More Unseen Art

In the comments on Monday's Post, artist Reno Maniquis noted that he's worked on some projects that never came to fruition. I did some digging and found the art he was talking about.

The first up was going to be a Zuda pitch called hell-bent but Zuda folded before this project got going good.

The other was a possible Artifact story with a new character called Jet Pack Jenny

While neither of those projects panned out, I've enjoyed working with Reno on the Lost 100 Pagers he's created. He never fails to impress me with his work on those Bronze Age homages.


Another artist who I've worked with in the past (and most recently completed the So Falls The World Flashback Universe story is Jerry Hinds. Here are some awesome character sketches he developed for a sort of Jim Starlin Adam Warlock type of project. Again, this would have been a good project for Zuda.

The star to the story was a character called Judas Moonstone

His Allies were the enchantress Baba Yaga

And an imp named Toadflax

The villain of the series was a character called Nightshade

I still have more unseen art, but I'll save it for another day.

- Jim

Unseen Art from Other Projects

I've been looking for some files this weekend, and while doing so, I found a bunch of art from projects that I thought I would share.

First up are a few pages from a Kondorr the Killer backstory that never saw light of day. Because I changed email services from when I was working on this project, I no longer have the name or contact information for the artist. The only thing I know is his first name was Roy.

Next up is a page from Flashback Co-Creator Pierre Villeneuve. This was part of a Zuda pitch we submitted for the League of Monsters. In this scene, the team is enjoying a game of Risk.

Here is a Lost 100 Pager that didn't work out because the artist drew the cover with a modern version of Black Orchid, not the Bronze Age one, even though I sent him reference samples. 

This is why you should always ask an artist to send roughs before sending finished work. (Most professionals will volunteer to send you a rough because they know it saves them time in the long run.) :( 

Here's another sketch by the same artist wherein he tries to pass off another artists (Gahan Wilson?) work as his own for the background/houses.

I've learned over the years that rather than just dive in on a project with a new artists, it's better to start with small assignments like character sketches and pinups. This gives you some idea of what you can expect before committing to a big project. 

Later this week, I'll share some art from more projects that didn't work out as well as a few that did.

- Jim

The Computer Chair Rule

I've got this rule about sitting in a chair all day and working on the computer.
Basically, I try not to do it.
And since I was working all day yesterday on new comic book project, I'm going to cut my computer chair time short today by going light on the commentary and simply post some great unseen artwork from old projects from the Flashback Universe.

First up are two pages from our defunct Kharon, Scourge of Atlantis project, which was picked as a nomination Zuda, but sadly did not win that month. (Click to see this at full size.)







Over the past couple of years, I've had the fortune of running into other Zuda contestants online and like me, they often lament the lack of such a competition today. Mostly because it was a cool way to get exposure for a project and if you got picked, DC would pay out for the pages you submitted. The one thing most people didn't like was the marketing aspect. Basically, you had to do you own marketing, which is hard for people. I think Kickstarter strikes people this way too.

Next up is a cover for a Godspeed vs Lady Nemo comic that was written by Jason Wright. The script was completed but Pierre got busy with another animation project (a part time gig that turned into a promotion and then a career) so the comic was unfinished.



Finally here are two images from another Zuda project I worked on with Pierre. This was going to be another League of Monsters story that had some flashbacks to the WW II era of heroes. This image was simply used as a background image in the story, but it's such a awesome piece that I thought you might enjoy see in at full size.



This next one wasn't really part of the story, but Pierre created it to sell me on the idea of having a WW II story.



Any of you guys ever work on a project that never was completed?
I would love to hear about it and find out what happened.

- Jim

More League of Monsters

On the production side of things here at Flashback Universe, we've sort of hit a weird downtime. Gina is currently working on an iPod comic project, so she's tied up there and Pierre may be getting an animation job, so he might be sort of busy for the next few months. (Never sure how long those animation jobs last...)

However, Pierre is working hard on what he wants to be our next Zuda pitch - a League of Monsters story featuring the LoM vs The U-Bolts. Here is a scene from that proposal.

You can click it for a high rez version.

Pierre is also still working on our Kharon, Scourge of Atlantis comic, and we are about half way done with that comic.

Speaking of Kharon, check out this pinup image drawn by the awesome Chaz Truog and colored by Ray Chipp

Finally, if your a donator on the site, then you know we like to put Homages to old comic covers in our extras section. Here is one Pierre is working on now...

Have a great weekend!

New Flashback Comic Previews

So if you are a loyal Flashback Universe fan who has been patiently waiting for the next FBU comic since we released The Paladin, you're probably wonder what the hell is up with us not releasing any new comics lately?
Well, what has happened is that for several reasons we had a couple of artistic hiccups that have slowed us down.

One you know about if you've been reading this blog, and that's Pierre's long engagement working on the Arthur cartoon. That took a good bit of his time over the past year. However he has been able to work on a few Flashback related comics during this time.

Aside from Arthur, Pierre was also working on our Zuda submission.

Kharon: Scourge of Atlantis





Pierre is also working is Saturn Knight: The Knight Before Christmas, which we hope to have ready for you by this Christmas. Written by Chris Sims, this story features the a ton of Flashback Universe characters and I expect everyone to really get a kick out of it! Check out this preview page from this story...




Chris Sims actually is responsible for two more upcoming Flashback Universe comics. The other is the amazing Flashback Two-In-One featuring WildCard and The Creature with art by Gentleman Jerry Hinds. It's been a long time coming, but I think everyone will like the work Jerry is doing on this comic. Check out these two pages...







Chris is also working on a Kondorr comic with a new artist who goes by the moniker of Cornfed Cannibal (long story...) Check out these pages from Kondorr - Once Mighty!







And last but not least, we are very near completion of a comic featuring Amanita and Prometheus written by Chad Bowers and illustrated by Chris Nye and Don Jackson. Check out this great cover by Don and colors by Liezl Buenaventura and interior page by Chris.







So look for some great Bronze Age excitement to be coming from us very soon!