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