New Covers

Finished covers for Shrugged vol. 2, numbers four

five

and six

Shrugged pages

Shrugged vol. 2, issue 3 came out today! These are some of my favorite pages from the issue, all finished with some combination of inks, pens, and markers, used with brushes, nibs, and pens.  I think im figuring out my voice with each issue i finish, and these pages best show the direction in which i hope to continue.

Cant wait to show off issue number 4!

   

FCBD 2013 and sketch dump

Some recent commissions i just finished.

 This was actually a third attempt at a commission from Wondercon about a month ago. This one is going to be the graphic on a custom wood board that being shaped as we speak! Cannot wait to see what it looks like finished, ill post a link as soon as i have one

Over a month ago i was meant to go to a comic shop in San Antonio to do a store signing for Shrugged. After a plane mix up and a snow storm in Chicago, i ended up missing the flight and the store appearance.  The guys in Texas were completely understanding and i ended up getting back to Heroes and Fantasies (http://www.heroesandfantasies.com/) this past weekend for Free Comic Book Day!  The shop was awesome - intimidatingly huge - and was packed the entire time we were there. I got to hang out with Cory Smith (http://csmithart.blogspot.com/) and JT Krul (http://jtkrul.blogspot.com/), which is always great.

I did this pin up of Ange and Dev for the shop as a little apology for missing my visit last time.

two quick sketches from FCBD

                                                A Dev commission from FCBD

Sketch Covers

Finally posting these! As part of the promotion for Shrugged number 1, for every couple hundred copies of the comic that retailers ordered, they would get a hand drawn sketch cover by yours truly.
All told, there were 103 covers for me to do!  Cool idea, and super fun, but frustrating when you realize that youve run out of ideas after twenty covers...
ha, naw, really happy with most of these. I have a few AP copies that i will have available at upcoming conventions or for commissions. email me for details.

Weekend Signing at Game On! Comics in Virginia

Some commissions from a signing in VA over the weekend. Lots of fun, check these guys out https://www.facebook.com/GameOnComics?group_id=0 and http://gameoncomics.com/

MEGACON

Just got back from Megacon 2013 in Orlando, Florida, and wanted to post some of the commissions i was asked to do while down there.  Overall a really fun show and really great fans!  Aspen Comics had never been to Megacon before, and it was great to see how excited people were to see us and talk about the books.

I was also lucky enough to meet a personal artistic idol of mine, George Pratt (www.georgepratt.com), who was at the Con with Ringling College.  A super-nice guy, we were able to speak for a while and he was even kind enough to critique some of my work and show me some new stuff hes been working on! A great weekend all around!  Next stop, Wondercon!

all the retailer exclusive covers for Shrugged number 1!

More Exclusives!

       Im pretty sure i can post these...

Remember 'color-forms' (I didn't)? They were basically just reusable stickers that you could put on specially made backgrounds.  You'd buy a New York mat and you could put your Spider-Man stickers swinging through the buildings, and then change your mind and re-apply the same stickers so Spider-Man was now on the ground fighting the Hobgoblin (or whatever).  Anyway, that kind of mix and match was the idea behind the retailer exclusive covers we did for Shrugged number 1.  If a retailer ordered above a certain quantity of the issue, they will get a super limited run of covers that showcase the retailer's logo - just like what Aspen did for 'Legend of the Shadowclan' ( http://aspencomics.com/legend-of-the-shadow-clan-retailer-covers-revealed/ ).  For Shrugged we wanted the option to make all the covers just a little bit different though (and the ability to accommodate logos that might not be conveniently shaped) - so, ta-da, Color-Forms of Ange and Dev and the gang!  Below are the full  body shots that the Aspen guys positioned on all the covers.  Keep an eye on https://twitter.com/AspenComics and https://www.facebook.com/AspenComics?ref=stream where there will be actual covers revealed as we count down to March 13th and Shrugged number 1!

2nd Place!

Before Christmas I submitted a few pieces of my art to the 'Train Your Brain' competition sponsored by 'The Art Department (http://theartdepartment.org/) and hosted by Deviantart, and I was just announced as one of 10 second place winners!
As a second place winner i receive two classes through The Art Department and i could not be more excited to get started!

I've posted my winning entry before, but here it is again, 'Mandrill on Fire' :

I've never really had any formal training for art (far too arrogant and proud as a younger man, and too poor as an older one), so i'm very much looking forward to getting some real technical knowledge to apply to my work.  Hopefully future posts will show a marked improvement. 

2013!

 Hey 2013, hows it going? This year marks the 10th anniversary of Michael Turner's 'Aspen Comics', and I could not be more excited to be involved in the celebration, providing the art for the second volume of 'Shrugged'.
Shrugged vol.2 follows Theo, Ange and Dev (and all the rest of the old crew), during their last year of high school - new characters and new adventures when a familiar face returns for vengeance!
Above is the special reserve edition cover, all of the first issues in the 10-for-10 line will have a 'reserve edition', and if you add the 10-for-10 books to your subscription service at your local comic shop (i.e, reserve them), then you are eligible for the special jam-poster below, which includes all the babes (and Dev and Sparkles)!

Ill be updating my blog and deviantart page (jonomarks.deviantart.com) frequently - my new years resolution  - with sketches and pages and news so keep checking back! 

fun with ink and markers

Start to Finish

always fun to see the process i think....

Just got back from my first ever San Diego Comic Con, and I have to admit that it was everything I expected and more!  Great enthusiastic fans, unbelievable lines and overpriced food, and tons and tons of premiers and previews of things to come!  Thanks to everyone who came by the Aspen booth, Im so excited to get started on our next project, watch this space and aspen.com (and @aspencomics on twitter) for updates.  In the meantime, here's a little teaser:

Soulfire Despair

Cover to Soulfire Search for the Light, Despair. Pencils by me, colors by Peter Steigerwald. This is my first full published comic book! Exciting stuff. I've added the review from 'Omnicomic.com' below [the italicise are mine]:

Soulfire Despair #1 is written by David Schwartz, with illustrations by Jonathan Marks, colors by Siya Oum, John Starr and Teodoro Gonzalez and lettered by Josh Reed.

The second of five issues leading up to the fourth volume of Soulfire boasts a proud Sarin on the throne. His radical new change to bring to the kingdom? Marrying technology with magic.

If literature has taught people anything it's that merging technology and magic together rarely works out as well as planned. It's a lesson that Sarin learns at the hand of his uncle, who takes him to a "world outside the world and a world within us all." It's here that Sarin gets a cruel does of reality regarding his ambitions and a glimpse at a coming evil.

Schwartz handles the writing duties in this one and manages to make Sarin despised. His myopic desire to imbue the kingdom with technology is a shortsightedness that has many seeking revolt and questions Faye's choice of him as king. It's an eventful plot point that could lead to more unrest in the kingdom than anything else.

By the end of the issue though, Sarin has something an enlightening that teaches him to broaden his mind a bit. He's legitimately worried about the safety of the kingdom, only he realizes it will take more than sheer, brute force technology to maintain it.

Marks' illustrations do an effective job of conveying emotion, primarily Sarin's rage. Marks doesn't get to delve into the combat scenes as much as Varese did in Soulfire Hope #1, but what he's working with is equally as impressive.

There are some really cool instances of technology on display in this issue that Marks really seems to have fun with. Even Sarin's opponent in the other world is depicted as this creature of great being, adding to the mythos of the magic in the Soulfire universe.

Two issues into the setup and things are, well, getting set up. Sarin may not be the hardened jerk he was made out to be in the first issue and there may be a legitimate threat to the kingdom. It remains to be seen what role Dex will play in the next few issues, but it's likely to be an important one.