GOLDEN AGE: Blast From The Past

TENTH POST: It's been a year...

So I guess starting a blog that long ago for a book that's being worked on was probably not the brightest thing to do. Anyhoo, Here's a pic of the Ol' starhead that I did. There's a couple fun things on the horizon for Starblast related material. I don't wanna say anything until we've got something for ya...stay tuned.

this post's fanart by Alfredo Caceres

NINTH POST: Golden Age Poster

Sorry, but I promised this and took too long to finish it up.
So here is the poster for Golden Age, at least one version.

EIGHTH POST: Times they are a-changin'

One of GoldenAge's central themes is that time is an unstoppable constant for all of us. I just wanted to share some of my original drawings from 2003 of the Ol'Star-HeadedHero.

My attempt at headshot "turnarounds" almost 4 years ago.

A colored headsketch done about a week ago- my vision of Starblast keeps skewing more and more towards Kirk's version.

I know what yer all thinking, "Whatever Matt, where's Kirk's sketches?"
Here's some of Kirk's preliminary sketches for TheSkowl- his prelim stuff looks better than my FINISHED drawings. Sheesh.

and this week's fanart? A team-up by Scott Triffle of Sb and his character PowerGranny.

http://striffle.deviantart.com/

-Matt

SEVENTH POST: Page Six sneak Peek

Hello all. This is Kirk, the artist on Golden Age. I though I would post a few additions to the blog here. Today I’m going to show you a peek at a part of page 6. Page six is a collage that sets up the transition into the 50s when Starblast is a young man and exerting is independence as a superhero.

(click pic to see larger)

As for myself, Matt talked a little bit about my background. To expand, I am currently an Art Director at a game and puzzle company. Myself and a staff of three designers do all the packaging, contents, marketing material and catalog for the company. Previous to this job, of which I have been at for 12 years now, I worked at a roleplaying company called Game Designers Workshop. They made Traveller and a few other games. When I worked at GDW, I did alot of illustration for them that had that roleplaying look, not to mention lots of map drawings (yehaw).

GDW whet out of buisness a year after I left. When I came to Patch, I had to switch gears and draw cartoon characters in a Disney style for some of the children’s puzzles. After the first few years at Patch, my duties strayed from illustrating to designing and managing the depatment, thus no drawings to do. After a few years of not drawing, I decided I was going to pursue drawing on a daily basis and build my skill back up and past where I had been. I had sort of done this a few times before only to fizzle out. The differnce this time was that I was going to start a blog (provided by the drawing board) as a means of holding myself accountable. It has helped and also provided me the contact with Matt to work with on Golden Age. Now to say everything is great, would be a stretch. I still need to work thought busy and unmotivated times, but the last two years have really been good for my illustrating development.

Well, sorry to talk your ear off. For the next time I post some stuff here, I plan on doing a Golden Age poster. In fact I’m already done with the drawing, just need to ink it. I will then post the final result, (a very fun poster) and some thumbnail sketches of other ideals I had for a poster. Till then, best to ya. - Kirk

SIXTH POST: I Can't Believe it's not the
Liberty & Justice Affiliation...

Well, it is. The LJA (yeah I know) are the premier super-team of Major City during the early sixties to late seventies. In other words, they're the ones out there getting all the glory and fame while the lesser known heroes toil away in the background doing all the jobs that the city's big guns don't have the time or desire to do.

These are the most recent in my ever changing designs for these characters, I'm sure you'll see the recognizable stereo-archetypes.

These are some of Kirk's preliminary sketches...

This weeks fanart is by the classically styled illustrating genius that is Dan McDaid.
Creator of the soon to be hit book TheLastMinuters.

http://thelastminuters.blogspot.com/

-Matt

FIFTH POST: For the kid in all of us.

Sorry about missing last week, I'll try not to let that happen again.
In honor of Halloween, and kids everywhere (both of mine are currently in sugar comas) we're focusing on The StarblastKid.

Oliver in his early formative "pre-teen" years was a sidekick of TheSkowl. As far as heroes go, Oliver has payed his dues, going from sidekick to legitimate solo hero.

This week's fanart is one of my favorites, by Davis Godwin

Happy Halloween!

FOURTH POST: A Little Something For Everyone.

I'd really like to think that we've got something special here. Everytime Kirk shows me something that he's working on or a rough of an idea that he's made better, I'm blown away. I'm already positive that the book's going to LOOK great.

Except the colors....who knows if that colorist is gonna screw things up.

We've got super heroes, cops & robbers, monsters, and giant robots. We've even managed to fit a pretty good moral in there too. I'm hoping that it'll touch people on more than just a "ass kicking action" aspect. I've tested it on my son and he's super-excited about all the different stuff that goes on. He'll definitely be a barometer for seeing how kids might respond to it.

I believe that we've got an "all ages" kind of book, here....or at the very least a PG rated book. Some violence, some borderline brutal fight scenes, but nothing outside the norm of general comic book excitement.

-Matt

My favorite panel to date! Is that not the coolest thing you've ever seen?
You should've seen the crap design that Kirk brought this thing from.

The Skowl takin' out the trash- layin' a beat down on some two-bit thug.

...and this week's fanart is from Jeff "Chamba" Cruz. His "chibi version" of Ol' Starhead.

http://lastscionz.deviantart.com/

THIRD POST: About The Artist

GoldenAge will be brought to you by the Pencil&Ink Machine that is, Mr. Kirk Wescom. Straight outta Illinois, Kirk's been illustrating proffesionally since 1988. He currently works as an Art Director, designing board games, logos, and that kinda stuff.
He's a really great guy t'boot.

Some really early versions of the various Starblast versions

A rooftop shot of TheStarblastKid and TheSkowl

This week's fanart is by Michael Kasinger!

Check out Mek's stuff at http://www.fabricari.com/gallery/index.php?cat=10003

SECOND POST: Concept-O-Rama!

Thanks for joining us in the second installment of our GoldenAge blog.
This week we're going to give you the premise of the book and some of the early concept art. Along with another FAN-tastic piece of FANart!

THE CONCEPT:
Oliver Glickman was a superhero once.

Back in the day he went by the name, STARBLAST. He defended his city against those who would see it destroyed. He was a beacon of hope amongst the ever-growing community of technicolor and spandex-clad defenders of MajorCity.

Oliver worked as a Taymag Repairman, he used his very free scheduel as a cover for his superheroics. He found out that as hard as he tried, there were always going to be heroes who were stronger, faster, and smarter than he was. He never made his way out of the superhero D-list. He was a second stringer, a bench warmer. After years of a lack-luster career, he hung up the cape and skull-cap for a quiet, "normal life." Now, decades later and in his mid-seventies, he's back at it. Dispite his arthritus, bad hearing, and occasional "power-short-circuit," Oliver Glickman is bound and determined to take to the sky once again, even at his GOLDEN AGE!

This is one of the earliest drawings of Starblast (the 2nd or 3rd, i think)

This is one of Kirk's early "Age Scale Charts."
In order to determine how Starblast would look through the decades

More of Kirk's freakin' gorgeous sketching magic that he does so well.

This week's FanArt is a double threat.
Drawn by Israel Cruz (AtomikMike) and grey-toned by Dan McDaid (The Last Minuters)

http://www.aliasenterprises.com/projects.html
http://thelastminuters.blogspot.com/

WELCOME TO THE GOLDEN AGE BLOG DEBUT!

This will be a catalog blog, in the current progress of our comic, Golden Age.
Illustrated by the "Pencil & Ink Machine" Kirk Wescom and written
(and the other stuff) by me, Matt Bennett.

This will most likely just end up being a gallery of in-the-works eye candy. Maybe full blown colored pieces, the odd panel, or rough sketches. We'll probably end up with a weekly update scheduel to keep things consistant.

We've already had a TON of fan-art for the title character, Starblast.
So keep'em coming. I'll feature a new piece every week.

Here's Kirk's pencils-to-inks-to my colors