Ahhh! Monsters: October 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 31 - Halloween Man

Well for our last day in the 31 days I decided to do an original monster I've called Halloween Man. He's the guy that you run into when you are out Trick or Treating that looks like he is part of a Halloween yard display but then jumps out and scares you.

I hope that you have enjoyed the 31 Monsters in 31 Days I'll be back doing more monsters shortly. The schedule will not be daily because I've got to gt back to making comic books but I will be updating as often as possible and there will be more black and white and digitally colored art to try to keep the cost of art supplies down.

I will be making the 31 monsters done so far available as a sketch book very soon.

The colors are Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 30 - Scarecrow

Scarecrows are used by farmers to keep birds away from their crops but many movies and comic books have been created featuring these guys. It seems that they are often represented with a pumpkin head or a burlap sack with eyes on it. In the movies these guys come to life and often have the power of fear that their victims can not overcome . . . unless they are Batman.

In my drawing I had no working brown markers so I decided that he was going to be black and white . . . and then I decided maybe his eyes could be a color and his hand the straw color he'd be filled with . . . I'm liking the way the hand came out but not so much the grey . . . maybe next time.

The colors are Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers.

Get outta my fields,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Abominable Snowman Merchandise Now Available

Get your Abominable Snowman t-shirts and coffee mugs at Cafe Press over 100 items available.

Thanks for shopping with me,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Chupacabra Merchandise Now Available

Get your Chupacabra t-shirts and coffee mugs at Cafe Press over 100 items available.

Thanks for shopping with me,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 29 - Skeletons

Skeletons . . . as far as the undead go these guys are the least scary and least effective. Usually when you see skeletons in movies they are the minions of some evil character and used as an army. When there are many of them and they are armed they put up a good fight but on an individual basis they are really easy to defeat as their bones are easy to break apart. The only purpose of a skeleton is to serve its master.

Even though I made skeletons sound a bit lame they are really fun to draw. In my drawing I've gone with the style of skeleton that I've developed (I do zombies like this as well) with giant teeth and loose fitting clothes. I think the teeth make them fun if not funny and make them more interesting to look at.

The colors are Copic Markers.

My bones are aching,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Friday, October 28, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 28 - Vampires

Rule #1 Vampires can not walk in the sunlight
Rule #2 Vampires do not sparkle
Rule #3 Anyone who believes Rule #1 and 2 are false should be staked

Vampires, these are the blood suckers of the undead that live in darkness and are smooth stealthy killers. Now the basic rules for vampires are the can not walk in the sunlight or they will burn into dust, they must sleep underground or in a casket during the daylight hours, they must feed on human blood (they can turn a human into a vampire or allow them to live through the process without killing them if they please), they can not enter a home without being invited, they can glamour a person, holy water and crosses and silver are usually items that will burn them, and they move at a rapid pace and sometimes they can fly. Sometimes they vary in what their powers are but if it walks in sunlight it's not a vampire. Stakes through the heart kill them as well.

Now not long ago I had the argument of weather vampires are evil or not? I said that they indeed are and this is how I argue that point. Now being undead in itself has been related to evil and devils but not enough of an answer but not what I'd call solid enough to defeat the point of "well they are just trying to survive and they need blood to do that." Vampires know that they need blood and they know that they do not need to kill to get it or even turn the human into a vampire unwillingly. Vampires will out of rage or blood lust slaughter an innocent living human to save it's own life, I see that as evil . . . and a bit bad ass. Vampires were once fully human and the laws of good and evil apply to their existence as well.

There are tons of movies, books, comic books, and TV shows about vampires. I suggest starting with Buffy The Vampire Slayer, True Blood, The Lost Boys, 30 Days of Night and check out the first vampire movie Nosferatu its a silent film from 1922 but creepy and crazy.

In my drawing I based my vampire on the original film character Count Orlok or Nosferatu as he is one of the most recognizable characters in Vampire lore. The colors are Copic Markers.

Nibble, Nibble,
Kevin P. Johnson

P.S. Do not watch any Twilight movie . . . ever.

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 27 - Minhocao

The Minhocao is said to be a giant earthworm found in the forest of South America. The creature has be reported to be 80 feet long and strangely instead of a head with teeth it has two large tentacles to grab and eat its prey. The Minhocao is blamed for sink holes and collapsed homes. The creature is normally black and scaly but I made him purple (its like light black right?) I couldn't find much on this monster even though it has been reported since the 1800's. Head over to Unknown Creatures for more.

The colors are Copic Markers.

Slither,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 26 - Enfield Monster

The Enfield Monster has been seen only in Enfield, Illinois and is a weird one. This guy is about 5 feet tall, made of some sort of grey mud-like substance with pink eyes and three legs. The creature was reported in 1973 and after a short time was unheard of again. A few reports of close encounters with the monster occurred with no great trauma on the people who witnessed it. It was said to make the sound of a wildcat when it was supposedly shot by a local man. The creature has not been seen since 1973.

In my drawing I decided to go very cartoony due to time restraints. The colors are Copic Markers.

Meow!,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 25 - Sea Serpent

Sea Serpents have been around since biblical times causing havoc for sea goers and coastal towns. These beast are typically dragon-like without the wings and legs (much like a water snake). Sea Serpents are found in lakes and oceans all over the world with lots of variations in size and shape. Wikipedia has a nice selection of different types of Sea Serpents.

In my drawing I decided to go very cartoony and silly. He's kind of unimpressed with the ship that he's undoubtedly going to eat really soon. The colors are Copic Markers.

Splish Splash you don't want this guy in your bath,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Monday, October 24, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 24 - Wendigo

The Wendigo are a cannibalistic spirit creature that can possess a human. They are from the Native American folklore of the Algonquian people and are said to be powerful supernatural beings. They are in some ways similar to modern day zombies in features. The Wendigo has a dead grey skin, sunken in eyes, skin tight to the bones and dry lips covered in blood and they smell of death . . . very much like a zombie.These guys are associated with the northern parts of North America frequently in Canada. Strangely there are other versions of the Wendigo that have the creature look like a Yeti type creature and if you see Marvel Comics version of the Wendigo it looks nothing like the traditional version and very much like the Yeti.

In my drawing I kept the Wendigo as I thought he might look but I gave him a yellow eye thinking he would look less human. The colors are Copic Markers and Prismacolor Markers.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 23 - Slime Monster

Slime Monsters are found in everything from cartoons and comic books to movies and TV shows. Sometimes they are aliens and other times they are grown from toxic chemicals in the environment and even as ectoplasmic ghosties. These guys don't seem to have any rules and they come in all kinds of colors and shapes. How do you defeat a slime monster? Well that is up for debate as well fire, cold, chemicals, salt or who knows what. Slime monsters are fun because they can take any shape they want or are forced into and even better when they can split into more slime monsters.

See Also: Scooby Doo, Ghostbusters, and The Blob

In my drawing I went with an angry looking Slime Monster with one eye and he's formed hands for grabbing whatever he wants to eat. The colors are Copic Markers.

Glorp, Glorp, Bloop!,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 22 - The Beast of Bray Road (Wisconsin's Werewolf)

So the Beast of Bray Road . . . never heard of it . . . me either. The beast is basically Wisconsin's version of the werewolf that was first reported in 1936. The basics on this creature is that he's about six feet tall and wolf-like with yellow eyes and three claws on his hands . . . like Wolverine from the comics I think. He is supposed to smell really bad and has only been heard to say the word "Gadarah" which is the biblical place where Jesus was said to perform most of his well known miracles. How the Beast of Bray Road crossed the ocean and ended up in Wisconsin is a mystery to me but you can read more about him at Unknown Creatures, or at The Cryptid Zoo.

In my drawing I intended to draw him with claws and everything and as I seem to do a lot I draw too big for the paper and filled the page with his head. For the most part this guy is the same as any other werewolf but he's got a neat story. The colors are Copic Markers.

Gadarah!
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Friday, October 21, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 21 - Ogre

Ogres . . . some say they are like onions and have many layers but these legendary creatures are normally large, mean, nasty creatures that enjoy feeding on humans. An ogre is often represented as a large humanoid type figure much larger than a human being but smaller than a giant.

Ogres appear in many movies and literature and maybe the best known modern example is in the Shrek movie series where the Ogre is not as mean and nasty as the legends of ogres past foretold.

In my drawing I chose to make my ogre with a smile on his face because I tend to like a little silliness but also he might have stumbled upon some human dinner. It seems that most ogres are drawn using green as their color but after a bit of research I found that they appear in many colors including green, red, flesh, grey and blue. My only reason for going with blue is because there have been a lot of green monsters so far and I wanted to break it up a bit. The colors are Copic Markers.

GRRRR!
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 20 - Cthulhu

Hey guys sorry this is late I went to Drink and Draw last night and it went way late. This was drawn on Thursday but couldn't be posted until now. I'm going to come back later and add some info on the character but wanted to get the drawing out ASAP.

The colors are Copic Markers.

How do you say that name?
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 19 - Ghost

GHOST! Everyone has heard of ghost right? They are the lost souls of the departed who have not been able to cross over to heaven or hell or someplace altogether different but regardless of where they want to go they are stuck here. Some ghost appear to people and just pass by but others are angry and cause noise and knock over mall items. Ghost are sometimes scary and sometimes they are just funny.

There have been thousands of movies and TV shows feature spooky spooks and the list could go on for days and I'm sure everyone out there knows a ghost story or two but check out this little gem of a song by Daniel Johnston called Casper The Friendly Ghost.

In many cases when a ghost is featured in a film that is animated the ghost often resembles a white bedsheets and has black eyes . . . this is also the easiest costume to make for Halloween besides going as yourself. In my drawing that is the type of ghost I went with because I love those silly guys.

The colors are Copic Markers.

BOO!
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 18 - Snakeman

So in the beginning of this I said I would make up some monsters and I have not done so until now. The Snakeman concept isn't really original but I didn't look up any particular story about this guy and I'm trying to work on a story in my head behind this guy. He has the body of a snake but his upper torso is that of a humanoid male. The Snakeman has poison like a rattle snake and his rattle works as a hypnotic trance inducer so that his victims can not run away.

The colors are Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers and I am running out of markers quickly.

Why would they have snakes on a plane anyway?
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Monday, October 17, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 17 - Witches

Witches are fun around Halloween because the imaginations of children run to wild and wacky places. Witches are said to fly on brooms and make magic spells with all kinds of wonderfully horrible mixtures in their black cauldrons. Witches are often thought of as Wicked and mean and scary to children . . . these are the best witches and not to be confused with the Wiccan's that are not really wicked. The witches I like are the ones from cartoons and movies the ones that are green and ridiculous and awesome.

You can find a lot more out about witches at Witches.net

In my drawing I just went with the basic head shot of the classic wicked witch.

The colors are Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers.

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." - Shakespeare
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 16 - Minotaur

The Minotaur an ancient mythological creature usually represented as part man part bull with the head being that of the bull. As time is short today I suggest that you read about the Minotaur at Encyclopedia Mythica.

In my drawing I had a hard time with this monster, I drew him several times as a full body and he just looked all wrong and so since my time is limited today I settled on a head shot. Then when I started coloring him every one of the markers I needed dried up and I had to just make due with what I had. When I'm finished with the 31 Monsters in 31 Days I will revisit this guy and do something better.

The colors are Prismacolor Markers.

Moo,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 15 - Zombies

ZOMBIES! Well if you have not caught your fair share of zombies in the last few years you have not paid much attention to pop culture because these guys are everywhere. The basic premise of zombies are that they reanimated corpses of usually the recently deceased with a hunger for human flesh. At some point it has become popular to say zombies want to eat your brains but they really just want to eat you completely . . . of course your brain may taste best. Zombies have several different versions traditionally they are slow and are easy to avoid by themselves unless you happen upon one by surprise. The problem with slow zombies comes in when there are more of them than their are of living humans in an area. More recently zombies have acquired "Rage" and are fast and capable of running and although still very instinctual they seem to have more intelligence than the traditional zombies. Before you think you've seen it all you might want to think about Flying Zombies . . . yes I said Flying Zombies and they are a whole new ball of wax when it comes to getting away from zombies.

In most zombie stories the key to destroying them is to remove the head or kill the brain and they will die.

I've seen hundreds of zombie movies and read many comics about them here are my starting suggestions:

Movies: Night of The Living Dead, Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Fido, 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later and Zombieland.

Comics: The Walking Dead, Flying Zombies

Books: The Zombie Survival Guide

TV: The Walking Dead

In my drawing I went with a zombie that looks like he's happy to see you . . . for dinner. I've drawn zombies before and usually I make them have huge teeth with this one I tried to keep him a little more human but still a bit silly.

The colors are Copic Markers.

As they say in Dawn Of The Dead "When There's No More Room In Hell The Dead Will Walk The Earth,"
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Friday, October 14, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 14 - Mothman

The Mothman was a creature sighted over a one year period from November 15, 1966 to December 15, 1967 in Point Pleasant,West Virginia. The Mothman was said by author John Keel to have been responsible for many different supernatural happenings and even the Silver Bridge collapse which was the site of 46 deaths. The Mothman was said to be a white figure with giant red eyes and a wingspan of about ten feet. At least 100 reports were made of the creature.

More on the creature can be found at Unexplained America.

In my drawing I went with a supervillan type character because this guy seems like he could have been a hoax and been a costumed person scaring the locals.

The colors are Copic Markers and Prismacolor Markers.

Look to the sky,
Kevin P. Johnson

All artwork and contents of this blog are Copyright ©2011 Kevin P. Johnson - All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 13 - Aliens

Aliens . . . there are a lot of different options to go with when someone mentions aliens being that there are thousands of books and movies about these guys. One of the most commonly reported form of aliens are the Grey Aliens who were first written about in 1893 by H.G. Wells and have since been reported to be abductors of humans all over the world. Grey Aliens are basically humanoid with big black eyes, grey skin and often large heads but they usually lack a nose, ears and sex organs. These aliens are commonly said to take humans from their homes and into a space craft where they probe and experiment on the humans who are often returned to their homes with only memories of what happened.

Now there are probably a million websites out there featuring these guys so I'll suggest you start with Wikipedia and explore from there.

In my drawing I went with the basic Grey Alien who to me resembles Spider-Man without the webs. I also gave him suction cup fingers because I've seen these guys represented with them and without and it seems more alien to have them. I'm not sure why he's holding a smiley face ball in his hand except for that maybe its a gumball and he can't chew it because he has no mouth.

The colors are Copic Markers.

To quote the X-Files "I want to Believe,"
Kevin P. Johnson

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 12 - Trolls

Trolls are disgusting!

Hey everyone I'm not going to be able to write up a brief history on this one today but I will come back and do that. I just wanted to be sure to post the new monster for everyone.

The colors are Copic Markers and Prismacolor Markers.

Ewwwww Trolls,
Kevin P. Johnson

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 11 - Spring Heeled Jack

Spring Heeled Jack before this 31 Days of Monsters in 31 Days began to me was an descent SKA band that flew under the radar but now he's turned out to be an interesting character. Spring Heeled Jack named because of his quick and frightening jumping ability was first reported in London, England in 1837. His origin and appearance are often disputed from being a normal looking man to a frightening devil featured figure. Some say he had a black cloak others mentioned some sort of helmet often with pointed ears and had eyes that were like fireballs. The most common report of Spring Heel Jack was his metallic clawed hands but the most bizarre report is that he could breath a blue and white flame. Spring Heeled Jack was a terror throughout England attacking his victims with his clawed hands.

In my drawing I decided that Spring Heeled Jack needed to be a little bit of everything he was reported to be but of course I didn't draw him jumping around I thought a pre-pounce pose was best to get in all of his features. I also never found any clear term of reported skin color so since he was said to be devil-like I went with red skin.

The colors are Copic Markers.

He Bounces,
Kevin P. Johnson

Monday, October 10, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 10 - Succubus

The Succubus is an evil demonic creature that has existed in folklore and religious beliefs going as far back as medieval times. The demon often appears in dreams as a beautiful woman (sometimes winged) with the intent to seduce men into sexual encounters. A succubus can also appear in the flesh but if a man has sexual encounters with her in any form he may become weak or even die. The succubus is a master of seduction and will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

In my drawing I made the Succubus look a little innocent (with big anime type eyes for some reason) but with a definite agenda to accomplish. I figured red skin was good for a demon I wasn't going to add the wings but decided at the last minute to put them in. I'm usually terrible at women's hair but I think this might be the best hair I've drawn on a woman yet.

The colors are Copic Markers.

Sleep well young man but be careful of the girl in your dreams,
Kevin P. Johnson

Sunday, October 9, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 9 - Cyclops

The Cyclops is a one eyed giant of Greek and Roman Mythology. These creatures were said to have forged the thunderbolts for Zeus and fought with him against the Titans but the story gets a bit confusing as for the origins and who the original Cyclops were. Monsterous has a quick description of the creatures but I think for the most part people think of the Cyclops as a giant one eyed brute that throws boulders at ships and has no love for humans or the gods and would eat humans for dinner.

A great example of the Cyclops appears in the movie The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad

In my drawing I made the Cyclops look kind of silly with a sort of questioning look on his face. He is a fun character and I figured he should be a bit funny in the drawing. The colors are a combination of Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers.

The eye is on you,
Kevin P. Johnson

Saturday, October 8, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 8 - Medusa

Medusa one of three of the Gorgon sisters in ancient Greek Mythology with a head full of snakes for hair. Medusa was the only mortal of the three Gorgon sisters and vulnerable to death but her advantage was that anyone who looked directly upon her would be turned to stone. Sometimes Medusa is shown as having a snake-like body and at other's she has the body of a normal female. Unfortunately for Medusa the Greek hero Perseus was sent by the goddess Athena to destroy her and by using a shield given to him by the goddess he was able to behead the Gorgon. Medusa's head was still able to be used as a weapon after this.

Read more about Medusa

In my drawing I went with a profile view because I didn't want anyone to turn to stone. The colors are Copic Markers and Prismacolor Markers.

Do not look her in the eye,
Kevin P. Johnson

Friday, October 7, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 7 - The Shadow People

Look to the shadows and you may see something that you don't want to see. Shadow People are possibly the only monster that every person with the ability to see may have seen in their lifetime. The Shadow People are often seen from the corner of your eye and move very fast into the shadows when you look directly upon them. They may be ghost or spirits or something else altogether, but they are up to no good and their intent is harm to those in their presence. They are often around in dark places and love it when you are alone they are constantly moving things and making noises when nothing natural could have been the culprit which causes your mind to play tricks on you. The Shadow People want you to fear them they thrive on it some may even wish to remove you from their home by any means even death.These ghost want to make you seem out of your mind to the people around you causing your fear to become intensified and you may even possibly become their weapon against others if they can possess you.

There have been several movies about Shadow People including the Paranormal Activity movie series which does a great job of showing how these creatures work.

In my drawing well I drew the creature st the point of being seen and about to blend in with the shadows what looks like black flame is the shadow person beginning to make its body into full shadow. I have also added blue to help give form to what would only be black shadow . The colors are Copic Markers.

Leave the lights on . . . all of the lights,
Kevin P. Johnson

Thursday, October 6, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 6 - The Abominable Snowman

The Abominable Snowman (Yeti for short) is one of the best monsters out there for one simple reason . . . this guy is ABOMINABLE! The Abominable Snowman is said to be found in the Himalayas near Nepal, India and Tibet. This guy is a huge ape-like monster that has many similarities to the Bigfoot found in North America but he is covered in white fur with big teeth and clawed hands.

The Yeti has been featured in many movies, comic books, TV shows, and music. I think everyone can remember the Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer Christmas Special when "The Bumble" helps to save Christmas. Another of the better known versions would be the Wampa from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

A favorite of mine is ABOMINABLE by Pat Lewis you can read my review of it on my old blog I READ COMIC BOOKS it is a really fun story. The original version of the comic is no longer available but you can find it in the collection The Claws Come Out it will keep you in stitches all the way through.

As for my drawing well I wanted to go for funny and kind of cute so the Abominable Snowman waving hello seamed like it would be a good way to draw this monster and it has turned out to be my favorite so far for this blog. The colors are Copic Markers.

You can learn more about the Abominable Snowman here.

ABOMINABLE do I need to say anything else,
Kevin P. Johnson

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 5 - The Jersey Devil

The Jersey Devil . . . hmmmmmm I've heard about this guy for a while but really only knew two things about him. The first was that NHL team the New Jersey Devils named their hockey team after him and there was a video game based on a version of the beast.

After some research I discovered a little bit about the Jersey Devil making him interesting to me. The creature is said to dwell in the Pine Barrens of southeastern New Jersey and although there seem to be multiple versions of the character in artwork he generally has the head of a horse-like creature with wings and claws. The legend of the Devil goes back many years to the 18th century when a woman off ill repute "Mother Leeds" who had already had 12 starving children found out that she was pregnant with a 13th child that she did not want she proclaimed "I don't want any more children! Let it be a devil." When the child was born it was said to be horribly deformed and crawled into the woods and soon began to hunt livestock and small children. Reported sighting of the Jersey Devil were still being reported up through the mid 1960's.

In my drawing I decided to just go with the tie in to the hockey team by placing him in a New Jersey Devils team jersey and making his head a little less horse-like than most drawings but not human either.

The colors are Copic Markers.

You can find out more about the hockey team at their official website here: New Jersey Devils
There are lots of websites that tell the tale of the Jersey Devil you can get more information at Strangemag.com, Wikipedia, and the Shadowlands as well as many other sites.

Beware the 13th child,
Kevin P. Johnson

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 4 - The Headless Horseman

The Headless Horseman . . . now that's a scary dude . . . well at least he scared me when I was a kid. The version I know is probably the same as most people as the character from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I first saw the story as a child in Disney's animated version of the story it both scared and intrigued me. The basic story of the Headless Horseman is that the horseman was the ghost of a soldier who's head was shot off by a cannonball and in search of a new head he finds Ichabod Crane on his way home after Crane hears a tale about the Headless Horseman told by his competitor for a love interest "Brom Bones." A great chase is had by the horseman after Ichabod and he disappears with neither being seen again.

When I decided that I wanted to create comic books sometime in the early 2000's I decided that I would publish comics under the banner Nervous Pumpkin Comics and the mascot is a version of the headless horseman named Ick E. Bod. This was a play on both of the main characters from the story and I think is a pretty unique name to publish under. If anything the logo is really fun.

In my drawing I decided to just go with the Headless Horseman and unfortunately leave out his black horse because I was trying to get this post out today and I was running short on time. The colors are a combination of Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers.

Watch your back and be sure your neck is attached the horseman is looking for you,
Kevin P. Johnson

Monday, October 3, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 3 - The Mummy

OK so some monsters are kind of lame but still everyone knows them and have a great time watching movies about them. In this case the we have The Mummy or The Living Mummy a character that I never understood how people could get killed by and yet they did. Mummies are found all over the world by archaeologist but the movie mummies are usually based on an Egyptian mummy of what seems to be a random assortment of ancient pharaohs that have a curse on their tomb and upon opening it's tomb the Mummy comes alive and kills all who have disturbed his sleep. My problems with this are as follows:
1. The guy is slow as a mummy how does he catch anyone?
2. He's like walking dust get a vacuum cleaner and he'll leave you alone.
3. I bet water would mess him up just as much as fire but I don't think anyone ever uses water.
4. The guy has one move he chokes you . . . slowly.

All in all the Mummy is still an interesting character and if you allow yourself the suspension of disbelief (lots of it) you can have great fun with the movies about him.

I did 4 drawings of the Mummy. In my first drawing I used Copic Markers for the color and the three other drawings were just Sharpie Marker.

Head over to Uncyclopedia to read more very funny stuff about the Mummy

You'd have to be dumb to get caught by the Mummy,
Kevin P. Johnson

Sunday, October 2, 2011

31 Monsters in 31 Days: Day 2 The Honey Island Swamp Monster

The Honey Island Swamp Monster a creature that resembles the famous Big Foot is found in southeast Louisiana's St. Tammany Parish along the Pearl River near Slidell. The monster is locally famous and has had some national attention and I can remember being afraid he was real as a young child when there were reports of Harlan Ford's video evidence of the monster. The Honey Island Swamp monster has a few alternate versions where some believe he is more like an alligator because of a story where a train crashed in the early 1900's allowing several chimpanzee's to escape and somehow cross bread with an alligator. I tend to stick with the hairy version with clawed hands and webbed feet. The interesting thing about this creature is that he is said to have a terrible stench that can only be described as being like the smell of death. His eyes are said to be red or yellow depending on which story you'd like to believe.

In my drawing I went with the version that I know and made the eyes both red and yellow. I am not 100% happy with this drawing the head did not come out as I wanted it to (I may redraw him later) but I think that the look is about right for what I imagined as a child. The colors are a combination of Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers.

Learn more about the Honey Island Swamp Monster at Honey Island Swamp Monster Official Website

Never go into the swamp alone,
Kevin P. Johnson

Saturday, October 1, 2011

31 Monsters In 31 Days: Day 1 Chupacabra

CHUPACABRA! The goat sucker as he is also known seems to appear as many different versions when doing a search for Chupacabra images on the internet. He is often a grey or black hairless dog looking beast but many versions show him as a green alien type creature with large black eyes and some sort of dorsal fins running down his back. The Chupacabra has been often sited in Mexico and the United States and is a really fun name for a monster.

In my drawing I decided to combine all of what I could find about the creature and created this Chupacabra for all of you to enjoy. He's part dog, part alien and all goat sucker. I also have added two of the quick sketches that I did because I really like them and originally had planned to do a complete body shot. The colors are a combination of Prismacolor Markers and Copic Markers.

Head over to Wikipedia to read more about this beast http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra

Watch out the Chupacabra is gonna get you,
Kevin P. Johnson


Chupacabra sketch 2 - Copyright © 2011 Kevin P. Johnson