The Pan-demonium continues as we celebrate the publication of my novel BLOOD FEUD: THE SAGA OF PANDORA ZWIEBACK, Book 1, on sale right now from StarWarp Concepts and all fine online bookstores.
Stupid ghost—get your own book! Today’s illustration is a special treat, because it’s by none other than Pan’s co-creator and designer: URIEL CATON!
I first met Uriel back in the early ’90s, through a mutual friend (and comics artist) named Delfin Barral. At the time, I needed an artist for a “bad girl” comic project I was working on, so Del opened up the copy of the Comics Buyer’s Guide that I had with me, and pointed to a full-page ad for a comic titled The Outer Space Babes. The first-issue cover art and interior pencils were by his friend, Uriel Caton.
Holy Moses! Sexy women—in spaaaace? And before that he’d been drawing sexy women for b&w publisher Eternity Comics’ flagship title Ex-Mutants? Now I had to meet the guy! (What? I did say it was the 1990s, didn’t I? It was the decade of the bad-girl comic!)
Not long after, Uriel signed on as co-creator and penciller of the bad-girl project, titled Heartstopper, which introduced readers to Sebastienne “Annie” Mazarin, sexy monster hunter and all-around badass. (Now sexy monster hunter and fully clothed mentor to our Goth adventuress.) The comic made its debut in 1994, through Millennium Publications—and quickly died, unfortunately.
(For the story of what ultimately happened with Heartstopper, and how it morphed into The Saga of Pandora Zwieback…well, that’s a blog post for another day.)
After Heartstopper, Uriel went on to do work for other publishers, including DC Comics’ JSA Annual #1. Did you know he’s listed as co-creator of the female assassin Nemesis, along with now-big-time Hollywood screenwriter David Goyer of Blade, Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight fame? It’s true!
These days, Uriel works as the Senior Minimate (2D) Artist for Diamond Select Toys, a division of Diamond Distribution (the folks through which your local comic shop gets its weekly funny-book shipments). But even though a lot of his time is spent designing blocky figures based on movie and comic book licenses, it’s apparent from today’s “Ghostreader” art that he still knows how to draw the cutest girls around.
The “13 Days of Pan-demonium” keep rolling on! Tune in tomorrow for (or hide in fear from) my contribution to this event!