Parker Gallery

I put all of the Draw Parker entries on this gallery for easier viewing. Hopefully I didn't forget any. If you notice any missing, please let me know.

Thanks to those entrants who have sent along their mailing addresses. If you entered the Draw Parker contest and haven't done so, please do. All entrants will be receiving something as our way of saying thanks for taking part.

final Parker!

Sean Scoffield wrote in with this entry and added, "Hope I made it in time for the Parker contest. I literally only discovered it days ago and had to fit the drawing around work and kids,etc.. It felt great to use a brush and ink again, it's been awhile. Can't wait to see Darwyn's book. I can't think of anything else that I'm looking forward to as much.
I should mention that I'm a graphic designer and illustrator who works mainly in film, although I've done some comics over the years. My website will be up by the end of the month, after years of delay and laziness."



Thanks, Sean! Now that the entries are all in, it will take a couple of days for Darwyn to sift through them all and make some very tough decisions. Keep an eye on the blog and we'll announce the winners over the next few days. Remember, all the folks who submitted entries, please send in your mailing address so we can send out the signed books and a thank you to all who took part. Thank you for taking the time to send in your illustrations and keep reading good comics!

more Parkers!

A few more entries in the Draw Parker contest...

First up is Anthony Forgione who writes, "I'm not an artist, but I tried to show Parker caught in a double cross after a score. The picture above the bed is a swipe of Robert McGinnis. Also, note that the girl in the bed was passing time with DC's New Frontier (the Absolute version, now available at bookstores!) as she waited for Parker to show."



Thanks, Anthony! Next is JonRob who sent in this stylish piece:



Nice stuff, Jon! And the last one for tonight is from Kristof Spaey who mentioned, "I didn't really have time for this since the deadline for my comic is fast approaching, but I couldn't waste this opportunity to show my appreciation of Darwyn's work and the chance to win a signed copy of his newest book."



Very cool, Kristof. If this is what you do without much time, your comic book should be a stunner. You can see more of Kristof's work at here.

Well, one more post tomorrow morning to show the final entries that get sent in tonight. Then it will be a couple of days to go through all the wonderful submissions. If you have entered a drawing for the contest, please send me your mailing address so we can send you something. Darwyn was very impressed with the entries and the number of them and he'd like to say thanks.

some more Parkers as the deadline approaches!

Woodrow Phoenix writes, "I just saw this contest was going on yesterday and I wasn't going to worry about it but... you know how it is when a little idea just won't go away. So here's my quick sketch!"



Thanks, Woodrow! Glenn Greenham sent in this email, "I've attached my entry to the Parker contest. As you can see, I am far from an artist but I couldn't miss the chance at winning a copy of this book. It took me forever to scratch this entry on a piece of paper. Yes I googled "how to draw" and I also contemplated raiding my kids "craft drawer" for help. I'm a huge fan of Darwyn's work and am looking forward to the Hunter adaptation. All of the entries look great!"



Great stuff, Glenn! Time for one more; this is from Alex Schumacher: "I hope I'm not too late! I believe you are accepting submissions until tomorrow so with any luck I've made it by the skin of my teeth...
Anyway, here's my rendition of Parker. Darwyn is such a talented artist who deserves every accolade he receives and has long since been a large influence on my work. If it sounds like I'm kissing a little ass...well it's because I am! However, I'm also being very sincere. I can't wait for The Hunter to come out and do hope that my doodle may be included in the "draw Parker" contest with the other fine entries!"



Alex also has a blog here with more of his work.

Thanks to all who entered. Today, July 16th is the deadline for entries. I'll be checking email later today and first thing tomorrow morning for the final update in the Draw Parker contest, so you still have time to get your drawing in to us!

Drinks with Darwyn at San Diego!

The Hero Initiative (a very worthwhile charity organization) is holding an ebay auction that, if you're going to the San Diego Comic-con, you might want to check out.....

Cocktail party with Darwyn Cooke at SDCC 2009!

.....I wish I was going to San Diego!

more new Parkers

Courtesy of the Parker brothers, Brandon and Quinten: "here are our interpretations of Parker Prime, from whom Parkers the world over derive their strength from."





Barry McWilliams is a designer working in tv, living in LA. and he adds, "I've been a huge Darwyn fan since New Frontier and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of his new book."



Didier is a French designer living in Hong Kong. He writes, "I have been a fan of Mister Cooke's work. Here is my entry for the contest. I have to say that I haven't read anything about Parker ( excepted some quick google stuff ) and I am looking forward to read the Graphic Novel. This was the opportunity for me to try my new tablet PC with pressure sensitive pen and also a style I don't usually do!"



You can see more of Didier's work here.

And Ben Jeddrie sent in this note accompanying his version of Parker, "My name is Ben, and I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, although I have also not. I draw for various purposes, but mostly for myself to do. I like ice creams and short walks on especially sandy beaches (without shoes). I enjoy greatly Mr. Cooke and the work he has done. My Parker drawing is inspired by the opening line of 1974's "Butcher's Moon", the last of the series before the long hiatus. It was done, as seen, in the style of paperback illustrations, which I like to see, and with occasional thoughts of Harvey Kurtzman. Who, I believe, helped it to live more."



Also, Ben has a drawing blog here.

Big thanks to all the folks who have sent in submissions - they are wonderful and Darwyn is going to have a tough time picking his favourites.

new Parkers and some convention appearances

First up is Ollie! Take it away, Ollie:
"Hi, my name is Ollie and I live in England, here Is my entry for the Parker contest. I'm a big fan of Darwyn's and I'm looking forward to seeing his adaptation. I don't really know that much about the character, I've only seen the Lee Marvin movie so that's why I decided to go with kind of a movie poster image. Olie doesn't have a blog or anything to plug. As he put it, "I just like to draw every now and then." Well, keep it up!



Next is Anthony Hightower. He writes, "I'm a big fan of Darwyn's work and I'm
anticipating The Hunter like few books in my life. The previews I've seen
are amazing. So when I saw this contest I figured it was a great excuse
for my own Parker painting!"



Anthony added, "In case you're interested, I'm a founding member of 803 Studios and I've
drawn three issues of Negative Burn for Desperado as well as the
mini-series, Gutwrencher for Shadowline/Image comics. The newly expanded
trade paperback of Gutwrencher will be out in a few months from IDW. My
website is undergoing a complete revamping at the moment, but some
galleries are up and running in the meantime. Just go to
www.anthonyhightower.com to check them out."

Okay, I will! Thanks, Anthony!

In convention news, from the last couple of posts you should all by now be aware that Darwyn wil be at the San Diego Comic-con taking place July 23-26. He will be signing books at the IDW booth and may appear elsewhere as well. He is not going to have any time to do sketches at this show, but Albert Moy will have some new art for sale.

The rest of the summer goes like this:

Mini MegaCon
Orlando
August 22nd-23rd, 2009

Fan Expo
Toronto
Aug 28-20

DragonCon
Atlanta
Sept 4-7

new Parkers and more Comic-con

This Parker came in from Amsterdam thanks to Joscha van Deijk:



Joscha also mentioned, "Thank you for this competition, some of the contenders are really great!"
Thank YOU for the submission! Joscha also has a blog here with more illustrations.

Kel Winser sent along this note:
"I come from the UK and live in Brighton. I have been drawing comics and cartoons for years and have self published to sell at cons and fairs. I am a High School Art Teacher in the real world and will always use the medium of comics for educational and entertainment pursuits! I first came across Darwyn Cooke on the six issue DC: The New Frontier serial. I have been a fan since then and his art has had a great impact on my own practice, in and out of the classroom! It has been a pleasure to work on an illustration to celebrate the release of his new book which I am really looking forward to! Thank you and please check out my own blog messyfingers.blogspot.com, cheers!"

Thanks, Kel! Here's Kel's entry in the Draw Parker contest:



and the last one for today is from Francesco Francavilla who adds,"I did this when Stark passed away. Coincidentally, in that same week, also legendary Shadow illustrator Cartier passed away, so I decided to pay tribute to both with this ‘fictional’ cover."



Francesco may be best known for his work on the Zorro series (which should have a link like this, but the site seems to be non-responsive). He has also worked on Jason Aaron's remarkable Scalped series as well as his own Black Beetle and more. Check out pulpsunday and his website for more cool stuff.

"and finally in news...."
Friday at the comic-con looks to be as amazingly busy as the Thursday schedule. Darwyn will be the host and the subject of his own panel at 2 pm in room 4 on the upper level of the convention centre. The description from the comic-con is as follows: "IDW: Darwyn Cooke— Awarding-winning cartoonist Darwyn Cooke discusses the evolution of his work with Scott Dunbier (IDW), including new and upcoming projects, such asParker, a graphic novel adaptation of noir crime fiction author Richard Stark's (aka Donald Westlake) protagonist." For the rest of Friday's schedule click here.

Parker entries, a "billboard", and more

Three new Parker drawings this time. First up is Brandon L. Dawley. Brandon is an illustrator and designer and you can see more of his work here and here.



next is Diana Tamblyn who writes, "I read "The Hunter" by Richard Stark recently in anticipation of Darwyn Cooke's graphic novel and really enjoyed it. To me the character didn't come across as young and handsome though. He seemed like an older, rugged kind of guy, yet with a very magnetic personality. Also wanted to get across his style of dress being rumpled, and a little worn.

This is from a scene in the book where he is staking out a character... "



and you can check out more of Diana's work at her website and her flickr page.

and J. Bone, who worked with Darwyn on the wonderful Spirit and Spider-man: Tangled Web comics, passed along this illustration of Parker...



J. has piles more artwork on his blog here and is drawing the Doom Patrol in Batman: The Brave & the Bold #7 which comes out on July 29th. It should be sweet.

Here in Halifax, Chris Lockerbie put the finishing touches on the Parker "billboard" :



see more of the "Parker Billboard" here.

and Chris Ryall of IDW posted Darwyn's cover to The Last Resort #2. The first issue of The Last Resort is released on July 15th also with a variant cover by Darwyn.

For those of you going to the San Diego comic-con, Darwyn will be part of a panel called A Darker Shade of Ink: Crime and Noir in Comics. The description from the comic-con's programming page states "Crime comics are back with a bang! Darwyn Cooke (Parker: The Hunter), Greg Rucka (Gotham Central), and Steve Lieber (Whiteout) join moderator/noted mystery and comics writer Max Allan Collins (The Road to Perdition) to talk about the new incarnations of crime and noir in comics." The panel takes place in Room 5AB at 2pm on Thursday, July 23rd.

The folks at CHUD are talking about Parker; and Rich Johnston reviews The Hunter over at Bleeding Cool.

Lastly, here are some shots of the actual Parker book that should be out on July 22nd at finer book and comic stores everywhere...






Nice, eh? The pages are a sort of cream colour and the blue seen in the advance copies is more of a gun-metal blue in the finished version. Also pictured is the 16 page artbook about the Parker project. Retailers who order 5 copies of The Hunter can order 1 copy of the artbook, so expect them to be pretty scarce.

That's it for today - My wife and I are building our backyard deck today, so if there's a hammer mishap, I may not be typing for a couple of days! (keep those Parker drawings coming!)

new Parkers and the New Frontier, absolutely

Two more nifty entries in the Draw Parker contest. The first is from Chris Stone of Toronto:


and the other is from U! (aka Uriel A. Durán) who is an illustrator from Mexico City. Uriel writes, "I've been following your blog from its Livejournal feed,and since I'm a fan of Mr. Cooke's work and a sucker for crime stories I thought it would be fun to submit a little something for the contest.So here it is:"

Uriel has a website here and a "sketchlog" here.

and there's still time to get your entry in! We're accepting submissions up to July 16th. Darwyn is off to San Diego the week after for the debut of The Hunter. I know he'll be signing at the IDW booth, in fact they promise "daily appearances"; and maybe elsewhere. I'll see if I can find out.

Also in the news as far as new releases go, the Absolute(ly lovely) New Frontier is back in print and should be arriving in your favourite local comic and book stores today. A gorgeous volume with loads of extras.


In other news, we are getting very low on the Retroactive book so if you don't have one yet, get it soon.
That's it for now. Get your Parker done and send it in!

new Parker entry

Good afternoon!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. I have piles of paperwork to get through today, but while checking my e-mail was pleased to receive another entry in the Draw Parker contest.



This is from Jim Hopkins who added, "I'm a fan of Darwyn Cooke's work, and visit this blog frequently. I'm looking forward to seeing what this new Richard Stark book will be like! This idea for the contest is pretty cool, and I've been enjoying the art posted so far. Here's my take on Parker for the contest -I went for a sort of Robert Maguire pastiche. He's one of the unsung masters of paperback art and one of my favorite PB cover artists so I did this with him in mind."

Thanks, Jim! He also a blog here with some wonderful caricatures. I love the one of Jean Reno.

There's still time to get your entry in! July 16th is the deadline for entries.

more Parker!

"I hope you don't mind me sending along this Parker pic. I'm really looking forward to the books release." wrote W Johnson Cadwell via e-mail.

I don't mind at all! Thanks for the entry! You can see more of his work here.



Keep them coming!

new Parker entries!

Sorry for the quiet couple of days. Canada Day was on July 1st and it's been pretty busy at work. Enough with the excuses, on with the show!

Jason Arnold sent in his take on Parker:


Jason also makes music as Proffessor Undressor on Kelp Records.
Check it out here.

and Patrick Dean's entry is taken from the opening of Slayground, "with Parker doing what he does best; running the hell away from a bad situation."

Patrick has more of his work here.

and just this morning, Brian Healey passed along this entry:


There's still time to get your version of Parker done! Contest closes July 16th!