Early Paladin Designs Take 3

This was the sketch that would become the Last Paladin as you see him in his debut in DWP #20. I wanted elements of Greek and Roman armor with a hint of hi-tech. Atlantis was advanced to the point of being sci-fi even though they had magic as well. To them it was all energy of one form or another and that's what made them the most advanced society on earth until their downfall.

I've hinted at how that came about in the three previously published stories but as the Paladin's story continues so will the secret history of the ancient world.

Early Paladin Designs Take 2

In hind-sight THIS is the design I should have used... or at least a variation of it. Looking at it now I see elements I would have liked to use for The Last Paladin but at the time I had a very set idea stuck in my head. Good thing magic is a big part of my mythology... you just never know when the Paladin might get a new costume.

Early Paladin Designs Take 1

Some of the first character sketches by Mahmud after getting the Last Paladin script. We decided Zack should be clean shaven and a little more fresh faced. The helmet was a little too 'Hawkman' for me at the time so we streamlined it and went with a design more in line with a Greek or Roman centurion in mind.

Quick Notes - Feb 2006

I know… I know…

It’s been over a week since my last post. I’m a slacker. However, I don’t want to be one of those people who starts a Blog and then lets it sit with no update for weeks or months at a time. So, with that in mind I have a few quick notes to share while I get the next big post ready.

Note #1: I’ve completed the breakdowns on a new six page Last Paladin story and have handed it over to Mahmud so he can work his magic and bring it to life. This story will take place shortly after the Fist of Justice/Last Paladin crossover. In this quick six I’ll be giving readers a quick glimpse at a few new characters I hope to introduce into the Last Paladin’s universe in the future. This will also serve as a starting point for several big adventures for our here. More info soon…

Note #2: I’ll be attending the Pittsburgh Comic Con in late April for the third year in a row. For those of you that have never been, it’s a great three day show with some amazing guests. You can get more info by checking out their website here: http://www.pittsburghcomicon.com/

That’s all for now. Keep watching for more soon…

New Links

Added links to the Websites of Mahmud Asrar and Yildiray Cinar. Both are very talented artists. Check out their work.

Fist of Justice/Last Paladin Cover

The Fist of Justice/Last Paladin Cover for Digital Webbing Presents #31

Thanks to Ed for allowing me the opportunity to share this with the fans of both The Last Paladin and Ed Dukeshire & Mike Imboden's Fist of Justice. Art by Yildiray Cinar and colors by Deon Nuckols.

Usually we worry about the cover last but when Yildiray started working on this project he emailed Ed and I a pin-up of the two heroes. We instantly knew we had our cover right there. Dynamic and impressive, it exhibits everything we want from this story and looks just as good as anything you'll see on the racks from Marvel or DC each Wednesday.

Thanks guys...

The Secret Origin of The Last Paladin - Part Two

I had created the Last Paladin in the summer of 2002. My inability to find a reliable artist and work on other projects had forced me to put it in a drawer and there it stayed for the better part of a year.

In that time Ed had seen reaction to Digital Webbing Presents wax and wane. He was always thinking of ways to keep readers coming back for more and one of those ways was a re-occurring character. I had already tried doing just that with my 'Slight of Hand' concept (and no I did not mis-spell slight... but that's a story for another time and blog) but I couldn't keep a regular artist on the scripts and after the third one reviews were running more cold than hot. Ed's mind was turning back towards the super hero concept; something that was still missing in most issues of Digital Webbing Presents. Even though we were mainly an indie book for new creators, people still wanted super heroes no matter how many readers and fans would tell you otherwise.

Ed convinced me to ditch some of my other ideas and focus on creating a super hero, one that could come back over and over if it caught on. It was around that time that Mahmud (better known as Blackjack on the Digital Webbing) posted a quick sketch of Red Sonja and some barbarians. Everything clicked.

I pulled out that old Last Paladin script and read it over. Good god it was awful. If I still have it saved on disk somewhere I might put it up here to show you readers how bad it really was. Then again maybe not... it was that bad.

Knowing Ed wanted longer stories I took that eight page disaster and stretched it out to twelve. Expanding a script can be just as difficult as compressing because you still need to pace the story and make sure people want to turn the page. Simply adding things doesn't always accomplish that. Everything for a reason and everything has to make sense. I probably took a week to add those pages before I was happy with them.

Improved script in hand I went to Mahmud and asked him if he might be interested in working on with me on something like this. I showed him the script and got the yes I had waited about eighteen months for.

Things were starting to look good for the Last Paladin.

To Be Concluded...

Last Paladin Checklist

While I gear up to unveil the second part of the Last Paladin's secret origin, let me give you new comers to my creation and Digital Webbing Presents a checklist and a place to grab his adventures.

Digital Webbing Presents #20 - 1st appearance of The Last Paladin
Digital Webbing Presents #25 - The Last Paladin's adventure continues
Digital Webbing presents #26 - The final chapter of The Last Paladin's first adventure

Be sure to order the Paladin covers for issues #25 and #26 (limited to 500 copies) since the only other way to get them is to meet me at a Con and buy them right from the source.

You can pick up these issues and other Digital Webbing Presents back issues right here:
http://digitalwebbing.com/comics/ordering/buydirect.html

Also make sure to pick up Digital Webbing Presents #24 - The Origin of the Fist of Justice. It's an amazing issue by my good buddy Mike Imboden and art by the amazing Anthony Castrillo. The Fist of Justice and Last Paladin will team up this summer so be sure to get in on the ground floor of some classic comic book action.

More info soon...