Madly Mine, and now Yours.

When I first got into the funnybook business, well over sixty years ago…back in what we used to call “The Golden Age”, I had one dream and one dream only:  to someday work for Mad Magazine.  Of course, sixty years ago, Mad would have been two years in the future, but I was nothing if not precocious, and forward thinking.

So, just to show off, I’m running some of my Mad artwork on da homeblog, from time to time, and perhaps one or two of my strips from the late, lamented National Lampoon.  Today we see some more of the GREATEST COMICS OF THE DECADE covers, created for Mad’s San Diego Comic Convention promo of last year.   (I wish I could run the entire article, which was written by Evan Dorkin, but copyright issues prevent me!).   Here’s the rough work, and the final art on two more of these…

The rough was meant to look like an old Superman annual cover,  with captions suggesting how dull all of it was to see again and again.  The editor eventually opted for one image, and I wrote some cover copy to go with it.  Below is the final.

And here’s the rough work, and then final art for the X-Men cover for the same article.  I thought the casual body language of the characters sitting around the kitchen came off fairly well for so small a drawing (The originals for all of these are about eight inches tall, and the sketch itself is probably only three inches high!)  That’s probably size-as for the upload to the right.  I often find that drawing the rough sketch so tiny is the best way to make sure everything “reads” when it’s printed down at the small size in the final article.    Down below is the final, coloured version of the faux cover.  See you later with a few more of these…

Ty the Guy

Wow, I was clearly the reference for the busty babe in the Superman cover–right, honey?  Right?

Keiren

New Info

Check out the pages for Appearances and Workshops for Ty’s next public outings…

Keep an eye on the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop. Ty and Walter Dickinson are deep in thought over other possible workshops and appearances.

Keiren

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Ty (and Dave Ross) at Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon Summer 2008

The nature of Gifts and Giving.

My entire career, I’ve given away free sketches at every convention I appear at.  You get a fairly swift (usually about five minutes) sketch and a few words of conversation, and we move on to the next guy.  I give ’em out for free because a) the fans deserve it; they pay my rent the rest of the year…and 2) I feel like a jackass charging people twenty bucks for a con sketch…

My ONE stipulation is that they are not for sale on ebay the next day.  I see that, and I get furious.   I’m giving somebody a  “gift”, and if they turn around and try to make a quick twenty bucks off of it, I feel they need a quick  shove into a pit full of feces.

The sketch to the right, and the one at the bottom of the page, are examples of what you get fer yer five minutes and no money.  And these examples were given to fine con goers who held onto them after they got ’em.  Bless their hearts.

HOWEVER…there’s another asshole attempting to sell my sketches on ebay.  I don’t know what he looks like, but I’d really like to…so, if anyone reading this can help me find out who this guy is, I’d appreciate it.  Here’s a link to his ebay page, and his ebay name is  E Maxwell.  It’s dickwits like this guy that cause other artists to charge for their sketches.  The next time someone asks you for fifty bucks for a sketch, you can blame this E. Maxwell ass.  He’s the one costing you money and goodwill.

He’s local Ontario, so I’ll recognize him if I could see a photo.  And perhaps the next time I see him, a quick fecal shove.

Ty the Guy.  Still happy to do free sketches.  But happy to put the boot in, as well.

Sketching by Ty

Walter Dickinson has been at it again! Now he’s posted vids of Ty doing sketches at FanExpo August 2009, on the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop site.

Keiren

Sunday Sunday Sunday

Ty is at Toronto ComiCon, right now–as I type!  Drop by and see him at the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop table.

Next Appearance is

on Sunday at Toronto ComiCon.  Check out the details, as blogged by Kevin Boyd over at www.joeshusterawards.com.

Ty will be signing, sketching, looking at portfolios, telling tales, and accepting cold Cokes.  There will be pages for sale…I’m going to put together a pile.  If there are particular Ty pages you’re hoping to see (everyone asks for Batman covers–they’re gone, people, gone!  Ask for interior art!), drop me a line at tytempletonart@gmail.com, and I’ll see what I find hiding in his studio.

Keiren

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Bunny Funny

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Many years ago, back when Ty and I were first living together, we went on a trip to New York that was to be capped off by our first convention together.  A chance to see Ty in his environment, in his element, with his peeps.  Heh.

My first sign of trouble was that Ty had never heard of the con before, “Odyssey Trek–what the heck kind of a name is that?”  The second sign of trouble was in the hotel lobby, “Honey,” I asked in a slightly confused voice, “Why is there a Klingon baby in a stroller?”.  Yep.  He’d been invited to a Star Trek convention.  Star Trek–not Star Trek comics, Star Trek.  Turns out one of the organizers was a huge Ty Templeton fan and really didn’t care that the rest of the committee apparently couldn’t see the point of inviting Ty–he wanted to meet Ty, so by God, he invited Ty.

It was a long weekend.

To be fair, Ty loves Star Trek and happily counts himself as a Trekkie (and defiantly so–won’t use the term “Trekker” and mocks those who do).  He was thrilled speechless to write a Star Trek mini last year.  But back then–

It was a long weekend.

I was threatened by the Klingon bodyguards when I tried to stand near Ty at a signing table–turns out he was beside Gowron, Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.  I believe I threatened to emasculate a few of them.

It was a long weekend.

 

Keiren

Coming Up…

Next Sunday, Ty will be at the Toronto ComiCon one day event, Sunday November 22, 2009.  He’ll be sitting at the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop table, signing books, doing sketches–for free!  And selling pages. And telling tales…oh, the stories he can tell!  (Unless lawyers for any of the major companies are present.)

 

Keiren, the libel-suit avoiding wife

Ty shows up

(I’ve been too busy to post anything so I shoved Ty into my chair, faced him towards the monitor and keyboard, took the pencil out of his hand, and left him here…)

Here’s an “Artist’s Sketch Card” I drew for the upcoming Moonstone card series.   This isn’t art meant to be reduced onto a card and printed many times…this is a teeny weeny itty drawing on a blank card.  The dimensions are two and a half inches by three and a half inches.  And here’s what’s wrong with me…when I look at it, I think I could have gotten more detail into the face if I’d had a smaller ink brush and better glasses.

Let us all say it together:  Oy!

Anyway…this original is going to be a surprise for someone buying some of the upcoming Moonstone Card series.  So, check your packs for this Phantom sketch card, and don’t be too disappointed when it’s in black and white, cause it’s an original.

AND DON’T SELL IT ON EBAY WHEN YOU GET IT, ya ratbags!

Ah…they probably will.

Ty the Guy

(heh…Ty’s cynicism comes from the number of times after conventions, he’s gone ego-googling to see if anyone has said anything about the workshops he does at cons, and he discovers that someone, sometimes someones, is eBaying one of Ty’s free convention sketches–even one Ty has personalized in his signing.  Ty is completely resistant to the idea of charging for convention sketches–he even lectures his bootcampers about this ideal, feeling this is something he owes to his fans.  But the eBay listings make him pretty cranky.)

Hoverboy Friday Fun

Rick Green talks Hoverboy

Ty Templeton talks Hoverboy Museum (with a guest appearance by son Taylor)

Hoverboy Away!