Martian Week!

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Hello Pulp Friends,

Decided to extend the Martian theme to this whole week and call it MARTIAN WEEK  :)

Above is the classic "WAR OF THE WORLDS" and following are in the order:
- the famous WAR OF THE WORLDS radio-broadcast that made Orson Welles famous.
- 2 more covers I did for WARLORD OF MARS - Fall of Barsoom mini
- a tribute to the classic pulps of Edgar Rice Burroughs  "JOHN CARTER OF MARS"

More Mars stuff on my sketchblog (including the adventures of Curiosity in the series titled "LIFE ON MARS" :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Martian Pulp Sunday!!!

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Hello Pulp Friends,

Honoring the landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars, I am doing a Martian themed Pulp Sunday :)

Above is the classic "INVADERS FROM MARS" and following are in the order:
- a made up "MARS ATTACKS!" Topps' style card titled "The Welcoming"
- 2 of my personal favorite covers I did for WARLORD OF MARS - Fall of Barsoom mini
- a movie poster style for Doctor Who's special episode "THE WATERS OF MARS"

And if you can, check out my silly-toons, funny strips on my sketchblog which chronicle the adventures of Curiosity in the series titled "LIFE ON MARS" :)

Have a wonderful Pulp Sunday, everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Warlord of Mars - Fall of Barsoom #5 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

Here's my fifth cover for WARLORD OF MARS - FALL OF BARSOOM , the last issue of this miniseries. As you can see, I am still playing the Western angle, the only difference is that 6 legged horses ain't easy to draw ;)
Hope you guys dig it. :)

I am gonna take a little break from my blogs/work to re-charge batteries, but I will see you in a little more than a week :)
Have a wonderful PULP SUNDAY everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2011 Francesco Francavilla

Warlord of Mars - Fall of Barsoom #4 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

Here's my fourth cover for WARLORD OF MARS - FALL OF BARSOOM series. I started to give these a Western vibe: I guess I am hinting I like to draw westerns ;) Hope you guys dig it. :)

Here's the solicits for this issue 4:
WARLORD OF MARS: FALL OF BARSOOM #4
Written by Robert Place Napton
Art by Roberto Castro
Covers by JOE JUSKO & FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

100,000 YEARS BEFORE THE TIME OF JOHN CARTER! A tribe of Red Martians attacks the Atmosphere Plant just as it's about to go operational. Meanwhile, the savage Warhoon march on the last stronghold of the Orovar -- the city of Horz--determined to wipe the White Martians from the face Mars. This is the penultimate chapter in the Fall of Barsoom!

Have a wonderful PULP SUNDAY everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2011 Francesco Francavilla

Warlord of Mars - Fall of Barsoom #3 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

Here's my third cover for WARLORD OF MARS - FALL OF BARSOOM series. This is definitely my favorite so far: it really came out like something you would find in an old trunk in the attic, doesn't it? :)
Hope you guys dig it too as much as I do.

Here's the solicits for this issue 3:
WARLORD OF MARS: FALL OF BARSOOM #3
Written by Robert Place Napton
Art by Roberto Castro
Covers by JOE JUSKO & FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

General Van Tun Bor leads the survivors of Thark on a perilous exodus across the Red desert. The once proud race of Orovars are reduced to the survival of the fittest as the tide of barbarism begins to sweep across the face of Barsoom. At the Atmosphere Plant, Scientist Tak Nan Lee and the Red Martian Anouk face unexpected danger from Anouk's own people! The tale of Barsoom set 100,000 years before the time of John Carter continues!

Have a wonderful PULP SUNDAY everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2011 Francesco Francavilla

Warlord of Mars - Fall of Barsoom #2 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

I can finally share the second cover I did for the WARLORD OF MARS - FALL OF BARSOOM series. Hope you guys still dig the approach ont hese :)
I literally can't wait to show you guys cover #3 I did last week and which I believe to be the best I have done for this series so far :)

I have also seen some of the interior pages of issue 1 and this is gonna be a good looking book, trust me :)

Here's the solicits for this issue:
WARLORD OF MARS: FALL OF BARSOOM #2
Written by Robert Place Napton
Art by Roberto Castro
Covers by JOE JUSKO & FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

Scientist Tak Nan Lee resumes work on the desperately needed Atmosphere Plant as he tries to befriend the Red Martian woman he rescued from the Green Horde. Meanwhile, thousands of Greens march on the White Martian city of Thark! The story that tells the fall of Barsoom 100,000 years before John Carter continues!

Have a wonderful PULP SUNDAY everyone :)

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2011 Francesco Francavilla

Warlord of Mars - Fall of Barsoom #1 Cover

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Hello Pulp Friends,

it looks like COVER WEEK from last week continued this week too with the Lone Ranger/Zorro cover I posted early in the week and today's cover, which allows me tofinally reveal that... I will be doing variant covers for the Warlords of Mars Fall of Barsoom series for Dynamite! :)
As you know, I am a HUGE fan of John Carter of Mars and the whole universe created by Burroughs, so I am jst very excited to be part of a book inspired by those characters :)
Hope you guys dig the look I have given to these covers (a bit of fantasy novel or old school movie poster feel) and can't wait to show you guys the next ones :)

Here's the solicits for this issue:
WARLORD OF MARS: FALL OF BARSOOM #1
Written by Robert Place Napton
Art by Roberto Castro
Covers by JOE JUSKO & FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA

100,000 years before the time of John Carter! Barsoom is a dying world: its once mighty oceans are receding and its atmosphere grows more tenuous by the day. The Orovars, who have dominated for a million years, are on the verge of extinction at the hands of the Green Hordes and the emerging Red Martians. Two Orovars - a Scientist and a General -- race against time to save their people before Mars plunges into barbarism!

Cheers,
Francesco

Artwork © 2011 Francesco Francavilla

John Carter of Mars

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Hello Pulp Friends,

I wanted to share the step by step for the above fake cover I did for John Carter of Mars - it seems I am specializing in pseudobiblia (or impossible books ;)) lately.

When I heard about the weekly TWART topic being John Carter, I had this idea to mock those old paperback covers: they look great plus I didn't have to fill the whole page with artwork (yeah, hard to cut too much time out of the weekly schedule when you are under deadlines ;)).
I wanted to show John and possibly Dejah facing some kind of beast. Initially I thought of some pterodactyl, then one of those 6 legged tiger, and finally I settled for some sort of alligator/reptyle.



Once the linework was done, I hand drawn in all the graphic elements and type (logo, titles, etc).


And then brought the file in Corel Painter and add some colors (trying to keep a muted palette).


Finally took the cover, sat it on a shelf for 50 years in the attic, and you get the result shown on top of this post ;)

Hope you guys enjoyed it :)

Cheers,
Francesco


Artwork © 2010 Francesco Francavilla