The DC Bloodlines Podcast: The Vixen is a Lady Fox

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Finally, the DC Bloodlines Podcast reveals its greater scope than just one 1993 event, but rather a mandate to cover the under-served DCU by looking at the earliest published (and especially the unpublished) comics of what was intended to be the first super-heroine series for a character of African decent, Mari McCabe: The Vixen! We start with the aborted 1978 first issue created by Gerry Conway & Bob Oksner from the second Xeroxed collection of "Cancelled Comic Cavalcade" and the rejected early '80s "The Power Squad" proposal before her accessible comics debut in 1981's Action Comics #521 and her second team-up with Superman in 1984's DC Comics Presents #68, plus supplemental material from Back Issue Magazine #40!


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Spill Some Blood!!!* *across social media only.

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2015 Gypsy Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Brent Peeples

Despite being fond of J'Onn J'Onzz's surrogate daughter of the 1990s, I've only gotten one other commission of Cindy Reynolds since I've started collecting original art, and needed to remedy that. Not having entirely learned my lesson from the still incomplete jams of 2014, I started a new one with Gypsy in 2015 intended to spotlight the Martian Manhunter's closer but perhaps lesser known friends and teammates for his 60th birthday. Thankfully, the scale was kept fairly consistent and the quality of the artists was above average, but Brent Peeples did such attractive work on Gypsy that he was a tough act to follow. He had done a good job on Commander Blanx a few years earlier, but I was very impressed with how sharply rendered our chameleonic sneak thief was done in so few lines, and especially enjoyed the tight feathering/crosshatching on her tummy. A little well placed detail goes a long way, but he didn't skimp where it counted, like in the squiggles of her skirt/bandana or the shimmer of her leather jacket (made with liquid eraser!) The monochromatic red of the lips was the cherry on top, and I wish it had remained the sole color on the piece to really catch the eye, but I failed to communicate that to follow-up artists. Gypsy's still one of the largest and most appealing figures though, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Peeples' work in the upcoming Gold Key Alliance tpb I've pre-ordered...

Brent Peeples

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2012 Zatanna Spells color art by Stjepan Šejić

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2016 Steel (Hank Heywood III) Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Allen Adams III

Allen, former military man, dedicated Steelers fan, and prolific artist, has created a pantheon of characters and stories, such as 'season of Storms, and Alpha American. With a 'see everything, know nothing attitude and music as a muse, he cannot help but to give his artistic side the lead in his life. Allen is presently working on the art for Midnight Storm, collaborating on Gods of Thunder with Damon Jackson and the art of Fusion starting with issue #3.

Allen Adams III

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2015 The Vixen Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Brad Garneau

Ive been drawing pretty much most of my waking moments since as early as I can remember.

I began doing independent comic work around the Michigan area where I grew up. Then moved into the educational software industry which led me to the video games industry for the better part of the last 2 decades, where Ive most recently been working on games like the Incredible Hulk and most recently and The Hobbit game.

I first encountered Brad Garneau when I was researching artists announced as attending the con, and specifically kept a lookout for him. I saw his work on Comic Art Fans, and was very impressed by both his tasty four color influences (definitely Angel Medina, probably Darick Robertson, maybe a bit of Tom Raney and Dale Keown?) as well as those outside our niche industry. Anyway, I couldn't find him for most of the weekend, but there was this one dude doing elaborate framed paintings that I was checking out, and saw a book of his line art off to the side... Damn it! I'd been passing the guy up the whole time because you don't normally see that crossover between mediums! In a bit of a rush, Garneau knocked out this sweet Halle Berry/mid-aughts model Mari McCabe, my favorite overall look for the character to date. I was very happy with Garneau's work, so I promptly forgot his name and sat on this piece for a year or so. Luckily, he turned up at Compicpalooza this year, so I could snap a cell phone pic of his signage (he'd run out of business cards) and get an even slicker full commission...

Brad Garneau

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2015 Vibe Amazing Houston Comic Con Jam Sketch Detail by Brian Salinas

This piece has a complicated history. I'd originally approached Brian Salinas about drawing a picture of Superman holding a big circle that would have eventually contained the number "60" in the style of the classic DC bullet used from 1976-2005, also known as my entire childhood and primary years loving the company. This was in reference to Martian Manhunter's 60th birthday in 2015, and while I'd been playing with the idea for a while, I finally committed to it at this show when I found a low grade copy of Amazing World of Superman dirt cheap at the con. Salinas took the reference home and played with some sketches, but ultimately felt like he lacked the space and the tools to do the job right. I can't recall if I'd given him a blank 11"x17" or if a jam had already been taking form (likely the latter,) but I deferred to his judgment and thanked him for his professionalism. We still wanted to work together, so I planned to include him in the jam piece further down the line. The project snowballed until roughly an hour before the end of the convention weekend, when I wanted him to include Vibe. Paco Ramone had served on the Detroit era Justice League, but I preferred the more contemporary New 52 version of Cisco Ramone, star of his own short-lived comic and featured player on The Flash TV show. Salinas made the last contribution to the jam to date (I'm still thinking of adding a character or two, but space is limited) and the only one done in color, plus he gave me a sketchbook besides!

Brian Salinas

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