In the recent past I posted here about Fantaco’s 1991 comic book adaptation of the Night Of The Living Dead by Tom Skullan and Carlos Kastro. Kastro’s art in particular had a heavy influence on me. Posted here today is one of Kastro’s test pages for the series that had until today remained Unpublished. While at the San Diego Comic Con in 1993 I was able to buy this page off of Carlos for around $40. While I’ve sold most of the original art I purchased as a kid in order to raise money to take lessons in illustration and make my own comic books this is one of the few pieces I’ve held onto.
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Rare Night Of The Living Dead Original Art Work
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Personal Journal
Tom Raney Batman Sketch Circa 1991
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Pencil Drawings
I got this Batman Sketch from comic book artist Tom Raney at the San Diego Comic Con Circa 1991. Raney was an unknown artist at the time trying to break into comics. I thought this batman sketch was one of the most awesome kick ass depictions I’d ever scene of my favorite superhero. This sketch hung on my wall and sat next to my drawing board for years.
Today I look back on this sketch and it drives me crazy how batman’s bicep is drawn because a bicep does not tie into the deltoid like that. Batman’s abdominals and triceps are completely incorrect as well as the rest of the his anatomy. The head is too small in proprtion to the rest of Batman’s body. Yet even with all these errors it still looks cool. Perhaps some day I will ink this sketch myself and correct it.
Massive Ninja Fight!
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Worlds Deadliest
Illustrated by me circa 2014 for my Worlds Deadliest Webcomic which will return this year! You can check out the finished art work here.
Awesome Robert Johnson Manga
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Opinion
Chuck Norris Karate Kammandos
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Karate, Martial Arts
This is a cool Chuck Norris Karate Kammando Illustration by former Disney Animator Tom Bancroft. Tom did this illustration of Chuck in 2014 at my request during the time I was one of his supports on Patreon. Eventually I had to cancell my pledge in order to save money in an effort to allocate more funds towards making my own comics.
The Great Gamma
Posted by Sam Kressin in Catch Wrestling, Comic Books, Strength Monsters
The Great Gamma one of the most feared wrestlers of his day holding his golden club / mace presented to him by the Maharajah of Patiala. Look carefully and you will find this same club makes an appearance in my stand alone comic book Strength Monsters Issue # 1 which you can download a digital copy of for free just fill in the box below and I will email you a copy.
Chuck Norris And Stan Lee 1975 San Diego Comic Con
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Karate, Martial Arts, San Diego Martial Arts Seminars
Check Out Martial Arts Comic Book Veteran Stan Sakai’s Illustration Process
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
Stan Sakai writes and illustrates Usagi Yojimbo one of the great martial arts comic books about a Samurai Rabbit. This is an awesome video showcasing his illustration process.
Awesome Night Of The Living Dead Quick Sketches
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Personal Journal
I discovered this Night Of The Living Dead comic book adaptation at the San Diego Comic Con circa 1992. The book was illustrated by a French artist named Carlos Kastro who was attending the convention. I watched him do many sketches for fans he would seamlessly transitions between pencil, pen, ink, brush, white out and so on. He told me it doesn’t matter which tools you use (brushes, pens, paper ect) as long as you know what it does. This Kastro drew with everything. Here is the sketch he did inside my comic book with just white out. He literally used liquid paper white out that comes in a bottle with the cap that has a brush attached to it.
Not long after watching Kastro draw quick sketches of skulls and zombies inside everyone’s comic books. I immediately took to practicing them myself drawing them upon every worksheet, piece of paper, note-book or homework assignment I was ever given during high school. Then one day in english class I drew a grouping of skulls on the top of a hand out near my name. The teacher saw the image of death laden upon my sheet of paper pointed to it and said; “I don’t like that kind of thing!” I knew I was on the right track.
The next year I returned to San Diego Comic Con and Carlos Kastro was back! He had the second issue with him. Here is the quick sketch he did for me inside my comic.
Here are the covers to Night Of The Living Dead issues 1 & 2.
Al Capp: A Life to the Contrary
Posted by Sam Kressin in Book Reviews, Comic Books, Opinion
Back Board I Took Through Artists Alley San Diego Comic Con 1991
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration
Howard Simpson had never worked on the Simpson’s but he drew the Simpson’s on everything because they shared the same last name. Dan Barry drew the Indiana Jones he penciled a Dark Horse Series titled, “Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.” The half circle and full circle with squiggly lines in the lower corner is Rob Liefield and that’s suppose to be Deadpool LOL. The Daredevil sketch is by Ron Garney he made it out to my Brother Seth who was with me and around ten years old at the time. Of course Sergio Aragones did a cool Groo Sketch and Stan Sakai did a cool Usagi Yojimbo.
The Complete Hour 25 Jack Kirby Interview Circa 1990
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
Greg Capullo’s Bane Re-Inked By Sam Kressin
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, My Inks over My Pencils
A couple of months ago I attempted to ink an illustration of Bane by Greg Capullo. I choose to ink this drawing as a practice exercise to get better with my inking tools and because the illustration is done in a style I would never draw in. My in my first attempt posted here I inked Capullo’s pencils 100% with a brush and I took liberties to change just about what ever I wanted to or felt like changing. After showing it to my art teacher and mentor Joe Rubinstein he challenged me to re-ink it this time using a nib and trying to make it as faithful to the original pencils as possible. So here it is this is the best of my abilities at this point in time.
Make Sure You Download Strength Monsters in “Eat A Burrito”
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Strength Monsters
As I’m finishing the final pages to my forthcoming comic book Strength Monsters in “Ultra Mayhem” make sure you’ve picked up the free download of my inaugural issue. Strength Monsters in “Eat A Burrito.” To get your copy just enter your name and email in the box below.
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Strength Monsters
100 Days of Making Comics: Day 1
Posted by Sam Kressin in 100 Days of Making Comics, Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Pencil Drawings
Day One of 100 Days of Making Comics.
The challenge is simple. Work on your comic for a minimum of 30 minutes a day for 100 days straight. Document what you do and upload it to youtube in order to stay accountable.
Here are the illustrations I did today;
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
I was one of the original backers on this project of two years ago. I’m glad to see it’s finally going to be out this month. I’ll be looking forward to watching it and will post a review once I have.
If you are unfamiliar with Superman Lives it was a film put into production shortly after Tim Burtons 1989 Batman during the 1990s. The original script was written by Kevin Smith, Nick Cage was cast as the role of Superman and Tim Burton was set to direct. Then the project was scrapped. The art work, costumes, test footage and more that came out of the preproduction on this film is some of the most wild and bizarre Superman content I’ve ever seen anywhere period.
Here is the trailer for this documentary about Superman Lives.
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Strength Monsters
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Strength Monsters
New Strength Monsters Banner!
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Design Work, Strength Monsters
Here’s a look at the new Strength Monsters Banner I had made for conventions, special appearances and other stuff. The title is completely hand lettered you can check out my process here.
You can download a digital copy of the first issue of this comic book for Free. Just enter your name and email below and I will send you a link to download the book.
Check out some of the details and special feature I put into this;
Michael Echanis Style Knife Throwing and Other Stuff
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Martial Arts, Uncategorized, Worlds Deadliest
Stumbled across this cool video today while doing more research for the collected print (and download) edition of Worlds Deadliest, Chapter 1; “Deathly Weapons.”
This video covers the Michael Echanis Style of Knife Throwing as it’s instructed in his 1978 classic; Knife Fighting, Knife Throwing for Combat
I’ve been working really hard to finished this first collected edition of my Martial Arts Web Comic Worlds Deadliest soon. The book will contain a number of never before published illustrations by myself, biographical essays on important martial artists and a number of additional articles and resources pertaining to martial arts even including some little known and obscure information about Dim Mak!
Hopefully the overall all the finished product will be the martial arts book you’ve always wanted to read that no one ever made.
Feldstein Inspired Astronaut By Sam Kressin
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Design Work, Drawing and Illustration, Inked Drawings, My Inks over My Pencils
I have been posting my progress on this Al Feldstein, Weird Fantasy inspired Spaceman piece I started two days ago for Your Web Designer. You can see my rough sketch here, and my tighten up pencil drawing here. Today I completed the piece. I inked him traditionally with a Raphael Kolinsky Sable – Fine Point Round – Size 3
Feldstein Inspired Spaceman Final Pencils
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Pencil Drawings
I posted my rough sketch of this Al Feldstein Weird Fantasy inspired Spaceman yesterday for Your Web Designer. Today I was able to get the pencils finished and tied down for the illustration. I will be inking tomorrow.
Quick Sketch Feldstein Inspired Space Man
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Pencil Drawings, Sketch Book
Work in progress for Your Web Designer I’ll tight this guy up and tie him down tomorrow. This the quick sketch I did today inspired by an Al Feldstein Weird Fantasy Cover. If you don’t know who Feldstein is I suggest you learn! My recommendation is to pick up a copy of FELDSTEIN: The Mad Life and Fantastic Art of Al Feldstein!
Adventures in the Strike Zone Character Design by Sam Kressin
Posted by Sam Kressin in Adventures in the Strike Zone, Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration
From my Sketch Book. You can see my other character design for this series here.
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
Our Next Panel sequence part of my forth coming Strength Monsters Comic Book; “Ultra Mayhem!”
Greg Capullo’s Bane Inked By Sam Kressin
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Inked Drawings
I recently finished inking this Bane Penciled by Greg Capullo. I usually spend 25-30 minutes everyday inking over some else’s work I respect and admire. I do this as an exerices to improve my own skills in Drawing and in using my brush. This piece was 100% inked with a #3 Windsor Newton Series Seven Brush. Check out Greg’s original pencils below. 
If you are unfamilar with Capullo’s work I strongly recommend checking out;Batman: The Court of Owls
It’s also well worth listening to these fantastic Fatman on Batman interviews with Greg;
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Strength Monsters
I Will Kick You In The Face! (Pencils)
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration, Pencil Drawings
I penciled this illustration today. Why did I draw this? What will become of it? Stay tuned and keep stopping back in to find out!
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, The Buiness of Comic Books
As a comic book creator it’s infurating to learn how DC Entertianment has choosen to treat it’s best creators as nothing more than jobbing workers. It’s easy to say everyone should just work on creator own properties yet even with more opportunities to do so today then ever it is still extreemly difficult to actually get anyone to pay attention to any thing new, not established or unknown.
Another Panel from the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Graphic Novel
Posted by Sam Kressin in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration
Another art piece by myself and Chris Haueter for a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Graphic Novel we have been working on for a long time.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Graphic Novel
Posted by Sam Kressin in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Comic Books
Art work by myself and 5th degree Rigan Machado Black Belt and Metamoris refree Chris Haueter for our upcoming Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Graphic Novel.
The Great Herb Trimpe
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
One of my favorites I bought this book off the shelf back in 1990. It’s a beautiful depiction of the Incredible Hulk throwing Hulk Hogan with an outside wrist lock throw by the great comic book artist Herb Trimpe an artist I admired for years who unfortunately passed away this week at the age of seventy five.
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Hayden Christensen is Indiana Jones! INKED!
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration
You may or may not recall a few weeks ago I published this Pencil Illustration I did of Hayden Christensen as Indiana Jones. Today the inked version is finished. I was real lucky to get my teacher Joe Rubinstein to commit to inking this piece for me and just in time before he got real busy with a bunch of Justice League of America pages for DC comics. Stay tunes as you will see more about this piece of art work soon.
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Strength Monsters
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
A really cool article about Strength Monsters artist A.J. Fulcher and his story about becoming a comic book artist. If you’d like to see some of work A.J. and I did together download the comic book he drew for me here; http://strengthmonsters.com
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Strength Monsters
Finishing Up Some Design Work For Strength Monsters
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Design Work, Vlog
Look What Showed Up In The Mail Today
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
Last week I posted this short entry about Jim Aparo’s Batman which lead into a nice discussion on the 1990s Batman: Knightfall
I got into Knightfall literally like 3 issues before it happened. I’d just finally emerged from my Chris Claremont X-Men phase.
It was something amazing to see unfold month after month. No more rote and weird Batman stories. Finally….something was HAPPENING to him that was shaking up the status quo.
Each issue after combatting the Arkham escapees, he’d get more beat up, more tired, and you could see Batman was heading into the most dangerous confrontation of his entire career.
By the time Bane showed up in the Bat-cave and laid down the challenge, and Batman said (In a panel drawn by Jim Aparo)
“Not on the best day you ever had…” As he replaced the cowl over his unshaven face….
Dude……that shit was 100x more heavy than the scene in TDKR
I was strongly compelled to order Volume 1
Hayden Christensen is Indiana Jones!
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Drawing and Illustration
Pencils for an Illustration I am doing to make some T-Shirts my brother and I are going to make to wear to the upcoming Star Wars Celebration. I’m really tempted to post this around the internet with the caption; “Just in new production art leaked with Hayden Christensen to star as Indiana Jones in next film!” Image the mass hysteria that would ensue!
Professional Wrestling Comics
Posted by Sam Kressin in Catch Wrestling, Comic Books, Design Work
Another design piece I finished this weekend. Inspired by AWAs bi-weekly All Star Wrestling Publications circa the 1970s. Like I’ve said before and in other posts I don’t really enjoy doing design work like this but if you want to make comic books and be in buisness for yourself it’s a necessity.
Martial Arts Web Comic
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Design Work
Finished up this art today. I don’t really like doing design work like this. I’d prefer to draw, ink and illustrate stories but it was work I had to complete for another currently top secret project. Other than the font everything in the piece was done by me.
Jim Aparo’s Batman
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Personal Journal
The Batman I was introduced to and fell in love with as a kid was Jim Aparo’s Batman. This is a Batman that wasn’t created by Bill Finger or Bob Kane. This Batmans was the result of a collective mind. It was a character shaped by the hundreds of artists and writers that had worked on him before Aparo.
Aparo’s Batman is what I consider to be the Classic Bronze Age Batman. His costume looks like cloth and his cape is far longer than his Silver or Golden age ancestors. He has more exaggerated ears and he dawns the bright yellow target across his chest. Aparo’s Batman is muscular but not bulky. He doesn’t have boots with huge treads or a cowl that looks like a helmet. His design sleek with an elegant streamlined shape.
I should note that while Aparo didn’t draw the first Batman comic I ever picked up he was the artist doing the majority of the Batman books I was reading at the time. It wasn’t long after I started reading when Batman: A Death in the Family
Although I enjoy all versions of the character because Aparo’s Batman was the Batman I was introduced to it’s always the first Batman I think of when someone mentions the character.
Martial Arts Comic Book
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books, Design Work
This is some art I worked on today. As was the case with this piece a lot of times just putting together a design like this can take far more time than it takes to draw or color the actual art work. This piece was penciled, designed and colored by me inked by Josef Rubinstein. I can’t say much more about what this is banner is going to be used for or what it is going to be apart of yet but stay tuned as soon enough all will be revealed!
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
Vincent Locke!
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
This is a quick sketch I got from Vincent Locke at the 1992 San Diego Comic Con. Long before the SDCC was “cool,” back in a time when it was attended by actual comic book artists, creators and fans. Depicting a vampire getting ripped apart alive I really like this little sketch because it’s a good sample of the gruesome, expressive and energetic artistic style of Locke. Vincent was best known at the time for his work on Deadworld a truely independant comic book and probably the first zombie comic with any staying power. Deadworld came out well over a decade before the “Walking Days of Our Lives” I mean Walking Dead would come to light. Still in publication today I suggest checking out the classic years which began in 1987 and ran till some time in the mid 90s. Deadworld
ME AND BANE!
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
Me and my boy Mike right before the costume compeition at the Long Beach Comic Book Expo this past weekend. Although Mike didn’t win the competition he definatlely brought it. Make sure you check out the short Vlog I made at this years Expo here.
Vlog Long Beach Comic Book Expo 2-28-15
Posted by Sam Kressin in Comic Books
Had a great time at the Long Beach Comic Book Expo this year. Check out the Vlog I shot at the event and I guarentee you will see some cool stuff.
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