"52 by 1" - Red Hood and the Outlaws

Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 © DC Entertainment

By Corey Breen

Pencil & Markers & Photoshop

One of my favorite books of the new 52 is one that a lot of people talked a lot of smack about on the inter-webs without even giving it a chance.  I think people were so caught up in the fact that Starfire wears very little clothing and oh, God FORBID there is sex in a comic book... that this book is really quite the unspoken gem of the DC's the New 52!  It's a fantastic combination of action/ adventure and fast paced story-telling mixed with FANTASTIC and exhilarating artwork.  Scott Lobdell and Kenneth Rocafort just really work well together on this book and I hope they stay on it for a VERY long time!  If anyone takes away my Red Hood and the Outlaws book, I will really hold a grudge because people are missing out on a really FUN comic book! LOL

And that's the THING with this book!  With these three characters, the creative team weaves one of the more FUN books out there today.  I think sometimes fans and critics forget that comics can be FUN sometimes.  It doesn't all have to be realistic or on par with the great graphic novels of the last 20 years.  Sometimes it's awesome to come across a book that, well, quite literally, ROCKS!  It's fun, tongue in cheek, doesn't take itself too seriously but has all the gun totting, violent, sexy things I think make this book jump to the top of the read pile every month.  It's like Romancing the Stone, but with superheroes.  And it's really I book I love for all the same reasons I LOVE a show like Showtime's Spartacus!

Just for the art alone by Rocafort is reason to get this book, because NO ONE is doing layouts like his, no one has a style like his, the amount of detail is mind blowing, and I wish I can draw like him!  Combined with colorist Blonde, it is just a PLEASURE to stare at this book and I do so with jaw to the floor every month!  AND they haven't missed an issue YET!  AWESOME!

I can't recommend this book enough to people who just want to have a great time reading a fun book.  A lot of comics today are like homework to read.  I don't WANT homework.  I want to read something fun and different and HOT!  And if you got a stick up your butt about that, then bugger off, because this book is freakin' lights OUT!  Go elsewhere to try and get your website hits by trying to bring down this book and this books' readers.  You better leave my Red Hood book alone to rock on with the people who actually GET it!  (It's really surprising I like this book so much too because I really never agreed with or LIKED the fact that Jason Todd came back from the dead!  But I put that all aside for the New 52 and I really embraced this book!)

Great stuff, and I hope I kicked some A$$ on this "weeks" 52 by 1 piece, because I was REALLY looking forward to doing this one!  It was not an easy piece either for I totally drew them all differently then how they appear in the final cover.  Starfire was originally on the other side who was swapped with Red Hood.  And Roy was over to the far left.  It was weird but I think I made it work by making those changes, and I think I really nailed the tones I wanted in this one.

Next up is the RED LANTERNS #1!  Enjoy the pencil version and marker version sans logos below!

Peace,

CjB

Red Hood and the Outlaws © DC Entertainment

By Corey Breen

Pencil

Red Hood and the Outlaws © DC Entertainment

By Corey Breen

Pencil & Markers

"52 by 1" - Batman #1 Cover

Batman © DC Entertainment

By Corey Breen

Pencil & Marker & Photoshop

And then there's BATMAN!  My all time favorite character.  I know it seems like I say that about every character I like and draw, but this time it's the truth.  Batman is the greatest, over all of my other favorites.

He is the reason I am in this comic book industry basically and that I have the career that I have.  He is the the reason I still strive to be a comic book artist period.  And to this day I still day dream of being Batman himself, lol; I mean, who doesn't honestly.  For some reason, I just clung to Batman immediately as a child and still do now.  It happened at a really young age for me but not especially until 1988 when the Tim Burton movie was coming out.  Thats when my family friend, Dell introduced me to comics and his comic collection.  It was all over for me after that.  Batman was the character I fell in love with (along with the X-Men).  Thanks Dell!

From that day on, Batman has been the character I gravitate towards the most in all media.  I guess it's mostly because it's such a personal story.  A person's very worst fear, as it was and is still mine, for your parents to be brutally killed.  With my dad being a cop growing up, I guess that really struck a cord with me, as I know if something terrible like that happened I would like to think I would have it in me to become Batman.  His story just hits a serious nerve in me that makes my emotions flare.

Through the years he has had his ups and downs as far as how good his comics have been.  I've been there for all of them (kind of, since I work at DC and get all the older stuff too).  I wont go through all the stories that are my favorite Batman stories, and who my my favorite Batman artists are, but I will say that the creative team on Batman right now?... the New 52 Batman team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo?... they are AMAZING!  I don't have words for how good their Batman story is right now, but it's up there with the BEST of them, and IT'S NOT EVEN FINISHED YET!  [Well I got to read ahead since I work on them, and it's ending pretty amazingly too, let me tell you!]  I already did a Talon drawing that I will post when Batman #10 comes out (I have to wait until then because it's TOP SECRET).

I get chills drawing Batman every time I attempt to draw him, and I hold myself up to really high standards when I do.  It irks me to not do the character justice, and I actually find him one of the HARDEST characters in comics to draw.  He can't be too young, too skinny, too tall, have too big ears, too long of a cape... there is SO many aspects to this character to consider when you draw him.  He is the hardest to draw bar none!  I hope I did him justice on this piece!

Let me know what you all think!

Corey Breen

Sans Logo Below along with original pencils -

Batman © DC Entertainment

By Corey Breen

Pencil & Marker

Batman © DC Entertainment

By Corey Breen

Pencil

RETURN TO "52 BY 1"

Aquaman © DC Entertainment

By Corey Breen

Pencil & Markers

Welcome back to "52 by 1", where I draw all the original DC Comic's relaunch books, the New 52's covers.  I fell behind a month, so last month's four titles will all be posted THIS week!  Going to try and catch up so it can be become a weekly feature of the Blog once again!

Batman #1 is NEXT!  Tune in on Wednesday to see it!

CjB

RIP Maurice Sendak

RIP Maurice Sendak

RIP Maurice Sendak


CjB

The Legend of Korra & Naga

Korra & Naga from The Legend of Korra

© Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko

By Corey Breen

Photoshop

Told you there would be more Legend of Korra pieces to come!

Tried something TOTALLY different for this one, and I want to know what everyone thinks.  Animated cell style [kinda].  Pencil line work below.

Anyone want me to do this one in markers just for the hell of it too?  Let me know.  Otherwise, I like e style change here, it was something different for me and a fun exercise.

Enjoy!

CjB

Korra & Naga from The Legend of Korra

© Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko

By Corey Breen

Pencil

Star Wars - A Jango Fett Birthday

Star Wars Birthday Present 11 x 17

Jango Fett © Lucasfilm

 By Corey Breen

Pencil & Marker

This was done for a five year old relative of mine, whose favorite thing in the world is Star Wars, and his favorite character is Jango Fett.  He dressed up as Jango Fett for his birthday and this was his gift from me!  (That's his little sister, Fiona in the background.)

Happy 5th Birthday Seamus!

Unwashed version below.

CjB

Star Wars Birthday Present Commission 11 x 17

Jango Fett © Lucasfilm

 By Corey Breen

Pencil

The Legend of Korra

Korra from the Legend of Korra

© Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko

By Corey Breen
Pencil & Marker

Korra from the Legend of Korra

© Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko

By Corey Breen
Pencil

One of my new favorite shows is definitely The Legend of Korra on Nickelodeon.  The show is a continuation of the legend and mythology of the Last Airbender franchise.  It takes place in the future and tells the story of the next Avatar, a teenage girl.  I love this show so much, I can't WAIT til the next episode every week.  It also helps that one of my favorite artists, Josh Middleton is working with the show!

Not only is the animation SPECTACULAR, it has amazing fight choreography that makes the martial arts in the show so accurate and realistic even in a cartoony way.  Then when you are amazed by the fighting aspects alone, they throw in the elemental bending (fighting with air, wind, fire and earth), it makes it so over the top and lightning fast, you have to rewind it to watch it all over again the see it all.  The camera angles and camera movement on these fights (and just the show in general), add even more to the greatness of this show!  Quiet simply, I am floored by the action scenes.

But this show is not just about the action.  What makes it so much greater then most every other cartoon ever is the characters, plot, story, and character development.  Each character is so well written, the dialogue is just fantastic.  Especially on Korra herself.  It makes you realize how rare it really is to see a well fleshed out, real, emotional, strong, vulnerable female character.  Korra is confident and cocky, yet when she realizes she is in over her head, gets scared and nervous.  There is one scene in the show where she breaks down and tells her master (after a defeat), that she doesn't know what she's doing.  This scene is just so powerful because we are so used to seeing her so secure and strong, that when we see her break down, we feel it so powerfully.  So well written.

I also love the fact that she is not a reluctant hero.  She actually starts off so sure of who she is and what she can and can't do, that it's so refreshing.  We are so used to seeing characters who are complaining and aren't ready for or don't want to be in the role of the hero, but Korra starts out a REALLY good fighter and hero.  Where she goes from there is just all that more interesting now.  Origin stories are great sometimes, but I like when they just get on with the main story, and this show just does!  SHe is the next Avatar, period!

Dont even get me started on her two friends, love interests, and teammates on the show.  So well thought out, such good banter, and such good emotions and interaction with Korra.  Then there's the villain!  Not only does he look so COOL (his design is FANTASTIC!), but he just eludes evil right off the bat, and his mask and the element of mystery he brings to the show is just playing out beautifully.

Well, I think you get the point.  If you haven't started watching this show yet, what the hell you waiting for?! Catch up on TV or online, and then watch the rest along with me!  Check back here often, because I have a feeling I'm going to be doing a LOT of drawings based on this show in the future.  I already have another one of Korra and her Polar Dog, Naga coming up later this week!

Enjoy the show & my version of Korra,

CjB

Free Comic Book Day 2012

Tyler got to go to his first Free Comic Book Day at Grasshopper Comics in Long Island!  He wore his Superman shirt and got to meet Darth Vader and his Stormtrooper bodyguard, some Jedi Knights, and finally, Wicket the Ewok!

We had a lot of fun and thank the store for a wonderful day!

Until next year's FCBD!

CjB & TmB

Sketch Attack - Street Fighter VS.

Street Fighter Versus - Blanka vs. Guile

© Capcom

By Corey Breen

Pencil  & Marker

Check out this weeks Sketch Attack Blog assignment, Street Fighter Versus by some of the AWESOME artists of DC Entertainment past and present, over at

http://sketchattack.tumblr.com/

CjB

Street Fighter Versus - Blanka vs. Guile

© Capcom

By Corey Breen

Pencil

Future Female Comic Fan!

My Beautiful Niece Finley with Her Drawing of Batgirl

Batgirl © DC Entertainment

By Corey Breen

Pencil

This past weekend my oldest brother and his family came to visit from Chicago!  The second I got there, my niece, Finley was clamoring for a drawing from me.  She wanted Batgirl!  I was really excited to draw Batgirl for her.  She started coloring it in, showing her skills coloring within the lines, but didn't get to finish!  I hope she gets to finish it back home and she hangs on to the piece for a long time.

Thank you for a WONDERFUL time Finley, I miss you and your brother Conner tremendously already!  I was very proud she requested Batgirl and I hope that she becomes a huge comic book fan.  I'll have done my job as an Uncle then, for sure!

Uncle Corey

PS - Little calm before the storm here as I am in the process of finishing up at LEAST 8 pieces!  4 of them are last months "52 by 1" and the other four are some awesome surprises!  Can't wait to share!

PPS - Speaking of comic books, I can't WAIT to take my son Tyler to his VERY first FREE COMIC BOK DAY!  We go to this store on Long Island

GRASSHOPPERS COMICS

76 HILLSIDE AVENUE

WILLISTON PARK, NY 11596

(516) 741-5724

Be sure to support your local store tomorrow!