April 02, 2006

58: The HOWieZine Cometh, Part IV

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At long last, the latest edition of the
HOWieZine is en route to its contributors. It seems like ages since I actually pieced these pages together; back in a time when I was younger, it was still nuts-cold outside and I had a full-out soul patch that annoyed Kerry to no end.

The latest (and greatest) HOWieZine theme is superheroes – a concept that never ceases to inspire the illustrator or designer within (or kid, for that matter). I have to admit right now though that growing up I was never into the comic-book-and-superhero subculture. But I was aware of the basics. And I was determined to pay homage to the theme of superheroes in its purest sense, at least for one page. I set out to draw Superman for the first time. That turned out to be the inspiration behind my first page, and this one-panel comic is what I came up with (surrounded by some of my all-time favourites).

My somewhat scrawny Superman was drawn in pen and coloured in Photoshop. I added an artificial halftone pattern at the very end to merge better with the surrounding strips, and the font I used was Fanboy Hardcore. A bigger version of this page can be seen here.

Unfortunately for me at the time, all my brainpower and time went into this first page, and with the "deadline" looming I hadn't given myself much for the second page. But this led to a much freer concept for the back-side, so behold! Eiderman!

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Eiderman came about during a department meeting. A co-worker friend and I both share an affinity for the classic Spider-Man cartoon series, and when discussing a company eider study in Newfoundland somebody unintentionally mentioned the words "eider man", I muttered "eiderman" to him in a gruff Rhino voice and we lost it.

Out of time constraints, Eiderman was done up collage-style. The figure drawings are from an old how-to-draw book and the common eider head was nabbed from a field guide. Feathers were scanned; the 'wings' are a pattern scanned from a feather off a mallard's speculum and the frame is made from owl feathers I found as a kid. The background is a bit of Photoshop hoopty-doo and the lyrics (sing 'em loud!) were hand-written and scanned. Click here for a closer look.

It's true about eiders, too – and of most ducks: once the dirty deed is done, males pretty much disappear from the whole parenting scene. In a sense then, Eiderman is the superhero of deadbeat dads everywhere.

13 comments:

lew! said...

i like superman's rockabilly due!
it looks as though the inside out shirt is causing supes some pain. Perhaps he is just embarrassed.

I enjoyed eiderman! Especially the leap from man to duck.

maybe i will do a similar explanation on my blog tonight. It has been stagnant for a bit too long.

abstractLatte said...

I like how the inside-out costume adds a bit of foolishness to an otherwise respected superhero, nice work!

I've been out of the zine loop waaaaaaaay too long, I'm trying to get involved in an upcoming zine.

patricia zapata said...

Both illustrations are great but Superman made me laugh! LOL! The stories behind your illustrations are always very entertaining as well.

maeengan said...

Hey! What about your owls?

Ian said...

You rawk eh? Funny stuff!

Jeope said...

Thanks, Ian!

Mac, my owls - I'm planning on paying tribute to them in the next zine (themed "lost toys").

Hellcat said...

Rip his wings off! Mwahahhahhhaaaa.

I like the idea of Bizarro Superman basting things inside-out!

Hhehhehhheeee JeopyPlopey };-}

Hellcat said...

BLASTING BLASTING! It's a blast .... };-}

Anonymous said...

so clever and well done!

Michelle Lana said...

I love it!!!!

carla said...

Hey...it's all good! As a child, I was always intriqued by Bizarro Superman. I do love your take on how he came to be. As for Eiderman...he's inspired. He kind of reminds me of one of the ancient Egyptian gods.

Unknown said...

These set are awesome!

Brine Blank said...

Nothing like the wit of dry sarcasm to bring a smile to one's face...great job on both works...