Iron Empires	Gallery	Prints & Originals

	Iron Empires: An archive of text and images from Christopher Moeller's Iron Empires universe.
	Gallery: Examples of Christopher Moeller's Illustration work.
	Prints & Originals :  A listing of available artwork and prints.
	Publishing Checklist:A listing of Christopher Moeller's published writing and illustration work.
	Reviews: Selected reviews of Christopher Moeller's graphic novels.
	Press Releases
	Links

1/9/05

I want to wish everyone a happy new year.  Things here have been busy since the completion of JLA Classified: Cold Steel.  The completion of a large project tends to see a train-wreck of projects that have been waiting in line.  In my case, there are a half-dozen Magic cards, the cover to the next Lucifer trade paperback collection, art for the new Axis & Allies Miniatures game, a Dungeon and Dragons advertisement, and preliminary work on my next Iron Empires graphic novel: Blood & Iron.

I have all the new Magic Artist Proofs and originals available, and will try to bring the site up to date as soon as possible.  As always, if there's something you're looking for and don't see here, feel free to email me.

Thanks for stopping by!   Enjoy your visit,

 

moellerc@adelphia.net

click to send me email

9/22/05

9/7/05

Ahhh... the school year has started again.  My studio is peaceful, and I'm getting work done.

I want to let you all know that my on-line agent, Tom Fleming at Fanfare Sports & Entertainment is running a sale all this month.  Everything I've listed on his site is marked down, so this is the perfect chance to pick up a Lucifer or Batman cover at a big discount!

7/22/05

6/23/05

It's time to begin preparations for the San Diego Comicon again.  This year is going to be a big change for my comrades and I, but before I get into that, I want to trumpet the fact that I've managed to update my Prints & Originals page, as well as my Gallery.  Check them out and let me know what you think.  For you Magic: The Gathering fans, the newest Artist's Proofs will be arriving soon, but they're not here yet.  I'll update the AP page as soon as they show up, so keep checking back.

As for San Diego, as many of you know, Dave Dorman, Scott Hampton, Ray Lago and I (the "Sign of Four") have set up every year in the Artist's Alley.  Well this year, we've purchased a nice fat booth, with more elbow room, and space to hang up lots of big pieces of artwork.  Very exciting.  All the information you need to find us is at this link:

San Diego 2005

4/13/05

I've just had an interview published (in Chinese), along with lots of beautiful artwork in the amazing Fantasy-Magazine #04.  I just got my copies and they're jaw-droppingly gorgeous.  I have no idea if they're available in the states, but if I can I'm putting in a subscription.  There's a great little article on Robert Fawcett as well as a half-dozen contemporary artists, some oriental, some occidental.  The quality of the reproductions is outstanding. On the work front, I'm slowly creeping toward the finish of JLA: Cold Steel.    Also, the Sign of Four book is being assembled for this year's San Diego Comicon.  The cover theme for this year is "Angels."  I'm thinking about what to include.  If you have any suggestions for pieces you'd like to see in the book, fire me an email.  I'm going to include my second Tori Amos portrait, some gaming artwork (a few unpublished), and some bits and pieces from my sketchbook.  I'm hemming and hawing about doing an Iron Empires piece especially for the book.  We'll see. And of course, my on-going need to update the gallery, original artwork and prints sections of the site hangs over me. Sigh.

3/20/05

Well, a rather belated Happy New Year to everyone (as well as Merry Christmas, Happy Thanksgiving and Halloween).  Things have been hopping here at studio Moeller.  First, I have to announce that the Iron Empires Role-Playing Game is on hold.  I hope to have a firm publication date to announce to you a.s.a.p.  I appreciate all of the interest you folks have shown in the game, and I want you to know that I will get it onto the shelves as soon as humanly possible.  This is a very important book to me.  I want it to be the most thorough and detailed sourcebook on the Iron Empires possible.  The text is complete, along with most of the artwork.  Once we can move forward, it should shape up very quickly.  Keep checking in here for updates.

Second, I am into the home stretch on JLA: Cold Steel.  I plan to complete it by this summer, with publication in the fall or winter of 2005.  Again, I'll post details as a release date is set.

And finally, I continue to do work for the Magic card game.  I'll try to post some of the images from the newest set in the Gallery next week.  Of all of the Magic settings I've worked on, the Kamigawa set has been my favorite by far.  I've always been partial to things Japanese, and this new set, placed in a "fantasy medieval Japan" is right up my alley.  I have lots of samurai and ninja reference material that was taking up space in the studio, waiting for an opportunity like this one.  Finally, to all of you folks who've been waiting for the Betrayers of Kamigawa artist proofs to arrive... they're here!  See the Prints and Originals page for ordering info.

9/21/04
I spent part of my weekend at the beautiful David Lawrence Convention Center here in Pittsburgh signing Magic Cards and watching capsized yachts being swept down the Ohio river along with trees, barrels and golf-carts.  Hurricane Ivan had arrived the day before (what was left of it, and there was plenty).  I got some water in my studio, which I spent the day shop-vaccing out to keep it from getting out of control.  Nearby communities were less fortunate, with flooding on a massive scale.  Much of downtown was flooded.  Returning from the Magic event, I saw one street behind police barriers that was under water, with a huge boat tipped on its side in the center of the road.  A strange, apocalyptic vision.

My wife has started work at a local university again, leaving me to shuttle my kids to and from school, orthodontist appointments and field-hockey practise.  Between the flooding and the domestic distractions, I've been working on JLA: Cold Steel, and, of course, the odd Magic Card.  Life is good.

They say friends shouldn't talk about politics or religion, so  to all of my friends here who support President Bush, I apologize in advance for getting on my soapbox this morning.

Tomorrow, as a nation, we will all think back on the horror and sadness of 9/11.  I remember how shocked I was, and how hungry for retribution.  I wholeheartedly supported our war against Al Qu 'aida and the Taliban regime that sheltered it.  I didn't vote for President Bush, but I agreed with him on Afghanistan.  So did the world.  To this day, NATO soldiers are standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our troops, helping to rebuild a peaceful, stable Afghanistan that will have no place for our enemies.

Whatever you feel about the subsequent invasion of Iraq, it should never be seen as a response to the 9/11 attacks.  Again and again, the proposal that Hussein and 9/11 were somehow connected has been shown to be fictitious.  That is not speculation, or spin, or partisan politics.  There are still facts in the world, and that's one of them.  Yet the administration and its supporters continue to publicly link Iraq to what happened to our people in New York, Washington and here in Western Pennsylvania.  The argument over whether Al Qu 'aida could have  gotten weapons from Iraq at some time in the future is a separate issue.  It is the administration's consistent effort to confuse Americans  by linking Iraq and 9/11 directly that is dishonest and immoral.

Never forget September 11th.  Support our troops.  Demand honesty and accountability from our leaders.
 

8/5/04
I'm still dealing with the aftermath of a fabulous San Diego Comicon.  The unpacking is done, but there are thousands of emails and phone calls to return, bills to pay, and of course, artwork to catch up on.  The show was as great as ever.  It was HUGE this year.  I'm not sure what the numbers were, but from what I understand, all records for attendance were broken.  I can believe it.  Trying to get out of the convention center on Saturday was a major effort.  This is what it looked like:
 

I met lots of great folks this year.  Some old-time regulars, lots of new faces.  To those of you who are used to finding us in the Artist's Alley every year, I can officially announce that we'll be moving into a booth in 2005.  I'll post more information here when the details are ironed out, and of course I'll post reminders as next year's con approaches, so you shouldn't have trouble finding us .  If you've ever visited the "Sign of Four" area in the Artist's Alley (Dave Dorman, Scott Hampton, Ray Lago and I), you'll understand why we're moving.  In the last few years we have begun to overflow the space.  Since my paintings are often very large (20"x30"), I've found it to be a particular handicap not having vertical walls behind me on which to display my work.

We've participated in Artist's Alley every year for more years than I can count (in my case it's been 11 years now).  It's a wonderful community, but it's time we moved on and gave our tables to some up-and-coming artists who can really benefit from the experience there (as I did).

7/20/04

San Diego bound!  I've been working on Cold Steel exclusively in the past months, trying to maintain forward momentum, but that all stops today as I frantically pack up artwork, prints and paints before my annual trip to Comic-con International.  It's always a wonderful time, and I hope that as many of you as can make it to the show will stop by and introduce yourselves.  I will be set up in the Artist's Alley, which, if it's the same as last year, will be to your left as you enter the convention center, and aaaaaaaall the way down.  I'm setting up with my Sign of 4 pals (Dave Dorman, Scott Hampton, Ray Lago), and we will be debuting the second volume of our annual art book by that name at the show.  I hope you like it.  It's got some great stuff in it.

Also, master watercolorist Ray Lago and I will be repeating last year's overwhelmingly popular "painted sketches" deal this year.  We'll each be doing two paintings each day of the show.  For $300.00, you'll receive a painting of a single figure on a white, or very simple background.  It can be in your sketchbook, or on watercolor paper that we can provide.  If you have a specific character request, please bring reference or we'll send you out to rifle through the quarter-bins to find some!  The painted sketches function as demonstrations (since we do them right there at our tables).  It's your chance to see how Ray and I use our very different approaches to painting, from start to finish.  Here's a portrait of Ahmi Sheva from last year's show

6/3/04

Life has been busy here at Studio Moeller.  I've been pushing very hard to complete the first issue of JLA:  Cold Steel, and finished it up yesterday.   Then, after taking a break to clean the studio and un-cross my eyes, I've begun working on a few Magic cards before returning to work on  issue 2.

Iron Empires:  Sheva's War is out!  You should be able to pick up both it and Faith Conquers at your local shop, or on Amazon.  The most recent review (for Faith Conquers):

 
***** An enjoyable discovery , May 25, 2004

Reviewer: wiredweird

This seems to be the first in the "Iron Empires" series - certainly my first, and certainly not the last one I'll read.

The story holds together well, and has everything needed for a good long run. There's a galactic war going on, and our hero (named Faith - for real) is assigned to a theocratic world. There are traitors, good guys, and lots of SF hardware to work with. The story shows ordinary originality, but very good development and pacing.

The art is what caught my eye, though. It appears to be painted work, acrylics or maybe gouache, very well done, and well printed. The style has a posed look that somehow makes every picture seem important - a good thing, when the sequence of pictures carries the story.

It's clear that this artist learned a lot from Howard Chaykin's work. The style and craftmanship are there, without being slavishly derivative. Come to think of it, things like the corrupt theocracy may be Chaykin-inspired too. Well, good artists have been learning from each other probably since the Lascaux cave art. This work was educated by Chaykin's, but stands on its own.

I like this one, and I'm coming back for more.

I love hearing from new readers!  I also  find it curious when someone says one of my books "appears to be painted."  It seems so obvious to me, but I guess with computer coloring becoming as highly rendered as it has, it's getting hard to see what's painted and what isn't.

I am a huge Howard Chaykin fan, and he was certainly a formative influence for me.  I'm particularly attracted to his creative page layouts, and, of course he's an early example of a great american comic-book painter.

If any of you run across reviews like this one of the Iron Empires books, either on-line or in print, I'd really appreciate an email letting me know.  I will be in Columbus at the Origins Gaming Expo this June, and at the San Diego Comicon in July.  I hope to see you all there.
 

3/8/04
 

I'm back in the states after a whirlwind trip to Kobe, Japan for a  Magic: Pro Tour event there.  It was a great event.  I enjoyed meeting the fans and other artists, and I spent two extra days travelling with my daughter in Kyoto.  It is a truly lovely city.  I wish we'd had more time to explore it.

Because of conflicts with  my graphic novel JLA: Cold Steel, I will be ending my run of Lucifer covers with issue #52.  A painted comic is a stern mistress, and I just can't keep up with both it and a monthly cover assignment.

Mike Carey (Lucifer's writer), is a close friend, and I have loved every minute of my time working on the Lucifer covers.  This is not a decision I made lightly.   I am very grateful for all of the support the Lucifer fans have shown me over the past two years.

I've posted a "tribute" piece at:

http://users.adelphia.net/~moellerc/sideitems/_lucimontage.jpg
 

While leaving Lucifer is sad news, I am really looking forward to moving forward with greater speed and concentration on Cold Steel.  I'll keep you all updated as the weeks pass.
 

2/12/04
 

I've loaded the JLA: Cold Steel preview page  with two new images from the first issue (pp. 29-30).   Also, a new companion website to this one is under construction at  www.theironempires.com .  All it has at the moment is links and some thumbnails, but it will eventually be your source for information on the Iron Empires universe.

Speaking of which, Iron Empires:  Faith Conquers should be on shelves by next week.  I've just received a sample printed copy, and am very, very pleased.  I want to thank Dark Horse for doing such a wonderful job, and all of you loyal Iron Empire fans for helping to make this day happen!  Your excitement and support over the years have kept the books alive.  No more hunting for back issues!

And for some more exciting news:  I've been waiting until all of the contracts were signed before making this official, but I am proud to announce that Avalanche Press Ltd. will be publishing an Iron Empires sourcebook, and an Iron Empires board game.  The following press release is from Avalanche :

For Immediate Release:
Contact Information: Liz Fulda/lizfulda@avalanchepress.com/703-941-3499
Avalanche Press Acquires Iron Empires Game License

[Viriginia Beach 11/30/03] Avalanche Press Ltd. announced today that it has acquired the role-playing and board game licenses for Christopher Moeller's acclaimed Iron  Empires graphic novel series.

Shadow Empires: Faith Conquers, a nominee for the 1995 Eisner Award, will be re-released in early 2004 by Dark Horse Comics in graphic novel format. The critically acclaimed sci fi militaria series is being re-released in deluxe  graphic novel trades by Dark Horse Comics. Avalanche's Lost History Guide will contain not only a complete set of role-playing rules, but a wealth of background information and original art by Christopher Moeller never before seen by fans  of the original works.

"Chris Moeller's integration of story and art place him among the comic industry's very best creative talents," commented Avalanche CEO Mike Bennighof. "Anyone who's seen his work on projects like JLA: A League of One or Lucifer  knows why the Iron Empires re-launch is so highly anticipated. Fans of Chris' work are going to be drooling at the prospect of the Lost History. To be selected for the game aspects of this property, to be entrusted with so much original  artwork with which to complete the games, is truly a signal honor for our company. We're sort of overwhelmed to be working with Chris, and on a property brought out by someone like Dark Horse."

The two comic miniseries "Shadow Empires: Faith's End" and "Sheva's War" have been sold out for years and highly sought by fans and collectors. The Iron Empires Lost History Guide will release immediately after the first trade  paperback from Dark Horse at the end of January. Avalanche will also release a space  combat board game based on the series timed to coincide with the release of the second trade paperback in April.

"I've been a fan of Avalanche Press board games for years, playing games like Great War at Sea and Granada to death," said Moeller. "Seeing how Avalanche's author John Phythyon is bringing the Iron Empires universe into full detail  is simply amazing. It's like the detailed background I'd imagined to Iron Empires is magically appearing before my eyes."

Avalanche Press, founded in 1993, is a leading producer of historically-themed board and role-playing games. Over the last two years, no publisher has  received more finalist nominations for the Origins Awards, the game industry's  most prestigious honor, than Avalanche Press. For more information check out www.avalanchepress.com!

Dark Horse Comics is America's third-largest comics publisher. Dark Horse books have often expanded outside the comic media, including such titles as The Mask and Hellboy. Dark Horse is also noted for producing a vast array of well-known licensed comics. For more information check out www.darkhorse.com!

Avalanche has impressed me by their enthusiasm and their commitment to bring Iron Empires fans an attractive and thorough sourcebook.  I've been working closely with John Phythyon Jr. (the talented author the Lost Histories) to help make this a definitive Iron Empires guide.

The space-combat board game mentioned in the press release is going to be a multi-player strategic game, pitting human powers against one another and the pitiless Vaylen.  It will be of moderate complexity, with the gorgeous production qualities that Avalanche is renowned for.  The map and componants will feature artwork by yours truly.
 
 

11/19/03

Welcome to the site!  Due to over-zealousness by the staff at Dark Horse, the advertising copy for Faith Conquers states:

"Faith Conquers , the first in the series of Iron Empires collections from Dark Horse, kicks off the release of the highly anticipated Iron Empires role-playing game and will be followed by a second trade paperback, Sheva’s War , in April, as well as an ongoing series of new Iron Empires adventures in the months to follow. "

Sadly, there is no plan for an "ongoing series of new Iron Empires adventures in the months to follow" (the bit about the role-playing game IS based on reality, about which I hope to have an official announcement soon).  I apologize to everyone who wrote in, excited about the prospect of a new Iron Empires series.  As all of you who frequent this site know, I WANT to do another Iron Empires book, but I just can't do it while I'm working on JLA: Cold Steel.  Unless something really bizarre happens, the next graphic novel I do (after Cold Steel), will be the third Iron Empires novel.   As soon as there are concrete plans for that, you'll hear about it here first, I promise.

Oh, and for all you Magic fans, the Artist Proofs for Mirroden are in.  Check out the Prints & Originals section.
 
 

10/9/03

The post-summer crunch is finally petering out, thank goodness, with the kids back in school and me getting more or less caught up on my work.  The first Iron Empires collection:  Faith Conquers has been solicited for a January 2004 release.  Please let your local retailer know that you'd like a copy!  I've put up a few pages in the Iron Empires archive (here).  I'm very excited about seeing this work re-released.  It should be a beautiful book.  All of the original covers will be reproduced as chapter headings and I've done a brand new cover, designed as a companion piece to the cover to the Sheva's War trade (which will use the Issue 1 cover from the original series, which is a personal favorite of mine).

In other news, JLA:  Cold Steel is moving along nicely now, as is Lucifer.  Remember to order your Tori Amos calendar !
 

8/3/03

San Diego was wonderful.  As always, it was great visiting with so many friends and making new ones.

I've finished a portrait for a Tori Amos calendar supporting RAINN:  The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network .  RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual assault organization, and I'm very excited about participating in this fund-raising event.  All of the artwork was donated, so that 100% of the proceeds from the calendar will benefit RAINN and the National Sexual Assault Hotline .  As you will see if you follow the link, the calendar has some incredible images by some truly amazing artists (some larger images are available here).  If you're a Tori Amos fan, a fan of my work or just a lover of beautiful artwork, consider picking up a copy.  At $11.00 it's a steal.

August is proving to be a whirlwind month.  I just got back from a family reunion in North Carolina.  A week of sun, seafood and magic cards (hi Brian!).  I'm off to Chicago this weekend, and then another family trip the week after.  In and around all the globe-hopping, I'm doing a few Magic Cards,  more pages of Cold Steel, and the next Lucifer cover.

Drop me a line, I'm never too busy to answer my mail.

7/12/03

It's time to begin preparing for the San Diego Comicon again.  This year I, and three of my artist friends, the so-called "Sign of 4":  Dave Dorman, Scott Hampton and Ray Lago, are preparing a full-color, 36 page art book of our work.  I'm very excited to be a part of this (hopefully annual) project.  It will contain 8 pages of artwork from each artist, on high quality paper stock.  Dave's Rolling Thunder Press is doing the production.  If you've ever seen the quality of their  prints, you'll have a sense of how gorgeous the book will be.  Come and visit us in artist's alley, and get it signed by all of the Sign of 4 members!  If you can't make it out to the show, the book will be available from Bud Plant, through Previews, and on the site here.

Meanwhile, I've been working hard on Cold Steel and Lucifer.  Five cards have just been released in the Scourge set of Magic Cards.  I have the Artist's Proofs available for those of you who are interested, along with prints.  One of the Scourge cards, Raven Guild Initiate, I painted larger than normal to allow for a nice print.  Check out it out here.

3/18/03

One day away from war, I'm as upset and anxious as anyone else in America.  I don't intend to use this space as a political soap box, except to say that, regardless of our views on the justice of the conflict, it's important to support our fellow citizens in harms way (and especially their families).  They are risking terrible danger in our name, and I hope that we will show them our gratitude and admiration.

Things have been busy here at Studio Moeller lately, with Cold Steel moving forward nicely.  Click on the new Cold Steel catagory in the Contents section above to see some new images.  I've finished the cover to Lucifer 40, and am currently working on the cover to Books of Magic #4 (the Harper/Collins young readers adaptation).  But the most exciting news of all is that Dark Horse Comics and I will be re-releasing both volumes of the Iron Empires graphic novels in early 2004 as trade paperbacks!  This has been something I've wanted to do since 1994, when the first novel was released.  It's been a long, long road, but I'm very excited about getting these two hard-to-find stories back in print.  The first volume will be Iron Empires, Volume I:  Faith Conquers, reprinting the painted Dark Horse series, along with the short story "The Passage" that appeared in Dark Horse Presents.  Shortly thereafter, we'll be releasing Iron Empires, Volume II: Sheva's War, reprinting the entire 150 page story that appeared in 1998 from DC/Helix.

I'll have more information as things develop further, but this is a very happy day for me personally, as well as for fans of the Iron Empires series.

2/28/03

I'm amazed how hard the death of Fred Rogers has hit me.

I wish you all could be here in Pittsburgh.  Last night the local public television station (WQED), where Fred made his shows, had a night-long tribute.  Lots of interviews and documentaries and film clips of public appearances.  I'd never seen him outside the context of his show, but he was an amazing person.  The whole city is grieving.  Eric's a wreck.  Tessa won't talk about it.  I've found myself humming his theme song all morning.  I think the most amazing thing about Fred was how consistently humble and dedicated and honest he was.  The most amazing moments during the tribute last night were a couple of segments from the tonight show, in which he melted feisty, mean-spirited Joan Rivers into a puddle.  She didn't know what to do with him, she couldn't shake him.  He leaned in toward her the entire time, as if she was the only person in the universe and, without judging her, deflecting her jokes and jibes, engaged her as a person.  He even sang her the "everybody's special" song.  It was like a love song.  He ad-libbed the line "It's you I like, not the jokes, they're just beside you."

He said on a number of public occasions, when winning a lifetime achievement award for television, or an Emmy award, that he wanted the audience to take ten seconds and think about those who had helped them in their lives... those who helped them become who they were... whose love they drew on every day.  I thought of my Mom and Dad.  And I thought about what my kids look for in me.  What an amazing, charismatic person.  And he used that charisma for good.   I think now, when, as a nation, we're facing terrorism and war, it's especially hard to lose such an affirming voice and presence.

Please consider supporting your local public television or radio station.

Thanks for dropping by!

2/1/03
Sorry it's been a while since I've updated the site.  Especially the prints 'n originals section.  I'm going to try to get something up there this weekend (crossed fingers).

I've been very busy coming off of the winter holidays.  The big news is that I've gotten the first couple of pages of JLA: Cold Steel finished, and I'm having the time of my life!  I realized as I was finishing up work yesterday, that as much as I love to do covers, my heart really is in storytelling.  When I was in college, I really wanted to have a career doing children's books.  I loved to write and paint and I thought that children's books would be a good medium in which to explore that.  I ended up in comics  (another of my oldest loves), which also combines writing and painting.  Someday I think I will have to try my hand at doing some children's books, but for now, I'm really enjoying telling adventure stories for *older* children (like me!).
 

11/11/02

Welcome!  Just a quick note to let all of you Magic: The Gathering fans know that the Onslaught Artist Proofs have arrived.  Please drop me an email if you'd like them sent to you.

Also, in October the wonderful on-line webzine Sequential Tarts did an interview with me.  It can be found here.

10/29/02

Welcome to the site.  Things have been very busy lately.  I'm working on Magic Cards, the third of the Books of Magic covers for Harper/Collins, a cover for Games Workshop's fantasy novel Honour of the Grave, some Star Wars characters for a Wizards of the Coast RPG sourcebook and the cover to Lucifer #36.  The first third or so of JLA: Cold Steel is laid out and i'm going to begin painting next week.  I'm really looking forward to it!  Designing the look of the aliens in this story has been fun.  I really love creating science fiction worlds.  Cold Steel has one alien race that is very refined aesthetically and another that is a race of warlike starfaring undersea creatures.  I want their costumes, technology, fashions to reflect their different cultures.  I'll begin posting images from my sketchbook as we go along.

I apologize for not having gotten my prints, artist proofs and original paintings listed.  I am trying to work on that.  For now, please email me with your inquiries.  I will send you complete lists of what I have in the studio.  I also several original paintings for sale at Tom Fleming's Fanfare Sports & Entertainment web site.

8/30/02

Welcome!  The pitter patter of little feet has died out overhead, which means the school year has started back up again.  I'm buried in work since taking so much time off in August.  I'm working on:  Lucifer #34, Magic Cards, Books of Magic novel covers, and the ubiquitous JLA: Cold Steel.  So, I thought I'd post a short Q&A I just mailed out to Anna, who emailed me via the site.  If any of you out there have questions like these, please feel free to shoot me an email.  I'm always happy to drop what I'm doing and chat!

>do you use reference for your art, do you take pictures?

It depends on the piece.  For Copper Leaf Angel for example (in the gallery), I used a photograph of a model from a catalog.  For Evael, I used no reference at all.  For League of One, p. 91 I used a photograph of a swimsuit model for Wonder Woman's figure, and a photograph of my neighbor for her face (I used her throughout the book, to keep a likeness).

I use photo reference when I need it (for covers primarily, or as mentioned before, to keep a likeness).  Otherwise, I just make it up as I go.  That said, I will ALWAYS get reference if I find I'm having trouble with something.  Hands, for example, are always a trouble spot for me.  I have a crappy little digital camera hooked up to my computer, and whenever I find myself struggling, I'll snap a picture, and print it out.

>and it says on your site you use acrylic. do you use any mediums to get it to blend like that, or do you just paint fast? =)

I don't use mediums.  I use Liquitex medium viscosity acrylics (in the little jars vs. tubes).  I just mix up what I need as I go along.  I don't lay everything out on a palette as you would with oils, I decant the paint into those little plastic 35mm film cannisters and dip my brush into there. I use paper plates (the coated kind) as palettes and toss them out when they get dirty.

7/28/02

Welcome to the site.  I'm currently caught up in preparations for the San Deigo Comic Convention, which runs August 1st through 4th.  I'll be setting up in the Artist's Alley again, as I've been doing since 1994.  Come by and visit if you're going to be there.    I'll have a new "limited edition stamp" for your sketchbook.  This is the fourth in the series.  Also stamping and signing will be Dave Dorman, Scott Hampton and Ray Lago.  Make sure you come by and get yours!  Don't get left out, they're free!

On the board at the moment is the new JLA: A League of One cover (for the TPB release in October).  I hope to have that done before San Deigo.  Following that is the first of six Books of Magic covers for a series of Harper/Collins young readers paperbacks.  Michael W. Kaluta has been doing a brilliant series of covers for the ongoing comic, and I'm nervous about trying to follow that act!  Also coming up are a set of Magic cards  and the next Lucifer cover.  That should take me through the end of August.  And of course, mixed in with all of that is JLA: Cold Steel.

6/21/02
Some exciting developments since last time!  On the Iron Empires front, I am in the process of recovering all of the film from Sheva's War (big thanks to DC Comics!), and am exploring ways to get a trade paperback collection in stores sometime this year.  Second, after having written just last month that "DC has no immediate plans to release a trade paperback of the book",  I've just learned that a trade paperback version of JLA: A League of One  will be coming out!  I don't know what the release date is yet.  I will be painting a new cover for the new edition.

I hope you're all enjoying your summer (unless you're in Australia, in which case I hope you're enjoying your winter).  What did you guys think of the new Star Wars movie?  Makes me want to see Iron Empires on the big screen...5/27/02

Happy Memorial Day!  I'd like to start off by saying how grateful I am to all those who served and continue to serve to defend our nation.  Now, more than ever, they need our support.

I've been doing a little house cleaning around the site.  It turned out I only had 5 megabytes of space here initially, but I'm now up to the full 10 megs.  That should solve the space problem for a while.  I hope to have more images posted soon, especially in the Archives, and I want to get the prints area up and running.  For now, feel free to email me with your requests.  I have the ability to make lovely 13"x19" prints  of just about any image I've done in recent years.  So let me know!

For those of you who're interested in updates, the script to JLA: Cold Steel is well underway (issue #1 is done).  I've just put the finishing touches on the cover to Lucifer #31, and will be starting the newest batch of Magic Cards this week.  Oh, and good news!  JLA:  A League of One is a Certificate of Merit winner in the 2002  Society of Illustrator's annual (#44)!  If you haven't gotten a copy of League of One yet, they're selling for around $17.00 at Amazon.com, so run over an grab one.  Unfortunately, DC has no immediate plans to release a trade paperback of the book.

That's it from Studio Moeller.  I'm going to go out and enjoy the sunshine!

5/7/02

I was at the Pittsburgh Comicon this year.  It was great meeting all of you guys, both the regulars and new faces.  I actually signed a number of "King of the Rocketmen" and "Interview with the Vampire" books.  Quite a blast from the past.  I've been working on the JLA book, in addition to the Lucifer covers and a new wave of Magic Cards.

Chris Clogston, who purchased "A League of One" has recently begun putting select interior pages up for sale on Ebay.  Now is your chance to pick up some art that's never been on the market (Chris purchased the entire book, sketches and all).   Good luck!

I hope to see you all at San Diego this year.  I've been at that show every year since 1994, and I'll be setting up with the Musketeers again this year (Dave Dorman, Scott Hampton, Ray Lago).  Come by and say hi!

2/14/02

Happy Valentines Day!  I've finally found time to sit down and update the web site.  The Gallery is the first big overhaul, with the Archive also receiving some long overdue attention.  Prints and Originals to follow.   It's been a long time since I was able to really deal with things here.  Thanks for your patience!

Along with work on the script for Cold Steel, in the past few weeks I've completed another batch of Magic Cards (six for this new set),
a packaging piece for Nintendo's Batman: Dark Tomorrow video game (I did on conceptual work for it back in 2001), and the cover to Lucifer 27.

No news on the Iron Empires front at the moment, but I'll let you all know when things begin to move again.  That's all for the moment, I hope you like the new site!

1/16/02

Happy new year!  It's been quite a while since I was able to update the site, and this is just a quickie.  First, I want to say hello and thanks to everyone who made my trip to Japan in December such a wonderful one.  I visited the city of Sendai for Wizard of the Coast's Grand Prix and got buried in snow!  Everyone was very kind and considerate, and the food was terrific.  I even had Sendai's famous tongue for dinner (not altogether voluntarily, but it was pretty good...).  Visiting Japan's been a longtime dream of mine, and it was as fun and interesting as I'd imagined.

In the work department, I've been very busy doing Lucifer covers (I'll be starting #27 in a week or two).  I'm continuing to work on Magic Cards, as well as some cover work for White Wolf, Crossgen, etc...  But the really big news is that I've started scripting my next JLA graphic novel Cold Steel.  It will be a three-issue, prestige format project, with a total length of 144 pages.  A very big undertaking, the biggest I've done since Sheva's War.  It's due to be completed by the fall of 2003.

On the Iron Empires front, I have gotten all of the publishing rights for the Iron Empires books back, and am looking for a permenant home for the series.  I'm hoping to re-publish both Faith Conquers and Sheva's War as trade paperback collections sometime this year, with a new book to follow Cold Steel.

6/21/01

I'm starting to think about San Diego.  Every year a group of us does drawings that we make into large (~5"x7") rubber stamps.  Instead of doing sketches, we now use our stamps to "pull" a series of limited edition prints at San Diego.  We decided to go this route back in 1998, being fed up with spending our entire show crouched over a drawing board doing sketches.  The prints are free, so come by and start collecting them.  People who started back in '98 now have sixteen one-of-a kind images.  Doing the stamps this year will be:  Dave Dorman, Scott Hampton, Ray Lago, George Pratt, myself and (possibly) John van Fleet.  I haven't come up with this year's image yet, but it's something I'd better get going on.  Here are examples of my previous stamps.

Current projects:  I just finished the cover to Lucifer #19 and a cover to the Batman graphic novel Nine Lives.  I'm starting on another Crossgen trade paperback cover for The First.
 

5/21/01

Lots of new projects these days:

• Covers to Lucifer #17 and #18 were a lot of fun to do.  The subject matter is suprisingly romantic (something you wouldn't expect, given the book's protagonist).  I've been pulling out all my Brandywine books... NC Wyeth and Howard Pyle.... two of my favorites.  It's a refreshing change from the fantasy/sf art I've been doing recently.
• Magic Cards: the latest set called Vendetta.  I did 5 cards.  As fun as always.
• Ringworld interior Illustrations:  some small character sketches for a new D&D rulebook.  The gamer in me loves doing these things... single characters on a white background.  And they're fast.

• A Harn cover for Columbia Games.  Harn is a venerable old Role Playing Game that Columbia's "reintroducing" to the world.  I'm in love with Columbia's products.  Check out their site at http://www.columbiagames.com/
• A cover for an Image Comic called Mr. Right by Tom DeFalco and my Pittsburgh Freelance buddy Ron Frenz.

and of course, the cover to Lucifer #18!

Hi guys, sorry it's been a while.  I'm working on setting up this site so that I can take credit cards, and that's led (of course) to a complete overhaul of the price list.  It should be up and running fairly soon.  Meanwhile, I've been working on lots of interesting projects.  This month I'll be working on some illustrations for the RPG "Wheel of Time", a new set of Magic Cards, the first of the on-going Lucifer covers and a cover for the Supersystem miniatures game.

Apologies to those of you who usually meet up with me at the Pittsburgh Comcion this month, but I won't be able to attend.  Next year I'll be there for sure!  The only convention I'm planning to attend this summer is the San Diego Comicon in July, which I've been going to every year since 1994.  I look forward to seeing you all there.

2/13/01

I've been working on lots of cover projects recently, as I mentioned last time.  I'll be doing at least four more Lucifer covers for Vertigo, as well as a few other covers for DC and White Wolf.   I'll also be creating some background paintings for a Batman video game, something I've never done before.  I'm quite interested to see what that world's all about.

I was very upset to learn that FASA will be going out of business in April (I had a cover underway for them).  They've been a wonderful client over the years, for whom I've done a large body of work.  Best wishes to all of the good folks there.

JUST OUT:  The new Magic Set Planeshift has come out recently, in which I have three cards.  Also, the Cruades cover (Vertigo, Issue #2) has been solicited, and will be out shortly.

1/11/01
Happy new year/century/millenium!  I hope you all had a healthy and safe holiday season.  I got a spiffy new G4 for Christmas, so I'll be scanning scads of transparancies for the gallery (as soon as I get everything set up).

I'm  working on a bunch of fun new projects a the moment, including:  A cover to a SIGIL trade paperback from Crossgeneration comics, a cover to an upcoming issue of Lucifer (from Vertigo), a couple of gaming covers:  one for Shadowrun (FASA) and another for Vampire:  the Masquerade (White Wolf), as well as a number of small "tuck 'em in around the edges" jobs.

I'm also in the very preliminary stages of putting together my next book.  I'll be publishing it with DC,  it will be another JLA book, and it will have a science fiction slant.  Other than that everything's on the table.  I'm very excited to be writing again!  After A League of One, I thought I'd just relax and do covers for a while.  Well, that lasted for a few months... now I'm ready to get back into it again.

That's it for the moment.  I'm very busy, which is a good thing in these uncertain times, but never too busy to answer mail!  Don't be a stranger.

12/11/00
A League of One has been out for a week now.  Here are a few reviews pulled from the discussion boards (Reviews). Overall a very positive response!

I've been working on several projects the past two weeks:  the upcoming Odyssey set of Magic cards from Wizards of the Coast, a cover to the new Vertigo book The Crusades, and some packaging art for a friend of mine who's launching a small line of superhero miniatures called Superfigs (contact me for information, I don't think he's got a site up and running yet).

Also, on Sunday December 17th, I'll be signing copies of A League of One at the Phantom of the Attic, Oakland (starting at the Comic store from 2-4pm, then moving up the street to the Game store from 3-5pm).  The comic store is located at  406 South Craig Street.  The game store is one block north at 214 South Craig Street.  Craig street is in the Oakland district of Pittsburgh, PA.   Come on by and say hi!

11/30/00
JLA:  A League of One is in stores!  I started working on the cover painting for this book in January of 1999, almost two years ago.  Some stores may get their copies later in the week because of a Thankgiving-related delay.  I understand that Amazon.com and Waldenbooks will have copies available for sale on-line.  Please drop me an email when you get yours, and let me know what you think!

I'll be doing a store signing at New Dimension Comics in Cranberry, PA on Saturday, December 2nd from 1:00 - 3:00pm in honor of the release of A League of One.  Please stop by (NDC's site is www.ndcomics.com).

I've started working for Columbia Games recently, doing some artwork for their absolutely wonderful new game Wizard Kings, as well as a cover for their venerable RPG system Harn (don't know the release date for that yet.  My Wizard King images are up on the Columbia site (http://www.columbiagames.com/index2.html), and will be in stores in early December.

JUST OUT: In addition to A League of One, there's a new Battletech Sourcebook out from FASA dealing with the Inner Sphere (I did the cover).  It printed up very nicely, showing a large Atlas robot, with a crowd of inner-sphere characters around its feet.  It's a "sister" piece to the Warriors of Kerensky cover I did a year ago, which featured a Mad Cat mech, and printed very badly indeed.

11/1/00   Whew!  These overseas events are pretty wearing.  The Essen Toy Fair was wonderful.  Lots of games, lots of nice people.  Highlights for me were getting to sit down and have dinner with some incredible artists:  Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, Mike Sutfin, Ruth Thompson and others.  I saw my old friend Paolo Parente and chatted a bit with Paul Bonner, whose work I've admired for years.  I got back home at 1 am this morning (8 am "german time") and have been walkin around in a bit of a daze ever since.

When I got back, I found the galleys for JLA:  A League of One waiting for me.  I've never had a book of mine printed this well.  I called my editor, Dan, at home at 8:30 in the morning to tell him how thrilled I was (sorry Dan).  I can't wait to see it all bound and official.  I hope you folks enjoy it.

For now I'm working on a number of covers and things for Columbia Games, Wizards of the Coast, FASA, White Wolf and more. I'll keep you posted as things progress, and, of course, put more images into the gallery.  Some time later this week I hope.

10/12/00   I'll be in Essen, Germany with Wizards of the Coast at the Essen Toy Fair, from October 26th through October 29th, 2000.  Please stop by and say hello!  I'll have all kinds of originals on display, mostly Magic Cards, but also some other game illustrations:  huge 20"x30" cover paintings for Battletech and White Wolf's science fiction role playing games Trinity and Aberrant.  I used to be able to speak German pretty well, (I studied in Salzburg at the Oskar Kokoshka school for a summer).  I'm curious how it will go 12 years later...

I've been working on the Archive, and I've put up some more Magic Cards in the Gallery, particularly the new ones from Invasion, as well as a number of new cover pieces.  The price list has been expanded to include some new pieces that I recently got back into the studio.

9/15/00    JLA:  A League of One is done!  I'm just finishing up the diologue (and painting Magic Cards and a Battletech Cover).  Crazy, but Oh! What a feeling!  I've got some images from that book up in the Gallery along with a few other pieces.  Check it out.  And order a copy of League of One today.  By the way, DON'T order my buddy Joe Jusko's Tomb Raider book.  It's been solicited for November, but he hasn't even started painting it yet.  It'll be out somewhere around March '01, and it'll be gorgeous, but for now, just order a second copy of my book for your Mom.

8/9/00  I've finally got some images up in the Gallery.  Woo Hoo!  Thanks to Dave Dorman for his  web-mastery.  Look for some more images soon.  Any requests?  Many of the original paintings in the gallery, as well as other of my paintings, are available at Graphic Collectibles (http://www.graphiccollectibles.com/).  You won't see most of the images on Mitch's page, so email him for a list of available pieces.

8/7/00    My newest project, coming out in November/December of 2000 is a 112 page painted hardcover book, entitled JLA:  A League of One.  It has been a suprisingly fun and exciting book to work on, given that my previous books have been entirely of my own creation.  There's something freeing about working on established characters.  I still had to come up with an interesting story, but the universe (with some exceptions, read on) and characters have been established by others.  I don't feel quite so e-x-p-o-s-e-d writing about Wonder Woman, who is League of One's star.  There's a lot of ground that's already been covered with her.  The challenge is to go somewhere her former writers haven't been.

The story in a nutshell:  Wonder Woman hears a prophecy at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, which tells her three things:

• A Dragon has risen from its centuries-long sleep in the Swiss alps, and threatens to hurl the world back into a new Dark Age,
• The JLA will slay the dragon and save the world (Ta Daaa), but,
• They will be slain in the process.

The book has a high fantasy flavor (again a fun departure from my science-fiction work), but is not an Elseworlds story... Gnomes and Dragons, and of course, the Greek mythology that Wonder Woman is based upon:  Dryads, Nereids, Charybdis... Lots of fun!  But have no fear, Iron Pilots!  The Iron Empires will be underway again, hopefully by next fall (2001).  I'll post updates here.

	Web Grognards:  the wargamer's mecca.
	Consimworld:  my start-up page.  Where wargamers go to chat when they're done browsing Web Grognards.
	Ray Lago:  A prince amoung painters.  Check him out here.
	Dave Dorman:   Dave is one of the first comics painters I met, and one of my great freinds.  He's reeeeally good.
	John Van Fleet:   John is the hottest guy in comics, according to a few ladies I know from the Sequential Tarts website.  Sorry girls, he's taken!
	George Pratt:   George eats and s**ts art.  He told me, and I believe it.  If there's a guy in comics who defines experimentation, it's GP.  He's always tryin something new.  He makes me feel like a total hack.
	Joe Jusko:   Mighty Joe Jusko is a neighbor of mine here in the 'burgh.  He's finally got a computer, so you can get a glimpse at his amazing work.
	Michael W. Kaluta:   The first comics professional I met.  A giant in so many ways.  I blame him in large part for getting me into this mess.

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