THE SHADOW Double Feature! Introducing MASKS!!!

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Hello Pulp Friends,

here's a couple of pulpy covers that will hit the stores in November.

The bottom one is the cover for #8 of THE SHADOW, which will see our hero bringing some action in the alley of Paris, France :)

The top one is for what it might be one of the coolest projects that are coming your way.
Written by my dear friend Chris Roberson and illustrated (for the first issue at least) by Alex Ross, MASKS will see some of the top Pulp heroes joining forces (and guns): this promises nothing good for the criminal underworld, doesn't it? :)

Hope you enjoy these covers/illos (pls drop a note if you do - this place got really quiet lately ;)) and I wish you all a wonderful Pulp Sunday :)

BONUS QUESTION: Next Sunday (August 26th) will mark the 5th anniversary for PULP SUNDAY: should I put together something special to celebrate? 

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2012 Francesco Francavilla 

Lone Ranger / Zorro #5 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

Here's the cover for issue 5, the conclusion of the Lone Ranger / Zorro mini. It was lot of fun to draw these and - with the recent announcement of the 4th arc of Zorro starting soon, hopefully I will get to draw a few more covers showcasing our beloved black masked/dressed hero :)

Here's the solicits for this issue:
THE LONE RANGER & ZORRO THE DEATH OF ZORRO #5
Written by ANDE PARKS
Art by ESTEVE POLLS
Cover by FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

The stage is set for a final battle in this epic series conclusion. Fighting in Zorro's memory are The Lone Ranger, Tonto, members of the secret Spanish crime-
fighting brotherhood, La Justicia, and a score of Native American fighters. As the good guys muster their forces, Colonel Barton and his renegade bushwhackers man their Gatling gun for the defense of the Chumash mission. The stakes couldn't be higher: the lives of innocent women and children, the future of an entire culture, and the legacy of the hero known as Zorro.

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2011 Francesco Francavilla

Lone Ranger / Zorro #4 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

I can finally share with you this cover for the 4th issue of Lone Ranger: Death of Zorro mini, solicited in April's Previews. I think it might be the best cover for this mini so far, but I might be biased so I am leaving it at yout o decide if it is :)
Fun fact: The little Escher thing going on almost confused me a couple of times while drawing it ;)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2011 Francesco Francavilla

Lone Ranger / Zorro #3 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

I can finally share with you all the cover for the 3rd issue of Lone Ranger: Death of Zorro mini, solicited in March's Previews. Hope you guys enjoy it :)

I wanted also to let you all know I am auctioning some original art to benefit those in need of food in the Detroit metro area. Check out my sketchblog for details and I hope you can help a bit, either by bidding on the art or just donating to Forgotten Harvest, the organization I am donating to proceeds of the auction to.
Auction will end next Sunday at 6 pm ET.

Enjoy the cover and have a wonderful Pulp Sunday everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2011 Francesco Francavilla

"Lone Ranger: Death of Zorro" #2 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

Today's offering is my second cover for Dynamite's mini "Lone Ranger: Death of Zorro".
Been pretty busy lately with the funnybooks: currently working on a Detective issue (I will be fully illustrating both issues 874 and 875) and getting ready to start on another Black Panther issue.
I have a couple of other projects in development (creator owned projects) I can't wait to tell you guys about in detail (not sure when I can, but I can't wait ;)).

So, busy but pretty excited by all these books :)

Enjoy the cover and have a wonderful Pulp Sunday everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

Green Hornet Year One #12 & Lone Ranger/Zorro #1 Covers

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Hello Pulp Friends,

Let's start a new year of pulp goodness with a double cover post that we can safely title: "Family Business" :)
Above is the cover for issue 12 of Matt Wagner's Green hornet Year One, which concludes the second arc of this critically acclaimed tale of the first year of operation of the GH and Kato.
And to keep it in the "family" the second cover (below) is for Green Hornet's gran gran pa: The Lone Ranger, here in the first crossover with another favorite of mine (and yours): Zorro.

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The crossover is a 4 issue mini written by Ande Parks and titled, sadly, "Death of Zorro". Don Diego is here in his late 60s and will ask for Lone Ranger help when things go bad.
Since Dynamite solicited the book, I read a lot of people thinking this mini means no more ZORRO YEAR ONE.
No worries, this is a completely different story, and last time I talked with Matt, he is still planning to pick up from were we left in issue 14. Zorro Year One is on hiatus but is not over :)

Have a wonderful Pulp Sunday everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

ZORRO: The Conclusion!

Hello Pulp Friends,

Zorro #20 is out in stores today: as I mentioned earlier, this is definitely my best and favrite issue yet, maybe because it's the conclusion of the third arc and the title is taking a break, so Matt and I wanted to leave everyone with a good read and some cool Zorro action :)

The preview of the first 5 pages is on several websites online, so here's an exclusive preview just for Pulp Sunday: the back cover and page 18, just to tease you on the content of this book :)

Hope you guys enjoy the read :)

Cheers,
Francesco



Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

Zorro #19

Hello Pulp Friends,

today issue 19 of Zorro hits the shelves and I wanted to give a little preview of it in here as well. Issue 19 and upcoming #20 are my best Zorro books to date so I really hope you guys are picking these up becuase you are going to really enjoy them, I promise :)

This whole third arc has been so much fun to draw, specially thanks to Matt who came up with scripts that made me play with old horror EC styles and classic old western settings. FUN! :)

Anyhow, enough talking. Head to the stores, pick the book and lemme know if you agree or disagree with me ;)

Cheers,
Francesco







Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla

Zorro Salutes

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Hello Pulp Friends,

I recently joined a group of fellow artists who jam weekly on a specific character. The blog is Comic Twart (Twitter Art) and the first week topic/character was (HA!) Zorro! Of course I felt like I was playing in my own backyard ;)
With issue 19 (coming out later this month) and issue 20 (coming in late Feb) wrapping up my third arc (and second run) on Zorro, I decided to partecipate to the jam with one of the pages from issue 20 that just came out from the oven. It seemed to fit the ending of the arc (even if that is NOT the last page of the issue ;)) with a nice shot of Zorro saluting and Tornado rearing :)
Please check Comic Twart for more zorros from some talented people.

Also please come by and say hi if you are gonna be in Charlotte and surroundings this coming Saturday: I will be at the Charlotte MiniCon with goodies and always a big smile :D See you there!

Cheers,
Francesco

KARA BOCEK, BLACK BEETLE & COLT CITY created by, ™ and © 2006-2010 Francesco Francavilla

Some Z and some News

Hello Pulp Friends,

sorry for the interruption of transmission in this past week but I have been without Internet service since Dec 30th (I guess I can say since last year ;)) and finally got the technical issue resolved yesterday (YAY!) :)
I used the the "down time" to wrap up an issue of Zorro and at the same time I have been invited by the supersweet folks (Shelton, Dustin and friends) of Heroes Aren't Hard to FInd to be featured guest at their one day show, the Charlotte Mini Con, on the 23rd of this month. If you are in the area, please stop by and say hi (I might have some Kara Bocek movie posters/prints too ;))

So here's the Zorro back cover for the upcoming issue 19 that teases about issue 20 (conclusion of the third arc) and below the mini poster I did for let you know about the Charlotte mini con. You can go here for more details and for downloading a pdf flyer, if needed. As you can see, our Black Beetle will be helping in promoting the show :)

I will be right back with more pulpy stuff soon, including Sherlock Holmes and, of course, the next pages of Black Beetle's Kara Bocek :)
I am planning to make the 2010 even pulpier than 2009 here @ Pulp SUnday: stay tuned, everyone! :D

Cheers,
Francesco



KARA BOCEK, BLACK BEETLE & COLT CITY created by, ™ and © 2006-2010 Francesco Francavilla

Riding Tornado!

I bet you have never seen Zorro riding THIS Tornado ;)
(again, click on the image for IMAX version ;))

Just one more reason to not miss issue 18 coming out today in the stores.
Matt came up with a structure similiar to issue 15, with tales of the Fox told (and quite filtered) by a bunch of peones around a campfire. Campfire tales, that is, allowing me to have MUCH fun drawing it. Thank you, Matt :)

Below the back cover for issue 17 that teased on the tales you will find in #18.
Hope you guys enjoy the read :)

Happy Holidays!

Cheers,
Francesco

WEREFOX!!!

WEREFOX!
Where? In issue 18 of Zorro coming out tomorrow, that's where! :D
Definitely click on the image to see it in a IMAX version :D

Seriously, I got my comps today and this issue is FUN!
That Matt Wagner dude can write, and that artist is half decent too ;)

I will share more tomorrow if you are not convinced yet.

Cheers,
Francesco

SHHHHhhhhhh!

While waiting for Zorro #18 to hit the shelves, here's a sneak peek at #19 ;)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Scary Tales of Zorro!

Hello my friends,

I thought this is the perfect month to give you all a sneak peek at the back cover of Zorro #17 (that will be out in a few weeks), anticipating what comes next in Zorro #18.

FUN! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

The Shadow of the Fox

Hello Pulp Friends,

here's the front cover for Zorro #19 (to be released in December) I just finished. How you guys are liking this new arc? Lemme hear it from you :)

Cheers,
Francesco

All artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

You're Invited...

... to General Rafael Mancado's exclusive party.
To make sure to not miss it, head to the store this coming Wednesday and pick up issue 15 of Zorro, the first of the third arc I am drawing.
I got my comps yesterday and the book looks awesome: I really would love to hear from you guys if you decide to pick it up (you are gonna to, right? ;))
Here's pages 4 and 5 to get a glimpse of the party: layouts and inks below, and final pages with colors above. Click on them for bigger versions.
Hope you show up and enjoy it :)

Have a Pulp Sunday everyone!

Cheers,
Francesco





All artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

A New Beginning...

Hello my friends,

here's page 1 of my new arc on Zorro. This time around I am taking care of the colors as well so I hope you dig the final result. (above)
Below some of the steps of the making of this page.
Issue #15 (first of my new arc) should be out later this month.

Cheers,
Francesco







All artwork © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

The "V" and the "Z"

Hello my friends,

Last Sunday I was flying to San Diego and didn't have chance to update the blog. This evening I just got back from San Diego and I didn't want to let another Sunday go without some artwork, so here's the front cover of Zorro #17 (part of the third arc I am drawing). Hope you guys are preordering this new arc (the first issue, #15, should be out next month) because it's REALLY a very FUN arc - Matt really made it very entertaining to draw for me and to read for you all.

Order code of issue 17 is AUG09 0814.

Next SUnday: more Black Beetle!!! :)

Cheers,
Francesco

The Californian Devil!

Hello my friends,

I wanted to share this back cover I did for Zorro #14 which, as all my back covers do, teases on the upcoming issue 15 which will see me back at doing the interior pages as well. The idea was to go with authentic old pulp magazine cover feel, and once you will have issue 15 in your hands you will see why ;)
Issue 15 is in Previews this month for pre-orders but I am planning to get back to it with the cover and some preview pages.
Until then, I hope you enjoy the "Californian Devil" (I am including also some close-up to show better the linework).

Cheers,
Francesco





Frontier Scary Tales & The Californian Devil created by and © 2009 Francesco Francavilla

Zorro Numero XII

Hello my friends,

I just realized I haven't shown any Zorro love lately, so here are the front and the back cover of the issue currently displayed on the comicbook store shelves.

You may be also slightly interested in knowing I got started on my thrid arc which should be out this summer ;)
Matt has really cooked some sweet stories for this arc and can't wait to share/show :D

Cheers,
Francesco