tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374219942024-02-19T14:58:53.342+00:00Tales from a Bart Sears CollectorWhere collecting the work of Bart Sears is not just a hobby, nor a pastime, its not even a vocation, its a veritable religion! And this blog is your altar.Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-25398285433855320952018-03-28T15:21:00.001+01:002018-03-28T15:21:30.866+01:00Return of the Jay-diThat's right Searsians, Ominions and Brute Force peeps, I'm back!<br />
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It's been, ohhhh,over 6 years since I last posted here. A considerable amount has happened in that time and there's a lot of catching up to do. But first, lemme explain why I'm here again...<br />
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I mean, isn't blogging like totally dead? Doesn't stuff like Facebook and Instagram make blogging look old fashioned and irrelevant? Well, I think that is probably true in many cases, I'm certainly partial to Instagram myself (best self-plug ever!).<br />
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But you know what? Blogging is just plain fun and I miss it terribly!<br />
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Also, good old Ominous Press is back, alive and making big waves, so there's lot's of stuff to talk about. And even better, I'm working at Ominous Press now (a dream come true, as you can imagine), so I can give lots of juicy insider gossip and previews.<br />
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So this blog is back and it's going to be heaps of fun.<br />
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Keep an eye out for the next post which will be an overview of what we at Ominous Press have been up to and what we've got cooking for the future! See you soon!<br />
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<br />Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-16388448148051272092011-12-12T14:57:00.001+00:002011-12-12T15:01:11.417+00:00Odds & Ends #1 on sale NOW!!!!Howdy folks, long time no talk. Sorry about that.<br />
I'm here today to share with you a Searsian moment that is rather exciting. You see, fellow Searsians, Ominous Studios has just announced the publication of Bart's first ever sketchbook! I know, I know, calm down for a second and let me tell you all about it.<br />
The sketchbook, titled 'Odds & Ends,' is a 5" x 8" book with a massive 52 pages of sketches, page pencils, commissions, doodles, roughs, character designs and every other thing you can probably think of. It's going to be a wonder to hold, and behold.<br />
And the best part is, it's only a mere $12 for that mighty tome. And even better yet, if you order before January 8, it's only 10 bucks! How ridiculously awesome is that?!?! Well, yes, that's pretty awesome, but it gets even better... for only another $10 you get an original convention-styled sketch to be drawn right in the sketchbook. That is beyond awesome!<br />
So here's a look at the cover for this badboy-<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2cWpOpOWVh2drlnIsq06sRbPbTLuK3ICxehuYgHIuKaRXjWJCCyiLE0HpjxuubbqLWS2oArF71Eac_7l-PI924QRpc_ZAczt07yzdTjyOO1gGOgrS97KT_SHq2TWsni-lDhL/s1600/Sketchbook_ODDS_Ends_1_Cover_B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht2cWpOpOWVh2drlnIsq06sRbPbTLuK3ICxehuYgHIuKaRXjWJCCyiLE0HpjxuubbqLWS2oArF71Eac_7l-PI924QRpc_ZAczt07yzdTjyOO1gGOgrS97KT_SHq2TWsni-lDhL/s640/Sketchbook_ODDS_Ends_1_Cover_B1.jpg" width="406" /></a></div>
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As you may have noticed, it has the number '#1' on it, that's because this is the first in a planned series of sketchbooks. There are literally thousands of images to choose from, so there will be no trouble filling these sketchbooks up with artwork, much of which has never been seen before, even by me on a few occasions...<br />
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Here's a few spreads from the first sketchbook to further whet (correct spelling!) your appetite - <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk75SRNWRVIMa-1rsXZRWB-L55Dq7edaz5V911FTlZ50AGCMG_ohEWcrxKtQrp-n-Gap2YioZGgOw1wNhRdVuaTrXG5R4iDvboxmfPjqV152m8MRA4abv7kZRTUQtexc_9MgPW/s1600/Book_Mock_Up_3a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk75SRNWRVIMa-1rsXZRWB-L55Dq7edaz5V911FTlZ50AGCMG_ohEWcrxKtQrp-n-Gap2YioZGgOw1wNhRdVuaTrXG5R4iDvboxmfPjqV152m8MRA4abv7kZRTUQtexc_9MgPW/s640/Book_Mock_Up_3a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsSHRbEoiXwC24lwzCa7p7Suq6adHLjp9kOz87-5y0bc0bqgYFzVEFVtEr6XlpJkyTiEZBWDlC2go-3PBksbkOBVtV34OghVUxg_5lfMbapTVXMwpXEsVPm3siRJlGQnYxFLC/s1600/Book_Mock_Up+a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIsSHRbEoiXwC24lwzCa7p7Suq6adHLjp9kOz87-5y0bc0bqgYFzVEFVtEr6XlpJkyTiEZBWDlC2go-3PBksbkOBVtV34OghVUxg_5lfMbapTVXMwpXEsVPm3siRJlGQnYxFLC/s640/Book_Mock_Up+a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So, there is absolutely no reason why you should not directly head over to the below link and purchase your copy of Odds & Ends #1 right away. Do so... now.<br />
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<a href="http://ominousstudios.com/emporium/">http://ominousstudios.com/emporium/</a>Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-46054671238264020432011-08-09T18:33:00.006+01:002011-08-10T08:39:57.967+01:00This Bart Sears and that Bart Sears #2Good morning fellow Searsians, it's time to catch everysearsian up on some of the 'going's on' from the Bart Sears estate. It has been a good long while since I've done something like this, and there are several projects that have long since been completed that I have neglected to mention here.<br />
So what I'm going to do is start with the most recent projects, and work my way backwards.<br />
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So first off, Bart has just recently completed the pencils and inks for the <b>Deadlands: Death Was Silent</b> One-Shot which goes on sale on the 17th of August. Here's the beautiful cover inks for it:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtru-eAlGKSMzcdz_iWTEgOJqOqPVD5FLAfwE4LIDx4s3zgEpNNmBKWLMFASROQHKbtJbZoyq9368a_pMKlODS2RgEj9dbmnNMITNUlls-SApsP5c1OMq-ccyuHWPStIFWYs3r/s1600/Bart+Sears+Deadlands+cover+inks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtru-eAlGKSMzcdz_iWTEgOJqOqPVD5FLAfwE4LIDx4s3zgEpNNmBKWLMFASROQHKbtJbZoyq9368a_pMKlODS2RgEj9dbmnNMITNUlls-SApsP5c1OMq-ccyuHWPStIFWYs3r/s640/Bart+Sears+Deadlands+cover+inks.jpg" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deadlands: Death Was Silent cover inks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I've been lucky enough to see all of the pages of this comic as they were completed in their inked form, and I can honestly say that this is one of the best comics Bart has done in many years. It is done in a style that hasn't been seen before by Bart, it's kinda like a sketchy version of The Path, with some fantastic storytelling and emphasis on flow and framing, rather than flash and pretty lines. This comic art shows a maturity on Bart's part that has always been there, but rarely on display so evidently.<br />
Bart has been kind enough to hold onto all of the thumbnails and roughs from this comic for me, and I'll do a big post here about the comic and the roughs as soon as the comic is out and I have the roughs to show you. I'm very much looking forward to seeing them both.<br />
Ominous Studios has produced a number of fun items to get people ordering this particular comic, namely these three promo adverts:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ9iszBY4CaUqNWnkYJ9bgSMlewIyzC1nm5rtC3tREyT3fzWB7n2zIYZ_7ACIHzLeECMCw9x1JX5zoSSd2t5SwUSDKnh9qgtCQSOQJ5K5p8q6JjCZC8ozdxc8-rqFPffuexD_P/s1600/Bart+Sears+Deadlands+promos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ9iszBY4CaUqNWnkYJ9bgSMlewIyzC1nm5rtC3tREyT3fzWB7n2zIYZ_7ACIHzLeECMCw9x1JX5zoSSd2t5SwUSDKnh9qgtCQSOQJ5K5p8q6JjCZC8ozdxc8-rqFPffuexD_P/s640/Bart+Sears+Deadlands+promos.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deadlands: Death Was Silent promo adverts by Ominous Studios</td></tr>
</tbody></table>They even went as far as creating a little promotional video for the comic, with sound effects and all! Check it out <a href="http://ominousstudios.com/interactive/Deadlands_DWS_Movie_Promo.html">here</a>.<br />
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Bart has also completed several very nice commissions recently, including <a href="http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=791223&GSub=109701">this</a> one and <a href="http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=789954&GSub=114303">this</a> one. Lovely aren't they? They are produced on those new trendy comics with blank covers, for artists to work directly on, much like the Wolverine 100 project covers Bart <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2009/07/hero-initiative-wolverine-100-project.html">did</a>. Bart has mentioned to me that he does like drawing on these covers, but has found that the format doesn't allow for the use of a light box much, so the roughs and all pencil work have to be done on the actual cover, which is obviously not how a traditional comic page is done. But the results are still fantastic, even more so for the fact that they are inked entirely in markers. Not a brush to be seen.<br />
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Bart has been producing a number of interactive comics (or Interactive Graphic Media, as Bart prefers to call them) for the Ominous Studios website. These interactive comics show recent and previous comic work of Bart's in a really cool format that I'm sure you'll agree is both fun to use and great to look at. You can see the unpublished <b>Heroe</b><b>s For Hire </b>issue from the late 90's <a href="http://ominousstudios.com/interactive/HFH1_Inks2.swf">here</a>. You can also see the inks for <b>Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #200</b> <a href="http://ominousstudios.com/interactive/LoDK_1_Inks.swf">here</a> and the pencils for <b>Conan: Island of No Return #1</b> <a href="http://ominousstudios.com/interactive/Conan_1_Pencils.swf">here</a>.<br />
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And speaking of Conan: Island of No Return, you'll all no doubt know by now that Bart produced the pencils for two issues of this finite series. The first issue came out on <a href="http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/17-539/Conan-Island-of-No-Return-1">15/6/11</a>, and the second issue came out on the <a href="http://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/17-540/Conan-The-Island-of-No-Return-2">20/7/11</a>. Both issues seem to have gotten very favourable reviews, with many people being pleasantly surprised with Bart's work on it. It would appear that this Conan work, coupled with the impending Deadlands issue, could be the work that really gets Bart's name out there again, which can only be a good thing.<br />
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One step back is the cover image Bart produced for Advent Comics' <b>Pandemonium: Evil Incarnate</b> book. I call it a book because it isn't really a comic, it's more of a Graphic Novel, of about 70-80 pages in length. Anyway, here's Bart's pencils for the cover alongside the final version:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxpzlY3cPz3iwwzmOMmYyR6fB8nEZhvCgLLFABOCrdAAIfbkcTc7k5s7mPvOsxKmYOQqj_2-SVfV2a67-Z-wjx-4GiWuvyTv-c6WoY2EoYJCmUL6TnJKImMd3VbeVM8PVuu8d/s1600/Bart+Sears+Pandemonium+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrxpzlY3cPz3iwwzmOMmYyR6fB8nEZhvCgLLFABOCrdAAIfbkcTc7k5s7mPvOsxKmYOQqj_2-SVfV2a67-Z-wjx-4GiWuvyTv-c6WoY2EoYJCmUL6TnJKImMd3VbeVM8PVuu8d/s640/Bart+Sears+Pandemonium+cover.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pandemonium: Evil Incarnate by Advent Comics</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Bart only did these cover pencils for this book, which can be purchased through a number of places, including Amazon, in both book and kindle form.<br />
But apart from this cover, Bart has produced a decent amount of work for Advent Comics, including this Titan cover that is yet to see print:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSyS_dROct9DTZpW5cb6UUTFNM7s-K4io6IB2Q3Pt56e_CtVWUGzG61cBNIGljaTGzP3btKMLHOEeQjvKBWRvAT_Y3pFj1thxMkNVS3_akucxMmnYoLPPOq_9V5fRpEwUUuNg/s1600/Bart+Sears+Titan+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhSyS_dROct9DTZpW5cb6UUTFNM7s-K4io6IB2Q3Pt56e_CtVWUGzG61cBNIGljaTGzP3btKMLHOEeQjvKBWRvAT_Y3pFj1thxMkNVS3_akucxMmnYoLPPOq_9V5fRpEwUUuNg/s640/Bart+Sears+Titan+cover.jpg" width="433" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advent Comics' forthcoming title 'Titan' cover pencils by Bart Sears</td></tr>
</tbody></table>He's also produced some very unique work for another as yet unpublished title for Advent Comics, this time creating a bunch of interior pages on the art program Manga, the results of which are amazingly crisp and beautiful to look at. I sincerely hope these pages get printed, but it has been about 9 months since Bart handed them in to the publisher, with still no sign of them. Only time will tell.<br />
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Bart also recently produced some single frame action grabs for an organisation called <b>Robin Hood</b>, who raises money through charity work to feed the homeless of New York. They hold large events that appear to attract some high-flying A-List stars such as Lady Gaga! Anyways, Bart produced a handful of images of a modern Robin Hood sort of character that was then used for a video at an event. Photos of the final product are seemingly impossible to come across, but I can share a few of the inked renditions with you in the meantime:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_eGshtAOaNyUFSkZdTXkDKvOBKoduQC3ctHaDkR75gIBK8k4GSPhHU3mdDKNq-eIE2G8DhF82sdu7N8Fsrh-Nq0BOEbOKh8LzhhMZMCFddHEKEPwgsQnOIiySmySDvNxMvhlX/s1600/Bart+Sears+Robin+Hood+panels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_eGshtAOaNyUFSkZdTXkDKvOBKoduQC3ctHaDkR75gIBK8k4GSPhHU3mdDKNq-eIE2G8DhF82sdu7N8Fsrh-Nq0BOEbOKh8LzhhMZMCFddHEKEPwgsQnOIiySmySDvNxMvhlX/s640/Bart+Sears+Robin+Hood+panels.jpg" width="534" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robin Hood frames</td></tr>
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Let's see, what else has Bart done lately... oh yeah, he also did a two-page splash for an issue of Top Cow's <b>Artifacts</b> comics! The comic in question, issue #3, came out on 17/10/10, with a trade paperback featuring the issue and spread being released on 26/1/11.<br />
And here are the pencils and inks that Bart provided for the spread:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhwDfaAw-T2WJi98VMxejq3f67tttfvwgbguY8V52xifkOpIF3uZYrsjMUd6tQPlkBEPnE2xN2NGdb983HZgm8cSPOxQlUhC2CQWTUPQCazSuLwt-7nae9OBLSQM69sVYOs-K-/s1600/Bart+Sears+Artifacts+Spread+inks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhwDfaAw-T2WJi98VMxejq3f67tttfvwgbguY8V52xifkOpIF3uZYrsjMUd6tQPlkBEPnE2xN2NGdb983HZgm8cSPOxQlUhC2CQWTUPQCazSuLwt-7nae9OBLSQM69sVYOs-K-/s640/Bart+Sears+Artifacts+Spread+inks.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Top Cow's Artifacts #3 2-page spread by Bart Sears</td></tr>
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And finally, one of the bigger jobs that Bart and the gang at Ominous Studios has undertaken recently is a project still very much shrouded in mystery and intrigue. I can't really give you any information at all on it, not even the name of the project, but I can say that the work produced by Ominous Studios for it is fantastic and will be worth the wait!<br />
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Now, as for the future. Again, I'm privileged to be privy to a great deal of what is going on at Ominous Studios, but bound to secrecy nonetheless. I can say that there are more Brute & Babe tutorials on the way, both old and new ones (which is exciting enough on its own!). There are some very interesting educational products in the works, not to mention several entertainment properties that are simply going to knock your socks off.<br />
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It is a very good time to be a Bart Sears fan, there's plenty of things to collect, and promise of amazing things down the road, so stay tuned, Searisans, the future is bright indeed!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-22530194019720391402011-06-26T15:05:00.011+01:002011-07-13T10:39:16.293+01:00Infinity - Who's Who?<span style="font-family: Arial;"><em>I would suggest you pop the kettle on, this is a monster post!</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This post is the last in a series of four entries dealing with some of the inhabitants of the Ominous Universe. It is perhaps the one I, personally, have most been looking forward to. That is mainly because the characters that I am going to introduce to you today are some of the most interesting and clearly defined in all of the Ominous Universe.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Brute & Babe Infinity</span></strong> came out in October of 1994, with the Ashcan a month previously in Wizard #37. But it might interest you Searsians to know that Infinity was actually the first book to be drawn! Infinity stands as a story outside of the regular continuity of It Begins and Mael’s Rage, it can be placed at any time during the plotline and is more of a dreamscape interlude than a core story. But that is not to say that it does not have as much importance as the other two comics... far from it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In fact, Infinity can be argued to be the most important of the three comics, as it introduces a larger view of the Ominous Universe and some of its bigger players. It leaves open ever so slightly a door into the greater OU worlds, and gives the impression that while the story of Mael and Auoro’s destiny as the chosen to fulfil the Prophecy (as told in It Begins, Mael’s Rage and what would have been Death of Pheros and Omen), there is far more to the story than just this arc.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So let’s have a look at it shall we?</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaePM8thWBaHquEDrCu3AsWvFLwmQmfE7G2KUL16hRraYXbuUf2_TLRQWfyzbVxdFzcwdoblqmLQ_dq7xKrTtQTgCLStppYJCpgU81DWMMdTuP88itj4CsV2xlk9imzw2IeJfR/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaePM8thWBaHquEDrCu3AsWvFLwmQmfE7G2KUL16hRraYXbuUf2_TLRQWfyzbVxdFzcwdoblqmLQ_dq7xKrTtQTgCLStppYJCpgU81DWMMdTuP88itj4CsV2xlk9imzw2IeJfR/s640/Bart+Sears+Infinity+cover.jpg" width="416" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">First off, let me list the names that are included in the copyright indicia on the credits page. We have-</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Brute</strong>, <strong>Babe</strong>, <strong>Intrepid</strong>, <strong>Devos</strong> and <strong>MegaMen</strong> copyright of Bart Sears.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Wotan</strong>, <strong>Hathos</strong>, <strong>Ytraal Ytraal</strong>, <strong>Furros</strong>, <strong>Gortros</strong>, <strong>Quudraimm</strong>, <strong>Sraiiven Hoord</strong> and <strong>Saint Pyrs</strong> copyright of Bart Sears and Michael J. Morrissey.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Tekron</strong> and <strong>Ri</strong> are copyright of Bart Sears, Michael J. Morrissey and John Pedercini.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I remember reading this indicia way back in 1994 and having a multitude of questions simultaneously pop up in my mind.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Who on earth are all of those characters? Which one is which? And who are these Michael J. Morrissey and John Pedercini chaps and how do they relate back to Bart?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Well, I plan on answering the first two questions in this very post, the last question will be answered in great detail in a future post, I assure you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But let’s get back to the characters in Infinity. We have Brute, Babe, Intrepid, MegaMen and Saint Pyrs who should be known to everybody by now, but if not, read the previous Who’s Who posts to find out more about them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">That leaves Devos, Wotan, Hathos, Ytraal Ytraal, Furros, Gortros, Quudraimm, Sraiiven Hoord, Tekron and Ri to find in the comic. In reading the comic, you find that Mael is pitted against a total of seven heavily armed and slightly medieval looking evil warriors. And on the last page, we have six panels of characters, some recognisable (Intrepid, Saint Pyrs and Zeus the MegaMan), with three new faces.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So that’s 10 new characters and 10 names to place them to. On pages 6 & 7, there is a nice reveal of all of the 7 bad guys, and two of them reveal their own names, Ytraal Ytraal and Tekron. That leaves 8... and that’s unfortunately where I stood for many years, unable to discern any further which name went with who.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Then I managed to get my hands on 3 very important items that not only revealed who is who, but also gave an inkling of what these characters were. The first item was a pencil rough of Infinity page 15, with the same characters as the final image (which I also own), but in different poses and with each one’s name rather conveniently placed below them. Here is a detail from that page-</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTDZVTTEOQXWYm2e9FqrDPhJXzZ6yJpUTC1JcOSh5zfYhHNHiv2WwlY0QstHpZfs5ojXrEjZZfH5PJab6IKd8R16TVIeuP0aMWcwWd_HTCNkm5CcGJE5B4QoEQM3-FAWe-cuA/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+The+Same+rough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTDZVTTEOQXWYm2e9FqrDPhJXzZ6yJpUTC1JcOSh5zfYhHNHiv2WwlY0QstHpZfs5ojXrEjZZfH5PJab6IKd8R16TVIeuP0aMWcwWd_HTCNkm5CcGJE5B4QoEQM3-FAWe-cuA/s640/Bart+Sears+Infinity+The+Same+rough.jpg" width="566" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The next item was a handful of character design roughs produced by Michael J. Morrissey (MJM from here) during the Ominous Press days. Some of them just feature visual designs of the characters and their weapons, but one lists all of the 7 bad guys’ names and their title/description. For instance, Tekron is listed as ‘Tekron: Paladins.’ Referring back to page 7, we can see that Tekron announces himself as “Tekron, Curlord of the Seven and Dead High-Lord of the Paladins.” This would suggest that not only is Tekron leader of the Paladins, but also leader of the Seven characters currently in question. This is further proven by the front cover of the comic, with Tekron leading the charge, so to speak. In truth, Tekron is indeed the leader of this group of 7 evil warriors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The last item I got my hands on, was the Character Notes document from the Ominous Press days, which lists several dozen characters, both good and evil, from the Ominous Universe in statistical detail, giving criteria such as appearance, strength, weapons and a few other important facts. And wouldn’t you know, it includes the 7 evil warriors as well!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">But before I introduce each of these 7 characters to you individually, there are a few important points to go over beforehand. Firstly, Tekron refers to himself as “Dead High-Lord of the Paladins.” This is a crucial title for two reasons. <strong>1)</strong> It would suggest that Tekron is dead. <strong>2)</strong> He leads a group called the Paladins.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Regarding the first one, Tekron, as well as the other 6 members of this gathering, is actually dead in the respect that he is no longer a normal living human person. Yet ‘live’ he still does. But in another form. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Secondly, the term Paladin has a medieval historical origin, but it is also prevalent as a character type in fantasy role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. In D&D, a Paladin is somebody in the service of a god, who has granted them special powers as payment for their servitude. They are generally warriors and emissaries of their god’s will.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This description is also given to Paladins in the Ominous Universe. They are one and the same...ish (Bart always puts his own slant on things).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">So Tekron, who often speaks of his ‘Dread Lord’ is leader of the Paladins. Whether the other 6 warriors are Paladins too, is unclear. On page 9, panel 2, a warrior in the background tells Tekron to “Stand fast, Paladin. I claim blood right to this heretic dog...” This would suggest that this particular warrior is NOT a Paladin, but then he does use the word ‘Heretic,’ which would certainly be the type of word a Paladin would use. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bart himself cannot recall if any of the other warriors in this group are Paladins, but he believes they are not.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The next important thing to mention is the title of this particular story in Infinity. While the comic is called ‘Brute & Babe: Infinity,’ the indicia title and actual story title is ‘The Infinity of Warriors.’ Don’t ask me what that means, because I don’t know, and it’s not the important bit. The important bit is the story sub-title, which is ‘Revelation of the Molochs.’ Without the knowledge I have gleaned, that sub-title is fairly nondescript and meaningless. But in fact, it holds one very important word... Molochs. This word appears previously in the Meal’s Rage’s ‘Portents’ page (a summary of future Ominous Press comic releases) where it states that Mael encounters the dreadful Molochs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">These Molochs are the 7 evil warriors.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">What the heck is a Moloch? Well, in our world it is one of two things. <strong>1)</strong> It’s an Australian desert-living lizard, and <strong>2)</strong> a Semitic god that required sacrifices from its followers. That second definition can be extended to simply mean a malevolent force or being that either sacrifices, or requires sacrifices in its name.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This a pretty close description of the Molochs in the Ominous Universe. They are definitely malevolent beings, and do their god’s bidding without question. They are closer to their god than Paladins and their god uses them for very important missions. To give a parallel, Molochs are to their god what the 7 highest angels would be to the Christian god. That make sense?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And the last point to make before we come to the individual characters, is the question of who their god actually is. In the comic, the god is referred to as ‘Dread Lord’ on several occasions, but no name is given. That is because of all of the Ominous Press secrets, this is the big one. The BIG, BIG one. Obviously, I’m not about to reveal a secret that big (it took me long enough to get the secret out of Bart!), but I can say that this ‘Dread Lord’ is awesomely powerful, evil as evil can be, and is a big player in the OU. And that’s all you’re getting from me on that particular character. I may well have already said more than I should have!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">And now, finally, we get to the actual individual Molochs. Here’s a detail of the Infinity cover for you, with the characters numbered from 1 to 7-</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bapFrRJbifJ25iS0fRjvUHXgJNCbkr70KidcCmLVI-iVjx9_qdFNPiGRe3IxT6LoYY4OBcjsxa5hep1aSwpCZ8lmFeAcCUh_yzxiMbSi9u-uUGxTzw_rpWYkM015xqj2vLOo/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Molochs+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4bapFrRJbifJ25iS0fRjvUHXgJNCbkr70KidcCmLVI-iVjx9_qdFNPiGRe3IxT6LoYY4OBcjsxa5hep1aSwpCZ8lmFeAcCUh_yzxiMbSi9u-uUGxTzw_rpWYkM015xqj2vLOo/s640/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Molochs+2.jpg" width="350" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And here is the spread from pages 6 and 7, in pencilled form, with the characters having the same corresponding numbers-</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qDHVGpopTIlackwBX6qp0mi958GxVRPDcyseraMbx-b80Vw-9Q_effU99oxyfLN8ZISKQ5Pp4KlE-TauonL3EWXBinXM6ZLaDQr0GDD1Xo7JHEUrVYh9CS-t2Lj1vV70r7-O/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Molochs+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qDHVGpopTIlackwBX6qp0mi958GxVRPDcyseraMbx-b80Vw-9Q_effU99oxyfLN8ZISKQ5Pp4KlE-TauonL3EWXBinXM6ZLaDQr0GDD1Xo7JHEUrVYh9CS-t2Lj1vV70r7-O/s640/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Molochs+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And here are the character descriptions-</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="color: red;">1. Hathos</span></strong> (name means Frostfire)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Undead Enslaver</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hathos is the most powerful Moloch, probably having something to do with the fact he’s 10 feet tall. He’s a Northern Warrior, which means he was born into a cold and harsh environment. His large broadsword is magical, and bites like ice.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In-comic: Page 8 has a great shot of him on panel 2, and he’s the one that stabs Mael on page 12, panel 6.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><strong>2. Ytraal Ytraal</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Rules a horde of human marauders – ‘The Blood Mad Horde’</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Ytraal Ytraal loves nothing more than killing. But he’s a coward at heart, preferring an unfair fight or attacking from behind. He’s prone to fleeing at the slightest hint of the tide turning against his favour in a battle. He’s originally from a desert wasteland.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In-comic: On page 12, panel 7, that’s him with the chain around Mael’s neck. On page 13, he’s the one saying “Time to flee...”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><strong>3. Sraiiven Hoord</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Controls the Beasts and Monstrosities</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sraiiven Hoord is perhaps the most recognisable of all of the Molochs (next to Tekron, that is), due to several things. First he’s one of only two Molochs to have the Omega Symbol on his forehead (the other being Tekron), he has darker skin and has big braided dreadlocks. He’s the only Moloch not to wear a helmet too. He is the least decomposed of all of the Molochs, and he has tattoo scars all over his body in various patterns. His weapon of choice is the spear.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In-comic: Mael blasts him on page 12, panel 5.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><strong>4. Quudraimm</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Lord of the Assassins</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As opposed to Sraiiven Hoord, Quudraimm is the most decayed looking Moloch. He’s massively tall, and like any good assassin, uses daggers almost exclusively. Quudraimm has a deep lisp, he’s the one that says stuff like “HISSS SSSPLEEN.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In-comic: Look for the green-glowing dagger on page 13! Not to mention page 11, panel 3 – that’s him getting a hole blown through him by Mael.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><strong>5. Gortros ‘Fierce Blood’</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Controls Orcs, Trolls, Ogres and Giants</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As big as Hathos is, Gortros is bigger. He’s a whopping 12 feet tall! I guess that’s why he controls the big creatures. He wields a massive two-handed, two-headed battle axe. He’s normally a quiet one, but when he does speak, his words drip with his arrogance. To him, everybody is beneath him, and not just in size.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In-comic: Standing behind Tekron on page 13, panel 2. Page 8, panel 1 has a small full figure shot of him holding his axe too.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><strong>6. Furros ‘Doomshorn’</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Lord of the Hunters and Witch Hunters</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Furros controls the werebeasts, hell hounds and other dogs. Furros is recognisable by that horizontal moustache of his, and he’s the only archer in all of the Molochs. He’s bloody tall too, coming in at about 9’5”. He wears banded mail, leather and fur. His mode of combat is to let off several arrows, then close in for the kill.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In-comic: Great shot of him on page 9, panel 8.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><strong>7. Tekron</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Curlord of the Seven and Dead High-Lord of the Paladins</strong></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Tekron is just mean looking. He would appear to be the most intelligent of the Molochs, but he’s not the most powerful, though he was the most powerful Paladin when he was alive. He is now second only to his Dread Lord.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In-comic: All over the place, he spits a liquid that Bart has lovingly called “Dead Fluid Stuff” on page 9, panel 1, and traces an Omega symbol in the air in panel 6 of the same page.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Obviously, there is much more to these characters than what I have written, but I want to leave some stuff to the imagination. And I’m sure you have further questions regarding them, namely... What is the relevance of the Omega Symbol? How do they know of the Prophecy? Where do they come from? And oodles more, no doubt. But I’m afraid those questions are to remain unanswered for the time being. There are answers to those questions, you have my word, but they are not for me to give.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">One last thing I want to cover with the Molochs is their unusual names. Bloody unusual names. They’re just not names you can pinpoint an origin of, they have no cultural identity that is recognisable, which would pretty clearly suggest that they are not of this world. And that suggestion would actually be correct, they’re not from here!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But how would one go about pronouncing their names? That was another question I held onto for many a year. You can sort of guess at most of them, but the nuances of inflection and syllable emphasis are an unwieldy beast at the best of times, so any guess would always only be that, a guess. But why guess when I can just list the names and their correct pronunciation right here and now!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Hathos</strong> - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hath-OSE</i> (HATH rhyming with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">math</i>, OSE rhyming with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">most</i>, minus the T at the end, of course)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Ytraal Ytraal</strong> - <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">E-tral E-tral</i> (hard E like Each, TRAL rhyming with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hal</i>, as in Hal Jordan)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Sraiiven Hoord</strong> – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">SRAY-ven Hoard</i> (SRAY rhyming with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stray</i>, low emphasis VEN. HOARD as in hoard of supplies definition)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Quudraimm</strong> – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">qu-UD-raiMM</i> (QU-UD rhyming with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mud</i> but with low emphasis on QU, RAIMM rhyming with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">rain</i>, with extended M sound)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Gortros</strong> – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gore-TROSE</i> (GORE as in blood and guts definition, TROSE same rule as Hathos, but with strong TR before)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Furros</strong> – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fe-UR-OSE</i> (FE as in <em>sea</em>, UR rhyming with <em>her</em>, OSE same as Hathos usage)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong>Tekron</strong> – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">TECH-ron</i> (TECH as in technology, RON as in the name)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope that makes it easier for you all. Those pronunciations themselves give rise to a few questions of their own, I’ve found. The most interesting being the relationship of the name structure and subsequent pronunciation of Hathos, Gortros, Furros to our old pal Pheros, as the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">OS</i> at the end of their names is pronounced the same. But I’ve found no immediate relationship between the characters at all; they’re from different worlds and have never met in any of the literature I have come across. But knowing the way Bart likes to interweave these stories, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if a tangible link does exist.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Let’s move onto the other characters in the book, shall we?</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Okay, so we’ve been introduced to the Molochs and they’re names from the list have been attributed to the correct corresponding face. So of the 10 initial names we had to begin with, we are now down to just 3 left – Devos, Wotan and Ri.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">To find the characters in the book that these names would fit to, we turn to the final page of the story, page 15. I like to call it the ‘The Same’ page, for obvious reasons if you’ve read the comic.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuFl12XBH1p2IeJkRI4V01tnta_v_XL-CcBzVt257GyT5tQTSX-RJjUh1ixZCXUC6_BXJ6txK4KwrUwKRscbsopOmllDcAGcXukqL3kQtZ-8AYJoc0ooEX_x2A912G6yNX0Lw/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+page+15+inks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMuFl12XBH1p2IeJkRI4V01tnta_v_XL-CcBzVt257GyT5tQTSX-RJjUh1ixZCXUC6_BXJ6txK4KwrUwKRscbsopOmllDcAGcXukqL3kQtZ-8AYJoc0ooEX_x2A912G6yNX0Lw/s640/Bart+Sears+Infinity+page+15+inks.jpg" width="418" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In this page we have Mael come out of his dreamstate battle with the Molochs, to ponder its meaning and to ask why the dream is always ‘the same.’ Mael’s pose and statement is then mirrored by six other characters who are vastly different in appearance, and it would appear their surroundings are as varied as they are as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">As can be seen in <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTDZVTTEOQXWYm2e9FqrDPhJXzZ6yJpUTC1JcOSh5zfYhHNHiv2WwlY0QstHpZfs5ojXrEjZZfH5PJab6IKd8R16TVIeuP0aMWcwWd_HTCNkm5CcGJE5B4QoEQM3-FAWe-cuA/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+The+Same+rough.jpg">this</a> previous image, the names of the 6 characters in order from left to right, top to bottom are – Wotan, Ri, Saint Pyrs, Intrepid, Devos and Zeus. Kinda hard to read, I know. But Bart has since verified these spellings and we’re good to continue.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As mentioned near the start of this post (seems a long time ago), we have been introduced to Saint Pyrs, Intrepid and Zeus previously. Which leaves us with Wotan, Ri and Devos. So, ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you...</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhya56uZMm-BGNgGubtqtitPlFMLFaCKW5oXS1p0YKk99MFlYTlJg4zydI_1wN2HFRwfGsgLhu3C1QUHYjIGeondppDGNdYZp7TR-lycvdc-hDPb434y_VrNOEPZuz5e3Qo_e_i/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Wotan+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhya56uZMm-BGNgGubtqtitPlFMLFaCKW5oXS1p0YKk99MFlYTlJg4zydI_1wN2HFRwfGsgLhu3C1QUHYjIGeondppDGNdYZp7TR-lycvdc-hDPb434y_VrNOEPZuz5e3Qo_e_i/s320/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Wotan+.jpg" width="199" /></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Wotan</span></strong> (WO-tan – WO rhymes with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no</i>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A great deal can be gleaned about Wotan and his environment by this image. For starters, this world would appear to be in very close orbit with several other planets, moons or stars. Going by the clasping used to secure the giant animal skull to his head, the world appears to be primitive to some degree, as there are no leather straps or metallic clasps to be seen. The skull itself suggests an animal of a very large size and carnivorous nature, suggesting further something akin to our own pre-historic past, where mega-fauna ruled the land. The terrain furthers this theory, as there is no real grass to be seen, and the conifers in the background are exemplary of our own planet’s early history. Could it be that Wotan was alive during the Cretaceous Period of our world? Well... no. He wasn’t, this image depicts another world. But it is in fact a far flung and barbaric world that Wotan lives in. Wotan himself is a mighty chosen warrior, working hand in hand with another to subvert his own world’s dark forces.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oqoFFq_959FLEgmlo0hPKTehyWxjAtndGvLNZgYbqcHmwYIBftPYzefhZlJ8YNBIwRdf9ks_wDUCJ8xPIFguzIRQbAzvNbSCypEKPk-VWbSPSmF0ODaPOTIcsQgI156GuVo8/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Ri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oqoFFq_959FLEgmlo0hPKTehyWxjAtndGvLNZgYbqcHmwYIBftPYzefhZlJ8YNBIwRdf9ks_wDUCJ8xPIFguzIRQbAzvNbSCypEKPk-VWbSPSmF0ODaPOTIcsQgI156GuVo8/s320/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Ri.jpg" width="194" /></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Ri</span></strong> (rhymes with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">she</i>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This appears to be another world with three orbiting spheres, but it is unclear if this is the same world but a different location, or another time on this planet, or a completely different world altogether. Wherever and whenever it is, it is clearly more advanced than the world Wotan inhabits. To me, it almost looks Persian in its architectural sensibilities, but this sort of teardrop domed structure is common enough in fantasy art. It is clear that this city and perhaps its inhabitants have a high degree of aesthetically pleasing design. Ri’s brow ring and armour are minimalistic and elegant, which really only happens after a degree of time and refinement.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">As for the character, Ri, there isn’t a huge amount to tell, he’s clearly a swordsman, but his moral alignment and affiliations are unknown.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspNlL63ySPSFni9T5m9RzdWDVR5K6csBrG91P6PcY_u8MUKuXDCEzY79nRXHrJcDbJIA-Zyd9ISLLVVienIIhbZL3S1tXatJChGZYEIRejx4h-lX-GovIJY9EJ4wzts0xw9fU/s1600/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Devos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhspNlL63ySPSFni9T5m9RzdWDVR5K6csBrG91P6PcY_u8MUKuXDCEzY79nRXHrJcDbJIA-Zyd9ISLLVVienIIhbZL3S1tXatJChGZYEIRejx4h-lX-GovIJY9EJ4wzts0xw9fU/s320/Bart+Sears+Infinity+Devos.jpg" width="188" /></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><strong><span style="color: red;">Devos</span></strong> (dev-OSE – I’m sure you can work out how to pronounce that by now)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">This is perhaps the most intriguing of the three images, as it is intentionally suggestive of many things. Firstly, this world only has two orbiting spheres, which raises many questions as to where and when it takes place. Looking at the architecture and Devos’ raiment, one could draw the conclusion that this is a futuristic setting. The main building in the background is almost reminiscent of the <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Tyrell Corporation building in Ridley Scott’s futuristic noir classic, Blade Runner. The pile of burning junk in the close background would seem to relate that this futuristic world is a dangerous place to be, possibly anarchic or oven post-apocalyptic.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Devos seems to be a hit with the ladies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">And that’s how you take a look at a single comic and its characters. I didn’t really expect this post to be quite so long (about 3,500 words), but what the heck. And to be fair, I could have gone a lot longer on it, as there are still several elements of the comic to be looked at, including-<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1. Who is ‘The Outrider’?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2. What’s that symbol thing Mael is standing on in page 5?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3. Most importantly, what is the deal with that entity that Mael and Auoro merge into? Does it have a name? Powers? Hmmm....<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">But I’m sure to get around to those questions some day. But it has been a lot of fun looking at these old characters in detail, and I hope that the information I’ve passed on to you has been both informative and enjoyable. If you’re anything of an OP fan like me, I get the feeling it will have been.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I’ve got a few ideas for the next couple of posts lined up, including a long overdue round up of recent Bart Sears sightings and news. But there is also going to be another series of in-detail articles dealing with a very interesting element of Bart’s work in the near future too. So as always, come back soon fellow Searsians!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-29788639841459551262011-06-15T14:21:00.008+01:002011-06-15T17:51:23.005+01:00It Begins - Who's Who?Okay, now I’m just spoiling you guys! <br />
Yes, I’m back again with more cool <strong><span style="color: red;">Ominous Press</span></strong> stuff to reveal to you all.<br />
<br />
In this post, we shall be turning our Searsian eyes to Ominous Press’ first published comic, <strong><span style="color: red;">‘...It Begins...,’</span></strong> which has an indicia release date of July 1994, and I believe it came out on the 27th of that month, to be exact.<br />
Any Searsian worth their salt will know that ‘It Begins’ came in the form of 8 separate 6” x 9.5” boards, which were held within a dust jacket-styled board that had the cover, spine text and back cover on the outside. On the inside of this board are the credits, story synopsis, indicia and a forthcoming Ominous Press release schedule.<br />
All of these boards were held in a clear plastic case that opened at the top and bottom, and looked rather expensive to produce. No comic had previously, nor since, been given this treatment or formatting, and it was only the first of what was to be a selection of issues to be given this almost reverent treatment. I, personally, love the packaging and feel of this comic, but it doesn’t really fit into a comic collector’s usual storage procedure. I have long since laminated the individual boards and put the plastic case in a box with other unusual Bart Sears items.<br />
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But I have digressed somewhat.<br />
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The 8 interior boards feature the first introduction to several of the worlds that are part of the Ominous Universe. On the first 8 pages (the fronts of the boards), we are introduced to Mael, Auoro, a Dog of Dramaurg (pages 3, 4 & 7), Viere, Moon, Snake and Dramaurg himself. But that isn’t what I’m here to talk about today. Pages 9 through 16 (the backs of the boards) show, in pin-up form, some of the other characters inhabiting the various worlds of the OU. In order, they are, Arkon, Intrepid, Armorgedden, Pheros, Tirrus, MegaMen (now called Prometheans), Insidious and Nightbeast. All but the Tirrus and Insidious splashes feature the single character in question, and are pretty self-explanatory. What I want to look at are the Tirrus and Insidious ones.<br />
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These two pieces share several key points that are worth noting. Firstly, all of the characters in these two pages are from the same world. This world is the closest that the Ominous Universe comes to a traditional superhero world like that of DC, Marvel, and all the rest.<br />
Secondly, these two groups of powered beings are in opposition to each other on a regular basis, the Tirrus ‘group’ being the good guys, whilst Insidious’ band are the baddies.<br />
Each group has a designated leader. For the Tirrus group it is Steele, and Insidious commands his own.<br />
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So let’s first look at the Tirrus page (here it is in its inked form):<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFEWZYt0zN0Kk3rbZpWvculGLAAJb2Qm5RYOw4z4SdaRIpyThXm8cNe-mgNlo5QKnjZmkBSz5mY3KOs1CUxSmLdLJNh0QH1POgvQwV0tVBoF0O-kgGvIHsOMaGTAQvc2AUiZx/s1600/Bart+Sears+It+Begins+page+13+characters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFEWZYt0zN0Kk3rbZpWvculGLAAJb2Qm5RYOw4z4SdaRIpyThXm8cNe-mgNlo5QKnjZmkBSz5mY3KOs1CUxSmLdLJNh0QH1POgvQwV0tVBoF0O-kgGvIHsOMaGTAQvc2AUiZx/s640/Bart+Sears+It+Begins+page+13+characters.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">B&B '... It Begins...' page 13 inks</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>The names of these characters (apart from good ol’ Sunder and Steele) do not appear anywhere in any of the published Ominous Press material, nor much of the behind-the-scenes literature either, for that matter. So a lot of the proceeding information had to be coaxed out of Bart’s somewhat hazy memory. Some characters are still fresh in his mind, and have been written into other stories of his, while others are less so.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">1. Steele</span></strong><br />
Easily recognisable due to that big, shiny golden dagger on his forehead. The dagger itself is a significant item, worn as something of a badge of office. The fact that Bart has drawn Steele in heavy shadow is quite symbolic of the character himself. While very powerful, he much prefers the shadows. He’s a man of intrigue, deception, manipulation and stealth. He runs Tirrus, a company, from the top of Tirrus Tower.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">2. Ram</span></strong><br />
Bart has little memory of this particular character, we’re not even sure if that is his actual name! But Bart does recall using the word ‘ram’ as his design brief, hence the metallic headgear that would certainly work as both a battering device and gives him a fancy appearance. <br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">3. Lord Sterling</span></strong><br />
Yes, the name is <em>LORD</em> Sterling and she is quite clearly a woman. But Bart assures me there are no hidden dangly bits anywhere. But historically, the title ‘Lord’ can be used by a woman too, the Queen of England is herself the Lord of Mann.<br />
As for Lord Sterling, the important thing to pay attention to (apart from the platinum hair and rather revealing outfit) are those large gauntlets she is wearing. They are significant because they are one pair of a set of four pairs, worn by four heroes. Four pairs, four heroes. The gauntlets themselves are powerful relics, regal and highly prized.<br />
This character has since been visually re-designed by Bart.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">4. Grey</span></strong><br />
A tough s.o.b. from what I’ve read. Grey is an incredibly capable close-quarters fighter; his hands move so quick that they become a grey blur and his attacks seem to extend from this grey blur. That is to say that if his fist is a foot away from you as it strikes, you will still get hit because of the grey blur.<br />
Grey has private quarters within Tirrus Tower, and seems to have a heightened sense of hearing or awareness of his surroundings than us mere mortals.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">5. Sunder</span></strong><br />
Having written about our old friend in the previous two Who’s Who articles, I’m just going to print here what it says on the Creator’s Universe card featuring him:<br />
<strong>Height</strong> : 6’7”<br />
<strong>Weight</strong> : Estimate 325 lbs.<br />
<strong>Powers</strong> : The sceptre/mace Sunder carries appears to generate tremendous amounts of energy which suffuse his body with power and unbelievable vitality. It appears that he can redirect this power back through the sceptre, firing wildly coruscating bolts of force, in rapid succession, which are capable of reducing almost anything (so far) to rubble. His physical abilities appear to mimic the power of the sceptre, powerful but most effective when he can strike repeatedly.<br />
<strong>Origin</strong> : Unknown<br />
<strong>Note</strong> : Sunder normally is very tight lipped, but when he speaks, he appears to slur his words, almost stuttering at times… there has been some speculation in the tabloids on this but little is actually proven.<br />
<strong>Affiliation & Associations</strong> : Sunder has been occasionally spotted with the QUANTUM GROUP, but it is unknown if his association is permanent or not. Sunder’s actions appear to be beneficial, though so little is known of him, and his manner is at best suspicious, we recommend keeping close surveillance indefinitely.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">6. Mr. Fury</span></strong><br />
Bart likes this guy still. So do I. Mr. Fury features in a later screenplay Bart wrote that also includes Intrepid and X-Wave. Mr. Fury, as his name suggests, can be a very angry man at times. And when he’s angry, he screams really loud, sending out a concussive wave of energy over the immediate surroundings, or can be channelled directly to a single opponent. He has the ability to violently vibrate, which can enable him to move through the air somehow.<br />
He’s a wealthy fellow, and hides a dark and potentially devastating secret behind those glasses, so he fights the good fight to combat that secret, which may well engulf him yet.<br />
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There’s the Tirrus group for you in a little more detail than the previous posts. They’re a motley group, no doubting it. But that is what, to me, is so appealing about Bart’s invented mythos – nothing is black and white, and each bit of light has a hint of dark to it. These superheroes, if I can call them that, are certainly fantastical beings, but they live in a world where evil is incarnate, merciless and prevalent. It would be very difficult for even the most pure and moral superhero to not get their hands dirty every now and then. And with an evil that is so corruptive and sinister, tough measures are required to combat it. So somebody like Superman, with his clean outfit and willingness to show compassion and forgiveness, wouldn’t last long in this world, not in that form anyway. There is simply no room for compassion when a villain is not so much interested in world domination, but rather is hell-bent on ripping your heart out with their bare hands. This world is gritty and violent, heroes have to adapt, or die.<br />
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And here are some of the baddies responsible for the evil in this world:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFGDnptzqxPHUeCt0c548ztqEayXlQp8QwgeJ6EqiBtz__sNySC0eZAoWt6RC_8Itt49RgL6p28tZMxsET7DJiy3R3BMhyphenhyphenZaJq3bCAic0yzpVgHt_4rtsxd_JDGi3E-cb4chH/s1600/Bart+Sears+It+Begins+page+15+characters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFGDnptzqxPHUeCt0c548ztqEayXlQp8QwgeJ6EqiBtz__sNySC0eZAoWt6RC_8Itt49RgL6p28tZMxsET7DJiy3R3BMhyphenhyphenZaJq3bCAic0yzpVgHt_4rtsxd_JDGi3E-cb4chH/s640/Bart+Sears+It+Begins+page+15+characters.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">B&B '... It Begins...' page 15 inks</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <strong><span style="color: red;">1. Cur</span></strong> (originally called Melee)<br />
Cur appears in 3 places throughout the published OP material – on this page, as a design by Michael J. Morrissey at the back of Mael’s Rage and there’s also an image of him by Andy Smith at the back of Infinity, on the Michael J. Morrissey Bio page. Cur also features in a back-up story titled ‘Masks’ that was going to appear in the Death of Pheros issue. The image of Cur in Infinity is actually taken from this story, which I believe was fairly close to completion, with Andy drawing it, Tim Tobolski on inks and Brad Perkins colouring. Bart wrote it, of course.<br />
From what appears in that back-up story, Cur is a pretty twisted and wicked character. He has two chainsaw blades that run along the side of his forearm when retracted, and flip out like hand extensions when in battle. He does the bidding of Insidious willingly and with sadistic glee, killing heroes as he goes. He’s 6’5”, thick as a plank and a bit crazy.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">2. Duemzgaet</span></strong> (not to be mistaken for Chakall, who would kick her ass)<br />
Also appears briefly in the Masks story. Duemzgaet is also very evil and malicious, and works alongside Cur closely. But where Cur is slow of wit, Duemzgaet is exceedingly smart. Her power comes from entrancing people with her body movement and allure, her potent sexuality is her weapon. She has almost ivory coloured skin and is a little bit crazy too.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">3. X-Wave</span></strong><br />
X-Wave is awesome. He’s just cool looking and is an interestingly convoluted character. He is a creation of Insidious’ scientific design, but seems to have a free will, and though he is naturally bent toward evil, and has racked up a sizable amount of hero killings, he does seem to know when he’s fighting a losing battle and when his allegiances are of a negative effect to his own survival.<br />
He has big, nasty looking claws and several hollowed out tubes that run down the sides of his body, that are filled with some sort of liquid that seems to boil when his aggression rises. But these claws and tubes are actually pretty useless, and are more of a diversion from his actual powers which are many and mostly only known to himself.<br />
Like I said, X-Wave is awesome.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">4. Hydra</span></strong><br />
Hydra likes Twinkies. Well, he looks like he does anyway. Hydra is massively obese, to the point where he has leg braces to support his mass. He has some weird growths sprouting from his shoulders with all kinds of freaky stuff emanating from them, including extra little heads. Lovely. Hydra is apparently as nasty on the inside as he is on the outside, but as far as his actual powers go, Bart is keeping that a secret.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: red;">5. Insidious</span></strong><br />
Last of all is Insidious. He’s the most powerful villain in this world, mainly because he has created the above band of baddies to do his bidding for him. Insidious himself is powerful enough, but his real strength is in his almost immeasurably high intelligence. He’s a scientific genius of unsurpassed skill and invention. But he was once a man, who, through dismantling his own body, has merged himself with his armoured exterior. Sounds unpleasant.<br />
<br />
<br />
And there you have it. Bart and I have been talking about the Ominous Universe quite a lot lately, and I have many ideas for future posts dealing with what we have discussed. But we have one more Who’s Who article to come, and it’s one I’m really looking forward to, as it’s the <strong>Infinity Who’s Who</strong>. We’ll look at all of the bad guys who beat up on poor old Mael, and I’ll reveal who all of those folks are on the last page, you know, where they’re all saying “the same.”<br />
<br />
Should be fun!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-64302087167220348722011-06-08T08:04:00.004+01:002011-06-15T14:38:31.132+01:00Ominous Press Poster 2 - Who's Who?A mere week after introducing you all to the characters from <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2011/06/ominous-press-poster-1-whos-who.html">Ominous Press’ Poster 1</a>, here I am again to introduce the characters from Poster 2! It is interesting to note that Poster 2, while we (Bart and myself) believe it came out after Poster 1, was actually drawn before it. It has some nifty looking characters that don’t appear anywhere else, but would have played a large part in Ominous Press’ future.<br />
<br />
So here's the poster:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDV-ubc93jqeyCWb-rDGEvW2lih9zc-VIro_zZ_FGdQ1WIwU5Vts-qzTg4yuC2ar3qSFS0GYxV8ESfTDKGPRCVgC_2YKVVOKYNFP8xMZRvn9zXlOwKQJbZkCLWg95bgG9z8dOk/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+Poster+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDV-ubc93jqeyCWb-rDGEvW2lih9zc-VIro_zZ_FGdQ1WIwU5Vts-qzTg4yuC2ar3qSFS0GYxV8ESfTDKGPRCVgC_2YKVVOKYNFP8xMZRvn9zXlOwKQJbZkCLWg95bgG9z8dOk/s640/Bart+Sears+OP+Poster+2.jpg" width="496" /></a></div><br />
And here are the outlined characters, the same as the last time:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNb7PcxMISy_sT4vnbj0xQcn0cGvPuZW9IAmwkWSh5ox4cWTq7JbBnWqYUZWIj64WEup3DOSnqYnGZ3c1w09BzUnSScyNtQoic5eqaWDwdjxERRuhsWzYFGrVeAChsdM-bjWAi/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+Poster+2+outlines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNb7PcxMISy_sT4vnbj0xQcn0cGvPuZW9IAmwkWSh5ox4cWTq7JbBnWqYUZWIj64WEup3DOSnqYnGZ3c1w09BzUnSScyNtQoic5eqaWDwdjxERRuhsWzYFGrVeAChsdM-bjWAi/s640/Bart+Sears+OP+Poster+2+outlines.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><br />
And here's who's who:<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">1. Arkon</span></b><br />
One of Bart’s favourite and oldest characters, who was due to have his own series eventually if Ominous Press had have continued.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">2. Auoro</span> </b>(Pronounced <i>Or-oh</i>)<br />
Taken from the Brutes & Babes tutorials in Wizard. I like to think of Brute & Babe and Mael & Auoro as separate characters, as their personalities are completely different in the two forms.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">3. Mael</span></b><br />
Also from the B&B tutorials. Bart was originally going to go with Arkon as the main character of the Ominous Press comics, but was urged to go with recognisable characters like Brute & Babe by Wizard founder Gareb Shamus.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">4. Intrepid</span></b><br />
One of Bart’s earliest creations, as far back as the early to mid 80’s if Bart recalls correctly. Intrepid is a very important character.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">5. Nightbeast</span></b><br />
Perhaps the coolest looking character in all of the Ominous Press Universe.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">6. Insidious</span></b><br />
Would kick Doctor Doom’s ass in a second, whilst kicking Lord Havok’s ass simultaneously.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">7. Wolfhound</span></b><br />
A detailed design process can be seen for this character in Bart’s B&B tutorial in Wizard #29, same with Pheros.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">8. Warhammer</span></b><br />
A member of a band of warriors who derive their strength and powers from a unique weapon wielded by each of them. This band of warriors are good guys and gals.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">9. Sunder</span></b><br />
Was initially named Thashur, but Bart was informed of another character with the same name, so he changed it to Sunder.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">10. Pheros</span> </b>(Pronounced <i>Fair-ose</i>)<br />
He looks huge in this image, but then, he is over 7 feet tall!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">11. Steele</span></b><br />
Another early character of Bart’s. Steele, along with many other characters, was created for a roleplaying game invented by Bart, Michael J Morrissey and John Pedercini in High School. The game was called, quite amusingly, 'The Game.'<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">12. Warspear</span></b><br />
Another member of the weapon wielding WARriors. See what I did there?<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">13. Thrace</span></b><br />
Just darn cool looking. He’s a really nasty fellow, apparently.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">14. ???</span></b><br />
Mystery will continue to surround this one, as Bart intends it. Not even a name will be forthcoming!<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">15. Slike</span></b><br />
Snake dude. A late addition to this poster, by all accounts.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">16. Zeus</span></b><br />
Yep, he looks very different to the same character in Poster 1, and I’m not just talking about him appearing to be billy-bollocks nekid. This was an early design for Zeus, before he lost the hair, got the lightning strike mark on his scalp and some clothes to cover his various... ahem... appendages.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">17. Talis</span></b><br />
Talis is one of those characters that is to remain in the mysterious shadows, as per Bart’s request. But I <i>can</i> reveal that the big and cool looking hammer thing he is holding is called Skullsbane.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: red;">18. Warmonger</span></b><br />
Just one of a variety of Armorgedden Armor types, Warmonger is considered a Stealth Class model, capable of great speeds for short amounts of time. <br />
<br />
Fantastic stuff isn't it? You betcha! I personally love all of this Ominous Press stuff. I used to make lists of all of the known characters and where they appeared, what they did and a bunch of other information. Then I got talking to Bart and managed to get my hands on stacks of scripts and notes from the Ominous Press days and it soon became pretty clear that the published stories were really only the tip of the iceberg. There are literally hundreds of characters, in various levels of development (some are little more than a name, while others like Arkon are thoroughly fleshed out), and while I can't reveal much from the Ominous Press confidential files, whatever Bart has granted permission to release has been passed straight on to you. The names of the characters in these two posters is a perfect example of that. <br />
<br />
Anywho, the next Who's Who will most likely deal with some of the gang from 'It Begins,' and it won't be far away! See you all soon.Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-70402884958056033092011-06-01T22:31:00.008+01:002011-06-01T22:53:00.093+01:00Ominous Press Poster 1 - Who's who?I picked up my copy of the first Ominous Press poster some time in 1995, if my memory serves me correctly. I recall getting it laminated and sticking it up on my wall pretty quickly after buying it. And for years afterward I would just stare at it and wonder... wonder about what would have been if Ominous Press had continued publishing comics, because as much as I loved the characters that we were introduced to in the three comics that were released, I just knew that there were more to come. Even in Poster 1 there are a few faces that don't really appear anywhere else, and an alphabetical list of copyrighted names of the characters featured in this poster appears in a few adverts featuring this artwork. But for years I would look at the names Nul, Igneous, Honor Guard, Warmonger and Saint Pyrs, and only be able to guess at who the names belonged to.<br />
<br />
Then, I got to know Bart over the years and was able to put the names to the correct faces and even get a little bit of information on each of them.<br />
<br />
And I'm nothing if not generous to other Searsians, so, for anybody out there who has also wondered who some of these characters are, this post is all for you!<br />
<br />
To begin with, here's the poster in question:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVXtCPwQL-mrhI148Mqpo0us1xgfmHk4J0RJIGBbvmXbP9n7uAAV62kT7M1S7e5TM3AFnaRpNCp1NFM16rFgHfKpOsI_vCbXUbXZv-8owUvDvDq5jVkeqTtbIF_JeloGxydiu/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+Poster+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuVXtCPwQL-mrhI148Mqpo0us1xgfmHk4J0RJIGBbvmXbP9n7uAAV62kT7M1S7e5TM3AFnaRpNCp1NFM16rFgHfKpOsI_vCbXUbXZv-8owUvDvDq5jVkeqTtbIF_JeloGxydiu/s640/Bart+Sears+OP+Poster+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Not bad, eh? And here are the outlines of all of the characters to make it a little more simple to navigate:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgWd2zQmSDXzh4pD9-59D-lo7YMzw4iuwJYAFcXQ6sCC9OpGfFivztCEEfEu6ZbkQhWAHVKHEj9Rue4kjXWuNGTGV7uX5CTatBwhMpEoMXfbUFh4VKo6MVZ0-V4JtOx6UFIjp/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+Poster+1+outlines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbgWd2zQmSDXzh4pD9-59D-lo7YMzw4iuwJYAFcXQ6sCC9OpGfFivztCEEfEu6ZbkQhWAHVKHEj9Rue4kjXWuNGTGV7uX5CTatBwhMpEoMXfbUFh4VKo6MVZ0-V4JtOx6UFIjp/s640/Bart+Sears+OP+Poster+1+outlines.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>And here's the who's who of the characters listed numerically, with a bit of information on them in my own words, from what has been published and a little of what I have gleaned over the years. (Please note: these are my own interpretations of the characters to a certain extent, and don't necessarily represent what Bart intended or considers them to be. But saying that, it's pretty close in parts and all of the following descriptions have been approved by Bart himself.)<br />
<br />
<b>1. Mael</b> (also Maelloryll)<br />
A mighty and powerful warrior for good and righteousness. Trained by Moon & Snake, he fights to find his other half, Auoro, to fulfill an ages long prophecy.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Arkon</b><br />
A warrior from the distant past, cast into other worlds, wielding his great sword Giantkiller. Arkon is cursed to walk the worlds he does not know, hunting as he goes.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Insidious</b><br />
Scientific genius with a bent for evil and destruction. Creator of genetic monstrosities and bitter enemy of Intrepid.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Intrepid</b><br />
Gifted with an intelligence that borders on precognition, Intrepid fights crime with astonishing speed and skill. But who is the man behind the mask?<br />
<br />
<b>5. Nul</b><br />
A powerful and twisted being. Nul can neutralise a hero's power, and can plant suggestions into people's minds. It also hunts witches in its spare time.<br />
<br />
<b>6. Sunder</b><br />
Perhaps the most 'good' hero in the universe. He is idealistic and naive, and though a man of few words, his actions speak louder than any word could.<br />
<br />
<b>7. Nightbeast</b><br />
Carrying the mask of previous incarnations, Nightbeast stalks the future's darkness, seeking out those that would do bad. But the mask hides a different man, who, too, seeks to balance the scales of justice.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Warmonger</b><br />
A behemoth of engineered metal and advanced technology. Armorgedden Armors like this are highly prized and elaborately protected, due to their versatility as both a walking weapon and virtually impenitrable guard. And there's a human inside each one!<br />
<br />
<b>9. Auoro </b>(also Auorosharrath)<br />
Cut from the same cloth as Mael, though less powerful to begin with. But maturity brings increased levels of strength and a great change to her personality. She, too, awaits the fulfillment of the prophecy.<br />
<br />
<b>10. Steele</b><br />
The man with the Golden Dagger. Wields great power from his base in Tirrus Tower, but his own abilities and motives are far-reaching and hidden from all but himself.<br />
<br />
<b>11. Zeus</b><br />
The product of a barbaric and twisted experiment. Zeus, along with other Prometheans (formerly referred to as MegaMen), is a gladiatorial fighter, who's movements and thoughts are channeled to the eager public for a fee. He is a prisoner to a future humanity that is almost beyond saving.<br />
<br />
<b>12. Igneous</b><br />
Has the power to produce immense heat, but not in the form of flame. Igneous can propel herself with the aid of this heat, and it also absorbs energy, be it a blast aimed at her or a localised phenomenon, without any harm to her. She's one of the goodies.<br />
She also has big boobies.<br />
<br />
<b>13. Wolfhound</b><br />
A hideous and wicked beast on his own, he now carries the soul of a demon inside him, willing him to even greater acts of evil than before. A frequent opponent of Pheros.<br />
<br />
<b>14. Pheros</b><br />
Immensely powerful, origins unknown, affiliations unknown, moral compass unknown. Pheros is a just and overly righteous being. He longs for purity from evil and his actions often take this desire to extreme lengths, some would say too far. But who is there to stop him?<br />
<br />
<b>15.Honor Guard</b><br />
An unlikely and reluctant hero, who follows the demands of an in-built need for duty and service to the people he protects. A real 'peoples hero,' fighting a battle he is both overwhelmed and outgunned in. But honor demands he fight on.<br />
<br />
<b>16. Saint Pyrs</b><br />
Devout follower of a powerful, ancient religion. His costume is his religious cloth, and his power springs from the source. He is a force for good and purity in a world of increasing disconnection and immorality.<br />
<br />
<b>17. Dramaurg </b>(also Ormaellidramaurg)<br />
Evil twin to Mael, rules his kingdom with slavery and malice. Has melded himself with dark magics to make him a deadly and malicious being. Seeks also to fulfill the prophecy with Auoro.<br />
<br />
And there you have it! Pretty cool stuff, huh?<br />
And the good news for you guys is that this is merely the first of a series of introductions to some of the characters in the OPU. We still have Poster 2 to go, and some of the gang from 'It Begins' and 'Infinity!'<br />
<br />
So come back soon, won't you?Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-5782336440965951022011-05-25T17:07:00.001+01:002011-05-25T17:17:54.252+01:00It's mine... my own... my... PRECIOUS!!!I'm sure every serious collector out there is the same as me in one particular way - we all have a single item that is something of a Holy Grail for us. An item that, despite our extensive seeking out, manages to elude us around every corner. Sometimes we'll catch a glimpse of it, a mere sparkle out of the corner of our eye, but obtaining this gem is akin to holding sand in one's hand, it slips through your fingers again and again.<br />
<br />
And then, if you're a poor sap like me, you manage to find the item, to claim it as your own, only to have it perish or be lost in some way, in my case - misplacing it on a plane!<br />
<br />
And then you are right back where you started...<br />
<br />
Well, I lost my particular Holy Grail over 10 years ago now, on that fateful plane trip from Melbourne to Edinburgh. I say fateful because whilst I lost my gem, I met my now wife a few days after getting off that plane.<br />
But in those proceeding 10 years, I went back to searching near and far for my once-lost Grail, and I didn't get even the slightest hint of it in that time. That is, until a few weeks ago.<br />
Yes, fellow seekers of Searsian artefacts, I can say that for the second, and hopefully last time (barring any unforseen incidents) I own this little beauty below:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoID5N09i5Kywai3xsqTjeHEggmmfX6R9dH2rEh5v-5V8CPRtnWk_3U8gj2ofcyYkbaW3wnCbz65Wu0F0ct0ptuE7pmsw29MkY229lS_hl2kqpHaLg_RUIWqQ65U4BV0yvNmEc/s1600/Bart+Sears+Judge+Dredd+Badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoID5N09i5Kywai3xsqTjeHEggmmfX6R9dH2rEh5v-5V8CPRtnWk_3U8gj2ofcyYkbaW3wnCbz65Wu0F0ct0ptuE7pmsw29MkY229lS_hl2kqpHaLg_RUIWqQ65U4BV0yvNmEc/s400/Bart+Sears+Judge+Dredd+Badge.jpg" /></a></div>'What?' I hear you say, 'That's it?! That's your Holy Grail?!?' Well... yes! It may not look like much, but this Judge Dredd badge, measuring a modest 45 x 32mm, most certainly is my Holy Grail. Why? Only because this badge is one of the most rare, if not the rarest, of all Bart Sears items. There are other things that are rare, like the <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2008/08/rare-finds-1.html">Wizard Binder</a> and a few trading cards, but I have only ever seen this badge come up for sale twice in something like 13 years on eBay or any other auction site. Twice! Two times! That makes it very, very rare.<br />
<br />
As far as particulars are concerned, it is (as stated above) 45 x 32mm, made of what I believe to be hard acrylic and it is embossed. The blue text and linework (which is reflective and cool looking) is raised about half a millimetre off the white base. There are no copyright or trademark stamps anywhere to be seen (which would suggest to me that a sticker was originally involved in some way), though I know it be a product of SQP from 1989. SQP (or SQProductions) was responsible for Quality Comics back in the late 80's, who reprinted a lot of the british 2000 A.D. comics with new covers, 30 of which feature Bart's art on them. SQP also ran the official Conan Fan Club for a while, and Bart produced several images for that too. <br />
<br />
Several of Bart's pieces from this time for SQP were used for promotional material and a good few T-Shirts as well, and for one single badge... my badge!<br />
<br />
For those of you wishing to see where the badge artwork is taken from, here's the original cover:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghw0-h-2mLcuBMCHx_0vzZxn57cD15mNhwiuKz_Kt_hWawCXrXnDy7OMaFvDBnP4IRNkWN2CA8K9yTWbU4KUV4-bvy9yE3tG9WkRUUemEGOPbVkoN9uUM7ogPg_nwm5a64qIof/s1600/Bart+Sears+Judge+Dredd+13+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghw0-h-2mLcuBMCHx_0vzZxn57cD15mNhwiuKz_Kt_hWawCXrXnDy7OMaFvDBnP4IRNkWN2CA8K9yTWbU4KUV4-bvy9yE3tG9WkRUUemEGOPbVkoN9uUM7ogPg_nwm5a64qIof/s400/Bart+Sears+Judge+Dredd+13+cover.jpg" /></a></div>And there you have it. My Holy Grail. My Precious. Returned to me once more, and never to leave again. Rest assured, it won't be going anywhere near an airport, let alone an airplane, any time soon.Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-7738378442491775402011-04-25T16:04:00.003+01:002011-04-25T21:58:11.716+01:00Bart Sears - Film & Television STAR!!!!Howdy Searsians! Yes, I'm still alive, fear not. I've just been through another rather busy stint of work on other projects, but I'm here now with some more cool Bart Sears goodies. This time, to be a little different, I thought it might be fun to showcase some Bart Sears items that have appeared on both the small & silver screen. <br />
Whenever I'm watching a TV show or movie and a scene comes up that may just have a Bart Sears comic, poster, or whatever in it (usually in a comic shop), I pay very close attention to it.<br />
<br />
And this is what I've found so far...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzlj1-dIdCS9vrBe2GcfD1bE_8ayvltuggil67x6dO63P4VdFRV8muRtRIasX1PUCcVebBJEx0ei4GED6AriqXyXpYiZX_TQ40dOggtkX8HGre4OueIIk0H_rW4x75dbvCzsr/s1600/Bart+Sears+Lost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtzlj1-dIdCS9vrBe2GcfD1bE_8ayvltuggil67x6dO63P4VdFRV8muRtRIasX1PUCcVebBJEx0ei4GED6AriqXyXpYiZX_TQ40dOggtkX8HGre4OueIIk0H_rW4x75dbvCzsr/s400/Bart+Sears+Lost.jpg" /></a></div>This one is from the first series of Lost. Episode 14 has a scene where the kid, Walt, is reading Hurley's Spanish copy of 'Green Lantern/Flash – Faster Friends.' As you can see, a few of the pages Bart pencilled are shown.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjuGMFHfE1IcOMgOQ4nJQV6HtMP58BUi8lNBQbW1ZUvhffbKWuJsHO4lZObo5Gv0m7XoM5IwrKLlU3SJtCR1aTdwCgv87WdSEkm9PAA8uWHPuuHx1PfC2mTAsoxv6j3X8kcD3/s1600/Bart+Sears+40yo+Frame+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="213" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjuGMFHfE1IcOMgOQ4nJQV6HtMP58BUi8lNBQbW1ZUvhffbKWuJsHO4lZObo5Gv0m7XoM5IwrKLlU3SJtCR1aTdwCgv87WdSEkm9PAA8uWHPuuHx1PfC2mTAsoxv6j3X8kcD3/s400/Bart+Sears+40yo+Frame+1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFj63s6KM6FJ3zvJiops59i60Ws0YtZ1sYDOzW3oaree8xmDYKOhX10m0CwpsqrUH1c6PEmxZMwfwQGc8GyiOyrXTxGeZ3OVEniuUv5r8n0tdq0bwzVm3GFv4iabuojW7Y4hr5/s1600/Bart+Sears+40yo+Frame+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="215" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFj63s6KM6FJ3zvJiops59i60Ws0YtZ1sYDOzW3oaree8xmDYKOhX10m0CwpsqrUH1c6PEmxZMwfwQGc8GyiOyrXTxGeZ3OVEniuUv5r8n0tdq0bwzVm3GFv4iabuojW7Y4hr5/s400/Bart+Sears+40yo+Frame+2.jpg" /></a></div>Next up are a few frames from Judd Apatow's first big movie, 'The 40 year-old Virgin,' starring Steve Carell and Catherine Keener, both of whom are shown above with action figure boxes featuring Bart's artwork. Catherine Keener's circled one is the Gambit 10-inch figure, whilst Steve Carell's is the Sabretooth 10-inch figure.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59hAG35veQfvlqE2zQW8qzxXDnzIr6YtXOib-ct4mc88conhiaJ-mxJRT4ZPz5W3R8W1hPnDRw1EYmXuMa02nhuNAClmA5CUzBhWpmtIBEFbz2KW-6ORk4_xOyCULBBWYV3a5/s1600/BBT+frame+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="224" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg59hAG35veQfvlqE2zQW8qzxXDnzIr6YtXOib-ct4mc88conhiaJ-mxJRT4ZPz5W3R8W1hPnDRw1EYmXuMa02nhuNAClmA5CUzBhWpmtIBEFbz2KW-6ORk4_xOyCULBBWYV3a5/s400/BBT+frame+2.jpg" /></a></div>Next up is a scene from the great show, The Big Bang Theory. This framegrab is from Season 2, Episode 20. It shows Penny with Bart's comic, The Scream #3, over her left shoulder.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIyfMnRG2iz1zYwnhqRKZ8fViVRbHuR6JpBQyraqy6dr2pIYa8Cu020IzByHSQEaFTLfLyDfUEytw7Ux6la-BWT2sd_dt391MuMRYXRqbnakp6AJqfRrV2X8hepBvKWpkQNuP/s1600/Bart+Sears+Super+Scream+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="230" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIyfMnRG2iz1zYwnhqRKZ8fViVRbHuR6JpBQyraqy6dr2pIYa8Cu020IzByHSQEaFTLfLyDfUEytw7Ux6la-BWT2sd_dt391MuMRYXRqbnakp6AJqfRrV2X8hepBvKWpkQNuP/s400/Bart+Sears+Super+Scream+cover.jpg" /></a></div>And lastly, I just found this one this morning. It is from Rainn Wilson's recent film, Super. In the background, middle shelf, is that same The Scream cover from the previous one.<br />
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Anyway, that's all I've found to date. Anybody seen Bart Sears stuff anywhere else? Let me know if you have!<br />
I'll be doing another post here soon enough, as I want to catch up on all of the things that Bart has been doing over the last little while. I'll show you what has come out and what to expect in the future too. So I'll see you all soon.Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-53980691048127233302011-01-04T15:19:00.007+00:002011-01-04T16:22:08.784+00:00Guess what the Postman delivered today? #12Searsons Greetings to one and all! I hope you all had a wonderfully Searsious Christmas and a Searstastic New Years! <br />My previous post about some Bart Sears Trading Cards was deliberately put up when it was, becuase I knew that a brand-spanking-new Bart Sears card was on its way to me.<br />And it arrived on my doorstep this morning.<br />But the backstory first...<br />In early December on Facebook, a lovely fellow and fellow Searsian, Nathan Ohlendorf, posted that "For those of you who are interested (and it should be all of you!) the FIRST promo card for FEMFORCE is now available and it is by BART SEARS!!" Needless to say, I contacted Nathan and sent him a SASE and waited for the card to arrive. And here it is, both front and back side-by-side...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuLBf6l9P9QIglQwJNvlKA5t5y1QQ8re6MHVtKmMFZSIaO9-xs0UR7UYnpJO0HSywLC1nl1QjAV-HO67GYrZR2_54z_Fr09Qk89r3VANVniTcfNvijdqOqJFWzQFy_WnSxLhQ/s1600/Bart+Sears+FemForce+Jet+Girl+promo+card.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHuLBf6l9P9QIglQwJNvlKA5t5y1QQ8re6MHVtKmMFZSIaO9-xs0UR7UYnpJO0HSywLC1nl1QjAV-HO67GYrZR2_54z_Fr09Qk89r3VANVniTcfNvijdqOqJFWzQFy_WnSxLhQ/s400/Bart+Sears+FemForce+Jet+Girl+promo+card.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558355022628670754" /></a><br />And the best thing is, it only cost me a few stamps! <br />So this is the first Bart Sears trading card to be produced in the better part of half a decade, and you'd have to go even further back to 1997 to find a card that Bart produced the artwork specifically for! So it is a great day, indeed.<br /><br />And the even better news is that Bart produced the artwork for 2 cards from this 50-card FemForce set, so there is the regular version of this Jet Girl card to get, plus a different one. I'm excited by it, I can tell you!<br /><br />And it would be wrong of me not to thank Nathan for not only commissioning Bart to do the artwork, not to mention actually producing the card set, but especially for his and the folks at <strong>www.sadlittles.com</strong><br /> for generously giving these puppies out free of charge. Splendid folks, them.<br />So go check out their website, and send your own SASE to avail of this fantastic promotional offer too!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-73834373089961209642010-12-16T21:09:00.013+00:002010-12-16T22:43:27.013+00:00Bart Sears Trading Cards #2Back in September of 2009, I did a little post on some of Bart's Trading Cards. And since I recently scanned in all of the cards that feature Bart's artwork, I thought it might be fun to share with you some more of them right here and now.<br />So let's do it!<br />I'll try and be less wordy this time around, and just let the cool artwork speak for itself.<br /><br />So, I thought I'd start of with the three cards Bart created for the Creator's Universe set back in 1993.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqammhBGcu3QATSuOj-X2BzrdV8LzNKY76greCnjhtAqd1dXO1SR8v0jmasmlrHjrkwHnUvOUGZ1b3A79jHw7CYZNuTMiNPSMkp1EO5YLRcAPUCxAUKeg5z5-ssT8cV_0rWMI/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Creator%2527s+Universe+-+Pheros.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYqammhBGcu3QATSuOj-X2BzrdV8LzNKY76greCnjhtAqd1dXO1SR8v0jmasmlrHjrkwHnUvOUGZ1b3A79jHw7CYZNuTMiNPSMkp1EO5YLRcAPUCxAUKeg5z5-ssT8cV_0rWMI/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Creator%2527s+Universe+-+Pheros.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551404628818920274" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYM3s4OrP7jXsdnkvaRsaz4TPxwRJPdrTCz8MYQjQSNGLhyphenhyphensrVugM2JQZC6gSgnzkzsDRUKSCvtpvrp50Z0E0pjp-nFQE28Z2RKDVHHCjKSDlgBJYbQoMc2jQeMHcGTo79nTAk/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Creator%2527s+Universe+-+Thrashur.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYM3s4OrP7jXsdnkvaRsaz4TPxwRJPdrTCz8MYQjQSNGLhyphenhyphensrVugM2JQZC6gSgnzkzsDRUKSCvtpvrp50Z0E0pjp-nFQE28Z2RKDVHHCjKSDlgBJYbQoMc2jQeMHcGTo79nTAk/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Creator%2527s+Universe+-+Thrashur.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551404631738846306" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9_lZrmbbzJcPxj55ZhF8QorskjIROx4I-rnyVlztFlyuRll9fJDfscyPVTqL8XHNnW6E4oNdpRBHILtSpaCT9Uo0xPcLYrKG5HdHFEdTlzn7MDOu-q1fufpGKpZWj2xuSLcx/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Creator%2527s+Universe+-+Wolfhound.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9_lZrmbbzJcPxj55ZhF8QorskjIROx4I-rnyVlztFlyuRll9fJDfscyPVTqL8XHNnW6E4oNdpRBHILtSpaCT9Uo0xPcLYrKG5HdHFEdTlzn7MDOu-q1fufpGKpZWj2xuSLcx/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Creator%2527s+Universe+-+Wolfhound.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551404637596587170" /></a><br />As you can see, they all feature characters from Ominous Press, and all are inked by Bart too. I've put in the original art for these cards as well, just to show the complete images, minus the rather butcher-like cropping that goes on in the final cards.<br /><br />Next are some cards from one of my favourite sets featuring Bart's art, Monumental Overpower!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dLita9ZiDzmqvIvhA_UQUkFB7rJzIjUjRVylmTNkH9JY0nNpKPyjzi1FI17zVvY2pQelrDPyEHfgky4KLUZfiSTmxB2JTQ3-7XJezgGs09fJyKLSAsRXNxvTEVU1Uh_kkg7Y/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Adam+Warlock+-+Soul+Gem.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dLita9ZiDzmqvIvhA_UQUkFB7rJzIjUjRVylmTNkH9JY0nNpKPyjzi1FI17zVvY2pQelrDPyEHfgky4KLUZfiSTmxB2JTQ3-7XJezgGs09fJyKLSAsRXNxvTEVU1Uh_kkg7Y/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Adam+Warlock+-+Soul+Gem.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551411030377340434" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKlXsIzCzT433WtDjlRyzjLxywiv8Xmz67e7qsLrZFvg7qQDBYgofnZn7HOVCExkc_XuW7kaYIpVqqgltIsolbBzvwXwyeM0RgnJARXKTB1grKuo5upbJyGA0uW_U9cyi4w2F/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Alpha+Flight+-+Guardian.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKlXsIzCzT433WtDjlRyzjLxywiv8Xmz67e7qsLrZFvg7qQDBYgofnZn7HOVCExkc_XuW7kaYIpVqqgltIsolbBzvwXwyeM0RgnJARXKTB1grKuo5upbJyGA0uW_U9cyi4w2F/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Alpha+Flight+-+Guardian.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551411025177271762" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzq5tBR1Ais8txs4EJQb_v1Rvl5khQO3hQ5yzZ8QrJuvbgJLTqRsuhcfMTxRwYsxeaWb-FoSV8bwki7wSmXatOUkBZ2skerp9W8YQ9pOvgaZCBY_z-uq2TWPWpwjM6r1I3Imbo/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Captain+America+-+Sharon+Carter.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzq5tBR1Ais8txs4EJQb_v1Rvl5khQO3hQ5yzZ8QrJuvbgJLTqRsuhcfMTxRwYsxeaWb-FoSV8bwki7wSmXatOUkBZ2skerp9W8YQ9pOvgaZCBY_z-uq2TWPWpwjM6r1I3Imbo/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Captain+America+-+Sharon+Carter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551410460905936706" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03alBGescn-4aLtYsZm67_dICFxDzscsNNcH84qGjWVxO4zncAE9L1rEhRSBZzua3YbDhAWFa0VQNOD1uzsk5or0Io-WAvCXqmp_2jK0_4aK9EvJ3vk6XiabVplIlSb3Auhyphenhypheno/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Henry+Pym+-+Ultron+1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03alBGescn-4aLtYsZm67_dICFxDzscsNNcH84qGjWVxO4zncAE9L1rEhRSBZzua3YbDhAWFa0VQNOD1uzsk5or0Io-WAvCXqmp_2jK0_4aK9EvJ3vk6XiabVplIlSb3Auhyphenhypheno/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Henry+Pym+-+Ultron+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551410453858791874" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgpSsTscsXuOu0JILrDdjMoD8q_GFTAeWcXG3FmwqcaNfcvJT3WNyowrnHORxKmXbVXZgaQHvLUpO_135xO7o2lroH99THLvTVrPl9NAt9V9aqL7KP_RTXOhyphenhyphenC1xWXnNFZXaQ/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Inhumans+-+Triton.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 284px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLgpSsTscsXuOu0JILrDdjMoD8q_GFTAeWcXG3FmwqcaNfcvJT3WNyowrnHORxKmXbVXZgaQHvLUpO_135xO7o2lroH99THLvTVrPl9NAt9V9aqL7KP_RTXOhyphenhyphenC1xWXnNFZXaQ/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Inhumans+-+Triton.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551410449662995554" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXgdCHqc_hc36ufCQulq3azePT-4zatKdUIp0XVZlTLOr7Gp083bb9mnR8RkO4xE8DocdePyZ_i6d5nlqdFxrMRkA0jdgX40ig7NNzRUE3eimCSLSevyW9y3u4gUVnh3QO6Ek/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Power+-+Dark+Phoenix.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZXgdCHqc_hc36ufCQulq3azePT-4zatKdUIp0XVZlTLOr7Gp083bb9mnR8RkO4xE8DocdePyZ_i6d5nlqdFxrMRkA0jdgX40ig7NNzRUE3eimCSLSevyW9y3u4gUVnh3QO6Ek/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Power+-+Dark+Phoenix.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551410447741619698" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTR6IpNFUL7vPCkkLy-n1BwkxGGsL9kRczt_Ju-dHItetu4M1j5U-8xZIsHZqWoEIopRQPMX-ZuLBq3L_Bgzp6K2Teln1Oi40zxDsBxj4lbp6_3cECBobNyZOSFVeuGZEf-B2/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Universe+-+Teamwork+-+Supreme+Intelligence%252C+Ronan+%2526+Kree.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLTR6IpNFUL7vPCkkLy-n1BwkxGGsL9kRczt_Ju-dHItetu4M1j5U-8xZIsHZqWoEIopRQPMX-ZuLBq3L_Bgzp6K2Teln1Oi40zxDsBxj4lbp6_3cECBobNyZOSFVeuGZEf-B2/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Universe+-+Teamwork+-+Supreme+Intelligence%252C+Ronan+%2526+Kree.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551412888422523506" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdivXLdfuzv_qu9ndQmB98iRi8bVKWXKR3jTA6SeKK27qAFRkuWFLD7o0DW5lAjBD5F-Q_R26jm-nTJ3OjageffrKrlrpWDGrs1QWPKNoiLo2yGLc6fzBvagWolFXtb-czibxY/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Universe+-+Ally+-+Wyatt+Wingfoot.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 285px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdivXLdfuzv_qu9ndQmB98iRi8bVKWXKR3jTA6SeKK27qAFRkuWFLD7o0DW5lAjBD5F-Q_R26jm-nTJ3OjageffrKrlrpWDGrs1QWPKNoiLo2yGLc6fzBvagWolFXtb-czibxY/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Monumental+Overpower+-+Universe+-+Ally+-+Wyatt+Wingfoot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551410440653958274" /></a><br /><br />And here's both the original art and final card for Starro, from the series 'DC Cosmic Cards '93.'<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUklnICQdKA-mzoAC7AP5M28i6zDs_QOhk3XExkUX4H6yzJKDObxKXbe1F9RtsbJ2ISOc2qSauaP_nvQE0v5pbWbAsI_6-84YSzfEj1mPrKbaxYTwQx1BQv0qpYrtYPtcF72W/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+DC+Cosmic+Cards+93+-+Starro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUklnICQdKA-mzoAC7AP5M28i6zDs_QOhk3XExkUX4H6yzJKDObxKXbe1F9RtsbJ2ISOc2qSauaP_nvQE0v5pbWbAsI_6-84YSzfEj1mPrKbaxYTwQx1BQv0qpYrtYPtcF72W/s400/Bart+Sears+-+DC+Cosmic+Cards+93+-+Starro.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551404639293827474" /></a><br />And finally, here is both the front and back of the 'Winter' card from Wildstorm Set 1.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsUDmWBRJR1bP4W6Squ8x1kAZcEjTpL95B7_DgzEsZ07pVmRH7IzZ5OgSMy6hQHBwMdfGWmbCfihrGjBY5FVWd18X8eVJ0iVuJl7wp3wIBobkqiQr_i8D3OgLWzIvV3PDzuw_/s1600/Bart+Sears+-+Wildstorm+Set+1+Winter+Card.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQsUDmWBRJR1bP4W6Squ8x1kAZcEjTpL95B7_DgzEsZ07pVmRH7IzZ5OgSMy6hQHBwMdfGWmbCfihrGjBY5FVWd18X8eVJ0iVuJl7wp3wIBobkqiQr_i8D3OgLWzIvV3PDzuw_/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Wildstorm+Set+1+Winter+Card.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551411664720703026" /></a><br />And there you have it, I kept my mouth closed as promised. There are still plenty of cards to show you, and I promise I won't make you wait another 15 months for the next batch!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-82297305083673261082010-12-03T20:09:00.008+00:002010-12-09T16:03:34.443+00:00HeroWish<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ8i_hEyjeeOhPFHfqrUxftZT5bOMLMPpWRnzh6HKqb-NbS1UPIkIkumZuMQd3xZOF318QheNlZukTevO_kVWK9hpv480PjEzYTBPLX1k-3NtnYwVXDj4GImsgt4ytTmkhvZj/s1600/wish+banner.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 139px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546562456990235714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ8i_hEyjeeOhPFHfqrUxftZT5bOMLMPpWRnzh6HKqb-NbS1UPIkIkumZuMQd3xZOF318QheNlZukTevO_kVWK9hpv480PjEzYTBPLX1k-3NtnYwVXDj4GImsgt4ytTmkhvZj/s400/wish+banner.jpg" /></a>Hi all, got some exciting Bart Sears news for you! For those of you who read and loved the Conan: Kiss of the Undead story that Bart pencilled, Bart has teamed up with HeroWish to auction off the first page of that comic. HeroWish is a new comic-related charity, who has teamed up with the folks at the Make-A-Wish Foundation and all of the proceeds from not only the Bart Sears page, but a great list of other items from some big names in comics go straight to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.<br /><br />But instead of me rambling on and on (as I am want to do), here's the Press Release-<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DdOilgdMiRDz20rcC8SW9xzEDGyWEZuwHExdJ3lkSzOOcs4YiIfQqu2e8UYfMSTDaqiO1dCKQsdwzT7QdkqiaoKmPxE38w7jdB3rAn6P8QlUpau9BGRftpxM9nfwzF9_zSRn/s1600/sr_99a4a3ee47cb8b.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 322px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546562465454670882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DdOilgdMiRDz20rcC8SW9xzEDGyWEZuwHExdJ3lkSzOOcs4YiIfQqu2e8UYfMSTDaqiO1dCKQsdwzT7QdkqiaoKmPxE38w7jdB3rAn6P8QlUpau9BGRftpxM9nfwzF9_zSRn/s400/sr_99a4a3ee47cb8b.jpg" /></a><br />Contact: Victoria Homan, Marketing Director<br />Telephone: 910-603-8366<br />Email: victoria.homan@gmail.com<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">ORIGINAL COMIC BOOK ART TO BE AUCTIONED FOR CHARITY<br /></span></strong>The Comic Conspiracy teams with<br />Make-A-Wish Foundation® for HeroWish<br /><br />On Friday December 17th North Carolina’s oldest comic book shop will be auctioning off pieces of original comic art, statues and signed memorabilia to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Central & Western North Carolina. The auction will take place at Circa Gallery, located at 150 Sunset Ave. in Asheboro, N.C. beginning at 6:00 p.m. The artwork and memorabilia will be on display at the gallery from December 14th until the end of the auction. Items up for grabs include pieces donated by industry greats such as Stan Lee, Billy Tucci, Billy Tan, Bart Sears, Joe Staton, Neil Vokes, Jim Valentino, Jamal Igle, Al Bigley, Koi Turnbull and many more.<br />“I was very pleased at the response we got from the comic book industry.” said Jeff Lamb, owner of The Comic Conspiracy. “Once we had a couple of confirmed donations the whole thing just snowballed.”<br />Personnel at The Comic Conspiracy, with additional help from long time shop customers and friends, began contacting artists, writers and editors at DC Comics, Marvel Comics and many independent publishers and requested donations for the HeroWish charity auction.<br />“Once the artists realized that HeroWish was the real deal and that 100% of the proceeds from the auction were going to Make-A-Wish Foundation®, we were able to add quite a few prestigious names to our confirmed donation list.” said Ellis Aldridge, a business partner at the comic shop.<br />After securing a venue for the auction, the necessary papers were submitted to Make-A-Wish Foundation® and Don Timmons came on board as the representative for the Central and Western N.C. Chapter of the organization. The Make-A-Wish Foundation® is the nation’s largest wish-granting organization. Since 1980, Make-A-Wish has enriched the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work. The Foundation's mission reflects the life-changing impact that a Make-A-Wish experience has on children, families, donors, sponsors and entire communities. From their humble beginnings with one boy’s wish to be a police officer, they’ve evolved into an organization that grants a child’s wish in the U.S. every 40 minutes.<br />Circa Gallery owners Mandy Sloan and Amy Keith Barney have donated use of their gallery for displaying the artwork and holding the live auction. The shop also recruited the services of veteran auctioneer Ray Parks of Ray Parks Auctions who also willingly agreed to donate his time to HeroWish.<br />“We’re a small shop in a small town and we’re having to run this entire event on a zero budget.” said business partner Benny Littreal. “We’re completely dependent upon people willing to donate their time and energy to this project.”<br />Items to be auctioned for HeroWish will also be available for viewing on The Comic Conspiracy website beginning no later than December 1, 2010. In addition to being a live auction, absentee bidders will be able to phone in bids from all over the world. Any items which are unsold at the live auction will be listed in an online auction at a later date. Items remaining unsold will be returned to the artists and writers that donated them. Anyone wishing to bid either in person or by telephone must register either online, by telephone or in person at the store. Non-auction contributions will also be gratefully accepted.<br /><br />The Comic Conspiracy opened its doors in 1978 in Asheboro, making it North Carolina’s oldest running comic shop. The store features a wide variety of current release comics as well as collectible Gold, Silver and Bronze-Age books, prints and posters, action figures, HeroClix gaming, collecting supplies and a discount subscription service.<br /><br /># # # #<br /><br />If you would like more information on the HeroWish auction, or if you would like to register to bid in the auction, please come by The Comic Conspiracy at 108 North St. in downtown Asheboro. You can also contact the shop at 336-318-1064 or contact Marketing Director Victoria Homan at 910-603-8366. The shop will also be taking bidder registrations on their website www.thecomicconspiracy.com and through Victoria’s email: <a href="mailto:victoria.homan@gmail.com">victoria.homan@gmail.com</a>. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Me again. I also managed to do a quick interview with The Comic Conspiracy owner, Jeff Lamb, here's how it went-<br /><br /><strong>Jay:</strong> You've certainly been able to attract some big names to this auction, how did it feel personally as a comics person to be talking to all of these giants in the industry?<br /><br /><strong>Jeff:</strong> Actually I started off contacting a few artists that I already knew or had spoken with at conventions like Baltimore Con and Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC, people like Billy Tucci, Neil Vokes and Jamal Igle. When the ball started rolling Victoria Homan, our marketing director here at The Comic Conspiracy and I, started contacting every artist, writer and editor we could find a link to. We've actually developed more solid relationships with a lot of these people through HeroWish than we ever had just being another face at a convention.<br /><br /><strong>Jay:</strong> Any pieces of art or memorabilia up for auction that you would personally like to get your hands on?<br /><br /><strong>Jeff:</strong> Actually at this point in time the donations have just now started to arrive at the shop. I'm really looking forward to seeing that Bart Sears Conan page and we still have some heavy hitters whose contributions haven't arrived yet. As far as what we have received so far I really like the Koi Turnbull Flash page. It has incredible detail and super action as Flash and Superman take on an android abominable snowman. There is also a book called 1000 Comics You Must Read in Your Lifetime which was written, signed and donated by Tony Isabella. Definitely have my eye on that one.<br /><br /><strong>Jay:</strong> How can folks go about bidding on the items? (I know, it says it in the press release, but I thought it might be cool to have you answer it in your own voice)<br /><br /><strong>Jeff:</strong> Anyone who bids has to register first whether they are bidding live at Circa Gallery or wish to phone in an absentee bid from anywhere in the world. The easiest way to register is on our website. I had our computer guru Ellis Aldridge put in some big buttons on the HeroWish page that are just begging to be pushed. You can also call the shop or Victoria Homan and register by phone.<br /><br /><strong>Jay:</strong> If this undertaking proves to be a success, do you think this will be a regular thing for you guys?<br /><br /><strong>Jeff:</strong> We intended HeroWish to be an annual event when we started it. I think more shops need to become involved in community and charity. We have other events planned such as the Christian Rock Christmas food drive which features pro-quality bands donating their time and talent to feed the hungry. I was a road musician for the better part of 30 years. I know all the bands performing at CRC and these guys can flat out play and sing. We also have plans for some of our cosplay super-hero friends to visit regional children's hospitals and give out some comics and related items. This summer we will be sponsoring a "Rasslin' & Readin'" event with some of the professional wrestling people in the area, that stuff started in the south you know, as well as a "Battle of the Bands" which is also a food drive for our regional Christian's United Outreach Center.<br /><br /><strong>Jay:</strong> Who would you like to personally thank?<br /><br /><strong>Jeff:</strong> I want to thank all of my staff, Benny and Stephanie and especially Victoria and Ellis simply because they work so darned hard and believe in the good the shop can do. I thank the entire comic industry for putting up with a barrage of emails and phone calls, this wouldn't happen at all without you guys. I want to thank the folks at Make-A-Wish, Don and Karen, for giving us an insight that we never had as far as what this kind of work is all about. And last but not least I thank Jesus Christ for giving everyone involved another day to get the work done, the fortitude to keep it going and for blessing us with the wisdom to make it happen.<br /></div><br /><br />So there you go folks, a worthy cause indeed and some great stuff to bid on. If you would like to see what is on offer for the auction, you can have a look <a href="http://thecomicconspiracy.com/gallery/93"><strong>here.</strong></a><br />Why don't you think about making a bid on a piece!<br /><br />Oh, and here's Bart's piece as it will be sold-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtt-OC6WdiM4pyFzWqXWpVmdBkD4vE67sjn0xWHY253K52cHiekP4o4x8iiT5V5P8JjqR0NtjiQ_mIODqjRVN70uukzmn0e38pRbSkkBqoOwRGawp68UOCMNs1FPSyhu1lIujQ/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+inks.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtt-OC6WdiM4pyFzWqXWpVmdBkD4vE67sjn0xWHY253K52cHiekP4o4x8iiT5V5P8JjqR0NtjiQ_mIODqjRVN70uukzmn0e38pRbSkkBqoOwRGawp68UOCMNs1FPSyhu1lIujQ/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+inks.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547601707192029554" /></a>A beauty, ain't she?Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-34308820999074978692010-11-23T10:12:00.013+00:002010-11-23T20:05:06.549+00:00Conan: Kiss of the UndeadConan and Bart Sears. Many of us Searsians have been dreaming of that combination for many a year now. And seriously, it should have happened years ago; there are few artists who have the skill and artistic bent to really do Conan justice, and Bart is definitely one of those few artists.<br /> So, back in August when Bart started working on the ‘Conan: Kiss of the Undead’ 8-page story, I was rather thrilled at the thought of finally seeing what Bart could do with everyone’s favourite Cimmerian after so many years since last he drew him.<br /> One of the great things about being close to Bart is the fact that he’s happy to show what he’s working on, and I was privileged enough to see all of the 8 pages for the story pretty much straight after they were finished, through all stages from pencils to colours.<br /><br /> And whilst Bart was working away at these pages, an idea came to me that came to fruition only last week. I asked Bart, who is normally a pretty prodigious thumbnail and roughs producer, if he would mind putting all of those pages of sketches and such aside for me. Bart would often simply discard these pages, a truth that has haunted me for years and years, the thought of all of those beautiful pages ending up in a land-fill somewhere – a horrid thought indeed.<br /> So Bart was only too happy to start stacking those pages up, and, boy, did they stack up. The box I received last Tuesday (16/11) contained nearly 200 pages of page layouts, thumbnails, roughs, sketches, revisions, the script and photocopies of the finished pencils. It took me the better part of a week to organise, scan and clean up all of the pages, and it would be remiss of me not to share with you some of the treasures to be found in those 200 pages.<br /><br /> And, yes, 200 pages does sound like a heck of a lot of roughs for a little 8-page story. But as Bart has often informed me, it always takes him a while to get up to speed and comfortable when starting a new project. This mostly has to do with Bart’s ongoing quest to bring a slightly adjusted style to every new thing he does, because the work he has been doing lately for another company would not suit the Conan story, and visa versa.<br /> To further emphasise this point, the first page of the Conan story took some 70 pages of roughs to complete, whereas pages 2-7 took anywhere from 5 to 15 pages. So you can see, once Bart gets cracking, he really gets cracking.<br /><br />And now, let’s get to the good stuff! I thought it would be fun to not only show you some of the cooler drawings, but to also give you a window into how Bart goes about creating his artwork, and the steps he takes to reach the final piece.<br /><br />So here’s page 1 pencilled, inked and coloured, but minus the text.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeIoxiDbkzoztIlWhWLDixLVgy6AtqmOd7e9QIX9NJ4amA_2b5WzghSq8QkEqPowRT_YArdAXzlr28zV_CI_Snb68EAJY0hk_7wW2PKC8vGWX7FCSkIl47HiATXukeOvZCT1b/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+coloured.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 270px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542686852482825282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOeIoxiDbkzoztIlWhWLDixLVgy6AtqmOd7e9QIX9NJ4amA_2b5WzghSq8QkEqPowRT_YArdAXzlr28zV_CI_Snb68EAJY0hk_7wW2PKC8vGWX7FCSkIl47HiATXukeOvZCT1b/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+coloured.jpg" /></a>And this is how it started.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztpIMfOYyd8ki8bq34wqizJiiiuxoB_TIdRBcULiGZwewz8j3WonF1wkRrM_bDkKyNwK2NOJRwC_-sGHuceVMD7WZQc7kKRQgj8GKoW79xMnaGIRUaLpjs2KoCnAlb1FIeMnz/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+roughs.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 263px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542688094593477634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztpIMfOYyd8ki8bq34wqizJiiiuxoB_TIdRBcULiGZwewz8j3WonF1wkRrM_bDkKyNwK2NOJRwC_-sGHuceVMD7WZQc7kKRQgj8GKoW79xMnaGIRUaLpjs2KoCnAlb1FIeMnz/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+roughs.jpg" /></a>As you can see, it is quite different, especially the top panel of Conan, which caused Bart some serious headache for a while. Let’s look at that first panel some more.<br />Originally, Bart was going to treat that panel as a typical letterbox shaped rectangle, and he began working on figures to fit this idea-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNcSifT-oXnwapgnNP1eJjleRmlK4foYaFn5dS-Scx75kDCDFL6FBN65_JF3oALlTFdbykbQbvewwkMna5TNQ1rDL_Yr9-W4Lp0U8OtDmV779reoSIxR-HP3Lt5Cb-EDh-Lb6/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+roughs+1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 348px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542686873096624082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNcSifT-oXnwapgnNP1eJjleRmlK4foYaFn5dS-Scx75kDCDFL6FBN65_JF3oALlTFdbykbQbvewwkMna5TNQ1rDL_Yr9-W4Lp0U8OtDmV779reoSIxR-HP3Lt5Cb-EDh-Lb6/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+roughs+1.jpg" /></a>The premise of that panel, as written by Ron Marz, was that this should be a scene of Conan either in the middle of a battle, or just afterward, ideas that you can see Bart was playing with both of. He then seemed to hone in on a particular pose, best drawn here-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xu481NNW5dY3cE_ynlChE8eH_ynCRdIEQ5DE0fUW_rvZKL6Xfw9iRrGi9yAbBdEgKz5DXcPt33f2-HBlzBL49o_e22bMAotOMP3gSmTsY6FX1h_QLDitz6Rhi3rIEcF4GXVf/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+rough+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 206px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542686855875761842" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xu481NNW5dY3cE_ynlChE8eH_ynCRdIEQ5DE0fUW_rvZKL6Xfw9iRrGi9yAbBdEgKz5DXcPt33f2-HBlzBL49o_e22bMAotOMP3gSmTsY6FX1h_QLDitz6Rhi3rIEcF4GXVf/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+rough+2.jpg" /></a>But Bart quickly moved on to other ideas than this, creating more rough thumbnails such as these-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERnaHotsg1IFtgAdpDTRqjtsWX2zEIQELKJzpTXnukbhzPsIuDQbPnk864GtcnJBGBYXBjqhao1GNfnz356UrXaBuohnbuGQZZRhSvSzwrtKJyOSCR3ANpA0HHrQeJEDyrdns/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+roughs+3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 283px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542686881879273714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgERnaHotsg1IFtgAdpDTRqjtsWX2zEIQELKJzpTXnukbhzPsIuDQbPnk864GtcnJBGBYXBjqhao1GNfnz356UrXaBuohnbuGQZZRhSvSzwrtKJyOSCR3ANpA0HHrQeJEDyrdns/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+roughs+3.jpg" /></a>He once again found something to explore in further detail, which is not too dissimilar to the previous more detailed rough-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWR8DfXC96AJ9thigWwDKW0XF_SCNoBGoFh70ypVs6YRJOFqKV9rCVo5AUuBpVBZNldPKA6RCS3_0uZjdqKBPtfFVJw7F_s_twr95sWFAmV5U0fxNJVFrr0Y037y2sYoDRWwz/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+roughs+4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 363px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542693203944499154" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDWR8DfXC96AJ9thigWwDKW0XF_SCNoBGoFh70ypVs6YRJOFqKV9rCVo5AUuBpVBZNldPKA6RCS3_0uZjdqKBPtfFVJw7F_s_twr95sWFAmV5U0fxNJVFrr0Y037y2sYoDRWwz/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+roughs+4.jpg" /></a>But, once again, Bart discarded this idea and decided to concentrate on a more vertical and design-oriented view of Conan-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDJ5EE3Lgq1LvIsS7TsFoh57kZiJBEerMMzoXfvY4icglFlYeGkWITijIXAD5awoz0vWnbBWwOtjoT1rWdcPgVsw_DBSMpqmgcJN5_tBKmX8XZ2_E0bP4TBKkF_DhlK4RLjqB/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+rough+5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 246px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542693229184567138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsDJ5EE3Lgq1LvIsS7TsFoh57kZiJBEerMMzoXfvY4icglFlYeGkWITijIXAD5awoz0vWnbBWwOtjoT1rWdcPgVsw_DBSMpqmgcJN5_tBKmX8XZ2_E0bP4TBKkF_DhlK4RLjqB/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+rough+5.jpg" /></a>This was obviously to Bart’s liking, because he drew several roughs based on these ideas, getting closer and closer to the final rendition as he went.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgO-acNTgrT3Niaqsy9mi0Jahc2TC72SRjKdHIMNXJUa4aSu5FGrZkqCxYV9jS6jp0Pi8ae9ebLP_kSotwOFlh81FEYc1h4DbJIsxyL7PuXd1aiBDoqjyJhdeqw5YfXFaRRT0/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+roughs+6.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 243px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542693240020345474" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgO-acNTgrT3Niaqsy9mi0Jahc2TC72SRjKdHIMNXJUa4aSu5FGrZkqCxYV9jS6jp0Pi8ae9ebLP_kSotwOFlh81FEYc1h4DbJIsxyL7PuXd1aiBDoqjyJhdeqw5YfXFaRRT0/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+panel+1+roughs+6.jpg" /></a>And here are the final pencils for the entire page.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSOfPSyiKTa0Zy2d6OmNo5jLe9K1IwrgCcfNi0_mLcRU6RnjG_mg5iqVqnKChKXZ1C5xSmVwwJYDupXAOVSUVMbGJixjMWxHptE0Y7QMEQyPEoCvhGhj02hyateECU1-VcfrVB/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+pencils.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 261px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542688086888186754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSOfPSyiKTa0Zy2d6OmNo5jLe9K1IwrgCcfNi0_mLcRU6RnjG_mg5iqVqnKChKXZ1C5xSmVwwJYDupXAOVSUVMbGJixjMWxHptE0Y7QMEQyPEoCvhGhj02hyateECU1-VcfrVB/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+1+pencils.jpg" /></a>Pretty cool stuff, huh? What I like most about the way that Bart goes about drawing anything, is the way that he doesn’t care what the roughs and other preliminary work looks like when set on its own. I have found that far too often today, comic artists are treating every little scribble they do as a masterpiece worthy of being sold and put up on a wall. Now, don’t get me wrong, many of Bart’s preliminary drawings are beautiful and will probably end up on a wall, but this fact is simply a product of what Bart is drawing, not necessarily the way he has drawn it. To further explain myself, I would much prefer to have a rough like this on my wall-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3op8WNy7yfeQh_FSmCpAR8QhJSNnru3wqKyklsEN3vCuceC1vG3Eo3od1yIMkugYQrddf56J0WDW2joDBgmVUS24oFcxqNTik82RrsWN1Sj-M4hU8bUhyphenhyphen_KQiVabuEeH2XBQz/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+2+panel+7.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 369px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542688096353799554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3op8WNy7yfeQh_FSmCpAR8QhJSNnru3wqKyklsEN3vCuceC1vG3Eo3od1yIMkugYQrddf56J0WDW2joDBgmVUS24oFcxqNTik82RrsWN1Sj-M4hU8bUhyphenhyphen_KQiVabuEeH2XBQz/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+2+panel+7.jpg" /></a>-rather than some pretty little sketch by some other artist who fully intended it to be on a wall somewhere. Bart didn’t want this stuff to be pretty, it is a means to an end, you can see that he draws these roughs quickly and, well, roughly. As they should be!<br />Let’s have a look at some more cool preliminary drawings, shall we?<br /><br />Here’s a nice one from page 3. Bart had a bit of trouble with the Countess’s face in this panel, to the point where the original pencilled version was redone again, and there are numerous preliminary pages of her facial structure and details.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1RyC3p3BeL49hE3mYj2dwYRhdReLCJMb33wt4p7tUuFRl5PFKVjSM4sqSghSPZnHIn9kIBJOoDeeB3XUVNw06DNTVUxD5mxe469xbZJLecDfilGOtbV8XIfnUnV5H9N096iLZ/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+3+panel+5+rough.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 282px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542688103375508450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1RyC3p3BeL49hE3mYj2dwYRhdReLCJMb33wt4p7tUuFRl5PFKVjSM4sqSghSPZnHIn9kIBJOoDeeB3XUVNw06DNTVUxD5mxe469xbZJLecDfilGOtbV8XIfnUnV5H9N096iLZ/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+3+panel+5+rough.jpg" /></a>Here are the rough page layouts for page 5. They’re a good example of how Bart sometimes nails the roughs on the first go, as very little of this page is changed by the time the finished pencils are done. The most notable change being the last panel, in which Bart originally went for a midriff shot of Conan, but opted for a head and shoulders shot in the end.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTn0NoTFGVLnbktGkkdGO8AwZqUK8orQ2x-lXD0Req9rISByWFUn9wnYK7z41U3oGZhzvb3m0aei7D8pHA31JmUMdHrwvjX2coPbTbVRMsrh7qSjFe6pRFQfdNbhYp4LvzqVTk/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+5+roughs.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 257px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542696480196720082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTn0NoTFGVLnbktGkkdGO8AwZqUK8orQ2x-lXD0Req9rISByWFUn9wnYK7z41U3oGZhzvb3m0aei7D8pHA31JmUMdHrwvjX2coPbTbVRMsrh7qSjFe6pRFQfdNbhYp4LvzqVTk/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+5+roughs.jpg" /></a>Next up is the rough page layouts for page 7, another great example of Bart’s ability to get a design he wants with sometimes very few changes needed. I’ve also included a nifty rough of the first panel, drawn in a little more detail. Bart would have blown this panel up to its correct size and drawn the final pencils straight from this piece, with the use of a lightbox.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWa48rwTlrpL_xRe560kAtpzsDwNhzKudwaXxLQp6fnYgpyjFEPv0ncJ-N3glfvwiWR-r-_cfbbJyrLU7JvntPCcvNp82QN7GPOiNKsP3RbGNSKgP1cwbJhQC7X9anRpVdHtu/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+7+roughs.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 256px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542696491271946578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinWa48rwTlrpL_xRe560kAtpzsDwNhzKudwaXxLQp6fnYgpyjFEPv0ncJ-N3glfvwiWR-r-_cfbbJyrLU7JvntPCcvNp82QN7GPOiNKsP3RbGNSKgP1cwbJhQC7X9anRpVdHtu/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+7+roughs.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOZq03kpFcJn4PDw6EYe3mKmGRugdfXXC4RNqJAcK3lf3MG-Hy8lTasmX9CINmJ_9bj0FJIVyHD1FsaFvMVYwsM6KfhPrerWewBUsDvodjPnOdsWacFkVm7wi4UApf1uo7jQi/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+7+panel+1+rough.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 213px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542696502866790226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOZq03kpFcJn4PDw6EYe3mKmGRugdfXXC4RNqJAcK3lf3MG-Hy8lTasmX9CINmJ_9bj0FJIVyHD1FsaFvMVYwsM6KfhPrerWewBUsDvodjPnOdsWacFkVm7wi4UApf1uo7jQi/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+7+panel+1+rough.jpg" /></a><br />And finally, because it is such a fantastic shot of our hero Conan, I thought I might bookend this post by showing you how Bart went about producing the final image of Conan on page 8. So here’s the final version, expertly inked by Randy Elliott, and coloured beautifully by relative newcomer, Mark Roberts.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXaGAqMPWB74LdFh0FEAZBLaBgEifHNA06nJWhKk5j7Trg7qD0DIqOtjE21-LTLZG1uPCZyH14rWBpULtuaPRTkU0e3UWkEeavTYxLMNqTmgfYdnqDS8dIaCbBH2ekXSCa9cuw/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+8+coloured.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 267px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542696506104204674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXaGAqMPWB74LdFh0FEAZBLaBgEifHNA06nJWhKk5j7Trg7qD0DIqOtjE21-LTLZG1uPCZyH14rWBpULtuaPRTkU0e3UWkEeavTYxLMNqTmgfYdnqDS8dIaCbBH2ekXSCa9cuw/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+8+coloured.jpg" /></a>Bart was obviously keen to end the story with a real strong Conan shot, as you can see from these early roughs.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaHiApYUhO0xH17COqDSunrL-Dq2ILBVQlJFuWrRp7QsWeu3wgbfTXXjZk1M2JKccUjqbh4rvqKPuk6RukTiJH5A8Bgm9AgMj71KkmWqRF9HqtYbY74tvkgIhf6LYMFX6otpi/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+8+panel+6+roughs+1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 380px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542697781141502610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaHiApYUhO0xH17COqDSunrL-Dq2ILBVQlJFuWrRp7QsWeu3wgbfTXXjZk1M2JKccUjqbh4rvqKPuk6RukTiJH5A8Bgm9AgMj71KkmWqRF9HqtYbY74tvkgIhf6LYMFX6otpi/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+8+panel+6+roughs+1.jpg" /></a>And as he progressed through the designs, he found a pose he liked, and worked it through to finished pencils.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGnOMdpKqEHH85i8LaXxnMg3BA0XJsm-YGgi7078qt2NmYE31JHs5L7gq5GxdRRW7hBaABcAYhTmyxC2NQtXfOBLX1Lzp3E0ucjbNYR__NHMnlgDSr7pQRJIc9yvxQWe88JmN/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+8+panel+6+roughs+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 286px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542697792080957698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVGnOMdpKqEHH85i8LaXxnMg3BA0XJsm-YGgi7078qt2NmYE31JHs5L7gq5GxdRRW7hBaABcAYhTmyxC2NQtXfOBLX1Lzp3E0ucjbNYR__NHMnlgDSr7pQRJIc9yvxQWe88JmN/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+8+panel+6+roughs+2.jpg" /></a>But wait a second! That isn’t the Conan that appears on the published comic! That’s very true, because after Bart did all of that work, even pencilling it up amazingly, he decided he wasn’t happy with the figure and decided to start it all over again. Bart mentioned to me that he didn’t feel he had quite grasped Conan’s persona in the first attempt, but was happy with this second attempt.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghf5wpW4OXTM0IahuZFTXzDT9KwRzRg6KrutQRTZOdOVC928_udAmcGnVK9ntEcIJD67ps30v_vVtNJdSEsqA0xe5fHPc9XJlu9ydKRVuf9YEf0B4-S2TYlpjega4_ejhaJx4I/s1600/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+8+panel+6+roughs+3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 376px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542697802971754130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghf5wpW4OXTM0IahuZFTXzDT9KwRzRg6KrutQRTZOdOVC928_udAmcGnVK9ntEcIJD67ps30v_vVtNJdSEsqA0xe5fHPc9XJlu9ydKRVuf9YEf0B4-S2TYlpjega4_ejhaJx4I/s400/Bart+Sears+Conan+KOTU+page+8+panel+6+roughs+3.jpg" /></a><br />So there you have it, a brief enough walk through some fantastic new Bart Sears art and how he goes about creating it. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of actually seeing the Conan: Kiss of the Undead story yet, I suggest you mosey on over to the USA Today site, or just click on the direct link to the comic right <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2010-11-22-kissoftheundead22_ST_N.htm">here.</a><br /><br />As usual, I have a few other posts in the works at the moment, so don’t forget to pop back soon for more Bart Sears goodies.Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-71355755058579359772010-10-26T16:12:00.006+01:002010-10-26T16:49:50.873+01:00It's Captain Amer... no, wait, it's US Agent!Back again, as promised.<br />So you know that item I mentioned I would be receiving later this week? Well, it came in a few days early. I don't know what I've done to have the postage and delivery gods shine down on me at the moment, but I hope it sustains itself.<br />Anyway, here's the item that came in the mail today-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTjSrqwB3DcKunW4hpMJJqe40HrylJEYUnMY_PmtUcOm17s-pO-DL9ZCUjfYw6Q1E6WtcJLdYA0V9fqIVEGY7bZNYhPPY2rcLxvmvoTBWQGsISJeACHawjDDEzb8eM7-tMEpQ/s1600/Bart+Sears+US+Agent+card.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTjSrqwB3DcKunW4hpMJJqe40HrylJEYUnMY_PmtUcOm17s-pO-DL9ZCUjfYw6Q1E6WtcJLdYA0V9fqIVEGY7bZNYhPPY2rcLxvmvoTBWQGsISJeACHawjDDEzb8eM7-tMEpQ/s400/Bart+Sears+US+Agent+card.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears US Agent card"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532379368726618226" /></a><br />Where's the toy, you say? Well, the toy in question isn't actually one of the ones designed by Bart at Sears Studios. This is an unusual item in that it is the only figure from this particular series that Bart produced the packaging art for. This is unusual because the subsequent Toy Biz series' that Bart was involved with, he not only produced a large amount of packaging art for, but also designed many of the actual figures too. It is probably worthwhile stating that this is the first Marvel action figure, chronologically by release date, that Bart or Sears Studios had anything to do with. It has a copyright date of 1994 on the back of the above card, but I believe it actually came out in 1993.<br /><br />The artwork for this particular piece is currently in the hands of a Mr. Ronald Hillman. The artwork actually comes in two pieces, the figure and the shield are on separate pieces of paper. But here is a slightly low-res image of said artwork-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfU1w35huctHVQHuq6YUNqD4869O6LSsq1miMVO-LxO_XVgptljCfJKb4aZRdBsOGwWgY3pexja_2VjKzKSMX6ZxvHP29C4O-sSTaBhkQRFuyD8wC0ZXcVntZ_LtltX-JiQ7Im/s1600/Bart+Sears+US+Agent+art.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 330px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfU1w35huctHVQHuq6YUNqD4869O6LSsq1miMVO-LxO_XVgptljCfJKb4aZRdBsOGwWgY3pexja_2VjKzKSMX6ZxvHP29C4O-sSTaBhkQRFuyD8wC0ZXcVntZ_LtltX-JiQ7Im/s400/Bart+Sears+US+Agent+art.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears US Agent art"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532379377440241826" /></a><br />So there you are, yet another cool item to tick off the list. I'm hoping to have something a little different for this blog soon, maybe in the next few weeks, so stick around, my dear Searsians!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-15411147487225373282010-10-22T10:56:00.011+01:002010-10-22T15:23:43.504+01:00Team Javerts #1 Variant and goodiesFirstlight Comixx. Remember them? Don't be ashamed if you don't. Firstlight Comixx was one of those companies from the first half of the 1990's that had a handful of comics released, then folded, due to the state of the market at the time. Firstlight Comixx was also one of those companies that used ridiculously nice paper for their comics, and supposedly produced a slew of merchandisable items that it's a safe bet few people bought. <br /><br />Bart Sears provided two covers for Firstlight Comixx through his company Sears Studios, one pencilled by him and inked by Andy Smith, the other was pencilled by Andy, inked by Bart. Here they are-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMh97rZ16WiB7J4fd656SNfm-Dlb2yT7E4ydFbYJ3OGvRVwvVmhNVo4WtUHqI0LWhsIKTl_ga_V7o0vl7QX1cgyF4vG0Tf3EU34-JaL9bxecEYj9dRwApUrB788Py0HxbPQEmt/s1600/Bart+Sears+Javerts+cover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMh97rZ16WiB7J4fd656SNfm-Dlb2yT7E4ydFbYJ3OGvRVwvVmhNVo4WtUHqI0LWhsIKTl_ga_V7o0vl7QX1cgyF4vG0Tf3EU34-JaL9bxecEYj9dRwApUrB788Py0HxbPQEmt/s400/Bart+Sears+Javerts+cover.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Javerts cover"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530874216383193714" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyawICUZPK5thifnOcLVvoF9hRivL1tSxG9zBcxSiBNmWyLhlCxMefms2p7yCo0SGcLVbmW1gg1ueNPc59oM34Xzp-WL_qZBhRQ8cBEx_o7wrk7LPVToP6XT9_S6GJf3s1p9e/s1600/Bart+Sears+Thresherz+cover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYyawICUZPK5thifnOcLVvoF9hRivL1tSxG9zBcxSiBNmWyLhlCxMefms2p7yCo0SGcLVbmW1gg1ueNPc59oM34Xzp-WL_qZBhRQ8cBEx_o7wrk7LPVToP6XT9_S6GJf3s1p9e/s400/Bart+Sears+Thresherz+cover.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Thresherz cover"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530874220229735426" /></a><br />And as far as I knew, that was it. That was the extent of the business arrangement between the two companies. But, oh, how wrong I was! Whilst doing one of my customary random searches last weekend, I typed the word 'Javerts' into eBay, as I had once seen a Press Kit for Firstlight Comixx, but had never been able to get my hands on it, even to this day. But, wouldn't you know, although the Press Kit remained nowhere to be seen, this little number <em>did</em> pop up-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuyyk8qx4OA2H63o2spmgM2ydwzL1XA045c8XLA2O5n6q-pJYETbp1L0wnhNKcMDrJqC7CDpuhyphenhyphenRTQfkAOgDgH1Wa5SooABCLNrgUl9Z2Q4ecOJqp5wiIOXbBTfUo-3BExgGD/s1600/Bart+Sears+Team+Javerts+%231+cover.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGuyyk8qx4OA2H63o2spmgM2ydwzL1XA045c8XLA2O5n6q-pJYETbp1L0wnhNKcMDrJqC7CDpuhyphenhyphenRTQfkAOgDgH1Wa5SooABCLNrgUl9Z2Q4ecOJqp5wiIOXbBTfUo-3BExgGD/s400/Bart+Sears+Team+Javerts+%231+cover.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Team Javerts cover"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530830869521833026" /></a><br />So, naturally, I bought it. And in record time, it got here this morning. As you can see, the title is 'Team Javerts,' and the image is taken directly from the Javerts #1 cover, the image may look a little blurry, but that's what the actual cover looks like. I guess it's the result of zooming in on the original cover.<br />This is the Variant cover for the comic, and you can see that it calls it the 'Special Edition Cover' in the bottom right corner.<br />Interestingly, on the credits page on the inside cover, Bart is not mentioned at all. It is also interesting that the publication date is not listed at all, it only gives the year of 1994, no month is listed anywhere.<br />So anyway, that in itself is a pretty nice find. But the other reason I was so quick to snap this item up is because this particular comic came with a set of Firstlight Comixx Pogs! <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqu223uczhMJMqZiTZ78jWKg3PoX70qP-9EzL7gEUkxuqlDqw7Jpp5WMyI4ktxl_JSpx1Odh8mOuB9CIeTLHPGJubvGZOFBzrU8LbOQp_9Sr1mhh8iYwV4z2UGIPnW-KSwVsGR/s1600/Bart+Sears+Firstlight+Pogs+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 256px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqu223uczhMJMqZiTZ78jWKg3PoX70qP-9EzL7gEUkxuqlDqw7Jpp5WMyI4ktxl_JSpx1Odh8mOuB9CIeTLHPGJubvGZOFBzrU8LbOQp_9Sr1mhh8iYwV4z2UGIPnW-KSwVsGR/s400/Bart+Sears+Firstlight+Pogs+1.jpg" border="0" alt="Firstlight Comixx Pogs"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530827611993141874" /></a><br />A total of three of these Pogs have the hand of Bart Sears on them, the first one is again that same character from the cover, and Pogs 10 & 11 are from the Thresherz cover, with Bart's inks. Here they are, lined up together-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqx_o07-axMOXVqc3a457dxehke1IivHJ6V9EGBQJKKFrWmFOjEsp8sFcB-cJtBrz_zapGK5Z9SGe3qS1qp2TGxGhMVlyc-kG4gCXX_uod2Y_DyG4g3gZr_PFu9ADuOiOsAiXS/s1600/Bart+Sears+Firstlight+Pogs+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 131px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqx_o07-axMOXVqc3a457dxehke1IivHJ6V9EGBQJKKFrWmFOjEsp8sFcB-cJtBrz_zapGK5Z9SGe3qS1qp2TGxGhMVlyc-kG4gCXX_uod2Y_DyG4g3gZr_PFu9ADuOiOsAiXS/s400/Bart+Sears+Firstlight+Pogs+2.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Pogs"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530827614598566594" /></a><br />But then, as I was opening the bag the comic and Pogs sheet came in, this piece of paper was also included-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUekCiYxeN9DX3yQolMnGa0sfxv9HDQDfOL_bBsZgQxk_L4QmB-YmG8wDYGn1jrRJHqxv7PeGO9-DBoVRhVpPEhYvOL3zJzsG5s_yKnXyBhfcXromAet9s98bi2XWODOLgHlX8/s1600/Firstlight+Comixx+merchandise.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUekCiYxeN9DX3yQolMnGa0sfxv9HDQDfOL_bBsZgQxk_L4QmB-YmG8wDYGn1jrRJHqxv7PeGO9-DBoVRhVpPEhYvOL3zJzsG5s_yKnXyBhfcXromAet9s98bi2XWODOLgHlX8/s400/Firstlight+Comixx+merchandise.jpg" border="0" alt="Firstlight Comixx Merchandise"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530827619890769970" /></a><br />The first T-Shirt is of Bart's cover for Javerts #1, but I have absolutely no idea if the T-Shirt was actually made. I've never seen it for sale anywhere, but I'll be doing my darndest to see if I can find it, that's for sure!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4hKp9twFH_1adkMqL_yNal-dC1P4Q8KaOs508uLr-9fVmgQbqSxnZM5HhR8AR5-Ib4m5Z_SGgTH7brnJ2Q0cOhOUdldn29AIcQVx7y_shIBivptRoKpx3VOgrefeaqxAtHX2/s1600/Bart+Sears+Firstlight+Javerts+T-Shirt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 397px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj4hKp9twFH_1adkMqL_yNal-dC1P4Q8KaOs508uLr-9fVmgQbqSxnZM5HhR8AR5-Ib4m5Z_SGgTH7brnJ2Q0cOhOUdldn29AIcQVx7y_shIBivptRoKpx3VOgrefeaqxAtHX2/s400/Bart+Sears+Firstlight+Javerts+T-Shirt.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Javerts T-Shirt"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530827604686744914" /></a><br />And there you have it, yet another cool Bart Sears item for the library. And I can add Pogs to the list of items that Bart has produced work for.<br />I have another item on the way as I write this, which I should hopefully receive late next week, of which I will naturally write about here. <br />So, see you soon!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-1610296842159859642010-10-13T10:39:00.015+01:002010-10-20T09:00:45.504+01:00YO JOE!Hello again, my dear fellow Searsians! As is becoming far too customary at the beginning of each of my posts on this blog, I must say that it has been far too long between drinks. I've been buried under a few rather important projects for the last few months, but have now managed to tunnel to the surface, so to speak, to bring you a new acquisition of mine from the hallowed halls that are the Bart Sears library.<br /><br />About a month ago, Bart informed me of an item that was hitherto unbeknownst to me (geez, I'm wordy today!). Bart often drops these little nuggets of information on me and I then madly dash about to get my hands on the item in question, although I do not always manage to do so, I'm afraid. But this particular occasion, after Bart informed me of this item, I was fortunate enough to find the item at an exceptionally undervalued price, and, a mere two days ago, this arrived on my doorstep... (Apologies for the scan, it's a big box and this was the best my little scanner could achieve.)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2oyat_SMVjhVFsqK5UfvzLHQCIE3sSTNYYUlCNOZlCHUypAjYvdJmr156rWlNup4O9JR80iHNlVaoyZB59dGQd6i2E1rZawMx_4SVTgCTLfdudpju1DdJNWpnqa0jzHwAOFb/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plates+Box+front.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2oyat_SMVjhVFsqK5UfvzLHQCIE3sSTNYYUlCNOZlCHUypAjYvdJmr156rWlNup4O9JR80iHNlVaoyZB59dGQd6i2E1rZawMx_4SVTgCTLfdudpju1DdJNWpnqa0jzHwAOFb/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plates+Box+front.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plates Box"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527477741911206930" /></a><br />Some of you who are more advanced in age might recall that in the 80's and early 90's, Trace Plates were a common enough toy on the shelves. I personally recall owning a few sets myself. But not these particular ones. <br /><br />When Bart informed me of this item, he also, rather kindly, included the artwork files for the majority of them. So, for you, dear friends, I will now reveal the G.I. Joe Trace Plates and the Bart Sears drawings they are based on.<br /><br />First up is the Cobra Commander-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrKXLrhDRR1h7pyFQraicW_AIXer1BV9cIxXGjPKWOUG7jA1YMm1T9WXcghCWCBsMfvxubCXEqnGX6WknEDcZ1bzL6T8xrAjbrelBCowk1ieIK1zpxIYGyYLMNmh6g8nmLUGK/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+1+-+Cobra+Commander.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcrKXLrhDRR1h7pyFQraicW_AIXer1BV9cIxXGjPKWOUG7jA1YMm1T9WXcghCWCBsMfvxubCXEqnGX6WknEDcZ1bzL6T8xrAjbrelBCowk1ieIK1zpxIYGyYLMNmh6g8nmLUGK/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+1+-+Cobra+Commander.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Cobra Commander"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527473657029772626" /></a><br />Next is Destro-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGSxMxoRpfT0rYYY5v4lmyX6rlfW7SdLGaJtjvSYI-u6OTza3zK2nj-SdVbbbsuvkOffutdeVBmRmRDTigQ2U_CPgT_tQVkagatBQxcbU0KhFbTus2uRFRtBCvBbMoc3aPN48/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+2+-+Destro.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsGSxMxoRpfT0rYYY5v4lmyX6rlfW7SdLGaJtjvSYI-u6OTza3zK2nj-SdVbbbsuvkOffutdeVBmRmRDTigQ2U_CPgT_tQVkagatBQxcbU0KhFbTus2uRFRtBCvBbMoc3aPN48/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+2+-+Destro.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Destro"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527473661762027746" /></a><br />Stromshadow, with the original orientation and flipped plate-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJDEaRtn4kFirURd-uIOdtxYZrOIBoFLPm4Esa6cT1VaNQeuy7sMIQf90i96zeX4jthlwvj_yfRzs7vaNNH0MSpXNJ-r27U5aPriXvkflDnQ9R2eu40pO1omhIhBNF2V89kfe/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+3+-+Stormshadow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJDEaRtn4kFirURd-uIOdtxYZrOIBoFLPm4Esa6cT1VaNQeuy7sMIQf90i96zeX4jthlwvj_yfRzs7vaNNH0MSpXNJ-r27U5aPriXvkflDnQ9R2eu40pO1omhIhBNF2V89kfe/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+3+-+Stormshadow.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Stormshadow"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527473666151861970" /></a><br />Cesspool, one of my favourites from the set-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOH21Iu8Ebfw1_LkjoNZcYTmzVLbiO8ux8bxKIcZGSZdZO2Y3fQU0QGJAF37BxHEv2abQKloOUs0HCLj1fSHGLJzIp83fZQDw58juMFPfVx8QwbCFXotUfqFhM-6ww5cPBb8XD/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+4+-+Cesspool.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOH21Iu8Ebfw1_LkjoNZcYTmzVLbiO8ux8bxKIcZGSZdZO2Y3fQU0QGJAF37BxHEv2abQKloOUs0HCLj1fSHGLJzIp83fZQDw58juMFPfVx8QwbCFXotUfqFhM-6ww5cPBb8XD/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+4+-+Cesspool.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Cesspool"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527473668446755858" /></a><br />Overkill-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsco5mmY8PfGk1ZRTeF3dfy_uF5FYOAYLPcXjYD8-KKQBSFkQXZ-j7WncKPDdsThxPZfOT9ZyE8ecESaiCBf-v9LHw0igOkBUH4BBbZz9gcKjKarg-Sp90av_EHs32VtYYROT/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+5+-+Overkill.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsco5mmY8PfGk1ZRTeF3dfy_uF5FYOAYLPcXjYD8-KKQBSFkQXZ-j7WncKPDdsThxPZfOT9ZyE8ecESaiCBf-v9LHw0igOkBUH4BBbZz9gcKjKarg-Sp90av_EHs32VtYYROT/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+5+-+Overkill.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Overkill"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527473679590875938" /></a><br />Stalker-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfO6aQFBRmsEwjoR3RkpYkZGvY6brZ2MM38qi3dPsWLUkj6GMjljxN6Qcuj1eAm7bfcb7hquot_WxBE2s0tyeYtqDQg9SIEGjFpwz_LwPgtNXHuBwu-aKAvDX7a3GsLBUP2WL/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+6+-+Stalker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 333px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWfO6aQFBRmsEwjoR3RkpYkZGvY6brZ2MM38qi3dPsWLUkj6GMjljxN6Qcuj1eAm7bfcb7hquot_WxBE2s0tyeYtqDQg9SIEGjFpwz_LwPgtNXHuBwu-aKAvDX7a3GsLBUP2WL/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+6+-+Stalker.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Stalker"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527475809709206578" /></a><br />Hawk-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsqxM2Ezda6CDMYyzjVZudMYu7d3_5k9dkWtQmGusu3nK1Jmv-CATBlZ31aZiieGH8V-DcL8895w2h5T-c3QXvgLlA5DdgvPaIhes7-NQaXLg1nxnTMBsZnZYcN02anQwZJ-_/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+7+-+Hawk.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXsqxM2Ezda6CDMYyzjVZudMYu7d3_5k9dkWtQmGusu3nK1Jmv-CATBlZ31aZiieGH8V-DcL8895w2h5T-c3QXvgLlA5DdgvPaIhes7-NQaXLg1nxnTMBsZnZYcN02anQwZJ-_/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+7+-+Hawk.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Hawk"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527475814125524306" /></a><br />Duke-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdZnXZgU7LwxpPnuUVCxldBw3crLxh1TgESBUqYqL47RKbD7fN-GjDSGejRiAaq71Tojt7RMap2vrvYtj5dWR6k_Lbeqpqj-SM7zPqug4OfICREHMS1JfUOgF6v1Snd5LepRT/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+9+-+Duke.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfdZnXZgU7LwxpPnuUVCxldBw3crLxh1TgESBUqYqL47RKbD7fN-GjDSGejRiAaq71Tojt7RMap2vrvYtj5dWR6k_Lbeqpqj-SM7zPqug4OfICREHMS1JfUOgF6v1Snd5LepRT/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+9+-+Duke.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Duke"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527475817773563026" /></a><br />and Flint-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tkCwu0gf-dfpQjNoxvRI6W1YyA8F4ULSrIqKKxm8J77akFk7gBZ2eu1mk9hwIL-co3x5cIJ_QSQbnSaZrvKTJigFkDtQVq3N0WGYEorVA52Q2zrL1qFL6FYjRh76tetk4re0/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+10+-+Flint.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-tkCwu0gf-dfpQjNoxvRI6W1YyA8F4ULSrIqKKxm8J77akFk7gBZ2eu1mk9hwIL-co3x5cIJ_QSQbnSaZrvKTJigFkDtQVq3N0WGYEorVA52Q2zrL1qFL6FYjRh76tetk4re0/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plate+10+-+Flint.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plate - Flint"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527475822977191474" /></a><br />There are also three plates that Bart no longer has copies of the artwork for-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uE3TXStratN2XeERRuMh8SQ3lFQbavM6RjA6hMtfZ-7I0zwOKHVpuhxDBk4iNI6KJ-kyubP5iVEt73U76nPQHLJFnQV14vlkuWA0d8gx4M0RFIz4qZcxnZ_XMYwwE_R3ebRj/s1600/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plates+-+no+art.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9uE3TXStratN2XeERRuMh8SQ3lFQbavM6RjA6hMtfZ-7I0zwOKHVpuhxDBk4iNI6KJ-kyubP5iVEt73U76nPQHLJFnQV14vlkuWA0d8gx4M0RFIz4qZcxnZ_XMYwwE_R3ebRj/s400/Bart+Sears+GI+JOE+Trace+Plates+-+no+art.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plates x3"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527475829883324514" /></a><br />And here's the Instruction Manual for the Trace Plates, which I was surprised lasted the near 20 years of its existence-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6GrRv6k5YERJRW0DOW9rWqP7Nlip-uyRxvNVxjYOG5B0Fvn8kTKhqtOzIUqUKDcCgt-VGDUg3vG5giVW7hVZws4VwLaW2Vwpdzt3GWa0ep7iwLrU6vF6V7CGekqfzgj5e1QH/s1600/GI+JOE+Trace+Plates+Instruction+Manual.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6GrRv6k5YERJRW0DOW9rWqP7Nlip-uyRxvNVxjYOG5B0Fvn8kTKhqtOzIUqUKDcCgt-VGDUg3vG5giVW7hVZws4VwLaW2Vwpdzt3GWa0ep7iwLrU6vF6V7CGekqfzgj5e1QH/s400/GI+JOE+Trace+Plates+Instruction+Manual.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears GI Joe Trace Plates Instruction Manual"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527477746782332002" /></a><br />Now for a bit of information. The G.I. Joe Trace Plates have a copyright dated 1991, released by Hasbro. The original set came with crayons, 5 coloured pencils, drawing paper, crayon holder, instructions and a nifty storage case/drawing board. My set is missing the pencils, crayons and crayon holder, but all of the 6 double-sided plates are present and in excellent condition.<br /><br />I'm sure you'll agree that it is a fantastic item, especially for a Bart Sears fan like me, who thoroughly enjoys the more unusual items of his. I mentioned to Bart the other day that these are the sorts of things that I really like, because they stand out so much next to the usual comic and printed matter fare.<br /><br />Unfortunately, Bart also informed me that there is a WWF (the wrestlers, not the wildlife fund) set as well. But I've not managed to locate them as of yet.<br /><br />So there you have it anywho. As an aside to the G.I. Joe set, I also managed to pick up this item last week-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97RPneDYOES8dZYZhA00vFeBfD27bS8l2CNhYiTTO6GjkSYDfTsLmr7tJUOmjyJJyeQarMDNH0HJ2yeLvv1fjNm6anmpFqPy_zoU_3hMiNygC45Sn7YKPGGw9RWI4ncY35OYJ/s1600/Bart+Sears+Bionisaurus+Badge.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 212px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi97RPneDYOES8dZYZhA00vFeBfD27bS8l2CNhYiTTO6GjkSYDfTsLmr7tJUOmjyJJyeQarMDNH0HJ2yeLvv1fjNm6anmpFqPy_zoU_3hMiNygC45Sn7YKPGGw9RWI4ncY35OYJ/s400/Bart+Sears+Bionisaurus+Badge.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Bionisaurus Badge"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527477756185815890" /></a><br />It's the Valiant Bionisaurus pin, who's image is taken from a panel on page 15 of X-O Manowar #15. The badge measures a mere 30 x 15mm, and the card that it came attached too, both sides of which are shown below, side by side, is only slightly larger at 35 x 37mm.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHqUQ5zix6PNvaClhgqGYYEC_gwyie0QPRuGXvUbceYElNI84b09LbVGcK4GuqHZK6Qee3vHe9BzHWFZdwlImO8OxdiCjCqR7D3NckhD_HRUYdXX3NdEFdVFAv5LBJPn9J4ux/s1600/Bart+Sears+Bionisaurus+Badge+card.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 189px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHqUQ5zix6PNvaClhgqGYYEC_gwyie0QPRuGXvUbceYElNI84b09LbVGcK4GuqHZK6Qee3vHe9BzHWFZdwlImO8OxdiCjCqR7D3NckhD_HRUYdXX3NdEFdVFAv5LBJPn9J4ux/s400/Bart+Sears+Bionisaurus+Badge+card.jpg" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Bionisaurus Badge Card"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527477758872461170" /></a><br />This is only the second Bart Sears badge/pin that I've owned. About 10 years ago, I owned the Judge Dredd badge featuring Bart's Dredd from Judge Dredd #13, published by SQP. But I lost it on a plane going from Melbourne to Edinburgh. I've never seen it for sale since, and it is perhaps the lowest point in my Bart Sears collecting history. <br /><br />For those who want to know, there are only three Bart Sears badges in existence- The Judge Dredd one, the Bionisaurus one, and the accompanying Turok one.<br /><br />Anyway, I'll be doing another post in a couple of days, hopefully, so pop back soon!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-80545206811560051112010-08-05T14:42:00.017+01:002010-08-06T07:28:27.038+01:00A few recent purchasesDespite all of the excitement concerning the launch of Ominous Studios, this here #1 Bart Sears Fan doesn't have time to get too wrapped in it all, as there are still plenty of items to buy, list and organise.<br /><br />I've actually had quite a healthy few weeks as far as Bart Sears work is concerned, managing to plug in some far too long vacant gaps in my collection, as well as discovering a few absolute gems along the way too.<br /><br />I received a consignment of Bart Sears goodies from my old friends MyComicShop, not to mention a rather beautiful item from the old enemy, France. And just yesterday I re-visited that great little comic shop in Dublin, and came away with a few things.<br /><br />As a bit of a change (for the better and the new system from now on), I'm going to list the items, not in the order they arrived, but chronological as to when they were published. There's no real special reason for this, I just think it is a nice way to do it. So let's get started, shall we...?<br /><br />One of the cooler items I got from MCS this time around is this pretty little thing here-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43519WmUe_W87hU9d-0nwzaHWW2yFQWunwq6b6x2oscTAZ6F_4WXmOdI0hjZTNq3N5Rj3pzPWAgUCSCuTUrE7QBWpFFUAbex7uAChMz3rEr62aAHWc9Aq34himCpmqIUdA6Bx/s1600/Bart+Sears+Hero+Alliance+EOTGA+TPB+cover.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 314px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501977477016765682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg43519WmUe_W87hU9d-0nwzaHWW2yFQWunwq6b6x2oscTAZ6F_4WXmOdI0hjZTNq3N5Rj3pzPWAgUCSCuTUrE7QBWpFFUAbex7uAChMz3rEr62aAHWc9Aq34himCpmqIUdA6Bx/s400/Bart+Sears+Hero+Alliance+EOTGA+TPB+cover.jpg" /></a>This is an item that I've known the existence of for many, many years, but for some reason, I've never gotten my grubby little hands on it. There is a Deluxe Edition of this Graphic Album, with a nice hardback black cover, with simply the title 'Hero Alliance' showing. But this TPB is unique to the Deluxe Edition in that it has that painted cover on it. That cover was painted by a R. T. Schneider way back in 1986! Those of you that have an eye for Bart's art will perhaps look on this piece and note some resemblance to his style. Well, you'd be right. This painting was actually produced as a direct painted copy of the more traditional comic-style cover by Bart and Ron Lim, which is featured on the first page of the album.<br /><br />But perhaps what I find most interesting about this book is the fact that Bart is listed not as penciller, artist or illustrator, but as 'Assisted by Bart Sears,' -this following directly after the illustrator credits. What nerve! The Graphic Album has 47 pages of comic art, 25 of which have art by Bart (including the first 11 and a half), and he's just an assistant to the illustrators? I think not! But I am very glad to finally have this book, as it is one of his earliest works. For those of you interested in it, it reprints the Hero Alliance: End of the Golden Age story, which can be found in comic form too, published by Innovation.<br /><br />Next up we have this Quality Comics cover-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5O1dydLjBd52cIHEKuXClp5GPseOwPPMPpIi9U1_rhAMZocTpNRcQPzL3wo_pgndSncCch8n5jxjzdjL19654jE8XWrAeZ0yuFJH-39Sw9RV1ckX5uTEkxnWpQszLUCsdCrXS/s1600/Bart+Sears+Scavengers+%233+cover.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 259px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501977500424157266" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Scavengers #3 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5O1dydLjBd52cIHEKuXClp5GPseOwPPMPpIi9U1_rhAMZocTpNRcQPzL3wo_pgndSncCch8n5jxjzdjL19654jE8XWrAeZ0yuFJH-39Sw9RV1ckX5uTEkxnWpQszLUCsdCrXS/s400/Bart+Sears+Scavengers+%233+cover.jpg" /></a>This was the final cover I required to retain all of Bart's QC covers again in my new laminated format. This particular issue, Scavengers #3, from February 1988, has proven rather difficult to find in good condition, but I finally got it from MCS, and for a reasonable price too.<br /><br />So I thought I'd finally gotten all of the QC covers at last, then, only yesterday, I came across this one up in Dublin-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6B4I4QivA231WKM9rfoOK-NyUr3I3glRb6m0fP4u_l-48u6OW60TTmoav5lbb7WBGEvOcKpZizpLUADOw9zAFC-3Moa_Ioaoa1EBjE-qIG31BIO6PY6seNDm1dgG2xwCTh5cO/s1600/Bart+Sears+Scavengers+%233+cover+error.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 261px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501982165979894498" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Scavengers #3 error cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6B4I4QivA231WKM9rfoOK-NyUr3I3glRb6m0fP4u_l-48u6OW60TTmoav5lbb7WBGEvOcKpZizpLUADOw9zAFC-3Moa_Ioaoa1EBjE-qIG31BIO6PY6seNDm1dgG2xwCTh5cO/s400/Bart+Sears+Scavengers+%233+cover+error.jpg" /></a>Yes, I know, it has the same artwork as the previous one, but if you look closer, you'll see that the issue number is listed as #15. So, my initial thought was that they used the same artwork for the cover of issue #15. But that is not the case, because on the back cover, QC often pictured the other titles published in that same month, and the issues on this particular comics back cover were the same as the ones published the same month that Scavengers #3 came out. Also, the title Scavengers only went up to #14! Naturally enough, I bought it, brought it home and checked the interior story, which is also exactly the same as Scavengers #3; which can bring me to only one conclusion- this is a misprinted cover! I have no idea how many of these were printed, but I can't imagine it was many. A great find, indeed.<br /><br />And what would an order from MCS be without a Wizard issue? I don't know, I've never done it.<br />This shipment had Wizard #9 in it, the last of the early Wizard issues I needed, not least for the fantastic cover!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5vvRmZYqWoiTG-vDVYBcxzIy3RD10SOj1qwxDTgS8y1uDeOaJGUpKXQklYpGv16CK88OUQGTgQRlIgJ3tANyYZ2I7-r5mcW2EUfCRq_At4htwhYGSNJWEXpgs4YPoklfzZL6/s1600/Bart+Sears+Wizard+9+cover.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 269px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501982175080146082" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Wizard #9 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi5vvRmZYqWoiTG-vDVYBcxzIy3RD10SOj1qwxDTgS8y1uDeOaJGUpKXQklYpGv16CK88OUQGTgQRlIgJ3tANyYZ2I7-r5mcW2EUfCRq_At4htwhYGSNJWEXpgs4YPoklfzZL6/s400/Bart+Sears+Wizard+9+cover.jpg" /></a>For those keeping track (probably just me), there are a total of 4 different Poof! mascots in Wizard #9, as well as the Venom cover poster insert, a subscription coupon, and a few other Bart related bits and bobs.<br />As I've mentioned in the past, this is supposedly the issue that saved Wizard from going under, and the cover has always been mentioned as having a lot to do with that. I even go as far as to think that Bart is the single reason that Wizard still exists today (for better or worse). I'm probably going too far, but it might not be too much of a stretch.<br />I have now checked every Wizard issue from issue #1 all the way through to #48, with many other issues checked as well. I have catalogued all mention of Bart in all forms they come in, be it a piece of artwork, an interview, an article, etc. If you're interested in getting a copy of this document, please let me know.<br /><br />Next up is another pesky little item that I've only just been able to acquire again.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGJyWsp6KhtpgWUAmkrLHrNG7Uo5uuOaMpdrN5uUQ3ptpDrb8lT6Zfe67kiH6vP0D7yX2OoS6hEaoyJ6KLSI0eO7D5IEjSSFhdbe5hWWNtID7xXKZXwhvGLEPr27JQ3wK-s4s/s1600/Image+Scene+%2794+cover.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 241px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501982196422493394" border="0" alt="Image Scene 1994 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGJyWsp6KhtpgWUAmkrLHrNG7Uo5uuOaMpdrN5uUQ3ptpDrb8lT6Zfe67kiH6vP0D7yX2OoS6hEaoyJ6KLSI0eO7D5IEjSSFhdbe5hWWNtID7xXKZXwhvGLEPr27JQ3wK-s4s/s400/Image+Scene+%2794+cover.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_QsisfHf-86D15ORFCekPDvQpnK4uAoF8stpgozj1kWTAHWF2m63H4jbtDiUtid-UZJyFkO6l8aY_fOf6bZFnkURrz28Bb0BHLS9C2n5Sb0641E1tBYRY0H-M8nRPZy46qav/s1600/Bart+Sears+Image+Scene+Violator+pin-up.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 256px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501977485118643106" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Image Scene 1994 Violator pin-up" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_QsisfHf-86D15ORFCekPDvQpnK4uAoF8stpgozj1kWTAHWF2m63H4jbtDiUtid-UZJyFkO6l8aY_fOf6bZFnkURrz28Bb0BHLS9C2n5Sb0641E1tBYRY0H-M8nRPZy46qav/s400/Bart+Sears+Image+Scene+Violator+pin-up.jpg" /></a>It's the Image Comics 'Image Scene 1994' preview book. It's quite a hefty 80-odd pages of promotional splashes and series details, and I owned it years ago, cut out the Bart Sears Violator page, laminated it, popped it in a folder. But now I have it again for re-lamination.<br /><br />And here we have Shadows & Light #3, published in July, 1998 by Marvel. This is what's on the inside cover-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVpUxnm5EftXhGUR6g_sfgjT_16NnPPdKzEl6ke94-Vho00X6CmQZ7qqGyAh8awanvHfWXcw9mLxwHBQEWNoHGmtt3p4idT-Rc1_YNH2-L7jgZgE5XR3XmcsbOxigl-ypV2mT/s1600/Bart+Sears+Shadows+%26+Light+Colossus+small.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 264px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501982170736762226" border="0" alt="Barts Sears Colossus pin-up" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVpUxnm5EftXhGUR6g_sfgjT_16NnPPdKzEl6ke94-Vho00X6CmQZ7qqGyAh8awanvHfWXcw9mLxwHBQEWNoHGmtt3p4idT-Rc1_YNH2-L7jgZgE5XR3XmcsbOxigl-ypV2mT/s400/Bart+Sears+Shadows+%26+Light+Colossus+small.jpg" /></a>Of all of the images of Colossus down the years, I still fervently believe that they all bow before this one. I am generally quite biased toward Bart, but I think I'm on the money with this one. Many years ago, Mike Atiyeh coloured this piece, incredibly beautifully, I might add. But neither of us has the file anymore, unfortunately.<br />The series Shadows & Light only lasted to this issue, which is of course is a shame, because Bart was slated to do that <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRug-EevVCEbhVRDtB21kFxNdB3hMuR2yUTiPCePjhue8GJh8jFtjpoOiRN9UORYCUURUodYsYENfLsQrn6Tz1fJHkKYMVKRrE3ITfzjEkGHFhwi5Fk1iyU4Bn9JIiQkfJRPH/s1600-h/Incredible+page+2-3+small.jpg">Incredible</a> story in a later issue. Bart just recently informed me that he actually wrote that story, though he is unsure if he still has a copy of the script.<br /><br />I have also often wondered on the purpose of these pieces-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgH5-FTSKLcEzH_Czh9Dhm17oij48YsD9GqTaI0WiFGAHH-pNniesgEeOjYauggyT_kmZk2VYRv-CCoGMEzN9vqR4OYUwow53gYaM4gxMeU7g9ZiPGe6lNzb9qrsTKkMZkeek/s1600/Bart+Sears+S%26L-+Studies.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 185px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502001618200134050" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Shadows & Light studies" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNgH5-FTSKLcEzH_Czh9Dhm17oij48YsD9GqTaI0WiFGAHH-pNniesgEeOjYauggyT_kmZk2VYRv-CCoGMEzN9vqR4OYUwow53gYaM4gxMeU7g9ZiPGe6lNzb9qrsTKkMZkeek/s400/Bart+Sears+S%26L-+Studies.jpg" /></a>I've had copies of them for a long time now and was never sure if they were commissions, pin-ups or for something else entirely. Bart has now confirmed they were used as sort of preparation pieces for the 'Incredible' story, which was to feature these characters too. He also started on the Captain America and Vision studies too, but didn't get around to finishing them. Makes me feel all the more regretful that that story wasn't completed.<br /><br />Perhaps the pick of this particular litter though, is this-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqyvMdwiEL4SImsAoZxY7jTaH_XErbnwR19dIywuulDUIXhQpVuNIiQ0a2X-qFvjpt9xEPnvxargQytCyI-9Oj7wjmdeBIO9mISa_hLheMhwK5xpsLqUw3DXrvyx4_kuIbfWv/s1600/Bart+Sears+La+Voie+du+Samourai+2+cover.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 307px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501977492641694162" border="0" alt="Bart Sears La Voie du Samourai Book 2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXqyvMdwiEL4SImsAoZxY7jTaH_XErbnwR19dIywuulDUIXhQpVuNIiQ0a2X-qFvjpt9xEPnvxargQytCyI-9Oj7wjmdeBIO9mISa_hLheMhwK5xpsLqUw3DXrvyx4_kuIbfWv/s400/Bart+Sears+La+Voie+du+Samourai+2+cover.jpg" /></a>One of the times I was staying with Bart (I can't recall which), he showed my three books published by a French company that reprinted The Path from CrossGen Comics. It has taken me until just last week to get a copy of one of them for myself. The book that I got is the second of those three books, and reprints The Path #4-8. The company that produced the book is called Semic, based in Paris.<br />The great thing about the album is that it is laid out specifically for Bart's multiple two-page spreads, so each page has a two-page spread on it from the comics and it looks gorgeous. I'm definitely going to try and get the other two books, that's for sure. And, yes, they're all in French.<br /><br />Next up is this comic-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_I9BBvWv7PLEyg_mcUuY-mmDeqMZQJUs1TuD2qR31SsXtB_zGSN2f9KHo38kxjhyUPp9RL6A4VDH6kQ0hAup2JsKBoqbytCApEgrSRjW46pa2He57Wm7FuGqbIW_-hjPmlYs/s1600/Marvel+Handbook+10+cover.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 261px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501984652189747618" border="0" alt="Marvel Handbook #10 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx_I9BBvWv7PLEyg_mcUuY-mmDeqMZQJUs1TuD2qR31SsXtB_zGSN2f9KHo38kxjhyUPp9RL6A4VDH6kQ0hAup2JsKBoqbytCApEgrSRjW46pa2He57Wm7FuGqbIW_-hjPmlYs/s400/Marvel+Handbook+10+cover.jpg" /></a>As stated in another post, I had a good deal of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj73m83WRVUBUbSdfC2uuBl0lak_VkV5iUgFMR5YRfhmAP4GjuGJ91DZgfho96arMjHDH45FuKoPF_DQebB6qBAHK8qPZisAA6JS1RMTlKQBnDET-JbOP8qqxG41TM_mPc2ThWd/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Caliban+coloured.jpg">luck</a> with issue #2 of this series, so I had my hopes up for this one too. But this is what was presented to me in the form of the contribution Bart made to it-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79I8xpLo6rIzDdB3SSXWeHFaBhf7ZBW8kqB6R2MIjO9tLgeigwPMyWuDpW5gL_MUfccWt3gGBZ-x1B_kAUWijlAdLvZY86PeAG7OaTn54WLs2NdcwEKleb3E-JwvFDcdvd6j4/s1600/Bart+Sears+Marvel+Handbook+10+Spiderwoman.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 257px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501977496672409122" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Marvel handbook Spider-Woman entry" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi79I8xpLo6rIzDdB3SSXWeHFaBhf7ZBW8kqB6R2MIjO9tLgeigwPMyWuDpW5gL_MUfccWt3gGBZ-x1B_kAUWijlAdLvZY86PeAG7OaTn54WLs2NdcwEKleb3E-JwvFDcdvd6j4/s400/Bart+Sears+Marvel+Handbook+10+Spiderwoman.jpg" /></a>If you squint your eyes and perhaps pull out a magnifying glass to aid you, you might just see that little box in the bottom-left corner. That tiny image of Mattie Franklin, taken from page 17 of Spider-Woman #12 is, in fact, the only thing of Bart's in the whole comic. Needless to say, it didn't quite live up to my expectations, but I ain't complaining... much.<br /><br />Whilst in that comic shop in Dublin yesterday, I also picked up a cheap copy of the Batman: Going Sane TPB-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1L0VWIckVpGbY2qIbYf67YCLuf3ANXRYTXHzQ6lHAZQ1C6YGiPEErOdzfGph_8vmLgKhI-g0Yp6Lur1B3qJphP9CBmWb30lGlRoUFJDvsIuVz_BNiW-loljIGmBiv4kGAlWXb/s1600/Batman+-+Going+Sane+TPB+cover.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 309px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501982186333406514" border="0" alt="Batman: Going Sane TPB" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1L0VWIckVpGbY2qIbYf67YCLuf3ANXRYTXHzQ6lHAZQ1C6YGiPEErOdzfGph_8vmLgKhI-g0Yp6Lur1B3qJphP9CBmWb30lGlRoUFJDvsIuVz_BNiW-loljIGmBiv4kGAlWXb/s400/Batman+-+Going+Sane+TPB+cover.jpg" /></a>As you can see, the back cover features some of Bart's art, and his art is scattered throughout the book in various forms, be it the title page, etc. And of course his Legends of the Dark Knight #200 issue is also reprinted at the back of the book. I still have a few trades to get of Bart's, namely- The Scream, The Helm and the Indiana Jones one, which I'm sure I'll pick up somewhere down the line.<br /><br />Finally, I also bought the Wolverine:Weapon X 100 Project TPB, which features both of Bart's <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMso9r-NWBbY8HUL41COonwrJnxpfQp9qvERDmY4t9MMWGqz9w3s5J-UBr1OJHg33IlrSnOJKZVfauuvTYGBdU7PF5LnQka_CQZ9E9VFePuljx3dI-sV2VT-aImU8qJP_ZWdsw/s1600-h/Hero+Cover+1+small.jpg">awesome</a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_NbNjoA5lOvLgMvOEfmFa508_4DAu0OmBmrc3Cr9H_v5NBTFktUWhPw-PtBDPf0oU68DeE7lNSHKeit07S6iwsuO9k3Nq5t26j0a7p4QzNArsUfyE3NzKSGf2bSuCpDtjpMSP/s1600-h/Hero+Cover+2+small.jpg">covers</a> for the project.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5m1pxqB8AvVyms0iva2JbdHhPNsWUWrtFo0HFAuqnHm6hcR-uaAZ7zNgqRIe8jLj32KRyxDh_vzDR3m4REaZ4IuZlwzrhkkzESK-H9hSpRypqc1lsQ92H1XTbtjG3EW0nBy2/s1600/Wolverine+Weapon+X+100+Project+cover.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 261px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501984653363874050" border="0" alt="Wolverine:Weapon X 100 Project TPB cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5m1pxqB8AvVyms0iva2JbdHhPNsWUWrtFo0HFAuqnHm6hcR-uaAZ7zNgqRIe8jLj32KRyxDh_vzDR3m4REaZ4IuZlwzrhkkzESK-H9hSpRypqc1lsQ92H1XTbtjG3EW0nBy2/s400/Wolverine+Weapon+X+100+Project+cover.jpg" /></a>I haven't decided whether or not I should cut Bart's page out of the book yet, but I'm leaning toward just doing it!<br /><br />There you have it anyway. These couple of weeks worth of acquisitions have bitten off a sizable chunk of the Bart Sears items I still require, and I'm getting to the stage where the Action Figures Bart worked on are becoming the easier items to get. So I've no doubt you will be seeing some Toy Biz and C.O.P.S. toys featured here in the future.<br /><br />Until next time...Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-7974623118417869382010-07-27T21:33:00.004+01:002010-07-27T22:58:45.294+01:00The Ominous Studios website is near!As related in my previous post, Bart Sears has recently announced the creation of his new company - Ominous Studios. And what good is any new business venture without a fancy new website to go with it?<br /><br />The folks at Ominous Studios have been working tirelessly to get the website up and running and what I have seen looks fantastic. And as a treat for you, dear Searsians, I have once more been granted permission to give you a sneak peak at what the site is going to look like.<br /><br />So here is the 'About Us' page.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiK2VjNdY901usc5b6UGWoIeR0D58pYRdbJK_JRv8MU-l7EN8q1KIxgAnP4tDNvEWNus0PLZKEXq6uwM0lE3odmefq43Y5-9GHJjs8Xm4QE2e980bFUkDQJS4Z6wowZwgdccB/s1600/Ominous+Studios-About+Us.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 198px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498695268687451314" border="0" alt="Ominous Studios - About Us" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiK2VjNdY901usc5b6UGWoIeR0D58pYRdbJK_JRv8MU-l7EN8q1KIxgAnP4tDNvEWNus0PLZKEXq6uwM0lE3odmefq43Y5-9GHJjs8Xm4QE2e980bFUkDQJS4Z6wowZwgdccB/s400/Ominous+Studios-About+Us.jpg" /></a>As you can see, Ominous Studios has a broad spectrum of artistic works on display, from comic work, character design, children's books, game artwork and promotional pieces. It is also a great example of Ominous Studios' adaptability and program knowledge, with everything from pencils all the way though to the latest digital art programs on display.<br /><br />And this is the 'Clients' listing, featuring a close-up of one of the companies cooler characters- Raaman.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGxLSj9Yb-yyxotnrAfRrHc7DMfn9IlHa3KHsHq8RcJKb7RJTbweQsVfn0ciSNktETm8Z8apPPNCZUz8EhqD4om-5yzPNOGhWovawA8_-l0L-vZiG6jncPUcaz4QS5ca0SRb_/s1600/Ominous+Studios-Clients.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 163px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498695271937781474" border="0" alt="Ominous Studios - Clients" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYGxLSj9Yb-yyxotnrAfRrHc7DMfn9IlHa3KHsHq8RcJKb7RJTbweQsVfn0ciSNktETm8Z8apPPNCZUz8EhqD4om-5yzPNOGhWovawA8_-l0L-vZiG6jncPUcaz4QS5ca0SRb_/s400/Ominous+Studios-Clients.jpg" /></a>So there you have it. Parts of the website will be available to view imminently, and I'll be pointing to it as soon as it is right here!<br /><br />So don't go too far...<br /><br />On another Ominous Studios related matter, hopefully a lot of you are busy working on getting your artwork together to submit to Ominous Studios. The gang will be more than happy to look at your work, with one simple proviso, you have to follow the Submission Guidelines, and that means that they want to see 6-10 of your chosen pieces of art. You can include a link to your website if you have one, but you MUST have those 6-10 pieces, not just the website link. The guys at Ominous Studios said "Time simply doesn't allow for us to go through each site selecting and printing artwork."<br />But they are really looking forward to seeing what you guys can come up with for them!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-69903454256876690922010-07-15T16:47:00.008+01:002010-07-15T19:42:13.323+01:00Ominous Studios is here!<div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzAAh2yiubY2ueZcss7IzF1nS2FI2jdLMt2_a-SDN2gtgTcfpr0b_Dfx8IoAXHz7K9zm5O6wkIoPG0YsL7R2AjD9DVrIVaz0YcTE7pRLhoXM3AVekOQ23hlLNJl0G2lnDlxbo/s1600/Ominous+Studios+logo.bmp"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 103px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494160995930375026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnzAAh2yiubY2ueZcss7IzF1nS2FI2jdLMt2_a-SDN2gtgTcfpr0b_Dfx8IoAXHz7K9zm5O6wkIoPG0YsL7R2AjD9DVrIVaz0YcTE7pRLhoXM3AVekOQ23hlLNJl0G2lnDlxbo/s400/Ominous+Studios+logo.bmp" /></a>Of all of the interviews, articles, reviews and news I have passed on to you, dearest readers, through this blog; nothing (and I mean nothing!) compares to this!<br />A few of you might know, through Facebook no doubt, that Bart Sears has set up his own company, called Ominous Studios. This studio has been coming for... well, years, really. But the reality of it really only became apparent this year, and particularly the last few months.<br /><br />So what is Ominous Studios, I hear you ask? Well, it can be summed up with this sentence - "Quality Concept & Creation for the Entertainment Industry."<br />What on earth does that mean? It means that Ominous Studios is an artistic and Intellectual Property house, where projects will be undertaken and both 'resident' and freelance artists will provide their services for a negotiated fee. It is also a place where many Intellectual Properties will be on display, in a variety of formats such as web comics and short films, to name a few, and these Intellectual Properties will often be available for Purchasing Rights and Distibution agreements.<br /><br />But what about the Ominous Press characters of old? Will they have a place in this studio? The short answer is - YES! The project is a closely guarded secret, but not for too much longer. And what you are going to see, whilst different, is far superior to what has come before.<br /><br />But now, as an exclusive to this blog (if only by a few hours!), I can announce that Ominous Studios is officially open for business and is accepting submissions to fill it's existing contracts!<br /><br />And here are the submission guidelines for those interested parties-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpe-9VXHLEvTuKt1N95YE4jgAfPhylF4YNk9zsV-qQCLszKGPYXZ32JlxjDopr6_aJ7_04unqjwatKYKJg66-KXx893zzp-YIG6Ss8XtLW9pHZ_B3tu2lBCzjOEYg_FM1RoFS/s1600/OS+sub+guidelines+A4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 283px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494203998918164706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpe-9VXHLEvTuKt1N95YE4jgAfPhylF4YNk9zsV-qQCLszKGPYXZ32JlxjDopr6_aJ7_04unqjwatKYKJg66-KXx893zzp-YIG6Ss8XtLW9pHZ_B3tu2lBCzjOEYg_FM1RoFS/s400/OS+sub+guidelines+A4.jpg" /></a><br />As stated above, you'll need to sign a release form when submitting to Ominous Studios (as is common with pretty much all companies now), so below are the forms for any interested parties. The first is the international A4 size, the latter is the US equivalent.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2E9BQoau6MY9tOjJh4l8xXTCLbnYkAanMk1G1j1bCenTn03qfEkLkocZZY8uLxgd_Q85C6ejqDznekv3fc-wRzo0ZliiJ2Avb1INlCm6TXQR5G8bJjdjcPd59NPbpbD5odzl/s1600/OS+release+form.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 283px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494204011739036674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ2E9BQoau6MY9tOjJh4l8xXTCLbnYkAanMk1G1j1bCenTn03qfEkLkocZZY8uLxgd_Q85C6ejqDznekv3fc-wRzo0ZliiJ2Avb1INlCm6TXQR5G8bJjdjcPd59NPbpbD5odzl/s400/OS+release+form.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTTtBJTUXdLOuKYvtbpDV1sfpEfSknspE3EPDvQQjyTFr2TZ4Tf_duO26xrGYYwsYyNguVaLhjNmjfSq1wN4-TNzw2H8EuuOK54dA16c8ZDLW9SJf948IFOSwKqCjXbkrs0X-/s1600/OS+release+form+US.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 309px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494204005923007602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTTtBJTUXdLOuKYvtbpDV1sfpEfSknspE3EPDvQQjyTFr2TZ4Tf_duO26xrGYYwsYyNguVaLhjNmjfSq1wN4-TNzw2H8EuuOK54dA16c8ZDLW9SJf948IFOSwKqCjXbkrs0X-/s400/OS+release+form+US.jpg" /></a><br />So get creating folks, and have the chance to be a part of this historic occasion!<br /><br />On a personal note, I have been unbelievably privileged to be involved in some small way in helping both Bart & Michelle at Ominous Studios in getting things together. Sometimes it has only been a bit of advice, or somebody to bounce ideas off of, or even just a spot of proof-reading. But it has been an utter thrill from the very beginning. Bart and I have been discussing Ominous storylines since the first time we emailed each other, all of those years ago, and it is quite amazing to finally see things coming to fruition.<br /><br />Naturally, there will be plenty of announcements to be made in the near and far future, so check back soon. </div></div></div>Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-21804158349877385802010-07-15T11:55:00.006+01:002010-11-13T10:00:26.719+00:00An interesting thing...This morning, whilst searching the internet for something completely different to do with Bart Sears, I came across this little nugget.<br /><br />"...And I DO remember the Capullo Wizard stuff. He's awesome. My favorite will always be Bart Sears. So much of my understructure is based upon his work in Wizard years ago."<br /><br />So who wrote this quote? Well, If you browse the internet for mention of Bart, you will come across many similar posts by amateur artists and aspiring artists alike. But this? This was acclaimed comic artist Dave Finch talking!<br /><br />I can't recall another time when such a popular creator has praised Bart to such a high degree.<br /><br />The quote is directly related to Dave's Gnomon Workshop Figure Drawing tutorials. You can see some nice frame-grabs and the quote itself <a href="http://davefinchart.blogspot.com/2010/03/gnomon-workshop.html">here.</a>Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-8983126642703573252010-06-30T07:14:00.003+01:002010-06-30T08:15:56.261+01:00An impending Bart Sears announcement!Those of you who are friends with Bart on Facebook will know that Bart is going to be announcing something big in the near future. For those of you that aren't his friend, he called it an <span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>"Ominous Announcement!"</strong></span><span style="color:#000000;"> </span><br />Speculation instantly turned to the prospect of Bart returning to the Ominous Press Universe, after an agonising 16 years away from it. Whilst I DO know what Bart has got planned for the immediate future, I'm not about to let that Genie out of the bottle before Bart does. But I am very excited about it.<br /><br />Bart informed myself and a select few other close friends and family that something big was in the offing about a month ago. My initial impression was that Bart and his wife Michelle were going to try and set about marketing Bart better as a brand, rather than just some ex-comic artist. Which would certainly be welcome and perhaps long overdue. I have watched for years as Bart has taken on jobs that probably weren't worthy of his skill, though he has made the best of each project he has gotten. But I've long thought that Bart was in dire need of somebody akin to an agent. Somebody that can acquire for him the more plum and suitable jobs.<br /><br />Look at it this way- How many times have you thought that Bart should be drawing such-and-such's title, be it Conan, Wolverine, Hulk, Batman, etc. but have had to watch him draw Spider-Woman, The Scream or even Ramayan instead?<br />Bart Sears should, after nearly a quarter of a century in the comics industry, command far more respect and be given much better projects, than he has for the last 10-15 years of his career.<br /><br />Now, you may say that I am biased towards Bart and maybe I give him more credit than he is due? Sure, Bart has made some mistakes, there's no denying that. But Bart is also responsible for some of the most well-known comics of the last 25 years. Invasion! was a big hit, Justice League Europe was acclaimed everywhere, Eclipso was ground-breaking, his run on X-O and Turok was very popular, Violator was a massive success, not to mention Bart's tutorials in Wizard being many people's favourite sections of those early Wizards. And Bart was a Top 10 artist for years. And if you look the artists he shared that distinction with, be they Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Joe Quesada, J. Scott Campbell, Marc Silvestri and all of the rest, the vast majority of them were and still are hugely successful, well beyond anything Bart has known.<br /><br />There are possibly a few reasons for Bart's career not being what it should be. I think that the most likely reason is Bart's chameleon-like artistic style. Whilst it is amazing to see the incredible variety of styles Bart has produced over the years, I think it has been to the detriment of his career. Look at the big artists of the last 50 years- Neal Adams, Jim Lee, Michael Turner, etc. Many of them have barely altered the way they draw a page. There are a few modern artists who <em>have</em> shown a diversity of style, namely Leinil Yu and Steve McNiven, but a lot of that can be put down to the fruition of their style. Leinil Yu began as something of a Whilce Portacio clone, then he added elements of Mike Mignola and (seeminly every new artist's go to influence) Travis Charest. It was probably only with New Avengers and onwards that you could say he had a natural and distinct style of his own.<br /><br />But Bart has had his own style since a comparitively much earlier time in his career. I would put the latter half of Justice League Europe as the style defining moment for Bart. Only a a dozen or so issues into his career. Since then he has altered and manipulated that style on an aesthetic level, whilst retaining the core structure. Look at Warlord, which is by far the most loose Bart's work has ever been. But you can still see the underlying structure that is clearly Bart's own.<br /><br />I think that whilst Bart has exhibited a never before seen skill at stylistic adaptation, it has detracted and drawn attention away from both his wonderful storytelling ability, as well as his core style that can be very popular and career-sustaining.<br /><br />My point is, would the comic career of Bart Sears be any different if he followed Jim Lee's footsteps and retained his style consistently and constantly? And what the heck does that have to do with Bart's impending big announcement? Admitedly, not a whole lot.<br />But I think that Bart is at a point now that he knows what works and what doesn't, and whilst he may enjoy keeping things fresh, comics are a business like any other, and to survive in it, one simply must make themselves a marketable commodity.<br /><br />So I think the future is looking brighter for Bart than it has for many years. We may indeed be entering a new golden era for the career of Bart Sears, be it in comics, gaming or whatever.<br /><br />And, obviously, as soon as Bart makes his big announcement, I'll be forwarding it on here, with some extra, fan-based, thoguths, thrown in for good measure.<br /><br />These are exciting times to be a Searsian, folks!Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-49609644270474524882010-06-29T18:21:00.023+01:002010-06-29T19:43:47.592+01:00Ominous Press: Promo flyersI've been looking back at a lot of the posts I've written over the last year and was somewhat alarmed to note that most of the posts are to do with Bart Sears items I have purchased over the internet. There has been very little content dealing with other areas of collecting Bart's work. <div><div><div><br /><div>So, now that I don't have a constant stream of packages coming through the mailbox, I though it an oppurtune time to delve into my Bart Sears boxes and see if I can't put together a more cojent selection of items to show you all.</div><div>So here's what I found.</div><div>Back in those glorious and much missed Ominous Press days, the comics industry was going through something of a boom, an albeit unsustainable boom, but a boom nonetheless. Companies seemed to have an ocean of cash to throw into promotional material of all sorts and sizes. POGs, trading cards, stickers, posters, action figures and all manner of things could be easily found.</div><div>Ominous Press was no different. Although only 3 actual comics were produced for the company, 2 posters, a postcard, bi-fold and tri-fold binders, a mini-comic and 5 promo flyers also got made. </div><div>I'll be dealing with each individual item at a later stage, but I wanted to show you the 5 promo flyers today.</div><div>So here they are-</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25t4fNZ4HBB1a1ngiExgczzTehg_ZX5FY2ESa2q2Ei7jKdCgGo7cdv8xft5VZrNpZQso31_LMVwKU1q4PHBBEP3tF1CxYg-AYzNcgoa4JCEm5d4qeDCBrF8-78WqISt05hd-n/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+It+Begins.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 310px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488262778453330530" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Ominous Press Promo flyer- It Begins" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25t4fNZ4HBB1a1ngiExgczzTehg_ZX5FY2ESa2q2Ei7jKdCgGo7cdv8xft5VZrNpZQso31_LMVwKU1q4PHBBEP3tF1CxYg-AYzNcgoa4JCEm5d4qeDCBrF8-78WqISt05hd-n/s400/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+It+Begins.jpg" /></a>I'll do this chronologically by comic, so first up is the 'It Begins' flyer. The main image of Mael and Auoro appears in a few places, there was even a black & white print produced of it. The mocked-up Wizard cover at the bottom is entirely fictional, as no OP characters ever made it to a Wizard cover, though the closest they got was the inside cover.</div>The main image is an interesting piece in that it was both pencilled and inked by Bart himself, whilst the colouring was created by Wes Merritt, who has since gone on to be a very accomplished watercolour artist. If you're interested, you can see his website <a href="http://www.wesleymerritt.com/Page1.php">here.</a> </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrySXoLlly9x8WlUwsgVaXRXSRwvb0S-eVUQAhryRNr3mgiOxAwUSkAQ6Ie7SYUtkfRilNEYYxAQ5AA5i22LgL9fF_qWaSrBIoTfprcDjrtBTUdpClUO9akJssFhRnUdFN1WfY/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+Maels+Rage.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 311px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488264163377392610" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Ominous Press Promo flyer- Mael's Rage" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrySXoLlly9x8WlUwsgVaXRXSRwvb0S-eVUQAhryRNr3mgiOxAwUSkAQ6Ie7SYUtkfRilNEYYxAQ5AA5i22LgL9fF_qWaSrBIoTfprcDjrtBTUdpClUO9akJssFhRnUdFN1WfY/s400/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+Maels+Rage.jpg" /></a>Next up is the promo flyer for 'Mael's Rage.' I believe this image was created solely for advertising purposes, as it does not appear anywhere else but in adverts. This piece was inked by Andy Smith, but I'm not sure who coloured it.</div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltWAIcc-jn1xaj9Jm6i3mMZXLDZDrbdX0vLXFx1DToSs9Dm9kKLNl-OnPpcLvVLNjrOIZP3EJV-puwDr9NXwNqmbzQDC2Df0XfozrFhEWOnk1hO7URIG0BfvIWhSoqWtmiFjJ/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+August.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 311px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488262758808422914" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Ominous Press Promo flyer- August" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiltWAIcc-jn1xaj9Jm6i3mMZXLDZDrbdX0vLXFx1DToSs9Dm9kKLNl-OnPpcLvVLNjrOIZP3EJV-puwDr9NXwNqmbzQDC2Df0XfozrFhEWOnk1hO7URIG0BfvIWhSoqWtmiFjJ/s400/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+August.jpg" /></a>Then we have an interesting one indeed, here we have both 'Mael's Rage' and 'Death of Pheros' advertised on the same flyer. The same image for the 'Mael's Rage' flyer is used here, and the Pheros image is both the same as the fictional Wizard cover from the 'It Begins' flyer, as well as the below 'Death of Pheros' flyer too.<br /><br /><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxiLeA3i3BGkjS11lBphIevMbqNA_sFsxxtytxCv3GjMRe3v6miO187umcWK3ObT0Y34-xzbinMvfnShJqpYI-8gY8Ev1g3pyS4PfGw3vI6lD3QphRO5wkleNiZsX2iQdR8fU/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+DOP.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 310px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488262760311753602" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Ominous Press Promo flyer- Death of Pheros" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIxiLeA3i3BGkjS11lBphIevMbqNA_sFsxxtytxCv3GjMRe3v6miO187umcWK3ObT0Y34-xzbinMvfnShJqpYI-8gY8Ev1g3pyS4PfGw3vI6lD3QphRO5wkleNiZsX2iQdR8fU/s400/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+DOP.jpg" /></a>And here's the 'Death of Pheros' flyer in all of it's glory. This is another piece that was both pencilled and inked by Bart, with colours by Brad Perkins. I think this is a very interesting piece of artwork, and a great example of Bart's storytelling ability. There are several clues as to who Pheros' killer is, and it leaves the question of what is happening to Mael and Auoro? The tagline that reads 'You've never seen a hero die... UNTIL NOW,' is true to it's word. Although the comic never made it into the public domain, I've read the script and seen the artwork produced for it (which is mostly in rough layouts), and can say that it would have been one of the outright coolest comics ever, in my opinion. The fight scenes are epic and the plot is tight and emotive. It is one of my greatest regrets that this comic never came to fruition.<br /><br /><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPX6EsVGlbxsnPfm3O8VASPe9-vKvb8t6Q2TVsaucpImwWeaYtmwP0EYQuivJMLYksYX3XFsZNBLVrzro49sE-gTTMZJmOxi4RuXBBdGYvxmPquvDoxydgZ9VVdx8cby7sM0gP/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+Omen.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 310px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488264172855734850" border="0" alt="Bart sears Ominous Press Promo flyer- Omen" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPX6EsVGlbxsnPfm3O8VASPe9-vKvb8t6Q2TVsaucpImwWeaYtmwP0EYQuivJMLYksYX3XFsZNBLVrzro49sE-gTTMZJmOxi4RuXBBdGYvxmPquvDoxydgZ9VVdx8cby7sM0gP/s400/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+Omen.jpg" /></a>Next up is the 'Omen' flyer. This, again, is a comic that never came out, but once more, I've read the script and it is pretty spectacular, as the Ominous Press Universe really opens out and the possibilities seem endless. I've always loved how the comic-specific fonts were used on this flyer, even the word 'HERO,' which is taken from Pheros' logo, minus the P and the S. I also love the image of Mael, perhaps because I managed to buy it off Bart many years ago. As far as I know, this is the only place this image of Mael is used.<br /><br /><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpl3sdyK5moqkAU5tBYZyD59kmcdaY20N2Uexh6JoTV-zicdAp1dyPJVUKedPI9DBkwGypRJ5JjV99UEg-_e6SpfXd4Oo94O62sMFFH54vAo9xXu5zjG4Z-y2Yfovvb5VX-8x5/s1600/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+poster+2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 312px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488264181676854882" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Ominous Press Promo flyer- Poster 2" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpl3sdyK5moqkAU5tBYZyD59kmcdaY20N2Uexh6JoTV-zicdAp1dyPJVUKedPI9DBkwGypRJ5JjV99UEg-_e6SpfXd4Oo94O62sMFFH54vAo9xXu5zjG4Z-y2Yfovvb5VX-8x5/s400/Bart+Sears+OP+flyer+poster+2.jpg" /></a>Lastly, we have the generic OP promo flyer, which utilizes the OP Poster 2 artwork. I've always referred to this piece as Poster 2, whereas Poster 1 is the one with Mael at one end, Dramaurg at the other. I'm not sure which piece was produced first, or the release order, but I'm pretty sure I've got it right!<br /><br /><div>I'm not entirely sure how these promo flyers were distributed, but there does exist an Ominous Press press kit, which contains a title synopsis and a few other things, in a nice grey envelope with a cool OP sticker on it. I imagine that some of the flyers were also included in the press kit. Bart?</div><br /><div>Anyway, it has been fun looking at these nifty little items (they're not that 'little' actually, they are all printed on standard US Letter size paper). I should be diving into the old Bart Sears boxes over the coming weekend, so come see what else I can find soon!</div>Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-36185644205434317602010-06-26T02:55:00.019+01:002010-07-06T08:17:30.912+01:00Discoveries...I seem to say this at the beginning of each new post these days, but- Wow! It's been too long since I've put up anything new here.<br /><br />There are several reasons for this though. First and foremost, I've been on holiday for the better part of the last month, visiting my family in Australia, including a new addition to the Penn family- my youngest brother's daughter Isabella.<br />Secondly, well, I haven't had anything by Bart Sears through the mailbox in a very long time! I've certainly been looking, but the small stack of items I still require are either tough to find or going for more than I'm willing to pay.<br />But saying all that, a strange thing happened to me a few days before we went on holiday. My wife and I were up in Dublin to see a band, and I took some time out to visit some of the comic shops that Dublin has to offer. There are several stores to choose from, namely a Forbidden Planet, Sub City and one veritable diamond in the rough, called... yeah, I can't actually remember what it's called...<br />But it's one of those stores that when you walk in, you just know you're going to come away with something good. The place was crammed full of literally dozens and dozens of stacked long boxes full of back issues of all shapes and sizes. I tell you, it was bliss!<br />So I browsed around for a little while, with my trusty and steadily shrinking Bart Sears Want List in hand. A few things jumped out at me along the way, including a couple of boxes of comics that were going for something like 15 for €5. There were some nice trade paperbacks at pretty decent prices too.<br />But then I came across the motherload! Boxes and boxes of UK Marvel comics, and wouldn't you know it, these babies were in there-<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJVRM6AlvXaFaxAe9JGvRG_V4ph2vl44rkDRzgh_jXyTqSQAY59DWHfNH5HwXkiZLgEjlQC2dvxO3QvA6pc9mGuOVSdirWvpqAL2Ukv1Yp3x53rNNt72AsFwX_hP7aTiV5W34/s1600/Bart+Sears+Astonishing+Spider-Man+94+cover.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 262px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487091673115346434" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Astonishing Spider-Man #94 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJVRM6AlvXaFaxAe9JGvRG_V4ph2vl44rkDRzgh_jXyTqSQAY59DWHfNH5HwXkiZLgEjlQC2dvxO3QvA6pc9mGuOVSdirWvpqAL2Ukv1Yp3x53rNNt72AsFwX_hP7aTiV5W34/s400/Bart+Sears+Astonishing+Spider-Man+94+cover.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulGmvMHQBT8mpr5pOWnt3BkreKsnEwWmMxwXxvex0ROdK3kUkIfW8WwXaSJQ0foLCkAIy8dCKuwg6HPRd7JK8YVy05MuEeq87anoQ6sdVQ9KEzzxJsFGNRGZmjO3fjI0dT2Pc/s1600/Bart+Sears+Astonishing+Spider-Man+95+cover.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 263px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487091680187701506" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Astonishing Spider-Man #95 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulGmvMHQBT8mpr5pOWnt3BkreKsnEwWmMxwXxvex0ROdK3kUkIfW8WwXaSJQ0foLCkAIy8dCKuwg6HPRd7JK8YVy05MuEeq87anoQ6sdVQ9KEzzxJsFGNRGZmjO3fjI0dT2Pc/s400/Bart+Sears+Astonishing+Spider-Man+95+cover.jpg" /></a><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3QEpebnMGiK54xQ-8kMQKWFN9Gt5C1MVxl1ub3GWTVjqIXUzaOCkQczTG7CNItezzuLgdMR13wThBCGwyIVBf9qqExHwye8Pnt3fP6jpHcBLNK5N2jO_tSNjUlcpBdDhTr2g/s1600/Bart+Sears+Astonishing+Spider-Man+97+cover.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 261px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487091683490259762" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Astonishing Spider-Man #97 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG3QEpebnMGiK54xQ-8kMQKWFN9Gt5C1MVxl1ub3GWTVjqIXUzaOCkQczTG7CNItezzuLgdMR13wThBCGwyIVBf9qqExHwye8Pnt3fP6jpHcBLNK5N2jO_tSNjUlcpBdDhTr2g/s400/Bart+Sears+Astonishing+Spider-Man+97+cover.jpg" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjikDgP9CceusqlJ26OGzfYKql6QZTI_DhKUrkoLmWyzstDcnCQ98vfrE4ZKGtNqV5nyNPwKk1uihZgIZaRGOykg71xyxyHd464bp_ySltVGnnmvwYmS7Y6PLDei8A1N8CZsRTi/s1600/Bart+Sears+Mighty+World+of+Marvel+47+cover.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 261px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487091693698069282" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Mighty World of Marvel #47 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjikDgP9CceusqlJ26OGzfYKql6QZTI_DhKUrkoLmWyzstDcnCQ98vfrE4ZKGtNqV5nyNPwKk1uihZgIZaRGOykg71xyxyHd464bp_ySltVGnnmvwYmS7Y6PLDei8A1N8CZsRTi/s400/Bart+Sears+Mighty+World+of+Marvel+47+cover.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><p>I've mentioned these items in a previous <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2008/09/lost-found-1.html">post</a>, but after some pretty extensive searching, I'd pretty much given up finding them. So I was rather chuffed to finally get my hands on them, I can tell you. It feels as though many years have passed since I have actually walked into a comic shop and found some old Bart Sears item I haven't been able to locate elsewhere, even on the internet.<br />So anyway, to break it down, here's what each issue contains pertaining to Bart.</p><p><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Astonishing Spider-Man #94</strong></span><span style="color:#000000;"><strong> </strong>Published 1/1/2003.</span><br />Cover reprinted from Peter Parker: Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #4. (Credits list Mark Pennington hilariously as 'Ian Pennington')<br />Peter Parker: Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #4 reprinted inside.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Astonishing Spider-Man #95</strong></span><span style="color:#000000;"> Published 29/1/2003.</span><br />Cover by John Byrne.<br />Peter Parker: Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #5 (minus the cover) reprinted inside.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Astonishing Spider-Man #97</strong></span><span style="color:#000000;"> Published 26/3/2003.</span><br />Cover reprinted from Spider-Woman #1.<br />Spider-Woman #1 & 2 reprinted inside.<br /><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>The Mighty World of Marvel #47</strong></span><span style="color:#000000;"> Published 4/10/2006.</span><br />Cover reprinted from Blade: Strange Tales #3.<br />Nothing else.<br /><br />In other news, Bart is working hard for Heatwave Interactive still, and there should hopefully be some wonderfully large announcements coming soon, of which I'll naturally pass along here. I can say that Bart has been producing some tremendous work for the company lately, he's even been branching out to digital painting, with startlingly good results.<br /><br />Also, for those that missed it, Bart's two 'Wolverine: Weapon X 100 Project' <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2009/07/hero-initiative-wolverine-100-project.html">covers</a> presumably feature in the Trade of the same name, which came out on December 2nd last year. I've yet to get my hands on a copy just yet, but when I do I'll confirm whether both covers did indeed make it in. <span style="color:#ff0000;">Bart has confirmed that both covers ARE indeed in the book. Thanks Bart.</span><br /><br />Be sure to check in here soon, as Bart and his wife Michelle are planning some big things in the hopefully near future and I'll be adding my services wherever required, and informing you all about it here. So stay tuned, Searsians!</p></div></div></div>Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-26363437355586726712010-03-20T10:27:00.016+00:002010-07-04T07:33:19.750+01:00Guess what the Postman delivered today? #11Wow, it seems like a very long time since I had a big bunch of Bart Sears goodies arrive on my doorstep. But that's exactly what happened yesterday.<br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div>As I've mentioned in previous posts, I have pretty much bought up all of the Bart Sears items that Mile High Comics has that I still require, so I've been forced to look for alternate sources to get my Bart Sears fix. And while Mile High will always be my favourite place to go, MyComicShop is proving to be a very good place to visit as well. Their prices are often better than MH, and their packaging is just insanely good.</div><div>So I placed an order for 11 items with them a few weeks ago, and now that they're here, I can share them with you.<br /></div><div>So let's get to it shall we?</div><br /><div>First up, I've finally been able to get my hands on these two Virgin Comics issues-</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrog9t_VWFWYWR16OaywExNb6su0xGoHN-kRqx6ss-CI1OcFhyphenhyphen7ITZ1a3eCwquHRQGAq2nNYLasEfQqWFTJ02Y1eVma1raWxlGwJbdhK9CH42FBV9__xzN4KuLuGfTMDeSglP/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Kshatriya+1+cover.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 258px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450663223698111650" border="0" alt="Bart Sears 'Blade of the Warrior: Kshatriya #1' cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwrog9t_VWFWYWR16OaywExNb6su0xGoHN-kRqx6ss-CI1OcFhyphenhyphen7ITZ1a3eCwquHRQGAq2nNYLasEfQqWFTJ02Y1eVma1raWxlGwJbdhK9CH42FBV9__xzN4KuLuGfTMDeSglP/s400/Bart+Sears+Kshatriya+1+cover.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRk8J0nEOm2eKBVXxJjUdwafIv-Lnt2pLoliFPh5FBGDLgaQkr-13PykUK9PL7yCQJlePkWhfmQzPtcR0mDSY4KLijOZC47kSo5uLSu9ZWGHzTgW-rjbNXT39Zcr9rQpB24yv/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Ramayan+7+cover.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 258px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450663225507077314" border="0" alt="Bart Sears 'Ramayan 3392AD Reloaded #7' cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRk8J0nEOm2eKBVXxJjUdwafIv-Lnt2pLoliFPh5FBGDLgaQkr-13PykUK9PL7yCQJlePkWhfmQzPtcR0mDSY4KLijOZC47kSo5uLSu9ZWGHzTgW-rjbNXT39Zcr9rQpB24yv/s400/Bart+Sears+Ramayan+7+cover.jpg" /></a></div><div>On the left we have 'Blade of the Warrior: Kshatriya #1,' with a very nice cover by Bart. The credits page states that Randy Elliott inked it, but I believe Bart inked it instead (Randy's signature is normally easily found on a piece).</div><div>On the right is 'Ramayan 3392AD Reloaded #7,' with a really cool cover by Bart (this time definitely inked by Randy). I've never had a good scan of this cover, and I was surprised to see the detail in it, which is perhaps above the level Bart would normally do for a piece like this nowadays.</div><div>So I'm pretty happy to finally have these two pieces in my collection.</div><div></div><div>Next up-</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuyCmgV3PeIW_XH7hzfRBj5tzgXQzfL2xqTVtkHv6wctvZYSTzt1H2YZLkNyAWmPtPWo8d5t1mJQ-ZNyMwjMJ75KT2PIkuOFcvWbhmF68PbpiC4fHOkBGfuCLAgCi_cD3zTs6/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+GL+Gallery+pin-up.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 259px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450664956398056882" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Green Lantern Gallery pin-up" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJuyCmgV3PeIW_XH7hzfRBj5tzgXQzfL2xqTVtkHv6wctvZYSTzt1H2YZLkNyAWmPtPWo8d5t1mJQ-ZNyMwjMJ75KT2PIkuOFcvWbhmF68PbpiC4fHOkBGfuCLAgCi_cD3zTs6/s400/Bart+Sears+GL+Gallery+pin-up.jpg" /></a><br />This awesome pin-up is from 'Green Lantern Gallery #1,' from December 1996. It is pencilled & inked by Bart, with some rather spectacular colours by Mike Atiyeh. I have had a copy of this pin-up for about 10 years, but now it is re-laminated and looking good.</div><div>I believe Darrin Wiltshire has a copy of this comic for me as well, but it is yours to keep now sir!</div><div>Also, Andy Smith has a great pin-up in this comic, so it is worth getting a hold of.</div><br /><div>I also got this-</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxQDy3tP5Qc-Q4Zl1ibWqt-nUApynq-1s6PA3z6Z-jN47-9cfmvjUOmqZ1FGWwmKeTlviFJtkgZgl02dm_tIiX7qSfSRilW51xcEA-PcA8_lXndWRCt0kCjhPIdpvPDyQKEKg/s1600-h/C8-TheSpectre22.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 264px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450669245418325442" border="0" alt="Bart Sears 'The Spectre #22' cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVxQDy3tP5Qc-Q4Zl1ibWqt-nUApynq-1s6PA3z6Z-jN47-9cfmvjUOmqZ1FGWwmKeTlviFJtkgZgl02dm_tIiX7qSfSRilW51xcEA-PcA8_lXndWRCt0kCjhPIdpvPDyQKEKg/s400/C8-TheSpectre22.jpg" /></a></div><div>I have owned a copy of this comic for at least 17 years, and I did laminate it a few years ago. But I'm just not happy with the laminating job on it (I used a thinner laminating sheet), so I bought another copy to get re-laminated. Bart was at one stage going to be the regular penciller of this title, back in the late 80's, but this is the only comic he did for it, before getting moved on to Justice League Europe.</div><div>This issue, though not his best work at the time, is still a great Bart Sears comic to have, and is a rare enough pre-JLE comic that Bart actually did the interior art for.</div><br /><div>Last of the comics to come out of this shipment was this-</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56WWKv8inkV3M8zYUuoO2fCq8h8Q1vJ-v7lgLtfB6x0uQ7AMHpgN-UktEq1F_QxAr36snwKgKiVXmnVAkRweYxU3JCC-i-ZkOdv40KqGF-AAjssAZs1LtGncfVnBBJB0z9w36/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Zoom+Suit+3+metal+cover.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 258px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450671581007821122" border="0" alt="Bart Sears 'Zoom Suit #3 Metal Sketch Edition' cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg56WWKv8inkV3M8zYUuoO2fCq8h8Q1vJ-v7lgLtfB6x0uQ7AMHpgN-UktEq1F_QxAr36snwKgKiVXmnVAkRweYxU3JCC-i-ZkOdv40KqGF-AAjssAZs1LtGncfVnBBJB0z9w36/s400/Bart+Sears+Zoom+Suit+3+metal+cover.jpg" /></a></div><div>This is the 'Metal Sketch Edition of Zoom Suit #3' and is the final cover I needed to get to own the complete set of Bart Sears Zoom Suit covers. And it only took 4 years.</div><div>Some of you may recall that in a previous <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2009/09/guess-what-postman-delivered-today-8.html">post</a>, I pointed out a printing error on the Sketch Edition of Zoom Suit #2, well this cover suffers the same fate. You won't be able to see it, but in the bottom left corner, just to the right of the man's mouth, is the text 'LIVE AREA' that somebody forgot to take off. I still find stuff like that very amusing.</div><br /><div>Anyway, as a bit of a departure, the next two items were these-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBCWenJOtgUe6aKu3BUV5MhhJ7Ppe3EG7h6-O9_OmQCwVaSBLap58EHGpqNPZSBmsfwaMbZDP1SKVOyMM9Rqf7m-KSFALul9uGYR5PFAFYixo72ynJmMsxTzFiA55LwW5rhgB/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Who%27s+Who+-+Elongated+Man.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 227px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450674372834121154" border="0" alt="Bart Sears 'Who's Who: Eolongated Man' pin-up" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBCWenJOtgUe6aKu3BUV5MhhJ7Ppe3EG7h6-O9_OmQCwVaSBLap58EHGpqNPZSBmsfwaMbZDP1SKVOyMM9Rqf7m-KSFALul9uGYR5PFAFYixo72ynJmMsxTzFiA55LwW5rhgB/s400/Bart+Sears+Who%27s+Who+-+Elongated+Man.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibNY-R-pm2GdWiCURObKASmfhX5uZ6rBzMqhGf9Y4jz4rGKdb4e-ZcJXnNageMFtYlqRhgL8JXZOoYtr-tMFo-AWyxz04-zcKmoX393qPMCBmtSefhPcQeh8WWufvQ9n2hpa7/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Who%27s+Who+-+Furball.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 225px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450674376910021682" border="0" alt="Bart Sears 'Who's Who: Furball' pin-up" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiibNY-R-pm2GdWiCURObKASmfhX5uZ6rBzMqhGf9Y4jz4rGKdb4e-ZcJXnNageMFtYlqRhgL8JXZOoYtr-tMFo-AWyxz04-zcKmoX393qPMCBmtSefhPcQeh8WWufvQ9n2hpa7/s400/Bart+Sears+Who%27s+Who+-+Furball.jpg" /></a><br />These two items are from the 'Who's Who in the DC Universe' Loose-Leaf series from the early 90's. Again, I've owned copies of all of Bart's entries in this series for a very long time, but they are on the re-laminating list, and these two were going cheap at MyComicShop.</div><div>The Elongated man entry is from WWITDCU #7, and if you're thinking that it doesn't really look like Bart's work... well, you'd be half right. It is actually pencilled by Carmine Infantino, with Bart supplying the inks. You can sort of see in a few areas where Bart has inked it how he would draw it. The bottom three images are actually from the back of the page, where all of the character stats and history are, but I thought I'd show them here as well.</div><div>On the right is the Furball entry, from WWITDCU #8. I love this picture, if only for the fact that Bart has drawn mushrooms! He's only done this a few times in his career, perhaps most notably in the famous Trenin image from The First #4.</div><br /><div>And finally, what would a big pile of Bart Sears goodies be without a few issues of Wizard!</div><br /><div>As previously <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2009/09/guess-what-postman-delivered-today-10.html">stated</a>, I have never been sure when Bart's Wizard Mascot, Poof!, started appearing in the magazine. I had previously thought it was #4, then I got a copy of #3 and he was in there too. So I thought I should get Wizard #1 & 2 just to be sure. And wouldn't you know...</div><div>Yes, Poof!, the mascot that Bart drew some 11 different versions of, appears in Wizard magazine from it's very first issue.</div><div>Three different Poofs! appear in Wizard #1 for a total of 5 times, and Bart is also listed thus on the credits page-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1WkLKDbsaP24PM0SLuxqiS4EK2ppIFlZGPs4sbwtaz1YEc2vRpiGMDd-ibBRw1XpVxmD3fs02aId1zIBJiWETLFtO7Q01o2ys7a8X0a7dgWi_MTsYyuIzYfsHtBN__Lmo18U/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Wizard+1+Credits.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450679967038525458" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Wizard #1 staff credits" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1WkLKDbsaP24PM0SLuxqiS4EK2ppIFlZGPs4sbwtaz1YEc2vRpiGMDd-ibBRw1XpVxmD3fs02aId1zIBJiWETLFtO7Q01o2ys7a8X0a7dgWi_MTsYyuIzYfsHtBN__Lmo18U/s400/Bart+Sears+Wizard+1+Credits.jpg" /></a></div><div>It is quite fun to look at how Wizard humbly began, to the monster it has become. I much prefer the Wizard of old, when it was about comics, not comic-related media. I can fully understand why they have gone in the direction they have, but I still prefer Wizard #1-50.</div><br /><div></div><div>Wizard #2 had 6 different Poofs in it, including three on one page!-</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioRZG-tRIv3ij__CCGUKqsCgzFgkiORIAcv2jQPpdJL4lMRqPzGtl6yQRyejrGiurg3LXg124FMbpv0bRECotGvBQ2WxAcDeaCKA4whq3Glb52kemONS41omUV4Q9TONnSgl7/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Wizard+2+Subscription+advert.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 271px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450679973662635938" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Wizard #2 Subscription advert" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioRZG-tRIv3ij__CCGUKqsCgzFgkiORIAcv2jQPpdJL4lMRqPzGtl6yQRyejrGiurg3LXg124FMbpv0bRECotGvBQ2WxAcDeaCKA4whq3Glb52kemONS41omUV4Q9TONnSgl7/s400/Bart+Sears+Wizard+2+Subscription+advert.jpg" /></a></div><div>As you can see, they all have Bart's odd little signature on them too.</div><br /><div></div><div>Wizard #2 also had it's first Top 100, with Bart's Legend of the Dark Knight #23 coming in at #22. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gVhkgpAAGi_7emWGfTNKE7HbJCZq6AGTqBgdnHsEB9wEV1CqFeg5s8_6eH1rwLZjR-U1uNzZt1W3oOqJ-7zgs4pl_T6SF-x56fbKpyQlj0kG99X4cM9_iCRGWk3Lr5Hb0kfq/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Wizard+2+Top+100.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 395px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450679983355779810" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Wizard #2 Top 100 comics" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gVhkgpAAGi_7emWGfTNKE7HbJCZq6AGTqBgdnHsEB9wEV1CqFeg5s8_6eH1rwLZjR-U1uNzZt1W3oOqJ-7zgs4pl_T6SF-x56fbKpyQlj0kG99X4cM9_iCRGWk3Lr5Hb0kfq/s400/Bart+Sears+Wizard+2+Top+100.jpg" /></a></div><div>This is by no means the highest something of Bart's has gotten, here's a few other items that sold well-</div><br /><div></div><div>JLE #2 - #8</div><div>Eclipso the Darkness Within #1 - #9</div><div>Turok Dinosaur Hunter #1 - #6</div><div>and the best-</div><div>Violator #1 - <strong>#3!</strong></div><br /><div></div><div>I also picked up Wizard #56-</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCO4i1XuFUnIRme37tfWSo0jpVrBVXiMUGcSRXKNzIhVbDJNtX-QWGRW-TK-DjxSiqvHfybYNgDihVMkU46rtr2g1wABw3ld29seJShUYF-IgK0TKIdWNayyMhKTJGYMOplqz1/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+Wizard+56+cover.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 271px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5450686972033725106" border="0" alt="Bart Sears Wizard #56 cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCO4i1XuFUnIRme37tfWSo0jpVrBVXiMUGcSRXKNzIhVbDJNtX-QWGRW-TK-DjxSiqvHfybYNgDihVMkU46rtr2g1wABw3ld29seJShUYF-IgK0TKIdWNayyMhKTJGYMOplqz1/s400/Bart+Sears+Wizard+56+cover.jpg" /></a><br />This is definitely one of Bart's cooler Wizard covers, and it's good to have it again and through the laminating machine. Bart's name isn't mentioned at all in the rest of the magazine, but I really don't mind, considering how good that cover is.</div><div></div><div>Lastly, I got a bagged copy of Wizard #100. I ordered an unbagged copy of it last year, unaware that there was a 43cm x 66cm poster in the bagged version, showing all of the first 100 issue covers and variants. I do intend to somehow scan this poster in, or maybe take a photo of it, and as soon as I do, I'll post it here.</div><div></div><div>So there you have it, a really good shipment of Bart Sears comics, with a few new items for me, and some addition to the Bart Sears Checklist.</div><div></div><div>I have yet another shipment of Bart Sears items nearly on the way from MyComicShop, with a few more Wizard's, some Dagger Entertainment comics and a few other choice pieces, which, naturally, I'll do a post on when it arrives.</div><div></div><div>As a side note, I have set up a Bart Sears Fanclub on Facebook for any interested parties, so come join in the fun, won't you?</div><div></div><div>Until next time...</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37421994.post-39170058752846013912010-03-10T15:32:00.016+00:002010-07-06T08:14:56.424+01:00My Bart Sears Card Collection- COMPLETE!!!First off, allow me to apologize for not posting here in a while. I've been as busy as can be lately and haven't been able to find the time or energy to put up anything new.<br />My <strong>Bart Sears</strong> collecting has been on the light side recently as well, but not completely without anything arriving on my doorstep.<br />I recently managed to get my hands on another copy of Bart's <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2009/09/my-favourite-piece-of-bart-sears-art.html">Cremator #1</a> cover, which was quite exciting, as it is so very hard to come by these days. As you may have read in my post dedicated to this cover, it is my favourite single piece of Bart Sears artwork, and it felt great to give the new copy the proper laminating treatment it deserves.<br /><br />I also finally got my hands on this, just last week-<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYl0tJseKZ1JykNITw3SHoz5XT5MrHd0ELKGA__O33_OKfPX7hgpfebrC5aI5uMRDbYBkJ97i6SG-2JhXl8QYkn0V22hEOzMst-dfextNe8CTIGPlng0-U-efqTi3YxMAmdxA/s1600-h/Bart+Sears+-+Overpower-+Magneto+Repel+Object.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 286px; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447031104708298242" border="0" alt="Bart Sears 'Marvel Overpower: Magneto - Repel Object' card" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWYl0tJseKZ1JykNITw3SHoz5XT5MrHd0ELKGA__O33_OKfPX7hgpfebrC5aI5uMRDbYBkJ97i6SG-2JhXl8QYkn0V22hEOzMst-dfextNe8CTIGPlng0-U-efqTi3YxMAmdxA/s400/Bart+Sears+-+Overpower-+Magneto+Repel+Object.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><p></p><p>There is a story behind this Overpower Magneto card, a card I've been looking to get a hold of for a very long time. But I wasn't always looking for it, because, back in the late 90's, I actually did have a copy of it. I knew that Bart had done some cards for the Monumental Overpower expansion, but I wasn't absolutely certain if he'd done anything for the other sets. So I grabbed anything that looked even remotely like Bart's work from a comic shop that had a sizable number of the singles from most sets. This card was included in that list.</p><p>When I got the cards home, what was first noticeable was the difference in artwork from the two sets Bart produced cards for. The Overpower base set used a colouring method very popular at the time which was essentially paint by numbers with a heavy dose of airbrush. The Magneto card is a perfect example of this, where there are no traditional comic ink lines. Rather, the artist wouldn't even use ink, and would simply draw detail outlines, leaving blacks open and no rendering, see Bart's <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_qso_mYBRt4hyphenhyphen0qUVrseu1CLhhwDsm3F2vaXj16UUdFpIXFzPYnkc74-MioHw50hN5tCb9r_nOAwMeOTiWJ3F2jpnVwRFR6iBHCHtjHzsbZeAR24fjenbfbcIdC2Z65y5HsW/s1600-h/C39+-+OP+Thor+-+Protect+Teammate+aa.jpg">Overpower Thor card</a> for a better idea of what I'm getting at.</p><p>So anyway, after some consideration, I came to the conclusion that Bart did not do the Magneto card, or the Thor card, rather that some inhouse Marvel artist had probably tried to make the art look like it would be Bart, maybe they were even a fan of his! I must say at this point that I was not in contact with Bart by this stage, though I really wish I was. Because, not long after making contact with Bart, he mentioned that he had done the artwork for those Magneto and Thor cards, not to mention the Deadpool one. I rushed back to the comic shop, only to find that they had recently sold their entire collection of Overpower cards to some guy! And so my quest began.</p><p>But I now have all of those three cards again, and the purchase of that Magneto card also means that, to the best of knowledge, I now have every Bart Sears trading card in existence.</p><p>I thought it might be a good idea to actually list all of the Bart Sears cards in existence, taken straight from the <a href="http://bartsearscollector.blogspot.com/2008/07/bart-sears-checklist.html">Bart Sears Checklist</a>. So here we go...<br /></p><table border="1"><tbody><tr><td><strong>#</strong></td><td><strong>Details</strong></td><td><strong>Company</strong></td><td><strong>Year</strong></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#1</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC Backing Boards Series 2- Card #50 - r: JLE #1 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1989</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#2</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC '92 Series 1: #45- Doctor Light</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1992</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#3</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC '92 Series 1: #47- Elongated Man</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1992</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#4</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC '92 Series 1: #62- Metamorpho</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1992</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#5</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC '92 Series 1: #69- Peacemaker</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1992</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#6</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC '92 Series 1: #154- Invasion! Card A</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1992</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#7</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC '92 Series 1: #155- Invasion! Card B</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1992</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#8</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC '92 Series 1: #156- Invasion! Card C</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1992</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#9</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC Cosmic Cards '93: #124- Despero</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC/Skybox</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#10</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC Cosmic Cards '93: #125- Starro</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC/Skybox</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#11</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC Cosmic Cards '93: #143- Eclipso</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC/Skybox</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#12</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">X-O Manowar & Turok Promo card - r: X-O #14 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant/Upper Deck</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#13</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Turok Dinosaur Hunter Mail Away card - r: Turok #1 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#14</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Turok Dinosaur Hunter Promo card - r: Turok #1 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#15</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">The Dark Phonecard - r: The Dark #1 cover- 500 made</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Global Link</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#16</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Creator's Universe: Pheros Promo card</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Dynamic Ent.</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#17</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Creator's Universe: #60- Pheros</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Dynamic Ent.</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#18</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Creator's Universe: #87- Thrashur</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Dynamic Ent.</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#19</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Creator's Universe: #97- Wolfhound</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Dynamic Ent.</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#20</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant Era 1: #73- X-O Manowar - r: X-O #14 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant/Upper Deck</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1993</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#21</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant Era 2: #154- X-O Manowar - r: X-O #15 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant/Upper Deck</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#22</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant Era 2: #230- Turok 1 - r: Turok #1 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant/Upper Deck</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#23</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant Era 2: #231- Turok 2 - r: Turok #2 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Valiant/Upper Deck</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#24</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Conan Chromium 2: #13- Pin-up 2 - r: Conan Portfolio 1 image</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Comic Images</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#25</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Conan Chromium 2: #26- Pin-up 5 - r: Conan Portfolio 1 image</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Comic Images</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#26</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Conan Chromium 2: #42- Pin-up 3 - r: Conan Portfolio 1 image</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Comic Images</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#27</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Conan Chromium 2: #58- Pin-up 6 - r: Conan Portfolio 1 image</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Comic Images</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#28</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Conan Chromium 2: #67- Pin-up 1 - r: Conan Portfolio 1 image</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Comic Images</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#29</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Conan Chromium 2: #82- Pin-up 4 - r: Conan Portfolio 1 image</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Comic Images</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#30</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC Stars: #21- Metamorpho - r: DC '92 Series 1 card</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC/Skybox/Wal-Mart</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#31</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC Stars: #22- Elongated man - r: DC '92 Series 1 card</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC/Skybox/Wal-Mart</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#32</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC Stars: #35- Peacemaker - r: DC '92 Series 1 card</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">DC/Skybox/Wal-Mart</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#33</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Dark Horse- Comics Greatest World: #27- Titan</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Dark Horse/Topps</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#34</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Wildstorm Set 1: #22- Winter</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Aegis Ent.</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#35</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Hero Special Editions #3- Violator - r: Violator pin-up</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Todd McFarlane/Hero</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#36</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Violator Green Card - r: Violator pu - came with Violator figure</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">McFarlane Toys</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1994</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#37</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel Overpower: Deadpool- Super Spy</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1995</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#38</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel Overpower: Magneto- Repel Object</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1995</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#39</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel Overpower: Thor- Protect Teammate</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1995</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#40</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Spawn Chromium: #64 - r: Voilator #1 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Wildstorm</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1996</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#41</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Spawn Chromium: #65 - r: Violator #2 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Wildstorm</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1996</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#42</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Monumental Overpower (MO): Adam Warlock- Soul Gem</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#43</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Alpha Flight- Guardian</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#44</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Captain America- Sharon Carter</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#45</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Henry Pym- Ultron 1</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><tr><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#46</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Hydra- Madame Hydra</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#47</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Inhumans- Triton</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#48</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Serpent Society- Diamond Back</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#49</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Serpent Society- Sidewinder</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#50</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Shi'ar- D'ken</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#51</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Silver Surfer- Shalla Bal</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#52</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Starjammers- Corsair</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#53</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Power Card- Energy 8- Dark Phoenix</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#54</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Power Card- Strength 6- Thunderbird</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#55</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Universe-Teamwork- Black Bolt, Gorgon & Medusa</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#56</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Universe-Teamwork- Firestar, Nova & Namorita</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#57</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Universe-Teamwork- Supreme Intelligence, Ronan & Kree</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#58</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Universe-Ally- Wyatt Wingfoot</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#59</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">MO: Mission- Fatal Attractions: Misguided Efforts- Rusty Collins</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#60</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel Premium X-Men '97 Timelines: #73- Black Knight</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer/Skybox</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#61</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel Premium X-Men '97 Timelines: #74- Constrictor</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer/Skybox</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#62</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel Premium X-Men '97 Timelines: #76- Kane</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer/Skybox</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#63</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel Premium X-Men '97 Timelines: #77- Rama-Tut</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer/Skybox</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#64</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel Premium X-Men '97 Timelines: #79- Stryfe</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Marvel/Fleer/Skybox</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">1997</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#65</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Zoom Suit Promo Set 1: #2 of 7- Zoom Suit #1 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Superverse</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">2006</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#66</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Zoom Suit Promo Set 1: #5 of 7- Zoom Suit #2 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Superverse</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">2006</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#67</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Zoom Suit Promo Set 1: #6 of 7- Zoom Suit #3 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Superverse</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">2006</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#68</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Zoom Suit Promo Set 2: #4 of 9- Zoom Suit #2 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Superverse</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">2006</span></td></tr><tr><td><span style="font-size:85%;">#69</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Zoom Suit Promo Set 2: #7 of 9- Zoom Suit #3 cover</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">Superverse</span></td><td><span style="font-size:85%;">2006</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I have a new shipment of Bart Sears comics on it's way as I write this, and I'll be doing a full write up of everything in it as soon as it arrives, so come back soon!</p>Jay Pennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13033295356999998000noreply@blogger.com0