This Bart Sears and that Bart Sears #2

Good 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.
So what I'm going to do is start with the most recent projects, and work my way backwards.

So first off, Bart has just recently completed the pencils and inks for the Deadlands: Death Was Silent One-Shot which goes on sale on the 17th of August. Here's the beautiful cover inks for it:

Deadlands: Death Was Silent cover inks

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.
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.
Ominous Studios has produced a number of fun items to get people ordering this particular comic, namely these three promo adverts:

Deadlands: Death Was Silent promo adverts by Ominous Studios

They even went as far as creating a little promotional video for the comic, with sound effects and all! Check it out here.

Bart has also completed several very nice commissions recently, including this one and this 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 did. 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.

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 Heroes For Hire issue from the late 90's here. You can also see the inks for Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #200 here and the pencils for Conan: Island of No Return #1 here.

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 15/6/11, and the second issue came out on the 20/7/11. 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.

One step back is the cover image Bart produced for Advent Comics' Pandemonium: Evil Incarnate 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:

Pandemonium: Evil Incarnate by Advent Comics

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.
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:

Advent Comics' forthcoming title 'Titan' cover pencils by Bart Sears

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.

Bart also recently produced some single frame action grabs for an organisation called Robin Hood, 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:

Robin Hood frames

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 Artifacts 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.
And here are the pencils and inks that Bart provided for the spread:

Top Cow's Artifacts #3 2-page spread by Bart Sears

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!

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.

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!

A few recent purchases

Despite 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.

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.

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.

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...?

One of the cooler items I got from MCS this time around is this pretty little thing here-
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.

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.

Next up we have this Quality Comics cover-
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.

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-
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.

And what would an order from MCS be without a Wizard issue? I don't know, I've never done it.
This shipment had Wizard #9 in it, the last of the early Wizard issues I needed, not least for the fantastic cover!
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.
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.
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.

Next up is another pesky little item that I've only just been able to acquire again.

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.

And here we have Shadows & Light #3, published in July, 1998 by Marvel. This is what's on the inside cover-
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.
The series Shadows & Light only lasted to this issue, which is of course is a shame, because Bart was slated to do that Incredible 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.

I have also often wondered on the purpose of these pieces-
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.

Perhaps the pick of this particular litter though, is this-
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.
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.

Next up is this comic-
As stated in another post, I had a good deal of luck 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-
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.

Whilst in that comic shop in Dublin yesterday, I also picked up a cheap copy of the Batman: Going Sane TPB-
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.

Finally, I also bought the Wolverine:Weapon X 100 Project TPB, which features both of Bart's awesome covers for the project.
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!

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.

Until next time...

Wizard the Guide to Comics: Unused Covers

As stated in my previous post, Bart has had a long history with Wizard, and there was a time when he really was their 'golden boy.' This is before they got all hot for the likes of Alex Ross, Joe Quesada (who I, to this day, don't get the attraction), the Kubert boys and any other artist that came around the block.

Also stated in my previous post is the fact that Bart had more covers printed between issues 1 and 100 than any other artist. He, in fact, had a total of 11 covers printed.

But did you know that there were another 9 covers that never made it to print? No? Well, here they are in all of their glory, with some of them exclusively appearing for the first time right now!

Cover 1: Wonder Woman

This stunning piece was originally intended for around #9, as you can see. It was actually drawn around the same time as Bart's Wizard #4 Batman cover.

Cover 2: Darkhawk

Another one originally scheduled for #7-10. I read a lot of comics in the early '90's and I can't even recall seeing this character!

Cover 3: The Joker

Another really cool piece, intended for Wizard #9 (eventually to be replaced by Bart's famous Venom cover). Wizard claimed that this piece didn't clearly show the character in question... a kinda lame reason I think, because it is quite clearly The Joker, it couldn't be anybody else but The Joker. I mean, who else has green hair, white skin and wears a purple jacket?

Cover 4 & 5: She-Hulk 1 & 2

Planned for either Wizard 15 or 16 (Wizard have stated these covers were planned for 15 at one stage and 16 in another). They were intended to be split into East and West Coast distribution, can you tell which one is for which? Obviously, the Daisy Duke lookalike is for the West, the Farah Fawcett is for the East.

Cover 6: Sabretooth

To be honest, I'm still not 100% sure this piece is actually for a Wizard cover (Bart?). But that little star above Bart's signature tells me it is. It's a cool piece whatever it was for. Note: Bart has since confirmed that it is, indeed, a Wizard cover.

Cover 7: Psylocke v Sabretooth

Whilst technically not an 'unpublished' cover (the Psylocke figure was still used in the final), it still features a shot of Sabretooth that was replaced by another one by Bart, at Wizard's request (another one I disagree with). I think this first version is better.

Cover 8: Wonder Woman, Batman & Superman

A cool jam piece of three titans of comicdom, planned for Wizard #63, only to be beaten out by a Superman/Lois Lane piece and a Witchblade/Darkness variant. Ahhhhh, Wizard... silly children.

Cover 9: Batman v Joker/Two Face

This was originally intended for a Wizard Batman Special, but never made it to the cover. This is surely one of Bart's more odd pieces. The style is consistent with Bart's other work at the time, making use of thick outlines and fine line detail (which reached it's peak in Bart's Penthouse ComiX work, which is highly underrated in my view). It's just wacky looking! Here's what Bart recently had to say about it - "The Batman was me having fun... doing something a little different."

It is interesting to note that Bart also produced a Wolverine cover, inked by Rob Hunter, a few years ago, that has never turned up, and probably won't at this stage. He also produced a Superman cover for issue 8, that ended up appearing on the cover of the Wizard Phildelphia Comicfest '93 Souvenir Program Guide, but I'll talk about that more when I do a post about Bart's published Wizard covers.

Guess what the Postman delivered today? #6

This is the delivery I've really been waiting for.
As I mentioned in my Mile High Comics post, I've bought a lot off of them, and this is what I got in the delivery that arrived today-

Bad Company #3 - cover by Bart. I've had a copy of this for about 10 years now, maybe longer, but about 5 years ago, the tape that I use to seal the backing board and bag got stuck on the cover, and ripped a nice little chunk off it. It'll be going through the laminator tomorrow so that doesn't happen again.

Rogue Trooper #14, 15, 17. Just cool early covers. Replacing old laminates.

Weapon X: Days of Future Now #5. My worst laminating moment. I laminated my original copy of this and the laminator chewed it up. I'm a far more experienced laminator now, and it hasn't happened since.

The Dark #1 Second Printing, Continum Comics. There are two variant covers to the first printing of this, one with a Blue Chromium cover, one with a red. I didn't know about these until I saw that Bart had copies of them when I was visiting him. They're cool looking.

Legends of the Dark Knight #200. Another replacement copy. I bought LOTDK #200 the day it came out, but didn't think to check the comic for printing mistakes, and wouldn't you know, when I got home I noticed that there was some odd ink smudging going on. This new copy is clean.

Legends of the Stargrazers #2. This comic has such a cool pin-up by Bart on page one that I've bought it twice now. Actually, this one is a case of my old laminated copy wasn't laminated the best, so this will replace it. I used to use laminating sheets of about a 150 micron thickness, I now use 250.

Ramayan 3392 AD Reloaded Guidebook. Has all of 1 reprinted panels from Bart's back-up story in Reloaded #5. Still, now I know.

Wonder Woman #28. This issue features a full-page Ad for Justice League Europe. Nice.

Wizard #37. Hands down, the best Wizard for Bart stuff ever. First off, you get the Brute & Babe Infinity mini-comic in the bag, there's a 6 page 3-point perspective tutorial by Bart, not to mention a 6 page Ominous Press interview. I've actually owned two copies of this magazine, but have needed to redo the laminating.

Wizard #61. Has a cool Sabretooth v Psylocke cover. Again, I've owned it twice, but needed to re-laminate.

Wizard X-Men Special. Another one to be put through the laminating machine. This cover is interesting in that it features Wolverine, Cyclops & Jean Grey, but Colossus & Nightcrawler were then added after printing. It features Wolverine with those dumb-ass skeletal claws.

Wizard #115 Megacon Edition. The Megacon Edition has a cool cover of Seahn & Persha from The First. It's a hard enough issue to come by, and this one will replace my previous version and it's old laminating style. For those interested, my old laminating style consisted of laminating the page, then cutting off the excess laminate to the edge of the page. I now buy A4 size laminating sheets, center the page on the laminating sheet, and store it properly. They look great done this way.


Wizard #83. Not much in the way of Bart stuff in this issue, but it does have a full-page Ad on page 129 for the X-Men Special, and the advertisement uses Bart's cover for Wizard #56, but mirrored over.

Wizard #110. Pages 14-15 have a two-page Ad for The First. Wizard #'s 109 & 111 also have two-page spread Ads. Each subsequent Ad has a shot of Elysia from above, zooming in as it goes. I got these issues when they came out and actually joined the Ads together to make a poster, but I now have them all again to laminate normally. Anal much?

So there you go. Not a bad bunch, I think.
Jay (the Laminatrix, to coin a word)

Guess what the Postman delivered today? #5

Isn't she a beauty!

Way back when I was visiting him a few years ago, Bart had a folder with photocopies of all of the LOTDK #200 pages inserted into it. Bart rather casually handed me the folder and told me to pick a page from it and the original art would be mine, as soon as he got it back from DC.

Well, I scanned through the pages, noting a few that took my eye. There were plenty of cool Batman pages in there, and some nice action scenes, but then I saw this page, and knew it was the one for me.

I love the fact that it is a self contained page, it tells a story all on it's own. And it isn't like your typical splash, it really shows to me Bart's storytelling ability. Look at the curved shadows from the skylight, they're as warped as is the Joker's mind. And I love Bart's Joker, it ticks all of the boxes in my mind. He's mad, childlike, dangerous as hell and playful at once.

I'd like to thank Darrin Wiltshire for sending this on to me. If you don't know, Darrin handles the majority of Bart's original art sales, sold through this website - http://bartsearsart.com/.

Check it out for some great art at some great prices.

Batman: Going Sane TPB update

I finally managed to get my hands on a copy of the new Batman: Going Sane TPB, and I'm happy to say that, yes, it does reprint Bart's work from LOTDK #200, and not #100, as stated in the DC promotional text.
Your welcome.