Monday, September 28, 2009

attack of the clone...

hiyall,

here's another study of the 'faust clone' - see how much fun he can be? -

just to get acquainted with the character, to get a better feel for him...

i'll try to ink all of these tomorrow

onward and upward

m


Sunday, September 27, 2009

aaaaand another one....

this time, i decided to put a 'new' actor on the stage - i need two 'bad guys' to headline this one, and i decided to not use the little 'professor'-guy again, but rather cast a more 'die-hard' omnicorp-employee, one of the countless 'faust-clones', to better tow the selfish, destructive company line alongside shawanna - plus, he's very fun to draw, a little childish, very expressive

i also had to employ shawanna again as the main character, because she represents omnicorp at its worst, in an attempt to turn the everglades into omnicorp airport - yes, you read that right - INTO AN AIRPORT - (that was an actual plan back in the 1960s to build an international airport in the middle of the Everglades) - so i needed two corporate meanies to survey the land and explain how corporate greed usually overrules environmental issues - i.e how the interests of the few outweigh those of the many, and how shortterm concerns win over longterm strategies -

anyhoo, a great pair visually, here's a sketch colored in quickly to see how it'll work -
imagine them canoeing down the kissimmee river...

more to come soon, so stay tuned


m


Saturday, September 26, 2009

high as a kite....

ahhhh - back at the drawing board for a bit - and it feels good!

for this one, our heroes find themselves back here in florida, so this strip will be some sort of a swan-song, if you will...

the bird depicted here is NOT the bald eagle, but rather the snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus), found only in florida, and federally listed as endangered.
the snail kite relies on the availability of apple snails (Pomacea paludosa) which they pluck from under the water using only their talons. The U.S. population is non-migratory, though the birds will move in response to food availability. Thus Snail Kites are sensitive to droughts and/or other changes that impact the hydrology of their foraging habitat.

We recently saw some specimen on an airboat trip going down the kissimmee river, the northern entry into the everglades - so i decided to let that be the location of the hope strip right then and there

like i said, posting will be a tad sporadic (not like they haven't been already) due to 'life'...

keep on checking in


m



Monday, September 14, 2009

"Life is...

...what happens while you're busy making other plans"

(John Lennon)



"houston, we have a problem"

(James A. Lovell)


Apologies for the long silence - we've been thrown quite the curveball recently, and 'real life' immediately took over - nevertheless, i've had this new hope strip already in the works, and REALLY wanted to finish it, before the (*&)(&#@ really hits the fan for the next couple of weeks and gives my life a darker complexion.

;)


again, the strip's topic should be self-explanatory - there seem to be several quasi-religious parties debating the amount of thawing in the arctic regions, whether it's a regular occurrence or a man-made one, and whether the polar bears are going to be able to survive, adapt or - surrender. as always, there ARE facts underneath all the noise, you just have to be willing to dig deep - and please, DO make up your own mind, it's important - you owe it to the kids.

artistically, this was a lot
of fun - i could bring the 'professor' back, who is towing the company line, but he's a great character: i love to draw him, but then again, i'm a little biased... ;)

i loved doing the polar bear, and just as with the bikinis last time around, i really enjoy putting hope in different outfits - and she gets a kick out of dressing up, too....
her snow-suit is loosely based on a dolce & gabbana creation from the winter 2006 collection - (mille grazie, giovanotti!!) fast forwarded to 2039 and filtered back to today through a looking glass infused with t
he smurfs, gaston and asterix and obelix...

bon appetit

mathias

p.s. please do stay put, there MAY be another silent period ahead, but i WILL be back - albeit from a different location (not that you will notice that, this being the internet and all...)