From the category archives:

Finished Illos

Rocket Raccoon! Sam Simeon! Ted Kord!

October 6, 2009

That’s right, it’s a comics alphabet triple play! THREE entries jam-packed into one.
Accompanying everybody’s favorite defender of the galaxy, Rocket Raccoon, is one half of the Angel and the Ape investigative team, the comics-drawing gorilla Sam Simeon. And standing tall in the back is Ted Kord, alias the Blue Beetle, genius inventor, superhero and all [...]

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P is for Paste Pot Pete

September 28, 2009

Paste Pot Pete. Wow. Not exactly Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s most inspired creation.
Even within the comics, PPP wasn’t a villain of any merit at all. He eventually changed his name to the Trapster, in fact, but he’s still a pretty low-rent supervillain. I guess they can’t all be winners.
But he’s certainly a lot of [...]

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N is for Namora

August 27, 2009

I had no idea what I was going to do for N.
The I read Jeff Parker and Leonard Kirk’s Marvel Comics miniseries, Agents Of Atlas. Namora is, as it turns out, an awesome character. (Apparently hanging out with a kung fu superspy, a Greek goddess, a talking gorilla, a Uranian spaceman and an indestructible robot [...]

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M is for Mr. Miracle and Metamorpho

August 17, 2009

Mr. Miracle, (aka Scott Free) Jack Kirby’s otherworldly escape artist, has got to be one of my favorite comic book characters, and I think it’s mostly because of his costume. There’s nothing else quite like it.
Interestingly, Kirby partly based Mr. Miracle on a fellow comic book artist, Jim Steranko. Before becoming an illustrator, Steranko had [...]

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Sweet Pea 2009

August 5, 2009
Thumbnail image for Sweet Pea 2009

This weekend, August 7-9, Bozeman celebrates its big annual arts event, the Sweet Pea Festival. Bands from all over, including some big names, perform while local artists and craftspeople sell handmade goods. Parades, races, theatre performances- it’s all going on this weekend.
This year, I had the chance to design the shirt sold every year to [...]

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L is for Lobster Johnson and Lady Blackhawk

August 4, 2009
Thumbnail image for L is for Lobster Johnson and Lady Blackhawk

This week’s entry features two awesome old-school adventurers.
Lobster Johnson is Mike Mignola’s other brilliant pulp creation: A mythical 1930s New York City vigilante known for branding criminals with his trademark lobster claw symbol, and who eventually showed up in Hellboy stories as an evil-battling ghost.
Lady Blackhawk is DC Comics’ crack WWII flying ace and member [...]

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K is for Kilowog vs. Klaw

August 1, 2009
Kilowog versus Klaw

Kilowog, DC Comics’ Green Lantern of Space Sector 647! Ulysses Klaw, a supervillain physicist who wears a sound-emitting gun on his right arm and fights the Fantastic Four and Black Panther!
Yeah, so, I like Kilowog. I’d never even HEARD of Klaw until he was suggested for this series. But that’s the fun! I get to [...]

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J is for Jimmy Olsen

July 30, 2009
Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen

Yes sir, Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen. I wanted to do the Silver Age version, but there’s no way one illustration could do the madcap lunacy of that period justice. So here’s my Jimmy- kind of an amalgamation of Silver Age, modern, and All-Star Jimmy Olsen.

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Woman of A.C.T.I.O.N.!!!

July 29, 2009
Woman of ACTION

Woman of A.C.T.I.O.N., the raddest spy story this side of Casino Royale, just went live on The Action Age website! Featuring an action-packed script by Chris Sims, Smart, slick artwork by Chris Piers, and explosive colors by yours truly, Steve Downer, Woman of A.C.T.I.O.N. is the best free online comic coming out this evening, and that’s a fact. In celebration of the event, I’m posting a never-before seen pinup featuring characters from the story. Drink it in, folks- and then go read the story!

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I is for Iron Fist

July 28, 2009
Iron Fist illustration

I was gonna do DC’s JLA member Ice, but then I remembered that she’s really, really boring.
So I looked around a bit. There aren’t very many cool female characters whose name start with “I”. Irma Geddon from Top 10 was the only good choice until I remembered this chick.
That’s right! It’s Wu Ao-Shi, the Iron [...]

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