Tom Cook-- Artist on He-Man, Smurfs-- Talks about his career!

 

 

 Hi Guys- Here is a great interview with our friend and client Tom Cook.  Here's a link to the original page as well:

https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1017?articleID=242248&fbclid=IwAR3r4LhZH4vJT3_ePVzpNYCljRIv0SJxLwRhTvW-ljwpwFz56xqh0rbrgXI

 

He-Man, Smurfs Animator Tom Cook Reflects on His Career & the Industry 

 

 

In the 1980s, animator Tom Cook worked on several of the most popular animated shows, including The Smurfs, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, The Original Ghostbusters, BraveStarr, and more. Cook recently spoke to Scoop, recalling the highlights and challenges of his career, the animation industry, his collection, and what he enjoys about attending conventions.
Scoop: Were you an artist as a child?
Tom Cook (TC): Well, I liked to draw. I guess it was about 1961 or so, that Marvel Comics came out with Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. As a kid, I loved collecting comics and then when Spider-Man came out, that’s what really made me want to draw. I kind of drew just for myself, just lots of superheroes. Later on, that ended up being the reason I got hired at Hanna-Barbera – my superhero stuff.
Scoop: Is that how you got into the animation business, through Hanna-Barbera?
TC: Yeah, I was a bus driver, a transit bus driver in LA and I’d done this since, like, ’75, so three years. One day I was having lunch and I went out and got the mail and it was just a bunch of junk mail. So, I went thumbing through the junk mail and sat down to eat my sandwich when I see this little pamphlet in there. I started flipping through this pamphlet as I was eating and it was from the local college with some of the classes they were going to be teaching during the summer. One of the classes was a comic book class. As a class, we were going to create our own comic book. So, I was really interested in that class, plus the teacher was a guy named Don Rico who drew Captain America back in the good ole days, so I thought, “Well, here’s my chance to not just take a cool class, but I’ll get to meet an actual artist in the comic books.”
He had us bring all of our drawings in, our portfolios, and after the second class he said, “Hey Tom, can I talk to you?” At first, I was thinking, “Oh my gosh, what the heck have I done wrong already? I just got in the class.” He said “I work at Hanna-Barbera as a storyboard artist and we’re looking for people that can draw superheroes, and I like your superhero work. We have a lot of people that can draw Scooby-Doo and Fred Flintstone and all that sort of stuff, but we don’t have too many people that can draw really, realistic characters and make them look good. We’re doing a new TV show called Super Friends that’s going to have Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, so we’re looking for people.” I said, “I have no idea about animation.” He said, “Well, I can get you into a class that teaches basic animation. You have to be recommended by one of the people that works at Hanna-Barbera. I’d like to recommend you.” I was like, “Gosh, yes, I’d love to do that.”
So, Thursday nights they had this class, and it was free, so I just had to drive down to Hanna-Barbera on Thursday nights. The first assignment was doing an in-between. So, I struggled doing that, because, like I said, I had no experience doing this at all. After the third week, they came in and announced that out of about 30 people that were in the class, they were going to hire four of us and I was one of the four. Which scared the crap out of me, because I had no idea what I was doing. It ended up working out really good.
Scoop: What’s your working environment like? Did you like having a lot of space, did you listen to music, did you like having a view?
TC: Well, when I first started at Hanna-Barbera they had hired a lot of people. In fact, they would have hired me a little sooner, except they didn’t have any room for us. No room for desks or anything. So, they rented an airplane hangar at Burbank Airport, which was maybe about five miles away and just stuck a bunch of desks in this airplane hangar. That’s where I sat for the first two or three months working there. We were just out in the middle of this hangar, there were no cubicles or anything. There were like six of us. Then they had the ink and paint department, those are the ones that paint the cels. So, there were probably about 80-100 of them sitting in this airplane hangar. We were kind of separated from them because we were a bit noisier. You were allowed to put headphones on and listen to music. Whatever you wanted to do. Early on, I would bring a TV and watch TV while I was working.
Scoop: I believe one of your early jobs was on Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo. How did you feel getting involved in the franchise, which had already been around for 10 years?
TC: That was super exciting. This was one of the things that was so cool about being a fan and then suddenly finding yourself working. I grew up with Hanna-Barbera. I grew up with Yogi Bear and Huckleberry Hound and Quick Draw McGraw and then eventually Jonny Quest and all those really good shows they came up with. So to find myself suddenly working on Fred Flintstone, because we were doing the new Fred and Barney show, that was one of the first things I ever did.
In fact, the first drawing I ever did at the studio was of Fred Flintstone. I had that put onto a cel and they painted it for me and gave me a Flintstones background. I still have that at my studio – my first drawing ever. But to do Scooby-Doo, that was another that was just huge and of course, it’s probably one of the longest running cartoons ever. It’s been going since ’69, so that’s 51 years. It was really cool to get in there and get to draw Scooby and Shaggy and the whole gang.
Scoop: What was it like working on The Smurfs and its big cast of characters?
TC: Well, it was like in the late ’70s, early ’80s, they came out with the little Smurf toys. These little rubber toys, just a couple inches high, and they would have some of the mushroom houses and stuff like that. I saw those at a store and thought, “Wow, this would be a really good cartoon.” Sure enough, the next year or two, they came up with the cartoon series.
The only negative with working on The Smurfs is that there were so many of them. Now mind you, if you’ve got a scene to animate, you’ve got 50 drawings of Superman in this scene, that’s going to take some time. But now, you’ve got a scene with 50 drawings of The Smurfs, but there are six Smurfs in the scene. Now you have 300 drawings of Smurfs to do, with the same amount of time on screen. So, if it was like, you know, a 20-second scene, I’d rather do the Superman scene, even though it’s a little more complicated because I only have 50 drawings to do instead of 300. That was the tough thing about The Smurfs. Thankfully, they were easy to draw. So, you could draw them pretty quickly.
I remember having a scene where I had four Smurfs on one side, four Smurfs on the other side and they were doing a tug of war. Though each character has to move differently, so you can’t recreate the same action for everybody. It was a difficult show, really for me, anyway, to animate. So many characters to draw.
Scoop: You had long runs working on a few shows, including He-Man and then She-Ra. What did you like about working on those programs?
TC: That we were employed. [laughs] That’s because in 1981, the union the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Guild, decided to go on strike for more money. Every year we used to have a layoff of two or three months at the end of the season, because once you got the show done, you had to wait and find out if it was going to be a hit and if they were going to do a second season or what new shows they were going to be doing. For the new shows, you didn’t really start working until, maybe February. So, you get laid-off in, like, November, and you have to wait until February to get work. I said, “Look, what I want to do, is I want to get a longer work year, so that instead of losing out on those three months – that will be my raise, rather than getting more money.” But, there were people that just wanted more money and Hanna-Barbera had warned us that if you ask for so much money, we can’t afford that and we’ll have to send the work over to Japan. The union called their bluff and that was it – they closed the studio, so I had nowhere to work.
Lucky for me, I had heard that Filmation, that did He-Man and She-Ra, the studio head, his name was Lou Scheimer, had said, “I’m not going to send work overseas, because this is an American artform, and we have to keep the work here. We have 1,000 or more people in this business, and we need to keep the work here.” But, every other studio, except Filmation, sent all the work to Korea and Japan. And then He-Man came up it was huge. Instead of doing 13 episodes a season for Saturday morning, He-Man was Monday through Friday. So, we had 65 episodes to do in a year and that’s more than an episode a week. So, for the next 7 or 8 years, I never got laid-off again, it was always work, work, work. It was fine with me, because the alternative was not having any work at all and maybe going back to bus driving.
Scoop: Did you have a favorite character from those shows?
TC: I always say, the character I liked to draw the most was Orko, and that was because he didn’t have any legs and I didn’t have to make him walk. [laughs] I could just float him everywhere, so it was an easier character to draw. But, I liked working on Skeletor and He-Man, any scene that had those two in it was a lot of fun to do. Orko, you could get away with more animation, crazy animation because he was a cartoony character instead of a human figure. So, you could do a little bit more with him. As an animator, that’s what you like. It was a little straightforward with a human, they have to move like a human. But, with Orko he could do whatever the heck you wanted him to do.
Scoop: With those two shows and others, you worked in the fantasy genre, you worked on superheroes in Super Friends, sci-fi in Ghostbusters, even a western with BraveStarr. Did you prefer any one genre? If so, why?
TC: Before I worked at Filmation, I worked at a little company, I was only there for about a year because they’re one of the ones that closed their doors and sent the work overseas. But, I worked on something called Thundarr the Barbarian, and that was in the vein of He-Man, but it was a couple years before He-Man. The storyline went that a comet had come and almost crashed into the Earth, and broke the moon in half and it caused tidal waves and earthquakes and everything else, so it kind of wiped out most life on Earth and the only ones left were barbarians and there were some sorcerers left. They were kind of fighting it out to see who was going to rule the Earth. That’s the show that I enjoyed working on the most.
Partially, because it was so well written. The other thing I liked about it was that one of the creators of the show was Jack Kirby, and Jack Kirby was the creator of Iron Man, the Hulk, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer – all these Marvel characters. Getting to meet him, because he was one of those guys drawing the comics when I was 8 years old and I loved his artwork, and to actually meet him and be able to work in the same studio with him was huge for me. I think that’s the genre I liked the most.
Scoop: In addition to animation, you worked as a timing director on a few projects. Can you explain what that job entails for those outside of the business?
TC: Sure, they call it timing director in animation, mainly because, the storyboard has already been done. So, like, in live-action, if you are the director, you would get together with whoever’s putting the story together and help form the storyboard and that’s what the blueprint is for filming the movie – what’s going to be a closeup, what’s going to be a far shot, that type of thing.
With the timing director, you’re still in charge of timing the show, and getting the characters to move like you’d like them to – if something is going to move fast, or something’s going to be really dynamic, like if somebody’s picking up a rock, do you want him to really strain to get it or is he super strong and going to pick it up like it’s a leaf? It was my job to go through and time each scene so that when you got to the end of the show, you hit the marks for the commercials and that the show would end at the right time.
You had to do something called slugging the board. So once the storyboard was done, it could run 22 minutes, 23 minutes, whatever, but you had to get it down to exactly 22 minutes – like to the frame. That’s what you did, you went in and saw which scenes you wanted to be a little bit longer, which ones you wanted to hold on things for dramatic effect and other things you could cut really quick to get rid of some of the frames you needed to get rid of. You basically worked with the soundtrack and would explain to the animators what you wanted to see from them.
Because in animation, the animator is kind of the actor. The voice does the voice, but the animator is the one that draws the character doing what he’s going to do. So, the animator, listens to the soundtrack, sees how he says what he’s saying and then figures out what he wants the characters to move like. Each animator is different, so everyone is going to take a scene and do it differently. It’s the same thing with actors where, you know, you have Marlon Brando act a scene or Tom Hanks act a scene – it’s going to be different, even if it’s the same character, just based on what they see in that character. As a timing director, that’s what you’re kind of in charge of, but instead of taking a bullhorn and saying, “Okay, Marlon, I want you to walk in slowly and then pick this up,” I’m writing down on what we call exposure sheets what I want the animator to do. So, it’s kind of the same idea.
Scoop: I’m sure you see plenty of neat collectibles at conventions. Are you a collector? If so, what do you collect?
TC: [Laughs] Oh boy, am I a collector. I’m sitting right now in my studio and the studio is 12 feet wide, 40 feet long and it is just covered in collectibles. [laughs] It’s a lot of comic books, because I’m a big comic book collector. I also have a lot of statues of the characters I worked on. I have He-Man, She-Ra, Teela, Man-At-Arms, Skeletor, and Trap Jaw. I have really nice statues that are a couple feet tall. I’ve got pictures on the wall, autographed pictures. I’m a big Star Wars fan, so I’ve got a picture of Princess Leia in the slave outfit autographed by Carrie Fisher.
The other side of the studio, I have a baseball section, because I was a big baseball fan. I’ve got Mickey Mantle autographs, lots of the main stars from the ’50s and ’60s. I’ve got a lot of their autographs – Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Duke Snider, Ted Williams.
On the other side, it’s a lot of collectibles from the shows I worked on, like all the toys. I’ve got lunchboxes, cookie jars, something they used to call soakys, which is the shampoo, the little bottle shaped like the character that you used the shampoo and then collect the bottles. I’ve got a lot of those. Records, just tons of stuff. We could be here another two hours if you want me to describe everything. I’ve got some Pops. I’m not really into the Pops, but they did some of Scooby-Doo and the He-Man characters – I’ve got those. I actually have a Stan Lee one, obviously being a Stan Lee fan.
Actually at the Stan Lee’s Comikaze, the lady that ran it was a huge She-Ra fan, so she, when she found out I was a big Marvel comics fan, set it up that I spent 20 minutes with Stan Lee in a room. I had him sign a bunch of things. I had letters that I sent to Jack Kirby and he had sent back to me and were autographed by Jack. I had Stan sign them. I did some drawings of some of the covers, famous comic book covers, and I had Stan sign those for me as well. He was just nice as can be. I’d met him a zillion times, but each time his handlers are around so you don’t really get to talk to him. But, this time I had 20 minutes of just whatever I wanted to say to him. It was great. That’s one of the highlights of my life.
Scoop: You’re a pretty big Marvel fan, do you have a lot of comics.
TC: Yeah, I used to have everything, literally everything from 1960-1961 up until the ’90s and I sold those at Heritage Auction house and basically paid off my house. So, I don’t have any house payments. Now I’ve been out collecting, getting them graded. It’s easier to sell them if they’re graded because then you don’t have this “what condition is it in?” it already says what condition it’s in, so you can get top dollar for it. I’ve got the Spider-Man #1-50, I’ve got all the X-Men up to, like, #150. I’m going out and getting a lot of the ones that are worth quite a bit of money, but making sure they’re graded and in fairly good shape. I can’t always afford, you know, if you get one that’s in a 9 condition, which is really good condition, but it’s Spider-Man #1. That’s $50,000, sorry, can’t afford that. Some of those, I’ve had to get lesser gradings. When it gets up into the #40s and #50s, I’ve got mainly 9s for most stuff. I collect some DC as well, but as soon as Marvel came along, DC was a distant past, because they just weren’t as good. Now, I don’t think either company is very good right now, I don’t really like what they’ve done to the characters – they’ve changed a lot of the stuff. Any of the early stuff up until the mid-’70s, maybe even into the ’80s are things I still collect.
Scoop: What do you like about attending conventions?
TC: I do a lot of conventions. I probably do 25 a year. I like it because number one, I get to meet the fans. When I was a kid, what I would’ve given to meet Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera, any of these people that were working on these cartoons that I loved so much. It’s kind of a way of reliving that, but I’m on the other side of the table. I think a lot of people don’t understand why we are so popular, but I do, because I was a fan too. So, if I get a chance to meet somebody, even some of the comic book artists that I do these shows with, I go up and get a commission piece of art from them because I love their work. I’m like a little kid meeting these people.
It’s really nice to have it the other way as well. I was sitting there one day, I had a line of maybe three or four people waiting, and all of a sudden I look up and one of the main comic book artists, his name is Arthur Adams, is standing in my line. [laughs] I’m like “Wow, this is really weird.” So, he came up and said, “Yeah, I want to get the Super Friends print signed by you because Super Friends is what made me want to draw when I was a kid.” So, it’s the same thing. I drew because of Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby and now this guy’s drawing because of Super Friends and he has a huge career. So, I said, “Look, let’s just trade. I’ll give you my autograph, you give me something of yours with an autograph on it and we’ll be fine.” That’s a lot of fun.
Plus, the characters that I do are so popular that people come up and want a commission. I usually get the commissions during the day and then at nighttime when I get back to the hotel after eating dinner, I’ll sit down and draw whatever people wanted and bring it in the next day. That gives them a really cool collectible from the actual artist that I’ll sign to them. All of that is fun.
The actual convention, they’re all running together, because every convention center looks the same. So, it’s kind of the experience when I get to the city, that I get to do some things in the city. I usually don’t leave until Monday after the show’s over. I try to leave at 5 in the afternoon so that Monday morning I can get up and go visit a museum or something like that. In Cleveland, it was the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I’d never been there before. On Monday, I went over there and enjoyed the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It gives me the chance to go out and see a lot of things that I would never get a chance to see if not for the comic cons.
Scoop: You mentioned being a fan of drawing Thundarr, did you have any other favorites that really stand out to you? Or characters you wanted to draw?
TC: Yeah, yeah. In fact, Thundarr, I think was my favorite one overall. I also worked on Roger Rabbit, but it was one of the shorts called Tummy Trouble and I really loved working on that because we were working with live-action and the cartoon was in the live-action. It was a really unique process that I’d never done before. That was really fun. Getting to work on The Prince and the Pauper, which is a Mickey Mouse short, and it was the first Mickey Mouse short that had Goofy and Donald in it since, like, the ’40s or ’50s, or something like that. To get to work on Mickey Mouse, you know, first sound cartoon of all-time, that was really cool. I did a really good Garfield special that was on TV and won an Emmy, called Babes and Bullets where he plays a detective like back in the ’40s, like film noir type thing. That was really fun. Paula Abdul had a song called “Opposites Attract” where she dances with M.C. Skat Kat, which is a cartoon cat and I got to work on that as well. That was kind of way off something I never thought I’d do either, working on an actual music video.
Scoop: Wow, that’s cool. I love that music video.
TC: Look, my whole life, as you can see how I got into this business, was a series of lucky things. I didn’t go to art school, I didn’t go to animation school, I just happened to fall into it. I didn’t seek out to work on a video – I just fell into it. Every time I turned around, something would pop up and I’d be able to get involved. So, I was just really blessed to be in this business and to have as long of a career as I did, because after ’81, when they closed all these studios, it was really hard to find work. Thank goodness for Filmation, but even that closed in ’89.
That’s when I moved to Seattle and I got in at Microsoft and it was the same thing, somebody saw a drawing I did from a movie called Rover Dangerfield which is Rodney Dangerfield as a dog. Somebody saw this picture and asked “Hey, who did this drawing?” and the person who had it said, “Oh this is Tom Cook’s, he was an animator down in LA.” The other person said, “well, we need an animator.” Next thing I know, I get a job at Microsoft. I never even applied for a job at Microsoft.
I never applied at Hanna-Barbera. All of these things just – things happened that led me to there. The Microsoft job was one of the best jobs I ever had. Then off of that, they came up with the first 3D computer program at Microsoft, called Softimage, so in 1996-1997, something like that, I was learning how to animate in a computer where nobody else was doing that, so I got a step up on everyone else, animating things on a computer. And I told all my buddies down in LA, “You better learn this computer,” and none of them listened to me and they all got laid-off at Disney because they couldn’t use a computer.
Scoop: As a kid of the ’80s, your animation had an influence on my appreciation for the artwork and shaped my perspective on what I consider good animation.
TC: Did you have a favorite show?
Scoop: I think She-Ra was my favorite. I have an older brother, so when we were kids, we ended up watching a lot of the stuff he liked, including He-Man. So, when they introduced a She-Ra show, I was excited to see the girl lead the show and be the hero.
TC: Of course, I hear the She-Ra story all the time. Because it was the first female who had her own show. We had Wonder Woman in Super Friends, but she was just one of the group. Filmation was always that way, we had the first Indian superhero, before He-Man, there was a character called Blackstar and he was originally supposed to be black and the networks wouldn’t let us make him black because they didn’t think it was the right time yet, for that.
Then, we were the first ones to put the woman first, with She-Ra. To give you an example, I’m at the comic cons, and this has happened twice now, my wife was at Summer Glau’s panel and they asked her, “what did you like when you were growing up?” and she said “My favorite thing was She-Ra.” So, my wife told me that and I took her a drawing of She-Ra and autographed it for her. She was like, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it!” She had a big line, so I couldn’t really spend a lot of time talking to her. But later on, at another show a couple months later, when her line got really low, I went over to her and said, “I’m the guy that gave you the She-Ra.” She said, “Oh my gosh, I didn’t get the chance to thank you enough.” So, we had a good talk about it.
Then probably, it’s only been a couple of months, I was in Portland and one of the girls, her name’s Emily Swallow from The Mandalorian was there, and the guy that runs artist alley came over to me and said, “Hey, I was just in her panel and she mentioned that she loved She-Ra.” So now, every show I see her, because we do a lot of Wizard Worlds together, we always get together and talk. She can’t wait because in Chicago, Wizard World this year in August, the voice of She-Ra is going to be there. So I gave her an original drawing of She-Ra and said “Bring this with you and get her to sign it for you. She’s a really sweet lady, you’ll really like her.” Plus, the voice of Skeletor is going to be coming too.
[The showrunners] contacted me and said they wanted to have these people and asked if I could get them and I said “Oh, I know them really well,” so I called them up and asked if they wanted to do a show in Chicago and they both said yes. Alan Oppenheimer, the voice of Skeletor, he’s 92 or 91, but still doing really well. I’m a little worried about this corona thing but I’m sure he’s smart and staying out of crowds. He’s still in pretty good shape. Melendy Britt, I imagine is in her 70s and she still looks great as well. I’m looking forward to getting back with them. I’ve done, probably four or five shows with them and they’re always fun. We do a nice panel with all three of us and all the fans ask questions. It’s really a blast.
Scoop: Well, that’s all I had for you. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me.
TC: I appreciate it very much, I love doing these interviews. It’s always nice to talk about the good old days.
For more information on Tom Cook sketch commissions or convention appearance, contact his agent at Eva Ink Artist Group: evaink@aol.com.

Commission Lists OPEN: Golden, Jeanty, Suydam, Cook, Morales, DeCarlo, Ramos, Isherwood,

Hi Everyone--

During these unusual days of less travel and more home time, we are opening the commission list for several of the artists at Eva Ink Artist Group. If you've wanted to get a piece from one of these amazing creators, now is a good time!



MICHAEL GOLDEN--

Co-Creator of Rogue from the X-men. Well known artist on Star Wars, Doc Strange, The 'Nam, Batman, The Micronauts and more. Michael is doing pencil/ink sketches of established characters (and you know these are really finished pieces, not sketches).  He is also taking no more than one to two high end cover recreations.  Michael has different price points that range from $175 to $350 on "sketches."  Contact me for details. Cover recreations start higher.

GEORGES JEANTY--

Buffy, Whedonverse,  Serenity, X-Men, Firefly, Wolverine, Deadpool, Weapon X-- So many things to choose from when looking at the credits of Georges Jeanty.  Take a look at the commission you can now order from Jeanty.  Georges  is offering at home commissions at $85. to $250. . If you had something specific in mind, please do contact me for details.

ARTHUR SUYDAM--  

The Zombie King is of course known for his recreations and homages with the undead motif ranging from the Walking Dead to KISS! . Also known for characters such as Deadpool and Black Panther. Arthur is offering sketches at this regular convention rate of $350 for full figure and $150 for head/torso.  If you'd like 11x17, although he normally doesn't offer them at shows, the take home commissions are possible at this size. Prices vary. Contact us for details.

RAGS MORALES--

Rags Morales, long sought after for his amazing sketches, and known for his work on Wonder Woman, JLA, Superman and much more is open for sketches as well. And boy are they beautiful!

His rates are: Headshots:  $220; Half Body: $275; Full Body, no background: $300; Full Body,with background: $330

Shipping in the United States is: $20. We can also ship to other areas.

This is a great time to get a highly sought after stunning sketch by this amazing artist. 

GEOF ISHERWOOD--

Doctor Strange, Suicide Squad, Conan, X-Men, Namor artist, Geof Isherwood has sketches available at different price points from $80 to $450, with cover recreations available as well.  Who could forget his "Doc Strange" #50.  There is probably nothing that Geof can't draw. Contact us for details.

MIKE DECARLO--

Marvel and Archie artist Mike DeCarlo is offering his detailed sketches from $80 for a single figure to $180-$245 for cover recreations to $110 to $390 for for full background commissions.  Mike is also a master of likenesses!Get that birthday or Christmas gift for a friend now!

RODNEY RAMOS-- 

Renowned artist and inker, Rodney Ramos is doing  recreation covers with a TWIST . You can have a recreation cover done with an added character of choice or a character on the cover swapped out for your character of choice . All covers are done with full art and pasted down logos on the art or on clear overlay old school the way they were done up until the late 90's.  Rodney is offering these recreations with a twist at the amazing price of $440.

Tom Cook--

Artist on He-Man, Superfriends, Scooby Doo, Smurfs, Thundarr, She-Ra, Godzilla, Captain Caveman, Duckman, King of the Hill, Flintstones, Jetsons etc... Tom Cook is offering 1  character for $100 7x10 in color, $120 9x12 in color.  Tom also has THREE Skeletor pieces also signed by Alan Oppenheimer, the voice of Skeletor. These are only $175.

Sam de la Rosa--

Renowned Marvel artist Sam de la Rosa is known for all his great work on the Venom character, and is offering some great sketch rates for fans right now.  $60 for a Spider-man headshot on a hologram book (book included); $200 for a Spider-man "oh no" cover; $200 for other characters; $100. Venom in silver pen on a "Venom The End" variant black blank limited edition of 1500.

And: 

Venom Lethal Protector #1 Recreation on a blank (bk included):

 

$400 in pencil

$600 in ink (color is additional $100)

$1000. On 12"×18" (logo/ trade dress is printed)

 

Postage is $20 for domestic shipping.  

 

 

 Michael Watkins--

Artist Michael Watkins is also offering a wonderful deal on sketches. Headshots at $100, Bust at $200, Half Body at $250, Full body at $275 and Full Body AND Background for $300! You've seen his work on titles such as SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, TRANSFORMERS, IRON MAN, AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, PANTHA, VILLAINS SUPREME, and you can see him on film in the blockbuster movie THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

If you are interested in getting amazing art from any of our artists,  or to inquire about a certain idea you have, please do get with me right away! Just email us at: evaink@aol.com

Convention Bookings Open for 2019-- Eva Ink Artist Group!

Obviously making their selections.

Hi Everyone-- 

Well it's that time again! When we start putting together our list of appearances for 2019! 

We do have some amazing talent to offer for 2019 and beyond.

AND you can book them as a single artist, or I can make package deal with a group of certain creators. So, please tell me who you are interested in inviting ASAP, and we'll iron the details, with the interest of making a a great appearance for the artist, the fans and the show! 

We love what we do!  And it's always exciting to see where the artists will be next! 

Here are a few of the creators available for 2019 (Long bios below):

Mike Zeck-- Creator of Spider-man's black costume.  Hey, there is a new Venom movie coming out. Without that black costume... there would be NO Venom! 

Michael Golden-- Creator of Rogue of X-Men fame. Former art director of Marvel Comics and considered one of the best storytellers in the biz.  Just took at his work on "The 'Nam" and "Doctor Strange." Talk to me about booking his class in storytelling.

Arthur Suydam-- Artist for "Marvel Zombies," "Walking Dead," "Deadpool," Black Panther."  Perfect booking to tie in with the Pop culture at your show. On Sunday's he does free sketches for kids as well! 

Jim Shooter-- Former Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics. One of our foremost living experts on the history of comics! 

Graham Nolan-- Renowned Batman artist and creator of Bane! Don't miss out on having his charismatic creator at your show. 

Rags Morales-- Artist for JLA, Wonder Woman and too many titles to mention. Read his longer bio below.

Geof Isherwood-- Artist for Doctor Strange and Suicide Squad! 'Nuff said. 

Tom Cook-- Artist  for Scooby Do, He-Man, Hanna Barbera. 

Phil Ortiz-- Artist for the Simpsons!  Fans can have themselves turned into a Simpsons character at the show. 

Mike DeCarlo-- Artist for Marvel and Archie Comics.  Fans can be sketches as an Archie character! 

Rodney Ramos-- Renowned artist for Marvel and DC Comics. Including "Transmetropolitan." 

John Beatty-- Inker on some of the most ground breaking comics around, including "Secret Wars."  

Mike Deodato-- Renowned DC artist. Artist for "Old Man Logan."

Will Conrad-- Artist for DC Comics.

Clinton Hobart-- Artist for Disney!! Catch one of his live demos.

Jeff Balke--  Be sure to stop by Jeff's table and inquire about his "sketch colorings.' 

Dennis Calero-- Artist for Marvel and DC Comics.

Jim Salicrup-- Responsible for some of your favorite comics, through his time as an editor at numerous companies.  With Venom coming out, also a wonderful booking opportunity. 

Ric Meyers-- Movie and TV consultant, Kung Fu expert, Hulk writer, former editor at Charlton Comics!

Check out our full list below!

And let's talk about 2019! 

Best,
Renee

Eva Ink Artist Group
Pros & Cons Celebrity Booking
evaink@aol.com
evainkpublishing@gmail.com (assistant-- Rachel)

Check the bios of some of our great creators below:

Michael Golden--(Artist/Writer/Consultant/Designer)

One of THE storytellers in the industry,  influencing generations of comics fans and professionals, Michael Golden boasts creations that are some of the most licensed and enduring in the industry. 

Co-Creator of Rogue, Bucky O'Hare, Micronauts and "The 'Nam," among much more, Golden is known as one of THE artists on such characters as Batman, Doctor Strange, G.I. Joe and the Punisher. Golden's recent covers can be seen on everything from "Spawn" to the "Walking Dead," to World Wrestling  work. Recent covers include works on "The Walking Dead," "Deadpool," and "DareDevil," to name a few. 

In short, no history of comics is complete without touching on the influence that this legendary artist has had on this industry. Recent books on the colorful life and vibrant art of Golden include "Michael Golden: Alchemy" "Modern Masters: Michael Golden" and "Excess: The Art of Michael Golden," and "Michael Golden: Dangerous Curves." 

In addition, having served as both Senior Art Director at Marvel Comics and Senior Editor at DC Comics, Golden's lectures and classes in storytelling are sought after world wide, with recent venues including places as diverse as Spain, France, Russia, Norway, Brazil, Chile and China. With recent gallery shows mounted in New York City, Maryland, Spain and Russia. 

Programing Notes: Various panels on the art of comic books can be scheduled with Michael, to highlight this special event at your show.  (Note: Michael has specific table and listing requirements. )

Mike Zeck--(Artist)

When discussing comics heavy hitter, Mike Zeck, you'd have to argue which is his most influential work, or which is most deeply embossed on our pop culture. 

His series "Kraven's Last Hunt," took Spider-man to a whole new level and has been voted by readers as the "Greatest Spider-Man story ever told." His subsequent work on the Punisher  with "Cricle of Blood," cemented him as one of the THE artists for the character, while the series "Secret Wars," set comic book readership on their ears, and heralded Zeck's creation of the black and white Spider-Man costume, still around as the attire of the super-villain, Venom. His work on Captain American also stands out as some of the most influential in the industry, and iconic images of this and other characters such as Superman and Batman, are etched in comic history.  

In fact, Zeck images are featured on Marvel merchandising ad nauseam year after year, evidence of his enduring popularity. It's hard not to notice all those "Secret Wars" t-shirts! 

Recent books on Mike include "Raw Fury: The Art of Mike Zeck," while Zeck's  series with writer Steven Grant (creator of the hit movie "Two Guns"), "Damned," was released in a recent volume by IDW Publishing, which has also just released a deluxe volume of Mike's classic Marvel covers. 

Programming Notes: Mike prefers not to do panels. But is at his table for fans all hours of any show he attends.  (Note that Mike will be doing very limited appearances, and certain conditions apply. Please contact me for details. )

Arthur Suydam-- (Artist/ Creator)

 

 

The Zombie King," as he is known, rose to stardom for his work on the smash hit series "Marvel Zombies," the lines at his booth at any given show are a testament to the enduring "zombie craze," with Suydam as a forerunner.

He is also renowned as the Deadpool cover artist on "Merc with a Mouth." As well as "The Walking Dead." And he is credited as being one of the first artists to bring fine art painting techniques to the world of comics in such books as "Cholly and Flytrap" and "Mudwogs."


Recent awards for Arthur include "The Spike TV Scream Award (Best Artist)," "Spectrum Gold Award for Institutional Art," "The San Sebastian Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award,"as well as the "University of Maryland Eastern Shore Lifetime Achievement Award,"  among others. 


His work can also be seen on works for "The Walking Dead," "Deadpool, "Batman," "Wolverine," "Fantastic Four," "X-Men," "Ghost Rider," "Army of Darkness" "Vampirella," and too many to name here. His "Cholly and Flytrap" series has recently been compiled into a collected volumne, marking that great achievement and it's place in comic history.


Programing Notes: Arthur is also offering to do a special promo for shows that includes free sketches for kids on Sundays. Ask for details.  (Note: Arthur has certain table and listing requirements.)

 

Jim Shooter-- (Writer/ Marvel Editor-in-Chief)

Jim Shooter

Jim Shooter started writing Superman and other titles for DC Comics at the age of 13 in 1965.  He worked his way through high school writing stories, laying out pages and designing covers.

He was hired by Marvel Comics in 1976 as associate editor and in 1978 became Editor in Chief.  He introduced benefits, royalties and other incentives for creators that attracted a legion of phenomenal talents who., under his oversight, authored a decade of brilliant creativity and unparalleled success.  Jim wrote several notable series including the Avengers and Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars.  He also headed up the creative teams that developed G.I. Joe and Transformers.

Jim went on to found Voyager Communications in 1989, where he was the CEO and President.  He also served as Editor in Chief, principal creator, head writer and occasional artist for the highly acclaimed comics published under the VALIANT imprint, which included Magnus Robot Fighter, Solar Man of the Atom, Harbinger, X-O Manowar, UNITY and more.

Programming Notes:  Jim has certain booking conditions and is open to doing numerous panels, including two that he always brings to the table.

Geof Isherwood--(Artist/Designer/Storyboards)

Renowned artist for Marvel, DC, Broadway, and Heroes Of The North, in fact, creator of Psylocke's Katana! Some of Geof's major title runs include "Dr. Strange," "Suicide Squad," "Conan the Barbarian," "Conan The King," "Namor" and "The 'Nam".  Geof is also the inker of the graphic novel, "Revenge of the Living Monolith," over Marc Silvestri. But he says the comic brought to him most often to sign is probably "Dr. Strange" #50. 

Geof has also worked on over 60 film and TV productions, including X-Men: DOFP and X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, Being Human (US), Hot Wheels, Helix, Wings of the Dragon, The Phantom, The Last Templar, Race to Mars, The Covenant, Dead of Night, Battlefield Earth, Gothika, Rollerball,The Fountain and much, much more. 

In addition to film work, as an expert in figure drawing, Geof teaches in the Concept Art and Illustration program at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario, as well as having a sketch list that is in demand at every show he attends. 

Geof is now also working for Renegade Media drawing the final issue of the soon-to-be-released "Necromatics".  

Programming Notes:  Geof is available for programming encompassing subjects ranging from comics to TV/film!


Graham Nolan-- (Writer/Artist)

Graham Nolan

Graham is an Inkpot Award winning cartoonist, best known for his long run on BATMAN in Detective Comics and as the designer and co-creator of the iconic Batman Villain: BANE.

He is also the creator of the graphic novel: MONSTER ISLAND, web-comic: SUNSHINE STATE and the co-creator of the IDW horror adventure series: JOE FRANKENSTEIN. 

When he is not chained to the drawing board you will find him in his Jeep, down at the lake fishing...

And we hope at a show near you!
  

Mike Deodato-- (Artist/Creator) 

Brazilian artist Mike Deodato, Jr. (born Deodato Taumaturgo Borges Filho) has become an enduring fan favorite, working in styles ranging from wildly energetic cartooning to moody photorealism. 

His father, also a Brazilian comic-book artist, inspired Deodato's lifelong love of comics and guided his son's artistic development. A professional artist since 1985, Deodato often collaborated with his father on comics in a wide variety of genres. Always a fan of American comics, Deodato broke into the U.S. market with projects like Malibu's Santa Claws and Innovation's Beauty and the Beast. 

Switching from his original realistic style to an Image-influenced dynamism during the early 1990s, he made a name for himself with a popular run on DC Comics' Wonder Woman. Sometimes aided by assistants, Deodato became one of the decade's most prolific and in-demand artists, including Marvel credits such as Avengers, Elektra, Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man and Thor. 

Gradually feeling overexposed and overextended, he cut back on his workload and reinvented his art again, crafting a darker, more detailed, more personally satisfying style. After trying out this new look in a Nightcrawler story for X-Men Unlimited, Deodato landed one of his favorite assignments to date, collaborating with writer Bruce Jones on Incredible Hulk. 

Subsequent assignments for the currently Marvel-exclusive artist have included Witches, New Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, Thunderbolts and his latest ongoing series, Old Man Logan.

Booking Notes:  Mike has specific table and booking needs.

Jeff Balke-- (Artist, Colorist, Animator) 

Jeff Balke and his Sketch Coloring

Add  a big dose of Whimsy and outright fun to any show with Jeff Balke and his own unique "Sketch Coloring," which can be applied to any sketch by any artist. Either on the original or on a copy of the original. 

Jeff is an entrepreneur, animator, voice actor, colorist and producer who through his animation studio, JeffBalke Studios which focuses on 2D CEL Animation. In addition to creating animations, the studio also produces weekly Comic Strips, Comic Strips ANIMATED! and Comic Books.

He is also as an Award Winning Comic Book Colorist and has worked on more than 300 comic books, and has worked with companies such as Marvel, Image, Zenescope, and Storm King Productions just to name a few. 

Jeff has also been nominated twice for the Eagle Awards for Best Comic Book Colorist, and won the ShelDorf Award in 2011 for Colorist of the Year. In 2007 he created something called Sketch Coloring™ (HISversion of commissions as a colorist).  Sketch Coloring is when Jeff colors (with markers by hand) most anything black and white (comic, print, poster etc.) making what’s colored POP right off that image and leaving some of that item black and white, which makes it one of a kind and unique.

Programming Notes:  Jeff is always available for panels or demos, and is at his table all hours of the show to engage the fans.   

John Beatty-- (Artist/Inker)

John Beatty ( Inker – Marvel Super Heroes “Secret Wars”, Captain America, The Punisher, Thanos Quest, Batman )

John Beatty is a veteran comic book artist, best know for his inking work for both Marvel and DC Comics.

Developing into one of the industries top inkers over his career, Beatty has worked with top pencil artists, such as Mike Zeck, Kelley Jones and Michael Golden.

Working on almost every major comic character in the industry at one time or another.

Titles best known for include many fan favorites such as: Marvel Super Heroes “Secret Wars”, Captain America, The Punisher, Thanos Quest and many Batman projects, including a highly regarded fan favorite 3 year run on the monthly “Batman” book.

Being picked or picking titles and peers to work with carefully and with cause, many of these series still remain highly regarded and collectable in today's current comic culture.

Rags Morales-- (Illustrator)

A veteran of the comic industry, Rags began his career with DC Comics in 1989 with the TSR licensed book Forgotten Realms. His first super hero series was "Black Condor." 

He has since worked on countless titles for DC, most notably "Identity Crisis". Other notable projects include: long runs on "JSA," "Hawkman," not to forget "Batman/Superman," "Nightwing," The New 52 and "First Wave." 

Rags has also worked with Valiant, Dark Horse, and Marvel Comics. 

From September to May, Rags also teaches at the Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Art. He lives in eastern Pennsylvania.

Programming Notes:  Rags is available for programming regarding his career in comics and creating comic books.

Phil Ortiz -- (Simpsons, Hanna-Barbera, Warner Bros., Muppet Babies!)

Come and be sketchanized by Phil and see what you would look like if you were to appear as a character on the Simpsons! It costs $70 per person to be sketched inked and colored. This is a work of art that you will cherish for the rest of your life.

Phil Ortiz grew up in East LA of Mexican and Spanish/Norwegian parents in 1953. He currently lives and works in the beautiful Lake Arrowhead area. Over his more than 30 years as a professional artist, Phil has worked on everything from daily newspaper comic strips (Bugs Bunny) to layouts and character design for animated cartoons including The Simpsons where Phil had a hand in the look of about 200 characters on the longest running comedy series in TV history. 

Some of the notable characters Phil designed for the Simpsons include: Flanders, Otto, Herman, Lou and Eddie, Ralph, and Apu. 

Phil has won five CERTIFICATES of ACHIEVEMENT for his work in TV animation and has been drawing for The Simpsons comic books for many years. 

Programming Notes:  Phil will sketchanize your convention attendees to turn your whole world into a Simpsons landscape! 

Tom Cook-- (Artist/Animator) 

Tom began his career as an animator and director in 1978 at Hanna-Barbera Studios where he was hired to work as an assistant animator on Challenge of the SuperFriends, Godzilla, Scooby Doo, Smurfs, Pacman and the Flintstones.

A short stop at Ruby-Spears had him working on Thundarr the Barbarian (had the privilege to meet and work with Jack Kirby), Heathcliff, Fang Face and Plastic Man. Freelancing at Film Roman he worked on the Garfield Special Babes and Bullets and for Bill Melendez on the Peanuts Special This is America Charlie Brown.

He then moved over to Filmation Studios in 1980, which at this point had become the only animation studio doing animation in the United States, and worked on Tarzan, Flash Gordon, Blackstar, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Brown Hornet, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra Princess of Power, Ghostbusters, Lone Ranger, Zorro, The Kids Super Power Hour with Shazam (Captain Marvel), Hero High and the futuristic Western Bravestarr. He was also involved with many TV commercials such as The Jolly Green Giant, Chevrolet, and the 7 Up Spot campaign.

He then became the timing director on Road Rovers, Disney's Mighty Ducks, PB & J Otter, Duckman, King of the Hill, Savage Dragon, HBO's Happily Ever After Fairy Tales, Extreme Ghostbusters, Extreme Dinosaurs and many more.

He also animated on a number of motion pictures such as Walt Disney's Prince and the Pauper starring Mickey Mouse, Roger Rabbit in Tummy Trouble, The Jetson's Movie, Rover Dangerfield, Stay Tuned, Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night, Steven Spielberg's Were Back, and Don Bluth's Thumbelina.

 

Will Conrad-- (Artist for DC Comics)

Artist Will Conrad

Will was born in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte. And is now one of the most prolific artists in Brazil, working since 2001 in the industry and producing exclusively for the American market.  

Companies that Will has and is working for include: Top Cow, Dark Horse, Dynamite, Marvel and DC, on titles such as Serenity, Kull, Conan, Buffy, Angel; Faith, Wolverine, X-Men, New Avengers, Teen Titans, Outsiders, Stormwatch, Green Lantern, Nightwing, Cyborg and many others!

As mentioned, Will is also currently one of the main artists in DC’s Action Comics! Looking at his work, you can certainly see why! 

Don't miss this chance to have this amazing artist at your shows. A professional fan favorite that is a pleasure to be around to boot!  

Programming Notes:  Will is open to doing panels for your show and helping make it a great event for your attendees. 

Mike DeCarlo-- (Archie and Marvel Artist)

Mike DeCarlo

Mike DeCarlo is a 4 decade veteran of the Comic Industry. Trained by the legendary Dick Giordano. He has worked as a penciler, artist and inker for Marvel, DC, The Simpsons, Disney, BOOM Studios, Warner Communications and Archie. His best attribute is the ability to draw ANY property in any style, period or genre.



After graduating Notre Dame High School and studying art for 2 years at Southern CT ST College, he began his professional career as sports cartoonist for The New Haven Register. He left that position to begin that apprenticeship with Giordano and after 18 months branched off to begin a solo career in the comic book industry. Over the next dozen years, he worked primarily as an ink artist on such titles as Batman, Teen Titans, Green Lantern, Thor, Iron Man and Conan the Barbarian.

In the mid-nineties, his focus changed to the cartoon/animation genre and worked as an artist on Looney Tunes, Powerpuff Girls, Ben-10, Scooby-Doo and Pinky  the Brain among others.

In the last decade, in addition to the work he now does for The Simpsons comic company Bongo Entertainment, he works for Disney Worldwide Publishing on Phineas & Ferb, Marvel Superheroes Magazine and Spider-Man Magazine.

Mike also has extended his repertoire into the digital field, becoming accomplished at digital inking in Illustrator and coloring in Photoshop. 

Clinton  Hobart-- (Disney Artist/ Fine Art Painter) 

Clinton T. Hobart is a Fine Artist and Licensed Disney Fine Artist. He creates original oil paintings of a wide variety of subjects ranging from classical subject matter such as fruit and eggshells to more modern subjects such as Mickey Mouse and Doritos. Even his Disney paintings are technically still-lifes, because he works from real objects in front of him. If he cannot find the objects he desires to paint he frequently will build elaborate "Sets" to work from. For his painting of the tower from the Disney movie Tangled he constructed a four foot tall replica of it made out of stone, mortar, cardboard, plaster and wood. The sculpture has since become as popular as the actual painting.

In addition to painting for Disney, Hobart also paints still-lifes, portraits, cosplay paintings, and ocean waves. He has been featured on NBC News, FOX News, The CW, ABC News, and American Artist magazine. He appeared on CBS News with Scott Pelle after a Chinese company sold forged copies of his paintings online. Afterward, the Huffington Post mentioned the story in an article stating that Clinton was part of a “sting operation.” Hobart’s painting “A Portrait of Doritos”  is in the private collection of actor Michael Rooker from Guardians Of The Galaxy and The Walking Dead.

Programming Notes:  Clint is available to do painting demos at your convention or event.

Konstantin Komardin--(Artist/Animator/Writer)

After several successful signing and screening tours in the United States, Konstantin is busy at work on his current lengthy animation project focused on human rights, now in development. 

Komardin is an award-winning sequential artist, graphic artist and animator. His work includes the BD magazines “Veles,” “Hacker,” “Max Cooler,” “Moulin Rouge,” “Timof” which published his story “Siberian Dreams,” and the renowned comics “Agent Z,” “Sit-o-city,” “Gate of Alice,” and “Mechanics of Senses.” Konstantin was awarded the Grand Prize for “The Site of Polis” at the Moscow Comics Festival.  

His animation works include the concept designs on “Elka,” “Man with the Wind in his Head,” which was featured at the Suzdal Film Festival, “Tram,” “Spindel” which was honored at the Moscow Short Film Festival, and “The Man in Penze Nez,” which screened at both the Suzdal Film Festival and the Moscow International Film Festival.  

Programing Notes: Konstantin can do panels on animation as well as sequential art for your show, and talk about the cross-cultural world of comics.

Ric Meyers--(Writer/Film Consultant/Director/Actor)

Novelist Richard S. Meyers is responsible for the Marvel prose novel featuring the Hulk among others, but around 100 other books as well! Creator of the Destroyer series, Ric is also the writer of "Santa Confidential," illustrated beautifully by artist Chris Browne of "Hagar the Horrible" fame, "The Kung Fu Movie Book," featuring everything you want to know about the martial arts world, and is the director of "The Kung Fu Movie Movie."  

His commentary is sought after on director cuts of movies and television compilations worldwide. As well as acting (most recently as a villain in a Scotland filmed production), Ric has been called on as an expert consultant for such projects as "Twilight Zone," and "Kung Fu Panda." He yearly runs the Marital Arts movie segments at the San Diego Comic Con. 

Programing Notes: Ric is available for a plethora of programming, Kung Fu, comics, film and otherwise! Screening of his movie works are also possible.

Rodney Ramos--(Artist)

Artist Rodney Ramos has worked on just about every major character for Marvel Comics and DC Comics with a flourish that makes him a master at his craft. He began his storied journey in comics as a Romita Raider at Marvel Comics, learning his craft under the legendary John Romita, Sr. Regular work on titles like "Psi-Force," "What The!?" "Thundercats" "Punisher War Journal," "Amazing Spider-Man," and "Iron Man" followed, as well as work on Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman, and much more. 

His works include masterful craftsmanship for clients ranging from Valiant, Malibu, Acclaim, Marvel UK, and Neal Adams Continuity Studios, in addition to Marvel and DC. He reached cult status with his work on DC's "Transmetropolitan," a huge fan favorite, and most recently over Simon Bisley's pencils at Legendary.

Programming Notes:  Rodney is available for panels on his career and comics in general.

Jim Salicrup--(Writer/Artist/Editor)

Jim Salicrup is the Editor-in-Chief of Papercutz, the graphic novel publishing company he co-founded with Terry Nantier. Papercutz is devoted to publishing great graphic novels for all ages:  Annoying Orange, Ariol, Classics Illustrated, Dance Class, Disney Fairies, Geronimo Stilton, LEGO® Ninjago, LEGO Chima,Lunch Witch, Nancy Drew Diaries, The Smurfs Anthology, and many more. Recently, Papercutz launched a new imprint, modestly called Super Genius, which publishes titles such as WWE Superstars, Neil Gaiman’s Lady Justice, and more.

After being published as a writer and artist in Kids Magazine at age 14, Jim moved on to working at Marvel Comics for twenty years, editing most of their top titles, such as Spider-Man (with Todd McFarlane), The Uncanny X-Man (with Claremont & Byrne), The Fantastic Four (with John Byrne), Iron Man, and many more. Jim was the writer, and then editor of Spidey Super Stories, , a comic created to help children learn how to read. Spidey Super Stories was produced in co-operation with the Children’s Television Workshop, the producers of Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Editing and writing Spidey Super Stories was important in getting Jim to think about comics created for kids.

Jim was also the writer of such comics as Transformers, Visionaries, The Spider-Man Child Abuse Prevention comic, The A-Team, The Inhumanoids, Kool-Aid Man, and more. He also wrote and edited Marvel calendars, toilet paper, coloring books, posters and drinking cups. He also was the editor on Marvel Age Magazine for eight years.

After Marvel, Jim developed a line of comics for the Topps Company, Inc., where he was Editor-in-Chief. At Topps Comics Jim worked with such writers and artists such as Charlie Adlard, Ray Bradbury, Steve Ditko, Keith Giffen, Michael Golden,  Don Heck, Gil Kane, Miran Kim,  Jack Kirby, Don McGregor, Mike Mignola, George Perez, Stefan Petrucha, P. Craig Russell,  Scott Shaw!,  Roy Thomas, Craig Yoe, and many others.  Jim was also Senior Writer/Editor for Stan Lee Media, and a Trustee for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. 

Programming Notes: Jim is available for panels on his career and comics in general. 

Dennis Calero-- (Writer/Artist/Colorist)

Dennis Calero is an internationally recognized and award winning artist and writer.  Co-creator of "Xmen Noir" and the web series "Devil Inside," Calero co-penned "Clandestine" for the Syfy Channel and Valhalla Productions.Dennis currently writes and draws Assassin's Creed: Templars for Titan Comics and is currently working on his second novel.

His novel, You Aren't the Captain of Me, has been optioned. He's the recipient of awards from The Harvey's and The Society of Illustrators. Other work includes "Alex Ross's Masks," "Army of Darkness," with writer Steve Niles,"The Shadow," "Legion of Super-Heroes," "Magic: The Gathering," "The Night Stalker," "Star Trek: The Next Generation,"  "Cowboys vs. Aliens,"  "Dungeons and Dragons," and "X-Factor" which was honored with a Harvey Award for Best New Series during his tenure. As well as being a versatile penciler, Dennis is also a sought after colorist, while also working in the world of film and television.  

Programing notes: Any number of panels can be arranged with Dennis that encompass overviews of his career, or focus on his amazing skill set.

Renee Witterstaetter--(Writer/Editor/Color Artist)

Writer, editor, colorist and publisher Renee Witterstaetter has acted as editor on such books as "Thanos Quest," "Guardians of the Galaxy,"  "Hercules," "Xena," "X-Files," "Conan," "She-Hulk,"  "The Marvel Holiday Special," "Impossible Man Summer Special," "Jurassic Park,"  and too many books to mention here. 

As a film professional, she has worked on such movies as "Red Dragon" and "Rush Hour 2," while also behind the scenes, racking up credits on dozens of music videos and commercials for artists as diverse as Madonna, Seal and Usher.  

Her books as a writer include: "Jackie Chan: Dying for Action," "Nick Cardy: The Artist at War," "Excess: The Art of Michael Golden," "Nick Cardy: Wit-Lash," "Art of the Barbarian,"  "Michael Golden: Excess," "The Art of Mark Texeira," and her children's book "Kerry and the Scary Things." 

In addition, combining her film work with comics, she is a producer of DVD's on various comic book creators and talents in other fields through her partnership with Amdale Media,  and has spearheaded mounting art shows and retrospectives in the United States, Spain, China, Russia and other venues worldwide. She has lectured on the industry in China, Spain, Norway, and numerous other countries, not to mention the United States! 

Programing Notes: Renee is available for portfolio reviews as well as panels relating to her career and working in the publishing industry and comics. 

Let's get movin'!

Art by Konstantin Komardin.

Renee Witterstaetter

Eva Ink Artist Group

Pros & Cons Celebrity Booking