Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday!!!

This week is a huge week for me. I have Our Fighting Forces: The LOSERS #1 and Zatanna #5 out on the racks (this Wednesday Sept. 15th). I will be posting a preview here on the Blog for Zatanna #5 at midnight Wednesday morning. I am super proud of the art in both these issues. PLEASE pick them up and tell DC how awsome the artist is (;-p)! Here is a peek from the Losers swiped off of Newsarama. Thank you Wayne and David for making this look fabulous. See you guys at midnight on Wednesday!

Quick Digital Painting Sept.11 2010

Scorpius #4

Hey all, here is the latest Scorpius cover. This is another cover where I wasn't super-stoked when I finished but ended up liking it better later. In non BooM related news.... I want to give a serious heads up to next Wednesday. I have 2 books on the shelves Zatanna #5 and Our Fighting Forces #1.

Traveler #1

In case you were wondering what the other half of the cover looked like.

Magik

Here is another commission of one of my all time favorite characters: Magik from the New Mutants.

Scorpius #3

I can't keep up! I have so much stuff that's hitting shelves. This cover is long overdue but I need to get it out there because I love it. Ladies and Gentlemen Scorpius #3. Go buy it and Scorpius #4 and Zatanna #4 right now.

SkyDoll Comission

Capt'n

Cool Moments from Comic-Con Part 3: Friends

I suppose this should have been my first post because hey friends come first, but I was too busy having a geek attack. To my friends, I apologize, my bad. One of the best things about Comic-Con is the chance to meet people you haven't met before and meet up with people who you don't get to see too often in other venues. This year I met lots of new friends, my hotel roommate John Hallet, the gang at BooM Studios as well as some of my editors at Marvel and DC. I met Ale Garza, who was my Neighbor in Artist Alley. Also in Artist Alley with me was Norm Rapmund who I had met as a teenager working at Collector's Choice in Las Vegas. His hair was a lot bigger back them, but at least he still had his. I also got to meet up with the Utah crew which includes Travis Walton and his family, Paul (Mau'dib) Linsley and his girlfriend Jess, Ian Johnston (my official con-buddy, Ian and I have been roommates at the comic-con for at least 5 years), Jake Black and his Nephew (Jake is looking good too! Way to kick cancer's ass Jake) and the most famous Utahn in comics: Ryan Ottley. I wish I got to spend more everyone but Comic Con is a busy place. I know I'm leaving names out, SORRY! But I can't blog all day. I'll edit you in as I remember!

Cool Moments from Comic-Con Part 2: JJ Abrams

In my continuing follow up of this year's Comic Con's moments of coolness. I would be criminally liable if I didn't post about spotting JJ Abrams walking the exhibit hall at Comic Con. It was after the exhibit hall had closed that I spotted him talking to another artist. When he was done talking he and his entourage came closer to my artist alley table. This is where I approached him and asked if he was indeed the man JJ Abrams. He responded in the affirmative and was kind enough to talk for a few seconds, shake hands and take the obligatory super geeked out fan shot. Which I will now post here. Ladies and Gentlemen the savior of Star Trek... Mr. JJ Abrams (in a trekkie sandwich with me and Ian)!

Cool Moments from Comic-Con Part 1: Drew Struzan

Drew Struzan was kind enough to come over and visit me at my artist alley booth this year at SDCC. Drew is an art god, and I was extremely humbled by his visit. He was unbelievably nice and supportive. We only chatted for a minute or two but It will be a moment I remember for the rest of my life! I would have posted this earlier while at the Con, but the hotel where I was staying was charging 12.99 a night for Internet. I love SDCC, but I am so sick of hotels and restaurants price gouging. Wonder what they will do if the con moves. Anyhoo... I have more stuff to post but I gotta get to work. I'll update soon! Next Pics: JJ Abrams and the attack of the NERDS!

Update from SDCC 2010: BooM!

In case you haven't heard: http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/1007/22/index.htm

American Son

Hey all, Long time no post! Its been really busy getting ready for SDCC. I meant to post this on the 4th. That's how busy I am. Anyhoo... Lots of stuff coming up! I'm excited for it hope you will be too. Thanks for sticking with me. I promise It will start coming fast and heavy here pretty soon. So keep coming back.

Thanks,

Chad.

Yet More Scorpius!

Long time, no art! So here is a peek at Scorpius #2 out now. I really disliked this piece when I did it but it looks better to me now than the first two. Funny how that happens. Enjoy. Remind me to post some of our pics from the family vacation!

Long Live the Warlord!

Above are some samples from my latest issue of DC Comic's The Warlord. Its sad for me to say this will be my last issue of the Warlord in the foreseeable future. Before I wrap my Warlord career I would like to wax a little sentimental; so please bear with me. Its not too often you get the chance to work with a living legend, but I got that chance when DC Comics chose me to work on the new Warlord series with Mike Grell. I might not have been DC's first choice but I was happy to step in when opportunity afforded me the chance. Let me tell you something. It wasn't easy trying to fill the artistic shoes of Mike, and I'm sure that there are some Mike Grell fans who would be the first to tell you I didn't even come close. I will say this much though, I did the best I could for every page I worked on Warlord. Though the process, I had one fan I could count on to encourage me every step of the way. That fan was Mike Grell himself. Some days it wasn't easy. There were several days, especially in the beginning, where it seemed like I was redrawing every page. As hard as it was to apply all the changes Mike had me do on those early issues; his criticisms were always constructive. He was there working with me, teaching me as I went along and though the process it made me a better artist. If I had the chance; I'd do it again in a heart beat. Here's to hoping I get that change again. Cheers Mike, and long live The Warlord!

-Chad

More Spokane Card Comissions

Hey all, just a quick update with more sketch card commissions. Enjoy! Also I wanted to post an email I received from a satisfied customer:

From James Huskinson

To Chad Hardin

     Hey man I got the picture the other day but I've been on the go for awhile. DUDE this thing is sweet, I almost feel like I need to pay you [more] for the amount of work you put into this. The amount of detail is almost overwhelming! Everything is in the right spot, from the armor plating to the bulbs in the bow stabilizers down to the running lights on the side of the hull. And that's not including the back drop, which looks like it could of jumped out of the game and onto the page itself, from the asteroid field to the planetoid and the moon there is just so much depth to the page, so much to be seen. I can stress how happy I am with the out come, to have something that is not only an original work but that also captures the spirit of the game is just so amazing. When you said you were going to make it shine I totally had no idea what was coming, if you take commissions in between projects you can be sure I'm going to contact you in the future.

Thanks again for all your hard work,

Ryan Huskinson.

<:// End Transmission//:>

Thanks Ryan! And Yes I'm always taking commissions!

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day everybody. I'd like to take the time to thank all our brave service men and women who are fighting (or have fought) to defend the freedoms we Americans enjoy on a daily basis. I personally salute your bravery and sacrifice and also the sacrifice of your loved ones. Thank You... On another note: I'd like to post some art I did as commissions for the Spokane Comicon 2010. This a picture of Two Zatanna sketch cards and the SR-2 Normandy from Mass Effect. The Zatanna cards were captured with my Nikon Coolpix in my Hotel room at Spokane. I'm sorry they are a little out of focus and the coloring is yellowed, but I hope its better than a hot stick in the eye. I'm finishing up the the last two commissions right now and will be mailing them out tomorrow. I'll post tem when i'm done. Hope you enjoy! -Chad.

Spokane Comicon

Hey all, Its Friday the 21st of May and I'm off to Spokane for Spokane Comicon 2010. I'll be there at the opening tomorrow doing sketches, selling artwork and signing books. Go here for all the details: http://www.spokanecomicon.com/. Like free comic book day, I'll be having a contest fro a free sketch card and sketchbook. So if you are in Spokane drop on by and say hi!

Iron Man 2 Artist Proofs Available

Hey Everybody, I have really exciting news! My Iron Man 2 Artist Proofs came in from Upper Deck. I am taking commissions on them right now. If you are interested in getting one; simply click on the link to Catskill Comics in the sidebar. My agent, Scott, will take care of you. I have 14 left and will need to get them completed and approved by Marvel soon. So don't wait too long before you get yours. Also... DC solicited my first issue of Zatanna today for sale August 11th 2010! WOOT! Make sure you order your copy today!

Hail to the King

I know a lot of you must have heard by now that Frank Frezetta has passed away. You also have undoubtedly read a couple of sappy posts like this where all these wanna-be's, who have never met the guy, post about how sad it is. There is a reason for that. Frank Frezatta wasn't just a great "fantasy" artist. He was perhaps the best artist of our age. Blasphemy you say? Go let your hot air out. Frank's Art was, in my opinion, the best; plain and simple. The subject matter of Frank's paintings might not have been something Mom and Pop were going to hang in the living room, but his ability as a painter was unparalleled. When someone that great is alive when you're alive it inspires you as an artist, pushes you to do better, and when he's gone there is a real sadness.

Frank- I never met you, but I idolized you from afar; rest in peace. Your art will always be alive and a testament to your greatness for generations to come.

-Chad

Free Comic Book Day Follow-Up

Howdy do everybody! Its time to post an update to Free Comic Book Day. We were late arriving to Comics Plus. Despite all my planning I forgot to go the route I had mapped out the day before to avoid the Iron Man Triathlon. I ended up zigzagging through town and getting pissed off at myself for being so forgetful. The event started slow but quickly speed up to a fever pitch. I did sketch card commissions all day long and got to chat it up with all the gang at CP. It was nice to see patrons asking for sketches of characters I've been doing in comics. Notice the Warlord and Scorpius cards to the left. I also noticed that there wasn't a single female character requested. Odd, but fine by me. I met some really cool people and became reacquainted with others I had met the year before. Overall the day was a great success. Fun for everyone old and young. Dave and Lisa really know how to run a classy operation and there patrons really appreciated it. In fact I didn't get home until 10 o'clock that night and dinner was my first meal of the day. I was running on my "fluffy" reserves. Here are some of the sketch cards I did for fans. Thank you everybody who was willing to wait for their cards because I only made it half way though my list. I hope you feel they were worth the wait. Tell me what you think in the comments below and see if you can't guess the name of the bottom card on the right. Also congratulations to Daniel Chapman for winning the drawing for a free sketch card and sketchbook. Daniel's card is the Night Crawler on the top left. 

Iron Man Blocking Free Comic Book Day?

Iron Man the Triathlon, not the movie! Confused me also when I heard it. Anyhoo... Just in case, I want everyone to know that the corner of Bluff and Diagonal will be partially closed tomorrow during peak Free Comic Book Day hours. Plan on an alternate route! Here is my planned route to Comic Plus. If you know someone who is planning on attending please let them know so they don't get stuck in a traffic jam that lasts 5 hours! It could ruin your day, cause road rage and you'll end up in the slammer with D'argo here on the Cover for Farscape: D'argo's Quest #4. Drive safe and see you tomorrow!

UPDATE: Dave let me know through Facebook that the intersection of Bluff and Sunset will not be closed so you should still be able to go the normal way however they are closing parts of Bluff north of the intersection. Traffic will be heavier than usual. So just beware and eat an extra dose of patience for breakfast and or lunch.

Warlord #13 and a plug for Free Comic Book Day

Hey Guys here are some pencils from Warlord #13. I wanted to post something to the site and plug the issue. It is out in stores now, so go buy it! I think it is the best looking Warlord I've done yet. If you liked the Art in #10 you'll love the art in this issue.  Also a reminder that I will be at Comics Plus this Saturday for Free Comic Book Day. I will have original art, sketchbooks, sketch cards, and issues of comics I've done. I'm going to be there for the long haul. I will also be doing commissions so bring yer money and help pay for my kid's operations (I hope I'm joking about the last bit). Also Will Estepp and Gerson Arevato if you guys are there you can pick up your cards! We had a great time last year. I hope we have a great time this year. Dave's Info is in the sidebar. If you haven't been to Comic's Plus in St. George Utah come check it out!

Sick of Sick and a Follow Up to the AAU Comic Panel

How many kids are sick in my house? All of them. My youngest two with strep throat, my older two with a virus. Joy has also fallen ill to the virus. I alone remain uninfected from the plagues of the apocalypse! Tasey seems to be a carrier for strep and the constant reinfection of  her sister Erica may have to lead to a tonsillectomy.

ARRRRRRRGH!

Anyhoodle, The panel in San Francisco went awesome! Thank you very much to Dan Cooney and AAU for having me out. It was awesome to meet Chris Staggs (my roommate at the Sir Francis Drake), Dan Brereton, Chris Marrinan, and Justin Greenwood. It was also nice to reacquaint myself with Rashan Ekedal and Marvel's Talent Editor C.B. Cebulski (we met at Comic Con San Diego in 2005). C.B. Cebulski actually remembered me form a talent review half a decade previous so beware Marvel hopefuls out there. The guy has a mind like a steel trap (and he lurks on art forums) so BEHAVE yourselves! I was so nervous at the panel I felt like throwing up, I hope I didn't sound too bad. AAU filmed this so when it goes up on the web everyone can judge for themselves.

My friend Kenshi took these pictures of the event with his iPhone (Thank you Kenshi!). I hope to have some artwork up soon but I'm desperately behind due to illness in my family so please be patient. It is coming. I have more Warlord, Farscape, and Sketchcards coming soon.

Academy Art University Comic Book Panel

Hey all, I don't know how many of you are planning to go to WonderCon or if you live in the Bay Area, but I will be heading out tomorrow to attend a Comic Book Panel hosted by the Academy of Art University. I am very excited to attend. If you can be there Awesome! Its April 1st from 7-9pm in the Morgan Auditorium on 491 Post St. downtown San Fran. The artwork on the flier is that of Master Dan Brereton who will be in attendance! Read on... and hope to see you there.

-Chad.

Sketchcards of the Day 3/24/10

Hulk and Joker for some friends in St. George Utah who got jilted last FCBD. Enjoy! The "X" in the signature is for the year 2010. 

-Chad

McNasty's Ms. Marvel

Hey all! Sorry for the long gap in between posts. I fried a RAM chip the other day. Its been crazy trying to keep up with work on a computer that's sick. The malfunction was my fault. Doing something stupid. Anyhoodle... I was way past due getting Dann's Thunderdome Prize done so I cranked it out today before starting my page. I hope Dann feels it was worth the wait. I'm pretty happy with it. I'd like to do another Thunderdome, anybody got any ideas for out next contest? Let me know in the comments.

Facelift and More Scorpius

Hey All! Check out my new banner and the cover to the next Scorpius from Boom!

WIN!

We have a winner for sketch card Thunderdome! Thanks everyone for participating. Dann email me your address and what you'd like on your sketch card and I'll get it and your free sketchbook right out to you!

Thunderdome!

Hey All, Its that time of the week again. Time to finally show off some of those Iron Man 2 cards I did of Upper Deck. I decided to do something a little different with this post. I decided to take the best cards out of the set and compare them to the best I had to offer from the year before. A sketch card Thunderdome if you will. Leave your vote in the comments below. If you leave your comment and subscribe to the blog either though Networked Blogs on Facebook or though Google Blogger you will be entering a contest to win a free sketch card of your choice and a free 2009 Sketchbook. Remember: Vote for which year 2008 or 2009, Subscribe and enter to win a free sketch card and sketchbook. Tell your friends and may the Force be with you!

-Chad

PS - The Cover to Scorpius #0- Was up on News-a-rama this morning. Here's the link in case you missed it: http://www.newsarama.com/comics/Farscape-Scorpius-Mack-100205.html It was the headline for like a whole hour till the god of thunder stole mine! Curse you Thor!

Scorpius!

Hey my good buddy Slade just emailed me. My latest cover for BooM! Is out you can read about it here: http://io9.com/5455850/farscapes-new-leading-man-revealed, and check out the versions without logo above. Really proud of how it turned out. Let me know if you like it or not.

Why So Serious?

Ever since Batman: The Killing Joke: The Joker has been my favorite comic book villain. In November I lucked out and got to draw him in an issue of Brave and the Bold. Here's a page form issue 31. Check it out!

Warlord #10

Hey all, as always; I'm rushing around like a chicken with my head cut off. 2009 is over and I have mixed feelings. It was a scary year economically but for Hardin Art Studios It was a breakthrough year as well. Over all my crowning artistic achievement was Warlord #10 for DC Comics. I have not seen it in print yet but I'm very hopeful after reading some online reviews. This is the first time I've done all the art (minus coloring) for an issue and it seems to have gone over really well. Here are some samples. Make sure you pick it up Warlord #10 by DC Comics at your local comic book store today.

Merry Christmas

I have a favorite Christmas Hymn. It is: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. Not too many people know this but the Hymn was actually written during the civil war and stanzas 4 and 5 are often omitted from modern hymnals, probably because they are too gloomy for church, but the message of the hymn is one I feel that is more important today than ever. So If you would please allow an old sentimental fool this one luxury I'd like to post it here on my blog:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn, the households born
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”

We live in a time of uncertainty and war. My daughter, Erica, who is 8 has lived her whole life with America at war. I hope this coming year we can have the more peace. I hope our soldiers come home safe to their families and I pray that there is more peace on earth and good will toward men. Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,

The Chad Hardin Family.

Farscape in Christmas Colors

Hey all, Christmas is this week and I'm busy shopping, working, and running around, but I figured it was time to post some artwork. I told you all a while back I was doing some work for Boom Studios on Farscape covers, well the first cover I did has finally hit the rack! I figured it was a perfect time to share it here on my blog. Ironically the color schemes seem to fit right in with the time of year. Red and Green! This first cover is nothing special, I just did the typical pencils, inks and digital colors, but the cool thing about Boom is that they allow me to experiment with the process. Trust me, the last two covers I did for them look really cool and they have inspired me to keep working on changing my technique until I can come up with something I'm really proud of. I'll post them here when they hit the rack. On another note I have matched last years posts. I didn't update every week, but at least I didn't loose ground. Hopefully next year i will do better. We'll see. Keep coming back and I'll keep posting!

The Lost Drawing

It has been a long time since the Seattle ComiCard Convention, but while I was there I wasn't able to finish a drawing for a fan named Krishen before she had to leave the convention. I finished the drawing later that night but when it came time to mail it I could not for the life of me find Krishen's address. Flash forward to a couple of days ago, low and behold while using the last piece of paper in my Bristol pad. I found her address clinging to the last board with static electricity. I sent out the lost drawing Priority Mail and finally, a half year late, Krishen got the artwork she had been waiting for. Here is the drawing. Hope everyone is having a safe time getting ready for the Holidays. Talk to you laters. - Chad

COME GET SOME!

In the spirit of the Holiday SHOPPING Season I am proud to announce that there is finally a place to buy my artwork. Lots of people have asked how they can get a hold of my artwork, and before today there really wasn't a good way unless you were lucky enough catch me at a convention. That is no longer the case! I have teamed-up with Scott Kress of Catskill Comics to market all of my original Comic Artwork. Scott works full time selling artwork for several comic artists and I'm happy to announce that I'm now one of them. Every single piece of artwork I have is now up on his site (link in the sidebar ---->). You can preview the artwork and if you find something that tickles your fancy, you can grab it anywhere, anytime. Scott accepts all major credit cards and Paypal and he has an impeccable reputation. If you check out his ebay power seller status you can see he has 100% positive feedback after selling over 6000 items! That's unheard of! Anyhoo. In the mean time check out the diggs on some more Anti-Venom Goodness. Stay tuned for Comic Cards, Warlord, and Farscape. Talk to you laters...

-Chad

Holiday Spirit

Hey Guys I realize its been an incredibly long time since I posted. I've been busy making up time from being sick with the H1N1 and I'm under the gun with a hot dead line. So this post will be short and sweet. I want to plug the new Spirit TPB out from DC Comics. Its called The Spirit Book Four. I'm posting the cover to the TPB Masterfully done by Mr. Kubert himself and a page from the book done by Wayne and myself. I have lots of fun tidbits i can share. I'm doing another issue of Warlord. Its always fun to be back working with Mike. I'm drawing cards for Iron Man 2, and I'll post some as soon as I get them approved. I'm also still cranking on Farcsape covers, however I've been asked not to show them until the end of February. I also have some huge news coming just around the corner. I'm really excited about it, and if you ever wanted to buy a piece of art from me you'll be excited about it too. Anyhoo I gotta go! I'll keep you posted. Have a happy Thanksgiving! -C