Tom Strong in a Music Video
(don't blink or you'll miss it)!

Indie or Alternative or whatever rock band (and former Ohioans) The National just released a music video for their song "Terrible Love" which was filmed on the band's current tour. Xan and I saw them play here in Columbus a couple of months ago, so I watched the video hoping to spot some live footage filmed at that show. About 50 seconds in, there's a scene with one of the band members hanging out in a comic shop. I will now shamefacedly admit (again) that anytime I see some piece of film or video of a comic shop I try to spot one of my own books on the racks (I posted about this a while back when Xan spotted a copy of a Tom Strong trade paperback on Big Bang Theory--click HERE for that). I can't be the only comics guy who does that...but if I am, then you are welcome to call me pathetic...Anyway, I spotted a copy of the After Watchmen...What's Next? version of Tom Strong #1 over on the left side of the frame. I've posted the video above and some screencaps below along with the comic's cover. Enjoy!



--C

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents Cover

Pictured above is the finished color cover for T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #3, on sale 01/12 /11. I had high hopes for this cover when I started it, but it doesn't look like the image I had in my head. Inks and colors are nice, though! Oh, well...next time...

--C

YouTube Review/Overview of Tom Strong
Just saw the following today:

A nice fan review/overview of the series, especially if you've never read the original comics. It's heavy on images from the first four issues and includes a lot of artwork by Arthur Adams from his short story in Tom Strong #4. The reviewer is incorrect about one thing, though: while we had several stand alone one issue stories over the course of the series, there were many multiple-issue story arcs, including issues #2-7 right at the start. Hopefully that won't be too off-putting for new readers.

Did I just review a review? Oh, well...

--C

Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #5 Preview

The official Wildstorm page has posted a color preview of the cover and first five pages from Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #5. Click HERE to open the preview as a PDF file in your browser, or right click to save the PDF file to your desktop. This issue is out in comic shops everywhere tomorrow!


--C

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne Deluxe Hardcover Collection

DC Comics officially solicited the Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne Deluxe Hardcover Edition today. This slightly over-sized book will collect all six issues of the mini-series and will include previously unseen sketches and design artwork. I sent the editors a bunch of prelims and preparatory drawings and I'm curious to see what they picked. This collection goes on sale Feb. 2, 2011. I've posted the cover image above.

In other news, Wildstorm released a color image of my 3rd cover for the End of Nations video game tie-in series and you can see that below. That particular book goes on sale December 29.

--C

Peter Hogan Interview
Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #5 will be published in a few weeks, but in the meantime, here are a few items of interest to Tom Strong fans:

First, click HERE to read a great interview with Robots of Doom writer Peter Hogan. Peter's entire career is covered, including his time in publishing, music journalism and comics. It's a fun and informative read and was full of surprises for me (such as Peter's association with various people and bands I've followed for years).

Second, see below for a sneak preview of some art from Robots of Doom #5. This is the big battle issue, with Tom Strong, Dr. Permafrost and the lava people (the Salamanders) vs. the maniacal Albrecht and his army of Dero robots. Lots of cool imagery in this one, beginning with the splash page below, reproduced from the pencil art.

...and third, since I announced it to a crowd at the Toronto Fan Expo in a panel overseen by DC Comics honcho Dan Didio (urged to do so by Dan, actually), I suppose it's okay for me to reveal here that Peter and I have begun work on a new Tom Strong mini-series entitled Tom Strong and the Planet of Peril. Since we're just starting, I have no info yet on when it will be released.



--C

Return of Bruce Wayne #1 3rd Printing Cover

Above is the cover of the third printing of Batman: the Return of Bruce Wayne #1, out now at your local comics retailer! Also out today: Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #4 and The Authority #26, which features a cover I drew earlier this year.

--C

Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #4 Color Preview

Page 1 of Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom

The official Wildstorm blog posted a preview of issue #4 of Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom today, so if you can't make it to your local comic shop right away, click HERE to get a glimpse of the latest chapter of our six part story.


Pencil art for the page shown above

--C

Toronto Fan Expo 2010

Xan and I spent this past weekend at the Toronto Fan Expo, a convention catering to aficionados of science fiction, horror movies, anime and comics. Thanks to some severely unpleasant traffic, we ended up arriving late on Friday, but I was still in time to be on the DC Nation Panel with DC Comics honcho Dan Didio and artists Jeff Lemire, Ethan Van Sciver, Francis Manapul and writer Brian Azarello. After that, I was off to Artists' Alley to sign and sketch for the unfailingly nice and friendly Canadian fans. Saturday started off well, with me arriving early and producing some sketches I was actually pleased with for a change. Xan walked the con floor, visiting the Tron booth which featured huge displays of Tron props, toys and various merchandise. She also caught the Tron Legacy panel with Bruce Boxleitner and managed to see a few of the many other celebrity guests--a large and surprising selection which included David Cronenberg, Ernest Borgnine, Lance Henriksen, William Shatner, Stan Lee and many more. As the day wore on and the crowd grew and the temperature inside rose, I signed at the DC Comics booth and sketched for hours, finally leaving the building just in time to join Xan and the DC staffers and freelancers for good food and great conversation at a local Italian restaurant. Thanks go to Dan, Fletcher, Matt and Vince (who I've known ever since I got into this biz) for showing us a fine time! Sunday, the con floor seemed just as crowded and I worked just as hard as I had the previous day. Xan shopped the dealers' room and kept me company for a while before leaving to visit friends Sara and Henning and their kids that night.

The very large Tron display


Lance Henriksen (left) and Ernest Borgnine (right)


The view from my table in Artists' Alley: Jill Thompson--still managing to sketch
while plagued by a Brain Slug Xan bought her, and Tim Bradstreet

Monday morning we headed South towards the States again, stopping and spending the rest of the day exploring and enjoying both the Canadian and U.S. sides of Niagara Falls before driving back home that night. I'd like to say "thanks!" to all of the fans who stopped by during the con, to the DC guys who treated us very well, and to Tiz and the rest of the con staff for inviting us and taking care of us!

Niagara Falls, as seen from Canada


Xan flagrantly disobeys the rules...as usual...


Double rainbows with the Rainbow Bridge in the far background


Xan has some good cheesy fun


Looking for Lois Lane on the U.S. side of the Falls

--C

Checklist Page Now Up!
I just added another site to the SprouseNet family of blogs: The Chris Sprouse Checklist.This site began as a post on this very blog several months ago, but I decided it would be easier to keep the whole mess updated if it was a separate entity. The new site consists of an alphabetically arranged list of all my published comic work as well as a list that's chronologically arranged. There's also a section for upcoming work complete with on-sale dates. Check it out HERE (or click on the link in the "Links" section)! In case this all seems like the narcissism-flavored icing on a self-involvement cake, well, I'm the kind of person who makes lists of everything and an obsessive collector to boot, so I already had the source material on my computer and thought it might be useful to someone out there. Plus, I figured that anyone reading these words has some interest in my work or is related to Xan or myself. If you aren't interested in Xan or me or my work, then why are you reading this?! Life is short--go away and read about something or someone you do like!

--C

New Tom Strong Cover!

Above is the cover for Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #6, the final issue of the mini-series. The color art premiered today as part of DC Comics' November solicitations, so I'm sharing it here!
--C

Tom Strong Reviews
The official Wildstorm blog posted a nice little piece on Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom today featuring excerpts from and links to a bunch of online reviews. Click HERE to read the post. I also realized I never posted the color cover for Robots of Doom #4, so look below for that. Issue #3 will be out next week!

--C

New Covers

Above and below are two of my covers previewed today by DC Comics/Wildstorm. The first (above) is for Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #5 and the second (below) is from the upcoming video game tie-in comic End of Nations #1. Both books will ship in October.

--C

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1
Second Printing

Above is a scan of the cover of the second printing edition of Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1. I have no idea what color scheme will be used for the third printing cover.

--C

Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #2 Preview

The official Wildstorm blog posted a preview of the second issue of Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom today. Click HERE to get a look at the finished colored & lettered art for the cover and six interior pages. You can also right click HERE to download a PDF file of the preview (or just left click to view it in your browser). I posted the pencil art for my favorite page from this sequence below. The issue is out at your local comic shop next week--I can't wait!

--C

Time Masters: Vanishing Point Cover

Starting next month DC Comics is publishing a series called Time Masters: Vanishing Point, a spin-off/tie-in to Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. I drew a variant cover for the first issue of Time Masters immediately after finishing my Bruce Wayne issue, and today the official DC blog previewed the finished color art. You can see the piece above or click HERE to go to the post at the DC blog. I think the colors are by Dave McCaig (who colored our Bruce Wayne cover)--at least that's who inker Karl Story and I begged editor Mike Carlin to get for the job...Anyway, I think the big central figure on the cover resembles my take on Bruce Wayne's face a bit too much, but I was very happy to get to finally draw the real Batman again! Also, I believe this piece marks the first time I've drawn Green Lantern (the classic Hal Jordan version) for publication.

--C

Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom Interview

Above: Pencil art from Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom #2

While waiting for issue #2 of Tom Strong and the Robots of Doom to ship, writer Peter Hogan and I have done another online interview promoting the series. Click HERE to read the interview at Crave Online.

Meanwhile, the DC Comics Bat-Office has informed Grant, Karl and I that Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 has not only sold through it's initial print run, but the second printing is now sold out as well! A 3rd printing is in the works...

--C

Bruce Wayne Knocks 'em Out

Bruce Wayne triumphant in the pencil art for a page
from Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1

Exciting news today: not only did Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #1 sell out fairly quickly in May, it was the top-selling DC comic book that month and the third top-selling comic from any publisher! It's been very strange and fascinating to be involved in all of this...a new experience to be sure!

--C

Happy Birthday, Mike!
Today is my brother Mike's birthday, so in his "honor" I'll continue my tradition of posting goofy childhood photos on my family members' birthdays:

Above: Mike and I doing...God only knows what...sometime in the 70's,
when everyone looked ridiculous
--C

Toronto Panel Audio Posted

While attending the Toronto Fan Appreciation Event as a guest this past weekend, I did a panel discussion/lecture kind of thing called "From Panel to Page." I discussed my working methods and creative thought process, prompted by a great moderator and his slide show of several prelims and layouts. While you can't see the slide show, you can listen to an audio recording of the "lecture" posted at Bleedingcool.com. Click HERE and scroll down towards the bottom of the page.

--C