Psyche Delectus: Master of the Temple

At the Nexus, he is Gatekeeper and King.

Recommended Listening:

Arcana

Medea

from As Bright as a Thousand Suns

{8x5.33,  Digital Images manipulated in Adobe Photoshop}

Saturday Sketch: Bronze Age Samhain

Sorry for the delay on this one.  Things kind of got backed up this Halloweekend.

Here we have the druid form of Samhain from the first Vision and the Scarlet Witch limited series.  His spirit has been trapped in the Druid Tome and was released on All Hallow's Eve.  The Scarlet Witch destroyed the tome and banished his spirit.

{2.5x3.5,  created in Adobe Photoshop}

I claim no copyright for the properties represented in the Saturday Sketches.  All copyrights and trademarks are retained by their respective owners.  I make no money from what I am presenting here.  It is presented for portfolio and appreciation purposes only.

The Parade: Part III, Behind The Star

Continued from The Parade: Part II, Under the Mason Bridge

The Parade
Part III

Behind the Star
 

As Jackie entered the Star diner, she was pummeled by a wall of sound.  The dinner rush had come early and the restaurant was full.  A coffee maker at the far end of the bar gurgled and hissed as it finished making a pot of its dark elixir.  In the kitchen, Abe was busy filling orders.  She could see his arms rising and falling behind a wall of steam as he flipped burgers, pulled plates, and dropped baskets into the deep frier.  He placed several full plates in the window behind the bar and yelled, "Order up!"  The television over the bar blared and all around her different conversations merged with the clatter of plates and silverware. Ruby smiled at her as she rushed by with a cup and a pot of coffee.  Jackie waved and moved closer to the bar.

"...and coming up on channel five news - Are you looking for a good scare this Hallo-weekend? We'll give you a listing of the best haunted houses and trails in the tri-state area...and if you haven't carved your Jack O Lantern yet, we'll tell you the best places to shop for that last minute pumpkin.  Later we'll be speaking with federal authorities about the nationwide manhunt that continues for convicted serial killer Doctor Theodore Mars.  Dr. Mars escaped from federal custody in February of this year and has eluded federal authorities si-"

From the Archives: What Balloons Feel

Here's a quick older sketch of a darksome thought about balloons.

{8x4.56,  Graphite}

Skin Crawling Comics October Update

The Skin Crawling Comics website regularly posts pages to the individual stories of the anthology every Tuesday and Thursday.  I'll be doing an update at least once a month with links to the newest pages.  Drop by and check out the latest updates!

The Borley Reports Pg. 4
The Borley Reports Pg. 5
The Borley Reports Pg. 6
The Borley Reports Pg. 7
Hunger Pg. 1
Hunger Pg. 2
Hunger Pg. 3
Hunger Pg. 4

If you haven't already, check out last month's pages.  Also check out Skin Crawling Comics on Twitter and Facebook!

The Parade: Part II, Under the Mason Bridge

Continued from The Parade: Part I, Skipping School

The Parade
Part II

Under the Mason Bridge

Jackie sat on a bench at the edge of the park and watched the cars move through downtown Rivercross.  They zigzagged like confused ants, disappearing behind trees and buildings then reappearing moments later in a new direction.  A breeze knocked bright orange leaves loose from nearby trees.  They danced across her field of vision like bits of flame and floated away down the hillside.

Her tears had finally passed.  She held the brown bag tightly in her grip.  She had shoved the test stick in with the packaging.  She almost threw it all in the trashcan nearby but found that as she approached she couldn't release the bag.  She still had not decided if she was going to tell Sam.  She didn't know what she was going to do at all.  Jackie watched the clouds stretch themselves across the sky like cotton candy.

The Parade: Part I, Skipping School

The Parade 
Part I

October 30th, Skipping School

Jackie pedaled her bike out of the parking lot and away from school.  She glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one had seen her leave.  Her last class was a free period and she wouldn't be missed, but she didn't want to take any chances.  Rivercross High disappeared behind a bank of trees as she rounded the curve and sped towards downtown. She turned at the next intersection to avoid Main street.  She didn't want to be seen by anyone who might tell her dad.  Doris over at the Style Shop had ratted her out when she had skipped class before and she just couldn't deal with that extra stress today.

She bought the test from Maureen at Norris grocery on her way to school.  She knew that Maureen would keep her secret.  She sold Jackie cigarettes sometimes.  The test was wrapped in a brown paper bag deep in her backpack.  She would go to the park for some privacy and then she would know.  If she got to the park before three she could get home before four-thirty and her mom and dad wouldn't be suspicious.  She angled her bike onto Myers boulevard and towards the Mason bridge.

Saturday Sketch: Lord Pumpkin

Lord Pumpkin was a villain from the now defunct Malibu comics Ultraverse.  I've never read any stories with him in them, but how could I resist the devilish figure of mayhem he presents!

{2.5x3.5,  created in Adobe Photoshop}

I claim no copyright for the properties represented in the Saturday Sketches.  All copyrights and trademarks are retained by their respective owners.  I make no money from what I am presenting here.  It is presented for portfolio and appreciation purposes only.

From The Archives: Devil May Care

Here's an older quick sketch of a devilish character.  My original intent for the character was as a rogue hero or a villain.  That may still happen.  I have several stories that he would fit nicely into.

{8x5.75,  Graphite}

Featured Creature: Chornehbanku

Excerpted from Marge Hollander's Digest of Demons and Devils: 

"Chornehbanku are spirits of emptiness that seek out and attach themselves to judgmental and bitter humans.  They seek a rarest essence: the tears of the judgmental.  While their victims sleep, the Chornehbanku collect these lonely tears in their night jars.  The Chornehbanku will influence the moods of the victim and attempt to isolate them further from the world around them.  These wraiths will feed off a chosen victim until the person eventually dies.

Once a Chornehbanku has attached itself to a person and has begun to collect their tears there is only one method to exorcise these vampiric ghosts.  The night jar of the Chornehbanku represents its connection to the physical realm.  If the night jar can be procured and destroyed, the Chornehbanku's hold on the person can be broken and the spirit banished.  Such a task is not to be considered lightly for many have lost their lives in attempts to separate a Chornehbanku from its jar.  These dire phantoms will enact any heresy to protect their jars." 

{8x5.33,  created in Adobe Photoshop}

Saturday Sketch: Mervyn Pumpkinhead

Second amongst this month's Halloween themed Saturday Sketches, we have Mervyn Pumpkinhead from the pages of Sandman.  I've always like Mervyn.  There's just something about a smart mouthed cigarette smoking pumpkinheaded scarecrow!

{2.5x3.5,  created in Adobe Photoshop}

I claim no copyright for the properties represented in the Saturday Sketches.  All copyrights and trademarks are retained by their respective owners.  I make no money from what I am presenting here.  It is presented for portfolio and appreciation purposes only.

From the Archives: Black Tongue

This is a development sketch for a character called Black Tongue.  Black Tongue is a goblin of negative thinking.  It is the voice that tells you everything that is "wrong" with yourself.

{8x5.77,  Graphite}

Featured Creature: Udushae N'yasnu

Excerpted from Marge Hollander's Digest of Demons and Devils:

"Little is known about the origins of the Udushae N'yasnu.  There is a rumored Gnostic legend that on the seventh day of creation, after God had finished his work, the Udushae were the left over flotsam.  Before God could return the unformed creatures to the void, they skittered into the darkest corners of creation and hid.  Regardless of their origins, a recorded characteristic of the Udushae is their thirst for human bodily fluids.

Over a period of days or weeks, chosen victims of the Udushae are slowly drained of vital fluids during sleep.  Often the symptoms of an Udushae assault are confused with that of a Vampyr attack.  However the Udushae feed exclusively on human fluids whereas a Vampyr will feed on any available source of blood including livestock, family pets, and local wildlife.  Also absent in an Udushae attack are the telltale puncture wounds left by a Vampyr.  It is generally assumed that the Udushae drain fluids from the body of the victim directly through existing orifices.