Introducing Zubees: A New Era in Pop Culture Art

Comicones, my stylized pop culture art project, is something that has been near and dear to me for almost a decade. It’s a silly project that has been a wonderful stress reliever. The core concept is the base design for all characters is the same. A metaphor that at our most basic, all humans are built from the same foundations. It’s the details that make us unique. Indeed it is the details in the characters that makes them (hopefully) instantly recognizable.

Since 2016 I have created over 1,000 designs from all aspects of pop culture. My Teepublic store is an official licensee of Adventure Time, Cobra Kai, Jay and Silent Bob, Rick and Morty, Shaun of the Dead, Star Trek and Squid Game.

This year, I’ve decided to breath some life into the project. First off, I’ve decided to rename it to Zubees. I wanted something a little more playful. I feel it rolls off the tongue a little easier and us a more memorable.

I’ve also played with the core template. I’ve changed the position of the arms and added more life to the facial expressions. The neck has been shortened slightly and I think it makes a big difference to the cute factor.

Also, so I can keep a better inventory of characters I’ve created, I’m turning each character into a trading card.

With this new phase, I am not simply recreating the characters I drew under Comicones, I’m creating new ones to go along side them. For every three characters, I’m porting over, I am creating at least one new one. So far I have created characters from Sinners, K-Pop Demon Hunters, Creature Commandoes, and Super Mario Bros among others.

If you want to follow along on social media, you can find Zubees at:

https://www.instagram.com/official.zubees/

https://www.facebook.com/official.zubees

https://x.com/zubees_official

I will be posting unique designs over the various platforms to keep fans engaged.

Is there a character you’d like to see? Let me know in the comments.

Shadowblade comic now in development

After a few years of development hiatus while we worked on Dr. Saville’s Horror Show, I can finally announce that we have started work on our next big project, Shadowblade.

Shadowblade is going to be both a comic book series and a movie series and the coming weeks and months we will be sharing a behind the scenes look at the development of the project.

To get us started, here is a look at Kalli, one of our two lead protagonists in the series. This series of images shows the creative process from script to lettering. As the first issue is still in development, there may be minor changes to the lettering and coloring, but this shows the overall feel for the project. My writing partner, Kevin, is the colorist on the series and he has previously colored for Marvel on such franchises as X-Men and G.I. Joe.

Shadowblade created by Craig W. Chenery & Kevin R. Phipps
Story by Craig W. Chenery & Kevin R. Phipps
Written by Craig W. Chenery
Pencils and Inks by Gianluca Testaverde
Flattening and Colors by Kevin R. Phipps
Lettering by Craig W. Chenery

Lost Souls Alchemy Edition

The limited edition run of Lost Souls Alchemy Edition was made available at the Arizona Comicbook Arts Festival (AZCAF) on February 25th. This release offered a sneak preview of the upcoming Lost Souls comic book series.

Lost Souls is written by Craig W. Chenery based on a story by Kevin R. Phipps, illustrated and inked by Ron Montoya, and colored by Kevin R. Phipps. Lost Souls issue 1 will be available September, 2023.

Dr. Saville’s Horror Show Set Build

Work continues on building the final set to Dr. Saville’s Horror Show. What could this be?

Dr. Saville’s Horror Show: Promotional Still

Drew (Kirk Levingar) defends his home from the undead in “Break”, the third story in Dr. Saville’s Horror Show.