Happy Birthday Comic Twart by Ron Salas

Ok, so I'm just posting my piece for Comic Twart's First Anniversary right now. I picked Thor, the character that started the whole thing.
I sketched something out for this a while back but it sucked so much I had to scrap it. I think the problem was me trying to draw Coipel's Thor, instead of John Buscema's.

Happy Birthday Comic Twart by Mr. Hawthorne

"Metal sharpens metal, right?"

That's essentially what my wife said to me after I rattled off all the reasons I gave her for wanting, and NOT wanting, to join the gents on Comic Twart. You see, Comic Twart began without me. Before the blog a few of the guys tossed characters around, drew them, then shared them on Twitter (One of these characters was Thor, who I chose to draw for Comic Twart's birthday since I wasn't there at the conception of the endeavor and didn't get to draw him with the fellas).

Having enjoyed that,the fellas decided to build a blog around a group of like-minded artist jamming on a new character every week. Before I knew it I was asked if I'd like to be a part of it. To be honest, I thought it was a bad idea for me to do so. I had a big graphic novel I was writing and drawing at Vertigo, Fear Agent to wrap up, a film to story board and a monthly Conan comic waiting in the wings (I also had a comic strip I wanted to start, which is still waiting for my attention... but that's besides the point).

So after going over all the reasons not to join my wife asks if there were any reasons I should join. I said that it would be fun and that it would push me to get better.

Which, if you know me, are my two biggest motivators.

I knew that I would be drawing things I'd NEVER draw on my own, (I didn't even know who the hell G.I. ROBOT before this!) and that would push me to work outside my comfort zone.

I'd also be drawing with a bunch of other guys who, although they were as busy as me, loved drawing so much that they were ready to jam. They were gonna have fun drawing, regardless of their work load. These amazing artist were also going to push me to try harder, and get better.

So, yeah..."Metal sharpens metal", indeed.

I decided to do it, and it's been one of the fulfilling and fun artistic experiences I've ever had.

Thanks for having me fellas, and Happy Birthday Comic Twart :-)

Best,
Mike

AVENGERS Earth's First Heroes by Gordon & Francavilla

(click on this for the larger poster view)

A couple of good things that came out of this collective blog known as Comic Twart is that 1) the weekly topics sparked quite a few new ideas/concepts fans seem to dig and 2) the weekly jams and artwork inspired other artists -outside the Twart group- to tackle these topics.
So I give you this new take on the Avengers Earth's First Heroes (a concept I had for the WHAT IF week) with pencils from my dear friend Steven E. Gordon and inks and colors by me. Steve was inspired by the topic (you can see his pencils here) and I was inspired by his pencils so much I had to ink this amazing piece. Individuals inspiring each other: at the end of the day I think this is the essence of this blog I am so proud to be part of :)

Hope you enjoy and pls click on the image to really appreciate the details.

Thank you all for checking this blog and making a cool place to hang around :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Concept by Francesco Francavilla
Artwork © 2011 Steven E.Gordon & Francesco Francavilla

Happy Birthday Comic Twart by Evan Shaner

It's an understatement to say that being a part of the Twart has been a huge privilege for me. Knowing and being associated with these guys in the last year is an honor. Here's my little tribute to the themes of our first year.

You get brownie points for knowing each theme, but you get the Shaner No-Prize for knowing who picked each one.