I've mentioned a time or two that I'm a member of several art groups on Facebook. Sometimes that leads me to obtain art from artists I probably wouldn't normally encounter. That was the case with today's artwork.
Artist John T. Howard posted in one of the groups that he was open for commissions, along with a couple samples of his work. I won't look to his page from here, as his regular stuff is far from family- or work-safe. You can probably find him if you want to and aren't easily shocked.
I have a certain fascination with art in the 'underground comix' style popularized by folks like R. Crumb, so I reached out and asked Howard if he could do a PG or PG-13 Power Girl commission for me. He agreed to do so, and quickly turned around the piece you see above. The art on the left is the original inked art, and the picture on the left is a digitally-colored print. He included some other stuff in the package, but my mail carrier left it outside in the rain and everything outside of the Power Girl art was water-logged and destroyed.
Overall, the commission process with John T. Howard was quick and pleasant, and I'd suggest working with him if you like the look of his art style.
Sounds like a good experience with the artist. But I have to say, of the ones you've shown, this one is not in my top five. It borderlines a bit on giving off a creepy vibe.
ReplyDeleteIt is supposed to be that way. I like to see the different ways that artists show the character in their own styles, and Howard drew her as I would expect her to appear in an underground publication. I wouldn't say she is pretty in this illustration, but pretty wasn't the intent.
DeleteLol. Maybe I'm missing something. Did Mr. Howard intentionally make Power Girl's face look masculine? In most of your sketch cards, I'd classify her as being "cartoon hot". But in this sketch, she looks more like a drag queen.
ReplyDeleteUnderground comix tend to be dirtier and darker than mainstream comics, and the artwork usually reflects that. This is basically what I would expect Power Girl to look like if she appeared in an underground title. Howard pretty well captured my vision exactly.
DeleteHey RAZ, Congrats you won the Door Prize in my world series contest over at Collector's Crack. Can you email me your address please and I'll have a nice stack of cards coming your way. Also love the Power Girl commission. Does Howard have a website?
ReplyDeleteSorry I took a while to respond. I'm away from home right now, so I'm even less reliable about correspondence than I normally am. I sent you a message with Howard's info.
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