purge theory

the snatch

2012-01-26T17:25:00.002-05:00

when you absolutely, positively have to incarcerate innocent people in a futuristic hellhole.

XHS

2012-01-21T10:56:00.003-05:00

the ben c fun factory never shuts down! the ben c fun factory also never shuts up, but we'll have that conversation another time. in the meantime, a character study for something completely different from everything else! it might be the best thing i've ever done, although my army of publicists have instructed me to mention that everything i do is the best i've ever done, so take that for what it is.*

now, i'm still not sure about the style, and i might rethink the colors, and i'm not completely sold on the way it's inked, but outside of that it's pretty spot on. more later, gots to go!

* my publicist of armies, on the other hand, is pretty non-committal.

2012

2012-01-13T09:47:00.002-05:00

hi all!

lots of lots coming up in 2012, here's a sneak peek at some of it:

apokolips, baby!

mouse guard legends

TV time again

2011-12-28T17:17:00.001-05:00

today (dec 28) at 7pm i'll be on TV again. local access, BCTV if you live in the berks county area. i'll be talking with reading eagle art critic ron schira about comics (presumably mine, but who knows) and there's an excellent chance i will say something ignorant or embarrassing. or... ignorant AND embarrassing, why choose just one? you can see what i'm up to.

if you don't live in the area, you can go to http://www.bctv.org/bctv/watch_live/wl_bctv/ to watch a live stream.

cheers!

nothing like a cuppa...

2011-12-19T14:32:00.003-05:00

...when fighting alien hordes.

something (non-dare) that i'm working on. i'd probably be done, but mice tried to burn my house down this weekend.

no, that is not a metaphor.

the 5th dare day of xmas!

2011-12-19T02:45:00.003-05:00

the dare detectives should be in bookstores today!!!

buy it now! or later. now is better!!!

cheers to simon

the 4th dare day of xmas

2011-12-13T23:21:00.001-05:00

yes, i know the counting is all off. whacha gonna do about it?

dare days of xmas 3

2011-12-08T23:44:00.003-05:00

an old street, away from the tourist traps,

in tropical southgate. from the kula kola caper.

this is actually one of my favoritest drawings ever.

unfortunately, it was stolen (along with a bag full

of other art) from NYCC.

the 2nd dare day of xmas

2011-12-07T20:27:00.002-05:00

here's day 2!

in a later case, the DD go undercover to investigate a psychedelic band dabbling in mind control. as you can see, sarah learned everything she knows about punk from my little pony.

pearl harbor

2011-12-07T12:38:00.002-05:00

holy crap! when i think of wonder woman, i think of this:

also, space amazons.

DARE DETECTIVES #1 is about to hit stores!

2011-12-06T13:45:00.003-05:00

ah... winter. that magical time of the year, when a young man's fancy turns to panda gangsters and haunted casinos...

and to cater to the underserved panda-gangsters-and-haunted-casinos demographic, archaia has released the dare detectives mostly first case, "the snowpea plot".

the 208-page trove of wonders will be available at bookstores on the 19th, just in time to buy your special someone 2 copies for christmas! why 2 copies? because that's twice as much money for me, and that 100ft tall robot mme. bleu isn't going to build itself!

it was going to be 102 feet, but that would have been ridiculous

so to celebrate, i'm going to post dare art each day for the 12 dare days of christmas. each will be high-res, so feel free to download them, print them out, make them into screensavers, sneak them into your portfolio, etc.

ps - if you hate bookstores, "the snowpea plot" will also be on sale at comics store on the 28th. of course, by then the books will all be sold out, and people will be using page 183* as a new and indestructible national currency, so don't miss out!

cheers!

ben c

ps -- aaah... fergit it, i can't wait that long! it'll just have to be 18 dare days of christmas. or 11. whatever, i draw ninjas specifically so that i don't have to math stuff!

*ha ha, i'm just kidding. it's going to be page 185.

poison

2011-12-01T16:09:00.003-05:00

feel like crap and everyone in my family

is sick right now and no sleep and boo hoo.

commission, 11x17"

happy thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T20:04:00.006-05:00

i'm giving thanks for a lovely wife and children with no criminal record.

so far

ps - this is the path from vaudeville to lantern abbey

ugh

2011-11-22T15:53:00.002-05:00

been felling sick for the past several weeks, no energy, either. more of those oz motivational posters.

blurg.

more from the cartooning class

2011-11-16T10:00:00.003-05:00

hi all! more from my class. i suppose i should mention, by the way, that i'll be teaching another round of the class starting in january, and anyone who lives in the berks/lancaster area who is interested can sign up through the yocum art institute.

anyway, talking about placing figures in space/drawing figures in perspective, which segued into POV and shot composition:

of course, these are not exhaustive -- they're just supplements for the actual class -- but i'm thinking of putting together an "advanced! cartooning" book or something, after manga is done.

kids

2011-11-13T23:42:00.002-05:00

nothing fancy, just a doodle of my girls and toby.

yes, toby the dog is named after toby taylor. but in all fairness, toby taylor was originally chosen as a great puppy name, since the character is like an overgrown puppy. it's all very "circle of life".

or something completely different.

design, posing, and body language

2011-11-09T10:11:00.005-05:00

these are some notes i drew up for my current cartooning class.

i used DD's arch-foe red dingo, who i have only recently figured out how to draw.

he is a manic and grandiose character, so he was a perfect example for showing changes in body language for depression, elation etc that need to look exciting, while essentially being static poses.

the stages go from right to left, because i am left-handed and everything i do is backwards

if you have my earlier sketchbooks, or the uberfolio, you can see plenty of examples of the attempts i've made at red dingo over the years.

i actually have dozens of pages of these expressions/poses, it seems i went from total block to artistic diarrhea. enjoy the mental image!

red dingo is enjoying it

the bar poses are from a scene in "the kula kola caper". don't worry, kids, it's just ginger ale!

and vodka.

OZ motivational poster

2011-11-03T13:48:00.003-04:00

cleaning up some old files and found this. there are more.

*#&#*! winkies.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-11-01T10:02:00.002-04:00

obviously, i was going to post this yesterday.

unfortunately, we've been sans internet since friday, thanks to the blizzard. and i just realized that starbuck's has free wifi. if only they had blankies for nap time...

i'll post more stuff from the witch's house later.

what the hell, ben?

2011-10-21T11:05:00.002-04:00

no, seriously... what the hell?

pictured: what the hell?

NYCC commissions 4

2011-10-20T08:57:00.001-04:00

playing doctor, 11x17

NYCC sketches 3

2011-10-19T17:36:00.003-04:00

2 more con sketches. dr strange is roughs for an 11x17 pic that i'm working on.

the bottom is a random doodle, based on a tattoo artist i met. i didn't actually see her punch the red skull, but come on.

pictured: come on

also, howdy again to everyone i met, and everyone i met again! i didn't get to visit all the tables i wanted to, but here's hoping for next time!

also, to sarah from nebraska/massachusetts: i still didn't see your art!

(as a general note, everyone should be carrying art on them at all times.)

NYCC commissions 2

2011-10-17T00:47:00.003-04:00

catwoman pencils

catwoman inks

wonder woman!

more to come...

NYCC commissions 1

2011-10-16T01:51:00.002-04:00

finishing up some others...

starfire

babydoll

NYCC and sketchbooks

2011-10-14T23:36:00.003-04:00

howdy all!

at NYCC and my head hurts and i'm feeling sick and i'm having a blast! great seeing so many old friends again, so many talented artists too! must go to sleeeeep, but...

if you emailed me about sketchbooks and have not heard back (and you know who you are), don't fret! i'm working through the list slowly, but there have been so many orders for both SB14/15 and my older sketchbooks, that i am printing more of everything and there shall be sketchbooks aplenty, and little timmy will get his christmas goose, after all!

next week i'll also be posting prints for sale, tried that out at the convention and it is going swimmingly. and of course everyone knows that art just seems so much more real if someone is willing to give you money for it and stick it on a wall. amirite?

just some con arts to make this post bearable.

ps - if you were in martin's class, thanks again for having me, and i hope i didn't turn you all into terrified cynics. that's what graduation is for!

yawn... even more junk for NYCC and beyond!

2011-10-10T22:28:00.004-04:00

did i mention i'm going to be at NYCC? let's, for the sake of this one-sided conversation, assume that i did not. GUESS WHAT GUYS? I'M GOING TO B--

oh forget it. you obviously already know, my charade it is a failure!

ok, now that we've cleared the small talk, on my incredibly small table at NYCC, in addition to sketchbooks and mostly free postcards and con sketches, i will also have original art and prints. i have already been putting things together, but tune in because this is where you can do your part for the cause.

what would you like to see? and by "see", of course i mean "pay me money for". i will have original at from WW, dare, pinups, and odds and ends. if there is anything more specific you are interested in, let me know so i can bring it. or if you won't be there, drop me a line anyway.

ditto for prints. i'll have the gojira print, along with some art from oz and dare and st michel and a few odds and ends, but if there's any little piece of mine that has a special place in your heart (hopefully on the ventricular side), let me know and maybe i can slip that in.

also, a few clever people have reserved con-sketch time. these are the sort of on-the-spot-johnnies i'm proud to associate with. my time isn't even remotely valuable, but still i never seem to have enough of it, and you gotta lock that down.

just like mrs veal.

more sketchbooks

2011-10-10T21:31:00.004-04:00

hm. well, it turns out i have vastly underestimated many things in my life, such as the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll (3 and a half, you bastard owl), or how many people really hate seeing cartoony comics (all of them).

turns out, i also underestimated the number sketchbooks needed to bring loving harmony to the world. or at least to the corner of your bookshelf. so i'm reprinting my last batch of sketchbooks, SB11BIGGEST DARE, SB12HEROES, and SB13LES FEMMES IMAGINAIRE.

it will take about 3 weeks to get them printed and shipped.

SB11 interiors

SB12 interiors

SB13 interiors. the actual art isn't censored, but i didn't want to cause trouble online. i mean, naked girls on the internet, yikes.

like the new book, these are each 80pp, $15.

you can email me:

ben(at)daredetectives(com)

be sure to include your address so i can get back to you with the s+h. (the shipping and handling cost something, but the love is free.)

SKETCHBOOK 14/15 ON SALE NEXT WEEK!

2011-10-06T11:14:00.009-04:00

howdy action fans!

well it's been a long time coming, but i found a printer and i found a few minutes of free time and the rest is history! starting at NYCC, i will be selling copies of my newest sketchbook. why does it have two names? because it earned them.

one side of the book is art from the critically hated wednesday comics wonder woman, the other side is art from the world's most defective detectives! 80 pages of 100% premium cartooning for $15. i wouldn't call that the deal of the century, except i just did.

i'll have copies of this sketchbook at NYCC. i'll also have the big ol' 130pp "dare uberfolio", which is a reprint of the first four dare sketchbooks — for $15. it's like you're robbing me, only you're handing me money so that doesn't seem like the best comparison.

it's a great deal is what i'm saying.

pictured: a great deal, is what i'm saying

now, you might be one of the few billion people who are not going to NYCC, i understand that. fortunately, the 21st century has personally stepped in to lend a hand, internet style.

if you are interested in either book, you can e-mail me at ben@daredetectives.com to order. in fact, you can order SB14/15 early — it's a pretty small run, so if you want to reserve a copy from the grabbing hands at comic-con, better let me know!

until next time

cheers!

ben c

NYCC

2011-10-01T16:14:00.003-04:00

hi all! if you're at NYCC, you can stop by my table in artist alley: L17.

i'll have lots of work to show, lots of work to sell, and you can mock me in real time as i draw con sketches! it's like everyone's birthday at the same time! except mine. my birthday's a few days before.

oh wait. you want to know what that is up there? well, you'll find out soon enough!

freaky tiki

2011-09-28T12:24:00.003-04:00

hi all! more info about the dd1 reprint. if you don't remember what the dd1 reprint is (and why should you?) it's all in the post right below this one.

anyway, in addition to development art, the book will include a reprint of the short story "freaky tiki", which i drew in the middle of dd1 as a style test, and which first appeared in an anthology in 2005. i don't think it's been online anywhere since then, so this might be your first time ever seeing it; and if it isn't, just pretend anyway. for me.

here's one panel that manages to succinctly sum up everything you need to know about the story — namely, that it is awesome and why is that tiki zombie fat? do zombies even have a metabolism? there's only one way to find out! (but until we have zombie autopsies your just going to have to read this story instead.)

NYCC in 15 days!

"THE DARE DETECTIVES" RETURNS AT NYCC!

2011-09-14T10:16:00.006-04:00

howdy!

remember that time you asked me when more DD was on the way? i thought so.

well, fantastic news for haters of mendacity and lovers of gun-toting-bunnies everywhere! archaia publishing (aka the "mouse guard people") will be delivering full-on cartoon action with new cases of the dare detectives. millions of them.

even as we speak (or more accurately, as i type and you semi-read), pages for the all-new, all-kidnapping, all-kissing, all-tiki-zombie dare sequel are being drawn! with drawings.

"the kula kola caper" pits the world's most defective detectives against world-conquering red dingo, bungling kidnappers, the boss of assassins, and the most annoying party princess ever, sarah kincaid! someone will fall in love! someone else will die! or not! two fierce foes will battle over buffet choices! no really! that part's definitely in there, while the whole dying thing is still TBD!

but wait — you never read the first dare case? or you read it, but you always wished that it was somehow reprinted, as a single, beautiful book on real paper? (yeah, i said it.) archaia loves you almost as much as i do — and let's be honest, i love the hell out of you — so they are reprinting the almost award-winning "snowpea plot" for your personal gratification. the art is big and bright, the jokes are funnier in a larger font, and maria's kicks have never been so... kicky? kickish? well, i'll let the wordsmiths hash that one out, although my spellcheck insists that "kicky" is okay. whatever, computer. and there's bonus art too, because seriously... you know how much of this stuff i have in my desk? so merry christmas. and hey, what do you know...

...the new and improved "snowpea plot" will be in stores just in time for your christmas shopping pleasure!

do you want to know more? yes. yes, you do want to know more. don't worry, i have that covered, too! COME VISIT ME AT THE NEW YORK COMICCON october 13-16! i'll be in artist alley, either drawing or in a fistfight with a hobo (i assume there are hobos in an artist alley.) either way, there will be lots of dare goodies there, including a new sketchbook and a sneak peek at upcoming dare books! knowing me, there will also almost certainly be new prints, from dare and from my other universally beloved work. if you didn't know my work was universally beloved, don't fret — no one else knew, either.

and if you can't come to NYCC, then boo! but i still love the hell out of you, so you know i'll be updating this blog with everything you will want to know, and probably many other things that do not interest you.

because i care.

cheers!

ben c

1988

2011-09-08T17:06:00.003-04:00

do you ever wonder what my art looked like in eighth grade? of course you do.

well, now you can consider yourself enlightened, because it was full of pouty-lipped mecha that had visors, sunglasses, and a monocle.

and naked lady tats.

you're welcome, world.

seven stars

2011-09-06T19:37:00.003-04:00

too crazed to even think, but a sketch from new sketchbook. from the same world as empress blue and these guys. (and these. and this guy, too.)

c'est manga!

2011-07-26T10:36:00.003-04:00

test pages for a french manga...

2011-07-25T22:25:00.000-04:00

Fans seem to think that the more lines that go into a drawing the better it is. Actually, the opposite is generally true. The fewer lines you can put into a drawing the quicker it reads, and the simpler it is. [Alex] Toth is one of the few guys who can simplify an illustration to a minimum of lines with a maximum of impact

-jim steranko

BCTV (ben caldwell television)

2011-07-05T13:57:00.002-04:00

howdy all!

great news for the 3 of you who wondered when i was going to be on TV, the answer is TONIGHT! ok, i'm only on TV in the berks county PA area, but if you have a computer (like the one you are reading this post on) then you can watch it live at 7pm here:

i'm going to do some classes and workshops at the Art Institute this fall, and having an exhibit aug 4, so the interview is part of the exciting and informative* media blitz that will put my name on everyone's lips (in the greater berks county region, who is watching channel 13 tonight)! i don't know what they will ask me, but since i throw random comments into every conversation anyway, no worries, right?

as for the exhibit... it will open aug4, and feature tons of original art and development notes, etc, plus i will print up some of those WW pages to fill up the whole wall! and there will be prints and original art for sale! and ninjas, too!**

see you tonight! or at the exhibit! or NYCC! and if i don't see you at any of those places, let's just pretend i did AND YOU LOVED IT, ok? thanks!

i'll post more details about the exhibits and classes and some exciting stuff that's coming for new york comiccon!

cheers!

ben c

*i make no guarantees that it will be even remotely informative.

**due to budget constraints, there will be no ninjas.

more exonauts

2011-06-27T10:38:00.002-04:00

no time top post lately (or no energy, same thing). here is more from the exonauts, i think you can see a little bit of it on the site.

project exonaut

2011-06-14T22:09:00.003-04:00

hi all!

one of the projects i was working on a while back was cartoon network's online "project exonaut" game. some of the art for that is still secret, including all my character (re)designs, but here is a battle scene i drew up that was rendered by massive black. the whole project was AD'd by drawing board regular jeremy vanhoozer:

i'll post more later!

fight like a girl!

2011-06-12T00:20:00.002-04:00

amusing myself by thinking of fun graphics to put on shirts

wondy

2011-06-03T01:42:00.002-04:00

i was working on something completely unrelated and this kind of popped out.

*edit* waiting for something to save, finished doodling it.

BAZU!

2011-05-31T12:05:00.001-04:00

exactly

manga manga manga!

2011-05-27T11:45:00.005-04:00

sorry i've been gone so long, moving and work and blah blah.
still working out the details, but i might have a very manga summer:

recent portfolio stuffs

2011-03-02T23:38:00.003-05:00

if only i can get the job! also, boo hoo.

the barge captain's house

2011-02-23T15:47:00.003-05:00

well, i was keeping it a secret (ha ha, get it? becau-- ahh, nevermind)... but whatever.

another coloring etc test for st michel. this is the barge captain's house, once a salt-taffee factory. as always, i love showing age and past usage in my characters and enviros.

originally, everything was going to be covered with snow, like a bruegel winter scene.

wolverine

2011-02-11T10:22:00.003-05:00

stylin' 2

2011-02-09T14:32:00.003-05:00

still working on projects i can't post or talk about...

in the meantime, some doodles of costumes for the same history as empress blue.

2010-12-23T12:02:00.003-05:00

howdy all!

sorry i've been absent, in addition to being very busy, i've been pretty wiped out. fun!

so just something short and sweet.

last month was my twins' birthday, so i drew up a coloring/activity book for their class, then went in and read it. fortunately, i'm about as smart and lucid as a 4-year old, so it worked out really well.

it was based on a bunch of bedtime stories i made up for them (the batman/cinderella team-up stories were getting old). it's not shakespeare, but it put off the day day when they inevitable realize that i am an embarrassment. anyway, here are the first few pages:

i'm posting them (relatively) hi-res so you or your liked ones can also color them if you are bored and the tv is out or whatever.

my favorite part is the title lettering.

ain't no party like a —

2010-11-10T22:37:00.002-05:00

x184

2010-10-11T16:33:00.002-04:00

howdy!

well, NYCC was more exhausting -- and more interesting -- than i was expecting. i didn't really have a plan, and i know there were a lot of people i was planning on looking up who i missed. that's one of the things that always bugs me about big cons, even though it's obviously my own fault.

fortunately, i did get to see a lot of fantastic people, including old pals like steven silver and cheeks (who are way out of my league but don't seem to realize it, which is fine with me)! thank god mike (miss mucci if you're nasty) got me through saturday, and he didn't even use his imaginary ninja sword on anyone the whole time! that was a first.

and of course i have to mention joao and nuno and ricardo (wait, i think there were 2 ricardos?) and basically the whole portuguese comics cartel, who had some beautiful work and were nicer than nice! people who are so positive make me uncomfortable, because i am made out of complex carbohydrates and spite. hopefully some of their new projects make it to american publishers!

on the more soulless side of things, i had some interesting business meetings and, if all goes well, it looks like i will be very busy next year.

anyhoo, talking to joao inspired me to revamp some characters from an old pitch of mine, originally for a cartoon. maybe it would work better as an online comic?

crossroads

2010-10-06T23:14:00.001-04:00

hmm.

next year will be interesting, because for the first time in years i will no longer be catching up with long term projects, or working on any how-the-hell-did-someone-pick-me-for-this projects. i will have the time (relatively) to turn my attention to some long neglected work. the thing is, there are so many completely different things i could do. it's paralyzing!

first off, i will be returning to the award-losing dare detectives. i've worked out a plan, and i've actually done a lot of the scripting for the second dare case, as well as a bit of thumbnailing. the story is much more complex than "the snowpea plot", and compared to almost all of my previous work, it will be a lot less compressed. certainly not decompressed, but a little more space for the characters to breathe, a little less hectic (at times) than the last story. also a lot more room to show little corners of the dare world, from the racism maria faces in a swanky resort to the ruins of the ancient giant civilizations to the return of dare's first foe, red dingo! and yes, this story also has kissing (which apparently offends a lot of people), but then it has tiki zombies too, so make of it what you will.

pictured: not a tiki zombie

there are also a bunch of "manga" stories i've been meaning to tackle. now, i understand that the rest of the world has some sort of rulebook about what is and is not officially manga, i just don't really care. unfortunately, publishers do. so i'm trying to figure out if it's just easier to do my own stuff online and make a living digging ditches or something.

in light of my surprisingly controversial post last month (well, it surprised the hell out of me) several people have asked me about my more female-centric work, which led me to the shocking realization that pretty much all my work is female-centric. at least compared to a lot of what's out there, i guess. maria dare and ann-marie and dolly and alex faraday and WW and the list goes on. i don't know how it happened. i blame masamune shirow. also, women.

blue haired, alien hunting women

but i'm wondering if i shouldn't go with that, and focus on one of my stories that is more... well, not like WW, what's the point of almost doing something? but something along the same lines, in terms of larger than life superheroines and crazy international intrigue and fantasy and all that jazz. the fact is that most of my stories are drenched in that stuff anyway, even most "dare" stories. just in different combinations. anyway, most of my manga projects fit somewhere in this category, so we'll see. there was even one i posted doodles from last year, although i'm afraid that story isn't crazy enough. you know, time-traveling cyber-crocodile jetbike crazy. (one of the things i loved about WW was the sense that jesus, anything could totally happen so you better just smile and go with it. i want more of that.)

you can't tell, but he just punched 1,000 space ninjas

anyway, i'm gearing up to tackle at least some of these projects in the new year. one thing you may have noticed is that a lot of my new art has been very loosely drawn and inked. it's a faster way to work, and right now i want to spend less time finessing each panel, and really crank out a ton of stories. in the end, all people* want is to be entertained, and all i want is to entertain them!

*and by people, i mean small children, mimes, professional convicts, and myself.**

** mostly myself.

NYCC

2010-10-01T14:54:00.003-04:00

howdy all!

i will be going to the new york comiccon next weekend. well, saturday for sure -- sunday is my birthday. anyway, i won't have a table or anything, just wandering around, possibly trying to pitch an idea or two. ha ha that is funny.

so if you see me feel free to say hi or punch me. "hi" would probably work better for me.

also, i have been finally finishing up a pack of commissions, here is one of the larger ones:

burnbabyburn

2010-09-01T21:38:00.003-04:00

inking/style test, working on it on and off over the past week, in between other things. not worrying too much about the bike details, although thanks to the sophie project, i've had a lot of practice. the hands are annoying me.

good evening...

2010-08-18T16:06:00.004-04:00

cleaning out some digital junk and what the what is this? oh yes, several years ago, sterling asked me to do a tiny promo chapbook to go with something "dracula" related. can't remember what exactly, possibly because they never actually used it, but now it can achieve new levels of uselessness on the web.

oh, that dracula! he gives me a toothache.

ww manga blah blah...

2010-07-31T22:41:00.018-04:00

nothing really new... as i mentioned ad nauseum, i sent a ww manga pitch to dc. don't get excited (or horrified, depending on your point of view), it will certainly never happen. but i got it out of my system. like i said, old news... i just thought i'd take up some space by posting the actual pitch (minus a few redactions, some are done to keep plot stuff secret, some are just because i am easily amused).

what is left mostly concerns the format and character treatment and other theoretically non-plot stuff that i think is very important to a project like this. dc just mentioned (not for the first time) that their kids comics are "loss leaders" that never turn a profit. since i doubt very much that every single one of those comics is bad, i think the format and venue need to looked into.

anyway, in all its "glory":

ps: did a bunch of other art while in the "pitch" mood that didn't make it into the pitch, here's one:

penny arcade

2010-07-27T15:30:00.004-04:00

EDIT EDIT well, it was a blast doing penny arcade, although a little more panel-intensive then perhaps i was expecting. big thanks to mike and jerry for inviting me, and garry for the fun script! and now to sleep...

lots going on and lots to post about, but no time...

however, right now i am doing a guest webcomic at penny arcade. it'll run 5 pages altogether. although each page has about 40 panels. i swear, this time it's not my fault, i'm just following someone else's script!

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/7/23/

EDIT
howdy, just thought i'd add the following pages (one more to go for monday!)

page 2

page 3

pge 4

here's a closeup of the last panel, trying a different inking technique. i'd like to try more!

you've got to be kidding me

2010-07-12T09:56:00.003-04:00

my computer crashed, so i will be digitally handicapped for the next week. (i'm typing this on my wife's dell, which is made out of drainpipes and wishful thinking.) the good news is that i have a million super-important, possibly career-altering things going on this week, and no way to do them! the bad news is that... well, that pretty much covers it.

also, in what is becoming a yearly tradition, i JUST got a propass for SDCC, which means i have no idea where i'm going to stay. looking for a hotel, but if anyone has a free corner on the floor of their room and would like a few bucks, let me know!

better go before this computer crashes. argh.

ps - no, really. floors are very underrated.

WONDER WOMAN

2010-07-01T11:23:00.002-04:00

waiting for downloads...grr.

anyway, here is the last of the manga ww art. it's on it's merry way, probably to never be seen again. it was fun, and particularly handy when i was stuck somewhere, or waiting for my computer to do whatever it supposedly does... but all good things must come to an end!

95%

2010-06-27T23:48:00.002-04:00

i have an idea for a batman one-shot, so i was playing around. the title is a play off of a sherlock holmes story. although mine is not a reference to cocaine. oh, holmes...

wonder woman manga test page

2010-06-23T19:33:00.000-04:00

war is hell

2010-06-16T16:12:00.002-04:00

stuck at the auto repair shop today. bored and working 2 experiments into 1 pic. (the white line is to suggest that it is a wraparound cover.)

long live the queen!

2010-06-02T08:44:00.005-04:00

experimenting with digital inking. i've tried it before without much satisfaction, but this time i was trying to be much less prissy and exact. it was a lot of fun! it also gives a VERY different look from the original pencils.

this is queen hippolyta back in the day, the "writing" up top is amazonian (yes it actually says something). the composition is overwhelmingly (if indirectly) influenced by woodblock artists like kunioshi and sharaku and this guy:

i particularly wanted something that felt massive and overwhelmed the page. it's actually something, compositionally, i've been wanting to play with for two years, and i'd love to follow up when i have time. ha ha the joke, it is on me!

it adds up...

2010-05-25T16:20:00.006-04:00

sometimes i feel like i never get enough done. of course, that's mostly because i never get enough done. but... i'm surprised at how much i actually have put out. (this doesn't include "wednesday comics" or "fantasy cartooning", and of course i've also done design work for around 9 cartoons and 7 toy lines, and 2 video games, that aren't pictured either. i think there's a kids' book or two that i'm also forgetting. oh yeah, and a bunch of JLU and kid's book covers, and a SW clone wars comic. yikes, it really DOES add up.)

*edit -- here's what everything is. 3 of the smaller books were promotional sketchbooks, i handed them out at signings etc. the other 3 were pitchbooks for proposed cartoons a while back.

and here's the hardcover of WC.

JIM HANLEY'S

2010-05-24T23:18:00.002-04:00

no time to post lately, blah blah blah.

anyway, this wednesday (may 26) i'll be at jim hanley's universe in NYC, signing junk and talking. presumably about "wednesday comics", but who knows? maybe they want my opinion about the decline of participatory democracy or something. i think the hardcover WC will be out, i'll be bringing a copy, and also i'll be bringing lots of original art for people to crumple up. also, puppies!

ok, no puppies, everything just sounds nicer with puppies.

and now for something completely different:

what the what?

2010-04-12T21:32:00.002-04:00

some of my junk will be in this year's SPECTRUM17, including some wednesday comics wonder woman pages and this little feller. which i drew while bored out of my skull at a neighborhood meeting. thank you, meeting room #4 of the port washington library!

3M

2010-04-08T08:47:00.004-04:00

since our action classics' "odyssey" has just been nominated for an award (oh, i didn't mention that a million times yet? i will!), i thought i'd share some art from one of the upcoming books, 'the three musketeers". words by the indestructible (believe me, i tried) tim mucci, and art by steve walker:

ps - you can see some pages from the soon-to-be-award-losing "odyssey" here.

stylin

2010-03-31T09:35:00.001-04:00

costume variations

sophie's choice 2

2010-03-17T08:50:00.003-04:00

so... reaper liked the bottom pose, but i thought it looked too stiff. so after a bazillion redraws, here is the final comp, and rough colors. i know it's odd, but i'm particularly proud of the inking on the bike -- everything except the tires was inked freehand, a fun exercise.

sophie's choice

2010-03-17T08:41:00.004-04:00

hi all!

i've been doing a poster and t-shirt for reaper-con, the reaper miniatures gaming convention. anyone who has the misfortune of knowing me, knows that i LOVES the miniatures. i have a bin full of half-painted miniatures -- i love them, i'm just terrible at doing anything with them. (citadel miniatures were actually a pretty major influence on my art in college, and i think it still shows.)

so this gig has been a lot of fun, and i even get a miniature out of it!

http://www.reapermini.com/

the last one is the one they went with. i have a picture post limit, so i'll see you in the next post.

process test

2010-03-13T14:46:00.003-05:00

yet more testing, this was both for the "finish" and for speed.

i'm back!

2010-03-11T15:54:00.002-05:00

the action cartooning forum is back online!

i tried to fix it, which turned out about as well as you would think. fortunately, my web host (westhost) was able to take care of it pretty handily. so now i'd better go post there!

ps - http://daredetectives.com/phpBB2/index

...

2010-03-08T16:36:00.004-05:00

dorothy

2010-03-05T16:50:00.003-05:00

i ended up redoing dorothy after a lot of other art was done. these are her in her kansas and emerald city clothes. (i also redid the kalidah and the witch).

dare/action forum

2010-02-28T11:22:00.002-05:00

GRRRR...

as some of you may have noticed, something is wrong with my forum (unless it has magically fixed itself overnight). i'm trying to fix it but i am not exactly tech savvy. so sorry for the hang-up, i'll post when it's working again. in the meantime, anyone who need to reach me can mail ben(at)daredetectives(dot)com.

2010-02-24T19:47:00.001-05:00

undercover boss

2010-02-07T22:24:00.003-05:00

watching "undercover boss" tonight, such a simple and brilliant presmise (undercover millionaire CEO works in the meanest jobs in his own company, to see what it's really like). i love it, but for some reason i just realized that it's actually very similar to a story i've been wanting to do. nothing unusual about that -- there are a zillion people out there like me, who have ideas that are popping up semewhere else. very few things are actually new. but it really reinforced how important it is in the end to just sit down and DO something. because someone else sure is!

ah well.

alas, no pretty pictures right now, a lot of current stuff is under wraps for now.

my secret

2009-12-31T20:11:00.006-05:00

http://web.me.com/bencaldwellart/stmichel/stmichelmain.html

now all i need is a publisher!

anyways, happy new year everyone!

i hope you have a good 2010!

ps - since it is the "secret" of st michel, there may or may not be hidden pages and art on the site.

commission

2009-11-30T16:08:00.002-05:00

yes, that is kid eternity. and THAT is amethyst of gemworld.

don't make her kick you.

2009-11-21T00:07:00.000-05:00

cryptique

2009-09-27T23:45:00.000-04:00

for the secret of st michel.
the death's head moth is the symbol of the grimoire, or magical secret police.

the quote is hercules poirot.

wednesday comics #13

2009-09-23T16:31:00.000-04:00

well, i had so much fun doing 12 pages of wonder woman that mark chiarello let me go ahead with an "afterward" page! it's sort of a thank you to everyone who enjoyed the strip. and an excuse to draw hippolyta.

i will be posting the entire page, full-size, on my blog next wednesday. theoretically, it will also be in the collected edition.

ps - that is not hippolyta.

cheers!
ben c

refutations

2009-09-06T02:33:00.000-04:00

just finished an interview about wonder woman... anyway, it occurred to me that there are a few misconception about my story that i'd like to clear up:

1) the coloring in the stories has become clearer after the first few issues. that may be because the printers made some adjustments on their end, but the fact is that the colors actually evolve in the story itself. the first part (pages 1-4) was intentionally oversaturated, especially the acid coloring in page 1. this was to emphasize how surreal our world would seem to an unprepared young amazon. (there was also quite a bit of off-register lines, duplications etc.) the colors for part 2 (5-8) are much more muted, as WW adjusts to our world. (of course, 5 and 8 also take place in the snow.) the colors for part 3 are much brighter, although somewhat less trippy than part 1.

2) i stated that i originally envisioned a 52-page story for WC. that is true, but that was a different story than this one, and by the time i started even the rough outline of the "seven stars" story (november 2008) i was perfectly aware that i would be telling a 12-page story. it is likely that i might have done slightly fewer panels if i was trying to spread something out over 52 issues, but i had ALWAYS envisioned each distinct adventure being a single page, with perhaps a few more "epic" stories taking 2 installments. (even in the final version, where pages 9-12 are a single "scene", each page features a distinct challenge and resolution. that is, the page structure would have been the same either way -- the 52-page story would have just had a LOT more story (dr psycho's ectoplasmic assassins and the invisible jet, for starters). in my annotations, i'll probably go into more detail about the specific reasons for creating such densely structured chapters, but compressing a longer story was never part of it.

3) several people have this intriguing but bizarre and completely mistaken belief that each WW page has a hidden structure. the idea is that each page is divided into 4 strips , and that each strip is further subdivided into 4 blocs of panels, secretly making 16 "pages" per installment, or 190+ pages of super-epic story. apparently, this was my way of sneaking a million pages into the project, and by the way, totally proves that i didn't understand the assignment and i'm inherently immoral or whatever. yikes.
it is generally true that, for the sake of writing convenience, most pages were divided into 4 strips as i broke down the story. (for example, page two: 1) WW wakes up at the bottom of a japanese lake 2) she surfaces and meets some faeries, and agrees to rescue their temple from a gang 3) she spies on the gang in the temple, led by dr poison 4) the gang ambushes her but she wakes up.) it is also true that within each page there is a visual hierarchy of main and supporting images, visual clusters etc. any artist who isn't a moron would do the same thing, especially on a page with this much visual information to organize. i do the same thing with my classics comics, and those average only 3 panels per page — it's just common sense. BUT (again, going to that not-a-moron point) i spent an exhaustive amount of time and energy devising pages that only work in a single format — the newspaper, one page/installment at a time format. my pages cannot be shrunken down. nor can many of them be altered; many of them would be difficult to split (pages 2, 3, 8, 11 ), others (pages 4, 7, 10, 13) would be impossible.*

as a more general comment, people may or my not like what i have done, they may think that it is good or bad, but the idea that i didn't know how to use the format because i pushed it to its limits is farcical. and not in a cool bertie wooster way, either.

...and i guess i should include a picture, just because:

*there are also technical reasons why even the more conventionally laid out pages don't fit the theory, but i'm sleepy. or hungry.

more annotations

2009-09-02T17:21:00.000-04:00

page 4 and 5 annotations are up, i was having problems with my website.
http://web.me.com/bencaldwellart/bencaldwellart/wwannotmain.html

yay.

corto maltese

2009-08-29T21:49:00.000-04:00

the last 4 pages are a single scene.

woof

2009-08-26T21:53:00.000-04:00

when i made up a list of where the various amazons' weapons could have gone to over the millennia , this was the first and most obvious thing i thought of. there is a specific reason why fenris refers to the valkyres as "vala-keres", but that is for another story...

ah, what the hell...

2009-08-20T23:37:00.000-04:00

hello dolly

2009-08-20T00:18:00.000-04:00

can't really show a lot for the next one without giving the whole page away. diana finally gets her golden lasso, which is in the most obvious place possible.
this page was going to be a lot more eventful -- and probably the most bizarre -- but i toned it down, since it is a sort of last breather before the finale.

bran the not-so-blessed

2009-08-14T12:30:00.000-04:00

next week, WW runs into some old guy.
like 1,700 years old.

london calling...

2009-08-06T16:47:00.000-04:00

next week, WW pals around with london's underworld.

haha, it's a play on words, see? underworld also m-- ahh, whatever.

i've gotta warn you, this one's pretty weird.

101

2009-07-28T13:41:00.000-04:00

although WW has been an out-of-control success, i thought it would be nice to return to the roots of this blog for a moment. you know, challenging myself (well, WW was certainly that, but you know what i mean...)

i posted a to-do list last year, but there a few things i left off of it. one was the project below. i always joke that any comic that could appeal to both 13 year old girls AND 18 year old boys would be unstoppable.

it would also be almost impossible... which is of course what makes it a challenge.

so on the plane home from SDCC, i returned to this one project with a few doodles. it involves a high school full of supernatural mishaps. these focus more on the high school side of it, at some point i will have more pics of the crazy stuff. some of these are designs for specific characters, others are general school types (not stereotypes). none of the boys sparkle, but some of them are real purty. teen-movie deal, here i come!

WW2 annotations...

2009-07-28T13:38:00.000-04:00

i doubt anyone cares, but the notes for page 2 are up, page 3 notes should be up tonight, then on to notes 4 to catch up...
(i actually did 2 and most of 3 at SDCC, just no internet access...)

http://web.me.com/bencaldwellart/bencaldwellart/wwannot2.html

also working on the general notes/art, some of that at least will be up tomorrow...

WEDNESDAY COMICS #2

2009-07-13T19:48:00.001-04:00

just got some copies... all the stories look even better this week, although i think my favorites have to be pope's strange and demon/catwoman.

am i allowed to say that?

the WW page reads much better than last time, some of that is probably because the colors are slightly less acidic and weird, partly because this has always been one of my favorite pages in terms of layout etc.

woo woo!

2009-07-11T08:29:00.000-04:00

hi all!

if anyone is interested in seeing the WW page at a larger size and with its original coloring:
http://web.me.com/bencaldwellart/bencaldwellart/PROJECTSww0.html

and notes related to the first page:
http://web.me.com/bencaldwellart/bencaldwellart/wwannot1.html

it will be updated weekly

SWEET!

2009-07-08T08:18:00.000-04:00

wednesday comics #1 comes out today! woo woo!

MREOW!

2009-06-25T10:57:00.001-04:00

still debating whether cheetah will have the same outfit in later run-ins. that is, she'll always look like cheetah, and have the spots, but a spoiled socialite might want to change up the details. burberry in london? what about corto maltese? we shall see.

and some VERY rough ideas for the bukharastan scenes:

hope you like it! if not, i return your hatred with hugs. hug me, angry boy! hug!

ladies night

2009-06-06T10:14:00.000-04:00

more from paradise island.
it will not end up in the actual story.

cliffs, for a deleted scene in which hippolyta laments that diana never knew their ancient homeland.

training gear, based on the fact that the amazons were originally nomads (related to the sarmatians and other tribes in the azov/colchis region), and would have been comfortable with the ubiquitous wide pants of the steppes.

and the super-cartoony ww doodles were just that, so no need to get all weepy.

more random designs. the colchians lived on the eastern shore of the black sea -- this was the kingdom of the golden fleece, visited by jason and the argonauts. from ancient times until the 16th century the inhabitants were distinctly "east african" (dark skin, curled hair, tall and slender), and in fact there was a long tradition that they were descended from the army of pharoah sesostris, who invaded the region (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesostris -- although the article is incorrect; several contemporary egyptian artifacts HAVE been found in asia minor and the black sea coast whose presence might be explained
in various ways, but which undermine the article's smug dismissal of sesostris's northern campaigns).

more steppes-influenced designs, and notes on resources available on paradise island and the larger region (i was surprised to find how many mineral resources were available).

various amazon body types. to be perfectly blunt, it irks me that so many people insist that amazon=strength=bulky muscles. amazons are warriors, and raw strength is less important than fighting ability -- bruce lee could've easily flattened andre the giant. or in a more WW-centric example, hippolyta defeated heracles even though he was stronger. (or, in "the iliad" achilles, diometes -- who beat the crap out of ares -- and even hector were better warriors than super-strong ajax.) in fact, the modern obsession with tank-like might is the sort of machoism that amazons oppose. and of course, any one with common sense and a pair of eyes should know that, regardless of diet and exercise, different women (and men) are just born with different body types.

don't point guns...

2009-06-03T21:13:00.001-04:00

...at the angry lady amazon.

shangri-la

2009-05-21T15:40:00.000-04:00

BFFs in the himalayas

cryptically titled post

2009-05-15T12:20:00.000-04:00

with enigmatic text

toby

2009-05-13T18:15:00.000-04:00

visited CBR recently.
big mistake.

anyhoo...drew this a few weeks ago,
lost it, refound it. yay! now i just need
to find some also-awol "kula kola" girl
drawings (if you have my sketchbooks,
you might remember her...)

separately, i lost the little notebook that
had work for WW and DD2. it' not too bad --
lots of WW ref, but i still have the original
sources, or memorized it. ditto for the plot
notes (although there is now someone, some-
where in mid-long island, who knows all of
the spoilers).
i miss the DD notes more. most of them i
remember, but of course sometimes there
are unknowns that you know, and unknowns
you don't know, if you know what i mean.
especially lots of stuff about the gang's
mannerisms, body language etc -- things
that i'm always fascinated to see in real
people, and want to bring more into my art.

ps - finding toby made me all nostalgic for DD2... here are a few thumbs from the beginning, showing how i work. a lot of times i have the scene running in my head like a film, even a lot of the dialogue. these are actual size(about 2" square each), i like to put an entire scene on a single page if possible, so i can check how it all hangs together. in an odd way, the much much larger WW comic pages/scenes work the same way.

you can't tell here, but if you could see the whole page, you'd see that i start on the right side and work leftward (because i'm left-handed, i suppose).

aphrodite's grove

2009-05-09T16:40:00.000-04:00

because i am a nerd, i drew up tons of stuff for amazons and paradise island. maps, architecture, dinner menus, the usual junk. anyhoo, this is one doodle i particularly like, a small grove in the island's northern mangrove swamps. the hanging chains are the ones used by herakles, kept here as a reminder of the past. i could write more about it, but who cares?