New print - "Dragonslayer"

Worked with the fine folks at Mondo to produce a new poster for a true favorite from my childhood. Sure, there have been many dragons presented with more CG polish and sheen, but for me Vermithrax Pejorative still stands as one of the best creature designs of all time.

Phil Tippett, the legendary effects wizard who created a new form of character animation to bring Vermithrax to life, will be at a special screening / "QnA" at the Alamo this Thursday. In fact, Mr. Tippett's new stop motion film MAD GOD just surpassed it's Kickstarter goal of $40k this afternoon. Can't wait to what they do with the project.

Get more info on the Mondo blog.

Hope everyone attending the screening enjoys the movie (and the print). I'll be there in spirit, sailing the Lake of Fire...

-JC

The waiting is the hardest part..

Hello friends-

May is already half over, how does that happen? Excited to share some of what I've been working on soon--just gotta wait a few more days (you've heard that before, I'm serious this time). It's been tough to keep my mouth shut, but so far so good. All respect to Petty- the waiting is pretty unpleasant, but the damn secrecy is the hardest part.

In a bit of 'behind the scenes' news:  Just received approval on another project I was convinced was not going to see the light of day (no scandal, just random stuff out of our control). Very glad to report I was dead wrong, and it's going to print soon. Out of anything so far, this one will no doubt generate the most discussion.. will make more sense when you see it.

Most importantly- thanks again for hanging in there with me through long stretches without any exciting news (found that drawing all night makes me lose track of time in a very troubling way). No excuse though, I'm going to make a renewed effort to update more often.

Until then.. eye of the tiger, my friends (it's the thrill of the fight.)

-JC

"The Dark Lines" (Spellbound) onsale

Sold out- thanks so much for the support! -JC
 UPDATE 4/21 - All orders have shipped out

"The Dark Lines" -
16"x20" giclee print; s/n edition of 20
Inspired by Hitchcock's 'Spellbound'
(more info on the print here)

New Print- "The Dark Lines"

Hello again my friends-

My piece for the Gallery 1988 Hitchcock show is an homage to one of the most chilling moments A.H. ever put on film, from the 1945 psychological thriller 'Spellbound'.

Gregory Peck's stance and hand position in this reveal always struck me as weirdly unnatural and creepy; that one shot perfectly shifted the tone as the story morphs from a romantic lark into a bizarre 'journey of the mind'. Ingrid Bergman lies just out of frame and seems destined to have bad things happen to her; Hitchcock highlights Peck  and his murderous (or is it confused?) stare as he looms over the bed, razor glinting in moonlight pouring through the windows.

If you haven't seen 'Spellbound', I recommend it... it even has a dream sequence partly designed by Salvador Dali, which is sort of amazing even if it wasn't in a Hitchock story.

 "The Dark Lines" 16x20, giclee edition of 20

The devils of unreason...

Calm before the storm...

Hello friends,
Just wanted to say hello, and answer a few common questions I've been getting-

- Yes, we're alive.
- Yes, more releases coming (very soon I'm told).
- Yes, the next microcosmicmedia art print is nearly done, coming in May.
- Yes, may offer a small subscription in the summer- planning on releasing a bunch of art prints during the second half of the year, but don't worry about it yet.. I'll make all the info public asap when I figure it out.
- Yes, I pinch myself daily when ruminating on the coolness of the projects I've been working on.. not a metaphor btw, I seriously leave marks...

As frustrating as it is to have to wait to share previews/info, someone reminded me recently that it always takes much longer to do things the 'official' way.. hopefully some people still care about that stuff (anyone?). Thanks all for hanging in there with me.. as soon as I possibly can, I'll spill all you need to know about the next release.

I'll leave you with a few pics of interesting LPs, found in a box thought lost long ago... some real gems in there, wanted to share a few of the more bizarre/cool/unexpected ones...
-JC

No, didn't buy these at time of release! I hope (most of) you know who these guys are.

I wonder if the 'avid fan' got tickets?

As a child, couldn't figure out why they sounded a little 'off'!

The actual set that started my fascination with illustration...

Just one of the (large!) vibrant panels inside...

Who took my #*$% Fair Warning? (VHII I don't mind as much..)

A new one... John Carter IMAX poster

Worked with Mondo for this promo poster for the upcoming Disney IMAX 3D release 'JOHN CARTER'.

A lot of people have been waiting a very long time for this film to get to the big screen-after all, it's been 100 years since Edgar Rice Burroughs began writing about John Carter's Mars adventures, and those stories laid the groundwork for many scifi and fantasy properties of the modern age (Star Wars, Avatar to name two biggies). Based on the designs I've seen so far, it looks to be quite an impressive and unique vision of Burrough's world.

Tried a completely different approach for this one, as the poster is meant to mimic those large-scale, fully blown out scifi art promos you'd get with your fast food kid's meal circa '79 (just missing the folds of course!). This image is heavily based on the more realistic, 'grounded' designs contained in the concept art for the film, as opposed to more fantastical interpretations by Frazetta and other illustrators who have largely defined the look of Burrough's Mars over the last century.

Shipping updates and misc. news

Hello all-just a quick update on those waiting on JP and Fortress orders-

First batch shipped end of last week, but majority are shipping today and tomorrow. Sorry for the delay- usually like to get domestic orders earlier but a badly timed flu last week messed with my schedule (didn't want to ship you a nice virus with your print!). Regardless of what batch your print shipped in, if you're in the US you should have your print by week's end.

Other print/illustration news:

-Working on the biggest print (literally) I've ever done- this image will be unique in more ways than one.. playing in a world I never thought I'd get to visit
-Also just (finally) finished a poster for a childhood favorite- ironically the first thing I've drawn that really seemed to frighten my kids! That's some kind of twisted endorsement, right?

More specific news on these projects soon (and some art print stuff- remember those?)
thanks for listening--JC

FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE Onsale

SOLD OUT- thanks so much everyone.
 One print per person-multiple orders will be refunded. Any oversells etc. I'll notify everyone asap- thanks so much for the support!

"Fortress of Solitude" print release Monday 1/30

Hi friends, let's keep the release train going- next up is "Fortress of Solitude."

PRINT DETAILS:   9-color screen print, 36"x12"- $95 (yes they are signed)

WHERE/WHEN: I'll put up a new blog post with 'Add to Cart' buttons on Monday, Jan. 30th at a random time in the afternoon (EST).  Please don't ask when-I have very few available and I'm attempting to get through this with as few oversells/refunds as possible.

A little background on this one-

I felt very fortunate to get the opportunity to create this DC-licensed print for Mondo, and even more so since it involves the most iconic superhero of 'em all. Even though I knew the comics and enjoyed the cartoons & 50s TV series, my first real gateway to the Superman mythos was through the Richard Donner films. One of the first 'grown up' books I ever bought was a text-heavy Making of Superman: The Movie; I pored endlessly over the few black and white "behind the scenes" photos, made up mostly of shots of wire flying tests and carpenters building the massive Pinewood Studios sets.

The largest of these was the Fortress of Solitude, and it seemed the the greatest cathedral ever built. The film's crystalline design just felt more 'otherworldly' and exotic than previous comic book incarnations of the Fortress (with mountain cave and clunky keys) and much more like a piece of an alien landscape replicated in an Artic wasteland. This image is a direct homage to Donner's universe (quickly corrupted by the hack named Richard Lester); if there was a goal, it was to make it feel like a long-lost original piece of concept art for the '78 film.

As always, thanks for listening- hope to see some of you back here tomorrow afternoon for the sale.
-JC