Which Hulk Do You See?

Here's one big crazy fight scene between the heroes of the Marvel universe. There's so many people involved, and so much going on, that it's all a little too much to parse in Black & White. Obviously, you can tell the mutant Cyclops is giving Captain America a hard time, but everything else takes some work to figure out.

With the colored version, Justin's coloring makes it easier to distinguish what's happening in the background. Look, there's Wolverine, and Namor, and Hawkeye, and of course Spider-Man, some other characters I could guess at, and might even guess right. But would I have guessed that the character in the center background was the Red Hulk? Not our beloved green Hulk, Bruce Banner, but the former General Ross who relentlessly pursued Dr. Bruce Banner in the comics and movies?

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have.

Dragon Dave

Luke Skywalker in Black & White and Color

Here's a page from Marvel's Star Wars series that Justin received after the story was written, and the penciling and inking were finished. The imagery is really well done, and the artwork communicates the fight clearly. But where would you begin to color it, and how much would you add?

Justin's colors give the story depth and realism. Many colorists just give a basic coloring to each little portion of an image, and let the mind fill in the rest. Justin's colors make the artwork seem like movie stills. They truly communicate all the dynamism that underlies the Star Wars franchise, and made those stories resonate so powerfully with people like Justin and me. 

Dragon Dave

San Diego Comic Art Gallery Exhibit Part 2

One of the pieces on exhibit at the San Diego Comic Art Gallery was this original drawing of Rocket Raccoon and Groot. I loved the Guardians of the Galaxy movie when it came out, and saw it three times in the cinema. (I've seen it many more times at home since). The character of Rocket resonated with me powerfully at that time in my life, and I began buying the Rocket Raccoon series by writer Skottie Young each month. Marvel liked Justin's sketch, and used it as a variant cover for one issue in the Rocket Raccoon series. I never saw it in my local store, or for that matter in any other store I visited, but I looked.

Justin worked on the Ultimate Spider-Man book with writer Brian Michael Bendis for a long time. Although I enjoyed the series initially, I hated the idea of Peter Parker dying, and Miles Morales taking his place. But Miles caught on, and became the biggest original star of the Ultimate universe. When Marvel decided to collapse all their universes into one, Miles Morales escaped into our own. 

He's still got his own title, and remains a popular character.

One of the last movies Justin saw in the cinema was Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse, which starred Miles Morales. I saw it, and enjoyed it immensely. I was happy Justin got to see it too. I know it meant a lot to him.

When Marvel brought back the Star Wars comics, they chose Justin to color the first few issues. Justin and I were Star Wars fans from way back, and I know he was tremendously happy to have worked on the series.

This last piece is fun. Justin and I chatted a lot about the movies we liked, and my favorite Marvel movies before Guardians of the Galaxy were the first two Captain America movies. When I saw it in the exhibit, I thought of Captain America, and our dialogues. But then later, looking at it more closely on the computer, I realized the star on his chest is the Carl's Jr. happy star logo. Then I noticed the H on his helmet and best. So this picture must date from after Justin moved to Florida, where the Carl's Jr. restaurants are called Hardee's. 

I've traveled and vacationed in Florida a few times, and been to a Hardee's. While we chatted online, I never got to actually visit him, and meet in person again. That's something I'll always regret. Alas, we'll always have Hardee's.

Dragon Dave

P.S. Many thanks to the IDW Publishing company, who run the San Diego Comic Art Gallery, for holding the exhibit. Also, many thanks must go to his mother Debbi, for arranging such a fine display of Justin's work. 

San Diego Comic Art Gallery Exhibit Part 1

There's always something to see at the San Diego Comic Art Gallery. Sadly, I rarely go there, even though I live fairly close. But last week I made a point to visit, because they had a show dedicated to my friend Justin. 

In fact, they held a Celebration of Life service there for industry professionals who knew and worked with Justin. Hopefully, it went well. Personally, I felt honored to attend another for his family and friends.

While Justin occasionally colored comic book covers, usually he confined himself to the story pages. But here's a rare cover he drew and colored for Spider-Man.

Justin and I counted Star Wars movies from the original trilogy as our favorite movies of all time. For me, it was the original "Star Wars", which received the subtitle "Episode IV: A New Hope" for subsequent releases. For him, it was the third, "Episode VI: Return of the Jedi". So there's a little irony in this sketch of the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who first appeared in the second movie, "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back".

But then, Boba Fett also appeared in "Return of the Jedi", didn't he?

Here's a page from what looks like an Avengers comic. If so, there's a little irony here as well, as the last comic Justin worked on was an Avengers comic. I love the vivid colors here. They really bring out the explosive nature of the action. A lesser colorist might not have brought the scene to life so completely.

Lastly, here's an original sketch he did. It was one of a few studies he made, either for an art class or his own amusement. You can glimpse Justin's sense of humor here, as he's drawing a picture of himself drawing a picture. Wonderful.

There was more to see, of course. But this give you a representative sampling of Justin's work, and a taste of the exhibit his mother organized along with the good folks at IDW Publishing, and their staff at the San Diego Comic Art Gallery.

Dragon Dave

Justin Ponsor: An Ending and A Beginning

Danger Girl Special #1
February 2000

After a long battle with cancer, Justin passed away earlier this week. Even though I wasn't close to him toward the end, he meant a lot to me. When we were both a lot younger, we worked together in a church for a few years. Awhile back we reconnected via Facebook, and corresponded for a time. But then, as so often happens, we drifted apart again. It saddened me that that occurred, but, well, that's life.

I'll post more on Justin when I can. There's so much more to say about this guy who worked his way up the ladder of the comics industry, and became a top tier colorist for Marvel. But for now, I thought I'd share this comic he worked on when he worked for Wildstorm. He started at the bottom, helping out other artists on various titles. This represents one of the first times that Wildstorm recognized the significance of his contribution with an official credit. 

I don't know anything about Danger Girl. I wasn't really into comics when this came out. Nor were my wife and I attending the same church as his family anymore. But when his mother mentioned in a Christmas card that Justin was working in the comics industry, I marched into my local shop, and asked, "Do you have anything by Justin Ponsor?" The man showed me this comic. It was already bagged and boarded, and the price tag was higher than the issue price. But that didn't matter. I had a comic by Justin!

Sadly, like I said, I just wasn't into comics back then. I don't think I ever read it. I just slipped it into my collection, and forgot about it. 

After we reconnected on Facebook, one of the first things I did was pull out this comic and read it. It gave us something to chat about. A few months later, Justin kindly sent me a representative sample of his work, from his years at Crossgen (where he went after he worked at Wildstorm), and his time at Marvel. Needless to say, his work blew me away.

The comics industry is a highly competitive field. Many come into the industry, work at it for a few years, and then move on to other things. All too often, capable artists get shoved to the sidelines, and forced to restart their lives in other fields. I wonder if Justin knew back then, or could even have imagined, that he'd not only find the staying power that others lacked, but eventually contribute to titles like Spider-Man, Avengers, and Guardians of the Galaxy?

Dragon Dave