Thank you for visiting the website for comic book artist/commercial illustrator Ron Randall. Click on the sliders above to see galleries of his work. His most current projects are featured via the “projects” slider. You can contact Ron anytime at randallart26@gmail.com .
Photo by Sarah Griffrow http://www.sarahgiffrow.com/
Close on the heels of Emerald City comes Portland’s own Stumptown Comic Fest, April 28-29. I’ve been asked to appear on a couple of panels there and am looking forward to that. Stumptown is a unique and fun experience, full of very dedicated fans and students of the medium. I’ll have more details as the date gets closer!
With the Emerald City Comic Con coming up next weekend, I am getting in the convention season mood. Which works out nicely, since things are just being put in to place for the first annual Rose City Comic-Con, coming this fall right in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. I jumped at the chance to feature a new drawing of Trekker (from the brand-new tale that I am just finishing up at the moment) in this flyer to help promote the event. Portland is boiling over with talented comic creators, both independent and mainstream. And we are all excited to help with the launching of a new, major convention right in our own collective back yard! So, for those who can’t make it to Seattle next weekend, find your way to Portland this September. I will be signing, sketching and showing off shamelessly at BOTH shows.
I am so happy to be back to the world of Trekker that I wanted to share a glimpse as I am in the process of inking the first of the brand-new stories that will appear at trekkercomic.com once I have finished posted all the previously existing tales. I’ve been extremely pleased to find that it hasn’t taken long to feel that I have recaptured, I hope, the flavor of the series. If you want to see what I’m talking about, go to my Trekker website. The home page will bring up the posts of the “vintage” stories I am representing, and by clicking the “Spoiler Alert!” page from the top menu you can see some of the rough pencilled pages from the new stories in progress!
Just got word that my submission to the 2012 edition of the classy “Monsters and Dames” art book for Seattle’s Emerald City show has made it into the book. So, if you are at the con, please pick up a copy– it has 80 full-color pieces by a wide and wonderful assortment from many of the industry’s best artists– and bring it by my table where I will be signing.
My contribution to the book is this illustration, the first new piece of Trekker art that I have finished for publication in some time. It felt great to get back to drawing my own character, and I am in the midst of bringing her stories back to the light of day over at trekkercomic.com. The colors here are once again by the talented Jeremy Colwell, who brings just the right touch of atmosphere to Trekker’s often black-and-white world.
A busy last few months around here! Apart from launching the trekkercomic.com website, the holidays and moving to a wonderful new house and I’ve also kept my hand busy drawing a nifty Western comic mini-series! While not out yet, I thought I’d share a few pages here since the project called for me to use a different approach with the drawing that I’m finding a fun change. I’ll spread the word and more details about the project when the the issues start to see print!
Back from the New York Comic Con, a wonderfully well-staged show. I was thrilled and inspired to meet so many fans, both old and new, who were happy to talk about the new TREKKER website, trekkercomic.com. Knowing that my labor-of-love sci-fi project strikes a chord in readers willing to look beyond the “mainstream” remains very rewarding. When I created Trekker, I knew it wasn’t a particularly “commercial” comic at the time (meaning no superheroes or skin-barring women). But I believed that if I liked it, others would as well. The trick would be getting the word out to them. And the website and going to conventions seems to be the way.
Apart from spreading the word about Trekker, I was able to spend time with some long-time friends from back in my New Jersey days, and sign, sketch and sell at my table. On top of all was hanging with my daughter, Lisa, who is something of a superhero in her own right. To wit:
In NJ with fellow Kubert School veterans Mike Chen, Kim Demulder, Tom Mandrake and Jan Dursema
Superhero daughter Lisa presents my convention banner
I am thrilled to announce that after a far-too-long absence, I am returning to Trekker, the series I created for Dark Horse back at the rise of the independent publishers. Today, I am launching the website trekkercomic.com, where I will be doing weekly posts of the adventures of Mercy St Clair. I will begin by posting the original stories as they first appeared and then continue on with all-new adventures. For long-time Trekker fans who are familiar with much of the existing work, I have some features on the site where I will be posting new or never-seen-before art, including some peeks at the pages of the first of the new stories that I am working on it right now.
Trekker has always remained the project closest to my heart. I feel it has always inspired my very best efforts. And based on the continuing inquiries I get about the series at every convention I attend, it seems to be my most memorable project to fans as well. I hope you’ll all check out the site, and enjoy the ride!
I am very pleased to announce that I will be attending the New York City Comic Con, Oct 13-16 this year. (Check out their great website at newyorkcitycomiccon.com.)
I have not done a show in New York for many many years. I hope many of you will drop by to say ‘Hi’. I will do my best to have a variety of interesting and tempting pages of original art for you to look through. I’ll try to answer any questions you might have. And a highlight of every show is to field sketch requests. A few alert fans have already reached me with their requests, so I am gearing up mentally for some convention sketch fun. You can find me at table I-8 in Comic Artist Alley!
I also want to say here that after finishing up the last couple of DC books I’ve had on my board, I have finally had enough space in my schedule to put in some serious time on a project that I have been dying to get to for some while now. It has consumed a good amount of my time lately, and I can’t wait to get word out… but I will have to wait till next week. I’m not big on “teasers” like this, but I hope you’ll check back here next Monday September 26 for a big announcement. Thanks!
Among other projects that have kept me away from this website, I have been busy with two teams for DC: The Outsiders and the Justice League. On the Outsiders, I jumped on board to help Phillip Tan with the art on the series finale, issue 40. The issue serves as a retrospective on the team’s history. Here’s a double-page spread that captures some of the feeling:
And here’s a grim double-spread from an up-coming Justice League “retro” issue looking back to the mid-80′s line up, when the group was based in Detriot:
You can click on either image to enlarge.
This year at the Emerald City Comic Con, Supergirl stopped by to approve of my new convention banner. You never know who you are going to meet at a comic con. If it’s a good one, you may bump into the likes of Plastic Man and The Rocketeer along with the usual assortment of Storm Troopers and Star Fleet officers. If it’s a fantastic one, Supergirl shows up as well. Such was the case at Emerald City this year, where Periscope Studio arrived in numbers. ECCC is one of the best-run and most pleasant shows in the country. And it was a great opportunity to again meet many fans, sign autographs, do sketches and get feedback on the projects we’ve all been producing. Hope to see many of you at future shows.
Karl Kesel and Ron at their corner of the Periscope booth
Ron being interviewed for a comics and pop culture documentary
More of the busy Periscopes
Another Supergirl, this one in a great home-made costume, picking up a collection I got to draw of her adventures.
