Christopher Jones at Gallifrey One 2020

I am delighted to be returning as a guest to the Gallifrey One convention, February 14-16 at the Marriott Los Angeles Airport Hotel. I have a great time every year at Gallifrey One, and this is the first time I’ll be attending as a local, since moving to Los Angeles in December!

This year I will NOT have a table in the Dealers Room, but there will still be plenty of opportunities to see me and (if you are so inclined) buy my art!

Here’s my schedule:

Friday, February 14

 

1:00pm – Autographs

I’ll be signing autographs and selling prints in the Autograph area for two hours each day of the convention. Autographs are always free and I’m happy to sign items you already own. Stop by and say hello!

6:00pm – The Game of Rassilon

Christopher Jones • Dan Peck • Michael Nixon • Ben Paddon • Riley Silverman
Once more, we play our dangerous game, a game of chess against our old adversaries… wait. That’s Hunt for Red October. Sorry. This is silly Doctor Who speed role-playing in front of an audience. Come see the fun!

Saturday, February 15

 

1:00pm – Autographs

It’s the second daily autographic block. I should be there until 3pm. Come see me!

4:00pm – Taking Your Love of Doctor Who to the Next Level

Christopher Jones • Lauren Bancroft • Abie Ekenezar • Andy Hicks • Jennifer Picker • Brian Uiga • Kevin Wilcox
I started as a Doctor Who fan and now I draw Doctor Who comics! Crazy, right? Come here about the individual journeys of the panelists from Who fandom to something… more!

8:00pm – The Masquerade of Mandragora 2020, Featuring “The Time of the Comedy”

Christopher Jones • Tony Lee • Lauren Bancroft • Abie Ekenezar • Joseph Scrimshaw • Riley Silverman
Something funny will happen to fill time during the Masquerade judging. We hope.

Sunday, February 16

 

11:00am – Christopher Jones: Illustrating the Future

If I had titled this I would have called it Doctor Who: Heralds of Destruction – Live commentary. I see actors do live commentary on their TV episodes all the time at these conventions. Why can’t I do the same for my comic book work? I’ll be talking about my creative process and sharing some behind-the-scenes stories and easter eggs from the Third Doctor mini-series I drew, based on a story by Paul Cornell!

12:00pm – Autographs

Last chance of the weekend to come get something signed or buy one of my prints. Don’t miss out! (I’ll have to leave a bit before 2pm to get to my next panel…

2:00pm – Current Star Trek Comics

Paul Cornell • Jody Houser • Christopher Jones • Collin Kelly • Jackson Lanzing • Denton Tipton Paul and I will be talking about our brand-new Star Trek: Year Five Valentine’s Day special as part of a presentation on what’s happening with IDW’s Star Trek comics.
Again, I’m always happy to talk to fans and make new friends, so please come say hello. Autographs and photos are always free!

Christopher Jones at NYCC 2019!

I am delighted to be returning again this year to New York Comic Con, October 3-6 at the Javits Center in the heart of Manhattan. This year, NYCC Artist Alley will be returning to Hall 1B on the 1st Floor of the building, and I’ll at Artist Alley table B-10 all four days. Artist Alley hours are as follows:

Thursday 10am – 8pm
Friday 10am – 8pm
Saturday 10am – 8pm
Sunday 10am – 5pm

I was too busy to other deadlines to solicit commission sketches in advance of the con, but will ABSOLUTELY be doing sketches there. My sketch list fills up FAST, so if you want a sketch from me during the convention, I recommend seeking me out and getting in my list as early as possible!

And in case you don’t read all the way to the end of this long post, remember: I love chatting with fans, and autographs and photos are always free!

Svengoolie Meets the DC Universe

Have you heard about Svengoolie Meets the DC Universe? The 8-page epic has the Me-TV horror host meeting the Justice League and a certain Clown Prince of Crime, and will be serialized in 2-page chapters inserted into DC Comics starting October 16, with a the whole thing collected into a comic that Svengoolie will have at signings and appearances as he celebrates his 40th Anniversary. And I drew it! I’ll be doing a signing with Svengoolie himself at the DC Comics Booth on Friday from 12:30pm – 1:30pm, just before the DC Presents Svengoolie panel from 2:45pm – 3:45pm, in room 1A06.

Svengoolie (Rich Koz) with Christopher Jones

I will NOT have my Svengoolie print (as seen on the set of Sven’s TV show) for sale at the signing, but I *will* have it available at my Artist Alley table, so pick one up beforehand if you’re hoping to get one signed by Sven!

Books for Sale

At my Artist Alley table I’ll be selling and signing (while supplies last) of Young Justice Book 1: The Early Missions, collecting of issues 0-13 of the tie-in comic to the Young Justice animated TV series, and Marvel Action Spider-man: Spider Chase, collecting issues 4-6 of Marvel Action Spider-man. Both feature artwork by myself I’m delighted to have these collected into book form. I’ll also have copies of my Doctor Who mini-series, The Third Doctor: Heralds of Destruction and The Seventh Doctor: Operation Volcano. Stop by early before they’re gone.

Art Prints

I’ll have my usual selection of prints for sale. The making their debut at NYCC 2019 are two Young Justice prints: “Recognized” featuring the original team as they appear in Season 3, and “Bowhunter Security,” from the fan-favorite episode of Young Justice Outsiders. Also making it’s debut as a print is “Fam,” featuring the 13th Doctor and her companions. This artwork was originally a variant cover for the Doctor Who comic from Titan Comics.

I’ll also have other favorites from Young Justice, Doctor Who and other series. My prints are all available from my Etsy store., where 11″x17″ prints go for $30, but they’re only $20 at NYCC, and on top of that I’m be offering a 3-for-$50 deal.

I also have a selection of other prints in color and black and white at a smaller 8.5″x11″ size for $5 and $10 including this popular item.

Commission Sketches

All of my convention sketches are black ink on 9×12″ bristol. I will also draw on comic book sketch covers and in sketchbooks if you provide them. I expect demand to exceed my available time, so come see me early to get on my list so you don’t miss out!

Here are my sketch rates. Samples of different varieties of sketches are below!

  • Single Character – Full Figure: $100
  • Two Characters – Full Figure: $180
  • Head Sketch or Head-and-Shoulder: $60
  • Three or more characters, or 11×17 sketches: ($200+ – Will negotiate price based on request)

Headshot or Head-and-Shoulder Sketches ($60)

Headshot - Darkseid Headshot - Deadpool as Spiderman Headshot - Two-Face Headshot - Penguin Headshot - Joker Headshot - Kid Flash Headshot - Christopher Reeve

 

Single-Character Sketches ($100)

1 Character - Spider-man 1 Character - Batgirl Classic 1 Character - Black Beetle 1 Character - Wonder Woman 1 Character - Dr Fate 1 Character - Taskmaster 1 Character - Captain Marvel 1 Character - Robin 1 Character - Batgirl 1 Character - Zoom 1 Character - Golden Age Sandman 1 Character - Disco Wing 1 Character - Artemis 1 Character - Wildfire 1 Character - Superboy 1 Character - Batman

 

Two-Character Sketches ($180)

(Note that an elaborate object like the TARDIS counts as a second character)

2 Character - Superboy & Miss Martian 2 Character - Third Doctor & Tardis 2 Character - Superboy & Wolf2 Character - LadyBug & CatNoir

 

Three-Character or
Negotiated Flat-Rate Sketches ($200+)

3 Character - Batman Robin Alfred  Sketch Cover - Doom Patrol 

More Sketch Covers

(More samples of sketch covers I’ve done at various rates.)

Sketch Cover - Pertwee Wrap Around Sketch Cover - Troughton w Background  Sketch Cover - Capaldi Wrap Sketch Cover - Wrap Darkseid Sketch Cover - Skeletor    

    

And finally…

Stop by to show me you follow me on ANY of my Social Media platforms and get a free 4″x6″ mini-print! This year’s design features the Captains Marvel!

See you at NYCC!!!

The Big News – Yes, I work on the show

I’ve joked that for the last several years that thing I most commonly say to fans at comic book conventions is “I didn’t work on the show, I just drew the Young Justice companion comics.” It’s largely true.

When I say that I’m not trying to diminish that work on any way in comparison to the show, I’m very, VERY proud of the work I did on those comics. But a lot of fans see my Young Justice artwork and assume I worked on the show, or worse yet, that the show is somehow based on my work. So I’m always quick to clarify my role and give full credit to the amazing people that produce the show, including lead character designer Phil Bourassa and his team for creating the visual landscape I have been privileged enough to play in. Which results in “I didn’t work on the show, just the comic.”

Well that line is going to have to change.

In December I’m going to be moving to Burbank, California and will be working as a Storyboard Revisionist on Season 4 of Young Justice.

This is a huge, life-changing development for me. First of all is just moving to California. Aside from several months spent at Art School in Chicago I’ve lived in Minnesota all my life. I’ve visited the Los Angeles area many times, and even the Warner Brothers Animation facility where Young Justice is produced, but never imagined I’d soon be living and working out there.

This change is largely coming as a result of a conversation I had with Young Justice co-producer (as well as my friend and collaborator on the YJ comic) Greg Weisman in March when we were both at Emerald City Comic Con. I was expressing frustration with the state of my comics career. As much as comic book art was my childhood dream job, I confessed that I’d often thought I could also have been happy working in the animation field, but it seemed a bit late to be making that change, as I’d be starting all over again in a new field. Greg told me he didn’t think it would be as impossible a transition as I was describing, and suggested that if I was serious I should talk to his Young Justice co-producer Brandon Vietti about it.

I ended up talking to Brandon by phone and he was equally encouraging, and thought I could start out doing work storyboarding or as a Storyboard Revisionist. So I updated my resume for the first time in 17 years (no one hiring comic book artists asks to see a resume) and gathered samples of storyboard work I’d done on a few projects over the last decade and submitted them to WB Animation. And now I start in December!

What does a Storyboard Revisionist do? My understanding is that I take the rough boards drawn by another artist based on the script, and revise them as needed to bring them more “on model” for the character designs and make other small changes as directed, before the boards are sent overseas for animation. I’ll have a much better understanding of the logistics of all that by the end of the year!

So now I need to find a place to rent in Burbank (any leads or assistance from my L.A. friends is very welcome!) and organize the move! The life-transforming scale of this change is a little terrifying, but I can’t imagine doing this under better circumstances. On the one hand it’s a leap into the unknown but it’s freaking YOUNG JUSTICE and the people in charge are friends. I knew this show was leaving a huge footprint in my life, but this is crazy! I’m WHELMED! I’m FEELING THE ASTER!

And while I’m here, a couple of other Young Justice related notes:

  • I haven’t heard anything new as far as more Young Justice tie-in comics, even though I think they’d be a GREAT way to keep the fans engaged during the long wait between seasons 3 and 4, which will be more than a year. Greg and I would still love to do them, but even if the comic was a digital-only exclusive on the DC Universe streaming platform, it’s still up to DC Comics.
  • No, I don’t think I’m done drawing comics forever, but any comics projects will have to be scheduled around my animation commitments for the foreseeable future.
  • Yes, I’ll be doing more Young Justice prints, including prints based on Season 3 characters. I’ve just needed the time to work on them and have been waiting to see all of Season 3 to decide what prints to do! (If I’d started before the 2nd half of the season, I’d have had a totally different idea of what group of characters were identified as being the “Outsiders.” I hope to have a couple of new prints done in time for New York Comic Con.
  • The previous Young Justice prints I’ve done (along with my other superhero and Doctor Who prints) are available from my Etsy store or you can get them from me directly at my convention appearances.
    https://etsy.com/shop/ChrisJonesArt

I’ll try to do a better job of updating this page throughout the process of this transition, and share as much of the experience of joining the Season 4 team as I can, but I’m under NDAs which means I’ll know more but can say even less about what’s coming. As Greg likes to say… NO SPOILERS!

SYMBIOSI!

Now taking Sketch Commission Pre-Orders for ECCC and C2E2!

 

I am currently taking pre-orders for commission sketches for Emerald City Comic Con (March 14-17 / Artist Alley Table II-8) and Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (March 14-17/ Artist Alley Table X-10).

I’ll will be taking a limited number of sketch commissions at-con, but my sketch list fills up FAST! Even if you’re hoping to see me there ordering your sketch in advance is the best way to make sure you can get the original art you want. Plus, for ordering and paying in advance, I’m offering a FREE PRINT with any order of $100 or more. My full selection of prints can be seen in my Etsy store. Let me know which print you’d like to get for free with your commission when ordering.

I am taking orders for commissions to be shipped by mail as well, but orders tied to a convention appearance will take priority due to the definite time constraints.

All of my convention sketches are black ink on 9×12″ bristol. I will also draw on comic book sketch covers and in sketchbooks by request, but obviously I won’t be able to do the drawing in advance of a convention if I can’t get the sketchbook or sketch cover comic until the con.

Sketch Rates

Here are my sketch rates. Samples of different varieties of sketches are below!

  • Single Character – Full Figure: $100
  • Two Characters – Full Figure: $180
  • Head Sketch or Head-and-Shoulder: $60
  • Three or more characters, or 11×17 sketches: ($200+ – Will negotiate price based on request)

I expect demand to exceed my available time, so I will commit to commissions on a first-come, first-served basis. Place your order early so you don’t miss out!

Headshot or Head-and-Shoulder Sketches ($60)

Headshot - Darkseid Headshot - Deadpool as Spiderman Headshot - Two-Face Headshot - Penguin Headshot - Joker Headshot - Kid Flash Headshot - Christopher Reeve

 

Single-Character Sketches ($100)

1 Character - Spider-man 1 Character - Batgirl Classic 1 Character - Black Beetle 1 Character - Wonder Woman 1 Character - Dr Fate 1 Character - Taskmaster 1 Character - Captain Marvel 1 Character - Robin 1 Character - Batgirl 1 Character - Zoom 1 Character - Golden Age Sandman 1 Character - Disco Wing 1 Character - Artemis 1 Character - Wildfire 1 Character - Superboy 1 Character - Batman

 

Two-Character Sketches ($180)

(Note that an elaborate object like the TARDIS counts as a second character)

2 Character - Superboy & Miss Martian 2 Character - Third Doctor & Tardis 2 Character - Superboy & Wolf2 Character - LadyBug & CatNoir

 

Three-Character or
Negotiated Flat-Rate Sketches ($200+)

3 Character - Batman Robin Alfred 3 Character - Flash & Kid Flash vs Grodd Sketch Cover - Doom Patrol 

 

More Sketch Covers

(More samples of sketch covers I’ve done at various rates.)

Sketch Cover - Pertwee Wrap Around Sketch Cover - Troughton w Background Sketch Cover - Troughton Headshot Sketch Cover - Capaldi Wrap Sketch Cover - Wrap Darkseid Sketch Cover - Skeletor    


    

 

How to Order

If you want to place a commission order, send me an email at chris@christopherjonesart.com. I will need the following information:

Your Name:

Contact Email:

Means of Delivery: (Pick up at ECCC, C2E2, or Send by Mail)

At-Con contact (Cell # for text messages, if applicable):

Shipping Address (If applicable):

Choose one option per commission ordered:

A) Head & Shoulders $60
B) Single Figure $100
C) Two Figures $180
D) Three or More Figures (Cost will be negotiated based on description)

Sketch Type:

A) 9″x12″ Bristol (Standard)
B) Doctor Who Sketch Cover (+$5)
C) Other

What would you like me to draw?
Please specify character(s) and VERSION of character(s) (version of costume, in style of specific series, etc.).

Additional Comments/Questions:

For orders of $100 or more, specify which of my prints you would like as a free bonus!
You can see the range of selections in my Etsy store.

Upon receipt of your email I will write you back to confirm the details of the order and ask any necessary follow up questions. I’ll instruct you on how to make payment via PayPal (including a postage & handling charge if the artwork is to be shipped). Once I have the payment I will complete your sketch it will be available for pick-up or shipped as per our arrangements.

Visiting the Set of Svengoolie

I recently had the privilege of visiting the the set of Svengoolie in Chicago (no, not Berwyn) and wanted to write about it. But first, some history!

Svengoolie (Rich Koz) with Christopher Jones

You never really know a man until you’ve walked a mile in his coffin. (Photo by Kevin Reisberg)

I first met Svengoolie (aka Rich Koz) in 2014 at the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (C2E2). I’d been familiar with the concept of late-night horror hosts on TV since I was a kid, but it was only when Svengoolie’s show went national with the Me-TV network a few years back that I finally had one I could regularly watch, and I quickly became a fan.

After hitting it off at C2E2 2014 I decided to create a portrait of Svengoolie which I presented to him as a gift at C2E2 2015. Sven seemed sincerely surprised and delighted by the portrait, and I has hugely flattered that it was added to the TV show’s set! I wrote about all this and the story behind the portrait in more detail here: “A Portrait Worthy of Svengoolie”.

Svengoolie and me at C2E2 2014.

Svengoolie signs my personal copy of the portrait at C2E2 2015. (Photo by Gregory Parks)

I had done my best to keep in touch with Rich and his producer Jim Roche since then and had been extended a generous offer to come visit the set some time. I finally managed just a few weeks ago to make it to Chicago at a time that coincided with Svengoolie filming a few weeks ago and got to make my long-awaited visit.

The set is smaller than you’d expect, but is densely filled with ghoulish, geeky detail. It is lavishly stocked with statues, figures and props, and most fans have likely noticed that it gets redressed for each episode with figures specific to that week’s movie. Many of those figures are pulled from the personal collections of the crew and staff that makes the show happen, and when not drafted into on-screen use most of those figures reside around the desks and cubicles of those crew members! The craftsmanship on Sven’s gimmicked-out coffin is as impressive in person as you’d hope, and the cameras are automated so they can be run from a control room down the hall!

   

I got to watch Sven and his crew record intros and outros for four upcoming episodes while I was there, and also recorded an interview with Sven that will be included with the Svengoolie episode “The Black Cat” on March 2, 2019. But most importantly, I got to throw rubber chickens. Watching the show I always think of the chickens that pelt Sven during these segments as coming in from beside the camera, but actually the chicken throwers are sitting on rubber mats on the concrete floor in front of the camera, lobbing the rubber chickens up in the frame, trying to get *close* to Sven without a) smacking him hard, b) their hands coming up too high were they’ll be seen by the camera, or c) having a wild throw take out any of the collectible nik-naks displayed around the coffin. All these things can happen – and have!

I was kicking myself after the day was over that I got photos with Svengoolie but not with Jim Roche or any other members of the crew I met that day who were all so gracious and made me feel so welcome. Oh, well – next time!And yes, if you’d like your own copy of the Svengoolie portrait, they are for sale. If you can’t get if from me in person at one of my convention appearances, you can always purchase it from my Etsy store.

Updated: Here’s the interview segment from the episode.

Keep an eye out for my live tweets during episodes. When I’m at home I’m watching I’m usually commenting as @chrisjonesart. See you online my fellow Sven-fans!