60. Blackhawk

Number 60 on the list is Blackhawk. And all I had time to do was this little digital logo. (At least it's in color)
I hope I have the time this weekend to do an actual drawing for this entry. As of right now, it doesn't look promising, busy, busy, busy.

Medium: Digital

UPDATE: I did a pencil sketch for this entry, I will try to ink it at some point.

59. Manhattan Guardian

The Manhattan Guardian is my favorite type of Comic-Hero. He has no powers, he's just an ordinary guy trying to do the right thing in some extraordinary circumstances. Even in the midst of personal tragedy he keeps fighting the good fight. That's inspirational, and something for everyone to get behind.
... Except the pessimists.
... Damned pessimists.

Medium: Pencil, pen & ink

58. Christopher Priest

I found it interesting what Bill Reed had to say about Christopher Priest. Basically that he wasn't going to spotlight him because he had "already covered a lot of his notable work." In my opinion, that's exactly he should get a spot on the list.
Bill (of course) made the right decision, stating: "He’s done more for black characters in comics than anyone else, promoting these great, underused, and underrated heroes as they rightfully should be." "He’s fighting the good fight. His work isn’t all about race, of course; he can also tell a ripping good yarn."
Plus; who didn't love Quantum & Woody?

Medium: Pen & ink

57. Brian Stelfreeze

I have such an admiration for Brian Stelfreeze that I could not shakily eke my way through this post.
The man is supremely talented. Please seek his work out.
I chose to represent "the Freeze" with a drawing of the Ride's Laci & that 1968 Black-as-death Camaro RS/SS 396 ... 396 Cubic inches of awesome!
Even if I'm not 100% yet, this was fun.

Medium: Pencil, pen & ink

56. James “Rhodey” Rhodes

I want to personally apologize to all of the Jim Rhodes fans out there. The evil Influenza is a devastating foe, and on this day, it clearly won.

Medium: Sharpie® (It's all I could manage)

55. Steel

As you may be able tell from this Steel sketch, this is when I began to feel pretty darned lousy. Sorry, Mr. Irons.

Medium: Pen & ink

54. Falcon

Sorry for the delay in posts, I've had some sort of evil, super-flu that I am still recovering from. So today is all about catching up.
#54 on our 365 list is the Falcon. An under-appreciated character if ever there was one. I think Sam here would have made the most logical replacement for Steve Rogers as the new Captain America, but what do I know?

Medium: Pencil, pen & ink

53. Black Lightning

You know, I'm against the naming of a hero based on their ethnicity. It's just kind of silly. To call someone Black Goliath is akin to calling someone White Batman, it only works if they were taking on the abilities of some sort of white bat. (Actually, that sounds interesting. hmm...) In any event, I still really like the moniker Black Lightning and with a slight tweaking of his powers the name could still work. Have his powers shift over to the ultraviolet spectrum, or better yet have his powers be based on some sort of antimatter! I don't know the exact science of it, but I bet someone could figure out a way for it to work.

Medium: Pencil & pen

52. Black Panther

I love the Black Panther.
T’Challa is often compared to Batman, and I can see the similarities. But to label him as Marvel's answer to DC's most keister-kickin' character makes him sound like a cheap imitation. That's simply not right. I like how Bill Reed put it:
"The Black Panther is an exceptionally talented and powerful individual with a rich African heritage that’s fully embraced by the creative staff. ~ He’s become an expert in every field he needs to. The setting is fantastic: a fictional, highly developed African landscape with plenty of sci-fi elements waiting to be used. As leader of his nation, he has access to all sorts of technology, magical artifacts, armors, and weapons. He’s honorable, mysterious, and in control.
Also, on a visual level, he rocks."

Medium: Pen & ink

51. Luke Cage

Sweet Christmas! It's Luke Cage!
I've gotta tell you, I'm not a big fan of the updated version. I guess SOME people don't think that 18" yellow lapels and chrome headbands mixed in with the occasional splash of 1970's lingo doesn't ring with today's youth. Well to those people, I just gotta say one thing... YOUR MOMMA!
Listen, I understand that certain characters must be updated once in a while in order to stay relevant. I get it. But please try to keep the essence of the character intact. Luke was inspired, at least partially, by Shaft. SHAFT! You don't get much cooler than that. Use that as your character base and build from there. Ya dig?

Medium: Pen, ink & Chrome, baby!

50. Fast Willie Jackson

Fast Willie Jackson! Man, this was fun.
I used a "Brush-Pen" for the first time here, and can honestly say that I can see why some people swear by them... I can also see that I need much more practice with one.

Medium: Pen & ink with digital color

49. Amanda Waller

Whenever I see Amanda Waller I can't help but hear the Commodores:
She's a brick----house
Mighty mighty, just lettin' it all hang out
She's a brick----house
The lady's stacked and that's a fact,
ain't holding nothing back.

...Maybe it's just me...
But anyone who can back Batman into a corner...
Shake it down, shake it down now
Shake it down, shake it down now

Medium: Pen & ink

48. Robbie Robertson

I think I might have mentioned it before; I love Spidey's supporting cast. They make everything seem grounded, and because of that, I can't help but feel that Robbie Robertson is a great guy... or at least he would be, if he were real.

Medium: Pencil on paper

47. Crispus Allen

Sorry to say, but I have a lot of work to get to today, so I'm going to brief. I don't mind Crispus Allen as the Spectre, but I like him much better as a Gotham Central Police Detective.

Medium: Pencil & Pen

46. Robb Armstrong

This one was fun, I tried to channel my inner Robb Armstrong...
Robb Armstrong has been doing his syndicated comic strip, Jump Start since 1988. It's a fun and upbeat comic about Joe and Marcy Cobb & their family. Check it out, you just might enjoy yourself.

Medium: Pen & ink with digital color

45. Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane

I've got to admit, when I first saw Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane on the 365 list for today, I had no idea where Bill was going with it. Until I saw that he was referencing # 106 from the series, the "I am curious (black)" issue. For those of you not in the know, it breaks down like this:
Lois needs to become an African-American for 24 hours in order to gather information on a story, and in a wacky coincidence, Superman just happens to have a Plastimold machine fitted with a Transformoflux pack for this common problem.
Weren't the 70's great?

Medium: Pencil & pen

44. Static

Bill Reed described Static as a "Spider-Man for the 90’s", and I think that's about right.
He's a superpowered teen who has the same worries and problems as other schoolkids his age. I know that numerous other characters of the medium try to follow this formula, but thanks to Dwayne McDuffie, it actually works wih Static.

Medium: Pencil & pen

43. Dwayne McDuffie

Day 12 of Black History month, and we have a personal favorite creator of mine; Dwayne McDuffie.
Dwayne has a lot to hang his hat on. Far too much for me to list here, but please check out his site.
His "big break" was with Marvel's Damage Control, but I first became aware of his work with the Milestone Comics' Hardware. Hardware was awesome, he was kind of like Iron Man, but more relatable. He wasn't the wealthy industrialist, he worked for him.

Medium: Pencil & pen

42. Rocket Racer

I was running a little short on time yesterday and that means Robbie Farrell, the Rocket Racer didn't get the time devoted to him that I planned on. Sorry Robbie. If it means anything to you, I don't think that the Big Wheel even made the list.

Medium: Pencil & pen

41. Nubia

I think, in the right hands, Nubia is a character that could support her own book. She is at least as interesting as Wonder Woman.

Medium: Pencil & pen

40. Chunk

I'm sure Chunk is a full-fledged member of the Clean Plate Club. Although, I bet it's not very difficult when you have the ability to absorb matter and expel it into a pocket dimension called the Void.

Medium: Pen & Ink

39. Monica Rambeau

Black History month day eight!
Here we have a strong female character who has enjoyed varying degrees of success: Monica Rambeau.
She's led the Avengers, you know; "Earth’s Mightiest Heroes", But she seems to be constantly getting her codename yanked out from under her. Captain Marvel, Photon, Pulsar, Daystar, Sceptre, Lady of Light... I'm pretty sure she just gave up on that last one. (Lady of Light? Yikes!) So she finally settled on a moniker that no one was going to be able to take from her; her birth name!
Lately she has taken up another leadership role in Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. (Hooray) which has been placed on hiatus. (Boooo)

Medium: Pencil & pen

38. Mr. T and the T-Force

Mr. T is the single greatest thing to ever come out of the south side of Chicago!
There, I said it.
I wonder if Mr. T and the T-Force was set in Chicago? I've spent my fair share of time in the city, and I don't recall ever coming across any magical space dinosaurs... hm.
Oh, and the T-Force? It's not a highly specialized, elite adventure team of martial arts commandoes like you might expect. No, it's a mystical energy field that helps Mr. T keep a positive attitude in order to better fight crime... and ninjas!
Hey, I just had a brilliant thought! How about a team-up book?! Mr. T and his T-Force should get together with Chuck Norris and his Karate Kommandos and fight Interdimensional super-ninjas!!
Oh man, I think I just blew my own mind!

Medium: Pen & ink

37. Black Goliath

I have to agree with Bill on this one, it's a shame that Marvel had to kill off Goliath in order to bring some weight to the "Civil War" storyline. Let's just hope he was one of the heroes that was being impersonated by the Skrulls. In any event, it looks like his nephew, Tom Foster is going to take up the mantle. I wish him the best, he has some big shoes to fill, literally.

Medium: Pencil & pen

36. Lobo

And since we are in the middle of Black History month, we have a feature on a historical figure (at least, in comics). Lobo was the first black hero to star in his own comic title (Dec. 1965).
The wiki states that "the book was set in the Old West and chronicled the adventures of a wealthy, unnamed African-American gunslinger called "Lobo" by the first issue's antagonists. On the foreheads of vanquished criminals, Lobo would leave the calling card of a gold coin imprinted with the images of a wolf and the letter "L"."
I wonder who owns the rights to this character? I would love to see some new adventures of Lobo.

Not that I need to mention it, but I think you can figure out where I got the "blazing" inspiration from on this piece.

Medium: Pencil & pen

35. NFL SuperPro

Did ANYONE expect the Giants to win that game?!
If my team isn't playing, I always root for the underdog, and I'm usually disappointed. Not yesterday!
And if I know Phil Grayfield like I think I know Phil Grayfield, he was cheering on the super-spoilers too!
Don't know Phil? He was the NFL SuperPro, an ex-NFL star with bad knees who wears an indestructible football uniform and uses bad football puns to fight crime.
Fabian Nicieza, you magnificent bastard!

Medium: Pen & ink

34. Brother Voodoo

I don't care what anyone says, Brother Voodoo is 100% awesome!

Medium: Pen & Ink

33. The Shadow

The Shadow is truly a great comic creation with a truly awful movie under it's belt. Someone should fix that. Make a kind of "The Shadow Begins" movie.

Medium: Pen & ink & Cheesy Radial Gradient

32. Kyle Baker

Sorry about the delay, we were snowed-in. I guess that means that today will be a multi-post day.
As I'm sure you know, February is Black History month. And what better way to kick it off than to feature an insanely talented and great creator? Kyle Baker!
I don't know what Kyle looks like, so I wanted to pick one of his creations to represent him. ... Whata ya think?
I haven't read Special Forces, but the imagery alone makes me want to pick it up.

Medium: Pencil & Pen