Halloween Extravaganza: Jude’s NYCC 2017 Goosebumps and YA Horror Sketches
New York Comic Con is my second favorite time of the year, next to Christmas/my birthday. I spend all four days walking around adding more pieces to my already large collection of art commissions and sketches. This year I was only able to do three days, as I was called into work at the stadium on Sunday. That being said, I realized since I would be working and thus earning more money, I decided to splurge the next two days. And thankfully I was smart enough to set up a few pieces in advance of the show.
For the last couple of years I’ve been devoting NYCC towards a sort of horror theme and have been trying to add additions to my Goosebumps-related artwork, as well as other YA horror related art, and added these fine pieces to my collection.
I’m posting the Goosebumps commissions in chronological order based on how the books came out.
GOOSEBUMPS COMMISSIONS
The Werewolf of Fever Swamp by Luciano Vecchio – I was dead set on making this one a reality for Wing’s sake more than my own because I know she loves werewolves so much. [Wing: AAAAAAAAAAAAAH. WEREWOLF. And the first Goosebumps werewolf book I ever read. This is wonderful, and you a delight.] I paid Luciano for a bust sketch which meant I thought I was only getting the head and shoulders, I didn’t think he’d be doing a waist up sketch but I’m incredibly gratified he did.
Galloping Gazelle by Joe Staton – From “Attack of the Mutant,” he’s a super speedster and leader of the League of Good Guys. But he’s also a coward. In the TV show, he was played by Adam West, so I had Joe, who’s done plenty of Bronze Age Batman stories, to include a shout out to the late Mr. West. [Wing: GALLOPING GAZELLE. Oh my god, I can’t wait for that story.]
Cuckoo Clock of Doom by E.J. Barnes – E.J.’s one of my regular artists, I first met her at Boston Comic Con back in 2011. She usually has a table either in the artist alley or in the small press booth under “Drowned Town Press.” She’s not really a superhero person but that sure hasn’t stopped me from commissioning them from her.
The Cuckoo Clock is a creepy antique clock which may or may not be sentient, because when Michael Webster twists the cuckoo’s head backwards he’s slowly sent backwards through time. E.J.’s a bird enthusiast and I said it was cool for her to take some artistic liberties with this piece (the actual clock is much bigger). [Wing: I am terrified of this clock, and awed by it, too.]
Drew Brockman by Alitha Martinez – From “Attack of the Jack-O’-Lanterns,” which is one of my favorites in the original series. Drew is the main character and she wants to pull a big prank on these two mean kids, Tabby and Lee, for ruining her two previous Halloweens. She goes out as a superhero version of herself which I thought was cute as fuck. [Wing: It is, and so is this artwork. Look at how powerful she is!]
Alitha’s a lovely artist and I don’t commission her as much as I should. This is in fact the first paid commission I’ve gotten from her, the rest being quick sketches and a free one she did as a gift for me a couple of years ago. This is the first time I’ve gotten an inked commission from her and I wasn’t expecting that but appreciate it very much.
Kira by Jodi Tong – From “Please Don’t Feed The Bears,” which I covered earlier this year. Jodi’s another of my regulars ever since I met her at MoCCA Fest in 2011. I set this commission up in advance because I didn’t really have physical reference to show to Jodi and gave her a description online. Since she’s done furry comics I asked her to do an anthropomorphic bear teenage girl, and she gave Kira more of an outfit beyond the black Lycra miniskirt.
HONEY CRACKERS anyone? [Wing: STILL NOPE. Though this also reminds me of “Softies” by Stan Nicholls.]
Ice Vampire by Matthew Clark – From the short story of the same title, which I will be covering in December. Matthew’s a semi regular for me. I commission him often but not THAT often. I had him use the French illustrated novella version for this one and he added a Bela Lugosi feel to the design. Obviously the Ice Vampire is a vampire made of ice, and it lives by draining the heat from living things until THEY turn to ice. [Wing: This art is great, and I am super excited for this story. An ice vampire that drains heat from the living instead of blood. BEST.]
Rip the Cat by Wendy Xu – The first monster of the 2000 series, a cat that was experimented on and now has the ability to drain the life from those he scratches. This is my third sketch from Wendy this year and as soon as I had this idea in my head I was dead set on making it happen. I love the claw marks on both sides of Rip. [Wing: That story is going to be terrifying, based on this art it inspired. Creepy cat is creepy.]
Babbling Brooke by Billy Tucci – This is one of the characters from the “Attack of the Mutant” computer game, a water based heroine who is cousins with one of the other heroes, Flo. Brooke is one of those characters who gives out advice on what to do if you’re stuck. The “Babbling” part obviously comes from how talkative she is. [Wing: BABBLING BROOKE OH MY GOD THE NAMES.]
Billy’s one of my commissions regulars and he basically lets me charge what I want for my sketches from him, and I love the gorgeous use of colored pencils. There really wasn’t much he could’ve done with Brooke given how limited her role in the game was but he exceeded my expectations. [Wing; This is beautiful, and the colours combined in lovely ways.]
OTHER YA HORROR COMMISSIONS
I didn’t get as much in this area as I planned, but then again I didn’t really have much time to plan for the convention. I am, however, incredibly happy with how all these turned out.
Meg Fier by Trungles – From the stillborn Fear Street Sagas, “The Raven Woman.” I’ve done a draft for a short recap based on the preview available for that book in “The Hand of Power,” so I thought it would add more substance to the post by getting a sketch to include. This is my first time getting a detailed sketch from Trungles and I’m happy he included the raven in the background because I felt it made the whole thing work better.
Morton by Afua Richardson – From Graveyard School #16, “Don’t Tell Mummy.” I thought Afua was a good match for Morton after seeing her artwork on the “Black Panther: World of Wakanda” series. Morton’s an incredibly snarky and blunt 5th grader accompanying the Grove Hill School’s 6th grade class trip. I can’t say much because I don’t want to spoil the book, but she’s great, and she’s got fans out there because someone who definitely was not me added info on her to the wikipedia page and the TV Tropes page for the series. [Wing: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Both for the specific piece and for you getting art from, and therefore to have met, Afua Richardson. Nope, not done yet. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Aunt Mab by Linda Sejic – From “Graveyard School #27: Here Comes Santa Claws.” No seriously, you’ve no idea how floored I am by the perfection of this piece and how Linda captured the subject perfectly. This is probably the most detailed physical commission I’ll ever get of any of the Graveyard School characters.
Mab is the great aunt, or rather, the cousin of the aunt of the grandfather, of Kyle Chilton, and is supposed to watch him for a few days before Christmas. Kyle thinks she’s going to ruin his Christmas and acts like a brat, which is good because Mab wants it to be interesting.
And no, it’s not Mab as in “Mabel,” it’s Mab like fab, for fabulous. [Wing: I’m so excited for this book, and she’s gorgeous here.]
Beth by Pamela Lovas – Admittedly not a book character but she IS from the computer game adaption of YA horror book. She’s from “Choose Your Own Nightmare – The Halloween Party,” and she’s a very snarky person but not in a bitchy, irritating kind of way. The villain of the game promises to turn Beth and her in friends into their Halloween costumes, but she already IS like her costume because she’s so catty.
I’ve seen Pamela’s art at NYCC for years but was always unable to get a sketch from her until this past weekend. This was one of the last ones I picked up and it was worth the wait. [Wing: This art is gorgeous, your description of the character made me L O L, and I hope you’ll tell us more about the game sometime, which I’ve never even heard of. Thank you for sharing your art with us! It’s a great addition to our Halloween Extravaganza.]
