Lobo

I'm not a huge Lobo fan by any means, but my sister's man is...and I did this as a birthday present for him a couple of years ago. I have to say that I'm still very happy with the result. I wanted to capture a certain Simon Bisley-esque quality to the texture and proportions, and the effect was achieved by combining a Marvel Legends Omega Red with a Venom figure...and lots of epoxy putty for sculpting. 2006 saw my most significant output of customs, and the sharpest development of my skills because of it...and while the assembly of this guy was pretty conventional, I doubt that I could do a better job of it now. I'm particularly proud of the wierd hairdo, and the blood spatter was a darkly enjoyable effect that I never tried before. He's not without his flaws and roughs spots...but I like him.

Blade

What if Hammer Horror made a Blade film? That was the basic conceit behind my making this custom just over three years ago. He's still around in my collection, simply because he's one of my favorites. The head is from a Candyman figure...I like the idea of Tony Todd in this role, but I think Tony Todd is great in everything he's done. The base figure is a heavily modified Dr. Octopus, with a Samurai Spawn's hands. Lots of knick-knacks make up the various weapons, and his outfit is mainly composed of leather. The goggles are from a Spike figure. The pictures are a bit grainy, but I'm too lazy to take new ones.

Art: Vintage 2007

Yep...here are a few more pieces of 'art.' All are from 2007...I liked the Darth Vader because of the old-timey chest box. I was briefly considering making customs of Yoshimi and the Pink Robot, and the above sketch was the concept. The moody painting in the middle is Flash Gordon (I like this one for some reason). Next up is a Fairey Swordfish...the rickety old stringbag that sank the mighty Bismarck...this was painted when I worked at the Shearwater Aviation Museum, which has one of these magnificent beasts on display...if you're in Eastern Passage, drop in and check it out. The last is the incomparable Dejah Thoris...it is cropped to remove a really weak and silly looking Green Martian. I like the distant skyline of Helium in this one, though I think my shortcomings as a painter are evident.

New Gods

New Gods...perhaps the craziest and most inventive mainstream comic ever. A couple of years ago, Joshua Izzo and I put together a fake toy line based on a fake mega-budget movie adaptation of Kirby's wild masterpiece. The idea was to make movie-styled versions of the characters, trying to maintain as much of the color and original design while also making the designs seem plausible for a live action film. I chose to make a Parademon, Big Barda, and Mister Miracle. Izzo made Metron, Darkseid, and Orion...I personally think Metron is by far the best of the six figures, and quite possibly Joshua's best custom to date. You can see the full Custom Con entry (including Joshua's figures) at this link:

http://www.thefwoosh.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=524&Itemid=105