kevin O'Neill. I think that's why I like it so much.
More to come soon including:
BRIAN BOLLAND (Cover pencils for Animalman 5)
DICK AYERS (Ghost Rider sketch)
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