Pedro Cruz

The Secret World of Arrietty

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:00:02 PST

I just found out about this new Studio Ghibli film. Looks fun!

Favorite comics of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:38:53 PST

I know, it's been over a month since 2012 started, but I've always found a bit silly how "the best of..." lists for a given year always show before the year is actually over. So here are my personal favorite comics of 2011:

Beauté, tome 1 - Désirs Exaucés by Hubert and Kerascöet. Sometimes less is more and in this case the deceptively simple drawings by Kerascöet and flat colors by Hubert create an aesthetic that is completely in-synch with the cautionary (fairy)tale of Morue.

Quai D'Orsay Chroniques Diplomatiques - tome 2 by Lanzac and Blain. Best praise I can give: I found myself laughing out loud alone as I read this second volume chronicling the day-to-day behind the scenes of the french foreign affairs ministry staff. Christophe Blain proves once again his immense talent as a cartoonist.

Major by Moebius. Okay, technically this is a facsimile of a sketchbook Jean Giraud Moebius worked on over several years but I believe it was oficially released in 2011. I was amazed to see how much detail and accuracy the master was able to give the artwork at the small A6 size. Amazing!

Donald Duck - Lost in the Andes by Carl Barks. The first volume of Fantagraphics reprint of Carl Barks duck comics collected in an affordable format with beautiful restored flat colors proves that more than sixty years after they were originally drawn and published, these are still some of the best-ever all-ages comics.

John Byrne's Next Men: Scattered, part 1 and 2 by John Byrne. Total fanboy moment here: after this comic series was put on hiatus back in 1995 by its author, I (and everybody else) had to wait fifteen years before he finally resumed and finished the story with this couple of volumes first serialized as a monthly nine-issue comic series between December 2010 and August 2011. Unforgettable characters, classic artwork and a great time-travel science-fiction plot showed that maybe John Byrne should have never paused this in the first place... and apparently this was not the definitive ending as the first issue of a five-issue epilogue - Next Men: Aftermath - hits the comic book specialty stores next wednesday.

Now, let's see if 2012 tops this!

Retro Video XVIII

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:00:03 PST

Retro Video XVII

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:00:03 PST

The blast from the past trailers return for the forseeable future... but be warned, later, this year, there'll be new comix!
Now, we proceed with our regular transmission...

Cap commission

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:00:03 PST

This week I decided to share a commission drawing I did for a friend of mine this past Christmas. His request was for a Captain America piece of artwork and out of the few possible scenarios he suggested, this was the one I ended up picking - a crying Cap at the gates of Auschwitz. It was done with faber-castell PITT pens, copic markers, ecolines and acrylic inks on clairefontaine paper.
Enjoy!

New Year Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:00:02 PST

Taking advantage of the new year to let you all know that 2012 will be the year that, barring unexpected catastrophe, I'll be returning to post new comics here on the blog. My personal life has kept me extremely busy and I've had to let this blog on auto-pilot with the "Retro Video" series, but hope to be back on posting new original personal stuff as soon as possible. In fact, next week, you'll be seeing new artwork by me, right here!

Happy 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:00:03 PST

Merry Chistmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 11:00:03 PST

Retro Video XVI

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 11:00:04 PST

All-Star Pulp Comics

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:00:03 PST

It is with great joy that I announce the release of Airship 27 Productions' All Star Pulp, a new comics anthology featuring stories and art by an all-star cast of todays new pulp writers and artists, including yours truly. This amazing 58 page comic book features the following characters and creative teams:

The Green Lama by Adam Garcia & Mike Fyles
Jim Anthony Super Detective by Erwin K. Roberts & Pedro Cruz
Black Bat by C. William Russette & Wayne Beeman
The Blue Lady by Sean Taylor & James Ritchey III
The Rook by Barry Reese & Craig Wilson
Secret Agent X by Bobby Nash & Jeremy McHugh
Domino Lady by Percival Constantine, Rock Baker & Jeff Austin
Cover by Jeff Butler featuring the Green Lama & the Domino Lady

You can get it here. Hope you give it a try!

Retro Video XV

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:00:03 PST

Retro Video XIV

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 11:00:00 PST

Retro Video XIII

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:00:03 PST

Retro Video XII

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 11:00:03 PST

Retro Video XI

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:00:04 PDT

Retro Video X

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 11:00:03 PDT

Retro Video IX

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 11:00:03 PDT

Retro Video VIII

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 11:00:00 PDT

Retro Video VII

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:00:01 PDT

Retro Video VI

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 11:00:00 PDT

Retro Video V

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 11:00:02 PDT

Retro Video IV

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 11:00:03 PDT

Leaving music behind and moving on to movies, here's some oldies I found terrific way back in the bygone 1980s.

Retro Video III

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 11:00:04 PDT

Retro Video II

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 11:00:04 PDT

Retro Video I

noreply@blogger.com (Pedro Cruz) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 11:00:01 PDT

Starting a new feature with old music videoclips whose songs I fondly remember from my early childhood :-)

SUGAR BABY LOVE by The Rubettes