Comic Book Resources

Round Two: 8 for the 80s

Hello, comic book fans, and welcome to Round 2 of Comic Book Idol 3. I’m your host J. Torres. And I have good news and bad news for you.

This week, I must sadly bid two contestants goodbye, gladly award one of the remaining artists the Round 1 prize, and proudly introduce this week’s guest judge before we move on to the Round 2 assignment.

First, the bad news.

The public poll closed with just over 800 votes cast. The results of the official “recount” can be found here. The two contestants with the least number of votes were:

Daniel Lafrance
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Warren Leonhardt
Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

Oh, Canada! Both these artists turned in some terrific pages (click their names above to take a look) and received some good feedback from the judges.

Top Cow’s Marc Silvestri called Daniel’s work on the first assignment Fathom script, ”Good-looking pages.”

“I really like your stuff,” is what Oni Press ediitor James Lucas Jones said of Daniel’s style.

Chris Ryall of IDW pointed out good use of space and facial expressions in Warren’s assignment.

“Well done,” was what Vince Hernandez, Aspen editor and writer of the Fathom script, had to say of Warren’s work.

To see more from these fine artists, please visit their websites:

http://www.danlafrance.com 

http://www.warrenleonhardt.com

I’m sure we’ve not heard the last of my Canadian brethren, and I wish them both much success in the future.

Guys, the next time you’re at a Toronto comic convention and you see me on the guest list (I attend most of the downtown ones), make sure to come say hello. There may be some free comics, and possibly even a drink, in it for you. 

Please keep an eye out for Brian Cronin’s interview with these idols, and also make sure to let them know how you feel in the official “Daniel Lafrance and Warren Leonhardt Appreciation Thread” in the fourm.

Incidentally, I’m told that less than half of our viewers are voting! Don’t just sit there, people! Rock the vote! It’s the only way to save your favorite artist from elimination…

Now, I’d like to direct your kind attention to some good news. Not only did Vince Hernandez provide us with a challenging script for Round 1, but he and Aspen Comics have graciously offered to publish the top vote-getters pages in an upcoming publication.

With over 100 votes and close to 15% of the overall count, the winner of the Round 1 prize is… Caio Oliveira!

Congratulations, Caio! 

You took the lead early on and held onto it almost throughout depsite three or four other contestants playing “king of the mountain” with you. You got some great feedback from the judges and inspired quite a following in the forum. Behind-the-scenes, the support from fellow contestants was consistent with the public. You submitted great work this round so all of this should come as no surprise.

More on Caio and the publishing details of his Fathom pages later.

To find out what prize is up for grabs this week, please read on…

Round Two… Fight (for your right to party)! 

Your second assignment is called ”What Matters Most.”

We’re switching gears from super powered nudes to slice-of-life nostalgia! Are you ready to take a trip back to the 80s?

You’ll be working off of another 3-page full script but this time written by C.B. Cebulski, writer, editor and talent scout extraordinaire. C.B. will be selecting his favorite submission this round (not the top vote-getter but it could very well be the same artist!) and will publish his pages in the upcoming “Wonderlost” TPB and also provide the artist copies of said book. Another thing to note is that C.B. is always recruiting, and is in fact currently running his own talent search called “ChesterQuest,” so more than one of you may come out of this with a published credit or more.

The script comes with a message and some notes from C.B., which should explain all you need to know, but if you still have questions, you can reach him via his blog.

Once again, it’s up to the individual artists to decide whether they want to submit only pencils, ink their work, or present colored art, and we simply ask that you bear in mind the deadline…

Monday, October 22 @ noon (EST)

This time around, CBR will be hosting everyone’s pages, but the procedure for scanning and saving your pages in two sizes and posting on the forum remains the same. Dont’ forget the subject line: “Round Two: [Your Name Here].” And please remember to e-mail or PM one of the mods to stick your thread.

I think everyone knows the drill by now, yes? 

Some “technical difficulties” prevented a couple of our judges from posting before the poll went up, but we think we’ve got all the kinks worked out now. Please bear with us. (Hey, it beats standing in line at a convention, doesn’t it?)

We’re hoping the judges can critique your submissions by Wednesday, October 24 @ noon (EST) before the next vote. At the end of the judging period, the people cast their votes again, and 24 hours or so later, another two contestants will be eliminated from the competition. The other six move one step closer to the finals and the free trip to the Big Apple and the New York Comic Con.

I’m really looking forward to everyone’s rendtition of my buddy C.B. this week

Good luck and everybody have fun tonight! Everybody, Wang Chung tonight!

J.