Super-sports: Captain America

Playin' some frisbee.

Super-sports: Batman

I've been doing these little (6.5" x 9") drawings as a warm up for inking/coloring lately. I've drawn supers playing sports before, but I thought it'd be a nice little challenge to add some more folks in tights to the mix. This one is actually a re-do:


Despite the fact that I just finished inking 133 pages of comics (with Faber-Castell Pitt pens), I've decided that I'm making the switch to...NIBS! I like to be green, and I always feel bad about how fast I blow through the pens (you can't refill them, and I'm not sure they can be recycled). I've also been missing a more organic line (although Joe has already pointed out to me that I'm pretty tight about my nib-work as well). What ultimately turned me was our trip to Belgium back in November, where we were lucky enough to work in a studio with a bunch of AMAZING comics artists. My friend Max asked me what I inked with, and I showed him my fistful of Pitt pens, and he was like, "Whhhhaaaaatttt??????". And then he made a pretty strong case for nibs. I was also inspired by my friend Alec's recent post about the inking tools he uses. Needless to say, I've been inking with nibs a lot. I'm still using the Pitts when I travel (to avoid bag spills, which is a phenomena that I excel at), but all the stuff I'll be posting will most likely be inked with a G-nib. I must admit, it is super fun. Enjoy!

Hammer Time!

Break it down:
THOOOOOORRRRRRR!

Let me first start by saying that our trip to the Pacific Northwest was AWESOME. SO AWESOME.

Emerald City Comic Con = super rad. Got to meet Mr. Chris Samnee, who is the man responsible for one of my FAVORITE superhero comic stories, Thor: The Mighty Avenger (written by Roger Langridge to boot!). I had never read a Thor story before. I totally love Thor now, because of this comic (see above drawing). Thank you, gentlemen!

Joe and I got to hang with Mr. Greg from Tugboat Press (the man responsible for making Yes, Let's happen), see Mr. Chris Haley and his posse, get some bro-time with Mr. Scott Campbell and meet countless other comics folk (sorry if I left you out; you can heckle me in the comments).

BOWIE!! (for Mr. Haley)

Aside from the con, Joe and I had a blast during our short time in Seattle. We visited the Seattle Aquarium (gee, I wonder who wanted to do THAT), marveled at the wonders of Pike Place Market and ate copious amounts of delicious food. Short and sweet, and then we where on the road to Portland (and beyond).

Once in Oregon, we checked in to Chateau D' Ann (Ann and I were roomies back in college!). From there, Joe and I rented a car for our journey south to visit...the Allreds! Mike and Laura are SUPER DUPER!!! We had a blast doing everything from karaoke to dune-exploring to movie-watching, out in the middle of the beautiful Oregon woods. It was amazing to hang with such amazing artists; we can't thank them enough for their incredible hospitality!

Joe, Maris and Mike somewhere in the Shire.

THEN, back to Portland for some hang-time with Ann, some doughnut-eating, and more karaoke (with the Allreds again, but this time at Floating World...crazy!).

Now I'm back in Somerville, drawin' and computerin' and workin' at that place filled with fish and turtles and penguins...

I'll have a post about the cons I'll be at this year...just a few (I'm trying to be good). Oh, and I apologize for my silence in the comments; I've just been super-busy. I suck at staying on top of stuff like that!!

byebye for now!

Inks-cellent.

Done. With. Inks. I am so excited!!!

*note: the pages above are not really that big*


So here's a little update on the life of Maris (well, the life that is squeezed into the non-primates time):

ZOMG (part 1): I wrote a one-page Madman story with Mr. Joe Quinones (he did all that lovely art - more about that project here). Thanks to Mr. Mike Allred for the awesome opportunity!

ZOMG (part 2): I also wrote a script for a super-secret DC project; more about that soon. I kind of still can't believe it. Joe's also doing the arts on that. Yeah Joe!

ZOMG (part 3): Leaving for Seattle in...1 hour!! Joe's a guest at Emerald City Comic Con, and then we're heading down to Portland, OR for a little working vacation. I will be at the con, but I'll just be hanging around. If you want to buy something Maris-y, my friend Greg over at the Tugboat Press table (M-22 in Artist Alley) will be selling copies of "Yes, Let's". Actually, if anyone would like a sketch, I could definitely be persuaded to draw something of the super-hero variety for a tiny bit of moolah...just sayin'.

I have lots of art to post. And peeps that I want to shout out too. But that will have to wait. For now.

So yeah. Crazy-pants stuff going on. It is EXCITING!!!

Power Girl.

I'm pretty sure that this is what it's like to be Power Girl.

It is a New Year.

Yes, indeed. Hope you had a Happy one. Here is Kitty and Lockheed to ring it in...
Done at Boston Comic Con for fellow co-worker/comic nerd-friend Sam. (Thanks, Sam! I love ANY excuse to draw Miss Pryde, especially with this costume!)

I'm actually leaving the house!

Hey everyone. It is a widely know fact that I really don't like the winter (with the exception of the snow). Winter bums me out BIGTIME. But, I will be leaving my house tomorrow to celebrate a bunch of artwork hanging at local café:

This show has been up since early November, and it features the work of me, Joe Quinones, Liz Prince, Tim Finn, Ann Smith and Evan Larson, as well as pet-photographer Kelly Allen. If you live in the Boston area, feel free to come down and say hi. The show is tomorrow (Sunday December 12th) from 5 - 7 PM at the delicious Bloc 11 Café. Joe and I will be baking cupcakes for people to eat! ANd we'll all have prints, t-shirts and comics to sell. There's also a super-cool comics shop next door, should you desire MORE comics: Hub Comics. Maybe I'll see you there!

A little more information:

So yeah, Joe and I are in Belgium and France for a bit. The main reason is because Joe was asked to be a guest at the Lille Comics Festival ! Amazing, since we haven't taken a vacation in FOREVER. So, here we are, in Belgium! Our friend, Max, was nice enough to host us for the Belgian part of the trip, and he has been wonderful. We've gotten to draw in his studio along with all his comics (B.D.) and art friends (merci beaucoup!). The trip has been totally awesome so far, and we're leaving for Lille, FR tomorrow. As part of Joe's going to the festival, he drew a shout-out illustration:

Learn more about the piece it is referencing at Mr. Joe's blog. I actually colored the illustration, except for Harley's exquisite skin (Joe's the rendering king). Okay, that's it for now. I'll try to post again before we return to the states, but if not, until then!

Hey internets!

I am on a plane...to Belgium!

More soon...

Happy Halloween!!

From the Green Lantern Corps:

Some awesome guy at SPX this year requested a sketch page of Liz, Joe and me as Green Lanterns for his Green Lantern-themed sketchbook. Fun times. Liz and I are both projecting kitties, while Joe is projecting...a bottle of Dr. Pepper?

We are staying in for Halloween; we hope that we'll get some trick-or-treaters at our new place. We sure have enough candy. And there will most definitely be some carved pumpkins later!

We're finally starting to feel settled in the new place. Almost all the walls are painted, and we've started hanging pictures up. It's amazing how much time it takes to get all nested into a new place. I've spent all my free time doing apartment-y things; I don't remember the last time I drew a auto-bio comic...oh, well. There's been plenty of non-auto-bio comics drawing going on in my life, which I am very pleased about. Sneak-peaks about that soon!

Until then...high-five some ghosts for me.

NYCC

That's right. I'll be at New York Comic Con starting today (Friday) until Sunday! I'm kind of unofficial; I'll be the tag-along at Mr. Quinones' booth. BOOTH G-8. Right next to our dear friend Mr. Rivera's booth. BOOTH G-7. Come say 'hi'!

Slightly inappropriate.

Just look at that little hotdog butt hole!!

M.I.C.E.!

Hey y'all, Liz and I will be at the Massachusetts Indie Comics Expo today! We wil be joined by a whole bunch of talented New England comics peeps. If you're in the Boston area, come down and say "hi" (plus admission is FREE!!). Oh, and we'll have a new mini...the sequel to Four Squares, drawn with Mr. Joe and Mr. Tim. See you there!

Ah, the interwebs...

Hey everyone on the interwebs! If you were at SPX last weekend, thanks for coming down and supporting us nerds. Joe, Liz and I had taken a year off, and we were glad to be back (SPX was my very first comics convention, back in 2002). If you weren't at SPX, thanks for reading this blog!

I apologize for the steady decline in blog postings; this has been a busy year (don't even try and count the number other times I've typed that phrase...). It's not that I haven't had anything to post, I just haven't made the time to post it. (shame,shame)

I know my post last weekend was brief, so here's a little bit more on what's going down in the land of Maris:

-I know I mentioned this before, but "Yes, Let's" is a super-cool kid's book that I did with Galen Longstreth for Tugboat Press. It is full color! Read it to a kid (or to yourself) in the grass! Here's a peak:

cover:



a little peak inside:



-I'm still hard at work on Primates, the graphic novel I'm illustrating for First Seconds Books (written by Jim Ottaviani!); I'll hopefully be posting some sneak peaks soon.

-I have a comic in the anthology "Make: Comics About an Intimate Act", edited by Robyn Chapman. There's a bunch of swell people in this great little collection about my favorite subject...POOP.

-Joe and I moved...1 mile down the road! We're still in Somerville, making this the longest we've lived in the same location. Also, we now live below the talented Liz Prince. OMG comics house. We drew one last night, but we can't really take credit...

-Biggs is obviously still being AWESOME:



-I pretty much cut off all my hair, so get ready for me to look like even more of a boy in my auto-bio strips...

So, yeh. I'm sure there's more. But that's it for now. Joe and I are just barely getting settled into our new place, but once we're set up, I'm planning on drawing comics just for the fun of it again (I haven't drawn a personal comic all summer long!) And the logical conclusion would be to post these comics to this blog (though I don't always do the logical thing.) Just sayin'.

SPX!11!??

Forgive me, Blogger, for it has been 3 months (?!) since I last blogged...


I am at SPX in Bethesda Maryland! With Liz and Joe and Tim!

Come say 'hi' if you are attending!

I have a new book out (written by Galen Longstreth, put out by Tugboat Press)!

I have been working and moving and working; I will blog more soon (like how Joe and I are now Liz's NEIGHBORS!!). Promise.

-m

MECAF!!!

Get ready to be MECAFfeinated!!! Liz and I (and Duddits) will be at MECAF in Portland Maine this Sunday, May 23rd hawking our comic-y wares. Mr. Joe Quinones will be unable to join us do to his being chained to the drawing table...but I'll have stuff of his for sale. Portland, ME is a GREAT town; lots of good food and good peeps. If you're in the Boston area, it's just a hop, skip and a jump up the coast (2 hours). Joe and I did this con last year, and we had blast! So come say "hi".

A comic.

This is a comic that a drew a few sketchbooks back, but it was recently in this neat zine called Little Brother (you can buy a copy here). Here's my submission:


That pretty much sums up how I feel about moving. In reality, I have all my limbs, and I've only ever lived in New England, but finding that sense of "home" takes time and effort (even if you're just moving to the next state over). As of right now, home is where the cat is...

Stumptown.

Two weekends ago, Joe, Liz and myself spent the weekend hawking our wares at the Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, OR. I absolutely LOVE this convention, plus it's a great way to hang out with comics friends that we see just a few times a year. Here are some tidbits from our trip:

O.K. so not particularly pertaining to Portland...but as soon as we flew in, I started to experience some serious gastro-intestinal trouble. Our first full day in Portland had me searching high and low for public restrooms as we walked around downtown (you didn't expect me to stay in my hotel room and poop all day, did you?).

from top left: our table at Stumptown (courtesy of Joshin Yamada ); Star Trek pinball at the Hawthorne theater (Max is watching the trainwreck that is my pinball skills); Liz, Joe and me photobombing...ourselves?; t-rex on the floor at Denver airport

When we weren't in comics-mode, we pretty much spent our time walking around, eating (mostly donuts), and playing pinball/arcade games with awesome comics people (Alec, Claire, Greg, Max, Lucy, John, Jon Chad, Colleen...thanks! I probably forgot some people too...sorry)

Liz and I did a bunch of convention sketches; here are a few of mine:



One last doodle: the plane ride home:

I inked this with a nib and ink (supplies I haven't touched since college, luckily Joe has a fancy nib that he uses for detail work that I could borrow); I was totally inspired by Max's comics. Plus my shaky inking skills perfectly matched the turbulence of the plane ride (note: I did NOT ink on the plane).

We're home now for a while. Our last comics engagement of the spring season will be at MECAF. Yay Maine! (I'll post more about that when it's sooner.)

-m

p.s. Oh yeah, and the Superpooperman drawing can be blamed on the request of this man (look for pooping Supergirl and Spiderwoman!). heh heh. poop

So much has happened over the past three months...

...but what's really awesome is that WE NOW HAVE A CAT!!!!1!!


Intertubes, meet Biggs "Bear" Darklighter. He is a formidable 16 pounds of feline. And we love him so much. Do not worry; he is on a diet.

I have drawn him a bunch (we've had him for almost a month):
Biggs already has some "fan art" that I'll be posting soon.

I have so much to catch up on, I'm going to update every day (or every other day) for the next week or so. So this is all you get (for right now). Cattitude!!

-m

Happy New Year...

It's still January, so I'm allowed to say that, right? So far 2010 has seen a lot of drawing things I can't post quite yet...though I have been able to crank out some doodles and comics. One of my goals this year is to do more life drawing, so this past Monday I (along with drawing buddy Erica and my sis) doodled out at the Harvard Museum of Natural History. If you live in the Boston area and like seeing copious amounts of taxidermied animals, glass flowers and meteors, you should definitely check it out. I'm kind of in love with the coelacanth they have:

I brought my itty bitty watercolor set and a pencil.

Some of my other doodling endeavors have lead me to draw some pixel-y art:

Yeah, that's supposed to me. I've been loving me some graph paper.

Lastly, I was linked by the kind gentleman over at Marvel Smartass for all my interpretations of Marvel characters! Thanks! I should draw more superheroes...