Ominous Press Poster 2 - Who's Who?

A mere week after introducing you all to the characters from Ominous Press’ Poster 1, 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.

So here's the poster:

And here are the outlined characters, the same as the last time:

And here's who's who:

1. Arkon
One of Bart’s favourite and oldest characters, who was due to have his own series eventually if Ominous Press had have continued.

2. Auoro (Pronounced Or-oh)
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.

3. Mael
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.

4. Intrepid
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.

5. Nightbeast
Perhaps the coolest looking character in all of the Ominous Press Universe.

6. Insidious
Would kick Doctor Doom’s ass in a second, whilst kicking Lord Havok’s ass simultaneously.

7. Wolfhound
A detailed design process can be seen for this character in Bart’s B&B tutorial in Wizard #29, same with Pheros.

8. Warhammer
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.

9. Sunder
Was initially named Thashur, but Bart was informed of another character with the same name, so he changed it to Sunder.

10. Pheros (Pronounced Fair-ose)
He looks huge in this image, but then, he is over 7 feet tall!

11. Steele
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.'

12. Warspear
Another member of the weapon wielding WARriors. See what I did there?

13. Thrace
Just darn cool looking. He’s a really nasty fellow, apparently.

14. ???
Mystery will continue to surround this one, as Bart intends it. Not even a name will be forthcoming!

15. Slike
Snake dude. A late addition to this poster, by all accounts.

16. Zeus
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.

17. Talis
Talis is one of those characters that is to remain in the mysterious shadows, as per Bart’s request. But I can reveal that the big and cool looking hammer thing he is holding is called Skullsbane.

18. Warmonger
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.

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.

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.

Ominous 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.

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.

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!

To begin with, here's the poster in question:

Not bad, eh? And here are the outlines of all of the characters to make it a little more simple to navigate:

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.)

1. Mael (also Maelloryll)
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.

2. Arkon
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.

3. Insidious
Scientific genius with a bent for evil and destruction. Creator of genetic monstrosities and bitter enemy of Intrepid.

4. Intrepid
Gifted with an intelligence that borders on precognition, Intrepid fights crime with astonishing speed and skill. But who is the man behind the mask?

5. Nul
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.

6. Sunder
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.

7. Nightbeast
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.

8. Warmonger
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!

9. Auoro (also Auorosharrath)
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.

10. Steele
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.

11. Zeus
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.

12. Igneous
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.
She also has big boobies.

13. Wolfhound
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.

14. Pheros
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?

15.Honor Guard
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.

16. Saint Pyrs
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.

17. Dramaurg (also Ormaellidramaurg)
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.

And there you have it! Pretty cool stuff, huh?
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!'

So come back soon, won't you?

Bart Sears Trading Cards #2

Back 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.
So let's do it!
I'll try and be less wordy this time around, and just let the cool artwork speak for itself.

So, I thought I'd start of with the three cards Bart created for the Creator's Universe set back in 1993.

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.

Next are some cards from one of my favourite sets featuring Bart's art, Monumental Overpower!


And here's both the original art and final card for Starro, from the series 'DC Cosmic Cards '93.'

And finally, here is both the front and back of the 'Winter' card from Wildstorm Set 1.

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!