Christopher Jones at C2E2 2018

I’m thrilled to see so many friends and fans again at Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo this weekend! I’ll be at Artist Alley table H4 for all three days of the convention.

Here’s a handy map to help you find me at the con!

Yes, once again everybody’s favorite clown prince of crime Mister J will be joining me! He’ll be roaming the convention getting into staying out of trouble when he’s not at my table!

    

2018 Con Exclusive Free Mini-Print

Those who have been following me for a while know that C2E2 is also where I unveil my new FREE mini-print for the year! These are convention exclusive 4″x6″ signed prints that can only be obtained by visiting me at a convention and showing me that you follow me on Facebook or Twitter. It’s a way that I can say thank you to my fans for sticking around. And they’re sort of starting to become collectible, apparently.

In honor of Young Justice returning this year, my newest Mini-Print features Kid Flash claiming another “Souvenir”: a mini-print of Kid Flash claiming another “Souvenir”: a mini-print of… well, you get the idea.

I’ll still have my mini-prints from previous years for C2E2 since I’m driving (not worrying about luggage weight really increases what I can bring with me!) So if you’ve missed one, get it while you can.

New Prints Since Last Year 

I’ve got a few new 11″x17″ full color and 9.5″x11″ full color AND black-and-white prints for purchase since last year’s C2E2, too. I think you guys are going to like these. As usual, I’ll be offering all of my prints at a significant discount from my Etsy store prices.

First, for Young Justice fans, there’s a bonanza of new prints! The Season 2 Team print, The Bat Family, The Flash Family (aka “Flash Forward”), The Marvel Family, and for you villain fans out there, Let There Be Light! 

For Doctor Who fans I’ve got new prints as well: “Thirteen” featuring Jodie Whittaker as the 13th Doctor, “The Paternoster Gang” featuring Strax, Madame Vastra and Jenny, and if you like me you love Doctor Who AND Superheroes, check out “Love at First Sight” featuring Harley Quinn and the TARDIS.

Given the Doctor Who mini-series I’m currently drawing (out this June with a special preview for Free Comic Book Day), it may not be new, this might be of special interest: “Come on Ace, We’ve Got Work To Do!” is my print featuring The Seventh Doctor and Ace.

And I’ll also have my selection of 8.5″x11″ prints at $10 (color) and $5 (black & white), and a limited number of copies of the collected edition of Doctor Who: The 3rd Doctor mini-series by myself and Paul Cornell.

You can see the rest of my prints in my gallery.

C2E2 2018 At-the-Con Sketch Rates 

I will be doing sketches during the convention. Stop by my table, H4, on Friday or Saturday to get on my list! Here are my at-the-con sketch rates.

• Full Figure: $100 for the first character + $80 for each additional character
• Head Sketch (shoulders & up): $60 or $40 with a current student ID

My sketches are ink drawings done with brush pens on 9″x12″ Bristol. I’ll do commission drawings for the same rates in sketchbooks or on sketch covers for the same rates if you provide the book.

Cosplay Repair Kit!

Again this year, I will have the cosplay repair kit with sewing stuff, different sorts of tape, contact cement, and other misc. cosplay repair items. Just ask if you need to use it.

Before I go…

I wanted to answer some Frequently-Asked-Questions from twitter:

• Autographs are always free and I’ll sign anything you bring me. (Check out my guide to asking for signatures and drawings at conventions!)
• I do not charge for photos and I am happy to take a photo with anyone who asks!
• I’m happy to do interviews, podcasts, snippets, goofy stuff, and whatever any day but Sunday, but the earlier you can drop by, the better!
• I will draw any cannon character ship kissing if asked. I will draw any two characters together doing non-romantic/sexual things, regardless of whether it’s cannon or not.

Please stop by and say hello, grab your free mini-print, and if you’re cosplaying, let me take a photo for my Facebook page. Oh, I have an Instagram now too, so be sure to follow me on there too!

Can’t wait to see you all, especially those of you who bring me Diet Coke every year (you know who you are!)

Origin Story: Kid Flash from Young Justice #5

I posted this on Tumblr a few days ago and at got a good response there, so I thought I’d do a slightly expanded version here.

This is Kid Flash’s origin as told by the Kid himself (aka Wally West) in Young Justice #5. Furthermore, it’s a comparison of my pencil art with the digital inks and the final print version.

Script by Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani
Pencils by Christopher Jones
Inks by Dan Davis
Colors by Zac Atkinson
Letters by Carlos M. Mangual

This comic was scripted by Art and Franco, but the versions of the origin stories presented in it were based on Young Justice continuity as developed for the TV show by Greg Weisman and the other writers. This was my first issue drawing Young Justice, and I was still trying to master the nuances of the character designs. Complicating matters was trying to draw the characters a year or two younger in flashbacks! Let’s dive in!

This issue featured members of the newly-formed team going on a camping trip together and getting to know more about each-other as they tell (origin) stories around the campfire. Aqualad’s story about becoming the protege to Aquaman was just wrapping up as we get to Kid Flash. Wally’s story starts with the origin of the original Flash Jay Garrick, so I got to draw Central City in the 1940s. The “Lampert” Building seen in that panel is a reference to Harry Lampert, artist and co-creator of The Flash with writer Gardner Fox. I love throwing in references like that!

Here we see a young Barry Allen meeting Jay Garrick and getting his autograph on a copy of the Golden Age Flash #1 before becoming the second incarnation of The Flash. I drew a simplified version of the Flash #1 cover art and composited it into the artwork in Photoshop so I could get greater detail than I could have done in the raw pencils.

This page is a good example of leaving room in the artwork for the lettering that is to be placed later. Panel 4 is the simple version – the shot is tight enough on Barry Allen that it didn’t need a background, so I just left enough space to the side of him that the lettering would fit without covering Barry up. But check out Panel 2 right above it.  There’s a whole bunch of background that gets covered up by the fairly large amount of text in that panel. But none of it was important. You just needed to see enough to know you were in a bedroom next to an open closet. All the important stuff (Wally, the open case with Barry’s notebooks) is at the bottom of the panel, with lots of vertical lines in perspective leading your eye down to it.

I remember enjoying drawing the makeshift laboratory in Wally’s parents’ garage. I tried to make it feel kind of ramshackle, with equipment that like it would have been more at home in a high-school chemistry class than a high-tech lab.

Those are Wally’s parents on the left in Panel 2, who appeared in the TV show, but who I didn’t yet have reference for when I drew this. On the right is Iris and Barry Allen. Barry’s hair is getting a little orange here, rather than his usual blonde buzz-cut. Maybe he’s been hanging out with Wally too much…

And finally we see Wally somewhat reluctantly accepted as Barry’s sidekick, Kid Flash.

If you’d like to see more sequences broken down this way, let me know!

Out NOW: Young Justice #17 – “Uncommon Demoninators”

Young Justice #17 Cover

YOUNG JUSTICE #17 is written by Kevin Hopps and Greg Weisman and Christopher Jones with color by Zac Atkinson.

• KOBRA is back – and he’s scheming to become a god!
• Don’t miss the action as ROBIN, KID FLASH and ARTEMIS tackle MAMMOTH and SHIMMER!
• Guest-starring BATMAN, THE FLASH and GREEN ARROW!
• The issue is set in MINNEAPOLIS, so for readers local to the area you should recognize a number of familiar landmarks and Easter eggs!

YJ #17 page 1

YJ #17 page 2

YJ #17 page 3

YJ #17 Title Spread

Be sure to pick the issue up at your local comics shop or in digital form!

Out TODAY: Young Justice #16

Young Justice #16

YOUNG JUSTICE #16 is written by Greg Weisman and Christopher Jones with color by Zac Atkinson.

Robin, Kid Flash and Artemis fight crime with their adult counterparts (that’s Batman, The Flash and Green Arrow, respectively) in this first part of a new storyline. As an added bonus there’s an Easter Egg for attendees of CONvergence!

Green Arrow & Artemis

In the Museum

Batman and Robin

Coming in June: Young Justice #17

Young Justice #17

YOUNG JUSTICE #17 – On Sale June 20, 2012
Written by Greg Weisman and Kevin Hopps, art and cover by Christopher Jones.

Issues #1-13 are currently available and #14 is out this week! Pick an issue up in digital form or at your local comic shop!