Here’s a refreshing change from my convention commissions: an awesome drawing from Michael Zulli!

Michael Zulli is best known for his work on Sandman, but he does incredibly beautiful commissions and I encourage you to check out his website. I know we are all looking forward to more work from Michael!

Here’s a web page which shows Zulli working on a piece called “The Last Morpheus”. A feast for the mind of every process wonk!

Thank you so much for this beautiful drawing! I will treasure it and can’t wait to frame it!

c

I first met Neil Gaiman back in 1989. I had received a grant from the Delphi Institute to study American pop culture with cartoonists from around the world. The group traveled across the USA visiting various companies and museums.

One of our stops was DC Comics. Since I already worked there, it didn’t strike me as a particularly unique experience. So, while the others got a lecture from Archie Goodwin, I wandered off to scare up some gigs and meet people. One of the people I met was the not-yet-famous Neil Gaiman who was hanging out in Karen Berger’s office.

I didn’t know who he was. After leaving the office and getting halfway down the hall, I suddenly realized he was that Neil Gaiman, author of the comic I thought was keen, but the rest of the world had yet to discover. After my double take, I ran back to the office and shouted “You’re that Neil Gaiman! Sandman!”

We did the mutual admiration thing. He told me he enjoyed A Distant Soil, a revelation which made me all tingly. He said would like to work with me sometime, which made me tingle even more.

It was rather comical to watch I am sure, because as I recall, we both burbled a lot.

Sandman was on the ropes, alas. To stave off cancellation, DC decided to try publishing a special edition of issue #8 as a freebie and introduction to retailers.

He gave me one of those promo Sandman #8’s which wasn’t in stores yet. In it he left his name, address and phone. Don’t you wish you had one of those?

Later I began receiving a series of charming postcards – all the way from England – written in Neil’s own dainty hand.

I considered donating these to a charity auction. By golly, they are just too cool. I’ve decided to keep them.

And with Neil’s kind permission, I am posting the first of them here, the one where he asks if I would work on Sandman sometime. A little bit of comics history.

This is original art from the Sandman 20th anniversary exhibit. Pencil on 500 ply Strathmore, 11″x14″. Morpheus holds the head of his son Orpheus on a lyre.

Alas, the original sale fell through as the buyer had me hold this, and later found himself bitten by the economy. So, the piece is back up for sale. Please inquire.

I was going to take all my art off the market for the next year, but one piece won’t kill my schedule!

This piece is now sold. Thank you for your interest! And thank you for your support!

c

Another commission down, this time for Adam Pezdek.

Always a fun time drawing Death! I’ve got a major piece of all the Endless I still haven’t finished, but most of my commissions are completed (or nearly completed) including one of Shade. But I never tire of drawing things from Sandman. Neil Gaiman magic…

My patrons are giving me a great deal of freedom with these commissions. Drawing one is a nice break from a difficult day of layouts or complicated inking. I spent yesterday working on Stealth Tribes by Warren Ellis – another massive double page spread – and I thought my eyes were going to dribble out of my head. That book has some of the most difficult drawings I have ever tackled.

Alas, I lost some of my lead time last week to being under the weather, so no slacking.

More commissions going up this week. Come back and see!

Hit this link to read my humble webcomic.

PS: pencil on colored paper, with colored pencil. 8″x10″.

(FYI: A page from the Absolute Sandman, that is. Thanks for helping out. – c)

This is a call to action!

As many of you may know already, artist Josh Medors (Frazetta’s Swamp Demon & Sorcerer, Runes of Ragnan, 30 Days of Night) has been fighting a losing battle against a terminal form of cancer for well over a year, and it has recently taken a turn for the worst. The doctors and conventional medicine have all but given up on him and say there isn’t anything else they can do. But he has found an alternative treatment that has the possibility of extending his life a bit and can help improve the quality of his life near the end so he can spend it with his wife and son. There is even a slim chance it can make him somewhat better, so he has to try. But of course the treatment is very expensive and Josh has no medical insurance.

So myself and my brother, Andrew Mangum (currently Josh’s inker on Frazetta’s Sorcerer) decided to arrange another benefit auction like the one they
did at Emerald City Con back in ‘08. This auction is different though because the last one was organized by Jay Fotos to help Josh pay his rising medical bills to fight the cancer, and this one is specifically to get the treatment he needs to be keep him around. I know there are a lot of fans and friends out there that want to help, so this auction series will be that opportunity. A wide variety of artists are contributing personal works and art from their collections just like last time, but this time it’s open to collectors, fans, and everyone else. as well anyone can donate if they want to help! We just ask that it be comic or comic art related.

I have set up a special “preview gallery” for all the items as they come in on my Comic Art Fans webpage.

You can see all of the artwork & items we will be auctioning there, as well as who donated it (unless they request to be anonymous) and all artists who donate their art will also have their websites listed if desired. Many packages of art are already on the way now and will be up soon, and the list of artists donating grows by the minute, so there is A LOT more art coming! Be sure to check back periodically to see what we’ll be listing!

To donate something to the auctions, just email me at madman1138@yahoo.com or through my Comic Art Fans gallery (where all the art is) with a scan or photo of the item and the item information and I will send you the mailing address to send the goods to. I only ask the items be shipped to me in advance because there will be a lot to organize and package, and simplicity dictates that only one location handle it all. This is shaping up to be quite an undertaking, so I have to keep it as easy as possible. All donations must be received no later than Friday, May 22nd 2009 in order to be included in the auctions, which will start listing to Ebay on Saturday May 23rd.

Josh will also be selling off all of his remaining artwork to help cover these costs, and I will be helping him with that as well. So if you would like to buy something of his now, please see the green “Art for sale-Josh Medors” gallery also on my Comic Art Fans.

I will update this gallery with more art as Josh sends me more scans, but pages are available from Frazetta’s Swamp Demon, Chucky, GI JOE, and more! All proceeds, after selling fees from all of this, will go to Josh to help him and his family in this dire time of need.

Because so many people have been asking about sending monetary donations directly to Josh as well, his Paypal email address is: jmedors3@columbus.rr.com

Sending $5 or $10 might not seem like much, but remember the water drops principle. A drop of water isn’t much, but enough drops eventually fill the bucket. Every bit counts here and time is of the essence. Now is the time to act!

Please be sure to also include your name and address with the payment email through Paypal when sending money, because Josh wants to try and do Thank You cards with little sketches to all who donate (and some of the other artists might help out with that for him, so you never know what you’ll get!)

Lastly, please only use his email address for Paypal payments and don’t deluge his inbox with questions and well wishes. Although appreciated, he won’t be able to reply to them.

Thank you for looking, and especially for helping! Together we CAN make a difference!

Dave Kopecki