Simon Whitelaw's fantastic fanart of GZ!
Well, I’m back. Again.
Yeah, I know…I left Eddie (and many of you) hanging, didn’t I? Well, I’m sorry about that…the truth is that I was suddenly deluged by other people asking me to do other work for them….and for one reason or another, I couldn’t pass it up.
First, I did some artwork for Moonstone books for some of their SPIDER character. Now, I’m sure many of you don’t know who the SPIDER is, or why the heck I keep writing his name in capital letters. Trust me, he deserves nothing less.
The SPIDER is a 1936 masked vigilante from the age of pulp magazines. He wasn’t just ‘one of the crowd’, either. The SPIDER stories were the most dramatic, action-packed, town-destroying stories around. Today’s movies have nothing on them. So, when I was asked to do a few interior illustrations, I couldn’t pass it up. Here’s a peek at one:
Ain’t he cool? Click on him for a bigger image. Speaking of bigger, did you see Simon Whitelaw’s (aka. Simon Pimpernel) great pic of Ghost Zero up on the left? Simon’s got an absolute talent for those kinds of things, and I’m fortunate enough that he likes my work. Check out his rendition of Doc Monster below:
Back to what I’ve been doing.
Shortly after the Moonstone project, I was approached by creators extra-ordinarre Brian Clevenger and Scott Wegener, the radioactive force behind Atomic Robo, who asked me to lend my pen to a Robo short. Interestingly, the short did have Robo in it. Instead, it had James Forestall and Harry Truman…which apparently, they thought I’d have fun drawing.
Turns out, they were right. Check it out.
It will appear on the web first, and then be collected into print later. I was glad to have a part in the legacy that is Atomic Robo….and I still owe those guys a pin-up!
After that, Anthony (the Action Man) Schiavino asked me to do pencils for a short story for his Sgt. Zero character, with inks by Matt Bennett, one of the fabulous talents behind Mysterious Adventure Magazine! I like how the results turned out. Here’s a peek of my pencils: 
It was the first time I’d ever done pencils that someone else inked, and it was a good experience for me. You can check out the whole thing in living color over at Pulp Tone!
Did I mention that Anthony has a Sgt. Zero book for sale that has my art on it’s “Bad-Ass Variant Edition”? Oh yes, my friends, he does.
He’s even got a freaking cool trailer! Wow.
Anyway, after that, Matt Bennett (remember him from above?) asked me to do a last-minute pin-up for the back cover of the newest Mysterious Adventure Magazine. I had just a day to pull it off, but it went ok.
Oh yeah, I turned 42 last month as well. 
So, yeah..it’s been busy! But I’m glad to be back in the saddle, and I’m excited to show you guys what happens next! I’ll be away next week at a conference, but look for something soon…
-Dave
Honestly, Dave, I started to think the worst. No Ghost Zero, no Doc Monster, no Varley the Vampire. I’m happy you’re up, about, and working without anything horrible having invaded your world. Like Michael Caine in THE HAND losing his comic strip-drawing mitt in a car accident. You’re far too talented a dude to suffer a murderous disembodied hand!
Boy, you’re working with some talented people these days. I did see the neato spiff Sgt. Zero teaser banner thing you did, which I placed on my blog. Not that many people will see it, but still I’m all down for the Sgt.!
Dare I ask, is it possible the two Zeros exist in the same universe?
Oh, and Facebook. Yes, I realize it’s the “in” thing, but there’s just about every comic book talent we remember currently on Facebook, along with all the bright lights we’re discovering now. Which includes you. The more people know about yourself and Ghost Zero, the better!
Dave! Good to see you back in the saddle again, you (and Eddie and Charles) have been sorely missed. Lot’s and lots of cool stuff going on though, it looks like… you’re getting to be a hugely in-demand talent, and that’s not a bad thing! I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future, in whatever form it may take on (and one of these days, I think I’ll be shelling out some dough for a Flora-fied sketch of Challenger Storm, if you’ll accept that mission)
Woo Hoo, I log onto my computer today and notice that there is an update to Ghost Zero in my RSS feed reader. Welcome back Dave (not that you went anywhere) and I am looking forward to more Ghost Zero updates.
By the way which Spider stories did you do art for, I have a few of the comics in my collection but I haven’t read them.
*I haven’t read them yet.
In all my excitement of seeing more Ghost Zero I forgot to finish that sentence.
Hey, Luke!
I’m glad for those RSS feeds! The art that I did (the piece you saw and two others) will appear in a compilation of new short stories about the SPIDER. From what I read, they’re going to be a good read! I’ll let you know more as I find out myself.
-Dave
Thanks, Don! I’m pleased as punch that you’re getting the Challenger Storm novel published!! Awesome job, my friend. I know you’ve been through a lot, but having the story go from dream to reality feels awfully nice, eh?
If you need Challenger art, just say the word….we’ll work out a barter of goods or services. I’d just be glad to help!
-Dave
What about Doc Monster? Will there ever be more?
You know, my author friend, Anthony Schiavino has actually written a Doc Monster/Ghost Zero crossover called “Flight of the Radioactive Corpse”, that I’d love to see in print! The biggest issue is time. You can see that I haven’t posted an update in a while for GZ…and the reason is that I have a full time job and can only work on it in my spare time. Currently, my spare time is in chaos because we’re buying a house and moving. All that should be over in early July, but even then, I have to choose my projects carefully. I am considering doing more short stories involving the characters instead of full-length stories…that would allow me to introduce some more variety in the stories I tell and to be more flexible.
Thanks for your interest!
-Dave
Dave! you’re alive! quick, there’s no time, we have to get back! ….to the future!!!
Doc! You made a time machine….out of a Delorian??
I love you, Stefan.
Yes! I’m still alive! I’m in the midst of buying and moving into a new house, so I’ll be out for one more week, but after that…..the art is gonna hit the fan!!
-Dave