"Despair" bust designs

Not the prettiest of the series, but she's charming in her own way...

More Merv Pumpkinhead inks

Page six:

Merv Pumpkinhead inks

Pencils by the redoubtable Mark Buckingham for last year's House of Mystery Halloween special. I haven't grown any pumpkins in the back yard for a few years but I used to love watching them grow this time of year. My wife and mother-in-law make some amazing pies. Maybe that's why I rarely turn down a Merv assignment.

"Daniel" Sandman bust design

Vertigo Jam: Sandman page 7

Looks like I re-drew the large shot of Morpheus a little before I started inking...

Cain

This was drawn for the 2008 Sandman 20th Anniversary poster.  Cain's dropping the vase on his brother Abel, down below.  At least 31 different artists contributed to this project.  Persistent collector Rob Casteel has tracked down many of the pieces and has them on display here.

Vertigo Jam: Sandman page 1

Page two of this story can be seen here.  I don't think I drew exactly what Neil Gaiman was asking for in the first panel but we talked about it and he said, "Close enough".

Abel (as in Cain and...)

Abel is such a great character, especially when he's being bullied by Cain. The first two scans are from Vertigo Jam, "The Castle" page six.  The third piece was for another DC card set.

"Death" bust designs

Here are two more of the pencil sketches for the Sandman mini-busts:

Lucifer bust designs

I should mention that all of these were designed with the elbows bent and the hands raised a bit so the arms wouldn't be chopped off.  In this instance, a martini glass provided us with a useful prop.

Legend of the Green Flame: Layouts

I should have posted these roughs when I showed the pencils and inks back in October.  I'll make it easier for you by re-posting the pencils.  Everything else can be seen here.

Legend of the Green Flame

The Phantom Stranger confronts Superman and Green Lantern. Who in the world could prefer a dopey, dated, turtleneck and gold medallion over a simple black necktie?  In the script, Neil Gaiman specifically asked for the tie, but one of the other artists on this project ignored him and drew the turtleneck.  So... I had to change my art.  Nine years later and I'm still annoyed. Yes, it's true, there are no limits to my pettiness. 

"Desire" designs

I'm not sure what these were used for, if anything.  As is often the case, the pencils look better than the inks, especially because of the last minute clothing additions which don't really work, at least in my eyes.

Vertigo Jam: Sandman page 2

Neil Gaiman's panel description asked for an incredible library, "If librarian's had a magazine, this would be their centerfold."

I must have done twenty thumbnail sketches, trying to come up with a layout that would work. I still don't know if I succeeded but here it is.

Death Gallery sketches: 1994

The first image above shows me scribbling around, looking for an idea. As with most of these pin-up assignments and even some covers, the editor didn't have anything specific in mind so the concept was up to me.

The large drawing looks like I was trying to get a handle on her personality. The big fist below it looks like a leftover from another project. In fact, the sketches were all done on the back of a Batman: Sword of Azrael script.

I like the idea in the lower left; especially her body language, but figured I'd better show her face. The upper right drawing shows the idea I decided to go with although I dropped the pile of skulls behind her.